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Full text of "The Pennsylvania-German : devoted to the history, biography, genealogy, poetry, folk-lore and general interests of the Pennsylvania Germans and their descendants"

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GIFT  OF 


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INDEX 


(PREPARED    BY   J.    B.   HAAG,    LITITZ,    PA.) 


SUBJECTS 


-^ 


to 


Biography  Page. 

The  Blessed  Memory  of  Henry  Harbaugh ....      12 

Albert   Gallatin,    Statesman 34 

Washington's   First    Commission 49 

Sketch  of  Col.  Matthias  Hollenback 53,   97 

John    Early      (Johannes    Oehrle)     and   his    De- 
scendants           74 

Charles    Shearer    Keyser 77 

Johannes    Roth    (Rhodes) 119 

Rev.    Lebrecht   Frederick    Herman 122 

Washington    to   the   German    Lutherans 152 

Incidents  from  the  Life  of  Bishop  John  Seybert   167 

The  Rev.   Stephen  Albion  Repass,   D.  D 282 

David    Tannenberg     339 

One   of   John    Brown's   Men 484 

An   hour   with   John    Brown 495 

Death   of   A.    Milton   Musser — A   Mormon   His- 
torian         565 

Karl    Christopher    Nadler 628 

<;-,    History: 

The     Pennsylvania-German     in     the    Valley   of 

-             Virginia      1 

x^!     Political     Facts — German     Citizens     of     Bucks 

•v,__J"             County  and  their  Descendants 6 

Cr^    How  New  Year  is  Observed  by  the  Moravians  11 

Salem   Church,   Monroe  County,   Pa 15 

C^^The   Early   Moravians   in   Berks  County 23,   67 

^     'flie  German   Colonists 31 

\        The  Palatines  of  the  Hudson  and  Schoharie.  .  103 
rO    Pennsylvania   Germans   in   Public   Life   During 

^  Nk,  _         the   Colonial   Period 153 

^    Lancaster    County    History 198 

",      Historic    Lititz     210 

"Historic  Places  in  Philadelphia,  Pa 225 

Origin   of  the  Names  of  the  Counties  of  Penn- 
sylvania        233 

The   Germans   in  North  Carolina 266 

The  Muncy  Valley 287 

The    Burning    of   Chambersburg 323 

Old  Highways  and   Old  Taverns.  ., 383 

The  Mennonites  as  Pioneers 387 

Hernhut   as  it   is  today 391 

The  March  of  the  Germans 396 

The     Germans,     Hessians     and     Pennsylvania- 
Germans    435 

Berlin   and   Brothersvalley 506,  552 

In  Y'e  Olden  Time 557 


Genealogy: 

Hans  Herr  and  his  Descendants 116 

Descendants  of  John  Early   (Johannes  Early).  126 
Notes    on     the     Kuntz     (Kuhns)     and     Brown 

Families  of   Lancaster  County,   Pa 278 

Hans  Joest  Heydt.  The   Story  of  a  Perkiomen 

Pioneer    330 

The    Elimaker    Family 341 

A    Musser    Family    Record 393 

Saylor    Bible    Record 505 

The  Nicholas   Hess  Family 569 

The    Dubbs    Family 606 

Michael    Keinadt    and    Some  of  His  Descendants  618 


Mi 


FolkijOKK   and   Fiction: 

Grossniutterchen    am  Winter   Owets  Feirherd.  .      36 

A    Rhine    Legend    (From   the   German) 132 

Grace    Leinberger,     or     the     White     Rose.      A 

Tale   of    Frontier   Life 172,    230,    597 

Pennsylvania's   Historical   Societies: 

Meeting    of    Pennsylvania-German    Society   45,  640 

Bucks  County   Historical   Society   142,   93,   415,  472 

The  Lehigh  County  Historical  Society     142,    414,  639 

York    County    Historical    Society ....  143,    414,  528 

The    Lancaster   County    Historical    Society.  190,  526 

The   Lebanon  County  Historical   Society ...  190,  359 

W^yoming   Historical    and    Genealogical    Society  190 
The   Susquehanna   County   Historical 

Society    247,  303 

Montgomery    County    Historical    Society .  .248,  639 

The   Presbyterian   Historical   Society 248 

The     New     England     Historical     Genealogical 

Society      248 

The  Pennsylvania  Society ■ 359 

Historical     Society    of    Berks    County 360 

Bradford  County  Historical   Society 583,  360 

Historical    Society    of    Dauphin    County..  415,  639 

Chester    County    Historical    Society 526 

Annual    Meeting    of    the    Moravian    Historical 

Society     ....  527 

Der     Deutcho    Pioneer — Verein     von     Philadel- 
phia        583 

Union   County   Historical   Society .  . 583 

Western   Pennsylvania   Historical   Society 584 

Miisecllaneous: 

Old   Churches   and   old   Graveyards 58 

New  Y'ork  Public  Library.     Its  German  Amer- 
ican   Collections    63 

Heads  of  Families  at  the  first  Census 79 

Philadelphia   Founders'    Anniversary 84 

How  to   search   for   Historical  Material 110 

To  the  Memory  of   Henry  A.   Schuler 114 

Philadelphia's    many    Firsts 128 

To    the    Friends    and    Patrons    of    Schools   and 

the  Improvement  of  Y'outh 133 

The   Introduction   of   Wire   Cables 134 

Origin  of  Sunday  Schools 145 

How  Easter  is  observed  by  the  Moravians.  .  .  .  150 
An    account    of    the    Manners    of    the    German 

Inhabitants   of   Pennsylvania   in    1789.157,220 

Jacob's   Church,    Jacksonville,    Lehigh   Co.,    Pa.  162 

Rev'd    Peter    Frederick    Niemyer 165 

Some     Pennsylvania-German     Settlers     in     the 

western    part   of   the   State 169 

Suggestive    Sources    of    Church    History 171 

Ancient    Home    of   Old    Organ    Builders......  174 

A  Farmer  shelters  tramps  for  forty  years....  176 

A  Replv  to  the  Letter  of  Dr.  Alfred  P.  Schultz  177 

The  Stage  Coach  Driver 178 

Die  Auswanderer    180 

Language   Lesson   E.xercise 180 

A  few   words  about  The  Pennsylvania-German  193 

The  Mournful   Ballad  of  Susanna  Cox 232 

The   Spelling  of  our  Dialect 235 


V 

^ 


INDEX 


r 


A    War    Song 246 

Johann  Arndt  and  his  "True  Christianity'.'..  249 
On      Bruin's     Swing      (A     Tulpehocken      Bear 

Story       262 

Grandmother    Home    Remedies 272 

An    Old    Time    Tragedy 290 

History   of   the   Plaintield    Church 305,  361 

The    Covered    Basket 317 

River    Brethren    in    Kansas 347 

Seeing      Lancaster      County      from      a      Trolley 

\Snndow 372,   417,   474,   529,  611 

Opening  of  the  East  Penn   Railroad 401 

How  I  became  a  Schoolmaster  in  America.  .  .  443 
The    German    Language     and     Family     Names 

Among   the   Creoles   of   Louisiana 448 

Race    or    Mongrel 454 

Christ   Evangelical   Lutheran    Church   of   Lower 

Berniudian,   Adams  Co.,   Pa 456 

An    Account    of    the    Province    of    Pennsylvania 

by    Francis    Daniel    Pastorius 460 

History   of   the   Blauch   Family 500 

On    the   German    Dialect    spoken    in    the    Valley 

of   Virginia 510 

The      Early      Church      of      the      Goshenhoppen 

Region      541 

How    I    became   a    Schoolmaster    in    Brecknock  567 

"Die    Neu    Welt"    by    Michael    Herr 571 

German     Character — An     Appreciation 585 

Lynn's     Honor     Roll 594 

Christmas    in    the    Hessian    Camp 602 

Christmas    in    the    Olden    Days 604 

The  Value  of  Family  and  Social  Reuions...  622 
In  Memoriam — Ministers  Buried  at  Allen- 
town,     Pa 626 

Literary  Gems: 

En    Hier-Rawt    Pardy 89 

Ein    Psalm    des    Lebens .  . '. 135 


Das   Maedchen   von   Fort   Henry 

Yost   Yoder    " 

Leera    Bumpa    

Mei     Mutterschprooch     

Die    Kinneryohr    

The    Old    Chain    Bridge 

The     Anointing      

Grumbiere   Keffer    

Lost    Customs    

Uncle    Casper's    Beauty    Rose 

Two  Little   Shoeses  with  their  Neckties  on.  . 

De    Olda    Shule    Dawga 

Mei     Alta     Schuldawga 

Das    Baechlein     

'me    Brooklet     

In     Jesu     Schlafend 

In    \eu    York 

De    Lecha    County   Fair 

Urtext       

Pennsylvania    German    

Andenken     

Der    Mensch     

Die    Aerschta    Hussa 

Es    Fet   und   Inschlich   Licht 


135 
136 
237 
238 
238 
294 
348 
350 
351 
351 
403 
404 
404 
405 
405 
405 
406 
462 
463 
463 
464 
575 
575 
576 
.The    Home 37,    88,    137,    181 

Editorial    Department:     40,     90,     139,,    183,     241 

298,    354,    409,    466,   523,   579,    635. 
Business     Announcement    and     Edtorial      Staff 

for     1909       40 

Clippings    from    Current    News,    41,    91,    140,    185, 

242,    354,    409. 
The   Forum,   43,   93,    141,    188,   245,    300,    357,    411, 

469,    524,    579,    636. 
Reviews    and    Notes,    47,    95,    144,    191,    239,    296, 

352,    407,    464,    521,    577,    632. 
The   Joker's  Page 44,    187,    300 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PORTRAIT.S  : 

Mrs.    H.    H.    Funk Frontispiece,   Jan.    09 

Prof.    E.    S.    Gerhard Frontispiece,   Jan.   09 

Rev.     J.    A.     Scheifer Frontispiece,   Jan.   09 

H.     W.     Kriebel Frontispiece,   Jan.   09 

Matthias    Hollenback     54 

Charles    S.    Keyser,    Esq 78 

Rev.    W.    H.    Brong 366 

Rev.   Thomas   Pomp 366 

Rev.    Erasmus    Helfrich 367 

Rev.    E.    W.    Reinecke,    D.  D 367 

Rev.    G.   J.    Lisberger 369 

Dr.    S.    S.    Haldeman 381 

Henry     NefT    Kagey 485 

John    Henry    Kagi   and   Lady   Friend 491 

John    Brown's    Associates 497 

D.     D.     Blauch 500 

First   Officers  of  the   Blauch-Blough-Plough   Re- 
union   Association     501 

Old    Folks    of    Blauch-Blough-Plough    Reunion 

Association     503 

Karl    Christopher     Nadler ,.  .  .  .  628 

Scenes  and  Views: 

The     Old     Hollenback     Mill,     Wilkesl)arre,     Pa., 

i)uilt     1809-10 98 

The    Great    Bend    o    fthe    West    Branch    River 

around   the   Bald   Eagle 286 

Outlet   Locks   at   the   River,   below  Fort  Penn.  .  287 
Muncy   Valley   as   seen   from  McMichael's   Look- 
out        288 

Ruins    of    the    Aqueduct    at    Mouth    of    Muncy 

Creek      289 

The   Old   Chain    Bridge 294 

Ijehigh    Water    Gap,    Pa 295 

Location  of  second  Building   (Plainfield  Church  314 

Plainlield     Church     316 

Ellmaker    Homestead,      Earl    Township,      Lane. 

Co.,     Pa 342 

The    Old    Leonard    Ellmaker    Graveyard 344 

Leonard    Kllmaker's    Grave 346 

Plainfield    Church    Decorations    1863 368 

Plainfield    Church    Decorations    1903 369 

Old     Log     Srhoolhouse 370 


Map    of    Lancaster    County August    Supi^lement 

Center     Square,      Lancaster 373 

Northwestern    Section   of   Lancaster 374 

Wheatland      — 376 

Conestoga    Wagon     378 

Columbia's   Historic   Bridges 379 

Historic    Spots    of    Wrightsville 380 

Chickies   and   Marietta 382 

Herrnhut    today     392 

Historic    Buidings   of    Lancaster    County 418 

Mount    Joy    Railroad    Cut 419 

Donegal     Springs 419 

Donegal    Presbyterian    Church 420 

Cameron    Homestead     421 

Tunnel    Cut     421 

The     Square,     Elizabethtown 422 

Catholic    Church,    Elizabethtown .  423 

Elizabethtown    College     424 

Wabank    Hotel,     Burned    1873 424 

The   Lake — Millersville,    Pa.    State   Normal 

School     425 

A    Tobawo    Field 426 

Martie    Forge   Railroad    Bridge 427 

Rawlinsville    Trolley    Terminus 428 

Hotel   Quarryville    428 

Birthplace    of    Robert    Pulton 429 

The    Ramsay    Home 430 

Birthplace    of    W.    U.    Hensel,    Quarrvville,    Pa.  430 

The    Herr    House .' 431 

Main     Street,     Strasburg 432 

The    Shroy    Home 433 

Mennonite   Meeting   House,    Strasburg 433 

Appearance    of    Buchanan's    Grave    before    re- 
cent   Improvements    were    made 434 

Lower        Bermudian       Evangelical         Lu;heran 

Church      ; 458 

Blanche     Nevin     Fountain 473 

Pennsvlvania    R.    R.     Station 474 

County    House    and    .\sylum 474 

Witmer's    Bridge     475 

Historic    Houses   by    the   Way 477 

Gap     and    Prquea     Valley 478 

Entrance    to    Bellevue    Presbyterian    Church .  .  .  479 

View   of   Gap,    Pa 480 


INDEX 


William    Penn    Spring 481 

(iiip    Clock    Towev 482 

The    Old    Sadsbur.v    Meeting    House 483 

riirisliana     Riot    House 483 

Handwriting   of   J.    H.    Kagi 487 

Former    Residence   of   Mrs.    Mary   Bittner 492 

Kphrata    Cloister     Buildings 530 

Main    Street    Looking    East,     Adamstown,    Pa.  531 

Street     Scene,     Intercimrse,     Pa 531 

\ew    Holland    School    House   and    Street    Scene  532 

New     Holland     Churches 533 

Home   of    Miss    Blanche    Nevin 534 

Conestoga    Valley    looking    South    from    Church- 
town,    Pa 535 

Bridge    Across    the    Conestoga    near    Blue    Ball  536 

Bird's-e.ve     View    of    Adamstown 537 

Kphrata    Scenery     538 

Bird's-Kye   View   and   Main    Street,    Reamstown  539 

The   Old    Historic   Muddy   Creek   Church 539 

P.    M.    Musser    Memorial    Chapel 540 

New    Goshenhoppen    Church     17691857 542 


New      Goshenhoppen     Reformed     Church     and 

Rev.     C.     M.     deLong 543 

Old    Six   Cornered    Church.      Built    1803 545 

St.    Paul's    Lutheran    Church..  . 546 

Old    Goshenhoppen    Church 548 

(  liurch    of   the    Most    Blessed    Sacrament,    Bally  550 

The    Dubbs    Coiit    of    Arms 606 

The     Dubbs     Homestead 609 

(ieorge     Ross     Monument 611 

Union     Stock     Yards 611 

Cemetery    at    Oregon 612- 

Rotary    Station    Near    Neffsville 613 

View     of     Manheim 613 

The    Stiegel    Mansion 614 

The    Stiegel    Oilice 614 

The    Brickerville    Lutheran    Chui'ch 615 

A    Ten    Plate    Stove 616 

The     Historic     Stiegel     Homestead     (now     Cole- 
man)         616 

Tomb.stone    of    P'irst    Wife   of    Baron    Stieyel...  617 

A    Lititz    Springs    View 617 


AUTHORS    AND    CONTRIBUTORS 


145,    383,    495,    565, 


Avellanus,     Pi'of.     Arcadius. 

Anonymous      

A.   S.   B 

Betz,    Dr.    I.   H 58 

Boonastiel,    Gottlieb     

Brower,     Dr.     William 

Bachman,    J.    Fred 172,    230, 

Barba,     Preston    Albert 

Bittinger,     Lucy     Forney 

Brong,     Rev.     W.     H.     '. 305, 

Baltimore    American     

Beck.    Abraham    R 

Buehrle,     R.    K 

Billheimer,     Rev.     Stanlev 

Blauch,    D.    D ". 

Brunner,    Frank    R..    M.  D 

Chapman,    Hon.    Henry 

Clare,     Israel     Smith 

Campbell,    William    L 

Craig,    Wm 

Coulston,    Capt     Frederick    C 

Collier's     Weeklv 

Dubbs,    Jos.    H.,    1).  ]).,    LL.D 12, 

Daily     Register 

Dr.    G.,    Mt.    Zion,    Pa 

Denny,    H.    A 

D.   M.   in   Reformed   Church   Record 

Deiler,    Prof.    .7.    Hanno 

deLong.    Rev.   C.   M 

Karly,    Rev.    J.    W 74, 

Klder,    Cyrus    136, 

Ellmaker,    J.    Watson 

Khman,    Henrv    

Fick,    Dr.    H.  "  H 

Fuld.    Leonard    Felix.   M.  A.,    LL.  M 

Gruber,    M.    A 177, 

Gernerd,    J.    M.    M 

Grumbine,    Dr.    E 

tfehman,    U.   H • 

Grosse,    Dr.    Friedrich     

(Jrumbine,     Harvey    Carson 

Gotthold,    Aug.     . 

(Matfelter,     S.     F 

Hadden,    John     

Helbig,    Richard    E 

Herr,     Theodore     W 

Horne,    Dr.    A.    R 

H.   C.    B.    in    Reformed    Church    Record 

Hagen,    Rev.    E.    S 

Hulsbuck.    Sollv     

Hays,    H.   M 

Hess,    Asher    S 

Keyser,   Kaaman    H 


114 

351 
405 
622 

89 
119 
597 
632 
249 
361 
323 
339 
405 
456 
500 
576 
178 
198 
198 
294 
323 
396 
606 
174 
302 
303 
406 
448 
541 
120 
348 
341 
433 
135 
300 
571 
287 
290 
303 
303 
403 
463 
464 

49 

63 
116 
233 
351 
391 
404 
510 
569 

77 


Keller,    Rev.    Eli.  .  . 
Kuhns,    Prof.    Oscar. 
Kansas    City    Star  .  . 
Dr.    W.    P. 
Dr.    J.    G. 
Alma"     .  .  .  . 
H.    W.     .  .  . 
James     B.     .  . 


,165, 


Kistler, 
Kistler, 
"Klam, 
Kriebel, 
Laux, 


J.   C. 


Leonard,    Rev.    Dv 

Jjutz,    Henrv    F 

Miller,    Daniel    2.3,    67, 

Michener,    Henry   C 

Mittler's    Deutche    Volkslieder 

Moore,    Charles    C 

Mever,    Dr.    T.    P.     .  .  .  ^ 

Mohr,    Ella   J 

North     American      

Neifert,    W.    W 

Philadelphia     Ledger     

Philadelphia    Inquirer     

Petit,     Henry     

Roberts,    Charles    R 

Rupp,    I.    D 157, 

Reformed    Church    Record 

Rudelphi,     Karoline     

Rashen,    Prof.    J.    F.    L 

Schaeffer,     D.     Nicholas 

Swank's    Progressive    Pennsylvania 

Salem,    Rev.    H.    C 

Stapleton.    Rev.    Dr 

Scheffer,    Rev.    J.    A.,    M.  A 

Stump,     Rev.    Adam 262, 

Singmaster,     Elsie     

Slingluff,    Lieut.    Fielder    C 

Smvth,    S.    Gordon 

Seip,    J.    W 

Smith,    Prof.    C.    Henry 

Shultz.    Dr.    Alfred    P 

Schuler,    H.    A 

Seyfert,    Hon.    A.    G 

Town    and    Country 

Wavland,    John    W.,    Ph.  D 

Weitzel,    Louisa    A 11,    150,   210, 

Wuchter,    Rev.    A.   (' 15,    162,    238, 

War.amaker.     Hon.     John 

Weller,    H.    A 

Welles.    Edward    53 

Weidman.     Sebastian     

Wavland,    Prof.    John    W 

Weifley.    W.    tl 506, 

Ziegler.    C.    C 

Zimmerman,    (^ol.    T.    (' 


626 
278 
347 
594 
594 
618 
372 
103 
266 
435 
557 
110 
180 
237 
272 
462- 
225 
302 
87 
128 
341 
153 
220 
171 
405 
460 
122- 
134 
152 
167 
169 
282 
317 
323 
330 
351 
387 
454 
463 
56r 
17& 
1 
575 
575 
31 
36 
,  9T 
302- 
484 
552 
23* 
536 


V  INDEX 

NUMBER  OP  PAGES  IN  EACH  MONTHLY  ISSUE 

The   following   list,    showing   the   number   of   pages  in    each    monthly-  issue,    will    be    convenient    in    con- 
nection  with   the   foregoing   Index,   for   finding   the   separate   numbers   containing   any   desired    article. 


January .Pages 

February 

March 

April 

May 

June 


1    to      48 

inclusive 

Julv 

305    ' 
361   ' 

'   360 

49    "      9fi 

Augxist 

'   416 

97    '■    144 

Se;  tcmber 

417   ' 

'   472 

145     ■    192 

October 

473    ' 

'    528 

193    •'    248 

November 

529    ■ 

'   584 

249    "    804 

December 

585    ' 

'    640 

SUPPLEMENTARY   MATTER 


Tombstone   IxstRiPTioss; 

Bern    Church,    Berks   Co January-February 

DeLong's  Church,    Berks   Co February 

Great    Swamp   Church,    Lehigh   Co February 

Chestnut   Hill,    Lehigh    Co February 


Arendtsville,    Adams    Co February 

Jerusalem    Church,    Lehigh    o March 

In    Hereford  Township,   Berks  Co April 

Death    Notices    in    "Die   Biene"    1846-48 April 


Mrs.  H.  H.  Funk 


Prof.  E.  S.  Gerhard 


^^1S^ 


■'^ 


Rev.  J.  A.  Scheffer 


H.  W.  Kriebel 


A  Happy    and    Prosperous    New    Year 

THE  EDITORIAL  STAFF 


Supplement  to  the  PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN,  January,  1909. 


Vol.  X 


JANUARY,  1909 


No. 


The  Pennsylvania-German  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia 

By  John  W.  Wayland,  Ph.  D. 

INSTRUCTOR  IN  HISTORY,  UNIVERSITY  OF  VIRGINIA,  CHARLOTTESVILLE,  VA. 


E  ]\IA^'  sa}"  the  Penns}^!- 
vania  -  German,  because 
most  of  the  Germans  of 
northern  Virginia  came 
down  across  the  Potomac 
from  Maryland  and 
Pennsylvania.  A  few 
came  from  the  German- 
na  and  Madison  settlements  east  of 
the  P)lne  Ridge ;  and  a  few  parhaps 
came  up  from  the  Carolinas ;  but 
nine  out  of  ten,  in  all  probability,  had 
first   been    in    Pennsylvania. 

In  that  part  ui  the  Valley  of  Vir- 
ginia drained  I)y  the  Shenandoah 
River,  the  German  people  form  the 
majority.  In  the  counties  of  Rock- 
ingham. Shenandoah  and  Page,  they 
form  the  large  majority;  in  Augusta, 
Warren  and  Frederick,  they  form 
about  half  of  the  population  ;  in  Jeff- 
erson ami  licrkley  (West  Virginia) 
they  are  much  in  evidence  ;  in  Clarke 
the  German  element  is  inconsider- 
able. 

In  the  nine  counties  just  named 
one  may  be  safe  in  estimating  the 
]:)resent  number  of  persons  of  German 
descent  at  90.000.  !Many  of  the  most 
]irominent  families  l^ear  German 
names,  for  exani]i]e,  the   Bakers,   Bed- 


ingers,  Bowmans,  COnrads.  Funks, 
Henkles.  Hites,  Huffmans,  Koontzes, 
Maucks,  Millers,  Neffs,  Painters, 
Pennybackers,  Pitmans,  Rinkers,  Rol- 
lers, Ruffners.  Snyders,  Spenglers. 
Stickleys,  Stovers,  Stricklers,  Ziglers, 
Zirkles. 

In  the  southwestern  part  of  the 
Virginia  Valley  the  German  element 
is  also  strong.  Passing  beyond  Rock- 
bridge County  and  the  adjacent  sec- 
tions of  Augusta  and  Botetourt.where 
the  Scotch-Irish  are  in  the  majority, 
we  find  the  German  families  numer- 
ous in  southwest  Botetourt,  in  Roa- 
noke, and  in  Floyd,  as  well  as  in  the 
adjoining  county  of  Franklin,  just 
east  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  In  these  dis- 
tricts the  Crumpackers,  Filers,  Garsts, 
Graybills,  Moomaws,  Nafifs,  Nin- 
ingers,  and  others  are  frequently  met 
with. 

The  Valley  of  Virginia  Germans, 
like  their  kinsmen  of  Pennsylvania, 
have  won  distinction  in  all  fields  of 
achievement.  In  the  national  Plouse 
of  Representatives  Daniel  Sheflfey 
and  Jacob  Swoope  were  men  of  recog- 
nized ability;  in  the  Senate  Isaac  S. 
Pennybacker  and  Harrison  Holt  Rid- 
dleberger   won    special    distinction.    In 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


war,  John  Peler  Gabriel  Muhlenberg" 
and  Abraham  Bowman  are  both 
famous  as  commanders  of  the  Vir- 
g'inia  German  Regiment  in  the  Revo- 
lution ;  Major  Joseph  Bowman, 
brother  to  Colonel  Abraham,  was 
second  in  command  with  George 
Rogers  Clarke,  in  the  conquest  of  the 
Xorthwest,  an  achievement  that  g'ave 
V^irginia  and  the  new^  nation  a  rich 
empire  north  of  the  Ohio  River.  At 
least  half  of  the  famous  Stonewall 
Brig-ade,  that  "Old  Guard"  of  the 
South  in  the  late  civil  war,  were  men 
of  German  name  and  lineage.  In 
literature  we  may  point  to  Henry 
Ruffner,  Aldine  Kiefifer,  Henry  Bed- 
inger.  and  Danske  Bedinger  Dand- 
ridge ;  in  education,  Dr.  W.  H.  Ruff- 
ner, Virginia's  first  superintendent  of 
])ublic  instruction,  and  Henry  Tut- 
willer,  the  educational  organizer  of 
Alabama,  cannot  be  overlooked.  At 
least  four  of  the  institutions  for 
higher  education  now  in  operation  in 
the  Valley  of  Virginia  are  the  founda- 
tions of  German  religious  sects.  The 
first  German  newspaper  ever  printed 
in  Virginia  was  the  New  Market 
(Shenandoah  County)  Volksberichter 
of  1807  ;  the  second  was.  Der 
Deutsche  Virginier  Adler,  established 
at  Staunton  (Augusta  Countv)  in 
1808. 

The  two  most  famous  natural  cur- 
iosities in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  are 
the  Luray  Caverns  and  Weyer's 
Cave.  The  former,  first  known  as 
Ruffner's  Cave,  was  discovered  on  the 
land  of  Joseph  Ruffner,  by  one  of  his 
sons,  in  or  about  the  year  1793 ;  the 
latter,  long  known  as  Mohler's  Cave, 
was  found  in  the  vear  1804  by  Ber- 
nard Weyer.  The  'Ruffners,  Mohlers. 
and  Bernard  Weyer  were  all  Ger- 
mans. The  most  famous  turnpike  in 
Virginia  —  the  one  over  which  Phil 
Sheridan  made  his  celebrated  ride, 
and  along  which  he  did  his  still  more 
famous  barn-burning — is  the  pike 
from  Winchester  to  Staunton.  This 
was  constructed  largely  by  the  sub- 
scriptions of  the  German  'farmers  of 
the  Valley,  and  under  the  direction  of 


commissioners  largely  composed  of 
men  of  the  same  nationality.  The 
first  and  most  extensive  iron  furnaces 
and  forges  in  the  Valley  were  Ger- 
man  enterprises. 

The  towns  of  Strasburg,  Stephens 
City,  Woodstock,  Shepherdstown, 
Bridgewater  (Dinkletown),  and  Day- 
ton ( Rifeville)  were  founded  by  Ger- 
mans ;  and  in  the  entire  history  of 
Winchester,  Staunton,  Harrisonburg, 
Luray,  Waynesboro,  Front  Royal, 
Mt.  Jackson,  Edinburg,  Timberville. 
and  Broadway  the  Germans  have 
been  prominent.  The  German,  Jacob 
Swoope,  was  the  first  mayor  of  Staun- 
ton, the  Scotch-Irish  town.  Over 
eighty  towns  and  villages  in  the  Val- 
ley of  Virginia   bear  German   names. 

A  certain  German  of  Frederick 
County,  Virginia,  bears  a  distinction 
that  is  unique.  On  December  5. 
1776,  the  now  world-famous  Society 
of  Beta  Kappa  was  founded  at  Wil- 
liam and  Mary  College.  On  March 
27.  ^777'  the  charter  members  elected 
a  single  additional  member :  Isaac 
Hite  (1758-1836),  a  grandson  of  Jost 
Mite,  who  was  one  of  the  first  set- 
tlers of  the  lower  Valley.  Isaac  Hite 
was  later  a  major  in  the  Revolution- 
ary army,  and  served  as  aide  to  Gen- 
eral Muhlenberg  at  the  siege  of  York- 
tf)\\'n.  He  married  Nelly  Madison, 
sister  to  James  Madison,  fourth  Presi- 
dent. Bushrod  Washington.  John 
Marshall,  and  other  men  who  won  na- 
tional distinction,  were  among  the 
early  members  of  Phi  Beta  Kappa ; 
but  Hite  was  evidently  the  first  man 
chosen  by  the  charter  members  and 
the  only  one  elected  at  the  time. 

The  histories  of  Virginia  have  uni- 
formly stated  it  as  a  fact  that  the  first 
white  man  to  look  upon  01  visit  the 
Valley  of  the  Shenandoah  was  Alex- 
ander Spotswood,  governor  of  Vir- 
ginia, who  crossed  the  Blue  Ridge  in 
the  year  1716,  and  who,  upon  his  re- 
turn to  tidewater,  gave  each  of  the 
gentlemen  in  his  party  a  golden 
horseshoe  to  commemorate  the  expe- 
dition.      Spotswood    also     established 


THE     PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN     IN    THE   VALLEY   OF  VIRGINIA 


the  iron-working-  community  east  of 
the  Bhie  Ridge,  on  the  Rapidan 
River,  locating  there  a  colony  of  Ger- 
mans, from  whom  the  ])lace  is  called 
Germanna  to  this  day.  Cut  for  all  the 
beauty  and  romance  of  the  governor's 
expedition,  and  the  charm  that  lin- 
gers about  the  story  of  the  "  Knights 
of  the  Golden  Horseshoe,"  the  facts 
nt)vv  in  hand  seeiu  to  prove  beyond  a 
doubt  that  other  white  men  were  in 
the  Valley  before  the  gallant  gover- 
nor. Without  going  into  the  question 
in  detail,  the  writer  is  of  the  opinion 
that  a  German,  John  Lederer,  was 
probably  the  first  European  to  ex- 
plore the  great  Virginia  Valley.  Ac- 
ci:»rding  to  a  journal  kept  by  Lederer 
in  Latin,  translated  into  English  by 
the  governor  of  ^Maryland,  and  i)rint- 
ed  at  London  in  the  year  1672,  Led- 
erer made  three  exploring  expeditions 
from  eastern  Virginia  in  1669  and 
1670,  upon  two  of  which  expeditions 
he  traversed  the  Shenandoah  Valley. 
This,  it  will  be  observed,  was  forty- 
six  years  before  the  expedition  by 
Snotswood.  Moreover,  in  order  to 
appreciate  the  priority  of  the  time 
more  fully,  we  may  recall  that  it  was 
ten  years  before  the  great  La  Salle 
set  out  from  Canada  to  find  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississi])])i  :  and  twelve  years 
before  Penn's  settlement  at  Philadel- 
phia. 

Some  i)ersons  do  not  credit  Leder- 
er's  narrative ;  but  from  a  careful 
study  of  it  the  writer  believes  it 
trustworthy.  Furthermore,  the  map 
which  accompanies  the  narrative,  and 
which  is  remarkably  correct,  consid- 
ering the  hasty  journeys  through  the 
wilderness  from  which  it  was  prepar- 
ed, c(ndd  not  have  been  drawn  with- 
out an  actual  \-isit  to  the  regions  ])or- 
trayed.  or  without  an  earlier  ma]:)  to 
copy. 

Just  as  Governor  Suotswood  has 
long  been  regarded  as  the  first  Euro- 
uean  to  cross  the  P)lue  Ridge  into  the 
Shenandoah  Valley,  so  Jost  Hite,  a 
German  from  Strasburg.  who  settled 
near   the   site  of  Winchester    in     1732, 


has  long  been  spoken  of  as  the  first 
permanent  settler  of  the  Valley.  Hite 
came  to  New  York  about  1710,  and 
later  removed  to  Pennsylvania ; 
whence  in  the  year  1732  he  led  a  col- 
ou}'  of  Germans  and  Scotch-Irish  in- 
to Virginia.  But  it  seems  to  be  a  well 
established  fact  that  others,  notably 
other  Germans,  ])receded  Hite  into 
the  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah,  and 
estal)lished  settlements  older  than  his. 
About  the  year  1727  Adam  Miller  and 
other  Germans  from  Pennsylvania 
staked  out  claims  in  what  is  now  Page 
County;  others  soon  following  them 
into  the  same  locality ;  and  it  is  said 
that  German  settlements  were  also 
made  in  the  lower  Valley,  in  the  vic- 
inity of  Shepherdstown,  W.Va..  about 
1726  or  1727.  These  early  settlements 
are  noticed  in  detail  in  the  writer's 
recent  voliune  on  the  German  Ele- 
ment in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  of 
Virginia. 

.As  has  been  noted  already,  most  ui 
the  Germans  who  settled  in  the  V.al- 
ley  of  Virginia  came  by  way  of  Penn- 
syKania  and  Maryland.  It  may  be  ob- 
serxed,  further,  that  most  of  them, 
both  those  that  came  to  Virginia  and 
those  that  remained  in  Pennsylvania, 
were  originally  from  southern  Ger- 
many and  Switzerland.  So  many 
came  from  the  Rhenish  Palatinate 
thai  the  German  immigrants  landing 
at  lMiiladel])hia  were  frequently  spok- 
en of  indiscriminately  as  "Palatines." 

In  the  Valley  of  Virginia  the  Ger- 
mans settled  in  force  on  the  upper 
Shenandoah  River,  both  branches,  and 
upon  the  tributaries  thereof.  From 
Harrisonburg  to  Front  Royal  and 
\\  inchester  they  were  soon  in  pos- 
session of  most  of  the  good  lands. 
Woodstock  was  in  the  early  days  the 
a7)])roximate  center  of  the  German  set- 
tlements; but  the  tide  has  ke])t  moving 
southwestward  through  the  years,  so 
that  now  the  centre  would  be  found 
about  half-way  between  Woodstock 
and  Harrisonburg.  In  what  is  no\x' 
Clarke  County  was  a  stronghold  of 
Engflish,   as   alreadv   incHcated  :   in   and 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


around  •  Staunton,  in  Augusta  County, 
was  the  great  Scotch-Irish,  tract ;  and 
beyond,  in  the  southwest,  about  the 
present  city  of  Roanoke,  were  other 
German  communities. 

It  has  been  observed  that  over 
eighty  towns  and  villages  in  the  Val- 
ley of  V^irginia  bear  German  names. 
This  is  true  of  that  part  of  the  dis- 
trict known  properly  as  the  Shenan- 
doah Valley,  excluding  the  part  of  the 
X'alley  southwest  of  Staunton.  If  the 
whole  Valley  were  taken  into  account 
the  number  would  be  considerably  in- 
creased. These  eighty  odd  names  are 
distributed   as   follows  : 

In    Rockingham   County,  27  ; 

In    Shenandoah    County,  22; 

In  Augusta  County,  11; 

In    Frederick    County,  8; 

In   Page  County,  7; 

In   Jefferson   County,  6; 

In   Berkeley  County,  3  ; 

'In   Warren   County,  2. 

It  is  only  within  recent  years  that 
much  has  been  said  or  written  about 
the  German  element  of  Virginia.  For 
this  expensive  neglect  there  are  sev- 
eral reasons.  For  one  thing,  there  have 
been  no  strong  forces  moving  to  call 
the  attention  of  the  German  people  of 
\'irginia  to  their  peculair  history.  xA.c- 
cordingly,  many  |:)ersons  that  are  of 
German  lineage  either  do  not  know  it 
or  do  not  appreciate  the  fact.  A  few 
— fewer  now  than  in  former  times — 
are  ashamed  to  acknowdedge  their 
German  blood.  Such  persons  are  gen- 
erally to  be  pitied,  indeed.  Because  of 
the  antii)athy  for  a  long  time  existing 
against  the  Hessians,  and  because  the 
{patriotism  of  certain  of  the  religious 
sects  was  misunderstood,  all  the  Ger- 
mans were  looked  u])on  with  more  or 
less  susi)icion  and  disfa\or,  and  in  or- 
der to  esca])e  this  sus])icion,  some  of 
the  German  peoi)le  made  efforts,  more 
or  less  successful,  to  hide  their 
nationality,  and  to  ap])ear  "English"; 
innocentl}-  overlooking  the  fact  that 
hardly  an}-  peo])le  are  so  essentiallv 
Teutonic  as  the  English.  Being  isolat- 
ed   from    the   conserving   German   cen- 


ters in  I'ennsyhania,  and  being  sand- 
wiched in  between  English-speaking 
majorities,  the  Germans  of  the  Valley 
of  Virginia  soon  began  to  lose  their 
language,  voluntarily  or  involuntarily, 
and  to  adopt  the  speech  and  customs 
of  their  neighbors.  Even  their  names 
became  disguised  and  transformed 
beyond  tlie  possibility  of  recognition 
in  many  instances.  A  considerable 
number  of  family  names  now  found 
in  the  Valley  are  api^arently  English, 
l)ut  are  really  (jerman.  That  is,  they 
no\\-  have  a  form  that  is  English  or 
Irish  or  Scotch-Irish  ;  l)ut  if  they  are 
traced  back  several  generations  they 
will  be  found  to  be  originally  German 
IJaker  (Becker).  Brown  (Braun). 
Moore  (Mohr),  Vox  (F"ucbs),  Price 
(Preyss),  Stone  (Stein),  Crabill 
(Kriebel)  are  familiar  examples  of 
such  names.  Of  course,  not  all  per- 
sons in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  with 
these  and  similar  names  are  of  Ger- 
man descent ;  the  difificulties  in  the 
way  of  identification  are  increased  by 
the  fact  that  in  the  same  community 
may  be  found  persons  t)f  different 
nationality,  who  spell  and  uronounce 
their  names  exactly  alike.  It  may  be 
laid  (iwn  as  a  rule,  hmvever,  that  wdiile 
many  German  names  are  disguised 
under  English  forms,  hardly  any  Eng- 
lish or  Scotch-Irish  names  are  dis- 
guised under  German  forms.  One  is 
in  constant  danger,  therefore,  of  over- 
estimating the  number  of  English  and 
Scotch- Irish,  and  of  underestimating 
the  number  of  Germans.  The  same 
thing  would  be  reversed  had  the  Eng- 
lish and  Scotch-Irish  settled  in  a 
country  where  the  Germans  were  all 
about  them,  and  where  German  was 
the  natitmal  language. 

In  ])roductive  literary  activit}'  the 
Virginia  Germans  have  made  an  envi- 
able record.  Of  the  five  places  in  Vir- 
ginia, as  catalogued  by  Professor  Os- 
wald -Seidensticker.  where  German 
]>rinting  A\as  carried  on  ])rior  to  1830. 
four  —  Winchester,  New  Market. 
Staunton,  and  1  larrisonburg  —  are  in 
the   Shenandoah    X'alley.     As   early  as 


THE     PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN     IN    THE    VALLEY    OF   VIRGINIA 


1805  a  German  almanac  was  issued 
fr()m  Winchester  by  Jacob  D.  Diet- 
rich ;  he  it  was  who  established  the 
weekly  Adler  at  Staunton  in  1808. 
Ambrose  Henkel  founded  the  famous 
Henkel  press  —  still  in  operation  —  at 
New  Market  in  1806;  and  in  1807 
started  the  weekly  Volksberichter. 
Early  in  the  century,  perhaps  about 
1810,  Laurentz  R.  W'artman  establish- 
ed a  press  at  Harrisonburg",  which  is 
still  in  operation,  and  from  which 
were  issued  in  the  early  days  not  only 
periodicals,  but  also  frequent  bound 
volumes  in  German  and  in  Eui^lish. 

One  of  the  most  notable  j^rintint;- 
centers  was  founded  in  western  Rock- 
ingham County,  at  the  little  village  of 
Mountain  X'alley  (Singer's  Glen),  in 
1847,  '^y  Joseph  Funk,  the  Mennonite. 
He  and  his  sons  are  still  famous  in 
Virginia  and  \\'est  \irginia.  as  teach- 
ers of  vocal  music;  and  in  these  and 
many  (^ther  States  l)v  reason  of  the 
music  books  which  they  wrote  and 
published  at  the  little  village  that 
nestles  in  the  afternoon  shadow  of  the 
Alleghanies.  The  "Harmonia  Sacra" 
was  their  best  kn(^\vn  work  ;  and  with- 
in the  last  year  or  two.  at  many  places 
in  the  valley,  "old-time"  all-day  sing- 
ings ha\e  been  held,  and  the  "Har- 
monia Sacra"  has  been  brought  forth, 
with  a  thousand  sweet  memories,  and 
used  with  throbbing  pulses  by  the 
singers  of  former  days. 

The  first  Germans  to  locate  in  the 
Shenandoah  \'alley  were  Lutherans, 
Mennonites,.  and  German  Reformed. 
These  sects,  esjiecially  the  first,  are 
still  strongly  reuresented.  Abbut  the 
middle  of  the  i8th  century  the  Mora- 
\ians  of  Pennsyhania  made  a  number 
of  missionary  journeys  through  the 
valley,  and  j^erhaps  established  a  few 
settlements ;  but  at  present  the  sect 
is  not  represented,  so  far  as  is  known 
to  the  writer.  About  the  same  time 
that  the  ^loravians  were  in  the  Val- 
ley, some  of  the  E])hrata  Brethren,  the 
mystical  sect  led  oft  from  the  Bun- 
kers  bv   Cf^nrad    Beissel    and    others. 


locatetl  at  Strasburg,  now  in  Shenan- 
doah County,  and  elsewhere.  The 
Strasburg  community  maintained  it- 
self for  a  number  of  years ;  but  the 
others   were  of  short  duration. 

About  the  time  of  the  Revolution 
the  Dunkers  began  to  come  in;  and 
they  now  have  their  strongholds  in 
Rockingham.  Augusta.  Shenandoah. 
Page,  and  adjacent  sections,  as  well 
as  in  Southwest  Virginia.  The  United 
I'rethren  began  to  establish  them- 
selves in  the  valley  early  m  the  19th 
century ;  and  they  have  numerous 
strong  churches  throughout  the  dis- 
trict to-day.  All  of  these  German 
sects,  for  the  most  part.  o])|)osed  sla- 
very. As  a  consequence,  the  propor- 
tion of  slaves  in  the  (.Terman  sections 
of  the  Valley  was  much  lower  than  in 
the  surrounding  sections,  east  and 
west.  The  quick  and  complete  re- 
covery of  the  Valle}'  from  the  almost 
unparalleled  devastation  it  sufiPered 
during  the  Civil  War  may  be  traced 
to  the  foregoing"  condition. 

Put  not  all  the  X'alley  Germans  are 
Lutherans.  Mennonites.  Reformed. 
Dunkers.  or  L^nited  Brethien.  From 
very  early  times  some  have  been  Epis- 
copalians and  Presbyterians.  In 
later  times  many  have  become  identi- 
fied with  the  Baptists  and  Methodists. 
Prol)ably  a  few^  of  the  early  Quakers 
in  the  Valley  w^ere  Germans ;  but  that 
sect  has  never  been  largely  represent- 
ed in  the  section. 

The  Valley  Germans  have  always 
been  a  growing  people,  and  they  have 
a  growing  history,  though  very  little 
of  it  as  3^et  has  been  \\-rittcn  or  pub- 
lished. They  have  had  an  im|:)ortant 
])art  in  all  of  the  great  mtnements  of 
their  section,  but  have  not  always  re- 
ceived the  credit  they  deserved.  No 
fact  in  their  progress  is  more  interest- 
ing or  significant  than  the  steady  ad- 
\ance  they  have  made  in  \>.inning"  for 
themscKes  their  due  share  in  the  pub- 
lic life  and  goxernmcnt  of  X^irginia 
and   the   Xation. 


POLITICAL  FACTS 


Addressed,  more  especially),  to  the 


German  Citizens  of  Bucks  County, 

AND  THEIR  DESCENDANTS: 

(BY  A  MEETING  HELD  AT  ROCK  HILL 
August  30.  1800). 


NOTE — The     follcwing    interesting     cam- 
paign    document    bears    testimony    to    the 
commanding    position    occupied   by    the  Ger- 
mans  in   Pennsylvania  a  century  and  more 
ago,   and   ilustrates   political   life   at  an   im- 
portant   point   in    our   country's   history,  the 
Presidential    election    of    1800.      Concerning 
this  campaign   Sharpless   in   his  "Two  Cen- 
turies   of    Pennsylvania   History    says: 
Nothing  could   exceed   the   excitement 
of   this    closely    contested    election,    and 
if   one   desi)airs   of   his    country    on    ac- 
count   of    the    dishonorable    jiolitics    of 
the    present    day    it    may    reassure    him' 
to    read    the    accounts    of    the    extrava- 
gant    and     indefensible     means     which 
were    uised,    not    only    in    Pennsylvania 
l)ut    elsewhere,    and    to    remember    that 
the   country   survived. 

The  document  was  a  broadside  17 14,  by 
22^/^  inches,  the  headlines,  spelling,  caj)- 
italizing  and  italics  of  which  are  repro- 
duced. 

RIENDS       and        Fellow 
Citizens : 

In  the  ])()litical  strus;- 
qles  of  Pennsylvania  each 
party  has  courted  your 
favor  and  soup^ht  your 
alliance.  In  fact,  yoti 
have  held  the  balance  of 
power  in  this  State,  for  many  years ; 
a  circumstance,  in  our  opinion,  as  for- 
tunate for  the  Commonwealth,  as  it 
is  honourable  for  you.  For  you  are 
not  more  res])ectal>le  l)y  your  numbers 
than  by  your  incorruptible  integrity. 
All  of  you  contribtiting'  to  the  public 
])urse.  and  few  of  you  drawing  on  it 
as    ofificers,    vmir    minds    are    luibiased. 


or  if  you  have  partialities,  that  are  all 
in  favor  of  liberty.  Some  of  you  have 
felt  the  iron  rod  Despotism,  in  the 
coimtry  from  which  you  take  your 
name.  Others  have  listened  with  hor- 
ror to  the  tale  of  their  heather's  suffer- 
ings, under  the  Despots  of  Germany, 
the  Aristocracy  of  that  Country.  Thus 
have  the  principles  of  Liberty  been 
interwoven  with  your  iiattu"e,  "grown 
with  your  growth  and  strengthened 
with  your  strength."  Hence  the 
I'riends  of  American  Freedom,  for 
thirty  years  past,  have  generally 
found  you  by  their  side ;  and  the 
change  of  men  and  measures,  now 
happily  progressing  in  this  state,  is 
chiefly  to  be  ])laced  to  your  account. 
If  a  few  Germans,  have  not  yet  with- 
drawn their  support  from  the  expiring 
faction,  it  must  be  owing;  ])artly  to 
that  misusiMciotis  confidence,  which  is 
the  characteristic  of  virtuous  minds; 
and  paVtly.  to  that  want  of  informa- 
tion. Avhich  habits  of  retirement,  and 
industry,  have  forbidden  them  to  ac- 
(|uire.  This  want,  will  be  easily  sup- 
l)lied  at  the  present  day:  a  da_v  when 
certain  meastires  of  government,  have 
alarmed  the  most  secure,  and  turned 
the  attention  of  all  to  political  enquir- 
ies. The  restdt  has  been  a  conviction, 
that  certain  men.  to  whom  America 
Iiad  committed  her  destines,  were  un- 
worthy the  confidence  reposed  in 
them  :   that    instead   of   consultinsf    the 


POLITICAL    FACTS 


pulilic  weal,  they  stnclied  only  their 
own  emolument.  So  <^eneral  has  this 
conviction  become,  that  we  fondly 
anticipate  the  time,  when  party  dis- 
tinctions will  be  done  away,  or  the 
only  ])arties  l)e  ;  the  men  who  pay,  im 
the  one  hand,  and  the  men  who  ex- 
pect or  receive  the  public  money  on 
the  other. 

At  this  auspicious  i)eriod.  we  ad- 
dress ourselves  with  peculiar  confi- 
dence, to  the  few  remaining'  Germans, 
who  have  not  yet  joined  their  breth- 
ren, in  applying  the  constitutional 
remedy  to  American  wrongs,  a^_change 
of  public  servants  by  a  Fair  and  Free 
election. 

When  the  subjects  of  the  day  were 
under  discussion,  some  of  you  have 
said.  "If  I  could  belie\e  that  these 
things  were  really  done  by  the  ruling 
party,  I  would  support  them  no 
longer." 

Suffer  us  then,  to  submit  to  you  a 
V^  few  plain  facts ;  facts  which  you  can 
\erif3-  yourselves,  if  you  will  take  the 
])ains ;  facts  which  we  dare  not  niis- 
rei)resent.  because  there  is  a  Sedition 
I  law :  facts  which  we  would  not  mis- 
represent, because  there  is  an  higher 
law,  the  Law  of  Truth; 'an  adherence 
to  which  is  the  best  policy,  as  well  as 
the  soundest  morality. 

A\'e  begin  with  a  leading  fact,  which 
bears  on  all  the  subsequent  facts.  The 
jjarty  opposed  to  us.  have  had  a  ma- 
jority in  the  different  departments  of 
the  general  government,  for  about 
four  3'ears.  Tn  this  state  also,  they 
have  had  free  course,  till  very  lately. 
Republicans  in  each  government, 
have  only  ser\ed  as  a  Lock-chain,  to 
check  the  rapidity  of  their  motion.  Tt 
follows  therefore,  that  the  legislative, 
executive  and  judicial  acts  of  this 
])eriod,  are  fairly  im])utable  to  the 
ruling  party. 

This  short  reign  of  Federalism  (for 
it  is  closing,  we  hope,  forever)  has 
been  marked  with  acts,  scarcely  cred- 
ible, in  the  history  of  a  Republican 
government. 
\y\]]   ])osterity  believe   it.  that  in   ad- 


dition lo  the  usual  i)eace  establish- 
ment, measures  were  now  taken  for 
raising  an  arm\'  of  One  Hundred  and 
tv/enty  thousand  men;  as  neariy  as 
can  be  com.)uted  from  the  numerous 
laws   authorising  the   same.^ 

Mad  the  men  been  actually  raised, 
the  whole  rexenue  of  the  United 
.Slates,  twice  told,  would  not  suffice 
for  their  su]>])ort.  lUit  the  expense  is 
not  the  greatest  evil  to  be  dreaded, 
from  such  a  mighty  mercenary  host, 
in   a   free  government. 

rians  were  now  formed  and  partly 
executed,  for  building  and  manning  a 
Heet.  to  in\()lve  us  in  the  wars  of 
Europe.  But  you  are  told,  that  the 
end  of  this  military  Apparatus,  was. 
to  prevent  war;  for  "the  true  way  to 
avoid  war.  is  to  be  always  prepared 
for  it."  We  doubt  the  truth  of  the 
maxim,  however  common.  We  ap- 
peal to  the  history  of  the  world, 
whether  the  nations  most  prepare<l 
for  war,  have  not  been  most  engaged 
in  it.  Raise  a  fleet  and  army;  you  \vU\ 
hardly  fail  to  employ  them.  Friends 
of  universal  peace.  We  are  your  breth- 
ren. We  are  for  peace  with  all  the 
world. 

The  ^IAT.URALIZATION  LAW 
t)f  '98  fixes  a  mark  on  this  period,  '4o 
distinguish  it  from  vulgar  time."  The 
Irish  and  Germans,  harrassed  with 
cruel  wars,  were  flying  for  shelter,  to 
this  land  of  peace  and  freedom.  Emi- 
grants from  these  countries  have  been 
the  firmest  friends  of  American  lib- 
erty; the  more  hated  and  dreaded, 
therefore,  by  some  men.  To  check 
their  increase  and  influence,  the  fol- 
lowing provisions  Avere  made.  of 
which  you  shall  judge.* 

A  foreigner,  within  forty-eight  hours 
after  his  arrival,  is  obliged  under  pain 
of  iine  and  imprisonment,  to  re- 
port his  arrival  at  a  certain  office  and 
receive  a  certificate  thereof.  At  the 
expiration   of  nine  years,   he   may  ap- 

1  See  Laws  of  the  U.  S.  Vol.  IV,  pp.  98.  113,  219,  489. 
•'>48.  rVolunteers  included  who  were  considered  as  reg-ii- 
lars.] 

2  Laws,  U.  S.  Vol.  IV..  p.  13.3. 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


ply  to  one  of  the  higher  Courts  and 
declare  his  intention  to  become  a  cit- 
zen  in  due  time.  Five  succeeding 
years,  he  must  continue  to  reside  in 
one  state,  or  he  loses  foot-hold  and 
slides  back.  At  the  end  of  this  term, 
he  may  apply  to  such  court,  to  be  ad- 
mitted to  the  rights  of  a  citizen.  Still 
the  golden  fruit  may  be  snatched 
from  his  mouth,  unless  he  can  prove 
to  the  satisfaction  of  the  court,  not 
only  that  he  has  past  through  the 
foregoing  preparatory  process,  but 
that  he  has  been  of  good  morals,  and 
"well  disposed  to  the  good  order  and 
happiness  of  the  United  States,  that 
is  to  say,  a  good  Federalist,  as  the 
words  now  signify.  The  fees  for  the 
various  certificates  and  stamp  amount 
to  ten  dollars.  Lawyers'  fees,  for  con- 
ducting the  business,  must  be  at 
least  as  much  more.  Add  the  ex- 
penses of  the  party  and  his  witnesses, 
in  attending  the  several  courts,  and  it 
must  cost  him,  from  thirty  to  sixty 
dollars,  and  fourteen  years  slavery  to 
liecome  a  citizen. 

The  poor  will  be  forever  exclud- 
ed. The  unwary,  missing  a  step  in  the 
critical  process,  must  fail  to  rise  no 
more.  Thus  the  wretched  foreigner, 
must  bear  his  part  in  all  our  burdens, 
while  he  is  excluded  from  all  our  pri- 
vileges, as  freemen  ;  the  very  descrip- 
tion of  a  slave !  From  his  state  of  de- 
pression he  cannot  rise  to  the  hum- 
blest ofBce.  His  voice  will  not  even 
count  in  a  township  election.  He  is 
liable  to  be  inijjressed  by  the  tyrant  of 
tlie  ocean,  without  the  sorry  protec- 
tion afforded  to  the  American  citizen. 
He  may  l)e  claimed  by  his  former 
Master,  and  given  up  to  justice  or 
murder,  as  the  case  may  be.  Fellow- 
Citizens,  some  of  you  have  friends  in 
lMiroi)e,  whom  you  may  wish  to  see  in 
this  land  of  liberty.  Alas !  it  "is  no 
longer  a  land  of  liberty  for  them. 
"Hewers  of  wood,  and  drawers  of 
water"  must  they  be  for  fourteen 
years.  i)erhaps  for  life,  if  they  come 
here.  Warn  them  of  their  danger. 
Caution  them   not  to  apjiroach   the  in- 


hospitable shore.  Or  rather,  join  with 
us,  in  bringing  forward  men  who  will 
repeal   the   illiberal  act. 

TheBRITISH  TREATY,  though 
originating  before  the  period  we  have 
mentionecl,  was  the  act  of  the  same 
party.  It  was  intended  to  redress  our 
wrongs  in  trade,  and  provide  security 
for  our  commerce  in  future.  How  far 
it  has  answered  these  ends,  the  Mer- 
chants, and  Insurance  companies  of 
the  United  States,  can  tell.  'Tis  said, 
however,  to  have  given  rise  to  a  con- 
troversy, more  serious  and  awful,  than 
that  which  it  professed  to  settle.  Of- 
ficial information  on  this  head,  is  not 
to  be  expected.  The  execution  of  the 
treaty  is  with  its  friends,  atid  they  are 
not  fond  of  verifying  the  predictions 
of  its  enemies.  Btit  they  have  not.  to 
our  knowledge,  denied,  what  has  been 
commonly  reported,  as  follows.  The 
6th  article  provides,  that  five  commis- 
sioners, shall  ascertain  the  old  debts, 
due  by  American  citizens,  to  British 
subjects:  and  that  these  shall  be  fully 
paid.  Under  cok)ur  of  this  article, 
traitors,  who  joined  the  enemy,  dur- 
ing our  revohttionary  war,  claim  those 
estates  which  were  the  forfeit  of  their 
treason.  A  majority  of  the  commis- 
sioners, are  disposed  to  sanction  their 
claim — to  bind  the  United  States  to 
pay.  from  twenty,  to  fifty  millions  of 
dollars,  to  men  who  were  accessary  to 
the  destruction  of  more  property,  than 
their  estates  will  .compensate.  The 
commissioners  on  the  part  of  America, 
shuddering  at  the  consequence,  have 
withdrawn  from  the  board.  An  Am- 
bassador extra,  sent  to  the  court  of 
London,  to  deprecate  the  mighty  mis- 
chief, has  been  denied  an  audience. 
Thus,  having  refused  to  execute  the 
treaty  on  our  i")art,  we  must  expect 
that  Britain  will  refuse  to  execute  it 
on  her  part ;  perhaps  draw  the  sword, 
to  force  a  compliance  Avith  stipulation, 
which  we  certainly  did  not  mean  to 
make,  but  which  the  referees  we 
have  chosen,  declare  we  did  make. 

The  PUBLIC  EXPENDITURES. 
cannot   fail  to  attract  the  attention   uf 


POT.FTICAL    FACTS 


a  people,  whose  contributions  to  the 
Treasury,  are  jjenerally  extracted  from 
the  sweat  of  their  brow. 

A  repubHc  of  ten  years  old,  we  have 
plung-ed  into  the  extravagance,  and 
runious  funding  systems,  of  old  and 
corrupt  monarchies.  What  think  you 
of  nine  thousand  dollars,  to  furnish  an 
American  Ambassador,  for  appearin-.;; 
with  splendor  at  a  foreign  court?  and 
nine  thousand  more,  for  every  year  he 
is  em])loyed,  in  ])re])aring,  or  settling 
(juarrels  for  us?  A  fifth  part  (wnthin 
a  fraction)  of  the  whole  internal  du- 
ties, raised  in  the  L^nited  States,  is 
swallowed  up  by  the  collectors.^  The 
constitution  requires,  that  a  statement 
and  account  of  the  public  money,  shall 
be  published  from  time  to  time.  Such 
statements  ha\'e  been  made  ;  you  have 
seen  them ;  what  do  you  learn  from 
them?  We  can  answer  for  you; 
nothing  at  all.  Nay  one  thing  you  may 
learn  from  them;  namely,  that  our  fin- 
ancial system,  so  artfully  perplexed, 
dis;)lays  the  ingenuity  of  its  authors; 
but  recjuires  equal  ingenuity,  in  others, 
to  understand  it.  Flow  should  com- 
mon citizens,  comprehend  the  details 
of  it,  when  a  dispute  exists  at  this  mo- 
ment, respecting  the  extent  of  the 
public  debt;  and  men  of  the  first 
talents  differ  to  the  amount  of  ten 
millions  of  dollars?^  This  obscurity 
of  Treasury  accounts,  is  all  in  favor 
of  those  who  are  behind  the  scene; 
and  some  late  discoveries  show,  that 
there  are  men  who  avail  themselves  of 
the  privilege.  Happily  for  America  she 
possesses  a  few  honest  men,  who  have 
made  the  science  of  our  public  ac- 
counts, their  study.  Distinguished 
among  these,  is  the  author  of  View^s 
of  the  public  debt,  &c  of  the  United 
States,  lately  published.  The  author 
by  giving  his  name.^  makes  himself 
responsible  for  the  truth  of  his  posi- 
tions. His  facts  profess  to  be  deduced 
from  reports,  made  to  Congress,  by 
treasury  Oflficers ;  and  are  therefore 
entitled  to  the  fullest  credit.     Among 

3  See  views  of  public  debts,  etc..  p.  41. 

4  Vievs  of  the  public  debt.  p.  .3. 


a  variety  of  interesting  facts,  exhibit- 
ed by  this  author,  we  select  the  fol- 
lowing for  your  meditation,  ])revious 
to  the  ensuing  general   electicMi. 

Vast  sums  of  ])ublic  money  are  in- 
trusted to  agents,  contractors,  pay- 
masters, etc.  The  Treasury  statements 
do  not  inform  us,  save  in  a  few  in- 
stances, what  becomes  of  this  money;  ^ 
whether  it  is  applied  to  its  proper  ob- 
jects; and  what  part  of  it  remains  un- 
accounted for.  Some  accounts,  which 
lately  escaped  from  the  treasurer, 
without  consent  of  the  officers,  sug- 
gest a  reason  why  statements  of  the 
actual  expeditures  are  not  made.  Some 
of  these  depositaries  of  the  public 
treasury,  are  greatly  in  arrears. 

At  a  time  when  government  was 
borrowing  money  at  8  per  cent,  otie 
million  of  dollars  actually  received, 
was  lying  in  the  hands  of  collectors ; 
and  nearly  half  a  million  more,  per 
estimate,  in  the  hands  of  supervisors 
of  the  revenue. 

On  January  ist,  '98,  eigteen  collec- 
tors, out  for  office  owed  to  the  Treas- 
ury 221,  538  dollars  and  9  cents;  and 
of  these  collectors,  sixteen  had  been 
removed,  more  than  one  year.  Com- 
pare these  facts,  fellow  citizens,  and 
then  say,  is  it  uncharitable  to  suppose, 
that  from  one  to  two  millions,  of  the 
public  money,  is  constantly  employed 
by  public  men,  for  private  purposes? 
If  the  principal,  shall  be  finally  paid 
into  the  treasury,  the  interest  at  8  per 
cent,  is  a  loss  to  the  states,  and  a  gain 
to  the  officers,  of  about  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  per  anum. 

From  the  same  luminous  work,  it 
appears,  that  the  hostile  measures, 
taken  by  our  government  against  the 
French  RepubHc,  will  cost  the  United  ' 
States,  eleven  millions  and  a  half  of 
dollars;  a  sum,  sufficient  to  defray  the 
whole  internal  expenses  of  the  govern- 
ment, or  civil  list,  even  at  the  pres- 
ent rate,  for  twenty  years.  Whether 
this  expense  was  conceived  to  be  nec- 
essary, to  the  defence  of  the  United 
States ;  or  whether  it  was  designed  by 
some  men,  for  the  gratification  of  the 

5  Gallatin. 


10 


V  THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


party;  to  increase  its  friends,  and 
crush  its  opponents,  we  will  not  deter- 
mine. To  answer  these  prodigious  de- 
mands, on  the  Treasury,  new  ways 
and  means  were  to  be  sought.  Bor- 
rowing was  a  happy  expedient,  as  it 
did  not  cause  the  people  to  feel  the 
burdens  preparing  for  them.  This 
being  insufficient  and  every  legiti- 
mate object  of  taxation  exhausted, 
stamps,  and  other  taxes  of  the  most 
odious  kind,  were  imposed. 

When  now  the  public  suffering  was 
at  the  height,  and  complaints  begin- 
ning to  break  forth,  the  SEDITION 
LAW  was  enacted,  to  check  their  pro- 
gress. A  free  press,  at  once  the  means 
and  indication  of  a  free  government, 
was  materially  affected  by  this  law. 
Private  character  should  be  sacred  and 
inviolable.  But  the  Official  conduct  of 
public,  responsible  agents,  is  a  fair 
subject  of  investigation,  and  the 
worthy  officer  has  nothing  to  fear 
from  the  scrutiny.  In  an  old  book,  of 
high  authority,  we  read,  that  "every 
one  that  doth  evil,  hateth  the  light, 
neither  cometh  he  to  the  light,  lest  his 
deeds  be  reproved."  Fellow-citizens, 
you  will  form  your  own  opinion  of 
those  officers,  who  intrench  them- 
selves, in  penal  statutes,  and  dare  not 
meet  their  opponents  in  the  open  field. 

The  terrors  of  this  law,  have  been 
sunk,  in  the  alarms  excited  by  an  at- 
tempt to  introduce,  not  by  the  Legis- 
lature of  the  vniion,  but  by  certain 
Judges,  an  undefined  common  law, 
locked  up  in  the  breasts  of  the  Judges, 
or  scattered  through  immense  folios 
Avhich  no  American  citizen  ever  read. 
What  man  can  walk  securely,  who  is 
•obliged  to  pass  blindfolded,  over  burn- 


ing plow-shares,  or  poisoned  dagger 
points?  What  avail  constitutions  for 
the  security  of  life,  liberty  and  pro- 
perty, if  all  may  be  forfeited,  by  the 
violation  of  a  Lew,  which  the  citizen 
knows  not,  and  cannot  know?  Fellow- 
citizens,  if  you  know  any  country  to 
which  these  observations  apply,  any 
Judges,  who  are  party  men,  and  meas- 
ure justice  by  the  varying  standard  of 
political  opinion,  you  will  perhaps 
think  what  it  would  not  be  prudent  for 
us  to  speak. 

Why  should  you  hear  any  more  of 
the  Alien  Law;  the  infractions  of  the 
Constitution ;  the  secret  plans,  for  in- 
troducing a  more  despotic  govern- 
ment ;  or  the  attempt  to  deprive  Penn- 
sylvania of  a  voice  in  the  election  of 
President?  If  the  political  facts  we 
have  stated  are  believed  by  you,  and 
we  firmly  believe  them  all,  and  invite 
you  to  examine  the  authorities  we 
have  cited  in  support  of  them ;  if  you 
believe  these  things,  you  must  join 
with  us,  in  raising  to  places  of  Public 
Trust,  the  Men  who  have  constanth' 
opposed  these  obnoxious  measures.  If 
these  do  not  immediately,  address 
themselves  to  discharge  the  Public 
debt,  to  lessen  the  expenses  of  govern- 
ment, to  cultivate  peace  with  all  na- 
tions ;  to  open  the  door  to  worthy  for- 
eigners, to  come  and  settle  our  for- 
ests, and  share  our  privileges;  we  pro- 
mise to  join  with  you,  in  continuing 
the  rotation  till  the  SOVEREIGNTY 
OF  THE  PEOPLE  SHALL  BE 
RESPECTED,  AND  THEIR  WILL 
OBEYED. 

THOMAS  LONG,  Chairman. 


11 


How  New  Year  is  Observed  by  the  Moravians 

By  Louisa  A.  Weitzel,  Lititz,  Pa. 


X  THEIR  manner  of  ob- 
serving New  Year  as  a 
church  festival  the  Mora- 
vians do  not  differ  as 
much  from  other  denom- 
inations as  in  their  man- 
ner of  observing  Christ- 
mas and  Easter.  However 
there  are  st)me  points  which  are  char- 
acteristic and  always  attract  stran- 
gers. As  in  my  first  article  on  Christ- 
mas I  still  confine  myself  to  Lititz  and 
to  my  personal  experiences  and  those 
of  my  oldest  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances. 

On  New  Year's  Eve  it  was  custo- 
mary to  hold  three  services  in  the 
church  with  an  intermission,  namely 
preaching  at  8  o'clock,  reading  of  the 
memorabilia  and  statistics  (an  elabor- 
ate review  of  the  year's  work)  at  lo 
o'clock  and  the  closing  services  at 
11.30  o'clock. 

Some  of  the  members  served  sugar 
cake  fa  raised  cake,  often  called  Mora- 
vian cake,  made  according  to  a  special 
recipe)  and  coffee  at  their  homes  dur- 
ing the  first  intermission. 

As  far  back  as  I  can  remember  we 
bad  only  two  services,  German  preach- 
ing at  8  o'clock  and  a'n  English  ad- 
dress at  II  o'clock,  while  the  memora- 
bilia were  read  on  the  evening  of  New 
Year's  Day.  This  change  was  made 
because  on  special  occasions  the 
church  was  crowded  with  country 
people  of  all  denominations  or  none 
and  as  the  memorabilia  were  of  no  in- 
terest to  nonMoravians  it  was  thought 
best  to  communicate  them  in  a  con- 
gregational meeting  .The  interval  be- 
tween the  two  services  was  taken  up 
by  the  young  people  especially  in  go- 
ing to  see  Christmas  trees,  this  being 
usually  the  last  night  when  they  were 
illuminated  for  the  benefit  of  sight- 
seers. At  present  the  first  service, 
which  finally  gave  place  to  an  English 
'^ermon.    has     also    been    discontinued 


and  the  ycxing  people  congregate  at 
one  another's  homes,  and  play  games 
until  the  bell  rings  for  the  watch  night 
service. 

The  last  named  was  and  is  the  most 
attractive  service  and  always  brought 
the  crowd.  The  pastor  usually  de- 
livers a  very  stirring  address  which 
is  invariably  interrupted  as  the  clock- 
in  the  steeple  strikes  the  first  stroke  of 
12  with  a  blast  of  horns  like  the 
trump  of  the  last  judgment.  The  sea- 
son, the  hour  and  the  thrilling  words 
of  the  preacher,  broken  off  short,  pro- 
duce a  weird  and  solemn  effect  upon 
the  audience.  These  horns  are  trom- 
bones, played  usually  by  a  band  of 
six  men,  specially  trained  for  this  pur- 
pose. Among  the  Moravians  trom- 
bones are  used  on  various  occasions, 
to  announce  the  death  of  members,  at 
funerals,  lovefeasts.  communion  ser- 
vices, on  New  Year's  Eve  and  on 
Great  Sabbath  before  Easter.  As  the 
horns  strike  up  the  tune  of  "Nun  dan- 
ket  Alle  Gott"  ("Now  thank  we  all 
our  God")  the  whole  congregation 
rises  and  sings  the  hymn  to  their  ac- 
companiment. At  the  conclusion  of 
the  hvmn  all  kneel  and  the  pastor 
leads  in  prayer.  Since  the  erection  of 
the  Mary  Dixon  Memorial  Chapel  at 
Linden  Hall  Seminary,  1883-5  with  its 
three  bells  the  Chapel  bells  are  also 
rung  at  midnight. 

After  the  congregation  arises  the 
minister  reads  the  texts  for  New 
Year's  Day  from  the  Moravian  text 
book  and  the  congregation  sings  an- 
other hymn   and   is   dismissed. 

The  Moravians  always  went 
quietly  to  their  homes  after  the  last 
service,  but  in  time  past  there  Avas  a 
good  deal  of  carousing  by  the  country 
people  which  it  seems  the  former 
could  not  altogether  prevent.  The 
young  men  also  had  a  habit  of  stand- 
ing around  the  church  doors  and  on 
the    stairs    within    on    Christmas    and 


12 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Xew  Year's  Eve.  cracking  their 
whips  and  making  themselves  other- 
wise offensive.  This,  it  is  needless  to 
say,  has  ceased.  They  still  come  but 
behave   like  gentlemen. 

On  New  Year's  Day  a  sermon  is 
jjreached  at  lo  a.  m.  and  the  day  is 
ol)served  as  a  holiday.  In  the  even- 
ing, as  mentioned  before,  the  pastor 
reads    the    memorabilia    and    statistics. 


interspersed  with  the  singing  of 
hymns.  Going  to  see  Christmas  trees, 
was  also  formerly  part  of  the  T;»ro- 
gram  on  New  Year's  Day  and  family 
dinners  and  reunions  were  and  are 
still  customary,  especiall}^  if  for  some 
reason  they  do  not  take  place  on 
Christmas  Day.  The  old  Moravians 
have  not  yet  abandoned  the  habit  of 
making:  New  Year's   calls. 


The  Blessed  Memory  of  Henry  Harbaugh' 
By  Jos.  H.  Dubbs,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 


I 


li  li  li 


T  IS  well  at  times  to  re- 
call the  memory  of  the 
great  and  good  men  who 
have  gone  before  us  and 

have    hardened    the    path 

\flfe7  for   our   feet.     To   Henry 

^^  Harbaugh,       more       than 

any  other  single  man, 
the  Pennsylvania  -  German  Society 
owes  reverence,  for  he  was  in  many 
respects  its  pioneer.  I,  therefore  es- 
teem it  a  privilege  to  bring  my  humble 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  a  man  whom 
I  knew  and  loved,  and  who  deserves 
to  be  called  the  typical  Pennsylvania- 
German. 

Some  time  ago  I  stood  on  the 
porch  of  the  Blue  Mountain  House  at 
Pen-Mar,  almost  on  the  line  between 
I'ennsylvania  and  Maryland,  looking 
(Unvn  u])on  one  of  the  finest  land- 
scapes in  the  world.  A  friend  at  my 
side  reminded  me  that,  almost  at  my 
feet,  I  could  see  an  old-fashioned  farm- 
house which  was  the  birthplace  of 
Henry  Harbaugh.  Near  at  hand 
flashed  the  streamlet  on  whose  banks 
once  stood  the  celebrated  Schulhaus 
an  der  Krick.  The  schoolhouse  is  no 
longer  there — all  that  is  left  is  said  to 
be  the  stump  of  the  old  whiteoak  tree 
that  stood  at  the  door.  You  remember 
I  iarbaugh   says : 

■'Der   Weisseech   steht   noch   an   der   Dhier, 

Macht    Schatte    iwer's    Dach ; 
Die   Trauwerank   is   a"   noch    griie, 
Und's   Amschelnescht— guck  just   mol   hie — 

Was   is   es   doch    en    SachI" 


This  was  the  scene  which  Har- 
baugh. bore  with  him  wherever  he 
went;  it  was  the  source  of  constant 
pain  and  pleasure.  He  says  in  his  own 
version  of  one  of  his  Pennsylvania- 
German  poems : 

"Both  joy  and   sorrow   fill   my   heart, 
E'en  when  I  smile  the  tears  will   start, 
Alas,   how   strange    I    feel." 

He  describes  it  in  his  lecture  on 
"The  Home  Feeling" ;  it  was  the 
theme  of  "Haemweh,"  liis  ■Sweetest 
poem.  Once  a  year,  he  tells  us,  he 
visited  the  old  home,  though  in  later 
years  there  were  but  few  to  bid  him 
welcome.     How  sadly  he  sings  : 

"  'Sis  nimmie  haem  wie's  eemol  wor, 
Und    Kann's    a'    nimmie    Sei'; 
Was   naus   mit   unsere   Eltere    geht 
Kummt    ewig    nimme    nei'." 

Did  I  hear  a  whis])er  that  T  ought 
to  render  these  quotatit)ns  in  an  intel- 
ligible language?  I  should  be  sorry  if 
any  one  failed  to  a])preciate  these 
gems  of  song;  but  after  all  this  matter 
of  talking  English  on  such  occasions 
as  the  present  is,  as  Harbaugh  might 
have  said,  "All  humbuck."  \Vhv  did 
we  even  begin   it,  anyway? 

*A  response  to  a  sentiment  offered  at 
the  banquet  of  the  Pennsylvania-German 
Society,  Lancaster,  November  6,  1908,  in 
honor  of  Henry  Harbaugh,  "who  gave  to 
Pennsylvania-German  literature  a  local 
habitation   and    a   name." 


THE   BLESSED  MEMORY   OF   HENRY   HARBAUGH 


13 


llarbaui^h's  early  surroundings  were 
'  devout  but  not  intellectual.  He  was 
the  tenth  child  of  a  Pennsylvania  - 
German  farmer;  his  people  were  all 
plain  and  unpretentious.  His  early 
instruction  was  such  as  the  neighbor- 
ing schoolhouse  afforded,  and  from  its 
deficiencies  he  suffered  all  his  life.  In 
his  biography  he  is  represented  as 
rather  slow  in  the  acquisition  of  knowl- 
edg'e ;  but  there  must  have  l:)een 
something-  that  distinguished  him 
from  his  fellows.  One  day  the  Rev- 
erend Frederick  A.  Scholl,  of  Green- 
castle,  came  to  his  father's  house ;  and 
as  the  boys  were  standing-  around  him. 
he  laid  his  hands  on  Henry's  head  and 
said:  "This  boy  must  become  a  min- 
ister." To  his  mystical  nature  the 
words  came  as  a  message  from  heaven. 
P'rom  that  moment  he  never  doubted 
with  regard  to  the  main  purpose  of 
his  life ;  but  as  he  grew  older  he 
found  ol^stacles  that  seemed  insur- 
mountable. At  nineteen  he  went 
west  to  seek  his  fortune ;  learned  the 
trade  of  a  carpenter  and  mill-wright ; 
worked  hard  all  day,  but  at  night 
while  his  associates  were  playing 
cards  he  sat  in  a  bolt-chest  and  stud- 
ied Latin  grammar.  When  he  was 
ready  he  went  to  Mercersburg,  with 
a  few  dollars  in  his  pocket,  and  enter- 
ed   Marshall   college. 

He  did  not  at  once  create  a  favor- 
able impression — he  was  older  than 
the  other  students,  and  his  hands 
were  hardened  by  toil  —  even  his 
teachers  did  not  suppose  that  he  pos- 
sessed extraordinary  talents.  There 
is  a  tradition  that  when  for  the  first 
time  he  attended  a  recitation,  he 
stumbled  as  he  entered  the  room 
and  fell  full  length  upon  the  floor. 
.A  few  days  later  he  said  in  a  letter: 
"This  thing  of  studying  Greek  is 
harder   than    splitting   logs." 

In  those  days  there  was  intense 
ri\a]ry  between  the  literary  societies 
<>t  the  college,  and  each  made  stren- 
uous efforts  to  secure  the  new  stu- 
dents. The  Diagnothian  Society,  of 
which  you  and  I,  Mr.  Toastmaster 
(Mr.    Hensel)    are    members,   was   un- 


fortunately represented  as  inclined  to 
fast  living.  Harbaugh  was  told  that 
the  Diagnothians  had  become  .so 
worldly  that  they  no  longer  had  a 
member  who  was  willing  to  open  the 
meetings  with  prayer.  "Ah !"  he  ex- 
claimed, "  that  is  the  society  for  me. 
If  they  are  that  kind  of  fellows,  I 
want  to  pray  with  them  and  for  them." 
So  Harbaugh  became  a  Diagnothian. 
One  day  when  he  was  appointed  to 
read  an  essay  he  surprised  the  society 
by  presenting  an  original  poem, which 
was  at  once  recognized  as  possessing 
a  high  order  of  excellence.  Encourag- 
ed by  its  reception  the  author  began 
to  contribute  to  various  periodicals, 
and  I  am  told  that  upwards  of  fifty  of 
these  early  poems  have  been  identi- 
fied. In  Whittier's  phrase,  they  were 
"dull,  doubtless,  but  with  here  and 
there  a  flash."  At  any  rate,  it  be- 
came evident  that  the  "ugly  duck  " 
was  developing  into  a  swan. 

Without  completing  his  college 
course,  Harbaugh  entered  the  Theo- 
logical Seminary  and  in  due  time  was 
ordained  a  minister.  He  soon  became 
distinguished  as  a  preacher.  His  ser- 
mons were  always  thoughful  but 
clear  and  simple.  He  was  gifted  with 
a  deep,  melodious  voice,  and  some 
one  said  that  his  preaching  sounded 
like  the  waves  of  the  ocean  beating 
upon  the  shore.  Successively  he  hekl 
pastorates  at  Lewisburg,  Lancaster 
and  Lebanon,  concluding  his  career  in 
1867,  aged  fifty  years,  as  professor  in 
the  Theological  Seminary  at  Mercers- 
burg. 

It  w^as  while  he  was  pastor  at 
Lewisburg  that  Harbaugh  began  the 
publication  of  The  Guardian,  an  un- 
denominational magazine,  devoted  to 
the  best  interests  of  young  men  and 
women.  He  had  few  subscribers  and 
very  little  money.  Indeed,  he  remain- 
ed poor  all  his  life,  having  come  to  the 
conclusi(^n  as  he  said,  that  "it  would 
not  nay  to  make  money."  He  found- 
ed The  Guardian  because  he  was  con- 
vinced that  the  people  of  Penn.syl- 
vania  needed  more  culture,  and  that  it 
had  better  be  conveyed  to  them   from 


14 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


within  than  without.  For  sixteen 
years  he  g-ave  his  best  thought  to  this 
magazine,  and  it  is  not  too  much  to 
say  that  The  Guardian  made  Dr.  Har- 
baugh. 

It  was  here  in  Lancaster  that  I  first 
made  Dr.  Harbaugh's  acquaintance. 
I  besides  working  Hke  a  giant  in  other 
lines  he  found  time  to  devote  a  great 
(leal  of  attention  to  the  students  of  the 
college.  He  visited  them  in  their 
rooms,  and  cultivated  in  them  a  cer- 
tain confidence  which  led  to  higher 
things.  One  day  he  came  to  my  room 
and  took  his  seat  at  my  table.  He  had 
heard  somewhere  that  I  had  written 
some  trifles  for  publication,  so  he 
said  abruptly :  "I  want  to  see  your 
])ort-folio;  perhaps  I  can  find  some- 
thing that  will  be  suitable  for  The 
Guardian.  In  a  few  minutes  he  found 
what  he  wanted,  and  put  it  in  his 
])ocket  without^  formal  permission; 
then  he  turned  to  me  and  said :  "T 
want  you  to  keep  on  writing.  Do  not 
write  for  fame,  for  that  is  vain,  if  not 
wicked ;  and  do  not  write  for  money, 
tor  you  will  probably  be  disappointed; 
but  write  for  the  advancement  of  your 
own  people,  for  that  is  acceptable  to 
God." 

Here  I  think  ^ve  have  the  key  to 
Dr.  Harbaugh's  labors  and  success. 
It  was  the  home-feeling — the  love  of 
his  people —  that  led  him  to  labor  so 
mightily  in  their  behalf.  It  was  this 
sentiment  that  led  him  to  write  not 
only  the  "Annals  of  the  Harbaugh 
Famil}-,"  but  the  "Fife  of  Schlatter" 
and  the  "Fathers  of  the  Reformed 
("hurch."  He  was  convinced  that  pas- 
tors and  people  needed  to  think  more 
])rofoundly,  so  b}^  intense  study  he  be- 
came a  philosopher  in  order  to  guide 
them  ;  and  we  have  the  authority  of 
Dr.  Schaff  for  saying  that  he  was  one 
of  the  ablest  thinkers  in  the  land.  He 
loved  the  faith  of  his  fathers,  but  also 
recognized  the  fact  that  in  many 
places  it  had  become  hard  and  even 
fossilized;  so  he  wrote  his  popular 
volumes   on    the   Heavenly   Home,   be- 


sides a  number  of  devotional  works. 
To  enrich  the  worship  of  his  people 
he  became  the  author  of  the  hymns 
which  are  found  in  all  the  hymn- 
books  of  which  the  best — as  most 
fully  expressive  of  his  faith  —  is 
"  Jesus,  I  live  to  Thee."  Last  of  all 
he  took  up  our  home-life,  and  pro- 
duced the  exquisite  Pennsylvania- 
German  lyrics,  which  still  remain  the 
most  complete  expression  of  the  beau- 
ties of  our  vernacular. 

Dr.  Harbaugh  was  a  man  of  strong 
convictions,  and  never  hesitated  to 
express  them.  Fle  took  an  active  part 
in  all  the  great  controversies  of  the 
day.  In  his  long  fight  against  Slavery. 
Intemperance  and  other  evils,  he  may 
sometimes  have  used  words  which 
might  better  have  remained  unspoken. 
I  once  heard  him  preach  a  sermon  on 
the  text,  "So  fight  I^  not  as  one  that 
beateth  the  air,"  during  which  it  oc- 
curred to  me  that  he  must  have  beat- 
en his  enemies  black  and  blue.  He 
was  as  brave  as  a  lion,  but  could  be  as 
tender  as  a  loving  mother.  He  was 
always  cheerful,  and  I  have  never  met 
another  man  who  could  relate  so 
many  humorous  stories.  In  brief,  he 
hated  cant  and  pretence  in  all  their 
forms  ;  and  though  profoundly  humble 
it  might  have  been  said  of  him.  as  was 
said  of  another,  that  he  never  feared 
the  face  of  man. 

Dr.  Harbaugh's  faith  was  unwaver- 
ing and  joyous  to  the  end.  On  his 
death-bed  some  one  inquired  concern- 
ing his  anticipations  of  the  world  to 
come,  and  he  replied  :  "I  attended  to 
all  that  long  ago,  and  am  safe  in  my 
Father's  hands." 

It  is  well,  as  we  have  said,  to  call 
to  mind  the  labors  and  triumphs  of 
those  who  have  gone  before  us.  Few 
of  the  present  generation  may  be  able 
to  accomplish  as  much  as  Dr.  Har- 
baugh ;  but  it  is  eminently  proper  that 
this  assembly,  which  represents  in  a 
peculiar  sense  the  people  whom  he 
was  proud  to  call  his  own.  should  not 
fail   to  do  honor  to  his  memory. 


lo 


Salem  Church,  Monroe  County,  Pa. 

By  Rev.  A.  C.  Wuchter.  Gilbert,  Pa. 


"WECHQUETANK."     ITS    EARLIEST 
HISTORY 


MONG  the  hills  and  dales 
of  Monroe  County,  Pa., 
no  lovelier  spot  can  be 
found  than  that  section 
known  as  Pleasant  Val- 
ley. In  historic  interest 
it  occupies  a  ])rominent 
place.  It  lies  within  the 
hounds  of  the  famous  "Walking-  Pur- 
chase" of  1737;  an  event  which  justly 
aroused  the  anger  of  the  Indians  and 
resulted  eighteen  years  later,  in  the 
massacre  of  many  of  the  early  settlers. 
Within  sight  of  this  church  stood  an 
Indian  village,  called  Wechquetank, 
the  home  of  CaptaTn  Harris,  a  noted 
Delaware  Chief.  The  word  Wechque- 
tank signifies  in  the  Delaware  tongue 
a  species  of  willow  which  grows  abun- 
dantly along  the  creek  nearby. 

Cai)t.  Harris  had  six  sons :  Teed}^- 
uscung,  Capt.  John,  young  Capt.  Har- 
ris, Tom,  Joe  and  Sam  Evans.  Teedy- 
nscung  became  the  noted  chieftain  of 
the  Delaware  Indians  of  this  section, 
who  afterwards  planned  the  aggres- 
sive campaign  against  the  white  set- 
tlers along  the  Blue  Mountains.  He 
was  baptized  at  Gnadenhutten,  (Le- 
highton),  March  12,  1750,  by  the 
Moravian  Bishop  Cammerhofif,  when 
he  received  the  name  of  Gideon. 

Bishop  CammerhofT  wrote  in  his 
diary:  "Today  I  baptized  Teedyus- 
cung,  a  pre-eminently  great  sinner." 
In  spite  of  his  ba))tism,  Teedyuscung 
remained  a  great  sinner.  Through  his 
instigation  his  minions  fell  upon 
Gnadenhuetten.  November  24,  1755, 
and  destroyed  the  place,  killing-  and 
burning  the  defenseless  dwellers 
along  the  Mahoning.  His  baptism 
had  thrown  a  halo  of  sanctity  over  the 
place.  His  recorded  speeches  made  at 
Easton.  1757-58,  give  proof  that,  like 
Logan  and  Tecumsch,  he  was  endow- 


ed with  remarkable  powers  of  mind. 
He  was  burned  to  death  at  Wyoming, 
.\])ril  19,  1763.  Some  of  his  Indian 
enemies  came  to  his  place  for  a  few 
days  and  freely  distributing  liquor  set 
fire  to  his  lodge  while  he  lay  in  a 
drunken  stupor.  Of  the  other  sons  of 
Captain  Harris  little  need  be  said. 
Capt.  John  was  chief  of  a  Delaware 
village  where  Nazareth  now  stands. 
Of  Sam  Evans  it  is  reported  that 
when  he  visited  his  relatives  at  Wech- 
quetank it  was  necessary  to  make  an 
investigation  lest  rum  had  been  smug- 
gled into  the  mission  station. 

THE  HOETH  FAMILY  AND  THE  FRENCH 
AND    INDIAN    WAR 

Rev.  Eugene  Leibert  states  in  his 
sketch  of  Wechquetank  that  in  1750 
some  members  of  the  Moravian 
Church  in  Philadelphia  purchased 
land  here  and  that  at  least  two  fam- 
ilies soon  after  located  upon  their  pro- 
perties, viz :  Frederick  floeth  and 
Philip  Serfass.  Hoeth  came  from 
Zweibriicken,  Germany,  in  1748.  He 
set  out  from  Philadelphia,  Nov.  13, 
1750.  His  tract  contained  over  1300 
acres.  In  1753  Christian  Boemper, 
of  Bethlehem,  married  one  of  Hoeth's 
daughters  and  settled  on  his  tract  of 
500  acres,  one-half  mile  from  his 
father-in-law.  In  1754  Philip  Serfass 
came  from  Philadelphia  and  settled 
nearby.  Hoeth  must  have  been  a  man 
of  means,  for,  besides  his  house  and 
stables,  he  erected  a  grist  and  saw 
mill,  as  well  as  a  blacksmith  shop. 
The  men  who  operated  these  lived  in 
separate  dwellings  near  his  own.  The 
intended  settling  of  these  men  "be- 
yond the  mountains"  was  at  first  dis- 
approved of  by  the  Moravian  Church 
authorities  at  Philadelphia.  Hoeth, 
however,  gave  a  lovefeast  as  a  fare- 
well to  the  whole  congregation  on  the 
Siuulay       preceding      his        departure. 


16 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Hoeth's  daughter,  Marianna,  in  her 
autobiography,  describes  her  father  as 
a  pious  and  God  fearing  man,  whose 
spiritual  concern  for  his  family  first 
induced  him  to  emigrate  to  America 
and  that  the  same  pious  resolution 
moved  him  to  seek  a  home  in  the  wil- 
derness, finding  even  Philadelphia  not 
a  safe  place  to  rear  his  family. 

Not  long  were  they  permitted  to  en- 
joy the  seclusion  of  their  new  found 
home,  for  on  the  tenth  of  December, 
1755,  sixteen  days  after  the  massacre 
at  Gnadenhuetten,  a  band  of  Indians 
fell  upon  the  family  while  at  supper. 
Mr.  fioeth,  his  wife,  who  was  brutally 
mutilated,  and  a  little  daughter,  as 
well  as  another  girl  and  two  unarmed 
men  were  killed  and  scalped.  Three 
of  Hoeth's  daughters,  as  well  as  the 
wife  and  two  daughters  of  Heiss,  the 
blacksmith,  were  taken  prisoners.  One 
Indian  was  killed  by  Heiss  who  es- 
caped. All  the  buildings,  together 
with  those  of  Boemper,  were  burned 
to  the  ground.  Boemper,  with  his 
family,  fled  to  Bethlehem.  Philip  Ser- 
fass.  and  his  family,  escaped  to  Naz- 
areth. He  returned  afterwards  and 
died  in  1786.  A  family  by  the  name 
of  Keiser,  was  also  murdered  not  far 
from  the  Monroe  Shupp  farm.  John 
Michael  Hute,  a  mill  apprentice,  es- 
caped by  way  of  the  tail  race,  and  two 
days  after  made  a  deposition  of  the 
murder  before  \Mlliam  Parsons,  a 
Justice  of  the  Peace,  at  Easton. 

December  14,  1755,  Captains  Doll 
and  Jennings  (of  Walking  Purchase 
fame)  came  to  look  after  and  bury  the 
dead.  January  15,  1756,  William  C. 
Reichel  reports  in  "Friedenthal"'  that 
a  company  of  refugees  set  out  to  look 
after  their  farms  and  cattle,  among 
them  Chr.  Boemper,  the  son-in-law  of 
Hoeth.  The  party,  escorted  by  some 
soldiers  from  Capt.  Trump's  Com- 
pany, then  stationed  at  Fort  Hamil- 
ton (Stroudsburg),  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  Indians  near  the  Mill.  The 
killed  were  Chr.  Boemper,  Feltv 
Hold,  Michael  PTold.  Lawrence  Kun- 
kle  and  four  soldiers. 

January    25,     1756,     Benj.     Franklin 


wrote  to  Gov.  Morris  that  he  would 
erect  a  fort  at  "Surfoss."  This  was 
Fort  Norris,  about  two  miles  from 
here.  It  was  named  after  Isaac  Nor- 
ris. who  ordered  the  inscription :  Pro- 
claim lil:)erty,  etc.,  to  be  put  on  the 
-Old  Liberty  Bell"  in  Philadelphia. 

January  29,  1756,  about  four  hun- 
dred refugees  were  billeted  at  Naz- 
areth and  other  Moravian  settlments 
from  Contended  (?)  Valley,  McMic- 
hael's  Creek  and  Dansbury  (East 
Stroudsburg).  Among  these  were 
the  Eisemans,  Geisleys,  Hecks,  Hes- 
ses,  Heisses,  Heimans,  Hofifmans. 
Huths,  Kunkles,  Schulses,  Serfasses. 
Sylvases  and  Weisers.  Among  those 
who  received  aid  in  i755-'56  from  con- 
tributions sent  to  the  Moravian  settle- 
ments for  distribution  w^e  find  the  fol- 
lowing names  from  these  sections : 
Serfass,  Hoeth,  Costenbader,  Kunkle. 
Staley,  Schrupper,  Weiser.  Andre. 
Keenz,  Keller,  Segle,  etc. 

June  23,  1756,  James  Young,  com- 
missary, passed  through  this  place 
stopping'  at  Fort  Norris,  on  his  way 
from  Fort  Allen  to  Fort  Hamilton, 
stopping  at  Bozzart's  for  the  night. 
One  name  of  the  early  settlers  not  yet 
mentioned  is  that  of  the  Christman 
famil3^  Nov.  9,  1756,  in  a  deposition 
made  at  Easton.  Leonard  Weeser 
states  that  he  saw  at  Diahoga  while 
a  prisoner  amongst  the  Indians,  a  boy 
of  Henry  Christman.  from  near  Fort 
Xorris.  Stephen  Hawk,  an  aged  mem- 
ber of  this  congregation,  remembers 
seeing  this  same  person  as  well  as 
some  incidents  he  related  of  his  cap- 
tivity. A  companion  by  the  name  of 
Correll.  taken  at  the  same  time,  never 
returned.  They  were  captured  while 
riding  through  the  creek  at  Little 
Gap. 

These  facts  give  evidence  that  there 
was  a  considerable  sprinkling  of  set- 
tlers throughout  this  section  at  a  very 
early  date.  Already  in  1794  a  petition 
was  made  by  the  inhabitants  north  of 
the  Blue  Mountains  for  a  new  county. 
In  the  petition  submitted,  it  is  stated 
that  upwards  of  300  persons  lived  in 
remote   parts   who   ought    to    be    tax- 


SALEM   CHURCH,   MONROE   COUNTY,   PA. 


r 


ables  and   whi)  had   so   far   never   per- 
formed  an}'    military   service. 

W  lien  Cien.  Snllivan's  army  return- 
ed from  W'yomini^"  in  1779.  his  wagon 
train,  instead  of  following  the  main 
army,  returned  from  near  Stoddarts- 
\-ille  through  this  place  by  w^ay  of  the 
■'()ld  Shupp  Fxoad"  on  to  Sciota 
where  Sulli\'an   awaited  them. 

WECHQUETANK    AS    A    MORAVIAN    MIS- 
SION   STATION 

Count  Zinzendorf,  on  his  first  jour- 
ney of  inspection  among  the  red  men 
came  to  this  place  in  1742.  lie  left 
l>ethlehem  with  six  brethren  and  two 
sisters,  one  his  daughter,  lleiiigna, 
then  seventeen  years  old,  and  an  In- 
dian interjireter.  He  reached  this 
place  July  2"].  The  missionaries  Sey- 
fert.  Xitschman  and  Seidel  were  here 
in  October.  1743,  followed  by  Bishop 
M.  de  Watteville.  in  1748.  Others 
ministered  to  the  wants  of  the  set- 
tlers up  to  the  time  of  the  Hoeth  mas- 
sacre. For  four  or  five  years  after  this 
the  settlment  remained  a  waste, weeds 
and  brambles  covering  the  once  culti- 
\ated  fields  around  the  Hoeth  and 
IJoemper  homesteads. 

In  1760  the  Moravian  authorities  re- 
solved to  establish  a  settlement  here 
for  the  Indian  converts  from  the  Ma- 
honing, at  that  time  located  near 
liethlehem  and  Xazareth.  According- 
1\-  the  Hoeth  and  Boemper  properties, 
nearh'  1400  acres  in  extent  were  pur- 
chased from  the  administrator.  April 
2~^.  1760.  Joachim  Senseman  and  John 
Joseph  Bull,  otherwise  Shebosh,  ar- 
rived with  their  company  of  Indians. 
The  latter  spent  the  night  along  a 
fence  left  standing  on  Hoeth's  place, 
whilst  the  missionaries  went  to 
Boemper's  place,  about  half  a  mile 
further  north,  to  put  u])  their  horses 
for  the  night.  The  Indians  next 
morning  killed  two  deer  providing 
fresh  meat  for  several  days.  Dwel- 
lings w^ere  erected  and  the  logs  from 
lioemper's  spring  house  were  used  in 
the  erection  of  a  meeting  house  which 
was  dedicated  June  26  by  Martin 
Mack.  who.  with  his  wife,  arrived  the 


exening  before.  .Already,  June  13. 
Uisho)  S  iaiigenberg  and  l>ro.  John  J. 
.Schmick.  with  their  wives,  \isited  the 
l)lace.  ins,)ecting  the  graxeyard  and 
the  difi'erent  sites  chosen  for  building 
purposes.  The  next  day  Bishop 
.*>  >angenberg  preached,  when  he  re- 
ceixed  into  church  fellowship  the 
W  idow  l"jumy.  a  half  sister  of  Teed- 
yuscung.  This  was  followed  by  the 
Ldd's  .Sui)per.  the  first  ever  held  in 
this   place. 

July  ly.  1760.  Tobias,  an  Indian 
1)  )\-,  thirteen  years  old,  died  and  on 
the  2(jth  the  graveyard  was  staked  off. 
The  funeral  and  dedication  took  place 
in  the  evening.  Four  Indians  carried 
the  body  to  the  grave.  The  custom  of 
holding  early  morning  services  every 
Easterday  in  Chapel  and  graveyard 
were  observed.  This  graveyard  seems 
to  have  been  used  as  late  as  1842.  Rev. 
Decker,  in  a  communication,  dated 
March  21.  1848.  published  in  "Die 
Biene,"  a  bi-weekly  paper  issued  at 
Bethlehem,  writes:  "Not  far  from 
where  Hoeth's  house  stood  lies  the 
old  graveyard,  which,  alas,  is  in  the 
same  neglected  condition  as  that  at 
Gnadenhuetten.  F'ences  are  tumbling- 
down,  thorns  and  thistles  overgrow 
the  graves,  and  cattle  wonder  about 
therein  at  will.  About  six  years  ago 
I  buried  the  aged  widows  of  George 
Huth  in  the  Old  Hernnhuter  grave- 
yard." This  was  the  sister-in-law  of 
Adam  Huth,  who  lost  an  arm  in  the 
fight  with  the  Indians  when  Christian 
Boemper  was   killed. 

The  mission  w^ork  of  the  Brethren 
was  not  allowed  to  prosper  lofig.  The 
breaking  out  of  hostilities  in  1763 
obliged  them  to  withdraw.  Aroused 
by  the  atrocities  committed  here  and 
there,  the  border  settlers  threatened 
to  blot  out  the  "  Moravian  Indians,  " 
as  they  were  called,  presuming  that 
they  were  in  league  with  the  enemy. 
Prominent  among  those  who  threaten- 
ed was  the  Scotch-Irish  element  be- 
yond the  Blue  Alountain.  August  20. 
1763.  Zacharias,  his  wife  and  little 
child,  and  Zippora,  Christian  Indians 
from       "\^'echquetank.      were      cruelly 


18 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


murdered  by  drunken  soldiers  near 
Lehigh  Gap  while  on  their  way  to 
Long  Island,  an  Indian  village  on  the 
Susquehanna.  Zacharias  had  four 
brothers  who  lived  here  and  afraid 
they  would  wreak  vengeance  three 
different  parties  of  militia  came  to 
destroy  the  village.  With  great  dififi- 
culty  the  missionaries  prevented  a 
disaster. 

October  9,  1763,  after  the  murder 
of  John  Stenton  and  Capt.  Wetter- 
holt,  another  company  of  soldiers  ap- 
peared, intending  to  massacre  all  the 
Indians  living  here,  from  thirty  to 
forty  in  number.  The  massacre,  how- 
ever, was  prevented  only  by  the  ear- 
nest entreaties  of  Missionary  Grube, 
Avho  however,  soon  fled  to  Nazareth 
with  his  flock,  leaving  the  village  and 
stores  of  corn  behind.  Several  wagon 
loads  of  Indian  effects  and  some  corn 
were  however  saved.  Soon  after  the 
torch  was  applied  and  the  village 
burned  to  the  ground.  Scarcely  had 
the  Indians  left  when  the  white  set- 
tlers of  the  neighborhood  petitioned 
the  Governor  at  Philadelphia  to  re- 
turn them  or  send  an  adequate  force 
for  protection.  The  whites  had  more 
confidence  in  the  Indians  as  a  defence 
than  a  few  soldiers  of  questionable 
character.  Cattle  from  Christian- 
spring  were  pastured  upon  the  aban- 
doned lands  until  about  the  beginning 
of  the  last  century  when  they  Avere 
cut  up  into  farms  and  sold. 

The  missionaries  at  Wechquetank 
were  as  follows:  Joachim  Senseman, 
John  Joseph  Shebosh.  with  his  In- 
dian wife,  Christiana ;  Anton,  a  native 
helper,  and  Christian  Fred.  Post,  who 
afterwards  played  such  a  prominent 
part  in  the  capture  of  Fort  Duquesne, 
under  Gen.  Forbes,  in  1758.  His  In- 
dian wife  was  a  sister-in-law  to  Tach- 
gokanhelle,  the  oldest  son  of  Teedyus- 
cung.  Bernhard  Adam  Grube,  with 
his  wife,  arrived  Oct.  18,  1760.  The 
flavor  of  literary  romance  also  clings 
to  Wechquetank.  While  here  Grube 
translated  the  "Harmony  of  the  Four 
Gospels  "  into  the  Delaware  Indian 
language.     At  Memiolagomeka.  (Kun- 


kletown),  he  had  already  translated 
many  hymns  into  the  Indian  tongue. 
It  was  at  this  time  that  his  "Essay  of 
a  Delaware  Indian  Hymn  Book"  was 
printed. 

PRESENT   BEGINNINGS 

It  is  impossible  to  state  when  the 
first  religious  services  were  held  re- 
sulting in  the  present  church  organi- 
zation. Efforts  in  this  direction,  apart 
from  the  Moravian  attempts,  date 
back  in  Monroe  County  as  far  as  Au- 
gust 23,  1737,  in  Smithfield,  1763,  in 
Hamilton,  and  October  27,  1779,  at 
Kunkletown.  David  Brainerd  labor- 
ed in  Smithfield  after  1741.  Rev.  J.  A. 
Friderici,  (Luth.),  also  labored  there 
in  1760,  as  well  as  in  Hamilton,  1763. 
Rev.  Van  Buskirk  (Luth.),  appears  on 
the  Kunkletown  Church  Record,  1783. 
E.  J.   Eyerman,   (Ref.).,   1789. 

It  is  self-evident  that  services 
were  held  in  this  neighborhood  prior 
to  1800.  Tradition  tells  us  that  ser- 
vices were  held  in  a  barn  where  the 
road  leads  to  the  mill  from  near  the 
Tract  residence.  As  already  stated  a 
considerable  population  must  have 
existed  before  1800,  in  these  parts 
since  most  of  the  family  names  extant 
are  found  in  the  Hamilton  and  Kun- 
kletown Church  Records  since  1768 
and   1779. 

The  ground  upon  which  this  church 
stands  was  donated  by  Philip  Shupp 
and  Richard  Peters,  of  Philadelphia, 
each  one  granting  two  acres. 

Philip  Shupp  was  a  grandson  of 
Henry  Shupp.  who  together  with  his 
family,  landed  at  Philadelphia,  Sept. 
17'  1753-  His  name  also  appears 
among  petitioners  to  the  Governor  of 
Pennsylvania  for  arms  and  ammuni- 
tion Oct.  5,1757.  The  names  of  Henry. 
Abraham  and  Philip  Shupp  are  found 
as  communicant  members  of  the 
Lutheran  Church  on  the  Hamilton 
Church  Record  for  the  year  1774.  The 
two  latter  names  are, also  found  on  the 
Kunkletown  Record.  This  fact  to- 
gether with  the  donation  of  two  acres 
of  ground  on  the  part  of  Philip  Shupp 
shows  that  the  famih-  was  laudably 
interested  in  Zion  and  the  necessity  of 


SALEM  CHURCH,   MONROE  COUNTY,   PA. 


19 


cliurcli   privilei^es  in   their  midst. 

Richard  Peters  was  born  in  Liver- 
pool ,  Enoiand.  about  1705.  At  the 
age  of  fifteen  he  graduated  fromWest- 
minster  School,  London.  He  attend- 
ed Leyden  University  for  three  years 
and  afterwards  studied  law  at  the  In- 
ner Temple,  London.  By  permission 
of  his  father  he  studied  for  the  minis- 
try and  was  ordained  in  173 1  by  the 
IJishop  of  Winchester.  In  1735  he 
came  to  Philadelphia  and  was  ap- 
pointed assistant  to  Dr.  Cummings  of 
Christ  Church.  In  1737  he  resigned 
and  began  the  practice  of  law.  In 
1742  he  became  Provincial  Secretary 
and  Clerk  of  the  Council.  Later  he 
Avas  appointed  President  of  the  Acad- 
emy. After  much  urging  on  the 
part  of  his  former  parishoners,  as  well 
as  Dr.  Muhlenberg,  Peters  again  re- 
entered the  ministry  in  1763,  Muh- 
lenberg, the  Lutheran  patriarch,  and 
Dr.  Peters  were  intimate  friends. 
They  had  the  highest  regards  for 
each  other.  As  the  guest  of  Muhlen- 
berg, Peters  preached  for  him  at  New 
Providence,  Aug.  10,  1760.  He  also 
])reached  at  the  dedication  of  Zion 
Lutheran  Church,  Philadelphia,  June 
26.  1769. 

As  the  agent  of  the  Penn  family, 
Peters  bought  and  sold  extensive 
tracts  of  land,  especially  what  was 
then  Northampton  County.  In  1750 
he  laid  claim  to  the  land  where  Kun- 
kletown  now  stands.  In  1764  he  sold 
land  in  Hamilton  Township,  which 
shows  that  he  still  had  holdings  after 
his  return  to  the  ministry.  Richard 
Peters  died  July  10,  1776.  His  dona- 
tion must  therefore  have  been  made 
before  that  time,  thus  antedating  the 
huilding  of  the  first  church  for  at  least 
thirty  years. 

If  the  deed  to  these  four  acres 
could  be  found  it  would  certain!}' 
clear  uv  this  part  of  the  history  of 
Salem  Church.  The  fact  of  this  dona- 
tion would  certainly  not  have  been  in- 
scribed upon  the  pages  of  the  Church 
Record,  had  the  fathers  not  had  good 
reasons  for  doing  so.  If  we  cannot 
give   Dr.   Peters  any    greater    honors, 


let  us  at  least  inscribe  his  name  to- 
gether with  that  of  Philip  Shupp. 
prominently  upon  the  Record  of 
Salem  Church. 

THE   FIRST  CHURCH— 1806 

This  was  a  log-building  and  stood 
northeast  from  the  present  church  on 
grounds  now  occupied  b}''  the  ceme- 
tery. The  corner-stone  was  laid  Nov, 
14,'  1806.  Rev.  F.  W.  Van  der  Slott 
preached  on  i  Peter  2  :6.  The  dedica- 
tion took  place  September  6,  1808.  The 
clergy  and  people  moved  in  formal 
procession  from  the  schoolhouse  to 
the  church.  The  hymn  :  "Sei  Lob  und 
Ehr  dem  hoechstem  Gut,"  was  sung. 
The  order  observed  was :  The  clergy. 
The  bulling  committee,  elders  and  dea- 
cons, followed  b}^  the  laity.  The  min- 
isters present  wxre :  F.  W.  Van  der 
Sloot  and  Thos.  Pomp  (Ref.),  John 
Casper  Dill  and  Chr.  Endress  (Luth). 
All  of  these  made  appropriate  addres- 
ses. The  name  solemnly  given  the 
new  church  was  Salem — ''the  church 
of  peace."  The  names  of  the  building 
committee  were  Geo.  Kunkle  and  John 
Serfass  (Luth.),  Jacob  Everitt  and 
I'hili]j  Kresge  (Ref).  That  the  origi- 
nal draft  of  the  constitution,  adopted 
Nov.  14,  1806,  was  deposited  in  the 
corner-stone  the  following  names  tes- 
tify to :  Abraham  Shupp,  George  Getz, 
Frederick  Miller,  Jacob  Doffert  and 
Henry  Everitt. 

Nicholas     Esch     and    Peter    Shupp 
were   appointed   a     finance     committee 
July  17,   1808.     They  reported  Aug.  8. 
of  the   same  3'ear   as   follows : 
Total   expenses  $1062.08 

Receipts  in  cash,  57678 

Receipts   in    labor,  242.71 

C^orner-stone   laying.        21.85     i"- 
Glass  &  lumber  sold.       3.54 


$844.88  1-2 

Balance  due.  $217.19  1-2 

Balance  due.  $217.19  1-2 

At  an  accounting  held  Feb.  11,  1815. 

at  the  house    of    George    Kresge    the 

congregation   still   owed    the    building 

committee    loi    pounds.    los.    Sept.   25. 

1815,    at    another    so-called    final    set- 


20 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


llement  at  the  house  of  Lawrence 
Serfass  the  debt  amounted  to  loyp.- 
iis.-8d.  At  this  settlement  the  cost  of 
the  parchment  and  writing  of  the 
Deed  is  jjiven  as  17  shiUing-s  and  6 
])ence. 

Dec.  10.  1820,  members  of  the  Luth- 
eran congregation  consulted  with  re- 
presentatives from  the  Reformed  side 
concerning  the  purchase  of  a  Luth- 
eran parsonage.  The  Reformed  signi- 
hed  their  willingness  provided  the 
same  courtesy  be  extended  to  them  in 
securing  a  home  for  the  Reformed  pas- 
tor. It  was  so  agreed.  The  signers 
to  this  covenant  were  John  Bonser. 
Geo.  Shupp,  and  Henry  Shupp. 
( Luth.)  ;  Philip  Kresge,  William 
Kresge,  David  Borger,  Henry  Everitt 
and  another  signer  w'hose  name  is  in- 
decipherable, (Ref.).  No  notice  is 
found  of  further  action.  The  Lutheran 
congregation  however  ccmtributed  to- 
ward the  Hamilton  parsonage  which 
\vas  built  in  1837,  whilst  the  Reformed 
secured  one  near  Effort.  The  two  con- 
gregations however  are  without  par- 
sonages at  present. 

Sept.  5.  1827,  anttther  settlement 
was  made  by  the  building  committee 
and  trustees  at  the  schoolhouse  when 
the  principal  of  the  debt  remaining 
\\as  $71.75,  and  the  accrued  interest 
amcnmted  to  ^7,^-7^.  The  trustees  at 
this  time  were  Joseph  Trach  and 
i'elix  A\'eiss  (Ret.),  and  John  Kueh- 
iier  and  Jacob  Dorshimer  (Luth). 
John  Serfass,  one  of  the  building  com- 
mittee died  in  1825.  Before  this  time 
collectors  were  apDointed  to  secure 
funds  for  the  liquidation  of  the  debt. 
They  reported  $479.27  1-2,  of  which 
S35.29  1-2  had  been  collected  from 
"outsiders."  Strangely  enough,  the 
collection  ($100.00)  lifted  at  the  dedi- 
cation of  the  church,  twenty  years  be- 
fore, is  re])orte(l  in  this  list. 

March  24.  1828.  the  building  com- 
mittee held  another  meeting,  but  un- 
al)le  to  agree,  the  following  committee 
i>f  adjustment  was  selected:  ]\Iichael 
Misner,  Esq.,  Jacob  Frantz,  Esq., 
ilenry  ^'oung,  Esq..  Jacob  Frantz. 
Es(|..    lienr\'  '^'onngkin   and    Tohn   Kel- 


ler, Esq.  These  with  the  exception  of 
-Michael  Alisner,  met  at  the  house  of 
(;ieo.  Kresge.  April  18,  1828,  and  ad- 
justed the  various  claims  as  follows: 
John  Serfass  estate.  $37.26,  Geo.  Kun- 
kle  $10.11,  Philip  Kresge,  $17.68,  and 
Jacob  Everitt  $2.13. 

THE  SECOND  CHURCH— 1872 
After  a  few  preliminary  meetings  it 
was  resolved  at  a  congregational  meet- 
ing, Aug.  3,  1871,  "  to'^  build  a  new 
church  the  following  year.  Material 
for  this  purpose  was  to  be  secured  at 
<:)nce.  The  following  building  com- 
mittee was  appointed :  John  Snyder 
and  Reuben  Gregory,  (Ref.),  Chas.  J. 
Shafer  and  Chas.  Shupp  (Luth.).  The 
committee  on  church  plans  consisted 
of  Joseph  Gruber,  Peter  S.  Altenmose. 
David  Shupp  and  Levi  C.  Shupp  to- 
gether with  the  respective  pastors : 
Revs.  Struntz  and   Becker. 

The  committee  met  Aug.  15,  1871, 
in  open  meeting  when  twelve  resolu- 
tions were  presented  and  adonted. 
Amongst  other  things  it  was  ordered 
that  the  new  church  retain  the  name 
of  Salem  ;  that  every  member  on  both 
sides  do  his  or  her  duty ;  that  none, 
with  the  exception  of  the  widows  and 
orphans  in  distress,  were  considered 
too  poor  to  contribute  toward  the  ex- 
penses; that  all  who  refuse  to  contri- 
bute anything  up  to  the  time  the 
church  is  finished  shall  no  longer  be 
considered  as  members  but  as  volun- 
tarily excluded  ;  that  all  who  neglect- 
ed to  contribute,  though  able  to  do  so, 
shall  have  from  henceforth  no  claim 
uDon  the  church,  the  cemetery,  etc. ; 
that  this  church  shall  be  for  the  ex- 
clusive use  of  the  Lutheran  and  Re- 
formed congregations  and  that  no 
minister  of  any  other  denc^mination 
shall  have  the  right  to  Dreach,  officiate 
or  ]K'rf<irm  any  services  whatever, 
either  in  the  church  or  on  the  ceme- 
tery :  and  finally  that  these  resolu- 
tions be  read  from  the  i)ulpit  by  the 
resnective  pastors. 

That  the  aI:)o\c  resolutions  were 
adonted  after  a  th(irough  discussion 
is   affirmed    and    su1)scribed   to   bv   the 


SALEM  CHURCH,  MONROE  COUNTY,  PA. 


21 


following-  coniniittee :  L.  C.  Shupp, 
President ;  Joseph  Griil^er,  Secretary  ; 
P.  S.  Altemose,  David  Shupp,  Rev.  G. 
A.  Struntz  and  Rev.  Ch.  Becker. 

The  corner-stone  was  laid  June  i6, 
1872.  The  only  record  of  this  occa- 
sion is  found  in  The  Monroe  Demo- 
crat— a  very  lame  report  indeed.  Ac- 
cordini^  to  this  report  Re\'.  Struntz 
led  the  singing  and  laid  the  corner- 
stone. Rev.  D.  F.  Brcndle  spoke  in 
the  forenot)n  on  Heb.  6,  19.  In  the 
afternoon  Rev.  D.  E.  Schoedler 
])reached  on  John  15.  1-8,  followed  by 
Rev.  G.  B.  Dechant  in  English.  The 
services  were  held  in  the  grove  near- 
by. The  collection  anniunted   to  $148.- 

45;^ 

The  dedication  took  place  Ang.  16 
and  17.  1873.  Nothing  beyond  sev- 
eral announcements  in  the  count}^ 
papers  is  found  recorded  concerning 
this  festive  occasion.  The  pastors 
loci.  Revs..  Weber  and  Becker  were 
assisted  on  the  Lutheran  side  by  Rev. 
G.  A.  Struntz  and  A.  R.  Home,  D.  D. 
On  the  Reformed  side  Rev.  G.  B.  De- 
chant  and  another  brother  minister, 
whose  name  is  forgotten,  were  pre- 
sent. 

At  a  congregational  meeting  held 
Xcn-.  19.  1878,  a  committee  consisting 
i)f  Ste])hen  Ziegenfuss,  Geo.  Angle- 
myer  and  Rev.  A.  M.  Strauss  reported 
the  cost  of  the  new  church,  together 
with  furnishings  and  bell,  at  a  total 
of  $9659.17.  During  this  time  the 
cemetery  was  enlarged  at  a  cost  of 
one  hundred  dollars.  The  committee 
on  expenses.  John  Snyder  and  Wil- 
liam Gilbert,  reported  $130.50  collect- 
ed for  land  and  fencing  i)urposes.  At 
a  congregaticmal  meeting  June  29, 
T878,  it  was  resolved  that  hereafter 
no  corpse  be  allowed  in  the  church  on 
tuntTal    occasions. 

THE    SERVrCES 

During  the  earl}-  history  of  the 
church  the  services  were  exclusively 
in  German.  About  the  year  1850  Eng- 
I'.sli  services  were  occasionally  held, 
which,  at  the  present  time,  prepon- 
derate    with      prospects      of     entireh^ 


superseding  the  German  language 
within  a  few  years.  Already  in  the 
year  1829,  as  the  Record  shows,  some 
catechumens  used  the  English  cate- 
chism. 

SALEM  AS  A  MOTHER  CHURCH 

With  the  increase  of  the  population 
in  this  part  of  the  country  the  need  of 
increased  facilities  for  worship  were 
felt.  Accordingly,  the  people  centered 
around  Broadheadsville,  built  Zion's 
Church  with  which  many  others  from 
Salem  and  Christ  Union  Church, 
Hamilton,  affiliated  themselves.  In 
1872  St.  John's  Church,  Efifort,  was 
built  by  niembers  drawn  almost  ex- 
clusively from  the  two  congregations 
of  this  church.  In  1888  St.  Paul's 
Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  at 
Kresgeville  was  built  by  members 
who  formerly  had  been  connected 
with  the  Lutheran  congregation  here. 
SPIRITUAL  SONS 

Salem  Lutheran  congregation  has 
given  five  sons  to  the  ministry :  Rew 
John  Aberly,  D.  D.,  Missionary  in 
India  ;  Rev.  G.  G.  Kunkle,  of  Tuscar- 
awas, Ohio ;  Rev.  J.  F.  Bruch,  of 
Weissport,  Pa.;  Rev.  J.  H.  Miller, 
Ph.  D.,  an  adopted  son,  at  New 
Castle,  Pa.,  and  Rev.  H.  A.  Kunkle,  of 
Bethlehem,  Pa.  (now  in  Canada). 
STATISTICS 

Unhap])ily  in  the  matter  of  statis- 
tics the  early  Records  are  very  incom- 
plete, and  so  preclude  any  correct 
statement  \vith  perhaps  the  exception 
of  bai)tisms.  Vp  to  the  present  time 
the  baptisms  recorded  number  359f>. 
Only  two  deaths  are  recorded  in  the 
oldest  record  book  and  none  Avhatever 
in  the  next  following.  Xo  marriages 
A\erc  recorded.  As  a  rule  the  names 
of  ciMiimunicants  are  gi\cn. 

THE  UNION  SUNDAY  SCHOOL 
.A  I'nion  Sundav  School  was  organ- 
ized Aug.  26,  1855,  which  however 
was  conducted  onh^  during  the  sum- 
mer luonths  until  the  completion  of 
the  new  church  in  1873.  The  instruc- 
tion was  in  English.  In  the  latter 
part  of  the  year,  1878.  a  divisitin  of 
the   Sundav  School   was  asked   f(~ir  re- 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


suiting  in  the  ort^anization  of  two  seji- 
arate  schools. 

In  1881  nnder  the  pastorate  of  Rev. 
Huber,  the  Reformed  congregation 
erected  a  Sunday  School  chapel  which 
was  dedicated  in  July  of  the  same 
_\'ear.  Oct.  2,  1886,  members  of  the 
Lutheran  congregation  efifected  an 
organization  under  the  title  of  the 
"Evangelical  Lutheran  Sunday  School 
Association  of  Salem  Church,"  which 
erected  a  chapel  during  the  winter  of 
1886-7  at  a  cost  of  $3,298.07.  The  cor- 
ner-stone was  laid  in  1886  and  the 
dedication  took  place  Sept.  14,  1890, 
the  pastor,  Rev.  S.  B.  Stupp,  being  as- 
sisted bv  Dr.  W.  Wackernagle  and 
Rev.  R.'H.  Clare. 

LUTHERAN    PASTORS 

I.JOHN  CASPER  DILL.  1806-1810. 
2.  FREDERICK  WILLIAM   MEE- 
NSEN.      1810-1815    and    1839-44. 

V  PETER    RUPPERT.     1816-1819 
and    182^-1828. 

4.  REV.  HENRY  KURTZ,   1819-23. 

V  REV.  JOSEPH  B.  GROSS.  1829- 

18^8. 

6.  REV.   GEORGE   HEILIG.    1844- 

1845- 

7.  REV.  E.  A.  BAUER.     1846-1850. 

8.  REV.      T.      F.     HORNBERGER. 

185 1- 1858. 

9.  Rev.    T.   SCHMALTZ'L.      1859-60. 
10.  REV.   NATHAN  JAEGER.   1860- 

1863. 
Ti.  REV.    ABRAHAM     H.     GROH. 

1863- 1865. 
12.  REV.  G.  A.  STRUNTZ.    1866-72. 
n-  REV.     CARL     CHR.     WEBER. 

1 872- 1 874. 
14.  REV.  A.  M.  STRAUSS.     1874-88. 
iv  REV.  S.  B.  STUPP.     1889-1892. 
16.  REV.  A.  C.  WUCHTER. 

Rev.  ^^^lchter  was  born  at  Jackson- 
ville. Lehigh  County,  Pa.,  Feb.  4, 
1856.  He  attended  the  public  schools 
u!)  to  the  age  of  18  years  when  he  re- 
gistered as  a  student  at  the  Millers- 
\-ille  State  Normal  School  from  1875 
to  1877.  He  taught  in  the  public 
schools  of  his  natiA'e  county  for  four 
years. 

In  1878  he  left  for  Europe,  entering 
the  "Association  Internationale  de  Pro- 


fesseurs"  in  the  city  of  Paris — an  in- 
stitution founded  by  Dr.  Ch.  Rudy,  a 
native  of  Lehigh  County, — -where  he 
jmrsued  the  study  of  languages,  music 
and  belles-lettres  for  three  years.  He 
became  successively  director  of  two 
branch  schools  of  this  institution.  For 
one  summer  he  served  as  assistant 
principal  and  teacher  of  a  French 
boarding  school   near   Paris. 

He  returned  to  America  in  18S1  and 
the  year  following  entered  the  Luth- 
eran Theological  Seminary  at  Phila- 
delphia, from  which  he  ^graduated  in 
1885.  He  was  ordained  June  2.  of  the 
same  year  by  the  Ministerium  of 
Pennsyh'ania,  in  session  at  Allen- 
town.  His  first  call  came  from  St. 
Paul's  Lutheran  Church  at  Summit 
Hill,  Pa.,  where  he  labored  for  five 
years.  In  1890  he  assumed  the  pas- 
torate of  the  Weissport  charge,  serv- 
ing it  for  three  years.  In  1893  he  ac- 
cepted a  call  from  the  Pleasant  Valley 
charge  which  he  has  continued  to 
serve  up  to  the  present  time,   (1906). 

REFORMED  PASTORS 
REV.   FREDERIC  WILLIAM  VAN 

DER  SLOOT.     1806-1809. 
REV.  THOMAS   POMP.     1809-1814. 
REV.      THEODORE      L  U  D  W  I  G 

HOFFEDITZ.     1814-1834. 
REV.     JOHN     PETER      DECKER. 

1 83  5- 1 854. 
REV.    CHARLES    BECKER.      1855- 

1873- 
REV.  HORACE  DANIELS.   1874-76. 
REV.  THOMAS    A.  HUBER,    1876- 

•rOQr- 

REV."^  FRANK  W.  SMITH.  1885.— 
RcA".  Frank  W.  Smith  was  born 
Feb.  4,  1853,  in  Heidelberg  Township 
Lehigh  County,  I'a.  Baptized  and 
confirmed  by  Rev.  Dr.  William  Hel- 
frich.  He  attended  the  Normal  Schools 
at  Millersville  and  Kutztown,  Pa., 
and  followed  the  teaching  profession 
for  seven  consecuti\e  years.  He  made 
final  preparation  for  the  holy  ministry 
in  the  institutions  at  Lancaster.  Pa. 
On  May  17,  1883,  he  was  licensed  by 
Lehigh  Classis  at  Allentown  and  or- 
dained and  installed  as  pastor  of  the 
Tannersville  Charge,  Aug.  5,   1883,  ^^ 


SALEM  CHURCH,  MONROE   COUNTY,   PA. 


23 


Tannersville,  by  a  committee  appoint- 
ed by  East  Pennsylvania  Classis,  con- 
sisting of  Revs.  G.  W.  Kerchner,  T. 
O.  Stein  and  Dr.  1).  Y.  Heisler.  This 
pastorate  lasted  till  October,  1885.  On 
July  13,  1885,  East  Pennsylvania 
Classis  erected  the  Pleasant  Valley 
Charge.  Soon  after  the  erection  of 
this   charsjc   tlun-   extended   him   a   call 


which  he  accepted.  Classis  dissolved 
the  pastoral  relation  between  him  and 
the  Tannersville  Charge  Oct.  12, 
1885.  One  Tuesday,  Nov.  to,  1885,  he 
was  installed  as  pastor  of  the  Pleas- 
ant Valley  Charge,  by  a  committee 
consisting  of  Revs.  J.  E.  I'^reeman,  T. 
O.   Stem   and  Joseph   Schlap])ig. 


The  Early  Moravians  in  Berks  County 

By  Daniel  Miller,  Reading,  Pa. 


L'CH  has  been  said  and 
published  on  this  subject 
which  is  more  traditional 
than  historical.  It  is 
proper  that  an  effort  be 
made  to  present  this  his- 
tory in  as  accurate  and 
reliable  a  form  as  pos- 
sible. 

It  may  surprise  some  when  I  raise 
the  tpiestion,  were  there  ever  any 
earh'  Moravian  settlements  in  Berks 
county?  That  is,  were  any  of  the 
early  settlements  made  by  the  people 
Avho  were  Moravians  when  they 
came  here?  I  think  not.  It  is  true 
that  some  Moravians  settled  in  this 
CDunty,  but  they  came  after  the  earl}' 
settlements  had  been  made  and  the 
congregations  founded.  The  first  fol- 
lowers of  the  Moravians  Avere  secured 
from  the  Reformed.  Lutheran  and 
Mennonite  settlers.  I  cite  the  follow- 
ing facts  to  sustain  this  view. 

There  were  only  two  places  where 
congregations  existed  which  were 
known  as  Moravian — Oley  and  North 
Heidelberg.  The  first  settlers  of  Oley 
were  principally  French  and  German 
Reformed  people  who  came  to  Amer- 
ica to  escape  persecution.  They  came 
about  1 712  and  afterward.  The  set- 
tlers in  North  Heidelberg  were  Re- 
formed and  Lutheran  Palatines  who 
were  sent  to  New  York  state  by 
Queen  Anne  in  1710,  and  came  to  Tul- 
pehocken  under  the  two  ^^''eisers  in 
1723     and     1729.       At    that    time    the 


Moravians  had  hardl}'  an  existence. 
They  usually  date  their  beginning 
back  to  1722,  when  a  few  refugees  set- 
tled upon  the  estate  of  Count  Zinzen- 
dorf  in  Saxony,  but  they  became  an 
organized  body  only  in  1727.  I  have 
been  unable  to  find  traces  of  any 
Moravians  being  among  the  first  set- 
tlers   in    Berks    county. 

THE  MORAVIANS 

^^'ho  were  the  IVIoravians?  The 
founders  of  this  body  were  the  descen- 
dants of  Bohemians  and  Moravians 
who  suflfered  persecution  in  their  na- 
tive countries  for  the  sake  of  the  gos- 
pel. They  formed  an  organization  or 
colony  on  the  estate  of  Count  Zinzen- 
dorf,  as  already  stated,  in  1722.  This 
place  was  Hernhut,  and  for  this  rea- 
son the  Moravians  are  even  to  this 
day  known  among  the  Germans  as 
"Hernhutters."  Their  ofificial  title  is 
"Church  of  the  United  Brethren."" 
Count  Zinzendorf  became  their  lead- 
er, and  may  be  called  their  principal 
founder.  He  devoted  nearly  his  whole 
life,  property  and  energy  to  the  pro- 
motion of  the  new  society.  He  was  a 
remarkable  and  peculiar  man.  His 
real  name  was  Ludwig  von  Thurn- 
stein,  and  he  usually  signed  his  name 
in  this  way.  He  was  also  one  of  their 
first  Bishops.  The  first  Bishop  was 
consecrated  in  1735,  whilst  Zinzen- 
dorf was  consecrated  two  years  later, 
in    1737. 

It   was  e\identlv  not  Count  Zinzen- 


24 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


(lorf's  purpose  to  found  a  new  and  dis- 
tinct denomination.  His  purpose  ap- 
pears to  have  been  to  organize  so-call- 
ed "  tropes  "  or  circles  in  each  exist- 
ing" denomination,  and  all  of  them 
were  to  be  united  spiritually  as  the 
"Church  of  the  United  Brethren."  In 
the  discipline  which  Zinzendorf  for- 
mulated, he  avoided  all  points  of  doc- 
trine which  divided  Christians  and 
em])hasized  the  cardinal  points  upon 
which  all  agreed.  His  purpose  was 
well-meant,  but  time  and  experience 
have  shown  that  it  was  impracticable. 
This  is  fully  illustrated  by  the  results 
of  the  efforts  to  carry  oitt  this  pecu- 
liar  scheme   in    Pennsylvania. 

Count  Zinzendorf  was  a  truly  good 
man.  He  was  full  of  enthusiasm  and 
religious  zeal.  His  leading  passion 
was  to  preach  the  crucified  Christ. 
Everything  else  was  subordinate.  In 
many  respects  he  was  a  peculiar  man 
and  on  this  account  he  was  often  mis- 
understood. It  is  indeed  difficult  to 
understand  him  fully  even  now.  It  is 
hard  to  reconcile  his  positions  at  dif- 
ferent times.  He  was  brought  up  a 
Lutheran,  heartily  accepted  the  Augs- 
burg confession,  and  ever  held  firmly 
to  it.  He  was  ordained  by  the  Re- 
formed Court  Preacher  Jablonsky  in 
lierlin.  and  later  became  the  principal 
founder  of  the  Moravian  Church.  He 
appears  to  have  been,  like  Paul,  "  all 
things  to  all  men,"  and  likely  from 
the  same  motive,  "that  he  might  save 
some."  AA'hilst  he  made  great  sacri- 
fices for  the  cause  of  the  Moravians, 
he  at  times  appeared  to  have  turned 
his  back  upon  them.  In  an  address 
at  Herrendyk.  on  August  6.  1741,  a 
short  time  before  leaving  for  America, 
he  said :  "I  am  destined  by  the  Lord 
to  proclaim  the  message  of  the  death 
and  blood  of  Jesus,  not  with  human 
ingenuity,  but  with  divine  power. 
This  was  my  vocation  long  before  I 
knew  of  the  Moravian  Brethren.  Al- 
though I  am  and  shall  ever  remain 
connected  with  the  Moravian  Breth- 
ren, still  I  do  not  on  that  account  by 
any  means  separate  myself  from  the 
Lutheran   Church." 


Zinzendorf  landed  at  New  York, 
Xov.  30,  1741,  spent  six  days  there, 
went  to  Philadelphia  Dec.  10,  spent 
Christmas  at  Bethlehem,  then  preach- 
ed in  the  Reformed  church  at  Ger- 
mantown  on  Dec.  31,  1741.  Then 
soon  after  he  became  pastor  of  the 
Lutheran  church  in  Philadelphia,  and 
served  it  for  some  time.  He  laid  aside 
his  title  of  Count  Zinzendorf  and 
wished  to  be  known  as  Ludwig  von 
Thurnstein.  Later  he  again  espoused 
the  cause  of  the  ^Moravians,  and  la- 
bored zealously  in  their  name  during 
the  balance  of  his  short  career  of 
about  two  years  in  this  country.  But 
even  dviring  this  latter  period  his  na- 
tive Lutheranism  again  asserted  itself. 
At  the  meeting  of  the  fourth  Synod 
in  Germantown,  March  21-23.  1742- 
in  replying  to  a  theological  discussion 
b}'  a  Baptist,  Zinzendorf  declared 
"that  the  Lutheran  Church  of  which 
he  still  regarded  himself  to  be  a  mem- 
ber, was  properly  the  most  blessed 
one,  and  preferable  even  to  the  old 
Moravian."  He  stated  that  it  was  a 
great  question  whether  a  servant  of 
Christ  who  had  separated  himself 
from  the  Lutheran  Church,  had  gain- 
ed anything  by  joining  another  sect. 
He  considered  it  very  dtuibtful.  • 

Zinzendorf  has  been  charged  with 
the  purpose  of  capturing  the  various 
denominations  for  the  Moravians. 
\\'hilst  this  seems  to  be  the  general 
impression,  it  is  hardly  correct.  "The 
CongTegation  of  God  in  the  Spirit" 
apijears  to  have  been  intended  by  him 
rather  as  a  spiritual  than  an  organic 
union.  According  to  his  plan  the 
several  denominations  were  to  con- 
tinue their  automony,  but  they  were 
tc^  be  united  spiritually.  This  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  when  at  the 
memorable  meeting  in  Oley  on  Feb. 
11-13,  1742.  it  was  ]:)roposed  to  organ- 
ize the  adherents  which  Mr.  Eschen- 
bach  had  gathered  there  from  several 
denominations,  into  a  congregation. 
Zinzendorf  opposed  it.  He  declared 
that  he  did  not  wish  to  gain  prose- 
lytes for  the  Moravian  Church,  and 
that  if  all  \vould  only  agree  upon  the 


THE    EARLY    MORAVIANS     IN     BERKS   COUNTY 


most  essential  points,  every  one  might 
remain  in  his  denomination.  The 
Synod  ado])ted  this  view,  and  agreed 
to  recognize  the  Oley  people  as  an  un- 
denominational congregation,  a  very 
unusual  thing,  with  Air.  Andrew 
Eschenbach  as  pastor. 
Then  again,  the  Pennsylvania  Synod 
composed  of  delegates  from  the  sev- 
eral denominations  connected  with 
the  union  movement,  has  been  regard- 
ed as  a  part  of  Zinzendorf's  plans. 
This  is  also  an  error,  lie  apparently 
never  contemplated  such  a  body.  On 
December  26,  1741,  about  the  time 
when  Zinzendoi'f  arrived  in  Philadel- 
phia, Henry  Antes  issued  a  call  to  all 
denominations  to  attend  a  general 
meeting  at  Germantown  for  the  pur- 
pose of  "promoting  love  and  forbear- 
ance." This  was  the  beginning  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Synod.  Of  its  meetings 
Zinzendorf  later  declared:  "I  was 
neither  the  author  nor  the  adviser  of 
these  meetings  which  were  called  by 
Pennsylvanians  who  had  become  tir- 
ed of  their  own  ways." 

Zinzendorf's  sijirit  was  naturally 
imbibed  by  his  followers.  Rev.  Henry 
.Antes,  one  of  those  ordained  by  the 
Moravians  to  labor  among  the  Re- 
formed, like  Rev.  Mr.  Lischey,  claim- 
ed to  l)e  still  Reformed.  When  asked 
how  this  could  he,  since  he  afifiliated 
with  the  Moravians,  he  replied :  "  I 
am  Reformed,  and  also  a  Lutheran, 
and  a  Mennonite.  .\  Christian  is 
e\erything." 

We  have  a  somewhat  similar  in- 
stance in  the  peculiar  case  of  Rev. 
William  Otterbein.  who  was  brought 
to  America  in  1752  as  a  Reformed 
minister  l)v  Rev.  Michael  Schlatter. 
Toward  the  close  of  the  eighteenth 
century  Otterbein  partici])ated  in  the 
movement  which  j'jroduced  the  United 
l^)rethren  Church.  He  helped  to  or- 
ganize that  Church  in  t8oo  and  be- 
came one  of  its  first  two  I'ishops.  .\t 
the  same  time  he  continued  his  mem- 
bership in  the  Reformed  Church.  In 
1800  and  1806  he  attended  the  Re- 
formed Svnod.  and  in  1812,  the  year 
before     his     death,    he    said    to    Re\-. 


Isaac  Gerhart :  "I  am  a  mend^er  of 
the  Synod  of  the  German  Reformed 
Church,  but  cannot  attend  on  acoum 
of  old  age." 

The  Moravians  have  always  been 
distinguished  by  two  excellent  char- 
acteristics— their  unblemished  Chris- 
tian character  and  their  great  mission- 
ary zeal.  In  the  latter  they  have  ex- 
celled all  other  denominations.  Their 
missionaries  have  often  gone  to  dark 
and  ob.scure  places  where  no  one  else 
seemed  willing  to  go.  Their  member- 
ship in  the  foreign  field  is  larger  than_ 
that  in  the  home  lands.  This  cannot 
be  said  of  any  other  body.  Some  one 
has  explained  the  intense  missionarx 
activity  of  the  Moravians  by  the  state- 
ment that  from  early  childhood  the 
youth  is  taught  that  the  two  great  oIj- 
jects  of  their  being  are  to  live  for  God 
and  to  send  the  gospel  to  the  heathen. 
Where  else  can  a  more  noble  doctrine 
be  found? 

THE  MORAVI.\NS  IN  OLEY 

The  first  Moravian  representative 
to  visit  Oley  w^as  liishop  A.  G.  Span- 
genberg.  who  went  there  in  1737,  ac- 
companied by  Mr.  Christouher  Wieg- 
ner,  of  Skippack.  His  object  was  to 
visit  the  Reformed  and  Lutherar 
people,  among  whom  Henry  Antes,  o' 
Frederick  township.  Mc^ntgomery 
Count^^  a  pious  member  of  the  Re- 
formed Church,  had  been  ]>reaching. 
The  Bishop  preached  in  the  houses  o:' 
Jonathan  Herodes  and  Abraham  Bert- 
olet.  At  the  latter  olace  he  attacke' 
the  sect  of  the  "  Xew  Born." 

The  first  kK'ated  Moravian  ministe-' 
in  Oley  ^vas  Rev.  Andrew  Eschen- 
bach. who  Avas  sent  there  in  1740  to 
labor  among  the  Pennsylvania  Ger- 
mans at  the  request  of  Rev.  GeorLrr 
\Miitefield,  the  noted  Methodist  pi(»- 
neer.  who  had  visited  Pennsylvania 
in  1739  and  seen  the  destitution  of  the 
peo])le  here.  The  people  flocked  to 
him  to  hear  the  gospel  but  he  could 
not  preach  German.  He  therefore 
wrote  to  Count  Zinzend(^rf  and  urged 
him  to  send  German  missionarie.-. 
Thus  Whitefield.  who  afterward  be- 
came   a    \iolent     opponent    of     Zinzcr- 


26 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA- GERMAN 


dorf,  was  instrumental  in  introducing- 
the  Moravian  brethren  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

Andrew  Eschenbach  was  a  shoe- 
maker by  occupation,  and  had  united 
with  the  Moravians  only  a  few  years 
before.  But  he  was  possessed  of 
much  zeal  and  was  a  godly  man.  He 
was  introduced  to  the  people  of  Oley 
by  Henry  Antes,  mentioned  above, 
and  made  his  home  for  some  time 
with  John  Leinbach  and  Jean  Bert- 
i)let.  Mr.  Leinbach  was  a  member  of 
the  Reformed  Church  and  one  of  the 
ancestors  of  the  numerous  Leinbach 
family  in  Berks  county,  which  includ- 
es five  now  deceased  and  nine  living- 
Reformed  ministers.  John  Leinbach 
lies  buried  in  the  little  Moravian 
graveyard. 

Jean  Bertolet  was  a  French  Hugue- 
not. He  came  to  America  in  1726  and 
located  in  the  western  part  of  Oley 
township,  near  the  home  of  George 
i^)Oone,  the  ancestor  of  Daniel  Boone, 
the  noted  pioneer  of  Kentucky,  and 
not  far  from  the  home  of  Mordecai 
Linct)ln,  tlie  ancestor  of  Abraham 
Lincoln,  the  great  president.  Jean 
Bertolet  became  a  prominent  Mora- 
vian and  was  noted  for  his  active 
])iety.  At  that  time  there  were  many 
India'-'s  in  Oley,  there  being  three  vil- 
lages of  the  Delaware  tribe  in  the 
township.  j\fr.  Bertolet  frequently 
visited  the  Indians,  ministered  to  their 
wants,  instructed  them  and  prayed 
with  them  in  their  humble  cabins. 
Zinzendorf  preached  a  number  of 
times  in  his  house.  l\'Ir.  Bertolet  is 
also  remembered  as  the  man  who  in- 
duced Dr.  George  De  Benneville,  the 
first  jireacher  of  LIniversalism  in  this 
country,  to  locate  in  Oley.  De  Benne- 
ville subsequently  married  a  daugh- 
ter of  Mr.  Bertolet's.  7'his  Jean  Bert- 
olet brought  a  French  family  Bible 
with  him  to  America  which  it  was  my 
l)leasure  to  examine  a  few  years  ago. 
It  was  printed  in  1567,  and  contains 
the  family  history  in  French.  During 
mau}^  years  it  was  in  the  possession  of 
ATr.  Cyrus  Bertolet,  who  a  few  years 
ago   fell  from  a  hay  wagon  and  broke 


his  neck.  The  Bible  was  subsequently 
sold  at  a  large  price  to  another  mem- 
ber of  the  family. 

The  preaching  of  Andrew  Eschen- 
bach made  a  deep  impression  upon 
the  people  and  soon  many  persons  be- 
came interested.  We  are  told  that 
the  following  year,  1741,  Mr.  Eschen- 
bach already  had  51  followers  includ- 
ing several  Leinbachs,  who  were  Re- 
formed ;  a  number  of  Lutherans  nam- 
ed Buerstler,  John  DeTurk,  a  French 
Huguenots  and  others.  John  DeTurk's 
father,  Isaac  DeTurk,  had  fled  from 
France,  reached  America  in  1709  and 
came  to  Oley  in  1712.  He  took  up  300 
acres  of  land  immediately  west  of  the 
present  village  of  Friedensburg.  At 
the  time  of  his  arrival  there  were  only 
two  other  settlers  in  the  region — -John 
LeDee  and  John  Frederichful.  It  is 
not  known  from  whence  they  came. 
The  DeTurk  farm  ever  remained  in 
the  family  and  is  now  owned  by  Mr. 
Nathan  DeTurk,  a  man  of  85  years. 
The  family  name  was  really  LeTurk. 
but  it  has  always  been  known  as  De- 
Turk.  John  DeTurk,  Isaac's  son,  be- 
came an  ardent  Moravian  follower. 
In  1767  he  erected  a  stone  dwelling  on 
the   DeTurk  farm. 

On  November  30,  1741.  Count  Zin- 
zendorf came  to  America.  He  was 
undoubtedly  led  hither  by  his  mis- 
sion ar-v^  zeal.  He  appears  to  have  re- 
garded himself  as  a  general  overseer 
of  the  several  Moravian  settlements 
in  Pennsylvania.  A  Moravian  histor- 
ian says :  Hardly  had  Zinzendorf  ar- 
rived in  Pennsylvania,  when  he  felt 
as  if  he  ought  to  call  out  in  the  words 
of  Moses :  "  Who  is  one  the  Lord's 
side?  Let  him  come  unto  me."  After 
spending  some  time  in  other  places, 
he  came  to  Oley.  Rev.  Mr.  Eschen- 
bach had  paved  the  way  and  Zinzen- 
dorf met  with  a  hearty  reception.  He 
preached  in  the  houses  of  Jean  Bert- 
olet and  John   DeTurk. 

MORAVIAN    METHODS 
The    Moravian    leaders   ordained  min- 
isters to  labor  in  the  dififerent  denomi- 
nations.     Among  those   thus   ordained 
from    and   for    the     Reformed     Church 


THE  EARLY  MORAVIANS  [N  BERKS  COUNTY 


were  John  Bechtel,  Christian  Henry 
Rauch,  Jacob  Lischy,  Henry  Antes 
and  John  Braundmiiller.  Lischy  after- 
ward returned  to  the  Reformed 
Church,  but  the  other  four  entered  the 
Moravian  Church.  Among  those  or- 
dained for  the  Lutheran  Church  were 
Gottleib  Ruttner,  J.  P.  Meurer,  T.  L'. 
Neyberg,  George  Niecke,  J.  C.  Pyr- 
laus,  P.  A.  BryzeHus,  and  others.  On 
Dec.  26,  1741.  Henry  Antes  by  circu- 
lar invited  members  of  all  denomi- 
nations to  meet  in  Germantown.  The 
meeting  took  place  on  Jan.  12,  1742, 
in  Germantown.  and  was  attended  by 
36  persons  representing  eight  denomi- 
nations. Conrad  Weiser  represented 
the  Lutheran  Church.  The  meeting- 
took  the  form  of  a  Synod.  Twenty- 
seven  Synods  were  held  from  1742  to 
1748.  1'here  was  vigorous  opposition 
to  this  union  movement  from  the  be- 
ginning. On  the  part  of  the  Reformed 
Church  the  opposition  was  led  by 
Rev.  John  P.  Boehm.  who  published 
two  "Letters  of  Warning."  Rev.  Sam- 
uel Guldin.  the  first  ordained  Reform- 
ed minister  in  this  country,  who  came 
here  in  1710,  and  who  attended  the 
first  meeting  of  the  Synod,  also  op- 
])osed  the  movement  and  issued  five 
tracts  against  it.  In  1748  the  union 
movement  collapsed  and  those  who 
continued  following  it  to  that  time, 
went  into  the  Moravian  Church. 
Thtxse  who  succeeded  Count  Zinzen- 
dorf  in  the  management  of  the  Mora- 
\iati  Church,  notably  Bishop  Cam- 
merhof,  plainly  led  the  afifairs  of  the 
union  movement  in  the  direction  of 
their  Church.  This  led  some  of  the 
denominations  to  withdraw  from  the 
union,  .\nother  cause  for  the  failure 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Synod  was  the 
organizati(~>n  of  the  Reformed  Coetus 
by  Rev.  Michael  Schlatter  in  1747. 
and  the  organization  of  the  Lutheran 
.\finisterium  by  Rev.  TTenry  M.  Muh- 
lenberg   in    1748. 

THE  GREAT   MEETING 

On  Januar}'  11-13.  1742,  the  most 
important  Moravian  meeting  ever  held 
in    Berks    county   took    place   on    John 


DeTurk's  farm,  near  Friedensburg. 
This  meeting  was  the  third  Synod.  It 
was  attended  by  the  leaders  of  the 
Moravians,  including  Count  Zinzen- 
dorf  and  Bishop  Nitschman,  and 
many  persons  from  various  denomi- 
nations, besides  a  number  of  Indians. 

The  Synodical  meeting  was  held  in 
DeTurk's  house.  One  of  the  most  im- 
portant acts  was  the  ordination  of 
four  persons  to  the  ministry.  Mr. 
Andrew  Eschenbach.  who  had  labor- 
ed in  Oley  more  than  a  year,  was  or- 
dained by  Bisho])s  Zinzendorf  and 
Nitschman.  Three  others  were  also 
ordained,  as  follows:  Christian  Henry 
Rauch,  a  member  of  the  Reformed 
Church,  to  labor  among  the  Indians 
in  New  York ;  Gottlieb  Biittner,  as  a 
missionary  among  the  Six  Nation  In- 
dians ;  and  J.  C.  Pyrlaus  to  be  pastor 
of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  Philadel- 
phia. Biittner  died  at  Shekomeko,  N. 
Y.,  while  laboring  among  the  Indians, 
on  Feb.  23,  1745.  Zinzendorf  organ- 
ized an  Indian  congregation  at  Sheko- 
meko, in   September,   1743. 

At  this  Synod  it  was  proposed  to 
organize  the  followers  of  the  Mora- 
vians in  Oley,  gathered  by  Rev.  Mr. 
Eschenbach.  into  a  Moravian  congre- 
gation, but  Zinzendorf  opposed  this. 
He  declared  he  did  not  wish  to  gain 
proselytes  for  the  Moravian  Church, 
and  if  the  people  were  only  agreed  in 
the  most  essential  points,  every  one 
might  remain  in  his  denomination. 
This  Synod  accei)ted  his  view  and  re- 
cognized the  Oley  flock  as  an  unde- 
nominational church,  with  Re\-.  An- 
drew Eschenbach  as  pastor. 

For  the  afternoon  the  meeting  was 
held  in  Mr.  DeTurk's  barn  on  account 
of  the  large  number  of  people  present. 
.\t  this  meeting  a  most  interesting 
ceremony  took  place.  It  was  the  bap- 
tis!U  oi  three  converted  Indians  who 
had  been  brought  to  Oley  from  She- 
komeko. New  York,  on  the  border  of 
Connecticut,  as  the  first  fruits  of 
Moravian  missionary  effort  among  the 
red  men.  The  Indians  were  ba])tized 
by  Rev.  Mr.  Rauch.  who  had  been  or- 
dained   at    the    morning    meeting,    and 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


through  whose  labors  the  Indians  had 
been  converted.  The  Indians  bore  the 
names  of  Shabash,  Slein  and  Kiop. 
Xew  names  were  given  them.  Shabash 
was  baptized  Abraham,  Slein,  Isaac 
Okely  and  Kiop,  Jacob.  The  baptism 
was  performed  by  sprinkling.  It  is  an 
interesting  fact  that  the  Baptists  pre- 
sent who  usually  insisted  upon  im- 
mersion, offered  no  objections.  On 
account  of  precautions  in  New  York 
these  and  other  converted  Indians 
were  later  brought  to  Philadelphia 
where  Jacob  died  on  Feb.  8,  1764,  and 
was  buried  the  following  day  by  Rev. 
[ohn  J.  Schmick  on  the  Moravian 
cemetery  in  that  city,  at  the  corner  of 
\lne   and    Franklin   streets. 

A  remarkable  spirit  prevailed  at 
this  meeting.  The  Indians  testified  of 
their  conversion.  The  baptism  was 
followed  by  preaching  by  various 
ministers,  and  the  statement  is  made 
that  the  meeting  was  continued  not 
only  during  the  evening,  but  also  dur- 
ing the  whc^le  night.  This  meeting- 
made  a  deep  impression  in  favor  of 
the  Moravians,  and  led  to  the  erection 
of  the  large  church  and  school  build- 
:"ng,  described  below,  not  long  after. 
The  congregation  at  this  time,  ac- 
cording to  Rev.  Mr.  Reichel,  consist- 
eded  of  Lutherans,  Reformed  and 
Mennonites.  The  John  Leinbach  men- 
tioned  aliove  Avas  an   elder. 

THE   CHURCH 

A  movement  was  now  started  for 
the  erection  of  a  church.  The  exact 
time  of  the  erection  is  not  known.  It 
has  usually  been  fixed  at  1743.  the 
year  after  the  great  meeting,  or  soon 
after.  It  is  certain  that  it  occurred 
l)etween  1743  and  1745.  because  the 
school  was  opened  in  the  new  build- 
ing in  the  latter  year.  The  land,  about 
fifteen  acres,  was  donated,  but  by 
whom  is  not  quite  certain.  One  au- 
thority says  George  Jimgman  donated 
it.  and  this  seems  plausible,  because  a 
l*>rief  of  Title  on  record  in  the  Re- 
corder's office,  Reading,  states  that 
about  this  time  Mr.  Jungman  convey- 
ed   sonic   land   to   Rev.     Henrv    Antes. 


and  Antes  later  conveyed  it  to  John 
Okely.  This  man  came  from  Bedford, 
England,  and  served  a  number  of 
years  as  scrivener  and  conveyancer 
for  the  Moravians  (residing  in  Bethle- 
hem. In  1774  he  became  a  justice  of 
the  peace.  Later  he  left  the  Mora- 
vians. The  record  shows  that  subse- 
cjuently  this  land  was  conveyed  to 
Bishop  Nitschman.  Rev.  Mr.  Reichel, 
a  Moravian  historian,  states  that  John 
DeTurk  donated  the  land. 

At  this  time  the  first  difficulty,  of 
which  we  have  knowledge,  arose 
among  these  people.  It  was  at  first 
proposed  to  erect  a  small  log  build- 
ing, but  Pastor  Eschenbach  opposed 
this.  Mr.  Reichel  states  that  Eschen- 
bach, desired  a  large  two-story  build- 
ing, like  the  clergy  house  at  Bethle- 
hem. Because  he  could  not  have  his 
way  Mr.  Eschenbach  manifested  his 
disappointment  in  his  sermons  in  an 
offensive  way,  and  thereby  lost  the 
confidence  of  the  congregation.  The 
peace  of  the  congregation  was  so 
much  disturbed  that  Count  Zinzen- 
dorf  felt  it  his  duty  to  remo\c  Mr. 
Eschenbach  as  pastor  and  a  )point 
Rev.  Henry  Antes  in  his  place.  Esch- 
enbach returned  to  Bethlehem  and 
served  some  time  as  a  traveling 
preacher,  but  the  record  states  that 
his  usefulness  was  gone.  In  1747  he 
left  Bethlehem  and  became  a  farmer. 
Fie  died  on  the  farm  in  Oley  in   1763. 

It  is  evident  that  whilst  Eschen- 
l>ach  could  not  have  his  own  way 
about  the  kind  of  a  church  to  be  erect- 
ed, his  plan  was  subse(|uently  adopt- 
ed, because  the  btiilding  which  was 
erected  answers  the  description  given 
above.  It  was  a  two-story  frame  build 
ing,  31  by  41  feet  in  size,  with  an  at- 
tic. Instead  of  weather  boarding  the 
spaces  between  the  frame  work  were 
filled  out  with  mortar  consisting  of 
clay,  straw  and  a  small  proportion  of 
lime.  The  first  floor  contained  the 
living  rooms  for  the  teachers,  the  sec- 
ond the  school  room  and  the  church, 
and   the  attic  the  sleeping  rooms. 

In  this  building  church  services 
were  held  and  a  school  conducted.  The 


THE  EARLY  MORAVIANS  IN  BERKS  COUNTY 


29 


school  was  opened  in  1745.  The  first 
teachers  were  John  W.  Michler  and 
Robert  Hussey.  In  1749  the  number  of 
l)oarding'  pupils  was  38.  How  could 
so  many  sleep  in  the  attic?  The 
place  was  then  an  isolated  region,  as 
it  is  even  now.  The  school  was  wide- 
ly and  favorably  known.  In  1748  the 
eleven  bo3'S  of  the  school  at  German- 
town  were  transferred  to  the  Oley 
school.  The  school  conducted  in  the 
house  of  Henry  Antes  in  Frederick 
township,  Montgomery  county,  was 
also  united  with  the  Oley  school  in 
1750.  In  1747  the  Frederick  school 
consisted  of  about  forty  boys,  includ- 
ing' seven  Indians  and  several  ne- 
groes. The  farm  and  mill  of  Henry 
Antes,  and  for  a  time  also  the  farm  of 
William  Frey,  a  Baptist,  were  con- 
ducted for  the  benefit  of  the  Freder- 
ick school.  In  Oley  there  was  no  such 
income.  The  school  de]iended  for 
support  upon  the  brethren  at  Bethle- 
hem. It  was  not  long  until  they 
found  the  burden  too  heavy,  and  al- 
ready the  next  year,  in  1751,  the  Oley 
school  Avas  abandoned.  The  pupils 
were  transferred  to  the  school  at 
Macungie  and  another  one  near  Beth- 
lehem. 

Xeither  did  the  congregation  flour- 
ish long.  It  had  a  small  beginning 
and  never  grew  much.  A  published 
list  of  the  membership  in  1753  in- 
cludes eight  males  and  seven  females, 
total  15.  Henry  Antes  '  could  never 
fully  heal  the  dissensions  which  oc- 
curred under  his  predecessor,  and  the 
flock  declined.  Antes  died  in  1755. 
we  have  no  evidence  that  he  served 
the  people  until  his  death.  The  ser- 
vices were  held  at  irregular  intervals, 
until  finally  in  1765  the  Moravians 
withdrew  entirely  from  Oley.  Thus 
ended  the  Moravian  settlement  in 
Oley. 

Dr.  George  De  Benneville,  the  orig- 
inal Universalist  mentioned  above, 
was  by  some  blamed  for  this  disinte- 
gration of  the  Moravian  flock.  He 
was  a  learned  man  and  had  a  chapel 
in  his  hftuse  in  which  he  preached, 
and   he  influenced  many  persons.  The 


chapel    in    his    house    was    demolished 
oidy  a  few  years  ago. 

THE    GOD'S    ACRE 

A  short  distance  north  of  the  old 
church  is  the  old  Moravian  God's 
Acre.  The  plot  of  ground  is  about  50 
by  60  feet  in  size.  Until  recent  years 
it  was  enclosed  by  a  fence,  but  not  so 
now.  Here  lie  buried  the  remains  of 
some  of  the  early  settlers  and  adher- 
ents of  the  Moravians.  There  are  a 
few  unhewn  stones  to  mark  graves, 
but  not  one  of  them  contains  an  in- 
scrijjtion  of  any  kind.  The  place  is 
often  overgTown  with  weeds  and 
never  receives  any  attention  beyond 
that  bestowed  upon  it  by  Mr.  Moyer, 
the  present  owner  of  the  place.  One 
is  filled  with  sadness  as  he  beholds 
the  place.  Alas,  these  pioneers  have 
been   forgotten  by  their  descendants. 

This  graveyard  furnishes  additional 
evidence  to  what  is  stated  in  the  be- 
ginning of  this  article,  that  these 
people  were  not  Moravians  "von 
Haus  aus."  The  distinguished  Mora- 
vian burial  custom  of  laying  toml)- 
stones  flat  upon  the  graves  is  absent. 
I  surmised  that  possibly  such  stones 
might  have  been  covered  b}^  decaying 
leaves  and  moss  during  the  150  years 
which  have  passed  over  them,  as  was 
the  case  with  many  tombstones  in  the 
^loravian  North  Heidelberg  and 
Bethel  graveyards,  but  herein  I  was 
mistaken.  I  spent  some  time  in  the 
graveyard  with  the  aid  of  Mr.  Moyer 
in  digging  for  buried  gravestones,  but 
found  not  a  single  one.  Numerous 
lots  were  dug  to  the  depth  of  about 
eighteen  inches,  but  no  stones  were 
found. 

THE   OLD   BUILDING 

The  venerable  building  which  was 
erected  before  174*  is  still  standing, 
and  is  substantially  now  as  when  first 
erected,  except  that  it  has  been  weath- 
er-boarded on  three  sides,  whilst  the 
northern  side  is  still  in  its  original 
condition.  The  first  and  second  floors 
are  now  divided  into  four  rooms  each, 
whilst  the  attic  is  all  in  one.  In  the 
centre   of   the   building"  stand   two   im- 


30 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


inense  chimneys,  each  seven  feet,  six 
inches  wide  and  three  feet  thick,  with 
a  hall  between  them.  Each  has  a  fire 
place  on  the  first  and  second  floors 
facing  each  other.  On  the  floor  of  the 
attic  the  two  chimneys  are  united, with 
a  base  of  ten  feet  by  eight  feet.  Near 
the  roof  there  are  openings  for  stove 
l)ipes. 

On  these  fire  places  the  cooking  was 
done  for  the  school  lamily  of  over  50 
persons,  more  than  150  years  ago.  As 
the  united  chimney  passes  through 
the  roof  it  is  oi  great  size.  At  the 
eastern  end  of  the  building  is  another 
large  chimney  with  a  fire  place  on  the 
first  fl(.)or  large  enough  to  hang  a  ket- 
tle such  as  is  used  in  boiling  apple- 
butter.  There  is  only  a  small  cellar 
under  the  house,  about  one-fourth  the 
size  of  the  building.  It  was  never 
larger  than   at  present. 

This  interesting  landmark,  which 
has  withstood  the  storms  of  more  than 
160  years  and  which  antedates  the  be- 
ginning of  the  city  of  Reading,  is  now- 
owned  and  occujned  as  a  dwelling  by 
Mr.  Daniel  W.  Mover  and  his  family. 
He  has  been  here  since  his  seventh 
year,  that  is  45  years,  his  parents  also 
having  resided  here.  Here  fourteen 
children  have  been  born  to  the  ]\Ioyer 
parents,  of  whom  eleven  are  living. 
No  race  suicide  here !  Instead  of  the 
original  fifteen  acres  of  land  the  farm 
now  consists  of  32  acres,  which  Mr. 
Moyer  purchased  from  his  father's 
estate  for  $1120.  The  father  had  paid 
$2850  for  it. 

THE   SECOND   SCHOOL 

After  the  discontinuance  of  the  Mo 
ravian  School  in  1751  the  people  of 
the  neighborhood  manifested  a  desire 
for  a  new  school,  but  for  some  years 
nothing  was  done.  Some  time  later 
John  DeTurk  willed  two  acres  of  land 
for  school  purposes,  and  Samuel  Hoch 
willed  one  acre  adjoining  for  the  same 
purpose.  This  land  was  located  im 
mediateh'  east  of  the  church  land  giv- 
en l)y  ( leorge  jungman.  These  two 
bequests  were  made  to  John  Okely. 
of  Rethlehem.  the  real  esate.  agent  of 
the    .\l  oraxians.    whose    name    ap])ear> 


frecjuently  in  the  transfer  of  property 
in  which  these  people  were  interested. 
On  October  6,  1776,  John  Okely  con- 
veyed both  tracts,  three  acres  in  all. 
to  Daniel  Hoch,  great-grandfather  of 
Daniel  D.  Hoch,  now  rasiding  one- 
half  mile  north  of  the  place,  "for 
schools  for  the  education  of  the  youth 
of  both  sexes."  In  each  transfer 
there  was  the  nominal  consideration 
o\  five  shillings. 

Upon  this  ground  said  Daniel  Hoch 
and  others  erected  a  school  house  in 
the  same  year,  1776.  It  was  a  small 
log  building,  to  which  a  stone  addi- 
tion was  made  later.  In  this  building 
a  school  was  established,  and  main- 
tained during  man}-  years  imder  \ar- 
ions  auspices,  even  down  to  1873.  I'^)r 
a  long  time  it  was  under  the  fostering 
care  of  the  "^Moravian  School  Asscv 
ciation  in  Berks  County,"  which  had 
been  organized  for  this  purpose.  From 
1850  to  1872  the  ]jroperty  was  leased 
to  Olcv  township  for  school  purposes 
at  the  yearly  rental  of  $40.00.  In  the 
course  of  time  the  .Vssociation  named 
became  extinct.  The  last  teacher  of 
the  school  was  Mr.  U.  E.  Merkel.  now 
a  merchant  at  951  P'enn  street.  Read- 
ing, who  instructed  19  i)upils  during 
three   months   in    1873. 

In  1870  the  Legislature  passed  an 
act  appointing  Daniel  Wiest.  Jacob 
Hoch  and  Nathan  DeTurk  trustees  of 
the  "AIora\-ian  School  Association  in 
Uerks  County,"  and  authorizing  them 
to  sell  the  school  ])roi)erty  and  pay  the 
money  realized  therefrom  to  the  Oley 
Acadeni}^  which  had  been  started  in 
1857  with  40  students.  In  case  Oley 
Academy  should  be  discontinued  the 
monev  was  to  be  i)ai(l  to  the  Oley 
school  district.  Ikit  at  a  meeting  of 
30  citizens  28  x'oted  against  selling  the 
property,  and  thus  the  provisions 
Avere   not   carried   out. 

In  1878  the  old  school  house  was 
ijeniolished  and  a  frame  dwelling 
erected  in  its  ])lace,  wdi'ch  is  at  pres- 
ent occupied  by  Mr.  Newton  Correll 
at  the  annual  rental  of  $40.  The  old 
.Moravian  School  Association  having 
l(inu    since    becoine    extinct,    there    a')- 


THE  EARLY  MORAVIANS  IN  BERKS  COUNTY 


31 


l)ears  to  be  no  real  owner  of  this  house 
and  the  three  acres  of  land.  The  pro,)- 
erty  is  now  in  chare^e  of  three  trus- 
tees who  are  elected  by  the  citizens  of 
the  community,  one  each  year.  Any 
one  attending  the  meeting  on  the 
first  Saturday  of  May  may  vote  for  a 
trustee.  The  present  trustees  are 
Daniel  H.  Mover,  I'cnncville  Herbein 
and  Deniah  Leinbach.  Franklin  Y. 
Kaufman  is  the  treasurer.  The  trus- 
tees  do   not   report   to  anybody. 

The    Moravians   established   a   num- 


ber of  schools  at  various  places  at 
early  dates,  for  which  they  deserve 
much  credit.  These  schools  antedated 
by  it  at  least  ten  years  the  charity 
schools  established  by  Michael  Schlat- 
ter and  his  associates.  The  first 
school  established  by  the  Moravians 
was  that  in  Germantown,  which  was 
started  by  Count  Zinzendorf  on  May 
14,  1742,  with  25  girls  and  teachers. 
Mis  daughter  Benigna,  17  years  .of 
age.  was  one  of  the  teachers. 
(to  be  continued) 


The  German  Colonists 

By  Hon.  John  Wanamaker,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


NOTE  —  The  following  address  was 
spoken  into  a  ptionograpli  by  the  Hon.  John 
Wanamaker,  and  delivered  from  the 
phonograph  as  the  President's  Annual  Ad- 
dress before  the  meeting  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania-German Society,  at  Lancaster,  Pa., 
October  6,   1908. 

Lancaster,  above  all  other  towns 
within  the  borders  of  Pennsylvania, 
has  a  claim  upon  the  Society,  as  with- 
in its  ])orders  it  was  born.  Eighteen 
years  ago,  on  February  26,  1891,  six- 
teen representative  men  met  in  the 
Moravian  parsonage  and  concluded  to 
issue  a  call  for  a  general  convention 
to  be  held  at  Lancaster  on  the  15th  of 
the  following  April.  This  meeting  was 
held  in  the  Court  House,  and  was  call- 
ed to  order  by  W.  H.  Egle.  M.D.,  of 
Harrisburg.  After  the  organization, 
Hon.  Geo.  F.  Baer,  of  Reading,  was 
chosen  President.  It  is  from  this 
small  beginning  that  the  Society  has 
grown  to  be  an  important  factor,  with 
a  membership  of  almost  600,  and 
whose  influence  is  felt  in  most  of  the 
.Stales   of  our   L'nion. 

It  has  not  jjcen  so  many  years  ago 
since  I'ancroft.  the  historian,  said, 
s])eaking  of  the  Pennsylvania  Ger- 
mans, that  "neither  they  nor  their  de- 
scendants have  laid  claim  to  all  that  is 
their  ilue?"  W^ere  Bancroft  alive  now 
and  could  see  the  large  volumes  of 
critical  history  ])ublishcd  hv  our 
Societ\-    he    W'Uilfl    certaiidv     irive     us 


credit  for  what  the  organization  has 
done  and  say  that  we  have  opened 
the  eyes  of  tte  world  to  what  is  due 
to  the  early  German  settlers  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  their  descendants,  and 
what  they  have  accomplished,  and 
what  great  factors  the  Germans  were 
in  saving  the  provinces  for  the  Bri- 
tish during  the  French  and  Indian 
wars,  and  later  in  achieving  the  inde- 
jiendence  of  the  Colonies,  and  since 
that  time  have  always  been  prominent 
in  the  cotmcils  of  State,  as  well  as  in 
the  civil,  military  and  religious  affairs 
of  our  great  empire. 

This  and  much  more  is  shown  in 
the  publications  of  our  Society.  Eight- 
een large  octavo  volumes,  rcDlete 
with  documentary  text  and  rare  illus- 
trations, tell  the  story  of  the  German 
settlers  of  Pennsylvania  and  their  de- 
scendants. Besides  this,  they  obtain- 
ed more  tnatter  of  real  historical  re- 
search and  interest  than  those  pub- 
lished by  any  other  hereditary  - 
patriotic  societies. 

Lancaster  county,  the  birth])lace  of 
our  Sf)ciety,  is  known  as  the  garden 
spot  of  Pennsylvania,  and  as  a  strict- 
ly (lerman  county — and  it  was  within 
its  borders,  on  the  banks  of  the  roman- 
tic Cocalico.  where  the  first  Sabbath- 
school  was  organized  by  that  pious 
recluse.  Father  Obed  (Ludwig  Hoch- 
er),  of  the  Ephrata  community,  many 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


years  before  Robert  Raikes  thought  of 
iJI'athering-  the  children  together  on  the 
Lord's  Day  for  religious  instruction 
at  Gloucester,  England. 

As  a  previous  president  said,  "What 
a  glorious  heritage  for  us,  the  des- 
cendants of  German  ancestry,  to  lay 
claim  to  one  of  our  race  who  raised 
so  great  a  harvest  from  the  little  seed 
sown  here  in  such  a  noble  work." 

Among  the  achievements  of  the 
early  German  settlers  let  us  note  the 
first  Bible  in  a  European  tongue,  orig- 
inal hymiibooks  and  devotional  liter- 
ature, too  numerous  to  enumerate. 
Prior  to  the  Revolution  there  were 
more  printing  presses  operated  by 
Pennsylvania  Germans,  and  more 
books  published,  than  in  the  whole' of 
New  England. 

At  least  one-half  of  the  Governors 
of  the  Comonwealth,  ,froni  the  good 
and  honest  Simon  Snyder  to  the  brave 
and  cultured  Gen.  Adams  Beaver,  a 
honored  member  and  ex-President  of 
this  Society  have  come  from  pure 
Pennsylvania  German  stock. 

As  to  the  great  religious  factors 
among  the  early  German  settlers  in 
Pennsylvania  who  have  left  their  in- 
delible impress  upon  our  history  and 
development  it  is  but  meet  to  mention 
names  such  as  H.  H.  Bernard.  Koster- 
Henkel,  the  Aluhlenbergs,  father  and 
sons.  Count  Zinzendorf,  Conrad  Beis- 
sel,  ^Michael  Schlatter,  without  detri- 
ment or  perjudice  to  the  many  other 
l)ious  pioneers  who  ministered  and 
taught  here  during  the  colonial  period. 
"Hail,  future  men  of  Germanopolis." 
wrote  Francis  Daniel  Pastorius,  the 
founder  of  Germantown,  225  years 
ago,  as  ^'\'hittier  has  so  beautifully 
translated  this  earlier  pioneer's  Latin 
poem  : 
■'Hail    to    posterity  I 

Hail    future   meu    of   Germanopolis! 
Let   the   young   generations   yet   to   be 

Look   kindly   upon   this. 
Think    how    your    fathers    left    their    native 
land — 

Dear    German    land!       O.    sacred    heaits 
and    homes — 
And    where    the    wild    beast    roams 

In    patience    planned 
New   forest  homes  beyond   the  mighty  seas. 
There   undisturbed   and   free 
To   live  as  brothers  of  one  familv." 


Pastorius  and  his  brave  band  came 
to  America  in  response  to  William 
Penn's  appeal  to  the  people  of  the 
Rhineland  to  settle  on  his  great  crown 
tract  in   Pennsylvania. 

Penn's  mother  was  a  Hollander. 
Penn's  faith  was  the  faith  of  the  Men- 
nonites  of  the  Palatinate.  Penn  and 
Pastorius  were  great  friends.  They 
came  to  America  with  the  same  pur- 
pose in  view — to  found  a  new  home  of 
religious  and  civil  liberty.  Were  they 
alive  today  they  would  both  rejoice  in 
the  fulfillment  of  their  high  ideas. 

A  little  later,  in  1709,  came  to 
America  those  other  apostles  of  faith 
and  right  living — the  Mennonites  and 
Dunkers — who  settled  in  Lancaster 
county.  Here  they  found  the  richest 
soil  in  America,  and,  be  it  said  to  the 
honor  of  their  children,  and  their  chil- 
dren's children,  that,  although  living 
off  this  soil  for  200  years,  they  can 
hand  it  over  to  posterit}^  any  day  a 
soil  far  richer  than  they  found  it. 
These  religious  brethren,  by  their  sys- 
tem of  fixed  farming,  the  rotation  of 
crops,  have  taught  a  lesson  to  the 
world  in  production  and  economy  of 
wealth. 

Franklin's  criticism  of  the  early 
German  colonists  only  serves  to  show 
that  even  a  great  mind  may  essen- 
tially err  in  reading  other  minds. 
Franklin  complained  that  the  early 
Germans  wdVdd  not  learn  English : 
that  they  sent  home  to  their  Father- 
land for  so  many  books.  Yet  is  was  a 
German  who  cast  a  deciding  vote  in 
favor  of  English  when  the  question 
arose  whether  German  or  English 
should  be  the  ofificial  language  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Legislature.  And  Ger- 
man books  and  German  literature  have 
been  welded,  along  with  those  of  other 
tongues,  into  the  great  American 
literature  and  learning  of  to-day.  Per- 
ha])s  Friend  Benjamin  was  a  little 
afraid  of  what  might  become  of  his 
own  printing  business,  and  we  can  ex- 
cuse his  warped  judgment  in  this  one 
instance. 

Another  criticism  of  the  German 
Colonists — we  might  call  it  another 
fear — was   in   the   Avar     inr    independ- 


THE    GERMAN    COLONISTS 


ence.  ^^'(mld  the  Germans  be  loyal? 
Would  they?  Why,  notwithstanding 
their  a\ersion  to  war,  it  was  a  Ger- 
man eompany  that  was  the  first  to 
reach  General  Washington  after  his 
call  to  arms,  and  Baron  Steuben, 
yon  will  remember,  the  drillmaster. 
was  the  right  hand  man  of  Washing- 
ton. He  it  was  who  took  the  rough 
country  youth  and  hammered  them 
into  an  army.  Christopher  Ludwig — 
you  cannot  mistake  the  origin  of  the 
name — it  was  he  who  was  the  super- 
intendent of  bakeries  of  the  continen- 
tal Army —  Ludwig  whom  Washing- 
ton called  "my  honest  friend."  And 
it  was  the  German  farmers  of  Lan- 
caster county  and  other  German  agri- 
cultural districts  who  raised  the  grain 
that  saved  Washington's  army  from 
starvation  at  Valley  Forge. 

But  I  need  not  tell  you  what  you  all 
know,  how  the  Germans  have  grown 
their  very  lives  into  this  wonderful 
.American  nation,  from  the  very  day 
when  the  first  German  to  come  to 
to  America.  Peter  Minnewitt,  of  W^es- 
sel,  first  set  foot  on  American  soil,  in 
1626,  to  the  twd  davs  before  yester- 
day, when  the  great  body  of  German- 
Americans  largely  heloed  to  save  the 
country  from  the  hands  of  the  theor- 
ists, and  voted  to  send  to  Washington 
a  man  large  enough  in  mind,  as  well 
as  in  body,  to  fill  the  Presidential 
chair,  which  another  man  who  attends 
a  German  Reformed  Church  at  the 
Canital  is  soon  to  vacate  after  seven 
years  of  incessant,  honest  endeavor 
for  the  good  of  his  people. 

Count  Tolstoi  stopped  at  the  road- 
side once  and  asked  a  farmer  who  was 
ploughing:  "Friend,  what  would  you 
do  today  if  you  knew  positively  you 
would  die  tomorrow?"  The  farmer 
replied,  "I  would  keep  on  ploughing." 

I  would  keep  on  ploughing!  How 
inspiring  and  helpful  those  words!  I 
have  always  half  suspected  that  it  was 
a  German  who  utterd  them,  a  German 
who  had  slipped  into  Russia,  for  I  can 
almost  hear  the  same  words  falling 
from  the  lips  of  a  German  Mennonite 
<ir    Dunkcr,    li\-ing    along    the    Cones- 


toga  or  Cocalico.  just  as  you  hear 
these  words  from  my  lips  a  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  away  from  where  1 
actually  am  at  this  very  moment. 

Sincerely  regretting  that  I  cannot 
be  with  you  in  person  at  this  eigh- 
teenth annual  convention  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania German  Society,  I  rejoice 
that  I  can  even  speak  to  you  with  my 
own  voice  through  this  wonderful  in- 
vention of  Mr.  Edison.  And  I  am 
sure  that  you  will  be  glad  to  know 
that  Mr.  Edison  had  a  Dutch  father  to 
guide   and   inspire  him. 

Greetings  and  hearty  wishes  to  all 
our  members  and  to  our  hospitable 
friends  in  Lancaster. 

And  now  let  me  add  just  this:  The 
German  in  America,  as  in  the  Father- 
land stands  pre-eminently  for  three 
things  : 

First — F"aith  in  God. 

Second — Faith   in   the  home. 

Third — Faith  in  education. 
This  is  the  trinity  that  makes  nations 
great.  I  need  not  go  into  details. 
The  statement  is  self-evident.  What- 
ever ]jroblems  are  before  us  in  Amer- 
ica today,  or  will  face  us  in  the  future, 
must  be  solved  through  the  co-opera- 
tion of  these  three  forces,  the  church, 
the  home,  the  school.  These  factors 
enter  into  business,  into  the  profes- 
sions  into   our  ver}^   lives. 

I  hope,  before  my  business  days  are 
over,  to  join  education  with  a  man's 
day's  work,  thereby  dignifying  both, 
and  to  inculcate  in  the  minds  of  our 
people  the  Christian  principles  of 
right  living  and  just  dealing;  co-op- 
erating with  the  growing  boys  and 
girls,  men  and  women,  in  my  business 
life  is  building  and  improving  true 
home  life.  I  am  incorporating  a  Uni- 
^■ersity  of  Trade  and  Applied  Com- 
merce, which  Avill  teach  culture  for 
service,  giving  the  students  at  the 
same  time  a  chance  to  earn  not  only 
their  own  li\-elihood  but  to  advance 
themsehes  in  the  world  by  increasing 
their  own  earning  power  through 
academic  and  technical  education. 
This  is,  I  believe,  what  Pastorius 
would   do  were  .he    here    todav,    what 


34 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Penn  would  do,  what  Benjamin 
Franklin  did,  and  what  every  true 
American,  whether  German  or  Eng-- 
Hsh  will  do.  when  he  rio^htly  under- 
stands  humanity. 

My  earnest  wish  is  for  a  most  suc- 
cessful meeting  of  the  Pennsylvania 
German  Society.  If  I  might  venture 
any  advice,   it  is   this :   Elect  a   Presi- 


dent for  next  year  who  will  not  have 
to  box  up  his  voice  and  send  you  the 
|)oor  substitute  of  a  canned  speech, 
which,  however  wonderful  scientifi- 
cally in  the  transmission,  lacks  the 
heart  and  soul  of  the  personal  pres- 
ence of  the  man  looking  into  your 
friendly  faces. 


Albert  Gallatin,  Statesman 


LBERT  GALLATIN,  who 
was  born  in  Geneva, 
Switzerland,  on  January 
29,  1761,  and  died  at  As- 
toria, Long  Island,  on 
August  12,  1849,  ranks 
foremost  among  all  the 
statesmen  of  Western 
Pennsylvania  in  the  length  and  var- 
iety of  his  public  services  and  in  the 
honors  that  were  conferred  upon  him. 
Coming  to  our  country  in  1780  he  set- 
tled in  1784  on  George's  Creek,  Fay- 
ette county,  where  he  met  Washing- 
ton in  September  of  the  year.  In  1766 
he  bought  a  farm  of  400  acres  at 
Friendship  Hill,  near  New  Geneva, 
on  the  Monongahela,  in  the  same 
county,  on  which  he  resided,  when 
not  absent  on  official  duties,  for  about 
forty-two  years,  until    1826. 

Soon  after  coming  to  Pennsylvania 
Gallatin  became  an  active  participant 
in  the  political  movements  of  the 
time,  identifying  himself  with  the 
narty  of  Thomas  Jeflferson,  of  which 
lie  soon  became  a  leader.  He  was  a 
delegate  from  Fayette  county,  to  the 
Constitutional  Convention  of  1790. 
This  convention  was  composed  of 
very  able  men  and  Gallatin  took  a 
l>romient  part  in  its  deliberations.  He 
successfully  opposed  the  insertion  of 
the  word  "white"  as  a  prefix  to  "free- 
man" in  defining  the  elective  fran- 
chise. In  1790,  1791.  and  1792  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  General  As- 
sembly. In  1793,  when  not  thirty- 
three  years  old,  he  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  LTnited  States  Senate,  in 
which  he  served  from  December  2. 
1793.   to   February   28,    1794,    when   he 


was  declared  ineligible  because  he  had 
not  been  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States  for  a  period  of  nine  years  as 
was  required  by  the  Constitution.  He 
was  succeeded  in  the  Senatorship  by 
James  Ross,  of  Pittsburg,  a  Feder- 
alist. Gallatin  actively  opposed  the 
Whisky  Insttrrection  of  1794.  al- 
though at  first  sympathizing  with  the 
peaceable  opposition  to  the  excise  tax 
on  whisky.  In  that  year  he  was 
again  chosen  a  member  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  from  Fayette  cotmty. 
Iti  December,  1795,  he  took  his  seat 
as  a  member  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  Fourth  Congress, 
having  been  elected  by  a  most  com- 
plimentary vote  in  1794  from  the  dis- 
trict of  Allegheny  and  Washington, 
in  which  he  did  not  reside.  This  was 
a  great  honor.  In  the  House  he  at 
once  took  hig'h  rank.  Fie  was  three 
times  re-elected  a  Representative  in 
Congress,  in  1796,  1798  and  1800 
from  the  same  district  as  the  above 
mentioned,  Greene  county  having 
been  added  to  Allegheny  and  Wash- 
ington in  1796.  He  became  the  lead- 
er of  his  party  in  the  Hotise. 

From  1 801  to  1814  Mr.  Gallatin  was 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  under  Jef- 
ferson and  Madison,  holding  the  posi- 
tion with  honor  to  himself  and  credit 
to  the  country,  for  a  longer  perir)d 
than  any  other  person  has  held  it 
from  the  foundation  of  the  Govern- 
ment. While  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury he  was  the  ardent  and  influential 
friend  of  the  National  Road,  from 
Cumberland  to  the  West.  He  was. 
indeed,  the  author  of  the  scheme  for 
building  the  road.     In  a  speech  in  the 


ALBERT  GALLATIN,  STATESMAN 


35 


House  on  January  ly,  1829,  Andrew 
Stewart  said :  "Mr.  Gallatin  was  the 
very  first  man  that  ever  suggested  the 
plan  for  making  the  Cumberland 
Road."  In  a  letter  which  Gallatin 
himself  wrote  to  David  Acheson,  of 
Washington,  Pennsylvania,  on  Sept- 
ember I,  1808,  he  said  that  he  had 
"  with  much  difficulty  obtained  the 
creation  of  a  fund  for  opening  a  great 
western  road  and  the  act  pointing  out 
its  general  direction."  In  1809  Presi- 
dent Madison  offered  Gallatin  the 
l)ortfolio  of  the  State  Department, 
which  he  declined,  preferring  to  re- 
main at  the  head  of  the  Treasury  De- 
partment. 

In  1813,  while  still  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  Department,  Gallatin  was 
appointed  by  Madison  one  of  three 
commissioners  to  Russia,  the  Emperor 
Alexander  having  offered  his  services 
in  promoting  the  restoration  of  peace 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States.  Negotiations  to  this  end  fail- 
ing. Gallatin  was  api^ointed  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  one  of  five  commissioners 
to  treat  directly  with  Great  Britain, 
and  these  commissioners  signed  the 
Treaty  of  Ghent  in  December,  1814. 
It  is  claimed  by  his  biographers  that 
his  was  the  master  hand  in  the  pre- 
paration of  the  treaty.  In  February. 
1814,  Gallatin  ceased  to  be  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury.  In  1815  he  was  ap- 
pointed United  States  Minister  to 
France,  and  this  position  he  held  un- 
til 1823,  when  he  retvirned  to  the 
United  States  and  to  Friendship  Hill. 
In  1824  William  H.  Crawford,  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury  under  Monroe, 
was  nominated  for  the  Presidency  b}^ 
many  members  of  the  Republican 
party  of  that  day  and  Gallatin  was 
their  choice  for  the  Vice  Presidency. 
After  some  hesitation,  in  a  letter  writ- 
ten from  his  home  in  Fayette  county, 
he  finally  declined  to  be  a  candidate. 
In  May,  1825,  Governor  Shultze  of- 
fered Gallatin  the  position  of  Canal 
Commissioner,  which  he  declined.  In 
the  same  month  he  received  La  Fay- 
ette in  an  address  of  welcome  at 
I'niontnwu.   and    a   dav   or   two  after- 


wards escorted  him  to  Friendship 
Hill,  where  LaFayette  remained  over 
night. 

In  May,  1826,  President  Adams  ap- 
pointed Mr.  Gallatin  United  States 
Minister  to  Great  Britain,  and  this 
position  he  accepted.  His  special 
mission  to  Great  Britain  having  been 
accomplished  he  returned  to  this 
country  in  November,  1827,  although 
the  President  earnestly  desired  him  to 
remain.  In  1828  he  removed  his  resi- 
dence to  New  York  City,  where  he 
continued  to  reside  until  his  death. 
With  this  removal  his  active  connec- 
tion with  public  affairs  virtually  end- 
ed, although  in  1828  and  1829,  at  the 
instance  of  President  Adams,  he  de- 
\oted  much  time  and  his  great  ability 
to  an  exhaustive  study  of  our  troubles 
with  Great  Britain  concerning  the 
Northeastern  boundary,  and  this  sub- 
ject he  again  carefully  investigated. 
In  1840,  when  he  published  "an  elab- 
orate dissertation  upon  it,  in  which  he 
treated  it  historically,  geographically, 
argumentatively,  and  diplomatically," 
his  work  contributing  materially  to 
the  final  adjustment  of  the  contro- 
versy in  the  celebrated  Webster  and 
Ashburton  treaty  of  1842.  Subse- 
quently he  published  a  pamphlet  on 
the  "Oregon  Qeustion"  which  com- 
manded public  attention. 

In  183 1  Gallatin  was  chosen  presi- 
dent of  the  National  Bank,  of  NeAV 
York,  and  this  position  he  retained 
until  1839,  passing  with  great  credit 
through  the  most  trying  financial 
crisis  in  our  history.  He  was  succeed- 
ed in  the  presidency  by  his  son,  James 
Gallatin.  During  the  remainder  of 
his  life  Gallatin  was  active  in  many 
fields  of  usefulness.  In  1842  he 
founded  the  American  Ethnological 
Society.  In  1843  he  was  chosen  presi- 
dent of  the  New  York  Historical 
Society.  In  1844  he  presided  at  a 
mass  meeting  in  New  York  to  protest 
againt  the  annexation  of  Texas  as 
slave  territory,  and  in  1847  he  discus- 
sed the  whole  subject  of  the  annexa- 
tion of  Texas  in  a  pamphlet  "  Peace 
with    Mexico."      He    had    alwavs    held 


36 


ALBERT  GALLATIX,  STATESMAN 


"the  pen  of  a  ready  writer."  In  the 
early  years  of  his  Hfe,  as  also  in  the 
closing-  part  of  his  career,  he  made 
\aluable  contributions  to  the  discus- 
sion of  financial  and  scientific  ques- 
tions. When  he  died  in  1849  he  was 
far  adA-anced  in  his  89th  year. 

Gallatin  early  showed  commendable 
enterprise  in  encouraging  the  estab- 
lishment of  manufacturing  industries 
at  liis  new  home  in  Western  Pennsyl- 
vania. In  1796  or  1797  he  established 
at  New  (Teneva  one  of  the  first  works 
west  of  the  Alleghenies,  if  not  the 
first,  for  the  manufacture  of  window 
glass.  The  (jeneva  works  continued 
in  operation  ior  many  years.  In  1799 
or  1800  Gallatin  established  at  New 
Geneva,  in  company  with  Melcher 
I'aker,  a  practical  gunsmith,  a  factory 
for  making  muskets.  broadswords, 
etc..  \^•hicll  also  continued  in  operation 
lor  several  years,  which  at  one  time 
employed  between  fifty  and  one  hun- 
dred workmen.  After  these  works 
liad    been    in    operation    for   abc^ut   two 


years  Gallatin  withdrew  from  the 
partnership,  his  duties  as  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  not  permitting  him  to 
give  the  enterprise  further  attention. 

Nearly  all  the  public  services  of  Gal- 
latin were  rendered  to  his  adopted 
country  while,  he  was  a  citizen  of 
Western  Pennsylvania,  and  these  ser- 
\-ices  were  of  an  exalted  character. 
\\'estern  Pennsylvania  soon  recog- 
nized his  great  ability,  and  the  distinc- 
tion it  cc^nferred  upon  him  brought 
him  the  nation's  recognition.  The 
whole  State  of  Pennsylvania  may, well 
l)e  proud  of  his  achievements  and  of 
his  unswerving  devotion  to  the  best 
interests  of  his  country.  He  was  not 
always  right,  as  his  opposition  to  our 
protective  tariff  policy,  but  even  in 
this  opposition  we  are  told  by  Judge 
Veech  that,  although  "his  free  trade 
])roclivities  were  fixed,  yet  he  did  not 
obtrude  them  in  his  States  papers." 
He  believed  in  a  rcAenue  tariff. 

prom  Swank's  Progressive  Penns}'!- 
vania. 


Grandmother's  Tales 


H.   W.   Kriebel,   Esq.,  • 

Dear  friend:  — 

I  venture  the  enclosed  effusion,  not  for  any  literary  merit,  for  I  am  aware  it 
possesses  none;  but  to  make  clearer  what  I  mean  when  I  have  the  temerity  to  sug- 
gest to  you,  that,  in  conversation  with  a  number  of  friends,  there  is  voiced  a 
sentiment  lamenting  the  lack  of  some  corner  in  our  literature  where  might  be  pre- 
served and  once  more  enjoyed  the  delectable  legends  and  tales  which  mother  or 
grandmother  entranced  our  young  imaginations  with  around  the  kitchen  hearth 
fire  during  the  long  winter  evenings,  to  the  accompaniment  of  the  hum  of  her  busy 
si)inning    wheel.     Suppose    we    call    it    a    corner    for    Grossmiitterchen    am    Feierheerd. 

How  does  the  suggestion  strike  you,  and  could  a  number  of  your  readers  be 
induced  to  contribute  to  that  corner,  if  established,  either  in  verse  or  prose,  some 
of  those  dear  old  fables  and  stories  that  I  believe  would  make  many  a  reader's 
heart  glow  again  with  the  keen  relish  of  youth,  and  soothe  many  a  woe  of  the  day's 
1  tattle  of  life,  as  once  they  healed  the  wounds    and    discouragements   of   childhoond? 

Pardon   the   intrusion,   and   utilize   the    suggestion  for  what  it  may  suggest  to  you. 

Very   cordially   yours, 

H.    A.    WELLER. 

GROSSMUTTERCHEN   AM   WINTER   OWETS   FEIRHERD— 

Erzaehlungun — Der    Schiitz    im    Bush    or    Die    Jagd    Noch'm    Gluck 

I^n   Schiitz  leid  mued'  im    liusli 

L'n    wart    fer's    \A'il])ert   kumrne, 

.'^ei  muede  Auge  blinke  druff". 

I'n'  er  is  wahrhaftiy'  eiijeschhiinniert. 


GRANDMOTHER'S    TALES  37 

Der  gansse  Daag  rumher  geloffe, 

Uewwer  Fels  un  Berg,  darch  heck  un    Dahl. 

Kenn  wnnner  is  er  so  eig'chlofe 

Dort  uf  em  Moos,  im  sunne  Strahl. 

Zwee  Foegel  hupse  in  dem  Keschte 

Grad'  iwwer  em   sclilacferige  "  ding,"  Acrschpeit ; 

Un'  iinnig  em   Schatte   l)rumme   die   Weschpe, — 

Sin  an   kenn   blessierliche   Nochbersleit. — 

En   Draehmlin   spncht   dort  drowwe  im  Gippel, 

Als  weiter  rnnner  darch's  keschte  Laab ; 

Now  jnmp])t's  vom  unnerschte  Nascht,  zum  Zi])pe] 

Uf'm  schlof-kop  seinere  wolHche  Capp. 

Sehn !  's  grawelt   ihm   nf  die   IJackke  nnnner, 
Un   schluppt   schneli    nnnig   sei    Ange-deckel : 
Verhehlt,  verstecht,  macht's  Unruh  kummer, 
Un'  mohlt  en  picten  mitt'me  Weddel 
Von  sunshei  un'  shatte  darcl^  ennaner, 
Uf'm  Schuetz  sei  Auge-appel  gar  schoe. 
Er  rnehrt  sich  rumm  als  haet  en  Jammer 
Ihn  fescht  gepettzt  in  mark  un  beh. 

Now  is  's  verbei, — die  Unruh  g'stillt, — 

'S  DraehmHn   is  ihm   in's  kenntniss  g'schHche : — 

Was  macht's   now  aus  wann  ah'n   Bender  brillt; — 

Von  aller  welt  is  ihm's  wisse  g'wiche. 

En   Schmunzelche  grawelt  ihm  iwwer  die  wange, — 

'S  wert  breeter  un  gluecklicher  alle  minnut — 

Er  streckt  die  haend  nous,  als  waer  eppes  vergange, 

Un's  G'sicht  werd  ihm  dunkel  wie'n  verlorhrener  Muth. 

Wass  f ehlt  ihm  ?  —  Wass  sehnt  er  ? —    • 

Wass  spuckt  ihm  des  Draehmlin  ins  herz  dief  ei? — 

Witt's  wisse?  —  Dann  kumm  in  der  Bush  her 

Un  sehn  wass  en  hexeli  so'n  Drahmch  kann  sei. 

'S  draehmt  ihm  en  Roselin,  so  bloo  wie  der  Himmel, 

Waeckst  iwwer'me  Dahl  im  a  berg-fels  nei, 

Un  wer  so  en  Roesechen  pflickt  dem  is's  gewimmel 

Unglueck  des  lewens  ver  ewig  verbei. 

Nord  draehmt's  ihm  's  wer  kenn  glueck  wie  sell  glueck 
Was  ehm  b'scheert  waer  wann  er  sell  Roschen  nur  haett; 
So  macht  er  sich  uff  un'  losst  alles  im  stich, 
Un'  wochel'ang,  monathlang  laafd  er,  bei  steck  un'  bei  heck, 
Dem  Berg  en'gege  woo's  bloo  Roschen  waeckst, 
Biss  sei  doth-muede  glieder  en  gar  nimme  drawge ; 
Nord  sehnt  er  dass  zwichig  ihm  un  em  Roschen  vehext 
En  diefy  Gluft  sperrt,  un'  er  fangt  aw  zu  glaage : 

So  weit  bin  ich  kumme  mei  glueck  mir  zu  finne. 

So  mued  bin  ich  worre,  ich  kann  ninimy  geh ; 

Un'  now,  wann  ich's  shier  haett  gebrocht  zum  gewinne. 

Muss  mer  im  weg  so  en  diefy  Gluft  steh. 

Wie  mach  ich's  doch?  —  Nivver  kann  ich  net  springe, 


38  GRANDMOTHER'S    TALES 

Un's   Roselin   dess  nickt  sich,  wie's  gruesse  wot  mich  ; 
Dort  steht's  steil  am   Berg, — Wer  kann   mich  hie  bringe? 
Mei  glueck  muss  ich  hawe.  sonst  bin  ich  im  stich. 

Oh,  wie  dief  is  die  Ghift !     Kenn  abgrund  dort  driinne. 

Uii'   dunkel   un'  schwartz,   's   vverd'mr  greislich   dabei  ! 

Hab  ich'mr  ball  herz  un  beh   do  abg'sprunge 

Um's  Roselin   zu  griege ;  —  now  is  alles  verbei  ! 

Haett'   ich    mei    kraefte    mir   g's]:)aart,    un    maessig   gelauscht, 

Dann  kennt  ich  die  Gluft  iwwer-springe.     Awer  seh. 

Die  kraefte  sin'  fort,  —  ich  bin  wie  berauscht, — 

Un'  alt  bin  ich  worre :  Ach.  weh !     Ach,  O  weh  ! 

So  glaagt  er,  now  alt>  un'  sei  haar  wie  der  Schnee, 

Un'  sehnt  sich  zurueck  an  der  dag  woo  er  naus, — 

En  ganss  junger  mensch,  wunner  lustig  un'  schoe, — 

Fer  schuesze  en  Wilpert  im   Bush  owwer'm   Haus. 

Die  zeit  is  verkumme,  sei  daage  sin'  hie, 

Der  weg  wo  er  kumme  is  glaen^zt  beeder  seits 

Mitt  glueckliche  daage  dass  er  so  versaeumt 

In  der  jagd  noch'me  Roselin  ;  un  weit  drowwe  leit's 

Un  lacht  ihm  ins  g'sicht,  —  so  butt's  ihm  gedraeuhmt. 

Awer  sehn  !     Uf'me  fellse,  dc^rt  iwwer  der  Gluft. 

Steht   en   holdschoene   g'stallt.     Un'   winkt   ihm    der   mann  : — 

Vertrau   mir.     Ich  helf  dir.     So  laut's  in   der  luft. 

Uewwer  die  sperrende  Gluft  streckt  sich  en  maechtiger  arm. 

Er  greift  fest  die  hand  die  sich  zu  ihm  hie  streckt, 

Un'  ruft,  Ich  vertfau  dier,  Oh  Jesu,  mei  Herr! 

In   mir  so  viel  suend  un   versaeumniss   doch  stekt, 

Ich   muss   mich   job   schemme.  —  dier   leid's   gemac.ht   schwer. 

A'erzei    mir.     Dem    Roschen.  —  dort    owwich    dir    steckt's, — - 

Bin   ich  lewelang  noch   un   hab  alles   versaeumt. 

Now  sehn  ich  was  in  der  jugend,  mit  rot  blut  verhetzt. 

Ich  so  oft  verschmaet,   un   mir  annerst  gedraeuhmt. 

Halt  fest,  Lieber  Jesu,  in  die  Gluft  will's  now  geh  ; 

Ich  gerricht   mich  aw   nimm}-  wann   dei  hand  mich  behalt: 

Druhm  loss  mei  versaeumte  zeit  mich  drohen  mit  weh. 

Ich  trotz  ihr,  —  ich   bin   fest.  Ich   kumm  niwwer  bald. 

Now  seht,  liewe  Kimier,  der  Schuetz  is  beglueckt ; 
Am   end   hott   er's   Roselin,  —  sei   glueck,  —  doch   gepflickt ; 
Awwer.  er  keent  wie  sei  duhens  sei  haerz  haett  verruckt 
AVann  er  net  noch  am  end  haett  der  Hiland  erbilckt. 
'S  Roselin   Ijleibt  ihm  now  ewig  zu  hand  : 
Er  is  gluecklich,  un'  herrlich  im  seege  verwandt ; 
Die  Welt  mit  ihr'm  laerm  haett  ihn  greislich  verbannt, 
Awwer  Jesu,  der  Ilerr,  fuert  ins  recht  \'aterland. 

H.  A.  WELLER. 
Orwigsburg,  Pa.,  November  Qth,   1908. 

Note:  We  hcpe  our  readers  will  take  the  cue  and  recount  for  the  pages  of 
THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN  some  of  the  tales  they  have  heard.  Fireside 
Storeis  ought  to  become  a  valuable  feature  of  the  magazine  this  year..  Let  us  hear 
from   vou. — Editor. 


39 


THE  HOME 


Receipts  from  a  Grandmother's  Collection 


As  announced  in  our  November  issue  we 
take  pleasure  in  presenting  to  our  readers 
tlie  receipts  so  kindly  contributed  by  a 
Nebraska  subscriber.  For  obvious  reaisons 
she  prefei-s  not  to  have  her  name  appear  in 
connection  therewith.  This,  however,  does 
not  make  her  contribution  any  the  less  in- 
teresting or  valuable.  Among  other  things 
in  a  letter  to  the  Editor  of  this  Department 
she   says: 

"My  mother  who  was  Scotch,  could  never 
learn  to  read,  understand  or  speak  Ger- 
man and  as  she  appreciated  "Dutch  vit- 
tles,"  my  German  grandmother  made  for 
her  an  English  translation  of  the  receipts 
that   had    been    handed   down. 

"My  great-grandmother  kept  house  from 
1767  to  1811,  and  went  to  Philadelphia 
twice  a  year  for  the  supplies  she  could  not 
find  in  Lancaster.  She  distilled  her  own 
extract,  candied  orange  and  lemon  peel, 
ground  her  own  spices,  and  pounded 
things  in  a  mortar.  Her  cooking  of  course 
was  done  in  a  brick  oven,  and  her  roast- 
ing before  the  fire.  In  the  latter  part  of 
her  reign  she  doubtless  did  some  baking 
in  a  "ten  plate  stove,"  for  there  are  some 
rules  for  drop  cakes  and  cookies.  Some 
directions  are  minute — others  rather  vague. 
F^'or  instance,  "Sponge  Cake"  "10  Eggs — 
then  weight  in  fine  sifted  sugar,  half  their 
weight  in  fine  sifted  flour,  grated  rind  and 
juice  of  half  a  lemon,  beat  half  an  hour, 
and  put  in  the  oven  when  cool  enough." 
Now— how  is  one  to  tell  when  the  oven  is 
I'ight  for   sponge   cake? 

"I  think  the  recipe  for  'mince  pie'  is  the 
gem  of  the  collection.  Cook  tender  in 
slightly  salted  water  a  fresh  beef  tongue 
and  let  it  cool  in  the  liquor  it  was  boiled 
in.  When  cold,  skin  it,  take  about  2-3  its 
bulk  in  fresh  kidney  tallow  (suet)  and  cut 
all  fine  with  the  rocking  knife.  Now  weigh 
this,  and  take  the  weight  of  it  in  seeded 
raisins,  and  in  cleaned  currants.  Take  the 
weight  of  all  these  in  good  sour  pippins 
cut  fine,  1  whole  nutmeg  grated,  %-oz. 
each  of  ground  cinnamon  and  cloves,  the 
grated  rind  and  juice  of  2  lemons,  1  hand- 
ful each  of  candied  orange  and  lemon  peel 
cut  fine,  a  glass  of  current  jelly.  Wet  with 
the  best  of  cider  and  sweeten  to  taste  with 
soft  sugar.  Put  in  a  big  crock,  cover  with 
a  cloth,  and  when  it  begins  to  "crack"  it  is 
ready  to  use.  Serve  pies  hot.  and  just  be- 
fore serving,  put  a  tablespoon  full  of 
brandy  in  the  vent  of  each  one.  Of  course, 
the   cider   is   to  crack,   not  the  crock.     You 


see    she    knew    that    cooking    brandy    takes 
away  the  reason  for  using  it." 


SQUAB— TO  COOK 

Pick — singe  and  dress — Fill  with  cooked 
chestnuts  and  potatoes  in  equal  measure — 
and  allow  %-oz.  butter  to  each  bird; 
roast   before   a   good   fire. 

To  serve  with  this,  take  a  cup  full  of 
boiled  chestnuts,  a  cup  full  of  stoned  rai- 
sins cooked  in  just  enough  water  to  plump 
them.  Mix  and  pour  over  all  a  pint  of  wine 
(I  use  sherry).  Let  stand  over  night. 
Make  a  sauce  of  table  spoon  butter,  table- 
spoon flour,  and  the  wine,  drained  from 
the  nuts  and  raisins,  2-oz.  fine  sugar  and 
a  pinch  of  mace.  Boil  up  and  put  in  nuts 
and  raisins  and  boil  again  when  it  is  ready 
to  serve.  This  must  be*  commenced  a  day 
before  wanted. 

This  is  almost  too  good  to  be  true. 


ROAST   DUCK 


Dress  a  young  duck  and  rub  over  night 
with   salt   and    pepper. 

For  the  filling,  take  of  sour  stoned  rai- 
sins, currants,  chopped  sour  apple  and 
bread  crumbs,  a  small  handful  each,  and 
one  large  cooked  mealy  potato  mixed  with 
an  ounce  of  butter  while  hot.  Mix  all  to- 
gether, fill  duck  lightly,  sew  .up  vents, 
truss  into  good  shape  and  bake  before  a 
hot  steady,  fire.  Do  not  overdo.  Make  a 
gravy  by  browning  a  tablespoon  of  flour  in 
the  drippings,  adding  the  giblets  (which 
should  be  cooked,  and  pounded  fine  in  a 
mortar)  with  the  water  they  were  cooked 
in.     Boil  up  and  "it  is  done." 

Garnish  duck  with  thin  slices  of  lemon. 
Serve  with  this  a  compote  of  cherries  or 
currants. 


CHESTNUT   SOUP 

Boil,  hull  and  peel  a  quart  of  chestnuts. 
Melt  3-oz.  of  butter  in  a  pan,  and  toss  the 
nuts  about  in  it  for  a  few  minutes  but  do 
not  brown  them.  Then  add  2  quarts  good 
rich  veal  stock  and  let  the  nuts  boil  in  it 
until  very  tender,  when  they  must  be  put 
through  a  fine  sieve.  Boil  up  again — add  a 
))int  of  rich  sweet  cream,  a  teaspoonful 
of  fine  sugar,  a  pinch  of  cayenne  pepper 
and  salt  to  taste. 


40 


EDITORIAL  DEPARTMENT 


The  Pennsylvania-German 

An  illustrated  monthly  magazine  devoted  to 
the  Biography,  History,  Genealogy,  Folklore, 
Literature  and  General  Interests  of  German 
and  Swiss  settlers  in  Pennsylvania  and  other 
States  and  of  their  descendants. 

Editorial  Staff 

H.  W.  Kriebel,  Publisher  and  Editor,  East 
Greenville,  Pa. 


Rev.    J.  A.    Scheffer,    Associate  Editor, 
245  North  Sixth  street,  Allentown,  Pa. 

Mrs.  H.  H.  Funk,  Editor  of  "The  Home," 
Springtown,  Pa. 

Prof.  E.  S.  GERHARD,_Editor  of  "Reviews 
and  Notes,"  Trenton,  N.  J. 

Price,   11.50  a  year,  in  advance  ;  15  cents 
per  single  copy. 

Additional    particulars    are    found    on 
page  2  of  the  cover. 


We  wish  all  our  readers  a  Happy 
and  Prosperous  New  Year.  While 
uttering  this  wish  we  are  also  making 
for  ourselves  a  firm  resolve  to  do  all 
we  can  to  please  and  entertain  you 
through  the  monthly  visit  of  THE 
PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN. 

The  publisher  and  editor  takes 
]jleasure  in  expressing  herewith  his 
appreciation  of  and  thankfulness  for 
the  valuable  services  rendered  by  Mrs. 
H.  H.  Funk,  of  Springtown,  Pa.,  and 
FVc^f.  E.  S.  Gerhard,  ofTrenton,  N.  J., 
tlie  past  year  in  the  editing  of  the 
magazine.  He  is  also  happy  to  be 
able  to  sa}^  that  the  readers  of  the 
magazine  will  have  the  benefit  of 
their  aid  the  coming  year.. 

The  addition  of  the  Rev.  J.  A. 
SchefTer,  of  Allentown,  Pa.,  to  the 
I'^ditorial  Staff  Avill  be  appreciated  by 
all.  His  becoming  a  co-worker  with 
us  will  mean  per  se  a  better  magazine, 
a  freer  hand  for  the  editor  and  pub- 
lisher, a  more  careftil  attention  to  the 
I)usiness  details  of  the  magazine.  His 
education,  experience  and  love  for  our 
special  field  of  work  fit  him  in  a 
l^eculiar  manner  to  render  valuable 
assistance. 

To  the  credit  and  honor  of  these 
workers  it  needs  to  be  stated  that  a 
sacrificial  love  for  the  cause  THE 
PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN  stands 
for,  prompts  them  to  render  their 
royal  and  loyal  service.  They  with 
the  publisher  are  looking  for  the  day 
when  the  increased  circulation  of  the 
magazine    w\\\    bring    them    some    fair 


return    for    their    labor.     Reader,    will 
you  help  to  speed  the  day? 

Our  readers  are  requested  to  note 
carefully  the  revised  business  regula- 
tions as  given  on  page  2  of  the 
cover.  We  wish  mutual  trust  and 
co-operation  to  reign  in  otir  widely 
scattered  and  diversified  family  of 
readers.  We  believe  these  rules  if 
carefully  observed  will  make  the  con- 
duct of  the  business  more  easy,  more 
satisfactory,   more   economical. 

In  Aarious  previous  issues  reference 
was  made  to  the  proposed  ])ublication 
of  "  Death  Records."  While  the  sub- 
scription list  does  not  warrant  our 
contract  the  increased  expense  in- 
curred thereby  we  undertake  the  pub- 
lication of  such  records  in  this  issue 
cc^nfidently  expecting  a  sufficient  in- 
crease of  business  to  counterbalance 
the  additional  outlay.  What  the  out- 
come will  be  must  depend  in  great 
measure  on  the  reception  accorded 
this  attempt.  We  invite  frank  and 
free  criticism  of  the  plan  adopted  and 
considerate  forbearance  if  in  details 
our  judgment  does  not  always  com- 
mend itself  to  the  individual  reader. 
We  strive  to  serve  and  stand  ready  to 
accept  the  good  advice  of  our  readers. 

As  we  are  writing  these  lines  an 
inquiry  reaches  us  from  Connecticut: 
"  What  has  become  of  Dr.  Berge3''s 
Penna's.  in  Science,  etc?"  This  re- 
minds us  that  quite  a  number  of 
promised  articles  have  not  been  pub- 
lished. These  promises  were  made 
in  good  faith  by  publisher  and  contri- 
butor and  will  be  met  as  soon  as  cir- 


EDITORIAL    DEPARTMENT 


41 


cunistances   permit.  The  contributions  tell   your   friends    that    the}'    can    get 

arc  deferred  but  not  forgotten.  this  and  three  additional  numbers  for 

All     orders    for  this    issue    can    be  2c^  cents  as  a  trial  subscription.  NOW 

filled  during  January.     Do  not  fail  to  is  the  time  to  subscribe. 


Clippings  from  Current  News 


— A  bronze  tablet,  3  by  4  feet,  in  a  granite 
boulder  of  eight  tons  and  6  feet  high,  com- 
menoratiug  the  services  of  John  Jacob 
Mickley  and  Frederick  Leaser,  who  hauled 
the  Liberty  Bell  from  Pihladelphia  in  1777 
to  Allentown  to  be  held  in  Zion  Reformed 
Church  during  Howe's  occupancy  of 
Philadelphia,  was  unveiled  November  19, 
in  front  of  the  present  church.  Governor 
Stuart  was  unable  to  attend.  State  Treas- 
urer, John  O.  Sheatz,  was  the  orator.  An 
address  was  made  by  Mrs.  Donald  McLain, 
president  general  of  the  Daughters  of  the 
American  Revolution,  tinder  whose  ausp- 
ices the  unveiiing  took  place,  the  State 
having  appropriated  $1000  to  pay  for  the 
tablet.  Mrs.  Allen  P.  Perley,  State  regent 
presented  the  tablet,  which  was  accepted 
by  Major  H.  H.  Herbst  and  Pastor  H.  M. 
Klein.  The  tablet  was  unveiled  by  9- 
year-old  Edwin  John  Jacob  Mickley,  a 
descendant  of  one  of   those  honored   today. 

The  inscription  is  as  follows  : 
"In  commemoration  of  the  saving  of  the 
Liberty  Bell  from  the  British  September. 
1777.  Erected  to  the  memory  of  John 
Jacob  Mickley,  Commissary  of  Issues  and 
member  of  the  General  Committee  from 
Whitehall  township,  Northampton  County, 
.  Pa,,  who  under  cover  of  darkness  and  with 
his  farm  team  hauled  the  Liberty  Bell 
from  Independence  Hall,  Philadelphia, 
through  the  British  lines  to  Bethlehem, 
where  the  wagon  broke  down,  September 
23,  1777.  The  bell  was  transferred  to 
Frederick  Leiser's  wagon  and  brought  to 
Allentown,  September  24,  1777.  It  was 
placed  beneath  the  floor  of  Zion  Reformed 
Church,  where  it  remained  secreted  for 
nearly  a  year.  This  tablet  is  placed  by  the 
order  of  the  Assembly  of  the  Commonwealth 
of  Pennsylvania,  June  2,  1907,  under  the 
Auspices  of  the  Pennsylvania  Daughters  of 
the  American  Revolution.  Mrs.  Alfred  P. 
Saeger,  chairman;  Miss  Minnie  F.  Mickly, 
secretary;  of  the  Jacob  Mickley  memorial 
committee,  appointed  by  Alice  P.  Perley. 
State  Regent  of  Pennsylvania,  U.  S.  D.  A. 
R." 

— Commemorable  of  General  Andrew  At- 
kinson Humphreys  and  the  Pennsylvania 
troops  who  fought  on  the  battlefield  here 
in  the  60s.  a  monument  was  unveiled  in 
the  Fredericksburg  National  Cemetery, 
November  11. 


President  Baer,  of  the  Reading  Reail- 
way,  who  heads  the  Fredericksburg  Mem- 
orial Commission  of  Pennsylvania;  Gover- 
nor Stuart  and  Staff  and  Rear  Admiral 
Winfield  Scott  Schley  were  among  those 
who  participated. 

About  1500  Pennsylvanians,  principally 
Federal  veterans,  marched  in  parade. 

Mr.  Baer  presided  at  the  ceremonies. 
Major  Robert  W.  Hunter,  represented  Gov- 
ernor Swanson,  of  Virginia,  and  Judge  J. 
T.  Goolrick  spoke  for  the  Confederate 
Veterans,    Governor    Stuart   responding. 

The  monument  was  unveiled  by  Miss 
Letitia  Humphreys,  daughter  of  the  Gen- 
eral, Assistant  Secretary  of  War  Oliver, 
on  behalf  of  the  United  States  Government, 
received  the  monument  from  Governor 
Stuart.  Colonel  A.  K.  McClure,  of  Phila- 
delphia,   delivered    the    oration. 

— The  following  from  an  exchange  is  an 
interesting  comment  on  American  elec- 
tions: 

The  quadrennial  election  in  the  United 
States  is  by  far  the  most  impressive  ex- 
hibition of  popular  government  given  the 
world  to  witness.  Compared  with  it  all 
elections  in  other  countries  are  mere  kin- 
dergarten lessons  in  popular  suffrage.  In 
Great  Britain,  where  a  property  qualifica- 
tion prevails,  the  total  number  of  votes 
cast  at  the  last  election  for  members  of 
Parliament  was  5,601,406.  In  Germany, 
where  members  of  the  Reichstag  are  elect 
ed  by  universal  suffrage,  there  were  9,- 
495,000  votes  cast  at  the  last  election.  In 
France  where  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  is 
elected  by  universal  suffrage,  there  were 
at  the  last  enumeration  10,231,532  voters, 
of  whom  only  7,657,429  voted.  Australia 
and  New  Zealand  have  liberal  election  laws, 
but  the  population  is  comparatively  small. 
Elections  in  these  countries  do  not  include 
the  heads  of  government  and  are  in  all  re- 
spects tame  affairs.  The  United  States  has 
a  population  in  round  numbers  of  90,000.- 
000,  with  nearly  15,000.000  voters.  The 
total  vote  for  President  in  1904  was  13,528.- 
979,  and  this  year  it  doubtless  approximatde 
15,000,000.  The  impressiveness  of  our  elec- 
tion is  enhanced  by  the  fact  that  every 
voter  votes  for  officers  from  the  President 
of  the  United  States  down  to  township 
trustees  and  that  all  the  voting  is  done  in 
one   day.     That    so   gigantic    an    exercise   of 


42 


CLIPPINGS   FROM   CURRENT  NEWS 


Ijopular  suffrage  can  be  made  with  so 
little  friction  the  results  acquiesced  in  so 
readily  by  all  parties  is  splendid  evidence 
of  the  wisdom  of  the  framers  of  our  poli- 
tical system  and  of  the  orderly  and  law- 
abiding  spirit  of  our  people. 

— Oscar  Hammerstein,  born  in  Berlin, 
Germany,  landed  at  Castle  Garden  at  the 
age  of  15  witli  17  cents  in  his  poclvet  and 
a    determination    to    succeed    in    his    breast. 

His  first  post  was  as  a  cigarmaker,  at 
$2  a  weeli.  This  was  raised  in  time,  but 
meanwhile  the  adroit  youngster  had  plan- 
ned a  machine  which  could  do  his  work 
quicker,  and  more  acceptably.  This  he  per- 
fected, patented,  and  sold.  With  its  pro- 
ceeds he  made  liis  fortune.  With  his  for- 
tune he  has  made  himself  a  power  in  the 
musical  world,  has  assembled  a  splendid 
coterie  of  singers  in  his  theatres  and  opera 
houses,  and  has  built  more  houses  for  his 
pi-oductions  than  any  other  man  in  this 
country. 

His  new  opera  house  in  Philadelphia, 
Pa.,  erected  in  five  months'  time  under  the 
direction  of  his  son  Arthur,  and  opened 
November  17  is  said  to  be  the  finest  build- 
ing of  its  kind  in  the  world.  The  Public 
I.,edger  said   of  it  editorially  November  IS: 

The  triumphant  opening  of  the  new 
Philadelphia  Opera  House  is  an  event  of 
even  more  importance  in  the  history  of 
Philadelphia  than  was  the  famous  dedica- 
tion of  the  Academy  of  Music  half  a  cen- 
tury ago.  It  marks  more  than  a  half  cen- 
tury's advance  in  civic  development.  In 
an  astonishingly  short  time  Mr.  Hammer- 
stein has  created  here  a  great  theatre, 
whose  proportions  and  equipment  would 
make  it  a  centre  of  attraction  in  any  Jocal- 
ity,  and  in  it  he  has  established  a  perma- 
nent operatic  organization,  with  a  truly 
wonderful  list  of  great  artists  at  his  com- 
mand, whose  presentation  of  grand  opera 
will  be  of  a  standard  unexcelled  in  any 
capital  in  the  world.  He  is  doing  this 
without  any  subvention  of  any  kind,  rely- 
ing wholly  upon  the  merit  of  his  work  to 
command   the   support  of  the  community. 

— Rev.  Samuel  G.  Wagner,  D.D.,  was 
born  October  4th,  1831.  His  father  was 
the  Rev.  Henry  Wagner.  His  paternal 
grandfather  and  maternal  great-grand- 
father came  to  this  country  from  Germany. 
Dr.  Wagner  spent  his  boyhood  in  Lebanon, 
Pa.,  where  he  attended  the  local  academy. 
He  graduated  from  Marshall  College  in 
1850,  being  the  salutatorian  of  his  class. 
In  the  same  class  were  the  late  Thos.  G. 
Appel  and  the  late  Dr.  C.  Z.  Weiser.  After 
completing  the  theological  course  in  the 
seminary  at  Mercersburg  he  was  for  two 
years  associated  witli  the  Rev.  C.  Z.  Weiser 


in  conducting  the  academy  which  remained 
at  Mercersburg  after  Marshall  College  was 
removed  to  Lancaster  and  there  united 
with  Franklin  College.  In  the  summer  of 
1855  he  became  pastor  of  Boehm's  Church 
and  Whitemarsh  Church  in  Montgomery 
County,  where  he  remained  until  May  1868, 
when  he  was  called  to  St.  .Tohn's  Church, 
Allenton.  He  was  pastor  of  this  church 
for  a  period  of  thirty-six  years,  until  his 
retirement  from  the  active  ministry,  July 
1st,  1904.  Thus  his  long  service  of  forty- 
nine  years  in  the  Christian  ministry  com- 
prised only  two  pastorates,  which  is  one 
evidence  of  the  affection  that  always  ex- 
isted between  him  and  his  people.  About 
fifteen  years  ago  he  was  instrumental  in 
organizing  Trinity  Reformed  Church 
in  the  western  part  of  Allentown,  and  he 
also  encouraged  other  mission  churches 
and  aided  the  remarkable  extension  of  the 
Reformed   faith   in   that  city. 

Dr.  Wagner  served  the  Reformed  Church 
long  and  well  in  many  important  i^ositions. 
He  was  frequently  a  delegate  to  the  East- 
ern Synod,  and  served  as  president  of  the 
former.  He  was  for  thirty  years  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Franklin 
and  Marshall  College,  and  for  nearly  the 
same  length  of  time  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Visitors  of  the  Theological  Semi- 
nary at  Lancaster,  and  for  a  number  of 
years  the  president  of  the  latter  Board.  He 
was  at  various  times  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Education  of  Eastern  Synod,  of 
the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  of  the 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions.  From  1S68  to 
1875  he  was  an  instructor  in  the  Allen- 
town  College  for  Women,  and  for  years  a 
member  and  president  of  its  Board  of 
Trustees. 

In  1880  the  honorary  degree  of  D.D.  was 
conferred  upon  Dr.  Wagner  by  Franklin 
and  Marshall  College. 

In  1859  he  was  married  to  Miss  Rebecca 
Earnest,  of  Norristown,  who  died  Decem- 
ber 1st,  1900.  Four  children  were  born  to 
them,  three  of  whom  died  in  early  child- 
hood. The  fourth  is  the  Rev.  C.  E.  Wag- 
ner, who  since  1893  has  been  professor  of 
English   at   Franklin   and   Marshall    College. 

For  several  years  after  his  retirement  in 
1904  Dr.  Wagner  continued  to  live  in  Al- 
lentown amongst  the  people  to  whom  he 
had  ministered  for  a  generation.  Then 
came  failing  health,  and  for  the  remaining 
days  of  his  life  he  made  his  home  with 
Professor  and  Mrs.  Wagner  in  Lancaster, 
where  he  died  October  30,  1908.  Funeral 
services  and  interment  were  held  in  Allen- 
town,   Pa.     — Reformed   Church    Messenger. 


43 


The    Forum 


>EW  YEAR'S  SHOOTERS 

NOTE. — The  following  lines  condensed 
from  a  letter  in  the  "Reformite  Kirchen 
Zeitung"  of  Jan.  15,  1850  give  us  a  glimpse 
of  a  custom  among  the  Germans  through 
the  eyes  of  an  observer  60  years  ago.  The 
habit  of  getting  "full"  on  such  occasions 
was  more  prevalent  probably  at  that  time 
in   Pennsylvania  than  the  writer  intimates. 

I'Lsteemed  Air.  Schnieck: 

To  you  and  yours,  your  co-workers 
in  the  printinji:  office  to  the  readers  of 
the  Kirchenzeitung,  the  "Messenger" 
and  all — A  Happy  New  Year.  The 
wish  is  well  meant  even  if  belated :  if 
it  is  fulfilled  it  is  still  in  time. 

It  so  happened  that  I  spent  my 
New  Year  in  a  German  congregation 
and  here  I  had  the  first  time  the 
honor  (for  an  honor  it  was  intended 
to  be)  to  have  a  New  Year  opened 
1)}^  shooting.  To  the  honor  of  the 
])articipants  stated  it  must  be  that  the 
])roceedings  were  proper  and  orderly. 
l-'irst  a  very  short  prayer  in  the  form 
of  New  Year's  Greetings  was  uttered 
for  the  family:  then  followed  a  "Rev. 
^^^  we  wish  you  a  happy  New  Year, 
health  and  long  life,  and,  not  to  startle 
us  unexpectedly  or  impolitely  with 
shooting  they  asked  whether  they 
might  shoot.  This  was  becoming  and 
])roper.  After  a  short  pause  there  fol- 
lowed a  "bump  !  bump  ! !  bump  ! ! !" 
The  shooting  must  be  sanc- 
tioned. One  can  not  expect  3^oung 
people  to  walk  about  2,  3  or  4  hours 
at  night  to  pray  for  people  and  wish 
them  well  without  allowing  them  the 
l)leasure  of  burning  some  powder. 

But  what  I  want  to  say  is  I  have 
lieard  that  on  such  occasions  it  often 
happens  that  cider,  whiskey,  etc.  are 
given  so  that  after  an  hour  or  two 
their  heads  swim,  resulting  naturally 
in  disorderly  conduct.  Against  this 
1  want  to  protest  (In  A'-our  old  Penn- 
sylvania such  things  do  not  happen  ; 
}-our  peo])le  are  better  educated).  So 
far  as  I  am  aware,  this  does  not  hap- 


])en  in  ni}'  own  church,  for  people  be- 
gin to  realize  that  one  can  live  better. 
work  better,  erect  houses  and  barns 
more  cjuickly,  more  safely  and  better 
without  than  with  whiskey. 

The  New  Year's  Greeting  made  a 
favorable  impression  upon  me.  The 
earnest  tone  of  the  speaker  may  m 
part  have  caused  this.  It  took  a  long- 
while  until  I  fell  asleep  again.  *  * 
I  desire  to  add  that  as  long  as  I  was 
among  Germans  no  one  asked  a  New 
Year's  Gift  of  me;  among  English 
young  people  hardly  any  New  Year's 
Greetings  are  heard,  but  instead  a 
continuous  calling  for  Christmas 
gifts  and  New  Years  Gifts.  Such  an 
impolite  begging  is  distasteful  to  me. 
The  German  custom  pleases  me  bet- 
ter. Yours, 

SOUTHERN  OHIO. 

*  4«    «!• 

^Voinelsdorflf    and     Nuuneniaoher     Families 

P.  E.  Womelsdorff,  Mining  Engineer, 
Philipsburg,  Pa.,  is  endeavoring  to  trace 
up  his  ancestors  the  Womelsdorffs  and  the 
Nunnemachers  who  settled  near  Berne 
or  Womelsdorf,  Pa.,  prior  to  1764  and  who 
were  connected  by  marriage  with  Conrad 
Weiser's  family.  Any  information  placed 
at  his  disposal  will  be  greatly  appreciated. 

*  4*     * 

Reprints  of  Song:  and  Music  Requested 

A  subscriber  in  Hooverville.  Pa.,  suggests 
the  desirability  of  reprinting  the  music 
and  words  of  the  cradle  song:  Weist  du 
wie  yiel  Sterne  stelien?  which  appeaed  in 
the  issue  for.  November,  1908.  We  shall  be 
pleased  to  learn  whether  there  are  other 
subscribers  who  take  a  like  interest  in  the 
same  and  would  support  an  ei¥ort  to  re- 
publish  it.. 

*  •!•     4" 

Steiner-Fryberger  Family 

Miss     Elizabeth     Fryberger,     Philipsburg, 

Pa.,   desires    the    dates    of    birth,    marriage 

and  death  of  the  forbears  of  the  following: 

(1)   .Tacob    Fulmer    Steiner,    of   Montgomery 

County.   Pa.,  born  Aug.   25,   1808    (?),   son 

of  John,  born  Feb.  17.  1799    (son  of  John 

and   Elizabeth)    and   Christena. 


44 


THE   FORUM 


Fulmer  born  Sept.  1,  1801  (daughter  of 
Daniel    and    Catherine    Fulmer). 

(2)  Jonathan  Freiberger,  of  Berks  County. 
Pa.,  born  Dec.  14,  1808,  died  July  25,  1871, 
son  of  Philip  and  Elizabeth   (nee  Shaffer) 

Freiberger. 

(3)Sarah  Moyer,  of  Berks  County, Pa.,  mar- 
ried to  Johann  Freiberger  March  12,  1834. 
born  June  13,  1817,  died  Dec,  1907. 
daughter    of    George     and     Barbara     (nee 

Fisher )    Moyer. 

4.     .J    4. 

The  Geriiian  Fanner 

A  York  County  subscriber  has  expressed 
himself  as  follows  respecting  the  German 
farmer  of  Revolutionary  days: 

De  Pennsylvanisch  Deitscha  bauera  siu 
youst  sc  gute  lent  os  die  welt  hut.  Sie  sorge 
for  die  Sache  wu  leib  un  seei  zusamma  holt. 
Zu  sellera  zeit  warre  die  Yankeys  do:  die 
hen  dar  kop  voll  larning  un  en  patearecht 
for  Ihre  Gesheitheit  und  wie  der  Washing- 
ton kumme  is  sin  die  deitsche  bauera  mit 
nn  hen  die  Yankeys  verdult  rum  gaglubt 
un  sie  wara  au  net  verzagt:  sie  hen  sie 
zum  Schinner  geyagt  and  hen  ihre  freiholt 
be  holte  wu  mer  jets  gans  dankbar  sei 
sutta.  Wann  sella  mol  en  mon  geld  geva 
bet  wella  for  stimme  waer  gsagt  werra:  — 
Du  bust  meh  geld  wie  Verstand. 

*     *     <• 

A   Word  of   CoiiiiueMdation 

We  thank  our  Germantown  brother  for 
the  following  lines.  We  should  be  pleased 
to  have  him  relate  some  of  his  school  ex- 
periences. 

Although  not  a  German  nor  in  any  way 
directly  connected  with  the  German  race 
except  by  a  remote  descent  through  the 
line  of  Adam.  I  am  nevertheless  connected 
with  it  in  a  sympathetic  sense  by  having 
lived  on  a  farm  among  the  "Pennsylvania 
Dutch"  and  having  attended  an  old-fash- 
ioned country  "Dutch"  school  for  several 
years,  I  came  to  greatly  admire  and  love 
them  for  their  many  sterling  ({ualities.  So 
I  yet  love  to  mingle  freely  with  them,  and 
although  removed  from  the  scenes  of  my 
childhood,  I  yet  live-  in  thought  among 
them.  *  *  *  You  are  doing  a  most 
commendable    work.        *     *     * 

4»    *     * 

The    <Md    Fashioned   "Singiiip-    School" 

A  subscriber  in  the  District  of  Coluni- 
l)ia  suggests  a  theme  for  an  article  in  the 
following  lines.  Who  will  take  up  the  sub- 
ject? 

German  Cradle  Song  by  Croll  suggests 
music.  Much  has  been  said  of  the  old  time 
schools  but  there  is  another  i!)stitu(i(ui 
deserves  an  article  in  your  magazine — that 
irt.  the  old  fashioned  "singing  school."  Tf 
still    !i\iHg.    Prof.    Samuel    Riegel,    of   Leba- 


non, Pa.,  could  do  this  subject  justice. 
There  are  several  pieces  of  music  of  local 
character  you  hear  occasionally,  to  the 
tune  of  "Simon  Schneider."  What  is  this 
tune?  Also  "Kutztown"  jig  or  hornpipe, 
etc. 

4"    4»     * 

Information  Wanted : 

of  the  father  and  descendants  or  family  of 
the  late  Sebastian  Weidman,  of  Codorus 
Township,  Pennsylvania,  who  i  n  1761 
bought  of  James  Web  and  his  wife  Hannah. 
100  acres  of  land  in  Hempfield  Township. 
Lancaster  County,  Pa.,  and  in  1767,  sold 
84  acres  of  said  land  to  Henry  Bare. 

In  1789  he  made  a  will,  and  when  he 
died  it  is  supposed  that  he  left  three  sons, 
Henry.  Jacob  and  John  and  a  widow  nam- 
ed Elizabeth.  His  executors  were  Freder- 
ick  Munima    and    Deiter    Brubaker. 

Any  information  sent  to  Rev.  A.  J.  Fretz. 
Milton  P.  O.,  New  Jersey,  will  be  thank- 
fully  received. 

J.  L.   W. 
St.   Jacobs,  Ontario,  1908. 

4»    4»     * 

FOR  THE  JOKE  BOOK 

— During  a  financial  panic,  according  to 
a  contemporary,  a  German  farmer  went  to 
a  bank  for  some  money.  He  was  told  that 
the  bank  was  not  paying  out  money,  but 
was  using  cashier's  checks.  He  corM  not 
understand  this,  and  insisted  on  money. 

The  officers  took  him  in  hand,  ou'^  after 
another,  with  little  effect.  At  last  the  presi- 
dent tried  his  hand,  and  after  long  and 
minute  explanation,  some  inkling  of  the 
situation  seemed  to  be  dawning  on  the  far- 
mer's mind.  Much  encouraged,  the  presi- 
dent said: 

"You  understand  now  how  it  is,  don't 
you,    Mr.    Schmidt?" 

"I  t'ink  I  do,"  adimitted  Mi',  Schmidt. 
"It's  like  dis,  ain't  it?  Ven  my  babv  vakes 
u])  at  night  and  vants  some  milk,  I  gif 
him   a  milk  ticket." 

— A  professor  in  the  University  of  Ber- 
lin, who  came  to  this  country  a  year  ago. 
was  much  surprised,  according  to  a  story 
which  President  Hadley  contributes  to  the 
Yale  Alumni  Weekly,  when  he  traveled  in 
a  sleeping-car,  to  be  askel  by  the  porter 
for  his   berth  ticket. 

"My  birth  ticket?"  he  sa-id.  "I  have  my 
l)assport,  I  have  my  letter  of  credit,  and  T 
have  even  in  my  trunk  my  certificate  of 
vaccination,  but  why  the  railroad  should 
want   my   birtli  ticket   I   do  not  see." 

"But."  said  the  porter,  "  I  must  know 
whether    you    have    u])i)er    or    lower    berth." 

"Upper,  of  course!"  said  the  German. 
"Look  at  my  passport.  Does  it  not  say. 
"Well   and   highly   born?" 


THE   FORUM 


— This  is  how,  eighty  years  ago,  a  cer- 
tain minister,  in  a  certain  place,  closed  his 
farewell    sermon: 

"Noch   emol,   noch   emol,   ich   sage  euch 
(Jelt     regiert     die     Welt:     Diimmheit,     ener 
Deich; 

Besunders   die   K ly,   die   valley   draiis, 

Ehne    laht   die    Dummheit   die   Ohre    raus. 
Als   Kelver   hab   ich    euch   a'gretroffe. 
Ais   Oxe   diihn   ich   euch   jetzt   verlosse. 

Amen.      Lost   uns   bete!" 

— A  minister  in  entering  the  home  of  a 
church  member  heard  the  wife  say:  "Here 
comes  the  minister:  this  visit  does  not  suit 
me  at  all."  She  welcomed  him  however 
and  urgently  requested  him  to  stay  saying 
she  would  prepare  a  chicken  dinner.  He 
stayed,  dinner  came;  so  did  the  chicken. 
On  leaving  he  passed  a  boy  of  the  family 
sitting  by  a  hen  coop  sobbing  and  petting 
a  young  chicken.  To  his  inquiries  the  boy 
in   tears    replied:    '"Eys   bieble   hut   ka   Mam 


meh:  du  hust  sie  g'fressa  fer  Mittag."  (The 
chicken  has  no  mother:  you  devoured  her 
for   dinner). 

— A  minister  brother  of  large  mental  and 
|)hysical  capacity  transmits  the  following: 
Saddle  your  Pegasus  again,  brother,  our 
readers  will  enjoy  your  poetic  effusions. 

In  token   dot  I'm   glad  we  met 
I    send   to   you   this   Cardlet 
And    hope    we   may    already   yet 
Some    time    again    togedder    get. 
In    the    counties   settled    by    the   Pennsyl- 
vania    Germans     stone     arch     biidges     for 
roadways   across   streams   were  built  at  an 
early    date.      In    the    remote    timbered    sec- 
tions  wooden   bridges    were   constructed  be- 
cause they   were  cheaper.     The   stone   arch 
is    so   durable,    however,   that   it   is    coming 
into    favor    everywhere,    with     this     differ- 
ence— that      the      modern     bridge     arch     is 
being  bulit  of  concerete. 


Meeting  of  Pennsylvania-German  Society 


The  Pennsylvania-German  Society,  one 
of  the  largest  and  most  active  historical 
organizations  in  the  country,  assembled  in 
Lancaster,  Pa.,  Oct.  6,  1908,  from  all  sec- 
tions of  the  Commonwealth  to  attend  the 
eighteenth  annual  convention.  The  session 
was  held  in  the  Franklin  and  Marshall 
college  chapel,  which  was  filled  with  the 
visitors  who  included  many  men  of  promi- 
nence in  the  State. 

The  one  feature  of  disappointment  ex- 
])erienced  ■  was  the  absence  of  the  Presi- 
dent, Hon.  John  Wanamaker,  of  Philadel- 
phia, whose  physician  forbids  his  presence 
at  i)ublic  functions  at  this  time.  The 
chair,  however,  was  excellently  filled  by 
the  Vice  President,  James  M.  Lamberton, 
Esq.,  of  Harrisburg,  who  called  the  meet- 
ing to  order,  and  introduced  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Theodore  E.  Schmauk,  of  Lebanon.  The 
latter  delivered  an  eloquent  invocation. 

The  visitors  were  then  extended  a 
warm-hearted  welcome  by  Rev.  Dr.  J.  S. 
Stahr.  "You  are  welcome,"  he  said,  "to 
the  hearts  and  homes  of  Lancaster."  He 
si)cke  of  the  befitting  compliment  paid  to 
this  city  in  giving  it  an  opportunity  to 
again  welcome  the  society,  as  it  was  born 
in  this  citj'.  Dr.  Stahr  also  welcomed  the 
Germans  to  the  college  and  kindred  insti- 
tutions and  he  recalled  a  number  of  names 
of  distinguished  men  of  German  stock  who 
shed  lustre  on  Lancaster  and  Franklin 
and   Marshall   College. 

Mr.  Lamberton  responded  to  the  wel- 
come with  brief  appropriate  remarks. 

A  letter  from  Mr.  Wanamaker  was  then 
read,   in  which  he   expressed   regret  at   the 


necessity  that  forbade  his  presence,  but  he 
had  delivered  his  address  into  phonograph 
and  sent  it  on. 

The  instrument  was  then  turned  on  and 
the  members,  paying  rapt  attention,  heard 
distinctly  every  word,  and  followed  the 
speech  with  long  applause. 

The  Secretary  of  the  society,  Capt.  H. 
M.  .  Richards  reported  that  during  the 
past  year  twenty-eight  new  members  were 
elected  and  twelve  died.  The  present 
membership  is  474. 

Mr.  Julius  F.  Sachse,  of  Philadelphia, 
the  Treasurer,  reported  that  the  society 
has  funds  amounting  to  $2,422.70,  with  a 
cash  balance  of  $1,944. 

The  election  of  officers  was  next  in  or- 
der, and  the  following  were  unanimously 
elected  upon  nomination  by  the  Nominating 
Committee: 

President,  Thomas  C.  Zimmerman,  Read- 
ing; Vice  President,  Hon.  W.  U.  Hensel, 
Lancaster,  and  Rev.  P.  C.  Croll,  Lebanon: 
Treasurer,  Julius  F.  Sachse,  Litt,  D., 
Philadelphia;  Executive  Committee,  Rev. 
T.  E.  Schmauck,  Lebanon;  Rev.  Dr.  N.  C. 
Schaeffer,  Lancaster,  and  Prof.  Geo.  T. 
Ettinger,  of  Allentown. 

Mr.  Zimmerman  responded  to  the  honor 
conferred  upon  him  with  apjireciative  re- 
marks of  thanks.  He  paid  a  high  tribute 
to  the  Society  and  reviewed  to  some  ex- 
tent its  distinguished  history  and  achieve- 
ments. 

The  presiding  officer  then  called  upon 
ex-Governor  Pennypacker  for  remarks. 
When  the  familiar  figure  of  the  former 
Executive   arose   he   was   greeted   with   pro- 


46 


THE    MEETING    OF    THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN    SOCIETY 


longed  applause.  He  said  it  was  a  sudden 
and  unexpected  call,  like  a  loyal  Pennsyl- 
vania-German, he  said  he  would  have  to 
obey.  He  then  discoursed  upon  the  vir- 
tuous characteristics  of  the  German  race, 
who,  he  said,  are  virtually  the  rulers  of 
the  modern  world.  In  them  the  thought  of 
religious  liberty  was  first  and  best  ex- 
pressed, and  the  date  of  1683,  when  the 
pioneers  came  to  this  country  and  settled 
In  Germautown,  marked  the  epoch  in 
American   history. 

An  illuminating  and  entertaining  paper 
on  "The  Educational  Activity  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Germans  in  Colonial  Times,"  was 
read  by  Dr.  N.  C.  Schaeffer.  It  was  a 
very  comprehensive  sibject,  but  all  of  its 
phases  were  emphasized.  Stress  was  laid 
upon  the  fact  that  there  is  a  difference  be- 
tween "schooling"  and  education."  The 
early  Germans  devoted  attention  not  only 
to  academic  learning,  but  along  lines  now 
termed  manual  training  they  were  ahead 
of  modern  times.  '  In  things  that  made  for 
efficiency  they  sought  skill.  They  likewise 
combined  religious  instruction  with  the 
training  of  their  schools.  Tributes  were 
paid  to  the  distinguished  masters  of  the 
pioneer  days,  who  struggled  through  heavy 
vicissitudes,  and  many  interesting  facts 
"ere  relatpd,  notable  among  which  were 
these:  That  the  completion  of  the  Mason 
and  Dixon  line  was  the  work  of  a  Pennsyl- 
vania German,  Rittenhouse,  and  that  two 
of  the  world's  greatest  telescopes  were 
established  and  paid  for  by  Pennsylvania 
Germans,  viz.,  those  of  the  Lick  and  Yer- 
kes    observatories. 

Dr.  Schaeffer  compiled  a  list  of  the  Ger- 
man Governors  of  this  and  other  Com- 
monwealths, and  he  suggested  that  further 
research  l)e  made  in  order  to  get  a  list  of 
the  distinguished  Americans  who  sprung 
from    the     Pennsylvania     Germans.        Sum- 


ming up,  he  held  that  the  education  of  the 
Colonial  times  produced  effects  in  religious 
training  that  the  modern  public  school 
cannot  equal,  and  that  in  respect  to  its 
literacy  the  Pennsylvania  German  school 
was  the  equal  of  that  of  the  New  England 
States  and  the  superior  of  old  England. 

Theo.  Pershing,  Esq.,  was  on  the  pro- 
gramme for  a  paper  on  "Recent  publica- 
tions Bearing  on  the  Social  Life  of  the 
Pennsylvania-Germans,"  but  he  was  not 
present.  The  question  however,  was  dis- 
cussed by  Dr.  J.  H.  Dubbs,  who  dwelt  up- 
on both  the  favorable  and  unfavorable 
side  of  the  German  social  life. 

Dr.  S.  P.  Heilman,  of  Heilmandale,  Pa., 
offered  a  resolution  providing  for  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  committee  to  comnile  a 
complete  Pennsylvania  German  Bibliog- 
graphy.  The  society  went  on  record  as 
favoring  the  suggestion  and  the  resolution 
was  then  referred  to  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee. 

After  extending  thanks  by  a  rising  vote 
to  the  citizens  of  Lancaster  and  the  col- 
lege authorities  for  courtesies  and  hos- 
pitality   extended,    the    Society    adjourned. 

At  noon  the  visiting  guests  were  served 
a  complimentary  luncheon  by  the  authori- 
ties of  Franklin  and  Marshall  College  and 
A.cademy    and    the    Theological    Seminary. 

During  the  afternoon  the  visiters  were 
shown  through  the  college  ,  grounds  and 
buildings  and  were  given  a  trolley  ride 
through  the   city. 

The  closing  feature  of  the  session  was 
the  annual  banquet,  held  at  Hotel  Wheat- 
land, Hon.  W.  U.  Hensel  acting  as  toast- 
master,  and  toasts  were  responded  to  by 
Rev.  Dr.  Joseph  H.  Dubbs,  Hon.  Henry 
Houck,  Secretary  of  Internal  Affairs.  Hon 
Frank  B.  McClain  and  former  Governor 
Samuel  W.  Pennypacker. 


At  a  banquet  given  by  German  Amer- 
ican physicians  in  New  York  to  Professor 
Robert  Koch,  the  great  bacteriologist,who 
passed  through  this  country  on  his  way  to 
.Ta|)an,  Andrew  Carnegie,  the  great  phil- 
anthropist, was  present.  He  had  been  in- 
vited because  he  had  contributed  $200,000 
to  the  Robert  Koch  Fund  for  the  advcnce- 
ment  of  scientific  research.  Prof.  Koch, 
who  as  a  true  scholar,  is  a  very  modest 
man,  turned  off  the  flood  of  praise  pour- 
ed on  him  and  directed  it  to  Carnegie,  who 
did  not  "grasp  the  situation"  readily  be- 
cause he  does  not  understand  German.  He 
had  to  be  told  in  English  what  was  going 
on.  Knowing,  however,  that  all  the  Ger- 
mans   around    him    knew    English    just    as 


well  as  their  own  tongue,  he  "rose  to  the 
occasion"  and  said  that  he  would  gladlv 
part  with  one  of  his  millions  if  by  such  a 
"cash  down"  he  could  get  at  once  full  pos- 
session and  use  of  the  German  language, 
as  he  was  feeling  keenly  the  disadvantage 
of  not  being  acquainted  with  that  tongue 
to  which  civilization  owed   so  much. 

— Henry  Baumgartner,  of  near  Vera 
Cruz,  Lehigh  County,  is  the  possessor  of 
the  first  organ  used  by  the  Moravians 
shortly  after  settling  in  Emaus  in  1742. 
The  instrument  is  said  to  be  in  excellent 
condition  considering  its  age.  Its  con- 
struction is  very  plain,  being  practically 
free  of  ornaments  and  is  not  at  all  heavy 
or  bulky.     The  organ  is  unique. 


47 


Reviews  and  Notes 


Flashlights  on  Evangelical  History:  A  vol- 
ume of  Entertaining  Narratives  and 
Incidents,  Illustrative  of  the  Evan- 
gelical Work,  founded  by  Rev.  Jacob 
Albright,  in  1800  A.  D.  '  By  Rev.  A. 
Stapleton,  A.  M.  D.D.  Cloth;  193  pp. 
Illustrated;  second  edition.  Price  $1. 
Published  by  the  author,  York,  Pa., 
1908. 

This  book  is  vi^hat  its  title  purports  it 
to  be  "  flashlights  on  Evangelical  history." 
The  author  states  that  he  did  not  attempt 
to  write  a  connected  history — and  so  much 
the  greater  the  pity.  The  indications  seem 
to  be  that  there  is  material  here  for  a  good 
historian   to  write  a  connected  history. 

The  founding  of  this  religious  organiza- 
tion dates  back  to  the  year  1800  when  Rev. 
.Jacob  Albright  founded  the  first  three 
"societies."  Rev.  Albright  was  born  near 
Pottstown,  Pa.,  1757;  and  died  at  Millbach, 
Le])anon    county,    1808. 

The  book  gives  an  interesting  account  of 
the  old  time  campmeeting,  a  thing  of  the 
past.  It  contains  some  valuable  history 
of  the  frontier  life  of  Pennsylvania  of  one 
hundred  years  ago.  Probably  the  most  ex- 
citing and  interesting  part  of  the  narra- 
tive is  the  account  of  the  uprising  of  the 
Indians  of  the  Great  Northwest  during  the 
Civil    War. 

Kace  or  Mongrel:  A  Brief  History  of  the 
Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Ancient  Races  of 
the  Earth.  By  Alfred  P.  Schultz. 
Cloth;  gilt  top;  370  pp.  L.  C.  Page  & 
Co.,  Boston.     1908. 

The  author  of  this  book  is  a  practicing 
,  lihysician  at  Monticello,  N.  Y.  He  came 
from  Germany  when  ten  years  old.. 

Here  is  a  vigorous  thinker  and  a  still 
more  vigorous  writer  with  a  unique  theory, 
namely:  "that  the  fall  of  nations  is  due  to 
inter-marriage  with  alien  stock;  a  demon- 
stration that  a  nation's  strength  is  due  to 
racial  purity;  a  prophecy  that  America 
will  sink  to  early  decay  unless  immigra- 
tion   Is    vigorously    restricted." 

There  is  a  good  deaL  in  this  book  that  is 
true,  and  there  is  still  more  that  is  ex- 
aggeration, assumption,  and  enthusiasm. 
The  author  has  seemingly  been  carried 
away  by  his  enthusiasm  in  his  favorite 
theme  that  the  one  cause  of  race  degen- 
eration is  the  intermarriage  with  other 
races.  To  prove  this  he  has  heaped  u|)  a 
vast  amount  of  supi)osedly  ethnological 
lore.  The  entire  family  of  nations  is  pas- 
sed in  review;  and  all  the  members  are 
either  praised  for  keeping  pure  the  blood 
of   their    progenitors,   or    for    contaminating 


it  by  intermarriage.  To  say  that  the  na- 
tions of  old  perished  because  of  their  in- 
termarriages with  alien  peoples  is  as- 
sumption; and  this  assum])tion  reaches  its 
height  when  it  is  said  that  there  "is  not 
a  trace  of  evidence  in  favor  of  the  view 
that  Jesus  was  not  a  Jew,"  and  that  "^he 
New  Testament  is  as  little  the  continuation 
of  the  Old  Testament  as  it  is  the  continua- 
tion of  the  teachings  of  Buddha,  or  Con- 
fuscius. 

South  America  seems  to  receive  more 
than  its  share  of  the  author's  scorn.  One 
has  never  read  such  a  scathing  account 
and  description  of  the  South  American  Re- 
publics of  mongrel  race.  He  blames  the 
enforcing  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine  for  most 
of  the  deplorable  social  and  political  life 
of  these  countries.  There  are  manj^  people 
in  the  United  States  who  doubt  the  wis- 
dom of  enforcing  this  unwritten,  and  non- 
constitutional  law,  but  very  few  are  ready 
to  agree  with  the  writer  that  it  is  "the 
most  abominable  atrocity  that  was  ever 
committed  by  white  men  against  the  white 
races." 

From  the  point  of  ethnology  and  anth- 
ropology the  writer's  .  arguments  will  not 
stand.  The  book,  however,  is  written  in  a 
very  simple  and  interesting  style;  the  sen- 
tences are  all  very  short  and  simple.  It 
contains  much  that  is  worthy  of  reflection. 
It  is  another  note  of  warning  that  this  in- 
cessant influx  of  immigants  is  a  menace 
to  the  characteristics,  institutions  and 
ideals   of  our   country. 

The  Sense  of  the  Infinite,  By  Oscar  Kuhns, 
Professor     of     Romance     Languages 
Wesleyan     University,     and     author     of 
"Dante    and    the    Engl'sh     Poets,"     and 
"German     and      Swiss     Settlements    in 
Pennsylvania."      Cloth;     gilt     top;     265 
pp.  Price  $1.50  net.    Henry  Holt  &  Co., 
New  York.     1908. 
This   is  a  discussion   of  the   transcenden- 
tal   elements    as    found    in    Literature,    Life 
and    Religion.        In    the     introduction    the 
author   has   clearly  defined   his   position  an.l 
has    limited    the    sco])e    of    the    discussion. 
The  subject  is  bared  and  defined  in  the  sec- 
ond   chapter   "as    that    instinct   or    sense   or 
feeling    of   the   human     soul     by     means    cf 
which    it    is    drawn    out    of    everyday    con- 
sciousness,   and    brought    into    an    elevated 
state  of  mind,  by  the  contemplation  or  vis- 
ion   of    those    things    which    arouse    within 
us  a  sense  of  timeless  Being,  of  the  Abso- 
lute  the    Infinite,    the   One."      It    is   striving 
of    Fitness    after    the    Infinite    when    trying 
to  think  the  thoughts  of  God  after  him,  the 
striving    of    Imperfection    after    Perfection, 


48 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


the  feeling  of  Power,  a  "Rock  higher  than 
[,"   that  the   author   endeavors   to   explain 

This  book  has  nothing  to  do  with  that 
Oriental  mysticism  that  borders  on  irra- 
tional pantheism  and  fanaticism.  It 
treats  of  "those  experiences  that  come  from 
time  to  time  to  all  men,  which  are  in  their 
essence  fraught  with  blessing  to  the  inai- 
vidual  as  well  as  to  humanity  at  large." 
The  subject  is  as  old  as  human  thought, 
but  it  has  never  been  presented  with  more 
clearness  or  more  illuminating  power.  Ex- 
amples from  Plato  to  James  have  been 
summoned  to  bear  witness  to  the  truth 
that  this  Sense,  this  Feeling  of  the  Infinite 
is  omnipresent  and  eternal. 

We  are  told  that  there  are  three  phases 
of  nature  which  have  at  all  times  been 
peculiar  outlets  into  the  spiritual  world — 
the  mountains,  the  sea,  and  the  starry  hea- 
\ens.  And  in  speaking  of  the  sea  with  its 
multitudinous  water  as  itself  a  symbol  of 
the  Infinite,  one  could  expect  that  a "  poet 
like  Tennyson,  who  is  surely  the  poet  of 
the  sea,  would  be  quoted  with  his  "Break. 
Break,  Break,"  and  "Crossiing  the  Bar," 
with  the  sea  as  the  great  deep  of  eternity. 
And  in  fact,  Tennyson  on  the  whole  we 
think,  could  be  cited  effectively  with  his 
"Higher  Pantheism"  and  "  The  Voice  and 
the  Peak"  to  show  the  power  and  pres- 
ence of  the  transcendental  element  in  Vic- 
torian literature.  And  one  almost  feels 
like  saying  the  same  thing  about  Browning 
with  his  message  of  The  Glory  of  the  Im- 
perfect; although  he  was  neither  a  meta- 
physician nor  a  transcendental ist  but  it  is 
after  all  the  striving  of  the  Imperfect  af- 
ter the  Perfect  that  makes  life  worth  while. 

Prof.  Kuhns  has  given  the  term  mysti- 
cism a  new  and  hallowed  meaning;  he  has 
cleared  it  of  its  ill-repute;  for  there  are 
many  prosaic  minded  people  of  the  imme- 
diate present  who  smile  with  disgust  at 
mystically  inclined  people  as  being  unbal- 
anced, and  who  think  those  religious  sects 
designated  as  mystics  as  being  "queer"  and 
out  of  date  because  they  continue  to  hold 
to  the  simple  faith  of  their  fathers  and  to 
be  guided  by  the  Inner  Light.  Such  fun 
))oking  mu.st  cease  In  the  light  of  such 
sane  criticism. 

The  book  is  a  scholarly  and  thought-pro- 
voking work  on  the  subject  that  is  at  pres- 
ent foremost  in  matters  philosophical  and 
pyschological — subliminal  consciousness.  It 
ought  to  have  a  wholesome  effect  upon  this 
lushing,  work-a-day  world  that  measures 
its  contentment  and  happiness  .too  much 
by  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  stock  market, 
that  trails  many  of  its  ideals  in  the  dust, 
and  that  has  its  mind  fixed  too  little  on  the 
abiding    things    of    life. 

Thp  Study  of  Nature.  By  Samuel  Christian 
Schmucker,  Ph.  D.  Professor  of  Biolog- 


ical  Sciences,  West  Chester    (Pa.)  State 
Normal   School.     Cloth,   12mo.,   illustra- 
ted;   315    pp.       In     Lippincott's     Educa- 
tional   Series,   Vol.   VII    edited   by   Prof. 
M.   G.   Brumbaugh,   Ph.  D.  LL.  D.,   Super- 
intendent   of    the    Philadelphia  Schools; 
J.  B.  Lippincott  Company,  Philadelphia 
and   London.      1908. 
Prof.    Samuel    Christian    Schmucker    was 
born  in  Allentown.  Pa.     He  graduated  from 
Muhlenburg  College   and   later   received  his 
Ph.  D.  degree  from  the  Universjty  of  Penn- 
sylvania.    He  has  held  a  number  of  promi- 
nent positions;    since  1895  he  has  been  Pro- 
fessor  of   Biological    Sciences   in    the    State 
Normal    School   at   West  Chester,   Pa. 

It  is  with  pleasure  in  these  days  of 
pseudo-nature  study  and  "nature  fakirs"  to 
come  across  this  wholesome  and  admirable 
wcrk  on  the  study  of  nature — the  great 
world  out-of-doors.  It  is  manifestly  the 
work  of  one  who  studies  nature  and  does 
net  study  abcut  nature;  of  one  who  com- 
bines a  scientific  method  with  a  spirit  of 
reverence. 

It  is  amply  illustrated;  the  colored  plates 
made  from  water-colors  by  the  wife  of  the 
author  are  little  works  of  art.  .It  is  writ- 
ten in  an  admirably  simple  style;  it  is 
scholarly  without  being  technical,  and  it 
is  scientific  without  being  "unpopular."  It 
is  a  book  that  will  be  eagerly  read  both  by 
lovers  of  nature  and  by  lovers  of  books. 

Messrs.  Moffat,  Yard  &  Co.,  New  York, 
have  published  -John  Luther  Long's  novel, 
"FELICE,"  a  story  of  Italian  life.. 

"Modern  Language  Notes,"  published  by 
.lohn  Hopkins  University,  Baltimore,  Md., 
contains  in  its  November  numlier  some 
technical  writings  on  Chaucer,  Goethe. 
Browning,  Longfellow,  etc.  These  contri- 
butions are  nearly  all  of  the  nature  of 
textual    criticisms. 

4i     •{•     4*  * 

— Berks  county  has  many  aged  people. 
Isaac  H  Wenrich  and  his  wife  Rebecca,  of 
Bernville,  are  said  to  be  the  oldest  mar- 
ried couple  in  northern  Berks.  They  cele- 
brated their  67th  wedding  anniversary  in 
October.  They  were  married  October  24. 
1841,  by  Rev.  Daniel  Ulrich.  Mr.  Wenrich 
is   89  years  of  age,   and  his  wife   86  years. 

— Earnest  Schindler  and  nine  adult  sons, 
of  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  all  voted  at  the  recent 
Presidential    election. 

—  The  names  of  ex-Governor  Penny- 
packer,  .ludge  Sultzberger  and  George 
Wharton  Pepper  are  mentioned  among 
others  as  candidates  for  the  Supreme 
Court  to  succeed  Chief  Justice  Mitchell, 
whose  term  expires  in  .lanuary.  1910.  His 
successor  will  be  nominated  next  May  and 
elected   in   November. 


Vol.  X 


FEBRUARY,  1909 


No.  2 


Washington's  First  Commission,  Victory  and  Defeat 

HOW  A  VIRGINIA  HUNTER  AND  TRAPPER  SAVED 
THE  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON 

By  John  Hadden,  Uniontown,  Pa. 


MOSE  familiar  with  the 
early  history  of  Western 
Feimsylvinia  will  recall 
that  in  the  fall  of  1753, 
George  Washington  was 
commissioned  by  His 
Honor,  Robert  Dinwid- 
dle, then  Governor  of  the 
colony  of  Virginia,  as  a  special  envoy 
to  proceed  to  the  headwaters  of  the 
Allegheny  and  demand  of  the  French 
commander  his  object  in  establishing 
forts  and  trading  posts  upon  lands 
claimed  by  the  English  crown.  This 
was  the  first  important  pnblic  service 
intrusted  to  Washington  and  brought 
him  at  once  into  public  view. 

Dinwidde  now  realized  that  inaction 
on  his  part  would  lose  to  the  English 
the  whole  \''alley  of  the  Ohio.  He 
therefore  commissioned  Washington 
.as  major  with  authority  to  enlist  one 
hundred  and  fifty  men  and  to  proceed 
to  the  Forks  of  the  Ohio  to  finish  the 
fort  already  begun  by  Ensign  Ed- 
ward ^^'^ard,  and  from  which  Ward 
had  been  dri\cn  awav  bv  the  French. 


This  commission  was  soon  raised  to 
that  of  lieutenant-colonel,  and  the 
number  of  men  increased  to  three  hun- 
dred, and  all  to  be  under  the  command 
of  Col.  Joshua   Fry. 

Washington  started  from  Alexan- 
dria, Virginia,  April  2,  1754,  with  two 
companies,  amounting  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty  men,  and  having  been  join- 
ed by  a  detachmen.t  under  Captain 
Adam  Stephens  ai  rived  at  Will's 
Creek,  where  the  city  of  Cumberland 
now  stands,  on  April  20tb.  and  on  the 
24th  of  May  the  little  army  was  en- 
camped at  the  Great  Meadows,  fifty- 
one  miles  west  of  Will's  Creek. 

Here  \\'ashington  received  intelli- 
gence that  the  French  were  on  their 
way  to  meet  him.  He  at  once  erected 
a  stockade,  cleared  away  the  under- 
growth and  prepared  what  he  termed 
"a  charming  place  for  an   encounter." 

On  the  night  of  the  27th  \\'ashing- 
ton  was  anj^rised  by  the  Half-King, 
a  friendly  Indian,  that  a  body  of  the 
French  were  encamjjed  about  six- 
miles    oft".      Washington,    with    a    dc- 


50 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


tachment  of  forty  men,  set  out  about 
ten  o'clock  to  join  the  Indian  allies. 
They  groped  their  way  along  the  foot- 
path in  a  heavy  rain  and  murky  dark- 
ness to  the  encampment  of  the  Half- 
King.  Two  Indians  led  the  way  and 
at  daybreak  the  French  were  discov- 
ered encamped  in  a  low  bottom  sur- 
rounded by  rocks  and  trees.  Wash- 
ington and  his  men  formed  on  the 
right,  the  Half-King  and  his  men  on 
the  left  and  with  ghost-like  silence 
they  advanced  to  the  brow  of  the 
ledge  of  rocks  beneath  which  the 
French  were  encamped.  Washington 
was  in  the  advance,  and  as  the  French 
caught  sight  of  him  they  flew  to  their 
arms.  A  sharp  fire  ensued  which 
lasted  for  fifteen  minutes  when  the 
French  gave  way  and  ran.  They  were 
soon  overtaken  and  twenty-one  pris- 
oners taken.  Washington's  men  on 
the  right  received  all  the  fire  of  the 
eneni}-.  One  man  was  killed  and  three 
wounded  near  Washington,  the  In- 
dians sustaining  no  loss.  The  French 
had  ten  killed  and  one  wounded,  and 
one  escaped  to  carry  the  news  of  the 
defeat  to  the  Forks. 

Monsieur  Junionville,  their  com- 
mander, was  shot  through  the  head  at 
the  first  fire.  This  was  the  first  en- 
gagement in  which  Washington  ever 
took  a  part,  and  was  the  initial  battle 
which  lost  to  France  so  much  of  her 
possessions  on  American  soil,  and  as 
Francis  Parkman  tersely  put  it,  "in  it 
was  fired  the  first  shot  that  set  the 
world   ablaze." 

Thus  on  the  crest  of  the  Allegheny 
Mountains,  in  Fayette  county  the 
Star  of  Washington  first  arose  to  at- 
tract the  wonder  and  the  admiration 
(^f  the  civilized  world. 

AA'ashington  then  started  to  ad- 
\ance  to  the  mouth  of  Redstone 
creek  on  the  Monongahela  river,  but 
soon  learned  that  the  French  were 
advancing  in  great  numbers  and  after 
a  council  of  war  he  determined  to  re- 
treat to  Will's  creek.  Upon  reaching 
the  Great  Meadows,  the  stockade 
above    mentioned    was    increased    and 


strengthened  and  named  Fort  Neces- 
sity. Here  a  force  of  five  hundred 
F^rench  and  four  hundred  of  their 
Indian  allies,  all  under  the  com- 
mand of  M.  Conlon  de  Villiers,  a  half 
brother  to  Jumonville,  made  an  attack 
on  the  morning  of  July  3rd,  and  for 
nine  hours,  during  a  heavy  rain,  the 
assailants  poured  an  incessant  show- 
er of  balls  upon  the  little  band  crowd- 
ed within  the  lines  of  the  fort.  The 
conflict  grew  in  animation  until  8 
o'clock  in  the  evenmg  when  de  Vil- 
liars  proposed  a  parley  to  which 
W^ashington  acceded  and  the  articles 
of  capitulation  were  signed  in  the 
rain  by  the  light  of  a  candle.  This  was 
the  first  as  well  as  the  last  time- 
Washington  ever  surrendered  to  a 
foe ;  and  on  that  ever-memorable  4th 
of  July  Washington's  little  army 
slowly  wended  its  way  toward  Will's 
creek,  while  in  its  wake  followed  a 
retinue  of  settlers  and  adherents. 
Thus  were  the  lilies  of  France  left  to 
float  over  every  fort  and  trading  post 
from  the  Allegheny  Mountains  to  the 
Mississippi. 

ENGLAND    SENDS    AN    ARMY 

England  however,  was  by  no  means 
disposed  to  relinc]uish  her  claim  to 
the  Ohio  \^alley  without  further  con- 
test so  in  February  of  1755.  General 
Edward  Braddock  landed  in  Virginia 
with  two  regiments  of  British  regu- 
lars to  which  were  added  such  pro- 
vincials as  were  recruited  from 
Maryland.  Virginia  and  Peimsylvania. 
He  was  to  march  against  Fort 
Ducpiesne  at  the  F^orks  of  the  Ohio 
and  thence  up  into  Canada. 

After  a  long,  tedious  and  laborious 
march,  cosiuning  more  than  a  month 
from  the  time  he  left  Will's  creek. 
Braddock  arrived  at  the  Monongahela 
river  a  short  distance  below  the  pres- 
ent town  of  ]\IcKeesport.  The  army 
crossed  to  the  left  bank  of  the  river 
and  marched  in  the  mouth  of  Turtle 
creek,  where  the  second  fording  was 
made.  The  army  had  scarcely  recross- 
ed  to  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  and 


WASHINGTON'S   FIRST  COMMISSION.    VICTORY  AND   DEFEAT 


51 


within  ten  miles  of  the  fort  which 
they  exjiected  to  enter  in  triumph  the 
tolk)\ving'  day.  when  a  brisk  fire  was 
received  from  an  unseen  foe.  Brad- 
dock's  troo])s  responded,  but  to  Httle 
effect,  and  the  engagement  which 
lasted  for  three  hours,  was  most  fur- 
ious. 

More  than  half  of  the  army  was 
cither  killed  or  wounded,  two-thirds 
of  them  being  shot  down  by  their 
own  men.  Uraddock  had  four  horses 
killed  under  him  ;  at  last  while  on  the 
hfth.  he  received  a  mortal  wound 
which  shattered  his  right  arm  and 
penetrated  his  lungs,  and  as  he  fell 
I'rom  his  horse  he  exj)ressed  the  de- 
sire that  the  scene  of  his  defeat  might 
also  witness  his  death. 

Out  of  eighty-nine  commissioned  of- 
licers  twenty-six  were  killed  and 
lhirty-se^■en  W(nnided.  and  of  the  sol- 
diers four  hundred  and  thirty-seven 
were  killed  and  about  four  hundred 
^vounded,  the  killed  being  in  excess  of 
the  wounded.  Every  field  officer  and 
every  one  on  horseback,  except  Wash- 
ington, who  was  aid-de-camp  to  the 
general,  and  had  two  horses  killed 
under  him  and  four  bullets  through 
his  coat,  was  either  killed  or  carried 
off'  the  field  wounded. 

The  officers  endeavored  in  ya.'\n  to 
rally  the  distracted  troops,  and  to  in- 
timidate others  ran  the  fugitives 
Through  with  the  sword,  and  were  in 
uirn  killed  by  others.  One  eye  wit- 
ness declared  that  the  slaughter 
among  the  officers  was  not  made  by 
the  enemy  but  by  those  fugitives  who 
ex|)ecte(l  to  meet  the  same  fate. 

During  the  whole  of  the  engage- 
ment Braddock  raved  and  swore  and 
cursed  his  troops  as  dastards  and 
cowards.  The  provincials,  being  ac- 
quainted with  the  Indian  mode  of 
warfare,  had  taken  to  the  trees  and 
were  doing  good  execution,  but 
P>raddock  ordered  them  to  stand  out. 
as  he  said,  '"like  English  soldiers"  and 
tight  in  the  open.  He  struck  many  of 
them  down  with  his  sword,  among 
whom     was    Joseph     Fausett   and     for 


which    act    he    paid    the    penalty    with 
his   life. 

Braddock  was  described  as  "  des- 
perate in  his  fortune,  brutal  in  his  be- 
havior and  obstinate  in  his  senti- 
ments." His  secretary  wrote  of  him 
before  the  battle :  "We  have  a  general 
most  judiciously  chosen  for  being  dis- 
(|ualified  for  the  service  he  is  employ- 
ed in  in  almost  every  respect." 

Thomas  Fausett,  the  slayer  c*f  Gen- 
eral Barddock,  was  a  provincial  sol- 
dier. He  was  a  native  of  Virginia 
and  a  hunter  and  trapper  by  occupa- 
tion. In  those  early  days  it  was  quite 
common  for  hunters  to  be  gone  for 
days  and  weeks  in  pursuit  of  game, 
and  on  one  occasion  when  Fausett  re- 
turned from  an  extended  hunting  ex- 
pedition be  was  horrified  to  find  his 
cabin  in  ashes  and  the  dead  and 
scalped  bodies  of  his  family  scattered 
on  the  ground;  the  work  of  maraud- 
ing Indians.  This  scene  so  affected 
Fausett  that  he  resolved  to  take  ui) 
his  abode  in  Pennsylvania,  and  when 
General  Braddock  was  preparing  to 
advance  against  Fort  Duquesne, 
Th(.)mas  Fausett  and  his  brother  Jos- 
ei)h  were  enlisted  as  privates,  at  six 
pence  a  day,  at  Shippensburg,  Pa.,  b}' 
Ca])tain  \A'illiam  Poison,  who  had 
served  under  Washington  in  the  expe- 
dition of  1754,  into  Captain  Cholmon- 
deley  s  company  of  the  48t'i  regi- 
ment, and  marched  with  the  advance 
of  Braddock's  army  to  the  fatal  field. 

During  the  engagement  Tom  Fau- 
sett witnessed  the  fearful  slaughter  of 
the  army  by  the  unseen  foe,  the  rav- 
ing madness  of  his  commander  and 
the  striking  down  of  his  brother,  by 
the  enraged  Braddock  for  no  other  of- 
fense than  that  of  fighting  in  the  only 
successful  manner  against  the  In- 
dians. This  was  too  much  for  a  man 
of  his  temperament  to  stand  and  he 
determiTied  at  once  to  have  revenge 
and  at  the  same  time  to  put  an  end 
to  the  terrible  carnage  for  which  the 
(officers  had  pleaded  in  vain.  He  rais- 
ed his  gun  and  sent  the  deadly  mis- 
sile   crashino-   throuiih    the     right    arm 


52 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


and  into  the  lungs  of  Braddock. 

The  wounded  general  was  carried 
from  the  held  and  borne  along"  with 
the  retreating  army  to  the  encamp- 
ment of  Col.  Dunbar,  where  he  arriv- 
ed on  the  nth  of  Jul}'.  Here  he  or- 
dered the  provisions  and  ammunition 
destroyed  lest  they  fall  into  the  hands 
of  the  pursuing  enemy. 

On  Sunday,  the  13th,  the  army  re- 
traced its  steps  to  the  Old  Orchard 
camp,  wdiere  it  had  halted  on  its  way 
<  ait.  The  general  softly  repeating  to 
himself.  "  Who  would  have  thought 
it  ?  "  and.  turning  to  Orm  said.  "  We 
shall  better  know  how  to  deal  with 
them  another  time."  He  breathed  his 
last  about  8  o'clock  on  the  same  night 
and  was  wrapped  in  his  cloak  as  a 
winding  sheet  and  was  buried  at  day- 
l)reak  on  Monday,  at  the  camp  in  the 
middle  of  the  road  that  the  army  in 
l)assing  over  the  grave  might  obliter- 
ate every  trace  of  its  wdiereabouts. 
and  thus  avoid  any  desecration  of  the 
body  by  the  Indians.  The  chaplain 
having  been  wounded  Washington 
read  the  E'piscoual  funeral  service  and 
the  dead  general  was  buried  in  the 
lionors  of  war. 

The  retreat  of  the  army  was  con- 
tinued (tn  the  T4th  and  arrived  at  Fort 
Cumberland  on  the  i8th,  and  remain- 
ed there  until  the  2nd  of  August. 
\Miile  here  Col.  Dunbar,  who  Avas 
then  in  command,  was  met  Avith 
earnest  requests  from  the  governors 
of  Pennsylvania.  Maryland  and  Vir- 
ginia that  he  would  post  his  troops  on 
the  frontier  so  as  to  afford  some  pro- 
tection to  the  inhabitants.  To  all 
their  entreaties  Dunbar  turned  a  deaf 
ear,  and  continued  his  hasty  march 
through  the  country,  not  considering 
'himself  safe  until  he  arrived  at  Phila- 
delnhia.  Col.  Dunbar  soon  returned  to 
England,  wliere  in  November  follow- 
ing he  was  suspended  because  of  his 
injudicious  retreat,  and  was  sent  into 
honorable  retirement  as  lieutenant 
governor  of  Gibraltar.  He  was  never 
again  acti\cly  emi)1f\ved.  and  died  in 
^777- 


\^  hen  Braddock's  retreating  army 
arrived  at  Fort  Cumberland  the  pro- 
vincial troops  disbanded  for  their 
homes  and  Joe  and  Tom  Fausett  be- 
came residents  of  what  is  now  Fay- 
ette county,  Pennsylvania,  where  each 
became  owner  of  a  mountain   farm. 

In  1812,  when  the  supervisor  was 
repairing  the  public  roads  in  his 
neighborhood  Tom  Fausett  came 
along  with  his  trusty  rifle  on  his 
shoulder,  and  being  well  acquainted 
with  the  supervisor  and  the  men  em- 
ployed, said.  "If  you  will  dig  right 
there,  indicating,  you  will  find  the 
i)ones  of  General  Braddock."  The 
road  supervisor  dug  wdiere  Fausett 
had  directed  and  sure  enough  he  un- 
earthed the  bones  of  the  unfortunate 
general  and  his  military  trappings 
bearing  the  insignia  of  his  high  rank, 
liad  it  not  been  that  Fausett  settled 
in  tliis  neighborhood  after  Braddock's 
army  was  disbanded,  the  wheVeabouts 
of  the  grave  of  Braddock  would  have 
ever  remained  unknown,  for  it  will  be 
remembered  that  A\'ashington  passed 
o\er  the  route  three  years  after  the 
defeat  and  could  not  locate  the  spot 
where  the  general  was  buried  al- 
though he  had  read  the  funeral  ser- 
vice himself. 

Tom  Fausett  as  well  as  his  brother 
Joseph  settled  in  the  neighborhood  of 
r5raddock"s  gra\-e.  and  he  frequently 
related  to  his  friends  the  incidents  of 
the  defeat,  the  raving  madness  of 
Braddock  during  the  battle,  the  ter- 
rible slaughter  of  the  poor  Virginia 
Blues,  as  he  termed  the  provincials 
from  that  state,  and  finally  the 
striking  dcnvn.  with  his  sword,  of  his 
brother. 

Fausett  always  related  that  he  fir- 
ed the  fatal  shot  at  the  commander, 
whom  he  termed  "the  madman"  in  or- 
der to  save  the  remainder  of  the 
army,  and  to  avenge  the  unwarrant- 
ed striking  down  of  his  brother  for 
"treeing."  and  while  many  were 
aware  of  the  fact  that  Braddock  re- 
ceived his  wound  at  the  hand  of  one 
of  his      own      men.     his    unpo])ularity 


WASHINGTON'S    FIRST     COMMISSION.   VICTORY   AND   DEFEAT 


53 


among  his  officers,  and  the  demoral- 
ized condition  of  the  army,  accounts 
tor  the  fact  that  Fausett  was  never 
called   to  account  for  his  act. 

True  it  is  that  had  not  Fausett  fir- 
ed the  fatal  shot  and  had  Braddock 
remained  in  command,  what  remain- 
ed of  his  army  never  would  have  es- 
caped, and  Washington  never  would 
have  been  spared  to  fight  the  battles 
I  if  liis  country  and  give  his  services 
to  the  establishment  of  the  best  gov- 
ernment on  the  face  of  the  globe. 

Fausett  remained  a  resident  of  Fay- 
ette county  and  in  his  old  age  became 
•  me  of  the  indigent  poor  of  Wharton 
tovvnshi]).  He  was  frecpiently  sold 
nut  at  auction  to  the  lowest  bidder  by 
the   (Overseers   of    the    poor,    the     bids 


ranging  from  thirty  to  fifty  dollars 
per  annum  exclusive  of  clothing.  He 
lived  to  an  extreme  age  and  was  bur- 
ied in  an  old  burying  ground  on  the 
I'atton  Rush  farm  about  one  and  a 
half  miles  west  of  Ohiopyle  Falls. 
His  grave  stone  bears  the  following 
inscri])tion  : 

Thomas  Faucet 

died 

March  23 

1822 

Aged  109  years, 

9  mos. 

And  on  each  recurring  memorial 
(lay  a  flag  and  a  few  flowers  are  plac- 
ed on  the  little  mound  of  earth  to  keej) 
his   memory  green. 


Sketch  of  Col.  Matthias  Hollenback 

By  Edward  Welles,  Wilkes-Barre,  Pa. 


A  T  T  H  I  A  S  Hollenbach. 
Pioneer,  Alerchant.  Sol- 
dier, latterly  called  Judge 
Hollenbach,  who  w  a  s 
second  in  descent  from 
(leorge  Hollenbach,  who 
was  one  of  the  great  ar- 
my of  German  immigrants, 
who  for  the  avoidance  of  persecution, 
iir  to  better  their  fortunes,  came  from 
the  Rhine  provinces  about  the  year 
1 717,  and  helped  to  settle  the  fertile 
lands  of  southeastern  Pennsylvania, 
under  the  trilerant  sway  of  the  Penns. 
l^'adition  sa}s  he  was  a  native  of 
W'urteniberg ;  in  \\hich  kingdom  in- 
deed are  still  to  be  found  many  fam- 
ilies of  the  name  ;  though  all  efforts  to 
trace  his  direct  connection  with  any 
i)f  these  modern  families  have  hither- 
to failed.  He  was  probably  married 
in  Germany,  but  his  children  were  all 
liorn  in  America:  the  eldest,  Mathias 
the  elder,  in    1718. 

George  Hallenbach,  the  immigrant, 
nrolialdy  settled  soon  after  his  arri\-al 
in    Xew      Hanover     township,      Mont- 


gomery (then  Philadel[)hia'l  county : 
as  he  is  known  to  have  owned  land 
there  as  early  as  "May  1720.  He  is 
said  to  have  been  a  member  and 
officer  of  the  old  Lutheran  church  at 
Falkner  Swamp ;  though  as  the  earli- 
est preserved  records  of  that  church 
are  subsequent  to  his  death,  his  name 
does  not  appear ;  nor  is  the  place  of 
his  sepulture  ascertained.  He  was 
a  well-to-do  blacksmith  and  "Innhold- 
er."  and  evidently  a  man  of  some 
consequence  and  influence  among  his 
brethren  ;  as  his  name  and  that  of  his 
eldest  son  Alathias  appear  many  times 
in  the  archives  of  the  German  speak- 
ing population    of  the   district. 

George  H^allenbach  died  at  his  farm 
in  Xew  Hanover,  July  28,  1736,  leav- 
ing a  comf(^rtable  estate  to  his  widow, 
Maria  Catharine,  and  their  four 
children,  Mathias,  John,  INTarie  Cath- 
arina  and  George,  all  under  age.  His 
\vill  is  still  on  file  and  of  record  at 
the  office  <^f  the  Register  of  Wills  in 
Philadelphia.  witnessed  and  proven 
bv  Killian   I\ehle  and  ?^Iathias  Ringer : 


54 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


the  imcntor}-  of  personal  estate, 
appraised  by  the  same  parties  with  the 
addition  of  Abraham  Cassle,  footing 
u])  to  £584.4.5.  By  the  terms  of  the 
will  all  the  real  estate  was  left  to 
Mathias.  charoed  with  certain  be- 
(piests  and  conditions  in  favor  of  the 
widow    and    vnunger   children.    Among 


Young.  In  June  of  that  year  the 
writer  in  company  with  Governor 
Hartranft,  and  Messrs.  Daniel  V>. 
I 'oyer.  Frederick  Brendlinger  and 
William  K.  Grimm,  paid  a  visit  to 
the  premises,  and  succeeded  in  iden- 
tifying the  location  of  the  old  spring, 
then    nearly    lost    and    dried    nj).    and 


C^,^4^eu0^t^  ^^^^^^^^^■^^^^^'-^^ 


these  was  the  erection  of  a  suitable 
liouse  for  the  life-use  of  the  widow, 
ui)on  an  acre  of  land  set  off  by  the 
testator  for  the  purpose,  adjacent  to 
and  including  the  use  of  a  certain 
si)ring   of   water. 

The    homestead     farm     in     (]uestion 
was  in  the  }ear  1878  the  home  of  Mr. 


even.   ])robal)ly.    the     remains    of    the 
foundations   of   the   house   spoken   of. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  wid- 
ow's reasons  for  discontent  with  her 
son's  administration  of  his  trust,  ^vhen 
her  own  will  was  proven  twenty 
vears  later,  it  was  found  to  contain 
no    mention    ( )f    his    name    other    than 


SKETCH  OF  COL.  MATTHIAS  HOLLENBACK 


in  a  \orl>al  codicil,  Icaviiii;'  certain 
valuables  l<>  his  eldest  daughter, 
Ritsina. 

I'>\  the  ])ro\isi(ins  of  Georg'e  rK)l- 
lenbach's  will,  his  two  young-er  sons, 
joim  and  ( ieorge,  were  bidden  to 
larry  with  my  son  Mathias  until 
the\-  l)e  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years, 
and  then  be  bound  to  trades,  such  as 
the\-  shall  think  best."  Matthias  suc- 
ceeded to  his  father's  vocation;  while 
John,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  seems  to  have  chosen  to  be  a 
tanner  and  shoemaker.  Of  the  young- 
est son  nothing  is  certainly  known; 
but  there  is  little  douin  that  he  is  the 
(leorge  Ilolabaugh  who  applied  Octo- 
ber <.),  i/Cij  for  fifty  acres  of  land  in 
Windsor  townshi]).  Berks  county, 
adjoining  (ieorge  May  and  Andrew 
Ma\';  the  same  land  having  been 
liatented  January  1838  to  John  Hol- 
lenbach.  i)robably  a  grandson.  From 
this  (ieorge  are  descended  the  families 
of  the  name  in  Berks  county.  Search 
has  so  far  failed  to  connect  them  with 
the    Montgomery  county  Hollenbachs. 

(  )f  the  immigrant's  daughter,  called 
Maria  by  the  father,  liut  Catharina  by 
the  mother,  in  their  respective  wills, 
all  that  is  known  is  that  she  died  be- 
fore her  mother,  leaving  four  (diildren 
named  as  legatees  in  the  will  of  their 
grandmother. 

The  widow  of  George  Hollenbach 
survived  her  husband  twenty  years. 
dying  December  12,  1756.  In  her 
will,  proven  the  following  April,  she 
bequeathed  a  personal  estate  amount- 
ing to  £175.14.0,  to  be  distributed 
among  her  grandchildren,  .\lthough 
Mathias  was  not  among  her  legatees, 
nor  named  for  the  administration,  he 
seems  to  ha\e  induced  the  executors, 
Matthias  Richard  and  Bernhard  Dod- 
erer,  to  renounce  in  his  favor.  The 
will  and  in\-entory  are  still  on  file  and 
of  record   in    Philadelphia. 

From  the  church  records  at  Tra])pe 
(Providence)  we  extract  the  following 
entry  :  ''  December  14,  1756,  ist  die 
Wittwe  ITollebachim  in  dem  Herzog- 
thum    \\urttemberg  geburtig,      begra- 


ben.  Sie  war  /2  Jahr  und  1  Monat  1 
Tag-  alt.  Hatte  20  Jahr  in  \"','ittwen 
Stande  gelbt,  und  war  31;  Jahr  im 
Lande  gewesen.  Leichtentext  Ephes. 
5.  16." 

Mathias  ilollenbach  the  elder  was 
after  the  death  of  his  father  a  man  of 
some  ])rominence  among  his  German 
brethren  ;  his  name  ai)])earing  fre- 
ipiently  in  the  current  archives,  and 
in  the  records  of  conveyances,  etc.  in 
IMiiladelphia  county,  down  to  the  year 
1774.  In  1754-  November  20,  he  joins 
with  Michael  Schlatter  and  others  in 
a  memorial  addresed  tn  the  new 
Deputy  Governor,  Robert  Hunter 
Morris,  entitled  "The  huml)le  atldress 
of  the  German  Protestants,  inhabitants 
of  the  County  of  Philadelphia,  with 
the  object  and  pur')ose  of  asserting 
their  faith  and  loyalty  to  the  Province 
and  the  King",  and  of  defending 
themselves  against  the  injurious  im- 
putation of  sym')athy  \\'ith  the 
hVench  in  the  contest  then  oi)ening 
on   the   frontier." 

1742,  December;  Henry  Antes, 
John  .\vce.  P.ernhard  Doderer. 
Thomas  Maybury,  Christian  Snyder 
and  Mathias  Hollenbach  were  ai)- 
Dointcd  to  lay  out  a  road  "  from  Ml. 
Pleasant  Furnace  and  Christian 
15\'dler's  mill,  to  the  great  road  lead- 
ing from  Maxatawny,  and  only  b}- 
}\'ter    Sell's    mill    to    P'hiladelnhia." 

1754.  June  6;  with  Martin  Sensen- 
derfer,  Georg  llurkar.  .Abraham  Bob. 
Martin  Zehan,  Peter  Steltz.  Christian 
Kurtz.  Michael  Krebs,  Heinrich 
Stetler  and  Peter  Egner.  inhabitant'^ 
i^\  Xew  liano\er  township,  he  peti- 
tions for  a  road  "  from  the  great  rtia<l 
that  leads  from  the  old  mill  to  Phila- 
deli)hia :  to  begin  near  the  t)ld  mill, 
thence  to  .Martin  .^ensenderfer's  saw 
mill,  thence  to  the  old  h\u-nace  road." 
On  August  13th  following  the  road 
\\as  laid  out  b\'.  Tiiomas  Maybury 
I  lenr}-  Dcraya.  jr.,  Isaac  Potts,  Jere- 
miah lordan.  Haniel  Heister.  'r.,  and 
Michael   Croll. 

.At  Alatthias'  death,  intestate  in  the 
\ear    T778.   he   left    a    comfortalile    es- 


56 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


tate  to  his  heirs ;  the  inventory  foot- 
up  to  £2019.11.8.,  exchisive  of  a  con- 
siderable landed  estate.  Upon  his 
tombstone  at  the  rear  of  the  old 
Evangelical  Lutheran  church  of  Fal- 
kner  Swamp,  appears,  cut  in  the 
beautiful  old  German  text  of  the  day, 
the   quaint   epitaph : 

In  dieser  Gruft 

ruhet  der  Leichnam 

V.  Mathias  Hollenbach 

war  geb.  d.  5  Nov.  Jaht 

1718 

Er  hinterlies  3  wohl- 

versorgte   Tpchter 

u.  starb  d.   12  Jan. 

1778 

Im  alter  60  Jahr 

u.  7  Tage. 

On  the  /th  of  February  letters  of 
administration  were  granted  to 
George  Dietter  Bucher  and  Rev. 
Jacob  Van  Buskirck,  the  husbands  of 
his  second  and  third  daughters  res- 
pectively. Maria  was  the  "love  name" 
of  the  daughters  of  Matthias,  derived 
from  the  name  of  their  mother,  his 
first  wife  Anna  Maria:  thus 

1.  Maria  Rosina,  b.  1740;  married 
Philip  Kehl.  When  the  estate  of  her 
fatlier  was  divided  in  1779,  she  lived 
in  Upper  Milford  township,  North- 
ampton county.  It  is  probable,  how- 
ever, that  her  first  husband  was 
George  Schneider. 

2.  Maria  Magdalena,  b.  1742;  m. 
Georg  Dieter  Bucher,  July  25,  1758, 
at  the  age  of  sixteen :  died  June  25, 
r8o2;  from  her  is  descended  a  very 
numerous  family,  among  whom  was 
the  late  Gen.  John   F.  Hartranft. 

3.  John.    1747,   died   in   infancy. 

4.  Anna  Maria,  b.  April  21,  1749: 
lu.  Rev.  Jacobus  Van  Buskirck,  Mar. 
f5,  1764,  not  quite  fifteen  years  old. 
I'Vom  this  marriage  is  also  descended 
a  family  equally  numerous  and  in- 
fluential. 

Of  the  western  migration  of  John, 
second  son  of  the  founder,  and  father 
of  Col.  Matthias,  we  can  onl}^  judge 
by    the    date    of    his    application     July 


6,  1750,  for  fifty  acres  of  land  in  Leb- 
anon township,  Lancaster  (now  Leba- 
non) county,  adjoining  John  Reval 
and  Samuel  Reed.  This  was  probably 
the  land  upon  which  he  spent  the 
middle  portion  of  his  life,  and  reared 
his  family ;  after  the  dispersion  of 
which  he  removed  to  Martinsburgh, 
Va.,  where  he  died  in  1792.  John's 
wife.  Eleanor  Jones,  was  when  he 
married  her,  the  widow  of  a  man 
named  Stoudt  (Staudt?).  who  had 
perished  from  exposure  while  hunt- 
ing. The  return  of  his  dog  without 
the  master  led  to  the  recovery  of  the 
frozen  body. 

The  children  of  John  Hollenbach 
and    Eleanor  Jones   were   five : 

1.  George,  1742-1824:  m.  Hannah 
Barton;  removed  about  1772  with  his 
parents  and  his  newly-married  wife 
to  Martinburgh,  Va. ;  thence  in  1779 
to  the  Monongahela  river  in  western 
Virginia,  and  thence  to  Ohio.  He  is 
the  prog'enitor  of  a  very  numerous 
familv  in  the  middle  and  farther 
West'. 

2.  Jane,  1750-1832:  m.  David  Hun- 
ter in  \''irginia :  left  few  descendants, 
resident   in   Maryland   and   Virginia. 

3.  Matthias,  1752-1829:  the  subject 
of  this  sketch. 

4.  John,  1755-1797:  m.  Elizabeth 
Stansbur}^  ( Stanborough)  July  23, 
1778:  few  descendants,  resident  in 
Pennsylvania. 

5.  Mary  Ann,  1761-1796:  m.  \A"il- 
liam  Cherry,  Va. ;  numerous  descen- 
dants ;  scattered  throughout  the  mid- 
dle and  farther  ^^^est. 

All  the  sons  of  John  Hollenbach 
were  endowed  with  their  father's 
Christian  name,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
(laughters  in  the  family  of  their  uncle 
Matthias :  thus,  George  John,  Mat- 
thias John,  and  John  George;  the 
middle  name  however  being  dropped 
in   each   case. 

Matthias  Hollenback,  (  as  the  name 
A\'as  now  spelled),  the  second  son  of 
John,  second  son  of  the  founder,  mig- 
rated to  the  Wyoming  Valley  in  the 
autumn    of    1769;    one    of    a    partv     of 


SKETCH    OF  C0[>.    MATTHIAS    HOLLENBACK 


forty  yoiui!^"  Pennsylvanians  under 
tlie  lead  (U  Cai)t.  Lazarus  Stewart,  to 
\\ln>m  was  assiij^ned  by  the  CtMinecti- 
out  Susquelianna  Cotn])any  a  town- 
ship of  land  in  tlie  \alley,  which  they 
named  Ilano\er.  next  south  of  Wil- 
kes-l'arre;  and  now  one  of  the  richest 
tow  )is]ii|)s  in  the  state,  if  not  in  the 
L'nion.  I'^-oni  this  time  to  his  death 
in  1829,  his  history  and  life  are  close- 
ly associated  with  the  history  of  the 
valley  of  the  upi)er  Susquehanna. 
Uein^  of  mixed  German  and  Welsh 
blood,  nature  seems  to  have  endowed 
him  with  a  liberal  oift  of  the  best  and 
strong-est  traits  of  both  the  paternal 
and  maternal  stocks.  In  the  rude 
tuition  of  those  days,  '"book-learning"" 
was  little  attainable,  and  ])erhaps  as 
little  valued  ;  and  yoimg-  Hollenback's 
share  of  it  is  said  to  have  been  limit- 
ed to  what  he  could  acquire  from  a 
term  of  six  weeks  at  a  common  coun- 
tr}'  school.  "lUit  to  him.  as  to  other 
men  who  have  risen  from  obscurity  by 
the  force  of  their  own  abilities,  the 
world  was  a  life-long"  school,  and  ex- 
perience and  observation  his  skillful 
tutors."  When  he  removed  to 
\Vyoming"  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  he 
was  the  possessor  of  a  horse  and  sad- 
dle, and  fifty  dollars ;  a  quite  suffi- 
cient start  for  one  of  Stewart's  "Pax- 
tang  Boys";  going  as  they  did.  with 
an  abundant  capital  of  brain  and 
brawn,  to  take  up  land  in  the  fertile 
Wyoming  valley,  under  the  Connec- 
ticut     Susfpiehanna     Companv,      with 


the  co\enant  to  "man  their  right"  in 
o])])osition  to  the  claims  nf  tlie  Pro- 
])rietaries  of  Pennsylvania. 

I  lollenbach's  earliest  mercantile 
books  are  unfortunately  lost;  but  ii 
is  known  that  he  began  as  a  trader 
in  a  small  way,  in  a  stockade  built  at 
or  near  Mill  Creek,  the  ])resent  north- 
ern boundary  of  the  city  of  Wilkes- 
['arre.  for  protection  against  the  In- 
dians ;  this  was  probably  as  early  as 
the  year  1771  :  but  the  earliest  books 
that  can  now  be  found  are  dated 
1772-4.  In  one  of  these  is  found  a 
charge  against  the  account  of  "Queen 
Esther" ;  still  unsettled,  unless  vicar- 
iously by  her  later  deeds  at  the 
"Bloody  Rock." 

FJeing  by  ])reference  a  trader  rather 
than  an  agriculturist.  Holleni^ack 
never  permanently  manned  his  right 
in  Hanover  township ;  and  so  came 
near  losing  it.  But  having  once  em- 
l)arked  under  the  Yankee  banner,  and 
su])i)osing  the  right  of  Connecticut 
under  her  charter  to  be  indefeasible, 
he  was  consistent  in  defence  of  that 
right,  until  the  award  of  jurisidiction 
to  Pennsylvania  by  a  competent  tri- 
bunal, in  the  Decree  of  Trenton : 
"from  which  moment,"  says  the  late 
judge  Scott,  "he  yielded  obedience  to 
the  constitution  and  laws  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  contributed  all  in  his  pow- 
er to  quiet  the  turbulent,  and  recon- 
cile the  disaffected  to  the  legitimate 
authorities." 

(to  be  continued) 


58 


Old  Churches  and  Old  Graveyards 

By  Dr.  I.  H.  Betz.  York.  Pa. 


H  E  church  and  the  grave- 
yard have  existed  from 
the  first  settlement  of 
the  country.  The  immi- 
grants who  came  into 
the  western  world  as  a 
rule  were  in  limited  cir- 
cumstances. Some  of  the 
early  settlers  brought  their  pastors 
with  them  and  an  organization  was 
effected  at  once.  The  limited  means 
of  the  people  did  not  permit  of  the 
erection  of  buildings  for  worship 
since  providing  shelters  and  homes  for 
the  new  settlers  was  a  first  pressing 
necessit}'.  A  place  of  interment  was 
necessary  at  an  early  stage.  Death 
was  liable  to  invade  the  ranks  of  the 
newcomers  at  any  time.  When 
churches  with  their  attached  grave- 
yards did  not  exist  interment  would 
most  naturally  be  made  on  the  farms 
of  the  settlers.  This  may  have  been 
the  reason  for  the  first  family  grave- 
yards on  the  farm  and  others  followed 
the  custom.  This  was  all  very  well 
for  several  generations  but  it  was 
found  that  through  time  land  was 
liable  to  change  hands  and  luider 
these  circumstances  the  family  grave- 
yard \v(^uld  fall  into  neglect  and  de- 
cadence. When  churches  were  built 
invariabl}^  grave-yards  were  connect- 
ed with  them.  In  the  larger  towns 
these  places  of  interment  in  crowded 
centers  became  unsightly,  perhaps 
^  unhealthy  and  retarded  progress  and 
impro\'ement.  It  was  necessary  to  re- 
move them  which  was  a  very  unsatis- 
factory proceeding.  In  the  country 
this  fact  did  not  impress  the  public 
so  strongly.  There  interment  was  at 
times  attended  with  difficulty.  Cer- 
tain grave-3^ards  for  which  the  ground 
was  given  by  the  Penns  in  jierpetuity 
hcnvever  caused  some  trouble  and  in- 
convenience.    These  plots  were  some- 


times attached  to  private  grounds  and 
fell  into  a  state  of  neglect  since  there 
were  no  descendants  left  to  keep  them 
in  order  and  repair.  The  plots  were 
therefore  given  over  to  take  care  of 
themselves,  and  became  unsightly  and 
moreover  in  towns  led  to  irremediable 
inconveniences.  Of  course  the  farm 
graveyards  were  all  right  in  principle 
so  long  as  the  paternal  acres  remained 
in  the  family  ownership. 

If  anything  produced  attachment  in 
the  descendents  to  the  family  name 
this  would  apply  still  more  in  the  long 
lists  of  families  who  hold  reunions 
in  modern  days.  However  it  is  to  be 
feared  that  many  of  the  paternal  acres 
have  passed  into  other  hands.  In  east- 
ern and  southern  Pennsylvania  many 
neighborhoods  which  were  entirely 
settled  by  certain  nationalities  after 
a  century  or  more  have  noAV  an  en- 
tirely different  population.  The  grave- 
yards remain  as  a  sdent  witness  and 
reminder  of  the  past,  with  none  to  re- 
turn or  visit  them  through  the 
changes  which  time  has  produced. 
Even  the  red  men  had  their  burial 
places  at  certain  places.  While  they 
leturned  for  a  time  to  vis^it  the  old 
scenes  and  reminders  of  the  past  at 
last  their  visits  ceased.  Some  neglect- 
ed places  of  interment  have  fallen  in- 
to com]:)lete  decadence  and  with  no 
one  to  revisit  them  or  by  their  pres- 
ence restrain  those  who  possessed  the 
surrounding  land  it  was  farmed  over 
with  no  one  to  protest  against  the 
desecration.  We  have  become  familar- 
ized  with  the  mummies  of  Egypt 
which  are  found  in  our  Academies  of 
Natural  Sciences  and  perhaps  in  tra\- 
elling  museums.  We  are  also  familiar 
with  the  fact  that  during  the  Civil 
\A'ar  in  1861-5  the  materials  in  which 
the  mummies  were  encased  were  used 
for   the    pa])cr   industry   owing   to   the 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


59 


scarcity  of  cotton  and  other  fabrics- 
To  such  base  if  not  practical  uses  we 
may  be  appHed  at  last !  The  countries 
of  Eg"ypt,  Asia  Minor  and  Assyria 
have  i^ranted  permission  to  exhume 
certains  portions  of  terri^tory  and  ex- 
cavations have  been  made  on  a  large 
scale  which  have  shed  much  light  on 
the  history  and  customs  which  have 
])revailed:  thus  it  would  seem  that 
nothing  is  abiding  and  free  from  dis- 
turbance and  change.  The  sepultures 
of  the  dead  with  which  so  much  care 
and  ceremonial  observance  was  ob- 
served are  ruthlessly  disturbed  and 
destroyed. 

Funeral  rites  among  the  early  set- 
tlers had  certain  customs  and  observ- 
ances no  longer  in  vise.  Considerations 
regarding  those  matters  in  all  their 
minutiae  would  be  very  interesitng 
if  they  were  fully  collected  and  detail- 
ed. Religious  worship  among  the  early 
settlers  was  first  conducted  at  the 
houses  of  the  members.  Large  num- 
bers of  the  people  would  sometimes 
assemble  during  the  meetings,  es- 
l)ecialy  those  which  continued  over 
the  Sabbath.  Great  earnestness  and 
solemnity  prevailed.  Some  denomina- 
tions even  later  on  did  not  erect 
church  buildings  but  conducted  the 
meetings  at  the  houses  of  the  mem- 
l)crs  on  Saturday  evenings.  On  Sun- 
day the  services  were  held  in  the 
large  cajiacious  barns.  The  crowds 
that  filled  the  buildings  and  yards 
were  large.  E^■ery  thing  was  done  de- 
cently and  in  order.  The  visitors 
were  decorous  and  well  behaved.  On 
such  occasions  great  preparations  had 
been  made  to  feed  the  multidude 
and  all  were  invited  to  partake  of 
the  hosjiitality  of  these  kind  and  open- 
hearted  people.  In  our  eastern  count- 
ies especially  among  large  family 
connections  in  the  church  exceed- 
ingl\-  large  funerals  have  been  held. 
As  many  as  800  buggies  and  carriages 
have  been  in  attendance.  To  take  pro- 
])er  care  of  those  teams  without  jar  or 
confusion  required  persons  of  ex- 
perience and  tact.     A\'e  have  all  heard 


of  the  hat-boys  at  metropolitan  hotels 
who  take  the  hats  in  rapid  succession 
of  those  who  enter  the  dining  room 
and  on  their  irregular  exit  the  proper 
hat  is  handed  to  the  departing  guest 
without  a  single  mistake  Of  course 
there  is  system  at  these  large  funerals 
but  without  tact  and  something  like 
intuitive  knowledge  confusion  would 
seem  to  result.  The  tables  on  these 
large  occasions  at  times  extend  down 
and  through  the  long  yards  and  are 
continuously  filled.  What  is  custom 
must  needs  be  observed  without  let  or 
hindrance.  Horace  Greely  in  his  auto- 
biography on  "Recollections  of  a  Busy 
I^ife"  records  the  fact  that  during  his 
boyhood  in  Londonderry.  New  Hamp- 
shire that  no  funeral  was  conducted 
without  passing  ardent  spirits  a- 
mong  those  who  attended.  Of  course 
this  was  considered  all  right  and  pro- 
per then  among  the  best  people.  To 
do  things  of  which  we  are  not  sure 
but  what  they  may  be  wrong  is  where 
doing  wrong  is  incurred  already. 
When  we  think  they  are  wrong  then 
we  must  refrain  doing  them.  But 
changes  in  these  directions  have  tak- 
en place.  To  change  the  habits  and 
customs  of  a  people  is  an  herculean 
work  and  undertaking.  This  is  seldom 
accomplished  by  resolution  but  by 
education  and  evolution.  This  is  a 
slow  but  sure  process.  Being  educa- 
tional in  character  and  based  on  ac- 
ce])tance  and  conviction  the  effects  are 
slow  but  abiding. 

!Many  of  our  first  churches  were 
built  of  logs.  .\  second  churcii  in  the 
course  of  a  generation  was  generally' 
l)uilt  of  stone.  In  from  one  to  two 
generations  this  Avas  perhaps  replaced 
by  a  brick  building  which  was  prob- 
ably renovated  or  changed  in  its  in- 
terior after  several  generations.  This 
was  later  replaced  in  some  instances 
by  an  elegant  new  building. 

Those  of  our  ancient  churches 
which  are  yet  standing  are  interest- 
ing examples  of  architecture.  Some  of 
them    had    large      galleries      extending 


60 


THE    PENNS YLVAN I A-GERMAN 


over     tlie     audience     chambers.     The 
pulpit  was  high  over  which  was  erect- 
ed a  sounding  board.     High  steps  led 
up  to  the   elevated   pulpit.     The   seats 
were  plainly  constructed  and  were  un- 
cushioned.     In   early     times  no  stoves 
were  in  use  and  the     ccingregation  sat 
in  a  cold  room  without  fire,     inwardly 
digesting  what     may  have     been  con- 
sidered a  dry  long     doctrmal     sermon. 
To  have  complained  or  to  have  made 
complaint  concerning  this  fact     might 
have     subjected     the     complainant   to 
comment  or  it  might     have  served  to 
reflect  doubt  upon  the  soundness  of  his 
])rofessions !      It   must   be   remembered 
that   these   early     ])ioner  settlers   were 
unconsciously     picked     people     as  re- 
garded  their     physical   endurance   and 
capacity.        They     belieA'ed     in      their 
strength  and  had  confidence  in  its  use 
and  application.  They  were  sincere  and 
friendly   but    firm   and   stood   for   right 
and  truth.     They  believed  in  corporal 
measures    when    moral    restraint   failed 
to     produce     conviction.     The\      were 
l)ractical  people  and  lit  subjects  to  be- 
come     the      foundation      and      corner- 
stones of  a     nation.     They  acted  up  to 
the  best     light  they     had  and  if  we  do 
not     acce])t  all  their     conclusions     we 
have  no  reason  to     doubt  their  convic- 
tions  and     sincerity.      Some   of     their 
churches     which  have     remained  until 
lecently  when  not  remodeled,  through 
which  they     have     almost     lost     their 
identity,  were  ])uilt  on  the  principle  of 
a  church  as  well  as  a  fortress-  Ai  times 
the     Indians     waylaid  and     murdered 
members  going  home  from  the  servic- 
es. At  other  times  they  sui rounded  the 
church  from  vantage  points  seeking  to 
destroy  the     congregation  by  one  fell 
swoop.     Rut     trustworthy  men     were 
there  with  their     rifles  in  hand  sitting 
at  the  end     of  the     pew     pre])ared  to 
turn  the     church  into  a     fortress  at  a 
moment's  notice,     'llie  reason  alleged 
for  the  male     members  occupymg  the 
external  end  of  the     pew  has  been  as- 
signed as     owing  to     this     custom.  It 
may  not  have  originated  or  descended 
down   for  this  reason  onlv,  but  that  it 


was  thus  carried  out  cannot  be  denied. 
Portholes  were  made  in  the  walls  of 
the  church  for  the  marksmen  to  take 
their  unerring  aim  for  which  they 
were  so  much  noted. 

The  old  church  at  Derry  in  Dauphin 
county  and  that  at  Paxtang  had  a 
similar  history.  Some  of  the  old  sand- 
stone tombstones  at  Derry  bear  the 
dates  of  1727  and  1730.  But  before  or 
perha])s  after  thjs  time  manv  of  the 
early  setlers  were  buried  in  unmarked 
graves.  The  placing  of  memorial 
stones  was  so  long  delayed  that  even- 
tually no  one  remained  to  render  this 
tribute  of  respect  to  the  long  departed 
when  not  almost  forgotten  ?  Alany  of 
the  inscriptions  on  these  old  sand- 
stones have  been  worn  off  or  effaced 
by  time  and  the  elements  so  that  the 
inscriptions  can  no  longer  be  read. 
Many  of  these  churches  were  located 
near  a  s])ring  which  ministered  to  the 
people  after  the  long  ser^dces.  They 
came  in  the  morning  and  after  the 
sermon  there  was  an  intermission  to 
refresh  man  and  beast.  After  that  was 
accomplished  then  the  congregation 
sat  through  another  long  sermon. 
They  then  returned  to  their  homes 
feeling  that  they  had  done  a  good 
day's  work. 

Congregational  singing  was  wholly 
in  vogue  in  those  good  old  days. 
T.ater  the  settled  fine  weather  of  May 
and  June  in  the  larger  country  church- 
es brought  forth  an  immense  turn  out. 
Some  persons  lived  so  far  away  that 
they  never  attended  church  except 
t)n  sacramental  occasions.  The  long 
distance  of  many  miles  however  made 
a  very  good  excuse  for  their  absence 
when  the  uncertainties  of  the  weather 
and  the  condition  of  the  roads  were 
taken  into  consideration.  Some  of  the 
irreverent  termed  them  the  "year- 
lings" when  their  presence  was  ob- 
served and  commented  upon.  But 
with  the  increasing  density  of  the 
Donulatic^n  churches  have  now  been 
built  in  almost  any  neighborhood, 
and  the  church  and  the  school  are 
brought   to  the     |)eople  instead  of  the 


OLD  CHURCHES  AND  OLD  GRAVf^YARDS 


'61 


lexerse  as  ()l)lained  in  former  days. 

Many  of  our  churches  instead  of 
usinja^  the  German  language  have  their 
services  now  conchicted  wholly  in  En- 
glish. The  English  would  seem  to  be 
the  coming  language.  It  may  not  be 
as  grammatical  or  as  melodious  and 
exi)ressive  as  some  others  but  it  is  a 
cosmopolitan  language  and  seems  to 
1>e  laying  all  others  under  tribute.  It 
has  a  vocabulary  that  is  constantly 
growing  and  extending.  While  it  has 
many  shortcomings  yet  it  has  also 
manv  things  that  can  be  said  in  its 
favor.  It  would  seem  to  require  about 
four  generations  to  turn  the  language 
of  a  people  or  of  a  church  from  Ger- 
man to  English.  Necessity,  business 
interests,  social  usages  and  other  fact- 
ors would  seem  to  be  assimilative  and 
thus  changes  are  brought  about  silent- 
ly, slowly  but  surely- 

If  our  forefathers  could  arise  and 
witness  the  changes  in  church  archi- 
tecture and  the  usages  and  customs  of 
congregations  they  would  be  filled 
with  amazement.  The  crowds  and  out- 
ward forms,  observances  and  usages 
lia\e  changed  very  nitich.  Of  cotirse  it 
is  not  maintained  that  these  are  any- 
thing but  non-essential.  In  fact  noth- 
ing wrong  can  be  laid  to  the  changes. 
They  are  only  such  as  in  the  natural 
course  of  events  are  brought  about, 
along  with  other  influences  that  make 
for  good  and  righteousness.  There  is 
no  more  reason  why  these  changes 
should  not  be  made  than  that  the  same 
buildings,  customs  and  usages  of  for- 
mer times  should  be  transmitted  to  the 
present.  There  is  nothing'  new  under 
the  sun  Solomon  tells  us,  but  there  is 
change  of  form.  The  old  however  is 
substantially  preserved.  What  other 
changes  the  future  may  have  in  store 
for  us  cannot  be  foreseen,  no  more 
than  those  which  have  been  brought 
about  could  be  foreseen,  at  the  settle- 
ment of  the  country.  Churches  of  taste- 
ful architecture  are  springing  up  all 
over  the  country.  Bishop  ]\IcCabe  said 
twenty   years   ago   that    the    Methodist 


Church  was  building  two  churches  a 
day  while  other  denominations  that 
exist  and  are  working  in  the  same 
direction  must  swell  the  aggregate 
to  many  more.  The  amount  of  church 
])roperty  in  the  United  States  must 
reach  one  thousand  millions  or  one 
billion  dollars.  We  have  been  inform- 
ed but  a  short  time  ago  that  our  Nat- 
ional a])propriations  by  Congress  now 
reach  more  than  one  billion  dollars. 
We  can  realize  what  this  sum  means 
when  we  contrast  it  with  some  other 
things  of  which  we  can  form  a  mater- 
ial conception. 

But  great  changes  have  taken  place 
in  the  disposal  of  the  dead.  While 
church  yards  are  all  very  well  in  the 
intention  with  which  they  were  estab- 
lished it  later  became  evident  that 
the}'  were  no  longer  available  for  gen- 
eral se])ulture.  In  fact  frequent  ne- 
cessity arises  for  churches  to  move  t<t 
new  neighborhoods.  With  this  pos- 
sibility it  was  speedily  determined 
that  they  were  no  longer  available 
for  general  tise.  Cemeteries  especially 
in  the  cities  and  the  larger  towns  haAc 
now  taken  the  place  of  the  church 
yards.  These  "Cities  of  the  Dead" 
have  become  places  of  beauty  and 
many  tender  associations  which  are 
connected  with  them  for  that  reason. 
They  have  also  encotiraged  through 
their  permanence  the  erection  of  fine 
tasteful  mausoleums  and  memorial 
tablets  to  the  dead. 

These  places  are  to  continue  and 
they  exert  an  infltience  that  is  praise- 
worthy. They  cultivate  the  finer 
feeling's  of  human  nature  and  thus  the 
dead  continue  to  exert  an  influence  on 
the  living. 

r)ther  methods  of  disposal  of  the 
dead  ha\e  been  widely  discussed 
but  whatever  can  be  said  in  their  favor 
in  large  centres  of  poj^ulation  and 
under  certain  circumstances  such 
burial  maintains  its  hold  upon  the 
affections  of  the  peo]jle  Here  they 
see  their  sacred  dead  consigned  to  the 
ground,     "earth     t<»    earth,      ashes     tu 


62 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


ashes  in  the  hope  of  a  blessed  and 
giorious   resurrection." 

This  has  been  sanctioned  by  an- 
cient usages  and  a  long  line  of  pre- 
cedents that  nothing"  but  dire  necess- 
ity would  seem  to  be  able  to  change. 
What  is  long  established  by  precedent 
and  e.\j)erience  is  not  suddenly  chang- 
ed. Xor  does  there  seem  any  pressing 
necessity  tor  doing  so.  The  ]iublic  is 
not  ready  to  make  changes  that  may 
be  even  distasteful  but  when  necessity 
or  self  preservation  demands  them 
they  are  e\'er  amenable  to  self  evident 
facts  and  reason-  However,  such 
necessity  seldom  arises. 

America  would  seem  to  have  been 
the  land  of  promise  in  the  futurity  of 
time.  Landing  upon  bleak  and  barren 
shores  with  scanty  resources  but  with 
strong  and  willing  hands  and  hearts 
the  peti])le  ])aved  a  pathway  through 
the  wilderness  in  the  course  of  four 
centuries  ha\e  accomplished  results 
that  are  sim])ly  prodigious.  They  at 
once  saw  a  necessity  for  the  church 
and  the  school.  They  set  to  work  and 
established  "log  colleges"  in  our  state 
whose  teachings  turned  otit  men  of 
ability  and  serxice.  They  became  the 
teachers  of  the  peo])le.  and  were  instru- 
mental in  forming  a  ptiblic  opinion. 
These  men  became  beacon  lights  in 
the  .State  and  Church.  The  "little  red 
school  house"  has  become  the  univer- 
sit\'  of  the-     nation   in   its     diffusion   of 


learning  and  intelligence.  Pennsyl- 
vania spends  millions  of  dollars  for 
pcjpular  education  and  no  better  outlay 
could  be  made.  Civilization  now  pro- 
ceeds ahead  of  the  settler  But  soon 
our  available  area  for  settlement  will 
be  taken  up  and  then  the  usages  and 
customs  of  the  pioneer  will  depart 
and  society  will  become  organized  in- 
to a  compact  whole  of  which  evidenc- 
es are  already  appearing.  Then  there 
will  be  a  tendency  to  uniformity  in  so- 
cial laws  and  usages.  To  this  end  it  is 
in  the  power  of  the  professions  to  con- 
tribute much.  The  ]:)rv.'ss,  the  puipit,  the 
rostrum,  the  legal  and  medical  pro- 
fessions one  and  all  will  have  a  word 
to  say  in  this  uniformity  and  creation 
of  public  opinion.  AVe  will  advance 
not  retrograde.  The  future  is  bright 
with  promise  notwithstanding  the 
ill  concealed  oi^inion  of  the  pessimist 
on  the  futtire  of  American  institutions. 
( )ur  hope  is  in  all  the  infltiences  which 
make  for  good. 

These  thoughts  are  suggested  by  the 
l)rimitive  condition  and  byways  of 
our  people  which  the  subject  of  our 
article  suggests  thn^ugh  contrast  with 
])resent  conditions.  That  we  shall  go 
onward  and  continue  to  accomplish 
still  greater  results  luist  be  the  hoi)e 
of  ever_v  lo\'er  of  his  country  who  has 
her  welfare  at  heart. 


63 


New  York  Public  Library.     Its  German  American 

Collections 


By  Richard  E.  Helbig,  Assistant  Librarian 

1 1{  folUnving  extracts  are 
taken  from  a  brochure  of 
29  pages  entitled  "Ger- 
man American  Research- 
es :  The  Growth  of  the 
German  Collection  of  the 
New  York  Public  Li- 
brary (luring  1 906- 1 907. 
I)\-  Richard  E.  Helbig.  Assistant  Li- 
brarian, reprinted  from  German?Amer- 
ican  Annals  Se]jt.  and  Oct.  1908." 
That  Mr.  HelKg  deserves  great  credit 
for  the  work  accomplished  may  oe  in- 
ferred from  the  concluding  paragraph 
in   which  he  says  : 

It  is     customary     with  most  or- 
ganizers of  the  German  American 
undertakings,        to        appoint      an 
honorary      committee.      This    for- 
mality    has  been     ignored  in     the 
unbuilding  of  the  German  Ameri- 
can    collection.  In  the  first  place, 
thanks  for  the  furtherance  of  the 
work  are     due  to  the     Director  of 
the  "New  York  Public     Library," 
Dr.  John  S.     Billings,     and  to  my 
immediate  superior  at  the  "Lenox 
Library  Building."     the  'Chief  Li- 
brarian,   ]\Ir.    Wilberforce    Eames, 
who  have  permitted  me  to  agitate 
in  the  name  of  the  library  in  favor 
of  the   collection.   My  canvass   for 
material  and     solicitations  in     the 
press  have     given   the   impression 
to  some     German     American  edi- 
tors    and     other     persons,     that  I 
must  be  the  chiet  of  a     "German 
Department"  of  the  library.  In  or- 
der to  correct  this  wrong  view,   I 
wish  to     state     officially  no  such 
"Department"     exists  as   yet.   My 
position    is      "Assistant    Librarian 
at    the    Lenox    Library    Building." 
The  cause  and  cure  for  the  want  of 
due  recognition     of  the     services  ren- 
dered by     Germans     in  the     history  of 
(^ur     country  are     indicated  in  the  fol- 
lowing words : 


in  Lenox  Library  Building,  New  York 

(ireat  libraries  ma}'  be  called 
literary  fpiarries  and  workshops 
for  scholars  and  authors.  It  is  a 
matter  of  course,  that  such  people 
will  avail  themselves  of  the  op- 
portunities for  work  on  their  par- 
ticular subjects,  if  the  materials 
for  research  are  to  be  found  fairly 
com])lete  at  some  library  of  easy 
access.  Librarians  know  from 
experience,  that  even  historians  of 
note  and  other  specialitsts  at 
times  work  only  along  the  paths 
of  least  resistance.  One  may 
unhesitatingly  blame  the  prevail- 
ing commercial  spirit  for  this.  The 
number  of  those,  who  do  not  sto]) 
at  the  question  of  expense  and 
sacrifice  of  time  without  the 
prospect  of  tangible  financial  re- 
turn, is  small.  This  factor  ex- 
plains the  insufficient  recogni- 
tion, which  the  German  Ameri- 
can element  has  thus  far  received 
in  works  of  American  history  and 
literature.  The  reproach  of  wil- 
ful   neglect    is   unjustifiable. 

If  the  German  Americans  and 
their  decendants  had  seen  to  it  at 
all  times,  that  the  complete  ma- 
terials for  the  study  of  their  his- 
tory, viz.,  records,  documents. 
])rinte(l  matter,  German  American 
new^spaper  files,  etc.,  were  gath- 
ered and  preserved  for  future  use 
in  the  large  libraries  and  histori- 
cal societies  of  this  country,  the 
field  would  have  ere  long  been 
worked  more  thoroughly  by 
Vmerican   Historians. 

The  growing  German  Ameri- 
can collection  in  the  "New  York 
Public  Libary"  therefore  meets  a 
long  felt  want.  Some  account  of 
the  origin  and  idea  underlying 
this  collection  may  be  in  place 
here.  The  "  Lenox  Library " 
(founded  in    1870.  and  since   1895, 


64 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


by  an  act  of  consolidation  part  of 
the  "New  York  Public  Library, 
Astor,  Lenox,  and  Tilden  Foun- 
dations"'), is  famous  for  its  val- 
uable collections  of  early  printed 
and  rare  books,  most  of  which  re- 
late to  North  and  South  America 
and  the  adjoining  Islands,  also 
for  its  rich  collections  of  manu- 
scripts relating  to  American  his- 
tory. Mr.  James  Lenox,  the  noble 
founder,  (born  in  1800,  died  in 
1880),  began  gathering  these 
treasures  about  1840.  Naturally 
rare  books  in  the  German 
language  relating  to  America 
were  purchased  by  him  also. 
Among  them  may  be  named  here 
the  German  edition  of  the  letter 
of  Christopher  Columbus,  giving 
the  earliest  information  of  his 
great  discovery,  printed  at  Strass- 
burg.  by  Bartholomew  Kuestler. 
in  1497.  A  reprint  of  this  Ger- 
man edition,  with  an  introduction 
by  Prof.  Konrad  Haebler,  was 
published  in  1900.  Th?  later 
German  books  of  the  sixteenth  to 
the  eighteenth  centuries  with 
reference  to  America  are  too 
numerous  to  be  noted  here. 
How  the  New  York  Public  Library 
is  reaching  out  for  original  sources  of 
information  is  shown  by  these  words: 
About  ten  years  ago  the  man- 
agement of  this  library  came  to 
an  understanding  with  the  "Pub- 
lic Record  Office"  in  I^ondon,  to 
have  copied  at  our  expense  un- 
published documents  relating  to 
the  Loyaltists.  This  task  was 
performed  by  experts.  Their 
transcripts  coA^er  75  folio  volumes 
which  are  now  kept  in  the  manu- 
script department  at  the  "Lenox 
r.ibrary  P>uilding."  This  inval- 
ual)le  mine  still  awaits  the  ex- 
ploitation of  historians.  At  the 
outbreak  of  and  during  the  Amer- 
ican Revolution  many  families 
of  quality  and  wealth  were  on  the 
side  of  the  I^oyalists.  W^henever 
the     American      patriots      gained 


power,  the  Loyalists  were  relent- 
lessly persecuted,  driven  away 
and  their  property  confiscated. 
Many  of  them  made  their  flight  to 
Canada  and  Nova  Scotia,  where 
the  British  government  indemni- 
fied the  refugees  for  their  losses 
by  granting  them  land  and  ad- 
vancing them  money.  Most  of 
these  transactions  are  accurateh^ 
recorded  in  the  76  volumes  of 
transcripts  mentioned  before. 
There  were  also  Germans  among 
the  Loyalists.  This  fact  cannot 
and  must  not  be  hushed  up,  above 
all  not  by  those  who  demand  "fair 
play"  on  the  part  of  Americans, 
the  naked  truth,  and  besides,  the 
present  generation  of  German 
Americans  has  no  good  reason  to 
be  ashamed  of  the  Germans 
among  the   Loyalists. 

Among  those  who  manifest  an 
intelligent  interest  to  further  the 
study  of  the  history  of  the  Ger- 
man element  in  this  country  and 
the  history  of  the  various  recipro- 
cal relations  between  Germany 
and  the  United  States,  the  need 
has  been  felt  long  ago,  to  have  a 
thorough  examination  of  German 
archives,  ])ubjic  and  other  librar- 
ies in  Germany  made  for  the  pur- 
pose of  locating  and  calendaring 
unpublished  material.  In  many 
cases  it  would  be  desirable  to 
iiave  the  documents  copied  Avith- 
out  delay. 

\\niether  or  in  how  far  the 
"New  York  Pul^lic  Library"  will 
participate  in  this  work,  cannot 
be  said  at  this  time.  In  view  of 
the  manuscripts  about  the  Ger- 
man auxiliary  troops  in  the 
.\merican  Revolution  and  the 
large  German  American  collec- 
tion of  printed  books  and  pamph- 
lets in  the  possession  of  the  lib- 
rary, it  is  to  be  wished,  that  it 
could. 
That  good     work  is     l)eing     accom- 

])lished  may  be  inferred  from  data  like 

the  following: 


NEW  YORK  PUBLIC  LIBRARY.     ITS  GER  MAN    AMERICAN    COLLECTION 


65 


An  enterprise  like  this  German 
American  collection,  to  the 
s^rowth  of  which  since  October. 
1903,  about  500  persons,  institu- 
tions, orjj;-anizations  and  societies 
(all  of  great  diversity)  in  more 
than  60  cities  in  the  United  States 
Canada  and  Europe  have  contrib- 
uted, must  be  a  matter  of  gener- 
al interest.  During-  the  years  1906- 
1907  there  were  sent  out  in  con- 
nection with  Lhe  work  1357 
letters,  post  cards  and  other  mail 
matter.  Acknowledgements  for 
gifts     are     not     included  in     this. 

On  October  6,  1907,  at  the 
time  of  the  biennial  convention 
of  the  "National  German  Alli- 
ance" in  New  York  an  article 
was  published  in  the  "New  York- 
er Staats-Zeitung."  wherein  T 
gave  an  account  of  the  origin  and 
growth  of  the  German  American 
collection.  1  also  made  a  plea 
for  the  official  support  of  the 
"  National  German  American  Al- 
liance." In  response  the  con- 
vention passed  and  adopted 
unanimously,  at  the  recommenda- 
tion of  the  Committee  on  His- 
torical Research,  the  following 
resolutions : 

Resolved,  That  the  public  and 
the  press  be  requested  to  support 
the  German  American  collection 
in  the  New  York  Public  Library 
to  the  best  of  their  ability  and  to 
send  material  to  the  address  be- 
low. 

Resolved,  That  the  State,  local 
and  other  organizations  be  re- 
el nested  to  gather  printed  and 
other  documents  in  their  respect- 
ive districts  and  to  send  the  same, 
if  possible,  collectively,  to  the 
"New  York  Public  Library,  care 
of  Richard  E.  Helbig.  5th  Ave. 
and  70th  St.,  New  York." 

The  scope  of  the  collection  em- 
braces manuscript  material,books. 
pamphlets  and  smaller  printed 
documents,    periodicals     newspap- 


ers, etc..  bearing  on  the  history, 
biography  and  genealogy  of  the 
German  element  in  America,  lit- 
erary and  scientific  works  pro- 
duced by  German  Americans  (in 
English  as  well  as  in  German), 
works  about  the  United  States  in 
the  German  language  and  mater- 
ial about  various  reciprocal  rela- 
tions between  Germany  and  this 
country. 

The  foregoing  indicates  a  fixed 
]>rogram.  Its  carrying  out  in  the 
past  has  been  to  me  an  arduous 
and  often  thankless  task.  The 
further  pursuit  of  the  program 
means  an  increase  of  the  work, for 
which  I  will  gladly  continue  to 
sacrifice  my  own  time.  Enthu- 
siasts and  optimists  have  not  died 
<iut  yet.  At  times  even  such 
might  become  discouraged,  when 
one  gradually  finds  out,  that 
many  of  the  "Hurrah"  shouters  in 
the  German  American  camp  are 
unwilling-  to  do  anything,  unless 
their  personal  vanity  is  satisfied 
thereby  or  that  financial  gain 
accrues  to  them. 

The  "New        York        Public 

Library"  has  on  file  m  the  period- 
ical room  at  the  "Astor  Librarv 
Building"  over  6,000  current 
periodicals,  of  which  over  1,000 
are     in      the      German      language. 

During  the  two  years  3,864 
Aolumes  and  pamphlets  have 
been  received  from  297  donors  in 
87  cities,  distributed  over  24 
states  of  the  Union.  A  small 
number  of  the  pieces  are  not 
German-Americana,  but  were 
shipped  to  the  library  with  such 
by  some  German  donors,  Since 
I  began  in  October,  1903,  to 
solicit  gifts  for  the  collection, 
about  5.200  volumes  and  pam- 
phlets were  contributed  until  the 
end  of  1907. 

1'he  reader  will   pardon  our  quoting 
lhe     following     bearing     on     the     use 


66 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


made  of  the     German     American  Col- 
lection ; 

"Klappern  gehort  zum  Hand- 
werk,"  some  one  may  fling  out 
jocosely  to  the  librarian, who  ven- 
tures to  speak  of  the  book  treas- 
ures of  his  institution  and  the 
use  made  of  them.  But  the 
numerous  donors  and  patrons  of 
our  collection,  who  are  scattered 
all  over  this  great  land,  have 
a  good  claim  to  be  informed  about 
the  extent  of  the  services  ren- 
dered by  the  collection  to  authors, 
iiistorians  and  the  general  public. 
It  has  been  impossible  to  keep 
detailed  statistics  thereon.  The 
work  most  called  for  is  T.  F. 
Chamber's  "The  early  Germans 
of  New  Jersey,  their  history, 
churches  and  genealogies."  1895 ; 
secfMidly.  the  publications  of  the 
Pennsylvania  -  German  Society. 
next,  the  monthly  periodical. 
"The    T'ennsylvania-German." 

Mr.  Helbig  has  done  well,  but  he 
does  not  propose  to  rest  on  his  oars 
as  may  be  inferred  {r>m\  his  language  : 
In  years  to  come,  writers  on 
the  economic  and  social  develo])- 
ment  of  the  American  peoj^le 
during  the  nineteenth  centur}' 
will  want  to  examine  critically 
the  share  and  influence  which 
the  millions  of  German,  immi- 
grants ha\e  had  therein.  In  the 
chapter  of  this  report  on  "news- 
l)apers  and  periodicals  as  source 
material."'  I  ha\e  already  -eferred 
to  the  importance  of  old  German 
newspaper  files.  Here  I  wish  to 
call  attention  t*^  the  -value  of  pro- 
ceedings, re])orts.  constitutions 
and  by-laws  and  all  other  printed 
matter  of  the  xarious  religious  de- 
nominations, schools,  mutual  aid 
oriza  nidations,     charitable     institu- 


tions, societies  for  the  cultivation 
of  literature,  music  and  singing, 
physical  education  and  sport,  etc. 
Although  we  have  obtained  a  good 
quantity  of  such  material,  much 
more  remains  to  be  gathered.  The 
indifiference  to  my  efforts  of  some 
of  the  officers  of  these  organiza- 
tions is  indeed  discouraging.  It 
may  be  merely  thoughtlessness  on 
their  i)art.  Holding  to  this  view 
1  shall  approach  these  officers 
and  societies  again  with  requests 
and  mention  the  result  in  a  later 
re|)ort  on  the  German  American 
collection.  But  as  fruitless  labor 
represents  also  sacrifices  of  my 
time  I^  shall  not  hesitate  to  pub- 
lish the  names  of  such  "Inaccess- 
ibles"  in  the  preset.  Perhaps 
some  other  peo]:)le  will  stir  theni 
u])  then. 

\\'e  regret  that  space  does  not  per- 
mit our  quoting  at  fuller  lenglh  from 
this  document.  If  the  reader  is  inter- 
ested he  can  get  the  reprint  itself  by 
addressing  Mr.  Richard  E.  Helbig. 
Lenox  Library,  New  York. 

The  officials  of  the  Penna- German 
Society  will  not  misconstrue  motives 
if  we  make  note  of  the  fact  that 
some  members  of  the  Society  are  of 
the  opinion  that  work  of  this  kind 
ought  to  be  carried  forward  by  the 
society.  This  b<^dy  has  done  well. 
Would  it  not  have  still  greater  in- 
fluence if  it  had  its  own  building  and 
collection,  surpassing,  rf  possible, 
the  work  accomplished  by  Mr. 
Helbig?  It  may  be  late  to  start  on 
the  work  but  this  is  not  regarded 
h^  ^11  members  of  the  society  as  a 
reasonable  reason  f(^r  not  making  an 
attemi)t.  What  do  our  readers  think 
of  hax'ing  a  home  and  historic  collec- 
ti(^n  under  the  auspices  of  the  Penna. - 
German   Sc^cietv? 


67 


Early  Moravian  Settlements  in  Berks  County 


By  Daniel  Miller,  Reading,  Pa. 

(concluded) 


THE    MORAVIANS    [N    HEIDELBERG 

Another  Moravian  settlement  was  in 
what  is  now  North  Heidelberg  town- 
ship, Rerks  county.  This  is  in  the 
Tnlpehocken  reg'ion,  and  the  place  of 
worship  was  where  the  present  North 
Heidelberg  Union  church  stands,  about 
five  miles  north  of  Robesonia.  It  was 
the  first  place  of  public  worship  in  the 
township,  and  is  now  the  only  church 
there.  The  first  settlers  in  that  region 
were  the  people  who  came  from  Scho- 
harie, N.  Y.,  with  the  two  Conrad 
Weisers  in  1723  and  1729  They  were 
nearly  all  Lutheran  and  Reformed 
people.  One  of  these  was  Tobias 
Bickel,  Reformed,  who  came  here  in 
1736  and  located  near  the  site  of  the 
present  church. 

The  Moravian  records  state  that 
Count  Zinzendorf  preached  frequently 
in  Heidelberg  in  1741  and  1742,  the 
last  time  in  December  of  the  latter 
year.  In  the  spring  of  1743  Rev.  Gott- 
lieb Blittner  was  sent  to  these  people, 
and  the}'  accepted  him.  R^-.  J.  P- 
Meurer  also  preached  at  this  place. 

Rev.  Jacob  Lischy,  who  was  ordain- 
ed in  January,  1743,  by  the  Moravians 
at  Bethlehem  to  preach  among  the  Re- 
formed people,  commenctd  his  work 
in  Heidelberg  in  the  same  year  soon 
after  his  ordination.  Services  were  held 
at  times  in  the  house  of  Tiibias  Bickel, 
immediately  east  of  the  present 
church,  and  in  the  house  of  Frederick 
Gerhart.  immediatl}'  west  of  the 
church.  The  Gerhart  tract  is  now  a 
fine,  large  farm.  At  first  Mr.  Lischy 
met  with  considerable  success.  But 
soon  dissatisfaction  arose  over  Mr. 
Lischy,  the  preacher.  The  people  were 
Reformed,  not  Moravians,  and  they 
charged  him  with  being  a  Moravian. 
He  tried  to  carry  water  on  both  shoul- 
ders and  to  serve  two  masters.     \Mien 


with  the  Reformed  people,  he  was  Re- 
formed ;  but  when  with  the  Moravians, 
he  was  one  of  them.  Already  in  the 
summer  of  his  first  year  matters  reach- 
ed a  critical  point,  and  Mr.  Lischy  call- 
ed a  conference  to  meet  at  Mr.  Bickel's 
house  on  August  29,  1743,  to  consider 
charges  made  against  him.  This  was. 
as  far  as  known,  the  first  meeting  of 
its  kind  ever  held  in  Berks  county.  It 
was  attended  by  fifty  elders  and  dea- 
cons from  twelve  places  where  Lischy 
had  been  preaching.  The  principal 
charge  against  him  was  that  he  was  a 
Zinzendorfer,       (  Moravian.  )  This 

shows  that  the  people  were  not  really 
.Moravians.  It  was  also  claimed  that 
he  was  not  an  ordained  minister. 
Lischy  denied  that  he  was  a  Moravian, 
but  admitted  that  he  respected  these 
peo':)le  as  Christians.  He  also  exhibit- 
ed his  certificate  of  ordination.  In 
this  way  he  succeeded  in  pacifying  the 
])e()ple. 

One  of  the  remarkable  things  in 
connection  with  this  meeting  is  that 
so  many  people  could  find  the  way  to 
this  is(^lated  place.  Many  came  from 
a  distance.  There  were  then  no  real 
roads,  only  Indian  trails  through  the 
then  wilderness-  The  place  is  hard  to 
find  cN'en  at  the  present  time.  Some 
years  ago  Rev.  T.  C.  Leinl^ach,  the 
present  pastor  of  the  Reformed  con- 
gregation, engaged  a  theological  stu- 
dent to  ])reach  in  the  North  Heidel- 
berg church.  The  student  came  on 
Sunday  morning  to  RobestMu'a  and 
started  oflf  to  the  church,  five  miles 
distant,  but  he  ne\"er  found  it,  and  the 
])eople  were  disappomte<l. 

A  meeting  similar  to  the  one  de- 
scribed above  was  held  in  Muddy 
Creek  church,  Lancaster  county,  for 
the  same  purpose,  on  March  21,  1745. 
There    Lischv   A\as   asked   whether   he 


(58 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


was  a  ]^Iora^•ian,  but  he  at  first  evaded 
the  question.  However,  when  con- 
fronted by  the  other  Moravian-Re- 
formed ministers  present,  Revs.  Bech- 
rel.  Rauch  and  Antes,  Lischy  publicly 
acknowledged  that  he  was  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Moravians  at  Bethlehem. 
Rut  there  also  he  persuaded  the  people 
to  continue  him  as  pastor. 

Mr.  Lischy's  activity  in  North 
Heidelbero^  was  of  short  duration.  It 
continued  only  about  a  year.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Rev-  Anthony  Wagner 
in  January,  1744.  Lischy's  conduct 
was  satisfactory  neither  to  the  people 
nor  to  the  Moravians  at  Bethlehem, 
lie  was  called  to  the  latter  place  and 
severely  reprimanded,  and  urged  to 
come  out  boldly  for  what  he  really 
stood.  He  wavered  a  long  time.  Fin- 
ally the  Synod  of  1747  insisted  that  he 
must  declare  himself  clearly.  This  he 
refused  to  do  for  some  tiuiC,  buc  finally 
in  1748.  he  turned  his  back  on  the 
Moravians,  returned  to  the  Reformed 
church,  and  was  some  time  later  ac- 
cented as  a  member  of  the  Coetus  or- 
ganized by  Schlatter  the  year  before. 
He  made  a  written  confession  of  his 
faith,  dated  October  29,  1748,  in  which 
he  declared  his  adherence  to  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism.  At 
the  same  time  he  expressed  himself  in 
severe  terms  against  the  Moravians. 
He  also  preached  and  published  a 
strong  sermon  against  them. 

THE  CHURCH 

.\fter  the  withdrawal  of  Lischy  from 
Xorth  Heidelberg  in  January,  1744. 
matters  moved  along  more  pleasantly 
under  the  ministrations  of  Rev.  An- 
thony \A"agner.  another  Moravian.  In 
that  year  a  small  log  church  and 
school  house  was  erected  upon  a  tract 
of  2%  acres  of  land  which  the  above- 
named  Tobias  Bickel  donated  for 
church  and  cemetery  purposes.  The 
building  was  dedicated  on  November 
4.  1744.  during  a  meeting  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Synod,  over  which  Rev. 
TIenrv  Antes  presided.  In  this  build- 
ing church  services  were  held  and  a 
school  conducted-     Five  months  later. 


on  April  9,  1745,  Bishop  A.  G.  Spang- 
enberg  organized  a  Moravian  con- 
gregation in  the  church,  and  adminis- 
tered the  communion  to  eight  persons. 
Frederick  Bickel,  a  brother  of  Tobias 
Bickel,  was  the  first  elder.  Soon  after 
the  membership  was  augmented  by 
Moravian  adherents  at  Rieth's  church, 
who  withdrew  there  on  account  of 
some  difficulties.  About  this  time  the 
membership  consisted  of  these  per- 
sons :Tobias  Bickel,  Frederick  Bickel. 
Stephen  Brecht,  John  Fisher,  sr.,  John 
Fisher,  jr.,  Frederick  Gerhart,  Nicholas 
Glass,  John  Graeff,  John  Zerby,  the 
wives  of  the  above  persons  and  John 
Keller,  a  widower.  Most  of  them  were 
Reformed.  Rev.  Daniel  Neubert  and 
his  wife  were  the  first  occupants  of  the 
dwelling  part  of  the  building. 

Although  the  log  church  was  erected 
in  1744,  Tobias  Bickel,  the  donor  of  the 
land,  gave  a  deed  only  on  May  15. 
1753,  when  he  conveyed  the  land  to 
John  Okely.  the  agent  of  the  Mora- 
\ians.  On  September  4,  of  the  same 
year  John  Okely  conveyed  the  same 
to  Christian  Henry  Rauch,  John  Bech- 
tel,  Henry  Antes,  Jacob  Miller  and 
John  Moyer  in  trust  for  the  congre- 
gation. 

It  appears  that  this  congregation. 
like  that  in  Oley.  never  had  a  particu- 
lar name.  Rev.  Reichel  states  that  "the 
awakened  of  this  neighborhood  applied 
to  the  Synod  to  be  permitted  to  enter 
their  connection  without  a  name." 

The  building  was  two-storied.  The 
first  story  was  occupied  by  the  teacher 
as  a  dwelling,  and  the  second  story 
was  used  for  school  and  church  pur- 
poses, the  same  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Olev  building.  The  school  included 
other  children  than  those  of  church 
members.  Daniel  Neubert  was  its  first 
teacher.  Subse(|uent  teachers  were 
Messrs.  U'crner,  Weile.  P.lat;':er  and 
Polk. 

This  early  log  church  was  remark- 
able for  its  size  and  substantial  charac- 
ter. There  are  people  still  living  who 
frequentlv  attended  services  in  it.  The 
old  church     stood  until  the  year     1862 


EARLY    MORAVIAN    SETTLEMENTS   IN   BERKS  COUNTY 


69 


ami  was  latterly  occuiiied  by  the  chor- 
ister. It  was  the  only  house  of  worshi]) 
in  the  lary-e  township  of  North  Heidel- 
berg- from  1/44  until  1846,  102  years, 
when  the  present  brick  church  was 
erected  at  the  same  place.  The  new- 
church  is  still  the  only  house  of  wor- 
shin  in  the  towMiship. 

It  has  fre(|uently  been  stated  that 
when  the  new  church  was  erected  in 
1846.  the  old  loi>-  church  was  demolish- 
ed. This  is  an  error.  The  old  church 
was  allowed  to  stand  until  1862,  as 
above  stated.  In  this  year  it  was  de- 
molished, and  the  lc\^s.  which  were 
still  in  g-ood  condition,  were  used  in 
erecting;  a  two-story  log  frame  house 
on  the  old  site.  This  house  is  at  present 
occu'iied  by  the  sexton  of  the  church, 
Mr.  \\^illiam  Kalbach. 

.\fter  Rev.  Anthony  Wagner  the 
congregation  was  supplied  by  Revs. 
Lenhart,  Ranch,  Schweinitz  and  Lich- 
tenthaeler,  Mr.  Lenhart  was  particu- 
larly i:»opular  among  the  Reformed  and 
Lutheran  people. 

As  at  Oley,  the  North  Heidelberg- 
congregation  was  never  strong,  and  its 
prosnerity  did  not  continue  long.  The 
membership  decreased,  partly  because 
of  the  removal  of  some  to  the  west,  and 
from  other  causes.  However  services 
were  maintained  for  a  long  time,  vast- 
ly longer  than  at  Oley.  About  the  year 
1830  the  North  Heidelberg  congrega- 
tion became  extinct,  although  a  few 
members  still  remained. 

About  1 83 1  the  Reformed  and  Lu- 
theran i)eople  took  possession  and 
established  nreaching  in  the  old  log 
church.  The  first  Reformed  pastor  ap- 
nears  to  have  been  Rev.  Benjamin 
I)oyer.  who  ])reached  also  at  Bern  and 
several  other  nlaces  in  Berks  County, 
at  .^tunr)stown  (Fredericksburg). 
Lebanon  countv.  and  also  in  Pine- 
grove.  Schuylkill  county.  He  was  fol- 
lowed by  Rev.  Isaac  Miesse,  another 
Reformed  minister,  who  served  some 
years.  .\  subsequent  Reformed  pastor 
was  Rev.  William  .\.  Good,  the  first 
sunerintendent  of  the  pul)lic  schools 
in  Berks  county,  who  served  two  terms 
in   this     |)psition,   froni      1854  to     t86o. 


Through  his  amiable  disposition  he 
(lid  much  to  allay  the  early  opposition 
against  the  new  school  system.  He 
served  as  i)astor  of  Bcrnville  and 
.Vorth  I  Iei(lell)erg  from  1854  to  i860. 
Many  of  the  older  residents  remember 
his  preaching  in  the  old  log  Moravian 
church  with  pleasure.  Mr.  Good  was 
the  father  of  Dr.  James  I.  Good,  a 
])rominent  minister  of  the  Reformed 
church.  In  i85o  Rev.  T.  C.  Leinbach 
became  the  Reformed  pastor  and  has 
continued  in  olYice  until  the  present 
time,  a  period  of  48  years.  One  of  the 
lirst  Lutheran  pastors  was  Rev.  Geo. 
\V.  Alennig.  At  present  the  Latheran 
congregation  is  vacant  and  is  being 
snp]died  1)y  \arious  ministers  and 
students. 

In  1846  the  Reformed  and  Lutheran 
l)eople,  with  the  assistance  of  the  few 
remaining  Moravians,  ■  erected  the 
I)resent  brick  church,  which  is  a  one- 
story  building  of  good  si/e  A  stone 
o\er  the  door  contains  this  inscrip- 
tion :  "Die  Neue  Nord  Heidelberg 
Kirche,  erbauet  im  Jahr  1846.  John 
Lamm  und  Jakob  Lengel,  Baumeister, 
John  Conrad,  Schatzmeister.  Bew^ahre 
deinen  Fuss,  wann  du  zum  Hause 
Gottes  gehest,  und  komme  class  du 
horest,  das  ist  besser  denn  der  Narren 
0')fer.  Einweihung  den  15  und  16  Mai. 
1847."  -^s  stated  above,  the  old  log- 
church  erected  in  1744  \vas  allowed  to 
stand  until   1862. 

THE  GRAVEYARD 

'ilie  old  graveyard  at  this  church  is 
a  \-erv  interesting  object.  Here  the 
evidence  is  found  that  although  the 
peo])le  at  first  refused  to  be  known  as 
Moravians,  afterward  the  Moravian 
customs  prevailed.  For  a  long  time 
the  Moravian  custom  of  laying  the 
tombstones  fiat  upon  the  graA-es  was 
followed — ai)i)arently  in  connection 
with  all  burials.  In  the  older  or  west- 
ern ])art  of  the  graveyard  all  the 
stones  were  i)laced  in  this  manner. 
Man\-  of  the  stones  had  sunk  some- 
what beneath  the  surface  of  the 
ground.  I  s])ent  the  greater  part  of  a 
(lav    ujxtn    this    interesting   and    sacred 


70 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


spot,  in  company  with  my  good  friend. 
-Mr.  William  D.  Klopp,  in  deciohering 
the  inscriptions  on  the  stones.  For- 
tunately some  one  had  visited  the 
place  a  few  weeks  previously  and 
raised  all  the  stones  which  had  been 
covered.  This  facilitated  my  work 
greatly. 

It  is  difficult  to  describe  my  leelings 
as  I  stood  at  the  graves  of  these 
people  who  came  here  i8o  years  ago 
and  founded  homes  in  a  wilderness 
among  the  Indians.  I  copied  the  in- 
scriptions on  all  the  old  gravestones, 
as  far  as  they  could  be  deci]:)hered. 
And  fortunately  and  singularly  nearly 
all  of  them  could  be  deciphered.  It  is 
surprising-  how  well  preserved  most 
of  the  inscriptions  are,  notwithstand- 
ing their  age.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
the  covering  of  moss  and  ground  has 
greatly  preserved  them  against  the 
ravages  of  time.  The  suggestion  of  a 
friend  greatly  aided  me  in  my  work, 
strewing  ground  upon  the  stones  and 
then  rubbing  them  with  grass.  This 
made  the  inscriptions  clear  to  a  re- 
markable extent.  Another  surprising 
thing  is  the  fact  that  many  of  the  in- 
scriptions on  the  early  tombstcnes  are 
in  English  or  Latin  letters,  and  sev- 
eral in  the  English  language.  This  is 
not  easily  explained,  since  the  people 
were  Germans.  Possibly  the  residence 
of  these  Palatines  in  New  York  state 
during  some  years  may  be  a  partial 
exi)lanation. 

Many  of  the  tt)mbstonc^  aro  num- 
bered. I  made  a  special  search  for  the 
tombstones  of  the  founders  of  the  con- 
greg'ation.  T  failed  to  find  those  of 
Tobias  P>ickel,  the  first  settler  and 
donor  of  the  church  land,  and  of  Fre- 
derick P)ickel,  his  brother  the  first 
elder.  lUit  I  found  that  of  Frederick 
(ierhart,  in  whose  house  the  pioneer 
ministers  preached,  and  that  of  Ste- 
])hen  Rrecht,  one  of  the  first  members. 

I  must  content  niA'self  Avith  giving 
only  a  few  of  the  inscriptions  on  the 
tombstones  at  North   Keidelbeig: 

Stephen  Brecht,  geboren  den  17 
Februar.  1692,  starb  den  24.  Sept.  An- 
no T747.  This  is  the  oldest  stone  found. 


Frederick  Gerhardt.  geboren  in  der 
Wetterau,  1714  den  26.  Mertz.  Ver- 
schied   1779,   der  30.  November. 

Maria  Riedin,  geboren  den  2ten 
Febr.,  1709.     Verschied  Oct.  6,  1760. 

Maria  Catharina  Conradin,  geboren 
in  Behl  bei  Laudau  in  der  Pfaltz,  den 
23ten  Sept.  1725.  Verschied  den  8ten 
Merz  1797. 

Jacob  Conrad,  geboren  in  Mintes- 
heim,  Hanauischen,  den  3  Febr.  1717. 
Verschied  den   5ten   September     1798. 

Johann  Tobias  Beckel,  wurde  ge- 
boren den  6ten  December  1754,  in 
Heidelberg,  und  starb  den  24ten  De- 
cember, 1814.  in  Harrisburg,  war  alt 
60  Jahr,  17  Tag. 

Anna  Sabilla  Fischer,  born  Jan.  7. 
1700,  in  Zenach,  departed  Dec.  16. 
1780. 

Christina  Boecklin,  born  May  6. 
1714.  in     Palatin.     Departed     Tan.  31. 

1 775-. 

Elizabeth  Wagnerin,  born  Oct.  4. 
1710,  at  Miilhausen.  Departed  May  8, 
1779. 

Elizabeth  Sturgis.  born  Dec.  13. 
1707.  died  April  8.   1768. 

Simon  Aigler,  born  April  I,  1717  at 
}ilanheim,  Wiirttemberg,  Starb  April 
6,  1788. 

Frederick  Unger.  born  November 
10,  1728,  in  Brandeburg  Departed 
April  2.  1779. 

The  names  occurring  most  frequent- 
ly are  Pdckel  and  Conrad.  The  for- 
mer is  spelled  in  three  ways — Boeckel. 
Beckel  and  Bickel. 

The  graveyard  is  kept  in  good  con- 
dition and  presents  a  strong  contrast 
to  that  in  Oley.  The  place  has  been 
much  enlarged.  The  buiials  in  more 
modern  times  have  been  made  in  the 
eastern  part,  where  all  the  stones  are 
standing,  although  many  of  them  are 
in  a  leaning  position  (^n  account  of  de- 
fectix'e  foundations.  The  Moravians 
still  have  a  legal  right  in  the  church 
]iroperty.  but  never  make  use  ot  it. 

Rev.  Mr.  Lischy  also  preached  for 
some  time  in  the  Bern  church,  nine 
miles  northward  of  Reading,  but  this 
was  never  a  Moravian  congregation. 
Tt   was   a   Reformed   congregation    or- 


EARLY    MORAVIAN    SETTLEMENTS   IN   BERKS  COUNTY 


71 


<,^anized  in  1739  by  Rev.  John  Plenry 
(joetscliey,  who  opened  the  baptismal 
record  in  the  same  year,  four  years  be- 
fore the  ordination  of  Libchy.  The 
people  accepted  Mr.  Lischy  probably 
l)ecause  of  the  scarcity  of  ministers 
and  because  Zinzendorf  had  recom- 
mended him  and  stated  that  he  had 
l)reached  in  Switzerland.  The  latter 
fact  created  confidence  in  Lischy, who 
then   preached   in    Bern   from    1743    to 

174.S- 

Lischy  from  the  first  met  with  much 
opposition  at  Hern,  but  his  friends 
took  possession  of  the  church  and  ad- 
mitted him.  He  reported  that  those 
who  were  awakened  here  held  to  the 
.Morth  Heidelbero^  church.  He  also 
reported  that  if  the  people  had  not 
been  so  stifif  Reformed,  the  congrega- 
tion could  have  been  won  for  the 
Mora\ians,  which  had  been  the  inten- 
tion. Jacob  Risser  testified  at  one 
time  that  he  heard  Count  Zinzendorf 
tell  Lischy  in  his  own  (Risser's) 
Itouse  to  take  charge  of  the  Reformed 
at  Bern  and  bring  them  over  to  him. 
Tn  February.  1745,  Mr.  Lischy  report- 
ed eleven  "awakened"  souls  at  Bern. 
Seven  of  these  were  Reformed. 

Lischy  also  preached  several  times 
at  the  Blue  IMountain  in  Berks  county, 
as  well  as  at  various  places  in  adjoin- 
ing counties.  He  was  the  first  Mora- 
\ian  representative  to  visit  Lebanon, 
which  occured  in  May  of  1743,  and  a 
congregation  was  organized  at  Heb- 
ron, then  a  suburb  of  Lebanon  in  1745. 
lie  also  preached  at  Warwick  now 
[jtitz,  Lancaster  county  until  1747, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Daniel 
Xeubert,  who  laid  the  foundations  for 
the  present  large  Moravian  congrega- 
tion in   Lititz. 

Rev.  Mr.  Lischy  was  an  unfortu- 
nate man.  There  was  con  --tant  trouble 
with  him.  He  was  disobedient,  and 
was  later  charged  with  falling  into 
grievous  sins.  .'Xfter  leaving  Berks 
county  he  ])reached  in  York  county 
at  se\eral  places.  In  the  western  part 
of  that  county  he  founded  a  congrega- 
tion which  still  bears  his  name.  He 
was  deposed   from   the    ministry,    and 


finally  retired  to  a  farm,  where  he  re- 
sided until  his  death  in   1781. 

THE   MORAVIANS   AT   RIETH'S   CHURCH 

The  Moravians  sought  to  obtain  a 
foothold  in  the  Lutheran  RiethV 
church  in  the  Tulpehocken  region, 
near  Stouchsburg,  in  the  western  ])art 
of  Berks  county.  The  original  mem- 
bers had  come  there  in  1723  with  Con- 
rad Weiser,  sr.  In  1727  a  small  log 
church  was  erected.  The  building  was 
also  intended  to  serve  as  a  place  of  se- 
curity and  defense  against  the  Indians. 
For  this  pur])ose  a  vault  was  con- 
structed under  the  earthen  floor  of  the 
church,  where  arms  and  ammunition 
might  be  stored.  In  1729  Conrad 
Weiser,  jr.,  arrived  with  the  second 
colony  of  Palatines  from  New  York, 
and  he  at  once  united  with' the  flock. 
Whilst  the  building  was  Lutheran 
property,  the  Reformed  people  also 
worshiped  in  it  for  a  number  of  years. 
Rev.  John  P.  Boehm  administered  the 
first  communion  to  the  Reformed 
])eople  in  October  of  1727  to  32  pers- 
ons. From  1 73 1  to  1755  the  erratic 
Rev.  John  Peter  Miller  was  the  Re- 
formed pastor,  until  he  together  with 
Conrad  Weiser.  the  schoolmaster  and 
four  elders,  united  with  the  Seventh 
Day  Baptists  at  Ephrata.  Miller  be- 
came the  head  of  their  cloister,  but 
Weiser  returned  to  the  Lutheran 
church. 

For  some  3'ears  the  people  at  Rieth's 
could  not  secure  a  regular  pastor.  In 
1733  Casper  Leutbecker,  a  pious  tailor 
and  schoolmaster,  commenced  to 
serve  the  Lutheran  people  as  "  Yor- 
leser,"  conducting  services  and  read- 
in*  sermons.  He  was  afterward  made 
their  regular  pastor.  Not  long  after 
a  conflict  arose  which  became  very 
bitter  and  continued  a  long  time.  This 
period  is  known  as  the  "Tulpehocken 
Confusion,"  It  is  stated  that  the  dif- 
ficulty arose  through  the  refusal  of 
Rev.  y\r.  Leutbecker  to  baptize  a 
child,  which  an  intoxicated  man  had 
brought.  Upon  a  second  refusal  by 
Mr.  Leutbecker  the  fathci-  went  to  the 
Conestoga    in    Lancaster    county     and 


72 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


engaged  Rev.  Casper  Stoever  to  bap- 
tize the  child.  The  latter  consented, 
came  to  Tulpehocken  and  baptized  the 
child.  This  act  gave  great  offense  to 
the  people,  and  soon  there  were  two 
parties — a  Leutbecker  and  a  Stoever 
])arty.  Mr.  Stoever  commenced  to 
])reach  in  barns,  and  soon  after  secured 
entrance  into  the  church.  For  some 
time  there  were  two  sets  of  Lutheran 
church  officers,  and  two  parties  con- 
tended for  the  control  of  the  church. 
The  authorities  decided  in  favor  of  the 
Leutbecker  party.  It  is  claimed  that 
several  efforts  were  uiade  to  kill  Rev, 
Air.  Leutbecker.  This  sad  experience 
<leStroyed  his  health  and  he  died  in 
1738.  Bishop  Spangenberg  preached 
his  funeral  sermon.  Rev.  Mr.  Stover 
now  had  full  sway  for  several  years. 
About  this  time  the  Reformed  people 
withdrew  and  erected  a  Reformed 
church  at  Host,  five  miles  north  of 
Womelsdorf. 

Conrad  Weiser  held  to  the  Leut- 
becker party.  In  1742  Weiser  brought 
Count  Zinzendorf,  the  Moravian  lead- 
er, to  Tul])ehocken,  and  later  Zinzen- 
dorf sent  Rev.  Gottlieb  Biittner,  one 
■)f  those  ordained  at  the  great  meeting 
in  Oley,  in  February  of  the  same  A^ear. 
to  preach  in  the  Rieth  church.  It 
is  claimed  that  Zinze'idorf  here  renre- 
sented  himself  as  a  Lutheran.  The 
comuig  of  Rev.  Biittner  wa-  by  no 
means  calculated  to  end  the  struggle, 
but  rather  to  intensify  it.  The  Stoev- 
er ])arty  regarded  him  as  an  u)i-Luth- 
eran  interloper.  Lie  soon  became  dis- 
gusted and  left.  Zinzendorf  again 
N'isited  the  ulace  in  the  beginning  of 
August  of  the  same  year,  1742.  but  he 
was  threatened  with  jiersonal  injury. 
The  confusion  was  now  great.  The 
Moravians  were  largely  blamed  for 
ihe  continuance  of  this  trouble.  The 
church  officers  at  this  time,  under  date 
of  :\ngust  TT,  T742.  ])ublished  a  state- 
ment which  was  attested  by  Conrad 
Weiser.  and  this  had  a  pacifying  ef- 
fect. 

Soon  after  another  Moraxian  minis- 
ter. Rev.  1.  Philip  Meurer.  arrived 
ffi  nu  Furore  and  assumed  the  ])astor- 


ate  at  Rieth's  church.  The  Stoever 
party  was  greatly  in  the  minority, 
and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  1742, 
withdrew  and  organized  Christ  Luth- 
eran church  and  located  a  mile  west 
of  Stouchburg.  The  Moravians  now 
had  full  control   for  some  years. 

In  1745  the  people  resolved  to  erect 
a  new  church  at  Rieth's,  durmg  the 
pastorate  of  Rev.  J.  P.  Meurer.  By 
invitation  of  the  trustees  Bishop 
St)angenberg,  Zinzendorf's  successor, 
laid  the  corner-stone  on  April  i.  A 
hymn  was  sung  which  had  been  com- 
posed for  the  occasion,  and  which 
was  afterward  included  in  the  Mora- 
vian hymn  book.  The  new  church 
was  dedicated  on  December  i,  1745,  by 
Bishop  Spangenberg.  Rev.  Abraham 
Reincke  and  Pastor  Meurer.  The  com- 
munion was  administered  to  22  pers- 
ons. The  congregation  at  that  time, 
according  to  the  list  placed  into  the 
corner-stone,  consisted  of  thirteen 
families  and   yj  children. 

Soon  after  this  the  Moravian  influ- 
ence at  Rieth's  declined.  In  1745 
some  of  the  Moravians  withdrew  and 
united  with  the  flock  in  North  lleidel- 
])erg.  After  some  time  the  Moravians 
claimed  a  property  right  in  Rieth's 
cliurch  on  account  of  having  contrib- 
uted to  its  erection.  Subsequently 
tiiey  brought  suit,  and  the  matter 
came  to  trial  in  April  26,  1755.  and  the 
decision  was  in  favor  of  th.e  Lutherans 
and  against  the  Moravians. 

This  ended  the  effort  of  the  Mora- 
\ians  to  establish  themselves  in  the 
Rieth's  church.  The  Moravian  min- 
isters who  preached  at  various  times 
at  Rieth's  seem  to  have  been  Bishops 
Zinzendorf.  Snangenberg  and  Cam- 
merhof,  and  Revs.  Gottlieb  Biittner. 
I.  P.  Meurer,  ].  H.  Rahner,  Andrew 
Eschenbach,  C.  fl.  Ranch,  George 
Xiecke.  lohn  Brucher  and  I.  C.  Pyr- 
laus. 

The  stone  church  of  1745  was  used 
until  1837.  when  a  new  and  much 
larger  stone  church  was  erected  at  the 
old  site.  Tliis  third  church  stood  un- 
til   1002,   Avhen   it  a\  as  demolished,  af- 


EAUT.Y   MORAVIAN   SETTLEMENTS   IN   BERKS  CO. 


U'l"  the  coiii^Tegation  had  erected  a  new 
churcli    ill    the   villai^e  of  Stouchshurg. 

AT  MOLATTON 

The  A'Jora\ians  also  made  an  eft'ort 
to  gain  entrance  at  INlolatton,  now 
Douglassville.  in  the  southern  part  of 
I'.erks  count}".  This  place  was  a  part 
of  tlie  large  .Manatawny  tract  which 
was  taken  tip  in  1701  by  Rev.  .\ndre\\ 
Rudman,  who  came  to  America  in 
1697.  and  a  number  of  other  Lutheran 
Swedes  who  had  ]M-eceded  him  to  the 
Xew  \\'orld.  Ilere  they  erected  a 
small  log  church  about  the  year  1700. 
which  was  the  first  house  of  worship 
ever  erected  in  Berks  county.  Rev. 
Mr.  Rudman  was  ])astor  of  the  Wi- 
caco  church  in  Philadelphia  and  also 
supplied  Afolatton.  Rev.  Mr.  Hesse- 
lius  was  the  first  resident  pastor  at 
Molatton.  lie  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
Gabriel  balk  who  commenced  the 
church  record  in  1735.  He  was  pastor 
until  1745.  in  1736  a  new  and  larger 
log  church  was  commenced,  but  com- 
l)leted  only  in  1737.  In  this  second 
church  a  number  of  conferences  were 
held  between  the  Indians  and  govern- 
ment officials.  This  church  stood  un- 
til i<^3i.  when  it  was  destroyed  by  fire. 

In  1742  the  Moravians  sough.t  to  se- 
cure possession  of  this  church,  under 
the  leadershi])  of  Count  Zinzendorf. 
who  visited  the  place.  A  young  Swede 
uamed  Rrycelius  was  sent  to  IMolat- 
tnn.  .\s  stated,  the  first  settlers  there 
were  Lutheran  Swedes.  By  this  time 
the  settlement  also  included  some 
luigiish.  Irish  and  German  people. 
The  young  man  met  with  some  suc- 
cess in  winning  the  favor  of  the 
people,  and  he  announced  services  in 
the  church  to  be  conducted  by  himself 
on  a  certain  day.  On  this  occasion 
Pastor  Falk  went  early  to  chuich  and 
in  the  pulpit  awaited  the  arrival  of  the 
young  missionar}-.  .\fter  the  people 
had     assembled     in     the     church,    the 


young  Swede  made  his  a|)])earance. 
Pastor  b'alk.  who  was  then  already  an 
aged  man.  came  down  from  the  pul- 
l)it,  met  him  and  said:  "Vou  enter  the 
sheepfold  as  a  thief  and  murderer." 
and  at  the  same  time  gave  him  a  se- 
vere blow  upon  the  mouth.  Before  a 
confiict  could  arise  the  peojjle  se])a- 
rated  the  two. 

It  is  stated  that  the  .Min-a\ians  se- 
cured some  foothold  at  Molatton,  be- 
cause Re\'.  Mr.  Vr\\<  was  frequently 
away  from  home.  Then  he  was  an 
aged  man.  and  could  no  longer  win 
the  i)eo])le  to  himself  as  the  young 
Swede  could  do.  Besides  the  Mora- 
\ians  offered  to  preach  without  re- 
muneration, and  this  pleased  some  of 
the  people.  Cut  their  success  was 
only  temporar}',  and  the  effort  to  es- 
tablish a  Moravian  flock  at  Molatton 
was  soon  abandoned. 

These  statements  are  not  made  in 
the  spirit  of  criticism.  The  Moravians 
no  doubt  acted  from  good  motives. 
The  facts  are  cited  merely  as  matters 
of  history.  As  far  as  I  know  there  are 
at  present  no  Moravians  in  Berks 
county.  There  are  a  few  persons  of 
Moravian  descent  here,  but  they  are 
members  of  other  denominations. 
Xearly  all.  if  not  all.  those  who  com- 
posed the  two  small  flocks  in  Oley 
and  North  Heidelberg,  had  been  won 
from  other  denominations,  and  when 
the  congregations  collapsed  the  re- 
maining members,  with  few  excep- 
tions, returned  to  the  original  church 
affiliations  of  their  fathers. 

*January  issue  near  foot  of  page  23, 
second  column,  should  read:  The  first 
Bishop  was  David  Nitchman,  who  was  con- 
secrated  in   1735. 

Page  28  top  of  1st  column,  the  b  iptismal 
or  Christian  names  of  the  Indians  should 
have  been:  Shabash  was  baptized  Abraham: 
Stein,  Isaac:  and  Kiop.  .Jacob;  and  the 
name  Okely  omitted. 

A  few  lines  below  these  "precautions" 
should  read  persecutions,  and  on  page  29, 
2nd   col.   numerous  "lots"  should  be  holes. 


John  Early  (Johannes  Oehrle)  and  His  Descendants 

By  Rev.  J.  W.  Early,  Reading,  Pa. 


HE   spelling'  of  the  original 
family    name    is    not    the 
same    everywhere.       In 
Switzerland    it    is    gener- 
ally      spelled  Oehrle. 
Throughout        Wuertem- 
burg,      vvhence    John     E. 
came,   it   is    most    gener- 
ally Oehrle.     In  some     instances  it    is 
Oehrlin.     In  some  older  records  Ehrle 
is  frequently  met  with. 

It  will  not  be  necessary  to  give  an 
extended  history  of  his  ancestry,  so 
far  traceable  only  to  his  grandfather, 
Thomas  Oehrle,  who  is  said  to  have 
come  from  L'Lauffen  Oberamt 
(county  seat)  Balingen,  near  the 
Swiss  boundary.  In  his  new  home. 
Jesingen,  Ober-amt  Kirchheim  an 
der  Feck,  his  family  attained  some 
l^rominence.  his  son  having  become 
town  clerk  and  having  married  into 
the  family  of  the  judge  and  treasurer 
of  the  town. 

THOMAS   OEHRLE,   S'NR. 

In  1670  he  married  Agatha  Eud- 
riss  at  Jessingen.  He  died  prior  to 
1710.  She  died  in  171 1.  They  had 
nine  children.  John  George,  b.  1672 ; 
Anna  Mary  b.  1673 ;  John  b.  1675 ; 
Agnes  b.  1676;  Agatha  b.  1677;  Jacob 
b.  Sept.  1679 ;  Barbara.  1681  ;  Rosina. 
1684;  Thomas.  May  1687.  Nothing  is 
known  about  any  of  them  except 
Jacob  and  Thomas. 

JACOB  OEHRLIN 

It  is  a  pecular  fact  that  Jacob  Oehr- 
lin the  older  of  these  two  boys  who  be- 
came a  weaver,  generally  spelied  his 
name  Oehrlin.  He  married  Anna 
Regina  Kihlkopf  of  Ohinden  near 
Kirchheim,  Feby.  4,  1704.  These  child- 
ren were  born  to  them  ;  Rosina,  1706, 
were  born  to  them :  Rosina,  1706. 
died  the  same  year;  Anna  Catharine, 
1707  and   died    1708;   Joseph     Ludwig, 


(^f  him  we  have  no  further  informa- 
tion. Being  left  a  widower  Jacob 
married  again  —  Margaret  —  whose 
family  name  is  not  given.  He  died 
Sept.   26,    1744,  aged  65   years 

THOMAS   OEHRLE 

The  youngest  son,  as  well  as 
youngest  child,  was  a  school  teacher 
at  Jesingen.  He  afterward  became 
Court  Clerk.  February  25,  1710,  he 
married  Margaret,  daughter  of  Jacob 
Fensterle,  judge  and  treasurer  of  the 
town.  Nine  children  were  born  to 
them.  Thomas  b.  1710  and  died  1713  : 
Christine,  1712;  John  Jacob,  I7i4and 
died  1717;  John  Martin,  1716  and 
died  1717;  Anna  Catharine,  1718: 
Anna  Margaret  1721,  died  in  infancy; 
George  and  John  Jacob,  twins,  1722. 
both  dying  under  five  years  of  age, 
and  John,  Jan.  9,  1724.  The  wife  died 
February   8,    1735. 

He  married  again — Christine  All- 
geier,  daughter  of  Conrad,  a  judge  at 
this  time.  They  had  Thomas,  1736. 
(lied  1745;  John  George.  1738  and 
died  1746;  Agnes,  1739,  died  1741 ; 
Anna  Barbara,  1741,  became  the  wife 
of  George  Haiteman ;  a  farmer  of 
Jesingen.  She  died  1798;  Christine, 
1743;  Conrad  1746,  died  17^7.  Thomas 
E.,  died  Nov.  25,  1746.  aged  59^ 
years.  It  will  be  seen  from  this  that 
John,  the  youngest  son  of  the  first 
wife,  was  the  only  male  descendant 
who  reached  the  age  of  manhood,  and 
that  unless  his  cousin  Joseph  Ludwig 
reached  maturity  and  married,  when 
John  came  to  America,  this  family 
had  died  out  in  Germany,  and  there- 
fore Jacob  Early  of  Amity  township, 
Berks  county.  afterAvards  of  Donegal. 
Lancaster  county,  must  have  belong- 
ed to  another  family.  We  think  the 
supposition  that  he  came  from  Lauf- 
fen,  retaining  the  old  spelling  Ehrle. 
would     hardlv     be      considered      far- 


JOHN  EARLY   (JOHANNES  OEHRLE )   AND  HIS  DESCENDANTS 


75 


ielchcd.    although    it    could    hardly    be 
considered   as   proven. 

JOHN    EARLY— IMMIGRANT 

At  the  ai^e  of  26  he  left  Jesingen 
and  set  sail  for  America.  He  arrived 
at  Philadelphia  in  the  ship  Brothers, 
from  Rotterdam,  Capt.  Muir,  Aug.  24, 
1750.  He  seems  to  have  found  his  way 
at  once  to  Londonderry  township, 
[^ancaster  county,  then  Dauphin,  now 
Lebanon  county,  Pa.  It  was  this 
l)eculiar  shifting  of  township  rela- 
tion that  gave  rise  to  the  strange,  al- 
though true  statement,  that  two  of  his 
grandsons,  although  remaining  in  the 
same  township  during  their  entire 
lives,  were  born  in  Lancaster,  mar- 
ried in  Dauphin,  died  and  were  buried 
in  Lebanon  county,  without  removing 
from  their  original  district. 

Apparently  he  did  not  remain  here 
\ery  long.  In  175 1  we  find  him  in  the 
newly  laid  out  town  of  Reading,  where 
he  had  bought  lot  135,  where  the 
bookstore  of  John  George  Hintz  and 
the  store  immediately  west  of  it  are 
now  located.  Although  he  gives  his 
residence  as  Londonderry  township, 
Lancaster  county,  he  evidently  pur- 
])osed  to  remain  at  Reading,  for  some 
time.  h'nr  in  January  1752  we  find 
him  among  the  members  of  Trinity 
l\\angelical  Lutheran  church.  Peter 
Schneider  and  he  were  made  the 
lUiildino-  Committee.  Building  Mas- 
ters they  .are  called.  The}^  evidently 
had  the  o\ersight  of  the  operations 
and  did  the  car]K^nter  work.  John  E. 
was    a    carpenter. 

April  10.  1753.  he  married  Susanna 
lirumbach.  Christian,  a  son,  was 
)>()rn  to  them  January  13,  1754.  In 
the  latter  part  of  October  or  the  first 
half  of  Xi)\-ember  the  wife  died.  She 
was  a  member  of  the  Reformed 
church. 

h'arly  in  spring  the  following  year 
we  find  he  has  taken  u])  his  residence 
in  Londonderry  again.  March  ii, 
( .Stoe\er  says  loth)  he  married  ]\Iary 
Regina  Lichele.  a  family  name  which 
is  s]:)elled  al)out  half  a  dozen  different 


ways  by  Stoever.  Ilis  children  by 
this  marriage  were  John,  b.  July  2, 
1757;  John  William,  Aug.  10,  1763; 
Thomas,  November  4,  1767;  Anna 
Catharine.  July  7,  1772;  Anna,  Feb- 
ruary 8,  1779;  four  others  whose 
names  are  not  recorded.  He  died  Oc- 
tober 19.  1796,  aged  "^2  years,  9  months 
and  10  days.  He  was  buried  at  the 
Bindnagel's  church,  of  which  he  was 
one  of  the  principal  members,  and  ap- 
parently one  of  the  founders. 

He  showed  his  deep  interest  in  this 
church  by  formulating  a  plan  for  its 
endowment.  He  took  seven  pounds 
of  the  money  in  its  treasury,  paying 
one  shilling  per  pound  interest,  and 
adding  seven  shillings  annually  until 
the  whole  sum  should  bring  two 
pounds  interest  per  annum.  After 
that  stage  was  reached  there  was  to 
be  a  settlement,  and  from  that  time  on 
(^ne  half  of  the  interest  was  to  be 
paid  to  the  pastor  and  the  other  half 
was  to  be  added  to  the  principal. 
There  was  another  fund — the  bequest 
of  Geo.  Bergner,  another  member  of 
the  congregation.  The  principal,  one 
hundred  pounds,  was  to  be  put  at  in- 
terest, one  third  of  the  income  was 
for  the  pastor,  another  third  for  the 
schc~)ol  teacher,  and  the  othc  third 
was  to  he  added  to  the  principal. 

At  first  he  resided  about  half  a  mile 
south  of  the  Bindnagel's  church,  on  a 
part  of  the  Hindnagel  tract.  In  1773 
he  bought  the  "Betines"  farm  from 
Leonard  Deimnever.  Its  northeast 
corner  touched  the  i:)resent  Palmyra 
cemetery.  Avhich  at  that  time  was  the 
southwest  corner  of  the  John  Adam 
Deinmyer  farm,  which  extended  east- 
ward and  included  the  entire  site  o^ 
Palmyra,  eastward  from  thac  point. 
What  the  relationship  of  the  two 
Deinmyers  was  we  are  unable  to  say. 
The  "Betimes"  farm  was  first  deeded 
to  Leonard  Deinmyer  in  1751.  About 
20  years  later  John  Karly  sold  a  striji 
of  50  acres  to  his  son  Christian,  who 
again  sold  it  to  .\ndrew  Henrv.  This 
is  now  a  part  of  the  Oliver  Henry 
farm.       The     balance    of    nearly    200 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


acres  became  the  property  of  the  sec- 
ond son,  John  Early,  Esq.,  Justice  of 
the  Peace,  of  the  third  district,  Ann- 
ville  and  Londonderry.  His  widow 
survived  him  from  15  to  20  years, 
being-  present,  as  sponsor,  at  the  bap- 
tism of  a  g-reatgrandson  in  181 1.  No 
trace  of  the  time  of  her  death  or  the 
|)lace  of  burial  has  been  found 

CHRISTIAN  EARLY 

The  first  of  this  family  born  in  this 
country  married  Elizabeth  Killinger, 
May  24.  1779.  Their  children  as  re- 
corded in  the  family  Bible,  were : 
Christian,  b.  Aug.  25,  1780.  died  Sept. 
4,  1781  ;  John,  February  18,  1783; 
Anna  Catharine,  May  3,  1784;  Wil- 
liam. Aug.  20,  1785:  John  George. 
March  29,  1787,  died  March  7,  1848; 
Susanna,  December  7,  1788;  Eliza- 
beth. March  15,  1790;  Christian,  Jan. 
12,  1795;  the  name  of  the  one  .between 
these  last  two  is  entirely  illegible ; 
Regina.  February  25,  1799;  Thomas, 
March  29,  1801  ;  Margaret,  June  12, 
1803.  Apparently  Christian  Earl  re- 
sided on  his  father's  original  tract,  a 
short  distance  south  of  the  Bindnagel 
church  for  a  time.  Then  he  bought 
30  acres  of  the  northern  part  of  the 
"Retimes"  farm.  This  he  subse- 
quently sold  to  Andrew  Henrv  (snr.) 
lie  then  purposed  going  into  the 
iron  business  and  bought  a  tract  close 
to  the  Manada  Creek.  But  finding  his 
means  inadecjuate,  he  disposed  of  this 
tract,  and  uurchased  a  piece  of  land, 
several  miles  farther  southeast,  and 
erected  a  grist  and  saw  mill  on  the 
Poe  or  Bow  creek.  Up  to  within  a 
few  years  ag^o  it  was  still  owned  by 
his  descendants.  Tt  is-  still  known  as 
F^arly's  Mill.  It  was  carried  on  by 
his  son  John  George,  and  after  him  by 
Iiis  grandson. 

It  is  said  that  while  engaged  in 
helping  to  rebuild  the  Bindnagel 
church,  there  being  neither  bridge  nor 
ferry  at  the  time,  he  fell  into  the  icy 
waters  of  the  Swatara  while  floating 
lumber  across.     Through  this  he  con- 


tracted a  cold  from  which  he  never  re- 
covered. He  died  Auguest  23,  1803. 
at  the  age  of  49  years,  7  months  and 
10  days.  Nearly  all  the  Earlys  of 
Hanover,  and  they  are  quite  numer- 
ous, are  his  descendants.  One  of  them. 
Dr.  Early,  formerly  of  Belle  Grove, 
Lebanon  county,  had  settled  in  Read- 
ing, a  few  years  ago,  but  he  died 
young.  They  are  related  to  the  Kil- 
lingers,  the  Heilmans,  the  Beavers, 
the  Poormans.  and  m  fact  to  nearly 
all  the  families  of  that  section.  This 
branch  of  the  family  is  noted  for 
great  physical  strength.  There  are 
numerous  traditions  concerning  ex- 
hibitions of  strength  on  the  part  of 
the  older  settlers.  It  is  said  of  one  of 
the  K's  that  upon  a  banter  he  would 
take  a  barrel  of  cider  by  the  ends  and 
lift  it  on  a  wagon.  It  is  also  related 
concerning  a  member  of  this  family, 
E.  of  Hanover  that  having  gone  to  the 
mountain  at  the  time,  returning-  he 
met  a  bear.  Bruin  evidently  desir- 
ous of  making  his  acquaintance,  came 
towards  him.  The  man  ran  to  a  large 
chestnut  tree.  But  before  he  could 
climb  it,  the  bear  was  there  too.  So 
they  had  a  sprinting  match  around 
the  tree  for  a  time.  Finding  that  he 
was  becoming  winded,  the  man 
concluded  that  he  might  as  well  meet 
the  bear  first  as  last.  So  he  stopped 
and  Bruin  advanced  to  the  fray  on 
his  hind  feet.  The  man  seized  him 
by  the  jaw  and  began  to  kick  him  in 
the  groin.  The  result  was  a  dead 
bear.  The  man  becoming  the  victor, 
lived  on  bear  meat  for  a  while.  No 
affidavits  were  ever  made  in  this  case. 
But  stories  of  this  character  are  ofif- 
set  by  others,  tending  to  show  that 
people  everywhere  will  boast  some- 
times. It  is  said  that  one  of  the  H. 
family  at  one  time  was  boasting  of 
the  great  physical  strength  of  an 
uncle,  and  said:  "Der  vetter  is  awer 
stark.  Er  hot  a  Sack  voll  Spreu 
g'shouldert  vor'm  Morge  Esse." 
Everyone  can  draw  his  own  conclu- 
sions as  to  a  feat  of  that  kind. 


77 


Charles  Shearer  Keyser 


A   PENN-GERMAN   WHOSE   INFLUENCE   FOR   GOOD    STILL    SURVIVES 
ONE  OF  THE  FOUNDERS  OF  KAIRMOUNT  PARK,  PHILADELPHIA 

By  Naaman  H.  Keyser,  D.  D.  S.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


1 1  E  late  Charles  Shearer 
Keyser.  the  subject  of 
our  sketch.  \vas  born  in 
Germantown,  June  i8, 
1825.  He  was  the  son  of 
Joseph  and  Susan  Shear- 
er Keyser  and  grandson 
of  Jacob  Souplis  Keyser, 
who  built  the  house  m  which  he  was 
born.  No.  6207  Main  street.  It 
stands  next  above  the  original  Key- 
ser house  the  ancestor  of  the  family  in 
America,  who  came  from  Amsterdam 
Holland,  and  settled  in  Germantown. 
in    1688. 

Charles  S.  Keyser  received  his 
early  education  in  Germantown.  In 
1842  he  entered  the  University  of 
Penns3dvania.  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1848.  During  the  Civil 
War  he  served  as  a  private  in  the 
First  City  Trooo,  attached  to  the 
Second  United  States  Cavalr}'.  under 
Colonel  George  H.  Thomas  He  served 
one  term  in  City  Councils  Fie  was 
a  fluent  talker  in  English  and  Ger- 
man and  was  often  called  u])on  to 
make  addresses.  He  took  an  active 
interest  in  labor  iiroblems.  and  was  at 
one  time  the  labor  party's  candidate 
for   District    Attorney. 

Afr.  Keyser  was  one  of  the  original 
l)romoters  of  Fairmount  Park,  and  his 
tracts  did  much  to  induce  the  city  to 
I^urchase  the  private  estates  along  the 
Schuylkill.  In  uS^A  he  oublished  a 
paper  on  "Lenntu  Hill."  Of  this 
jiamphlet  Ferdinand  j.  Dreer.  the 
owner  (^f  Lemon  Hill,  afterwards 
said:  "Mr.  Keyser  called  i)ublic  at- 
tention to  the  importance  of  securing 
them  ( the  pieces  of  ground  now  con- 
stituting Fairmount  Park.)  and  which 
doubtless  had  a  large  influence  in 
the    result."       .Mr.    Kevser    wrote    ex- 


ten  si  \ely  on  social  and  political  sub- 
jects. Among  his  works  are  "Fair- 
mount  Park."  "Penn's  Treaty," 
"Memoirs  of  William  H.  Engflish," 
"Memoirs  of  Judge  Sharswood,"  "Thr 
Crime  of  1873,"  ^"  omitted  chapter  in 
the  "  Recollection  of  John  Sherman," 
"Independence  Hall."  an  account  o'' 
the  building  of  the  hall  and  of  its 
builder,"  "  The  Supreme  Court 
Room."  "History  of  the  Liberty  Bell" 
(this  article  was  used  by  City  Coun- 
cils in  ])ublishing  pamphlets  that  were 
distributed  throughout  the  country, 
when  the  Liberty  Bell  was  taken  on 
its  different  journeys)  ;  "  Minden 
.\rmais,"  "The  Man  of  the  Nev 
Race."  a  ])lea  for  the  colored  people. 

He  comjjiled  the  genealogy  of  the 
Keyser  family,  in  1889.  a  liook  of  his- 
torical value. 

In  i86r)  he  married  Sophronia  Mac- 
Kay  Xorris.  They  had  one  daughte" 
Suzanne  Keyser  Roth.  who  nov 
li\es   in    New   York. 

Mr.  KcA'^ser  was  master  of  cere 
monies  of  the  celebration  in  the  Cen- 
tennial grounds  July  5.  1875.  and  was 
author  of  the  plan  through  which  the 
statuarv  commemorative  of  the  Revo- 
lution was  erected  in  the  Ccntetinia' 
(Grounds  in  1876.  He  also  was  a 
member  of  the  T^-esident's  Advisory 
IJoard  of  the  ignited  States  Centen- 
nial Commission  for  the  ceremonies 
in  Indeoendence  Square,  on  July  4. 
1876.  Mr.  Keyser  was  much  inter 
ested  in  the  establishment  of  smal" 
;)arks  and  play  grounds  throughou- 
the  city.  He  made  the  i^rincii^al  ad- 
dress at  the  dedication  of  Vernon 
Park.    Germantown.   in    i8c)C). 

Mr.    Keyser   was   on    the   board   tha' 
had    charge    of   the    restoration    of    Iri 
denendcnce  Hall  and  was  the  one  wh  > 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


opposed  the  removal  of  the  old  court 
l)nildings.  His  opposition  did  not 
cuail  and  after  new  building's  had 
1)een  erected  on  the  site,  it  was  found 
that  he  was  correct,  and  that  the  orig- 
inal buildings,  although  somewhat 
altercfl  in     appearance,     had     been  re- 


school  children  in  the  history  of  the 
city.  To  this  end  he  offered  prizes 
for  essays,  and  also  conducted  par- 
ties of  boys  through  Indenpence  HalL 
explaining  to  them  the  various  events 
connected  with  the  historic  building, 
a  task  for    which    no    one    was    better 


Charles  S.  Keyser,  Esq. 


moxed  tf)  make  a  ]:)lace  for  the  two 
liiideT  l)oxes  that  have  been  placed 
there.  The}'  are  ()ccui)ie(l  now  as 
museums.  A  sh^rt  time  ])ef()rc  his 
death  lie  l)ecame  actively  interested 
in    a    plan    to   jiromote    interest    among 


fitted. 

Air.  Keyser  died  September  25. 
KKH.  lie  was  a  member  of  the  His- 
torical Societ}^  o  f  Pennsylvania. 
Xetherland  and  German  Societies  and 
ni  other  or^'anizations. 


Heads  of  Families  at  the  First  Census 


NOTE. — Reprint  of  text  which  will  ap- 
l)ear  in  pam))hlets  containing  names  of 
heads  of  families  at  the  First  Census,  in  the 
states  of  Coiiiiecticut,  Maine,  Maryland. 
Massaclmsotts,  Xe^  Haiitpsliire,  New  York, 
Nortli  Carolina,  Pennsylvania-  Rhode  Is- 
land, South  Carolina,  Vermont  and  Vir- 
U'inia.  Each  state  will  form  a  separate  part, 
or  volume,  consisting  of  from  100  to  300 
pages.  Copies  may  be  obtained  of  the  Direc- 
tor of  the  Census.  Price  $1.00  Washington, 
D.  C. 

INTRODUCTION 


IE  First  Census  of  the 
United  States  (1790) 
comprised  an  enumera- 
tion of  the  inhabitants 
(^f  the  present  states  of 
■  Connecticut,  Delaware, 
Georgia.  Kentucky,  Maine. 
Maryland,  Massachusetts 
Xew  1  lami:)shire,  Xew  Jersey,  New 
York.  Xorth  Carolina.  Pennsylvania, 
Rhode  Island,  South  Carolina,  Tenn- 
essee,  Vermont  and  Virginia. 

A  complete  set  of  the  schedule  for 
each  state,  with  a  summary  for  the 
counties,  and  in  many  cases  for 
towns,  was  filed  in  the  State  De- 
])artment,  but  unfortunately  they  are 
not  now  complete,  the  returns  for  the 
states  of  Delaware,  Georgia,  Ken- 
tucky, Xew  Jersey.  Tennessee,  and 
Virginia  having  been  destroyed  when 
the  British  burned  the  Cooital  at 
W'ashingtiMi  during  the  war  of  1812. 
l^'iir  se\eral  (tf  the  states  for  which 
scliedules  arc  lacking  it  is  prol:)able 
that  the  Director  of  the  Census  could 
obtain  lists  which  would  present  the 
names  of  most  of  the  heads  of  famil- 
ies at  the  date  of  the  First  Census. 
Tn  A^irginia,  state  enumerations  were 
made  in  1782.  1/8.^.  1784,  and  1785. 
but  the  lists  on  file  in  the  State  Li- 
l)rarv  include  the  names  of  only  ;^o 
i>f  the  78  counties  into  which  the 
state  was  divided. 

Hie  schedules  of  1790  form  a  unicpie 
itdieritance  fur  the  Xation.  since 
they   represent    for   each    of   the    states 


concerned  a  com;)lete  list  of  the  heads 
of  families  in  the  United  States  at  the 
time  of  the  ado])tion  of  the  Constitu- 
tion. The  framers  were  the  states- 
men and  leaders  of  thought,  but  those 
whose  names  appear  upon  the  sched- 
ules of  the  First  Census  were  in 
general  the  nlain  citizens  who  1)\ 
their  conduct  in  war  and  peace  made 
the  Constitution  possible  and  b}-  their 
intelligence  and  self-restraint  ])ut  it 
into    successful    operation. 

The  total  ]io])ulation  of  the  United 
States  in  1790,  exclusive  of  slaves,  as 
<leri\ed  from  the  schedules  was  3.- 
-3i-5v^3-  ''"'c  onl}'  names  appearing 
unon  the  schedules,  however,  were 
those  of  heads  of  families,  and  as  at- 
chat  i)eriod  the  families  averaged  6 
nersons,  the  total  number  ^'.'as  anprox- 
imately  540.000,  or  slightly  more 
than  half  a  million.  The  number  of 
names  which  is  now  lacking  because 
of  the  destruction  of  the  schedules  is 
ai)i)r(^ximately  140,000.  thus  leaving 
schedules  containing  about  400,000 
names. 

The  information  contained  in  the 
|Md:)lished  rei3i»rt  of  the  First  Census 
of  the  United  States,  a  small  ^•olume 
of  56  nages.  was  not  uniform  for  the 
several  states  and  territories.  For  X'^e-w 
England  and  one  or  two  of  the  other 
states  the  poi)ulation  was  iiresented  bv 
counties  and  towns;  that  of  X'ew  Jer- 
sey aiiDcared  i^artl}'  by  counties  and 
towns  and  j^artly  bv  comities  only; 
in  other  cases  the  returns  were  given 
by  C(mnties  only.  Thus  the  comolete 
transcript  of  the  names  of  heads  of 
families,  with  acconi])anying  informa- 
tion, presents  for  ihe  first  time  detail- 
ed inf(M-niation  as  to  the  nundicr  of 
inhabitants — males,  females,  etc. — for 
each  minor  civil  division  in  all  those 
states  for  \\liicii  such  information  Avas 
not   originally   i)td)lished. 

*Xorth  Carolina  and  Virgini'i  to  br 
issued. 


80 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


In  response  to  repeated  requests 
from  patriotic  societies  and  persons 
interested  in  g-enealogy,  or  desirous  of 
studying-  the  early  history  of  the 
United  States,  Congress  added  to  the 
sundry  ci\-il  appropriation  bill  for  the 
.^scal  year  1907  the  following  para- 
graph : 

The  director  of  the  Census  is  hereby 
Huthorized  to  publish,  in  a  permanent  form, 
oy  counties  and  minor  civil  divisions,  the 
names  of  the  heads  of  families  returned 
at  the  first  census  of  the  United  States  in 
■seventeen  hundred  and  ninety;  and  the 
Director  of  the  Census  is  authorized,  in 
lis  discretion,  to  sell  said  publications,  the 
proceeds  thereof  to  be  covered  into  the 
Treasury  of  the  United  States  to  be  deposit- 
ed to  the  credit  cf  miscellaneous  receipts 
on  account  of  "Proceeds  of  sales  of  Govern- 
aient  property:" 

Provided,  That  no  expense  shall  be  in- 
curred hereunder  additional  to  appropria- 
■ions  for  the  Census  Offic  ■  for  printing 
'herefor  made  for  the  fiscal  year  nineteen 
lundred  and  seven ;  and  the  Director  of  the 
Census  is  hereby  directed  to  report  to 
Congress  at  its  next  session  the  cost  in- 
curred hereunder  and  the  price  fixed  for 
said  publications  and  the  total  received 
;herefor. 

The  amount  of  mone}-  appropriated 
i)}'  Congress  for  the  Census  printing 
:or  the  fiscal  year  mentioned  was  un- 
fortunately not  sufficient  to  meet  the 
i-urrent  recjuirement  of  the  Office  to 
)u])lish  the  transcription  of  the  First 
"ensus.  and  no  pro\ision  was  made  in 
he  sundry  civil  api-jrojiriation  bill  for 
!()o8  f(^r  the  continuance  of  authoritv 
";o  pul)lish  these  inijiortant  records. 
Resources,  however,  were  available 
for  printing  a  small  section  of  the 
A'ork.  and  the  schedules  of  New 
Mamoshire,  \'ermont,  and  ^Maryland 
Hccordingly  a\  ere   published. 

The  urgent  deficiency  bill,  approved 
i'^ebruary  15,  1908,  contained  the  fol- 
iowing   pro\ision  : 

That  the  Director  of  the  Census  13  hereby 
authorized  and  directed  to  expend  so  much 
)f  the  a])iH'opriation  for  piinting  for  the 
Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor 
1  Hotted  by  law  to  the  Census  Office  for 
;he  fiscal  year  ending  .June  thirtieth,  nine- 
:een  hundred  and  eight,  as  may  be  neces- 
sary to  continue  and  complete  the  publica- 
tion of  the     names  of  the  heads  of  families 


returned  at  the  First  Census  of  the  United- 
States,  as  authorized  by  the  sundry  civil 
appropriation  act  approved  .Tune  thirtieth, 
nineteen  hundred  and  six. 

In  accordance  with  the  authority- 
given  in  the  paragraph  quoted  above, 
the  names  returned  at  the  First  Cen- 
sus in  the  states  of  Connecticut, 
Maine,  Massachusetts,  New  York, 
Xorth  Carolina,  Pennsylvania.  Rhode 
Island,  and  South  Carolina  have  been 
published,  thus  completing  the  roster 
of  the  heads  of  families  in  1790  so  far 
as  they  can  be  shown  from  the  records 
of  the  Census  Office.  As  the  Federal 
census  schedules  of  the  state  of  Vir- 
ginia for  1790  are  missing,  the  lists  of 
the  state  enumerations  made  In  1782, 
1783,  1784,  and  1785  have  been  sub- 
stituted and,  while  not  comjilete,  they 
will,  undoubtedh^  i^rove  of  great 
xalue. 

THE   FIRST  CENSUS 

The  First  Census  Act  was  passed  at 
the  second  session  of  the  First  Con- 
gress, and  was  signed  by  Piesident 
\\'ashington  on  Alarch  i,  i7()0.  The 
task  of  making  the  first  enumeration 
of  inhabitants  was  ])laced  uix)n  the 
President.  Under  this  law  the  mar- 
shals of  the  several  judicial  districts 
were  required  to  ascertain  the  number 
of  inhabitants  Avithin  their  respective 
districts,  omitting  Indians  not  taxed, 
and  distinguishing  free  persons  (in- 
cluding those  bound  to  service  for  a 
term  of  years)  from  all  others;  the  sex 
and  color  of  free  persons;  and  the 
free   males    16  years   of  age   and   over. 

The  object  of  the  inquiry  last  men- 
tioned was.  undou1)tedly,  to  obtain  de- 
finite knowledge  as  to  the  military 
and  industrial  strength  of  the  coun- 
try. This  fact  possesses  >pecial  inter- 
est, because  the  Constitution  directs 
merely  an  enumeration  of  inhabitants. 
Thus  the  demand  for  increasingly  ex- 
tensixe  int(M"mation.  which  has  been 
so  marked  a  characteristic  of  census 
legislation,  began  with  the  First  Con- 
gress  that   dealt   with   the  subject. 

The  method  followed  by  the  Presi- 
dent   in    ])utting     into     operation      the 


HEADS  OF    FAMILIES  AT  THE  FIRST  CENSUS 


81 


I'irst  Census  law,  although  the  object 
of  extended  investigation,  is  not  def- 
initely known.  It  is  sui)poscd  that 
the  ] 'resident  or  the  Secretary  of  State 
dis])atched  copies  of  the  'aw,  and  per- 
liaps  of  instructions  also,  to  the  mar- 
shals. There  is,  however,  some  ground 
for  disputing  this  conculsion.  At  least 
'>ne  of  the  reports  in  the  census  vol- 
ume of  I7c)0  was  furnished  by  a  gov- 
i-rnor.  This,  together  with  the  fact 
that  there  is  no  record  of  correspon- 
<lence  with  the  marshals  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  census,  but  that  there  is  a 
record  of  such  correspondence  with 
ihe  governors,  makes  very  strong  the 
inference  that  the  marshals  received 
their  instructions  through  the  gover- 
nors of  the  states.  This  inference  is 
strengthened  by  the  fact  that  in  1790 
the  state  of  Massachusetts  furnished 
the  printed  blanks,  and  also  by  the 
fact  that  the  law  relating  to  the  Sec- 
ond Census  si^ecifically  charged  the 
Secretary  of  State  to  superintend  the 
enumeration  and  to  commimicate  dir- 
ectly with  the  marshals. 

I'y  the  terms  of  the  f'irst  Census 
law  nine  months  were  allowed  in 
which  to  comnlete  the  enumeration. 
The  census  taking  was  supervised  by 
the  marshals  ni  the  several  judicial 
districts,  who  employed  assistant  mar- 
shals to  act  as  enumerators.  There 
were  17  marshals.  The  records  show- 
ing the  number  of  assistant  marshals 
enrdoyed  in  1790,  1800,  and  1810  were 
destroyed  by  fire,  but  the  nimiber  em- 
'>ln\-ed  in  \jqo  has  been  estimated  at 
''.SO. 

The  schedules  which  these  ot^cials 
prepared  consist  of  lists  of  names  of 
heads  of  families  ;  each  name  apuears 
in  a  stub,  or  first  column,  which  is  fol- 
lowed by  fi\e  columns,  giving  details 
i«f  the  familw  These  columns  are 
lieaded  as  iollows  : 

['"•ree  white  males  of  16  years  and  up- 
ward,  including  heads  01   families. 

Free  white  males  under  16  years. 

Free  white  females,  including  heads  of 
families. 

AH  othei'  free  i)eisons. 

Slaves. 


The  assistant  marshals  made  two 
copies  of  the  returns  ;  in  accordance 
with  the  law  one  copy  was  posted  in 
the  immediate  neighborhood  for  the 
information  of  the  i^ublic.  and  the 
other  was  transmitted  to  the  marshal 
in  charge,  to  be  forwarded  to  the 
President.  The  schedules  were  turn- 
ed over  by  the  1 'resident  to  the  Sec 
retary  of  State.  Little  or  no  tabula- 
tion was  required,  and  the  report  of 
the  First  Census,  as  also  the  reports 
of  the  Second.  Third,  and  Fourth,  was 
produced  without  the  employment  of 
any  clerical  force,  the  summaries 
being  transmitted  directly  to  the 
printer.  The  total  ])()])ulation  as  re- 
turned in  1790  was  3,929.214  and  the 
entire  cost   of  the  census  was  $44,377. 

A  summary  of  the  results  of  the 
I'^irst  Census  not  including  the  returns 
for  South  Carolina,  was  transmitted 
to  Congress  by  President  Washing- 
ton on  October  27,  1791.  The  legal 
lieriod  for  enumeration,  nine  months, 
had  been  extended,  the  longest  time 
consumed  being  eighteen  months  in 
South  Carolina.  The  report  of  Octo- 
ber 2/  was  printed  in  full,  and  pub- 
lished in  what  is  now  a  very  rare  lit- 
tle volume;  afterwards  the  re])ort  for 
.South  Carolina  was  "tipped  in."  To 
contain  the  results  of  the  Twelfth 
Census,  ten  large  quarto  volumes, 
comprising  in  all  10,400  pages,  were 
required.  No  illustration  of  the  ex- 
pansion of  census  inquiry  can  l^e  more 
striking. 

The  original  schedules  of  the  hirst 
Census  are  now  contained  in  26  bound 
volumes,  preserved  in  the  Census  Of- 
fice. For  the  most  part  the  headings 
of  the  schedules  were  written  in  by 
hand.  Indeed,  up  to  and  including 
1820.  the  assistant  marshals  generally 
used  for  the  schedules  such  paper  as 
the\-  ha])pened  to  have,  ruling  it.  writ- 
ing in  the  headings,  and  binding  the 
sheets  together  themselves.  In  some 
cases  merchants'  account  ]:)aper  was 
used,  and  now  and  then  the  schedules 
were  bound   in   wall   paper. 


82 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


As  a  consequence  of  requiring  mar- 
shals to  supply  their  own  blanks,  the 
volumes  containing"  the  schedules  vary 
in  size  from  about  7  inches  long,  3 
inches  wide,  and  1-2  inch  thick  to  21 
inches  long,  14  inches  wide,  and  6 
inches  thick.  Some  of  the  sheets  in 
these  volumes  are  only  4  inches  long, 
hut  a  few  are  3  feet  in  length,  neces- 
sitating several  folds.  In  some  cases 
leaves  burned  at  the  edges  have  been 
covered  with  transparent  silk  to  pre- 
serve them. 

THE   UNITED   STATES   IN   1790 

In  March,  1790,  the  Union  consisted 
of  twelve  states — Rhode  Island,  the 
last  of  the  original  thirteen  to  enter 
the  Union,  being  admitted  May  29  of 
the  same  year.  Vermont,  the  first  ad- 
dition, was  admitted  in  the  following 
year,  before  the  results  of  the  First 
Census  were  announced.  Maine  was 
a  part  of  Massachusetts.  Kentucky 
was  a  part  of  Virginia,  and  the  pres- 
ent states  of  Alabama  and  Mississippi 
were  parts  of  Georgia.  The  present 
states  of  Ohio.  Indiana,  Illinois,  Mich- 
igan, and  Wisconsin,  with  part  of 
Minnesota,  were  known  as  the  North- 
west Territory,  and  the  present  state 
of  Tennessee,  then  a  part  of  North 
Carolina,  was  soon  to  be  organized  as 
the  Southwest  Territory. 

The  United  States  was  bounded  on 
the  west  by  the  Mississippi  river,  be- 
yond which  stretched  that  vast  and 
unexplored  wilderness  belonging  to 
the  Spanish  King,  which  was  after- 
wards ceded  to  the  United  States  by 
France,  as  the  Louisana  Purchase 
and  now  comprises  the  great  and  pop- 
ulous states  of  South  Dakota,  Iowa. 
Nebraska.  Missouri.  Kansas,  Arkan- 
sas, and  Oklahoma,  and  portions  of 
Minnesota.  North  Dakota.  Montana, 
VVyoming,  Colorado.  New  Mexico. 
Texas,  and  Louisiana.  The  Louisiana 
Purchase  was  not  consummated 
for  more  than  a  decade  after  the  First 
Census  was  taken.  On  the  south  was 
another  S])anish  colony  known  as  the 
Floridas.  The  greater  part  of  Texas, 
then  a  ])art  i>f  the     colony  of     Mexico, 


belonged  to  Spain ;  and  California,  Ne- 
vada, Utah.  Arizona,  and  a  portion  of 
New  Mexico  also  the  property  of 
Spain,  although  penetrated  here  and 
there  by  venturesome  explorers  and 
missionaries,  were  for  the  most  part, 
an  undiscovered  wilderness 

The  gross  area  of  the  United  States 
was  827,844  square  miles,  but  the  set- 
tled area  was  only  239,935  square 
miles,  or  about  29  per  cent,  of  the 
total.  Though  the  area  covered  by  the 
enumeration  in  1790  seems  very  small 
Avhen  compared  with  the  present  area 
of  the  United  States,  the  difficulties 
which  confronted  the  census  taker 
were  vastly  greater  than  in  1900.  In 
many  localities  there  were  no  roads, 
and  where  these  did  exist  they  were 
poor  and  frequently  impassable ; 
bridges  were  almost  unknown.  Trans- 
portation was  entirely  by  horseback, 
stage,  or  private  coach.  A  journey  as 
long  as  that  from  New  York  to  W^ash- 
ington  was  a  serious  undertakmg,  re- 
quiring eight  days  under  the  most 
favorable  conditions.  Western  New 
York  was  a  wilderness,  Elmira  and 
Binghamton  being  but  detached  ham- 
lets. The  territory  west  of  the  Alle- 
gheny mountains,  with  the  exception 
of  a  portion  of  Kentuck3^  was  unset- 
tled and  scarcely  penetrated.  Detroit 
and  Vincennes  were  too  small  and  iso- 
lated to  merit  consideration.  Phila- 
delphia was  the  capital  of  the  United 
States.  Washington  was  a  mere  Gov- 
ernment project,  not  even  named,  but 
known  as  the  Federal  City.  Indeed, 
by  the  S')ring  of  1793,  only  one  wall  of 
the  White  House  had  been  construct- 
ed, and  the  site  for  the  Capitol  had 
!)een  merely  surveyed.  Nevv  York  city 
in  1790  possessed  a  population  of  only 
33.131,  although  it  was  the  largest  city 
in  the  Ignited  States ;  Philadelphia  was 
second,  with  28.522;  and  Boston  third, 
with  18.320.  Mails  were  transported 
in  very  irregular  fashion,  and  corre- 
s])ondence  was  expensive  and  uncer- 
tain. 
There  were,  moreover,  other  difficul- 
ties which  were  of  serious  moment  in 


HEADS  OF  FAMILIES  AT  THE  FIRST  CENSUS 


88 


1790,  but  which  long  ago  ceased  to  be 
problems  in  census  taking.  The  inhab- 
itants, having  no  experience  with 
census  taking,  imagined  that  some 
scheme  for  increasing  taxation  was  in- 
volved and  were  inclined  to  be  cau- 
tious lest  they  should  reveal  too  much 
cd  their  own  affairs.  There  was  also 
opposition  to  enumeration  on  religious 
grounds,  a  count  of  inhabitants  being 
regarded  by  many  as  a  cause  for  di- 
vine   displeasure.     The   boundaries   of 


towns  and  other  minor  divisions,  and 
even  those  of  counties,  were  in  many 
cases  unknown  or  not  defined  at  all. 
The  hitherto  semi-independent  states 
had  been  under  the  control  of  the  Fed- 
eral Government  for  so  short  a  time 
that  the  different  sections  had  not  yet 
been  welded  into  an  harmonious  na- 
tionality in  which  the  Federal  author- 
ity should  be  unquestioned  and  in- 
struction promptly  and  fully  obeyed. 


Population  0/  the  United  States  as  returned  at  the  First  Census,  hy  states :   1 790 


Vermont 

New    Hampshire 

Maine  

Massachusetts  

Rhode    Island 

Connecticut 

New  York 

New   Jersey 

Pennsylvania 

Delaware 

Maryland 

Virginia 

Kentucky  

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Georgia  

Total  number  of  inhabitants  of   the   United 
States  exclusive  of  S.  Western  and  N.  W.  territory 


S,  W.  territory. 
N.  W. 


6.271 


10,277 


15,365 


361        3,417 


1  The  census  of  1790,  published  in  1791,  report  16  slaves  in  Vermont.  Subsequently,  and  up  to  1860,  the  number  is 
given  as  17.  An  examination  of  the  original  manuscript  returns  shows  that  there  never  were  any  slaves  in  Vermont. 
The  original  error  occurred  in  preparing  the  results  for  publication,  when  16  persons,  returned  as  "Free  colored."  were 
classified  as  "Slave." 

2  Correcred  figures  are  So.42b,  or  less  than  figures  published  in  1790  due  to  an  error  of  addition  in  the  returns  foi 
each  of  the  towns  of  Fairfield,  Milton,  Shelburne  and  Williston,  in  the  county  of  Chittenden:  Brookfield,  Newbury. 
Randolph  and  Strafford,  in  the  county  of  Orange;  Castleton,  Clarendon,  Hubbardton,  Poultney ,  Rutland,  Shrewsbury 
and  Wallingford,  in  the  county  of  Rutland:  Dummerston  Guilford,  Hallifax  and  Westminster,  in  the  county  of  Win<l- 
ham  and  Woodstock,  in  the  county  of  Windsor. 

3  Corrected  figures  are 59,095,  or  2  more  than  published  in  179ii,  due  to  an  error  in  addition. 


84 


Philadelphia  Founders'  Anniversary 


In  its  mission  as  a  historical  maga- 
zine THE  PENNSYLVANIA  GER- 
MAN deems  a  recording  of  some  of 
the  notable  events  and  addresses  call- 
ed forth  by  P'hiladelphia  Founders' 
Week  appropriate  and  desirable.  A 
selection  of  material  has  therefore 
l:)een  made  which  is  presented  in  the 
following  pages.  In  the  abundance  of 
rich  material  at  our  disposal  choice 
was  often  difficult.  If  our  readers  not- 
ed any  important  statements,  presen- 
tation of  facts,  editorials,  that  they 
think  should  find  a  place  in  the  pages 
of  the  magazine  they  will  confer  a 
great  favor  by  calling  our  attention 
to  them.  We  believe  that  by  thus 
collecting  what  is  here  presented  we 
put  in  convenient  form  valuable  data 
that  will  often  be  referred  to  and  made 
use  of. 

C.  J.  Hexamer,  president  of  the 
National  German-/\merican  Alliance, 
read  the  following  telegram  from 
President  Roosevelt : 

"White  House,  Washington  D.  C, 
Oct.  6. — Through  you  I  present  my 
heartiest  good  wishes  for  the  success 
of  the  National  German-American 
Alliance  on  the  occasion  of  their  gath- 
ering to  celebrate  the  two  hundred 
and  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the 
first  German  emigration  to  this  coun- 
try. From  that  day  to  this  Americans 
of  German  birth  and  descent  have 
borne  high  and  honorable  part  in  the 
history  of  this  great  Nation. 

THEODORE    ROOSEVELT." 

(lOvernor  Stuart,  introdiiced  by  Dr. 
Hexamer,  was  given  a  most  cordial 
reception. 

"I  am  not  here  to  make  an  address," 
said  the  Governor,  "but  to  show  the 
great  debt  of  gratitude  I  feel  as  a 
Pennsylvanian  to  the  Germans  of  this 
.\'ation.  Pennsylvania  has  always  had 
the  sui:>port  of  her  German  citizens.  I 
particularly  want  to  call  attention  to 
the  Germans  of  this  State  as  agricul- 
turists.    The  interest  in      farming  was 


started  by  the  early  German  settlers, 
and  now  Pennsylvania  contains  the 
banner  agricultural  county  of  the 
United  States.  I  refer  to  Lancaster 
county:  it  is  German  from  one  end  to 
the  other,  and  a  more  devoted  set  of 
Germans  than  those  in  Lancaster 
county  cannot  be  found.  I  want  to  say 
that  I  keenly  appreciate  the  value  of 
the  Germans  in  my  native  State.  In 
the  building  up  of  the  educational  in- 
stitutions, in  the  medical  protession. 
and  in  fact  of  every  line,  the  Gci'mans 
of  Pennsylvania  have  done  their  share. 
I  am  glad  to  be  the  Governor  of  a 
State  which  has  so  many  thrift}', 
peace-loving,  industrious  Grcrman 
citizens." 

Rev.  George  \^on  Bosse  delivered 
an  address  in  German,  in  which  he 
emphasized  the  importai:t  part  that 
Germantown  has  played  in  the  histor}' 
of  this  country.  He  said  in  part : 

It  is  a  site,  hallowed  in  history, 
where  we  now  stand.  Here  the  first 
German  settlers  toiled  in  the  sweat  of 
their  brow  ;  here  rose  the  first  German 
town  in  America  :  here  the  first  Ger- 
man anthem  ascended  heavenward : 
here  the  first  ])rotest  against  abomin- 
able slavery  was  fulminated ;  here 
stood  the  first  German  printing  press  ; 
here  the  first  bible  \\as  printed  in 
.\merica,  and.  indeed,  in  the  German 
language ;  here  too  the  first  religious 
periodicals  and  the  first  newspaper 
were  edited,  and  each,  indeed,  in  the 
German  language.  Here  if  was  where 
(lerman  characters  first  promulgated 
to  the  mar^■eling  nations  of  earth  the 
birth  (-tf  this  great  Republic.  Here  it 
was  where  German  hearts  jubilantly 
throb1:»ed  when  the  glorious  Declara- 
tion (^f  Independence  was  jjromulgat- 
ed  ;  and.  as  in  man_y  other  localities, 
the  ground  here.  too.  hath  been  be- 
sprent with  tlie  precious  life-blood  of 
Germans  A\ho.  in  the  P>attle  of  Ger- 
mantown. f<night  f(^r  liberty's  sacred 
cause. 


PHILADELPHIA  FOUNDERS'  ANMIVERSARY 


A  SOLEMN  DAY 

"It  is  a  solemn  day  we  celebrate,  the 
German  Day.  A  quarter  of  a  century 
in  October,  1883,  on  the  200th  anniver- 
sary of  the  landing  of  P'rancis  Daniel 
Pastorius  and  the  thirteen  families 
from  Krefeld,  the  first  German  Day 
was  inauj^urated  pnncipally  '. hrough 
the  efforts  of  those  men  whose  mem- 
ory we  cherish.  Dr.  Gottlieb  Theo- 
dore Kellner  and  Professor  Oswald 
.Seidensticker.  The  idea  of  the  celebra- 
tion of  a  German  Day  ha^  its  oppon- 
ents, and  not  a  few,  but  owino;  to  the 
energ-y  of  the  National  German-Amer- 
ican Alliance,  under  the  leadership  of 
Dr.  C.  J.  Plexamer,  the  iiistitntion  of 
the  German  Day  bids  fair  to  become 
permanent.  And  today,  after  twenty- 
fl\-e  years  have  rolled  by  like  some 
wild  melody,  'tis  not  a  hand.ful  of  Ger- 
mans that  celebrate  this  day  in  some 
remote  corner;  nay.  by  tens  of  thou- 
sands they  have  flocked  together  to 
the  birthplace  of  the  German  Day : 
they  have  come  as  re^jresentatives 
from  all  the  estates  of  our  vast  coun- 
try ;  the  eyes  of  millions  are  this  day 
fixed  uDon  us;  the  absent  are  \\ith  us 
in  soirit  there  in  the  ancient  city  of 
Krefeld.  whence  came  the  first  Ger- 
man settlers,  and  in  distant  Sommer- 
hausen,  birthplace  of  Pastorius,  yea, 
even  throughout  the  German  Empire, 
at  whose  head  the  German  Emperor, 
who  hath  sent  a  representative  to  this 
celebration  of  ours,  in  his  caoacity  as 
promotor  of  amicable  relations  be- 
tween the  two  countries.  Xor  stand 
we  alone  in  this  celebration.  Verily, 
Americans  not  of  German  kith  and 
kin ;  Americans  not  biased  by  blind 
prejudices,  not  hampered  by  nativism. 
rather,  true  and  genuine  Xm-^ricans. 
worth V  sons  of  this  land  of  liberty,  and 
those  who  could  not  come,  they  are 
with  us  in  spirit,  and  foremost  among 
these  The  President  of  the  United 
States,  Theodore  Roosevelt,  w'ho  is  in- 
timately conversant  with  German 
thought  and  culture. 

"F>ut  what  is  the  pur])ort  of  the  Ger- 
man Day?  It  has  l^een  instituted  to 
bear    witness    concerning    'liat      which 


(iermans  have     wrought  in     behalf  oi' 
our  country. 

GERMAN  CULTURE  IN  AMERICA 
"We  hear  so  much  of  what  <he  Pil- 
grim i^'athers  and  their  descendants 
ha\'e  done  for  our  country,  but  that 
which  (iermans  have  done  is  i)assed 
over  oftentimes  in  sdence  or  belittled. 
Xames  of  German  men,  worthy  of 
fame,  have  been  buried  in  t)blivioii.  .\ 
Senator  from  one  of  the  New  England 
States  informs  us  that  among  14,000 
names,  10,376  English,  1439  Scotch 
and  only  659  German  name?  (mirabile 
dictu)  are  found  worthv  of  admittance 
in  a  biographical  dictionary!  In  the 
face  of  such  statistics  it  is  high  time 
that  we  German-Americans  awake 
and  snatch  from  oblivion  ihe  names  of 
our  ancestors  wdio  have  left  footprints 
in  the  sands  of  time.  The  National 
German-American  Alliance  has  I  am 
hao]j}'  to  say,  auspiciouly  inaugurated 
this  work.  Time  there  was  when  I 
fondlv  cherished  the  specious  delusion 
that  ?M  the  culture  we  have  is  the 
x'-  irk  of  the  descendants  of  th(^  Pil- 
grim Fathers,  but  inspired  by  the  la- 
bors of  Dr.  Hexamer,  an  \me-ican  of 
German  descent,  and  of  Professor 
Learned,  an  American  of  Eng-ish  de- 
scent. 1  have  taken  up  the  study  of 
German  culture  in  America,  and  a  new 
light  burst  u])on  my  vision.  I  blushed 
because  of  the  consciousness  of  m} 
ignorance.  I  was  filled  with  indigna- 
tion on  hearing  the  work  of  our  ances- 
tors s))oken  of  lightly,  yet  was  ni}- 
heart  filled  with  joy  on  noticing  how. 
now.  justice  is  gradually  being  done 
to  the  merits  of  German- Americans. 

"This  glorious  day  is  to  strengthen 
us  all  in  the  endeavors  we  hold  neces- 
sary for  the  welfare  of  our  country. 
We  would  give  to  our  Nation  the  best 
traits  of  German  character.  The 
.National  ( ierman-.Kmerican  Alliance 
strixes  tt)  poj)ularize  the  study  of  the 
(ierman  language,  the  language  of  a 
great  ])eople  and  of  so  many  great 
men.  the  language  of  all  the  learned  of 
modern  times,  the  language  of  our 
heart  and  soul. 


86 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


AIMS    STRIVEN    FOR 

"We  would  moreover,  preserve  the 
purity  of  our  g'overnment.  We  would 
educate  our  children  in  such  a  manner 
that  they  have  within  themselves  the 
necessary  moral  fortitude  to  disdain  a 
coercive  yoke.  We  would  introduce 
innocent  recreation  into  our  hurried 
and  worried  business  life.  And,  again, 
we  would  advocate  amicable  relations 
between  our  Nation  and  other  nations 
and  especially  with  Germany.  It  is 
my  fervent  wish  that  this  German  day 
may.  in  the  near  future  become  a  day 
of  fraternization  of  all  the  various 
nationalities  represented  in  this  glor- 
ious republic. 

As  Dr.  Hexamer  unveiled  the  cor- 
ner-stone, a  block  of  granite  8  feet  in 
height  and  bearing  appropriate  tablets 
of  bronze,  he  said  in  part: 

■"With  profound  love  we  this  day 
think  of  our  German  ancestors.  Ger- 
man perseverance  and  German  family 
life,  the  fountain  of  true,  self-sacrific- 
ing love,  which,  to  protect  those  that 
are  near  and  dear,  engenders  heroic 
deeds  of  patriotism  ;  all  these  things 
have  contributed  infinitely  towards 
exaltng  our  country  to  her  high  estate. 
For  liberty,  that  highest  ideal  of  the 
Germans  from  time  immemorial,  our 
fathers  fought  not  alone  with  protests 
against  slavery,  at  a  time  when  Anglo- 
Americans  in  New  England  executed 
witches,  but  also  on  the  battle-field. 
The  names  of  Steuben,  De  Kalb. 
Herchheimer  and  Muehlenberg  will 
Hve  for  all  time.  Nor  will  a  grateful 
people  ever  forget,  that  almost  200,000 
Germans  were  ready  to  shed  their 
blood  for  the  Union,  that  not  one  star 
might  be  torn  from  our  glorius  banner, 
and  that  we  might  be,  as  we  now  are,  a 
mi i ted  and  powerful  Nation. 

CULITVATED    ARTS    OF   PEACE 

"And  yet  our  ancestors  did  not  seek 
to  triumph  in  sanguinary  wars,  but 
rather  in  the  arts  of  peace.  Wherever 
Germans  settled,  the  wilderness  was 
transformed  into  garden  spots  and 
blossomed  as  the     rose.     Their     lands 


flowing  with  milk  and  honey.  lu  ever}' 
trade,  art  and  industry  they  excelled. 
German  teachers,  painters,  scilptors. 
poets,  musicians  and  men  of  science 
have  filled  the  world  with  admiration. 

"To  investigate  and  record  the  deeds 
of  our  ancestors,  to  educate  our  youth, 
that  a  sound  mind  may  dwell  in  a 
sound  body,  and  that  they  may  be 
proud  of  their  kin ;  to  assist  German 
immigrants  and  to  educate  them,  so 
that  they  may  become  useful  citizens 
of  our  Republic,  and  to  imbue  all  of 
Uncle  Sam's  children  with  the  fact, 
that:  'Full  many  a  ,gem  of  purest  ray 
serene'  is  found  in  German  lore,  and 
that  its  flowers  may  not  be  born  to 
blush  unseen  and  waste  their  sweet- 
ness on  the  desert  air — such  are  the 
principal  aims  of  the  great  National 
German-American    Alliance. 

"We  now  erect  this  coiner-stone,  a 
work  of  German  art,  not  as  part  of  a 
local,  but  of  a  national  monument  of 
the  Germans  of  America.  It  is  hence  a 
sacred  obligation  unto  all  in  whose 
veins  German  blood  courses,  to  strive 
to  complete  this  work  in  a  worthy 
manner. 

PASTORIUS'     BLESSING 

"In  the  annals  of  this  first  German 
settlement  we  find  recorded  the  bless- 
ing of  our  venerable  father  Pastorius 
(whose  name  being  interpreted,  mean? 
a  shepherd),  and  if  we  wiP  cleave  unto 
one  another,  as  we  now.  in  this  solemn 
hour,  do  vow,  to  pursue  our  high  cul- 
tural mission  indefatigably.  this  self- 
same blessing  shall  be  fulfilled. 

"All  hail  German  progeny! 
All  hail,  ye  German  brethren  ! 
All  hail  for  evermore ! 

"And  now.  Mr.  Mayor,  I  have  the 
honor  to  transmit  to  you  for  the  city 
of  Philadelphia  in  beahlf  of  the  Nation- 
al German-American  Alliance  this  cor- 
ner-stone, as  an  ornament  unto  the 
City  of  Pirotherly  Love,  as  an  emblem 
of  German  loyalty  to  the  land  of  our 
adoption  or  birth,  and  as  a  token  of 
everlasting  amity  between  the  new  and 
the  old  Fatherland." 


PHILADELPHIA    FOUNDERS'   ANNIVERSARY 


87 


A  GERMAN-AMERICAN  FESTIVAL 

In  any  aspect  of  "Founders'  Week" 
— as  an  historical  commemoration  of 
the  first  planting-  of  the  city  or  as  a 
celebration  of  two  centuries  and  a 
quarter  of  growth  and  achievement — 
the  prominent  part  taken  by  the  Ger- 
man-Americans must  be  regarded  as 
equally  apj)ropriate.  The  history  of 
Pliiladelphia,  as  the  capital  of  Penn's 
Commonwealth,  cannot  be  told  with- 
out including  that  of  the  "German 
Town"  established  at  nearly  the  same 
time  close  by,  which  became  itself  the 
metropolis  of  that  early  German  immi- 
gration whose  impress  is  strongly 
i'elt  in  the  whole  development  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  in  that  of  many  neigh- 
boring Colonies  and  States.  The  two 
towns  grew  up  side  by  side,  harmon- 
ious but  distinct,  and  even  after  the 
greater  had  absorbed  the  less,  and  the 
German  township  had  become  only  a 
"ward"  of  Phildelphia,  it  still  retained, 
as  it  retains  today,  its  own  distinctive 
individuality  as  one  of  the  soundest 
and  truest,  most  independent  and  pro- 
gressive of  American  communities. 

How  much  of  this  it  owes  to  its  Ger- 
man origin,  how^  much  to  the  conflict 
and  commingling  of  German  and  Eng- 
lish influences,  it  is  needless  now^  to 
discuss.  In  any  case,  it  was  inevitable 
that  in  the  festivities  of  the  anniver- 
sary week  Germantown  should  furnish 
its  own  particular  pageant",  its  special 
commemoration  of  its  own  .founder. 
For  the  name  of  Pastoriu?:;  is  worthily 
associated  with  that  of  Pewn,  whom  he 
reseml)led  in  his  gentle  culture,  his 
high  ideals,  his  love  of  intellectual  free- 
dom, and  it  was  largely  through  the 
.influence  of  Patorius  and  his  associ- 
ates that  Penn's  promise  of  religious 
tolerance  drew  hither  so  many  of  the 
•  listurbed  ])eople  of  another  race  and 
language,  whose  descendants  ave  now 
co-heirs  with  those  of  English  stock 
in  the  historic  glory  of  Pennsylvania. 

This  is  the  historic  fact  that  Ameri- 
cans of  German  descent  are  proud  to 
recall  at  this  time ;  but  it  is  only  in  a 
very  small  degree  that  the  vast  Ger- 
)nan-.\merican  population  of  thj  coun- 


try today  traces  its  origin  to  the  settle- 
ment of  Germantown  or  to  the  misrra- 
tion  of  two  centunes  ago  which  gave 
us  the  "Pennsylvania  Germans."  That 
immigration  ceased  with  the  condi- 
tions that  incited  it,  and  while  the 
Pennsylvania  Geiman  communities 
prospered  and  spread,  they  had  few 
accessions  from  Germany.  It  was  not. 
indeed,  until  well  on  in  the  nineteenth 
century  that  Germans  again  began  in 
large  numbers  to  seek  opportunities  in 
the  New  World,  and  then  they  passed 
by  the  older  German  settlements  and 
either  established  themselves  in  the 
cities  or  pressed  on  to  the  wnder  field 
that  was  opening  in  the  West. 

These  are  the  modern  Germans  to 
whom  we  owe  so  much  of  energy  and 
enterprise,  of  intellectual  energy,  of 
esthetic  culture,  of  social  and  political 
advancement.  These  and  their  sons 
and  grandsons  are  the  Gcman- Ameri- 
cans. They  also  retain  a  love  of  the 
land  of  their  origin,  of  i^s  language, 
customs  and  traditions,  but  all  this  is 
absorbed  w'ith  them  in  the  larger  life  of 
the  land  of  their  adoption,  to  which 
they  are  contributing  so  much  of  inesti- 
mable value.  It  was  the  fault  of  the 
"Pennsylvania  Germans,"  at  least  in 
the  rural  districts,  to  keep  too  much  to 
themselves  and  to  cling-  too  fondly  to 
their  forefathers'  way  of  life.  The  Ger- 
man-American of  today,  while  he  hon- 
ors the  memory  of  the  early  pioneers, 
is  separated  from  them  by  a  wide  inter- 
val that  has  left  him  free  to  adapt  him- 
self to  new  conditions  and  to  take  a 
leading  place  in  the  national  life. 

At  the  date  of  the  last  census  there 
were  more  than  two  and  a  half  millions 
of  German  birth  settled  in  the  United 
States,  and  more  than  tw^o  millions  of 
these  had  come  to  the  coimtry  since 
1850.  Yet  all,  whatever  their  origin, 
are  today  Americans  and  loyal,  each 
national  strain  contributing  something 
of  its  owm  to  the  common  strength 
and  to  the  comprehensi\e  activities 
of  the  great  metropolis  that  has  grow  n 
from  the  small  beginnings 

— Fhila.  Ledger. 


THE  HOME 


HOMEMADE   SOAP 

Frequent  requests  have  been  received 
fcr  receipes  for  home-made  soap,  an  article 
which  to  the  Pennsylvania-German  house- 
wife is  as  common  as  her  daily  routine  in 
the  kitchen.  Yet  to  the  rising  generation 
the  making  of  good  homemade  soap  is  be- 
coming a  lost  art.  Soap  is  an  indespensa- 
ble  article  in  the  home  and  has  become 
so  common  that  the  present  generation 
can  ■  scarcely  realize  that  it  is  only  com- 
paratively recently  that  soap  is  being  so 
largely   manufactured. 

Until  the  discovery  of  soap  as  we  know 
it,  the  best  cleansing  agent  was  fuller's 
earth,  the  absorbent  properties  of  which 
enabled  it  to  remove  greasy  and  oily  mat- 
ter from  most  fabrics.  It  is  still  used  ex- 
tensively for  cleansing  or  fulling  woolens 
and  ether  clothes. 

Another  means  of  cleansing  was  the 
soap  berry,  the  fruit  of  a  plant  which  lath- 
ered freely  on  rubbing  with  water.  An- 
other was  the  root  of  the  plant  known  as 
soapwort,  the  lathering  properites  of  which 
were  due  to  the  presence  of  a  substance 
called  saponin,  which  is  also  foun  1  in  the 
horse   chestnut. 

Our  great-grandmcthers  used  to  make 
their  own  soap  by  the  following  process: 
A  barrel  or  specially  constructed  hopper 
was  raised  off  the  ground  sufficiently  high 
to  allow  a  tub  to  be  placed  under  it,  and 
the  bottom  perforated  with  small  holes.  It 
was  then  filled  with  wood  ashes,  and  now 
and  then  a  bucket  of  water  was  thrown 
on  them,  which  found  its  way  into  the  tub 
beneath.  As  the  water  percolated  through 
rhe  ashes,  it  dissolved  the  potash  and  soda 
which  are  ilways  found  in  the  ashes  of 
|)lants,  and  thus  a  solution  was  obtained 
which  was  jnit  into  an  iron  boiler  with  a 
(juantity  of  grease  fat,  and  the  mixture 
boiled  for  an  hour  or  longer.  Salt  was 
then  added,  and  as  the  mixture  cooled  a 
solid  layer  of  curd  soap  solidified  on  the 
top  of  the  water. 

As  the  Editor  of  this  department  is  not 
an  experienced  soap  maker  this  article  may 
be  open  to  criticism,  additional  information 
or  suggestios  will  be  welcomed  to  these 
columns  for  the  benefit  and  edification  of 
interested  readers. 

Homemade  soap  is  the  result  of  a  trifling 
expenditure  of  time  and  labor  with  ma- 
terials that  would  otherwise  be  thrown 
away. 

Fat,  water  and  an  alkali  are  the  prime 
ingredients    essential    in    its    making.    Every 


part  cf  the  fat  not  used  in  the  cooking,  the 
drippings,  fat  skimmed  off  gravies,  soups, 
etc.,  can  be  utilized,  if  raw  fat  or  suet  is 
taken  it  should  be  tried  by  putting  in  a 
prn  and  heated  slowly  over  the  fire,  stir- 
ring occasionally  so  as  to  prevent  its  burn- 
ing, then  poured  into  a  receptable.  When 
old  the  fat  can  be  taken  cff  the  top,  the 
impurities  having  settled  on  the  bottom. 
the  cleaner  and  nicer  the  fat  the  finer  the 
finished  soap. 

In  warm  weather  fat  is  liable  to  become 
mouldy  and  rancid,  to  prevent  this  it  should 
frequently  be  heated  until  the  quantity 
accumulated  is  sufficient  to  proceed  with 
the   boiling. 

The  modern  process  is  practically  identi- 
cal with  that  of  grandmother's  day,  only 
instead  of  ashes  a  solution  of  caustic  soda,  , 
or  lye,  is  used.  Fats  and  oils  are  boiled 
along  with  this  lye,  and  the  mixture  is 
kept  constantly  agitated.  As  the  tempera- 
ture increases,  stronger  lye  is  used,  until 
the  operation  is  completed.  Salt  is  then 
added,  and  as  soap  is  insoluble  in  salt 
water  it  rises  to  the  top  of  the  soda  liquor. 

Some  housewives  preferred  to  re-boil  the 
curd  soap  to  further  clarify  it.  After  solidi- 
fication the  soap  was  cut  into  squares 
of  a  size  convenient  for  use  and  stored  on 
the  attic  to  season.  Green  soap  was  not 
considered  advantageous  to  use  within  a 
year  and  the  frugal  housewife  always  had 
an  abundant  supply  of  well  seasoned  soap 
at  hand. 

A  large  iron  kettle  is  very  desirable,  as 
the  soap  froths  up  at  one  stage  and  is  apt 
to   boil    over    in   too   small    a   vessel. 


A  GOOD  HARD   SOAP 

Five  pounds  of  grease,  three  gallons  of 
soft,  hot  water,  one  pound  of  concentrated 
potash.  Let  these  boil  together  for  five 
or  six  hours,  adding  water  as  it  boils  away 
to  keep  up  the  original  quantity.  When 
done  it  is  a  dark  yellowish-brown, clear 
like  jelly,  almost  transparent  If  the  tongue 
is  touched  to  it  the  taste  is  smooth  and 
not  unpleasant;  it  is  sharp  and  acrid  if 
not  sufficiently  boiled.  It  should  be  fre- 
quently stirred  while  boiling.  Pour  it  in- 
to the  zinc-lined  box,  and  leave  it  to  har- 
den. In  twenty-four  hours  it  will  be  a  solid 
mass  of  nearly  white  soap.  Turn  it  out  on 
a  table  and  cut  it  in  thin  bars  lengthwise. 
If  it  is  desired  it  can  then  be  divided  into 
squares.  If  this  cannot  be  had  a  knife, 
heated  in  boiling  water,  will  answer  the 
purpose. 


89 


Literary  and  Dialect  Gems 


En  Hier-Ilawt  Pardy 

By  Gottlieb  Boonastiel 

Em  Moondawg  en  wuch  is  de  Betz 
Grill  un  der  Billy  Schnellkeffer  iioach  em 
shtettle  far  license  greega  far  hira.  Der 
Hilly  is  so  en  awremer  barrick-knobber 
wee's  feel  hut,  un  are  hut  nix  lavendich? 
uff  em  hofe  oss  we  en  darrer.  long-oricher 
shtuvvericher  asel  os  nemond  kawfa  hut 
wella  we  der  shreef  ene  ous-farkawfed 
liut.  Well,  der  Billy  hut  shtyle  aw  do  wella 
un  hut  der  Betz  g'savvd  se  daida  noach 
em  shtetle  rida  wile  de  waega  so  weesht 
wara.  Now  de  Betz  is  en  oldt  Maidel,  un 
hut's  shunt  fartzich  yohr  hara  dunnera 
Ks  hut  nemond  ga-glawbed  os  se  mae 
hira  daid,  awver  der  Billy  hut  a  pawr 
nochta  um  se  room  g'schmunseled  un  by 
.sell  tzeit  wore  se  so  weedich  os  en  bendei 
won  are  bloot  reeched.  Se  hut  era  hore  ga- 
grulld  un  looniba  in  de  bocka  far  se  ous- 
filla,  era  g'sicht  ga-powdered  mit  male,  ur 
era  bocka  g'farrebed  mit  rhode-reeva  bree. 
Well,  der  Billy  hut  si  asel  rows  g.feered 
un  hut  amohl  ae  bae  ivver  ene  g'henked 
derno  hut  are  der  Betz  g'woonka  far  cooma 
un    aw    druff   groddla. 

Es  hut  der  Betz  im  awfong  net  recht  aw- 
g'shtonna,  awver  se  wore  willins  far  anich 
ebbes  do  far  en  mon  grega  while  se  ga- 
(lenked  os  des  wara  era  ledshte  chance. 
De  Betz  is  endlich  druff  cooma,  awver  der 
asel  hut's  cllem  noach  gor  net  ga-gliclia. 
.A.re  hut  anyhow  refused  ae  shrit  tsu 
uiaucha  so  long  os  se  olla  tswae  uff  erne 
hucke.  Endlich  sawgt  der  Billy,  "Betz. 
(Irae  eme  amohl  der  schwontz!  "Now,  der 
asel  is  en  schtuvvericher  bugger  un  are 
hut  aw-fonga  shrowva  os  won  are  warrem 
het.  awver  onshtots  fun  I'arschiech  gae  is 
aie  hinnerschich  ga-backed  bis  uff  ae  mohl 
sin  si  fees  hinna  nows  g'flooga  as  we  en 
wedderlaich. 


De  Betz  is  about  fooftzae  foos  in  de  hae 
g'flooga  un  is  im  dreck  ga-land  uff  eram 
bussel  oona  wae  ga-doo,  awver  gor  woon- 
erbar  farshrucka.  Se  is  en  shpunkich 
weipsmensch  un  in  wenicher  tzeit  os  es 
mich  nembt  far  dere's  fartzaela  wore  se 
widder  uff  em  asel.  "Now."  secht  der 
Billy,  "habe  fesht  un  ich  drae  eme  es  ore." 
Are  hut  nuch  haerly  fesht  g'hot  biswoopshi 
wore  der  asel  fonna  in  der  hae.  Der  Billy 
hut  ene  um  der  hols  room  greeked  un  fesht 
g'hova.  De  Betz  is  eme  hinna  ivver  der 
rick  nunner  g'fora  os  de  foonga  g'flooga 
sin  un  hut  en  luch  in  der  dreck  g'shloga 
OS  mer  en  yarlich  kolb  drin  fargrawva  het 
kenna.  "Now,"  secht  der  Billy,  "won  du 
nuch  groodla  consht  don  broveer's  nuch  ae 
mohl.  Mere  wella  niah  tackticks  usa.  Ich 
drae  eme's  ore  un  du  draesht  eme  der 
schwontz.  Sell  holdt  de  tswae  enner  aeva." 
Der  asel  hut  g'shpeered  as  ebbes  gae  muss 
un  are  hut  en  shproong  ga-maucht  os  se 
olla    tswae    ivver    ene    nunner    g'flooga    sin. 

Der  Billy  is  uff  de  Betz  s'^olla  un  hut 
sich  net  wae  gadoo,  awver  de  Betz  hut  era 
tzocng  tswisha  era  folshe  tzae  greeked  un 
hut  about  en  tzollun-a-holb  derfun  ob  ga- 
bissa. 

Der  Billy  hut  grawd  gae  wella  un  hira. 
awver  de  Betz  hut's  net  ga-doo,  un  dart 
wore  era  glick.  We  de  leddicha  menner 
om  Barrick  ous  g'funna  hen  os  se  en 
shtick  fun  era  tzoong  ob  ga-bissa  hut  hen 
se  oil  hira  wella  wile  yader  garn  en  fraw 
het  mit  wenicher  os  de  ordinary  amount 
fun  tzoong. 

De  g'hireda  menner  om  Barricli  woo 
wiver  hen  os  tsu  feel  schwetza  wella  en 
law  ga-passed  hovva  os  all  de  weipsleitder 
asel  rida  missa,  un  now  won  en  weips- 
luensch  tsu  feel  retches  doot  don  gaits 
schprich-wordt  om  Barrick  nows'  "Selly 
set    em    Billy   Schnellkeffer   si   asel    ridal" 


90 


EDITORIAL  DEPARTMENT 


The  Pennsylvania-German 

An  illustrated  monthly  magazine  devoted  to 
the  Biography,  History,  Genealogy,  Folklore, 
Literature  and  General  Interests  of  German 
and  Swiss  settlers  in  Pennsylvania  and  other 
States  and  of  their  descendants. 

Editorial  Staff 

H.  W.  Kriebel,  Publisher  and  Editor,  East 
Greenville,  Pa. 


Rev.    J.  A.    Scheffer,    Associate  Editor, 
245  North  Sixth  street,  AUentown,  Pa. 

Mrs.  H.  H.  Funk,  Editor  of  "The  Home," 
Springtown,  Pa. 

Prop.  E.  S.  Gerhard,  Editor  of  "Reviews 
and  Notes,"  Trenton,  N.  J. 

Price,   $1.50  a  year,  in  advance;  15  cents 
per  single  copy. 

Additional    particulars    are    found    on 
page  2  of  the  cover. 


The  aim  of  THE  PENN  SYLVAN  I A-GER- 
.VIAN  is  stated  above.  A  brief  history  of 
this  magazine  is  given  in  January  number 
1906,  by  the  lamented  Henry  A.  Schuler, 
who  was  then  the  editor.  Since  his  un- 
expected death  early  last  year  the  publish- 
er, Mr.  H.  W.  Kriebel,  has  had  the  addi- 
tional burden  of  editor.  Those  having  an 
experimental  knowledge  of  editing  and 
publishing  a  ])eriodical  were  not  surprised 
when  they  read  his  hopeful  expression  of 
the  promised  assistance,  in  last  month's 
issue. 

The  associate  editor  trusts  that  his  work 
may  not  disappoint  the  hopes  of  the  pub- 
lisher, contributors,  subscribers  and  the 
readers  of  tliis  magazine.  He  also  hopes 
lie  will  have  the  health  necessary  to  devote 
the  time  required  to  edit  the  "copy,"  read 
and  correct  the  proof  sheets,  write  editor- 
ials and  comments  for  each  issue.  He 
desires  that  our  acquaintanceship  may  be 
congenial  and  mutually  profitable. 

We  have  been  asked  whether  THE 
PEXNSYLVAXIA-GERMAN  was  printed  in 
that  dialect.  The  reason  given  for  the 
question  was  that  many  Germans  and  their 
descendants  in  Pennsylvania  and  other 
states  could  not  read  or  understand  the 
dialect.  The  reply  was  that  it  is  printed 
in  English,  with  the  exception  of  several 
pages  in  each  number  of  poetry  and  prose 
to  give  practical  illustrations  of  the  force- 
fulness  of  the  Pennsylvania  German  dialect 
and  its  aptness  for  exact  expression  of 
every  day  affairs,  and  es])ecially  of  humor, 
riddles  and  wit,  equal  if  it  does  not  in 
these  respects  excel  the  Irish  and  Scotch 
brogues. 


Tt  is  not  likely  that  some  of  the  facts 
concerning  Washington,  on  his  early  cam- 
paigns to  Western  Pennsylvania  in  1754-.5 
;)re  generally  known,  or  that  General  Brad- 
dock  was  shot  from  his  horse  by  one  of 
his  own  soldiers  during  the  battle  with  the 
French  and  Indians,  a  few  miles  on  this 
side  of  where  Pittsburg  now  is. 


In  the  biographical  sketch  of  Colonel 
Hollenbach,  interesting  pioneer,  colonial 
and  revolutionary  history  is  given  by  his 
grandson.  It  will  be  continued  in  the  next 
number.  The  remaining  contributions  in 
this  number  are  all  worth  reading  by  those 
interested  in  the  respective  subjects. 


Rev.  Dr.  F.  C.  Croll,  the  founder  of  this 
magazine  nine  years  ago,  and  who  wrote 
a  book  on  "  Ancient  and  Historic  Land- 
marks in  the  Lebanon  Valley,"  published 
hi  1895  and  is  the  author  of  other  works, 
has  resigned  his  pastorate  in  Lebanon,  Pa. 
He  added  1000  members  to  the  church 
during  his  sixteen  years  pastorate.  Ad- 
ditional ground  was  also  purchased  during 
this  time,  the  church  building  enla'^ged,  re- 
modeled and  refurnished,  pipe  organ  pur- 
chased and  all  debts  paid.  Dr.  Croll  has 
accepted  a  call  to  the  First  Lutheran 
Church  in  Beardstown,  111.,  and  removed  to 
that  city  February  1. 


A  circular  letter  has  been  sent  by  Mr. 
H.  W.  Kriebel  to  all  the  subscribers  giving 
and  requesting  information  on  a  number  of 
matters  regarding  the  advancement  and 
bettering  of  this  magazine.  May  we  not 
expect  as  many  of  the  readers  as  possible 
and  as  soon  as  possible  to  write  him  their 
views  and  opinions  as  to  making  THE 
PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN  monthly  still 
more  interesting  and  useful  in  securing  and 
iniblishing  an  accurate  history  of  their 
ancestors  of  Germanic  descent  of  either 
father  or  mother:  of  grand  antl  great 
grandiiarents,  etc.,  a  true  account  of  how 
and  where  their  children  lived  and  what 
they  did,  said  and  wrote.  The  publisher 
also  makes  a  favorable  offer  to  renew  your 
subscription  at  once  and  ask  your  neigh- 
bors and  relatives  to  subscribe  for  this 
magazine. 


91 


Clippings  from  Current  News 


— The  Moravians  were  the  first  mission- 
aries among  the  Indians  in  Pennsylvania 
and  Ohio.  Among  them  were  Revs.  David 
Zeisberger  and  John  Heckewelder.  These 
two  labored  at  Lichtenau,  Ohio.  This  place 
was  founded  by  Zeisberger  and  Heckewel- 
der on  April  12,  1776.  and  is  located  on  the 
eastern  bank  of  the  river  Muskingum,  neai- 
Coshockton.  The  settlement  was  made  by 
the  missionaries  named  and  eight  families. 
Their  first  service  was  held  on  Sunday. 
April  13,  1776.  Nearly  the  whole  popula- 
tion of  Coshocton  attended  this  service. 
Mr.  Zeisberger  preached  on  Luke  24:46. 
47. 

In  this  mission  there  was  used  the  first 
spelling  book  ever  introduced  in  the  state 
of  Ohio.  It  was  compiled  by  Rev.  Mr. 
Zeisberger  and  published  in  Philadelphia 
in  1776.  This  was  seven  years  before  Noah 
Webster  issued  his  spelling  book  in  Hart- 
ford, Conn.  Thus  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio 
were  ahead  of  New  England  in  this  matter. 

The  first  baptism  at  the  mission  at  Lich- 
tenau took  place  in  April,  1776,  three 
months  after  the  first  settlement.  It  was 
that  of  a  grandson  of  the  Delaware  Indian 
Chief  Netawateves.  And  a  grandson  he 
was.  He  was  named  .John.  A  friend  sug- 
gested to  him  the  risk  he  assumed  in  being 
a    Christian,    but    .John    promptly    replied: 

"If  my  life  is  in  danger.  I  will  the  more 
cheorfully  witness  for  the  truth.  Do  you 
think  that  a  ba])tized  Indian  fears  your 
sorceries  as  he  did  when  he  was  a  heathen, 
and  that  he  will  hesitate  to  make  known 
what  the  Savior  has  done  for  him  and  for 
all  men?  No!  While  I  live  I  will  not 
hold  my  peace,  but  proclaim  salvation. 
This  is  the  command  of  God." 

Among  those  who  cut  the  timber  for  the 
erection  of  buildings  at  Lichtenau  was  the 
converted  Indian  Chief  and  brave  warrior, 
Isaac  Glickkeltau,  who  was  a  church  elder, 
and  as  eminent  for  his  piety  as  for  his 
l)rowess.  He  i)ei'ished  in  the  massacre  at 
Onadenhiitten,    Ohio,    in    1782. 

Lichtenau  is  a  German  word  which 
means   meadow   of  light. 

Rev.  Wm.  H.  Rice,  D.D.,  pastor  of  the 
Moravian  church,  at  Gnadenhiitten,  Tusc- 
arawas county.  Ohio,  is  a  direct  descen- 
dant of  the  above-named  Rev.  .lohn  Hecke- 
welder.— The    Reformed    Church    Record. 

—We  clip  the  following  from  the  Public 
Ledger : 

The 'University  of  Pennsylvania  is  a  part 
of  the  life,  the  bone  and  sinev^'  of  i^rogress 
of  this  community  and  of  the  whole  Com- 
monwealth. The  time  has  arrived  when 
the   ordinarily   intelligent   man   will    rea(lil.^■ 


admit  that  a  great  seat  of  learning,  witli 
its  collection  of  schools  of  the  sciences, 
arts  and  professions,  is  just  as  worthy  of 
support  and  encouragement  as  the  con- 
struction of  a  waterway  or  the  develop- 
ment of  an  industry.  Men  cannot  live  by 
bread  alone;  coal  mines  and  factories 
make  an  inadequate  foundation  for  th  ■ 
magnificent  superstructure  of  an  advanc- 
ed, alert  and  noble  civilization  which  must 
uphold  and  magnify  spiritual  and  intel- 
lectual influences.  And,  in  fact,  the  Uni- 
versity, with  its  thousands  of  student- 
professors  and  attendants  and  manifold 
activity  and  the  millions  of  dollars  which 
it  causes  to  be  expended  in  this  city  and 
State,    is    a    gigantic    industry. 

— Peter  Miller  Musser,  of  Muscatine,  la., 
a  philanthropist,  millionaire  and  successful 
business  man,  has  erected  a  handsome 
chapel  in  the  Cedar  Grove  Cemetery  at 
Adamstown,  as  a  memorial  to  his  i)arents. 
•Ichn  and  Cassiah  Musser,  who  are  buried 
there.  The  memorial  occupies  a  position 
commanding  a  view  of  the  pretty  borough 
of  Adamstown.  where  Mr.  Musser,  the 
donor,  was  born  and  lived  until  he  went 
west. 

<•     4"     4» 

Recent  Deaths 

Rev.  Matthias  Knoll,  Evangelical  minis- 
ter, departed  this  life  at  Des  Moines,  la.. 
November  11,  1908.  The  deceased  was 
born  at  Allentcwn,  Pa.,  June  1,  1847.  He 
had  been  brought  up  in  the  Catholic 
Church  and  became  a  Protestant  after 
coming  to  America. 

August  W.  Ullberg,  who  molded  the 
statue  of  William  Penn,  which  now  sur- 
mounts city  hall  tower,  Philadelphia,  died 
Dec.   3d. 

Mr.  Ullberg  was  one  of  the  great  mold- 
ers  of  statues  in  the  Rasmussen  copper 
foundry  in  Copenhagen  when  he  was  ask- 
ed to  come  here  to  cast  the  statue  whicli 
is  now  the  "first  landmark  of  Philadel- 
jihia." 

After  its  completion  Ullberg  decided  to 
make  Philadelphia  his  home.  His  work, 
which  included  great  statues  in  almost 
every  city  in  Europe,  was  practically  done 
and  he  settled  down  in  retirement,  sur- 
rounded  l)y  his  family. 

He  was  63  years  old.  and  was  born  in 
Sweden. 


Lancaster  County,  Pa., — Mrs.  Mary  Anri 
Souders,  who  celebrated  her  one  hun- 
dredth   birthday    anniversary    at    Conestoga 


92 


CLIPPINGS    FROM    CURRENT    NEWS 


Centre,  October  30,  died  Nov.  26th.  Up  to 
the  day  of  her  centenary  celebration  she 
enjoyed  remarkably  good  health,  but  im- 
mediately after  that  event  it  began  fail- 
ing. Deceased  had  fifty-eight  living  de- 
.scendants. 


Greenville,  Pa..  Dec.  15. — The  Rev.  Dr. 
.John  A.  Kunkleman,  one  of  the  Mid- 
j)rominent  Lutheran  ministers  in  the  Mid- 
dle States,  died  after  52  years  active  ser- 
vice in  the  ministry.  He  successively  held 
pastorates  in  Indianapolis,  Philadelphia, 
Chambersburg,  Pa.;  Greenville,  Pa.;  At- 
lantic City  and  Greater  New  York.  While 
pastor  of  St.  Mark's  Church.  Philadelphia, 
he  was  chairman  of  the  committee,  and 
drifted  the  plea  that  brought  about  the 
closing  of  the  Centennial  Exibition  on 
Sundays.  He  also  served  as  president  of 
Carthage  College,  Carthage,  111. 


Dr.  E.  G.  Rehfuss,  a  well-known  spec- 
ialist in  treatment  of  diseases  of  the  eye, 
died  at  his  home,  at  the  age  of  47  years. 

He  was  born  in  Philadelphia  and  was 
educated  at  the  public  schools,  in  which 
he  prepared  for  the  medical  school  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania.  He  graduat- 
ed from  there  in  1884  and  became  resident 
physician   at   the   German   Hospital. 


Major  Charles  F.  Kieffer,  U  S.  A.,  at  the 
Cheyenne,  Wyo.,  army  post  died  Dec.  31. 
His  home  was  in  Philadelphia. 

Major  Kieffer  was  a  son  of  Lorenzo  M. 
Kieffer.  who  was  a  captain  in  the  Union 
Army  during  the  Civil  War.  Dr.  George  C. 
Kieffer.  was  a  brother  of  the  deceased,  as 
are  Lieutenant  Victor  Kieffer,  T^.  S  A.,  and 
Phili])  Kieffer,  a  cadet  at  West  Point. 

*      *      4" 

RULE  OF  THREE 

Alon    ^VIio   Work   on    Skyscrapers   a   Littif 
Snperstitions 

These  airy  crews  are  a  generous  crowd, 
says  Everbody's.  They  earn  high  pay. 
When  working  full  time  they  make  $27  a 
week  and,  like  their  rough  brothers  out 
on  the  plains,  they  are  quick  to.  give  of 
their  earnings.  On  Saturday  afternoons, 
when  they  line  up  at  the  pay  window,  the 
Sisters  of  Charity  are  always  there,  and 
quarters  and  dimes  jingle  merrilj^  into 
Iheir  little  tin  boxes. 

Behind  this  generous  givinp,  is  a  super- 
stitious belief  that  amid  risks  like  these 
it   is   well    to   propitiate    Fate    all   you    can. 


For  Fate  is  a  relentless  old  machine  and 
when  once  its  wheels  begin  grinding,  no 
power  on  earth  can  stop  them.  The  "P'.:;le 
r>f  Three"  is  centuries  old.  You  may  hear 
of  it  out  on  the  ocean,  in  the  steel  mills, 
in  the  railroad  camps  and  down  in  tne 
mines.  And  you  find  it  up  here  on  the 
jobs  in  the  skies. 

"Believe  it?"  said  an  old  foremtm.  "You 
bet  they  believe  it." 

"Do  you?"  I  asked. 

"Well,"  he  said,  "all  I  can  say  is  this; 
It  may  be  a  spell  or  it  may  be  because  of 
the  way  the  whole  crew  is  expecting  it. 
But,  anyhow,  when  two  accidents  come 
close  together  you  can  be  sure  that  the 
third  ain't  very  far  off." 

4"     *     4» 

His  Job  Had  a  Lon^  TVamo 

Any  one  who  runs  out  of  a  job  in  the 
United  States  might  try  Germany.  A 
census  recently  taken  by  the  imperial 
statistical  bureau  in  Berlin  shows  that 
there  are  over  15,000  distinct  trades, 
professions  and  occupations  pursued 
throughout  the  empire. 

While  some  of  the  callings  have  several 
thousand  followers,  others  are  not  at  all 
overcrowded,  in  some  cases  only  one  per- 
son being  represented  in  a  classification. 
For  instance,  one  man  is  set  down  as 
forstschutzdienstanwaerter.  which  means 
"candidate  for  the  forest  protection  ser- 
vice." Other  men  earn  their  living  as 
kreiskommunalkassenkalkulator,  or  "dis- 
trict public  treasury  appraiser."  There  is 
a  wide  call  for  staatsschuldenzahlungskas- 
senkontroleure,  otherwise  "bookkeeper  for 
the  fund  for  the  payment  of  the  public 
debt,"  and  quite  a  number  of  streaks  can 
frequently  be  detected  which  men  follow 
this  work. 

The  little  group  of  men  who  work 
at  eisenbahnbetriebstelegr.aiiheninspektiion 
sasistenten  have  an  awful  load  on  their 
minds.  Translated,  they  are  only  the 
"assistant  inspectors  in  the  railway  tele- 
graph service,"  perhaps  not  so  bad  a  job 
after  all. 

An  odd  occupation  is  that  of  "court  hay- 
maker." Blumistinner,  or  girls  who  make 
artificial  flowers,  are  common  enough,  but 
the  specialists,  such  as  vergissmeinnich- 
masher,  or  forget-me-not  makers,"  are 
quite  scace.  there  being  only  three  engaged 
in  the  business.  There  seemfe  to  be 
plenty  of  good  openings  in  the  towel  supply 
Ijusiness,  as  only  one  man  is  engaged  in 
this  occupation,  which  is  quite  largely  fol- 
lowed   in    this    country. — Chicago    Tribune. 


93 


The  Forum 


MEANING  OF  NAMES 


By  Leonhard  Felix  Fald,  M.  A.,  LL.  M. 

EDITORIAL  NOTE— Mr.  Fuld,  has  kind- 
ly consented  lo  prepare  a  statement  of  the 
meaning  of  the  name  of  any  subscriber 
who  sends  twenty-five  cents  for  this  pur- 
pose to  the  Editor  of  the  PENNSYLVANIA- 
GERMAN. 

I.  ROTH 

'i'he  surname  ROTH  is  one  derived  from 
a  personal  characteristic  and  may  have 
either  a  complimentary  or  an  uncompli- 
mentary connotaticn.  It  seen.s  likc'.y  how- 
ever that  this  surname  was  more  frequent- 
ly given  as  a  compliment  than  as  a  nick- 
name. ROTH  means  "red"  and  the  name 
was  generally  applied  to  a  mr.n  as  i  compli- 
ment just  as  we  use  the  word  "ruddy"  to 
denote  an  individual  possessins^  good  color 
and  inferentially  excellenc  health.  When 
ai)plied  to  a  woman  it  meant  "a  blushing 
girl,"  which  was  also  generally  a  compli- 
mentary  designation. 

The  second  class  of  individuals  to  whom 
the  name  ROTH  was  given  consisted  of 
those  who  possessed  red  hair.  The  emperor 
Barbarossa,  who  was  called  in  Germany 
Kaiser  Rothbart  is  the  most  prominent 
man   belonging  to  this  class.  This  designa- 


tion was  neither  comi)limentay  nor  uncom- 
plimentary although  it  must  be  raid  that 
red  hair  was  always  looked  upon  with  con- 
siderable favor  among  the  G.M-mans.  There 
seems  to  have  been  an  unconscious  feeling 
that  those  who  received  red  hair  from  their 
Greater  received  more  than  those  whose 
hair  was  black  or  blonde  and  the  undoubted 
charm  of  red  hair  was  felt  by  the  old  Ger- 
mans as  well  as  it  is  felt  by  us. 

A  third  class  of  ROTH  were  those  to 
whcm  this  name  was  given  as  a  nickname. 
ROTHNASIG  indicates  the  particular 
weakness  which  induced  others  to  give  a 
man  this  nickname.  The  greater  frequency 
with  yhicli  we  meet  such  names  as  ROTH- 
K0FP,R0THV\'ANG[IGI]  and  ROTHBACK- 
[IG]  seem  to  show  however  that  more  nien 
v/ere  called  ROTH  as  a  compliment  to 
their  gpod  physical  condition  than  as  a 
nickname  because  cf  tlieir  weakness  for 
strcg-  drink. 

A  fourth  cass  of  ROTH  wore  so  called 
because  they  lived  in  a  red  house  but  there 
is  no  record  that  any  of  these  came  to 
America. 

4»      *      * 

Mrs.  S.  A.  Saeger,  1320  Hamilton  St.. 
Allentown,  Pa  ,  desires  to  secure  a  few 
copies  of  THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 
for  February  1908  If  you  are  willing  to  sell 
your  copy  notify  her. 


Historical  Societies 


The  Bucks  County  Historical  Society 
founded  Jan.  20,  1880,  incorporated  Feb- 
23,  1885  had  649  members  August  1  1908. 

The  object  of  the  society  is  defined  in 
the  preamble  of  the  Constitution  and  By- 
I/aws  as  amended  October  13,  1908  as 
follows: 

The  object  of  the  Bucks  County 
Historical  Society  shall  be  to  promote 
and  encourage  historical  research  and 
study.  particularly  the  discovery, 
collection,  preservation  and  publica- 
tion of  the  history,  historical  records 
and  data  pertaining  to  Bucks  county: 
the  collection  and  preservation  of 
books,  newspapers,  maps,  genealogies, 
portraits,  paintings,  engravings,  manu- 
scripts, letters,  journals,  relics,  and 
any  and  all  materials  which  may 
establish  or  illustrate  such  history; 
the  collection  of  data  relative  to  the 
growth  and  progress  of  population, 
wealth,  education,  agriculture,  arts, 
manufactures,    and     commerce    in     this 


country,  also,  the  compilation  of  the 
traditions  and  folklore  of  the  country, 
and  the  acquisition  by  donation  pur- 
chase cr  loan,  of  tools,  appliances  and 
objects  of  antiquarian  interest. 

It  has  a  library  of  2200  volumes  with  a 
number  of  maps  and  Mss.,  a  military  col- 
lection illustrative  of  the  Civil  and  Mexi- 
can Wars,  a  Herbarium  of  20,000  specimens, 
a  collection  of  birds'  eggs,  heirlooms  and 
ancient  objects,  photograi)hs  of  houses, 
sites  and  objects  of  historic  interest  and 
a  collection  cf  the  tools,  implements,  and 
utensils  of  the  Pennsylvania  pioneer  giv- 
ing the  society  a  unique  place  among  sim- 
ilar bodies.  These  are  stored  in  the  build- 
ing owned  by  the  society  a  picture  and  ac- 
count of  which  appeared  in  THE  PENN- 
SYLVANIA-GERMAN, August,  1907.  The 
first  historical  i)aper  i)repared  for  the 
society  was  read  by  its  author,  .Tosiah  B. 
Smith,  .July  20,  1880  at  a  meeting  held  by 
the  Society  in*  Doylestown.  Since  that 
))apers   have    been    i)rei)ared    and    read    su!'- 


94 


HISTORICAL   SOCIETIES 


ficient  to  make  4  stately  volumes  of  625 
pages  each.  Through  the  liberality  of  B. 
P.  Frackenthal,  Jr.,  of  Riegelsville,  Pa., 
President  of  the  Thomas  Iron  Company, 
these  are  to  be  printed  and  made  availiable 
to  historians  as  may  be  seen  by  the  follow- 
ing communication  laid  by  him  before  the 
Society  Oct.  13,  1908. 

Riegelsville,  Pa.,  October  13,  1908. 

I  am  informed  that  some  inquiry  has 
been  made  concerning  the  conditions 
under  which  the  papers  read  before 
the  Bucks  County  Historical  Society, 
are  to  be  published  and  distributed. 

As  I  did  not  state  the  conditions 
clearly  at  the  Doylestown  meeting,  I 
have  thought  best  to  place  the  matter 
in  writing,  with  the  request  that  this 
communication  be  placed  upon  the 
,        minutes  of  the  society. 

My  offer  is  to  publish  at  ray  own 
expense  such  papers,  presented  and 
read  before  the  society  over  the  past 
28  years,  of  which  copies  are  now  ob- 
tainable, and  upon  which  an  editorial 
committee  shall   have   passed. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  papers  now 
in  hand  will  make  4  volumes  of  625 
pages  each.  The  bound  volumes,  when 
completed,  will  be  presented  to  the 
society. 

My  suggestion  is  that  the  societj' 
sell  the  volumes  to  the  members,  and 
others  who  may  desire  to  purchase 
them,  at  about  the  cost  of  publication, 
estimated  not  to  exceed  $2.00  per  vol- 
ume; with  the  further  provision  that 
the  proceeds  from  the  sale  of  the 
books  shall  be  used  to  establish  a 
fund,  to  be  called  the  "Fanckenthal 
Publication  Fund,"  which  is  to  be  in- 
vested by  the  board  of  directors,  pref- 
erably in  first-mortgage  bonds,  and 
the  interest  or  income  arising  thereon 
to  be  used  for  the  publication  of 
papers  that  may  hereafter  be  present- 
ed  and   read   before  the  society. 

If  papers  are  presented  in  the  future 
at  the  same  rate  as  they  have  been  in 
the  past,  it  is  estimated  that  one  vol- 
lume  can  be  published  every  6  or  8 
years. 

The  first  volume  to  be  issued  under  this 
offer  an  octavo  of  38  chaps,  and  585  pages. 
( Price  $2.00,  pastoge  22c.,  applications  for 
l)ooks  to  be  made  to  Bucks  County  Histor- 
ical Society.  Doylestown,  Pa.)  It  is  a  val- 
uable and  attractive  book  replete  with 
historic  lore  respecting  Bucks  County.  It 
contains  papers  on  the  following  subjects: 

Early  Settlements  of  Newton  Town- 
ship, The  Solebury  Copper  Mine,  Early 
History  of  Bucks  County,  Bucks  County 
Bi-centennial,  About  Attleborough,  William 
Penn's   Home    Life    at    the    Manor    House, 


Mennonites  or  German  Friends,  Our  Stone 
Age.  The  Minerals  of  Bucks  County,  The 
German  Population  in  Bucks  County,  The 
Marquis  de  LaFayette,  The  Neshaminy 
Church,  Indian  Town  of  Playwickey,  The 
Doylestown  Presbyterian  Church,  Remin- 
iscenses  of  Wrightstown,  Early  History  of 
Wrightstown,  Some  Account  of  Warminster 
Meeting.  The  Newspapers  of  Bucks  County. 
The  Poets  and  Poetry  of  Bucks  County. 
The  Schcols  of  Buckingham.  Rerainisen- 
cses  of  Buckingham,  Bucks  County  in  the 
Revolution.  Indigenous  and  Naturalized 
Flowering  Plants,  Ferns  anJ  Fern  Allies 
of  Bucks  County,  The  Doanes  Before  the 
Revolution,  Sketch  of  the  Life  of  Gen. 
.lohn  Davis,  Southampton  Baptist  Church, 
The  Ferns  of  Durham  and  Vicinity,  The 
Paper  Mills  of  Bucks  County,  Edward 
Hicks,  The  Fells  and  Slocums  of  Wyo- 
ming, The  Durham  Iron  Works,  Three 
Dramatic  Scenes  in  the  Closing  Hours  of 
the  Revolutionary  Struggle,  Four  Lawyers 
of  Doylestown  Bar,  The  Doans  and  Their 
Times,  Thomas  Ross,  a  Minister  of  the 
Society,  The  Durham  Cave,  The  Object  of 
a  Local  Historical  Society,  Plumstead 
Township,  Durham  Cave —  Reminiscences. 
Education  in  Durham  Township,  George 
Taylor— The  Singer,  The  Worth  and  Char- 
acter of  Pennsylvania  Germans,  General 
Ulysses  S.  Grant:  Colonial  Estates.  The 
Early  Clock  Makers,  Penn  and  His  Plans 
in  Pennsylvania,  The  American  Policy. 
Edward  Hicks,  Local  News,  Our  Farm. 
Early  Welsh  Settlers,  What  Geoffrey 
Chaucer  Saw,  The  Schwenkfelders,  For- 
estry in  Pennsylvania,  Aboriginal  Remains 
in  Durham  and  Vicinity,  American  Archae- 
ology, The  New  Britain  Baptist  Church. 
Hon.  Samuel  D.  Ingham.  The  Mode  of  Life 
in  Our  Early  Settlement,  The  Foundations 
on  Which  Our  Fathers  Built,  The  Pension 
System.  The  Red  Lion  Inn,  Bensalem 
Township,  Early  Catholics  of  Bucks  Coun. 
ty.  Then  and  Now.  or  Old  Times  and  New 
in  Pennsylvania,  The  Bucks  County  Medical 
Society,  The  Town  We  Live  in,  Bits  of  His- 
tory, Scraps  of  Bucks  Before  1750,  Early 
History  of  Bristol,  The  Progress  of  the 
United  States,  Loganian  Lands  in  Bucks 
County.  Popular  Errors  Respecting  North 
American  Indians. 

Mr.  Fackenthal  deserves  special  mention 
and  recognition  for  the  valuable  services 
he  is  rendering  the  cause  of  history  in 
Pennsylvania  and  will  undoubtedly  inspire 
many  other  members  of  historical  societies 
to  similar  acts  in  their  respective  com- 
munities. 

Translation  of  a  German  paper,  which 
Frank  E.  Schnerer,  Esq.  of  Brickerville  Pa. 
recently  donated  to  the  Lancaster  County 
Historical  Society,  for  its  museum  where 
it  can  now  be  seen. 


HISTORICAL   SOCIETIES 


95 


The  paper  is  well  preserved  consider- 
ing its  age. 

The     following  is  the     translation,     viz: 

We  Charles,  by  the  grace  of  God,  Mark- 
grave  of  Baden  and  Hackberg,  Landgrave 
at  Sausenberg,  Count  of  Spanheim  and 
Aberstein.  Lord  at  Roeteln,  Badenweyler, 
Lahr  and  Mahlberg,  etc. 

Acknowledge  herewith  and  make  known 
that  we  after  most  humble  supplication 
have  graciously  released  in  consideration 
of  an  equitable  amount  of  money  George 
.Jacob  Schnuerer,  together  with  his  wife 
of  Eckstein,  born  in  the  (high)  bailiwick 
of  Carlsruhe,  who  desires  to  locate  in  the 
Island  of  Pennsylvania  and  there  to 
establish  himself,  dismiss  them  of  their 
servitude,  in  which  relationship  they  have 
hitherto  been  bound  to  us,  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  neither  we,  nor  our  princely  heirs 
shall  have  any  further  claim  on  either  of 
them  or  their  heirs,  on  account  of  their 
|)revious  servitude,  nor  shall  we  b-;  able  to 
regain  it.  unless  they  should  locate  and 
settle  in  one  or  the  other  place  of  our  duke- 
dom and  dominion  where  we  have  serfs- 
in  which  case  they  shall  again  enter  into 
The  relationship  over  against  us- 

In  testimony  of  the  above  we  have  caused 
Vo  be  executed  to  George  Jacob  Schnuerer 
over  our  signatures  and  seals  and  to  be 
delivered   the  above   document." 


Executed  in  our  princely  resident  city  of 
Carlsruhe,  September  16,  1737 

By  special  Mandate  of  his  serene  high- 
ness.V.  Breslin 

1  Frei  Herr  Von  Ma— ill, 

2  C.   D.  Stademan, 
o  R.  A.  Henning. 

^       i^t       •x» 

Historical  Society   Brings  Amicable  Action 
for  (ileriuaiitowii   Kocord 

The  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania 
began  the  necessary  legal  formalities  to 
obtain  possession  of  an  ancient  volume 
now  in  possession  of  the  Recorder  of  Deed 
office,  known  as  the  "Grund  und  Lager 
Buch."  It  is  a  record  of  early  Ian '' grant.-; 
in  Germantown  and  i.s  about  200  years  old. 
The  Recorder's  office  intimated  some  time 
ago  that  the  book  should  be  given  to  the 
Historical  society  since  it  has  long  since 
ceased  to  be  of  any  actual  value  at  City 
Hall,   Philadelphia 

It  was  found  necessasry  to  go  through 
certain  formalities.  William  Drayton,  as 
counsel  for  the  society,  issued  a  summons 
in  Coumion  Pleas  Court  for  the  custody 
of  the  volume.  Members  of  the  society 
consider  it  a  most  valuable  acquisition. 


Reviews  and  Notes 


Daniel    Booiie:    Kacliwoodsiuaii.    By    C.     H. 

Forbes-Lindsay.  Cloth:  12mo.  Illus- 
trated; ;>20  pp.  J.  B.  Lippincott  Com- 
pany.   Philadelphia    and    London.    1908. 

It  may  be  a  fact  but  little  known,  even 
to  people  of  Pennsylvania  that  Daniel 
Boone,  the  foremost  frontiersman  of  his 
time,  was  born  in  Oley  Township,  Berks 
County,  Pa.,  close  by  the  present  city  of 
Reading.  His  father  was  an  Englishman 
who  finally  settled  in  the  vicinity  mention- 
ed above,  and  here  Daniel  was  born  in 
Xoveniber,  17;]4.  In  1750  the  family  mov- 
ed to  South  Carolina.  Here  Boone  grew 
up  and  finally  with  his  own  family  he 
migrated  to  Kentucky  in  1773. 

It  is  dill'icult  to  believe  that  any  pioneer 
left  his  impress  ui)on  the  new  territory  of 
the  country  more  forcibly  than  Boone:  or 
that  he  was  so  widely  known  that  his 
name  found  its  way  into  Lord  Byron's 
|)oetry;  or  that  he  lived  a  more  fearless, 
upright  life.  Two  of  Boone's  children  were 
among  the  first  settlers  beyond  the  ;Missis- 
sipi)i  River:  a  grandson  was  the  first  set- 
tler in  Kansas,  another  was  among  the 
earliest  in  Colorado;  and  still  a  third  was 
tbe    faiucus    Kit    Carson,    the    noted    guide. 


born  in  1809,  the  year  renowned  for  its 
l)rofligacy  of  greatness. 

Inasmuch  as  the  book  partakes  of  the 
nature  of  historical  fiction,  it  is  difficult  at 
times  to  tell  when  one  is  reading  of  Boone 
iu  fact  and  when  in  Action.  The  narrative 
begins  with  a  chapter  on  the  American 
Backwoodsman  before  the  Revolution:  this 
account  is  inteiesting  and  instructive,  giv- 
ing, as  it  does,  the  origin  of  these  peculiar 
denizens  of  the  American  forest,  found  no- 
where else  in  the  world  —  indigenous  to 
their   country. 

The  book  is  written  for  young  readers, 
for  children,  but  it  will  be  eagerly  read  by 
"children  of  larger  growth."  It  is  in- 
teresting, exciting  reading,  with  its  dra- 
matic incidents  and  hairbreadth  escapes.  It 
is  also  as  safe  and  wholesome  a  book  of 
adventure  as  can  be  placed  in  the  hands 
of   the  young. 

The   Revolt  of  Auiie    Rojie:    By    Helen    R. 

Martin,    author    of    "Tillie:    A   Menno- 

nite     Maid."      Cloth,    12    mo.    387    pp. 

Price    $1.50.       The     Century    Company. 

New   York.,  1908. 


96 


REVIEWS    AND   NOTES 


This  book  seems  to  have  the  strongesc 
plot  of  any  of  Mrs.  Martin's  books.  The 
incidents  of  the  story  are  fairly  complica- 
ted. Anne  Royle  is  an  orphan  girl,  and 
with  her  fosterfather,  his  wife  being  dead, 
lives  with  her  uncle.  She  does  not  know 
that  her  foster-father  is  not  her  real  father 
until  he  tells  her  so..  This  may  be  a  sur- 
prise to  the  reader;  but  the  outcome  of  the 
disclosure  is  easily  anticipated,  because 
of  the  attitude  he  assumes  in  breaking  the 
news  to  her. 

In  the  same  town  are  also  a  rector  and 
liis  curate;  it  is  by  these  three  men  that 
Anne's  spirit  is  put  on  the  rack,  but,  her 
womanhood  asserting  itself,  she  I'evolts 
against  the  oppression  that  has  encom- 
passed her  all  her  life  and  marries  the  man 
of  her  choice. 

The  book  is  advertised  as  being  a 
"story  whose  characters  are  not  Pennsyl- 
vania-Dutch". This  may  be  true  but  it  is 
not  the  whole  truth.  The  scene  is  laid  in 
the  Pennsylvania-German  countrv — Read- 
ing!?) Hamburg,  and  the  Blue  Mountains. 
Seemingly  the  author  cannot  write  a  book 
without  giving  the  Pennsylvania-Germans 
a  slap.  The  thirty-ninth  chapter,  contain- 
ing the  offensive  remarks,  has  no  vital 
conection  with  the  main  plot,  it  could  be 
easily  emitted;  in  fact,  it  is  a  defect  in 
the  artistic  arrangement  of  the  whole  story. 
Seemingly  it  was  inserted  for  the  express 
])urpose  of  giving  these  people  a  fling. 

The  whole  substance  of  this  entire  chap- 
ter is  so  ridiculous  and  preposterous  that 
one  hesitates  to  pass  further  judgment  on 
it  for  fear  it  might  be  uncritical,  except  to 
say  what  was  said  before:  the  difficulty  of 
idealizing  these  "sordid"(!)  people  lies 
with  the  arti.=5t  and  not  with  the  material. 
Miss  Singraaster  also  writes  short  stories 
about  these  same  people,  but  she  writes 
in  a  far  more  acceptable  and  artistic 
manner  than  the  author  of  The  Revolt  of 
Anne  Royle."  She  exposes  their  weaknesses 
and  plays  upon  their  foibles  without  giving 
offence,  and  idealizes  them  without  de- 
jiarting  from  the  actual  facts. 

The  book  may  be  fairly  interesting 
reading,  but  we  do  not  believe  that  it  is 
altogether  a  wholesome  one,  especially 
for  younger  people.  All  of  Mrs.  Martin's 
heroines  are  precocious,  there  is  an  abnor- 
mality and  gloominess  about  them  that  is 
not  healthy.  There  is  some  fascinating, 
exciting,  love-making,  but  it,  like  some  of 
the  moral  ideas  expressed,  does  not  edify 
and  make  for  noble  manhood  and  woman- 
hood. It  is  only  just  to  say,  on  the  other 
hand,    that    the     author     has     accomplished 


something  if  she  has  lessend  the  grip  that 
superstition  still  seems  to  have  on  these 
people. 

Peggy    Ovveu:      by    Lucy    Foster    Madison, 
author   of   "A   Maid   of   Salem    Towne." 
Cloth,    12    mo.       Illustrated.       385     pp. 
The   Penn   Publishing  Company,   Phila- 
delphia, Pa. 
The  scene  of  this     bustling  story  is  laid 
in  Philadelphia:    it  is  based  on  the  histori- 
cal    incidents  of  the     stormy  days  of  1776. 
The  heroine  is     Peggy  Owen,  a  noble,  win- 
some young     Quaker  girl  of  colonial  days, 
a  young  patriot  of  the  kind  that  did  things 
in  times  of  old. 

Although  the  family  were  members  of 
the  Society  of  Friends,  the  father  could 
not  resist  the  call  to  arms  and  enlisted.  It 
is  while  engaged  in  the  siege  of  Boston  that 
Peggy  shows  her  patriotism.  At  the  risk 
of  her  life  she  makes  her  way  to  the  camp 
of  General  Putman  to  inform  him  of  a  spy 
whose  plot  to  betray  his  countrj'  she  over- 
head in  her  father's  stable.  Her  father  is 
taken  prisoner  and  left  to  die  in  a  British 
prison ;  to  intercede  for  him  she  makes  her 
way  to  the  camp  of  General  Howe,  and  to 
the  famished  camp  of  General  Wasliington 
at  Valley  Forge.  Her  father  is  released, 
and  restored  to  health,  the  spy  is  executed 
and  the  old  country  home  at  Strawbery  Hill 
is  saved. 

The  story  is  written  in  an  exceedingly 
simple  style,  in  true  Quaker-like  simplici- 
ty. The  plot  is  not  at  all  complicated. There 
is  something  poetic  in  the  style  and  diction, 
and  in  fact  in  the  very  outside  appearance 
of  the  book.  The  writer  has  revived  an 
effective  custom  of  old,  followed  by  Scott, 
Irving  and  others,  of  prefixing  to  each 
chapter  an  appropriate  poetic  quotation. 
And  no  better  quotation  to  precede  the 
whole  story  could  be  found  than  the  stanza 
from  "Evangeline." 

No  more  wholesome  book  for  young 
])eoi)le  was  published  during  the  last  year. 
There  is  a  healthy,  bracing  air  about  it 
that  makes  life  seem  more  worth-while 
than  the  usual  sickening,  simpering, 
"society"  novel. 

4»      *      4» 

— The  last  week  in  November  another 
Penny i)acker  book  sale  was  held  in  Phila- 
delphia. The  remainder  of  15000  volumes 
of  the  ex-Governor's  books  will  be  sold  in 
April.  It  has  been  estimated  that  the  whole 
collection  will  realize  about  $50,000.  The 
highest  price  realized  at  the  recent  sale 
was   $135  for  a   Bradford  imprint  of  1682. 


Vol.  X 


MARCH,  1909 


No.  3 


Sketch  of  Colonel,  Later  Judge  Matthias  Hollenback 


By  Edward  Welles,  Wilkes-Barre,  Pa. 

(continued  from  FEBRUARY  ISSUE) 


The  details  of  liollenback'r.  early 
life  at  Wyoming  (as  Wilkes  -  Barre 
was  called  before  1772),  are  naturally 
somewhat  meagre.  At  the  outbreak 
of  the  Revolutionary  War  he  was  in 
lousiness  on  the  west  side  of  the  Pub- 
lic Square :  and  when,  in  the  year 
1776.  the  company  of  Wyoming  men 
in  which  he  had  enlisted,  one  of  two 
raised  by  authority  of  Congress  for 
home  defence,  was  ordered  into  the 
general  service,  he  took  his  younger 
brother  John  into  partnership,  and 
entrusted  the  business  to  him  during 
his  own  absence.  As  he  had  pre- 
viously. Oct.  17,  1775,  been  commis- 
sioned by  ( "loxernor  Trumbull  as  en- 
sign in  the  24th  regiment  of  the  Con- 
necticut militia,  he  was  now  by  Con- 
gress commissioned  to  the  same 
grade  in  one  of  the  two  independent 
com])anies;  this  action  of  Congress 
was  (lalcd  Aug.  26.  1776.  As  these 
two  com])anies  were  so  soon  ordered 
into  the  main  army.  Hollenback  had 
the  fortune  to  see  sei  \'ice  under  Wash- 
ington in  the  campaigns  of  1776  and 
1777;  being  engaged  in  the  actions  at 
Millstone.  Hound  Brook,  jNlud  Fort. 
Brandywinc  and  Germantown..  His 
<larin<j-   conduct    at    Millstone.   ln"s   first 


engagement,  was  specially  noted. 

When  danger  threatened  their 
homes,  and  Congress  refused  or  neg- 
lected to  afford  relief,  the  officers  of 
the  Wyoming  companies  resigned 
their  commissions  and  returned  to 
Wyoming,  says  Miner,  (not  to  avoid 
danger,  but  to  meet  it)  As  the  fatal 
day  of  Wyoming  approached,  scouts 
were  sent  up  the  river  to  observe  and 
report  the  movements  of  the  invad- 
ing force.  Hollenback  with  one  com- 
panion was  on  one  of  these  scouting 
parties,  about  the  last  of  June.  A  few 
miles  al>o\e  the  head  of  the  valley 
they  found  the  bodies  of  the  two 
young  Hardings.  who  had  been  fresh- 
ly killed  and  scalped  by  the  Indians, 
whose  trail  led  back  over  the  mount- 
ains to  the  northwest.  These  they 
brought  down  the  river  in  a  canoe; 
though  I  lollenback's  companion  was 
so  o\ercome  with  fear  and  trembling 
that  he  begged  to  be  set  ashore,  and 
lloIkiil)ack  alone  brought  the  bodies 
of  the  slain  I^rethren  down  to  their 
friends    at    Jenkins'    Fort. 

Insomuch  as  the  invading  force 
was  now  So  near  at  hand,  no  more 
scouts  were  sent  out:  but  the  whole 
\-allev    was     roused,    and    all     effective 


98 


TPIE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


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SKETCH  OF  COLONEL,  LATER  JUDGE  HOLLENBACK 


99 


men  assembled  at  Forty  Fort  as  fast 
as  organized.  Col.  Zebulon  Butler,  then 
ai  home  from  Washington's  army  u])- 
<in  a  furlough,  was  asked  to  take 
rctnimand  i>i  the  little  army  of  de- 
fence. The  records  of  that  service 
ha\e  always  been  more  or  less  con- 
fused, as  the  little  force  was  organ- 
i/.ecl  iu  haste,  for  a  desperate  emer- 
i^ency.  llollenliack  had  enlisted  as 
lieutenant  under  Capt.  Dethick 
Hewitt,  who  headed  one  .)f  the  com- 
panies upon  the  right  wing.  It  has 
been  often  said  that  he  served  under 
his  friend  Capt.  Durkee.  who  was  his 
commander  in  the  Xew  Jersey  cam- 
l)aign,  and  whose  life  he  attempted 
to  save  on  the  day  of  the  battle;  but 
Durkee's  service  was  upon  the  stafif  of 
Col.    Piutler,  and  not  in  the  line. 

We  will  let  Lieut.  Hollenback  tell 
tis  so  much  as  he  will  of  this  day  of 
liattle,  from  a  paper  in  his  own  hand, 
dated  Dec.  26.  1820;  a  paper  -  unfor- 
tunately not  written  for  the  purpose  of 
relating  his  own  story,  but  solely  to 
\indicate  the  memory  of  his  friend 
L"ol.  lUitler  against  certain  ]50st- 
mortem  aspersions  of  his  courage  and 
couduct. 

The  alarm  Avas  great  on  the  2nd  of 
July.  The  regiment  was  collected 
and  marched  on  the  third.  All  on  the 
east  side  of  the  river  crossed  to  Forty 
l-'ort.  where  they  counselled  what  to 
do.  While  there  a  flag  was  sent  in, 
demanding  the  surrender  of  ,the  fort 
'■\hich  was  refused.  The  word  was 
"figlit  tlie  enemy  and  beat  them 
back".  On  the  height,  about  halfway 
from  Forty  Fort  to  Wintermoot's 
they  halted;  and  soon  after  the  smoke 
of  Wintermoot's  I'ort.  about  three 
miles  off,  was  discovered ;  which 
seemed  to  put  new  1  ife  into  the  mili- 
tia. They  cra\ed  orders  to  march; 
which  they  did.  almost  to  the  fort; 
1  was  on  the  right  wing  of  the  regi- 
ment and  close  tti  the  fort,  where  we 
engaged  the  British  j^art  of  the  en- 
emy's army,  and  as  1  supposed  were 
beating  them.  'Ilie  first  T  knew  the 
militia  on  the  left  ga\e  wav  and  broke. 


landing  the  firing  to  cease  on  the  left, 
1  ran  back  of  the  smoke  which  settled 
down  on  us  on  the  right,  and  discover- 
ed our  ])eople  all  in     confusion  on  the 
left.     L  informed  Cai)t.   llewitt  of  this, 
and     that  he     must    order    a     retreat, 
which   he   did   and   we   fled   every  wav 
all  in  confusion,  to  make  the  best  we 
could  to  save  our  lives."  Miner,  in,  his 
History  of     W^yoming,     p..  .224,  has  a 
\'ery    pretty    story    of  the  brave   Hew- 
itt's   refusal    to    order    a    retreat :     but 
the  above  account,  from   the     hand  of 
the  very  ofificer  in  (piestion,     must  be 
held  authentic,  tradition  to  the  contra- 
ry notwithstanding.  That  the  outnum- 
bered and  overmastered  patriots  were 
compelled  to  yield  to  the     inevitable. 
casts     no     slur     upon     their  memory. 
Captain     Hewitt    gave    his    life  to    his 
country    that    day:  and  of  Lieut.  Hol- 
lenljack's    own    conduct    in  the  battle. 
Miner    says,    in    the    ap])endix    to    his 
"History",       page     4.      "Fear    was    a 
stranger    to  his    bosom.   I    have  heard 
several    say  who    saw   him    there,  and 
afterwards  recognized  him  in  the  bat- 
tle, that  a  braver  soldier  never  march- 
ed   out    to  meet    an    enemy.     Hollen- 
back   was    but    twenty-six    years  old : 
and     fleet     of     foot  and    expert    in  all 
manly  exercises,  he  had  better  fortune 
than  many  in  the  retreat  and  massacre 
that    followed.     His     esca^ie  was     by 
swimming  the  river  in  the  edge  of  the 
evening     near      Monockonock      island. 
In  his  flight  to    the  bank  of  the  river, 
he    had     managed     to  throw     off    his 
clothing;  putting  a  piece  of  gold  into 
his     mouth,     and    securing    a    roll    of 
Continental    money    'c>.n(\    a    bill  of  ex- 
change  in   his   cue.   Diving  and  swim- 
ming under  water  as  long  as  he  could 
hold  breath,  when   coni]:)elled   to  come 
to     the     surface    for  air,    the      bullets 
flew    so    close  that  one  caused  him  to 
gasp,     by     which     he     lost     the     gold 
piece:    but    the    other    \aluables    kept 
him    com])any    until    he    gained    safety 
upon  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Susque- 
hanna.  Here  he    met  a    neighbor  who 
gave  him  a  hunting-shirt;  and  in  this 
•  niise    he    reached    the  fort  at  W'ilke^- 


100 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Barrc  toward  midnight ;  giving  the 
^anxious  wom^n  th>ere  collected  the 
first  niews  of  the  issue  of  the  conflict 
that  bad  made  so  many  of  them  wid- 
ows and  their  children  fatherless. 

As  soon  as  he  could  clothe  and  re- 
fresh himself,  Holknback  mounted 
Hiis  horse  and  hastened  over  the 
mountains  eastward  to  Rear  Creek, 
to  meet  Capt.  Spalding  who  had  been 
dispatched,  too  late,  with  the  rem- 
nant of  tlie  two  Wyoming  companies 
to  the  relief  of  the  settlement.  To 
liim  he  proposed  an  immediate  march 
into  tlie  \alley,  with  the  view  of 
checking  the  further  advance  of  the 
invading  forces :  but  Spalding  was 
imwilling  to  attempt  what  he  felt 
could  lead  only  to  additional  disaster. 
This  view  was  in  fact  justified  on 
the  return  of  Hollenback.  with  a 
few  volunteers  from  Spalding's 
ranks,  to  the  brow  of  the  mountain ; 
which  gave  him  a  sight  of  his  own 
buildings  in  flames,  and  the  enemy's 
flag  flying  over  the  fort  at  Wilkes- 
Barre  :  this  was  on  the  fourth  of  July, 
a  sorrowful  second  anniversary  of  the 
day  of  Independence. 

Abandoning  the  hope  of  doing  any- 
thing further  to  avert  the  ruin  of  the 
settlement,  the  active  young  man  now 
devoted  himself  to  the  succor  of  the 
flying  fugitives,  old  and  young  who 
were  making  their  way,  defenceless 
and  destitute,  across  the  mountains, 
and  through  trackless  swamps  where 
many  died,  to  safety  upon  the  banks 
of  the  Delaware.  Making  requisitions 
upon  Spalding's  commisariat,  as 
says  Miner,  "he  rapidly  returned,  la- 
den with  bread,  for  the  relief  of  the 
flying  widows  and  their  suffering 
children.  Tmjiarting  a  saving  morsel 
to  one,  and  then  hastening  on  to  an- 
other starving  group,  he  came,  said 
the  ancient  fold)  people,  like  an  angel 
of  mercy''. 

Hollenback's  earnings  in  the  way 
of  business  up  to  tiie  time  of  the  in- 
vasion were  such  only  as  might  be  ex- 
pected in  a  newly  jjopulated  wilder- 
ness, where  a  mere  living  was  accom- 


plished only  at  the  cost  of  hard  labor 
and  struggle.  His  inventory  of  losses 
by  the  Indian  raid  is  in  existence,  en- 
dorsed "A  list  of  effects  which  the 
subscriber  lost  when  the  Indians 
made  an  incursion  on  Westmoreland 
in  the  state  of  Connecticut,  Avhich  was 
in  the  month  of  July,  1778";  the  total 
amount  being  £671.30.  It  will  be  ob- 
served that  the  "Battle  and  Massacre 
of  Wyoming"  was  yet  an  unknown 
phrase;  and  that  Wyoming  was  West- 
moreland, and  in  Connecticut  instead 
of  Pennsylvania.  And  it  took  years  of 
struggle  and  contention  and  not  a 
little  bloodshed,  to  settle  the  ques- 
tion :-  "Is  Westmoreland  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, or  is  Wyoming  in  Connecticut? 

As  soon  as  the  condition  of  affairs 
\\ould  permit,  Hollenback  was  back 
at  his  work ;  and  building  a  new  house 
and  store  (still  standing  on  South 
Main  street,  Wilkes-Barre)  he  en- 
gaged in  business  with'  that  energy 
and  assiduity  for  which  his  name  was 
a  synonym.  One  of  his  first  ventures 
on  the  conclusion  of  peace  in  1782 
was  the  collection  of  a  dro\e  of  cattle 
in  the  state  of  Connecticut,  and  driv- 
ing them  to  Niagara,  where  he  ex- 
pected a  good  demand  from  the  mili- 
tary forces  on  both  sides  of  the 
boundary  line.  But  so  slow  was  the 
prc\gress  of  intelligence  in  those  times 
that  when  he  crossed  into  Canada  he 
was  taken  prisoner  by  the  British 
authorities,  and  held  so  for  several 
weeks,  until  the  arrival  of  the  official 
news  of  peace  ;  when  he  was  able  to 
sell  his  beef  to  good  advantage.  This 
was  the  beginning  of  a  trade  of  that 
kind  which  formed  one  of  his  indust- 
ries f(^r  many  years ;  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  Avhich  he  incurred  many  dan- 
gers and  hardships,  and  laid  the  found- 
ation for  many  future  l)usiness  con- 
nections. 

He  now  entered  int(T  trade  on  a 
large  and  increasing  scale ;  establish- 
ing trading-posts  at  various  points 
along  the  valley  of  the  Susquehanna  as 
far  north  as  Elmira,  then  called  New- 
town. These  "stores"  he  kept  stocked 


SKETCH  OF  COLONEL,  LATER  JUDGE  HOLLENBACK 


101 


with  goods  purchased  mainly  at 
Philadelphia,  carted  across  the  coun- 
try to  Aliddletown,  and  then  "pushed" 
up  the  river  in  canoes  and  J3urham 
boats,  to  W'ilkes-Barre,  Wyalusing. 
Towanda,  Tioga  Point,  Newtown  and 
Owego;  the  trip  l^eing  always  labor- 
ious, and  consuming  weeks  of  time. 
These  goods  were  of  course  such  as 
were  needed  in  a  new  country  and  the 
inventories  and  price'  lists  of  the 
ei^l-jteenth  century  dates  are  ver}'-  in 
teresting.  The  customers  were  the 
pioneers  and  their  families,  with  such 
of  the  aborigines  as  still  lingered  on 
the  frontier.  Pay  was  largely  in  bar- 
ter, the  produce  of  the  country;  such 
as  furs,  hides,  grain,  salt  and  whiskey. 
About  1792-3,  Hollenback  began  to 
invest  largely  in  wild  lands ;  asso- 
ciating with  himself  such  men  as 
Timoth}^  Pickering,  James  Wilsoti., 
etc.,  so  that  at  the  time  of  his  death  he 
was  one  of  the  largest  landholder-s  in 
northeastern  Pennsylvania.  Concur- 
rently he  cleared  farms,  built  farm- 
houses, mills  and  distilleries,  and  en- 
gaged in  the  rrmnufacture  of  paper, 
powder  and  linseed  oil.  His  trading- 
posts  at. Athens  and  Elmira  were  es- 
tablished in  1783.  P)Oth  were  consider- 
ed important  points;  particularly  the 
former,  at  the  confluence  of  the  Che- 
mung and  Susquehanna  rivers;  Tioga 
Point  being  regarded  by  the  Six 
X^ations  as  the  key  of  the  whole  valley 
of  the  Suscpiehanna,  in  or  near  which 
lay  the  hunting-gn^unds  of  their  sub- 
ject and  tributary  tribes.  At  this  point 
and  Elmira  were  negotiated  several 
important  Indian  treaties  within  ten 
or  fifteen  years  of  the  close  of  the  war 
the  objects  aimed  at  being  generally 
to  cpiiet  the  natives  and  prevent  u]i- 
risings.  Two  were  under  the  manage- 
ment of  Col.  Timothy  Pickering;  and 
at  these  and  others  Ilollenback's 
])resence  and  ser\ices  were  rec|uired 
as  master  of  transportation  and  pur- 
veyor of  supplies.  At  these  and  the 
treaties  of  Fort  Stanwix  (1784)  and 
P>uffalo  Creek  (1788),  he  made  the  ac- 
(piaintance    of    the    principal    chiefs  of 


the  Irocpiois,  as  Brant,  Cornplanter, 
Red  Jacket,  I'armer's  Brother,  and 
others.  About  1792,  Red  Jacket 
being  on  the  way  to  Philadelphia  to 
see  President  Washington,  paid  Col. 
Hollenliack  a  friendly  visit  at  his 
home  in  W'ilkes-Barre ;  and  the 
writer's  mother,  then  four  years  old, 
long  remembered  the  proud  bearing 
of  the  noble  savage. 

While  Hollenback  was  so  largely 
engaged  in  trade  and  business,  his  fa- 
miliar titles  of  Colonel  and  Judge  bear 
witness  to  his  close  ass(jciation  >yith 
he  ]niblic  interests.  In  May  1787  he 
was  commissioned  as  justice  of  the 
Peace,  and  of  the  County  Court  of 
Common  Pleas,  by  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin, President  of  the  Supreme  Execu- 
tive Council ;  in  October,  as  Lieut. 
Colonel;  these  three  commissions 
bearing  the  signature  of  Franklin.  By 
virtue  of  several  subsequent  renewals, 
he  exercised  the  military  office  until 
about  1800.  In  1791  he  was  a])pointed 
by  Gov.  Mifflin  Associate  Judge  of  the 
courts  of  Luzerne  County;  an  office 
laid  down  \\'ith  his  life,  thirty-seven 
x^ears  later.  ^Fhat  his  views  of  justice 
though  doubtless  correct,  were  some- 
what unconventionai,  may  be  githered 
from  an  anecdote  related  by  the  late 
Judge  Collins.  The  case  at  issue  was 
a  charge  of  assault  and  battery  against 
the  veteran  Col.  Ransom,  who  had 
floored  a  man  who  had  spoken  dispar- 
agingly of  the  character  and  services 
of  Washington.  \Vhen  the  case  was 
called.  President  Judge  Scott  arose 
and  left  the  bench,  saying  that  inas- 
much as  the  action  was  one  which 
concerned  an  old  sohiier.  he  thought 
it  pro])er  to  leave  its  judgment  to  an- 
other old  sold'er.  his  associate.  Judge 
Hollenback.  The  defendant  was  ready 
to  nlead  guilty  to  the  indictment,  hav- 
ing" no  defence  to  offer.  "Col.  Ransom" 
said  the  judge,  "where  were  you  on 
such  a  date?"  ^^'ith  A\'ashington  in 
.\ew  Jersey,  your  honor."  "'And  where 
on  such  another  date?"  "A  prisoner  in 
Canada,  sif".  "Right :  T  believe  you 
were:  and  where  on  the  third  of  Ji^ly, 


102 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


1 778?". "With  Capt.  Spalding,  on  the 
march  to  the  relief  of  Wyoming".. 
"Right  again;  and  so  you  knocked  the 
rascal  down,  did  you?". "I  did,  Judge; 
and  I  would  do  it  again',  "Right  a- 
gain,  Colonel ;  but  you  have  plead 
guilty,  and  I  am  sorry  to  say  the  law 
IS  against  you.  The  sentence  of  the 
court  is  that  you  pa}^  a  fine  of  six  and 
a  quarter  cents  and  costs :  Mr.  Clerk, 
you  will  charge  that  bill  to  me". Col. 
Hendrick  B  Wright,  in  his  Pl3'-mouth 
Sketches,  has  a  somewhat  different 
version  of  this  incident ;  but  as  Judge 
Collins  was  an  auditor  and  eye-wit- 
ness, his  version  has  some  cla:im  to 
precedence. 

During  his  strenuous  business  ca- 
reer of  sixty  years,  Hollenback  en- 
countered dangers  and  hardships,  and 
went  through  adventures  innumer- 
able ;  of  which  he  was .  sometimes 
tempted  to  descant  in  the  social  cir- 
cle. That  he  never  spared  the  time,  or 
thought  it  worth  while  to  commit  his 
recollections  to  paper,  is  a  matter  of 
much  regret.  On  one  occasion  only 
was  he  interviewed  by  a  competent 
pen  in  this  direction,  for  an  hour  or 
two  of  leisure ;  but  on  re-persual  of  his 
own  notes,  the  interviewer  was  so 
dissatisfied  with  the  measure  of  his 
success  in  reproducing  the  style  and 
])ersonality  of  the  narrator,  that  he 
destroyed  his  manuscript,  intending  to 
resume  the  subject  at  a  later  oppor- 
tunity ;   the   opportunity   never   came. 

It  was  as  a  man  of  affairs  that 
Hollenback  left  his  mark  upon  the 
newly  settled  and  growing  region  in 
which  he  had  cast  his  lot.  Of  slender 
and  vigorous  person,  inured  to  hard- 
ship and  exposure,  business  was  his 
employment :  leisure  he  hardly  under- 
stood. "Tf  business  called",  savs 
[Miner,  "neither  heat  nor  cold,  hail, 
rain  nor  snow,  high  water,  bad  roads 
nor  darkness  arrested  his  progress, 
while  the  way  was  practicable.  In  al- 
tnost  ever}'  instance  where  a  store  was 
erected,  a  farm  was  bought,  ^nd  the 
cultivation  of  the  soil  went  hand  in 
hand   with  the    disposal    of    merchan- 


dise." His  holdings  of  woodlands  ex- 
tended in  a  nearl}^  unbroken  line  from 
Harvey's  Lake  to  Towanda,  a  dis- 
tance of  thirty-five  miles  as  the  crow 
flies ;  in  addition  to  many  thousands 
of  acres  in  other  sections  of  the  state. 
It  was  inevitable  that  the  cares  of 
so  large  a  business  should  eventually 
tell  upon  his  iron  constitution.  Among 
other  duties  were  those  of  the  presi- 
dency of  the  local  bridge  company;  a 
corporation  which,  although  in  later 
years  phenomenally  successful,  then 
evidently  needed  occasional  attention, 
in  order  to  find  out  why  the  returns 
were  so  unsatisfactory.  And  when,  in 
1822  the  poet  Halleck  visited  the  stor- 
ied valley,  he  seems  to  have  found  the 
old  soldier  seated  rather  a,t  the  receipt 
of  customs.  In  his  poem  entitled 
"Wyoming."  in  which  he  compares 
the  existing  conditions  with  those 
poetically  described  by  Campbell  in 
his  "Gertrude."  he  says  : 

■'  Judge    Hollenbach,    who    keeps   the    toll- 
bridge    gate 
And   the   town   records,   is   the   Albert   now 
Of  Wyoming;   like  him,  in  church  and  state. 
Her  Doric  column;    and  upon  his   la-ow 
The  thin  locks,  white  with  seventy  winter's 

snow, 
Look  patriarchal." 

During  the  latter  years  of  his  stren- 
uous life,  most  of  his  cares  were  taken 
off  his  hands  by  his  very  competent 
son,  the  late  George  Matson  Hollen- 
back. Esq.,  whose  fortunate  business 
career"  is  within  the  memory  of  men 
now  li\'ing.  Late  in  his  own  life  the 
father  called  upon  John  Jacob  Astor, 
with  whom  he  had  been  acquainted  at 
the  outset  of  his  career.  "Have  you 
any  sons.  Hollenback?"  said  Astor. 
"T  ha^■e  one,"  was  the  reply.  "Send 
him  to  me ;  I  will  take  care  of  him." 
"I  thank  you.  sir",  replied  the  proud 
father ;  "he  can  take  care  of  himself." 

But  as  long  as  physical  ability  serv- 
ed, it  was  inevitable  that  a  man  who 
had  been  so  exacting  a  master  to  him- 
self, holding  his  employes  to  an  al- 
most equally  strict  accountability, 
should  prove  unwilling  to  lay  down 
his  burdens;  and  even  to  the  last  year 


SKETCH  OF  COLONEL.  LATER  JUDGE  HOLLENBACK 


103 


— almost  the  last  mouth — of  his  life 
he  was  busy,  as  health  served,  in  at- 
tention to  duty.  Late  in  the  year  1828 
he  made  his  usual  tour  of  inspection 
of  his  interests  in  the  upper  Susque- 
hanna valley;  in  the  prosecution  of 
which  he  contracted  a  cold,  'which 
|)robably  shortened  his  life.  At  the 
j^eneral  election  in  November,  he  in- 
sisted on  being-  driven  to  the  polls,  in 
order  to  cast  his  vote  for  Andrew 
Jackson.  In  deference  to  the  condi- 
tion of  his  health,  the  election  board 
came  out  to  the  carriai^e  to  receive  the 


\'ote ;  an  incident  which  called  forth 
ajji)lause  from  the  bystanders.  He 
died  on  the  i8tli  of  February,  1829. 
aged  seventy-seven  years  and  one 
day;  survived  by  a  widow  and  four 
children. 

*  One  of  the  widows,  whose  husband. 
Cyprian  Hibbard,  was  slain  in  the  battle, 
became  afterwards  Mr.  Hollenback's  wife: 
and  as  such  managed  his  household  and 
reared  their  children  with  energy  and 
judgment,  and  was  the  almoner  of  his 
many  hospitalities,  for  well  on  to  half  a 
century. 


The  Palatines  of  the  Hudson  and  Schoharie 

A  TRAGIC  STORY  OF  COLONIAL  TIMES 


By  James  B.  Laux,  now  of  New  York 


E  R  H  A  P  S 


the  greatest 
blunder  ever  committed 
by  a  Colonial  Governor, 
was  that  by  G  >vernor 
Htniter  in  his  tyrannical 
treatment  of  the  Pala- 
tines who  arrived  at  New 
York  in  1710;  the  only 
German  emigration  of 
of  any  consequence  that  came  to  Xew 
\'ork  in  Colonial  days.  Kocherthal's 
colony  in  1709  numbc-mg  fewer  than 
fifty  souls,  while  the  third  and  last  ar- 
rival in  1722  was  but  a  ship  load,  com- 
l)aratively  few  in  number,  many  of 
whom  wont  to  }'enns}'lvania  nnmedi- 
Htely  after  landing. 

These  emigrants  were  the  saddest 
company  that  e\er  landed  in  a  strange 
land  to  found  new  homes.  They  came 
from  the  Palatinate  of  the  Rhine 
which  for  generations  had  been  a  hell 
on  earth,  swept  as  it  was  by  the  fiery 
bosom  of  war  and  destruction.  They 
were  a  l^roken,  sorrowful  remnant  of 
the  thirty  three  thousand  who  with 
high  hopes  left  their  wretched  homes 
in  1708  and  17CK;,  on  the  invitation  of 
good  Queen  Anne  for  London,  from 
whence  they  were  to  be  sent  to  the 
Carolinas.     or     to   some    other    of   her 


Majesty's      Colonies,      te)     be     settled 
there. 

The  story  of  this  great  army  ot  exiles 
from  their  native  land,  impatient  to 
reach  the  Xew  World  which  had  been 
])ainted  in  Queen  Anne's  books  and 
pam])hlets,  and  scattered  throughout 
the  \'alley  of  the  Rhine,  as  a  'and  of 
plenty  and  happiness,  is  one  of  the 
most  pathetic  in  the  history  of  man- 
kind and  should  have  won  the  sym- 
]jathy.  encouragement  and  substan- 
tial help  of  the  i)eo])le  with  whom  they 
cast  their  lot. 

Seven  thousantl  after  suft'er-ng  the 
greatest  privations  in  the  streets  of 
London,  were  returned  almost  naked 
and  in  the  utmost  despondency  to 
their  old  homes  on  the  Rhine.  Ten 
thousand  died  for  want  of  food  and 
from  sickness.  Many  died  on  shi[)- 
I)oard  and  thousands  were  wrecked  at 
sea.  Xearly  four  thousand  were  sent 
to  Ireland  where  lands  had  been  set 
aside  for  them  in  the  County  of  Lim- 
erick, where  their  descendants  still 
reside  and  are  known  as  German 
I'alatines,  respected  and  honored  for 
their  many  n.ianly  virtues  anil  high 
character,  a  few  still  speaking  the 
patois     of    the     Rhine,    not    unlike    the 


104 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


patois  of  the  Pennsylvania  Getmans. 

Four  thousand  left  England  in  ten 
\  essels  on  Christmas  day  1709  and  af- 
ter a  perilous  voyage  of  nearly  six 
months  arrived  at  New  York  on  June 
14,  1710.  Seventeen  hundred  died  at 
sea  and  while  landing.  The  remainder 
were  encamped  in  tents  they  had 
brought  with  them  from  England,  on 
Xutting.  now  Governor's  Island.  In 
the  late  autumn  about  fourteen  hun- 
dred were  taken  to  Livingston  Manor 
about  a  hundred  miles  up  the  Hud- 
son River.  The  widowed  women, 
sickly  men  and  orphan  chikb'en  re- 
mained in  New  York.  The  irphans 
and  many  who  were  not,  were  arbi- 
iraril}'  apprenticed  by  Gov'ernor  Hun- 
ter to  citizens  of  New  York  and  New 
jersey,  distant  from  friends  and  rela- 
tives. 

The  Palatines  settled  on  tiie  Liv- 
ingston Manor  were  under  indenture 
to  serve  Queen  Anne  as  "her  loyal 
and  grateful  subjects"  to  manufacture 
tar  and  to  raise  hemp  so  that  the  ex- 
pense of  their  transportation  and  cost 
of  sustenance  amounting  to  ten  thou- 
sand pounds  sterling  advanced  b}- 
grant  of  Parliament  might  be  repaid. 
They  were  in  much  the  same  position 
as  that  of  the  Redem]>tioners  who 
came  to  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland 
])revious  to  the  Revolution.  They 
were  expected  to  manufacture  lar  and 
pitch  in  the  pine  forests  and  a  great 
supply  of  naval  stitres  was  expected  to 
be  gathered  by  their  lal)ors.  but  ow- 
ing to  natural  causes  of  which  Munter 
and  his  associates  were  grossly  ignor- 
ant the  project  was  doomed  to  failure 
from  the  beginning,  as  the  land  Avas 
unfitted  on  which  to  raise  any  kind  of 
naval  stores  in  any  C(Misiderable  Quan- 
tity or  for  raising  corn,  cattle  and 
other  provisions  for  their  subsistence, 
so  poor  and  baren  was  the  soil. 

When  they  petitir  ned  Governor 
Hunter,  while  on  a  visit  he  m.ade  to 
their  villages,  that  they  might  be  ]mt 
in  ])ossession  of  lands  in  the  Scho- 
harie \'alley  which  the  Indians  had 
given  to  Queen  Anne  for  their  use, 
thev  were  insolently  refused,  the  Gov- 


ernor in  a  great  passion  stamping  on 
the  ground  saying  "here  is  yt)ur  land 
where  you  must  live  and  die." 

In  spite  of  this  language  and  treat- 
ment, that  of  an  inhuman  master  o£ 
his  slaves,  over  a  hundred  oi  their 
able  bodied  men,  fully  one  third  of 
their  number  capable  of  military  duty, 
volunteered  to  serve  in  the  expedition 
against  Canada  in  171 1,  which  they 
willingly  and  cheerfully  did.  Philip 
and  Nicholas  Laux  were  am.)ng  the 
number.  Their  families  during  their 
absence  were  to  have  been  cared  for 
by  the  Province,  money  for  that  pur- 
pose having  been  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  Governor.  On  their  return  not 
only  were  they  deprived  of  their  arms 
though  all  that  went  on  the  expedi- 
tion were  to  have  kept  them  by  Queen 
Anne's  ]:)articular  order,  but  wages 
for  their  services  were  refuser!  them 
also.  To  fill  their  cup  of  misery  when 
th^v  arrived  at  their  homes  they 
found  their  families  in  a  famished 
condition,  no  provisions  having  been 
given  them  during  their  absence. 

Every  promise  made  them  in  Eng- 
land and  America  was  broken ;  they 
were  cheated  and  plundered  on  every 
side,  and  in  desperation  to  escape 
certain  starvation  one  hundred  and 
fifty  families  broke  away  from  this  in- 
hospitable spot  late  in  the  year  1712 
starting  for  Schoharie  abouv  sixt}' 
miles  north  west  of  Livmgston  Manor 
wdiich  they  reached  after  incredible 
hardships.  They  had  to  make  their 
way  through  a  roadless  wilderness  < 
without  horses  to  draw  or  carry  their 
belongings,  their  little  children  and 
weak  and  delicate  w^omen.  They  har- 
nessed themselves  to  rudely  construct- 
ed sledges  on  which  they  loaded  their 
baggage,  children  and  sick  and  then 
dragged  them  as  best  they  could 
through  the  snow  which  covered  the 
region  they  journeyed  through,  fre- 
(juently  encountering  long  stretches 
three  feet  in  depth.  It  took  them  over 
three  weeks  to  make  this  journey, 
arriving  at  Schoharie  half  starved  and 
sutTering  from  exposure  and  intense 
cold. 


THE  PALATINES  OF  THE  HUDSON  AND   SCHOHARIE  COUNTY,  N.  Y. 


lOE 


Their  misery  was  in  nowise  dimish- 
ecl  on  their  arrival :  famine  stared  them 
in  the  face  and  had  it  not  been  for  the 
charity  of  friendly  Indians  who  show- 
ed them  where  to  gather  edible  roots 
and  herbs,  every  soul  of  them  must 
inevitably  have  perished.  Their  in- 
domitable courage  and  energy  enabled 
them  however  to  sur\'ive  their  dread- 
ful plight  and  a  year  later  found  them 
housed,  with  improvement  of  their 
land  under  way.  But  like  the  Israel- 
ites of  old  they  were  pursued  by  their 
Pharaoh.  Governor  Hunter,  who  re- 
sented their  unceremonious  departure 
from  Livingston  Manor  and  who  was 
determined  to  punissh  them  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  but  a  short  time  before 
their  departure  he  had  notifieJ  them 
that  he  could  not  undertake  any  long- 
er to  supply  them  with  subsistence 
and^that  they  would  have  to  shift  for 
themselves,  permitting  them  to  accept 
"any  employment  they  may  get  from 
farmers  and  others  in  the  Province 
and  New  Jerse\'  for  their  own  and 
their  families'  support,  until  they  be  • 
recalled  by  Proclamation  or  other 
public  notice." 

He  might  as  well  have  said,  for  his 
words  were  to  the  same  effect  "I  re- 
fuse to  sujipl}^  you  any  longer  with 
subsistence  or  to  gi\  t-  you  employ- 
ment. You  can  go  and  starve  so  far 
as  I  am  concerned,  or  woik  elsewhere 
if  you  are  lucky  enough  to  find  it.  If 
any  of  you  are  alive  wiien  I  need  you, 
you  must  come  back  at  once  wherever 
you  may  be,  or  I'll  punish  you."  He 
threatened  to  hang  John  Conrad 
Weiser  their  leader  at  Schoharie  for 
being  "disobedient"  and   mutinous. 

Some  idea  of  the  tyrannical  nature 
of  Governor  Hunter  may  be  gathered 
from  the  instructions  he  gave  to  one 
<if  his  (,^)mmissioners  concerning  the 
Palatines  with  reference  to  their  seek- 
ing employment  elsewhere.  He  says:  ' 
■'You  must  remind  them  of  their  con- 
tract with  her  Majesty  and  assure 
them  there  is  not  the  least  intention 
to  abandon  the  tar  works  or  to  recede 
from  any  ])art  of  their  agreement. 
Therefore    1    hope  thev   will   leaxe  with 


the  full  determination  to  return  at  the 
first  notice,  without  imagining  that 
any  government  or  power  in  any  Pro- 
vince can  protect  them  in  case  they  go 
there." 

"That  should  any  of  them  lemove 
into  any  other  Province  (except  New 
Jersey  which  is  likewise  under  my 
government)  I  have  adopted  measures 
for  their  rendition  and  will  punish 
them  for  so  doing  as  deserters  from 
her  Majesty's  service.' 
*  "That  each  Master  or  Heac!  of  a 
Family  desirous  to  go  to  work  as 
aforesaid,  shall  acquaint  you  of  the 
])lace  he  is  moving  to,  and  receive 
from  you  a  Ticket  of  leave  to  go  there, 
copy  of  which  you  will  enter  in  a 
l)ook,  so  that  should  he  abandon  that 
place  he  ma}'  be  sent  back  and  pun- 
ished." 

"Should  any  dare  depart  without 
such  Ticket  of  leave,  you  will  apply 
to  the  next  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  a 
Hue  and  Cry  in  order  to  pursue  and 
bring  him  back,  and  place  him  in  con- 
finement until  further  orders  from 
me." 

The  instructions  of  Governor  Hun- 
ter suggest  the  Fugitive  Slave  law  of 
ante  helium  days  and  the  regulations 
governing  the  coiu'icts  of  Australia 
and  Tasmania  during  the  Penal  Col- 
ony regime.  Remembering  that  the 
Palatines  had  been  deceived ;  the 
terms  of  their  contract  with  Queen 
Anne  broken  by  Governor  Hunter 
her  representative,  and  subjected  to 
all  kinds  of  ignominy  and  inhuman 
treatment,  it  is  not  .'-urprising  that 
they  revolted  and  quit  forever  the 
place  where  nothing  i,<ut  miser}^  and 
slavery  was  before  them.  TViey  as- 
serted their  manhood  and  defied  the 
Governor,  as  their  forefathers  in  an- 
cient days  defied  the  power  of  imper- 
ial Rome  in  the  German  forests. 

Their  sojourn  in  the  Schoharie  Val- 
ley covering  a  ])eriod  of  about  ten 
years  was  marked  by  the  \-indicative 
animosity  of  Ilunter  and  his  creatures 
at  Albany,  resulting  finally  in  the 
loss  of  their  lands  and  improvement 
owing    to    defective    tides     cunninelv 


106 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


contrived  by  unscrupulous  agents. 
Then  once  more,  the  victims  of  injus- 
tice and  misfortune,  the  greater  num- 
ber left  the  scenes  of  their  unrequited 
labors  to  found  new  and  this  time, 
permanent  homes  in  more  ho>^pitable 
regions,  the  majority  going  to  the 
Mohawk  Valley  where  they  soon  be- 
came prosperous  and  where  their  de- 
scendants are  found  today,  a  sturdy, 
influential  and  intelligent  people. 
Their  patriotic  service  during  the 
Revolution  form  one  of  the  brightest 
chapters  in  the  history  of  the  State. 
The  memory  of  the  grim  old  hero  of 
Oriskany  General  Herkmier,  has  been 
very  recently  honored  with  an  impos- 
ing monument  in  the  village  of  Herk- 
imer. 

A  few  families  rei.^ained  in  the 
Schoharie  Valley,  where  in  spite  of 
spoliation  they  eventually  acquired 
new  homes  and  where  their  descen- 
dants became  potent  factors  in  the 
iiiaterial  development  of  the  State  as 
well  as  in  its  ])olitical  affairs.  Governor 
William  C.  Uouck.  1842-44  was  a  de- 
sscendant  of  one  of  the  Schoharie 
Palatines.  Bishop  Kemper  the  first 
Missionary  Bishop  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  in  the  United 
States  was  also  of  this  Palatine  stock, 
having  been  born  in  Dutchess  County 
in  1789.  His  sister  married  the  Hon. 
Samuel  Sitgrea\es  of  Easton,  Penna., 
who  was  a  Commissioner  to  England 
under  President  John  Quincy  Adams. 
She  died  in  1879  ^t  the  great  age  of 
one  hundred  and  two  years. 

An  offshoot  consisting  of  thirty- 
three  families  came  to  Pennsylvania 
in  the  spring  of  1723  settling  in  Tul- 
liehncken  Township,  then  Lancaster 
Co.,  about  eighteen  miles  \vest  of 
Reading  and  whose  descendants  still 
own  the  lands  acquired  by  their  refu- 
gee forefathers  from  Schoharie.  The 
famous  Conrad  W'eiser,  the  confiden- 
tial agent  of  the  Penns  and  Indian  in- 
terpreter belonged  to  this  coiiiingent 
though  not  arri\ing  before  1729.  Pie 
settled  at  Womelsdorf  where  lie  died 
in  1760.  One  of  his  daughters  i^ecame 
the    wife    of    the  Rev.  Henrv  Melchoir 


Muhlenberg,  the  "Patriarch  of  the  Lu- 
theran Church  in  America."  Their  eld- 
est son.  Peter,  like  his  father,  a  clergy- 
man, became  celebrated  as  a  fighting 
parson  during  the  Revolution.  At  the 
request  of  Washington  whose  friend- 
ship he  enjoyed,  he  accepted  a  Col- 
onel's commission  in  the  Continental 
Army  and  immediately  preached  his 
farewell  sermon  to  his  congregation  at 
Woodstock,  Virginia,  in  which  he  told 
them  that  there  was  "a  time  to  preach 
and  a  time  to  pray,  but  that  there  was 
also  a  tme  to  fight  and  that  that  time 
had  now  come."  Then  throwing  oft' 
his  gown  he  stood  full  dressed  in  his 
Colonel's  uniform.  Leaving  the  pul- 
pit and  church  he  bade  the  drums  beat 
for  recruits.  More  than  three  hundred 
of  his  congregation  enlisted  at  once 
becoming  part  of  the  "German  Regi- 
ment" the  8th  Virginia  which  marched 
to  the  relief  of  Charleston  S.  C.  where 
it  gained  an  enviable  reputat  on  for 
bravery  and  efficiency.  Muhlenberg's 
statue  adorns  the  rotunda  in  the  Capi- 
tol at  Washington,  a  heroic  figure  in 
the  immortal  company  that  founded 
the  great  Republic. 

The  Palatine  settlement  on  the 
Livingston  Manor  was  the  beginning 
(^f  an  emigration  that  would  eventu- 
ally have  rivalled  that  to  Pennsylvania 
but  for  the  shortsighted  and  tyranni- 
cal conduct  of  Governor  Hunter  and 
the  selfishness  and  cupidity  of  land- 
owners and  speculators.  The  ill  treat- 
ment of  the  Schoharie  settlers  after 
ten  years  occupancy  and  improvement 
of  their  lands  is  set  down  as  a  hind- 
rance and  hurt  to  the  Province  in  a 
letter  to  Auditor  General  W'^alpole  by 
Secretary  George  Clark  in  1722.  He 
says  "the  greatest  part  of  them  have 
purchased  in  Pennsylvania  and  are 
determined  t(j  go  thither,  thus  the 
P.rigadier  (meaning  Governor  tlunt- 
er)is  baulked  and  this  province  de- 
])rived  of  a  good  frontier  of  hardy  and 
laborious  ]:)eople."  Governor  Burnet 
called    them    "a    lal)orious  and  honest 


THE  PALATINES  OF  THE  HUDSON  AND  SCHOHARIE  COUNTY,  N.  Y. 


101 


l)iit  a  headstron^^-  pec)]ile"  yet  all  three 
are  necessar}-  (|ualities  in  the  work  of 
buildins^"  uj)  a  State  for  a  shiftless, 
weak-niiiuled  race  \i^  always  a  failure 
as  a  colonizer. 

New  York  never  rec?vered  fiom  the 
efTects  of  this  ill  treatment  of  the  Pala- 
tines. Peter  Kalm  the  Swedish  travel- 
ler and  naturalist  s])eaking"  of  the  ex- 
odus from  Schoharie  to  Pennsylvania 
says  "Not  satisfied  with  being  them- 
selves removed  from  New  York,  they 
wrote  to  their  friends  and  relatives,  if 
c\cr  they  intended  to  come  to  Ameri- 
ca not  to  g"o  to  New  York."  This  ad- 
vice had  such  influence  that  the  Ger- 
mans who  afterwards  went  in  such 
great  numbers  to  America  constantly 
avoided  New  York  and  went  to  Penn- 
s^dvania.  It  sometimes  haonened  that 
they  were  forced  to  take  ships  bound 
for  New  York,  but  they  were  scarce 
got  on  shore  when  they  hastened  to 
Pennsylvania  in  sight  of  all  the  inhabi- 
tants of  New  York."  The  famous  John 
Jacob  Astor  was  a  Palatine,  and  came 
to  New  York  in  1783  from  Waldorf 
near  the  Rhine. 

Because  of  this  emigration  from 
Germany  now  wholly  diverted  from 
New  York,  Pennsylvania  became  the 
richest,  most  prosperoiis  and  the  sec- 
ond in  |)oint  of  oopulation  of  all  the 
colonies.  Franklin  testifying  in  1766 
before  a  Committee  of  the  House  of 
Commons  said  that  of  the  one  hundred 
and  sixty  thousand  whites  in  the  Prov- 
ince of  Pennsylvania  about  one  third 
were  (iermans  and  characterized  them 
as  "a  people  who  brought  with  them 
the  greatest  of  all  wealth,  industry 
and  integrity,  and  character  that  had 
been  superpoised  and  developed  by 
years   of   suffering   and   persecuti<m." 

The  ill  treatment  of  the  Palatines  in 
New  York  in  ])oint  of  crass  folly  in  its 
c(inse(picnces  has  but  few  parallels  in 
history,  one  instance  being  that  of  the 
refusal  of  Louis  XI\"  of  France  to  per- 
mit the  Iluguenots  of  his  kingdom  to 
settle  in  Canada  or  New  France  as 
they  earnestly  prayed  tliat  they  might 
do,  and  which  in  all  probability,  had 
their  prayer  been  granted,  would  have 


made  North  America,  I^'rench,  instead 
»jf  English  ;  our  civilization  and  politi- 
cal institutions  Latin  instead  of  Anglo 
Saxon.  Another  instance  that  may  be 
cited,  is  that  of  the  expulsion  of  the 
Moors  from  S])ain  by  the  Spaniards. 
In  both  instances  was  this  follv 
grievously  answered  for  in  material 
and  moral  decadence. 

Many  strange  thing.;  happen  in  the 
mad  whirligig  of  Time  :  old  wrongs  are 
forgotten,  fierce  animosities  fade  away, 
new  problems  present  themselves,  a 
common  danger  unites  all  discordani 
elements  and  sections,  changing  old 
foes  into  friends  with  but  one  ambi- 
tion :  that  of  the  general  good.  The 
Revolutionary  War  put  an  end  to  Pro- 
prietary go\'ernment  and  rule  by  Roy- 
al Governors,  wiping  out  the  misrule, 
petty  tyrannies  and  iniquities  that 
l)re\'ailed  in  nearly  a'd  the  Colonies 
welding  into  one  body  politic  the  dis- 
cordant communities  owing  allegiance 
to  England.  The  wrongs  of  the  Pala- 
tines were  avenged  in  the  struggle  for 
Independence  in  whicli  they  bore  a 
noble  part. 

The  settlement  and  development  of 
the  new  born  nation  no  longer  defend- 
ed on  the  caprice  oi"  a  complacent, 
])leasure-loving  monarch,  or  on  the 
private  schemes  for  aggrandisement 
of  Court  favorites.  That  problem  was 
thereafter  to  be  undertaken  and  solved 
l)y  the  people  in  whom  sole  sovereign- 
ity was  now  vested. 

EMIGRATION  FROM   PENNSYLVANIA 
TO  SENECA  COUNTY,  N.  Y. 

( )ne  of  the  first  things  done  by  the 
National  Congress  after  the  close  of 
the  Revolutionary  W  ar  and  also  by 
some  of  the  States,  v>as  the  setting 
aside  of  certain  portions  of  the  public 
lands  for  the  use  of  tlie  of^cers  and 
soldiers  who  had  ser\ed  in  the  Conti- 
nental Army.  It  was  about  the  only 
thing  of  any  value  that  either  the 
Nation  or  the  States  could  give  them, 
for  the  paper  money  with  wlv'ch  the}- 
were  paid,  soon  became  worthless  and 
remains  unredeemetl  to  iliis  dav. 


108 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


The  State  of  New  York  acquired  by 
treaty  from  the  Onondago  and  Cayuga 
tribes  of  Indians  a  vast  tract  of  land 
containing  1,680,000  acres  which  was 
laid  out  in  1790  and  subsequenMy,  into 
military  townships  containing  each 
one  hundred  lots  of  six  hundred  acres. 
These  were  alloted  to  soldiers  who 
had  served  in  New  York  regiments 
and  were  residents  of  the  State  during 
their  service.  Many  of  the  soldiers 
however,  in  need  of  money  and  dis- 
gustetl  with  the  delay  attending  the 
allotments,  had  already  disposed  of 
their  claims  Avith  the  result  that  but 
very  few  soldiers  ever  became  actual 
settlers  and  the  furthtr  consequence 
that  this  great  body  of  land  in  one  of 
the  most  fertile  and  beautiful  sections 
of  the  State  became  the  property  of 
.speculators. 

The  fame  of  this  rich  domain  soon 
spread  and  by  1810  great  numbers  of 
settlers  had  come  to  it  from  Pennsyl- 
vania, New  Jersey,  Eastern  New  York, 
New  England  and  the  Southern  States 
and  a  few  from  foreign  countries. 

By  far  the  greater  number  of  the 
settlers  from  Penns3'lvania  were  de- 
scendants of  the  old  Palatine  or  Ger- 
man stock,  coming  from  the  Counties 
of  Northumberland,  Lancaster,  Cum- 
berland, Dauphin,  Bucks,  Nt^rthamp- 
ton,  Berks  and  Lehigh.  Very  interest- 
ing to  relate ;  among  the  numbi;r  were 
inany  descendants  of  the  Palatines 
u'ho  came  from  the  Hudson  and 
the  Schoharie  Yalley  to  Pennsylvana 
in  1722.  And  so  after  the  lapse  of 
nearly  a  century  the  old  unfulfilled 
longing  of  their  forefathers  for  homes 
in  the  beautiful  Lake  region  of  New 
York  \\'as  realized  by  their  descen- 
dants and  most  abundantly  were  they 
blessed  in  their  own  homes  while  the 
State  was  enriched  by  their  great  in- 
dustry and  by  a  most  important,  and 
desirable  addition  to  its  pop-dation, 
which  in  after  days  won  for  it  lasting 
fame  by  loyal  and  distinguished  ser- 
vice in  war  and  peace. 

In  Seneca  County  where  the  greater 
number  of  the  Pennsylvania  Germans 
settled   you   will  find  today  many  fam- 


ily names  that  recall  iamiliar  ones  in 
the  Eastern  parts  of  the  Keystone 
State :  such  names  as  Bachman,  Bal- 
liet.  Bear,  ( Baer)  Berger,  Beary, 
( Biery)Burkhalter,  Diehl,  Derr,  Desh- 
ler,  Fatzinger,  Gross,  Hartranft,  Heck- 
man,  Hoffstetter,  Holben,  Hunsicker, 
Jacoby,  Keim,  Kammerer.  Kern,  Kief- 
fer,  Landis,  Lerch,  Lutz,  Mickley, 
Metzger,  Moyer,  Peters,  Rhdad,  Rie- 
gel,  Ritter,  Romich,  Ruch,  Saeger, 
Schneck.  Schwab,  Siegfried  Shoemak- 
er, Stadler,  Trexler,  AN'itmer,  Yost 
and  Zimmer. 

One  of  the  oldest  villages  in  Seneca 
County  and  a  distinctively  Pennsyl- 
vania German  settlement  is  Bearytown 
founded  by  Henry  Beary  (Bieiy)  who 
went  from  what  is  now  Catasauqua  in 
Lehigh  County,  then  known  as  Bierys- 
port,  soon  after  the  year  1800.  He  was 
followed  some  years  later  by  his  broth- 
er Jacob,  a  soldier  of  the  war  of  1812  a 
member  of  the  company  of  Dragoons, 
said  to  be  the  oldest  cavalry  organiza- 
tion in  Pennsylvania,  comma^ided  by 
Captain  Peter  Ruch,  aiterwards  Brig- 
adier General  of  the  State  Mililia.  The 
wife  of  Henry  Beary  was  a  sister  of 
Captain  Ruch.  StateTreasurer  John  O. 
Sheatz  is  a  great-grand  son  of  Salome 
Biery.  a  sister  of  Henry  Beary  and  the 
wife  of  Peter  Mickley  of  Wh'te  Hall 
Township,    Lehigh    County. 

The  Bierys  were  of  soldierlv  Swiss 
stock  from  the  Canton  of  Berne  who 
settled  in  Berks  County  in  1739.  Col. 
Charles  Beary  Gambee,  a  grand  son  of 
Henry  Beary,  born  in  Seneca  County, 
New  York  was  one  of  many  sons  of  the 
old  Pennsylvania  families  in  New 
York  State  who  rallied  to  the  defence 
of  the  Union  on  the  outbreak  of  the 
Civil  War.  He  was  the  Colonel  of  the 
55th  Ohio  Regiment  of  Volunteer 
Infantry,  and  second  in  command  of 
his  Brigade,  in  the  Army  of  the  Cum- 
berland in  the  Atlanta  Campaign.  He 
was  killed  while  leading  his  regiment 
at  the  Battle  (»f  Resaca  in  which  so 
many  Pennsylvanians  participated, 
among  them  the  gallant  Geary..  Gener- 
al Wood  his  commanding  officer  in 
his    ofKicial    Report   of   the  Bati  le  paid 


THR  PALATINES  OP  THE  HUDSON  AND  SCHOHARIE  COUNTY,  N.  Y. 


109 


the  highest  tribute  to  the  character  and 
military  abihty  of  Colonel  Cjaml)ee 
concluding'  with  this  fervent  j)rayer : 
"May  his  name  be  cherished  and  his 
memory  preserved  so  long-  as  bravery, 
loyalty,  and  patriotism  are  regarded 
as  \-irtues  among  men." 

A  friendly  intercourse  was  kept  up 
for  many  years  between  the  Seneca 
County  settlers  and  their  kinsfolk  in 
Pennsylvania  on  whom  they  were 
dependent  in  xarious  ways.  Tliis  was 
shown  in  one  notable  instance,  when 
the  need  of  religious  services  in  their 
new  homes  began  to  be  felt.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  German  Reformed  Congre- 
gation organized  in  the  Town  of  Fay- 
ette delegated  Henry  Beary  to  visit  his 
old  home  in  Lehigh  County,  I'cnnsyl- 
vania  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the 
services  of  a  pastor  to  minister  to  their 
spiritual  wants.  This  visit  resubed  in  a 
call  being  extended  to  the  Rev.  Died- 
rich  Willers.  a  young  minister  who 
had  just  been  ordained  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Christian  Becker,  a  famous  divine  of 
the  olden  time  in  Lehigh  and  Nor- 
thampton   Counties. 

On  the  return  trip  to  Seneca  County. 
Henry  Bear}^  was  accompanied  by  the 
young  minister  who  was  installed  as 
pastor  of  the  church  at  Bearystown 
and  which  with  churches  in  the  adjoin- 
ing settlements  he  served  faithfully 
for  over  sixty  years  resigning  on  Janu- 
ary ist.  1882,  by  reason  01  the  infirmi- 
ties of  old  age.  His  son,  the  Hon.  Died- 
richW  illers.  jr.,  served  as  Private  Sec- 
retary to  Governor  Horatio  Seymour 
in  1864  and  subsequently  for  eight 
years  as  Deputy  Secretary  of  State  and 
two  years  as  Secretary  of  State  to 
which  office  he  was  elected  at  the  State 
Election  in  November  1873.  He  after- 
wards served  in  the  Legislature  as  a 
member  of  Asseml)ly.  ]^Ir.  'x\'illers 
died   during  the   past   summer- 

The  friendship  formed  between 
Henry  Beary  and  young  Willers  on 
their  journey  to  Seneca  County  was 
cemented  by  a  closer  tie  in  the  next 
generation  by  the  marriage  of  Henry 
Deary's  grandson  to  the  daughter  of 
the  then  Rev.  Dr.  \^'illers. 


Anothvr  faithful  pastor  in  the  Seneca 
Lake  Country  was  the  Rev.  Joseph  B. 
Gross,  a  Lutheran  clergyman  born  in 
.Vorthampton  County  and  brother  of 
the  famous  Professor  Samuel  D. 
(iross  known  throughout  the  world  as 
the  "1^'ather  of  American   Surgery." 

Many  more  instances  of  like  charac- 
ter could  be  given  to  show  how 
worthily  these  transplanted  Pennsyl- 
vania Germans  preserved  the  best  tra- 
ditions of  their  race  and  emulated  all 
the  acti\ities  of  their  lives  the  high- 
est achieveiuents  of  their  forefathers 
and  kinsmen  in  Pennsylvania.  Enough 
have  been  given  to  demonstrate  the 
incalcuable  loss  to  New  York  in  pop- 
ulation, material  wealth,  and  in  moral 
fibre,  the  most  valuable  asset  of  a 
state,  entailed  by  the  tyranny  atid  stu- 
])idity  of  Governor  Hunter  and  his 
successors     when     he     subjected     the. 

Palatines  of  Livingston-Manor  and 
Schoharie  to  nameless  indignities  and 
intolerable  oppression  and  injustice, 
for  the  tens  of  thousands  who  there- 
after went  to  Pennsylvania  from  Ger- 
many and  Switzerland  would  as  glad- 
ly have  settled  in  the  fertile  valleys  of 
Xew  York  had  they  been  shovvn  the 
same  consideration  the}'  received  at 
the  hands  of  the  Penns  and  would 
ha\e  labored  as  mightily  to  develop 
its  resources  as  they  did  to  build  up 
the  great  industries  and  institutions  of 
Pennsyhania.  Governor  Hunter  "like 
ihe  liase  Indian,  threw  away  a  pearl, 
richer  than  all  his  tribe"  when  he 
attempted  to  enslaxe  the  Palatines  of 
his  l^roxince. 

"  Let  us  in  our  unventiiroiiS  ease,  supine. 
Spare  those  a  thought  who  met  the  time's 

demand, 
Ploughed     these     unwilling     plains,     these 

woodlands    cleared. 
The  sons  of  God  because  the  sons  of  Toil: 
Who     in     this     wilderness     their     temples 

reared. 
But  knew  no  shrine  more  sacred  than  their 

soil. 


When  tyranny  this  freeman  breed  defied. 
Through    the    hot  lips  of  merciless  canuoQ 
they  replied." 


110 


How  to  Search  for  Historical  Material 


The  Object  of  a  Local  Historical  Society 

^  (The  following  paper,  read  before  the 
Bucks  County  Historical  Society  \pril  21, 
1885,  by  Henry  C.  Michener,  of  Philadel- 
phia, Pa.  (see  Collection  of  Papers,  Vol  I, 
p.  297,  Bucks  Co.  H.  S.)  is  suggescive  and 
should  induce  our  readers  to  keep  an  eye 
open  for  odds  and  ends  lying  around  on 
garrets,  in  old  chests  and  in  out-of-the- 
way  places.  Save  the  "  crumbs "  that 
nothing  be  lost  and  see  to  it  that  in  some 
way  such  material  is  preserved  from  de- 
struction for  the  use  of  historians.  Don't 
destroy  German  MSS  because  you  cannot 
read  them.  Some  other  people  can  read 
rhem  and  may  find  them  very  valuable. 
Editor.) 

A  famotis  English  writer  says :  "The 
true  historian  must  see  ordinary  men 
as  they  appear  in  their  ordinary  busi- 
ness and  in  their  ordinary  pleasures. 
He  must  obtain  admittance  to  the  con- 
vivial table  and  the  domestic  hearth. 
He  must  bear  with  vulgar  expressions. 
He  must  not  shrink  from  exploring 
even  the  retreats  of  misery.  He  con- 
siders no  anecdote,  no  peculiarity  of 
manner,  no  familiar  saying,  as  too  in- 
significant to  ilkistrate  the  operation 
of  laws,  of  religion  and  of  education, 
and  to  mark  the  prog'ress  of  the  hu- 
man mind.  Men  will  not  merely  be 
described,  but  will  be  made  intimate- 
ly known  to  us" 

This  extract  suggests  to  us  some  of 
the  aims,  purposes  and  objects  of  a 
local  historical  society,  and  points  out 
the  appropriate  field  of  its  operations. 

To  those  who  regard  history  as  a 
mere  recital  of  fierce  encounters  be- 
tween men  at  arms,  an  idea  which  ran 
through  all  the  old  histories  before 
the  modern  school  represented  by  Mac- 
auley,  Froude,  Green,  Motley,  Ban- 
croft and  Prescott,  a  local  field  like  the 
county  of  Bucks  is  exceedingly  bar- 
ren and  unpromising.  But  to  those 
wdiose  vision  extends  to  a  farther  hor- 
izon who  can  discov^er  a  contribution 
to  the  g-rand  total  of  our  knowledge  of 
the  past  in  anything,  and  everything, 
that  throws  a  backward  ray  upon  the 
habits,   customs,   pursuits,   appearance. 


conduct  and  amusements  of  the  people 
who  gathered  here  from  the  ends  of 
the  earth  in  former  years,  there  is 
abundant  material  near  at  hand  to 
construct  a  narrative  which  a  century 
hence  may  be  priceless. 

Much  has  been  said  and  written 
from  time  to  time  concerning  the 
heroic  period  of  our  history,  our  age 
of  iron  and  of  oak —  the  Revolution- 
ary era.  The  houses  where  the  gen- 
erals stopped  from  time  to  time  are 
almost  as  well  known  as  the  habita- 
tion of  our  neighbors,  and  the  track 
of  the  Revolutionary  army  has  been 
repeatedly  traced  across  our  territory. 
Little  remains  to  be  done  to  locate  the 
places  associated  with  the  events  of 
that  day.  The  Revolutionary  age  has 
occupied  so  large  a  place  in  our  an- 
nals that  the  chief  interest  in  our  past 
begins  and  ends  with  it.  It  over- 
shadows and  dwarfs  the  eiitire  cen- 
tury which  preceded  it.  Thousands 
of  men  and  women  were  born,  lived 
the  allotted  span,  died  and  were  bur- 
ied in  these  hillsides  long  before  the 
struggle  with  England  began.  These 
people  had  their  peonliar  pursuits, 
callings,  modes  of  life,  dress  and  lan- 
guage, and  extracted  as  much  out  of 
life  from  the  opportunities  afforded  as 
any  of  us.  In  'many  respects,  from 
sotirces  of  information  which  it  is  the 
business  of  a  local  historical  society  to 
collect  and  preserve,  it  is  possible  to 
photograph  these  people  to  show  what 
garb  they  wt^re.  Avhat  their  clothing 
cost,  what  they  ate,  how  they  traveled, 
what  their  wealth  consisted  of,  the 
utensils  of  field,  shop  and  kitchen,  the 
furniture  in  use,  the  cost  of  living  and 
to  exhibit  all  the  leading",  and  most  of 
the  minute,  features  of  the  colonial  life 
in  Bucks  county  for  ninety  years  be- 
fore the  Revolution.  The  elements  out 
of  which  this  vivid  picture  of  old  life  is 
to  be  constructed  are  in  existence,  but 
perhaps    not    immeidately    accessible. 


HOW  TO  SEARCH  FOR  HISTORICAL  MATERIAL 


111 


They  are  scattered  about  in  old 
attics,  lumber  rooms,  and  dust-cover- 
ed receptacles.  It  is  one  of  the  func- 
tions of  a  local  society  to  gather  to- 
t^ether  these  mute  witnesses,  to  digest 
the  information  they  contain,  and 
hand  it  down  to  our  successors.  Old 
account  books  show  th(J  rate  of  wages, 
the  prices  of  articles  bought  and  sold. 
Inventories  exhibit  the  names  of  arti- 
cles of  personal  property  and  their  val- 
ue as  fixed  by  sworn  appraisers.  An- 
«:ient  store  books  set  forth  the  mer- 
chandise in  common  use,  and  ail  have 
a  direct  and  positive  value  in  aiding  us 
to  form  just  and  accurate  conceptions 
of  the  old  modes  of  living. 

Robert  Archibald,  a  merchant  who 
died  in  I'ristol  in  1734,  had  in  stock  at 
the  time  of  his  death,  shalloon,  silk 
liandkerchiefs.  leather  ink-horns,  brass 
buttons.  brass  finger  rings,  horn 
combs,  sealing  wax.  shoe  buckles,  mo- 
hair, fans,  flints,  tobacco  pipes,  tank- 
ards and  punch  bowls,  porringers, 
gunpowder.  Another  store  stock,  that 
of  Charles  Brown,  a  resident  of  Make- 
field  in  1748.  shows  that  there  was  a 
demand  then  for  snufif  boxes,  ink  cas- 
es, silver  studs,  red  ink  powder,  quills, 
irons  for  making"  rope,  and  tooth 
pullers.  If  all  other  sources  of  informa- 
tion were  cut  oiT,  and  all  traditions 
destroyed,  these  old  papers  would 
suggest  enough  to  frame  a  truthful, 
minute  and  graphic  narrative  of  the 
social  condition  of  colonial  Bucks.  The 
furniture  in  the  old  houses  is  re- 
corded, and  the  room  in  which  the 
articles  were  located,  giving  us  an 
inkling  of  domestic  habits.  Thus  in 
prodding  about  in  these  begrimed  and 
(lust-laden  remains  1  find  that  bee  cul- 
ture was  a  common  pursuit.  Swarms 
of  bees  are  often  named  among  the 
humble  possessions  of  these  primitive 
folk.  Oxen  were  very  much  more  fre- 
quently used  in  the  past  era  than  now. 
In  our  day  a  yoke  for  farm  purposes 
is  a  novelty.  Many  young  oersons 
have  ne\  er  seen  a  yoke  of  oxen  pursu- 
ing their  melancholy  and  deliberate 
journey.  In  the  census  of  1880  only 
t\v<»  working  oxen  owned  on  farms  are 


credited  to  Bucks  county.  Sleighs 
were  an  infrequent  luxury.  Iron-bound 
wagons  were  in  use  in  1744,  but  it  is  a 
rather  rare  item.  Among  the  curious 
revelations  which  the  inspection  of 
these  records  brings  to  light  is  negro 
slavery.  The  fanciful  names  g'.ven  t(» 
the  old  household  slaves  are  nt)vel  fea- 
tures of  the  old  life.  Thomas  Biles, 
who  died  in  1733.  in  Falls,  left  among 
his  earthly  effects  a  negro  called 
"London"  worth  $500.00  and  a  negro 
girl  whom  he  called  "Parthenia." 
worth  $625.00.  John  Burch,  cmother 
Bristol  merchant  of  1740,  was  the 
happy  possessor  of  five  volumes,  of  the 
"Spectator."  a  set  of  leather  chairs,  a 
negro  man  named  "Boy,"  one  named 
"Bridge,"  and  another  named 
'"Squash."  Elizabeth  Badgley,  also  a 
resident  of  Bristol,  who  departed  in 
1729.  left  as  a  portion  of  her  estate  a 
negro  woman  and  a  book  called  the 
"New  England  Fire  Brand."  Silver 
watches  were  quite  common,  but  no 
gold  ones ;  prayer  books  occasionally 
appear  as  a  reminder  that  there  were 
among  the  first  comers  some  members 
of  the  old  Church  of  England.  From 
the  earliest  times  nearly  everybody 
seems  to  have  owned  a  "looking 
glass."  or  seeing  glass  as  it  is  some- 
times called  ;  nothing  is  noted  oftener 
than  this  minister  to  human  vanity. 
To  see  ourselves  as  others  see  us  has 
been  the  innocent  desire  of  men  and 
women  of  every  age.  A  thin  streak  of 
worldly  pride  runs  through  the  con- 
stitution of  the  wisest  and  the  best- 
No  better  index  to  the  qua'ut  cos- 
tumes of  the  departed  century  can  be 
found  than  almost  any  of  the  ancient 
in\entories.  From  material  contained 
there  the  a])pearance  of  the  colonial 
citizen  could  be  sharply  pictu.red.  as 
far  as  it  is  possible  to  reproduce  him 
merely  by  the  garments  he  wore-  It  is 
sufificienl  for  illustration  to  give  a  sin- 
gle instance.  Conrad  Leiser  died  in 
Warwick,  in  1778.  His  ])ersonal  appar- 
el consisted  of  a  fine  hat.  a  scarlet 
colored  velvet  jacket,  blue  velvet 
breeches,  and  a  blue  cloth  great  coat. 
That    he    was   a  soldier  of  the  Revolu- 


112 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


tion  is  shown  by  the  item  of  "a  one- 
lialf  interest  of  a  wagon,  horses  and 
gears,  now  with  the  Continental 
armies,  also  pay  from  the  twenty-first 
of  May,  last."  Although  the  dress  of 
the  Colonists  was  in  the  main  exceed- 
ingly plain  and  home-spun,  there  were 
occasional  exceptions.  Parson  Lind- 
sey,  as  he  was  called,  a  clergyman, 
who  died  in  Hensalem,  in  1778.  worth 
over  $20,000  in  i)ersonal  property,  a 
very  large  estate  in  that  day,  owned 
among  other  things  a  good  beaver  hat, 
inventoried  at  $fiO. 

In  further  illustration  of  the  value 
of  out  of  the  way  and  seemingly  triv- 
ial sources  of  historical  information, 
the  old  browned  and  mildewed  news- 
])aper  is  not  to  be  despised,  particular- 
ly that  much  neglected  department,' 
the  advertising  column.  These  adver- 
tisements have  much  significance  be- 
cause they  come  fresh  from  the  people 
themselves.  Thus  in  some  of  the  stray 
numbers  of  the  old  Pennsylvania 
(  iazette.  of  1752,  1  find  the  quaint  ad- 
\  ertisements  of  the  ancient  Philadel- 
phia inns  where  the  farmer  of  a  cen- 
tury and  a  half  ago  received  hospitali- 
ty on  the  market  days :  "The  Square 
and  Compass,"  "The  Trumpet,''  "The 
Wanderer,"  The  Queen  of  Hungary," 
"The  Cross  Cut  Saw,"  on  Second 
street.  "The  Hand  Saw"  also  on  Sec- 
ond street  near  lUack  Horse  alley, 
"The  I>ird  and  Snow,"  "The  ]\[ortar 
and  Dove."  In  the  same  sheet,  under 
date  of  1750,  there  is  an  advertisement 
^vhich  exhibits  the  various  articles  of 
costume  worn  in  Bticks  county:  "Ran 
away  from  the  subscriber  of  Falls 
township  a  lust}'  yoimg  negro  fellow 
named  Frank.  Took  with  him  some 
clothes,  such  as  a  striped  jacket  and 
l^reeches,  white  shirts  and  white  stock- 
ings, a  light-colored  frock  coat  lined 
with  green,  white  metal  buttons,  blue 
camlet  breeches  and  a  large  pair  of 
carved  buckles-"  In  the  same  paper  is 
a  curious  account  of  tlie  robbery  of  the 
house  of  Benjamin  Franklin.  The  list 
of  goods  stolen  shows  the  articles  of 
ai^parel  among  the  well-to-do  orders 
of  the  po])ulation   of  the  period.     The 


articles  were  "a  double  neck-'ace  of 
gold  beads,  a  woman's  long  scarlet 
cloak  with  a  double  cape,  a  woman's 
gown  of  printed  cotton  of  the  sort 
called  brocade  point,  the  ground  dark 
with  large  red  roses  and  large  red  and 
yellow  flowers,  a  pair  of  woman's 
stays  covered   with   white  tabby." 

These  minute  details  are  commonly 
recorded  as  beneath  the  dignity  of  his- 
tory, yet  they  frequently  throw  a 
broad  beam  on  the  simple  facts  of 
former  lives  and  show  what  our  fore- 
fathers and  foremothers  were  about  in 
the  humdrum  of  every-day  business. 
The  old  newspapers  reflect,  too,  the 
laxity  of  public  morals  in  certain  dir- 
ections. Then,  as  now,  inventive 
genius  was  busy  working  out  the  an- 
cient seductive  problem— that  old,  old 
idea  of  getting  something  for  nothing. 
One  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  in 
])lain.  plodding  Pennsylvania,  it  took 
the  form  of  the  lottery  scheme.  The 
])ritici|)le  which  is  now  indirectly  fos- 
tered in  the  Church-fair  grab-bag,  the 
prize  cofifee  package,  and  the  "obacco 
plug  that  conceals  a  gold  dollar,  then 
found  expression  in  the  downright 
out-and-out  lottery,  managed  by  the 
best  men  of  the  vicinage.  Tiie  old 
sheets  are  full  of  ])ersuasive  promises 
of  sudden  wealth.  Many  of  these 
schemes  were  enterprises  to  assist  in 
the  erection  of  churches  and  other  re- 
ligious objects.  In  the  Pennsylvania 
Gazette  of  Jime  22,  1751.  there  is  an 
announcement  of  a  lottery  for  raising 
four  thousand  pounds,  $20,000.  if  ex- 
pressed in  present  money,  for  the 
building  of  a  church  in  Trenton  as  it 
was  then  called.  This  drawing  was 
ad\ertised  to  take  place  at  the  house 
of  ?\athaniel  Parker,  in  Bucks  cciunty- 
Another  field  of  operations  for  such 
a  society  is  the  ])reservation  of  genea- 
logical data.  A  record  of  marriages, 
deaths  and  births  should  be  kept. 
^^'ithout  the  mandate  of  the  law  such 
matters  would  be  reported  to  the 
society.  It,  therefore,  should  be  made 
the  duty  of  some  member  to  preserve 
this  material  from  the  resources  at  his 
command.         ?\larriages      and      deaths 


HOW  TO  SEARCH   FOR  HISTORICAL  MATERIAL 


113 


could  1)c  recorded  with  a  near  ap- 
j^roach  to  fidelity  from  slips  regular- 
ly taken  from  the  county  papers,  al- 
phabetically arranged.  The  Montgom- 
ery society  has  already  taken  steps 
to  this  end.  The  immediate  value  of 
such  a  record  would  not  be  apparent, 
I)Ut  the  society  is  working  for  poster- 
ity, and  such  a  record,  if  faithfully 
carried  forward,  would  in  due  time 
become  a  valuable  aid  in  genealogical 
investigations.  A  coj^y  of  all  the 
jjrinted  genealogies  of  Bucks  county 
families  should  be  deposited  in  the 
society's  archives,  as  well  as  copies  of 
records  of  Monthly  ^leetings.  or  other 
records  which  assist  in  tracing  ances- 
try. 

No  community  with  any  pretensions 
to  intelligence  will  neglect  the  mater- 
ials of  its  history.  Every  scrap  of  in- 
formation which  adds  in  the  slighest 
<legree  to  the  sum  of  our  knowledge 
nf  former  times  is  worth  preserving. 
A  man  with  a  keen  scent  of  h'^orical 
data,  if  turned  loose  to-day  in  many 
an  attic  in  Plumstead,  would  exhume 
enough  to  keep  him  busy  for  a  long 
lime.  It  is  this  attention  to  what  the 
old  school  of  historians  regarded  as 
trifles  light  as  air,  which  constitutes 
the  charm  of  F"roude.  Macauley,  and 
Green.  They  ha\e  much  to  say  about 
the  great  crisis  in  the  fate  of  England, 
but  they  do  not  omit  to  tell  us  all  they 
know  about  the  people  of  England  in 
every  relation.  \\>  talk  with  them, 
sup  with  them,  work  with  them  in  the 
fields  and  with  them  dash  over  the 
moors  with  the  hounds.  We  go  down 
to  London  and  see  it  as  the  Londoner 
of  old-time  himself  saw  it — -a  ith  its 
streets  unlighted.  the  water  dashing 
on  the  i)assenger  from  the  house-tops. 
We  hear  the  night  watch  calling  the 
hour.  We  wade  to  the  knees  in  the 
mud  ui  the  streets  and  hear  the  carter 
swearing  at  the  tugging  horses.  The 
popular  historian  of  our  day  is  the 
chronicler  of  the  little  things  which 
make    i\\)    the    complex    things  ne  call 


society  at  any  given  period.  These 
trivial  matters  were  mere  dust  in  the 
balance  before  history  became  a 
science.  Under  the  Wizard  tcnich  of 
the  true  historian  wdio  knows  to  mold 
his  clay,  these  insignificant  things, 
formerly  i)assed  by  as  too  gross  and 
\ulgar  to  record,  are  made  chief 
stones  in  the  fair  edifice  they  have 
built  to  the  memory  of  the  departed 
ages. 

It  is  a  matter  of  congratulation  that 
attentive  audiences  are  willmg  to 
come  together  frequently  in  different 
parts  of  the  country  to  listen  to  histor- 
ical sketches,  to  hear  all  that  may  be 
said  upon  the  subjects  which  appeal 
only  to  the  veneration  felt  for  the  fad- 
ing past,  out  of  which  we  all  sprang 
and  into  which  we  shall  sink.  Every 
man  who  is  loyal  to  his  race  has  some 
interest  in  ancestry  and  the  circum- 
stances which  surrounded  their  lives. 
We  all  in  some  degree  feel  the  historic 
sense  and  own  the  spell  which  links 
us  to  other  days.  The  noblest  spirits 
have  acknowledged  this  feeling.  Thou- 
sands of  our  ancestors  lived  their  al- 
lotment of  years,  did  nothing  that 
made  their  lives  memorable  beyond 
the  daily  duty  and  then  dropped  out 
of  sight.  Of  this  average  life  of  ordi- 
nary men  and  women  in  former  times 
little  is  said  in  the  books.  It  is  pos- 
sible to  read  many  pages  of  history,  as 
it  was  once  written,  and  still  know 
little  of  what  we  most  desire  to  know 
of  thc^se  who  have  gone  before-  Much 
is  said  about  certain  great  names 
thrown  on  the  surface  of  affairs  in 
political  convulsions,  but  of  the  people 
themselves,  of  the  vast  masses  of  the 
common  peojile.  of  their  joys  and  sor- 
rows, their  ])leasure  and  pain,  their 
work  and  play,  how  meagre,  crude 
and  inade(|uate  is  the  story? 

"How  small  of  all  that  human  hearts  en- 
dure 

That  part  which  kings  or  laws  can  tause  or 
cure." 


114 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


It  is  the  province  of  these  local 
societies  to  go  down  to  these  details 
of  ancestral  life  which  have  formed 
the  back-ground  to  the  great  events 
which  all  men  know,  to  levy  contribu- 
tions upon  every  source  of  iriforma- 
mation,  so  that  it  may  be  possible  to 


reproduce  the  old  ways,  habits,  man- 
ners and  tone  of  life,  contrast  it  with 
the  average  levels  of  our  own  day, 
and  determine  how  far  we  have  jour- 
neyed on  the  road  to  the  regained 
Eden. 


To  the  Memory  of  Henry  A.  Schuler 

By  Prof.  Arcadius  Avellanus,  Middletown,  Conn. 


d 

J 

w 

UST  about  within  a  day 
before  the  anniversary  of 
the  death  of  Mr.  H.  A. 
Schuler,  the  14th  of  Jan- 
uary, have  I  recei\  ed  the 
first  intimation  of  that 
very  sad  event,  and  it 
has  touched  me  ver}" 
deeply.  For.  although,  I  was  not  an 
intimate  friend  of  his,  still,  we  were 
acquainted  for  several  years;  and  Mr. 
Schuler,  whenever  he  chanced  to  come 
to  Philadelphia,  where  I  was  then  liv- 
ing, would  always  call  and  spend  half 
an  hour  with  me,  talking  over  matters 
in  which  we  both  were  so  much  inter- 
ested, the  affairs  and  the  destinies  of 
the   Latin   language. 

Our  relations  were  purely  literary, 
but  of  the  character,  in  Avhich.  I  ven- 
ture to  say,  he  was  more  profoundly 
interested  than  in  anything,  excepting, 
l)erha;)s.  his  immediate  family  affairs, 
and  his  living. 

1  had  started  in  said  city,  189^,  a  lit- 
tle Latin  magazine,  the  TVSCVLVAL 
for  the  propagation  of  a  practical  and 
useful  knowledge  of  the  Latin  lan- 
guage, for  I  had  made  the  experience 
that  professional  people  "in  this  coun- 
try knew  very  little,  and  a  shabby 
kind  of  Latin,  and  the  numerous 
schools  were  not  al)le  to  furnish  a  ser- 
viceable kind.  cri]jpling  thereby  the 
efficiency  of  all  people  in  the  learned 
l)rofessions.  The  next  year  following, 
T  started  another  small  periodical,  the 
PRAF.CO  LATIN VS,  to  fight  for 
those  principles.  Looking  back  into 
in\'  records,  I  find  Mr.  Schider's  name 


first  entered  as  a  subscriber  on  Oct. 
5th,  1895,  for  one  periodical,  and,  on 
Xov.  16  1896,  for  the  other.  He  furn- 
ished printed  and  gummed  labels 
bearing  his  name  and  address,  making 
his  name  very  conspicuous  on  the  list. 
In  matter  of  payment  he  was  more 
than  punctual.  Neither  was  his  name 
ever  dro]iped  up  to  the  last,  Sept.. 
1902,  when  PRAECO  LATINUS  was 
discontinued. 

As  the  Editor  of  the  Welt  Bote,  he 
often  referred  to  my  work,  staunchly 
supporting  the  principles  proclaimed 
by  me,  that  Latin  must  be  restored  to 
its  rightful  ]K)sition  as  a  universal 
language  of  scholarly  people  the 
world  o\-er,  as  it  used  to  be  for  2,000 
years,  instead  of  attempting  to  devise 
clumsy  makeshifts,  called  artificial 
languages ;  that,  smce  it  was  taught  in 
all  secondare'  schools  in  all  the  civil- 
ized countries,  there  is  nothing  mc^re 
needed  than  to  adopt  colloquial  meth- 
ods, and  the  teachers  should  qualify 
themsehes  b}-  summer  courses  in 
s')oken  Latin.  He  used  to  point  out 
that  tlie  present  methods  disgust  the 
students,  parents  and  the  better  teach- 
ers alike  ;  that  the  ethical,  literary  and 
didactical  treasures  (^f  the  immortal 
autliors  are  being  sacrificed  to  philo- 
logical drudgery,  and  in  the  end  the 
students  have  accpiired  neither  Latin, 
nor  mental,  ethical,  and  literary  cul- 
ture, nor  anything  practical  that 
would  imj^rove  the  professional  man. 
and  human  s(KMety  at  large.  He  would 
can\ass  i)ersonally ;  and  in  one  in- 
stance he  succeeded  in  interesting  the 


TO  THE  MEMOIIY  OF  HENRY  A.  SCHULER 


115 


Latin  facility  of  Miilenberg  College, 
and  secured  12  subscribers  for  tlie 
Latin  periodical. 

Moreover,  he  Avas  not  only  a  good 
subscriber  and  periodical-propagan- 
dist he  was  also  a  steady  and  very  de- 
sirable contributor  to  the  columns  of 
Praeco  Latinus.  He  used  to  trans- 
late h}'nins,  sliort  poems,  or  other 
matter  for  the  periodical,  and  later  on 
he  started  a  serial  of  moral  and  ethi- 
cal tales,  calling  them  Fabellae  Ethi- 
cae,  which  he  continued  to  the  very 
last.  In  our  last  issue  we  published 
one  luidcr  the  ca])tion,  Historia  Sanc- 
tae  Euphrosinae:  scripsit  Anatole 
France;  Latine  vertit  H.  A.  S.  (for 
he  ne\-er  signed  his  full  name  under 
any  article  or  contribution.)  It  is  a 
pity  that  we  did  not  com])lete  the 
stor}".  the  periodical  l^eing  discon- 
tinued with   that  number. 

Many  of  our  readers  both  at  home 
and  in  foreign  countries  would  fre- 
c|uently  inquire  by  letters  concerning 
the  identity  of  H."'  A.  S.,  all  well  lik- 
ing his  gentle  style  and  contributions, 
which  were  in  ver}'  clear,  simple 
Latin,  easily  read  by  even  a  beginner, 
and  seldom  recjuiring  the  blue  pencil, 
and  externally  too.  all  were  written  in 
neat  and  careful  hand  on  fine  note 
paper;  therefore  I  thought  best  to 
publish  this  portrait  with  a  brief  sketch 
of  tlu'  faxorite  writer.  This  I  did.  I 
ex])lained  to  our  readers  the  nearly 
unbelievable  career  he  has  made  in 
studying  Latin  almost  without  books 
and  teachers.  It  certainly  was  a  fact, 
that  he  did  not  have  clear  conceptions 
on  man\-  an  elementary  matter,  even 
such  as  ])ronunciation.  until  he  got 
hold  of  my  collocpiial  manuals.  These 
opened  his  eyes.  lUit  particularly 
was  he  delighted  with  my  easy  and 
lively  manner  that  I  would  hit  back  at 
I'rench.  S])anish.  Catalan.  Italian  and 
other  ]>erodicals.  their  editors,  our 
critics.  (.K:c..  who.  either  in  the  meshes 
of       foolish       "world-languages."       or 


blinded  by  School  -  Ciceronianism. 
knew  nothing  of  fluent  Latin,  would 
assail  us.  Then  1  would  pour  out  a 
volley  of  information  mixed  with  rid- 
icule, for  the  great  delight  of  my 
readers  and  disci])les.  Such  occasions 
were  veritable  treats  for  our  noble- 
minded   friend,   Mr.    .Sdiuler. 

(  )n  one  occasion  1  printed  a  ioke  at 
Mr.  Schuler's  expense,  saying  that  he 
learned  Latin  to  pronounce  like  the 
following:  Tojs  nopis  hec  otzia  fett- 
zit.  l-'or  quite  a  time  he  covdd  not 
make  out  what  I  meant.  In  another 
issue  I  ridiculed  the  "English  Meth- 
od" writing  Tityri  tyu  patchuli 
recjubans  sab  tigmini  fedshaj ;  he 
at  once  understood  the  reference, 
and  wrote  to  me  good  naturedly  that 
he  did  not  learn  that  i)ronunication  I 
had  attributed  to  him.  but  the  Eng- 
lish pronunciation,  b}'  which  h.e  used 
to  say:  oshiae  feesit.  At  that  time  he 
was  already  solid  on  (Uir  Imperial 
Roman  j)ronunciation,  which  I  have 
been  propagating,  and  which  I  still 
maintain  in  m\'  i)resent  publication  of 
the    PALAESTRA. 

Whilst  Mr.  Schuler  was  at  a  disad- 
\antage  owing  to  his  early  lack  of 
opixirtunities  when  most  needed,  and 
under  thtise  disadvantages  he  could 
not  develop  into  a  courageous,  dash- 
ing young  man.  a  would-be  Napoleon; 
still.  I  am  of  the  o])inion  that,  had  he 
not  been  bi)rn  a  genius,  he  could  never 
ha\e  emerged  to  the  level  of  mental 
and  moral  culture,  that  opened  the 
way  for  him  to  literary  fame  aad  rep- 
utation, far  beyond  the  limits  and 
boundaries  of  this  geographically 
great  country;  he  would  have  remain- 
ed on  the  level  of  ordinary  farmers 
and  laborers  or  mechanics.  He  was, 
in  my  o])inion.  a  dwarfed  X'apoleon,  if 
not  with  the  sword,  with  his  literarv 
and  humane  talents. 

May  his  memory  be  cherish.ed  and 
ma\-  it   ]i\e  while  letters  last. 


116 


Hans  Herr  and  His  Descendants 


]\I  O  N  G  the  noteworthy 
books  issued  during  1908 
is  Theodore  W.  Herr's 
Genealogical  Record  of 
Rev.  Hans  Herr  and  His 
Lineal  Descendants. 
This  is  an  illustrated 
book  of  785  pages,  7x9 
inches,  substantially  bound  in  dark 
green  buckram.  The  book  (price 
$10,00)  may  be  ordered  of  the  compil- 
er and  publisher,  Theodoie  W.  Herr, 
Lancaster,  Pa.  The  Daily  New  Era 
said  about  the  book,  'Tt  is  difficult  to 
reaHze  the  amount  of  wide  and  pains- 
taking research  in  a  hundred  localities, 
coverng  many  States,  required  to 
collect  the  names,  facts  and  figures 
here  gathered,  arranged  and  indexed. 
What  is  more,  it  has  been,  as  all  such 
work  generall}'  is,  a  labor  of  love,  as 
no  adequate  recompense  ever  rewards 
the  laborious  research  of  the  author." 

A  prominent  historian  in  an  article 
on  The  Pennsylvania-Dutch  says: — 
"Some  of  the  children  of  Pennsylva- 
iiia-Dutch  families  find  their  way  into 
the  great  world  at  last.  (See  THE 
PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN  V  o  1. 
VII 1,  p.  540.)  This  book  is  evidence 
that  the  sons  of  the  sturdy  German 
l^ioneers  have  g(^ne  forth  into  all  the 
world,  that  they  are  not  localized  nor 
tied  to  the  maternal  proverbial  apron 
strings. 

We  would  greatly  appreciate  a 
pa])er  by  the  author  on  "Illbstrious 
Sons  of  Hans  Herr"  giving  biograph- 
ical notes  of  those  who  rose  to  posi- 
tions of  public  trust  and  honor. 

Mr.  Herr  by  his  sweat,  toil  and  self- 
sacrifice  has  reared  an  imperishable 
monument  to  himself  and  his  pious 
ancestry. 

We  quote  the  following  from  the 
introduction  to  the  book. 

"Obtaining  the  data  and  information 
required  to  enable  the  undersigned 
com])iler  to  haxc  tlie  genealogical  rec- 


ord of  Rev.  Hans  Herr  and  his  de- 
scendants published,  was  commenced 
in  1850,  with  the  assistance  of  Milton 
B.  Eshleman,  an  honored  cousin,  long 
since  deceased.  Both  spent  several 
years  very  industriously  in  visiting' 
the  oldest  residents  of  Lancaster,  Dau- 
phin and  Cumberland  counties  in 
Pennsylvania,  where  most  of  the 
descendants  then  lived.  Information 
was  obtained  from  them,  their  rela- 
tives, and  neighbors,  of  all  they  could 
furnish  or  remember,  relating  to  resi- 
dences, births,  marriages  and  deaths 
of  Rev.  Hans  Herr  and  his  descend- 
ants, and  of  all  the  persons  any  of 
them  married,  and  the  names  of  the 
ijarents  of  the  latter. 

All  old  papers,  Bible  records  deeds, 
mortgages,  wills,  and  much  memoran- 
da were  carefully  examined  as  well  as 
tombstones  in  many  of  the  old  burying 
grounds.  All  was  verified  by  family 
records,  traditions,  memories,  etc.,  as 
fully  as  possible.  Many  old  records  in 
Philadelphia,  Harrisburg,  Lancaster, 
and  West  Chester,  were  investigated 
to  ascertain  what  lands  they  owned 
and  last  places  of  residences.  Much 
time  was  occupied  and  expense  incur- 
red in  persistent  efforts  to  obtain  the 
fullest  reliable  data  of  these  early  set- 
tlers, as  they  and  their  companions 
were  the  first  white  settlers  in  what  is 
now  Lancaster  county,  Penna.  Great 
care  was  taken  to  insure  absolutely 
correct  information  as  complete  as 
possible  of  these  early  pioneers,  but  it 
has  been  impossible  to  obtain  much 
desirable  matter.  It  is  to  be  hoped  this 
publication  will  be  the  means  of  call- 
ing out  much  that  is  now  wanting  of 
names,  dates  and  addresses. 

It  should  be  understood,  that  this 
Rec(^rd  is  not  a  history,  but  a  genea- 
l(igical  record  of  names,  last  resi- 
dences, dates  of  births,  marriages  and 
deaths  and  names  oi  parents  of  the 
consorts. 


H\NS    HERR   AND    HIS    DESCENDANTS 


117 


Mans  Merr  was  l)orn  in  1639,  i" 
Switzerland,  at,  or  near  Zurich,  Can- 
ton of  Zurich,  became  a  member  of  the 
Mennonite  religious  society  and  a 
prominent  minister  of  that  denomina- 
tion. 

W'lien  reli<;"ious  ])ersecution  became 
unendurable,  many  of  his  congrega- 
tion emigrated  with  him  to  the  Pala- 
tinate in  (jerman}-,  vvdiich  was  then 
governed  by  a  ruler  who  promised 
them  ])rotection  and  religious  free- 
dom. This  was  satisfactory  u  itil  the 
Palatinate  fell  into  the  hands  of  other 
rulers,  when  the  Mennonites  were 
again  subject  to  severe  religious  perse- 
cution. 

When  this  occurred,  a  number  of 
them  visited  Penn  in  London,  in  1707, 
and  arranged  terms  with  him  to  colo- 
nize a  portion  of  what  is  now  Lancas- 
ter county,  and  in  1709  Hans  Herr, 
John  R.  Piundley,  Hans  Mylin.  Martin 
Kendig,  Jacob  Miller.  Hans  I'^mk. 
Martin  Oberholtzer,  Wendel  Bowman 
and  others  bought  10,000  acres  of  land 
on  Pequea  creek.  A  warrant  was  is- 
sued for  the  land  Oct.  10,  1710,  and  it 
was  surveyed  Oct.  23,  1710.  The  tra- 
dition, which  is  no  doubt  true  is,  that 
these  people  held  a  conference  .  ■  to 
what  steps  should  be  taken  to  inform 
their  relatives  and  friends  left  behind 
in  Europe  of  their  opinions  and  ex- 
pectations, and  it  was  determined  by 
lot  that  Hans  Herr,  their  revered  min- 
ister, should  return,  explain  the  situa- 
tion and  the  great  advantages  of  emi- 
gration, and  luring  with  him  those  he 
could  induce  to  come.  There  is  a  tra- 
dition that  the  "lot"  fell  upon  Christ- 
ian Herr.  son  of  Mans  Herr.  instead  of 
on  his  father,  but  it  does  not  seem  to 
be  sup]>orted  by  historical  evidence. 
Hans  consented  to  go.  but  many  ar- 
gued that  their  beloved  pastor,  head 
and  leader,  then  over  seventy  years  of 
age,  should  not  leave  them  at  this 
juncture,  and  at  last  it  was  agreed  that 
iiis  brother-in-law,  Martin  Kendig. 
should  go.  -Kccordingly,  without  delay, 
he  embarked  for  Europe  and  returned 
in  1710  with  six  sons  and  one  daughter 
of  the  venerable  Hans  Merr.  and  mem- 


bers of  the  families  of  those  who  had 
come  over  in  1709.  John  Houser,  John 
Rachman.  Hans  Tshantz,  Jacob 
Weaver,  Henry  Funk  and  othe:"s.  also 
came  with  them.  The  six  sons  oi  Hans 
Herr,  John,  Emanuel,  Abraham, 
Christian,  Henry  and  Samuel ;  and  the 
daughter  Maria,  were  married  and  had 
families.  Tradition  asserts  that  several 
of  his  sons  and  daughters  remained  in 
Europe.  One  son,  at  least,  went  with 
a  colcMiy  to  London,  England,  in  1709, 
or  about  that  date,  and  shortly  after 
settled  in  Ireland.  Some  of  his  descen- 
dants came  to  the  L'nited  States  about 
fifty  years  ago. 

The  people  who  came  to  what  is 
now  Lancaster  coimty.  Pa.,  in  1709, 
settled  in  Lampeter.  Manor,  Pequea 
and  Strasburg  townships.  From  this 
beginning  of  The  Pioneer  Settlers, 
they  and  their  descendants  now  num- 
ber many  thousands  of  the  best  native 
])opulation  of  this  county  and  other 
sections  oi  the  Cnited  Statv.->.  also 
many  in  other  counties.  They  com- 
prise the  families  of  Allen.  Baer,  Bair, 
Bare,  Bear,  Bachman,  Baldwin,  Barr, 
Bau  man.  Bom  gard  ner,  Bow  man, 
Brackbill,  Breneman,  P>rown,  Brinton. 
Brubaker.  Piryan,  Buckwalter,  Burk- 
holder,  Carjjenter.  Charles,  Clark. 
Davis,  DuBois.  Eaby.  Edwards.  Ellis. 
Erisman,  Eshleman,  Evans,  Ferree. 
Forrer.  Foulk,  Frick,  Fry,  Fulton. 
Funk.  Galbraith.  Gall.  Gardner,  Good, 
Graeff.  Grant,  Gray,  G"aybill,  Greider, 
Groff,  Grove.  Haines,  Harnish,  Harris. 
Hartman,  Hay,  Hendrickson,  Herr, 
Mershey.  Hess.  HooA-er.  Hostetter. 
Houser,  Howard,  Plowell.  Muber.  Im- 
mel.  Johns.  Jones,  Kaufifman,  Keagy, 
Kendig,  Kendrick,  King.  ,  Kreider. 
Landis.  Leaman.  Lefever.  Lemon. 
Levis,  Lewis.  Lightner.  Lines.  Lin- 
ville.  Lloyd.  Long.  Martin.  Mason. 
McClure,  '  :\liddleton.  Miller.  Moore. 
Moser,  Mover,  Musselman,  Musser. 
Myers,  M}lin,  Xeff,  Xewcomer.  Niss- 
ley.  Patterson.  Pickel.  Price.  Rife, 
Robinson.  Row  e.  Kulter.  Sample. 
Seldomridge.  Shank.  Slienk.  Smith, 
.snaxely.  Stehman,  Steinman,  Stewart. 
.Stonoman.      Swarr,      Swope.      Taylor. 


118 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Thompson,  Walker,  Weaver,  White, 
Whiteside,  Wilkins,  Williams,  Wit- 
mer,  Zorty,  and  many  others,  and  are 
scattered  all  over  the  Uiiited  States 
and  elsewhere. 

The  illustrations  of  the  Portrait  and 
Coat  of  Arms  used  in  this  record  w^ere 
made  originally  for  the  Hans  Herr 
Memorial  Association   in    1895. 

Hans  Herr  settled  near  Lampeter, 
and  later  lived  with  his  son,  Rev. 
Christian  Herr,  near  Willov^^  Street, 
where  the  latter  built  a  large  stone 
dwelling  in  1719,  which  is  still  stand- 
ing. This  house  is  a  most  interesting 
specimen  of  architecture,  when  it  is 
remembered  that  it  was  erected  in  a 
location  that  only  a  few  years  before 
was  in  the  midst  of  a  vast  forest,  far 
from  sawmills  or  other  facilities  for 
obtaining  materials.  Here  the  ven- 
erable Hans  Herr  died  in  1725.  His 
children  settled  in  Strasburg,  Lam- 
]>eter,  Lancaster  and  Manor  Town- 
ships, in  Lancaster  county,  Pa.  Their 
descendants  are  now  scattered  in  all 
parts  of  the  United  States  and  in 
other  countries.  Many  became  prom- 
iient  as  ministers,  physcians.  lawyers, 
statesmen,  civil  and  mechanical  engi- 
geers  and  other  professions.  A  number 
settled  early  in  Virginia.  John  Herr 
(897)  went  to  York  county.  Pa.,  and 
afterwards,  about  1830,  settled  in  Ken- 
tucky. His  descendants,  who  are  nu- 
merous, became  famous  for  their  fine 
horses. 

Benjamin  Herr  (80),  in  1789.  went 
to  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  became  the  owner 
of  Herr's  Island,  in  the  Allegheny  riv- 
er. The  descendants  are  numerous ; 
many  settled  in  Kansas  and  other 
western  States. 


Rev.  John  Herr  (494)  became  bishop 
of  the  Reformed  Mennonite  denomina- 
tion, which  he,  with  others,  organized. 
It  is  now  composed  of  many  members. 

John  Herr  (160)  went  to  Red  Haw, 
O.,  where  he  and  his  wife  were  both 
killed  by  a  tree  blown  down  in  a 
storm,  falling  on  their  cairiage.  Their 
descendants  settled  in  Indiana,  Kan- 
sas,  Alissouri  and  Wyoming. 

John  Strohm  (523),  and  A.  Herr 
Smith  (1005),  were  members  of  Con- 
gress, U.  S,  Dr.  John  H.  Musser 
(4899),  of  Philadelphia,  was  lately 
president  of  the  American  Medical 
Association  of  U.  S.  John  Neff  (431) 
became  a  prominent  Mormon,  his 
numerous  descendants  are  mostly  in 
Utah.  Descendants  of  Henry  Forrer 
( 1317)  settled  mostly  in  Ohio  and 
Nebraska.  John  W.  Forney  (2164). 
of  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  was  a  celebrated 
journalist;  the  descendants  of  his 
father,  Peter  Forney  (649)  are  mostly 
in  Washington,  D.  C,  and  in  Phila- 
delphia. Harrisburg  and  Lebanon. 
Pa.  The  descendants  of  Abraham 
Frantz  (2433)  are  scattered  in  Penn- 
sylvania. Maryland  and  elsewhere. 
Abraham  Groff  (665)  has  many  de- 
scendants in  Pennsylvania.  Maryland 
and  in  Washington,  D.  C.  John 
Eshleman  (667)  has  descendants  in 
Pennsylvania  and   Iowa. 

This  list  might  be  continued  indefi- 
nitely, suffice  it  to  say,  many  have  ac- 
quired eminence  in  all  parts  of  the 
world  as  judges,  legislators  railroad- 
ers, inventors,  college  presidents,  in- 
structors, missionaries ;  etc.,  in  this 
cduntry,  in  Australia,  Mexico,  South 
America,  the  Philippines,  Egypt,  Si- 
beria, and  in  other  places  By  refer- 
ence to  the  Genealogical  Record,  the 
last  known  residence  or  address  of 
each  person  can  easily  be  found." 


119 


Johannes  Roth  (Rhodes) 


OR 

GLEANINGS    FROM    THE    LIFE    OF    A    PIONEER    SETTLER    ON    THE 

SCHUYLKILL 


By  Dr.  Wm.  Brower,  Spring  City,  Pa. 


■■  Let  not  anihition  mock  their  useful  toil 
Their  homely  joys  and  destiny  oDscure 

Xor  grandeui'  hear  with  a  disdainful  smile 
The  short  and  simple  annals  of  the  poor." 

— Gray. 

The  stream  of  ini  migration  from 
the  Palatinate,  pouring"  into  the  new- 
Colonies  from  1700  to  1730  numbered 
very  few  among  all  these  Ci^lonists 
of  men  rA  affluence  or  of  liberal  attain- 
ments.-\-ery  few  indeed  of  men  who 
like  Daniel  Francis  Pastorius,  son  of  a 
judge,  a  student  of  law  and  possessed 
of  ample  means  of  whom  so  much  has 
been  written  as  an  early  pioneer,  and 
truthfully  written  too,  as  a  type  of 
the  early  German  settler.  He  was  a 
type,  a  most  excellent  type  of  the  very 
best  that  German  culture  could  con- 
tribute to\\ard  the  founding  of  a  new 
world.  Put  he  was  not  a  type  of  my 
early  German  ancestry  as  they  landed 
upon  these  fertile  shores,  nor  was  he  a 
representati\'e  type  of  the  vast  hordes 
of  men  and  women  who  left  the  Pala- 
tinate for  the  purpose  of  establishing 
for  themsehes  homes  in  the  favored 
land  beyond  the  sea,  of  men  who  were 
pinched  with  penury-intired  to  hard- 
ships and  accustomed  to  rugged  toil — 
of  men  who  had  been  taught  in  the 
liard  school  of  stern  necessity,  but 
who  still  had  a  strong  and  an  abiding 
faith  in  the  watchful  care  of  a  Divine 
IVovidence. 

Of  such  was  Johamies  Roth  of  Hep- 
])enhcim  a  true  type.  Nearly  two  cen- 
turies ha\e  ])assed  since  Johannes 
Roth  of  llei)penheim  and  P)arbara 
Midler  of  Wachtenheim  on  the 
Ifaardt,  though  living  on  opposite 
sides  of  the  Rhine  and  at  a  consider- 
al)le  distance  from  each  other,  plighted 
their    \o\vs    and    in    keeping    with  the 


customs  of  the  Fatherland  ol  that 
day — an  official  announcement  was 
made  of  their  purpose  to  enter  into 
matrimony.  The  documents — for  there 
were  two —  are  still  well  preserved — 
they  were  executed  by  a  magistrate 
residing  in  their  respective  home  dis- 
tricts. Johannes  Roth's  document 
bears  date,  Dirmstein,  June  10,  1712. 
and  attested  by  P.  Trauer,  High 
Wormsian    Alagistrate.      (Seal) 

While  that  of  Barabra  Miiller.  is 
dated  at  Pfaltz,  June  11,  1712,  and 
attested  by  J.   W.  Schmitiehle.   (Seal) 

That  of  Johannes  Roth  reads  as 
follows  : 

In  all  sincerity  the  esteemed  bachelor 
.Johannes  Roth,  a  worthy  son  of  Peter  and 
Susanna  Roth  of  Heppenheim  has  entered 
into  an  honorable  engagement  with  Miss 
Barbara  IMiiller,  daughter  of  the  late  John 
(Hans)  and  Catherine  Miiller  of  Wachen- 
heim  on  the  Haardt.  The  same  in  conform- 
ity to  custom  is  announced  in  this  fitting 
manner.  Therefore  if  they  are  in  their 
usual  good  health,  they  will  be  proclaimed, 
and  no  objections  being  made,  subsequent- 
ly married. 

Dirmstein,  .June   10,   1712. 
High    Wormsian    Magistrate. 
P.   Trauer.   Seal 

That  of  l>arl)ara  Muller — reads  as 
follows — 

Whereas  Miss  Barbara  Muller  the  sur- 
viving and  legitimate  daughter  of  Hans 
Miiller  has  been  betrothed  to  the  honorable 
.Johannes  Itoth,  a  legitimate  son  by  descent 
of  Peter  Roth,  a  resident  of  Hep:)enheim. 
— The  same  is  hereby  announced  according 
to  the  custom  of  Holland  and  also  of  the 
Menonists.  Nothing  interfering  they  will  be 
proclaimed  and  no  objections  being  made, 
will   be    subsequently    married. 

Pfaltz — June  11.  1712. 
J.  W.  Schmitiehle.  Y.  G.  R. 

Se\en  }"ears  later  Johannes  Roth, 
now  an  assessor,  with  his  wife  !>arba- 
ra  and  their  children,  secure  their  pass 


120 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


for  a  journey  to  the  New  World.  This 
passport  dated  June  4,  1719,  hearing 
the  seal  of  the  City  of  Worms,  stamp- 
ed in  red  sealing-  wax,  is  still  as  legible 
as  though  executed  but  yesterday. 
The  passport   reads  as   follows : 

Whereas  the  bearer  of  this  Johannes 
floth  hitherto  an  assessor  and  Menonist, 
has  resolved  to  go  from  tliis  to  another 
place  and  applied  to  this  office  for  a  pass 
and  certified  attest  as  to  his  behavior  in 
this  community.  Therefore  it  is  attested  to 
him  herewith  upon  his  due  request,  that  he 
did  conduct  himself  during  his  stay  at  this 
place  as  becomes  a  good  subject,  and  we 
request  each  and  every  one  to  give  not  only 
full  credit  to  this  certificate,  but  also  to  let 
him  pass  with  wife  and  children  every- 
where free  and  unmolested  and  to  treat 
him  in  other  respects  with  a  kind  i-itention 
under  an   offer  of  reciprocal   service. 

A.  D.  1719. 
Seal 

,1.  W.  Astorff 
High    i)rincely   Episcopal 

Wormsian    Bailiif 
Attested   by   our   handwriting   and   official 
Dirmstein,   near  Worms. 

Johannes  Roth  in  addition  to  his 
passport  had  still  further  fortific'd  him- 
self for  his  proposed  journey  and  his 
sojourn  in  a  foreign  land,  by  the  re- 
ception of  an  official  letter  fr')m  the 
home  church  in  the  Palatinate.  The 
official  Brethren  of  the  Menonist 
Church  graciously  commended  them 
in  a  living  epistle  to  the  care  ami  help- 
ftilness  of  the  Menonists  in  Holland 
and  also  in  Pennsylvania.  In  this 
brotherly  letter  they  graciously  in- 
\  t)ke  the  divine  favor  and  the  bless- 
ing of  heaven  to  rest  upon  the:r  dear 
tirother  and  his  little  family. 

This  epistle  is  as  follows: 

We  servants  and  elders  of  the  church  in 
the  Palatinate,  with  all  Patriarch-Ser- 
vants and  Elders  in  Holland  and  Pennsyl- 
vania, wish  you  much  grace  and  miuiy  mer- 
cies from  God  our  Heavenly  Father,  and 
the  love  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  and  the 
co-wcrking  of  the  Holy  Ghosl — Amen.  John 
Roth  from  Dirmstein  with  his  wife  Barbara 
and  with  their  little  children  whose  desire 
and  pleasure  it  is  to  journey  to  Pennsyl- 
vania— therefore  we  wish  to  send  them 
greetings,— As  to  their  conduct  as  breth- 
ren and  sisters  we  can  say  nothing  else 
Than  that  we  are  satisfied  with  their 
honesty  and  sincerity,  and  therefore  re- 
quest of  all  to  whom  they  may  come  to 
recognize     and     receive    them    and    to    give 


them  all  good  advice.  To  hear  of  such  kind- 
ness will  give  us  much  pleasure.  We  all 
wish  you  often  many  hearty  greetings  and 
remain  your  faithful  friends  and  Brethren 
in  Jesus  Christ. 

Written   in   Pfaltz,  May   30,   1719. 

.  Jonas  Loheer 

Offstein    (Obersten.» 
Peter    Colb 
Velten   Hut   Dohl 
Hans  Buckholder 

Johannes  Roth  besides  his  family, 
had  a  traveling  companion  in  the  per- 
son of  Michael  Schmidt,  a  young- 
single  man.  Both  passes  were  execut- 
ed the  same  day.  and  by  the  same  of- 
ficial, and  both  passes  are  well  pre- 
served- These  two  passes  have  been 
handed  down  together  in  the  same 
family  line,  evidencing  the  fact  that 
Johannes  Roth  was  made  the  custo- 
dian  of  Michael   Schmidt's   pass. 

In  1720,  one  year  after  their  arrival 
on  the  Schuylkill  a  letter  is  received 
by  them,  from  Christian  Roth  of  Ilep- 
penheim  on  the  meadows,  a  brother  of 
Johannes  Roth.  This  letter  l^-etrays 
the  deep  concern  felt  in  the  old  home 
circle  for  the  welfare  of  the  brother 
who  had  journeyed  across  the  sea. 
They  anxiously  await  his  description 
of  the  voyage  to  the  new  world.  And 
are  eager  to  learn  whether  he  is  pleas- 
ed with  the  new  country  and  whether 
he  would  advise  them  to  come  over 
also.  A  deej)  piety  seems  to  pervade 
every  utterance. 

The  letter  is  as  follows: 

Heppenheim,   on   the   Meadows, 

May   6,   1720. 

A  friendly  greeting  with  leadings  of  love 
and  tenderness  to  you  my  loving  brother 
Johannes  Roth  and  family,  and  all  known 
friends  and  all  those  who  love  our  Lord 
.Jesus  Christ  immovable.  Amen.  I  Christ- 
ian Roth  of  Heppenheim.  on  the  Meadows, 
cannot  well  rest,  but  must  write  jou  my 
beloved  John  Roth,  with  this  good  oppor- 
tunity, how  it  is  with  me.  .^nd  therefore  I 
let  you  know  that  my  wife  died  and  the  two 
youngest  children.  The  little  one  a  week 
before  mother  and  the  other  one  a  week 
after  which  made  me  many  sorrows.  Yet 
through  all  this  I  praised  God  that  he  took 
them  out  of  this  wicked  world. 

In  all  this  mother  fell  asleep  peaceablv 
Else  otherwise,  I  and  the  rest  of  the  fam- 
ily are  all  well.  Praise  the  Lord!  To  see 
you  again  would  be  much  pleasing  to  me. 
Further,    I    let    you    know    that    a    child  of 


JOHANNES  ROTH    (RHODES) 


121 


Peter  Roth,  died  also,  and  his  other  circum- 
stances are  about  the  same  as  before.  All 
well,  praise  the  Lord!  His  wife  is  still  as 
weak  as  she  al\^ays  has  been.  They  also 
send  friendly  greetings  to  you,  and  to  tell 
known  friends.  And  herel)y  tell  us  how 
you  got  along  on  your  journey  and  what  it 
cost  you,  and  tell  us  how  you  like  it  in 
that  country  and  also  whether  you  could 
advise  me  to  come,  or  would  you  rather 
be  with  us  again?  Write  us  and  tell  us 
the  condition  of  the  land  and  place.  And 
when  you  write  we  hope  you  will  tell  us 
the  truth.  Further  I  do  not  see  any  neces- 
sity for  writing  any  more.  Furthermore  I 
and  children  send  you  happy  greetings 
and  commend  you  to  the  protection  of 
Almighty  G'od, — and  He  will  keep  you  and 
us  to  a  happy  end.  So  keep  us  in  memory 
in  your  prayers  as  you  know  it  ought  to 
l)e.  I  hope  not  to  forget  you,  God  helping 
me. 

This  letter  was  folded  and  sealed,  with- 
out an  envelope  and  addressed: 

This  letter  to  be  delivered  to 

•Johannes    Roth,   on 
The  Schulykill,  in  Pennsylvania. 

Again  in  1721  another  letter  is  re- 
ceived by  Johatmes  Roth  from  the 
liomehmd.  I'his,  too  from  his  brother 
Christian  Roth  of  Heppenheim,  on  the 
Meadows,  breathing  the  same  spiri- 
tual and  brotherly  love  that  character- 
ized his  former  epistle.  In  this  letter 
we  perceive  a  deep  yearning,  that  is 
truly  pathetic  to  hear  from  his  dear 
brother  in  far  off  America. 

The  letter  is  as  follows: 

Beloved  brother  .Johannes  Roth  it  is  im- 
possible for  me  to  leave  the  time  go  by 
without  writing  to  you.  If  this  letter  will 
reach  you  and  your  dear  friends  all  alive 
and  well  the  Almighty  alone  knows.  I 
have  wondered,  why  J  did  not  hear  any- 
rhing  from  you  as  yet.  If  you  wiote  me 
a  letter  and  I  did  not  get,  I  do  not  know 
but  it  may  have  been  so.  But  write  as 
soon  as  possible  so  I  may  know  how  you 
mid  your  beloved  in  a  foreign  land  are 
getting  along.  I  am  well,  but  it  was  the 
will  of  the  Almighty  to  take  away  my  be- 
loved wife  from  me  and  I  am  now.  a 
widower  over  a  year  and  a  quarter — and 
have  not  made  up  my  mind  yet  to  yet  mar- 
ried again  at  the  same  time  I  do  not  konw 
of  any  yet,  either.  J  will  now  put  you  and 
your  relatives  under  God's  care  and  I  will 
be  your  dear  brother  Christian  Roth.  With 
best  regards  to  you  and  ail  relations.  I 
hope  and  pray  that  we  may  meet  again,  but 
if  it  is  not  in  this  world  it  will  be  in 
heaven. 
.June.   1721.  CHRISTLVN   ROTH. 

Miller  and  a  citizen  of  Happen  heim. 


This  letter  was  addressed  as  fol- 
lows : 

This  letter  to  be  delivered  to  my  hearts 
beloved  brother,  Johannes  Roth,  in  Penn- 
sylvania. 

The  years  roll  by  and  once  more  in 
1726  another  letter  is  received  from 
the  old  home  on  the  Rhine. 

This  time  it  is  not  from  Christian 
Roth  of  Heppenheim,  but  from  his 
brother  Peter  Roth  of  Hessen.  This 
letter  speaks  of  the  home  life — the 
changes  that  time  has  wrought  in  the 
family  circle — first  of  all,  that  his 
brother  Christian,  the  miller  upon  the 
meadows,  he,  who  had  been  writing 
letters  to  him,  heretofore,  has  since 
passed  over  the  great  divide-  He  al- 
ludes to  the  distribution  of  his  de- 
t:eased  Brother's  estate,  and  speaks 
specifically  of  the  disposition  made  of 
the  old  mill  upon  the  meadow.  This 
letter  is  characterized  by  the  same  de- 
vout spirit  that  accentuated  the  form- 
er letters  of  his  brother.  We  are  here 
given  a  true  insight  into  the  pitiable 
condition  of  the  poor  Palatinates  and 
especially  of  those  who  were  adher- 
ents of  the  Mennonite  persuasion.  We 
can  readily  comprehend  their  ardent 
desire  to  emigrate  to  a  more  favored 
land. 

The  letter  is  as  follows — 

Hessen,  May  12,  1726. 

Peter  Roth,  of  Hessen  will  report 
briefly  how  we  are  getting  along.  I  am 
still  well  as  are  also  my  children.  My 
son  Johannes  is  married  to  the  daughter  of 
Caspar  Kramer,  Anna  Kramer  by  name  at 
Heppenheim.  Our  brother  Christian  Roth 
at  Heppenheim  on  the  meadow,  is  dead. 
His  children  are  all  well.  He  left  a  wife 
and  child,  to  her  is  bequeathed  the  widow- 
hood. The  'Mill'  besides  all  appurtenances 
is  transferred  to  Peter  Roth  for  the  sum 
of  twenty-three  hundred  florins  to  be  paid 
out  Ijy  him  to  his  brothers  and  sisters. 
Peter  Roth  is  married  to  a  daughter  of 
Christian   Bike,  Catherine   Bike   by   name. 

Johannes  Roth  of  Hessen.  How  I  wish 
to  be  with  you  besides  my  wife  and  chil- 
dren. We  would  have  come  to  you  if  we 
only  had  the  traveling  money.  We  are 
burdened  very  heavy.  We  must  pay  mili- 
tia tax,  palace  tax,  building  tax  and  month- 
ly tax  and  an  order  has  also  been  issued  by 
the  civil  authorities  to  sequester  the  prop- 
erty of  all  Menonists  for  their  earnest 
money. 


122 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


I  have  not  any  further  news  to  write. 
Be  greeted  by  us  all  with  the  peace  of  the 
All  Highest.  We  beseech  likewise  the 
Lord,  that  He  may  lend  us  His  aid,  as  we 
are   your   confederates   in   Baptism. 

PETER    ROTH. 

Address:    Deliver   this    letter    to     Johannes 
Roth  on  the  Schuylkill.     A  D.  1726. 

We  have  reason  to  believe  that  this 
letter  wa.s  intrusted  to  the  care  of  Hu- 
bert Brewer  to  be  dehvered  by  him  to 
Johannes  Roth. 

Hubert  C  rower  received  his  pass 
May  4th,  1726  in  the  Fakensteinen 
district,  near  Neuvvied,  at  a  date  cor- 
responding" very  closely  to  the  date  of 
Peter  Roth's  letter.  Reference  is  made 
to  this  Hubert  Brower,  whose  pass  is 
in  our  possession,  by  Dr.  J.  G.  De- 
Hoop  Schefifer  of  Amsterdam  Ar- 
ticle, Page  190,  Historical  and  Bio- 
graphical Sketches,  by  Hon.  Saml.  W. 
Pennypacker.  That  Hubert  Brower 
delivered  this  letter,  seems  to  be  cor- 
roborated by  stibscquent  events.  In 
the  years  intervening-  between  1726 
and  1740  the  mutations  of  time  had 
wrought  great  changes  in  the  families 
of  Johannes  Roth  and  Hubert  Brower 


on  the  Schuylkill,  Susanna  Roth,  wife 
of  Johannes  Roth  had  died.  Hubert 
Brower  had  also  passed  ^.way,  leaving 
his  widow  Annie  Brower,  to  marry 
Johannes  Roth.  In  an  abstract  from 
the  will  of  Johannes  Roth,  embodying 
also  a  marriage  agreement  with  Annie, 
his  second  wife,  provision  is  made  for 
his  own  children  as  well  as  for  the 
children  of  Annie  Brower,  who  be- 
came his  second  wife.  From  the  be- 
quests we  can  readily  see  that  Johan- 
nes Roth  had  been  prospered  during 
his  20  years  of  toil  upon  tlie  Schuyl- 
kill. 

But  enough  has  been  written  to  ex- 
emplify, to  some  extent,  the  course  of 
events  as  they  transpired  in  the  life  of 
this  humble,  yet  typical  Pennsylvania- 
German  ancestor,  and  through  him  as 
a  type,  we  have  portrayed  to  our 
minds  a  faint  picture  of  the  lives  of 
our  own  ancestors,  giving  us,  in  a 
meager  way,  glimpses  into  the 
thoughts  and  emotions  which  actuated 
their  very  being,  while  toiling  to  es- 
tablish homes  for  themselves  and 
their  children  ujjon  these  favored 
shores. 


Rev.  Lebrecht  Frederick  Herman,  D.  D. 

By  D.  Nicholas  Shaeffer,  Esq.,  Reading,  Pa. 


The  Reformed  Church  in  the  United 
States  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  Dr. 
Lebrecht  Frederick  Herman  for  hav- 
ing educated  prior  to  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Theological  Seminary  by 
the  Church,  young  men  for  the  min- 
istry. He  prepared  at  least  thirteen 
young  men,  among  whom  were  five 
of  his  own  sons,  for  the  holy  office. 
Nearly  all  of  these  men  became  earn- 
est and  faithful  laborers  in  the  Lord's 
\-ineyard.  Some  of  them  l)ecame 
prominent  in  the  Councils  of  the 
L'hiirch.  and   nearlv  all  of  them   made 


a    deep    and    lasting    impression    that 
has  been   felt  far  and  wide. 

Dr.  Herman  was  born  in  Gustein. 
in  the  principality  of  Anhalt,  Gothen, 
Germany,  on  October  9,  1761.  He  was 
a  son  of  ]jious  parents,  who  brought 
him  u])  in  the  faith  of  the  German 
Reformed  Church.  In  early  yotith  he 
was  sent  to  school  where  he  learned 
the  elements  of  useftd  knowledge. 
He  then  attended  the  school  connect- 
ed with  the  Orphans'  House  at  Halle 
for  a  period  of  six  years,  after  which 
he  took  a    course    of    three    years    in 


REV.    LEBRECHT   FREDERICK   HERMAN,   D.   D. 


123 


theology  in  the  University  of  the 
same  place.  When  he  had  finished 
his  course  of  stud}',  he  received  a 
call  as  assistant  pastor  to  the  City  of 
Bremen,  where  he  labored  for  three 
years. 

The  Reformed  Church  in  the  United 
States  was  still  a  missionary  chvirch 
under  the  care  and  control  of  the  Re- 
formed Synod  of  Holland.  In  1786, 
the  Synod  of  Holland  called  Dr.  Her- 
man to  go  to  Pennsylvania  to  assist 
in  supplying"  the  demand  for  mmisters 
that  existed  there.  He  gladly  accepted 
the  call,  and  proceeded  to  the  Hague, 
where  he  was  ordained  far  the  for- 
eign work.  He  was  one  of  the  two 
last  missionaries  that  were  sent  to 
Pennsyh-ania  by  the  Synod  of  Hol- 
land. He  arrived  safely  in  America 
in  August,   1786. 

He  soon  found  employment  after 
liis  arri^■al.  The  congregation  at  Eas- 
ton,  Pa.,  elected  him  as  their  pastor. 
He  ser^'ed  this  congregation  in  connec- 
tion with  several  country  congrega- 
tions, for  about  four  years.  During 
the  second  year  after  his  arri\-al,  he 
married  Mary  Fiedt.  who  proved  a 
true  helpmate  to  him  during  his  long 
and  useful  life.  In  1790.  he  received 
a  call  from  the  congregations  at  Ger- 
mantown  and  Frankfort,  where  he 
preached  in  the  German  and  English 
languages  for  a  period  of  about  ten 
vears. 

During  his  pastorate  at  German - 
town  the  yellow  fever  prevailed  in 
Philadel])hia,  wdiich  caused  many  of 
the  peo)le  to  fiee  from  the  city.  Gen- 
eral \\'ashington  was  then  President 
of  the  I'nited  States,  during  which 
lime  the  National  Capitol  was  at 
Philadel])hia.  The  General  went  to 
(iermantown  during  the  yellow  fe\-er 
epidemic  and  resided  for  several 
months  in  Dr.  Merman's  fanrly.  He 
fre(|uently  attended  services  in  the 
Reformed  Church  at  Germantown. 
esiKX'ially  when  there  was  English 
])reaching.  lie  at  one  time  receixed 
communion  from  the  hands  of  Dr. 
Herman.      After    the    death    of    ^^'ash- 


ington  a  memorial  service  was  held  in 
the  Reformed  Church  at  Philadelphia 
in  which  Dr.  Herman  took  an  active 
part. 

Preaching  in  two  languages  was 
burdensome  to  him.  He  was  German 
by  l)irth  and  speech  and  therefore  ac- 
cepted a  call  to  the  churches  of  the 
Swamp,  Pottstown  and  St.  \^incent 
in  Montgomery  count}^  where  more 
German  than  English  preaching  was 
required.  Yet  it  must  be  stated  that 
in  conversation  he  was  anxious  to  use 
the  English  Language,  which  shows 
his  liberality  and  far-sightedness.  He 
loved  his  mother  tongue ;  but  he  saw 
that  the  English  Language  Avas  bound 
to  become  the  universal  language  of 
our  nation,  and  the  sooner  our  people 
would  become  reconciled  to  it,  the  bet- 
ter it  would  be  for  them.  After  he  had 
founded  his  parsonage  at  Falkner 
Swani]),  he  invited  young  men  to  en- 
ter it  and  receive  at  his  hands  special 
instructions  to  prepare  themselves  for 
the  ministry.  The'  Synod  of  Holland 
stopped  sending  missionaries  to 
America,  and  the  Church  had  no 
school  in  which  to  educate  men  for 
the  ministry.  The  importance  of  Dr. 
Merman's  work  therefore  became 
verv  api)arent.  If  it  had  not  been  for 
his  work  and  that  of  one  or  two 
others,  the  Reformed  Church  might 
have  seen  a  sorr}^  ending  in  Pennsyl- 
vania for  want  of  ministers.  He  had 
six  sons,  five  of  whom  he  ]ire)ared 
for  the  ministry.  Even  the  sixth  had 
taken  a  course  of  theology  under  him. 
but  subse(|uently  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  medicine  which  he  i^racticed 
successfullv.  flis  sons  were  men  of 
more  than  ordinar}-  ability.  They 
were  Charles,  Augustus,  Frederick. 
Reuben.  Lewis  and  Alfred.  The  last 
one  mentioned  was  the  physician. 

The  theological  school  which  lu- 
organized  at  his  parsonage  w  a  s 
known  as  "The  Swamp  College."  He 
established  a  course  of  study  extend- 
ing t>\er  a  i)eriod  of  three  years,  dur- 
ing which  time  he  instructed  his  stu- 
dents not  only  in  theology,  but  also 
in    tlu-    rudiments   of   the   ancient   Ian- 


124 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


i^uages  and  kindred  subjects.  In  ad- 
(lition  to  the  five  sons  already  men- 
tioned he  prepared  Rev.  Samuel  Gul- 
din  (a  great  grandson  of  Rev.  Sam- 
uel Guldin,  the  first  ordained  Re- 
formed minister  in  Pennsylvana,  who 
came  here  in  1710)  Rev.  B.  S. 
Schneck,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Thomas  H. 
Leinbach,  Rev.  Joseph  S..  Dubbs, 
Rev.  Peter  S.  Fisher,  Rev.  Abraham 
Berge,  Rev.  Richard  A.  Fisher  and 
Rev.  David  Young.  The  mentioning 
of  these  names  shows  the  great  in- 
fluence that  was  exerted  by  him. 

Rev.  Dr.  Herman  not  only  insisted 
on  his  students  studying  the  neces- 
sary languages  from  the  text  books, 
but  also  that  they  converse  in  Latin. 
The  result  was  that  some  of  these 
men  became  better  Latin  scholars 
than  their  sons  who  afterwards  had 
the  advantages  of  college  training. 

When  the  Church  determined  to 
establish  a  Theological  Seminary  Dr. 
Herman  was  beyond  doubt  the  best 
fitted  man  in  the  Church  to  be  the 
first  Professor  in  Theology.  His 
name,  however,  was  not  publicly 
mentioned  and  whether  he  would 
liave  accepted  such  a  call  , cannot  be 
stated.  But  there  was  no  doubt  some 
opposition  to  him  from  certain  quar- 
ters as  appears  by  a  resolution  adopt- 
ed in  1820,  when  Synod  adopted  the 
Plan  for  the  Establishment  of  a  Theo- 
logical Seminary,"  viz  : 

"Resolved,  That  no  minister  shall 
hereafter  have  the  privilege  of  receiv- 
ing a  young  man  in  order  to  instruct 
him  in  theology,  but  may  only  direct 
liim   in   his   preliminary  studie^^^." 

Since  Dr.  Herman  was  the  only 
mnister  at  the  time  who  had  any  con- 
siderable number  of  students  under 
his  care,  he  must  have  regarded  the 
resolution  as  being  especially  aimed 
at  him.  That  the  resolution  was  pre- 
mature there  can  be  no  doubt,  because 
the  proposed  Theological  Seminary 
had.no  actual  existence.  A  period  of 
five  years  elapsed  before  the  Church 
succeeded  in  establishing  a  Theologi- 
cal Seminary,  under  the  Professorship 
and     organize     what     was    known    as 


first  proposed  to  locate  the  Seminary 
at  Frederick,  Aid.,  which  Dr.  Herman 
opposed,  contending  that  it  was  too 
far  from  the  center  of  the  Church. 
During  the  time  that  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Theological  Seminary  was 
under  consideration,  one  of  his  sons 
was  suspended  by  the  Synod  from  the 
ministerial  office,  which  proved  of- 
fensive on  account  of  the  manner  in 
which  the  sentence  was  communicat- 
ed to  him-  This  caused  him  and  his 
friends  to  withdraw  from  the  Synod, 
and  organized  what  was  known  as 
"The  Free  Synod ;"  but  was  called 
later  "The  German  Reformed  Synod 
of  Pennsylvania  and  A  d  j  a  c  en  t 
States."  All  of  Dr.  Herman's  stu- 
dents were  after  this  licensed  rnd  or- 
dained by  this  Synod,  which  had  a 
membership  of  more  than  fifty  minis- 
ters, and  had  under  its  care  and  juris- 
diction over  one  hundred  coiigrega- 
tions.  It  existed  as  a  separate  body  for 
a  period  of  sixteen  years,  when  an  ef- 
fort was  made  to  adjust  all  differences 
between  its  members  and  that  of  the 
old  Synod,  and  a  reconcilitation  and  a 
reunion  was  happily  effected  in    1837. 

In  1812,  Dr.  Herman  prepared  a 
catechism  to  meet  a  demand  for  an 
easier  and  simjder  catechism  than  the 
Heidelberg  Catechism.  His  cate- 
chism was  received  with  a  good  deal 
of  favor,  as  four  editions  at  least  were 
printed  at  various  times — two  in 
Reading  and  two  in  Philadelphia.  The 
questions  and  answers  are  shorter  and 
simjder  than  those  in  the  Heidelberg 
Catechism,  but  are  more  numerous. 
The  former  has  485  questions  and  an- 
swers, and  no  proof  texts  or  proof 
answers,  while  the  latter  has  127  ques- 
tions and  answers  with  many  proof 
texts.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the 
present  demand  for  a  simpler  cate- 
chism could  be  met.  to  some  extent  at 
least,  by  some  one  translating  and  re- 
\ising  the    I  lerman   Catechism. 

Several  <^f  his  students  were  not 
only  strong  men  in  the  pvdpit,  but  ren- 
dered useful  service  by  publishing 
books  on  religious  subjects.  Mis  son. 
Rev.  Chas.  G.  ITerman.    who    was    the 


REV.    LEBRECHT   FREDERICK    HERMAN,   D.    D. 


125 


])ast()r  at  Kutztovvn,  Berks  County, 
and  \  icinilv,  from  i8io  to  1863,  pub- 
lished "Der  Sanger  am  Grabe,"  which 
is  a  collection  of  hymns  suital^lc  for 
funeral  occasions.  It  is  said  that  this 
is  the  best  selection  of  German  funer- 
al hymns  that  was  ever  made,  rmd  the 
book  is  still  used  in  many  of  the  Ger- 
man CongTet^ations  of  the  Reformed 
and  l.utheran  churches.  Rev.  Augus- 
tus L.  Herman,  who  was  pastor  at  Eo- 
lers'  and  other  churches  in  Berks  Co. 
from  1823  to  T872,  published  "Zolli- 
kofers'  Prayer  Book,"  Rev.  Benjamin 
S.  Schneck,  1).  D.  was  the  author  of 
"The  Burning  of  Chambersburg,'" 
■'Mercersburg  Theology,"  and  was 
the  first  editor  of  "The  Messenger." 
and  "The  Kirchenzeitung."  He  was 
one  of  the  two  commissioncs  who 
were  sent  to  Germany  by  the  Synod 
of  the  Reformed  Church  in  1843  to 
present  to  Rev.  Dr.  F.  W.  Krum- 
macher  a  call  to  a  German  Professor- 
ship in  the  Theological  Seminary  at 
Mercersberg,  Pa.  Dr.  Krummacher 
was  at  the  time  one  of  the  most  cele- 
brated pul;)it  orators  of  Germany,  and 
from  previous  assurances  tt  was 
believed  that  he  would  accept  the  call. 
The  commissioners  were  received 
very  cordially,  yet  Dr.  Krummacher 
telt  constrained  to  decline,  especially 
since  the  Prussian  Government  exr 
])ressed  a  decided  disinclination  to  his 
removal  to  Pennsylvania.  The  com- 
missioners were  unwilling,  however,  to 
come  htMiie  without  acconi'^lishng 
their  mission.  They  consequently  con- 
sulted some  of  the  leading  divines 
I  if  Germany,  when  they  were  directed 
to  the  Rev.  Philip  ScliafF.  D.  D.,  who 
was  at  the  time  a  professor  extraor- 
dinary in  the  Cniversity  at  Berlin.  On 
their  return  to  .\merica  they  proposed 
the  name  of  Dr.  Schaff,  to  the  .Synced. 
and  he  was  unanimously  elected.  He 
came  to  America  and  ser\ed  as  onj  of 
the  Professors  in  the  Theological 
Seminary  at  Mercersberg,  Pa.,  for  a 
period  of  twenty  years,  after  which  he 
was  elected  to  a  professorshiji  in  the 
Union  Seminary  of  New  York  where 
lie  labored  to  the  time  i)f  his  death.  He 


became  pre-eminent  as  a  theologian, 
and  did  a  great  service  to  the  Christ- 
ian Church  as  teacher  of  theology  and 
editor  and  ])ublisher  of  theological 
works. 

Dr.  Herman  Avas  instrumental  in 
organizing  a  number  of.  ])rosperous 
C(»ngregations  in  Eastern  Pennsyl- 
\'ania.  in  connection  with  his  s^^ns  and 
students,  he  served  in  addition  to  the 
congregations  of  the  Swamp,  Potts- 
town  and  St.  Vincent,  the  congrega- 
tions at  Coventry,  Pikeland  and  Rice. 
in  Chester  Co.,  Pa.,  the  congregation 
at  the  Trapi^e  (now  Collegeville)  in 
Montgomery  Co.  and  the  Congrega- 
tions at  Berger,  (Hill  Church)  Spiess, 
Amity.  Royers  and  Oley,  in  Berks 
County.  He  outlived  all  the  mission- 
aries sent  from  Holland  and  saw  to 
his  loneliness  and  sorrow,  all  his  early 
friends  and  fellow-laborers  laid  in  the 
gra\e.  He  labored  in  his  holy  oftice  for 
sixty  years,  during  which  time  he 
baptized  8535  persons,  confirmed 
4600  persons,  married  2600  ("ouples. 
buried  2280  deceased,  and  preached 
(ner  8000  times.  His  Bible  is  in  the 
possession  of  his  grandson.  Hex. 
.Mfred  J.  Herman,  of  Maxatawny,  Pa. 
From  the  interlineations,  underscor- 
ings  and  other  marks  he  made  in  it,  it 
would  a')i)ear  that  he  was  most  deeply 
interested  in  the  New  Testament, 
from  which  he  selected  most  of  his 
texts,  as  the  basis  of  his  sermons. 

In  his  old  age  he  became  blind, 
which  limited  his  usefulness;  yet. 
t Hough  he  was  unable  to  continue  in 
the  active  duties  of  the  ministry,  he 
was  deei)ly  interested  in  the  further 
ance  of  the  cause  of  Christ.  His 
religion  cheered  him  during  the  night 
(if  his  affliction.  A  few  days  |  rior  to 
his  death,  he  suffered  a  stroke  of  apo- 
])lexy.  On  Jan.  30.  1848.  he  was  i^eace- 
fully  translated  to  the  other  world. 
His  death  cast  a  deei)  ghxMii  o/er  thi' 
community  in  which  he  lived  and  over 
the  congregations  that  he  served.  On 
Feb.  3  following",  his  remains  were 
I)in-ied  in  the  gra\eyard  of  the  Re- 
formed Church,  at  PottstoAvn.  Pa. 
I\e\ .  riiomas  H.    Feinbach.  one  of  hi- 


126 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


students,  preached  the  funeral  ser- 
mon. A  large  multitude  of  people 
assembled  to  pay  their  last  tribute  of 
love  and  honor  to  the  departed. 

No  other  man  did  so  much  as  Dr. 
Herman  by  his  untiring  industry  as 
a    minister,    teacher    and  loyal  citizen 


to  advance  the  interest  of  The  Re- 
formed Church  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
the  comforts  and  blessings  that  were 
received  and  are  continued  to  be  re- 
ceived by  his  people  and  their  de- 
scendants by  reason  thereof  are  in- 
calculable. 


Descendants  of  John  Early  (Johannes  Early) 

By  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Early,  Reading,  Pa. 

(continued   from   FEBRUARY   ISSUE) 


Perhaps  it  might  be  better  to  say 
the  Early  families  of  German  descent, 
for  there  are  not  less  than  four  or 
five  and  possibly  six  or  seven  of  these 
in  Pennsylvania,  besides  a  number  of 
others  in  various  parts  of  the  United 
States.  But,  as  already  stated,  we 
are  more  particularly  concerned  about 
the  family  of  John  Early,  as  his  de- 
scendants are  found  all  over  eastern 
Pennsylvania  at  the  present  day.  We 
now  refer  to  those  still  bearing  the 
name  Early.  Those  of.  other  names, 
the  offspring  of  his  daughteis,  the 
Eisenhauers  and  the  Breitenbachs, 
have  all  gone  west,  beyond  the  Ohio, 
and   some   beyond   the   Mississippi. 

Daniel    Early    who  appparently  also 
was   a   German,   although   that   is   not 
absolutely    certain,    had    come    to   this 
country   some   ten   or   more   years   be- 
fore  John    Early    arrived.        In     Sept. 
1740   Rev.   John    Casper   Stoever   bap- 
tized one  of  his    (D.   E.'s)    daughters. 
His  residence  as  given    at    that    time, 
was  Codorus,  i.  c.  the  \'icinity  of  Han- 
over,  York    County,    Pa.      No    further 
direct  trace  of  this  man  or  his  family 
has   thus   far  been    found.      There   are 
families     of    the    name    at    Mt.    Holly. 
Carlisle       and        Chambersburg,      but 
whether    any    of    them    are  descended 
from  him  we  are  not  able  to  say. 

Jacob  Early,  who  at-first  spelled  his 
name  Ehrle,  Vvhich  we  are  told  was 
in  many  places  used  in  preference  to 
Oehrle  several  hundred  years  ago.  and 
who  came  to  TMiiladelphia  in  the  Ship 


Osgood,  William  W^ilkes,  Captain. 
Sept-  29,  1750,  arrived  only  cibout  a 
month  before  John  E.  who  had  reach- 
ed that  place  Aug.  24  of  the  same 
year.  But  in  1752  when  his  oldest 
son  John  was  baptized  at  New  Han- 
over, his  name  is  already  entered  up- 
on the  "Record"  as  Early. 

For  some  time  we  thought  these 
men  might  be  brothers,  as  the  family 
record  -showed  that  John  had  a  broth- 
er Jacob.  But  when  informed  that  the 
church  records  of  Germany  showed 
that  this  brother  Jacob  had  died  in  in- 
fancy, the  supposition  had  to  bo  aban- 
doned. The  additional  fact  that 
Jacob  Early's  oldest  son  John  and 
John  Early  second,  the  son  of  Johan- 
nes Oehrle,  had  li^-ed  within  ten  or 
twelve  miles  of  each  other  for  almost 
thirty  years,  without  being  aware  of 
each  other's  existence,  we  saw  that 
such  a  sup])osition  must  he  almost  in- 
credible. 

A  very  interesting  incident  is  the 
fact  that  the  wife  of  John  E.  the  old- 
est son  of  Jacob,  was  A.  Margaret 
and  that  the  wife  of  John,  the  second 
son  of  John  E.  of  Londonderry,  was 
also  Margaret.  They  lived  in  adjoin- 
ing townshi])S,  Lcindonderry  and 
I  Donegal.  It  is  also  somewhat  re- 
markable that  there  was  a  son  Jacob 
in  each  family. 

About  twenty  or  twenty-five  years 
ago,  Frederic  Early  (Oehrli)  from  In- 
terlaken,  Bern,  Switzerland,  resided 
at    Williamsnort.    Lvcoming    Co.,    Pa. 


DESCENDANTS  OF  JOHN  EARLY  (JOHANNES  EARLY) 


127 


lie  had  arrived  in  this  country  about 
fifteen  or  twenty  years  before.  This 
family  ])rou.c:ht  with  them  a  tradition 
frequently  heard  before,  but  without 
corroborative  testimony  or  proof  that 
the  Early  family  originally  came  from 
Ireland,  having;  lied  thence  during  the 
wars  of  Cromwell. 

Henry  E.  Early  (Oehrle)  the  young- 
est son  of  the  family,  with  his  third 
brother,  came  to  this  coimtry  about 
1848.  l>oth  were  unmarried.  The 
older  of  the  two  commenced  the  busi- 
ness of  printing'  on  Arch  St.,  Phila. 
Vew  years  ago  they  still  retained  the 
original  spelling,  Oehrle.  Henry 
who  had  been  a  licentiate  of  the 
Evangelical  Association,  but  had  vol- 
untarily surrendered  his  license,  at 
that  time  resided  in  Camden,  N.  J. 
The  second  oldest  of  the  brothers,  to- 
gether with  a  cousin  John  Early,  had 
settled  at  Pittsburg,  1847.  Another 
brother,  Jacob,  had  come  to  America 
in  the  fifties  and  settled  at  Leetonia, 
Ohio.  Between  1880  and  1890  Charles 
Early,  one  of  this  man's  sons  if  we 
mistake  not,  was  a  resident  of  Lan- 
caster, l^enna.  He  died  there  some 
iifteen  years  ago.  Members  of  this 
famil}-  are  to  be  found  in  five  different 
states.  The  father  of  these  five  sons, 
who  had  been  a  soldier  under  Napol- 
eon, and  had  accompanied  him  on  his 
ill-starred  expedition  to  Russia,  fin- 
ally also  came  to  this  country  and 
died  at  the  residence  of  his  S(.)n  in 
<  )hi(). 

There  was  .1  David  Early,  a  Penn- 
>ylvania  Cerman,  residing  with  his 
son-in-law,  Mr.  Still,  about  three 
miles  east  of  Danville.  He  died  about 
1880.  Two  of  his  sons  were  Dunker 
preachers  in  Iowa.  His  two  daugh- 
ters, Mrs.  Still  and  \[vs.  Dyer  are 
still  residents  of  Montour  Co.,  Pa., 
the  former  near  Strawberry  Ridge, 
about  two  miles  northeast  of  Wash- 
ington ville  and  the  latter  a  few  miles 

west  of  Mooresburg.  He  may  be  a 
descendant  of  Thomas,  the  youngest 
son  of  Johannes  Oehrle,  although 
that  is  not  at  all  certain. 


Some  forty  or  fifty  years  ago  Sam- 
uel Early  was  a  resident  of  Strasburg. 
Eranklin  Co.  (?) — not  quite  sure 
which  Strasburg.  His  descendants 
are  found  throughout  Fulton  County, 
as  well  as  throughout  the  western 
part  of  Maryland.  They  may  possibly 
be  the  descendants  of  George,  the  old- 
est son  of  J.  Wm.  Early  Esq.,  who  had 
his  home  in  Centre  County,  about 
twenty  years,  from  1786  or  87  to  1807. 
He  subsequently  took  up  his  residence 
in  Bedford  County  and  removed 
to  Ohio  four  or  five  years  later.  In 
181 1  the  son  George  Earl}^  is  found  at 
Akestown  (Achestadtel)  now  Wil- 
liamsburg, Blair  County.  A  notice 
was  given  that  a  hearing  in  a  law 
suit,  was  to  tcke  place  at  his  house. 
This  would  indicate  that  he  was  a 
married  man  at  that  time.  That  is 
the  last  trace  of  him  we  have  ever 
found.  We  should  certainly  be  thank- 
ful to  anyone  who  would  be  able  to 
give  any  further  information  about 
the  man  and  should  be  very  glad  to 
hear  from  him.  This  completes  the 
list  of  those  wdio  are  certainly  of  Ger- 
man origin. 

The  family  of  Jacob  Early  (Ehrle) 
is  probably  the  most  numerous  of 
them  all.  The  writer  has  in  his  pos- 
session a  list  of  seventy  or  eighty  c^f 
those  bearing  the  name  of  E^rly  in 
his  possession.  The  larger  portion  of 
them  reside  in  Virginia,  but  many  of 
them  are  scattered  all  over  the  United 
States,  w^estw'ard  to  W'ashington  and 
Oregon.  There  are  two  others 
named  John  Early,  and  w'e  can  not 
possibh^  think  that  they  could  be 
one  and  the  same  person,  about  wdiose 
extraction,  we  are  altogether  uncer- 
tain. In  fact  there  may  be  three  or 
four  of  them.  In  Pentia.  Archives. 
John  Early,  Derry  Twq^.,  Cumberland 
Co.,  Pa.  and  Daniel  Early,  Shoemak- 
er,   are  among    the    taxables    between 

1780  and  1790.  The  name  of  John 
Early,     Strabaum     Twp.,     York    Co.. 

1 78 1  and  1782.  is  also  recorded  there. 
There  we  also  find  John  Early,  fourth 
class  militia,  Joseph  Culberts<.)n's 
Company,  July  i.  1781.     But  he  is  not 


128 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


located.  We  are  therefore  unable  to 
say  whether  this  last  John  E.  is  iden- 
tical with  one  of  the  other  two,  or 
whether  there  are  three  of  the  same 
name. 

In  the  same  Archives,  in  ^^'arran- 
tees  of  land  in  Armstrong  County, 
Pa.,  1801-1884,  we  find  Wm.  Early, 
July  II,  1850,  90  acres,  and  John  Early 
sr.,  Apr.  28,  1853,  400  acres.  This  is 
not  so  long  ago  that  it  should  be  easy 
to  gain  information,  but  so  far  we 
have  not  been  able  to  get  it.  We  can 
therefore  not  say  whether  these  are 
English,  German  or  Irish.  As  there 
was  also  an  Andrew  Early  there,  we 
are  inclined  to  think  that  this  family 
is  not  German. 

We  also  find  in  Chester  Co.  "Rates" 
John  Early,  freeman,  1767-1768:  Jere- 
miah Early,  freeman,  1779-1780.  As 
well  as  under  "Inmates"  Henry  Early, 
1781.  Some  years  ago  a  dealer  in  sec- 
ond hand  and  antiquated  books  and 
pamphlets,  ofifered  a  publication, 
'Teremiah  Early  and  his  Descend- 
;ints"  for  sale.  When  the  writer  sent 
(or  it  it  was  gone.  He  cannot,  there- 
!nie  say  whether  this  Jeremiah  Early 
was  the  one  in  Chester  County  or  not. 
I'ut  if  it  was  the  same  man.  it  is  alto- 
i.ether     probable,    that    like    the    Lin- 


colns,  he  came,  from  New  England  to 
Penna.  because  of  climate  and  greater 
religious  freedom. 

Pifteen  or  twenty  years  ago, Thomas 
Early  resided  at  Williamsport,  Pa. 
His  father,  whose  name  was  also 
Thomas,  had  been  a  resident  of  N.  Y. 
City.  His  two  sons  were  James  and 
Thomas.  When  the  latter  enlisted  in 
the  Union  army,  the  brothers  became 
separated.  The  whereabouts  of  James 
at  that  time  was  entirely  unknown,  if 
still  living.  Henry  W.  Early,  Chip- 
pewa Falls,  Mich.,  formerly  of  Wil- 
l.amsport,  his  brother  Dr.  Charles  E. 
Ridgway,  Pa.,  and  a  third  brother  in 
the  state  of  New  York,  are  not  of  Ger- 
man extraction.  There  are  also  Early 
families  (e.  g.  Thomas)  in  Philadel- 
phia and  Allentown  of  English  de- 
scent. 

There  is  another  family  of  Scotch- 
Irish  extraction  and  one  whose  na- 
tionality we  do  not  know  in  Balti- 
more,  Md- 

In  addition  to  these  there  is  a  family 
\-'lio  spell  their  name  Earley  in  In- 
diana. These  are  of  Irish  descent. 
Furtlicr  statements  in  regard  to  the 
family  of  John  Early  must  be  reserved 
for  a  future  occasion. 


Philadelphia's  Many  Firsts 


NOTE. — This  chronological  list  of  some 
of  the  instances  in  which  Philaclel,)hia  has 
figured  as  the  first  pioneer  or  now  stands 
first  in  point  of  importance  (subsequently 
reprinted  by  outsiders  in  somewhat  free 
and  easy  fashion)  was  first  compiled  by 
the  Philadelphia  Inquirer  several  years 
ago. 

1681. — The  first  pleasure  grounds  ever 
reserved  in  America  for  the  use  of 
of  the  people  were  laid  out  in  Wil- 
liam  Penn's  plan   in   Philadelphia. 

1085. — The  first  printing  press  in  this 
section,  and  the  second  in  the  coun- 
try, was  set  up  in  Philadelphia,  an 
earlier  one  having  been  started  in 
Caml)ridge,   Mass. 


1687. — The  oldest  business  house  now 
in  existence  in  America  (the  Fran- 
cis Perot's  Sons  Malting  Company) 
was  begun  on  what  is  now  Front 
street,   below  Walnut. 

j^)()0. — The  first  American  paper  mill 
was  erected  b}^  Samuel  Rittenhouse 
on  a  tributary  of  the  Wissahickon. 

1710.  —  Philadelphia  laid  her  first 
claim  to  that  supremacy  in  Amer- 
ican shijibuilding  which  (emphasiz- 
ed since  1830  by  the  founding  of 
Cramps  '  colossal  shipyard  and 
others)  has  earned  for  her  a  reputa- 
tion unequalled  on  this  hemisphere 
and  unsurpassed  throughout  the 
world. 


PHILADELPHIA'S   MANY   FIRSTS 


129 


1/12. — The  Common  Ct^uncil's  reso- 
lution passed  this  year,  to  the  ef- 
fect that  "A  Workhouse  Be  Imme- 
diately Hired  to  Imploy  poor 
P'sons  &  sufficient  P'sons  appoint- 
ed to  kep  them  at  Work,"  led,  in 
time,  to  the  erection  of  the  present 
Blockley  Hospital,  than  which  no 
larger  is  known  to  exist  ^on  this 
continent. 

1718.  —  The  Philadelphia  Common 
Council  made  the  first  purchase  on 
record,  in  these  States,  of  a  fire  en- 
gine  for  public  purposes. 

1719. — The  American  Weekly  Mer- 
cury (second  only  to  the  Boston 
News-Leader  in  point  of  time)  ap- 
peared  in   Pliiladelj)hia. 


1728. — John 
the  bank 


Bartram    commenced    on 
)f  the   Schuvlkill   the  first 


of  America's  botanical  gfardens. 

1730. — Thomas  Godfrey,  of  Philadel- 
phia, invented  the  Alariner's  Quad- 
rant, subsequently  misnamed  Had- 
ley's  Quadrant. 

1731. — The  mother  of  all  the  North 
American  subscription  libraries"  (to 
use  the  words  of  the  founder  him- 
self) was  originated  by  Benjamin 
f^Vanklin. 

1735. — American  type  founding'  made 
its  debut  as  an  art  in  the  shop  of 
Christopher  Sauer,  in  Germantown. 
and  it  was  carried  on  as  a  regular 
business  in  this  city  immediately  af- 
ter the  War  of  the  Revolution  by 
John    r>aine. 

1737. — "The  Union  Fire  Company,  of 
Philadelphia,"'  the  first  volunteer 
fire  company  in  America,  was  or- 
ganized on  December  6. 

1740-43. — Sauer  brought  out  an  edi- 
tion of  the  Bible  in  German,  the 
first  book  in  a  European  language 
])rinted  in   America. 

1743. — The  first  institution  devoted  to 
science  in  America.  "The  American 
Philosophical  Institution,"  was  orig- 
inated  in      Franklin's   "Pro]-)Osal    for 


promoting  useful  knowledge  among 
the  British  Plantations  in  America." 
under  the  date  of  May  14,  1743. 

1749. — The  first  company  of  American 
stage  players  was  organized  here- 
early  in  1749. 

1752.  —  The  Pennsylvania  Hospital 
was  opened  in  Febraury,  1752.  Not 
until  July  27,  1773,  was  the  corner- 
stone laid  for  the  New  York  Hos- 
pital. » 

1752.  —  Fratdvlin  demonstrated  that 
lightning  and  electricity  were  the 
same ;  and  set  up  on  his  own  house 
the  first  lightning  rod  used  in  the 
world. 

1753. — Pass  and  Stowe  made  for  the 
State  House  the  first  bell  ever  cast 
in  this  country. 

1755. — A  charter  was  obtained  in  1755 
for  the  College  or  Academy  of 
Philadelphia,  which  had  already 
been  in  existence  for  fifteen  years. 
On  Ma}^  7th  of  this  same  year  the 
governors  of  the  College  of  the  Pro- 
vince of  New  York  received  their 
charter  for  their  "King's  College." 
which  had  been  open  for  twelve 
months  with  a  faculty  of  one 
instructor. 

1765- — Dr.  John  Morgans  Discourse 
"Upon  the  Institution  of  Aledical 
Schools  in  America,"  delivered  in 
the  College  of  Philadelphia.  May  30. 
1765,  consituted  the  formal  opening 
of  the  first  medical  school,  and  the 
speaker  filled  the  first  medical  pro- 
fessorship created  in  this  country. 
In  consec|uence  whereof  a  "Com- 
mencement" was  held  three  years 
later  (in  1768),  at  which  medical 
honors  were  conferred,  the  first  in 
point  of  time  in  America. 

1766. — The  first  permanent  theatre 
house  in  America  was  built  here  in 
Southwark. 

1772. — On  May  i.  1772,  the  fir^t  Tam- 
many Society,  the  parent  and  exem- 
plar of  all  subsequent  ones,  was  or- 
ganized in   this  city. 


130 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


1773. — The  American  Medical  Society 
was  founded  in  the  city  by  students 
who  came  from  different  parts  of 
the  Union  to  attend  the  medical 
lectures  here. 

1775. — The  first  American  pianoforte 
was  manufactured  in  1775  by  John 
Behrent,  of  Philadelphia. 

1775. — In  the  war  against  British  im- 
portations, started  in  1775,  William 
Calverly,  of  this  city,  set  about  mak- 
ing American  carpets,  a  local  indus- 
tury  destined  in  time  to  fulfill  the 
aim  of  its  founder  to  such  an  ex- 
tent that  at  the  present  day  Phila- 
delphia manufactures  more  car- 
pets than  the  whole  of  Great  Bri- 
tain. 

1777. — The  first  United  States  flag- 
was  made  here  on  Arch  street,  by 
Elizabeth   Ross. 

1780. — The  Pennsylvania  Bank,  the 
first  public  bank  in  the  United 
States,  was  organized  here  by  Rob- 
ert Morris. 

1784. — The  first  daily  newspaper  ever 
issued  in  America  was  the  Philadel- 
phia Daily  Advertiser,  first  brought 
out  in   1784. 

1785. — The  first  agricultural  society 
on  this  continent  was  "The  Phila- 
delphia Society  for  Promoting  Agri- 
culture," formed  by  Dr.  Rush.  Rob- 
ert Morris.  Richard  Peters  anti 
others  in  1785. 

1786. — On  July  26,  1786,  the  first  ves- 
sel successfully  propelled  by  steam 
was  operated  on  the  Delaware,  at 
Philadelphia,  by  John  Fitch.  The 
much-vaunted  experiment  on  the 
Collect,  in  New  York,  did  not  take 
place  until  ten  years  later. 

1790. — The  Law  School  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania,  the  oldest 
law  school  in  America,  was  found- 
ed in  T790.  with  Justice  James  Wil- 
son, of  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court,  as  ])rofessor  of  law. 

i~f^)2. — The  first  United  States  Mint 
was    cstablshcMJ    here  bv  act  of  Con- 


gress, approved  by  President  Wash- 
ington, April  2,  1792,  and  the  first 
United  States  coins  were  struck 
here  the  same  year. 

1799. — The  first  water  works  in  this 
country  were  commenced  in  this 
city,  May  2,  1799. 

1802. — "The  Law  Library  of  the  City 
of  Philadelphia"  was  organized  for 
the  purpose  of  maintaining  a  law 
library  for  the  use  of  its  members ; 
none  of  the  kind  existed  at  the  time. 

1805. — The  Pennsylvania  Academy  of 
the  Fine  Arts,  the  pioneer  of  all  art 
institutions  in  this  country  was 
founded  in  1805,  and  chartered 
March  28  of  the  following  year. 

1809. — For  the  first  time  in  the  Uni- 
ted States,  a  railroad  track  was  laid 
down  for  experimental  purposes  in 
a  yard  near  the  Bull's  Uead  Tavern, 
in  Philadelphia,  in  1809. 

1812. — In  this  year  steam  works  for 
supplying  the  cit}'  with  water  were 
begun  in  Fairmount  Park;  and  in 
1819  Councils  erected  water  power 
works  and  for  a  long  time  remain- 
ed the  only  works  of  their  kind  in 
the   States. 

1818. -The  present  leading  firm  among 
the  chemical  manufacturers  of 
America,  Powers  &  Weightman,  of 
Philadelphia,  sprang  from  a  small 
beginning  made  this  year. 

1821. — The  Philadelphia  College  of 
Pharmacy  dates  its  birth  from  1821. 
Its  present  six-storied  building  is 
the  largest  of  its  kind  knowti. 

1827. —  The  Penns3dvania  Horticul- 
tural Society  was  the  first  of  all 
such  societies  in  America,  having 
been  founded  in  November.  1827. 
by  a  number  of  Philadelphians  un- 
der the  leadership  of  Dr.  lames 
.Meade. 

1829.— Mr.  G.  A.  Shyrock,  of  this  city, 
earned  the  distinction  of  being  the 
first  to  make  the  paper  and  boards 
bv       machincrv     from     straw     and 


PHILADELPHIA'S  MANY   FIRSTS 


131 


1S31.— In  this  year  Matthias  \V.  Bald- 
win founded  here  what  has  become 
the  largest  locomotive  works  in  the 
world. 

1843. — This  vcar  saw  the  first  start  of 
Henry  Disston  &  Son's  saw,  tool, 
steel  and  file  works,  than  which  no 
more  im;)ortant  will  be  found  in 
this  or  probably  any  other  country. 

1844. — The  city  purchased  for  the  use 
of  the  public  the  "  Lemon  Hill  '" 
property,  the  nucleus  of  our  modern 
Fairmount  T^ark,  by  far  the  largest 
park  within  the  limits  of  any  mu- 
nicipality. 

1847. — Abraham  Cox  founded  the  co- 
lossal and  unrivaled  works  of  the 
stove  company  that  bore  his  name. 

1852. — For  the  first  time  in  our  his- 
tory the  degree  of  medicine  was 
conferred  upon  women  at  the  I'\'- 
male  Medical  College  (now  ^^  o- 
man's  Medical  College)  of  Phila- 
delj)hia. 

1853. — "The  Northern  Home,"  found- 
ed in  this  city  in  1853,  was  the  first 
institution  in  this  broad  land  when 
the  Civil  War  broke  out  to  open  its 
doors  to  the  children  of  those  who 
desired  to  enlist  and  to  build  a  spe- 
cial home  for  the  orphans  of  our 
dead  soldiers  and  sailors. 

1857. — The  Numismatic  and  Anticjua- 
rian  Society,  whose  ranks  have 
since  been  joined  by  the  most  illus- 
trious men  of  the  two  hemispheres, 
and  whose  scale  of  measurement  for 
coins  and  medals  is  now  in  general 
use  throughout  Europe,  was  organ- 
ized l:)y  a  few  Philadel])hians  on  De- 
cember 2"]. 

'^59- — Foundation  of  the  George  ^". 
Cresson  Company,  a  plant  for  the 
manufacture  of  power  transmitting 
machinery  without  a  peer  in  the 
Cnion. 

1862. — The  Union  J.eague  Club  of 
Philadeli)hia  ratified  its  articles  anfl 
came    into    being    on    December    27, 


1 862.  T  h  e  formation  of  the  New 
York  League  Club,  organized  two 
months  later,  was  effected  almost 
wholly  at  the  suggestion,  and  cer- 
tainly with  the  immediate  advice 
and  guiding  aid  of  the  Philadelphia 
League. 

1870. —  Preparations  were  made  in  this 
year  for  the  erection  of  the  monu- 
mental Ridgway  Branch  of  the 
Philadelphia  Library,  whose  rare 
collection  of  reference  Ijooks  is  un- 
surpassed, if  it  e\en  be  equaled,  in 
America. 

1871. — On  August  10.  1871,  was  com- 
menced the  new  City  Hall  of  Phila- 
delphia, at  ]iresent  the  largest  mu- 
nicipal edifice,  if  not  the  largest  edi- 
fice of  any  kind,  in  America. 

1873. — Philadelphia's  Masonic  Tem- 
ple, founded  this  year  and  finished 
in  1883  is  the  most  complete  (and 
the  most  costly)  building  for  the 
puri)oses  of  any  secret  order  on  this 
continent. 

1874. — This  year  ushered  the  Phila- 
delphia Zoological  Garden,  a  collec- 
tion of  living  animals  acknowledged 
to  be  by  far  the  best  in  this  coun- 
try. 

1878. — The  third  dental  school  in  con- 
nection with  an  American  univers- 
ity (next  to  Harvard,  1867,  and  to 
Michigan.  1875)  was  organized  here 
early  in  1878,  and  now  owns  the 
largest  building  in  the  world  solely 
devoted  to  technical  dental  instruc- 
tion. 

1880. — Ground  was  cleared  this  year 
for  the  construction  of  the  Pennsyl- 
\ania  Railroad  depot  at  I>road  St., 
this  city — a  structure  unapproache<l 
1)\-  any  in  this  country  for  architec- 
lural  magnificence  and  ampleness  of 
accommodations,  unless  it  be  by  an- 
other Philadelphia  terminal,  that  of 
the  Philadelphia  and  Reading  Rail- 
r*  )ad. 

i8()o. — .\t  an  informal  meeting  held  on 
November  7.  i8qo.  the  idea  of  creat- 
ing a  general  exchange  in  this  city 
was  discussed;  and  on  May   14  fol- 


132 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


lowing-  the  company  was  organized 
which  built  the  present  Philadel- 
phia Bourse,  the  largest  in  any 
country  and  the  only  one  in  this. 

[892. — Founding  of  the  Wistar  Insti- 
tute of  Anatomy,  the  first  of  its 
kind  in  America. 

1899. — On  January  i  work  was  start- 
ed   on    the    tower    of    Philadelphia's 


City  Hall,  the  larg-est  clock  in 
America  and  the  tallest  tower  in  the 
world. 

1899. — In  this  year  also  the  city  orig- 
inated and  carried  out  a  National 
Export  Exposition,  the  first  of  its 
nature  in  the  commercial  history  of 
the  United  States. 


A  Rhine  Legend 

{From  the  German) 


EN  long  years  had  passed  sprang  on  the  steed  which  the  hea- 
since  the  Emperor  had  venly  messenger  had  brought,  and 
ridden  out  of  his  favorite  sped  over  mountain  and  valley  with 
city,  at  the  head  of  his  marvelous  rapidity,  arriving  at  Aix- 
army,  to  go  and  fight  the  la-Chapelle  just  as  the  third  and  last 
heathen,  and  now,  i  n-  night  of  Hildegarde's  respite  was 
stead  of  his  return,  dark  drawing-  to  a  close.  Instead  of  enter- 
rumors  of  defeat  and  ing  his  palace,  however,  the  Emperor 
death  spread  throughout  the  whole  dismounted  and  passed  into  the  silent 
country.  Convinced  of  the  truth  of  cathedral,  where  he  seated  hini- 
ihese  reports,  the  lords  of  the  empire  self  in  his  great  golden  chair,  with  his 
assembled  to  discuss  what  had  better  sword  across  his  knees, _  as  was  his 
be  done;  and,  after  much  deliberation,  wont  when  dispensing  justice.  There 
sent  an  embassy  to  the  Empress  Hil-  he  waited  until  the  sacristan  came  to 
degarde.  They  bade  her,  for  her  sub-  preoare  the  church  for  the  wedding, 
jects'  sake,  choose  another  husband  to  which  was  to  take  place  soon  after 
rule  the  nation  instead  of  Charle-  sunrise.  This  man,  startled  by  the 
magne,  who  would  never  be  seen  sight  of  the  imposing  figure  seated 
again.  Hildegarde  at  first  indignantly  upon  the  imperial  throne,  and  think^ 
refused  to  consider  the  proposal,  but  ing  it  an  a':»r)arition.  staggered,  and 
finally,  seeing  the  justice  of  their  would  have  fallen,  had  he  not  steadied 
wishes,  she  considered  for  the  good  of  himself  by  the  rope  of  the  great  bell, 
the  country  to  marry  any  man  they  which,  thus  suddenly  set  in  motion, 
recommendfed;  stipulating  however  sent  peal  after  oeal  through  the  awak- 
that  she  should  be  allowe'd  to  spend  ening  city.  The  people  of  Alix-la- 
three  more  days  in  strict  solitude.  Chanelle.  startled  by  the  untimely 
mourning  for  her  beloved  husband,  and  frantic  ringing,  rushed  out  of 
whom  she  would  never  behold  again,  their  houses  to  see  what  had  occurred. 
Well  pleased  with  this  answer,  the  and  as  they  entered  the  church  they 
lords  withdrew,  and  began  making  utterd  loud  cries  of  joy,  for  there  sat 
preparations  for  the  coming  marriage,  Charlemagne  in  all  his  wonted  state. 
Avhile  Hildegarde  wept  for  Charle-  These  cries  soon  reached  the  ears  of 
magne,  who,  by  the  way,  was  not  at  the  unhappy  Hildegarde,  ,  who,  still, 
all  dead,  but  very  busy  fighting  the  dissolved  in  tears,  and  deeming  they 
heathen,  whom  he  had  almost  entirely  were  intended  to  Avelcome  her  un- 
subdued. During  the  night,  while  known  bridegroom,  shrank  ])ack  in 
poor  Hildegarde  wept,  an  angel  of  the  fear;  but  her  sorrow  was  changed  to 
Eord  suddenly  appeared  to  Charle-  boundless  joy  when  she  saw  her  bc- 
magne  and  bade  him  return  in  hot  loved  husband  once  more,  and  heard, 
haste  to  Aix  la  Chapelle,  if  he  would  how  Providence  had  miraculously  in- 
not  lose  both  wife  and  his  sceptre  at  terfered  to  sa\e  her  from  a  hated  see- 
once.       Thus     warned,     the    Emperor  ond  marriage. 


13.^ 


To  the  Friends  and  Patrons  of  Schools  and  of  the 
Improvement  of  Youth 


1 

f^c 

B 

H 

HE  Subscribers  being- Trus- 
tees for  a  School  and 
and  Schoolhouse  in  Up- 
per Hanover  Township 
in  the  County  of  Mont- 
gomery, Pa.,  respectfully 
shew — That  in  the  Year 
1734  a  number  of  German 
Families,  emigrants  from  Silesia,  set- 
tled in  the  upper  parts  of  the  county 
nf  fhilarlclphia  now  Montgomery 
where  they  are  distinguished  and 
known  among  their  Neighbors  by  the 
name  of  Schwenkf elders  from  one  of 
their  celebrated  Teachers  i^f  that 
name— That  these  first  Settlers  and 
their  Progeny  successively  kept  up 
among  them  as  good  Schools  and 
Masters  of  Schools  as  could  be  ol) 
tained— That  in  the  Year  1764  they 
raised  the  Subcription  among  them- 
selves a  Fund  of  near  Eight  hundred 
Pounds — by  the  interest  whereof  and 
some  free  Contributions  they  support- 
ed for  several  years  a  good  School  for 
reading  and  writing  the  English  and 
Gorman  Languages  and  Arithmetic 
until  the  Debtors  to  their  Fund  began 
to  ])ay  their  Interest  and  at  last  paid 
the  principal  Debt  in  depreciated  Pa- 
per which  they  have  lodged  in  the 
General  Loan  Ofifice  and  i^  now  reduc- 
ed to  a  very  low  Value- -That  never- 
theless imnressed  with  the  necessity 
and  usefulness  of  good  Schools  in  the 
Country  when  Ignorance  and  Immo- 
rality began  to  i)revail  and  stani])  the 
Caricatura  of  our  Yonth  they  have 
g-one  on,  as  much  as  possible,  with 
keeping  Schools  duiing  the  War  and 
other  Convulsions  of  the  times  and 
have  lately  at  their  own  exuense  erect- 
ed a  new  Schoolhouse  and  Dwelling- 
house  for  its  Master  and  engaged  a 
Man  of  good  learning  and  fair  Charac- 
ter to  be  the  Master  of  that  School  in 
whicli   Cliildrt-n  of  Parents  of  an\-  reli- 


gious dencMuination,  English  and 
(German,  rich  or  poor,  may  be  taught 
reading,  writing  and  cyphering  and 
some  or  other  young  Men  of  genius 
instructed  in  Mathematics  and  the 
learned  languages  and  trained  up  to 
become  LTshers  or  Assistants  to  this  or 
any  other  School  in  this  Country- 
Catechisms  and  other  doctrinal  Books 
t)f  any  particular  religious  Society 
shall  not  be  introduced  in  this  School. 
Parents  may  form  the  Minds  of  their 
Children  in  their  own  way  or  commit 
them  to  the  Clergy  of  the  Church  or 
Meeting  to  which  they  belong — The 
Master  of  the  School  shall  neverthe- 
less use  his  utmost  endeavors  to  im- 
press on  their  tender  Minds  the  Fear 
of  C}nd.  the  love  of  their  Country  and 
of  all  Mankind. 

This  well  meant  Plan  of  a  School  is 
undertaken  by  a  few  Persons  of  but 
moderate  Estates  on  whom  the  Ex- 
l)enditures  of  Supporting  and  improv- 
ing it  will  fall  too  heavy — The  Trus- 
tees flatter  themselves  with  the  hopes 
it  wdll  meet  with  some  encouragement 
from  the  benevolent  who  have  the 
good  of  the  growing  Youth  of  the 
Country  at  heart  by  contributing  their 
mite  towards  this  pur[)ose.  ^Ve  have 
to  this  end  impowered  our  Friends. 
A.  c^-  P..  in  the  City  of  Philadelphia 
and  its  Environs  and  our  I'^riends  O. 
I),  iv  E.  in  the  Country  or  any  one  of 
them  to  wait  in  their  ])laces  nn  the 
Persons  to  wliom  this  address  is  dir- 
ected to  solicit  their  .Assistance  and 
receive  what  shall  be  oflFered  to  them 
on    that    behalf. 

Philada.   Comity.   March    170T. 

*This  circular  letter,  the  i)ro|)eit.v  of  the 
Schwenkfeld  Historical  Library,  were  pre- 
pared by  the  trustees  of  the  l.,atlii  school 
conducted  in  the  so-called  Hosensack 
Academy. 


134 


The  Introduction  of  Wire  Cables 


HE  late  John  A.  Roebling, 
one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished civil  engineers 
and  scientists  of  his  day, 
conceived  the  idea  of 
spanning  the  largest  riv- 
ers with  bridges  support- 
ed by  wire  cables.  To 
that  end  he  directed  the  labor  of  his 
life.  He  established  a  wire  rope 
works  on  a  small  scale  at  Saxonburg, 
in  Butler  county,  and  by  special  grace 
he  got  permission  from  the  Canal 
Board  in  1842  or  1843  to  put  a  wire 
cable  on  Plane  No.  3.  It  was  put  on 
in  the  fall  of  the  year.  The  manufac- 
turer of  the  hempen  ropes  in  Pitts- 
I)urg,  backed  by  a  powerful  political 
and  interested  influence,  endeavored 
to  prevent  the  introduction  of  the 
wire  cable.  The  superintendent  and 
employes  on  the  road  partook  of  that 
opposition.  If  the  wire  cable  was  a 
success  it  would  supersede  the  profi- 
table hempen-rope  industry.  The 
cable,  however,  was  put  on  the  plane, 
and  in  a  few  days  one  of  the  attaches 
cut  the  cable  in  two.  Mr.  Roebling 
found  his  cable  stretched  on  the 
])lane — condemned.  He  came  to  the 
collector's  office  and  asked  an  inter- 
view with  me  in  the  parlor.  He  stat- 
ed with  tears  of  grief,  if  not  agony, 
that  he  was  a  ruined  man.  The  labor 
of  his  life,  the  hope  of  his  fame  and 
fortune  were  lost  forever.  His  cable 
was  condemned  by  the  great  Com- 
monwealth of  Pennsylvania.  It  was 
condemned,  not  because  it  was  worth- 
less but  because  it  would  supersede 
the  hempen-rope.  "Can  you  not  do 
something  for  me?"  he  asked."  Why, 
-Mr.  Roebling,  I  would  do  anything  in 
the  world  for  you,  but  what  can  I 
do?"  "You  have  influence  with  the 
Canal  Board,  and,  perhaps,  you  can 
get  me  another  opportunity  to  test 
my  cable?" 

Just  at  that  moment  there  was  a 
ran  at  the  door,  and,  in  answer  to  the 
call,  who  stepped  in  but  John  B.  But- 
ler,   the    President    of    the    Board    of 


Canal  Commissioners,  and  after  the 
usual  .salutation,  I  said  to  Mr.  Roeb- 
ling, "Just  state  your  case  to  Mr.  But- 
ler." Mr.  Roebling  stated  his  case 
in  very  few  words,  for  he  was  a  man 
of  few  words..  Mr.  Butler  listened 
attentively  until  he  got  through,  when 
he  said:  "Roebling,  have  you  confi- 
dence in  your  cable?"  The  answer 
was,  "  I  have  sir."  "Then,"  said  Mr. 
P)Utler,"  I  now  appoint  you  superin- 
tendent of  Plane  No.  3,  with  the  cred- 
it of  the  Commonwealth  for  all  fhe 
material  you  may  need;  superinten- 
dent of  the  depots  at  Johnstown  and 
Hollidaysburg  for  all  the  machinery 
you  may  want ;  the  appointment  of  all 
such  mechanics  and  laborers  as  you 
may  require  in  the  reconstruction  of 
the  plane — all  this  at  the  expense  of 
the  Commonwealth.  You  will  com- 
mence immediately  after  the  close  of 
navigation  and  have  everything  ready 
necessary  for  the  spring  business.  You 
will  superintend  the  plane  yourself 
for  the  first  month,  and  if  your  cable 
is  a  success  we  will  put  it  on  all  the 
planes  on  the  road,  and  this  is  all  I 
can  do  for  you."  Mr.  Roebling  did 
not  burst  forth  in  the  usual  laudation 
(^f  thanks,  of  God  bless  3^ou  and  pros- 
per you,  etc.,  but  this  time,  with  tears 
of  joy  rolling  down  his  cheeks,  his 
only  reply  was,  "God  is  good !"  I  shall 
never  forget  the  reply.  He  gave 
thanks  to  that  Source  from  whom  all 
blessings  flow.  He  left  with  a  joyful 
heart  and  greatly  encouraged.  The 
plane  was  reconstructed,  ready  for  the 
sirring'  business.  The  cable  worke<l 
like  a  charm. 

During  the  summer  wire  cables 
were  put  on  all  the  planes.  By  these 
planes  Mr.  Roebling  had  an  opportun- 
ity of  testing  the  flexibility  and 
strength  of  his  cables.  The  heavy 
weight  of  cars  and  section  boats  on 
those  cables  gave  them  a  fair  test  of 
strength  and  durability.  I  mention 
this  fact  that  the  planes  on  the  Port- 
age Railroad  were  the  means  of  the 
wonderful      enterprise     of     wire-cable 


INTRODUCTIOX    OF   WIRE   CABLES 


135 


liridgcs.  for  Mr.  Rocbling^  frequently 
told  me  since  that,  had  it  not  been 
for  the  interview  in  my  parlor  and  the 
authority  he  got  there  to  reconstruct 
a  plane  to  establish  and  test  the  virtue 
of  his  wire  cable,  he  never  would  ha\'e 
attem])ted  it  again,  being  condemned 
by   the   Commonwealth.        So   the   old 


Portage  is  entitled  to  the  credit  of  all 
these  great  wire  bridges,  notably  the 
l)rooklyn  Bridge. —  Quotation  from 
address  delivered  by  Hon.  James 
Potts. 


From    Swank's    Progressive 
svlvania. 


Penii- 


Dialect  and  Literary  Gems 


Eiii  Psaliu  des  Lebens 

Klaget   nicht   in   diistren   Zeilen 
Dass  das  Leben  sei  ein  Traum 
Dass  die  Seelen  die  hier  weilen 
Selbst  vergehen  mit  Zeit  uud  Raum. 

Denn  das  Leben,  selbst  auf  Erden, 
Ueber's  Grab  den   sieg  verspricht. 
Du   bist  Staub  und   Staub  sollst  werdeu, 
1st  der  Sele  Urtheil  nicht. 

Xoch  Vergniigen  oder  Sorgen 
1st  des  Daseins  Losung  nicht: 
Sonderu  Streben  dass  wir  morgen 
Treuer  stehen  unserer  Pflicht. 

In  dem  heftigen  Kampf  des  Lebens 
Kamphe  muthig  alle  Zeit; 
Alles  Anderes  ist  vergebens 
Wenn's  da  fehlt  an  Muth  im  Streit. 

Zwar  die   Kunst   ist  schwer,  und   fliichtig 
Tmmer  ist  die  Lebenszeit; 
Und    die    Herzensuhr   mahnt   tiichtig, 
Fiir  den  Tod  zu  sein  bereit. 

Baue  auf  die   Zukunft  nimmer; 
Setze  dran  die  eigene   Haut; 
.rage  nach   dem   Gute   immer, 
Immerhin  auf  Gott  vertraut. 

Manche   Helden   die   im   Leben 
Schon  erzielten  Gliick  und  Ehr; 
Haben   uns   den   Trost  gegeben. 
ITnd  die   wunderschone   Lehr: 

Dass  wenn  Jemand  hier  auf  .Erden 
.Mocht'  dem  Gliick  sein  Leben  weihn, 
Kann   er  trotz  sehr  viel   Beschwerden, 
Edel,  hold  und  gliicklich  sein. 

Desshalf  lasst  ans  stets  im  Leben 
F^leissig,  muthig,  eifrich  sein; 
Kampfeu  immerfort  und  streben, 
Harrend   auf  das   Sammien-ein. 

From  the  English  of  Longfellow. — A.   S.   B 

4*     4"     4" 

Djis   .Miidflu'ii  >on  F«n't  Heur>" 

Von   Dr.   H.   H.    Pick.  Cincinnat:.   O. 

"Die  roten   Teiifel   nah'n  dem  Fort, 

Vom   weisseii   Schuft   gefiihret! 
Schnell,    raumt    die   off'ne.    Siedlung   dort, 
TJringt   Weil)  und  Kind  an  sichern  OrtI" 
Oer  Oberst    Kommandieret. 


"Was   faselt  doch   von   brit'schem    Schutz 

Uns  Gii'ty,  der  Verrater? 
Wir  bieten  der  Belag'rung  Trutz 
So  lang  dieWaffen  etwas  nutz! 

Pluch  sei  dem  Attentater!" 

Die  Horde  stiirmt,  doch  Schuss  auf  Schus.s 
Kracht  ihr  gar  scharf  ent  gegen; 

Und  mauche  tiick'sche  Rot  haut  muss 

Sich  bin  der  Kuge  herben  Kuss 
Im  Tode  niederlegen. 

Doch  weh!"  Am  Zundkraut  es  gebricht, 

Bald  wird  der  Vorrat  enden'" 
Voll,  Angst  der  Kommandant  es  spricht, 
"Wird   flugs   uns  frische  Zufuhr  nioht, 

Sind   wir  in   Feindeshanden, 

"Zwar  liegt,  wodort  die  Mauern   stehn, 

Ein   Fasschen   noch  verstecket, 
Doch  miisst'  dem  Tod  ins  Auge  sehn, 
Wer  ans  dem  Thore  wollte  gehn, 
Wenn  ihn  der  Feind  ent  decket!" 

Ein   Madchen   hort's,  sie   ruft  geschwind; 

Lasst  mich  nur  dafiir  sorgen!" 
Sie  stiirtz  hinaus,  flink  wie  der  Wind, 
Und,  eh'der  Gegner  sich  besinnt, 

Hat's  Pulver  sie  geborgen. 

Sie  tragt  zuriiek  im  flucht'  gen  Lauf 
Den   Schatz   so   hoch   willkommen. 
Da  blitzt  das  Feuern  wieder  auf, 
Und  wie  auch  tobt  der  Wilden  Hauf, 
Das  Fort  wird  nicht  genommen. 

Die  Maid,  sie  war  von  deutschem  B!ut, 

Das  wollen  wir  ermessen. 
Weill  opfern  Manner  Leib  und  Gut, 
Doch  auch  des  Weibes  Heldenmut 

Werd'    nimmermehr    vergesseu. 

*Die  geschilderte  Begebenheit  trug  sich 
im  .Jahre  1777  zu,  als  eine  Indianerbande 
unter  Anfiihrung  des  weissen  Renegaten 
Simon  Girty  das  Fort  Henry,  unser  heuti- 
ges  Wheeling,  W.  Va.,  belagerte.  Der  Name 
des  wackeren  Madchens  war  Elizabeth 
Zane. 

From    Pedagogische   Mouatshefte  Nov.   1901. 


136 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


YOST     Y  0  D  E  R 

By    Cyrus    Elder.    Johnstown,    Pa. 

Yost  Yoder  was  a  sadly  worried  man; 

The  witches  rode  his  dappled  mare  o'nights, 

.•\nd  left  her  flecked  and  stained  with  mire 

and  foam, 
Distressed,  and  all  unfitted  for  the  plow; 
The  witches  dried  untimely  his  best  cows, 
And  his  fat  shoats  died  with  a  strange  dis- 
ease; 
His  two  year  heifer,  ready  for  the  knife. 
The    witches    shot  to    death    with    balls    of 

hair — 
Der  Bixey  Moyer  found  them  in  her  paunch. 

The  take-off  troubled  long  his  eldest  child, 
And,    cured    of    this,    the    lad    went    nearly 

blind. 
While  naught  would  help    until    old  Granny 

Ream 
Touched    with    tlie    pot-lid    his    weak    eyes. 

and  said 
The  words,  and  healed  him:    but  at    last  he 

died. 
On  every  side  of  him  Yost  Yoder  saw 
Witch-signs,  and   evil   omens  haunted  him 
At  table,  in  the  house,  and  in  the  fields, 
.\nd  made  his  life  a  burden;  yet  he  spoke 
Of  this,  his  trouble,  to  no  living  soul. 

Hedged  in  by  witchcraft  and  by  sorcery 
The    season's    wonders    were  as    naught    to 

him; 
Spring,     with     its    infinite    tints    of    tender 

green. 
Decked  the  far  forests  and  the  inter-vales; 
Blown  from  the  blooming  crab-trees,  sweet- 
er scents 
Than    Summer    flowers    yield,    filled  all  the 

air; 
And    upward     folding     wooded     height    on 

height. 
Revealing  here  and  there  a  field  or  farm 
The  Alleghenies  rose  more  far  and  faint, 
['"'ading  until  they  mingled  with  the  sky. 
Which  seemed  an  ocean  lying  vast  and  still, 
Where    cloud-ships    slowly    sailed    into  the 

sun. 
The  joy  of  earth   tliat   Heaven   is  so  near 
The  bee  felt,  and    the    bird,    and    the    young 

lamb 
leaped  in  earth-gladness;  beauty  and  mirth 
Of  nature  overflowed;  yet  flowed  thry  not 
For   the   grave   race   of   men   who   tilled   the 

soil. 
Tasting    its    fruits    with     gross     corporeal 

sense. 
To     whose     accustomed     cares     YotI    Yoder 

made 
Addition  of  the  burden  that  he  bore — 
A  secret  told  unto  no  living  soul. 


The  brethren  held  him  as  a  Christian  man, 
And  every  Sunday  he  went  forth  to  hear 
Old  Father  Miller,  who  made  it  a  boast 
His  back  had  never  rubbed  a  colleae  wall. 
Preaching     the     Gospel     in     most     homely 

words; 
He  ate,  at  liebes-mohl,  the  paschal  lamb. 
And    washed    the    brethren's    feet,  and  they 

his  own. 
And    kissed    them,    joining     flowing     beard 

with  beard; 
And  followed  not  the  fashions  of  the  world. 
But  were  his  home-spun  clothes  of  ancient 

shape. 
And    wide-rimmed    hat;    and  in    his    roomy 

house 
Were    found    no     carpets,    and    no    modern 

chairs, 
But  polished  boards  and  benches  round  the 

walls. 
Here  often  met  the  brethren  for  prayers, 
The  elders  leading,  each  one  in  some  set 
And  formal  phrase,  said  o'er  and  o'er  again. 
Till    each    did    know    by    heart    the    other's 

prayer. 
And  Yost,  when  called  on,  spoke  with  trem- 
bling voice. 
Inaudible,   save  here   and   there   a   word. 
As  avighkeit.  and  rechtigkeit.  and  amen. 

He  knew,  for  he  had  heard  so.  and  believed 
That  God  was  great — was  far  more  power- 
ful 
Than  Satan;   that  as  Father  Snyder  said, 
His   people   stood   upon   a   rock   secure. 
While  waves  of  sin  did  break  beneath  their 

feet ; 
And  yet  it  seemed  that  God  was  far  awav. 
And  that  the  devil  had  power  in  the  world. 
And     gave    his     witches     power     upon    the 

saints; 
And    why    this    should  be    so    he    could    not 

guess ; 
It  worried  him  and  darkened  all  his  mind, 
And  made  his  life  a  burden  tliat  he  bore 
[n  silence,  year  by  year,  and  labored  on. 
For  he  had  still  some  pressing  work  to  do; 
But    when    the    sprouty    meadow     lot    was 

drained. 
The  clearing  fenced,  his  last  gate  fully  paid. 
And  the  crop  harvested,  he  took  a  rope 
And   hung  himself  behind   the  smoke-house 

door : 
So  made  an  end  of  trouble.  i 

NOTE — We  trust  the  readers  of  this 
lioetic  tale  will  not  think  to  end  trouble 
by  "Jumping  out  of  the  frying  pan  into  the 

fire." 


137 


THE  HOME 


MAPLE  SUGAR 
NOTE — In  ccmpliance  with  a  request  for 
uu  article  on  the  above  subject  the  follow- 
ing taken  in  substance  from  a  recent  issue 
of  the  Country  Gentleman  and  covering 
the  subject  very  admirably  is  submitted. — 
Mrs.  H.  H.  Funk. 

One  of  the  most  important  winter  duties 
of  the  old-fashioned  farmer  in  his  repair 
shop — which  was  frequently  a  warm  cor- 
ner by  the  kitchen  fireplace — was  that  of 
getting  ready  for  sugar  making.  In  those 
days,  the  luxury  cf  "boughten  sugar" 
could  rarely  be  indulged  in  and  the  maple 
of  home  manufacture,  served  alike  for 
sweetening  coffee  and  cake.  Since  the 
first  How  of  sap  came  with  the  sunny  days 
of  early  spring  a  season  as  brief  as  boun- 
teous, the  man  vv'ho  awaited  mild  weather 
before  commencing  his  preparations  al- 
most invariable  lost  the  best  "run  '  of  the 
season. 

First  the  spiles  were  made  ready.  These 
were  spouts  generally  of  pine,  whittled  to 
fit  into  the  holes  bored  in  the  tree  trunk, 
and  designed  to  conduct  the  sap  outward 
so  that  it  might  drip  freely  into  the  trough 
below,  instead  of  trickling  down  the  bark 
of  the  tree  and  wasting.  Sometimes  elder 
was  substituted  for  pine,  when  stems  of 
suitable  size  were  cut  into  ten  or  twelve- 
inch  lengths,  one  end  being  whittled  down, 
if  necessary,  to  fit  into  the  boring.  Com- 
mencing three  or  four  inches  below  the 
point  of  insertion,  a  longitudinal  shave  re- 
moved the  uppei-  half  of  the  remainder  ; 
and  by  forcing  out  the  central  pith,  a 
diminutive  trough  was  secured.  If  the 
iree  was  a  very  large  one  two  spiles  were 
sometimes  used;  but  the  double  tapping 
j)roved  too  exhaustive  save  with  the  most 
vigorous    trees. 

Troughs  were  made  by  cutting  logs  of 
medium  size  into  two  or  three-foot  lengths, 
splitting  each  in  two,  and  hollowing  the 
central  i)art  with  an  axe,  after  the  fashion 
of  the  old  Indian  dugout.  These  weie  at 
best  heavy  to  handle,  and  considerable 
skill  was  necessary  in  directing  their  con- 
tents into  the  collecting  bucket.  Much 
sap  was  wasted  on  account  of  their  limit- 
ed capacity,  even  the  most  vigilant  attend- 
ant finding  it  not  always  possible  to  pre- 
vent the  stage  of  overflow  being  reached  at 
some  period  of  the  day  or  night. 

With  the  first  warm  days  the  sap  com- 
menced to  ascend  earlier  in  the  clearing 
than  in  the  woodland;  and  the  farmer,  arm- 
ed with  his  ^4 -inch  auger,  proceeded  to 
open  his  cami).  The  tapping  was  prefer- 
ably made  on  the  sunny  side,  to  secure  the 
greatest    and    longest    flow,   and    the    boring 


was  done  at  a  point  where  neither  scar, 
red  bark  nor  decayed  wood  indicated  a 
l)revicus   puncture. 

If  the  weather  is  favorable,  sap  at  once 
starts  from  the  wound,  and  drops  fast  oi- 
slow,  according  to  the  season,  and  the  pro- 
ductive power  cf  the  individual  trf,e.  Pro- 
longed and  severe  freezings  are  deemed 
more  conducive  to  a  heavy  run  than  an 
open  winter;  while  freezing  nights  are  as 
essential  as  thawing  days  for  ideal  sugar 
weather.  The  amount  of  saccharine  ma- 
terial in  the  sap  also  varies  with  the  sea- 
son. .All  these  facts  the  old-time  farmer 
noted  and  used  to  advantage.  It  is  estimat- 
ed that  the  average  yield  of  sugar  is  three 
pounds  to  the  tree,  though  individual  trees 
-  vary  greatly  in  the  production,  somo  large- 
ly exceeding  this  figure.  One  hundred  bar- 
rels of  sap  yield  about  eighty  gallons  of 
syrup,  boiled  to  the  present  legal  standard 
of   eleven    pounds   to   the   gallon. 

In  olden  times  a  scale  of  weight  was  un- 
known. Those  not  so  fortunate  as  to  re- 
move it  from  the  kettle  at  just  the  right 
time  found  their  syrup  graining  sooner 
or  later,  or  were  humilated  by  the  criti- 
cism  that   it  was  "warmed-up  sap." 

A  convenient  central  location  was  chosen- 
for  the  camp-fire,  preferably  near  a 
stream  of  running  water,  that  facilities  for 
cleaning  all  utensils  properly  might  be 
constantly  at  hand.  A  stout,  orotched 
stake  was  driven  firmly  into  the  ground, 
and  a  long  pole  laid  across  the  crotch.  On 
the  short  end  of  the  pole  was  hung  the 
great  iron  kettle,  the  long  end  resting  on 
the  ground  and  serving  as  a  lever  to 
swing  the  kettle  to  and  from  the  fire  at 
pleasure.  Later,  two  stakes  were  used  in- 
stead of  one,  and  the  .kettle  hung  between 
them.  To  expedite  matters,  two  kettles 
were  often  used,  fresh  sap  being  heated  in 
the  smaller  to  replenish  the  shrinkage  in 
the  larger  through  evaporation,  without 
interrupting  its  boiling. 

The  sap  was  gathered  in  large  wooden 
buckets  suspended  from  the  shoulders  by 
a  neck-ycke.  Or  later,  as  the  woods  were 
sufficiently  cleared  of  underbrush  to  allow 
its  passage  the  ox  team  and  stone-boat 
were  pressed  into  service.  A  heavy  run. 
especially  on  Saturday,  made  a  busy  time; 
for.  aside  from  the  lack  of  storagv.^  tanks, 
there  was  danger  of  fermentation,  even  a 
trace  of  which  causes  the  sap  to  run  over 
at   the  slightest   increase  of  heat. 

To  mitigate  this  tendency,  the  tOi)  of  the 
kettle  was  often  greased  or  a  piece  of  pork 
fastened  to  the  end  of  a  stick  was  kept  in 
readiness  for  thrusting  into  the  risinn 
foam.  But  perhaps  the  most  curious  meth- 
od    of     literally     pouring     oil     on  'roubled 


138 


THE   PENNSYLV..\NIA-GERMAN 


waters  was  to  suspend  the  pork  ever  the 
kettle  with  a  string,  at  such  height  that 
the  syrup  would  touch  it  as  soon  as  it  com- 
menced to  rise  above  legitimate  bounds. 
At  best,  however,  constant  vigilaice  was 
accessary,  especially  during  the  later 
stages  of  progress. 

Only  the  most  fastidious  strained  the 
sap  as  it  was  gathered  from  the  open 
troughs,  a  gourd  dipper  freeing  it  from  the 
bugs  and  leaves  or  bits  of  moss  which  by 
chance  accumulated.  Since  ashes,  smoke 
and  cinders  were  being  constantly  wafted 
in  during  the  boiling  process,  precautions 
in  advance  of  the  final  purification  were 
deemed  superfluous.  When  the  "syrup" 
stage — a  very  thin  molasses — was  reached. 
it  was  strained  through  home-spun  linen 
:ind   allowed  to  settle. 

It  was  thus  usually  transferred  to  the 
house  for  the  finishing  touches;  and  after 
standing  over  night,  the  cleared  contents 
of  the  buckets  were  carefully  poured  into 
a  kettle,  the  dregs  remaining  undisturbed. 
A  partly  beaten  egg  or  a  little  milk  .was 
then  stirred  into  the  liquid,  which  was 
l)rought  slowly  to  the  boiling  point.  Mean- 
while, a  dark  scum  gradually  formori  over 
the  surface;  and  when  this  was  sufficiently 
tough  to  cohere,  it  was  removed  with  a 
skimmer,  leaving  the  syrup  presumably 
free  from  foreign  material  and  certainly 
much  clearer  than  before.  Aside  from  the 
advantage  of  cleanliness,  "sugaring  off"  in 
the  kitchen  reduced  the  dangsi-  from 
scorching  to  a  minimum  ;  for  every  time 
the  foaming  mass  rose  and  fell  in  the 
great  camp  kettle,  a  portion  adhered  to  its 
sides,  there  to  scorch  and  impart  to  the 
remainder  a  more  or  less  unpleasant  flavor. 

The  bulk  of  the  prod^ict  was  converted 
into  sugar,  this  being  more  convenient  for 
general    culinary    purposes    than    the    pyun 


which  predominates  at  the  present  time. 
Stirred  sugar,  resembling  dark  brown 
cane  sugar,  save  in  flavor,  was  made  b»" 
cooking  considerably  thicker  than  molas- 
ses. When  it  waxed  on  snow  or  grained 
with  stirring  as  it  cooled,  the  kettle  was 
removed  from  the  fire  and  the  contents 
stirred  until  the  entire  mass  was  convert- 
ed into  small  grains  having  the  rich  con- 
centration   of   maple    sweetness. 

Caked  sugar  the  solid  form  in  which  it 
is  now  almost  universally  sold,  was  cook- 
ed less,  stirred  until  partly  cool  to  render 
it  whiter  and  of  finer  grain,  and  then  pour- 
ed into  buttered  molds  to  harden. 

Tub  sugar  required  the  least  cooking, 
and  was  poured  into  a  tub  plugged  at  the 
bottom.  After  it  had  stood  for  some  weeks 
and  become  crystallized,  the  plug  was  re- 
moved and  the  drainings,  dark  and  with 
a  rank  taste,  were  added  to  the  contents  of 
the  vinegar  barrel.  This  primitive  refining 
process  resulted  in  a  sugar  of  comparative- 
ly light  color,  mild  flavor,  and  a  consis- 
tency midway  between  that  of  stirred  and 
caked  sugar;  the  crystals,  though  clearly 
defined,  were  moist  and  inclined  to  become 
compact. 

While  aching  backs,  and  eyes  congested 
by  smoke  were  among  the  attendant  fea- 
tures of  sugar-making,  it  was,  on  the 
whole,  a  season  of  much  merriment.  For 
the  young  folks  there  were  the  diversions 
of  sugaring  off,  taffy-pulling,  and  pouring 
wax  on  snow.  Every  boy  in  the  family 
knew  the  exact  location  of  the  tree  yielding 
the  sweetest  sap. 

Later,  strong  winds  dried  the  sap,  or 
with  swelling  buds  it  acquired  a  rank 
flavor.  Spiles  were  removed  and  packed 
awpy  with  the  troughs  and  other  utensils 
for  future  use.  A  week  later  the  camp 
was  no  longer  wreathed  in  smoke. 


Eaxesdropper  and  a   Giiiltj    Coiiseieuce 

Two  boys  were  out  picking  nuts,  and 
they  wanted  to  divide  them  equally  between 
them,  so  they  went  over  the  fence  into  the 
cemetery  and  sat  down  among  the  tomb- 
stones to  count  out  the  nuts.  While  going 
over  the  fence  they  dropped  two  nuts,  but 
didn't  stop  to  pick  them  up.  A  man  came 
along  and  heard  them  and  stopped  to  listen 
and  heard  them  saying:  "One  for  j'ou  and 
one  for  me."  "One  for  you  and  one  for 
me,"  and  he  became  badly  frightened  and 
ran  away  down  the  road,  and  met  another 


man  ,who  said:  "Whats  the  matter?"  The 
first  man  said:  "The  devil  and  the  Lord 
are  up  in  the  cemetery  dividing  up  the 
people,"  and  the  second  man  said:  "Oh  no, 
that  couldn't  be!"  The  first  man  says: 
"Yes,  they  are;  I  heard  them."  The  two 
men  went  back  to  the  fence  to  listen  and 
heard  them  saying:  "One  for  you  and  one 
for  me."  "One  for  you  and  one  for  me: 
now  that's  all;"  and  the  other  boy  says: 
"Except  the  two  at  the  fence,  and  that  will 
be  one  for  you  and  one  for  me  "  The  two 
men  ran  away  as  fast  as  they  could. — The 
News. 


139 


EDITORIAL  DEPARTMENT 


The  Pennsylvania-German 

An  illustrated  monthly  magazine  devoted  to 
the  Biography,  History,  Genealogy,  Folklore, 
Literature  and  General  Interests  of  German 
and  Swiss  settlers  in  Pennsylvania  and  other 
States  and  of  their  descendants. 

Editorial  Staff 

H.  W.  Kriebel,  Publisher  and  Editor,  East 
Greenville,  Pa. 


Rev.    J.  A.    Scheffer,    Associate  Editor, 
245  North  Sixth  street,  Allentown,  Pa. 

Mrs.  H.  H.  Funk,  Editor  of  "The  Home," 
Soringtown,  Pa. 

Prof.  E.  S.  Gerhard,  Editor  of  "Reviews 
and  Notes,"  Trenton,  N.  J. 

Price,   $1.50  a  year,  in  advance;  15  cents 
per  single  copy. 

Additional    particulars    are    found    on 
page  2  of  the  cover. 


In  the  January  1906  issue  of  this  maga- 
zine the  then  editor  published  a  \aluable 
article  on  "The  Si)elling  of  Our,"  that  is, 
the  Pennsylvania-German  "Dialect."  He 
stated  that  "the  difference  between  a  dia- 
lect and  language  is  mainly  one  of  limi- 
tation." A  dialect  is  confined  to  a  parti- 
cular section  of  the  country;  is  limited  in 
the  number  of  words  in  use  and  also  "in 
its  literature."  However,  "dialects  uniting 
in  their  word-stores  have  formed  lan- 
guages while  still  remaining  separate  and 
distinct   forms   of   speech." 

"In  consequence  of  their  literary  use 
Ipnguages  have  in  the  course  of  time  and 
through  the  molding  influence  of  the  print- 
ers'   art    acquired    a    certain    fixedness    of 

form    and     spelling." "Dialects     being 

much  less  used  for  literary  purposes  have 
not   as  a  rule  attained  to  a  like  degree  in 

uniformity   in    spelling." — — "Especially 

is  this  true  of  our  Pennsylvania-Ger- 
man vernacular."  For  the  numerous  causes 
and  reasons  why  this  is  so  we  refer  our 
readers  to  the  above  named  article  by  the 
Ifte  Henry  A.  Schuler,  in  his  able  discus- 
sion on  the  subject. 

The  Pennsylvania-German  dialect  is 
now  largely  a  mixtnre  of  the  Palatinate- 
German  and  English  words  and  phrases, 
though  a  century  ago  it  also  had  a  con- 
siderable number  of  French  words.  The 
older  writers  used  German  letters  and 
sounds;  the  present  day  writers  in  our 
dialect  try  to  make  it  readable  and  under- 
standable to  those  not  knowing  ths  Bibli- 
cal German  by  writing  it  according  Lo  Eng- 
lish sounds.  Those  writing  in  the  Penn- 
sylvania-CJerman  dialect  for  this  magazine 
ought  to  have  some  fixed  standard  for 
spelling,  as  then  more  could  read  their 
contributions.  And  we  commend  to  such 
writers  the  consideration  of  the  "Rules" 
given  in  the  article  by  Mr.  Schuler  who  was 
a  remarkable  linguist.  We  invite  attention 
of  those  who  search  for  and  write  up  his- 
torical facts  whether  in  English,  German  or 
Pennsylvania-German  to  the  article  of 
Richard    E.    Helbig,  Assistant  Librarian  of 


the  New  York  Public  Library,  in  the  Feb- 
ruary number.  Read  on  page  65,  2nd  col- 
umn what  he  wrote  of  enthusiasts  and  opti- 
mists and  his  indirect  hints  as  to  the 
proper   motives   for   such   work. 


A  Tribute 

The  following  letter  and  tribute  were 
called  forth  by  a  note  dated  .lanuary  11, 
1909,  directing  the  attention  of  Professor 
Avellanus  to  the  death  of  the  late  Henry  A. 
Schuler  Jan.  1908,  at  the  time  editor  oi 
THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN.  In  view 
of  his  services  to  this  magazine  we  deem 
it  in  place  to  record  the  testimonial  in  its 
pages.  The  memorial  by  his  scholarly 
friend  is  on  another  page. 

January,   ITth,   190ii. 
Mr.   H.   W.   Kriebel,   Publisher, 
East   Greenville,   Pa. 

Dear  Sir:  I  beg  leave  to  acknowledge  the 
receipt  of  your  favor  of  the  llth.  inst.,  as 
well  as  the  copy  of  the  PENNSYLVANIA- 
GERMAN,  with  the  portrait  and  sketch  ot 
our  common  friend,  Mr.  Henry  A.  Schuler, 
of  whose  untimely  death  I  had  no  informa- 
tion, and  which  sad  news  I  all  the  more 
deplore. 

I  have  availed  myself  on  your  kind  offer 
to  i)en  a  few  lines  about  his  relation  to  me. 
and  I  herewith  inclose  my  recollections  ot 
him.  It  does  not  disclose  any  great  aiul  sur- 
prising revelations,  but  simple  statements 
cf  facts,  which  are  creditable  to  his  mem- 
ory. You,  no  doubt,  know  more  details 
of  his  life  story,  of  which  you  have  already 
siven  a  very  jieat  and  terse  sjjecimen  in 
that  number  of  the  magazine,  and  likely 
more  in  others:  but  this  ))art  of  his  nctivit.v 
I  knew  best.  Considering  the  circuuistances 
under  which  he  had  suulied  Latin,  his  at- 
tainments in  that  resi)ect  were  simi)ly  mar- 
velous. He  did  not  know  many  small  details 
and  fineries  of  Latin  when  we  first  got 
acquainted,  but  he  mastered  them  unaidetl 
in  no  time,  and  he  wrote  with  considerable 
elegance    and    ease.    I    have  no  recollection 


140 


CLIPPINGS    FROM    CURRENT    NEWS 


of  another  man  who  has  accomplished  what 
he  has  in  the  field  of  Latin;  and  yet  I  was 
in  touch  with  most  Latinists  from  all  the 
world.  Mr.  Schuler  was  a  greate.-  genius 
than  his  best  friends  know,  ,and  you  are  at 
liberty  to  make  this  statement  in  addition 
to  my  article. 

Very    respectfully   yours, 
ARCADIUS  AVELLANUS. 
Middletown  Conn. 


The  author  of  the  first  article  in  the 
February  issue  was  James  not  John  Mad- 
den and  in  the  same  article  ."oinville 
should  read  Jornville  and  en  the  editorial 
page  F.  C.  ought  to  be  P.  C.  Croli. 


NOTE.— It  is  a  matter  f  regret  that 
there  were  quite  a  number  typograph- 
ical errors  in  the  February  issue  of  this 
monthly. 

In  the  sketch  of  Col.  Matthias  Hollen- 
back,  the  name  is  printed  Hollenback 
twice  where  the  copy  has  it  Hollenbach 
and  four  times  Hollenbach  where  it  ought 
to  read  Hollenback,  and  on  page  55  Hol- 
lenbachim  ought  to  be  the  German  femi- 
ine  form  Hollebachin.  The  names  Cath- 
erine and  Marie  ought  to  read  Catherina 
and  Maria  and  Dietter,  Dieter  and  Stoudt. 
Stout. 


Clippings  from  Current  News 


—The  Studebaker  Brothers  Mfg.  Co.  of 
South  Bend,  Indiana,  erected  a  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
building  at  the  formal  opening  of  which 
on  October  25,  10,000  took  part. 

At  the  annual  banquet  of  the  Poor  Rich- 
ard Club,  Phila.,  Martin  G.  Brumbaugh, 
LL.  D.,  spoke  on  "Benjamin  Franklin  and 
the   Pennsylvania  German." 

Ex-Governor  Samuel  W.  Pennypacker, 
addressed  the  Frankford  Historical  Society 
at  the  Free  Library  Building  on  "Charac- 
ters Unknown  in  History,"  referring  prin- 
cipally to  Pennsylvania  Germans. 

The  Saxon  government  resolved  to  adopt 
the  Bcdelschwingh  plan  for  the  abolition 
of  vagabondage.  It  will  establish  wayfar- 
ers' inns  in  such  a  way  that  they  are  apart 
from  each  other  only  a  day's  journey.  The 
men  will  be  given  work  either  on  the  farm 
or  in  workshops  connected  with  the  inns 
and  steps  will  be  taken  to  procure  steady 
employment  for  them.  "Bums"  (German: 
Strolche)  will  be  taken  to  institutions 
where  they  are  compelled  to  work  hard 
and  cannot  go  on  the  road  again. 

*      4"      * 

Reeent  Deaths  of  Pennsyhania-Gierraans 

Isaac  H.  Keefer  of  Chambersburg,  Pa. 
aged  75  years.  He  was  the  last  survivor 
of  his  immediate  family.  He  had  been  a 
farmer  and  of  late  years  was  engaged  in 
the  coal  and  grain  business.  He  was  a 
prominent  member  and  an  Elder  in  Zion's 
Reformed  congregation. 

James  Brownback,  aged  75,  identified  for 
many  years  with  stove  manufactuiing  in- 
dustries at  Linfield  and  Pottstown,  and  for 
a  long  time  president  of  the  March-Brown- 
back  Stove  Company,  of  Pottstown,  died 
suddenly  of  heart  affection  at  his  home  at 
Linfield. 

Charles  G.  Bokins  died  unexpectedly,  at 
the  age  of  90  years  in  Germantowu,  Phila. 
His    ancestor      William      Bokins     emigrated 


from  Westphalia,  Germany,  and  was  one  of 
the  early  settlers  in  Germantown,  now  one 
of  the  wards  in  Philadelphia.  Mr.  Bokins 
started  in  the  notion  business  with  his 
brother  at  3d  and  Market  Sts..  but  in 
1869  removed  to.  Germantown  and  estab- 
lished a  large  retail  dry  goods  store.  After 
more  than  fifty  years  of  a  successful  busi- 
ness career  in  1894  he  retired  in  favor  of 
one  of  his  two  surviving  sons.  Mr.  Bokins 
was  in  1843  married  to  Margaret  Unruh. 
whose  father  was  born  in  a  house  at  Mt. 
\iry,  used  for  a  hospital  after  the  BattU' 
of   Germantown. 

After  a  brief  illness  the  Rev.  G.  C.  Hen- 
ry, D.D.,  died  at  his  home  in  Shippensburg. 
Pa.,  Jan.  18th.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
General  Synod  and  a  frequent  contributor 
to  "The  Lutheran  Observer." 

Edward  R.  Snader,  M.  D.,  was  killed  by 
his  automcbile  steering  gear  getting  out  of 
order  and  plunging  over  an  embankment  in 
Fairmount  Park,  Phila.  He  was  a  native 
of  Lancaster  County,  Pa.  Dr.  Snader  was 
professor  in  a  Phila.  Medical  College,  and 
was  an  expert  in  heart,  lung  and  stomach 
diseases.  He  was  an  authority  in  these 
branches  and  ccnsulted  frequently  by  other 
l)hysicians. 

News  has  been  received  of  the  death  in 
Alameda,  Cal.,of  Joseph  Anshutz,  for  many 
years  supervising  architect  of  the  Board 
of  Education  of  Philadelphia.  He  de- 
signed the  Central  High  School,  at  Broad 
and  Green  streets.  The  interment  was 
made  in  Alameda. 

Mr.  Anshutz  was  about  60  years  old.  He 
was  a  cousin  of  Thomas  Anshutz,  a  por- 
trait painter  and  member  of  the  \cademy 
of  the  Fine  Arts. 

Ten  years  ago  Mr.  Anshutz  went  to  Sau 
Francisco  for  his  health.  He  was  there  at 
the  time  of  the  earthquake.  His  wife,  who 
was  Miss  Anne  Taylor,  of  this  city,  sur- 
vives  him. 


141 


The  Forum 


MEAMNG   OF    NAMES 


By  Leonliard  Kolix  Fuld,  M.  A.,  LL.  31. 

EDITORIAL  NOTE.— Mr.  Fuld  his  kind- 
ly consented  to  give  a  brief  account  of  the 
meaning  of  the  surname  of  an.y  subscriber 
who  requests  such  a  reading  and  sends 
twenty-five  cents  to  the  Editor  of  THE 
PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN  for  that  pur- 
pose. 

II.  KR.VM 

The  name  KRAM  ori'^inally  meant  a  stall 
from  which  goods  were  sold.  Then  it  came 
to  mean  a  shop  LADEN.  BUDE.  From  the 
name  of  the  place  in  which  goods  were  sold 
it  gradually  became  the  name  of  the  occu- 
pation itself  and  thus  we  see  it  becoming 
the  equivalent  of  trade  KRAMFANDEL 
and  retail  trade  SCHNITTWARENHANDEL. 
And  finally  it  came  to  mean  what  was  sold 
in  these  shops;  in  the  singular  it  meant 
haberdashery  KURZWAREN  and  in  the 
plural  trinkets  METALLSACHEN.  Figur- 
atively it  means  pots  and  pans  KUCHENGE 
RAT  and  stuff  ALLERLEI  ZEUG.  The 
word  api>ears  also  in  the  proverb  DIE 
ELLE  1ST  LANGER  ALS  DER  KR.AM  which 
means.  It  is  impossible  to  make  the  ends 
meet.  The  name  KRAM  occurs  in  a  lar-^e 
number  of  colloquial  sayings  of  which  the 
following  are  the  most  common:  ALLER- 
LEI KLEINER  KRAM:  cdds  and  ends: 
ELENDER  KRAM;  rubbi^^h:  DER  GANZE 
KRAM.  the  whole  lot;  D\  LIEGT  DER 
KRAM,  there  is  an  end  of  the  mattf-r;  DAS 
PASST  (JERADE  IN  SEINEN  KRAM.  that 
suits   his    purpose;    DAS    VERDIRLT    MIR 

DEN  GANZEN  KRAM,  that  spjils  the 
whole  affair;  IN  DEM  KRAM  KOMMEN.  to 
be   brought   to  bed. 

These  colloquial  phrases  indicuLe  how 
clrsely  the  name  KRAM  was  related  to  the 
everyday  life  of  the  Germans.  It  meant  a 
small  shoi)keeper  during  the  iieriod  when 
Germans  became  fixed  and  this  is  the 
meaning  which  attaches  to  the  name  at  the 
jiresent  dav. 

LEONHARD    FEIJX    I'^ULD. 

4"     *     4* 

ronnniu'iit    .Markers   »'<»r  (i!rai«'s  of   Patriots 
and    Pioin'rrs 

Cai)t.  A.  P.  Stultz.  of  Zanesville.  Ohio. 
Curator  of  the  Muskingum  Co..  Historical 
Society,  a  veteran  cf  the  Civil  War,  grand- 
son of  Adam  Stultz,  soldier  of  the  War  cf 
1812.  of  Penna. -German  ancestry,  and  a 
great-grandson  of  Richard  Marshall,  (uncle 
of  Chief  .lustice  Mar.^hall)  who  served  over 
seven  years  to  help  establish  American  In- 
dependence, has  been  devoting  much  atten- 
tion to  the  question  of  securing  a  perm- 
anent   and    indestructible   memorial    for   use 


as  markers  for  the  graves  of  the  patriots 
and  pioneei's  of  our  country. 

The  i)rohibitive  cost  of  the  best  granites 
and  stones  and  the  rapid  disintegration  of 
the  cheaper  stones  and  metals  prevent  such 
general  use  of  such  markers  as  is  neces- 
sary to  insure  the  preservation  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  location  of  the  events,  and 
the  graves  of  those  who  played  an  im- 
portant part  in  the  history  of  the  United 
States. 

Readers  of  THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GER- 
.\L\X  will  re.ioice  therefore  to  learn  that 
Captain  Stultz  has  himself  perfected  a  pot- 
tery mai'ker  that  seems  to  fill  all  the  re- 
(juirements.  It  is  of  purest  vitrified  clay, 
white,  and  has  tie  name  of  the  soldier,  the 
comiiany  and  regiment,  or  other  cummind. 
in  which  he  served,  burned  under  the  glaz- 
ing: it  is  practically  imperishable,  and  can 
l)e  manrfactured  and  put  on  ihe  market  at 
a  price  less  than  one-half  of  the  cost  of 
those  now  used.  This  is  not  only  a  dis- 
tinguishing marker  for  a  soldier's  grave, 
but  also  a  lasting  rtcord  of  his  service  to 
his  country.  It  will  be  seme  time  however 
befci'e  these  markeis  are  on  the  market  as 
business  arrangements  for  their  manufac- 
ture must   be   com])leted. 

4»     *     * 

Schuvlkill    Haven.   .Ian.    12.    1909. 
Mr.   H    W.   Kreibel. 

D 'ai-  Sir:  Enclosed  please  find  check  for 
subscripticu  to  the  PENNSYLV ANA-GER- 
MAN. I  am  very  grateful  for  yorir  descrip- 
tion of  the  Bern  Church  Cemetery  and 
Chrrch  which  api)eared  in  your  January 
issue  where  my  grandparents  lie  burie.l 
and  other  relatives  of  mine  which  interest- 
ed me  very  much.  The  interest  caused  this 
renewal  of  subscription.  Hoi)ing  to  con- 
tinue and  learn  more  in  the  future.  With 
best  wishes  to  the  Staff  I  rem.un. 
Yours  trulv. 

A.   \.    BRENSINGER. 

4"      +      4" 

A  subscriber  writes; 

"I  was  much  interested  in  the  article  on 
the  Germans  in  Louden  county,  Virginia  as 
I  wrs  hern  there  and  have  many  relatives 
with  the  family  names  of  German  origin. 
German  is  nevei'  spoken  among  them  and 
most  r.f  them  have  forgotten  that  their  an- 
cestois  came  down   from   Penna." 

PROF.    HICKMAN. 
Indiana.   F*a. 

4"      4*      4* 

Information    Waiit<Ml 

Mr.  S.  S.  Fiery.  Bangor,  P'a.,  being  en- 
gaged in  collecting  material  for  a  history 
of  the  Flory  or  Fleury  family  invites  cor- 
respondence from  any  persons  in  position 
to   give   information   about   the   family.  ?,-4-'< 


142 


THE   FORUM 


In  the  January  number  of  "THE  PENN- 
SYLVANIA-GERM.^^" in  the  interesting 
article  "How  New  Year  is  observed  by  the 
Moravians"  mention  is  made  of  the  influx 
of  country  people  to  attend  the  midnight 
service,  Dec.  31.  That  this  difficulty,  with 
its  disturbing  influences  was  experienced 
as  late  as  fifty  years  ago  in  Bethleh»m  also 
is  a  well  known  fact.  The  writer  has  in 
his  possession  an  original  manuscript  no- 
tice issued  by  the  Warden  of  the  Nazareth 
Congregation  dated  Dec.  18.  1794.  It  speaks 
for  itself.  It  is  given  in  English  and  Ger- 
man. 

"The  Directors  of  the  Congregation  in 
Nazareth,  hereby  request  our  neighbors, 
not  to  come  to  the  meetings  in  this  place 
on  Christmas  Eve  and  the  evening  before 
New  Year.  The  want  of  Room  and  other 
Difficulties  attending  it  in  the  Night  time 
make  it  Necessaiy  that  those  iiieetingp 
will  be  kept  only  for  the  members  of  the 
Congregation.  Public      Preaching      with 

Church  music  will  be  on  Christmas  Day 
and  New  Year's  Day  as  usual,  in  the  Fore- 
noon. Nazareth,  Dec.  18th,  1794. 
N.    TILLOFSON. 

Die  Direction  der  Gemeine  in  Nazareth 
ersucht  hiedurch  unsere  Nachbaren  freund- 
lichst  sich  nicht  zu  den  Versamlungen 
dieses  Orts  zur  Christnacht  und  zu  dem 
abend  vor  dem  Neuen  Yahre  herzu  bega- 
ben,   im   dem   dieselben    wegen    des    engen 


Platzes  und  andere  zur  Nachtzeit  gewoehn 
lichen  Berschwerlichkeiten  nur  fiir  die 
Glieder  der  G'emeine  veranstaltet  werden 
Kounen.  Die  offentloichen  Predigten  aber 
am  Erten  weihnacht's  feuertage,  und 
neujahrs  tage  werden  wie  gewohnlich  mit 
Kirchen  Music  Vormittags"  gehalten  wer- 
den. Nazareth  den  18th  December,  1794. 
N.    TILLOFSON. 

The  above  official  was  born  in  Holztein 
en  1745.  He  served  as  teacher  in  Niesky, 
Germany,  and  as  superintendent  in  Grace- 
hill,  Ireland,  coming  to  America  1791. 
where  he  was  ordained  a  Deacon  by  Bishop 
.lohn  Ettwein.  He  labored  in  the  Gospel 
at  Schoeneck.  Gnadenhiitten,  on  the 
Mahony,  Pa.,  and  at  Hope.  N.  J.  He  died 
in  retirement  at  Lititz  in  1806.  having  the 
love  and  good  will  of  every  one. 

Tradition  says  that  when  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  strangers  collected  at  the  "INN"  be- 
came too  strenuous  about  midnight,  so  that 
the  guardians  of  the  peace  failed  to  pre- 
serve order — a  call  was  made  for  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Hon.  William  Henry,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  congregation — manufacturer  of 
rifles  for  the  U.  S.  Government,  as  well  as 
for  the  State,  a  man  of  stature  and  digni- 
fied bearing — whose  arrival  with  his  "big' 
stick"  invariably  put  an  end  to  the  dis- 
turbance. Yours  veiT  truly, 

JOSEPH    A.    RICE. 


Historical  Societies 


The    Lelii^Ii    Connfj'    Historical    Society 

held  its  last  quarterly  meeting  in  Allen- 
town,  Pa.  The  former  president,  secretary 
treasurer  and  executive  committee  were 
re-elected.  Nine  new  members  were  elect- 
ed, making  a  total  of  14.5.  The  reading  of 
biographical  sketches  of  members  who 
died  lately  was  postponed  till  next  meet- 
ing, thus  giving  time  to  read  three  other 
*  excellent  papers,  which  will  be  published 
in  this  magazine. 

The  past  year  42  bound  volumes  and  40 
pamphlets  were  given  to  the  society,  mak- 
ing a  total  of  140  bound  volumes  and  180 
pamphlets.  The  society  has  quite  a  num- 
ber of  manuscript  papers,  facsimiles,  maps, 
photographs  and  other  articles.  The  treas- 
urer's annual  report  shows  expenditures 
of  .$299.14.  chiefly  for  printing  the  society's 
proceedings  and  papers.  The  New  York 
Public  Library  having  requested  these,  a 
copy  of  all  its  publications  was  author- 
ized to  be  donated  to  that  Library's  Ger- 
man American  Department. 

The  Park  Commission  of  Allentown.  has 
granted   this    Historical    Society   the    use   of 


the  historic  Allen  Fishing  and  Hunting 
Lodge,  which  to  the  present  formed  part  of 
the  East  wing  of  the  old  buildings  of  Muh- 
lenberg College,  the  grounds,  which  are 
now  to  become  one  of  this  city's  iiarks. 

4*    4»     4» 

The   Historians'  Animal  Meeting, 

The  Bucks  County  Historical  Society 
held  its  twenty-ninth  annual  meeting  in  the 
Society's  building.  Doylestown.  on  Tues- 
day. January  19.  Two  sessions  were  held, 
one  at  10.30  a.  m.  and  the  other  at  2.30  p. 
m.  The  business  meeting  was  held  in  the 
morning.  Three  papers  were  presented  at 
the  afternoon  session. 

Warren  S.  Ely.  Librarian  of  the  Society, 
presented  a  paper  on  "The  Lime  Quarries 
and  Kilns  of  Bucks."  Ely  J.  Smith.  Esq.. 
Doylestown.  read  a  paper  on  "Old  Time 
Children's  Games."  Oliver  Randolph  Parry, 
of  Philadelphia,  i-ead  a  paper  on  "Betsy 
Ross,  the  Flag  Maker."  and  i>resented  to  the 
Society  the  only  authenticated  piece  of 
flooring  of  Ihe  original  flag  house  extant. 


HISTORICAL    SOCIETIES 


143 


York  County  Ilistoricul  Society 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Historical 
Society  of  York  County,  held  on  Thursday 
evening,  January  14th,  Robert  C.  Bair  was 
elected  president;  Captain  W.  H.  Lanius, 
vice  president;  A.  Wanner,  treasurer; 
Chas.  A.  Hawkins,  recording  se<;retary; 
and  Miss  Lena  T.  Root,  corresponding  sec- 
letary.  The  board  of  trustees  is  composed 
of  Rev.  T.  T.  Everett,  D.  D.,  Captain  W. 
H.  Lanius,  George  P.  Smyser,  Rev.  E.  T. 
.Jeffers,  D.  D.,  J.  A.  Dempwolf,  J.  W. 
Steacy,  Captain  John  Fahs,  all  prominent 
in  the  affairs  of  the  city  of  York. 

This  Society  was  organized  in  1S92,  but 
did  not  become  vigorously  active  until 
1902.  During  that  year  the  County  Com- 
missioners gave  permission  for  the  Society 
to  use  a  large  room  on  the  third  floor  of 
the  new  County  Courthouse.  This  room 
which  is  reached  by  an  elevator  is  now  en- 
tirely filled  with  a  museum  and  library.  The 
walls  are  covered  with  tramed  portl-aits, 
historic  views  and  places  relating  to  south- 
ern Pennsylvania.  The  museum  contains 
many  thousand  souvenirs  and  mementoes 
i)f  local  history,  A  collection  of  natural 
history  embraces  all  the  birds  and  small 
animals  which  are  found  in  the  Keystone 
State.  The  collection  of  birds'  eggs  and  in- 
sects is  large  and  valuable.  About  ten 
thousand  persons  visit  this  room  annually. 
The  museum  and  library  were  arranged 
under  the  direction  of  Geo.  R.  Prowell.who 
has  served  as  curator  and  librarian  during 
the  past   six  years. 

At  the  January  meeting  Rev.  William  J. 
Oliver  pastor  of  Calvary  Presbyterian 
Church  of  York,  read  an  exceedingly  inter- 
esting sketch  of  Hon.  Hugh  Henry  Brack- 
enridge,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  men 
who  resided  in  york  County.  Bracken- 
ridge  was  born  in  Ireland,  and  came  to 
this  country  with  his  parents  wh3n  quite 
young.  He  graduated  at  Princeton  College 
in  the  same  class  with  James  Madison,  and 
(luring  the  Revolution  was  chaplain  in  the 
American  army.  After  the  war  he  edited 
a  newspaper  in  Philadelphia,  then  studied 
law  and  in  17S1  he  settled  in  P'ttsburg. 
ihen  a  small  village  on  the  Western  front- 
ier. He  soon  took  rank  among  the  leaders 
of  the  bar,  and  was  appointed  by  Gover- 
nor McKeen.  a  membei-  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Pennsylvania.  Justice  Bracken- 
ridge  died  at  his  home  in  Carlisle,  in  1816. 

Mr.  Oliver  devoted  most  of  his  paper  to 
the  literary  career  of  Brackenridge  whose 
work  entitled  •Modern  Chivalry,"  now  a 
rare  book,  is  one  of  the  finest  specimens 
of  satiie   in   American   literature. 

Prof.  C.  H.  Ehrenfeld,  a  membe.-  of  the 
faculty  of  York  Collegiate  Institute,  read  a 
])aper  on  "Buffaloes  in  Pennsylvania."  This 
interesting     paper    was      prepared     by     Mr. 


James  M.  Swank,  of  Philadelphia,  general 
manager  of  the  American  Iron  &  Steel  As- 
sociation, and  appears  in  his  recent  pub- 
lished work. 

The  Historical  Society  of  York  Count}" 
has  two  hundred  active  members  and 
twenty  life  members.  The  meetings  are 
held  at  regular  intervals,  when  papers  art- 
read  and  discussed. 

•{•      4>      4. 

The     Bucks     County     Historical    Society 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Society  held,  Janu- 
ary 27,  the  following  officers  were  elected: 

President,  William  H.  New-ell,  Vice-presi- 
dents, Isaac  Paxson,  Mrs.  A.  A.  Seibert, 
Theodore  Dewees;  Recording  Secretary. 
Daniel  G.  Lubold;  Corresponding  Secre- 
tary, Miss  Elena  M.  Roads;  Treasurer,  J. 
W.  Fox;  Librarian,  H.  J.  Herbein;  Ass't. 
Librarian,  Claude  Unger;  Directors.  H.'  J. 
Herbein,  G.  A.  Berner,  Esq. 
The  Society  was  represented  at  the  meet- 
ing of  the  State  Federation  of  Historical 
Societies  at  Harrisburg,  by  Mr.  Claude  Un- 
ger. What  will  be  one  of  the  most  import- 
ant of  its  Publications  is  in  press.  This 
number  will  contain — A  "Documentary 
History  of  Zion  (the  Red)  Church,"  com- 
piled by  the  Rev.  H  A.  Weller;  "Schuylkill 
County  in  the  French  and  Indian  War,"  by 
Mr.  Wm.  H.  Newell;  "The  Flora  of  Schuyl- 
kill County,"  by  Prof.  S.  A.  Thurlow;  "His- 
tory of  the  Schools  of  Pottsville."  by  Wm. 
G.   Wells;    Esq. 

The  Society  hafe  secured  quarters  in 
Pottsville's  new  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Building.  Its 
meetings  are  held  the  last  Wednesday  even- 
ing of  each  month  and  are  fairly  well 
attended.  Its  financial  condition  is  quite 
satisfactoiy.  only  a  small  number  of  mem- 
bers being  delin(|uent  in  the  paying  of  dues. 

+      *      * 

In  the  new  Schaif-Herzog  Encyclopedia 
of  Religious  Knowledge,  now  issuing  in 
America,  Prof.  Benjamin  B.  Warfield,  of 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  who  con- 
tiibutes  the  article  on  "The  Atonement," 
lilaces  at  the  head  of  the  list  of  American 
books  that  the  student  should  consult  "The 
Atonement  and  Modern  Thought,"  by  Rev. 
D)-.   J.   B.   Remensnyder. 

4»     +     •!• 

"Electro-.Analysis"  by  Edgar  F.  Smith. 
Sc.  D..  LL.  D.,  which  appeared  a  vear  ago 
in  its  fourth  English  edition,  has  inst  been 
translated  into  its  second  German  edition 
by  Professor  Stabler  of  the  University  ol 
Berlin.  The  most  recent  advances  in  elec- 
tro-chemical analysis  are  treated  in  this 
volume. 


144 


Reviews  and  Notes 


The  Life  of     Francis  Daniel     Pastorius: — 

The      Founder      cf        Germantown — By- 
Marion    Dexter  Learned,    Ph.  D.,  L.  H. 
D.,  Professor  of  German  at  the  Univer- 
sity  of   Pennsylvania.     Illustrated    with 
90    photographic    reproductions.     Large 
octavo;        cloth;      324pp.      Price      $5.00 
Edition,  limited  to  1000  copies.  William 
J.  Campbell,   Philadelphia,   1908. 
No  more     fitting  and     lasting     memorial 
could  have     been     established  at  the     late 
commemorative    exercises   of  the    founding 
of     Germantown     than     the     publisliing  of 
Professor     Learned's     exhaustive   work   on 
■Tie   Life   of   Francis    Daniel    Pastorius." 

Pastorius,  the  subject  of  this  work,  was 
l)orn  in  Sommerhausen,  Germany,  Sept.  26, 
1651.  Little  is  known  .of  his  ancesLors  ex- 
cept that  they  were  of  a  distlnguisiied  Ger- 
man family,  whose  original  name  may 
have  been  Hirt  or  Schiifer  of  wh.ch  the 
name  Pastor  is  the  Latinized  form;  dur- 
ing this  period  names  were  often  Latinized 
under    the    influence    of   Humanism. 

In  1863  he  migrated  to  Americi  with  a 
small  body  of  friends,  and  settled  on  the 
Frankfort  Compamy's  tract  between  the 
Schuylkill  and  Delaware  Rivers.  He  con- 
trolled the  affairs  of  the  several  land  com- 
panies until  1688,  when  he  engaged  in 
teaching  in  the  schools  of  Philadelphia. 
When  Penn  granted  Germantown  a  charter 
in  1698,  Pastorius  became  the  first  Bailif. 
He  held  many  important  offices  in  the  little. 
I'ity. 

It  Js  to  be  lamented  that  neither  the 
Hxact  date  of  his  death  is  known  nor  the 
place  where  he  is  buried.  He  is  supposed 
lo  have  died  between  1719^1720,  and  it  is 
supposed,  furthermore,  that  ho  was  buried 
in  the  Friends'  Burying  Ground,  German- 
town;  but  there  is  no  tombstone  nor  record 
(-f  burial  to  indicate  this. 

Pastorius  was  a  many  sided  man.  especi- 
ally in  a  literary  way.  He  was  a  scliolar. 
and  was  said  to  have  been  conversant  with 
no  less  than  seven  languages  Some  of  his 
writings  are  still  extant;  it  is  also  to  liim 
that  Prof.  Learned  credits  the  first  protest 
against  slavery  which  the  Friends  of  Ger- 
mantown presented  in  1688,  which  act  was 
the  insi)iration  of  Whittier's  "The  Pennsyl- 
vania Pilgrim." 

The  Appreciation  of  Pastorius  by  Ex- 
Governor  S.  W.  Pennypacker  of  Pennsyl- 
vania is  perfecly  sincere  and  appropriate: 
he  rejoices  that  so  eminent  a  scholar 
undertook  the  writing  of  this  biogi-aphy. 

The  work  is  a  documentary  life  of  Pas- 
torius and  his  times.  It  is  the  work  of  a 
scholar,  of  a  trained  investigator  whose 
devotion  to  his  work  demands  respect.  It 
is  replete  witli  reliable  sources  and  he  who 
would  verify  them  all  would  have  a  hard 
task  on  liand.  It  is  a  contribution  to  his- 
tory;   it    is   exhaustive    and    authentic;     and 


one  may  well  presume  that  Professor 
Learned  has  said  the  last  word  that  is  to  be 
said  about  this  pioneer  of  German  migra- 
tion to  America. 

German  Literature  ia  American  Magazines 
Prior   To   1846— By     Scott     Holland     Good- 
night,    Ph.  D.     Assistant     Professor  of 
German,     University   of  Wisconsin.   No. 
188     in  the     Philology  and     Literature 
Series  of  the  Bulletin  of  the  University 
of  Wisconsin.     Paper;   264pp.     Price  50 
cents.  Madison,  Wisconsm.  1907. 
German  Literature  in  American  Magazines 
1846—1880 — By      Martin      Henry      .Haertel 
Instructor    in      German,     University    of 
Wisconsin.  No.  263  in  the  Philology  and 
Literature  Series  cf  the  Bulletin  of  the 
University    cf    Wisconsin.     Paijer;     lo3 
pp.      Price    50    cents.      Madison,     Wis- 
consin,  1908. 
During     the     last     decade      probably    no 
aspect   of   History   or   Literature   has   com- 
manded  more     attention     among     scholars 
over  this  whole     country  than  the    German 
element     and     influence  in  just     these  two 
phases  of  our  life  and  culture  development. 
It  is  also  only  of  late  years  that  this    coun- 
try is  beginning  to  realize  the  greatness  of 
the    debt    it   owes    to  German  civilization. 

Professor  Goodnight  discuss-es  the 
awakening  interest  in  German  life  and  cul- 
ture, in  fact  cf  all  things  German,  in  Ameri- 
ca, and  the  introduction  of  German  litera- 
tuer  to  the  readers  of  American  periodicals. 
Professor  Haertel,  on  the  otlier  hand,  takes 
up  the  developement  of  the  criticism  of 
German  literature  in  American  magazines 
from  1846 — 18S0;  he  confines  himseif  to  the 
attidude  of  the  journals  towards  literature 
alone. 

Both   of     these     publications   are     theses 
that  were  submitted  by  these  two     writers 
respectively  to  the  University  of  Wisconsin 
for  the     degree  of     Doctor  of     Philosophy. 
They   are  both     scholarly   pieces  of     work. 
They  show  the  expenditure  of  an  immense 
amount  of  labor  consumed  in  examining  an 
endless   number   of  old     magazines.     Tlieir 
reference   lists     alone     should     make  them 
invaluable  to  the  further  study  of     German 
and  American   literature. 
Supplement    1906    to    190S    to    the    Index   to 
Genealogies    i'ublished  in   1900.  Albany, 
N.   Y.,   .Toel   Munsell's   Sons,   Publishers, 
1908. 
.loel  Munsell's  Sons  have  rendered  a  dis- 
tinct    and     very     valuable     service     to     all 
librarians,    historians    and    genealogists    by 
sui)plementing    their    "Munsell's    Genealogi- 
cal  Index  of  1900"  and  thus  bringing  it  up 
to   date.      Hundreds   of   volumes   have   been 
searched     at     considerable     expenditure     of 
time,    labor    and    money.     As    a    result    you 
can    in    a    moment    find   out    by   the    use   of 
the     two     volumes     whether     anything    has 
lieen    i)ublished   on    jiarticular   families   and 
where   to    look    for   the   information. 


Vol.  X 


APRIL,  1909 


No.  4 


The  Origin  of  Sunday  Schools 

By  Dr.  I.  H.  Betz.  York,  Pa. 


HE  statistical  repct  of  the 
E  1  ev  e  n  t  h  International 
Sunday  School  Conven- 
tion held  at  Toronto, Can- 
ada. June  23-27,  1905. 
gave  the  number  of  Sun- 
day Schools  in  the  world 
as  262.131 ;  the  number 
of  teachers  2,426,888  and 
of  scholars  as  22.739.323  or  a  grand 
total  of  teachers,  and  scholars  sum- 
ming up  over  25^/2  millions,  in  num- 
))er. 

Of  this  number  the  United  States 
had  nearly  one  half.  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland  had  nearly  one  third,  Ger- 
many might  be  supposed  to  rank  very 
high  but  it  fell  short  oi  one  million. 

The  number  above  given  does  not 
include  the  schools  of  the  Roman 
I'atholic  or  Xon-Evangelical  Protes- 
tant Churches.  The  number  of  schol- 
ars in  the  Roman  Catholic  Sunday 
Schools  in  the  United  States  is  esti- 
mated by  clerics  at  one  million.  This 
\ast  organized  host  is  the  product  of 
modern  times.  Xothing  akin  to  it  was 
known  a  little  more  than  a  century 
ago.  To  search  for  its  beginning  is 
confessedly  interesting. 


Some  have  maintained  that  some- 
thing akin  to  Sunday  Schools  has  ex- 
isted from  the  early  ages  of  the  Jew- 
ish and  Christian  churches. 

While  parental  instruction  was  un- 
doubtedly given  at  all  times  to  chil- 
dren it  must  be  confessed  that  noth- 
ing in  the  way  of  Sunday  schools  ex- 
isted before  the  foundation  of  the 
Christian  church  at  least.  Nor  did  it 
exist  even  then  until  recent  times. 

\\  hat  are  known  as  public,  secular 
or  common  schools  were  not  in  exist- 
ence until  lately.  The  illiterate  condi- 
tion of  the  populace  in  England  as  re- 
lated by  INIacauly  was  extreme.  Their 
daily  condition  and  lack  of  comforts 
was  deplorable. 

Germany,  the  home  of  the  Reforma- 
tion and  its  outcome,  the  right  of  "pri- 
vate judgment"  at  once  accepted  the 
necessity  for  every  individual  to  be 
able  to  read  an  open  Bible. 

Luther  at  once  began  the  transla- 
tion of  the  Scriptures  which  also  gave 
form  and  substance  to  the  language. 

It  was  doubtless  these  facts  that  dif- 
fused education  over  the  Fatherland 
and  gave  to  every  child  the  rudiments 
of  an  education.  It  was  Chillinsfworth 


146 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


in  England  who  uttered  the  striking- 
war  cry — "The  Bible  !  the  Bible  !  Is 
the  Relig-ion  of  Protestants !" 

Supplementary  to  Luther's  "Justi- 
fication by  faith"  it  gave  an  enormous 
impetus  among  Protestant  peoples  for 
the  establishment  of  parochial  schools 
which  were  brought  to  America  in  the 
settlement  of  the  colonies.  It  was 
Christopher  Dock  the  pious  school- 
master of  the  Skippack  who  wrote  and 
published  the  first  book  on  teaching 
in  America  in  1770.  This  book  has  re- 
cently been  edited  by  Dr.  M.  G.  Brum- 
l)augh  and  published  by  Lippincotts. 
Dock  came  to  America  in  1714.  As 
early  as  1718  he  began  teaching  which 
he  followed  almost  continuously  till 
the  time  of  his  death  in  1771.  The  ex- 
act date  of  his  birth  is  unknoAvn.  He 
was  a  man  of  marked  conscientious- 
ness and  modesty  and  his  name 
though  long  obscured  bids  fair  to  be 
])erpetuated   and   better   known. 

The  "Log  Colleges  "  in  Pennsylva- 
nia, among  which  were  that  at 
-Veshaming  in  Bucks  County,  con- 
ducted by  the  celebrated  William 
Tennent  and  another  at  Washington, 
Pa.,  with  the  "  Log  Academy  "  near 
Nevvburg,  Cumberland  County,  turn- 
ed out  many  noted  pupils  who  after- 
wards became  noted  in  the  annals  of 
the  country.  These  schools  did  a  very 
important  work  during  the  primitive 
and  formative  period,  in  preparing 
young  men  as  teachers  and  for  the 
ministry. 

They  were  succeeded  by  other  and 
better  improved  means  in  the  course 
of-  time. 

S'liritual  instruction  was  mostlv 
carried  out  under  parental  oversight. 
The  Lord's  Day  was  mostly  devoted 
to  church  services,  scripture  reading 
and  meditation.  Probably  much  of  the 
subject  matter  was  beyond  the  mental 
develonment  of  the  young  and  thus 
nroved  irksome.  The  emphasis  was 
mostl}'  placed  ui)on  the  \A^)rd  rather 
than  the  Works  of  God.  The  Sab])ath 
in  New  England  retained  manv  of  its 
Mosaic  features,  as  it  did  and  still 
does   in    Scotland.       The   dav  in    Ne\\' 


England  began  at  sundown  on  Satur- 
day evening  and  terminated  at  sun- 
down on  Sunday  evening.  Henry 
Ward  Beecher  relates  that  when  he 
was  a  boy  with  others  they  all  stood 
in  line  watching  the  disaj)pearance  of 
the  sun  and  as  he  disappeared  they 
nudged  each  other  and  whispered : 
"  Do  you  see  him  losing  himself?" 

Doubtless  the  method  in  use  proved 
acceptable  to  those  who  carrierl  it  out, 
but  still  it  was  held  to  be  inefficient 
as  large  numbers  of  paients,  it  was 
held,  neglected  their  obligations  and 
large  numbers  of  children  grew  up 
without  provision  for  their  enlighten- 
ment. 

It  is  generally  claimed  that  the  Sun- 
day School  originated  through  the 
efforts  of  Robert  Raikes  of  Glouces- 
ter, England.  He  was  born  in  1735  and 
was  the  son  of  Robert  Raikes.  The 
father  was  a  printer  and  published  a 
paper  in  Gloucester.  The  lather  dying 
'"  1757  the  son  succeeded  him  in  the 
business.  Along  with  some  others  he 
started  a  Sunday  School  in  the  town 
in  1780,  some  say  in  1781-2-^-4,  the 
exact  date  not  being  certain. 

This  work  continued  for  about  30 
years  up  to  the  period  of  his  death  in 
181 1  at  the  age  of  76  years.  He  pub- 
lished the  accounts  of  the  movement 
in  his  journal  which  was  copied  by  the 
London  press,  and  caused  wide-spread 
comment.  He  lived  to  see  the  move- 
ment widely  extended  during  his  life. 

It  has  been  said  that  Raikes  conceiv- 
ed the  necessity  for  the  Sunday  School 
among  the  neglected  children  of  the 
communit}"  who  were  without  secular 
or  s)iritual  instruction.  Probably  un- 
der the  circumstances  the  early  Sun- 
da  v  School  embraced  both  kinds  of  in- 
struction from  the  necessity  of  the 
case  in  that  early  day.  To  have  done 
otherwise  would  have  seemed  almost 
impossible. 

The  dejjarture  was  novel,  moreover 
it  was  practical.  That  it  met  with  o])- 
position  whch  has  come  down  almost 
to  our  own  time  must  be  frankly  ad- 
mitted. But  in  the  main  the  idea  was 
fruitful,  grew  and  developed. 


THE    ORIGIN    OF    SUNDAY    SCHOOLS 


IV, 


Probably  it  proved  to  be  the  great- 
est adjuvant  the  church  has  ever  had. 

l-'or  some  years  past  the  priority  ol' 
Rt)bert  Raikes  in  this  field  would 
seem  are  called  in  question.  Simul- 
taneous claims  however  would  seem 
to  be  numerous  in  the  field  of  origina- 
tion i)r  discovery.  It  merely  shows 
that  the  necessity  for  new  develop- 
ments was  seen  in  xarious  directions 
and  places  and  that  efforts  were  being 
made,  unknown  to  others  though,  to 
fill  these  wants.  The  discovery  of  the 
Calculus  simultaneously  by  Newton 
and  Leibnitz ;  of  oxygen  by  Priestly 
in  England  and  Scheele  in  Sweden ; 
the  discovery  of  two  gases  in  com^:)Osi- 
tion  of  w^ater  by  Cavendish  and  Watt ; 
the  discovery  of  Neptune  by  Lcverrier 
and  Adams  and  the  enunciation  of 
the  theory  of  Natural  Selection  by 
Darwin  and  Wallace  all  illustiate  the 
truth  of  the  proposition  in  question. 

Even  though  opposing  claims  of 
priority  may  be  held,  they  but  show 
that  the  time  was  ripe  for  this  new 
departure  and  development. 

I'hey  arose  independently  without 
knowledge  of  each  other  and  must 
therefore  all  be  cordially  welcomed. 
Whether  one  preceded  the  other  by  a 
brief  space  of  time  is  immaterial  since 
they  all  tended  to  the  same  general 
end  independently.  Improvements  and 
additions  are  made  through  necessary 
experiences.  The  educational  exhibits 
at  our  expositions  show  this  matter  in 
its  true  light. 

Development  is  universal  and  con- 
tinuous throughout  s])ace  and 
throughout  time. 

The  claim  f(^r  the  founder  of  the 
first  Sunday  School  has  also  been 
made  for  the  Lutheran  pastor  Stuber 
which  was  continued  by  his  successor 
the  world  renowned  pastor  Jean  Fried- 
erich  Oberlin  (1740-1826)  of  S<-cinthal. 
Alsace.  To  few  men  has  it  fallen  to 
produce  a  greater  effect  uj)on  a  popu- 
lation than  ti^  01)erlin.  The  noted 
town  and  university  in  Ohio  was 
named  after  him.  His  work  upon  the 
P(^')idation  of  Steinthal  was  magical. 
1  tc  cc^nduccd  to  its  material  and  spirit- 


ual progress  through  his  own  example 
and  labors.  His  work  and  life  have 
l)een  largely  written  about  by  others 
and  will  richly  repay  reading.  He 
is  also  claimed  to  be  the  originator 
of  infant  schools  although  this  honor 
has  also  been  claimed  for  Robert 
Owen  of  Scotland  who  was  aJso  well 
known  in  America,  as  the  father  of 
English    Socialism   and   Secularism. 

It  is  claimed  that  pastors  Stuljcr  and 
Oberlin  founded  Simday  schools  as 
early  as  1/(^7.  That  is  both  possible 
and  probable. 

Steinthal  from  being  a  poverty 
stricken  region  containing  no  more 
than  500  inhabitants.  had  thirty 
years  later  increased  to  3,000.  Its 
growth  has  been  continuous  up  to  the 
present  time.  Such  is  the  eft'ect  pro- 
duced by  a  born  leader,  a  man  of  sin- 
cere faith  and  with  the  love  of  his 
fellow  men  at  heart. 

The  change  produced  by  Robert 
Owen  among  his  operatives  at  New 
Lanark  in  Scotland  was  another  case 
in  point.  The  leadership  of  George 
Rap])  at  Economy,  in  western  Penn- 
sylvania, in  promoting  the  welfare  of 
his  followers  during  his  litetime. 
shows  wdiat  good  leadership  is  cap- 
able of  when  in  the  hands  of  one  who 
replaces  self-interest  with  altruism  ; 
one  who  sinks  the  ego  for  the  benefit 
of  the  whole. 

But  there  are  claims  for  still  earlier 
))riority  for  the  formation  of  the  first 
Sunday  school  close  by  our  own 
doors.  The  ^lystics  of  the  Wissa- 
hickon  and  the  hermits  and  anchorites 
of  the  Cocalico  wdio  settled  near  Eph- 
rata  and  later  founded  this  monas- 
tery during  the  first  (juarter  of  the 
18th  century  accomplished  many  no- 
ted things  during  that  early  jjeriod.  In 
fact  among  these  recluses  were  men 
of  education  and  talent.  Theirs  is  one 
of  the  most  interesting  local  histories 
which    Pennsyhania   has   produced. 

Their  singing,  their  printing  and 
their  Axriting  schools  were  marvels  of 
art  in  that  day.  Specimens  ot  their 
writing  may  be  seen  in  the  Saal-l)uild- 
iuL;-    which  was  also  nsed  for  the  Sun- 


148 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


day  school  and  which  still  remains. 
The  writing  has  very  much  faded  but 
photographic  copies  have  been  made. 
Many  educated  men  and  accomplished 
women  were  found  in  their  ranks. 
They  established  a  secular  school 
which  was  much  patronized  by  people 
from  the  cities.  The  monks  of  the 
Wissahickon  and  those  of  Ephrata  as 
a  rule  were  scholarly  men  but  so  un- 
obtrusive were  they  that  their  merits 
escaped  the  outside  world  in  that  day. 
But  it  is  now  conceded  that  the 
cradle  of  German  literature  in  Ameri- 
ca originated  in  the  vale  of  the  Muh- 
bach  in  Lancaster  county,  Pa.,  in  that 
early  day.  The  organization  of  the 
e  d  u  c  ational  department  of  the 
Ephrata  Community  may  be  said  to 
date  from  the  arrival  of  Ludwig  Mock- 
er in  the  early  spring  of  1739.  He  had 
appeared  among  the  Mystics  of  the 
Wissahickon  at  the  since  famous  mon- 
astery, but  soon  cast  his  lot  with  the 
Ephrata  Community,  when  he  became 
known  under  the  conventual  name  of 
Brother  Obed.  His  wife  took  the 
name  of  Sister  Albina  and  their 
daughter  that  of  Sister  Petronella.  He 
was  soon  after  his  arrival  installed  as 
the  Schoolmaster  of  the  Congregation, 
instructing  the  youth  in  the  rudiments 
of  learning. 

He  at  an  early  day  compiled  and 
published  a  German  school  book  for 
the  use  of  his  pupils.  No  copy  of  the 
original  issue  of  the  book  has  come 
down  to  us  but  reprints  are  in  exist- 
ence. The  following  year  in  1740  he 
established  a  Sabbath  School  for  the 
children  of  the  Community.  It  must 
be  remembered  there  were  two  classes 
in  the  Community,  the  Solitary  and 
the  Household  of  the  Congregation. 
These  people  from  their  name,  the 
.Seventh  Day  German  Baptists  ob- 
served Saturday  or  the  Seventh  Dav 
as  the  Sabbath.  Several  modern  sects 
like  the  Seventh  Da}''  Baptists  and  the 
Seventh  Day  Adventists  still  observe 
the  seventh  day. 

Tn  fact  during  the  early  period  of 
the  Christian  Church  there  was  con- 
siderable difference  in   the  observance 


of  the  day.  Some  obfecrving  the 
seventh  and  others  the  first  day  of  the 
week.  In  fact  in  Scotland  both  days 
at  one  period  were  observed.  The 
people  surrounding  the  Ephrata  Com- 
munity observed  the  first  of  the  week 
therefore  in  teaching  the  children  of 
the  neighborhood  there  was  a  Sunday 
School  for  them  as  well  as  a  Sabbath 
School  for  the  children  of  the  Congre- 
gation. All  this  was  apart  from  the 
usual  week  day  school  as  it  was 
termed. 

It  has  been  claimed  by  those  who 
dissent  from  these  claims  that  there 
was  absoluetly  no  proof  that  either 
Sabbath  day  or  Sunday  Schools  were 
ever  regularly  held  at  Ephrata.  A 
letter  dated  February  3rd  1835  where- 
in Thomas  Davis  of  Chester  County 
who  was  then  in  his  72nd  year  says 
that  he  went  to  the  Sabbath  School  at 
Eohrata  until  he  was  13  years  of  age 
when  it  was  discontinued  evidently  on 
account  of  the  buildings  being  requir- 
ed for  hospital  purposes. 

This  would  make  the  period  1777 
when  500  wounded  were  brought  after 
the  battle  of  Brandywine  of  whom  200 
died  of  a  malignant  camp  fever  and 
were  buried  in  the  upper  graveyard 
where  a  monument  has  lately  been 
erected  to  their  memory.  This  Sunday 
school  would  therefore  seem  to  have 
been  founded  about  40  years  before 
Robert  Raikes  began  his  school  at 
Gloucester.  Spiritual  reward  cards 
were  also  given  to  children  of  the 
Sabbath  school,  some  of  which  have 
been  reproduced. 

Brother  Obed  was  assisted  in  this 
work  by  his  daughter,  Sister  Petro- 
nella, who  has  been  described  "as  a 
lovely,  beautiful  girl  not  only  comely 
in  form,  but  lovely  and  beautiful  in 
her  character  as  an  ardent,  active 
worker  in  the  Sabbath  school,  as  she 
was  in  every  Christian  virtue  *'  Maria 
Hocker  (Sister  Petronella)  was  per- 
haps the  first  female  Sunday  school 
teacher  of  whom  we  have  any  record 
if  we  admit  the  foregoing  facts  as 
being  historical.  Prof.  M.  G.  Brum- 
baugh   in   his   "History   of  the   Breth- 


THE    ORIGIN    OF    SUNDAY    SCHOOLS 


149 


reir '  says  :  "There  is  evidence  to  justify 
the  claim  that  the  Germantown  con- 
gregation had  a  Sabbath  school  before 
1738.  The  meeting  for  the  unmarried 
held  every  Sunday  afternoon  was 
doubtless  a  Sunday  school.  Ludwig 
ilocker  may  have  been  the  leader  of 
this  meeting.  In  1744  Christoi)her 
Saur  ])rinted  a  collection  of  381  tick- 
ets upon  each  one  of  which  is  a  scrip- 
tural quotation  and  a  stanza  of  relig- 
ious poetry  by  Gerhard  Tersteegen. 
These  were  evidently  used  in  the 
I'rethren's  Sunday  School.  A  set  of 
these  tickets  in  excellent  condition  is 
now  in  my  possession.  It  is  '.veil  to 
note  that  Sunday  Schools,  Council 
Meeting  and  an  Odd  Folks  Home 
were  instituted  by  these  early  Breth- 
ren. 

lUit  the  question  still  arises,  from 
which  of  these  points  did  the  Sunday 
school  spread  over  the  world?  It 
must  be  admitted  that  it  spread  from 
the  movement  of  Robert  Raikes.  "The 
Philadelphia  Society  for  the  Support 
of  Sunday  schools,"  was  the  earliest 
society  formed  in  the  United  States  in 
1786,  shows  that  Raikes'  idea  had 
taken  root  and  has  been  developing 
ever  since. 

The  first  man  who  began  Sunday 
schools  among  his  mill  operatives  at 
Webster,  Massachusetts  and  the 
neighboring  town  of  Slatersville, 
Rhode  Island  was  Thomas  Slater, 
(1768-1835.)  These  schools  were 
formd  in  1791  and  were  probably  the 
earliest  in  this  country.  He  also  estab- 
lished secular  schools  for  his  employ- 
ees' children  and  also  advanced  cotton 
spinning  and  the  iron  indus'.ry.  In 
fact  to  him  and  to  his  brother  New 
England  was  largely  indebted  for  the 
development  of  her  cotton  industries. 
The  interest  he  manifested  in  the  wel- 


fare of  his  operatives  is  a  landmark  in 
the  relation  of  capital  and  lalx^r.  The 
.Sunday  school  work  now  rapidly  ex- 
tended. It  was  introduced  into  York 
county.  Pa.,  in  1817  through  the 
organization  of  the  '"York  county 
Bible  Charity  and  Sunday  School 
Society."  And  under  a  charter  granted 
by  the  legislature  was  permanently 
organized  by  electing  Rev.  Samuel 
Bacon  as  its  president  in  the  same 
year.  This  meeting  as  well  as  the  first 
Sunday  school  under  its  auspices  was 
held  in  a  building  still  standing 
immediately  west  of  the  Friend's 
Meeting  house  on  Philade!])hia  St.  In 
this  building  also  was  held  the  Lan- 
castrian school  by  Amos  Gilbert  and 
Abner  Thc:)mas,  two  I'Viends  who  also 
assisted  in  the  Sunday  school.  The 
following  year  1818  the  school  was  re- 
moved to  the  building  of  the  York 
Comity  Academy  which  was  erected 
in  1787.  Rev.  Bacon  in  those  early 
years  formed  schools  all  over  the 
county.  In  September  1819  the  mem- 
bership of  the  schools  was  over  2.000. 
He  started  a  school  at  Lewisberry  as 
earl}^  as  1817.  The  work  extended  to 
every  point  in  the  coimty  very  rapidly. 
At  first  they  were  union  schools  but 
were  speedily  organized  as  denomina- 
tional schools.  Christ  Lutheran  Sun- 
day   school    in    York    was    formed    in 

1819.  The  IMethodist  Episcopal  fol- 
lowed in  1824.  St.  John's  Episcopal 
was  organized  in  1826.  The  English 
Reformed  in  1828  and  others  a  little 
later.  The  African.  Methodist  Episco- 
pal of  York  was  organized  as  early  as 

1 820. 

Such  is  a  brief  resume  of  a  work 
that  was  humble  in  its  beginnings 
but  which  has  reached  immense  pro- 
portions. 


150 


How  Easter  is  Observed  by  the  Moravians 

By  Louise  A.  Weitzel,  Lititz,  Pa. 


1 


unm 


N  THEIR  manner  of  ob- 
serving Easter  the  Mora- 
vians differ  most  wide- 
ly from  other  denomina- 
tions.They  have  a  unique 
and  peculiar,  a  beau- 
tiful and  significant  way 
of  celebrating  the  suffer- 
ings, death,  and,  above  all,  the  resur- 
rection of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Yet 
it  is  all  very  simple.  There  is  noth- 
ing that  savors  in  the  least  of  Ro- 
manism. The  beauty  and  impressive- 
ness  lie  in  its  very  simplicity  and  a  de- 
scription like  mine  can  give  the  reader 
only  a  very  inadequate  conception  of 
the  real  charm  of  these  services. 

Every  day  throughout  the  Holy 
\\  eek,  or  PassionWeek,  as  it  is  called 
by  the  Moravians,  services  are  held 
and  these  consist  for  the  most  part  of 
readings  by  the  pastor  from  a  manual 
containing  the  Harmony  of  the  Gos- 
pels on  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  inter- 
spersed with  singing  by  the  congre- 
gation of  hymns  composed  for  this 
season.  The  Moravian  hymnology  is 
ver)^  rich.  The  selections  rendered  by 
choir  and  orchestra  are  often  those  of 
'Moravian  composers,  which  exist  only 
in  manuscript  and  are  unknown  to 
the  non-Moravian  world.  The  church 
always  laid  much  stress  upon  musical 
culture  from  the  earliest  times,  and 
some  of  these  productions  are  consid- 
ered by  conioetent  critics  to  be  of  a 
very  high  order  of  excellence,  and, 
while  not  quite  equal  to  the  works  of 
the  great  masters,  are  often  better 
a(la])ted  for  the  purpose  designed 
than   the   latter  could  be. 

The  ()]iening  service  of  the  Passion 
Week,  in  the  Moravian  church  at 
Lititz,  Pa.,  is  held  on  the  Saturday 
evening  preceding  Palm  Sunday.  It 
has  for  many  years  been  cu.'^tomarv 
for  the  choir  and  orchestra  to   render 


"O  Bethanien,  du  Friedenshiitte,"  by 
Soerensen,  a  Moravian  composer.  In 
this  connection  it  might  be  interest- 
ing to  state  that  the  oldest  member  of 
the  orchestra  is  Mr.  Abraham  R, 
Beck,  75  years  old,  who  has  for  the 
last  forty-seven  years  played  a  violin 
during  the  rendering  of  this  composi- 
tion, which  he  purchased  in  1862  at  a 
sale  of  the  personal  property  of  John 
William  Ranch,  a  skillful  violinist  in 
his  time,  who  used  it,  as  nearly  as 
can  be  ascertained,  since  1820.  The 
instrument  was  made  in  1817  at  Neu- 
kirchen  bei  Adorf,  Germany,  by 
George  Friedrich  Lippold,  a  noted 
maker  of  violins,  and  is  beautiful!}' 
finished  in  ivory.  It  is  consequently 
ninety-two  years  old  and  Mr.  Beck 
would  not  part  with  it  at  any  price. 

Another  interesting  fact  that  might 
be  mentioned  is  that  there  are  two 
more  Becks  in  the  orchestra,  sons  of 
Mr.  Abraham  I'.cck,  Mr.  Paul  E.  Beck, 
•organist  and  choir  leader,  who  is  also 
leader  of  the  Lititz  band,  known  as 
Beck's  Concert  Band,  a  member  of 
the  trombone  choir,  and  art  instructor 
in  the  public  schools  of  Lititz  and 
Ephrata,  and  Mr.  Herl)crt  H.  Beck, 
professor  of  chemistry  at  Franklin  & 
Marshall  C(^llege,  Lancaster,  who  is 
a  very  fine  \'ioIinist. 

John  Beck,  the  pioneer  educator  of 
Lancaster  County,  was  the  grandfath- 
er of  these  young  men  and  James 
r>eck,  the  distinguished  jurist  and 
orator,   is  their  cousin. 

On  Palm  Sunday  there  is  reception 
of  members  in  the  morning,  by  bap- 
tism, confirmation  and  the  right  hand 
of  fellowship  for  those  received  from 
other  churches.  On  this  occasion  a 
quartette  of  male  voices  usually  ren~ 
(lers  the  familiar  hymn,  "Just  as  I 
am.  wihout  one  plea."  to  a  tune  com- 
]~»oscd   by  Mr.   Abraham   R.   Beck.     In 


HOW  EASTER   IS  OBSERVED  BY   THE   MORAVIANS 


151 


the  evening-  the  children  and  choir 
sing"  the  "llosanna"  chorus,  by  Gre- 
gor,  which  is  also  sung  the  world  over 
at  this  time  in  Moravian  churches. 

On  JMaundy  Thursday  the  Holy 
Communion  is  administered,  two  ser- 
vices being  held,  one  in  the  German 
language  in  the  afternoon,  and  in  the 
English  language  in  the  evening.  The 
trombone  choir  plays  a  choral  at  the 
opening  of  these  services,  as  at  all 
communions  and  lovefeasts.Thc  Mora- 
vian communion  also  differs  from 
those  of  other  churches  in  this  respect 
that,  with  the  exception  of  prayer  by 
the  pastor  and  silent  prayer,  it  is  en- 
tirely a  service  of  song.The  communi- 
cants do  not  kneel  before  the  altar  to 
receive  the  sacraments  but  remain  in 
their  pews,  rising  as  the  pastor  ajj- 
])roaches  with  the  bread  antl  wine. 
Every  alternate  pew  is  left  vacant  for 
the  convenience  of  serving  and  the 
])astor  is  generally  assisted  by  some 
other  clerical  brother,  as  for  instance. 
the  principal  of  Linden  Hall  Semi- 
•nary. 

On  Good  hViday  three  services  are 
held,  one  in  the  morning,  one  in  the 
afternoon  and  one  in  the  evening.  The 
afternoon  service  is  the  most  impres- 
sive. As  the  pastor  ends  the  reading 
nf  the  death  of  Christ  with  the  words: 
""And  when  Jesus  had  cried  again  with 
a  loud  voice,  he  said.  Father,  into  Thy 
hands  I  commend  my  spirit,  and,  hav- 
ing said  thus,  he  bowed  his  head,  and 
gave  up  the  ghost,"  the  congregation 
then  kneels  in  silent  prayer.  Prayer 
by  the  i^astor  then  follows  while  a 
bell  in  the  Mary  Dixon  Chai)el  tower 
at  Linden  llali  .Seminary  tolls  thirty 
three  times. 

The  evening  serxice  is  mostly  musi- 
cal, the  hymns  and  clioir  selections  all 
l)earing  upon  the  theme  of  the  burial 
of  Christ. 

On  Great  Sal)l)atli  a  funeral  Ihnc- 
fcast  is  held  in  the  afternoon,  the  rest 
in  the  grave  being  the  theme  of  the 
music. 

During  the  whole  week  the  tenor  of 
all  the  hvmns  and  musical  com]>osi- 
tions    rendered    are   of   a    solemn,    fun- 


ereal type  adapted  to  the  passion  and 
death  of  our  Lord,  and  the  Moravian 
])salmody  is  especially  rich  in  hymns 
of  this  kind  as  they  have  always  laid 
much  stress  upon  the  crucified  Lamb. 
Hut  when  Easter  Sunday  comes  the 
lune  is  changed,  and  there  is  a  jubi- 
lant, joyous,  triumphant  ring  in  all 
the  music  that  harmonizes  with  the 
opening  words  of  the  Easter  morning 
service.  "The  Lord  is  risen,"  and  the 
response,  "The  Lord  is  risen  indeed!" 
The  character  of  the  fioral  decorations 
is  also  changed.  On  Palm  Sunday 
calla  lilies  and  palms  predominate, 
through  the  following  days  a  few 
green  foliage  plants  suffice ;  oa  Good 
Friday  scarlet  flowers  appear  and  on 
Great  Sabbath  a  few  purple  blossoms. 
l)Ut  on  Easter  morning  there  is  a 
whole  bank  of  blossoms  and  plants  of 
every  color  and  kind  occupying  the 
pulpit  recess,  the  Easter  lilies  filling 
the  whole  church  with  fragrance,  and 
possibh'  a  rustic  cross  in  the  back- 
ground. 

A  service  is  held  in  the  chutch  just 
l)efore  sunrise,  and,  in  order  to  arouse 
the  population  for  this  early  service, 
the  trombone  choir,  often  augmented 
from  the  usual  five  or  si.x  to  nine  or 
ten,  visiting  brethren  volunteering  to 
help  and  even  the  old,  sliding  trom- 
bones' being  called  into  use,  marches 
about  the  town,  playing  chorales  at 
the  street  corners  for  several  hours 
preceding  the  meeting.  For  iiistance, 
if  the  service  is  held  at  5  t^clock  the 
tram])  begins  at  3.  The  sweet,  solemn 
strains  fall  ui)ou  the  ears  of  the 
drowsy  listeners  like  distant  angel 
music,  and.  as  these  same  listeners 
pee])  between  half  closed  blinds  they 
can  see  a  band  of  dusky  figures  wend- 
ing their  way  through  the  silent 
streets,  fitfully  illuminated  bv  a  hall 
dozen  torches,  while  the  calm  stars 
are  shining  overhead.  Here  and  there 
a  light  appears  at  a  window,  here  and 
there  a  figure,  or  two  or  three  issue 
from  a  door.  and.  bv  the  time  the 
church  bell  rings,  the  church  is 
crowded  with  a  reverent  throng  of 
worshippers.     After  the  final  selection 


152 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


has  been  played  in  the  church  square 
the  trombonists,  the  torch-bearers  and 
the  choir  of  singers  are  regaled  with 
sugar  cake  and  coffee  and  other  good 
things  in  the  old  chapel  adjoining  the 
church. 

The  Easter  morning  service  is  en- 
tirely a  liturgical  service,  and.  as  the 
Moravian  church  has  no  formal  creed, 
this  is  sometimes  called  the  Moravian 
creed,  and,  a  good  Bible  creed  it  is, 
than  which  no  denomination  can  pro- 
duce anything  better.  Weather  per- 
mitting the  service  is  concluded  in 
the  older  part  of  the  cemetery  where 
none  but  Moravians  are  buried  and 
the  tombstones  are  laid  flat,  on  the 
hill  some  little  distance  in  the  rear  of 
the  church,  a  procession  being  formed 
in  the  following  order:  namely,  the 
pastor,  the  tromlxtnists,  the  choir,  the 
w^omen,  and,  then  the  men  of  the  con- 
gregation, after  which  follows  the 
ntixed  multitude.  Arriving  at  the 
proper  place  a  semi-circle  is  formed 
facing  the  eastern  horizon  where  the 
sun  rises  on  clear  mornings  about  the 
time  the  service    is    concluded.       The 


pure,  bracing  air  of  the  early  morning, 
the  glory  of  the  rising  sun,  the  song  of 
birds,  the  flower-bedecked  graves  all 
around  and  the  solemn  voice  of  the 
preacher  as  he  reads,  "Glory  be  to 
Him  who  is  the  Resurrection  and  the 
Life,"  produce  an  impression  never  to 
be  effaced. 

Old  Moravians  find  it  as  im])ressive 
as  the  stranger  who  takes  part  in  this 
service  for  the  first  time. 

The  Easter  sermon  follows  at  lo 
o'clock,  as  also  another  special  liturgy 
and  further  music  by  choir  and  or- 
chestra. The  Sunday  School  has  its 
exercises  in  the  afternoon.  In  the 
evening  the  history  of  the  resurrection 
is  read  by  the  pastor  and  the  climax 
is  reached  as  far  as  the  music  is  con- 
cerned. On  Easter  Sunda}^  the  offer- 
ings are  always  gathered  for  the 
church's  world-wide  missions,  and.  as 
the  services  are  all  well  attended,  it  is 
usuall}^  a  very  liberal  offering. 

Lovers  of  music  might  find  it  inter- 
esting to  attend  a  Moravan  Easter  ser- 
vice. 


Washington  to  the  German-Lutherans 

By  H.  C.  Salem,  Ev.  Lutheran  Pastor,  New  Bethlehem,  Pa. 


EBRUARY    22nd    of    each 
year     we     celebrate     the 
birth    of    George    Wash- 
ington, the  Father  of  his 
Country.    Anything  writ- 
ten  by  him   is  of  special 
interest  to  the  readers  of 
THE  PENNSYLVANIA  -  GERMAN 
at  this  season.     The   letter  is   as   fol- 
lows : 

"To  the  Ministers,  Church  Council 
and  members  of  the  German  Luth- 
eran Congregations  in  and  near 
Philadelphia : 

Gentlemen : 

While  I  request  }-ou  to  accept  my 
thanks  for  your  kind  address,  I  must 


profess  myself  highly  gratified  by  the 
sentiments  of  esteem  and  considera- 
tion contained  in  it. 

The  approbation  of  my  past  conduct 
has  received  from  so  worthy  a  body  of 
citizens  as  that  whose  joy  for  my  ap- 
pointment yoti  announce,  is  a  proof  of 
the  indulgence  with  which  my  future 
transactions  will  be  judged  by  them. 

I  could  not.  however,  avoid  appre- 
hending that  the  partiality  of  my 
countrymen  in  favor  of  the  measures 
now  pursued  has  led  them  to  expect 
too  much  from  the  present  govern- 
ment ;  did  not  the  same  Providence 
which  has  been  visible  in  every  stage 
of    our    progress    to    this    interesting 


WASHINGTON'S     LETTER     TO    GERMAN-LUTHERANS 


153 


crisis  from  a  combinaton  of  circum- 
stances, give  us  cause  to  hope  for  the 
accomplishment  of  all  our  reasonable 
desires. 

Thus  partaking  with  you  in  the 
])leasing  anticipation  of  the  blessings 
of  a  wise  and  efficient  government ;  I 
flatter  myself  that  opi)ortunities  will 
not  be  wanting  for  me  to  show  my  dis- 
position to  encourage  the  domestic 
and  public  virtues  of  Industry,  Econo- 
my, Patriotism,  Philanthropy,  and 
that  Righteousness  which  exalteth  a 
Nation. 

I  rejoice  in  having  so  suitable  an  oc- 
casion to  testify  the  reciprocity  of  my 
esteem  for  the  numerous  people  you 
renresent.  For  the  excellent  charac- 
ter for  diligence,  sobriety  and  virtue, 
which  the  Germans  in  general,  who 
are  settled  in  America,  have  ever  main- 
tained, I  cannot  forbear  felicitating 
myself  on  receiving  from  so  respect- 
able a  number  of  them  so  strong  as- 
surances of  their  afifection  for  m}- 
person,  confidence  in  my  integrity, 
and  zeal  to  support  me  in  my  en- 
deavors for  promoting  the  welfare  of 
our  common   Country. 


So  long  as  my  conduct  shall  merit  the 
api)robation  of  the  WISE  and  the 
GOOD,  I  hope  to  hold  the  same  place 
in  your  affection  which  your  friendly 
declarations  induce  me  to  believe  I 
possess  at  present;  and  amidst  all 
the  vicissitudes  that  may  await  me  in 
this  mutable  existence,  I  shall  earnest- 
ly desire  the  continuation  of  an  inter- 
est in  your  intercessions  at  the 
THRONE  of  GRACE. 

G.  WASHINGTON." 

NOTE — Your  readers  will  be  impressed 
with  the  pure  diction  of  the  above  admir- 
able letter;  with  his  high  appreciation  of 
Christian  church  members;  with  his  splen- 
did tribute  to  the  Germans;  with  the 
statesmanlike  tone  of  the  documeiit;  with 
the  great  principles  that  would  '.ifluence 
him  in  the  performance  of  his  civil  duties: 
with  his  utter  dependence  on  the  THRONFI 
of  GRACE  for  his  success  in  administering 
the  affairs  of  state.  How  thankful  we  all 
should  be  that  we  had  such  a  man  to  guide 
our  Ship  of  State  in  her  early  infancy. 
Washington  was  pre-eminently  qualified 
for  that  trying  position  in  which  he  placed 
our  Government  on  a  solid  foundation,  and 
placed  his  name  indelibly  upon  the  pages 
of  history. 


Pennsylvania  Germans  in  Public  Life  During  the 

Colonial  Period 

By  Charles  R.  Roberts,  AUentown,  Pa. 


SENTENCE  in  a  recent 
magazine  article  that 
may  be  said  to  have  in- 
spired this  paper  ran  as 
follows  :  "  The  English 
were  leaders  and  the 
Germans  were  followers 
in  the  early  days." 
While  we  must  admit  that  in  the 
main  this  statement  is  true,  yet  there 
are  many  examples  of  nien  of  Ger- 
man blood  who  were  leaders  and  men 
of  prominence  in  Colonial  times.  The 
English  certainly  were  in  control  of 
affairs,  through  the  Proprietary  Party. 


liut  the  advent  of  thousands  of  Ger- 
mans, who.  influenced  by  Sauer's 
pa])cr.  published  in  Germantown,  af- 
filiated politically  with  the  Quakers, 
in  opposition  to  the  Proprietary  j^arty 
l)rought  into  prominence  a  number  of 
German   citizens. 

This  alliance  enabled  the  Friends  in 
hold  a  controlling  voice  in  the  aftairs 
not  only  of  this  county,  as  a  part  of 
old  Northampton,  but  in  the  province, 
being  for  years  the  ruling  power  in 
the  Assembly. 

Samuel  Wharton,  a  promirent  writer 
of  that  time,    wliose    prejudices    were 


154 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


evidently  on  the  side  of  the  Proprie- 
tary party,  proposed  that  the  children 
of  the  Germans  should  be  obliged  to 
learn  in  the  Eng-lish  tongue,  and  that, 
while  this  was  being  accomplished, 
the  government  should  suspend  their 
right  of  voting  for  members  of  the 
Assembly;  and  that,  the  soone'^  to  in- 
cline them  to  become  English,  they 
should  be  compelled  to  make  all  bonds 
and  other  legal  writings,  in  the  Eng- 
lish, and  that  no  newspaper  or  alma- 
nac, in  German,  be  allowed  circulated 
among  them,  unless  accomj)anied  by 
its  English  translation. 
However,  the  conditions  under  which 
a  German,  or  any  other  person,  for 
that  matter,  was  permitted  to  vote, 
appear  to  me  to  have  been  so  strin- 
gent, as  to  exclude  a  large  number 
from  the  right  of  voting.  An  act  reg- 
ulating the  election  of  members  of 
the  assembly  passed  in  1705.  provided 
"that  no  Inhabitant  of  this  Province 
shall  have  the  Right  of  electing,  or 
l)eing  elected,  unless  he  or  thev  be 
natural  born  Subjects  of  England,  or 
be  naturalized  in  England,  or  in  this 
Government,  and  unless  such  Persou 
or  Persons  be  of  the  age  of  iwenty- 
one  Years,  or  upwards,  and  be  a  Free-. 
holder  or  Freeholders  in  this  Province 
and  have  Fift}^  Acres  of  Land  or  more 
well  seated,  and  Twelve  Acres  thereof 
or  more  cleared  and  imoroved,  or  be 
otherwise  worth  Fifty  Pounds,  lawful 
Money  of  this  Province,  clear  Estate, 
and  have  been  resident  therein  for  the 
Space  of  Two  Years  before  such  Elec- 
tion." 

The  formatiou  of  Northamntou 
county  out  of  Rucks  in  1752  was  a 
political  plan,  originated  by  the  Pro- 
iirietary  party,  who  hoped,  by  setting 
ofif  the  Germans  in  the  new  county. 
^u(\  thus  depriving  the  Quakers  of 
their  support,  to  restore  the' control  of 
old  Rucks  to  the  government  partv. 
This  Avhich  mav  be  said  to  have  been 
the  first  political  scheme  in  which  our 
ancestors  in  this  locality  were  i..terest- 
cd  aroarentlv  did  not  at  once  succeed, 
as  at  the  first  election  in  Northampton 
cotiiitv.  held  at  Easton  on  October   t. 


1752,  William  Craig  was  chosen  Sher- 
iff, Robert  Gregg,  Benjamin  Shoe- 
maker and  Peter  Trexler,  county 
commissioners,  and  James  Bnrnside 
for  Member  of  Assembly.  PJurnside 
was  a  Moravian,  who  resided  near 
Bethlehem,  and  a  native  of  Ireland. 
He  was  the  Quaker  candidate,  and  de- 
feated his  opponent,  William  Parsons, 
the  founder  of  Easton,  by  upwards  of 
300  majority.  The  election  was  car- 
ried on  with  great  heat  and  acrimony, 
each  i)arty  accusing  the  other  oi  fraud 
and  foul  play,  and  the  candidates 
themselves  particularly  Parsons  show- 
ing great  excitement  and  anger.  Par- 
sons defeated  Burnside  in  1753,  but 
in  1754  Burnside  was  again  elected. 
He  died  in  1755.  and  was  buried  at 
Bethlehem. 

In  1755,  William  Edmonds,  also  a 
Moravian,  was  elected  by  621  votes 
to  represent  Northanii)ton  in  the  As- 
sembly. He  was  again  a  candidate  in 
1756,  but  the  Projjrietary  party  elect- 
ed \\'illiam  Allen,  the  founder  of  Al- 
lentown.  who  resided  in  Philadek^hia. 
and  had  then  a  himtins"  lodge  near  the 
i)anks  of  the  Jordan  creek,  the  site  of 
which  is  now  within  the  limits  of  this 
city.  Residence  in  a  county  was  not 
then  a  requisite  for  election  to  office, 
and  Allen  was  chosen  member  for 
Cumberland  countv  on  the  same  day. 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter 
written  bv  Rc^'.  ^^'illiam  Smith,  later 
Provost  of  the  Uni\-ersity  of  Pennsyl- 
\ania.  addressed  to  Mr.  Vernon,  at 
Easton.  dated  October  15.  1756.  shows 
the  situation  at  that  time.  He  says : 
"Mr.  Vernon,  it  gave  us  all  great 
Pleasure  to  find  3^ou  return  Mr.  Allen 
as  your  Re'oresentative.  but  as  he  was 
engaged  before  for  Cumberland  he 
was  obliged  in  Honour  to  stand  for 
that  county.  T  sunoose  Edmonds  will 
endeavor  with  all  his  might  to  get  in. 
but  I  hope  the  County  will  never  dis- 
grace itself  bv  putting  in  any  Mora- 
\-ian  whose  principle  for  ought  we 
know  may  be  Popish.  They  are 
against  Defence  and  you  knoAV  even 
refused  to  sell  Powder  to  Protestants 
tho"   it   is  said   thev  furnished   the  In- 


PENNSYLVANIA-GERMANS    IN    THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD 


155 


(Hans  with  il.  How  true  these  Things 
are  you  know  best,  but  it  would  be  a 
Shame  to  send  down  a  Moravian  at 
such  a  danjj^erous  Time.  You  should 
chuse  some  Man  of  Weight  who  can 
serve  you  with  the  Government  when 
you  want  anything-  in  Philadelphia. 
We  have  therefore  thot  that  no  Per- 
son would  be  so  fit  as  Mr.  I'lumstead. 
lie  is  known  in  your  county,  has 
lands  in  it.  and  is  a  very  honest  Man 
ant!  can  be  of  great  use  to  the  County. 
1  hope  you  will  sui)port  him  with  all 
your  Interest,  and  get  all  your  friends 
to  join  vou.  It  ha])pens  luckily  that 
Mr.  Plumstead  sets  out  to-morrow  on 
1  business  for  Cedar-Creek  and  will  be 
at  Easton.  For  Gods-Sake  stir  your- 
selves for  wdthout  we  get  Men  in  the 
Assemblv  who  will  defend  the  Coun- 
try we  shall  soon  be  ruined.'' 

Plumstead  was  elected  over  Ed- 
monds in  a  hot  contest,  but  his  elec- 
tion was  contested  by  Daniel  Brown 
John  Jones  and  Samuel  Mechlin,  on 
the  ground  "that  one  of  the  inspectors, 
notwithstanding  his  oath,  destroyed 
several  of  the  tickets  w^hich  were  in 
favor  of  \\'illiam  Edmonds,  and  were 
delivered  to  said  inspector,  and  that 
one  person  was  seen  to  deliver  tickets 
repeatedly  to  the  inspector,  and  third- 
ly, that  a  great  number  of  tickets  were 
folded  up  together,  some,  one  in  an- 
other, and  some  two  in  one,  which 
were  received  by  the  inspector  as  one 
ticket,  ^c."  and  Plumstead  never  Avas 
seated,  for  nearly  a  year  after,  the  As- 
sembly decided  against  him. 

William  Allen,  in  writing  to  a  friend 
in  England,  in  a  letter  dated  at  Phila- 
delnhia.  November  5,  1756.  wdiich,  T 
believe,  has  never  appeared  in  print, 
throws  light  on  the  subject.  He  savs 
in  part:  "Reverend  Sir:  I  have  been 
solicited  for  some  years  past  to  serve 
in  the  Back  Country  for  an  As- 
semblyman, but  have  declined  it, 
imagining  that  I  could  not,  among 
such  a  perverse  people,  be  able  to  ren- 
der my  country  service.  Piowe\  er,  this 
year,  as  I  conceived  our  all  was  at 
stake,  and  that,  as  the  Quakers  had 
promised  to  give  up  their  seats,  there 


might  be  a  probability  of  doing  good, 
1  gave  the  people  of  Cumberland 
county  (the  inhabitants  of  which  are 
composed  chiefly  of  P'resbytenans)  a 
con(litional  ])romise.  to  serve  them, 
that  is,  that  in  case  good  men  were  re- 
turned or  even  a  small  number  of 
them  in  the  other  counties,  I  would 
no  longer  decline  acting,  if  I  was 
chosen.  Upon  this,  I  was,  by  the 
unanimous  vote'  of  the  county,  not 
one  freeholder  dissenting,  chosen  one 
of  their  Representatives.  All  our  elec- 
tions being  on  the  same  day,  I  was 
without  my  knowdedge,  privily  or  pro- 
curement, chosen  also  for  the  County 
of  Xortham])ton.  I  was,  when  I  per- 
cei\ed  how  the  election  had  gone  in 
other  countys.  at  first  of  the  mind  not 
to  serve  for  either,  being  assured  that, 
with  men  of  such  bad  disposition  I 
coidd  not  be  able  to  bring  about  any- 
thing that  would  be  truly  useful  to  the 
colony.  However,  at  the  earnest  solic- 
itation of  many  good  men,  I  was,  at 
length,  prevailed  on  to  go  into  the 
house  and  made  my  election  for  the 
county  of  Cumberland :  upon  which 
the  people  of  Northampton  chose  Mr. 
Plumstead,  late  Mayor  of  this  city,  a 
gentleman  zealous  for  the  defense  of 
his  country,  (who  thereby  had  rend- 
ered himself  obnoxious  to  the  Quak- 
ers:) the  vote  for  Plumstead  being 
46;^.  and  his  antagonist,  one  Edmonds, 
a  Mora\-ian,  having  only  255,  and  two 
thirds  of  these  unnaturalized  Mora- 
\ians  and  other  Germans,  who  have 
no  right  to  vote  by  our  laws:  yet,  I 
say.  our  honest  .\ssembh^  refused  to 
admit  Mr.  Plumstead,  though  duly  re- 
turned bv  the  Sherifif,  under  pretense 
that  there  was  a  petition  to  them  on 
account  of  an  undue  election,  though 
this  petitic^n  was  signed  only  by  three 
Moravians,  and  have  hitherto  kept 
him  out  of  his  seat,  and.  T  presume, 
will  continue  to  do  so." 

The  next  member  of  the  Assembly 
from  Northampton  County  was  Lud- 
wig  Bitting,  who  was  elected  in  1758 
anfl  re-elected  in  1759  and  1760.  He 
was  a  resident  of  l^]iper  Milford  town- 
ship and   probably  owed   a   great  deal 


156 


THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


of  his  prominence  to  the  fact  that  he 
was  a  son-in-law  of  Rev.  John  PhiHp 
Boehm,  the  pioneer  Reformed  preach- 
er. In  1744  he  settled  on  Hosensack 
Hill,  in  the  present  Lower  Milford 
township,  Lehigh  county,  Pa. 

Following  him  came  John  Moore, 
in  1761  and  1762.  Then  came  John 
Tool,  of  Upper  Saucon,  in  1763.  As 
early  as  1737  he  settled  on  a  tract  of 
370  acres  at  the  foot  of  the  Lehigh 
Mountains,  at  the  place  now^  called 
Wittmans.  His  successor  was  George 
Taylor,  who  served  from  1764  to  1769. 
He  was  followed  by  William  Ed- 
monds for  the  second  time,  serving 
from  1770  to  1774.  Then  a  German 
came  to  the  front  in  the  person  of 
Peter  Kachlein  in  1775,  which  year 
closes  the  colonial   period. 

In  looking  over  the  names  of  the 
Justices  of  Northampton  county  under 
the  Proprietary  and  Colonial  Govern- 
ment from  1752  to  1775,  we  find  that 
one  third  were  of  German  blood.  That 
these  men  were  of  such  character  and 
ability  as  to  be  appointed  to  the  office 
of  Justice,  marks  them  as  leaders  in 
their  several  communities.  There  ap- 
pears to  have  been  no  law  regulating 
the  number  of  Justices  in  a  county, 
but  every  section  had  its  Justice,  who, 
at  the  time  when  court  was  held, 
journeyed  to  Easton,  where  no  less  a 
number  than  three  were  empowered 
to  hold  the.  several  courts.  The  courts 
of  Northampton  county  were  held  in 
the  different  taverns  at  Easton  until 
the  completion  of  the  court  house  in 
1766.  In  speaking  of  them  a  certain 
writer  says :  "Their  sessions  were  ex- 
tremely ceremonious  and  imposing'. 
At  the  present  day,  no  official,  how- 
ever exalted,  would  think  of  assuming 
such  awful  dignity  as  was  then  habit- 
ual with  the  justices  of  the  courts  of 
Northampton  count^^  On  their  pas- 
sage to  the  place  of  holding  court, 
preceded  and  followed  by  constables 
with  badges  and  staves  of  office — 
these  provincial  justices,  in  their  sev- 
ere gravity,  and  cocked  hats,  were 
fearful  and  wonderful  personages  to 
behold.     ?)Ut  when   they  mounted  the 


bench,  and  the  court  officers  com- 
manded silence,  then  was  the  hour  of 
their  triumph ;  for  the  loyal  courtiers 
of  King  George,  as  he  sat  upon  his 
own  throne  at  Windsor  Castle,  scarce- 
ly regarded  their  sovereign  with  more 
awe  and  adoration,  than  the  towns- 
people, and  the  litigants  gave  to  those 
worshipful  wearers  of  the  county  er- 
mine, as  they  sat  in  solemn  session, 
in   the  tavern   court-room  at   Easton.'' 

Be  that  as  it  may,  let  us  turn  our  at- 
tention to  those  Justices  who  were  of 
German  blood,  more  particularly 
those  who  resided  in  the  townships 
which  now  constitute  our  present  Le- 
high county.  In  1752  appear  the 
names  of  Lewis  Klotz  and  Conrad 
Hess.  Klotz  was  a  resident  of  Mac- 
ungie  township,  whom  we  have  men- 
tioned in  a  previous  paper.  He  was^ 
also  a  county  commissioner  in  1754.  In 
1753  appears  the  name  of  Peter  Trex- 
ler.  He  was  one  of  the  first  countj" 
commissioners  in  1752,  as  we  have 
mentioned.  In  1753,  he  was  appoint- 
ed by  the  Council  one  of  the  commis- 
sioners to  lay  out  a  road  from  Easton 
to  Reading.  He  was  also  one  of  the 
six  trustees  of  the  school  erected  in 
Easton  in  1755  by  subscriptions  from 
the  locality  and  from  a  society  formed 
in  England  whose  purpose  was  to  pro- 
mote the  instruction  of  poor  Germans 
in  Pennsylvania,  to  which  even  the 
King.  George  the  Second,  had  given 
£  1000.  Trexler  was  a  man  of  great  in- 
fluence among  the  Germans  of  the 
county,  and  later,  in  the  French  and 
Indian  ^^'ar,  commanded  a  company 
that  was  called  into  service  by  Benja- 
min  Franklin. 

George  Rex.  of  Heidelberg  town- 
ship, was  appointed  one  of  the  Jus- 
tices of  Northampton  county  in  1757. 
He  was  the  largest  individual  land 
owner  in  Heidelberg  township,  owing' 
415  acres  in  1764.  He  died  in  1773. 
He  was  one  of  the  most  prominent 
men  of  the  northern  end  of  the  county 
in  C<iIoniaI  times,  and  that  he  had 
considerable  influence  is  proven  by 
the  fact  that  with  Peter .  Trexler,  he 
recommended  that  a  fort  be    built    on 


PENNSYLVANIA-GERMANS    IN    THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD 


157 


the  other  side  of  Drucker's  mill,  on 
the  Blue  Mountains,  stating  that  there 
was  a  good  spring  there,  and  an  emi- 
nence which  commanded  on  all  its 
sides  a  large  extent  of  land. 

In  1761  a  jpear  the  names  of  Jacob 
Arndt  and  Henry  Geiger.  Arndt  liv- 
ed near  Easton,  but  Geiger  was  a  resi- 
dent of  Heidelberg  township,  fie  was 
commissioned  an  Ensign  in  the  Sec- 
ond Penna.  Regiment,  First  Battalion, 
commanded  b}'  Lieut.  Colonel  Con- 
rad Weiser,  on  December  20,  1755, 
and  is  recorded  as  a  good  officer.  On 
the  20th  of  November,  1756,  he  was 
stationed  at  Teets,  with  eight  men,  as 
the  records  show.  Teed's  blockhouse 
was  near  Wind  Gap  and  was  an  im- 
liortant  point.  Some  superior  officer 
wrote  the  query  concerning  this  post. 
"If  the  detachment  at  Teet's  -.an  de- 
fend itself."  No  doubt  it  coidd,  un- 
der this  gallant  officer.  Geiger  was 
commissioned  Lieutenant  on  Decem- 
ber 21,  1757,  in  Capt.  Edward  Ward's 
company,  stationed  west  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna river.  On  February  5, 
1758.  he  was  in  command  of  twelve 
men  at  a  block  house  situated  be- 
tween Forts  Allen  and  Everett, 
twenty  miles  from  Fort  Allen  and  ten 


miles  from  Fort  Everett,  and  was  fur- 
nished by  his  commissary,  Jacob 
Levan,  Esq.,  with  four  months'  pro- 
visions. Geiger  was  probably  for 
many  years  one  of  the  most  important 
figures  in  the  u])per  end  of  the  county, 
and  subsec|uently  became  a  colonel  in 
the.  Revolutionary  War. 

In  1764,  Christopher  Waggoner,  of 
Lower  Saucon,  became  a  Justice.  In 
1766,  appears  the  name  of  Henry 
Kooken,  or  Koch  en.  He  was  a  resi- 
dent of  Upper  Saucon,  where  he  was 
taxed  in  1768  for  fifty  acres  of  land. 
He  built  a  grist  and  saw  mill  on  the 
site  of  Dillinger's  mill.  The  name 
would  indicate  that  he  was  of  Holland 
Dutch  origin. 

Other  German  names  which  appear 
in  1774  in  the  list  of  Justices  are  Peter 
Kachlein,  Jacob  and  Isaac  Lerch,  John 
Wetzel  and  Felix  Lynn.  Stil!  other 
names  of  Germans  wdio  attained  to  of- 
fice might  increase  the  number  oi 
those  whom  we  are  trymg  to  save 
from  oblivion,  among  them  Christiai 
Rinker,  county  commissioner  in  1753. 
John  Rinker,  sheriff  in  1756  and  1758. 
and  Jacob  Rex.  county  commissioner 
in    1758. 


An  Account  of  the  Manners  of  the  German  Inhabitants 
of  Pennsylvania  in  1  789 

FROM  THE  COLUMBIAN  MAGAZINE,  VOL.  Ill,  PP.  22,  ETC..  I  789 
WITH  NOTES,  BY  I.  D.  RUPP 


HE  STATE  of  I'ennsyl- 
vania  is  so  much  indebt- 
ed for  her  prGS])erity 
and  reputation,  to  the 
German  part  of  her  citi- 
zens, that  a  short  ac- 
count of  their  manners 
may.  perhaps,  be  useful 
and  agreeable  to  their  fellow  citizens 
in  every  part  of  the  United  States. 

The  aged   Germans,  and  the  ances- 
tr)rs  of  those  who  are  young,  migrat- 


ed chiefly  from  the  Palatinate:  from 
Alsace.  Swabia,  Saxony  and  Switzer 
land  ;  but  natives  of  every  principali- 
ty and  dukedom  in  Germany,  are  to 
be  found  in  different  parts  of  the 
State.  They  brought  but  little  proi- 
erty  with  them.  A  few  pieces  of  gold 
or  silver  coins,  a  chest  filled  witli 
clothes,  a  bible,  and  a  prayer-book, 
constituted  the  whole  stock  of  most 
of  them.  Many  of  them  bourn!  them 
selves,    or    one  or  more  of  their  child- 


158 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


len,  to  masters,  after  their  arrival,  for 
lour,  five  or  seven  years,  in  order  to 
pay  their  passages  across  the  ocean. 
A  clergyman  always  accompanied 
them  when  they  came  in  large  bodies. 
The  principal  part  of  them  were 
farmers;  but  there  were  many  me- 
chanics, who  brought  with  them  a 
knowledge  of  those  arts,  which  are 
necessary  and  useful  in  all  countries. 
These  mechanics  were  chiefly  weav- 
ers, tailors,  shoe-makers,  comb-mak- 
ers, smiths  of  all  kinds,  butchers, 
bakers,  paper  makers,  watch  makers 
and   sugar-bakers. 

I  shall  begin  this  account  of  the 
(Germans  of  Pennsylvania,  by  describ- 
ing the  manners  of  the  Germau  farm- 
ers. This  body  of  citizens  are  not 
only  industrious,  but  skillful  cultiva- 
tors of  the  earth.  I  shall  enumerate  a 
i^ew  particulars,  in  which  they  dififer 
from  most  of  the  other  farmers  of 
Pennsylvania. 

F'irst — In  settling  a  tract  r.f  land, 
they  always  provide  large  ar.d  suit- 
able accommodations  for  their  horses 
and  cattle,  before  they  lay  out  mone}^ 
in  building  a  house  for  themselves. 
The  barn  •  and  stables  are  generally 
under  one  roof,  and  contrived  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  enable  them  to  feed 
their  horses  and  cattle,  and  to  lemove 
their  dung,  with  as  little  trouble  as 
|)ossi])le.  The  first  dAvelling  house 
upon  his  farm  is  small  and  built  of 
logs.  It  generally  lasts  the  life  time  of 
the  first  settler  of  a  tract  of  land;  and 
hence  they  have  a  saying,  that:  "a 
son  shall  always  begin  his  improve- 
ments, where  his  father  has  left 
off" —  that  is,  by  building  a  larger 
and   convenient  stone  house. 

Second — They  prefer  good  land,  or 
that  land  on  which  there  is  a  large 
quantity  of  meadow  ground.  From 
an  attention  to  the  cultivation  of 
grass,  they  often  double  the  \  alue  of 
an  old  farm  in  a  few  years,  and  grow 
rich  on  farms,  on  which  their  prede- 
cessors of  whom  they  purchased  have 
nearly  starved.  They  prefer  purchas- 
ing farms  with  some  improvements. 
to  settling  on  a  new  tract  of  land. 


Third — In  clearing  new  land,  they 
do  not  girdle  the  trees  simp'y,  and 
leave  them  to  perish  in  the  ground, 
as  is  the  custom  of  their  Engl.sh  and 
Irish  neighbors ;  but  they  generally 
cut  them  down  and  burn  them.  In 
destroying  the  underwood  and  bush- 
es, they  generally  grub  them  out  of 
the  ground ;  by  which  means  a  field  is 
as  fit  for  cultivation  the  second  year 
after  it  is  cleared,  as  it  is  twenty  years 
afterwards.  The  advantages  of  this 
mode  of  clearing,  consist  in  the  imme- 
diate product  of  the  field,  and  in  the 
greater  facility  with  which  it  is 
ploughed,  harrowed  and  reaped.  The 
expense  of  repairing  a  plough  which 
is  often  broken  two  or  three  times  in 
a  year  by  small  stumps  concealed  in 
the  ground,  is  often  greater  than  the 
extraordinary  expense  of  grubbing  the 
same  field  completely,  in  clearing  it. 

Fourth — They  feed  their  horses  and 
cows,  of  which  they  keep  only  a  small 
number,  in  such  a  manner,  hat  the 
former  perform  twice  the  labor  ol 
those  horses,  and  the  latter  yield 
twice  the  quantity  of  milk  ot  those 
cows,  that  are  less  plentifidly  fed. 
There  is  economy  in  this  [)ractise, 
especially  in  a  country  where  so  much 
labor  of  a  farmer  is  necessary  to  sup- 
port his  domestic  animals.  A  German 
horse  is  known  in  every  part  of  the 
State ;  indeed  he  seems  "to  feel  with 
his  lord,  the  ])leasure  and  the  pride"* 
of  his  extarordinary  size  and  fat. 

Fifth — The  fences  of  a  German 
farmer  are  generally  high,  and  well 
biiilt,  so  that  his  fields  seldom  suffer 
from  the  inroads  of  his  own  or  his 
neighbor's  horses,  cattle,  hogs  and 
sheep. 

Sixth — The  German  farmers  are 
great  economists  of  their  wood.  Hence 
'  they  burn  it  only  in  stoves,  in  which 
they  consume  but  a  fourth  or  fifth 
part  of  what  is  commonly  burnt  in 
ordinary  open  fire  places :  besides, 
their  horses  are  saved  by  means  r>f 
this, economy,  from  that  immense  la- 
bor, in  hauling  wood  in  the  middle  of 
winter,  which  frequently  unfits  the 
horses  of  their  neighbors   for  the   toil 


CHARACTERIZATION    OF    THE    GER.UANS   OP"   PENNSYLVANIA    IN    1789 


159 


nf  the  ensuing'  spring.  Their  houses 
arc  moreover,  rendered  so  comfort- 
able, at  all  times,  by  large  close  stoves 
that  twice  the  business  is  done  by 
every  branch  of  the  family,  in  knit 
ting,  spinning,  and  mendmg  farming 
utensils,  than  is  done  in  houses  where 
every  member  of  the  famil}^  crowds 
near  to  a  common  fire  place,  i-r  shi\ 
ers  at  a  distance  from  it,  with  hands 
and  fingers  that  move,  hy  reason  of 
the  cold,  with  only  half  iheii  usual 
(juickness. 

They  discox  er  economy  in  the  pre 
servation  and  increase  of  their  wood 
in  several  ways.  They  sometimes  de- 
fend it.  by  high  fences,  from  their 
cattle;  by  which  means  the  ycnmg 
forest  trees  are  suffered  to  grow,  to 
replace  those  that  are  cut  down  for 
the  necessary  use  of  the  farm.  But 
where  this  cannot  be  conveniently 
(lone,  they  surround  the  stump  of  that 
which  is  most  useful  for  fences,  viz: 
.the  chestnut,  with  a  small  triangular 
fence.  From  this  stump  a  number  of 
suckers  shoot  out  in  a  few  years,  two 
or  three  of  which,  in  the  course  of  five 
and  twenty  years,  grow  into  trees  of 
the  same  size  as  the  tree  from  whose 
stump    they    derived    their    origin. 

Seventh — 'lliey  keep  their  horses 
and  cattle  as  warm  as  possible  in  win- 
ter, by  which  means  they  sa\e  a  great 
deal  of  their  hay  and  grain  ;  for  those 
animals  require  much  more  than  when 
they  are  in  a  more  comfortabk  situa- 
tion. 

Eighth — The  German  farmers  li\e 
frugal  in  their  families,  with  respect 
to  diet,  furniture  and  ap])arel.  They 
sell  their  most  profitable  grain,  which 
is  wheat,  and  eat  that  which  is  less 
profitable,  but  more  nourishing,  that 
is  rve.  or  Indian  corn.  The  profit  to  a 
farmer,  from  this  single  ari'cle  of 
economy,  is  equal,  in  the  course  of 
a  life  time,  to  the  price  of  a  farm  for 
one  of  his  children.  They  eat  sparingly 
of  boiled  animal  food,  with  large  quan- 
tities of  vegetables,  particularly  with 
salad,  turnips,  onions,  and  cabbage, 
the  last  of  which  they  make  into 
sonr-crout    (leaner  Kraut).    Th<y  like- 


wise use  a  large  quantity  of  milk  and 
cheese  in  their  diet.  Perh^t.ps  the 
(jcrmans  do  not  pro[)ortion  the  quan- 
tity of  their  animal  food  to  the  de- 
grees of  their  labor;  hence  it  has 
been  thought,  by  some  people,  that 
they  decline  in  strength  sooner  than 
their  English  or  Irish  Neghbors. 
\'ery  few  of  them  ever  use  distilled 
spirits  in  their  families;  their  com- 
mon drinks  are  cider,  beer,  wine  and 
simple  water.  The  furniture  of  their 
houses  is  plain  and  useful.  They  cover 
themselves  in  winter  with  light 
featherbeds,  instead  of  blankets,  and 
they  are  made  by  themselves.  The 
ap])arel  of  the  German  farmer  is  us 
ually  home-spun.  When  they  use 
European  articles  of  dress  they  ])re- 
fer  those  which  are  of  the  bes.  qual- 
ity and  of  the  highest  price.  They  arc 
afraid  of  debt,  and  seldom  purchase 
anything"  without  paying  the  cash  for 
it. 

Xintli — The  (icrinan  farmers  ha\c 
large  and  profitable  gardens  near 
their  houses.  These  contain  little 
else  but  \egetables.  Pennsylvania  i> 
indebted  to  the  Germans  for  the  prin- 
cij)al  part  of  her  knowledge  in  horti- 
culture. There  was  a  time  when  tur- 
nips and  cabbage  were  the  principal 
vegetables  that  were  used  in  diet  bv 
the  citizens  in  Philadelphia  Thi^ 
will  not  surprise  those  persons,  who 
know  that  the  English  settlers  in 
Pennsylvania  left  England  whde  hor- 
ticulture was  in  its  infancy  in  that 
country.  It  was  not  till  the  '■eign  of 
(leorge  III.  that  this  useful  and  agrecv 
able  art  was  cultivated  by  the  Eng- 
lish nation.  .Since  the  settlement  of 
a  number  of  German  Gardeners  in 
the  neighborhood  of  I'hiladelj'hia.  the 
tables  of  all  classes  of  citizen>^  ha\c 
been  covered  with  a  \ariety  of  vege- 
tables, in  every  season  of  the  year  ;  and 
to  the  use  of  these  vegetables  in  diet 
may  be  ascribed  the  general  exem))- 
ti«Mi  of  the  citizens  of  Philadeljihia 
from  diseases  of  the  skin. 

Tenth — The  Germans  scldoin  hire 
men  to  work  upon  their  farms.  The 
feebleness    of     that     authoritv.     which 


160 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


masters  possess  over  hired  servants, 
is  such  that  their  wages  are  very  sel- 
dom procured  from  their  labor  except 
in  harvest,  when  they  work  in  the 
presence  of  their  masters.  The  wives 
and  daughters  of  the  German  farmers 
frequent!}^  forsake,  for  a  while  their 
dairy  and  spinning  wheels,  and  join 
their  husbands  and  brothers  in  the 
labor  of  cutting  down,  collecting  and 
bringing  home  the  fruits  of  their 
fields  and  orchards.  The  work  of  the 
gardens  is  generally  done  l)y  the 
women  of  the  family. 

Eleventh  —  A  large  and  strong- 
wagon  covered  with  linen  cloth,  is  an 
essential  part  of  the  furniture  of  a 
German  farm.  In  this  wagon,  drawn 
by  four  or  five  horses  of  a  peculiar 
breed,  they  convey  to  market  over  the 
roughest  roads,  between  two  oj  three 
thousand  pounds  weight  of  the  prod- 
ucts of  their  farms.  In  the  months 
of  September  and  October,  it  is  no 
uncommon  thing  on  the  Lancaster 
and  Reading  roads,  to  meet  m  one 
day  from  fifty  to  a  hundred  of  these 
wagons,  on  the  way  to  Philadelphia, 
most  of  which  belong  to  German 
farmers. 

Twelfth — The  favorable  influence 
i)f  agriculture  as  conducted  by  the 
(jcrmans  in  extending  human  happi- 
n.ess  is  manifested  by  the  joy  they 
express  upon  the  birth  of  a  child.  No 
dread  of  poverty,  nor  distrust  of  Prov- 
iilence  from  an  increasing  family, 
depresses  the  spirits  of  these  indus- 
trious and  frugal  peo],>ie.  Upon  the 
l)irth  of  a  son,  they  exult  in  the  gift  of 
a  ploughman  or  a  wagoner;  ar.d  upon 
the  birth  of  a  daughter,  they  rejoice 
in  the  addition  of  another  spinster,  or 
milkmaid  to  their  famh^  Happy  state 
of  human  society!  What  blessings 
can  civilization  confer,  that  can  atone 
for  the  extinction  of  the  ancient  pa- 
triarchal pleasure  of  raising  up  a  num- 
erous and  healthy  family  of  children, 
to  labor  for  their  parents,  for  them- 
selves and  for  their  country;  and  fin- 
ally to  partake  oi  the  knowledge  and 
happiness  which  are  annexed  t  ^  exist- 
ence !      The    joy   of   parents    upon    the 


birth  of  a  child,  is  the  grateful  echo 
of  creating  goodness.  May  the  moun- 
tains of  Pennsylvania  be  forever 
vocal,  with  songs  of  joy  upon  those 
occasions !  They  will  be  infalliable 
signs  of  innocence,  industry,  wealth 
and  happiness  in  the  State. 

Thirteenth  —  The  Germans  take 
great  pains  to  practice  in  their  chil- 
dren, not  only  habits  of  labor,  but  a 
love  of  it.  In  this  they  submit  to  the 
irreversible  sentence  inflicted  upon 
man,  in  such  a  manner,  as  to  convert 
the  wrath  of  heaven  into  a  private 
and  public  happiness;  to  fear  God  and 
love  work,"  are  the  first  lessons  they 
teach  their  children.  They  prefer  in- 
dustrious habits  to  money  itself: 
hence,  when  a  young  man  a.sks  the 
consent  of  his  father  to  marry  the  girl 
of  his  choice,  he  does  not  inquire  so 
much  whetlier  she  is  rich,  or  poor  or 
whether  she  possesses  any  personal 
or  mental  accomplishments — as  wheth- 
er she  would  be  industrious,  and  ac- 
quainted with  the  duties  of  a  good 
housewife? 

Fourteenth — The  Germans  set  a 
great  value  upon  patrimonial  prop- 
erty. This  useful  principle  in  hu- 
man nature  prevents  much  folly  and 
vice  in  young  people.  It.  m<>reover. 
leads  to  lasting  and  extensive  advan- 
tages, in  the  improvement  of  a  farm, 
for  what  inducement  can  be  stronger 
in  a  parent  to  plant  an  orchard,  to 
preserve  forest  trees,  or  build  com- 
modious and  durable  houses,  than  the 
idea,  that  they  will  all  be  possessed 
by  a  succession  of  generations,  who 
shall  inherit  his  blood  and  name? 

Fifteenth  —  The  German  farmers 
are  very  much  influenced  in  planting 
and  pruning  trees,  also  in  sowing  and 
reaping,  by  the  age  and  the  appear- 
ance of  the  moon.  This  attention  to 
the  state  of  the  moon  has  been  ascrib- 
ed to  superstition,  but  if  the  facts 
related  by  Mr.  Wilson  in  his  observa- 
tion upon  climates  are  true,  part  of 
their  success  in  agriculture  must  be 
ascribed  to  their  being  so  much  in- 
fluenced by  it. 


CHARACTERIZATION    OF    THE    GERMANS   OF   PENNSYLVANIA    IN    1789 


161 


Sixteenth — From  the  histoiy  that 
has  been  given  of  German  agriculture, 
it  will  be  hardly  necessary  to  add, 
that  a  German  farm  may  be  distin- 
guished from  the  farms  of  other  citi- 
zens of  the  State,  by  the  superior  size 
of  their  barns;  the  plain,  but  com- 
])act  form  of^their  hcuises ;  the  height 
»)f  their  inclosures,  the  extent  of  their 
orchards;  the  fertility  of  their,  fields; 
the  luxuriance  of  their  meadon-s,  and 
general  appearance  of  plenty  and 
neatness  in  e\erything  that  belongs  to 
them. 

The  German  mechanic  possesses 
some  of  the  traits  that  hav<:  been 
drawn  of  the  German  farmer.  His 
first  object  is  to  become  a  freeholder; 
and  hence  we  find  few  of  them  live  in 
rented  houses.  The  highest  conipli 
nient  that  can  be  paid  to  them  on  en- 
tering their  houses,  is  to  ask:  'Ts  this 
your  own  house?"  They  are  indus- 
trious., frugal,  punctual  and  just. 
Since  their  settlement  in  Pennsyl- 
vania many  of  them  have  acquired  a 
knowledge  of  those  mechanical  arts, 
which  are  more  immediately  neces- 
sary and  useful  in  a  new  c;  untry ; 
while  they  continue  at  the  same  time 
to  carry  (~in  the  arts  imported  from 
(icrmany.   with   vigor   and   success. 

But  the  genius  of  the  Germans  of 
Pennsvlvania   is   not   confined   to   agri- 


culture and  the  mechanical  arts. 
Many  of  them  have  acquired  great 
wealth  by  foreign  and  domestic  com- 
merce. As  merchants  they  are  can- 
did and  punctual.  The  bank  of  North 
.\merica  has  witnessed,  from  its  first 
institution,  their  fidelity  to  ail  their 
pecuniary  engagements. 

Thus  far  I  have  described  the  indi- 
\ idual  character  of  several  orders  of 
the  German  citizens  of  Pennsylvania. 
I  shall  now  take  notice  of  their  man- 
ners  in   a   collective   capacity. 

Dr.  Beii.iamin  Rush,  the  author  of  this 
sltetch  was  born  Dec,  1745,  in  Bristol, 
Bucks  County,  Pa.  He  was  educated  in 
Princeton  College  and  pursued  his  medical 
studies  in  Philadelphia,  London,  Edinburg 
and  Paris.  He  became  a  professor  ol 
chemistr.v,  a  member  of  the  Continental 
Congress,  an  advocate  and  signer  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  1776,  a  ph.v- 
sician  in  the  Continental  army,  a  member 
of  the  Penna.  Commission  which  framed 
the  National  Constitution,  a  very  success- 
ful physician,  a  professor  of  the  Theory 
and  Practice  of  Medicine,  an  author  of 
numerous  learned  essays,  Treasure;  of  the 
U.  S.  Mint,  filling  the  last  named  position 
to  the  time  of  his  death  April.  18K-].  The 
sketch  appeared  originally  1789  in  Vol.  Ill 
of   The  Columbian  Magazine. 

An  edition  with  copious  notes  wa--  issued 
by  Prof.  I.  D.  Rupp  in  1875.  a  trimslation 
of  which  appeared  in  the  Dentscbe  Pioneer 
the  same  year.  We  omit  all  notes  giving 
only  the  essay  as  it   appeared  originally. 

(to  be  continued) 


Cliurch  150  Tears  Old 

The  Reformed  Church  of  East  68th 
street.  New  York,  one  of  the  oldest 
churches  in  the  country,  which  made  part 
of  the  pre-revolutionary  history  of  New 
York  city,  the  church  of  which  the  first 
.John  .Jacob  Astor  was  a  prominent  mem- 
ber, celebrated  its  150th  anniversary  and 
formally  received  and  consecrated  the  big 
bell  presented  to  it  by  Emperor  William  of 
Germany.  Rev.  Dr.  John  S.  Allen,  presi- 
dent of  the  New  York  Classis  of  the  Re- 
formed Church   of  America   consecrated   it. 

4"      *      4" 

When  the  project  of  building  a  railroad 
from  Harrisburg  to  Reading  through  the 
Lebanon  valley  was  proposed  many  of  the 


farmers  of  the  valley  opposed  it  for  the 
reason  that  it  would  check  the  demand  for 
their  horses  and  the  grain  to  feed  them 
and  also  interfere  with  their  business  as 
wagoners.  They  also  objected  to  the  build- 
ing of  the  road  because  the  counties 
through  which  it  passed  would  be  called 
ui)on  to  furnish  financial  aid,  and  for  this 
reason  they  feared  that  their  taxes  would 
be  increased.  So  it  happened  that  the  Leb- 
anon Valley  Railroad,  the  building  of 
which  was  authorized  by  an  act  of  the 
Legislature  on  April  1,  1836,  was  actually 
not  undertaken  until  1853,  a  lapse  of  seven- 
teen years.  It  was  finished  in  1858.  on 
.January  18  of  which  year  the  whole  road 
was  opened. 

From     Swank's     Progressive      Pennsyl- 
vania. 


162 


Jacob's  Church,  Jacksonville,  Lehigh  Co.,  Pa. 

By  the  Rev.  A.  C.  Wuchter,  Gilbert,  Pa. 


where 


HE  permanent  setrleme,nl 
of  the  present  township 
of  Lynn  dates  from  the 
year  1735,  possibly  some- 
what earlier.  Among  the 
early  settlers  the  Luth- 
erans seem  to  have  lo- 
cated in  Kistler's  Valley 
they      organized      Jerusalem 


the  Reformed  people  or^^anized 
Jacob's  Church.  Daniel  Hamin  gave 
two  acres  of  ground  and  a  log  church 
as  well  as  a  schoolhouse«were  erected 
during  the  year.  Meanwhile  Luth- 
eran families  located  in  the  neighbor- 
hood and  were  permitted  to  hold  ser- 
vices  in   the   church. 


Church.     1748;     while     the     Rtformed  In    1807   it   was   found   neces-arv   to 

moved     farther     north    to    the    foot    of  erect     a     new     church    l)uildiiig.     An 

ilic    lilue    Mountains.        This      section  agreement    was    effected    betAveen    tlie 

was     known     in    those    early    days    as  two   denc^minations   Nov.   7,    1807.  and 

■■Allemaengcl."     During  the  year  1761  the    new    church   was  consecrated  the 


JACOB'S    CHURCH,    JACKSONVILLE,    P..\. 


163 


following"  year.  In  order  that  both 
ct)ngreg'ations  might  have  ecjual 
rights  Mr.  Hamm  sold  the  congrega- 
tion two  additional  acres  of  ground 
at  a  nominal  price.  The  dimensions 
of  the  building  were  42x36  feet  and  28 
feet  high.  The  money  contributed 
amounted  to  $1407.923/^. 

'JMk-   respective   pastors  at  this  time 
were:    llenry    Gaissenhainer,    Luther- 
an ;  and  Henry  Diffenbach,  Reformed. 
The     building    committee    consisted 
as  follows : 

Lutheran,  Jacob  Koemig,  Henry 
Fusselman ;  Reformed,  Bernhard 
I'^ollweiler,  Jacob   Oswald. 

Elders:  Cas]:)er  Wannemacher  and 
John  Meyer.  Reformed;  Jacob  Feth- 
erolf   and    Michael    Stein,    Lutb.eran. 

Deacons:  Conrad  Stunii),  John  Ev- 
eritt  and  Martin  Bar. 
Treasurer:  John  Smeid. 
In  1822  the  second  schoolhouse,  a 
two-room  log  building  was  erected 
in  which  instruction  was  gi  v'en  in 
English  and  German.  When  the  pub- 
lic school  system  was  adopted  the 
township  paid  a  stij^ulated  rental  for 
the  use  of  the  building.  It  stood 
about  20  i)aces  south  of  the  present 
two-story  brick  schoolhouse  erected 
in  1858.  This  building  was  also  used 
for  ])ublic  school  purposes  until  re- 
cent date.  (The  writer  of  this  taught 
here  in    1877  and    1878.) 

The  present  church  was  erected  in 
1862- 1863.  The  corner-stone  \vas  laid 
April  27.  1862.  The  pastor's  loci  J. 
Zulich.  Ref.,  and  O.  Leopold  Luth., 
were  assisted  by  Rev.  Derr  and 
Dubbs.  The  dedication  took  ])lace 
May  24,  1863.  ^'i^;  pastors  loci,  J. 
Zulich  and  J.  J.  Kline,  were  assisted 
by  Revs.  Leo])ol(l  and  Dubbs.  The 
contributions  in  money  amounted  to 
S5522.92.  I'he  building  is  of  brick 
with  galleries  and  a  large  pipe  organ. 
Building  committee:  Levi  Ki.stler, 
Joshua  Smith,  Luth.:  Jt)hn  iMillweil- 
er  and  Charles  Everitt,  Ref. 

Elders:  David  Fetherolf  and  llenry 
Braucher,  Luth;  Jacob  Klii.gaman 
and  David   b^)llvveiler.  Ref. 


Deacons:    Uenjamin    Glase,    Jas.    K. 
Mosser     and     Thomas     Long     Luth.; 
Samuel    Sechler,   John     Sechler,    John 
h'ollweiler   and   Charles   Everitr,    Ref. 
Treasurer:   Wm.   Mosser. 
The  pastors  serving    the    two    con- 
gregations   since     their     organizations 
are   as  follows : 
Reformed  : 

Philip  Jacob   Michael,    1761   1770, 
Jacob    Weymer,    1770-1771, 
Conrad    Steiner,    1771-1776, 

Herzel,  -  . 

Roth,     (was     buried    under 


altar  of   first  church.) 

Miller,    1795-1807, 

llenry    Dietifeidjach,    1807-1816, 

John    Zulich,    1816- 1875, 

James    N.    Bachman,    1877- 1905. 

Jesse   M.   Mengel,    1905 — . 
Lutheran  : 

Henry    Gaissenhainer.    1807-1811, 

John   Knoske,   181 1-1819, 

('}.    F.    E.  Yeager,    1819-1850, 

John    Roeller, '1850-1858. 

Owen    Leopold.    1858-1861. 

S.   S.   Kline,    1861-1864, 

E.    Kramlich,    1864- 1869, 

H.  S.   Fegley.  1869-1906, 

A.  O.   Ebert,   1906 — . 

The  congregations  ha\e  gi\eu  these 
sons  to  the  ministry: 
Reformed  : 

Willoughby  Donat.  Schulykill  Hav- 
en,  Pa. 

\\'ilson    Donat.    Aaronsburg,    Pa. 

C.   A.  Creitz.   Reading.   Pa. 

I.    M.    P.achman,   Xewville,   Fa. 

( ieo.    ( ■ireenawald.    Boyertown,    Pa. 

( ieo.    Lutz.    Pennsburg.    Pa. 
I  .iitlierau  : 

A.  C.   W  uelner,  Gilbert.  Pa. 

I.    A.    Waidelich,   Sellersville.    Pa. 

1'.  A.    P.ehler.  Perkaise.   Pa. 

The  Rev.  A.  C.  Wuchter  composed  and 
read  the  following  Poem,  and  Hymu  which 
was  sung  at  the  centennial  anniversary  of 
the  dedication  of  the  aforenamed  Jacob's 
2nd  Church  building. 

Thou  Arbiter  of  nations!    here  we  8tand 
With    heads    bowed    down    where    frst    the 

fathers    stood 
And   worshiped  Thee  amid   the  solitude 
Of    forests    reaching     far.        Fioni     distant 

shore 


164 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


They  came,  self-exiled  here  to  find  the  door 
Wide  open  flung  to  freedom,  justice,  right; 
Where  hearth   and   home   might  prosper  in 
thy   light  — 

America,  the  new-found  wonderland. 

Where  flows  the    stately    Rhine,    the    Teu- 
ton's  pride, 

Their    homes    lay    waste    thro    war's    inces- 
sant strife. 

Where  tyrant  lordlings  fain  would  sap  their 
life 

For   selfish  ends,  to  rot  in  luxury, 

Unmindful  of  their  vassals'  poverty. 

But  God  is  just.  He  heard  their   suppliant 
cry, 

A  radiant  star  shone  in  the  western  sky 
To   point   the   way    to    fortune's    waiting 
tide. 

A  rugged  race,  inured  to  want  and  toil 
They  braved  the  dangers  of  the  forest  wild 
For    God   and   faith,   for    wife    and    tender 

child. 
Unconscious  as   they   hewed   the   giant  oak. 
They    built    a    nation    with    each    sounding 

stroke. 
These    laughing    hills,  these    radiant    mead- 
ows   tell. — 
Where    harvests    rich  the  children's  garner 

swell. 
How  well  they  chose — fair  mark  for  Kingly 
spoil. 

Thro  days  of  darkness,  for  they  needs  must 

come. 
They    wavered    not    tho    every    bush    might 

hold 
A  lurking  foe  thro  Gallic  bribe  made  bold; 
Or  when  thro  days  of  penury  and  want 
The    thought   of   "Allemaengel"    sore   would 

haunt 
Their  trust    in    God,    they    did    not    falter, 

doubt. 
But    struggled    on    with    brawny   arms     and 

stout 
To  hew  and  till,  to  build  for  God  and  home. 

Or  when  those  days  of  stern  assertion  came 
To    stand     for     right     and     manhood    be    it 

death. 
They  faltered  not  but  drew  a  deeper  breath 
To  swear  allegiance  to  the  new-born  cause 
Of  human  liberty.     Nor  did  they  pause 
Or    shrink    in   midnight's    darkest    hour    of 

hope. 
When    all    seemed    lost,    with    adverse    fate 

to  cope 
Till  hist'ry's  page  enfolds  no  fairer  name. 

Fair   name!    maligned   by   those   of  meaner 

brood 
Within   whose    veins   no   martyr   blood   may 

flow. 
Who   know    not     or     perchance    disdain     to 

know 
Of      Mecklenburg,      Long      Island,      Valley 

Forge — 


Where    loyal    "Dutchmen"'    felt   war's   Cruel 

scourge; 
Of   Saratoga,  Cowpens,   Brandywine 
Of  Trenton's   feat  where   our  despised   line 
The  brunt  of  battle  felt,  the  foe  wichstood. 

Or    did    not    he     whose    name     emblazoned 

stands 
On   Freedom's   banner,   Washington   confess 
If  all  were  lost  he'd  seek  the  wilderness 
With  his  beloved  riflemen  and  fighL 
Till    freedom's    sun    had    sunk    in     deepest 

night? 
Or    General    Morgan    this    encomium    raise: 
"He  .starves  so  well" — the  soldier's  highest 

praise? 
Avaunt!    ye    'Dutchman '-haters,    wash    your 

hands. 

Or  when  as  yet  in  doubtful  balance  hung 
That  Magna  Charta,worth  a  nation's  blood. 
That    changed     the     world     like     Shinar's 

mighty    flood 
And   gave  man  back  his  birthright,  shackle- 
free. 
And  nations  call  us  blest — here  too  we  see 
These    stalwart    fathers     play     their     noble 

part, 
Tho  little  known  upon  the  common  mart, 
Or  else  perchance  in  scurril   story  sung. 

Tho  time  and  distance  mellow  thiigs  long 
past 

They    had    their    faults,     for    those     were 
strenuous   days. 

Their    manners    brusque    and    oft    uncouth 
their  ways. 

But     honor     dwelt     within     those    rugged 
hearts 

And  word  of  mouth  and  grasp  of  hand  im- 
parts 

A  holy  seal  to  pledge  and  promise  made 

That  far  outweighed  our  modern  1  ricks   of 
trade 

Where  he   pays  first  who  signs   the   parch- 
ment last. 

Thank  God!  those  doughty  pioneers  of  old 
Whose    ashes    lie    within    yon    mosstouched 

wall, 
Unmarkt,   unknown   with   living  voices   call 
Their  children's  children  on  this  festal  day 
To  render  thanks  with  hearts  that  sing  and 

pray 
To   Him   whose   guardian   hand   had    safely 

led 
Their  footsteps  hither,  and,  tho  long  since 

dead. 
Their  work  of  faith  in  sacred  mem'ry  hold. 

They  came  not  to  these  hills  and  dales  of 

Lynn 
Like  social  outcasts  without  God  or  Creed. 
Unconscious  of  the  soul's  deep  vital  need;. 
Their  "Stark's   Gebetbuch"   and   their   Bible 

dear 
Their  monitors  in  time  of  doubt  and  fear: 
Not  theirs  the   privilege   now   oft   despised. 


JACOB'S     CHURCH.    JACKSONVILLE,    PA. 


165 


Of  frequent  sermon  or  what  Love  devised 
For   thirsting   souls    who   mourn    the   blight 
of   sin. 

We    stand    on    holy    ground    for    here    they 

chose 
To  build  Thy  Temple,  Lord,  for  pray'r  and 

praise, 
Where    faithful    pastors    might   their    hands 

upraise 
In  solemn   warning  lest  their  hearts  forget 
The  living  God  and  heart  and  mind  be  set 
On    earthly    things   alone.      They   know    full 

Wfll 

That  Esau-like  man  cannot  barter,  sell. 
His   soul's   chief  good   and   still    in   God   re- 
pose. 

They  sowed  and  planted,  we  but  scand  and 

reap. 
The    blessings    of    "    hundred    years    passed 

by; 
The    landscape    smiles     and     hills     to    hills 

reply 
And     call     each     other     blessed,     rich     with 

spoil 
Thai  marks  the  lab'rer's  task,  the  farmer's 

toil; 
Rut    fairer     far    God's    house    of    worship 

stands 
In  tow'ring  majesty  and   so  commands 
That  we  this  festal  day  together  keep. 

Ye  sons  and  daughters  of  a  worthy  line 
Hold     fast    your     birthright     bought     with 

blood   and   tears ; 
Hide  not  your  glory  as  so  oft  appears 
In    those    who   blush    to   own    their    lineage 

true — 
A  bastard  line,  the  devil's  parvenu! 
Stand    by    your    guns,    defend    them    to    the 

last. 

True    manhood    lived    but    lives    not   in    the 

past, 
Lead  noble  lives  and  let  your  virtues  shine. 


So  let  us  then,  in  holy  service  met, 
To-day   anew    reconsecrate   this   hoiise 
Unto  the  living  God,  and  so  arouse 
Our  deadened  sense  of  worship  and  of  life 
To  nobler   pitch  with  deeds  of  m^rcy   rife; 
And   so,  yea  only  so,  this  house  shall  be 
A  stepping-stone,  O  Lord,  Thy  face  to  see 
When  day  is  done  and  life's  brief  sun  is  set. 

The  anniversary  hymn  was  sung  with 
great  earnestness  at  the  celebration.  Jt 
follows: 

O  Thou  from  out  whose  gracious  hand 
The   cent'ries  fall   like  grains  of  sand,' 
.Accept  the  grateful  songs  of  praise, 
Our  hearts   indite,  our  voices   raise. 

Thou   who  hast  planted  hill  and  dale. 
The  murm'ring  rill  that  haunts  the  vale, 
This  goodly  land  to  us  hast  giv'n 
A  pledge  of  love,  a  gift  from  heaven. 

Here   where  the  primal  forest  stood. 
Midst  vine-clad  hills  and  tangled  wood 
The  fathers  guided  by  Thy  hand 
Their  altars  reared  in  Beulahland. 

By   tyrant  masters   sore  opprest. 

By  foes  on  every  hand  distrest, 

A   peaceful    refuge   here   they    found — 

Their  dust  has  made  it  hallowed  ground. 

O  hear  us,  heavenly  Father,  hear. 
The  sons  and  daughters  now  draw  near. 
Our  hearts  and  lives  we  pledge  anew^ 
To  serve  Thee  as  the  years  ensue. 

We  thank  Thee  for  this  festal  day 
That  marks  a  cent'ry  passed  away. 
And  pray  Thee  for  the  years  in  stjre: 
Thy  grace  sustain  us  ever  more. 

Thy  holy  Spirit  grant  we  pray 
That  we  may  walk  in   wisdom's   way. 
And   let  our  hearts  Thy  temple  be 
lentil.  O  Lord,  Thy  face  we  see. 


Rev'd  Peter  Frederick  Niemeyer 

By  Rev.  Eli  Keller,  Alleqtown,  Pa. I 


IT  IS  man  was  an  early 
minister  of  the  Lutheran 
church  in  this  country. 
The  writer  of  these 
data,  being  a  distant  de- 
scendant, found  access 
to  certain  most  reliable 
documents,  concerning- 
his  life  and  labors  desired  to  give  the 
following:  He  was  a  native  of  Swe- 
den, born   Aug.  the  24th.  A.  D.   1733. 


in  the  city  of  Wismar.  He  was  the  son 
of  Lieut.  Charles  Conrad  Niemeyer 
and  wife.  He  was  l)aptized,  February 
the  Tith.  1734.  in  St.  ]\Iary*s  church, 
by  the  most  Honorable  Revs.  Staal- 
kop,  Sr.  The  Sponsors  were:  Fred- 
erick Gepe,  Peter  Pottmeyer,  Fred- 
erick Krotcl.  widow  of  Mr.  Game- 
liner,  and  daughter  of  decease<l 
."^chultze.  "This  Rec»)rd  was  made, 
(V't.   7th.    1752.  in   said   church,   by  its 


1G6 


REVEREIND   PETER   NIEMEYEIR 


Sec.  Andrew  L.  Winkler,  and  proper- 
ly attested,  by  his  Seal. 

In  1753,  he  emigrated  to  America, 
and  landed  at  Philadelphia.  Sept.  the 
nth,  from  the  ship  "Queen  of  Den- 
mark." 

In  the  year  1759,  April  3rd  he  mar- 
ried, after  three  public  proclamations. 
Miss  Maria  Horn,  daughter  of  George 
Horn  and  Maria  Kunignuda,  his 
wife.  His  bride  was  born  at  Brund- 
Hilda,  Dec,  24th,  1743.  The  cere- 
mony was  performed  bv  the  Swedish 
Embassador,  Erick  Nordanlind,  in 
Philadelphia. 

In  Rev'd  Niemeyer's  Family  Bible, 
published  in  Germany  (Nornbtrg)  in 
1755,  in  the  care  of  one  of  his  descen- 
dants, at  Martin's  Creek,  above  Eas- 
ton,  on  the  Delaware ;  and  well  pre- 
served, are  the  following  Records 
concerning  his  children  : 

i<  Maria.  Born  1761,  May  the 
tith  in  Lower  Marion  Tovvnship, 
Philadelphia  County.  The  sponsors 
were  the  grandparents :  Geo  Horn 
and  wife.  The  same  died,  Dec.  6th. 
1773,  aged    12  yrs.  and  6  months. 

2.  Hannah.  Born  1763,  May  25th, 
at  the  same  place.  The  sponsors  also, 
at  her  baptism,  were  the  same. 

3.  Elizabeth  Margaret.  Born  1765, 
Dec.  the  i6th,  at  New  Goshenboppen. 
Upper  Hanover,  Montgomery  Co. 
Her  sponsors  were:  John  Adain  Lan- 
denschliiger    and    wife    Alargaiet. 

4.  Susannah,  Born  1770,  Nov,  the 
22nd,  at  the  same  place.  Her  spon- 
sors were:  Geo.  Horn,  Jr.,  and  wife. 

5.  Anna  Maria,  Born  1775,  May 
the  13th,  in  Northampton  Co.,  Pa. 
She  was  ba]:)tized  June  4th  following. 

From  these  Records  we  may  infer, 
where  and  under  what  circumstances, 
father  N.  was  born  and  raised,  also, 
that  he  studied  for  the  ministrv,  in  the 
old  countrv  :  and  finallv  also,  in  what 


fields   he   labored,  as   a   minister. 

His  2nd  daughter  (Hannah)  mar- 
ried Ludwig  Spanamer — his  5th 
daughter  (Anna  Maria)  married  Mi- 
chael Schall,  of  More  Township.  His 
4th  daughter  (Susannah)  married 
Casper  Engler,  born  Dec.  28th,  1772. 
Engler  died  May  24th,  1801.  Aged  28 
yrs„  4  mos.,  and  26  days,  lie  lived 
and  died  in  More  Township,  North- 
ampton County,  Pa.  Englers  had  four 
children.  Himself  and  his  oldest 
child  (Frederick)  are  buried  at  the 
Big  More  township  Union  church. 
His  widow  married  Grandfather  Phil- 
ip Keller,  of  Plainfield  Township. 
Northampton  Co.,  Pa.  Her  three 
children  and  also  her  parents,  accom- 
])anied  her.  in  this  removal.  Her  par- 
ents died  there,  and  are  buried  at  the 
Plainfield  church.  Herself,  her  hus- 
band, and  the  remaining  children  re- 
moved in  1827  to  Martin's  Creek 
'where  all  of  them  also,  in  their  own 
time  died,  and  are  buried  at  "The 
Three  Churches,"  on   the   Delaware. 

(See  "The  Keller  History,"  page  69,  &c.1 

Great-grandfather,  Rev'd  Peter  Fred- 
erick Niemeyer,  died  Aug.  the  i6th. 
181 5.  Aged  82  yrs.  His  wife  died 
Aug.  the  4th,   1816.     Aged  73  yrs. 

My  Grandfather  Keller,  gave  ni}- 
Great  Grandfather  Niemeyer  and 
Great  Grandmother,  a  house  and 
home  at  Plainfield  as  long  as  they  liv- 
ed. For  some  years  Rev.  Niemeyer 
also  taught  school  in  that  house,  for 
the  benefit  of  the  community  along 
the  foot  of  the  Blue  Mountt.ins  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  thus  spent  his  last 
years  profitably. 

N.  B. — Niemeyer  is  a  Germaa  name, 
though  the  subject  of  this  brief  biog- 
ra]ihy  was  born  in  Sweden.  His  father 
was  of  German  ancestry  and  his 
mother,  of  Swedish. 


167 


Incidents  from  the  Life  of  Bishop  John  Seybert 

From  Rev.  Dr.  Stapleton's  "Flashlights  on  Evangelical  History" 


1  SI  I  OP  John  Seybert  was 
born  in  Lancaster  Co.. 
Pennsylvania,  i  n  1791, 
and  died  at  P)elleview, 
Oliio.  i860.  li  e  was 
virtually  the  first  bishop 
of  the  Evangelical  Asso- 
ciation, He  was  never 
married,  but  labored  in  season  and 
ont  of  season  for  the  promotion  of 
(Thrist's  kingdom.  Me  was  severely 
])lain,  in  his  ways  and  dress,  almost 
to  the  point  of  eccentricity. 
Although  he  was  exceedingl)  relig- 
ious, there  were  times  when  he  could 
"crack  a  joke"  in  the  drollest  manner 
i:)Ossible,  and  his  performances  in  this 
line  generally  afforded  food  for  ser- 
ious afterthought.  He  was  never 
known  to  say  an  unkind  word  about 
any  one,  and  his  quaint,  droll  sayings 
never  had  a  sting.  The  following  in- 
cidents are  given  to  illustrate  the 
many-sided  features  of  his  character. 

THE    BISHOP    DARNS    STOCKINGS 

In  1854  P>ishop  Seybert  dedicated  a 
church  at  Mt.  Zion  (Seitz  Church) 
in  York  County.  Pennsylvania.  Rev. 
Samuel  Seibert  was  preacher  in 
charge.  That  night  the  Bishop  and 
Rew  Seibert  quartered  together.  In 
ihe  morning  the  Bishop  arose  early 
and  after  Bible  study  and  family  de- 
votions, took  from  his  saddle  bags  a 
])air  of  torn  stockings  which  he  pro- 
ceeded to  darn.  When  his  task  was 
finished.  Rev.  .Seibert  said  to  him : 
"N^ow.  Bishop,  if  you  had  married 
when  you  were  young,  as  you  should 
have  done,  by  this  time  you  might 
/  have  daughters  who  would  wash  and 
mend  your  clothes  and  dam  your 
s(Kks."  AMiereupon  the  Bishop  re- 
])hed :  "That's  so.  Brother  Seibert,  as 
you  say,  had  I  married  when  young  I 
might  have  daughters  to  wash  and 
mend  mv  clothes  and  darn  my  socks, 
])Ut  then,  too.  I  might  ha\e  missed  iL 


\"()U  hit  it;  you  have  a  good  wife,  and 
ha\e  children  who  are  all  right,  but 
I  might  have  married  a  wife  wh(< 
might  have  stood  in  my  way  and 
might  have  dragged  me  down  to  hell." 
Then  he  added  Avith  a  droll  smile, 
■'You  men  with  wives  have  trouble 
which  1  haven't  got,  and  while  you 
are  bothering  with  that,  I  go  on  with 
my  work,  tend  to  my  own  clothes, 
and  darn  my  own  socks."  Saying 
this,  he  called  for  his  horse  and  in  a 
short  time  was  on  his  wa}^  to  the  far 
west. 

THE  BISHOP  TAKEN  FOR   A  TRAMP 

In  1858,  the  Central  Pennsylvania 
Conference  held  its  session  at  New 
Kingston,  near  Carlisle,  under  the 
presidenc}'^  of  Bishop  Seybert.  The 
Bishop's  quarters  were  fixed  at  the 
home  of  John  Musselman,  a  well-to- 
do  farmer,  whose  place  adjoined  the 
\  illage.  The  family  felt  highly  honor- 
ed in  having  the  Bishop  as  their  guest, 
and  made  great  preparations  to  enter- 
tain him  in  a  manner  befitting  his 
rank. 

Seybert  came  from  the  west,  and 
left  his  ln>rse  at  the  home  of  Da,vid 
Kutz,  an  old  friend,  near  Carlisle,  and 
from  thence  walked  down  the  railroad 
track  to  New  Kingston,  a  distance  of 
two  miles.  Arriving  at  the  Mussel- 
man  home  with  saddle-bags  slung 
across  his  shoulder,  clothes  dusty,  and 
shoes  mudd}',  his  apj^earance  was  any- 
thing but  that  of  a  Bishop.  Coming 
to  the  house  he  found  the  parents  out 
at  their  barn  doing  the  evening  work, 
and  a  grown  daughter  preparing  sup- 
per. Addressing  himself  to  the  young 
woman  he  told  her  he  was  a  "travel- 
er" and  would  like  to  have  entertain 
ment  for  a  while.  Said  the  young 
woman,  who  did  not  recognize  him : 
"We  are  not  fixed  to  keep  strangers 
just  now.  There  is  going  to  be  a  Con 
ference    here,    and    Bishop    Seybert    i.< 


168 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


g-oing  to  be  our  guest."  Well  then," 
said  the  Bishop,  in  his  droll  way. 
"Will  you  let  me  stay  for  supper?" 
To  this  Miss  Musselman  acceded, 
whereupon  the  Bishop  entered  the 
house,  went  to  a  table,  opened  his 
saddle  bags,  and  got  out  his  writing- 
materials,  and  was  soon  engaged  in 
writing  letters.  This  procedure  of  the 
stranger  greatly  excited  the  curiosity 
of  the  young  woman,  and  she  made  it 
her  business  to  pass  to  and  fro  behind 
the  writer  until  she  beheld  him  sign- 
ing his  name  to  a  letter,  "Johannis 
Seybert."  Upon  this  discovery  she 
quickly  ran  out  to  the  barn  and  in- 
formed her  father  of  her  great  blunder 
and  asked  what  to  do  to  make  it  right. 
It  was  agreed  to  say  nothing,  but 
await  what  the  Bishop  had  to  say. 

Bishop  Seybert  was  shown  his 
room,  and  all  was  right.  He  said 
nothing  about  the  matter,  but  the 
twinkle   in   his   eyes   whenever   it    met 

that  of   Miss   M plainly  said, 

'T  have  a  good  one  on  you!" 

THE    GIRLS    'SHINE"    HIS    SHOES 

Bishop  Seybert  never  blackened  his 
shoes,  but  kept  them  soft  with  oil, 
which  caused  the  dust  to  adhere 
to  them.  While  he  was  the  guest 
of  the  Musselmans,  during  the  Con- 
ference mentioned,  the  daughters 
of  Mr.  Musselman  concluded  to  make 
the  Bishop  look  more  dignified  by 
l)lackening  his  shoes.  The  Bisho]) 
had  a  habit  of  taking  ofif  his  shoes  in 
the  kitchen  and  going  into  his  bed- 
room in  his  stocking  feet.  One  night 
the  young  women  took  his  shoes  and 
polished  them.  In  the  morning  the 
Bishop  came  into  the  kitchen  for  his 
shoes.  Taking  them  up  he  looked 
them  all  over  with  a  cynical  smile, 
saying,  "These  are  not  mv  shoes."  He 
then  put  them  on  and  went  out  into 
the  yard,  brushed  his  feet  through  the 
grass  and  took  off  the  "shine."  Noth- 
ing further  was  said  about  the  matter, 
1)ut  his  droll  look  at  the  girls  was 
something  to  be  remembered. 


TOO  NEAR  HELL  FOR  THE  BISHOP 

Bishop  Seybert  was  very  much  op-' 
posed  to  the  use  of  tobacco,  chiefly  be- 
cause he  held  the  money  so  used 
ought  to  be  spent  in  the  Lord's  cause. 
When  the  Bishop  rebuked  the  use  of 
tobacco  it  was  generally  in  a  way  to 
be  long  remembered  as  the  following- 
example  evidences.  The  incident  we 
are  about  to  relate  also  took  place  at 
the  session  of  the  Central  Pennsyl- 
vania Conference  at  New  Kingston, 
which  was  the  last  visit  of  the  Bishop 
to  that  Conference.  We  will  ict  one 
who  was  present  tell  the  story  of  what 
happened. 

"A  number  of  us-  preachers  at  our 
boarding  place  were  regaling  our- 
selves by  smoking  cigars.  when 
Bishop  Seybert  came  in  upon  us.  with 
some  document  in  his  hands  f()r  com- 
mittee work.  Asked  to  be  seated  he 
handed  the  papers  to  one  of  the  breth- 
ren sayng :  "I  can't  stand  this,  it 
smells  as  if  hell  were  not  far  off!"  ami 
cjuickl}^  departed,  leaving  the  brethren 
to  their  own  thoughts." 

HE  DID  NOT  LOOK  LIKE  A  BISHOP 

Bisho})  Seybert  was  perhaps  the 
most  unconventional  preacher  in  the 
matter  of  dress  and  personal  appear- 
ances of  any  one  of  his  period.  He 
wore  a  broad-brimmed  hat,  and  in  his 
general  appearance  looked  like  a  Duu- 
kard  or  Amish,  as  we  see  them  to- 
day. His  shoes  were  heavy,  and 
built  for  wear.  He  kept  them  well 
oiled,  and  as  said,  would  never  al- 
low them  to  be  blackened.  He  was 
very  tidy  and  clean,  darned  his  own 
stockings,  and  mended  his  own  gar- 
ments. He  had  no  "Sunday-clothes," 
and  hence  often  ap])eared  in  the  pul- 
])it  with  ])atched  g'arments. 

The  onlv  instance  we  ever  heard  of 
in  which  he  sought  to  put  on  a  good 
appearance  was  during  his  visits  to 
the  publshing  hc^use  in  New  Berlin, 
when  that  i:)lace  was  still  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Church.  He  some- 
times traveled  with  a  knit  coat  or 
"round-about"  as  thev  were  then  call- 
ed. 


INCIDENTS    FROM    THE    LIFE    OF    BISHOP   JOHN   SEYBERT 


169 


Whenever  he  came  to  New  BerHn, 
wearing"  this  garment,  he  was  wont  to 
lake  it  off  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town 
and   put  on   his  "good"   coat. 

A  good  story  is  told  how  his  plain 
clothes  once  deceived  a  woman  who 
had  a  little  "gilt-edge"  in  her  nature. 

In  1846  the  l>ish()p  \isited  Albany, 
New  York,  and  preached  in  the  Evan- 
gelical Mission  there.  A  certain  man, 
whose  wife  had  never  met  Seyhert. 
it)ld  her  as  he  started  for  church  with- 
out her  that  he  would  bring  the 
Bishop  home  with  him  for  dinner.  The 
])roposition  appealed  to  the  native 
])ride  of  the  woman,  who  was  a  Ger- 
man, and  had  a  high  estimate  of  the 
dignity  of  the  episcopal  office. 

She  accordingly  bmught  all  her 
culinary  skill  and  resources  tp  bear  on 
this  great  occasion  of  her  life.  The  re- 
sult was  a  dinner  that  might  have  put 
a  Delmonico  to  the  blush,  we 
imagine.     The     great     spread     ready. 


she  awaited  the  coming  of  her  spouse 
with  the  Bishop.  After  a  while 
she  spied  her  husband  coming  in  the 
distance  minus  the  Bishop!  Her  heart 
sank  in  disappointment.  There  was 
with  him  a  little  old  man,  oddly  clad 
with  a  broad  brimmed  hat,  short  coat 
of  a  peculiar  cut,  with  a  row  of  big 
brass  buttons.  His  shoes  were  heavy 
and  ungainly.  Ujjon  seeing  this  man 
with  her  husband  she  said  she  had  ex- 
pected him  to  bring  the  Bishop,  and 
now  he  was  bringing  with  him  this 
"common  old  man."  With  her  woman- 
ly pride  humbled,  and  her  spirit  sore- 
ly vexed,  she  said  she  had  gone  to  all 
this  trouble  for  nothing.  When  her 
husband  arrived  she  tartly  asked  him 
why  he  had  not  brought  the  Bisho]) 
instead  of  this  fellow.  It  took  some 
time  until  the  husband  reconciled  her 
to  the  fact  that  this  was  the  Bisho]) 
and  she  doubtless  soon  realized  that 
he  was  worthy  of  her  previous  high 
estimate  of  such  a  personage. 


Some  Pennsylvania-German  Settlers  in  the  Western 

Part  of  the  State 

By  J.  A.  Scheffer,  M.  A.,  Allentown,  Pa. 


p 

J 

ACOB  KAHLE  (probably 
originally  spelled  Kehl) 
and  his  wife  Saraii,  with 
their  little  family  came 
from  Huntingdon  county, 
to  what  is  now  Clarion 
county.  Pennsylvania,  in 
1826.  They  set'tled  in  Elk 
iDwnshi])  and  began  clearing  a  farm  to 
plant  vegetables  and  sow  grain  so  as 
to  have  something  to  live  on.  That 
section  of  country  was  then  more  of  a 
wilderness  than  a  farming  and  oil 
well  community  as  it  is  now.  Bears 
and  other  wild  animals  were  then 
(|uite  numerous  and  would  sometimes 
come  into  the  farm  yard  during  the 
day  as  well  as  at  night.  One  day 
while  the  family  was  eating  dinner, 
the    parents    and    children    wer«.^    inter 


rupted  by  the  squealing  of  one  of 
their  j^igs  near  the  house  struggling 
in  the  paws  of  a  l)ear.  who  also  waul- 
ed some  dinner.  .\t  another  time 
when  Mr.  Kahle  was  on  his  way  lo 
the  village  of  Shippenville,  then  hav- 
ing only  a  few  houses,  accompanied 
by  his  two  small  sons  George  and 
John  ^^  .  he  was  again  called  by  the 
scpiealing  of  a  hog  for  dear  life  to  res- 
cue it  from  two  bears.  Being  chased 
from  their  intended  prey,  the  bears 
ran  out  (»n  the  road  near  where  the 
boys  were  standing,  and  so  frightened 
the  boys  that  they  let  out  such  un- 
expected and  fierce  3'ells  as  in  turn  to 
scare  the  bears  so  that  they  made  all 
haste  to  get  into  the  adjoining  woods. 
That  section  of  Pennsylvania 
which    now    includes    Armstrong.  But- 


170 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


ler,  Clarion,  Jefferson,  Forest,  Law- 
rence, Mercer,  Venango  and  adjoin- 
ing- counties  was  just  beginning  to  be 
occupied  by  settlers  seeking  to  make 
liomes  for  themselves,  where  the  In- 
dians still  lived  until  about  1780  or 
1790.  The  white  men  only  began  to 
migrate  to  those  parts  from  the  older 
eastern  counties  in  this  and  other 
states  and  from  Europe  after  the  lat- 
ter date.  And  then  settlers  did  not 
come  in  any  considerable  numbers 
till  after  1810,  and  still  later.  As  late 
as  from  the  years  1820  to  1840  there 
were  plenty  of  deer  and  elk,  bears, 
wolves,  panthers  and  other  wild  ani- 
mals, wild  turkeys  and  birds  in  those 
forests.  And  some  of  these  would 
frequently  be  seen  crossing  the  farm- 
er's fields  from  one  woods  to  another 
or  be  chased  by  dogs  and  hunters. 

The  first  German  or  Pennsyhania- 
German  settlers  that  came  tvi  afore- 
named township  was  in  1808.  These 
were  two  families  by  the  name  of 
(jroh  (now  Growe)  and^  ITartman, 
and  in  181 5  Charles  Fischer.  Feter 
and  John  Keiser  (now  Kiser)  moved 
into  this  locality  from  Westmoeland 
County,  Pa.,  in  181 7.  These  were  all 
farmers  by  occu])ation.  John  Koenig 
'later  King)  a  blacksmith,  came  from 
[funtingdon  county  to  Shippenville. 
and  Frederick  Kehl  with  his  father- 
in-law,  George  Heuyskel  (Ilyshell) 
about   1822. 

John  \A'.  Kahl  (note  the  autograph 
spelling  of  the  name)  was  the  son  of 
Jacob  and  Sarah  Kahle.  He  was  born 
Dec.  28,  1821,  came  with  his  parents 
to  the  place  above  stated  and  remain- 
ed on  the  farm  till  1844.  Then  he 
became  bookkeeper  for  Wm.  B.  Fet- 
xer  at  Elk  Furnace  and  later  became 
manager  of  this  industrial  plant.  In 
1859  he  designed  and  built  the  first 
coke  oven  erected  in  Clarion  county, 
near  Bradys  bend  on  the  Allegheny 
river.  He  served  as  sujjeriniendcnt 
')f  iron  furnaces  fifteen  years. 


Mr.  Kahl  married  Anna  Cheers  in 
1845.  They  had  four  sons  and  four 
daughters  and  all  grew  to  a  useful 
man-  and  womanhood.  He  removed  to 
Lineville  in  the  northwestern  part 
of  the  county  in  i860,  to  engage  in 
mercantile  business  and  farming. 

A  company  of  capitalists  from  New 
York  bought  a  large  tract  of  land  be- 
tween Franklin  and  Oil  City  along  the 
Allegheny  river  and  in  1864  employed 
Mr.  Kahl  to  superintend  the  develop- 
ment of  the  property  for  oil.  As  in  all 
his  previous  engagements,  he  was 
loyal  to  the  interest  of  his  emi)loyers. 
During  this  work  there  was  an  at- 
tempt to  bribe  him.  For  he  was  of- 
fered one  hundred  thousand  dollars  if 
he  would  give  certain  results  of  the 
wells  tested  to  other  parties  oriC  week 
Ijefore  informing  the  company.  Some 
acquaintances  urged  him  to  accept  the 
offer  and  become  rich  at  once.  '*  His 
answer  was  that  the  company  was 
paying  him  a  just  salary  for  attending 
to  their  business.  And  if  there  was 
anything  to  be  gained  by  the  first  in- 
formation given,  the  company  shall 
have  the  benefit  of  it."  An  honest 
re()ly  from  an  honest  man,  and  worthy 
of  following  by  all  at  all  times.  After 
thoroughly  testing  the  territory  for 
oil  and  satisfying  himself  that  the  in- 
come would  not  pay  expenses,  he  re- 
signed and  advised  the  company  to 
quit  oeprations  in  that  locality. 

Mr.  Kahl  served  eighteen  years  as 
school  director,  a  number  of  years  as 
post  master  and  in  1878  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Legisla- 
ture. In  all  these  positions  as  always 
he  was  faithful  and  true  to  his  constit- 
uents. He  was  later  a  delegate  to  a 
State  and  two  National  i:)olitical  con- 
\entions. 

After  the  foregoing  statement  it  is 
hardly  necessary  to  add  that  Mr.  J. 
W.  Kahl  was  an  active  genuine  and 
faithful  member  of  the  Christian 
Church.  His  wife  and  childien  are 
also  consistent  Christians. 


171 


Suggestive  Sources  of  Church  History 


T  IS  a  matter  of  regret 
that  the  early  history  of 
many  of  the  oldest  Luth- 
eran and  Reformed 
churches  i  n  eastern 
Pennsylvania  is  so  in- 
complete. Jn  some  in- 
stances it  is  not  known 
when  or  by  whom  the  congregations 
were  organized.  The  reason  i-^  to  be 
found  in  the  unorganized  condition  of 
the  people  in  early  days.  In  some 
places  there  was  preaching  occasion- 
ally by  traveling  missioniaries  long  be- 
fore CQugregations  were  organized. 
Then  in  numerous  instances  no  rec- 
ords were  kept  in  the  beginning,  or 
the  records  have  been  lost.  These 
facts  make  the  stud}'^  and  compiling 
of  the  early  history  of  the  congre- 
gations difficult  and  in  many  respects 
uncertain.  IMuch  has  to  be  taken  for 
granted.  and  frequently  tradition 
must   be  accepted   for  actual  history. 

Various  church  bodies  have  years 
ago  directed  the  pastors  to  compile 
and  pul)lish  the  history  of  the  congre- 
gations served  by  them.  This  has 
l)een  done  only  to  a  limited  extent. 
As  far  as  done  the  work  is  of  great 
value.  We  have  before  reported  that 
the  Lutheran  Conference  of  Berks 
county  a  few  \^ears  ago  arranged  for 
the  compiling  of  the  history  of  all 
the  Lutheran  and  union  churches  in 
said  county.  The  work  has  been  done 
largely  by  Rev.  J.  W.  Early,  a  gentle- 
man w^ell  qualified  for  the  work.  It 
would  be  very  acceptable  if  a  similar 
Avork  could  be  done  for  the  Reformed 
Church  in  this  large  county.  We  have 
a  well  authenticated  and  c  ^nplete 
history  of  the  Reformed  Church  in 
Reading,  covering  all  the  ''ourteen 
congregations,  which  was  compiled 
by  the  former  editor  of  the  Record, 
who  expended  much  ])atient  labor  up- 
on it.  In  the  course  of  time  the  vol- 
ume will  become  very  valuable.  It  is 
not     now     as    much    a])preciated    as    it 


should  be.  As  usual  such  a  work  will 
be  appreciated  only  when  the  edition 
will  have  been  exhausted  and  copies 
are  difficult  to  secure.  The  book  is 
l)ublished  in  the  Record  office. 

The  longer  the  work  of  compiling 
the  histories  of  the  congregations  is 
delayed  the  more  difficult  it  becomes. 
Much  material  now  available  will  be- 
come lost  with  lapse  of  time  fmd  the 
departure  of  our  oldest  people.  With 
the  death  of  some  persons  valuable 
church  records  will  be  lost  or  forgot- 
ten. 

A  er}^  few  congregations  have 
suitable  places  for  preserving  t-ecords. 
These  are  in  the  custody  of  indivi- 
ihial  meml)ers.  The  older  records  are 
in  small  books,  and  these  have  been 
laid  away,  and  are  being  forgotten. 
All  such  records  should  be  collected 
and  carefully  ]jreserved.  A  year  or 
more  ago  the  Berks  County  Histori- 
cal Society  appointed  a  committee  for 
the  purpose  of  transcribing  old  church 
records.  So  far  as  the  writer  knows 
nothing  has  been  done  beyond  tran- 
scribing the  early  record  of  the  Berne 
church,  and  it  is  not  likely  that  much 
will  be  done  on  account  of  the  labor 
involved. 

Much  historical  material  is  alsn 
found  in  the  inscriptions  on  the  tomb- 
stones in  the  old  graveyards.  These 
inscriptions  are.  year  by  year,  becom- 
ing more  illegible  through  the  ravag- 
es of  the  weather.  Already  many  can 
no  longer  be  deciphered.  Louis  Rich- 
ards, es(|..  the  painstaking  jiresident 
of  the  above  historical  society,  has 
frequently  urged  country  pastors  to 
appoint  capable  young  men  to  copv 
the  inscriptions  on  the  oldest  tomb- 
stones and  record  them  in  the  church 
books,  where  thev  would  be  acces- 
sible. Unfortunately  very  little  has 
been  done  in  this  line.  Mr.  M.  A.  Gru- 
l)er.  a  native  of  \orth  Heidelberg 
township,  Berks  county,  now  a  clerk 
in    the  War  Department  at  Washing- 


172 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


ton,  some  time  ago  copied  the  in- 
scriptions on  all  the  old  tombstones 
at  the  historic  Corner  church,  near 
Robesonia,  with  the  exception  of  a 
few  which  are  entirely  illegible.  There 
are  475  such  inscriptions.  Mr.  G.  has 
entered  these  inscriptions,  together 
with  much  other  history,  in  the  con- 
gregational record.  He  has  also  two 
copies  of  this  work  consisting  of  562 
i:)ages,  one  of  which  he  presented  to 
the  congregation,  and  retained  the 
other  in  his  possession.  He  deserves 
much  praise  for  this  work,  which  in- 
volved very  much  time  and  labor. 
We  mention  this  fact  partly  in  recog- 
nition of  the  painstaking  labor  of  Mr. 
Gruber,  and  also  to  encourage  others 
to  perform  similar  work  at  other 
l)laces.  There  is  a  vast  field  for  such 
U'ork   in    Berks  county  alone. 

Mr.      Louis       Richards       mentioned 
above,   some   years   ago  visited    many 


of  the  old  graveyards  in  Berks  county 
and  copied  numerotis  inscriptions  on 
the  older  tombstones,  which  he  has 
carefully  preserved.  The  writer  last 
fall  spent  the  greater  part  of  a  day  at 
the  North  Heidelberg  church  and 
copied  the  inscriptions  of  all  the  old 
tombstones.  Fortunately  with  only 
several  exceptions  all  of  them  were 
still  decipherable.  This  list  was  pub- 
lished, together  with  the  history  of 
the  congregation,  in  the  "Pennsyl- 
vania-German" magazine  for  Febr- 
uary. 

We  would  earnestly  urge  country 
pastors  to  carry  out  the  suggestion 
made  above,  whereby  they  can  ren- 
der a  most  acceptable  service  to  pres- 
ent and  future  generations.  It  will 
not  be  difBcult  to  secure  the 'services 
of   competent    persons    in  most  places. 

— Reformed    Church    Record. 


Grace  Leinberger,  or  the  White  Rose 

A  TALE  OF  FRONTIER  LIFE 

By  J.  Fred  Bachman,  Daniels ville,  Pa. 

PART  I 


T      A\'AS      a     cold     frosty 
morning      in     November. 
Fort    Allen,    at  the  pres- 
ent   town    of  Weissport, 
was  enveloped  by  one  of 
the     mists     so     frequent 
along  the    Lehigh   river. 
The    commanding  officer  of  the  fort 
stood     conversing     with     one    of    the 
guards  as  was  his  usual  custom. 

"Colonel,  I  think  I  heerd  some  fir- 
ing out  that  way,"  said  the  trusty 
guard  as  he  pointed  in  a  westerly 
direction  across  the  river. 

"I  think  I  heerd  it  again,"  he  said 
as  he  inclined  his  ear  in  the  direction 
from  which  he  had  heard  the  sound. 

The  Colonel  listened  some  time  ."I 
guess   you    are    mistaken,Wordie,"    he 


said.  "I  am  unable  to  hear  anything." 

The  Colonel  had  hardly  finished 
talking  when  the  report  was  heard 
more  distinctly. 

"Sound  the  alarm !"  cried  the  com- 
manding officer  to  a  boy  who  was 
standing  near  by.  "Sound  the  alarm  !" 
he  said  again. 

The  boy  seized  his  drum  and  began 
to  beat  it  vigorously.  The  soldiers 
immediately  assembled  at  their  re- 
spective places  ready  for  duty. 

All  was  now  confusion  in  the  fort. 
\A"omen  and  children  were  terror 
stricken  while  every  soldier  was  ready 
to  sacrifice  his  life  to  save  the  lives  of 
others. 

Colonel  Clapham  selected  a  number 
of  men  from  his  faithful  little  band. 
They  sallied  forth  from  the  little  fort 


GRACE  LEINBERGER,  OR   THE   WHITE   ROSE 


173 


waving:  good  bye  to  loved  ones,  waded 
across  the  Lehigh  river  and  were  soon 
following  the  Indian  trail  leading 
along  the  Mahoning  Creek. 

They  kept  well  under  shelter  as 
they  walked  briskly  along  in  Indian 
file  for  they  knew  that  they  were  seek- 
ing a  wily  foe  ever  ready  to  take  them 
at  a  disadvantage  whenever  an  oppor- 
tunity should  offer. 

They  heard  continued  firing  as  they 
marched  along,  and  they  knew  that 
some  one  was  bravely  defending  him- 
self against  the  cruel  savages. 

On  and  on  went  that  determined 
band,  for  determined  they  were,  cross- 
ing ravines,  swamps  and  mires.  They 
followed  their  brave  leader  wherever 
he  went. 

The  report  of  the  rifle  became  more 
and  more  distinct  but  at  last  ceased  to 
be  heard. 

The  Colonel  shook  his  head.  "I 
think  we  are  too  late,"  he  said,  as  he 
stopped  and  scrutinized  the  counte- 
nances of  his  men.  "What  will  we 
do?"  he  asked. 

"We  must  go  on,"  said  his  men  in 
an  undertone. 

"I  leave  it  to  you,"  said  the  brave 
commander,  who  always  had  the  wel- 
fare of  his  men  at  heart. 

"V\'e  will  follow  you  wherever  you 
lead,"   they  answered. 

"Attention  men !  March,"  said  the 
commander  as  he  looked  at  his  trusty 
rifle.  He  feared  that  the  wily  savages 
might  waylay  them. 

Thcv  continued  their  wearisome 
march  keeping  under  shelter  as  mucli 
as  possible.  No  one  showed  any  signs 
of  fatigue.  At  last  they  saw  a  small  log- 
house  in  the  distance. 

"That  is  the  ])lace,  I  think,"  ^aid  the 
commander  in  a  whis])er.  "Each  man 
will  take  care  of  himself,"  he  contin- 
ued. 

'Vhu  soldiers  understood  their  faith- 
ful leader.  Each  one  of  them  now 
selected  the  largest  trees  for  shelter 
as  they  moved  cautiously  forward. 

The  Indians  saw  the  soldiers  as 
they  approached.  A  running  fight  en- 
sued. The  savages  fled  leaving  four  of 


their  number  lying  dead   in   the  clear- 
ing before  the  house. 

After  the  Indians  had  left,  the  sol- 
diers turned  their  attention  to  the  oc- 
cu])ants  of  the  house. 

The  house  showed  signs  of  having 
withstood  a  siege. The  door  was  shat- 
tered and  the  shutters  to  the  windows 
were  broken  open.  On  the  floor  in  the 
house  lay  a  young  man  and  woman 
beside  their  faithful  watch  dog. 

The  young  man  was  dead.  His  wife 
still  showed  signs  of  life.  She  opened 
her  eyes  as  the  soldiers  approached 
and  whispered  something,  but  could 
not  be  understood. 

'i'he  Colonel  placed  a  small  bottle 
containing  some  spirits  to  her  mouth. 
She  drank  a  little  of  it.  It  revived  her. 
Her  mouth  moved  again.  The  Colonel 
and  men  knelt  by  her  side  and  listened 
intently. 

"  Please  save  my  child,"  she  said. 
"You  will  find  it  wrap])ed  in  a  bundle 
(^f  clothing  and  stuck  behmd  the  chim- 
ney in  the  attic.  Have  some  Christian 
mother  and  father  to  raise  it." 

"By  God's  help  we  will  do  so!"  said 
the  Colonel  as  he  dashed  away  the 
tears  that  streamed  down  his  -cheeks. 

The  mother's  head  sank  and  she 
spoke  no  more.  Her  last  thoughts 
were  about  her  child. 

The  Colonel  and  his  men  ascended 
the  ladder  to  the  attic  and  found  a 
young  infant  wrapped  in  a  bundle  oi 
clothing  behind  jthe  chimney  as  the 
mother  had  stated.  A  small  piece  of 
l)aper  was  pinned  to  its  clothing  gi\- 
ing   the   name   of   Grace    Leinberger. 

The    soldiers    gave    the    mother  and 
father  of  the  little  infant  decent  burial 
and    then    turned    on  their  way  home 
ward    each    one    carrying  the  child  by 
turns. 

As  they  were  traveling  along  they 
were  alarmed  !)}■  the  report  of  a  rifle 
in  the  direction  of  the  fort.  They  im- 
mediately sprang  behind  trees  ready 
for  any  foe  that  should  approach 
them. 

Moving  along  cautiously  they  were 
surprised  to  meet  their  friend  Pat  Ma- 


174 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


g^rab  who  had  come  out  in  search  of 
them. 

"Well,  well,  Pat!"  said  the  Colonel, 
to  the  jolly  Irishman  who  was  waving 
two  scalps  towards  them  as  a  trophy, 
,,What   have   you    there?" 

"Two — two  scalps,"  cried  Pat. 

"An'    how    did    you  get  them  Pat?" 


cried  one  of  the  men. 

"I  surrounded  two  Indians  an'  took 
'em." 

The  truth  of  the  matter  was  that 
Pat  came  unawares  upon  these  two 
Indians  and  despatched  them.  He  al- 
ways claimed  however  that  he  had 
surrounded  them. 


Ancient  Home  of  Old  Organ  Builders 


OLLOWING  in  the  foot- 
steps of  three  genera- 
tions of  his  family,  who 
were  builders  of  church 
organs,  an  unassuming 
Pennsylvania  German,  ar- 
tisan, 70  years  old,  still 
carries  on  the  craft  ac- 
cording to  the  ways  of  his  forefathers. 
In  his  quaint  old  shop,  far  from  the 
cities  and  the  great  highways  of  traf- 
fic this  solitary  survivor  of  a  by-gone 
line  of  organ-makers  is  even  yet 
ready  to  undertake  single-handed  the 
construction  of  an  entire  pipe  organ. 
That  was  how  organs  were  made  a 
century  ago,  for  then  the  builder  was 
content  to  devote  a  year  or  two  to  the 
making  of  one  instrument.  Now, 
when  a  church  gives  a  contract  for  a 
new  organ,  it  must  be  delivered  with- 
in a  few  weeks.  So  the  organ  builder 
of  the  old  school  who  mastereil  every 
detail  of  the  Avork  has  been  supplant- 
ed almost  evervwh'ere  by  big  factor- 
ies employing  scores  or  possibV  hun- 
dreds of  men,  each  making  but  a 
small  part  of  the  organ,  and  none, 
probably,  able  to  construct  an  entire 
instrument. 

To  visit  the  shop  of  this  ancient 
organ  builder  of  the  Pennsylvania 
German  country  is  like  turning  the 
flight  of  time  backward  many  decades 
to  the  days  when  men  did  things  leis- 
urely. The  building  itself  was  erect- 
ed in  the  i8th  century;  the  tools  were 
made  by  rural  blacksmiths  for  'the 
grandfather  and  the  great-grandfath- 
er of  the  present  aged  master  of  the 
shop,    and    this    kindly,    white-bearded 


musical  genius  himself  now  finds  his 
chief  delight  in  narrating  incidents  of 
the  times  before  factory  organs  had 
been  introduced,  when  clergymen  and 
church  committees  made  long  <^rips  on 
horseback  to  arrange  for  the  building 
of  organs. 

The  old  shop  stands  on  the  edge  of 
the  little  village  of  Palm,  in  the  north- 
western corner  of  Montgomery  Co., 
50  miles  from  Philadelphia.  All 
through  that  region  the  Pennsylvania 
German  dialect  is  spoken  in  the 
homes,  the  stores  and  the  churches. 
German  immigrants  settled  there 
early  in  the  eighteenth  century,  and 
they  and  their  descendants  clung  to 
the  tongue  of  their  fatherland  In  the 
course  of  time  some  English  words 
were  adooted,  and  thus  a  new  dialect 
—  the  Pennsylvania  German  was 
evolved. 

In  the  vicinit}^  of  the  present  vil- 
lage of  Palm,  some  Schwenkfelder 
families  settled  between  1730  and 
1740.  The  Schwenkfelders,  a  small 
German  sect,  were  followers  of  Cas- 
per Schwenkfeld  a  Silesian  theologian 
of  the  time  of  Luther.  In  some  re- 
spects they  resembled  the  English 
Quakers,  and  it  is  said  that  George 
Fox  and  William  Penn  obtaine  1  many 
of  their  religious  ideas  from  the  writ- 
ings of  Schwenkfeld.  The  members 
of  this  sect  avoided  ostentatious  dress 
insisted  upon  strict  simplicir}^  and 
did  not  sanction  a  paid  clergy. 

Among  the  Schwenkfelders  were 
Balthaser  Krauss  and  his  honsehold. 
A  tuning-fork  was  the  only  musical 
instrument  in   the    possession    of    this 


ANCIENT  HOME  OF  OLD  ORGAN  BUILDERS 


175 


family,  from  which  was  to  spring  a 
succession  of  makers  of  musical  in- 
struments. 

This  Balthaser  Krauss  had  a  son  of 
the  same  name,  and  the  latter  had 
three  sons  named  John,  Andrew  and 
George.  The  boys  developed  marked 
mechanical  skill,  and  in  1790  they, 
with  the  aid  of  their  father,  planned 
and   built  a   pipe  organ. 

The  Krausses  belonged  to  a  literary 
society  of  which  Rev.  F.  W.  (jeisen- 
heimer,  pastor  of  a  near-by  Lutheran 
church,  was  also  a  member.  Learn- 
ing of  the  organ  which  the  Krauss 
l)oys  had  built,  this  clergyman  urged 
them  to  continue  work  of  that  nature 
and  to  supply  the  growing  demand 
for  organs  in  the  churches  of  Penn- 
sylvania, David  Tannenberger,  a 
}kIoravian  had  built  some  organs  in 
i  Pennsylvania  prior  to  that  time,  and 
a  few  had  been  made  in  the  New  Eng- 
land States  but  most  church  organs 
had  to  be  imported  from  England  or 
Germany. 

But  now  a  serious  religious  obsta- 
cle was  encountered.  The  Schwenk- 
felders  excluded  organs  from  their 
places  of  worship,  their  opposition 
being  based  upon  arguments  similar 
to  those  of  the  Scotch  Presbyterians, 
who  called  an  organ  "a  kist  o'  whus- 
tles,"  or  the  Puritans  who  looked  up- 
on the  organ  as  "the  devil's  bagpipes." 
However,  the  musical  and  mechanical 
genius  of  the  Krauss  boys  overcame 
the  prejudices  of  their  religion,  and, 
tleclaring  that  an  organ  was  no  more 
sinful  than  their  grandfather's  tuning 
t'lirk.  they  proceeded  with  the  con- 
struction of  a  large  pipe  organ. 

W  h(Mi  completed  this  organ  was 
placed  in  Longswamp  Church,  in 
llerks  count \-,  a  dozen  miles  west  of 
the  Krauss  home.  It  is  still  in  use 
having  been  rel)uiU  several  times  by 
succeeding  niem])ers  of  the  Krauss 
family.  It  now  contains  575  pipes, 
and  is  made  of  solid  walnut,  being  16 
feet  high    and    ii    feet  wide. 

Much  dissension  occurred  in  tlie 
Schwenkfeld  Church  because  some  of 
the  members  thus  defied  its  traditions 
bv  l)ui]dinir  ■'music    boxes"    for    other 


sects.  As  a  result  of  the  bitter  feeling 
several  of  the  Krausses  left  the 
church.  Even  at  the  present  time  the 
Schwenkfelder  churches  of  that  vicin- 
ity do  not  have  musical  accompani- 
ment for  the  singing  at  their  church 
services,  although  the  use  of  an  or- 
gan is  permitted  in  the  Sundax 
School. 

The  three  brothers  now  devole<l 
much  attention  to  the  building  of 
pipe  organs.  An  account  book  and 
diary  which  John  Krauss  kept  shows 
that  in  1807  they  received  262  pounds 
and  10  shillings  for  an  organ  placed 
in  St.  Paul's  Lutheran  Church,  near 
their  home.  According  to  this  record 
they  also  made  pianofortes.  one 
having  been  sold  in  1806  for  $55. 

|ohn  Krauss  retired  from  the  or- 
gan building  firm  in  1812,  and  after- 
ward his  genius  manifested  itself  in 
the  manufacture  of  wool  cardi'ig  ma-  • 
chines.  He  alst)  was  an  astronomer  of 
some  renown.  The  transmisrion  of 
talent  was  demonstrated  in  this 
l)ranch  of  the  family  by  the  fact  that 
lohn  Krauss's  son  Anthony  was  the 
inventor  of  the  four-horse  lever-pow- 
er and  threshing  machine. 

Andrew  Krauss  continued  the  or- 
gan building  business  until  Ins  death 
in  1841.  He  and  his  brothers  built  48 
organs  an  average  of  about  one  a 
year.  Several  of  these  remain  in  use 
to-day.  One  of  the  largest  is  in  the 
Catholic  Church  of  the  Most  Blessed 
Sacrament,  at  Bally.  Berks  county. 
This  was  constructed  more  than  100 
years  ago.  and  some  of  the  original 
parts  are  still  in  the  instrument.  A 
large  organ  made  for  Zion  Lutheran 
Church, '  Philadeli)hia.  in  1814.  now 
serves  another  Lutheran  congregation 
in  the  same  city. 

George  and  ]oe\.  sons  of  Andrew 
Krauss,  continued  their  father's  voca- 
tion after  his  death.  .\t  the  present 
time  the  old  workshop  is  as  well  pre- 
l)ared  as  ever  for  the  building  of  or- 
gans;  but  the  owner.  Ed\>'in  C. 
Krauss  has  not  often  been  called  up 
on  to  undertake  such  work  in  recent 
vears.  — Dailv   Register. 


176 


A  Farmer  Shelters  Tramps  for  Forty  Years 


NOWN  as  the  "friend  of 
the  tramp"  because  he 
has  fed  and  sheltered 
them  for  years  —  as 
many  as  300  in  twelve 
months — Rev.  Jacob  B. 
Alensch,  a  plain  Menno- 
nite  preacher-farmer  has 
won  for  himself  a  warm  place  in  the 
hearts  and  ailections  of  the  friendless 
and  homeless  wanderers,  who  came 
his  way. 

Down  in  Skippack  Township, 
Montgomery  County,  Rev.  Mr. 
Mensch  has  lived  for  over  40  years. 
and  in  all  that  time  he  has  dispensed 
liospitality  in  his  own  quiet  and 
i.»riginal  way.  It  is  original  because  he 
fitted  up  a  tenement  directly  opposite 
his  own  large  farm-house,  into  which 
he  put  beds  for  the  tramps.  After  giv- 
ing them  suppers  he  would  shelter 
them  and  then  give  them  their  break- 
fasts ;  but  in  no  instance  would  he  ac- 
cent  their   laljor   for  his   hosoitality. 

But  one  night  several  of  the  un- 
grateful hoboes  stole  the  beds  and  de- 
parted with  them,  and  then  Rev.  Mr. 
Mensch  hit  on  the  plan  of  putting 
iron  bars  at  the  windows  and  locking 
the  door  securely  so  that  his  guests 
could  not  skiddoo  at  night,  even  if 
they  had  a  mind  to. 

HIS   EXCEPTIONAL   LIBRARY 

Mr.  Mensch  is  known  in  Eastern 
Pennsylvania,  among  the  Mennonite 
sect,  as  the  owner  of  a  library  exceed- 
ingly rare  because  it  contains  Bibles 
and  commentaries  on  sacred  litera- 
ture from  100  to  400  years  old.  He  has 
almanacs  of  each  year  from  1750  to 
the  present  time,  the  nucleus  of  his 
collection  having  been  laid  by  his 
grandfather  and  then  added  to  from 
year  to  year  by  his  father  and  himself. 
Recently  former  Governor  Penny- 
l)acker  visited  \lv.  ]\Tensch  and  was 
so  impressed  with  the  value  of  his  old 
Biblical  and  literary  works  tliat  he 
made  an  effort  to  buy  some  of  them. 
I  hit  .the    old  ])reacher  who  is  well-to- 


do.  spurned  the  offers,  and  said  so 
long  as  he  lived  no  money  in  the 
world  could  break  up  the  collection, 
which  he  holds  sacred  and  above 
price. 

Mr.  Mensch  is  now  74  years  old. 
and  although  his  form  is  bent  and  he 
sees  the  shadows  of  life  growing- 
longer  as  evening  falls,  he  still  journ- 
eys every  Sabbath  to  the  little  meet- 
ing-house on  the  crest  of  the  ridge 
just  beyond  his  home  to  preach  the 
Word  in  German. 

Advancing  years  compelled  him  to 
give  up  acti\-e  farm  life,  and  wiien  he 
sold  his  farm,  two  months  ago  it  sev- 
ered a  link  in  family  possessions,  for 
tlie  ])lace  had  belonged  to  his  father- 
in-law. 

SINGULARLY  ACQUIRED 

And  the  story  of  how  it  was  given 
to  Mr.  Mensch  was  interestingly  told 
by  him.  He  had  been  living  on  a  180 
acre  tract  in  Berks  Comity,  when  his 
father-in-law,  getting  in  ill-health, 
told  him  if  he  would  move  on  his 
farm  it  would  be  his  when  he  died. 
lM»ur  \\eeks  after  he  had  moved  there 
the  father-in-law  passed  away,  and 
the  farm  became  Mr.  Mensch's.  On 
all  sides  around  him  he  can  see  the 
well-tilled  acres  of  his  sons,  for  they 
have  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  their 
sire   and  become   farmers,   too 

Like  others  of  his  faith,  Mr. 
Mensch  observes  a  religious  worship 
that  is  severely  plain  and  shorn  of  all 
the  "frills"  of  most  churches.  He  looks 
askance  at  music  as  an  essential  of 
church  ser\ice,  and  at  his  own  home, 
when  a  company  of  guests  were  about 
to  indulge  in  vocal  and  instrumental 
selections,  he  courteously  explained 
his  views  and  excused  himself  adding 
that  he  had  no  objection  to  them  en- 
joying it  if  they  saw  proper,  but  that 
for  his  own  conscience  sake  he  would 
go  to  another  apartment.  As  for  peo- 
ple having  photographs  taken  of 
themselves.  he  regarded  that  as 
vanitv. — Town   and   Countrv. 


177 


A  Reply  to  the  Letter  of  Dr.  Alfred  P.  Schultz 

By  M.  A.  Gruber 


Editor    of    THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 

I  read  with  amazement  the  letter  of 
Dr.  Alfred  F.  Schultz  as  published  in 
the  December  number  (1908)  of  THE 
I'ENNSYLVAXIA-GERAJAN. 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  what 
motive  prompted  him  to  gfive  vent  to 
certain  expressions  denunciatory  of 
the  (ierman- Americans,  wdiich  term 
includes  the  Pennsylvania-Germans, 
unless  it  be  that  he  wishes  to  advertise 
his  book,  "Race  and  Mongrel,"  in  ad- 
\ocacy  of  his  views  on  the  hereditary 
influence  of  the  mother  tongue. 

"^Mother  tongue"  seems  to  be  his 
hobby,  in  fact  a  monstrous  hobby  that 
in  order  to  ride  it  to  his  sati^faction 
he  appears  not  to  recognize  any  good 
features  that  do  not  come  up  to  his 
standard  of  distinguished  or  eminent 
leadership.  He  seems  unwilling  to  ste  > 
down  for  a  moment  from  that  hobby 
in  order  to  take  cognizance  among  the 
I'ennsvlvania-Germans  of  the  many 
excellent  qualities  and  characteristics 
which,  although  their  possessors  may 
not  have  reached  the  very  pinnacle  of 
fame,  have  nevertheless  been  great  in- 
strumentalities in  the  progress,  devel- 
opment and  betterment  of  the  coun- 
try. Then.  too.  in  keeping  continually 
astride  that  hobby,  he  is  inable  to  dis- 
cern the  real  causes  for  certain  con- 
ditions, and  unforttmately  and  im- 
l)roperly  in  a  number  of  instances  at- 
tributes to  want  of  cultivation  of  the 
mother  tongue  the  lack  of  eminently 
famous  men  among  the  German- 
Americans  in  the  various  fields  of 
human   achievement. 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  worthy 
of  remark  that  in  the  case  of  Dr. 
Schultz's  "greatest  of  all  thinkers." 
Tmmanuel  Kant,  the  grandfather 
(Cant)  of  that  distinguished  philos- 
opher emigrated  fr(im  Scotland,  hav- 
ing settled  first  at  Mcmcl  and  after- 
wards at  Tilsit.  Prussia.  Kant  'oecaiuc 


the  great  thinker  in  si)ite  of  the  fact 
that  he  was  an  alien  to  "'auld  Scot- 
land" and  substituted  for  the  ances- 
tral language  of  Shakespeare  the 
a(k)pted  tongue  of  Luther  in  which  he 
ga\e  to  the  world  the  weightv 
thoughts  of  his  "critical  philosophy." 
Dr.  Schultz  evidently  could  not 
have  acquainted  himself  with  the  his- 
tory of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 
and  other  institutions  of  learning  in 
the  Keystone  State,  nor  could  he  have 
been  anxious  to  make  research  into  a 
hundred  and  one  other  matters  per- 
taining to  Pennsylvania-Germandom  ; 
for  by  so  doing  he  could  not  have 
helped  coming  across  a  number  of  dis- 
tinguished personages  that  should 
have  changed  his  views  materially. 
Probably  by  reading  up  some  of  the 
back  numbers  of  THE  PEX\SYL- 
VANIA-GERMAN,  he  may  find  suf- 
ficient material  to  hold  his  attention 
for  a  while  and  cause  him  to  wonder 
at  his  abrupt  statements. 

If  no  stars  of  the  first  maynitnde.  ac- 
cording tt)  his  wa}'-  of  thinking,  illum- 
ine the  sky  of  the  German-Americans 
he  could  not  fail  to  find  a  number  of 
stars  of  the  second  magnitmle  and 
numerous  luminaries  of  tlie  third  and 
fourth  magnitudes,  if  he  will  but  re- 
mo\e  the  darkening  t)bstac]e  of  his 
hubby  from   the  field  of  \ision. 

Then  why  hurl  the  denunciations  at 
a  class  of  people  because  there  may 
not  have  been  found  as  of  thst  class 
of  men  the  ecpial  of  P>urke.  l>eethoven. 
Xelson.  Agassiz,  or  Hawthorne?  \\'hv 
n(»t  give  credit  where  credit  is  due'- 
The  records  of  achievement  show 
many  distinguished  men  belonging  to 
the  Pennsvlvania-Germans :  and  if  it 
so  be  that  their  names  are  not 
found  among  the  most  illustrious  on 
the  scroll  of  fame,  their  good  deeds 
and  great  achievements  arc  neverthe- 
less kee|)ing  their  memories  green. 


178 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Dr.  Schultz,  in  his  laliorious  efforts 
to  establish  his  unique  and  pet  theory 
in  "Race  and  Mongrel."  endeavors  to 
base  his  conclusions  upon  the  truth 
contained  in  Schiller's  noted  line. 
"Die  Weltgeschichte  ist  das  Weltgericht;" 
but   his   impetuous   pen.   coupled   with 


much  that  is  mere  assumption,  calls  to 
mind  the  couplet  of  Geothe : 

"Durch   Heftigkeit  eresetzt  der   Irrande 
Was    ihm     an     Wahrheit    und     an     Kraften 
fehlt." 

M.  A.  GRUBER. 
\\  ashing'tou,  D.  C. 


The  Stage  Coach  Driver 

By  Hon.  Henry  Chapman 


NOTE — The  following  lines  written  by 
Hon.  Henry  Chapman  are  taken  from  Vol. 
I  of  "A  Collection  of  Papers  Read  Before 
the    Bucks    County    Historical    Society." 

T  IS  not  my  purpose  to 
draw  any  disparaging 
contrast  between  them 
and  the  drivers  of  the 
present  time.  The  lat- 
ter are  usually  a  worthy 
and  accomodating  set  of 
persons,  and  their  turn- 
outs are  adapted  to  the  requiicments 
of  the  occasion.  I  propose  to  speak 
of  stage  coaching  in  former  days.  A 
sketch  of  one  driver  and  his  equi- 
page, as  they  appearedon  the  Old  York 
road,  will  serve  for  all  others.'  He 
was  a  man  of  importance  and  sat  on 
the  box,  behind  his  obedient  and  then 
fashionable  bob-tailed  steeds,  with  an 
air  of  self-consequence,  that  rivaled 
the  high  bearing  of  a  marshall  at  the 
head  of  a  military  division.  He  then 
had  no  competitor,  such  as  the  light- 
ning express,  to  subdue  his  pride  or 
make  him  ashamed.  He  carried,  and 
was  the  custodian  of,  the  great  United 
States  mail,  between  New  York  and 
Philadelphia,  and  as  he  swept  along 
through  this  Buckingham  Valley,  fol- 
lowed by  a  cloud  of  dust,  it  was  be- 
neath his  dignity  to  give  an  inch  to 
the  luckless  traveler  who  cha;iced  to 
meet  him.  He  scorned  such  injimc- 
tions  as.  "Turn  to  the  right,  as  the 
law  directs.'' 

"Like  to  the  Pontic  sea. 
Whose   icy   current  and   compulsive   force 
Ne'er  feels   retiring  ebb,  but  keeps  due  on. 
To  the   Propontic  and  the   Hellespont." 


Besides  the  United  States  mail,  he 
had  a  little  private  pouch,  in  which 
many  a  wayside  letter  found  its  clan- 
destine depository.  This  was  long- 
before  the  days  of  stamps  and  one- 
cent  postal  cards.  He  was  ever  ready 
to  execute  errands,  and  carry  mes- 
sages ;  and  was  wont  to  take  compas- 
sion on  a  poor  weary  wanderer,  and 
pick  him  up.  He  had  a  language  pe- 
culiar to  himself.  It  consisted  main- 
ly of  slang  phrases,  or  preposterous 
comparisons,  or  misplaced  words, 
which,  superadded  to  a  natural  vein 
of  humor,  never  failed  to  amuse,  and 
often  provoked  the  laughter  of  the 
passenger  who  sat  by  hi>  side. 
Though  always  quick  at  repartee,  he 
seldom,  if  ever,  made  a  disparaging- 
remark  about  anyone,  or  "set  down 
aught  in  malice."  He  was  rather  ad- 
dicted to  boasting  for  he  wished  to 
impress  his  passengers  with  the  most 
favorable  opinion  of  the  region 
through  which  they  jotirneyed,  and 
likewise  of  its  inhabitants.  If  a  slang- 
word  came  bounding  through  the 
country,  passing"  from  month  to 
mouth,  as  it  often  did,  he  would  catch 
it  up  and  play  upon  it,  till  another 
took  its  place.  His  four-in-hand,  of 
which  he  was  always  proud,  were  us- 
ually well  selected,  and  not  such  as 
the   poet  describes. 

"Poor   sorry  jades, 
That  lob  down  their  heads,  and  hang  their 

hips    and    sides, 
The  gum  down  roping  from  their  pale  dead 
And    in    their    pale,    cold    mouths,    the    gim- 

mal  bit. 


THE    STAGE   COACH    DRIVER 


179 


Hangs    loose    with    chewed    grass,    s.til!    and 

motionless, 
And  their  executors,  the  knavish  crows. 
Flying  o'er  their  heads,  impatient  I'or  their 

hour." 

Mc  had  a  name  for  each  horse.  Af- 
ter a  l)risk  trot  over  the  level,  he 
would  rein  in  at  the  foot  of  a  long" 
hill;  this,  for  instance,  close  at  hand, 
and  sleepily  crawl  to  its  top.  And 
now  while  the  wheels  Avould  grind  the 
jiehhles  beneath  their  slow  revohitions 
with  harsh  grating'  accent,  he  would 
have  a  dialogue  with  his  ])ets.  lie 
would  sometimes  s])eak  to  them  in  a 
patronizing  strain,  all  in  his  peculiar 
jargon,  sometimes  argue  with  them  ; 
and  sometimes  a  refractory  steed 
would  receive  ])aternal  scolding;  and 
he  half  believed  all  knew  exactly  what 
he  said.  If  Snowball  had  chanced  to 
trip  or  shy  at  a  heap  of  stones  on  the 
level,  he  would  receive  a  caution  in 
the  severest  language  to  be  fotind  in 
his  master's  vocabulary.  So  the  dis- 
course would  run  on,  until  the  sum- 
mit of  the  hill  was  reached;  and  then, 
with  an  inclination  of  his  body,  he 
would  let  fly  from  his  whip-stock,  the 
long  lash,  that  reached  high  over  the 
leaders'  heads,  causing  a  report  like 
that  of  a  rifle,  and  making  every 
horse  leap  widly  into  the  air.  But 
presently,  they  w-ould  settle  down  to 
a  uniform  stride.  He  would  pour 
forth  a  volley  of  slang  epithets,  hard- 
ly in  suflficient  good  taste  to  have  a 
]dace  in  a  literary  composition ;  but 
highly  amusing,  when  accompanied 
by  the  manner,  expression  and  utter- 
ances  of  the   spokesman. 

Thus  he  measured  mile  after  mile, 
sometimes  on  the  plain,  and  some- 
times toiling  up  an  ascent,  till  ap- 
proaching    an     inn,     he     would    then 


slacken  pace,  and  allow  a  little  time 
for  his  team  to  take  breath  and  be  re- 
freshed. When  within  a  few  hundred 
yards  of  the  said  inn,  he  wotild  draw 
forth  his  horn,  and  with  sundry 
blasts,  announce  his  coming;  at  the 
same  time  each  horse  would  prick  up 
his  ears  wn'th  delight.  Then  there  was 
running  to  and  fro;  the  hostler,  with 
his  buckets  of  water ;  the  innkeeper, 
hopefully  rushing  behind  the  bar;  the 
loungers  in  greedy  exj^ectation  of  see- 
ing a  crowd  of  strange  faces,  and  the 
famous  tally-ho;  and  the  boys  on  the 
lookout  for  the  great  Jehu  on  the  box, 
who  came  thundering  up  with  renewed 
speed,  and  with  a  freshness  that 
appeared  marvelous,  for  none  knew 
the  preparation  that  had  been  em- 
])loyed  to  attain  it;  the  imposing- 
spectacle,  was  brought  to  a  close  by 
a  sudden  stop  which  made  the  house 
(|uake.  There  was  a  bustle  and  stir 
for  a  time,  as  if  a  new  era  had  dawm- 
ed  upon  the  place;  but  at  length  the 
journey  was  resumed,  and  all  about 
the  inn  subsided  into  its  usual  monot- 
onous quiet.  Though  the  stage-dri- 
ver of  former  days  may  not  be  consid- 
ered of  sul^cent  importance  to  claim 
a  niche  in  history,  still  it  is  not  ])roper 
he  shotild  be  entirely  forgotten,  for  he 
possessed  certain  peculiarities  and 
characteristics,  which  are  not  com- 
mon at  this  time,  and  perhaps,  ere 
long  may  not  be  exhibited  again;  the 
remembrance  of  these  is  retained  by 
fewer  and  fewer  all  the  while.  He 
was  a  jolly  fellow,  and  if  he  had  his 
faults,  let  the  maxim,  "De  mortibus 
nil  nisi  bonum,"  be  applied  10  him. 
.\s  f(^r  the  four-horse  coach,  it  has 
nearly  everywhere  dwindled  into  a 
mere  a])pendage  of  the  railroad. 


ISO 


Dialect  Pleasantries 


The  following  pathetic  poetic  descrip- 
tion of  leaving  the  old  home  along  the 
river  Rhine  for  an  unknown  one  in  Ameri- 
ca was  copied  and  sent  to  this  magazine 
by  C.  W.  Unger,  Pottsville,  Pa. 

Die  Auswanderer 

1.  Jetzt  ist  die  Zeit  und  Stunde  da, 
Jetzt  ziehn  wir  nach  America; 

Die  Wagen  stehn  schon  vor  der  Thiir, 
Mit  Weib  und  Kindern  Ziehen  wir. 

2.  Alle  die  mit  uns  anverwandt 
Geben  uns  zum  letzten  Mai  die  Hand. 
Ihr  Briider,  weinet  nicht  so  sehr, 
Wir   sehn   uns   nun    und   nimmermel.r. 

?,.  Und  wen  das  Schiff  im  Mere  schwimmt, 
So  werden  Lieder  angestimmt. 
Wir  fiirchten  keinen  Waszerfall 
Und  denken:   Gott  ist  iiberall. 

4.  Drum   wendet   euren   triiben   Blick 
Wir  hoffen  auf  ein  beszeres  Gliick. 
Denn  tausend  Seelen  geht  es  gut: 
Dies  trostet  uns  und  macht  uns  Muth. 

5.  Und  als  wir  kamen  vor  Baltimor, 
Da  streckten  wir  die  Hande  empor 
Und   riefen:    auf  Victoria, 

Jetzt  sind  wir  in  America! 

From  Mittler's  "Deutsche  Volkslieder," 
Marburg  and  Leipzig — 1855.  Origin  in 
Hessen  and  Odenwald,  date  unknown. 

*     *     * 
LANOUAGE   LESSON   EXERCISE 

Idioms 

Every  one  acquainted  with  diiferent  lang- 
uages knows  that  idioms  constitute  the 
peculiarities  of  a  language,  and  that,  if  it 
were  not  for  them,  a  language  "-ould  be 
much  more  easily  acquired  or  tr-uislated. 
In  some  instances  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  give  a  faithful  translation  on  account 
of  the  idiomatic  expressions. 

We  subjoin  a  few  of  such  expressions 
frequently  heard  in  German  and  ^a.-Ger- 
man  with  literal  translations  and  also  the 
correct  translations.  These  literal,  very 
awkward  expressions  are  sometimes  heard 
among  the  English,  and  create  much  mer- 
I'iment. 

German :    Ich  bin  vom  Land  und  kaun  mich 

nicht  lange  aufhalten. 
Idiomatic:    I    am    from    the    land,    and    can 

not  hold  myself  long  up. 
English:    I    am   from   the   country    and    can 

not  detain  myself  long. 


Ger:   Zvinde  das  Licht  au. 

Pa.  Ger.:    Steck's  licht  aw. 

Id.:   Stick  the  lamp  on. 

Eng. :    Light  the  lamp. 

Ger.:    Sie  hat    sich    angethan. 

Pa.  Ger.:    Sie  hut  sich  awgedooa. 

Id.  :    She  put  herself  on. 

Eng.:   She  dressed  herself. 

Ger.:   Es  fallt  mir  ein. 

Id.:    It  falls  me  in. 

Eng.:    I  remember   it. 

Ger.:   Es  macht  etwas  herunter. 

Id.:    It  makes  something  down. 

Eng.:    It  rains  or  snows. 

Ger.:   Mach  die  Thiire  zu. 

Id. :   Make  the  door  shut. 

Eng.:    Close  the  door. 

Ger. :   Es  macht  nichts  aus. 

Id.:    It  makes  nothing  out. 

Eng.:   It  does  not  matter. 

Ger.:  Geh  weg,  Oder  ich  schlag  dir  eins  hin. 

P.  G.:,  Ga  week  odder  ich  shlag  dir  ehns  he. 

Id.:   Go  way.  or  I  hit  you  one  on. 

Eng.:    Go  away,  or  you  will  get  a  hit. 

While  some  of  our  readers  will  not  feel 
so  much  interested  in  this  excerise,  we 
feel  sure  that  those  who  are  familiar  with 
German  will  be  pleased  with  it,  and  will 
be  able  to  furnish  a  large  number  of  simi- 
lar expressions. 

4>     •{•     4> 

Mr.H.  W.  Kriebel, 

Received  your  papers  by  yesterday's 
mail.  If  I  can  find  subscribers  for  THE 
PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN  will  certainly 
do  so.  Lately  I  found  a  printed  copy 
among  a  pile  of  old  papers  which  recalls 
my  young  days  (65  years  ago)  with  the 
Pennsylvania-German  farmers  in  York  Co., 
Pa.  It  contains  an  account  of  a  day  that 
we  enjoyed  very  much  as  neighbors,  boj^s 
and   girls.      It   reads   as   follows: 

Boll  coomed  de  butcher  tzeit  un  derno 
gebs  metsel-soup  un  brode-  warsht 
Mindsht  du  nuch  as  sell  anes  fun  da  grossa 
dauga  wore  uf  der  boweri  by  uns  boova. 
Consht  du  dich  nuch  ariuera  we  seller 
dawg  ols  cooma  is  we  mere  uns  ols  g'fraid 
hen  far  de  si  fonga  un  saena  es  beef 
sheesa.  Long  far  dawg  morgets  is  ols  der 
daudy  uff  g'shtonna  und  es  fire  unich  em 
kessel  g'shtart  far  de  si  breea.  Anes  noch 
em  onra  sin  de  nuchbera  by  cooma  mit 
oldte  blechne  loddarna.  We's  amohl  hell 
ganunk  worra  is  far  saena  is  es  ons  si 
sheesa  gonga.  Generally  ols  nine  tsu  tzae 
grosse  fette  si  huts  ganome.  About  tza 
uhr    sin   meer    nows    g'shicked    worra    far's 


DIALECT  PLEASANTRIES 


181 


beef  ous  em  shtoll  driva  far  dot  maucha. 
Wos  is  ols  unser  hartz  gajumpt  bis  es  ga- 
groched  hut  iin's  rinsfee  umgabatzeled  is. 
Eb  middawg  hut  de  chopper-machine  aufon- 
ga  glebbra  un  es  warsht  filsel  is  aufonga  in 
der  tzuvver  ruUa.  Es  flaish  far  de  lever- 
warsht  hut  im  kessel  ga-kuched  un  was 
hen  meer  duch  ols  si  neera  g'essa  un 
gronk  worra  da  von.  Im  numy-dawg, 
about  tier  uhr  is  es  warsht  stuffa  awgonga 
un  sell  hen  meer  ols  about  es  mensth  en- 
joyed ,fun  ebbes,  awver  about  selly  tzeit 
huts  ghaesa  boova  gaed  und  doot  eir 
fe'ederes.  Meer  hen  net  g'wart  far  es 
tswet  mahl  ghaesa  wara  un  hen  aw  net 
long  tzurich  ga-mow!ed  we  de  boova  heitzu 
dawgs.  Em  dawdy  si  shtiffel  wora  ous 
harnish-ledder  ,  g'maucht  un  hen  em 
usht  shae  g'fit  unich  dar  ruck-fligel.  Uff 
em  wake  nows  nuch  der  shire  saena  meer 
de  schwortz  kotz  uff  em  beef  wompe  hucka 
un  dra  fressa.  Die  hinkle  shtaera  room 
uff  ame  bae  un  worda  far  era  welshkarn. 
Der  si-shtoll  is  lahr  un  dar  hoond  hucked 
hinna  draw  un  frest  om  beef  kup.  Bis  mer 
unser  hoy  shtrow  un  welshkarn  fooder 
rnunnar  g'shimissa  hen  g'hot,  de  gile  ga- 
drenked  un's  fee  g'feedered.  un  oUa  ga-but 
anes  obgefuchta,  don  wor  der  g'shposs  so 
tzimlich-ivver  un  es  nocht-essa  wore, 
reddy.  Brode-warsht,  lever-warsht,  roon- 
da  kichline  un  ebbel-boi  uf  em  dish  un 
afange  esse.  Un  derno  is  es  g'schwetz  aw- 
gonga. "Du,  bust  de  warsht  tzimlich  goot 
ga-druffa."  Yaw,  awver  se  hen  blendy 
sols  "Ich  mane  se  hetta  awenich  mae  kai- 
yonner  hovva  kenna."  Un  so  gaeds  um  dar 
dish  room.  Yaders  hut  sei-sixpeuce  tsu- 
gevve  un  gli  is  der  dawg  farivver;  der 
dawg  woo  meer  uns  shunt  long  g'fraid 
hen  druff.  Woo  wore  nun  der  g'shposs? 
Mer  con  en  yetz  net  saena.  Un  duch  wore 
der  butcher-dawg  anes  fun  dar  grossa 
dawga  im  yohr  uff  der  boweri. 
Yours  truly 

A  SUBSCRIBER. 
York,   Pa. 


NOTE. — The-  following  lines  were  sub 
luitted  by  a  subscriber  in  response  to  a 
note  on  page  28  of  the  .January  PENNSYL- 
VANIA-GERMAN. We  are  curious  ',o  know 
whether  the  words  are  familiar  to  other 
subscribers.  If  yen  have  heard  the  lines  at 
any  time  let  us  know. 

Befell  I  am  Feuerheerd 

Sally  nemm  des  Kind  do  week, 

Setz  es  net  grad  in  der   Dreck. 

Sam   du    bist   stark   und   gross, 

Trag  sell  Stofft  dort  in  die  Stross; 

Betz  geb  acht  vershiit  ken  Briih. 

Dann  geh  grad  und  hoi  die  kiih. 

Der  Hund   der  blafft,  es  kommt  Besuch. 

Sis  en  Man  mit  einem  Buch. 

Betz  nan  schleich  mir  net  so  faul, 

Wasch    dom    Kind    seiu    drekig    Maul. 

Nemm   die   Hafen   aus   dem   Weg, 

Stell    sie    auf   die   Keller   Steg. 

Nch  wiisch  du  die  Kaffekann, 

Schlag  die  Ayer  in  die  Pann, 

Mach    des    Supper    schnell    und    gut. 

Sell   ist   was   die  Buben   suht. 

Du   musst  erst  lernen  Bief  zu  braden 

Dan  magst  due  den  Pit  heirathen. 

4"    4*     * 

Conversation  after  a  "Dutchman"  had 
had  a  severe  fall. 

Bisht  nunner  g'falla? 

Gewisz  net  nuff, 

Husht  d'r  weh   geduh? 

Gewisz  net  gut. 

Soil  ich  der  Dockter  hola? 

Gewisz  net  der  Butcher. 

4"    4*     * 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Hereford  Literary 
Society,  a  hog  "ring"  was  dropped  into  the 
collection  basket.  Rev.  S.  a  member  on 
seeing  this  said — Die  Sau  wu  den  Ring 
ferlora  hut  kann  vor  kumma;  no  kenna 
mer  sie  ringa. 


The  Home  Miscellany 


782,870    IMMIGRAMS    IN    LAST     FISCAL 
TEAR 

Washington,  Jan.  10. — As  shown  by  the 
annual  report  of  the  Commissioner  Gen- 
eral of  immigration  for  the  fiscal  year 
ended  June  30,  1908,  the  work  of  the  bu- 
reau increased  20  per  cent.,  despice  a  de- 
crease  of   39   per   cent,    in   immigration. 

The  total  immigration  was  782,870,  or 
502,479  less  than  for  1907.  During  the  fis- 
cal year  of  1907  13,064  aliens  were  re- 
jected; during  the  last  year  10,902  were  re- 
jected. 


The  report  gives  for  the  first  time  the 
net  increase  in  population  by  Immigration. 
The  figures  indicate  that  the  net  increase 
was  209,867.  Of  the  aliens  admitted  630.- 
671  were  between  the  ages  of  14  and  44 
years;  172,  293  could  neither  read  nor 
write,  and  2310  could  read,  but  not  write. 
Therefore,  about  26  per  cent,  were  illiter- 
ate, a  decrease  of  4  per  cent,  in  comparison 
with  1907. 

The  total  amount  of  money  brought  by 
inimigrants   was  $17,794,226.  an  average  of 


IS2 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


RUSSIA   SENDS   64   PER  CENT. 

The  majority  came  from  southern  or 
eastern  Europe — Italy,  Austria-Hungary, 
Greece,  Turkey  and  the  small  principali- 
ties surrounding  them.  Russia  furnished 
64  per  cent,  of  the  total. 

During  the  year  2906  aliens  were  reject- 
ed on  account  of  physical,  370  on  account 
of  mental  and  311  on  account  of  moral  de- 
lects; to  which  should  be  added  870  re- 
jected for  minor  physical  or  mental  defects 
sufficiently  grave  to  affect  ability  to  earn 
a  living. 

The  number  of  criminals  apprehended 
and  deported  increased  from  11  in  1907  to 
41  in  1908.  Two  anarchists  were  refused 
admission. 

There  was  great  activity  in  the  suppres- 
sion of  the  importation  of  women  for  im- 
moral purposes;  124  were  rejected,  43  pro- 
curers were  denied  admission,  44  women 
and  two  procurers  were  deported,  14  pro- 
curers were  convicted  and  sentenced  to 
terms  of  imprisonment  and  fined.  While 
investigations  into  the  "white  slave"  traffic 
are  difficult,  the  success  attendant  upon 
them  has  been  satisfactory. 

The  report  shows  that  1932  contract  la- 
borers were  rejected  and  240  were  arrest- 
ed and  expelled  from  the  country. 

EXCLUSION    OF    ORIENTALS 

The  report  expresses  gratification  with 
what  has  been  accomplished  in  enforcing 
the  President's  proclamation  directing  the 
exclusion  of  Japanese  and  Korean  labor- 
ers who  used  passports  to  Hawaii,  Can- 
ada or  Mexico,  to  enter  the  United  States 
contrary  to  the  wishes  of  their  ov,/n  gov- 
ernments, while  31,798  Japanese  applied 
for  admission  in  1907,  there  were  in  1908 
only  18,941,  of  whom  18,238  were  admitted. 
The  total  increase  in  population  by  Jap- 
anese immigration  was   3826. 

The  report  indicates  inadequacy  of  the 
law  to  accomplish  the  exclusion  of  Chi- 
nese who  are  barred  by  statute.  The 
smuggling  of  Chinese  goes  on.  Of  the 
Chinese  arrested  89  per  cent,  were  taken 
into  custody  at  boundaries. 

The  report  urges  the  Government  to  take 
effective  means  to  prevent  congestion  in 
cities.  More  than  32  per  cent,  of  arriving 
aliens  were  destined  to  New  York,  14  per 
cent,  to  Pennsylvania,  7  per  cent,  each  to 
Illinois  and  Massachusetts  and  4  per  cent, 
to  New  Jersey.  It  is  pointed  out  that  some 
of  the  States,  particularly  in  the  South  and 
West  are  vitally  interested  in  obtaining 
settlers. 

WOULD   SCATTER   SETTLERS 

It  is  recommended  that  Congress  author- 
ize the  extension  of  the  work  of  the  Divis- 
ion of  information,  so  that  immigrants  may 
have  definite  information  concerning  var- 
ious   desirable    localities,    to    the    end     that 


they  may  locate  in  such  places  as  will  af- 
ford them  prompt  and  remunerative  em- 
ployment. 

Every  effort  has  been  made  by  the  Di- 
vision of  Naturalization  not  only  to  elimi- 
nate fraud  from  the  naturalization  of  aliens 
but  to  obtain  absolute  compliance  '.vith  the 
law.  Co-operation  has  been  effected  with 
the  United  States  courts.  It  is  recommend- 
ed that  a  sufficient  appropriation  be  made 
to  organize  a  corps  of  examiners,  and  that 
the  fees  allowed  clerks  of  courts  be  in- 
creased to  afford  them  adequate  compensa- 
tion for  their  labor. 

Through  the  work  of  this  division  the 
Government  has  complete  records  of  all 
applications  for  naturalization  papers,  and 
a  complete  record  of  the  reasons  for  the 
acceptance  or  rejection  of  applications. 
— Philadelphia  Ledger. 

*    4*     * 

Switzerland's  Divorce  Remedy 

— Here  is  an  effective  cure  for  divorce: 
Centuries  ago  the  civil  court  of  Zurich  in 
Switzerland  applied  a  means  to  prevent 
divorce  suits  which  might  be  imitated  in 
our  divorceful  country.  When  a  couple 
asked  to  be  separated  by  legal  action  on 
account  of  incompatibility,  the  court  or- 
dered them  to  be  shut  up  in  a  lonely  tower 
on  the  lake.  Here  they  had  to  live  to- 
gether for  two  weeks  in  a  small  room,  the 
furniture  of  which  consisted  of  a  narrow 
bed,  a  small  table  and  a  chair.  The  two 
were  given  only  one  table  knife  and  fork 
and  their  plain  food  was  brought  in  on  one 
dish.  If  they  at  the  end  of  their  confine- 
ment in  the  tower,  persisted  in  their  deter- 
mination to  be  put  asunder,  divorce  was 
granted.  As  a  rule  the  cure  for  divorcitis 
was  effective  within  a  week  and  the  pa- 
tients begged  the  court  for  release.  Put 
the  ban  on  divorce;  cease  to  make  it  re- 
spectable. From  1887  to  1906  there  were 
945,625  divorces  in  the  United  States.  At 
present  divorces  are  increasing  three  times 
as  fast  as  the  population.  Why  not  try  the 
old   Swiss  "water"  cure? 

*     4*     + 

Scotland's  Patrou  Saint 

Why  was  St.  Andrew  chosen  as  the 
patron  saint  of  Scotland?  This  question 
has  been  asked  many  times,  but  the  ai'ch- 
deacon  of  whom  Dean  Hole  tells  may  be 
considered  to  have  discoverd  the  most 
satisfactory  solution  of  the  problem. 
"Gentlemen,"  said  he  (he  was  speaking  at 
a  St.  Andrew's  day  banquet  at  the  time), 
"I  have  given  this  difficult  subject  my 
thoughtful  consideration,  and  I  have  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  St.  Andrew  was 
chosen  to  be  the  patron  saint  of  Scotland 
because  he  discovered  the  lad  who  had  the 
loaves  and  fishes." 


183 


EDITORIAL  DEPARTMENT 


The  Pennsylvania-German 

An  illustrated  monthly  magazine  devoted  to 
the  Biography,  History,  Genealogy,  Folklore, 
Literature  and  General  Interests  of  German 
and  Swiss  settlers  in  Pennsylvania  and  other 
States  and  of  their  descendants. 

Editorial  Staff 
H.  W.  Kriebel,  Editor,  Lititz,  Pa. 
Prof.  E.  S.  Gerhard,  Editor  of  "Reviews 
and  Notes,"  Trenton,  N.  J. 

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er,  Vice  President ;  J.  H.  ZooK,  Secretary  ; 
Dr.  J.  L.  Hertz,  Treasurer. 


Address  all  communications.    The  Pennsyl- 
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Articles  of  Agreement  between  the  under- 
signed have  been  entered  into  by  tlie  terms 
of  which  the  Express  Printing  Company 
(Incorporated  under  the  laws  of  Pennsyl- 
vania) become  the  publishers  of  THE 
PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN  under  the  edi- 
torshij)  of  H.  W.  Kriebel. 

The  editor  feels  happy  in  thus  being  en- 
abled to  carry  out  a  project  he  has  had  un- 
der contemplation  for  some  time  believing 
that  the  change  will  afford  an  economy 
efficiency  and  expedition  of  administration 
not  otherwise  attainable. 

This  business  arrangement  will  not  affect 
the  editorial  policy  of  the  magazine,  each 
party  of  the  agreement  being  desirous  of 
following  the  precedent  set  and  of  making 
THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN  ntore  in- 
teresting, serviceable  and  valuable  in  its 
chosen  field. 

To  this  end  the  May  issue  will  contain  a 
number   of   special    contributions   including; 

1.  The  Mournful  Ballad  of  Susanna  Cox. 
executed  at  Reading.  Pa.,  in  1800  for  in- 
fanticide. This  is  an  original  English  ver- 
sion in  which  the  peculiarities  of  the  Ger- 
man  ballad   are  carefully   preserved. 

2.  Short  Historic  Sketches  of  Lititz  and 
Lancaster  County. 

3.  A  paper  on  the  spelling  of  th"  dialect 
with  a  list  of  the  letters  and  letter  combi- 
nations of  the  alphabet,  with  their  sound 
values  expressed  in  the  iihonetic  notation  of 
Paul      Passy     adopted     by    the    Association 


Phonetique  Internationale,  and  employed 
by  Di-.  Victor  in  his  German  Pronuncia- 
tion. 

4.  An  offer  to  reprint  the  back  numbers 
of   THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN. 

Providing  sufficient  advance  orders  are 
received  the  nine  complete  volumes  of  the 
magazine  will  be  republished  in  bound 
form. 

5.  A  paper  on  the  organization  of  clubs 
among  readers  of  the  magazine.  So  much 
interest  has  been  expressed  in  the  club 
idea  by  subscribers  that  we  feel  morally 
certain  that  many  will  be  organized  after 
the  matter  is  taken  up  by  our  readers. 

The  naming  of  these  features  is  sufficient 
to  prove  the  value  of  the  May  issue.  We 
believe  the  number  will  mark  thi  begin- 
ning of  a  new  epoch  in  the  histor.v  of  the 
Magazine  and  in  the  study  of  the  German 
element  iu  our  country. 

The  editor  takes  advantage  of  this  oppor- 
tunity to  express  the  hope  that  the  many 
courtesies  and  favors  hitherto  shown  by 
subscribers,  i)ublishers,  editors,  contribu- 
tors and  friends  may  be  continued  and 
invites  all  to  call  at  the  Editorial  Sanctum 
of  The  Express  Printing  Company  where 
he  hopes  to  toil  and  serve. 

THE   EXPRESS   PRINTING   CO., 
H.  W.  KRIEBEL. 

Lititz.  Pa. 


184 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


The  Associate  Editor  regrets  Ihat  the 
"hopes"  expressed  in  editorial  of  the  Feb- 
ruary issue  is  not  realized  and  that  his 
health  will  not  permit  him  to  continue  to 
do  the  amount  of  work  required  for  this 
magazine.  He  is  pleased  that  the  editor 
and  publisher  have  been  able  to  make 
other  arrangements,  so  as  to  be  relieved 
from  too  much  in-door  work. 


How  to  search  for  material  for  the  his- 
torian was  indicated  in  the  March  issue  of 
THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN.  A  few 
of  the  many  topics  of  interest  and  facts 
necessary  in  this  line  of  investigation  were 
also  suggested  in  the  same  and  other  arti- 
cles of  this  magazine.  Whatever  any  one 
can  find  that  will  throw  light  on  the  his- 
tory of  the  Pennsylvania-Germans,  and 
their  descendants  on  either  the  father's  or 
mqther's  side  will  be  of  interest  to  some  of 
the  readers  and  to  the  diligent  historian. 

Everything  that  has  any  bearing  on  their 
past  history,  character,  condition  and 
achievements  will  be  welcome  for  publica- 
tion. All  that  can  be  interested  to  co- 
operate with  those  at  work  for  this  month- 
ly are  asked  to  help  gather  and  arrange 
stories,  facts  or  traditions  and  thi:s  bring 
out  the  language  and  literature  of  our  Ger- 
man and  Pennsylvania-German  ancestors, 
as  well  as  that  of  their  descendants  of  the 
present  generation. 

To  carry  out  the  task  which  this  maga- 
zine has  set  for  itself,  it  will  sometimes 
be  necessary  to  go  across  the  Atlantic  to 
the  land  of  our  forefathers  for  material,  to 
search  for  the  causes  and  reasons  for  their 
leaving  old  homes  and  coming  to  a  wilder- 
ness country  with  wives  and  children  to 
found  new  homes.  It  will  require  us  to 
follow  them  on  the  slow-sailing,  storm 
tossed  ships  to  Penns  Province,  to  the 
Hudson  and  Schoharie  valleys  and  even  to 
the  Province  of  Georgia,  to  their  forest- 
surrounded  homes.  Thus  we  will  see  their 
Christian  home-life,  their  labors  and  suf- 
ferings,   their   joys    and    sorrows.    Later    we 


will  be  with  them  at  their  marriages,  in 
the  sick  room,  at  the  funeral  and  go  to  the 
school  houses,  churches,  places  of  worship 
and  burial. 

In  outliniiag  the  purposes  of  this  maga- 
zine we  will  not  fail  to  record  the  think- 
ings and  doings  of  their  grateful  descen- 
dants down  to  the  present,  so  as  to  give  as 
full  and  accurate  history  as  possible.  Nor 
will  the  columns  of  this  periodical  only 
contain  the  history  of  the  Pennsylvania- 
G'ermans  residing  in  this  state,  but  of  their 
descendants  in  every  state  and  country  on 
the  globe.  This  will  not  be  done  to  ignore, 
disparage  or  entirely  exclude  those  of 
other  nationalities,  but  in  order  to  set 
forth  and  record  the  claims  and  pai't  Ger- 
mans and  their  descendants  have  in  making 
everyday  American  history. 


When  this  magazine  appears  it  is  pi'o- 
voking  to  the  editors  and  the  authors  of 
articles,  and  no  doubt  also  to  the  type-set- 
ters and  printers  when  they  see  any  errors 
on  its  pages.  Some  one  is  responsible  for 
the  mistakes,  but  each  one  is  inclined  to 
l)ut  the  blame  on  another  as  Adam  and 
Eve  did. 

However,  it  is  no  wonder  that  there  are 
sometimes  mistakes  when  the  copy  can 
hardly  be  read  by  anyone  but  the  writer. 
But  there  is  no  excuse  when  there  is  good 
type  written  copy  or  legible  penmanship, 
nor  for  getting  the  type  and  headings  mix- 
ed in  making  up  the  Forms,  dropping  let- 
ters in  names  of  authors,  misspelling  titles 
of  articles  when  the  copy  has  them  correct. 

In  March  number  page  122  D.  Nicholas 
Shaeffer  is  Schaeffer  in  copy  and  page  126 
.Johannes  Early  is  Oehrle;  page  140  Join- 
ville  should  read  Jumonville  not  Jornville. 
as  the  corrections  had  it,  "the  name  is 
printed  Hallenbach  twice"  instead  as  given 
there.  And  page  142  "The  Historians'  .An- 
nual meeting"  should  have  been  placed  on 
next  page,  and  "The  Bucks  County  Histori- 
cal Society"  transferred  to  the  former's 
place,  that  is,  those  two  headings  ought  to 
be   transposed. 


Inforniatioii  Wanted 

Mr.  S.  S.  Flory,  Bangor,  Pa.,  being  en- 
gaged in  collecting  material  for  a  history 
of  the  Flory  or  Fleury  family  invites  cor- 
respondence from  any  persons  in  position 
to    give  information   about  the  family. 3-4-5- 

Years  ago  a  teamster  in  driving  along 
the  road  from  Clayton  to  Huff's  Church. 
Berks  Co.,  Pa.,  through  "Deivel's  Loch" 
got  stuck  in  the  mud.  With  sleeves  rolled 
up  he  toiled  hard,  but  in  vain,  to  free  his 
mired  wheels.  Pennsylvania-German  far- 
mers who  came  along  to  assist  were  asked 


to  get  a  jack  screw  but  failed  to  under- 
stand what  was  meant.  A  happy  idea 
struck  the  farmers;  the  well  known  country 
'squiye.  living  in  the  vicinity,  was  called. 
In  his  dignity  and  superior  wisdom  he 
came  and  thus  addressed  his  neighbors  in 
the  dialect:  "How  often  have  I  invited  the 
neighborhood  to  assemble  in  the  school 
house  and  I  would  teach  you  some  English 
but  ye  would  not."  On  being  informed 
that  a  jack  screw  was  wanted  he  con- 
tinued: "You  dunces!  he  wants  soap  and 
water  to  wash  his  hands  so  that  he  can 
take  hold  of  the  lines  again." 


185 


Clippings  from  Current  News 


— Ellis  Paxson  Oberholtzer,  Ph.  D.,  has 
undertaken  for  the  J.  S.  Clarke  Publishing 
Company  the  preparation  of  the  material 
and  the  writing  of  "Philadelphia — A  His- 
tory of  the  City  and  Its  People — A  Record 
of  225  Years."  And  it  will  be  divided  into 
thirteen  main  divisions:  1,  Dutch  and 
Swedes,  1616-1674;  2,  The  English  Before 
Penn,  1674-1681;  3,  The  Penn  Government, 
1681-1718;  4,  Under  the  Penn  family;  5,  the 
Revolution,  1776-1784;  6,  Under  the  Con- 
federation; 7,  the  First  Years  of  the  Con- 
federation; 7,  The  War  of  1812;  9,  Years  of 
Peace;  10,  Consolidation;  11,  Civil  War; 
12.  The  Centennial,  and  13,  Close  of  the 
Nineteenth  Century.  The  author's  aim  will 
be  to  do  for  Philadelphia  what  Green  did 
for  the  English  people  in  his  London  work, 
and  what  McMaster  is  doing  on  a  more  ex- 
tended   scale   for   the   United   States. 

Early  Pittsburgh  was  not  especially  not- 
ed for  its  piety,  being  at  first  an  army 
camp,  and  having  among  its  scanty  popu- 
lation many  retired,  or  otherwise  tired 
warriors,  the  reputation  seemed  to  lie 
strongly  in  the  direction  of  excesses.  Up 
to  1784,  it  is  said,  the  town  did  not  have  a 
church  or  priest.  Pittsburgh  was  originally 
settled  by  the  Scotch-Irish  and  as  a  re- 
sult the  Presbyterian  system  of  faith  has 
always  had  a  strong  following.  Other 
parts  of  Allegheny  county  had  church  ser- 
vices earlier,  but  in  1784  the  Pittsburg 
Presbytery  requested  help  from  the  Red- 
stone Presbytery  (Brownsville  neighbor- 
hood) and  in  1787  built  a  church.  The 
Reformed  Presbyterian  organized  in  1799, 
with  the  Rev.  John  Black,  of  Ireland,  the 
first  pastor.  The  Episcopal  Church  had  a 
regular  organization  in  1805.  The  first 
Baptist  church  in  the  city  was  organized 
1812,  but  other  organization^  were  in  exist- 
ence outside  the  city,  in  Greene  county,  as 
early  as  1770.  and  the  Methodists  had  their 
first  sermon  in  1785,  while  the  Disciples 
established  their  first  church  in  Allegheny 
in  1835.  The  earliest  religious  services 
were  conducted  by  one  Father  Bonnicamp, 
a  French  .lesuit  priest,  about  the  year  1749, 
and  not  until  1784  was  there  a  concerted 
action  taken  by  the  Roman  Catholic  resi- 
dents to  secure  occasional  services  for 
their  church. — The   Lutheran. 

— The  year  1909  is  a  year  of  Centennials. 
It  calls  our  attention  to  two  great  states- 
men, Lincoln  and  Gladstone;  the  scientist 
Darwin;  three  great  authors.  Tennyson, 
Holmes  and  Poe;  and  two  great  musicians. 
Chcpin,  whose  field  was  the  piano  and 
who  was  here  a  master  among  masteis, 
and     .Mendelssohn.  Both     have     suffered 


many  things  at  the  hands  of  young  i)ian- 
ists.  but  have  survived  these  crude  inter- 
pretations. Paderewski  has  brought  out 
the  subtlety  and  power  of  Chopin's  mys- 
terious expression,  and  many  of  our  read- 
ers had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  Mendels- 
sohn's Elijah  finely  interpreted  by  Prof. 
C.  A.  Marks  and  the  Allentown  Choral 
Society,    because    thoughtfully    rendered. 

Our  musical  debt  to  the  Nineteenth  Cen- 
tury is  not  complete  until  we  have  added 
the  names  of  the  great  masters,  Beethoven, 
Brahms,  Schuman,  Schubert  and  Wagner. 
And  just  as  the  more  familiar  names  at- 
tached to  our  hymn-tunes  ewe  much  of 
their  inspiration  to  these,  so  these  masters 
sat  al  the  feet  of  a  greater. — J.  W.  R.  in 
The  Lutheran. 

— While  centennials  of  the  births  of 
great  men  are  being  celebrated  in  1909,  it 
should  not  be  forgotten  by  Lutherans  that 
two  centuries  ago  the  stream  of  immigra- 
tion which  means  so  much  to  our  Church 
in  America  first  began  to  flow,  at  least  in 
appreciable  volume.  The  first  band  con- 
sisted of  57  souls,  mostly  from  the  Pala- 
tinate, with  Pastor  Joshua  Kocheithal  as 
their  spiritual  leader,  and  the  place  where 
they  settled  was  where  Newburgh  N.  Y.  now 
is.  They  came  from  a  section  devastated  by 
war,  and  it  was  to  Queen  Anne  of  Eng- 
land that  they  owed  a  lasting  debt  cf  grat- 
itude. Through  her  kindly  interest,  ;i 
free  voyage  across  the  sea  was  granted 
them  and  a  grant  of  2190  acres  of  land. 
Nor  did  her  generosity  stoj)  here.  She  sup- 
plied them  not  only  with  seed  and  farming 
implements,  but  with  sustenance  for  a 
year.  And  as  if  to  teach  succeeding  gen- 
erations how  tc  care  for  spiritual  shep- 
herds. Pastor  Kocherthal  was  granted  $100 
and  500  acres  of  land  for  his  support. 
From  this  hi.mblf  beginning  the  stream  of 
German  immigration  has  widened  and 
deepened  until  toda:'  there  are  probably 
not  less  than  20,000,000  Americans  in 
whose  veins  flow  German  blood — more  by 
a  large  margin  than  of  any  other  single 
nationality.  That  is  why  America  is  to- 
day more  German  than  Anglo-Saxon. — The 
Lutheran. 

— -Everyi  ne  interested  in  the  pieserva- 
tion  of  historic  s|)ots  associated  with  the 
Revolutionary  struggle  hopes  for  the 
I)assage  of  the  bjU  which  Representative 
Ambler,  of  Montgomery  county,  has  intro- 
duced in  the  State  Legislature  for  the  pur- 
chase of  the  site  of  the  Revolutionary 
Army's  camp-ground  in  While  marsh 
township.  The  principal  relics  of  'hat  en- 
campnient    ;ire    the   old    fort    and    the    build- 


186 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


iag  in  which  Washington  had  his  head- 
quarters, both  situated  near  the  village  of 
Fort  Washington,  a  short  distance  above 
Chestnut  Hill.  The  plan  is  to  convert  this 
tract  into  a  State  Park. 

The  Valley  Forge  campground,  neglected 
for  many  years,  is  now  owned  by  the 
State  and  forms  a  beautiful  park  of  sev- 
eral hundred  acres.  But  most  of  the  other 
sites  connected  with  Washington's  cam- 
paign in  Pennsylvania  in  1777  depend  for 
preservation  upon  the  generous  patriotism 
of   private   owners. 

Various  attempts  to  have  the  State  or 
the  Nation  acquire  the  Brandy  wine  battle- 
field, and  the  scene  of  the  Paoli  conflict, 
have  proved  fruitless;  but  at  both  places, 
as  well  as  at  the  site  of  the  encampment 
on  the  Perkiomen,  at  Pennypacker's  Mills, 
monuments  have  been  reared  through  the 
efforts   of   societies    and    individuals.     * 

The  Germantown  battlefield,  being  now 
part  of  the  built-up  town,  cannot  become 
a  State  Park,  but  steps  could  be  taken  to 
mark  the  various  places  where  important 
features  of  the  battle  occurred.  The  other 
Revolutionary  sites  to  which  allusion  has 
])een  made  consist  of  farm  land  and  are 
thus  available  for  purchase  and  preserva- 
tion as  public  property.  —  Independent 
Gazette. 

To  sum  up  important  particulars:  Penn- 
sylvania is  today  first  of  all  the  States  in 
the  production  of  iron  and  steel,  coal  and 
coke  and  carpets  and  rugs,  and  probably 
first  of  all  in  the  manufacture  of  silk.  In 
1900  it  was  second  in  the  manufacture  of 
wollen  products  and  in  the  total  value  of 
all  textile  products,  fourth  in  the  produc- 
tion of  lumber  and  all  kinds  of  paper,  and 
second  in  the  production  of  chemicals..  It 
has  long  been  first  in  the  production  of 
leather  and  in  the  manufacture  of  glass. 
It  has  lost  its  early  leadership  in  the  pro- 
duction of  petroleum,  but  it  is  first  in  the 
production  of  natural  gas.  It  is  first  in  the 
production  of  Portland  cement  and  in  the 
manufacture  of  fire  brick  and  tiles,  and 
it  is  fourth  in  the  manufacture  of  pottery. 
It  leads  all  states  in  the  production  of  roof- 
ing slate  and  limestone  and  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  locomotives,  railroad  cars,  and 
saws,  and  it  is  the  only  state  that  makes 
armor  plate.  It  is  now  third  in  iron  and 
steel  shipbuilding,  not  including  Govern- 
ment vessels,  Michigan  being  first  and  Ohio 
second.  In  the  annual  value  of  many  farm 
products  it  is  either  first  or  closely  follows 
other   States. 

From  Swank's.  Progressive  Peniisjl- 
\  aiiia. 


Ciermaiiy's  Industrial  Insurance 

The  radical  difference  between  the  Ger- 
man insurance  and  pension  laws  and  the 
British  old  age  pension  scheme  is  that  the 
former  are  based  upon  the  principle  of  co- 
operation, the  beneficiaries  contributing 
toward  the  funds  while  in  the  case  of 
Great  Britain  the  entire  burden  falls  upon 
the  general  revenues,  and  there  is  not  the 
same  inducement  to  thrift  and  economy 
upon  the  part  of  the  working  people.  In 
Germany  the  entire  cost  of  the  accident 
insurance  falls  upon  the  employers  of 
labor,  who  also  pay  one-third  of  the  cost 
of  sickness  insurance — the  remaining  two- 
thirds  being  provided  by  the  employes. 
The  expenses  of  the  invalid  and  old  age 
pensions  are  equally  divided  between  the 
employers  and  the  employes,'  the  State 
making  a  substantial  annual  contribution 
to  each  pension  granted.  While  participa- 
tion in  these  insurance  systems  is  compul- 
sory on  the  part  of  the  classes  to  whom 
they  apply,  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  or 
discourage  voluntary  insurance,  and  the 
provident  and  careful  among  the  German 
working  people  quite  generally  supplement 
the  compulsory  insurance  with  that  of  their 
own  societies  and  mutual  aid  organiza- 
tions. 

Statistics  will  show  the  magnitude  of  the 
system  and  its  popularity.  In  1905  there 
were  11,900,000  working  people  of  all 
classes  insured  against  sickness  and  up- 
ward of  $69,300,000   was  paid  in  benefits. 

— Public   Ledger. 

— The  late  Hon.  Diedrich  WiUers.  of 
Varick,  Seneca  county,  N.  Y.,  bequeathed 
to  Central  Theological  Seminary.  Dayton. 
Ohio,  a  number  of  valuable  books,  manu- 
scripts and  skeletons  of  sermons,  former- 
ly owned  by  his  father,  the  late  Rev.  Died- 
rich Willers,  D.D.,  who  officiated  as  a 
minister  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  Seneca 
county,  N.  Y.,  .for  a  period  of  sixty  years 
and  nine  months.  Many  of  the  books  are 
printed  in  the  German,  Latin  and  Greek 
languages,  and  are  of  ancient  date. — Re- 
formed Church  Record. 

Marion  Dexter  Learned.  Professor  of 
German  at  the  University  of  Penn'a  sailed 
for  Europe  on  Feb.  27th.  He  is  commis- 
sioned by  the  Carnegie  Institute.  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.  to  investigate  the  sources  of 
American  history  in  German  libraries  and 
archives.  The  scope  of  the  work  is  a  vast 
one.  Prof.  Learned  secured  a  leave  of  ab- 
sence for  six  months:  he  expects  to  return 
some  time  in  October. 


The  Joker's  Page 


187 


What   Hliinders   Iiiexperieiioc   Causes 

Some  inexperienced  farmer  boys  went  to 
a  neighboring  town  and  took  dinner  at  one 
of  the  leading  hotels.  The  one  at  the  end 
of  the  dining  table  was  approached  by  the 
waiter  with  the  question:  "Do  you  want  a 
napkin?"  After  hesitating  he  replied  "'Yes 
Sir,  Wann  die  annere  es  essa  kenne  kann 
ich  aul    (If  the  others  can  eat  it  I  can.) 

*  *     * 

'Manda    S ,    a    country    girl    wishing 

to  inform  a  visitor  that  her  father  was  at 
the  dinner  table,  and  her  mother  had  near- 
ly finished  her  meal  said:  "  Pop's  on  the 
table,  and  Mom's  half  et." 

*  4*     * 

The  following  incident  occurred  at  a 
vendue  near  Lebanon.  Pa.  The  boisterous 
and  voluble  auctioneer  was  disposing  of 
the  household  utensils.  It  was  his  custom 
in  order  to  hold  the  attention  of  the  crowd, 
to  crack  a  harmless  joke  at  some  one's 
expense,  or  otherwise  interpose  a  little 
nonsense.  In  the  course  of  his  harangue, 
he  picked  up  a  sugar-scoop.  "Now,"  he 
rattled  on  glibly,  "here  we  have  such  a 
scoop.  What  can  I  hear  for  it.  Start  'em 
up  some  body.  Do  kenna  mir  by  chinks! 
soup  fressa,"  and  suiting  his  actioa  to  his 
words,  raised  the  scoop  to  his  lips  where- 
upon the  village  wag  on  the  edge  of  the 
crowd  yelled  out,  'Ya!  es  fit  aw  zu  deim 
maul!" 

•ft    4.    •{• 

In  the  fifties,  just  before  the  war,  it  was 
the  custom  for  the  night  watchman  or 
l)oliceman  to  call  out  the  hour  and  the 
state   of  the   weather.       It   is   related   of   a 

certain  •  John  N ,  on  duty  one  night 

in  Reading  Pa.,  bawled  out:  '"Twelf-o-glock. 
All's  well — Makes  something  down  like  a 
drizzle." 

4«    •!•    4» 

The   Luck   of   Left-Handediiess 

Of  all  "anti-lean"  systems  prescribed  by 
))sysician  or  quack,  perhaps  none  is  so  cur- 
ious as  that  cited  by  Martin  Welker  in  an 
article  Avritten  for  the  Western  Reserve 
Historical  Society  on  "Life  in  Central  Ohio 
Sixty  Years  Ago."  The  story  also  goes  to 
prove  that  in  left-handedness  there  may  be 
an  advantage  unexplained  by  i)sychological 
research.  The  expounder  and  example  of 
the  diet  theory  was  an  old  settler,  one  of 
a  large  family  of  children,  who  grew  up  to 
be  a  very  stout  man,  while  the  others  were 
small   and  thin. 

The  big  iron  pot  which  hung  on  the 
crane  cooked  the  mush  for  the  family.  It 
was  a  usual  thing  to  see  the  children,  with 
their  cups  and  si)oons.  seated  all  round  the 
mush  pot  on  the  hearth,  helping  themselves 
to  their  supper. 

The  old  settler  used  to  explain  his  plump 
condition  in  this  w-ay:    when  he  was  a  boy 


tiie  princii)al  living  was  bean  porridge. 
When  it  was  cooked  it  was  set  out  in  the 
pot,  and  all  the  family  dipped. 

He,  alone,  was  left-handed.  Th-j  right- 
handed  ones,  dipi)ing  in  their  spoons,  soon 
set  the  contents  of  the  pot  going  round  in 
a  whirl,  and  the  beans  and  small  frag- 
nients  of  meat  i)artook  of  this  circular 
motion.  But  he,  being  left-handed,  thrust 
in  his  spoon,  met  the  floating  solid  parti- 
cles, and  was  able  to  approi)riate  to  him- 
self the  more  nourishing  food.  The  others 
got  the  thin  porridge. 

*     +     •!• 

The  Passiiiff  oi  the  Last  Boot 

(Cleveland  Plain-Dealer) 
The  disconcerting  news  comes  from 
Washington  that  the  last  pair  of  boots  has 
passed  cut  of  congress — i)assed  out  on  the 
manly  pedal  extremities  of  Charles  Napo- 
leon Brumm,  who  has  resigned  from  the 
House  to  accept  a  judgeship  in  Schuylkill 
county,  Pennsylvania.  Is  it  a  fact  that  the 
exit  of  the  last  boot  from  the  house  of 
representatives  is  coincident  with  its  pass- 
ing from  the  life  of  the  once  typical  Ameri- 
can? Time  was,  and  recently,  when  the 
thick  soled,  firmly  pegged  and  square  toeil 
boot  was  a  necessary  adjunct  of  vigorous 
native  life  in  its  most  virile  manfestations. 
The  small  boy  looked  forward  to  the  day 
when  he  could  exchange  his  childish  foot 
gear  for  the  dignified  boot  of  his  father. 
The  graduation  from  the  shoe  to  the  boot 
cf  maturity  was  identified  with  the  equally 
important  event  of  his  doffiing  knicker- 
bockers for  trousers;  for  boots  lost  half 
their  glory  without  trouser  legs  to  tuck  in- 
to their  sagging  toi)P.  A  proud  day  it  was  in 
the  life  of  a  hopeful  American  lad  when 
he  assumed  both  trousers  and  boots.  It 
was  then  he  first  came  to  appreciate  fully 
the  meaning  of  what  his  teachers  had  told 
him,  that  every  native  son  of  America 
could  become  president,  if  only.  etc.  He 
felt  of  presidential  size  and  importance  al- 
ready and  the  rest  of  the  road  to  tlie 
White  House  lay  clear  and  simple  before 
him. 

So  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  passing 
from  congress  of  its  last  pair  of  boots, 
guided  on  their  outward  course  by  the 
aforesaid  Mr.  Brumm.  does  not  mean  the 
final  and  complete  extinction  of  that  tyiie 
of  footwear  from  contemporary  Ameri- 
can life.  The  boot  occupied  a  place  that 
will  be  but  inadetjuately  filled  by  patent 
leather  of  Oxford  tie.  ;\Iany  a  statesman 
who  might  have  gone  thundering  down  the 
corridors  of  time  will  find  his  tread 
strangely  muffled  and  the  fact  of  his  pas- 
sage curiously  unnoticed  if  he  exchan.ges 
the  traditional  boot  of  his  ancestors  for  the 
more  modern  article  of  commerce.  Long 
live  the  boot! 


1S8 


The  Forum 


MEANING  OF  NAMES 


By  Leonhard  Felix  Fuld,  M.A^  LL.M. 

[EDITORIAL  NOTE.]  Mr.  Fuld  has 
kindly  consented  to  give  a  brief  account  of 
the  history  and  meaning  of  the  surname  of 
any  subscriber  sending  twenty-five  cents  to 
the  editor  for  that  purpose. 

Ill  BARON 

The  ulterior  origin  of  the  surname 
BARON  is  unknown.  Some  writers  refer 
it  to  the  Celtic  BAR  meaning  a  hero,  others 
to  the  Old  High  German  BERO  moaning  a 
carrier,  others  to  the  Old  English  BEORN, 
a  warrior,  and  still  others  to  the  Teutonic 
BARN  a  child.  The  late  Latin  word  BARO 
meant  merely  a  man.  It  later  came  to 
mean  a  freeman  as  opposed  to  a  slave,  a 
husband  as  opposed  to  a  wife  and  nnally  it 
became  a  generic  term, — a  male  as  opposed 
to  a  female.  In  the  Early  English  law  the 
baron  was  one  who  held  land  from  the 
king  or  other  feudal  superior  by  military 
tenure  and  subsequently  it  was  applied 
only  to  those  who  held  land  from  the  king, 
and  finally  only  to  the  greater  of  these 
landholders  who  personally  attended  the 
Great  Council  or  from  the  time  of  Henry 
III  were  summoned  by  writ  to  Parliament. 
Hence  a  baron  was  a  lord  of  Parliament. 

After  the  days  of  feudal  tenure  the  baron 
became  a  specific  order  or  rank,  being  the 
lowest  grade  of  nobility, — a  baron  as  dis- 
tinguished from  an  earl.  It  became  a  title 
separate  and  distinct  from  the  military  ten- 
ure or  any  particular  privilege.  Richard 
II  created  barons  by  patent.  The  title  of 
baron  was  also  applied  to  citizens  of  Lon- 
don and  some  other  places,  who  were 
bound  to  suit  and  service  to  the  king.  It 
was  also  used  as  the  title  of  the  Judges  of 
the  Court  of  Exchequer.  In  law  tJie  term 
baron  signifies  husband,  as  in  the  phrase 
baron  et  femme,  meaning  husband  and 
wife. 

The  title  BARON  finally  came  to  be  ap- 
|)lied  to  any  man  as  a  mark  of  respect  or 
honor.  LEONHARD   FELIX   FULD. 

•{•     4.     •{. 

QIESTIONS  ANSWERED   AND  TO  BE 
ANSWERED 


J.  Wheeler  iu  Memories  of  N.  Carolina 

(Gives  Page  397) 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Steele  died  1790  (Salis- 
t)ury).  She  was  twice  married.  By  her 
first  husband  she  had  a  daughter  who  mar- 
ried Rev.  Samuel  Eusebius  McCorkle  (b. 
1746)  son  of  Samuel  McCorkle.  Who  was 
her    first    husband?     Who    was    the    mother 


of  Rev.    S.   E.   McCorkle?     Was   she   daugh- 
ter  of   John    and   Martha   Montgomery? 

E.   Q.  N. 

(Roll   of  Honor  D.  A.   Revolution  Gives.) 

"Christian  Quiggle  enlisted  from  Man- 
heim  township,  York  Co.,  Pa.,  177f>,  in  the 
"Flying  Camp."  Served  at  Long  Island  in 
Col.  Michael  Swope's  regiment."  Who  were 
his  parents?  To  whom  was  he  married? 
Where  did  he  die  or  where  buried? 

4»  4»  * 

More    Queries,    Who    Can    Answer    Any    of 
Them? 

1.  Abraham  Kieffer  (mentioned  in  PENN- 
SYLVANA-GERMAN,  Genealogical  Records, 
p.  12,  Feb.  1909)  came  with  his  brother  and 
three  sons,  a  fourth  having  died  at  sea,  in 
"The  Two  Brothers,  from  Rotterdam,  Sept. 
15,  1748."  He  located  in  Berks  county. 
Wajited  place  of  burial,  and  gravestone 
record.  Also  place  of  burial,  gr.^vestone 
record,  and  parents  of  his  wife. 

2.  Dewald  Kieffer,  son  of  above,  came 
with  his  father,  lived  in  Berks  county,  and 
after  the'  Revolutionary  War  removed  to 
Franklin  county.  He  married  Hannah  Fox. 
Wanted  her  parents. 

3.  Jacob  Kieffer,  son  of  Abraham  above, 
lived  in  Berks  county.  Died  1809.  Want- 
ed his  burial  place,  and  gravestone  record. 

4.  Magdalena  Barnett,  wife  of  Jacob 
Kieffer,  also  died  in  Berks  county.  Want- 
ed her  place  of  burial,  gravestone  record, 
and  name  of  parents.  K.  E.  B. 

1.  Barnett,  Stephen.  He  was  of  Berks 
county.  Pa.,  and  married  Marie  or  Maria 
Bertolet;  born  July  12,  1715;  d.  1802;  dau. 
of  Jean  Bertolet.  Wanted  parents  of 
Stephen  Barnett.  Children  of  Stephen 
Barnett. 

2.  Beaver,  George.  Came  to  Berks  Co., 
Pa.,  with  his  father  and  brothers  in  "The 
Lydia,"    Sept.     29,     1741.      Age     21.      Wife, 

Anna    Catherine     .        Wanted     the 

name  of  her  parents. 

3.  Johannes  Eberle  came  to  I^ancaster 
Co.,  Pa.,  on  the  ship  Dragon,  Daniel 
Nicolus,  master,  Oct.  24,  1749.  He  was 
supposed  to  be  about  18  years  of  vge.  His 
mother  and  brothers,  Benjamin,  Henry. 
Samuel,  Abraham  and  Peter  came  with  him. 
Wanted  the  name  of  his  wife  and  her  par- 
ents. He  had  son  Johannes  and  a  daugh- 
ter who  married  a  Mr.  Albert. 

4.  Johannes  Eberle  s.  of  above,  was  b.  iu 
July,  1755;  and  m.  Elizabeth  Bricker  Nov. 
24,  1776.  She  was  b.  June  1,  1759,  and  d. 
Dec.  4,  1813.  There  were  eightee-i  in  the 
Bricker  family.  Wanted  iiarents  of  Eliza- 
beth  Bricker  of  Lancaster  Co.,   Pa. 


THE   FORUM 


189 


5.  Benjamin  Ebeiiy,  son  of  above,  moved 
with  hiis  father  to  Cumberland  Co.  in  1791. 
He  was  born  Sept.  18,  1783,  and  died  Nov. 
10,  1S65.  Married  Barbai-a  Kauffman.  She 
died  July  1857,  aged  64  years,  8  months. 
Wanted  ancestry  of  Barbara  Kauffman,  of 
Cumberland  Co.,  Pa. 

6.  Benjamin  Eberly,  son  of  above,  was 
born  1816  and  died  July  22,  1849.  Married 
Catharine  Bosler.  Wanted  ancestry  of 
Catharine  Bosler  of  Cumberland  Co.,  Pa. 

7.  Swoope,  John  Jacob,  came  on  ship 
Neptune,  from  Rotterdam.  Sept.  24,  1754. 
(John  Jacob  Schwab.)  Was  of  Hellam 
township,  York  Co.,  Pa.  Had  son  Peter  in- 
terested in  the  iron  furnaces  of  York  Co. 
Wanted  wife  and  family,  and  any  other 
information  relating  to  John  Jacob  Swoope. 

8.  Huyett,  Lodowick,  a  Hughenot,  was 
born  Jan.  7,  1739.  Established  a  home  in 
Washington  Co.,  Md.,  and  died  there  April 
17,  1828.  Wanted  his  parents  and  any  in- 
formation prior  to  settling  in  Washington 
county. 

9.  Schneider,  Maria  Margaretta,  was  the 
wife  of  Lodowick  Huyett.  Born  Feb.  1, 
1752:  d.  Feb.  21,  1833.  Wanted  her  parents. 
It  is  possible  they  were  of  Berks  Co.,  Pa. 

Chicago,    111.  K.  E.   B. 

4"  4»  * 

Towanda,   Pa..   January    6,   1909. 
H.  W.  Kriebel,  Publisher, 

Penna. -German,  East  Greenville,  Pa. 

My  dear  sir:  I  inclose  to  you  herewith 
a  copy  of  resolutions  adopted  at  a  meeting 
of  the  Historical  Society  of  Bradford  Co.. 
which  explains  itself. 

The  Indian  town,  or  rather  the  principal 
town  of  the  Carantouan  Indians,  it  is  con- 
ceded, was  on  what  is  known  as  "Spanish 
Hill"  which  is  located  in  this  county,  just 
South  of  the  State  line.  This  is  the  place 
where  Brule,  with  his  Huron  companions, 
in  October,  1615,  first  met  these  Carantou- 
annias  Indians,  (Andastes.)  and  got  500  of 
their  warriors  to  go  to  the  Iroquois  strong- 
hold, (three  days  travel,)  to  aid  the  Hu- 
rons,  who  were  with  Champlain  coming 
from  the  northwest  to  invest  the  said 
strong  hold.  For  this  information  see  But- 
terfield's  "  Brule  and  his  Discoveries  " 
(1898).  Also  in  same  work  discussion,  as 
to  Capt.  John  Smith  whether  he  ever 
reached  the  borders  of  Pennsylvania.  There 
are  some  people  who  contend,  that  in  1714 
three  Dutchman  were  captured  by  these 
same  Carouantannias  Indians,  and  brought 
to  this  section  of  what  is  now  Pennsyl- 
vania.but  the  facts  and  the  i)Iace  in  that 
narrative  are  shrouded  in  considerable 
doubt,  and  to  sustain  that  i)osition,  re- 
quires considerable  assimiption.  Even  if  it 
were  true  it  would  be  of  no  historical  val- 
ue as  they  (the  Dutchmen)  were  prisoners 
of  war.  and  were  not  here  to  learn  or  ex- 


l)lore,  but  were  here  if  at  all,  by  compul- 
sion. But  that  Brule,  was  here  for  a  pur- 
pose, and  went  to  the  mouth  of  the  Sus- 
(luehanna  river  there  can  be  but  very  lit- 
tle doubt. 

We  thought  and  believe,  that  this  im- 
portant historical  event,  is  worthy  of  the 
attention  of  the  people  of  this  State,  and 
those  interested  in  historical  matters 
should  make  an  effort  to  observe  the  Three 
Hundredth  Anniversary,  of  the  advent  of 
the  white  man  within  the  limits  of  this 
great  Commonwealth. 

This  Hill,  or  mound,  known  as  "Spanish 
Hill"  is  so  peculiar  a  formation,  and  there 
is  so  much  history  and  legends  connected- 
with  it,  that  it  deserves  some  attention. 
The  "hill"  is  about  230  feet  above  a  plain 
which  surrounds  it,  and  is  about  280  feet 
above  the  river  level. 

Much  has  been  written  about  it,  and  some 
have  assumed  to  argue  that  it  was  made 
by  man;  this  idea  has  however  never  been 
seriously  considered,  as  it  no  doubt  is  of 
natural   formation. 

The  fact  that  here  Brule,  the  first  white 
man,  (so  far  as  definitely  known)  came  in 
1615,  and  the  following  winter,  (1615-1616) 
explored  the  Susquehanna  river  to  the  Bay. 
is  of  sufficient  importance,  that  we  of  this 
Commonwealth,  should  make  note  of  it  by 
some  kind  of  gathering,  and  observance  on 
its    three   hundred    anniversary,    in    1915. 

PREAMBLE  AND  RESOLUTIONS 
Whereas,  In  1615  Stephen  Brule,  one  of 
Champlain's  interpreters,  is  known  to  have 
visited  the  Carantouannias  Indians,  who  at 
that  time  occupied  the  place  in  northern 
Bradford  county,  known  as  "Spanish  Hill." 
and  vicinity,  and  explored  the  Susquehanna 
river  "to  the  sea"  and. 

Whereas,  This  is  the  earliest  visit  or  ad- 
vent of  white  men  in  Bradford  county,  and 
in  all  probability  the  first  white  man,  with- 
in the  present  limits  of  Pennsylvania, 
therefore. 

Resolved,  That  this  Society,  in  connection 
with  the  Athens  Historical  Society,  and 
other  Historical  Societies  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  New  York,  take  steps  to  projierly  and 
appropriately  celebrate  the  Three  Hun- 
dredth Anniversary  of  this  historical  event, 
HesoIved,That  a  committee  be  appointed  to 
confer  with  the  Athens  Historical  Society, 
the  borough  authorities  of  Athens,  Sayre. 
South  Waverly.  Pennsylvania,  and  the  bor- 
ough authorities  of  Waverly.  New  York,  to 
discuss  and  formulate  i)lans.  to  ai)i)ropria- 
ately  observe  this  historical  evenr.  at  or 
near  "Spanish  Hill"  Bradford  county. 
Pennsylvania,   in   the  year   1915. 

I  certify  that  the  above  is  a  correct  and 
true  copy  of  the  preamble  and  resolutions 
adopted  by  the  Historical  Society  of  Brad- 
ford county,  at  a  regular  meeting  held  on 
December  26.   1908. 

J.   ANDREW   WILT. 

Secretary. 


190 


Local  Historical  Societies 


The  Lancaster  County  Historical  Society 

meets  monthly  except  during  the  vacation 
months  of  July  and  August.  It  also  pub- 
lishes its  proceedings  monthly,  in  pamph- 
let form.  The  December  issue  contains  an 
index  or  list  of  the  titles  and  a  brief  des- 
cription of  a  number  of  the  papers  read 
before  that  society  since  its  organization 
twelve  years  ago.  This  list  shows  the 
many  subjects  that  have  been  discussed 
and  will  prove  valuable  for  reference.  The 
Secretary  at  the  January  meetings  stated 
that  requests  came  from  other  historical 
societies  and  libraries  in  other  states  for 
its  publications.  The  librarian  reported  an 
addition  of  285  volumes  during  1908  and  a 
large  number  of  articles  for  the  museum. 
He  had  prepared  a  list  of  all  the  books 
written  or  published  by  Lancaster  county 
people,  numbering  over  1500  titles  and 
donated  his  bibliography  to  the  society. The 
Treasurer  had  received  $491  during  the 
year.  The  February  proceedings  contain 
an  interesting  paper  prepared  by  Dr.  J.  H. 
Dubbs  on  "Ephrata  Hymns  and  Hymn- 
boolcs."  Another  paper  in  the  same  pamph- 
let is  entitled  "Facts  from  an  Old  Receipt 
Book." 

•I"  +  * 

The   Let>anon   County  Historical   Society 

This  live  society  which  held  its  eleventh 
Annual  Meeting  and  dinner  January  8, 
1909,  during  1908  met  6  times,  paid  out 
$183.73,  added  about  140  books,  journals, 
l)amphlets,  curios,  etc.,  to  its  collection, 
and  closed  the  year  with  164  members. 

At  the  Annual  Meeting  the  following 
business  was  transacted: 

Reports  were  made  by  the  Executive 
Committee,  the  Treasurer,  the  Committee 
on  History,  the  Committee  on  Relics,  cur- 
ios, and  antiques,  and  the  Committee  on 
Necrology. 

The  list  of  officers  is  made  up  of  Presi- 
dent. 2  Vice  Presidents,  Secretary,  Treas- 
urer, Librarian,  an  Executive  Committee  of 
nine  including  the  President,  Secretary 
and  Treasurer,  Ex  officio. 

After  the  annual  dinner  addresses  as 
toasts  were  made  as  follows: 

"The  Presbyterian  Church  in  Lebanon 
County  by  Rev.  J.  L.  Hynson.  "Work  of  the 
Lebanon  County  Historical  Society  by  Rev. 
P  C.  Croll,  D.D.,  and  Pennsylvania  Soldiers 
at  Valley  Forge  by  John  A.  Herman.  Esq. 

One  of  the  unique  and  valuable  features 
of  the  work  of  this  society  is  the  annual 
review  of  the  past  year's  doings,  covering 
the  Weather,  Municipal  and  Industi-ial  Life, 
Elections  and  Inductions  into  Office,  Reli- 
gious Events,  Educational,  Reunions,  Events 


of  General  Interest,  Fatalities  and  Wrecks. 
Deaths.  Sister  County  Historical  Societies 
would  do  well  to  take  up  the  same  method 
of  chronicling  the  history  of  their  respec- 
tive counties, 

*  4«  4» 

Wyoming-  Historical  and   Genealogical 
Society 

This  society',  after  a  delay  of  three  years, 
has  issued  a  new  volume  (Vol.  X)  of  its 
"Proceedings  and  Collections"  made  possi- 
ble by  the  establishment  of  "The  Coxe  Pub- 
lication Fund",  contributed  by  the  Coxe 
family  of  Drifton,  Luzerne  County,  Pa. 
(256  pages,  Price  $3.50  paper  cover). 

We  give  herewith  the  subdivisions  listed 
in  the  table  of  contents — Preface,  Contents, 
Proceedings,  Reports.  Wyoming  Aathracile 
Coal  Celebration,  Glacial  Rock  on  Shawnee 
Mountain,  Muster  Roll  of  Ca^t.  Hem  y  Shoe- 
maker's Company;  Northampton  County 
Rangers,  1781 ;  Olden  Times  in  Bradford 
County,  Pa.;  Original  Letter  from  William 
Penn;  Capture  and  Rescue  of  Kosewell 
Franklin's  Family,  by  Indians;  Marriages 
and  Deaths,  Wyoming  Valley,  lSlO-1818; 
Continental  Commission  of  Col.  Zebulou 
Butler;  Turtle  Shell  Rattles  from  Indian 
Graves,  Bradford  County;  Memorial  Tablet 
to  Frances  Slocum;  Memorial  Tablet  to  Lt, 
Col.  George  Dorrance;  U.  S.  Revolutionary 
Pensioners  in  Bradford  and  Luzerne 
Counties;  Biographical  Sketches  of  De- 
ceased members;  Officers  and  Members  of 
the   Society. 

We  gather  the  following  information 
from  the  reports  of  the  Secretary  and 
Treasurer  at  the  annual  meeting  February 
11,  1908.  Number  of  Life  Members  195. 
(Membership  for  Life  is  based  on  the  con- 
tribution of  $100.00  to  be  invested  in  "the 
Life  Membership  Fund")  Annual  Members 
211.  The  secretary  wrote  fully  550  letters 
during  the  year.  During  the  year  732 
books  and  1474  pamphlets  were  added  to 
the  library  which  is  open  dail.v  from  10  A. 
M.  to  5  and  6  P.  M.  About  18000  volumes 
are  thus  accessible  for  daily  use,  a  privi- 
lege that  is  appreciated  if  7000  visitors  a 
year  are  a  criterion.  The  Secretary  and 
Librarian  Rev.  Horace  E.  Hayden  for  many 
years  carried  the  responsibility  of  incur- 
ring all  bills,  raising  all  funds  and  paying 
all  accounts.  In  1906  he  made  an  appeal 
to  the  State  Legislature  for  any  sum  from 
$5,000  to  $20,000  to  help  the  Society.  A 
joint  committee  of  the  House  and  Senate 
agreed  to  allow  $2,500  which  was  passed 
and  finally  vetoed  by  the  Governor  "  pro 
bono  publico."  This  failure  led  the  lib- 
rarian to  change  plans  and  try  to  increase 
the   endowment   fund   from   $25,000   to   $50,- 


LOCAL     HISTORICAL    SOCIETIES 


191 


000,  with  the  result  that  the  fund  in  cash 
and  subscriptions  showed  a  total  value  of 
$45,400,  at  the  annual  meeting. 

We  get  a  glimpse  at  the  collections  in 
the  following  words  quoted  from  the  Semi- 
centennial Address  delivered  by  John  W. 
Jordan,  Librarian  of  the  Historical  Societi' 
of  Pennsylvania: 

"Your  rooms  impress  the  visitor 
from  the  first  with  the  air  of  studious 
— and  because  studious —  quiet  ele- 
gance, which  meets  the  eye.  The  well- 
selected  Library  of  general  and  local 
history  and  biography  needs  no  criti- 
cism fiom  uie.  but  high  commendation, 
and  the  collection  of  portraits  of  your 
worthies,  who  by  pen  and  sword,  and 
in  professional  and  commercial  life, 
have  upheld  the  honor  and  maintained 
the  glory  of  your  county,  is  a  remark- 
able one,  and  attests  the  success  which 
has  attended  your  efforts.  And  the 
relics  and  curiosities — many  of  them 
are  of  special  interest  and  value  to 
those  who  love  what  Dean  Swift  calls 
"small  mice  nibbling  at  the  holes  of 
history."  The  Ethnological  collection 
is  a  remarkal)ly  fine  one.  I  must  not 
overlook  your  collection  of  the  news- 
papers published  in  the  county  and 
elsewhere,  valuable  aids  to  any  one 
who  delves  into  the  history  of  the 
past." 
The  concluding  words  of  Dr.  .Jordan's 
address  may  well  be  repeated: 

"Allow  me  to  urge  you  to  collect  every 
memorial  of  your  forefathers  that  time  may 
have  spared.     Give  the  future  historians  of 


your  county  no  cause  to  reproach  you  for 
having  left  them  naught  but  arid  chron- 
icles of  events,  but  let  them  find  among  the 
fruits  of  your  labors  the  materials,  not  only 
for  faithful  narrative,  but  for  a  philosoph- 
ical exposition  of  the  conduct  and  princi- 
ples  and   institutions  of  your  ancestry." 

The  Wyoming  Society  has  been  doing 
most  excellent  work  along  the  lines  refer- 
red to  by  the  speaker  and  well  merits  the 
words  quoted  on  page  45,  written  by  F.  B. 
Hodge  of  the  National  Museum,  "The  work 
of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Gealo- 
gical   Society   deserves   the  highest  praise." 

From  the  report  of  the  Annual  Meeting 
of  the  society  held  Feb.  10,  1909,  the  fol- 
lowing information  is  gleaned:  the  en- 
dowment fund  amounts  to  $47,000;  total 
membership  is  385,  203  being  the  life  mem- 
bers. During  the  past  year  525  books  and 
1100  pamphlets  were  added  to  the  library. 
The  society  is  now  in  a  far  more  prosperous 
condition  than  ever  before  in  its  history." 
It  must  have  pained  the  patient,  toiling 
secretary.  Rev.  H.  E.  Hayden  to  write 
these  words. 

' '  It  is  really  disheartening  to  your 
librarian  in  spite  o£  the  prosperity 
that  has  marked  the  past  year  to  note 
how  very  few  members  of  the  society 
enter  its  doors.  It  is  certain  that  of 
the  308  living  members  of  the  society 
(that  not  counting  the  sixty-eight  de- 
ceased life  members)  not  ten  per  cent., 
including  the  officers  of  the  society 
have  visited  the  rooms  during  the  past 
year  except  to  attend  the  four  regular 
meetings." 


Reviews  and  Notes 


Calvin  Thomas,  Professor  of  German 
Literature  at  Columbia  University,  is  the 
author  of  A  Short  History  of  German  Lit- 
erature, which  the  D.  Appleton  &  Co.  are 
l)ublishing.  The  volume  belongs  to  the 
Literature  of  the  World  Series,  edited  by 
Edmund   Gosse   of  Cambridge,   England. 

Miss  Elsie  Singmaster  had  two  stories 
in  the  magazines  for  February — The  GTiost 
of  Matthias  Baiini,  in  the  Century:  and  El- 
iiiina's  Liviu^-Out,  in  Lippincotts.  The 
scene  of  the  first  story  is  laid  in  Millers- 
town,  Pa.  A  well-to-do  widow  ha.s  several 
suitors,  and  she  is  undecided  about  the 
choice.  She  moves  to  the  outskirts  of  the 
village  into  a  house  where  Matthias  Baum 
formerly  lived — and  hanged  himself.  As  it 
frequently  happens,  Matthias  Baum's  ghost 
— schpook — was  said  to  be  around  the 
place.  But  Savilla  Marstellar  was  not  an- 
noyed by  these  rumors.  The  uncanniness 
of  the  place  enabled  her  to  choose  her 
suitor— Christian     Oswald,      who     was     the 


only  young  man  who  had  the  courage  to 
venture  out  in  the  dark  and  call  on  her  at 
her   new  home. 

The  scene  of  the  other  story  is  also  laid 
in  the  same  vicinity.  There  is  about  as 
much  difference  in  the  structure  of  these 
two  short  stories  as  it  is  possible  for  short 
stories  to  possess.  The  former  has  some 
plotting,  while  the  latter  is  hardlv  more 
than  an  episode:  it  is  a  transcript  out  of 
the  life  of  a  young  girl  who  becomes  dis- 
satisfied with  farm  life  at  home  and  goes 
to  Philadelphia — and  comes  back  again. 
Both  stories  are  for  the  most  part  por- 
trayals of  Pennsylvania-German  life  and 
are   interesting  reading. 

ProKTOSshe  Pennsylvania:  A  Record  of  the 
Remarkable  Industrial  Development  of 
the  Keystone  State.  By  .Tames  M. 
Swank.  Author  of  "The  Manufacture  of 
Iron  in  all  Ages."  Cloth,  octavo,  gilt 
top,  360  pp.  Price  $5.  ,J.  B  Lippin- 
cott  Company,    Philadelphia,    1908. 


192 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


This  is  a  book  filled  with  rare  informa- 
tion presented  in  an  interesting  style. 
Chapters  like  the  following,  The  Lack  of 
Civic  Pride  in  Pennsylvania;  The  People 
who  Settled  Pennsylvania;  Early  Trans- 
portation in  Pennsylvania,  giving  an  ac- 
count of  the  Conestoga  wagons  renowned 
as  the  ships  of  inland  commerce  and 
among  the  most  famous  wagons  in  history; 
Early  Railroads  in  Pennsylvania, — are  only 
a  few  of  the  interesting  parts  of  the  book. 

It  is  carefully  written;  it  is  free  from  the 
errors  that  are  apt  to  creep  into  a  publi- 
cation that  has  thousands  of  names  and 
dates.  It  is  written  in  a  style  that  is  not 
always  found  in  bocks  of  such  a  nature. 
It  is  not  a  chronology  of  events.  It  is  a 
valuable  contribution  to  Pennsylvania  his- 
tory, and  it  should  go  far  to  arouse  the 
civic  pride  of  Pennsylvanians,  which  de- 
sirable attribute,  as  related  in  the  first 
chapter,  is  manifestly  lacking  among  the 
inhabitants   of  the   Keystone   State. 

Uoderii  Methods  for  Teachers:  By  Charles 
C:    Boyer,    Ph.D,    Department    ot    Peda- 
gogy.   Keystone    Normal    Schoo.,    Kutz- 
town,  Pa.     Cloth,  345   pp.   J.   B.   Lippin- 
cott    Company,    Philadelphia,    1008. 
Here   is  a  book  that  is  modern   in   every 
aspect;    it  is  a  twentieth  century  handbook 
as   its   further  title   indicates.      It   embodies 
a  practical  view  of  the  latest  developments 
in  the  methods  of  teaching.     It  is  compre- 
hensive and  stimulating;   it  is  well  founded 
upon   experience   and   on    an   understanding 
of  the   science  and   art  of  teaching. 

Probably  the  modernity  of  it  is  carried 
far  enough  in  the  treatment  of  Agriculture; 
seemingly  this  chapter  is  just  a  little  aside 
of  the  mark,  and  that  it  is  more  fanciful 
than    practical. 

In  the  first  place,  teachers  the  least  com- 
petent to  teach  Agriculture  in  the  common 
schools  without  making  it  a  farce  are  not 
to  be  found,  and  it  is  exceedingly  difficult 
to  tell  when  they  can  be  found.  Second- 
ly, the  course  as  suggested  even  for  a 
grammar  school  is  entirely  too  extensive; 
l)upils  could  not  do  anything  but  run  over 
the  country  visiting  this  and  that.  In  our 
mind  there  is  enough  of  this  interrujjted 
manner  of  study  by  just  such  performances. 
What  undisciplined  and  unrestrained  young 
America  needs  is  to  do  some  hard  work 
and  some  hard  consistent  thinking,  to  learn 
to  sit  down  to  some  hard  consistent  study- 
ing and  acquire  a  scholarship  worth  the 
name.  Thirdly,  that  such  an  extensive 
study  of  Agriculture  should  be  adopted  in 
a  city  high  school  self-evident! y  borders 
•almost  on  the  al)surd;  and  by  no  nrinner  of 


means  would  it  relieve  the  ovet  crowded 
tiictcry  and  tenement,  even  if  it  could  be 
carried  out. 

We  believe  in  getting  children  nore  in- 
terested in,  and  acquainted  with,  God's 
great  out-of-doors;  but  in  order  to  do  this 
it  is  net  necessary  to  turn  our  public 
schools  into  agricultural  colleges;  they 
ape  too  much  after  the  college  as  it  is.  A 
wholesome  and  sympathetic  studv  of  na- 
ture as  suggested  by  Professor  Schniucker's 
"The  Study  of  Nature"  will  do  a  great  deal 
toward  arousing  an  interest  in  the  outside 
world. 

The  book  is  splendidly  outlined;  it  is 
divided  into  three  parts:  Principles  of 
Teaching;  Methods  of  Culture;  Methods  of 
Instruction.  There  is  also  an  A.ppendix 
with  a  most  valuable  list  of  books  for  sup- 
plementary reading.  It  is  a  valuable  addi- 
tion to  pedagogical  literature. 

Luther's    Epistle    Sermons    for  Advent  and 
Christmas,    translated    into    English    by 
Professor    J.    N.    Lenker,    D.D..    author 
of    "Lutherans    in    all    Lands,"    transla- 
tor of  Luther's  Works,  etc.,     Bound  in 
cloth,   338   pp.,   price   $1.50   or   with   ex- 
pressage  prepaid  $1.65.     It  is  also  pub- 
lished  in   a   cheaper   form   at   50   cents. 
Address    The   Luther     Press,     Box    253. 
Minneapolis.   Minn. 
This    well-bound    volume   contains   twelve 
excellent    sermons    for    the     part     of     the 
church  year  from   the  first   Sunday   in  Ad- 
vent    to    Epiphany,     including    three    ser- 
mons for  Christmas  and  one  each  for  New- 
Year's,     St.    Stephen's    and    St.  John 's   days. 
The    reading    of   the   volume    is   both    inter- 
esting   and    edifying,    more    like    a    modern 
book    than    sermons    preached    nearly    four 
hundred  years   ago. 

It  is  better  to  study  the  books  Luther 
wrote,  than  those  others  have  written  of 
his  life  and  work.  "It  is  remarkable  how  he 
treats  the  problems  which  perplex  thought- 
ful men  of  our  day,  covering  almost  every 
phase  of  religious,  moral  and  social  con- 
ditions." Read  this  and  others  of  his  most 
popular   books    and   "judge   for   yourself." 

Luther  on  "Christian  Education"  was 
translated  by  Dr.  Lenker  and  lately  pub- 
lished. To  be  had  at  above  address  at 
same   price. 

Rev.  Di-.  Lenker  is  a  Pennsylvania-Ger- 
man by  birth  and  education.  With  the  as- 
sistance of  others  he  has  already  trans- 
lated and  published  a  considerable  portion 
of  the  110  volumes  written  by  the  Re- 
former, Martin  Luther.  It  is  expected  that 
all  will  be  translated  and  i)ublished  in 
English.  .1.  A.  S. 


Vol.  X 


MAY,  1909 


No.  5 


A  FEW  WORDS 

ABOUT 

THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


HE     locating   of   the   publi- 
cation     office     of     this 
magazine  at  Lititz  afifords 
a  convenient  excuse    and 
opportunity  for  saying  a 
few      thinp^s      respecting 
the   history    and     present 
purposes     of     the     maga- 
zine. 
The   first   number  of  THE   PENN- 
SYLVANIA-GERMAN    issued     Jan- 
uary, 1900.  by  Rev.  Dr.  P.  C.  Croll,  of 
Lebanon,       Pa.,        contained        among 
others      the      following      introductory 
words. 

No  more  than  a  new-born  babe  does 
this  journal  apologize  for  its  birth.  It  is 
here  and  claims  its  right  to  be.  It  was 
born  within  the  wedlock  of  race-love  and 
the  desire  of  its  perpetuation.  It  has 
come  with  a  mind  to  stay.  It  believes 
that  it  has  an  open  field  in  which  to  grow, 
explore   and   disport  itself. 

Like  all  infants  it  cries  for  help  and 
support.  It  seeks  all  who  would  lovingly 
press  it  to  their  heart  and  promises  to 
prove  a  benefit  and  a  blessing  to  such.  It 
hopes  to  grow  into  general  favor  and 
make   itself  widely  known   and   useful. 

It  not  only  is,  but  it  exists  for  a  special 
purpose.  It  feels  that  it  has  a  distinct  life 
of   its   own   to   live.      It  therefore   comes  to 


join  the  large  journalistic  family  labeled 
with  a  special  tag.  It  wears  this  upon  its 
very  face  (cover)  and  does  not  feel  like  dy- 
ing before  its  recognized  mission  has  been 
set  forth.  It  has  a  story  to  tell  that  has 
never  yet  been  fully  or  correctly  told.  It 
has  a  treasure  to  unearth  that  has  been 
hidden  even  to  many  of  its  own  heirs.  It 
has  a  mine  of  poetic  gems  to  explore  that 
must  not  be  allowed  to  lie  in  oblivion  with 
the  passing  of  the  dialect  in  which  they 
are  couched.  It  ras  a  wealth  of  biography 
to  write  which  must  place  comparatively 
unknown  men  today  into  the  galaxy  of 
the  great  and  renowned.  It  has  broken  bits 
of  anecdote  and  sentiment  and  reminis- 
cence to  gather  as  beads  upon  a  string 
which  its  proud  descendants  of  a  plain  but 
sturdy  race  may  wear  as  a  golden  neck- 
lace in  the  presence  of  the  lords  and 
princes  of  other  race  classes.  Its  very 
name  must  declare  its  mission  to  which  it 
professes   to  hold   itself  loyal. 

SALE   OF  MAGAZINE 

Dr.  Croll  as  editor  and  publisher 
conducted  the  magazine  very  credit- 
ably and  successfully  until  October, 
1905,  when  the  sale  of  the  magazine 
was  announced  in  an  editorial  con- 
taning  the  following  words : 

With  this  issue  THE  PENNSYLVANIA- 
GERMAN  closes  its  sixth  volume.  The 
unique     journalist     infant,      born      nearly 


194 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


six  years  ago,  has  grown  well  apace  and 
is  now  quite  a  plump  and  active  little 
stripling.  Wlien  it  first  came  to  light  it 
was  a  dubious  little  foundling — a  care 
chieflj-  to  its  literary  pater,  a  surprise  and 
curiosity  to  its  blood  relatives.  But  its 
piteous  cry,  like  that  of  many  another 
hepless  babe,  sympathetically  drew  to  it- 
self a  circle  of  true  friends  and  loyal  sup- 
porters. It  was  soon  recognized  that  it 
came  of  good  blood  and  that  it  had  noble 
aspirations.  Hence  it  was  carefally  fed 
and  well  clad;  so  it  soon  shed  its  swad- 
dling clothes   and   began  to   stir  about. 

It  has  now  outgrown  its  nursery.  It 
has  grown  into  an  active  and  heaithy  boy. 
It  has  developed  an  identity  of  its  own.  Its 
life  is  distinct  and  separate  from  that  of 
its  founder.  Its  voice  has  grown  stronger 
and  more  familiar,  and  it  has  for  years 
periodically  wakened  the  slumbering 
echoes  in  many  a  valley  of  the  dear  old 
Keystone  State.  Even  beyond  the  State  of 
its  birth  the  migrating  clans  have  heard 
its  bugle  notes,  and  they  have  corce  to  its 
rescue  and  support  as  the  clans  of  bonny 
Scotland  would  answer  the  clarion  notes 
of  one  of  its  pipers  in  the  old  feudal  days. 

Inasmuch  as  the  magazine  has  thus  de- 
veloped its  own  distinct  life,  it  can  be 
treated  as  a  thing  separate  from  its 
founder  and  literary  guardian.  Whilst  it 
may  still  have  need  of  direction  and  sup- 
ervision, the  character  of  its  life  has  be- 
come fixed  and  definitely  outlined.  It  must 
live  out  its  own  peculiar  self,  no  matter  in 
whose  house  it  may  find  chance  to  dwell. 
It  may,  therefore,  be  permitted  to  wander 
from  the  home  and  paternal  tutelage  of  its 
birth,  and  in  other  hands  and  new  environ- 
ments work  out  its  peculiar  mission  and 
live   its   distinctive   life. 

It  has  accordingly  been  decided  that  in 
the  future  the  little  stripling  shall  have 
a  new  home.  It  will  go  on  its  errand  of 
light-giving,  trimmed  by  other  shears.  For 
its  periodic  voyages  over  the  literary  seas, 
its  sails  will  be  unfurled  by  other  hands. 
In  short,  after  this  issue  it  passes  into 
other  editorial  care  and  possession.  It 
cannot  be  said  that  it  was  sold,  for  the 
little  fellow  is  no  slave — but  was  free-born, 
it  must  forever  remain  as  unshackled  in  its 
mission  of  bearing  historic  light  as  is  the 
goddess  of  liberty,  perched  on  a  pedestal 
in  New  York  harbor.  Yet  for  a  considera- 
tion its  privilege  of  editorial  guidance  and 
its  property  rights  and  ownership  have 
been  transferred  and  are  henceforth  ex- 
clusively vested  in  other  hands.  On  ac- 
count of  ever  more  crowding  professional 
duties  and  occasional  reminders  of  a  de- 
cline of  nervous  vitality,  its  founder  and 
editor  has  searched  out  capable  and  loving 
hands  to  whom  it  has  been  confidently  en- 
trusted. 


We  are  happy  to  say  that  such  guard- 
ians have  been  found  in  the  persons  of 
Messrs.  H.  A.  Schuler,  of  Allentown  and 
H.  W.  Kriebel,  of  East  Greenville,  Fa.,  both 
educated,  intelligent  and  experienced  men. 
The  former  was  for  many  years  associated 
with  a  progressive  newspaper  of  his  city, 
while  the  latter  has  been  a  founder,  trus- 
tee and  teacher  of  Perkiomen  Seminary,  a 
school  of  no  mean  reputation.  Both  are 
writers  upon  Pennsylvania-German  sub- 
jects. Being  country  bred  they  know  the 
genuine  flavor  of  its  folklore,  life  and 
spirit,  and  being  educated  and  clever  ob- 
servers, they  have  grasped  the  scope  of  its 
life  as  it  is  yet  to  be  largely  unfolded  in 
literature. 

NEW  PLANS 

The  new  proprietors  announced 
their  plans  and  hopes  as  follows: 

Our  aim  will  be  to  move  forward  along 
the  lines  laid  down  by  the  founder  of  this 
magazine,  gradually  developing  new  feat- 
ures in  essential  harmony  with  its  main 
ideals  and  doing  this  by  giving  all  our 
time  and  thought  to  the  work.  Our  chief 
purpose  will  not  be  to  offer  cheap,  ridicul- 
ous poetry  in  the  vernacular,  nor  to  dole 
out  perfunctory  praise  of  individuals,  nor 
to  attempt  a  mere  description  of  Pennsyl- 
vania-German life,  either  past  or  present, 
nor  to  disparage  any  class  of  our  citizens, 
but  to  undertake  and  continue  the  thorough 
study  of  the  lives,  the  work  and  the  char- 
acteristics of  that  large,  sturdy  and  long 
continued  stream  of  German  immigrants 
which  began  at  the  very  founding  of  the 
State.  In  the  next  place  we  wish  to  en- 
courage a  closer  study  of  the  environ- 
ments of  these  people,  as  a  background  to 
the  picture  we  would  paint  or  the  mosaic 
we  would  piece  together.  We  shall  look 
for  the  hearty  co-operation  of  our  readers 
to  this  end  and  will  welcome  whatever 
suggestions  they  may  make  for  improving 
our  magazine. 

Right  here  let  us  say  that  we  have  no 
hobby  to  ride,  no  fads  to  parade,  no  creeds 
to  air,  no  ax  to  grind,  no  place  to  boom, 
no  vengeance  to  wreak,  no  idols  to  smash. 
Only  this:  We  honor,  admire  and  thor- 
oughly believe  in  the  Pennsylvania-Ger- 
mans; we  are  poud  to  be  of  their  kith  and 
kin;  we  wish  to  do  them  a  useful  service 
and  thereby  make  an  honest  living  for  our- 
selves. We  want  all  Pennsylvania-Ger- 
mans and  their  friends  to  read  our  maga- 
zine and  shall  strive  to  respond  to  the 
tastes,  wishes  and  wants  of  our  readers. 

^\^ith  the  issue  for  September  22, 
1906,  the  magazine  was  made  a 
monthly.  The  next  issue  contained 
the  following-  "Important  Notice." 


A  FEW  WORDS  ABOUT  THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


195 


Due  notice  is  hereby  given  that  the  part- 
nership heretofore  existing  between  H.  W. 
Kriebel  and  H.  A.  Schuler  in  the  publica- 
tion of  THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 
was  dissolved  by  mutual  consent  Septem- 
ber 20,  1906.  Mr.  Kriebel  thereby  acquired 
the  sole  ownership  of  the  magazine  and 
will  continue  the  publication  thereof,  while 
Mr.  Schuler  will  continue  the  editorial 
management.  All  matters  of  business  per- 
taining to  the  magazine  must  be  settled 
■with   Mr.    Kriebel. 

Durint]^  1907  plans  were  laid  for  a 
vigorous  campaif^n  the  following 
year,  to  be  ruthlessly  disarranged  by 
the  untimely  and  lamentable  death  of 
the  editor  Mr.  H.  A.  Schuler,  Jan- 
uary, 1908.  All  editorial  and  financial 
responsibility  were  thus  suddenly 
thrust  upon  the  publisher,  contem- 
plated improvements  prevented  and 
personal  canvassing  by  the  editor  and 
publisher  made  practically  impossible 
for  want  of  time. 

"WHAT    OTHERS    SAY" 

A  circular  letter  was  sent  to  sub- 
scribers January  1909  asking  among 
others  the  following  questions:  i, 
Has  THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GER- 
MAN a  field?  2,  Has  it  won  for  itself 
a  right  to  live  and  expect  support? 

Our  readers  will  bear  with  us  if  we 
quote   a   few   words   from   the   replies : 

— Most  assuredly,  it  should  find  a  wel- 
come in  all  intelligent  families  and  serve 
as  a  history  for  the  rising  generation  and 
lind  many  of  the  young  desiring  to  read 
mine. 

THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN  has  a 
wide  field.  It  has  won  for  itself  a  right  to 
live  and  is  intensely  interesting,  instruc- 
tive   and    entertaining. 

—Undoubtedly  THE  PENNSYLVANIA- 
GERMAN  magazine  has  a  field  and  has 
Tvon  for  itself  a  place  in  it.  It  merits  a 
large    circulation. 

—THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN  is  the 
best  and  most  for  the  money  of  any  maga- 
zine in  its  class  and  certainly  deserves  the 
substantial  support  of  every  thinking  son 
and  daughter  of  our  race. 

—  feel  that  the  magazine  has  a  distinct 
field  which  it  is  filling  with  a  large  meas- 
ure of  success.  It  should  receive  the  sup- 
port of  all  interested  directly  in  Pennsyi- 
vania  history  and  through  libraries,  could 
profitably  be  made  available  to  advanced 
students  in  American  history  in  all  sec- 
tions of  the  country. 


— It  both  has  a  field  and  has  won  a 
right  to  live  and  expect  support.  It  has 
far  exceeded  my  expectations  in  every 
respect.  It  deserves  the  heartiest  support 
and   encouragement. 

—I  am  sure  there  is  a  field  for  THE 
PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN  and  that  it  has 
a  right  to  ask  for  support.  It  seems  to 
me  that  the  city  of  Philadelphia  with  its 
large  population  of  German  descent,  alone 
should  support  such  a  paper.  Or,  that  the 
cities  of  Lancaster,  Reading  and  Allen- 
town  should  do  it  without  a  subscriber 
from  anywhere  else. 
—Think  THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 
should  be  taken  in  every  Pennsylvania- 
German  family  and  tre  language  be  kept  up 
by  the  children — unless  it  is  done,  in  a  few 
years  there  will  be  no  one  left  who  knows 
the   language. 

(1)  Certainly. 

(2)  Undoubtedly. 

— Wish  you  continued  success,  and  hope 
it  may  be  a  means  of  correcting  the 
erroneous  views  concerning  our  people. 
If  only  those  who  are  most  in  need  of  it 
were   readers  of  it. 

(1)  Yes   indispensable    necessity. 

(2)  Decidedly. 

—Certainly  THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GER- 
MAN has  a  field  and  has  nobly  won  itself 
a  right  to  exist  and  I  trust  it  will  receive 
proper    support. 

—THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN  has 
a  definite  field  and  mission  and  what  is 
more,  it  is  fulfilling  its  mission.  I  has  a 
right  to  exist  and  should  receive  the  sup- 
port of  every  Pennsylvania-German  in  this 
and  other   states. 

— Of  all  the  papers  and  magazines  I  am 
getting  it  would  be  the  last  one  I  would 
drop. 

— This  paper  should  have  the  encourage- 
ment and  support  of  every  Pennsylvanian 
of  German  or  Dutch  descent. 

— In  a  sense  pioneer  work  is  still  to  be 
done  in  this  field,  that  is  as  compared  with 
the  work  accomplished  in  New  England 
and  New  York.  I  feel  that  THE  PENN- 
SYLVANIA-GERMAN will  occupy  a  posi- 
tion similar  to  the  N.  E.  Gen.  and  Bio. 
Register  and  the  N.  Y.  Record.  To  bring 
this  about  it  will  be  necessary  for  all  in- 
terested in  Pennsylvania  history  and  gen- 
ealogy to  co-operate  in  the  work. 

I  read  the  magazine  regularly,  and  am 
much  interested  in  the  historical  and  other 
general  information  it  contains,  concern- 
ing our  old  Commonwealth,  with  special 
reference  to  our  kind  of  people,  and  we 
cannot  help  but  feel  that  if  there  had 
been  strenuous  efforts  made  in  this  direc- 
tion by  former  generations,  such  as  you 
and  others   engaged  in  this  good  work  are 


196 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


now  making,  and  if  our  people  had  been 
more  self-reliant  and  determined  to  push 
to  the  fore,  that  they  would,  no  doubt, 
have  secured  a  much  greater  influence  in 
the  public  affairs  of  this  Commonwealth, 
and  more  honors  to  their  individual  mem- 
bers, even  than  they  have  heretofore  en- 
joyed   and    are    now    enjoying. 

—THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN  has 
a  prolific  field  among  the  descendants 
when  its  mission  is  properly  understood 
and  its  straightforwardness  in  all  its  con- 
tents has  won  for  itself  a  right  to  live  and 
I   bespeak  for  it  a  successful  future. 

— Would  not  be   without  it. 

That  THE  PENNSYLV..\NIA-GERMAN 
has  a  field  of  its  own,  goes  without  say- 
ing. I  have  been  a  subscriber  from  the 
beginning  and  would  be  sorry  to  give  it 
up. 

— Has  my  hearty  Amen.  I  would  not  be 
without   it  at  double   its   price. 

—THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN  is  a 
meritorious  publication  championing  the 
cause  of  a  worthy  race.  We  do  honor  to 
ourselves  by  honoring  our  forbears  though 
humble,  whose  life  this  magazine  aims  to 
perpetuate.  It  should  be  in  every  intelli- 
gent home.  It  is  clean  and  absolutely  re- 
liable. 

— I  am  pleased  with  your  magazine  both 
internally  and  externally.  I  do  not  think 
that  any  fair-minded  person  has  any  good 
reasons  to  adversely  criticise  your  publica- 
tion. On  the  other  hand  I  feel  that  it  is 
ably  edited  and  its  appearance  is  suffic- 
iently attractive  to  merit  the  support  of 
all  Pennsylvania-Germans  who  take  any 
interest   in   their    own    history. 

— I  find  your  magazine  always  interest- 
ing and  of  value,  and  I  trust  that  you  are 
meeting      with      abundant      succes ;  The 

Pennsylvania  "Dutchman"  will  some  day 
come  into  his  own  history,  song  and  story 
and  your  work  will  then  be  aprreciated 
even  more  than  it  is  now. 

—  THE  PENNSYLVANIA  -  GERMAN 
(magazine)  is  an  indispensable  production 
— a  long  felt  want  and  should  be  sup- 
ported by  every  one  of  Pennsylvania-Ger- 
man   extraction. 

— The  magazine  occupies  a  field  rich  in 
history  and  folklore,  and  I  can  bespeak  for 
it  my  best  wishes  for  its  continued  success. 

—There  is  no  doubt  that  THE  PENN- 
SYLVANIA-GERMAN has  a  large  field  and 
thrt  there  is  a  long  life  of  great  useful- 
ness before  it.  No  other  periodical  occu- 
pies this  field.  The  history  and  the  vir- 
tues of  the  Pennsylvania-Germans  have 
been  too  long  neglected.  The  magazine  is 
doing  much  to  secure  our  people  recogni- 
tion for  what  they  are  and  what  they  have 


done    and    the    large    number    of    their    de- 
scendants should  furnish  it  ample  support. 

—I  think  THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GER- 
MAN has  a  legitimate  field  although 
limited  to  a  certain  class  of  people  by  its 
necessary  distinctiveness.  Its  scope  of  ter- 
ritory, however,  is  quite  extensive  and  in- 
cludes all  places  in  which  reside  Pennsyl- 
vania-Germans and  their  descendants,  and 
as  the  number  of  that  class  of  people  is 
millions,  thousands  of  whom  are  appre- 
ciating their  ancestry,  there  seems  to  be  no 
reason  why  the  magazine  should  not  re- 
ceive a  good  support  as  it  has  surely  won 
for  itself  a  right  to  live. 

— Several  years  ago  while  in  the  Con- 
gressional Library,  Washington,  D.  C.  I 
first  saw  THE  PENNSYLV ANA-GERMAN 
and  was  so  delighted  I  subscribed  at  once. 
Since  that  time  it  has  steadily  improved 
and  I  would  not  wish  to  miss  a  copy.  I 
have  given  as  presents  yearly  subscrip- 
tions to  quite  a  number  of  my  friends  be- 
lieving your  magazine  has  a  fild  and  is  fill- 
ing it. 

PLANS   FOR   FUTURE 

Our  ambition  is  to  make  THE 
PENNSYLVANIA  -  GERMAN  by 
virtue  of  its  inherent  value  an  indis- 
]-)ensable  periodical  in  its  chosen  field. 

xAs  means  to  this  end  we  may  call 
attention  to  a  few  items : 

I.  ^^'e  have  adopted  a  standard 
phonetic  notation.  The  reader  is  re- 
fered  to  our  article  on  the  subject. 
The  dialect  is  dying  has  been  dying 
the  last  hundred  years,  in  fact  should 
have  been  dead  for  decades  according 
to  predictions  made. 

\\'hile  it  is  dying  and  is  destined  to 
become  eventually  a  dead  "dialect"  it 
is  highly  desirable  from  a  historical 
linquistic  and  social  standpc>int  to 
observe  and  record  its  finer  distinc- 
tions. What  are  the  differences  be- 
tween the  Lehigh  and  Lancaster  dia- 
lects, between  those  of  Centre  and 
Somerset  counties? 

We  w^elcome  the  submission  of 
notes  and  articles  for  publication 
bearing  on  the  history,  peculiarities, 
of  the  dialect  and  will  be  pleased  to 
have  contributors  make  tise  of  this 
notation  in  indicating  the  sound 
values  of  letters  and  words. 


A  FEW  WORDS  ABOUT  THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


197 


2.  Providing  sufficient  orders  are  re- 
ceived making-  such  a  step  feasible  we 
will  reprint  the  earlier  volumes  of  the 
magazine,  thus  making  the  acquisi- 
tion of  complete  sets  of  the  magazine 
a   possibility. 

THE  PENNSYLVANIA  ■  GER- 
]\IAN  has  already  become  a  reposi- 
tory of  valuable  data  respecting  local 
Pennsylvania  history  not  otherwise 
accessible.  \\'ith  a  widening  circle  of 
^  friends  and  interested  supporters  it 
must  continue  to  grow  in  value  as  a 
source  book  for  public  and  private 
historic    libraries. 

Some  of  the  volumes  are  out  of 
print ;  of  others  only  a  few  copies  are 
left.  Orders  for  back  numbers  have 
remained  unfilled  because  the  copies 
could  not  be  supplied.  It  is  not  at 
all  likely  that  another  republication 
will  be  attempted.  All  those  who 
desire  any  or  all  of  the  first  nine  vol- 
umes of  the  magazine  should  for- 
ward their  orders  at  once.  For  con- 
ditions see  advertising  pages.  Sub- 
scribers will  confer  a  great  favor  by 
sending  us  names  and  addresses  of  in- 
dividuals and  libraries  who  in  their 
estimation  might  be  interested  in  this 
offer. 

3.  As  time  and  means  permit  more 
space  will  be  devoted  to  Literary 
Notes,  the  work  of  Historical  Socie- 
ties, and  the  printing  of  genealogical 
data. 

We  are  led  to  refer  to  the  first  of 
these  by  the  following  communica- 
tion from  a  reader : 

Would  it  be  feasible  for  you  to  print  a 
summary  or  review  or  at  least  a  biblio- 
graphy of  all  current  articles  or  books  in 
which  the  Pennsylvania-Germans  figure? 
Every  month  there  are  one  or  more  stor- 
ies, essays  or  articles  in  the  various  maga- 
zines more  or  less  descriptive  of  "Pennsyl- 
vania-Dutch" life.  And  then  there  are  of 
course  the  occasional  novels  and  historical 
efforts.  It  would  be  worth  while  it  seems 
to  me  to  keep  your  readers  in  touch  with 
ail  this  literature. 

It  will  be  impossible  for  the  editor 
to  do  this  work  satisfactorily  alone. 
He   will   be   glad   to   avail   himself   of 


the  kind  aid  and  advice  of  subscribers 
and  invites  communication  on  the 
subject.  Let  me  know  on  what  par- 
ticular field  you   can   supply  notes. 

Unfortunately  we  have  experienced 
difficulty  in  making  arrangements  for 
the  prompt  report  of  meeting  of  local 
Historical  Societies.  The  following 
communication  will  illustrate  one 
reason  why  we  do  not  report  more 
society  proceedings : 

I  must  admit  that  as  Secretary  of  the 
Historical  Society  I  have  been  discourteous 
in  not  replying  to  the  request  for  reports 
of  our  proceedings.  As  a  fact  I  am  not 
able  to  attend  to  my  own  business  and 
have  not  time  even  to  be  secretary,  but 
seem  unable  to  escape  the  office.  I  do  not 
know  of  any  other  member  who  would  be 
likely  to  undertake  to  send  reports.  It  is 
difficult  to  get  them  to  attend  the  meetings 
and  they  are  not  active  workers  in  any 
line    of   history. 

4.  We  shall  give  our  hearty  en- 
couragement to  the  organization  of 
local  Pennsylvania  German  societies 
and  give  them  through  their  represen- 
tatives official  recognition  in  the  edi- 
torial management  of  the  magazine. 
We  believe  that  such  movement  to  be 
inaugurated  by  the  organization  of  a 
local  society  at  Reading  will  mean  a 
great  deal  in  the  study  of  the  life  of 
the  German  element  in  America.  We 
shall  be  pleased  to  hear  from  sub- 
scribers who  are  willing  to  help 
organize  societies  in  their  respective 
communities. 

5.  The  minimum  number  of  pages 
of  the  magazine  proper  per  month 
hereafter  will  be  56  instead  of  48, 
eight  pages  of  general  reading  matter 
being  substituted  for  the  supplemen- 
tal pages  of  "Genealogical  Records." 
Supplementary  pages  containing  gen- 
ealogical, family  and  church  or  other 
records  will  be  printed  only  by  special 
arrangement  with  parties  interested, 
the  conditions  of  which  will  be  cheer- 
fully given  on  application.  We  be- 
lieve that  by  this  change  we  can  serve 
our  readers  and  contributors  more 
fully  and  more  satisfactorily  than  by 
the  plan   followed  thus   far  this  year. 


198 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


We  have  been  influenced  to  take 
this  step  by  a  genealogical  student 
who  wrote  us  as  follows : 

I  take  the  liberty  of  making  a  recom- 
mendation and   a  suggestion. 

Many  persons  have  enough  family  data  to 
make  a  page  or  so  when  printed,  but  it  is 
not  enough  to  be  ready  for  pamplet  or 
book  form.  Advertise   a  price   per   page   for 

such  printing   as   a  part  of  your   advertise- 


ments in  your  magazine  for  one  issue. 
These  will  make  a  pamphlet  when  several 
pages  have  been  printed  at  different  times 
and  will  be  much  prized.  If  this  can  be 
done  I  am  quite  certain  that  it  will  prove 
to  be  the  best  feature  of  your  magazine  in 
point  of  attracting  additional  subscribers. 
We  shall  make  other  changes  from 
time  to  time  which  need  and  condi- 
tions may  seem  to  make  desirable. 


Lancaster  County  History 

By  Israel  Smith  Clare,  Lancaster,  Pa. 
AUTHOR  OF  A  SERIES  OF  WORLD  HISTORIES 


H  E  territory  comprised 
within  the  limits  of  Lan- 
caster county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, before  its  settle- 
ment by  the  whites,  was 
occupied  by  v  a  r  i  o  us 
tribes  of  Indians,  such  as 
the  Susquehannocks,  the 
Shawanese,  the  Conoys,  the  Delawares 
and  the  Nanticokes.  The  Susquehan- 
nocks were  a  powerful  tribe  at  one 
time,  and  the  last  remnant  of  the 
tribe  was  called  Mingoes,  or  Cones- 
togas,  whose  home  was  at  Indian- 
town,  in  the  present  Manor  tov/nship, 
which  was  destroyed  by  the  Paxton 
Boys  in  1763,  when  the  Conestogas 
were  massacred  at  Indiantown  and  in 
the  jail  at  Lancaster.  The  Shawanese 
were  a  warlike,  treacherous  and  rov- 
ing tribe,  who  migrated  from  the 
South  and  settled  at  Pequahan,  or 
Pequea,  at  the  mouth  of  Pequea 
creek,  early  in  the  eighteenth  century, 
and  remained  there  for  half  a  century, 
after  which  they  migrated  to  the 
West. 

The  territory  of  the  present  Lan- 
caster county  was  visited  by  whites 
who  traded  with  the  Indians,  such  as 
the  French  Canadians,  Martin  Char- 
tiere  and  his  son  Pierre  Chartiere, 
Pierre  Bizallon,  Jacques  LeTort  and 
Isaac  Miranda ;  the  English  Quakers, 
Edmund  Cartlidge  and  his  brother 
John  Cartlidge,  John  Harris,  James 
Harris,  Robert  Wilkins,  William  Wil- 
kins,  Thomas  Wilkins,  sr.,  Thomas 
Wilkins,  jr.,  John  Wilkins,  Peter  Wil- 


kins, Colonel  John  Gibson,  Colonel 
George  Gibson,  Barnabas  Hughes, 
Gordon  Howard,  Samuel  Smith, 
Jonas  Davenport,  Peter  Allen,  Henry 
Bealy,  John  Burt,  John  Boggs,  Moses 
Combs  and  Simon  Girty;  and  the 
Scotch-Irishman,  James  Patterson, 
Lazarus  Lowry,  John  Lowry,  James 
Lowry,  Daniel  Lowry,  Alexander 
Lowry,  James  Galbraith  and  his  son 
John  Galbraith,  James  Hamilton,  John 
Kennedy,  Dennis  Sullivan  and  Joseph 
Simons. 

FIRST    SETTLERS 

Lancaster  county  was  originally  a 
part  of  Chester  county,  and  the  ear- 
liest white  settlers  were  Swiss  Men- 
nonites,  French  Huguenots,  Scotch- 
Irish,  Presbyterians,  Welsh  Episco- 
palians and  English  Quakers.  The 
two  original  townships  were  Cones- 
toga,  formed  in  1712,  and  Donegal, 
formed  in   1722. 

The  Swiss  and  German  Mennonites 
came  as  early  as  1709,  and  settled  in 
the  Pequea  valley  and  on  the  site  and 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  present  city  of 
Lancaster,  having  been  driven  to  mi- 
gration in  America  by  horrible  relig- 
ious persecution  in  Switzerland  and 
in  that  part  of  western  Germany 
known  as  the  Palatinate  of  the 
Rhine,  for  which  reason  they  were 
called  Palatinates.  This  first  Swiss 
and  German  Mennonite  setclement 
was  made  in  1709,  near  Willow  Street 
where  the  Herrs  and  Mylins  now  re- 
side.   These  early  settlers  were  Hans 


LANCASTER  COUNTY  HISTORY 


199 


Herr  and  his  five  sons,  Hans  Mylin 
and  his  sons  Martin  and  Hans,  Hans 
Rudolph  Bundley,  Martin  Kendig, 
Jacob  Miller,  Martin  Oberholtzer, 
Michael  Oberholtzer,  Hans  Funk, 
Wendel  Bowman,  Henrich  Shank,  Ul- 
rich  Brackbill,  George  Suavely,  Chris- 
tian Musser,  Hans  Jacob  Hoover, 
Samuel  Hess,  Samuel  Boyer.  Chris- 
tian Stover,  Henrich  Zimmerman  or 
Carpenter,  Christopher  Franciscus, 
Amos  Strettle,  Jacob  Miller,  Peter 
Yordea,  Hans  Tschantz,  Heinrich 
Funk,  Hans  Houser,  Hans  Bachman, 
Jacob  Weber  Benedictus  Venrich, 
Christopher  Schlegel,  Guldin  and 
others.  Hans  Herr  had  five  sons, 
three  of  whom  settled  in  what  is  now 
A\'est  Lampeter  township  and  two  in 
what  is  now  ]\Ianor  tonship.  The 
Herrs  of  West  Lampeter,  Strasburg 
Manor  and  other  townships  are  their 
descendants. 

In  1715,  1716,  1717  and  171^  Bene- 
dictus V^enerick,  Hans  Mayer,  Hans 
Kaigy,  Christian  Hershey,  Hans 
Graaf,  Hans  Brubacker,  Alichael 
Shank,  Heinrich  Bare,  Peter  Leaman 
Melchior  Brenneman,  Henrich  Funk, 
Hans  Faber,  Isaac  Kauffman,  Mel- 
chior Erisman,  Michael  Miller,  Jacob 
Landis,  Jacob  Boehm,Theodorus  Eby, 
Bendictus  Witmer,  the  brothers 
Francis  Xefif  and  Hans  Heinrich  Neff, 
Sigismund  Laudart,  Christian  Steh- 
man,  Joseph  Stehman  and  others  set- 
tled along  the  Conestoga  and  its  vi- 
cinity in  what  became  Lancaster, 
Conestoga,  Manor  and  H'empfield 
townships. 

Among  the  French  families  of  the 
Lefevres  and  the  Ferrees  in  the  Pe- 
quea  valley  east  of  the  other  Swiss 
and  German  settlements  were  some 
German  and  Swiss  settlers,  such  as 
the  Schleiermachers  or  Slaymakers, 
the  Zimmermans  or  Carpenters,  the 
Witmers,  the  Lightners,  the  Eshle- 
mans,  the  Herrs,  the  Hersheys,  the 
Esben shades,  the  Baers.  the  Grafs  or 
GrofTs,  the  Koenigs,  the  Keneagys, 
the  Denlingers,  the  Becks,  the  Beck- 
ers, th  Sanders  or  Souders,  the  Reams 


and  others.  Matthias  Schleierrnacher 
(afterwards  Anglicized  as  Slaymaker) 
and  Heinrich  Zimmerman  (after- 
wards Anglicized  as  Carpenter)  were 
prominent   men. 

In  1718  the  Conestoga  Manor — af- 
terward Manor  township  —  was  sur- 
veyed for  the  use  of  the  Penn  family 
and  was  afterward  granted  to  Swiss 
and  German  Mennonite  settleis,  such 
as  the  Herrs,  the  Bachmans,  the 
Kauffmans,  the  Witmers,  the  Wiss- 
lers,  the  Eshlemans,  the  Kendigs,  the 
Stoners,  the  Mayers,  the  Stehmans, 
the  Newcomers,  the  Killaves,  the 
Millers,  the  Charleses,  the  Shanks,  the 
Hostetters,  the  Staufifers,  the  Landises 
the  Hersheys,  the  Oberholtzers,  the 
Lintners,  the  Zieglers,  the  Funks  and 
others.  The  principal  English  land- 
owners in  the  Conestoga  Man^r  were 
the  Wrights,  who  had  fifteen  hundred 
acres,  and  John  Cartlidge,  who  had  a 
large  tract  about  a  mile  northeast  of 
the  present  Safe  Harbor.  James 
Logan,  a  Scotch-Irishman,  and  at  one 
time  Governor  of  Pennsylvania, 
owned  a  large  tract  a  little  north  of 
the  present  Safe  Harbor.  James  Pat- 
terson, another  Scotch  -  Irishman, 
owned  a  tract  east  of  the  site  of  Wash- 
ington Borough.  The  Conestoga  In- 
diantown  was  granted  four  hundred 
acres  of  land,  and  Blue  Rock  com- 
prised eight  hundred  acres.  The  Ger- 
man families  of  Shuman  and  Manor 
settled  east  of  the  site  of  Washing- 
ton Borough  about  1772. 

In  the  vicinity  of  the  site  of  Colum- 
bia were  such  German  and  Swiss  set- 
tlers as  the  Tarrys,  the  Garbcrs,  the 
Stricklers,  the  Stehmans.  the  Kauff- 
mans. the  Herrs,  the  Rupleys  and 
others. 

In  1718  Hans  Graaf,  in  search  of  his 
runaway  horse  found  a  beautiful 
spring  some  miles  north  of  his  Pequea 
settlement,  to  which  he  removed  with 
his  family,  where  he  founded  a  new 
settlement  called  Graaf's  Thai,  or 
Grofif's  Dale.  His  descendants  have 
become  numerous  throughout  Lan- 
caster county,   and   the   name   lias   un- 


200 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


dergone  various  chancres,  such  as 
Groff,  Grove,  Graeff,  etc.  One  of  his 
six  sons  was  called  Graaf  der  Jaeger 
(the  hunter).  When  the  first  town- 
ships of  Lancaster  county  were 
formed  the  township  in  which  Hans 
Graaf  lived  was  called  Earl,  as  Earl 
is  the  English  word  for  Graaf.  In 
1719  Mr.  Wenger,  a  Swiss,  became 
one  of  Hans  Graaf's  neighbors,  and 
his  descendants  are  very  numerous  in 
Lancaster  county. 

In  1719  or  1720  some  Germans  who 
belonged  to  the  new  religious  sect  of 
the  Dunkers,  or  Tunkers,  First  Day 
German  Baptists,  founded  in  Germany 
in  1708  by  Alexander  Mack,  of 
Shreisheim,  in  the  Palatinate,  who, 
like  the  Mennonites,  were  very  simple 
in  their  dress  and  habits,  and  adverse 
to  others,  to  military  service  and  the 
use  of  law.  and  who  were  consequently 
severely  persecuted,  settled  at  Ger- 
mantown.  at  Oley  and  Shippack,  near 
the  Schuylkill,  and  along  the  Pequea 
and  Cocalico  creek,  in  the  present 
Lancaster  county.  Among  the  early 
German  settlers  along  the  Cocalico 
creek  were  Conrad  Beissel,  Joseph 
Schaeffer,  Hans  Mayer,  Heinrich 
Hoehn  and  several  Landises.  In  1729 
Alexander  Mack,  the  founder  of  the 
sect,  himself  settled  at  Muelbach,  or 
Mill  Creek,  on  the  Cocalico. 

In  1723  a  number  of  German  set- 
tlers belonging  to  the  Lutheran  and 
German  Reformed  Churches,  who  had 
been  living  in  Schoharie  county.  New 
York,  emigrated  to  Pennsylvania  and 
located  on  the  Swatara  and  Tulpe- 
hocken  creeks,  in  what  is  now  Dau- 
phin, Lebanon  and  Berks  counties 
and  among  these  were  the  Weisers, 
ancestors  of  the   Muhlenbergs. 

In  1723  or  1724  Everhard  Ream,  a 
German,  founded  Reamstown.  Other 
German  settlers  there  were  Bucher, 
Huber,  Keller,  Leader,  Schwarz- 
walder,  Schneider,  Killian,  Dock, 
Forney,  Rupp,  Balmer,  May,  Mayer, 
Hahn,  Ressler,  Beyer,  Leed,  Schlott, 
Graaf,  Wolf,  Feirerstein,  Weidman 
and  others. 


In  1723  or  1724  some  German  and 
Swiss  Mennonites  settled  in  the  re- 
gion of  the  present  East  Earl  town- 
ship, the  settlement  being  called 
Weber  Thai,  or  Weaver  Land,  from 
the  Webers,  or  Weavers.  The  chief 
settlers  were  Jacob  Weber,  Heinrich 
Weber,  George  Weber,  Hans  Good, 
the  Martins,  the  Millers,  the  Ruths,  the 
Zimmermans,  the  Schnaders. 

EPHRATA 

Among  the  Dunkers,  or  German 
Baptists  who  settled  at  Muelbach,  or 
Mill  Creek,  on  the  Cocalico  creek,  in 
1720  or  1721  was  Conrad  Beissel,  who 
soon  separated  from  the  sect  because 
he  believed  the  seventh  day  of  the 
week  (Saturday)  to  be  the  true  Sab- 
bath instead  of  the  first  day  (Sunday), 
and  who  in  1725  retired  from  the 
Muelbach  settlement,  and  for  some 
time  lived  like  a  hermit  in  a  cell  on 
the  banks  of  the  Cocalico.  When  his 
abode  became  known  others  settled 
around  him  and  adopted  his  views, 
thus  giving  rise  to  the  religious 
society  of  the  Sieben  Taeger,  or 
Seventh  Day  Baptists ;  and  the  set- 
tlement thus  established  in  1725  or 
1726  was  known  as  Ephrata,  or  Klos- 
ter,  or  Dunkertown,  the  last  name 
being  a  nickname  of  the  German  word 
Dunker,  or  Tunker,  a  corruption  of 
the  German  word  Taeufer  meaning 
Baptists.  The  society  adopted  a 
monastic  life  in  1732,  the  members 
living  like  the  monks  and  nuns  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  the  monks 
in  a  Brothers'  House  and  the  nuns  in 
a  Sisters'  House.  The  Kedar  meeting- 
house and  the  convent  Zion  were 
erected  on  a  hill  called  Mount  Zion. 
The  society  had  a  paper-mill,  a  print- 
ing house,  a  school-house,  a  bake- 
house- and  other  buildings,  one  of 
which  had  a  town-clock.  The  sisters* 
rooms  were  decorated  with  ink-paint- 
ings with  Scriptural  texts  in  orna- 
mented Gothic  letters  called  in  Ger- 
man, Fractur  Schriften.  Bissel's 
successor  as  Father  was  Peter  Miller. 
In     1739    Ludwig    Hoecker    came    to 


LANCASTER    COUNTY    HISTORY 


201 


Ephrata  from  Germany  and  was  ap- 
pointed teacher  of  the  common  school. 
He  afterward  opened  there  the  first 
Sabbath-School  in  the  world ;  though 
not  the  first  Sunday-school.  Religious 
books,  such  as  Fox's  Book  of  Martyrs 
and  other  works  were  printed  there. 
This  community  flourished  for  half  a 
century,  but  nothing  now  remains  of 
its  past  existence  except  crumbling 
walls  and  curious  pieces  of  workman- 
ship. Ephrata  afterward  became  noted 
as  a  summer  resort  and  its  mountain 
springs  became  celebrated. 

In  1727  about  a  thousand  Swiss  and 
Palatine  Mennonites  came  to  what  is 
now  Lancaster  county,  among  them 
being  the  Dififenderfers,  the  Eckmans, 
the  Eckerts,  the  Bowmans,  the  Eb- 
erlys,  the  Zugs,  the  Schultzes,  the 
Funks,  the  Frantzes,  the  Mayers  and 
others.  Alexander  Dififenderfer  set- 
tled in  Oley,  now  in  Berks  county. 
His  brother,  John  DifTenderfer,  settled 
at  what  is  now  New  Holland.  John's 
grandsons,  David  Diifenderfer  and 
Jacob  Diffenderfer,  were  Revolution- 
ary soldiers.  Other  German  settlers 
there  were  the  Rancks,  the  Bacherts, 
the  Becks,  the  Mayers,  the  Brim- 
mers, the  Kochs,  the  Hinkels,  the 
Schneiders,  the  Segers,  the  Siehleys, 
the  Brubachers,  the  Meixels,  the  Dil- 
lers,  etc. 

OLD    FAMILY    NAMES 

Among  the  Swiss  and  German  set- 
tlers who  came  here  before  1735  and 
whose  descendants  are  now  numerous 
in  Lancaster  county  are  such  names 
as  Herr,  Hess,  Harnish,  Hershey, 
Hiestand,  Landis,  Mylin,  Brubacher 
or  Brubaker,  Brenneman,  Witmer, 
Kindig  or  Kendig,  Stoner,  Hochstet- 
ter  or  Hostetter,  Zimmerman  or  Car- 
penter, Kreider  or  Greider,  Eckman, 
Eckert,  Ellmaker,  Schleiermacher  or 
Slaymaker,  Becker  or  Baker,  Beck, 
Bachman  or  Baughman,  Killhaven  or 
Killhcffer,  SchaefTer  or  Sheaflfer,  Wen- 
-ger,  DifTenderfer,  Graaf  or  GraefT  or 
Grove,  Musser,  Musselman,  Weaver 
or  Weber,  Good  or  Guth,  Eshleman  or 
Eshelman,      KaufTman,       Hoover      or 


Iluber,  Royer,  Boyer,  Bare  or  Bair  or 
Bear  or  Baer,  Bauman  or  Bowman, 
Oberholzer  or  Oberholtzer,  Garber  or 
Gerber,  Nissley,  Bassler,  Burkholder, 
Shank  or  Shenk,  Weidler,  Weidman, 
Suavely,  Hofifman,  Forney,  Ritter, 
Risser,  Eberly,  Gochenaur,  Stambach, 
Bomberger,  Umberger,  Burkhardt, 
Shififer,  Reist,  Sensenig,  Seldomridge, 
Sherrick  or  Shirk,  Keyser  or  Kaiser, 
Swope,  DitTcnbach  or  Dififeubaugh, 
Westhaver  or  WesthaefTer,  Sauder  or 
Souder,  Shissler,  Rohrer,  StaufTer, 
Erb,  Eby  or  Eaby,  Erisman  or  Ehris- 
man.  Brandt,  Ream,  Leaman  or  Leh- 
man, Shultz  or  Schulz,  Hauser  or 
Houser,  Muller  or  Miller,  Buckwalter, 
Mayer  or  Meyer  or  Moyer  or  Myers, 
Funk.  Newcomer,  Rathvon  or  Rath- 
fon,  Longenecker,  Niefif  or  NefT;  Bren- 
ner, Minnich,  Reinhardt,  Ehrhardt, 
Esbenshade,  Bushong,  Stehman,  Den- 
linger,  Dellinger,  Mellinger,  Schneider 
or  Snyder,  Schnader  or  Snader,  Her- 
man, Lichty  or  Light,  Frantz,  Brack- 
bill   and   many  others. 

DIFFERENT    NATIONALITIES 
REPRESENTED 

The  territory  between  the  Big 
Chickies  creek  and  the  Susquehanna 
river  was  settled  by  the  Scotch-Irish 
about  1715,  with  such  family  names  as 
Semple,  Mitchell,  Patterson,  Speer, 
Henderson,  Hendricks,  Galbraith, 
Anderson,  Scott,  Lowry,  Pedam,  Por- 
ter, Sterritt,  Kerr,Work,  Lytle,White- 
hill,  Campbell,  McClure,  etc.  In  1722 
diis  territory  was  erected  into  a  new 
township  called  Donegal  as  most  of 
these  settlers  come  from  county  Done- 
gal,-Ireland.  Some  of  the  descen- 
dants of  these  Scotch-Irish  settlers 
still  own  the  first  possessions  of  their 
ancestors. 

In  1717  English  Quakers  and 
Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians  settled 
along  Octoraro  creek,  among  whom 
were  William  Grimson,  the  Cooksons, 
the  Jervises,  the  Irwins  and  the 
Mays.  Some  years  later  came  the 
Pattersons,  the  Darbys,  the  Leonards, 
the  Joneses,  the  Steeles,  the  Matthews 


202 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


the  Cowens,  the  Murrays,  the  Millers, 
the  Allisons,  the  Mitchells  and  others. 

Septimius  Robinson  and  John  ]\Ius- 
grove,  English  settlers  were  among 
the  Swiss  Mennonite  settlers  in  the 
Pequea  valley.  The  Quaker  English 
brothers  John  and  Edmund  Cartlidge 
and  David  Jones,  a  Weshman,  located 
on  the  Conestoga,  near  the  mouth  of 
the  creek.  In  1715  English  and 
Welsh  settlers,  such  as  Peter  Bellas, 
Daniel  Harman,  William  Evans  and 
James  Smith  located  around  Smoke- 
town,  in  what  is  now  East  Lampeter 
township.  In  1716  Richard  Carter,  an 
Englishman,  settled  between  the  Con- 
estoga and  Pequea  creeks,  near  the 
Susquehanna.  He  afterward  settled  in 
what  is  now  Warwick  township.  In 
1716  other  English  settlers.  Alex- 
ander Bews,  Anthony  Bretter  and 
John  Gardiner,  settled  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Conestoga,  near  its  mouth. 
In  171 7  Joseph  Cloud,  another  Eng- 
lishman, located  near  the  Pequea.  In 
1719  Jenkin  Davis,  a  Welshman,  set- 
tled on  a  branch  of  the  Conestoga 
and  George  Stewart,  a  Scotch-Irish^ 
man,    located   near   the   Susquehanna. 

In  1714,  Alexander  Ross,  an  Eng- 
lishman, located  on  the  Little  Cono- 
wingo  creek ;  and  in  1717  Edward 
Sleadwell,  another  Englishman,  set- 
tled on  the  Octoraro  creek,  in  the  pres- 
ent Little  britain  township.  A  Mary- 
land grant  was  made  to  Mary  Graham 
a  Scotch-Irish  woman,  in  the  territory 
of  the  same  township  in  171 5.  Large 
tracts  were  granted  by  Maryland  to 
Emanuel  Grubb,  a  Welshman^  in  1716 
and  1720,  and  one  to  Thomas  Jacobs, 
another  Welshman,  in  the  same  town- 
ship in   1720. 

In  1682  a  number  of  Welsh  Episco- 
palians settled  west  of  the  Schuylkill, 
among  whom  was  Thomas  Owen.  In 
1686  Rowland  Ellis  and  one  hundred 
other  Welsh  settlers  came.  In  1698 
other  Welsh  emigrants  arrived,  among 
whom  were  William  Jones,  Robert 
Jones,  Robert  Evans,  Thomas  Evans, 
Owen  Evans,  Cadwallader  Evans, 
Hugh    Griffith,    John    Humphrey    and 


Edward  Foulke.  In  1723  another 
Welsh  settlement  was  made  in  the 
Welsh  Mountain  region  by  the 
Davises,  the  Evanses,  the  Douglases, 
the  Hendersons,  the  Morgans,  the  Jen- 
kinses, the  Edwards,  the  Robinets, 
the  Fords,  the  Fobets,  the  Lardners, 
the  Billingses  and  the  Sprengers.  The 
Welsh  also  settled  along  Allegheny 
creek,  a  branch  of  the  Tulpehocken. 

Hazard's  Register  states  the  follow- 
ing: "Kurtz,  it  is  supposed,  estab- 
lished the  first  Iron  Works  in  1726, 
within  the  present  bounds  of  T^ancas- 
ter  county.  The  Grubbs  were  distin- 
guished for  their  industry  and  enter- 
prise. They  commenced  operations  in 
1728." 

John  Hains,  the  Quaker  English- 
man, a  native  of  Yorkshire,  England, 
located  at  Paxton,  or  Paxtang,  the  site 
of  HarrisbuFg,  about  1705.  He  was  an 
Indian  trader,  and  was  once  captured 
by  some  drunken  Indians,  who  tied 
him  to  a  mulberry  tree  and  threatened 
to  burn  him  alive  because  he  refused 
to  sell  them  more  rum,  but  he  was  re- 
leased by  some  friendly  Indians  who 
came  to  his  rescue.  He  died  in  1748, 
and,  at  his  request,  was  buried  under 
the  shade  of  that  mulberry  tree,  in 
the  family  graveyard.  His  son,  John 
Harris,  the  first  white  child  born 
west  of  the  Conewago  hills  and  a  col- 
onel in  the  American  Revolutionary 
army,   founded   Harrisburg   in    1785. 

The  site  of  Lancaster  was  first  set- 
tled by  Colonel  George  Gibson,  an 
Englishman  and  an  Indian  trader, 
who  established  a  tavern  on  the  site  o 
the  First  National  Bank,  on  East 
King  street,  as  early  as  1721  or  1722. 
According  to  tradition  the  Indian  vil- 
lage of  Hickory  Town  stood  on  the 
site,  there  being  a  hickory  tree  in  the 
center  of  the  village,  near  a  spring. 

In  1727  three  Quaker  Englishmen — 
John  Wright,  Robert  Barktr  and 
Samuel  Blunston — settled  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Susquehanna,  south  of 
Chickies  Hill,  which  was  the  begin- 
ning of  the  present  town  of  Colum- 
bia. John  Wright  was  the  founder  of 
Columbia    and    of    Lancaster    county. 


LANCASTER    COUNTY    HISTORY 


20a 


His  descendants  have  since  resided  in 
Columbia ;  and  Wrightsville  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river,  is  named 
after  this  family.  Wright,  Barber  and 
Blunston  were  active,  enterprising  and 
useful  citizens,  and  their  names  are  in- 
timately associated  with  the  early  his- 
tory of  Lancaster  county.  Tlie  Pat- 
tons  and  other  Scotch-Irish  soon  set- 
tled in  that  locality,  as  did  such  Ger- 
man and  Swiss  families  as  the  Forrys, 
the  Garbers,  the  Stricklers,  the  Steli- 
mans,  the  Kauffmans,  the  Herrs,  the 
Rupleys  and  others. 

When  Lancaster  county  was  erected 
in  1729,  there  were  one  thousand 
Quaker  families  settled  within  its 
limits,  their  settlements  extending 
from  the  Octoraro  to  the  Susque- 
hanna. 

The  French  Huguenot  families  of 
the  Ferrees  and  the  Lefevres  settled 
in  what  is  now  Leacock  and  Paradise 
townships,  and  their  descendai-ts  have 
since  spread  to  various  parts  of  Lan- 
caster county,  of  Pennsylvania  and 
the  United  States.  From  the  marriage 
of  Isaac  Lefevre  with  Catharine  Fer- 
ree  have  sprung  all  the  Lefevres  in 
America.  The  French  Canadians, 
jMartin  Chartiere,  and  his  son  and 
heir  Pierre  Chartiere,  Pierre  F)izaillon 
and  Jacques  Le  Tort  had  resided 
among  the  Indians  as  traders  some 
years  before  the  settlement  of  Lancas- 
ter county  and  the  Chartiers  and  Le 
Tort  held  lands  in  what  is  now  Manor 
township,  and  Bizaellon  at  Paxtang, 
the  site  of  Harrisburg. 

In  the  meantime  squatters  had 
located  west  of  the  Susquehanna,  in 
what  is  now  York  county ;  and  John 
Grist,  one  of  these,  was  involved  in 
trouble  with  the  Indians,  and  was  fi- 
nally forced  to  remove  by  the  prov- 
incial authorities  at  Philadelphia,  on 
complaint  of  the  Indians. 

FORMATION  OF  COUNTY 

In  February,  1729,  Governor  Pat- 
rick Gordon  and  his  Council  granted 
a  petition  of  the  Chester  county  set- 
tlers   of    Octoraro    creek    for    a    new 


county,  and  appointed  a  commission 
of  twelve  prominent  men,  consisting 
of  Henry  Hayes,  Samuel  Nutt,  Sam- 
uel Ilollings  worth,  Philip  Taylor, 
Elisha  Gatchell  and  James  James, 
from  what  is  now  Chester  county, 
and  John  Wright,  Tobias  Hendricks, 
Samuel  Blunston,  Andrew  Cornish, 
Thomas  Edwards  and  John  Mus- 
grove,  from  what  is  now  Lancaster 
county,  to  meet  John  Taylor,  the 
public  surveyor  of  Chester  county,  to 
survey  and  mark  the  boundary  line 
between  Chester  county  and  the  pro- 
posed new  county.  In  May,  1729,  this 
commission  reported  to  the  Governor 
and  his  Council.  The  Governor  sub- 
mitted the  report  to  the  Assembly  of 
the  province;  and  on  May  10,  1729, 
the  Assembly  passed  an  act  erecting 
all  that  part  of  Chester  coimty  west 
of  the  Octoraro  creek  and  north  and 
west  of  a  line  of  marked  trees,  from 
the  north  branch  of  the  said  Octoraro 
creek,  northwesterly  to  the  Schuyl- 
kill river,  into  a  new  county  to  be 
named  Lancaster  county,  so  named 
by  the  Quaker  John  Wright,  after  his 
native  county,  Lancaster,  or  Lan- 
cashire, in  England,  who  had  re- 
moved from  Chester  in  1726  and  set- 
tled along  the  Susquehanna  on  the 
site  of  Columbia. 

Lancaster  county  was  the  first 
county  of  Pennsylvania  formed  after 
Philadelphia,  Bucks  and  Chester 
counties,  the  first  three  original  coun- 
ties within  the  present  limits  of  the 
State.  For     twenty     years      (1729- 

1749)  Lancaster  county  embraced  all 
of  Pennsylvania  north  and  west  of 
Chester  county.  It  was  gradually  re- 
duced to  its  present  size  by  the  erec- 
tion of  York  county  in  1749,  Cumber- 
land county  in  1750,  Berks  county  in 
1752,  Northampton  county  in  1772, 
Dauphin  county  in  1785  and  Lebanon 
county  in  1813. 

A  public  meeting  of  the  leading 
citizens  of  the  new  county,  at  John 
Postlethwait's  tavern,  the  site  of  the 
old  homestead  of  the  Fehls,  in  Cones- 
toga      township,        near        Conestoga 


204 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


M^' 


creek,  June  9,  1729,  agreed  on  the 
names  and  boundaries  of  the  town- 
ships of  the  county ;  and  a  magistrates' 
court  at  the  same  place  confirmed  the 
report  of  the  citizens'  public  meeting, 
August  5,  1729. 

Of  the  seventeen  original  town- 
ships Derry  and  Peshtank  (now  Pax- 
ton)  are  in  the  present  Lebanon 
county.  The  fourteen  original  town- 
ships within  the  present  limits  of 
Lancaster  county  were  Caernarvon, 
Salisbury,  Sadsbury,  Drumore,  Mar- 
tic,  Conestoga,  Hempfield,  Donegal, 
Warwick,  Earl,  Leacock,  Lampeter, 
Manheim  and  Lancaster.  Co.iestoga 
and  Donegal  had  been  townships  of 
Chester  county  before  the  formation 
of  Lancaster  county.  Most  of  these 
townships  have  since  been  divided  so 
as  to  make  forty-one  townships  for 
Lancaster  county. 

DERIVATION    OF    NAMES 

Most  of  the  townships  were  named 
after  places  which  the  settlers  came 
from  in  England,  Wales,  Ireland,  or 
Germany.  Thus  Salisbury,  Lancas- 
ter and  Warwick  were  named  after 
places  in  England,  the  last  named 
being  Richard  Carter,  who  came  from 
Warwickshire,  England.  Caernarvon 
and  Lampeter  were  named  after 
places  in  Wales.  Drumore,  Martic, 
Leacock,  Donegal  and  Derry  were 
named  after  places  in  Ireland,  Man- 
heim was  named  after  the  city  of  that 
name  in  Germany.  Earl  was  named 
after  Hans  Graaf,  being  the  German 
name  of  Earl.  Hempfield  was  so 
named  because  of  the  large  quantities 
of  hemp  raised  there.  Lebanon  was  a 
Scriptural  name.  Conestoga  and 
Peshtank  were  Indian  names,  as  was 
Cocalico,  formed  also  in  1729,  several 
months  after  the  first  seventeen 
townships,  and  being  the  Indian 
name  of  the  creek  flowing  through  it. 

LOCATION   OF  COUNTY   SEAT 

By  the  act  establishing  Lancaster 
county,  John  Wright,  Caleb  Pierce, 
James  Mitchell  and  Thomas  Edwards 


were  empowered  to  purchase  a  site 
for  the  county  court-house  and  prison. 
Three  sites  were  proposed — Wright's 
Ferry,  now  Columbia;  James  Postle- 
thwait's  place,  now  Fehl's  in  Cones- 
toga township;  and  Gibson's  place, 
the  site  of  Lancaster.  The  first  county 
courts  were  held  at  Postlethwait's 
tavern,  from  June,  1729,  to  August, 
1730;  and  a  temporary  wooden  court- 
house and  jail  were  erected  there. 
Wright,  Pierce  and  Mitchell  selected 
Gibson's  place  as  the  site  for  the 
county-seat,  and  their  report  was 
confirmed  by  the  Governor  and  his 
Council,  May  i,  1729.  A  town  was 
laid  out  there  in  1730  by  James  Ham- 
ilton, of  Philadelphia,  and  named 
Lancaster,  after  Lancaster,  England. 
The  road  from  Philadelphia  to  Harris' 
Ferry  (now  Harrisburg)  passed 
through  the  new  town. 

On  petition  of  the  grand  jury, 
magistrates  and  inhabitants  of  Lan- 
caster county,  the  Provincial  Council 
at  Philadelphia  appointed  a  commis- 
sioner of  seven  promient  men  from 
Lancaster  county  and  seven  from 
Chester  county  to  lay  out  a  public 
highway,  by  way  of  Postlethwait's  in 
Conestoga  township,  from  the  Cones- 
toga Indian  Town,  in  the  present 
Manor  township,  to  the  King's  high- 
road in  Chester  county,  leading  to 
Philadelphia.  The  viewers  made  their 
report  October  4,  1733,  and  the  Coun- 
cil confirmed  it,  and  the  road  was 
declared  the  King's  Highway  This 
is  the  road  passing  east  from  Fehl's, 
through  Strasburg  and  the  Gap,  to 
Philadelphia. 

As  Maryland  claimed  the  territory 
of  southern  Pennsylvania  as  far  north 
as  the  sites  of  Columbia  and  Wrights- 
ville,  there  were  many  border  con- 
tests between  Pennsylvania  and 
Maryland  settlers  in  what  isnow  York 
county,  Pennsylvania,  for  more  than 
thirty  years  after  1732.  The  Mary- 
land raiders  were  led  by  Colonel 
Thomas  Cresap,  and  the  contest  is 
known  as  Cresap's  War.  Marylanders 


LANCASTER    COUNTY    HISTORY 


20S 


were  captured  and  jailed  at  L-ancaster 
and  Philadelphia,  while  Pennsylvan- 
ians  were  imprisoned  at  Baltimore 
and  Annapolis,  Maryland.  In  1767 
the  border  contests  were  ended  and 
the  disputed  boundary  between  Mary- 
land and  Pennsylvania  finally  settled 
by  Mason  and  Dixon's  Line,  estab- 
lished by  Charles  Mason  and  Jere- 
miah Dixon,  surveyors  appointed  for 
the  purpose  by  the  British  govern- 
ment. 

COUNTIES    AND    TOWNSHIPS 
ESTABLISHED 

The  Quakers,  John  and  James 
Hendricks,  of  Hempfield  township, 
made  the  first  settlement  in  the  pres- 
ent York  county  in  1729.  Other  set- 
tlements were  made  west  of  the  Sus- 
(luehanna.  in  what  are  now  York, 
Adams,  Franklin,  Cumberland  and 
Perry  counties ;  and  the  townships  of 
Pennsborough  and  Hopewell,  within 
the  limits  of  the  present  Cumberland 
count)^  were  erected  by  order  of  the 
Lancaster  county  court  in  November, 
1735.  In  October,  1740,  the  town  of 
York  was  laid  out  by  Thomas  Cook- 
son,  Deputy  Surveyor  of  Lancaster 
county,  by  order  of  the  Penns.  On 
petition  of  the  settlers  west  of  the 
Susquehanna  river,  the  Governor  and 
Legislature  of  Pennsylvania  erected 
that  part  of  Lancaster  county  west  of 
the  river  into  a  new  county  called 
York,  August  19,  1749,  Cumberland 
county  was  erected  west  of  the  river, 
north  of  York,  January  27,  1750. 
Berks  county  was  erected  out  of  parts 
of  Lancaster,  Philadelphia  and  Bucks 
counties,  March   11,   1752. 

The  Lancaster  county  court  erected 
the  following  townships  east  of  the 
Susquehanna:  Hano\er  township, 
out  of  Paxton  township,  in  what  is 
now  Dauphin,  February,  1737;  Lit- 
tle Britain,  out  of  the  southern  part 
of  Drumore,  and  Colerain,  out  of  the 
southern  part  of  Sadsbury,  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1738;  Berne  township,  from 
part  of  Tulpehocken  township,  in 
what    is   now    Berks   county,    in    1738; 


Bethel  township,  from  part  of  Leba- 
non township,  in  what  is  now  Leba- 
non county,  in  1739;  Rapho,  out  of 
that  part  of  Donegal  between  the  Big 
Chickies  and  Little  Chickies  creeks, 
in  May,  1741  ;  and  Bart,  out  of  the 
western  part  of  Sadsbury,  in  Novem- 
ber, 1743.  Little  Britain  was  so 
named  because  its  early  settlers  were 
all  from  Great  Britain.  Colerain  and 
Rapho  were  named  after  the  places 
where  the  early  settlers  came  from  in 
Ireland.  Bart  is  a  contraction  of 
baronet,  and  was  so  named  from  Gov- 
ernor Sir  William  Keith,  wTio  w^as  a 
baronet.  Brecknock  township,  named 
by  its  early  Welsh  settlers  after 
Brecknock  county,  Wales,  was  in 
existence   in    1740. 

Between  1735  and  1740  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Reinholdsville  was  set- 
tled by  Germans,  such  as  Han.'-'.  Zim- 
merman, Peter'  Schumacher  and 
others.  On  May  i,  1743,  Lancaster 
was  incorporated  by  charter  as  a 
borough. 

As  there  were  frequent  disputes 
between  the  Scotch-Irish  and  the 
Germans  in  Lancaster  county,  the 
Penns  ordered  their  agents  to  sell  no 
more  land  in  York  and  Lancaster 
counties  to  the  Scotch-Irish.  Many  of 
the  Scotch-Irish  settlers  of  Paxton 
and  Donegal  townships  accepted  the 
liberal  offer  of  the  Penns  and  settled 
in  Cumberland  county.  The  Works,, 
the  Moores,  the  Bells,  the  Galbraiths, 
the  W'hitehills,  the  Silvers,  the 
Semples.  the  Sterritts,  the  Woods 
and  others — early  Scotch-Irish  set- 
tlers in  the  eastern  end  of  Cumber- 
land county — went  there  from  Done- 
gal  township. 

On  petition  of  the  inhabitants,  the 
Lancaster  county  court  erected  the 
northeastern  part  of  \\'arwick  town- 
ship into  a  new  township  called  Eliza- 
beth, from  the  furnace  of  that  name, 
in  1757.  and  the  northeastern  part  of 
Donegal  township  into  a  new  town- 
ship called  Mount  Joy.  in  1759. 
Manor  township  was  formed  of  the 
Conestoga     Manor,    which    had    hith- 


206 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


■erto  been  the  southern  part  of  Hemp- 
field  township ;  and  Strasbiirg  town- 
ship was  formed  out  of  that  part  of 
Leacock  township  south  of  Pequea 
-creek,  which  then  included  what  is 
now  Strasburg  and  Paradise  town- 
ships. 

In  1761  William  Adams  laid  out 
Adamstown ;  and  in  1762  Mr.  Doner 
laid  out  Maytown,  so  called  because 
it  was  laid  out  on  May  day.  In  1761 
John  Miller,  a  blacksmith  of  Lancas- 
ter borough,  laid  out  a  town  in  the 
northeastern  part  of  Manor  township 
•called  at  first  Millersburg,  afterwards 
Millerstown,  and  lastly  Millersville. 
This  place  has  within  the  last  half 
century  become  famous  as  the  seat  of 
the  First  Pennsylvania  State  Normal 
School,  the  largest  normal  school  in 
•the  world. 

In  T761  the  eccentric  German  baron 
Heinrich  Wilhelm  Stiegel,  laid  out  a 
town  which  he  called  Manheim,  after 
his  native  city  in  Germany.  Among 
the  first  settlers  were  the  Naumans, 
Minnichs,  Wherlys,  Kaisers,  Longs 
and  Heintzelmans.  In  the  vicinity 
were  the  Lightners,  Reists,  Hersheys, 
Hostetters,  Lehmans,  Longeneckers, 
Brandts,  Hellers  and  others.  Baron 
Stiegel  erected  a  glass  house,  where 
he  carried  on  the  manufacture  of  all 
kinds  of  glass  for  many  years.  He 
was  a  baron  in  Germany,  and  in 
America  he  was  an  iron  master,  a 
glass  manufacturer,  a  preacher  and  a 
teacher,  rich  and  poor,  at  liberty  and 
imprisoned,  and  died  a  schoolmaster. 
The  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania 
passed  a  special  act  for  his  relief, 
December  24,  1774. 

In  1763  many  of  the  Scotch-Irish 
settlers  of  Lancaster  county  sold  out 
to  the  Germans  and  removed  to  the 
Chestnut  Glade,  along  the  northern 
line  of  what  was  then  Lancaster  and 
Chester  counties,  where  there  was 
heavy  timber. 

INDIAN    TROUBLES 

The  people  of  Lancaster  county  es- 
pecially   the     Scotch-Irish    settlers   of 


Paxton  and  Donegal  townships,  suf- 
fered terribly  during  the  whole  ten 
years  of  the  French  and  Indian  War. 
Men,  women  and  children  were  mur- 
dered while  at  work  in  the  fields,  at 
their  meals  or  in  their  beds  at  night. 
Sights  of  horror,  scenes  of  slaughter, 
bloody  scalps,  mangled  bodies,  hacked 
limbs — these  were  the  evidences  of 
Indian  cruelty  and  barbarity  Such 
horrible  sights  and  fiendish  atrocities 
excited  the  fiercest  rage  and  indigna- 
tion 'among  the  people  of  Paxton, 
Hanover,  and  Donegal  townships; 
and'  they  became  desperate  in  their 
determination  for  revenge  on  the  sav- 
age butchers  of  their  kinsmen  and 
relatives.  The  Paxton  and  Donegal 
rangers  watched  the  Indians  very 
closely,  and  determined  to  strike 
terror  into  all  Indians  by  extermi- 
nating the  Conestoga  tribe. 

About  the  middle  of  December, 
1763,  the  Paxton  Boys,  consisting  of 
sixty  men  from  Paxton,  Hanover  and 
Donegal  townships,  and  commanded 
by  Captain  Lazarus  Stewart,  attacked 
the  Conestoga  Indian  Town,  in 
Manor  township  and  barbarously  mas- 
sacred the  six  Indians  at  home, 
among  whom  was  the  chief,  Shaheas, 
who  had  always  been  noted  for  his 
friendship  for  the  whites.  The  mag- 
istrates of  Lancaster  borough  brought 
the  other  Conestogas  to  Lancaster 
and  placed  them  in  the  newly-erected 
workhouse  for  safety,  while  Governor 
John  Penn  issued  a  proclamation  de- 
nouncing the  massacre  and  offering 
a  reward  for  the  punishment  of  the 
brutal  murderers.  On  the  last  Sun- 
day morning  in  December,  1763,  the 
Paxton  Boys  stormed  the  jail  and 
workhouse  in  Lancaster  and  mass- 
acred the  remaining  fourteen  Cones- 
toga Indians  found  there,  men, 
women  and  childrefi.  The  infuriated 
murderers  were  deaf  to  all  pleas  for 
mercy  and  to  all  protestations  of  in- 
nocence and  friendship  for  the  Eng- 
lish on  the  part  of    the    helpless    vie- 


LANCASTER    COUNTY   HISTORY 


207 


tims,  who  were  horribly  butchered 
with  rifles,  tomahawks  and  hatchets. 
Governor  John  Penn  issued  a  procla- 
mation denouncing  the  outrage  and 
ofifering  a  reward  for  the  punishment 
of  the   fiendish   murderers. 

THE    CONTINENTAL    ARMY 

Lancaster  county  bore  her  share  in 
the  great  struggle  for  American  inde- 
pendence, and  many  of  her  sons  were 
found  among  the  patriots  who 
swelled  the  Continental  armies,  tak- 
ing part  in  the  expedition  into  Can- 
ada in  1775  and  in  the  battle  of  Long 
Island,  White  Plains,Trenton,  Prince- 
ton, Brandywine,  Germantown  and 
Monmouth.  Many  British  prisoners 
taken  at  Trenton,  Princeton  and  Sara- 
toga were  confined  at  Lancaster, 
.and  the  unfortunate  Major  Andre 
was  also  held  for  a  time.  Over  five 
"hundred  wounded  American  soldiers 
from  the  battlefield  of  Brandywine 
were  brought  to  Ephrata,  where  one 
Tiundred  and  fifty  of  them  died,  which 
fact  has  been  commemorated  by  a 
fine  monument  unveiled  in  1902. 
When  the  British  occupied  Philadel- 
phia, in  September,  1777,  the  Conti- 
nental Congress  fled  to  Lancaster, 
where  they  held  an  informal  session 
and  then  fled  to  York,  where  they  re- 
mained until  June,  1778.  While  the 
British  occupied  Philadelphia  the 
Continental  money  was  printed  at 
Ephrata.  American  soldiers  were 
quartered  at  the  barracks  at  Lancas- 
ter during  the  winter  of  1777-78,  and 
also  in  the  Lutheran  and  Reformed 
churches  at  Manheim.  The  non-resis- 
tant sects  of  the  Quakers,  the  Menno- 
nites,  the  Dunkers  and  the  Amish, 
whose  religion  opposed  war  and  mili- 
tarism, were  denounced  by  the  pa- 
triots as  "  Tories "  and  "enemies  of 
America."  George  Ross  was  Lancas- 
ter's signer  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence. Other  prominent  men  of 
Lancaster  in  Revolutionary  times 
were  Adam  Reigart,  Jasper  Yeates, 
a  prominent  Judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of   Pennsylvania   and    a    Tory, 


and  Edward  Shippen,  a  prominent 
merchant  and  a  Tory,  and  father-in- 
law  of  Benedict  Arnold. 
In  1785  Harrisburg  was  founded  on 
the  site  of  Harris's  Ferry  by  Colonel 
John  Harris,  son  of  John  Harris,  the 
pioneer  Quaker  Indian  trader ;  and 
the  same  year  the  Pennsylvania 
Legislature,  on  petition  of  the  inhabi- 
tants, erected  all  that  part  of  Lancas- 
ter county  north  of  Conewago  creek, 
with  part  of  Northumberland  county, 
into  a  new  county  called  Dauphin,  In 
1813  the  State  Legislature,  on  peti- 
tion of  the  inhabitants,  erected  a  new 
county  called  Lebanon,  out  of  Leba- 
non, Bethel  and  Heidelberg  town- 
ships, Lancaster  county,  with  part  of 
Dauphin  county,  thus  reducing  Lan- 
caster county   to   its   present   limits. 

Lancaster  was  the  capital  ot  Penn- 
sylvania from  1799  to  1812,  when  the 
State  capital  was  removed  to  Harris- 
burg. On  petition  of  the  inhabitants 
Lancaster  was  incorporated  as  a  city 
by  a  charter  granted  by  act  of  the 
State  Legislature  in  1818.  Two  of 
Pennsylvania's  Governors  are  buried 
at  Lancaster — Thomas  Wharton,  who 
died  there  in  1778,  and  General 
Thomas  Mifflin,  who  had  been  Gov- 
ernor twelve  years,  and  who  had  also 
been  president  of  the  Continental  Con- 
gress. He  died  there  while  a  membr 
of  th  Legislature.  Both  these  men's 
remains  are  buried  at  Trinity  Luth- 
eran church. 

LATER  HISTORY 
Since  the  Revolution  the  following 
new  townships  were  formed  in  Lan- 
caster county :  East  Hempfield  and 
West  Hempfield,  from  the  division  of 
Hempfield  in  1818;  West  Earl,  out  of 
the  western  part  of  Earl  in  1827; 
East  Cocalico,  West  Cocalico  and 
Ephrata,  by  the  division  of  Cocalico 
township  in  1838;  East  Donegal  and 
West  Donegal,  by  the  division  of 
Donegal  township  in  1838;  East 
Lampeter,  by  the  division  of  Lam- 
peter township  in  1841 ;  Conoy,  out  of 
the  western  part  of  \\'^est  Donegal  in 
1842;  Upper  Leacock,  out  of  all  that 


208 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


part  of  Leacock  north  of  Mill  Creek 
in  1843;  Paradise,  out  of  the  eastern 
half  of  Strasburg  township  in  1843  j 
Fulton,  out  of  the  western  half  of 
Little  Britain  in  1844  and  named  in 
honor  of  Robert  Fulton,  who  was 
born  within  its  limits ;  Penn,  out  of 
the  western  part  of  Warwick  in  1846, 
and  named  in  honor  of  William 
Penn ;  East  Earl,  out  of  the  eastern 
part  of  Earl  in  1851;  Providence,  out 
of  the  eastern  part  of  Martic  in  1853; 
Pequea,  out  of  the  eastern  part  of 
Conestoga  township  also  in  1853; 
Clay,  out  of  the  eastern  half  of  Eliza- 
beth, also  in  1853,  and  named  in 
honor  of  Henry  Clay;  Eden,  out  of 
the  western  part  of  Bart  in  1855 ; 
East  Drumore,  out  of  the  eastern 
half   of   Drumore   in    1886. 

The  turnpike  leading  from  Lancas- 
ter to  Philadelphia  was  erected  in 
1792  and  is  the  oldest  turnpike  in  the 
United  States.  The  other  turnpikes 
in  the  county  were  constructed  about 
1835.  The  Philadelphia  and  Columbia 
Railroad  was  completed  about  1835. 
This  railroad  was  afterward  extended 
from  Columbia  to  Harrisburg.  The 
Harrisburg  and  Lancaster  Railroad, 
by  way  of  Mount  Joy  and  Elizabeth- 
town,  was  united  with  the  other  rail- 
road at  Dillerville  and  near  Middle- 
town,  making  two  railway  routes 
from  Lancaster  to  Harrisburg.  These 
lines  became  part  of  the  great  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad,  completed  in  1854, 
thus  establishing  one  continuous 
railway  line  between  Philadelphia 
and  Pittsburg. 

Lancaster  county  furnished  a  large 
number  of  soldiers  for  the  War  of 
1812  and  the  War  with  Mexico  who 
took  part  in  the  leading  battles  of  the 
last-named  war. 

Before  the  abolition  of  slavery  in 
Pennsylvania  in  1780  slaves  were  held 
h\  many  parts  of  Lancaster  county. 
The  old  inn-masters  were  the  princi- 
pal slaveholders  in  this  county,  Cur- 
tis Grubb  being  the  largest  owner  of 
slaves.  There  were  many  cases  of 
hair-breadth    escapes   and   captures   of 


fugitives  at  Columbia,  where  runa- 
way slaves  often  crossed  the  river  at 
the  bridge.  William  Wright,  of  Col- 
umbia, son  of  James  Wright  and 
grandson  of  the  pioneer  John  Wright 
was  a  great  Abolitionist,  and  was 
once  assaulted  with  a  rawhide  by 
Charles  S.  Sewell,  a  Maryland  slave- 
holder, who  had  settled  in  Manor 
township  and  was  forced  to  free  his 
slaves.  William  Wright  was  the 
first  person  to  suggest  the  so-called 
"underground  railroad,"  a  system 
and  concert  of  action  among  the 
friends  of  the  slaves  to  help  such 
negroes  as  escaped  from  sla\  ery  in 
the  South  to  freedom  in  the  North  or 
to  Canada.  One  of  the  stations  of  the 
"underground  railroad"  was  Daniel 
Gibbon's  place,  one  mile  west  of 
Bird-in-Hand. 

Samuel  Wright,  son  of  James 
Wright  and  grandson  of  John 
Wright,  the  pioneer  Quaker  settler  of 
Wright's  Ferry,  laid  out  the  town  of 
Columbia  in  1787.  This  place  was 
one  of  three  sites  proposed  in  Con- 
gress in  1790  as  the  place  for  the 
permanent  capital  of  the  United 
States — the  other  two  being  Philadel- 
phia and  the  site  of  the  present  Na- 
tional Capital.  Columbia  was  made 
a  borough  in  1814.  The  town  of 
Waterford,  laid  out  by  James  Ander- 
son at  Anderson's  Ferry  in  1804,  and 
the  town  of  New  Haven,  laid  out  by 
David  Cook  in  1804,  were  incorpor- 
ated as  the  borough  of  Marietta  in 
1812.  At  the  village  of  Woodstock, 
built  in  1807,  on  the  river  a  few  miles 
south  of  Columbia,  in  Manor  town- 
ship, Jacob  Dritt  laid  out  the  town  of 
Washington  in  181 1,  and  in  1814 
Joseph  Charles  laid  out  Charleston, 
just  north  of  Washington;  and  in 
1827  both  these  towns  were  incorpor- 
ated as  the  borough  of  Washington. 
The  village  of  Strasburg,  founded  be- 
fore 1740,  became  a  borough  in  1816. 
Manheim  and  Elizabethtown,  both  of 
which  existed  before  the  Revolution, 
were  incorporated  as  boroughs  in 
1838.     In   181 1   Jacob   Rohrer  laid  out 


LANCASTER    COUiNTY    HISTORY 


209 


the  \illagc  of  ]\Iount  Joy,  aiul  in  1814 
the  village  of  Richland,  just  west, was 
laid  out;  and  in  1851  both  villages 
were  incorporated  as  the  borough  of 
Mount  Joy.  Adamstown,  laid  out  by 
William  Adams  in  1761,  was  incor- 
porated as  a  borough  in  1850.  Lititz 
was  incorporated  as  a  borough  in 
1887  and  Ephrata  in  1891.  Since  that 
date  Akron,  Denver,  New  Holland, 
Christiana.  Ouarryville,  Mountville 
and  Terre  Hill  have  become  boroughs. 
The  first  return  of  the  fugitive 
slave  to  his  master  under  the  Fugi- 
tive Slave  Law  occurred  at  Columbia 
in  the  fall  of  1850,  when  \Villiam 
IJaker,  a  runaway  slave  was  arrested 
and  returned  to  his  master,  but  his 
freedom  was  afterward  purchased  by 
the  people  of  Columbia.  The  first 
martyrdom  under  the  Fugitive  Slave 
Law  also  occurred  at  Columbia,  April 
30.  1852,  when  a  colored  man  named 
"\\'illiam  Smith,  who  tried  to  escape 
from  his  would-be  captors,  was  shot 
and  killed.  The  first  conflict  and 
bloodshed  caused  by  the  Fugitive 
Slave  Law  also  occurred  in  Lancas- 
ter county,  when  the  famous  "Chris- 
tiana Riot"  occurred,  September, 
1 85 1  ;  in  which  Edward  Gorsuch,  the 
^Maryland  slaveholder  who  tried  to 
recover  his  runaway  slave.  W'illiam 
Parker,  was  shot  and  killed,  and  in 
which  Castner  Hanway,  Elijah  Lewis 
and  Joseph  Scarlet  aided  the  colored 
people  of  the  neighborhood  in  their 
resistance  to  the  slaveholders  and 
Deputy  United  States  Marshal  Kline. 
The  attack  on  Fort  Sumter,  April 
12,  1861,  aroused  the  patriotism  of 
the  people  of  Lancaster  county,  and 
noble  responses  were  made  to  Presi- 
dent Lincoln's  calls  for  troops.  Lan- 
caster county  was  the  home  of  Presi- 
•  dent  James  Buchanan,  during  whose 
administration  the  plans  of  the 
Slaveholders'  Rebellion  w^ere  pre- 
pared, and  was  also  the  home  of 
Thaddeus  Stevens.  who  was  the 
recognized  leader  of  the  Republican 
majority  in  the  National  House  of 
Representatives   which   assisted   in   de- 


vising measures  for  the  suppression 
of  the  great  Rebellion.  Two  wholly 
Lancaster  county  regiments  were  the 
7(;th  Pennsylvania  under  Colonel 
Henry  A.  Hambright,  and  the  I22d 
Pennsylvania  under  Colonel  Emlen 
[■Vanklin.  The  79th  took  part  in  the 
battles  of  Perry  ville,  Stone  Ridge, 
Chickamauga,  Chattanooga  and  in 
Sherman's  Atlanta  campaign  and 
march  to  the  sea.  Soldiers  of  Lancas- 
ter county  were  also  in  the  Pennsyl- 
\ania  Reserves  and  about  sixty  other 
Pennsylvania  regiments.  At  the  time 
of  Lee's  invasion  of  Pennsylvania  in 
1863  Colonel  James  Pyle  VVickersham, 
principal  of  the  Millersville  State 
Normal  School,  commanded  the  47tli 
regiment  of  Pennsylvania  militia. 
Lee's  invasion  of  ^Maryland  in  1862 
and  his  invasion  of  Pennsylvania  in 
1863  caused  intense  alarm  in  Lancas- 
ter county,  and  the  Columbia  bridge 
was  burned  to  prevent  the  Confeder- 
ate detachment  which  had  reached 
W'rightsville  from  crossing  the  river, 
Sunday  night,  June  28,  1863.  The 
Patriot  Daughters  of  Lancaster'  were 
the  first  women's  society  to  minister 
to  the  wants  of  the  Union  soldiers, 
and  were  the  first  to  raise  funds  for  a 
monument  to  the  Lancaster  county 
soldiers  and  sailors  in  Center  Square, 
Lancaster,  which  monument  was  un- 
veiled  July   4,    1S74. 

The  Reading  and  Columbia  Rail- 
road was  completed  in  1863 ;  and  the 
branch  of  that  railroad  from  the 
I  unction  tt)  Lancaster  was  finished  in 
1886,  and  was  extended  to  Ouarry- 
ville in  1875.  The  Columbia  and 
i'ort  Deposit  Railroad  was  completed 
in  1876.  The  Lancaster  branch  of 
the  Reading  and  Columl^ia  Railroad 
was  extended  to  Lebanon  in  1886; 
and  the  branch  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  from  Conewago  to  Lebanon 
was  finished  about  the  same  time. 
The  New  Holland  and  Honcybrook 
branch  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
was  completed  in  1890.  Electric  rail- 
wavs  connect  Lancaster  with  all  the 
leading  towns  of  the  county. 


210 


Historic  Lititz 


A  full  centur}'  has  departed  and  a  half  has  nearly  flown 

Since  the  old  Moravian  fathers  called  this  settlement  their  own; 

Well  they  builded  (did  they  know  it?)  when  they  planned  the  little  town, 
For  their  work  was  crowned  with  blessing  and  a  well-deserved  renown. 

Strong  and  massive  were  the  dwellings  which  they    raised— their  monument- 
Still  they're  standing,  time  defying,  show  no  blemish,  break  nor  rent; 
For  they  builded  for  their  children,  and  the  latest  heir  today 
Points  with  pride  to  work  outlasting  Time's  worst  engines  of  decay. 


Thus  sings  Louise  A.  Weitzel,  one 
of  the  gifted  writers  of  Lititz.  Our 
readers  will  pardon  us  if  we  devote  a 
few  pages  to  a  short  account  of  this 
historical  town,  the  new  home  of  the 
magazine. 

The  following  lines  are  made  up 
almost  entirely  of  extracts  from  "His- 
torical and  Pictorial  Lititz"  edited  by- 
John  G.  Zook  and  published  by  The 
Express  Printing  Company. 

The  history  of  Lititz  —  religious, 
educational,  musical,  social  and  indus- 
trial,  is   inseparable   from   the   history 


THE  MORAVIAN  IDEA 
The  distinctive  idea  of  the  Moravian 
Brethren  was  to  establish  a  truly 
spiritual  Church  of  Jesus  Christ.  They 
held  that  no  one  could  rightfully  be 
considered  a  member  of  the  church, 
who  was  not  a  true  Christian.  These 
early  Moravian  settlements  were, 
therefore,  the  result  of  the  desire  to 
secure  locations,  in  which  the  Breth- 
ren might  freely  and  unmolestedly 
seek  after  the  development  of  a  deep 
spiritual  life.  At  the  same  time  they 
were  to  become  the  centers  of  aggres- 


Al^^S^     ^^ 


._^:__J 


FIRST    lIlirSK    IN   LITITZ.        BUILT    IN    1754 


of  the  Moravian  Church  in  Lititz. 
Over  150  years  ago,  on  June  12,  1756, 
the  settlement  of  Moravian  Brethren 
here  received  the  name. of  Lititz  from 
Count  Zinzendorf  in  memory  of  the 
town  in  Bohemia,  where  the  newly- 
organized  church  of  the  Ancient 
Brethren's  Unity  found  its  first  refuge 
in  1456,  and  henceforth  the  natne  of 
the  Moravian  congregation  became  the 
name  of  the  town. 


sive  evangelistic  efforts  among  the  un- 
evangelized  white  colonists  and  In- 
dians ;  as  well  as  the  seats  of  educa- 
tional institutions  for  the  religious 
and  secular  training  of  their  children 
and  yoath. 

For  the  purpose  of  fostering  and  su- 
pervising the  spiritual  life  of  the  mem- 
bership, Moravian  congregations  were 
divided  into  "Choirs,"  or  classes  ac- 
cording   to   age,    sex   and   station,   as 


HISTORIC    LITITZ 


211 


1 

i   Ak 

^0i 

1        ^-^r 

^^^^^^^^H^^^^^^^^^H^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^BBSB^^^H^^^^^w^q^^l 

L 

'•^  '  "-•*  ,,i. ■•'.■^"^.■> '  '.•■  '■"■v.   1  ii  ■«■ "  ■"•'''»*«i-'!^'-^"'tf^S||^H^^B 

A    VANISHING    LANDMARK.        OLD    HOUSB    BEAR    OF   THE    MORAVIAN    SUNDAY  SCHOOL    CHAPEL 


early  as  1727,  each  "Choir"  being  un- 
der its  own  special  Director,  aiid  hav- 
ing each  year  a  season  of  covenanting 
and  prayer.  In  addition  to  this, 
marked  emphasis  was  laid  upon  a 
deeply-solemn  observance  of  the  festi- 
vals of  the  Church  Year,  of  the  Pas- 
sion Week  and  of  the  important 
events  in  the  history  of  the  Brethren's 
Church,  called  "Memorial"  or  "Cove- 
nant    Days."       All     these    and    other 


time-honored  customs  and  services, 
sometimes  called  "Moravian  Peculiari- 
ties," having  in  view  the  spiritual 
profit  of  the  membership,  have  been 
observed  by  the  Moravian  Church  at 
Lititz  ever  since  its  organization  with 
such  modifications  or  accomodations 
as  the  changing  conditions  made  nec- 
essary. Even  the  "Lease  System,"  or 
the  arrangement  according  to  which 
it   Avas   impossible   f(ir  any  but   Mora- 


-^®U^_  _ 


•/-?' 


X 


ji 


FIRST    HOX7SE    IN    WARWICK.    1754.    REPLACED    HY   L.    H.    SHELLEY'S   STORE 


212 


THE  PENXSYLV ANNA-GERMAN 


vians  to  own  land  in  Lititz,  narrow 
and  exclusive  as  it  may  appear  to 
many  today,  was  not  without  its  pecu- 
liar advantages  in  the  way  of  spiritual 
culture  and  oversight.  This  system 
being  found  to  be  impracticable  any 
longer,  was  abolished  in    1856, 

Until  the  twentieth  of  August,  1754, 
wdien  the  legal  transfer  of  the  property 
of,  George  Klein  to  the  Unity  of  the 
Brethren  was  made  the  history  of 
Warwick  and  Lititz  is  largely  com- 
mon. After  the  above  date,  members 
of  other  denominations,  the  Moravians 
not. allowing  anyone  to  settle  on  their 
property  not  a  ^Moravian,  formed,  a  set- 


came  to  the  house  of  Jacob  Huber,  in 
\\'arwick  township,  Lancaster  county, 
where  he  delivered  an  address  in  the 
evening.  George  Klein  (a  native  of 
Kirchardt.  Baden,  who  settled  in 
\\'arwick  township  about  1740,  and 
died  in  1783),  Huber's  nearest  neigh- 
bor, knew  of  the  meeting,  but  having 
a  prejudice  against  Zinzendorf,  did 
not  attend.  It  was  a  time  of  religious' 
awakening  amongst  the  Pennsylvania 
Germans,  brought  about  largely 
through  the  evangelistic  testimony  of 
the  Brethren,  and  during  the  night 
Klein's  mind  became  much  disturbed 
(Ml  account  of  his  conduct  and  he  re- 


LINDEN    HALL   SEMIVARV    IN    1S50 


tlcment  adjoining  the  Moravian  tract 
on  the  north.  This  settlement  was 
called  Warwick  after  the  township  in 
which  it  is  located.  Records  concern- 
ing the  early  history  of  Warwick  are 
scarce. 

FOUNDING   OF   LITITZ 

In  the  month  of  December,  1742,  in 
the  course  of  a  farewell  visitation  of 
some  of  the  various  groups  of  German 
settlers  in  the  eastern  section  of  Penn- 
sylvania, amongst  whom  itinerant 
ministers  from  the  Moravian  settle- 
ment at  r.ethlehcm  had  for  several 
years  l)een  laboring.  Count  Zinzendorf 


sol\-ed  to  follow  the  Ce^unt  to  Lancas- 
ter on  the  following  day.  This  he  did, 
heard  Zinzendorf  preach  in  the  court- 
ii  n-^e.  and  \\as  deeoly  moved.  At  the 
meeting  in  Huber's  house — which  tra- 
dition tells  us  occu]Med  the  site  of  the 
•^rerert  Snyder  homestead,  north  of 
Lititz — Zinzendorf  had  been  recjuested 
to  send  the  peo'de  a  minister.  This  he 
soon  did  in  the  person  of  Jacob 
Lisch}^  a  S\\'i'ss,  who  was  a  very  gifted 
preacher.  Lischy  gradually  became 
first  estranged  and  then  (1749)  an 
open  enemy  of  the  Brethren.  Other 
evangelists  were  sent  from  Bethlehem 
to  take  up  the    Avork    he    had    relincj- 


inSTOKIC    LITITZ 


213 


iiislicd.  anion^'  ihcni  Christian  llcnry 
Ranch  (afterwards  a  noted  missionary 
anion;;-  the  Indiaiis  and  in  the  West 
]n(Hes),  Ua\id  liruce  (formerly  a 
Swedish    I.utlicran).  and  others. 

In  the  year  1744  a  log  church  was 
built  on  Klein's  land  at  the  instance  of 
a  number  of  Lutheran,  Reformed  and 
Mennonite  attendants  on  the  i)reach- 
ing-  of  Rqv.  Lawrence  Nyberg,  a 
Swedish  Lutheran  minister  who  was 
stationed  at  Lancaster  and  occasionlly 
preached  in  this  vicinity.  He  entered 
iieartily  into  Zinzendorf's  plans  for  a 
imion  of  all  the  churches,  though  he 
bad  been  sent  to  this  countr}'-  to  op- 
pose them.  This  church  stood  near 
the  road  to  Lancaster,  on  the  ground 
occupied  by  "the  old  grave  yard."  It 
was  known  as  St.  James  Church  hav- 
ing been  dedicated  by  Nyberg  on  the 
festival  of  St.  James,  July  25,  1744. 
Here  he  preached  statedly  once  a 
month  for  two  years.  In  1746  he  was 
suspended  from  his  ministry,  owing 
to  his  independent  views  and  the  char- 
acter of  his  preaching,  so  that  during 
this  year  he  preached  every  Sunday  at 
St.  James  Church  and  opened  his  pul- 
pit to  the  various  itinerant  IMoravian 
ministers  on  their  visits  to  this  sec- 
tion. Finally  he  united  Avith  the 
Moravians.  At  a  Synod  of  the  Mora- 
vians, held  in  the  court  house  at  Lan- 
caster, after  every  effort  had  been 
made  to  prevent  them  from  so  doing, 
a  request  was  made  by  a  number  of 
''awakened"  persons  in  Warwick 
township  that  they  might  have  a  pas- 
tor to  reside  among  them.  In  Sept- 
ember, 1745,  the  Rev.  Daniel  Neubert 
and  his  wife,  of  Philadelphia,  were 
sent  to  them.  Neubert's  work  was 
entirely  pastoral,  consisting  in  visits 
from  house  to  house,  and  in  keeping 
private  meetings  on  weekday  even- 
ings. 

GEMEINHAUS 

In  Sptember,  a  meeting  w^as  held  at 
George  Klein's  house  to  consider  the 
question  of  building  a  school  and 
meeting-house  (as  distinguished  from 
the  "church" — St.    James).      The    fol- 


lowing were  present:  Nicholas  and 
iMcderick  Kiesel,  llartman  \  ertries, 
Micael  Erb,  Jacob  Scherzer,  Jacob 
Ileil,  John  Bender,  Sr.,  Christian 
lalmer,  Jacol)  SchefHer,  Geo.  Klein, 
lesides  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Nyberg, 
Ranch  and  Neubert.  The  unanimous 
conclusion  was  that  they  would  each 
contribute  toward  building  a  Gemein- 
haus,  to  serve  the  purposes,  as  v\as  the 
Moravian  arrangement  elsewhere,  of 
a  dwelling  place  for  the  minister  and 
as  a  school  and  meeting-house.  Klein 
donated  3^  acres  of  his  land  for  this 
purpose.  (A  draft  of  land  belonging 
to  the  Gemeinhaus,  made  in  1754, 
gi\es  the  area  as  eight  acres  and 
twenty-three  perches,  so  that  Klein 
must  have  made  an  additional  grant, 
or  more  land  was  added  to  it  when  the 
Brethren  came  into  possession).  In 
November  the  cellar  was  dug;  March 
29,  1747,  the  corner-stone  was  laid  by 
Nyberg  and  Neubert;  May  24,  1748, 
the  Rev.  Leonard  Schnell,  the  succes- 
sor of  Neubert,  who  was  called  to 
Heidelburg,  occupied  the  house  and 
commenced  the  school  wath  four  boys, 
and  three  girls,  his  wife  teaching  the 
latter.  June  28  the  Rev.  Reinhard 
Ronner  and  wife  arrived  from  Bethle- 
hem as  assistants  in  the  school  and 
pastoral  work.  August  11  the  first 
lovefeast  was  held  in  the  Gemeinhaus, 
by  Bishop  Nathaniel  Seidel,  of  Bethle- 
hem. November  13  George  Klein  and 
Leonard  Bender  were  received  into 
the  communion  of  the  Brethren's 
Church  at  Bethlehem,  the  first  to  be 
so  received,  not  only  in  \\^arwick,  but 
in  the  Colony,  all  the  members  at 
Bethlehem  and  Nazareth  being  recent 
emigrants  from  Europe. 

February  9,  1749,  the  Brethren 
S'-angenburg,  de  \\^atteville;  Seidel 
and  others  from  Bethlehem  were  pres- 
ent to  dedicate  the  Gemeinhaus  and  to 
organize  the  "Warwick  Country  Con- 
gregation" with  the  following  first 
members:  Brethren,  George  Klein, 
Hans  George  Kiesel,  Henr}-  Rudy, 
Jacob  Sherzer;  Sisters,  Anna  Klein, 
Christiana  Kiesel. Verona  Rudy.  Apol- 
lonia   Scherzer.     The  first  communion 


214 


THE  PENNSYLVAXXA-GERM,.A.N 


FIRST    GEMEINHAUS    IN    LITITZ.        ANTEDATING    THE    JIOJAVIAN    CHURCH 


ill  this  house  was  held  on  this  day, 
which  was  thereafter  observed  as  the 
Gemeinfest  of  the  Warwick  Congre- 
gation. From  November  20  to  23  a 
Provincial  Synod  was  held  in  War- 
wick, on  which  occasion,  a  number  of 
new  members  (twenty-two)  w^ere  re- 
ceived. The  Warwick  Gemeinhaus,  or, 
as  it  is  usually  designated  in  the  later 
diaries,"Warwick  School  House, "stood 
on  the  eastern  part  of  Klein's  farm,  on 
the  declivity  of  a  slight  hill,  north  of 
what  is  now  Alain  Street,  and  north- 
east of  the  residence,  1905,  of  Mr. 
Clement  Badorf.  Subsequent  to  1763 
it  was  used  as  a  school  and  as  a  stop- 
ping place  for  distant  members  when 
they  came  to  church  on  Sunday.  In 
February,  1766,  it  was  taken  down — 
being  built  of  logs,  and  re-erected  op- 
posite the  square,  on  the  north-east 
corner,  its  uses  being  the  same  as  be- 
fore. The  building  was  destroyed  in 
the  fire  of  July  16,  1838,  when  three 
other  houses  were  consumed. 

August,  1752,  Bishop  Matthew  Hehl 
arrived  on  a  visitation.  On  December 
9,  1753,  Bishop  Peter  Boehler  organ- 
ized a  "Society,"  that  is,  a  class  of  per- 
sons who,  whilst  they  were  not  mem- 
bers of  the  Warwick  church,  desired 
to  be  under  the  spiritual  supervision 
of  its  pastors  and  to  share  in  the  ordi- 
nary and  special  church  services. 

Names     of     persons     in     Warwick 
township    attached    to     the     Brethren 


(Society  Members)  :  Hans  Bender, 
Dav'd  Biehler,  Martin  Boehler,  An- 
drew Bort,  Henry  Bossert,  Michael 
Fib,  Andrew  Frey,  Christopher  Frey, 
V^alentine  Grosh,  Jacob  Heil,  David 
Hilton,  Christian  Huetter,  Jacob 
Jones,  Michael  Klein,  Christian  Kling, 
Henry  Lehn,  Paul  Lehn,  John  Nohel, 
Michael  Palmer,  Christian  Palmer, 
John  Plattenberger,  Henry  Tschudy, 
also  the  wives  of  the  above.  Single 
men:  Francis  Seip,  Michael  Zahm; 
widows:  Herculrode  and  Barbara 
Stauffer. 

The  AA'arwick  congregation  was  a 
Land  Gemeine,  that  is,  a  coimtry  con- 
gregation, the  members  of  which  lived 
scattered  on  their  farms,  and  not  in  a 
close  settlement  as  was  the  case  in 
Bethlehem  and  Nazareth.  Bethlehem 
was  the  "Pilgrim  Congregation  ;"  that 
is,  the  members  were  missionaries  or 
in  training  for  such  service,  or  were 
laboring  for  such  support  of  those  who 
were  continually  coming  and  going  at 
the  call  of  the  church  in  its  activity 
among  the  Indians  and  the  negro 
slaves  in  the  West  Indies  and  Suri- 
nam, (Dutch  Guiana)  or  in  what  we 
should  noAv  call  home  mission  labors 
in  Pennsylvania  and  the  adjoining  col- 
onies. Nazareth  was  the  "Patriarch's 
Plan,"  being  composed  mostly  of 
farmers,  who  tilled  their  lands  and 
gathered  in  the  harvests  for  the  same 
common   purpose.       These     congrega- 


HISTORIC  LITITZ 


215 


tions  were,  of  necessity,  peculiarly 
constituted.  The  members  lived  in 
close  quarters  and  with  the  greatest 
economy,  surrendering  many  individ- 
ual rights,  and  putting  the  proceeds  of 
their  labor  into  a  common  treasury. 
Not  every  one  was  fitted  for  the  la- 
bors, restrictions  and  self-denials  of 
such  a  social  and  religious  community, 
and  as  emigrants  continued  to  arrive 
from  Europe  who  might  not  be  suit- 
able and  willing  members  of  either  of 
Zinzendorf  and  Spangenberg  to  pro- 
these  settlements,  it  was  resolved  by 
vide     a      third      Church  -  settlement 


land — 491  acres,  to  the  church,  he  to 
receive  an  annuity  of  £70  during  his 
lifetime.  Upon  Spangenberg's  return 
from  Europe  in  1754,  Klein  repeated 
this  offer  in  positive  terms,  announc- 
ing his  purpose  to  retire  to  Bethlehem 
with  his  wife  and  daughter.  August 
20,  1754,  the  legal  transfer  of  the 
property  to  the  Unity  of  the  Brethren 
was  made. 

KLEIN'S    DONATION 

In  the  spring  of  this  year,  1754, 
Klein  had  built  a  two-story  stone 
house    near     his     log     house,     without 


MORAVIAN  CHURCH  AND  PARSONAGE  AND  PART  OF  LINDEN  HALL 


(Gemeinort)  in  Pennsylvania.  It  was 
not  only  to  answer  the  purposes  just 
mentioned,  but  also  to  afiford  a  home 
for  such  church  members  in  the  Col- 
onies who  desired  closer  spiritual  su- 
pervision and  fellowship  than  could  be 
obtained  in  the  Country  Congrega- 
tions, in  which  the  members  lived 
widely  scattered  from  each  other. 
Warwick,  by  its  situation  and  rapid 
increase  seemed  best  fitted  for  this  set- 
tlement. In  1753  George  Klein  had 
made  an  offer  to  Spangenberg,  Vicar- 
ius     Generalis,     to    donate    his    entire 


having  ^ny  definite  purpose  in  regard 
to  it.  This  house  afterwards  gave  the 
direction  to  the  main  street  of  the  vil- 
lage, and  accounts  for  the  fact  that  it 
does  not  run  due  East  and  West.  It 
was  used  as  a  dwelling  for  the  minis- 
ters, but  also  as  a  meeting  place  for 
the  congregation,  along  with  theWar- 
wick  Gemeinhaus,  until  1761.  The 
la\ern  and  store  were  afterwards  tem- 
porarily in  this  building.  It  stood  on 
the  north  side  of  Main  street,  opposite 
the  store  of  Robt.  N.  Wolle,  and  was 
torn  down  in  1866. 


216 


THE  PEXXSYLVANNA-GERM.A.N 


5Cl;STANTIAL    STONK    RKSIDENCE    EKECTKD    1793,    KCW    THE    K  C  M  F    OF    GEO.    I,.    HEPP 


The  general  superintendence  of  the 
Country  Congregations  had  been 
committed  to  Bishop  Hehl,  and  as  the 
new  settlement  was  to  be  a  centre  for 
them,  it  might  have  been  taken  for 
granted  that  Hehl  should  take  up  his 
residence  here.  The  question,  how- 
ever, was  brought  up  and  discussed  at 
a  Conference  of  the  Elders  held  Au- 
gust i8,  after  the  meeting  of  the  Syn- 
od, which  had  met  in  the  stone  house 
and  continued  in  session  from  August 
13  to  17.  Spangenberg  stated  the 
reasons  pro  and  con  for  hib  own, 
Boehler's  or  Hehl's  appointment.  The 
decision  was  left  to  the  lot.  .Four 
folded  slips  of  paper  were  provided,  on 
one  of  which  the  Latin  word  est  (he 
is  the  one)  was  written,  so  that  it  was 
possible  that  neither  of  them  might  be 
designated.  After  fervent  prayer  each 
one  took  up  a  slip.  Bishop  Hehl  re- 
ceiving the  one  with  the  est.  Re  was 
accordingly  charged  with  the  organi- 
zation and  guidance  of  the  new  set- 
tlement, in  external  as  well  as  spiritual 
affairs,  as  also  the  supervision  of  the 
various  country  churches.  November 
9  he  arrived  from  Bethlehem,  and 
took     u])     his     residence     in     Klein's 


hr)use,  which  it  was  the  custom  there- 
after to  call  the  Pilgerhaus. 

On  June  12.  1756,  letters  were  re- 
ceived from  Zinzendorf,  in  which, 
amongst  the  rest,  he  gave  the  name  of 
Lititz  to  the  new  settlement,  after  the 
barony  Lititz.  in  Bohemia,  where  the 
infant  church  of  the  Ancient  Brethren, 
by  permission  of  George  Podiebrad, 
King  of  Bohemia,  had  found  a  refuge 
in  1456.  just  three  hundred  years  be- 
fore. May  14,  1759,  at  a  common 
meeting  of  the  Lititz  and  Warwick 
brethren  and  sisters,  Spangenberg  an- 
nounced that  henceforth  the  two  con- 
gregations, Lititz  and  Warwick, would 
be  united  into  one,  which  should  bear 
the  name  of  Lititz. 

On  July  7.  1758.  the  corner-stone  of 
the  Single  Sisters'  House  was  laid  by 
Bishop  Spangenberg;  and  that  of  the 
Single  Brethren's  House  by  the  breth- 
ren Peter  Boehler  and  Gottlieb  Bezold 
on  July  4.   1759. 

The  new  Gemcinhaus  (now  the  par- 
sonage) was  dedicated  September  18, 
1763. 

The  present  church  was  consecrated 
August  13,   1787. 


HISTORIC   LITITZ 


217 


INDUSTRIAL    LITITZ 

Froni  the  very  earliest  times  Lititz 
has  been  noted  as  a  center  of  in(his- 
try  as  well  as  of  frus^ality  and  piety, 
until  at  the  ])resent  time  it  is  one  of 
the  busiest  and  most  prosperous 
towns  in  the  state  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  pro]:)ably  in  the  United  States. 

Excepting-  the  industries  connected 
with  the  IMoravian  Congregation, 
Lititz  first  became  important  (indus- 
trially speaking),  in  1765  when  David 
Tannenberg  began  the  manufacture 
of  organs  and  pianos,  the  organs  par- 
ticularly, being  noted  for  their  sweet- 
ness of  tone  and  excellent  workman- 
ship, specimens  of  which  may  yet  be 
found  in  Philadelphia,  Baltimore, 
Lancaster,  Bethlehem,  IMadison,  Va., 
and  Salem,  N.  C.  One  of  his  pianos 
(according  to  an  old  record)  was  sold 
for   £22,  I  OS. 


Another  imjiortant  industry  that 
did  much  tt)  make  the  town  famous 
was  the  manufacture  of  chip  hats  and 
bonnets.  This  business  was  con- 
ducted by  Matthias  Tshudy  early  in 
the  nineteenth  century,  and  flourished 
until  the  ];alm  leaf  and  straw  hats  be- 
came famous  favorites.  Mr.  Tshudy 
was  the  only  person  in  the  country 
who  understood  the  art  of  manufac- 
turing such  hats,  and  supplied  the  en- 
tire country  with  them,  some  going 
as  far  south  as  New  Orleans,,  a  dis- 
tance in  those  days  that  was  a  much 
greater  obstacle  to  successful  trade 
than  in  the  present  age  of  steam  and 
electricity. 

That  the  early  settlement  had  in- 
ventive genius  is  shown  by  the  inven- 
tion of  the  screw  point  on  augers  by 
John  Llcnry  Ranch,  auger-maker, 
blacksmith       and       spurrier.  Ji-iclge 


GENERAL  JOHN    A.    SITTER 


218 


THE  PENNSYLV ANNA-GERMAN 


THE    POOL,    LITITZ   SPRINGS 


Henry  sent  the  pattern  to  England 
after  which  the  screw  point  came  into 
general  use. 

Another  inventor  of  those  days  was 
Godfrey  Albright  who  made  the  first 
plan  of  a  ten-plate  stove.  Mr.  Al- 
bright gave  his  pattern  to  Robert 
Coleman   who  introduced   them. 

Of  all  industries  that  have  made 
the  name  of  Lititz  familiar  in  almost 
all  corners  of  the  earth,  the  manufac- 
ture of  bretzels  was  (and  is)  the  most 
important.  William  Ranch  began  the 
manufacture  of  these  toothsome 
dainties  about  1810,  was  succeeded  by 
his  son  who  continued  their  manufac- 
ture until  1865,  when  Julius  Sturgis 
began  the  manufacture  of  his  famous 
"Only  Genuine  Lititz  Bretzels," 
greatly  improving  the  bretzel  as  well 
as  the  method  of  making  them. 
The  malting  of  grain  becaiue  a  lead- 
ing industry  about  1824  when  a  malt 
house  was  built  on  the  present  site 
of  Dr.  P.  J.  Roebuck's  residence,  by 
Michael  Greider.  This  building  hav- 
ing been  destroyed  by  fire  in  1856  a 
brick  building  was  erected  on  West 
Main  street  for  malting  purposes  and 
continued    to    be    used    as    such    until 


1878.  John  Kreiter  also  carried  on 
this  business  starting  about  1833, 
when  permission  was  granted  him  by 
the  church  authorities  to  build  a 
brewery  and  malt  house,  in  the  hope 
that  the  use  of  malt  liquors  would 
replace  spirituous  liquors  which  were 
then  the  chief  beverage.  He  erected  a 
building  south  of  the  Spring  Grounds 
which  was  also  destroyed  by  fire 
(1865).  It  was  immediately  rebuilt 
and  even  today  is  known  as  the  "old 
brewery."  Among      the       different 

people  engaged  in  this  business  be- 
sides those  men  mentioned  were 
Jacob  Tshudy,  R.  R.  Tshudy,  Chris- 
tian Kreiter,  T.  M.  Ranch,  John 
Hamm  and  Michael  Muecke. 

A  tannery  was  conducted  by  Jacob 
Geitner  for  many  years  in  the  build- 
ing in  which  Mr.  Milton  Bender  now 
conducts  a  butcher  shop.  Bark  be- 
coming very  scarce  in  this  neighbor- 
hood Clement  Geitner,  his  son  and 
successor,- in  November  1882  moved 
to   Hickory,   N.   C. 

Jacob  Tshudy  was  the  pioneer 
store-keeper  who  started  in  business 
with  his  own  stock  of  goods  in  1828. 
The  church  conducted  the  only  other 


HISTORIC   LITITZ 


21» 


Store  until  1843,  when  it  was  sold  to 
Nathaniel  S.  Wolle  and  is  continued 
at  the  present  by  his  son,  Robert  N. 
Wolle. 

All  the  other  industries  common  to 
an  inland  town  in  an  agricultural 
community  Averc  carried  on,  competi- 
tion  in   some   lines  being  very  strong. 

With  the  abolishment  of  the  "lease 
system"  in  1855  the  town  broadened 
until  in  1867  its  business  men  felt  the 
need  of  a  banking  institution  which 
was  sujjplied  by  the  organization  of 
the  Lititz  Deposit  Bank. 


pany      (Limited)      which      started     in 
business  about  1880. 

In  recent  years  the  following  indus- 
tries have  been  begun,  most  of  which 
arc  in  successful  operation  today: 
Keystone  Underwear  Mills,  Cream- 
ery, Ideal  Cocoa  and  Chocolate  Co., 
Electric  Light,  Heat  and  Power  Co., 
Wellington  Starch  Co.,  two  National 
Banks,  Eby  Shoe  Co.,  Lititz  Planing 
Mill,  Lititz  Steam  Laundry,  '  Lititz 
Lithographing  Co.,  Lititz  Dairy  Co., 
Consumers  Box  Board  and  Paper  Co., 
Animal  Trap  Co.,  Thomas  Wagon 
Co.,  Lititz  Hosiery  Co. 


LINDEN    HALL   SEMINARY 


Of  the  important  unincorporated 
business  activities  of  the  town  the  to- 
bacco business  was,  and  has  continued 
to  be,  by  far  the  most  important,  there 
being  as  early  as  1883  thirteen  firms 
extensively  engaged  in  manufacuring 
cigars  and  packing  tobacco.  This  in- 
dustry, while  its  importance  has  been 
overshadow'ed  somewhat  by  the 
larger  industrial  concerns  of  today, 
supports  as  many,  if  not  more  people 
than  these  larger  concerns. 

The  first  incorporated  industrial 
concern    was    the     Lititz    Plow    Com- 


POINTS  OF  NOTE 

Among  the  noteworthy  characteris- 
tics of  Lititz  past  and  present  may 
be  mentioned  .  the  following:  its 
spring  of  purest  water  of  sufficient 
volume  to  furnish  power  for  seven 
mills  in  the  course  of  five  miles,  it& 
being  one  of  the  distinctive  American 
Moravian  communities :  its  strong 
missionary  spirit  that  has  led  many 
of  its  sons  and  daughters  as  messen- 
gers to  the  neglected  spots  of  heathen 
countries;  Linden  Hall,  founded  1794 
a  school  for  young  ladies  that  lias  had 


-220 


THE  PENNSYLV ANNA-GERMAN 


over  4000  students  in  its  care  and  has 
a  national  reputation ;  Beck's  Boys' 
Select  School,  also  of  national  reputa- 
tion ;  the  building-  of  church  organs 
early  in  the  i8th  century;  musical 
culture;  as  a  place  of  publication  of 
the  first  Pharmacopeia  in  America 
(the  work  of  DrA\'illiam  Brown),  its 
chip  hat  and  bonnet  factory  carried 
on    by    Mr.   Tshudy,    the    only   person 


in  the  United  States  that  understood 
the  art  of  manufacturing  them ;  its 
bretzels,  the  manufacture  of  which 
dates  back  to  the  year  1810,  the  in- 
vention of  the  screw  point  to  augers 
by  John  Ft.  Ranch;  as  the  biithplace 
of  Edward  H.  Ranch,  known  as  '"Pete 
Schwefflbrenner,"  as  the  final  resting 
place  of  General  John  A.  Sutter, 
famous  in  connection  with  the  dis- 
covery  of  gold   in   California. 


An  Account  of  the  Manners  of  the  German  Inhabitants 
of  Pennsylvania  in  1  789 

FROM  THE  COLUMBIAN  MAGAZINE,  VOU  III,  PP.  22,  ETC.,  1789 


(concluded  from  APRIL  NUMBER) 


L  L  the  different  sects 
among  them  are  particu- 
larly attentive  to  the  re- 
ligious education  of  their 
children,  and  to  the  es- 
tablishment and  support 
of  the  Christian  religion. 
For  this  purpose  they 
settle  as  much  as  possible  together 
and  make  the  erection  of  a  school 
house  and  a  place  of  worship  the  first 
objects  of  their  care.  They  commit 
the  education  and  instruction  of  their 
children  in  a  peculiar  manner  to  the 
ministers  and  officers  of  their 
■churches ;  hence  they  grow  w.)  with 
prejudices  (biases)  in  favor  of  pub- 
lic worship,  and  of  the  obligations  of 
Christianity.  Such  has  been  the  in- 
fluence of  a  pious  education  among 
the  German  Lutherans  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, that  in  the  course  of  nineteen 
years,  only  one  of  them  has  been 
brought  to  a  place  of  public  shame  or 
])unishment. 

As  members  of  a  civil  government, 
the  Germans  are  peaceable,  and  exact 
in  the  payment  of  their  taxes.  Since 
they  have  participated  in  the  power  of 
the  state,  many  of  them  become  sen- 
sible and  enlightened  in  the  science  of 
Legislation.  Pennsylvania  has  had  the 


speaker's  chair  of  her  Assembly,  and 
the  Vice-President's  office  of  her 
council,  filled  with  dignity  by  gentle- 
men of  German  families.  The  same 
gentlemen  have  since  been  advancd  to 
seats  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
under  the  new  Constitution  of  the 
the  LTnited  States.  In  the  great  con- 
troversy about  the  national  govern- 
ment, a  large  majority  of  the  Germans 
in  Pennsylvania  decided  in  favor  of  its 
adoption,  notwithstanding  the  most 
popular  arts  were  used  to  prejudice 
them  against  it. 

The  Germans  are  but  little  addicted 
to  convivial  pleasures.  The}'  seldom 
meet  for  the  simple  purpose  of  eating 
and  drinking  in  what  are  justly  called 
"feeding  parties ;"  but  they  are  not 
strangers  to  the  virtue  of  hosiiitality. 
The  hungry  or  benighted  traveller  is 
always  sure  to  find  a  hearty  welcome 
under  their  roofs.  A  gentleman  of 
Irish  extraction,  who  lost  his  way  in 
travelling  through  Lancaster  county, 
called  late  at  night,  at  the  door  of  a 
German  farmer;  he  Avas  kindly  re- 
ceived and  entertained  with  the  very 
best  of  everything  the  house  could  af- 
ford. The  next  morning  he  offered  to 
pay  his  host  for  his  lodging  and  other 
accomodations :  "No,"  said  the  friend- 


CHARACTERIZATION    OF    THE    GERMANS  OF  PENNSYLVANIA   L\   1789 


221 


\y  German,  in  l^roken  English,  "I  will 
take  nothing  from  you,  I  was  once  lost 
and  entertained  as  you  have  been,  at 
the  house  of  a  stranger,  who  would 
take  no  pay  from  me  for  his  trouble 
I  am,  therefore,  now  only  discharging 
that  debt ;  do  you  pay  your  debts  to 
me,  in  the  same  way  to  somebody 
else." 

They  are  extremely  kind  and  friendly 
neighbors.  They  often  assist  each 
other  by  loans  of  money,  for  a  short 
time,  without  interest — when  the  pur- 
chase of  a  plantation  makes  a  larger 
sum  necessary  than  is  commonly  pos- 
sessed by  a  single  farmer.  To  secure 
their  confidence,  it  is  necessary  to  be 
punctual.  The}^  never  lend  money  a 
second  time  to  a  man  who  has  once 
disa ;)pointed  them  in  paying  what  he 
had  borrowed,  agreeably  to  his  pro- 
mise or  obligation.  It  was  remarked 
during  the  late  war,  that  there  were 
^-^^j-y  fg^y  instances  of  any  of  them  dis- 
charging a  bond  or  debt,  with  depre- 
ciated paper  currency. 

It  has  been  said,  that  the  Germans 
are  deficient  in  learning,  and  that  in 
consequence  of  their  want  of  a  more 
general  and  extensive  education,  they 
are  much  addicted  to  superstition,  and 
are  frequently  imposed  upon  in  the 
management  of  their  affairs.  ]\Iany  of 
them  have  lost  valuable  estates  by 
being  unacquainted  with  the  common 
forms  of  law,  in  the  most  simple 
transaction  ;  and  many  more  of  them 
have  lost  their  lives,  by  applying  to 
quacks  in  sickness.  But  this  objec- 
tion to  the  Germans  will  soon  cease  to 
have  any  foundation  in  Pennsylvania. 
Several  young  men,  born  of  German 
parents,  have  been  educated  in  law, 
physic  and  divinity,  who  have  demon- 
strated by  their  abilities  and  know- 
ledge, that  the  German  genius  for  lit- 
erature has  not  depreciated  in 
America.  A  college  has  lately  been 
founded  by  the  State  in  L.ancaster, 
and  committed  to  the  care  of  Germans 
of  all  sects,  for  the  purpose  of  diffus- 
ing learning  among  their  childien.  In 
this  college  they  are  to  be  tau,;ht  the 


German  and  English  languages,  and 
all  the  branches  of  literature  which 
are  usually  taught  in  the  Colleges  of 
Europe  and  America.  The  Principal 
of  this  College  is  a  native  of  Pennsyl- 
vania German  parentage.  His  ex- 
tensix'e  knowledge  and  taste  in  the 
arts  and  sciences,  joined  with  his  in- 
dustry in  the  discharge  of  the  duties 
of  his  station,  have  afforded  to  the 
friends  of  learning  in  Pennsylvania, 
the  most  flattering  prospect  of  the  fu- 
ture importance  oi  this  institution. 

Both  sexes  of  the  Germans  discover 
a  strong  propensity  to  vocal  and  in- 
strumental music.  They  excel  in 
psalmody  all  the  other  religious  so- 
cieties in  the  State. 

The  freedom  of  toleration  of  the 
Government  has  produced  a  great 
variety  of  sects,  among  Germans  in 
Pennsylvania.  The  Lutherans  com- 
pose a  great  proportion  of  the  German 
citizens  of  the  State.  Alany  of  their 
churches  are  large  and  splendid.  The 
German  Presbyterians  (Reformed) 
are  next  to  them  in  numbers.  Their 
churches  are  likewise  large,  and  fur- 
nishel,  in  many  places,  with  organs, 
The  clergy  belonging  to  these 
churches,  have  moderate  salaries ;  but 
they  are  punctually  and  justly  paid. 
In  the  country  they  have  glebes, 
which  are  stocked  and  occasionally 
worked  by  the  congregation ;  by  this 
means  the  discipline  and  general  inter- 
ests of  their  churches  are  preserved 
and  promoted.  The  German  Luth- 
erans and  Presbyterians  (Reformed) 
live  in  great  harmony  Avith  each 
other :  insomuch  that  they  often 
l>reach  in  each  other's  churches,  and, 
in  some  instances,  unite  in  building  a 
church  in  which  they  both  worship  at 
difrerent  times.  This  harmony  be- 
tween two  sects,  one  so  much  opposed 
lo  the  other,  is  owing  to  the  relaxation 
of  the  Presbyterians  (Reformed)  in 
some  of  the  peculiar  doctrines  of  Cal- 
\inism.  I  have  called  them  (German 
Reformed)  Presbyterians  because 
most  (^f  them  object  to  be  designated 
bv  the  name  of  Calvinists.     The  Men- 


222 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


nonites,  the  Moravians,  the  Schwenk- 
felders  and  the  Catholics  compose  the 
other  sects  of  the  German  inhabitants 
of  Pennsylvania.  The  Mennonites 
hold  vi-ar  and  oaths  to  be  unlawful. 
They  administer  the  sacraments  of 
baptism  by  sprinkling  (pouring)  and 
the  supper.  From  them  a  sect  has 
arisen  who  hold  with  the  above  prin- 
ciples and  ceremonies,  the  necessity  of 
immersion  in  baptism ;  hence  they  are 
calld  Dunkards,  or  Baptists  (German 
Brethren).  Previously  to  their  par- 
taking of  the  sacrament  of  the  supper, 
they  wash  each  other's  feet,  and  sit 
down  to  a  love-feast.  They  practice 
these  ceremonies  of  their  religion  with 
great  humility  and  solemnity.  They 
moreover,  hold  the  doctrine  of  univer- 
sal salvation.  From  this  sect  there 
have  been  several  seceders,  some  of 
whom  devoted  themselves  to  perpet- 
ual celibacy.  They  have  exhibited,  for 
many  years,  a  curious  spectacle  of 
pious  mortification,  at  a  village  called 
Ephrata,  in  Lancaster  county.  They 
are  at  present  reduced  to  fourteen  or 
fifteen  members.  The  Separatists,  who 
likewise  dissented  from  the  Dunkards, 
reject  the  ordinance  of  baptism  and 
the  sacrament;  and  hold  to  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Friends  concerning  inter- 
nal revelation  of  the  gospel.  They 
hold,  with  the  Dunkards,  the  doctrine 
of  universal  salvation.  The  singular 
piety  and  exemplary  morality  of 
.these  sects,  have  been  urged,  by  the 
advocates  for  the  salvation  of  all  man- 
kind, as  a  proof  that  the  belief  of  that 
doctrine,  is  not  unfriendly  to  morals, 
and  the  order  of  society,  as  has  been 
supposed.  The  Dunkards  and  the 
Separatists  agree  in  taking  no  inter- 
est upon  money  and  not  applying  to 
law  to  recover  their  debts. 

The  German  Moravians  are  a  nu- 
merous and  respectable  body  of  Chris- 
tians in  Pennsylvania.  In  their  village 
of  Bethlehem,  there  are  two  large 
stone  buildings,  in  which  the  different 
sexes  are  educated  in  habits  of  indus- 
try and  in  useful  manufactures.  The 
sisters — for  by  this  epithet  the  women 


are  called,  all  sleep  in  two  laige  and 
neat  apartments.  Two  of  them  watch 
over  the  rest,  in  turns,  every  night,  to 
afford  relief  from  those  sudden  indis- 
positions which  sometimes  occur  in 
the  most  healthy  persons,  in  the  hours 
of  sleep.  It  is  impossible  to  record 
this  fact,  without  pausing  a.rnoment 
to  do  homage  to  that  religion,  which 
produces  so  much  union  and  kindness 
in  human  souls.  The  number  of 
women  who  belong  to  this  sequestered 
society,  amounts  sometimes  to  one 
hundred  and  twenty,  and  seldom  less 
than  one  hundred.  It  is  remarkable 
that  notwithstanding  they  lead  a  sed- 
entary life,  and  sit  in  close  stove 
rooms  in  winter,  that  not  more  than 
one  of  them  upon  an  average,  dies  in 
a  year.  The  disease  which  generally 
produces  the  annual  death,  is  con- 
sumption. The  conditions  and  ages  of 
the  villagers,  as  well  as  the  society 
that  has  been  mentioned,  are  distin- 
guished by  ribbands  of  a  peculiar  kind 
which  they  wear  on  their  caps;  the 
widows  by  white ;  the  married  by 
blue ;  the  single  women  above  eigh- 
teen, by  pink,  and  those  under  that 
age,  by  a  ribband  of  cinnamon  colour. 
Formerly  this  body  of  Moravians 
held  all  their  property  in  common,  in 
imitation  of  the  primitive  Chiistians, 
in  the  year  1760,  a  division  of  the 
Avhole  of  it  took  place,  except  a  tan- 
yard,  2000  acres  near  Bethlehem,  and 
5000  acres  near  Nazareth,  a  village  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Bethlehem.  The 
profits  of  these  estates  are  approp- 
riated to  the  support  and  progagation 
of  the  gospel.  There  are  many  valu- 
able manufactures  carried  on  at  Beth- 
lehem. The  inhabitants  possess  a 
gentleness  in  their  manners,  which  is 
peculiarly  agreeable  to  strangers. 
They  inure  their  children,  of  fi.ve  and 
six  years  old,  to  habits  of  early  indus- 
try. By  this  means  they  are  not  only 
taught  those  kinds  of  labour  which  are 
suited  to  their  strength  and  capacities, 
but  are  preserved  from  many  hurtful 
vices  and  accidents  to  which  children 
are  exposed. 


CHARACTERIZATION    OF    THE    GERMANS   OF  PENNSYLVANIA   IN   1789 


223 


The  Schwenkfelders  are  a  small 
society.  They  hold  the  same  prin- 
ciples as  the  Friends,  but  they  differ 
from  them  in  using  psalmody  in  wor- 
ship. 

The  German  Catholics  are  numer- 
ous in -Philadelphia,  and  have  several 
small  chapels  in  other  parts  of  the 
state. 

There  is  an  incorporated  charitable 
society  of  Germans  in  Philadelphia, 
whose  objects  are  the  relief  of  their 
poor  or  distressed  countrymen.  There 
is  likewise  a  German  society  of  labor- 
ers and  journeymen  mechanics,  who 
contribute  two  shillings  and  six  pence 
eight  times  a  year,  towards  a  fund, 
out  of  which  they  allow  thirt\  shill- 
ings a  week  to  each  other's  families 
when  the  head  is  unable  to  work ;  and 
seven  pounds  and  ten  shillings  to  his 
widow  as  soon  as  he  is  taken  from  his 
family  by  death. 

The  Germans  of  Pennsylvania,  in- 
cluding all  the  sects  that  have  been 
mentioned,  compose  nearly  one-third 
of  the  whole  inhabitants  of  the  State. 

The  intercourse  of  the  Germans 
with  each  other,  is  kept  up  chiefly  in 
their  own  language ;  but  most  of  their 
men  who  visit  the  capital,  or  towns  of 
the  State  speak  the  English  language. 
A  certain  number  of  the  laws  are  now 
printed  in  German,  for  the  benefit  of 
those  who  cannot  read  English.  A 
large  number  of  German  newspapers 
are  likewise  circulated  through  the 
State,  by  which  knowledge  and  intelli- 
gence have  been  diffused,  much  to  the 
advantage  of  the  Government.  There 
is  scarcely  an  instance  of  a  German,  of 
either  sex,  in  Pennsylvania,  that  can- 
not read,  but  many  of  the  wives  and 
daughters  of  the  German  farmers  can- 
not write.  The  present  state  of  society 
among  them  renders  this  a9complish- 
ment  of  little  consequence  to  their  im- 
provement or  happiness. 

If  it  were  possible  to  determine  the 
amount  of  all  the  property  brought  in- 
to Pennsylvania  by  the  German  in- 
habitants of  the  State  and  their  ances- 
tors, and  then    compare    it    with    the 


present  amount  of  their  property,  the 
contrast  would  form  such  a  monument 
of  human  industry  and  economy  as 
has  seldom  been  cohtemplated  in  any 
age  or  country. 

I  have  been  informed  that  there  was 
an  ancient  prophecy  which  foretold 
that:  "God  would  bless  the  Germans 
in  foreign  Countries."  This  prediction 
has  been  faithfully  verified  in  Penn- 
sylvania. They  enjoy  here  every  bless- 
ing that  liberty,  toleration,  indepen- 
dence, affluence,  virtue  and  reputation 
can  confer  upon  them. 

How  different  is  their  situation  here 
from  what  it  was  in  Germany?  Could 
the  subjects  of  the  princes  of  Ger- 
many, who  now  groan  away  their  lives 
in  slavery  and  unprofitable  labour, 
view  from  an  eminence,  in  the  month 
of  June,  the  German  settlements  of 
Strasburg  or  Manheim,  in  Lancaster 
county,  or  of  Lebanon,  or  Bethlehem 
in  the  counties  of  Dauphin  and  North- 
ampton ;  could  they  be  accompanied 
on  this  eminence  by  a  venerable  Ger- 
man farmer,  and  be  told  by  him  that 
many  of  those  extensive  fields  of 
grain,  full-fed  herds,  luxuriant  mead- 
ows, or  orchards  promising  loads  of 
fruit,  together  with  the  spacious  barns 
and  commodious  stone  dwelling- 
houses,  which  compose  the  prospects 
that  have  been  mentioned,  were  all  the 
product  of  the  labor  of  a  single  family, 
and  of  one  generation,  and  that  they 
were  all  secured  to  the  owners  of  them 
by  certain  laws ;  I  am  persuaded  that 
no  chains  would  be  able  to  detain 
them  from  sharing  in  the  freedom  of 
their  Pennsylvania  friends  and  former 
fellow  subjects.  "We  will  assert  our 
dignity,"  (would  be  their  language) 
"we  will  be  men — we  will  be  free — we 
will  enjoy  the  fruits  of  our  own  labors 
we  will  no  longer  be  bought  and  sold 
to  fight  the  battles  in  which  we 
have  neither  interest  nor  resentment 
— we  will  inherit  a  portion  of  that 
blessing  which  God  has  promised  to 
the  Germans  in  foreign  countries — we 
will  be  Pennsylvanians." 


224 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


I  shall  conclude  this  account  of  the 
manners  of  the  German  inhabitants  of 
Pennsylvania  by  remarking,  that  if  I 
have  failed  in  doing  them  justice,  it 
has  not  been  the  fault  of  my  subject. 
The  German  character  once  employed 
the  pen  of  one  of  the  first  histoiians  of 
antiquity.  I  mean  the  elegant  and  en- 
lightened Tactius.  It  is  very  remark- 
able that  the  Germans  in  Pennsyl- 
vania retain  in  a  great  degree  the  vir- 
tues which  this  author  (Tacitus)  as- 
scribes  to  their  ancestor  in  his  treatise, 
"De  moribus  Germanorum."  They 
inherit  their  integrity,  fidelity,  and 
chastity — but  Christianity  has  ban- 
ished from  them,  their  drunkenness, 
idleness  and  lo\e  of  military  glory. 
There  is  a  singular  trait  in  the  feat- 
ures of  the  German  character  in 
Pennsylvania,  which  shows  how  long 
the  most  trifling  custom  may  exist 
among  a  people  who  have  not  been 
mixed  with  other  nations.  Tacitus  de- 
scribes the  manner  in  which  the  an- 
cient Germans  build  their  villages,  in 
the  following  words:  "Suam  quisque 
domum  spatio  circumdat  sive  adver- 
sus  casus  ignis  remedium,  sive  inscitit 
aedificandi."  ^lany  of  the  German  vil- 
lages in  Penns3dvania  are  constructed 
in  the  same  manner;  the  small  houses 
are  composed  of  a  mixture  of  wood, 
brick,  and  clay,  neatly  united  to- 
gether ;  the  large  houses  are  built  of 
stone,  and  many  of  them  after  the 
English  fashion.  A'ery  few  of  the 
houses  in  Germantown  are  connected 
together.  Where  the  Germans  connect 
their  houses  in  their  villages,  they  ap- 
pear to  have  deviated  from  one  of  the 
customs  imported  from   Germanv. 

Citizens  of  the  United  States  learn 
from  the  wealth  and  independence  of 
the  German  inhabitants  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, to  encourage  by  3^our  example 
and  laws,  the  republican  virtues  of  in- 
dustry and  economy.  They  are  the 
only  pillars  Avhich  can  support  the 
present  Constitution  of  the  United 
States. 

Legislators  of  Pennsylvania!  learn 
from   the  history  of  your  German  fel- 


low citizens,  that  you  possess  an  inex- 
haustible treasure  in  the  bosom  of  the 
State,  in  their  manners  and  arts.  Con- 
tinue to  patronize  their  new  estab- 
lished Seminary  of  learning,  and  spare 
no  expense  in  supporting  their  public 
free  schools.  The  vices  which  follow 
the  want  of  religious  instruction 
among  the  children  of  the  poor  people 
lay  the  foundation  of  most  of  the  jails^ 
and  places  of  public  punishment  in  the 
State.  Do  not  contend  with  their  pre- 
judices in  favor  of  their  language:  It 
will  be  the  channel  through  which  the 
knowledge  and  discoveries  of  one  of 
the  wisest  nations  of  Europe,  may  be 
conveyed  into  the  country.  In  propor- 
tion as  they  are  instructed  and  en- 
lightened in  their  own  language,  they 
will  become  acquainted  wath  the  lan- 
guage of  the  United  States.  Invite 
them  to  share  in  the  powder  and  offices 
of  government ;  it  will  be  the  means  of 
producing  an  union  in  principle  and 
conduct  between  them,  and  those  of 
their  enlightened  fellow  citizens  wha 
are  descended  from  other  nations. 
Above  all,  cherish  with  peculiar  ten- 
derness, those  sects  among  them  wha 
hold  war  to  be  unlawful.  Relieve 
them  from  oppression  of  absurd  and 
unnecessary  militia  laws.  Protect 
them  as  the  repositories  of  a  truth  of 
the  gospel,  wdiich  has  existed  in  every 
age  of  the  church,  and  which  must 
soread  hereafter  over  every  part  of 
the  world. 

The  opinions  respecting  commerce 
and  slavery  of  the  Africans,  which 
have  heartily  produced  a  revolution  in 
their  favor,  in  some  of  the  European 
governments,  were  transplanted  from 
a  sect  of  Christians  in  Pennsylvania. 
Perhaps  those  German  sects  of  Chris- 
tians among  us,  who  refuse  to  bear 
arms  for  the  purpose  of  shedding 
human  blood,  may  be  preserved  by 
Divine  Providence,  as  the  centre  of  a 
circle,  which  shall  gradually  embrace 
all  the  nations  of  the  earth  in  a  per- 
petual treaty  of  friendship  and  peace. 


225 


Historic  Places  in  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


NOTE — The  following  is  the  list  of  land- 
marks which  were  marked  with  appropriate 
signs  during  Philadelphia's  historical  cele- 
bration last  Fall  giving  historical  facts  con- 
nected with  them.  The  work  of  locating 
these  old  places  and  m  arking  them  was 
completed  after  many  weeks'  work  by 
William    L.  Campbell,  of  1008  Walnut  street: 

University  of  Pennsylvania,  west 
side  of  Ninth  street,  between  Market 
and  Chestnut. 

Home  of  Elias  Boudinet,  200  Pine 
street. 

British  ^Military  Hospital,  and  home 
of  the  Rev.  Jacob  Duche,  northwest 
corner  Third  and  Pine. 

St.  Peter's  Church,  southwest  cor- 
ner Third  and  Pine. 

Grave  of  Commodore  Decatur,  St. 
Peter's  Curchyard. 

Old  Pine  Street  Presbyterian 
Church,  1768,  southwest  corner 
Fourth  and  Pine. 

Site  of  residence  of  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin, about   1749,  267  Race. 

Birthplace  of  Henry  George,  1839, 
413  South  Tenth. 

George  Washington's  residence, 
1790-95'  526-530  Alarket. 

Joseph  Galloway's  residence,  south- 
east corner  Sixth  and  Market  sts. 

House  where  Jefferson  wrote  De- 
claration of  Independence,  Penn  Na- 
tional  Bank,  700  Market. 

Residence  Thomas  Jefferson,  1791, 
about  808  Market. 

Office  Thomas  Jefferson,  Secretary 
of  State,  801   Market. 

Grave  of  David  Rittenhouse,  astron- 
omer, grave3^ard  of  Old  Pine  Street 
Presbyterian  Church,  southwest  cor- 
ner Fourth  and  Pine. 

Musical  Fund  Hall,  1824  .  Locust 
street,  south   side,  above  Eighth  St. 

United  States  Sanitary  Fair,  1864, 
Eighteenth  street  entrance  to  Logan 
Square. 

London  Coffee  House,  1754,  south- 
west corner  Front  and  Market  streets. 

Robert  Grace's  house  and  meetings 
of  Junto  Club,  131  ^larket. 


Alarket  Street  Prison,  1695-1753, 
middle  of  Market  street,  '  between 
Front  and  Second. 

Letitia  House  (removed  to  Park  in 
1883),  west  side  of  Letitia  street,  be- 
tween Market  and  Chestnut. 

Friends'  First  Meeting  House,  1695- 
1808,  southwest  corner  Second  and 
Market. 

Old  Courthouse,  1710-1837,  Second 
and  Market,  facing  east  in  center  of 
street. 

Prison,  1732,  southwest  corner 
Third  and  Market. 

Home  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  1764- 
1790,  in  court  in  rear  of  Orianna 
street,  at  316  jNIarket. 

Mercantile  Library  Building,  1844- 
1809. 

Oldest  dispensary  in  the  United 
States,    1786,    127   South    Fifth. 

Site  of  Free  Quaker  Cemetery,  1786, 
244-254  South  Fifth. 

The  Academy,  1749  Fourth  street, 
west  side,  a  little  below  Arch. 

Zion  Lutheran  Church,  1769,  127 
South   Fourth. 

St.  George's  Methodist  Church 
(oldest  in  America),  229  N.  Fourth. 

St.  Augustine's  Catholic  Church, 
built  in  1796,  destroyed  in  riot  1844, 
rebuilt  1846,  Fourth  street,  opposite 
New  street. 

Friends'  Meeting  House.  1701, 
southeast  corner  Fourth  and  Chestnut. 
Oldest  Insurance  company  in  Amer- 
ica, 1752,  Philadelphia  Contribution- 
ship,  212  South   Fourth. 

Shippen  Mansion :  Benedict  Arnold 
married  Peggy  Shippen,  1779,  218-220 
South  Fourth  street. 

St.  Joseph's  Church,  built  about 
1734  (oldest  Catholic  church  in  the 
city),  \\'illing's  alley,  below  fourth. 

St.  Mary's  Catholic  Church,  erect- 
ed   1763,  244-250  South   Fourth. 

Grave  of  John  Barry,  in  St.  Mary's 
graveyard. 

Former  residence  of  Dr.  Joseph 
Leidy,  America's  greatest  naturalist, 
1302  Filbert  street. 


226 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Hibernia  engine  house,  223   Locust. 

First  site  Central  High  School, 
Juniper  street,  side  of  Wanamaker 
Building. 

State  Arsenal,  1785,  Chestnut  and 
Juniper  streets. 

United  States  Mint,  Mint  Arcade 
Building. 

Rush   Mansion,   Aldine   Hotel. 

Blue  Anchor  Tavern,  1690,  north- 
west corner  Front  and  Dock. 

Merchants'  Exchange,  1834,  now 
Stock  Exchange,  Walnut,  Third  and 
Dock. 

Morris  Mansion,  built  1787,  225  S. 
Eighth. 

American  Philosophical  Society, 
erected  1787,  west  side  of  Fifth,  be- 
low Chestnut. 

Philadelphia  Library,  1790-1880, 
rear  portion  of  Fifth  street,  front  of 
Drexel  Building. 

Robert  Atkin's  printing  office,  1782, 
108  Market. 

Mickve  Israel  Synagogue,  1747,  117 
North  Seventh. 

Franklin  Institute,  founded  1824,  15 
South   Seventh. 

Old  Almshouse,  173 1,  and  Philadel- 
phia Hospital,  Spruce  to  Pine,  Third 
to  Fourth. 

Holy  Trinity  Church,  built  1789, 
northwest  corner   Sixth   and   Spruce. 

Jewish  Cemetery,  1738,  northwest 
corner  Spruce  and  Darien. 

Bettering  House,  south  side  of 
Spruce,  Tenth  to  Eleventh. 

Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy 
(oldest  in  the  world),  1831,  139  South 
Tenth. 

United  States  Postoffice,  1799,  S. 
Third. 

Girard  Bank,  1812  (formerly  Bank 
of  the  United  States,  1795),  Third,  be- 
low Chestnut. 

Betsy  Ross  House,  239  Arch  street. 
Grave  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  south- 
east corner  Fifth  and  Arch. 

Free  Quaker  Meeting  House,  erect- 
ed 1783,  southwest  corner  Fifth  and 
Arch. 

Arch  street  prison,  1809-36,  south 
side  of  Arch  street,  from  Broad  to 
Fifteenth. 


St.  George  and  the  Dragon  Inn,  200 
Arch  street. 

Barbadoes  store,  1695,  201  Chestnut. 
Residence     of     Governor      Thomas 
Lloyd,  1684,  243  Chestnut. 

Treasury  Department,  1798,  250 
Chestnut. 

First  Bank  founded  by  Congress, 
1781,  Bank  of  North  America,  305 
Chestnut  street. 

WHERE  THE  NATION  WS  FOUNDED 
Independence     Hall,     Chestnut,  be- 
tween Fifth  and  Sixth. 

Congress  Hall,  Washington  inaugu- 
rated 1793.  Adams  inauguarated  I797> 
southeast  corner  Sixth  and  Chestnut 
streets. 

Carpenter  mansion,  built  about  1738 
517  Chestnut  street. 

Wain  mansion,  632  Chestnut  street. 
Masonic  Temple,   1809,    717    Chest- 
nut street. 

Robert  Morris  mansion  about  720 
Chestnut. 

Chinese  Museum,  Ninth,  below 
Chestnut. 

Cook's  circus,  Chestnut  street,  front 
of  Continental  Hotel. 

Markoe  mansion,  917  Chestnut  St. 
Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  1025  Chest- 
nut. 

First  Moravian  Church  in  Philadel- 
phia, 1742-1856,  226  Race  street. 

Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  north- 
west corner  Broad  and  Sansom  Sts. 

Christ  Church,  built  1727.  Second 
above  Market. 

Residence  of  William  Logan,  1750- 
60,  northwest  corner  Sansom  and  Sec- 
ond streets. 

Slate  roof  house,  1698-1867,  south- 
east corner  Sansom  and  Second  Sts. 

Traditional  Indian  reservation, 
back  of  145-7  South  Second  street. 

City  Tavern,  1773,  below  southwest 
corner  of  Moravian  and  Second  Sts. 

Birthplace  of  General  George  B. 
McClellan,  254  South  Second  street. 

Second  street  market,  built  I74S> 
Second  and  Pine  streets. 

First  United  States  Mint,  erected 
1792,  37-39  North  Seventh  street. 


HISTORIC    PLACES    IN    PHILADELPHIA,    PA. 


227 


First  Bank  chartered  by  Congress, 
First  National  Bank,  315  Chestnut 
street. 

Carpenter's  Ilall,  meeting  place  of 
First   Continental   Congress. 

Norris  mansion,  1750,  400  Chestnut 
street. 

United  States  Bank,  1824-45,  the 
Custom  House  since  1845,  south  side 
of  Chestnut,  between  Fourth  and 
Fifth   streets. 

United  States  Hotel,  419-21  Chest- 
nut street. 

Laurence  mansion,  Howe's  head- 
quarters,  1777-78,  427  Chestnut  street. 

United  States  postoffice,  1863-84, 
Drexel  Building,  lower  portion,  Chest- 
nut streets,  below  Fifth  street. 

Mayor's  office,  1791-1891,  south- 
west corner  Fifth  and  Chestnut  Sts. 

Residence  of  Alexander  Hamilton, 
1791,  southeast  corner  Walnut  and 
Third  streets. 

St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church,  built 
1761,  231  South  Third  street. 

Willing  mansion,  built  1746-  228  S. 
Third  street. 

"Fort  Wilson,"  home  of  James  Wil- 
son, southeast  corner  Third  and  Wal- 
nut streets. 

Home  of  Benjamin  Rush,  1791,  301 
Walnut  street. 

Mansion  of  Judge  Richard  Peters, 
307  W^alnut  strset. 

Friends'  Almshouse,  1713-1841, 
back  of  Walnut  court,  between  314 
and  318  Walnut  street. 

Walnut  street  prison,  1775-1836, 
southeast  corner  Sixth  and  Walnut 
streets. 

Potter's  Field,  1704-95,  Washington 
Square. 

Ebenezer  Church,  1819,  north  side 
of  Christian,  west  of  Third  street. 

Penrose  mansion,  1777-1866,,  south- 
east corner  Bainbridge  and  Water 
streets. 

Gloria  Dei  Church,  1700,  and  Swe- 
dish blockhouse,  1669,  east  side  of 
Swanson  street,  below  Christian. 

Grave  of  Alexander  Wilson,  orni- 
tholigist,  in  graveyard  of  Gloria  Dei 
Church. 


Hill's  shipyard  Queen  street  wharf. 

Commissioners'  Hall,  Southwark, 
1810-82,  east  side  of  Second,  above 
Christian. 

Residence  of  Henry  George,  814  S. 
Third. 

Original  Swedish  house,  on  both 
sides  of  Queen  street,  below  Front. 

Sparks'  shot  tower,  erected  1808, 
Carpenter,  between  Front  and  Second 
streets. 

British  redoubt,  1777-78,  Reed  and 
Swanson  streets. 

Wharton  mansion  and  the  Mesch- 
ianza,  west  side  of  Fifth,  below 
Wharton. 

Association  Battery,  Humphrey's 
shipyard  and  United  States  Navy 
yard,  between  Front  and  the  river, 
and  between  Prime  and  Wharton. 

Cooper  shop,  refreshment  saloon, 
1861-65,  Water  street  fifty  yards  south 
of  Washington  avenue. 

Union  volunteer  refreshment  saloon 
1861-65,  Delaware  and  Washington 
avenues. 

First  china  factory  in  the  United 
States,  China  street,  at  Front  and 
Prime. 

112  Federal  street.  Thomas  D.  Gro- 
ver,   phlanthropist,   died  here   1849. 

Fifth  street  andWashington  avenue, 
Southwark   Foundry,   1856. 

Christian  street,  below  Tenth,  site 
of  Moyamensing  Commissioners' 
Hall. 

732  South  Third  street,  birthplace  of 
James  Campbell,  attoreny  general  of 
the  United  States. 

730  South  Swanson  street,  birth- 
place of  William   Clifton,  poet. 

Old  Scots'  Presbyterian  Church, 
Bainbridge  street,  east  of  Fourth. 

328  Bainbridge  street,  Margaret 
Duncan  burying  ground. 

West  sire  Leithgow  street,  below 
South,  side  of  Apollo  Street  Theater, 
1811. 

Second  street,  below  South,  South- 
wark Bank. 

611  South  Front. street,  site  of  resi- 
dence of  Stephen  Decatur. 

American  street,  below  South,  in 
this  street  resided  Edwin  Forrest  (his 


228 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


birthplace).  Commodore  Joseph  Cas- 
sin,  Alexander  Wilson,  Joel  Suther- 
land and   Bishop   William   O'Hara. 

30  South  street,  site  of  the  Plum- 
stead  house.  Mason  and  Dixon  obser- 
vatory was  near  this  spot. 

Southwest  corner  Leithgow  and  S. 
street,  site  of  the  South  Street  Thea- 
ter 1 766- 1 82 1. 

Southwest  corner  South  and  Han- 
cock streets,  site  of  the  old  South  St. 
Theater. 

Southwest  corner  Tenth  and  South 
streets,  site  of   Lebanon   Gardens. 

Northwest  corner  Third  and  Lom- 
bard streets,  former  residence  of  Chas. 
AV'ilson  Peale. 

410  South  Fifth  stret,  Lewis  Hal- 
lam,  father  of  the  American  stage, 
died   here   in    1808. 

224  Pine  street,  residence  of  Mayor 
John  Stamper,   1750. 

Northwest  corner  Third  and  Pine 
streets,  site  of  residence  of  Colonel 
John  Nixon. 

Southwest  corner  Second  and  Lit- 
tle Dock  streets,  Loxley  house,  built 
about  1720.  Lydia  Darrach  is  sup- 
posed to  have  lived  here. 

237  Union  street,  Horace  Binney's 
residence. 

260  South  Third  street,  site  of  the 
Bino^ham  ^Mansion,  1790  to  1806,  after- 
ward Mansion  House  Hotel. 

Southeast  corner  Third  and  Chan- 
cellor streets.  Robert  Bell's  book 
store  and  printing  office. 

217  South  Fifth  street,  St.  Paul's 
Episcopal    Church,    built    1761. 

338  Spruce  street,  residence  of 
Joseph  Hopinkson,  author  of  "Hail! 
Columbia,"  and  the  "The  Battle  of 
the   Keg-s,"  born   1770.  died   1842. 

Northwest  corner  Fifth  and  Locust 
streets,  Lailson's  circus,  1797-1798: 
McPherson  Blues,  Lancaster's  Model 
School,  Malzell's  chess  automaton. 

South  side  Locust,  below  Sixth, 
Prune  street  Theater,  "Home,  Sweet 
Home"  was  sung  here  for  the  first 
time  in  America. 

Northwest  corner  Sixth  and  Spruce 
streets,  site  of  Holy  Trinity  Catholic 
Church,  built   1789. 


Southeast  corner  Sixth  and  Adelphi 
streets,  former  residence  of  Nicholas 
Biddle,  erected  about  1820,  now  occu- 
pied by  the  American  Catholic  His- 
torical Society. 

Southwest  corner  Locust  street  and 
Washington  square,  residence  of 
Howaid  Horace  Furness,  Shakespear- 
ean scholar. 

260  South  Ninth  street,  residence  of 
Joseph    Bonaparte,   built    1812. 

Southeast  corner  Sixth  and  Walnut 
streets,  site  of  the  old  Walnut  Street 
Prison. 

Northeast  corner  Broad  and  Wal- 
nut streets,  site  of  the  Vauxhall  Thea- 
ter and  garden,  lately  the  Dundas 
mansion. 

130  South  Sixth  street,  residence  of 
Thomas  J.  Wharton  ;  birthplace  of  the 
Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania  in 
1824. 

124  Soutli  Front  street.  This  house 
was  built  early  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. 

Southeast  corner  Twelfth  and  San- 
son! streets,  site  of  the  Church  of  the 
New  Jerusalem,  1816-1826;  Academy 
of  Natural   Sciences,    1826- 1840 

Sansom  street,  above  Second,  for- 
merly Lodge  alley,  where  Bjaldwin 
built  his  first  locomotive. 

Southwest  corner  Ionic  and  Amer- 
ican streets,  sujiposed  to  be  the  oldest 
house  in   Philadelphia. 

119  South  Fourth  street,  site  of  the 
First  Free  School  founded  by  the 
Society  of  Friends.  Robert  Proud 
taught  here. 

422  Walnut  street,  John  Marshall, 
chief  justice  of  the  United  States,  died 
here  July  6,  1835. 

West  side  Third,  below  Chestnut, 
site  of  Jay  Cooke's  banking  house. 

314-318  Walnut  street,  site  of  the 
old  Friends'  Almshouse,  where  ac- 
cording to  legend,  "Evangeline"  was 
buried. 

309  Walnut  street,  former  residence 
of  Bishop  White. 

Ninth  and  Walnut  streets,  oldest 
theater  in  America,  the  Walnut  Street 
Theater. 


HISTORIC    PLACES    IN    PHILADELPHIA,    PA. 


229 


121  South  Second  street,  site  of  the 
house  in  which  Robert  Fulton  lived. 

123  South  Second  street,  site  of  Cap- 
tain Anton's  house.  The  Assembly 
met  here  in  1728  to  1729. 

Northeast  corner  Fourth  and  W^al- 
nut  streets,  former  residence  of  Gen- 
eral Stephen  Moylan,  military  secre- 
tary to  Washington. 

Northeast  corner  Second  and  Wal- 
nut streets,  site  of  the  house  in  -vvhich 
was  born  1680  John  Drinker,  the  first 
European   child   born   in   Philadeli)hia. 

Southeast  corner  Dock  and  Alora- 
vian  streets,  formerly  the  publication 
office  of  Burton's  Gentlemen's  ]\Iaga- 
zine,  of  which  Poe  was  editor. 

120  South  Third  stret,  Girard's  of- 
fice at  the  time  of  his  death.  Now  the 
site  of  the  Girard  National  Bank. 

Southeast  corner  Fourth  and  Chest- 
nut streets,  site  of  Mathew  Carey's 
bookstore. 

517  Chestnut  street,  site  of  the 
Coach  and  Horse  Inn,  built  1745. 

North  side  Chestnut  street,  below 
Eighth,  east  part  of  Green  Hotel,  site 
of  the  residence  of  Thomas  Fitzsim- 
mons,  signer  of  the  constitution. 

1025  Chestnut  street.  Academy  of 
Fine  Arts,  designed  by  Benjamin 
H.  Latrobe,  1806-72. 

Southeast  corner  Second  street  and 
Blackhorse  alley,  site  of  the  Bradford 
House,  used  as  a  postoffice,  1728. 

Southeast  corner  Seventh  and  Chest- 
nut streets,  site  of  the  residence  of 
George  Clymer,  signer  of  the  Declar- 
ation of  Independence. 

708  Chestnut  street,  site  of  the  resi- 
dence of  Jared  Ingersoll,  signer  of  the 
constitution;  afterward  occupied  by 
George  M.  Dallas. 

135  Market  street,  site  of  Franklin's 
printing  office. 

W^est  side  of  Fourth,  below  Arch, 
site  of  the  Academy,  the  beginning  of 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania,   1749. 

35  North  Second  street,  site  of  the 
office  of  Peter  Porcupine's  Gazette 
edited  by  Williarn  Cobett. 


Eighth  and  Seventeenth  and  Filbert 
to  Arch  streets.  This  block  was  the 
site  of  McAran's  garden. 

325  Market  street,  Franklin's  resi- 
dence where  the  first  lightning  rod 
was  erected  about  1749-50. 

Christ  Church  yard,  graves  of  James 
Wilson,  Robert  Morris  and  Michael 
Ilillegas. 

Northeast  corner  Fourth  and  Arch 
streets,  house  built  for  Provost  Wil- 
liam Smith  before  1762.  James  Rus- 
sell  Lowell  lived  here  in   1845. 

Southwest  corner  Sixth  and  Haines 
streets,  site  of  Pennsylvania  Hall,  the 
meeting  place  of  the  Abolition  Society 
destroyed  by  a  mob  in  1838;  rebuilt 
as  an  Odd  Fellow's  temple. 

515  Cherry  street,  home  of  Bass 
Otis  artist.  1819,  who  made  the  first 
American  lithograph. 

Arch  street,  between  Twelfth  and 
Twenty-first,  site  of  the  Labyrinth 
Garden. 

Northwest  corner  Seventh  and  Arch 
streets,  site  of  the  house  of  David  Rit- 
tenhouse. 

221  North  W^ater  street,  residence 
of  Stephen  Girard  at  the  time  of  his 
death. 

W'est  side  of  Vine,  near  Ninth  St., 
site  of  the  Mars  Iron  Works,  founded 
by  Oliver  Ivins,   1804. 

West  side  of  the  Seventeenth  street, 
south  of  Spring  Garden,  site  of  the 
Bush  Hill  mansion,  erected  by  Alex- 
ander Hamilton,  in  1740;  burned  1806. 

Twenty-second  and  Hamilton  Sts., 
site  of  the  Springettsbury  manor,  the 
home  of  the  Penns.  Part  of  the  site  is 
now  occupied  by  the  Preston  Re- 
treat. 

Callowhill  street  and  the  Schuylkill 
river,  site  of  the  Upper  Ferry  bridge, 
1812-1838;  wire  bridge,   1842-1874. 

462  North  Second  street,  residence 
of  John  Fitch,  the  inventor. 

530  North  Seventh  street,  residence 
of  Edgar  Allen  Poe  from  1843  to  1844. 

— North  American. 


230 


Grace  Leinberger,  or  the  White  Rose 

A  TALE  OF  FRONTIER  LIFE 

By  J.  Fred  Bachman,  Danielsville,  Pa. 

PART  II 


HE  signal  gun  on  ihe  fort 
was  heard  before  the 
conversation  with  Pat 
[Nlagrah  had  ended. 

"  Attention     men ! 

March,"  said  the  Colonel 

in  a  commanding  tone. 

The   men    seized    their 

guns  and  fell  in   line-     They  marched 

a  short  distance  when  the  signal  gun 

was  heard  again. 

"]\Ien,  be  very  careful !"  said  the 
Colonel,  we  might  run  into  an  ambus- 
cade." 

Little  Gracie  was  a  hindrance  to 
the  soldiers  in  their  hurried  march, 
but  not  one  of  them  made  a  com- 
plaint. 

Soon  it  came  to  Pat's  turn  to  carry 
the   child. 

"Now,  sir!"  said  the  Colonel  as  he 
handed  her  to  him,  it  is  your  turn  to 
carry  Grace.  You  will  take  good  care 
of  her.  The  other  men  will  carry  your 
rifle  by  turns.     Be  very ' 

"Shall  I  give  up  me  gun  when  I  am 
carrying  the  baby.  How  can  I  protect 
the  child  and  meself  if  I  have  no  gun. 
A  foine  thing,  what  will  I  do  when 
the  heathen  Indian  comes?  No  be- 
gobs  I  will  not  give  up  me  gun  nor 
the  baby,  not  as  long  as  me  name  is 
Pat  Magrah." 

The  Colonel  could  not  suppress  a 
smile. 

"Will  I  defend  her?  Sure  I  will," 
said  Pat  in  answer  to  the  Colonel's 
smile. 

These  words  were  spoken  hurriedly 
as  the  men  were  marching  rapidly 
along. 

The  signal  gun  was  heard  again 
and  the  men  broke  into  a  run.  They 
waded  the  river  and  reached  the  fort 
in  time  to  assist  the  noble  defenders 


against  the  last  onset  of  the  Indians, 
who  fled  leaving  several  of  their  num- 
ber lying  dead  on  the  ground. 

The  soldiers  followed  them  some 
distance  but  could  not  overtake  them. 
On  their  return  to  the  fort  they  were 
not  a  little  surprised  to  see  Pat  stand- 
ing inside  the  fort  offering  the  child 
for  sale. 

The  occupants  of  the  fort  were  poor. 
They  had  their  own  children  to  care 
for  and  did  not  wish  to  adopt  the 
child. 

"Dear  me !"  said  the  Colonel  as  he 
saw  Pat  and  the  people  standing 
around  him,  "are  you  offering  the 
poor  child  for  sale?" 

"An'  what  else  should  I  do?"  said 
Pat.  "The  child  has  no  parents  an'  we 
must  do  the  best  we  can  with  it." 

"You  must  not  sell  human  beings, 
Pat,"  said  the  Colonel,  who  was  very 
much  annoyed  by  the  actions  of  Pat. 
"^^'hat  would  you  say  if  some  one 
would  offer  your  child  for   sale?" 

"An'  what  would  I  say?"  said  the 
jolly  Irishman,  "I  don't  think  I  would 
say  anything  if  I  was  dead  like  this 
little  girl's  parents." 

The  Colonel  took  the  little  girl  in 
his  brawny  arms  and  lifting  her  up 
offered  her  to  any  one  of  the  occu- 
pants of  the  fort  who  would  raise  her 
as   becomes   Christian   parents. 

But  they  all  shook  their  heads. 
They  were  poor  and  their  supply  of 
food  and  clothing  was  scanty. 

"Is  there  no  one  here  that  will  take 
this  dear  little  baby?"  said  the  Colonel 
as  he  wiped  the  tears  from  his  cheeks. 

Fredericka  Miska,  the  pious  old 
missionary,  stood  near  the  gate  of  the 
fort  and  hearing  all  the  conversation 
was  overcome  with  grief.  She  too  was 
frequently    in    want    of    food    but    she 


GRACE   LEINBERGER,   OR   THE   WHITE    ROSE 


231 


never  failed  to  share  her  scanty  store 
with  those  in  need — even  with  the 
natives. 

"I  will  take  the  child.  It  is  a  God- 
send. My  store  is  scanty  but  God 
will  provide  for  us.  The  dear  Lord 
will  not  for£2:et  us  in  all  our  trouble. 
He  has  a  purpose  in  saving  this  child," 
So  saying  she  took  the  child  in  her 
arms  and  lovingly  embracing  it, 
walked  to  her  cabin. 

The  hearty  pioneers  gazed  at  the 
pious  Fredericka  Aliska  in  astonish- 
ment while  tears  of  joy  rolled  down 
their  cheeks.  Then  and  there  they 
made  a  solemn  vow  that  Little  Grace 
and  Fredericka  Miska  should  never 
want   for  food   and   clothing. 

Grace,  as  she  was  called,  was  well 
cared  for  by  the  pioneers  and  her  fos- 
ter mother.  She  grew  up  to  be  a 
beautiful  young  maiden  loved  and 
respected  by  all  who  knew  her.  She 
frequently  accompanied  Fredericka 
Miska  during  her  wanderings  to  the 
Aloravian  settlements  in  the  beautiful 
Lehigh  valley.  They  finally  made 
their  home  in  Bethlehem  where  they 
rendered  assistance  to  the  sick  and 
needy. 

In  due  time  Grace  entered  school. 
She  succeeded  well  in  all  her  studies. 
Her  mind  was  very  active.  She  had  a 
fondness  for  the  study  of  nature. 
When  others  were  amusing  them- 
selves in  playing  games  and  romping 
around,  she  wandered  through  the 
groves  and  fields,  admiring  the  flow- 
ers, trees,  shrubs  and  other  plants. 

Frequently  during  her  rambles  she 
met  John  Hibscli,  a  young  theological 
student,  who  had  arrived  from  Ger- 
many several  years  before,  and  made 
America  his  home,  and  was  preparing 
himself  for  missionary  work  among 
the  natives. 

He  was  a  friend  of  nature.  He  liked 
to  ramble  along  the  streams,  fields, 
hills,  and  mountains.  He  watched 
the  birds  as  they  fiitted  among  the 
branches  of  the  trees,  the  squirrels  as 
they  leaped  from  tree  to  tree,    and  the 


fish  as  they  darted  swiftly  from  place 
to  place  in  the  silvery  streams. 

The  natives  considered  him  their 
friend.  He  slept  with  them  in  their 
rude  huts,  and  they  would  have  sacri- 
ficed their  lives  for  him. 

One  day  while  he  was  rambling  at 
the  foot  of  a  beautiful  hill  along  the 
Lehigh  River,  he  espied  Grace  sitting 
at  the  foot  of  an  oak  tree  with  several 
natives.  She  was  reading  the  Bible 
and  praying  with  them. 

The  young  missionary  looked  on  in 
astonishment.  He  had  frequently 
heard  the  story  of  Grace  and  her  par- 
ents, and  it  seemed  almost  impossible 
that  she  would  befriend  these  natives. 
He  drew  nearer  and  nearer  without 
interrupting  them  in  their  devotions. 
At  last  he  spoke  to  her  'T  can  not  re- 
frain from  speaking  to  you.  I  know 
your  history  well,  and  it  seems  almost 
impossible  to  me  that  you  would 
teach  these  natives,"  he  said. 

Grace  looked  at  him  in  astonish- 
ment. 

"Wh}^  should  I  not  teach  them  the 
word  of  God.  They  did  me  no  harm. 
They  are  not  responsible  for  the 
death   of   my   parents." 

"That   is   true,   but " 

She  interrupted  him.  "Why  should 
I  not  be  a  friend  to  them  all?  The 
murderers  of  my  parents  were  no 
more  responsible  for  their  cruel  deeds 
than  these  would  be  in  their  present 
state." 

"Grace,  you  are  moved  by  the  spirit 
of  God,"  said  the  young  missionary. 

The  day  was  now  drawing  to  a 
close,  the  bright  sun  sinking  in  the 
west.  Grace  and  the  missionary 
spent  a  short  time  viewing  the  beauti- 
ful Lehigh  river  as  its  silvery  waters 
reflected  the  light  of  the  golden  rays 
of  the  sun.  They  then  ascended  the 
low  hill  and  passed  the  old  graveyard 
on  their  way  home.  They  frequently 
turned  and  looked  at  the  scenery  as  it 
lay  before  them. 

"Grace,  I  will  leave  in  a  few  days  for 
the  far  west — the  abode  of  the  In- 
dians,"   said    the    missionary    in    slow, 


232 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


measured  tones  as  he  turned  his  eyes 
softly  on  her. 

She   looked  on   him   sorrowfully. 

"Are  you  really  going  to  leave?" 
she  said  as  she  gazed  on  the  ground. 

"Yes!  It  will  be  only  a  short  time 
and  I  will  be  forgotten  here." 

"Perhaps." 

"No  one  will  mourn  for  me  when 
I  am  gone." 

She  could  not  suppress  a  sigh.  They 
walked  along  slowly. 

"Grace !  It  will  be  very  lonely  for 
me  out  there  without  a  comrade." 

"Then  why  do  you  go  alone?"  she 
said  without  thinking. 

"Will  you  accompany  me !"  was  his 
modest  reply. 

The  question  came  so  suddenl}'  that 
Grace  could  not  think  but  merely 
stared  at  him. 

"I  mean  what  I  say,"  he  added. 


"I  have  no  objections  if  you  think 
me  a  suitable  companion  and  that  it 
is  God's  will,  but  you  know  the  rules 
of  our  church,"  she  said. 

They  walked  home  together  and  she 
imparted  the  news  to  her  foster 
mother. 

"I  have  no  objections,  I  believe  you 
will  be  a  suitable  companion  for  him. 
I  am  old  and  will  miss  you  very 
much,  but  it  is  God's  will.  Do  as  you 
think  best." 

John  Hibsch  was  a  true  lover.  He 
would  not  run  the  risk  of  losing  the 
fair  Grace  for  whom  so  many  hearts 
were  longing.  He  immediately  called 
on  one  of  the  ofiBcers  of  the  church 
to  whom  he   made  known  his  errand. 

The  God-fearing  Grace  took  her 
Bible  and  prayer-book  and  went  to 
her  silent  room. 


The  Mournful  Ballad  of  Susanna  Cox 


NOTE. — One  hundred  years  ago,  in  1809, 
Susanna  Cox  was  executed  in  Reading  for 
infanticide.  Her  melanclioly  fate  awakened 
great  sympathy,  and  some  unknown  poet 
wrote  a  German  ballad  which  is  not  yet 
entirely  forgotten.  It  was,  we  believe, 
never  translated;  but  a  correspondent 
sends  us  the  following  original  English 
version  of  which  the  peculiarities  of  the 
German    ballad    are    carefully    preserved. 

Come  listen  now,  ye  people  all, 

And  to  my  words  give  heed! 
A  maiden's  fate  I  will  relate — 

A   mournful   tale,   indeed. 

At  Jacob  Gehr's  in  Oley,  she 

Had  been  a  servant  good; 
Her  name  it  was  Susanna  Cox, 

As   I  have  understood. 

Instructions   she  had   ne'er   receive-! 

In  her  neglected  youth; 
She  had  not  learned  the  will  of  God, 

And  did  not  love  his  truth. 

It  is  a  fact  we  all  should  know. 

For  this   the   Scriptures   say, 
That  those  who  fail  God's  word  to  read 

Will    surely   go   astray. 

It  was  a  neighbor  we  are  told — 
And  Mertz  that  was  his  name — 

Who  wickedly  misled  this  maid 
Away  to  sin  and  shame. 


From  dark  temptation  sin  was  born. 

As    well    the    Scriptures    show; 
So  through  this  man   Susanna  Cox 

Was  brought  to  pain  and  woe. 

The  word  of  God  he  did  not  heed, 

Its  laws  he  did  not  fear; 
And   what   the   seventh   commandment   says 

He  met  with  scoff  and  jeer. 

His  marriage  vow  he  boldly  scorned, 

As   all   his   actions   show; 
Too  late  he  will  repent,  I  fear, 

When  death  has  laid  him  low. 

Though   sore   oppressed   by   sin   and   shame 
The  maid  ne'er  told  her  grief; 

That  no  one  knew  her  sorrow  then 
Is  quite  beyond  belief. 

The  second  month  and  fourteenth  Oay 
Of   eighteen   hundred    and   nine, 

A  child   was   born   at  half  past  four, 
Ere   yet   the   sun   did   shine. 

Then  blinded  sorely  by  her  sin, 

And   in   her   sorrow   wild, 
This   wicked   mother    raised   her   hand 

And  slew  her  new  born  child. 

Soon   as  the  dreadful   crime  was  known 

They    placed    her    in    arrest; 
And  that  she  did  this  awful  deed 

She  speedily   confessed. 


THE    MOURNFUL    BALLAD   OF    SUSANNA    COX 


233 


A  jury   was  convened  full  soon 
B.v  whom  she  should  l)e  tried; 

And  on   this  sinner's  punishment 
They  wisely  did  decide. 

For  tender  mercy  at  their  hands 

She  made  an  earnest  plea; 
But   murder   was   the   verdict   found, 

And  in  the  first  degree. 

Then   to  the   courthouse   she  was   led — 
The  judge's  name   was   Spayd — 

"With   tears   she  heard   her   sentence   read, 
For   she   was   sore   afraid. 

Her  agony,  ah!    who  can  tell? 

She  knew  the  end  was  nigh. 
And  that  upon  the  scaffold  she 

A  shameful  death  must  die. 

A   warrant  for  her   death   they  wrote. 

And  all  her  shame  set  down; 
Then  bore  it  to  the  Governor 

Unto    Lancaster    town. 

A  man  who  was  most  merciful 

Then  thither  took  his  way; 
And    for    her   to    the    Governor 

Most  earnestly  did  pray. 

Alas!    no  pardon  could  be  given; 

The  end  it  came  full  soon; 
'Twas  ordered  that  she  should  be  hanged 

Upon  the  tenth  of  June. 

The  warrant  for  her  death  was  brought, 

And   in   the    prison    read: 
"'Have  mercy   on  my   soul,"  she   prayed 

"O  Lord,  when  I  am  dead." 

The  clergy  came  to  visit  her, 
And  brought  her  words  of  cheer; 

Her  penitence,  as  all  could  see, 
Was   thoroughly   sincere. 

Forth   from   the    prison   she   was   brought 
At  eleven  o'clock  one  day; 


And  to  the  scaffold  she  was  led, 
A  pitiable  way. 

A  solemn  warning  she  addressed 

Unto  the  people  all: 
"Take  an  example  now,"  she  said, 

"By  this  my  dreadful  fall." 

Then  while  upon  the  earth  she  knelt. 
Her   prayer   rose   up  to  heaven. 

That  for  the  sins  that  she  had  done 
Her   soul   might  be  forgiven. 

The  people  knew  her  depth  of  woe, 
The  sharpness  of  her  pain, 

And  while  she  knelt  upon  the  earth 
Their   tears   fell   down   like   rain. 

She  said:   "In  one  brief  instant  now 
I  from  this  life  must  part: 

Take  me,  O  Father,  if  Thou  wilt, 
To  Thy  own  loving  heart." 

And  now,  alas!  the  dreadful  hour 
Of  death   had   come   at  last; 

In  seventeen  minutes,  we  are  told. 
The  agony  was  past. 

The  learned  doctors  tried  to  bring 

Her  back  to  life  again; 
But  soon  they  found  it  was  too  late. 

And  all  their  toil  was  vain. 

Thd  man  who  wrote  this  little  song 

And   set   it   all    in   rhyme. 
And  who  described  the  awful  scene. 

Was    present   at   the   time. 

Ye  people  that  on  earth  do  dwell 
Unto   my   words   give   heed, 

And  think  how  far  the  ways  of  sin 
And   ignorance  may   lead. 

The  fleeting  pleasures  of  her  life 
Were   blotted   out   with   tears. 

And  all  the  time  she  spent  on  earth 
Was  four  and  twenty  years. 


Origin  of  the  Names  of  the  Counties  of  Pennsylvania 


Adams,  in  honor  of  John  Adams. 

Allegheny,  from  the  Allegheny 
river. 

Armstrong,  in  honor  of  General 
John  Armstrong  who  marched 
against   the    Indians   of   Kittanning   in 

1756. 

Beaver,  from  the  Beaver  river,  in 
which   beavers   formerly   abounded. 

Bedford,  in  honor  of  the  Duke  of 
Bedford. 

Berks,  from  Berkshire  in  England 
where  the  Penns  had  property. 


Blair,  in  honor  of  John  Blair,  who 
was  a  man  of  public  spirit. 

Bradford,  in  honor  of  W'm.  Brad- 
ford, Attorney  General  of  the  U.  S. 

Bucks,  so  named  by  Penn  from 
Bucks  or  Buckingham  in  England. 

Butler,  in  honor  of  Gen.  Richard 
Butler,  who  fell  in  the  defeat  at  St. 
Clair. 

Cambria,  from  Cambria  in  Wales, 
whence  the  early  settlers  came. 

Cameron,  in  honor  of  PTon.  S. 
Cameron. 


234 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Carbon,  from  its  carbonifercus  de- 
posits. 

Centre,  from  its  location. 

Chester,  from  Chester  in   England. 

Clarion,  from  Clarion  river,  a  beau- 
tiful clear  stream. 

Clearfield,  from  a  large  clear  space 
or  field  in  the  forest. 

Clinton,  from  Dewitt  Clinton  of 
Erie  Canal  fame. 

Columbia,  probably  in  honor  of 
Columbus. 

Crawford,  after  Gen.  Wm.  Craw- 
ford. 

Cumberland,  from  the  English 
county  which  comes  from  the  Eng- 
lish Kimbriland. 

Dauphin,  in  honor  of  the  oldest  son 
of  the  king  of  France,  who  bore  the 
title  Dauphin. 

Delaware,  from  the  Delaware  river, 
in  honor  of  De  La  Ware, 

Elk,  from  the  deer  and  elk  which 
formerly  roamed  in  this  region. 

Erie  from  the  Erie  Indians, 

Fayette,  in  honor  of  Lafayette, 

Forest,  from  the  "old  Forest." 

Franklin,    from    Benjamin    Franklin, 

Fulton,  in  honor  of  Robt,  Fulton, 
inventor  of  the  steamboat, 

Greene,  in  honor  of  Gen.  Nathaniel 
Greene,  the  trusted  counselor  of 
AVashington. 

Fluntingdon,  after  Selina,  the  godly 
countess  of  Huntingdon,  Avho  did  so 
much  for  the  advancement  of  Christ- 
ianity. 

Indiana,  from  the  Indians. 

Jefferson,  in  honor  of  Thos.  Jeffer- 
son. 

Juniata,   from   the  Juniata   river. 
_  Lackawanna,        from       Lackawanna 
river. 

Lancaster,  from  Lancashire.  Eng- 
land. 

Lawrence,  from  Perry's  flag-ship, 
at  the  battle  of  Lake  Erie, 

Lebanon,  a  Scripture  name, 

Lehigh,  from  the   Lehigh   river, 

Luzerne,  in  honor  of  Chevalier  de 
la  Luzerne,  minister  of  France  to  the 
U,  S. 

Lycoming,  from   Lycoming  creek. 


McKean,  in  honor  of  Gov,  McKean. 

]\Iercer,  in  honor  of  Gen.  Hugh 
Alercer,  a  surgeon,  in  the  army  of 
\\  ashington. 

Mifflin,  in  honor  of  Gov.  Mifflin. 
]\Ionroe,  in  honor  of  President  Mon- 
roe. 

Montgomery,  in  honor  of  Gen. 
Montgomery. 

Montour,  from  an  Indian  chief. 

Northampton,  from  Northampton 
in  England. 

Northumberland,  from  the  English 
Northumberland. 

Perry,  from  Com.  Oliver  Hazard 
Perry,  of  Lake  Erie  fame, 

Philadelphia,  brotherly  love. 

Pike,   from    Gen.   Zebulon   Pike. 

Potter,  in  honor  of  Gen.  James 
Potter,   a   Revolutionary  officer. 

Schuylkill,  from  the  Schuylkill  riv- 
er. 

Snyder,  in  honor  of  Gov.  Simon 
Snyder. 

Somerset,  perhaps  from  Somerset  in 
England.   ( ?) 

Sullivan,  in  honor  of  Gen,  Sullivan. 

Susquehanna,  from  the  Susque- 
hanna river, 

Tioga,  from  the  river  of  thai  name. 

LTnion,  from  U,  S, 

Venango,  from  the  Indian  name  In- 
nan-gu-eh,  a  figure  found  cut  on  a 
tree. 

AVarren,  in  honor  of  Gen.  Joseph 
Warren,  of  Bunker  Hill  fame. 

Washington,  in  honor  of  George 
Washington. 

Wayne,  in  honor  of  Gen.  Anthony 
Wayne  of  Chester  County. 

Westmoreland,  from  Westmoreland 
in  England. 

Wyoming,  an  Indian  nam-^^.  made 
famous  by  Campbell, 

York,   from   York   in    England. 

AAHiat  Pennsylvania  reader  can 
locate  all  these  counties  and  name 
their  county  towns?  This  is  a  good 
exercise  in  common  sense  home  geo- 
graphy. 

By  the  late  Dr.  A.  R.  Home,  in  his 
National  Educator. 


235 


LITERARY  DEPARTMENT 


THE  SPELLING  OF  OUR  DIALECT 


n  li  li 
\A7 


N  the  issue  of  THE 
P  E  N  N  S  Y  L  VA  N  lA 
GERMAN  for  January, 
1906  there  was  pubHshed 
an  article  on  "The  Spell- 
ing- of  our  Dialect,"  pre- 
pared by  the  editor  H. 
A.  Schuler.  After  briefly 
discussing  the  origin  of  dialects  and 
the  different  methods  of  spelling  the 
Pennsylvania  German  dialect,  the 
author  went  on  to  say : 

"We  think  it  (the  Pennsylvania-German 
dialect)  should  be  spelled  according  to 
German  sounds,  primarily  because,  as 
shown  above,  it  is  still  a  German  dialect. 
As  Dr.  Croll  has  said:  'We  should  remem- 
ber the  rock  from  which  we  were  hewn.' 
We  surely  have  no  reason  to  be  ashamed 
of  our  German  ancestors  or  the  language 
they  bequeathed  to  us,  and  why  should  we 
disguise  it  by  dressing  it  in  an  English 
coat  that  fits  it  so  ill?  German  sounds 
answer  best  for  all  its  German  words, 
such  as  still  form  the  basis  thereof  and 
should  be  used  in  preference  to  English 
terms  whenever  they  render  the  thought 
and    spirit   equally   well.  *  *  * 

"The  writer  is  convinced  that  his  mode 
of  spelling  is  preferable  for  all  dialect 
words  of  German  origin.  It  is  only  fair, 
however,  to  admit  that  English  words  are 
not  so  easily  adjusted  to  this  rule;  yet 
English  words  must  be  used  in  quite  re- 
spectable numbers  if  we  want  to  write 
Pennsylvania-German,  "as  she  is  spoke." 
For  example,  our  people  do  not  nowadays 
say  Juli  but  Julj".  Shall  we  write  Dschulei, 
or  Tsclnilei  as  uneducated  people  would 
be  apt  to  say,  or  July?  Shall  we  write 
Bscliodscli,  dsehodscha,  gedscbodsclit  or 
judge,  judgea,  gejudged?  We  must  confess 
that  we  do  not  fancy  dressing  up  English 
words  in  German  clothes  any  more  than 
the  reverse  process,  and  that  our  sense 
of  fitness  in  matters  orthographical,  or 
etymological  rather  inclines  us  to  favor 
the  latter  forms.  English  words  used  un- 
changed in  sound  had  better,  we  think  as 
a  general  rule,  be  left  unchanged  in  form; 
when  modified  by  the  addition  of  prefixes 
or  suffixes,  the  spelling  also  may  be  modi- 
fied, if  the  change  required  be  not  too 
great.  In  this  matter,  as  in  the  choice  of 
words,  some  latitude  must  be  left  to  indi- 
vidual   taste." 


It  has  seemed  to  us  desirable  to  call 
renewed  attention  to  and  reaffirm  the 
position  there  taken ;  hence  these 
lines.  We  propose  hereafter  to  adhere 
closely  to  the  general  rule  enunciated 
in  editing  dialect  matter  for  the  pages 
of  THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GER- 
MAN. 

This  method  doubtless  has  its  un- 
avoidable practical  difficulties,  which 
are  however  not  much  more  formid- 
able than  those  met  in  the  use  of  the 
German  and  English  languages  them- 
selves and  certainly  less  serious  than 
would  be  involved  in  applying  a 
phonetic  notation  to  the  dialect.  Dr. 
^Mlhelm  Victor  in  his  German  Pro- 
nunciation says : 

"When  Luther  began  to  write  there  was 
no  generally  acknowledged  national  Ger- 
man   language Every   province   and    so 

far  as  the  spoken  language  was  concerned, 
every    town    or    village    presented    its    own 

variety      of      idiom     and      language In 

middle  and  south  Germany  the  language 
of  Luther  was  universally  recognized  as 
standard  only  after  the  year  1750;  and  a 
great  number  of  spoken  High  German  dia- 
lects are  still  flourishing  by  the  side  of 
the  more  or  less  closely  allied  language  of 
literature. 

"It  is  only  natural  that  whenever  mod- 
ern High  German  the  common  language  of 
the  cdimtry,  is  employed  orally,  all  the 
local  peculiarities  of  dialectal  utterance 
should  be  faithfully  reflected  in  its  pronun- 
ciation, in  so  far  as  they  are  not  clearly  in- 
terdicted by  the  spelling.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  it  requires  but  little  practice  to  dis- 
tinguish not  only  a  North  German  from  a 
South  German,  but  a  Hanoverian  from  a 
Westphalian,  or  a  Bavarian  from  a 
Suabian  by  hearing  them  read  a  single 
sentence  from  a  book  or  newspaper." 

The  determination  of  what  is  the 
best  usage  is  highly  desirable  but 
hardly  possible  as  yet.  Here  Dr. 
A'ietor's  words  are  also  applicable.  "I 
would  call  him  the  best  speaker  who 
most  effectually  bafiles  all  efforts  to 
discover  from  what  town  or  district 
he  comes."  We  look  with   fond  antic- 


236 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


ipations  to.  the  work  being  carried  on 
by  Professors  M.  D.  Learned  and  E. 
M.  Fogel  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania in  the  field  of  Pennsylvania 
German  literature  for  a  solution  of 
the  problem.  We  heartily  welcome 
the  publication  of  their  dialect  dic- 
tionary. 

What  Dr.  Victor  affirms  respecting 
local  peculiarities  of  dialect  utter- 
ance in  Germany  is  applicable  to  the 
use  of  the  Pennsylvania  German  dia- 
lect. 

We  can  not  forbear  quoting  in  this 
connection  Dr.  Stahr's  words  in  Mil- 
ler's "Pennsylvania  German": 

It  is  a  pity  that  the  dialect  has  not  re- 
ceived more  scientific  attention;  and  it  is 
especially  unfortunate  that  its  orthography 
has  not  been  determined  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  grammatical  German,  so  as 
to  secure  uniformity  in  the  modes  of  writ- 
ing, where  hitherto  the  greatest  confusion 
has  prevailed.  The  Pennsylvania-German 
Society  has  put  itself  on  record  as  op- 
posed to  the  writing  of  Pennsylvania  Ger- 
man by  means  of  English  letters  and 
sounds.  As  a  form  of  G'erman  speech  the 
letters  ought  to  represent  German  sounds; 
but  even  when  this  principle  is  accepted 
we  find  that  there  is  great  diversity  of 
practice.  The  dialect  itself  varies  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  State,  because  settlers 
of  these  parts  came  from  different  portions, 
of  Germany.  In  any  collection  of  Penn- 
sylvania-German poems,  etc.  it  is  easy  to 
pick  out  in  a  general  way  the  writers  that 
come  from  particular  sections.  But  even 
within  these  limits  there  is  great  divers- 
ity of  practice;  because,  as  there  is  no 
standard  the  writers  represent  words  and 
sounds  as  their  own  ears  have  appre- 
hended them;  and  in  all  such  cases  the  ear 
is  apt  to  be  misled. 

In  the  meantime  we  shall  contend 
tDurselves   with    the     following    simple 


and  comprehensive  rule  of  spelling, 
easily  understood  and  easily  appli- 
cable : 

Write  German  and  English  words  ac- 
cording to  the  sounds  of  the  respective 
languages  from  which  the  words  have 
been  derived  and  do  not  depart  from  the 
established  mode  of  spelling  more  than  the 
difference   of   pronunciation   requires. 

As  an  aid  to  a  clearer  discrimina- 
tion between  the  various  sounds  of 
letters  and  words  we  have  cidopted 
for  our  standard  German  Pronuncia- 
tion :  Practice  and  Theory  by  Wilhelm 
Victor  Ph.  D.,  U.  A.,  Marburg  Uni- 
versity, Germany,  the  first  edition  of 
which  appeared  in  1884,  the  third  in 
1903.  The  phonetic  notation  used  is 
that  of  the  Association  Phonetique 
Internationale  as  employed  in  Le 
Maitre  Phonetique  and  in  Chresto- 
mathie  Francaise  by  Passy  and  Ram- 
beau.  Contributors  are  requested  to 
use  this  notation  in  case  they  wish  to 
indicate  the  exact  sounds  of  words. 

By  adopting  this  system  we  provide 
a  standard  medium  for  the  exact  in- 
dication of  sounds  and  avoid  the  of- 
fensive forms  created  by  spelling 
words  phonetically  as  for  example 
dschodsch  for  judge,  tsvetdar  for 
zwetter  (zweiter).  The  fact  m.ist  not 
be  overlooked  that  High  German 
and  English  word-forms  are  pretty 
well  fixed  and  that  we  read  by  the 
word  method  and  not  by  the  illogical 
manner  of  past  district  shools  where 
for  instance  the  child  reads  by  spell- 
ing c-a-t  cat  where  logically  the  pro- 
nunciation  should  have  been   sate. 


THE  LETTERS  OF  THE  ALPHABET  AND  THEIR  PHONETIC  VALUES 


Seil,      Meyer      (high 


a: — da,    paar,    nah,    shawl.    That    (far,    not 

care  English). 
a — war  ten,    Isaak. 
ai — Kaiser,      Bayern, 

English). 
&: — Chance,   Treiite, 
au — An   (how  English), 
b — bahn,  Ebbe. 
C — solch,   regsam    (or  k),    (not   an   English 

sound,   resembles   hue). 
a — du,   Kladde. 


d5 — Gentleman,  Arpeggio,  Jury   (or  J), 
e: — Palais,   Essay,   saem,   miihen,   Dessert. 

(fare  English). 
e :  — Train,   Pleinpouvoir-Bassin) . 
e — Hande,  fest    (met  English), 
e: — schwer.     Beet,     Carre,     stehlen     (dead 

English). 
9 — Vogel    (about,  English). 
61 — Conseil    (daJ',  English), 
f — Fall,   Schiff,   Sappho,  >iel,  philosphie    (if 

English). 


LITERARY  DEPARTMENT 


237- 


g — ffut,  Berge,   (or  J),  Flagge,  guinea,  Dro- 
gue. 
i :  a — Marie, 
ia — Linie  or    (jd). 
i: — Beefsteak,        Igel,      Liebe,      vieli,      ilim, 

Schwyz,    (machine,    English), 
i— Kiste,  Viertel,  Hjrtl.    (sit  English), 
i — Spanien    (or   J),   Detail. 
ie — Diego. 
Te: — Karriers. 
!€ — speziell. 

yes,  English), 
j — Berge    (or   g),   Spanien    (or  T) — ja. 
ja — Linie    (or  ia). 
k — Cognac,   Accord,   Achse,   dick,   fiugs. 

regsam    (or  ?),  Tag   (or  X),  Brigg-kahl, 

Bouquet, 
ks — A.\t. 
kts — .\ccent. 
kv — Acquisiticn,   Quelle. 
1 — lahm,   voll. 
Ij — medaillon. 
m— niir,    La»i:n. 
n — nie,  Mann. 

1J2 — siiigen    (sing    English). 
1)4 — Ingo. 
IK — Siiiken. 

ig — singen    (sing  English), 
ig — Masnat. 
0: — Adieu,   Coeur,   Holile    (not    an    English 

sound;    form    lips   to   pronounce   o:    but 

prcnonce  e: ). 
o: — Sauce,      Pk'teau,     Rose,     Toasr,     Soest, 

Ohr,  Voigt,   Boot,   Biilow. 
0— Gott. 
Dy — gliiubig.    Hen,    Lieutenant,    ahoi,     (boy 

English). 


oa: — Boudoir. 

oe: — schiin    (not    an    English    sound). 

ce — Morder. 

6e: — Parfuni. 

p — paar,  Trupp,  ab. 

r — rauh,    Uhabarber,    Narr,    Katarrb. 

s — Anncnce,   Fagon,   Fuss.   hals. 

sk — Sclierzo. 

/ — Cello,    Cliaise,    stehen,    mischen,    Shawl. 
Quixote    (sljoe   English). 

t— Hand,    Stadt,    Tan,    Thai,    fett. 

ts — cis,  Nation,  sitzen.  zu  Skizze.  (wits, 
English). 

t/ — Cicerone,    Capriceio,    Guttapercha. 

u: — Route,  du,   Kuh. 

ui — pfui. 

u — Douche,  Mutter. 

V — Aeguisition,   Vase,   wohl. 

X — Bacchus,   rauchen. 

y: — Apergu,  kiihn,  Mythe.  fiir.  (not  an 
English   sound). 

Y:— Miide. 

Y — Budget,  Hiitte,  Mystle  (not  an  English 
sound). 

z — Rose,   Gaze,    (Zeal,  English). 

5 — Adagio,  sergeant,  Don  Juan  (leisure 
English). 

<, — Glottal  stop,  produced  by  closing  and 
reopening  the  glottis  with  an  explos- 
ion of  breath  not  used  in  English,  in 
German  regularly  precedes  every  ini- 
tial vowel. 

a — (parson,   part  English). 

^—(thought,   English). 

w — (we,    English). 


PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN  POETRY 


NOTE. — The  following  poems  anpear  as 
contributed  by  the  authors.  To  prepare 
the  way  for  a  discussion  we  wish  to  raise 
the  question  why  the  spelling  of  the  words 
we  give  below  is  not  preferable  to  that 
adojited  by  the  writers?  The  contributors 
themselves  will  probably  not  agree  with 
us.  We  shall  be  pleased  to  hear  from 
them.  Why  not  conform  the  spe'ling  of 
the  dialect  as  closely  as  possible  to  the 
orthography  of  the  language  froui  which 
the  dialect  words  are  derived? 

In  "Leera  Bunii»a" 

Schone  (2),  Stadtel  (3),  qualt  (7),  steht 
(10),  dere  (13),  viele  Mensche  (14)  freund- 
lich  nice  (15),  nacshter  (17),  Feuer  (20), 
leere  (26),  druckt,  Ungliick   (27). 

In  ".Hei  Mutterschprooch" 

Schwatze  (1),  deutlich  (.'>),  gute,  deut- 
sche  (6),  Liige,  Heuchlerel,  Streit  (13), 
konnt    (14),  steigt    (15),  sproch    (17),  deut- 


sche  (IS),  Siinde  (20),  schwer,  bedriickt 
(23),  ernstlich  (24),  Vater  (26),  Sproch 
(27),  hore  (28),  gelernt  (30),  brav,  grad 
(34). 

In  "Die  Kinner  Yohr" 

Johr,  schone  (1)  erst  (2),  Zeite,  liever 
(3),  ewig,  vorbei  (4),  Jugend  (6),  heult, 
sagt  (7)  scho  (9),  schonste,  gant^e  (11), 
Gaul  (12)  Zuflucht  (15),  lieve  (16), 
g'glagt  (20),  grosser  (25),  zum  (27), 
versaumt  (31),  Hand  (32)  verzahlt  (33). 
Dhiir  (39),  vun  (41),  g'iihlt  (43),  susz 
(53),  zwanzig   (67),  wiinscht    (75). 

i"     4«     4- 

Leera   Bunipa 

By  Charles  C.  Moore,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

In  Nudletown  do  schteht  en  Bump 
Mit   ma    scheena    Schtock    un    Schwengel 
dra 
Un  jeder  as  in's  Schtettel  kommt 


238 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Guckt   mit   Blesier   un   Darscht   sie   a. 
En  Mancher  nehmt  am  Schwengel  halt       5 

Un  bumpt  as  es  im  Schtettel  schallt 
Doch    gweelt    da    Darscht     ihn     noch     so 
schwer, 
Die  Bump  die  gebt  kee  wasser  her, 
Sie  gebt  kee  wasser  wie  sie  set; 
Sie  schteht  juscht  do 
Un  duht  juscht  so 
Awer  bumpt  net,  awer  bumpt  net, 

So  is  doch  uf  dera  welt 

Bei  viela  Menscha  ah  beschtellt; 
Sei  gucka  freindlich,  neis  un  fei 

Un  gut  genung  for  Grischta  sei, 
Doch  sehnt  mer  sie  mol  negschter  a 

Do  findt  mer  nix  von  all  dem  dra, 
Sie   sin   en  Licht,  as   eem  juscht  blennt. 

En  Feier,  as  ohna  Werning  brennt;         20 
Sie  lossa  ihra  Guck  in  Schtich 

Un  denka  inner  juscht  an  sich. 
Bei  ihna  geht  die  Hoffumg  fehl, 

Sie  sin  en  Grab  forn  dodti  Seel, 
En  Drum  mit  juscht  'ma  hola  Schall, 

En   leeri   Schaal   un  sei  is   all. 
Dann  drickt  en  Unglick  noch  so  schwer, 

So'n  Mensch  der  gebt  kee  Mitleid  her; 

Er  gebt  kee  Mitleid  wie  er  set, 
Er  scbteht  juscht  do 
Un   guckt   juscht   so. 
Awer  helft  net,  awer  helft  net. 

4"    4"    * 

Mei  Mutterscliproocli 

By  C.  C.  Ziegler,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Will   ich   recht  ve'schtannig   schwetze — 
Eppes  ausennanner  setze — 
A,  B,  C  un  eens,  zwee,  drei, — 
So  dass  jeder  commoner  Mann 
Klar  un   deitlich   sehne   kann  5 

Wei  'as  Gold  is  un  wel  Blei, — 
Nem  ich  guti  deitschi  Warte, 
Weis  un  schwarzi,  weech  un  harte, 
Noh  vollbringt  die  Sach  sich  glei.  10 

Bin  ich  an  de  Wohret  suche 
Un  fin  Ungerechtigeit, 
Liige,  Heichlerei  un  Schtreit 
Bis  ich  alles  kennt  vefluche; 
Schteigt  mei  Zarn  wie  rothe  Flamme       15 
Un  will  alles  noh  ve'damme, — 
Use  ich  net  'n  Schprooch  polite: 
Nee!    ich  nem  mei  deitsche  Warte 
Beissig  scharf  wie  hickory  Garte 
Hack  dewedder  dass  es  batt; 
Schlack  druf  los  un  fluch  mich  satt! 

Wann  ich  war  die  Sinde  ladig, 
Schwaer  bedrickt  vun  meinre  Schuld, 
Arnschtlich  noh  un  ehrlich  bet  ich 
Um  Vergebung,   Gnad  un  Huld:  25 

Kann  dar  Vatter  unser,  meen  ich, 
In  de  Mutterschprooch  allee 
Mich   recht  haere   un   ve'schteh. 
Far  in  deitsche  Warte  leenig 


Hot  die  Mammi  mich  gelarnt  30 

Wie  ze  bete,  mich  bereit 

Ze  mache   far   die  Ewigkeit; 

Hot  dar  Daadi  mich  gewarnt 

Un  gerothe  braav  un  graad 

Ze   wandle   uf   'em   Lewespaad. 

Grosser  Gott,  O  schteh  mar  bei! 

Helf  mar  doch   en   Grischt  ze  sei! 

*     4-     4* 

Die  Kiuueryolir 

By   Rev.   A.   C.   Wuchter,   Gilbert,  Pa. 

Die  Kinneryohr,  die  schehna  yohr, 

M'r  sehnt's  now  aerscht  recht  ei; 
Sei  wara  tzeita,  liehwer  droscht, 

Uff    ewich    now    ferbei. 
S'is  wohr  un  bleibt  aw  immer  so,  5 

Die  yugend  die  is  blind; 
Sie  glawbt's  net  wom'r  heilt  un  secht:  — 

Dei  Paradies,  O  Kind! 

Ken  platz  so  scheh  wie's  war  d'reem, 

M'r  het  net  g'schwappt,  O  mei!  10 

Fer's  schenschta  haus  im  gonsa  dahl 

Mit  geil  un  bauerei, 
Bei'm  Dawdy  un  der  Mommy  war's. 

Was  hut  m'r  meh  g'wut! 
So'n  tzuflucht  is  now  kennie  meh  15 

Except  bei'm  liehwa  Gott. 


Won's  ehnich  ebbes  gevva  hut 

Wie  oft  g'nunk  so  war, 
Noh   is  m'r  yuscht  der  Mommy  noh, 

G'klawgt  un   g'heilt  sogar. 
Die  hut  em  noh  g'droescht  un  oft 

Die  draehna  week  g'busst; 
S'war'n   bess'rie   medizin   g'west 

Os  ehnicher  dokter  lusst. 


20 


25 


Die  welt  die  war  net  grehser  fiel 

Os  wie  um  haus  un  schtall : 
Fum    Donatskop   bis   tzum   Bloberg 

War's  weitscht — un   noh   war's   all. 
Was  drivver  drous  war  meh  wie'n  drahm — 

Ken  awfang  un  ken  end; 
M'r   hut  g'wunnert,   sich  ferseimt, 

Es  schpielsach  in  d'  hend. 

War  b'such  im  haus  un  hut  fertzaehlt 

Fun  lang-har  un  fun  weit. 
Was  hut  m'r   net  die  ohra   g'schpitzt         35 

Un  g'hor'cht  die  lieb  lang  tzeit. 
Hut   ebber  fun   d'   Inscha  g'schwetzt, 

Fum    g'schpook    an's    Longa   fens! 
M'r  waer  net  ovets  fer  die  diehr 

Fer'n  hunnert  dausend  bens.  40 

War  als  der  Dawdy  nachts  fun  heom, 

Die  Mommy  gons  a'leh. 
Was  hut  m'r  so  artlich  g'fiehlt. 

So  bang — um's  hertz  rum  weh. 
Hut  ebbes  aryets  sich  g'regt  45 

Hut's  hertz  em  schun  g'klopt; 
S'war  alles  foil  fun — wehs  net  was, 

S'hut  on  d'hohr  g'ruppt. 


LITERARY  DEPARTMENT 


239 


Ach!   het  m'r  net  die  Mommy  g'hot 

Was  het  m'r  don  g'duh?  50 

Sie  hut  am  bett  noh  mit  g'beht, 

Glei  war  m'r  in   der  ruh. 
Wie  siess  war  seller  schlofe  g'west, 

So  schlofte  m'r  nimmie  ei; 
Wer  winscht  net  alsamohl  er  kenut  55 

So'n  kind  mohl  widder  sei? 

Un  wom'r  kennt  waer's  besser  noh? 

M'r   wisst  wie  gute   m'r's  het? 
Ach  neh!     M'r  wisst  net  meh  d'fun 

Wie's   kind   dert   uff'm   bett.  60 

Dehl  dinga  gebt  der  Herr  uns  oft, 

Dehl   gebt'r  yuscht   amohl; 
Die   schenschta  dawg  gehn  fornaweck 

Os  wie  bei'm  miller  dohl. 


Is  ehns  os  sich's  er'inn'ra  kan  65 

Wie'n  kind  die  tzeit  fertreibt? 
Was!    Fuftzich  yohr!    sawg:    tzwonsich,  don, 

Ken  buch  os  sel  em  b'schreibt? 
Neh!   Neh!    die  welt  wuh's  kind  drin  lebt: 

Sei   awschlaeg,   denka,   sinn —  70 

Ach!   wer  dert  drivver  drous  mohl  is 

Wehs  net  wie's  hargert  drin. 

Die   Kinneryohr,   die   schehna  yohr 

Sin   ewich  now  ferbei, 
Un   doch   wer   winscht   net   alsamohl  75 

Er  mocht  'n  kind  noch  sei? 
S'is  net  die  aelt,  s'is  net  ferdruss 

Os  winscht,  gaern  hovva  wut, — 
Es  fehlt  em  ebbes — ach!   m'r  wehs 

Os  yuscht  die   kindheit's  hut.  80 


REVIEWS  AND  NOTES 


The  Third  Generation  by  Elsie  Singmaster 

in  Scribner's  for  March  has  its  scene  laid 
"way  down  East."  Seemingly  it  is  an  ap- 
plication of  the  Biblical  expression  con- 
cerning the  third  generation.  A  woman  is 
anxious  to  get  back  the  money  which  her 
husband's  ancestors  gave  to  Braddock  Col- 
lege— wherever  that  may  be — because  the 
said  institution  does  not  offer  a  course  of 
instruction  in  accordance  with  the  stipula- 
tions laid  down  in  the  charter.  The  presi- 
dent of  the  college  was  to  be  a  minister, 
and  all  the  students  were  to  study  Hebrew. 
And  because  this  was  not  done  she  thought 
the  family  could  get  back  the  five  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  The  ending  of  the  story 
may  be  just  a  little  hazy  and  indefinite. 

JOE'S  SIGJfAL  CODE:  By  W.  Reiff  Hesser. 

Illustrated;  cloth;  380  pp.  Lothrop, 
Lee  &  Shepherd  Co.,  Boston. 

This  is  an  interesting  story  of  a  more 
or  less  dangerous  voyage  from  New  York 
to  Hong  Kong  by  way  of  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope.  The  voyage  was  made  in  the  ship 
Katherine  which  was  overtaken  by  a  ter- 
rible thunder  storm  in  the  Indian  Ocean. 
The  captain  was  struck  senseless  by  light- 
ning, and  the  ship  caught  fire.  After  they 
have  outened  the  fire  the  crew  sails  into  a 
bay  and  lands  on  an  island  where  they  lead 
a  Robinson  Crusoe  life  for  a  year.  They 
were  finally  rescued  by  means  of  Joe's 
Signal  Code.  Joe  had  constructed  this  code 
half  playfully  and  half  in  earnest  with  a 
party  they  met  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

The  story  is  an  interesting  one  and 
abounds  with  incidents  of  thrilling  and 
wholesome  adventure.  The  crew  is  a  merry 
and  lively  one;  the  incidents  whether 
grave  or  grotesque  are  frequently  thrown 
into  relief  by  the  blunt  remarks  of  "Andy 
Speigelmier  who  during  the  storm  thought 


it  blew  "gar  avech;"  he  comes  from  the 
Blue  Mountain  region  of  Pennsylvania; 
hence  his  broken  English. 

The  story  has  more  plotting  to  it  than 
many  books  of  adventure  frequently  have. 
The  interest  is  sustained  throughout  the 
book;  it  never  lags.  It  is  a  book  of  ad- 
venture that  can  with  safety  be  placed  in 
the  hands  of  all  young  people. 

MAD     AlNTHONl'S     YOUNG     SCOUT:.    A 

story   of   the   Winter    of    1777-1778— By 
Everett  T.   Tomlinson,  Author  of  "The 
Campfire  of  Mad  Anthony.  Cloth;   illus- 
trated;   385    pp.    Price    $1.50.    Houghton, 
Mifflin    &   Co.,    Boston    and   New    York. 
1908. 
This  is  one  of  the  many  books  that  have 
been    written    of    late    with    the    narrative 
based    on    some    incident    of    the   American 
Revolution.     The    history   of   the   American 
Revolution    is    the    one    story    of   American 
life  that  will  never  grow  old,  and  the  tales 
whose   incidents   are    interwoven    with    the 
struggles   of   the    colonists   will    always   be 
sought  after  by  the  eternal  American  boy. 
The  scene  of  this  story  is  laid  'u  Valley 
Forge;    the    time    is   the   memorable    winter 
of    1777-1778,     the     darkest    and    gloomiest 
period  of  the  Revolution.     The  book  has  to 
do  mainly  with  the  Quakers,  some  of  whom 
were   not  loyal   to  the   colonies   and   others 
not  to   the  king,   while   non-resistance   was 
a  marked  characteristic  of  them  all. 

The  book  is  not  very  strong  in  tech- 
nique; there  is  really  no  plot;  there  are  a 
number  of  episodes,  and  Mad  Anthony's 
young  scout,  Noah  Dare,  figures  in  nearly 
all  of  them.  It  seems  the  chapters  are  a 
little  arbitrarily  divided.  One  can  hardly 
see  any  reason  for  making  two  chapters 
out  of  the  incident  contained  in  chapters 
six  and  seven. 


240 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


It  is  of  course  necessary  to  remember 
that  the  book  was  written  with  the  boy 
reader  in  view;  but  one  is  inclined  to  be- 
lieve that  even  he  relishes  a  little  sterner 
stuff;  some  of  these  episodes  border  al- 
most on  the  absurd  and  ridiculous.  Chap- 
ters like  the  twenty-eighth  and  twenty- 
ninth  are  not  likely  to  add  much  to 
strength  of  character  and  manliness. 

We  must  admire,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
author's  endeavor  to  leave  out  of  the  story 
as  much  of  the  "blood  and  thunder"  ele- 
ment as  possible.  But  one  believes  that  a 
little  more  strenuosity  and  a  little  more  of 
the  clang  of  war  would  have  been  :i  whole- 
some element  in  its  makeup.  The  book  af- 
fords exciting  and  interesting  reading 
with  its  moments  of  suspense  and  daring 
ventures;   it  is  safe  for  any  boy  to  read. 

DER  ME>SCHLICHE  KOEKPER  IX  SAGE 
BKAUCH     r>D     SPIUCHWOKT:     Von 

Professor    Karl    Knortz,     North     Tarry- 
town,   N.   Y.      Paper,   240    pp.      Price   80 
cents.      A   Stuber's   Verlag.      W:irzburg, 
Germany,    1909. 
This  book  is  a  unique  collection  of  say- 
ings, proverbs  and  customs  into  which  the 
different  parts  of  the  bcdy  enter — head;    to 
go    to    loggerheads;     hand:     if    your    hand 
itches    you    will    have    riches;    teeth:     if    a 
child    in    Canada     suffers     from     toothache 
and    it   chews    at   a   breadcrust   at    which   a 
mouse  nibbled,  it  will  be  freed  from  its  suf- 
fering.     These    few    extracts    may    possibly 
indicate  the  nature  and  the  contents  of  the 
book.     It  contains   a  lot  of  interesting  ad- 
ages,   maxims     and     customs     which     Prof. 
Knortz  has   really  collected   from  the   folk- 
lore   of    the    world    in    his    usual    scholarly 
manner. 

THE    TRIE    STORY   OF    THE    A3IERICAN 
FLAU:   by  John   H.   Fow.     Handsomely 
illustrated    with    eight   full    page    plates 
in    color.      Cloth,    75    cents;     ])aper,    50 
cents;.    54     pp.      William     J.     Campbell 
Philadelphia,  1908. 
The  story  of  Betsy  Rcss  as  the  designer 
of    the    first    American    flag    is    one    of    the 
mock-pearls    of    history    that    has    been  se- 
verely   shattered    by    Mr.    Fow    in    his  little 
bock    of    some    50    odd    i)ages.      The    writer 
must  have  examined  all  the  official   records 
here  and   abroad   that   have  to  do  with   the 


making  of  the  first  national  standard.  He 
has  given  an  accurate  and  concise  account 
of  the  evolution  of  the  first  flag  and  has 
very  likely  put  an  end  to  the  Betsy  Ross 
controversy.  The  Betsy  Ross  tradition  is 
held  up  by  Mr.  Canby,  her  champion  and 
descendant.  Mr.  Fow  shows  that  designs 
for  different  flags  were  in  use  lon^  before 
the  time  of  Betsy  Ross.  The  book  is  hand- 
somely gotten  up  and  illustrated;  the  color 
plate  with  flags  are  little  works  of  art. 

Bible  Texts  and    Religious    Terms    Eplaiud 

By   R.   K.   Buehrle,   A.   M.,   Ph.   D.,   Supt. 

Public  Schools,  Lancaster,  Pa. 
This  is  a  36  page  paper  cover  booklet 
(price  10  cents)  in  simplified  spelling,  ex- 
plaining a  number  of  words  and  phrases 
like  Angels,  Barbarian,  from  Dan  to  Beer- 
sheba,  Carriages,  Chancel,  Charit>,  The 
Kingdom  of  Heaven,  etc.  The  explanations 
are  interesting,  instructive  and  to  the  point. 
The  spelling  confuses.  A  good  many  long 
steps  forward  will  have  to  be  taken  to 
make  the  spelling  of  English  words  logical 
and  consistent.  The  worthy  doctor  is  a 
staunch  advocate  of  a  more  reasonable 
orthography.  Will  not  the  spelling  re- 
formers eventually  make  English  orthog- 
raphy as  uncertain  as  that  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania-German dialect? 


Honored  Guests  is  the  title  of  a  short 
story  by  George  Schock  (pseudonym)  irt 
Harper's  for  February.  It  is  a  narrative 
of  a  young  lawyer  who  becomes  entangled 
with  the  accounts  in  settling  up  an  estate 
and  lastly  with  Cassey  Brecht,  the  daugh- 
ter of  the  deceased.  One  is  inclined  to  be- 
lieve that  the  author  has  written  better 
and  plainer  stories  than  this  one.  The- 
whole  story  seems  just  a  little  shrouded  in 
mystery;  the  end  is  rather  indefinite  and 
incomplete.  One  might  also  wonder  why 
Asher  Gehris,  the  young  lawyer,  handles  a. 
revolver,  he  at  no  time  seems  to  threaten 
the  life  of  anyone  nor  his  own. 


Professor  F.  T.  Pattee,  Head  of  the  Eng- 
lish    Department    in      State     College,      and ' 
author   of   "A  History   of  American    Litera- 
ture,"  has    been    granted    a   year's   leave    of" 
absence  to  study   in  Europe. 


241 


EDITORIAL  DEPARTMENT 


The  Pennsylvania-German 

An  illustrated  monthly  magazine  devoted  to 
the  Biography,  History,  Genealogy,  Folklore, 
Literature  and  General  Interests  of  German 
and  Swiss  settlers  in  Pennsylvania  and  other 
States  and  of  their  descendants. 

Editorial  Staff 
H.  W.  Kriebel,  Editor,  Lititz,  Pa. 
Prof.  E.  S.  Gerhard,  Editor  of  "Reviews 
and  Notes,"  Trenton,  N.  J. 

Publishers 
THE  EXPRESS  PRINTING  CO. 
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ER.  Vice  President ;  J.  H.  ZooK,  Secretary ; 
Dr.  J.  L.  Hertz,  Treasurer. 


Address  all  communications.    The  Pennsyl- 
vania-German, Lititz,  Pa. 

Price,   $L50  a  year,  in  advance;  15  cents 
per  single  copy. 

Additional    particulars    are    found    on 
page  2  of  the  cover. 


ADVERTISING  RATES 

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Quarter  Page,  one  year 14  00 

Eighth  Page,  one  year 7  50 

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Reading  notices,  1  cent  a  word,  each  issue. 

Address,  THE  EXPRESS  PRINTING  CO..  LITITZ,  PA. 


— It  affords  us  i^reat  pleasure  to 
acknowledge  the  receipt  of  many  help- 
ful answers  to  the  circular  letter 
sent  out  in  January.  The  recommen- 
dations will  be  duly  considered;  we 
regret  our  inability  to  respond  to  each 
reply   separately. 

— Do  not  overlook  our  offer  to  re- 
])rint  the  back  volumes  of  THE 
PEXXSYLVAXIA  -  GERMAN.  If 
ycui  wish  to  see  the  magazine  grow 
in  value,  help  us  to  place  complete 
sets  in  public  and  private  libraries. 

— To  such  as  miss  The  Home  De- 
partment we  wish  to  say  that  while 
we  are  not  setting  apart  a  definite 
space  for  The  Home  we  will  not  over- 
look it.  Suggestions,  contributions, 
(juestions,  are  invited. 

— The  editor  is  now  located  in  the 
heart  of  Historic  Lititz,  his  editorial 
home  is  in  the  building  of  The  Ex- 
press Printing  Company,  a  local 
company  incorporated  under  the  laws 
of  the  state,  his  chair  and  desk  are  so 
heated  that  he  can  see  the  operator 
thumping  the  keyboard  of  the  Mer- 
genthalcr  Linotype  and  hear  the 
I  Iuber-1  lodgman  press  delivering  its 
neatly    printed    i6-page    sheet    of    the 


magazine.  He  feels  happy  in  being 
so  favorably  situated  for  expeditious 
editorial  supervision.  How  are  you 
pleased  with  the  first  fruits  of  the  new 
arrangement?  Suggestions  aimed  at 
the  betterment  of  the  magazine  are 
always  appreciated. 


— A.  H.  Rothermel,  Esq.,  of  Read- 
ing, Pa.,  recently  related  how  on  a 
trans-Atlantic  steamer  a  linguist  af- 
ter trying  to  determine  the  place  of 
his  birth  by  the  peculiarities  of  the 
dialect  he  spoke  concluded  that  he 
must  be  a  Bavarian  because  he  used 
the  word,  "gella."  The  inference  was 
almost  correct,  the  only  fault  being 
that  the  linguist  failed  to  discover 
that  the  Rothermel  family  had  been 
in  America  200  years.  The  editor  has 
heard  of  quite  a  number  of  cases 
where  similarity  or  sameness  of  dia- 
lect misled  and  even  experienced  it 
himself.  These  call  attention  to  a 
most  interesting  and  instructive  field 
for  linguistic  study.  Who  will  take  it 
u])  for  the  benefit  of  (^ur  readers? 

— The  article  on  Lancaster  County 
history  may  seem  unduly  long  and  to 
some  uninteresting,  but  length  and 
(luality  in  this  case  go  together  and 
earn  praise  for  the  author  for  packing 


242 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


SO  many  good  things  in  so  limited  a 
space.  In  the  last  sentence  "Electric 
railways  connect  Lancaster  (the  city) 
with  all  the  leading  towns  of  the 
county"  such  an  excellent  opportunity 
is  hinted  at  for  seeing  the  county  that 
we  have  decided  to  give  all  our 
readers  and  their  friends  a  free  ride 
over  the  various  lines  in  July.  We 
will  take  you  from  place  to  place, 
point  out  historic  spots,  show  interest- 
ing sights  and  chat  with  you  about  the 
county.  To  give  all  an  equal  chance 
we  will  give  you  "absent"  treatment 
(not  however  as  is  practiced  by  some 
today)  through  the  pages  of  the  maga- 
zine. We  hope  you  will  all  enjoy  the 
trip.  In  addition  we  wish  to  say  that 
the  latch  string  of  the  editorial  sanc- 
tum is  always  open,  for  friends  to  call 
on  us.  As  time  allows  we  shall  be 
pleased  to  go  wnth  you    in    body    to 


points   of   historic   and   scenic   interest 
in  the  county. 

— "Gottlieb  Boonastiel"  has  caught 
us  napping.  The  following  communi- 
cation from  him  is  self-exp.lanatory. 
We  take  pleasure  in  making  acknowl- 
edgment of  his  inadvertence  and 
shall  endeavor  to  avoid  giving  Gott- 
lieb occasion  for  another  such  re- 
minder. 

"I  desire  to  call  attention  to  the  P. 
G.  selection  sent  you  from  York,  Pa., 
and  which  was  printed  in  your  last 
issue.  The  selection  was  stolen  by 
some  one  from  Boonastiel  — "  Der 
Butcher  Dawg"  and  disfigured  so  as 
to  render  it  unrecognizable,  printed, 
and  passed  off  as  original  by  some  lit- 
erary thief,  when  it  fell  into  the  hands 
of  your  contributor  who  was  innocent 
of  intended  wrong  doing." 


Clippings  from  Current  News 


— A  child  richly  endowed  with  great- 
grandparents  is  the  child  of  R.  M.  Hartzel, 
proprietor  of  a  bakery  iu  Chalfont  who  has 
four  great  grandmothers,  three  great 
grandfathers,  two  grandmothers  and  two 
grandfathers. 

— "Experiments  on  the  Resolution  of 
Dibenzlethylpropylisobutylsilicane  Sulphonic 
Acid"  is  the  title  of  one  of  the  papers  men- 
tioned in  the  agenda  for  the  Chemical 
Society's  meeting  at  Burlington  House, 
London.  The  Germans  evidently  are  not 
the  only   people  to  make   large  words. 

— German  companies  seeking  franchises 
and  concessions  in  South  America  are 
looked  upon  with  favor,  for  their  courte- 
ous treatment  of  the  people  wins  for  them 
the  support  of  public  opinion.  German  capi- 
tal, in  consequence,  is  making  serious  in- 
roads into  a  field  which  was  at  one  time 
exclusively  British. — North  American  Re- 
view. 

— In  the  State  of  Washington  are  more 
than  6000  former  residents  of  Pennsyl- 
vania who  are  going  to  pull  together  to 
make  Pennsylvania  Day  at  the  Alaska- 
Yukon-Paciflc  Exposition  at  Seattle  this 
summer  an  event  at  the  fair  long  to  be  re- 
membered.  It  Is  true  that  Pennsylvania  is 


some  distance  from  Seattle,  but  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Pennsylvania  Society,  an  or- 
ganization with  1200  members,  hope  to 
make  a  fine  showing  August  16,  and  ar- 
rangements are  now  being  made  to  bring 
some  man,  prominent  in  the  home  State, 
to  Seattle  to  deliver  an  address  on  Penn- 
sylvania  Day. 

— Beginning  April  1,  Muhlenberg  Col- 
lege, at  Allentown,  will  be  registered  by 
the  Educational  Department  of  the  State 
of  New  York  as  meeting  the  standards  of 
New  York  State.  Such  registration  is 
only  possible,  according  to  the  standards 
of  New  York  State,  where  institutions 
have  a  value  in  buildings  and  endowment 
reaching  a  half  million  of  dollars;  where 
the  corps  of  professors  is  adequate  to  the 
number  of  students,  and  where  the  stan- 
dard maintained  is  excellent.  The  fact 
that  Muhlenberg  college  has  been  regis- 
tered, is  a  distinct  endorsement  of  her 
place  among  colleges  and  her  work. 

— The  Philadelphia  Press  will  print  in 
serial  form  in  the  Sunday  edition  begin- 
ning May  16  a  new  story  entitled  "  GentKj 
Knight  of  Old  Brandenburg"  dealing  witl\ 
love  and  German  history  written  bj 
Charles  Major. 


CLIPPINGS   FROM  CURRENT  NEWS 


243 


— Members  of  the  C.  E.  Societies  rec- 
ently studied  Heroes  of  African  Missions 
Of  one  of  these  the  following  was  stated 
by  a  writer  on  the  topic:  George  Schmidt 
was  the  first  Protestant  missionary  to 
South  Africa.  He  was  a  Moravian  and 
reached  Cape  Town  in  1737.  A  few  crosses 
were  seen  here  and  there,  the  remains  of 
Catholic  missions  begun  over  200  years 
before  Schmidt's  arrival.  When  Schmidt 
reached  Africa  he  found  that  the  inhabi- 
tants had  been  badly  treated  by  white  set- 
tlers and  that  their  need  of  the  gospel  was 
very  great.  Meeting  with  some  success  at 
Cape  Town,  he  was  bitterly  hated  and 
transferred  to  a  more  inland  tribe.  But 
here  also  he  appealed  to  the  people  and 
was  making  progress  in  the  establishment 
of  a  church.  This  still  further  enraged 
his  enemies,  and  they  demanded  that  he 
be  refused  the  use  of  the  rite  of  baptism. 
Thus  obstructed,  he  returned  to  Europe  in 
1744  with  the  hope  of  receiving  justice,  but 
it  was  denied  him  by  the  government  of 
Holland.  He  again  became  a  common  day 
laborer,  but  never  ceased  to  believe  that 
missions  would  prevail  in  .Africa  nor  to 
pray  for  his  beloved  Hottentots.  While  on 
his  knees  in  prayer  his  Master  called  him 
to  his  heavenly  home. 


— Gorge  M.  Wambaugh,  one  of  the  best 
known  newspaper  men  in  Pennsylvania, 
died  April  22  in  Harrisburg.  Mr. Wambaugh 
was  a  native  of  Columbia,  and  went  to 
Harrisburg  about  twenty  years  ago,  his 
first  connection  being  with  the  Harrisburg 
Patriot,  of  which  he  later  became  manag- 
ing editor.  For  years  Mr.  Wambaugh  was 
the  representative  of  The  Associated  Press 
at  Pennsylvania's  capital  and  correspon- 
dent for  a  number  of  the  most  prominent 
newspapers   of  the   state. 

Few  newspaper  men  in  Pennsylvania  had 
a  larger  acquantance  with  public  men  or 
wider  scope  of  political  affairs.  He  was 
one  of  the  men  who  developed  news  gath- 
ering and  his  writings  were  read  with 
much   interest  by  many   people. 


— Delta,  Pa.,  April  10. — Mrs.  Margaret 
Hess,  an  aged  and  prominent  woman  of 
Peachbottom  township,  has  aroused  amaze- 
ment among  her  lifelong  friends  since  she 
has  lost  her  English  speech  and  uses  the 
Pennsylvania-German  of  her  youth.  This 
is  all  due  to  a  very  long  illness,  it  is  de- 
clared, and  since  she  has  become  much  im- 
proved she  speaks  Pennsylvania  German  as 
she  has  not  done  for  many  years.  Mrs. 
Hess  was  seized  with  illness  a  long  time 
ago.  Her  friends  were  mystified  when 
they  noticed  her  symtoms,  the  feature, 
however,     being     that    the     comparatively 


good  English  which  had  accumulated  In 
tlie  course  of  years  of  earnest  effort,  was 
disappearing.  Finally  she  could  speak 
English    no   more. 

Their  surprise  was,  however,  mild  as 
compared  with  that  which  they  experienced 
when  Mrs.  Hess  began  to  converse  in  Ger- 
man. When  she  was  a  young  woman  she 
could  speak  Pennsylvania-German  fluencly. 
In  fact  it  was  her  own  language.  Now 
she  talks  German  to  them  and  the  rever- 
sion has  caused  not  only  amazement,  but 
some  difficulty  in  discoursing  with  her 
friends  who  are  not  familiar  with  the 
German  language.  The  case  is  regarded 
as  one  of  the  most  remarkable  to  come 
under   observation   in   this   country. 

York    Gazette. 


— Peter  Keck,  of  Berwick,  celebrated  his 
hundredth  birthday  February  16,  1909.  Not 
only  did  he  do  that,  but  he  cast  his  vote 
on  his  hundredth  birthday,  voting  the 
straight  Republican  ticket.  He  also  took 
his  first  ride  in  an  automobile.  He  is  in 
full  possession  of  his  faculties  and  has  a 
remarkably  retentive  memory. 

His  birthday  was  made  the  occasion  of 
a  big  celebration,  in  which  all  Berwick 
joined  and  into  which  he  entered  heartily. 
His  eldest  daughter  is  80  years  of  age,  and 
there  are  living  seven  children,  24  grand- 
children, 30  great-grandchildren  and  4 
great-great-grandchildren. 

— The  Patriot,  published  at  Kutztown, 
the  native  town  of  Dr.  N.  C.  Shaeffer,  in 
speaking  of  his  recent  reappointment  as 
Su])erintendent  of  Public  Instruction  says 
editorially  among  other  things:  "But  he  is 
known  far  and  wide  throughout  the  nation. 
Even  across  the  ocean  he  is  recognized  as 
one  of  the  ablest  educationists  of  America. 
Honors  have  been  most  w^orthily  bestowed 
upon  him  and  these  honors  have  been  so 
quietly  accepted  and  so  gracefully  worn 
that,  in  some  cases,  except  among  close 
friends,  the  fact  that  he  had  received  them 
was  scarcely  known.  Honored  wuth  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  by  various  great 
institutions  of  learning.  Catholic  as  well  as 
Protestant  and  undenominational,  presi- 
dent for  three  successive  years  of  the 
National  Educational  Association,  perhaps 
the  greatest  honor  that  has  come  to  him 
is  one  which  even  educators  in  the  town  of 
his  present  residence  were  not  for  quite 
awhile  aware.  Reference  is  here  made  to 
the  fact  that  the  World's  Fair  at  St.  Louis, 
bestowing  two  gold  medals  upon  the  two 
most  eminent  educators  of  America,  gave 
one  to  the  Hon.  Nathan  C.  Schaeffer,  of 
Pennsylvania. 


244 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


— In  connection  with  a  notice  of  the  pro- 
duction of  "Kassa"  by  John  Luther  Long 
before  a  York,  Pa.,  audience  by  Mrs.  Les- 
lie Carter,  the  following  sketch  of  the 
author  appeared: 

••John  Luther  Long,  lawyer,  author  and 
dramatist,  was  born  in  Hanover,  York 
county,  in  1856.  After  leaving  school  he 
studied  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
at  York.  He  then  removed  to  Philadelphia 
and  became  a  member  of  the  bar  of  that 
city.  Soon  after  he  entered  his  profession 
he'  turned  his  attention  to  literature  and 
became  a  contributor  to  the  Century  maga- 
zine and  other  leading  periodicals  of  this 
country.  His  stories  on  Japanese  life  and 
customs  attracted  wide  attention.  This 
caused  an  increased  demand  for  his  contri- 
butions. Mr.  Long  has  written  a  series  of 
stodies,  portraying  the  characteristics  of 
the  Pennsylvania-Germans.  His  stories  are 
attractive  in  style  and  are  original  in  con- 
ception. He  has  written  and  published 
several  volumes,  including  'Madame  But- 
terfly," 'Miss  Cherry  Blossom  of  Tokyo,' 
'The  Fcx  Woman,'  'The  Prince  of  Illusion,' 
'Naughty  Nan,"  'Heimweh'  and  other  stor- 
ies. Within  recent  years  a  number  of  his 
stories  have  been  dramatized  and  put  on 
the  stage,  both  in  America  and  in  Europe. 
His  play,  "The  Darling  of  the  Gods,"  has 
been  produced  in  all  the  leading  cities  of 
the  United  States  as  well  as  in  Paris  and 
London." 

— This  advertisement  appeared  in  Lon- 
don   in    1777: 

"Haunted  Houses. — Whereas  there  are 
mansions  and  castles  in  England  and 
Wales  which  for  many  years  have  been  in- 
habited and  are  now  falling  into  decay  by 
their  being  haunted  and  visited  by  evil 
siiirits  or  the  spirits  of  those  who  for  un- 
known reasons  are  rendered  miserable 
even  in  the  grave,  a  gentleman  who  has 
made  the  tour  of  Europe,  of  a  particular 
turn  of  mind  and  deeply  skilled  in  the  ab- 
strue  and  sacred  science  of  exorcism, 
hereby  offers  his  assistance  to  any  owner 
or  proprietor  of  such  premises  and  under- 
takes to  render  the  same  free  from  the 
visitation  of  such  spirits,  be  their  cause 
what  it  may,  and  render  them  tenantable 
and  useful  to  the  proprietors.  Letters  ad- 
dressed to  the  Rev.  John  Jones,  30  St. 
Martin's  lane,  duly  answered  and  inter- 
view given  if  required.  N.  B. — Rooms 
rendered  habitable  in  six  days." 

H]vidently  the  Germans  were  not  the  only 
l)eople  whom  "ghosts'  troubled  a  hundred 
and  thirty   years  ago. 

—Next  to  "The  Old  Trappe  Church," 
where  Muhlenberg  lies  buried,  the  oldest 
church   edifice  in   the  country,  still   in   pos- 


session of  Lutherans,  is  the  Salzburger 
Church  at  Ebenezer,  Ga.,  Since  1769,  this 
solemn  reminder  of  by-gone  days,  built  of 
brick  the  Salzburgers  themselves  made, 
has  M'eathered  storms  and  earthquakes, 
passed  through  the  Revolutionary  W'ar, 
playing  the  role  of  hospital,  stable,  and 
commissary  for  the  British  in  successive 
stages,  and  is  still  standing  solid  and 
strong  as  the  house  of  worship  of  a  large 
congregation.  As  March  12th  marked  the 
day  of  the  175th  anniversary  of  the  con- 
gregation and  the  140th  of  the  church 
building,  it  was  fittingly  celebrated.  The 
present  paster.  Rev.  Y.  Von.  A.  Riser,  had 
secured  as  speakers.  Rev.  J.  .A.ustin,  of 
Leesville,  S.  C,  who  had  served  the  con- 
gregation forty-three  years  as  pastor,  and 
Rev.  Dr.  Rahn,  of  Jacoksonville,  Fla.,  a  des- 
cendant of  the  Salzbergers. — The  Lutheran. 
—Dr.  William  Edgar  Geil,  F.  R.  G.  S., 
Lafayette,  '90,  who  explored  the  Pigmy 
Forest  in  Africa  and  has  circled  the  globe 
several  times,  arrived  recently  at  his  home 
in  Doylestown,  after  an  expedition  tracing 
the  Great  Wall  for  1800  miles  to  the  north- 
ern border  cf  Tibet.  By  this  exploration. 
Dr.  Geil,  who  is  a  native  of  Doylestown, 
found  that  about  200  miles  of  the  Wall 
had  never  been  mapped,  and  that  there 
were  at  least  10  great  walls  besides  the 
famous  one.  He  also  discovered  a  race  of 
Chinese  pigmies  in  the  montains  of  the 
north  of  China  and  reports  that  he  was 
amazed  tc  find  preparations  for  war  in  the 
interior  provinces,  where  small  groups  of 
Chinamen   are   drilling  daily. 

—The  friends  of  Rev.  Dr.  J.  R.  Dimm,  of 
Susnuehanna  University  held  congratula- 
tory exercises  in  Leibert  Hall,  Selinsgrove, 
Pa.',  Friday,  April  16,  1909,  at  7  P.  M.,  to 
celebrate  the  fiftieth  anniversary  cf  his  en- 
trance into  the  Gospel  ministry.  Speeches 
were  made  by  former  pupils,  members  of 
confirmation  classes  and  representatives 
of  various  religious  and  educational  bodies. 
The  fruits  gave  evidence  of  a  long  life  well 
spent. 

— Dr.  J.  H.  Redsecker,  who  was  promin- 
ently identified  with  the  National  and  State 
Pharmaceutical  associations,  died  at  Leba- 
non, Pa.,  April  20,  after  a  three  years'  ill- 
ness. He  was  the  donor  of  the  Maische 
prize  of  $20  in  gold,  awarded  annually  by 
the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy, 
from  which  institution  he  had  received  the 
honorary   degree   of   Ph.   M. 

— A  drover  rapped  at  a  farmer's  door: 
the  wife  answered  the  summons.  The 
drover  said,  "Have  you  any  heifers  to  sell" 
to  which  the  good  housewife  replied,  "Na, 
mer  ban  ken  heffe.  Sie  sin  all  voll  Lat- 
werg."    The    husband    was    called    to    whom 


CLIPPINGS    FROM    CURRENT    NEWS 


245 


the  question  was  put,  by  the  drover,  "Have 
you  any  heifers  to  sell."  The  head  of  the 
family  shov^'ed  his  superior  wisdom  by 
saying,  "Ihr  dumme  Esel.  Hat  ihr  net 
gewisst  was  er  will.  Er  will  en  Hoffe  mit 
a   wenig  Schmutz  sei  Waga  zu   sochmiere." 

— It  is  related  that  once  a  German- 
American,  growing  more  and  more  af- 
flicted with  extreme  nervousness,  got  the 
impression  that  he  was  forgetting  English. 
The  impression  got  so  strong  that  he  re- 
fused to  talk  anything  but  German.  Then 
he  became  convinced  that  he  was  forget- 
ting that,  closed  up  like  an  oyster  and  was 
led  away  to  a  sanitarium,  where  he  spent 
his  days   in   complete   silence. 

A  course  of  treatment  was  prescribed 
for  him   in  which  baths    played    an    impor- 


tant part.  Every  morning  the  dumb  Ger- 
man-American was  thrown  bodily  into  a 
tub  filled  with  very  hot  water,  allowed  to 
remain  there  awhile  and  then  hauled  out 
and    set   to    cool    on    the    piazza. 

But  once  the  sanitarium  acquired  a  new 
attendant  who  got  his  signals  mixed.  He 
was  told  to  bathe  the  German-American. 
Filling  the  tub  with  ice  cold  water,  he 
threw  the   patient  into  it. 

"Yen !    You  confounded  !"  roared 

the    dumb    man,    beside    himself    with    fury. 

"You !"    Then    he    switched    to    German. 

"Du  verfluchter  Esel!      Du !" 

The  doctors  pronounced  him  cured,  and 
he     left     the     sanitarium     the     next     day. 

— Philadelphia   Ledger. 


The  Forum 


MEAMSG  OF  NAMES 


By    LEONARD    FELIX   FULD,   M.A.,   LL.M. 

EDITORIAL  NOTE— Mr.  Fuld  has  kindly 
consented  to  give  a  brief  account  of  the 
derivation  and  meaning  of  the  surname  of 
any  subscriber  who  sends  twenty  five  cents 
to  the  Editor  of  THE  PENNSYLVANIA- 
GERMAN   for   that   purpose. 

4.  BRINER 

The  surname  BRUNER  has  three  sepa- 
rate derivations.  Some  individuals  were 
so  called  because  they  were  of  a  dark  or- 
swarthy  complexion.  Our  English  word 
"brunette"  comes  from  the  same  root. 
Others  were  called  BRUNER  because  they 
were  brave  men  dressed  in  armor  which 
was  called  in  '  German  BRUr^NE  or 
BRUENNE.  Still  others  were  called 
BRUNER  because  they  lived  near  a  spring 
or  BRUNNEN. 

5.  GRUBER 

The  surname  GRUBER  is  derived  from 
the  middle  English  GRUBBEN,  the  low 
German  GRUBBELN,  the  old  High  German 
GRUEBELEN,  the  Modern  German  GRUEB- 
ELN  and  the  Swedish  GRUBBLA.  Origi- 
nally it  meant  one  who  grubs  up  trees  or 
digs  them  up  by  the  roots.  Subsequently  it 
came  to  mean  one  who  was  engaged  in  re- 
search work  from  the  secondary  sense  of 
the  word  "to  ponder  or  ruminate  as  a  stu- 
dent or  scholar.  Thus  the  phrase  SICH  ZU 
TODE  GRUEBELN,  to  kill  oneself  by 
racking  one's  brains.  A  second  derivation 
of  the  surname  GRUBER  is  found  in 
GRUBEN   a  suffix   denoting    a    mine,    as    it 


occurs  in  GRUBENARBEITER  meaning 
an  underground  worker.  Thus  GRUBER 
came  to  mean  "miner." 

LEONARD    FELIX    J'ULD. 

*  4»     •!• 

The   First   Uiiiversity 

Old  Penn  Weekly  Review  supplemented 
our  article  in  the  March  issue  on  "Phila- 
delphia's Many  Firsts  "  in  these  words — • 
"Among  other  'firsts'  might  have  been  men- 
tioned the  Wharton  School  of  Finance  and 
Commerce,  the  first  school  of  its  kind  to 
be  connected  with  any  university.  The  most 
important  omission,  however.  Is  that  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania  was  the  first  in- 
stitution in  the  United  States  to  be  known 
as  a  university,  having  been  founded  in 
1740  and  organized  according  to  its  char- 
ter under  'The  Trustees  of  the  University 
of   Pennsylvania.'  " 

4"    *     * 

Hesse  Krentz 

The  editor  in  a  recent  conversation  for 
the  first  time  heard  the  expression  "Hesse- 
Kreutz."  We  are  anxious  to  know  whether 
any  of  our  subscribers  have  heard  the  ex- 
pression and  what  the  words  meant  to 
them.     What  is  a  Hesse  Kreutz? 

*  *     4* 

Family  Sketches  in  Preparation 

Mrs.  Annie  Pluramer  Johnson,  of  Memphis, 
Tennessee,  a  descendant  of  Captain  George 
Schall  who  moved  from  York,  Pa.,  to 
Hagerstown,    Md.,    between    1760    and    1770 


246 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


expects  to  publish  this  summer  or  fall  a 
volume  of  genealogical  sketches  of  her 
own  and  her  husband's  families  and  their 
allied  branches,  the  Vance,  Gamble,  Glass, 
Bowen,  Plummer  and  Kemp  lines  among 
others. 

*    4-     4' 


P.atriotism 

Mr.   H.  W.   Kriebel, 

Editor,    Penna. -German, 

Dear  Sir:  In  a  recent  conversation  with 
a  friend  who  was  relating  reminiscences  of 
his  youth,  the  following  very  interesting 
incident  was  told  of  an  old  time  minister 
of  North  Codorus  township,  York  County, 
whom  we  shall  call  K.  for  convenience  and 
out  of  respect  for  the  old  preacher.  The 
Rev.  K.  was  very  much  wrought  up  dur- 
ing the  Civil  War  for  the  safety  of  his 
country,  and  so  one  day  he  met  brother 
Shue,  one  of  his  staunchest  members,  and 
said:  Bruder  Shue,  ich  meen  es  war  del 
Pflicht  del  Flint  nemme  un  helfe  den 
Grieg  zum  End  bringe. 

Ja,  ich  daht  grad,  sagt,  Shue,  aver 
ich  gleich  des  schiesse  net.  Ich  will  leve 
so  lang  das  der  Herr  mich  losst. 

"Freilich  Bruder  Shue,  aver  wann  du 
gehst  uns  Ungluck  widerfaht  dir  dann  is 
die  himmlische  Herrlickeit  nur  so  veil 
Jiinger  zu  dir — un  uf  die  anner  hand, 
wann  du  in  die  H611  gehst,  macht  es  net 
viel  aus  obs  en  wenig  friiher  oder  spater  is. 
G ,   York,    Pa. 

•{•       ^       A 

A  Few  Epitaphs 

Years  ago  its  was  the  custom  to  have 
an  appropriate  verse  on  the  tombstone 
which  v/as  furnished  by  the  tombstone  cut- 
ter. Here  is  an  original  one  thus  fnrnished 
to  a  man  by  the  name  of  Ochs  whose  son 
died  and  this  artist  did  his  proud  work  in 
the  following: 

Hier   liegt   Johannes  Oechselein, 
Dem    grossen   Ochs    sein    Sohnelein. 
Der  Hebe   Gott  hat  nicht  gewollt 
Das  er  ein  grosser  Ochs  werden   sollt. 

On  May  26,  1904,  I  visited  Bingen  on  the 
Rhine,  and  in  my  wanderings  abound  I 
visited  a  cemetery  and  on  a  certain  tomb- 
stone I  found  the  following  verse  v/hich  a 
loving  husband  had  inscribed  for  his  be- 
loved  wife   who   was   buried   there: 

Wohl   auch   die   stille   Hauslichkeit 

1st  eines   Denkmahls   werth;  — 

Ihr  sey  es  hier  von  mir  geweiht. 

Und  wer  die  Tugend  ehrt, — 

Auch   in   dem    einfechen   Gewand, 

Mir,  meinem   Schmertz   ist  er  verwand. 


My  knowledge  of  the  pure  German  is 
limited  and  I  am  not  sure  that  I  grasped 
the  sentiment  of  this  bereaved  husband, 
unless  1  discovered  it  in  reading  down  the 
first  word   of  each   line,  thus 

"Wohl  ist  Ihr  und  auch  Mir." 

(Rev.)    D.   B.   SHUEY, 
Sugar  Grove,  Ohio. 

•!•     *      4" 


A   War   Song 

NOTE — A  subscriber  has  sent  the  follow- 
ing fragment  of  a  war  song  which  he 
learned  from  his  father  a  good  many  years 
ago.  Can  any  subscriber  supply  informa- 
tion about  the  hymn,  evidently  composed 
soon  after  the  return  from  the  great  invas- 
ion  of   Russia  by   Napoleon    in   1812? 

Bruder  thut  euch  wohl  besinnen, 

Denn  das  Friihjahr  riickt  heran 
Da  wird  man  zusammen  bringen 
Mehr  als  hundert  tausend  Mann, 

Da  wird  man  ins  Felde  Ziehen 
Viele   fremde   Lander  sehen, 
Riickt  die  Waffen  zu  der  Hand 
Streitet  fiir  das  Vaterland. 

Siehet  kommen   alle  Morgen, 
Viel   Rekruten  ohne  Zahl. 
Dabei  ist  es  zu  bemerken 
Das   der   Krieg   noch   mehr   gethan. 
All   die  Handwerksleute  schaffen, 
An   des   Kaisers   Krieges  Waffen 
Sieht  der  Feldzug  ist  bereit 
Auf  die  schone  Sommerszeit, 

Was  fiir  Ungliick,  was  fuer  Schrecken 
War  bei  Moscow  uns  bekannt, 
Da  die   Stadt  in  heller  Flammen 
GJinzlich   schon  ist  abgebrannt, 
Diese   war  ja  ganz  verheert, 
Von  den   Russen   selbst  verstort 
Da  der  Feind   in   dieser   Stadt 
Nichts   als  Noth   gefunden   hat. 

Da  wir  nun  den  Winter  erwarten 
Plotzlich  war  die  Kalte  gross 
Dieses   freuet   die   Kosacken 
Reuten  auf  die  Feinde  los, 
Treiben   sie   ins   weite   Felde. 
Wo  sie  miissen  Hungers  sterben, 
Und  verfrieren   in  dem  Schnee. 
Oh!    fiir  Deutschland   grosses  Weh. 

Was  hat  Deutschland   zu   erwarte 
Frankreich  war  die  Schuld  daran. 
Baden,   Wiirtenberg  und   Sachsen 
Stellen   hundert   tausend   Mann 
Diese  sind  zu  grund  gegangen, 
Theils    verfroren    theils   gefangen, 
Mehr  als  hundert  tausend  Mann, 
In  dem   Feldzug  noch  Russland. 

E.   K.   S.,   Ringtown,  Pa. 


THE  FORUM 


247 


Information  Wanted 

Mr.  S.  S.  Flory,  Bangor,  Pa.,  being  en- 
gaged in  collecting  material  for  a  history 
of  tlie  Flory  or  Fleury  family  invites  cor- 
respondence from  any  persons  in  position 
to  give  information  about  the  family. 

Prof.  Martin  D.  GVill,  Mohnton,  Pa.,  is  in- 
terested in  the  Grill  and  Dewees  families 
and  desires  to  correspond  vi-ith  parties  in 
position  to  give  information. 

*     *     * 

Clendenen  Family 

1.  John  Clendenen  of  Lancaster  county, 
Pa.,  born  1748  (Easton),  died  1814  Grays 
Run,  Pa.,  buried,  Newberry,  Pa.  (no  head 
stone),  enlisted  in  Revolutionary  War  Feb., 
11,  1776  (Pa.  Archives),  served  two  years 
(Roll  of  honor  D.  A.  R.),  was  Corporal, 
Sergeant  and  was  made  Captain  bj  brevet 
in  1784.  Many  years  after  his  d3ath,  his 
wife  Rebecca  DeFrance,  Clendenen  (a 
Huguenot)   procured  a  pension. 

WANTED,  Names  of  parents  of  above 
and    tombstone    record. 

2.  In  "Notes  and  Queries  (Egle)  1  Ser- 
ies," Page  165,  under  "Crawfords  of  Han- 
over" we  read,  "One  Robert  C.  married 
Elizabeth,   d.   of  Michael   Quigley." 

QUERY,  Did  the  latter  belong  to  Quickel 
Family?  Was  he  son  of  Christian  Quickel 
or    (Rev.  War)   Quiggle? 

WANTED,  Name  of  wife,  (likely  Kath- 
arine Kline,  d.  of  Jacob  Kline;,  also, 
names,  birth  and  death  record  of  parents 
of  both.  (By  first  census  of  Pa.  Michael 
Quigle    lived    in   Northumberland   Co.,   Pa.) 


^lontgomcry  Family 

John  Montgomery    (of  Ireland  or  Scotland) 

Married  Martha (born  on  ocean, 

tradition).     Their  children  were 

1.  Robert   married  

2.  Rev.   Joseph,  b.   Sept.   23,   1733,   d.   Oct. 

14,  1794,  in  Revolutionary  War,  m. 
Elizabeth  Reed  and  Rachel  Rush 
Boyce. 

3.  William,      in     Revolutionary    V/ar,    m. 

Anna  Reed  of  New  Jersey. 

4.  John    M . 

5.  Jane   (?)   m.  Strain. 

6.  m.     Samuel    McCork!e     (Rev. 

S.  Eusebius  McCorkle  a  son). 

Robert     Montgomery     (sf.     John)     b.     in 
Lancaster    county.     Pa.,     (a    witness     on 

Joseph    Sherer's    will)     m. dauf. 

Martha    (brothers     and     sisters 

lived    in    Salisbury     and    Mecklinburg,    n. 
Carolina   1797).     The   children   were: 

1.  James   b.   1774,   d.   1844,   m.   Susan   and 

Catharine  Fedder. 

2.  Sherer,     b.     1779     (named     for     Joseph 

Sherer)    m.  Mary   Karr. 

3.  Martha  Patty,  m.  Hugh  Shaw. 

4.  Elizabeth,  b.   1776,   d.     1843,     m.     Wm. 

Quiggle   (Quickel)    d.  1840.  • 

5.  John,  m.  . 


6.  Samuel,  m. 


7.  Josepr,  d.  unmarried. 

These  families  lived  in  Dauphin  and 
Clinton  Counties,  married  and  intermarried 
Pennsylvania  -  Germans  from  York  and 
Lancaster  counties. 

WANTED:  Information  about  John  and 
Martha  Montogomery  and  the  blanks  filled. 


Historical  Societies 


The   Susquehanna   County   Historical 
Society 

The  19th  annual  meeting  of  the  Susque- 
hanna County  Historical  Society  and  Free 
Library  Association  wes  held  at  the 
Library,  January  16th,   1909. 

The  morning  session  was  taken  with  the 
report  of  the  Committees  and  election  of 
officers,  which  are  as  follows:  Francis  R. 
Cope,  Jr.,  President;  F.  A.  Davies,  First 
Vice  President;  Geo.  A.  Stearns,  Second 
Vice  President;  W.  W.  Aitken,  Recording 
Secretary;  W.  H.  Warner,  Treasurer,  and 
H.  A.  Denney,  Librarian  and  Correspond- 
ing Secretary. 

The  afternoon  session  was  called  to 
order  by  Chairman,  F  R.  Cope,  Jr.,  who 
fittingly  called  attention  to  the  pride  all 
feel    in   having   the   Society   so   well   housed 


and  cared  for,  and  for  the  achievements  of 
the  year.  A  number  of  relics  of  historical 
value  have  been  given,  and  we  hope  to 
add  much  to  our  collection  during  the 
coming  year.  A  cane  made  from  a  tree 
growing  on  the  first  homestead  under  the 
U.  S.  homestead  law  and  presented  to  G. 
A.  Grow  at  the  close  of  his  Congressional 
life,  was  presented  to  the  Society  by  the 
executor  of  the  Grow  "estate. 

We  also  have  a  section  devoted  to  books 
on  Local  History,  already  there  are  about 
thirty  volumes  in  it  and  as  considerable  in- 
terest is  shown  in  the  matter,  the  prospect 
is  the  volumes  will  grow  in  number,  and 
become  a  much  visited  section  by  those 
who  care  to  learn  more  of  the  early  resi- 
dents and  conditions  in  this  portion  of 
Pennsylvania.  There  are  several  good 
books    on    the    Wyoming    Valley,    parts     of 


248 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


northeastern  Pennsylvania  and  the  County, 
which  are  very  interesting  and  instructive. 

President  Cope  appointed  a  lecture  Com- 
mittee to  arrange  for  several  lectures  to 
take    place    during   the    coming   winter. 

Three  prize  essays  on  local  history  were 
read  by  members  of  the  Montrose  High 
School,  and  prizes  awarded  by  Pr^s.  Cope, 
First  prize  five  dollars,  two  second  prizes 
of  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  each. 

Miss  Eliza  Brewster,  for  several  years 
our  efficient  historian,  was  unable  to  act 
farther  in  this  capacity,  and  the  same  was 
prepared  and  read  this  year  by  Miss 
Amelia  Pickett,  who  was  reappointed  for 
the  ensuing  year. 

The  meeting  was  a  success  from  every 
standpoint,  and  more  enthusiasm  was 
shown  than  ever  before,  and  while  time  de- 
crees that  the  work  should  fall  upon 
younger  members  we  trust  that  they  will 
perform  it  as  worthily  as  those  who  made 
a  beginning. 

Librarian   and   Cor.   Secretary. 

4i     4*     4* 

Montgomery   County  Historical   Society 

The  Montgomery  County  Historical  So- 
ciety held  a  regular  meeting  April  24,  1909 
in  the  rooms  of  the  society. 

Mr.  Henry  C.  Mercer,  of  Doylestown,  Pa., 
delivered  an  address  upon  "Early  Pottery 
of  the  Pennsylvania-Germans." 

Mr.  William  Keller,  of  Norristown,  ex- 
plained the  process  employed  by  the  early 
potters  in  the  manufacture  of  the  ware 
known   as   "Tulip,"  or  "Slip"  ware. 

From  10  A.  M.  there  were  on  exhibition 
a  number  of  pieces  of  this  ware,  cour- 
teously loaned  by  friends  and  members  of 
the  society. 


The  Presbyterian  Historical   Society 

Vol.  v..  No.  1  (March,  1909)  of  the  Jour- 
nal of  this  society  contains  a  frontispiece 
portrait  of  John  Calvin,  articles  on  "John 
Calvin  and  the  Psalmody  of  the  Reformed 
Churches."  The  Reformed  Church  of 
South  Africa.",  "The  Corporate  Seal  of  the 
Trustees  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Monmouth  County  and  reports  of  the  An- 
nual Meeting,  January,  1909.  From  the  re- 
ports we  glean  that  this  society  of  about 
250  members  is  active  and  doijig  good 
work  through  its  various  committees,  com- 
pleting files  of  church  periodicals,  issuing 
the  Journal  enriching  its  museum  and 
gallery  and  strengthening  its  finaticial  re- 
sources. The  Executive  Committee  says: 
"  We  trust  that  something  will  be  done 
looking  to  an  increase  in  the  membership. 
Instead  of  about  250  members,  we  should 
have  at  least  500."  We  hope  the  society 
may   soon  have  a  thousand  members. 

*    4-     * 

The    New    England    Historic    Genealogical 
Society 

The  April  issue  of  the  Register  published 
by  this  society  contains  a  supplement  giv- 
ing the  proceedings  of  the  annual  meet- 
ing of  the  society  held  January  27,  1909. 
We  note  the  following  items  for  the  year 
ending  December  31,  1908.  Volumes  and 
phamphlets  in  library  34,815  and  34,741 
respectively.  The  report  of  the  Treasurer 
shows  total  receipts  of  cash  for  the  year 
to  have  been  $48,060.06,  total  disburse- 
ments $49,916.69.  The  balance  sheet  gives 
assets  $357,403.50,  liabilities  $300,700.82  and 
a  balance  of  $56,702.68.  The  financial  needs 
of  the  society  are  indicated  in  an  estimate 
asking  for  $239,000  to  be  expended  for  var- 
ious items  given  in  the  estimate. 


Worth  Imitating 

"The  Companion"  has  spoken  its  words  of 
commendation  of  trade-schools  for  girls 
which  have  been  springing  up  in  the  cities. 
There  can  hardly  be  too  many  of  them, 
and  the  endowment  of  money  and  of  inter- 
est which  they  call  for  will  be  well  invested. 

Americans  pride  themselves  on  being 
leaders  in  all  movements  for  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  life  of  women;  but  Berlin,  in 
Germany,  is  far  in  advance  of  us  in  this  one 
department — in  teaching  girls  how  to  use 
their  hands  for  profitable  and  desirable 
ends.  The  Lette  Verein  in  Berlin  is  the 
largest  industrial  school  for  girls  in  the 
world,  and  is  teaching  hundreds  of  girls 
skill  in  occupations,  ranging  from  stenog- 
raphy to  cooking,  and  from  bookbinding  to 
marketing  and  darning. 

The  school  has  two  great  boarding-houses, 
in  one  of  which  live  a  hundred  girls  who 
are  studying  in  the  household  school.    They 


do  all  the  work  in  their  own  family,  and 
learn  in  the  three-year  course  every  detail 
of  housekeeping.  The  course  is  by  no 
means  confined  to  so-called  "bread  work," 
but  has  fine  courses  of  lectures  on  the 
chemistry  of  food,  on  home  sanitation,  and 
on   kindred   subjects. 

The  dressmaking  department  graduates 
two  or  three  hundred  expert  dressmakers 
every  year.  The  bookbinding  department  is 
very  popular,  and  hair-dressing  rivals  book- 
keeping as   a   money-making  occupation. 

Women  are  the  teachers  in  the  school, 
with  a  single  exception;  there  is  a  man  at 
the  head  of  the  photography  department. 
Any  one  who  wishes  to  see  what  teaching 
can  achieve  in  trades  which  have  been  too 
often  the  victims  of  unskilled  labor  has 
only  to  visit  the  big,  airy,  well-situated, 
busy  and  popular  Lette  Verein,  looking  out 
upon  the  beautiful  Viktoria  Luise  Platz,  in 
Berlin. — Youths'  Companion. 


Vol.  X 


JUNE,  1909 


No.  6 


Johann  Arndt  and  His  "True  Christianity" 

By  Lucy  Forney  Bittinger,  Sewickley,  Pa. 


In  Professor  John  Bach  McMasters' 
''History  of  the  People  of  the  United 
States"  (Vol.  II,  pp.  556-7)  he  says: 
speaking-  of  the  German  settlers  of 
rural    Pennsylvania: 

"His  aucestor  might  perhaps  have  left  a 
home  in  Alsace  or  Swabia,  Saxony  or  the 
Palatinate,  a  well-to-do  man.  But  he  was 
sure,  ere  he  reached  Philadelphia,  to  be 
reduced  to  beggary  and  want.  Ship-captains 
and  ship-owners,  sailors  and  passengers 
rifled  his  chests  and  robbed  him  of  his 
money  and  his  goods.  Then  with  no  more 
worldly  possessions  than  the  clothes  he 
had  on  his  back,  and  the  few  coins  and 
the  copy  of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism,  or 
Luther's  Catechism  or  Arndt's  Wahres 
Christenthum,  he  had  in  his  pockets,  he  was 
at  liberty  to  earn  the  best  living  he  could, 
save  a  few  pounds,  buy  ten  or  twenty 
acres  of  forest  land.,  and  begin  to  farm." 

That  this  a  true  picture,  the  records, 
the  traditions,  and  the  book-shelves  of 
many  families  of  German  descent  can 
testify,  even  after  the  lapse  of  two 
centuries.  r>ut  what  was  this  "True 
Christianity"  to  which  these  poor 
plundered  folk  clung?  Who  was 
Arndt,  and  when  and  where  did  he 
write  his  "\\'ahres  Christenthum?" 
The  following"  pages  aim  to  answer 
the  questions  and  to  tell  the  history  of 
the  author  and  the  book. 


A  TROUBLED  AND  DISTRACTED 
WORLD 

On  the  day  of  St.  John  the  Evan- 
gelist, the  27th  of  December,  1555, 
there  was  born  to  the  town-preacher  of 
Ballenstadt  in  Anhalt,  Jacobus  Arndt, 
and  Anna  his  wife,  a  little  son  to 
whom — perhaps  in  honor  of  the  saint 
on  whose  day  the  child  entered  the 
world — his  parents  gave  the  name  of 
John.  It  was  a  troubled  and  distracted 
world  upon  which  the  baby  opened 
his  eyes.  The  ardors  and  heroisms  of 
that  gTcat  social,  intellectual  and  re- 
ligious change  which  we  call  the  Re- 
formation had  passed ;  Luther  had 
been  dead  for  eleven  years,  departing 
in  thankfulness  to  be  taken  from  the 
evils  of  war  and  conflict  which  he 
propheticall}'  foresaw.  Melancthon 
with  his  latest  breath  rejoiced  in  being 
delivered  from  "the  hatred  of  theolo- 
gians." An  infinite  variety  of  quarrels 
raged  throughout  Protestantism ;  it  is 
difficult  to  give  them  a  more  dignified 
name  than  quarrels,  for  although  they 
concerned  the  highest  and  holiest 
mysteries  of  the  faith,  they  were  de- 
l:)ated  in  a  spirit  no  better  than  to  de- 
serve   this    title.     Church    histories    of 


250 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


the  period  are  filled  with  accounts  of 
theologians  and  heresiarchs  whose 
names  and  doctrines,  or  heresies,  are 
alike  unknown  and  unregarded  at  the 
present  time.  Krummacher,  the 
powerful  and  eloquent  German 
preacher,  says  in  his  biographical  in- 
troduction to  i\rndt's  works,  published 
in  1842: 

"The  conflicts  which  raged  in  the  young 
church  were  not  about  unimportant  things 
— not  infrequently  they  concerned  the  most 
important  fundamentals  of  Biblical  Chris- 
tianity. But  these  controversies  were  not 
always  conducted  in  the  right  spirit.  Men 
fought  for  themselves  and  their  own  repu- 
tations instead  of  the  cause  of  truth.  In- 
stead of  allowing,  in  humble  submission, 
the  disputed  points  to  be  decided  by  the 
Word,  system  was  opposed  to  system  in 
dogmatizing  stubbornness,  and  men,  be- 
fore surrendering  a  private  opinion,  did  not 
hesitate,  if  victory  was  to  be  obtained  in 
no  other  way,  to  put  Holy  Writ  upon 
the  rack  of  the  most  dishonest  exegesis  in 
order  to  extract  from  it  the  exact  opposite 
of  that  which  it  really  taught.  And  it  was 
often  forgotten  that  Scripture  was  given 
for  the  life  and  not  to  open  the  lists  to  a 
carnal  dialectic  for  its  ambiguous  arts.  In- 
stead of  approaching  the  tree  of  life  in  the 
garden  of  Revelation,  they  ended  by  using 
it  to  cut  therefrom  arrows  to  use  against 
their  adversaries.  They  grew  accustomed 
to  regard  God's  Word  only  from  the  point 
of  view  of  what  foundations  for  syllogisms 
it  might  offer  whose  brilliant  defense 
would  redound  to  their  honor  as  theolo- 
gians and  at  best,  the  truth  which  should 
make  men  free  and  raise  their  thoughts  to 
God  were  transformed  in  the  dusty  work- 
shops of  a  self-seeking  speculation  to  dry 
party-formulas  and  fanatically  emphasized 
catch-words sermons  lost  almost  en- 
tirely their  edifying  character  and  became 
theological  disputations The  poor  con- 
gregations heard  indeed  the  most  learned 
explanations  of  the  substance  and  acci- 
dents of  sin;  but  that  they  were  sinners  to 
whom  nothing  was  so  needful  as  an  earnest 
repentance  and  a  living  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ — this  they  no  longer  heard.  The 
most  subtile  discourses  were  given  them 
upon  the  limitations  of  free  will,  the  possi- 
bilities of  their  co-operation  toward  their 
own  salvation;  but  that  in  order  to  be 
saved,  it  was  necessary  to  offer  up  their 
own  will  and  to  give  themselves  to  the 
Lord  .lesus  in  weal  and  woe — of  this,  not 
a  syllable.  The  healthful  bread  of  life  was 
scarce  in  the  land;  instead  of  manna,  every 
Sunday  there  rained  down  upon  the  poor 
hearers,  musty  theories  and  abstract  formu- 
las,   borrowed    from    the   Aristotelian    phil- 


osophy. Salvation  became,  at  least  in  the 
notions  of  those  bewildered  folk,  indepen- 
dent of  regeneration  "by  water  and  the 
Word"  and  was  made  to  consist  in  the  ac- 
ceptance of  some  confessional  shibboleth  as 
the  sole  condition.  A  new  papacy,  changed 
in  form  only  arose  again  in  the  Protestant 
church  which  instead  of  the  Romish  salva- 
tion by  works  substituted  another  dead 
thing,  the  acceptance  of  the  letter  as  the 
ground  of  salvation.  Adhesion  to  this  or 
that  conception  of  a  church  dogma  sufficed 
as  an  evidence  of  true  Christian  character. 
Of  religious  experience  and  the  inner  life 
was  no  longer  any  question;  it  was  con- 
cerning shibboleths  of  creed  and  the 
watchwords  of  the  schools. 

"No  wonder,  then,  that  people  awakened 
to  deeper  needs  and  more  earnestly  con- 
cerned about  the  salvation  of  their  souls, 
sought  better  nourishment  than  these 
churchmen  of  formula  and  the  letter  could 
offer.  If  in  the  writings  of  Tauler,  Kem- 
pis,  or  some  other  mystic  of  the  Roman 
church,  the  full  light  of  justification  by 
faith  had  not  broken  through  the  clouds, 
yet  these  writings  breathed  a  savor  of  life 
and  their  instructions  for  practical  godli- 
ness appeared  by  contrast  to  the  reigning 
orthodoxy  like  the  green  pastures  of  Para- 
dise beside  a  dry,  famine-stricken  steppe. 
Indeed  the  deep  spiritual  poverty  of  the 
age  is  betrayed  anew  by  the  fact  that  the 
queer  theosophy  of  Paracelsus  or  the 
cloudy  mysticism  of  Valentin  Weigel  could 
find  such  a  numerous  following  as  they 
really  had.  Leaving  out  of  the  question  the 
former's  alchemistic  mystifications, — his 
philosopher's  stone,  his  panacea,  his  foun- 
tain of  youth — the  reader  is  powerfully  at- 
tracted by  the  freedom  of  thought  as  well 
as  the  zeal  of  this  gifted  man  against  dead 
scholasticism  and  his  fiery  insistence  on 
living  union  with  God,  on  prayer  and 
faith.  And  although  in  Weigel's  teaching 
the  fanatical  element  cannot  be  denied,  and 
neither  the  extravagant  declamation 
against  creeds,  nor  his  one-sided  insistence 
upon  sanctification  be  excused,  yet  we 
thank  God  that  once  more  a  witness  has 
gained  insight  and  freedom  enough  to  pro- 
claim to  the  world  that  what  is  needful  is 
not  churches  of  stone  but  human  hearts 
and  to  insist  anew  upon  the  truth  that  'the 
letter  killeth,  but  the  Spirit  giveth  life'." 

HISTORICAL  EVENTS 

This  gloomy  picture  of  German  theo- 
logical and  religious  life,  painted  by  a 
German  theologian,  may  be  framed 
by  the  mention  of  a  few  historical 
events  in  Arndt's  times.  In  the  year 
of  his   birth   was    held    the    Diet    of 


JOHANN  ARNDT   AND   HIS   "TRUE   CHRISTIANITY" 


251 


Augsburg-,  a  treaty  of  peace (  or  more 
accurately  an  armistice)  between  the 
warring  creeds.  Catholic  and  Luther- 
an— the  Calvinists  were  not  even  men- 
tioned in  it;  but  partial  as  it  was,  it 
gave  some  measure  of  liberty  to  Pro- 
testantism and  temporary  peace  to 
Germany.  In  the  next  year  died 
Loyola,  the  founder  of  the  most 
powerful  and  efficient  instrument  of 
the  Catholic  Counter-Reformation. 
\\'hen  the  town-preacher's  son  was 
four  years  old,  the  Inquisition  was  in- 
troduced into  Spain ;  a  few  years  later 
the  Council  of  Trent,  that  body  which 
gave  to  Roman  Catholicism  its  pres- 
ent form,  was  holding  its  third  and 
last  session.  And,  to  turn  to  the  other 
side,  Calvin  died  supreme  in  Geneva, 
about  the  same  time.  When  Arndt 
was  th.e  village  pastor  in  Badeborn, 
the  INIassacre  of  St.  Bartholomew  oc- 
curred. Through  most  of  his  life,  the 
gallant  revolt  of  the  Netherlands 
against  Alva  and  Philip  II  was  going 
on.  The  Counter-Reformation  was 
showing  its  strength,  divided  Protest- 
antism its  weakness,  particularly  in 
the  Lutheran  hatred  of  Calvinism  and 
all  its  works.  Austria,  under  Ferdi- 
nand and  Rudolf,  was  relentlessly  per- 
secuting Protestantism  out  of  exist- 
ence in  its  dominions.  In  i6i8  took 
place,  a  few  years  before  Arndt's 
death,  the  mad  and  reckless  action 
which  opened  the  horrible  history  of 
the  Thirty  Years'  War — the  "Fenster- 
Sturz"  of  Prague,  when  the  Catholic 
commissioners  were  flung  from  the 
Stadt-Haus  window  by  their  oppo- 
nents. Arndt's  lifework  was  done  in 
the  little  squalid  towns  of  16th-cen- 
tury. Germany,  amid  grand  old  Gothic 
architecture,  where  pestilence  raged 
again  and  again,  slaying  its  thousands, 
where  civil  war — between  prince  and 
people,  patrician  and  plebeian — raged 
also.  The"  literary  activities  of  this 
era  naturally  spent  themselves  mainly 
in  polemic  treatises,  in  sermons, 
hymns,  and  a  few  chronicles  scarcely 
more  than  annals;  for  belles-lettres — 
poems,   romances   ,   and   the   like — the 


times  were  too  serious-minded;  men's 
thoughts  were  pre-occupied  with  theo- 
logical and  religious  matters. 

ARNDT'S  EARLY  LIFE 

When  Johann  Arndt  was  ten  years 
old.  his  father  died ;  but  kind  friends 
relieved  the  widowed  mother  of  all 
care  about  her  son's  education.  The 
1)0}'  already  showed  those  characteris- 
tics which  marked  him  as  worthy  of, 
and  repaying  the  most  careful  train- 
ing. He  was  bright,  lovable  and  full 
of  childish  piety.  His  inclination 
toward  chemical  and  scientific  pur- 
suits (as  "science"  was  understood  in 
that  age  of  alcheni}')  was  so  strong 
that  he  at  first  intended  to  be  a 
physician  ;  but  a  severe  illness  led  him 
to  make  a  vow  that  in  case  of  recovery 
he  would  devote  himself  to  the  minis- 
try and  this  vow  he  kept.  Following 
the  German  custom,  he  attended  suc- 
cessivel}'  several  universities  —  first 
Helmstadt,  then  Wittenbreg, where  the 
Elctor  had  just  given  the  university  a 
"Lutheran  cleansing,'  removing  those 
professors  who  were  suspected  of 
Cryto-Calvinism.  The  spirit  of  the 
time  showed  itself  in  Arndt's  especial 
friend,  the  theologian  Polycarp  Ley- 
ser,  who  wrote  a  work  bearing  the 
pleasant  title :  "Why  is  it  Better  to 
keep  Company  with  Papists  than  with 
Calvinists?"  Another  friend  of  Arndt 
and  his  spiritual  son,  Johann  Gerhard, 
must  have  been  endeared  to  him  by 
the  striking  similarity  of  their  lives 
and  works — for  Gerhard,  too,  had  been 
diverted  from  the  study  of  medicine 
to  that  of  theology  by  a  vow  made  in 
apparently  mortal  illness;  he  came  to 
be  (i)  "among  scholars  of  his  age  un- 
questionably the  most  learned  and 
certainly  the  most  amiable,"  and  his 
Sacred  Meditations,  in  their  Latin, 
German  and  English  form  are  still 
useful  and  beloved,  although  not  to 
the  same  extent  as  his  friend's  devo- 
tional work. 

After  Wittenberg.  Arndt  visited  the 
universities  of  Strasburg  and  Basel, 
At  what  period  of  his  life  he  first  made 


252 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


the  acquaintance  of  the  mystical 
writers — Bernard  of  Clairvaux,  Taul- 
er,  Kenipis  and  the  unknown  author 
of  the  Theologia  Germanica — we  can- 
not tell,  but  it  was  a  friendship  which 
continued  through  his  whole  life  and 
powerfully  colored  his  writings.  At 
Basel,  Arndt  left  being  a  student  and 
became  a  teacher,  giving  lectures  upon 
ethics,  rhetoric  and  physics — the  last 
mentioned  subject  showing  the  strong 
bent  which  he  always  retained  for 
scientific  pursuits  as  then  unilerstood. 
At  twenty-seven  years  of  age,  he  was 
(Ordained  and  returning  to  his  little  and 
dearly-beloved  fatherland  of  Anhalt, 
he  became  pastor  of  the  village  church 
in  Badeborn,  not  far  from  his  birth- 
place. Here  he  married  Anna  A\  ag- 
ner  and  settled  down  to  a  happy  and 
successful  pastorate  for  seven  years. 
Then  e\il  times  came  upon  the  Duchy 
(f  Anhalt  and  its  Lutheran  pastors. 
The  Duke,  already  inclining  toward 
the  Calvinistic  belief  which,  a  few 
year  after,  he  embraced,  ordered  that 
])astors  should  omit  Luther's  formula 
of  exorcism  in  baptizing  children.  To 
modern  ears  the  exorcism  sounds 
medieval  and  repulsive,  and  it  has  now 
been  abrogated  by  most,  if  not  all, 
Lutherans;  l)ut  to  pastor  Arndt  and 
in  his  times,  it  was  a  matter  of  con- 
science which  he  could  not  surrender 
at  the  command  of  any  worldly  po- 
tentate. The  other  pastors  bowed  to 
the  ducal  will  "aus  Sorge  um's  Hebe 
P)rod" ;  (2)  one  only  was  "faithful 
found  among  the  faithless" — the  pas- 
tor of  Badeborn.  In  words  which  re- 
call Luther's  at  the  Diet  of  Worms, 
Arndt  meekly  but  firmly  told  his 
prince  that  he  "would  humbly  submit 
to  any  sentence  the  Duke  might  pro- 
nounce, but  must  abide  by  the  de- 
cision of  his  own  conscience.''  The 
inevitable  result  of  this  conscientious 
resistance  was  that  he  was  dismissed 
from  his  ])astorate  at  IJadeborn  and 
banished   troni   his  countr\\ 


PASTORAL  LABORS 

But  before  /\rndt  had  actually 
quitted  his  fatherknd  not  knowing 
whither  he  should  go,  he  received 
several  calls  to  other  fields  and  ac- 
cepted one  to  the  little  Saxon  city  of 
Ouedlinburg  as  assistant  to  the  dying 
pastor,  whom,  in  two  years,  he  suc- 
ceeded. The  town  was  under  the 
combined  rule  of  a  princess-abbess — 
at  that  time  Anna  II  of  Stolberg — and 
the  schirm-vogtei  (protection)  of  the 
Saxon  Elector.  Here  Arndt  spent  nine 
useful  years  and  here  he  and  his  people 
w;ent  through  one  of  those  frightful 
visitatior.s  of  pestilence  which  often 
harr'ed  the  crow<led,  foul  cities  of  the 
times  ;  the  sickness  lasted  for  a  year, 
during  which  3000  inhabitants  of 
Ouedlinburg  died,  including  ■  three 
clergymen.  Arndt  was  unwearied  in 
nreaching  "daily  from  Trinity  until 
after  }iTchaelmas"  in  \isitin_g  the  sick, 
and,  after  exhausting  labors,  in 
r ravers  far  into  the  night  for  his  dy- 
ing ]:arishioners.  As  he  could  not 
\'!sit  all  of  the  stricken,  he  prepared 
a  little  book  which  he  sent  them  and 
this  is  probabl}^  the  "tractatlein,"  the 
"S  :iritual  Medicine  against  the  Pesti- 
lence,'' which  is  included  in  the  "Par- 
adise-Gaertlein." 

In  s  lite  of  Arndt's  devotion  and  al- 
though many  of  his  Badeborn  ])arish- 
ioners  and  fellow-countrymen,  unde- 
terred by  distance,  came  in  crowds  to 
attend  his  preaching,  dissensions  in 
his  charge  forced  him  to  desire 
another  field  of  labor  and  in  1599  he 
joyfully  accepted  a  call  to  the  pastor- 
ate of  St.  Martin's  church  in  Bruns- 
wick. Idle  Princess-Abbess  x\nna  put 
annoying  hindrances  in  the  way  of 
.Vrndt's  accepting  of  this  post  and  it 
was  at  some  pecuniary  loss  that  he 
finally  escaped  the  '  noble  lady's 
clutches;  he  wrote  her  a  farewell  let- 
ter full  of  charity  and  forgiveness, 
wishing  her  and  all  his  enemies  "for 
every  reproach,  honor  a  thousand-fold, 
and  for  every  kindness  shown  him, 
thousand-fold    reward." 


JOHANN    AKNDT   AND   HIS   "TRUE  CHRISTIAXITY" 


253 


Escaping  from  pestilence,  slander 
and  extortion  at  Ouedlinbnrg,  the  new- 
pastor  of  St.  Martin's  found  himself 
precipitated  into  the  midst  of  civil 
war,  siet;e  and  tumults  in  Brunswick. 
The  town  had  desired  to  be  a  free  city 
subject  immediately  to  the  Emperor; 
they  had  fought  fm-  and  conquered, 
this  freedom  from  their  Duke,  Hein- 
rich  Julius  of  Brunswick,  when  it 
pleased  them  to  fall  out  among  them- 
selves. This  new  war  was  a  strife 
between  the  patricians,  who  had  pre- 
viously ruled  the  city,  and  the 
plebians, hitherto  almost  unrepresented 
in  the  town-council  but  now  led  by 
the  eloqunt  and  learned  jurist  Bra- 
bant. Th  struggle  and  the  fall  of  this 
tribune  of  the  people  throw^  a  lurid 
light  on  the  ways  and  thoughts  of  the 
dawning  17th  century.  In  the  hour 
of  Brabant's  triumph,  when  he  had 
filled  the  council  with  his  own  demo- 
cratic partizans  in  the  teeth  of  aris- 
tocratic opposition  and  the  revilings 
and  e\"en  excommunications  of  the 
clergy,  a  raven  which  followed  the 
people's  leader  from  the  church  to 
his  home  and  would  not  be  driven 
away  convinced  the  superstitious 
pooulace  that  Brabant  was  in  league 
with  the  devil.  Accused  by  a  drunken 
blackguard  under  torture,  of  seditious 
speeches,  Brabant  tried  to  escape  from 
the  city  and  from  his  doom,  but  was 
dragged  back — his  leg  broken  in  his 
flight — and  racked  until  he  cried  that 
"he  would  confess  anything  if  they 
but  released  him  from  the  rack."  On 
the  confession  thus  wrung  from  him, 
Brabant  was  executed — under  circum- 
stances whose  barbarity  cannot  be 
dwelt  upon — murmuring  "with  feeble 
but  audible  voice"  the  last  verse  of 
Luther's  hymn : 

"Du  hochster  Troster  in  aller  Noth, 

Hilf,  dass  wir  nicht  fiirchten  Schand'  noch 

Tod, 
Dass  in  uns  die  Sinnen  niclit  verzagen, 
Wenn  der  Feind  wird  das  Leben  verklagen. 
Kyrieleis!" 

Arndt  came  to  his  new  charge  dur- 
ing this  frightful  episode  and  his 
preaching  may  have  helped    to    calm 


the  panic-stricken  folk  of  Brunswick. 
In  a  few  years  a  new  triaJ'was  to  fall 
updu  the  turbulent,  high-spirited 
ti)wn,  when  Duke  ileinrich  Julius  be- 
sieged and  bombarded  it  for  twenty- 
one  weeks  and  flooded  the  rebellious 
city  by  damming  a  stream,  in  vain 
endeavor  to  bring  it  to  terms.  It  was 
in  the  midst  of  these  tumults  and 
troubles,  fighting  without  and  foes 
within,  (for  the  other  members  of  the 
Brunswick  ministerium  were  far  from 
brotherly  in  their  conduct  toward 
Arndt,  their  youngest  colleague)  that 
the  pastor  of  St.  Martin's  published, 
at  the  instance  of  his.  friend  Gerhard, 
a  little  collection  of  sermons  delivered 
on  weekdays,  prayer-meeting  talks  we 
might  call  them  now — which  was  the 
first  of  his  "Six  Books  concerning 
True  Christianity."'  It  was  no  case 
of  an  ardent,  inexperienced  youth, 
disheartened  at  the  corruptions  of  a 
world  with  which  he  had  just  made 
acquaintance  and  rushing  into  print 
to  correct  them  ;  Arndt  was  fifty  years 
old  when  he  published,  at  Jena  in  1605 
his  book  which  was  to  become  so 
famous  and  —  what  would  have  re- 
joiced this  modest,  godly  man  infinite- 
ly more — so  useful.  "He  had  long- 
lamented,"  says  Dr.  Schaeffer,  his 
latest  American  translator,  "that  ow- 
ing to  the'endless  doctrinal  controver- 
sies of  the  times,  the  attention  of 
many  persons  was  diverted  from  the 
practical  duties  of  the  Christian  life 
and  directed  exclusively  to  controver- 
sies on  points  of  doctrine.  "The  book 
was  instantly  popular;"  it  found  in 
court  and  cabin  (an  Hofen  und  in 
Hiitten)  most  grateful  '  recognition," 
says  Tholuck. 

But  Arndt's  colleagues  —  perhaps 
from  a  pedantic  zeal  for  orthodoxy, 
perhaps  from  professional  jealousy — 
soon  made  the  German  theological 
world  vocal  with  their  controversies 
and  even  with  personal  abuse.  Very 
much  of  this,  however  occurred  after 
the  saintly  writer  had  passed  to 
"wdiere  beyond  these  voices  there  is 
peace.  ' 


254 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


HOPES  AND  AMBITIONS 

Arndt's  own  hopes  and  intentions 
in  the  pubHcation  of  the  True  Chris- 
tianity*- are  well  expressed  in  a  letter 
which  he  addresed,  in  the  last  year  of 
his  life,  to  the  Duke  of  Brunswick : 

"In  the  first  place,  I  wished  to  withdraw 
the  minds  of  students  and  preachers  from 
an  incrdinately  controversial  and  polemic 
theology,  which  has  well  nigh  assumed  the 
form  of  the  earlier  scholasticism.  Second- 
ly, I  proposed  to  conduct  Christian  believers 
from  lifeless  faith  to  that  which  brings 
forth  fruit.  Thirdly,  I  wished  to  guide 
them  from  mere  science  and  theory,  to  the 
actual  practice  of  faith  and  godliness;  and 
fourthly,  to  show  them  wherein  consists  a 
truly  Christian  life  which  accords  with  the 
true  faith,  as  well  as  to  explain  the  apostle's 
meaning  when  he  says:  'I  live;  yet  not  I, 
but  Christ  liveth  in  me'." 

The  preface  to  the  First  Book  has 
become  classic  : 

"Many  of  those  that  nowadays  apply 
themselves  to  the  Study  of  Divinity,  sup- 
pose it  to  be  a  mere  notional  and  specula- 
tive science,  or  some  piece  of  polite  Learn- 
ing so  much  in  vogue  among  Scholars: 
whereas  it  is  rather  a  living  Experience 
and  practical  Exercise  of  the  Soul.  Almost 
every  one,  alas,  that  goeth  about  this  Study 
doth  it  with  no  other  Prospect  than  to  get 
the  Applause  of  Men  and  to  become  great 
and  famous  in  the  World:  But  how  few  are 
there  that  will  answer  the  true  Design  of 
Divinity,  which  is  that  people  should  be 
made  thereby  thoroughly  godd  and  holy 
and  have  their  own  Will  rendered  conform- 
able  to    the    Will     of    God Hardly     is 

there  one  to  be  met  with  that  covets  to 
learn  of  the  True  ONE  and  Only  Teacher 
and  Master,  that  great  Lesson  of  Meekness 

and  Humility  of  Heart: There  are  not 

wanting  now  everywhere  such  Men  as 
would  be  thought  Ministers  of  the  Gospel 
and  of  Christ,  but  there  are  exceedingly  few 
that  are  willing  to  be  His  Followers  also, 
or  Imitators  of  His  Life:  at  this  Rate,  hath 
the  Lord  many  Ministers,  but  few  Followers 
notwithstanding  it  be  utterly  impossible 
for  any  one  to  be  truly  a  Minister  and 
Lover  of  Christ  unless  he  be  at  the  same 
Time  a  Follower  of  His  Life  also,  accord- 
ing to  that:  If  any  Man  serve  me,  let  him 
FOLLOW  me."   (3) 

Life  in  Brunswick  was  becoming 
more  and  more  bitter  to  Arndt ;  the 
sie<,a*  of  the  city  added  outward  suf- 
fering- to  the  inward  one  from  the  op- 
])osition  of  his  jealous  colleagues,  of 
which   he   says,   in   a   pathetic   leter   to 


the  burgermeister  Kalem :  "I  must 
acknowledge  that  not  even  the  perse- 
cution and  exile  from  my  beloved 
fatherland  of  x\nhalt  has  given  me 
such  pain  as  this.  "Gladly,  then,  did 
Arndt  heed  a  call  "which  freed  him," 
says  Tholuck,  "from  his  fiery  furnace" 
to  Eisleben,  the  birth-place, (and  death- 
place),  of  Luther.  The  blessing  of 
Arndt's  presence  brightened  as  it  took 
its  flight ;  Superintendent  Wagner 
wrote  in  the  minutes  of  the  Brunswick 
ministerium  :  "On  November  1st,  1608 
Master  Johann  Arndt  left  St.  Martin's 
church  on  account  of  the  calumnies  of 
his  colleagues;  a  peaceable,  pious, 
upright  and  learned  man — May  God 
bless   him   and  his   labors !" 

Li  the  quiet  little  tow'n  of  Eisleben, 
under  the  protection  of  the  Counts  of 
Mansfield  to  whose  house  Luther  had 
ever  shown  such  a  loving  loyalty, 
things  went  better  with  this  much-en- 
during man.  Krummacher  sa3^s :  "He 
saw  no  reason  why  he  should  not  yield 
to  the  entreaties  of  his  friends  and 
publish  the  Second,  Third  and  Fourth 
Books  of  the  'True  Christianity,  " — as 
if  indeed  he  proposed  a  dark  and  dan- 
gerous thing  in  giving  to  the  world  a 
devotional  work.  As  with  the  "First 
Book,"  so  it  was  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  his  life-long  friend  Ger- 
hard that  the  remainder  of  the  work 
appeared ;  subsequently  there  were 
added  two  other  Books ;  the  Fifth,  an 
explanation  and  recapitulation  of  the 
first  Four,  and  the  Sixth,  a  defense, 
containing  also  letters  to  leading 
theologians  of  the  time,  prefaces  to 
editions  of  the  Theologia  Germanica 
and  other  matter ;  but  the  Four  Books 
are  the  kernel  of  the  famous  work, 
^rhe  ccMiipleted  book  was  received 
with  manifestation  of  almost  extrava- 
gant  delight  by  multitudes 

Ati  outbreak  of  pestilence  occurred 
(luring  Arndt's  stay  in  Eisleben  and 
again,  as  in  Ouedlinburg,  he  confronted 
it  with  calm  courage,  made  his  will 
and  then,  though  constant  in  his  min- 
istrations to  the  dying,  came  un- 
harmed   tlirough    the   danger.      In    the 


JOHANN    ARXDT   Ax\D   HIS   "TRUE  CHRISTIANITY" 


255 


following  year,  i6ii,  the  heroic  mini- 
ster was  called  to  a  high  post — that 
of  General  Superintendent  (answering 
in  position  and  duties  to  th  office  of 
bishop  i  n  episcopally-organized 
churches) — at  the  city  of  Zelle  in 
Brunswick.  His  present  and  pros- 
pective princes  disputed  over  the 
clergyman  as  though  he  was  a  serf, 
but  finally  the  Count  of  Mansfield 
gave  him  up,  reluctantly,  to  the  Duke 
of  Brunswick  and  Arndt  entered 
upon  his  duties,  which  he  discharged 
with  an  energy  and  practical  efficiency 
at  variance  with  the  traditional  char- 
acter of  a  mystic.  The  new  Superin- 
tendent made  frequent  visitations 
through  his  bishopric ;  he  gave  wise 
and  kindly  advice  to  the  humblest  of 
his  clergy  wdienever  it  was  sought ;  to 
the  poor  and  needy  he  w-as  so  gener- 
ous that  he  was  suspected  of  possessing 
the  philosopher's  stone ;  he  interested 
himself  in  the  schools — for  Arndt, 
though  himself  childless,  was  very 
fond  of  children — and  especially  in  the 
German  schools  for  the  peoples' 
children.  Me  gave  great  care  to 
church  discipline,  a  point  in  which  the 
Lutherans  had  been  weak  in  compari- 
son to  the  sterner  Calvinists  and  he 
administered  this  delicate  function  at 
once  with  w^isdom  and  kindness.  He 
wrote  much,  though  little  has  achieved 
the  enduring  popularity  of  his  great 
work ;  among  these  writings  were  his 
"Postils"  or  sermons  on  the  gospels 
and  his  exposition  of  the  Psalter, 
concerning  which  he  said :  "What  the 
heart  is  to  man,  that  is  the  Psalter  in 
the  Bible." 

A  few^  years  before  Arndt 's  death, 
an  especially  bitter  attack  was  made 
upon  his  book  by  a  Danp^ig  theologian 
named  Corvinus.  whom  Tholuck  calls 
"Raven  by  name  and  by  nature,"  one 
of  those  to  whom  the  Holy  Spirit 
appears  in  the  form  of  a  raven  and  not 
of  a  dove."  In  this  attack  Corvinus 
declared  that  he  did  not  wish  to  go 
to  the  same  place  in  the  next  world 
as  would  Arndt — probably  a  quite  un- 
necessary apprehension. 


DEATH  OF  ARNDT 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  was  "one 
of  the  best-hated  men  of  his  orthodox 
and  dis])utatious  times" — of  his  other 
harassments,  and  the  dangers  of 
plague,  pestilence,  war,  privy  conspir- 
acy and  rebellion  ■  which  Arndt  had 
experienced,  his  bodily  strength  en- 
dured almost  to  the  end  of  his  calm 
and  useful  life.  "A  cheerful  spirit,  a 
sense  of  fervent  joyful  gratitude  to 
God,  a  hea\'enly  calm"  (4)  ever  per- 
vadetl  his  heart.  But  in  the  last 
months  of  the  year  1620  he  felt  a 
strange  weakness.  Although  con- 
vinced that  the  end  of  his  labors  ap- 
proached, Arndt  did  not  remit  his 
diligence,  made  a  visitation  of  his  dio- 
cese and  preached  as  frequently  as 
ever.  But  on  the  3rd  of  May,  1621, 
returning  from  the  church  where  he 
had  preached  upon  the  words :  "They 
that  sow  in  tears  shall  reap  in  joy.  He 
that  goeth  forth  and  weepeth,  bearing 
seed  for  sowing  shall  doubtless  come 
again  rejoicing,  bringing  his  sheaves 
with  him,"  he  said  to  his  wife:  "Today 
I  have  preached  my  own  fvmeral  ser- 
mon." His  sickness  increased;  the 
fervent  prayers  of  his  people  were  un- 
availing, even  those  of  his  beloved 
school  children  who  cried,  "Ah,  dear 
Lord,  make  our  dear  Superintendent 
well  again  !"  A\' hen  his  end  approached 
he  confessed  and  received  the  sacra- 
ment from  a  friend  and  brother,  who 
asked  him — as  Justin  Jonas  had  asked 
the  dying  Luther — if  he  w^ould  main- 
tain and  confess  to  the  end  those  doc- 
trines which  he  had  taught  throughout 
his  life,  to  which  Arndt,  in  a  weak  but 
clear  voice,  replied :  "Yes,  yes,  that  I 
will,  even  to  the  end."  On  the  nth 
of  May  he  began  to  sing  rapidly, 
though  he  continued  to  niurmur  favor- 
ite texts:  "Enter  not  into  judgment 
with  thy  servant,  for  in  thy  sight 
shall  no  man  living  be  justified;"  "He 
that  heareth  my  word  and  belie veth 
him  that  sent  me  hath  eternal  life  and 
cometh  not  into  judgment,  but  hath 
passed  out  of  death  into  life."  Pres- 
ently, waking  from  a  sleep,  he  said  in 


256 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


a  loud  voice:  "We  l)elu)kl  his  glory, 
the  glory  of  the  only  begotten  of  the 
Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth."  His 
wife  asked  him  when  he  had  seen  that 
glory;  he  answered,  "I  saw  it  just 
now!  Oh  what  a  glory  it  is!  The 
glory  which  eye  hath  not  seen,  ear 
hath  not  heard,  neither  hath  it  entered 
into  the  heart  of  man  to  conceive — this 
glory  I  have  seen !"  He  repeatedly 
asked  the  hour;  at  nine  in  the  evening 
he  said,  "Now  I  have  overcome,"  and 
these  were  his  last  words.  He  died 
quietly  just  before  the  midnight  of 
May  nth;  there  had  been  that  day  an 
eclipse  of  the  sun,  "which  appared  to 
many  a  portent."   (5) 

When  Arndt  was  interred,  four  days 
later,  in  the  church  at  Zelle,  amid  the 
tears  of  a  mourning  multitude,  his 
people  and  his  prince,  the  text  of  the 
memorial  sermon  was  the  beautifully 
approi:)riate  one :  "Now  am  I  ready  to 
be  offered  and  the  time  of  my  depart- 
ure is  at  hand,  I  have  fought  a  good 
fight,  I  have  finished  the  course,  I 
have  kept  the  faith :  henceforth  there 
is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteous- 
ness which  the  Lord,  the  righteous 
judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day." 

ARNDT'S  DEVOTIONAL  BOOKS 

Tholuck  in  his  article  on  Arndt  in 
Herzog's  Rcal-Encyclopedie,  says : 
'Next  to  a  Kempis  there  is  no  devo- 
tional book  so  frequently  re-printed 
and  so  often  translated  as  these  Six 
Books  concerning  True  Christianity 
which  Arndt  gave  to  the  bookseller 
without  pay  save  in  a  number  of 
author's  co])ies."  And  iNlcClintock  & 
Strong's  Cyclopedia  of  Biblical  Liter- 
ature asserts  that  "no  book  of  practi- 
cal religion  has  been  more  widely  cir- 
culated, not  even  Bunyan's  Pilgrim  or 
Baxter's  Saints'  Rest." 

The  original  Four  Books  consist  of 
the  first,  called  the  Book  of  Scripture; 
it  seeks  to  show  the  way  of  the  inward 
and  sjMritual  life  and  that  the  old 
Adam  should  die  daily  more  and  more 
in  the  heart  of  a  Christian  and  Christ 
should  gain  the  ascendance  there.  The 
second  is  the  Book  of  Life;  the  author 


proposes  in  it  to  direct  the  Christian 
to  a  higher  degree  of  perfection,  to 
give  him  a  relish  for  the  cross,  to  re- 
commend to  him  the  example  of  his 
Saviour.  The  third  is  the  Book  of 
Conscience  ;  in  this  Arndt  discovers  to 
the  Christian  the  kingdom  of  God  in 
his  heart.  The  fourth,  the  fjook  of 
Nature,  is  in  two  parts  of  which  the 
first,  a  series  of  meditations  on  the 
six  days  of  creation,  contains  many 
striking  and  beautiful  thoughts  inter- 
mixed with  others  almost  ludicrous 
on  account  of  Arndt's  antiquated  views 
of  natural  science,  (6)  the  second  part 
of  this  book  has  for  its  thesis  that  all 
creatures  lead  men  to  knowledge  of 
his  Creator.  The  contents  of  the  added 
Fifth  and  Sixth  Books  have  already 
been  given.  The  "Paradise  of  the 
Christian  Soul,"  a  collection  of  very 
beautiful  prayers  or  meditations  large- 
ly in  the  language  of  Scripture,  has 
been  bound  with  the  True  Christianity 
in  most  editions;  it  appeared  in  1612; 
it  has  four  parts :  the  first  contains 
prayers  for  the  virtues  inculcated  by 
the  Decalogue ;  the  second,  thanks- 
givings; the  third,  prayers  of  consola- 
tion in  troubles — the  'spiritual  medicine 
against  pestilence"  is  in  this  portion — 
and  the  fourth  division  contains 
])rayers  of  praise  and  adoration  ;  here 
is  found  one  of  the  earliest  German 
translations  of  the  "Jubilee  Rhythm" 
of  Bernard  of  Clairvaux,  although  it 
is  not  certain  that  the  translation  is 
by  Arndt. 

This  is  "An  Evening  Prayer"  from 
Boehm's  translation : 

"Merciful  and  gracious  God,  Heavenly 
Father!  I  thank  and  praise  thee  for  having 
created  both  Day  and  Night,  and  for  hav- 
ing divided  the  Light  from  the  Darkness: 
appointing  the  Day  for  Labour  and  the 
Night  for  Rest,  that  both  Man  and  Beast 
may  be  refreshed.  I  praise  and  glorify 
thee  for  all  the  marvelous  Works  of  thy 
Love.  I  thank  thee  for  bringing  me  in 
Safety  to  the  Conclusion  of  the  Day  past, 
through  thy  divine  Grace  and  Protection: 
and  for  enabling  me  to  bear  the  Burden, 
and  to  pass  through  the  Evil  thereof.  For, 
O  loving  Father,  we  have  Trouble  and  Sor- 
row enough  to  contend  with  every  Day  of 
our    Life:      But    thou    helpest    us    first    to 


JOHANN    ARNDT   AND   HIS   "TRUE   CHRISTIANITY" 


257 


bear,  and 'then  to  lay  aside  one  Burden 
after  another,  till  at  last  we  come  to  that 
Rest,  and  to  that  eternal  Day,  wherein  all 
Labour  and  Sorrow,  Pain  and  Affliction, 
forever  shall  cease.  Bless  my  Sleep  as 
thou  didst  that  of  the  Patriarch  Jacob, 
when  he,  beholding  in  his  Dream  the  Lad- 
der that  reached  up  into  Heaven,  received 
the  Blessing,  and  saw  the  Holy  Angels  ascend 
ing  and  descending  thereon.  Let  me  speak 
of  thee  when  I  lie  down  to  Rest,  and  think 
of  thee  when  I  awake:  that  so  thy  name 
and  Remembrance  may  continually  abide 
in  my  Heart,  whether  I  wake  or  sleep.  Let 
me  not  be  afraid  of  the  Terrors  of  the 
Night:  Let  no  sudden  Horror  seize  upon 
me:  Let  neither  evil  Spirits  nor  wicked 
Men  disturb  me;  but  let  me  enjoy  a  sweet 
Sleep,  and  a  healthful  repose.  Keep  me 
from  frightful  Dreams,  from  Spirits  of 
Darkness,  and  Confusion  of  Mind;  from 
the  Violence  of  Enemies,  from  the  Rage  of 
Fire  and  the  overflowing  of  Water.  Behold! 
he  that  keepeth  us,  sleepeth  not;  Behold,  the 
Keeper  of  Israel  doth  neither  slumber  nor 
sleep.  Be  thou,  O  Lord,  the  Shade  upon 
my  right  Hand,  that  the  Sun  may  not  smite 
me  by  Day  nor  the  Moon  by  Night.  Let 
thy  holy  AVatchmen  protect  me,  and  let  thy 
Angels  encamp  around  me,  and  deliver  me. 
Let  thy  good  Angel  awaken  me  in  due 
Time,  as  he  did  Elijah  and  Peter,  and 
others  of  thy  Servants  of  old.  who  enjoyed 
a  near  communion  with  thee  and  they 
heavenly  Host.  Let  good  Angels  commune 
with  me  in  my  sleep,  as  they  did  with 
Joseph  and  the  wise  Men  of  the  East,  when 
they  lay  asleep;  that  hereby  I  may  know  I 
have  also  Fellowship  with  those  Minister- 
ing Spirits.  And  when  my  last  Hour 
approacheth.  grant  that  I  may  happily  sleep 
and  rest  in  my  Lord  and  Saviour  JESUS 
CHRIST,  the  Hope  of  Glory,  and  the  Author 
of  our  Salvation.     Amen. 

Throtig-hout  both  works  are  passages 
taken  from  many  mystical  writers : 
besides  Bernard,  Tattler  and  Thomas 
a  Kempis,  a  considerable  number  of 
chapters  in  the  Second  Book  are  from 
the  "Theology  of  the  Cross"  (1309) 
by  Blessed  Angela  of  Foligno,  one  of 
the  earlier  followers  of  St .  Francis, 
who  from  a  busy  and  frivolous  woman 
of  the  world  became  in  old  age  after 
the  loss  of  husband  and  sons,  a  saintly 
person  sometimes  called  Theologorum 
Magistra.  Another  little-known  source 
from  which  Arndt  took  some  things, 
was  the  writings  of  Staupitz,  Luther's 
friend  and  Superior  in  the  Augustin- 
ian   convent  at  Erfurt,  whose  preach- 


ing was  to  the  great  Reformer  "as  a 
voice  from  heaven ;"  Staupitz  wrote 
"Concerning  the  Imitation  of  Christ's 
X'oluntary  Death,"  and  "Of  the  Prec- 
ious Love  of  God."  From  the  Theo- 
logia  Germanica,  that  beautiful  little 
book  once  ascribed  to  Tauler,  Arndt 
took  much  ;  one  of  his  latest  tasks  was 
to  republish,  with  a  preface  of  his 
own,  this  tract  which,  in  spite  of 
Luther's  republication  and  recom- 
mendation, had  fallen  into  obscurity. 

A  source  of  some  of  his  work  which 
brought  the  Brunswick  Superintend- 
ent into  undeserved  condemnation 
was  W'eigel's  little  tract  on  prayer 
which  in  ignorance  of  its  authorship 
Arndt  included  as  the  34th  chapter  of 
his  Second  Bonk.  Valentin  Weigel 
was  a  pastor  in  Saxony  during  the 
sixteenth  century ;  holding  mystical 
tenets  not  unlike  those  afterwards 
taught  by  Jakob  Boehme,  he,  "fright- 
ened by  the  terrorism  of  the  reigning 
orthodoxy  published  nothing  and  pos- 
sibly very  few'  of  his  parishoners 
noticed  his  heterodoxies,"  (7)  l)ut  after 
his  death,  friends  began  to  promul- 
gate his  views  and  the  tract  on  prayer 
was  sent  to  Arndt  who,  all  unsuspic- 
ious, included  it  in  his  own  book.  He 
was  speedily  made  responsible  for  all 
AVeigel's  heresies  of  which  he  had 
known  nothing  and  much  of  the  de- 
fense, in  the  Sixth  Book  is  given  to  re- 
futing this  accusation. 

A  few'  years  after  Arndt's  death, 
Osiander,  a  Tubingen  professor  and 
meml)er  of  a  distinguished  family  of 
Lutheran  theologians,  published  a 
furious  polemic  against  the  "book  of 
hell."  as  he  called  the  True  Cliristianity 
and  against  Arndt,  "whom  he  was 
utterly  incapable  of  understanding." 
(8)  it  is  a  melancholy  fact  that  Ger- 
hard, Arndt's  life-long  friend  at  whose 
urency  he  had  given  his  books  to  the 
public,  was  terrorized  by  this  asper- 
sion of  his  dead  friend's  memory  and 
showed  himself  very  lukewarm  in  its 
defense. 

Another  contemporary,  Johann  Val- 
entin   Anderae.    valued    Arndt    highly 


258 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


writing  the  author  an  enthusiastically 
grateful  letter  on  the  first  appearance 
of  his  book  and  dedicating  to  him  one 
of  his  own  works,  "Christianopolis,"  in 
1619.  Anderae  is  now  best  known 
as  the  author  of  that  pious  mystifica- 
tion which  purported  to  give  an  ac- 
count of  the  weird  and  wonderful 
Rosicrucian  Order  and  its  founder,the 
crusader  Christian  Rosencreutz — it  is 
said  that  Andreae  acknowledged,  in 
answer  to  a  letter  of  inquiry  from 
Arndt,  that  the  whole  tale  was  but  a 
pious  romance. 

Glassius.  Superintendent  of  the 
principality  of  Gotha  in  1640,  said 
quaintly:  "He  who  does  not  like 
(schmeckt  nicht)  Arndt,  has  lost  his 
spiritual  appetite."  It  was  noticeable 
that  about  this  period,  during  the 
agonies  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  the 
love  of  Arndt's  writings  greatly  in- 
creased ;  pious  people  quoted  Luther's 
mistranslation  of  Isaiah  ■  xxviii  :i9  "Die 
Anfechtung  lehret  auf's  Wort  merken" 
as  fulfilled  in  this.  And  Duke  August 
of  Brunswick,  Arndt's  master  and 
Andreae's  friend  and  correspondent, 
said  that  Germany's  woes  were  a  judg- 
ment upon  her  for"  the  errors  and 
scholastic  disputes  of  theologians  who 
had  dared  to  accuse  of  heresy  even  so 
saintly  a  man  as  Arndt.  (9) 

WIDE-SPREAD  USE  OF  ARNDT'S 
BOOKS 

When  at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth 
century  the  new  reformation  of  the 
Protestant  .Church  arose,  in  the  form 
of  Pietism,  it  was  natural  that  its 
sympathizers  should  make  much  of 
Arndt's      writings.  Spener,      often 

called  the  founder  of  Pietism,  had 
had  them  recommended  to  him  by  his 
morbidly  pious  godmother,the  Count- 
ess of  Rappoltstein  ;  and  wdien  half  a 
century  after  Arndt's  death,  Spener 
inaugurated  the  movement  by  the 
publication  of  his  "Pia  Desideria,"  the 
epoch-making  book  first  appeared  as 
a  preface  to  a  new  edition  of  Arndt's 
postils.  In  later  years  Spener  said: 
"I  Consider  Luther  greater  because 
God    permitted    him    to    do    a    greater. 


more  noticeable  work,  yet  in  other 
respects  he  had  no  pre-eminence; 
nevertheless  Arndt  conies  very  near 
to  him  and  I  know  not  but  by  his 
writings,  God  called  him  to  equally 
honorable  work."  (10)  The  founder 
of  the  famous  schools,  orphan-houses 
and  other  benevolences  of  the  Pietists 
at  Halle — Francke — was  an  enthusi- 
astic admirer  of  Arndt,  as  was  the  de- 
vout, deep  and  learned  commentator 
Bengel,  author  of  that  treasure-house 
of  exposition,  the  "Gnomon." 

\Mien  visiting  in  1687  the  Jesuit 
library  at  Madrid,  Prof.  Anton  of 
Halle  incidentally  inquired  of  the  li- 
brarian what  ascetic  writer  they  re- 
garded as  the  best  and  was  shown  a 
book  Avithout  title-page  or  cover 
which  the  monk  said  was  esteemed  as 
the  best  and  most  edifying  work  in 
their  possession ;  to  the  astonishment 
of  the  German  Pietist,  this  proved  to 
be  a  copy  of  the  "True  Christianity!" 
In  1734  an  edition  of, the  work  under 
a  disguised  form  of  the  author's  name 
was  published  by  a  Catholic  physi- 
cian at  Kempten. 

Of  course  the  circumstance  that 
Arndt's  writings  were  beloved  by  the 
Pietists  involved  these  writings  in  the 
controversies  of  which  Pietism  was 
the  storm-center  and  early  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  Scharfif  collected 
writings  in  defense  of  Arndt  into  the 
Supplementum  Historiae  litisque 
Arndtianae,  an  addition  to  the  here- 
tic Breller's  Apologetica  Arndtiana 
(1625).  Both  are  said  to  be  valuable 
sources  of  information  though  they 
must  be,  like  all  theological  contro- 
versy, depressing  reading. 

One  of  the  missionaries  sent  out  by 
the  Halle  Institution,  Schultz,  who 
had  more  talent  for  translation  than 
for  anything  else,  put  Arndt's  work 
into  the  Tamil  dialect  of  India.  The 
Halle  press  published  (under  the  edi- 
torship of  Rambach  the  hymn-writer) 
an  edition  of  Arndt's  works  in  three 
volumes  as  early  as  1734.  Latin  trans- 
lations were  made  soon  after  the  orig- 
inal  appearance  of  the    "True    Chris- 


JOHANN  ARNDT    AND    HIS    "TRUE   CHRISTIANITY" 


259 


tianity.'  in  1625,  1628  and  again  in 
1704;  the  book  was  translated  into 
Dutch  in  1642  and  1647;  into  French 
at  an  unknown  date  by  Samuel  Bas- 
nage  de  Bcauval,  a  member  of  the 
learned  Huguenot  family  of  that  name 
— pastors,  writers  and  exiles  for 
their  faith.  The  writings  of  this  "Fen- 
elon  of  Protestantism,"  "the  Spener 
or  Wesley  of  his  time,"  as  he  has  been 
variously  called,  have  been  translated 
also  into  I3anish,  Swedish,  Bohemian, 
Polish,  Turkish^,  Russian  and  the 
speech  of  Malabar. 

A  Latin  translation  appeared  in 
England  in  1704,  made  by  the  Court 
Chaplain,  Anton  Wilhelm  Boehm  and 
dedicated  to  his  patron  Prince  George 
of  Denmark  who,  as  a  Lutheran  was 
permitted  to  retain  his  religion  and 
its  services  at  the  Anglican  court  of 
his  consort  Queen  Anne,  (ii)  Chap- 
lain Boehm  had  been  a  pupil  of 
Francke  at  Halle,  was  made  chaplain 
at  the  English  court  in  1705  and  was 
a  prolifiic  and  quite  able  writer:  Ram- 
bach  edited  his  complete  works  also. 
Boehm  had  been  taught  the  Halle 
spirit  of  benevolence  and  the  love  to 
one's  neighbor  so  frequently  insisted 
upon  by  Arndt  and  so,  when  in  1709 
the  Great  Exodus  of  poor  Palatine 
Germans  occurred,  he  interested  him- 
self to  have  them  settled  in  some  part 
of  Queen  Anne's  dominions  and  to 
provide  them  with  food  for  the  body 
and  the  soul.  So  he  gave  them  copies 
of  Arndt's  work  in  German  along 
with  Bibles,  hymn-books  and  so  on. 
Boehm  made  the  Latin  translation  of 
1704  and  then  proceeded  to  furnish 
the  English  people  with  a  translation 
(  Lonflon.  1712)  into  their  own  tongue 
of  the  work  he  so  much  valued.  This 
translation  —  though  inaccurate,  re- 
dundant, and  careless  in  its  Scripture 
citations,  with  a  style  characterized 
as  "antiquated,  heavy,  sometimes  even 
(plaint" — has  appealed  to  many  other 
readers  as  the  best  rendering  of  the 
Brunswick  Superintendent's  sixteenth 
century  diction.    (12) 


The  work  by  a  process  of  accretion 
had  gathered  to  itself  many  miscella- 
neous writings  not  only  by  Arndt  but 
of  others  and  the  freedom  with  which 
the  author  took,  without  indication  of 
its  source,  whatever  appealed  to  him 
as  edifying,  has  been  used  by  later 
editors  toward  Arndt  himself;  thus  to 
the  Paradise-Gaertlein  are  often  ap- 
pended morning  and  evening  prayers 
credited  to  Arndt  but  which  really 
originated  with  Johann  Habermann 
"of  Eger  erstwhile  preacher  and  Su- 
perintendent in  Zeitz."   (13) 

^^"hen,  in  1749,  John  Wesley  began 
the  publication  of  his  "Christian  Li- 
brary, consisting  of  Extracts  and 
Abridgments  of  the  choicest  Pieces 
of  Practical  Divinity  which  have  been 
published  in  the  English  tongue,"  he 
included  in  the  first  volume  "An 
Extract  of  John  Arndt's  True  Chris- 
tianity." 

The  London  edition  came  to  Ameri- 
ca and  when  Cotton  ^Mather's  "lovely 
-daughter  Katherine"  —  her  father's 
dear,  good,  wise  and  lovely  Katy" — 
lay  dying,  the  father  read  to  her 
from  their  favorite  book,  John  Arndt's 
"True  Christianity"  which  she  was 
ne\er  tired  of  hearing.  Her  cousin 
Thomas  AX'alter  said  that  had  they 
followed  the  Egyptian  custom  and 
buried  her  chief  treasure  Avith  her,  the 
two  volumes  of  Arndt  would  have 
been  laid  on  her  breast.  And  this  same 
cousin  shows  why  the  "True  Christi- 
anity" was  Katherine  ^Mather's  favor- 
ite reading,  in  describing"  the  type  of 
her  piety:  "It  lay  in  a  will  wholly 
dead  as  to  self  and  anything  here  be- 
low and  wholly  resigned  to  God  and 
swallowed  up  in  his  will.  It  lay  in  a 
sacrificing  soul,  that  was  ready  to 
sacrifice  all  enjoyments,  the  dearest 
and  sweetest,  for  God ;  a  soul  willing 
t(i  be  all  that  God  would  have  it  be 
and  ready  to  suffer  all  that  God  would 
have  it  undergo  and  do  all  God  should 
rec|uire  of  it  to  be  done."  (14)  Do  we 
not  read  in  this,  across  the  ages,  the 
words  upon  the  century-yellowed 
pages    of    the    Theologia    Germanica, 


260 


THE    PEXXSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


copied  by  Ariult  in  his  study  at  Zelle, 
for  his  treatise  on  practical  religion? 

Another  appearance  of  Arndt's 
writings  in  German  religious  history- 
is  less  edifying  though  perhaps  more 
essentially  pathetic.  In  1730  there 
came  to  this  country  in  response  to 
the  call  of  the  German  settlers  in 
Pennsylvania  who  were  destitute  of 
church  privileges,  a  young  clergyman 
of  the  Reformed  (or  Calvinistic) 
church,  John  Peter  Miller  by  name. 
He  was  ordained  by  the  Presbytery 
of  Philadelphia  after  passing  a  bril- 
liant examination  and  the  Rev. 
Jedidiah  Andrews,  -writing  to  a  cor- 
respondent in  Boston,  pronounced 
]\Iiller  "an  extraordinary  person  for 
sense  and  learning"  and  spoke  of  "the 
very  notable  manner"  in  Avhich  the 
y-oung  graduate  of  Heidelberg  has 
answered  "a  question  about  justifica- 
tion." Sent  to  what  was  then  the 
frontier,  in  the  Conestoga  valley,  the 
learned,  modest  and  genial  young 
clergyman  came  in  contact  with  some 
strange  sectaries,  led  by  a  certain 
Conrad  Beissel,  a  baker's  apprentice 
who  kept  the  seventh  day  as  Sunday, 
practised  baptism  by  immersion  and 
lived  in  a  celibate  semi-monastic  com- 
munity. Beissel  visited  Miller,  la- 
bored with  him  and  to  borrow  the 
expression  used  in  the  chronicle  of 
this  monastic  establishment,  "Wisdom 
finally  drew  him  into  her  net."  Mil- 
ler himself  says:  "My  inward  conduc- 
tor brought  me  into  that  critical  di- 
lemma, either  to  be  a  member  of  this 
new  institution  or  consent  to  my  own 
damnation When  we  were  con- 
ducted to  the  water  (for  immersion) 
I  did  not  much  dififer  from  a  poor 
criminal  imder  sentence  of  death." 
The  da}'  after  Miller's  reception 
among  the  hermits  of  Conestoga, 
Beissel  is  said  to  have  required  him 
to  burn  all  his  theological  and  devo- 
tional books,  and  in  this  Pennsylva- 
nian  auto-de-fe,  a  copy  of  Arndt's 
Paradies-Gaertlein  was  included.  The 
next  day,  a  neighbor  passing  the  pyre 
found  amid  the  ashes  the  little  prayer 


book  preserved  miraculously,  as  it 
was  deemed  and  this  instance  of 
providential  interposition  was  added 
to  the  fourteen  others  of  which  an  ac- 
count is  often  appended  to  modern 
editions  of  Arndt's  works.  (15)  Miller 
remained  in  the  Ephrata  cloister  to 
the  end  of  a  long  life,  finally  becom- 
ing the  prior  of  the  establishment,  the 
"strong  delusion'  which  beset  him  un- 
der Beissel's  influence,  continued  'to 
the   end. 

The  first  American  edition  of  the 
True  Christianit}^  was  in  German  and 
j^roceeded  from  the  press  of  no  less  a 
n-ian  than  Benjamin  Franklin.  He 
was  assisted  by  the  German  Reformed 
pastor  Boehm  and  the  title-page 
]:ears  their  names  as  partners,  prob- 
ably only  in  this  particular  enterprise. 
Ijoehm  was  to  secure  500  subscribers 
which  he  did  among  the  German 
settlers  of  Pennsylvania  and  Hartwig, 
an  eccentric  but  useful  pioneer  pastor 
ministering  to  the  Palatines  of  the 
IMohawk  Vallev,  collected  subscrip- 
tions there  and  supplied  the  work 
with  a  preface.  The  book  was 
adorned  by  sixty-five  imported  copper 
plates  of  religious  designs  and  "em- 
blems," contained  1388  pages,  was 
the  largest  book  printed  in  Philadel- 
phia during  the  eighteenth  century 
and  even  with  this,  did  not  contain 
the  Paradise  of  the  Christian  Soul. 
The  latter  was  published  fourteen 
years  after  by  Christopher  Saur,  the 
Germantown  ^  publisher  so  prominent 
among  the  Dunkers  or  German  Bap- 
tist Brethren ;  Saur's  imprint  was  a 
i6mo  of  563  pages.  Both  books  are 
n.ow  very  rare. 

Nearly  half  a  century  later,  in  1809, 
the  Reverend  Calvin  Chaddock  of 
Hanover,  Massachusetts,  became  ac- 
quainted "accidentally"  as  he  says, 
with  Cha])lain  Bohme's  English  trans- 
lation of  the  True  Christianity  and 
l)eing  impressed,  as  are  most  of  its 
readers,  with  its  quaint  charm  and 
piety,  republished  it. 

Both  Arndt's  original  and  Bohme's 
translation     have     been     revised — the 


.lOHANN     ARNDT   AND   HIS    "TRUE   CHRISTIANITY" 


261 


German  b}^  a  successor  of  the  author 
in  one  of  his  pastoral  charges,  the 
''somewhat  ancient"  EngHsh  of 
Brihme  l)y  Jaccjues;  and  SchaefTer's 
translation  of  1868  was  made  from  this 
latest  English  revision. 

The  enthusiasm  for  Arndt's  writ- 
ings, of  the  modern  German  divines 
Krummaclier  and  Tholuck,  has  been 
mentioned ;  but  the  Paradies-Gaert- 
Icin,  translated  by  J.  M.  Horst  under 
the  title  of  "The  Paradise  of  the 
Christian  Soul"  excited  attention  and 
a;)|)robation  from  a  remote  and  un- 
likely English  source — the  Reverend 
r.()u\erie  Pusey.  In  the  preface  of 
his  "S!)iritual  Letters"  we  are  told  by 
the  editors  (p.  XII)  "as  regards  his 
l)ooks  of  private  devotion,  his  favor- 
ite book  for  many  years  was  "The 
I'aradise  of  the  Christian  Soul," 
A\hich  he  had  with  great  care  adapted 
for  the  use  of  members  of  the  English 
cliurch."' 

In  I\Irs.  Pryor's  "Reminiscences  of 
Peace  and  A\'ar,"  describing  Wash- 
ington society  on  the  eve  of  the  Civil 
W'SiY  the  author  speaks  of  Lady  Na- 
])ier,  the  wife  of  the  British  Ambassa- 
dor at  the  capital  in  those  troubled 
times,  as  follows:   (16) 

"People  were  wont  to  remark  upon  the 
atmosjihere  the  lovely  Lady  Napier  seemed 
to  bring  with  her  everywhere.  Those  who 
were  admitted  to  her  sanctum  sanctorum, 
her  little  boudoir,  fancied  they  could  ex- 
plain it.  Upon  her  tpble  was  a  rosewood 
bookca'^e  containing  half-a-dozen  volumes 
— a  Bible,  Paradise  of  the  Christian  Soul.. 
....etc.  These  were  the  pure  waters  from 
which  Lady  Napier  drank  daily." 

So  down  the  centuries  we  see  very 
various  people,  and  of  many  and 
^\•ide]y  separated  countries  and  lan- 
guages drawing  from  the  writings  of 
Arndt  their  s])iritual  sustenance  and 
refreshing:  theologian  and  commen- 
tator, JUisnienot  and  Tamil  Christian 
of  India,  the  chaplain  at  Queen  Anne's 
court,  the  poor  Palatine  refugee  on 
Plackhcath  and  the  hermit  in  the 
wilds  of  Conestoga  ;  "dear,  wise,  good 
and  lovely"  Katy  Mather  on  her 
death-bed  and  John  A\^esley  in  the 
midst  of  his  labors,  the  ascetic  ritual- 


ist and  the  brilliant  loveable  Am- 
bassadress. The  book  is  compassed 
a])out  by  a  great  cloud  of  witnesses 
to  its  worth  and  beauty.  Selections 
from  its  lovely  and  devout,  if  too- 
numerous,  pages  would  not  be  un- 
profitable for  readers  of  the  present 
time. 

(1)  Sc-liaff-Hevzog    Cyclopedia,    art.    Gerhard. 

(2)  Kruininacher's  preface  to  his  edition  of 
Arndt's    worl<s,    p.    IX 

{;;)      Boehm's   translation,    Lcjndon,    1712. 

(4)  Schaeffer,  Introduction  to  translation  of 
True    Christianity,    p.    26.  . 

(5)  Krummaeher,  biographical  sketch  preceding, 
his  edition  of  True  Christianity  and  Paradise  of 
Christian    Soul,    Leipzig,    1842. 

(6)  Boehm,  the  18th  century  translation  of  the 
True  Christianity,  says  in  his  "advertisement"  to 
his  second  volume:  "It  is  possible  that  some  never- 
theless vsfill  be  offended  at  several  Passages  in  the- 
4tli  Book  which  are  by  no  means  reconcilable  to 
certain  principles  now  generally  received  among  our 
virtuosi.  But  whatsoever  shall  calmly  and  without 
I)rejudice  consider  the  preesnt  State  of  Philosophy 
and  conii^are  it  with  what  it  was  about  an  hundred 
years  ago,  when  this  Treatise  was  first  published 
in  Germany,  will  not  be  overhasty  in  condemning 
those  Refle.Nions  and  Observations  upon  Principles 
then  and  there  commonly  allowed,  which  he  will 
hevpin  meet  with.  It  is  possible  that  in  less  than 
one  hundred  years  hence,  there  will  be  as  great 
Alterations    in    the    state    of    Natural    Philosophy    as- 

there    have    been    in    the    last    Century And    as- 

for  the  common  Readers,  there  is  enough  said  for 
their  Capacities :  and  perhaps  with  more  it  may  not 
be    convenient    to    trouble    their    Heads." 

(7  J  MeClintock  &  Strong's  Cyclopedia,  art. 
Weigel. 

(8)  Schaff:    Religious  Encyclopedia,    art.   Osiander. 

(9)  He  himself,  in  a  "spirit  of  prophecy,  had 
said:  "How  many  dreadful  Mischiefs,  and  tragical 
Events,  how  many  Wars,  Butcheries,  Plagues,  and 
Famines,  shall  wast  the  unhappy  World  in  the  last 
Days  I  Such,  and  so  great,  as  no  good  Christian- 
wjuld   wi.sh   to   see   or   endure."      Bk.    II,    c,    57. 

(10)  Quoted  by  Tholuck  in  his  article  on  Arndt, 
before   cited. 

(11)  Most  people  remember  the  anecdote  of 
Prince  George  going  tearfully  into  the  lobby  to  vote 
against  a  bill  permitting  the  exercise  of  Dissenting 
religions  in  England  and  murmuring  in  his  broken 
English  to  the  promoters  of  the  bill:  "My  heart  is 
vit  you!" 

(12)  An  account  of  the  help  given  by  Boehm. 
and  the  Halle  institutions  generally  to  the  poor 
Palatjnes  durjng  many  years  will  be  found  in  Part 
XI  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Pennsylvania-German 
Society,  Dr.  Schm auk's  Lutheran  Church  in  Penna., 
p.  183,  and  opposite  p.  184  a  portrait  of  Boehm, 
showing    a    handsome,    prosperous,    amiable    man. 

(13)  Tlie  "Prayers  from  Arndt"  which  is  one  of 
the  earliest  imin-ints  of  the  Ephrata  press  may  be- 
not  his  but  Habermann's:  but  I  have  had  no  oppor- 
tunity  to    examine    the   book. 

(14)  Cotton  Mather's  Daughter,  by  Kate  M. 
Cone:    Outlook,    Aug.    1905. 

(15)  Another  instance  is  mentioned  by  Sweden- 
borg's  father,  whose  house  burned  down  in  1712: 
"The  fire  broke  out  in  my  study,  which  was  all' 
ablaze  when  we  got  to  it,  with  my  libraryandMSS., 
but,  strange  to  say,  the  Garden  of  Paradise  by  J. 
Arndt,  and  niv  own  catechism,  were  found  in  the 
ashes  witli  only  the  covers  singed."  (White's  Life- 
of  Swedenborg,  Vol.  I,  p.  33,  quoted  in  Kuhn's 
German  and  Swiss  Settlements  of  Pennsylvania,  p- 
i:!2,    foot-note.) 

ir,)      P.    00. 


262 


On  Bruin's  Swing 

[A  Tulpehocken  Bear  Story] 
By  Rev.  Adam  Stump,  York,  Pa. 


AMES  FRANKE  came  to 
America  from  Germany, 
by  way  of  England,  in 
1 710,  in  one  of  the  three 
historic  ships  which 
Queen  Anne  provided 
for  the  Palatine  pilgrims. 
With  his  fellow  country- 
men he  first  settled  in  the  state 
of  New  York,  but  afterwards  (1723) 
followed  the  exodus  of  these  people 
on  rafts  down  the  Susquehanna  to 
Swatara  Creek,  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
thence  into  the  beautiful  valley  which 
the  Indians  called  Tulpewihacki,  the 
■'Land  of  Turtles."  To  this  day  it  still 
is  known  l)y  the  name  of  Tulpe- 
hocken. Here  he  built  his  cabin  and 
took  up  his  occupation  as  a  farmer, 
but  so  strong  was  the  hunter's  in- 
stinct in  him,  that  often  between  sea- 
sons of  necessary  work  he  would  be- 
take himself  away  from  his  family  to 
the  mountains  for  game.  Besides, 
during  the  first  years  the  pioneers  of 
that  region  were  compelled  to  depend 
upon  the  forest  for  meat.  The  follow- 
ing incident  concerning  him  has  been 
handed  down  by  tradition  to  the 
eighth  generation  of  his  descendants. 
At  one  time,  after  the  corn  shuck- 
ing in  the  fall  was  over,  he  went  into 
the  Blue  Mountains  for  deer.  For 
such  excursions  he  had  built  himself 
a  rough  shack  in  the  woods,  in  which 
he  slept  at  night,  stored  the  trophies 
of  his  gun.  and  on  the  outside  of  which 
he  prepared  his  meals  at  an  impro- 
vised stone  hearth.  The  wolves  fre- 
quently would  fight  about  the  prem- 
ises after  dark,  while  munching  the 
bones  which  he  had  thrown  away. 
They  did  not  disturb  his  slumbers  by 
their  snarling.  He  was  accustomed  to 
them.  Nor  did  he  molest  them,  because 
he  did  not  Avish  to  waste  his  precious 
powder  and  balls    upon    their    useless 


carcases.  But  one  night  there  was 
another  story.  He  had  lett  his  frying- 
pan  at  the  out-door  cooking  place.  He 
was  aroused  from  deep  sleep  by  a  low 
growl.  He  tried  to  peep  out  of  the 
loop-hole  between  the  chinks  of  two 
logs,  but  it  was  too  dark  to  see  any- 
thing. He  did  not  think  of  Indians, 
because  the  red  men  of  Penn's  Woods, 
at  this  time,  were  friendly.  But  he 
heard  the  scraping  of  his  pan  and  by 
the  peculiar  sound  knew  that  some 
animal  was  licking  it.  Another  deep 
guttural  growl  convinced  him  that  it 
was  a  bear.  He  immediately  made  up 
his  mind  to  risk  a  shot.  He  aimed  to- 
ward the  center  of  the  confusion,  and 
pulled  the  trigger.  The  gun  flashed, 
the  report  rang  through  the  forest,  a 
howl  of  rage  greeted  his  ear,  there 
was  a  scampering  of  heavy  feet  for  a 
moment,  and  then  all  was  still  and 
silent.  He  supposed  he  had  missed 
and,  being  too  prudent  to  venture  out 
into  the  inky  darkness,  he  laid  himself 
down  again  on  his  bed  of  leaves  to 
finish  his  nap.  At  earliest  dawn  he 
emerged  out  of  his  den  to  find  his  pan 
well  cleaned  by  a  fleshy  rasp  and  to 
see  blood-tracks  leading  over  toward 
a  rocky  ridge,  that  formed  a  wall  on 
one  side  of  a  swollen  stream  of  water. 
Having  already  had  reloaded  his 
gun,  he  instantly  followed  the  trail.  It 
Avas  not  more  than  five  hundred  yards 
to  the  ridge.  There  he  found  that  the 
animal,  after  limping  along  about  a 
c|uarter-mile,  had  gone  down  between 
the  rocks  to  lap  water.  But  it  had  re- 
turned on  its  own  tracks  and  lunged 
toward  a  thicket  of  underbrush.  Not 
yet  having  had  breakfast,  the  hunter 
hesitated.  "If  I  go  in  there  and  a 
wounded  bear  attacks  me,  there  is 
little  chance  for  me.  I  might  not  be 
able  to  take  aim.  Besides,  the  briars 
might   catch    the    trigger   and   set   my 


ON   BRUIN'S   SWING 


263 


piece  off.  1  believe  I'll  return  and  wait 
for  a  better  opportunity."  Thus  he 
soliloquized.  But  this  seemed  some- 
what cowardly.  Moreover,  he  had 
promised  his  wife  not  to  expose  him- 
self unnecessarily  and  her  jocular  be- 
hest, "Don't  come  home  dead,  as  Fran 
Kolp  said,"  now  came  into  his  mind. 
He  smiled  at  the  remembrance,  at  the 
same  time  stooping  and  peering  into 
the  path  that  led  through  the  dense 
brush.  He  discovered  that  it  was  not 
far  to  a  small  glade.  Cautiously 
threading  his  way  through  the  ground 
oaks  and  thorn-trees,  he  soon  discov- 
ered a  rock  with  a  mass  of  boulders 
scattered  about  its  base  and  a  cave- 
like opening  on  one  of  its  sides,  and 
there,  basking  in  the  sun,  was  a  large 
bear!  He  was  not  sleeping,  but 
seemed  to  be  restively  dozing  in  pain, 
sometimes  appearing  to  turn  to  lick 
the  knee  of  one  of  his  hind  legs.  The 
hunter  took  a  few  moments  to  study 
the  situation.  If  the  brute'  would 
have  been  standing,  he  could  easily 
have  dispatched  him,  but  he  was 
rolled  on  a  heap  and  was  so  screened 
by  boulders  that  only  a  part  of  his 
neck  and  back  was  visible.  To  miss 
him  might  prove  disastrous  to  the 
marksman.  Even  if  the  ball  would 
strike  the  spinal  column,  it  might 
only  be  slanted,  ^^^^at  should  he  do? 
Before  he  could  answer  the  question 
himself,  it  was  answered  by  another 
bear,  whom  evidently  some  Indians 
had  chased  and  who,  approaching  the 
rock  from  the  other  side,  with  haste 
ran  into  the  cavern.  It  wa-s  not  deep, 
and  it  evidently  Avas  not  a  permanent 
lair,  but  only  a  retreat  when  these  ani- 
mals were  disturbed  in  their  feeding 
haunts. 

The  sudden  arrival  of  the  second 
bear  aroused  the  first.  He  got  up  on 
three  feet,  snififed  the  air  several 
times,  and,  quick  as  thought,  darted 
toward  the  hunter  whom  his  sharp 
nose  and  eye  had  detected.  He  charged 
unerringly  and  furiously.  However,  in 
quicker  time  than  one  can  tell  it,  the 
woodsman  had  leveled  his  gun  but,  in 


lifting  it  to  his  shoulder,  the  powder- 
pan  was  opened  by  a  briar  which 
brushed  on  the  priming.  He  pulled  the 
trigger,  the  hammer  flew  forward, 
slightly  touched  the  steel,  the  flint- 
stone  emitted  a  faint  spark,  but  there 
was  no  explosion.  Nor  was  any  time 
to  be  lost  in  regrets.  The  luckless 
man  turned  and  fled,  pursued  by  the 
angry  bear.  Although  crippled  he  was 
gaining  on  the  hunter.  The  ridge  was 
a  half-mile  off.  For  that  he  aimed, 
hoping  that  in  some  manner,  it  would 
afl'ord  an  avenue  of  escape.  He  knew 
there  was  no  use  in  climbing  a  tree. 
Neither  was  there  time  to  do  so.  Nor 
had  he  a  chance  to  reprime.  During 
the  rush  through  the  brush-path,  the 
bear,  who  was  at  home  in  the  laby- 
rinth, and  who  seemed  to  have  forgot- 
ten his  wound,  gained  fast  on  the  man. 
There  now  was  less  than  a  hundred 
yards  between  them.  He  had  his 
hunting-knife  with  him,  but  he  had 
learned  from  severe  experience  that  it 
was  best  not  to  get  into  close  quarters 
with  a  bear.  So  he  ran  without  more 
than  once  looking  backward,  until  he 
reached  the  ridge,  and  by  this  time  he 
was  so  winded  that  knowing  he  was 
too  nervous  to  use  them,  he  dropped 
his  gun  and  powder  horn  and  scaled 
the  ledge  on  hands  and  feet.  Here  he 
determined  to  make  a  stand  for  his 
life  with  his  long  knife.  Sitting  down 
on  the  apex  of  the  rock,  he  rested  a 
few  moments  whilst  awaiting  the  on- 
slaught of  the  enemy.  He  did  not 
have  long  to  wait.  In  a  few  minutes 
the  bear  had  reached  the  hunted 
man's  perch.  With  lolling  tongue, 
foaming  mouth,  and  wickedly  gleam- 
ing eyes,  the  monster  had  climbed  to- 
ward the  victim.  The  man  now  stood 
up  on  the  creek  side  of  the  rock,  so 
that,  in  case  the  odds  would  be  against 
him,  he  could  drop  into  the  water. 
One  paw  of  the  bear  was  clutching  the 
edge  of  the  rock.  He  could  easily 
have  slashed  it,  but  he  knew  that 
would  only  worse  madden  the  animal. 
So  he  waited  for  an  opportunity  to 
strike  a  more" vital  point.     This  soon 


264 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


came.     Then   without  longer  delaying, 
with  all  the  force  he  could  muster,  he 
struck   his   knife   into   the   side   of   the 
brute's  head,   lie  inflicted  only  a  pain- 
ful   wound.      A    terrible    howl    of    rage 
greeted   him.   and.   being   in   a   crouch- 
ing  posture,    he    received    such    a    lat- 
eral blow  from    the    free    paw    of    the 
bear,    that    he    \vas    hurled     from     the 
rock   u;)on   the   net-work    of    a    grape- 
\iiie.   which   evidently    a    floating    log 
had   torn    from    its   roots   in   the   flood- 
conccalcd     bank     of    the    stream     and 
which   hung  suspended    from    a    large 
black-oak  tree.     Although  he  was  in  a 
stunned      condition,      he      instinctively 
clutched     at     the    rope-like    ^'ine    and 
clung  to  it.   while  he   tried    to    regain 
his  breath  and  his  wits.     Happily  also 
he    was    still    grasping   his    knife.      As 
soon   as   he   ha<l   recox'cred   his   senses, 
finding  the  \ine  i)retty  stout  and  w^ell 
iiiterlaced    with    the     l)ranches    of    the 
tree    he  began  to  pull  himself  up  by  it, 
as     he     had    seen,  the    sailors    do     on 
Oucen    Anne's    ships.      Phis    proved    a 
mistake,   for   the   cunning  bear,   seeing 
that  the  man  was  making  for  the  tree. 
scaled  it  himself,    his    trickling    blood 
meanwh'le    reddening    the    stonv    floor 
lentarh.   a  vl   went  out  on   the  branch 
to  which    the    vine    was    plaited    fast. 
Once    more    the    man's   case    was    des- 
perate.      It     was    tiresome     work     to 
cling  to  the   woody   rope.     To  ascend 
was  to  a  )!)roach  the  jaws  of  death  ;  to 
descend   was   perha::)s  to    sink    into    a 
watery  grave.     To  either  side  no  way 
of  esca-'C  seemed  to    onen.       At    any 
rate,    wherever    he     would     go.     Bruin 
was   i^ure  to   follow.     There  these  two 
were,     glaring     at     each    other.      The 
shouts       of  an     Indian     hunting    party 
echoed  afar.     The  white  man  whooped 
loudly,   but   evidently  his  cry  for  help 
was  not  heard ;    at    least,    it"   was    not 
heeded.     After  a  while  he  felt  sure  of 
smelling  burning    tind)er.       Again     he 
yellerl  vigorously,  but  to  no  avail.  By 
this    time    the    bear    became    weary    of 
inertia,     and     restive    with    pain,    and 
struck  on  a  new  device.     With  malic- 
ious glee  he  began  to  rock  himself  on 


the  liml),  so  as  to  shake  off  the  cling- 
ing man  from  the  vine.     The  trick  al- 
most  succeeded.       Up    and    down,    to 
and   fro.   swung  the   man,  until  he  be- 
came   nauseously    dizzy.    Even    in     his 
childhood  Frank  could  not  endure  the 
motions  of  a  swing.  Hence  he  soon  felt 
pretty    sick.      By    this     time     also     his 
hands  were  becoming  numb  wuth  pain. 
Jle  became  aw^are  of  the  fact  that  he 
could    not   hold   out    much    longer.    He 
was   on    the   point    of    letting    himself 
dro)  into  the  water  Imt  he  was  twenty 
feet    from    it    and   he    could   not    swim. 
Hence   he   was   hesitating.      His   atten- 
tion  was   now   drawn   to   another   vine 
within   his   reach.      This    he    drew    to 
him;  elf.   It  formed  a  bow  on  which  he 
could  sit  and  thus  his  painful  position 
was  somewhat  alleviated.  What  next? 
Noon  had  come  an  dgone.  The  sun 
was    beginning    to    slant     his     beams 
through   the   trees.      Hunger  began   to 
gnaw   at   his   stomach.      He    w'as    too 
weak  to  stay-  wdiere    he    was,    yet,    as 
the   shadows   were  lengthening  he  be- 
gan to  make  preparations  to  spend  the 
night  on  his  swing.  But  the  bear  had 
not  given   up  shaking  it,   although   he 
did   so  less    frequently    and    with    di- 
minished   ardor.    The    hunter   now    cut 
off    some    vine    l:ranchlets    and    made 
small  rooes  with  which  to  fasten  him- 
self, so  that  in  case  of  becoming  over- 
come  by   drowsiness   he   could   neither 
fall   nor    lie    shaken    down.      He    had 
once  thus  slept  on  a  tree,  when  he  was 
chased  by  a  ]^ack  of  wolves,  "But  this 
time."  he  said    to    himself,    "  my    bed 
will   be   narrower."        Finally,    as    the 
sun    was   alxnit   going  down,   he   made 
u  1  his  mind  not  to  let  the  night  yawn 
fully  without  making  one  more  break 
fir   freedom.   "So,"   as  he   used   to   tell 
his    wide-eyed    great-grandchildren,    "I 
rraved  all  the  Drayers  my  mother  had 
taught  me,  and    several    of    my    own, 
and  then  looked  about  for  a  loop-hole. 
1   saw  that  by  swinging  and  springing, 
I    might  leap  back  on  the  rock.  But  I 
could     not     start    the   motion.        So    I 
tantalized  the  poor  bear,  until  he  gave 


ON   BRUIN'S   SWING 


265 


me  a  start.  Then  I  helped  him  and 
though  my  head  soon  reeled,  I  made  a 
spring,  but  missed  the  rock  with  my 
feet.  However,  I  caught  it  with  my 
hands  and  pulled  myself  to  its  top. 
No  sooner  had  I  landed,  than  the  bear 
began  to  move  backwards  down  the 
tree.  This  is  just  what  I  had  tempted 
him  to  do.  He  was  now  doing  ex- 
actly what  I  wanted  him  to  do.  With 
what  strength  was  left  in  me  I 'walked 
to  the  bole  of  the  tree  and  once  more 
awaited  my  enemy.  Being  now  the 
attacking  party,  1  felt  my  confidence 
growing.  Rather  slowly  at  first,  but 
faster,  as  the  momentum  of  his  body 
increased,  he  descended.  The  moment 
the  paw  of  his  unwounded  leg  touched 
the  rocky  ground,  I  put  all  the  energy 
of  my  arm  into  a  well-aimed  stroke 
and  plunged  my  knife  to  the  hilt,  right 
behind  the  bear's  shoulder  blade.  I 
was  not  the  least  excited.  Yet  I  did 
not  loiter  to  draw  it  out,  but  scrambled 
to  the  apex  of  the  rock  and  awaited 
developments.  Below  I  heard  the 
swishing  stream  and  in  my  despera- 
tion I  determined  to  plunge  into  its 
bosom  in  case  the  bear  would  again 
attack  me.  Soon  the  dense  woods 
were  dark.  I  could  not  see  the  bear. 
Even  if  it  had  been  light,  I  could  not 
have  seen  him,  for  he  had  rolled  out 
of  my  line  of  vision.  My  view  would 
have  been  obstructed  by  the  trunk  of 
the  black-oak.  But  at  intervals  I 
wcnild  hear  groaning  and  scratching 
among  the  stones,  as  though  he  was 
trying  to  get  up.  It  was  an  hour  of 
painful  suspense.  As  long  as  he  was 
alive,  it  was  not  safe  to  venture  from 
my  perch.  The  solitude,  broken  only 
by  a  hooting  owl,  was  dismal.  All  at 
once  it  occurred  to  me  that  the  moon 


would  be  due  before  midnight.  So  I 
settled  down  to  wait  .  for  it.  After 
what  seemed  an  age,  I  was  happy  to 
see  the  spaces  about  me  flooding  with 
yellow  light.  Never  was  I  so  glad  to 
see  the  friendly  disc  emerging  above 
the  horizon.  All  being  now  perfectly 
quiet,  and  being  able  to  discern  the 
outline  of  everything,  I  cautiously  slid 
from  my  coigne  of  vantage  toward  the 
spot  where  I  guessed  the  bear  was 
lying.  I  soon  saw  him.  He  was  still 
as  a  tombstone,  but  I  was  not  sure  he 
was  as  dead.  So  I  hit  him  with  a 
stone.  He  did  not  move.  I  felt  sure 
he  was  dead,  but  I  deemed  it  too  rash 
to  test  the  case  in  the  night.  I  was 
afraid  the  rascal  might  only  be  acting 
possum.  So  I  turned  away,  and 
somewhat  stiffly  limped  toward  my 
shack.  When  1  came  near  it  I  again 
smelled  fire  and,  after  hastening  to  the 
spot,  I  found  that  only  an  ash-heap  re- 
mained. The  Indians  had  burnt  it 
down  to  cover  their  robbery  of  every- 
thing that  was  in  it — which,  of  course, 
was  not  much.  Stirring  up  a  few 
live  embers,  I  piled  on  more  wood  and 
spent  the  remainder  of  the  night  in 
sweetest  sleep.  My  first  care  in  the 
morning  was  to  search  for  my  gun 
and  powder-horn.  Having  found  these, 
I  visited  the  carcass  of  my  late  foe, 
and  there  was  this  good  knife  Avhere 
I  had  put  it  the  night  before — in  the 
heart  of  that  bear." 

At  this  point  the  venerable  man 
would  always  afifectionately  draw  out 
his  old  hunting-knife  with,  its  bone- 
handle,  from  its  bear-skin  sheathe  and 
say,  "This  must  stay  in  the  family," 
and  in  his  will  he  bequeathed  it,  with 
his  deer-skin  breeches,  to  one  of  his 
descendants. 


266 


The  Germans  in  North  Carohna 

By  Rev.  Dr.  J.  C.  Leonard,  Lexington,  N.  C. 


NOTE:  The  following  address,  taken 
from  the  Dispatch,  of  Lexington,  N.  C, 
was  delivered  by  the  author  before  the 
Lexington  graded  schools. 

WO  great  historic  events  in 
Old  World  history  are  to 
be  credited  with  the  emi- 
gration of  thousands  to 
the  New  World : 

I.  The  "Thirty 
Years'  War"  in  Ger- 
many. 

2.  The  "Revocation  of  the  Edict  of 
Nantes"  in  France. 

The  Thirty  Years'  War  came  fi- 
nally to  a  close  in  the  year  1648  with 
the  peace  of  Westphalia.  From  this 
time  forward  Holland  and  Switzerland 
were  to  be  independent:  religious 
freedom  was  to  be  granted  to  the  Prot- 
estant states  of  Germany;  Alsace 
was  to  go  to  France ;  and  a  good  share 
of  Pomerania  was  to  come  into  pos- 
session of  Sweden. 

But  while  peace  came  to  Germany 
in  1648  after  thirty  long  years  of 
bloody  strife  and  conflict  and  warfare, 
peace  came  too  late  to  save  Germany 
that  which  was  her  rightful  heritage — 
a  united  and  loyal  population.  As  Car- 
lyle  says :  "The  whole  land  had  been 
tortured,  torn  to  pieces,  wrecked,  and 
brayed  as  in  a  mortar."  Two-thirds 
and  more  of  the  population  had  dis- 
appeared through  the  ravages  of  a 
bloody  Avar,  and  through  famine  and 
pestilence  as  a  consequence  of  war, 
and  through  emigration  because  of 
the  devastation  wrought  by  long  con- 
tinued war.  It  is  said  that  whole  vil- 
lages were  depopulated  of  all  inhabi- 
tants except  dogs  that  prowled  around 
deserted  homes. 

When  Henry  of  Navarre  came  to 
the  throne  of  France  ini589  a  new  era 
dawned  upon  that  sad  and  unfortun- 
ate country.  Under  his  predecessors 
the  Protestants  had  been  given  no 
privileges,  and  had  been  ignominously 


persecuted.  His  administration  of  pub- 
lic affairs  brought  to  the  whole  land 
a  benign  calm  after  these  long  wars 
which  had  continued  through  so  many 
years.  Under  the  Edict  of  Nantes  he 
granted  toleration  to  the  Huguenots. 
This  edict  became  for  many  years  the 
"Magna  Charta"  of  the  French  Prot- 
estants to  which  they  always  ap- 
peared for  protection.  H  Henry  of 
Navarre  '  had  lived  indefinitely  the 
Protestants  would  have  fared  well. 
But  he  was  murdered,  and  his  succes- 
sors set  about  to  take  away  from  the 
Huguenots  the  protection  guaranteed 
by  the  Edict  of  Nantes.  Cardinal  Rich- 
elieu, the  adviser  of  Louis  XHI, 
turned  his  unlimited  powers  against 
the  Protestants.  Finally  in  1685  the 
Edict  of  Nantes  was  revoked. 

Between  the  two  significant  dates 
1648  (which  marks  the  close  of  the 
Thirty  Years'  War)  and  1685  (when 
the  Edict  of  Nantes  was  revoked)  prep- 
aration for  the  great  tide  of  emigra- 
tion from  France  and  Germany  was 
being  unconsciously  made  in  those 
two  countries.  The  French  Hugue- 
nots, on  the  taking  away  of  their  relig- 
ious liberties  by  the  revocation  of  the 
Edict  of  Nantes,  fled  to  Germany, 
thinking  that  they  would  find  an 
asylum  there.  France  lost  much  of 
her  best  blood  through  this  but  the 
Huguenots  were  destined  to  disap- 
pointment in  Germany,  for  religious 
freedom  was  in  fact  a  thing  unknown 
there. 

ENGLAND    TO   THE    RESCUE 

England  saw  in  the  sad  state  of 
these  French  Huguenots  and  German 
Palatines  a  desirable  people  with 
which  to  settle  her  great  American 
Colonies.  Hence  liberal  inducements 
were  held  out  to  them  to  come  to  Eng- 
land and  find  an  asylum.  This  ofifer 
was  cheerfully  accepted  and  thou- 
sands went  over  into  England,,  whence 


THE  GERMANS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA 


267 


they  afterward  came  to  America. 
Many  of  these  French  and  German 
people  fled  to  Holland  and  afterward 
to  Enoiand  on  the  special  invitation 
of  the  Eng"lish  people.  Holland  was 
an  independent  country  at  that  time, 
and  took  a  deep  interest  in  her  sadly 
persecuted  neighbors,  the  Palatine 
Germans  and  the  French.  They  af- 
terwards went  to  England  at  the  invi- 
tation of  Queen  Anne. 

It  ha])pens  that  the  Protestants  of 
these  several  countries,  viz :  France, 
the  Palatinate  in  Germany  and  Hol- 
land, were  nearly  all  members  of  the 
Reformed  church.  The  Huguenots 
formed  the  only  Protestant  church  in 
France  at  that  time,  and  that  was  the 
Reformed  church.  The  Electorate  in 
Germany  called  the  Palatinate  Avas  the 
German  Reformed  stronghold.  And 
the  Holland  people  (called  the 
Dutch)  were  almost  exclusively  Re- 
formed. But  among  the  German  emi- 
grants, especially  from  outside  of  the 
Palatinate,  were  many  Lutherans  and 
Moravians  as  well  as  Reformed.  There 
were  of  course  other  sects  repre- 
sented, but  these  three  denominations 
predominated. 

England  encouraged  emigration  to 
America  for  the  purpose  of  settling 
her  provinces  in  the  Ncav  World. 
This  explains  England's  great  interest 
in  her  persecuted  neighbors.  I  hope 
there  was  also  a  higher  element  of 
goodness  in  English  interest.  But 
England  wanted  colonists  for  her 
American  provinces,  but  at  the  same 
time  she  wanted  to  keep  her  own 
population  at  home.  Hence  England 
held  out  strong  inducements  to  other 
peoples  and  nationalities  to  go  to  the 
English  colonies  in  America  and  be- 
come British  subjects.  There  was  Eng- 
lish selfishness  in  it ;  but  the  hand  of 
God  was  also  in  it.  "Behind  the  dim 
unknown  standeth  God  within  the 
shadow  keeping  watch  above  his 
own."  • 

PENN     OFFERS     RELIGIOUS      FREEDOM 

England  intended  that  these  first 
emigrants  should  go  to  her  own  pos- 
sessions in    America,    especially    Ncvv 


York  and  Carolina.  Pennsylvania  and 
Delaware  was  at  that  time  in  pos- 
session of  a  private  individual,  Wil- 
liam Penn,  by  grant  of  the  British 
goN'crnment  in  payment  of  a  debt.  But 
it  happened  that  many  of  these  early 
emigrants  went  to  Pennsylvania  in- 
stead of  Xew  York  or  Carolina.  The 
reason  of  this  was  that  William 
Penn  was  very  anxious  to  have  his 
possessions  in  America  also  settled, 
and  he  offered  full  religious  liberty  to 
all  colonists  settling  in  Pennsylvania. 
The  Germans  felt  that  Penn  was  a 
near  kinsman  of  theirs,  both  by  blood 
and  religion,  because  his  mother  was 
a  Dutch  lady  of  Rotterdam  and  a 
member  of  the  Reformed  church.  Af- 
terwards Pennsylvania  came  into  pos- 
session of  the  British,  and  they  natur- 
ally continued  to  encourage  immigra- 
tion into  that  province. 

The  "Colonial  Records"  of  Pennsyl- 
vania record  the  names  of  more  than 
30,000  male,  immigrants  from  1727  to 
1776.  Counting  the  women  and  chil- 
dren there  must  have  been  fully  125,- 
000  Germans  and  Huguenots  wdio 
landed  at  the  port  of  Philadelphia 
within  that  period.  All  the  men  above 
the  age  of  16  years  had  to  take  an 
oath  of  allegiance  to  the  British 
crown  by  signing' their  names  or  mak- 
ing their  marks  to  the  following  de- 
claration :  "  \Ye  subscribers,  natives 
and  late  inhabitants  of  the  Palatinate 
upon  the  Rhine  and  places  adjacent, 
having  transported  ourselves  and 
families  into  this  province  of  Penn- 
sylvania, a  colony  subject  to  the 
crown  of  Great  Britain,  in  hopes  and 
expectation  of  finding  a  retreat  and 
peaceable  settlement  therein,  do  so- 
lemnly promise  and  engage  that  we 
will  be  faithful  and  bear  true  alleg- 
iance to  his  present  Majesty,  Kiug 
George  the  Second,  and  his  succes- 
sors. Kings  of  Great  Britian,  and  will 
be  faithful  to  the  proprietor  of  this 
Province :  and  that  we  will  demean 
ourselves  peaceably  to  all  his  said 
Majesty's  subjects,  and  strictly  ob- 
serve and  conform  to  the  law^s  of  Eng- 
land and  this  Province,  to  the  utmost 


268 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


of  our  power  and  the  best  of  our  un- 
derstanding." 

N.   C.   DUTCH   FROM   PENNSYLVANIA 

It  is  from  these  immigrants  who 
came  to  Pennsylvania  that  our  Ger- 
man ancestors  came  to  North  Caro- 
Hna.  Some  of  them  settled  for  a 
while  in  that  state  and  later  came 
south.  Others  came  directly  to  this 
state  without  having  taken  up  a  res- 
idence in  the  former  state  at  all.  Still 
others  were  the  sons  and  daughters 
of  those  who  settled  in  Pennsylvania. 
The  records  show  that  our  German 
ancestors  affixed  their  names  to  the 
alcove  declaration  on  coming  to  the 
port  of  Philadelphia.  One  of  my  own 
personal  possessions  that  I  i^rize  most 
highly  is  a  copy  of  the  signature  of 
my  paternal  great-great-grandfather 
in   German  script  to  the  above  paper. 

The  German  immigration  into 
North  Carolina  was  at  high  tide  from 
1745  to  1755.  The  old  deeds  and 
grants  to  indi\iduals  and  chuiches  re- 
corded in  the  archives  at  Raleigh  and 
Colum1)ia  and  in  the  old  county  court- 
house form  an  interesting  study.  Our 
German  ancestors  settled  in  the  most 
fertile  sections,  usually  the  rich  creek 
and  river  bottoms,  of  North  and 
South  Carolina.  They  were  not  slow 
to  gather  their  peo])le  into  religious 
congregations  and  their  children  into 
day  schools. 

These  old  deeds  and  grants  give  the 
names  of  our  German  ancestors ;  and 
these  same  names  are  still  found  in 
the  counties  covering  the  original  ter- 
ritory settled  by  this  nationality.  The 
German  settlements  do  not  cover  a 
large  section  of  the  state.  They  are 
embraced  within  the  present  counties 
of  Alamance,  Guilford,  Randolph, 
Davidson,  Forsyth,  Davie,  Stokes, 
Rowan,  Stanly,  Cabarrus,  Lincoln, 
Catawba.  Cleveland,  Caldwell  and 
llurke.  Of  course  German  settlers 
went  to  other  sections  of  the  state  but 
not  in  large  numbers.  However,  de- 
scendants of  the  original  German  set- 
tlers  arc   now    found   in   nearly   all   the 


counties  of  the  state  and  nearly  all  the 
states  of  the  Union. 

GERMAN  FAMILY  NAMES 

The  names  of  these  Germans  are 
themselves  an  interesting  study.  The 
German  name  is  distinctive,  and  al- 
ways reveals  the  origin  of  its  pos- 
sessor. Some  of  them  have  been 
changed,  translated,  or  anglicised  in 
such  a  w^ay  as  almost  to  take  away  all 
resemblance  to  the  original.  As  a 
consequence  some  families  do  not 
know  their  ancestral  history  and  are 
utterly  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  they 
are  of  German  descent.  They  think 
they  are  English,  when  in  fact  they 
are  as  Dutch  as  saur-kraut  itself. 
Take  'the  common  name  Carpenter; 
that  lot)ks  quite  English,  when  in  fact 
in  this  section  of  North  Carolina  it  is 
not  English  at  all,  but  pure  German. 
How  does  that  come  about?  Through 
translation  of  the  original  name  of 
Zimmerman,  which  means  a  carpen- 
ter. So  also  Little  and  Small  are 
translations  of  the  German  name 
Klein,  which  means  small  or  little. 
The  name  Taylor  looks  so  English 
that  its  possessors  turn  up  their  noses 
when  it  is  suggested  that  they  are 
German.  But  if  the  Taylors  will  just 
stop  to  see  that  the  name  Taylor  is 
a  translation  of  the  German  Schneider 
they  will  acknowledge  themselves  of 
German  descent.  In  German  a 
Schneider  is  a  man  who  makes  gar- 
ments, hence  a  tailor.  In  this  state  it 
is  commonly  corrupted  into   Snider. 

A  list  of  names  culled  from  the 
Pennsylvania  archives  will  be  inter- 
esting. These  are  names  of  early  set- 
tlers of  German  descent  in  North 
Carolina,  and  the  names  are  common 
in  the  se\'eral  original  German  settle- 
ments to  this  day.  Some  of  them  are 
French  rather  than  German  for  the 
reason  that  there  were  many  French 
Huguenots  among  the  German  immi- 
grants. The  name  Delap  for  instance, 
is  French,  and  is  properly  written  De 
Lap.  So  also  Levan  (Le  Van,)  often 
l^ronounced  Lev-an.  Some  of  the 
more  common    German    names    found 


THE  GERMANS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA 


269 


at  the  present  are  Frey,  Fritz,  Meyer, 
(Myers.)  Zimmerman,  Kuntz 
(Coonts,)  Kuhn  (Coon,)  Diehl  (Deal) 
Hartman,  Ilofifman  (Huffman,)  Klopp 
■(Cla;)p.)  Miller,  Syegrist  (Sechriest,) 
Jung-  (Young.)  Arndt,  Hage  (Hege,) 
Thar  (Darr,  Derr,)  Sauer  (Sowers,) 
Kratz  (Crotts,)  Everhart,  Lohr, 
Kress.  Christman.  Byerly,  Wehrle 
(Whirlow.)  Weidner  (Whitener,) 
Friedle.  Michael,  Frank.  Boger,  Suth- 
■er.  Ramsauer,  Hedrick,  Beck  (Peck.) 
Lopp,  Rothrock.  Leibegood  (Liven- 
good.)  Wildfang  (W'ilfong.)  Kern, 
Zysloop  (Siceloff.)  Schaaf  (Shoaf,) 
Conradt  (Conrad.)  Lingle,  Berger 
{Barrier,  Eerrier,  Barger.)  Wagner, 
Grubb,  Schneider.  Huyet  (Hyatt.) 
Lantz,  Zinck  (Sink.)  Huntsicker, 
'Creim  (Grimes.)  Haffner.  Ranch 
(Rowe,)  Leonardt  (Leonard,)  Rein- 
Tiardt.  Fischer.  Schaeffer,  (Shaver,) 
Wentz  (\^ance,)  Lutz,  Waltzer  (Wal- 
ser.)  Wahrlick,  Jantz  (Younts.)  We- 
iDer  (Weaver.)  Hoch  (Hoke.)  Hinkle, 
Krauss  (Crouse)  Brinkley. 
.  This  list  might  be  multiplied  indef- 
initely. Many  of  the  names  of  early 
settlers  have  entirely  disappeared,  as 
is  proved  by  the  Raleigh  Records,  by 
tombstones  in  numerous  graveyards, 
and  by'  streams,  localities,  etc.,  still 
"bearing  these  names.  For  example,  in 
Davidson  county  is  a  stream  now 
called  "Swearing  creek."  There  are 
■several  traditions  of  later  date  as  to 
the  origin  of  this  name,  none  of  which 
is  correct. 

It  received  its  name  from  a  family 
■once  living  near  its  head-waters,  viz. 
Swearingen,  a  name  now  lost  in  that 
•community.  The  name  of  the  stream 
would  still  properly  be  "Swearingen 
Creek."  In  the  same  way  another 
stream  is  called  "Tinker's  creek"  from 
the  original  family  name  Tinker, 
though  the  Tinkers  have  all  disap- 
peared long  ago. 

The  Germans  have  given  to  this 
section  of  North  Carolina  distinctive 
characteristics.  They  have  been  a 
sturdy,  religious,  liberty-loving  people. 
They  have  made  themslves  felt  in  the 


public  affairs  of  the  state  as  have  their 
English  and  Scotch-Irish  neighbors, 
but  they  have  given  a  dignity  to  their 
counties  which  is  lacking  in  the  other 
counties. 

There  are  reasons  for  their  modesty 
in  ])ushing  to  the  front  in  public  af- 
fairs, chief  among  them  being  their 
use  of  the  German  language.  The 
Germans  have  always  loved  their  na- 
ti\-e  tongue.  It  was  spciken  in  all  the 
homes  of  the  first  German  settlers  in 
Xorth  Carolina,  and  even  to  this  day 
there  are  still  living  those  who  can 
speak  the  German  \vhich  they  learned 
from  the  lips  of  their  mothers.  The 
German  is  a  beautiful  language,  ca- 
pable of  expressing  shades  of  meaning 
that  no  other  language  can  begin  to 
express.  Is  is  preeminently  the  lan- 
guage of  theology,  poetry  and  science. 

Our  German  ancestors  were  slow 
to  give  up  the  tongue  of  the  Father- 
land. But  North  Carolina  was  pre- 
eminently an  English  state.  The 
business  of  all  public  offfces  was  con- 
ducted in  the  English  language,  and 
hence  they  were  debarred  from  public 
office  by  language. 

But  the  Germans  who  came  to 
North  Carolina  were  an  agricultural 
people.  Their  poetic  nature  led  them 
to  love  close  communion  with  Nature 
and  with  Nature's  God.  They  were  by 
choice  and  by  nature  tillers  of  the  soil. 
They  loved  the  country  and  their 
large  farms  of  hundreds  and  thou- 
sands of  acres  of  land. 

But  they  were  also  a  patriotic  and 
liberty-loving  people.  They  always 
stood  ready  to  heed  whatever  call 
their  country  might  make  in  defense 
of  their  adopted  land.  They  even  went 
from  the  Yadkin  and  Catawba-valleys 
to  assist  the  mountain  people  in  their 
conflicts  with  the  Indians.  The  Ger- 
mans took  a  conspicious  part  in  the 
Revolutionary  War,  most  of  t  hem 
fighting  bravely  as  private  soldiers. 
But  there  were  prominent  leaders  and 
generals  among  them ;  in  our  own 
state.  Barringer,  Forney,  and  Cortner. 
Baron      Steuben,      of      Washington's 


270 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


army,  was  an  elder  in  the  German  Re- 
formed church.   In  the   Civil   War  the 
names  of  General   Ramsaur  and   Gen- 
eral Hoke  stand  out  prominently. 
GERMANS   WERE   PATRIOTS 
It   would   have   been,   for   one    good 
reason,  natural  to  expect  the  Germans 
to  be  loyal  to  the  British  in  the  Revo- 
lution ;  they  had  been  given  homes  in 
a    tree    countr}'    b}^    the    British,    and 
they  had   taken   oath   of  allegiance   to 
that  country.  But  they  knew  by  bitter 
experience  what  c^ppression   was ;   and 
under  the   eloquence    of    the    German 
ministers  (who  for  the  most  part  were 
patriots)   they  rose  up  in  arms  against 
the   British.      One   of   the   most   thrill- 
ing chapters  in    North    Carolina    his- 
tory centers  in  Rev.  Samuel  Suther,  a 
German    Reformed    minister   who   was 
pastor  of   many   Reformed   and    Luth- 
eran congregations  at  the  time  of  the 
Revolution.   He  was  an  ardent  patriot 
and     under     his     fiery     eloquence    his 
people  enlisted  in  the  American  army. 
He  was  the  pastor  of  my  own  great- 
great-grandfather,   Valentine    Leonard, 
Avho  was  in    General    Greene's    army. 
The  last  battle  in  which  my  ancestor 
was   engaged    was     that    of    Guilford 
Courthouse  in  March,   1781.     Soon  af- 
terwards  he    returned    to    his    home, 
where  in  November  following  he  was 
treacherously    and    cruelly     murdered 
by  Tories  in  his    own    home.     At    the 
same  tijne  another  German,  Woolrich 
Fritz,   met   a   like   fate.     Their   bodies 
lie   side  by  side   in   the  old    Leonard's 
church  graveyard  ;  the  spot  is  marked 
by   soapstone  slabs   placed    there    one 
hundred   and  twenty-seven   years  ago, 
and  also  by  a  tall  marble  shaft  placed 
there  a  dozen  years  ago  by  loyal  cit- 
izens in  grateful  remembrance. 
DEVOTION     TO    SCHOOL    AND    CHURCH 
Perhaps    the    most    marked    charac- 
teristic of  the  Germans  was  their  de- 
votion to  religion  and  education.  Well 
nigh  all  of  these  Germans  were  mem- 
bers of    the    Lutheran,    Reformed    or 
Moravian     church.       The     Moravians 
established  a    colony    at    Salem,    For- 
syth county,  took  up  many  thousands 


of  acres  of   valuable   land,   established 
church  and  school  and  lived  in  a  com- 
mon fraternity.     In   this   they  hnd  an 
advantage    over    their    German    breth- 
ren  of   the     Reformed    and     Lutheran 
faith.     The  latter  did  not  colonize  the 
members   of   their   churches,   but   indi- 
viduals   selected    their   own    places   of 
residence.    Being   accustomed   to   good 
schools  and  regular  church  services  at 
home,  they  were  naturally  zealous  to 
enjoy  the  same  privileges  in  this  coun- 
try.     Most    of    the    communities    had 
professional     school     teachers    among 
them,  but  ministers  were  very  scarce. 
The     Germans     brought     with     them 
their    Bibles,     catechisms    and    hymn- 
books.  They  always  held  religious  ser- 
vices,  whether  they   had   ministers   or 
not.     In  the  absence  of  a  minister  the 
school  teacher  was  pressed  into  service 
to  make  an  address  or  read  a  printed 
sermon.       Often     the     elders     of     the 
church    conducted    the    services.      But 
there  were  some  German  ministers  in 
those     early    years    who    made    visits 
more  or  less  regularly  to  all  the  Ger- 
man  settlements.     The  earliest  of  the 
German   preachers    to    make    his    ap- 
nearance  was    Rev.    Christian    Theus. 
He  preached  to  the  German  Reformed 
and   Lutherans   in   the   Carolinas   from 
1739  to  1775.    The    Rev.    Mr.    Martin 
came  in   1759,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dup- 
ert   in    1764.       Following    these    came 
Rev.  Samuel  Suther  in   1768.     This  is 
the    gentleman    of     whom      Governor 
Tryon   spoke  in  his  journal  saying  he 
heard  him  preach.     The  governor  ap- 
pointed him   chaplain    of    the    Rowan 
and    Mecklenburg    battalion    for    the 
reason  that  these  soldiers  were  nearly 
all   Germans.     All    the    above    named 
ministers     were     of      the      Reformed 
church,  the  Reformed  being  more  for- 
tunate  in   this   respect   than   their   Lu- 
theran   brethren.     The    first    Lutheran 
minister    who    came    to    the    German 
settlements    in      North     Carolina    was 
Rev.    Adolph    Nussman     who     arrived 
in   1770.   Following  him  came  Rev.  C. 
E.  Bernhardt  in   1787. 

These      Reformed      and       Lutheran 
Christians    lived    in    delightful     fellow- 


THE  GERMANS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA 


271 


ship.  Many  of  their  churches  were 
union,  and  to  this  day  a  few  union 
churches  remain.  Theus,  Martin, 
Dujiert  and  Suther  (Reformed  minis- 
ters) dispensed- the  means  of  grace 
also  to  their  Lutheran  brethren  who 
had  no  ministers  at  that  time.  It  is 
known  that  Storch  (a  Lutheran  min- 
ister) taught  theology  to  Boger,  a  Re- 
formed student.  It  is  also  known  that 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Storch  indoctrinated  a 
class  of  catechumens  in  the  Heidel- 
berg catechism  and  confirmed  them 
as  members  of  the  Reformed  church. 

With  these  German  settlers  relig- 
ion and  education  went  hand  in  hand. 
The  school  house  always  stood  hard- 
by  the  church,  and  in  some  cases  the 
same  building  answered  the  purposes 
of  both  church  and  school  house.  This 
is  natural  with  a  people  who  believe 
in  and  teach  educational  religion  as 
do  the  Reformed,  Lutheran  and 
Moravian  churches. 

The  three  leading  German  denomi- 
nations in  the  state  at  an  early  day 
established  their  own  institutions  of 
higher  education :  the  Moravians  at 
Salem,  the  Reformed  at  Newton  and 
Hickor}',  and  the  Lutherans  at  Mt. 
Pleasant,  Hickory  and  Charlotte. 

A    MUSIC-LOVING    FOLK 

The  Germans  have  always  been  a 
music-loving  people.  To  this  day  the 
Germans  lead  the  world  in  the  field  of 
sacred  composition  and  musical  ren- 
dition. One  who  has  never  heard  the 
rendition  of  Christian  hymns  by  a 
large  German  congregation  has  never 
heard  real  music. 

Just  think  how  many  of  the  world's 
great  musicians  have  been  Germans: 
llandel.  Hayden,  Mozart,  Beethoven, 
Waj^ner.  Bach,  Gluck,  Spohr,  ^Nlen- 
delsohn.  These  are  names  that  stand 
out  bold  like  stars  of  the  first  magni- 
tude, far  outshining  all  others  in  their 
magnificent  brilliance. 

The  Germans  in  North  Carolina 
have  alwa^'s  been  devoted  to  music. 
Sweet  music  always  appeals  to  the 
German  heart. 


A  STORY  OF  MOZART 
"Everybody's  Magazine"  relates  a 
story  like  the  following :  Many  years 
ago,  in  a  town  of  Salzburg,  two  little 
children  lived  in  a  cottage  surrounded 
by  vines,  near  a  pleasant  river.  They 
both  loved  music,  and  when  only  six 
years  old  Frederica  could  play  on  the 
harpsichord.  fJut  from  her  little 
brother  such  strains  of  melody  would 
resound  through  the  humble  cottage 
as  were  never  heard  before  from  so 
young  a  child.  Their  father  was  a 
teacher  of  music,  and  his  own  chil- 
dren were  his  best  punils.  There  came 
times  so  hard  these  children  had 
scarcely  enough  to  eat,  but  loved  each 
other  and  were  happy  in  the  simple 
enjoyment  that  fell  to  their  lot.  One 
pleasant  day  they  said:  "Let  us  take  a 
walk  in  the  woods.  How  sweetly 
the  birds  sing,  and  the  sound  of  the 
river  as  it  flows  is  like  music."  So  they 
went.  As  they  were  sitting  in  the 
shadow  of  a  tree,  the  boy  said 
thoughtfully:  "Sister,  what  a  beauti- 
ful place  this  would  be  to  pray,"  Fred- 
ericka  asked  wonderingly:  "What 
shall  we  pray  for?"  "Why,  for  father 
and  mother."  said  her  brother.  "  You 
see  how  sad  they  look.  Poor  mother 
hardly  ever  smiles  now,  and  I  know 
it  must  be  because  she  has  not  always, 
bread  enough  for  us.  Let  us  pray  to 
God  to  help  us."  "Yes,"  said  Freder- 
ica, "we  will."  So  these  two  sweet 
children  knelt  down  and  prayed,  ask- 
ing the  Heavenh^  Father  to  bless  their 
parents  and  make  themselves  a  bless- 
ing to  them.  "But  how  can  we  help 
father  and  mother?"  asked  the  sister, 
"^^lly,  don't  you  know?"  replied 
AA'olfgang.  "My  soul  is  full  of  music, 
and  by  and  by  I  shall  play  before 
great  people,  and  they  will  give  me 
plenty  of  money;  and  we  will  live  in  a 
fine  house  and  be  happy."  At  this  a 
loud  laugh  astonished  the  boy,  who 
(lid  not  know  that  any  one  was  near 
them.  Turning,  he  saw  a  fine  gentle- 
man who  had  just  come  from  the 
woods.  The  stranger  made  inquiries, 
which   the  little  girl  answered,  telling 


272 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


him:  "Wolfgang  means  to  be  a  great 
musician ;  he  thinks  he  can  earn 
money,  so  that  we  shall  no  longer  be 
poor."  "He  may  do  that  when  he  has 
learned  to  play  well  enough,"  replied 
the  stranger.  Fredericka  answered : 
"He  is  only  six  years  old,  but  plays 
beautifully,  and  can  compose  pieces." 
"That  can  not  be,"  replied  the  gentle- 
man. "Come  to  see  us,"  said  the  boy, 
"and  I  will  play  for  you."  "I  will  go 
this  evening,"  answered  the  stranger. 
The  children  went  home  and  told  their 
story,  and  the  parents  seemed  much 
pleased  and  astonished.  Soon  a  loud 
knock  was  heard  at  the  door,  and  on 
opening  it,  the  little  family  were  sur- 
prised to  see  men  bringing  in  baskets 
of  richly  cooked  food  in  variety  and 
abundance.  They  had  an  ample  feast 
that  evening.  Thus  God  answered 
the  children's  prayer.  Soon  after, 
while  Wolfgang  was  playing  a  cantata 
which  he  had  composed,  the  stranger 
entered  and  stood  astonished  at  the 
wondrous  melody.  The  father  recog- 
nized in  his  guest  Francis  L,  the  em- 
peror of  Austria.  Not  long  afterward 
the  family  were  invited  by  the  em- 
peror to  Vienna,  where  Wolfgang  as- 
tonished the  royal  family  by  his  won- 
derful powers.  At  the  age  of  fifteen 
years  Wolfgang  was  acknowledged 
by  all  eminent  composers  as  a  master. 
This  was  the  great  German  composer, 
AA'olfgang  Mozart.     He    was    a    good 


Christian  as  well  as  a  great, musician. 
The  simple  trust  in  God  which  he  had 
learned  in  childhood  never  forsook 
him.  In  a  letter  to  his  father  he  says: 
"I  never  lose  sight  of  God.  I  acknowl- 
edge. His  power  and  dread  His 
wrath  ;  but  at  the  same  time  I  love  to 
admire  His  goodness  and  mercy  to 
His  creatures.  He  will  never  abandon 
His  servant.  By  the  fulfillment  of 
His  will  mine  is  satisfied."  The  simple 
trusting  faith  of  the  young  musician 
was  remarkable,  and  it  teaches  old 
and  young  a  lesson. 

Of  such  a  race  of  people — liberty- 
loving,  patriotic,  devoted  to  religion 
and  education,  lovers  of  music  and 
poetry — of  such  descent  as  this  are 
the  Germans  of  North  Carolina.  Blood 
is  thicker  than  water;  blood  will  tell. 
The  North  Carolina  Germans  have 
taken  their  rightful  place  in  these  later 
years  in  the  social,  business,  educa- 
tional, political  and  religious  interests 
of  this  great  state.  The  Germans  of 
this  state  love  North  Carolina.  The 
people  of  no  race,  of  no  nationality, 
surpass  the  Germans  in  their  love  and 
devotion  to  the  state  of  their  birth  and 
their  choice.  Every  one  of  them  will 
heartily  give  this  toast : 

Here's  to  the  land  of  the  long  leaf  pine, 
The    Summer    land     where     the     sun     doth 

shine, 
Where     the    weak     grow     strong     and    the 

strong  grow  great, 
Here's  to  down  home,  the  North   State. 


Grandmother  Home  Remedies 

By  Dr.  T.  P.  Meyer,  Lock  Haven,  Pa. 


N   considering  this   subject, 
we  include  the  time  from 
the  early    settlements    of 
the    valleys     of     Eastern 
Centre  county  about  1774 
and  the  time   subsequent, 
indefinitely;      and      the 
reader  will  do  well  care- 
fully to  note  how  correctly  these  val- 
uable   home    remedies    were    employed 
by    our    grandmothers,     and  in    doing 


likewise,  will  "keep  the  doctor  out," 
nine  cases  in  ten.  For  the  practice  of 
medicine  is  reputed  to  be  the  greatest 
humbug  under  the  sun  today. 

The  early  German  settlers  of  these 
valleys,  were  a  daring,  fearless,  per- 
sistent, rugged  class  of  people;  they 
were,  nevertheless,  subject  to  the 
general  ailments  of  mankind,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  ailments  peculiar  to  new, 
heavily    timbered,    deep    valley   settle- 


GRANDMOTHER    HOME    RExMEDIES 


273 


ments.  The  rich,  fine  scented  breeze 
rolled  in  health-giving  waves,  from  the 
mountains,  and  through  the  valleys, 
imparting  health,  buoyancy  of  spirit, 
•and  a  determination  to  remain,  in 
<lefiance  of  Indians,  the  wild  beasts  of 
the  forests,  and  the  mysterious  malig- 
nant fevers,  that  periodically  carried 
away  many  of  the  most  rugged  of  the 
settlers.  Let  it  be  remembered  that, 
at  that  time,  in  the  "regular"  treat- 
ment of  fever,  the  fever  patients  were 
not  allowed  a  drop  of  cold  water ; 
only  tea,  and  that  as  hot  as  it  could 
be  taken.  In  some  well  known  cases, 
the  patients,  breaking  from  their 
restraints,  drank  great  quantities  of 
cold  water,  and  recovered ;  while 
■others  sick  of  the  same  ailment,  in 
the  same  room,  died.     No  wonder. 

Quarantine,  in  those  early  days,  was 
to  them  an  unknown  word ;  and  to 
visit  the  sick,  regardless  of  the  malady 
though  contagious  and  deadly,  they 
considered  one  of  their  first  Christian 
•duties,  and  faithfully  carried  it  out. 

The  maladies  that  carried  off  most 
of  the  settlers  in  those  days  ,  were 
small-pox,  typhus  and  typhoid  fevers ; 
and  even  yellow  fever,  that  dreaded 
West  Indian  scourge ,  reached  these 
valleys  once  or  twice  and  among 
others,  carried  oiT  several  of  the 
writer's  ancestral  relatives,  but  did 
not  become  epidemic. 

Physiology  and  the  laws  of  health 
were  then  unknown  sciences.  There 
was  no  graduate  physician  in  all  that 
section,  for  very  many  years,  and  the 
grandmothers  with  limited,  or  no  edu- 
cation, with  shrewd  intellect,  keenly 
observant,  and  with  wonderful  mem- 
ories, naturally  loomed  up  and  became 
the  doctors  and  accoucheurs  of  the 
country  around. 

They  were  herbists ;  and  the  garrets 
of  their  homes  became  a  hortussiccus 
(herbarium)  of  all  the  available  medi- 
cal herbs,  hung  in  bundles  and  bags 
from  the  rafters,  from  which  teas 
were  made  at  once  for  adult  or  child, 
immediately  upon  the  development  of 
indisposition.       And   it  is   remarkable 


with    what    scientific    judgment    they 
diagnosed  all  minor  ailments. 

Beside  this  store  of  herbs,  castor  oil, 
olive  oil  and  epsom  salts  ("English 
salts'")  i:)hysic  for  young  and  old,  were 
always  on  hand  ;  and  I  will  never  for- 
get my  own  personal  experience  with 
castor  oil.  one  of  the  most  nauseating 
drugs  in  the  Pharmacopeia. 

In  speaking  of  the  practice  of  herbal 
medicine  among  our  ancestors,  it 
seems  (piite  proper  to  mention  briefly, 
in  connection,  the  practice  of  minor 
surgery,  the  dressing  of  wounds,  etc. 
For  be  it  remembered  that  the  work 
of  our  ancestors  was  largely  with 
edged  tools ;  the  building  of  their 
houses;  the  making  of  all  their  furni- 
ture, and  all  their  farming  implements. 

The  cutting  of  their  grass,  and  all 
their  grain,  was  done  by  hand,  with 
scythes  and  sickles,  with  which 
through  a  little  carelessness,  the 
hands  were  often  fearfull}'  cut.  Axes 
rang  in  the  forest  contiually,  so 
wounds  and  fractures  were  frequent 
and  were  dressed  and  attended  to  at 
the  home ;  cuts  and  wounds  were 
generally  washed,  trimmed  and 
dressed  by  the  men,  while  the  stitch- 
ing or  sew^ing  up  was  done  by  the 
women.  Even  up  to  more  modern 
times  this  custom  was  maintained.  In 
my  father's  cabinet  shop  the  men  often 
sustained  cuts  more  or  less  severe,  in 
which  event  my  sister  was  called;  she 
promptly  came  wnth  bandages,  needle 
and  silk  thread,  washed  and  sewed  up 
small  or  great  gaping  cuts  without  a 
halt  or  tremor. 

One  instance  along  this  line,  and 
then  we  will  leave  this  topic.  About 
the  3^ear  1814  when  there  was  no  phy- 
sician or  surgeon  for  many  miles 
around,  the  third,  son  of  my  grand- 
father, (Henry  Meyer)  William,  then 
twelve  years  of  age,  was  terribly 
gored  by  a  vicious  cow;  his  abdomen 
was  torn  open,  his  bowels  protruded; 
holding  them  back  with  his  hands,  he 
walked  to  the  house.  Grandfather 
trimmed  the  edges  of  the  horrible 
wound   with   his   razor,   brought   them 


274 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


tog-ether  and  sewed  them.  The  wound 
quickly  healed.  Heroic  measures,  in 
those  days,  were  often  required,  and 
they  prevailed  throughout  all  the 
early  settlements. 

Now,  coming-  to  the  subject  proper. 
Grandmother  Remedies,  w^e  will  note 
as  far  as  we  can,  what  they  were; 
consider  their  therapeutical  value,  as 
well  as  their  physiological  action  and 
uses  as  then  applied,  in  the  light  of 
our  modern  dispensatories. 

In  the  first  place  it  must  be  borne 
in  mind,  that  our  grandmothers  had, 
as  a  rule,  good  subjects  upon  which 
to  practice ;  and  in  which  ofttimes 
nature  alone,  wath  proper  food,  cloth- 
ing, heat,  cold  and  care,  would  of  it- 
self have  brought  about  a  cure.  Nature 
is  in  possession  of  modes  and  proc- 
esses of  healing,  independent  of  art- 
for  the  spontaneous  decline  and  cure 
of  disease. 

There  is  no  fact  in  science  more 
fully  established  than  that  the  living 
organism  is  in  itself  adequate  to  the 
cure  of  all  its  curable  disorders. 

Here  let  me,  parenthetically  ask  the 
reader  a  question.  Do  you  know  that 
the  families  of  our  present  day  doctors 
are  given  less  medicine  than  any 
others? 

Our  grandmothers  employed  in  their 
practice,  herbs  and  roots  of  well 
known  medicinal  properties,  which 
were  at  the  same  time,  harmless,  or 
at  least  non-toxic ;  while  their  practice 
was  both  empirical  and  rational 
Empirical,  because  they  employed 
remedial  agents  or  measures  in  cer- 
tain cases  of  disease,  for  the  sole 
reason  that  some  person  had  previous- 
ly, in  a  case  which  was  apparently 
identical  with  the  one  under  treat- 
ment. 

This  was  the  original  method  of 
treatment  of  disease,  and  its  reign  has 
continued  to  the  present  time;  it  is,  by 
many  lauded  as  the  Therapeutics  of 
Experience,  founded  on  observation 
and  experiment.  But  this  theory  is 
unscientific  and  does  not  go  unchal- 
lenged ;  it  is  vague,  and  in  its  general 


acceptance,  would  be  destructive  of 
medical,  exactness  and  progress.  It 
would  be  an  elaboration  of  Mrs.  A's 
advice  to  Mrs.  B.,  to  give  her  child  hot 
saffron  tea  for  the  measles,  because 
^Irs.  C's  grandmother  had  brought  an 
entire  family  safely  through  the 
disease  with  no  other  medicinal  aid. 
But,  from  this  empirical  practice,  our 
grandmothers  naturally  passed  to 
rational  Therapeutics,  for  they  em- 
ployed remedies  with  a  definite  object 
and  for  reasons  based  on  the  known 
properties  of  the  remedies,  and  the 
tendencies  of  the  disease.  They  ad- 
ministered certain  remedies  in  certain 
diseases  with  a  more  or  less  clearly 
defined  idea  of  the  morbid  conditions 
present,  and  of  the  modifying  action 
of  the  remedy  upon  these  conditions; 
and  the  result  of  this  procedure  was, 
generally,  in  the  multitude  of  minor 
ailments  common  to  the  humankind, 
successful. 

The  herbs  and  barks  employed  by 
our  ancestors  as  remedial  agents  for 
the  cure  of  disease  are  legion;  most  of 
them  w^ere  native  to  the  primitive 
American  forest.  Many  of  them  were 
known  to  the  Indians,  and  had  been 
employed  by  them  for  the  cure  of  ail- 
ments peculiar  to  aboriginal  life,  and 
from  whom  our  ancestors,  no  doubt, 
got  valuable  suggestions  as  to  their 
remedial  properties.  Others  were 
brought  to  America  and  cultivated  in 
their  gardens.  The  following  is  a 
partial  list  of  the  herbs,  etc.,  employed 
by  them  for  the  cure  of  the  ordinary 
ailments ;  some  of  which,  after  having 
to  a  large  degree,  dropped  out  of  use, 
were,  by  reason  of  their  w^ell  known 
.medical  properties,  restored  to  their 
places  as  remedial  agents  of  merit; 
and  now,  about  all  of  them  are  kept 
in  stock  at  the  drug  store.  In  order 
not  to  prolong  this  article  beyond 
reasonable  limits,  we  will  but  briefly 
mention  some  of  the  principal  ones, 
and  their  uses  in  the  days  of  long  ago, 
and  give  an  idea  of  their  merits  in  the 
light  of  modern  practice,  in  order  that 
the  reader  may  understand,  "do  like- 
wise," and  keep  the  doctor  out. 


GRANDMOTHER  HOME  REMEDIES 


275 


The  most  generally  employed  were : 
Elecampane.  Black  Snakeroot,  Dande- 
lion, Catnip,  Balm  of  Gilead.  Holy 
Tliistle.  (Blessed  Thistle)  Boneset, 
Dog-wood,  Oakbark,  Sumach,  Black- 
berry, Wild  Cherry,  Thyme,  Pepper- 
mint, Sage,  Horehound,  Mustard, 
Pennroyal,  Pricklyash,  Pipsissewa, 
Slii)pery  Elm,  Flax  Seed,  etc. 

HOLY  THISTLE— Used  as  a  tea, 
taken  cold,  excellent  tonic  for  the 
relief  of  dyspepsia  and  loss  of 
appetite.  Also  as  a  remedy  in 
periodics.  intermittent  fevers.  Tea 
taken  cold  every  hour. 

BONESET— Another  of  the  bitter 
tonics,  was  said  to  have  been  em- 
ployed by  the  Indians  for  all 
fevers,  and  was,  to  some  extent, 
similarly  employed  by  our  ances- 
tors, but  chiefly  and  more  correct- 
h^  employed  as  a  tonic  in  dys- 
pepsia and  general  debility; 
taken  in  infusion  in  moderation ; 
large  doses  being  emetic. 

By  the  Indians  it  was  known 
as  "Ague  weed,"  and,  was  with 
them,  as  with  the  whites,  a  pop- 
ular remedy  in  fever  and  ague. 
Boneset  can  not  be  too  highly 
valued  as  a  medicine. 

DOGWOOD— The  bark  of  the  tree 
and  roots  was  used,  as  well  as  the 
flowers  and  ripe  berries ;  a  tea  of 
which  was  employed  as  a  tonic, 
more  particularly  as  a  remedy  for 
fever  and  ague  it  was  then,  as  it 
is  now,  a  popular  remedy  among 
country -people,  and  is  the  best 
substitute  for  quinine  that  we 
have. 

ELECAMPANE— A  tea  of  the  root, 
usually  combined  with  Cohosh 
( P>lack  Snakeroot)  was  used  for 
coughs,  lung  trouble  with  a  tend- 
iency  to  consumption ;  for  the 
same,  men  and  boys  carried  the 
roots  in  their  pockets,  and  con- 
stantly chewed  them,  swallowing 
the  juice,  till  they  called  them- 
selves cured. 


BLACK  SNAKEROOT  — A  decoc 
tion  of,  was  employed  in  rheuma- 
tism, dropsy,  and  various  ail- 
ments of  the  lungs,  and  to  relieve 
coughs  and  colds. 

WHITEOAK      BARK— The     tea     of 

\\'hiteoak  bark  was  used  by  our 
.  ancestors  as  an  astringent  and 
styptic,  and  as  such  stands  high 
to  this  day.  It  is  an  excellent 
gargle  in  sore  throat ;  as  a  styptic 
in  hemorrhage,  especially  follow- 
ing the  extraction  of  teeth.  They 
put  especial  value  on  the  tea  of 
^^'hite-Oak  bark,  or  leave;^.  for 
the  cure  of  incontinence  of  urine, 
(bed  wetting) 

SUMACH  BERRIES— (Rhus  Gla- 
brum)  also  known  as  Pennsylva- 
nia Sumach,  was,  and  is  yet,  by 
poorly  informed  people,  regarded 
as  a  j5oisonous  shrub.  This  is 
not  the  case.  Some  people  in 
country  districts  of  the  olden 
time,  ate  the  berries  with  im- 
punity because  they  liked  the 
sour,  astringent  taste. 

The  medical  properties  of 
Sumach  berries  are  similar  to 
those  of  Oak  bark ;  and  a  tea  of 
the  berries,  was  then,  as  it  is  now, 
used  with  great  benefit  as  a  gargle 
in  sore  throat,  either  simply  in- 
flamed and  painful,  or  ulcerated 
sore  throat ;  it  is  one  of  the  best 
remedies  for  these  ailments 
known.     Try  it. 

BLACKBERRY  -DEWBERRY :  The 

medical  properties  of  these  are 
the  same.  The  root  of  which  is 
the  part  used,  in  the  form  of  tea; 
it  is  an  astringent,  and  elegant 
tonic,  and  from  the  time  of  our 
grandmothers,  to  the  present  day, 
has  remained  in  great  favor;  it  is 
an  elegant  remedy  in  bowel 
aft'ections,  d3'sentery,  diarrhea, 
tor  which  the  berries,  and  tea  of 
the  roots  were  extensively  used 
with  good  results,  during  the  war 
1861-65   by  both   Union   and   Con- 


276 


THE    PEXXSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


federate  troops.     The  tea  may  be 
used  frequently  and  freely. 

WILD  CHERRY  BARK— This  bark 
is  used  to  this  day  for  the  same 
ailments,  in  regular  practice, 
exactly  as  it  was  by  our  ancestors 
a  hundred  years  ago ;  it  is  one  of 
the  most  valuable  of  our  indige- 
nous remedies.  It  possesses  re- 
markable tonic  power,  uniting 
-with  this  the  property  of  calming 
irritation,  and  diminishing  ner- 
\-ous  excitability.  The  continued 
use  of  tea  of  wild  cherry  bark, 
three  or  four  times  a  day,  is 
known  to  have  reduced  the  pulse 
from  seventy  down  to  fifty 
strokes  per  minute.  It  is  an  ad- 
mirable medicine  for  ailments  in- 
volving the  stomach,  in  the  hectic 
fever  of  scrofula ;  is  vahiable  in 
general  debility  in  convalescents 
and  for  dyspepsia. 

A  valuable  tonic  syrup  of  Wild 
cherry  was  made  by  boiling  the 
tea  of  the  bark  down  very  strong, 
then  adding  sugar  enough,  while 
boiling,  to  form  a  syrup ;  used 
three  or  four  times  daily,  in  table 
spoonful  doses. 

PEPPERMINT  was  a  great  favorite 
among  the  Grandmother  Reme- 
dies and  stood  high  in  the  list,  as 
a  grateful  aromatic  stimulant,  suc- 
cessfull}^  employed  in  form  of  tea 
to  allay  nausea,  relieve  pains  of 
the  stomach  and  bowels,  to  expel 
flatus,  etc.  Besides  it  was  a 
favorite,  healthful  tea  at  the 
supper  table. 

SAGE — A  tea  of  sage,  well  sugared, 
was  then,  as  now  in  high  favor  as 
a  remedy  for  colds,  sore  throat 
and  for  relieving  night  sweats.  A 
very  strong  tea  of  sage  was  suc- 
cessfully used  as  a  gargle  in  sore 
throat. 

ELDER— The  tea  of  Elder  flowers, 
highly  sweetened,  was  used  for 
the  cure  of  colds,  for  which  it  is 
a  first  class  home  remedy. 


COUGH  SYRUP— An  elegant  syrup 
for  coughs  and  colds  they  made 
of  the  juice  of  onions  and  sugar. 

HOREHOUND  was  a  great  herbal 
remed}'  of  long  ago.  and  is  still 
prominent  in  domestic  practice; 
by  our  ancestors,  as  now,  it  was 
employed  with  marked  benefit  in 
coughs,  colds,  catarrh  and  chronic 
affections  of  the  lungs.  It  was 
taken  in  tea,  well  sweetened, 
three  or  four  times  a  day. 

DANDELION  was  much  used  as  a 
diuretic,  tonic  and  in  lung  ail- 
ments ;  also  in  certain  skin 
affections  caused  by  disordered 
digestion ;  the  root  and  leaves 
Avere  chewed  constantly;  or  tea 
made  of  the  root,  and  taken  every 
hour  or  two,  freely. 

PIPSISSEWA,  found  in  the  forests 
all  over  the  United  States,  was 
much  used  by  the  Indians  for 
many   ailments. 

It  is  a  valuable  tonic,  and  is 
also  used  with  benefit  in  scrofula 
and  dropsy.  It  is  used  at  the 
present  time,  with  benefit  in  skin 
diseases,  pimples  and  facial  erup- 
tions. It  is  used  in  the  form  of  tea. 
For  pimples  and  eruptions  of  the 
face,  the  tea  is  used  inwardly,  and 
also  as  a  wash  on  the  eruptions 
at  the  same  time. 

SLIPPERY  ELM— The  tea  of  Slip- 
pery Elm  was  extensively  used  by 
our  ancestors  for  the  relief  of 
dysentery,  diarrhea,,  and  especial- 
ly in  diseases  of  the  urinary 
channels,  to  relieve  and  cure 
painful,  ])urning  micturition.  If 
persistently  used  for  the  latt-*r.  no 
more  mild,  nor  better  remedy  is 
known. 

FLAX  SEED  was  similarly  em- 
]iloyc(l.  It  produces  an  emulcent 
tea,  said  to  be  equally  effective  in 
soothing,  healing  properties,  as 
the  Slippery  Elm, 


GRANDMOTHER  HOME  REMEDIES 


27T 


PRICKLY  ASH— riie  bark  of  Prick- 
ly Ash  was  an  Indian  remedy  for 
jaundice  and  tooth-ache,  and  re- 
ceived from  them  by  our  ances- 
tors who  used  it  hke  the  Indians, 
continuously  chewed  the  bark, 
and    swallowed    the    "proceeds." 

THYME— -The  patch  of  Thyme  was 
found  in  almost  every  garden  of 
the  "Olden  Days;"  was  variously 
employed,  but  did  not  stand  high 
as  a  remedial  agent.  It  was 
more  frequently  used  as  a  change 
in  tea  at  the  table. 

CATNIP  must  not  be  omitted  in  this 
list.  This  herb  was  brought 
from  Europe  by  the  early  immi- 
grants and  is  now  found  all  over 
the  country,  growing  wild.  Cat- 
nip tea  is  a  most  valuable  remedy 
and  should  be  used  more  than  it 
is.  It  is  a  good  tonic,  diuretic, 
diaphoretic,  and  anti  dysenteric, 
a  valuable  r^emedy  for  colic  in 
children  and  adults;  also  in 
fevers,  colds,  d3'sentery,  hysteria 
and  nervousness. 

BALM  OF  GILEAD,  or  American 
Balsam.  The  buds  of  this  tree 
were  put  in  whiskey,  and  the  re- 
sulting bitters  was  used  withgood 
results  in  colic  and  griping  pains 
in  the  stomach  and  bowels.  This 
is  a  rather  pleasant  tasting  bitters 
and  we  boys  liked  it,  and  now 
and  then  we  "had  a  pain"  in  order 
to  induce  father  to  administer  to 
us  a  dose  of  this  pleasant,  sure 
cure.  When  he  reached  for  the 
castor  oil  bottle,  we  forgot  we 
had  a  pain  and  ran. 

EMMENAGOGS— Our  grandmothers 
were  (|uite  familiar  with  the  Em- 
menagog  remedies  (or  "assist- 
ants") but  their  list  did  not  go 
much  beyond  the  tea  of  Rue,  Sa- 
bina.  Tansy  and  Pennyroyal, 
with  hot,  foot,  thigh  and  pelvic 
baths,  which  is  standard  treat- 
ment to  this  day. 


ITCH  and  other  skin  diseases  were 
cured  by  the  use  of  a  salve  made 
of  one  part  of  flour  of  sulphur  to- 
three  parts  lard,  rubbed  together 
cold.  This  is  the  standard 
remedy  for  the  Itch  today;  it  is  a 
specific  sure  cure  and  is  perfectly 
harmless,  which  the  latei  reme- 
dies Potash,  Sulphur-Acid,  Red 
Precipitate,  (Red  Ox.  of  Mer- 
cury) etc,  etc.,  are  not;  these  are 
highly  irritant,  burning  eschar- 
otics  and  are  contraindicated  in 
tender-skinned  people. 

HEALING  SALVES  and  "Sticking 
Plasters,"  they  made  in  great 
variety;  probably  one  of  the  most 
popular  of  the  salves  was  made 
by  melting  together,  one  part 
bees-wax,  one  part  white  turpen- 
tine, (white  turpentine  is  the 
pitch  •  of  the  pine  tree  in  its 
natural  state)  and  three  parts  of 
lambs  tallow. 

"STICKING  PLASTER"  was  some- 
what similar,  using  pine  resin  in- 
stead of  white  turpentine,  in  the 
makeup.  This  was  often  used  as 
an  anti-rheumatic  in  lumbago, 
and  backache ;  a  patch  o  f  thin 
leather  was  well  coated  with  it, 
and  stuck  on  the  region  of  the 
pain. 

OLD  SORES  that  resisted  other  rem- 
edies, they  healed  with  grated 
carrot,  applied  hot,  as  a  poultice. 
Poultices  of  bread  and  milk,  flax 
seed,  corn  meal,  were  made  and 
used  as  now. 

COUNTER  IRRITANTS— The  ben- 
efits of  counter  irritants  were 
well  known  to  our  ancestors  for 
the  relief  of  inward  disease  and 
pain ;  mustard  plaster  was  their 
general  escharotic.  While  for  in- 
juries by  rusty  nails,  etc..  the  slice 
of  fat  bacon  was  tied  on  as  now,, 
with  good  results. 

The  foregoing  list  of  home  remedies 
prescribed  and  used  by  our  ancestors, 
is  only  a  partial  list  of  probably  about 


278 


THE  PENNSYLVANNA-GER]MAJ«J 


one  third  of  the  entire  number;  and  in  but,  also,  to  understand  how  to  apply 

the  preparation  of  this  article,  it  was  them,  cure  their  minor  ailments  keep 

the  object  of  the   writer  to  be   some-  the  doctor  out,  save  their  money,  and 

what  explicit,  in  order  that  the  reader  perhaps   live   longer  for  so   doing;  for 

may  not    only    be    interested    to  note  it  is  well  known  that  the  people  of  the 

how  our  ancestors  treated  and  relieved  present    day     are     taking     too     much 

sickness    in    the    absence    of    doctors;  medicine. 


Notes  on  the  Kuntz  (Kuhns)  and  Brown  Families 

of  Lancaster  County,  Pa. 
By  Prof.  Oscar  Kuhns,  Middletown,  Conn. 


T  HAS  always  been  a  be- 
lief with  me  that  a  man 
ought  to  find  out  all  he 
can  about  his  ancestors, 
and  if  possible  to  pub- 
lish the  information  thus 
obtained.  In  so  doing  he 
will  be  serving,  it  may 
be,  hundreds  of  others,  who  may  be 
ignorant  of  the  facts  thus  published. 
It  has  taken  me  years  of  investiga- 
tion, travel  and  correspondence  to  get 
together  the  facts  of  which  a  sum- 
mary only  is  herewith  given. 

It  is  not  easy  to  trace  one's  an- 
cestry across  the  water,  and  yet  with 
patience  and  industry  even  this  may 
be  done. 

I  think  I  may,  with  ])erfect  propriety, 
call  myself  a  typical  "Pennsylvania 
Dutchman."  My  name  could  be 
found  nowhere  than  in  Pennsylva- 
nia, for  it  is  the  result  of  influences 
in  that  State  that  have  changed  it 
from  Kuntz  to  Kuhns,  the  h  being 
added  to  indicate  the  lengthened  pro- 
nunciation of  the  vowel  u,  just  as 
Tschantz  has  produced  the  Pennsyl- 
vania German  surname  Johns.  My 
grandfather's  Bible  contains  the  births 
and  baptisms  of  all  his  children,  and 
the  form  Kuntz  is  written  in  his  own 
hand  in  the  case  of  all,  except  the 
last,  born  in  1846,  where  Kuhns  is 
given.  A  curious  instance  of  this  con- 
fusion in  spelling  of  surnames,  so 
characteristic  of  Pennsylvania  Ger- 
mans a  couple  of  generations  ago,  is 


seen  in  a  paper  in  the  Proceedings  of 
the  Lancaster  County  Historical  So- 
ciety on  the  introduction  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad  to  Lancaster.  A  com- 
mittee was  formed  to  discuss  the  mat- 
ter of  damages,  while  the  Aldermen 
met  to  discuss  the  whole  question  of 
the  railroad.  Of  the  latter  body,  the 
Aldermen,  my  great  grandfather  was 
a  member,  George  Kuntz,  as  his  name 
is  given  ;  my  grandfather  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  committee  on  damages, 
Jacob  Kuhns  as  his  name  is  spelled, 
though  a  son  of  George  Kuntz  given 
above. 

In  another  respect  I  can  call  myself 
a  typical  Pennsylvania  German ;  for 
nearly  200  years  my  family,  on  both 
father  and  mother's  side,  have  been 
born  and  raised  in  Lancaster,  or  the 
country  round  about ;  and  moreover 
the  record  on  both  sides  are  to  be 
found  in  the  First  Reformed  Church 
of  Lancaster,  among  whose  "Charter 
Members"  were  my  paternal  and  ma- 
ternal ancestors. 

On  my  father's  side  I  have  suc- 
ceeded in  tracing  the  family  to  the 
little  town  of  W^aldmohr,  in  the  prov- 
ince of  Zweibriicken.  Some  time  ago 
I  received  a  letter  from  Rev.  Chris- 
tian Schmidt,  pastor  of  the  Reformed 
Church  there,  stating  he  had  found  in 
an  old  church  register  the  following 
record. 

On  November  15,  1708  Johann 
Frantz  Cuntz,  who  was  the  son  of 
Hans  Mattheis  Cuntz,  member  of  the 


NOTES  ON  THE  KUNTZ  (KUHNS)  AND  BROWN  FAMILIES 


279 


Reformed  Church  parish  of  Oster- 
brucken  (a  small  village  not  far  frorri 
^^'aldmohrj,  married  Anna  Elisabetha, 
daughter  of  Johann  Kirsch,  member  of 
the  Church  parish  of  Waldmohr.  They 
had  the  following  children : 

1.  Anna  Margaretha,  born  May,  1710. 

2.  Johann  Jacob,  born  Oct.  2,   1712. 

3.  Johann     Heinrich,     born    Nov.    9, 

1714. 

4.  Anna  Catherine,   born    March     14, 

1716. 

5.  Maria     Barbara,     born     Sept.     27, 

1717. 
6.  Anna    Dorothea,    born    Nov.    20, 
1719. 
7.Johann     Nicholas,     born    Nov.    il, 
1721. 

8.  Elisabetha  Margaretha,  born  Dec. 

17,   1723. 

9.  Johann  George,  born  Jan.  13,  1726. 
10.  Johann    Christian    Theobald,    born 

Feb.  5,  1728. 
1 1- 12.  Johann    Michel,    Frantz  Kilian, 
twins,  baptized   Nov.  8,   1730. 

Of  the  above  I  have  traced  in  Lan- 
caster the  eldest  son  Jacob,  as  well  as 
Nicholas  and  Theobald,  sometimes 
written  Dewalt  .It  was  Nicholas  who 
put  me  on  the  track  of  the  home  of 
these  Kuntzes,  for  in  the  Moravian 
records  of  Lancaster,  I  found  the  rec- 
ord of  his  marriage,  and  Waldmohr 
-given  as  his  home  in  Germany. 

As  far  as  I  can  make  it  out  my  own 
descent  comes  from  Theobald.  He 
was  married  at  Lancaster,  Pa.,  May 
23,  1745  to  ]\Iary  Margaret  Fortune, 
daughter  of  Jacob  Fortune.  The  mar- 
riage was  performed  by  Rev.  Casper 
Lewis  Schnorr,  pastor  of  the  First 
Reformed  church  in  Lancaster.  The 
Fortune  family  was  evidently  of 
French  origin.  The  name  was  after- 
wards written  Forney,  and  John  W. 
Forney,  War  Secretary  under  Lincoln 
belonged  to  this  family. 

The  will  of  Maria  Margaret  Kuntz 
was  probated  in  1802,  and  gives  as 
her  children  Michael,  George,  Peter, 
Margaret,  Barbara.  Christina  and 
Mary  Smith.  George  is  my  great- 
grandfather. 


George  Kuntz  was  born  November 
26,  1762,  baptized  Alarch,  1763,  and 
died  in  1835.  He  was  married  to 
Susan  Hubert,  daughter  of  Casper 
and  Gertrude  Hubert;  the  latter  died 
August  14,  1814,  aged  79  years  and 
one  month.  George  Kuntz  was  in  the 
Revolution   and   received   a   pension. 

Following  is  a  list  of  children  of 
George  and  Susan  Kuntz : 

1.  George,     born     August    10,     1790, 

baptized  Sept.  5. 

2.  Jacob,  born  August  30,   1793.  bap- 

tized wSept.  15. 

3.  Elizabeth,  born  Sept.  3,  1795,  bap- 

tized Sept.  27. 

4.  Ann    Maria,   born,    Oct.    27,     1797, 

baptized  Dec.  3. 

5.  John,  born  Dec.  11,  1799,  baptized 

Jan.  26.  1800. 

6.  William,   born   Nov.   3,    1801,   bap- 

tized Dec.  25. 

7.  Margaret,  born  Jan.  25,  1804,  bap- 

tized Feb.  26. 

8.  Sophia,  born    July    3,    1807,    bap- 

tized July  13. 

9.  John,  born  Dec.  2,  1809,  baptized 

Jan.  15.  1810. 

Of  the  above  the  following  were 
married  : 

John  Kuntz  to  Hendel. 

Jacob  Kuntz  to  ]\Iaria  Boss. 

William    Kuntz   to  Pickel. 

Sophia   Kuntz   to   Henry  Gast. 

Elizabeth   Kuntz   to   Henry   Flick. 

Maria   Kuntz   to   George   Gundaker. 

INIargaret  Kuntz  to  Andrew  Gump. 
Jacob  Kuntz  (or  Kuhns  as  it  was  af- 
terAvards  written)  was  my  grand- 
father. His  wife  was  Maria  Boss, 
their  marriage  occurring  April  5, 
1818.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Henry 
Boss,  whose  father  was  Jacob  Boss, 
who  died  in  York  County,  Oct.  23, 
1798,  aged  66  years,  leaving,  beside 
Henry,  a  daughter  Regina,  married 
to  Philip  Steiger.  I  believe  the  Bosses 
came  from  Switzerland.  The  name  is 
common  in  the  Emmenthal,  Canton 
Berne,  from  which  so  many  Lancas- 
ter County  families  came  in  the  early 
part  of  the   i8th  century. 


280 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


I  found  the  record  of  these  Bosses 
ill  Langnau.  chief  town  of  the  Em- 
menthal.  when  I  visited  it  some  years 
ago.  and  could  trace  them  back  as  far 
as  1557. 

Following  are  the  children  of  Jacob 
Kuntz  and  Maria  Boss : 

1.  Maria,  born  July  7,   1819. 

2.  Henry,  born   Dec.    12,    1820,    bap- 

tized Dec.  24. 

3.  William,  born  Jan.   23,    1823,   bap- 

tized  Feb.   16. 

4.  Benjamin,  born  Jan.  26,  1825,  bap- 

tized Feb.  21. 

5.  I\ranuel,   born   INIay  31,    1827,   bap- 

tized July  2. 

6.  Susanna,  born  April  4,   1829,  bap- 

tized  May  28. 

7.  Kathrina.     born      Sept.      20,     1830, 

baptized  Oct.   17. 

8.  Anna  Louisa,  born   Nov.  29,   1832, 

baptized  Jan.   6.    1833. 

9.  ^Fargaret.  born  Jan.  31.   1835,  bap- 

tized Alay  24. 

10.  Edward,  born   Nov.  3,    1839,    bap- 

tized Jan.  28,  1840. 

11.  Maria  Cecilia,  born  April  11,  1844, 

baptized  June  8. 

Of  the  above  the  following  were 
married  and  had  children  : 

Maria  for  Mary)  married  George 
Ball. 

Henry  married  Rosetta  Flint. 

William   married   Rebecca  Brown. 

Benjamin    married    Mary    Nauman. 

Susan    married Spindler. 

Kathrine  married  Pascoe. 

Margaret  married  Edward  J. 
Zahm. 

Anna    married    1st    Fraim. 

married   2nd   Edward   J.   Zahm. 

Edward   married   Margaret  Waing. 

^  I  aria    married    Harry   Underwood. 

This  is  a  brief  outline  of  the  Kuntz 
(Kuhns)  genealogy.  The  other  side 
of  my  family  is  given  below. 

My  father  William  Kuhns,  was 
married  (in  the  Methodist  Church, 
Columbia.  Pa.,)  to  Rebecca  Brown, 
daughter  of  John  Brown  of  Columbia. 
I  am  in  some  doubt  as  to  where  the 
BroAvns  originally  came  from.  My 
uncles      George      Brown     and      John 


Brown  declared  that  the  Browns  came 
from  the  north  of  Ireland;  and  the 
statement  seems  to  be  strengthened 
by  the  fact  that  in  Strasburg,  the  lit- 
tle counry  town  not  far  from  Lancas- 
ter, wdiere  the  Browns  lived  toward 
the  end  of  the  i8th  century,  there  was 
a  James  Brown  who  kept  a  tavern, 
and  also  in  the  account  book  of  Su- 
sanna Miller,  midwife  at  the  end  of 
the  1 8th  century,  we  find  not  only  the 
name  of  Frederick  Brown,  my  great- 
grandfather, but  also  a  Patrick 
Brown,  both  of  New  Providence 
township. 

And  yet  Frederick  Brown  lived  in 
this  German,  or  rather  Swiss  com- 
munity and  spoke  German.  A  rela- 
tive, possibly  a  sister,  Barbara  Brown,, 
married  into  the  Boehm  family  of 
Strasburg,  one  of  whom,  Martin,  was- 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  United 
Brethren  Church,  and  another  was- 
old  "Father"  Henry  Boehm,  the  con- 
stant friend  and  companion  of  Francis 
Asbury,  the  first  Bishop  of  the  Meth- 
odist Church  in  America. 

Frederick  Brown  was  a  soldier  in 
the  American  Revolution,  having  been- 
at  the  siege  of  Quebec  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  war  and  serving  through 
practically  the  whole  war.  He  re- 
ceived a  soldier's  land  grant,  but 
never  took  it  up. 

He  was  married  July  17,  1784  to- 
Susanna  Grofif,  of  Strasburg,  Lancas- 
ter County,  Pa.  They  had  the  follow- 
ing children  : 

John  Brown,  born  Feb.  2.J,  'i.7^7. 

Barbara,  born  June  14,  1788,  bap- 
tized  May  31,   1789. 

Catherine,  born  March  9,  1790,  bap- 
tized April  25,  1791. 

Henry,  born  August  14,  1792,  bap- 
tized April  21,   1794. 

The  above  John  Brown  was  my 
grandfather.  He  was  a  mason  (as  was 
Frederick  Brown,  his  father  before 
him)  and  contractor.  He  early  moved 
to  Columbia,  Pa.,  where  his  name  fre- 
quently occurs  in  the  Town  Records 
for  various  kinds  of  work,  such  as  road 
and  street  building,  as  well  as  in  polit- 


NOTES  ON  THE  KUNTZ  (KUHNS)  AND  BROWN  FAMILIES 


281 


ical  affairs.  In  1832  he  was  elected 
Borough  Constable. 

John  Brown  was  married  March  7, 
1813,  jto  Catherine  Minnich.  She  was 
the  daughter  of  Jacob  Miinch,  a 
farmer  of  llempfield  Township,  Lan- 
caster County,  and  of  Elizabeth  Wolf. 
The  later  was  the  daughter  of  John 
Nicholas  Wolf,  who  came  to  America, 
Sept.  9.  1738,  and  settled  on  a  farm  in 
East  Hempfield,  Lancaster  County. 
On  the  same  ship  with  him  was  a 
John  Nicholas  Bower,  born  in  1684. 
His  daughter  Anna  Maria  married  the 
above  John  Nicholas  Wolf,  and  they 
had  children,  Elizabeth,  (married 
Jacob  IMiinch,  see  above),  Daniel, 
George,  Henry,  John  and  Magdalen. 
The  baptismal  and  other  data  are  all 
found  in  the  records  of  the  First  .Re- 
formed Church,  Lancaster.  For  it  is 
an  interesting  fact  that  these  early 
members  of  my  family  on  my 
mother's  side  were,  together  with  the 
Kuntzes,  the  first  members  and 
founders  of  the  Reformed  Church  in 
Lancaster,  and  their  names  occur  on 
practically  the  first  page  of  the 
Church   Records. 

John  IMiinch  and  Elizabeth  his 
wife  had  the  following  children : 

1.  Jacob,    married   Camber. 

2.  John. 

3.  Ann  Maria. 

4.  John,  married  Klein. 

5.  Daniel,   married  Clair. 

6.  Ann    Magdalen. 

7.  Elizabeth. 

8.  Catherine,    married   John    Brown. 
The  dates  of  birth  and  baptism  are 

in  the  Records  of  the  First  Reformed 
Church,  Lancaster,  which  have  been 
published  by  the  Pennsylvania  Ger- 
man  Society. 

John  Brown  and  Catherine  his  wife 
had  the  following  children  : 

Levi  Brown,  married  Mary  Ann 
Rigby  Snedeker. 

John  GrofT  Brown. 

Henry  Brown,  died  young. 

Samuel  Brown  drowned  in  Susque- 
hanna w^hen  a  boy. 


Rebecca    Brown,     married     William 
Kuhns. 
(ieorge   Washington    Brown,   married 

ist Dickinson;     2nd     Louisa 

Webl). 

Jacob  AL  Brown,  married  Josephine 
(hi  yon. 

Frederick   Browm,   married    ist  

Lucas;      2nd      ]\Iary      Eliza      Brown 
(widow). 

^^'illiam  Kuhns  was  my  father;  he 
was  married  to  Rebecca  Brown  Jan. 
1st,  1847,  at  Columbia,  Pa.  Besides 
myself  they  had  children. 

George    Washington    Kuhns. 

Walter    Brown    Kuhns. 

Catherine    Angeline    Kuhns. 

(All  the  above  died  young). 

Henry  Clarence  Kuhns. 

For  births  and  baptisms  see  Re- 
cords of  Hanson  Place  M.  E.  Church, 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  and  also  the  Family 
Bible.  ' 

Aly  father  William  Kuhns  was  a 
man  of  considerable  ability  as  an  in- 
ventor. He  early  learned  the  trade 
of  blacksmith,  but  later  became  prom- 
inent in  the  early  history  of  photog- 
raphy in  this  country.  He  manu- 
factured the  first  albuminized  paper 
made  in  America. 

Having  thus  brought  my  ancestry 
down  to  the  present,  it  will  be  well 
to  turn  back  for  a  while  and  trace 
back  to  the  old  world  one  or  two  lines 
I  have  not  yet  touched  on.  This  has 
a  certain  romantic  interest  of  its  own. 
We  have  seen  that  my  great-grand- 
father Frederick  Brown  married  Sus- 
anna Groff.  Her  family  w^as  one  of 
that  old  Swiss  Colony  which  settled 
along  the  banks  of  the  Pequea,  in 
1709,  and  which  came  for  the  most 
part,  from  the  cantons  of  Berne  and 
Zurich  in  Switzerland.  In  the  beau- 
tiful valley  of  the  Emmenthal,  Berne, 
w'C  see  to-day  the  well-known  Lan- 
caster County  names  of  Aeschliman, 
Boss,  Kindig,  BrechbiJhl,  Bauman, 
Neuenschwander,  Haldiman,  Ziircher, 
Zoug  and  many  others,  while  in  sim- 
ilar manner  we  find  in  Zurich,  and  the 
outlying     villages     along     the     lake. 


282 


THE   PENNSYLV.ANIA-GERMAN 


whence  so  many  Lancaster  families 
came,  the  names  of  Landis,  Ehrisman, 
Brubacher,  Wissner,  Kagi,  Groff, 
MeiH,  W'idmer,  NiissH,  etc. 

My  own  connection  with  these  old 
Swiss  settlers  is  ?>s  follows : 

My  great  -  grandmother,  Susanna 
Grofif  (married  Frederick  Brown), 
was  daughter  of  Jacob  Grofif.  He 
was  the  son  of  Michael  Grofif,  who 
married  Elizabeth  Herr  (or  Heer), 
who  was  the  daughter  of  the  Rev. 
Christian  Herr.  The  later  was  one 
of  the  five  sons  of  Bishop  John  Herr, 
who  was  (with  Martin  Kendig)  lead- 
er of  the  first  white  Settlement  in 
Lancaster   County,    1709. 

Bishop  John  (or  Hans)  Herr  was 
born  Sept.  17,  1639,  and  was  the  son 
of  Hans  Herr,  who  was  born  in  1608. 
Bishop  John  Herr  was  married  in 
1660  to  Elizabeth  Kendig,  who  was 
the  daughter  of  John  Kendig  and 
Jane  Mylin,  both  of  whom  were 
Swiss  Baptists   (Taiifer)   of  Zurich. 

In  a  copy  of  the  "  Ausbund,"  or 
hymn  book  of  the  Schweitzer-  Brii- 
dcrn,  puljlished  by  Christopher  Saur, 
Philadelphia,  1751,  there  is  an  appen- 
dix entitled,  "Ein  Wahrhafftiger  Be- 
richt  von  den  Briidern  im  Schweitzer- 
land,  in  dem  Ziircher  Gebiet,  wegen 
der     Triibsalen      Welche      viber      Sie 


Ergangen  seyn,  um  des  Evangeliums 
willen ;  von  dem  1635  sten  bis  in  das 
1645  ste  Jahr."  Among  the  pathetic 
and  yet  heroic  incidents  there  nar- 
rated I  find  frequent  mention  of  the 
Mvli  family,  one  of  whom  Jane,  mar- 
ried my  ancestor  John  Kendig. 

It  may  not  be  without  interest  to 
see  how  the  above  typical  Pennsyl- 
vania German  Genealogy  has  become 
united  with  a  similarly  typical  New 
England  Genealogy.  My  wife  is  the 
daughter  of  R.  R.  Conn  and  Elizabeth 
Harding  his  wife.  The  Conn's  are  of 
Scotch  Irish  descent,  the  original  John 
Conn  having  come  from  Ulster 
County,  Ireland,  about  1710,  and  set- 
tled in  Harvard,  Mass.  His  children 
and  grandchildren  married  into  the 
Davis,  Farwell  and  Rice  families — the 
latter  having  been  founded  by  Ed- 
mund Rice,  born  1594,  who  lived  at 
Barkhamstead,  England,  in  1627,  and 
came  to  America  before  1638.  His 
children  and  grandchildren  married 
into  the  Wheeler,  Allen  and  other 
families. 

My  wife's  mother's  family  is  of 
English  descent,  and  runs  back  to  the 
early  settlements  of  New  England.  It 
.includes  the  Hardings,  Barrows,  Car- 
penters, Witherells,  Woodwards  and 
Bucklins. 


The  Reverend  Stephen  Albion  Repass,  D.  D. 

A  DESCENDANT  OF  THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN  SETTLERS  IN 

VIRGINIA 

By  Rev.  J.  A.  Scheffer,  M.  A.,  Allentown,  Pa. 


N  THE  Januar}^  1909  issue 
of  this  magazine  is  an 
able  and  interesting  ar- 
ticle on  the  early  German 
and  Pennsylvania  -  Ger- 
man settlers  in  Virginia 
by  Prof.  John  W.  Way- 
land  Ph.  D.  Neither  the 
name  Repass  nor  a  number  of  other 
German   and   Swiss  names  of  families 


1 

I 

n 

\^ 

that  had  migrated  from  Pennsylvania 
to  that  section  of  Virginia  extending 
up  the  Shenandoah  Valley  and  south- 
west to  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  are 
given  in  that  historical  sketch. 

The  great-grandfather  of  Rev.  Dr.S. 
A.  Repass,  Daniel  Repass,  went  from 
Northampton  County,  Pa.,  to  Virginia 
soon  after  the  Revolutionary  War,  in 
which  it  is  thousfht  he  was  a  soldier. 


THE    REVEREND    STEPHEN    ALBION    REPASS,    D.    D. 


283 


REV.  DR.  STEPHEN  ALBION  REPASS,  D.  D. 

The  name  is  variously  spelled,  but 
Dr.  Wm.  Wackernagel,  Professor  of 
Modern  Languag'es  in  Muhlenberg 
College  told  the  writer  that  he  knows 
of  the  name  Repass  in  the  German 
Cantons  of  Switzerland.  It  is  not 
known  whether  his  father  emigrated 
to  America  and  Daniel  with  the 
family,  or  after  becoming  of  age. 

Daniel  Repass  became  pastor  of 
German  Reformed  congregations  in 
Wythe  County, A  a.  He  is  the  ancestor 
of  a  large  and  honorable  number  of 
descendants,  most  of  whom  resided  in 
the  aforenamed  and  adjoining  coun- 
ties. The  names  of  four  of  his  sons 
were  Samuel,  Frederick,  Daniel,  jr., 
and  John.  Reverend  Daniel  Repass  is 
buried  in  the  old  cemetery  of  St. 
John's  Lutheran  Church,  near  Wythe- 
ville,  \^a. 

.  John  Repass  was  the  grandfather  of 
the  subject  of  this  biography.  The 
grandmother's  family  name  was  Hark- 
rader,  a  German  name.  They  had  six 
daughters  and  four  sons.  William  was 
a  soldier  in  the  Mexican  War.  The 
names  of  the  daughters'  husbands 
were  Brown,  Fisher,  Cassel,  Nefif  and 
Palmer;  the  first  four  originally  were 
according  to  the  German  spelled  Braun 
Fischer  Kassel,  and  Nefif.  As  a  farmer 


John  Repass  purchased  much  land 
and  gave  his  children  each  several 
hundred  acres.  They  were  farmers  and 
were  among  the  most  respected  and 
well-to-do  citizens  in  Southwestern 
Virginia  and  their  descendants  are 
noble   men   and   women. 

Rufus,  the  third  son  of  John  Repass, 
born  1805, was  the  father  of  the  Rev. 
Dr.  S.  A.  Repass.  Rufus  received  the 
rudimentary  education  of  the  country 
school  of  that  period.  He  became  the 
possessor  of  a  plantation  of  350  acres 
on  the  main  road  from  Wytheville 
to  Tazewell  Court  House  ,  The  resi- 
dence was  a  large,  substantial  stone 
house  built  by  his  father,  where  he 
lived  v.'ith  his  family  contented  and 
happy.  Rufus  and  Salome  (nee)  Bro^vTl 
Repass  had  ten  sons  and  daughters 
John  C,  the  eldest  was  a  devout  and 
faithful  Lutheran  pastor  of  congrega- 
tions in  Virginia.  James  A.,  the  second 
son  died  at  Roanoke  College,  Salem 
\"a..Avhile  preparing  for  the  Christian 
ministry.  The  youngest  son  Granville 
B.   resides   on   the  old  homestead. 

Rufus  Repass  had  clear  convictions 
as  to  the  true  principles  of  govern- 
ment and  was  a  conscientious  citizen 
He  was  modest  and  never  sought  of- 
fice, preferring  home  to  public  life,  and 
the  peaceful  pursuits  of  agriculture  to 
the  ''arts  of  modern  politics."  He  de- 
clined the  nomination  for  the  Virginia 
Legislature  when  "good  and  true" 
men  were  sought.  Positive  in  his  con- 
victions, demanding  and  yielding  obe- 
dience whether  these  were  due  to 
others  or  to  himself.  He  was  a  gentle 
yet  firm  head  of  his  household,  not 
overindulgent,  nor  unjust.  No  less  than 
three  of  their  six  daugthers  were 
married  to  men  whose  names  indicate 
that  they  were  of  German  ancestry. 
He  was  a  member  of  St.  John's  Luth- 
eran Church  Wytheville,as  his  parents 
had  been.  He  was  actively  identified 
with  all  the  interests  of  the  congre- 
gation and  was  one  of  its  officers  for 
many  years.  It  was  a  large  and  in- 
fluential Christian  congregation.  Ru- 
fus Repass  was  frequently  a  delegate 


2S4 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


to  Synodical  conventions.  He  was 
called  to  his  eternal  reward  in  1878, 
"leaving  to  his  children  and  the  com- 
munity the  heritage  of  a  truly  noble 
name  and  character." 

His  wife,  born  in  1807,  was  the 
daughter  of  Christopher  Brown, 
(Braun).  Her  paternal  grandfather 
had  migrated  from  Pennsylvania  to 
Wythe  Co.,  Va.,  about  1785.  Her 
mother's  maiden  name  was  Roeder, 
which  is  also  the  German  spelling  of 
the  name.  Her  father  was  a  wealthy 
land  owner  and  his  children  of  whom 
there  were  three  daughters  and  three 
sons  had  some  educational  advantages 
that  others  did  not  have  in  those 
times.  Christopher  Brown  was  a  good 
citizen  and  exerted  a  large  influence  in 
the  community  in  which  he  lived  and 
in  the  Lutheran  congregation  of 
which  he  was  a  member.  His  second 
son  James  A.,  became  a  "Lutheran 
clergyman  and  for  many  years  served 
congregations  in  his  native  county,  a 
man  greatly  esteemed  and  beloved  by 
all  who  knew  him."  Daniel,  the  eldest 
son  was  a  member  of  the  Virginia 
Legislature,  and  the  youngest  was  an 
"intellectual  and  highly  honored  cit- 
izen." 

The  mother  of  Rev.  Dr.  Stephen  A. 
Repass  had  more  than  an  average 
mental  and  spiritual  training.  She  had 
a  bright  mind  and  kind  disposition 
and  imparted  something  of  her  ac- 
tivity and  energy  to  her  children.  She 
lived  to  be  eighty-four  years  of  age 
and  bequeathed  to  her  daughters  and 
sons  a  good  name  and  a  Christian 
character. 

Steivhen  Albion  Repass,  the  third 
son,  was  born  November  25th,  1838. 
After  attending  the  schools  in  his  na- 
tive community  and  using  all  the  op- 
portunities then  offered  for  learning, 
he  in  1858  entered  Roanoke  College, 
Salem,  Va.  Near  the  close  of  the  col- 
lege year  in  1861  he  with  others  of 
his  schoolmates  enlisted  for  service  in 
the  Confederate  army. 

He  was  in  the  battles  of  the  army 
under  General  Robert  E.  Lee.     In  one 


of  the  disastrous  encounters  in  1862 
he  was  dangerously  wounded,  the  ball 
entering  the  lower  part  of  the  body 
and  coming  out  on  the  back.  And 
while  he  was  lying  on  the  gory  field 
a  bomb-shell  exploded  above  him  and 
a  canister  shot  struck  him,  which,  to- 
gether with  the  loss  of  blood,  caused 
him  to  become  unconscious.  Several 
hours  later  when  he  regained  con- 
sciousness a  comrade  took  him  to  a 
nearby  village,  where  he  remained  for 
two  weeks  without  a  doctor  to  dress 
the  wounds,  and  the  only  remedy  he 
had  to  apply  was  an  abundance  of 
])ure  water.  Then  he  received  permis- 
sion to  go  200  miles  to  his  home  on  an 
empty  freight  car,  where  he  had  the 
attention  of  the  family  physician.  As 
soon  as  the  wounds  healed  he  had  to- 
return  to  the  army. 

At  Gettysburg  he  was  in  General 
Pickett's  division,  and  in  the  terrible 
charge  of  those  brigades,  July  3d, 
1863,  in  command  of  a  company,  he 
and  the  seven  of  his  men  not  killed  or 
wounded  were  captured,  and  together 
with  thousands  of  others  made  pris- 
oners of  war.  They  were  taken  tO' 
Johnson's  Island  in  Lake  Erie,  near 
.Sandusky.  Ohio  and  had  to  remain 
nearly  two  years  till  the  close  of  the 
war.  While  prisoners  they  also  suf- 
fered for  food  and  clothing  and  es- 
pecially during  the  cold  winters. 

Septeml)er,  1865  he  returned  to- 
Roanoke  College,  with  changed  views 
as  to  his  life  work.  There  were  sev- 
eral chaplains  or  ministers  prisoners 
of  war  on  the  Island  and  they  con- 
ducted daily  religious  services.  These 
services  influenced  Captain  S.  A.  Re- 
pass to  decide  to  study  for  the  Gospel 
ministry,  instead  of  the  profession  of 
law  as  he  intended  when  previously 
at  college.  After  graduating  he  went 
to  the  Philadelphia  Ev.  Lutheran 
Theological  Seminary  in  the  autumn 
of  1866,  and  was  ordained  by  the 
Pennsylvania  Ministerium  early  in 
the  summer  of  1869  and  soon  after- 
wards installed  pastor  of  the  College 
Church  in  Salem,  Va. 


THE    REVEREND    STEPHEN    ALBION    REPASS,    D.    D. 


285 


June,  1870  Reverend  Stephen  A. 
Repass  and  Miss  Frances  E.  Hancock 
•of  \\'ytheville,  were  united  in  holy 
wedlock.  Her  father  was  for  many 
years  a  merchant  in  Wythe  county 
and  was  hij^hly  esteemed.  He  was 
elected  to  the  \'irginia  Legislature. 
Airs.  S.  A.  Repass'  mother's  maiden 
name  was  xA.cre.  the  equivelent  of 
Acker,  both  in  German  and  Pennsyl- 
vania German.  Hence  on  the  mater- 
nal side  of  the  house  she  is  also  a 
descendant  of  a  Pennsylvania  Ger- 
man family. 

Airs.  Repass  was  educated  at 
"W'ytheville  Female  College  and  she 
was  a  true  helpmate  to  her  husband. 
She  is  a  kind-hearted  mother,  with 
good  will  to  all  the  people,  whatever 
their  condition  in  life,  justly  and  very 
highly  regarded  by  all  the  members 
of  the  congregations  of  which  her  be- 
loved husband  has  been  the  pastor. 

The  Rev.  S.  A.  Repass  resigned  the 
Salem  pastorate  in  1873  ^o  accej)t  the 
call  to  become  one  of  the  professors 
of  theology  in  the  newly  organized 
Seminary  in  that  town,  where  Roa- 
noke College  was  also  located.  These 
two  institutions  were  founded  in  the 
interests  of  Lutheran  Synods  of  the 
South.  Serving  ably  and  faithfully  in 
that  position  twelve  years,  he  ac- 
cepted a  call  to  the  Lutheran  church 
at  Staunton,  Va.  The  next  year  he 
was  persuaded  to  accept  the  call  to 
St.  John's  Lutheran  church,  Allen- 
town,  Pa.  Here  his  pastorate  began 
with  July,  1885.  and  his  fruitful  labors 
continued  until  his  unexpected  and 
much  lamented  death  June,  1906.  He 
was  the  ideal  and  loved  pastor  of  this 
large  and  influential  congregation.  In 
all  the  relations  of  life  his  motives 
and  conduct  w^ere  governed  by  the 
highest  Christian  ideals,  namely  love 
to  God  and  the  salvation  of  souls.  He 
was  a  devoted  husband,  a  kind 
hearted  father  and  a  true  friend  of  all, 
and  especially  of  the  humble  and  poor 
and  he  won  and  retained  the  confi- 
dence and  respect  of  all  that  learned 
to  know  him  well. 


Reverend  Dr.  Repass  \\'as  not  only 
a  most  faithful  pastor,  but  was  an 
able,  edifying  and  sincere  preacher  of 
the  Gospel.  He  excelled  as  a  profound 
expositor  of  Scripture.  His  sympathet- 
ic nature  and  musical  voice  made  him 
a  pleasant  speaker  and  one  that  the 
people  gladly  heard.  He  spoke  plainly 
and  direct  and  made  no  attempts  at 
being  oratorical.  He  was  modest  and 
up.assuming  and  unlike  some  men, 
whose  reputation  is  bigger  than  the 
man.  Dr.  Repass  was  greater  than  his 
reputation. 

He  was  also  a  contributor  to  the 
Lutheran  Church  papers  and  reviews 
and  occasionally  wrote  for  the  secular 
press.  He  was  an  instructive  and 
forcible  writer.  A  number  of  his  ser- 
mons and  theological  waitings  were 
published  in  pamphlet  form.  The  de- 
gree of  Doctor  of  Divinity  was  deserv- 
edly conferred  upon  him  in   1876. 

In  1886  he  was  elected  one  of  the 
Trustees  of  Muhlenberg  College,  and 
six  years  later  was  chosen  Professor 
of  Christian  Evidences,  which  duties 
he  discharged  to  the  time  of  his  death. 
He  served  on  a  number  of  important 
Boards  and  Committees  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Alinisterium  and  the  General 
Council  of  the  Lutheran  Church.  He 
had  been  Secretary  of  the  Southwest- 
ern Mrginia  Synod  and  President  of 
the  Lutheran  Synod  of  the  South  and 
was  elected  and  re-elected  President 
of  the  Allentown  Confernce  for  a  num- 
ber of  3^ears  and  held  other  offices  of 
responsibilit}^  and  trust. 

Though  born  and  educated  in  Vir- 
ginia and  considering-  it  his  duty  to 
espouse  the  cause  of  the  Southern 
states.  Dr.  Repass  laid  aside  any  pre- 
judice and  W'ith  the  return  of  peace 
had. the  moral  courage  to  accept  the 
new  conditions  with  Christian  resig- 
nation. Pennsylvania  his  adopted 
state  or  the  city  of  his  residence  did 
not  have  a  truer  or  more  loyal  citizen. 
A  man  of  prepossessing  appearance, 
a  diligent  scholar,  a  brave  soldier,  an 
instructive    teacher,    a   good    preacher 


286 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


and  a  Christian  gentleman,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  S.  A.  Repass  did  more,  wherever 
he  was  known,  to  restore  fraternal 
feelings  between  Northern  and  South- 
ern people,  and  especiall}^  among  the 


old  soldiers  of  both  sides  than  any 
other,  known  to  the  writer.  He  was 
a  strong  power  for  good,  a  man  of 
God,  and  it  is  greatly  to  be  desired 
that  there  were  thousands  like  him. 


THE  c.KKAT  liEND  OF  THE  WEST  BRANCH   Rl\ER  AKIirXI)  THE  BALD  EAGLE 

(See   page  287) 


287 


The  Muncy  Valley 


NOTE. — A  36-i)age  iiamphlet  bearing  the 
above  title  and  iniblished  by  the  author 
Mr.  J.  M.  M.  Gernerd  of  Muncy,  Pa.,  was 
received  a  few  days  ago  to  which  we  wish 
to  call  attention. 

Its  subtitle  is  "Snap  Shots  of  Scener.v, 
Geology  and  liistory"  and  it  is  well  worth 
the  price  asked  for  it  25  cents.  The  author 
says;  "As  the  price  of  this  is  only  a  quar- 
ter, the  critic  would  be  severe  indeed  who 
would  give  it  no  quarter."  Subjects  like, 
A  Garden  Spot.  The  Devil's  Turnip  Patch, 
Valuable  Building  Stone,  Historical  Locali- 
ties, Indian  Relics,  The  Terminal  jNIoraine 
are  briefly  discussed.  We  give  a  few  ex- 
tracts from  the  book. 

THE  BALD  EAGLE  AND  MUNCY  VALLEY 

The  sptir  of  the  Alleg-heny  jNIoun- 
tain  chain  known  as  the  Bald  Eagle 
Mountain  is  a  remarkably  regular 
ridge,  with  comparatively  few  breaks 
in  its  outline.  Its  southern  terminus 
is  in  Blair  County,  and  its  northern 
end — a  gracefully  rounded  elevation 
rising  to  a  height  of  about  800  feet 
above  the  river  flowing  around  its 
base,  and  sloping  down  gently  into 
the  ]\Iuncy  Valley — is  in  the  lower 
end  of  Lycoming  Cottnty.  The  view 
east  from  the  Muncy  terminus  of  the 
mountain,  as  Avell  as  the  prospect  to 
the  north,  and  to  the  south, -is  one  of 
fascinating  loveliness.  Stew^art's  His- 
tory of   Lycoming    County    unhesitat- 


ingly claims,  on  page  113,  that  it  is 
"the  most  beautiful  valley  that  was 
ever  fashioned  by  the  Divine  Archi- 
tect" ;  but  this  is  assuming  to  know 
more  than  any  of  us  know  as  to  what 
the  Almighty  Designer  has  done  else- 
where on  this  grand  sphere,  or  on 
some  other  orb  in  the  boundless  uni- 
\erse.  ]\Ieginness,  on  page  64  of  his 
History  of  the  ^Vest  Branch  Valley, 
refers  in  a  spirit  of  admiration  to  the 
charms  and  romantic  beauty  of 
Wyoming,  so  sweetly  sung  in  verse 
and  so  admirably  depicted  on  canvass, 
yet  says,  "but  in  natural  grandeur  it 
does  not  exceed  that  of  Muncy  Val- 
ley ;  if  indeed  it  comparres  favorably 
with  it."  But  undeniably  it  has  fea- 
tures that  command  the  admiration  of 
all  nature-loving  people.  And  the 
comely  Bald  Eagle  Alountain  is  one 
of  the  most  interesting  features  of  its 
charming  configurations. 

THE   WEST   BRANCH   RIVER 

After  flowing  from  its  remote 
sources  about  150  miles,  the  West 
Branch  of  the  Susquehanna  River 
then  rolls  on  directly  east  about  40 
miles  through  Clinton  and  Lycoming, 
along  the  north  and  steep  flank  of  the 
I'lald   Eagle   ]\Iountain.    When  passing 


OUTLET  Lt)CKS  AT  THE  RIVKR,  HF.LOW  FORT  PENN 


THE  MUNCY  VALLEY 


289 


kUINS  OF  THE  ACQUEDUCT  AT  MOUTH  OF  MUNCY  CREEK 


through  ^Nlnncy  \'alley  it  describes 
a  grand  and  graceful  semicircular 
sweep  around  the  end  of  the  moun- 
tain, as  shown  by  the  illustration ; 
and  then,  after  flowing  through  a 
gap  in  the  ?\Iuncy  Hills,  moves  dir- 
ectly south  about  30  miles  to  the 
town  of  Northumberland,  where  it 
unites  Avith  the  North  Branch;  and 
from  thence  the  consolidated  stream 
pursues  its  way  onward  in  a  south- 
easterly course  to  the  Chesapeake 
Bay. 

THE  DAY  OF  THE  PACKET  BOAT 

Few  of  the  present  poulation  of  the 
valley  have  any  personal  recollection 
of  the  day  of  the  Packet  Boat.  The 
West  Branch  Canal  is  now  a  thing  of 
the  past,  and  the  vestiges  of  it  that  re- 
main are  assuming  an  appearance  of 
antiquit}'.  Most  parts  even  now  have 
almost  the  appearance  of  having  been 
"deserted  beyond  the  memory  of 
man,"  as  Conrad  Weiser,  in  1737, 
said  of  the  "ancient  fortification"  on 
Wolf  Run.  In  1828  the  Aluncy  Dam 
was  built,  and  in  1830  the  canal  was 
completed  to  the  dam  from  Northum- 
berland. In  1833  it  was  finished  as 
far  as  Williamsport.  This  was  the 
great   improvement   of   that    age,    and 


gave   new   life   to   the  business  of  the 
West   Branch. 

It  was  the  era  of  the  Packet  Boat. 
It  was  not  a  long  day,  but  it  was  one 
of  which  its  generation  ever  cherished 
most  pleasing  recollections.  The 
Packet  was  a  delightful  conveyance  in 
which  to  travel,  compared  with  the 
lum1)ering,  rocking,  jolting,  and  often 
overcrowded  and  dusty  stage  coach. 
It  was  a  beautiful  structure,  comfort- 
ably arranged,  neatly  furnished,  car- 
peted, and  moved  along  on  the  water 
highway  so  quietly  and  smoothly  that 
it  was  a  real  pleasure  to  travel  in  one. 
It  was  towed  by  three  or  four  horses, 
managed  by  a  mounted  driver,  and 
had  relays  so  frequent  that  the  ani- 
mals could  be  kept  in  constant  trot. 
Besides  passengers,  it  carried  mail 
and  express.  ]\Iany  a  time  I  was  sent 
to  Port  Penn  to  meet  the  boat  and 
bring  home  a  package,  and  I  was  al- 
ways very  willing  to  go.  But  when 
only  about  two  decades  later  the  Sun- 
bury  and  Erie  Railroad  (now  a  part 
of  the  Pennsylvania  R.  R.)  was  com- 
pleted to  Williamsport,  the  more 
soeedy  and  tireless  iron  horses  took 
the  place  of  horses  of  bone  and  flesh, 
ar.d  the  Packet  Boat  became  obsolete. 


290 


THE    PEXXSYLVAXIA-GBRMAN 


There  are  a  few  old  folks  who  still 
remember  the  day  of  the  Packet  Boat, 
the  great  interest  they  excited,  and 
how  crowds  sometimes  assembled  at 
Walton's  Landing,  or  at  the  Port 
Penn  wharf,  to  see  the  crafts  arrive. 
The  captain  of  a  Packet  was  always 
looked  up  to  as  a  man  of  authority 
and  great  responsibility,  and  perhaps 
no  commander  of  an  Atlantic  liner  to- 
day enjoys  greater  distinction.  The 
courtesy  of  a  Packet  captain  was  of- 
ten the  subject  of  remark,  as  the 
slightest  attention  or  condescension 
on  his  part  was  sure  to  be  gratefully 
remembered. 

The  canal  at  once  became  a  great 
business  thoroughfare.  Many  boats 
were  built  at  Port  Penn,  where  sev- 
eral boat  yards  flourished,  and  a  num- 
ber of  the  business  men  of  ]\Iuncy 
owned  boats.  Merchandise  was  no 
longer  brought  up  the  river  in  the 
tiresome    Keel-boats.      The    chief   arti- 


cles of  export  were  hogs,  wheat, 
tl^mr.  lumber,  dried  and  ealted  meats", 
leather  and  whiskey.  There  were  in 
that  da}'  thirteen  distilleries  in  this 
end  of  the  county,  the  combined  daily 
output  of  which  was  from  1,200  to 
1,500  gallons.  As  wdiiskey  was  by 
many  still  regarded  as  one  of  the  nec- 
essaries of  life,  it  is  likely  that  in- 
stead of  going  down  the  West  Branch 
Canal  a  great  deal  of  it  remained  here 
and  went  down — certain  other  canals. 
The  Outlet  Locks  below  Port  Penn, 
and  the  stone  piers  and  abutments 
of  the  Aqueduct  that  spanned  the 
Muncy  Creek — of  which  pictures  ac- 
company these  notes — are  now  deeply 
interesting  relics  of  the  canal,  melan- 
choly reminders  of  the  hopes  and  en- 
terprise and  struggles  of  a  generation 
now  resting  with  their  fathers,  the 
hard}^  elders  who  drove  away  the 
savages  and  cut  down  the  forest  to  in- 
stall the  age  of  the  plow. 


An  Old  Time  Tragedy 

By  Dr.  E.  Grumbine,  Mt.  Zion,  Pa. 


SHORT  distance  west 
of  a  public  road  leading 
f  r  o  m  Myerstovv'n  i  n 
Lebanon  county.  Pa.,  to 
Pinegrove,  about  three 
miles  north  of  the  for- 
mer town,  near  a  clum  0 
of  forest  trees  in  n'hat  is 
now  a  cultivated  field,  stood,  ,  a  hun- 
dred years  ago,  a  low,  wooden  build- 
ing; i)art  dwelling  and  ]iart  school- 
house. 

Li  the  }-ear  1822,  in  mid-winter  the 
l)lacc  became  the  scene  of  a  blondy 
and  fearful  tragcd}-,  in  which  at 
least  four  li\-es  came  to  a  sudden  and 
violent   end. 

The  schoolmaster  who  lived  there 
with  his  family  was  named  Joseph 
Miller,  lie  was  a  nati\-e  of  Southern 
Poland,  and  after  the  formation  of 
the    Duchy  nf    Warsaw    bv    Xapole  )n 


Bonaparte,     his     family      had      found 

fa\(ir  with   the    great    conqueror,    and     of  flight — flight  to  that  golden  land  of 


Joseph  ]\Iiller  was  appointed  to  a  gov- 
ernment position  in  the  department  of 
Posen. 

But  when  the  resettlement  of  Po- 
land took  place  by  the  treaty  of 
\'ienna  in  1814,  he  lost  his  place,  and, 
lilcc  numbers  of  his  coimtrymen,  he 
ex  :atriated  himself  and  journeyed  to 
Pn.:ssia.  He  seems  to  have  found 
fa\-or  in  the  castle  of  a  German  count 
where  he  was  installed  as  tuttM-  to  the 
nobleman's  son.  This  boy  had  a  sis- 
ter into  whose  society  he  was  thrown 
and  with  whom  he  fell  in  love.  He 
was  tall  and  handsome  and  his  feel- 
ings were  reciprocated  by  the  Ger- 
man maiden.  Many  and  sweet  were 
the  stolen  meetings  and  the  fatal 
trysts.  To  hope  for  the  consent  of 
the  widowed  father  to  their  marriage, 
was  out  of  the  question,  and  the  only 
a\-cnue   open   for   the   lovers   was   that 


An  old  time  tragedy 


291 


promise   beyond   the    western    ocean — 
America. 

And  so  at  a  time  when  the  Count 
was  absent  from  home  the  lo^•ers 
eloped.  They  took  with  them  what 
money  they  had  and  found  their  way 
to  a  seaport  whence  they  sailed  for 
P'hiladelphia  in  the  summer  t)t  1817. 
there  their  baby  was  born,  and  they 
later  went  to  Alyerstown  in  Lebanon 
Co.,  Pennsylvania.  To  the  north  of  the 
villag'e  a  schoolmaster  was  \vanted, 
and  Joseph  Miller  again  found  em- 
ployment, not  as  a  tutor  in  a  German 
nobleman's  castle,  but  as  a  teacher 
of  an  American-German  school. 

He  was  successful,  but  the  remu- 
neration was  small.  There  was  no 
public  school  machine,  and  no  mini- 
mum salary  legislation  in  those  days. 
A  pupil  paid  two  cents  per  day  and 
nothing-  on  holidays  nor  anything  for 
absences.  The  •  Millers  became  very 
poor.  The  foreign  gulden  were  spent 
and  the  dollars  and  cents  were  slow 
in  coming.  But  in  the  course  of  a 
few  years  another  baby  came.  The 
delicately  reared  young  Avoman  found 
the  domestic  drudgery  of  the  house- 
hold irksome,  and  she  pined  for  the 
elegant  ease  of  her  far-away  Prus- 
sian  home. 

The  glamour  of  her  romance  was 
worn  away,  and  the  pangs  of  home- 
sickness filled  her  existence  and  made 
her  fretful  and  peevish.  She  sighed 
for  her  girlhood's  freedom  and  for  the 
elegance  of  her  father's  mansion. 

Although  her  Joseph  was  kind  in 
his  way  and  his  love  waned  not,  her 
daily  complainings  weighed  on  his 
spirits  and  soured  his  temper,  and 
the  world  became  dark  to  his  vision, 
with  poverty  as  his  portion  and  star- 
vation for  his  wife  and  children  star- 
ing them   in   the   face. 

He  grew  morose  and  melancholy 
and  his  mental  condition  bordered  on 
insanity.  His  adored  lady-love,  the 
gentle,  highborn  daughter  of  a  Ger- 
man Graft",  had  been  changed,  as  if 
by  wicked  fairies'  tricks,  into  a  shift- 
less, fretful  dowdy,  and  life  had  lost 
its   charms   for    him.      At    times    his 


brain    seemed    on     fire     and     daylight 
looked  like  blood. 

One  morning  in  January  his  pupils 
had  assembled  at  the  schcolroom 
door,  but  it  remained  closed.  The 
girls  were  playing  "ring"  ana  sing- 
in.^"- 

"Ring  around  a  rosy — 

Pin  upon  a  posy," — 
and  the  boys  were  playing  a  long; 
game  of  ball,  but  the  usually  welcome 
rap  at  the  window  calling  the  chil- 
dren from  play  to  school,  was  not 
heard,  though  the  hour  was  long  past 
the  time  for  opening  the  morning  ses- 
sion. 

At  length  one  of  the  girls  standing 
on  tiptoe  looked  in  at  a  school  room 
Avindow  and  said  "Ich  seh  ihn.  Dort 
steht  er."  "  I  see  him.  There  he 
stands. ) 

Another  looked  in  and  looked  long- 
er, when  with  a  white  face  she  turn- 
ed away  and   said, 

"Ach  Gott!  er  steht  net;  er  henkt 
ya  dort  a'ma  'strick!"  ("Aly  God!  he 
is  hanging  by  a  rope !") 

Others  looked  in,  and,  frightened, 
ran  to  a  neighbor's  house  with  their 
fearful  story.  Men  came  and  forced 
in  the  door,  when  a  gruesome  sight 
met   their  horrified  gaze. 

There  lay  the  once  fair  lady  in  her 
comfortless  bed  weltering  in  her 
blood,  her  head  solit  open  with  an 
ax.  and  her  two  children  murdered  in 
the  same  horrible  manner.  In  the 
midst  of  the  school  room,  suspended 
1:)V  a  rope  fastened  to  a  joist  above 
him,  was  the  dead  murderer  and  sui- 
cide. Around  and  under  him  was  a 
pile  of  wood  and  splinters,  parts  of 
which  were  consumed,  showing  that 
it  was  the  schoolmaster's  plan  to 
burn  down  the  house  and  consume 
himself  and  his  victims. 

;'<  -M  *  '-'fi  -i^  ^  ^ 

All  the  countryside  came  to  the 
Imrial  of  the  mother  and  her  children, 
who  were  interred  in  consecrated 
ground  in  the  graveA-ard  of  the  old 
Union  Tulpehocken  Church  at  My- 
erstown.  The  funeral  was  large,  and 
Rev.    William    Ernst,    the    pastor     of 


.292 


THE   PE\NSYLVAx\IA-GERMAN 


Salem's  Lutheran  ChurCh  at  Leba- 
non, preached  the  sermon  ;  but  no  re- 
ligious rites  were  held  over  the  re- 
mains of  the  unfortunate  Joseph  Mil- 
ler. 

In  those  da^^s  church3'ards  were 
■closed  to  self-murderers,  and  his 
body  was  tumbled  into  a  rough  grave 
in  a  fence  corner,  uncofitined  and  un- 
sung. But  it  was  not  to  remain  there. 
Suicides'  bodies  in  those  days  of  the 
olden  time  were  in  demand  among  the 
medical  fraternity,  especially  by  such 
as  had  never  been  favored  with  the 
privileges  of  a  school  of  anatomy, 
and  the  advantages  of  a  di.jsecting 
room,  and  after  nightfall,  a  certain 
doctor  came  riding  from  Rehrersburg 
on  horseback,  dug  up  the  body  of 
Miller,  threw  it  across  his  horse  in 
front  of  him.  and  galloped  away  with 
his  prize. 

^M^ile  carrying  the  bodv,  it  is  said, 
on  his  shoulders  down  some  steps  at 
his  home,  he  stumbled  and  foil,  his 
ghastly  burden  falling  on  top  of  him. 
This,  he  stated  afterwards,  was  the 
only  time  he  had  ever  been  fright- 
ened. It  is  further  said  that  the  skele- 
ton of  the  Polish  schoolmaster  served 
for  many  years  as  an  object  lesson  to 
the  Rehrersburg  surgeon  and  his  stu- 
dents. 

Some  rhymster  of  the  day  whose 
name  is  unknown,  wrote  the  story  of 
the  tragedy  in  German  verse,  which 
was  published  in  a  Lebanon  news- 
paj)er,  and  the  lines  were  set  t.^  weird 
music,  the  writer  himself  having 
heard  them  sung  in  part  by  an  old 
Fredericksburg  woman.  They  were 
reprinted  within  the  last  thirty 
years  in  the  columns  of  the  "Lebanon 
Democrat,"  and  with  one  or  two  cor- 
rections in  the  spelling  and  rhyme. 
are  given  below.  For  the  benefit  of 
such  readers  of  THE  PENNSYL- 
VANIA GERMAN  as  do  not  under- 
stand the  original,  a  translation  has 
iDeen  made  by  the  writer  which  is  of- 
fered here  for  what  it  mav  be  worth. 


An  Old-Tiine  Tragedy 

Listen   now.  and   I   will   tell  you 
Of   a  fearful   murder   case, 
Such  as  no  one  ever  heard  of 
Heretofore   to've   taken    place. 

To  a  German  count  he  wended 
riis  dejected,  weary  way; 
Offered  there  a  menial's  service, 
And   was  kindly   bade   to   stay. 

And  whoever  hears  this  story 

Must,  if  truth  be  in  his  bosom, 

Say   that  in   our   country's  annals 

None   is   found   more    weird    and    gruesome. 

.Joseph   Miller   did   the   murder 
Killed  his   wife  and  children  all, 
Then  this  wretched  family  father 
Hanged  himself  in  schoolroom  hall. 

In  these  first  few  lines  I'll  tell  you 
Where   this  man  first  saw  the  light; 
Of  his  country's  dire  misfortune, 
Of  his  exile  and  his  flight. 

Southern   Poland   was  his   birthplace, 
Handsome  was  he,  fine  of  build; 
Having   noble  traits   and  talents. 
He  a  princely  office  fillefl. 

Then  came  Poland's  grievous  downfall, 
She  to  Russia  fell  a  prey; 
When  from  «.ll,  in  place  or  office. 
Their  support  was  swept  away. 

Here  he  was  installed  as  tutor 
To  a  high-born   German   youth; 
College  lore  he  was  to  teach  him. 
Letters,  books — the  living  truth. 

Now  this  noble  had  a  daughter, 
Young  and  gentle,  sweet  and  fair; 
Like  a  rose  or  other  flower, 
Blooming   in   its   beauty   rare. 

She  inspired  him  with  a  passion 
Which  he  long  in  secret  bore, 
But  at  length  she  was  persuaded 
Far  to  flee  to  a  western  shore. 

Came  they  then  to  Lebanon  county, 
To  a   spot  near  Myerstown, — 
Paupers  here,  in  Prussia  wealthy 
Suffering  now  ill  fortune's  frown. 

Spent  and  gone  was  all  their  money. 
Who  were  used  to  live  in  state; 
Indigence  and  want  before  them, — 
Dark  and  fearful  seemed  their  fate. 

Far  from  friends,  without  employment, 
Just  escaped  from  tyrant  rule, 
Miller   formed    the    plan   of  teaching, 
And  ere  long  was  keeping  school. 

Three   fair   years   had   come    and   vanished, 
Friends  had  proved  both  kind  and  true, 
Friends  who  gladly  made  the  statement, 
He  was  good  and  honest  too. 


Ax   OLD   TIME   TRAGEDY 


29$ 


Not  to  cross  his  spouse,  but  please  her 
Seemed  to  be  his  aim  of  life;  — 
Called    her,    darling,    sweetheart,    angel,- 
Honored,  cherished,  loved  his  wife. 

But  her  memory  oft  would  wander 
Back  unto  her  German  home, 
Where  in  thought  as  happy  maiden 
O'er  her  sire's  domain  she'd  roam. 

Here,  Alas!    were  meagre  comforts, 
There  abundance,  wealth  unmeasured, 
Pictures  of  her  father's  mansion 
In  her  sweet  soul  she  treasured. 

And  at  times,  her  heart  near  breaking 
With  a  longing,  homesick  pain, 
"Take  me,"   she   would   cry   in   anguish, 
"Take   me,   Joseph,   home  again," 

Ah!   how  grieved  his  soul  and  spirit! 
What  a  poor,  unhappy  pair! 
She,  despondent  sad  and  homesick, 
He  the  prey  of  dark  despair! 

Flames  of  fire  and  fiends  of  darkness 
Seemed    to    numb    his    sense   and   will, 
Plunged  him  in  a  hell  of  madness. 
Urged  him  on  to  strike  and  kill! 


When   the   pupils   on   a  morning 
Gathered  'round  the  schoolroom  door. 
They  knew  nothing  of  the  horror 
Which  was  held  for  them  in  store. 

One  by  one  they  tried  to  enter, 

One  by  one  they  turned  aside. 

Till   at  length,  the  fast'nings  sundered. 

Horror  held  them,  open-eyed! 

By  a  rope  there  hung  the  master, 
Joseph  Miller,  cold  and  dead;  — 
Many  turned  in  fear  and  terror. 
Weeping  as  they  homeward  fled! 

On  her  lowly  couch  the  mother 
Weltering  in  her  lifeblood  lay, 


Once  a  happy  German  maiden 
Now  a  lifeless  lump  of  clay. 

Many    red-lipped    wounds    were   gaping, 
Whence  had  ebbed  away  her  life; 
Crushed  her  skull  by  hands  that  often 
Had  caressed  her  as  a  wife. 

Near-by  lay  her  first-born,  murdered 
By  the  selfsame  ruthless  hand, — 
Broken   head   and   cruel   knife-stabs — 
Work  that  maniac  brain  had  planned. 

And  the  infant  in  its  cradle, — 
Darling  of  its  mother's  heart, — 
Also  butchered  like  the  others — 
Of  this  tragedy  a  part! 

Pity  we  this  wretched  woman! 
Pity  with  her  babes  abide! 
Pity  we  the  unborn  child  that 
With  its  martyred  mother  died! 

Throngs  of  people  at  the  funeral 
Moved  as  in  a  horrid  dream; 
Reverend  Ernst,  he  preached  the  sermon, 
Cain,  the  murdered,  was  his  theme. 

It  is  hoped  and  wished  devoutly 
That  her  homesick  soul  found  rest, 
Where   misfortune    never    troubles 
In  the  regions  of  the  blest; 

In  the  realms  where  all  the  weary 
Rest  in  never-ending  sleep; 
Where  in  all  the  endless  ages 
No  one  ever  wakes  to  weep. 

Miller's   body  to  a  corner 
Of  a  verdant  field  was  borne. 
Left  to  lie  unblest,  un-prayed  for. 
Till  the  resurrection  morn. 

Where  the  bourne  his  soul  was  sent  to- 
None  of  us  may  judge  or  know. 
Yet  God's  mercy  still   endureth. 
And  is  shown  to  high  and  low. 


■294 


LITERARY  DEPARTMENT 


The  Old  Chain  Bridge 

By  Wm.  Craig,  Blue  Springs,  Nebraska 


Note.— "The  writer  of  the 
following  lines  was  born  and 
raised  in  romantic  old  Lehigh 
Gap  and  naturally  has  an  in- 
efifaceable  attachment  for  the 
place  and  all  its  attributes." 
We  thank  him  for  the  contri- 
bution. We  have  taken  the 
liberty  of  changing  the  spelling 
-of  some  of  the  words  to  make 
it  conform  to  our  rule  as  an- 
nounced in  the  May  issue.  We 
invite  criticism  of  the  spelling. 
Let  us  get  to  the  root  of  the 
matter  and  learn  to  spell. 


..         T 

M 

Bj 

9 

^^^1^1 

^^^^9 

HH 

t*-^ 

^,-i- 

w^ 

*1 

%^/  f  "^^^m 

'K 

;-''-J^^:S-' 

-'  H  ^^i^y^^B 

- 

;<*^ 

Dort  in  der  Lecha  Wasser  Kaft,  do  spannt  en  alte   Briick 
Den  schone  Lecha  Rever — gebaut  viel  Johr  zuriick. 
In  der  ganz  United  States,  du  magst  suche  wu  du  wit 
Do  finsht  du   gar  ken  Gleichnis  zu  der  alte  Kette  Briick. 

En   Freniling  deht  gewis   laut  lache,  mit   seinem   erste   Blick 
Wan  unverhofCt  er  kamt  in  seiner  Reis  zu  der  Kette  Briick. 
So  gspassig  is  sie  hie  gestellt,  so  kerjos  sehnt  sie  jo  aus 
Gukt  freilich  wie  en  Wage   Briick,  aw   etwas  wie  en  Haus. 

Ganz  weit  un  breet  is  sie  bekannt   als   die  Lecha  Kette  Briick. 
Das  ganz  Gewicht  uf  Kette  ruht  austatt   zwee   drohtne    Strick 
Ach  was  schwer  Holz  war  doh  gebraucht  die  Briick  zo  constructire 
Das  man  kan  viel   Tonne   G'ewicht   safe   druf   tin   driiven   steere. 

Die  Peiler,  ach  wie  solid   g'macht  bei   de   alte   gute   Maurer. 

Ich   glaab   gewis  des   Steewerk  magt   noch   hunnert   Johr   lang   daure 

Wu  sin  now   dan  die  Arl)eits  Lent  die  Krafte   geve  han  dazu 

Die  Mutter  Erd  bedeckt  sie  lang  in  sanftun  siiser  Riih. 

Mit  Fleis  han  sie  jo  all   dort  gschafft  un  darich  die  Taglich  Hitz 
Das   miide    Glieder   hut  gemacht,   ihr    Korper    bfeucht   mit    Schwitz. 
Die  Bau   Meester  aw  von  dieser  Briick  sure  weit  un  breet  bekannt 
;Schon    lang   zuriick    han    Abschied    g'macht    for    en     schoner,     besser 
Land. 


THE   OLD   CHAIN    BRIDGE 

So  diinkts   mich   well    die  Arbeit  schwer.  von   friih   bis   ovets   spat 
Jeder   Dag   sie   nuithig  zngestickt   uii   mit    der   grosste    Fred 
Icli  denk  wie  alias  fertig  war,  ja  alles  ganz  com])Iete. 
Han    die    Baiimee^ter    sure    en    Dag    bestimmt,    un    die    Lent    hen    all 
gemeet 

Ja  jung  un   alt,  Buve   un   Mad,  mut  Geig  un   Banjo   gspiel 
Han    frolich    Zeit   un    Danz    g'macht,   mit   Hurrahs    in   jedem    Reel. 
In   selle   alte   Dage   Zeit,   warn   ken   Brass   bands   in   der   Gegend 
Sonst  hat  des  Vollk  den  Dag  der  Freed  mit  Band  Music   g'segent, 

Well   's   war  gewisslich   recht  der  Werth   en  Feierdag  zu  mache 
Die   grosse   Fortschritt   zu   ehre,   in   de   improvement   sache. 
Bei   all   dem  Volk  der  Gegend  rum,  war  es  ganz  hoch  betracht 
En    wunderbare    business    Hiilf   for    die    Lecha    Wasser    Kaft. 

O  Kette  Briick.  O   Kette  Briick.  gebaut  so   lang  zuriick, 

Im  ganze  Lehigh   Dal   bist  du   die  aeltste  Briick. 

O  w^ann   du   now   jusht  spreche  konnst  mit  Mund   oder   mitra   Feder 

Was   konnst   du   net   verzehle   von    Fluth,    Blitz    un    wiistes   Wetter. 

Langs   am   Rever  nunner  han   sich   viel    Briicke   g'streckt, 
Sie   sin   all    abgerisse   now    un    annere   uferweckt 
Un  du  stehst  noch  so  brachtig  do  in  dem  alte  Gleid 
Un  dragst  die  Lent  hie  un  her  bis  uf  die  anner  Seit. 

O  Kettle  Briick,  O  Kette  Briick,  wie  oft  huts   mir  gelunge, 
AIs  Jiingling  bin  ich  frisch  un  schnell   uf  de  ra])iicha  Elanke  gsprunga, 
Ach    mancher    gspas   huts   mir    g'macht   un    manche    grosse    Freud 
Zu   springe   Schnell   im   rauschend   Wind  bis   uf  die   anner   Seit. 

O  Kette  Briick,  O  Kette  Briick,  lang  hust  du  do  gestanne 

Un   fcr   stockholder   .Johr   noch   Johr   viel   Benze   eigenomme 

Des    Johr   die    Briick   ganz    fertig   war,   steht   achzeh   hundert   dreisig 

So  all   die   Zeit  fer   achzig  Jahr   warst  du   ganz   un   fleisig. 

O   Kette  Briick,   du   alter  Held,  alt  frankisches  Teljaud 
Guckst  schier  wie  en   Gemach  aus  der  Siinfluths  Zeit, 
Lang  woll   mer  dich  behalte,  ja,  geb   uns  dei   Dienst. 
Dnsz  unser   Kindes   Kindei;  dich   sehne  hav  ich  oft  gewiinscht. 


295 


296 


REVIEWS  AND  NOTES 


The  American  Historical  Magazine  for 
May  has  an  article  by  T.  J.  Chapman  on  "A 
Moravian  Mission  to  the  Western  Indians 
In  1758."  Christian  Frederick  Post's  trip  to 
the  western  part  of  the  province  of  Penn- 
sylvania to  withdraw  the  Indian  tribes 
from  the  French  interest. 

Schaefer  and  Koradi.  Philadelphia,  Pa., 
offered  for  sale,  "Auswaiideniisg-  iiiul  Kol- 
oiiiegriiiidungren   der  Ffaeizer    iin    IS    Jahr 

huiidert,"  by  Dr.  Daniel  Haeberle  of  the 
University  of  Heidelberg.  The  second  chap- 
ter bears  on  the  Palatine  Colonies  in 
America.  The  price  of  the  book  in  paper 
covers  is  $2.00. 

Mitteilungen  des  Deutschen  Pionier  Ver- 
eius  von  Philadelphia  Elftes  Heft  1909,  con- 
tains an  article  by  the  Secretary  C.  F. 
Huch  on  "die  freireligiose  Bewegiing  unter 
den    Deutschamericktnern." 

Deutsch  -  Amerikanische  Geschichtsblat- 
ter.  April  1909  contains  articles  on  the  an- 
nual meeting  of  the  German-American  His- 
torical .Association  of  Illinois,  the  life  of 
Pastorius,  the  history  of  Quincy,  111,  the 
German  newspapers  in  Philadelphia,  etc., 
and  continues  in  the  supplementary  pages 
the  story  of  the  Germans  in  Illinois. 

The  Kct'orjiied  Church  Review  for  April  is 
a  Calvin  number  containing  articles  on 
John  Calvin  the  Man,  Calvin  as  Interpreter 
of  the  Bible,  Calvin's  Doctrine  of  Predesti- 
nation, The  Doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
in  Calvin's  System  of  Thought,  The  Ethics 
of  Calvinism,  Calvin  as  a  Preacher,  Calvin 
and  Civil  Liberty,  Calvinism  in  the  Re- 
formed Churches  of  Germany,  Illustrative 
Ancedotes  from  the  Life  of  Calvin. 

"Thousand  Dollar  Daggett"  is  an  interest- 
ing narrative  by  Elsie  Singmaster  in  the 
May  Lippincott's. 

"The  Rational  Test"  by  Leander  S.  Key- 
ser,  D.D.,  is  Bible  doctrine  in  the  light  of 
reason.  Its  chief  purpose  is  "to  show  that 
certain  fundamental  Biblical  doctrines,  as 
held  by  orthodox  believers,  are  reasonable." 

"The  Better  Man"  is  a  short-story  by 
Reginald  Wright  Kauffman  in  Hampton's 
Magazine  for  May.  The  scene  is  laid  in  the 
American  desert. 

GERMAN  PROSE  COMPOSITION:  By  Carl 
W.  F.  Osthaus,  Professor  of  Gterman  in 
Indiana  University;  and  Earnest  H. 
Biermann,  Instructor  in  German  in  In- 
diana University.  Cloth;  191  pp. 
American  Book  Company,  New  York. 
1909. 
This  book  is  intended  for  the  second  and 

third   years    at    college,    and    for    the    third 


and  fourth  years  in  secondary  schools.  It 
is  arranged  systematically  in  three  parts: 
elementary, intermediate,  and  advanced.  The 
former  of  these  is  again  divided  into  three 
sections;  a  German  exercise,  a  set  of  Ques- 
tions in  German,  and  an  English  para- 
phrase for  translation.  The  elementary 
part  has  a  distinctive  feature  in  that  cer- 
tain grammatical  principles  are  made  the 
basis  of  nearly  every  lesson.  These  prin- 
ciples are  mentioned  and  arranged  before- 
hand so  that  the  pupil  has  something  defi- 
nite to  work  for  in  each  lesson. 

The  book  also  contains  a  valuable  digest 
of  syntax,  which  forms  a  fine  abridgment  of 
the  m-any  more  or  less  cumbersome  gram- 
mars. It  is  about  as  comprehensive  and  am- 
bitious a  German  Prose  composition  book  as 
one  is  likely  to  find.  It  should  be  con- 
sidered by  all  who  are  interested  in  this 
kind  of  work. 

GER.MAN   STORIES:  By  George    M.  Baker, 
Ph.D.    Instructor     in     German     in     Yale 
College.     Cloth;    228  pp.     Henry  Holt  &. 
Company,  New  York.     1909. 
This  is  a  collection  of  stories  taken  from 
various    authors.      One   finds   here    a  depar- 
ture   from    traditional    type     of     collections 
which    usually    deal     with     "Marchen"     and 
"Myths".     It  deals  with  things  of  the  more 
immediate  world   and   with   things   of  every 
day   interest. 

The  book  is  supplied  with  notes  and  a. 
most  copious  vocabulary.  The  latter,  we 
are  inclined  to  think,  is  rather  full.  A  book 
of  the  grade  to  which  this  belongs  should 
hardly  have  it  necessary  to  list  in  its  vocab- 
ulary words  like  "drei",  "dreizig",  "wahr", 
etc.  Anyone  able  to  read  these  stories 
should  know  such  words  before  this  time. 
We  believe  sometimes  that  the  pupils'  helps 
in  some  of  these  annotated  texts  help  pupils 
into  helplessness,  and  not  to  strength  of 
mind  and  command  of  words.  There  is  toO' 
much  of  a  listless,  thoughtless,  mechanical 
thumping  of  the   vocabulary. 

The  notes  are  helpful  and  suggestive.  The- 
stories  are  well  chosen  and  should  have  a 
great  deal  of  interest  for  the  reader. 

MIT   RANZEL   IND    WANDERSTAB— Vom 

Emil  Frommel;  edited  by  Dr.  Wilhelm 
Bernhardt.  Heath's  Modern  Language- 
series.  Cloth;  Illustrated;  144  pp.  D. 
C.  Heath  &  Comimny,  Boston,  1909. 

TILL       EILENSPIEGEL  —  LUSTIGE 

STREICHE— Edited  by  Frederick  Betz, 
A.  M.,  East  High  School,  Rochester,  N. 
Y.  Heath's  Modern  Language  Series. 
Cloth;  illustrated;  92pp.  D.  C.  Heatb 
&  Company,  Boston,  1909. 


REVIEWS  AND  NOTES 


297 


"  Mit  Ranzel  und  Wunderstab  "  (With 
Knapsack  and  Thornstick)  is  an  interesting 
autobiographical  account  of  the  author's 
schoolday  rambles  through  the  Black  For- 
est. This  forest,  the  most  historical,  and 
probably  the  most  romantic  in  the  world, 
here  forms  the  background  of  an  interesting 
narrative. 

This  is  a  well  edited  text;  it  is  well 
supplied  with  exercises  for  composition 
work  in  German.  It  suffers,  we  think, 
from  a  too  copious  vocabulary,  an  error 
common  to  many  advanced  texts.  The  notes 
are  helpful  and  suggestive. 

This  we  believe,  is  the  first  time  that  the 
tricks  and  pranks  of  Eulenspiegel  have 
been  dressed  up  for  school  use.  Eulen- 
spiegel as  a  character  is  more  or  less  pop- 
ular among  the  German  folk,  who  hand  his 
roguish  tricks  down  from  one  generation  to 
another  by  word  of  mouth.  Eulenspiegel  is 
said  to  have  been  buried  at  Molen  about 
1350.  There  was  probably  such  a  man,  but 
what  connection  he  really  had  with  the  col- 
lection of  stories  by  that  name  is  hard  to 
find  out;  for  some  would  claim  that  the 
name  simply  stands  for  a  series  of  roguish 
tricks  around  which  many  chapman  stories 
have  clustered. 

The  books  is  easy  reading  and  is  suited 
for  first  year  work;  everything  offensive — 
and  there  is  much  of  it  in  Eulenspiegel — 
has  been  eliminated.  It  is  supplied  with 
notes,  conversational  exercises  and  a  vocab- 
ulary. 

ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     FOR     BOYS     AND 
GIRLS— By  Charles    W.  Moores,    Presi- 
dent  of   the    Board    of    School    Commis- 
sioners,     Indianapolis.      The     Riverside 
Literature     Series.      Cloth;      illustrated 
half     tone;     132     pp.      Price    25    cents, 
Houghton      Mifflin      Company,     Boston, 
1909. 
This   is   one   of   the   numerous   books   and 
publications  which    the    Lincoln    centenary 
brought  forth;    and  seemingly  it  is  the  one 
book  that  will  do  the  most  to  foster  in  the 
minds   of  the   young   people   a   love   for   the 
simple,    truthful,    heroic    life   of   one    of    the 
world's    greatest    men    and    America's    most 
patriotic  and  beloved  character. 

Of  the  great  flood  of  Lincoln  literature 
this  is  the  chief  book  that  has  not  forgotten 
the  young  reader.  The  writer  has  given 
the  young  reader  the  picturesque  and  sym- 
pathetic as  well  as  the  pathetic  and  human 
side  of  the  man  who  one-hundred  years  af- 
ter his  birth  is    the    most    universally    es- 


teemed and  beloved  character  in  history. 

The  author  had  the  happy  faculty  of 
selecting  the  chief  events  in  Lincoln's  life 
and  of  giving  them  in  a  way  to  reveal  his 
forceful  character.  The  book  is  written  in 
a  simple,  interesting  style,  and  can  and  will 
be  read  by  all  grades  of  readers.  It  is  well 
adapted  for  supplementary  reading  in  the 
sixth  and  seventh  grades  doing  work  in 
reading  or  in  history.  It  is  a  valuable  ad- 
dition to  the  extensive  Lincoln  literature 
and  to  the  publishers'  noted  Riverside 
Literature  Series. 

THE  WONDERFUL  STORY  OF  LIFE  AND 
DEATH— By  Rev.  Matthew  C.  Boyer, 
D.D.  Cloth;  390  pp.  Price  $1.50. 
Printed  for  the  author  by  The  Lutheran 
Publication    Society,    Philadelphia.  1909. 

This  book  is  not  philosophical  but  doc- 
trinal. It  deals  with  the  cardinal  doc- 
trines of  Christianity,  such  as  the  doctrine 
of  regeneration,  of  the  resurrection,  and  of 
the  future  life,  etc.  The  author  covers  a 
wide  range  of  theological  discussion.  Fol- 
lowing the  method  of  Dr.  Drummond  in  his 
epoch-making  book,  "The  Natural  Law  in 
the  Spiritual  World,"  he  brings  out  com- 
parisons between  the  spiritual  and  the 
natural. 

Seemingly  the  most  vulnerable  part  of 
the  book  is  the  second  chapter.  The  author 
holds  to  the  old  and  theological  view  that 
the  six  days  of  creation  were  natural  days. 
He  believes  also  that  the  time  designated  by 
these  six  days  begins  with  the  second  verse 
of  Genesis;  and  that  the  grand  periods  of 
time  took  place  during  the  aeons  of  ages 
designated  by  the  first  verse  of  Holy  Writ. 

A  discussion  of  these  general  topics  would 
lead  us  beyond  all  bounds.  We  should  be 
pleased  to  refer  to  Dr.  Guyot's  "Creation", 
a  book  which,  in  the  writer's  mind,  gives 
the  sanest  and  simplest  explanation  of  the 
Biblical  narrative  of  the  Creation.  It  is 
scientific  without  losing  sight  of  God's  guid- 
ing hand. 

The  book  is  not  the  least  philosophical 
nor  technical.  Neither  does  the  author  seem 
to  have  been  influenced  by  the  so-called 
higher  criticism,  nor  by  modern  views.  One 
might  be  anxious  to  know  what  is  meant  by 
"Human  Life  after  the  Resurrection."  We 
do  not  believe  that  this  statement  was  hap- 
pily chosen  or  made.  It  is  written  in  a  de- 
votional and  didactic  spirit.  Some'  parts  of 
it  are  inspired  and  interesting;  other  parts 
may  not  be  so. 


298 


EDITORIAL  DEPARTMENT 


The  Pennsylvania-German 

An  illustrated  monthly  magazine  devoted  to 
the  Biography,  History,  Genealogy,  Folklore, 
Literature  and  General  Interests  of  German 
and  Swiss  settlers  in  Pennsylvania  and  other 
States  and  of  their  descendants. 

Editorial  Staff 
H.  W.  Kriebel,  Editor,  Lititz,  Pa. 
Prof.  E.  S.  Gerhard,  Editor  of  "Reviews 
and  Notes,"  Trenton,  N.  J. 

Publishers 
THE  EXPRESS  PRINTING  CO. 
H.  R.  GiBBEL,  President ;  E.  E.  Habeck- 
ER,  Vice  President ;  J.  H.  ZooK,  Secretary ; 
Dr.  J.  L.  Hertz,  Treasurer. 


Address  all  communications.    The  Pennsyl- 
vania-German, Lititz,  Pa. 

Price,   $1.50  a  year,  in  advance;  15  cents 
per  single  copy. 

Additional   particulars    are    found    on 
page  2  of  the  cover. 


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One  Inch,  one  year 4  00 

One  Inch,  one  month 40 

Reading  notices,  1  cent  a  word,  each  issue. 

Address,  THE  EXPRESS  PRINTING  CO.,  LITITZ,  PA 


Clippings 


— In  my  Annals  of  Phoenixville,  pub- 
lished in  1872,  there  is  given  a  brief  ac- 
count of  the  Charlestown  Library  Company, 
organized  about  the  year  1812,  which  was 
then  believed  to  have  been  the  earliest  es- 
tablished in  the  region  where  has  since 
arisen  the  borough  of  Phoenixville  .There 
has  recently  been  discovered,  however,  a 
manuscript  volume  containing  some  of  the 
records  of  a  circulating  library  which  ex- 
isted at  the  Corner  Stores  from  1798  to 
1802,  and  the  fact  is  of  sufficient  local  im- 
portance to  justify  its  being  made  more 
generally  known.  That  such  attention  was 
given  to  literature  in  this  neighborhood  at 
that  early  date  is  an  interesting  fact  in 
the  literary  history  of  the  Commonwealth. 
In  this  library  there  were  at  least  seventy- 
six  books  upon  various  subjects.  Unfor- 
tunately, the  record  does  not  enable  us  to 
give  their  titles,  but  among  them  were  the 
Spectator,  the  Poems  of  Milton,  and  the 
History  of  Josephus.  Two  books  were  per- 
mitted to  be  taken  out  a  a  time,  and  appar- 
ently the  period  fixed  within  which  they 
must  be  returned,  was  one  month. 

— Hon.  S.  W.  Pennypacker  in  the  Phoenix- 
ville Messenger. 

— There  seems  to  be  no  limit  to  the  inge- 
nuity of  the  Germans.  Not  content  with 
making  butter  and  cheese  out  of  milk,  they 
have  devised  a  method  whereby  not  only 
collar  buttons  can  be  made  from  skim  milk, 
but  piano  keys,  dominoes,  dice  and  chess 
figures  also.  Galalith  is  the  magical  sub- 
stance. It  is  derived  from  the  casein  of 
milk.     Casein  is  also  used  in  making  paper, 


glue  and  color.  The  best  comes  from 
France.  The  headquarters  for  the  galalith 
industry  is  Hamburg,  where  it  has  flour- 
ished since  1902. 

The  Hamburg  galalith  makers  contract 
with  French  butter  makers  for  skim  milk 
at  the  rate  of  thirty  cents  for  220  pounds 
they  stipulating  to  return  the  whey  to  the 
butter  makers.  The  skim  milk  is  coagu- 
lated with  rennet  by  the  dairymen.  When 
the  curds  have  been  pressed  until  they  con- 
tain about  50  per  cent,  of  water,  they  are 
shipped  to  Germany  for  the  finishing  proc- 
ess, by  which  they  are  fashioned  into  blocks 
and  tubes.  It  takes  more  than  3,000  quarts 
of  skim  milk  to  make  220  pounds  of  dry 
casein.     That  quantity  is  worth  $15.50. 

Our  Counsul  at  Hamburg,  Mr.  Robert  R. 
Skinner,  says  that  to  set  up  a  plant  large 
enough  to  make  one  ton  of  galalith  a  day 
(exclusive  of  the  cost  of  land,  buildings 
and  boilers,  but  including  a  sufficient  work- 
ing capital,  stock  and  special  machinery), 
would  require  about  $300,000.  The  Ham- 
burg factory  employs  200  operatives  and 
produces  about  800  tons  of  galalith  a  year. 

— The  writer  can  remember  the  time  when 
in  these  counties,  Lehigh,  Berks  and  Lan- 
caster, this  day  was  always  marked  by  a 
firemen's  parade.  Recently  our  Lancaster 
musicians  revived  the  celebration  in  a  novel 
form,  that  of  Gilmore  Day  and  the  massing 
of  the  bands  from  far  and  wide  upon  our 
streets.  But  years  ago  it  was  "Battalion 
Day,"  and  only  our  octogenarians  can 
faintly  recall  its  unparalleled  glories.  The 
annual  militia  drill   ceased  at  last  because 


CLIPPINGS   FROM  CURRENT  NEWS 


299 


it  meant  nothing.  Not  one  officer  in  a  regi- 
ment was  able  to  go  through  it  properly. 
It  became  more  and  more  a  day  of  noise, 
drunkenness  and  the  settling  of  old  feuds. 
Only  at  Lenhartsville  and  Shartlesville,  at 
the  foot  of  the  Blue  Mountains,  may  the 
relics  be  found  in  a  modified  form.  All  places 
of  business  are  closed  ad  the  community 
unites  in  having  a  good  time.  Teams  roll 
in  from  the  country-side  early,  and  the 
day  is  given  to  mirth  and  jollity,  amid  pa- 
rades, bands,  singing  clubs.  There  are 
rough  riders,  clowns,  masked  men  and 
women,  and  great  quantities  of  enthusiasm. 
Old  residents  come  long  distances  to  par- 
ticipate, and  the  spirit  of  "Auld  Lang 
Syne"  is  in  the  air.  But  these  modern 
survivals  are  but  a  poor  relic  compared 
with  the  time  when  all  Lancaster  county 
turned  toward  the  shire-town,  and  the  side- 
walks were  impassable,  while  the  curbs 
were  lined  with  teams.  The  country  lads 
and  lasses  walked  hand  in  hand,  and  the 
equivalent  of  our  modern  engagement  was 
to  give  your  sweetheart  a  "fairing"  and 
buy  her  ginger  cakes  and  meade,  peanuts 
and  pretzels,  until  heart  and  stomach  were 
full.  Not  even  Barnum  and  his  big  show 
could  so  crowd  our  streets  and  collect  as 
many  side  shows  and  refreshment  stands 
as  the  ever-memorable  Whitmondays  of 
the  first  half  of  the  eighteen  hundreds. 
Now  we  have  our  commencement.  Orphans' 
Home  Days,  etc.,  but  would  that  these  bet- 
ter causes  might  call  forth  always  the 
same  enthusiasm  and  crowds  as  those 
more  worldly  affairs  that  desecrated  the 
Church's  highday.  Here  the  reunions  and 
love  of  an  outing  may  be  sanctified  to 
nobler  ends.  — The  Lutheran. 

— The  monument  erected  by  the  Georgia 
division,  United  Daughters  of  the  Confed- 
eracy, to  the  memory  of  Captain  Henry 
Wirz,  in  charge  of  the  federal  prisoners 
confined  in  Andersonville  in  1864-65,  was 
unveiled  with  appropriate  exercises,  at 
Andersonville   May   12. 

The  town  was  thronged  with  visitors. 
Scattered  among  the  3000  or  more  south- 
erners was  a  sprinkling  of  men  and 
women  of  the  North,  some  of  whom  have 
relatives  at  rest  in  the  National  Cemetery 
nearby,  numbered  among  the  13,000  war- 
riors of  the  Blue,  who  died  in  the  Ander- 
sonville prison  because,  it  was  charged  of 
Captain  Wirz's  awful  brutality  and  neglect. 

Thos  from  beyond  the  Mason  and  Dixon 
line  looked  on  in  silence  while  tribute  was 
paid  to  the  memory  of  the  prison  com- 
mander. 

.As  the  silken  cord  was  drawn  by  Mrs. 
Perin,  of  Natchez,  only  living  daughter  of 
Captain  Wirz^  2000  voifces,  led  by  a  chorus 
of  the  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy, 
joined   in   singing  "Dixie,"  following  which 


myriads  of  floral  wreaths  were  piled  high 
above  the  monument,  adding  to  its  massive 
a])pearance. 

The  inscription  first  chosen  bore  the 
statement  that  Captain  Wirz  had  been 
murdered  by  the  United  States  govern- 
ment. Owing  to  objections,  it  was  decided 
to  change  the  inscription.  The  inscription 
on  the  face  of  the  monument  as  it  now 
stands   is  as  follows: 

"In  memory  of  Captain  Wirz,  C.  S.  A.; 
born  Zurich,  Switzerland,  1822.  Sentenced 
to  death  and  executed  at  Washington,  D. 
C,  November  15,  1865.  To  rescue  his 
name  from  the  stigma  attached  to  it  by 
embittered  i)rejudice  this  shaft  is  erected 
by  the  Georgia  Division,  United  Daughters 
of  the  Confederacy." 

— To  the  question:  "who  are  the  Penn- 
sylvania Dutch  and  when  did  they  come 
to  America,"  the  following  reply  was  rec- 
ently  given   by   the   Philadelphia   Ptess, 

Germans  emigrated  to  Pennsylvania  be- 
tween 1683  and  the  middle  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century  and  settled  principally  in 
the  southeastern  counties  of  the  State, 
such  as  Lancaster,  York  and  Berks.  These 
people  are  now  known  as  Pennsylvania 
Germans  or  "  Pennsylvania  Dutch."  The 
settlers  came  pricipally  from  the  Rhenish 
palatinate.  Wurtenburg  and  Switzerland, 
with  a  sprinkling  from  the  lower  Rhine, 
Bavaria,  Alsace  and  Saxony.  The  settlers 
spoke  a  variety  of  dialects  and  owing  to 
their  segregation  in  religious  communities 
they  clung  tenaciously  to  their  mother 
tongue,  but  were  gradually  compelled  by 
force  of  circumstances  to  accept  many 
English  words.  Now  their  language  can 
best  be  described  as  a  fusion  of  such  dia- 
lects as  were  originally  spoken  by  this 
people  with  an  admixture  of  idiomatic 
English.  It  is  with  some  difl[iculty  that  a 
German  can  understand  or  make  himself 
understood  to  one  who  has  not  further  ex- 
perience with  the  German  language  than 
that  emboidied  in  the  "  Pennsylvania 
Dutch,"  — Phila.    Press. 

John  W.  Mentzer,  the  oldest  school 
teacher  in  Lancaster  county,  died  May  5, 
at  his  home  in  Terre  Hill.  He  had  been 
teaching  for  more  than  fifty  years  and  re- 
signed only  when  stricken  with  his  last 
illness. 

— Heinrich  Conried,  the  famous  opera 
impresario,  who  died  in  the  Austrian  Tyrol 
was  born  in  Silesia  in  1855  and  was  ap- 
prenticed to  a  weaver  when  he  was  a  small 
boy.  He  was  ambitious  to  become  an  actor 
and  at  the  age  of  eighteen  entered  upon 
his  theatrical  career  in  Vienna.  He  al- 
read.v  had  gained  considerable  fame  as  a 
stage  manager  when  he  came  to  America 
in   1878.     His   first  notable   work  thereafter 


300 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


was  in  staging  operettas  and  musical  plays 
at  the  Casino  in  New  York.  Then  he 
went  to  what  afterward  became  the  Irving 
Place  theater,  which  he  managed  with  de- 
cided success  for  fifteen  years.  He  took 
the  reins  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera  upon 
the  death  of  Maurice  Grau  and  held  the 
post  until  last  year,  when  he  retired  on  ac- 
count of  failing  health. 

— Rev.  Thomas  Calvin  Leinbach,  one  of 
best  known  clergj-men  in  the  Reformed 
minstry,  died  at  his  home  at  Womelsdorf, 
Berks  county.  He  served  but  one  charge, 
consisting  of  seven  country  congregations, 
and  he  was  their  pastor  nearly  fifty  years. 
He  preached  nearly  ten  thousand  sermons 
and  officiated  at  350  funerals.  His  father, 
two  brothers  and  many  nephews  were  min- 
isters. 

— Rev.  Charles  Washington  Heiser,  D.D., 
pastor  of  the  First  Lutheran  church  of  Al- 
bany, N.  Y.,  died  suddenly  of  heart  trouble 
en  Sunday,  May  16th.  1909,  on  the  52d  an- 
niversary day  of  his  birth.  Dr.  Heiser  was 
born  in  Minersville,  Pa.,  May  16th,  1857, 
the  son  of  the  late  Rev.  Wm.  L.  Heiser. 
He  graduated  from  Pennsylvania  College, 
Gettysburg,  Pa.,  with  first  honor  in  the 
class  of  1880,  and  from  the  Theological 
Seminary  three  years  later.  Dr.  Heiser 
has  served  his  pastorates  with  signal  suc- 
cess. He  was  at  one  time  president  of  Sus- 
quehanna University.  He  was  much  in 
demand  as  a  speaker  on  public  occasions, 
and  as  a  lecturer  at  summer  schools  and 
educational    institutions.  — Lutheran. 

4*     4>     '^ 

FOR  THE  JOKE  BOOK 

— At  one  time  the  stainted  Father  Schantz 
of  Myerstown,  ap])eared  in  court  in  Lan- 
caster, Pa.,  as  a  witness.  A  lawyer  accosted 
him  with  the  question:  "Is  des  now  der 
Pfaree  Schantz  von  der  Lecha?"  He  re- 
plied: *'Ya,  Is  des  now  der  stink  Kas  Law- 
yer Steinmetz  von  der  Schnitzkrick?"  The 
hearty  laugh  that  spread  over  the  court 
room  taught  the  lawyer  to  treat  the  minis- 
ter with  respect. 


—  A.n  official  of  the  Superior  Court  of 
Cook  County,  Illinois,  which  has  jurisdic- 
tion in  the  matter  of  naturalization  of  for- 
eigners,  tells  the   following: 

'•In  October  last  a  man  named  August 
Hulzbei-ger  took  out  his  first  papers.  As 
he  was  about  to  leave  the  Court  room  he 
was  observed  to  scan  very  closely  the  of- 
ficial envelope  in  which  had  been  inclosed 
the  document  that  was  to  assist  in  his  nat- 
uralization. 

"In  a  few  days  August  again  turned  up. 
Presenting  himself  to  the  Clerk  of  the 
court,  he  bestowed  upon  the  dignity  a 
broad  Teutonic  smile,  saying: 

"  "Veil,  here  I  vos!  ' 

"  'Pleased  to  see  you,  I'm  sure,'  said  the 
clerk,  with  polite  sarcasm.  'Would  you 
mind  adding  who  you  are  and  why  you  are 
here?" 

'August  seemed  surprised.  He  exhibited 
his  official  envelope.  'It  says,  "Return  in 
five  days,"  he  explained,  'und  here  I  vos!'" 

— An  East  Side  druggist  is  preparing  a 
unique  scrapbook.  It  contains  the  written 
orders  of  some  customers  of  foreigxi  birth, 
and  these  orders  are  both  curious  and 
amusing.  Here  are  some  that  are  copied 
from  the  originals: 

"I  have  a  cute  pain  in  my  child's  dia- 
gram. Please  give  my  son  something  to 
release  it." 

"Dear  Dochter,  pies  gif  bearer  five  sense 
worse  of  Auntie  Toxyn  for  garle  baby's 
throat  and   obleage." 

"This  little  baby  has  eat  up  its  father's 
parish  piaster.  Send  an  ancedote  quick  as 
possible  by  the  enclosed   girl." 

"This  child  is  my  little  girl.  I  send  you 
five  cents  to  buy  two  sitless  powders  for  a. 
gronn  up  adult  who  is  sike." 

"You  will  please  give  the  leetle  boy  five 
cents  worth  of  epecac  for  to  throw  up  in  a 
five  months  old  babe.  N.  B.  The  babe  has 
a    sore    stummick." 

"I  had  a  hot  time  in  my  insides  and  wich 
I  wood  like  it  to  be  extinguished.  What  is 
good  for  to  extinguish  it?  The  enclosed 
money  is  the  price  of  the  extinguisher. 
Hnrry   pleas." — New   York   Press. 


The  Forum 


MEAM>'G  OF  NAMES 


By  Leonhard  Felbc  Fuld,  M.A.,  LL.M. 

[EDITORIAL  NOTE.]  Mr.  Fuld  has 
kindly  consented  to  give  a  brief  account  of 
the  history  and  meaning  of  the  surname  of 
any  subscriber  sending  twenty-five  cents  to 
the  editor  for  that  purpose. 


6.    BOHN 

There  are  three  possible  derivations  of 
the  family  name  BOHN.  The  most  com- 
mon and  likely  is  that  of  farmer  or  culti- 
vator of  beans  [BOHNEN],  the  fruit  of  var- 
ious legumes  known  to  botanists  as  PHAS- 
EOLUS,  FABA,  DOLICHOS,  and  NELUM- 
BIUM.       Faba    gives     us     the    Latin    name 


THE   FORUM 


501 


FABIUS  which  is  the  Latin  equivalent 
BOHN,  both  meaning  a  farmer  or  cultiva- 
tor of  beans.  In  some  cases  the  German 
name  BOHN  is  an  abbreviation  of  BOHN- 
ESTANGE  which  literally  means  a  bean 
pole  and  was  a  nickname  given  to  a  tall 
person  somewhat  similar  to  our  English 
expression,  "tall  as  a  lamp  post."  The  fact 
that  BOHNEN  is  also  a  verb  meaning  to 
rub  or  polish  gives  us  the  third  derivation 
of  this  name — a  floor  polisher,  scrubber  or 
scrubbing- woman. 

7.  GERHARDT 

Gerhardt  is  a  compound  of  two  old  Ger- 
man words  GER  and  HARDT.  HARDT 
means  brave  or  brave  man  ;  it  occurs  in 
the  names  BERNHARD,  LEONHARD  and 
EBERHARD.  Ger  was  the  name  given  to 
a  spear  used  by  the  old  Germans.  It  oc- 
curs in  GERMAN  meaning  a  spearman. 
Badger  a  strong  spear,  Vinegar  from  Wine- 
gar  a  friendly  spear  (Win  meaning  love) 
and  GARLIC,  good  at  spear  practice.  The 
name  GERHARDT  accordingly  means  a 
"brave  spearman  and  was  applied  to  an  es- 
pecially brave  warrior.  The  word  GER  is 
an  old  High  German  word  derived  from 
the  Latin  GAESUM  ;  in  modern  times  it  is 
applied  only  to  a  wooden  spear  used  for 
throwing  and  as  a  leaping  pole  in  gym- 
nastic practice. 

LEONARD    FELIX    FULD. 

V        V        T* 

INFORMATION  WANTED 


of     David  and  Mary  Musser,  Nesbit  had  chil- 
dren: 

Margaret  Nesbit,  1st  child,  now  SO  years 
old. 

Jennie   Nesbit. 

Mary    Matilda   Nesbit. 

Emma  Nesbit. 

Elizabeth    Nesbit. 

.Jonathan    Nisbit. 

Alexander    Nesbit. 

It  is  desired  to  find  relationship  if  any 
exists,  to  a  Nisbet  family  who  were  pio- 
neers in  Dodge  Co.,  Wisconsin.  There 
were  three  brothers,  all  bachelors,  and 
tv.o  sisters  who  never  married  They 
were  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robert  Nis- 
bet who  were  parents  of  eight  sons  and 
daughters.  Their  oldest  son,  Alexander 
came  from  Ayershire,  Scotland,  to  America 
in  1841  settling  in  Wisconsin.  Names  of 
other  children  of  Robert  were:  John,  1828, 
Robert.  Jr.,  Elizabeth  and  Janet,  1S28. 
Jr.,  Elizabeth  and  Janet, 

Seven  years  after  Alexander  came  his 
parents  and  the  other  children  arrived, 
making  their  permanent  home  in  the  state 
of  Wisconsin. 


A  Nesljit  Problem 


Mrs.  M.  E.  Burrell,  of  Freeport,  111.,  has 
a  problem  on  hand  which  she  states  in  the 
following  lines.  Any  information  furnished 
"by  our  readers  will  be  appreciated  by  her. 

I    have    a    Nesbit    problem    which    I    am 

sending   to   Miss   ,    and    will     also 

state  it  to  you  as  you  were  so  kind  in  mak- 
ing helpful   suggestions. 

A  certain  Alexander  Nesbit  came  from 
"Scotland   and   settled   near   Harrisburg,   Pa. 

While  as  yet  he  is  not  known  to  be  re- 
lated by  blood  to  another  Alexander  Nis- 
l)et,  who  in  1841  came  from  Scotland  and 
settled  in  Wisconsin,  it  is  hoped  that  they 
■were  kinsmen. 

The  Alexander  in  Pennsylvania  had  sons: 
David,  Alexander,  John,  James,  William, 
Jonathan,  Thomas  and  another,  (name  un- 
known) and  daughters:  Mary,  who  married 
— DeShay,  and  Sarah,  who  married — Ran- 
dolph. 

David  Nesbit,  (son  of  Alexander)  of 
"Scotland  and  Penn.,  born  near  Harrisburg, 
married  Mary  Musser,  and  in  1849  they 
moved  to  Illinois  where  they  died. 


— A  Berks  County  subscriber  sends  us 
the  following  and  would  like  to  know 
whether  it  is  prevalent  in  other  counties. 
Reader,  did  you  ever  hear  it?  If  so  let  us 
hear  from  you. 

Mei  Miller  Mike  Mogel 

Macht  mer  mei  mush 

Mehl,   mei   Mammy 

Macht  mer  mei  mush 

Mits  Mahlon   Moyer's 

Milich. 


NEIFERT   FAMILY 

John  Neifert,  son  of  John  Jacob  Neifert, 
(immigrant  1752),  and  wife  Elizabeth,  mar- 
ried Mary  Magdalena  Patery  (?)  probably 
Albany  Township,  Berks  Co,  he  died  of 
cholera,  buried  Jerusalem  Cemetery  near 
Wesnersville,  Widow  married  (2)  John 
Wageman  about  ten  years  later,  and  died 
May  24,  1859;  buried  at  Jerusalem  Ceme- 
tery. 

Wanted,  maiden  name  of  Elizabeth  who 
married  the  immigrant,  with  dates.  Dates 
of  birth  and  death  of  John  2,  also  correct 
name  and  date  of  birth  of  his  wife.  They 
had  issue:  Reuben,  3,  George,  Jacob,  3, 
Isaac,  3,  and  Magdalena,  3,  the  last  died 
young,  wanted  dates. 

Jacob  3,  and  Isaac  3,  removed  to  Iowa 
where  they  died,  leaving  many  descend- 
ants. George  married  Salome  Greenawald, 
(date  ?)  dau.  of  John  and  Maria  Greena- 
wald, b.  Sept.  21,  1801,  d.  July  20,  1825,  had 
dau.  Lydia,   4.     He    then    had    removed    to 


302 


THE  PENNSYLVANNA-GERIHAN 


Van  Wert  County,  Ohio,  or  Indianapolis, 
Ind.,  where  he  again  married  and  had  a 
large  family.  Would  like  to  correspond 
with  a  descendant  for  the  purpose  of  ob- 
taining statistics  of  this  second  marriage, 
etc. 

FAUST  FAMILY 

Peter  Faust,  born  in  Germany  April  24, 
1725.  came  to  America  in  1750,  settled  in 
Frederick  Township,  Montgomery  County, 
where  he  died  Jan.  1,  1793.  His  son  John 
Nicholas  Faust,  b.  1767,  married  Elizabeth 
Walwert,  and  remained  on  his  father's 
homestead,  where  he  died  in  1837.  Did 
Peter  Faust  have  any  other  children,  if  so 
what  were  the  names  and  date  of  birth? 
W.  W.  NEIFERT, 
Hartford,  Conn. 

THE  WEIDMAX   FAMILY 

One  of  our  esteemed  subscribers  John  L. 
Weidman,  St.  Jacobs,  Ontario,  Canada,  of 
Lancaster  County  ancestry  has  spent  con- 
siderable time  and  money  in  tracing  up  the 
Weidman  family.  He  invites  correspond- 
.  ence  from  any  who  can  give  information 
about  the  father  and  descendants  or  family 
of  Sebastian  Weidman  of  Lancaster  County 
who  made  a  will  January  5,  1789,  contain- 
ing among  others  the  following  words: 

"I  bequeath  to  my  eldest  son  Henry 
Weidman,  5  shillings  for  his  part,  then 
shall  he,  &c 

"Further,  shall  my  second  son  Jacob 
Weidman   have  the   place,   that  is   my  will, 

for  350,  if  he  will  take  it,  &c ;   if 

he  will  not  have  it,  then  it  shall  be  sold 
and  shall  keep  10  acres  for  the  widow 
Elizabeth  Weidman,  on  the  spring  at  the 
run. 

"The   children   shall    have    equal    shares, 

&c ;     John    Weidman     shall   have    a 

spinning  wheel,  loom  and  reel,  and  the 
tools,  &c 

"Further,  I  nominate  for  executors, 
Frederick    Mumma    and     Deiter     Brubaker, 

&c " 

SEBASTIAN   WEIDMAN. 
Witnesses 

Frederick  Pfleiger, 
Bernard  Bob. 

4.     4.     4. 

A  War  Song 

In  our  May  number  we  published  a  war 
song  which  called  forth  the  following  lines 
trom   Dr.   G.   of  Mt.   Zion,   Pa. 

•Dear  Sir,  I  was  glad  to  see  the  old  Ger- 
man war  song  in  the  May  number  of  THE 
PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN,  but  sorry  that 
you  failed  to  produce  the  whole  of  it. 

I  inclose  another  verse  or  stanza  which 
presumably  ends  it.  I  also  inclose  part  of 
a  paper  published  in  Lebanon,  Pa.,  in  1852 


in  which  the  entire  song  is  printed.  It 
is  in  a  bad  condition  as  to  wear.  I  found 
it  in  the  house  of  an  old  patient,  who 
parted  with  it  willingly." 

In  the  paper  forwarded  your  correspond- 
ent is  a  broadside  9  by  10  inches  pasted  on 
a  newspaper  of  1852  the  song  "Feldzug 
nach  Ruszland"  has  six  stanzas  the  last 
subjoined  herewith.  There  are  but  few 
minor  variations  between  this  and  the  one 
we  printed,  one  of  the  more  important 
being  the  word  Stellte  for  Stellen  in  the 
fifth  stanza.  We  thank  the  doctor  for  the 
favor. 

Wie  So  mancher  treuer  Voter 
Hat  sein'  lieben  Sohn  im  Feld, 

Allzeit  thut  er  ihn  erwarten, 
1st  er  nicht  mehr  auf  der  Welt. 

Dieses   thut  ihm   weh  im   Herze 

Bringt  ihm   viele   grosse   Schmerze* 
Dass  ja  sein  geliebter  Sohn 

In  dem  Russland  ist  verlor'n. 

*     *     •!• 

The  Oldest  Lutherau  Cliureli 

Mr.   Editor: 

In  THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN  for 
May  I  find  a  statement  concerning  the 
Salzburger  church  at  Ebenezer,  Ga.,  as 
being  the  second  oldest  Lutheran  church 
in  the  U.  S.  The  date  given  is  1769.  The 
date  given  however,  is  not  correct.  It  is 
not  even  true  that  the  Trappe  church  is 
the  oldest.  Near  the  village  of  Madison, 
the  county  seat  of  Madison  County,  Va.,  is  a 
Lutheran  church  that  antedates  the  Trappe 
church  by  three  years.  This  church  was 
built  in  1740  and  is  in  an  excellent  state  of 
preservation  and  is  used  every  Sunday  by 
a  congregation  of  devout  Lutherans  num- 
bering almost  three  hundred.  I  have  had 
the  privilege  of  attending  services  in  this 
venerable  church  upon  several  occasions. 
There  can  be  no  mistake  in  regard  to  the 
date  as  it  is  plainly  given  on  the  great 
girder  which  is  still,  apparently,  in  as 
good   condition  as   ever. 

Speaking  of  this  old  church  reminds  me 
that  the  present  pastor  of  the  church  Rev. 
W.  P.  Huddle  has  written  an  excellent  his- 
tory of  the  church.  This  is  a  small  volume 
of  115  octavo  pages  and  is  full  of  interest- 
ing historical  matter  concerning  this  old 
church.  The  organization  of  the  congrega- 
tion dates  back  to  1717.  There  was  a  log 
church  built  that  was  used  until  the  pres- 
ent edifice  was  erected. 

Money  was  collected  in  Germany  and 
England  and  a  large  tract  of  land  was 
bought.  It  seems  strange  to  read  that  the 
congregation  not  only  bought  the  land  but 
also  a  number  of  slaves.  The  idea  being 
that  the  slaves  would  be  used  to  clear  and 
cultivate  the  land  and  in  this  way  the  pas- 
tor's salary  could  be  secured. 


THE    FORUM 


303 


There  is  i  n  the  church  an  old  organ 
which  was  built  in  Lititz,  Penna.  and 
transported  by  oxen  to  the  church.  It  is 
still  in  use  and  is  doubtless  one  of  the  best 
preserved   old   time   organs   in   the   country. 

Taken  all  in  all  I  think  there  are  few 
churches  in  the  country  with  a  more  inter- 
esting history  than  that  of  old  Hebron 
church.  Any  one  desiring  to  read  a  fasci- 
nating story  of  pioneer  life  and  struggles 
would  do  well  to  procure  a  copy  of  Rev. 
Huddle's  History  of  Hebron  church.  His 
address  is  Madison,  Virginia. 

L.   H.   GEHMAN. 
Locust  Dale  Academy, 

May  25,  1909. 

4"     *     * 

Germau-Americaii  Failure 

Editor  of  THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN, 
Dear  Sir:  The  amazement  with  which  I 
read  the  letter  of  Mr.  Schultz  in  Dec,  was 
great,  my  indignation  greater.  In  prepar- 
ing a  pamphlet  against  the  theory  ex- 
expressed  in  "Race  or  Mongrel,"  in  looking 
up  the  matter.  I  found  to  my  consterna- 
tion that  most  of  Dr.  Schultz's  assertions 
are  true,  Mr.  Gruber's  statement  to  the 
contrary  notwithstanding.  We  German- 
.Americans  have  not  done  as  well  as  we 
should  have  done,  and  not  as  well  as  the 
country  had  a  right  to  expect  and  demand. 
The  German-American  has  failed  com- 
pletely to  reach  the  prominence  of  the  race 
of  his  forbears.  In  every  field  of  high  en- 
deavor he  lags  behind..  German-Americans 
are  not  among  our  statesmen,  artists, 
scientists,  military  leaders.  They  are  noth- 
ing in  American  literature,  nothing  in 
music,  nothing  in  philosophy.  This  is  the 
fact.  Prof.  Lamprecht,  Prof  Knortz,  Prof. 
Goebel,  Dr.  Schultz  are  not  exaggerated. 
Mr.  Gruber  says  that  if  no  stars  of  the 
first   magnitude    are    among    German-Ameri- 


cans, there  are  among  them  stars  of  the 
second  magnitude  and  numerous  luminar- 
ies of  the  third  and  fourth  magnitude.  I 
failed  to  find  them;  by  star  of  the  second, 
third  and  fourth  order,  Mr.  Gruber  means 
stars  of  candlestick  magnitude.  Dr.  Hoel- 
per  writing  in  the  German  Pioneer  at- 
tempts to  disprove  Dr.  Schultz  by  nothing 
the  names  of  any  number  of  professors.  It 
is  of  course  not  a  disgrace  to  be  a  profes- 
sor. The  question,  however,  is  not  how 
many  men  have  been  professors,  but  what 
have  these  men  added  to  science.  Take  the 
text  book  of  any  of  the  sciences  and  strike 
out  every  thought  for  which  that  science  is 
indebted  to  German-Americans  and  you  are 
not  able  to  eliminate  one  essential  thought. 
What  is  the  cause  of  this  deterioration 
Dr.  Schultz  thinks  it  is  promiscuity? 
following  the  discarding  of  the  mother- 
tongue.  There  is  no  gainsaying  the  fact 
that  recent  investigations  support  him  to  a 
remarkable  extent.  If  the  influence  of 
heredity  is  as  great  as  biologists  claim,  I 
do  not  see  how  it  is  possible  for  so  impor- 
tant a  mental  and  physical  faculty  as  lan- 
guage not  to  leave  a  hereditary  effect  or 
taint  on  the  soul  and  brain.  W.  V.  Hum- 
bolt  was  of  this  opinion.  His  language  is 
as  strong  as  that  of  Dr.  Schultz,  though 
less  vitriolic.  Mr.  Gruber  seems  to  think 
that  he  disproved  the  theory  by  stating 
that  Kant's  grandfather  was  a  Scotchman. 
If  I  read  Mr.  Schultz's  book  correctly,  he 
holds  that  where  absorption  is  slow, 
gradual  and  limited  perfect  assimilation 
results.  Besides  that  the  Scotch  are  as  a 
race  of  related  descent.  May  I  ask  in  con- 
clusion, why  substitute  for  the  ancestral 
language  of  Luther  the  tongue  of  Shakes- 
peare? Why  not  love  and  cultivate  both. 
Very  truly  yours, 
DR.  FRIEDRICH  GROSSE 
1143  Lexington  Ave.,  New  York. 


Historical  Societies 


History   of   Susquehanna   County   Historical 

Society 

May  31st,  1890,  a  meeting  was  held  at  the 
Court  House  in  Montrose,  Penna.,  for  the 
purpose  of  organizing  a  Historical  Society, 
being  the  first  meeting  for  such  purpose 
as  their  names  will  indicate;  Prof.W,L. 
Thacher,  Azur  Lathrop,  H.C.Tyler,  Rev.  and 
Mrs.  Benton,  Miss.Eliza  Brewster,  Miss.E.C. 
Blackman.Prof.  B.  E.  .Tames,  Hon.  D.  W. 
Searle  and  others.  The  meeting  was  called 
to  order  by  W.  C.  Cruser.  Great  enthusiasm 
was  manifest  in  all  the  addresses  by  the 
various  members,  and  a  permanent  organ- 
ization  was   the    result.     A   Committee   was 


appointed  to  draft  a  constitution  and  by- 
laws and  be  ready  to  report  at  the  next 
meeting.  This  constituted  all  the  business 
done  at  the  first  meeting,  but  such  enthu- 
siasm prevailed  that  another  meeting  was 
arranged  for  to  be  called  by  the  President 
at  an  early  date,  that  the  Constitution  and 
By  laws  could  be  adopted. Such  meeting  was 
held  Sept. 13th  of  the  same  year,  less  than 
four  months  after  the  first  meeting  when 
the  By-laws  were  read,  amended  and  adopt- 
ed. This  meeting  also  proved  very  inter- 
esting and  various  topics  were  discussed 
by  the  large  audience  present,  many  for 
the  first  time. 


304 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


It  was  also  noted  as  being  the  start- 
ing of  the  Historical  collection,  and  we  find 
the  first  donor  to  this  to  be  Prof.  W.  L. 
Thacher,,  presenting  the  Society  with  two 
maps  of  the  County's  early  history,  which 
were  Very  interesting  and  of  great  historic 
value.  Arrangements    were    made    for 

the  incorporation  of  the  Society.  The  first 
annual  meeting  was  held  January  1891. 
At  this  meeting  officers  were  elected  for  the 
ensuing  year,  with  Prof.  B.  E.  James  as 
President. 

There  was  also  chosen  a  committee  of 
one  from  each  township  and  borough  of  the 
County  to  assist  the  officers  in  gathering 
history  and  historical  records. 

The  executive  committee  appointed  at  the 
last  meeting  reported  that  the  charter  had 
been  procured,  and  the  Constitution  and 
By-Laws  were  printed  in  pamphlet  form 
for  distribution. 

Each  year  from  1891  to  1901  reveals 
nearly  the  same  story  of  earnest  work 
from  the  earnest  workers.  There  was  how- 
ever, one  phase  cf  its  development  that 
caused  much  anxiety  among  those  that  la- 
bored so  diligently  for  its  support,  that  was 

a  permanent  place  to  reb^.^, ..d  find 

those  patient  makers  of  history  striving  at 
each  meeting  to  devise  some  means  where- 
by they  could  supply  this  need. 

The  meeting  on  January  16,,  1902,  was 
noteworthy  in  having  the  names  of  aged 
people  from  various  parts  of  the  County 
recorded  whose  combined  ages  was  1381, 
or  an  average  of  over  86  years,  showing 
that  Susquehanna  County's  rugged  hills  are 
conducive  to  long  life.  Prof.  James  retired 
as  President,  and  W.C.Cruser  was  chosen 
to  fill  his  place. 

A  bequest  was  made  that  year  by  the 
late  F.  G.  •  Boyd  of  nearly  one  thousand 
dollars.  This  gave  new  enthusiasm  to  the 
earnest  workers,  and  plans  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  home  for  the  Society  followed. 
The  subject  was  discussed  of  enlarging  the 
scope  and  influence  of  the  Society  and  add 
a  Library  in  connection,  as  the  two  would 
go  very  well  together.  This  met  with 
much  opposition,  but  the  motion  finally 
prevailed,  and  the  Society  from  this  has 
been  known  as  the  Susquehanna  County 
Historical  Society  and  Free  Library  Asso- 
ciation. 

The  question  of  a  home  for  the  Society 
had  been  frequently  discussed  at  length, 
and  a  fund  started,  a  number  of  gentlemen 
giving  one  hundred  dollars  each,  and 
others  smaller  amounts,  but  in  January, 
1904,  Gen.  Edward  R.  Warner  presented 
the  Society  with  four  thousand  dollars  for 
the  erection  of  a  suitable  building.  At  this 
time  H.  A.  Denney  was  elected  president 
in  place  of  W.  C.  Cruser.    A  building  com- 


mittee was  appointed  who  were  empowered 
to  erect  a  building  suitable  for  the  needs 
of  the  Society. 

In  1905  ground  was  broken  between  the 
Court  House  and  the  High  School  building 
for  the  Society's  Home,  and  much  material 
placed  on  the  ground,  when  a  communica- 
tion was  received  from  Francis  R.  Cope,Jr., 
of  Philadelphia,  stating  that  the  Cope 
family,  which  had  in  early  years  owned 
large  tracts  of  land  in  Susquehanna 
County,  would  like  to  provide  a  memorial 
Library  Building  for  the  County;  and  plans 
were  made  to  merge  the  existing  Historical 
Society  and  its  funds  with  the  Cope  prop- 
osition, but  the  site  first  chosen  was  not 
deemed  large  enough  and  the  Tyler  corner 
facing  Monument  Square  was  secured  and 
the  Cope  executors  given  the  freedom  to 
erect  a  home  for  the  Society.  This  building, 
which  was  formally  dedicated  November  8, 
1907  is  one  of  the  handsomest  in  the 
County  and  the  Free  Library  has  been 
added  to  from  time  to  time  until  it  is  one 
of  the  first  in  the  State.  At  this  meeting 
Francis  R.  Cope,  Jr.,  was  chosen  President 
to  succeed  H.  A.  Denney. 

For  guiding  the  scope  and  influence  of 
the  Society  all  credit  is  due  Prof.  B.  E. 
James,  who  mapped  its  course  during  the 
ten  years  of  his  untiring  service  as  its 
President,  as  well  as  keeping  all  its  current 
events. 

The  1908  meeting  of  the  Society  was  held 
January  18,  at  the  new  Library  building. 
At  the  morning  session,  in  the  absence  of 
Mr.  Cope,  Vice  President  H.  A.  Denney 
called  the  meeting  to  order.  Minutes  of  the 
last  meeting  were  read  and  approved,  and 
other  necessary  business  transacted,  a  re- 
port on  cemeteries  was  given.  In  the  af- 
ternoon a  pleasing  and  instructive  prog- 
gramme   was    rendered. 

The  semi-annual  meeting  of  the  Society 
was  held  at  Montrose,  .August  15,  1908. 
The  meeting  was  in  charge  of  Pres.  Cope. 
One  of  the  pleasant  features  of  the  pro- 
gramme was  a  paper  entitled  "Nine  Part- 
ners" by  Prof.  W.  L.  Thacher,  of  Hartford, 
who  has  gained  considerable  prominence 
for  his  local  historical  sketches.  The  paper 
was  largely  on  the  journeyings  of  those 
men  through  the  wilderness,  who  settled 
the  township  of  Hartford,  and  was  filled 
with  facts  of  the  struggles  and  privations 
of  those  sturdy  pioneers. 

Relics  and  articles  of  interest,  relative 
to  the  early  history  of  the  County,  have 
from  time  to  time  been  added  to  the  col- 
lection and  it  is  hoped  that  the  people  of 
the  county  will  continue  to  donate  along 
this  line,  as  we  now  have  an  absolutely 
fire  proof  and  safe  place  to  keep  all  such 
relics. 

H.  A.  DENNEY, 
Librarian. 


Vol.  X 


JULY,  1909 


No.  7 


History  of  the  Plainfield  Church 

By  Rev.  W.  H.  Brong,  Pen  Argyl,  Pa. 


II  E  German  Reformed 
Church  in  Plainfield 
Township,  Northampton 
county,  Pa.,  dates  back 
to  the  earliest  period  of 
settlement  in  these  re- 
gions. History  tells  us 
that  immigration  from 
German}'  into  the  province  of  Penn- 
S3^1vania  began  as  early  as  1681.  From 
1708  to  1720  thousands  of  immigrants 
from  the  beautiful  and  fertile  country 
of  the  Palatinate,  the  home  of  the 
Heidelberg  Catechism,  came  to  Penn- 
sylvania as  fugitives  from  political 
tyranny  and  religious  persecution'.  Of 
these  many  found  homes  in  what  is 
now  Northampton  county  but  was 
then  a  part  of  Bucks  county. 

Great,  indeed,  must  have  been  their 
trials  and  hardships  but  their  faith  in 
God  was  still  greater.  Here  they 
founded  homes  where  they  might  rear 
their  families  in  the  faith  and  customs 
of  their  fathers,  and  worship  God  ac- 
cording to  the  dictates  of  conscience 
without  persecution  from  either  King 
or  Pope. 

From  1725  to  1740  a  continuous 
stream  of  German  immigrants  came 
into  Pennsylvania  and  of  these    more 


than  1000  families  are  said  to  have 
settled  in  what  is  now^  Northampton 
county.  And  thus,  notwithstanding 
the  want  of  proof,  we  may  believe  and 
feel  well  assured  that  the  Word  of 
God  was  preached  and  taught  accord- 
ing to  the  faith  and  doctrine  of  the 
Reformed  Church,  somewhere  in  the 
vicinity  of  our  present  Plainfield 
church,  long  before  we  have  any 
record  of  it. 

OLD   DEED 

However,  as  far  back  as  October  18 
1750,  a  warrant  for  a  tract  of  land  was 
granted  to  a  man  named  Adam  Dietz 
in  trust  for  the  German  Reformed 
congregation,  this  being  about  13^ 
years  before  Northampton  county  was 
erected  out  of  the  upper  part  of  Bucks 
county.  Thus  at  this  first  notice  of 
it  we  find  a  congregation  already  suf- 
ficiently strong  and  stable  to  procure 
land  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a 
house  of  worship.  How  large  that 
first  tract  of  land  was  we  are  unable 
to  say.  But  this,  together  with  a  sec- 
ond tract  procured  from  Casper  Doll 
in  August  27,  1790,  amounted  to  60 
acres,  70  perches  and  allowance.  These 
two  tracts  were  combined  under  a 
new  patent  issued  Nov.  2^,   1820,    by 


306 


THE    PEXXSYLVANIA-GERMAX 


the  secretary  of  the  Land  Office  of 
the  Commomvealth  of  Pennsylvania. 
Avhich  patent  reads  in  part  as  follows: 

'•The  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania: 
To  all  to  whom  these  presents  shall  come, 
greeting:  Know  ye.  That  in  consideration 
of  the  monies  i)aid  hy  Adam  Dietz.  in  trust 
etc.,  and  Casper  Doll  for  warrants  herein- 
after mentioned  and  of  the  sum  of  Forty- 
seven  dollars  in  full  since  paid  by  the 
trustees  of  the  German  Reformed  congre- 
gation  of  Plainfield   township,  Northampton 


said  Adam  Dietz  in  trust  for  the  said  con- 
gregation, and  the  ether  dated  April  26th, 
ITS'),  granted  to  the  said  Casper  Doll,  who 
Ijy  deed  the  27th  day  of  August,  1791  con- 
veyed the  same  unto  Peter  Bender  and 
Philip  .Achenbach  (then  Elder  of  .=aid  con- 
gregation), in  trust  for  same,  who  are 
since  deceased. 

To  have  and  to  hold  the  said  tract  or 
])arcel  of  land  with  appurtenances  unto  the 
trustees  of  the  German  Reformed  congre- 
gation of  Plainfield  township,  Northampton 
county,  and  their  successors  forever.     Free 


Ki;\\    \V.    II.    ISKOXC.    I'KN    AKC.YI,.    I'A. 


fcjunly.  into  the  treasurx'  othce  of  this 
Clommonwealth,  th^re  is  granted  by  the 
said  Commonwealth  unto  the  trustees  of 
the  (Jernian  Reformed  congregation  of 
Plainfield  township,  Northami)ton  .  county 
a  certain  tract  of  land  situated  in  Plain- 
field  township,  Northampton  county.  Be- 
ginning   at    a     stone,     thence     ])y     land     of 

Lewis    Stocher containing   sixty    acres, 

seventy  perches  and  allowance.  Which 
said  tract  of  land  was  surveyed  in  pur- 
suance of  two  warrants,  one  (hi led  the 
JSth     of     October,     17.".0,      gi  anted      to      the 


and  clear  of  all  restrictions  and  reserva- 
tions, as  to  Mines,  Royalties,  Quitrents,  or 
otherwise,  excejjting  and  reserving  only  the 
fifth  i)art  of  all  gold  and  silver  ore  for  the 
use  of  this  Commonwealth,  to  be  delivered 
at   the   ])it's   mouth,  clear  of  all   charges. 

In  witness  whereof  William  Clark,  sec- 
retary cf  the  land  office  of  the  said  Com- 
monwealth, hath  hereto  set  his  Hand,  and 
the  seal  of  the  Land  office  of  Pennsylvania 
hath  been  hereunto  affixed  the  twenty- 
seventh  day  of  Novem])er,  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord,  1820  and  the  Commonwealth  45. 
Attest:   A.  :V1.  Piper,  Dei).  Sec.  Land  Office." 


THE   PLAINFIELD  CHURCH 


307 


THE    FIRST    "CHURCHBOOK" 

The  oldest  church  record  that  is  in 
possession  of  the  Reformed  congrega- 
tion is  a  leather  bound  book  thirteen 
inches  high,  eight  inches  wide  and  one 
and  a  half  inches  thick  and  has  a 
heavy  unruled  paper.  It  is  nearly  all 
written  in  German  script.  The  title 
page  is  as  follows  : 

KIRCHEX    BUCH   VOR 

DIE 

REF'OR.MIRTE    GEMEINTE    IN 

PLENFIL    TAUNSCHIPP 

1ST 

CxEMACHT    ZUR   JAHR   1763 

Und  dieses  Kirchenbuch  wild  zii  denen 
Sacheu  gebraucht  werden  wass  uns  Nutz- 
lich  1st— dann  der  Apostel  Paulus  sagt; 
Habt  Eine  gute  ordnung  uuter  euch ;  und 
soil  alles  auf  gezeichnet  werden 

llich — die  Eltesten  und  Vcrstehc-r  dieser 
G'emeinte. 

2tens — Kinder  die  zur  Heiligen  Tauf 
gebracht  werden. 

otens — Kinder  welche  dass  erste  mahl 
zum  Hyligen.  Abendniahl  gegangen 
Seynd,  welches  durch  den  Herr 
Pare.!-  Weyberg  ist  ein  gerichtet 
worden  und  hat  den  ISten  Tag 
.Mertz  dass  erste  mahl  geprediget 
allehier. 

1763. 
Welches    Ist   Eingerichtet   worden    Im    Jahr 
unser    Herrn    Christy    1763. 

This  title  page  was  evidently  pre- 
pared by  Rev.  Dr.  Casper  Dietrich 
Weyberg,  the  first  regular  pastor  of 
this  congregation.  This  would  seem 
evident  from  the  fact  that  the  first  of 
the  three  objects  of  the  "church  book" 
as  indicated  on  this  title  page  was 
not  carried  out  after  Dr.  Weyberg's 
short  pastorate  of  less  than  a  year. 
Only  one  entry  is  made  of  Elders  and 
Deacons  and  this  is  on  the  second 
page  as  follows:  "Elders  and  deacons 
which  the  Rev.  ^^'eyberg  selected  and 
the  congregation  voted  in.  Elders — 
Adam  Dietz,  Jacob  Sorver,  Casper 
Doll,  Peter  Philip  Hahn,  Deacons: 
Peter  Metz.  George  Dietz,  Leonard 
Kern.  Nicholau  Doll." 

The  ba()tism  and  confirmation  lists 
as  indicated  by  the  title  page  are  well 
kept.  The  first  baptismal  entry  in  this 


"Church  book"  bears  the  same  date, 
on  which  the  title  page  says  Rev. 
Weyberg  preached  his  first  sermon 
and  is  as  follows  : 

1763,  13  ten  Tag  Martz  ist  cm  Kind 
Zur  Heyligen  Tauf  gabracht  worde 
(von)  Leonhardt  Andreas.  Anna 
Christina  (bey  namen)  sein  Tauf 
Zeugen  sein  Jost  Edelman  und  Anna 
Christina  Edelman. 

The  last  baptism  entered  is  that  of 
Benjamin  Franklin  son  of  Michael 
Ruff  and  wife  Rebecca,  Born  June  23, 
1853,  Bapt.  Octo1)er  23,  1853.  Spon- 
sors, Parents. 

Tn  the  year  1811  the  following  entry 
is  made :  "Johanna  Jacobina  Wilhel- 
mina,  daughter  of  Carl  Wilhelm  Col- 
son,  Lutheran  Preacher  and  wife 
Carolina  Wilhelmina  Louisa,  maiden 
name   Reimer. 

Born  April  18.  1811.  Bapt.  May  22, 
181 T.  Sponsor  Jnh.  Jacob  Heller  and 
wife   Hannah." 

Four  pages  farther  on  in  year  1812 
is  inserted  the  following  note  in  Ger- 
man : 

"N.  B.  The  following  seven  children 
were  baptized  by  the  reverend  Luth- 
eran Preacher  C.  W.  Colson,  at  Glas- 
house  in  New  Turingen,  in  Vaine 
(A\'ayne)  County  and  by  permission 
of  this  consistory,  are  turned  into  this 
cliurchbook." 

The  seven  baptisms  referred  to  are 
as  follows  : 

Carl  son  of  Christo])h  Faatz  and  wife 
Anna  Elizabeth,  born  Sept.  9,  1807,  bapt. 
.Tan.   8.   1812.    Sponsor  Christian   Heiny. 

Cliristoph  son  of  Same  parents,  born 
Oct.  8,  1809,  bap.  .Jan.  8,  1812.  Sponsor 
Christoph  Heiny. 

.  .  Carollii.a  of  same  parents  born  Sept.  5, 
1811,  bap.  Jan.  8,  1812.  Sponsor  Adam 
Greiner. 

Jacob  and  Helena  twin  children  of  Jacob 
Heiny  and  wife  Christina  Catharina,  born 
Feb.  16.  1808,  bap.  Jan.  8.  1812.  Sponsors 
Christian   Heiny  and  Christiana  Greiner. 

3Iaria  daughter  of  Adam  Greiner  and 
wife  Henrietta  Margareta,  born  Jan.  5,  1810 
bap.  Jan.  8,  1812.  Sponsor  Nicholaus 
Greiner. 

Soplia  daughter  of  Adam  Greiner  and 
wife  Henrietta  Margareta,  born  Nov.  19, 
1811  bap.  Jan.  8,  1812.  Sponsor  Christoph 
Faatz. 


308 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


^Vhy  these  baptisms  performed  in 
Wayne  County  by  a  Lutheran 
preacher  should  be  entered  by  permis- 
sion ("bewilligung"-which  presupposes 
a  request)  into  this  Plainfield  Re- 
formed "Churchbook"  we  are  unable 
to  say.  It  may  be  that  the  parents 
of  these  children  were  Reformed 
])eople  formerly  from  Plainfield,  and 
therefore  such  a  request  would  be 
natural  or  it  may  have  been  simply 
the  request  of  Rev.  Colson  who  took 
charge  of  the  Lutheran  interest  in 
Plainfield  Township  in  1811  (accord- 
ing" to  a  contribution  to  this  article  by 
Rev.  PL  S.  Kidd  of  Wmd  Gap,  Pa., 
our  present  Lutheran  colleague  at 
this  Plainfield  church.) 

During  the  year  1836  these  baptis- 
mal entries  are  interpolated  with  the 
family  record  of  Casper  Doll,  one  of 
the  two  men  named  in  our  Old  Deed 
as  having  obtained  the  original  grant 
of  land  in  trust  for  the  German  Re- 
formed congregation  in  Plainfield. 
This  family  record  is  as  follows: 

George  son  of  Casper  Doll  and  wife 
Margareta,  born  Feb.   11,  1744. 

Sponsors  George  Best,  Christian  Doll, 
Sara  Kreta  Best  and  Maria  Kreta  Mum- 
bauer. 

Aiiua  born  June  2,  1746. 

Sponsors  Bilbrecht  ()  Miller,  Peter  Doll, 
Engel   Keller  and  Christina  Deker. 

Later  was  inserted  this  note — "June  2, 
1773,  this  my  daughter  died." 

Sara  born  July  22,  1748. 

Sponsors  George  Dietz,  Nicholaus  Doll, 
Catharina  Doll,  Lisa  Catharina  Best. 
(Below  this  is  added  in  different  ink  and 
by  a  nervous  hand  evidently  by  the  father 
himself  these  words.) 

May   30,   1779,  my   daughter   Sarah   died. 

Anna  Maria  born  May  16,  1751. 

Sponsors  Christian  Schug,  Leonhard 
Beyer,  Jacob  Engler,  Anna  Eva  the  house- 
wife of  Peter  Conrat,  Anna  Dietz  and 
housewife  (Hausfrau)  of  Michael  Dietz  and 
Maria  the  wedded  (Eheliche)  housewife  of 
Peter  Mumbauer. 

Daughter  (name  omitted)  born  Feb.  22, 
1754,  bapt.  May  5th.  Sponsors  Henry 
Schupp,  Eva  Elizabeth  Moor  wedded 
housewife  of  John  Moor,  Lorens  Kemmi, 
Margaret   Diehl   and   Jacob   Sorber. 

Catharine  born  Jan.  1,  1757.  Sponsors 
Jost  Edelman  and  his  wife  Christian, 
Philipp  Schud,  George  Mumbauer,  Margaret 
Hess  and  Anna  Maria  Conrad. 


Then  followed  this  note : 

Feb.  5.  I  Casper  Doll  the  father  of 
the  above  written  children  was  born 
into  this  world  and  their  mother  Mar- 
garet in  the  same  year  Feb.  25,  1724.'' 
In  1826  the  following  was  recorded 
"Eli  son  of  Johann  H.  Keller  and  wife 
Maria  born  Dec.  20,  1825.  Bapt.  Feb. 
5,  1826.  Sponsors  Adam  Andre  and 
wife  Anna  Maria.  This  is  now  Rev. 
Eli   Keller,  D.D.,  of  Allentown,  Pa. 

The  total  number  of  baptisms  re- 
corded in  this  first  "Churchbook"  is 
2705.  Just  how  many  of  these  were 
Lutheran  baptisms  and  entered  by 
"permission"  we  have  no  way  of 
finding  out. 

The  third  object  of  this  old 
"churchbook"  as  indicated  by  the 
title  page  is  fulfilled  in  recording 
thirty-five  catechetical  classes  with 
the  dates  of  confirmation.  In  most 
cases  also  the  age  of  the  persons 
confirmed  and  the  names  of  their  par- 
ents are  given.  The  first  class  was 
confirmed  April  10,  1763  by  Rev. 
Casper  D.  Weyberg,  D.D.,  and  had 
7  members  as  follows : 

Jacob  Sorver's  son,  Adam  Keller,  Peter 
Frantz,  Sara  Doll,  Barbara  Germanton, 
Barbara    Bauer,    Nance    Frantz. 

Class  No.  2  confirmed  Dec.  22,  1765 
by  Rev.  F.  L.  Henop  had  21  mem- 
bers  viz. : 

Philip  Sand,  Frederick  Hahn,  Casper 
Hauser,  Henry  Hauser,  John  Bauer,  Peter 
Berger,  Bartolomeu  Rimi,  Ichabald  (?) 
Hahn,  Philip  J.  Koster,  George  Bender, 
Henry  Koster,  Peter  Sorver,  Magdalana 
Berger,  Anna  Maria  Young,  Anna  Maria 
Rumbauer,  Anna  Elizabeth  Germanton, 
Barbara  Hauser,  Julian  Romer  (?),  Anna 
Christina  Berger,  Catharine  Yunt  (?) 
Elizabeth  Heller. 

Third  class  confirmed  April  2'j, 
1767  also  by  Rev.  Henop  had  24 
members  viz. : 

Simon  Keller,  Jacob  Deker,  Peter  Best, 
Philip  Sorber,  Valentine  Metz,  Philip 
Jacob  Kern,  Peter  Keller,  Jacob  Heller, 
Abraham  Heller,  Anna  Maria  Doll,  Maria 
Cath.  Dietz,  Elizabeth  Diel,  Susanna 
Reimer,  Elizabeth  Metz,  Margaret  Reimer, 
Susanna  Frantz,  Catharine  Decker,  Anna 
M.  Hechlin,  Maria  C.  Hechlin,  Maria  M. 
Roemer,  Cath.  Metz,  Maria  Best,  Margaret 
Heller,  Sara  Heller. 


THE  PLAINFIELD  CHUUCH 


309 


4th  Class  confirmed  JNIar.  27,   1769  by 

Rev.  Henop,  26  members. 
5th  Class  confirmed  April  14,  1770,  by 

Rev.  Pitham,  17  members. 
6th  Class  confirmed  April   i,   1775,  by 

Rev.   J.    W.   Weber,   24   members. 
7th  Class  confirmed  April  28,   1776  by 

Rev.  J.   W.   Weber,    14   members. 

Only   one    class    is    reported    during 
the  nine  years'  pastorate  of  Rev.  ^Vm. 
Ingold. 
8th  Class  confirmed  April  29,  1786  by 

Rev.    Wm.    Ingold,   30   members. 
9th  Class  confirmed  April   10,  1789  by 

Rev.     L.     F.     Herman,     D.D.,    28 

members. 
No    class    is     reported    during    the 
short  pastorate  of  Rev.   C.   L.   Becker 
and  the  vacancy  that  followed, 
loth  Class  confirmed   P'eb.  2,   1802  by 

Rev.   Thos.    Pomp,    50   members, 
nth  Class  confirmed  April  7,  1804  by 

Rev.  Thos.  Pomp,  25  members. 
1 2th    Class    confirmed     Palm     Sunday, 

1806.    Probably  a    Lutheran   class, 

24  members. 
13th  Class  confirmed  April  4,  1806  by 

Rev.   Pomp,  35  members. 
J4th    Class     confirmel     April    30,    1808 

b}'  Rev.  Pomp,  30  members. 
15th   Class  confirmed    April    28,     1810 

by   Rev.    Pomp,   37   members. 
i6th    class   confirmed   on    21st   Sunday 

after  Trinity   181 1.   Perhaps   Luth- 
eran, 26  members. 
17th   Class   confirmed   ]\Iarch   27,    1812 

by  Rev   Pomp,  31    members. 
i8th   Class  confirmed  on    Easter,    1814 

Marked    Lutheran,    19    members. 
19th  Class  confirmed  Nov.  9,   1816  by 

Rev.   Pom]),  37  members. 
20th  Class  confirmed  Nov.  21.  1818  l)y 

Rev.   Pomp,  35   members. 
2ist  Class  confirmed  Now   18.   1820  l)y 

Rev.   I'om]),  47  members. 
22nd    Class   confirmed     Doc.    3,     1820. 

Marked    Lutheran,    to   members. 
23r(l    Class    confirmed    N(~)n-.    16.    1822 

by    Rev.    Pomp.   40   members. 
24th  Class  confirmed     Dec.     i,     1822. 

Marked    Lutheran.    15    lucmbers. 
25th    Class    confirmed    Now     i"],     1824 

by   Rev.   ]\)mp.  41    members. 


26th    Class   confirmed    Oct.     23,     1825. 

Lutheran,   15  members. 
27th    Class   confirmed    Nov.     11,     1826 

b}^  Rev.  Pomp,  51  meml)ers. 
At  this  place  of  the  "Churchbook"' 
are  found  several  blank  pages  which 
would  indicate  that  they  were  left 
for  several  communicant  and  confir- 
mation lists  which  were  delinquent 
but  never  entered. 
28th  Class  confirmed  Nov.  6,   1830  b\- 

Rev.   Pomp,  52  members. 
29th  Class  confirmed  June  15.   1833  l)y 

Rev.   Pomp,  53  membei-.s. 

30th   Class    confirmed    June    27,     1835 

by  Rev.  Pomp,  34  mcml)ers. 
31st  Class  confirmed  Nov.  2,  1839. 
Probal)ly  Lutheran,  31  members. 
At  this  place  of  the  "Churchbook" 
are  again  several  blank  pages  which 
no  doubt  awaited  the  communicant 
and  confirmation  lists  of  Rev.  Pomp. 
But  we  find  his  entries  in  a  new 
"Churchbook"  which  the  title  page 
says  was  started  by  Rev.  Thomas 
Pomp  pastor  of  the  Reformed  con- 
gregation on  June  10,  1836.  From 
this  date  on  some  of  Rev.  Pomp's 
pastoral  labors  are  reported  in  the 
old  and  some  in  the  new  "Church- 
book." 

32nd    Class   confirmed     Nov.     6,     1847. 
Marked   Re^•.   A.   I'\ichs,  41   mem- 
bers. 
33r(l   Class    confirmed     Nov.    3,     1849. 
Probably    Lutheran,   48   members. 
34th    Class    confirmed     Nov.     i,     1851. 
Marked      Rev.    A.    Fuchs,     Luth- 
eran,  29   members. 
35th    Class   ct)nfirmed     Oct.    30,     1853. 
Marked  Rev.  A.   Fuchs,   Lutheran 
Pastor,  37  members, 
l-'roni    these    thirty-five    classes    the 
total      numl)er    of    persons    confirmed 
was      1084.        Twenty-four     of     these 
classes  with  a  membership  of  789  are 
known    to    ha\e    l)cen     Reformed    and 
seven    classes    with    a    membership    of 
295  are  known  to  ]ia\e  been  Lutheran 
while   four  classes  \\\x\\  a  niembershi}) 
of  i2ij  are  unmarked. 


310 


THE    PEXXSYLVANIA-GERMAX 


N<»  record  was  taken  of  communi- 
cants until  the  second  year  of  Rev. 
William  Ing'old's  pastorale  when  the 
following-   ai)])ears. 

June  I,  1779  Communicants  given 
the    Lord's   Su])per  are   the   following : 

Jacob  Heller,  Leonard  Kern  (?)  Freder- 
ich  Diehl,  Chariot  Kern  (?),  Martin  Kind, 
Sarah  Kind.  Christian  Mnffley,  Anna  Muf- 
tley.  Philij)  Aclienbach,  Anna  Achenbach, 
Philip  Kester,  .Jacob  Kester  and  wife, 
Frederick  Fabel  and  his  wife,  Leonard 
Krede  (?)  and  his  wife,  Vallentine  Metz, 
Elizabeth  Metz.  Maria  Engel  Keller,  Diter 
Bender,  Sarah  Miller,  Susanna  Bender, 
Catharine  Schlecht,  Elizabeth  Anderas, 
Sara  Shmitt.  Henrich  Hahn  and  his  wife, 
Conrad  Ward  and  his  wife.  Catharine 
Happel,  Israel  Weber,  Jacob  Faux,  Lud- 
wig  Sponheimer.  Henrich  Engel,  Frederick 
Strauss,  Heinrich  Knorr,  G'eorge  Rader  and 
wife  Sarah,  Peter  Dreisbach  and  wife 
Christianna,  Catharine  Repsher,  Elizabeth 
Hess,  Barbara  Ward,  Catharine  Hess.  Peter 
Bender. 

The  second  list  ap])ears  ten  years 
later  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
pastorate  of  the  Rev.  L.  F.  Herman 
in   1789  and  is  as  follows: 

April  10  the  following  persons  at- 
tended the  Preparatory  Service  for 
the  Holy  Lord's  Supper. 

Nicholas  Boitzman,  Jacob  Schneider, 
Sofina  Schneider,  John  Furg,  George  Furg, 
Peter  Roether,  Elizabeth  Roether,  Philip 
Achenbach,  Conrad  Schiffer.  Ditrich  Bauer, 
Louse  Schneller,  Catharine  Furg,  Henry 
Haase.  Margaretta  Haase,  George  Mum- 
bauer,  Catharine  Mumbauer,  Peter  Bender, 
Susanna  Engel,  Peter  Hahn.  Casper  Doll, 
Margaretta  Doll,  Catharine  Stecher,  Jacob 
Keller.  Maria  Dorathea  Keller,  Maria 
Engel  Keller,  George  Kern,  Magdalena 
Kern. 

The  third  list  is  again  ten  years 
later  and  in  the  third  year  of  Rev. 
Thomas  Pomp's  long  pastorate  of 
more  than  half  a  century  and  is  as  fol- 
lows : 

Nov.  10,  1799  the  following  i)ersons 
came  to  the  Holy  Lord's  Supper. 

Men— Peter  Hahn,  Carl  Heimer,  Jacob 
Reidy  and  wife  and  child,  Peter  Bender, 
Philip  Koster,  Andreas  Delong  and  wife, 
Adam  Heimer  and  wife,  Simon  Heller, 
Abraham  Kind,  Johannes  Reis,  Frederick 
Germanton,   Jacob   Heller,   Frederick   Hahn. 

Women — Catharine  Young,  Margaret 
Reis,  Sarah  Schlecht,  Magd.  Schlecht, 
Eliz.  Hering,  Mary  Schmertz,  Maria 
Weber,   Maria   Roeder,    Eliz.     Seipel,    Maria 


Dietz,    Elizabeth    Metz,    Hainiah    Metz,    Eliz. 
Hahn. 

On  October  26,  1800  the  following 
l)ersons  went  to  the  Holy  Lord's 
Sup])er  : 

Men — Adam  Heimer  and  wife,  Lenhart 
Kern  and  wife,  Fridrich  Faebel  and  wife, 
Martin  Kind,  Philip  Koester,  Fredrich 
Germanton.  Jacob  Sober  and  wife,  .lohn 
Kind. 

Women — Susanna  Schuck,  Sarah  Miller, 
Maria  Barbara  Gummin,  Susanna  Muffly, 
Eva  Schlecht,  Magdalena  Schlecht,  Anna 
Breidinger. 

From  1799  to  the  date  of  the 
second  "Churchbook"  started  by  Rev. 
Thomas  T'omj)  in  1836,  the  lists  of 
communicants  are  recorded  regularly 
e\ery  year  only  that  most  lists  are 
said  to  be  the  names  of  those  who  at- 
tended the  preparatory  serA'ice  the 
day  before  the  Lord's  Supper.  The 
largest  Reformed  list  was  134  with 
date  of  Xov.  6,  1830.  The  largest 
Lutheran  list  was  185  bearing  date  of 
No\-.    I,   1851. 

THE    SECOND    "CHURCHBOOK" 

The  second  "Churchbook"  in  pos- 
session of  the  Reformed  congregation 
is  a  leather  bound  book  12J/2  inches 
by  jYo  inches  and  one  inch  thick.  It 
has  on  the  back  of  it.  in  gilt  letters 
the  following : 


KIRCHEN 

BUCH 

REF.  GEM. 

PLAINFIELD 


The  title  page  has  the  following  in 
German  : 

"Churchbook  for  the  Reformed 
congregation  at  Plainfield,  prepared 
by  the  Rev.Thomas  Pomp — for  many 
years  minister  of  this  congregation. 
Begun  June  10,  1836." 


THE  PLAINKIELD  CHURCH 


511 


(Trans. — All 
and  there  is 
)        \'alenline 


[At  the  foot  of  the  pai,»-e  is  the   fol- 
lowiiii?    Latin     sentence    Omnia    Cum 
Deo   et     nihil     sini     l^o, 
thin.ij^s    come    from    (lod 
nothinj;-      without      Ilim. 
Huy — Schullehrer.J 

This  Churchbook  is  written  partly 
in  German  and  partly  in  Juiglish  and 
has  no  Lutheran  entries.  It  contains 
^yy  baptisms  of  which  the  first  is  the 
following: 

Elizabeth  horn  \)i:<.  25.  1835,  bai^. 
June  II.  1830.  Parents  Jacob  Rutt 
and  wife  ilanna.  Sponsors  Thomas 
Metz  and   wife   Lydia. 

The  last  baptism  recorded  was  that 
of  Stephen  Eugene  son  of  Jacol)  1^. 
Heller  and  wife  Catharine  Jane  born 
Dec.  18,  1872  and  bapt.  Jan.  26,  1873. 
Sponsors  the  parents.  Rew  R.  C. 
Weaver  who  happened  to  fill  the 
pulpit  for  Rev.  Ivcinecke  that  day  of- 
ficiated. 

In  185 1  we  find  the  following  entry. 
"Alfred  Franklin  born  Sept.  8,  185 1. 
Bapt.  Oct.  19,  185 1.  Parents  Jacob 
Dreisbach  and  wife  Matilda.  Spon- 
sors Conrad  Germanton  and  wife 
Sabilla."  This  son  is  now  the  Rev.  A. 
F.  Dreisbach,  Ph.  D.,  a  Reformed 
clergyman  living  at  present  at  215 
West  23rd  St.,  New-  York  City. 

In  1862  a  note  is  inserted  which 
says  that  the  baptisms  to  date  were 
reported  to  Classis  which  Avas  held  at 
Catasauqua  May  27,  1862. 

And  a  similar  note  a])])ears  a  year 
later  stating  that  the  baptisms  were  re- 
ported to  Classis  which  met  in  Hamil- 
ton, Monroe  County  on  May  5,  1863. 

Following  the  baptismal  entry  of 
Lewis  son  of  Enos  Ackerman  w-hich 
bears  date  of  Aug.  28,  1864.  w^e  have 
a  record  of  two  daughters  of  Rev.  E. 
W.  Reinecke  and  wife  Mary  Eliza. 
viz.  Mary  Louisa  born  Feb.  17,  1863. 
Baptized  April  13,  1863  by  Rev.  D.  Y. 
Heisler  and  Caroline  Monica  born 
Aug.  I,  1864.  baptized  Sejit.  12.  1864. 
by  Rev.  D.  Y.  Heisler. 

Then  follows  the  baptismal  entry 
of  Peter  Ellsworth  son  of  Samuel 
Heimer  and  wife  Elizabeth,  born  Oct. 


15,  1864.  baptized  Oct.  26,  1864.  Spon- 
sors Adam      lleimer  and     wnfe  Sarah. 

This     is  the     Rev.     P.  h!.  Heimer  now 

the  i)astor  of  the   East   Mauch    Chunk 

kcformed  Church. 

in    iSSf)   we   notice   this   entry   viz: 
")()hn    William    son    of    Rev.    E.    W. 

Reinecke     and  wife  Mary     Eliza  born 

lune   li.    iS(>f).    bapt.    June    29,    1866." 

This  son     is  now  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Rein- 
ecke pastor  of  the     Reformed  Church 

at  St.  Johns.  Pa. 

This   second    "Churchbook"    records 

11;  catechetical     classes  with  a  total  of 

()74  confirmed,  viz: 

1st  Class  confirmed  Oct.  28.  1837  by 
Rev.   Pomp,  43  members. 

2nd  Class  confirmed  Oct.  27,  1839  by 
Rev.  Pomp,  46  members. 

3r(l  Class  confirmed  Oct.  24.  1841  by 
Rev.  Pomp.  54  members. 

4lh  Class  confirmed  Oct.  22,  1843  ^^7 
Rev.  Pomp,  45  members. 

5th  Class  confirmed  Oct.  19,  1845  by 
Rev.  Pomp,  26  members. 

6th  Class  confirmed  Oct.  16,  1847  ^^7 
Rev.  Pomp,  38  members. 

7th  Class  confirmed  Nov.  18.  1849  ^^7 
Rev.    Eichenberg.    17   members. 

8th  Class  confirmed  Nov.  16,  185 1  by 
Rev.  E.  Helfrich,  50  members. 

9th  Class  confirmed  Nov.  11,  1855  by 
Rev.  E.  Helfrich,  32  members. 

loth  Class  confirmed  Afay  i,  1859  by 
Rev.  E.  W.  Reinecke.  56  mem- 
bers. 

nth  Class  confirmed  April  15,  i860  by 
Rev.  E.  W.  Reinecke.  10  mem- 
bers. 

1 2th  Class  confirmed  April  14.  1861 
by  Rev.  E.  W.  Reinecke,  30 
members. 

nth  Class  confirmed  April  26,  1863 
by  Rev.  E.  W.  Reinecke,  23 
members. 

14th  Class  confirmed  Nov.  6,  1864  by 
Rev.  E.  W.  Reinecke,  21  mem- 
bers. 

15th  Class  confirmed  Nov.  4,  1866  by 
Rev.  E.  W.  Reinecke.  31  mem- 
bers. 

i6th  Class  confirmed  Nov.  28,  1868 
by  Rev.  E.  W.  Reinecke.  39  mem- 
bers. 


312 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


17th   Class  confirmed    Nov.     13,     1870 
by     Rev.      E.     W.     Reinecke,    38 
members. 
i8th  Class  confirmed  Nov.  9,   1872  by 
Rev.    E.    W.    Reinecke,    29    mem- 
bers. 
19th  Class  confirmed  Nov.  7,   1874  by 
Rev.    E.    W.    Reinecke,    46    mem- 
bers. 
Communicant      lists      are      recorded 
every  year  from    1836    to    1875.     The 
largest   communicant   list   recorded   in 
this  book  is  2']']  bearing  date  of  Nov. 
12,    1853.     This   was   during   the    pas- 
torate of  Rev.  Helfrich. 

At  the  centennial  services  held 
during  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  E.  AV. 
Reinecke,  D.D.,  on  Oct.  25,  1863  the 
next  highest  list  of  communicants 
appears  and  was  274. 

THIRD  CHURCHBOOK  AND  OTHERS 

The  third  churchbook  was  started 
soon  after  Dr.  Reinecke  1:)ecame  pas- 
tor and  is  still  in  use. 

Beside  these  three  "churchbooks" 
the  congregation  has  a  minute  book  in 
which  are  recorded  the  minutes  of  all 
congregational  meetings  and  trustee- 
board  meetings  since  the  incorpora- 
tion of  the  congregation  which  took 
place  on  ]\Iay  29,  1819  and  enrolled 
at  Ilarrisburg  on  Sept.  15,  1819  in 
Charter  Book  No.  3,  page  129. 

These  minutes  are  written  in  the 
German  script  until  1890  since  which 
they  have  been  recorded  in  the  Eng- 
lish language. 

There  are  also  several  old  account 
books  kept  by  the  treasurer  of  the 
congregation  which  show  a  \  cry 
systematic  financing  from  an  early 
date. 

The  itemized  accounts  of  the  treas- 
urer are  a  source  of  a  great  deal  of  in- 
formation relative  to  the  history  of 
the  congregation.  Since  i860  with 
only  a  few  exce])ti()ns,  a  yearly  list  of 
all  membership  subscriptions,  was  re- 
corded by  the  treasurer.  The  first 
list  is  headed— Ministers'  Eist  com- 
mencing Nov.  7,  i860,  payable  until 
Nov.    7,    1861    and    has    245    subscri;)- 


tions  ranging  from  10  cents  up  to 
$5.00. 

All  of  these  old  records  are  now 
kept  in  a  fire-proof  safe  in  the  church. 

Besides  these  old  records  belonging 
to  the  Plainfield  Reformed  congrega- 
tion there  is  one  in  possession  of 
First  Reformed  church,  Easton,  Pa., 
in  which  are  recorded  many  minis- 
terial acts  relating  to  this  Plainfield 
church.  The  title  page  in  this  old 
record  is  as  follows :  "Church  Book 
in  which  the  afi^airs  of  the  four  tmited 
Reformed  congregations  shall  be  re- 
corded viz :  Easton.  Greenwich,  Dry- 
land and  Plainfield." 

This  Church  Book  is  mostly  a  re- 
cord of  the  marriages  and  funerals  of 
the  whole  pastoral  charge  as  then 
composed.  A  minute  of  the  joint  con- 
sistory held  April  5,  1788  says  as  fol- 
lows : 

It  was  resolved  by  the  'Elders  and  Dea- 
cons of  this  charge  composed  of  Eastowu, 
Blaenfield,  Triickland  and  Greenwich,  that 
the  Elder  of  the  church  in  Blaenfield  Mr. 
Fredrick  Hauser  shall  be  sent  with  the 
minister  as  a  Deputj'^  to  the  Coetus  which 
will   be  held   April   23,   1788   in  Reading. 

This  Church  Book  contains  342 
])urials  ^vhich  are  said  to  have  taken 
])lace  at  Plainfield,  giving  the  date, 
the  name  and  age  of  the  person  buried 
and  in   few  instances  the  text  used. 

The  second  entry  in  the  book  is  a 
Plainfield  burial  as  follows:  Dec.  iq, 
1/86.  died  in  Plainfield  a  child  of 
George  Sc\\ilz,  by  the  name  of  Abra- 
ham. Age  3  yrs.  8  mo. 

On  April  26,  1790  is  recorded  the 
l)ur!al  i)f  "Margaret  Doll,  the  good 
wife  I  if  Mr.  Casper  Doll.  Aged  65 
yrs."  It  is  thus  evident  that  Air.  Doll 
was  a  widower  when  he  issued  his 
deed  on  Aug.  27,  1791  c(^nve_ying  a 
tract  1)1'  land  to  IV-ter  liender  and 
Philip  Achenbach  in  trust,  being  the 
Elders  pf  this  congregation  at  that 
time. 

In       1815     we     luiN'C     the     following 
entry   \iz :  July   18,    1815,     Rev.     Peter 
iM-ederick     Niemeyer    the      Eutherat; 
minister   ;it    Painfield.      Age   8t    vrs.    5 
mo. 


THE  PLAINFIELD  CHURCH 


313 


And  an  entry  of  his  wife's  l)urial  is 
recorded  thus — Buried  at  Plainfield, 
June  23,  1816,  Maria  Niemyer,  wife  of 
Rev.  Peter  Frederick  Niemyer.  Age 
^2  yrs.  9  mo.  28  days. 

As  far  as  the  writer  is  able  to  find 
out  of  a  certainty,  this  is  the  only 
clcrti:yman  that  served  at  the  Plainfield 
church  either  as  su]:)ply  or  regrdar  pas- 
tor, who  lies  buried  there.  Though  it 
is  quite  probable  that  Revs.  Pitham 
and  Colson  are  also  buried  there,  hav- 
ing- lived  retired  in  old  ag"e  in  the  vic- 
inity. 

This  Church  Book  has  a  reci^rd  of 
1759  couples  married  in  the  four  con- 
i^reg-ations  of  the  charge.  The  first 
entry  is  thus:  Jan.  9.  1787  Mr.  N. 
Messinger,  Sr..  with  the  widow 
Elizabeth   Butz. 

And  the  last  entry  is  this.  Dec.  10, 
1849.  Peter  Class  and  Margaret 
Bauer. 

On  March  7.  1797  we  have  the  fol- 
lowing- :  Rev.  Thomas  Pomp,  Minis- 
ter in  Easton  with  Catarina  Jonspn. 

And  (Ml  March  31.  1801  Frederick 
Miller  with  Catharine  Prong:.  We 
have  no  way  of  knowing  ^^•hich  of  the 
cou])les  were  from  the  Plainfield 
church  except  in  few  instances  ^^d^ere 
they  are  so  marked. 

THE   CHURCH   BUILDINGS 

After  a  great  deal  of  inquiry  and 
research  we  have  found  that  the  pres- 
ent beautiful  church  building-  is  the 
third  one  in  which  this  Plainfield  Re- 
f')rmed   cong^regation   has   worshipped. 

FIRST  CHURCH 
The  date  of  the  erection  of  the  first 
house  of  worship  is  not  known;  but 
it  evidentl}'  was  some  time  prior  to 
the  calling  of  their  first  regular  pas- 
tor, Rev.  Dr.  \\'eyberg,  in  1763.  For 
in  that  year  we  find  Plainfield.  to- 
g-ether with  Jv,aston.  I^ryland  and 
Greenwich.  \.  J.,  already  composing- 
a  pastoral  charge.  Xor  could  we  be- 
lieve that  these  thrifty  Germans 
would  wait  e\en  thirteen  years  (up  to 
the  time  of  calling  their  first  regular 
]>asor)  after  ha\ing  ])rocured  a  tract 
of  land   for   the   purpose  of  erecting-  a 


church.  I"or  if  we  understand  the 
characteristics  of  the  German  mind, 
and  his  religious  pride  and  devotion 
to  the  house  of  God,  we  have  strong 
reasons  to  believe  that  the  first 
church  or  meeting-house  was  erected 
soon  after  the  procuring  of  land  from 
the  province  of  Pennsylvania  in  1750. 
Xor  can  we  point  out  the  exact  spot 
where  this  first  church  building  stood 
though  some  of  the  oldest  people  in 
the  ^■icinity  claim  to  have  heard  from 
their  ancestors  that  it  stood  some- 
where across  the  street  from  the 
south  side  of  the  old  grax'e-yard. 

SECOND  CHURCH 

The  first  church  building  gave  way 
to  the  second  during  the  early  pastor- 
ate of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Pomp,  in 
1805. 

The  building  committee  for  the 
second  church  consisted  of  Frederick 
flahn  and  Abraham  Heller,  who  also 
solicited  all  the  funds.  Their  sub- 
scription lists  are  recorded  in  full  in 
the  old  church  record  in  the  denomi- 
nations of  English  money.  The 
amount  solicited  by  ]\Ir.  Hahn  was 
58  pounds,  2  shillings  and  5^/2  pence 
(about  $282.82).  His  highest  sub- 
scriptions are  as  follows : 

£.  s.  d 

Frederick   Hahn,    4  ii  8 

Philip    Keller 3  16  8 

Valentine    Metz 3  15  o 

Martin   Kind 2  5  o 

Philip    Schud 2  5  o 

Christian    Bender,      2  5  o 

John    Young 2  5  o 

Michael    r)eyding-er,    2  5  o 

The  list  recorded  as  being  solicited 
by  Abraham  Heller  amounts  to  71 
])oun(ls.  10  shillings  and  8  pence 
(al)out  $348.08).  His  highest  sub- 
scribers  were  : 

£ .  s.  d 

Conrad    (iermanton 3  o  o 

Abraham    Heller 4  11  o 

Jacob    I  leller 4  10  o 

Dietrich    liauer 3  7  6 

Conrad    Bender 3  o  o 

Phili])    Achenbach 2  12  6 


314 


THE    PEXXSYLVANIA-GERMAX 


\\  illiam     l-rccman 2        5        o 

Peter    Bender 2       5       o 

Geo.    Peter    Drcisbach 2       o       o 

We  also  notice  tlie  name  of  Rev. 
Thomas  Pomp  on  this  list  for  i 
pound   and    10  sliillinL;s. 

On  December  26,  1805.  the  buildini;- 
committee  gave  a  fnll  report  of  all 
monies  received  and  bills  paid.  Be- 
sides the  amount  of  the  snl)Scription 
lists  they  acknowledinc  23  pounds.  (; 
shilling's.  9  pence  of  alms  money  and 
II  ])ounds.  8  shillings.  4  pence  (about 
$55.55)  "which  they  took  in  from  the 
sale  of  the  material  from  the  church." 
This  we  believe  means  the  sale  of 
the  old  or  first  church.  The  report  of 
the   building    committee     was     audited 


LOCATION  OF  SECOND  BUII^UING 

by  Peter  Bender  and  Conrad  German- 
ton,  and  it  was  found  that  besides  the 
great  amount  of  donated  ial)t)r,  which 
is  also  recorded,  the  cost  of  the 
church  amounted  to  175  pounds,  4 
shilling-s.  ]A  pence  (or  about  $852.52). 
Of  this  there  remained  an  unpaid  bal- 
ance at  the  time  of  settlement  of  11 
])ounds.  4  shillings,  7  pence  (or  about 
$54.64).  This  second  church  was 
built  of  logs  and  stood  across  the 
street  from  the  present  sexton's 
house,  where  the  place  is  still  marked 
by  an  ofTset  in  the  stone  wall  which 
is  built  along  the  front  of  the  old 
grave-yard. 


After  the  present  or  third  church 
was  built,  in  1832,  the  second  church 
was  sold,  and  moved  out  to  the 
^\'ilkesbarre  and  Easton  Turnpike, 
about  half  a  mile  below  the  borough 
of  \\'ind  Gap,  here  it  now^  serves  as 
the  dAvelling  house  of  Geo.  E.  Acker- 
man. 

THIRD    OR    PRESENT    CHITRCH 

The  present  beautiful  church  edifice 
was  built  during-  the  summer  of  1832, 
of  bricks,  which  were  luade  a  short 
distance  away  from  the  church  on 
the  farm  of  Erederick  Germanton. 
The  building"  committee  consisted  of 
llenrA'AIetz  and  George  Hahn,  of  the 
Reformed,,  and  Jacob  Schook,  of  the 
Lutheran   congregation. 

'idle  first  treasurer  or  paymaster  for 
the  building  committee  was  John 
Lehr:  on  Aug.  24,  1833,  Abraham 
Bauer  was  elected,  and  on  Nov.  2y, 
1835.  Jacob  Dreisbach.  The  corner- 
stone was  laid  on  June  11,  1832,  with 
a])propriate  services.  Besides  the 
presence  of  the  Reformed  pastor.  Rev. 
Thomas  Pomp,  and  the  Lutheran 
l)astor.  Rev.  J.  A.  Probst,  we  have 
been  able  to  find  the  name  of  only 
one  visiting  clergyman  who  attended 
the  services,  viz :  Rev.  Yeager.  But 
as  this  notice  is  taken  from  the  treas- 
urer's account,  who  was  credited  with 
having  paid  tAvo  dollars  on  June  11, 
1832,  to  Rev.  Yeager  for  attending 
the  cornerstone  laying,  it  does  not 
discredit  the  presence  of  other  visit- 
ing clergymen  who  may  not  have  had 
expenses  in  coming.  The  ofifering  at 
the  cornerstone  laving  amounted  to 
$82.  43- 

The  subscription  list  for  this 
church  started  November  25,  1830, 
contains  a  German  heading  of  which 
the  following  is  a  translated  abstract : 

"Inasmuch  as  it  is  the  heartfelt  wish  of 
all  the  friends  of  God's  kingdom  in  our 
congregation  that  his  Kingdom  may  come, 
increase  and  blossom  with  us,  therefore 
we,  the  undersigned,  feel  constrained  to 
make  a  beginning  towards  the  erection  of 
a  new  union  church  for  both  named,  (Re- 
formed  and   Lutheran)    congregations. 


TKE   PLAINFIELD  CHrUCM 


515 


The    lari^cst    in(li\idual    subscriptions 
on   this  list  arc   the   lolldwiiii;: 

$75  •>}'  Henry  Met/,  and  Cliristiau 
Bender. 

$60  by  Jolm    1  I.    Keller. 

$54  by  Abraham    I'.aner. 

$51    by   Peter   I  lahn. 

$50  by  Sani'l  Lalir,  Cieor-c  Daul, 
Frederick  CJernuintnn,  John  Weaver, 
Conrad  Met/.,  Conrad  llahn,  ueori^e 
Uahn,  Conrad  liender,  Daniel  Ach- 
enbach,  and  Cieort^e  1'.   1  )reisl);ich. 

$45  by  Al)rahani    Heller. 

$45  in  lumber  and  .S20  in  cash  by 
Timothy   Stot/. 

$30  by  John  1  Idler.  George  llai)])el 
and  Jacob  Slud<. 

$25  by  Enoch  llaney,  b'rederick 
Hahn,  John  Lehr,  Abraham  Heller, 
Simon  Siegel,  John  Stackhousc  and 
Jacob  ]\Hller. 

$20  b}'  Henry  Bitz,  Abraham 
Stauft'er  and   Conrad   Siegel. 

These  subscriptions  are  lasting- 
monuments  to  the  memory  of  the 
pious  and  faithful  fathers  of  this 
church.  For  b}'  their  iilierality  the 
building-  of  this  beautiful  edifice  was 
made  possible.  Long-  after  the  marble 
stones  marking  their  lasting  resting- 
places,  shall  have  yielded  to  the  ele- 
ments, the  influence  for  g'ood  coming- 
from  these  liberal  hearts  will  con- 
tinue to  be  felt  in  generations  yet 
unborn. 

The  original  cost  of  this  church  we 
have  not  been  able  to  ascertain  fully, 
because  of  the  broken  statements  of 
the  treasurer's  reports,  but  find  that  at 
a  settlement  held  some  time  in  1836 
the  bills  paid  by  the  three  ])aymasters 
of  the  building'  committee  amounted 
to  $4733.64  Avith  a  balance  at  this 
time  in  hands  of  the  treasurer  of 
$138.58.  But  this  was  not  the  final 
settlement  for  as  late  as  ^lay  24,  1838, 
the  treasurer,  Jacob  Driesbach,  paid 
an  order  of  $43.66  in  full  Avith  interest 
to  the  contractors. 

The  donated  labor  which  was  not 
included  in  the  account  of  the  treas- 
urer amounted  to  more  than  $1000. 
The  church    has    several    times    been 


remodeled  and  beautified.  In  1871  the 
stce])le  and  bell  were  put  up,  and 
again  in  i';02  it  was  frescoed,  painted 
and  the  pulp-it  changed,  costing-  all 
U)h\  o\er  $1000;  in  general  ai)pearance 
it  is  still   as   when   first  built. 

The  c|uestion  has  often  been  asked, 
when  was  the  Lutheran  congreg-aion 
admitted  and  given  an  interest  in 
this,  the  mother  church  of  Northamp- 
ton county?  This  is  fully  revealed 
l)v  rules  and  regulation  recorded  in 
full  on  the  minute  book  of  the  Re- 
formed ccnigregation  and  a  copy  of 
which  was  put  into  the  corner-sone 
of  this  St.  Peter's  church.  They  are 
as   ft  illows  : 

••[n  the  name  of  God,  and  in  conse- 
quence of  the  fraternal  agreement  be- 
tween the  German  Reformed  and  the  Ger- 
man Evangelical  Lutheran  Churches  of 
Plainfield,  Northampton  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania the  Fieformed  Church  felt  obliged  to 
impart  to  the  Lutheran  an  equal  right  upon 
a  certain  number  of  acres  of  land,  without 
pay  or  compensation.  This  mutual 
church  property  includes  the  church  which 
has  been  exclusively  in  the  possession  of 
the  Reformed  Church  heretofore.  To  unite 
these  two  congregations  to  a  close  connec- 
tion, and  cause  a  religious  excitement 
among  them,  the  members  of  both  have  re- 
solved, relying  upon  the  assistance  of  God, 
to  build  a  new  brick  church,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  keeping  their  religious  services  at 
proper  times  in  it.  The  conditions  to 
which  both  parties  have  voluntarily  agreed 
to  accomplish  this  noble  enterprise,  are  as 
follows,  viz.: 

1st.  This  church  shall  forever  continue 
to  be  German  Evangelical  Reformed,  and 
German  Evangelical  Lutheran  exclusively, 
and  it  shall  never  be  used  for  any  other 
purpose. 

2nd.  Both  congregations  shall  have 
the  privilege  of  having  their  services  every 
alternate      Sunday     without       interruption. 

3rd.  Each  congregation  shall  have  the 
church  in  full  and  proper  use  at  her  ap- 
pointed Sundays,  and  shall  not  be  inter- 
rupted from  the  other  congregation. 

4th.  Neither  of  the  two  shall  have  the 
supremacy  over  the  other  one,  nor  meddle 
in  one  another's  affairs. 

5th.  No  minister,  either  Reformed  or 
Lutheran,  shall  be  appointed  clergyman  of 
this  church,  who  is  not  ordained  and  a 
member  of  one  respective  Synod  of  his  own 
faith,  nor  recommended  from  the  same  as 
a  competent  man,  both  in  doctrine  and 
conduct. 


316 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


6th.  The  expenses  for  building  this 
church  shall  be  paid  by  both  congregations 
according     to     their     respective       abilities. 

7th.  Each  respective  member  that  con- 
tributes towards  building  this  church,  and 
the  annual  salary  of  the  minister  after  it  is 
finished,  shall  have  a  right  secured  upon 
the  church   i)roperty. 

8th.  All  collections  taken  from  time  to 
time  from  both  congregations,  shall  be 
handed  over  from  the  ecclesiastical  coun- 
cils of  both,  to  the  treasurer  who  shall  be 
appointed  by  both,  until  the  church  is  paid. 
After  that,  the  collections  are  in  the  hands 
of  both  to  use  them  at  pleasure. 

9th.  If  any  decision  concerning  this 
church  property  is  to  be  made,  it  shall  be 
done    by    a    general    meeting,    consisting    of 


Accepted  in  the  year  1832,  on  the  11th 
day   cf  June. 

Reformed  Minister  —  Thomas  Pomp, 
Builders — Henry  Metz,  George  Hahn. 
Trustees — Conrad  Bender,  Jacob  Bender, 
Conrad  Hahn,  John  Heller,  Peter  Hahn, 
John  Henry  Koeller,  Wardens — Frederick 
Hahn,   John   Berstler. 

Lutheran  Minister — J.  A.  Probst.  Builder 
— Jacob  Schuck,  Trustees — George  Bruch, 
Andrew  Bitz,  Michael  Breidinger,  Wardens 
— Jacob  Rissmiller,  John  Kratzer.  Adam 
Meyer,   Thomas    Kassler. 

Whether  the  Lutheran  congregation  wor- 
shipped in  the  Reformed  building  before 
given  an  interest  in  it  we  have  not  been 
able   to   find   out,   as  there   is   no   record  in 


PI^AIXFIKI 

all  the  members  of  both  congregations, 
after  a  regular  announcement,  by  the  ma- 
jority of  votes. 

10th.  Both  ministers  of  these  united 
congregations  are  authorized  to  take  up 
annual  collections  for  itinerant  preachers, 
and  other  charitable  ])uri)oses. 

nth.  The  name  to  be  given  this  church 
at  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone,  shall  be 
ST.   PETER'S   CHURCH. 

12th.  A  funeral  sermon  that  falls  on 
Sunday,  shall  always  have  the  preference 
of  the  usual  sermons,  which  shall  there- 
fore be  postponed  from  both  ministers. 
That  the  above  resolutions  and  conditions 
are  sanctioned  from  l)oth  parties,  is  at- 
tested by  subscribing  the  names  of  the 
ministers,  the  ecclesiastical  councils  and 
the   builders   below. 


,D  CHURCH 

the    old    "Churchbooks"      of     any     contract 
made,  or  any  rent  received. 

DIE    ALT    PLAINFIELD     KERCH 

The  following"  poem  is  said  to  have 
been  composed  by  Rev.  E.  .^^^  Rein- 
eckc,  D.D.,  while  pastor  of  this 
church.  It  appeared  in  several 
papers  withont  his  name  and  was 
lately  compiled  with  other  Penna. 
( Icrman  poems  by  Daniel  Miller,  pub- 
lisher, of  Reading',  Pa.,  into  a  book 
cilU'd    "Pennsylvania    German.'' 

Dort  drowe,  nachst  am  Blohe  Berg, 
Do  steht  die  alle  Plainfield  Kerch. 
Selle  Kerch  leid  mir  stets  im  Sinn, 
.Mit  seliger  Briist  geh  ich   dort  bin. 


THE  PLAINFIELD  CHURCH 


317 


Ne!   Ne!    Es  gebt  nix  uf  der  Welt 
Was  mil-  so  gut  wie  sie  getallt 
Es  gebt  ken  Geld  ken  Hab  ken  Gut, 
Was  mich   so  wunnervoU   pliesse  thut. 

Guck  mol!    Sie  steht  so  hoch  so  scho, 
Gar  weit  un  breet  mer  sie  kann  seh; 
Un  rings  drum  rum   stehn   Himmels  Behm, 
En  kraftig  Bild  im  griine   Frehm. 

Du  alte  Kerch,  was  macht's  dass  ich 
So  warm,  so  herzlich   liewe  dich? 
Bist  doch   net  jung,  bist  nimme  neu, 
Bist  ah  net  just  so'n  grand  Gebau. 

Do   is's:    Du   host  mer  Guts   gethan — 
Weit   meh   wie   ich   uau   sage   kann; 
Host  mich   befreit  vum   Siinde   Schmerz, 
Host   Friede   gewe  meinem   Herz. 

Als  ich  noch  en  kleh   Baby   war. 
War  ich  getauft  an  deim  Altar; 
War  ich  gewasche  in  dem  Blut, 
Was  alle  Siind  wegnemme  thut. 

Do  hot  Gott  meiner  sich  erbarmt, 
Mit   Seiner  Liewe  mich   umarmt; 
Hot   Seine  Gnade  mir  geschenkt 
ilein  Herz  hinaus  zu  sich  gelenkt. 

Do,  als  ich  alter  worre  bin. 
Bin  ich  zum  Parre  gange  hin; 
Gar   treulich   hot   er   mich    gelehrt, 
Viel  Guts  hab  ich  vum  ihm  gehort. 

Wie  scho  hot  er  for  mich  gebet! 
Mit  Thrane   oft  for  mich   gefleht! 
Dass  ich  mocht  sei  en  Gottes  Kind 
Erlost  vum  Teufel,  Tod   und  Siind. 

Dann,   als   erfiillet   war   die   Zeit, 
Hab  ich  mei  Taufbund   do  erneut; 
Hob  ich  gelobet,  Gott  getreu 
Nau  un  in  Ewigkeit  zu  sein. 

Als  ich  gekniet  an  deim  Alter, 
Wees  ich  dass  Gott  ganz  nachst  mir  war; 
Mein  Herz  war  leicht,  mei  Seel  war  froh ; 
Oh,  selig,  selig  war  ich  do. 


Sei   Geist  hot   Gott   mir   do   geschenkt 
Mit  Lebenswasser  mich  getrankt 
Do   hab  ich   gesse   Himmels  Brod, 
Was  Trost  uns  gebt  in  Dodes  Noth. 

Oft   bin   ich   traurig  kumme   hin; 

Mei  Herz  war  schwer,  betriibt  mei  Sinn. 

Do  hot  getrost  mich   Gottes  Wort 

In  Friede  bin  ich  gange  fort. 

Do  owe  bei,  iiwer  der  Stress. 
Do  is  der  Kerchof,  scho,  un  gross; 
Vun  Mensche,  was  en  grosse  Zahl 
Leit  do;   ah  mei  Voreltere  all. 

Do   leie   sie   im   selige   Schlof, 
Friedlich  un  sanft  sei  Bisli  Schlof. 
Der  Herr  werd   sie  mol   wecke  uf 
Un   fiihre  schon   Zum   Himmel   nuf. 

Wann  mol  mei  Age  gehe  zu, 

Bringt  mich  do  her  zu  meiner  Ruh ; 

Do  schlof e  will  ich  ah,  bis  mich 

Mei  Herr  un   Gott  nehmmt  nuf  zu   sich. 

Du  alte  Kerch!   Nau  soft  net  ich 
Gar  warm,  gar  herzlich  liewe  dich? 
So  lang  ich  lebe  bin  ich  dei; 
Mei   Kerch  sollst  du   for  immer  sei. 

REFORMED  PASTORS 
Rev.  Casper  D.  Weyberg,  D.D.,  Mar.  13, 
1763  to  Nov.  1763,  vacancy;  Rev.  .John  D. 
Gross  (Supply),  1764-1765;  Rev.  Frederick 
L.  Henop,  1765  to  1769;  Rev.  .John  Wil- 
liam Pithan  (on  trial)  1769-1770;  Rev. 
William  Weber  (Licentiate  Supply)  1771- 
1782;  Rev.  John  William  Ingold,  1783-1786; 
Rev.  Lebrecht  F.  Herman,  D.D.,  1786-1790, 
vacancy — name  of  supply  pastor  not 
known;  Rev.  Christian  L.  Becker,  D.D., 
1793-1795;  vacancy — name  of  supply  not 
known;  Rev.  Thomas  Pomp,  1796-1848; 
Rev.  Christian  Eichenberg,  1848-1850; 
Rev.  Erasmus  Helfrich,  1850-1858;  Rev.  E. 
W.  Reinecke,  D.  D.,  1858-1890;  Rev.  T.  O. 
Stem  (Supply)  1890-1891;  Rev.  George  J. 
Lisberger,      1891-1902;      Rev.      William     H. 

Brong.  .Ian.  1,  1903 . 

(Conclusion  next   month) 


The  Covered  Basket 

By  Elsie  Singmaster,  Gettysburg,  Pa. 

USANNAH    KUHNS     sat  washing"    apron.      In    her     excitement 

tipon  the  edge    of    Sarah  she  was  carelessly  wrinkling  all  three. 

Ann  Mohr's  bed,  her  foot  "Do    yoti     want     to    be     murdered, 

swinging     angrily.        Be-  Sarah   Ann?" 

neath  her  stiffly  starched  Ponderous   Sarah   Ann    was    slowly 

and      immaculate      white  and  carefully  wrapping  in  three    towels 

apron    was     an     equally  the  church-book,    left    to    her    by    her 

stiff    gingham   apron,  be-  father  who  had  been  a  preacher.   She 

low   that  was     sightly   mussed   "dish-  was  going  on  a  short  journey  to  the 


318 


THE  PEXN  SYLVAN  I A-GERMAX 


house  of  her  brother  in  South  Bethle- 
hem, and  she  was  about  to  i)ut  the 
churcli  book  in  its  usual  hiding"  place. 
her  u])i)er  bureau  drawer. 

'■  I  would  hate  to  have  anything 
happen  to  this  book."  she  said, 
placidly.  "It  has  all  the  church  rec- 
ords for  fifty  years.  FAlie  Lichten- 
walter's  Mom  couldn't  a'got  her  pen- 
sion if  it  wasn't  for  this  book,  and 
I'^ackenthal,  he — " 

.'^usannah    interrni)le(l    furiously. 

"1  am  not  talking-  about  the  church 
book.  1  am  talking  about  \'enus 
Stuber  and  his  robbing.  Alillerstown 
is  all  alike.  L,st  evening  1  said  to 
Jim  Weygantlt  that  Venus  should  be 
])ut  to  jail,  and  jim  laughed  and  said 
he  was  a  "institution.'  "No,"  I  said, 
"he  is  not  a  institution,  whatever  the 
dumb  thing  is,  he  is  a  thief  and  a 
scalawag  and  a  lump.  I'll  put  him  in 
jail." 

.Sarah  Ann  smiled.  ( Jllie  would  not 
put  his  wt)rst  eneni}-  to  jail,  even  at 
."^usannah's  command.  \'enus  Stuber 
did  nobody  any  real  harm.  It  was 
true  that  he  approjjriated  chickens  and 
.garden  produce  and  fruits,  both  large 
and  small,  but  then  he  never  tried  to 
conceal  his  thefts.  Ji  was  oidy  the 
night  before  that  Sarah  Ann  had 
called  melodiously  from  her  window. 
"A'ou  can  take  a  few  onions,  Venus 
but  don't  you  step  on  my  young-  peas!" 
'i'all,  slouching,  heavy-jawed  Venus — 
X'enus.  indeed! — had  waved  his  hand 
at  her  across  the  moonlit  garden,  lie 
needed  no  such  \\arning,  he  w^as  al- 
ways careful.  lie  know  the  location 
of  every  nnv  of  young  peas  in  Millers- 
town.  Sarah  Ann  tried  to  present  this 
extenuating  circumstance,  but  Su- 
sannah would  not  let  her  say  a  w'ord.. 
Upon  this  subject  Susanah  would  not 
listen    to   reason. 

"I  don't  let  the  children  go  out 
scarcely  any  more."  Sarah  .Ann  smiled 
again.  The  children  were  hardly  ever 
at  home,  excepting  for  meals.  "And 
you'd  better  lock  3a)ur  things  up  good, 
Sarah  .\nn.  I'll  watch  while  you're 
away,   and    if  be   docs   anvthin<'-, " 


Sarah  Ann  straightened  u[)  from  her 
packing. 

"Susannah,  I  will  not  have  Venus 
Stuber  put  in  the  jail  for  taking  my 
things.  If  anybody  tries  to  put  him 
in  the  jail  for  taking  my  things  1  will 
sa}^  I  gave  them  to  him."  She  met 
Susannah's  blazing  eyes  quite  stead- 
ily. 

"All  right,  Sarah  Ann  Mohr.  All 
right."  Susannah  was  so  angry  she 
could  scarcely  speak.  She  w^ent  fu- 
riously dowm  the  steps  and  over  to 
her  own  house,  while  Sarah  Ann.  for 
the  first  time  since  Susannah  lived 
next  door  to  her.  w^ent  to  the  railroad 
stati(Mi  alone,  and  climbed  into  the 
train  without  Susnnah's  cheerful  good 
bye  and  wave  of  apron. 

A  few  minutes  later  Susannah 
started  across  the  street  to  the  store. 
In  her  heart  she  knew-'  that  Venus 
would  commit  no  serious  criiiie,  but 
having  assumed  a  certain  i:)osition,  she 
would  not  depart  from  it.  It  did  not 
improve  her  temper  to  see  Venus 
leaning  against  the  maple  tree  in  front 
of  her  own  door. 

"Good  morning,  Susannah,"  he  said, 
lazily.  Venus  was  always  good-na- 
tured. 

""^'ou'd  better  clear  out."  Susannah 
was  like  an  irate  terrier,  barking  at  a 
sleep}'  and  indifferent  mastiff.  "  You 
are  just  looking  for  something  to 
steal.'"' 

"Why,  Susannah!"  Venus  still 
grinned.  "I  never  stole  nothing  from 
you  but  three  beets.  But  if  you  don't 
look  out.  I  Avill." 

"You   just   try   it    once!      Clear   out, 
now  !" 
\"enus  moved  to  the  next  maple  tree. 

"Sarah  Ann  don't  care  if  I  lean 
against  her  tree." 

"Sarah  Ann  is  away  and  I  am  in 
charge.     Pack  off!" 

N'enus  went  lazily. 

.\s  though  she  were  carrying  out  a 
game  with  herself,  Susannah  stub- 
bornly insisted,  in  spite  of  her  hus- 
band's jeers,  in  laying  a  trap  for 
\'enus  in  the  little  covered  allev  which 


THE  covp:red  basket 


319 


separated      her      house       from       Sarah 
xVnn's. 

"\'()U  are  not  right  in  your  mind,"" 
said   ( )Hver   with   marital   frankness. 

Susannah  shut  her  lips,  and  went  on, 
piling'  one  chair  upon  another  and  a 
dishpan  and  tw'o  pails  on  the  ui)per 
chair.  She  almost  hoped  that  thieves 
would  come.  In  the  middle  of  the 
night  when  the  barricade  clattered 
down  to  the  brick  pavement,  the  ex- 
cited voice  with  which  she  awakened 
Olixer  was  almost  joyful. 

"1  told  you  St)!  Oliver!  \'enus  is 
after  Sarah  Aim"s  things!" 

Oliver  tlew  down,  willingly  enough, 
and  Susannah  followed.  The  chair 
and  the  pans  had  fallen,  but  nothing 
else   was  disturbed. 

"It  was  nt)thing  1)ut  a  cat."  cried 
(  )li\er,  angrily.  "Is  it  not  enough  that 
J  have  to  work  all  day  without  chas- 
ing cats  at  night?  Piling  chairs  so 
that  I  shall  be  weakened  in  the  night! 
"^Vhat  do  3MIU  care  if  some  of  Sarah 
.\nn's  garden  stuff  is  taken?  She 
don't."" 

"1  don't  care  if  her  whole  house  is 
stolen." 

"I'^)r   ^^•hat   do  you   care,   then?"" 

"1  don't  ^\•ant  my  children  mur- 
dered  in   their  beds."" 

"I'ooh!""  .Slee])y  as  he  was,  Oliver 
managed  a  derisive  laugh,  "^'ou  are 
surely  not  right  in  your  mind.  .Su- 
sannah." 

Susannah  awoke  in  the  morning  in 
a  still  worse  tem])er.  Sarah  Ann 
with  her  j^lacid  "I  thought  X^enus 
wouldn't  do  nothing,"'  would  be  more 
than  she  could  endure.  She  had  suc- 
ceeded in  convincing  herself  now  that 
A'enus  would  steal  from  houses,  just 
as  he  stole  from  gardens.  She  was 
positive  that  he  had  tried  to  get  into 
Sarah  .Ann's  house,  if  they  had  been  a 
little  quicker,  they  would  have  caught 
him. 

.She  dressed,  tied  on  her  "dish- wash- 
ing" ai)ron  and  her  smooth  gingham 
apron,  put  the  draughts  on  the  stf)ve, 
and  then  ran,  —  Susannah  never 
walked — out  to  sweej)    the    ])a\ement. 


As  she  entered  the  little  alley,  a 
sliadow  darkened  the  other  end. 
Whether  it  merely  passed  the  opening 
of  the  alley,  or  wdiether  it  issued  from 
the  alle}'  itself,  she  could  not  be  sure. 
.She  quickened  her  stej^s.  Some  one 
might  easily  have  been  in  Sarah 
Ann's  house  all  night. 

To  Susannah's  expectant  eyes,  the 
sight  of  X'enus  Stuber,  sitting  calmly 
on  her  own  doorstep,  was  no  surprise. 
Reside  him  stood  a  large  basket,  not 
open  to  the  daylight,  as  Venus  usually 
bore  his  spoils  homeward,  l)ut  cov- 
ered with  a  lid  of  thin  l)oards,  tied 
do^vn   with  cord. 

Susannah's  first  impulse  was  to 
shriek  for  help.  Then  she  remembered 
(  )liver's  unreasonable  anger.  If  she 
could  only  get  the  basket  into  her 
own  hands !  AVhat  it  contained,  she 
could  not  guess.  Venus  lifted  it  as 
though  it  were  heax}',  and  it  w'as 
large  enough  to  contain  a  little  child. 
.She  remembered  fearfully  the  tales 
she  had  heard  of  Charlie  Ross.  But 
N'enus  had  come  from  Sarah  Ann's 
and  there  were  no  children  there.  She 
walked  slowly  across  the  ])a\-ement. 

"What  ha\e  you  there,  \^enus!" 
lloney  is  no  sweeter  than  Susannah's 
voice. 

\'enus   grinned. 

"l)on"t  A'ou  ^\•ish  you  knew,  Susan- 
nah ?"" 

"Let  me  see  once,  \'enus."  .She  ap- 
proached a  little  nearer,  going  as  w^ar- 
il}'  as  though  he  were  a  chicken 
which  she  meant  to  sacrifice  for  din- 
ner. 

"\\'hat  have  you  in  your  basket?" 
she  asked  again. 

At  that,  Venus's  patience  suddenly 
failed,  and  w'ith  it  the  respect  with 
which  he  treated  by  day  those  from 
whom   he  stole  at  night. 

"Shut  up,"  he  bade  her,  and  was 
gone. 

For  an  instant  Susannah  stared  at 
him,  and  as  she  stared,  curiosity  and 
alarm  ga\e  place  to  triimiph.  .She  had 
been  right.  AVhatever  Sarah  Ann's 
loss   was,   she   would   report   it   first  to 


320 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Oliver.  Then,'  when  they  came  to  tell 
her,  Susannah,  she  would  laugh,  and 
tell  them  to  go  to  see  Venus  Stuber. 
Meanwhile,  not  a  word  would  she  say. 

It  was  a  busy  morning,  and  she  was 
so  occupied  until  dinner  time  that  she 
had  not  a  moment  in  which  to  specu- 
late about  what  it  was  that  Venus  had 
taken.  When  dinner  was  over,  and 
Oliver  and  Louisa  had  rushed  out  to 
play  Avith  the  little  Knerrs,  she  began 
to  wonder  Avhat  Sarah  Ann  owned 
that  was  so  small  and  so  heavy.  Sarah 
Ann  had  neither  jewels  nor  silver. 
lUit  Sarah  Ann  did  have, — Susannah 
grew  weak  and  faint  as  she  remem- 
bered— Sarah  Ann  had  what  was  far 
more  valual^le  than  jewels  or  silver, 
the  church-book.  And  it  was  she  who 
had  told  V^enus  Stuber  that  Sarah 
Ann  was  away! 

All  this  flashed  through  Susannah's 
mind  as  she  stood  motionless  beside 
the  dinner  table.  There  was  nothing 
so  valuable  in  all  Millcrtown  as  the 
church  record.  Long  since,  the 
preacher  had  advised  Sarah  Ann  to 
have  it  kept  in  the  safe  at  the  squire's 
ofificc,  and  Sara  Ann,  encouraged  by 
Susannah,  had  refused.  Its  hiding- 
place  was  known  only  to  Sarah  Ann 
and  Susannah.  Was  it,  could  it  have 
been  that  which  Venus  carried  in  his 
covered  basket? 

Susannah  crossed  the  yard,  took 
Sarah  Ann's  key  from  its  hiding  place 
between  two  bricks,  and  went  into  the 
house.  As  she  climbed  the  stairs  to 
Sarah  Ann's  room,  her  knees  shook, 
and  she  stepped  awkwardly  upon  her 
"dishwashing  apron,"  which  slipped 
ofif  unnoticed.  Then  she  opened 
Sarah  Ann's  upper  bureau  drawer  and 
peered  within.  The  church-book  was 
not  there ! 

Her  first  impulse  was  to  rouse  Mil- 
lerstown  and  organize  pursuit.  Then, 
as  she  went  slowly  down  the  steps, 
a  better  plan  occurred  to  her.  She 
would  go  to  Venus's  cabin  and  get 
the  book,  and  she  would  not  say  any- 
thing about  it    until    Sarah    Ann    had 


been  a  little  frightened.  She  baJ  suf- 
fered.    Sarah  Ann  might  suffer  also. 

Without  washing  the  dishes,  with- 
out performing  the  post  -  prandial 
ceremony  of  chasing  the  Hies  from  the 
kitchen  and  darkening  it,  she  started 
to  the  mountain,  carrying  with  her  a 
pail,  ostensibly  to  gather  blackberries. 
She  looked  about  her  a  little  uneasily 
as  she  made  her  way  up  the  over- 
grown wood  road.  The  door  of 
Venus's  cabin  stood  open,  but  there 
was  no  other  sign  of  his  presence. 
Susannah  went  boldly  into  the  little 
house  and  looked  about  her  at  the  dirt 
and  confusion.  The  basket  stood  in 
the  middle  of  the  floor,  beside  it  lay 
the  boards  which  had  covered  it. 
There  was  an  untidy  bed  in  one  cor- 
ner, and  a  stove  in  another.  Susan- 
nah's first  glance  showed  her  that  if 
the  church-book  were  in  the  house,  it 
was  in  the  bed. 

Unpleasant  as  the  task  was,  she 
pulled  off  the  dirty  coverings.  Then 
she  looked  in  the  oven,  she  even  raked 
out  the  ashes  o  f  Venus's  fire.  The 
book  was  not  there.  If  Venus  had 
burned  it,  he  had  performed  the  task 
thoroughly.  Susannah  set  her  steps 
homeward,  going  a  little  more  briskly 
than  she  came. 

Gradually,  as  she  went  down  the 
mountain  road,  cold  fear  beset  her.  If 
she  had  only  told  some  one  her  sus- 
])icious !  She  could  hear  Oliver's 
"Gott  im  Himmel!  why  didn't  you  say 
something,  Susannah !  "  Then  she 
would  answer,  "But  I  did  wake  you, 
and  you  were  cross,"  and  Oliver 
would  say,  "But  you  didn't  tell  me 
the  church-book  was  gone.  Susan- 
nah !" 

Perhaps  she  had  overlooked  some 
hiding  place  in  the  cabin.  She  stopped, 
meaning  to  return.  But  it  was  too 
late  now.  Venus  might  come  home, 
and  Venus  might  murder  her.  She 
would  go  back  to-morrow.  If  only 
Sarah  Ann  had  not  come  home ! 

Sarah  Ann  however  had  come.  Had 
Susannah  been  at  home,  she  might 
have  seen  her,  five  minutes  after  her 


THE    COVERED    BASKET 


321 


arrixal.  rush  as  swiftly  as  her  i^reat 
size  would  allow,  out  of  her  house 
and  across  to  Susannah's. 

"Susannah!"  she  had  called,  piti- 
fully. "Susannah !"'  Sarah  Ann  held 
no  hurt  remembrance  of  their  parting, 
or  if  she  did,  the  present  fright  swept 
it  from  her  mind.  When  Susannah 
did  not  answer,  she  hurried  to  the 
house  of  the  Lutheran  preacher,  and 
walked   into  his   study   unannounced. 

"Para  (Pastor),"'  she  said,  tremb- 
ling. "A-ach,  Para!" 

The  preacher  started  up  in  alarm, 
and  began  to  pour  out  a  glass  of 
water  for  Sarah  Ann. 

"What  is  wrong,  Sarah  Ann?  Sit 
down,  sit  down  !" 

Sarah  Ann  motioned  the  water 
aside. 

"The  church-book  is  gone !" 

"The  church-book  is  gone !  Since 
when?"     The  preacher  gasped. 

"Since  I  came  home,  already.  I  was 
visiting  my  brother  in  South  Bethle- 
hem. He  had  the  paralysis.  I  kept 
it  in  the  bureau  drawer.  Nobody 
knew  but  Susannah.  It  is  gone!  It  is 
gone !" 

"I  warned  you,  Sarah  Ann  Have 
you  an}-  idea  who  took  it?" 

"Nobody  in  Millerstown  would 
take  it,"  wailed  Sarah  Ann.  "I  found 
a  strange  apron  on  the  steps,  I — " 
Sarah  Ann's  mouth  suddenly  dropped 
open.  An  unbelievable  suspicion 
forced  itself  into  her  mind. 

"Was   it   Susannah's   apron?"   asked 
the  preacher,  cleverl}-. 
'    Sarah  Ann  clasped  her  hands. 

"Ach,  Para,  don't  say  such  a  thing. 
Susannah  can  go  everywhere  in  my 
house,  and  I  don't  care.  What  would 
Susannah  want  with  it?" 

"The  book  is  ver}-  valuable,  Sarah 
Ann,"  reminded  the  preached.  There 
was  keen  rivalry  among  the  Millers- 
town  churches.  "Susannah  is  not  a 
Lutheran.  Human  nature  is  human 
nature.  Now,"  he  rose  and  put  on  his 
hat.     "We  will  go  to  the  squire." 

Sarah  Ann  rose  also,  her  face 
purple.      Not   all    the   church-books    in 


the    world    could    recompense   her    for 
loss  of  faith  in  Susannah. 

"We  will  not  go  to  the  squire,"  she 
stammered.  "I — I  will  go  home  and 
look  again.  I — I — Perhaps  it  is  there. 
I  will  look  again." 

"If  anything  happens  to  the  book, 
it  will  be  partly  your  fault,"  said  the 
preacher,  stififly.    "It  is  a  public  trust." 

"Yes,"  agreed  Sarah  Ann.  "But  I 
will  go  and  look  again.'' 

When  she  reached  her  own  porch, 
she  sat  down  weakly  in  the  rocking 
chair.  She  would  wait  for  Susannah, 
.Susannah  would  help  her  search; 
And,  presently,  Susannah  came,  and 
with  head  lifted  proudly, — or  at  least 
so  it  seemed  to  Sarah  Ann — went  into 
her  own  kitchen  without  even  glanc- 
ing across  the  dividing  fence.  Sarah 
Ann  cried.  If  was  a  terrible  thing  if 
Susannah  were  guilty.  It  was  worse, 
if  for  the  first  time  in  ten  neighborly 
years,  Susannah  were  seriously  angry. 

In  her  own  kitchen,  Susannah, 
whose  head  was  turned  not  in  pride, 
l)ut  in  deadly  fear,  met  her  husband. 

"\Miere  were  you  all  afternoon?" 
he  asked,  a  scornful  eye  on  the  un- 
cleared table.  He  had  been  hunting 
her  from  garret  to  cellar. 

"I — I  went  to — to  fetch  blackber- 
ries." 

"AVhere  are  they,  then  ?" 

"It  didn't  give  any."  She  started  as 
she  remembered  her  pail.  She  must 
have  left  it  at  Venus's  cabin.  She  be- 
gan to  talk  wildly.  "I  am  going  to 
make  a  good  supper,  Ollie,  I  am  go- 
ing to  make  flapjacks,  I — "  She  real- 
ized with  a  thankful  sob  that  Ollie 
had  gone  out. 

In  the  morning  she  started  again  to 
the  woods.  It  had  rained  and  the 
])aths  were  slippery.  She  had  not 
slept  and  her  head  ached.  Venus  had 
apparently  not  come  home.  She  re- 
peated frantically  her  search  of  yester- 
day, and  went  thoroughly  over  the 
neighboring  ground.  There  was  no 
sign  of  the  book,  and  she  forgot  all 
about  her  pail. 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Shivering-  with  fright,  she  went 
home.  She  remembered  Sarah  Ann's 
thousand  neighliorly  kindnesses.  Sarah 
Ann  had  but  one  fault  in  the  world, 
she  was  too  kind.  And  why  did  Sarah 
Ann  not  discover  her  loss?  And  how 
should  she  ever  confess  that  she  had 
allowed  Venus  Stuber  to  rol)  Sarah 
Ann  of  her  dearest  treasure? 

The  next  day.  she  made  another 
hurried  visit  tn  the  woods.  Her 
search  was  vain,  and,  determining  to 
go  at  once  to  Sarah  Ann.  she  started 
down  the  road.  Then,  suddenly,  hoi)e 
flashed  u])on  her.  PerhajiS  Venus 
himself  liad  returned  the  church-l)ook. 
lie  had  never  been  knoA\n  to  return 
anything,  but  he  might  ha\e  con- 
cluded that  the  book  A\as  worthless  to 
him  l)ut  sufficientl}'  \alual)le  to  others 
to  bring  him  into  tlie  long-thrcalened 
jail.  That  afternoon,  if  .Sarah  Ann 
went  out,  she  would  go  o\er  and  see. 

Hurrying  along  a  little  more  cheer- 
fully." she  saw  a  crowd  before  her 
•  loor.     Mad  they — had  ihey  found  out? 

"What  is  wrong?"  she  demanded. 

"Little  ()llie  fell  from  the  gra  ic 
arbor."  some  one  answrrcij.  "\o,  no. 
Susannah,  lie  aiiTl  hurt.  W'e  thought 
he  was  and  we  sent  for  his  Poj),  but 
he  only  hit   bis   nose,   and — "" 

Susannah  hurried  in.  The  injured 
(  )lli(.'  had  already  xanisbed  toward  the 
l\]ierrs,  but  his  father  was  there,  stern 
and  reproachful. 

"Where  do  you  go  alwax's?"  Ik-  de- 
manded.  I'urionsh'. 

"l"or  mint  tea.'"  Susannali  lifte<l 
the  ])uncb  -be  had  hastily  gatberecl. 
1  b>w   slu-  baled   to   lie  I 

<  )liver  looked  at  her  A\ith  horror 
and  amazement.  lie  knew  that  she 
was  not  telling  the  truth.  Without  a 
word,  he  went  out  of  thr  bouse  and 
across  the  fields  toward  the  furnace. 

Susannah  Avalked  slowlv  to  the 
door  brbind  him.  (  )b,  what  a  relief  it 
^voidd  be  to  rail  him  back  and  tell 
him!  I'.m  first  >bt>  must  see  whether 
\'enus  had  returned  the  book. 

She  watched  that  afternoon  till 
Sarah    Ann    went    out,    then    she    stole 


across  to  her  house.  Venus  might 
have  dropped  the  book  into  the  cellar 
window  which  opened  on  the  street, 
she  would  look  there  first.  The  cellar 
was  dark,  she  felt  her  way  about, 
touching  each  spot  where  the  book 
might  have  fallen.  It  was  not  there. 
Xewly  disheartened,  she  made  her 
way  back  to  the  kitchen.  There  in 
terror,  she  began  to  cry.  Sarah  Ann 
was  just  coming  in   the  door. 

"Why,  Susannah,"  she  said,  quite 
naturalh^  thinking  that  Susannah 
meant  to  make  up,  and  had  come  a' 
borrowing. 

To  .Susannah's  ears  it  was  an  accu- 
satii  Ml. 

"1  tried  to  catch  him,"  she  cried. 
"It  was  \'enus  Stul)er  stole  it.  I  saw 
him. — "    She    was    sobbing  wildly. 

"A\'ln',  Susannah!"  Sarah  Ann  was 
too  astonished  to  move.  She  was 
suddenly  thrust  into  the  room  by  the 
opening  door.  Oliver  Kuhns  came  in, 
bis  face  scarlet.  ( )\er  his  shoulder 
leered  A'eiuis  .Stuber,  \\ho  seemed  to 
be  enjo_\'ing  st)me  huge  joke.  (Jli\-er 
looked  at  them  for  a  moment,  at  Su- 
sannah. wee:)ing  on  her  knees  at  the 
head  of  the  cellar  steps,  at  Sarah  Ann, 
A\dio  stood  gasping. 

"A\'bat  ba\e  you  l)een  doing.  Su- 
samiab?"      lie  said,  roughly. 

"Xotbing,"   sobbed   Susannah.   "Noth- 
ing.     \'enus   Stuber,  he — " 

()li\er  took  her  b}'  the  shoulder.  In 
bis  hand  was  the  pail  she  had  carried 
on   her  first  journey  to  Venus's  cabin. 

"\'enus  Stuber  says  you've  betn 
stealing  from  him.  He  says  you've 
been  ransacking  his  'house.  He 
watched  you   three  times." 

"Stealing!  I  stealing!  b^rom  Venus 
.Stuber!"  .\o  one  l)ut  \'enus  seemed 
to  ap])reciale  the  humor  of  the  situa- 
tion. A'enus  laughed  aloud.  Susannah 
turned  to  Sarah  Ann.  who  had  always 
been  her  friend. 

".Sarah  Ann.  do  }-ou  belie\-e  I  would 
steal ?" 

Now  .Sarah  Ann  became  inct)herent. 

i      ne\-er     told     anyone     but      the 

l)reaclier.   .Susannah.     I   never  believed 


THE    COVERED    BASKET 


323 


it.  lie  put  it  into  my  mind.  And  I 
wouldn't  tell  the  squire^  even  if  it  was 
the  church-book.   1 — " 

"You  thought  1  stole  the  church- 
book,"  said  Susannah,  slowly.  She 
was  trying  to  make  herself  under- 
stand the  words.  Oliver  turned  pale. 
Angry  at  Venus's  story,  he  had  merely 
meant  to  frighten  her.  He  had  sup- 
posed it  was  only  her  desire  to  prove 
\'enus  a  thief  which  had  made  her  go 
to  his  cabin.  Now  they  had  plunged 
into  possibilities  of  trouble  which  ter- 
rified him.  Even  A'enus's  face  had 
lost  its  usual  grin. 

"No,  I  ne\er  thought  so,"  sobbed 
Sarah  Ann.  "But  you  were  the  only 
one  in  JNIillerstown  .who  knew  where 
I  kept  it.  And  )'our  apron  was  on  the 
steps,  and — " 

"When  did  you  miss  the  church- 
book?"  asked  01i^'er,  heavily. 

"^^'hen  1  came  home.  I  would  have 
told  you  but  I  couldn't  find  Susannah, 
and  I  would  have  given  her  her  apron, 
and  I  would  have  told  her  everything, 
but  she  Avas  cross  over  me.  And  wdien 
I  fecund  it,  T  would  have  told  her, 
but—" 


"Found  it!"  gasped  Susannah.  "Did 
you  found  it?" 

"Why,  I  put  it  in  the  flour  barrel, 
Susannah,  the  last  thing,  and  then  I 
forgot  wdiere  I  put  it.  It  is  here,  Su- 
sannah. It  is  here.  All  the  time  it 
is  here." 

"Here,"  repeated  Susannah. 

It  took  Sarah  Ann  a  surprisingly 
few  seconds  to  go  upstairs  and  down. 

"Look  once,   Susannah,"  she  cried. 

But  Susannah  did  not  glance  at  the 
worn  covers,  she  crossed  the  room  in 
a  bound  and  seized  Venus  Stuber  by 
the  arm.  Oliver  stared  at  her,  mysti- 
fication and  relief  alternating  on  his 
round  face.     Susannah  shook  Venus. 

"What  did  you  have  in  your  covered 
basket?"  she   cried,   furiously. 

A'enus  looked  down  at  her,  grinning-. 
He  did  not  approve  of  such  curiosity, 
and  he  had  a  well  developed  sense  of 
humor. 

"Don't  you  tell  anybody,  Susannah," 
he  said.  "If  anybody  asks  you,  you 
say  you  don't  know.  When  I  want 
the  people  to  know,  I  leave  my  basket 
open,  Susannah." 


The  Burning  of  Chambersburg 


NOTE.— This  article  published  in  the 
Baltimore  American  March  28  1909  and 
written  by  Lieut.  Fielder  C.  Slingluff  who 
was  a  member  of  the  P"'irst  Maryland  Cav- 
alry C.  S.  A.  and  is  now  a  prominent  law- 
yer, citizen,  clubman  and  churchman  of 
Baltimore,  Md.,  was  sent  for  publication 
by  Captain  Frederick  M.  Colston  of  the 
same  place.  The  letter  beside  the  follow- 
ing: "As  an  act  of  simple  justice  and  for 
historical  accuracy  I  ask  you  to  publish 
this,  as  an  addenda  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Sei- 
berfs  account  of  the  burning  of  Chambe.rs- 
Inu'g,"  contained  a  clipping  from  the  Balti- 
more  Sun   of  April    26,    1909,    as    follows: 

Sheridan,  like  Sherman,  indulged  his 
proclivities  for  pillage  and  destruction  only 
after  the  last  vestige  of  Confederate  mili- 
tary organization  had  vanished  from  his 
front,  and  it  was  on  a  people  incapable  of 
armed  resistance  that  vengeance  was 
wreaked.  Some  idea  of  the  pitiless  and 
wanton  devastation  wrought  in  the  valley 
may  be  gathered  from  tlie  report  of  a  com- 


mittee appointed  just  after  the  close  of  hos- 
tilities by  the  county  court  of  Rockingham 
to  estimate  the  havoc  inflicted  on  the  pro- 
])p.rty  of  noncombatants  under  Sheridan's 
orders    in   that   country   alone: 

Dwellings  burned.  36;  barns  burned, 
4.50;  mills  burned,  31;  fences  destroyed 
(miles),  100;  bushels  of  wheat  de- 
stroyed. 100,000;  bushels  of  corn  de- 
stroyed, .50,000;  tons  of  hay  destroyed, 
6,233;  cattle  carried  off,  1,750  head; 
horses  and  hogs  carried  off,  3,350  head; 
factories  burned,  3;  furnace  burned,  1. 
In  addition,  there  was  an  immense 
amount  of  farming  utensils  of  every 
description  destroyed,  many  of  them 
of  great  value,  such  as  reapers  and 
thrashing  machines,  also  household 
and  kitchen  furniture,  and  money, 
bonds,  plate,  etc.,  pillaged. 

We  are  glad  to  print  this  article  written 
25  years  ago.  supplementary  to  Dr.  Seibert's 
vivid  description  written  30  years  ago.  The 


324 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


two  papers  give  us  opposite  aspects  of  tlie 
same  events  and  have  for  this  reason  un- 
usual historical   value. 


N  interesting-  contribution 
to  the  literature  of  the 
Civil  War  is  an  account 
of  the  burning  of  Chani- 
bersburg  written  by  Mr. 
Fielder  C.  Slinglutf,  of 
the  law  firm  of  Slingluff 
a  n  d  Slinglufif,  I>  a  1 1  i  - 
more.  He  was  present  at  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  town  as  a  member  of  the 
First  Maryland  Cavalry,  and  his  ac- 
count is,  accordingly,  from  the  stand- 
point of  a  Confederate  soldier.  For 
25  years  Mr.  Slingiuff's  narrative  ha* 
been  tucked  away  in  archives,  which 
gives  it  added  historic  interest. 

The  account  of  the  event  is  in  the 
form  of  a  letter  to  Mr.  Ephraim  Ilite- 
shew.  of  Chambersburg,  Pa.,  who  pre- 
vailed upon  Mr.  Slinglufif  to  write  it 
in  connection  with  some  reminiscences 
compiled  by  Mr.  Hoke,  of  Chambers- 
burg. The  letter  telling  of  the  de- 
struction, which  Mr.  Slinglufif  has 
permitted  to  l)e  published,  is  as  fol- 
lows : 

Baltimore,  August   i,  1884. 
Ephrain   Hiteshew,  Esq., 

Chambersburg,  Pa. 
'My  Dear  Sir:  I  have  received  the 
papers  sent  me  by  you  containing  Mr. 
Hoke's  reminiscences  of  the  burning 
of  Chambersburg  and  have  carefully 
read  them.  At  your  request  I  will 
give  you  my  recollection  of  the  events 
which  immediately  preceded  and  fol- 
lowed that  occurrence. 

I  write  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
private  soldier,  having  had  no  know- 
ledge of  the  reasons  which  dictated  of- 
ficial orders  at  the  time,  nor  had  my 
associates.  We  simply  obeyed  orders. 
I  do  not  pretend  to  give  dates,  dis- 
tances, names  of  places,  of  persons  or 
localities  with  precision.  Twenty  years 
is  a  long  span  in  a  man's  life,  and  as 
I  passed  through  many  stirring  events 
during  the  war  this  one  did  not  make 
as  great  an  impression  upon  me  as  it 


did  upon   those  who  immediately  suf- 
fered from  it. 

I  believe,  though,  that  that  20  years 
has  so  curbed  and  tempered  the  ex- 
citement of  early  manhood  and  molli- 
fied the  passions  and  resentments  of 
war  that  I  can  write  calmly  and  witfi- 
out  bias  on  the  subject.  At  least  such 
will  be  my  endeavor.  At  the  same 
time  I  shall  not  hesitate  to  speak 
frankly  and  freely  from  my  stand- 
point. To  do  less  would  render  value- 
less, for  the  purpose  of  impartial  his- 
tory, any  thing  which  I  might  say. 

THE  FIRST  MARYLAND  CAVALRY 
Mr.  Floke's  articles  are  as  temper- 
ate as  possible  from  one  whose  house 
was  burned  by  an  enemy,  and,  as,  he 
thinks,  without  justification.  It  is 
true  he  calls  us  "villains"  occasionally 
and  says  we  seemed  accustomed  to 
the  business  from  the  expert  way  in 
which  we  proceeded  to  the  task.  I 
will  not  quarrel  with  him  for  this,  but 
i  think  it  proper  to  take  a  look  av 
these  villains  to  see  who  they  were 
then  and  what  they  are  now.  1  was  a 
young  man  not  yet  arrived  at  matur- 
ity. I  had  just  left  college  when  I 
joined  the  Confederate  army.  When  I 
marched  for  Chambersburg  I  be- 
longed to  the  First  Maryland  Cavalry. 
This  regiment  was  composed  of  the 
very  first  young  men  of  our  state.  If 
they  were  not  guided  by  the  strong- 
est instincts  of  principle  in  going  into 
the  Southern  army  and  staying  there 
they  are  certainly  a  very  peculiar  set 
of  young  men,  for  there  was  anything 
but  pleasure  in  our  lives. 

We  were  generally  hungry,  slept 
often,  winter  and  summer,  in  the  open 
air  on  the  ground,  got  no  pay  that  we 
could  buy  anything  with,  were  scant- 
ily clad  and  were  apt  to  be  killed, 
sooner  or  later  in  battle.  I  believe  the 
unbiased  man  must  say  this  was  pa- 
triotism, although  he  can,  if  he  wishes, 
reconcile  his  conscience  by  calling  it 
"misguided  patriotism."  And  you  may 
be  surprised  to  know  that  these  young 
"villains'"  have  generally  developed 
into  good  citizens  and  successful  men. 


THE   BURNING   OF  CHAMBERSBURG 


325 


Go  where  you  will  through  our  state, 
and  you  will  find  them  respected  and 
at  the  head  of  the  communities  in 
which  they  live.  In  business  I  can 
name  you  a  dozen  of  the  leading 
houses  in  this  city  whose  members 
were  with  Johnson  and  McCausland, 
when  your  city  was  l)urncd.  The  bar 
throughout  the  state  is  full  of  them; 
and  they  are.  in  many  cases,  among 
the  leaders  of  their  circuits.  They  are 
doctors  in  good  standing  in  their  pro- 
fession ;  and  man_y  of  the  most  thrifty 
farmers  in  this  state,  whose  fine  farms 
attest  devotion  to  duty  and  to  home, 
especially  in  such  counties  as  Howard 
and  Montgomery,  were  also  present 
on  that  occasion. 

In  addition  to  our  regiment  there 
were  five  or  six  others  in  the  brigade, 
most  of  them  from  Southwest  Virginia 
and  the  Valley  of  Virginia.  The  men 
who  composed  these  regiments  were 
the  substantial  citizens  of  their  respec- 
tive counties,  and  would  compare  fa- 
vorably wih  the  like  number  of  men 
selected  from  any  agricultural  com- 
munity in  our  country. 

A  RETALIATORY  MEASURE 

Now  you  would  like  to  know  if  the 
men  whom  I  have  described  justified 
the  burning  of  your  town,  in  their  in- 
dividual capacity,  irrespective  of  the 
orders  from  headquarters.  under 
which  they  acted.  1  must  say  to  you 
frankly  that  the}-  did.  and  T  never 
heard  one  dissenting  voice.  .Vnd  why 
did  we  justify  so  harsh  a  measure  ? 
.Simply  because  we  had  long  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  it  was  time  for  us 
to  burn  something  in  the  eneny's  coun- 
try. In  the  campaign  of  the  ])receding 
year,  when  our  whole  army  had  passed 
through  yi)ur  richest  section  of 
country,  whore  the  peaceful  h(^mes 
and  fruitful  fields  only  made  the  con- 
trast with  what  he  had  left  the  more 
significant,  many  a  man  whose  home 
was  in  ruins  chafed  under  the  orders 
from  (General  Lee,  which  forbade  him 
to  touch  them,  but  the  orders  were 
obeyed,  and  we  left  the  homes  and 
fields  as  we   found  them,  ihe  ordinarv 


wear  and  tear  of  an  ami}-  of  occupa- 
tion alone  excepted.  \\'e  had  so  often 
before  our  eyes  the  reverse  of  this 
wherever  your  army  swept  through 
Virginia,  that  we  were  thoroughly 
convinced  of  the  justice  of  a  stern  re- 
taliation. 

It  is  no  pleasure  to  me  to  have  to 
recall  the  scenes  of  those  days,  nor  do 
I  do  so  in  any  spirit  of  vindictiveness, 
Init  I  simply  tell  the  truth  in  justifica- 
tion of  an  act  which  Mr.  Hoke  claims 
was  without  justification.  We  had  fol- 
lowed Kilpatrick  (I  think  it  was)  in 
his  raid  through  Madison,  Greene  and 
other  counties,  and  had  seen  the  cattle 
shot  or  hamstrung  in  the  barnyards, 
the  agricultural  implements  burned, 
the  feather  beds  and  clothing  of  the 
women  and  children  cut  in  shreds  in 
mere  wantonness,  farmhouse  after 
farmluuise  stripped  of  every  ])article 
of  provisions,  private  carriages  cut 
and  broken  up,  and  women  in  tears 
lamenting  all  this.  I  do  not  put  down 
here  an3'thing  that  I  did  not  see  my- 
self. We  had  seen  a  thousand  ruined 
homes  in  Clark,  Jefferson  and  PVeder- 
ick  counties — barns  and  houses  burned 
and  private  property  destroyed — but 
we  had  no  knowledge  that  this  was 
done  by  "official  orders."  At  last  when 
the  official  order  came  o-)enlv  from 
General  Hunter,  and  the  burning  was 
done  thereunder,  and  when  our  orders 
of  retailiation  came  they  met  w  ith  the 
a])probation.  as  I  have  said,  of  every 
man  who  crossed  the  Potomac  to  exe- 
cute them. 

Of  course  we  had  nothing  personal 
against  }'our  i)retty  little  town.  It  just 
so  happened  that  it  was  the  nearest  and 
most  accessible  place  of  inT>ortance 
for  us  to  get  to.  It  was  the  unfortu- 
nate \ictim  of  circumstances.  Had  it 
been  further  off  and  some  other  town 
nearer  that  other  town  would  have 
gone  and  Chambersburg  wduld  have 
been  sa\ed. 

THE    J'EOPLE    OF   CHAMBERSBURG 

And  now  having  given  3nni  the  feel- 
ings and  motives  whi'di  actuated  us, 
permit    me    tn   give    mv    \iew-;   of   how 


326 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


your  people  felt  about  the  affair.  I 
must  be  frank  enough  to  say  that  I 
think  the  reason  the  tribute  demanded 
of  vou  was  not  paid  was  because  you 
people  had  no  idea  that  the  rebels 
would  carry  out  their  threat  to  burn  ; 
nor  was  this  confidence  shaken  until 
the  smoke  and  flames  began  to  ascend. 
I  know  that  this  is  directly  in  the 
teeth  of  i\Ir.  Hoke's  tribute  to  the  pa- 
triotism of  his  fellow-towmsmen,  that 
sooner  than  pay  money  to  the  rebels 
they  saw  their  homes  laid  in  ashes ; 
but  he  is  himself  a  little  illogical,  for 
he  gives  greater  condemnation  to  a 
cruel  enemy  for  burning  out  a  helpless 
people  after  they  had  shown  to  them 
that  the  banks  had  removed  their  de- 
posits, and  it  was  impossible  for  them 
to  get  the  money  demanded.  Had 
your  people  believed  that  the  town 
w^as  actually  in  danger  I  think  they 
could  have  raised  enough  money  to 
have  avoided  the  catastrophe. 

Why  this  confidence  of  security?  It 
grew  out  of  the  position  taken  by  your 
people  during  the  war;  that  we  were 
rebels,  soon  to  be  conquered ;  and  that 
whatever  cruelties  w^ere  inflicted  upon 
the  homes  of  these  rebels  were  in  the 
nature  of  penalties  for  rebellious  con- 
duct;  and  that  such  like  acts  would 
never  dare  to  be  attempted  against 
loyal  men.  It  was  further  strength- 
ened by  the  fact  that  when  the  whole 
Rebel  Army  w^as  in  your  state,  no 
atrocities  w-ere  committed.  I  saw  this 
confidence,  almost  amounting  to  con- 
tempt, on  our  march  to  your  town 
itself,  when  the  negotiations,  prelimin- 
ary to  the  fire,  were  in  progress.  I 
happened  with  a  comrade  or  two,  to 
get  behind  the  command  on  the  march 
to  the  town,  and,  in  passing  through 
a  village  of  some  size  (I  think  it  was 
Mercersburg),  the  knots  of  men  on  the 
corners  poked  fun  at  our  appearance, 
and  jeered  us,  and  never  seemed  to 
consider  that  the  men  upon  whom 
they  expended  their  fun  had  pistols 
and  sabres  in  their  belts  and  might  use 
them.    The  strange  part  of  the  matter 


to  us  was  to  see  able-bodied  young 
men  out  of  service — a  sight  never  seen 
in  the  South  during  the  war.  In  Cham- 
bersburg  itself,  it  seemed  impossible 
to  convince  your  people  that  we  were 
in  earnest.  They  treated  it  as  a  joke, 
or  thought  it  was  a  mere  threat  to  get 
the  mone}',  and  showed  their  sense  of 
securitv  and  incredulity  in  every  act. 

THREE    CLASSES    OF   BURNERS 

When  the  two  brigades  of  Confed- 
erate ca^•alry  marched  to  your  town 
the  order  came  to  certain  regiments 
and  portion  of  regiments  to  enter  and 
burn  it.  Our  regiment,  as  a  whole, 
according  to  the  best  of  my  recollec- 
tion, was  not  sent  in,  but  there  were 
several  detachments  from  it  on  differ- 
ent kinds  of  duty  sent  there,  and  I  was 
with  one  of  them.  It  was  afterward 
a  source  of  congratulation  to  our  men 
that  they  had  not  been  detailed  for  the 
purpose,  for  although  they  regarded 
it  as  a  proper  measure  of  retaliation, 
they  did  not  seek  the  unpleasant  task. 
The  men  who  actually  applied  the 
torch  may  be  classed  in  three  divis- 
ions :  First,  those  whose  own  homes 
had  been  ravaged  or  destroyed,  or 
whose  relations  had  suffered  in  that 
way.  These  men  w^ere  anxious  for 
the  work  to  begin,  and  the  spirit  of  re- 
venge which  actuated  them  made  them 
apparently  merciless.Tliere  were  many 
such  in  the  brigade.  Second,  the  far 
larger  portion  who  simply  obeyed 
orders,  as  soldiers,  and  who  saved 
what  they  could,  and  to  whose  hu- 
manity and  liberal  construction  of  the 
orders  given  them  no  doubt  you  must 
be  thankful  for  the  portion  of  the  city 
that  was  saved.  Thirdly,  the  men  to 
be  found  in  all  armies  who  looked 
upon  the  occasion  as  an  opportunity 
to  plunder,  and  who  rejoiced  in  wan- 
ton destruction.  This  last  element 
was,  I  am  glad  to  say,  small,  but  I 
have  no  doubt  to  those  who  unfor- 
tunately came  in  contact  with  them 
they  were  but  types  of  the  wohle  com- 
mand. 


THE   BURNING   OF  CHAMBERSBURG 


327 


APPLYING  THE  TORCH 

As  I  had  never  seen  the  town  be- 
fore, and  did  not  know  the  names  of 
jour  streets,  1  ean  L;ive  you  no  de- 
tailed accoiuit  of  the  l)urning.  After  it 
began  it  was  quickly  done.  Men  plead 
to  have  their  homes  saved;  !«nt  the 
women  acted  in  a  much  calmer 
manner,  after  they  understood  the 
thiuL;-  ^vas  ine\  itable ;  and,  in  some 
■cases,  excited  our  admiration  by  their 
•courage  and  defiance.  I  saw  a  number 
of  houses  fired,  but  1  saw  no  abuse  of 
the  citizens.  Through  the  scenes  of 
terror  which  your  people  passed,  I 
have  read  Mr.  Hoke's  annals  in  vain 
to  find  mention  of  an  unarmetl  citizen 
injured,  or  a  woman  insulted.  Some 
of  the  men  became  inflamed  with 
liquor,  but  I  believe  they  were  few. 
The  most  usual  method  of  burning- 
was  to  break  the  furniture  into  splin- 
ters; pile  in  the  middle  of  the  floor 
and  then  fire  it.  This  was  done  in  the 
beginning,  but,  as  the  fire  became 
general,  it  was  not  necessary,  as  one 
house  set  fire  to  the  other.  Most  of 
the  houses  were  vacant  when  fired, 
the  occupants  having  fled. 

When  the  command  was  given  to 
retire,  it  was  quickl}'  done.  One  little 
incident  which  happened  after  we  left 
the  town  will  illustrate  all  I  have  said 
about  the  feeling  which  actuated  many 
of  our  soldiers.  I  think  it  was  two  or 
three  miles  from  the  town  (it  may 
have  been  more  or  less),  some  of  us 
halted  for  a  few  minutes  to  get  a 
drink  and  perhaps  something  to  eat. 
A  brick  farmhouse,  with  a  porch,  was 
located  on  the  road,  wnth  a  pump  to 
the  side  of  it.  Not  far  off  was  what  we 
called  a  Pennsylvania  "Dutch  barn." 
larger  than  the  house.  It  was  full  of 
the  recently  gathered  harvest,  and 
bore  all  the  evidence  of  a  plentiful 
yield  to  a  good  farmer.  T  hitched  my 
horse  to  the  lightning  rod  on  the  side 
of  the  barn  next  to  the  house,  and 
was  just  returning  to  get  him  when 
some  one  cried  "fire."  In  an  instant 
the  barn  was  in  flames.  I  had  hardly 
time  to  unhitch  mv  horse.  Some  of  our 


part}-  demanded  in  angry  tones  of  two 
troopers  who  came  from  the  barn  and 
mounted  their  horses,  what  they 
meant  by  such  uncalled  for  vandalism. 

The  reply  was,  "Why,  d it,    they 

burnt  our  barn."  and  on   they  rode. 

I'.ut  1  am  making  this  letter  longer 
than  necessary,  and  must  hurry  on. 

MOTIVE   OF  THE   RETREAT 

One  word  about  what  happened 
after  our  retreat.  Mr.  Hoke  seems  to 
think  that  the.  fear  of  Averill  was  up- 
permost in  our  minds.  This  is  a  mis- 
take. Whatever  may  have  been  the 
motives  that  actuated  the  command- 
ing officers  the  men  did  not  fear  him 
at  all.  They  had  perfect  confidence 
that  they  could  whip  him  whenever  he 
thought  proper  to  give  us  the  oppor- 
tunity, and  any  soldier  will  tell  you 
that  a  feeling  like  that  means  victory. 
At  one  little  town  w^e  stopped  to  feed 
our  horses  and  rest.  His  columns  were 
in  sight,  but  no  attack  was  made.  As 
we  passed  through  Hancock,  his  ad- 
vance fired  into  our  rear  guard,  and 
made  a  little  dash  at  us.  I  saw  in  this 
little  fight  Harry  Gilmor,  who  was 
the  last  man  to  leave  the  town,  struck, 
and  severely  stung  by  a  s])ent  ball, 
which  made  him  whistle  with  pain. 
We  also  heard  on*  the  retreat  that 
some  of  our  men  had  been  left  in 
Chambersburg  drunk,  and  had  been 
thrown  in  the  flames  by  the  citizens 
and  burned  to  death.  This  was  camp 
gossip  wdth  us.  but  I  never  heard  it 
verified. 

We  crossed  the  Pototmac  with 
some  little  opposition  from  an  iron- 
clad car  in  our  front  on  the  track  of 
the  B.  &  O.  R.  R.,  which  was  struck 
])y  a  ball,  fired  by  the  Baltimore  Light 
Artillery  and  immediately  left.  We 
also  had  quite  a  severe  little  fight  in 
the  Blue  Ridge  Mountains,  near  Cold 
Spring,  on  the  advance,  in  which  sev- 
eral from  our  regiment  were  killed 
and  wounded,  and  in  which  a  body  of 
your  cavalry  showed  great  spirit  and 
determination  ;  but  aside  from  this  we 
had  no  fighting  at  all.  I  dislike  again 
to  destroy  a  thrilling    episode    in    Mr. 


328 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Hoke's  very  cleverly  written  annals; 
but  the  truth  compels  me  to  do  so.  He 
says  when  Averill  came  up  to  us  in 
the  Moorefield  Valley,  and  captured 
and  scattered  our  command,  that  they 
charged  us  with  the  cry  of  "Remem- 
ber Chambersburg,"  and  cut  us  down 
without  mercy.  The  fact  is,  we  were 
down  when  he  charged  us.  I  will 
give  you  the  plain,  prosaic  facts,  of 
which  I  was  the  unfortunate  witness 
and  victim. 

ATTACKED    BY    AVERILL 

After  we  recrossed  the  Potomac  we 
marched  to  the  Moorefield  V^alley  to 
rest  and  recuperate,  after  a  severe 
campaign.  There  is  no  lovelier  spot 
in  all  Virginia  than  this  little  moun- 
tain-locked valley;  and,  as  it  had  es- 
caped the  desolation  of  war,  it  was  the 
very  spot  for  rest.  Our  regiment  was 
camped  nearest  the  river,  and  the 
company  to  which  1  belonged  was 
nearest  the  river  of  all.  Aly  messmate 
and  myself  had  crossed  the  fence  from 
the  field  in  which  the  regiment  was 
camped  to  make  our  bed  in  a  soft 
green  fence  corner,  so  that  I  believe 
we  were  the  nearest  of  the  whole  bri- 
gade to  the  eneyiy.  \\'e  had  been 
camped  quietly  a  day  or  two  when,  in 
the  middle  of  the  night,  the  order 
came  to  "saddle  up."  We  soon  were 
ready  for  a  reported  advance  of  the 
enemy,  but,  after  waiting  an  hour  or 
two  with  no  further  (M'ders.  the  men 
gradually  got  under  their  blankets 
and  went  to  sleep.  Just  at  the  break 
of  day  I  felt  a  rude  shock,  which  I 
su])])Osed  came  from  the  careless  tread 
of  a  comrade,  and  I  made  an  angry 
remonstrance.  This  was  followed  1)y  a 
kick  which  I  thought  came  from  a 
horse.  I.  furious,  threw  the  blanket 
from  o\er  my  head  and  found  a 
cou])le  of  Averill's  men,  with  cocked 
])istols  at  my  head,  one  of  wdiom  said  : 
"Get  up,  you Chambersl)urg  burn- 
ing  !"   T   got   up   at   once   and    al 

this  moment,  had  Air.  ilokc-  l)een 
there,  he  would  ha\e  been  dcliglucd. 
for  1  mildly  intimated  that  I  had  noth- 
ing to  do  witli   the  burning  of  Cham 


bersburg  and  considered  it  altogether 
wicked  and  unjustifiable. 

As  soon  as  I  collected  my  thoughts 
I  took  in  the  situation  at  a  glance.  I 
saw  the  blue-black  column  of  Averill 
winding  down  the  road  and  breaking- 
of¥  into  the  fields  where  our  men 
s.lept.  I  saw'  them,  to  my  utter  humil- 
iation and  disgust,  dashing  in  among- 
the  men  and  waking  them  up  from 
their  sleep.  Some  of  our  command 
who  had  heard  the  rush  of  the  charge 
succeeding  in  mounting  their  horses 
and  escaping.  With  such,  some  shots 
were  exchanged,  but  the  greater  part 
of  our  regiment  w^as  caught  asleep  and 
captured  without  firing  a  shot.  A 
com])lete  answer  to  the  statement 
adopted  l)y  Air.  Hoke  is  that  not  one 
lit  m\-  regiment  (to  the  best  of  my 
recollection)  was  killed  or  w^ounded, 
and,  as  I  have  already  stated,  they 
were  nearest  to  the  enemy  and  re- 
ceived the  first  shock  of  the  charge. 
Farther  on  down  the  road,  where  the 
shouts  of  combat  had  aroused  the 
other  portion  of  the  brigade,  and  they 
had  time  to  rally  to  some  extent,  there 
was  fighting,  and  some  of  our  men 
were  killed,  and  I  saw  some  of  Aver- 
ill's \\-oun(led  brought  to  the  rear,  but 
our  rout  was  complete  and  irretriev- 
alde  and  the  rallies,  as  I  afterw^ard 
heard,  were  without  vigor  on  our  part. 

As  soon  as  the  comrade  with  whom 
I  was  sleeping  (a  cousin  of  mine,  now 
jn  business  in  this  city),  and  myself 
had  gi\-en  u])  our  arms  the  usual  and 
almost  invariable  compliments  passed 
on  such  occasions  took  place.  "I  want 
them  boots,"  said  trooper  No.  i.  I  had 
just  gotten  them  in  Hancock  a  day  or 
so  before  and.  as  they  were  regular 
ca\-alry  l>oots  and  worth,  with  us  at 
least.  $150  to  $200  in  Confederate 
money,  it  nearly  broke  my  heart  to 
i)art  with  them.  T.ut  the  occasion  was 
pressing  and  they  were  soon  ex- 
changed for  a  \'er\'  sorrv  looking  pair. 
My  hat.  which  was  also  a  recent 
Mar\lan(l  accpiisition,  with  a  martial 
lOark  i)lunu'.  was  a')])ro')i-iated  by 
troopcM-  N'o.  2.     The  oliicct  with   which 


THE   BURNING   OF  CHAMBERSBURG 


32» 


he  rci)lacc(l  it  was  a  much  greater  in- 
sult to  my  dignity  than  the  loss  of  my 
boots.  Aiy  pockets  were  carefully  in- 
vestigated, hut  that  ])art  of  the  raid 
was  a  comi)lete  failure.  I  was  not  at 
all  surprsed  at  their  attentions,  for,  as 
I  have  said  al)i)\e,  the  custom  was  a 
general  one  and  I  had  myself  paid  the 
same  compliment  to  my  guests  when 
the  situation  was  reversed. 

EXPLANATION   OF   THE   ROUT 

And  how  was  it  that  the  burners  of 
Chambersburg  were  thus  ignominious- 
ly  routed,  scattered  and  captured  by  a 
foe  whom  I  ha\e  said  they  despised? 
The  answer  is  a  simple  one.  It  was 
through  the  carelessness  of  our  com- 
manding officer,  and  was  inexcusable. 
It  happend  in  this  way,  and  1  am 
again  in  ])()siti(>n  tu  give  the  exact 
facts.  \\'hen  we  camped  in  the  little 
\alley  a  detail  was  called  on  for  picket 
duty.  That  duty  fell  to  tiie  lot  of  Lieut. 
Samuel  G.  l>onn,  of  my  company.  No 
truer  man  or  more  charming  gentle- 
man ever  wore  a  saber  in  our  cavalry 
than  he.  After  the  war  he  settled  in 
Macon,  Ga.,  l)ecame  a  prosperous 
merchant,  and  died  some  years  ago. 
He  went  out  on  picket  post  with  about 
ID  men,  some  two  or  three  miles  from 
our  cam]).  This  was  the  only  guard 
between  A\erill  and  our  sleeping  men. 
it  must  be  remembered,  that  wdien 
this  little  band  went  on  the  outpost 
they  were  worn  out  ^vith  the  fa- 
tigue of  the  nearly  incessant  march- 
ing for  the  four  cjr  live  pre\ious 
days  and  nights.  So  wearied  were  the 
men  that  after  that  first  night's  duty. 
Lieutenant  I'onn  sent  word  to  camp 
and  begged  to  be  relieved,  stating  that 
his  men  were  absolutely  unfit  for  duty. 
I  take  it  for  granted  this  message  was 
sent  to  headc|uarters,  but  whether  it 
\\as  or  no  it  was  an  unjusiifiable  ])iece 
of  cruelty  to  keep  those  wearied 
men  on  duty.  ilis  ap])eal  was  un- 
heeded. 1  ie  told  men,  after  the  surprise 
was  o\er,  tliat  the  men  on  the  out- 
l)ost  actually  went  to  sleep  U])on  their 
horses  and  that,  in  addition  to  all  this. 


no    ])r()vision    was    made    for    their    ra- 
tions. 

While  in  this  condition,  just  before 
the  dawn  of  tlay,  they  heard  the  wel- 
come sound  of  what  they  supposed 
was  the  relief  picket  coming  from  our 
camp,  and  soon  they  welcomed  20  or 
30  troopers  in  gray  in  their  midst. 
Their  rejoicing  was  shortlived,  for,  as 
their  sup])osed  friends  surrounded 
them,  they  cpiickly  drew  their  revol- 
vers and  in  an  instant  our  men  were 
])risoners.  To  run  down  the  outpost 
of  two  men  was  the  work  of  a  moment' 
and  then  there  was  nothing  between 
.\verill  and  the  men  who  burned 
Chambersburg  but  a  few  moments  of 
darkness  and  a  couple  of  miles  of 
dusty  road.  These  men  in  gray  were 
A\hat  in  those  days  were  known  as 
"Jesse  Scouts."  They  were  familiar 
with  this  country — knew  the  little 
mountain  roads  and  had  clothed 
themselves  in  the  Confederate  gray — 
and  had  managed  to  slip  in  between 
our  main  body  and  the  picket  post 
and  then  plaved  the  i)art  of  the  "re- 
lief." 

As  we  \vere  captured  we  were 
gathered  together  in  a  circle  and  soon 
poor  r.onn..  with  his  pickets,  was 
brought  in  looking  unhappy  and  de- 
jected. He  felt  keenly  the  responsi- 
l)ility  of  his  pf)sition,  but  after  his 
story  Avas  told  no  one  ever  attached 
an}'  blame  to  him.  About  500  of  our 
brigade  were  captured  and  taken  to 
Camp  Chase,  (^hio  ,  where  for  eight 
long,  miserable,  weary  months  we 
bewailed  the  day  that  Chamljersburg- 
was  founded,  builded  and  burned.  One 
more  little  episode  in  which  I  am 
haTDpy  to  say  I  agree  w  ith  Afr.  Ploke's 
statement  and  I  am  done.  When  we 
arrived  at  Hancock  tribute  was  also 
laid  on  that  little  town,  and  it  was 
soon  rumored  in  our  regiment  that  in 
default  hereof  ]\lcCausland  had  deter- 
mined to  burn  it.  The  >^')irit  of  in- 
dignation aroused  by  this  re])ort  was 
intense  and  had  the  threat  been  car- 
ried out  there  would  ha\"e  been  a  fiijht 


330 


THE   PENNSYLV  ANNA-GERM  AN 


right  then  and  there  without  the  par- 
ticipation of  the  boys  in  blue. 

And  now  with  thanks  for  your  pa- 
tience, I  can  only  say  in  conclusion 
Avhat  I  have  said  in  the  beginning',  that 
this   is   not   intended   as   anything   but 


what  an  individual  Confederate  saw 
and  that  it  has  been  written  in  the 
same  spirit  in  which  you  asked  for  it 
and  that  is  the  spirit  of  kindness  and 
good  will.     I  am,  very  truly  yours, 

FIELDER  C.  SLINGLUFF. 


Hans  Joest  Heydt 

THE  STORY  OF  A  PERKIOMEN  PIONEER 
By  S.  Gordon  Smyth,  West  Conshohocken,  Pa. 


1 

li  li 

T  has  been  stated'   that  in 
the       Dutch     settlements 
near      Kingston,      Ulster 
Co.,  N.  Y.,  grievous  schis- 
matic    dissensions    broke 
out   among   the   colonists, 
and  that  because  of  these 
differences,    many    of  the 
first  settlers,  with  their    families,    left 
the  colony,   aljout  the  year   1712,   and 
established   themselves   elsewhere. 

There  is  no  doubt  of  a  migratory 
movement  of  unusual  volume,  having 
taken  place,  for  about  that  time  a  con- 
siderable number  of  the  most  influen- 
tial inhabitants  along  the  ^Vaalkill  and 
Ouassick  in .  Ulster  and  Dutchess 
counties  left  their  homes  and  appeared 
in  the  scattered  communities  of  their 
countrymen  in  the  Provinces  of  New 
Jerse}'  and  Pcnns3dvania.  In  this 
movement  were  the  families  of  Van 
Metre,  Wynkoop,  DuBois,  Paaling, 
Neukirk,  Laen,  Ferre,  Lefevre,  Elt- 
inge  and  Ileydt.  Thus  again  did  the 
warring  elements  of  religion  disperse 
the  Swiss,  Dutch  and  Huguenot  ex- 
iles from  Eusopus,  and  with  them  the 
seeds  of  church  extension  were  carried 
into  newer  and  distant  parts  of  this 
land  of  freedom  and  religious  toler- 
ance. 

Foremost  among  the  twelve  pat- 
entees of  New  Paltz  was  Louis  Du- 
Bois, who  had  come  to  America  from 
Mannheim,  in  the  Palatinate,  in  1660. 
Isaac  Lefevre  and  Daniel  Ferree  were 
of  Rev.  Joshua  Kockerthal's  party- 
that     reached    the    Ouassick    in    1709; 


Hans  Joest  Heydt  was  from  Alsace,  in 
Germany,  and  Jan  Joosten  Van  Me- 
tere  was  from  Gelderland,  in  Holland, 
and  the  other  families  mentioned  came 
from  various  points  in  BVance,  Switz- 
erland and  Holland,  but  all  had  been 
driven  forth  to  wander,  by  geographi- 
cal stages —  through  times  of  persecu- 
tion, hardship  and  trial, — to  a  sure  and 
safe  refuge  among  the  foothills  of  the 
Kaaterskills. 

Hans  Joest  Heydt,  styled,  in  later 
days,  Baron  Jost  Hite^,  was  ?  mem- 
ber of  an  ancient  Protestant  family 
despoiled  and  ruined  by  the  armies  of 
Louis  XIV,  when  he  treacherously 
seized  the  city  of  Strasburg,  in  Al- 
sace*. He  fled  to  "Holland,  there  met 
and  married  Anna  Maria  DuBois,  a 
French  Huguenot  refugee  from  Wic- 
res,  and  a  descendant  of  the  Counts  de 
Roussey.  It  is  believed,  moreover,  that 
she  was  a  niece  or  near  relative  of 
Louis  DuBois  of  New  Paltz.  It  is  un- 
certain when  Heydt  and  his  wife 
reached  America,  or  the  date  of  their 
arrival  at  the  Hudson  settlements — 
the  presumption  is  that  the  former 
was  about  1710.  His  two  daughters 
were  baptized  at'Kingston;  Elizabeth 
in  171 1,  and  Magdalena  in  I7I3^  as 
shown  by  the  records  of  the  Dutch 
Reformed  Church  there. 

Jan  Joosten  van  Meteren  and  his 
family  reached  the  Eusopus  commun- 
ity in  1662,  and  there  Jan  became  al- 
most as  much  a  man  of  prominence  as 
Louis  DuBois.  Joost  Jan  Van  Metre, 
his     son,     married     Sara,    one    of    the 


HANS    JOEST    HEYDT 


001 


daughters  ni  l-tuiis.  Uk-  patentee"'. 
The  Wynkc  ).);>.  J""llini;cs.  I'aalings, 
l-\'rrces  and  l.aens  intermarried,  and 
a  bloodkiii  generation  was  rising  lu 
join  the  exodus  from  the  I'lster  Co. 
settlements.  In  the  (Hspersion  of  these 
famihes  some  of  the  I"2Uinges  drifted 
ultimately  to  .\lonocae_\'  Creek,  in 
^Maryland;  the  I'erree,  Lefe\res  and 
Abraham  l)nlK)is  settled  in  Pecjuea 
X'alle}'.  Laneaster  County'.  W'yn- 
kt)ops,  lloaglands.  Cornells,  \  ansants 
and  Vandegrifts  established  homes  in 
Bensalem  and  Southamptt)n  town- 
ships, in  JUieks  county;  wdiile  Solo- 
mon DnUois,  his  son  Isaac,  with  the 
J'aalings  and  Laens,  fi)und  an  abiding 
place  in  IJebber's  township,  between 
Pastorius'  Germantown  'Settlement' 
and  the  Perkiomen,  in  rhiladel[)hia 
County,  I'a. 

Matthias  Van  Bebber,  a  German- 
town  settler,  accjuired  about  the  year 
1698  a  tract  comprising  6100  acres  of 
land  lying  between  the  Skippack  and 
the  Perkiomen  Creeks^  which  was  se- 
cured to  him  by  patent  from  A\'iliam 
Penn  in  1702,  and  imiuediately  there- 
after settlers  began  to  possess  them- 
selves of  the  fertile  plantations 
drained  by  these  streams,  so  that  by 
the  year  1725  the  increase  had  been  so 
rapid  that  the  inhabitants  of  Bebber's 
township  petitioned  the  Court  of 
Quarter  Sessions  of  Philadelphia 
County  to  create  a  new  township,  and 
the  petition  being  so  granted,  the  lo- 
cality received  the  name  oF  "Skippack 
and  ]"'erkiomen  townships.' 

It  must  have  been  at  the  very  out- 
set of  the  settlement  that  Hans  Joest 
Heydt  became  interested,  and  ob- 
tained his  first  and  second  parcels  of 
land — though  of  small  amount — that 
appears  of  record.  Among  entries  in 
the  books  of  Penn's  land  agent,  at 
Philadelphia,  is  found  an  item  of  pay- 
ment made  by  "Hans  Joest  Heydt^  i 
mo.  (Alarch)  15,  1717-18,  for  quit  rent 
on  50  acres  of  ground,  for  14  years; 
and  100  acres  of  ground,  for  10  years ; 
near  Schippack,  in  full:  £  17.  i,  2, 
8."  This  evidently  fixes  the  time  as 
the  years   1703  and   1707,  when  grants 


or  allotments  of  the  respective  parcels 
were  made  to  lleydl.  .\  similar  item 
refers  to  John  Pawling,  who,  in  like 
fashion,  paid  (|uit  rent  on  500  acres  at 
"l'eri|ueomineg'"  of  which  he  held 
])ossession  since  1710,  by  same  reck- 
oning. 1  am  informed  by  Hon.  Sam- 
uel W  .  renm'iacker  that  'leydt's 
name  w  a>  found  ui)on  a  list  of  Pas- 
torius' (iermantown  settlers  in  1716, 
and  that  one  of  the  deeds  in  the  chain 
of  title  to  the  ])roperty  ui)on  which 
former  Governor  Pennvpacker  lives, 
was  a  conveyance  written  by  Francis 
1  )aniel  Pastorius  aiui  signed,  in  a 
firm  and  legible  hand,  l)y  "Mans  Joest 
lledyt." 

According  to  the  statement  of  the 
late  Henry  S.  Dotterer,  two  Pawling 
brothers:  John,  who  settled  where 
Sch\V(^n]<s\  ille  :io\\  --tand-.  and  Henry 
who  located  at  the  mouth  of  the  Per- 
kiomen, were  sons  of  Henry  Paaling 
and  Xeeltje  Ross,  inhabitants  of  Mar- 
bletown  (near  Kingston),  Ulster 
countv,  N.  Y.  A  very  iuLeresting  and 
instructive  account  of  their  families 
and  the  complex  relationship  between 
them  and  the  DuBois  wdll  be  found 
in  \'ol.  HI  of  the  Perkiomen  Region. 
For  our  purpose  it  is  only  necessary 
to  state  that  John  Paw  ling,  of  Marble- 
towai,  and  Solomon  DuBois,  of  New 
Paltz.  acquired  between  them,  in  the 
years  1713-14,  about  1300  acres  of 
land  lying  on  the  Perkiomen. 

On  December  17,  1718,  Joseph  and 
Mary  Kirkbride,  and  Thomas  and 
Jane  Stevenson,  all  of  Bensalem,  in 
Bucks  County,  conveyed  to  Hannus 
Yost  Heydt  100  and  500  acres,  respec- 
tively, of  lands  located  "near  Skip- 
pack,  and  adjoining  John  Pawlin's 
land'\"  This  was  the  "land  the  deed 
for  which  was  drawn  for  Hite,  by 
Pastorius.'" 

In  the  following  year,  1719,  on  the 
20th  of  May,  Hans  Yost  Heydt  and 
Anna  Alaria,  his  wife,  conveyed  to 
Peter  Tyson,  shoemaker,  of  Philadel- 
phia County,  141  acres  of  their  Per- 
kiomen property.' - 

In  1725  the  Commissioners  of  Prop- 
erty granted  to  Heydt    50    additional 


332 


THE  PENNSYLVANNA-GERIVIAN 


acres  adjoining-  his  other  lands;  this 
with  further  purchases  made  in  the 
meantime,  increased  the  estate  of  Jo- 
est  Heydt  considerably.  Jacob  Mark- 
ley  bought  of  him  in  the  year  1728, 
100  acres  of  PerKiomen  lands ;  and  the 
last  sale  of  record  was  made  by  Hevdt 
in  January,  1730,  to  John  Pawling,  of 
450  acres;  the  consideration  being 
£840,  and  the  transfer  included  the 
mills  at  Schwenksville  and  the  ground 
upon  which  they  were  situated, 
known  among  us  as  Pennypacker's 
Mills,  and  now  owned  by  Hon.  Sam- 
uel W.  Penn3^packer.  A  few  days 
later,  John  Pawling  conveyed  a  half 
interest  in  the  mill  and  58  acres  at- 
tached to  it,  to  Isaac  DuBois,  the  son 
of  Solomon  DuBois,  who,  by  this 
time,  had  returned  to  the  Ulster 
County  settlements,  leaving  Isaac  Du- 
Bois in  possession,  at  least,  of  his 
Perkiomen  estate. 

By  his  will  dated  in  1733,  John 
Pawling  bequeathed  to  his  son  Henry 
Pawling,  the  450  acres  bought  of 
Hans  Joest  Heydt.  Isaac  DuBois 
died  about  the  time  of  the  consumma- 
tion of  the  sale  between  John  Pawl- 
ing and  himself^'*  but  it  was  not  until 
the  9th  of  September,  1746,  that  his 
heirs  released  to  John  and  Joseph 
Pawling  341  acres  of  his  estate,  and, 
per  contra,  the  heirs  of  John  Pawling 
released  360  acres  to  the  heirs  of  Isaac 
DuBois.  These  concluded,  the  mill  and 
its  adjacent  property  passed  to  the 
ownership  of  Peter  Pennypacker,  2d 
December,   1747." 

Isaac  DuBois  left  a  widow  Rachael 
(who  was  his  first  cousin,  the  dau.  of 
Abraham  DuBois  and  Leah  Ferre  of 
Lancaster^  County.)  She  married  sec- 
ond month,  1734,  \\'illiam  Coates,  of 
IMiiladeluhia.  The  DuBois  children 
were:  Catharine,  born  1715,  married 
1st.  Joseph  Hopewell;  2(1.  V\'illiam 
Miller;  Margaret,  born  1716,  married 
John  YAehQv :  Sarah,  born  1720,  mar- 
ried Henry  W'ynkoop ;  Rebecca,  born 
1722.  married  Henry  Van.  Metre, 
brother  of  John  \^an  Metre  of  Va. ; 
Elizabeth,  born  T724.  married  \l)ra- 
hnni    Sahlcr'"'. 


Jost  Hite,  as  I  shall  novr  call  him, 
was  a  man  of  great  business  capacity, 
energy  and  enterprise,  and  during  his 
ownership  of  the  land  on  the  Perkio- 
men he  erected  a  grist  mill  at  the 
head  of  the  Skippack  road ;  he  also 
established  the  weaving  industry, 
which  was  one  of  the  notable  features 
of  Pastorius'  Colony  at  Germantown. 
With  these,  and  perhaps  other  indus- 
tries and  commercial  enterprises,  the 
home  of  Hite  became  a  center  of  activ- 
ity. A  fulling  mill  was  built  by  Peter 
Pennypacker  some  years  later,  but  it 
was  during  the  ownership  of  Samuel 
Pennypacker  that  the  property  w^as 
occupied  by  the  Continental  Army  for 
several  days  before  and  after  the  fate- 
ful battle  of  Germantown,  in  October, 
1777;  then  General  Washington  made 
the  old  homestead  his  headquarters 
and  there  held  serious  council  with 
his  generals. 

^^'hile  the  cycle  of  years  was  rolling- 
'round  the  township  was  fast  filling- 
with  thrifty  yeomanry,  mostly  Ger- 
mans. Men  who  had  fled  the  ceaseless 
persecutions  abroad  and  abhored  the 
merciless  spirit  of  militarism,  here 
found,  for  the  moment,  sanctuary  and 
the  occupations  of  peace.  Industri- 
ous families,  prosperous  homes,  busy 
mills,  and  the  itinerating  domine  on 
his  devotional  rounds  among  them, 
marked  the  growth,  character  and 
tranquility  of  a  thriving  community; 
such  indeed,  were  the  conditions  when 
upoji  a  spring  day,  in  April,  1728, 
"horrid  war  raised  its  grizzly  front 
almost  in  the  midst  of  this  scene  of 
fpiiet  and  peace,  causing  untold  agita- 
tion throughout  the  settlement  and 
terror  to  the  inhabitants."^'^  Such  is 
the  descrijjtion  ex-Governor  Penny- 
packer  gives  in  a  somewhat  humorous 
recital  of  the  event. 

There  were  then  living  in  "Van 
r>e])bcrs  'IVnvnshii:)  and  ye  Adjacen- 
cies l)cU)nging,""*  a  numerous  popu- 
lation, largely  Germans.  Seventy- 
se\en  of  the  inhabitants,  fe-aring  an  at- 
taciv  by  the  Indians,  petitioned  Gov- 
ernor Patrick  Gordon,  in  April  1728, 
for  i)rotc'ction  from  a  band  of  maraud- 


HANS   JOEST  HEYDT 


333 


ing"  Shawiiesc  who  were  sjM-eading" 
dismay  about  Colebrookdale,  and  did 
actually  injure  a  number  of  the  set- 
tlers of  that  region.  Among  the  peti- 
tioners from  the  Perkiomen  were  the 
Pawlings,  DuBois,  Frys,  Tysens, 
Jacob  ]\larkley,  Christian  Neuswanger 
and  Hans  Yost  Heydt. 

During  the  decade  which  preceded 
the  passmg  of  Heydt's  Perkiomen  pos- 
sessions, one  of  his  kinsmen  from  Ul- 
ster Co.,  N.  Y.,  had  been  bus}^  he 
had  been  traveling  with  the  Delaware 
Indians,  and  with  them,  trading  on  the 
trails  between  the  headwaters  of  the 
Delaware,  in  the  Catskills,  and  the 
Valley  of  Virginia  where  the  Shaw- 
nese,  the  Cherokees,  and  the  Cataw- 
bas  war  parties  challenged  their  way. 
This  trader  was  John  Van  Metre.  He 
belonged  to  Marbletown;  his  wdfe  was 
Sara  DuBois,  the  sister  of  Abraham 
and  Solomon  DuBois  already  referred 
to,  and  of  kin  to  Anna  Maria  Heydt. 
John  Van  Metre  was  one  of  the  first 
white  men  to  penetrate  and  explore 
the  region  between  the  Shenandoah 
and  the  Potomac  rivers ;  he  was  so 
impressed  by  its  fertility  and  value 
that  he  advised  his  sons :  John  and 
Isaac  Van  Metre,  to  settle  there.  The 
result  of  that  advice  was,  that  in  1730, 
the  younger  Van  Metres  succeeded  in 
obtaining  from  Governor  Gooch  and 
Council,  of  Virginia,  a  grant  of 
40,000  acres  of  land,  in  what  was 
called  the  Northern  Neck^^,  lying  be- 
tween the  Potomac  and  the  Shenan- 
doah rivers,  and  running  back  to  the 
mountain  range  beyond  the  South 
Branch  of  the  Potomac.  This  grant 
was  conditioned  upon  the  Van  Metre 
settling  a  certain  number  of  families 
on  the  granted  lands  within  two  years 
which  the  grantees  agreed  to  do. 

It  w^ill  be  observed  that  Hans  Joest 
Heydt  disposed  of  about  all  of  his 
property  on  the  Perkiomen  in  the 
same  year  that  the  Vah  Metres  ob- 
tained the  grant  in  Virginia,  and  as 
far  as  the  records  show,  Heydt  seems 
to  have  disappeared  from  view  in 
these  parts.  I  have  endeavored  to 
show  that  Hevdt  and  the  Van  Metres 


were  related  by  marriage,  at  least,  and 
that  while  Plite  was  in  the  Perkiomen 
countrv  the  Van  Metres  had  drifted 
southward  from  Ulster  County,  N. 
Y.,  first  to  Somerset  County,  and  then 
to  Salem  County,  in  New  Jersey, 
where  Isaac  remained  some  further 
3'ears,  but  John  finally  reached  Prince 
George's  County,  Maryland,  and  was 
living  in  the  German  settlem.ent  on 
the  Monocacy,  about  the  time  he  and 
his  brother  Isaac  made  the  compact 
with  (iovernor  Gooch.  In  both  local- 
ities the  brothers  owned  large  quanti- 
ties of  land,  which  were  disposed  of 
promptly  when  the  Virginia  lands 
were  acquired.  Whether  or  not  the 
Van  Metres  were  able  to  procure  the 
necessary  families  with  which  to  ful- 
fill the  conditions  imposed  by  the  Vir- 
ginia grant,  or,  acting  under  some 
prior  understanding  with  Hite,  I  am 
unable  to  say.  Nevertheless  the  Van 
Metres  assigned  the  grant  to  Hite,  5th 
of  x\ugust,  1731,  and  he  began  at 
once  to  carry  out  the  obligations. 
Hite  associated  with  himself  Robert 
McKay,  Alexander  Ross,  and  perhaps 
one  or  two  others.  Between  them  they 
obtained  by  patent,  100,000  further 
acres  of  the  choicest  lands  along  the 
water  courses  in  the  Valley  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  ere  long  settlers  were 
fiocking  into  the  new  colony  from  all 
the  communities  east  of  the  Susque- 
hanna. Perkiomen  r<nd  Germantown 
contril)uted  some  of  their  best  ele- 
ment in  the  families  of  Fry,  Froman. 
Jones,  ?^Ia3d:)erry,  Wynkoop,  Miller. 
Rittenhouse,  Neuswanger  and  includ- 
ing Hites'  immediate  family  and 
those  of  John  Van  Metre,  all  of 
whom  w^ere  numbered  among  Hite's 
grantees  in  Orange  Co.,  Va.,  between 
1734  and   1738. 

Historians  of  the  Valley  claim  that 
Hite's  family-^  reached  the  Shenan- 
doah region  in  the  Spring  of  1732, 
coming  by  w^ay  of  York,  Pa.,  by  which 
it  would  seem  that  their  route  lay  down 
the  courses  of  the  Codorus  and  Con- 
ococheague  creeks--,  thence  through 
the  famous  Cumberland  A'alley  to  the 
Canaan   of  ^^^estern   \^irginia.      For   a 


334 


THE    PEXNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


half-century  thereafter  the  favorite 
route  of  emigration  to  the  South  from 
the  middle  counties  of  Pennsylvania 
followed  the  trail  of  Jost  Hite  and  his 
party  of  sixteen  pioneer  families.  The 
bulk  of  that  party  was  made  up  of 
J-iite's  own  children;  they  were:  John, 
Jacob,  Isaac,  Abraham,  Elizabeth, 
Mag'dalen,  Alaria  Susannah  and  Jo- 
seph with  their  wives,  husbands  and 
children.  When  the  Rev.  John  Caspar 
Stoever  passed  through  the  Opequon 
settlements,  between  the  years  1732 
and  1739,  he  baptized  sixteen  of  Jost 
llite's  grandchildren,  one  of  wdiom,  it 
is  said,  was  the  tirst  white  child  l:)orn 
in  the  Valley  of  A'irginia  —  John 
George  Bowman,  by  name.  l)orn  2"] 
A])ril.  1732. 

Mile  and  his  colonists  were  not  des- 
tined to  live  in  peace  and  harmon}' 
ujion  their  new  pc~)Ssessions.  It  was 
not  Inng  before  caveats  against  all 
orders  of  Council,  ])atents,  grants, 
deeds,  entries,  etc.,  ^\•ere  entered  by 
Thomas,  Lord  Fairfax,  whose  claims 
to  pr()])rictary  rights  in  the  Northern 
Xeck  were  now  l)r(night  forward  and 
directed    aga'iist    the    newcomers. 

Lord  l'"airfax  apjicared  ])ersonallv 
in  the  Northern  Xcck  and  prosecuted 
his  claims,  with  instructions  from  the 
Crown  ;  and  a  \igorons  contest 
against  the  grants,  and  all  persons 
holfling  thcni,  was  l)egim.  There 
were  54  grantees  under  \'an  Metre, 
I  lite  and  AU-Kay,  w  lio  were  seated  on 
lands  that  lay  within  the  l)ounds  of 
I'^airfax's  pro])rietorship.  I  cannot,  at 
this  time,  go  into  the  details  of  this 
controNcrsy,  which  extended  cner  a 
|)eriod  of  35  years,  or  until  1771,  when 
a  decree  was  made  confirming  the  de- 
fendants in  i)ossession  of  04.000  acres 
held  h\  tlie  34  grantees.  Tlie  case 
continued  to  drag  al{-)ng,  even  after 
this  time,  through  the  Api)elate  Court 
of  \'irginia,  until  a  decision  was  iin- 
ally  handed  down  in  llite  ^^-  C(x's 
favor,  after  a  half-century  of  litiga- 
tion-^  and  long  after  liaron  Fairfax 
and  Jost  Kite  had  l)een  laid  in  their 
gra\'es. 

"To  Jost    llite   belongs  the   honor  of 


having  planted  the  standard  of  civili- 
zation west  of  the  Ulue  Ridge  Moun- 
tains. He  was  a  man  of  excellent 
judgment  and  force  of  character;  he 
lield  in  his  own  right  a  grant  from 
King  George  I  of  40,000  acres,  and  a 
fourth    interest    in    another    100,000."-* 

Jost  llite  chose  for  his  own  home  a 
tin.e  location  on  the  banks  of  the  Ope- 
quon, a  large  tributary  of  the  Poto- 
mac, which  he  named  "  Sprirgdale," 
while  the  other  pilgrims  settled  upon 
lands  at  the  heads])rings  and  among 
smaller  streams  in  Hite's  vicinity. 
"Springdale"  is  located  a  few  miles 
bevond  Winchester,  on  the  valley  ])ike 
made  famous  as  the  scene  of  Sheri- 
dan's Ride.  The  house  was  built  of 
massive  stone  masonry,  between  the 
years  of  1732  and  1735.  and  "so  con- 
structed on  the  side  of  a  sloping  hill 
and  ]^artially  into  it,  that  one  could  go 
into  the  upper  story  from  the  high 
ground  and  then  by  going  down 
stairs  come  out  at  the  lower  story  on 
the  low  ground  a  few  feet  from  the 
s])ring,  wdience  it  takes  its  name. 
Here  he  dwelt  till  his  death  oc'-curred 
about  the  year   17^)0. "-''' 

Among  the  llite  grantees  of  1736, 
was  Christian  Neuswanger,  wdio  had 
!)een  a  neighbor  o^  Ihte's  on  the  F'erk- 
iomen.  Neuswanger  o]:)tained  435 
acres  on  the  west  side  of  the  .Shenan- 
(loali  ;  3  da\^  or  two  later  Llite  ma'le  a 
grant  to  John  \'an  Metre  of  475  acres 
on   the   Ope(|uon. 

'Lhe  second  wife  (if  Jc^t  Hi*e  was 
?\lagdalena,  the  widi)w  of  the  above 
Christian  Neuswanger,  by  whom 
there  were  no  issue. 

Jost  Hite  was  the  jn-ogenitor  and 
{Patriarch  of  a  family  whose  members 
Ix^came  singularly  eminent;  they  were 
noted  for  their  wealth,  their  influence 
and  their  prominence  in  the  social, 
civil,  religious  and  military  life  of  Co- 
lonial Virginia,  and  in  the  annals  of 
the   rising  nation. 

L  John  Hite,  the  eldest  son,  mar- 
ried Sara  Eltinge,  the  daughter  of 
Lornelius  Eltinge,  one  of  the  migrants 
from  Ukster  County,  N.  Y.,  to  the 
Alonocacy  A'alley,  in   Maryland.      John 


HANS    JOEST   HEYDT 


335 


selected  a  site  near  his  father's 
homestead,  which  he  called  "Rose 
P.ud,"  and  Iniilt  there  in  1787  the 
first  brick  house  and  merchant  mill 
erected  west  of  the  lUue  Rids^e-'^ 
"was  dislinp;nished  for  his  bra\ery  in 
the  Indian  wars'-';  he.  A\'ith  his 
brothers  Jact)b  and  Abraham,  \Nerc 
appointed  to  solicit  subscriptions  for 
the  opening"  of  navigation  on  the 
Potomac,  from  Wills  Creek  (Cumber- 
land, Md.,)  to  the  Great  Falls  (near 
Washington,  L).  C.)  m  I762-^  was 
Captain  in  charge  of  a  precinct  ;'-'■* 
president  of  the  Courts  martial,  and 
Count_v  Courts  ;  Colonel  of  the  Freder- 
ick County,  \'a..  militia ;  member  of 
the  Council  of  War;  and  vestryman 
of  Christ's  Episcopal  Church,  of  Win- 
chester. A'a.^"  His  children  'vcre:  i 
John.  jr..  an  only  son,  and  one  of  the 
Revolutionary  heroes;  he  married  ist 
Susanna  Smith,  2d,  Cornelia  Reagan. 
l'»y  these  marriages  he  had  twenty 
children.  He  li^•ed  at  ilarrist^nimrg. 
Rockingham  County,  Va.  INIany  of 
his  children  settled  in  Ohio  and  far- 
ther west.  2  Rebecca  married  Major 
Charles  Smith,  of  Berryville,  Va. ;  3 
Elizabeth  married  ist,  Major  Hughes, 
formerly  of  Braddock's  Army;  2d. 
Rev.  FLlijah  Phelps,  a  pioneer  ^fethod- 
ist  minister  of  the  Valley;  4  ^Margaret 
married  Isaac  Brown,  son  of  Daniel 
Itniwn.  an  emigrant  from  Chester 
C(tuiity.   Pa.,   to  the  Potomac. 

11.  Mar}'  flite,  the  eldest  daughter 
of  Jost  Hite,  married  George  Bow- 
man ;  they  located  on  Cedar  Creek,  8 
miles  south  of  Newtown  (formerly 
Stephensburg),  Va."*'  Jost  Flite  af- 
terward con\-eyed  to  P.owman  a  tract 
of  545  acres  on  Fenville's  creek  in 
Frederick  County.  A"a.^-.  The  Bow- 
man house  erected  on  Cedar  creek, 
was  of  an  attractive  C(^l<^nial  tvpe. 
and  was  called  "AFount  Pleasant." 
The  children  of  George  and  Mary 
P>r)wman  were  t.  Joseph.  wIk^  serx^ed 
with  General  Geo.  Rogers  Clark  in 
the  Illinois  Campaign ;  2.  Abraham. 
Colonel  of  the  Eighth  \^a.  (German) 
Regiment,  famous  in  the  Revolution  ; 
he   was  also    the    first     Fieutenant    of 


Berkeley  County,  Va. ;  3.  Benjamin, 
killed  by  Chief  Logan  in  one  of  the 
Indian  wars;  and  4.  Isaac,  who  held  a 
command  in  General  Clark's  Vin- 
ccnnes   Expedition. 

HI.  Elizabeth  Hite  married  Paul 
I-'roman,  who  had  been  a  settler  on 
the  Perkiomen.  They  settled  on 
Cedar  Creek  also,  but  some  miles 
above  P)Owman,  and  nearer  the  North 
Mountain;  he,  too,  became  a  grantee 
under  his  father-in-law,  of  500  acres, 
near  Fenville's  creek''^.  Their  children 
were:  i.  John  Paul;  2.  Clara  Christ- 
ina ;  3.  Elizabeth,  and  4.  Sarah,  who 
married  John  Overall,  and  were  the 
ancestors  of  several  families  of  promi- 
nence in   Baltimore  and   elsewhere.^* 

IV.  ]Magdelena  married  Jacob 
Crissman,  a  German  settler  of  Penn- 
sylvania. They  made  their  home  at 
Crissman's  Spring,  near  her  father's, 
U\n  miles  south  of  Newtown.  Criss- 
man, Avas  a  very  successful  and  pros- 
])erous  man  and  owned  a  large 
amount  of  property.  The  celebrated 
Massanutton  Springs  belonged  to  his 
descendants.''^'^  The  Crissman  child- 
ren A\-ere :  i.  Abraham.  2.  .Sara;  3. 
Anna  Maria;  4.  Isaac  and  5.  Johan- 
nes. 

\  .  Jacob  Hite  was  the  only  one  of 
Jt)st  Hite's  sons  that  followed  the 
father's  peculiar  line  of  business.  He 
assisted  his  father  in  securing  emi- 
grants for  the  operations  which  the 
elder  Hite  developed  for  his  valley 
lands,  maintaining  as  a  part  of  his 
plan  of  colonization,  a  line  of  vessels  * 
plying  between  Europe  and  America. 
it  is  said  that  while  with  his  ship 
"Swift"  on  one  of  her  trips  to  Dublin, 
Jacob  there  met  Catharine  O'Bannon, 
a  i)retty  Irish  girl,  whom  he  married, 
Xfter  her  death.  Jacob  married  2d 
Mrs.  b"  ranees  Madison  Beadle,  the 
widow  of  Col.  Tavener  Beale.  She 
was  the  daughter  of  Ambrose  Madi- 
son and  Frances  Taylor,  his  wife ;  she 
was  therefore,  an  aunt  of  President 
James   ^ladison. 

Jacob  Hite  and  his  family  lived  at 
"Hopewell,"  in  Frederick  County  (af- 
terward   Berkeley    C<^unty.    W.    \"a.). 


336 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


\'a..  where  he  had  large  estates ;  one 
of  which  he  sold  to  General  Charles 
Lee  of  the  Revolution,  and  it  became 
known  as  "Leetown."  Jacob  was  a 
justice  of  Frederick  County,  and  one 
of  the  three  brothers  who  were  ap- 
pointed to  solicit  subscriptions  for  the 
opening  of  the  Potomac  to  navigation. 
Later,  however,  he  became  involved 
with  General  Adam  Stephen,  in  a  con- 
troversy concerning  the  location  of 
the  new  county  seat  of  I'erkley  and 
wa!s  defeated  in  the  cmitest.  Cha- 
grined at  what  seemed  to  him  a  re- 
buff to  his  prestige,  he  removed  with 
his  wife,  small  children  and  slaves,  to 
the  Carolina  frontier,  where  he  bought 
a  fine  tract  of  land  from  Captain 
Richard  Pearis,  a  Cherokee  trader,  and 
at  the  spot  where  Greenville  now 
stands,  the  family  met  an  early  fate 
in  a  most  tragic  manner  at  the  hands 
of  a  band  of  Cherokees.  It  is  the  story 
of  one  of  the  most  cruel  instances  of 
Indian  barbarity  e\er  perpetrated  by 
the  red  allies  of  the  British.  The  de- 
tails are  too  shocking  and  too  lengthy 
to  be  narrated  in  this  paper.  Before 
removing  South,  Jacob  had  disposed 
of  his  man}'  properties  to  his  elder 
sons  and  daughters :  Col.  Thomas 
Hite,  Mary,  and  Mrs.  Willis,  and  had 
sent  his  younger  son  George,  to  Wil- 
liam and  IMary  College.  His  son  i. 
John,  was  killed  by  the  Indians  in 
Carolina,  in  1777;  2.  Thomas,  another 
son,  was  a  member  of  the  Virginia 
House  of  P>urgesses  and  a  Colonel  in 
•  the  Re\-olution.  ITc  married  Fanny 
Madison  I'eale,  the  daughter  of  his 
father's  second  Avife,  and  they  built 
"New  Hopewell,"  where  they  lived  a 
long  and  useful  life,  leaving  several 
children,  of  whom  (a)  Fanny  Madison 
Hite  married  Carver  Willis;  fb) 
James,  a  Colonel  in  the  A\'ar  of  1812, 
married  Juliet  Baker,  the  daughter  of 
John  Baker,  a  noted  rovalist,  and  his 
wife,  Judith  Howard  (c)  Maiy  mar- 
ried Jacob  H.  Grove. ^"^  3.  ]\Iary  Hite, 
daughter  of  Jacob,  married,  ist,  Rev. 
Nathaniel  Manning,  and  2d,  William 
Bushby.  4.  Elizabeth  married  Col. 
Ta\ener    Beale,     ]v.,     a     son     of     her 


father's  second  wife;  and  5.  George, 
the  younger  son  of  Jost  Hite's  first 
wife,  and  a  Captain  in  the  Revolution, 
married  Deborah  Rutherford.  He  was 
the  first  clerk  of  Jefferson  County,  Va. 

VI.  Colonel  Isaac  Hite,  son  of  Jost 
born  (probably  at  Perkiomen)  in  1723, 
died  in  Virginia,  1795,  married  El- 
eanor Eltinge  in  1745.  She  was  a  sis- 
ter of  Col.  John  Hite's  Avife,  Sara. 
"Long-meadow"  was  the  name  of 
their  home ;  it  was  situated  on  the 
North  branch  of  the  Shenandoah  and 
not  very  distant  from  his  father's 
home  at  "Springdale."  Isaac  Hite 
was  a  most  hospitable  and  chivalrous 
gentleman  and  kept  open  house  for 
all  who  traveled  in  his  vicinity.  He 
raised  a  large  family  who  became  in- 
fluential, and  most  of  them  noted.  His 
son  I.  Isaac  was  a  major  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary Army  and  was  present  at 
the  surrender  at  Yorktown.  This  son 
married  Nellie  Conway  Madison,  a 
sister  of  President  James  Madison. 
Isaac,  Jr's  second  wife  was  Anna  T. 
Maury,  the  daughter  of  Rev.  Walker 
Manry,  the  clergyman  who  pe^forined 
the  ceremony  uniting  Isaac  Hite  and 
his  1st  wife.  Miss  Madison^''. 

It  was  this  Isaac  Hite  who  built 
that  fine  t^ld  colonial  mansion  known 
as  "Bellegrove,"  with  its  lawn  setting 
oft'  15  acres,  and  its  spacious  rooms 
filled  with  the  mahogany  and  satin- 
wood  furniture  and  art,  gathered  from 
the  salons  of  Europe,  and  with  many 
paintings  of  members  of  the  Hite  and 
Madison  families.  Much  of  the  fur- 
nishings of  "Bellegrove"  may  now 
be  seen  in  the  rooms  of  the  Maryland 
Historical   Society,   at   Baltimore. 

General  Sheridan  made  Bellegrove 
his  headquarters  "during  the  days  of 
the  burnings"  through  the  valley  of 
Virginia,  and  occupied  it  after  his  fa- 
mous ride  from  Winchester  to  Cedar 
Creek,  in  October,   1864. 

Col.  Isaac  Hite  was  a  graduate  of 
William  and  Mary  College  ;  he  had  al- 
so the  distinction  of  being  admitted 
to  membership  in  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa 
fraternity  in  1776 ,  a  rare  privilege 
during    the    War    of    the    Revolution. 


HANS   JOEST   HEYDT 


337 


His  military  career  began  as  a  private 
in  the  ranks,  but  it  was  not  long  be- 
fore he  was  a  Colonel  and  an  aide  de 
camp  on  the  staff  of  General  Muhlen- 
berg. One  of  the  best  known  Vir- 
ginia historians  writes  of  him:  "He 
was  one  of  the  most  valorous  knights 
in  the  great  struggle  for  liberty."^" '/^ 

A  man  of  energy,  enterprise  and  in- 
dustry, he  established  mills  and  fac- 
tories ;  planted  extensive  orchards ; 
cultivated  hemp  and  reared  fine  cattle, 
and,  it  is  said,  that  he  sent  the  first 
fat  cattle  from  the  Valley  of  Virginia 
to  the  markets  of  Baltimore  and 
Philadelphia.  He  was  a  student  of 
science  and  of  politics,  and  a  personal 
friend  of  Washington,  of  Jefferson  and 
of  Madison,  and  during  the  latter's 
term  as  President  was  a  frequent  and 
welcome  visitor  to  the  White   House. 

Among  the  chidren  of  Col.  Isaac 
Hite  were:  Ann,  who  married  Philip 
'Williams''',  Sarah,  who  married  Gen- 
eral Jonathan  Clark^^,  one  of  the  fa- 
mous pioneers  of  Kentucky;  and  Re- 
becca, who  married  Aylet  Booth^''. 

VII.  Col.  Abraham  Hite,  son  of 
Jost.  married  Rebecca  Van  Metre*", 
the  daughter  of  Isaac,  who  with  his 
brother  John,  were  the  original 
grantees  of  the  Virginia  lands.  Abra- 
ham's family  made  their  abode  on  the 
South  Branch  of  the  Potomac,  near 
Moorefield.  in  Hampshire  County, 
and  there  dwelling  among  the  Van 
Metre  "freundschaft." 

General  Washington  on  his  trip  to 
the  Ohio,  under  date  of  the  "27th 
September.  1754,"  writes.  "I  came  to 
Colonel  Hites  at  Fort  Pleasant,  on  the 
South  Branch  35  miles  from  Log- 
ston's;  remained  there  all  day  to  re- 
fresh myself  and  rest  my  horses,  hav- 
ing had  a  very  fatiguing  journey 
through  the  mountains,"  etc.  etc^^. 

Abraham  was  also  a  man  of  wealth, 
and  of  position ;  a  patriot  and  a  legis- 
lator, having  served  his  state  in  the 
House  of  Burgesses,  and  his  country 
as  a  captain  of  the  Hampshire  County 
Militia,  in  the  War  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  as  a  member  of  the  Virginia 
Committee   of   1776.*-     He   eventually 


removed  with  his  family  to  Kentucky, 
and  while  there  served  under  General 
Andrew  Lewis,  at  the  memorable 
battle  of  Point  Pleasant  on  the  Ohio. 
His  son  Joseph,  settled,  with  his 
family  and  slaves,  at  Hite's  Lane, 
near  Louisville,  where  he  erected  a 
fine  mansion  near  his  father's,  which 
was  recently  the  home  oi  Col.  Henry 
Waterson  of  the  Louisville  Courier- 
Journal. 

Vni.  Joseph  Hite,  the  youngest 
son  of  Jost,  was  married;  he  died  in 
Virginia  however,  before  his  father, 
leaving  at  least  three  children,  who 
were  all  named  in  their  grandfather's 
will :  John,  William  and  Ann*^. 
These  emigrated  to  Kentucky  and 
there  joined  the  Hite  communty,  near 
Louisville. 

IX.  Susannah  Hite  was  Jost  Hite's 
youngest  daughter.  She  married  Ab- 
raham Weissman.  They  also  lived 
in  the  vicinity  of  Winchester,  and  left 
numerous   descendants. 

Passing  over  the  intervening  gen- 
erations, and  from  following  the  his- 
torical and  romantic  careers  of  Jost 
Hite,  his  children  and  grandchildren, 
w^e  come  to  the  consideration  of  one 
living  among  us ;  one  of  Jost  Hite's 
most  worthy  and  respected  descen- 
dants, whose  own  personal  part  in 
life  followed  much  the  same  lines  of 
usefulness  as  those  of  her  ancestors, 
and  whose  presence  near  us  revives 
the  memories  and  the  traditions  of 
her  people  on  the  Perkiomen,  and  em- 
bodies them  in  a  real  persenality, 
whom  we  know  and  revere. 

When  this  county  of  Montgomery 
first  had  the  honor  of  having  one  of 
its  sons  "to  the  manor  born"  repre- 
sent it  in  Congress,  it  was  when  the 
second  war  with  Great  Britain  w^as 
on, — or  the  War  of  1812,  so  called. 
There  w^ere  emergencies  and  situa- 
tions constantly  developing  that  re- 
quired to  be  met  by  statesmen  of 
ability,  strength  and  courage,  and 
such  a  one  was  the  Hon  Jonathan 
Roberts,  of  Upper  Merion,  who,  be- 
fore his  elevation  to  the  United 
States     Senate,     28th     of     February, 


338 


THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


1814, — 95  years  ago, — was    a    member 
of    the     National     House    of     Repre- 
sentatives.    It  was  as    a    member    of 
the     Ways     and     Means     Committee 
that  he  gave    early    evidence    of    that 
capacity,   influence  and    power    which 
brought  him   later  such   distinguished 
advancement.  He  was  a  staunch  sup- 
porter of  Madison's  policies,  therefore 
a  close  political  and  personal  friend  of 
that  President."    As  a  member  of  Con- 
gress, he  was  frequently  at  the  White 
House,  and  on  terms  of  friendly  inter- 
course   with    the    President's    family 
with  whom  the  Plites  were  both  inti- 
mate and  related.     In  this  social  and 
official  atmosphere,  Jonathan    Roberts 
met  Mary,  the  daughter  of  Jacob  Hite 
by  his  first  wife,  Catharine  O'Bannon. 
She  had  been  twice  widowed  by  the 
loss  of  her  first  husband,  Rev.  Nath- 
aniel  Manning,    and    of    her    second, 
William  Bushby,  and  was  now  living 
with  her     children     on     Capitol    Hill. 
Mrs.  Bushby's  eldest  daughter,     Miss 
Eliza   Hite   Bushby,  was    the    genius 
of  this  household,   and   she  had   been 
described  as  a  young  woman  of  much 
personal  attractiveness  and  possessed 
of  a  rare  mentality;    such    grace    and 
endowment    of    mind    captivated    the 
member  from  this  District,  and  while 
the   War  of   1812  was  waning,   Jona- 
than  Roberts  laid  siege  to  the  heart 
and  hand  of  Miss  Bushby — and  won. 
Two     days     before     Congress    ad- 
journed in    1813,    they    were    married 
and  then  journeyed  back  to  "Swamp 
Vrass  Farm."     Of  the  nine  children  of 
Hon.  Jonathan   Roberts  and  his  wife, 
one  was  Sarah  Hite  Roberts,  who  sub- 
sequently married  the  late  Samuel  Ty- 
son, Esq.,  an  honored  citizen   of  this 
county.     He  died  a  few  years  ago  but 


his  widow,  the  great-granddaughter 
of  Hans  Joest  Heydt,  the  Perkiomen 
Pioneer,  is  passing  serenely  the  meas- 
ure of  her  years  with  her  son  Edward, 
on  the  old  Tyson  homestead,  near  the 
King-of-Prussia. 

1  Ivaiicaster  Morning  News,  IvEucaster,  Pa..  21  Nov.  1896. 

2  Rupp's  30.000  names,  p  439 

3  The  New  Age  Mag..  March  1907. 

4  Huguenot  memorials  p  135. 

5  Records  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  Kiugston,  N.  Y. 

6  Martindale's  History  Byberry  and  Moreland  Twps.Pa. 

7  Bean's  History, Montgomery  Co.,  Pa. 

S     Pennypacker  in  Pa.  Mag.,  of  Hist,  and  Biog.  Jan., '07 

9  Perkiomen  Region,  Vol.  Ill,  p  105. 

10  Pennypacker  Reunion. 

11  Book  F.  2  p  4  Phila  Co.  Deeds. 

12  "  "   p48     ' 

13  Perkiomen  Region  Vol.   Ill,  p  105. 

14  West  Va.  Hist.  Mag.,  Vol.  Ill  p  52. 

15  Sahler  Genealogy. 

16  Huguenot  memorials  p  136 

17  Pennypacker-in  Pa.  Mag.  of  Hist,  and  Biog.  Jan.  '07. 

18  Penna.  Archives  1st  Ser.  Vol.  I,  p  211. 

19  Virginia  L,and  Grant  Records,  Richmond,  Va. 

20  West  Va.,  Hist.  Mag.  Vol.  I,  p- 

21  Kercheval's  Hfstory  of  The  Valley,  p  45 

22  .Sahler  Genealogy. 

23  lycirs  History  of  West  Virginia. 

24  West  Va.,  Hist.  Mag.  Vol.  Ill,  p  103,  et  seq. 

25  The  New  Age  Mag.  March  '07  p  227 

26  Kercheval's  History  of  The  Valley. 

27  Schuricht's  German  Elements  in  Valley  of  Va. 

28  Scharff's  Western  Maryland,  Vol.  II,  p  1343 

29  The  New  Age  Mag.  March  'o7  p  228 

30  West  Va.  Hist.  Mag.  Vol.  Ill,  p  109. 

31  Foote's  sketches  of  Va.  2nd  Series  p  15. 

32  Waylaud's  German  Elements  in  the  Shenadoah  val- 

ley-72. 

33  Mrs.  Gordon  Paxton  Payne— I^etter.  9-26  '05 

34  The  New  Age  Mag.  '07  March,  p.  229. 

35  Scharff's  Western  Maryland,  Vol.  II.  pp  1218  -  19. 

36  Miss  Juliet  Hite  Gallcher— L,etter 

37  St.  Marks  Parish— by  Slaughtie. 

38  English's  Conquest  N.  W.  Territories  Vol.  II.  p  900. 

39  "  "  "  "  "  P997. 

40  West  Va.  Hist.  Mag.  Vol.  III.  p  113. 

41  Collins'  History  of  Kentucky,  Vol.  II. 

42  The  New  Age  Mag.  March  '07. 

43  Will  Josh  Hite— Frederick  Co.,  Va.,  Records. 

44  West  Va.  Hist,  Mag.  Vol.  III.  p.  113. 

45  Moses  Auge — Men  of  Montgomery  County,  p  66. 
3l'A  West  Va.  Hist.  Mag.  Vol.  IV.  p  64. 

36^  E.  C.  Mead— 39^  Washington,  The  West.  pp.  78,  79 
and  175. 


339 


David  Tannenberg 


!^ 

D 

^ 

NOTE. — We  regard  ourselves  most  fortu- 
nate in  obtaining  the  valuable  information 
contained  in  Mr.  Beck's  communication.  By 
a  strange  coincidence  a  subscriber  fur- 
nislied  (in  the  Forum)  information  respect- 
ing one  of  the  Tannenbe.rg  organs.  If  others 
are  still  in  use.  we  hope  our  readers  will 
let   us  know.  (See  June  P.  G.,  p.  32)  .—Editor 

Jlr.H.  W.  Kriebel, 
Dear  Friend: 
.A.t  your  request  I  send  you  some  infor- 
mation— all  I  have — concerning  David  Tan- 
nenberg (familiarly,  "Tanneberger")  of 
Lititz,  who  was  one  of  the  first  and  most 
distinguished  of  argan-builders  in  this 
country. 

A  \'  I  D    TANNENBERG 

was  born  March  2r,  1728 

in      Berthelsdorf,      Upper 

Lusatia,  a  son  of  Johanli 

Tannenberg,     who,    with 

his    wife,    Judith,    m.    n. 

Nitschmann,     left    Mora- 

A'ia  in  1727.     He  came  to 

r.ethleheni.     Pa.,    in     1749,    and    soon 

after  his  arri\al  there    married    Anna 

Rosina  Kern. 

In  1758  he  assisted  "  Father " 
Klemm,  at  Nazareth,  in  the  building 
of  an  organ,  and  there,  probably,  he 
first  became  familiar  with  his  subse- 
quent profession.  Coming  to  Lititz  in 
1765.  he  bought  the  "George  Klein" 
house  (which  stood  opposite  to  the 
])resent  Wolle's  store),  and  there  con- 
ducted the  business  unti  1  his  death. 
While  engaged  in  tuning  an  organ  he 
had  built  for  the  Lutheran  church  in 
York,  Pa.,  he  was  stricken  with  apo- 
plexy, and  falling  from  a  bench  upon 
his  head,  received  injuries  from 
which  he  died  a  few  days  later.  May 
IQ,  1804.  At  his  funeral  service,  in 
York,  his  last  organ  was  played  for 
the  first  time  and  the  children  of  the 
Lutheran  and  Moravian  congregation 
sang  by  his  g'rave. 

He  was  a  beloved  and  prominent 
men  in  the  community,  and  as  a  good 
violinist,  and  a  notably  fine  tenor 
singer,  of  valued  assistance  in  the 
church  music. 


\n  1778  Tannenbreg  was  one  of 
twenty- two  members  of  the  congrega- 
tion who  contracted  the  high  dis- 
pleasure of  the  church  authorities  by 
taking  the  Oath  of  Allegiance  to  the 
new  government;  for,  as  you  know, 
the  Moravians,  like  the  Dunkers  and 
Mennonites  of  those  days,  were  ex- 
pected to  consider  loyalty  to  the  king 
their  religious  duty.  As  the  village 
at  that  time  was  quite  small — there 
WQVQ  but  eighteen  houses,  including 
the  community  buildings — it  will  be 
seen  that  these  men  must  have  con- 
stituted a  formidable  majority  of  the 
adult  laity  in  their  renunciation  of 
King  George ;  and  I  think  you  will 
allow  me  to  digress  a  bit  more  to 
present,  as  a  Roll  of  Honor,  their 
names :  David  Tannenberg,  Louis 
Gassier,  John  Thomas,  John  Henry 
Ranch,  Glaus  Coelln,  John  Ernst 
ShelTel,  William  Gassier,  Louis  Gass- 
ier, Jr.,  Jacob  Gassier,  David  Tannen- 
berg, Jr.,  Gottfried  Thomas,  Ghris- 
tian  Blickensderfer,  John  Miller, 
Ghristian  Leinbach,  Gottfried  Michael 
Kreiter,  John  Weinland,  Samuel 
Krause,  Gottlieb  Youngmann,  Abra- 
ham Hessler,  Matthew  Zahm,  Tobias 
Hirte  and  John  Kreiter. 

I  cannot  give  you  a  complete  list  of 
all  the  organs  Tannenberg  built  in 
Lititz,  l^ecause  his  account  books 
have  never  been  found ;  but  as  his 
business  activity  here  extended  over 
nearly  fifty  years,  there  must  have 
been  many  more  than  the  following 
ones,  information  of  which  I  have 
mostly  from  Lititz  Moravian  Arch- 
ives : 

1767.  An  organ  for  Albany,  N.Y.  (The 
Ghurch  Diarist  writes  that  when 
this  organ  was  finished  and  set 
up  here  (in  Lititz),  "a  great 
many  strangers  from  Lancaster 
and  Philadelphia —  mostly  from 
the  latter  city — and  even  some 
Quakers — came  to  see  and  hear 
it.") 


340 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


1/68.     Maxatawny,   Pa.   Lutheran. 

1769.  Goshenhoppen.  (This  organ 
was  sold  in  1890  to  a  congrega- 
tion in  Ohio). 

1770.  Lancaster,  Pa.;  Reformed 
Church. 

1774.  Lancaster,  Pa.;  Trinity  Luth- 
eran. 

.        Lancaster,    Pa. ;    St.      Mary's, 

Catholic. 

1799.  Lancaster,  Pa. ;  Moravian 
Church;    £260. 

Between   1769  and  1771.  An  organ  for 

Reading:    Trinity    Lutheran;      £230; 

shortly  before  the  Revolution  an  organ 

for  Hebron  (Lebanon)  ;  Moravian.  An 

organ      for     the      German      Reformed 

Church,  Race  St.,  below  4th,  Philada. ; 

(Date  unknown  to  me. — A.  R.  B.) . 

1798.     Salem,  N.  C,  Moravian;  £300; 
Salem,  N.  C,   £150. 
Between   1795  and  1799;  Baltimore, 

IVL  D.,  Lutheran;  £375. 

Between   1795  and  1799;  Macungie, 

Pa, ;  £400. 

Between    1795   and     1799    Tohickon, 

Pa.;  £200. 

Between      1795     and     1799;    White 

Plain  Township;   £200. 

1783.     For  Hagerstown,  Md. 

1787.  Lititz,  Pa.;  Moravian  Church; 
£350. 

1761,  Lititz,  Pa.;  Sisters'  House;  £50. 

1777,  Lititz,  Pa.;  Brethren's  House; 
£50. 

1761.  Lititz,  Pa.;  Congregation 
Chapel;  £46. 

1793,  Nazareth,  Pa.;  Moravian;  £274. 

1776.     Easton,  Pa. 

1790.  Philadelphia;  Zion  Lutheran 
Cherry  and  4th  Sts.,  (While  en- 
gaged in  building  this  organ 
Tannenberg  wrote  to  a  friend  in 
Lititz  as  follows : 

"That  myself  and  assistants  are  well,  I 
take  with  thanks,  from  the  Lord's  Hand, 
and  through  his  blessings  w»  have  got  so  far 
with  our  work.  On  the  main  manual  seven 
stops  are  now  in  place,  and  the  Pedal  is 
complete  with  the  exception  of  five  pipes 
in  the  Trombone  Bass.  The  Echo  is  in 
place  and  completed.  On  the  upper  manual 


one  stop,  the  Principal,  is  finished.  "When 
all  is  drawn  out  on  the  lower  manual,  with 
Pedal,  the  church  is  well  filled  with  the 
volume  of  sound,  and  to  every  one's  aston- 
ishment. I  am  glad  that  you  will  accom- 
pany Bro.  Herbst  to  the  Dedication;  come, 
by  all  means;  not  that  you  will  see  any- 
thing extrao.rdinary,  but  that  you  can  share 
my  thankfulness  that  the  Lord  has  helped 
me.  H.  Helmuth  is  busily  engaged  on  the 
'Fest  Psalm'  for  the  Dedication.  As  regards 
the  music  for  the  same  one  can  plainly  see 
that  it  will  be  very  simple  and  not  at  all 
after  our  taste." 

W^ashington  and  Congress  were 
present  at  the  dedication  of  this 
organ.  The  church  was  destroyed 
by  fire  in  1794. 

1793.    For  Graceham,  Md. ;  Moravian. 

1801.     Madison,  Va. ;  £200. 

1801.  New  Holland,  Pa.;  Reformed; 
£  200. 

1804.  York,  Pa. ;  Christ  Lutheran ; 
£355- 

Some  of  the  above  -  mentioned 
organs  are  still  in  use.  Modern 
builders  who  have  examined  them  all 
agree  as  to  the  excellence  of  Tannen- 
berg's  workmanship.  He  made  pianos 
also;  one  for  Br.  Lembke  (£22.103), 
and  another  for  the  "Kinder  Haus," 
(now  Linden  Hall,)  £22.105).  The 
graceful  steeple  of  the  Lititz  Mora- 
vian Church  was  designed  by  him. 

He  was  succeeded  in  the  business 
by  his  late  partner,  John  Philip  Bach- 
man.     The  latter    built    an    organ,    in 

1805,  for  the  German  Reformed 
Church,  in  Hanover,  Pa.,  and  one  for 
the  Lutheran  church  in  Harrisburg. 

ABRAHAM  R.  BECK. 
Archivist    of    the     Lititz     IVIoravian 
Church. 

NOTE. — We  believe  our  readers  will  en- 
joy reading  the  following  description  of  the 
organ  built  1801  for  Madison,  Va.,  at  a  cost 
of  £200,  as  given  by  Rev.  W.  P.  Huddle  in 
his  "History  of  the  Hebron  Lutheran 
Church."  page  49. 

"It  (the  organ)  is  about  sixteen  feet 
high,  and  three  feet  thick.  The  case, 
massive  and  strong,  on  which  are 
plainly  seen  the  marks  of  age,  is 
made     of    soft     and    hard    wood    and 


DAVID  TANNENBERG 


541 


painted  in  the  same  color  as  the  inter- 
ior of  the  church.  The  door  has  a 
great  lock,  secured  by  Avrought  iron 
nails,  and  is  opened  by  a  large  S  key. 
There  are  two  lever  pumps  which  set 
off  from  the  instrument  with  which 
they  are  connected  by  a  wooden  ])ipe. 
The  levers  work  up  and  down  like" 
the  treadles  in  the  looms  our  mothers 
used.  The  number  of  wooden  and 
metallic  pipes  must  be,  at  least  a 
hundred  each.  The  metallic  ones 
may  once  have  been  bright  and 
glittering ;  but  if  so.  time  has 
changed  them  into  a  dull  lead  color.  It 
has  only  four  octaves  and  eight 
stops.  The  kevboard  is  a  complete 
reversal  in  point  and  color — those 
ke}s  being  of  ebony  whicli  are  white 
in  modern  instruments — the  raised 
keys  being  of  ebony  faced  with  ivory. 
The  tone  of  the  instrument  is  very 
good,  especially  A\hen  the  rough 
Terzian  and  piercing  Alixture  are 
avoided.  The  Flute  and  Gedackt  are 
inexpressibly  sweet — as  tender  to  the 
ear  as  twilight  to  the  eye — just  suited 
to  that  mellow,  shaded  light  peculiar 
to  the  church. 


According  to  tradition,  it  was  made 
in  Lutzen,  and  was  a  gift  from  the 
king  of  Sweden.  It  was  shipped  to 
Philadelphia  and  hauled  on  road 
wagons,  a  distance  of  three  hundred 
miles,  and  put  in  position  in  the  old 
church  at  an   early  day. 

We  will  now  give  the  facts  as  we 
have  gathered  them,  though  it  seems 
a  pity  to  have  to  destroy  a  tradition 
so  interesting  and  so  old.  It  was 
through  the  assistance  of  the  late  Rev. 
D.  M.  Gilbert.  D.D..  of  Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania,  that  its  history  was 
discovered.  It  was  built  by  Mr.  David 
Tannenberg,  at  Lititz,  Pennsylvania 
about  1800.  ]Mr.  John  Yager  went  to 
the  factory  to  purchase  it.  It  was 
hauled  on  wagons  by  Messrs  Jacob 
Rouse  and  Alichael  House  from 
"Litz"  (Lititz),  the  treasurer's  report 
says,  and  was  set  up  in  the  church  in 
1802  b}^  Mr.  Philip  Broughman.  It 
cost  £200.  It  is  still  used,  is  in  a 
good  state  of  preservation,  and  with 
proper  care  will  last  another  cen- 
tur}'." 


The  Ellmaker  Family 

By  J.  Watson  Ellmaker,  Lancaster,  Pa.;  Henry  Pettit,  West  Palm  Beach,  Florida 

1652  at  Gaulhof  near  Xurenberg  and 
so  far  as  is  known  always  lived  in 
Germany.  He  was  a  farmer,  free  citi- 
zen and  conducted  an  extensive  busi- 
ness as  an  active  member  of  the  guild 
of  bakers.  He  raised  his  own  wheat, 
manufactured  his  own  flour  and  ac- 
cording to  tradition  baked  the  bread 
for  the  king's  household.  The  mother, 
Maria  Magdalena  Bremer  was  of 
I^'rench  Huguenot  descent  and  was 
carried  in  her  mother's  arms  from 
i'^-ance  into  Germany. 

b)hn  Leonard  Ellmaker  was  born 
Januarv  3,  1697  at  Gaulhof.  Xuren- 
berg, Germany.  On  the  sixth  of  May 
1726  he  was  married  to  Anna  Mar- 
garet Hornberger  who  was  born  in 
the   year    1703     at     h^-ankenthal,     Ger- 


II E  name  Ellmaker  ap- 
])ears  to  have  lieen  first 
so  written  in  America. 
In        Germany      it      was 

,    spelled    Oelmacher. 

^  micher,  Ailmocker. 
jnacker.  The  word 
macher       prt^bably 


Oel- 
Ail- 
Oel- 
con- 


tains  in  rlie  first  syllable  the  root  of 
a  previous  (iuild  designation  and  sug- 
gests that  at  some  time  the  family 
belonged  to  the  guild  of  oil  manufac- 
turers. 

John  Leonard  Ellmaker  (commonh^ 
called  Leonard  Ellmaker,  Sr.)  the 
progenitor  of  the  American  Ellmaker 
family,  was  the  youngest  son  of  Elias 
and  Mary  Magdalena  (Bremer)  Oel- 
macher.    His  father  was    born    about 


342 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


F.LLMAKER  HOMRSTEAD,   EARL  TOWNSHIP.  PA. 


many,  a  daughter  of  John  Adain  and 
Maria  Hornberger.  She  had  a  bright, 
mind,  indomitnble  energy  and  was 
well  educated,  having  received  part 
of  her  training  in  PVance,  Dur- 
ing the  reign  of  Louis  XIV  her  grand- 
mother of  French  Huguenot  descent 
was  Ladies  Maid  in  \\'aiting  to  Marie 
De  ^ledici  wife  of  Henry  IV  of 
France.  AMien  the  unhappy  Queen 
was  exiled  by  Richelieu  she  fled  and 
resided  in  the  valley  of  the  Rhine  not 
far  from  Frankenthal. 

Six  days  after  their  marriage  the 
couple  left  their  fatherland  and 
started  for  Pennsylvania,  landing  at 
Philadel;)hia,  Pa.,  August  i,  1726. 
They  went  to  Lancaster  county  and 
took  up  a  claim  near  a  spring  close  to 
where  the  Alms  House  is  now  located. 
A  month  later  they  went  to  the  south 
branch  of  the  Mill  Creek  where  they 
took  up  220  acres  of  land  for  which 
they  received  a  deed  dated  I'\'bruary 
8,  1734- 

Twelve  children  were  born  to  this 
family  of  whom  eight  lived  to  grow 
up.  Anna  Margaret  Ellmaker  died  at 
the  Ellmaker  homestead  December 
18.  1779. 

The  use  which  Mrs.  Ellmaker  had 
made  of    her    cducalional    advantages 


pro\'ed  of  great  \-alue  in  the  new 
world  in  the  selection  of  a  home,  the 
care  of  a  large  household,  the  educa- 
tion of  her  children  the  rendering  of 
kind  offices  to  her  friends  and  neigh- 
bors at  a  time  Avhen  knowledge,  good 
judgment  and  self-reliance  were  of  su- 
perior importance. 

This  old  Lancaster  county  house- 
hold has  been  for  a  century  and  a  half 
a  credit  to  the  neighborhood,  a  joy  to 
the  family  connections.  It  has  been 
an  influence  for  good  in  times  of  war 
l)y  sending  the  sons  to  the  defence  of 
the  country,  by  providing  stores  and 
sending  them  to  Valley  Forge  as  the 
contribution  of  the  daughters  and  in 
times  of  peace  by  supplying  bench  and 
bar,  counting  room,  medicine,  science 
and   literature  ^^•ith  incumbents. 

The  lollowing  is  a  copy  of  the  mar- 
riage certificates  issued  to  John  Leon- 
ard Ellmaker  and  Anna  ^Margaret 
his   wife. 

It  is  hereby  certified  that  .John  Leonard 
Ellmaker,  Legitimate  son  of  Elias  Ell- 
maker of  Gaulhcff,  district  of  Nuremberg 
and  Miss  Anna  Ms>v?aret  Horberger,  legiti- 
mate daughter  of  John  Adam  Horberger, 
citizen  of  this  place  on  ths  production 
of  the  license  from  th°  proper  authari-ties 
(according  to  law)  arid  after  three  public 
proclamations   according  to  Chistian   usage 


THE   ELLMAKER   FAMILY 


343 


of  our  Evangelical  Lutheran  Ohuroh  were 
duly  married,  consecrated  (blessed).  This 
certificate  is  therefore  delivered  to  them 
with  the  wish  of  prosperity,  moreover  in- 
voking the  divine  blessing  on  this  wedded 
couple  who  are  herewith  committed  to  the 
gracious  guidance  of  God. 

Frankenthal,   May    6,   172G. 
Signed    .TORN    ERNEST    BIERAN. 
Elect      Palatinate       Evangelical       T^utheran 
Church   of  this   place. 

The  following-  is  a  copy  of  the  pass- 
port of  John    Leonard   Ellmaker. 

The  bearer  of  this,  .John  Leonard  Ell- 
maker, "Baker"  during  a  residence  of  two 
years  in  this  place  (Frankenthal)  has  been 
a  consistent  member  of  the  Evangelical 
Lutheran  Church  and  its  Holy  Communion 
and  has  otherwise  been  of  a  pious  and  of 
a  quiet  de])ortment,  and  not  less  faithful 
and  industi'ious  in  his  occupation.  And  it 
was  with  regret  that  he  was  reluctantly 
allowed  to  sever  his  business  relations. 
This  testimonial  is  given  and  these  pres- 
ents delivered  to  him  for  his  future  use 
(or  as  a  recommendation  for  future  use) 
and  may  he  always  be  in  the  grace  of  God 
and  under  the  guidance  of  His  Holy  Spirit. 
Frankenthal,  May  12,  1726. 
(Signed)  JOHN  ERNEST  BIERAN, 
Elect  Palatinate,  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church  at  this   place. 

Mary  IMagdalena  Ellmaker,  first 
child  of  John  Leonard  Ellmaker  was 
born  Angust  9,  1727  and  was  married 
in  the  year  1745  to  Philip  Adam  Dil- 
ler,  son  of  Cas])er  Diller  a  neighbor. 
The  Dillers  had  emigrated  from  Al- 
sace, France,  (now  Germany).  The 
family  was  blessed  with  eight  chil- 
dren, all  of  whom  lived  to  grow  up 
and  were  married  into  worthy  pioneer 
families.  Many  of  the  descendants  pf 
the  male  line  of  this  family  exercised 
consideral)le  infiuence  in  politics  and 
held  offices  of  trust.  Of  the  descen- 
dants of  the  female  line  several  have 
through  marriage  connected  them- 
selves with  .some  of  the  most  noted 
families  of  our  country,  n()tal)ly  the 
\A^ashingtons.  Madisous,  General 
Packett  and  others. 

Anthony  I'retter  I^llmakcr.  oldest 
son  of  John  Leonard  Ellmaker  was 
born  April  13.  1729  and  was  married 
to  Elizabeth,  one  of  the  nineteen  chil- 
dren of  Nathaniel  Lightner.  of  Lea- 
cock  township.  Lancaster  county. 
Anthony   was   a    man    of  i>ieal   useful- 


ness. He  was  surgeon  a; id  denti>t, 
his  dental  •.riCtrumcnts  uemg  preservec' 
by  some  of  the  desctudanis  to  this 
day.  December  15,  1774  he  was 
elected  a  representati\'e  to  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  and  .vas  a  niember  of 
the  Committee  of  Observation,  His 
name  is  found  on  many  papers  relat- 
ing to  the  settling-  of  estates.  His  old- 
est son  Isaac,  was  also  a  man  of  great 
business  al)ility  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death  in  1834  had  amassed  a  large  for- 
tune. IJis  son-in-law  William  Hiester 
was  a  member  of  Congress  from  183 1 
to  1837  and  his  son  Isaac  Ellmaker 
1  Hester  in  1852.  Another  grandson 
Anthony  Ellmaker  Roberts  was 
elected  Sherifif  in  1839,  held  the  i)Osi- 
tion  of  United  States  Marshal  from 
1849  to  1853  and  in  1854  was  elected 
to  Congress.  Anthony  Bretter  Ell- 
maker died  March  21,  1817^  His 
youngest  daughter  died  in  1880  at  the 
age  of  97.  She  is  said  to  have  had 
a  very  retentive  memor->-  and  was  a 
lu-illiant   conversationalist. 

Elias  second  son  of  John  Leonard 
Ellmaker  was  born  1732.  He  was  a 
soldier  and  was  wounded  in  Brad- 
dock's  defeat,  July  3,  1755  from  the 
effects  of  which  he  died,   1756. 

Anna  Maria,  daughter  of  John  Leon- 
ard Ellmaker  was  born  1736  and  was 
married  to  Isaac  Le-\'an  a  son  of  one 
of  the  pioneers  of  Berks  county. 

Leonard,  Jr.  son  of  John  Leonard 
h'llmaker  was  born  A])ril  12,  1741  and 
wasmarried  to  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
Peter  Baker  a  ])ioneer  settler  in  Earl 
townshij),  Lancaster  county.  He  was 
a  successful  farmer  in  Salisbury  town- 
shi])  where  he  had  a  farm  of  four  hun- 
dred acres  and  a  flourishing  mill 
which  he  carried  on  in  connection 
with  his  farm,  lie  was  entrusted  with 
many  \-alual)le  estates  and  at  the 
time  of  his  death  was  \-estryman  of 
St.     John      E])iscopal     Church.        His 


'Anthony  Pretter  Ellmaker  took  much  pleasure  in  re- 
lating the  following:,'  When  he  was  twelve  years  of  age 
he  went  with  his  mother  to  hear  George  Whitfield  preach 
at  the  old  Pequa  Presbyterian  church  five  miles  away  from 
their  home.  When  they  got  within  half  a  mile  of  the 
place  they  heard  the  hills  re-echo  the  words  of  Whitfield's 
text,  "Watchman,  what  of  the  night  ?  "  People  afoot  go- 
ing to  the  place  of  worship  fell  on  their  knees. 


344 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


grandson  Peter  Carpenter  Ellmaker 
was  United  States  Marshal  and  during 
the  Civil  War  held  a  commission  as 
INIajor. 

Anna  ]»klargaret  Ellmaker.  the  third 
daughter  of  John  Leonard  Ellmaker. 
Sr.,  born.  August  20,  1744,  was  mar- 
ried to  Philip  Frick  according  to  the 
marriage  license  issued  Nov.  3,  1764, 
and  died  at  Xorthumberland.  Pa.. 
October  24.  1830. 
The  following  is  the  marriage  license: 
By  the  Honorable  John  Penn.  Esq., 
Lieutenant  Governor  and  Commander-in- 
chief  of  the   Province  of  Pennsylvania   and 


Many  of  the  descendants  of  this 
union  are  found  in  central  Pennsyl- 
vania among  whom  are  the  Montgo- 
mery s  some  of  whom  have  held  offices 
of  trust.  The  late  Colonel  Jacob  G. 
Frick.  of  Pottsville,  Pa.,  was  a  descen- 
dant. He  was  a  veteran  of  the  Mexi- 
can and  Civil  wars.  He  served  as  Col- 
onel of  the  129th  Regiment.  R.  V.  1. 
in  1861-1863.  He  was  made  provost 
marshall  when  the  rebel  army  ap- 
proached ^^'rightsville  and  ordered 
the  bridge  over  the  Susquehanna  river 
l)etween  Columbia  and  Wrightsville 
to  be   burned   tn   prevent   the  invasion 


BMH 

ii^^^^M^^L— -^ 

THE  OLD  LEONARD  ELLMAKER  GR.WEYARD 


Counties  of  New  Castle,  Kent,  and  Sussex 
on  the  Delaware. 

To  any  Protestant  Minister  where  appli- 
cation has  been  made  unto  me  by  Philip 
Frick  of  the  Borough  of  Lancaster, 
(Brewer)  and  Anna  Margaret  Ellmaker  of 
the  County  of  Lancaster,  Spinster  to  be 
joined  in  holy  matrimony  and  finding  on 
due  examination  that  there  is  not  any  law- 
ful let  or  impediment  of  precontract,  con- 
sanguinity, affinity  or  any  other  just  cause 
whatsoever  to  hinder  the  said  marriage. 
These  are  therefore  to  license  and  author- 
ize you  to  join  said  Philip  Frick  and  Mar- 
garet Ellmaker  in  the  Holy  Bonds  of 
Matrimony  and  then  to  pronounce  them 
man  and  wife. 

Given  under  my  hand  and  seal  the  3rd 
day  of  November,   1764. 


NOTE.— The  Old  Leonard  Ellmaker  Grave- 
yard is  surrounded  by  a  two-foot  wall 
erected  1793  and  kept  in  i)e.rect  condition 
and  whitewashed  yearly.  The  oldest  grave 
(unmarked)  dates  back  ti  abuot  1734.  The 
most  recent  burial  was  that  of  Sarah  Wat- 
son, wife  of  Esaias  E.  Ellmaker.  Since  her 
burial  the  iron  gate  has  been  removed  and 
the   opening   walled    in. — Editor. 

of     Lancaster   count}'   and    a    prol)ai>le 
march   to   Philadelphia  by  the  rebels. 

Jacob  Ellmaker,  fourth  son  of  Jolin 
Leonard  Ellmaker  was  born  Fel)ruary 
16,  1749.  He  was  married  first  to 
Elizabeth  Hoffman  and  then  to  Mar- 
garet  Teeberne.     Eight    children    were 


THE  ELLMAKER  FAMILY 


345 


born  to  the  second  marriage.  Jacob 
EHmaker  was  enrolled  in  Captain 
McConnell's  company  in  the  Revo- 
hitionary  war.  He  inherited  part  of 
the  original  homestead,  migrated  to 
Perry  county,  Pa.,  in  1800  where  he 
died  August,   1824. 

John,  second  son  of  Jacob,  migrated 
t(/Ohio  and  settled  on  a  large  farm  in 
Delaware  county. 

Jacob  Ellmaker,  Jr.,  fifth  son  of 
Ta'cob  was  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers 
i)f  Iowa  when  it  was  yet  a  territory. 
His  descendants  are  among  the  most 
progressive  farmers  of  loAva.  Missouri 
and  Oregon. 

Adam,  eldest  son  of  Jacob,  died  in 
Perry  count}'.  Pa.  in  1836. 

Enos.  oldest  son  of  Adam  was  ap- 
pointed by  Major  Wilson  superinten- 
dent of  the  first  division  of  the  Phila- 
delphia and  Columbia  railroad  from 
Green  Street  to  Paoli  tavern  a  dis- 
tance of  18  miles,  and  he  laid  the 
first  tulip  or  edge  railing  on  the  new- 
road.     Concerning  this  he  wrote: 

"When  the  first  ship  load  of  railing  came 
across  from  England,  Major  Wilson,  Head 
Engineer  made  inquiry  of  Mr.  Provost 
where  he  could  find  a  man  competent  to 
start  or  commence  the  laying  of  the  rails. 
Mr.  Provost  recommended  me.  Major  Wil- 
son then  gave  me,  plots  and  plans  of  the 
Liverpool  and  Manchester  railroad  to  ex- 
amine for  a  fortnight.  After  studying  the 
l)lan  I  made  tools.  Then  I  took  live  men 
with  me  and  we  laid  rails  five  days  and 
succeeded  to  a  demonstration  of  Railroad 
^)uil(.Mng. 

After  this  Enos  took  a  contract  for 
sixteen  turnouts.  In  1836  he  migrated 
to  Iowa  territory  and  became  one  of 
the  pioneer  settlers  of  Jefferson 
county.  Here  he  cultivated  300  acres 
until  1853  when  he  sold  out  to  move 
to  Oregon  territory.  He  procured  two 
hca\y  ox-teams  of  six  yokes  to  a 
wagon  and  one  extra  yoke  for  his 
wife  and  five  children,  the  oldest  B}^- 
ron  a  lad  of  tw^elve  years,  the  young- 
est an  infant  of  seven  months.  Thus 
ecpiipped  he  began  a  long  and  tire- 
some journey  on  wdiich  he  exper- 
ienced cold  winds,  blinding  snow- 
storms, burning  stms.  ])arching  sands, 
terrific     hailstorms,     howling     wolves 


and  Indian  war-whoops  and  dances. 
He  located  on  a  donation  claim  of  320 
acres  on  the  Long  Tom  river  in  Lane 
county  where  he  spent  the  remainder 
ofhis  days  dying  1885  in  the  85th 
year  of  his  age. 

Reuben  the  youngest  son  of  Adam 
Ellmaker  was  born  in  Perry  county, 
Pennsylvania,  June  3,  1816.  At  the  age 
of  21  he  migrated  to  Iowa  with  his 
brother  Enos  and  his  uncle  Jacob.  He 
acquired  a  large  tract  of  land  where  he 
resided  to  his  death  1898.  He  en- 
dured all  the  hardships  and  privations 
of  a  pioneer  life.  He  was  a  useful  citi- 
zen and  held  various  offices.  He  was 
industrious,  kind,  hospitable,  univers- 
ally esteemed  and  beloved. 

Nathaniel  (Ignatius)  the  youngest 
son  of  John  Leonard  Ellmaker  Sr.  was 
born  December  1751.  He  inherited 
the  Ellmaker  homestead  where  he 
lived  until  his  death  April,  1837.  He 
took  an  active  part  in  the  Revolution- 
ary w'ar,  furnishing  aid  for  Washing- 
ton's army  at  Valley  Forge  1777-1778 
for  which  he  received  thanks  in  letters 
from  Washington.  He  was  enrolled 
in  Captain  McConnell's  company  from 
1780  to  1783.  He  was  state  senator  in 
1794.     He  had  four  sons. 

Elias,  oldest  son  of  Xathaniel  Ell- 
maker. attended    the    Latin    school  of 

Rev.     Smith,    Pequea    A-^alley, 

graduated  at  Carlisle,  1799,  and  at 
Princeton.  1802.  He  began  the  prac- 
tice of  law  at  \\'aynesburg.  Pa.,  and 
(lied  in  Philadelphia  when  yet  a 
young  man. 

Amos,  second  son  of  Xathaniel  Ell- 
maker, Avas  born  Feb.  2.  1787.  was 
married  to  Mary  Rachel  Elder,  daugh- 
ter of  Col.  Thomas  Elder  of  Harris- 
burg  and  died  in  the  city  of  Lancaster, 
185 1....  He  began  the  study  of  Latin 
at  the  age  of  ten  under  Charles  Brad- 
ley at  the  old  Hollow  school  in  Lea- 
cock  township,  graduated  from  Prince- 
ton college  in  1805  and  completed  his 
law  studies  in  the  school  under  Judge 
Reeves  at  Litchfield.  Conn.  He  com- 
menced the  practice  of  law  at  Harris- 
burg  and  was  soon  elevated  to  a  seat 
in  Coniiress.     He  served  also  as  Pres- 


146 


GRANDMOTHER    HOME   REMEDIES 


ident  Judge,  representative  in  the 
State  Legislature.  ..  .Attorney  Gen- 
eral of  the  State.  In  1832  he  was 
candidate  for  the  Vice-Presidency  of 
the  United  States. 

Nathaniel,  oldest  son  of  Amos  Ell- 
maker  was  born  April  28,  1817.  He 
studied  at  Beck's  Academy,  Lititz, 
Franklin  Academy,  Lancaster  and 
took  a  course  in  law  at  New  Haven, 
Conn.  He  read  law  in  his  father's  of- 
fice. He  began  the  practice  of  law 
and  soon  rose  to  eminence.  At  the  out- 
break of  the  Civil  War  he  was  attor- 
ney for  the  Dunkers  and  Non-com- 
batants and  it  was  through  his  efforts 
that  the  Draft  law  was  chang-ed  so  as 
to  exempt  these  sects  from  enlisting. 
He  was  married  Oct.  i,  1844  to  Ce- 
celia, daughter  of  Christopher  Hager, 
one  of  Lancaster's  leading  merchants. 

Levi,  third  son  of  Nathaniel 
(Ignatius)  Ellmaker  was  born  at  the 
old  homestead  in  Lancaster  Co.,  Pa., 
and  died  at  his  residence  in  Philadel- 
phia. Pa.,  Feb.  9th,  1835,  in  conse- 
quence of  an  accident  received  while 
driving  in  his  gig.  He  established 
himself  in  Philadelphia  at  the  age  of 
14  years  and  at  the  age  of  nineteen 
was  married  to  Hannah,  daughter  of 
John  and  Alary  Richardson  Hopkins, 
the  latter  being  a  descendant  of  one  of 
the  earliest  settlers  in  the  Pequea  V-'al- 
ley,  Lancaster  county.  He  became  a 
prosperous  and  influential  Philadel- 
phia merchant  with  large  shipping  in- 
terests in  the  ^^'est  Indies.  Mexico 
and  Central  America.  He  cultivated 
Art  and  Science,  Music  and  Opera, 
cooperated  with  others  in  establish- 
ing institutions  in  the  city,  helped  to 
establish  a  steamship  line  between 
Philadelphia  and  southern  ports  and 
])ccame  an  extensive  owner  of  coal 
lands  in  Schuylkill  county.  He  is  de- 
scribed as  being  over  six  feet  in 
height,  handsome,  and  attractive.  He 
left  no  sons. 

Matilda,  daughter  of  Levi  Ellmaker 
married  first  Alexander  Stewart  of 
New  Orleans  and  second  Rca  .  John 
Chambers  of  the    P.n.ad    and    Sansom 


LEONARD  ELLMAKER  GRAVE 
(photo  SEPT.  18S7) 

Street        Independent        Presbyterian 
Church,  Philadel]:)hia. 

Mary,  daughter  of  Levi  Ellmaker, 
married  Augustus  Willis  of  New  Or- 
leans. 

Caroline,  daughter  of  Levi  Ellmaker, 
married  Col.  A\'illiam  C.  Patterson 
first  President  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad.  She  was  very  active  in  the 
Philadel])hia  Sanitary  Commission 
during  the  War  of  1861-65. 

Laura,  daughter  of  Levi  Ellmaker, 
married  Robert  Pettit  of  the  U.  S. 
Navy,  leaving  tw(^  sons :  Henry,  en- 
gineer and  architect,  identified  with 
the  Philadelphia  Centennial  and  Paris 
Exhibitions  and  Robert  Ellmaker, 
connected  witli  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad. 

Louisa,  daughter  of  Levi  Ellmaker, 
was  married  to  Dr.  Richard  Claris,  of 
I 'liiladelphia.   Pa. 


THE  ELLMAKER  FAMILY 


347 


Julia,  daughter  of  Levi  Ellmaker, 
married  David  Jewett  Waller,  of 
W'ilkes-Barre.  a  descendant  from  El- 
der Wm.  Brewster,  of  Plymouth  Col- 
ony. 

Esaias  E.  youngest  son  of  Nathan- 
iel Ellmaker  was  born  June  ig,  1802 
at  the  Ellmaker  homstead  and  died 
there   November   2/,     1867.       lie     \\as 


educated  at  Norristown,  Montg.  Co., 
New  Garden,  Chester  county  and 
later  attended  lectures  on  physics, 
chemistry  and  medicine.  He  was 
married  to  Sarah,  daughter  of  Dr. 
John  and  Margaret  Clemson  Watson, 
the  ^^'atson  and  Clemson  families 
being"  among  the  early  pioneer  famil- 
ies of  Lancaster  county. 


River  Brethren  in  Kansas 


HOW  THE  COLONY  THAT  WENT  OUT  FROM  LANCASTER  COUNTY 
ABOUT  30  YEARS  AGO  HAS  PROSPERED 

From  the  Kansas  Star 


IIIRTY  years  ago  last 
month  the  first  delega- 
tion of  River  Brethren 
came  from  Pennsylvania. 
They  also  came  in  a  spec- 
ial train  and  brought 
with  them  their  house- 
hold g'oods  and  farming 
im])lements.  It  was  said  that  they 
had  $500,000  in  currency.  They 
bought  farms  and  prospered,  until  now 
they  are  the  richest  class  of  residents 
in  Central  Kansas,  having  the  best 
farms  and  the  largest  crops  of -any  of 
the  Western  farmers. 

The  big"  white  houses  scattered  over 
the  prairies  are  modeled  after  the  old, 
Pennsylania  homesteads,  the  former 
homes  of  most  of  the  older  meml)ers 
of  the  Western  colonv.  Their  l:)arns 
are  red  and  their  houses  are  white, 
their  horses  are  sleek  and  cattle  take 
first  place  in  the  market. 

For  a  long"  time  their  \chicles  were 
odd  four-posted  carriages  with  cur- 
tains to  keep  out  storms.  J\Tany  of 
these  are  still  used,  l^ut  more  Ri\er 
Brethren  own  motor  cars  than  any 
other  sini'le  class    of    farmers.      Thev 


come  into  church  A\ith  their  cars  filled 
to  the  limit  and  enjoying  the  trips. 

The  River  Brethren  came  to  Kansas 
intelligently,  but  they  came  to  preserve 
their  traditions.  Their  homes  show 
this.  Not  a  gable  is  shown  for  looks 
and  never  a  flaring"  weather  vane.  The 
disciple  says  it  is  inconsistent  to  put 
up  lightning  rods,  hence  none  appears. 

in  business  life  they  hold  it  wrong  to 
foreclose  a  mortgage  on  a  brother  or 
oppose  him  in  any  way.  It  is  per- 
mitted though  to  take  a  mortgage  for 
security  for  debt.  If  one  fails  to  meet 
his  obligations  he  receives  the  advice 
and  then  the  help  of  his  brothers.  The 
latter  takes  the  form  of  a  direct  dona- 
tion. One  instance  of  this  was  seen 
once  when  $5,000  was  contributed  by 
the  brethren  to  hel]i  one  of  their  num- 
l)er  out  of  debt. 

llie  church  declares  it  is  a  sign  of 
])ri(le  to  haA-e  a  photograph  taken, 
though  this  rule  is  sometimes  broken. 
Life  insurance,  secret  societies,  and  di- 
vorces are  unknown.  In  all  their 
twenty-five  years  in  Kansas  there  has 
not  been  a  pauper,  and  only  one  crimi- 
nal. Xo  other  class  shows  so  good  a 
record. 


348 


LITERARY  DEPARTMENT 


The  Anointing 

By  Cyrus  Elder,  Johnstown,  Pa. 


la  any  sick  among  you,  let  him  call    for  the  elders  of    the  church;  and   let  them  pray  over 
him,  anointing  him  with  oil  in  the  name  of  the  Lord."     James  V.:  14. 

Scene:  Peiiiisylvajiia.     A  fajin-house  kitchen.      Time,  night. 

A  company  of  -cvomen  ccatchcrs.     ^Language,  Pennsylvania  German.^ 

Firss  Woman: 

I   do  not  like   the   howling  of   the  hound, 

It    is    regarded    as    the    sign    of    death. 

Tis  well  the  sick  man   sleeps. 

I    mind    me   when    my    mother    pined    away 

I   sat  to  watch  as  we  are  sitting  now, 

My  brother  with  me,  when  we  heard  a  noise. 

As    if    some    heavy   body    fell    without, 

Shaking    the    house ;    and    going    out 

We   could    find   nothing. 

Second    jroiitan  : 

That   is   a   certain    sign   of   death. 

First    JVoman  : 

And  I  have  often  heard  my  mother  tell 

How   in  my  father's  illness,   when   as  yet 

We  knew   not   it   was   mortal,   on   a   day 

In    the    long    quiet    of    the    afternoon. 

When   all   had    fared    forth   to   the   harvest    field, 

And   she   was   all   alone   within   the   house ; 

As   she   sat  nodding  by  the   sick   man's   bed. 

And   gazing   on    the   hollyhocks   that    flamed 

In  the  hot   sun   along  the  garden   wall. 

She   heard   a   knock   upon    the   outer   door, 

And   springing  up  in   dread   of   some   strange   news, 

And   running   out — no   person   could   be    found. 

But  all   the   pleasant   farm-house  and   the  grounds 

Lay   lonely   in   the   quiet   afternoon. 

Second    Woman: 

That  was  a  certain   sign   of  death. 

A    Child: 

Hush,   did   you   not   hear   a   noise? 

I   thought   a   voice   came    from   the    sick   man's   room. 

Second   Woman : 

He   wanders    in    his    mind,    and    murnnirs    now 
About   the   labors   of   the   field   and   farm. 
Which    he    shall    nevermore    go    forth    to    do. 

First    Woman  : 

And   I    remember  well   that  as   I   lay. 

Most   strangely   wakeful,   in   an   upper   room. 

While   through   the   night   the   watchers    down    below  ^ 

Waited  upon   my   sister's   parting  breath. 


THE   ANOINTING  349 

There  came  what   seemed  to  be  a  ball  of  fire 

In   at  the  window  and   with   noiseless  blow 

It    smote   three   times   upon    the   chamber    wall 

And  passed   away;   and   when   I   trembling  called 

Unto    a    young    child    lying    in    the    room, 

I    found  that  he  had   wakened    suddenly 

And  seen  the  sight  that  made  me  quake  with  fear. 

Second   Woman : 

It  was  a  certain   sign   of  death. 

A    Girl: 

Do   you    believe    these    warnings? 

First    Ji'oinan: 

I   know   not  if   I   should   believe   or  no, 

I    dread   them.    When    that   yellowish    spot 

Came  on  my  hand,  and  would  not  wash  away, 

And    when    Aunt    Mary    said    in    solemn    voice 

That  death  would  take  away  a  near  one  soon, 

I    laughed,    and   yet   within   three   days'    short   space 

There   was   a   coffin   went    forth    from   the   door. 

Second    Woman  : 

Death's  warnings  as   its   ways   are  numberless. 
The    summons   neyer   comes    to   quit   the   world 
Without    a    notice,    or,    'tis    better    said, 
The  world  does  never  take  its  leave  of  us 
Without  some  ceremony,  some  slight  sign 
To  signify    the  time  of  parting  near. 

(A  knock.     Enter  a  company  of  men.) 

Elder : 

Peace   be   upon   this   house! 

Second    Jl'oman: 

The   chamber   door    is   open,    pass    within. 

(They  enter  the  chamber.) 


Elder 


All: 


Brethren,   we  meet  to   do   our  office  here. 
According   to   the   usage    of    the   church. 
And  the  commands  of  Scripture;  earthly  help 
For  our  sick  brother  owns  its  helplessness, 
And  we  will  now   invoke  in  humble  trust 
The  aid  of  One  who  can,  if  he  will  cure. 
Then   let   us    pray. 

(All   kneel.) 

O,    blessed    Lord, 
Thou  who   didst  bring  the  dead   again   to   life. 
Because   of   the   great   love   his    sisters    bore    him, 
We  pray  thee  heal  this  brother  whom  we  love. 
Yet  not  our  will,  but  thine,   O  Lord,  be  done. 

Amen.     Amen. 


Elder  Riving: 

Dearly  beloved,  give  me  now  your  prayers. 
I   do  amoint  with  oil  the  head  of  our  sick  brother, 
That  this  sick  head  may  be  restored  to  health, 
Through  grace  divine,  and  this  we  humbly  ask 
In  the  name  of '  the  Lord.     Amen. 

AH: 

Amen.     Amen. 


350  THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 

(  They  sing. ) 

O,   death,   where  is  thy   sthig. 
Thy   victory,    O   grave? 
The   Lord   in   Heaven   will   hear 
And    his    anointed    save. 

Elder : 

I   do  anoint  with  oil  these  hands 
Of   our   sick  brother,   that   their   wonted   strength 
May  come  again   to   serve   our  earthly  needs. 
Ripe  is  the  harvest  and  the   reapers   few. 
Idle  and   rusted  are   the   scythe   and   plow, 
And   weeds   grow    rank    in    the   neglected   corn. 
Unpleasing  this   unto   the    Lord   of   all, 
Who  gives  the   early  and  the   latter   rains, 
And   gives   the   husbandman   the   will   to   toil, 
For  that  he  loves  to   see  the   fruitful  land 
Redeemed    from   waste   and   empty   wilderness. 
O,  thou  who  art  alone  the  strength  of  all, 
Give   strength   unto   these    feeble   hands   we   pray, 
In  the  name  of  the   Lord.     Amen. 

All: 

Amen.      Amen. 

(They  sing.) 

The   Lord   will    raise   us   up. 
Our    sins    he    will    forgive. 
His   promises   are    sure, 
We    will    believe    and    live. 

Elder : 

I   do    anoint   with  oil   the    feet 
Of  our  sick  brother,  that  the  kindly  earth 
May  feel  their  tread  along  its   woodland   paths. 
In  the  long   furrow,  and  the   fallow   field. 
Keeping  the   world's   ways   with   watchful   care. 
To  keep  the  narrow  path  that  leads  to  life. 
And  as  it  is  commanded   it  is  done, 
In  the  name  of  the  Lord.     Amen. 


All: 
Elder 


Amen.      Amen. 


Grace,  love,  and  peace  be  with  you  all, 
Now  and   forevermore.     Amen. 

(They   depart.      Scene   closes.) 


Grumbiere  Keffer 


Letz  Woch  hen  mer  im  Record  katt  vum  wann   die   Bauere    ihr    Grumbiere    geplanzt 

de  Grumbiere   Keffer.  Es  hot  mich   a.rg  in-  katt  hen,  hen  sie  sich  ruhig  hiehocke  konne 

teressirt    was    vum    ihne    gesagt    worre    is,  un  zusehne  wie  sie  gewachse     sin.     Sie  hen 

just  es  hot  mlch  gar  net  gesuht,  dass  gesaht  zufriede     sei  konne  un  nix  hot  sie  geargert. 

•wcrre  s,  Niemand  daht  wisse,  wu  sell  Un-  Awer  sell  hot    der  Mister    Deiwel  gar  net 

zeziffer  her  kummt.  gesuht.      Er  gleicht's  net  wann  die  Mensche 

Der    Schreiber    vun    sellem    Artikel     hot  zufriede     un  in  Ruh  lewe.       Do  druf  hen  er 

gesaht,  wer   wisse  daht  wu   die   Keffer   her  un  sei  Private     Secretary  ihr    Kopp  zamme 

kumnie,  sott  vun  sich  hore  losse.     Ich  wees  gesteckt  un     gestudirt  for    en  Plan  zu  finne 

es,  un  will  es  euch  sage.  Sie  sin,  so  schuhr  for     die  gate  Bauere     In  ihre  Ruh   zu  store, 

wie  alle  hand  anner  uniitz  Stofft  wu   uf  der  Endlich  hot  der  Ehnd  gesaht:    "Ichhab's." 

Welt  is  for  nix  wie    just    die    Mensche    zu  "Was     hoscht  du?"  "Why,     Potato  Bugs..' 

ploge,  dem  Deiwel  sei  Invention.     Nau  wun-  "Was   sin   sell  for  Dinger?"  Un  dernoh  hen 

nert  ih-r  verleicht  wie  sell  is.     Well,  friiher  sie  lang  leis    mit  nanner  geschwatzt,  un  die 


LITERARY  DEPARTMENT 


351 


Folge  ware,  dass  im  nachste  Friihjohr  die 
Grumbiere  Keffer  uf  die  Bauere  losgelosse 
uorre  sin.  I'n  wann  nan  der  Bauer  gern 
ausruhe  daht.  dann  muss  er  naus  un  uf  die 
Keffer  Jagd  niache,  un  dann  werd  net  selte 
gescholte  un  wann  der  Bauer  net  en  arg 
guter  Mensch   is   verleicht   noch   mehner. 

So  is  es  grad  niit  de  Miicke.  Selie  sin  ah 
for  nix  Gutes  in  der  Welt  un  sin  ah  im  Dei- 
wel  sei  Invention.  Guck  mol,  was  for 
Unheil  so  en  kleh  Ding  in  ere  Kerch 
ahrichte  kann.  Es  hockt  Ehner  ahdachtig 
unner  der  Preddig,  do  kummt  en  Miick  un 
hockt  sich  uf  sei  Glatzkopp  oder  sei  Naas 
un  mit  der  Andacht  is  es  vorbei.  Er  hot 
allerhand  .rachsiichtige  Gedanke  uf  selle 
Miick,  uu  so  gelmt  der  Deiwel  ah  do  sei 
Point. 


Es  werd  Allerhand  ger6the  for  die  Grum- 
biere Keffer  los  zu.  werre.  Do  hot's  kerzlich 
in  der  Zeitung  geheese,  for  en  Dahler  daht 
Ehner  ehm  sage,  wie  mer  die  Keffer  los 
werre  konnt.  Wer  der  Dahler  geschickt  hot, 
dem  is  gesaht  worre,  er  sott  die  Keffer 
fange,  in  der  linke  Hand  hewe  un  mit  der 
rechte  am  Bauch  kitzle  bis  sie  lache  dahte 
un  ihne  dann  en  wenig  Gift  ins  Maul 
schiitte. 

Ich  wees  en  bessere.r  Weg,  un  ihr  konnt 
mei  Plan  for  nix  hawe.  Mer  nemmt  zweh 
schone  glatte  Backsteh,  oder  ah  zweh 
Holzklotz,  un  legt  en  Keffer  grad  mitte  uf 
der  unnerscht,  un  driickt  dann  mit  dem 
annere  Steh  uf  der  Keffer  bis  er  nimme 
greischt. 

— H  C.  B.  in  Reformed  Church  Record. 


Lost  Customs 


Do  you  ever  think  of  the  olden  days 
And  the   people  we  used  to  see? 

Their   simple   life  and   simple  ways 
Were  the  things  for  you  and  me. 

Where  is  the  man  with  the  barn  door  pants 
Who  pulled  his  boots  with  a  jack? 

The  village  doctor  with  physic  and  lance 
Sending    you^ — where    you    couldn't    come 
back? 

Where  is  the  fellow  with  his  trousers  lined 

With   tough   unbleached   inusiia   stuff, 
Whose   inside  things  were   .ii".    a   d  )^h>d. 
I  h"  I    i«ide  appeara"  e   ;"ur;!' 

Where  is  the  man  who  wore  the  shawl 

And  carried  the  carpet  bag? 
The  village  dude  whose  brains  were  small 

And  carried  a  cider  jag? 

Where  is  the  linen  duster  flirt 
With   a  watch  cord,  key  tied  on, 


His  .red  bandana  and  hickory  shirf:, 
Oh  where,  oh  where  has  he  gon" ' 

Go  back  to  the  days  of  sassafras  tea 
They  made  us  take  in  the  spring; 

Look  at  the  mints  in  the  attic  and  see 
The  dried  apples  on  a  string. 

Those  good  apple  pies  with  allspice  in 
And  doughnuts  made  with  a  twist, 

And  three-cornered  tarts  made  in  a  tin 
And  sausage  thick  as  your  wrist. 

Makes  one  inquire  of  the  old  fashioned  girl 
And  where  has  she  gone  so  long? 

Is  memory  all  she  has  left  to  the  worl'? 
Just  to  be  thought  of  in  song? 

Give  us  the  good  old  grandmother  days 
Of  homemade  sweets   and   pumpkin   pie 

When  we  as  rustics  sang  our  lays, 
And  you  to  the  woods  may  hie. 

Anonvmous. 


Uncle  Casper's  Beauty  Rose 


Friends,  let's  honor  without  envy 
Uncle  Casper's  beauty  rose; 

There   are  flowers  very  many 
But  none  other  like  his  nose. 

First  it  was  a  gift  of  nature 

Common  to  each  man  and  beast; 

But  too  frequent  did  he  nurture 
It  with  whiskey  and  a  feast. 

Soon  he  noticed  with  a  gesture 
Than  it  gained  in  size  and  hue, 

Till  at  last  it  grew  in  stature 
Overgrown  and  color  blue. 

Other  roses  all  have  thistles, 
Not  so  uncle  Casper's  rose; 

His  has  but  a  tuft  of  thistles 
Sifting  what's  tuberculose. 


Tanned  and  huffy  like  a  hussar, 
(From  a  snuff-box,  it  is  true, 

Comes  its  pollen),  be  assured  sir, 
As  its  odor  so  its  hue. 

Other  flowers  get  less  wholesome 
When  the  fall  winds  chilly  blow; 

Uncle  Casper's   shining  blossom 
Only  then  begins  to  glow. 

Often  on  a  frosty  morning 

Does  it  show  the  brightest  pearl ; 

When  the  snow  and  ice  are  forming 
Then  its  banners  just  unfurl. 

Therefo.re  to  its  praise  and  glory 

We  this  song  so  gaily  sing; 
Uncle  Casper's  grog-shop  flower 

Blooms  in  full  from  spring  to  spring. 

J.  W.  Seip. 


35i 


REVIEWS  AND  NOTES 


'The  Home-Coming"  by  Elsie  Singmas- 
ter  in  McClure's  for  June  is  an  exciting 
little  story  of  the  Battle  of  Gettysburg. 
The  Hero  is  young  Parson  and  the  scene 
of  action  is  "Parson's  House,"  forever 
famous  in  Civil  War  history.  The  story  is 
clear,  dramatic  and  pathetic. 

DAS  HABICHTSFRAULEIX  —  Eine  Dorf- 
geschichte  aus  dem  Thiiringer  Wald- 
Von  Rudolph  Baumbach.  Edited  by 
Dr.  Morton  Stewart;  Instructor  in 
German  at  Harvard  University.  Cloth; 
224  pp.  Price  40c.  Henry  Holt  and 
Company.     New    York.      1909. 

"Das  Habichtsfraulein"  is  a  story  of 
peasant  life  in  the  Thuringian  Forest, 
one  of  the  great  forests  if  Germany;  it  is 
renowned  fqr  its  picturesque  scenery  and 
rich  legendary  lore.  The  story  gives  a 
true  picture  of  the  strifes  and  feuds  ex- 
isting between  the  forestry  officials  and 
the  wood  thieves. 

The  tale  is  suited  for  elementary  work; 
it  is  written  in  a  clear,  simple,  colloquial 
style  which  acquaints  the  reader  with  the 
spoken  language  of  the  day.  The  text  is 
supplied  with  copious,  and  yet  judicious, 
notes ;  with  a  vocabulary,  and  with  com- 
position exercises  which  illustrate  com- 
mon principles  of  grammar.  The  introduc- 
tion to  the  text  is  a  fine  piece  of  critical 
work,  of  the  kind  not  always  found  in 
modern  texts. 

TRAIMXG  THE  TEACHER.  Cloth;  16 
mo.  270  pp.  Price  50c.  The  Sunday 
School    Times.      Philadelphia.      1908. 

This  book  has  been  approved  as  a  First 
Standard  Course  by  the  Committee  on 
Education,  International  Sunday  School 
Association. 

It  is  the  joint  work  of  several  writers; 
as  the  book  is  divided  into  four  sections  in 
order  to  furnish  the  elements  for  the 
training-teacher  course,  each  one  of  the 
writers  takes  one  of  the  sections.  The 
first  section,  "The  Book,"  the  Bible  mater- 
ial which  is  the  basis  for  Sunday-school 
work,  is  by  A.  F.  Schauffler,  D.D.  The 
second  section,  "The  Pupil,"  a  short  study 
in  Psychology,  is  by  Antoinette  Abernethy 
Lamoreaux,  B.  L.  The  third,  "  The 
Teacher."  a  study  in  Pedagogy,  is  by  M. 
G.  Brumbaugh,  Ph.  D.  LL.  D.  The  last  sec- 
tion, "  The  School,"  is  by  Marion  Law- 
rence. There  are  also  some  supplemen- 
tary chapters  by  Charles  Oliver  and  Ira 
Maurice   Price, 

This  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  best 
manuals  for  a  teacher-training  class  that 
has  yet  come  to  hand.   It  is  a  remarkably 


good,  strong,  compact,  suggestive  manual. 
It  should  accomplish  much  in  helping  to 
solve  the  serious  problem  of  securing  more 
and  better  teachers  and  better  teaching  in 
the  Sunday-school.  And  to  say  that  more 
and  better  teachers  and  better  teaching 
are  needed  in  the  Sunday-school  is  saying 
something  that  is  self  evident  and  that  has 
been  said  time  and  again.  It  is  by  adopt- 
ing courses  as  suggested  and  outlined  by 
this  book  that  conditions  can,  and  event- 
ually  will,    be   improved. 

0>E  YEAR  COURSE  IN  ENGLISH  AND 
A3IERICAN  LITERATURE— By  Benja- 
min A.  Heydrick,  A.  M.  Chairman  of 
English  Department,  High  School  of 
Commerce,  New  York  City.  Cloth;  il- 
lustrated; 290  pp.  Price  $1.  Hinds. 
Noble   and  Eldrige,  New   York.     1909. 

Mr.  Heydrick,  the  author  of  this  book, 
was  born  and  raised  in  the  western  part 
of  Pennsyhania.  He  obtained  his  educa- 
tion at  Allegheny  College  and  at  Harvard 
University.  He  was  formerly  teacher  of 
English  in  the  State  Normal  School  at  Mil- 
lersville,  Pa.  He  is  also  the  author  of 
"How  to  Study  Literature,"  and  "Short 
Studies  in  Composition." 

This  may  well  be  termed  an  era  of  his- 
tories of  literature.  But  how  different  are 
they  from  the  "manualistic"  histories  of 
literature  of  former  years.  The  method  of 
teaching  literature  by  means  of  historical 
text-books  has  been  discredited,  because  it 
supplants  the  literature  itself;  and  the 
method  of  studying  a  few  selected  master- 
pieces is  likewise  unsatisfactory,  because 
it  leaves  literature  unrelated  to  history.  It 
has,  therefore,  been  considered  unwise  to 
use  text-books  without  texts;  or  to  use 
texts  without  text-books. 

Consequently,  the  histories  of  literature 
of  the  immediate  present  are  a  compromise 
between  these  two  extremes.  .And  of  these 
books  the  one  at  hand  is  the  most  recent 
and  in  some  respects  the  most  unique  in 
its  make  up.  It  is  a  noble,  and  virtually, 
a  successful  attempt  to  cover  the  boundless 
and  Indefinite  subject  of  English  and 
American  Literature  in  one  year.  The 
proportions  are  about  equal ;  being  about 
half  and  half.  Each  chapter  is  followed 
by  a  list  of  recommended  reading,  and 
each  section  has  a  list  for  memorizing. 

The  author  practiced  what  he  preaches 
in  saying  that  the  only  way  to  write  a 
short  treatise  of  anything  was  to  write  it 
as  such  and  not  to  abridge  a  larger  one 
by  reducing  the  scale.  In  this  way  many 
names  unimportant  and  works  uninterest- 
ing to  the  beginner  are  omitted. 


REVIEWS  AND  NOTES 


The  likes  and  dislikes  of  all  are  not  the 
same;  so  in  making  a  list  of  writers,  or 
books,  one  is  very  apt  to  run  counter  to 
the  taste  and  feeling  of  others.  Only  one 
of  the  several  instances  will  be  mentioned 
where  the  author's  good  judgment  might 
seem  at  variance  with  the  opinion  of 
others. 

One  can  hardly  see  by  what  criterion 
writers  like  Lafcadio  Hearn  and  James 
Lane  Allen  are  included  at  the  expense  of 
Henry  VanDyke,  whose  name  is  not  even 
mentioned.  Hearn  was  neither  Jew  nor 
Gentile;  neither  Greek  nor  Barbarian; 
neither  white  nor  black;  neither  English 
nor  American.  What  he  wrote  has  done 
little  and  will  do  still  less  to  influence  lii'e 
and  literature  either  English  or  American. 
And  if  art  is  to  exist  for  art's  sake  and 
nothing  else,  then  the  writer  from  the 
"Blue  Grass  Region"  may  possess  a  posi- 
tion more  or  less  enviable;  but  if  art  is  to 
exist  not  for  art's  sake  but  for  life's  sake, 
then  surely  the  writings  of  VanDyke  are 
far  nobler  than  anything  Allen  ever  wrote. 
For  surely  the  sane  and  wholesome  phil- 
osophy far  outweighs  the  depressing  fatal- 
ism of  the  "Reign  of  Law,"  or  even  of 
"The  Choir  Invisible."  And  the  writings 
of  VanDyke  in  addition  to  expressing  a 
wholesome  philosophy  of  life  are  by  no 
means  devoid  of  fine  literary  art.  One 
might  also  wonder  why  Furness  was  in- 
cluded at  the  expense  of  Hudson  and  White 
as  Shakesi)earean  scholars,  or  simply  as 
authors. 

In  the  selections  for  memorizing  one 
might  also  feel  inclined  to  make  changes. 
Surely  Whittier  is  one  of  the  most  quotable 
of  American  Poets;  and  the  three  little 
stanzas  of  twelve  lines  hardly  show  him 
at  his  best.  Why  not  add  from  "  Snow- 
Bound"  the  following  extract,  as  fine  a 
sentiment  as  the  Quaker  Poet  ever  ex- 
pressed? 

"Alas  for  him  who  never  sees 
The  stars  shine  through  his  cypress-trees! 
Who.  helpless  lays  his  dead  away. 
Nor  looks  to  see  the  breaking  day 
Across    the    mournful    marbles    play! 
Who  hath  not  learned,  in  hours  of  faith, 

The  truth  to  flesh  and  sense  unknown. 
That  I>ife  is  ever  lord  of  Death. 

And  Love  can  never  lose  its  own!" 


The  book  is  written  in  a  style  which  en- 
ables the  pupil  to  get  the  thought  from  the 
printed  page.  By  omitting  many  unimpor- 
tant names  the  book  is  made  readable  and 
fresh,  in  fact  it  is  literature  itself.  The 
book   is   jiighly   suggestive   and    workable. 

History   of  the   Hebron    Lutheran    Church, 

Madison  County,  Virginia  from  1717  to 
1907,  by  Rev.  W.  P.  Huddle,  Pastor,  116 
pages,  cloth  $2.00.  Postpaid.  For  sale 
by  the  author,  Madison,  Va. 

This  volume  is  the  result  of  investiga- 
tions begun  in  1904  carried  on  "to  preserve 
in  permanent  form  for  my  people  and  the 
church  at  large,  the  facts  concerning  this 
the  oldest  Lutheran  congregation  in  the 
South." 

The  author  spared  no  expense  or  labor  to 
make  the  book  reliable,  interesting,  cred- 
ible and  deserves  praise  fo.r  the  success  of 
his   efforts. 

The  book  traces  the  history  of  earlv 
Germans  in  Virginia,  the  founding  of  the 
church  at  Madison,  its  career  to  the  pres- 
ent.    We  quote  the   following: 

"Today  after  a  lapse  of  167  yea.rs  it  still 
stands  as  a  monument  to  the  piety,  indus- 
try, and  persistent  efforts  of  these  German 
Lutherans  to  establ.sh  the  church  of  their 
fathers  in  the  new  world.  The  congrega- 
tion is  known  to  have  been  in  continued  ex- 
istence for  at  least  a  hundred  and  seventy- 
four  years,  and  is  the  oldest  of  the  Luth- 
eran faith  in  Virginia  and  in  the  South. 
The  original  part  of  the  building  is  the  old- 
est Lutheran  church  built,  still  used  and 
owned  by  Lutherans  in  the  United  States. 
It  is  older  than  the  Trappe  church  near 
Philadelphia.  The  "Old  Swedes"  church 
(1699)  at  Wilmington,  Delaware,  and  the 
Gloria  Dei  (1700)  at  Philadelphia,  Penn- 
sylvania, are  both  older  and  were  built  by 
Lutherans,  but  they  have  long  been  in  the 
possession  of  the  Episcopalians.  The  his- 
tory, therefore,  of  this  church  building  and 
congregation  should  be  of  much  interest  to 
Germans  and  especially  to  Lutherans." 

We  believe  no  purchaser  will  regret  buy- 
ing the  book  and  can  recommend  it  heart- 
ily  and  unreservedly   to  our  readers. 


In    Collin's    History    of    Kentucky    it    is 

stated  that  Cai)tain  Jacol)  Yoder  took  the 
first  flat  boat  down  the  Ohio  and  Mississipp--* 
rivers  to  .\ew  Orleans  in  17S2.  Collins  says: 
"The  late  Capt.  Jos.  Pierce,  of  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  had  erected  over  the  remains  of  his 
old  friend  Capt.  Jacob  Yoder  an  iron  tablet 
(the  first  cast  west  of  the  Alleghenies)  thus 
inscribed :  'Jacob  Yoder,  was  born  at  Read- 
ing, Pennsylvania.  August  11,  1758,  and 
was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolutionary  army  in 


1777  and  1778.  He  emigrated  to  the  West 
in  1780,  and  in  May,  1782,  from  Fort  Red- 
stone, on  the  Monongahela  river,  in  the 
first  flatboat  that  ever  descended  the  Mis- 
sissippi river,  he  landed  in  New  Orleans 
with  a  cargo  of  produce.  He  died  April  7, 
lSo2,  at  his  farm  in  Spencer  county,  Ken- 
tucky, and  lies  here  interred  beneath  this 
tablet.' "  Fo.rt  Redstone  is  the  name  that 
was  first  given  to  Brownsville. 

From  Swank's  Trogrcssive  Pennsylvania. 


354 


EDITORIAL  DEPARTMENT 


The  Pennsylvania-German 

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Literature  and  General  Interests  of  German 
and  Swiss  settlers  in  Pennsylvania  and  other 
States  and  of  their  descendants. 

Editorial  Staff 
H.  W.  Kriebel,  Editor,  Lititz,  Pa. 
Prof.  E.  S.  Gerhard,  Editor  of  "Reviews 
and  Notes,"  Trenton,  N.  J. 

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ippings 


— At  Bonnie  Brae  Park,  near  Spring  City 
in  the  Schuylkill  Valley,  300  descendants  of 
Gerhard  Brownback,  coming  from  all  pa.rts 
of  .Montgomery  and  Chester  and  Philadel- 
phia Counties,  met  in  the  third  annual  re- 
union of  that  family  and  foimed  the  B.rown- 
back    Memorial      Association.  intimately 

this  asscciation  will  have  fa.r  in  excess  of 
•oOO  members. 

Gerhard  Brownback  was  an  early  Penn- 
sylvania pioneer,  bo.rn  in  the  Providence  of 
Wittenberg.  Germany,  in  1662,  who  emigra- 
ted to  Pennsylvania  about  1683.  He  sailed 
from  .Amsterdam  in  the  vessel  Concord,  ar- 
riving in  Philadelphia  on  October  6,  1683. 
He  settled  in  Germantown  and  married  a 
granddaughter  of  David  Kittenhouse,  whose 
brother  was  tlie  first  manufacturer  of  paper 
in  the  colonies  as  well  as  the  first  American 
bishop  of  the  Mennonite  Churcli. 
The  constitution  of  the  BrownI)ack  ;\Iemor- 
ial  Association  was  adopted,  a  membership 
fee  decided  upon  and  the  disposition  of 
funds  ijlanned  to  be  expended  on  histori- 
cal researches  and  the  preservation  of  valu- 
able records  of  the  family. 

— Former  Governor  S.  W.  Pennypacker  ex- 
pects to  plant  ten  acres  of  his  farm  at 
Schwenksville  with  forest  trees  and  set  an 
example  for  forestry.  This  is  a  plan  that 
every  farmer  ought  to  adopt.  Every  far- 
mer should  have  some  timber  trees  at  least. 
At  the  present  price  of  lumber  it  is  one  of 
the  best     paying  crops     a  farmer  can  plant. 

— At  the  annual  Alumni  Day  exei-cises  at 
Lehigh  University  it  was  announced  that 
John  Fritz,  of  Bethlehem,  the  veteran  iron- 
master    and  metallurgist,     would     give   this 


noted  technical  institution  a  thoroughly  e- 
quipped  and  modern  engineering  laboratory. 
This  gift,  valued  at  $.50,000,  is  one  of  the 
largest  ever  received  by  the  Univer.-iity. 
Mr.  F.vitz,  for  more  than  30  years,  has  been 
a  trustee  of  Lehigh. 

— Macungie,  Pa.,  enjoys  the  distinction  of 
having  a  citizen  born  May  31,  1812  and  there 
fore  97  years  old.  An  exchange  says  of  him: 
"While  sight  and  limbs  are  no  longer  as 
keen  and  strong  as  they  once  were,  his 
memory  is  as  keen  as  ever,  and  he  remem- 
bers scenes  and  incidents  of  his  childhood 
days  as  well  as  ever,  and  greatly  enjoys 
the  company  of  visitoi's.  A  few  weeks  ago 
he  had  himself  measured  for  a  suit  of  cloth- 
es and  considers  himself  good  for  a  century 
run  at  least.  Mr.  Gaumer  is  the  oldest  of 
11  children,  of  whom  three  sons  and  three 
daughters  still  survive.  He  was  brought 
up  on  his  father's  farm  and  continued  to  be 
a  farmer  until  thirty  six  years  ago,  when  he 
retired  from  active  work,  although  lie  has 
not  altogether  led  a  life  of  idleness  and  ease 
l)ut  has  carefully  looked  after  his  interests 
in  the  i)ro|)erties  he  owned." 

— Milton,  Pa.,  indulged  in  a  three  day  old 
Jiome  week  celebration  the  first  week  in 
.July.       The  Xoi'th  American  says: 

"Two  of  the  big  reasons  why  iNIilton  has 
gone  to  the  trouble  of  covering  itself  with 
flags  and  bunting  and  has  taken  on  the 
American  holiday  appearance,  according  to  * 
Postmaster  Hopkins,  who  conceived  the 
idea  of  the  affair  a  year  ago  at  Williams- 
port's  Sons  of  Veterans'  annual  encamp- 
ment, are:  "This  town  doesn't  take  a  back 
seat  for  any  of  them  in     the  matter  of  civic 


CLIPPINGS  FROM  CURRENT  NEWS 


355 


pride,  and  as  for  its  history,  it  needs  only 
to  be  mentioned  that  Milton  has  lived  seven- 
teen years  beyond  the  century  mark." 

Milton  was  founded  in  1792,  and  in  1880 
a  disastrous  fire  almost  swept  the  little 
village  off  the  map,  and  it  was  forced  to 
begin  its  career  all  over  again.  In  those 
early  days  it  was  known  as  "Mill  Town," 
because  there  was  established  along  Lime- 
stone run,  on  the  present  site  of  Shimer's 
pumping  station,  the  only  grist  mill  in  this 
part  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  progress  of  the  struggling  borough 
got  a  hard  jolt  by  the  fire,  but  the  business 
men  were  made  of  proper  stuff  and  they 
"stuck  to  it."  As  a  consequence,  the  post- 
office  does  a  bigger  business  today  than  any 
other  in  a  place  of  this  size  in  the  state,  and 
the  railroad  tonnage  from  the  manufactur- 
ing plants  is  a  source  of  much  rivalry  a- 
mong  soliciting  agents  of  the  Pennsylvania 
and  Reading  systems." 

An  old  German  woman  became  ill  and 
was  taken  by  her  husband  to  a  hospital  for 
treatment.  The  first  day  slie  was  there, 
when  her  husband  called  to  inquire  about 
her,  the  doctor  said  she  m  as  improving.  On 
the  second  day  he  was  again  told  she  was 
improving  and  on  the  third  and  fourth  days 
the  assurance  was  the  same.  This  was 
very  encouiaging  to  the  old  German  but 
when  he  called  on  the  fifth  day  he  was  told 
that  his  wife  was  dead.  In  his  grief  lie 
sought  his  favorite  saloon  to  drown  his  sor- 
row. "Vafs  de  matter?"  asked  the  sympa- 
thetic bartender,  noticing  his  customer's 
despondent  condition.  "Ach!  My  vife  iss 
dead,"  replied  the  Ge.rman.  "So?  Vat  did 
she  die  of?"  asked  the  bartender,  "improve- 
ments," replied  the  bereaved  husband,  call- 
ing for  another  glass  of  beer. 

The  good  minister  of  old  Hill  church 
while  preaching  one  day  said,  "Stellt  euch 
vor,"  meaning  imagine  to  yourselves,  but 
some  of  his  hearers  understood  him  liter- 
allq  and  presently  one  of  them  nudged  his 
neighbor  and  said,  "Hans  mir  solle.uns  vor- 
stelle,"  and  then  a  number  left  their  seats 
and  surrounded  the  altar.  The  minister 
seeing  they  had  misunderstood  his  language 
ceased  preaching,  delivered  a  brief  Anrede 
to  them,  bade  them  return  to  their  seats 
and    then    continued   his    sermon. 

— Related  by  Rev.  U.  Hem-y  Heilman. 

— .Jacob  E.  Dreisbach  was  born  March  17, 
1823,  in  Union  Co..  Pa.,  and  died  May  11, 
1909,  at  Carthage,  Mo.  He  was  the  third 
son  of  Rev.  .John  Dreisbach,  co-laborer  and 
close  associate  of  .Jacob  Albright,  founder 
of  the  Evangelical  Association.  At  the  age 
of  8  years  the  subject  of  this  sketch  moved 
with  his  parents  to  Circleville.  Ohio,  where 
he  grew  to  manhood.  In  1844  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Catharine  Wagner.  Three  sons  and 
two    daughters     were     born     to     them,     by 


wliom  also  he  is  survived.  In  1853  he  mov- 
ed to  Findley,  Ohio,  and  in  1868  to  Pond 
Grove,  Indiana,  near  the  city  of  Lafayette. 
During  his  sojourn  here  he  was  licensed  as 
a  local  preacher  by  the  Indiana  Conference. 
In  1870  he  joined  the  westward  moving 
tide  and  moved  with  his  family  overland 
and  settled  on  a  farm  near  Carthage,  Mo. 
The  General  Conference,  in  session  at  Al- 
lentown.  Pa.,  elected  him  superintendent  of 
the  Ebenezer  Orphans'  Home,  which, 
charge  he  creditably  maintained  for  nearly 
eight  years.  Returning  to  his  home  in  Mis- 
souri, he  served  the  church  and  the  com- 
munity in  a  local  relation  as  opportunity 
presented  itself  and  need  demanded.  Since 
1892,  when  his  companion  died,  his  com- 
forts were  ministered  to  in  the  home  of  his 
son,  William,  in  the  city  of  Carthage.  The 
funeral  service  was  largely  attended.  The 
body,  bo.rne  by  six  grandsons,  was  tenderly 
laid  to  rest  in  Park  cemetery. 

— William  S..Huber,  died  at  Lebanon,  Pa., 
on  May  24,  1909.  D.r.  Huber  devoted  his 
practice  entirely  to  dentistry  in  which  he 
established  a  large  and  lucrative  practice. 
He  was  president  of  Select  Council  in  Leba- 
non and  took  a  deep  interest  in  everything 
concerning  the  welfare  of  the  city..  The 
"News"  of  that  city  says  of  Dr.  Huber: 

Possessed  of  rare  judgment  and  conserva- 
tive in  all  his  business  affairs,  Dr.  Huber, 
was  called  upon  a  number  of  occasions  to 
serve  his  party,  which  he  did  with  lasting 
credit  to  himself  and  his  constitutents.  He 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  board  of  city 
scliool  control  from  the  Second  ward  and 
was  in  the  board  at  the  time  of  the  erec- 
tion of  the  Lebanon  High  School  building 
in  1889.  He  was  also  elected  to  city  coun- 
cils and  was  serving  his  second  term  of 
four  years  as  a  member  of  Select  council, 
over  wliich  body  he  was  the  presiding  offi- 
cer, having  been  elected  president  in  1908 
and  re-elected  this  yea.r.  In  all  municipal 
matters  Dr.  Huber  exercised  the  same  care- 
ful, conservative  judgment  which  marked 
his  conduct  of  his  own  private  affairs  and 
his  loss  to  the  city  is  a  material  one. 

— This  year  it  is  just  200  years  since  the 
founding  of  the  Palatinate  Colony  in  the 
counties  of  Kerry  and  Limerick  in  Ireland 
by  800  farmer-families  induced  to  leave  their 
homes  in  the  Rhemish  Palatinate  devastated 
by  the  P^rench.  Irish  lords  and  the  Irish 
parliament  supported  the  enterprise.  These 
German  immigrants  as  well  as  French  re- 
fugees did  everything  in  their  power  to  im- 
prove the  agrarian  condition  of  the  island 
and  they  stayed  there  for  lOO  years.  The 
sullen  dislike  of  the  improvident  Irish  til- 
lers on  the  one  hand  and  the  senseless 
agrarian  policy  of  the  London  government 
on  the  other  hand  at  last  forced  the  for- 
eign  settlei's   to   leave   for   ever. 

— The  Lutheran. 


356 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


— American  tourists  who  have  recently 
visited  the  grave  of  William  Penn  have  been 
hurt  by  the  neglected  condition  of  the  rest- 
ing-place of  Pennsylvania's  founder.  The 
grave  is  at  Chalfont,  St.  Giles,  Bucking- 
hamshire, twenty  miles  from  London. 

Among  numerous  Americans  who  have 
already  made  an  automobile  trip  out  to  this 
Mecca  of  all  good  citizens  of  the  United 
States  this  summer  is  Dr.  Walter  Lindley, 
of  Los  Angeles,  Cal.  D.r.  Lindley  is  highly 
indignant  at  what  he  describes  as  the  dis- 
graceful manner  in  which  Penn's  grave  is 
kept. 

"If  such  little  reverence  is  going  to  be 
paid  by  Englishmen  to  Penn's  resting  place 
said  Dr.  Lindley,  "we  Americans  must  take 
the  great  American  colonizer's  bones  to 
Pennsylvania  and  raise  a  fitting-  monument 
to  them. 

". Jordan's  burial  ground  is  a  small  rough 
iiiclosure  at  the  back  of  the  Friends' Meet- 
ing House  at  Chalfont,  St.  Giles. 

"I  found  that  Penn's  grave  was  all  but 
unmarked  I  Only  a  small  stone  distinguished 
his  grave  from  others.  Weeds  and  rink 
grass   almost   obliterated    thei    nscri])tion." 

— At  historical  old  Crown  Point  where 
three  centuries  ago  Samuel  De  Champlain 
with  his  Algonquin  allies  engaged  in  battle 
against  the  Iroquois,  a  struggle  which  has 
been  described  as  one  of  the  cardinal  events 
of  American  history,  there  were  held  in 
July  a  week  long  ceremonies  undertaken  by 
the  states  of  New  York  and  Veimont  in 
celebration  cf  the  tercentenary  of  Cham- 
plain's  disccve.ry  of  the  magnificent  lake 
that  bears  his  name. 

— Miami  university,  O.xfoid.  Ohio's  oldest 
institution  of  higher  learning,  celebrated  its 
centennial  in  .hine.  For  six  days  the  town 
and  college  were  given  over  to  the  enthus- 
iasm of  the  alumni  and  undergraduates, 
joined  in  celebrating  the  one  hundredth  an- 
niversary of  the  founding  of  the  college  that 
has  turned  out  many  men  distinguished  in 
the  historv  of  the  state  and  the  nation. 

The  centennial  address,  the  chief  oratori- 
cal feature  of  the  week,  was  delivered 
by  Dr.  Henry  Mitchell  MacCiacken,  chan- 
cellor of  Xew  York  university,  who  was 
graduated  from  Miami  in  \8'u. 

In  1892  Miami  ha  dthe  honor  of  having 
two  of  her  sons  named  as  candidates  for 
president  and  vice  i)resident  on  the  Rejiub- 
lican  ticket.  They  were  Benjamin  Harri- 
son and  Whitelaw  Reid.  The  famous  war 
governors  of  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois- 
William  Dennison.  Oliver  P.  Morton  and 
Richard    Yates — were   Miami   boys. 

— Somewhere  al)out  1683,  when  William 
Penn  was  outlining  comprehensive  plans 
for    a    city    along     the     Delaware,    Thames 


Kundras,  a  German,  came  to  this  country. 
He  settled  in  Germantown,  married,  and 
one  of  his  sons  was  Henry  Conrad— the 
name  being  a  literal  translation  of  the  ori- 
ginal Kundras.  Henry  Conrad,  about  1711, 
removed  to  Whitpain  township,  purchasing 
about  300  acres  of  land,  where  he  became 
the  grandfather  of  .John  Conrad.  It  was  the 
descendants  of  John  Conrad  —  notice  the 
change  of  name  again — and  Sarah  Conrad, 
his  wife,  who  comprised  the  Conrad  Family 
Association,  who  took  part  in  the  Conrad 
Family  Reunion  at  Willow  Grove  Park,  Pa., 
June  20,  1909. 

John  and  Sarah  Conrad  were  married  in 
Plymouth  about  104  years  ago,  and  had  12 
sons.  Two  of  these  sons  are  still  living — • 
Louis  Conrad,  who  retains  the  original 
spelling  of  the  name,  and  Isaac  Conrad. 
They  are  S3  and  81  years  old,  and  Louis 
is  president  and  Isaac  the  vice-president  of 
the  association.  They  were  re-elected  re- 
cently, as  were  Fassett  Conrad.'  of  Ambler, 
treasurer,  and  Miss  Ella  S.  Park,  of  Hor- 
sham, secretary. 

— The  new  Christ  Lutheran  Church,  Oley, 
Pa.,  was  dedicated  May  30.  The  Rev.  Dr. 
E.  S.  Brownmiiler,  the  paster,  had  charge 
of  the  service.  He  has  served  as  pastor 
since  1870,  succeeding  the  late  Rev.  T.  T. 
laeger. 

Historically  Christ  Lutheran  congrega- 
tion I'anks  with  such  old-time  bodies  as 
those  at  Trappe  and  Falckner  Swamp.  It 
dates  back  to  that  period  when  itinerant 
ministers  traveled  from  Philadelphia 
through  the  Skippack,  Trappe,  Goshenhop- 
pen,  Falckner  Swamp,  Oley  and  Tulpe- 
hocken  regions,  forming  congregations 
wherever  there  were  two  or  more   i)ersons. 

— Historic  Donegal  Presbyterian  Church, 
in  East  Donegal  township,  was  the  scene 
June  16  of  a  reunion  of  the  descendants  of 
the  original  members  of  the  congregation 
who  were  active  during  the  levolutionary 
period.  Scores  of  persons  from  Lancaster, 
York,  Dauphin  and  Cumberland  counties 
were  i)resent. 
The  first  service  was  held  in  the  morning, 
presided  over  by  John  E.  Wiley.  Hugh 
Hamilton,  of  Harrisburg,  read  a  paper  on 
"The  Results  of  Presbyterianism  in  Penn- 
sylvania," and  A.  J.  Cassanova,  of  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  gave  an  interesting  sketch  of 
the  "Pattersons  and  McCauslands."  Miss 
Lillian  Evans,  daughter  of  the  late  Colonel 
Samuel  Evans,  one  of  the  historians  of  old 
Donegal,  also  read  a  paper,  as  did  Dr.  H. 
A.  Orth,  of  Harrisburg. 

Donegal  is  the  oldest  Presbyterian 
church  in  this  section,  it  having  been  or- 
ganized in  1714  by  Andrew  Galbraith.  Dur- 
ing the  revolutionary  war  it  sent  nearly 
every  male  member  to  the  army,  and  seven- 
teen   of    them    held    the    rank     of     colonel. 


cijppixc.s  FROM  ci'hre?:t  news 


357 


Among  the  early  ineuibers  of  the  congre- 
gation was  one  of  the  ancestors  of  Presi- 
dent  McKinley. 

The  iiresent  edifice,  which  is  in  excellent 
state  of  i)i-eservation,  was  erected  i«  IToO. 
A  curious  story  is  told  of  its  construction. 
An  old  horse,  used  in  hauling  material  to 
the  site,  died  suddenly,  and  its  carcass  was 
buried  under  the  ijulpit.  The  body  was  be- 
headed, and  the  head,  after  being  "cured," 
was  placed  in  an  aperture  in  the  pulpit. 
Some  years  ago,  when  the  church  was 
being   remodeled,   the   head   was   discovererl. 

— Quakertown,  Bucks  county,  Pa.,  claims 
to  have  in  the  Richland  library  the  third 
oldest  in  Bucks  county  and  the  seventh 
oldest  in  the  United  States.  It  was  organ- 
ized by  Friends  1789,  oi)ened  with  lol  books, 
chartered  in  1795  by  Abraham  Stout,  Ever- 
ard  Foulke,  Israel  Lancaster.  Samuel  Sil- 
lers, .Joseph  Lester  and  Israel  Foulk,  has 
at  present  a  collection  of  3000  volumes  and 
may  be  housed  in  a  new  library  building  if 
the  agitation  now  carried  on  yields  enough 
money.  We  regret  that  space  forbids  our 
printing  the  o.riginal  list  of  books,  inter- 
esting and  eloquent,  valuable  as  these  are. 

— Marion  D.  Learned,  professor  of  Ger- 
man, at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
was  received  in   ,Iune  by  Emperor  William. 


His  majesty  talked  with  animation  for  an 
hour. 

Professor  Learned's  "Life  of  Pastorius" 
was  mentioned,  and  upon  the  emjjeror  ex- 
pressing cu.riosity  concerning  this  work, 
the  professor  asked  leave  to  present  him 
with  a  copy.  The  Emperor  rejjlied  that  he 
would  be  ])leased  to  accei)t  it,  and  the  pro- 
fessor will  send  him  an  especially  bound 
volume. 

P.rofessor  Learned,  accompanied  by  his 
wife,  is  preparing  for  the  Carnegie  Insti- 
tute a  record  of  the  documents  in  the  gov- 
ernment archives  pertaining  to  the  histo.ri- 
cal  relations  of  the  German  states  with 
America. 

— The  Pennsylvania  History  Club  was 
recently  organized  at  Cheste.r,  Pa.,  the 
membership  of  which  is  restricted  to  those 
who  have  engaged  in  some  serious  work  on 
an  important  phase  of  Pennsylvania. 
Among  charter  members,  are:  Professor 
Herman  V.  Ames,  Dr.  Martin  G.  Brum- 
baugh. Hon.  Hampton  L.  Carson,  Professor 
Edward  P.  Cheyney.  Professo.r  John  Bach 
McMaster,  Henry  C.  Mercer,  Dr.  Ellis  Pax- 
son  Oberholtzer.  the  Hon.  Samuel  W. 
Pennypacke.r,  Edward  Robins.  .Toseph  G. 
Rosengarten,  Cheesman  A.  Herrick,  Aman- 
dus  Johnson  and  Professor  Marion  D. 
Learned. 


The  Forum 


MEAM>G  OF  M3IES 


By  Leonhard  Felix  Fuld,  M.  A.  LL.  31. 

EDITORIAL  NOTE.— Mr.  Fuld  has  kindly 
consented  to  give  a  b.rief  sketch  of  the  de- 
rivation and  meaning  of  the  surname  of 
any  subscriber  who  sends  twenty-five  cents 
to  the  Editor  of  THE  PENNSYLVANIA- 
GERMAN   for  that  purpose. 

VIII.     SCHNABEL. 

The  name  SCHN.ABEL  is  derived  from 
the  German  word  which  means  the  beak 
of  a  bird.  This  word  occurs  in  the  phrases 
ER  SPRICHT  WIE  IHM  DER  SCHNABEL 
GEWACHSEN  1ST.  He  does  not  mince 
words  and  DAST  1ST  NIGHTS  FUER 
SEINEX  SCHNABEL,  That  is  not  to  a 
taste.  The  name  was  subsequently  cor- 
rupted successively  into  SCHNEBEL, 
SCHNEBLE  and  SNEBLE.  the  spelling  of 
the  two  latter  names  indicating  that  they 
were  mistaken  for  dimiuutives  of  endear- 
ment. When  an  attempt  was  made  to 
translate  these  names  into  English  they  be- 
came SNAVELY  and   SNIVELY. 


As  a  surname  SCHNABEL  has  a  three- 
fold derivation  and  meaning.  In  the  first 
place,  it  was  applied  to  anything  sharp  and 
hence  also  to  an  individual  who  was  con- 
sidered sharp  or  above  the  average  in  in- 
tellectual ability.  This  meaning  of  the 
word  is  betrayed  in  the  derivatives  SCHN.A- 
BELSCHUHE,  pointed  shoes,  and  SCHNA- 
BELZANGE,  pincers  or  nippers.  Sec- 
ondly it  was  applied  to  a  man  who  was 
very  much  in  love  with  his  wife.  The  words 
SCHNAEBELN  meaning  to  bill  and  coo  or 
kiss  and  SCHNABELEI  kissing  are  evi- 
dences of  this  meaning.  And  thirdly,  the 
name  was  given  to  one  residing.  "At  the 
sign  of  the  beak"  .AM  SCHNABEL,  a  name 
given  to  many  inns  and  derived  from  the 
sign   at  their  doors. 

IX.     LAUBACH. 

The  name  LAUBACH  is  derived  from  two 
German  words  LAU  and  BACH.  LAU 
means  mild  or  lukewarm,  as  in  LAUES 
WETTER,  mild  weather  and  BACH  means 
a  brook  or  small  stream.  The  name  LAU- 
BACH was  applied  to  one  residing  on  the 
banks  of  a  stream  having  mild  water,— that 
is,  water  which  was  not  distinctly  cold. 


358 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


X.      BLOSS. 

Several  derivations  for  the  name  BLOSS 
have  been  suggested.  It  was  applied  to  a 
man  who  actually  naked  or  to  a  man  who 
was  so  brave  as  to  go  into  battle  without 
armor.  It  was  apiilied  to  a  man  so  poor  as 
to  be  destitute,  as  is  shown  by  the  phrase 
IM  BLOSSEN  SEIN,  meaning  to  be  de- 
prived of  the  necessities  of  life.  It  was 
given  to  the  residents  of  a  bare  country, — 
a  stretch  of  land  which  was  not  fertile. 
And  finally  it  was  given  to  one  residing 
"At  the  sign  of  the  naked  man. "a  name 
.  given  to  some  taverns  and  derived  from  the 
sign  displayed  at  their  doors.  The  name 
BLOSS  was  generally  given  either  to  a 
very  brave  man  or  to  a  very  poor  man. 

LEONHARD  FELIX  FULD. 
•!•     *     4« 

Hesse  Kreiitz 

In  the  May  issue  of  THE  PENNSYL- 
VANIA-GERMAN we  called  attention  to  the 
term  Hesse  Kreutz.  In  Papers  read  before 
the  Lancaster  County  Historical  Socletv  we 
find  this   (Vol.  IX,  No.  S) 

"For  an  X  is  a  "hex"  in  funny  old  Berks, 
Of  bad  luck  a  token — the  devil's  own  words, 
When  writ  on  a    back    by    two    cross    gal- 
lons straps. 
The     safer     suspender    is    one     that     ne-e.r 
laps." 

*  •!•     * 

What  is  a  Dutcliinau? 

Wm.  Craig,  author  of  "Die  Alt  Kette 
Briick"  which  apjjeared  in  the  June  PENN- 
SYLVANIA-GERMAN writes  as  follows: 
"The  article  induced  an  Ohioan  to  w.rite  me 
very  commendatorily.  He  could  not  un- 
derstand how  a  Scotch-Irish  subject  could 
write  such  good  dutch."  This  leads  us  to 
ask  the  question.  What  is  a  "Pennsylvania- 
Dutchman?"  If  the  use  of  the  dialect  is  a 
mark,  shall  we  call  the  colored  brethren,  or 
the  offspring  of  the  colored  race  and  the 
Indian  Dutch  because  they  speak  the  dia- 
lect—if descent  is  proof  what  shall  we  say 
of  those  who  deny  their  ancestry  and 
know  nothing  of  the  dialect?  Ave  these 
Dutchmen?     What  is  a  Dutchman? 

*  *     * 

Spelling  of  the  Dialect 

Reading,  Pa.,  June  21.  1909. 
Mr.  H.  W.  Kriebel, 
Dear   Sir: 
I  am  greatly  pleased  with    your    recently 
adopted  form  of  rendering  the  Pennsylvania 
German  dialect,  as  used  in  "The  Old  Chain 
Bridge"  of  the  June  number.  I  have  written 


many  articles  in  the  dialect  during  the  last 
thirty  years  in  connection  with  editorial 
notes.  and  have  always  employed  the 
form  now  adopted  by  you.  Of  course  in 
some  minor  points  your  form  differs  some- 
what from  mine,  but  not  very  materially. 
It  is  always  wrong  to  use  the  English  spell- 
ing and  pronunciation  in  rendering  the  dia- 
lect. The  dialect  is  German  not  English. 
Of  course  the  English  words  included  in  it 
must   be   spelled   English. 

My  principal  object  in  compiling  the  vol- 
ume entitled  "Pennsylvania  German"  was 
to  present  the  dialect  in  what  I  considered 
the  proper  form,  and  I  am  glad  to  say  it 
has  met  the  approbation  of  many  of  the 
best  judges.  Yours   truly. 

DANIEL  MILLER. 
*     *     4* 

"Mike   Mojer's   Mush   Mehl" 

Akron,  Ohio,  June  19,  1909. 
Editor   PENN.A.-GERMAN: 

In  reply  to  a  piece  I  find  in  June  number 
of  P.  G.  page  301,  I  give  the  following: 

My  wife  tells  me  that  in  he.r  father's 
family  they  used  to  say:  "Miller  Mike 
Moyer,  musht  meiner  mammy  mush 
mael  mahla,  my  mammy  mus  mich  meshta 
mit  mush." 

Michael  Moyer,  whose  father  came  from 
Berks  Co.  for  many  years  operated  a  grist- 
mill in  Musser's  Valley,  at  the  foot  of 
Jack's  mountain,  in  Snyder  Co.,  Pa.  My 
wife  was  raised  nearby  and  her  father 
(Jacob  Bingman)  had  much  of  his  g.rain 
ground  at  Mike  Moyer's  mill.  Jacob  Bing- 
main's  grandfather  was  Capt.  Frederick 
Bingman  who  also  came  from  Berks  Co. 

A  SUBSCRIBER.  ' 

A  reader  raised  in  the  eastern  part  of 
Berks  county  reports  the  following  word- 
ing: Mei  Miller  musz  mer  Mush  Mehl 
mache.  Mei  Mutter  musz  mer  Mush  mit 
Milch  mache. 

'1'      v       V 

INrOR3IATION  WANTED 

Waltz  Family 

Samuel  W.  H.  Waltz,  Linden,  Pa.,  has  in 
preparation  a  History  and  Genealogy  of 
the  Waltz  Family  in  two  volumes.  The  an- 
cestors of  this  family  migrated  from  Ger- 
many to  America  in  1801  and  their  descen- 
dants now  number  several  thousand.  He 
will  be  pleased  to  correspond  with  parties 
interested  in  the  family. 

Rhodes  Family 

Wanted — Information  of  any  kind  rela- 
tive to  Mark  Rhodes  or  Rodes  who  married 
Catharine      Heiss,      of      Germantown.        He 


THE    FORUM 


359 


served  in  the  War  of  the  Revohition.  was  in 
business  in  Philadelphia  after  the  Revolu- 
tion. Member  of  the  Carpenters  Society  of 
Philadel})hia.  Can  his  place  of  l)irth  be 
given?  It  is  supposed  to  be  Reading.  He  is 
supposed  to  be  the  son  of  John  Rhodes. 
Any  information  about  this  Mark  Rodes 
o.r  Rhodes  will  be  very  greatly  appreciated. 
Very  Truly, 

MARY   XASSAU. 
424   WestChelten   Ave.,  Germantown,    Phila. 

*  *  * 

Slabloy   Family 

Christian   Stabley    was   married   to  


Among  their   children   were 

1.  Adam. 

2. ,   married   Henry   Seitz. 

3.  Barbara,  married  youngest  son  of 
Michael  Miller  who  came  from  Wu.rtum- 
berg,  Germany;    prior  to  1755. 

4.  John,  born  1788  in  Baltimore  or 
Shewsbury,  York  Co.  Died  Md.,  1858, 
Wayne  Twp.,  Clinton  Co. 

He  married  1st  Susanna  Sechrist,  born 
1792.  Shrewsbury,  York  Co.,  she  died  Clin- 
ton Co.,  1841. 

He  married  in  1842  Magdalena  Keener,  of 
York  Co. 

Christian   Stabley  was  killed  by  accident, 
in    Baltmore.      His     wife     married     2nd     by 
Eyer  and  lived  Selings  Grove,  Union  Co. 
"Wanted. 

1  Name  of  wife  of  Christian  Stabley. 
Gravestone  record  of  both. 

2.  Names,  birth  and  death  record  of  par- 
ents of  Susanna  Sechrist. 

E.   Q.   N. 
4.     4.     ■!• 

(iilendeimiiig'  Family 

Robert  and  John  Clendinen  emigrated  to 
Pequea,  Lan.  Co.,  from  North  of  Ireland 
and  soon  moved  to  Irish  Settlement. 

Robert,   lived    near    Catasauqua.  

Wanted,  information  of  Robert,  name  of 
"Wife  and  where  bu.ried? 


"Notes  and  Queries'"  Egle,  1897.  Page  7. 
Wm.  Glendening,  married  Dec.  2,  17G2. 
Anna  Leviston  at  St.  James,  Church,  at 
Lancaster,  Pa. 

Were  these  of  the  same  family  or  in  any 
way  related  to  John  Clendenin  who  mar- 
ried Rebecca  De  France  in  1788?  (Dauphin 
Co.)  or  may  they  belong  to  same  Family 
Line  as  descendants  of  Charles  C.  for 
whom  Charleston,  West  Virginia  was 
named? 

E.  Q.   X. 

*     •&     •!• 

Kline  Family 

THE  PENNA.-GERMAN,  May,  1909,  under 
'•Historic  Lititz""  mentions  Michael  Klein 
and  wife. 

History  of  "Dauphin  and  Lebanon  Coun- 
ties,Pa."    W.    H.    Egle,    under    Lebanon    Co., 

Page   340     gives,  Michael      Kline    of 

Derry  died   prior  to   1796   and   had  children 

1.  Geo. 

2.  Freeny  m.  Michael   Quiggle. 

3.  George  m.  Geo.  Wild. 

4.  Jacob  m.   Elizabeth  Lan.   Co. 

5.  Leonard. 

6.  Nicholas. 

7.  Magdalena  m.  Adam   Frish. 

8.  Margaret  m.  Geo.  Bauman. 

9.  Dorothy  m.   John  Bauman. 

10.  Barbara  m.  Geo.  Geiger. 

11.  Susanna  m.   John   Brown. 

12.  Gertrude  m.  Hartman  Moi-rett. 

13.  Daniel. 

14.  Michael. 

Can  these  be  the  same  or  different  fam- 
ilies? 

Wanted,  Some  information  of  Freeny 
(likely,  Frances)  Kline.  Also  name  of  wife 
of  Mchael  Kline  and  his  Revolutionary 
War  Record. 

I  believe  No.   2   to  be  my   ancestors,   one 
line. 
(Mrs.  D.  W.  Needier)   Ella  Quiggle  Needier, 

1135  Greenwood  Terrace,  Chicago,  111. 
.A  Subscriber,  June  27,  1909. 


Historical  Soceities 


Lebanon  County  Historical  Society 

Rev.  U.  Henry  Heilman,  A.  M.,  of  Jones- 
town, Pa.,  rendered  a  valuable  service  to 
"his  community,  his  freundschaft,  his  county 
and  his  state  by  preparing  his  "Descrip- 
tive and  Historical  Memorials  of  Heilman, 
Dale,  Penna."  which  was  read  before  the  L. 
C.  H.  S.  April  16,  1909  and  has  been  is- 
sued in  a  pamphlet  of  55  pages.  He  wrote 
"because  he  could  not  resist.  The  reader 
■can  sit  down  and  by  reading  live  the  rural 
life  of  Heilmandale  though    a    stranger    to 


the  place.  If  you  want  to  get  a  glimpse  of 
historic  Pennsylvania-Germany  read  the 
book. 

4.  4>  •!• 

The  Pennsylvania  Society 

This  prosperous  and  far  famed  society 
has  issued  its  Year  book  for  1909  from 
which  we  quote  the  following: 

"The  Pennsylvania  Society  was  organ- 
ized on  April  25,  1899:  its  membership  on 
December   31,   1908,   was    935,    of    which     I 


360 


THE   PEXNSYLVANIA-GERMAX 


was  honorary,  442  resident,  and  492  non- 
.resident.  Its  specific  object,  as  stated  in 
its  constitution,  is  to  cultivate  social  inter- 
course among  ts  members,  and  to  promote 
their  best  interests;  to  collect  historical 
material  relating  to  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vana,  and  to  keep  alive  his  memory." — 
The  Appeal  of  the  Society  to  Pennsylvan- 
ians  rests  on  the  extraordinary  ra))idity  of 
its  growth,  which,  far  outdistancing  that  of 
any  similar  organization  in  New  York,  has, 
in  ten  years,  become  the  largest  of  the 
State  Societies  of  America." 

The  present  volume  contains  over  200 
pages,  almost  100  illustrations,  and 
presents  a  popular  summary  of  historic  en- 
deavor relating  to  Pennsylvania  obtainable 
in  no  other  publication.  Information  re- 
specting the  Society  can  be  secured  at  the 
office,  218  Fulton  Street,  Hudson  Terminal 
Block,  New  York  City. 

4*   +   4* 

Bradford  County  Historical   Society 

This  society  issued  this  year  a  48  pp. 
souvenir  program  of  its  Home  Coming  and 
Old  People's  Days  Exercises,  June  24,  25, 
26.  Half  of  the  pages  are  filled  with  adver- 
tisements by  the  business  men  of  Towanda: 
the  rest  of  the  pages  are  devoted  to  the 
program  and  interesting  historical  data 
concerning  the  county.  The  "ads"  show 
that  the  business  men  of  the  community 
take  an  interest  in  history  and  that  some 
body  must  be  at  work  making  things  go. 
Seemingly  the  Society  gets  at  things  from 
the  "popular"  rather  than  the  scholarly, 
erudite  and  academic  side.  We  cull  the 
following  from  the  pages  of  the  program: 
"The  first  permanent  settler  within  Brad- 
ford county  was  Rudolph    Fox,    a    German, 


who  in  May,  1770,  located  near  the  mouth 
of  Towanda  creek  in  Towanda  township. 
The  first  white  child  of  pioneer  parents 
born  in  Bradford  county  was  Elizabeth  Fox 
(Mrs.  William  Means),  daughter  of  Ru- 
dolph Fox.  She  was  born  September  1, 
1770;  died  July  21,  18-51. 

4»  4"  * 

Historical  Society  of  Berks  County 

The  proceedings  of  this  society  are  pub- 
lished in  pamphlet  form  annually  and 
when  of  sufficient  bulk  are  bound  in  a  vol- 
ume and  indexed.  Vol.  II,  No.  4  of  the 
"Transactions"  contains  the  papers  contrib- 
uted to  the  Society  during  the  year  1908. 
These  papers  were:  Berks  County  in  the 
Franch  and  Indian  War:  The  Earliest 
Japanese  Visitor  to  Reading.  The  early 
Moravian  Settlements  in  Berks  County,  The 
First  Newspaper  in  Pennsylvania. 

We  quote  the  following  from  President 
Richards'  Annual  Address: 

"While  we  are  grateful  to  all  who  have 
aided  in  advancing  the  interests  of  the 
institution,  and  contributed  the  means  to 
purchase  oui-  present  building,  I  hold  to 
the  opinion  that  it  is  time  to  pave  the  way 
for  the  realization  of  still  greater  things. 
Projects  for  the  promotion  of  material  and 
business  enterprises  are  usually  successful 
in  this  community.  With  a  tithe  of  the  de- 
gree of  perseverance  devoted  to  these,  ap- 
plied to  so  creditable  and  desirable  an  un- 
dertaking as  the  acquisition  of  a  new  site 
and  the  erection  of  a  commodious  fire- 
proof building  for  the  use  of  the  Historical 
Society  of  Berks  County,  there  is  no  rea- 
son to  doubt  the  probability  of  the  accom- 
plishment at  no  distant  day  of  what  we 
all  hope  eventually  to  see  realized." 


William  H.  Speicher,  a  resident  of  Stoy- 
estown,  Somevrset  County,  writes  of  the  old 
stage  houses  as  follows:  "Stoyestown  had 
several  of  them.  Here  passengers  secured 
a  hasty  meal  while  a  change  of  horses  was 
made,  and  the  i)resent  generation  can  not 
realize  the  commotion  that  was  caused  by 
the  arrival  and  departure  of  half  a  dozeii 
stages  of  rival  lines  with  horns  blowing, 
streamers  flying,  and  horses  on  the  full 
run.  Sometimes  as  many  as  thirty  stages 
stopped  at  one  of  these  hotels  in  a  single 
day.  Most  of  them  were  drawn  by  four 
hor.ses,  but  in  climbing  the  mountains  six 
were  frequently  used.  For  the  accomodation 


of  wagons  and  drovers  the  road  houses,  with 
large  wagon  yards,  averaged  one  for  every 
two  miles  along  the  road.  These  were 
built  especially  for  the  purpose  and  con- 
sisted principally  of  a  large  kitchen,  din- 
ing-room, and  very  la.rge  barroom,  the  lat- 
ter also  serving  as  a  lodging  room  for  the 
wagoners  and  drovers.  Six  and  eight- 
horse  teams  were  usually  accompanied  by 
two  men,  and  all  of  them  carried  their  own 
bedding,  which  was  spread  out  on  the  bar- 
room floor  before  a  huge  log  fire  in  the 
chimney   place   in   the  winter." 

From  Swank's  Progressive  Pennsylvania, 


Vol.  X 


AUGUST,  1909 


No.  8 


History  of  the  Plainfield  Church 

By  Rev.  W.  H.  Brong,  Pen  Argyl,  Pa. 

(CONCI^UDED  FROM  JULY   ISSUE) 


T 


W 


REV.   CASPER    D.   WEYBERG,   D.D. 

H  E  first  regular  pastor 
was  a  Swiss  by  birth. 
He  came  to  America 
during  the  winter  of 
1762-3  as  Ave  learn  from 
the  T^Iinutes  of  Coetus 
which  was  held  in  Phila- 
delphia, May  5  and  6, 
1763.  There  had  however  been  preach- 
ing' in  the  Easton  charge  of  which 
Plainfield  was  a  part,  before  Rev. 
A\'eyberg   began    his    labors    here. 

Dr.  Harbaugh  sa}'s  in  his  "Fathers 
of  the  Reformed  Church"  that  "some 
irregular,  self-constituted  ministers 
had  preached  there  before  him."  But 
e\'idenlly  some  regularly  constituted 
ministers  also  preached  in  the  charge 
as  we  infer  from  the  Minutes  of 
Coetus  held  at  Xew  Hanover,  Pa., 
June  30.  1762,  wdiere  we  are  told  that 
"Simon  Friesbach  (?)  a  delegated  el- 
der from  Easton  submitted  a  i)etition 
of  said  charge  concerning  a  minis- 
ter. The  Coetus  was  pleased  to  return 
a  written  answer  to  him  in  which  the 
charge  was  notified  that  this  matter 
had  not  only  been  laid  before  the 
proper  authorities,  but  that  also  the 
Rev.  Deputies  of  the  S3mods  of  South 


and  Xorth  Holand  had  consiclered  the 
matter  and  had  called  Dr.  W'eybej-g 
for  them.  Until  the  arri\-al  of  the 
latter,  they  shall  be  served  occasion- 
ally by  the  brethren  of  the  Coetus." 
The  first  time  that  this  charge  made 
a  recjuest  for  a  minister  of  wdiich  we 
have  any  record  was  at  the  annual 
meeting  of  Coetus  in  the  spring  of 
1760.  But  because  of  the  scarcity  of 
Reformed  ministers  they  had  to  wait 
three  years  before  they  got  one.  Rev. 
W'eyberg  upon  entering  the  charge 
at  once  set  about  dtting  thiiigs 
"decently  and  in  order"  as  he  wrote 
on  the  first  page  of  the  Plainfield 
Churchbook.  At  the  annual  meeting 
of  Coetus  held  !\lay  5  and  6,  1763, 
Rev.  \\'e3'berg  was  asked  by  the  dele- 
gate elder  of  a  congregation  on  the 
Lechaw  (Lehigh)  to  supply  their 
church  also  with  preaching.  Where- 
upon Dr  W'cyburg  declared  that  he 
had  already  three  churches,  and 
hence  it  would  be  very  diificult  to 
serve  them  also,  but  he  consented  to 
preach  for  them  occasionally.  The 
three  churches  reported  by  Rev.  Wey- 
])erg  as  consisting  the  charge  were 
exidently  Easton,  Dryland  and  Plain- 
field. 


362 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Dr.  \\'eyberg  served  this  charge 
however  only  for  eight  months  when 
he  accepted  a  call  to  Race  Street 
Church,  Phila.,  at  that  time  the  larg- 
est Reformed  congregation  in  Penn- 
sylvania; the  following  spring  j\Iay  2, 
1764  he  reported  for  his  new  charge 
180  families,  also  that  he  had  baptized 
46  children  and  received  70  members 
•  in  confession  since  October,  1763. 

Dr.  W'eyberg  received  the  title  of 
D.D.  in  1788  from  the  "English  Col- 
lege of  Xew  Jersey."  He  left  no 
photograph,  but  is  described  as  hav- 
ing been  "tall  and  slim"  and  always 
carried  his  Uible  under  his  arm  when 
on  his  way  tn  church.  During  the 
Revolution  he  was  taken  prisoner 
Avhen  the  British  invaded  Philadcl- 
]>hia  and  his  church  was  used  for  a 
hospital.  Of  his  family  little  is 
known.  In  the  Minutes  of  Coetus  for 
Sept.  7.  17^)8,  he  was  said  to  be  absent 
on  account  of  the  illness  of  his  wife. 

He  died  Aug.  21,  1790.  after  having 
served  his  Philadel]:)hia  churcli  faith- 
fully for  26  years;  he  was  buried  in 
what  is  now  k>anklin  Scjuare.  Phila. 
He  lelt  a  son  named  Samuel  who  en- 
tered the  Reformed  ministry  and  la- 
bored   mainly   out   in    Missouri. 

REV.    .JOHN    DANIEL   GROSS 

During  the  vacancy  that  followed 
])r  AX'eyberg's  pa.storate.  Rev.  John 
Daniel  (iross  su])])lied  Plainheld  and 
other  vacant  congregations  with  his 
charge  which  consisted  of  Allentown. 
Egynt,  and  two  other  congregations. 
In  the  meeting  of  Coetus  held  at  Lan- 
caster in  May.  1765,  he  rei)orted  for 
nine  congregations  which  lie  ser\ed 
of  which  Plainfield  was  one.  The  old 
Churchbook  of  the  Plainfield  church 
has  12  baptisms  recorded  for  the  year 
1764  and  II  for  1765.  In  the  Coetal 
Minutes  of  1773  we  are  told  that  he 
left  his  congregations  in  Penn.sylvania 
al)oul  a  year  ago,  and  accepted'  a  call 
in  the  State  of  New  York.  Reasons 
for  leaving  for  .Xllentown  charge  he 
gave  in  a  letter  to  Coetus  as  fc'.llows: 

I.  Unkindness.  obstinacy.  negli- 
gence of  the  meml)c'rs  in  attending-  di- 


vine services.  2.  Injustice  in  withhold- 
ing and  retaining  his  salary. 

REV.    FREDERICK   L.    HENOP 

The  third  j^astor  of  Plainfield  was 
Rev.  Frederick  L.  Henop  who  ap- 
pears for  the  first  time  before  Coetus 
in  October.  1765.  having  a  call  to  be- 
come pastor  of  the  Easton  charge. 

This  is  also  the  first  notice  we  have 
of  him  as  a  Reformed  minister.  He 
said  at  this  meeting  of  Coetus  that  he 
was  well  pleased  with  the  congrega- 
tions of  the  Easton  charge  and  would 
take  them  under  his  ministry.  The 
elder  frcmi  Easton  then  further  ex- 
])laine(l  that  Easton,  Greenwich.  Dry- 
land and  Plainfield  were  united  and 
that  these  congregations  would  pay  a 
salarv  of  75  pounds,  free  residence 
and  necessary  firewood  per  annum. 

Tlie  "free  residence"  and  "firewood"' 
in  the  call  would  naturally  impl}-  that 
he   was  a  married  man. 

Ihit  in  the  report  to  Coetus  in  1769' 
it  is  stated  that  he  is  "not  married."' 
It  is  h()wc\'er  jxissible  that  he  was 
married  when  he  located  at  Easton 
and  that  his  wife  died  some  time  prior 
to   1769. 

In  1766  he  rei)orte(l  the  memlier- 
shi])  of  the  Plainfield  church  as  24 
families  and  14  children  baptized,  23 
received  as  meud)ers  and  7,2  at  school. 
And  in  17C17  he  re])orted  merely  24 
families  and  11  children  in  the  school. 
On  Sept.  7.  8  and  9.  1768,  Coetus  was 
held  in  Easton  at  which  a  call  from 
Frederick.  Md.  to  Re\-.  Henop  was 
considered;  when  Coetus  resolved 
that  "whereas  EasttMi.  Greenwich, 
Dryland  and  Plainfield  opposed  it 
strenuously  it  \vas  left  to  the  decision 
of  Mr.  Henop  whether  and  A\hen  he 
would  actually  accept  this  call." 

Rev.  Heno])  seems  to  have  decided 
to  stay  in  the  Easton  charge  at  least 
did  .so  for  another  3'ear.  wdien  the 
l""rederick  congregation  again  urged 
him  to  accept  their  call.  Coetus  also 
advised  him  to  accept  it.  which  he  did 
at  the  annual  meeting  held  Se])t.  20 
and   21.    1769.      He  remained  pastor  at 


THE    PLAINFIELD   CHURCH 


363 


Frederick  for  14  years  when  he  re- 
ceived and  accepted  a  call  to  Reading. 
Bnt  before  taking  leave  at  P^rederick 
he  died  snddenly  and  his  body  lies 
bnried   nnder   the    I'"rederick   church. 

Rev.    .JOHN    WH.LIAM    PITHAN 
The    next    pastor   of     Plainfield    was 
Rev.  John  William   Pithan    who    had 
just   arrived   from     Germany    to     visit 
some  of  his  friends  as  he  claimed  and 
so  presented  an   application   to  be  ad- 
mitted     into      Coctns     at     the     annual 
meeting   in     i/(i^).       He     was    born     in 
Palatinate  and  had  studied  at  Heidel- 
berg   and     had    testimonials     showing 
that   he   was   ordained   by   the     Palati- 
nate   Consistory.      He     was     therefore 
placed     into    the     Easton     charge     on 
trial.     At  the  annual  meeting  of  Coe- 
tus  the  following  year   (1770)   he  was 
accused     of     drunkenness.        He     con- 
fessed his  guilt   whereupon   Coetus  al- 
hnved  him   to  ])reach  a    while    longer, 
on   condition   that   if    once    more'    well 
founded    accusations     should     be     pre- 
ferred  against    him     the    ])resident    of 
Coetus   and   one    conunissioner   should 
go  before   the  congregations    and    de- 
clare him  unfit   for  the    ministiy,    and 
to   free   the   congregations   of  him   and 
have  them  served  by  neighboring  min- 
isters   until    they   can    be    ser\ed   by    a 
regular    minister    again.        Less     than 
three  months  after  this,  when   the   re- 
port of  the  Coetus  was  sent  to  Synods 
of    X^orth    and     South     Holland    there 
was   added   the    following:    "Mr.     Py- 
than    was    (le])oscd    on    account    of    his 
continued  ungodly  life.  l"he  c  mgrega- 
tions    are    therefore    ])articularly    com- 
mended  to   the   fatherly   care   of   your 
Reverences." 

The  Dryland  congregation  and  a 
part  of  the  Easton  congregation  how- 
ever continued  to  maintain  him  even 
after  he  was  excluded  from  Coetus. 
And  thus  came  the  first  disruption  of 
this  charge.  He  was  a  married  man. 
and  after  being  dei)osed  from  the  min- 
istry by  Coetus  he  is  said  to  have 
lived  in  a  small  stone  house  which  is 
still  standing  on  the  farm  of  ]\fr.  Ed- 
nnnid    Heimer    aong     the     ."^ilale     Pelt 


Trolley  line  about  one  mile  below 
Wind  Gaj).  Rev.  Carl  W.  Colson,  the 
second  Lutheran  pastor  of  this  Plain- 
field  Church  is  said  to  have  built  and 
also  li\ed  for  a  time  in  this  stone 
house. 

REV.    .lOHX    WILLIAM    WEBER 

In     1771,    Rev.    John    Wm.    Weber 

came  before  Coetus  as  a  "schoolmas- 
ter" with  the  re(|uest  to  be  examined 
and  licensed  to  i)reach.  The  Coetal 
Minutes  sa\- "llis  re(|uest  was  granted 
and  he  was  examined  and  licensed  to 
preach  and  catechise  in  those  congre- 
gations that  are  without  ministers  and 
where  such  supply  is  necessary,  but 
at  present  to  hold  out  to  him  no  hope 
of  ordination."  He  located  n^ar  Wind 
Gaj)  and  served  several  poor  congre- 
gations in  what  is  now  Monroe 
County  and  with  it  also  Plainfield.  In 
1776  Coetus  passed  the  following  act, 
"Ivesolved  that,  inasmuch  as  these 
congregations  are  so  far  away  from 
all  'other  ministers  that  they  cannot 
be  su])])licd  ])y  them.  Rev.  Mr.  Weber 
shall  remain  with  them  and  serve 
them  as  long  as  they  give  him  the 
necessary  support."  In  1777  the  Eas- 
ton congregation  served  at  the  time  by 
Rev.  Ingold,  asked  Coetus  that  sev- 
eral congregations  formerly  connected 
with  them  but  for  several  years  past 
served  l)y  Rev.  Weber  be  restored,  as 
those  in  Easton  are  not  able  to  su])- 
port   a   pastor  without   their   aid. 

In  May,  1776,  Rev.  A\'eber  reports 
five  congregations:  viz.  Plainfield, 
Greenwich.  Hantdden,  Hamilton  and 
?^It.  P.ethel  with  a  total  of  120  fam- 
ilies, 50  l)a])tisms.  15  confirmed  and 
()0  impils  at  school.  In  May,  1782.  he 
made  his  last  re])ort  as  pastor  of 
Plainfield  when  he  reported  for  Plain- 
field  and  Hamilton  congregations,  65 
families.  25  baptized,  i  confirmed,  i 
school  with  40  pujiils  in  school.  At 
the  meeting  of  Coetus  in  I7<S2  a  \\'est- 
moreland  county  charge  very  earnest- 
Iv  i)ctitioned  Coetus  for  an  able  minis- 
ter, whom  they  ])romised  a  salary  of 
80  ixnmds  annually,  together  wdth 
other    necessaries  of  life.       Since  Rev. 


564 


THE  PEXXSYLV ANNA-GERMAN 


Weber  showed  an  inclination  for  this 
congregation  the  Coetus  resolved  to 
recommend  him,  so  that  he  would  re- 
ceive a  regular  call  to  that  place.  In 
1782  he  visited  the  charge  composed 
of  Fort  Pitt  (now  Pittsburg)  Hauto- 
Ion,  Hemplield  Twsp.  and  Mt.  Plea- 
sant,    and     received  a  call  from  them. 

In  June,  1783.  he  moved  with  his 
family  out  into  his  new  field  of  labor, 
where  he  remained  pastor  for  33  years 
until  death  claimed  him  in  July  1816, 
being  in  the  82nd  year  of  his  age. 

He  was  twice  married  first  by  the 
Lutheran  minister  Rev.Vogt  at  Faulk- 
ner Swamp,  Montgomery  county. 
!'a..  to  Miss  ]\Iaria  Agnes  F)orn  who 
died  two  years  after  entering  his  new 
field  in  Westmoreland  county.  His 
second  wife  was  .\nna  Maria  Robin- 
son. 

He  had  eighteen  children.  Ma'.iy 
of  his  descendants  still  li\e  in  \\>st- 
moreland  county,  others  in  Richland 
and  Delaware  counties.  ( )hio  and 
some  in   Cincinnati. 

Re\-.  \\'e])er  is  said  to  liaxe  l)een 
strong.  \'igorous,  and  \\ell  formed; 
was  of  (|uick  temperament,  ra])i(l  in 
speech,  yet  clear  and  distinct  in  his 
enunciation   while  preaching. 

He  lies  buried  at  the  Muhleisen 
Church  about  fi\e  miles  southeast  of 
("rreensl)urg,   i'a. 

REV.    .TOHX    WILLI.V.M    IXGOLD 

l\c\-.  John  William  Ingold  the  sixth 
pastor  of  I  Main  field  Church  was  a 
(iermaii  by  Ijirth.  He  came  to  Ameri- 
ca ill  1774  and  at  once  took  cliarge  ()f 
Whiti)ain.  and  Worcester  (or  .Sl<i])- 
])acli )  congregations,  without  ha\ing 
consulted      Coetus.  In    1775   Coetus 

approved  his  pastoral  relation  to  that 
charge.  After  serving  his  first  charge 
for  about  a  year  he  had  some  trouble 
and  left.  In  June  or  July  1776  he  be- 
came ])astor  of  the  Faston  congrega- 
tion which  was  \-acant  since  the  dis- 
ni])tion  of  the  charge  which  followed 
i\e\-.  I 'ilium's  removal.  At  the  meet- 
ing of  Coetus  held  in  Reading,  .\])ril 
28-29.  1777.  the  I'^aston  congregation 
reports     that  Rew   Ingold  was  ser\ing 


them  for  the  present,  but  that  Eastoii 
alor.e  cannot  support  a  minister  and 
asks  for  a  reunion  of  the  divided 
charge.  Coetus  therefore  took  the  fol- 
lowing action:  "Since  the  Coetus  in 
the  absence  of  most  of.  the  elders  of 
said  congregations,  cannot  decide  any- 
thing in  this  case,  it  was  resolved  that 
a  commission,  consisting  of  several 
ministers  shall  go  to  Easton  on  June 
4th  and  consult  with  the  elders  and 
members  of  all  the  congregations,  and 
consider  ways  and  means  how  the 
people  of  Easton  may  be  helped." 

There  were  however  no  imme- 
diate results  of  that  commission 
which  had  in  mind  to  reunite  the 
charge,  for  in  1779  Rev.  Ingold  still 
reports  only  one  congregation  Easton 
30  families,  13  baptisms,  5,  confirmed, 
I,  school;  35  pupils  in  school.  iVccord- 
ing  to  the  Coetal  ^linutes  of  1781  he 
worked  himself  into  the  good  favor 
of  two  small  ct^ngregations  of  the 
Xew  Goshcnhoppen  charge  where  he 
promised  to  i^reach  for  as  "  much 
salarv  as  their  kindness  and  free  will 
should  gi\'e."'  This  evidently  took 
]'lace  some  time  between  A])ril,  1779, 
(when  he  reported  for  Easton)  and 
meeting  of  Coetus.  ]\Iay  9,  I78i,when 
his  disturbance  of  the  New  Goshen- 
hoi)])L'n    charge    was   considered. 

In  .May,  1782,  he  is  said  to  ha\e  left 
the  congregations  of  Gosheidioppen 
half  a  year  ago,  and  became  the  pas- 
tor of  Eastt)n,  Dryland  and  Green- 
wich. .\n  elder  from  Easton  brought 
a  letter  from  Rev.  Ingold  whereui)on 
Coetus  appro\e(l  his  call  to  the  Eas- 
ton charge. 

The  I'lainfield  congregation  how- 
ever did  not  go  back  into  the  Easton 
charge  until  1783  after  the  departure 
of  Re\-.  Weber.  In  1785  Rev.  Ingold 
re])orted  to  Coetus  fcnu'  congrega- 
tions; for  I'lainfield  he  reported  38 
families,  31  baptized,  66  pujiils  in  the 
school.  Rew  Ingold  left  the  Easton 
charge  in  1786  and  in  the  Coetal  min- 
utes of  1790  his  name  appears  for  the 
last  time  (it  being  on  the  absent  list) 
his  address  being  gi^'en  as  T<ihickon. 
A   son.    |ohn     .M.    Ingold.    entered    the 


THE   PU\INFIELD   CHURCH 


365 


Reformed  ministry  in  1818.  bavin;;- re- 
ceived aid  from  tlie  clnireh,  as  a  stu- 
<lent  ;  and  served  a  ehari;e  in  Titts- 
bnri;-.   Pa.,   where  he  died  in    1821. 

REV.  LEBRECHT  F.  HERMAN,  D.D. 
Rev.  Lehrecht  F.  Herman  1).  IX 
the  seventh  pastt)r  of  the  Plain  field 
church  Avas  born  Oct.  9,  1761  in  (ins- 
ten,  Germany,  fie  studied  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  lialle  and  upon  i^raduation 
in  1782  he  recei\-ed  a  call  to  Bremen 
as  assistant  preacher,  lie  accepted 
and  served  until  1785  when  he  was 
called  by  the  Synods  of  Holland  to 
go  to  Pennsylvania  to  assist  in  sup- 
plyinij;  the  Aacant  charjjes.  Having 
arrived  in  this  country  in  August, 
1786,.  he  was  appointed  as  pastor  of 
the  Easton  charge  composed  of  Eas- 
ton,  Plainfield,  Dryland  and  Green- 
-vvich. 

The  following"  year  he  w^as  married 
to  ^Miss  Alary  Johnanna  daughter  of 
Daniel  and  Mary  Fiedt.  In  Oct.  1790 
be  accepted  a  call  from  the  German- 
town  and  Frankford  congregations 
Phila.  where  he  served  12  years  and 
preached  both  German  and  English. 
He  afterwards  served  the  following 
Congregations  with  the  assistance  of 
his  sons  and  several  students  wdiom 
be  prepared  for  the  ministry:  Coven- 
try, Pikeland  and  Rice  in  Chester 
County.  Zion's  Church,  Pottstown, 
New  Hanox'er  and  Trappe  in  Mont- 
gomery county  and  Berger,  Spiess, 
Amity,  Royers  and  Oley  in  Berks 
county.  He  had  five  sons  wdio  en- 
tered the  ministry  of  the  Reformed 
church.  He  died  Jan.  30,  1848,  at  the 
age  of  86  years,  3  mo.  and  22  days  and 
bes  buried  at  the  church  in  Potts- 
town, where  he  was  pastor. 

After  Rev.  Herman  left  Plainfield 
the  charge  was  vacant  for  three  years 
during  which  time  some  neighboring 
pastors  evidently  supplied.  This  we 
infer  from  the  fact  that  during  the 
first  year  6i  this  vacancy  24  baptisms 
are  recorded  in  the  Painfield  "Church 
Book" ;  during  the  second  year  18, 
and  the  third  year  7, 


During  this  vacancy  the  Coetus 
met  in  Lancaster,  Pa.,  in  June  1791 
when  a  delegate  from  Plainfield  ap- 
peared and  reported  that  it  was  de- 
sired of  this  congregation  to  call  Rev. 
\\'eber  as  its  pastor.  The  Coetus 
however  resolved  that  as  Plainfield 
was  a  part  of  the  Easton  charge  to 
postpone  the  consideration  of  the  sub- 
ject until  next  Coetus,  so  as  to  hear 
the  wishes  of  the  Easton  delegate. 

Xine  years  had  passed  since  Rev. 
Weber  had  left  Plainfield.  We  do  not 
know  whether  he  wanted  to  come 
back  and  become  the  regular  pastor 
now  since  the  charge  was  vacant  or 
whether  it  was  only  the  love  and  re- 
s])ect  which  Plainfield  still  had  for 
him.  At  the  meeting  of  Coetus  the 
following  year,  Easton,  Greenwich, 
[dryland  and  Plainfield  presented  a 
call  for  a  minister,  but  left  the  Coetus 
to  decide  who  should  be  sent  to  them. 
Coetus  however.  res(ilved  to  give 
them     permission  to  call  any  minister. 

REV.  CHRISTIAN  LUDWIG  BECKER,  D.D. 

In  August,  1793,  Rev.  Christian  Lud- 
wig  Becker  D.  D.  became  pastor  of 
the  charge  which  according  to 
"Fathers  of  the  Reformed  Church" 
was  now  composed  of  Easton,  Plain- 
field,  Dryland  and  Mt.  Bethel.  Why 
Alt.  Bethel  was  substituted  for  Green- 
wich N.  J.  we  do  not  know.  Rev.  Beck- 
er, was  born  in  Germany,  was  edu- 
cated at  the  University  of  Halle. 
Dr.  Becker  before  coming  to  America 
was  a  supply  preacher,  a  teacher  pre- 
paring young  men  for  the  University, 
and  the  author  of  several  books.  On 
May  18,  1794,  he  presented  himself  be- 
fore Synod  for  membership.  (Coetus 
after  declaring  its  independence  from 
the  Mother  church  of  Holland  in  1791 
assumed  the  name  of  Synod) 

After  preaching  a  sermon  before 
Synod  Rev.  Becker  w^as  admitted  and 
a  committee  appointed  to  ordain  him. 
After  serving  the  Easton  charge  for 
one  and  a  half  3^ears  he  accepted  a 
call  in  March  1795  to  the  Reformed 
Church  at  Lancaster  where  he  re- 
mained II  years. 


566 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


In  1806  he  left  Lancaster  to  become 
pastor  of  the  Reformed  church  at  Bal- 
timore. After  a  12  years'  pastorate  in 
Baltimore  he  died  suddenly  July  12, 
1818  in  the  sixty-second  year  of  his 
age  and  lies  buried  in  the  \\'estern 
cemetery  belonging  to  the  Baltimore 
Church,  of  which  he  was  pastor.  His 
only  son  Jacob  C.  entered  the  Re- 
formed ministry.  The  son  was  or- 
dained in  1808  and  labored  hrst  in 
Manchester,  !Md..  and  later  in  the 
Krciders\-ille  charge.  Northampton 
conuty.  After  Dr.  l>ecker  left  this 
IMainfield  charge  another  ^■acancy  fol- 
lows of  a  year  and  four  months  during 
Avhich  only  four  baptisms  were  re- 
corded in  the  Plainfield  "C'hurchbook" 
which  would  indicate  that  the  con- 
gregation had  little  or  no  preaching 
during  that  time. 

REV.   THOMAS    POMP 

Injuly  1796  Rev.  Thomas  Pomp  be- 
came the  pastor  of  this  charge  still 
composed  of  Easton,  Plamfield,  Dry- 
land and  Mt.  Bethel. 

Pie  was  born  in  Montgomery  coun- 
ty. Pa.,  Feb.  4,  1773,  where  his  father 
was  at  the  time  pastor  of  the  Faulk- 
ner Swamp  Reformed  charge.  He 
was  ordained  in  the  fall  of  1795  as 
pastor  of  several  Reformed  congrega- 
tions in  Montgomery  where  he  was 
only  a  short  time  when  he  was  called 
to  the  Easton  charge  the  following 
July.  He  was  married  March  7,  1797 
or  8  months  after  beginning  his  pas- 
torate in  this  charge. 

After  serving  this  charge  for  12 
years,  the  Mt.  Bethel  congregation 
was  taken  from  the  charge  and  Lower 
Saucon  was  admitted  in  its  stead.  In 
1833  the  Lower  Saucon  congregation 
was  again  taken  out  of  the  charge. 
In  the  year  1848  he  resigned  from  the 
PMainfield  congregation  because  of 
infirmities  and  for  like  reasons  from 
the  Dryland  congregation  in  1850,  but 
retained  the  relation  as  German  pas- 
tor at  Easton  with  some  support  un- 
til death  claimed  him.  It  was  during 
his  pastorate  that  the  second  and 
third     church     buildings  were  erected 


REV.  THOMAS  POMP 
Pastor,  Plainfield  Reformed  Church 

1796-184S 

at  Plainfield.  He  died  April  22,  1852 
in  the'  80th  year  of  his  age.  He  lies 
buried  in  the  Easton  Cemetery,  where 
the  Easton  congregation  erected  a 
most  beautiful  monument  for  him. 
He  is  the  first  of  the  Plainfield  Re- 
formed pastors  to  leave  a  photograph. 

REV.  GEO.  CHRISTIAN  EICHENBERG 
Rev.  Geo.  Christian  Eichenberg  be- 
came the  pastor  of  the  Plainfield  con- 
gregation in  1848.  having  served  as  a 
licentiate  for  three  years  prior  in  the 
congregation,  as  assistant  to  Rev. 
Pomp,  according  to  a  rule  of  classis 
at  this  time  relating  to  foreigners. 
Rev.  Eichenberg  was  born  in  Ger- 
many on  Dec.  25,  1816,  came  to 
America  in  1845.  He  was  married  to 
Miss  Mary  Achenbach,  of  Plainfield, 
on  June  24,  1848.  He  resigned  in  1850 
to  become  pastor  of  Weissport  Re- 
formed church  where  he  was  pastor 
until  1863,  when  getting  into  difficul- 
ties with  classis  he  was  suspended 
from  the  ministry.  He  died  after  much 
sufifering  on  June  12,  1880  aged  63 
years,  5  months  and  17  days.  He  lies 
buried  in  the  cemetery  of  St.  Peter's 
Church  in   Mahoning  Valley,    Schuyl- 


THE   PLAIXFIELD  CHURCH 


367 


"kill  county.  Pa.,  this  hein,^-  one  of  the 
churches  which  ho  continued  to  serve 
after  sus])cnsion. 

REV.  ERASMUS  H.  HELFRICH 
In  T850  Rev.  Erasmus  II.  Ilclfrich 
\vas  ]-)lacecl  o\er  the  Plaintield  con- 
gTCjSi^ation.  tog'ether  witli  three  other 
conj^rei^-ations  located  in  l.eliii^h  and 
Northampton  counties.  He  resided 
at  l-?ath  and  soon  was  l)roug-ht  before 
classis  for  immoral  conduct.  He  was 
sus])ended     in     1857  and  the  following- 


ber  7,  1858.  Ten  years  before  he  had 
preached  a  trial  sermon  after  the  res- 
ignation of  Re\-.  I 'am]),  l)ut  for  some 
reason  or  other  withdrew  his  appli- 
cation  afterwards. 

l\e\-.  Earnest  \\  illiam  Reinecke,  U. 
was  l)(>rn  in  (iermany.  11  i^  ])ar- 
ents  came  to  America  in  1834  and  set- 
tled at  Frederick,  Md.  The  father  was 
a  tailor  by  trade,  Imt  through  the  in- 
fluence of  Re\-.  Dr.  Zacharias  pastor 
of  the  I'Tederick  Reformed  Church, 
he  left  his  trade  and  prepared  for  the 
ministry,  and  was  licensed  by  Zion 
Classis  in  1837  and  became  pastor  of 
the  Shrewsburg  Reformed  charge, 
York  Co.,  Pa. 


REV.  ERASMUS  HELFRICH 
Pastor  of  Plainfield  Reformed  Church 

1850-1858 


,^5^1^ 

■■  4 

d 

year  deposed  from  the  hoi}'  ministry. 
He  was  born  in  Lehigh  county,  was 
educated  partly  by  his  uncle  Rev. 
John  Helfrich  and  partly  at  -Mercers- 
burg,  Pa.,  and  was  licensed  to  preach 
in  1848.  He  died  in  Philadelphia 
•while  3'et  comparatively  young  leav- 
ing a  sorrowing  wife  and  several  chil- 
dren to  mourn  his  death.. 

REV.   EARNEST   WILLIAM   REIN- 
ECKE,  D.D. 

The  Lord  now  raised  up  a  shining 
light  in  the  person  of  Rev.  Earnest 
William  Reinecke  for  this  people.  At 
an  election  held  September  25,  1858, 
Rev.  Reinecke  was  unanimously 
elected  and  \vas  installed  on   Novem- 


REV.  E.  W.  REINECKE,  D.D. 
Pastor  of  Plainfield  Reformed  Church 

1859-1890 


Rev.  Dr.  E.  \V.  Reinecke  was  edu- 
cated in  the  schools  of  our  Reformed 
Church  after  which  he  served  as  tutor 
in  Alarshall  College  for  tw^o  years  and 
then  for  five  years  was  pastor  of  the 
Millersville  Reformed  church.  In 
the  fall  of  1853  he  became  pastor  of 
the  St.  Vincent  Reformed  church 
Chester  county.  Pa.,  and  w^as  at  the 
same  time  a  teacher  in  the  Norristow'n 
Academy.  After  a  pastorate  of  one 
year  and  two  months  he  left  St.  Vin- 
cent to  become  assistant  pastor  to  his 
father    of     the     Shrewsbuiy  charge  in 


368 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


York  count}'  and  later  was  called  to 
the  Reformed  Church  at  Frederick. 
I\Id.,  at  which  jdace  he  resig^ned  in 
1858  to  ])ecome  jjastor  of  the  Paintield 
charge,  which  was  then  1)eing-  recon- 
structed and  composed  of  Plaintield, 
Forks,  and  Belfast.  To  these  Wind 
Gap  was  added  the  latter  part  of  Dr. 
Reinecke's  pastorate. 


CHURCH  IJI-;COKA'ri()N,  1863 

The  Centennial  of  the  first  regular 
pastorate  was  celebrated  by  Dr.  Rein- 
ecke  on  Oct.  23-25,  1863  when  he  was 
assisted  by  Revs.  Thos.  H.  Leinbach 
and  D.  Y.  lleisler  of  the  Reformed 
church.  Rev.  T]i(i])lii]us  Wonderling 
of  the  Moravian  church  and  Rev.  j. 
B.    Roth    of   the    Lutheran    church. 

A  list  (if  all  persons  who  claimed 
membership  in  the  Reformed  congre- 
gation at  the  time  of  the  centennial, 
Avas  prepared,  and  742  names  are 
found   on   it   of    which    however    onlv 


274  partook  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
which  was  celebrated  in  connection 
with  the  centennial. 

Dr.  Reinecke  was  married  to  Miss 
Alary  Eliza  Knode,  of  Funkstown, 
Md.,  March  10,  1859,  the  year  after 
he  began  his  Plainiield  pastorate. 
They  were  blessed  with  ten  daugh- 
ters and  one  son.  Dr.  Reinecke  was 
stricken  with  a  paralytic  stroke  in 
July.  1890,  a  few  hours  after  having 
preached  in  the  Plainfield  Church.  He 
ne\er  fully  recovered  but  lingered 
until  May  8,  1891  when  he  died  at  the 
;ige  of  68  years,  5  mo.  He  lies  buried 
in  the  cemetery  at  the  Forks  Church 
where  the  Forks  congregation  erected 
a  monument  to  his  memory.  His 
widow  still  lives  at  Nazareth  and  his 
son  is  pastor  of  the  Reformed  church 
at  St.  John,  Pa. 

REV.  TILGHMAN  O.  STEM 
louring  the  illness  of  Dr.  Reinecke 
and  the  vacancy  that  followed  his  death 
Rev.  T.  O.  Stem  pastor  of  St.  Mark's 
Reformed  Church  Easton  served  as 
supply  of  the  Plainfield  church. 

Rev.  Stem  was  afterwards  elected 
by -the  Plainfield  and  Belfast  congre- 
gations but  the  Forks  congregation 
elected  Rev.  R.  C.  Weaver.  Rev. 
Stem  declined  the  call  and  Rev.  Geo. 
J.  Lisberger  was  elected  in  his  stead 
and  classis  confirmed  both  calls,  thus 
separating  the  charge,  making  Plain- 
field,  Belfast  and  Wind  Gap  to  con- 
stitute one  charge  and  Forks  a  charge 
Ijy  itself. 

REV.    GEORGE   J.   LISBERGER 

Rev.  Geo.  J.  Lisberger  graduated 
from  F.  &  M.  College  in  1886  and 
from  the  Reformed  Theological  Sem- 
inary at  Lancaster,  Pa.,  in  May,  1889. 
In  June  of  the  same  year  he  became 
pastor  of  the  Deep  Creek  charge  in 
Schuylkill  county,  Pa.  He  w^as  in- 
stalled as  pastor  of  this  Plainfield 
charge  on  Sept.  20,  1891  and  served 
until  Nov.  2,  1902,  when  he  resigned 
the  charge  because  of  ill  health.  He  is 
unmarried  and  while  serving  this 
charge  he  boarded  with  his  parents  at 


THE   PLAINFIELD  CHI  KCH 


369 


REV.  GEO.  J.  IvISBERGER 
Pastor  Plainfield  Reformed  Chinch 

1S91-19U2 


Lath,  Pa.,  until  the  death  of  his 
father  when  he  boarded  at  the  home 
of  Alvin  W.  Bossard,  \\'ind  Gap,  Fa. 
He  now  hves  with  his  sister,  Mrs. 
(Rev.)  J.  O.  Lindeman  at  Perkasie, 
Pa.,  and  has  the  sympathy  of  his  min- 
isterial brethren  in  his  afflictions  and 
their  prayers  for  his  recovery. 

REV.  WILLIAM  H.  BRONG 
Rev.  William  H.  Brong,  the  writer 
of  this  article  became  pastor  of  the 
Plainfield  charge  Jan.  i,  1903.  Plis 
first  charge  was  Tanners\  ille.  Monroe 
county,  Pa.,  where  he  began  liis  pas- 
torate July  I,  1897  and  was  ordained 
on  Aug.  8.  1897.  O"  J^'i-  !•  1900,  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Clara  Hollow- 
bush  Leidy.  a  descendant  of  Rev. 
John  Philip  Leidich  who  was  one  of 
the  first  missionaries  sent  to  America 
by  the  Reformed  church  of  Holland. 
During  the  first  year  of  hi§  pastorate 
Oct.  28  to  Nov.  I,  1903,  the  Plain- 
field  Reformed  church  celebrated  the 
140th  anniversary  of  the  first  regular 
pastorate  and  the  153rd  anniversary  of 
the  first  grant  of  land  by  Penn  heirs 
to  Adam  Dietz  in  trust  for  this  Plain- 
field  Reformed  Church. 

At  this  celebration  Rev.  Brong  was 
assisted     b}'-     Rev.  John  W.  Reinecke, 


.^t.  j.ihn's.  Pa..  Rev.  Eli  Keller,  D.D., 
.Mlcntown,  I 'a.,  Kcw  1.  M.  Beaver, 
Hangor,  I'a.,  Kcw  Prof.  (ieu.  Rich- 
ards, I).]).,  Lancaster,  Pa.,  and  Rev. 
(lci>.  j.    PislK'rger,   Perkasie,   Pa. 

In  .May  1905  East  Penns}'l\-ania 
classis  added  i'^aith  Church,  Pen 
Argyl,  to  the  charge. 


CHl'RCH  DEC(!) RATION,  1903 


LUTHERAN   PASTORS 

(Contributed  b\  Rev.  H.  S.  Kidd) 

Concerning  the  history  of  the  Luth- 
eran Congregation  in  the  early  period 
we  know  very  little.  We  can,  how- 
ever, reasonably  suppose  that  there 
were  Lutherans  in  what  is  now  Plain- 
field  township,  as  early  as  the  middle 
of  the  i8th  century.  In  the  earliest 
records  a\ailable  the  Lutheran  Con- 
gregation of  St.  Peter's  Plainfield 
compares  favorably  with  Salem's 
Lutheran  Church,  Aloorestown,  about 
8  miles  southwest  of  Plainfield 
church. 

The  Rev.  John  Casper  Dile  in  1806, 
who  was  pastor  of  Plainfield  and  Sa- 
lem's at  that  time  contributed  to  the 
Synod  $1.79  for  Plainfield  which  is 
43  cents  less  than  a  similar  contribu- 
tion from  Salem's.  The  Rev.  Dile  con- 
tinued  as    pastor   until  1811.  Whether 


■370 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


the  Lutherans  were  then  worshipping 
•as  an  organized  body  is  not  known. 
Salem's  had  been  organized  in  1772, 
and  since  both  of  these  congregations 
were  in  the  same  pastorate  and  both 
had  the  same  synodical  connection 
also  similar  contributions  we  may 
suppose  that  St. Peter's  Lutheran  con- 
gregation was  organized  at  least  by 
1780.  In  181 1  the  Rev.  Carl  Wilhelm 
Colson  succeeded  Rev.  Dile.  He  is  re- 
ported as  from  Plainfield.  He  died 
in   1817. 

Rev.  John  Augustus  IJrobst  is  the 
next  pastor.  P)eginning  Ma}'  22,  1819 
he  served  until  his  death  March  10. 
1844.  Rev.  Augustus  Fuchs  of  Bath, 
Pa.,  was  the  successor  of  Rev.  Brobst 
and  ser\-ed  the  congregation  until 
1865.  Rev.  B.  F.  Apple,  now  of 
Stroudsburg,  was  supply  from  1865 
to  1867.  Rev.  G.  A.  Struntz  began 
his  labors  in  the  fall  of  1867  and  con- 
tinued as  pastor  until  the  spring  of 
1873  when  he  was  succeded  by  Rev. 
M.  J.  Kramlich.  Rev.  Kramlich  re- 
signed in  the  fall  of  1877.  Rev  A.  E. 
Erdman  became  pasor  on  the  25th  of 
November  in  1877  and  had  charge  of 
the  congregation  for  over  thirty  years. 
His  pastorate  ended  on  February  2^, 
1908.  Rev.  H.  S.  Kidd  assumed  his  du- 
ties as  pastor  on  Apr.  ist.  190S  and  is 
the  present  incumbent.  Concerning 
the  lives  of  the  early  pastors  little  is 
known.  At  least  most,  if  not  all  of 
them,  were  of  Gcrn.an  descent.  The 
later  pastors  claim  the  Pennsylvania 
•German  as  their  mother  tongue. 

THE  OLD  SCHOOL  HOUSE 
The  old  log  school  house  recently 
repaired  is  the  oldest  building  now 
standing  on  the  Plainfield  Church 
premises.  It  is  quite  likely  that  this 
is  the  first  and  only  school  house 
erected  by  this  Plainfield  cougrega- 
tion,  though  some  changes  were  made 
to  it  from  time  to  time.  It  was  built 
some  time  before  1766  for  in  that  year 
Rev.  Henop  reports  32  pupils  at 
school. 


Our  oldest  treasurer's  account  book 
dates  back  to  1820  and  in  that  year  he 
paid  out  for  work  at  the  school  house 
(Arbeit  am   Schulhaus)   $17.35. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  trustee  board 
held  Oct.  25,  1823,  it  was  decided  that 
at  the  next  election  of  this  congrega- 
tion four  trustees  be  elected  whose 
duty  it  shall  be  to  take  the  subscrip- 
tions and  gather  the  money  for  the 
school  teacher.  Prior  to  this  action  it 
is  ex'ident  that  the  teacher  had  to  col- 
lect his  own  pa}-. 


OL,D  I,OG  SCHOOI,  HOUSE 

This  old  school  house  when  first 
built  (says  one  of  our  oldest  members 
father  \\'illiam  Heimer)  was  school 
house  and  dwelling  combined  with  a 
large  hall  and  fire  hearth  chimney  be- 
tween the  school  room  and  the  dwell- 
ing apartments. 

The  dwelling  part  was  used  by  the 
teacher  until  about  1838  when  that 
part  was  torn  down  and  a  new  sej)- 
arate  stone  house  erected  for  the 
teacher  who  now  also  served  as  the 
sexton  and  organist  of  the  church, 
this  still  serves  as  the  home  of  the  or- 
ganist  of  the   church. 

After  the  state  common  school  law 
was  passed  in  1854  the  church  school 
was     merged   into    the    public    school 


THE    PLAINFIELD   CHURCH 


J71 


iiiul  this  old  church  school  house  was 
used  for  the  puhlic  school  until  1874 
when  the  township  erected  its  own 
school  house  a  short  distance  away 
from   the  church. 

THE   PIPE  ORGAN 

The  beautiful  pipe  organ,  which  on 
the  Lord's  Day  fills  this  Plainfield 
church  with  its  harmonit)US  strains, 
helping-  to  blend  the  ])raises  of  the 
congregation  ^vith  the  choir  celestial, 
was  purchased  from  the  First  Re- 
formed church,  Easton.  in  the  year 
1833,  about  the  time  when  this  church 
was  dedicated.  The  organ  was  built  at 
Lititz,  Pa.,  by  David  Tannenberg,  in 
the  year  1776,  the  same  year  in  which 
the  memorable  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence was  adopted,  and  it  was 
sold  to  the  Reformed  and  Lutheran 
church,  on  Third  St.  Easton  (now 
the  First  Reformed  church,  Easton.) 
It  was  played  when  the  Indian  treaty 
was  held  in  the  church  at  Easton, 
in  1777,  as  we  notice  from  the  re- 
port given  by  Thomas  Payne,  secre- 
tary to  the  Commission  which  was 
sent  with  presents  by  Congress  to 
Easton  to  make  a  treaty  with  the 
Indians  so  as  to  procure  their  help  in 
the  struggle  for  American  indepen- 
dence. Mr.  Payne  in  his  report  says : 
"After  shaking  hands  and  drinking 
rum  while  the  organ  played,  we  pro- 
ceeded to  business."    This    organ  w^as 


the  first  ever  used  by  the  Plainfield 
Church  as  far  as  we  could  find  outl 

In  1852  some  repairs  were  made  to 
it  by  Mr.  Hantzelman,  of  Allentown. 
At  this  time  the  original  keyboard 
was  taken  out  and  a  reversed  key- 
board substituted.  In  this  manner 
it  served  until  September,  1900,  when 
it  was  completely  remodeled  by  Le- 
wis 1>.  Clewell,  of  Bethlehem,  Pa.,  at 
a  cost  of  $670,  and  rededicated  on 
Dec.  9.  1900.  Among  the  parts  of 
the  original  organ  are  the  wind  chest, 
six  sets  of  pipes,  and  the  handle  which 
pum])s  the  bellows. 

The  organists  who  served  since  it 
was   in   this  church    were    as  follows : 

\"alentine  Huey,  from  1833  to  '43, 
or   10  years. 

Jacob  Schlammer,  1843-45,  or  2 
years, 

Thomas  Hartzell,  1845-58,  or  13 
years, 

Abraham  Kindt,  1858-60,  or  V/z 
3^ears, 

Stephen  A.  Heller,  1860-67,  or  7^^ 
years. 

Lewis  B.  Clewell,  1867-71,  or  4 
years, 

Stephen  Kindt,  1871-87,  or  16 
years, 

Francis  G.  Fehr,  1887-97,  o^*  ^o 
years, 

William  A.  Becker,  1897-02,  or  5 
years, 

Samuel  J.  Heller,  1902. 


372 


Seeing  Lancaster  County  from  a  Trolley  Window 


NOTE. — Since  moving  to  Lancaster 
county  last  April,  the  editor  has  l)een  fam- 
iliarizing himself  with  the  topography,  his- 
tory and  present  activities  of  the  county. 
Believing  his  readers  would  enjoy  glimpses 
of  the  county's  past  and  present  he  sub- 
mits the  following  lines  trusting  their  per- 
usal may  afford  as  much  pleasure  and 
satisfaction  to  the  readers  as  he  derived 
from  his  study.  It  would  be  impracticable 
to  give  references  for  all  the  statements 
made,  words  of  others  having  been  freely 
adapted  or  appropriated  without  giving 
credit  to  sources  of  information. 


LL  aboard"  for  a  trolley 
trip  through  Lancaster 
county,  Pennsylvania's 
"  Garden  Spot "  and 
America's  banner  agri- 
cultural county. 

We  will  take  our  seats 
and  before  the  gong 
clangs  for  departure  will  look  about 
us.  We  are  now  in  ''Centre  Square" 
of  the  city  of  Lancaster,  at  the  cross- 
ing of  King  and  Queen  streets,  a 
point  from  which  on  some  days  a 
thousand  cars  depart  over  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles  of  trolley  track 
radiating  to  all  parts  of  the  county. 
Here  one  may  stand  aside  and  have 
the  county's  fashions  new  and  old 
pass  in  review  before  him. 

Before  us  is  a  stately  Soldiers'  and 
Sailors'  Monument  erected  by  ladies 
and  dedicated  July  4,  1874.  Around 
us  on  the  different  streets  are  large 
business  houses  and  scenes  of  activity. 
It  was  not  always  thus.  Time  was 
when  the  Indians  met  here  to  make 
treaties  under  a  hickory  tree  hence 
they  were  known  as  "Hickory  In- 
dians" and  the  place  was  known  as 
Hickorytown,  even  a  hotel  painted  a 
hickory  tree  on  its  sign  board.  The 
place  has  been  occupied  by  whites, 
however,  for  almost  two  centuries. 
When  it  was  laid  out  in  1728  by  An- 
drew Hamilton  it  was  a  hamlet  of 
about  200  persons,  grown  to  3405  in 
1800  when  it  was  the  largest  inland 
town  in  the  L'^nited  States.  It  was  in- 


corporated as  a  borough  in    1742    and 
chartered  as  a  city  in   1818. 

Courts  were  held  here  for  the  first 
time  in  1730.  previous  courts  having 
been  held  at  Postlethwait's  tavern  six 
or  se\en  miles  southwest  of  us.  The 
court  house  erected  and  destroyed  by 
fire  June,  1784.  stood  where  the  monu- 
ment now  stands.  This  Avas  a  two 
storied  Ijrick  building  with  steeple, 
belfry,  a  clock  with  two  faces,  pent 
houses  and  shingle  roof.  The  lower 
room  containing  the  court  room  was 
paved  with  brick,  had  a  large  hearth 
and  elaborate  furnishings,  its  windows 
were  glazed  with  small  pieces  of 
glass,  leaded  in  and  provided  with 
blinds  or  shades  of  green,  horizontal 
slats  or  shades  on  chords.  The  sec- 
ond floor  contained  a  council  chamber 
and  a  few  small  rooms.  . 

THE   OLD   COURT   HOUSE 

The  stirring  scenes  witnessed  by 
this  unpretentious  building  were  so 
significant  and  important  historically 
that  "the  day  of  Lancaster's  greatest 
glory  is  past  and  will  never  return." 
In  the  words  of  H.  Frank  Eshleman, 
Esq.. 

"How  proud  we  should  be  today  if 
now  the  building  were  standing  pre- 
served on  its  site.  How  we  should 
love  it  and  value  it !  What  famous 
visitors,  what  great  personages,  we 
would  conduct  through  it,  into  its 
solemn,  silent  Court  room,  up  its 
stairs  into  its  chamber!  How  we 
would  gaze  in  sacred  awe  into  its 
empty  seats,  its  quaint  bench  and  bar. 
its  blinds,  its  age-stained  wood  and 
brass,  its  girders  and  posts,  its  brick 
floor  and  primitive  walls!  How  we 
would  speak  in  low^  whispers  as  we 
rehearse  as  as  we  silently  contem- 
plate, standing  within  it,  the  train  of 
mighty  events  that  made  it  famous. 
All  these  would  pass  in  silent  parade 
before  us  in  review  as  we  stand  with- 
in it!    The  ancient  Justices  wdth  pow- 


SEEING  LANCASTER  COUNTY  FROM  A  TROLLEY  WLNDOW 


dered  wigs;  the  mighty  and  piDUs 
Zinzendorf,  his  eloquent  sernmns  and 
strange  au(Hences,  the  coniiiiingie  1 
atidiences  of  (hisky  Inchan  chiefs  and 
Avhite  forefatliers  fUhnij  the  roum   four 


373 

the    niih- 


(lignatKin  against  r.ngiand 
tary  (h^ess.  adornments,  and  fjearings 
of  the  solchers  at  tlie  memorable  mcet- 
mg  of  July  4,  1776;  the  stirrendering 
of   commissions    and    remoxal     of    the 


successive  times  in  treaty  met;  the 
stately  warriors,  the  s;)eeches,  the 
voices,  the  intonations;  the  excited, 
hilarious  and  ])atriotic  s-)eeches  and 
ringing   a;);)lau^e,  ])unctiiated    with    in- 


arms of  King  (ieorge  111;  the  solemn 
•  icture  of  Congress  and  its  session  of 
Se;)tem])cr  27,  1777!  the  storm}-  ses- 
sions of  thf  Sni^reme  Council  of  the 
State  and   Councils  of  Safet\-   for  nine 


months:  the  edicts  of  attainder 
against  the  Tories  and  their  excited 
neighbors  coming  into  these  halls  and 
begging  for  them ;  the  funeral  of  the 
President  of  the  State  with  its  martial 
s])lendnr." 


THE    PEXXSYLVANIA-GERMAN 

177^      the     marshalling' 


^//D 


of  military 
forces,  in  response  to  the  firing  of  the 
guns  at  r^exington  and  Bunker  Hill. 
It  later  furnished  the  barracks  for  the 
British  and  Hessian  prisoners  of  war. 
Three  times  did    George    V/ashingron 


The  city  has  been  an  im])orant  cen- 
ter indeed  for  many  years.  It  !  as 
seen  tlu-  Irish,  the  German,  the 
^Velsll.  \hv  hrcncli  meet  here  as  the 
seat    o|    local   go\crnment.     It    saw    in 


honor  the  place  by  his  presence. 
Iliiher  caiue  the  fathers  as  to  the  seat 
of  the  state  government  from  1799  to 
t8i2.  It  was  world  renowned  for  its 
luaiuifactories  a  century  ago. 


SEEING  LANCASTER  COUNTY  FROM  A  TROLLEY  WINDOW 


375. 


It  has  been  the  center  of  a  religious 
hfe  that  has  been  unjustly  the  laugh- 
ing stock  and  justl}'  the  marvel  of  the 
world,  exemplifying  the  fruits  of  free- 
dom of  faith  and  thus  directly  aiding 
in  the  spread  of  the  doctrine  of  relig- 
inus  liberty  ihmughiut   the   world. 

MEN   OF   PUBLIC   NOTE 

"In  men  of  i)ul)lic  note  Lancaster 
City  has  never  ])een  wanting,  llence 
went  Buchanan  to  the  Presidency  and 
Stevens  to  the  leadership  of  Congress 
here  Benjamin  West  painted  pictures; 
Tom  Paine  wrote  tracts,  philosophical 
and  political;  Robert  I<\ilton,  a  native 
of  the  count3^  experimented  in  steam 
navigation  on  the  Conestoga.  PI  ere,  on 
the  site  of  the  present  court  house, 
abode  George  Ross,  signer  of  the 
Declaration.  John  Joseph  Henry  set 
out  afoot  from  Lancaster  to  Quebec 
in  Revolutionary  days,  and  his  diary 
is  the  most  interesting  acconut  of  Ar- 
ni  lid's  expedition.  flere  was  born 
John  F.  Reynolds,  destined  to  become 
the  most  gallant  hero  and  most  glor- 
ious martyr  of  the  P'nion  cause  who 
fell  on  the  red  and  rocky  field  of 
Gettysburg.  From  this  bar  and  bench 
Jasper  Yeates,  William  Augustus  At- 
lee.  :\Iolton  C.  Rogers,  Ellis  Lewis 
and  J.  Hay  Brown  became  Justices  of 
the  Supreme  Court ;  Amos  Ellmaker, 
'rhon'n-^  F.  FraMklin,  He  ijamin 
Champiieys  and  W.  L'  Rensel  \\ere 
Attorneys  General  of  the  Common- 
wealth. The  late  James  P.  WkUer- 
sham  and  E.  E.  Higbee,  and  now 
Xathan  C.  Schaefifer  have  been  Su- 
perintendents of  Common  Schools; 
Amos  IP  Mylin.  Aufiitor  General,  and 
A^'  W  .  (ireist  Secretary  of  the  Com- 
monwealth. Col.  John  A\'.  Forney 
was  graduated  from  a  LancasteV 
printing  office.  Rew  Dr.  J.  W.  Xevin. 
Bishop  Iknvman  and  I<\ither  Kecnan 
are  names  honored  of  all  churchmen  ; 
while  Harbaugh.  the  Pennsylvania 
German  poet.  Muhlenberg,  autht^r  of 
"T  Would  Xot  Live  Abvvay,"  and 
other  hymns,  and  Lloyd  "  Mililin, 
painter-poet,  attest  Lancaster's  emi- 
nence in   p.ilite  literature." 


IMPORTANCE  OF  CITY  AND  COUNTY 
The  importance  of  the  city  and 
county  covering  less  than  looo  square 
miles  and  having  a  population  of  170,- 
000  may  be  inferred  from  figures  like 
the  following,  ])reparcd  by  a  compe- 
tent authority. 

"The  annual  value  of  her  agricul- 
tural products  in  1890  was  $7,657,790:. 
now  it  exceeds  11,000,000.  All  this  is 
owing  to  excellent  soil,  skillful  and 
steadfast  farmers  and  di\ersifted 
crops.  On  an  average,  the  wheat  crop^ 
is  2,000,000  bushels ;  corn  crop,  4,500- 
000  bushels;  the  tobacco  crop,  grown, 
on  16,000  acres,  produces  an  annual 
revenue  to  her  farmers  of  from  $2,000,- 
000  to  $3,000,000.  Since  1 890  that  crop 
alone  has  brought  into  the  county  the 
enormous  sum  of  $80,000,000,  nearly 
all  of  wdiich  has  remained  here,  and  it 
is  represented  by  increased  fertility 
and  handsome  improvements,  !iew 
buildings  and  enlarged  domestic  com- 
foits  and  elegance. 

"There  are  within  this  limited  ter- 
ritory thirty-five,  (now  thirty-six)  X^a- 
tional  l>anks,  two  State  banks  and  six 
Trust  Companies,  witl.  aggregate  re- 
sources at  the  beginning  of  1008,  of 
nearly  $38,000,000.  Of  Xational 
banks  alone  this  single  conuty  has. 
more  than  Arkansas,  ^Montana,  Mis- 
sissippi, South  Carolina,  Florida,  L'tah 
Idaho  or  WA'oming. 

"Last  year  4,000  carloads  of  cattle 
w^ere  received  at  the  Pinion  St(ick 
Yards,  Lancaster.  Of  these.  30.000 
head  were  fattened  within  the  county 
by  her  farmers.  There  are  ninety-four 
Rural  Free  Delivery  routes  in  the 
county,  more  than  in  any  other  countv 
in  the  PInited  States." 

In  view  of  the  preceding  which  is 
but  an  iota  of  the  reality  one  is  pie- 
pared  to  appreciate  the  words  of  Mr. 
F.  R.  Diffenderffer  when  he  says  : 

"Lancaster  city  enjoys  almost  nn- 
equaled  advantages  of  location  in 
many  respects.  She  sits  on  an  elevated 
limestone  ridge,  which  secures  her 
the  advantage  of  excellent  hea'th  and" 
satisfactorv  drainage.   Almi"'  her   east- 


376 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


crn  ami  soutliern  liorders  winds  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  rivers  to  be  seen 
anywhere,  affording-  visions  of  pic- 
turesque scenery  and  beauty  excelled 
nowhere,  as  I  believe  on  this  conti- 
nent. Anmud  her,  beyond  her  own 
territorial  limits  is  s])rea(l  a  country 
than  which  the  sun  shines  on  none 
richer  or  more  beautiful,  and  which 
vies  with  the  garden  sjx^ts  of  the 
wt-rld  Take  along  with  these  the 
general  aggregation  of  iier  population, 
in  intelligence,  in  industry,  in  wealth, 
and  mav  I  not  add,  in  morals,  and  we 
have  an  aggregate  of  conditions  and 
circumstances  of  the  most  desirable 
kind,  and  which,  all  things  considered, 
make  her  one  of  the  most  desirable 
places  on  the  globe  to  be  born,  live 
and  die  on.'' 

To  cover  the  city  and  suburban 
points  by  trolley  will  take  consider- 
able time.  Instead  of  tracing  mit  and 
showing  each  point  of  interest  we  will 
merely  note  some  ])rominent  historic 
spots,  quoting  from  a  recent  L.  B. 
!  I  err  i)rint. 


POINTS  OF  INTEREST  IN  CITY 
"A  monument  on  East  Ross  street 
marks  the  spot  wdiere  George  Ross 
lived,  the  only  signer  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  from  Lancaster 
county.  The  Franklin  and  Marshall 
College  and  Academy  and  the  Re- 
formed Theological  Seminary  build- 
ings are  situated  in  the  northwestern 
part  of  the  city,  on  College  avenue 
and  A\'est  James  Street.  Trinity 
Lutheran  Church,  on  South  Duke 
street  near  East  King  street,  was  es- 
tablished in  1733,  and  the  building 
was  consecrated  in  1766.  The  tower, 
wdiich  is  195  feet  high,  was  erected  in 
1704,  and  the  set  of  chimes  was  first 
used  in  1854.  Governors  Wharton 
and  Mifflin  were  buried  at  this  famous 
old  Church.  The  stone  building  of  the 
AIora\ian  Church,  on  West  Orange 
street  was  erected  in  1746,  the  brick 
building  being  added  in  1868.  W'it- 
mer's  bridge,  which  was  erected  in 
1799  and  spans  the  Conestoga  a  short 
distance  east  of  the  city,  was  on  the 
direct  wagon  route  from  Philadelphia 
to  the   western   ])art    of    I'ennsyh-ania. 


WHKATI^AND 


COURTESY  LANCASTER  BOARD  OK  TRADE 


SEEING  LANCASTER  COUNTY  FROM  A  TROLLEY  WINDOW 


377 


When  first  erected  a  toll  was  charged 
which  frequently  amounted  to  $25  in 
one  day. 

"The  County  Almshouse  and  In- 
sane Asylum  are  located  on  East  King- 
street  near  Witmer's  bridge,  and  the 
Thaddeus  Stevens  Industrial  School  is 
just  a  short  distance  to  the  west. 

"Among  the  industries  of  Lancaster 
wil  be  found  the  Hamilton  Watch 
Factory,  two  large  umbrella  factories, 
the  largest  linoleum  factory  in  the 
world,  cork  factory,  silk  mills,  cotton 
mills,  cigar  factories,  tobacco  ware- 
houses, soap  factory. 

"As  a  tobacco  centre,  Lancaster  city 
and  county  rank  with  the  greatest 
tobacco  producing  sections  of  the 
United  States.  Alost  of  the  tobacco 
raised  in  the  county  is  delivered  by 
the  farmers  to  dealers  in  the  city,  who 
pack  it  and  ship  to  all  parts  of  the 
Avorld.  The  crop  amounts  to  millions 
of  pounds  annuall3^ 

"  'Wheatland,  '  which  is  located  a 
short  distance  west  of  Lancaster,  was 
the  home  of  James  Buchanan,  the 
fifteenth  president  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  only  president  from 
Pennsylvania.  His  remains  lie  buried 
in  Woodward  Hill  Cemetery.  Thad- 
deus Stevens,  the  "Great  Commoner," 
lived  in  Lancaster,  and  his  remains  lie 
in  Shreiner's  Cemetery.  Thomas 
Henry  lUirrowes,  the  founder  of  the 
free  school  system  in  Pennsylvania,  is 
buried  in  St.  James  Cemetery  near  the 
North  Duke  street  side,  where  a 
monument  marks  his  resting  place."' 

liefore  leaving  the  city  to  see  the 
sights  throughout  the  county  it  will 
not  be  amiss  to  say  that  to  a  consider- 
able extent  the  early  agricultural,  in- 
dustrial, domestic  activities  through- 
out the  county  were  very  much  alike. 
W"e  need  not  therefore  dwell  on  the 
Indian  and  frontier  life,  the  grist,  saw, 
fulling  mills,  the  tanneries,  the  distil- 
leries, furnaces,  and  forges  of  each 
community,  that  in  former  days  were 
familiar  sights  all  over  the  county, 
but  of  which  all  traces  have  in  many 
cases  disappeared. 


Nor  can  we  dwell  on  Lancaster's 
sons  and  daughters  who  have  gone 
forth  to  people  the  earth  nor  on  the 
many  men  who  have  made  their  na- 
tive count}''  illustrious. 

Nor  must  we  overlook  the  fact  that 
in  many  points  the  sources  of  history 
are  few  and  fragmentary.  Men  were 
so  busy  making  history  that  they 
failed  to  record  it. 

The  mere  fact  tha<  the  place  was 
connected  one  hundred  years  ago  with 
Philadelphia  by  a  turnpike  along 
which  were  strung  hotels  as  beads  on 
a  string  one  a  mile  the  whole  distance 
speaks  volumes  on  the  early  industries 
and  activities  of  the  county. 

LANCASTER    TO   COLUMBIA 

Starting  on  our  trip  to  Marietta  we 
thread  our  way  along  Queen,  Chest- 
nut and  Charlotte  streets,  past  grave- 
yard, school  buildings,  churches, 
stately  mansions  crowding  humble 
one  story  cottages,  the  old  and  new  in 
closest  cjuarters,  until  we  strike  the 
old  Columbia  pike  completed  over  a 
century  ago.  As  we  hasten  south- 
westward  we  leave  on  -our  left  vel- 
vety lawns  studded  with  stately  na- 
tive forest  trees  hiding  lovely  homes 
and  soon  pass  the  old  mill  in  the  hol- 
low at  AbbeA'ville  and  West  Lancas- 
ter reminding  one  of  hustling  prairie 
cities.  Should  we  fall  into  reverie  the 
toot  of  the  automobile,  the  3^ells  of  the 
trolley  excursionists  would  probably 
awake  us.  In  fancy  we  can  see  the  his- 
toric emigrants  moving  westward,  and 
hear  the  strongly  built  Conestoga 
freight  wagons  grinding  their  slow 
way  along.  But  these  too  are  things  of 
the  past.  We  must  not  fail  to  note  the 
scenery,  the  attractive  farm  buildings 
and  the  tobacco  lands  with  us  all  the 
way  to  Marietta  ranging  in  area  from 
a  few  square  rods  to  half  a  dozen 
acres  or  more,  a  patch  to  a  farm,  edg- 
ing themselves  to  the  very  backdoors 
of  the  farm  dwellings  exacting  a  toll 
of  toil  from  all  in  the  household  from 
grayhaired  sire  and  matron  to  inno- 
cent vouth. 


378 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Before  we  are  aware  of  the  progress 
we  are  making  we  have  passed  Ridge- 
way  and  the  Three  Mile  House  with 
their  beautiful  vistas  to  the  distant 
blue  hilltops,  we  cross  a  railroad 
bridge  and  find  ourselves  in  Mount- 
ville,  lovely  for  situation,  a  borough  a 
mile  long  casting  250  votes  and  inter- 
ested in  a  silkmill,  a  cigar  factory  and 
a  plow  works.  Shortly  after  crossing 
the  bridge  w^e  see  to  our  right  a  paint- 
less,  decaying,  tumble  down  loghouse 
hiding  behind  overgrown  bushes,  the 
oldest  building  in  town,  (a  candidate 
for  a  bi-centennial  celebration).  The 
unf(junded  story  is  told  that  it  was 
once  a  cooper  shop  and  that  George 
Washington  held  a  courtmartial  in  it. 


drawn  by    horses    all    the    way    from 
Columbia  to  Philadelphia. 

But  we  must  hasten  on  and  leave 
the  charming  town  with  its  peace  and 
quiet  and  historic  atmosphere.  We 
are  soon  beyond  the  borough  limits, 
the  Quay  homestead  with  its  red 
house  and  yellow  farm  buildings  to 
the  left  of  us.  We  have  been  passing 
along  or  through  Manor  and  the  two 
Hempfields,  a  rich  section  and  in  parts 
so  thickly  settled  that  it  has  been 
called  a  continuous  village.  On  en- 
tering Columbia  we  pass  a  rotary  sta- 
tion to  the  left  which  marks  the  place 
where  the  original  Philadelphia  and 
Columbia  railroad  crossed  the  turn- 
pike.    The  place  of  the  original  turn- 


COXESTUGA  WAGON 

COURTESY  LANCASTER  BOARD  OF  TRADE 


Just  beyond  is  the  Barnholt  hotel  al- 
most old  enough  to  justify  a  centen- 
nial celebration. 

Do  not  fail  to  observe  the  sandstone 
blocks  in  front  of  the  hospitable  hotel 
porch.  These  are  relics  of  the  original 
State  railroad  between  Philadelphia 
and  Columbia  abandoned  quite  early 
however  from  a  point  half  a  mile  east 
of  Mountville  to  Columbia.  The  orig- 
inal track  was  made  by  placing  these 
and  like  sandstone  blocks  two  feet 
apart  in  the  ground.  On  these  cast 
iron  chairs  were  placed  and  fastened 
with  iron  spikes.  The  rails  weighing 
forty  ])ounds  to  the  yard  were  fitted 
into  a  groove  in  the  chairs  and  fas- 
tened by  wedges  which  were  contin- 
ually being  loosened  by  the  jolting  of 
the  cars  with  their    five    ton    cargoes, 


table  is  still  visible  not  far  away.  Af- 
ter zigzagging  our  way  through  the 
historic  town  we  find  ourselves  at 
the  foot  of  Walnut  street  where  we 
must  change  cars  for  Marietta.  But 
we  can  not  leave  this  historic  town 
without  looking  about  us. 

COLUMBIA 

Columbia,  occupying  the  site  of  the 
Indian  town  Shawanah,  and  the  scene 
of  many  a  conflict  between  various  In- 
dian tribes,  was  settled  by  the 
Quakers  1726,  laid  out  by  Samuel 
Wright  in  1827  and  sold  in  lots  by 
lottery.  It  was  the  one  terminus  of 
and  known  as  Wright's  Ferry  dating 
back  to  1730  and  as  such  a  very  im- 
portant place  for  emigrants  moving 
south   and  west,   well-known    even   in 


SEEING  LANCASTER  COUNTY  FROM  A  TROLLEY  WINDOW 


379 


England  and  spoken  of  in  official 
])a])ers  of  the  crown.  It  was  no  unu- 
sual thiui^-  to  see  from  150  to  200  ve- 
hicles of  all  kinds  waiting"  at  the  ferry 
house  for  their  turn  to  be  ferried 
across. 

The  ])lace  was  also  very  imixjrtant 
as  the  terminus  of  the  railroad  built  to 
intercept  the  river  traffic.  The  town 
was  at  one  time  so  near  the  center  of 
])oi)ulation  of  the  United  States  that 
in  1789  it  was  taken  into  serious  con- 
sideration as  a  possible  place  for  the 
seat  of  the  National  government.  The 
inhabitants  of  the   town   were    greatly 


We  must  not  fail  to  take  a  look  at 
the  lUunston  House  on  Mt.  Bethel 
part  of  which  was  built  1728  where 
Washington  was  once  a  guest  (an  un- 
founded story)  and  the  Wright  house 
built  between  1740  and  1750  owned  at 
one  time  by  Susanna,  daughter  of 
John  Wright  the  founder,  a  remark- 
able woman,  educated  in  England,  ar- 
tist, poet,  legal  and  medical  adviser,  a 
spinner  of  silk  that  was  w^oven  into 
dress  goods  exhibited  in  England. 

Columbia  has  seen  industries  like 
the  river  and  canal  traffic,  the  iron 
manufacturing    industry,     the   railroad 


COI^UMBIA'S  HISTORIC  BRIDGES 


sur])rise(l  June  ii,  1825  to  see  the  ar- 
rival of  a  steamboat  attempting  to 
navigate  the  Susquehanna.  The  boat 
was  warj)ed  over  the  most  danger- 
ous places  and  went  as  far  up  as 
A\'ilkes-Barre  wdiere  it  was  destroyed 
by  the  explosion  of  the  boiler.  One 
of  the  earliest  efYorts  in  the  state  to 
supply  the  inhabitants  of  an  incorpor- 
ated town  with  spring  water  conveyed 
in  pipes  under  ground  was  made  here 
in  1821. 


traffic,  take  root,  thrive  and  decay  but 
pheonixlike  lives,  grows  and  hopes 
and  wdio  shall  say  that  it  has  passed 
its  golden  age? 

The  whistle  of  the  ferry  steamboat 
"  Mary"  tempts  us  to  cross  the  Sus- 
quehanna and  as  it  costs  five  cents  to 
to  do  so  whether  we  go  by  ferry,  or  by 
steam  or  afoot  over  the  6000  foot 
bridge  we  take  our  seats  and  will  let 
the  sternwdieel  paddles  "kick"  us  to 
York  county,  crossing  where  the  white 
man    has    been  crossing  \vell  nigh  200 


sso 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


vears.  The  bridge  before  us.  a  ma- 
jestic structure  of  strength,  simphcity. 
and  beauty  is  the  fourth  at  this  place, 
the  third  on  the  same  piers  ])ractically. 
Time  forbids  us  to  Hnger  on  the 
bridge  history. 

A  mile  down  stream  was  the  noted 
dam  of  the  canal  age.  Three  miles 
below  is  ^^^ashington    Borough,    com- 


HISTOKIC  SPOTS  OF  WRIGHTSVIU,E 

])oscd  of  Washington  and  Cliarleston, 
laid  out  a  century  ago,  and  occupying 
the  site  of  an  Indian  town  that  is  said 
to  ha\e  had  a  ])opulation  of  2000,  300 
years  ago  l)ut  of  which  all  traces  have 
disappeared.        In    the  days  of  rafting 


the  banks  of  the  Susquehanna  were 
lined  for  miles  with  rafts  and  arks 
which  meant  an  active  business  in  var- 
ious lines,  whiskey,  boards,  shingles 
lath,  wheat,  oats,  coal  and  pigiron. 

But  our  ferryboat  has  docked  and 
we  scramble  out  to  get  a  glimpse  of 
WVightsville,  laid  out  by  Samuel  and 
William  Wright,  of  the  trolley  cars 
ready  to  take  us  to  another  noted  man- 
ufacturing and  trolley  center,  historic 
York,  and  of  the  enclosed  monument 
in  the  public  square  of  which  we  give 
herewith  a  view  and  the  inscription. 

1861-1865 
THESE    GUNS    PRESENTED    BY 
U.    S.    GOVERNMENT,    MARK 
WRIGHTSVILLE    AS    THE 
FARTHEST    POINT    EAST, 
REACHED     BY    THE  CONFERERATE 
FORCES,  JUNE  28,  1863, 
DURING    THE    CIVIL   WAR, 
DEDICATED 
BY    POST    NO.    270  G.  A.  R.  JUIA    4,  1900. 

As  we  recross  the  river  we  think  of 
the  burning  of  the  bridge  in  June  1863 
to  prevent  a  rebel  invasion,  of  William 
Smith  the  first  martyr  under  the  Fug- 
itive Slave  law  shot  by  a  slave  catcher 
x\pril  30,  1852  and  of  W^illiam  Wright 
one  of  the  earliest  active  agents  of  the 
Underground  Railroad. 

CHICKIES    ROCK  ' 

Taking  a  car  for  Marietta  we  soon 
leave  behind  the  ruins  of  past,  the 
noise  and  smoke  of  present  iron  in- 
dustries and  worm  our  tortuous  path- 
way through  forest  primeval  and 
dreamy  dell  to  the  top  of  historic 
Chickies  Rock,  300  feet  above  the  bed 
of  the  stream. 

Standing  here  one  sees  the  Susque- 
hanna snaking  along  its  ancient  rocky 
pathway,  heavy  freight  trains  creeping 
lazily  by  on  the  old  canal  bed  fringing 
the  river.  Columbia  to  the  left.  Mari- 
etta to  the  right,  Round  Top  across 
the  river  gap  in  front  and  imagina- 
tion involuntarily  tries  to  conceive  the 
length   of   time   since   the   river  began 


SEEING  LANCASTER  COUNTY  FROM  A  TROLLEY  WINDOW 


381 


its  ceaseless  task  oi  kissing,  p:rinding- 
and  crushing:  its  way  thr(»ug:h  300  feet 
of  solid  rock.  Chickies  has  given 
sermons  to  preachers,  dreams  to 
poets,  illusions  to  lovelorn  lads  and 
lasses,  S]K)rt  to  thoughtless  youth,  a 
hiding  place  to  the  lawless,  daily 
bread  to  the  toiler,  a  shelter,  a  school. 


MARIETTA 
We  are  now  on  the  territory  origi- 
nally settled  by  the  Scotch-Irish  whi> 
as  pioneers  pushed  to  the  extreme 
front  of  civilization,  settling  as  squat- 
ters on  the  highest  grounds  and  re- 
fusing to  pay  quitrents  to  the  pro- 
])rietaries.        Donegal      existing      1722, 


DR.  S.  S.  HALDEMAN 


an  inspiration  to  Dr.  S.  S.  Haldeman 
who  has  won  a  deathless  interna- 
tional fame  for  himself,  but  we  must 
hurry  to  catch  our  car  to  take  us 
down  a  winding  course  to  the  valley, 
past  ruins  of  half  a  dozen  blast  fur- 
naces, and  into  the  heart  of  old  Mar- 
ietta strung  mainly  along  the  old 
turnpike. 


originally  extending  indefinitely  from 
Pequea  Creek,  north  and  northwest 
became  the  mother  of  many  town- 
shij^s  and  counties  and  illustrious 
citizens  on  whom  we  may  nt^t  dwell. 
Following  the  banks  of  the  Susque- 
hanna we  might  trace  the  footsteps  of 
the    Indian   traders    and    reach    Conoy 


582 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


township  so  named  after  an  Indian 
tribe  and  settled  prior  to  1719.  Time 
was  when  scores  of  teams  from  in- 
land sections  waited  their  chance  to 
get  fish. 

Marietta  origijially  known  as  An- 
derson's Ferry  and  a  business  rival  to 
\A'ri.iJ^hts  Ferry  was  established  in 
1733.  It  is  composed  of  two  towns 
Xew  Haven  founded  1805  and  ^^'at- 
erford  laid  out  1806.  It  was  chartered 
in    181 2  and   received    its    name    ]*»Iar- 


the  former  in  population.  The  place 
o;rew  too,  fast ;  a  large  class  of  disre;)- 
utable  persons  followed  the  stream 
of  speculators  who  overflowed  the 
place,  and,  like  birds  of  prey,  lived  off 
the  earnings  of  others.  When  the 
final  crash  came  but  few  were  able  to 
weather  the  storm." 

As  one  walks  along  the  question 
comes  up,  Is  the  town's  golden  age  in 
the  past  or  the  future?  The  canal,  the 
furnaces,    the    square    miles    of    lumber 


CniCKIHS  AND   M.\RIETTA 


ietta  a  compound  name  from  the 
Christian  names  of  ^Nlrs.  Anderson 
and  Mrs.  I'ook  the  wives  of  the  foun- 
ders. 

-Marietta  in  its  infancy  experienced 
a  ])oom  which  is  thus  referred  to  by 
a  local  historian  "Columbia  had  the 
start  of  Marietta  by  eighteen  years, 
but  the  latter  sprang  into  existence 
as  if  ])y  magic,  and  commenced  to 
crowd  the  heels  of  their  Quaker 
neighbors,  and  for  a  few  years  rivaled 
rafts,  the  widelv  known  shad  fisheries 


are  no  more.  It  has  had  for  size  and 
location  few  rivals  from  a  literary 
and  social  standpoint.  The  dinners 
of  the  Farmers'  Club  in  Duffey's  Park 
alone  gave  the  place  national  reputa- 
tion. 

Across  the  river  are  Wild  Cat 
Falls  formerly  owned  by  and  a  resort 
of  the  -Masonic  Fraternity  and  an  ob- 
servation house  from  which  seven 
counties   are  \-isible. 

(To   be   continued) 


3S2 


Old  Highways  and  Old  Taverns 

By  Dr.  I.  H.  Betz,  York.  Pa. 

ANY     of    our    roads    were  roads.    Even    now    the  matter  is  just 

formerly      Indian      trails  being   broached   and   carried   out   to   a 

Avhich  had  been   followed  limited  extent. 

by  the  red  man  in  mov-  Turnpikes  made  by  stock  compan- 
mg  from  place  to  place,  ies  which  charged  toll  for  travel  over 
The  trails  as  a  rule  were  them  came  into  use  the  latter  part  of 
followed  by  the  whites  the  i8th  and  the  beginning  of  the  19th 
during  the  "pack  horse  century. 
era."  This  methcnl  of  transporting  The"  first  pike  constructed  in  this 
goods  was  in  general  use  from  east  to  state  if  not  in  the  Union  was  the  Phil- 
west  in  Pennsylvania  during  the  adebhia  and  Lancaster  turnpike 
greater  part  of  the  i8th  century,  which  was  62  miles  in  length  having 
\\'agons  were  not  in  general  use  since  ^    width    in  the  middle  of  21   ft.       Its 


they     were     expensive 


and 


•"cquired      depth    of  stone  was  two  to  three  feet. 


more  outlay  than    persons    were    able  j^-    ^y^s    finished    in   1794  at  a  cost  of 

to  command  in  primitive  days.  $465,000.      The    stone    were    limestone 

Horses   mostly    travelled    in    single  and  Avere  broken   by  men    with    what 

file      over     the     Indian     trails.        The  were      termed     "napping      hammers." 

method  of  loading  these  caravans  was  The     jiieces     were    required    to    pass 

unique    and     peculiar.        Necessity    is  through  a  ring  of  a  definite  size.  The 

the  mother  of  invention,    and    experi-  breaking   of   stone   was   frequently   at- 

ence      taught     the     trader     and     the  tended   Avith   accidents   to   the   eyes   of 

packer  to  adapt  himself  to   every  cir-  the  men. 

cumstance  Avhich   ar<^se.    If    iron    was  The     road     as    a    rule    was    pretty 

transported   it   was   bent  in   bow   form  straight      between      two     points.     The 

to  be  carried   over  the  animal's  back,  making  of  such  roads  then  was  a  very 

being   well    secured,    so   that    it    might  expensive  undertakmg  and  no  detours 


be  carried  to  advantage.  In  remote 
times  even  to  the  i>resent  caravans  of 
camels  passed  across  the  deserts  of 
Asia  and  Africa.  In  India  elephants 
have  been  used  in  this  work.  The 
Sante  Fe  trail  from  1820  to  i860 
Avas  traA-elled  by  wagons  across  the 
f^'ide  plains  which  Avere  figured  in 
our    earlier    geographies  as  the   Great 


Avere  permissible. 

After  the  completion  of  the  pikes 
as  they  Avere  knoAvn,  teams  travelled 
over  them  taking  grain,  Avhiskey,  and 
other  products  to  Philadelphia,  re- 
turning Avith  store  goods  for  the  lo- 
cal trade..  During  the  folloAving  quar- 
ter of  a  century  from  the  time  the 
first  pike  Avas  finished  many  others 
Avere  constructed  leading  to  Baltimore 


American    Desert.        Many    hardships  ^^-1(1   Pittsburg, 

and   risks   Avere   encountered.     Attacks  Wagoning   noAv    became    a    regular 

by    the    savages  were  frequent  and  at  i)nsiness.  Teams  Avere  placed  uoon  the 

times    Avhole    caravans   Avere    captured  roads.       Farmers  generally  had  teams 

and  perished.  on    the    road   during   the   Avinter   Avhen 

In  Pennsylvania  the  roads  Avere  laid  thcA-   hauled   their  grain   and   products 

out   gradually  as  necessity   demanded,  to  one  of  the  three  points  mentioned, 

and  Avagons  gradually  came  into  use.  From      Southern      Pennsylvania     the 

The  old  Avorld  had  good  highAvays  es-  hauling     Avas     mostly     d(^ne    to    Balti- 

pecially    in    some     countries     but    in  nKire.  There  Avere  no  bridges  crossing 

America  this  required  labor  and  delay,  the    river    until    i8o(),    1817   and   later. 

The  means  of  the  jieojile  did  not  per-  l^ie    riAcr    therefore    was    a    dividing 

mit  of  general   taxation  to  make  got)d  line     to    the     different     cities.    Houses 


384 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


of  public  entertainment  sprang  up  a- 
long-  the  turnpikes  and  the  more  trav- 
elled  public   highways. 

These  houses  were  known  as  tav- 
erns or  inns.  The  more  pretentious 
name  of  hotel  which  is  entirely  in  use 
now,  was  not  applied  then.  The 
business  of  tavern  keeping  was  looked 
upon  as  laudable. 

A  location  at  a  cross  road  was 
viewed  as  very  desirable  and  was 
spoken  of  as  a  "  good  stand"  if  con- 
ducted properly.  The  taverns  along 
the  turnpike  averaged  one  in  number 
to  every  mile. 

A  tavern  sign  was  considered  in- 
dispensable. A  high  post  was  placed 
in  the  ground  and  from  the  top  a 
swinging  sign  was  suspended  which 
had  painted  upon  each  face  the  name 
oi  the  tavern  and  the  proprietor.  A 
])icture  of  Washington,  Lafayette  or 
some  other  favorite  object  was  at 
times  selected.  The  swinging  sign  on 
stormy  nights  when  the  hinges  had 
become  rusty  caused  a  screeching 
wailing  sound  while  good  cheer  pre- 
vailed within. 

Tavern  keeping  was  considered 
a  meritorious  calling  and  if  the  house 
was  well  conducted  and  the  landlord 
was  considered  upright,  accommoda- 
ting and  popular  it  was  still  more  so. 
He  was  the  counsellor,  the  financier 
and  the  banker  of  the  neighborhood. 
On  the  main  lines  of  travel  at  a  de- 
sirable point  when  means  permitted 
the  house  was  as  a  rule  built  of 
limestone   or   sandstone. 

The  architecture  was  plain  and  the 
building  was  two  stories  in  height. 
with  a  large  garret  which  was  later 
termed  an  attic.  Some  of  these  old 
buildings  which  are  still  standing 
were  no  less  than  70  by  45  feet.  In 
the  front  of  the  house  was  a  large 
porch  no  less  than  from  seven  to 
eight  feet  in  depth.  At  one  end  of  the 
house  was  the  bar  room  the  entrance 
to  which  was  by  a  single  door.  From 
the  bar  room  a  door  led  into  a  side 
room  for  ladies.  Passing  through  the 
bar   room     was    objectionable     to    the 


latter.  Another  entrance  could  have 
been  made  from  the  outside  but  the 
trouble  of  doing  so  was  considered 
to  be  unnecessary. 

This  side  room  in  the  smaller  tav- 
erns was  sometimes  heated  by  a  com- 
bination stove,  In  front  of  some  of 
the  old  time  taverns  stood  a  large 
sycamore  tree  sometimes  called  a  wa- 
ter pitch.  The  trees  when  found  in 
numbers  near  streams  were  looked 
upon  as  being  associated  with  what 
was  then  known  as  ague.  In  front  of 
the  bar  room  was  a  well  of  never  fail- 
ing water.  In  limestone  regions  these 
wells  as  a  rule  were  deep  and  the  wa- 
ter if  drawn  Ijy  the  "old  iron  bound 
bucket"  was  cool  and  invigorating. 
Travellers  would  invariably  stop  and 
have  their  horses  watered  for  which  a 
tip  was  given  to  the  hostler. 

But  as  a  rule  the  parties  alighted 
and  went  into  the  bar  room  and  called 
for  "something"  and  if  the  caller  was 
of  a  genial  or  jovial  nature  he  perhaps 
"called  up  the  house"  and  any  body 
drank  to  the  "health"  of  the  liberal 
open-hearted  visitor.  For  a  man  to 
go  past  a  hotel  without  stopj^ng  and 
showing  his  "good  will"  in  some  man- 
ner was  considered  a  breach  of  eti- 
quette and  subjected  the  party  to 
doubtful  imputations  and  motives. 
Tavern  keeping  was  considered  an 
indispensable  business,  that  had  to  be 
patronized  and  supported.  To  refuse 
to  sign  a  license  would  have  been 
considered  a  positive  insult.  For  a 
clever  man  to  prepare  full  accomoda- 
tions for  the  traveling  and  general 
public  and  receive  no  encouragement 
would  have  been  scouted  and  un- 
thought  of.  The  house  with  bar  room 
Avas  the  club  house  of  the  neighbor- 
hood. If  a  person  had  nowhere  else 
to  go  he  was  received  with  welcome 
at  the  tavern.  Of  course  he  was  ex- 
pected to  spend  "a  little  something"' 
but  in  those  cheap  old  days  this  was 
no  great  hardship.  A  drink  of 
whiskey  cost  three  cents.  Brandy 
was  five  cents  with  the  addition  of 
what  was  known  as  "loaf  sugar."  A 
radical     total      abstinence     man      was 


OLD  HIGHWAYS  AND  OLD  TAVERNS 


385. 


then  almost  unknown.  If  he  didn't 
drink  at  all  he  based  it  on  the  score 
of  ill  health  or  it  didn't  agree  with 
him  for  which  he  was  greatly  pitied. 
Sometimes  he  took  what  was  termed 
'chin'  because  his  system  demanded 
it.  To  have  advocated  total  abstinence 
or  prohibition  would  have  been  con- 
sidered singular.  A  prohibitionist 
would  have  been  considered  a  public 
enemy  and  nut  fit  to  live  in  a  well  or- 
dered  ct)mmunity. 

Cigars  were  tied  up  in  bunches  of 
one  hundred  and  were  retailed  at  four 
lor  a  big  red  cent.  A  customer  who 
took  dinner  or  staid  over  night  was 
given  a  cigar  after  each  meal  and  in 
some  cases  a  "bitters"'  before  meals. 
Lodgers  were  expected  to  perform 
their  ablutions  at  the  pump  in  front 
of  the  tavern,  when  that  existed. 

The  bar  was  kept  open  on  Sunday 
and  the  house  was  open  to  all.  The 
period  for  closing  was  from  ten  o' 
clock  until  midnight  but  under  cer- 
tain circumstances  the  time  was  ex- 
tended until  every  body  started  for 
home.  A\'hcn  the  house  entertained 
teamsters  win)  Avcre  mostly  hardy 
young  men  they  slept  on  their  own 
improvised  l)eds  on  the  bar  room  floor 
or  in  an  adjoining  room  when  accom- 
odations     were     on     a     larger     scale. 

The  horses  were  as  a  rule  secured 
to  the  wagon  tongue  where  their  feed 
boxes  were  fastened  while  in  use  as 
they  carried  feed  for  this  purpose. 
All  this  patronage  necessitated  out- 
buildings, the  ruins  of  which  may 
still  be  seen.  Different  taverns  had 
a  different  line  of  accommadations 
for  a  different  line  of  trade.  The 
teamsters  therefore  had  their  favor- 
ite stop])ing  ])laces.  On  drove  roads 
the  accommodations  were  of  a  differ- 
ent character. 

The  social  features  attending  these 
taverns  especially  in  winter  during 
the  sleighing  season  were  interesting. 
Certain  of  the  taverns  were  provided 
with  facilities  for  balls  and  dancing 
and  the  numl^ers  of  sleighs  to  be  seen 
on    bright   cold   moonlight   nights   was 


very  large.  The  strains  of  the  vio- 
lin or  fiddle  as  it  was  more  familiar- 
ly known  were  heard  by  passers  by. 
Everything  however  was  conducted 
with  decorum.  Disturbances  as  they 
were   called   seldom   occurred. 

A  landlord  who  was  dignified,  re- 
solute and  determined  to  keep  an  or- 
derly house  seldom  had  trouble  and. 
if  he  had,  enough  friends  "stood  by 
through  thick  and  thin."  The  "powers- 
that  be"  were  seldom  invoked  since 
it  was  believed  that  personal  diflfer- 
ences  concerned  no  one  else  than  the 
principals.  A  man  who  would  have 
invoked  the  law  with  its  expense- 
would  have  been  held  in  contempt. 

On  Saturday  evenings  long  before 
sundown  the  young  swains  would 
congregate  at  the  taverns  superbly 
mounted.  The  steed  was  gaily 
caparisoned.  Attached  to  the  rider's 
waist  was  a  riding  whip  to  which 
was  attached  a  white  knob  and  whis- 
tle. The  whip  was  composed  of 
leather  strands  which  were  adjusted 
into  a  .  single  pliable  extension.  It 
was  the  aim  of  these  young  men  to- 
make  a  good  showing  in  their  outfit. 
They  were  generally  good  riders  and 
at  times  they  arranged  themselves 
many  steeds  abreast  and  at  a  given 
signal  they  rode  off  in  concert  like  the- 
wind.  At  these  times  the  whips 
were  put  in  requisition.  After  a 
time  when  the  shades  of  evening  drew 
near  they  took  their  several  ways  to- 
pay  court  to  the  ladies  of  the  neigh- 
borhood or  at  a  distance. 

The  charges  of  tavern  keepers 
which  were  mostly  regulated  by  cus- 
tom were  very  low.  A  large  pie  was 
sold  for  a  fip  or  6%  cents.  A  dinner 
and  horse  feed  were  given  at  from 
two  to  three  levies.  A  levy  was 
known  as  12^2  cents.  In  California 
this  is  still  knows  as  a  bit.  Everything 
else  was  sold  at  low  prices.  Imported 
articles  were  sold  at  higher  rates.  A 
man  who  smoked  "Spanish"  expected 
to  pay  more  for  this  luxury.  Brandy 
imported  was  looked  u])on  as  a 
greater  luxury  than  "  whiskey 
strai^rht." 


386 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


The  bar  contained  other  drinks 
such  as  beer,  ale,  porter  and  "soft 
drinks."  Hard  cider  was  kept  at  times. 
Lep-kucha  or  large  ginger  cakes 
baked  in  sections,  and  pretzels  were 
kept.  "Mint  Sticks"  or  long  mint 
candy  resembling  a  barber  pole  as 
well  as  small  blocks  wrapped  up  with 
included  sentiments  known  as  "love 
letters"  were  sold,  at  a  penn}^  a  piece. 

The  table  service  was  plain  but  very 
substantial  and  the  bill  of  fare  was 
wholesome,  appetizing  and  nutritious. 
Everything  was  put  on  the  table  and 
courses  were  served.  The  motto  was 
for  everyone  to  help  h  i  m  s  e  1  f. 
There  was  no  formality ;  rooms  Avere 
capacious  and  models  of  cleanliness. 
The  landlady  was  chef  and  over- 
looked everything  pertaining  to  her 
part  of  the  business.  ]\Ieals  would  be 
prepared  at  all  hours  with  cheerful- 
ness for  travellers  who  Avere  belated. 
The  sleeping  rooms  were  inviting  and 
models  of  neatness  and  cleanliness 
and  ciimfort  and  conduced  much  to 
popularity-   and   patronage. 

\\'hen  stage  routes  were  estab- 
lished the  houses  of  entertainment 
were  on  a  still  larger  scale.  On  the 
National  Road  of  Western  Pennsyl- 
vania there  were  some  historic  inns 
whose  names  still  endure.  Some  of 
the  celebrities  of  the  country  in  going 
to  and  forth  from  the  Capitol  of  the 
Union  made  these  inns  noted  as  their 
stopping  i)laces.  Other  inns  in  eastern 
Pennsylvania  were  similarly  noted. 
Already  in  1765  fourteen  years  after 
its  founding  York  had  18  taverns.  Its 
being  situated  on  the  main  line  of  tra- 
vel to  the  four  points  of  the  compass 
gave  it  this  patronage.  .After  the  Re- 
volution many  retired  officers  be- 
came innkcejjcrs.  Their  fame  and 
celebrity  brought  them  i)<)i)ularity 
and  business. 

Communication  by  stage  coach  was 
somewhat  lessened  with  the  advent 
of  canals.  But  that  was  a  slow  me- 
thod of  travelling  and  it  was  only 
availal)lc    in     certain     cpuirters.       Rail- 


roads however  changed  matters  ma- 
terially. The  first  successful  railroad 
was  the  Balimore  and  Ohio  which 
was  finished  and  opened  so  far  as  it 
extended  in  1829.  The  Liverpool 
and  Manchester  railway  antedated  it 
l)y  one  year. 

Other  railways  of  a  formative  char- 
acter were  gradually  developing  for  a 
number  of  years  afterward.  The  rail 
road  extending  from  Philadelphia  was 
first  built  in  183 1-3.  The  Cumberland 
A'alley  was  operated  in  part  about 
1837.  But  these  early  roads  were 
not  as  successful  as  they  became  la- 
ter. It  was  after  1850  that  the  railroad 
was  extended  west  of  the  Alleghen- 
ies.  At  first  changes  were  necessary  at 
Pittsburg  and  the  passages  were  not 
continuous  even  as  late  as  1857.  iVfter 
this  became  a  fact  droving  on  foot 
Avas  abandoned  and  stock  Avas  shipped 
by  freight  trains.  The  countless 
moving  Avagons  coA-ered  Avith  Avhite 
material  Avhich  followed  each  other 
like  a  great  caravan  from  morning  till 
night  for  six  months  of  the  year  were 
abandoned  and  the  continuous  line  of 
railroad  AA^as  used  for  travel  and 
transportation. 

It  Avas  in  the  early  fifties  of  the 
last  century  that  large  numbers  of 
Pennsylvanians  for  the  first  time 
found  an  aA^ailable  comfortable  Avay 
of  going  "\\''est  as  Ohio  Avas  then 
termed. 

But  these  changes  made  other 
changes  necessary.  It  Avas  then  that 
the  patronage  of  old  time  taverns  de- 
clined. Protracted  journeys  and  visits 
Avere  no  longer  made  on  foot,  by  horse 
back  or  by  conveyance  or  stage-coach 
or  by  canal.  Even  travel  by  steam- 
boat Avas  abandoned  for  that  by  the 
rail  car.  Later  transcontinental  lines 
Avere  established,  no  less  than  seven 
such  lines  being  noAv  in  operation. 

These  vast  changes  haA^e  again 
brought  about  others.  The  press  has 
also  become  an  omnipotent  factor  in 
producing  changes  in  the  habits  and 
modes  of  thought  among  the  people. 
^Machinery  for  labor  saving  has  been 
invented      and      successfully      applied. 


OLD   HIGHWAYS   AND   OLD   TAVERNS 


387 


The  old  time  conditions  have  passed 
away  being  supplanted  by  others. 
Turnpikes  are  becoming  free  public 
highways ;  The  old  taverns  are  in  a 
state  of  decadence  and  have  been  ap- 
plied to  other  uses ;  others  are  no 
longer  licensed  and  have  been  aban- 
doned. A  melancholy  interest  is  at- 
tached to  their  history  of  former  great- 
ness. With  this  has  come  change  in 
the  ha])its  of  the  people.  Some 
modes  of  industry  have  been  largely 
replaced  by  those  of  modern  charac- 
ter. ,  The  tavern  is  no  longer  the  cen- 
tral place  for  gathering.  The  trolley 
cars  have  made  our  interior  towns 
more  sul)url)an  in  character.  Com- 
munication \\ith  the  larger  and  small- 
er towns  is  swift  and  expeditious. 
Xew  markets  have  been  found  for  the 
old  time  products.  The  man  of  the 
population  instead  of  being  urban, 
has  moved  into  the  towns  where  man- 
ufacturing industries  prevail. 

These  may  have  some  inconveni- 
ence and  hardship  in  certain  direc- 
tions but  time  is  needed  to  adjust  all 
tliese  matters.  The  good  old  times 
ha\e  passed  away.  The  cjuietude    and 


deliberation  of  the  past  is  succeeded 
by  the  bustle  and  activity  of  the  pres- 
ent. We  can  never  hope  to  remain  in 
a  state  of  inactivity.  There  is  no  rest. 
All  is  action  and  advancement  in  the 
modern  world.  The  past  was  a  state 
of  sylvan  simplicity,  the  restless  hu- 
man mind  is  ever  at  work  to  improve 
and  to  advance.  The  conservatism  of 
the  past  would  have  it  remain  as  it  is. 

The  party  of  order  is  influenced  by 
the  party  of  progress.  Neither  can 
have  its  own  way.  One  is  retarded 
bv  the  other.  Shall  we  witness  greater 
changes  in  the  future?  That  is  pos- 
sible and  probable,  ^^'e  have  seen 
more  changes  and  advancement  dur- 
ing the  last  centaury  than  in  all  pre- 
vious ages  put  together.  The  tele- 
phone, the  continuous  and  moving 
pictures,  the  horseless  carriage  and 
other  very  late  conners  would  former- 
ly   ha\e    been    scouted   as   impossible. 

Onlv  yesterday  it  was  announced 
that  the  flying  machine  had  proved 
a  success.  These' are  striking  con- 
trasts when  placed  against  the  modes- 
and  methods  which  prevailed  as  late 
as  iihy  years  ago.  These  changes 
are  beneficent  and  sho'"  progress. 


The  Mennonites  as  Pioneers 

By  Prof.  C.  Henry  Smith,  Goshen,  Indiana 


NOTE. — This  article  is  made  lu^  of  ex- 
tracts from  Prof  Smith's  book,  "The  Menno- 
nites in  America,"  selected  to  show  how 
those  people  have  been  pioneers  in  our 
country. — Editor. 


on  the  heels  of  the  Scotch-Irish 
huntsmen  who  had  blazed  the  way 
for  the  first  permanent  settlers.  Be- 
fore 1750  they  appeared  in  the  Shen- 
andoah A'alley  wth  the  earliest  Ger- 
mans to  venture  into  that  region.  In 
1772  they  crossed  the  Alleghenies. 
and  estalDlished  one  of  the  earliest 
communities  in  the  valley  of  the 
of  the  unoccupied  lands  Junitata.  Again  before  the  Revolu- 
of  our  country.  By  tionary  war  they  appeared  among  the 
founding  Germantown    in      first   settlers    in     Southwestern    Pcnn- 

svlvania  near   the   headwaters    of    the 
Ohio. 

In  Ohio  they  ascended  the  Hocking 
river  and  located  in  Fairfield  county 
just    ten    vears    after    the  founding  of 


HE  ]\Iennonites  and  Amish 
have  everywhere  a  p  - 
peared  among  the  pio- 
neers   in     the     settlement 


1683  they  not  only  be- 
came i^ioneer  settlers  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, but  established  the  first  regular 
settlement   in   America.   In     1710    they 


Avere    the   first   white    settlers    of    the 

Conestoga    region    and   followed   hard      Marietta.  '  In   Illinois    they    began    to 


388 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


clear  the  timber  along  the  banks  of 
the  Illinois  in  1831,  just  ten  years 
after  the  first  log  cabin  had  been 
erected  in  that  part  of  the  state.  In 
Iowa  in  1839  they  located  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  the  state  before 
the  raw  prairies  had  ever  been  occu- 
pied by  white  men.  And  so  all 
through  the  West  and  the  Northwest 
— in  Kansas,  Nebraska,  the  Dakotas, 
Oregon,  Oklahoma  and  the  Canadian 
Northwest,  wherever  new  lands  have 
opened  up  for  settlement  there  the 
Mennonites  have  been  the  first  to  put 
up  their  log  cabins  and  sod  shanties 
and  among  the  first  to  organize  pio- 
neer churches. — p.  291. 

Just  when  the  first  Mennonites 
came  to  the  New  \\'orld  is  not  de- 
finitely known,  but  it  is  likely  that  a 
few  individuals  settled  in  w^hat  is 
now  New  York  and  Delaware  soon 
after  the  first  permanent  English  set- 
tlements were  made  along  the  Atlan- 
tic coast.  Frequent  references  are 
made  in  the  colonial  records  of  New 
York  to  Dutch  Anabaptists  in  New 
Netherlands  soon  after  the  Dutch 
gained  a  foothold  on  American  soil. 
Some  of  these  Anabaptists  no  doubt 
were  Mennonites.  The  first  printed 
mention  of  the  latter  by  name  is 
found  in  a  report  of  the  religious  con- 
ditions in  new  Netherlands,  made  by 
a  French  Jesuit,  Father  Jogues  who 
had   visited    this    region    in     1643.— p. 

In  1662  the  burgomasters  of  Am- 
sterdam made  a  contract  with  Plock- 
hoy  and  twenty-four  others,  called 
Mennonites  regarding  the  convey- 
ance of  a  proposed  colony  to  the 
Delaware.  The  colony  was  conveyed 
thither  later.  In  1663  the  colony  was 
plundered  and  w^hat  became  of  the 
Mennonites  is  unknown.— p.  92  (con- 
densed). 

The  first  permanent  Mennonite  set- 
tlement in  .America  was  made  at  Ger- 
mantown.  Pennsylvania.  The  first 
settlers  came  from  Holland  and  Ger- 
many    especially     from      the      Lower 


Rhine  region  along  the  borders  of  the 
two  countries. — p.  94. 

There  is  much  dispute  especially 
concerning  the  religious  complexion 
of  the  original  families.  What  were 
they,  Mennonites  or  Quakers?  What- 
ever may  have  been  the  church  rela- 
tions of  the  first  settlers  after  they 
came  to  Germantown  there  can  be 
very  little  doubt  that,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  Pastorius,  the}^  were  origi- 
nally of  Mennonite  descent. — p.    112. 

It  was  on  the  banks  of  this  stream 
( the  Skippack)  that  the  second  Men- 
nonite church  in  America  was  estab- 
lished. Settlement  was  made  here  be- 
tween 1702  and  1709,  the  first  house 
of  worship  was  built  about  1725  on 
land  given  the  congregation  by  Matt- 
hias  Van   Bebber  in    1717. — p.    119. 

The  German  immigration  into 
Pennsylvania,  and  especially  Menno- 
nite immigration,  for  the  first  twenty 
years  was  not  very  large.  In  1710  be- 
gan a  second  and  much  greater 
wave.  Among  the  first  to  arrive  was 
a  small  colony  of  Mennonites  who 
located  on  the  banks  of  the  Pequea,  a 
branch  of  the  Susquehanna  in  what  is 
now  Lancaster  county. — p.  134,  (con- 
densed) 

The  first  notice  that  we  have  of  the 
founders  of  the  Pequea  colony  is  in  a 
letter  written  from  London  on  June 
2^,  1 7 10  to  friends  in  Amsterdam. 
The  next  appearance  of  the  names 
of  these  men  is  on  a  warrant  dated 
October  10,  1710,  for  a  tract  of  ten 
thousand  acres  north  of  Pequea  Creek 
in  what  is  now  Lancaster  county. — p. 
146,   (condensed). 

By  1718  the  Mennonites  occupied 
the  southern  half  of  wdiat  was  then 
Conestoga  township.  Others  had  then 
or  soon  after  settled  on  Hammer  creek 
in  Grafif's  Thai  and  in  Weber's  Thai. 
They  (the  immigrants'  lists)  show  us 
that  Mennonites  continued  to  come 
to  Pennsylvania  more  or  less  irregu- 
larly up  to  the  time  of  the  Revolution- 
ary war.  Not  all  of  these  immi- 
grants    to  be  sure,  came  to  Lancaster 


THE  MENNONITES   AS   PIONEERS 


389 


county.  Many  settled  in  Chester, 
Bucks,  Berks,  and  Montgomery  coun- 
ties.— p.    158,    (condensed). 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  re- 
gion around  Germantovvn  was  soon 
alt  occupied  by  the  immigrants,  and 
thus  the  later  arrivals  had  to  seek 
homes  in  other  localities.  By  1702 
a  new  settlement  had  already  been 
begun  on  the  Skippack  near  the  pres- 
ent little  village  of  Skippack ;  from 
this  center  a  large  community  gradu- 
allv  grew  by  natural  increase  and  by 
constant  immigration  from  Southern 
Germany  and  has  since  expanded 
over  an  area  about  ten  miles  in  width 
through  the  north  central  part  of 
Alontgomery  county,  and  the  western 
part  of  Bucks  coynty.  v/ith  a  few  scat- 
tered settlements  in  Eastern  Berks, 
and  Lehigh  and  Southern  Northamp- 
ton county. — p.   183. 

From  a  letter  written  to  the  church 
in  Amsterdam  in  1773  by  Andrew 
Ziegler,  Isaac  Kolb  and  Christian 
Funk  we  learn  that  the  following 
communities  had  been  established  in 
America  at  that  time  : — 

"Germantown,  Schiebaach,  Indian 
Krik,  (Franconia)  to  which  belong  al- 
so Salford,  Rokkil  and  Schwamen 
Deep  Ron  to  which  belong  Berkosen, 
on  the  Delaware  and  Aufrieds,  Bleu 
(Plain)  Grooten  Swamb,  to  which  be- 
long Sacken  and  Lower  Milford,  in 
two  places,  Hosenak,  Lehay,  and 
Term,  Methachen,  (Methacton) 
Schuylkill."  These  are  the  congrega- 
tions embraced  within  that  region 
described  in  this  chapter.  Farther 
away  they  say  are  "Conestogis  where 
are  many  large  congregations,  Ouit- 
ophilia,  (Lebanon  county)  great  and 
little  Schwatara,  (Daui:)hin  county), 
Tulpehocken,  (western  Berks  conuty). 
On  the  other  side  of  the  Susquehanna 
by  Yorktown,  great  and  little  Cone- 
wago.  ]\Iannekesie,  (ATonocacy).  To 
Virginia,  Meriland,  Schantaore  (Shen- 
andoah and  further  to  Carolina 
whence  are  many  and  large  congrega- 
tions.— p.   189. 


Just  when  the  first  Mennonite  set- 
tlers located  in  York  county  is  not 
known  but  by  1753  the  colony  was 
large  enough  to  effect  a  church  organ- 
ization. Other  churches  were  estab- 
lished by  settlers  from  Lancaster 
county  as  can  be  seen  by  the  appear- 
ance of  similar  names  in  the  land 
records. — p.    194   (condensed). 

It  is  altogether  likely  that  of  the 
stream  of  settlers  that  began  to  enter 
the  Shenandoah  Valley  about  1730  in- 
dividual Mennonites  settled  here  and 
there  through  the  Cumberland  Valley 
in  Franklin  and  Cumberland  counties 
and    in    Maryland. — p.    195. 

In  the  meantime  a  small  colony  had 
gone  up  the  Susquehanna  and  the 
Junitata  and  had  located  on  the  Mah- 
antago  near  what  is  now  Richfield  in 
Snyder  county. — p.   196. 

At  about  the  same  time  small  col- 
onies were  being  formed  across  the 
Alieghenies,  in  the  southwestern  part 
of  the  state,  along  the  valleys  of  the 
Monongahela,  Youghigheny  and  the 
Conemaugh  rivers  withm  the  region 
of  the  headwaters  of  the  Ohio.  The 
earliest  and  most  important  communi- 
ties were  located  in  Westmoreland. 
Fax'-ette  and  Somerset  counties,  ^x  hese 
were  followed  later  by  a  few  scattered 
settlements  in  Cambria,  Blair,  Cen- 
ter, Clearfield  and  Butler  counties. — 
p.  196. 

The  first  Mennonite  settlement  in 
Maryland  was  made  in  Washington 
county,  which  forms  part  of  the  C'um- 
berland  Valley.— p.   198. 

Among  the  earliest  of  these  Ger- 
man pioneers  who  were  the  first  per- 
manent settlers  of  the  Shenandoah 
Valley   were   several    Mennonites. 

Settlements  were  made  in  Page  and 
Shenandoah  counties  the  Linville  Val- 
ley and  the  Harrisonburg  Region.  No 
meeting  houses  appear  to  have  been 
built  until  nearly  a  whole  century  af- 
ter the  first  pioneers  entered  the  val- 
ley the  first  building  being  erected 
1822  near  Broadway. — p.  205. 

The  Virginia  settlement  although 
comparatively   small    in   numbers   and 


J90 


THE    PEXNSYLVANIA-dERMAN 


separated  from  other  communities  has 
nevertheless  exerted  no  mean  in- 
fluence upon  the  church  at  large.  It 
has  become  the'  mother  church  of 
many  of  the  newer  western  settle- 
ments, including-  the  congregations 
in  Medina,  Columbiana,  and  Allen 
counties,  Ohio  and  Tazewell  and  Liv- 
ingston counties,  Illinois. — p.  206. 

B}^  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, then  the  i\Iennonites  of  South- 
eastern Pennsylvania  had  appeared 
among  the  pioneer  settlers  in  the  fer- 
tile valleys  of  Pennsylvania,  Mar}'- 
land  and  \"irginia.  No  new  com- 
munities have  been  established  in 
these  states  since  that  time.  But 
with  the  opening  of  the  Northwest 
Territory  these  settlements  became  in 
turn  the  mother  communities  of  many 
congregations  organized  in  the  next 
century  in  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois. 
— p.    207. 

The  Amish  located  near  Hamburg, 
near  the  headwaters  of  the  Conestoga 
river,  in  Alaidencreek  and  Oley  in 
Berks  county,  near  the  head  waters  of 
the  Tulpehocken  in  Lebanon  county. 
From  all  these  communities  many 
emigrated  in  turn  to  Alifflin  county 
before  the  close  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  From  these  various  pioneer 
churches  all  the  later  settlements  in 
western  Pennsylvania — in  Somerset, 
A\'estmoreland,  Mifflin  and  Juniata 
counties — were  made,  and  indirectly 
many  more  in  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois, 
Iowa  and  other  western  states. 

The  church  in  Somerset  county  has 
in  turn  become  the  founder  of  con- 
gregations in  Elkhart  and  Lagrange 
counties,  Indiana  ;  Douglas  and  Moul- 
trie counties  Illinois;  and  has  fur- 
nished new  settlers  to  many  other 
Amish  communities. — p.  214. 


From  about  18^0  to  1870,  Mifflin 
county  furnished  many  members  for 
new  congregations  in  Champaign, 
Logan,  and  Wayne  counties,  Ohio; 
in  McLean  county,  Ilinois;  and  in 
other  western  states. 

The  first  Amish  settlement  in  Ohio 
begun  just  a  few  years  after  Ohio  be- 
came a  state  in  Tuscarawas  and  Hol- 
mes counties,  furnished  settlers  for 
the  churches  which  were  later  estab- 
lished in  Logan  and  Geauga  counties, 
Ohio,  Howard  and  Elkhart  counties, 
Indiana,  Johnston  county.  Iowa,  Sew- 
ard county,  Nebraska  and  in  several 
other  communities. — p.  217. 

A  settlement  was  made  in  Elkhart 
and  Lagrange  counties  by  Amish 
from  Somerset  county  to  which  many 
other  settlers  joined  themselves.  Set- 
tlements were  also  made  in  Newton, 
Howard,  Miami,  Allen,  Jasper,  Dav- 
ies  and  Brown  counties  prior  to  the 
Civil  War. 

Settlements  by  Amish  were  also 
made  in  Canada,  New  York,  Illinois, 
Missouri,   Nebraska,   Kansas. 

Migration  to  Canada  began  as  early 
as  1788.  from  Bucks  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania. They  were  joined  later  by  fam- 
ilies from  Montgomery  and  Lancas- 
ter counties.  About  1804  Waterloo 
township  again  received  the  largest 
share  of  Pennsylvanians.  Each  year 
brought  a  few  colonists  from  Lancas- 
ter, Berks,  Bucks,  Montgomery, 
Franklin  and  Cumberland  counties. 
Some  years  brought  more  than 
others.  During  the  Avar  of  1812  immi- 
gration was  light,  but  it  was  heavy  in 
the  years  1825  to  1829  owing  to 
rather  hard  times  in  Pennsylvania 
during  these  years.  By  1835 
immigration   had   practically  ceased. 


591 


Herrnhut  as  It  Is  Today 

By  Rev.  E.  S.  Hagen,  Lititz,  Pa. 


£Llln   m 

nun 


ERY  different  indeed  from 
the  hamlet  towns  of  our 
home  country  is  the  vil- 
lage of  Herrnhut.  Al- 
though the  total  number 
of  residents  reaches  but 
little  over  1200  persons, 
the  well-paved  and  scru- 
pulously-clean streets,  the  substantial 
buildings,  the  thriving  industries,  the 
free  postal  delivery,  etc.  impress  one 
with  the  fact  that  in  many  respects 
Herrnhut  is  now  a  miniature  city. 
Thomas  Carlyle  is  reported  to  have 
said  that  Herrnhut  reminded  him  of 
"a  petrified  Sabbath/'-  ein  verstein- 
erter  Sabbat."  and  so  far  as  exteriors 
are  concerned,  one  cannot  help  but 
corroborate   his   statement. 

Founded  in  1722  by  poor  peasants 
from  Aloravia,  who,  led  by  Christian 
David,  sought  and  secured  refuge 
here  on  the  estates  of  Count  Zinzen- 
dorf,  Herrnhut  has  become  the  Moth- 
er and  Mecca  of  the  Moravian  Church. 
the  center  of  its  world-wide  religious 
and  missionary  influence  and  activity. 
About  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  south 
of  the  town,  along  the  Zittau  road, 
surrounded  by  stately  pines  and  larch- 
es, there  stands  a  simple  granite  mon- 
ument with  this  inscription  : 
''Am  17  Juny,i722,  wurde  an  dieser 
Stelle  zum  Anbau  von  Herrnhut  der 
erste  Baum  gefaellet.  Ps.  84:  4." 

It  was  a  rare  privilege  to  be  able  to 
attend  the  service  held  annually  on 
this  historic  spot  in  loving  and  grate- 
ful memory  of  the  incisive  and  deci- 
sive beginning  made  by  the  axe  of  the 
Moravian  exile  carpenter.  Christian 
David. 

It  has  been  said  that  when  ]\Iartin 
Luther  nailed  his  95  theses  to  the  door 
of  the  Wittenberg  Church,  the  blows 
of  his  hammer  reechoed  around  the 
world.     The  same  mav  be  said    with 


equal  truth  of  the  strokes  of  Chris- 
tian David's  axe. 

In  1727  Herrnhut  numbered  300 
people,  who  lived  in  34  houses.  Today 
two-thirds  of  the  inhabitants  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Congregation,  which,  in- 
cluding non  resident  communicants, 
aggregates  in  all  some    iioo  souls. 

The  visitor  to  Herrnhut  is  naturally 
attracted  first  of  all  to  the  church. 
This  building  was  erected  in  1756, 
consequently  during  the  life  of  Count 
Zinzendorf.  Situated  in  the  midst 
of  a  beautiful  square,  and  connected 
with  the  Gemein  Haus,  v/herein  both 
Pastor  and  Assistant  Pastor  are  dom- 
iciled, and  the  Parochial  Schools  for 
Boys  and  Girls  find  quarters.  Church 
and  Gemein  Haus  form  a  unique 
group  of  buildings. 

The  interior  of  the  church  is  simple, 
if  not  severely  plain,  according  to 
American  ideas.  Plain  white  wooden 
benches,  white  sanded  floors  ,  a  read- 
ing desk  covered  with  a  'dark  green 
cloth  at  ordinary  services,  brass  can- 
delabra, windows  of  unstained  glass 
with  curtains  of  white  muslin.  These 
are  the  features  which  impress  the  vis- 
itor, who  has  seen  various  great  or- 
nate churches  and  cathedrals  in  Amer- 
ica and  Europe.  A  gallery  runs  a- 
long  each  of  the  two  shorter  sides  of 
the  church,  which  is  oblong  in  shape, 
the  north  gallery  furnishing  room 
for  the  magnificent,  three  manual  tu- 
bular pneumatic  action  pipe  organ 
and  the  splendidly  trained  choir,  the 
south  gallery  containing  at  either  end 
"logies"  or  boxes,  reserved,  it  is  said 
for  the  nobility  on  special  occasions 
with  additional  seating  accomodations 
in  the  center. 

The  congregation  possess  no  less 
than  seven  separate  places  of  worship 
or  chapels ;  but  the  "Kleiner  Saal"  in 
the  upper  story  of  the  Gemein  Haus 
has  the  greatest  interest  from  the  his- 
torical   point    of    view.       Here  is  the 


•392 


THE    PEXNSYLVAXIA-GERMAN 


first  place  of  worship  used  by  the  Re- 
newed Brethren's  Church.  We  still 
see  the  original  ceiling  beams,  and 
tread  the  broad  white  pine  floor  board 
liewn  and  set  in  place  by  Christian 
David  and  the  early  Brethren.  On 
the  east  wall  of  the  Kleiner  Saal  there 
hangs  a  large  oil  paintnig  by  John 
Valentine  Haidt  (1747),  representing 
22  well  known  historical  persons,  the 
first  missionaries  and  the  first  con- 
verts from  among  the  natives  of 
Greenland.  Xorth  America,  and  Afri- 
ca. 


and  beautiful  gardens,  the  property 
of  the  German  Province,  laid  out  in 
1728.  and  enlarged  in  1731.  In  the 
midst  of  the  garden  stands  a  fine  mar- 
ble bust  of  Count  Zinzendorf  upon  a 
granite  pedestal.  Facing  the  Gemein 
Haus  on  the  Church  Square  we  find 
the  Brethren's  House,  the  original 
front  of  which  was  burned  by  fire  a 
few  years  ago.  Uj)  to  that  time  the 
Brethren's  House  had  been  the  first 
and  oldest  building  in  Herrnhut.  Now 
a  fine  modern  edifice  occupies  the  site. 
The   Diaspora   House   and  theVogts 


111-; KKMu  r  Ti  II)A^■ 


On  the  south  sitle  of  the  "Platz"  t)r 
'Church  S(]uare  stands  the  Herrshafts- 
haus,  or  Administration  Offices  (^f 
the  German  Provincial  Elders'  Con- 
ference, built  during  the  years  1781 
and  1782.  and  distinguished  from  the 
other  edifices  by  its  particularly  fine 
architectural  features.  Originally  a 
smaller  building  erected  by  Count 
Zinzendorf  in  1725.  and  in  which  he 
'lived  for  a  number  of  years,  and  died 
on  ^Tay  9.  1760,  stood  on  this  site. 
Directly  behind  the  Herrschaftshaus, 
free  and  o])cn  to  every  one.  are  large 


hof  on  Zittau  Street  must  be  passed 
by  without  further  description.  We 
come  next  to  the  Archives  Building, 
erected  in  1889-1891.  a  most  valuable 
depository  of  historical,  legal,  literary 
documents  and  writings  of  rare  books 
and  pictures.  Here  we  see  two  of 
Zinzendorf's  great  Family  Bibles,  in- 
teresting printed  matter  from  the  days 
of  the  Ancient  Bohemian-  Moravian 
Brethren's  church,  some  of  the  writ- 
ings of  John  Hus.  the  building  plans 
of  the  congregations  in  Germany, 
England   and   America,     furnished    for 


HERRXHUT   AS    IT   IS   TODAY 


393 


Count  Zinzendorf.  A  title  and  deed 
to  the  Brethren's  Church  of  the  rights 
and  ownersliip  of  land  in  Sarepta, 
Russia,  gi\en  and  signed  by  the  Em- 
press Catharine  II  of  Russia  in  1767 
will   attract  particular  attcnticni. 

The  portrait  gallery,  containing 
pictures  of  many  of  the  devoted  ser- 
vants of  G(k1  in  the  Brethren  Church 
occupies  another  part  of  the  Archives. 

Retracing  our  steps  and  passing 
through  the  beautiful  Herrschaft  gar- 
den we  come  to  the  Sisters'  House,  a 
large  edifice,  which  is  situated  oppo- 
site the  church.  To  the  north  of  the 
church  is  the  Widows'  House,  built  in 
1759  and   1760. 

It  is  in  the  Betsaal,  the  chapel  of 
this  house  that  the  General  Synods  of 
the  Moravian  Church  have  held  their 
sessions  ever  since  the  year  1789.  The 
Boarding  School  for  Girls  is  situated 
on    Berthelsdorf   Street,  and  the  Pilo'er- 


House  on  New  Street.  Time  fails  us 
to  enter  into  any  description  of  the 
business  and  stores  of  Abraham  Diir- 
ninger  &  Co.,  established  in  1747.  It 
must  be  left  to  others  to  tell  of  the 
llutberg  with  its  observation  tower, 
commanding  a  view  as  far  as  the 
mountains  on  the  Bohemian  border 
land.  We  have  given  but  a  brief,  im- 
perfect sketch  of  some  of  the  more 
prominent  buildings  in  old  Herrnhut 
as  they  are  today.  It  will  require 
the  pen  of  a  more  ready  writer  to  tell 
of  the  social  and  religious  life  of  the 
people.  Suffice  it  to  say,  however, 
that  whoever  undertakes  to  find  a 
more  cultured,  refined,  and  withal  a 
more  friendly,  brotherly  and  deeply 
religious  community  of  people  than  in 
Herrnhut,  the  beloved  Mother  congre- 
gation of  the  Moravian  Church,  has 
set  for  himself  an  almost  hopeless 
task. 


A  Musser  Family  Record 


The  editor  enjoyed  the  privilege  re- 
cently of  becoming  personally  acquainted 
with  the  family  of  the  late  Henry  S.  Mus- 
ser, of  Marietta,  Pa.,  and  incidentally  of 
copying  the  following  data  from  two  his- 
toric   books    belonging   to    the    family. 

The  older  is  an  Ephrata  "Martyrer 
Spiegel"  of  1748  owned  by  Jacob  Mosser 
1752  which  presumably  at  one  time  cost 
£  1  s  10  as  these  figu.res  are  found  written 
in  the  book:  the  other  is  a  Lancaster 
Quarto  German  Bible  of  1819,  bought  1822 
by  Henry  Musser  for  his  oldest  son  Jacob. 

We  give  herewith  the  reco.rd  as  found 
substituting  however  English  letters  for 
the  German  script  of  the  original.  We  add 
a  condensed  genealogical  talile  based  on 
these   records. 

The  Martha  Musser  who  married  John 
Miller  (1836)  was  the  widow  of  Jacob 
Musser. 

The  story  goes  that  a  certain  Musser 
(Mosser?  or  Moser?)  loaned  Robert  Morris 
$.^0,000  during  the  Revolutionary  War.  A 
subscriber  is  an.xious  to  know  whether  the 
story  can  be  verified  by  good  proofs  and 
if  so  whether  the  said  Musser  was  related 
to  the  Jacob  Musser  family  whose  record 
we  give..  Any  information  submitted  to 
the  editor  will  be  greatly  appreciated. 


1752  Das  buch  gehert  mir  Jacob 
!\losser  zu 

1748  Den  6t  Hornung  ist  der  Hansz 
Mosser  gebohren  am  samstdag 
in  der  wog. 

[749  Den  131  Hai  monad  ist  der 
bentz  (  ?)  ^Mosser  gebohren  am 
donstag  ini   storbion. 

1 75 1  den  i8t  Augst  Monnat  ist  die 
Anna  Mosserin  gebohren  am 
sondag  im  Schitz. 

1753  den  20t  Abrill  ist  der  Jacob 
Mosser  gebohren  am  fraitag  im 
schitz 

1755  den  26  innawaris  ist  marrei 
moserin   gebohren    in    dem    Krebs. 

Anno  1772  den  12  May  hab  ich  Jacob 
Moser  Mich  verheiratet  Mit  der 
Christina  Engelrin  und  Mein 
.Mter  war  19  Jar  und  4  wochen 
und  2  tag  und  ihr  Alter  war  22 
jar. 


394 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


1775  den  I  Martz  ist  der  Hansz 
Moser  geboren  am  Alitwochen 
in  dem  fiesche. 

1776  den  4  April  ist  der  Henner  (?) 
Moser  geboren  Am  Donerstag 
in   der  Wog. 

1778  den  August  ist  Anna  Mosser 
gebohren. 

1795  Das  buch  gehoret  niir  Henrich 
Mosser  und  ichab  es  geerbt  von 
meinem   Vatter. 

Ano  1797  den  24  Januarius  hab  ich 
Henrich  Mosser  mich  verheiratet 
mit  der  Elisabth  seitz  und — mein 
alter  Wahr  20  Jahr  und  9  munat 
3  wochen  und  ihr  alter  wahr  20 
Jahr  und  3  munet  und  i  woch  und 
ist  gestorben  den  12  ten  Janubri 
1804  im  Kintbeth. 

Ano  1797  den  16  ten  November  ist 
Jacob  Mosser  zur  Welt  geboren 
am  donerstdag  in  dem  grebs. 

An  1799  den  17  Junius  ist  mir  Hen- 
rich Mosser  zur  wet  geboren  am 
montag  in   dem  schitz. 

Ano  1801  den  3ten  Sebtember  ist  mir 
Johannes  mosser  zur  Welt  ge- 
boren am  Donnerstag  in  dem 
grebs  ist  gestorben  den  24ten 
sebtember  1803 

A  1805  den  I9ten  Sebtember  hab  ich 
Henrich  Mosser  mich  Verheiratet 
mit  Maria  Engell  und  und  mein 
alter  Wahr  29  Jahr  5  monat  und 
14  Dag  und  ihr  alter  wahr  22 
Jahr  4  monat  und  3  dag. 

A  1806  den  20  ten  Sebtember  ist  mir 
Susan  Mosser  zur  Welt  geboren 
am  samstdag  im  steinbock. 

1809  den  18  ten  Januarius  ist  mihr 
Magtalena  Mosser  zur  welt  ge- 
boren am  mitwoch  im  fiisch. 

1810  Den  14  ten  August  ist  mir  Ben- 
iamin  Mosser  zur  welt  geboren 
am  Dinstdag  um  2  uhr  20  min- 
uten  Morgens  im  Wasserman. 

1812  den  I9ten  Mertz  ist  mir  Anna 
Mosser  zur  Welt  geboren  am 
Donnerstag  am  Zwilling. 


Jacob  Musser  his  Bible  and  my 
father  Henry  Musser  Bought  it  for 
me  at  10  Dollers  in  the  year  1822  in 
Donegal  Township,  Lancaster  County 
and   State  of   Pennsylvania. 

Jacob  Musser  was  Maried  to  Mag- 
delane  Stoufifer  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  one  thousand  Eight  hundred 
and  twenty. 

I  was  born  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
1797  the  i6th  day  of  November  and 
m_v  wife  Magdelene  was  born  the  13 
day  of  August  1802  three  o'Clock  in 
the  Morning  in  the  seign  of  the 
Waterman.  Died  Sunday  evening  10 
minutes  of  8  O'clock  June  7th,  1885 

My  Son  Henry  St.  Musser  was 
born  on  sunday  five  minets  after 
twelve  the  sixteenth  day  of  July 
1820  in  the  signs  of  the  Scale 

My  daughter  Anna  Musser  was 
born  on  Theausday  near  five  o'Clock 
in  the  Evening  the  Eighteenth  day  of 
March  1823  in  the  seign  of  the  tweens 
My  Daughter  Elisabeth  Musser 
was  born  on  thaursday  ten  minnits 
tell  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  the 
sixteenth  day  of  June  1825  in  the 
seign  of  the  tweens 

My  daughter  Magdalena  Musser 
was  born  on  the  first  day  of  August 
1827  in  the  Seign  of  the  about 

five  o'clock 

My  Son  Jacob  Musser  was  born  on 
the  nineteenth  of  October  1829  in  the 
Sign  of  the  Crap  between  one  and 
two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

Abraham  Musser  was  born  on  the 
19th  day  of  January,  1832  in  the  sign 
of  the  Lion  at  20  Minutes  before  10 
O'clock  P.  M. 

John  Miller  was  Married  to  Martha 
Musser  the  tenth  day  of  March  One 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  Thirty 
Seth 

I  was  born  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
1806  the  Twenty  seven  day  of  April 
and  my  wife  Martha  was  born  the  13 
day  of  August  1802  at  three  oclock 
in  the  Morning  in  the  seign  of  the 
waterman. 

John  Miller  Died  Sept  20  1867  on 
Thursday  12  O'clock  noon 


A   MUSSER  FAMILY   RECORD 


395 


Martha  Miller  Died  June  7  1885  on 
Sunday  evening  10  minutes  of  8 
O'clock. 

My  Son  John  St.  Miller  was  born 
on  Sunday  thirty  minutes  past  four 
clock  the  sixth  day  of  August  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  Thirty 
seven  in  the  signs  of  the  Scale. 

1837 

My  Son  Joseph  St.  Miller  was 
born  on  Friday  at  ten  minutes  of  ten 
o'clock  in  the  evening  the  tenth  day  of 
January.  One  thousand  eigh  hun- 
dread  and  fourty  in  the  signs  of  the 
Fish 

1840 

My  son  Isaiah  St.  Miller  was  born 
on  Friday  at  fifteen  miutes  past 
eigh  clock  in  the  morning  the 
Eleventh  day  of  March  One  thousand 
eigh  hundred  and  foarty  two  in  the 
signs  of  the  Fish. 

1842 

My  Daughter  Sarah  Miller  was 
born  on  Sunday  at  Thirty  mmutes 
past  nine  clock  in  the  evening,  the 
Eleventh  day  of  August  One  Thou- 
sand eigh  hundred  and  foarty  foar  In 
the  signs  of  the  Scrab. 

NOTE. — The  following  table  is  based  on 
the  preceding  records.  The  reader  will 
note  the  interesting  fact  that  in  each  birth 
record  the  "sign"  of  the  Zodiac  is  noted. 

1844 
I.    Jacob   Mosser. 

A.  John,   (Hansz)   b.  Feb.  6,   1748. 

B.  ,      (Bentz?)     b.    June     13, 

1749- 

C.  Anna,  b.  Aug.   18,   1751. 


D.  Jacob,  b.  April.  20,   1753, 

E.  Maria   (?),  b.  Jan.   (?)   26,  1755. 
I  D.  Jacob  Mosser. 

m.  Christina  Engel   (b.    1750)    May 
12,  1772. 

A.  John,   (Hansz)   b.  INIarch  i,  1775. 

B.  Henry,     (Henner)      b.     April    4, 
1776. 

C.  Anna,  b.  August,    1778. 
I  D  B.    Henry   Mosser. 

m.   Elizabeth  Seitz,   (b.  1776 — d.  Jan. 
12,  1804).     January  14,  1797. 

a.  Jacob,   b.   Nov.    16,   1797. 

b.  Henry,  b.  June    17,   179 

c.  John,  b.   Sept.  3,    1801.    d.    Sept. 
24,   1803). 

m.      Maria      Engel     (b.     May     16, 
1783).     Sept.   19,   1805. 

d.  Susan,  b.  Sept.  20,  1806. 

e.  Magdalena,  b.  Jan.  18,  1809. 

f.  Benjamin,  b.  August   14,   1810. 

g.  Anna,  March   19,   1812. 
I  D  B  a.  Jacob  Musser. 

m.  Magdalene  Stoufifer,   (b.  Aug.  13, 
1802,  d.  June  7,  1885)    1820. 

a.  Henry  S.  b.  July  16,   1820. 

b.  Anna,  b.  March   18,   1823. 

c.  Elizabeth,  b.  June  16,   1825. 

d.  Magdalena,  b.  August   i,   1827. 

e.  Jacob,  b.  October  19,  1829. 

f.  Abraham,   b.  Jan.    19,    1832. 

John   Miller,  b.  April    27,    1806.     d. 
Sept.    20.    1867. 

m.  Martha,  wid.  of  Jacob  Musser. 
March  10,  1836. 
John,  b.  Aug.  6,   1837. 
Joseph,  b.  Jan.    10,    1840. 
isaiah,  b.  Mar.  11,  1842. 
Sarah,  b.  Aug.   11,  1844. 


396 


The  March  of  the  Germans 

By  Frederick  Palmer 


NOTE. — The  following  copyrighted  article 
is  reprinted  from  Collier's  of  July  10, 1909, 
by    permission. — Editor. 

IIE  great  German  policy 
is  the  rabbit  policy. 
Xtimbers  count.  While 
the  stiffragettes  of  Lon- 
don are  be-laboring  AI.P.'s 
with  their  parasols,  the 
stiffragettes  o  f  Berlin 
are  singing  lullabies, 
h'or  every  four  British  babies  seven 
German  babies  are  born.  Each  little 
boy  means  another  soldier  of  war  and 
industry;  each  little  girl  becomes  the 
mother  of  more  soldiers.  You  need 
only  a  compound  interest  table  to 
figure  out  the  future  of  Europe  for 
yourself. 

.\ny  feminine  skepticism  as  to  how 
the  ])lus  three  are  to  l:)e  fed  and 
clothed  is  lese-maeste.  It  is  interfer- 
ing in  a  problem  which  appctains  to 
My  lm])erial  Responsibilities.  Re- 
member, my  daughters,  that  twins  are 
no  less  welcome  to  me  than  to  My 
Xever-.To-Be  Forgotten  Ancestors. 
Continue  to  do  your  duty  and  urge 
your  husl)ands  to  join  the  Xa\}' 
League. 

War  Lord,  is  it?  The  Kaiser  is  the 
Incubator     Lord.  Unlike     the     old 

woman  in  the  shoe,  he  knows — so  the 
P>ritish  think — precisely  wha:  he  is 
going  to  do.  He  \\\\\  use  ])art  of  the 
surplus  l)irth-rate  in  ca])turing  Lon- 
don and  sup])ly  the  stirvixing  portion 
witli  jobs  belonging  to   Britons. 

ICxentually,  the  outward  pressure  of 
numbers  must  force  a  blow  for  more 
room,  or  else  Germany,  which  regu- 
lates everything  for  ever}-bod\-  in  the 
empire,  will  ha\e  to  ]nit  a  speed  limit 
on  the  mercury-footed  stork.  Xo 
doubt  he  would  obey  like  a  good  Ger- 
man subject,  adjusting  his  gait  to  Im- 
l)crial  needs.  'Hius  far,  however,  the 
beehive  system,  bulwark  of  the  rabbit 
policy,    worked     out     on     scientific 


principles  b}-  experts  in  spectacles, 
has   succeeded   amazing  well. 

Before  '66  the  Austrians  and  before 
'/O  the  French  laughed  at  the  experts 
in  spectacles.  Since  Sedan  the  great 
armies  of  the  world  have  all  been  pat- 
terned after  the  German.  Germany 
has  been  a  living  threat  of  war,  with 
war  far  from  the  minds  of  German 
statesmen.  r)eing  always  ready,  she 
has  gained  point  after  point  without 
striking. 

After  '70  the  spectacles  began  prep- 
aration for  the  victories  of  peace. 
Xow  it  was  the  British  turn  to  laugh. 
This  armed  camp  was  all  very  well 
for  Sedan.  l)tit  it  must  not  think  it 
could  c(Mn])ete  in  trade  and  commerce 
\\ith  liritish  mastery  of  the  seas  and 
with  cheap  food.  The  British  are 
learning  their  mistake  gradually, 
while  the  h^'ench  had  to  learn  it 
abruptly,  h'or  their  system,  the  Ger- 
mans say,  is  the  system  of  all  nations 
in  the  future.  It  applies  ecpially  to  all: 
affairs   by   land   or  sea. 

WILLIAM  versus  EDWARD 
In  diplomacy  both  Delcasse  and 
King  Edward  ought  to  suliscribe  to 
its  merits.  I'oth  tried  to  beat  it.  Del- 
casse is  admittedly  the  cleverest  man 
in  France.  As  f^-ime  [Minister  he 
was  in  the  wa}-  of  the  march  of  Ger- 
man policy.  Germany  waited  her  op- 
l^ortunity.  When  she  was  being 
called  the  mischief-maker  in  Moroc- 
can affairs,  she  turned  on  I'rance, 
saying  she  would  show  who  the  real 
mischief-maker  was.  She  reviewed 
Delcasse's  career  as  a  Foreign  !Minis- 
ter,  which  was  a  rec(^rd  of  deliberate, 
shrewd  maneuvering  with  Germany 
as  its  object.  Was  this  friendly  ?  Ger- 
many asked.  France  did  not  want 
war,  nor  did  (Germany.  Russia,  the 
h'rench  ally,  was  sick  from  rex'olution 
and  defeat.  Germany  knew  the  ])o^ve^ 


THE   MARCH   OF   THE   GERMAN'S 


597 


of  the  cards  which  the  mailed  fist  laid 
on  the  table.  Jler  legitms  were 
ready.     Delcasse  retired. 

Kiiii;-  Edward  is  an  amiable,  rotund 
man  wlu)  likes  j^ood  company  and 
everybody  to  be  friendly,  except  the 
Kaiser.  Though  he  has  no  constitu- 
tional rig-ht  to  do  so,  Edward  has 
been  framin<;-  England's  foreign  pol- 
icy. He  went  about  luirope  smiling- 
and  handshaking-  and  ])assing  IJerlin 
by.  lie  made  an  alliance  \\ith  Rus- 
sia and  with  France  and  became  ex- 
ceedingly thick  with  the  Italian 
King-,  while  the  best  that  the  Kaiser 
could  do  was  to  paraphrase  Beau 
Brunimell  by  asking:  "  \\'ho  is  your 
friend  ?" 

It  was  a  great  stroke  for  peace. 
Now  would  this  terrible  Germany 
stop  brow-beating  her  neighbors  and 
that  pc^or,  innocent  British  Empire? 
Now  would  she  see  the  fruits  of  her 
wickedness  and  repent?  To  add  to 
England's  satisfaction  came  the 
Kaiser's    interview    incident. 

A\'illiam  II  does  not  like  Edward 
personally,  and,  besides,  he  feels  Avhat 
any  clever  pla3'er,  training  hard,  la- 
boring under  handicaps,  must  feel  to- 
ward any  rotund,  elderly  gentleman 
who  is  successful.  He  said  some  very 
savage  things,  which  he  felt,  at  the 
time,  anyway,  as  most  of  use  Jo  when 
we  get  cross.  A  shout  rose  in  the 
land:  '' Lcse-niajeste  yourself ! ''  thun- 
dered the  62.000,00  Germans.  "Stop 
talking!" 

They  are  erratic,  these  royal  Hoh- 
enzollerns,  but  they  have  the  gift  of 
yielding  and  of  wisdom  in  great  crises 
— the  gift  which  has  carried  them 
from  petty  Counts  of  the  Branden- 
burg principality  to  empire,  with  the 
eye  of  restless  ambition  on  greater 
prizes.  You  remember  how  Frederick 
the  Great  told  the  owner  to  remove 
the  windmill  which  interfered  with 
the  view  from  the  palace  of  Sans 
Souci. 

"No,  your  Majesty,"  said  the  miller. 

"I'll  buy  you  another  windmill," 
said   Frederick. ' 

"No." 


■■r.ut  I  am  king-  of  I'russia.  and  I'll 
make  }-on  take  it  down." 

"  Xo,  you  will  n(jt,  your  ■^.lajesty. 
There  is  law  in   I'russia." 

In  the  same  spirit  the  German 
])eople  said  to  the  Kaiser,  "Hep!  Hep! 
lie])!  Majesty,  3'ou're  out  of  step. 
When  old  Fritz  lost  his  temper  and 
raged  u])  and  down  no  reporters  Avere 
around.  Therefore,  we  n-iake  a  new 
law  in  Prussia."  The  Germans  are 
fond  of  old  Fritz  and  fond  of  the  niil- 
ler.  Do  not  make  the  mistake  that 
the}^  are  not  fond  of  William  H.  He 
is  their  Emperor,  and  they  ha\-e  an 
affectionate  pride  in  his  abilities  as  a 
leader.  They  were  simply  correcting 
him.  As  a  member  of  the  "i-ystem" 
he  took  his  medicine  like  a  man — 
and  on  his  first  appearance  in  })ublic 
read  the  prepared  speech  Now  Biilow 
gave  him.  And  he  sticks  to  Von  Bil- 
low;  for  Von  Biilow  is  a  great  Prem- 
ier. You  can  find  a  royal  precedent 
for  almost  anything  and  William 
found  one  for  this  schoolmastering. 
Hadn't  the  Never-To-Be-Forgotten 
Grandfather  accepted  the  dictates  of 
the  great  Bismarck?  For  the  present 
the  Never-To-Be-Forgotten  Ancestor, 
Frederick,  is  on  the  shelf.  William 
II  is  in  a  sweet!}'  constitutional  spirit. 

Six  months  ago  Germany  seemed 
to  be  effectually  isolated.  The  Brit- 
ish were  enjoying  her  discomfiture 
and  the  Kaiser's  wdien  the  Balkan 
crisis  offered  Von  Biilow  his  chance 
to  get  even. 

A  shovelful  of  earth  may  be  enough 
to  endanger  the  nice  equilibrium  of 
the  European  balance  of  power.  Con- 
sider the  effect  when  Austria  annexed 
Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  wdiich  was 
as  large  as  a  Texas  county? 

GERMANS   HEAR   THE   CALL  OF    BLOOD 

Servia  called  on  her  mighty  Slav 
patron  for  help,  which  it  is  said  Rus- 
sia promised.  Of  course  Austrian  rule 
in  the  two  little  countries  meant 
progress  and  prosperity,  just  as  Brit- 
ish, French,  or  German  nde  \\ould  in 
place  of  Turkish.  But  the  balance  of 
power  when  the    scales    are    dipping 


398 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


does  not  consider  such  a  minor  detail 
as  this.  Austria  was  mobihzed  and 
Servia  when  three  milHon  German 
bayonets  heliographed  to  the  Czar 
Avhich  said :  "Amend  the  BerHn  Con- 
vention and  grant  Austria  her  de- 
mands." 

The  Russian  arm}-  was  scattered 
and  disorganized ;  the  German  legions 
read}^  to  mobilize  swiftly  over  the 
network  of  railroads,  according  to 
the  method  that  leaves  nothing  to  the 
"heroes"  or  brilliant  individual  im- 
provization.  Probabh^  they  could 
have  gone  to  ^loscow.  Russia  was  too 
poor;  she  was  in  no  mood  for  war  on 
Servia's  behalf,  as  Germany,  not 
wanting  war,  well  knew ;  and  Russia 
yielded. 

Down  came  Edward's  h  )use  of 
cards.  The  wicked  nephew  was  in 
the  ascendent  again.  German  states- 
men regard  Edward  as  a  valuable 
enemy ;  they  welcome  every  outburst 
of  anti-German  feeling  in  Great  Brit- 
ain. \Mien  Bismarck  founded  the 
Empire  the  world  prophesied  its  dis- 
solution. The  different  States  could 
not  be  held  together.  "You  are  all 
Germans,"  was  his  watchword.  For- 
eign opposition  when  it  takes  the 
form  of  racial  bitterness  unites  them. 
Not  only  this,  but  the  Germans  of 
Austria  also  hear  the  call  of  their 
blood.  The  Hungarians  and  the 
Czechs  of  Austria  have  been  bitter 
against  German  infleunce,  but  the}^  do 
not  forget  their  pockets.  Austria,  and 
particularly  German  Austria,  realizes 
its  debt  to  Germany  in  the  Servian 
affair.  She  is  preparing  a  Dread- 
nought program   of  her  own. 

When  Hungary  objected  to  this  ex- 
pense, Vienna  answered :  "  But  we're 
going  to  l)uild  them  down  on  the 
coast  at  Fiume,"  "Oh,  ho."  said  the 
Hungarians,  "we've  always  favored 
a  big  navy.  In  fact,  come  to  think  of 
it,  we  were  the  original  big  navy  sec- 
tion of  this  empire !"  Franz  Josef  in 
his  old  age  sees  tlie  Hapsburgs  firmly 
established  for  a  long  term. 

Thus  Dreadnoughts  beget  Dread- 
noughts ;   thus    Central    Europe    is   so- 


lidified. "Who  will  keep  in  training? 
Who  will  keep  hard?"  as  the  Prus- 
sians ask.  "The  man  who  is  alone,, 
back  to  the  wall,  or  the  ri\al  who 
goes  about  getting  up  a  crowd  with  a 
view  to  cowing  him?"  Not  many 
years  ago  Britain  was  preaching 
"splendid  isolation."  She  could  de- 
pend on  her  fleet  to  hold  the  sea;  for 
self-protection  the  European  coun- 
tries must  block  one  another.  Was 
Salisbury  so  far  wrong?  Since  the 
days  of  that  sober  old  aristocrat  who 
was  not  given  to  "scares,"  England 
has  gone  in  for  alliances  in  all  direc- 
tions ;  and  the  more  she  has  the  more 
she  worries. 

Germany  does  not  want  war  with 
the  British.  She  will  take  every  pos- 
sible means  to  avoid  a  casus  belli 
developing.  Through  all  the  months 
that  England  has  been  "enjoying"  a 
so-called  panic,  the  Germans  have 
been  amused  and  disdainful.  They 
cartoon  Edward  with  outlandish  con- 
ceits. They  talk  of  blood  and  iron 
gutturally,  but  not  nervously,  and 
they  do  hope  that  the  British  will 
calm  down  soon.  Why,  the  French 
have  suffered  frequent  outbreaks,  but 
eventually  their  rage  has  cooled,  be- 
cause those  very  peaceful  Germans 
refused  to  talk  back.  Since  the  Brit- 
ish began  their  jingo  campaign  the 
Germans  have  lost  their  temper  only 
once.  Then  the  Reichstag  increased 
its  navy  program.  A  good  many 
members,  as  they  consider  the  $125,- 
000,000  loan  to  make  up  the  national 
deficit,  are  sorry  for  the  outburst. 
However,  they  do  not  retreat.  It  is 
as  hard  for  nations  as  for  individauls 
to  swallow  their  words  of  defiance. 

Asquith  proposes  an  agreement 
whereby  the  two  nations  shall  keep 
their  navies  at  relatively  their  pres- 
ent strength.  In  other  words,  you 
agree  to  let  me  sit  on  you  forever — as 
the  Germans  see  the  offer — or  you 
are  no  friend  of  peace.  Haven't  we 
more  population  than  Great  Britain? 
the  Germans  ask.  Haven't  we  a  great 
trade  to  defend?  Don't  we  face  foes 
by  land  and  sea?    Then,  why  haven't 


THE   MARCH   OF   THE   GERMANS 


399 


we  a  right  to  build  a  great  navy?  Has 
England  any  patent  on  sea  power? 

THE  GERMAN  PRIVATELY  SAWS 
WOOD 

In  vain  does  one  seek  full  'nforma- 
tion  about  the  nature  of  that  German 
fleet,  half  the  strength  of  the  British, 
which  arouses  British  apprehensions. 
The  mystery  in  which  it  is  Sjirouded 
may  be  a  part  of  its  formidability  to 
insular  imagination.  We  have  no 
authoritative  statistics  of  target  prac- 
tise, no  details  of  drill  or  battle  prac- 
tise; for  military  secrecy  was  not 
original  with  the  Japanese  students  of 
the  German  system. 

Ten  years  ago  the  British  were  say- 
ing that  the  Germans,  having  no  sea 
inheritance,  could  not  have  a  great 
navy.  Perhaps  today  pessimism 
swings  the  pendulum  to  an  aqually 
foolish  extreme.  In  a  floating  hell 
factory  where  every  man  is  a  me- 
chanic, of  what  value  is  the  memory 
of  a  Trafalgar  fought  with  sails  and 
muzzle-loaders?  Yet  is  there  any 
reason  to  suppose  that  the  British 
navy,  leader  in  the  progress  of  naval 
warfare,  has  grown  inefficient?  Not 
to  those  who  know  it. 

Drill,  drill,  drill,  the  German  offi- 
cers and  men  know  no  rest.  The}^ 
work  harder  than  those  of  any  other 
navy,  all  the  world  agrees.  They  work 
too  hard,  some  critics  say,  inducing 
stupidity  and  staleness.  Command  is 
concentrated  and  mobilization  ever 
complete.  Politics  does  not  interfere 
in  naval  administration.  There  seems 
no  end  to  maneuvering  and  sea  prac- 
tise in  the  rough  waters  and  chill 
Avinds  of  the  North  Sea  and  the  Bal- 
tic. Probably  stafif  pigeonholes  can 
tell  precisely  what  the  Germans 
should  do  if  the  British  attack.  All 
you  hear  is  the  occasional  confident 
remark — yes,  these  Prussians  are  ex- 
asperatingly  cocksure — that  Germany 
will  give  the  world  the  same  surprise 
on  sea  as  she  gave  us  on  land  in  '70. 
Who  knows  till  the  spring  is  touched 
and  Mr.  Jack  comes  out  of  the  box? 


As  I  said  in  my  article  on  tne  Brit- 
ish side  of  the  question,  Germiai  pros- 
perity is  at  the  bottom  of  the  British 
"scare."  The  Germans  prosper.  Their 
force  is  felt  increasingly  throughout 
Europe.  You  see  more  of  them  in  the 
Mediterranean  watering  places  every 
winter.  At  Monte  Carlo  they  sur- 
round the  tables,  the  management 
complains,  playing  twenty-five  pieces 
at  a  time  and  driving  away  the  Amer- 
ican millionaires,  those  ideal  patrons 
who  lose  a  lot  in  a  few  minutes  and 
hurry  away. 

ENGLAND    LEANS    BACKWARD 

Every  young  German  who  is  going 
into  trade  has  his  wander  year,  in 
which  he  studies  languages  and  cus- 
toms in  countries  to  whose  markets 
he  must  appeal.  Raise  your  hand  in 
any  German  railway  station  and  you 
will  find  some  one  who  speaks  Eng- 
lish. Waiters  in  Paris  and  London 
are  frequently  German.  \Vhich  people 
is  better  equipped,  the  one  that  aims 
to  learn  foreign  languages  and  foreign 
ways  or  the  one  that  does  not?  The 
British  have  been  content;  the  Ger- 
mans ambitious  to  learn.  The  British 
lean  backward  ;  the  Germans  lean  for- 
ward. And  the  back  can  be  broken  in 
either  position. 

Every  new  country  welcomes  the 
German  emigrant,  provided  he  leaves 
his  nationality  at  home.  But  the 
Kaiser  insists  that  he  shall  at  least 
have  it  concealed  somewhere  about 
his  person;  else  he  can  never  fight  and 
die  in  the  name  of  the  Never-to-be- 
Porgotten  Ancestors  and  enter  the 
Brandenburg  W^alhalla.  Either  return 
to  serve  your  time  in  the  army  or  else 
you  may  never  visit  the  fatherland 
without  arrest.  And  the  ^'oangsrers 
on  the  wander  year,  from  A\aiters  to 
merchants'  sons,  do  return.  The  say- 
ing that  a  German  readily  sheds  his 
nationality  is  losing  its   force. 

German  subjects  are  protected.  Ger- 
m  a  n  push  —  Prussian  boorishness 
some  call  it  —  and  German  success 
have  granted  to  the  Germans  the  in- 
lieritance  of  unpopularity  which  once 


400 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


was  British.  Abdul  Hamid  had  leaned 
on  German  influence;  the  young 
Turks  who  drove  him  into  exile  were 
educated  in  Germany.  A  German  em- 
bassy is  a  hive.  German  ambassa- 
dors encourage  the  business  r'nterests 
of  German  subjects.  They  are  alwav:. 
on  hand  wlien  chance  arises,  sparring 
for  points. 

German  steamslii])  companies  bring 
the  poverty-stricken  Russian  eiui- 
grants  across  Prussia  in  a  kind  of 
bond,  \vhich  pre\'ents  the  deposit  of 
undesirables.  That  all  -  controlling 
Government  has  stopped  the  migra- 
tion of  Germans  to  America.  We  owe 
to  it  the  loss  of  5,000.000  good  citizens 
in   the   last  twent}'  years. 

CONSCRIPTION    MAKES    GERMAN 
FELLOWSHIP 

Conscription  ceases  to  be  a  bug- 
bear. Germans  of  all  classes  of  so- 
ciety say  that  it  is  the  making  of  the 
Empire.  It  has  developed  a  sense  of 
fellowship  which  leads  to  democracy. 
Its  effect  is  the  same  as  if  in  England 
an  English  gentleman  marched  in  the 
ranks  with  'Arry.  Both  would  learn 
something  of  value.  In  the  formative 
years  of  their  lives  the  youths  develop 
muscles  and  methodical  natures,  mak- 
ing transition  easy  into  the  disciplined 
army  of  workers  under  the  command 
of  industrial  experts. 

The  German  idea  is  that  a  nation 
should  be  run  like  a  great  department 
store  or  a  great  corporation  in  all  its 
rnanifold  activities,  aiming  at  national 
dividends  in  international  conquest. 
Perhaps  we  have  something  to  learn 
from  Germany  ourselves.  Until  four 
years  ago  all  our  budget  of  daily  news 
from  which  we  daily  absorb  our 
views,  came  through  London.  We 
heard  of  simple  burghers  haled  to  jail 
for  committing  Use-majestc  over  their 
•beer  and  officers  running  civilians 
through,  while  the  German  press 
printed  full  accounts  of  all  our  lynch- 
ings  and  disorders.  Mr.  Stone,  of  the 
Associated  Press,  decided  that  news 
should  come  direct  hereafter  from 
Paris,  Berlin,  and  St.  Petersburg.  This 


was  a  step  toward  allaying  the  pre- 
judices of  custom  and  race,  which  are 
breeders  of  ill-will. 

THE  EMPIRE  A  BEHIVE 
If  we  compare  Homestead  with 
Essen  (the  seat  of  the  Krupp  works), 
we  see  how  a  nation  enters  into  the 
affairs  of  the  daily  lives  of  all  the 
workers.  It  expresses  the  beehive 
system.  German  cities  are  the  clean- 
est in  the  world.  No  one  will  dispute, 
I  think,  the  superiority  of  living  con- 
ditions in  their  poor  quarters.  There 
is  poverty,  but  not  slovenly  slums.  A 
great  Labor  Exchange  deals  x/ith  the 
problem  of  the  unemployed  in  Berlin 
and  so  on  through  the  scale  of  human 
affairs.  It  is  a  kind  of  socialistic 
feudalism,  with  the  stork  ever  busy 
making  new  factory  food  and  cannon 
food.  The  old  landholding  aristocracy 
turn  on  the  Kaiser  for  his  favoritism 
to  captains  of  industry  and  educa- 
tional and  technical  leaders.  Ger- 
many grows  all  the  food  she  can ;  liv- 
ing is  made  cheap  despite  the  tariff". 
A  fierce  competition  of  interests  is 
welded  together  for  general  profit. 
The  Germans  say  that  growing  popu- 
lations force  the  passing  of  the  pioneer 
and  the  individualist;  that  they  have 
a  long  start  over  their  rivals  in  the 
system  of  organized  mass,  to  which 
are  the  victories  of  the  future. 

We  may  not  like  the  system,  but 
we  can  not  dispute  its  results.  It  con- 
tinues to  care  for  the  plus  three  and 
set  the  march  of  growing  numbers  to- 
ward the  Llohenzollern  objective.  By 
1920  Germany  will  have  72,000,000 
poi)ulation  against  50.000,000  for  the 
British  Isles.  The  increase  is  900,000 
a  year,  with  a  slightly  decreasing 
Ijirth-rate  —  very  slight  compared  to 
England's.  As  a  matter  of  defense, 
England  might  start  a  propaganda  in 
Germany  headed  by  suff'ragettts  in  as- 
sociation with  the  women  of  France, 
where  the  population  is  stationary.  By 
1930  the  Germans  will  almost  equal 
the  French  and  the  British  combined. 


401 


Opening  of  the  East  Penn  Rail  Road 


\\\  East  rcnn  Railroatl.  36 
miles  long',  b  i  n  d  i  u  g 
Reading  and  Allentown 
with  ner\es  of  steel  and 
forming  a  link  between 
the  great  West  and  the 
sea  coast  was  formally 
opened  May  10,  1859. 
Halt  a  centnr\'  liaxing  passed  since 
then,  the  occasion  may  be  snitable  for 
saying  a  few  things  about  the  road. 
The  original  name  of  the  road  "Read- 
ing and  Lehigh"  as  gixen  in  the  chart- 
er 1856  was  changed  to  East  I'ennsyl- 
vania  in  the  spring  of  1857. 

The  first  groinid  for  the  construc- 
tion of  the  road  was  broken  June  11, 
1857.  The  last  rail  was  laid  April  29, 
1859  and  the  first  train  from  Reading 
to  Allentown  passed  over  the  road  the 
following  morning.  The  road  was 
leased  by  the  Reading  Railway  Com- 
pany in  the  spring  of  1859. 

The  stations  were  named  shortly 
before  the  opening  of  the  road  by 
President  E.  M.  Clymer,  Col.  Jas. 
j\Ioore,  George  Stitzel,  E.  M.  Lyons, 
the  chief  engineer,  John  McManus  and 
others.  We  are  indebted  to  the  Kutz- 
town  Patriot  for  the  following  ac- 
conut  of  the  naming. 

After  leaving  Reading  the  first 
place  to  locate  a  station  was  at  "Solo- 
mon's Temple."  The  portrait  of  King 
Solomon  Avas  on  the  sign  in  front  of 
the  hotel.  Solomon's  Temple  was  a 
popular  pubic  house  half  a  century  or 
longer  ago.  It  was  decided  to  name 
the  ralwa}^  station  Temple,  leaving  off 
Solomon's. 

Upon  arriving  at  Blandtown,  as  it 
was  then  called,  President  Clymer 
said  he  was  opposed  to  'town"  being 
used  as  part  of  the  name  of  any  place, 
as  the  people  might  increase  until  it 
became  a  city  and  still  be  called  a 
town.  It  was  then  decided  to  attach 
"on"  to  "Bland"  and  name  the  station 
Blandon. 

A  century  ago  there  was  a  public 
house  at  what  is  now    Fleetwood,    on 


the  sign  of  which  \verc  ])ainted  two 
crows,  and  the  place  was  called  "Krap- 
pestaedel"  (Crowtown)  by  some  per- 
sons. Others  called  it  Coxtown,  be- 
cause a  man  1)y  the  name  of  Cox 
owned  most  of  the  land  there  and 
finally  the  latter  name  was  generally 
used  until  John  McManus  suggested 
that  the  station  be  called  "Fleetwood" 
after  a  beautifully  laid  out  town  and 
favorite  resort  in  England,  which 
name  was  adopted  by  the  railway  offi- 
cials. 

When  the  East  Penn  Railway  was 
built  there  was  no  settlement  at 
Lyons.  As  it  was  the  nearest  point 
to  Kutztown  on  a  much-traveled  road 
in  going  to  and  from  Oley,  it  was  de- 
cided to  locate  one  there  and  name  it 
after  the  chief  engineer. 

Bowers,  Avhere  there  were  several 
small  houses,  including  a  hotel  and 
store,  remained  unchanged  in  name  by 
the  railway  officials.  Two  brothers  by 
the  name  of  Bowers  lived  there,  and 
one  of  them.  John  Bowers.,  was  the 
first  man  killed  on  the  East  Penn 
road.  He  was  struck  by  the  engine 
of  an  express  train  as  he  was  about 
to  drive  across  the  track  with  his 
team. 

Topton  was  so  named  because  it  is 
the  summit,  being  higher  than  any 
other  station  along  the  line  and  the 
water  dividing  line,  the  water  on  the 
Berks  side  running  into  the  Schuyl- 
kill and  that  on  the  other  side  into  the 
Lehigh  River. 

jNIertztown,  an  old  village,  was 
named  after  the  first  settler,  Mertz. 

Shamrock,  the  national  emblem  of 
Ireland,  was  suggested  by  John  Mc- 
Manus, who  was  an  Irishman,  and 
the  name  was  unanimously  adopted 
by  the  railway  officials. 

Alburtis  was  named  after  Mr.  Al- 
burtis,  of  New  York,  who  was  for  a 
short  time  a  director  of  the  Reading 
8:   Lehigh  road. 

]\Iillerstown  was  a  name  adopted 
for  a  railway  station,  but  was  subse- 


402 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


quently  changed  to  Macungie,  on  ac- 
count of  there  being  several  other 
Millerstowns  in  the  State,  and  goods 
shipped  to  one  town  sometimes  went 
to  another  of  the  same  name  by  mis- 
take. 

The  name  Emaus  remained  un- 
changed by  the  railway  officials. 
Among  the  incidents  of  the  opening 
of  the  road  was  the  singing  of  "Die 
Deutsche  Companie"  composed  joint- 
ly by  William  M.  Baird,  Jacob  Knabb, 
J.  Lawrence  Getz,  Wm.  H.  Strick- 
land, J.  T.  Valentine  and  several 
other  grentlemen.     The  words  follow. 


O,   te   Deutsch    Kompanie 
Is  te  besht  Kompanie 
As  efer  jined   to  sea 
Mit    ter    Berks    Coiintee 

Herr   Clyme.r   ish   te    President,   and   ven   te 

times   vos   blue, 
He  got  r-]oore  help  from  Gotham  and  put  te 

railroad  troo. 
For  te  Deutsch  Kompanie,  &c. 

Te  beoples  vot  took  stock  didn  t  have  many 

funds 
So  te  Bulls  gif  te    money    and    te    Deutsch 

gif  te  bonds, 
O,    te    Deutsch    Kompin:?,    ivc. 

Te   Kutztowners   grumble   tat    te    road    isn't 

tare. 
But    tey    didn't    gif    tare    money,    and    tey 
vouldn't  take  a  Dare. 
O,  te   Deutsch  Kompanie,  &c. 


To   see  vat  de   beoples   call   Lauer's   "great 
bore." 
O,  te  Deutsch  Kompanie,  &c. 

"Ve'll  put  em  in  te  Mansion  House  as  soon 

as  tey  do  come, 
Kept  by  te  "Brince  of  Landlords — "Te  Bor- 

pon   ish  his  name. 
O,   te   Deutsch   Kompanie,   &c. 

Ve'll   march   em   troo   te   shtreets   and   ve'll 

take  em  to  te  Shprings, 
And  ve'll  feasht  em  and  ve'll  trasht  em  and 

all   tem   sort  of  tings. 
O,  te  Deutsch  Kompanie,  &c. 

Schvi^eitzer   Kase    und     Pretzels     und    lager 

beer  too, 
Ve    haf    in    Berks    county,    and    dem    not    a 

few. 
O,   te   Deutsch   Kompanie,   &c. 

Te  New  York  chaps  mit  te  hair  at  te  nose, 
Tey   open    teir    mouths    and   town   de    lager 
goes. 
O,   te   Deutsch   Kompanie,   &c. 

Talk    about    your    Champaigne,    Sher.ry    and 

such. 
But  lager  ish  te   besht  for  te  bellies  of  te 

Dutch. 
O.  te  Deutsch  Kompanie,  &c. 

Too   much   Champaigne   is   very   bad   shtuff,. 
But   too  much    lager    beer    ish    just    about 
enough. 
O,  te  Deutsch  Kompanie,  &c. 

Te  city  in  te  hills  and  te  city  on  te  sea. 
Are  now  jined  together  by  te  Deutsch  Kom- 
panie. 
O,  te  Deutsch  Kompanie,  &c. 


Ein  gloss  Lager  und  zwei  gloss  Beer — 
If  you  hain't  got  no  shtock  you  can't  sthay 
here. 
O,   te    Deutsch    Komi)anie,   &c. 

Ven  you  here  te  Drums  boom,  boom,  boom. 
Ten   you   may   be   sure   dat    te    Oot-am-ites 
haf  come. 
O,  te  Deutsch  Kompanie,  &.c. 

Here's    to   te    Light     Guards— here's     to     te 

Band; 
Ve'll  take  em  to  te  Market  House  and   put 

em  on  te  shtand. 
O,  te  Deutsch  Kompanie,  &c. 


Ve'll   take  em   out   Third    street,    vere    tey 
vere  before. 


Ve'll     keep    trate     a-going,     boys — tat     you 

may  bet; 
You'll  send  te  Dry  Goods,  and  ve'll  send  te 

vet. 
O,   te   Deutsch   Kompanie,   &c. 

Ten  success  to  te  party  tat  jined  land  and 

sea; 
Tree   cheers    and    a    tiger    for    te    Deutsch 

Kompanie. 
O.  te  Deutsch  Kompanie,  &c. 

Te    song    is     gittin     out — if    you     van     anv 

more. 
Begin  at  te  top  and  go  on  as  before. 

O,   te   Deutsch    Kompanie 

Is   te   besht   Kompanie 

As  efer  jined  te  sea 

Mit   ter   Berks  Countee. 


40S 


LITERARY  DEPARTMENT 


Two  Little  Shoeses  with  Their  Neckties  on 
By  Harvey  Carson  Grumbine,  Wooster,  Ohio 

There  are  two  little   fairy  feet  in  a  place  not  far  away 
That   came   a-pattering   up   to   me   and  said  to  me  one  day: 

"My   papa   said   'e  would, 

If   I'd    be   real    good, 
Buy  me  the  nicest  pair  o'  shoes  'at  choo  ever  sawn, 
A  pair  o'   'ittle  shoeses    'ith   their   neckties  on." 

Those   shoeses  they  be   slippers   and   those   slippers   they  be   new; 
I  think  they  are  just  stunning, — yes   I  dooses,   so  I   do: 

And    so    would    you,    suppose 

You    saw   their   little   bows. 
My    tough    old    prosy    head    and    heart  are   both   completely   won 
All  by  those  little  shoeses  with  their  neckties  on! 

Now  tripping  up  and  down  the  hall  and   skipping  up  the  stair, 
Quite   radiant  in  their  fleet  delight  there  scintillate  a  pair 

Of  scampering  little   feet, 

So   nimble   and    petite 
That   on   my    word   and   honor   it   is  jolly,  jolly  fun 
To  see  those  little   shoeses  with  their  neckties  on. 

The  sunbeams  of  the  dawning  and  the  star-light  of  the  night 
They    cannot   twinkle   brighter   than    those  little  beams  of  light — • 

Those    merry    little    feet. 

So    tireless    and    so    fleet, 
A-running    hither,    thither,    just    as    fast  as  they  can   run — 
Those   darling  little   shoeses   with  their  neckties   on. 

Ah,  here  around  the  corner  now  they  come  a-pitter-patter — 

Oh  I     What    a    merry,    joyous,    careless  .romp  and  jump   and  clatter! 

I'll   just   pretend   to   hide 

Behind    this   curtain    wide — 
When — boo! — they    dash     and     scamper — in  a  moment  they  are  gone- 
Those  laughing   little   shoeses  with   their  neckties  on. 

And  when   I   see  them   scooting  with  uproarious   hullabaloo, 
I  fancy  me  a  child  again  to  romp  and  scamper  too; 

I   wager   I   can   beat 

Those    nimble    little    feet;  — 
Stop,  wait!    O  dear!    My  breath!    I'm   beat!    I'm   shamefully  outdone 
By  those  cunning  little   shoeses  with  their  neckties  on! 

A  joyous  burst  of  laughter  and  a  tossing  of  the  curls, 
A  parting  of  two  rosy  lips,  a  gleamnig  as   of   pearls: 

"Say,   Mister,  Mister  Man, 

Come  catch  me   if  you   can! — " 
'Twould   be  enough  to  melt  to  love  the  heart  of  any  stone 
To  see  those  shoeses  cape.r  with  their  neckties  on. 

And  that's  the  reason  why  that  I,  though  you  would  scarce  suppose 
That    I    am   much   a   ladies'   man,   am    going  to  propose; 

I'm    going    to    i)ropose 

To   catch   those  little  toes 
That  trip  and   clatter  on   the   stairs  and  out  upon  the  lawn, 
And   hug  me  close  those  shoeses  with  their   neckties   on. 


404 


THE    PEXXS YLVAX I A-GERMAX 


SCHOOL  DAYS 


DE    OLD  A    SHULE   DAWGA 

(Tune:    The  Old  Oaken  Bucket.) 

We  leeb  tsu  mi'm  hartz 

Sin   de    kindheit's    shule-dawga, 
Wun  Icli  ols  tsurick  denk 

We   Ich  wore  en  bu; 
Ich  sa  der  shule-mashd'r 

Mi  hussa-sitz  shtawva, 
Sell   hut  ehr  ols  finf  mol 

De  wuch  gude  gadu. 
Ich  hob  ols  gamain'd   mi  sitz 

Ware    ful    gale    weshba, 
Un's   wore   so   en   peinich 

En   shule   buvely   si, 
Ovver   nou    in   mi'm    hartz   sin 

■Xuch    selle    de   beshta, 
De  fargongna  shule-dawga 

Xou    awich   ferbi. 
Mi   leeb   kindheit's   dawga, 
Mi   prig'lsup   dawga, 
Mi   seeza   shule-dawga 

Sin   awich    ferbi. 

Wun   Ich  denk  un   der  shule-mashd'r 

Main   Ich  doh  shtaid  ehr, 
Und   doh   sin   de    shuler, 

De  buwa  und  maid; 
De  Rachael   Susannah 

Malinda  Solpad'r, 
Der  Bill  und  der  Hons  wu 

Im  eck  immer  shtaid. 
Wos  hen  mer  ols  Fridawg's 

De   speeches  op-g'sunga, 
Und  ains  noch  em  on'ra 

Ols  dart  nunner  g'shpell'd — 
Dorch's  gons  cyclopeedy  und 

Webster   frei   g'shprunga, 
Und  shule-dawga  shpuchta 

Farshtolna   farshtell'd. 
De   leeb   kindheit's   dawga, 
De   prig'lsu])   dawga, 
De  seeza   shule-dawga — • 

Wos  hut's  ols  gagnell'd! 

Oh,  wu  sin  de  buwa  und  maid, 

Mi    kum'rawda? 
Es  shein'd  mer  farhoftich 

Ich  bin's  oil  erla. 
Der  Bill  rupt  de  tza  far 

De   wunza   und   shawva 
Un  ains  fun  de  wart's-heiser 

Drunna  um   sa. 
Der  Hons  iss  im  him'l — 

Ehr  hut  yusht  frish   g'hiert, 

Ehr  iss  nuch  im  dunk'la, 

Un's  wart  eme  nuch  hell; 
De  Rachel   iss  op  noch 

De   shtott   we  wild   feiar 
Und  de  shule-dawga  wo.ra 

Um  end  gons  tsu  shnel. 
Mi  leeb  kindheit's  dawga. 
Mi   prig'lsup   dawga, 
Mi  seeza  shule-dawga, 

Tsu   oil   farawei: 


MEI  ALTA    SCHILDAGA 

BY   "SOLLY   HULSBACK' 

(Tune:   The  Old  Oaken  P.ucket) 

Wie  lieb  zu  meim  Herz   sin  die   Kindheets- 
Schuldaga, 
Wann  ich  als  zurick  denk,  wie  ich  war  en 
Buh: 
Ich    sehn    der    Schulmeeschter    mei    Hossa- 
sitz  schtaawa; 
Sel    hot   er     als     finfmol     die     Wocli    gut 
geduh. 
Ich  hab  als  gemeent^  mei  Sitz  war  roll 
Geelweschpa, 
Un's  war  so'n  Gepeinig,    en    Schulbuw'le 
sel; 
Doch  nau  in  mein  Herz  sin  noch  selle  die 
beshta. 
Die   vergangena   Schuldaga   ewig  vorbei. 
Mei    lieb     Kindheetsdaga,     mei     Prigelsupp- 
daga, 
Mei   siessa   Schuldaga   sin   ewig  vorbei! 

Wann     ich     denk    an    der    Schulmeeschter, 
meen  ich  do  schteht  er, 
Un   do    sin    die    Schuler,    die    Buwa    un 
Meed: 
Die   Rachel    Susanna  Malinda   Salpeter, 
Der  Bill  un  der  Hans,  wu  im  Eck  immer 
schteht. 
Was  hen  mer    als    Freidags    die    Speeches 
abg'sunga, 
Un  eens  noch  em  ann'.ra  als  dart  nunner 
g'schpellt — 
Darch's     Webster      un's      ganz      Cyclopedia 
g'schprunga, 
Un    hinnarum     Schpuchta     getriwa     ver- 
schtellt! 
Die    lieb    Kindheetsdaga,  die  Prigelsuppdaga, 
Die  siessa  Schuldaga — was  hot's    als    ge- 
knellt! 

O,  wu  sin  die  Buwa    un    Meed,    mei    Kum- 
rada  ? 
Es   sheint   mer    verhaftig,    ich    bin's    all 
allee! 
Der  Bill  roppt  die  Zah  for    die    Wanza    un 
Schawa 
An  eens   vun   da  Wertsheiser  drunna  am 
See. 
Der    Hans    is    im     Himmel — er     hut    juscht 
frisch    g'heiert; 
E.r    is    noch     im     Dunkla    un's    werd    em 
noch   hell. 
Die  Rachel  is  ab  noch  der  Schtad  wie  wild 
Feier, 
Die    Schuldaga   wara    am    End    ganz    zu 
schnell. 
Mei   lieb     Kindheetsdaga,    mei    Prigelsupp- 
daga, 
Mei  siessa  Schuldaga,  zu   all  Farrawell! 


LITERARY    DEPARTMENT 


405. 


Oh,   het    Ich   duch   yiisht 

Nuchhamol    mi    shule-dawga, 
De  kiiiilheit  und  yuchend's 

Blaseer  we   dafor! 
Ovver  g'setzt  iss  de  rool — 

Das  de  meel   kon  net  mawla 
Aiit   wosser   das   shun    sellr 

Waig  ferbo  wore 
Duch    lushfs    niich    im    hi.'z 

Far   em    mashd'.r    si    krig'l 
Far  mich  niichaniol  kitzki 

►<echt    glide    liinna    lii. 
Ehr  hut's  ols   gadu   niit 

Ma   hikari    rig'l, 
Ovver  de  olda  shule-dawga 

Sin   awich   t'erbi. 
De    leel)    kindheit's   J'tw^a. 
De   prigl'sup  dawga, 
De  seeza  shule-dawga 

Sin    awich    forbi. 


O,  het  ich  doch  juscht  nochamol  mei  Schul- 
daga, 
Die    Kindheet     un     Jugends-Plessier     wie- 
davor! 
Awer  g'setzt  is  die  Ruhl,  dass  die  Milal  net 
kann  mahla 
Mit    Wasser    as    shun    seller    Weg    vorbel 
war. 
Doch     luscht's     micli     im      Herz      for     em' 
Meeschter   sei   Prigel, 
For     mich     nochamol     kitzla      recht    gut 
hinna    bei. 
Er  hot's  als  geduh  mit  ma  Hickory-Rigelr 

Awer  die  alta  Schuldaga  sin  ewig  vorbeL 
Die  lieb  Kindheetsdaga,  die  Prlgelsuppdaga^ 
Die    siessa    Schuldaga   sin    ewig   vorbei. 


NOTE:  De  Olda  Shul  Dawga  composed  by  Solly  Hulsbuck  was  re- 
written by  the  late  editor  H.  A.  Schuler  to  indicate  the  orthography  he 
preferred.  We  print  the  two  versions  in  ))arallel  columns  to  illustrate 
two  ways  of  spelling  the  dialect.  Incidentally  we  may  state  that  we  prefer 
making  the  spelling  conform  more  closely  to  the  German  method,  e.  g. 
Mihl,  Prigel,  siessa,  schteht,  we  would  spell  Muhl,  Priigel,  siisse,  steht. 
Why  should  this  not  be  done?  We  would  like  to  hear  from  ou.r  readers. 
Schwatzt    raus,    Briider. 


Das    Hiiclileiii 

Du  Baechlein.  silbei-  hell   und  klar, 
I3u    eilst    vorueher    iniinerdar, 
Am  Ufer  steh'  ich,  sinn  und  sinn, 
Wo  kommst  du  her,   wo  gehst   du  hin  ? 
Ich   komm   aus   dunkler   Felsen    Schosz, 
Mein    Lauf   geht    iiber    Blum    und    Moos ; 
Des  hlauen   Himmels   freundlich   Bild, 
Auf   meinem    Spiegel    schwebt   .so   mild 
Drum  hab  ich   frohen   Kindersinn  ; 
Es  treibt  mich   fort,   weisz   nicht   wohin, 
Der  mich  gerufen  aus  dem   .Stein, 
Der,   denk  ich,   wird   mein    F'uehrer  sein. 
Karoline    Rudclphi    1750-1811. 


The  Brooklet 

Thou   brooklet   silv'ry-bright   and   clear 
Thou  hastest  ljy  forever  here 
Whilst  on  thy  bank  I'm  musing  now 
Whence  cumest,   whither  goest  thou? 
From   darkest   rocky   cave   I    flow. 
My   co'urse   o'er   flower   and   moss   below 
The  blu  sky's   frendly  image  sweet 
My  water's   mirror  aye   doth  greet. 
Hence  childhood's  joyous  mind  I   bear, 
I'm  borne  along,   I  know  not  where. 
Who  called   me    from   the   dark  cool   stone 
Me  will,   1   ween,   still   lead   me  on. 

Translated    by    R.    K.    Buehrle. 


In  .lejsii   Sclilafeiid 

In    .lesu    schlafend!      Seliger    Schlaf, 
Von  dem  man  nie  zum   Leid  wacht  auf! 
Ach,   sanfte   Ruh'   stets   unverletzt, 
Und    keinem    Schrecken    ausgesetztl 

In  .lesu  schlafend  I   .\ch  wie  fein 

Fiir  solchen   Schlaf  be.reit  zu   sein! 

Zu    ruhen   in   der   Zuversicht, 

Dass  selbst  dem  Tod  die  Macht  gebricht! 

In   .lesu    schlafend!      Siisse   Ruh'. 
Von   der   man   eilt   dor   Heimath   zu. 


Noch   Angst  noch  Leid  betriibt   die   Stund 
Die   meines    Heiland's   Kraft   macht   kund. 

In  ,Iesu  schlafend!     Mochte  mir 
Doch    sein    Solch   wonnevoUe    Zier! 
So   wiird   ich   sicher   warten   drauf, 
Dass  Gottes   Stimm'  mich  weckte   auf. 

In  .lesu  schlafend!      Was  macht's  aus, 
Wenn   selbst  dein  Grab   ist   weit  von   Haus. 
Doch   bleibt  dir   selig   solche  Ruh" 
Von  der  du  eilst  dem  Himmel   zu. 

Translated  from  the  English  by  A.  S.  B.. 


406 


In  Neu  York 


Ich  war  in  Neu  York  gewest.  Des  is 
awer  en  wunnerbare  Stadt.  Ich  hab  mei 
Leb-dag  nix  so  gesehne.  Ich  iiab  vie' 
wege  der  Stadt  gehort  katt,  awer  Alles  is 
viel  arger  wie  ich  exspekt  hab  katt.  Kutz 
town  un  Wohleberstadtel  sin  gar  nix  im 
Vergleich  mit  Neu  York. 

Ich  wees  gar  net  wu  ahzufange  for  die 
Stadt  zu  beschreiwe.  Allererst  seht  mer 
die  Hauser,  un  viel  davun  sin  hcicher  wie 
en  Kerche  Turn.  Mer  muss  sich  des  Hals- 
genick  schier  verbreche  for  an  der  Top  zu 
gucke.  Do  is  des  Singer  Gebau,  des  is 
hocher  wie  das  Waschington  Monument  in 
Waschington.  Es  is  41  Stock  hoch.  Es 
is  unvergleichlich.  Sie  sage  mer,  es  war 
■das  hochst  Gebau  in  der  Welt.  Weiter 
drove  is  des  Metropolitan  Insureus  Gebau, 
sell  is  ah  machtig  hoch  un  is  t'as  grost 
Office  Gebau  in  der  Welt.  Drowe  nachst 
an  de  Wolke  is  en  Uhr.  Die  Zeeche  sin 
grosser  wie  en  Fenzeriegel.  Net  weit 
davun  is  das  Biegel  Else  Gebau.  Sell 
lieest  so  weil  es  die  Gestalt  vume  Biegel 
Eise  hot.  An  ehm  End  is  es  spitzig  un 
am  annere  End  is  es  brehd,  awer  ah  so 
hoch  wie  en  hocher  Kerche  Turn.  Es  is 
about  20  Stock  hoch,  un  .Alles  is  in  Offices. 
Mer  meent  es  honnt  net  sei  dass  die  Erd 
die  grosse  Hauser  all  trage  konnt,  ohne 
umzufalle  oder  unnerzugeh.  Sie  sage 
mer,  es  war  ken  annere  Stadt  in  der  Welt 
mit  so  hoche  Hauser.  For  was  baue  die 
Leut  ennihau  so  hoch  in  die  Luff?  Die 
Ursach  is,  weil  der  Grund  so  rar  un  theuer 
is,  dass  sie  in  die  Wolke  baue  miisse  fo.r 
Platz  zu  finne. 

Was  is  do  doch  for  en  Menschewese  in 
dere  Stadt!  Alle  Strosse  sin  voll  Mensche, 
un  all  sin  in  ere  Hurry.  Zuerst  +iab  ich 
gemehnt  die  Leut  dahte  so  renne  for  in 
die  T.ran,  weil  sie  mehne  dahte.  sie 
ware  hinner  Zeit,  awer  ich  hab  gefunne, 
•dass  es  iiwerall  so  war,  un  ich  war  schuhr, 
dass  sie  net  all  uf'm  Weg  noch  der  Tran 
sie  konnte.  Wie  ich  zuerst  in  die  Stadt 
kumme  bin  hab  ich  geprowiert  manierlich 
zu  sei  un  hab  Jedermann  die  Zeit  gebotte, 
so  wie  die  Leut  im  Busch  duhn.  Ich  hab 
genuckt  un  genuckt,  awer  es  hot  mir  Nie- 
mand  gedankt.  Ich  hab  ah  grad  gesehne, 
dass  sell  net  geht  in  Neu  York.  Do  hatt 
mer  glei  sei  Genick  ausgewohre.  Do  is  en 
Gerenn  un  en  Gepusch,  dass  mer  oft  net 
wees  wu  mer  hingeh  soil.  Zuerst  hab  ich 
gemehnt  ich  war  grad  in  die  Haapt  Stross 
nei  gedappt,  awer  ich  hab  gefunne,  dass 
alle  Strosse  voll  Mensche  ware. 

Ich  denk  es  glaabt  mer's  Nemand,  wann 
ich  sag,  dass  sie  in  Neu  York  dreistiickige 
Riegelwege  hen,  awer  es  is  alle  Wort 
wohr.  Friiher  hen  sie  die  Gauls  Kars 
katt  fo.r  die  Leut  zu  fahre,  awer  sie  hen 
net     rum     kumme     kiinne,    dernoh    hen    sie 


Trolly  Kars  eigefiihrt,  awer  sell  war  ah 
glei  net  genunk.  Dann  hen  sie  Riegelwege 
in  die  Luft  gebaut,  Dehl  so  hoch  wie  der 
dritt  Oder  viert  Stock  an  de  Hauser.  Sell 
war  en  gross  Impruhfment.  Uf  iene  Weg 
gehne  die  Trans  alle  paar  Minute,  Dag  un 
Nacht,  un  alle  Dag  im  Joh.r.  Awer  sell 
war  ah  net  genung  for  die  Millione  Men- 
sche wu  die  ganz  Zeit  zuriick  un  verre 
renne.  Awer  was  nau?  Ja,  was  nau? 
Well,  Dehl  gescheidte  Leut  hen  gesaht: 
"Mer  miisse  Riegelwege  unner  dem  Bodde 
baue."  Un  we.rklich,  sie  hen  sell  geduh 
dorch  die  ganz  Lang  vun  der  Stadt.  Nau 
geht  mer  nunner  in  der  Keller  un  steigt  in 
die  Tran,  un  die  springt  schier  so  schnell 
wie  en  Tran  im  Land.  Es  is  wunnerbar. 
Do  trawelt  mer  unner'm  Grund,  dieweil  die 
Mensche  un  Wage  owe  uf'm  Grund  hause 
un  ihr  Wese  treiwe.  Ich  hab  mei  Lebtag 
nix  so  gesehne.  Un  sell  is  noch  net  all. 
Sie  hen  sogar  Riegelwege  unner  de  Revver 
dorch.  Ich  bin  unner  dem  Hudson  un  un- 
ner dem  East  Revver  dorch  gefahre  in  der 
T.ran.  Es  is  unglaablich,  awer  wohr. 
Alle  Leut  wisse,  dass  ich  net  liig.  Denkt 
just  emol  drah-  ich  bin  in  de  Kars  gefahre 
uf'm  Bodde,  in  der  Luft,  unner'm  Bode  un 
unner  dem  Wasser.  In  drei  Minute  fahrt 
mer  unner  dem  Hudson  Revver  dorch,  der 
en  Meil  brehd  is.  Was  kummt  zunachst? 
Ich  denk  in  25  Johr  branch  mer  gar  ken 
Riegelwege,  bekahs  bei  seller  Zeit  fliege 
die  Leut  ai!. 

Ich  war  am  Gen.  Grant  sei  Grab  gewesst. 
Es  is  ehgentlich  ken  Grab.  Es  is  en  gross 
Marble  Gebau,  wunnerbar  scho  un  hoch 
gelege.  Der  Gen.  Grant  is  gar  net  ver- 
grawe.  Die  Todtelahde  vun  ihm  un  seiner 
Frah  stehne  uf'm  Bodde  im  Keller.  Dem 
Grant  sei  Monument  is  das  grdsste  im 
ganze  Land,  awer  ich  mehn  doch,  ich  war 
noch  besser  ab  wie  der  Grant. 

Die  Stadt  Neu  York  steht  uf'me  Eiland. 
Am  Ahfang  vun  der  Welt  hen  lauter  In- 
sching  dort  gewohnt.  Wie  die  weisse  Leut 
kumme  sin  hen  sie  de  Insching  des  Eiland 
abgekahft  for  24  Dahler  werth  Tuwack. 
Sell  war  schuhr  wohlfel.  Ich  bin  schuhr, 
mer  konnt  des  Eiland  nau  net  kahfe  for 
24,000    Dahler. 

Ich  war  ah  an  Coney  Eiland  gewesst: 
Sell  is  en  bekannter  Platz  en  Stiick  hinner 
der       Stadt      Brooklyn.  Dausende      Leut 

gehne  dort  hin  for  Plasier.  Mei  Wunner- 
fitz  hot  mich  ah  dort  hin  genunmie.  A- 
wer  ich  hab  genung  davun.  Mei  Lebdag 
geh  ich  nimme  dort  hin.  Es  is  en  rechtes 
Deiwels  Nescht.  Es  is  nix  wie  en  Geld 
maschin.  Dort  geht  es  allerlee  Tricks 
un  Wege  for  de  Leut  ihr  Geld  abzulause. 
Der  ganz  Platz  is  nix  wie  Humbug.  Sie 
hen  aver  scho  kens  vun  meim  Geld  kriegt. 
Do   is   der   Deiwel   vollstandig   Boss.       Was 


IN   NEU   YORK 


407 


niich  erstaunt  is,  dass  so  viel  Lent  Plaser 
diah  hen,  ihr  Geld  wegzuschmeisse  for 
allerhand  Dummheite.  Ich  hab  mich  glei 
"wieder  zuriick  gemacht  noch  Neu  York. 

Wann  mer  so  in  der  grosse  Stadt  rum- 
her  fahrt  un  die  viele  Mensche  seht,  wun- 
nert  mer  oft,  wu  sie  all  Eppes  zu  esse  her 


kriege.  Bel  viel  geht  es  arg  schmal  her. 
Dausende  hen  ken  so  gut  Lewe  wie  mei 
Hund  Major.  Ich  bin  dankbar,  dass  ich 
net  in  Neu  York  wohne  muss.  Geb  mer 
unser  liewe  Stadt  Reading,  do  hot  mer 
Jagd    genung    un  doch  en  vergniigt  Lewe. 

D.  M.   in  Reformed  Church  Record. 


REVIEWS  AND  NOTES 


Love,  Faith  and  Endeavor:  By  Harvey  Car- 
son G'rumbine.  76  pp.  Price  $1.00, 
Sherman,  French  and  Company,  Bos- 
ton, Mass. 

This  is  a  neatly  gotten-up  book  contain- 
ing poems  of  which  some  have  appeared  in 
The  Outlook,  Putman's  Magazine,  The 
Bohemian,  The  Gray  Goose  and  THE 
PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN.  The  author  a 
worthy  Palatine  scion,  the  son  of  Dr.  E. 
Grumbine,  Mt.  Zion,  Pa.,  has  honored  him- 
self and  the  University  of  Wooster,  Ohio, 
the  institution  he  serves  as  teacher  by 
composing  the  fine  Jubliee  Ode,  found  on 
page  69.  We  are  glad  to  give  our  readers 
a  taste  of  the  good  things  in  the  book  by 
quoting  elsewhere,  "Two  Little  Shoeses 
with  their  Neckties  on." 


THE   MENNONITES   OF   AMERICA:    By  C. 

Henry    Smith.    A.M.,    Ph.    D.    (Chicago) 
Professor   of   History     in     Goshen    Col- 
lege.    Cloth;    illustrated;    384   pp.   Price 
$2.00.        Published      by       the       author, 
Goshen,  Indiana,  1909. 
The   reading   of    this    book    has    been    a 
pleasure    and    an  education  to  us.     We  can 
commend    it  heartily  as  a  valuable  publica- 
tion on  the  subject  treated. 
The  author  discusses  The  Anabaptists,  the 
Mennonites   in  Europe,   the  Mennonite   Col- 
ony ou  the  Delaware,  Germantown,  the  Pe- 
quea    Colony,    Franconia,    The  Amish  Men- 
nonites   of    Ontario    and    in    the    Western 
states.    Schisms,    the    Civil    War,  the  Immi- 
g.ration  from  Russia.     The  General  Confer- 
ence, The  Mennonites  and  the  State,  Princi- 
ples, Customs.  Culture,  Literature,  Hymno- 
logy  and  the  Present. 

The  Bibliography  and  Index  add  consid- 
erable value  to  the  book. 

The  author  deserves  special  commenda- 
tion for  the  work  he  has  done  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  as  he  says,  "material  from 
which  to  construct  the  complete  life  story 
of  the  Mennonite  people  is  meager."       Suc- 


cessfully to  trace  the  spread  of  these  peo- 
ple, to  place  them  in  their  proper  perspec- 
tive as  the  author  has  done  is  no  easy  task. 

He  has  placed  this  body  of  believers,  the 
church  in  general  and  the  student  of  Amer- 
ican history  under  distinct  obligation  to 
him  by  his  services. 

A  few  erro.rs  crept  into  the  work  to  vex 
the  author  which  the  intelligent  reader  will 
know  how  to  correct. 

We  give  elsewhere  extracts  from  the 
book  showing  how  the  Mennonites  have 
helped  to  settle  the  frontier  and  thus  be- 
came nation  builders. 


THE  CHRYSTALIS,  By  Harold  Kramer 
author  of  "Hearts  and  the  Cross";  and 
"The  Castle  of  Dawn."  Cloth;  illus- 
trated; 418  pp.  Price  $1.50.  Lithrop, 
Lee,  and  Shepherd  Company,  Boston, 
1909. 

The  scene  of  the  story  is  laid  in  the 
country  of  the  great  Northwest,  where 
rolls  the  Oregon  (according  to  "Thanatop- 
sis")  The  story  opens  with  a  Yale-Har- 
vard foot-ball  game.  The  scene  soon  shifts 
to  the  Northwest  where  the  country  is  still 
young  and  life  strong  and  primiti\e. 

The  game  is  .curiously  mixed  up  with  the 
political  future  of  two  prominent  men — 
Ga.rrison  and  Nelson.  It  decides  not  only 
the  athletic  supremacy  between  these  tw^o 
greatest  of  American  colleges,  but  it  also 
puts  an  end  to  the  rivalry  for  the  United 
States  Senate  between  these  two  men. 
They  decide  to  abide  by  the  issue  of  the 
game;  the  man  whose  college  loses  the 
game  is  to  withdraw  from  the  field.  One  of 
the  Yale  players  has  a  rankling  grudge 
of  long  standing  against  the  Yale  enthus- 
iast, and  in  order  to  get  even  with  him  and 
to  humiliate  him  he  purposely  loses  the 
game   for   his   college. 

Here  ends  the  first  part  of  the  story.  The 
scene   shifts   at   once   to   the   Northwest,   to 


408 


THE    PEXXSYLVANIA-GERMAX 


the  State  of  Washington,  where  Seb  Lay- 
ton,  the  hero  and  the  Yale  athlete,  be- 
comes a  prominent  lawyer  and  i)olitician, 
and  leads  a  gay  life.  His  hatred,  the  feel- 
ings of  the  two  rivals,  and  the  passion  of 
Tess,  the  hei'oine.  constitute  the  leading 
motives.  There  are  also  many  other  char- 
acters. The  story  is  replete  with  bucking 
bronchos,  swarthy  "rustlers,"  and  flashing 
pistols.  The  heroine  is  a  charming  girl 
whose  birth  and  iiarentage  are  shrouded 
in  mystery:  and  this  mystery  becomes  of 
the  greatest  importance  as  the  story  draws 
to  a  close.  There  are  some  interesting 
moments  of  suspense.  Why  did  Layton 
bring  that  Indian  from  the  Big  Bend  coun- 
try to  Spokane?  What  is  that  sign  in  the 
sky?  and  who  shot  Dan  Jones?  These  in- 
cidents hold  the  reader's  attention;  they 
are  cleared  up  as  the  mystery  of  the  story 
clears  u)). 

The  story  takes  its  name  from  a  remark 
the  heroine  makes  to  Layton:  "A  chrysalis 
is  an  ugly  thing,  but  it  contains  possibili- 
ties that  are  beautiful.  Maybe  you.r  heart 
has  been  a  chrysalis."  It  is  well  written, 
the  author  describes  a  section  of  country 
which  he  knows  (to  use  his  own  words)  as 
well  as  he  knows  his  own  dooryard.  It  is 
written  in  a  racy  style,  a  style  that  smacks 
of  the  soil  of  the  No.rthwest.  The  book 
well  takes  its  place  among  the  strong 
books  of  fiction  of  the  season. 

DAS     DEITSCHE      KI,E3IE>T     I\       DE\ 
VEHEIMOTK>      SIA.VTEN     unter     be 
sonderer    Beriicksichtigung   seines  polit- 
ischen,    ethischen,     sozialen     und    erzie- 
herischen    Einflusses.       By    George    von 
Bosse.        Cloth:      illustrated;      480     pp. 
Chr.    Belsersche,     Stuttgart.       Imported 
by    Lemcke    and    Buechner,    New    York. 
1908. 
The    author     of     this     work,     Geoig     von 
Bosse,   a   Lutheran   pastor     from     Philadel- 
l)liia,   has   given    us     a     rather    voluminous 
])roduction;    it   is,   in    fact   encyclopaedic    in 
its  nature.     It  is   virtually'  an   encyclopedia 
of    things    German    in    America.    It    is    only 
natural,  however,  that  such   a  work  should 
contain   some  errors   in   its   first  edition:    it 
is    hoi)ed    that    these    may    be    corrected    in 
succeeding    editions.      The    index    is    incom- 
plete and   sadly   unreliable;    in  a  work   like 
this  the  index  is  the  most  valuable  and  es- 
sential     i)art.        The     names     of     Professor 
Hugo      Miinsterberg,      of       Professor      Karl 
Knortz,     of     Professor     Kuno     P'rancke,     of 
Professor    Paul    Haui)t,   to    say     nothing    of 
others,  are  not  found  in  the  index  at  all. 

it  also  seems  as  if  the  amount  of  space 
devoted    to   the   different   men    and    subjects 


were  not  always  proportionate  to  the  im-> 
l)ortance  attached  to  them.  The  men  just 
mentioned  are  men  who  are  dismissed  with 
some  general  statement.  But  we  believe, 
for  instance,  that  men  like  Prof.  Miinstar- 
))e.rg,  the  keenest  observer  of  American 
life,  and  Prof.  Knortz  who  is  undoubtedly 
the  most  versatile  of  German  Americans  in 
this  country,  are  entitled  to  more  than  a 
l^assing  notice.  The  term  "Das  Deutsche 
Element"  is  one  that  covers  a  great  deal  of 
space:  but  even  then  it  hardly  seems  just 
that  men  who  are  not  German  born  to  be- 
gin with  should  have  more  attention  paid 
to    them    than    men   who   are   German    born. 

It  is  rather  painful,  however,  to  criticise 
adversely  a  book  otherwse  so  admirable 
and  meritorious.  Of  the  several  books  of 
its  kind,  this  is  by  far  the  best.  The  book 
is  valuable  and  interesting  to  a  high  de- 
gree. The  author  takes  up  the  reasons  for 
German  migration  to  this  country;  he  dis- 
cusses the  German's  ideals,  and  his  services 
to  this  country,  and  he  examines  the  Ger- 
mans of  the  colonial  ])eriod.  One  of  the 
best  and  most  interesting  parts  of  the 
whole  book  is  the  chapter  entitled:  The 
Germans  in  the  War  for  Independence. 
And  next  to  this  is  the  story  of  the  Ger- 
mans in  the  Civil  War.  The  concluding 
chapters  show  the  German's  relation  to 
politics,  music,  art,  and  the  literature  of 
his  adopted   country. 

The  book  though  written  by  a  German 
with  characteristic  German  enthusiasm 
and  devotion  to  them  is  devoid  of  offensive 
expressions  that  are  apt  to  creep  into  a 
work  of  this  kind.  The  w.riter  expresses 
his  beliefs  with  moderation  and  calmness, 
and  in  a  style  that  is  simple  and  modest  he 
shows  in  a  way  that  carries  convicton 
with  it  that  had  the  Germans  not  come  in 
such  numbers  and  at  a  time  Avhen  they  did, 
American  history  would  be  a  different 
story. 


"Smart-Set"  for  .July  contains  an  inter- 
esting article  by  Reginald  Wright  Kauff- 
man.  entitled  "A  Page  from  a  Pessimist's 
.lournal." 

Rev.  Chas.  E.  Keller  has  had  a  sermon  or 
address  published,  entitled  "The  Eternal 
Hills."  It  is  founded  on  the  one  hundred 
and  twenty-first  Psalm.  Its  author  calls 
it  "A  Bit  of  Realism." 

The  subject  of  immortality  is  very  much 
discussed  these  days  and  especially  so  by 
scientific  peojjle,  as  well  as  by  theologians. 
,A  large  number  of  books  have  been  pub- 
lished about  it  during  the  yea.r.  Rev. 
Madison  C.  Peters  is  the  author  of  a  little 
treatise  on  it.  entitled  "Does  Death  End 
All?" 


409 


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Clippings 


— Organized  when  Cumberland  was  one  of 
the  frontier  counties  of  the  nation,  the 
Silver  Spring  Presbyterian  Church  celebra- 
ted its  17.5th  anniversary,  on  August  5.  It 
is  the  oldest  church  west  of  the  Sasquehan- 
na  river. 

—  A  monument  is  to  be  erected  at  the 
Gettysburg  battlefield  as  a  memorial  to 
the  Penna.  soldiers  who  fought  on  the 
memorable  days  of  .July  1,  2  and  o  in  1863 
and  repelled  the  Southern  army's  advance 
into  Pennsylvania. 

Bronze  tablets  will  l)e  i)laced  at  the 
base  of  the  monument,  which  will  bear  the 
names  of  all  the  soldiers  of  Pennsylvania 
who  fought  in  that  battle,  and  as  it  is  de- 
sired to  have  every  soldier's  name  on  these 
tablets  who  is  entitled  to  the  honoi  the  de- 
partment requests  that  all  soldiers  of 
Pennsylvania  regiments  who  participated 
in  that  engagement  furnish  their  names  so 
that  they  can  be  comi)lete  and  accurate. 

— Three  simultaneous  celebrations,  each 
of  much  interest,  will  be  given  in  Carlisle 
du.ring  the  week  of  August  22  to  28,  of  this 
year.  For  twenty  years  the  Cumberland 
Fire  Company,  of  Carlisle,  has  been  plan- 
ning to  proi>erly  celebrate  its  lOOih  anni- 
versary, and,  in  view  of  an  overwhelming 
demand  for  an  "Old  Home  Week "  from 
the    people  of  Carlisle,  decided  to  make  its 


centennial  a  dual  affair,  and  Include  a 
gathering  of  former  Carlisle  residents  in 
the  project.  Incidentally,  arrangements 
were  made  with  the  Cumberland  Valley 
Volunteer  Firemen's  Association,  vhich  re- 
presents the  cream  of  the  voluntee.r  fire- 
fighting  organization  embraced  within  the 
stretches  of  the  Blue  mountains  in  this  and 
the  three  states  immediately  to  the  south, 
for  the  convention  that  will  be  neld  here 
during  the  week,  and  to  which  most  of  the 
famous  volunteer  fire  organizatons  of  Penn- 
sylvania  will   be  invited  as  guests. 

— The  "Mokattam,"  an  Egyptian  news- 
paper, praises  the  German  colonists  in  Pal- 
estine as  the  renovators  of  the  Holy  Land 
with  respect  to  agriculture  and  horticul- 
ture. As  an  instance  it  points  to  Mount 
Carmel,  as  being  converted  from  a  wilder- 
ness to  a  paradise.  The  natives  are  great- 
ly benefitted  by  their  German  neighbors 
and  try  to  imitate  their  intelligent  and 
thrifty  ways.  And  the  best  is  not  yet  told; 
these  Palestine  Germans  are  all  very  relig- 
ious peoi)le. 

— The   Lutheran. 

— The  ingenious  Saxons  in  their  efforts 
to  save  their  forests  from  devastation  have 
utilized  the  well  known  fondness  of  moths 
for  the  light.  Two  powerful  search-lights 
were    mounted    on    a    pillar   in  one   of  the 


410 


THE    PEXXSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


cities  of  Saxony  a  few  months  ago  where 
the  moths  were  most  numerous.  The  light 
was  turned  on  the  forests  half  a  mile  away. 
The  moths  flew  toward  the  light,  and  when 
near  it  were  caught  in  a  current  of  air  cre- 
ated by  powerful  exhaust  fans  and  drawn 
into  bins  prepared  for  them.  According 
to  the  cable  dispatches  three  tons  of  moths 
were  caught  in  this  way  the  frst  night. 
The  crop  of  leaf-eating  caterpillars  will  be 
much  smaller  in  that  part  of  Germany  next 

year. 

— The  Lutheran. 

— At  the  christening  of  Blain,  son  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  George  Houck,  recently  at  Spring 
City,  Pa.,  there  were  five  generations  pre- 
sent, four  of  whom  hold  the  title  of  aunt  in 
some   degree   to   the   4-months-old   child. 

The  aunties  follow  in  order:  Miss  Lottie 
Houck  (aunt),  Mrs.  Amanda  Bortman 
(great-aunt),  Mrs.  Annie  Monshower,  of 
Pottstown  (great-greatauut)  and  Mrs.  Su- 
san Oberholtzer,  of  Philadelphia  (great- 
great-greataunt). 

— Visitors  to  ValleyForge  Park  should 
not  fail  to  visit  the  hospital  there.  It  is  a 
reproduction  of  the  hospital  hut  of  1771- 
78,  when  Washington  and  his  army  were 
encamped  there  and  stands  on  the  identical 
spot  of  that  one  used  by  General  Wayne's 
troops  one  hundred  and  thrty-one  years 
ago.  The  hospital  is  located  in  a  seques- 
tered spot,  right  back  and  near  the  Wayne 
monument  and  is  fitted  up  quite  nicely, 
compared  to  the  hospital  when  the  Conti- 
nental Army  was  there. 

— The  semicentennial  of  the  discovery  of 
oil  by  Colonel  Drake,  who  brought  in  the 
first  oil  well  near  Titusville  in  1859,  was 
celebrated  in  connection  with  the  annual 
picnic  and  outing  of  the  Western  Pennsyl- 
vania Pipe  Line  Association,  held  at  Con- 
neaut  lake,  on  August  5. 

The  outing  was  a  "homecoming"  event 
for  oil  men  all  over  the  country.  Western 
Pennsylvania  is  the  home  of  pioneer  oil  in- 
dustry, where  .John  D.  Rockefeller  started 
in  the  business  and  where  hundreds  of  the 
leading  oil  men  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Kentucky, 
Illinois  and  Oklahoma  gained  their  first 
knowledge  of  the  business. 

— General  John  S.  Kountz,  past  comman- 
der in  chief  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public, died  at  his  home  in  Toledo,  Ohio  in 
June.  General  Kountz  enlisted  in  Com- 
pany G,  37th  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  when 
he  was  a  lad  of  fifteen,  and  was  elected 
commander  in  chief  of  the  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic  in  1884,  serving  one  term. 

General  Kountz  was  widely  known  among 
Grand  Army  men  as  "the  drummer  boy  of 
Missionary  Ridge,"  being  the  hero  of  verses 


under  that  title  written  by  Kate  Brownlee 
Sherwood,  which  were  popular  as  a  sub- 
ject of  declamation  at  campfires  and  patri- 
otic meetings  generally.  General  Kountz 
earned  the  title  when,  a  drummer  boy  of 
fifteen,  he  seized  a  musket  and  joined  in  the 
charge    at    Missionary   Ridge,  losing  a  leg. 

— Parkerford,  a  little  Chester  county  vil- 
lage, four  miles  east  of  Pottstown,  is  nurs- 
ing an  ambition  to  have  a  celebration  on 
September  19,  marking  the  one  hundred  and 
thirty-second  anniversary  of  Washington 
and  his  Revolutionary  ai-my  crossing  the 
Schuylkill  River  at  that  place  prior  to  his 
encampment  at  Valley  Forge  It  is  proposed 
also  to  place  tablets  marking  the  course  of 
the  army  through  the  town. 

— Rev.  F.  K.  Huutzinger,  pastor  of  St. 
Luke's  Lutheran  Church,  Reading,  for  10 
years,  preached  an  anniversary  sermon. 
Special  exercises  were  conducted  by  ilie 
Sunday-school  and  in  the  evening  a  niimber 
of  Lutheran  clergymen  participat'^d  in  the 
celebration. 

Mr.  Huntzinger's  success  in  the  ''linihtry 
and  the  prosperity  of  his  congregation  are 
remarkable.  His  congregation  numbers 
upward  of  2000,  and  his  Sunday-school  is 
the  largest  in  membership  in  that  city. 
Mr.  Huntzinger  was  ordained  May  20  iSGO, 
and  immediately  became  pastor  of  St. 
Luke's  Church.  In  addition  to  this  Wcist orate 
he  preached  in  Kissinger's  Churc'i,  Windsor 
township,  Berks  county,  from  1870  to  1876; 
Alsace  Church  from  1873  to  1897,  and  St. 
Peter's  Church,  Richmond  township,  from 
1874  to  1904.  He  has  preached  over  5000 
regular  sermons,  baptized  8000  children, 
confirmed  4033  persons,  performed2901 
marriages  and  officiated  at  3600  funerals. 
He  is  the  best  known  clergyman  in  Berks 
county. 

—The  150th  anniversary  of  the  founding 
of  the  Reformed  and  Lutheran  congrega- 
tions of  Jerusalem  charch.  Eastern  Salis- 
bury Lehigh  county  Pa.,  was  appropriately 
observed  with  services  in  July.  These  his- 
toric congregations,  formed  while  this  was 
still  a  wild  and  sparsely  settled  section  and 
while  this  was  still  a  colony  of  England, 
have  worshipped  in  harmony  during  their 
entire  existence,  and  the  celebration  of 
their  sequi-centennial  was  marked  by  evi- 
dences of  the  same  cordial  and  fraternal 
relations  one  toward   another. 

The  first  record  book  of  this  charch  still 
in  a  good  state  of  preservation  says  that 
the  first  church  was  built  and  dedicated  on 
the  sixth  Sunday  after  Trinity  1759.  This 
Sunday  fell  on  July  22.  It  was  built  joint- 
ly by  the  Lutherans  and  Reformed,  and  to 
this  day   these  two   congregatons   own   and 


CLIPPINGS 


411 


worship  in  the  ju-esent  edifice  erected  in 
1847.  The  first  pastors  were  :  Rev.  Ru- 
dolph Kidweiler,  Reformed,  also  known  as 
the  Swiss  p.reacher,  and  Rev.  Daniel 
Schumacher,  Lutheran.  Rev.  Schumacher 
served  a  number  of  congregations  in  Be.rks 
and  Lehigh  counties  between  1755-1774. 
He  came  from  Nova  Scotia  to  Pennsylvania, 
and  is  buried  in  the  graveyard  of  Weisen- 
berg  church,  Lehigh  county.  Many  of  the 
l)resent  residents  by  the  name  of  Schu- 
macher and  Shoemaker  are  his  descendantss* 

— In  a  recent  issue  of  the  Outing  Maga- 
zine, published  in  New  York  City,  appeared 
the  following  illuminating   paragraph: 

"The  best  article  of  desiccated  food  I  ever 
used  has  come  to  me  through  the  courtesy 
of  Mr.  G.  S.  Shirk.  It  looks  like  small 
glutinous  grains,  but  when  boiled  tu.rns  out 
to  be  sweet  corn  perfect  in  flavor  and  con- 
sistency, and  hardly  to  be  told  from  the 
fresh  article.  A  small  handful  makes  a 
mess  for  two  people.  It  is  light,  compact 
and  keeps  indefinitely.  A  bag  of  it  will 
last  out  a  trip.  Mr.  Shirk  describes  it  as 
an  invention  of  the  Pennsylvania  Dutch,  to 
whose  culinary  genius  we  owe  many  old- 
fashioned  dishes,  such  as  apple-butter.  It 
is  prepared  as  follows:  Boil  green  ears  of 
sweet  corn,  exactly  as  for  the  table.  When 
cooked    and    afte.r  it  cools,  cut  off  the  ker- 


nels with  a  sharp  knife;  spread  them  on  a 
thin  plate,  and  desiccate  thoroughly  in  the 
oven.  When  desired  for  use  stew  exactly 
as  you  would  canned  corn." 

This  was  written  by  Mr.  Steward  Edward 
White,  a  man  of  considerable  reputation  in 
the  literary  world.  The  "desiccated  corn" 
he  speaks  about  so  rapturously  is  nothing 
more  nor  less  than  that  product  which  ap- 
pears on  the  table  of  the  Pennsylvania-Ger- 
man farmer  every  day.  Those  who  are  not 
so  fortunate  as  to  be  among  the  Pennsyl- 
vania-German know  nothing  of  the  virtues 
of  "desiccated  corn"  and  are  forced  to  eat 
the  soup-like,  tasteless  material  which  is 
poured  out  of  tin  receptacles  purchased  at 
grocery  stores  and  which  is  called  "canned 
corn"  by  courtesy.  Thus  far  no  one  has 
placed  "desiccated  corn"  on  the  general 
market  and  it  can  not  be  had  anywhere  but 
in  the  interior  of  Pennsylvania.  If  those 
unfortunate  mortals  who  live  elsewhere  n 
once  could  taste  the  corn  that  is  cured  in 
the  sun  they  would  demand  it  afterward 
and  in  that  way  a  new  industry  would  be 
created.  It  remains  for  some  progressive 
Pennsylvania  German  to  go  into  this  busi- 
ness and  show  the  outside  world  that  here, 
far  away  from  Market  Street  and  Broadway 
there  are  some  things  at  least  that  are  the 
best  in  the  world. 

Town  and  Country. 


The  Forum 


MEAM^G  OF  NAMES 


By  Leouhard  Felix  Fuld,  M.  A.  LL.  M. 

EDITORIAL  NOTE.— Mr.  Fuld  has  kindly 
consented  to  give  a  brief  sketch  of  the  de- 
rivation and  meaning  of  the  surname  of 
any  subscriber  who  sends  twenty-five  cents 
to  the  Editor  of  THE  PENNSYLVANIA- 
GERMAN   for  that  purpose. 

11.  AUGUSTUS 

Although  the  name  AUGUSTUS  is  com- 
mon in  Germany  it  cannot  be  considered  a 
German  name  in  any  sense.  It  is  a  Latin 
word  which  in  the  language  of  the  Roman 
religion  meant  majestic,  august,  venerable 
worthy  of  honor.  It  was  the  name  of  Oc- 
tavius  Caesar  after  he  attained  to  individ- 
ual authority  and  after  his  reign  became 
the  title  of  all  Roman  emperors,  being 
equivalent  to  the  English  title  of  Majesty 
or  Imperial  Majesty.  The  name  AUGUSTUS 
corresponds  to  the  Biblical  name  JARAM. 
Two  derivations  have  been  suggested.  It 
may  be  derived  from  AUGEO  which  origin- 
ally meant  to  increase  or  bring  forth  what 
was   not   in    existence.      Subsequently    this 


word  came  to  mean  to  furnish  abundantly 
with  something  and  finally  it  had  the 
technical  religious  meaning  of  "to  honor 
or  reverence  by  means  of  offerings.  A 
second  possible  derivation  of  AUGUSTUS 
is  from  AUGUR  which  meant  one  who 
foretold   by  means   of   avispection. 

As  a  personal  name  in  Germany  AUGUS- 
TUS had  one  of  two  meanings.  It  was 
given  either  to  a  person  of  high  standing 
in  the  communitj^  worthy  of  the  greatest 
honor.  Or  it  was  given  to  a  man  with 
many  children. 

12.  LOUCKS 

Little  is  known  of  the  history  of  the 
name  LOUCKS  which  is  also  spelled 
LAUX.  It  is  likely  however  that  it  is  de- 
rived from  LUCHS  meaning  a  lynx  and 
that  it  was  applied  to  a  sharp   person. 

13.     ARNER 

The  name  ARNER  means  a  powerful, 
keen,  ale.rt  individual  and  is  derived  from 
the  German  word  AR  or  AAR  meaning  an 
eagle.  The  Low  German  form  was  ARX, 
the    Old   English    EARN,    the     Middle     Low 


412 


THE    PEXXSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


German  ARN,  the  Dutch  ARENO,  the  Old 
Norse  ORX  and  the  Old  Teutonic  ARNU.  It 
is  of  course,  well  known  to  all  Germans 
that  the  modern  German  word  ABLER  is 
a  compound  of  ADEL  and  AR  and  means 
literally  the  majestic  eagle. 

14.    BECHTOLD 

It  was  one  time  believed  that  BECH- 
TOLD was  derived  from  BECHER  a  cup 
and  that  therefore  it  meant  a  brave  cup- 
bearer to  the  King  or  a  b.rave  man  who 
drank  much.  The  proverb  ZWISCHEN 
BECHER  UND  GAUM  1ST  EN  GROSSER 
RAUM  which  is  translated:  There  is  many 
a  slip  'twixt  the  cup  and  the  lip  illustrates 
the   common   use   of   the   word   BECHER. 

Althought  the  above  may  be  the  deriva- 
tion of  the  name  BECHTOLD  in  isolated 
cases  further  research  seems  to  make  it 
convincing  that  in  most  cases  this  name  is 
derived  from  the  Gothic  Old  High  German 
PERAHT,  BERAHl',  Middle  High  German 
PEHRT,  BEHRT.  The  following  were  the 
successive  spellings  of  this  name:  BEK.\H- 
TOLD.  BERCHTOLD,  BERTHOLD.  PERT- 
HOLD,  BERTHELT,  BECHTOLD,  BECH- 
TOLD. BARTHOLD,  BARTELT,  BARTH- 
LOTT,  B.A.RTHOL.  BARTEL,  BARTHOLZ, 
BARTHELDS.    BARTHOLDY. 

BERAHT  meant  GLAENEXD  and  the 
name  BECHTOLD  accordngly  means  a 
b.rave  man   with   shining  armor. 

LEONHARD    FELIX    FULD. 
<{•      4*      ^ 
ME4MNG    OF    NA3IES 


VIII  Schiiabcl 

H.   W.   Kriebel,   Editor. 

Dear  Sir:  Regarding  this  subject  which 
aijpea.red  in  the  PEXNA.-GERMAN  maga- 
zine of  July,  1909,  by  Leonhard  Felix 
Fuld,  kindly  permit  me  to  express  appre- 
ciation of  all  he  says  about  the  orign  and 
deiivation  of  the  word  and  surname;  and 
to  ex|)ress  the  opinion  that  it  might  be 
highly  interesting  and  instructive  to  the 
readeis  were  he  to  discuss  the  origin  of 
the  word  alphabetically  or  etymologically : 
either  as  to  its  relation  to  ornithology,  or 
to  its  nautical  relation;  somewhat  in  the 
following    manner: 

The  ali)habet  root  or  basis  of  the  word 
SCHNABEL,  meaning  beak,  or  bill  of 
])ird  or  fowl,  is  a,  utteied  as  in  a-w-e: 
which  vocal  sound  originally  meant  and 
represented  all  the  vocal  and  visual  or- 
gans; ears,  eyes,  nose,  mouth,  voice, 
speech,  language,  head  and  body  of  bird 
included;     (e.    g. )    (iawk..    \sihs,    Soliiialx'l. 

The  hieroglyphic,  original  icpresenta- 
tion  of  the  vocal   sound  A,  awe  was  the  ox 


head  and  bird— beak  and  body.  According: 
to  tradition.  Cadmus  imported  this  letter 
and  alphabet. 

The  vocal  sound  a  in  a-w-e,  oin  or,  as  in 
Latin,  means  the  same  thing  and  requires- 
the  vocal  positions  in  its  utterance.  Vox, 
Latin  for  voice;  naus,  Greek  for  ship  ®r 
nautical  vessel  representing  a  floating^ 
bird  or  fowl,  the  principal  or  most  promi- 
nent part  of  which  was  the  bow  or  prow, 
beak   or    Schnahel,   diminutive.    Sclineble. 

An  d  so  the  name  Scliiiabel  reasoning 
along  Professor  Fuld's  line,  means  nose  in 
German,  the  most  prominent  part  of  the 
human  face  and  form;  and  it  represented 
the  individual  who  possessed  it.  It  was 
naus,  (a)  before  it  was  beak  or  bill  of 
bird   or   fowl. 

Evidently,  as  a  name,  it  is  not  now  what 
formerly  it  was  and  meant;  nor,  probably, 
what  it  ought  to  be. 

It  could  also  be  stated  of  the  name 
Snavely  that  it  is  derived  from  the  same 
root  (a),  in  the  word  nave,  which  repre- 
sents a  prominence  in  architectural  con- 
structions— a  projection — an  auditorium. 
It  may,  therefore,  also  have  its  origin  in 
the  nave  of  a  church  or  cathedral  as  well 
as  in  the  beak,  or  home  (nest)  of  a  bird,, 
or  Selinaltel,  or  Inn.  Prominence  and 
protection  are  the  central,  basic  ideas  con- 
veyed by  the  words  nave  and  inn. 

However  the  word  navel  (English)  is 
nearly  the  same  in  sound  and  meaning  as 
the  Sanskrit  word.  >'al)liila,  which  word 
is  the  umbilicus  of  the  Latins,  the 
■'omi)halos"  of  the  Greeks:  which  may  be 
difficult  for  a  German  to  admit,  when  he 
says  Xabel,  for  the  same  projection,  and 
who,  for  a  veiy  diminutive  umbilical  pro- 
tuberance, should  say  'snahle —  and  be 
exact — very  nearly  Snavely — a  small  pro- 
jection,  in    English. 

Professor  Fuld  approaches  a  correct 
conclusion  in  the  word  Sclinahelie,  but  it 
is  German,  and  the  tendency  is  toward 
the  English  in  pi-onouncing  and  spelling 
the   name. 

The  Snavelys  were  Swiss  before  they 
were  (Pennsylvania)  German.  Swiss  en- 
vironments were  largely  Latin  and  Greek, 
which  fact  might  prove  somewhat  differ- 
ent conclusions  in  regard  to  this  branch 
of  the   Schnable  family. 

There  is  no  intention  to  controvert  the 
theory   and    conclusions   of   Professor    Fuld. 

Space  and  time  forbid  the  consideration 
of  the  German  words,  Sclmee,  snow;  nevel, 
mist  or  fog;  as  a  i)ossible  origin  of  the 
Swiss  Schnebly  (1640)  name,  which  could 
be  done  interestingly  if  considered  from  an 
etymological   standi)oint. 

Perhaps  the  name.  Fold,  would  answer 
eciually  well,  if  not  better,  as  a  basis  for 
the  study  of  words  used  in  the  Pennsyl- 
vania-German dialect. 


THE   FORUM 


413 


It  would  afford  nie  pleasure  to  assist 
him  witli  any  name  or  word  chosen  for 
that  purpose.  DAVID    H.    SNAVELY. 

Si)ringfield,  O.,   .Inly   28,  1909. 

•»•       V       V 

(Jcrhard   SchacllVr   Tt'stiiiioiiial 

The  following  testimonial  was  sent  us  by 
an  esteemed  subscriber  of  Hartford,  Conn., 
a  descendant  of  the  Ge.rhart  Schaeffer 
mentioned  who  came  to  New  York  in  1710 
with  the  second  immigration  of  Palatines. 
The  old  Schaeffer  farm  has  been  in  the 
hands  of  his  descendants  for  nearly  200 
years. 

The  time  must  be  at  hand  for  a  bicen- 
tennial celebration  somewhere  among  the 
descendants  of  these  early  German  immi- 
grants. We  hope  our  Hartford  friend  will 
some  day  tell  us  the  story  of  his  ancestors 
in  .America  as  part  of  such  historic  cele- 
bration. 

"In  the  Name  of  the  Adorable  Trinity, 
God  the   Father,  Son  and  Holy   Spirit. 

There  appeared  before  us  the  worthy 
Gerha.rt  Schaeffer  with  his  wedded  house- 
wife, Anna  Maria,  residing  in  Kersey  Bell 
Zorn,  called  Hilgert  Dorf,  and  well  en- 
dowed and  the  above  named  Gerhart 
Schaeffer  is  of  good  character.  He  requests 
a  testimony  of  us  as  Mayor  and  Court  and 
of  the  Whole  Congregaton  and  all  the 
neighbors   in   the   whole    district. 

And,  as  Mayor,  Cou.rt,  and  all  his  neigh- 
bors, we  give  this  testimonj'  with  truthful- 
ness and  with  ou.r  names  subscribed  and 
with  the  impress  of  our  usual  court  seal 
concerning  his  good  conduct.  That  he  has 
lived  with  us  in  Hilgert  Dorf  with  his 
housewife  for  24  years  and  had  conducted 
himself  well  and  honestly,  so  that  all  his 
neighbors  regarded  him  as  a  faithful 
neighbor  and  were  entirely  satisfied  with 
him,  and  the  neighbors  would  have  been 
much  pleased  if  it  had  been  God's  will 
that  lie  should  remain  longer  here. 

Hence,  we,  as  Mayor,  the  whole  court, 
and  all  the  neighbors  in  the  whole  district 
give  to  the  above  named  Gerhart  Schaeffer 
and  his  housewife,  and  their  two  children 
this   testimony   of   their   good   conduct. 

This      testimony,      wholly      truthful      and 
subscribed,   is  sealed  with  our   usual  Court 
seal.     This    is   done   in   the   year   1709,   the 
26th  day  of  May. 
Mayor, 

JOHAN    THOMAS   BUSH, 
Clerk  of  Court, 

ZORLOH   PREUSON, 
'Clerk   of   Court, 

PAULUS   KLAREN, 
Clerk   of  Court, 

HANS    THURGES    SCHREIBER, 
Clerk  of  Court, 

JOHANNES    KREMER. 


ACHENBACH    PHILLIPS 
CHRISTIAN    .JOHANNES 
CONRAD    BECKER 
JOHANN    PHILIPP   ATLETHA" 

From  communications  .received  we  see 
that  there  is  some  doubt  cencerning  the 
identity  of  Hilgert  as  the  birthplace  of 
Gerhart  Schaeffer.  If  any  reader  has  posi- 
tive knowledge  on  the  sub.iect  he  will  con- 
fer  a    great   favor   by    letting   us   know. 

*    4«     * 

An   Old  Indenture 

We  give  below  a  reproduction  of  a  busi- 
ness paper  of  the  yea.r  1779  copied  from  a 
facsimile  transmitted  by  a  subscriber  in 
Massachusetts  to  Rev.  W.  H.  Brong,  who 
prepared  the  article  on  the  Plainfield 
church.  Justice  Stocker  seemingly  copied 
the  language  from  a  "form"  on  which  he 
improved  by  omitting  punctuation  marks 
and  introducing  and  dropping  capital  let- 
ters to  suit  his  taste.  He  .reminds  one  of  a 
teacher  who  used  capital  letters  to 
embellish  his  writing — a  simple  rule  fo.r 
capitalizing.  Papers  like  this  illustrate 
methods  and  conditions  of  the  "good  old 
days." 

This  Indenture  made  the  Ninth  Day  of 
March  Anno  Domini  1779  Witnesseth  That 
Leonhart  Beyer  Son  of  Peter  Beyer  De- 
ceased, by  the  Consent  of  his  Guardian 
Casper  Doll  hath  Put  himself  and  these 
Presents  With  the  Consent  aforesaid  doth 
Voluntary  and  of  his  own  Free  will  and 
.Accord  Put  himself  aservant  to  Vallintin 
Metz  of  Plainfield  Township  Northampton 
County  and  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and  af- 
ter the  Manner  of  a  servant  to  Serve  him 
his  Executors  and  Assigns,  from  the  Day 
of  the  Date  hereof  for  and  during  and  to 
the  full  End  and  Term  of  Nine  years  next 
ensuing  During  all  which  Term,  the  Said 
Servant  his  Said  Master  faithfully  Shall 
Serve  his  Secrets  keep,  his  Lawful  Com- 
mands, everry  where  readily  obey  he  Shall 
do  no  Damage  to  his  Said  Master  nor  see 
it  to  be  done  by  others  without  Letting  or 
Giving  Notice  thereof  to  his  Said  Master 
he  Shall  not  absend  himself  Day  nor  Night 
from  his  Said  Masters  Service  without  his 
Leave  but  in  all  Things  behave  himself  as 
a  faithful  Servant  Ought  to  do  Daring  the 
Said  Term,  and  the  said  Master  Shall 
Teach  him  or  Cause  to  be  Taught  to  Read 
&  Write  High  German  Language,  and 
Procure  and  Provide  for  him  Sufficient 
Meat  D.rink  apparel  Washing  and  Lodging 
fitting  for  a  servant  serving  the  Said  Term 
of  Nine  years 

and  after  the  expiration  of  Said  Term 
Said  Master  is  to  Give  Said  Servant  Ac- 
ostomary  home  made  Freedom  dues,  and 
Three   Pounds   Lawful!    Money   of   Pennsyl- 


414 


THE    PEx\NSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


vania,  And  for  the  True  Performance 
Whereof,  both  the  Said  Parties  bind  them- 
selves firmly  unto  each  other  by  these 
Presents  In  Witness  where  of  the  have 
here  unto  interchangeably  Set  their  hands 
hand  &  Seal  the  day  and  Lear  above  Writ- 
ten 

his 
Leonhard   X    Beyer    (Seal) 

mark 
Casper  Doll    (Seal! 
Sealed  and  Delivered 
in  the   Presence  of  us 
Lewis   Stocker 
Conrath   Germandon 

Northampton  County  ss  on  the  14th  day  of 
May  1779.  Before  me  Lewis  Stocker  Esqr. 
one  of  the  Justices  of  the  Peace  fo  rSaid 
County,  Personally  appeared  the  within 
Named  Leonhart  Beyer  &  Casper  Doll 
Guardian  of  Said  Beyer  and  Acknowledged 
that  ihe  Withm  Written  Indenture  to  be 
their  act  and  Deed  and  Desired  the  same 
to  be  recorded  as  Such  witness  my  hand  & 
Seal  the  day  and  Year  above  witness  my 
hand  &  Seal  the  day  and  Year  above  Wrti- 
ten  Lewis  Stocker,    (Seal) 

*     4»     4" 

Jlike  Mojer's   3Iusli  Mehl   Agaiu 

The  Editor  has  various  duties  to  per- 
form. At  times  he  is  expected  to  make 
"bricks  without  straw."  At  other  times  he 
is  blamed  for  getting  too  much  straw  in 
his  work.  Thus,  for  example,  the  editor  of 
THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN    has    been 


taken    to    task    by    an    esteemed    subscriber 
in  the   following  words:  — 

"I  am  inclined  to  think  that  items  like 
the  one  in  the  July  number  of  the  P.  G. 
page  358,  "Mike  Meyer's  Mush  Melil" 
should  be  excluded  from  the  pages  of  the 
P.  G.  as  it  is  a  senseless  expression  of  the- 
most  illiterate  kind  and  language;  rude,, 
and  beneath  the  dignity  of  the  P.  G. 
"Meshta,"  is  a  word,  which  in  good  fine 
German  applies  only  to  brutes;  to  fatten 
brutes,  hogs,   steers,  etc.   fo.r   slaughter. 

The  item,  or  expression  given  must  have 
originated  in  one  of  the  most  blunt  and  il- 
literate families  of  Germans,  and  should 
not  have  had  historical  .record." 

In  explanation  of  our  course  the  editor 
desires  to  say  that  his  aim  is  to  make  the 
magazine  a  broad  representative  periodical 
in  its  field.  In  such  effort  the  study  of 
folklore  must  not  be  overlooked;  hence 
we  do  not  feel  like  excluding  communica- 
tions like  the  one  objected  to.  About  the 
time  our  objector  penned  his  words  an- 
other correspondent  sent  this  line  from  • 
Summit  Hill.  "Hinner  Honnes  Hennessa 
Hinkle  Haus  henke  hunnert  Hanse  hous; 
hunnert  Haase  henke  hous  hinner  Honnes 
Hennessa  Hinkle  Haus."  and  another 
reader  suggested  the  following  often  heard 
by  the  editor  in  his  boyhood  days: — "Hab 
hunnert  Haase  hore  huste  hinnichs  Hans 
Henrich's   Huls  Haufe." 

Expressions  like  these  illustrate  life  in 
lighter  moments  and  merit  consideration 
by  him  who  would  study  the  Pennsylvania 
German  in  his  home  life.  We  welcome- 
letters  on   the  subject. 


Historical  Societies 


Tlie  Lelii^li   County   Historical   Society 

Little  Lehigh  shows  commendable  his- 
torical zeal.  May  29  the  Historical  Society 
met  on  the  grounds  of  the  AUentown  Pre- 
])aratory  School,  read  papers  and  ex- 
amined famed  Trout  Hall.  August  12,  the 
society  drove  to  Wennersville  to  visit 
"Grouse  Hall'  a  hunting  lodge  built  by 
Lynford  Lardner  150  years  ago  and  "  The 
Grange"  the  plantation  once  owned  by 
Lynford  Lardner  now  in  the  possession 
of  a  member  of  the  society  Mr.  Trexler 
where  the  Secretary  of  the  society  read  a 
paper  on   Lardner  and  Grouse  Hall. 

*     *     * 

The  Historical  Society  of  York  County 

The  Historical  Society  of  York  county  has 
received  from  Robert  Sutton,  of  Fairview 
township,  an  ai)i)le  i)ea]er  nearly  one  hun- 
dred   years    old.      It    is    supposed    to    have 


been  made  shortly  after  1810.  at  Lewis- 
berry.  Mr.  Sutton's  ancestors  came  to 
that  region  with  the  early  Quakers,  whO' 
began  to  take  up  the  fertile  lands  around 
the  site  of  Lewisberry  in  1732.  In  early 
times  apple  butter  boiling  were  interest- 
ing  social    events. 

The  common  table  knife  served  the  pur- 
pose of  pealing  apples  for  culina.ry  pur- 
poses until  the  parer  came  into  use.  It  is 
an  interesting  a^ldition  to  the  large  collec- 
tion of  tools  and  implements  used  in  the 
rural  districts  of  York  county,  a  century 
or  more  ago,  and  now  in  the  museum  of 
the  Historical  society. 

Another  interesting  memento  of  a 
former  i)eriod  is  a  table  presented  to  the 
Historical  society  by  Mrs.  F'rankelberger, 
an  aged  citizen  of  Lewisberry.  The  table 
was  made  of  cherry  wood,  according  to 
tradition,  about  1765.  It  was  used  for 
many  years   in   the   dining   room   of  a  hotel 


HISTORICAL   SOCIETIES 


415 


which   stood  on  Chestnut    street,    Philadel- 
phia,   nearly    opposite    Independence    Hall. 

It  was  in  the  hotel  during  the  Revolution. 
In  1776,  shortly  before  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  was  passed  by  Congress. 
General  Washington  dined  at  this  table. 
This  story  has  come  down  from  an  authen- 
tic source.  In  1785  or  two  years  after  the 
close  of  the  Revolution  James  Todd  bought 
this  table  at  a  public  sale  at  the  hotel 
where  it  had  been  used.  The  same  year  he 
moved  to  Lewisberry.  and  there  was  a 
successful  teacher  among  the  early 
Quakers  of  that  vicinity.  Later  he  became 
a  prominent  justice  of  the  peace  in  the 
upper  end  of  York  county.  He  was  origin- 
ally a  Federalist,  but  in  1800  he  became  a 
Jefferson  Democrat.  In  1803  James  Todd, 
and  two  other  persons  of  Newberry  town- 
ship, addressed  a  personal  letter  to 
Thomas  Jefferson,  who  had  been  .recently 
elected  president  of  the  United  States. 
They  commended  him  for  his  political 
principles  which  he  had  supported,  and 
which  was  the  result  of  his  election  to  the 
presidency. 

Mr.  Jefferson  wrote  a  reply  to  this  let- 
ter, which  was  kept  for  many  years  by  the 
descendants  of  James  Todd,  and  then 
passed  into  the  hands  of  other  persons. 
This  letter  was  recently  presented  to  the 
Historical  society  by  Miss  Mary  Lewis,  of 
Philadelphia,  whose  ancestor  was  Major 
Eli  Lewis,  who  founded  the  town  of  Lew- 
isberry. 

The  table  which  James  Todd  brought  to 
Lewisber.ry  many  years  ago  came  into 
possession  of  the  granddaughter,  M  r  s. 
Frankelberger,  who  has  consented  to  place 
it  among  the  other  souvenirs  of  the  Revo- 
lution now  in  the  Historical  Society  of 
York  county. 

*      *     * 

The   Bucks    County   Historical    Society 

In  the  February  1909  PEXXSYLVANIA- 
GER;\IAX  attention  was  called  to  the  terms 
under  which  the  papers  read  before  this 
society  are  being  put  into  jirint  and  a  short 
account  of  the  first  volume  so  issued  was 
given. 

The  second  Volume  of  said  publication 
is  before  us  entitled:  "A  Collection  of 
Papers  read  before  the  Bucks  County  His- 
torical Society  Published  for  the  Society 
by  B.  F.  Fackenthal,  Jr.,  Riegelsville,  Pa. 
Xol.    II. 

This  volume  of  648  pages  makes  avail- 
able the  pai)ers  read  before  the  society  be- 
tween January  20,  1891  and  August  14, 
1900.  The  following  is  the  list  of  papers: 
The  Counties  in  Pennsylvania,  The  Two 
Makefields,  John  Fitch  the  Inventor  of 
Steam  Navigation,  The  Schwenkfelders, 
Some    Historic    Facts,    Prehistoric     Man     in 


Northern  Bucks  county.  The  Grave  of 
Tamanend,  Hon.  Richard  Watson,  Bed- 
minster  Township,  Hon.  Bud  Wilson,  D.D. 
LL.  D.  The  Blackfans  in  England  and 
America.  The  Bristol  Pike,  The  Jails  of 
Bucks  Coiinty,  Notes  Taken  at  Random, 
Early  and  Trying  Days  of  the  Reformed 
Church  in  .America,  The  Beatty  Family, 
Historical  Sketch  of  Hatbo.ro  and  Vicinity, 
Robert  Morris  the  Financier  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. The  Battle  of  Crooked  Billet,  First 
Settlers'  Descendants,  Early  Settlers  in 
Bucks  County,  Representatives  of  Bucks 
County  in  Congress,  The  Hermit  of  the- 
Wolf  Rocks,  Reading  the  Rocks.  The  Early 
County  Superintendency  of  Bucks  County, 
The  Red  Man's  Bucks  County,  The  Tree 
and  the  Vine,  The  Original  Seal  of  Bucks 
County,  Buckingham  the  Empire  Town- 
ship Washington's  Crossing  Unveiling  of 
Monument  at  Tylorsville,  Daniel  Boone  a 
Native  of  Bucks  County,  The  Battle  of  Fair 
Oaks,  An  Old  Burying  Ground,  John  Ross 
and  the  Ross  Famly.  Newtown  prior  to 
1800,  Folklore,  Half  an  Hour  wth  the  Old 
Tave.rns  of  Doylestown,  General  Jacob 
Brown,  The  German  Mansion,  Thomas 
Janney.  The  Little  Neshaminy,  Tools  of 
the  Nation  Maker,  Colonial  Bucks  County, 
Some  Treasures  and  Recollectons  of  Child- 
hood, Reminiscences  of  the  Underground 
Railroad,  Scotch-Irish  Families,  The  So- 
ciety of  Friends,  Jeremiah  Langhorne  and 
His  Times,  Amos  Austin  Hughes,  The 
Turnpike  Roads,  Rescue  of  the  Colors, 
Temanend,  How  the  Word  White  Became 
Inserted  in  Our  Constitution  of  1838,  Set- 
tlement of  Tinicum  Township,  The  Old 
Sullivan  Road,  Indian  Busts,  Sketch  of  the 
Life   of  Rev.   Thomas   B.   Montanye. 

This  list  shows  what  a  rich  storehouse 
of  acts  has  been  placed  within  the  reach 
of  those  interested  in  local  history.  The 
book  is  a  credit  to  the  contributors,  the 
Society,  the  County  and  to  the  friendly 
heart  and  purse  that  has  made  its  publi- 
cation at  this  time  possible. 

*      *      * 

Historical  Society  of  Dauphlu  County 

The  tenth  day  of  June,  1909,  was  the  for- 
tieth anniversary  of  the  organization  of  the 
Historical  Society  of  Dauphin  County.  A 
number  of  invited  guests  and  friends  of  the 
society  assembled  in  one  of  the  Court 
rooms  at  Harrisburg  to  take  note  of  the 
event. 

The  President  of  the  society  Theodo.re  B. 
Klein,  welcomed  the  guests  and  friends  in 
a  cordial  greeting,  and  said  in  part:  "Every 
day  in  the  year  is  a  memorial  day  or  an- 
niversary day  of  some  event  in  the  lives  of 
some  of  our  neighbors  and  friends.  These 
days  come  and  go  in  quiet  succession  re- 
calling times   of  joy   and   times   of   sorrow, 


416 


THE     PENXSYLVAXIA-GERMAN 


which  are  mellowed  by  the  hand  of  time, 
leaving  the  memories  thereof  to  be  cher- 
ished   daring   the    passing   years    of   life. 

"In  the  rapid  flight  of  time  it  seems  but 
a  fortnight  since  the  39th  anniversary  of 
the  society;  life  was  observed,  but  lo! 
upon  this  10th  day  of  June  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  1909,  we  are  assembled  to  cele- 
brate the  fortieth  year  of  its  existence  and 
we  have  abundant  season  to  rejoice  and  be 
exceeding  glad  that  we  are  permitted  to 
unite  in  congratulations  by  .reason  of  exist- 
ing conditions  and  future  prospects. 
*  "In  our  reveries  of  some  years  ago  in 
referring  to  the  time  that  the  honored 
founders  of  the  society  began  to  plan  it 
Avas  said, 

"  'The  decade  of  1860  ever  memorable 
and  never  to  be  forgotten  in  the  history 
of  the  world  was  marked  by  extraordinary 
events — an  era  of  alarms,  full  of  anxieties, 
a  crucial  period  full  of  doubts  and  full  of 
fears,  full  of  glorious  achievements  and 
heroic  deeds,  full  of  woes  and  sorrows,  full 
of  sacrifices  and  bitter  tears,  the  conse- 
quences of  a  fraternal  war.' 

"In  the  latter  part  of  this  decade  this 
honorable  society  was  organized  by  a  faith- 
ful dozen  of  men,  and  our  congratulations 
are  in  order  for  it  has  now  passed  out  of 
its  teens  long  ago  and  is  become  a  robust 
and  strenuous  band  of  gleaners  of  the 
history  now  being  made  in  our  historic 
neighborhood  and  its  ;,ur.roundings,  and 
we  can  exultingly  sing 

Forty  years,  yes,   forty  years. 

Have   passed  away,  have   passed  away 

Their  memories  dimmed   at  times  with 

tears 
But  not  today,  but  not  today. — 

for  in  fancy  we  can  see  the  smile  of  ap- 
pioval,  and  in  fancy  hear  the  words,  of  en- 
couragement, fiom  ou.r  revered  predeces- 
sors, who  had  the  interest  of  our  society 
so  much  at  heart  and  labored  so  diligently 
to  make  it  a  success,  preserving  the  his- 
to.ry  of  our  country  intact  for  the  benefit 
of  the  future  generations.  In  this  connec- 
tion we  recall  the  untiring  devotion  of  the 
late  A.  Boyd  Hamilton  and  his  associates 
Rudolph  S.  Keller,  .John  A.  Wies,  Dr.  Wm. 
H.  Egle,  the  Hon.  .John  W  Simonton,  Mont- 
gomery Farster,  Hamilton  Alricks,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Thos.  H.  Robinson,  George  Wolf 
Buehler,  Major  W.  C.  Armor  and  other 
hono.rable  men,  the  original  founders 
whose  memories  of  those  departed  we  re- 
vere and  cherish  and  to  the  few  survivors 
we  pay  to  them  this  tribute  of  hono.r  and 
respect  at  ths  time.  The  presiding  officers 
are  not  with  us  tonight,  but  with  rever- 
ence we  recall  the  names  of  Alexander 
Boyd  Hamilton  of  old  time  colonial  stock 
and  dignified  bearing  who  was  not  content 
with  partial  achievements,  and  Dr.  Wil- 
liam  Henry   Egle   the   active,    untiring    and 


industrious  searcher  after  the  hidden 
sources  of  historic  subjects  and  genealo- 
gies laboring  in  season  and  out  of  season 
in  the  many  paths  that  lead  to  the  preser- 
vation of  reliable  .records  worth  preserv- 
ing, giving  his  every  faculty  to  the  work, 
surrendering  only  to  the  call  of  the  su- 
preme master  to  halt  even  in  the  midst  of 
his  active  brief  life  leaving  the  tasks  un- 
dertaken to  his  mind  unfinished  and  in- 
complete, but  withal  submissive;  and  in 
response  to  the  call  whispered  'Thy  will 
be  done,'  leaving  abundant  testimony  of 
the  good  work  of  his  hands  in  our  midst. 
His  successor  the  Honorable  .lohn  Wig- 
gin  Simonton  served  faithfully  and  well, 
and  notwithstanding  his  responsible  posi- 
tion as  President  Judge  of  the  Capital 
District  gave  much  time  and  attention  to 
the  duties  of  his  office  and  served  faith- 
fully until  the  end  of  his  useful  life  in  the 
year  1903,  when  our  late  dear  friend  and 
associate  Dr.  John  Pete.r  Keller  by  right 
of  succession  and  the  choice. of  his  fellow 
members  assumed  the  presidency  and 
gave  his  very  best  thoughts  and  efforts  to 
the  building  up  of  the  organization,  and 
the  success  of  its  interests  and  to  the  ex- 
treme end  of  his  life  cherished  a  lively  in- 
terest in  the  proceedings. 

"Our  founders  have  sown  good  seed 
which  we  now  reap.  They  brought  to  a 
successful  issue  the  centennial  celebration 
of  the  organization  of  Dauphin  County  in 
1885,  which  was  a  notable  event  and  long 
to  be  remembered.  Thus  officered  by 
worthy  men  and  in  co-operation  with 
worthy  associates  like  ou.r  late  benefactor 
William  .Anthony  Kelker  and  others  who 
have  unceasingly  considered  the  needs 
and  requirements  of  the  organization  we 
have  reached  the  present  time  and  at  the 
age  of  40,  an  age  of  sturdy  youthfulness 
in  historic  love  upheld  and  supported  by 
the  ambitions  of  our  members  who  by 
special  efforts  have  placed  our  standing  in 
the  front  ranks  of  our  State's  o.rganiza- 
tions. 

"As  to  the  status  of  our  society  I  beg  to 
report  that  since  its  organization  433 
persons  have  been  connected  with  it. 
There  are  at  this  time  195  Resident  or  ac- 
tive members  upon  our  rolls,  2  Life  mem- 
bss,  4  Honorary  members  and  16  Corres- 
ponding members,  who  reside  in  other 
towns  and  cities.  Our  growth  during  the 
past  or  current  year  was  satisfactory  and 
our  meetings  well  attended. 

"Inasmuch  as  the  Capital  City  is  now 
called  the  pivotal  city  by  reason  of  its  im- 
portant situation;  so  should  the  Historical 
Society  of  Dauphin  County  be  the  pivotal 
society  and  be  the  main  centre  of  interest 
for  our  good  people  so  that  historic  events 
and  precious  relics  of  the  past,  may  be 
preserved  for  the  benefit  and  instruction  of 
our  successors." 


Vol.  X 


SEPTEMBER,  1909 


No.  9 


Seeing  Lancaster  County  from  a  Trolley  Window 


(CONTINUED   FROM   AUGUST   ISSUE) 


TO  ELIZABETHTOWX 

ETL'RXIXG  from  Mar- 
ietta to  the  trolley  junc- 
ti(»n  (()n  the  Colunibia 
pike)  a  short  distance 
Avest  of  Little  Conestoga 
we  take  up  our  trip  to 
Elizabethtown  a  seventy- 
five  minute  ride  from  the 
city  of  Lancaster,  (^ur  tour  wdl  take 
us  through  another  rich  agricultural 
section  with  its  mixed  farming  includ- 
ing to])acco.  A\'e  will  first  travel 
through  East  Mempfield,  part  of  the 
manor  of  the  same  name  so  desig- 
nated on  account  of  the  hemp  raised 
in  pioneer  days.  .\  short  ride  brings 
us  to  Rohrerstown  on  the  Alarietta 
pike  a  neat,  home-like,  clean,  well- 
built  place  through  which  Ave  ])ass  to 
the  western  end  where  Ave  cross  over 
the  historic  Columliia  railroad  to  con- 
tinue our  journey  along  the  ?\larietta 
pike.  The  place  known  f-nrmerly  as 
IIem])field,  laid  out  in  1812  and  dis- 
posed of  by  lottery,  marred  in  1834  by 
the  railroad  cut,  blighted  by  the  fail- 
ure of  its  iron  industry  and  \-ivificd  by 
the  presence  of  lion.  John  \\'.  Steh- 
man  tempts  one  by  its  homelikeness 
to  linger  but  we  can  not  and  must 
luirrA'  on. 


The  gradual  ascent  of  populous  and 
]ir<Mluctive  Chestnut  Hill  opens  up  to 
\ieA\-  a  Avide  expanse  of  an  idyllic 
larmin.g  region  to  the  east  AAdiich  is 
soon  cut  off  l3y  our  descending  the 
north  slope  of  the  hill  tOAvards  Lan- 
disville.  A\'e  change  our  general  direc- 
tion, passing"  rich  farius  Avith  their 
peaceful  homes  to  the  charmin.g  gro\^e 
of  the  Landisville  Camp  Meeting 
Ground  famous  for  its  large  gather- 
ings and  religious  services  held  here 
each  season   since  1870. 

Just  beyond  the  grove  is  a  large 
Alennonite  church  and  close  by.  one 
of  the  county's  historic  baildings 
erected  1791,  now  an  antic}uated 
dwelling  house  but  in  its  earlier  days 
a  Mennonite  church.  We  skirt  the 
centur}'  old  town  stopi)ing  at  the 
glass  waiting  room  to  receive  pas- 
sengers and  -  hasten  aAvay  following 
the  general  direction  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania railroad.  We  pass  Sal'.mga,  a 
rotary  station,  and  begin  to  ;iote  the 
smoke  of  ]\lount  Joy  arising  from  the 
rural  scenery  to  the  Avest,  {presently 
(rossing  the  Chicquesalunga  creek 
and,  passing  through  the  fields  of 
Rapho  township,  gradually  approach 
the  railroad.  We  shortly  come  across 
a   locust   gro\e   on    Chicques   Creek   in 


418 


THE  PENNSYLV ANNA-GERMAN 


V 

■^"N^ 


■"in;  •>-    V'  J 

'  ^7 '^^  ^'      v^^^*^"-?' 


"VTT?' 


^^•^ 


HISTORIC  BUIIvDINGS 


which  we  notice  tiie  ruins  of  walls,  the 
remains  of  the  erstwhile  famous  Cedar 
Hill  Seminary,  established  in  1837, 
and  soon  find  ourselves  on  the  out- 
skirts of  Mount  Joy.  We  pass  along 
the  southern  borders  and  cross  the 
railroad  and  before  we  are  aware  of 
it  find  ourseh-es  leaving  the  town 
without  getting  a  good  view  of  it, 
making  us  feel  that  the  lrolle\  tracks 
and  cars  are  or  were  not  wanted  in 
the  heart  of  the  town.  Mount  Joy  is 
sliced  in  two  by  the  deep  railroad  cut, 
spanned  by  seven  bridges  and  is 
hedged  on  the  north  by  the  railroad 
on  the  old  bed.  Between  these  lies 
the  main  business  street  on  the  great 
Indian  trail  from  Harrisburg  to  Phila- 
delphia now  the  Harrisburg  pike. 

The  earliest  house  in  what  is  now 
Mount  Joy  Avas  a  tavern  erected  in 
1768  and  forms  a  part  of  the  Ex- 
change Hotel.  In  1783  Alichael  Nichels 
built  a  tavern  at  an  intersection  of  a 


road  leading  to  Manheim  which  he 
called  the  "Cross  Keys."  The  place 
became  widely  known  as  the  hotel 
with  the  three  crosses, — Cross  Keys, 
Cross  Roads  and  Cross  Landlady.  Be- 
fore its  incorporation  in  185 1  Mount 
Joy  consisted  of  three  distinct  places, 
Mount  Joy,  Richland  and  Rohrers- 
town,  the  last  named  place  having 
been  laid  out  in  lots  in  181 1  which 
were  disposed  of  by  lottery. 

In  passing  we  may  note  the  mis- 
take by  the  historian  Rupp  and  re- 
jieated  by  Egle  in  his  History  of 
Pennsylvania.  B  y  confounding  the 
Mount  Joy  of  Lancaster  county  with 
the  Mount  Joy  of  Valley  Forge  he 
placed  Gen.  Anthony  Wayne  with 
2000  of  his  troops  a  mile  northeast  of 
this  borough  from  December  1777  to 
Alay  1778  instead  of  on  the  Schuyl- 
kill river  in  close  proximity  to  Wash- 
ington. 


SEEING   LANCASTER  COUNTY   FROxM   A     TROLLEY   WINDOW 


419 


MOUNT  JUY  RAILROAD  CUT 


Three  miles  southwest  of  ]\Ioiint 
Joy  on  a  hill  at  the  foot  of  wh'ch 
•gushes  Donegal  S])rings,  is  the  Old 
Donegal  Preshyterian  church  in  Don- 
egal township  named  after  a  county 
in  Ireland  from  which  the  Scotch- 
Irish  pioneer  settlers  came. 

The  Donegal  Presbytery  was  or- 
ganized in  1732.  soon  after  which  a 
lo«'    meetinsf-house     was     erected,     re- 


placed l)y  the  present  stone  structure 
about  the  time  of  the  Revolution.  The 
church  is  about  75  by  45  feet.  Orig- 
inally there  w^ere  no  doors  at  the  end, 
the  aisles  were  of  earth,  and  benches 
of  the  homeliest  construction  were 
used.  The  building  has  been  re- 
modeled a  number  01  times  since.  In 
1876  Samuel  Evans  wrote.  "Ten  years 
asfo  the  church  was    aeain    remodeled 


JHlIK^^  ^^ 

MUM 

UONKG.\L  SPRINGS 


420 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


by  plastering  the  outside  walls,  clos- 
ing the  west  and  south  doors,  putting 
in  a  board  tloor.  and.  in  fact,  made  the 
whole  structure  conform  to  modern 
ideas  of  a  church  building.  Xo  person 
who  had  not  seen  the  building  for 
forty  years  could  now  recognize  it.  It 
is  fortunate  that  the  old  Scotch-Irish 
have  entirely  disappeared  from  the 
nciuhborhood,  or   there   might    be    an- 


Irish  community  erected  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Witness  Tree  Chapter, 
Daughters  of  the  Revolution  was 
dedicated.  Close  by  is  the  ancestral 
home  of  one  of  the  line  of  progenitors 
of  the  late  William  McKinley,  Jr., 
President,  the  Simon  Cameron  resi- 
dence, now  occupied  by  his  son  Hon. 
].  Don  Cameron  who  has  become  an 
extensive  land  owner,  having    already 


DONKGAL  PRK^HVTKRIAX  CIIIRCH 


ntluT   rcliellioii    in    Donegal." 

It  is  related  tliat  during  llie  RevD- 
liition  a  messenger  came  to  a  wor- 
shii>i)er  Col.  Lowrey  to  order  out  the 
militia  and  march  in  defence  of  the 
commonwealth.  The  congregation  acl- 
journed  and  met  under  the  great  oak- 
tree  in  front  of  tlie  churchyard  and 
forming  a  circle  \o\\ed  eternal  hos- 
tility to  a  corru])!  king  and  Parlia- 
ment and  pledged  tliemse]\es  to  sus- 
tain   tlie   colonists. 

On  the  fifth  of  October,  i.S'./.j,  a 
monument  to  the  memory  of  the  lo\al 
l)ioneers   anfl    patriots   of    this    Scotcli- 


acquired  more  than  half  a  score  of 
l^roductixe   farms   in   the  communit}'. 

The  temptation  is  to  linger  on  the 
history  of  the  fair  Donegal,  Mount 
joy  and  Ra;)ho  townships,  once  a 
Scotch-Irish  stronghold  from  which 
the  descendants  ha\-e  almost  all  dis- 
appeared to  be  followecj  l)y  the  Penn- 
syh'ania  Cermans.  Time  forliids  and 
we  hasten  on. 

We,  therefore,  resume  our  journey 
parallelling  the  railroad  to  }-outhful 
Rheems  be-'-ond  which  we  jiass  under 
the  railroad  to  the  north  side  \\'here 
we  ascend  a  steep  hill,  and  rather  un- 


SSEIXC.    LANCASTER    COUNTY    KRO.M    A    TROLLEY    \VINDO\V 


421 


CAMERON  HOMESTKAD 


expectedly  find  Eliazethtown  squat- 
ting in  a  hollow  before  us.  This  hill  is 
known  as  Tunnel  Hill  because  in  the 
early  days  of  railroading"  a  tunnel  was 
dug  through  it  which  was  later  trans- 
formed   into    an    open    cut.       .\    min- 


ute more  and  we  are  at  the  ter- 
minus of  the  trolley  line  in  the  square 
of  the  ancient  burg.  This  place,  a 
borough  since  1827.  was  laid  out  in 
1753  by  Ijarnabas  Hughes  and  named 
Elizabethtown    in    honor    of    his    wife. 


TUNNEL,  CUT 


422 


THE   PEXXSYLVAXIA-GERMAN 


THE  SurAKl-:    i  1,1/  \:;i  Till  I  i\\\ 


Located  centrally  on  the  Paxton  and 
Conestoga  road  i8  miles  from  Lan- 
caster, Harrisburg,  Lebanon  and 
York  the  town  grew  and  prospered. 
The  turnpike  road  from  Lancaster  to 
Harrisburg  projected  1796,  chartered 
1804  and  completed  as  soon  as  possi- 
ble thereafter  brought  the  great  stage 
and  transportation  life  through  its 
streets  and  increased  its  prosperity. 
The  "Black  Horse"  hotel  built  before 
the  town  was  laid  out  became  a  noted 
stopping  |)lace.  The  present  modern 
hotel  building  is  close  neighbor  to 
one  of  its  predecessors  two  doors 
away  hiding  its  face  and  age  behind 
a  veneer  of  boards.  Another  old 
timer  is  the  Keller  house  beyond  the 
Conoy,  in  former  days  also  a  hotel, 
but  now  a  dilapidated  dwelling  house. 

The  St.  Peter's  Roman  Catholic 
church  was  the  first  one  built  in  the 
town.  The  congregation  was  organ- 
ized 1752.  A  log  church  was  built 
1768  which  was  replaced  by  the  pres- 
ent stone  edifice  in  1799. 

About  a  century  ago  a  turn]:»ike 
road  from  Elizabcthtown  to  Falmouth 
on  the  Susquehanna  was  constructed. 
which  was  later  abandoned  by  its 
owners  and  nicknamed  Pumpkin  Vine 
Turnpike  from  the  fact  that  in  many 
places  these  vines  were  allowed  to  run 


along  or    over    the    road    bed    undis- 
turbed. 

A   serio-comical    event  happened   at 
Elizabethtown    in    connection    with  the 
adoption    of   the   public   school    system 
in    1843.      The   town   favored   ^he   sys- 
tem, the  township  opposed.     A  three- 
foot  snoAvfall  on  election   day  keeping 
the  voters  of  the  township    from    the 
polls,    they    started    the    following   day 
for  town  afoot,  on  horseback,  on  sleds' 
and      sleighs     to    upset    the    election. 
Justice      Redsecker's      office       became 
crowded     and      uncomfortably      warm 
due  to  the  redhot  stove  and  the  crowd 
of    angrv    voters,    who    seemed    ready 
for   a   serious   outbreak   of  violence   at 
anv    moment.     Matters    had    reached  a 
critical   stage   when   a   chorus   of   short 
hacking   coughs   and    rasping    sneezes 
began,  accompanied  by  a  rush  for  the 
door  and   fresh   air  with   the   mercury 
nearly    down    to    zero.     The    change 
cooled  the  room  and  the  voters.     The 
room    was    cleared,    the    remonstrators 
were  beaten,  the    day  was    won,    and 
peace   restored — all  by  the    opportune 
placing  of  red  pepper  on  the  stove. 

Reautifullv  located  o  n  elevated 
ground  in  close  proximity  to  the  town 
are  the  Ijuildings  of  Elizabethtown 
College,  erected  and  controlled  by  the 
"Brethren"  of    Eastern    Pennsvlvania^ 


SEEING  LANCASTER  COUNTY  FROM  A  TROLLEY  WLXDOW 


423 


opened  with  six  students  X<)veniber 
13,  1900,  and  having-  ahnost  two  hun- 
dred students  the  last  school  year. 

The  distance  between  Elizabeth- 
town  and  ]\Iiddletown  in  Dauphin 
county,  terminus  of  a  trolley  line 
reaching-  out  from  Harrisburg  is  about 
seven  miles.  Along  this  stretch  is  an 
old  tavern.  Running  I'um;),  in  its  day 


tal  of  the  state  through 
Spot." 


its    "Garden 


TRIP    TO    MILLERSVILLE 

Starting  northward  from  Center 
Scpiare  and  then  going  west\\ard  and 
southward  past  interesting  examples 
of  antiquated  styles  of  arcliitecture  we 
soon  find  ourselves  on  Manor  avenue. 


uin'Slfiii' 


C.\TH()IJC  CHURCH,  ELIZABETHTOWN 


a  famous  hostelry,  Conewag'.i  creek- 
arising  at  Mt.  Gretna  and  (iainsl)urg- 
near  which  lived  Matthias  lirinser, 
noted  in  the  history  of  the  Dunker 
church. 

The  tourisl  will  welcome  the  day 
when  the  trolley  link  is  placed  con- 
necting these  towns  and  thus  joining- 
together  the  nietropolis  and   t'.ie  capi- 


and  after  entering  Lancaster  town- 
shi])  on  the  Millersville  pike  con- 
structed .seventy  years  ago.  The  trol- 
ley tracks  are  on  the  bed  of  the  noted 
])ioneer  horse-car  railway  connecting 
the  city  of  Lancaster  and  Millersville 
and  constructed  in  1874.  \\'e  are 
rai)idl3^  passing  the  "beautiful  homes  of 
one  of  the  c  nmty's  original  t(tvvnships 


424 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


J  J 


EI.IZABETHTOWN  COIJ.EGE 


settled  by  Swiss  Mennonites  and  to  a 
large  extent  occupied  by  their  descen- 
dants today.  The  Bausman  machine 
shops  and  post  office  l)y  the  same 
name  are  soon  reached.  These  remind 
us  of  the  Bausman  family,  residents 
here  and  extensive  land  owners  since 
1775,  one  of  whose  lllustrioos  sons 
was  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Benjamui  Baus- 
man of  Reading,  Pa.  About  a  mile  be- 
yond we  pass  a  Mennonite  church  on 
the  right  and  presently  a  road  to  the 


left  leading  to  ^^'abank  on  the  Cones- 
toga.  It  was  here  by  the  banks  of  the 
historic  stream  that  theWabank  Hotel 
was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $60,000.  Be- 
coming the  theater  of  many  important 
events  it  was  in  1858  sold  for  $9150 
after  a  few  years'  brilliant  meteoric 
career,  to  be  resold  in  1864  for  $4000 
and  conveyed  to  Lititz,  Pa.,  on  100 
four  horse  wagon  loads  where  it  was 
re-erected  and  later  destroyed  by  fire. 


^iU 


^-.,  m 


■k  ir^ 


f  lit  f'lf  ti!(iF:iiai%Tni^5ir|^||^ 


•^    -.a.: 


^ 


WABANK  HOTRr,,  BURNED  1873 


SEEING    LANCASTER    COUNTY    FROM    A    TROLLEY   WLNDOW 


425 


W'c  now  enter  .Manor  townshi]),  the 
scene  of  some  ol'  the  most  imi)ortant 
occurrences  in  tlie  inthan  history  of 
tlie  county,  said  to  he  the  richest  and 
most  populous  township  of  the  connty 
<,leri\-ins^'  its  name  from  C'oiiesto^a 
Manor,  stirveyed  1717-1718  settled 
and  since  occupied  mainly  by  Menno- 
nites. 

r.ut  we  are  approaching-  and  pres- 
ently enter  Millersxille — in  a.^e,  past 
the  century  mark,  in  ])opulation.  the 
principal  unincorporated  \  illaj^e  of  the 
townshi]).  in  education  nnc  of  vhe  Na- 
tion's most  noted  communities  as  the 
liiime  of  the  h'irst  I'ennsyhania  State 
Xi'rmal  School.  This  renowned  insti- 
tution established  April  17.  1855.  two 
years  before  the  passage  of  the  Nor- 
mal School  law,  recoi^nized  a.-,  a  nor- 
mal school  in  1859.  and  thus  old 
enough  to  have  a  luonument  to  honor 
its  students  who  died  at  the  front 
during-  the  Civil  War  has  to  its  credit 
a  total  enrollment  of  40.000  students, 
almost  3,000  graduates,  a  library  of 
over  16.000  volumes  and  i)ro;)erty 
worth  over  $700,000.  If  so  inclined  we 
may  secure  a  conveyance  at  ^^lillers- 
ville  to  take  a  drive  on  the  Safe  Har- 
h'  <T   road   across    the    Conestoga    past 


Slackwater,  notetl  for  its  ])ai)er  indus- 
try, southeast  about  2  miles  to  the 
home  of  (i.  J.  llehl  and  take  a  look  at 
the  I'ostlethwait  house  still  occui)ied, 
noted  as  being  the  place  of  the  first 
meeting  of  court  of  Lancaster  county 
m  1729,  situated  on  the  great  Cones- 
toga  road  in  use  to  this  ])oint  as  early 
as  1714  and  as  important  in  early  days 
to  the  community  as  the  PennsyKania 
Railroad  today.  I'ostlethw  ait' ^  tavern 
was  at  one  time  near  the  center  of 
po])ulation  of  the  county  and  imj)or- 
tant  enough  relati\'ely  to  be  a  strong 
comj^etitor  with  Columbia  and  Lan- 
caster for  the  honor  of  be'.ng  the 
county  seat,  b^-oiii  this  historic  spot 
we  ma\'  drive  se\eral  miles  sotith- 
west  to  Indiantown,  I'amous  as  the 
home  of  the  Conestogoe  Indians,  as 
the  meeting  ])laoe  for  making  treaties 
between  whites  and  Indians  and  as 
the  scene  of  an  atrocious  murder  of 
Indians  by  whites,  but  as  .t11  ves- 
tiges of  the  town  ha\e  disappeared  we 
hasten  back  to  resuiue  our  trolley 
trip. 

Opposite  the  charming  Xt)rmal 
School  grounds  we  take  seats  on  the 
cars  of  the  Lancaster  and  York  Fur- 
nace S.  R.  Company  one  of  the  trolley 


426 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


lines  of  the  county  not  owned  by  the 
Conestoga  Traction  Company  (not 
shown  on  the  map)  and  soon  find  our- 
selves cutting  across  the  fields  away 
from  the  dusty  highways  down  to  and 
across  the  Conestoga.  The  rolling 
and  more  romantic  and  wilder  aspect 
of  nature  shows  that  we  are  passing  a 
w^atershed  and  are  gradually  a  p- 
proaching  hilly,  Martic  township,  old 
"Martock"  one  of  the  six  original 
townships. which  we  enter  at  its  north- 
ern extremity.  In  a  few  minutes-  we 
pass  through  Marticville  originally 
called  Frogtown  and  Alartic  Forge, 
the  terminus  of    another    trolley    line. 


with  its  dam,  powerhouse,  and  neat 
cottages  nestling  along  the  slopes. 
Presently  we  pass  two  bridges,  turn 
a  sharp  corner  to  find  ourselves  view- 
ing the  historic  Susquehanna  with  its 
bleak  shores  and  rocky  bed  and  at  the 
end  of  the  trolley  line  at  Peqaea  sta- 
tion, or  Shoif  post  office.  Here  we 
may  spend  our  time  fishing,  studying 
the  eloquent  rock  formation,  explore 
Pequea's  Cold  Cave  or  take  a  trio  ti) 
famed  McCall's  Ferry  dam  (a  few 
miles  down  stream)  which  when  com- 
pleted at  a  cost  of  over  $10,000,000 
will  be  32  to  80  feet  high  .causing  an 
inland  lake  10  miles  long,  a  mile  wide 


A  TOBACCO  FIEIvD 


We  are  now  at  the  banks  of  pretty 
Pequea,  in  the  neighl)orhood  of  one  of 
the  earliest  iron  industries  of  the 
county.  A  few  steps  back  the  Penn- 
sylvania Low  Grade  Railroad  crosses 
the  Pequea  over  a  bridge  about  150 
feet  above  the  bed  of  the  stream.  The 
stately  buildings  by  the  hillside  are 
remains  of  past  industry  and  activity. 
We  are  delighted  with  the  kaleido- 
scopic scenery  as  we  follow  the  banks 
of  the  Pequea  to  its  mouth,  the  gently 
sloying  wooded  hillsides,  the  rocks, 
flowers,   decaying  trees,    ColeManville 


and  making  possible  the  development 
of  100,000  horsepower.  It  has  been 
estimated  that  in  a  distance  of  60 
miles  400,000  horsepower  is  obtainable 
from  the  waters  of  the  Susquehanna. 
A  recent  writer  has  said,  "Within  a 
period  near  at  hand  Imver  end  farmers 
will  ])lough,  reap,  thresh,  grind  and 
haul  1)}^  electric  power  while  their 
wi\es  will  run  their  sewing  machines, 
mash  potatoes,  churn  butter,  grind 
cofi^ee,  milk  the  cows  and  rock  the 
the  cradle  by  the  same  subtle  power.'" 


SEEING    LANCASTER    COUNTY    FROM    A    TROLLEY    WINDOW 


42T 


MARTIC  FORGE  RAII^ROAD  BRIDGE 


One  sees  visions  of  electric  launches, 
gently  disporting"  themselves  on  the 
bosom  of  the  completed  dam.  cottages 
springing  up  along  the  banks  of  the 
river,  prett}'  Pequea  developed  with 
its  secluded  sylvan  nooks  shutting- 
out  the  noise,  smoke  and  nerve  strain 
of  modern  business,  an  observatory 
crowning  Mt.  Xebo's  heights  —  all 
reached  by  a  first  class  trolley  line 
from  Lancaster.  But  we  must  hasten 
back,  ready  for  a  trip  in  another  di- 
rection. 

We  will  retrace  our  course  to  Mar- 
tic  Forge  to  the  trolley  junction 
where  we  will  take  our  seats  on  the 
waiting  car  of  a  most  unicjue  railroad 
doing  business  only  about  ten  days 
out  of  36s  davs  (during  the  sessions 
of  the  Rawlinsville  cam:)nieeting) 
starting  in  a  hollow,  climbing  552  feet 
in  1%  miles,  losing  itself  a  few  miles 
away  in  thorns  and  weeds  in  a  soarse- 
Iv  settled  community.  The  ride  is  a 
most  interesting  one,  new  vistas  and  a 
widening  horizon  gradually  opening 
as  we  mount  tlic  hill.     On  the  way  we 

notice  to  the  left  a  1200  acre  tract  of 
£rrafted  chestnut   timber  land  that   will 


some  day  yield  rich  harvests  for  its 
owners.  We  soon  pass  Mt.  Xebo  one- 
of  the  most  elevated  points  in  Lancas- 
ter county,  the  view  from  A\hich  is 
scarcely  surpassed.  A  few  minutes'" 
ride  brings  us  to  Rawlinsville,  a  busi- 
ness center  and  probably  one  of  the 
oldest  villages  of  the  townshi]),  near 
which  arises  Tucquan  creek  a  very 
noted  stream  flowing  to  the  Susque- 
hanna, abounding  in  picturescjue  and 
beautiful  scenery,  a  veritable  natural- 
ist's hunting  ground.  Less  than  a. 
mile  beyond  we  reach  the  Rawlins- 
ville Campmeeting  Ground  noted  for 
the  crowds  that  attend  the  religious 
services  each  year. 

TO  QUARRYVILLE 
To  save  time  we  will  in  imagina- 
tion transport  ourselves  six  miles- 
eastward  to  Ouarryville  the  terminus^ 
of  one  of  the  trolley  lines,  the  most 
important  and  i)opulous  town  in  the- 
county  south  of  Strasburg.  This  place 
is  situated  on  the  northern  ex;)osure 
of  a  bowl  sha])e(l  valley  marking  the 
southern  limit  of  Lancaster  limestone- 
deposits  and  at  least  in   early  history.. 


428 


THE    PEXXS YLVAX lA-GERMAX 


RAWUN'SVIIJ^E  TROLLEY  TERMINUS 

•of  successful  farming;-,  and  consti- 
tuting- the  head  of  the  Chester  valley 
reaching  to  the  Schuylkill  ri\er.  It 
seems  crowded  into  the  extreme 
•southwest  corner  of  Eden  townshi;) 
which  was  set  off  from  Bart  in  1855 
and   was   named    after    Mount     Eden. 


Younger  than  some  of  its  sister  bor- 
oughs. Quarryville  has  thrive  n 
through  its  quarries  and  throug^h  its 
being-  the  outlet  for  the  trado  of  a 
large  portion  of  the  lower  end  of  the 
county  due  to  the  completion  of  the 
railroad   connection   A\ith    the    citv    of 


HOTEL  QUARRYVILLE 


SEEING  LANCASTER  COUNTY  FROM  A  TROLLEY  WINDOW 


42& 


Lancaster  in  1875.  In  acklition  to  this 
and  the  trolley  Ime  the  place  is  also 
reached  by  the  heavy-grade,  narrow 
guage  Peach  Bottom  Railroad  with 
its  curves  and  kinks  and  twists  that 
seemingly  would  rather  go  anAmd  an 
obstruction   than   remoxe  it. 

To  the  east  of  Jvlen  lies  I'.art  set- 
tled al)out  1720.  founded  1744,  named 
for  Governor  Keith,  Haronet,  and 
noted  for  its  nickel  mines.  In  the 
cemetery  of  the  Middle  Octoraro 
Presbyterian  church  lies  1)in-ied  Rev. 
John  CuthI)ertson,  the  first  Reformed 
I'reslivterian  minister  who  i)reached 
in  .\merica.  died  1791  at  the  age  of  75 
years.  Green  Tree  Inn,  long  the 
connty's  polling  place  is  a  \eritable 
relic  of  the  long  ago,  named  after  its 
(piaint  old  sign-board,  a  tree  in  full 
foliage,  that  saw  a  19  acre  town  laid 
out  around  it  in  1763  named  Smiths- 
burg,  later  Thom])sonto\\n.  which  did 
not  materialize  and  of  which  no  ves- 
tige is  to  be  seen. 

To  the  west  lies  I'rovitlence,  cut  out 
of  Martic  township  in  1S53,  ^^^  agri- 
cultural community  with  its  ijre- 
Revolutionary  iron  industrial  history. 
The  story  goes  that  in  the  western 
l)art     of    the    township    cannon    balls 


were  cast  during  the  Rexolutionary 
war  which  were  hauled  to  Wilming- 
ton, Del.  One  day  the  workmen 
thinking  the  English  were  close  at 
iiand — rather  than  let  finished  balls 
fall  into  their  hands,  allowed  the  mol- 
ten mass  to  become  chilled  and  thus 
killed  the  goose  that  laid  the  golden 
(or  iron)   (^gg. 

To  the  south  wedged  in  between 
the  Susquehanna  and  Octorciro  lies 
the  southern  section  of  the  county 
originally  settled  by  English  and 
Scotch- Irish,  and  on  account  (jf  prox- 
imity to  Maryland  the  scene  of 
troubles  arising  out  of  the  overlap- 
ping of  territorial  claims  of  I'ennsyl- 
vania  and  Maryland  and  of  the  exis- 
tence of  slaxery.  Rolling  Coleraine  or- 
ganized 1738,  settled  and  as  late  as 
1758  occupied  by  Scotch-Irish  exclu- 
sively, like  other  townshi])s  had  its 
iron  industries.  Little  Britain  organ- 
ized 1738  settled  by  immigrati.-n  from 
(ireat  i>ritain  (hence  the  name  Little 
Britain)  could  in  days  past  la}'  claim  to 
the  world's  most  producti\e  chrome 
pits.  In  this  townshi])  li\-e(l  j(.se])h  C. 
Taylor  who  on  a  sultrv  .^e!)tember 
morning  in  1844.  hatless,  shoeless, 
with   gun   in   hand,  at  breakneck  speed 


COl'KTESV    OF   yfAR  KN  VII.LK    SIN 


HIKTnPI..'\CK  ol"  K()HI:KT  I  ri.ToN 


430 


THE    PEXXSYLVAXIA-GERMAX 


o  11  a  rela\'  of  fleet,  barel^ack  horses 
pursued,  overtook,  cowed  down  and 
delivered  before  a  local  justice  a  band 
of  slavecatchers  hastening  to  get 
across  Mason  and  Dixon  line  with  a 
captive  colored  mother  and  her  two 
children. 

Fulton,  carved  from  Little  Britain  in 
1844.  settled  in  part  by  Maryianders, 
uncertain  once  whether  in  Pennsyl- 
vania or  Maryland,  was  named  for 
far  famed  Robert  Fulton,  born  in.  the 
township,  painter,  mechanical  genius, 
inventor  of  a  submarine  boat  and  the 
first  to  successfully  realize  steam  nav- 
igation. The  slate  quarries  at  Peach 
Bottom,  opened  a  century  ago  but  not 
now  in  operation,  enjoyed  a  far  reach- 
ing business  in  their  palmy  days. 
Drumore  from  which  East  Drumore 
was  cut  in  recent  years,  one  of  the 
original  townships,  a  Scotch-Irish 
community,  as  early  as  1770  could 
boast  of  a  successful  first  class  Latin 
school.  Sickles  were  manufactured 
in  the  township  in  days  of  yore  that 
won  a  national  reputation.  From  this 
township  went  forth  Captain  William 
Steele   with   seven   sons   to   fight   free- 


dom's    cause     in     th--      Revolutionary 
^^'ar. 

From  a  humble  house  and  home  in 
Drumore  now  no  more  went  forth 
also  three  sons  of  a  poor  Irish  settler 
to   liecome    famous.    \Mlliam    Ramsay, 


THE  RAMSAY  HOME 

the  oldest  as  a  divine.  David,  born 
1749,  as  an  eminent  historian, 
Nathaniel,  born  1751,  as  a  lawyer, 
colonel  and  public  official. 

I!ut  we  must  not  linger  too  long  in 
this   hustling   town,    the    birthplace   of 


BIKTHIM.ACI',  OF  HON.  W.   U.   HENSEIv,   UlAKR  VVI1J<E.    PA. 


SEEING  LANCASTER  COUNTY  FROM  A  TROLLEY  WINDOW 


431 


Hon.  W.  U.  Hensel,  and  will  lake 
our  seats  in  the  car  and  quietly  steal 
away  through  the  back  lots,  tempted 
by  the  charming  outlook  northward. 
We  soon  pass  under  the  Pennsyl- 
vania low  grade  railroad,  a  monu- 
ment to  men  of  brain  and  men  of 
brawn  not  the  least  of  whom  'S  chief 
engineer  W.  H.  Brown,  a  worthy  rep- 
resentative of  a  famous  family  of  Ful- 
ton township.  As  we  leave  w^e  notice 
to  our  left  the  ancient,  stately  and 
sul)Siantial  "Ark",  successor  to  the 
original     log    house,     built    1790     on 


fields  and  along  the  highways  past 
New  Providence  and  Refton  brings  us 
to  the  juncti(jn  with  the  Sfvasburg 
line  and  to  the  waiting  room  at  the 
I)a\id  llul)er  switch  south  of  Wil- 
low Street.  We  are  now  in  West 
Lampeter  township  named  after  Lain- 
])eter  in  \\'ales(erroneously  said  to  be 
named  after  lame  Peter  Yeordy  an 
early  settler),  settled  l)y  the  Hcrrs, 
Mylins,  Kendigs,  Bowmans  and  others, 
a  township  for  which  the  claim  has 
been  made,  not  without  good  grounds, 
that  if  Lancaster  county  is  the  garden 


THE  HERR  HOrSE 


"Alount  Arrarat"  by  Martin  Barr 
who  owned  an  estate  of  several  thou- 
sand acres  in  the  communit\-.  This 
the  oldest  house  in  the  neighborhood, 
stands  a  kind  of  lonel}^  in  the  midst 
of  quarries  and  kilns.  These  wdth 
others  close  by,  in  use  or  in  rums,  tell 
their  tale  of  past  toil  and  industry, 
over  600,000  bushels  of  lime  being 
burned  and  hauled  away  in  one  year 
alone  (1858). 

TO  STRASBURG 

A  half  hour's  ride  up  and  down  hill 
along  the  Beaver  creek  valley  chrough 


spot  this  is  the  queen  of  the  garden. 
A  quarter  of  a  mile  north  of  us  is  still 
standing  the  celebrated  Herr  home 
built  1719,  a  speechless,  eloquent 
companion  of  the  Postlethwait  house 
of  pioneer  days  on  the  Conestoga  road. 
A  mile  south  is  a  structure,  historic  in 
the  annals  of  the  Methodist  church, 
the  old  Boehm  AL  E.  church  building 
erected  on  his  own  farm  by  the  cele- 
brated United  Brethren  bishop  Rev. 
Martin  Boehm  and  friends  in  1791. 
He  died  March  23,  1812  aged  86  years 
and  his  remains  rest  in  the  cemetery 


432 


THE    PEN'XSYLVAXIA-GERMAX 


close    by     overlooking    the    ancestral 
homestead. 

Resuming  our  journey,  our  destina- 
tion being  Strasburg  we  pass  through 
a  densely  populated  section  with 
smaller,  richer,  more  productive 
farms  and  fields,  through  the  village 
of  Lampeter  with  its  narrow  street, 
past  Edisonville  where  in  an  old  grist 
mill  genius  and  enterprise  have  har- 
nessed pretty  Pequea  creek  to  electric 
machinery  to  become  a  light  bearer 
ti)  Strasburg.  Quarry ville  and  vicin- 
ity. We  soon  enter  ancient,  elongated, 


groaning,  grinding,  rumbling  Cones- 
toga  teams  with  their  proud  and 
skilled  teamsters,  trailing  through 
the  place  or  stopping  at  the  hostelries. 
But  times  have  changed.  The  busi- 
ness that  once  passed  through  the 
place  is  no  more  or  has  found  for  it- 
self other  channels.  It  has  a  business 
feeder  aud  outlet  in  its  unique  rail- 
road to  Leaman  Place  on  which  the 
combination  engineer,  fireman,  brake- 
man  and  conductor  will  stop  his  train 
anywhere  for  anybody. 


MAIN   SIKI   1    1     STRASBURG 


peaceful,    tidy,    wellshadcd     S'rasburg 
unmarred,    undisturbed    l^y   the   smoke 
and   noise   and   other   accompaniments 
of  large  manufacturing  plants.    Stras- 
burg an  old  German  settlement  dating 
from    1733,  incorporated    1816,  former- 
ly known  as  Bettelhausen  or  Beggars- 
town  is  situated  on  the  "King's  High- 
way"  laid   out    before   the    Revolution. 
C)ne  ma_\'  form  an  idea  of  its  scenes  of 
past    life   and    activity    from     the     fact 
that  in   i)lace  of  the  three  hotels 
cater  to  the  ]:)ul)lic  now.  at  one 
half     a     score     (one     informant 
twenty-two)     were    kept    busy, 
sees  and   hears    in     fancy    the    heavv,       I 


that 
time 
says 
One 


The  schoolmaster  has  been  at  work 
here.  Scarcely  five  per  cent,  of  the 
conversation  is  in  the  Pennsyh-ania 
German  dialect  though  the  place  was 
settled  by  Germans  and  only  one 
English  speaking  family  lived  in  it 
during  the  Revolutionary  period.  It 
lias  had  its  McCarter's  Academy, 
founded  1839  and  enjoying  in  its  day 
a  national  reputation,  its  Squire  ]\Ic- 
Pliail,  ^•a]iant  champion  of  edacation, 
its  noted  ])ublic  school  man  Thomas 
H.  Burrowes.  Sons  of  hers  like  Rev. 
Dr.  Duffield.  Dr.  B.  F.  Shaub,  Prof. 
G.  AV.  Hull,  of  Millersville,  Prof, 
olm    L.    Shroy,   of   ]'hiladeli:)hia,   have 


SEEING  LANCASTER  COUNTY  FROM  A  TROLLEY  WINDOW 


433 


THR  SHROY  HOME    (Property  of  Prof.  J.  I,.  Shroy) 


brought  fame  to  the  place.  One  of 
her  daughters  was  the  mother  of 
Simon  Cameron. 

The  st(M'\-  goes  that  at  inie  time  ex- 
cavations were  Ijegun  looking  to  the 
erection  of  Normal  School  buildings 
to  be  abandoned  again  however,  per- 
haps according  to  an  authority  be- 
cause farmers  feared  midnight  raids 
on   their  orchards   by  the   students. 

Strasburg   lays    claim    to   the   honor 


of  having  sent  the  first  ])etiti(^n  to  the 
State  Legislature  in  favor  of  general 
education  leading  to  the  adoption  of 
the  pul)lic  school  system.  It  has  its 
historic  Lutheran  church  of  colonial 
St  vie  housing  one  of  the  oldest  organs 
in  the  count}'. 

Turning  our  faces  cit}'\vard  and  tak- 
ing the  smoke  ])illar  to  the  northwest 
as  our  objective  point,  Ave  pass 
through    Lampeter  and  ^^'illow  Street 


MHNXDNiTi-;  ^^•;KTI^■(•,  norsE,  sTRASBCRfi 


434 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


across  the  Pequea  and  Mill  Creek 
and  in  less  than  an  hour  tind  ourselves 
crossing-  the  Conestoga  at  Engleside. 

To  our  left  is  the  Engleside  power 
house  capable  of  developing  8000 
horsepower  and  supplying  power  to 
the  Traction  Company  and  many  pri- 
vate consumers. 

We  are  now  near  the  head  of  navi- 
gation of  the  Conestoga,  reaching 
from  Reigart's  landing  about  2  miles 
up  stream  to  the  Susquehanna,  a  dis- 
tance of  more  than  seventeen  miles, 
proposed  1805,  accomplished  about 
1828  and  abandoned  over  .]0  years  ago. 
The  river  was  made  navigable  by 
means  of  nine  dams  and  locks.  The 
pools  produced  varied  in  length  from 
one  to  three  miles,  in  width  from  250 
to  350  feet ;  the  lifts  from  seven  to 
nine  feet;  the  locks  100  feet  by  22 
could  accomodate  boats  and  rafts  90 
feet  long. 

In  spite  of  the  checkered  career  of 
the  enterprise  the  river  for  a  time  saw 
a  great   amount  of   business,   fourteen 


rafts  and  arkloads  of  coal  and  lumber 
for  example  arriving  at  Lancaster  in 
one  day  in  1829.  But  the  universal  law 
of  change  destroyed  all  this  business. 

Going  north  on  Queen  street  on  our 
way  to  Center  Square,  we  see  the 
stately  and  humble,  the  new  and  old 
in  close  proximity  as  in  other  parts  of 
the  city.  To  our  right  we  notice  three 
cemeteries — Greenwood,  opened  with- 
in recent  years,  Woodward  Hill,  1850, 
Zion,  185 1.  A  little  farther  on  we  pass 
the  Southern  Market  House  back  of 
which  are  situated  St.  Marys  R.  C. 
Church,  Academy  and  Oiphan 
Asylum  closely  linked  and  coeval 
with  the  history  of  the  city  of  Lancas- 
ter. Not  far  distant  on  South  Prince 
street  is  the  celebrated  house  erected 
over  thirty  years  ago  from  excava- 
tions up  ready  for  occupancy  in  ten 
hours  by  Dr.  Mishler  of  proprietary 
medicine  fame.  A  minute  more  and 
our  car  stops  at  the  square. 

(to  be  continued) 


APPEARANCE  OF  BUCHANAN'S  GRAVE  BEFORE  RECENT  IMPROVEMENTS  WERE  MADE 


COURTESY  LANCASTER  BOARD  OF  TRADE 


435 


The  Germans,  Hessians  and  Pennsylvania  Germans 


(A  paper  read  at  the  Lutz  family  re-union 
on  August  10,  1909,  at  the  home  of  Harry 
Brookmyer,  near  Neffsville,  Lancaster  County, 
Pa.,  by  Henry  F.  Lutz,  Atlantic  Seaboard 
Evangelist  of  the  American  Christian  Mission- 
ary Society.) 

OUR   ANCESTRY 


HEN  Benjamin  Franklin 
applied  for  work  in  Lon- 
don as  a  printer  his  quali- 
fications were  suspected 
as  he  came  from  crude 
America.  IIowe\^er  the 
employer  asked  him  to 
set  up  some  type  as  a 
test.  The  yonug  American  set  up  the 
following:  "Nathaniel  said  unto  him, 
can  any  good  thing  come  out  of  Naz- 
areth Philip  saith  unto  him,  come 
and  see."  He  saw  the  point  antl 
Franklin  got  his  job.  It  is  said  that  a 
German  nobleman  applied  to  Lincoln 
during  the  Civil  War  to  enlist  in  the 
Union  army.  While  a  subordinate 
made  out  the  necessary  papers,  he 
kept  repeating  to  Lincoln,  "Remem- 
ber, Your  Honor,  I  am  a  nobleman." 
Finally  Lincoln  looked  up  from  his 
desk  and  said,  "Oh  never  mind,  that 
wont  hurt  you  if  3'Ou  are  all  right 
otherwise."  So  we  may  say  that  of 
our  descent  from  this  or  that  nation- 
ality or  race  will  not  hurt  us  if  we 
are  all  right  otherwise.  And  yet 
there  is  much  in  heredity  and  blood, 
and  racial  traits  tend  to  persist  to  a 
remarkable  degree. 

THE  GERMAN  TRIBES  OF  NORTHERN 
EUROPE 

Going  back  to  the  dawn  of  history 
I  find  the  first  trace  of  our  ancestry  in 
the  German  division  of  the  Indo-Euro- 
pean family  which  settled  in  northern 
Europe.  According  to  the  Roman  his- 
torians, Caesar  and  Tacitus,  they  were 
a  people  of  high  stature  and  fair  com- 
plexion, endowed  with  great  bodily 
strength,  and  distinguished  for  an  in- 
domitable love  of  libcrtv.       The   men 


delighted  in  active  exercises  such  as 
hunting  and  war.  Their  rulers  were 
elective  and  their  power  limited.  Their 
leaders  might  decide  the  less  impor- 
tant matters  but  the  principal  ques- 
tions were  settled  at  public  meetings. 
Marriage  was  sacred,  and  unlike 
other  nations,  they  were  content  with 
one  wife.  They  were  affectionate  and 
constant  to  the  marriage  vow  and  held 
womanhood  in  high  esteem.  They 
reverenced  chastity  and  considered  it 
as  conducive  to  health  and  strength. 
They  had  neither  idols  nor  temples, 
but  worshipped  in  sacred  groves. 

Northern  Europe  developed  freedom, 
southern  Europe  social  organization. 
The  north  gave  force,  the  south  cul- 
ture. From  southern  Europe  came  lit- 
erature, philosophy,  law  and  arts; 
from  northern  Europe  that  respect  for 
individual  rights,  that  sense  of  per- 
sonal dignity,  that  energy  of  the  single 
soul  which  is  the  essential  equipoise  of 
a  high  social  culture.  Nortiiern  or 
tTiermanic  Europe  accepted  Christian- 
ity as  a  religion  of  truth  and  principle. 
Without  them,  we  do  not  see  how 
there  could  be  such  a  thing  in  Europe 
to-day  as  Protestantism.  It  was  no 
accident  which  made  the  founder  of 
the  Reformation  a  German  monk  and 
Germany  the  cradle  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. It  was  these  brave,  strong,  lib- 
erty-loving German  tribes  of  northern 
Europe  who  destroyed  the  political 
bondage  and  tyranny  of  the  Roman 
Empire  and  later  delivered  themselves 
from  the  spiritual  bondage  and  tyr- 
annv  of  the  Roman  Catholic  hier- 
archy. The  Goth  Jornaudcs  calls 
the  North  of  Europe  "the  forge  of 
mankind."  Another  writer  exclaims, 
"Germany  ordained  by  fate  to  illumi- 
nate the  nations." 

THE   HESSIANS 
Tracing  one  stream  of  our  ancestry 
to  the  individual  tribe  we  find  it  comes 
bv  the  wav  of  the  Hessians,  surely  not 


436 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


a  title  of  honor  in  some  quarters.  An 
impartial  study  of  the  facts  will  per- 
haps show  the  matter  in  a  more  favor- 
able light  than  we  might  think. 

The  Hessians  were  descendants  of 
the  ancient  Chatti  who,  we  are  told, 
were  such  a  brave  and  warlike  people 
that  the  Romans  never  succeeded  in 
conquering  them.  Coming  down  to 
later  times  we  read  that  the  Hessians 
were  among  the  first  to  enlist  in  the 
Protestant  Reformation.  I'liilip  of 
Hesse,  the  ^lagnamimous.  was  one  of 
the  chief  leaders  of  the  Reformation. 
In  1541,  Philip  called  a  synod  at  Hom- 
beri^-  which  acce]:)te(l  the  i)r()i;ositions 
'  of  Luther  and  all  Christians  share  in 
the  ])riesthood  and  that  all  ecclesiasti- 
cal authority  rests  with  the  local 
churches.  These  earlier  teachings  of 
Luther  inspired  French.  Dutch  and 
English  settlers  in  America,  and  thus 
(Germany  gave  to  America  its  laws  of 
being.  In  the  great  Seven  Years'  ^^'ar 
the  Llessians  took  a  ])rominent  part, 
under  Frederick  tlie  Creat,  in  tlie  great- 
est struggle  for  c'wW  and  religious  li- 
berty that  ]:)ro])abh'  e\-er  took  place  on 
this  earth.  In  this  death  struggle  be- 
tween I'rotestantisin  and  Romafi 
Catholicism,  IJourbon  despotism  a'nd 
civil  liberty,  the  Hessians  stood  shoul- 
der to  shoulder  with  the  braxest  and 
best  soldiers  of  Europe.  I'roi  R.  J. 
Radford  in  a  recent  article  in  the 
Christian  Standard  on  "  I  listoric  Back- 
grounds" speaks  as  follows  of  rhis  con- 
flict:  "The  year  1763  witnessed  the  end 
of  the  most  widely  extended  and  most 
comjjlicated  struggle  known  to  his- 
tory, a  struggle  whose  result  more 
permanently  elTected  the  currents  of 
subsecpient  history  and  determmed  the 
present  condition  of  the  whole  world 
than  any  other.  Of  this  i^igantic  con- 
test the  far-flung  battle-line  had  its 
center  in  ]uu-o])e  and  its  wings  in 
India  and  .America.  Frederick  the 
Great  and  Maria  Theresa,  and  their 
res])ective  allies,  ins])ired  ])y  dvnastic 
anil)itions,  did  not  realize  that  their 
desperate  encounters  were  but  parts  of 
an  irre])ressible  conflict  of  irreconcil- 
able    princi])les    and    ])olicics    which 


reached  around  the  world.  If  France, 
and  what  Bourbon,  Catholic  France 
stood  for  in  that  world-wide  conflict, 
had  triumphed  over  England  and  her 
colonies,  and  made  permanent  her  hold 
upon  the  valleys  of  the  Mississippi 
and  St.  Lawrence,  there  would  not 
have  been  anywhere  upon  the  earth  a 
theatre,  social  environment,  or  con- 
stituency" for  the  splendid  Christian 
ci\ilization  and  progress  of  the  United 
States.  I  speak  of  this  great  Avar  in 
which  the  Hessians  Avere  on  the  right 
side,  at  such  length,  because  it  shows 
the  fellowshi])  the}'  had  in  the  great 
struggle  tor  religious  li])erty  which 
has  reached  its  farthest  bound  in 
America,  and  because  it  will  help 
throw  light  on  the  part  they  took  in 
the  \\ar  for  American  liberty,  in  which 
thev  were  on  the  wrong  side. 

Without  defending  the  part  the  Hes- 
sians took  in  the  American  Revolu- 
tion, I  wish  to  present  some  facts  that 
will  help  us  to  judge  the  matter  im- 
partially and  may  reveal  some  exten- 
uating circumstances.  At  any  rate,  I 
think  \\e  will  all  agree,  that  most  if 
not  all  the  blame  in  the  matter  rests 
with  their  rulers  rather  than  with  the 
Hessian   soldiers. 

The  selfishness  and  ambition  of 
Furoi)ean  despots  were  so  strongly 
mi.xed  with  the  civil  and  religious 
principles  at  stake,  that  it  Avas  difticult 
to  see  Avhicli  side  was  right.  The  Fles- 
sians  had  just  been  leagued  Avith  Eng- 
land in  a  great  Avar  for  Protestantism 
and  ci\il  lilicrty  aganist  the  Roman 
Catholic  and  Bourbon  despotism  of 
France.  AA'ar  sometimes  makes  strange 
comi)anions,  A\'hen  Catholic  and  des- 
potic iM-ance  became  leagued  Avith  the 
American  colonies  Ave  need  not  be 
surprised  if  it  Avas  comparatively  easy 
to  enlist  the  German  troops  to  assist 
their  recent  Protestant  ally.  1  he  idea 
of  the  divine  rights  of  kings  and  the 
heinousncss  of  reDellion  that  existed 
in  the  ])ublic  o]Mnion  of  Europe  at  that 
day  must  also  betaken  into  considera- 
tion. When  the  Hessians  saAV  the 
wealth  and  prosperity  of  the  American 
colonists  it   was  difficult    for    them    to 


THE  GERMANS,  HESSIANS  AND  PENNSYLVANIA  GERMANS 


437 


understaiul  Imw  a  ])C(>])k'  cduld  rebel 
as:;:ainst  a  s^oxoninKiU  uiuler  which 
they  enjoyed  such  ])n)Sj)erit_v-  and 
ha])piness.  Attain,  it  shonhl  be  re- 
nie!n]:)ered  that  hrederick  11  of  Ilesse 
was  married  to  the  daui^liter  of  Geor<^e 
II  (if  England  (who  was  himself  of 
German  sttK^k)  and  thus  th.ere  was 
close  blood  relationshi])  and  the  possi- 
bility that  a  1  lessian  ])rince  would  rule 
over  the  American  proxinces.  It  must 
also  be  rememberecf  that  the  hiring 
out  of  soldiers  was  a  common  and  ap- 
proved practise  from  the  days  of 
Xenophon.  who  with  his  lo.ooo  (jreeks 
hired  to  the  Persian  king.  C}'rus.  to 
the  eighteenth  century.  It  was  not  an 
unusual  thing  for  a  king  to  hire  out 
soldiers  to  both  sides  of  a  war.  From 
a  selfish  standpoint  wc  can  see  wis- 
dom in  the  practise,  as  it  gave  large 
revenues  and  well  seasoned;  veteran 
soldiers.  \\'e  can  see  how  profes- 
sional soldiers  would  prefer  the  excit- 
ing experience  of  war,  with  its  in- 
creased pay  and  prospects  of  promo- 
tion to  the  monotonous  life  of  the  bar- 
racks. Let  him  that  is  without  sin 
cast  tlie  first  stone.  It  is  les--'  cruel  to 
hire  out  soldiers  than  to  hire  out,  for 
revenue,  the  privilege  to  run  saloons 
that  bring  untold  suffering  upon  inno- 
cent women  and  children  and  kill 
more  men  than  the  bloodiest  wars.  In 
the  moral  development  of  the  world 
therd  come  times  when  the  acts  that 
were  formerly  considered  proper  and 
respectable  are  no  longer  tolerated  by 
public  opinion.  Thus  a  great  church, 
that  is  now  in  the  vanguard  of  the 
temperance  reform,  in  1823  voted 
down  a  resolution  asking  pastors  not 
to  manufacture  or  sell  intoxicants,  a 
thing  that  would  now  be  considered 
disgraceful  to  do.  So  the  hiring  of 
the  Hessian  troops  for  the  American 
war  occurred  just  as  enlightened  pub- 
lic opinion  condemned  such  practices 
and  the  sin  looks  still  more  hideous 
when  viewed  thru  the  moral  enlighten- 
ment of  the  twentieth  century.  After 
considering  all  such  extenuating  cir- 
cumstances, the  character  of  the  rulers 
who  hired  the  troops  to  England,  leads 


us  to  l)elie\e  that  it  was  a  case  of  cold- 
blooded traffic  in  human  beings  for 
rexenue  only  and  with  a  \  iew  to  per- 
sonal aggrandizement  and  self-indul- 
gence. 

From  what  1  learned  as  a  school- 
l)o\-.  1  thought  about  all  there  was  of 
the  llessians  in  the  Revolutionary  war 
was  the  disgraceful  attair  at  Trenton. 
Later,  learning  that  my  great  grand- 
father was  a  Hessian  soldier,  I  read 
up  on  the  subject,  in  American  and 
German  history,  and  was  surprised  to 
learn  that  about  30,000  such  troops 
served  in  the  British  army  atxl  that 
the\'  had  a  prominent  part  in  every 
important  engagement  of  the  war.  To 
judge  the  Hessian  troops  by  the  afifair 
at  Trenton  alone  would  be  like  judg- 
ing the  British  and  Colonial  troops 
l:)y  Braddock's  defeat.  For  it  must  be 
conceded  that  the  Trenton  episode 
was  due  to  the  carelessness  and  folly 
of  their  commander,  in  spite  of  re- 
peated warnings  from  his  subordi- 
nates, rather  than  the  unsoldierlike 
cjualities  of  his  men.  The  British  had 
won  the  battle  of  Long  Island,  cap- 
tured Ft.  Washington  with  2600  pris- 
oners, and  followed  the  vanishing  and 
discouraged  army  of  \\'ashington 
across  New  Jersey  until  it  landed  be- 
hind the  Delaware  with  only  3,000 
men.  The  British  commanders  con- 
sidered the  war  won  and  ended  and 
relaxed  every  precaution.  Their  army 
was  scattered  across  New  Jersey  w'ith 
a  1,000  Hessians  unprotected  at  the 
Trenton  outpost.  Their  commander, 
C(~)l.  Rail,  neglected  every  precaution 
with  contempt  and  gave  himself  up  to 
dissipation.  The  i.ooo  Hessians  were 
surprised  and  surrounded  by  2500 
Americans  and  captured  without  a 
fighting  chance  to  save  themselves. 
These  soldiers  had  displayed  great 
l)ravery  in  capturing  Ft.   Washington. 

That  the  Hessian  soldiers  were  en- 
gaged in  a  bad  cause  we  have  no  de- 
sire to  deny.  That  they  often  cut  a 
sorry  figure  because  of  their  ignorance 
o  f  the  country,  the  language,  the 
American  mode  of  warfare,  the  jeal- 
ousy of  the  British  and  handicaps  due 


438 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


to  boys  and  old  men  being  mixed  in 
their  ranks  through  the  greed  of  their 
princes,  is  only  too  apparent.  But  that 
they  were  among  the  best  soldiers  of 
Europe  at  the  time  is  conceded  by  all 
impartial  judges.  We  do  but  belittle 
the  American  troops  by  belittling  the 
enemy,  Kapp,  the  great  German  his- 
torian says,  "The  Hessian  infantry  of 
that  time  was  in  every  way  the  equal 
of  the  Prussian  infantry,  which  was 
the  best  of  the  century."  Edward 
Lowell,  the  impartial  American  his- 
torian, who  has  perhaps  made  a  more 
thorough  investigation  of  the  whole 
subject  from  original  sources  than  any 
other  American,  says,  "On  few  occa- 
sions did  the  Hessians  show  either 
want  of  courage  or  a  want  of  disci- 
pline. They  were  excellent  soldiers." 
T  h  e  Hessian  Yagers  or  Chasseurs 
were  ever  in  the  vanguard  of  the  Brit- 
ish army.  It  was  the  Hessians  who 
with  dashing  bravery  staled  the  slopes 
of  Ft.  ^^"ashington  and  captured  2600 
prisoners.  Concerning  its  capture, 
Col.  Magaw,  the  American  c  o  m- 
mander,  said,  "The  Hessians  make  im- 
possibilities possible."  Gen.  PTowe  re- 
ported, "The  commander-in-chief 
wishes  to  express  his  great  satisfac- 
tion with  the  Hessian  troops."  The 
name  of  Ft.  \\'ashington  was  changed 
to  Ft.  Knyphausen  in  honor  of  the 
commander  under  whom  the  Hessians 
captured  it.  The  watchfulness  of  the 
Hessians,  especially  the  Yagers,  saved 
the  British  army  at  Germaiitown.  At 
Guilford  Court  House  the  Regiment 
von  Bose,  being  attached  in  front  and 
rear,  turned  its  rear  rank  in  good  order 
and  saved  the  day  by  repelling  the  at- 
tack. Gen.  Carleton,  British  com- 
mander in  Canada,  in  an  order  of  the 
day,  greatly  praised  the  German 
troops  for  their  good  order,  behavior 
and  accuracy  but  especially  thanked 
them  for  their  extraordinary  good 
manners  which  greatly  pleased  all 
those  who  visited  their  quarters.  He 
set  them  forth  as  a  model  for  ihe  Brit- 
ish troops. 

It  should  not,  be  forgotten  that  many 
of  the  Hessian  soldiers    enlisted    with 


the  hope,  and  many  with  the  promise, 
that  the}'  could  settle  in  America  at 
the  close  of  the  war,  while  many 
doubtless  were  inspired  by  lo\  e  of  ad- 
venture or  hope  of  booty.  We  know 
that  a  large  number  were  forced  to  en- 
list and  endured  untold  hardships  and 
suffering,  not  for  their  own  gam  or  ad- 
vantage, but  for  the  profit  of  con- 
scienceless princes.  It  is  said  that  one 
fourth  of  all  the  men  of  Hesse  were 
pressed  into  the  service  and  that  the 
beauty  of  the  race  suffered  for  a  gen- 
eration on  account  of  the  women  and 
children  having  to  do  men's  work. 
Col.  Donop,  who  was  sacrificed  in  an 
effort  to  take  Ft.  Redbank  with  an  in- 
sufficient force,  is  reported  to  have 
said,  "I  die  as  a  sacrifice  to  my  am- 
bition and  my  soverign's  greed." 

The  Hessians  treated  the  American 
prisoners  with  greater  consideration 
than  did'the  British,  and  as  prisoners 
they  received  better  treatment  from 
the  Americans.  Washington  urged 
that  they  be  treated  as  friends  and 
not  as  enemies  since  they  came  to 
fight  the  Americans  against  their  will. 
Washington's  brother,  sister  and  niece 
attended  a  surprise  party  gotten  up  by 
sixteen  ladies  of  Fredericksburg,  Va. 
for  Hessian  officers  taken  prisoners  at 
Trenton. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  many  of  the 
Hessian  soldiers  settled  in  America 
with  the  consent  of  the  authorities. 
Congress  granted  them  the  full  rights 
of  citizenship.  29,875  came  over  dur- 
ing the  war  of  whom  12,562  or  42% 
never  returned  home.  xA.bout  half  of 
these  were  killed  in  battle  or  died  of 
wounds  and  sickness,  while  the  other 
six  thousand  settled  in  America, 
mostly  among  Pennsylvania  Germans. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  six 
(jerman  princes  hired  troops  ;o  Great 
Britain  during  the  Revolution  a  n  d 
only  about  two-thirds  of  these  were 
Hessian.s,  altho  the  name  is  generally 
applied  to  all  of  them. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  note  that 
to-day  Hesse  in  Germany  is  one  of  the 
most  highly  organized  and  civilized 
commonwealths  in   the  world.    On  the 


THE  GERMANS.  HESSIANS  AND  PENNSYLVANIA  GERMANS 


439 


whole  the  Hessian  ])eopIe  liavc  a  loiii;' 
and  glorious  record  in  history.  It  was 
only  their  unfortunate  j^art  in  the 
Revolution,  due  to  the  st^rdid  selfish- 
ness of  their  rulers  and  circumstances 
that  were  largely  beyond  their  control, 
that  their  name  became  a  hissing  and 
a  byword.  As  time  wears  awa}''  preju- 
dice, and  all  the  facts  in  the  case  are 
better  understood,  they  are  being 
judged  more  justly. 

OUR    GREAT-GRANDFATHER 

From  history  and  tradition  I  learn 
the  following  ab(nit  our  great  grand- 
father, John  William  Lutz.  He  was 
born  of  Jacob  and  Christiana  Lutz, 
April  13,  1754,  near  Hanau,  Germany. 
He  was  forced  to  come  to  America 
with  the  Hessians  to  fight  for  Eng- 
land. He  was  not  even  permitted  to 
visit  his  home  to  say  good-bye  to  his 
mother  and  was  so  incensed  at  this 
outrageous  treatment  that  he  resolved 
never  to  return  to  his  Fatherland.  The 
Hanau  Regiment,  in  which  he  served, 
came  to  America  wnth  Gen.  Riedesel 
and  the  Brunswickers,  byway  o  f 
Porthmouth.  England,  and  took  part 
i  n  Burgoyne's  Canadian  campaign. 
They  were  taken  prisoners  at  Sara- 
toga in  Oct..  1777.  They  were  held  as 
prisoners  for  about  a  year  at  \\'inter 
Hill,  Cambridge,  Mass..  and  then,  in 
mid-winter,  were  marched  700  miles 
overland  to  Charlottesville,  \'a.  The 
trip  across  the  ocean  in  those  days 
took  from  sixty  to  ninety  days  and 
was  accompanied  with  the  great- 
est hardships.  As  high  as  six  soldiers 
were  crowded  into  one  berth.  It  took 
a  cannon-ball  to  smash  the  hardtack. 
The  water  stank  so  that  they  had  to 
hold  their  noses  to  drink  it,  and  yet  it 
was  so  scarce  that  they  fcnigli*  to  get 
it.  When  the  cases  of  boots  were 
opened  at  sea  they  contained  lady- 
slippers  which  the  I  British  merchants 
had  palmed  ofif  on  the  government. 
At  first  they  were  without  overcoats 
and  sufficient  protection  against  the 
severe  Canadian  winters  and  a  number 
froze  to  death.  On  shi])b(ta:d  they 
had  pillows  seven  by  five  inches,  and 


their  mattress,  pillow,  rug  and  blanket 
together  only  weighed  seven  pounds. 
In  their  march  from  Boston  to  Vir- 
ginia they  passed  thru  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  of  country,  in  eastern 
Pennsylvania,  settled  by  their  own 
countrymen.  This  made  the  trip  more 
agreeable  and  acc|uainted  them  with 
this  beautiful  and  fertile  region  in 
which  many  of  them  settled  after  the 
war.  They  stopped  two  days  at  Lan- 
caster, Pa.,  and  then  marched  to  the 
Potomac  by  way  of  York.  They 
reached  the  X'irginia  border  on  New- 
Year's  day  1779  and  after  conducting 
jniblic  worship  (it  is  said  that  most 
of  the  men  and  officers  were  devout, 
praying  men  who  carried  Bibles  or 
Testaments  with  them)  they  slept  in 
the  woods  in  snow  a  foot  deep.  They 
arrived  at  Charlottesville  on  January 
15th  and  had  to  camp  in  deep  snow 
for  fourteen  days  while  they  built 
their  own  barracks.  They  rc^mained 
prisoners  in  Virginia  until  the  close  of 
the  war.  Many  of  them  were  permit- 
ted to  hire  out  among  farmers.  Others 
started  gardens  and  poultry-yards, 
while  some  even  married  and  estab- 
lished their  own  homes.  Near  the  end 
of  the  war  they  were  ordered  to  re- 
port in  camp  at  Frederick,  Md.  Those 
that  had  married  were  released  if  they 
paid  a  certain  sum  of  money,  about 
eighty  Spanish  dollars.  This  became 
a  general  privilege,  and  when  they  had 
not  the  money  others  often  paid  it  for 
them  t)n  condition  that  they  ^\ork  for 
the  party  until  the  amount  was  earned. 
This  was  somewhat  similar  to  the 
practise  of  vessel  owners  wlio  sold 
Pennsylvania  German  settlers  into  a 
period  of  servitude  for  the  amount  of 
their  passage  to  America.  It  thus  ap- 
pears that  the  poor  Hessian  soldiers 
were  not  only  sold  by  their  German 
princes  to  serve  against  America  but 
many  of  them  were  also  sold  into 
\ears  of  servitude  in  America  and 
thus  had  to  l)uy  their  liberty  as  Amer- 
ican citizens  at  a  dear  j^iice.  It  was 
tlius  that  our  great  grandfathe.-  agreed 
t(^  be  sold  to  a  Mennonite  farmer  near 
Lititz,  Lancaster  countv,*  Pa.,   for  sev- 


440 


THE    PEXNSYLVAXIA-GERMAX 


eral  vears  of  ser\ice  in  order  that  he 
mii]^ht  become  a  free  American  citizen 
rather  than  return  to  the  domain  of 
his  former  heartless  sovereign.  W  ell 
might  he  say  with  the  chief  ca;)tain 
(Acts  22:28).  'A\'ith  a  great  >nm  ob- 
tained I  this  citizenship.  Son.e  years 
after  the  war  he  married  and  I'}-  years 
of  toil  and  economy  earned  himself  a 
farm  near  Lime  Rock,  Lancaster 
county.  Pa.,  and  had  money  at  interest 
besides.  It  is  now  about  nue  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  years  since  this 
Hessian  soldier  became  an  American 
citizen.  I  am  at  present  working-  at 
a  Family  Wheel  that  is  to  contain  his 
descendants.  I  have  already  found  the 
names  of  about  six  hundred  ^'^attered 
over  about  tweh'e  states  of  the  I'nion. 
The  prevailing  occupations  nf  these 
descendants  is  that  of  farni'jrs  and 
school  teachers. 

THE    PENNSYLVANIA    GERM\NS 

Our  ancestral  stream  ^vas  now 
merged  with  what  has  been  improp- 
erly called  the  "Pennsylvania  Dutch" 
but  what  is  properly  called  the  "Penn- 
sylvania Deutch"  or  "Pennsylvania 
Germans  ;"  for  I  have  never  found  any 
of  them  that  were  either  "Dutch"  or 
could  speak  "Dutch."  ^^'hat  they  do 
speak  is  the  German  dialect  (  Palati- 
nate or  Pfalz  Deutsch).  spoken  by  the 
peasants  in  southern  Europe,  modified 
by  its  contact  with  English.  Hon. 
A\'m.  Beidelman,  in  his  "Story  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Germans"  has  demon- 
strated that  Pennsylvania  German  is 
practically  the  same  language  that  is 
spoken  at  the  present  day  bv  the 
peasants  in  the  valleys  of  tlit  Upper 
Rhine  and  Necker  in  south  Germany. 

Most  of  the  Pennsylvania  German 
settlers  came  from  the  Palatinate  in 
Germany  or  from  the  valleys  of  the 
Upper  Rhine  and  Necker.  As  this 
region  has  been  called  "the  garden  of 
Germany,"  we  might  ask  why  such 
multitucles  left  the  counirv.  It  ^\•as 
because  of  terrible  religious  and  poli- 
tical persecution  and  wars  during 
which  the  countr}'  was  repeatedly  de- 


\astated  l)y  contending  arn.iies  and  the 
inhabitants  subjected  to  nameless 
crimes  and  cruelties  while  their  prop- 
erty was  confiscated  or  destroyed.  As 
the  inhabitants  were  Protestants  they 
suffered  especially  from  the  wars  that 
tol'owec!  the  German  Reforiiiation, 
"'.liich  largely  centered  in  the  Palati- 
nate. 

Southeastern  Pennsyhania  may  be 
called  the  cradle  of  religious  liberty  in 
America.  W  hile  the  colonies  to  the 
north  and  south  persecuted  i)eople  for 
their  religious  oj^inions.  Penn  offered 
an  asylum  to  all  the  religiousl}'  perse- 
cuted of  both  Euro])e  and  America. 
The  result  was  a  great  ^■ariety  of  re-. 
ligious  sects  settled  in  this  section  and" 
it  is  therefore  one  of  the  greatest  sec- 
tarian strongholds  in  the  workl.  Wied- 
erhold.  one  of  the  Hessian  officers, 
wrote  al^iout  Philadelphia  during  the 
Revolutionary  war  that  it  was  "a 
meeting  jilace  of  all  religions  and  na- 
tions— a  mishmash  of  all  sects  and 
beliefs." 

A  minister  of  the  gospel  who  is  a 
descendant  from  the  MountainWhites 
recently  told  me  they  are  the  worst 
lied  about  people  on  earth.  I  know 
that  the  same  is  largely  true  concern- 
ing the  Pennsylvania  Germans.  Tak- 
ing advantage  of  their  peculiar  cus- 
t(^ms,  many  of  which  are  a  deliberate 
choice  from  religious  convictions 
rather  than  marks  o  f  barbarism, 
writers  ignorant  of  the  facts  or  deter- 
mined to  make  out  a  sensational  case, 
have  greatly  misreprented  these 
people.  If  you  pick  out  special  cases 
and  exaggerate  them  to  represent  a 
people,  you  can  make  out  a  bad  case 
against  the  most  highly  civilized 
people  on  earth.  I  have  even  heard 
it  stated  by  a  college  graduate  that 
you  could  not  preach  to  these  people 
in  English,  while  every  informed 
person  knows  that  they  have  had  the 
English  Common  School  System  for 
about  eighty  years  and  that  it  was  in- 
troduced by  Hon.  George  Wolf  one  of 
the  ten  Pennsylvania  German  Gover- 
nors of  the  state.  Almost  all  the 
churches  which  originallv  had  German 


THE    GERRUNS,    HESSIANS    AND    PENNSYLVANIA   GERMANS 


441 


preaching"  ha\o  had  to  chaui^e  to  Eni^- 
lish.  which  is  now  ahnost  the  unixcr- 
sal  rule. 

In  \icw  n|'  the  recent  at^itatinn  ahont 
the  simple  Hie  anil  racial  suicide,  we 
will  say  that  it  is  douhtful  it  we  can 
find,  anywhere  on  earth,  hetter  types 
(if  civilization  than  anioni;'  these 
simple  people  who  as  a  rule  ha\e  large 
families  and  for  g'eneratioiis  have 
lived  chaste,  temperate  and  indus- 
trious lives.  1  am  sure  we  \\ill  find 
Some  of  the  finest  S])ecimens  of  physi- 
cal manhood  and  womanhood  among' 
them.  Their  industr}',  honesty,  sin- 
cerity, humility  and  frugality  are  uni- 
versally acknowdedged  traits.  Jn  many 
cases  the  fruits  of  their  industry  and 
frugality  have  heen  handed  down 
from  generation  to  generation  for  al- 
most two  hundred  years  and  as  a  re- 
sult many  farmers  are  quite  rich  who 
nexertheless  continue  their  simple  life 
of  work  and  economy.  Schooled  for 
centuries  to  great  industry  and  the 
strictest  economy  on  account  of  bur- 
densome taxation  and  limited  terri- 
tory in  Europe,  they  continued  their 
^'slaving  and  saving"  in  America  and 
thus  accumulated  much  wealth.  For 
religious  reasons  many  of  them  shun 
politics,  law  and  other  things  that  are 
generally  considered  signs  of  enlight- 
enment. Geo.  Jones  savs  in  THE 
PEXxVSYLVANIA-GERMAN,  "They 
wanted  personal  and  religious  free- 
dom rather  than  ])olitical  ])ower.  They 
were  not  "therefore  unpatriotic  and 
selfish,  rather  the  opposite,  because 
men,  not  statesmen,  make  States."  It 
must  also  be  admitted  that  many  of 
them  dis])arage  higher  education  as 
leading  t(^  j^ride,  \anity  and  laziness 
jn  the  sense  that  its  devotees  consider 
themselves  above  the  work  of  the 
farm  and  become  discontented  with 
its  simjile  life.  Doubtless  there  is 
something  to  this  side  of  the  ques- 
tion. I\Iany  lives  have  ended  in  fail- 
ure because  of  an  education  that 
looked  away  from  manual  labor  and 
the  lower  walks  of  life.  Our  educa- 
tional system  has  many  ba';barities 
and  absurdities  in  it  and    usually    the 


schools  in  our  large  cities  do  as  much 
or  more  to  dis(|ualify  our  children  for 
life  than  to  (piali fy  them.  This  is  ap- 
parent from  the  fact  that  despite  the 
great  amount  of  time  and  effort  put 
into  education  in  the  cities,  the  great 
mass  of  leaders  in  thought  and  action 
come  up  from  the  country  districts, 
where  education  recei\-es  the  least 
relative  attention.  It  must  be  admit- 
ted that  from  a  broad  standpoint  our 
so  called  highest  types  of  ci\-ilization 
are  a  failure.  The  so  called  highest 
strata  of  cix'ilization  are  constantly 
toppling  over  and  the  new  crest  is 
formed  from  the  lower  and  medium 
strata.  If  our  civilization  were 
normal  the  children  of  the  great 
would  stay  in  the  forefront  and  there 
wouUl  be  a  steady  progress  forward 
and  upward  instead  of  an  ebb  and  flow 
as  now.  It  takes  several  generations 
of  farmers  to  generate  enough  nerve 
energy  to  enable  a  person  to  stand  in 
the  forefront  of  the  white-heat  of  our 
cixilization  and  such  persons  are  usu- 
ally so  much  consumed  by  the  con- 
flict that  their  children  inherit  devi- 
talized nerves  and  are  thus  relegated 
to  the  rear.  Beyond  a  doubt  our  edu- 
cational system  and  civilization  could 
be  altered  and  simplified  to  the  great 
benefit  of  the  human  race. 

\\'hile  we  admit  the  Pennsyh-ania 
Germans  are  too  much  the  slaves  of 
their  farms,  it  must  be  acknowledged 
that  they  are  successful  farmers.  In 
eastern  Pennsylvania,  ■Maryland,  Vir- 
ginia, Ohio,  Indiana,  Kansas,  and 
wherever  they  are  found  tliey  are 
famed  for  their  success  as  faimers. 

The  Pennsylvania  Germans  have 
been  a  quiet,  industrious  and  unas- 
suming people  who  have  spent  their 
time  and  energy  in  doing  things  rather 
than  in  blowing  their  trumpets  about 
it.  It  will  doubtless  be  a  surprise  to 
many  to  learn  the  following  facts 
which  are  gleaned  from  THE  PENN- 
SVIA'AXIA-GERMAN  of  July,  1906. 

"The  first  kitchen-gardens  in  Amer- 
ica were  in  Pennsylvania  planted  by 
her  German  settlers." 


442 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


"The  richest  agricultural  county  in 
the  United  States  is  Lancaster  in 
Pennsylvania,  chiefly  inhabited  by  de- 
scendants of  Germans." 

"The  best  tilled  farms  and  the  fin- 
est farm  buildings,  all  over  the  coun- 
try, are  owned  and  managed  by 
Pennsylvania  Germans." 

"The  first  water-works  in  this 
country  were  built  in  1754  in  the  Ger- 
man Aloravian  town  of  Bethlehem, 
Pa.  The  same  town  had  the  first  fire- 
engine." 

"John  Gait's  Life  of  West,  pub- 
lished in  1816,  mentions  the  town  of 
Lancaster  as  a  place  which  in  1750  was 
'remarkable  for  its  wealth  and  had  the 
reputation  of  possessing  the  best  and 
most  intelligent  society  in  America. 
It  was  chiefly  inhabited  by  Germans, 
who,  of  all  people  in  the  practise  of 
emigrating,  carry  along  with  them 
the  greatest  stock  of  knowledge  and 
accomplishments.'  " 

"The  first  paper-mill  was  erected  in 
1690  by  Wm.  Rittenhouse,  and  his 
great-grandson,  David,  was  the  first 
mathematician  and  astronomer  of  note 
in  America." 

"The  first  clock,  pipe-organ,  oil- 
paintings  and  botanical  gardens  in 
America  were  made  by  Dr.  Witt  at 
Germantown." 

"Of  the  two  largest  telescopes  in 
the  world  that  in  California  Avas 
erected  by  James  Lick  of  Lebanon, 
Pa.,  and  that  in  Chicago  by  Charles 
T.  Yerkes  of  Philadelphia." 

"Leidy  in  science.  Gross  in  surgery. 
Pepper  in  medicine.  Cramp  in  ship- 
building and  \\'aiiamaker  in  business, 
all  I'ennsylvanfa  Germans,  have 
reached  the  highest  rank." 

"The  first  original  scientific  work 
in  America  was  written  by  Daniel 
Pastorius.  who  wrote  fluently  in  eight 
languages." 

"In  1743,  Christoph  Saur.  published 
his  German  Bible,  the  first  in  America 
in  a  European  language.  He  was 
also  the  earliest  type-founder  in 
America." 


"The  Martyr's  Mirror,  the  most  ex- 
tensive literary  production  of  the 
Colonies,  was  printed  at  Ephrata, 
Pa.,  in   1748." 

"In  1764  Saur  began  his  Geistlichen 
Magazin,  the  first  religious  magazine 
in  America." 

"John  Peter  Miiller,  a  Pennsylvania 
German, translated  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  into  seven  languages 
for  the  Continental  Congress.  He  was 
believed  to  be  the  only  American  then 
living  who  could  do  this." 

"Before  the  Revolution,  more  books 
had  been  printed  by  the  Pennsylvania 
Germans  than  in  all  New  England 
and  New  York  together." 

"The  first  young  ladies  seminary  in 
the  United  States  was  established  by 
th  Moravians  at  Bethlehem,  in  1749." 
'i  "Lady  teachers  were  first  employed 
in  Pennsylvania  high-grade  schools 
among  the  Moravians." 

"A  pamphlet  published  in  1755  says 
the  Germans  have  schools  and  meet- 
ing houses  in  almost  every  township 
thru  the  province,  and  have  more 
magnificent  churches  and  other  places 
of  worship  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia 
itself  than  those  of  all  other  persua- 
sions added  together." 

"The  first  abolitionist  society  in 
America  was  among  Pennsylvania 
Germans." 

"The  first  force  to  reach  Washing- 
ton at  Boston  in  1775  was  a  company 
of  Pa.  Germans  from  York  county,. 
Pa.,  and  the  first  soldiers  to  reach 
President  Lincoln  at  Washington,  in 
1861.  were  five  companies  of  Pennsyl- 
vania Germans." 

In  the  battle  of  Long  Island  the 
American  army  was  saved  by  the 
PennsA'lvania  German  Riflemen  un- 
der Col.  Kichlein.  They  stood  their 
ground  until  as  many  as  79  men  in 
one  company  had  been  killed  and  the 
rest  of  the  army  had  completed  its  re- 
treat. Here  German  met  German  for 
the  Pennsylvania  Germans  withstood 
the  Hessians.  A  German  historian 
speaking  of  it  from  the  Hessian  view- 


THE  GERMANS,  HESSIANS  AND  PNNNSYLVANIA  GERMANS 


44S: 


point,  speaks  of  the  fine  tlisci])line  of 
this  Pennsylvania  German  Regiment. 
He  says  it  was  at  first  mistaken  for  a 
Hessian  Regiment  and  not  attacked, 
but  when  the  mistake  was  discovered 
it  was  attacked  with  vigor  and  almost 
annihilat-ed. 

"Pennsylvania  Germans  to  the  num- 
ber of  over  seventeen  thousand  served 
in  the  war  for  union.  They  saved  the 
second  day  at  Gettysburg  and  held  the 
place  of  honor  and  danger  at  the  siege 
of    Petersburg." 

"George  Washington  was  first  called 
'Father  of  his  country'  in  a  German 
almanac  printed  at  Lancaster,  Pa.,  in 
1779." 

"The  first  president  of  Congress 
Frederick  Muhlenberg,  was  a  I^enn- 
sylvauia  German." 

Sydney  Fisher  says,  "Pennsylvania 
was  the  only  one  of  all  the  colonies 
where  modern  science  was  at  all 
prominent  or  pursued  with  anything 
like  ardor  and  success." 

It  was  John  Peter  Aluhlenberg,  a 
Pennsylvania  German,  who  throwing 
oflf  his  clerical  gown  in  the  pulpit,  re- 
vealed his  military  uniform  and  en- 
listed over  three  hundred  of  his  hear- 
ers in  a  regiment  of  which  he  became 
commander.  At  the  end  of  the  war  he 
resigned   as    Major    General    and    en- 


tered public  life.  He  was  a  member 
of  three  successive  Congresses  and 
speaker  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives. 

Michael  Hillegas,  a  Penu'^ylvania. 
German,  was  in  turn  Provincial,  Con- 
tinental and  U.  S.  Treasurer. 

"Fifteen  per  cent,  of  the  names  of 
Congressmen,  twenty  per  cent,  of  the- 
names  of  State  Senators,  and  twenty- 
five  per  cent,  of  those  of  State  Repre- 
sentatives, have  been  of  Pennsylvania- 
German  origin." 

Time  would  fail  me  to  tell  of 
Pennypacker,  SchaefTer.  Houck,  Cus- 
ter, Schley,  Gallatin,  Hartranft,. 
Beaver,  Brumbaugh,  Bayard  Taylor, 
Jeremiah  S.  Black,  the  Camerons,  and 
a  multitude  of  others  who  have  made 
Pennsylvania  German  blood  tell  in 
the  high  places  of  the  country. 

Let  us  not  think  and  speak  of  our 
ancestry  in  the  spirit  of  pride  and 
boasting  but  let  us  receive  with  grati- 
tude the  glorious  heritage  they  have- 
brought  us.  Profiting  by  their  short- 
comings, let  us  emulate  their  virtues- 
and  consecrate  and  improve  the  good 
traits,  accumulated  in  the  German  race 
thru  the  generations,  to  the  upbuild- 
ing of  the  human  race  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  kingdom  of  God  oiii 
earth. 


How  I  Became  a  Schoolmaster  in  America 


NOTE. — The  following  is  a  free  transla- 
tion of  a  paper  prepared  in  1903  for  the 
Archives  of  the  Deutsche  Gesellschaft  of 
Philadelphia,  and  published  in  German 
American  Annals  of  October,  Id^^i.  The 
author.  Henry  Ehman,  died  in  Philadelphia, 
August   2:],    1908.— Editor. 

HEX  I,  Henry  Ehman, 
and  my  brother  Freder- 
ick came  to  this  country 
in  the  year  1848  we 
were  received  mo^t  gra- 
ciously by  our  uncle  Gott- 
lieb BishofT  wlii)  con- 
ducted a  successful  beer 
St.  John  Street  1)et\veen 
Coates     streets,     ))ut      no 


saloon     in 
Jjrown     anc 


work   was   to  be   found   in   our  trades.. 
I  being  a  weaver  and  he  a  cutler. 

My  uncle  and  his  son  W'iliiam  didi 
all  they  could  but  it  was  all  in  vain, 
we  could  nt)where  find  work.  W  e^ 
therefore,  resolved  upon  the  advice  of 
a  vonug  man  man  to  go  into  the 
country  and  work  for  a  farmer  for 
our  board  as  it  was  already  the  be- 
ginning of  December.  We  started  oflf 
one  beautiful  morning  accompanied 
bv  a  young  man  named  W.  Ziegler. 
W'c  were  informed  that  a  railroad  was- 
bcinu    constructed    between      Reading- 


444 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


and   Harrisburo-    and    thither    we    de- 
cided to  go. 

A\'e  went  through  Germantown.  I 
can  not  name  all  the  places.  The  first 
night  was  spent  at  a  conntrs-  inn  as 
•each  of  us  still  had  a  few  cents,  lodg- 
ing costing  us  3  cents  and  coffee  with 
one  roll  for  breakfast  5  cents.  The 
■second  day  we  got  into  a  community 
where  German  only  was  spoken  which 
was  true  all  the  way  to  Reading,  a 
fortunate  circumstance  as  we  could 
talk  but  little  English.  We  came  to 
a  mutual  understanding  that  each  da}- 
in  turn  one  would  have  to  ask  a 
farmer  for  lodging.  When  my  turn 
•came  I  could  not  do  it.  We  argued 
the  matter  in  the  road  before  a  large 
farm.  It  was  almost  night  but  I 
•could  not  beg:  it  was  against  my  na- 
ture. Finally  the  farmer  noticed  us. 
•came  to  us  and  asked  why  we  stayed 
so  long  on  the  road  and  did  not  enter 
the  house.  ^ly  brother  Frederick 
said  it  was  my  turn  to  ask  for  lodg- 
ing but  that  I  would  not  do  it.  I 
said,  "Rather  than  ask  I  will  sleep  in 
the  large  straw^stack  in  front  of  the 
barn."'  The  farmer  laughed  and  said. 
^'Come  in  also  we  will  see  to  it  that 
we  Avill  shift  somehow-  you  three  will 
liave  to  sleep  in  one  bed  h(-wever." 
The  farmer  said  to  us  at  th.e  same 
time  we  three  should  not  ask  for  lodg- 
ing together  of  a  farmer  but  only  one 
or  two.  "You  can  meet  each  other 
-again  in  the  morning."  We  finally 
reached  Reading. 

Our  uncle  in  Philadel]ihia  told  us 
that  there  lived  in  Reading  a  cousin  of 
ours  Jonathan  Deininger  by  name  and 
•quite  rich  whom  I  still  remembered 
as  he  visited  my  parents  on  his  bridal 
tour  with  his  young  American  lady 
Muhlenberg  by  name.  I  was  then 
ten  years  old.  Such  a  bridal  tour  was 
then  a  rare  event. 

In  Reading  wc  made  inquiry  about 
his  home,  which  was  outside  the  city; 
"but  as  we  approached  the  lordly  man- 
sion, Ave  were  afraid  to  enter.  We 
finally  agreed  that  I  should  enter 
alone  and  the  two  would  wait  for  me 
in  the  woods  until  T  returned,     ^^'hen 


I  rang  the  l^ell  an  elderl}'  lady  came 
out  and  asked  what  I  wanted.  When 
I  mentioned  my  name  she  was  greatly 
])leased  :  she  was  the  sister  of  I.  Dein- 
inger whom  he  had  invited  to  come 
over  from  Germany  on  the  death  of 
his  young  wife.  She  brought  a  bottle 
of  Axine  and  cakes  and  said  her  brother 
was  in  the  city  but  would  return  by 
dinner  time.  He  also  Avas  highly 
])leased.  I  had  to  talk  to  him  about 
( iermauA-.  I  did  not  tell  him  that  my 
brother  Avas  Avaiting  for  me  in  the 
Avoods ;  I  told  him  I  Avanted  to  go  to 
llarrisburg  and  woric  c>n  the  new  rail- 
road because  I  could  get  no  emplov- 
ment  at  niA^  trade  in  Philadel;^hia  to 
Avhich  hoAvever  he  replied: — "That  is 
no  place  for  you;  only  Irish  Avorkmea 
are  tlTere ;  you  stay  Avith  me  this  Av^in- 
ter  and  when  spring  comes  wc  will 
see  what  to  do!"  But  I  thought  '"t  tlie 
tAvo  in  the  Avoods  and  did  not  alloAv 
niA'self  to  be  persuaded  but  took  my 
departure.  He  accompanied  m.e  to  the 
Avoods,  pressed  a  silver  dollar  in  niA- 
hand  and  said  I  should  think  the  mat-, 
ter  OA'er  and  return  again  later  if  I 
did  not  fare  Avell. 

The  tAvo  in  the  Avoods,  hid  behind 
trees,  saAv  my  leaACtaking  from  J. 
Deininger.  but  Avhen  I  came  to  them 
they  Avent  for  me  Avhy  I  ha  1  stayed 
so  long.  etc.  I  told  them  of  my  good 
reception,  my  splendid  dimier  Avit'n 
Avine  and  cakes  for  desseir.  'J"l  ey 
then  told  me  they  had  not  '^urrcrcd 
hunger  either ;  at  noon  they  Avent  to 
the  nearest  farm  and  receiA'ed  a  good 
dinner  but  naturally  Avithout  Avine  as 
I  had  at  ]Mr.  Deininger's.  We  re- 
turned to  Reading  and  resolved  not  to 
go  to  Harrisburg  but  back  again  to 
Philadelphia. 

At  the  northeast  corner  of  ScA^enth 
and  Penn  streets  Ave  took  counsel  to- 
gether ;  I  Avent  into  the  cigar  store, 
and  secured  change  for  the  dollar  and 
gave  each  ^t,  cents  retaining  myself 
34  cents.  This  Avas  at  the  time  my 
total  possession. 

^ly   brother   said    he    Avould     folloAV_ 
the    canal    to     Philadelphia     and    got 


HOW    I    BECAME    A    SCHOOLMASTER    IN    AMERICA 


445. 


work;     we     Ixiih     returned     llie     same 
way. 

The  first  nii;ht  we  toe»k  lo'lgiiiij;-  at 
a  lar^^e  farm,  the  second  ni;;ht  we 
were  in  a  fix  (hatten  wir  Pech)  : 
wherever  we  asked  they  said  ue  have 
one  or  two  and  this  contintied  until 
it  was  ahiiost  chirk,  ^^'e  then  came 
to  a  hotel  where  we  entered  the  bar- 
room and  seated  ourselves  on  a  bench; 
there  was  no  one  in  the  room  but  we 
heard  loud  talking-  in  tire  other  room  ; 
this  was  a  store.  l-'inally  two  men 
entered  from  the  store  and  went  to 
the  bar.  The  one  \\as  the  iandlord 
Sam.  Landis,  the  other  judging-  by  his 
language  was  an  old  German  farmer ; 
they  did  not  see  us, wherefore  I  coughed 
slightly;  they  turned  around,  saying, 
"Hello,  who  is  here?"  We  arose  and 
asked  whether  we  might  stav  for  the 
night.  I^pon  this  the  old  farmer,  Dill 
man  ])y  name,  said:  "What?  You 
must  have  much  money,  come  take  a 
drink  with  us.  This  is  a  goo.l  apple- 
jack." ^^'e  took  a  drink  and  received 
a  cigar  in  the  bargain;  this  was  cus- 
tomary then,  to  each  drink  a  cigar. 
A\^e  found  out  that  old  Dillman  was 
a  native  of  Cannstadt,  Wurtenberg, 
but  had  been  tilling  a  large  farm  for 
a  long  time.  He  said  then:  "You  go 
with  me  toda}',  my  "Franzel"  will  be 
greatly  pleased  to  receive  nev.s  again 
from  our  dear  Suabia." 

\\'e  had  to  go  about  half  a  mile  to 
his  i)lace  where  we  rcceixed  a  hearty 
welcome  from  his  wife;  there  was  no 
hy])ocris}-  there.  A\'e  were  about  to 
sit  d(")wn  to  su])])er  when  a  liitle  old 
man  entered,  stood  still,  looked  about 
liim.  grumbled  "Oh.  there  are  two  al- 
ready." turned  around  and  le^'t  cpiick 
as  lightning,  old  Dillman  following 
who  brought  him  back  again  in  a  few 
minutes.  This  man.  Springer  by  name. 
was  a  jieddler  in  the  commui'it}'  and 
as  often  as  he  came  into  the  neighbor- 
hood took  lodging  with  Mr.  Dillman. 
Old  S)>ringer  made  a  bitter,  cross  face 
toward  us.  .spoiling  my  appetite  but 
my  host  said  to  me  (juietly,  "Eat 
heartily ;  things  are  not  the  old 
man's."     .\fter  supper  we   had   to   talk 


about  the  old  home,  particularly 
Suabia.  l-'inally  old  Springer  became 
talkative  too  and  asked  whether  I 
would  not  teach  school,  he  knew  a 
]jlace  about  six  miles  away.  Tiiey  had 
no  teacher  for  the  winter,  the  preced- 
ing week  when  he  went  through  that 
section  and  he  had  been  iu'structed 
that  if  he  found  anyone  for  the  place 
to  send  him  to  them.  I  laughed  at 
the  proposition  and  said :  "I  am.  no- 
teacher,  I  am  a  weaver."  But  he  said 
he  knew  what  he  was  about  and  be- 
gan to  examine  me.  I  told  him  I  had 
enjoved  a  good  German  school,  had 
also  studied  h'rench  in  the  "Real 
Schule,"  but  had  studied  no  English. 
He  said  then;  "You  need  to  teach  the 
children  only  German ;  the  parents 
want-  no  English."  He  then  took  a 
paper  (Reading  Adler),  picked  out  an 
article  and  said;  "Here  read  this."  I 
naturally  did  my  best.  He  showed  me 
another  article,  which  I  also  read 
without  mistake.  He  then  said:  "Can 
you  also  cipher?"  "O  yes,  quite  well!"" 
He  then  requested  from  old  Dillman: 
his  German  arithmetic,  picked  out  a 
question  which  I  was  to  write  on  a 
slate.  I  read  it  over  and  said:  "I  need 
no  slate,  I  can  work  this  out  in  m}'- 
head."  and  in  a  few  minutes  gave  him 
the  answer.  ITe  looked  in  the  book 
and  exclaimed:  "P.y  God!  he  iias  got 
it  right."  Then  he  said.  "Yon  must 
I:)ecome  a  teacher  in  the  Solomon 
.Sch(')dler  schoolhousc.  }-ou  go  there 
tomorrow  morning  and  say  that  old 
Springer  has  sent  you.  that  you  are  a 
school   teacher." 

Mv  colleague  Ziegler  said  then  he 
was  as  well  educated  as  I  and  could 
also  become  a  teacher  ar.d  sure 
enough  he  also  secured  a  plac  >  in  the 
neighborhood  of  ^Nlr.   Dillman. 

The  next  morning  after  Vjreakfast 
I  took  leave  of  all  and  went  after  my 
ajipointment :  I  had  to  go  six  miles 
from  Mr.  Dilhnan's  house  in  District 
tmvnship.  Berks  county  to  ^fr.  Sliod- 
ler's  in  I^ongswamp  lownshiii.  Berks 
comity.  When  T  came  near  the  place 
where  Mr.  Shodler  lived.  I  passed  a 
hotel;    I    natm-ally    wanted    to    go    by 


446 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


without  stopping  but  a  man  S'Ood  on 
the  porch  and  called  to  me,  ho,  there, 
countryman,  come  in  for  a  minute,  I 
want  to  talk  with  you.  I  answered 
that  I  had  no  money ;  I  had  only  one 
"le\-y"  (12^  cts.)  of  the  Deininger 
dollar.  The  landlord  would  not  yield, 
however;  I  had  to  enter  and  talk  to 
him-  about  Germany  although  he  was 
not  himself  an  immigrant,  his  grand- 
father ha\ing  migrated  from  Palati- 
nate. 

As  I  told  him  among  other  things 
that  old  Springer  had  sent  me  to  Solo- 
mon Shodler,  he  exclaimed:  —  Then 
you  are  a  schoolmaster  for  they  have 
no  one  for  this  winter.  I  had  to 
drink  applejack  twice  with  him  which 
I  did  not  like.  I  would  have  preferred 
beer  but  at  that  time  they  had  in  said 
community  no  beer,  only  porter  and 
api^lejack.  I  had  to  go  half  a  mile  to 
Shodler's.  As  I  entered  the  house 
only  Mrs.  Shodler  and  a  few  children 
were  present.  She  asked  me  what 
my  business  was  and  as  I  said  that 
old  Springer  had  sent  me  here  she  ex- 
claimed full  of  joy:  "Ah,  then  you  are 
surely  a  schoolmaster,  for  he  promised 
us  he  would  send  us  some  one."  She 
called  her  husband  who  was  making- 
flour  barrels  for  he  was  both  cooper 
and  farmer.  He  looked  at  me  sharply 
and  then  said  if  old  Springer  sent  you 
you  must  be  a  schoolmaster. 

Mrs.  Schodler  brought  a  jug  of 
cider  from  the  cellar,  after  enjoying 
which  he  said  now  we  will  go  to  the 
neighbors  and  see  how  many  children 
there  are  whether  it  is  worth  while. 
He  told  me  that  it  was  the  rule  to 
give  the  teacher  a  cent  for  each  day 
a  pupil  attended  to  have  the  teacher 
go  home  with  children  in  tuin  each 
evening  for  lodging  and  meal.-..  What 
surprised  me  so  much  was  that  I  did 
not  hear  a  word  of  English  Ijut  only 
Pennsylvania  German  and  as  it 
semed  to  me  as  people  talk  in  the 
Palatinate. 

Hereupon  we  went  from  house  to 
house  and  I  was  everywhere  intro- 
-duced   as   the  schoolmaster  whom   old 


Springer   sent   and    I    was    everywhere 
welcome. 

Mr.  Henry  Knappenberger  had  4 
children,  George  Dankel  5,  Sol.Wend- 
ling  2,  George  Wetzel  7,  Thomas 
Schuler  3.  John  Schmid  2,  Abraham 
Conrad  4,  Henry  Miller  3,  Solomon 
Schodler  3.  Mr.  Schodler  said  then  t,t, 
children  are  enough,  for  the  school 
room  was  not  extra  large.  I  took  a 
week  to  get  the  schoolroom  ready 
when  announcement  was  male  that 
the  school  would  be  opened  on  Mon- 
day morning  at  8  o'clock.  I  awaited 
the  children  with  anxiety.  Twenty- 
five  came  the  first  day  ranging  in  age 
from  seven  to  eighteen  years.  The 
little  ones  brought  ABC  books  (Ger- 
man) larger  ones  the  Psalms  and  the 
largest  the  Testament.  After  they  had 
all  taken  their  seats  I  said,  children, 
stand  up  we  will  open  our  school  with 
prayer.  They  looked  at  me  very 
much  surprised,  particularly  the  burly 
fellows  and  I  had  to  repeat  the  re- 
quest that  they  should  stand  up.  I 
then  asked  them  which  of  them  could 
repeat  the  Lord's  prayer  bat  there 
was  not  one.  I  said  to  them,  you 
must  all  learn  it  and  by  the  end  of  the 
week  they  could  all  repeat  it  nicely. 
I  taught  them  other  prayers  also,  but 
with  the  large  boys  I  had  trouble  at 
first,  they  did  not  want  to  do  as  I  told 
them  but  with  patience  I  succeeded 
at   last. 

As  already  stated  the  children 
brought  only  their  books  along  to 
learn  to  read.  I  told  the  parents  the 
children  must  also  learn  to  write  and 
cipher  and  that  they  should  buy 
slates.  The  parents  were  agree  i  and  I 
ordered  of  the  merchant  Charles  Hel- 
frich  3  dozen  slates  and  a  box  of  pen- 
cils. This  took  a  week  again  as  they 
had  to  be  ordered  from  Philadelphia. 
Many  parents  were  not  quite  willing 
however ;  they  said,  if  our  children 
can  only  learn  to  read,  to  study  the 
catechism  later  so  that  they  may  be 
confirmed  it  will  be  sufficient.  I  did 
not  yield  at  all,  however,  and  they 
were  finally  glad  that  they  yielded 
and    this    jnit     life     into     the     school. 


HOW    I    BECAME   A    SCHOOLMASTER    IN    AMERICA 


447 


Think  of  lookin^^  continually  into  a 
book  three  hours  in  the  forenoon  and 
three  hours  in  the  afternoon.  I  was 
surprised  how  quickly  the  children 
learned  to  write;  it  was  a  change  for 
them. 

Then  we  began  to  cii)her,  counting 
■at  first  from  i  to  25,  then  to  50,  then 
to  100.  This  was  a  pleasure  when 
they  came  home  in  the  evening  to  be 
able  to  say,  Father  I  can  now  count 
to  100  or  I  can  write  my  name  which 
many  of  the  parents  could  not  do. 

Then  we  began  to  cipher,  after  they 
could  write  numhers.  adding  at  first 
which  went  easy,  but  in  subtracting  I 
had  to  pump  it  into  them  by  com]Dar- 
isons  after  which  it  went  easier.  The 
multijilication  table  went  hard;  I  had 
no  printed  forms.  Spring  came  and  I 
had  to  close  my  school  towards  the 
end  of  ]March  ;  the  large  pupils  had  to 
work  and  with  ten  to  fifteen  smaller 
ones  it  was  not  worth  while. 

The  people  were  well  pleased  with 
me  and  I  had  to  promise  to  come 
again  next  winter  (saying)thev  would 
erect  a  better  and  larger  schoolroom 
for  me.  I  must  also  make  note  of  the 
fact  that  each  one  old  or  young,  rich 
■or  poor,  addressed,  minister,  school- 
master, etc.,  with  you  (du)  which  is 
customary  in  that  section  to  this  day. 

It  seemed  to  me  a  kind  of  strange 
at  first  when  after  closing  school  in 
the  evening  one  of  the  pupils  came  to 
me  and  said :  "Schoolmaster  my 
mother  said  you  should  come  home 
with  me  this  evening,  she  wdl  bake 
apple  cakes."   (fritters?) 

I  taught  school  ten  weeks  in  all ;  it 
was  already  early  in  December  when 
I  began,  I  then  collected  my  salary 
receiving  every  cent ;  1  had  also  four 
children  of  a  ver}^  poor  family  whose 
names  I  will  not  mention,  whose  tui- 
tion mone}'  I  had  to  collect  from  the 
townshi]).  I  made  out  an  extra  list 
with  which  I  went  to  the  Justice  of  the 
Peace  to  swear  to  my  account.  From 
him  I  went  to  the  poor  director,  John 
Kircher  by  name,  and  he  paid  me.  I 
may  note  also  that  the  squire, William 
Schubert  bv  name,  was  also  an  immi- 


grant German  a  native  of  Dresden, 
Saxony,  who  had  been  reside.it  there 
a  long  time,  lie  was  also  a  leader  of 
singing  at  the  Longswamp  church, 
taught  school,  had  studied  in  Leipzig, 
was  also  surveyor,  earned  much 
money,  but  was  too  generous;  we 
later  became  great  friends. 

I  did  not  know  what  to  do  now.  I 
first  bought  some  clothing,  which  I 
needed  badly.  Then  I  hired  out  to  a 
rich  farmer  Jacob  Trexler,  five  miles 
from  the  schoolhouse  as  hired  man  at 
four  dollars  ])er  month  and  living. 
This  was  a  hard  beginning  [or  me, 
much  harder  than  schoolmaster.  I 
had  in  my  life  not  touched  a  horse.  I 
did  not  stay  long  with  him  either,  he 
had  no  patience  with  me,  thought  I 
ought  to  learn  everything  in  a  week. 
I,  therefore,  left  the  place  at  the  end  of 
June  and  hired  out  to  George  Ludwig 
living  on  the  next  farm  who  paid  me 
seven  dollars  a  month.  They  were 
good  people  and  I  remaine.l  three 
years — during  the  summer  months, 
for  as  fall  approached,  one  day  there 
came  to  me  Sol.  Schodler,  Henry 
Knappenberger  and  George  ^^'etzel 
and  asked  me  to  come  to  them  again 
to  teach  school  (saying)  they  would 
erect  a  larger  schoolroom  for  me  and 
I  would  also  receive  more  pupils  this 
winter.  I  promised  to  come  ♦^o  them 
by  end  of  November  and  thus  1  taught 
school  there  three  months  and  during 
the  summer  months  worked  for 
George  Ludwig. 

I  then  learned  to  know  a  Pennsyl- 
vania German  maiden  Sarah  liam- 
scher  whom  I  married.  Her  father 
Samuel  Hamscher  lived  in  thi  upper 
end  of  Longswamp.  There  they  also 
Avanted  me  as  schoolmaster  and  I 
served  until  the  year  1S57-58  when 
the  legislature  of  Pennsylvanii  passed 
a  law  establishing  free  schools.  A 
School  Superintendent  was  elected  in 
each  county  who  examined  the  teach- 
ers, naturally  in  English.  I  got  along 
the  first  two  years.  The  school  di- 
rectors were  all  good  friends  of  mine, 
they  said  we  want  Henry  Ehman 
ac:ain  even  if  he  does  not  have  a  No.  i. 


448 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


certificate  from  the  Superintendent.  I 
noticed  however,  that  things  would 
not  hold  out  in  the  long  run.  I  there- 
fore resolved  to  attend  the  school  Mr. 
Good  opened  in  Reading  to  prepare 
voung  people  for  school  examinations. 
i  remained  there  two  months  and  re- 
ceived my  certificate  as  teacher.  The 
claims  on  the  teachers  became  larger, 
the  examinations  harder,  and  other 
superintendents     followed;      I,      there- 


fore, resolved  to  move  to  Philadelphia 
where  I  with  my  wife  conduct  a  small 
grocery  business  in  my  own  house  at 
1230  ]\Ielon  street. 

^lany  of  my  school  children  when 
they  came  to  Philadelphia  have 
visited  me  and  then  we  speak  of  the 
old  times  54  years  ago. 

HENRY  EHMAN, 
"Aus    Goppingen,    Kr.   Wurtenberg."' 


The  German  Language  and  Family  Names  Among 
the  Creoles  of  Louisiana 

By  Prof.  J.  Hanno  Deiler,  Covington,  La. 


NOTE — The  following,  printed  by  per- 
mission, constitute  the  concluding  para- 
graphs of  a  valuable  copyright  series  of 
papers  by  the  author  on  "The  Settlement 
of  the  German  Coast  of  Louisiana"  pub- 
ished  in  "German  American  Annals".  We 
reprint  the  selection  because  it  illustrates 
in  an  interesting  way  how  German  names 
have  been  changed  through  French  sur- 
roundings. 

.S  A  RULE,  the  German 
girls  took  German  hus- 
bands, and  whole  families 
married  into  one  another. 
To  gi^■e  but  one  ex- 
ample, it  may  be  men- 
ticmcd  here  that  out  of 
the  ten  children  of  one 
Jacob  Troxler  not  fewer  than  eight 
married  into  the  Heidel(  Haydel) 
family.  In  such  families  the  German 
language  survi\ed  longest,  and  old 
Creoles  of  German  descent  have  told 
mc  that  their  grandparents  still  un- 
derstood ind  were  able  to  sp';;ak  the 
German  language,  although  they  were 
not  able  to  read  and  write  it,  as  there 
were  never  any  German  teachers  on 
llie  German  coast.  I  myself  found 
among  the  old  records  a  building  con- 
tract of  1763  written  in  German,  in 
which  one  Andreas  Bluemler,  a  car- 
penter, obligated  himself  to  build  "for 
2000  livres  and  a  cow,  a  heifer  and  a 
black  calf,"  a  house  for  Simon  Traeger 


(Tregre).  A  law-suit  followed  and  so^ 
this  building  contract,  together  with 
the  court  records  of  the  case  were  pre- 
ser^'ed  to  the  present  day. 

In  consequence,  however,  of  the 
many  family  ties  between  the  Ger- 
mans and  the  French,  and  in  conse- 
quence of  the  custom  of  the  Creoles 
to  marry  into  related  families.  French 
gradually  became  the  family  language 
even  in  those  German  families  which 
had  preserved  the  German  language- 
during  these  generations. 

Some  few  German  words,  however,, 
can  occasionally  be  heard  even  yet  in 
the  Creole  families  of  German  des- 
cent, especially  words  relating  to  fav- 
orite dishes,  "which  our  grandmother 
was  still  able  to  cook,  but  which  are 
no  longer  known  in  our  families." 

German  names  of  persons,  too,  have 
been  preserved,  although  in  such  a 
mutilated  form  that  they  can  hardly  be 
recognized.  Thus  the  tradition  in  the 
Heidel  (Haydel)  family  is  that  the 
first  Heidel  born  in  Loiusiana  was 
called  ".Anscopp,"  with  the  French 
nasal  pronimciation  of  the  fiist  syl- 
lable. I  could  not  get  the  original  Ger- 
man for  "Anscopp"  until  I  compiled 
the  genealogy  of  the  family  when  I 
found  that  the  first  Heidel  born  in' 
Louisiana    was    christened    "Jean   Jac- 


THE  GERMAN  LANGUAGE  AND  FAMILY  NAMES 


449 


qucs."  Xow  I  knew  that  they  ealled 
him  in  the  family  "Hans  Jacob,"  and 
that  by  throwing  out  the  initial  "h"' 
and  contracting-  "Hans  Jacob"  the 
name  was  changed  into  "Anscopp."  In 
a  similar  manner  "Hans  I'eter"  was 
changed  into  "Ampcte"  and  ''Hans 
Adam"  into  "Ansdam." 

The  German  language  disappeared 
quickest  in  families  wdiere  a  German 
had  married  a  TVench  giri.  There  no 
German  was  spoken  at  all,  ai.d  even 
the  Christian  names  customary  in 
German  families  disappeared  even  as 
early  as  in  the  second  generation,  as 
now  also  the  French  wife  and  her 
relatives  had  to  be  considered  in  the 
giving  of  names  to  the  children.  In- 
stead of  Hans  Peter.  Hans  Jacob, 
Michl,  Andre  and  Matthis,  the  boys  of 
the  German  farmers  were  now  called : 
Sylvain,  Honore,  Achille,  Anatole,Val- 
court,  Lezin.  Ursin,  Marcel,  Symph- 
orion,  Honor,  Ovide,  Onesiphore,  and 
Onesime ;  and  instead  of  the  good  old 
German  names  Anna  ^Nlarie,  Alarianne, 
Barbara.  Katharine,  Veronika,  and 
Ursula,  the  German  girls  were  called : 
Hortense,  Corinne,  Eloide,  Euphemie, 
Felicitie,  IMelicerte,  Desire,  Pelagie, 
Constance,  Pamela;  and  after  the 
French  Revolution  eacli  fan-ily  had 
her  "Marie  Antoinette.  " 

fhe  changes  which  the  German 
family  names  underwent  among  the 
Creoles  are  most  regrettal)le.  AN'ithout 
exception,  all  names  of  the  first  Ger- 
man colonists  of  Louisiani  were 
changed,  and  most  of  the  Creoles  of 
German  descent  at  the  present  time  no 
longer  know  how  the  names  of  their 
German  ancestors  looked.  Sometimes 
they  were  changed  beyond  recognition, 
and  only  by  tracing  some  thirty  famil- 
ies with  all  their  branches  through  all 
tlie  church  records  still  axailable;  by 
going  through  eighty  boxes  of  official 
documents  in  the  keeping  of  the 
"Louisiana  Historical  Society;"  by 
ransacking  the  archives  of  the  city  of 
New  Orleans  and  of  a  number  of  coun- 
trv  parishes,  and  by  compiling  the 
genealogies  of  these  families  has  the 
author  been  able  to  recognize  ihe  Ger- 


man people  of  the  ditterent  genera- 
tions, to  ascertain  their  original  names, 
and  to  connect  the  old  German  settlers 
with  the  generation  of  the  Creoles  of 
German  descent  now  living. 

A'arious  circumstances  contributed 
to  the  changing  of  these  names.  The 
])rincipal  one  was,  no  doubt,  the  fact 
that  some  of  the  old  German  colonists 
were  not  able  to  write  their  names. 
Their  youth  had  fallen  into  the  period 
of  the  first  fifty  years  after  the  ''Thirty 
Years'  W'ar"  and  into  the  last  years  of 
the  war  when  the  armies  of  Louis  XIV 
of  France  devastated  the  Palatinate.  In 
consequence  of  the  general  destruction 
and  the  widespread  misery  of  the  pe- 
riod, schools  could  hardly  exist  in  their 
homes.  It  was  therefore  not  the  fault 
of  these  people  if  they  could  not  read 
and  write  their  names.  Moreover,  as 
the  parents  could  not  tell  their  children 
in  Louisiana  how  to  write  their  names 
these  children  had  to  accept  what 
French  and  Spanish  teachers  and 
priests  told  them,  and  what  they  found 
in  official  documents.  But  French  and 
Spanish  officials  and  priests  heard  the 
German  names  through  French  and 
Spanish  ears,  and  wrote  them  down  as 
they  thought  these  sounds  should  be 
written  in  b>ench  and  Spanish.  More- 
over, Spanish  and  French  officials  and 
l)riests  at  that  early  time  were  not 
great  experts  in  the  grammar  of  their 
own  language. 

Finally,  the  early  German  ••olonists 
did  not  pronounce  their  own  names 
corrcclh-.  l)ut  according  to  tlieir  own 
dialect. 

To  prox'e  the  last  assertion  three  Ger- 
m  a  n  names  shall  be  considered : 
"Schaf,"  "Schoen,"  "Manz."  In  South 
Germany,  where  most  of  these  people 
came  from,  "a"  is  pronounced  broad, 
and  almost  approaches  the  "o."  The 
.Scnith  German  peasant  does  not  say 
"mcinc  Schafe."  but  "mei'  Schof."  Xo 
wonder  that  the  French  officials 
spelled  the  name  "Schaf"  "Chauffe." 
In  this  form  the  name  still  exists  in 
Louisiana. 

"Sclu)en"  was  evidently  pronounced 
like  German  "Schohn,"  for  wh.ch  rea- 


450 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


son  the   French    spelled    it    "Chesne," 

"Chaigne,"  and  "Chin." 

And  the  name  "Manz"  for  the  same 

reason  was  changed  into  "Monlz." 
Many  changes  in  the*  spelling  of  the 

German     names     follow     the     general 

""Law   of   the  Mutation  of  Consonants," 

called    Grimm's    Law,    which    may  be 

roughly  stated  thus :    "Consonant's    ut- 
tered by  the  same  organ  of  speech  are 

frequently  interchanged." 

Lip  sounds:  b,  p,  v,  f,  ph,  (English) 

gh   (as  in  the  word  "enough"); 

Tongue    sounds:    d,     t,     s,     z,     sch, 

(I-^-ench)  ch,  che,  c,  and  x; 
Throat  sounds :  g,  k,  ch,  hard  c,  qu, 

(French)   gu,   (Spanish)  j   and  x. 

Original  German 
form  of  name : 

Weber — changed  into  Veber,  Vebre, 
Vever,  Bevre,  Febre,  Webere,  Fe- 
bore,  Vabure,  Weibre,  Weyber, 
Febore  and  now  "Webre." 

Kremser — Chremser. 

Kamper — Kammer,,  Campert,  Camper 
Campfer,  Cambra  (Spani-ih)  and 
now  "Cambre". 

Krebs — Creps. 

Kindler — Kindeler,  Ouindler  Ouinler. 

Kerner — Cairne,  Kerne,  O  n  e  r  n  e, 
Kerna,  Carnel,  Ouernel. 

Kindermann — Quinderman,  Quindre- 
man. 

Clemens — Clement. 

Buerckel — Pircle,  Percle,  Bercle,  Bir- 
quelle,  Pircli,  Lerkle  and  Percler. 
One  Marianne  Buerck'el  mar- 
ried one  "Don  Santiago  Villenol". 
As  the  bridegroom's  own  signa- 
ture proves,  the  man's  name  was 
not  "  Santiago  Villenol"  b  u  t 
"Jacob  Wilhelm  Nolte." 

Buch waiter — Bucvalter,  Bouchevaldre, 
Boucvaltre. 

Willig— Willique,  Villique,  V  i  1  i  c, 
Villig,  Billic,  Velyk. 

Katzenberger — Katceberguc,  Kastze- 
berg,  Cazverg,  Casverg,  Casberg, 
Cazimbert,  Kalsberke,  Casvergue, 
Castleberg,  Katsberk,  Cazenber- 
gue  and  now  "Casbergue". 

Wichner — Wichnaire,  Vicner,  Vic- 
naire,  Vickner,  Vignel,  Vichneair, 


Vighner,  Vequenel,  Vicgner,  Vig- 
ner,  Vuquiner,  Bicner,  Vixner, 
Wiener,  Wickner. 

In  an  entry  in  the  marriage  re- 
gister of  1 79 1,  which  four  mem- 
bers of  this  family  signed,  the 
name  ^^^ichner  is  spelled  dififer- 
ently  five  times,  as  the  officiating 
priest,  too,  had  his  own  way  of 
spelling. 

Wagensbach — Vagensbach,  Wagens- 
pack,  Wagenpack,  Vaglespaque, 
Vaverspaqhez,  Waiwaipack.Wab- 
espack,  Bangepach,  Varesbach, 
Vacbach,  Wabespack,  Woigues- 
pack,  Woiwoiguespack,  Vacheba, 
Vacquensbac,  Weghisbough  and 
now  "Waguespack". 

I'rischl — Tris,  T  r  i  s  c  h  a  n  -1  now 
"Triche". 

Traeger — Draeger,  Tregle,  Graeber, 
Trecle,  Traigle,  Treigle,  Treguer, 
Draigue,  Dreiker,  Draegner,  and 
and  now  "Tregre". 

Ettler — Etlair,  Edeler,  Edler,  Ideler, 
Heidler,  Idelet,  Edtl. 

Johannes  Ettler  used  to  add  to 
»4d  to  his  signature  "from  Col- 
mar".  From  this  came  "dit  Col- 
mar",  "alias  Colmar",  an  1  when 
his  daughter  Agnes  Ettler  died, 
she  was  entered  into  the  death 
register  of  St.  John  the  Baptist 
"Ines  Colmar". 

Foltz — Foltse,  Faulse,  Foist,  Folet, 
Folch,  Folsh,  Poltz,  Fols  and 
now  "Folse". 

Manz — Mans,  Mons,  Monces,  Months, 
Munts  and  now  "Montz". 

Wilsz  — Wils,  Vils,  Willst.  Vills, 
Vylts,  Wuells,  Bilce,  Veilts.  The 
Wilsz  family  in  Eisenach,  Thur- 
ingia,  Germany,  writes  the  name 
with  "sz",  and  so  did  Ludwig 
Wilsz,  the  progenitor  of  the  New 
Orleans  branch  of  the  family, 
but  his  brother  in  Mobile  adopted 
"tz"  as  did  all  descendants  of 
both  branches,  including  Gover- 
nor Wiltz  of  Louisiana. 

Lesch — Leche,  Laiche,  Lesc,  Leichet, 
Lecheux  and  now  "Leche"  and 
"Laiche". 


THE  GERMAN  LANGUAGE  AND  FAMILY  NAMES 


461 


Zehringer — Seringuer,     Sering,     Serin- 

gue,  Zenrick,  Zerincque,  Ceringue 

and  now  "Zeringue". 
Hiiljer — Houbre,       lloulicr,        Houver, 

Ubre,     Ouure,      Ouvre,     Houvre, 

Hoover,    Vbre     and    Vbaire.       In 

"\njre"     and     Vbaire"     the     ''V" 

stands  for  "U". 
Initial  "h"  is  pronounced  neither  in 
French  nor  in  Spanish.  For  ihis  rea- 
son initial  "h"  in  German  names  was 
usually  dropped, and  where  an  attempt 
was  made  to  represent  it,  the  French 
often  used  "k"  while  the  Spaniards 
represented  it  by  "x"  or  "j,"  and  occa- 
sionally by  "qu". 
Heidel     changed    into — Aydel,     Jaidel 

Keidel.     Appears  also  as  Hedelle, 

Idel.  Etdell  and  is  now  "Haydel". 
Richner — Rixner,     Risner,      Resquiner, 

Ristener. 
Himmel — Immel,      Ymelle,       X  i  m  e  1, 

Ouimel  and   now  "Hymel". 
"VMchner — Wixner. 
Heifer— Elfer,   Elfre,   Elfert. 
Hufnagel — Oufnague,  Houfnack. 
Hauser — Hoser,  Oser. 

When   a   German   name   began   with 
a  vowel  they  often  prefixed  an  "h"  : 
Engel — Engle,    Aingle,    Ingle,    Yngle, 

Hingel,    Hincle.    Hengel,    Heigne 

and  now  "H ingle". 
Engelhardt  —  Ilingle     Hart,     Hangle- 

hart,  Inglehart. 
Edelmeier — Heldemaire,  Aidelmer,  El- 

demere,  Delmaire,  Le  Maire. 
In  Spanish  the  letter  "I"  occurs 
sometimes  when  we  expect  an  "r,"  for 
instance  "Catalina"  for  "Catherina." 
So  the  Spanish  use  "I"  also  in  family 
names  instead  of  "r": 

Quernel  instead  of  Kerner, 

Beltram  for  Bertram. 

A'iquinel  and    Vignel    for    Vicner 
(^^'ichner), 

Tregle  for  Traeger  (Tregre). 
By  replacing  German  "sch"  by 
"ch,"  as  was  the  custom  during  the 
French  period,  the  German  names  as- 
sumed an  entirely  foreign  appearance, 
as  no  German  word  ever  begins  with 
"ch" : 

Schantz — Chance  and  Chans; 
Strantz — Schrantz,   Chrence  ; 


Schwab — Chave   and   Chaube,  Chuave  ; 
Schaf — Chaufif,    Cuave,    Cheaut,    Chof, 

Chofe,  Chofif,  Chaaf,    Soff,    Shoflf, 

SkofT,     Shaw,     Chaaf     and     now 

"Chaufife" ; 
Schaefer — Chefer,       Cheffre,       Chevre, 

Chepher,  Cheper,  Scheve. 
Schmidt — Chemitt  and  Chmid  . 
Schuetz — Chutz. 

The   German   "o"   became   "au"   and 
"eau" : 
Vogel — Fogle,    Feaugle,    Voguel,    and 

Fauquel. 
Hofmann — O  f  m  a  n,       Aufman,      and 

Eaufman. 
Also  the  inclination  of    the    French 
to  put  the  stress  upon  the  last  syllable 
appears  in  German  names : 
Himmel — Ymelle ; 
Heidel— Aydelle,     Hedelle,     Haydelle, 

Etdelle. 
Rommel — Rommelle.    Appears   also   in 

the  forms  Rommle,  Romle,  Rome, 

Romo   (Spanish),  Romme,  Rom. 
Troxler  changed  into — Stroxler,  Stros- 

cler,    Drozeler,    Troesseler,     Trox- 

laire,  Drotseler,  Trocsler,    Frucks- 

ler,  Trouchsler,    Troustre,    Trose- 

ler,  Trocler,  Trossclaire,  Troscler, 

Trocher,       Drotzeler,        Droezler, 

Troxclair,  Troslisser. 
Kuhn — Coun,  Cohn,  Koun. 
Mayer— Mayre,     Mailer,     Mahir,     Ma- 

hier,   Maieux,   Meyier,   Mayeux. 
Dubs — Tus,  Touptz,  Toubse,    Toupse, 

Tups,  now  "Toups". 
Ory — Orji,  Oray,  Orij,  Haury,  Aury. 
Keller — Queller,  Caler,  Keler,  Ouellar. 

One"'"Don    Juan    Pedro    Cuellar" 

signed  his  name  in  German  script 

"Hansbeter  Keller". 
Held— Haid.     Helder.     Helette,     Hail, 

Helle,  Helte. 
Steilleder— Stelider,     Steilledrc,     Still- 

aitre,     Stillaite,      Stilet,       Estilet, 

Steili,  Setli  now  "Estilet". 
Steiger  —  Stayer,       Stabler,       S  tli  er, 

Stayre,  Steili,  Stayer,  Steygre,  Es- 

taidre. 
Jansen — Yentzen,   Hentzen,   Kensin. 
Kleinpeter — Cloinpetre,   Clampetre. 
Ketterer — Ouaitret. 


452 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Hans   Erich   Roder  —  Anseriquer    Au- 

der. 
A\'eisskraemer — \isecrenne. 
Struempfl — Strimber,    Estrenfoul. 
llansjoerg — Hensiery. 
Graef(in) — Crevine. 
Kissinger — (nizinguer,   Ouisingre. 
Urban      Ohnestirg — Hour        Pamons- 

caurse. 
Dorothea  Baer(in) — Torotay  Perrinnc. 
Miltenberger — Mil  de  Bergue. 
Christmann  —  Crestman,  Vresman, 

Krestman. 
W'enger — \'inguer. 
liendcrnagel — Bintnagle. 
W'ehrle — \^erlet,  Verlay. 
Schoderbecker — Chelaudtre,      Chloter- 

berk. 
Renner — Rinlier. 

Also  Christian  names  as  well  as  the 
names  of  places  (see  Ettler.  from  Col- 
mar)  and  nicknames  became  family 
names. 

The  daughter  of  one  Jacob  Heifer 
was  entered  into  the  marriage  register 
as  "Mademoiselle  Yocle,"  because  her 
father  was  called  familiarly  "Jockel," 
which  is  a  nickname  for  Jacob. 

The  family  oi  Thomas  Lesch  was 
for  .some  time  lost  to  me  until  I  re- 
covered it  under  the  name  of  "Dau- 
mas" — "Thomas." 

Remarkable  was  the  fate  of  the 
name  "llofmann."  'idle  forms  Ofman. 
Aufman.  Eaufman.  Maufman.  Oph- 
man,  Oghman,  ( )cman.  Hochman. 
Haukman,  Hacmin.  Aupemane,  Aug- 
man,  Olphman.  and  Ocmane  were  not 
the  only  changes  that  occurred.  The 
family  came  from  Uaden  and  thus  "de 
l>ade"  was  often  added  to  the  name. 
In  course  of  time  the  i^eople  forgot  the 
meaning  of  "de  Bade."  and  a  new 
name  was  formed,  "Badeau,"  with  a 
feminine   form,  "Badeauine." 

The  eldest  daughter  of  one  Hof- 
mann  married  a  man  by  the  name  of 
"Achtziger."  This  name  seems  to  have 
given  a  great  deal  of  trouble.  I  found 
"Hacksiger,"  "Chactziger,"  "Oxtixer." 
"Axtigre,"  "Harzstingre,"  "Astringer," 
"Haxsitper,"'  and  "Horticair,"  but 
early  the  hVench  officials  (like  in  the 
case     "Zweig-Labranche")      translated 


the  name  Achtziger  into  French  "Oua- 
trevingt,"  to  which  they  were  in  the 
habit  of  adding  the  original  name  as 
best  they  knew  how.  Xow,  as  the  eld- 
est daughter  of  this  Hofmann  was 
called  "Madame  Ouatrevingt,"  they 
seem  to  have  called  her  younger  sister 
in  a  joking  way  "Mademoiselle  Ouar- 
ante,"  for  wdien  she  married  she  ap- 
])ears  in  the  church  register  as  "Made- 
moiselle Quarantine,"  alias  "Hocman." 

Mnally,  another  name  shall  be  men- 
tioned here,  which  is  now  pronounced 
"Sheckshn}(ler."  The  legend  is  that 
six  brothers  by  the  name  oi  "Sch- 
neider" came  across  the  sea.  and  each 
one  of  them  was  called  "one  of  the 
six  Schneiders,''  hence  the  name 
"Sheckshnyder ;"  but  this  lengend  is, 
like  many  another  legend,  false.  The 
first  ]M-iest  of  St.  John  the  Baotist.  the 
(ierman  Capuchin  father  Bernhard 
\-on  Limbach.  (1772),  who  wrote  even 
the  most  difficult  German  names 
])honetically  correct,  entered  the  name 
as  "Scheckschneider."  which  is  an  old 
(ierman  name.  The  progenitor  of  this 
family.  Hans  Reinhard  Scheckschnei- 
der, is  mentioned  on  the  passenger 
list  of  one  of  the  four  pest  ships  which 
sailed  from  E'Orient  on  the  twenty- 
fourth  of  January.  1721.  There  were 
no  "six  Schneider"  on  board,  only  he, 
his  wife  and  two  S(M1s.  one  of  whom 
died  in  lirest.  ^'et  he  was  already 
called  "Chezneider,"  even  on  board 
shi]).  h'mm  this  came  later  the  follow- 
ing forms,  which  were  all  taken  from 
official   documents: 

Sexchneyder,  Sexnaidre.  Snydre, 
Sixtailleur,  Seckshneyder,  Secxnauder, 
Sheknaidre,  Sheknidre,  Seinadre,  Seic- 
n  a  y  d  r  e,  Schnaidre,  Seicshnaydre, 
-Seishaudre.  .Schgnaidre,  Seinaydre, 
Scheixneydre,  Sixney,  Sexnall.  Ches- 
naitre,  Caxnayges,  Cheixnadydre,Chex- 
naydre,  Cheixnaidre,  Chixnaytre,  Segs- 
neidre,  Cheesnyder,  Celfceneidre.  Hex- 
naider.  At  present  almost  every 
branch  of  thiiS  very  numerous  family 
writes  the  name  differently. 

The  Creoles  of  German  descent  con- 
stitute even  now  a  large,  if  not  the 
largest,   part   of   the   white    population 


THE  GERMAN  LANGUAGE  AND  FAMILY  NAMES 


453 


of  the  German  Coast,  the  parishes  of 
St.  Charles  and  St.  John  tlie  IJaptist, 
of  L.ouisiana.  lUit  the}'  spread  at  an 
^arly  time,  also  oxer  neis^hboriiiL;-  (hs- 
tricts.  \\liere  their  many  ehiUhen  took 
up  new   hiiuls   for  cuhivation. 

They  went  up  to  St.  James  parish, 
where  some  eonnected  tliemselves 
with  the  Aca(han  famihes  by  mar- 
riages. Tlie\-  also  went  to  the  parishes 
of  Assumjition,  Ascension,  and  Iber- 
ville, still  further  up  the  Mississippi. 
They  went  to  where  Donaldson ville 
now  stands.  On  the  ])lace  was  the  vil- 
lage of  the  Chetimachas  Indians;  and 
Bayou  Lafourche,  w  h  i  c  h  there 
branches  oft"  from  the  Mississippi  and 
extends  for  a  distance  of  no  miles  to 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  was  then  called 
''Fourche  des  Chetimachas." 

Down  this  bayou  the  descendants 
of  the  early  Germans  pressed  and 
throughout  the  whole  length  of  Bayou 
Lafourche  I  found  many  German 
names  in  the  church  register  of  Don- 
alds(inville,  Paincourtville,  Platten- 
ville.  Xapoleonville,  Labadieville,  Thi- 
bodeaux,.  Houma  and  Lockport.  Also 
the  word  "Teche"  (Bayou  Tcche)  is 
supposed  to  be  derived  from  the 
"Deutsch." 

In  the  course  of  time,  however. 
great  changes  occurred  among  the  de- 
scendants of  the  early  Germans, 
though  not  so  much  in  their  physical 
appearance.  There  are  still  among 
them  many  of  the  ancient  stalwart 
German  type,  who  betray  the  French 
blood  received  in  the  course  of  time 
only  by  their  more  lively  disposition ; 
there  are  still  blue  eyes  and  blond  hair 
among  them,  although  in  some  fami- 
lies both  types,  the  German  and  the 
Latin,  seem  to  be  equally  represented  ; 
there  is  still  the  same  very  large  num- 
ber of  children  to  be  found  in  their 
families ;  the  Creole  of  German  des- 
cent is  still  the  most  robust  of  the 
Creoles,  and  one  very  well  know'n 
still  produces  the  same  giants  as  in 
the  days  when  their  German  great- 
grandfathers used  to  drive  off  the 
Acadians,  when  they  came  down  from 


St.  James  to  disturb  the  .Saturday 
dances  on  the  German   Coast. 

Tlie  changes  spoken  of  refer  chiefly 
to  their  economical  condition.'!  hrough 
the  Ci\il  War  many  of  these  families 
lost  not  onl_\-  their  slaves,  but  also 
their  plantations,  the  source  of  their 
once  very  considerable  wealth.  They 
have,  therefore,  shared  the  lot  of  the 
other  Creoles.  lUit,  thanks  to  their  in- 
herited energy,  they  wrung  an  exis- 
tence from  the  a<l verse  conditions,  and 
now  that  a  new  era  of  prosperity  has 
dawned  upon  Louisiana,  their  pros- 
pects, too.  have  became  brighter — 
many  of  them  are  now  to  be  found  in 
the  professions,  in  commercial  and  in- 
dustrial pursuits,  and  official  positions 
all  over  the  State,  in  which  they  have 
inxariably  gained  for  themselves  an 
enviable  reputation,  and  often  great 
distinction ;  others  made  use  of  their 
knowledge  of  planting  by  accepting 
after  the  war  positions  of  managers  of 
large  estates,  later  renting  and  finally 
buying  some  of  the  many  vacant  plan- 
tations, and  still  others  succeeded  in 
preserving  and  increasing  the  ante 
bellum  wealth  of  their  families.  The 
great  majority  of  the  Creoles  of  Ger- 
man descent  may  be  said  to  be  again 
on  the  road  to  prosperity. 

But  their  golden  age  is  passed,  and 
will  never  return  in  the  form  which 
they  once  enjoyed  it.  This  they  know, 
and  for  this  reason  their  mind,  espec- 
ially that  of  the  older  generation,  re- 
verts with  tender  regret  to  the  past. 
They  also  remember  their  German 
descent,  and  when  they  now  look 
sadly  upon  the  land  which  their  ances- 
tors had  conquered  from  the  wilder- 
ness and  the  Mississippi,  and  which 
also  once  belonged  to  them,  but  which 
is  now  tilled  by  others,  they  still  say 
with  pride :  "We  are  the  descendants 
of  those  Germans  who  turned  the 
wilderness  into  a  paradise  such 
as  Louisiana  never  possessed  before." 
May  they  ever  remember  their  Ger- 
man ancestors  and  emluate  their  ex- 
ample ! 


454 


Race  or  Mongrel 

By  Dr.  Alfred  P.  Schultz— L.  C.  Page,  Pub.,  Boston,  Mass. 


BOOK  to  be  hushed  up 
by  those  whose  concep- 
tion of  the  world,  of  its 
ideals  and  problems  has 
been  petrified  conclus- 
ively into  unchangeable 
dogmas,  by  those  who 
are  unwilling  and  unable 
to  learn  anything  new — to  be  hushed 
up,  also,  by  those  whose  pecuniary  in- 
terests it  could  in  any  possible  way 
conduce  to  curtail. 

Yet  it  is  a  noble  literary  and  scien- 
tific exploit,  and  that  for  three  rea- 
sons. 

First,  the  large  part  of  the  book 
pictures,  very  aptly,  the  ideas  and  re- 
searches of  Covmt  A.  de  Gobineau  and 
his  followers  Houston  Stewart  Cham- 
berlain, Albrecht  Wirth,  and  others. 
Among  the  many  interesting  chapters 
those  on  the  Chaldeans,  the  Jews,  the 
Hindoos,  Hellas,  and  the  racial  mon- 
grelism  in  ancient  Rome  are  of  spec- 
ial interest  to  our  republic.  It  can  not 
be  too  highly  appreciated,  that 
Schultz  undertook  to  enable  the 
American  people  to  discuss  the  teach- 
ings of  the  aforesaid  European 
writers,  as.  so  far,  very  little  on  this 
subject  has  been  written  here  in  Eng- 
lish. The  original  works  are  too  vol- 
uminous and  written  in  too  scientific 
a  language  ever  to  become  popular. 

Only  specialists  will  devote  suf- 
cient  time  and  trouble  to  read  the 
books  through  and  yet,  indeed  it  is  of 
profound  importance  that  the  general 
public  of  the  western  hemisphere 
should  ingest,  digest  and  assimilate 
the  views  in  question.  When  we  see 
that,  in  spite  of  an  enormous  develop- 
ment of  intercommunication,  the  dif- 
ferences between  the  races  have  not 
only  not  disappeared,  but  are  really 
more  accentuated ;  when  we  under- 
stand that  nearly  all  wars  of  modern 
times  and  most  subjects  of  diplomatic 
activity  have  to  deal  with  racial  ques- 


tions; we  will  readily  admit  that  the 
opinions  of  Gobineau,  Chamberlain  and 
Wirth  are  by  no  means  obsolete  that 
they  on  the  contrary,  grow  more  vital 
from  day  to  day. 

Their  bearing  will  become  illimit- 
able when  the  peoples — and  espec- 
ially our  American  one — begin  to- 
draw,  from  the  theories  of  these 
writers,  inferences  that  lead  to  prac- 
tical results.  Indeed,  when  our  fore- 
fathers excluded  Mongolian  immigra- 
tion it  was,  so  to  speak,  by  mere  in- 
tuition. Now  the  historians  in  ques- 
tion prove  scientifically  that  the  glor- 
ious founders  of  our  republic  were 
right.  Americans  are  greatly  in- 
debted to  Air.  Schultz  for  this,  the 
more  so,  if,  while  reading,  they  do  not 
forget  to  read  between  the  lines.  The 
ideas  propounded  are,  in  general,  as 
follows: 

The  many  human  races  are  not 
of  equal  importance  in  the  develop- 
ment of  culture,  nor  are  they 
ecpially  capable  of  development.  Tha 
culture  of  a  race  is  more  dependent 
upon  innate  predisposition  and  inher- 
ent qualities  than  upon  external  con- 
dition, such  as  climate  and  nature  of 
the  soil.  Crossing  of  races,  that  widely 
divaricate,  is  against  nature.  By  racial 
intermixture,  the  lower  elements  are 
not  raised  to  the  level  of  the  higher, 
but  these  decay  and  sink  to  the  level 
of  the  lower.  A  race  may  absorb  and 
assimilate  a  certain  amount  of  foreign 
blood,  when  this  is  not  too  large  and 
sufficient  time  is  given  for  thorough 
assimilation.  When  the  crossing  oc- 
curs too  rapidly  and  too  largely,  racial 
decay  and  deterioration  of  culture  is 
unavoidable.  All  civilizations  of  the 
present  day  are  born  of  Christian  in- 
fluences and  Germanic  mixture;  these 
are  their  base  and  sustenance,  and 
that  to  such  a  degree  that  where  the 
Germanic  element  has  not  intervened, 


RACE   OF  MONGREL 


455 


never  a  civilization  in  our  sense  of  the 
term  can  rise  or  thrive. 

Second,  Dr.  Schultz's  book  is  a 
heroic  exploit,  in  so  far  as  he  dares 
to  apply  said  theories  to  the  political 
and  social  life  of  the  American  con- 
tinents. This  is  done  in  the  chapters: 
the  South  American  Mong^rel,  the 
Monroe  Doctrine,  the  Yellow  Races, 
the  Anglo-Saxons  in  America,  Who  in 
America,  Men  or  the  Balance-sheet? 
and  Anglo-Saxons  and  Germans.  Even 
the  titles  evidence  that  the  politics 
and  views  now  prevailing  in  our  offi- 
cial life,  in  the  light  of  Gobineau  and 
his  followers,  are  rather  unfavorably 
criticised.  It  is  worthy  of  the  heroic 
conception  of  life  of  the  old  pioneers, 
that  Mr.  Schultz  has  the  courage  to 
hurl,  in  the  English  language,  right 
into  the  face  of  his  countrymen,  what 
Count  de  Gobineau  and  his  able 
translator  into  German.  Schemann, 
Professor  at  the  University  at  Frei- 
burg, Germany,  wrote,  long  ago,  in 
German :  As  long  as  migration  and 
intermixture  continue,  as  is  the  case 
today,  a  development  and  rise  of  our 
culture  will  never  take  place,  if  the 
teachings  of  these  researchers  are  cor- 
rect. "America  will  sink  to  early  de- 
cay unless  immigration  is  vigorously 
restricted :"'  so  reads  the  title  of  the 
book.  Among  other  brilliantly  writ- 
ten subjects,  the  negro  ])roblem.  also, 
is  put  in  clear  light.  By  annexation 
of  the  Central-American,  formerly 
Spanish  territories  and  islands  enor- 
mous hordes  of  Romans,  already 
stained  with  colored  blood,  have  be- 
come citizens,  and  the  endless  inflow 
from  the  Latin  countries  carries  an 
increasing  percentage  of  Roman 
blond,  to  our  shores.  The  Romans 
as  experience  shows,  intermarry 
more  indiscriminately  with  colored 
peo])le  and  it  is  by  these  channels 
that  negro  blood  leaks  into  our  veins, 
turning  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  Avith  its  bright  prospects,  into 
a  nation  of  mulattoes.  By  a  similar 
association  of  thoughts  Schultz  calls 
the  Monroe  doctrine  "the  most  abom- 
inable atrocitv     that     was     ever    com- 


mitted by  white  men  against  the 
white  races."  Though  puzzled  at 
first,  I  now,  assert  emphatically  that 
after  a  thorough  study  of  the  original 
works,  I  fully  agree  with  Mr.  Schultz. 
"Not  the  Balance-sheet"  of  our  gov- 
ernmental statistics  and  a  prosperity 
that  pt)ssibly  sooner  or  later  may 
wane  away-confer."  Our  Wasteful 
Nation  recently  i)ublished  by  Rudolf 
Cronau,  Mitchell  Kennerly,  New 
York,  that,  besides,  trends  mainly  to 
the  benefit  of  a  few,  have  to  be  taken 
into  consideration  but  the  welfare  of 
the  masses ;  the  assured  use  of  our 
civilization  is  the  goal  and  star. 
worthy  of  a  great  struggle.  Now,  for 
pity's  sake,  ask  the  breeder  of  horses, 
fowls  and  plants,  of  what  kind  is  the 
offspring  of  a  careless  crossing  of 
even  the  best  specimens  of  divari- 
cated races.  And  then  imagine  the 
realization  of  the  common  saying 
that,  in  this  country,  out  of  the  best 
elements  of  all  races,  a  better  type  of 
humanity,  the  men  of  the  future,  will 
be  formed.  Is  there  anything  more  in 
it  than  mere  fancy? 

The  third  part  of  Mr.  Schultz's 
book  deals  with  the  German-Ameri- 
cans, which  term  he  applies  only  to 
those  born  here  of  German  i)arents. 
In  accordance  with  other  writers  on 
similar  subjects,  he  points  to  the  in- 
fluence of  the  mother  tongue  upon 
mental  development.  The  mother 
tongue,  as  is  assumed  to-day,  must 
have  brtmght  about  during  its  de- 
velopment certain  fine  changes  in 
that  area  of  brain  which  is  the  seat  of 
language.  Its  su]:)plantation  by  another 
language — which  is  not  to  be  con- 
founded with  the  acquisition  of  a 
second  one — must  first  bring  about  a 
change  in  the  structure  of  the  afore- 
said brain  region.  For  this  reason, 
and  in  consequence  with  the  asser- 
tions of  other  writers,  a  deterioration 
of  mental  effectiveness  is  observable 
in  peo])le  who  have  given  up  their 
mother  tongue.  To  this  Dr.  Schultz 
points,  lie  assumes  that,  though  the 
Germans  in  Germany  are.  on  many 
fields,  better  than  the  English  of  luig- 


456 


THE    PEXXSYLVAXIA-GERMAX 


land,  the  Germans  of  this  country  are 
not  even  equal  to  those  of  English 
descent  here.  The  reason  is.  as  we 
have  seen,  that  without  the  German 
mother  tong-ue  no  German  thinking  is 
possible,  nor  German  feeling,  and 
therefore  that  mental  power  has  not 
the  same  efifectiveness  as  in  Germans 
in  Europe.  As  German  culture  is 
higher  than  other  cultures,  Germans, 
in  giving  up  their  language,  become 
degraded  as  to  culture.  Schultz  could 
find  no  extraordinarily  successful  men 
among  the  German  -  Americans  — 
single  exceptions  do  not  count,  where 
millions  are  in  consideration,  and 
these  single  cases,  as  a  rule,  have  been 
in  closer  touch  with  German  language 
and  influence.  Thus.  German-Ameri- 
cans fail  to  be  found  among  the 
statesmen,  for  instance,  in  the  line  of 
presidents  and  vice-presidents  until 
dutch-descended  Roosevelt,  nor  are 
they  among  the  great  artists,  the 
scholars  and  the  inventors.  For  all 
these  reasons,  he  calls  upon  the  Ger- 
mans to  stick  to  their  mother  tongue 


and  to  be  .true  to  their  race — which 
does  not  imply  untruthfulness  to  the 
repulilic  and  its  government.  As  to  us 
German  -  Americans,  he  is  rather 
harsh,  but  this  harshness  is  born  of 
pity  in  the  biblical  meaning:  "Whom 
the  Lord  loveth.  He  chastiseth."  His 
book  is  intended  to  combat  the  in- 
fluences which  tend  to  deprive  the 
Germans  of  the  racial  qualities. 

\\'hen  Shultz's  strokes  are  some- 
times altogether  too  keen,  others  will 
parry.  The  result  can  be  only  useful 
to  the  German  offspring  in  America 
and,  last  but  not  least,  to  our  country. 
]\lay  the  book  find  the  attention  it 
deserves !  A\'hoever  reads  it,  will  be 
impelled  to  think  and  to  observe 
things,  in  public  life,  as  they  really 
are  pro  bono  publico. 
Xew  York  City. 

FRIEDRICH  GROSSE,  M.  D. 

NOTE — Communications  on  this  subject 
appeared  in  THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GER- 
MAN, Dec,  1908,  Jan.,  1909,  April,  1909, 
copies  of  which  can  still  be  supplied. 


Christ  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church 

Of  Lower  Bermudian,  Adams  Co.,  Pa. 
By  Rev.  Stanley  Billheimer,  York  Springs,  Pa. 


HE  Bermudian  Creek  rises 
in  the  foot-hills  of  the 
South  Mountain  in  the 
north-western  part  of 
Adams  county;  and  after 
a  meandering  flow,  emp- 
ties into  the  Conewago  a 
few  miles  from  Dover  in 
York  county.  The  Germans  began  to 
occupy  its  valley  just  a  little  later  than 
the  Scotch,  the  Dutch  and  the  Eng- 
lish. About  two  miles  from  Bermu- 
dian P.  O.  was  established  the  first 
Union  church  in  what  is  now  Adams 
county.  The  old  church-book,  beauti- 
fully engrossed,  is  authority  for  the 
following  account:  "Both  sides  were 
Protestant   consjregations   on   the   Pra- 


mothien,  in  Hunting  Township,  Prov- 
ince of  Pennsylvania,  in  which  capac- 
ity they  were  instituted  under  the 
open  sky  near  the  dwelling  oi  Hein- 
rich  Weidenbach,  on  March  19,  1745." 
Meetings  were  held  thereafter  in  the 
house  of  Johannes  Aspers  and  in  other 
dwellings  and  barns  until  1754,  when 
it  was  resolved  to  accept  the  offer  of 
Jacob  Heens,  Reformed,  of  two  acres 
of  land  for  a  Union  Reformed  and 
Lutheran  Church,  "so  that  the  clear 
and  unadulterated  Word  of  God  shall 
be  preached  and  the  Holy  Sacraments 
regularly  and  devoutly  administered, 
according  to  the  institution  of  our 
Savior  Jesus  Christ,  and  as  is  ap- 
proved and  required  by    both    persua- 


CHRIST  EVANGELICAL  LUTHERAN  CHURCH 


457 


sions  according-  to  their  Symbolical 
Books."  The  church  was  solemnly 
consecrated  on  the  15th  of  April,  1754. 
by  Herr  Pastor  liaclier  for  the  Luth- 
erans, and  Jacob  Lischy.  Reformed 
pastor,  with  the  prayer:  "That  the 
Only  Adorable  (iod  would,  for  the 
sake  of  Jesus  Christ,  bless  tliis  little 
Protestant  flock,  united  in  lo^e;  pre- 
serve the  same  in  peace,  thei:  hearts 
loving,  their  spirits  kind ;  keei)  them 
loyal  in  the  discreet  worshi])  'if  God; 
and  permit  them  to  appear  united  at 
the  eternal  feast  in  peace  and  joy  l)e- 
fore  His  heavenly  throne  of  grace;  and 
bring"  them  into  everlasting  blessed- 
ness, by  grace,  through  our  dear  Sav- 
iour Jesus  Christ.     Amen." 

The  book  was  suitably  divided  by 
formal  headings,  one  of  which  is  the 
Family  Register.  Here  are  found  the 
following  names :  Nicholaus  Defter, 
n.  Dec.  20,  1712,  of  Plirschland  in 
Franconia;  his  wife,  Anna  Catharina 
Bauman,  n.  on  Maundy-Thursday, 
1705.  Johann  Nicholaus  Pjusch-,  n.  Jan. 
6,  1723,  of  Tripstatt  aus  der  PfHltx;his 
wife,  Anna  Catherina  Schmasten- 
berger,  n.  June  17,  1731.  Henrich 
Fuchs,  n.  Dec.  27,  1728,  of  Echvieler; 
his  wife,  Catherina  Elizabeth  Koenig, 
n.  1731.  Georg  Anthon  Kling,  n.  1723, 
of  Laurentzi,  his  wife,  i\nna  i\Iar- 
gareth  Schall,  n.  1726.  Hannes  Leh- 
mer,  a  w^eaver,  of  W'etterau  ;  liis  wife, 
Elizabeth  Dunther.  Lorentz  Alberth, 
n.  Oct.  22,  1719,  wheelwright,  of  Alt- 
feld ;  his  wife,  Anna  Barbara  W^olff,  n. 
Oct.  22,  1722.  John  Georg  Heckele, 
n.  July  1735;  his  wife,  Anna  Elizabeth 
Umels,  n.  Apri  1  21,  1730.  Hanna 
Regina  (Dajer)  Fickes,  n.  June  23, 
1717,  wid.  Jost  Fickes;  two  daughters 
married  Maria  Barbara  to  Peter  Storm 
and  Susanna  to  Samuel  How.  Lucas 
Kaus,  n.  Oct.  18,  1723.  of  Cronstadt, 
Hungary;  his  wife,  Johanna  Sophia 
Gemling,  n.  1734.  Forty-seven  chil- 
dren are  included  in  this  register. 

The  first  baptism  is  recorded  as  fol- 
lows : 


Infantes 


Parentes 


Testes 


Den  19  Martz  Anno  1745  an  der  Pramothien 
getauft 

Anna  Maria   I  Jacob  Baumann    |  Abraham  Lero 
I    Elizabeth  |  Anna  Maria 

There  are  recorded  887  infant  bap- 
tisms prior  to  1800.  The  first  recorded 
Communion  was  held  July  30,  1758, 
when  forty-eight  were  present.  The 
first  marriage  was  that  of  Georg 
Heigis  and  Maria  Magdaline  Mueller, 
Oct.  10,  1758. 

The  first  church  was  a  plain  log 
l)uilding  characteristic  of  the  period, 
and  was  familiarly  known  as  "Long- 
green."'  Regular  entries  of  Minister- 
ial Acts  each  year,  from  1745,  show 
pastoral  care.  But  who  first  gathered 
these  people  and  baptized  their  chil- 
dren is  now  imknown ;  no  names  were 
signed.  Muhlenberg  visited  ]\IcAllis- 
tertown  (Hanover)  in  1746,  and  it  is 
not  unlikely  that  his  great  zeal  may 
have  prompted  him  to  go  fifteen  miles 
farther  to  the  Bermudian.  R  e  \'. 
John  Georg  Bager  (Bacher  above) 
was  one  of  the  Halle  group,  arriving 
in  1752.  His  field  included  York, 
Hanover  and  outlying  points.  He  was 
buried  at  old  St.  Michael's,  near  Han- 
over. Rev.  Jacob  Goering  received  by 
confirmation  a  class  of  twenty-three 
btn-s  and  twenty-four  girls  on  Easter, 
T777.  His  prayer  was  that  "the  Lord 
comfort  and  guide  them,  and  forget 
not  the  others ;  but  bring  them  also  to 
a  knowdedge  of  the  truth."  He  was 
stationed  at  Carlisle  from  1765  to  1780 
and  administered  communion  a  num- 
ber of  times  at  Bermudian.  The  next 
pastor  to  sign  his  name  was  L  F.  D. 
Schaefer,  D.D.,  1786  -  1790.  John 
Herbst,  his  assistant,  became  his  suc- 
cessor until  1802,  and  Bermudian 
seems  still  to  have  belonged  to  that 
charge.  A  church  had  been  estab- 
lished at  Abbottstown  and  its  pastors 
also  visited  this  church.  The  only 
other  recorded  name  is  that  of  Pastor 
Rehman,  1814-1816.  On  the  Reformed 
side,  Carl  Ludwig  Roehme  served 
1 775- 1 779,  and  John  Chris.  Gobrecht 
I 779- I 806. 


458 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


The  first  elders  and  "vorsteher"  are 
recorded  Sept.  lO,  1769:  Peter  Arnold, 
Johan  Hiiber,  Adam  Hermann,  An- 
dreas Ruhls.  Many  baptisms  are 
more  fully  recorded,  thus:  "Junis  d. 
27,  1806,  ist  Nicholaus  Miller  u.  frau 
ein  Sohn  zur  \\"elt  gebohren  u.  ist 
getauft  Avorden  den  2ten  Nov.  1806. 
Die  Taufzeugen  waren  Jacob  Bushi  u 
frau  Elisabeth,  u.  ist  ihn  der  Name 
be3'geleg;t  worden  Abraham."  Many 
dates  are  given  according  to  the 
church-year.  The  spirit  of  liberality 
was  early  prevalent.  There  were  regu- 
lar collections  of  "almoscngelt,"  most 
likely  for  the  sufferers  at  home  from 
the  Napoleonic  wars.  There  were  also 


selves  "in  the  sum  of  Eight  Hundred 
Pounds,  good  and  lawful  money  of  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania."  Twenty-one 
members  indicated  by  signatures  their 
promise  of  help.  The  building  was  "to 
be  built  of  stone  and  lime,  .jighteen 
feet  in  the  front  and  thirty-eight  feet 
in  length  and  thirty-five  feet  in 
breadth,  together  with  a  gallery  and 
sufficiently  furnished  with  seats  and 
otherwise  finished  on  or  befora  the 
first  day  of  February  next."  The  work 
was  done  by  Valentine  Fickes.  On 
Oct.  14,  1796,  a  committee  consisting 
ai  Jacob  Wimer.  Tohannes  Ehriiart  and 
Jacob  Henower  expressed  dissatisfac- 
tion with  some  of  the  wood-work,  and 


I.OWER  BERMCDIAN  EVANGEWCAI.  lA'THERAN  CHURCH 


Synodical  collections.  In  1793  a  sum 
of  £3  S3  di  was  raised  for  material 
for  the  pastor's  gown.  The  Pietist 
spirit  of  the  times  is  indicated  by  a 
heading  for  the  disciplined,  who  re- 
sisted the  authority  of  the  pastor.  But 
the  record  here  is  blank. 

On  March  2,  1795,  formal  i)lans  were 
made  for  a  new  building.  An  agree- 
ment was  drawn  up  between  Nicholas 
Vance,  Christian  P.ushee,  Ludwick 
Moiers  and  Philip  Obach,  who  prom- 
ised to  collect  sufficient  funds  for  the 
work,  and  to  pay  the  same  to  the 
Trustees,  John  l<"ickes,  Felix  Dohl, 
George  Harman  and  George  Aspper. 
The     parties     mutually    bound    tliem- 


suggested  some  changes.  Alterations 
were  made  and  the  church  dedicated 
the  same  year.  As  before,  this  was  a 
Union  church  and  was  sometimes  re- 
ferred to  as  Zion's  though  the  name 
was  not  officially  adopted.  The  finan- 
cial o])erations  were  still  carried  on  in 
Pounds,  shillings  and  pence.  We  note 
some  of  the  prices  paid:  The  pulpit; 
"wine-glass"  design,  cost  $108.72;  ten- 
plate  stove,  $30.72;  stove-pipe.  $19.76; 
white  pine  shingles,  $10  a  thousand; 
door-latch,  37^/^  cents;  nails,  a  shilling 
a  ]:)ound ;  labor,  $1.25  a  day;  two 
(|uarts  communion  wine,  75  cents.  The 
l)uilding  was  repaired  and  renovated 
'in    1820.      A     school-house    was    built 


CHRIST  EVANGELICAL  LUTHERAN  CHURCH 


459* 


about  the  same  time  as  the  church. 
Even  after  the  pubHc  school  system 
was  estal)Hshed,  the  alphabet  was 
taught  in  the  Sunday-school  for  some 
years.  After  the  earlier  years,  few 
Reformed  entries  appear  in  the  old 
church-book.  The  name  of  F.  Edward 
von  der  Sloot  is  given  as  their  pastor 
in  1827.  Rev.  J.  J.  Albert  was  the 
Lutheran  pastor  at  that  time.  His 
successors  were  Andrew  G.  Dein- 
inger,  1828;  Charles  Weyl,  1839;  John 
Ulrich,  1842;  Samuel  Henry,  1851  ;  J. 
R.  Focht,  1856;  Aaron  Finfrock.  1859; 
Peter  Warner,  1866;  J.  K.  Bricker, 
1868;  Daniel  Sell,  Elias  Studebaker, 
1874.  Duriui^'  the  intervals  between 
pastorates,  supplies  were  obtained 
from  Abbottstown  and  other  charges. 
In  1871,  the  Reformed  congregation 
sold  its  interest  in  the  Ijuilding  and 
li^t  to  the  Lutherans,  and  on  May  19, 
laid  the  corner-stone  of  a  new  brick 
building  known  as  ]\It.  Olivet,  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  road.  After  more 
than  eighty  years  of  service,  the  old 
building  became  unfit  for  further  use. 
It  was  torn  down  and  the  stone  used 
for  the  basement  walls  of  a  handsome 
brick  building  which  was  dedicated 
December  6,    1879,   during  the   pastor- 


ate of  Henry  Seifert,  1876-1886.  This, 
building  fronts  the  road,  a  few  feet 
from  where  the  former  structure 
stood.  It  was  partly  demolished  by 
the  September  storm  of  1896,  but  re- 
built the  following  winter.  Mean- 
while the  Reformed  brethren,  in  a. 
kindly  Christian  spirit,  offered  the  use 
of  their  building.  In  May,  1897,  the 
Lutherans  once  more  dedicated  their 
church  to  God  and  His  service.  W.  L. 
Heissler  became  pastor  in  1887;  D.  M. 
Blackwelder  in  1888;  J.  W.  Reese, 
1889;  John  Brubaker,  1900;  Frank 
Heilman,  1901  ;  Stanley  IJillheimer, 
1904. 

The  life  that  revolves  around  the 
Bernuulian  churches  is  not  sucii  as  to 
attract  the  historian  who  searches  for 
great  CAcnts.  The  locality  is  entirely 
rural.  Many  of  the  descendants  of  the 
pioneers  till  the  soil  their  fathers 
cleared.  The  "little  Protestant  flock" 
has  grown.  The  Church  has  sent  out 
five  generations  to  do  their  work  in 
the  world  and  be  gathered  again  to 
rest  beneath  her  shadow  in  the  quiet 
church-yard.  Thus  the  first  dedica- 
tory prayer  of  the  humble  founders 
has  been  answered. 


A  Curious  Custom 

Dr.  Betz.  of  York.  Pa.,  in  an  article  on 
"The  Cycle  of  Life"  in  the  York  "Gay- 
zette"  describes  a  curious  custom  in  the 
following  words.  Is  this  a  "Dutch,"  an 
English  or  an  Irish  notion?  Who  can 
tell? 

In  some  parts  of  our  western  continent 
a  notion  prevailed,  at  least  until  recently 
that  if  the  mother  of  a  family  was  dying 
the  vinegar  barrel  must  be  shaken  at  the 
time  to  prevent  the  "mother"  in  it  from 
dying  and  the  vinegar  from  spoiling.  A 
certain  man  who  was  i)resent  when  an- 
other man's  wife  was  dying  said:  "I  was 
so  sorry  Mr.  Z.  was  not  in  the  room  when 
his  wife  died."  On  being  asked  where  he 
had  been,  he  replied:  "Oh,  in  the  cellar 
a-shaking  the  vinegar  barrel ;  but  if  he  had 
just  told  me  I  would  have  done  it  and  let 
him  be  in  the  room  to  see  her  take  her 
last   breath." 


A  Kind  Word 

"Deutsche  -  Amerikanische  Geschichts- 
blater"  for  July  in  speaking  of  THE 
PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN  uses  the  fol- 
lowing words: — Das  wie  es  scheint  mit 
wachsendem  Erfolge  fortgesetzte  Bestehen 
diese.r  hbchst  verdienstvollen  Zeitschrift 
beweist  ein  wachsendes  Interesse  der 
deutschen  Nachkommschaft  an  der  Ge- 
schichte  ihrer  Voreltern — eine  hochst  er- 
f.reuliche  und  aufmunterende  Thatsache." 
Words  like  these  are  an  encouragement 
and  inspiration  to  editor  and  publisher. 
Reader,  will  it  inspire  you  to  stand  by  and 
toil  for  the  magazine?  To  continue  the 
work  in  hand  we  must  have  cash.  Will 
you  not  lend  a  hand  and  help  us  to  raise 
the  wherewithal?  Will  you  try  to  get  a 
few  new  subscrbers? 


460 


An  Account  of  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania  by 
Francis  Daniel  Pastorius 

By  Prof.  J.  F.  L.  Rashen,  Easton,  Pa. 


NOTE. — The  following  summary  is  based 
on  notes  and  extracts  made  by  the  author 
from  a  book  which  engaged  his  attention 
in  the  University  of  Heidelberg.  Germany, 
on  the  occasion  of  a  visit  to  the  library  in 
190S. 

ILLIA^I  PEXX  in  1681, 
shortly  after  the  grant  of 
the  Province  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, headed  the  long 
list  of  writers  of  tracts 
descriptive  of  the  new 
colony.  Those  that  were 
written  1\v  W'm.  Penn  or 
Furly  were  speedily  translated  into 
German.  Dutch  and  French  to  be 
scattered  among  these  nationalities 
for  the  purpose  of  attracting  emi- 
grants to  the  newly  founded  colony. 
All  these  accounts  were  printed  in 
Europe,  and  it  was  not  until 
1685  that  the  first  American  ac- 
count of  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania 
was  printed  by  Bradford  in  the  city  of 
Philadelphia.  This  was  "ntitled : 
^'  Good  Order  Established  \  in  \  Penn- 
silvania  Sc  New  Jersey  |  in  America  | 
Being  a  true  account  of  the  Country 
I  \Mth   its    Produce   and    Commodities 

there  made,  etc. By  Thomas  Budd. 

Printed  in  the  year  1685." 

A  year  after  this  Pastorius  Avrote  an 
•epistolary  account  of  the  province  to 
his  parents.  This  was  subsequently 
incorporated  in  a  short  history  of  the 
town  of  Windsheim  where  the  older 
Pastorius  was  mayor.  The  publication 
appeared  in  Nuremberg  in  1692.  Re- 
prints of  this  account  aj^j^eared  in 
many  of  the  periodicals  of  the  day  and 
were  thus  widely  read.  More  exten- 
sive and  effective  was  the  description 
given  by  Pastorius  in  his  tract  enti- 
tled:  Umstandigc  Geogra  j  ])hische  | 
Beschreibung  |  Dcr  zuallcrlctz  erfun- 
■denen  I  Provintz    Pennsvlva  I  niae  I  in 


dene  End  -  Graentzen  [  Americae  |  In 
der  \\'est-Welt  gelegen  |  Durch  Fran- 
ciscum  Danielem  |  Pastorium.  j  J.  V. 
Lie.  und  Friedens  Richtern  i  daselb- 
sten  I  etc.  —  Frankfurt  und  Feipzig  ] 
....  1700. 

We  have  here  an  interesting  account 
of  the  new  colony,  its  laws,  its  oppor- 
tunities and  development.  Pastorius 
tells  us  of  himelf  that  he  spoke  both 
French  and  Italian,  and  that  he  had 
been  a  student  in  law.  Biographers 
mention  that  he  had  been  a  student  at 
the  uni\ersities  Basle,  Strassburg  and 
Jena.  On  INIarch  7,  1684  he  ptirchased 
a  plot  of  15000  acres  along  a  navigable 
stream  and  300  acres  in  the  city  of 
"Libertat,"'  situated  between  the 
Delaware  and  the  Schuylkill  rivers. 
This  was  the  present  Germantown, 
which  he  calls  Germanopolis.  It  is  de- 
scribed as  l3nng  on  fertile  soil  and 
being  surrounded  by  many  pleasant 
wells.  Its  main  street  had  a  width  of 
sixty  feet  while  the  other  streets 
measured  forty  in  width.  Two  hours 
distant  from  Philadelphia,  it  was  set- 
tled by  him  October  24,  1683.  At  first 
there  were  only  twelve  families  num- 
bering forty-one  persons,  most  of 
them  artisans  and  weavers.  It  had 
been  agreed  at  the  time  of  purchase 
that  within  a  year  at  least  thirty  fam- 
ilies were  to  settle  and  form  a  separate 
colony  there  for  mutual  protection 
and  aid.  \\'ithin  live  years  some  fifty 
houses  were  erected.  The  inhabitants 
of  the  little  colony  were  chiefly 
weavers,  tailors,  shoemakers,  lock- 
smiths, car])enters  and  farmers. 

In  1683,  he  tells  us,  they  reared  a 
church.  The  town  council  was  elected 
annually;  one  of  its  powers  was  the 
levying  of  an  assessment  by  two- 
thirds  vote.     To  avoid  litigation  they 


PASTORIOUS  NOTES 


461 


kept  a  record  of  the  real  estate  trans- 
fers. Liberty  of  conscience  was  given 
to  all.  Among-  the  things  forbidden 
were :  worldly  games,  comedies,  card- 
games,  cursing,  swearing,  lying,  bear- 
ing false  witness,  gossip,  adultery,  for- 
nication, theft  and  duelling. 

The  prospective  emigrant  was  shown 
the  advantages  of  the  colony  with  its 
\-irgin  soil,  its  long  summers,  its  pros- 
pering agriculture,  and  stockraising. 
lie  related  how  they  first  secured 
foodstuffs  from  New  Jersey  at  great 
expense,  then  how  they  traded  with 
the  Indians  for  fish,  birds,  ,'nd  the 
skins  of  deer  and  bea\er  and  foxes 
which  they  sell  to  England.  Their 
grain  and  cattle  they  traded  fjr  salt, 
svrup,  sugar  and  whiskey  to  Barba- 
does,  but  their  woven  produces  they 
oft'ered  for  sale  at  a  fair  which  they 
held  annually  thus  disposing  of  their 
stock. 

I'or  the  better  information  of  pros- 
])ective  colonists  he  gives  the  names  of 
the  members  of  the  Frankfort  Com- 
pany, which  he  calls  the  "Hochteut- 
sche  Compagnie  von  Pennsylvanien," 
and  states  that  from  April  on  vessels 
would  sail  from  Deal,  England,  with 
from  35  to  40  passengers.  The  pass- 
age money  was  set  down  at  six 
pounds. 

Referring  to  his  own  tri])  he  relates 
how  he  shipped  from  Deal  with  four 
manservants  and  two  maidserx  ants,  in 
company  with  80  persons,  landing  in 
Philadelphia  on  August  20th.  1683.  On 
this  voyage  the  food  and  drink  were 
very    bad.    Ten    ])ersons    shared    three 


pounds  of  butter  each  week.  Meat 
was  furnished  them  four  times  a  week 
and  salt  fish  three  times.  They  had 
for  daily  consumption  four  cans  of 
beer  and  one  of  water  and  two  dishes 
lit  peas.  At  his  arrival  he  was  greeted 
1;y  William  Penn,  and  soon  became 
befriended  with  his  secretary. 

Jn  a  letter  dated  October  10,  169 1  he 
states  that  he  has  been  appointed 
mayor  and  justice  of  the  peace  of  Ger- 
mantown  by  William  Penn,  and  that 
he  had  already  begun  to  write  the  first 
code  of  laws  for  Germantown  in  June, 
1691.  He  also  describes  the  seal  of  the 
tnwn,  a  trefoil  on  the  one  leaf  of  which 
is  a  vine,  on  the  other  a  flaxblossom, 
on  the  third  a  weaver's  shuttle.  It 
bore  the  inscription :  Vinum,  Linum, 
Textrinum  (the  vine,  the  flax,  the 
shuttle). 

Of  other  towns  founded  in  the 
i:)rovince  he  mentions  Newcastle,  and 
U])land  with  a  large  Swedish  popula- 
tion, then  Frankford  which  he  claims 
was  founded  by  an  English  Company. 
In  this  town  they  had  mills,  brickyards 
and  glass  factories. 

On  the  whole  the  account  given  by 
Pastorius  was  one  that  would  inspire 
confidence  in  the  scheme  of  coloniza- 
tion. This  together  with  the  letters 
and  accounts  sent  by  those  who  were 
already  among  the  first  settlers  was 
uiKiuestionably  among  the  most  per- 
suasive in  bringing  to  our  borders  the 
sturd}'  Palatines  and  Alsatians  who 
became  the  ]:)ioneers  in  the  building  of 
of  our  commonwealth. 


^62 


LITERARY  DEPARTMENT 


DE   LECHA   COUNTY   FAIR 

By  Ella  J.  Mohr 

Es  hut  dale  grosse  dinger 

Darch  die  United   States; 
Doe  sin  die  gross  Niagara  Falls, 

Vn  aw   die  Golden   Gates. 

Die  Pallisades  iif  Hudson, 

Kentucky's    Mammoth    cave. 
Die    fish    im   Lake    Hopatcong, 

Und  Atlantic  Ocean's  wave. 

Avver  nix  vun  all   der  Grossheit 

Hut  en  halb  ferdel   share 
Vun   der  wunnerbarre  Mechtigweit 

Vun   der  Lehigh  County   Fair. 

Der  Lecha  County  bauer 

Is   en   Koenig   selle   Woch, 
Er  bringt  sei  frucht  und  obscht  all  bei, 

Und  hebt  der  kup  gans  hoch. 

Die  Squire  Hardner  Grumberra, 

Sin  die  wunner  vun  der  welt, 
Und  die  Col.  Trexler   ponies, 

Sin  der  pride  vum  ganze  felt. 

Die  hinkle  und  die  dauva. 

Was  sin  die  doch  en  frade. 
Die  Exhibitors   sin  mansleit 

Und  weibsleit,  vun   weit  und  brade. 

Was   hut  der   Judge   Trexler   gschwitzt 
For's  bescht  hinkle  aus  zu  blauna 

Ich  glaub  er  wase  may  fun  Court  und  Law, 
Als     vum     Adam's     Schwartza     Leghorn 
hauna. 

Wan  ebe.r  dankt  die   Weibsleit 
Weren  net  tremendus  schmert, 

Da,n  geh  youscht  mol  ins  Fair  Haus, 
Und  sehn  die  Works  of  Art. 

Des   wunnerbar   emhroiderj' 

Die  doilies  und  die  lace. 
Die  cushions  and  die  paper  flowars, 

Macht   em    darch    und    darch    base. 

Der  Harry  Schall  is  en  busy  Mike 

Paar  wocha  for   der   Fair, 
Er  bate  aw  dale  in  selle  zeit 

Fo.r  wetter  clear  und  fair. 

Der    Pappy    Trexler   und    Sensenbach 

Die   stehn   am  Exit  Gate 
Und  missen  waera  mit  hend  und  feese. 

Das  dead  heads   net  nei   schlippa   date. 

Die  attractions  uf  dem  Fair  Grund 

Sin   unaussprechlich   grand, 
:So  schana  .roata   gas  balloons, 

Und  Martin  Klingler's  Band. 


Ich  hab  gewatscht  en  yunger  paar, 
Tswae    sweethearts   vun  Cetrona, 

Sie  war  so  bashful   und  excite 
Und  er  so  stols  wien  banty  hauna. 

In   alia   side   show   warren   sie, 

Und  bei  all  der  war.ret  sager; 
Grundniss    und   sauer   grant  gessa, 

Bie   sie   schwere  warn  ut  dem  mager. 

Und   oh,   des    Beachy   Airship! 

Ment's  kennt  unmiglich  sei, 
Zu  fliegen  in  der  luft  darum, 

Und  doch  ken  fligel  dabel. 

Und   g.rad  sell   zeit  greisht  raus   en   man. 
Das  Beachy's   balloon  were   gemacht, 

Aus   der  "Amv"  ihrer  schtrump;    denk  mol 
hie! 
Was  hut  der  Benj  gelacht! 

Of  course  gehn  sie  die  Amy  sehna, 

Des    wieshtes,    fettes    dier, 
Sie  hat  worhaftig   'gflirt  mit  ihm. 

Bis  sei  madel  sagt:    "See  here!" 

About's  graeschte  ding  in   dera  Fair, 

Sin  die  horse  races  alle  dag; 
Die   leit  sie   ganz   wild   d   afor, 

Was  is  des  en   geyag! 

Es  dingt  mich  ordlich  wan  ich  denk 
Am   Doctor  Balliet  sei   fina   gile; 

Sie  winnen  races  alle  yahr, 

Doch   fohred   ern   automobile   alleweil. 

For  all  die  sacha  zu  sehna, 

Kumma  hunert  dausend  menshen  hare, 
Is  des  net  proof  das  es   graeschie  ding 

Is  unser  Lehigh  County  Fair? 

*  4*  * 

Dialect  Variations 

NOTE — We  regard  it  germane  to  our  line 
of  work  to  quote  from  time  to  time  dialect 
poetry  selected  from  standard  bdoks  on 
the  subject  to  illustrate  the  similarities 
and  dissimilarities  between  the  present 
Pennsylvania-German  dialect  and  the  sis- 
ter and  maternal  dialect  of  Germany. 
These  while  interesting  and  instructive  in 
themselves  may  be  made  the  themes  fo.r 
philological  studies  later  on.  We  are  sure 
all  who  are  at  all  conversant  with  the  Ger- 
man language  will  find  it  instructive  to 
make  a  study  of  the  different  versions  of 
"Das  ist  im  Leben  haszlich  eingerichtet." 
etc." 


LITERARY    DEPARTMENT 


463 


Urtext. 

Das    ist  im   Leben  haszlich  eingerichtet. 

Dasz    bei    den    Rosen    gleich    die    Dornen 

steh'n. 
Und    was    das    arme     Menschenherz     auch 

sinnt  und   dichtet, 
Zum     Schlusse    kommt     das    Voneinander- 

geh'n. 
In  Deineu  Augen  hab'  ich  einst  gelesen, 
Es   blizte   drin   von    Gliick    und     Lieb'    ein 

Schein; 
:  :  Behiit  Dich  Gott,  es  war  zu  schon  gewes- 

sen!  , 

Behiit  Dich  Gott,  es  hat  nicht  soilen  sein.:: 

Berlinisch. 

Det  is   in't  Leben   eene   dolle  Nummer, 

Det     mang     die      Rosen      Lauter      Dornen 

schteh'n. 
Un    janz    besonders    macht's    mic     hvielen 

Kummer, 
Det   Aliens   schlieszlich     aus'n    Leim    muss 

jeh'n. 
In  deiue  Ogen  hab  mal  wat  jelesen, 
Du   kiektest    mir    so    freuudlich    an,    mein 

Kind! 
::  Ne   Sache!    det   war   wirklich    nett    jew- 

esen, 
Indessen  doch,  det  hat  nich  soUen  sind!    :  : 

Schwabisch. 

Dees  ischt  im  Lebe    wiischt    und    gar    net 

lieble, 
Dasz      bei      den     Rosle      gloi      die     Dornle 

schteh'n. 
Und,      sitzt    das    Maidle     wirkli    mal     beiu 

Buble, 
Sie   miissen  baldigscht  auseinander  gehn. 
In   Deine  Aeugle  ha'n  i  mal   gelesen, 
Zur  Kirmes  war's,   wir   tranken  noue   Wei; 
: :   Dees    Ding   war    so    weit    au    net     iibel 

g'wesen, 
Doch  gab's  zum  Tbschied  arge  Keilerei;    :: 

Plattdeutsch. 

Dat   isz    in't   Lewen    snaak'sch   mal    inricht' 

worden, 
Dat  bie  de  Rosen  so  veel  Stachel  stahn, 
Un,  droppt  man  sick  in't  Siiden  oder  Nor- 

den, 
Tauletzt    mot'n    wedder   untenannergahn. 
Du    wie.rst    mi    mal    veel    leiwer    as     mien 

Lewen, 
Ich  dacht'.   Du  haast  mi   ok    tau'n    Ehman 

nahm'n 
: :  Min   saute   Diern,    dat    hadd     en     Spasz 

afgewen! 
Min    Zuckersnut,    de     Snack     isz     anner  s 

kam'n.  : : 

Sachsisch. 

Nee,   heern   Se   mal,   desz   isz   sie   gar   nich 

scheene, 
Desz  bei  die  Rosen  soviel   Dornen  steh'n; 
Ich     find's,     Gottschtrambach,      g  r  a  d  e  z  u 

gemeene, 


Wie's  eenen   armen    Kerl    manchmal    kann 

geh'n. 
Ich    hatt    Sie    nemlich     mal     'ne     Braut    in 

Drasen. 
Da  fiel  ich  awer  eklich  mit  enein! 
: :   Der  Spasz   isz   nemlich  gar    nicht    bill'g 

gewesen: 
's    hatt    freilich    konnen     aber     noch     viel 

dhelrer  sein.   : : 

Pfalzisch. 

Es   isz  im   Lewe  haszlich  eingericlit', 
Dasz   bei   de   Rose   glei  die  Dome   steh'n, 
Un  hot  m'r  mol  e  scheeni  Stell  verwischt, 
Desz    nekschte    Ziel    schun    musz    m'r    wid- 

der  geh! 
In  deine  Aue  hann  ich's  als  gelese, 
Die  hann  geglitzert  als  war  Feuer  drin, 
: :   Doch    die    Madam    hot    drum    dich    gehe 

heesze, 
Un  nier  gekiinnigt!   's  hot  net  derfe  sinn.  : : 

Altbeverisch. 

Dos    ist  im    Leben     sakrisch     dumm     und 

eklig, 
Dasz  bei  den   Rosen  so  vill   Dornen  steh'n, 
Zu  brechen  ein,  d5s  isz  ja  gar  nit  moglich, 
Zum     Schlusz,    a    Sakra,     koans     em    bosz 

ergehn. 
Auf  d'  Kirmes  letzt,  wollt'  i  mein  Schoatz 

begriiszen, 
I  dhat  schoan  Wochen  lang  drauf  mi  freu'n, 
: :   Da      haben's     mi     die      Staffeln     .runter 

g'schmiassen, 
Behiit  die  Gott,  es  hat  nit  soilen  sein.  : : 

Jiidisch. 

Nu    Saa.rche,    Schmuusz,  was    soil   desz   oos- 

zer  batte 
Dasz  bei  die  Rausze  so  viel  Dome  stiehn, 
Geh',  losz  misch  aus,  mach  nur  kain  Masse- 

matte, 
Mir  miisse  doch  noch  auseinander  giehn. 
In  deinem  Bohnem  hab'  ich's  oft  gelese. 
Gott,   wie   talentvoll   hoste    'rausgeguckt, 
:  :   Behiit   dich    Gitt,    desx    war    zu    schain 

gekese. 
Behiit     dich     Gott,    du    bist    jo     doch     ge- 

schuckt.  :  : 

AUG.   GOTTHOLD. 

Pennsylvania-German    (By   H.  A.   Schuler) 
Des  is  doch  gar  net  wie  es  sei  sot,  meent 
me.r, 
Dass  bei   da  Rose  alfert  Darna  schteh. 
Un  wann  mer's  noch  so  schee  gepiant  hot, 
sehnt  mer. 
Am  End  muss  mer  doch  ausenanner  geh 
'skunut  mol  zum  End;  mer  unuss  vun 
nanner   geh. 
Ich  hab  der  nei  'geguckt  'ghat  in  die  Auge_. 
Un  hab  geglaabt  du  warscht  uf  ewig  mei 
Wie  shee  war's  doch,  ich  kann's  jo  gar  net 
sage, 
Doch  liewer  Gott  'shot  net  so  solla  sei. 


464 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


A>DE>KEN 

By    S.    F.    Glatfelter,    York,   Pa. 
(Prepared  for  special   church  services) 

Ebmols  wollen  wir  andenken, 
Wie   es   war  in   alte   Zeite, 
Es  is  gilt  vo.r  alle  Mensche 
Fiir  die  Ewigkeit  bereite. 

Denket  naii  an  eure  Heimath, 
Wie  der  gleene   Springer  ware, 
Was  en  schone  Zeit  dir  ghat  han, 
Afangs   bis   ans   End   der  .lahre. 

Inner  waren  ihr  begleidet, 
Darch   Hitz  un  darch   Kalt. 
Gleeder  gflickt  iin  sauver  gwesche, 
Ohne  Danken  oder  Geid. 

Alle   Dag   war   noh   en    Spieldag, 
Ken  Versorge   un  ken   Noth, 
Gute  Aeltre  lieb  un  standhaft, 
Han  bereit  fe.r  uns  der  Brod. 

Yar  mir  sehnes  glee  hoch   Stiihle, 
In  meim  Sinn  ich  mein  g'wiss, 
Wo  die  Mudder  uns  druf  g'sitzt  hut, 
An  sel  Eck  vum  alte  Disch. 

Meind   dir  noch   der   zinnig  Deller, 

Mit  die  A  B  C's  drum  rum. 

Un  han  wa.rlich  g'lebt  davun. 

Wo  dir  unser  Kuscht  druf  greicht  han. 

Yar  me.r  sehne's  scho  alt   Spinnrad, 
Wisse  alles  noch  derwege, 
Un  der  Haspel,  aa  es  Zwernrad, 
Han  der  Grnmam's  helfe  drage. 

Manche    Yahr   sin   schon    vergange, 
Seit  dem  das  mir  Kinner  war 
T'ns  alt  Fetlicht  uf  em  Mantel, 
1st  vergesse  nau  schier  gar. 

Oh,  wan  mir  ebmols  draa  denke, 
Wie  mir  gleene  Kinner  war, 
Wie  die  Felder  un  des  Buschland 
Uns  so  en  grosze  Blessier  war. 

Un  die  lieb,  die  gut  alt  Heimath, 
Mit  dem  viele  Spielsach  do, 


Wo  mir  uns  so  oft  versaumt  hau 
Gmeend  han  es  bleivet  immer  so, 

Aver  nee!     Sehr  oft  durch  Krankheit, 
Hut  es   uns   Blessie.r   g'kuscht, 
Manche    Schmertzen — vielen    Drahnen, 
Hut   die   Mutter   weggebusst. 

Oftmals   dorch   die   stille  Nachte, 
Han    sie    mit   viel    Sorg   g'wacht, 
Alle   Mittel   han   sie   aagwend, 
Domit  Gsundheit  zuriick  g'brocht. 

• 
Yar,  mir   gleicht  zuriick  zu  blicke, 
An  die  scho,  die  gut  alt  Zeit, 
Un  die  leib  die  gut  alt  Heimath, 
Alle  eens  das  do  is  heut. 

Wohl   mi.r   wisse   das   die   G'schichte 
Unser  .lugend  sin  vorbei, 
Alles  was  eemol  so  lieb  war 
Kan  bei  uns  ned  nochmal  sei. 

Vater,  Mutter,  Freund  un  Nochber. 
Scheuer,  Haus,  un  Schaddebaum, 
Alles  was  mir  mocht  draa  denke 
Is   vergange   wie    en    Draam. 

Doch  mir  ehre  unser  Aeltre, 
Lieve  sie  gar  wunnerbar, 
Un  wie  langer  das   sie  fort  sin, 
Wachst  die  Lieb  mehr  alle  .Jahr. 

Viel   sin   an   der   neue   Heimath, 
Ned  g'baut  mit  Mensche  Hand 
Das  der  lieve  Gott  bereit  hat 
Her.rlichkeet,  anstatts  Elend. 

Ya,  s  alt  Licht  is  aa  g'ziindt, 
An   der   Heimath  in  der  Hoh, 
Wo    die    lieve    sin   versammelt, 
Wo  mir  anne  konne  geh. 

Dart  is  Spielsach  fer  uns  all 

Alle    eensich   grosz   un    glee. 

Gar   ken   Krankheet   un   ken   Schmertzen 

Wo  mir  anne  konne  geh. 

O,  was  freudensvolle  Jahren, 

Uf  der  annere  Seit'n  See 

Wo  mir  Gott   un   Freund   erkennen 

An   der  Heimath  in  der  Hoh. 


Reviews  and  Notes 


"The  Curse  of  .Tonathan"  by  Reginald 
Wright  Kauffman  in  Pearson's  for  August 
is  the  story  of  a  New  York  sneak  thief,  who 
is  informed  against  by  a  blind  beggar  boy; 
the  boy  receives  the  reward  set  upon  the 
thief's  head. 

The  same  writer  has  a  descriptive  and 
historical  article  on  Coney  Island  in 
Hampton's  for  Aueust.  It  affords  instruc- 
tive reading.  It  tells  of  this  great  national 
playground     with    the     largest    amusement 


building  in  the  world.  And  it  also  shows 
the  American  people  in  their  playful  and 
ridiculous  moods. 

Miss  Elsie  Singmaster  has  gone  abroad 
for  the  summer.  She  took  along  the  proofs 
of  a  book  that  is  to  appear  shortly. 

She  has  an  interesting  story  in  The  At- 
lantic Monthly  for  August.  It  tells  how 
Peter  Kutz  finally  got  relieved  of  one  of 
the  many  dower  ladies  that  were  under  his 


REVIEWS   AND   NOTES 


465 


care.  Peter  owned  a  number  of  farms 
"down  the  Lehigh",  and  each  one  was  en- 
cumbered with  a  heav.v  dower.  He  finally 
came  to  see  that  he  did  not  have  two  cents 
to  pa.v  any  one  dower  should  one  of  the 
six  dower-ladies  die.  These  women  were 
very  old.  one  was  ninety-five  and  sick  and 
might  die  any  minute:  but  where  was  the 
money  to  come  from  to  pay  the  dower 
after  her  death?  The  suspense  as  to  how 
he  was  finally  saved  from  bankruptcy  is 
nicely  maintained  to  the  last.  Mommy 
Dill  at  last  died,  but   she  had   a — will! 

The  Youth's  Companion  published  a 
story  of  seven  chapters  by  Elsie  Singmas- 
ter  beginning  August  5,  1909  and  entitled 
"When  William  Came  Home."  The  death 
of  a  Mr.  Wanner  and  the  efforts  of  Uncle 
Daniel  Schwartz  to  secure  control  of  the 
Wenner  estate  form  the  basis  of  the  well 
written  tale.  The  author  gives  a  picture  of 
home  life  in  a  Pennsylvania  German  com- 
munity and  incidentally  Introduces  lan- 
guage  used   of   which   the   following  expres- 


sions are  samples:  Sit  down  once,  Are  you 
then  out  of  your  mind,  It  don't  make  noth- 
ing out,  I  will  get  good  along.  She  will 
get  pretty  soon  tired  of  it  ,Don't  make  her 
mad  over  us.  They  cannot  come  now  so 
early  like  always.  He  is  by  Uncle  Daniel, 
I  sought  I  would  come  once  home,  You 
ought  to  be  srashed.  They  ran  early  this 
morning  off  already.  It  is  nobody  to  look 
after  their  things.  It  is  a  couple  of  twins, 
I  want  them  to  go  every  day  in  the  school, 
Come  once  into  the  room.  If  it  is  you  good 
enough.  How  long  was  he  sick  already,  I 
was  never  so  very  for  my  brothers  and 
sisters.  You  better  sit  down  once,  It  is 
nothing  to  be  done.  See  here  once.  I  could 
get  good  along  if  they  would  only  leave 
me  be.  They  were  already  by  the  judge. 
It  makes  nothing  out.  What  is  then  that. 

Miss  Singmaster  paints  well  in  Daniel 
Schwartz  the  warts  of  a  face  (not  neces- 
sarily or  distinctively  Pennsylvania  Ger- 
man). May  she  be  equally  successful  when 
she  attempts  to  picture  the  ideal,  typical 
"Dutchman".       (H.    W.    K.) 


Coiisei'vati«ni   of   Hosouroes 

—The  July  T909  issue  of  "The  Reformed 
Church  Review"  has  an  article  on  "The 
Conservation  of  Our  Resources"  by  Dr.  N. 
C.  Schaeffer  from  which  we  quote  the  fol- 
lowing lines:  — 

"It  is  very  instructive  to  study  from  this 
point  of  view  the  region  which  was  set- 
tled in  colonial  days  by  the  Reformed,  the 
Lutherans,  the  Mennonltes  and  German 
Baptist   Brethren. 

Like  the  other  early  settlers  of  Penn- 
sylvania they  came  from  the  best  people 
in  Euroi)e  and  were  noted  for  their  piety 
and  religious  earnestness.  These  traits 
could  not  have  laid  the  foundation  of 
their  sul)sequent  i)rosperity,  had  they  not 
settled  in  a  region  as  well  fitted  for  the 
abode  of  man  as  the  countries  from  which 
they  came.  The  student  of  geograjjhy  can 
not  find'  a  better  country  to  live  in  than  the 
area  between  the  Delaware  River  and  the 
Allegheny  Mountains,  bounded  on  the 
north  by  the  Blue  Ridge  and  on  the  south 
by  the  Potomac  River.  According  to  the 
last  census  Lancaster  County  is  the  richest 
agricultural  county  in  the  United  States. 
The  great  valley  stretching  from  Easton  to 
Harrisburg  and  thence  to  the  south  as  the 
Cuml)ei-land  Valley  is  an  area  that  was 
well  timbered,  well  watered,  possessing  a 
rich  soil,  a  salubrious  climate,  and  an 
abundance  of  iron  ore  and  of  the  other 
things     which     contribute    to    health    and 


strength  and  happiness.  Some  have  re- 
gretted that  the  Blue  Ridge  does  not  con- 
tain any  useful  minerals  or  precious 
metals,  but  the  geologist  Leslie  claims  that 
one  should  not  look  so  good  a  gift  horse 
in  the  mouth.  By  this  figure  of  speech  he 
meant  that  the  Blue  Ridge  condenses  the 
vapor  into  rain  clouds  and  causes  a  rain- 
fall and  a  fertility  of  the  land  more  valu- 
able than  mines  of  gold  and  silver.  The 
streams  furnished  motive  power  for  grist 
mills,  the  abundance  of  wood  and  iron  ore 
kept  the  charcoal  furnaces  a-going,  and 
there  was  plenty  of  anthracite  neaiby  when 
the  charcoal  began  to  fail,  the  climate  in- 
vited the  farmers  to  practice  rotation  of 
crops:  the  soil  is  as  productive  today  as  it 
was  two  hundred  years  ago.  The  denomi- 
nations which  care  for  the  region  will 
have  a  future  worthy  of  their  past  history. 
The  automobile  and  Sunday  baseball 
have  not  diminished  the  attendance  at 
their  churches:  race  suicide  has  not  dimin- 
ished their  population:  the  richness  of  the 
soil  and  the  abundance  of  other  resources 
will  always  sustain  a  thriving  yeomanry 
upon  the  farms.  Their  houses  look  as  if 
the  inhabitants  meant  to  stay.  Their  dia- 
lect may  die  out,  but  the  people  will  ])er- 
petuate  themselves,  their  posterity  and 
their  religious  faith  so  long  as  their  re- 
sources, their  institutions  and  the  fertility 
of  the  soil  can  be  kept  up.  To  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  region  the  recent  appeal  for 
the  improvement  of  country  life  had  little 
meaning  and  the  President's  iilea  for  the 
conservation  of  our  resources  seemed 
needless. 


466 


EDITORIAL  DEPARTMENT 


The  Pennsylvania-German 

An  illustrated  monthly  magazine  devoted  to 
the  Biography,  History,  Genealogy,  Folklore, 
Literature  and  General  Interests  of  German 
and  Swiss  settlers  in  Pennsylvania  and  other 
States  and  of  their  descendants. 

Editorial  Staff 
H.  W.  Kriebel,  Editor,  Lititz,  Pa. 
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and  Notes,"  Trenton,  N.  J. 

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Field  for  the  Exercise  of  Somantic  Genius 

Hon.  W.  U.  Hensel  said  in  an  address 
before  the  Pennsylvania  Association  of 
"Washington,  Alaska-Yukon  Pacific  Exposi- 
tion, Seattle,  Washington,  August  16th, 
1909: 

"To  those  who  would  study  the  history 
of  Pennsylvania  in  detail,  nothing  is  more 
interesting  than  to  trace  to  their  head- 
waters the  streams  or  rills  which  have 
contributed  to  its  citizenship.  Chiei  among 
these — though  less  intrusive  than  either 
the  English  Quaker  or  the  Scotch-Irish 
Presbyterian,  is  the  great  influx  of  German 
population,  with  its  many  sects.  The 
seventeen  volumes  of  the  proceedings  of 
the  Pennsylvania  German  Society  attest 
the  thoroughness  and  the  fidelity  with 
which  their  branch  of  the  history  of  Penn- 
sylvania is  being  cultivated.  The  labors 
of  Seidensticker,  Pennypacker,  Sachse, 
Diffenderffer,  Dubbs,  Hark,  Grumbine, 
Houck,  Zimmerman,  Kriebel  and  others  in 
this  department  are  illustrative  of  the  fal- 
low fields  which  remain  to  be  worked.  I 
doubt  not  that  in  the  fullness  of  time  the 
romantic  or  ideal  side  of  the  pastoral  life 
of  Eastern  Pennsylvania  will  tempt  the  pen 
of  the  imaginative  writer,  and  when  this 
shall  be  touched,  no  phase  of  the  State's 
history  will  more  abound  in  richness  of 
historic  material. 


Neither  Bret  Harte  on  the  Pacific,  nor 
Cable  in  Louisiana,  nor  Hawthcine  and 
Mary  Wilkens  in  New  England,  Irving  in 
New  York,  James  Lane  Allen  in  Kentucky, 
nor  our  own  Bayard  Taylor  in  the  Quake^r 
settlements  of  Chester  county,  had  finer 
fields  for  the  exercise  of  romantic  genius 
than  has  that  future  master  of  historic  fic- 
tion who  shall  idealize  the  character  of  the 
Pennsylvania  German  peasant  farmer  — 
"the  man  with  the  hoe,"  whose  face  has 
ever  been  lifted  to  the  stars." 

«!•    4"    * 

The  Pennsylvania  Germans  to  the  Front 

The  sons  of  the  early  German  immi- 
grants are  gradually  forging  ahead  and 
winning  new  laurels.  Dr.  F.  A.  Cook  of 
whom  everybody  speaks  at  present  is  the 
scion  of  a  Koch  family  and  has  many  re- 
latives in  Carbon  county,  Penna.  The  sug- 
gestion has  even  been  made  that  the  name 
Peary  may  be  a  corruption  of  the  German 
name  Biery. 

One  of  the  late  E.  H.  Harriman's  Lieu- 
tenants A.  S.  Mohler  a  Lancaster  countian 
will  help  to  bear  the  burden  of  managing 
the  great  railway  system  which  the  finan- 
cier had  built  up.  John  C.  Stubbs  another 
of  the  Harriman  lieutenants,  is  an  Ohio 
hustler  whose  name  suggests  Teutonic 
origin. 


EDITORIAL    DEPARTMENT 


467 


"The  Cosmopolitan"  of  August,  3  909,  had 
an  article  ou  "The  Astors"  who  are  descen- 
dants of  John  Jacob  Astor  born  in  Baden, 
Germany,  1763.  Elsie  Singmaster,  descen- 
dant of  the  Zangmeisters  of  Lehigh  county 
has  earned  and  secured  recognition  in  the 
country's  leading  literary  periodicals.  Hon. 
W.  U.  Hensel  recently  proclaimed  trom  the 
housetops  that  the  finest  field  for  the  ex- 
ercise of  romantic  genius  in  the  United 
States  is  the  home  of  the  Pen-isylvania 
German  peasant  farmer — even  the  Rocke- 
fellers are  interested  in  their  German  an- 
cestry and  hold  family  reunions.  A  letter 
reached  us  recently  from  a  United  States 
Circuit  Judge  on  the  Pacific  staring  that 
the  German  Ambassador  at  Washington 
had  called  his  attention  to  an  article  that 
had  appeared  in  THE  PENNSYLVANIA- 
GERMAN.  Theodore  E.  Schmauck  of  Leba- 
non. Pa.,  of  good  German  stock,  president 
of  the  convention  of  the  general  council  of 
the  largest  division  of  the  Lutheran 
church  in  America,  fearlessly  gainsays  the 
ex-President  of  the  country's  largest  and 
oldest  educational  institution.  These  are 
but  a  few  recent  straws  showing  the  gen- 
eral drift  and  tendency. 

«l»    *    * 

Work  to  Be  Done 

And  yet  much  work  remains  to  be  done. 
In  illustration  we  quote  the  following  from 
a  recent  editorial  in  a  leading  newspaper:. 

"From  the  earliest  settlement  of  this 
continent  there  has  been  in  process  a  new 
national  type.  Every  succeeding  wave  of 
immigration  contributed  something  o  f 
great  value  to  tliat  type. 

The  foundation  was  laid  in  the  solidity 
of  the  English  colonists,  with  their  ideals 
of  human  liberty.  Almost  simultaneously 
the  Dutch,  with  strikingly  similar  charac- 
teristics, made  their  contribution. 

The  Scotch  at  an  early  date  added 
their  restless  intellect,  and  the  Irish  perse- 
verance, courage  and  sprightliness  under 
adverse  conditions  followed,  to  be  incor- 
porated in  the  composite  character.  The 
intense  earnestness  of  the  Welsh  completed 
the  first  epoch  of  the  development. 

Then  came  the  first  general  continental 
wave.  Teutonic  thoroughness,  love  of  home, 
love  of  music,  love  of  order,  came  with  the 
German  millions  in  the  latter  half  of  the 
nineteenth  century. 

The  brawn  of  Scandinavia,  with  its  de- 
votion to  a  fixed  purpose,  was  the  contri- 
bution of  those  modified  Teutons  of  the 
Baltic  lands. 

And  now  we  have  the  Slavs,  the  Italians 
and  the  Jews  from  the  southeast  of 
Europe." 


So  long  as  editorial  writers  totally  dis- 
regard the  German  immigrants  to  America 
prior  to  the  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century  research  and  publication  must  be 
kept  up  compelling  recognition  of  what 
early  German  immigrants  were  and  what 
they  and  their  children  accomplished.  This 
necessity  is  also  illustrated  by  thn  follow- 
ing words  recently  received  from  a  reader: 

"I  read  it  once  that  the  Penna.  Germans 
were  so  disgusted  with  war  about  churches 
etc.,  that  when  they  reached  Pennsylvania 
they  disregarded  all  churches  and  that  the 
difference  between  an  Indian  and  a  Penna. 
Dutchman  was  difficult  to  discern  insofar 
as  his  church  was  concerned."  Such 
language  (when  and  by  whom  written  we 
know  not)  is  unjust,  inexcusable  and 
should  be  impossible. 

4*     <•     4» 

Family   Reunions 

This  season  has  seen  its  full  crop  of 
family  gatherings — for  glory,  amusement, 
historic  research — each  serviceable  and 
commendable  within  certain  limits.  It  is 
cheap  and  easy  to  make  fun  of  such  meet- 
ings, and  measure  the  whole  movement 
with  our  own  faulty  footrules.  In  spite  of 
shortcomings  and  failures  these  efforts 
merit  hearty  encouragement.  The  lives  of 
individuals,  families,  communities  are  part 
of  the  history  of  the  nation  and  must  be 
studied  to  get  an  adequate  view  of  the 
whole  story  of  our  country.  Success  to 
such  gatherings  and  efforts.  We  give  be- 
low a  list  of  family  reunions  brought  to 
our  notice.  We  will  on  request  send 
names  and  addresses  of  the  off.cials  of 
these  meetings  and  would  be  pleased  to 
reprint  some  of  the  papers  read  if  submit- 
ted by  the  authors  or  their  friends.  The 
gatherings  unless  otherwise  specified  were 
held  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania.  We  preface 
the  list  with  "Ou.r  Family  Reunion  Hymn" 
by  Rev.  Adam  Stump,  D.D.,  at  the  Glat- 
felter  Reunion. 

Great  God  from  out  whose  mighty  hand 
The  ages  roll,  like  grains  of  sand, 
Who  wast  of  old,  our  fathers'  Friend, 
B^  with  us  to  our  journey's  end! 

Their  ashes  rest  beneath  the  sod. 
But  still  thou,  Lord,  art  our  own  God, 
And  we  shall    light  thy  altar  fires. 
Where  lived  and  died  our  noble  sires. 

One  is  our  blood,  and  one  our  home, 
And  one  our  place  beneath  the  dome. 
Where,  by  each  green-thatched   lonely  tent 
In   silence   stands   each  monument. 


468 


THE    PEXNSYLVAXIA-GERMAN 


But  meet  we  in  re-union  here, 
For  good  fellowship  and  cheer; 
Let  us  in  gladness  gathered  be, 
Beneath  our  dear  old  family  tree! 
We  lay  the  cares  of  life  aside, 
For  soon  we'll  float  out  with  the  tide; 
All   emigrants   and   pilgrims   cast 
Their  staffs  and  burdens  down  at  last. 
And  when  we  quit  this  sunburnt  shore, 
We'll    leave   our   tears    for   evermore. 
And  meet  each  other  on  that  strand, 
Where   heaven   shall   be  our  father   land! 


July  24, 

Dierolf,  Gabelsville, 

.July   29, 

Oberholtzer,   Roh.rerstown, 

July  31, 

Bergey,   Sanatoga   Park, 

Lambert,    Rittersville, 

Haas,    Bechtelsville    (  ?  as    to    date), 
August    3, 

Krause,    Sand    Spring    Park, 
AugTist   4, 

Jacobs,   Sand   Spring   Park. 

Schaeffe.r,   Schoharie,   New   York, 

August  5, 

Hallman,    Plymouth    Park, 
Kercher,  Emaus, 
Lensinger,  Neffs, 

August  7, 

Fallweiler,  Neffs, 

Strauss,    Strausstown, 
August    10, 

Scheners,   Neffs, 

Lutz,  Neffs, 

August   11, 

Werley,  Neffs, 

Ritter,   Dornev   Park,  

Za.rtman,    Brickerville, 
August   12, 

Saul,   Temi)le. 

Peters,  Neffs, 

Flory,  Bangor, 

Harley,    Zieber's    Park, 

Hench    and    Dromgold,   New   Bloomfield, 

Quiggle-Montgomery,    Pine    Station, 

August   13, 

Hafer,    Reading, 

Miller,   Reading, 

Baer.   Kutztown    (?as  to  date). 
August   14, 

Schaeifer,    Fleetwood, 

Wotring,   Sand    Spring   Park,  ^ 

Wetzel,  Chapel, 

Srhiiltz,   East   Gi-eenville, 
August    17, 

Kreider,    Lititz, 
August    18, 

Ranck.  Columbus,  Ohio, 

Dunkelberger,    Sunbury, 

Seii)]e,    Rittersville, 

Klotz,  Neffs,    (?as  to  date), 


Hoover,    Chestnut    Hill, 
B.rady,   Mount   Holly    Springs, 
Roadarmel,   Paxinos, 
Blooms,   Curwensville, 

August  19, 

Kistler,    Neffs, 

Slingluff,    Zieber's    Park, 

Beyer,    Mingo, 

Markley,   Ringing   Rocks, 

Kresge,    Stroudsburg, 

Pearson,    Stroudsburg, 

Smith-Fargus,   Lock   Haven, 

August  20, 

Seiple,    Rittersville, 

Kiick,   Sinking   Springs, 

Gehman,    Perkasie, 

Heinly,  Kutztown, 

Haas,  Neffs, 

Gery,   Reamstown    (?as   to   date), 

Hess,    Ritte.rville, 

August   34, 

Blauch-Blough-Plough,    Johnstown,    Pa., 

August  25, 

Keller,  Wind  Gap  Park. 
Reist,    Tiffin,    Ohio, 
Runkle.    Heilmandale, 
Buchman,    Rittersville, 
Boyer,   Emaus, 

August   26, 

Greenawalt,   Franklinville,    Pa, 

Newhard,    Neffs, 

Beyer,    Fairview    Village, 

August    28, 

Furry,   Reading, 

Moyer,    Perkasie, 

Longaker,    Pottstown, 

Miller,    Sand    Spring   Park. 

Smith-Embody,    Pottstown, 

Kriebel,   Ziebe.rs   Park, 

Buch,    Lititz, 

Slotter,  Bedminster, 

Hershey.   Hershey, 

Heller,    Wind    Gap, 

Rex,    Rittersville, 

Creitz,  Lynnport    (?  as  to  date), 

September   2, 

Bodey,   Reading, 

Pai'liman-Blesh,   Lock   Haven,  Fa., 
Ziegenfuss,    Bowmanstown, 
Quiggle-Montgomery,    Lock    Haven, 

September   4, 

Thomas.   Chalfont    ( ?  as   to   date), 

Gottschall.    Sanatoga, 

Weakley,   Mt.   Holly   Springs, 

Brown,    Schuylkill    Co.,    ( ?  as   to   place). 

Antes,   Antes'   Fort. 
September   6, 

Essig,   Pottstown, 

Livingood,   Friedensburg, 

Mengel.   Schuylkill    Haven, 
September    11, 

Elser-Oberlin,  Clay, 

Rex,   Chestnut    Hill    Park, 

Knecht,  Emaus, 


EDITORIAL    DEPARTMENT 


469 


Schwenk.   Schwenksville, 

Grubb,   Spring  City, 

C.latfelter,    York, 

Cherringtoii,    Bloonisburg, 

Kemper.   Lititz, 
Sei)tember    14, 

Rockefeller,    Easton, 
September  2'.. 

Hauck   and    Sanisel,    Ferkiomeuville,  Pa. 

The     following     reunions     were     held     in 
Tioga   county : 

August  10. 

Smith,    Richmond, 
August   11,   Kimball,   Wellsboro, 

Borden,   Tioga, 

Cady,    Brickfield, 

Gardner,    Westfield, 

Smith,    Lawrence    Corners. 
August  12. 

Coveney,    Mansfield, 

Lucas,   Elmira, 
August  1-1,  » 

Scott,   Brookfield, 

Harvey,    Spring    Brook    Farm. 


August  17. 

Cleveland.   Mansfield. 

August    18. 

Slocum,    Westfield, 

Butler,   Westfield, 

Shaw.    Richmond, 

Squires,    Sullivan, 
August   19, 

Gaige-Briggs,    .lackson. 

Hall-Hotchkiss,    Shippen. 

Davis,    Chatham. 

Dartt,  Charleston, 

Warters,    Lawrence   Corners, 
August   20, 

Garrie,    Wellsboro, 

Butle.r,   Deerfield, 
August   21], 

Dewey,  Sullivan. 

Frazier,  Westfield, 
August   26, 

Clark,    Hector, 

Redner,    Douglass, 

Webster,    Rutland, 
August  28, 

Hunt,   Westfield. 


The  Forum 


MEAMKG  OF  >AMES 


By  Leouhard  Felix  Fuld,  M.  A.  LL.  M. 

EDITORIAL  NOTE.— Mr.  Fuld  has  kindly 
consented  to  give  a  brief  sketch  of  the  de- 
rivation and  meaning  of  the  surname  of 
any  subscriber  w^ho  sends  twenty-five  cents 
to  the  Editor  of  THE  PENNSYLVANIA-" 
GERMAN   for  that  purpose. 

XV   QUICKEL 

The  German  name  QUICKEL  is  derived 
from  the  Dutch  KWIK,  the  Low  German 
QUIK,  the  Old  High  German  and  the  Ger- 
man QUECK  which  occurs  in  the  work 
QUECKSILBER,  quicksillver.  The  name 
means  "a  lively  man;  a  man  characterized 
by  physical  or  mental  liveliness  or  spright- 
liness.  The  corresponding  English  name  is 
QUIGLEY  which  means  one  who  lives  in  a 
house  surrounded  by  a  quick.  A  quick  is 
a  live  fence  or  hedge  formed  of  some  grow- 
ing jilant  such  as  hawthorn. 

XVI   HINNERSHITZ 

The  name  HINNERSCHITZ  or  HUEHNER- 
SHITZ  refers  to  one  who  raises  chickens. 
Chickens  have  always  been  raised  exten- 
sively in  Germany  from  the  earliest  times. 
Internally,  this  name  signifies  the  exrement 
of  chickens.  Schiller  uses  the  phrase:  ICH 
HABE  KARTOFFELN  GEGESSEN  ODER 
EIN  WILDES  HUHN,SATT   1ST  SA.TT.  The 


term  HUHN  was  used  by  the  Germans,  both 
as  a  term  of  reproach  and  as  a  term  of  en- 
dearment. DU  BIST  EIN  DUMMES  HUHN 
and  SPRICHT  SO  MEIN  HUEHNCIIEN  a^e 
examples  of  this  use,  which  clearly  indi- 
cates the  extensive  raising  of  chickens  by 
the   Germans. 

XVII    OTT 

There  are  two  possible  derivations  of  the 
name.  If  derived  from  the  Latin  througli 
the  Italian  it  is  derived  from  OCTAVIUS 
and  means  the  eighth  child  of  the  family. 
Such  a  name  indicates  great  paucity  of 
ideas  on  the  part  of  the  parents.  If  a 
fond  •  parent  can  give  his  child  no  name 
other  than  "No.  8"  it  is  a  sad  commentary 
upon  his  own  intellectual  condition.  The 
second  possible  derivation  of  OTT  is  from 
EUDES,  meaning  a  victor  who  has  bound 
his  captive  well:  a  thorough  conqueror. 
ODETTE  and  OTHELLO  are  diminutives 
derived  from  this  name  and  meaning  little 
OTTO  or  son   of  OTTO. 

LEONHARD   FELIX   FULD.   Ph.   D. 

*      *      * 

A  Request 

The  undersigned  is  desirous  of  securing  a 
collection  of  Pennsylvania  German  pro- 
verbs or  sayings  and  their  meaning.  For 
example,  of  a  tactless  man  it  is  said:  "Er 
fallt   mit    der    Duehr   zum    Haus    nei." 


470 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Also  a  collecton  of  the  variations  of  the 
Pennsylvania  German  dialect  in  different 
sections.  For  example,  in  Lebanon  county 
a  bucket  is  a  Kuewel,  in  Berks  county  an 
Ehmer.  In  the  former  county  a  shovel  is 
a  Schaufel,  in  the  latter  county  a  Schib. 

Contributions  are  earnestly  solicited.  In 
case  respectable  collections  are  secured 
they  will  be  published  in  this  journal.  Ad- 
dress Daniel  Miiler,  221  North  Sixth  street, 
Reading,  Pa. 

4*     4"     <• 

A  Mennonite  Publication  Proposed 

Herman  T.  Frueauff,  of  Bethlehem,  Pa., 
proposes  to  translate  and  publish  parts  of 
Matthaei's  'Die  Deutsche  Ansiedeljngen  in 
Russland"  published  at  Leipsic  1866.  (J. 
Frank  Buch,  printer,  Lititz,  Pa.)  These 
notes  bear  on  Mennonite  history.  The  pub- 
lication will  be  limited  as  to  number  of 
copies  and  will  depend  on  the  number  of 
advance  orders  received.  For  information 
address   Mr.   Frueauff. 

4"  'J  * 

A    Successful   Worcester  Boy 

Prof  James  A.  Moyer,  a  worthy  son  of 
Worcester  township,  Montgomery  county, 
Pa.,  at  present  an  Assistant  Professor  in 
the  University  of  Michigan  at  Ann  Arbor, 
of  whom  we  gave  a  sketch  in  THE  PENN- 
SYLVANIA-GERMAN of  March,  1907,  has 
issued  a  book  "The  Steam  Turbine"  that 
has  won  high  encomium  from  leading  pro- 
fessors, engineers  and  technical  periodicals 
in  the  United  States  and  England.  AVill 
not  one  of  our  Worcester  subscribers  tell 
our  readers  what  the  sons  and  daughters 
of  the  township  have  been  and  are  doing? 
The  record  is  a  commendable  and  inspir- 
ing one. 

<•     4«     4» 

Bruni1)au$?li  aud   Gnibl)  Family  Histories 

W  e  have  received  sample  pages  of 
"Brumbaugh  Families"  a  historical  and 
genealogical  work  embracing  the  Brum- 
baugh, Brumbach,  Brumback,  Brombaugh, 
Brownback  and  many  Intermarrying  Fami- 
lies by  Gains  Marcus  Brumbaugh,  M.  S.,  M. 
D.,  of  Washington,  D.  C.  Judging  by  what 
has  been  submitted  one  can  expect  an  elab- 
orate, elegant,  authentic  publication  costing 
advance  subscribers  $7.")0.  Eighteen  years 
of  time  and  labor  have  been  devoied  to  the 
preparation  of  the  work.  The  results 
should  and  doubtless  will  be  commensurate 
wth  the  money  and  energy  put  into  it.  For 
particulars   address   the   author. 


If  the  demand  warrants,  the  historian  of 
the  Grubb  Family  Association  will,  in  the 
near  future,  issue  a  sketch  of  the  family, 
together  with  all  genealogical  records  thus 
far  secured. 
This  work  will  include  the  descendants  of 
Henry  Grubb,  who  came  from  Switzerland 
in  1717  and  settled  in  Frederick  Township, 
Montgomery  County,  Pa.;  Henry  Grubb, 
who  came  from  Switzerland  in  1743  and  set- 
tled in  Coventry  Township,  Chester  County, 
Pa;  some  of  the  descendants  of  John 
Grubb,  who  came  from  England  in  1677, 
and  records  of  other  persons  of  the  name 
whose  ancestry  is  as  yet  unraveled. 

The  book  will  contain  many  engravings 
of  early  persons  of  the  name,  many  of  the 
living  and  cuts  of  homes  of  the  early  pio- 
neers, burial  places,  with  full  records  of 
the   different   reunions,   etc. 

The  cost  of  the  work  will  be  $3.50.  For 
particulars  address  Geo.  F.  P.  Wagner, 
Pottstown,   Pa. 


Hans  Joest  Heydt  Questions  and 
Answers 

H.    AV.    Kriebel,    Ed.    of      THE      PENNSYL- 
VANIA-GERMAN,   Lititz,    Pa., 
Dear   Sir: 

Being  interested  in  the  early  Germaas 
of  the  Valley  of  Virginia  I  was  pleased  to 
read  the  July,  1909  number  of  your 
magazine  in  which  was  the  sketch  of  Hans 
Joest  Heydt,  the  Pioneer  of  the  Perkiomen. 
— afterwards  pioneer  of  the  Shenandoah — 
I  want  to  ask  a  few  questions: 

1.  Was  Heydt — or  Hite  as  we  call  him  a 
Lutheran  or  what?  He  was  reared  in  or 
near  Strassburg,  he  married  a  Huguenot — 
When  he  came  to  America  he  went  to 
Kingston,  N.  Y.,  and  the  baptism  of  his 
first  children  was  recorded  in  the  Dutch 
Reformed  church  there  and  in  later  years 
in  Virginia  his  children  were  baptized  by 
visiting  clergy  from  Pennsylvania.  Can  it 
from  these  facts  be  said  that  he  was  a 
member  of  any   particular  church.  Again — 

2.  It  is  said  that  in  1718  he  paid  quit 
rents  on  lands  for  14  years  back.  Does 
this  show  that  he  owned  the  land  for  this 
long — or  that  the  former  owner  was  delin- 
quent, which  he  had  to  pay  when  he  pur- 
chaed?     Again — 

3.  It  is  said  he  sold  out  in  1730  on  Per- 
kiomen-— that  he  left  for  Virginia  by  way 
of  York  in  1732.  Where  was  he  in  the 
meantime?  Philadelphia? 

4.  Why   did  he   go  by  York? 

5.  In  1725  to  1731.  What  kind  of  country 
was  it  from  Philadelphia  to  Valley  of  Vir- 
ginia for  roads,  for  people  or  towns?  And 
for  Indians? 

6.  How  far  is  it  from  Philadeli>hia  to> 
Harpers  Ferry? 


THE  FORUM 


471 


There  were  no  white  people  in  Shenan- 
doah Valley,  how  could  people  in  Pennsyl- 
vania learn  of  Valley  of  Virginia  if  they 
did  learn,  would  Germans  in  Philadelphia 
be  induced  to  go  to  Shenandoah  Valley  to 
settle  without  wanting  to  buy  lands — would 
there  be  any  inducement  sufRcien:  to  take 
the  risks.  It  has  been  said  there  were  Ger- 
mans about  1727  settled  on  Potomac  and 
called  it  Mecklenburg,  now  Shepherdtown — 
which  I  do  not  believe  was  pos.'.ible  nor 
probable. 

I  would  be  glad  to  hear  from  you. 

W.  S.  Laidley,  Charleston,  W.  Va., 
Aug.  4,  1909.       Late  Ed.  W.  Va.  His.  Mag. 

*    4*    * 

West  Conshohocken.  Pa., 

August  23,  1909. 
H.  W.  Kriebel,, 
Editor,  PENNA.-GERMAN, 
L^titz,   Pa., 
My  Dear  Sir: 

1.  Replying  to  your  favor  of  August  5th, 
last,  would  say  that  I  found  no  record  of 
Hans  Jost  Heydfs  affiliation  with  any 
church  denomination.  Some  of  his  children 
were  baptized  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Reformed  Dutch  Church  at  Kingston,  N. 
Y.,  and  many  of  his  grandchildren  were 
baptized  by  the  Rev.  Johann  Caspar 
Stoever,  a  clergyman  of  the  Lutheran 
church,  itinerating  in  Virginia  in  1735. 

2.  The  records  of  payment  by  original 
purchasers  were  made  in  the  Journal  kept 
in  the  Land  Office  of  the  Proprietaries  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  were  made  by  James 
Steel  who  "did  his  work  in  a  thorough  and 
business-like  manner,  and  give  as  clear  an 
insight  into  the  land  transactions  of  the 
original  settlers  as  can  be  obtained  at  this 
time."  Thus  I  take  it,  Heydt  was  credited 
on  Penn"s  books  in  the  payment  of  the 
quit  rents  at  the  time  menioned,  as  being 
an  original  settler. 

3.  The  interim  between  the  time  of  the 
sale  of  his  land  on  the  Perkiomen  and  his 
settlement  in  Virginia  was  probably  de- 
voted to  the  exploration  of  his  scheme  of 
colonization  and  gathering  settlers  neces- 
sary to  fulfill  the  conditions  imposed  upon 
the  Van  Metres  before  the  formal  assign- 
ment of  their  grant  took  place. 

4.  There  was  a  well  known  trail  which 
led  from  the  upper  Delaware  valleys  in 
New  York  state,  crossing  Pennsylvania  via 
York — at  which  point  he  had  only  to  cross 
overland  from  the  Schuylkill  region  to 
York,  on  the  Suscjuehanna  and  there  take 
the  trail  along  the  Conococheaque  to  the 
Monocacy,  to  the  Potomac,  and  thence  into 
the  Valley  of  Virginia. 

5.  With  reference  to  the  questions  refer- 
ing  to  the  period  1725  to  1731 — the  en- 
quirer is    well    informed    and    has    written 


much,  and  is  familiar  with  the  conditioas 
as  to  trails  and  inhabitants  and  much  bet- 
ter informed  about  it  than  L 

6.  Roughly,  I  should  say  the  distance 
from  Philadelphia  via  York,  Pa.,  to  Har- 
pers Ferry  is  200  miles. 

Regretting  that  other  matters  interfered 
with  my  giving  you  a  more  prompt  answer, 
I  am  sir, — 

Very  truly  yours, 

S.    GORDON    SMYTH. 

♦     ♦     * 

OFORMATIOJT  WANTED 


Descendants  of  James  Wolfe 

Information  wanted  of  descendants  of 
James  Wolfe,  who  settled  somewhere  in 
Pennsylvania.  His  father,  Sylvanus  Wolfe, 
was  the  son  of  John  Cano  Caspor  Wolfe, 
who  came  over  wiih  the  Hessian  soldiers, 
and  settled  at  Rockingham,  Vt.  The  his- 
tory of  this  family  is  published  at  Rock- 
ingham,  but  no   record   of   James. 

EVA  M.  WOLFE, 

Oswego,  N.  Y. 
]Mgr.   Chaffee's    Phonographic    Institute. 

4»      *     * 

Ancestry  of  Jobn  Kuntz 

Miss  Luella  Kountz,  161  Henry  St., 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  desires  information  about 
her  grandfather  John  Kuntz,  born  in  Lan- 
caster county  in  1775  and  who  had  a  sis- 
ter Elizabeth  married  to  a  Blackburn.  Who 
were  his  parents?  To  whom  was  his 
mother  married  at  her  second  marriage? 
Who  were  the  parents  and  grandparents  of 
her   second  husband? 

Ancestry  of  Pliillipina  Crehl'I 

Information  is  desired  in  regard  to  the 
ancestry  of  Philippina  Crel)ill,  who  mar- 
ried John  George  Vogel  or  Fegley,  as  it 
now  is,  Feb.  14,  1749. 

It  is  presumed  she  had  a  brother  Nicho- 
las who  married  Anna  Maria  Fegley,  Dec. 
17.   1746. 

Information  is  also  desired  regarding 
Matthias  Fuchs  who  died  prior  to  May, 
17S6.  It  is  almost  certain  that  he  was  mar- 
ried three  times  and  one  of  his  wives  was 
Anna  Maria  Meier.  By  his  wife  he  was  the 
father  of  Anna  Catharina  Fuchs,  born  Jan. 
his  wife  before  mentioned.  Conrad  Fegle.v 
son  of  John  George  Fegley  and  Philippina 
his  wife  befoe  mentioned.  Conrad  Fegley 
was  my  paternal  grandfather. 
(Mrs.  Chas.  M.)  Susan  Fegley  Vanderslice, 
602  S.  Main  street, 

Phoenixville,   Pa. 


472 


THE  penxsylvaxia-ger:\iax 


Historical  Societies 


Bucks   County   Historical   Society 

We  .recently    received    Volume    III    of    "A 
Collection      of      Papers     Read     before      the 
Bucks     County      Historical      Society,     Pub- 
lished   for  the    Society    by  B.    F.  Fackenthal. 
Jr."   Attention    was   called   to   pervious   vol- 
umes   in     THE     PEXXSYLVANIA-GERMAX 
of   February    and   August,    1909.      The     well 
printed,   neatly   finished    illustrated    volume 
of  676  pages  gives  in   rotation   paj^ers   read 
from   1901   to  190S  besides  a  few  others  and 
a    number    written    at    an    earlier    date    by 
Rev.    D.    K.    Turner.      The    following   is    the 
list  of  subjects:   Sketch  of  Log  College.  The 
Smith    Plow,    Two     Old     Horse    Companies, 
The     Town     of    Bethlehem,     General     John 
Lacey— Ou.r      Quaker       General,       Reminis- 
cences  of  Quakertown   and    Its   People,   Old 
Richland        Settlers,        Prehistoric       Bucks 
County.    The    Parry   Family   of    Xew    Hope, 
William      Penn's     Children,    Bogarfs      Inn, 
Wrightstown    Settlers.       The     German     Ele- 
ment  in   Bucks   County,    Stone    Implements, 
The     Eastbu.rn      Family,     The     Warminster 
Harts,  Biographical  Xotes  of  Rev.  Douglass 
K.    Turner,     The     Wynkoop      Family,      The 
Kenderdines  of  Bucks  county.  The  Hilltown 
Thomas      Family,       Revolutionary      Events 
about     Xewtown,    Judge    Henry  '  Wynkoop, 
The   Rodmans   and   Foxes,   The    Folwells   of 
Bucks  County,   Historic  "Summerset,"  Mor- 
risville  and  Its  Vicinity,  Five  Bucks  County 
Generals,    The    "Virginia    Riflemen"    a    Mis- 
nomer, The  Old  Pennypack  Baptist  Church, 
Xewtown— Old   and   Xew,  The  Tohickon   Set- 
tlers,  Keller    Family    History.      The    Xew- 
town   Library,   Historical    Reminiscences    of 
Pineville   and   Vicinity,   Law   Governing  the 
Settlement  of  Xew  Countries,  Robeit  Morris 
—Founder   of    Morrisville,     Morris /ille    the 
Capital,     Founding    of   Morrisville,  Sharon 
and    the    Indian    Legend    Connected    There- 
with,  An   Old    Mowing   Machine,    The   Colo- 
nial   Origin    of   Some    Bucks   County    Fami- 
lies. Old   Presbyterian   Church   at    Xewtown, 
Links  in  the  Chain  of  Local  History,  Phases 
of  Library  Life,  Jacob  Jennings  Brown  the 
"Fighting   Quaker"   of   Bucks    Countv,     The 
Dungan      Ancestry,     The     Chapman— Mina 
Tragedy,   Tools   of  the   Xation   Maker,   Flax 
and      Its     Culture,     B.rief     History     Talks, 
Mexico    and    the    Montezumas,    Lord    de    la 
War's    Scarf,   Cave    Explorations,   The    Len- 
ape    Stone,   Origin    and   Customs    of  Christ- 
mas Festivals,   Anti    Slavery    Davs— Experi- 
ences  of  Fugitives,  Bucks    County    in    Our 
Nation's     History,     Firearms     of      Colonial 
Times,   The  Military   Halberd   of  the   Eigh- 
teenth   Century,    Henry    Quinn,    Old    Shad 
Fisheries,  The  Si)irit    Colony    at    Parkland, 
Old  Xew   Hope,  Longstreet  Family,  History 
of    Bee   Culture,     Silk    Culture     in      Bucks 
County,  A  House  with  a  History,  The  Ring- 
ing  Rocks,    Rev.    Xathaniel    Irwin,  Admiral 
John   A.   Dahlgren,  X.   S.   X.   The   Relations 


of  the  Pennsylvania  Proprietaries  to  the 
Colonists,  General  Jean  Victor  Maria 
Morean,  The  Claim  of  Connecticut  to 
Wyoming,  General  Andrew  Pickens.  Old 
Doylestown. 

The  publication  of  this  volume  in  con- 
nection with  what  has  been  done  before 
places  this  society  in  the  front  rank  of 
County  Historical  Societies.  "The  Tools  of 
the  Xation  Maker"  owned  by  the  Society 
and  housed  in  their  own  new  building  (see 
PEXXSYLVAXIA-GERMAX,  August,  1907) 
are  a  distinctly  unique  collection  concern- 
ing which  we  quote  the  following  from  the 
article  on  the  subject.  Describing  the  col- 
lection the  collector  says:  "Here  is  the 
cutting  down  of  the  forest  and  the  building 
of  the  log  cabin.  There  are  utensils  con- 
cerned with  the  preparation  of  food,  that 
is  to  say  cooking  appliances  together  with 
apparatus  for  making  and  producing  light. 
Xext  we  have  the  production  of  clqthing. 
illustrated  by  spinning  and  weaving  and 
the  adaptation  of  vegetable  fibre  fo.r  these 
purposes.  Then  comes  the  relation  of  man 
to  animals,  in  the  way  of  domesticating 
them  or  killing  them  and  expelling  them 
from  the  region.  Agriculture  is  represented 
by  a  multitude  of  implements  which  stand 
at  the  very  bottom  of  man's  effort  to  keep 
himself  alive,  and  we  have  next  the  great 
variety  of  utensils,  home  and  hand  made, 
produced  by  the  man  of  the  land  on  his 
own  farm  before  the  factory  existed,  before 
the  country  store  came  into  being  and  be- 
fore a  wave  of  mechanical  inventive  ge- 
nius took  possession  of  the  Americap  people 
about  the  year  1820.  By  way  of  fabrica- 
tion of  u^nsils  of  burnt  clay  we  come  fi- 
nally to  a  lot  of  objects  illustrating  learn- 
ing and  amusement  at  a  time  when  the 
pioneer  had  little  time  for  aught  save  the 
removal  of  the  forest  and  the  general  strug- 
gle  for   existence."    (p.   472). 

Respecting  the  value  of  the  collection  the 
author  says:  "In  this  collection  called  'the 
Tools  of  the  Xation  Maker'  we  are  ahead 
of  everybody,  we  are  original,  alone  and 
unique.  If  any  other  historical  society  or 
individual  shall  undertake  to  compete  with 
us  we  are  so  far  ahead  that  with  a  rea- 
sonable amount  of  effort  on  our  part  it 
will  be  a  hopeless  task  for  them  to  catch 
up  with  us.  If  we  were  to  say  that  this 
collection  would  be  worth  its  weight  in 
gold  a  hundred  years  hence,  it  would  be 
no  very  great  exaggeration,  but  we  need 
not  look  so  far  ahead  to  imagine  the  time 
when  if  we  do  anything  like  ou.r  duty,  the 
student  of  these  things,  whoever  he  may  be 
will  not  go  to  Washington,  Boston,  New 
York.  Chicago  or  anywhere  else  in  the 
country  to  study  American  history  from 
this  fresh  point  of  view  but  will  be  com- 
pelled to  come  to  Doylestown." 


Vol.  X 


OCTOBER,  1909 


No.  10 


Seeing  Lancaster  County  from  a  Trolley  Window 


(CONTINUED   FROM    SEPTEMBER   ISSUE) 


In  preparing  this  sketch  we  have  freely 
used  among  other  sources,  "The  Picturesque 
and  Historical  End"  compiled  by  Hon.  W. 
U.  Hensel.  Where  the  language  has  been  re- 
produced quotation  marks  have  been  in- 
serted.— Ed. 


TO   CHRISTIANA 

V  ALL  these  picturesque 
routes.  none  is  more 
lieautiful  than — nor  any 
so  interesting'  from  a 
historical  point  of  \-ie\v, 
as — the  road  whicli  leads 
from  Lancaster  City  to 
the  P)Orotigh  of  Christi- 
the  limits  of  the  county, 
joins  Chester.  This  line  is 
and     tra- 


ana,     on 
where    it 

about  nineteen  miles  Ion 
verses  a  region  through  which  some 
of  the  oldest  highways  passed  ;  a  large 
part  runs  by  the  rhiladel')h;a  and 
Lancaster  turnpike,  the  earliest  mac- 
adamized road  in  the  L'nited  States." 
"Starting  up  Xorth  Queen  street,  it 
turns  east  at  the  P.  ]\.  R.  pa.>senger 
station,  ])asses  over  Chestnut  '-treet  to 
the  city  limits,  and  reaches  the  old 
turnpike  at  a  point  near  the  city  reser- 
voir, Cotmty  Prison,  llosuital.  Work 
I  louse  and  .\lmshouse.  The  county 
prison  is  a  fine  s])ecimen  of  feudal 
architecture.  It  was  planned  by  Ilavi- 


land  the  famous  jail  architect  of  the 
period  1859-60.  At  Lancaster,  Eng- 
land, one  is  confronted  by  its  proto- 
type. The  memorial  bronze  lion  and 
fountain  on  the  grounds  of  Reservoir 
Park  are  the  gift  to  Lancaster  City 
by  iviiss  Blanche  Nevin,  painter, 
poetess  and  sculptress,  a  tribute  to 
the  memory  of  her  father,  Rev.  John 
Williamson  Nevin,  D.  D.,  the  greatest 
theologian  of  the  United  States  in  the 
middle  of  the  XIX  centurv." 


ni,.\NCHE  NEVIN  FOUNTAIN 

COURTESY  I.ANCASTKR  BOARD  OK  TRADE 

"Immediately  south  of  the  junction 
of  the  city  and  suburban  line  lie  the 
noble  cluster'of  brick  buildings  which 
comprise  the  Stevens  Institute,  a 
technical  and  training  school  for 
friendless   boys,    regardless    of    color, 


474 


THE    PEXXSYLVAXIA-GERMAN 


PENNSYL,VANIA  R.  R.  STATION 


COURTESY  LANCASTER   HOARD  OF  TRADE 

founded  on  a  l)equest  of  Hon.  Thad- 
deus  Stevens.  The  fine  farm  around 
the  public  institutions  belongs  to  the 
county;  the  almshouse,  with  the 
broad,  placid  Conestoga  far  below  its 
south  front,  occupies  one  of  the  most 
eligible  residential  sites  around  Lan- 
caster." 

"Descending  the  long  hill  which 
leads  to  the  creek,  by  grou])s  >'f  beau- 
tiful suburban  homes,  an  exquisite 
park  to  the  right  of  the  track  is  seen 
extending  far  to  the  south.  The 
Conestoga  is  crossed  upon  an  open 
bridge     of    concrete     and     iron,     from 


which    the    passenger    obtains    a    view 
up  and  down  the  stream." 

"During  the  War  of  the  Revolution, 
this  spot  on  the  river  was  known  as 
'Deering's  Ford,*  and  it  was  almost 
continuously  thronged  with  ih.e  pas- 
sage of  wagon  trains  and  herds  of 
cattle,  destined  to  the  army  quarter- 
master, marching  and  returning 
troops  and  other  military  movements. 
Here  the  American  Congress  forded 
the  water  in  1777,  when  it  hastily 
moved  from  Philadelphia  to  York,  via 
Lancaster,  holding  one   session  here." 


COUNTY  HOUSE  AND  ASYL,UM 

COURTESY  LANCASTHIR  BOARD  OF  TRADE 


SEEIiXG   LANCASTER   COUNTY   FROM   A    TROLLEY  WINDOW 


475 


"The  niag'iiificient  nine-arch  stone 
bridge,  which  carries  the  inrn])ike 
across  the  stream,  was  the  enterprise 
of  Abraham  W'itmer.  a  ptibHc-spirited 
citizen,  whn.  in  1795.  obtained  the 
Les;"islative  cliarter  enahlint;-  liim  U) 
erect  it  and  to  cliarq-e  tolls  until  such 
time  as  he  was  recompensed  or  the 
county  l)oui;ht  it;  which  it  did  in  1817 
at  a  cost  of  v$58,444.-|  I .  The  beauty 
and  endurance  of  this  structure  ha\e 
commanded  encomiums  I'ron.i  archi- 
tects and  eng'ineers."  It  is  a  niiinu- 
ment  to  the  solidity,  houestw  disin- 
terestedness of  the  ci)unt}'"s  earlier 
citizens.  The  bridj^e  bears  the  follow- 
inj^'  inscri])tions  : 

ERECTED   P,V 

ABRAHAM  A\1TMER 

MDCCXCIX— AIDCCCI 

A  LAW  OF  AX   EX  LIGHT  EX  ED 

COMMOXWEALTH 

THOMAS  ^^FFLIX.  GOVERXOR, 

SAXCTIOXED  THIS  MOXUMEXT 

OF  THE  PUBLIC  SPIRIT 

OF  AX 

IXDHTDUAL 

61  M  TO  P 


THIS  BRIDGE  WAS  BUILT  BY 
ABM.  WITMER  AXD  AL-VRY.  HIS 
WIFE.  AXD  COMPLETED  IX 
THE  YEAR  OF  OUR  LORD  1800. 


"The  miniature  railroads  to  be  seen 
ruiuiing'  down  cither  bank  of  the 
stream,  convey  passengers  to  Rocky 
Springs  and  I'eople's  Bathing  Park — 
two  notal)le  recreation  resorts",  hav- 
ing direct  trolley  connection  with  the 
city.  "A  little  further  down  the  w^ind- 
ing  Conestoga  are  Indian  Hill,  Wil- 
iamson  Park  and  'Rockford"  long  the 
country  seat  of  Gen.  Hand,  aid-de 
camp  to  General  Washington,  and 
Lancaster's  most  famous  Revolution- 
ary soldier.'' 

Iiumediately  east  of  the  bridge  is 
the  Bridgeport  hotel  probably  built 
1 758- 1 760,  once  a  famous  stopping 
])lace  for  Pittsburg  w^agons,  the  center 
of  a  land  boom  in  1819  when  lots  were 
laid  out  and  dis])osed  of  but  the 
hopes  were  blasted.  The  roads  fork- 
ing here,  we  follow  the  turnpike  leav- 
ing to  the  left  the  "Old  Philadel])hia 
Road"  laid  out  1730.  the  shortest 
route  between  Lancaster  and  Phila- 
delphia and  known  for  60  years  as  the 
great  road  of  the  county,  the  famous 
turnpike  on  which  we  travel  not  hav- 
ing been  finished  until  1794.  About 
two  miles  east  of  Bridgeport  there 
branches  off  from  the  Old  Philadel- 
l)hia  Road  the  "Horse  Shoe  Road" 
which  was  laid  out  in  1738  to  connect 
the  town  Lancaster  and  Coventry 
Iron  Works  on  French  creek  and 
along  which  sprang  up  "Heller's 
Church",  Xew  Holl'and.  Blue  Ball, 
Bangor.  Churchtown  and  Morgan- 
town. 

Al)out  a  mile  beyond  Bridgeport  we 
get   a   good    ^•iew    of   the   county   seat 


WIT.MKK'S  BRIDGE 

COURTESY  LANCASTER  BOARO  OK  TRADE 


476 


THE    PEXNSYLVANIA-GERMAJ^ 


profiled  against  the  sky  with  its 
steeples,  stacks  and  pipes  and  present- 
ly pass  Mellinger's  Meeting  House, 
a  place  of  public  worship  since  1757, 
attached  to  which  is  the  oldest  grave- 
yard in  the  township,  surveyed  and 
reserved  as  a  burial  place  long  before 
the  church  was  built,  the  resting  place 
of  the  remains  of  pioneer  Palatines 
and  their  descendants.  We  now  enter 
East  Lampeter,  one  of  the  wealthiest 
and  most  populous  townships  of  the 
county,  settled  about  1720.  organized 
1841,  but  originally  a  part  of  Lam- 
peter laid  out  1729,  a  district  without 
great  landscape  beauty  or  rich  manu- 
factories, devoted  to  agricultare  in- 
cluding truck  farming. 

"Just  east  of  the  junction  \\ith  the 
'Strasburg'  pike  three  miles  fr^m  the 
city  a  stone  viaduct  carries  the  road- 
way over  a  ravine,  which  attests  the 
substantial  construction  of  public 
work  years  ago.  Another  str'..ng  and 
handsome  arched  bridge  spans  ^lill 
Creek  at  Greenland,  and  near  the 
breast  of  the  mill ;)ond,  to  the  right,  a 
groun  of  buildings,  formerly  known 
as  Eshleman's  ]\lill — the  birthplace  of 
Col.  15.  [""rank  Eshleman — no^v  houses 
tlie  'S'eates  School,  a  notable  E)isc«>- 
l^al  academy  for  boys,  founded  by 
]\Iiss  'Kitty'  Yeates,  a  daughter  of  one 
of  the  earlier  justices  of  the  Sujireme 
Court   of   renns^'h'ania." 

.\  half  mile  beyond  there  stands 
an  old  dwelling  house,  on  the  south 
side,  for  many  years  the  'Running 
Pump"  hotel  now  George  I)ru!)aker's 
property,  where  man  and  beast  may 
still  slake  their  thirst  at  the  ceaseless 
fountain.  We  presently  reach  the 
summit  of  a  hill  affording  a  splendid 
view.  "It  takes  in  immediately  and 
in  the  northeast  foreground,  the 
Si)lendi(l  'Mill  Creek  Country'  with 
the  stately  rows  of  Lombardy  poo- 
lars  in  the  center  of  the  scene,  that 
indicate  the  way  from  'Gibbons'  Mill' 
to  F)ird-in-Hand  and  far  away,  a  road 
to  Ronk's.  I'hence  are  spread  out  to 
the  patient  tourist's  eye  thi,  great 
expanse  of  Eastern  Lancaster  county, 
from   the   I'urnace    Hills  on   the    Leba- 


non border  far  northward,  to  the 
Mine  Ridge  south,  with  the  Welsh 
Mountains  in  the  middle  distance, 
eastward,  and  back  to  the  clustered 
spires  of  Lancaster,  forming  the 
western  sky  line.  Chestnut  Mill,  far 
on  the  sunset  side,  comes  into  view 
and  frames  the  western  border  of  the 
scene  as  the  car  reaches  the  top  of 
the  hill.  Away  to  the  north  and 
northeast  are  Witmer,  Bird-in-Hand 
and   Ronks,  marked  by  stateh'  trees." 

I  n  1749  Friends  re-erected  i  n 
Bird-in-Hand  a  log  meeting  house 
which  had  been  originally  erected  in 
Leacock  in  1732  and  which  ',\as  dis- 
placed by  the  present  brick  meeting 
licmse  erected  in  1790.  This  was  built 
around  and  over  the  old  log  building 
which,  on  the  completion  of  the  new 
building  was  taken  out  log  by  log 
through  the  door.  Migration  thinned 
out  this  meeting  over  50  years  ago 
and  made  it  the  parent  of  the  flour- 
ishing Illinois  meeting.  The  Bird-in- 
Hand  hotel  which  has  preser\-ed  its 
original  name  to  the  present  is  one  of 
the  oldest  stands  in  the  coun'.v  hav- 
ing been  the  headquarters  of  the  first 
surveyors  of  the  old  road  in  1734. 
Four  buildings  have  been  erected  suc- 
cessi^•ely  ui:)on  the  same  site  and  the 
same  cellar  walls.  Prior  to  1862  when 
the  Reading  and  Columbia  Railroad 
was  bu-'lt.  r.ird-in-Hand  \\'as  the  ship- 
ping station  for  the  northern  section 
of  the  county.  Xot  unlike  other  sec- 
tions it  has  seen  business  come  and 
go  a   number  of  times. 

For  about  a  mile  we  pass  through 
the  borders  of  the  Amish  section 
wn'th  its  quaint  characteristic  customs, 
dress  and  colors  on  buildings.  At  the 
Amish  school  house  near  Soudcrsburg 
one  may  see  the  children  of  these 
primitive  people  in  their  unique  uni- 
forms. "Flalf  a  mile  to  the  north  a 
grcuip  of  Lombardy  poplars  mark  and 
hide  the  old  Steele  mansion,  where 
George  ^^'hitfield,  the  Englisli  evan- 
gelist was  a  guest  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years  ago.  and  where  dwelt  the 
collector  of  the   Port   at   Philadelphia^ 


SEEING  LANCASTER  COUNTY  FROM  A  TROLLEY  WINDOW 


477 


under     President      Madison,      Captain 
John  Steele." 

We  now  a]:)|)roacli  Soudersburg 
where  Mattel  A'arnian  built  ihe  first 
house  1727  and  Friends  conducted 
nieetinj^s  ])r.ior  to  1732.  We  notice  to 
our  rit;ht  a  Methodist  church  of  his- 
toric significance  as  marking"  one  of 
the  earliest  Methodist  settlements  in 
the  coiuit}-.  services  bein.^-  held  here 
as  earh-  as  1791  and  a  house  of  wor- 
shii)  erected  in  1802  replaced  h\  a  new 
building-  in  1872.  Passin^^  a  fine  brick 
farm    house    on    the     hill     near     which 


the  i'c(|uea.  died  1716  and  was  buried 
in  Carpenter's  cemetery  selected  by 
herself  and  located  near  the  center  of 
her  possessions  a  mile  south  of  the 
villag-e  of  Paradise.  Her  descendants 
a  r  e  counted  by  thousands  among 
whose  illustrious  names  are  those  of 
(ien.  J.  I*".  Reynolds,  Admiral  "^Villiam 
Reynolds  and  .Admiral  W.  S.  Schley. 
To  the  left  yellow  tenements  <,ome  to 
\iew  belonging-  to  the  "Park"  seed 
and  fiower  farm.  A  short  distance  be- 
yond also  on  the  left  side  is. an  impos- 
ing   three    storv     brick     dwelling,     the 


HISTORIC  HOUSES  BY  THE  WAY 


Stands  a  giant  balsam  poplar  brought 
as  an  ox  "wattle"  from  Virginia  in 
1812  and  the  scion  of  numerous  pro- 
geny in  the  neighborhood,  we  soon 
cross  the  Pequea  on  a  fine  stone  arch 
bridge  and  enter  Paradise  township, 
organized  1843 — a  fine  fertile  undulat- 
ing agricultural  section.  La  Park, 
Paradise  and  Leaman  Place  are  now 
before  us,  bordering  the  old  turnpike 
for  several   miles. 

The  first  settler  in  P'aradiso  town- 
ship was  Mary  Ferree,  a  French  Hu- 
guenot who  came  to  the  county  in 
1709,  a  widow  with  six  childien.  She 
acquired   2300  acres   of  land   south   of 


summer  home  of  Hon.  C.  I.  Lendis, 
President  Judge  of  the  Courts  of  Lan- 
caster county. 

At  the  east  end  of  Paradise  is  a 
beautiful  house  a  part  of  "Oak  Hill," 
the  estate  and  home  of  Hon.  J.  Play 
Brown,  one  of  the  historic  mansions 
of  the  county,  built  1817  by  Dr.  John 
S.  Carpenter,  owaied  subsequently  by 
prominent  families  and  at  one  time 
the  seat  of  a  select  school  for  girls. 
Close  by  is  a  two-story  brick  building 
formerly  Paradise  Academy  and  later 
a  soldiers'  orphans'  school.  Across 
from  Judge  Brown's  west  gateways  is 
a  Presbyterian  church  erected  1840  an 


478 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


offspring'  of  the  Leacock  Presbyterian 
church  situated  a  few  miles  north  on 
the  "old  road"  and  a  mile  west  of  In- 
tercourse in  Leacock  township.  This 
congregation,  regularly  orgi-anized 
1 741,  Avorshipped  for  a  time  in  a  log- 
house  erected  1739  which  was  re- 
placed by  the  present  building  in  1759. 
The  congregation  was  connected  with 
the  Pequea  church  for  a  time  and 
served  by  its  pastors  among  whom 
was  the  celebrated  Rev.  Dr.  Smith  oi 
whom  we  will  speak  later. 

As  we  proceed  we  notice  far  to  the 
southeast  on  the  summit  of  the 
wooded  Aline  Ridge,  "a  pile  of  brick, 
wliich,  'grand,  gloomy  and  peculiar' 
dominates  the  landscape.  It  capital- 
izes the  summit  of  the  "Great  Divide" 
in  Lancaster  county,  separating  sub- 
stantially the  'Upper'  and  'Lower" 
ends — the  limestone  and  the  barren 
lands,  the  light  and  heavy  tiniber,  the 
German-Swiss  Palatine  sect:^  a  n  d 
'plain  people'  from  the  Scot-  h-Irish 
Presbyterian,  Quaker  and  Baptist — it 
indicates  an  absolute  dift'erentiation 
in  social,  political  and  religious  life, 
different  ways  of  living  and  different 
Avays  of  thinking." 

"The  lofty  iron  and  brick  cbimnev 
'stack'  on  Mine  Ridge,  to  be  seen  for 
so  many  miles  around,  is  a  relic.  The 
lands  immediately  about  it  Avere  de- 
vastated, long  years  ago,  by  roxious 
fumes  from  the  smelting  ores.  Copper 
was  mined  here  before  the  Revolu- 
tion ;  and  nickel,  with  profit,  at  a  later 
period."  The  late  proprietor  Joseph 
Wharton  reaped  a  fortune  here. 

In  Leaman  Place  a  railroad  village, 
the  junction  of  the  unique  Strasburg 
railroad  is  a  spacious  mansion,  the 
Leaman  homestead,  from  which  four 
notable  sons  went  forth.  "Charles 
Leaman  a  Presbyterian  Missionary  in 
China;  Henry  and  Rosh  are  eminent 
physicians  in  Philadelphia  and  Wil- 
liam (deceased)  was  the  most  intel- 
lectual personage  of  his  generation  at 
the  Lancaster  Bar." 

After  crossing  the  stream  bc3a^nd 
Leaman  Place  the  country  seat  of 
Silas   Eshleman   is  passed   on   the   left 


hand  side.  "To  the  r'ght  a:il  south 
of  the  trolley  line,  along  tlie  base  of 
the  .Mine  Ridge,  lie  the  fam  >rs  'Lon- 
don lands."  a  large  tract  *a':en  up 
nearly  two  centuries  ago  l:v  a  '.ondon 
company — whence     Lond  m     run     and 


London  Grove  tavern  of  earlier  days. 
On  the  pictures(|ue  "Wolf  Ri^ck"" 
road,  which  leads  across  tl;e  Ivll.  is 
the  site  of  the  grist  mill,  dist'llery 
and  hem])  mill  Inr'lt  l^y  F'.  oderick 
Wise   in    I7r)0."  "The   ini  )osiii<:-   raanor 


SEEING  LANCASTER  COUNTY  FRO.M  A  TROLLEY  WLNDOW 


479 


luuisc,  which  crowns  the  hill  on  the 
left,  inside  a  wooded  lawn  is  the  house 
of  Afr.  N.  Milton  Woods,  President  of 
the  I'irst  National  Hank  of  I.an- 
ter,  and  one  of  the  nian\'  rich  men  of 
the  county.  This  splendid  hor.se  was 
])uilt  b}'  Dr.  Lcaman — ])reacher,  phy- 
sician and  professor  at  Lafayette  Col- 
lege." 

Just  north  of  Rotary  Station,  at  WW- 
liamstown.  is  a  hill  to)  from  which, 
with  a  strong-  glass  and  vivid  imag'ina- 
tion,  on  a  clear  day,  one  can  .'-ee  'the 
■whole  thing'  from  Conr^ass  to  Swatara. 
having-  glimpses  of  Chester,  Berks. 
Lebanon,  Dau])hin  and  York,  and 
overlooking  half  of  Lancaster 
county.'' 

From  A\'ilIiamstown  to  {[:{u  the 
trolley  line  leaves  the  turn])ike  giving 
us  a  better  chance  to  study  tho  fields 
with  the  varied  crops.  A  short  ilis- 
tance  beyond  the  thri\-ing  young  \il- 
lage  of  Kinzer  we  enter  hist.-ic  Sal- 
isbury tOAvnshit).  embracing  the  U)- 
per  end  of  the  Pequea  \"alley  en- 
closed by  the  Welsh  mountains  on 
the  X'orth  and  the  ]\Iine  and  Gao  hills 
on  the  South  meeting  on  the  East. 


"The  tine  farm  which  sweeps  along 
the  hillside  for  nearly  half  a  mile  is 
the  ancestral  country  seat  of  Mr.  P. 
I^ckert  Slaymaker,  i)resident  of  the 
People's  National  P)ank  and  Trust 
Company  and  one  of  the  mot  effi- 
cient projectors  of  the  Lancaster  and 
I^astern   line." 

lion.  W.  C.  llensel's  "  Bleak 
i  louse"  to  the  right,  noted  f(»r  its 
many  social  gatherings  and  hospitable 
entertainments  has  among  its  curios 
three  well  preserved  famous  Revolu- 
tionary ta\ern  signs  —  "  Grapes." 
"Three  Crowns"  and  the  cocked 
"Mat."  Ilalf  a  mile  farther  on  we 
pass  a  farm  "house  built  about  1790, 
rendered  notable  by  mantels  of  stucco 
and  of  Delft  tiles,  such  as  hd\e  not 
been  made  for  f)ne  hundred  and 
twenty  years,  and  by  a  blue  and  white 
marble  tiled  i^avement  forming  the 
basis  of  a  i^iillared  porch,  70x14  feet. 
Idiese  it  is  rumored,  were  originally 
shin-:»e(l  t')  President  A\'ashington.  for 
Mount  X'crnon.  bv  him  declined  and 
sold  for  freight  in  Xew  York,  bought 
and  erected  here"  by  Jasper  Yates  a 
justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Pennsvh'air'a.   Mo-.i.   Amos   Slas'maker, 


i:NrK.\.\cH  To  iii:ui,i;vii',  i'Ki-:siiVTi-:Ki.\.N  ^  ni  kch 


480 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


a  member  of  Congress  built  the  stone 
mansion  to  the  right  of  the  trolley 
line  as  it  returns  to  the  tr.rnpike. 
famous  as  the  "  Slaymaker  stage 
tavern  and  also  "White  chimneys" 
now  the  "possession  and  home  of 
Samuel  R.  Slaymaker,  lock  manufac- 
turer and  one  of  Lancaster's  most 
successful  business  men."  As  we  ap- 
proach Gap  we  pass  the  Kennedy, 
K  a  u  fif  m  a  n  and  Ellmaker  farms, 
famous  "Rising  Sun"  tavern,  "Sunny- 
side,"  "Pleasant  View"  a  popular 
summer  boarding  house,  and  historic 
Bellevue   Presbyterian   church. 

Gap  "has  been  a  place  of  consider- 
able importance  ever  since  the  first 
settlement  of  the  Pequea  and  Cones- 
toga  Valleys.  It  was  situated  on  the 
main  thoroughfare,  leading  from  the 
landing  place  at  New  Castle,  Del.,  to 
the  new  settlements  to  the  \vest^^-ard 
and  one  day's  journey  from  'he  for- 
mer place,  and  consequently  it  was 
the  stopping  place  over  night  of  the 
large  parties  of  immigrants  from  the 
Emerald  Isle  and  from  the  vaHeys  of 
the  Rhine.  Here  in  the  Gap  are  the 
traditional  Penn  Rock,  Penn  Spring, 
and  the  Shawnee  garden  and  the  bed 
of  the  old  Indian  reliquiae  from 
which  fifty-seven  cart-loads-  of  coal 
and  ashes  were  hauled  out  in  the 
year  1873.  That  Willian  Penn  visited 
the  Gap  in  the  year  1700  while  on  his 
iourney  to  Conestoga,  there  cannot 
be  any  doubt." 

Salisbury  township,  lying  northeast 
3f  Gap,  deriving  its  name  from  Salis- 
bury, England,  surveyed  about  1700. 
settled  1710  having  but  a  few  '.esident 
landowners  in  1720,  organized  1729, 
pas  in  its  early  history  a  stronghold 
bf  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians,  Episco- 
palians and  Quakers.  As  in  other 
sections  of  the  county  the  Germans 
have  gradually  spread  over  the  town- 
ship and  acquired  the  farm  land. 

The  Pequea  Presbyterian  church 
was  organized  about  1724.  The  first 
meeting  house  built  about  10  years 
later  was  located  in  the  present  bury- 
ing ground  of  the  church  about  a  mile 
north  of  White  Horse  village  (Pequea 


postoffice)  on  the  old  IMiiladelphia 
road.  One  of  the  most  noted  minis- 
ters of  this  church  was  Rev.  Robert 
Smith,  born  in  Ireland  1723,  con- 
A'erted  1738  under  the  preaching  of 
\\  hiifirld,  ordained  and  installed  over 


the  Pequea  and  Leacock  cliurches 
March  25,  1757,  a  relation  only  sev- 
ered by  his  death  in  1793.  He  con- 
ducted a  Latin  school  in  connection 
with  his  ministry  of  which  ?Ion.  W. 
\k   Hensel  said    in    an    oratior; :    here 


SEEING   LANCASTER  COUNTY   FROM   A    TROLLEY  WINDOW 


481 


WILLIAM   PKXN   SI'KINCt 


"a  g-reat  lart  of  the  clergy  of  this 
State  recei\e(l  the  elements  of  their 
education    or   ])erfectecl   their   tlieologi- 

cal      studies." One      of      Smith's 

pupils.  John  ^IcMillen.  became  the 
apostle  of  Presbyterianism  in  West- 
ern Pennsylvania,  founded  Jefferson 
College,  and  from  a  1  >g'  cabin  in 
Washington,  sent  more  young  men 
into  the  ministr}-  than  aii}-  other  in- 
di\-idual  on  the  continent  before  the 
(lavs  of  Theological  Seminaries,  b^-om 
the  loins  of  that  same  Robert  Smith 
sprang"  a  son.  John  lUair.  who  became 
President  both  of  llamxlen  Sidney 
and  Union  Colleges,  and  thai  eldest 
son.  Samuel, whose  l)irth  he  reverently 
chronicled  as  "asked  of  (i xl."  bved  to 
become  Professor  of  Moral  Philos- 
ophy, reorganized  Princeton  Colleg'e 
when  the  incidents  of  the  Revolu- 
tionaryWar  has  dispersed  its  students 
and  faculty,  married  Witherspot)n's 
daughter  and  succeeded  him  in  the 
Presidency." 

Leaving^  Gaj)  "the  road  makes  a 
steep  climb  to  g;et  over  the  ridge." 
The  clock  tower  and  the  memorial 
over     the      Penn      Spring     arj      soon 


reached  and  passed.  "Down  the  New- 
port pike,  where  Stoltzfus's  ]n\  k  barn 
now  refreshes  the  eye.  was  the  'Hen- 
derson tavern'  of  Colonial  times, 
across  the  fields,  to  the  southwest 
was  the  famous  Bailey  printery  until 
1815.  I^Vancis  P>ailey.  wdio  did  the 
printhig  for  the  Continental  Council, 
and  whose  presses  turned  out  wagon 
loads  of  'shinplaster'  currency,  pub- 
lished   the   Freeman's   Journal. 

We  soon  ]:)ass  into  Salisbury  the 
first  settled  and  earliest  org-anized 
township  in  Lancaster  conu<^y  and 
parallelling  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road in  a  few  minutes  reach  "Chris- 
tiana, a  town  of  nearly  1000  popula- 
tion, with  the  best  'sidewalks  in  the 
countw"  T  h  e  land  on  wliich  it 
stands  was  granted  to  twenty-one  ser- 
vants so-called,  wdio.  having  served 
their  masters  to  the  end  of  their  term 
of  service,  were,  under  the  provincial 
laws,  entitled  to  fifty  acres  of  land 
each  ;  hence  it  was  know  as  the  "Ser- 
vants' Tract."  At  the  time  of  the 
building  of  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road, in  1852,  ncot  a  half  dozen  build- 
ings  stood    on    the    present    borough 


4S2 


THE    PEXNSYLVAXIA-GERMAJ^ 


site.  Tlie  nlace  was  named  Chris- 
tiana for  Christiana  Xoble,  the  wife 
of  WilHam  Xoble,  by  whom  the  i:)lace 
was  founded." 

"The  name  Christiana  is  as' nciated 
with  an  ante-bellum  e\ent  r.oarcely 
less   known    in    political     histcrv    than 


was  killed,  his  son  badly  wounded^ 
the  federal  deputies-marshall  dis- 
persed and  the  fugitive  escaped  ta 
Canada.  Scores  of  negroes  and  a  half 
dozen  sympathetic  Quakers  were 
taken  to  Philadelphia  to  be  tiied  for 
treason,  the  eves  of  the  c(nmt;v  were 


(;ap  ci.dck  TowHk 


Jdhn  r*>ni\\n's  raid  and  the  Harper's 
[•\'rrv  ridt.  In  Se;)tember,  1851,  the 
first  blood  shed  in  the  United  States 
in  resistance  to  the  odious  fugitive 
slave  law  was  along  the  "long  lane" 
leading  from  the  State  or  X'allcy  road 
to  the  Xoble  road  about  a  mi'e  west. 
Gorsuch.    the    l\!arvlap.d    sla\e    owner. 


for  a  time  focused  on  the  scene  of  the 
memorable  'Christiana  Riot.'  It  de- 
termined the  election  of  a  governor, 
and  the  cmirse  of  P''ennsylvania  poli- 
tics  for  some  years." 

Cdiristiana  also  marks  the  birth- 
]jlace  of  one  of  America's  most  emi- 
nent   prolessors.    physicians,    surgeons 


SEEIXG   LANCASTER  COUNTY   FROM   A    TROLLEY  WINDOW 


48? 


THK  1)1,1)  SADSIUKY   FKIKND3  MEETING  HOl'SE 

and  authors  the  late  1).  lla\-es  Agncw. 
M.  ])..   I.L.   1)..  ..f  Philadel'phia.  Pa. 

K'^alisburv  t.)\\nshio  was  settled  by 
Friends  and  Scotch-Irish.  Presbyter- 
ians, the  first  land  being  located  in 
i6gi  b.\'  John  Kennedy.  probal)ly  the 
first  to  be  l)catefl  in  Lancaster 
county.  A  lo^-  meeting  hon  e  was 
liuilt  bv  the  Friends  al)out  a  mile 
north  of  (/b.r'stiana  in    172^  \\!'"ch  was 


re;)laced  by  the  present  stone  struc- 
ture in  1748.  This  house  ha  i  orig- 
inally galleries,  was  once  >  n  fire, 
once  burnt  down,  served  as  a  place  of 
worshi])  by  the  Amish  for  a  time  and 
is    used    now    onh-     on     funeral     occa- 


llere  at  the  county's  borders  our 
trio  must  end.  \\'e  might  l)y  way  of 
Coates\ille  and  West  Chesf-r  con- 
tinue our  trolley  trip  to  Philadelphia 
or  traverse  the  lower  c]^^\  of  the 
county  by  taking  any  one  of  a  num- 
ber of  ])ossibilities  before  us.  "South- 
ward, along  the  Octoraro  on  tlie  l)or- 
(ler  lands  of  Chester  and  Lancaster 
countv.  one  can  tra\el  by  mu- muring 
bronk.  ])lacid  pool,  dashing  torrent 
and  foaming  waterfall,  thiough 
v/ooded  gorges,  to  the  Mar}-la.ul  line, 
amid  forest,  meadow,  dairy  and  farm 
scenerv  such  as  art  has  striven  to 
ecjual  in  Fairmount  and  Central  Parks 
and  Xature  has  not  surpasses!  along' 
tile    Wissahickon   or   the   Hudson."' 


I  hi:  (,L0  ■•  Klor  ll.v  St  i't.i  l.  u  i,..,,-    ^\i.   -.  wi  ii..i'ki  ^^  (wiTIt  THE  COHN 

TWO  OF  THE  COWJBEU  PAUT1CIPANT8. 


CHRIST1.\NA   KIOT  HOVSE 


484 


One  of  John  Brown's  Men 

By  Prof.  John  W.  Wayland,  Harrisonburg,  Va. 


T  WILL  be  fifty  years  on 
the  i6th  of  October  since 
the  first  act  of  the  Har- 
per's Ferry  tragedy  in 
which  John  Bn-wn  of 
Osawatomie  and  his  as- 
sociates were  the  leading 
actors.  One  of  those  as- 
sociates Avas  John  Henry  Kagi.  a 
young  man  less  than  25  years  old. 
whose  talents  had  already  marked 
him  out  for  leadership  and  eminence, 
but  whose  judgment  as  to  ways  and 
means  of  accomplishing  the  great 
ends  of  freedom  was  doubtless  as 
much  swayed  by  fanaticism  as  was 
that  of  Brown  himself.  Rifle  bullets 
cut  short  the  span  of  Kagi's  life  at  the 
Ferry,  and  thus  was  he  perhaps 
spared  the  fate  that  soon  overtook  his 
leader  on  the  gallows  at  the  near-by 
village  of  Charles  Town. 

Kagi  was  born  at  Bristol  ville, 
Trumbull  County,  Ohio,  on  the  15th 
of  March,  1835.  He  had  one  sister, 
Barbara,  older,  and  another,  Mary, 
younger  than  himself.  His  father, 
Abraham  Neff  Kagey,  was  born  in 
Shenandoah  County,  Virginia,  i  n 
1807;  and  his  mother  whose  maiden 
name  was  Anna  Fansler,  was  of  Vir- 
ginia ancestry,  though  a  native  of 
"Ohio.  Both  the  Kageys  and  the  Fan- 
slers  appear  to  have  belonged  to  the 
well-known  nationality  usually  char- 
acterized as  Pennsylvania-  German. 
The  Kageys  were  certainly  of  that 
stock.  It  has  been  shown  by  the  his- 
torian of  the  family  that  the  first  of 
the  name,  in  America,  Hans  Kagy, 
■came  from  Switzerland  to  Pennsyl- 
vania in  the  year  1715.  In  1768  Henry 
Kagey,  the  fourth  son  of  Flans,  went 
to  the  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah,  in 
Virginia ;  and  from  him  Abraham 
Neff  Kagey  and  his  son,  John  Henry 
Kagi,  were  descended. 

The  name,  as  already  indicated,  is 
■spelled  variously.  Brown's  lieutenant 
-.usually  wrote    it    "Kagi,"    though    he 


sometimes  adhered  to  the  form  gener- 
ally recognized  and  adopted  by  the 
Virginia  Kageys.  "Kagi"  was  per- 
haps the  original  form  of  the  name ; 
and  it  has  been  ascertained  that  the 
branches  of  the  family  still  living  in 
Canton  Zurich  write  it  so.  The 
legend  accounting  for  the  origin  of 
the  name  may  not  be  out  of  place 
here,  and  is  as  follows : 

"Many  many  years  ago  a  Mr.  Kaller  fell 
in  love  with  and  married  a  Miss  Gibler. 
Their  union  was  blessed  with  a  son.  From 
some  cause  or  other,  after  a  time  they  dis- 
agreed, and  finally  separated,  and  the  lady 
became  so  bitter  toward  her  husband  that 
she  would  not  allow  her  child  to  bear  his 
father's  name.  The  matter  was  finally  de- 
cided in  the  courts,  and  the  decision  was, 
that  the  child  should  bear  a  name  com- 
posed of  two  letters  from  the  father's 
name,  Ka,  and  the  two  first  letters  from 
the  mother's,  Gi;  so  the  name  Kagi,  as  it 
is  yet  written  in  Switzerland,  was  started." 

John  Henry  Kagi's  mother  died 
when  he  was  three  years  old.  Thus 
he  grew  up  without  the  influence  that 
might  have  shaped  his  career  dififer- 
ently,  and  have  guided  him  to  greater 
length  of  days.  His  early  education 
was  such  as  the  common  schools  of 
Trumbull  County  in  that  early  day 
afiforded.  In  a  letter  written  Decem- 
ber 7,  1848,  by  his  sister  Barbara,  to 
a  Virginia  cousin,  is  found  the  state- 
ment :  "John  goes  to  school  now  and 
so  does  Mary.  Pa  wanted  me  to  go 
this  winter,  but  I  cannot  and  do  the 
work  too.  Perhaps  I  shall  go  next 
winter."  A  sentence  or  two  near  the 
end  of  the  same  letter  is  significant  in 
view  of  "John's"  later  political  and 
racial  sympathies:  "Write  often,  for 
postage  is  as  cheap  as  it  will  be  if  Old 
Zac  is  President.  May  be  postage  will 
be  high  to  support  his  niggers,  or  take 
them  to  Texas." 

Barbara  was  just  fifteen  at  this 
writing,  and  spoke  with  the  directness 
and  frankness  characteristic  of  youth. 
Whether  the  thirteen-year-old  John 
had    at    that   time   any    well     defined 


ONE  OF  JOHN  BROWN'S  MEN 


48S 


opinions  on  such  subjects  as  postal 
regulations  and  negro  slavery  may  be 
a  question;  but  evidently  he  was  in  a 
fruitful  atmosphere,  at  least. 

As  a  student  John  Kagi  was  pre- 
cocious, possibiy  brilliant.  lie  pos- 
sessed a  retentive  memory  and  learned 
his  lessons  easily  and  quickly.  He  is 
described  as  cpiiet  and  studioas,  and 
of  good  moral  character,  and  is 
credited  with  the  resi)ect  of  all  his  ac- 


his  friends — at  least  those  of  the  gent- 
ler sex.  Possibly  the  effect  upon 
some  of  the  young  men  was  different. 
In  the  summer  of  1852  young  Kagi, 
then  just  a  few  months  over  17,  ac- 
com])anied  his  father  to  Virginia. 
They  arrived  at  the  home  of  the  lat- 
ter's  brother,  Jacob  Kagey,  near  Mt. 
Jackson,  on  the  i8th  of  June,  1852,  as 
is  shown  by  an  entry  in  the  diary  kept 
by     Jacob      Kagey's    daughter    Anna. 


ABRAHAM  NEFF  KAGEV 


quaintances.  In  the  school  exhibi- 
tions he  was  usually — perhaps  always 
— assigned  the  part  deemed  most  ex- 
acting and  difficult.  Out  of  school  he 
did  a  great  deal  of  independent  read- 
ing and  study,  some  for  the  better, 
some  for  the  worse.  Among  other 
accomplishments  he  acquired  the  abil- 
ity to  write  shorthand  with  accuracy 
and  rapidity.  His  skill  as  a  penman 
was  the  wonder  and  admiration  of  all 


Shortly  afterward,  probable  in  the 
succeeding  autumn,  the  young  man's 
father,  Abraham  Neff  Kagey,  started 
to  the  California  gold  fields,  where  he 
spent  the  next  three  years  working  at 
his  trade  as  blacksmith,  shaipening 
picks   for  the  miners. 

The  young  man  possibly  remained 
in  \'irginia  awhile  after  his  father's 
departure  on  the  long  journey  to  the 
Golden  Gate.  He  spent  the  time  visit- 


486 


THE    PEXXSYLVAXIA-GERMAX 


in_i4'  his  relati\es.  Kageys,  Neffs,  and 
others,  who  were  numerous  in  the 
counties  of  Shenandoah  and  Rocking- 
ham. But  this  first  sojourn  ui  Vir- 
ginia could  not  have  lasted  over  six 
months ;  for  under  date  of  January  5, 
1853,  the  following  entry  appears  in 
Anna  Kagey's  diary:  "Father  was  at 
Al  t.  Jackson ;  I  received  a  letter  from 
J.  11.  Kagey."  The  latter  had  evident- 
ly returned  to  Ohio  at  this  date ;  and 
during  the  next  year  and  a  half  letters 
were  exchanged  between  the  two  cou- 
sins, at  intervals  of  about  a  m.onth.  as 
.appears  from  the  same  diary.  On 
September  9.  1853.  was  entered  a 
record  of  the  receipt  of  the  young 
man's   "likeness." 

On  October  30,  1853,  Mr.  lieman 
Bangs  Hammon,  writing  from  Bris- 
tolville  to  a  correspondent  in  Vir- 
•ginia.  made  the  following  references 
to  Kagi : 

"The  health  of  your  cousins,  Mary  and 
John,  is  very  good  at  the  present  time. 
John  is  spending  his  time  in  Bloomfield, 
Mary  is  visiting  her  relatives  in  Deacon 
Creek,  the  east  part  of  Bristol.  In  gen- 
eral we  a.re  in  fine  spirits,  especially  the 
Democrats,  after  our  Glorious  Victory.  You 
spoke  of  the  friendship  that  existed  be- 
tween John  and  myself.  It  is  all  very 
true:  but  in  polit/cs  we  are  great  enemies. 
He  is  a  F.ree-Soiler  and  I  am  what  he 
terms  a  Loco-Foco.  But  enough  on  that 
subject.  He  (John)  has  often  told  me  of 
the  fine  sports  he  enjoyed  in  Virginia,  and 
I    often   wished    that    I   had   been   with  him 

there. John   wrote   in  his    letter   that   he 

intended  to  go  to  California  next  spring, 
and  that  you  would  like  to  have  him  visit 
you  before  his  departure.  All  I  have  to  say 
is  that  he  will  go  when  I  do,  and  you  can 
imagine  when  that  will   be." 

California  at  that  day  would  doubt- 
less have  afforded  a  congenial  atmos- 
phere to  young  Kagi's  adventurous 
si)irit.  but  he  did  not  go  to  that  State, 
though  he  did  accept  the  invitation  to 
return  to  Virginia.  In  June  of  1854 
he  was  again  at  his  uncle's  home,  three 
miles  north  of  Mt.  Jackson.  On  the 
24th  of  August  he  and  his  uncle  were 
in  the  neighboring  village  of  Haw- 
kinstown,  in  conference  with  the  local 
school  trustees.  Hawkinstown  is  just 
two  miles  northeast    of    Mt.    Jackson, 


and  both  are  on  the  X'allcy  Turnpike 
leading  from  Winchester  to  S'.aunton, 
the  same  thoroughfare  that  is  cele- 
brated in  connection  with  Sheridan's 
ride  and  many  of  Ashby's  daring  feats. 
On  the  i8th  of  the  following  month 
(September,  1854)  Kagi  left  for  Ohio. 
He  must  have  gone  home  to  act  as 
escort  to  his  younger  sister,  Mary,  on 
her  journey  to  Virginia;  for  on  Oc- 
tober 14  they  both  arrived  at  Jacob 
Kagey's. 

The  August  conference  with  the 
trustees  of  the  Hawkinstown  school 
house  must  have  resulted  in  an  agree- 
ment ;  for  sometime  in  the  autumn, 
presumablv  soon  after  his  return  from 
the  brief  trip  to  Ohio,  Kagi  began 
teaching  school  in  the  village.  The 
session  continued  until  the  13th  of 
the  following  March  (1855).  Before 
entering  upon  the  duties  of  the  school, 
he  had  evidently  spiced  his  pleasures 
with  occasional  service  as  helper  upon 
his  relatives'  farms. 

The  following  extracts  from  a  let- 
ter written  February  15,  1909.  by  one 
of  his  lady  cousins,  who  is  still  living 
in  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  gives  an  in- 
timate picture  of  his  personal  appear- 
ance and  characteristics,  at  the  period 
under  review,  together  with  a  number 
of  significant  points  as  to  his  religion 
and   politics. 

"He  was  tall,  perhaps  over  six  feet;  of 
fair  complextion  and  rather  plevisant  of 
address.  In  those  days  his  education  was 
considered  good  for  one  so  young — not  21. 
He  was  a  decided  vegetarian — abstained 
from  all  kinds  of  meats.  He  was  also  a 
strong  Republican.  We  did  not  have  many 
Republicans  in  Virginia  then.  He,  like 
Lincoln,  believed  in  freeing  the  slaves. 
Several  times  he  told  me  the  time  was  fast 
approaching  when  slavery  would  pass  out 
of  existence.  For  argument  sake  I  tried  to 
ui)hold  it,  possibly  in  some  measure  upon 
Scriptural  ground.  He  was  much  better 
versed  in  the  Scriptures  than  I  was,  so  he 
beat  me   out. 

"I  remember  your  Uncle  Abe  Kagey  and 
others  were  at  my  father's  one  Sunday,  and 
Cousin  John  Henry  said  the  colored  race 
was  as  smart  and  good  as  the  white,  for 
Solomon  was  black.  Your  Uncle  Abe  asked 
him  how  he  knew  Solomon  was  black,  and 
he   remarked   'Why   the   Bible   says  so.' 


ONE  OF  JOHN  BROWN'S  MEN 


487 


"He  was  rather  skeptical  in  matters  of 
religion.  I  often  tried  to  change  his  views, 
and  among  other  things  I  made  him  a  pres- 
ent of  the  biography  of  a  Toung  minister. 
Of  course  he  read  it  though  he  remained 
unchanged  .  Sometime  in  the  early  thir- 
ties he  and  his  father  visited  the  then  new 
territories  of  Nebraska  and  Kansas,  for 
the  purpose  of  purchasing  a  home.  While 
there  Cousin  John  wrote  me  that  of  the 
two  he  preferred  Kansas,  thougii  either 
would  do  for  an  infidel.  He  was  a  talented 
young  man,  and  could  have  been  very  use- 
ful. But  I  am  convinced  he  did  what  be 
believed  to  be  right  when  he  came  with 
John  Brown  to  Harpers  Ferry. 

"I  said  he  was  tall.  He  did  not  look 
strong,  since  he  was  rather  spare;  but  he 
was  strong  and  active.  He  helped  his  Uncle 
Henry  Kagey  harvest  in  heavy  wheat — fol- 
lowed a  cradle,  raking  and  binding  the 
sheaves.  Very  few  men  could  do  it.  Two 
binders  were  usually  allowed  to  a  cradle. 
He  had  his  envious  friends,  who  sometimes 
talked  about  him.  When  he  was  told  of 
unpleasant  remarks  he  would  laugh  as 
though  he  enjoyed  them,  and  would  never 
reply.  He  taught  a  school  in  Hawkins- 
town.  A  friend  of  mine  who  visited  the 
school  spoke  of  it  in  very  complimentary 
terms." 

Further  particulars  of  Kagi's  do- 
ings at  Hawkinstown  are  give:i  in  the 
following  paragraph,  quoted  from  a 
letter  written  February  i6.  1909,  by 
one  of  his  relatives  who  lives  in  the 
village : 

"He  taught  school  in  Hawkinstown  one 
winter.  At  the  same  time  he  trie  1  to  put 
a  bad  spirit  in  the  negroes  around  here  to- 
ward their  masters.  If  my  father  (Jacob 
Kagey)  had  not  talked  to  some  of  the  men 
who  had  slaves  they  would  have  arrested 
him;  but  through  father's  influence  they 
let  him  go  back  to  Ohio  with  a  p.romise 
never   to   come   back   here   again." 

This  enforced  departtire  from  \'ir- 
ginia  was  made  on  the  26th  of  March, 
1855,  thirteen  days  after  the  closing 
of  the  Hawkinstown  school,  ^\"hether 
the  school  was  closed  prematurely  on 
account  of  the  strained  conditions 
does  not  appear;  but  it  is  evident  that 
between  the  time  of  the  school-clos- 
ing and  his  departure  from  the  State 
Kagi  was  not  in  hiding.  On  the  22d 
of  March  he  went  with  his  uncle  to  a 
sale  in  the  neighborhood,  and  on  the 
next  day  he  went  to  the  home  of  an- 
other uncle  who  lived  at  a  distance  of 
about  seven  miles,  near  New  Market. 


He  returned  to  Jacob  Kagey's  on  the 
25th — the  day  before  the  departure 
for  the  West. 

11  will  be  observed  that  dur'ng  his 
two  sojourns  in  X'irginia,  up  to  this 
departure,  Kagi  had  spent  altogether 
in  the  State  nearly  a  year  and  a  half; 
June  to  December,  1852;  June  to 
March,,  1854-1855,  barring  the  month 
in  September-October,  1854.  These 
protracted  stays  in  the  Shenandoah 
\'allcy  mu.st  have  enabled  him  to  be- 
come fairly  well  informed  as  to  the 
geographical,  historical,  political,  eco- 
nomic, and  social  conditions  obtain- 
ing there,  and  may  have  had  a  consid- 
erable influence  in  the  selection  of 
Harper's  Ferry,  four  years  later,  as  a 
strategic  point  for  the  carrying  out  of 
the  |)lans  he  had  aided  P.rown  and  his 
sons  in  maturing. 

Shortly  before  leaving  his  uncle's 
home  in  March,  1855,  Kagi,  Avhose 
skill  as  a  penman  has  already  been 
mentioned,  scratched  off  one  day 
upon    a    scrap    of    blue-tinted     paper, 


^^H^ 


/  ///f/'//r/ 


///////^ 


J>' 


HANDWRITING  UF  J.  H.  KAGI 

about  7>{>  inches  by  8  inches,  a  num- 
ber of  curiously  wrought  words,  in 
different  styles  of  script,  and  gave  it 
as  a  souvenir  to  his  cousin — the 
keeper  of  the  diary — who  had  then 
been  married  about  a  year  l)ut  was 
still  living  at  her  father's  house.  This 
specimen  of  pen-work,  with  the  writ- 
er's signature  attached,  is  rep;oduced 
in  the  reduced  facsimile  above. 
Curiously  enough  he  here  writes  his 
name  "Kagey,"  though  at  the  same 
period  he  was  probably  accustomed  to 


488 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


write  it  "Kagi."  He  had  a  first-cousin 
living  near  New  Market  who  had 
identically  the  same  name  —  John 
Henry  Kagey ;  and  this  fact,  together 
with  the  fact  that  the  Valley  of  Vir- 
ginia Kageys  almost  without  excep- 
tion wrote — and  still  write — the  name 
as  it  appears  in  this  sentence,  may  af- 
ford some  clue  to  the  reasons  why  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  usually  wrote 
his  name  otherwise. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  at  this 
juncture  to  speak  briefly  of  the  atti- 
lude  toward  slavery  that  was  gener- 
ally maintained  by  Kagi's  relalives  in 
\'irginia.  It  may  be  appropriate  to  go 
back  a  step  further,  to  begin  with,  and 
speak  of  the  attitude  of  the  Valley  of 
V^irginia  people  as  a  whole  toward  the 
same  great  question. 

The  Shenandoah  Valley  of  Virginia 
was  settled,  beginning  about  1730,  by 
])eople  of  three  nationalities :  German, 
Scotch-Irish,  and  English.  In  what 
are  now  the  counties  of  Augusta  and 
Rockbridge  was  the  Scotch-Irish 
stronghold.  A  good  many  families  of 
the  same  stock  located  in  what  is  now 
Frederick  County,  about  Winchester. 
The  English  got  possession  of  the  dis- 
trict now  comprised  in  Clarke  County, 
Virginia,  and  the  southeastern  part  of 
Jefferson  County,  West  Virginia, — 
the  part  of  the  lower  Valle}^  just  west 
of  the  Blue  Ridge,  from  the  vicinity 
of  Grccnway  to  Harper's  Ferry.  The 
rest  of  the  country  was  occupied 
mainly  by  the  Germans.  The  heart  of 
their  settlement  was  in  the  present 
county  of  Shenandoah.  Where  the 
English  and  Scotch-Irish  predomi- 
nated, slavery  was  much  in  evidence; 
but  among  the  Germans  it  was  com- 
l)aratively  rare.  Most  of  the  German 
farmers,  with  their  wives,  sons  ,and 
daughters,  did  their  own  work.  Some- 
times they  hired  help.  A  few  of  them 
had  slaves,  but  in  these  unusual  cases 
Ihe  number  of  slaves  owned  by  one 
master  was  in  most  instances  limited 
I0  two  or  three.  As  a  general  thing 
Ihe  Germans  of  the  Shenandoah  Val- 
ley either  were  ojiposed  to  slavery 
upon  ])rinciplc  or  found  it  un(V:sirable 


ior  other  reasons.  It  is  proba!)le  that 
these  statements  would  hold  true  of 
the  majority  of  the  Virginia  relatives 
of  John  Henry  Kagi.  But  it  is  also  pro- 
bable—  almost  quite  certain  —  that 
none  among  them  would  have  :avored 
(jr  adopted  his  final  plans  for  abolition. 
On  the  other  hand,  many  of  them,  the 
majority  of  the  men  and  i7-_y ear-old 
boys  among  them,  fought  in  the 
armies  of  the  Confederate  States,  a 
number  of  them  holding  commissions 
as  ofificers.  One  of  his  cousins  fell  in 
the  leaden  storm  at  Second  Bull  Run, 
leading  as  colonel  one  of  the  regi- 
ments of  the  famous  Stonewall  Bri- 
j^ade.  But  it  is  also  doubtless  true 
that  the  majority  of  these  men,  like 
ihousands  of  others  in  Virginia  and 
lhe  South,  had  reasons  for  fighting 
other  than  those  upholding  slavery. 
Had  they  regarded  the  question  at  is- 
sue merely.  Shall  we  fight  to  main- 
tain slaver}^?  they  would  ne\er  have 
drawn  a  sword. 

If  the  Virgina  slave-owners  in  the 
spring  of  1855  thought  that  Kagi  had 
returned  t  o  Ohio,  there  to  drop 
(|uietly  out  of  sight  and  in  time  to  for- 
get about  them  and  the  race  ui  bond- 
age, they  were  mistaken.  He  may 
have  tarried  there  briefly ;  but  before 
leaving  Virginia  his  eye  Avas  fixed 
upon  a  scene  of  action  farther  west. 
His  cousin  wrote  in  her  diary,  "J.  H. 
Kagi  left  for  Nebraska."  The  Pan- 
dora-box known  as  the  Kansas-Ne- 
braska Bill,  had  been  cast  among  the 
multitude  the  year  before,  and  the 
struggle  between  the  free-State  men 
and  the  slave-State  men  had  well  be- 
gun. Eli  Thayer  had  launched  his 
great  scheme  for  emigrant  aid ;  the 
Missouri  "border  ruffian"  had  put  in 
his  hand  ;  "Kansas  Bibles"  were  being 
distributed,  and  blood  was  being 
stirred  and  spilled.  Kagi  scented  the 
iray  from  afar,  and  it  lured  him.  Yet, 
he  did  not  plunge  at  once  into  the 
struggle  of  the  rougher  elements.  He 
doul)tless  was  disposed  to  win  by 
legality  and  justice  rather  than  by 
force  of  arms. 


ONE  OF  JOHN  BROWN  S  MEN 


4S9 


He  studied  law  at  Nebraska  City; 
iinished  his  course,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar.  Me  was  a  fluent  speaker, 
a  ready  and  forceful  debater.  His  com- 
])anions  called  him  "Greeley,"  because 
lie  was  like  Horace  Greeley,  or  they 
fancied  him  so,  in  manner  and  style, 
as  well  as  in  his  political  sympathies. 

In  1856  James  H.  Lane  took  a  party 
of  emigrants  to  Kansas  by  way  of 
Nebraska.  Ka<^i  went  with  them, 
having-  probably  joined  the  company 
at  Nebraska  City.  At  first  he  was  en- 
gaged chiefly  in  reporting  the  news 
inv  some  eastern  pa{)ers,  The  Tribune 
and  National  Era  among  others;  but 
very  soon,  though  not  suspending  his 
duties  as  reporter,  he  entered  tiie  field 
of  ]\Iars,  enrolling  his  name  as  a  mem- 
ber of  Co.  B.  Second  Regiment  of 
Kansas  Volunteers.  This  force,  com- 
manded by  Colonel  Stevens,  then 
known  as  Colonel  Whipple,  was  op- 
jjosed  mainly  to  a  force  of  pro-slavery 
rangers  commanded  by  Colonel  Titus, 
of  Florida.  They  followed  Titus,  wnth 
occasional  skirmishing,  where,  in 
September  or  October,  1856,  they 
were  arrested  b}^  the  order  of  Gover- 
nor Geary,  who  had  sent  out  a  force 
of  United  .States  trooT~>s  to  an  est  all 
men  found  under  arms. 

After  the  surrender  to  the  national 
troops.  Kagi.  and  his  comrades  in 
arms  were  taken  to  Lecompton.where. 
by  one  of  the  odd  coincidences  of 
human  life,  they  were  jdaced  under  a 
guard  commanded  by  the  same  Col- 
onel Titus  they  had  but  lately  been 
Irying  to  capture.  The  i:)risoners  were 
confined  in  a  new.  unfinished  enclos- 
ure, where  they  \\ere  kept,  in  any- 
Ihing  but  agreeable  condition,  till 
about  December;  then  they  were 
taken  to  Tecumseh  for  trial.  Kagi 
^vas  charged  with  murder —  of  hav- 
ing killed  one  of  Titus'  men  in  a 
skirmish  ;  but  he  proved  satisl.ictorily 
that  at  the  time  of  the  skirmish  in 
question  he  had  not  yet  enlistctl  in  the 
military  service. — of  his  cminlry.  as 
he  had  stated  it. 

One  day.  during  the  marches  in  the 
"campaign  against  Titus."  the  rangers 


of  Co.  B,  tired,  footsore,  and  thirsty, 
l)aused  at  a  small  town  to  rest.  While 
ihere  some  of  the  company  obtained 
a  (|uantity  of  liquor  and  brought  it 
into  camp.  It  was  duly  distributed  in 
equal  portions.  Each  man  took  his 
share  and  drank  it,  except  Kagi,  Upon 
second  thought  he  also  took  his,  and 
bathed  his  feet  with  it,  saying  his 
stomach  was  in  good  condition,  and 
did  not  need  any  alcoholic  applica- 
tions, but  for  his  feet  he  could  not  say 
so  much.  One  who  shared  the  hard- 
ships and  dangers  of  this  period  with 
him  said  of  him  : 

"He  was  truly  a  model  man  in  temper- 
ance and  good  morals.  I  never  heard  him 
swear  an  oath;  nor  saw  him  drink  intoxi- 
c;ating-  liquors,  chew  or  smoke  tobacco.  He 
>vas  a  brave,  fearless  man,  a  warm,  true, 
and  steadfast  friend:  he  suffered  many 
hardshii)s  in  marching  and  fighting  to 
make  Kansas  a  free  State.  He  was  not 
afraid  of  death,  and  was  a  firm  believer  in 
the  doctrines  as  taught  by  Thomas  Paine, 
Voltaire,   and   other  free  thinkers." 

While  in  prison  Kagi  managed  by 
an  ingenious  contrivance  to  carry  on 
his  newspaper  correspondence.  He 
would  liorrow  a  plug  of  tobacco  from 
a  comrade  who  used  the  weed,  hollow 
it  out  carefully  with  a  knife  or  other 
similar  instrument,  insert  his  letters, 
and  then  cover  the  opening  neatly 
with  a  tobacco  leaf.  When  a  friend 
from  without  would  call  to  see  him 
he  would  manage  to  exchange  pieces 
of  tobacco  with  him,  and  by  this 
means  have  his  communications  dis- 
patched with  a  fair  degree  of  prompt- 
ness. Thus  he  contrived  to  keep  the 
])ublic  informed  of  many  of  the  events 
i^oing  on  around  him. 

Soon  after  his  liberation  from 
prison,  which  he  effected  by  complete- 
!v  vindicating  himself  from  the  false 
charges  tmon  which  he  had  been 
detained,  Kagi  gained  a  wide  noto- 
riety from  his  encounter  with  a  certain 
Tudge  Elmore.  The  store  of  a  free- 
State  man  at  Tecumseh,  a  villsige 
about  four  miles  from  Topeka,  had 
l)een  robbed.  The  owner  of  the  store, 
being  persona  non  grata  to  the  party 
then  in  power,  could  obtain  no  redress 


490 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERM  AX 


by  the  ordinary  channels  of  justice. 
Finally,  having  failed  otherwise  to 
bring  the  thief  to  a  reckoning,  he  ap- 
piled  to  the  "Topeka  Boys"  for  assist- 
ance. The  organization  responded 
with  a  persuasive  message.  They  said 
that  if  an  investigation  were  longer 
delayed  they  would  come  and  burn 
the  town.  With  some  pronptness, 
upon  the  receipt  of  this  message,  a 
committee  was  appointed  to  investi- 
gate the  robbery.  The  committee  was 
made  up  of  three  men  :  first  the  man 
of  well-known  free-State  sympathies ; 
second,  the  person  suspected  of  the 
robbery;  third,  Ex-Judge  Elmore,  a 
supposed  conservative,  as  chairman. 
Full  and  explicit  evidence  was  heard, 
upon  which  the  free-State  member  of 
the  committee  decided  that  the  stolen 
goods  should  be  restored,  while  the 
accused  party  opposed  this  decision. 
The  responsibility  of  breaking  the  tie 
therefore  fell  upon  the  third  commit- 
tee-man, Judge  Elmore,  who,  like  the 
scribes  of  old,  tried  to  dod.'^e  both 
horns  of  the  dilemma  by  declaring  his 
inability  to  reach  a  decision.  Kagi's 
press  comment  was  rather  caustic.  He 
remarked  that 

"President  Pierce  need  not  have  souglit  a 
pretext  to  dismiss  Elmore  on  account  of 
his  judicial  investments,  as  it  was  self-evi- 
dent that  a  man  who  could  not  decide  a 
case  where  the  clearest  evidence  was 
given,  whether  a  convicted  robber  should 
restore  stolen  goods  or  retain  them,  was 
hardly  qualified  for  a  seat  on  the  Supreme 
Bench  of  a  Territory." 

Elmore  became  greatly  incensed  at 
these  comments.  Meeting  Kagi  in 
Tecumseh,  on  the  court  house  steps," 
he  said  to  him,  "Are  you  the  man  who 
writes  under  the  signature  of  K?" 
Being  answered  in  the  afifirmative  he 
immediately  struck  Kagi  over  the 
head  with  a  heavy  gold-headed  cane, 
knocking  him  down.  The  latter, 
though  half  stunned  and  half  blinded 
by  the  blow,  drew  his  revolver  and 
shot  the  judge  in  the  groin.  The  lat- 
ter also  drew  his  revolver,  and  several 
shots  were  exchanged.  A  ball  from 
Elmore's  pistol  struck  Kagi  near  the 
heart,  and  although  the  force  of  its 
impact  was  mainly  expended  in  pass- 


ing through  a  memorandum  book  an 
inch  thick,  it  still  followed  a  rib  for 
several  inches,  lodging  in  its  side.  His 
friends  took  him  to  Topeka,  where  he 
removed  the  bullet  himself  with  his 
pen-knife. 

Shortly  before  the  assault  Elmore 
had  sent  a  note  to  Kagi  requesting  an 
interview,  and  the  latter  was  on  his 
wa}'  to  meet  the  appointment  when 
he  was  accosted  in  the  manner  de- 
scribed. It  was  reported  that  Elmore 
said  afterward  that  had  he  known 
Kagi  had  so  much  pluck  he  would 
have  invited  him  home  to  dinner. 

At  any  rate,  Kagi  and  the  "Judge" 
met  again.  The  latter  was  then  a 
member  of  the  legislature  that  as- 
sembled at  Lecompton,  while  the  for- 
mer, in  addition  to  being  correspon- 
dent for  ^several  eastern  papers  was 
also  associate  editor  of  the  Topeka 
Tribune.  Being  a  rapid  stenographer 
J'Cagi  reported  in  full  the  proceedings 
of  the  lawmakers ;  moreover,  he  com- 
mented upon  the  same  with  much 
Jreedom.  So  thoroughly  did  he  pro- 
voke the  resentment  of  the  body  that 
a  plot  was  laid  for  his  arrest  and,  it  is 
said,  even  his  assassination.  At  an  ex- 
tra night  session,  possibly  arranged 
with  a  purpose.  Judge  Elmo'-e  rose 
and  moved  that  the  person  who  was 
reporting  their  proceedings  be  ar- 
rested and  summarily  dealt  with.  But 
when  search  was  made  Kagi  .-/as  not 
found.  His  landlady  had  learned  of 
ihe  plot  and  prevailed  upon  i-um  not 
to  attend  the  night  session.  Acting 
upon  the  woman's  friendly  advice  he 
had  gone  to  Topeka  instead  of  to  the 
halls  of  the  Lecompton  legislators. 

Romance  as  well  as  tragedy  claimed 
its  telling  hours  in  Kagi's  brief  career. 
The  two  are  often  found  in  close  com- 
])any,  and  in  the  case  before  us — 
doubtless  the  same  has  been  true  in 
many  instances — the  one  was  hand- 
maid to  the  other.  After  the  struggle 
in  Kansas  had  in  a  measure  subsided, 
Kagi  returned  to  his  old  home  in 
(Dhio.  Hardly  a  home  it  was  to  him 
then ;  for  his  elder  sister  some  years 
before  had  married  and  gone  to  Ne- 


ONE  OF  JOHN  BROWN'S  MEN 


491 


l)raska ;  in  Octoljer,  185^),  his  father, 
havin_i,f  returned  from  CaHfornia  three 
months  hefore,  moxed  to  the  same  ter- 
ritory. Mary,  the  youni^er  sister,  had 
j>'onc  in  1857  to  he  housekee^^er  for 
lier  father.  Therefore  the  old  home 
at  Bristolville  had  really  ceased  to  ex- 
ist when  John  Kai^i  returned,  after  his 
participatii^n  in  the  strui^i^le  for  Kan- 
sas. He  ])crhaps  \vf)nld  not  have  re- 
turned   at    all    had    he    nni    been    oarr\- 


Jectioiis  by  another,  had  acceiJted  the 
])ro|)osals  of  another  man  and  married 
him.  Kaf^i  was  heart-broken.  "Now," 
said  he,  "I  care  not  what  becomes  of 
me."  He  returned  to  Kansas,  and 
with  John  Brown  engag^ed  in  running 
off  slaves  from  Missouri  into  Iowa, 
and  thence  into  Canada. 

Having  spent  some  time  with  others 
at  S  iringdale,  Towa,  in  the  study  and 
practice  of  militarv    tactics,    he    went 


JOHN    HKXRV    KA(,I    AND   L.\I)Y    l-KIKND 


ing  al)OUt  with  him,  through  all  the 
changing  scenes,  the  image  of  a  face, 
a  face  young  like  his  own,  but  fairer, 
with  a  woman's  beauty.  His  sweet- 
heart had  not  been  forgotten,  though 
by  reason  of  his  many  changes  of  ad- 
dress and  the  unsettled  condition  of 
lhe  times  the  correspondence  kept  up 
between  them  for  a  while  had-  finally 
ceased.  The  young  lady,  ctv.icluding 
after  a  time  that  she  had  been  forgot- 
ten, or  had   been   displaced   in   his  af- 


in  the  spring  of  1858  with  Brown  and 
others  to  Chatham,  Canada,  where 
>vas  held  a  convention  of  the  "Friends 
of  I'Veedom."  Kagi  was  elected  sec- 
retary of  the  convention,  and  also 
Secretary  of  War  of  Brown's  provis- 
ional government.  He  was  by  this 
lime  regarded  as  highly  accomplished 
in  military  science. 

In  the  following  year.  1859.  about 
June.  Kagi  and  B)rown.  with  -'Ossibly 
others  of  their  band;  came    to    Cham- 


492 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


l)ersburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  engaged 
board  at  the  house  of  ]\Irs.  Mary  Ritt- 
ner,  on  East  King  street,  where  they 
remained  three  months  or  more.  Kagi 
gave  his  name  at  this  time  as  "John 
Henri."  The  greater  part  of  his  time 
was  spent  in  reading  and  writing.  Oc- 
casionally he  would  go  away  from  his 
boarding  place,  to  return  after  an  in- 
terval of  a  few  days.  Within  the  per- 
iod of  this  sojourn  in  Pennsylvnia, 
Frederick  Douglass,  who  was  then 
])ul)lishing  his  famous  paper  a  t 
Rochester,  New  York,  came  down  to 
(."hambersl)urg.  evidenth'  by  ajjpoint- 
ment.  and  had  a  conference  with  Kagi 
and  Brown  in  an  old  stone  cpiarry 
near  the  creek  at  the  south  side  of  the 
town.  This  conference  was  held 
August  19,  just  about  two  mouths  be- 
fore the  fatal  raid  at  Harper's  Ferry. 


FORMER  RESIDENCE  OF  MRS.  MARY  RITTNER 
(Picture  taken  May  1890) 

Another  boarder  of  Mrs.  Rittner's 
at  this  time  was  b^-anklin  Keagy, 
Esq.,  already  referred  to,  who  has 
';ince  published  a  voluminous  history 
of  the  Kagy  Family.  This  gentleman 
is  still  a  resident  of  Chambersburg ; 
and  it  is  from  him  that  a  nur.iber  of 
I  he  incidents  herein  narrated,  pertain- 
ing to  the  later  periods  of  Kagi's  life, 
liave  l)een  obtained.  Kagi  and  Keagy 
>vere  d'stant  relatixcs.  They  <vent  in 
and  out  together,  and  ate  at  tl:c  same 
table;  but  since  they  had  been  strang- 
ers to  each  other  l)efore.  their  asso- 
ciation  at   this   time   did   not    result   in 


more  than  a  passing  acquaintance. 
The  one,  hidden  under  the  name  of 
"John  Henri,"  had  his  owu  very  de- 
cided reasons  for  not  claiming  kinship 
or  identity  of  name ;  and  the  other,  not 
suspecting  any  disguise  among  his 
table-companions,  was  none  the  wiser 
until  after  the  outbreak  at  Harper's 
Ferry. 

I  quote  from  Mr.  Keagy  the  follow- 
ing paragraph  : 

"During  the  time  of  his  stay  at  the  home 
(  f  Mrs.  Rittner,  Kagi  won  the  good  opinion 
of  the  family  and  boarders  by  his  friendly 
manner  and  social  disposition.  He  took  a 
Kreat  interest  in  instructing  and  pleasing 
the  ycung  folks  in  tl.e  family  by  engaging 
with  them  in  social  games,  etc.  All  of 
Ihese  young  misses  have  grown  to  woman- 
hood and  now  have  families  of  their  own, 
l)ut  to  this  day  speak  cf  the  kind  conduct 
of  Kagi  toward  them  and  sincerely  mourn 
h/S  unhappy  fate.  He  was  a  fluent  talker 
and  freely  discussed  the  questions  of  the 
day  with  the  bo?."ders,  always  using  good 
language  that  at  times  sparkled  \vith  hu- 
morovs  wit  To  the  writer  of  this  sketch  he 
appeared  more  like  a  divinity  student  than 
a  warricr.  He  was  of  medium  height  and 
build,  had  la.rge  blue-gray  eyes,  and  a 
Fomewhrt  round  face,  full  of  expression 
when  engaged  in  an  animated  conversation, 
but  somewhat  careless  in  his  dress." 

The  writer  just  quoted  relates  two 
interesting  incidents  of  Kagi's  Cham- 
bersburg sojourn.  One  day  he  went 
with  one  of  Mrs.  Rittner's  little 
daughters  to  a  photograph  gallery. 
Whether  hit  upon  by  chance  or 
chosen  by  design,  the  particular  gal- 
lery visited  was  kept  by  a  ^Ir.  John 
Keagy,  a  distant  relative  of  John 
Henry  Kagi.  After  the  sitting  for  the 
pictures  the  photographer,  following 
his  custom,  ]3roceeded  to  make  a  rec- 
ord of  his  customer's  name  and  ad- 
dress. The  latter,  of  course,  gave  his 
name  as  John  Henri.  The  photog- 
rai)her,  being  an  aged  man  ami  some- 
what deaf,  had  to  ask  a  secoml  and  a 
third  time  before  he  was  certain  that 
he  understood  correctly.  'I  could 
give  him,"  Kagi  remarked  aside  to  the 
little  girl,  "a  name  he  could  readily 
understand  and  would  always  remem- 
ber." referring  to  his  own  real  name, 
which,  omitting  the  middle  term,  was 
identical   with   that  of  the  artist. 


ONE  OF   JOHN   BROWN'S   MEN 


493 


The  other  incident  shows  another 
phase  of  Kagi's  character,  and  gives 
evidence  of  his  skill  as  a  marksman. 
A  worthless  dog  owned  by  one  of  Mrs. 
Rittner's  near  neighbors  annoyed  the 
community  by  running  over  gardens 
and  destroying  them.  Repeated  re- 
quests that  the  dog  be  kept  out  of 
mischief  had  no  effect  upon  the  owner 
other  than  to  give  him  a  sort  of  in- 
creased estimate  of  his  own  impor- 
tance. Day  after  day  the  dog  con- 
tinued to  come  into  ]\lrs.  Rittner's 
garden,  there  digging  and  tearing 
among  the  vegetables  at  his  own  free 
will.  One  day  Kagi  sat  by  an  open 
window  writing,  where  he  cou.ld  look 
upon  the  garden,  and  where  he  heard 
Mrs.  Rittner's  exclamation  of  annoy- 
ance as  the  dog  leaped  the  fence  and 
began  his  accustomed  foray.  In  an 
instant  the  sharp  report  of  a  pistol 
was  heard,  and  the  dcg  dropped  in  his 
tracks,  shot  through  the  heart.  The 
distance  was  at  least  fifty  years.  In 
the  evening  some  one  threw  the  dead 
body  across  the  fence  into  the  owner's 
lot,  where  it  was  found  the  next  day. 
The  ruffian  swore  horribh-,  and  de- 
clared he  would  shoot  the  person  who 
killed  his  dog  if  he  ever  discovered 
who  did  it.  AMiether  he  ever  learned 
the  identity  of  the  object  of  his  wrath 
is  not  known ;  but  it  is  well  known 
that  he  never  attempted  to  wreak 
vengeance  upon  the  one  who  was 
really  guilty.  It  is  altogether  probable 
that  Kagi  would  have  welcomed  an 
opportunity  to  try  his  hand  upon  the 
dog's  master,  since  the  latter  was  a 
notorious  slave-catcher. 

About  the  first  week  in  October 
Kagi,  with  Brown  and  others  of  their 
band  left  Chambersburg.  As  after- 
ward ascertained,  they  went  to  the 
vicinity  of  Harper's  Ferry,  where  they 
had  for  their  headcpiarters  tlie  Ken- 
nedy farm.  It  is  possible  that,  within 
the  interval  of  two  weeks  just  preced- 
ing the  raid,  extended  tours  of  obser- 
vation were  made  into  the  surround- 
ing country.  Certain  farmers  of  the 
Shenandoah  \^alley.  upon  the  disclos- 
ures  following   the   raid,   were   of   the 


opinion  that  a  keen-eyed,  talkative 
stranger  whom  they  had  given  food 
and  lodging  over  night  shortly  before 
must  have  been  John  Brown.  The 
writer's  mother  was  well  convinced 
that  John  Kag  i  had.  at  about  the 
same  time,  stopped  at  her  home,  in- 
cognito, and  somewhat  disguised.  She 
was  the  cousin  to  whom  he  had  given 
the  pen-wrought  souvenir  upon  leav- 
ing Virginia  in  the  spring  of  1855.  At 
the  period  to  which  we  ha\  e  now 
come,  October,  1859,  she  was  still  liv- 
ing in  Shenandoah  County,  Virginia, 
only  a  short  distance  from  the  home 
of  her  father.  Jacob  Kagey,  and  only 
about  two  miles  west  of  Hawkins- 
town,  where  John  Kagi  taught  school 
(luring  the  winter  of  1854-1855.  She 
was  several  times  on  the  point  of 
greeting  the  man  at  her  door  as  her 
relative  and  associate  of  four  and  a 
half  years  before ;  but  inasmuch  as  he 
gave  no  sign  of  acquaintance  she  re- 
ceived him  only  as  a  stranger  and 
gave  him  the  food  for  which  he  made 
request.  Nevertheless,  during  all  of 
the  brief  period  he  spent  in  her  house 
she  could  not  rid  herself  of  the  recur- 
ring impulse  to  demand  an  explana- 
tion. Had  she  known  at  the  time 
what  she  learned  soon  afterward  she 
doubtless  would  have  challenged  his 
disguise,  or  at  least  would  have  un- 
derstood why  he  did  not  care  to  be 
recognized. 

On  the  fateful  night  of  October  16 
Ivagi,  with  part  of  the  band  that 
jieized  Harper's  Ferry  occupied  and 
endeavored  to  hold  the  rifle  works, 
which  was  situated  aboute  half  a  mile 
above  the  town,  on  the  west  bank  of 
the  Shenandoah  River.  The  next  day, 
driven  out  by  a  large  force  of  Virginia 
militia,  he  was  shot  while  trying  to 
make  his  escape  by  swimming  the 
river.  His  body  was  one  of  those  that 
were  buried  on  the  south  bank  of  the 
river,  under  the  morning  shadows  of 
the  towering  Blue  Ridge,  whence, 
fort}-  years  later,  the  remains  were 
taken  for  reinterment  to  North  Elba, 
Nfew  York. 


494 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Tlin<;   pnrl    here   mifrht   end   this   liar-       but   by   whom   no  one   knows   but   tae   ones 
1  hus  and  Here  mignt  ena  ti.i^  nar        ^^^^   ^^^    .^      ^^^^^.^    .^    ^^^    ^^^^^^    .^    ^^^ 

rative,    were    it    not    for    one    ot    those       county    jail   now   who   was   found   guilty  at 

strange    coincidences    that    sometimes      j^e   last   court  of  murder,   and   very   likely 

arrest  attention  and  startle  us  by  their      will  be  hung  by  the  neck  until  he  is  dead, 

ndd    fptalitv       Tiido-e   \     A     Gilbert    of       tor   killing   a  Chinaman    some   time   in  Au- 
odd  fata  lit}       jud^e    \.  .■\.  uiinert    oi  ^^^  ^^^^^^  .^  ^.^.^^^^  ^^^  state  of  In- 

Bristolville,  Ohio, — the  place  of  John  ^"'"- 
Henry  Kagi's  birth  and  early  life. — 
when  a  young  man  was  for  a  short 
time  a  visitor  at  Harper's  Ferry.  The 
date  was  probably  a  year  or  two  sub- 
sequent to  the  raid  of  Brown  and  his 
b&nd.  One  day.  in  company  with 
others.  Gilbert  was  bathing  in  the 
Shenandoah,  and  while  diving  caught 
hold  of  something  he  at  first  supposed 
to  be  the  root  of  a  tree.     It  gave  way. 


diana,  and   has  a    wife  living  there. 

You  wanted  me  to  send  you  some  pretty 
flower  seed  if  I  saw  any  in  California.  Now 
1  saw  a  good  many  last  spring,  and  some 
very  nice  ones  too,  but  it  is  out  of  season 
now  for  them,  and  another  thing  is,  I  am 
in  the  shop  almost  the  whole  of  the  time. 
But  if  I  should  live  till  next  spring  and 
can  get  some  I  will  endeavor  to  send  you 
some,  so  that  should  I  ever  get  to  Shenan- 
doah again  I  may  see  some  California 
flowers  growing  there  in  your  yard. 

.Now   I    will  give  you  a   short  description 

however,  and  upon  being  raised  to  the      of  our  village,  that  is,  Kayatorville.     It  is 
r  1  V     u  TJ    1  I-  a    little    village    about    half    a    mile    from 

surface  proved  to  be  a  gun.     Holding 


it  in  one  hand  he  swam  to  a  nearby 
island,  where  a  resident  of  the  locality 
who  chanced  to  be  at  hand  imme- 
diately exclaimed.  "That  is  John 
Kagi's  gun.  for  here  is  where  he  was 
killed."  The  gun  was  kept  as  a 
valued  relic,  and  was  carried  back  to 
the  Ohio  town  where  the  brilliant  but 
ill-fated  possessor  had  first  beheld  the 
light  of  day. 

Letter  writen  from  the  California  gold- 
fields  in  1853  by  Abraham  Kagey,  father  of 
.John   Henry  Kagi. 

Nevada   [City],  Cal.,  Oct.  27,  1853. 
My  Dear  Niece,* 

I  embrace  the  first  opportunity  of  a 
mail  leaving  California  for  New  York  to 
inform  you  thr.t  I  received  your  kind  and 
very  affectionate  letter  by  the  last  mail, 
and  I  assure  you  that  I  was  glad  to  hear 
from  you  and  the  rest  of  them,  and  I  will 
just  state  that  I  will  take  care  of  that  lock 
of  hair  which  you  send  to  me  in  token  of 

your  regard  for  my  welfare I   had  no 

letter  from  home  in  the  last  mail,  but  in 
the  next  to  the  last  I  had  two  from  home 
and  one  from  Barbara  Ann.' 

Our  business  is  dull  now.  and  has  been 
for  some  time,  on  account  of  the  dry 
weather;  for  miners  must  have  water  to 
wash  gold  with;  and  from  them  we  expect 
our  money  for  our  work.  We  have  to  fur- 
nish  them   with   tools   to   work   with. 

I  was  informed  in  John's  last  letter  that 
your  uncle  David  had  sold  his  shave  of  the 
old  homestead.  He  just  stated  that  he  had 
a  letter  from  his  Cousin  Abe.  and  that  they 
had  sold  for  $5000,  and  that  was  all  the 
information  that  I  had  from  there. 

As  a  general  thing  it  is  healthy  about 
Nevada  [City],  and  but  few  deaths  since  I 
have  been  here;  but  we  hear  of  a  good 
many     murders     committed     in     California, 


Nevada  City,  and  the  incorporation  line 
runs  through  the  center  of  it.  There  are 
about  12  or  15  houses;  or  you  may  call  the 
half  cf  them  not  log  cabins,  but  clapboard 
cabins,  sealed  with  paper  or  cloth,  and 
some  of  them  not  that;  and  perhaps  some 
of  them  have  no  floors  in  them.  I  bave  not 
been  in  them  all. 

In  this  village  there  are  but  three  fami- 
lies with  children:  one  with  3;  one  with  4; 
and  the  other  with  five;  and  the  rest  of 
us  do  as  old  bachelors  and  old  maids  do, 
and  that  is,  keep  bachelor's  hall.  We  have 
one  of  the  greatest  cabins  out  of  jail.  Oh, 
if  you  were  to  see  it  you  would  laugh  out 
loud  before  you  would  think.  Now  it  is  one 
of  'em.  It  is  12  by  16,  or  thereabout,  and 
about  6  feet  high — that  is,  to  the  roof.  Two 
doors  in  it;  and  I  know  you  could  not 
guess  in  a  week  how  many  windows,  so  I 
will  tell  you.  There  is  not  one  window  or 
one  window  hole.  Now  you  have  it.  We 
have  one  old  table  (and  that  is  all  black), 
four  stcols,  and  one  of  them  has  but  three 
legs,  two  bunks  to  sleep  on,  and  a  few  tin 
dishes.  But  I^try  to  keep  them  clean,  for 
on  them  we  eat  our  potatoes  and  bam,  and 
sometimes  beans  and  cabbage. 

Now  I  will  give  you  the  price  of  such 
things  as  we  buy — that  is,  in  the  provision 
line.  Ham  30  cents  per  pound;  potatoes 
7  cents  per  pound;  butter  50  cents  per 
l)ound;  onions  12^/^  cents  per  pound;  cab- 
bage 50  cents  per  pound;  honey  37 V2  cents 
per  pound;  dried  apples  25  cents  per 
pound;  candles  62^/^  cents  per  pound:  and 
milk  37%   cents   per  quart. 

Well,  I  must  bring  my  letter  to  an  end, 
for  it  is  almost  full  of  such  as  it  is.  Re- 
member mv  love  to  yoiu-  father,  mother, 
brothers  and  sister,  and  all  inquiring- 
friends.  So  good  bye.  Be  a  good  girl,  and 
I    remain  your  affectionate   uncle. 

A.  N.  KA.GEY. 

NOTE.— The  original  of  the  above  is  in 
the  possession  of  the  writer  of  the  article 
on  "One  of  .John  Brown's  Men." 


•Anna  M.  Kagey.  Mt.  Jackson,  .Shenandoah  count.v,  Va. 

1,  Barbara  Ann.  his  older  danghter  was  at  this  time  married  to  Allen  May  New,  and  was 

living  near  Nebraska  City;  "home"  was  Bristolville,  Ohio.  ' 


495 


An  Hour  with  John  Brown 

By  Dr.  I.  H.  Betz,  York,  Pa. 


LL  men  arc  embeidied  in 
the  threat  army  of  hu- 
manity until  they  ac- 
ciMiiplish  some  deed 
\v  h  i  c  h  is  transmitted 
down  the  corridors  of 
time  when  history 
makes  their  nanses  im- 
mortal. Such  were.  Moses.  David, 
Alexander,  Caesar,  llannibal.  Napo- 
leon, \\'ashin£^ton,  Lincoln  and  Grant. 
Sometimes  the  lapse  of  time  is  re- 
quired until  the  full  imjK)rt  of  an  act 
gradually  dawns  upon  a  wondering 
world.  There  is  nothing  like  success 
and  we  love  to  celebrate  it  as  such. 

But  at  times  defeat  is  really  victory 
in  disguise.  But  for  defeat  -..Itimate 
success  might  have  been  imi^ossible. 
Thus  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  has 
been  the  seed  of  the  church  wli.ch  has 
passed  into  an  unquestioned  truism 
and  is  applicable  in  many  other  direc- 
tions. 

In  the  summer  of  1859  a  youth  ac- 
ct)mpanied  his  father  to  llarrisburg. 
Pa.  After  the  business  of  the  day 
was  transacted  they  proceeded  to  the 
old  depot  from  which  ih..'  trains  pro- 
ceeded to  Philadelphia.  Pittsburg, 
Baltimore  and  Chambcrsburg. 
Through  some  means  or  other  trains 
of  the  Xorthern  Central  and  (  umbcr- 
land  Valley  roads  were  late  — l^eing 
nearly  two  hours  behind  time.  The  af- 
ternoon was  well  spent  and  the  day 
was  very   warm. 

Travel  and  passengers  at  llv:  depot 
that  day  seemed  to  be  conr^aiatively 
small  in  number.  Waiting  on  trains 
is  always  a  tedious  i)rocess  and  any 
method  of  whiling  away  the  time  is 
gladly  welcomed.  1 1  a  \-  i  n  g  ascer- 
tained that  the  trains  would  be  de- 
layed no  less  than  two  hours  tliey  set- 
tled down  to  wait.  While  they  had  to 
solace  themsehcs  as  best  they  could, 
their  attention  was  directed  to  an 
elderlv  man  who  entered  accouDanied 


by  three  younger  men — in  fact  mere 
appearing  youths. 

A  subject  of  common  interest  was 
at  once  opened  by  the  two  older  men, 
which  embraced  the  vexatic.-.us  de- 
lays of  travel. 

For  a  time  the  younger  men  or 
youths  all  listened  intently  I0  the 
conversation  of  the  elders  which 
quickly  assumed  a  wide  latitude.  The 
father  and  son  had  been  engaged  in 
droving  from  the  Western  Rcbcrve  in 
Ohio.  The  stranger  then  took  occa- 
sion to  give  his  name  as  Smith  and  in- 
troduced the  three  youths  as  his  sons. 
He  mentioned  the  fact  that  they  lived 
in  York  State,  as  he  termed  it,  and 
that  they  were  on  their  way  to  Vir- 
ginia to  seek  a  less  rigorous  climate 
than  that  prevailing  in  the  state  from 
which  they  had  come. 

He  said  that  owing  to  the  earliness 
of  frost  it  was  impossible  to  mature  a 
corn  crop  and  after  remaining  there 
for  a  number  of  years  till  their  pa- 
tience became  exhausted  they  re- 
solved to  go  to  a  more  favorable  cli- 
mate where  it  was  to  be  l.oped  better 
success  would  reward  them.  During 
this  conversation  the  father  and  son 
carefully  scanned  the  man  whose  ap- 
]iearance  became  indelibly-  engraved 
u]:)on  their  memories  and  often  after- 
\\ard  recalled  to  their  vision.  He 
was  a  man  tall,  rugged  and  bronzed 
in  ajjpearance.  He  was  im]:)osing  in 
tigure.  especially  after  removing  his 
hat. 

He  was  tall  not  less  than  5  feet  10 
or  II  inches  high,  with  square  should- 
ers. His  eyes  were  deep  gra}".  very 
]ienetrating  and  prominent.  Those 
who  have  looked  upon  the  fragile 
figure  of  Jesse  James,  Jr.,  at  Kansas 
City,  can  Avell  appreciate  whr;t  such 
eves  mean.  His  hair  shot  backward 
from  low  down  on  his  forehead.  His 
nose  was  large  and  prominent.  His 
li])s  were  set  and  although  hidden  by 
his  l)car(l  his  chin  was  preeminent.  His 


496 


THE    PEXNSYLVANIA-GERINIAN 


beard  was  long,  white  and  ;lowing". 
He  wore  a  moustache  with  side  beard 
trimmed  short,  however.  His  seep  was 
firm  thoug-h  clastic  and  slow  and  his 
tread  was  measured.  He  appeared 
about  sixty  years  of  age  although 
some  might  have  placed  him  over 
though  he  was  actually  under  that 
age.  The  appearance  of  the  man  was 
striking  and  characteristic.  His  con- 
versation was  on  a  serious  plane  and 
of  a  still  more  earnest  cast.  He  wcnild 
perhaps  have  weighed  one  liundr'ed 
and  sixty  pounds. 

He  did  not  appear  fleshy  or  adipose. 
He  Avas  of  a  build  that  would  evident- 
ly endure  much  hardshi]).  He  was 
plain  and  unj^retending  in  manner  and 
conversation.  He  seemed  alert  and 
Avide  awake  and  was  a  good  listener. 
His  answers  to  cpiestions  were 
prompt,  terse,  expressive  and  vigor- 
ous. He  was  a  man  who  impressed 
one  as  having  ccjnsiderable  intelli- 
gence. His  questions  were  to  the 
point  and  evidently  well  considered. 

The  two  men  discussed  droving  in 
which  they  both  had  figured  as  well 
as  in  the  buying  and  selling  (^f  wool. 
Roth  had  been  (armers.  Smiih  .said 
he  was  born  in  Connecticut,  but  his 
father  in  earlier  da3^s  removed  from 
there  to  northern  Ohio,  with  whose 
people  he  was  evidently  \vell  ac- 
quainted. The  conversation  took 
such  an  interesting  reminiscent  turn 
in  swapping  experiences  that  the 
youths  listened  intently  to  the  unus- 
ual turn  which  the  conversation  had 
taken.  It  was  only  at  rare  intervals 
that  the  youths  ventured  into  conver- 
sation. 

The  whole  party  were  evidently 
Yankees,  a  jieople  with  which  those 
Pennsylvanians  who  had  lived  on  the 
Reserve  wefe  familiar.  The  youths 
when  opporunity  offered  made  and 
answered  remarks  relating  to  the  sur- 
rounding country,  its  people,  etc.  lUit 
the  elder  men  from  droving,  farming 
and  the  Reserve  passed  on  to  relig- 
ion, politics,  the  present  condition  of 
the  country,  the  doings  of  congress, 
the  state  and  condition  of  Kansas  and 


kindred  topics.  Smith  seemed  to  be 
calm,  cool  and  collected  in  the  conver- 
sation concerning  those  topics. 

It  neve-  struck  his  listeners  that 
here  was  a  man  who  had  made  history 
and  whose  real  name  was  a  household 
word  to  them.  They  had  read  the 
Tribune  from  1854  up  to  the  time  of 
this  conversation  and  never  for  a  mo- 
ment dreamed  that  here  was  the  man 
before  them,  and  if  apprised  of  the 
fact  they  would  not  have  believed  in 
its  i^ossibility.  The  time  passed  very 
taoidly  and  it  was  all  too  short  until 
train  time  came  and  the  passengers 
bid  each  other  good  bye.  They 
wished  the  strangers  success  in  their 
new  field  and  in  their  undertaking. 
The  strangers  must  have  listened 
grimly  to  these  cordial  good  wishes 
and  doubtless  accepted  them  Avith 
mental  reservation  as  a  result  of  mis- 
interpretation. 

The  Northern  Central  railroad  train 
moving  away  first  the  youth  recalls 
that  the  strangers  waved  a  parting- 
adieu  to  their  late  found  friends.  That 
the  father  and  these  young  sons 
sht)uld  have  enacted  such  a  conspic- 
uous role  in  the  past  would  have 
seemed  impossible  could  it  have 
dawned  upon  the  youth  and  his 
father.  But  read  in  the  light  of  the 
past  the  matter  can  even  hardly  now 
be  conceived  as  one  of  reality.  The 
youth  and  his  father  returned  home 
and  very  little  was  thought  about  the 
matter  for  some  months  when  the 
whole  country  was  convulsed  by  the 
famous  outbreak  at  Harper's  Ferry, 
which  was  attended  with  so  many 
tragic  side   lights. 

It  was  then  when  the  country  was 
flooded  with  pictures  of  the  old  man 
and  his  sons  that  the  episode  at  Har 
risburg  was  recalled  and    interpreted. 

In  the  light  of  subsequent  events 
that  hour's  conversation  with  John 
Brown  as  Smith,  later  became  known 
to  the  surprise  of  all  who  had  met 
him  and  is  now  recalled  as  an  event 
of  the  greatest  interest. 

The  talk  of  the  man  was  so  trench- 
ant and  impressive  as  to  be  imprinted 


AN  HOUR  WITH   JOHN   BROY/N 


497 


ui)oii  recollection  after  fiftv  years 
have  jjassed  away.  1  lis  ex,)ressi()n, 
his  manner,  his  gestures  have  all  be- 
come eni^raved  on  the  tablets  of  the 
memory.  Even  his  vcjice  and  meas- 
ured utterances  can  be  recalled.  And 
yet  it  can  now  be  seen  how  guarded 
he  \vas  in  his  expressions  and  com- 
ment upon  thins>'s  with  which  lie  was 
best  acquainted. 

He    was   "wise    as    a    serpent,"    and 
vet  inriressed  one  as  g'entle  but  firm, 


and   unprofitable  and    thus    wwund    it 
unto  death. 

The  undertakinjj^  was  one  of  tre- 
mendous extent  and  possibility,  but 
events  never  occur  just  as  they  may 
1  e  expected  to  do.  Sometimes  they 
are  Hat  failures  and  sacrifices.  At 
other  times  what  may  be  looked  upon 
as  an  it^nominious  failure  turns  out  to 
liberate  and  inauguate  ev(^nts  unfore- 
seen and  in  the  last  analysis  largely 
beneficial. 


JOHN  BROWN'S  ASS0CIATE:S 


austere  yet  kind.  His  companions 
must  have  had  a  different  train  of  re- 
flections when  listening-  to  liis  con- 
versation and  when  they  afterward 
boarded  the  Cumberland  \'alley  train. 
This  was  John  Urown  wh  >  after 
completing  his  work  on  the  plains  of 
Kansas  had  planned  to  do  a  still 
greater  work  in  Virginia,  "to  beard 
the  lion  in  his  den,"  to  paralyze  the 
slaveholder  by  his  boldness  and  to 
strike  a  death  blow  at  the  institution 
of  slavery  and  to    render    it      nsecure 


So  it  was  in  the  case  of  Brcwn.  He 
was  a  man  of  one  idea — a  man  who 
hated,  detested  and  abhored  slavery. 
For  years  he  had  nursed  this  idea 
and  believed  that  he  was  an  instru- 
ment in  the  hands  of  Providence  to 
be  used  as  a  means  to  eradicate  this 
blot  from  humanity.  In  fact,  lie  later 
said,  he  believed  he  was  worth  more 
to  be  hung  in  this  cause  than  to  exist 
for  any  other  purpose  whatever. 

All  through  those  trying  and  dark 
days     he    never    lost    his    equanimity 


498 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


nor  did  he  e\-er  question  the  right- 
eousness of  his  purpose.  He  beHeved 
that  the  future  would  do  justice  to 
his  memory  and  that  posterity  would 
set  him  right  on  the  pages  of  history. 

Those  who  did  not  know  Brown 
nor  realize  the  realities  of, slavery  of 
course,  took  a  different  view  of  the 
purposes  which  animated  him.  To  a 
man  who  views  person  as  property 
without  going  "behind  the  returns" 
or  its  basis  foundation  of  human 
rights  and  duties  the  course  of  Brown 
will  appear  dishonest.  In  this  case  the 
basis  laid  down  by  Proudhon  "that 
property  is  robbery"  when  apidied  to 
the   person    will    strictly    apply. 

Brown  ])laced  himself  on  this  rock 
from  which  it  was  impossible  to  dis- 
lodge him.  While  possession  may  be 
"nine  points  in  law^"'  the  enormity  of 
the  offense  of  robbery,  theft  and  pi- 
racy could  not  for  a  moment  l;e  used 
in  extenuation  of  slavery. 

All  arguments  to  the  contnv  y  were 
raised  on  sophistry  and  subterfuge. 
Brown's  education  was  based  largely 
on  common  sense  as  can  be  readily 
recalled  from  his  conversation  ]\lany 
looked  upon  him  as  a  madman,  but  if 
he  was  such  "there  was  metho  i  in  his 
madness." 

His  acts  at  Harper's  h'erry  were 
certainly  not  based  on  proper  judg- 
ment, as  he  himself  frankly  admitted 
later.  Ijut  while  that  was  tlie  case 
his  intentions  in  their  last,  anah^sis 
were  better  than  their  execution. 
When  Drown  went  u])  the  Cumberland 
Valley  he  and  companions  stopped 
at  Chambersburg  for  some  time. 
Here  he  became  a  well  knowr.  figure 
in  his  frecpient  calls  to  the  postoffice 
for  sending  and  receiving  mail.  He 
and  his  companions  and  later  a  num- 
ber of  his  followers  at  times  l)(iarded 
at  the  house  of  a  Mrs.  Ritner,  who 
was  the  widow  of  the  son  of  <»x-Gov- 
ernor  Joseph  Ritner.  'j^his  house  is 
still   standing. 

Xext  they  moved  still  fartlier  on- 
ward and  we  hear  of  them  being  at  a 
tavern  at  Sandy  llook.  .Marvland, 
three     miles     be!  )w      ilari)er's     j-'crrv. 


This  is  a  very  dingy  primitive  place- 
on  the  Potomac,  on  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  railroad.  In  this  locality  they 
encountered  a  very  rough  class  of 
people  and  they  speedily  took  to  the 
hills,  and  in  the  end  rented  wdiat  was 
known  as  the  Kennedy  farm.  (  ontain- 
ing  a  lot  of  old  buildings,  which  are 
still  standing,  about  four  miles  up 
the  canal  road  on  the  Alaryland  side 
o  f  Harper's  Ferry.  Brown  speedily 
]3rocured  a  horse  and  covered  w^agon 
as  well  in  which  he  made  trips  back 
and  forth  to  Chambersburg — the  rail- 
road only  extending  thus  far. 

By  such  means  he  transported  the- 
supplies  from  Chambersburg  as  well 
as  the  arms  and  other  materials.  He 
here  purposed  digging  for  minerals 
and  listed  his  freight  as  tools  for  that 
purpose. 

On  these  trips  to  and  forth,  from 
the  Kennedy  farm  to  Chambersburg 
Brown  frequently  stopped  along  the 
way  and  struck  up  many  acquain- 
tances. A  Mr.  Harne,  a  shoemaker, 
informs  us  that  a  man  by  the  iiame  of 
Smith  came  in  to  have  a  pair  of  shoes 
half  soled.  He  wished  a  particular- 
part  of  the  side  of  sole  leather  used. 

The  shoemaker  protested  saying 
that  such  a  proceeding  Avould  mar  the 
side  and  would  be  a  positive  loss  to 
him.  F)Ut  Smith  (Browm)  told  him 
to  go  ahead  and  follow  his  di;  ections 
and  charge  his  price.  These  shoes- 
were  found  upon  Brown  when  he  was 
imprisoned  at  Charleston.  ^Te  had 
used  them  during  the  fight  at  Har- 
per's   Ferry. 

Before  the  outbreak  at  Harper's 
Ferry  Frederick  Douglass  came  on 
to  see  P)rown  at  Chambersburg.  They 
had  several  conferences  on  the  out-- 
skirts  oi  the  town  in  a  limestone 
<|uarry,  which  had  then  been  disused 
and  which  is  now  filled  up. 

Douglass  wisely  declined  to  form 
part  of  the  exMcdititm  and  parted 
from  Urown.  \\'hen  the  outbreak 
failed  fi\e  of  Tjrown's  men  ^\'ho  were- 
lelt  on  the  Maryland  side,  com- 
nuMiced  their  flight  north  and  later 
\-ergc'<l     to     northwest.      Thev    passed 


AN  HOUR  WITH  JOHN  BROWN 


499' 


through  Chanihersburg  at  night  and 
hid  in  a  thicket  near  the  town  for 
several  days.  This  ticket  has  also 
been  removed.  Captain  Cook  left 
the  party  near  Mt.  Alto,  where  he  fell 
into  the  hands  of  Fitzhugh,  Daniel 
Logan  and  the  IVumbaughs. 

The  others  ])roceeded  in  a  body 
and  near  Cootland,  a  town  on  the  C. 
A^  R.  R.  they  left  Francis  J.  Merriam, 
who  stopped  the  early  morning  train 
and  went  on  through  to  Philadelphia 
to  the  ]Merchants  hotel,  at  Fourth 
street,  above  Market  where  he  was 
taken  in  charge  by  the  colored  secre- 
tary, William  Still  and  later  safely 
sent  to  Canada.  Merriam  came  of  a 
wealthy  family  and  furnished  some 
money  to  the  cause.  However  he 
was  of  a  delicate  constitution  and  ut- 
terly unfitted  for  such  a  foray. 

Owen  Brown,  a  son  of  the  'Liber- 
ator," led  the  remainder  of  the  party 
to  northern  Pennsylvania.  The  suf- 
ferings endured  by  the  party  were 
great  as  night  traveling  was  neces- 
sary and  during  the  day  they  re- 
mained concealed. 

Owen  died  in  southern  California, 
where  so  many  of  the  people  went 
who  were  identified  with  this  foray. 
Here  Major  H.  N.  Rust  who  made 
the  pikes  also   lived. 

H  e  took  pride  in  showing  the 
writer  his  thirty-feet  rose  bushes  in 
this  land  of  flowers.  Here  John 
Brown's  son  Jason  who  visited  York 
some  years  ago  also  lived.  H's  sister 
Ruth,  who  died  several  years  ago  was 
married  to  Henry  Thompson  who 
took  part  in  the  battle  of  Black  Jack 
in  Kansas. 

In  Oregon  the  writer  met  another 
son  of  John  Brown,  Salmon,  who  was 
one  of  the  two  sons  who  have  been 
named  after  the  ''Pottawattamie 
Slayers."  He  presented  the  writer 
with  an  autograph  card  containing 
five  generations  of  the  Brown  family. 
Ann  Brown  \\ho  was  one  of  the  two 
women  who  for  a  time  kept  house  at 
the  Kennedy  farm  also  lives  in  Cali- 
fornia. 


Of  the  three  youths  met  in  Harris- 
burg  one  was  Watson  Brown,  and 
his  brother  Oliver.  The  third  was 
Jeremiah  Anderson,  who  was  pinned 
by  a  bayonet  thrust  from  a  marine  in 
the  old  engine  house  at  Harper's 
Ferry.  He  lived  for  some  time  and 
was  approached  by  a  Virginian  who 
squirted  a  mouthful  of  tobacco  juice 
in  the  dying  man's  mouth.  Returning; 
after  a  time  and  finding  him  sc'dl  alive 
he   profanely  remarked   "It  takes   you 

a time  to  die." 

It  was  another  of  the  three  youths- 
met  at  Harrisliurg.  Watson  Brown,, 
was  crammed  into  a  barrel  and  sent 
"to  the  medical  college  at  ^^'inchester 
and  dissected  by  the  students,  the 
skeleton  mounted  and  during  the 
war  captured  by  our  soldiers.  The 
skeleton  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
medical  army  doctor  and  was  for 
years  in  his  possession  in  Indiana.  It 
was  identified  and  given  to  the  family 
and  interred  at  Mont  Elba.  N.  Y.,. 
wher  twelve  of  the  twenty-two  men 
are  buried. 

Captain  Cook  has  a  marker  at  the 
spot  where  he  was  captured  at  Mt. 
Alto.  He  was  taken  to  Chambers- 
burg  jail  and  but  for  a  train  of  fatal- 
ities would  have  escaped  from  jail  by- 
connivance.  He  was  taken  to  Charles- 
town.  He  was  a  brother-in-law  of 
Governor  W'illard  of  Indiana  who 
brought  Daniel  W.  Voorhees.  "the 
Tall  Sycamore  of  the  Wabash,"  to  de- 
fend him.  Voorhees'  plea  was  elo- 
quent and  brought  him  a  national 
reputation,  but  was  unsuccessfal.  The 
following  Fourth  of  July  he  was  in- 
vited to  deliver  the  literary  address 
before  the  Literary  societies  of  the 
University  of  Virginia. 

Osborne  Perry  Anderson  escaped 
with  Hazlett  from  the  Virginia  side. 
He  made  his  way  to  York  and  was 
hidden  by  Goodridge  in  the  third 
story  of  his  building  in  Centre  square. 
Several  weeks  later  he  was  hidden 
in  one  of  his  cars  and  sent  to  Phila- 
delphia and  put  in  care  of  William 
Still  and   was  sent  safelv  to  Canada. 


500 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Hazlett  got  as  far  as  Carlisle  and 
was  captured  there.  He  wai  over- 
taken there  by  some  Chambersburg 
kidnappers  who  trafficked  in  flesh 
-and  blood.  After  a  most  determined 
■defense  by  his  counsel  A.  B.  Sharpe, 
IMessrs.  Miller  and  Shearer  he  was 
remanded  back  to  Virginia  and  tried 
there  and   executed. 

Cook  made  some  sort  of  a  confes- 
sion through  the  strong  pressure  of 
"his  friends  and  counsel.  James  Red- 
path  the  first  biogra])her  of  Brown 
:spoke  in  very  severe  terms  of  Cook. 
However  the  later  biographers  have 
accepted  this  confession  at  'ts  true 
worth.  Richard  H.  Minton  one  of  the 
Kansas  correspondents,  informed  the 
writer  that  he  had  reached  Chambers- 
burg  and  had  gone  o  n  towards 
Harper's  Ferry,  when  he  heard  of  the 
attack    and    returned    and    came    back 


as  far  as  York.  He  then  went  on  to 
Cincinnati  and  returned  to  (^arlisle 
incognito  in  time  to  see  Hazlert  taken 
from  Carlisle  to  \"irginia  helpless  to 
interfere. 

The  mansions  of  Dr.  Ratherford  at 
Harrisburg.  still  standing,  is  the 
place  where  Higginson,  Hinton,  etc.. 
met  to  concoct  plans  to  rescue  Brown 
and  his  men  from  the  jail  at  Charles- 
town.  The  noted  Captain  James 
Montgomery  and  a  number  of  men 
came  on  and  stopped  at  the  old 
Drovers  hotel  near  the  river,  r.  build- 
ing no  longer  standing.  These  are  a 
few  of  the  reminiscences  that  came 
very  near  to  us  during  that  stormy 
time.  The  hour  and  John  Brown 
were  both  propitious  and  momentous 
in  initiating  a  train  of  events  that 
ha\'e  become  historic. 


History  of  the  Blauch  Family 

By  D.  D.  Blauch,  Johnstown,  Pa. 


ME    name    is     now     spelled      on   record   in   Patent   Book,  A.    A.    3, 
in  various  ways;   Blauch,      Page    12.    in    Harrisburg. 

In      the      Pennsylvania  Archives. 

Christian   is   assessed   wilh  160    acres 


Blouch,    B  lough.    Plough 
and    Blouke. 

November  3rd,  1750, 
the  ship  "Brotherhood" 
arrived  at  Philadelphia, 
with  a  passenger  list  of 
three  hundred.  Only  118  of  these 
names  are  on  record  as  the  names  of 
heads  of  families  and  boys  over  fif- 
teen were  the  only  ones  recorded. 
Among  the  names  we  find  the  famil- 
iar ones — Schrock,  Schafifcr,  Lehman. 
KauiTman,  Funck,  Fisher,  Mever  and 
Blauch. 

Only  two  Blauchs,  Christian  and 
Hans  (John)  appear.  However,  it  is 
T<nown  that  at  least  five  boys  came 
along,  but  to  which  of  the  Blauch 
brothers  they  belonged  is  not  known. 
Christian  located  in  Lebanon  town- 
ship, Lancaster  county,  buying  171^ 
acres  of  land  from  Thomas  and  Rich- 
ard Penn.     The  patent  for  the  tract  of 


D.  D.  BL-AUCH 


in    1771-1772,    and    with    171    acres    in 
1782. 

As    fai-    as    can    be    learned.     John 
land  was  dated  Nov.  7th,  1761,  and  is       (Hans)     Blauch     located     in    what    is 


HISTORY  OF  THE   BLAUCH   FAMILY 


501 


now   F"ranklin  county. 

Christian,  one  of  the  five  boys  who 
came  over  with  the  elder  two,  was 
l)orn  in  the  Canton  of  Berne,  -.n  1743. 
lie  married  Mat^'dalena  Bender,  and 
had  six  sons  and  two  dau.q"hters.  In 
1767  he  moved  with  his  family,  from 
Lancaster  county,  to  I'erlin,  Somerset 
county. 

Jacob,  the  oldest  son  of  Christian 
of  Bierlin,  was  born  in  17O5.  He  had 
ten  children,  and  Jacob,  his  seventh 
son.  l)ecame  an  elder  in  the  German 
P>antist     Brethren    church,    beinsj    fol- 


bara  Miller  and  had  ten  children.  One 
of  these  sons  became  a  Bishop  of  the 
Mennonite  church,  and  another  son,. 
Tobias,  became  a  prominent  minister- 
in  the  German  Baptist  Brethren! 
church.  Rev.  L.  D.  Spaugy,  of  Ohio, 
a  minister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  is  a  o-randson  of  Tobias. 

Henry  and  Peter,  twin  sons  of 
Christian,  were  born  in  1771.  They 
both  married  and  had  large  families.. 
Ca])tain  Henry  Blough,  of  Cumber- 
land, Md.,  is  a  descendant  of  Henry. 
One   of    Peter's   sons,   John,   m>)ved   to 


l-IRST  Ul-FICERS  OF  THE  BI,Al*CH— BUJUGH— PI^OUGH   REUNION  ASSOCIATION 

Standing— T.  K.  Saylor.   C.  M.  Blongh,    P.  A.  Blough.    Herman  BIoukH 
SittinR— C.  E.  Blough,    D.  I).  Blanch,    Rufus  S.  Blanch 


lowed  in  the  ministry  ])y  h's  own 
sons  and  grandsons. 

Christian,  the  second  son  of  Chris- 
tian, better  known  as  "Little  Christ," 
was  born  in  1767.  He  married  Anna 
Berkev,  and  had  seven  child.en.  A 
number  of  his  descendants  became 
ministers,  among  them  being  the  ven- 
erable Jonathan  Blough,  of  Hoovers- 
\\\\e.  Pa.,  now  84  years  of  age,  who  is 
the  oldest  living  descendant  of  this 
branch. 

John,  the  third  son  of  Christian, 
was  born   in    ijf'io.      lie    married     I>ar- 


Canada  about  yy  years  ago.  anti  raised 
a  large  family.  Carrett,  who  died  a 
short  time  ago  in  his  84th  year  was  a 
son  of  his. 

Two  daughters,  Anna  and  Martha, 
were    born    to    Christian    in    1773    and 

^775- 

The  youngest  son,  David,  was  born 
in  1777,  the  year  Christian  died.  This 
son  married,  settled  in  Ohio  ind  was 
the  father  of  twelve  children.  He  took 
with  him  his  father's  Bible,  published 
in    153^)    in     Switzerland,    which    con- 


502 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


tained    valuable   records.       It    is    now 
•owned  by  one  of  his  descendants. 

This  line  of  Blauchs  descended 
from  Christian  of  Berlin,  and  known 
.as  the  Berlin  Branch,  is  scattered 
■all  over  the  United  States,  and  are 
farmers,  professional  and  business 
men,  Avho  mostly  spell  the  name 
Blough. 

J.  J.  Blough,  of  Berlin,  lives  on  a 
part  of  the  original  tract  on  which  his 
•ancestor.   Christian,   located  in    1767. 

Jacob  Blauch,  was  born  in  the  can- 
ton of  Berne,  Switzerland.  The  date 
•of  his  birth  is  not  known,  br;t  it  is 
.generally  supposed  he  was  younger 
than   Christian  of   Berlin,  his  brother. 

He  married  a  Miss  KaufTman  and 
lived  in  Lebanon  Township,  Lancaster 
•county,  until  after  the  birth  of  his 
younger  son,  David.  In  1790,  he 
moved  his  family  to  Somerset  county, 
-and  located  at  the  junction  of  the 
Quemahoning  and  Stonycreek.  To  dis- 
tinguish his  children  from  the  Berlin 
Blauchs,  they  are  called  the  Quema- 
honing branch.  The  old  home  Jacob 
built  remained  standing  over  100 
years. 

Jacob  had  nine  children.  Jacob, 
the  oldest,  became  a  minister  in  the 
Mennonite  church,  the  first  one  in 
Paint  township,  Somerset  county. 
Later,  he  was  ordained  Bishop,  being 
the  first  one  in  the  Johnstown  dis- 
trict. He  had  a  family  of  ten  children 
and  a  number  of  these,  as  well  as  his 
grandsons  and  greatgrandsons,  be- 
came ministers.  He  died  in  1849,  aged 
75  years.  Tradition  says  he  was  a  man 
of  fine  physique  and  a  powerful 
preacher.  At  his  death,  Samuel,  a 
grandson  of  Jacob  and  a  nephew  of 
the  former  Samuel,  became  bishop. 
At  his  death,  Jonas,  another  grandson 
of  Jacob,  became  bishop.  Thus  the 
office  of  Bishop  was  held  by  Blauchs 
continuously  for  over  100  years. 

Christian,  called  "Big  Ch;ist"  to 
distinguish  him  from  "Little  Christ" 
of  Berlin,  was  the  second  son  oi  Jacob 
of  Quemahoning.  He  married  Sarah 
Cable,  who  bore  him  ten  children. 
The  majority  of  his   descendants   are 


living  in  the  western  States.  Dr.  Mil- 
ton B.  Blouke,  of  Chicago,  being  a 
well  known   member  of  this   family. 

John,  the  third  son  of  Jacob,  mar- 
ried and  had  one  daughter. 

Henry,  better  known  as  "Lame 
Henry",  the  4th  son  of  Jacob,  married 
Elizabeth  Miller.  He  had  two  daugh- 
ters, one  of  whom  married  Mr.  Eash 
and  the  other  Jonas  Weaver.  He  died 
at  Holsopple  in  his  95th  year. 

Mary,  the  oldest  daughter  01  Jacob, 
married  Henry  Harshberger,  and  had 
three  daughters. 

Veronica,  another  daughtet,  mar- 
ried Jacob  Barkey,  and  was  the 
mother  of  twelve  children.  She  and 
her  husband  moved  to  Canada  in 
1806,  and  in  1906  her  descendants 
numbered  871,  among  whom  is  the 
aged  Rev.  Daniel  Hoover,  of  Ontario, 
Canada. 

Elizabeth,  third  daughter  of  Jacob, 
married  John  Seilor  (Saylor).  She 
was  the  mother  of  three  sons  and  one 
daughter. 

Anna,  the  fourth  daughter,  married 
Samuel  Keim.  She  was  the  mother  of 
five  sons  and  three  daughters. 

David,  the  youngest  son  of  Jacob, 
was  born  in  Lancaster  county,  in 
1789.  He  married  four  times  -•ind  had 
16  children,  D.  D.  Blauch,  of 'Johns- 
town, being  the  youngest,  and  the 
owner  of  his  father's  Bible,  piiblished 
in  Somerset  county  in  1813.  He  was 
a  splendid  horseman  and  a  beautiful 
singer,  usually  leading  the  singing  for 
the  bishop,  his  brother.  He  has 
many  descendants. 

Abraham,  Henry  and  John  Blauch 
were  born  in  Switzerland  and  came 
with  their  parents  to  America  Little 
is  known  of  Abraham  and  Henry. 
Abraham  and  John  served  in  the 
American  Revolution,  being  privates 
in  Capt.  Michael  Holderbaum's  Com- 
pany, 2nd  Battalion,  Lancaster 
county,  in   1781. 

Tradition  says  Abraham  was  cap- 
tured by  the  Hessians  and  starved  to 
death.  This  may  not  be  authentic,  as 
his  name  appears  in  the  archives  later 
on. 


HISTORY  OF  THE   BLAUCH    FAMILY 


503 


Jolin  married  twice,  his  fi;  si  wife 
beins^  a  Miss  Smith,  who  bore  him 
two  children.  John  and  Jacob.  The 
second  wife  was  a  ^liss  Loni?  who 
bore  him  ii  children  —  John,  who 
moved  to  Ohio ;  Polly,  who  married 
Mr.  Lesher ;  Mary,  intermarried  w'tli 
Jacob  Rupp ;  Simon,  wdio  located  in 
Bethel  township.  Lebanon  county, 
a  n  d  was  Commissioner ;  Henry, 
located  at  the  Union  Water  AX'orks  in 


1  n  l-'ranklin  county,  near  Ri)cky 
Sprinfj-  church,  there  is  a  branch  of 
the  family,  wdio  spell  the  name 
Ploui^h.  From  an  old  sale  l)iil.  dated 
1836.  we  find  that  one  Peter  Plaugli 
\vas  administrator  for  the  estate  of 
Chr-'stian  Plous;h.  Amontj,-  Christian's 
descendants  are  W'm.  H.  Ploug-h.  a 
dru,e"g"ist  in  Pittsburg',  and  Attorney 
n.  Plough,  of  Patterson.  X.  J. 

It   has   been   a   verv   difficult   matter 


OLD  FOLKS  OF  BLACCH—BLOUGH— PLOUGH  REUNION  ASSOCIATION,  1909 

Sitting— Christian  Blough,  88 ;    Mrs.  Hannah  Berkebile,  8+  ;    Mrs.  Barbara  Ream,  75  ;    Mrs.  D.  J.  Miller,  75  ; 
Rev.  J.  W.  Blough,  84.  Standing— D.  J.  Miller,  70:    Aaron  Blough,  79;    Emanuel  Blough.  75  ;    Samuel 

Cable,  75;     J.  H.  Kauffman,  72  ;     Noah  Kauffman.  74;     Mrs.  Samuel  Cable.  75  ;     A.  W.  Blanch,  70 ;     J.  B. 
Kauffman,  71  ;   J.  J.  Blanch,  72  ;   H.  D.  Blaugh,  75  ;   Jerry  Weaver,  71.  Average  age  82.19 


Lebanon  county;  David,  who  located 
at  Blue  Ball.,  Penn. ;  Joseph,  located 
at  Pottsville,  Penn.;  Benjairxin  and 
George,  located  in  New  York;  Mich- 
ael and  Christian,  moved  to  Michi- 
gan ;  and  Samuel,  located  at  the  Un- 
ion Water  Works,  Lebanon  Co..  and 
married  (i)  Rebecca  Miller  and  (2) 
Rosa  Long,  who  bore  him  ten  chil- 
dren, two  of  whom  died  young. 

One  of  Samuel's  sons,  David,  located 
at  Steelton,  and  became  a  great 
Avorker  and  exhorter  in  St.  Johns 
Evangelical   church. 


to  find  the  records  of  this  family,  as 
the  name  is  spelled  so  man}-  ways. 
This  also  makes  it  difficult  to  trace  the 
name  back  to  Europe? 

Several  families  named  BLAUCH 
ha\-e  come  from  Europe  in  recent 
years.  l)ut  they  are  Jewish,  and  have 
some  famous  records  of  Jewish  Rab- 
bis in  their  line. 

Whether  there  is  any  connection  be- 
tween the  two  lines  has  not  been 
found  out,  but  the  close  resemblance 
the  Blauchs  have  to  each  other  and 
the  fact  that  many  of  the  ministers  in 


504 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


the  family  have  been  taken  for  Rabbis 
seem  to  indicate  a  remote  relation- 
ship. 

In  Switzerland  many  named  BLAU 
are  found,  which  an  educated  Swiss 
says  is  identical  with  Blanch,  the 
"CH"  beiny  m'erely  a  German  accent. 

One  of  the  Bloughs  in  Somerset 
county  has  in  his  possession  a  copy  of 
Menno-Simons  Confession  of  Faith, 
published  in  1575,  on  the  fly  leaf  of 
which  are  a  number  of  records.  In 
my  search  for  a  copy  of  a  bcok  my 
father  owned,  containing  som^  very 
old  records,  and  lost  at  the  sale  after 
hi:;  death,  I  came  across  this  old  book 
It  was  kindly  loaned  to  me  to  have 
the  records  translated.  I  herewith 
give  a  copy  of  these  records,  with  the 
translation,  as  they  may  be  of  interest 
to  the  descendants. 

The  Seilors  or  Saylors,  as  they  are 
now  best  known,  were  closely  con- 
nected with  the  Blauchs,  as  we  find 
that  Jacob  Hlauch,  the  first  Bishop, 
was  married  to  Catharine  Seilor,  and 
a  sister  of  the  Bishop,  Elizabeth 
Blanch  married  John  Seilor.  These 
old  relics  of  the  Seilors  thus  became 
the  properties  of  the  Plauchs. 

The  original  Bible  owned  by  Joseph 
Seilor  has  been  handed  down  from 
generation  to  generation".  In  a  will 
probated  in  Somerset  county  in  1796, 
Jacob  Saylor,  a  Mennonite  preacher, 
made  special  mention  of  some  books, 
as  follows :  "John  Saylor  shall  have 
my  Bible  and  Menno-Simon  book  and 
Christian  Knegi  shall  have  the  Philip 
Diedrick  book  and  hymn  book,  which 
he  already  hath,  and  my  daughter 
Catharine  shall  have  my  daily  Testa- 
ment and  book  called  the  "Golden 
Apple." 

This  Bible  fi,nally  came  into  the  pos- 
session of  l)ishop  Samuel  Blough,  the 
second,  who  wrote  a  smal  Ihistory  of 
it :  Jacob  Saylor  received  the  Bible 
from  his    father-in-law    Stalder    as    a 


present  and  brought  it,  with  him  from 
Switzerland,  he  gave  it  to  Ins  son 
John  Saylor,  and  John  Saylor  gave  it 
to  his  daughter  Catharine  Saylor  who 
married  Jacob  Blanch  the  Bishop  of 
the  Mennonite  church.  Jacob  Blanch, 
gave  it  to  his  son  John  Blanch  and 
John  Blough  on  the  21  of  June,  1881 
gave  it  to  his  son/Samuel  Blough  the 
third  bishop  in  line,  and  at  his  death 
it  became  the  property  of  his  son  J. 
H.  Blough,  who  is  the  present  owner 
of  it.  This  Bible  was  prii.ted  by 
Christoffal  Froschower  in  Zurich,  and 
finished  on  the  i6th  day  of  "March  in 
1536,  and  is  so  far  as  known  the  old- 
est Bible  in  America. 

At  the  present  time,  it  is  held  by 
his  oldest  son,  who  is  the  father  of  14 
children,  nine  of  whom  are  sons,  so 
there  is  no  immediate  prospect  of  the 
church  l)ecoming  its  possessor. 

This  Bible  was  published  m  Ger- 
man, in   1536. 

The  earlier  settlers  of  the  ailds  of 
Somerset  county  had  to  endure  great 
hardships,  as  at  that  time  that  section 
was  a  howling  wilderness.  Very  in- 
teresting anecdotes  along  this  line 
could  be  given. 

At  one  time  there  were  miles  of 
farms  joining  each  other,  in  Somerset 
county,  all  belonging  to  the  B^auch's. 
Arbutus  Park  near  Johnstown,  where 
the  first  Annual  Reunion  of  the 
Blanch  -  Bloughs  was  held  in  ,  1908, 
and  again  on  August  24th,  1909,  is  a 
part  of  a  tract  of  land  that  John  Blauch, 
a  son  of  the  founder  of  the  Berlin 
branch  gave  to  his  daughter,  Chris- 
tiana, who  married  John  Blough,  bet- 
ter known  as  "Strong  John",  a  descen- 
dant of  the  Quemanhoning  branch. 
This  tract  was  the  property  of  the 
IJloughs  for  over  ninety  years,  and  is 
a  fitting  place  for  the  annual  reunions. 
Between  1,200  and  1,500  people  have 
attended  these  reunions  each  vear. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  BLAUCH   FA.MILY 


505 


Saylor  Bible  Record  Referred  to  on  Preceding  Page 


Dies  Buch  gahort  Jacob  Seilor  mir  zu  und 

habe  es  geerbt  von  meinem 
Vater  Joseph  den  12.     January  1740. 
Melspach. 

Dies  Buch  gehort  mir  Jacob  Seilor  zu  war 
68  nit  mein,  so  schrieb  ich  mein  Namen  nit 
drain, 

Gott  gebe  mir   die   Gnad 
Dass   ich   drin   lernen 
Und  halten.   was   drin  stat. 
Jacob  Seilor  bin  ich  genannt.    mein    Gluck 
und  segen  steht  in  Gottes  hand. 

Mein  erster  son  Ulrich  Seilor  ^is  geboren 
zu  Willsteig.  den  16.  Winter  Monet,  das 
Zeichen  ist  im  Widder  von  Neumond.  Anno 
1706.  gestorben  in  Juni  1707. 

Mein  Sohn  Daniel  Seilor  ist  geboren  zu 
Sembach.  den  15?  Juni  das  zeichen  ist  im 
Skorbion  im  Vollmond  Anno   1708. 

Mein  Tochter  Hedwig  Seilor  ist  geboren 
zu  Obermelingen  im  Januar.  das  Zeichen 
ist  im  Skorbion  im  Vollmond  Anno  1712. 

Mein  sohn  Jacob  Seilor  ist  geboren  zu 
Obermelingen  den  30  Januar,  das  Zeichen 
ist  im  lowen  in  neumond  anno  1715. 

Meine  Tochter  Gertrud  ist  geboren  zu 
Ischbach  im  Martz  1718  und  ist  gestorben 
Januar   1719. 

Meine  Tochter  Gertrud  it  geboren  zu  Ish- 
bach  den  1.  Juni,  das  Zeichen  ist  die 
Jungfrau   in   Vollmund   anno.    1720. 


This  Book  belongs  to  me,  Jacob  Seilor,  and 
I  inherited  it  from  my  Father  Joseph.  Jan- 
uary 12th  1740. 

Melspach. 


This  Book  belongs 
were  it  not  mine  I 
name  therein. 


to    me    Jacob    Seilor; 
would    not    write    my 


God  gives  me  the  grace  j 

That  I   may   learn 
And  retain,  what  therein  is, 
Jacob  Seilor  is  my  name  my  happiness  and 
my  blessing  rest  in   God's  hand. 

My  first  son  Ulrich  Seilor  is  born  at  Will- 
steig. the  16th  Wint  er  month  in  the  sign 
of  the  Aries  of  the  new  moon.  Anno  1707: 
died   June  1707. 

My  son  Daniel  Seilor  is  born  at  Sembach 
the  15th  of  June,  in  the  sign  of  the 
Scorpion   in  the   full   moon  Anno   1708. 

My  daughter  Hedwig  is  born  at  Obermel- 
ingen in  January,  in  the  sign  of  the  Scor- 
])io  in  the  full  moon  anno  1712. 

My  son  Jacob  Seilor  is  born  at  Obermel- 
ingen the  30th.  of  January,  in  the  sign  of 
Leo  in  the  new  moon  Anno   1715. 

My  daughter  Gertrude  is  born  at  Ischbach 
in  March  1718  and  died  January  1719. 

My  daughter  Gertrud  is  born  at  Ishbach 
the  1st  of  June,  the  sign  is  the  Virgo  in 
the  full  moon  anno,  1720. 


(This  may  seem  an  error  but  cases  are 
known  wliere  a  name  was  given  to  a  child 
and  if  it  died  the  next  being  the  same  sex 
was  given  the  same  name.  In  Somerset 
County  a  family  by  name  of  Grady  had  a 
son  whom  they  named  John;  he  sickened 
and  was  thought  to  be  dying,  when  another 
son  was  christened  who  was  also  named 
John.  The  first  John  got  well  and  thus 
two  brothers  grew  up  named  John  Grady). 


Mein  sohn  Johannes  ist  geboren  zu  Ish- 
bach den  22,  Juli  1731  das  Zeichen  ist  im 
Fisch  im  Neumond  und  ist  gestorben  den 
26,  Juni  1725. 

Den  19,  Mart  1739  habe  ich  Jakob  Seilor 
mit  der  Magdalene  Hald  Hochzeit  gehalt- 
en. 

Den  26  Mai  1740  ist  mir  durch  Gottes 
Gnade  ein  sohn  geboren  worden  im  Zeichen 
der  Zwillingen   im  Newmond  1740. 


My  son  Johannes  is  born  at  Ishbach  the 
22nd  of  July  1723,  the  sign  of  the  Pisces 
in  the  new  moon,  and  dated  June  26th 
1725. 

The  19th  of  March  1739  I  .lacob  Seilor  held 
wedding   with  Magdelene  Hald. 

The  26th  of  May  is  born  to  me  by  God's 
grace  a  son  in  the  sign  of  the  Gemini  in 
the  new  moon   1740. 


508 


Berlin  and  Brothersvalley 

By  W.  H.  Welfley,  Somerset,  Pa. 


H  A  T  part  of  Somerset 
conuty  lying  between  the 
summits  of  the  Allegheny 
and  Negro  Mountains 
and  the  southern  part  of 
the  ridge  in  which  the 
latter  ends  in  the  north 
was  in  the  earliest  days 
of  its  settlement  known  as  Brueders. 
Thai  (Brothersvalley)  a  name  given  it 
by  the  Amish,  Mennonites  and  Tunk- 
ers,  w^ho  were  mostly  its  pioneer  set- 
tlers and  all  of  whom  were  either  Ger- 
mans or  of  German  parentage.  By 
this  name  the  region  was  generally 
known  by  their  co-religionists  in  the 
east.  However  to  some  of  these  it  was 
also  known  as  a  part  of  the  Stony 
Creek  Glades  which  also  -'ncluded 
about  all  of  the  present  tow.iship  of 
Stony  Creek.  Even  the  Somerset  set- 
tlement in  its  earliest  days  was  known 
as  a  part  of  the  Stony  Creek  Glades. 
But  the  distinctive  Brueders  Thai  is 
that  described  in  the  beginning  of  this 
article  and  its  name  is  still  preserved 
in  that  of  the  present  township  of 
Brothersvalley. 

When  Bedford  county  w^as  created 
in  1771  all  of  its  territory  between  the 
Allegheny  mountains  and  the  Laurel 
Hill  was  created  into  a  single  town- 
ship that  extended  from  the  line  of  the 
province  on  the  south  to  within  two 
or  three  miles  of  Ebensburg,  the 
county  seat  of  Cambria  countv  on  the 
north  and  upon  it  was  bestowed  the 
name  of  Brueder's  Tahl,  under  its 
English  form  of  Brothersvalley. 
Verily  it  was  a  principality  within  it- 
self. But  as  new  townships  were 
created  out  of  its  ample  area,  it  was  in 
time  reduced  to  its  present  area.  So 
far  as  is  known  at  the  present  day 
most  if  not  all  of  these  early  Amish, 
Mennonite  and  Tunker  pioneers  set- 
tled between  Pine  Hill  on  the  north 
and  the  Maryland  line  in  the  south. 
Among    them    were     the     Wagerlines 


(Wegleys),  Saylors,  Fahrneys  (For- 
ney), Keageys,  Livergoods,  dingers, 
Bueckleys  and  Burgers,  all  except  the 
last  still  well  known  names  in  Somer- 
set conuty.  It  is  not  known  who  of 
these  was  the  first  to  venture  making 
his  home  here  in  this  then  wilderness.- 
Neither  is  the  time  known  to  a  cer- 
taintv  but  it  must  antedate  the  vear 
1768.' 

The  lands  west  of  the  Allegheny 
mountains  were  not  then  open  for 
legal  settlement.  In  the  spring  of 
1768  Rev.  Capt.  John  Steele  was  at 
the  head  of  a  commission  sent  into  the 
Redstone  settlement  b  e  y  o  n  d  the 
Laurel  Hill  to  warn  the  trespassing 
settlers  to  vacate  their  lands.  In  his 
report  he  also  makes  mention  of  set- 
tlers as  "living  nigh  unto  the  Little 
Crossings"  an  early  local  name  of  the 
stream  now  known  as  the  Castleman's 
River.  While  the  Rev.  Steele  makes 
mention  of  no  names  his  report  must 
be  accepted  as  authentic  evidence  that 
some  of  these  early  settlers'  ^vere  liv- 
ing in  Brueders  Thai  at  that  time  for 
there  is  no  other  locality  to  which 
this  report  can  be  made  to  apply. 

While  this  region  must  have  re- 
ceived its  name  from  the  Auiish  and 
Tunkers  it  by  no  means  follows  that 
all  the  early  settlers  were  cf  these 
faiths.  That  part  of  Brueders  Thai  in 
the  more  immediate  vicinity  of  Berlin 
was  also  settled  by  Germans  and  by 
those  who  were  of  German  parentage. 
In  fact  it  was  more  distinctively  a 
German  settlement  than  was  that  part 
further  to  the  south  where  there  are 
known  to  have  been  at  least  a  few 
English  speaking  settlers  while  here 
among  the  names  of  the  early  pioneers 
that  have  come  down  to  us  we  fail 
to  find  a  single  one  that  is  not  a  Ger- 
man name. 

These  were  mostly  members  of  the 
Lutheran  and  Reformed  churches,  and 
some  of  them  were  here  at  almost  as 


BERLIN     AND      BROTHERSVALLEY 


507 


early  a  day  as  were  any  of  those  of 
the  denominations  first  named.  Among- 
the  names  which  can  be  connected 
with  this  particular  settlement  are 
those  of  Walter  Heil  (Hoyle),  Jacob 
Fisher,  John  Sweitzer,  X^alentine 
Sont,  John  Glassner,  Philip  Wager- 
line,  h'redcrick  Ambrose,  Bastian 
Shaullis,  Peter  and  Jacob  Wingard, 
Ludwick  Greenawalt.  Adam  Palm  and 
Francis  Hay.  These  names  all  ap- 
pear in  the  first  assessment  for  Broth- 
ersvalley  township  for  1772  or  possibly 
1773,  for  there  is  some  uncertainty  as 
to  this.  All  of  them  had  more  or  less 
cleared  land,  showing  that  most  of 
them  had  been  here  for  several  years. 
Christian  Ankeny,  George  Country- 
man, Frederick  Walker,  Frederick  Alt- 
father,  sr..  John  Eideneger,  Jacob 
Peter  and  Henry  Glessner  all  came  a 
year  or  two  later,  as  did  Peter  Kober, 
Nicholas  Foust,  John  Foust,  and  John 
Coleman,  names  that  are  still  well 
known  in  the  community. 

There  were  but  few  German  emi- 
grants who  did  not  bring  with  them 
from  the  Fatherland  a  trade  or  occu- 
pation of  some  sort.  But  these  men 
had  not  made  their  wav  into  the  wil- 
derness to  ply  trades.  They  had  come 
to  acquire  lands  aitd  become  tillers  of 
the  soil,  in  which  pursuit  nearly  all  of 
their  time  would  be  occupied — though 
there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  so  far 
as  they  could  do  so  they  would  at 
times  try  to  help  out  their  neighbors 
in  things  pertaining  to  their  particular 
trades. 

Necessarily  it  was  not  long  until 
there  was  need  for  a  class  of  settlers 
who  would  devote  their  entire  time  to 
their  res])ective  trades  or  occupations. 
This  is  a  class  of  labor  that  usually 
concentrates  itself  for  convenience.  A 
blacksmith  shop,  a  shoemaker's  shop, 
a  store  and  a  tavern  have  formed  the 
nucleus  for  almost  every  town  and 
village  in  the  county. 

In  time  the  needs  of  the  community 
required  the  laying  out  of  a  town. 
Part  of  a  farm  near  what  is  now  Pine 
Hill   and   about   three   miles   from    the 


present  town  of  Berlin  and  vvhich  is 
now  owned  by  Elias  Cober  was 
selected  as  a  town  site.  Near  this 
sjiot  had  already  been  built  r.  house 
that  was  used  for  school  purposes  and 
public  worship.  This  was  viertainly 
the  first  house  in  Brothersvalley 
Township  to  be  built  for  this  especial  , 
use.  A  day  was  fixed  on  which  the 
lots  were  to  be  staked  ofif  and  sold. 
This  was  in  1778  and  antedates  the 
town  of  Berlin  by  about  a  half  dozen 
years.  Naturally  the  beginning  of  a 
new  town  was  an  interesting  event  to 
the  entire  settlement  and  on  the  ap- 
pointed day  almost  every  one  therein 
was  drawn  to  this  proposed  town  site, 
among  them  a  party  of  young  men  on 
horseback.  Coming  to  a  smooth  piece 
of  road  in  a  spirit  of  banter  it  v,'as  pro- 
posed to  ride  a  race,  the  winner  to 
have  the  first  choice  of  lots  in  the  new 
town.  In  running  the  race  the  horse 
of  Jacob  \\'alker  while  at  full  speed 
suddenly  swerved  to  one  side,  throw- 
ing his  rider  against  a  tree,  kiTinghim 
instantly.  While  still  a  comparatively 
young  man,  W^alker  left  a  wife  and 
family  and  was  the  ancestor  of  a 
numerous  and  well-known  family. 
This  untoward  accident  put  a  stop  to 
any  further  proceedings  for  that  day. 
It  cast  such  a  damper  over  the  spirits 
of  the  promoters  of  the  new  town  that 
the  project  was  abandoned  entirely. 
All  things  considered  this  proposed 
town  site  was  a  fairly  good  one  and 
had  this  accident  not  happened  it  is 
just  possible  that  we  would  never 
have  had  the  town  of  Berlin. 

Brothersvalley  Township  a  s  i  t 
now  exists  is  a  fine  agricultural  dis- 
trict and  is  rich  in  mineral  resources 
The  town  of  Berlin  from  its  earliest 
day  has  always  been  its  business 
centre.  It  also  enjoys  the  distinction 
of  being  the  oldest  town  in  Somerset 
county. 

It  ap])ears  to  have  been  founded  in 
1784,  having  its  beginning  in  this  way. 
It  was  laid  out  on  a  tract  of  land  sur- 
veyed for  Jacob  Kefifer  in  trust  on  a 
warrant   dated   July  2^,    1784,   and    on 


508 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


which  warrant  and  survey  the  Su- 
preme Executive  Council  of  I'ennsyl- 
vania  on  April  4,  1786  granted  a 
patent  to  Jacob  Keffer  and  his  heirs 
in  trust  for  the  use  of  the  Lutheran 
and  Calvinistic  (Reformed  Congre- 
gations of  Brothersvalley  Township) 
^  -4:  :r=  *  gj^j  {qj-  ^jig  ^^^se  of  thc  schools 
of  said  societies  a  certain  tract  of  land 
called  Pious  Springs  situated  on  the 
head  spring  of  Stony  Creek  contain- 
ing forty  and  a  half  acres  of  land  with 
allowance  of  six  per  cent,  for  roads, 
etc.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that 
these  congregations  have  Church 
Records  that  date  as  far  back  as  1777 
and  that  they  were  visited  b}'  minis- 
ters from  the  East  at  a  still  earlier 
date. 

At  this  distant  day  it  looks  as 
though  the  male  members  of  these 
congregations  or  least  some  of  them 
had  selected  this  land  as  a  suitable 
place  for  the  founding  of  a  town  and 
at  the  same  time  providing  a  perpet- 
ual source  of  revenue  for  themselves 
or  their  congregations  and  that  under 
their  instructions  Jacob  Keffer  had  ac- 
quired and  perfected  the  title  for 
them.  l*\)r  the  carrying  out  of  these 
purposes  they  entered  into  a  certain 
indenture  which  they  signed  and  in 
which  they  style  themselves  as  the 
owners  of  "the  cit}'  of  Herlin.' 

This  indenture  antedates  their  sur- 
vey somewhat,  being  under  the  date 
of  June  2.  1784.  though  not  acknowl- 
edged until  Alarch  21,  1786.  It  is 
more  than  probable  that  there  may 
have  been  a  few  houses  built  here 
prior  to  that  date.  There  certainly 
^vas  a  log  building  used  as  a  church 
and  school  house.  The  indenture  may 
be  looked  u])on  as  being  first  an  agree- 
ment among  themselves,  as  to  certain 
things.  Second,  an  agreement  with 
certain  stipulations,  and  covenant  be- 
tween the  owners  and  the  purchasers 
of  the  lots.  This  quaint  and  curious 
instrument  of  writing  is  here  given  as 
it  has  been  copied  from  the  records 
of  Bedford  County. 


Kiindt  und  zu  wiessen  sey  hiemit  Jeder- 
man  das  diese  Intentier  und  Instrument 
gemacht  is  den  2ten  Junj'  ihm  Jahr  unsers 
Hern  und  Heylands  Ein  Tausend  Sieben 
Hundert  und  Vier  und  Achzig  Vor  ein 
Stiick  and  in  Bruders  Wally  Townschip 
Bedford  Gonty  Staat  Pensilvania  Welches 
gemutz  an  Jacob  Keffer  Johipt  Jolines  und 
Jacob  Gut,  und  ist  auf  genommen  Von  den 
Nachfolgenden  Manne  Vor  Kirclien  und 
Schul  Landt  und  dieses  Landt  ist  hernach. 
Ausgelegt  worden  Von  den  Eigenthiimern 
in  Lotten  Vor  eine  Stadt  Namens  Berlia 
und  Sollen  Nach  folgende  Artickel  vest  ge- 
setzt  werden  von  den  Eigenthiimern 
Lutherischen  und  Reformirten  namlich 
Zwishen  Jacob  Glassner,  Jacob  Fischer 
Jacob  Keffer  Jacob  Geibeler  Philip  Wager- 
line  Walter  Heil  Peter  Kober  Henrich 
Glassner,  Valentine  Laut  Franz  Hof  Fried- 
erich  Altvatter,  Johannes  Eydeneyer  Peter 
Schweitzer  Nicolas  Miller  Godfrid 
Knop])er  Nicolaus  Faust  Michael  Beyer 
Peter  Loble  und  Peter  Glassner  Samtlich 
Eigenthiimer  der  Stadt  Berlin 

Itens.  Seidt  Bieder  Seytige  Eigenthiimer 
der  Stadt  Berlin  Lutherische  und  Refor- 
mirten Einig  Worden,  die  Lotten  zu  Theilen 
und  auzufangen  Bey  Nummer  Eins — Num- 
mer  Eins  ist  den  Reformirten  zum  Loos  ge- 
fallen  und  Nummer  Zwei  denoven  Luther- 
ischen und  so  fort  Aber  die  Kirche  Lotten 
sind  russer  diessen  Loos — was  aber  Von 
Ankaif  oder  Lotterie  gezogene  oder  was 
Noch  zum  Verkauf  liegende  Lotte  seynd 
Solchs  geld  wird  von  biederseitigen  Eigen- 
thiimer gleich  getheilet. 

2tens.  Das  zu  jedem  Ki.rchen  und  Schul- 
platz  Bieden  gemeinde  alls  Lutherisch  und 
Reformirte  Drey  Lotten  gelecht  seynd  als 
Number  61,  62,  63  und  Number  34,  35,  36 
und  ist  der  Lutherischen  gemeinde  zum 
Loos  gef  alien.  Numbe.r  61,  62,  6j  und 
denen  Reformirten  Numer  34,  35,  36  oder 
der  aite  Kirch  und  Schulplatz  bey  der 
Spring,  So  ist  das  alte  Schulhaus  by  de.r 
Spring  von  Biederseitigen  Eigenthiimer 
Lritherischen  und  Reformirten  zu  Twantzig 
Pfundt  geschatzt  worden  und  so'l  damit 
bis  zurtven  May  Beyderseitzs  gehalten 
worden  ihn  Endttehenden  Fall  das  Sich 
Bei'de  gemeinde  Trennen  So  miissen  die 
Reformirten  den  Lutherischen  Zehen 
Pfundt  den  oben  gemelten  Zwantzig  Pfundt 
heraus  geben  und  dieses  geld  soil  Vondem 
Ersten  ein  Kommende  geld  der  Sradt  Ber- 
lin Bezahlet  werden  folgendes  haben  Beyder 
seitige  Eigenthumer  Vcr  gut  Augschen  zu 
jeder  Kirchen  einen  oder  Wiesen  zu  legen 
wie  auch  einen  oder  wiesen  zu  jeden  Schul- 
haus 

3tens.  Das  Ein  jeder  Nach  Komiing  Von 
dennen  unterschrieben  Eigenthumern  der 
Stadt  Berlin  alls  Lutherische  und  Refor- 
mirte auf  Ewig  das  recht  zu  Kirchen  und 
Schulen    Behalten    soil    wan    se    bey    ihre.r 


BERLIN     AND      BROTHERSVALLEY 


509 


Religion  Bleiben  wan  aber  Einer  Von  Bey- 
den  Seiten  Von  Seiner  Religion  abgehet  so 
ist  Seyn  Recht  zu  Kirchen  und  Schulen 
Verloren  und  soil  auch  Keinen  Ve.rstallet 
warden   seine   Rech   zu   VerKaufen 

4tens.  Soil  Ein  jeder  Besietzer  Einer  Lott 
in  der  Stadt  Berlin  auf  derselben  ein  Haus 
bauen  in  der  front  von  wenigstens  22  fuss, 
Welches  mit  einem  Steinernen  Schornstein 
versehen  ist  daniit  es  Keiner  gefahr  von 
leuer  augesetz  sey  dabej'  muss  aus  nach 
art  und  weisse  Einer  Stadt  mit  Schindeln 
gedekt  seyn  indoch  muss  ein  jeder  Besitzer 
eines  Lotts  Oder  Eigener  jahrlich  denen 
Eigenthiimer  Einen  Spanischen  Thaler  zu 
sie  ben  Schilling  und  Sechs  bns  gerech- 
net  Bezahlen   Vor  Grund  Rent 

5tens.  Soil  einen  jedes  diesser  Lotts  wan 
der  Eigenthiimer  Sich  Nicht  Nach  den 
Vorge  Schriebenen  Bedingungen  richten 
Wiirde  Verfallen  Seyn  und  diesses  Verfal- 
nen  Lott  zu  dem  Nutzen  der  Samtlichen 
Eigenthiimer  der  Stadt  Berlin  zu  Kierchen 
und  Schulen  Verfallen  Seyn  und  die  Eigen- 
thiimen  sollen  das  geldt  des  verfallenen 
Lotts  Nehmen  und  vor  Kirchen  und  Schul- 
en n  der  Stadt  Berlin  anwenden  wis  auch 
alle  audere  Ein  Kiinfte  der  Stadt  Berlin  als 
Von  AuKauf,,  und  Quit  Rente  der  Lotten 
eben  zu  Solchen  Entzweck  wie  obenge- 
meldet  augewendet  werden  soil  auch  im- 
mer  und  ewig. 

6tens.  Ist  ausgemacht  Von  dennen  Bigen- 
thiimern  der  Stadt  Berlin  das  Keine  Ger- 
berei  Welter  an  den  Spring  Wasser  soil 
hinauf  gebaut  werden  als  des  Martin 
Daiibele  (This  name  is  Martin  Diveley  in 
English. — Ed.)  seyn  Gerberie  und  Sonsten 
Keine  der  Shadliche  Handering  errichtet 
werden   soil 

7tens.  Sollen  alle  Jahr  auf  einem  vest 
Bestimten  Tag  als  den  Tag  von  Neuen  jalir 
jede  gemeinde  ihre  eigene  Rechnungs 
fiihrer  Welches  aus  Zweyer  Manne  auf 
jeder  seite  bestehn  soil  damitt  jede  ge- 
meinde ihre  eigene  Rechning  zu  verwalten 
hat  weitens  sollen  erwahute  Manier  alle 
Jahr  auf  obengemelt  Tag  Vor  dem  Neuen 
Jahr  ihre  Rechnung  ab  legen  und  was  es 
Nothwendig  andere  andere  erwahlen  die 
innige  Mannr  dei  als  Rechnungs  fiihrer 
er  waht  werden  vor  die  Stadt  Berlin  seynd 
Befolmachtigt  alle  AnKauf  gelden  wie  auch 
die  Grund  Rente  Einzumehmen  von  Einen 
Jeden  Eigeinthiimern  oder  Besitzer  eines 
Lotts  in  der  Stadt  Berlin  Die  Lotten  von 
Numer  Eins  bis  Zwolf  seynd  in  der  Lange 
Elf  Ruthen  und  in  die  Pri^ete  Vier  Ruthen 
und  von  Nummer  Dreyzehen  bis  Nummer 
Vier  und  Zwantzig  se.vnd  Zehn  Ruthen  in 
die  lange  und  vir  Ruthen  in  die  Breit  und 
von  Nummer  fiinf  und  Zwantzig  bis  Sechs 
und  drej^seg  vir  Zehen  Ruthen  in  die  Lange 
und  vir  in  die  Breite  und  von  Nummer 
Siebe  und  dreysig  bis  acht  und  virzig  Zwolf 
Ruthen  in  dei  Lange  und  vir  in  der  Breite 


Nein  und  virtzig  bis  sechtzig  Zwolf  Ruthen 
in  die  Lange  und  vir  in  die  Breite  von  ein 
un  Sechtzig  bis  drey  und  siebenzig  Zwolf 
Ruthen  in  die  Lange  und  vi.r  in  die  Briete 

9tens.  Wir  die  Eigenthiimer  versprechen 
einen  Jeden  der  ein  Lott  zieht  oder  Kauft 
ein  gutes  Recht  dariiber  zu  Geben — wis  die 
Eigenthiimer  der  Stadt  Berlin — als  Luther- 
isch  und  Reformirte  verbinden  uns  und  un- 
sere  Erben  Executors  und  Administrators 
in  die  Suma  Von  Ein  Tausend  Pfund  gut 
und  ganber  geld  wie  es  in  Pensilvania  geld 
zu  Halten  Alle  die  oben  gemeltete  artikel 
wie  sie  vest  gesetzt  se.vnd  bezeigen  unsere 
Hande  und  Segel  beider  Siete 

JACOB   GIEBELER    (S) 
JACOB   KEFFER    (S) 
JOHONN   NICKELAS   FOUST    (S) 
PETER  KOBER    (S) 
VALENTINE   LANDT    (S) 
PETER   LOEBLE    (S) 
JACOB   FISCHER    (S) 
FRANTZ  HOEF   (S) 

his 
W.ALTER    X    HEIL   (S) 

mark 
JACOB  GLAESSNER    (S) 
HENRICH    GLAESSNER    (S) 
PETER   GLAESSNER    (S) 
FRIEDRICH   ALTVATTER    (S) 

his 
PETER    X    SCHWEITZER    (S) 

mark 
MICHAEL   BEYER    (S) 
GOTTFRIED   KNEPPER    (S) 

Den  obgemelteten  Datune  geseynet  wie 
gesiegelt  in  unseren  gegen  wart  alles  zieg- 
en 

JACOB    HAETCHEL 
GEORGE    RAUCH 

Bedford  county,  ss.  Personall  appeared 
the  hole  number  of  the  Subscribers  within 
mentioned  and  signed  before  me  one  of  the 
Justics  and  Common  Please  for  Said 
County  aad  one  and  all  acknowledged  the 
foregoing  Instrument  in  writing  to  be  their 
act  and  Deed  and  the  all  was  deslris  that 
the  same  Might  be  record  a  their  act  and 
Deed  as  witness  my  hand  and  seal  the 
twenty  first  day  of  March  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  One  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
eighty  eight  1788 

*  ABRAHAM  CABLE    (Seal) 

Recorded  and  Compared  with  the  original 
the  26  day  of  March  1788 

DAVID  ESSY 

Recorder 

*  (Abraham  Cable  was  the  first  Justice  of 
the  Peace  commissioned  in  what  is  now 
Somerset  County.) 

(to  bb  continued) 


510 

LITERARY  DEPARTMENT 


On  the  German  Dialect  Spoken  in  the  Valley  of 

Virginia 

By  H.  M.  Hays,  University  of  Virginia 

The  following"  paper,  prepared  under  the  direction  of  Professor  James  A. 
Harrison  of  the  University  of  Virginia,  is  designed  to  give  a  general  idea 
of  the  language  once  in  common  use  throughout  the  northern  part  of  the 
Valley  of  Virginia  and  which  is  still  spoken  to  some  extent  by  the  older 
inhabitants.  The  Germans  wno  settled  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  came 
chiefly  through  Pennsylvania  from  Bavaria  and  Switzerland,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years  or  more  ago.  Hence  their  language  is  a  South  German  dia- 
lect. It  has  suffered  much  of  late  years  by  the  dropping  out  of  German 
words  and  the  substitution  of  English    words  in  their  stead. 

For  all  the  material  of  this  paper  I  am  indebted  to  my  mother,  Mrs.  D. 
Hays,  who  was  born  and  spent  most  of  her  life  in  the  Forestville  neighbor- 
hood of  Shenandoah  County.  Not  only  was  this  dialect  her  mother  tongue, 
but  she  continued  its  use  with  much  frequency  for  more  than  thirty  years 
and  still  speaks  it  very  well. 

The  paper  has  been  divided  into  three  parts:  first,  pronunciation;  second, 
inflections ;  third,  a  vocabulary  of  common  words.  To  these  has  been 
added  a  short  narrative  specimen  of  the  language.  As  the  dialect  has  no 
written  existence,  the  question  of  spelling  has  been  a  perplexing  one.  In 
general  the  German  spelling  has  been  retained,  except  when  the  proauncia- 
tion  deviates  too  much  to  be  recognized.  In  a  few  cases  English  equiva- 
lents  have  been   given   in   parenthesis. 

PART  I. — Pronounciation 

Vowels : 
a=a  in  calm,  as:  Band,  Bank,  Hand. 
=aw  in  law,  as :  Blatt,  Grab,  sage.     In  composition  the  preposition  an  loses  n  and  a  has 

this   sound,   as :   afange. 
a  =  o  in  no,  as:  brate,  da,  mal,  nach. 
=  M  in  but,  chiefly  in  lasse,  hast,  hat  and  gebracht.  ^ 

aa=a  in  calm  as:  Paar ;  or  o  n  no,  as:  Haar. 
d=a  in  fate,  as :  diit,  Matel 

=e  in  met,  as:   Bank,  Blatter,  Dacher,  hatt. 
e=e  in  met,  as :  Bett,  des,  eng.    ^ 
=a  in   fate,   as:   bete,   Dege,   drehe. 
e  final  has  an  obscure  u  sound. 
ee=a  in  fate,  as :  leer,  Schnee. 
j=i  in   pin,  as :  bis,  bringe,  Licht. 
0=0  in  no,  as:  Bohn,  Brod,  Floh. 
=u   in   but,   as :    Bode,    Donner,   hocke. 
=00  in  bloom,  in  wo. 
d=a  in  fate,  as :  Scho,  51,  Lob. 
=e  in  met,  as :  konne,  Locher. 
u  =  oo  in  bloom,  as:   Blum,  Bruder. 

=  00   in    foot:    Blut,   Brunne. 
u=ee  in   meet,   as:   Briick,   Bruder,   Biicher.  '; 

=/  in  pin,  as,  diinn.  hiibsch,  iivcr. 
=u  in  but  in  the  diminutive,   Biibli. 
au  =  ou  in  house,  as:   aus,  baue,  Graut,  Gaul. 
=rtw  in   law,   as :   Aug,   Baum,   Frau. 
=:o   in   no,   as:   blau,   grau. 
z=oo  in   foot  in  the  preposition   auf. 


THE  GERMAN   DIALECT  IN   THE  VALLEY  OF  VIRGINIA  511 

du^i  in  pine,  as  Gaul,  Grauter,  Hauser. 

=«   in   fate   in   Bauni.  ' 

eu^^i  in  pine,  as:  Deufel,  deutsch,  iTeund. 

=0  in    fate,  in   Freud  and  wetter-leuche. 

~o;   in   oil,   in   Heu. 
?/=;'  in  pine  as:  bleive,  Deich,  drei,  Zeit. 

=a   in   fate,  as :   Bei,  eimol,  glei,   zwei. 

=  0/  in  oil   Ei-Eier,  ai  has  the  same  sound  in  Mai. 
iVz=f t'   in    meet,   as :    biege,    Brief,   die,    fiiege. 

=  /  in  pin,  as:   Spigel,   Stifel,  gebiive. 

Consonants: 
b^b  at  beginning  of  words,  as  Band,  Buch. 
=/>  at  end  of  words  and  before  consonants,   as:   bleib,   bleibt. 

=v  between  vowels  or  between  a  vowel  and  liquid,  as :   bleive,  have,  aver,  Arvit,  Kal- 
ver. 
d=d  at  beginning  of  words,  as:  dach  ding. 
=  t  at  end  of  words  or  before  consonants,  as:   Brod,  Freund,   freundlich. 
=a  soft  dth  between  vowels  or  between  a  vowel  and  liquid,  as :  Bruder,  Feder,  Felder. 
oder. 
g^k  or  ch  at  the  end  of  words  or  before   consonants,  as:  k  in  Aug,  bringt ;  ch  in  Berg. 
Essig. 
=  hard   g   in   other   positions,   as:    g-anz,   Auge. 
jz=y  in  yet,  as :  ya,  yung,  Yohr. 
=  French  /  in  just. 
qii  occurs  in  quelle,  when  it  has  the  sound  of  gw. 

r  is  sometimes  trilled,  as  in  Dreck.     Usually,however,   it  is  lightly  pronounced,   sometimes 
obscure,  and  again  entirely  !ost.     Be  fore  r  a  vowel  changes  its  sound,  as : 
a=o  in  nor,  as:  Bart,  Garde. 
a=a/  in  air,  as  Bart,  Garde. 
e=:ai  in  air,  as  Berg;  in  Kerl  the  r  is  lost 
i=«/  in  air,  as:   Kirch. 

o=a   in   hark,   as:    horch.   Morgc      Generally,  however,  after  0  the  r  is  lost 
and  0  =  0  in  not,  as:  dot,  fot,  Wot,  Kon,   zonig. 

After  0  the  r  is  lost  and  the  vowel  has  sound  of  short  English  a,  as:   Horner. 
u=ai  in   air,- as:   durch,   kurz. 
ii=fl/  in   air,  as:    fiir,    fiirch,   Diir. 
J  and  ss  are  sharp  ia  nil  positions,   as :   so.  Hose,  des,  esse,  fliesse. 
v=:f,  as :  von,  vor,  Vater,  Vogel. 
w  is  always  English  w,  as :   was,  wie. 
z:=ts,   as:    Zeit.   ganz. 

ch   is   guttural,   as :    doch.    Buch ;    palatal,    as :   Ich.  u.   s.  w. 
ng^zng   in   singer,   as:   Ding,   Finger. 

nk  followed  by  a  vowel=nasal   H-|-hard  gh,  as:    denke.    schenke,    Balke.    Hiinkel. 
st  and  sp^scht  and  schp  in  all  positions,  as:   bist,   best.   Fenster,   springe.   .y=.fch   in    sogar 
and   sonst.     tc^tsch,  as:   letzt. 
There   is   a   tendency   to   interchange  g  and   k   at  the  beginning  of  words,  g  becoming   k 
very   commonly   in   the   perfect   participle  and  elsewhere,  as:   ksehne,  akfange,  khat, 
kschwind.     Again    k    become    g,    as:    Grant,   Grebs,   Grieg,   Grot. 
Initial   T  is  almost  always  d,  as:   Dag,  dapper   Deich,    Dochter.   Diir.     p   has   a   tendency 
to   become    b.    as:    batzig=proud.    pf  becomes   pp  or   p„   as:    Knopp.   Kopp.   dapper, 
Appel.     When    followed   by   /  this   combination   is   scarcely  distinguishable   from   b, 
as:    Planz,    Plug,      nd   and    nf    followed  by  a  vowel  become  nn,  as:  anne   {anders), 
binne,   gebunnc.   iiunner    (hinunter)    and  rd  becomes  rr  as:  werre. 

PART  ll.—Mec-fio?(s 
In  \'alley  Dutch  there  are  legularlv  but  tliree  case.s :  nominative,  dative 
and  accusative.  Only  rare  traces  of  a  ^s^enitive  occur,  as  in  the  old  jingle: 
Oder's  Miillers  rote  braune  Kuh.  A  possessive  relation  is  expressed  in 
three  different  ways  as  follows:  first,  Der  Mann  sei  lUich ;  second,  Dem 
Mann  sei  lUich ;  third,  am  Mann  sei  Buch.  Sometimes  an  s  is  attached 
to  one  of  these  forms  without  the  possessive,  as  :  'n  kiihler  nasser  Moi  fiillt 
am  Hauers  Fass. 

Articles — The  definite  article  is  indistinctly   pronounced    and    is    liable    to 
contraction   and  elision.     It  is  declined  as  follows: 


512 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Xom. 

der 

die 

des-'s 

die 

Dat. 

dem-'m 

der 

dem-'m 

PI.  dene 

Ace. 

den-der 

die 

des-'s 

die 

The  indefinite  article  is  very  indistinctly  pronounced.  It  is  often  a 
simpl  n  with  or  without  an  indistinct  precedin^^  vowel-sound.  The  vowel- 
sound,  which  is  generally  a  in  fate,  sometimes  appears  alone.  In  the  dative 
the  following  forms  occur:  eini,  einer,   eim. 

Nouns — The  cases  of  nouns  do  not  vary  in  form  and  the  plural  is  formed 
regularly  according  to  the  classes  of  the  strong  and  weak  declensions,  save 
that  final  e  is  lost  in  the  second  class  of  the  strong  declension,  and  final  n 
in  the  weak  declension,  as : 

Bruder — Briider  ;    Vogel — Vogel ;     Fliigel — Fliigel. 
Hand — Hand;     Kuh — Kiih;     Solm — Sohn  ;  Yohr — Yohr. 
Haus — Hauser — Mann — Manner  ;         Buch — Biicher. 
Blum — Blume ;    Diir — Diire;   Mensch — Mensche. 

There  is  a  tendency  to  red.ice  strong  nonus  to  the  weak  declensions,  as: 
Deller — Dellere  ;  Dochter — Dochter  or  Dochtere.  Diminutives  end  in //and 
add  n  in  the  plural,  as:  Katzli — Katzlin,  Bi'ibli — Biiblin. 

Adjectn'es — The  terminations  of  adjectives  are  loosely  used.  As  nearly 
as  could  be  determined,  they  are  inflected  as  follows: 

Strong  declension : 


Nom. 

guter 

gute 

gut 

gute 

Dat. 

guter 

gute 

gut 

PI. 

gute 

Ace. 

guter 

gute 

gut 

gute 

'etk  declension: 

Nom. 

gut 

gut 

gut 

gute 

Dat. 

gute 

gute 

gute 

PI. 

gute 

Ace. 

gute  or  gut 

gut 

gut 

gute 

Comparison  of  ; 

adjectives : — 

Scho 

schoner 

schonst 

siiss 

siisser 

siissest 

arm 

armer 

armst 

rot 

roter 

rotst 

alt 

alter 

alst 

gut 

besser 

best 

viel 

meh 

menst 

hoch 

hocher 

hochst 

gross 

grosser 

grosst 

Numerals — Card 

inals: 

eins    1 

(a) 

elf 

ein  un  ; 

zwanzig 

zwei 

(a) 

zwolf 

dreissig 

drei 

dreizeh 

vairzig 

vier 

vairzeh 

fufzig 

funf 

fufzeh 

sechzig 

sechs 

sechzeh 

sivezig 

sive 

sivezeh 

achtzig 

acht 

achtzeh 

neinzig 

neini 

neinzeh 

hunnert 

zehe 

zwanzig 

dausend 

Ordinals:  erst,  zwet,  drit,  viert,  fiinft,  sechst,  sivet,    acht,    neint,    zehet, 

elft,  zwolft.  :  i    I  :  '  "•:     •  ■%■      \\  ■    I i^ 

Numeral  Adverbs:  eimol,  zweimol,  dreimol,  viermol,  funfmol. 
Pronouns—Tht  use  of  polite  forms    is  unknown. 


e1 


THE   GERMAN    DIALECT   IN  THE  VALLEY  OF  VIRGINIA 


513 


Personal : 

Ich 

(III 

er 

sie 

es 

Reflexive 

ig.                   mir 

dir 

ihm 

ilir 

ihm 

sich 

niich 

dich 

ihn 

sie 

es 

sich 

niir 

dir 

sie 

Liral                 uiis 

eich 

ihne 

sich 

uns 

eich 

sie 

sich 

Possessives :  mei=my;  dei:=your;  sei=:his  or  its;  ihr^her  or  their;  unser 
:oiir ;  eier=your. 
Following  is  the  declension  of  mei : 

Nom. 

Dat. 

Ace. 


Unser  is  declined  thns : 

Nom. 
Dat. 


mei 

mei 

meim 

meiner 

mei  or 

mein 

mei 

thns : 

unser 

unser 

unserm 

unserer 

unser 

unser 

mei 

mei 

meim 

PI.  meine 

mei   or   mein 

mei  or  meine 

unser 

unser 

unserm 

PI.  tin  sere 

unser 

unser 

Demonstratives:  The  nearer  demonstrative  der  is  declined  like  the  de- 
finite article,  except  that  it  has  in  reed  the  dative  singnlar  feminine,  and  is 
distinctly  pronounced.  The  remote  demonstrative  is  sel,  which  is  inflected 
as  follows : 


Nom. 

seler 

sele 

sel 

sele 

Dat. 

.  selem 

seler 

selem 

PI.  sele 

Ace. 

seler  or  sele 

sele 

sel 

sele 

Relatives :     The  relative  adverb   wu    is   used  for  the  relative  pronuon  in 
all  cases.     The  following  examples  will  illustrate: 

Nom.  Der  Mann,  wu  bei  mir  war. 

Die  Manner,  wu  do  sin. 
Dat.  Die  Frau,  wu  ich's  dazu  geve  hab. 

Des  Kind,  wu  ich  mit  war. 
Ace.  Der  Mann,  wu  mir  ksehne  hen. 

Die  Mannsleit,  wu  ich  ksehne  hab. 
Gen.  Der  Mann,  wu  sei  Kinner  do  sin. 

Die  Manner,  wu  ihre  Kinner  do  sin. 


Interrogatives :     The    interrogative    is  declined  as  follows: 


Nom. 

Dat. 

Ace. 


wer 

wem 

wer 


was 

wem 

was 


A  possessive  relation  is  expressed  as  follows:  Wem  sei  Katz  is  sel?  The 
interrogative  adjective  is  was  fiir'n  in  all  relations,  as:  was  fiir'n  Mann  bist 
du   mitkomme=What  man  did  you  come  with? 

Verbs — The  indicative  and  imperative  moods  are  freely  used,  but  the  sub- 
junctive exists  only  in  fragments,  chiefly  in  the  auxiliaries.  There  are  in 
regular  use  but  two  tenses,  the  present  and  the  perfect,  as :  Ich  geh  and 
Ich  bin  gauge.  The  present  is  used  for  any  present  or  future  relation,  the 
perfect  for  any  perfect  or  past  relation.  There  is  also  a  progressive  form  for 
both  present  and  past  time,  as:  Ich  bin  am  gehe  and  Ich  war  am  gehe.  A 
form  corresponding  to  the  English  emphtic  form,  but  without  emphasis, 
sometimes  occurs  in  the  present,  as  Er  dut  mich  lieve.  To  avoid  ambiguity 
and  for  emphasis  the  modal  auxiliary  ivelle   may  be  used  for  the  future.  The 


514 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


distinction  betw 
made.  The  two 
and  the  perfect 

Pres.   ind. 

Perfect  ind. 

Preterite  sub. 

Pres.  ind. 
Pret.  ind. 


Perf.   ind. 
Pret.  sub. 


Imperative :  sing. 
Pres.  ind. 

Perf.  nd. 


een  the  auxiliaries  bin  and  hab  is  carefully  and  accurately 
most  important  forms  of  a  verb  are  the  present  infiinitive 
participle. 


-khat  or  khate. 


Have- 
Ich  hab 
du  bust 
er  hut 

Ich   hab  khat 
du  bust  khate 
er  hut  khat 
Ich  hatt 
du  hattst 
er  hatt 

sei — gwese    or   gwest. 
Ich  bin 
du  bist 
er  is 
Ich  war 
du  warst 
er  war 

Ich  bin  gwese  or  gwest  u.  s.  w. 
Ich    war 
du  wiirst 
er   war 
sei ;  plu.  sein. 

werre — worre=get. 


Ich  wer 

du   werst 

er  wert 

Ich  bin  worre,  u.  s.  w. 


mir  hen 
dir  bent 
sie  hen 

mir  hen  khate 
dir  hent  khate 
sie  hen  khate 
mir  hatte 
dir  hattet 
sie  hatte 

mir  sin 
dir  sint 
sie  sin 
mir  ware 
dir  waret 
sie  ware 

mir  ware 
dir  waret 
sie  ware 


mir  werre 
dir  werret 
sie  werre 


Es  is  am  dunkel  werre=It  is  getting-  dark. 

The  passive  voice  is  formed  with  werre  and  the  perfect  participle,  as: 

Pres.  ind.     Ich  wer  gwippt.  u.  s.  w.  =  I  get   whipped,   etc. 
Perf.  ind.     Ich  bin  gwippt  worre  u.  s.  w.  =1  got  whopped,  etc. 

Weak  Verbs: 

lieve — geliebt. 
Pres.  Ind.  Ich  lieb  mir  lieve 

du  liebst  dir  lievet 

fT  liebt  sie   lieve 

Perf.  md.     Ich  hab  geliebt,  u.  s.  w.     Imp.   sing.,  lieb;  plu..  lievet. 

Strong  \'erbs:  No  irregular  forms   are  found  in  the  present  indicative  or 
imi)erative. 

breche — gebroche. 
Pres;  ind.  Ich  brech  mir  breche 

du  brechst  clir  brechet 

^     ,    .    ,    ■  er   brecht  sie  breche 

Fert.   md.     Ich  hab  gebroche,  u.   s.  w.     Imp.   sing.,   brech;   plu.   brechet. 

falle— kfalle. 
•    Pres.  ind.  Ich   fall  mir   falle 

du  fallst  dir  fallet 

er  ^'^llt  sie  falle 

Perf.  ind.     Ich  bin  kfalle,  u.  s.  w.     Imp.  sing.,   fall;   plu.,   fallet. 


Irregular  Verbs 


Pres.  ind. 


wisse — gwisst=know. 

Ich   weiss    (a)  mir  wisse 

du  weisst   (a)  dir   wisset 

er   weisst    (a)  sie  wisse 


Note  /added  by  analogy  in  er  wiesst.     In  this  form  st  is  not  prounonced 
sent  as  elsewhere. 


THE   GERMAN   DIALECT   IN  THE  VALLEY  OF  VIRGINIA 


51S. 


Perf.   ind.      Ich   hab   gwisst,   u.   s.    w. 


Pres.   ind.  Ich  du 

du  dust 
er  dut 
Perf.  ind.     Ich  hab  gedu,  u.  s.  w. 
Pret.   sub.  Ich  dat 

du  dat  St 
er  dat 
Imperative :  sing,  du ;  pki.  dunet. 


due — gedu. 


Pres.  ind. 


Perf.  ind. 


Ich  gch 
du  gehst 
er  geht 
Ich  bin  gauge,  u.  s.  w. 


Geh — gauge. 


Imp. 


niir  dune 
clir  dunet 
sie  dune 

mir  date 
dir  datet 
sie  date 


mir  gehn 
dir  gchnet 
sie  gehn 
geh.     Phi.   gehnet. 


Modal  Auxiliaries : 

welle.  A   rare  form,  gwot,   is  perhaps  perfect  participle  of  welle. 

Pres.  ind.  Ich  will  mir  welle 

dir  wellet 
sie   welle 


Pret.  sub. 


Ich 

will 

du 

wit 

er 

will 

Ich 

wet 

du 

wetst 

er 

wet 

mir  wette 
dir  wettet 
sie  wette 


The  preterite  subjunctive  of  welle  corresponds  closely  in  meaning  to  that 
of  due,  as:  Ich  wet  geh  =  Ich  dat  gehr=I  would  go.  A  form  of  the  preter- 
ite indicative  seems  to  occur  in  sucl\  expressions  as  :  Ich  wot  ich  hatt  Zwel 
Bauch,  as  the  old  glutton  said. 

konne. 
Pres.  ind.  Ich  kann  mir  konne 

du   kannst  dir  konnet 

er  kann  sie  konne. 

Pret.  sub.  Ich  konnt        ■  mir  konnte 

du  konnst  dir  konntet 

er  konnt  sie  konnte 


Pres.  ind. 


Pres.  ind. 


Pret.   sub. 


Pres.    ind. 


Pret.  sub. 


Pres.    ind. 


Ich  hatt  au  geh  welle,  wann   ich  hatt  geh  konne. 
miisse. 

Ich  muss  mir  miisse 

du  musst                .  dir  miisset 

er  muss  sie  miisse 
Wann  du  net  gange  warst,   hatt  ich   geh   miisse. 
selle. 


moge. 


Reflexive  \  erbs : 


Pres.    ind. 


Ich  soil 
du    soil  St 
er  soil 
Ich    set 
du   setst 
er  set 

Ich   mag    (aw) 
du  magst   (aw) 
er    mag    (aw) 
Ich   mocht 
du  mochst 
er  mocht 

Ich   darf 
du   darfst 
er   darft 


sich  schame. 
Ich  scham  mich 
du   schamst  dich 
er    schamt   sich 


diirfe. 


mir  selle 
dir  sellet 
sie  selle 
mir  sette 
dir  settet 
sie  sette 

mir   moge 
dir  moget 
sie   moge 
mir  mochte 
dir   mochtet 
sie  mochte 

mir  diirfe 
dir  diirfet 
sie  diirfe 


mir   schame  uns 
dir   scnamet  eich. 
sie  schame  sich 


:516  THE    PENNSYLVANIA- GERMAN' 

Perf.  ind.     Ich  liab  mich  gschamt,  u.  s.  w. 

Separable  Verbs : 

ufmache — iifgmacht. 
Pres.   ind.  Ich  mach  uf  ,     mir  mache   uf 

du   machst   uf  dir   machet  uf 

er  macht  uf  sie   mache   uf 

Perf.   ind.     Ich  hab  ufgmacht.     Imp.   sing.,  mach  uf ;  plu.,  machet  uf. 

ufsteh — ufkstanne. 
Pres.  ind.  Ich  steh  uf  mir  stehn  uf 

du   stehst   uf  dir   stehnet  uf 

er   steht   uf  sie   stehn  uf 

Perf.    ind.    ich    bin    ufkstanne.     Imp.    sing.,    Stch   uf ;   plu..   stehnet   uf. 

Sel  is  der  Kel,  wu  nie  net  ufsteht.  Ich  will  die  Dur  net  ufmache  wu  ich 
zugmacht  hab. 

Prepositions  : 

With  dative: 

aus,  as:  aus  'm  Haus. 

i)ei,  as :  bei  mir ;  beim  Weg. 

mit,  as :  mit  mir ;  mit  ihm. 

neve,  as :  neve  'm  Weg. 

noch,   as :    noch    dem    Dag. 

von,  as :  von  ihm. 

vvege,  as:   Ich  hab   mich   kschamt   vvege  ihm. 

zu,  as :  zu  mir ;   vom  Haus  zum  Haus. 

zwische,  as :  zvvische  'm  Haus  un'ni  Weg. 

With  accusatve : 

bis,  as :   bis  den   Dag. 

durch,  as :  durch  's  Feld. 

fiir,  as:  fiir  mich. 

um,  as :  um  den  Disch  'rum. 

iiver,  as :  liver  's  Feld. 

wetter    (wider),  as:   wetter  mich. 

Wth  dative  to  express  rest,  with  accusative  to  express  motion: 

an,  as :  an  der  Miihl ;  an  die  Miihl. 

hinner,   as:   hinner   'm   Ofe;   hinner   den   Ofe. 

in,  as :   im  Haus ;  ins  Haus. 

uf.  as :  ufm  Disch ;  uf  den  Disch. 

vor,  as :   vor  dem   Haus ;   steh  vor  mich. 

Hi  and  her: — Guck  eimol  do  her.  Gtick  eimol  dat  hi.  When  spoken  to 
small  children  her  takes  the  diminute  ending-,  as :  Komm  eimol  herli.  In 
composition  hi  and  her  become  '«  and  V,  as:  komm  'ruf,  geh  'nuf;  komm 
"'runner,  geh'nunner;  komnVrei,  geh'nei;  komm  'raus,  geh'naus;  u.  s.  w. 

PART  \\\—Vocab7ilary 

The  following  vocabulary  contains  a  number  of  illustrative  and  peculiar 
words.  The  gender  of  nouns  has  been  indicated  by  the  article,  and  the 
plurals  have  been  given,  when  these  were  obtainable.  In  the  case  of  verbs 
the  two  principal  parts  (present  infinitive  and  perfect  participle)  have  been 
given  and  the  auxiliary  (bin  or  hab)  has  been  indicated.  A  few  expressions 
and  rhymes  have  been  inserted  to  illustrate  the  use  of  words  and  attention 
has  been  called  to  various  points  of  interest. 

afange,  Ich  hab  akfange= begin,  commence. 

all=all,  each,  every.     Alle  zwei—both.  ' 

Antwot,    des= answer.     Note   gender   agreeing  with  Wot. 


■    :  THE  GERMAN   DIALECT   IN   THE  VALLEY  OF  VIRGINIA  51T 

arege,  Ich  hab  agregt= touch. 

Arm,  der,  Aerm  =  arm.        o 

as=as,  than,  when,  that;  used  for  als,  dass  and  the  general  relative  was.  Des  is 
all   as  er  ksat  hut.     Ovet-rot,  morge  friih    nix  as  drocke  Brod.  u.  s.  w. 

an   (aw)=too,  also,  mir  hen  au  net=we   don't  have  either. 

Aug    (aw),    des,    Auge=eye.     Augewasser=:tears. 

Band,   des.    Banner = ribbon.     Des    Bandel= string. 

Basel,  die  — aunt.     Note  gender  of  diminutive. 

Baner,    der  =  farmer.     Die    Bauerei=farni.     Bowers  as  surname. 

binne,  Ich  hab  gebunne  =  tie. 

Bir,  die,  Bire=pear.  Bauer  schickt  des  Jockli  naus,  Bire  schiittle;  Jockli  will  net 
Bire  schiittle,  "n  Bire  welle  net  falle.  So  begins  the  Valley  Dutch  version  of  "the 
house  that  Jack  built." 

bleich    (a)=pale.     bleiche,    gebleicht=bleach. 

bleive    (bleib),   Ich   bin   geblive=stay. 

blose,  es  hut  geblose=blow. 

biis,  boser,  bost=cross,  "mad." 

brenne,  es  hut  gebrennt=burn.  der  Brenner=burner,  as  proper  name  written 
Branner. 

bringe,  Ich  hab  gebrucht=bring. 

brote,  Ich  hab  gebrote=fry. 

Briih,  die  =  broth.  Press  au  Brocke,  net  just  Bruh,  as  the  child  told  the  sake  in  the 
story.     Bruh  has   passed   over   into  English  among  the   uneducated  in  some   sections. 

briille,  er  hut  gebrullt=cry,  bawl  (of  children  and  animals).  Briill  also  has  crept 
into  English. 

Bu,  der,  Buve=boy:    diminutive  des  Biibli.     Knabe  not  in  use. 

Butter,  der=butter.     Note  gender. 

dapper   (for  tapfer)  =:quick.     Spring  dapper. 

dat    (for  dort)=there.     Guck  eimol   dat  anne=:look  there  once!     Just  look  at  that! 

daub   (aw=ideaf. 

Daub,  die,  Dauve  =  dove. 

Deioh,   des  =  hollow,   depression   between   hills. 

denke,  Ich  hab  gedenkt=think. 

do    (for   da)=here;    Guck  eimol   do=look   here  once! 

docb=::though,  however.     Er  is  doch  komme=he  did  come  though. 

Dreck,  der=mud,  dirt.  Dreckig=muddy.  Schmutzig  is  used  in  the  se;ise  of  greasy, 
soiled. 

dreffe,    Ich    hab    gedroffe=hit.     adreffe,    Ich  hab  agedroffe=meet. 

dreive    (drieb),   Ich  hab  gedrive— drive. 

drinke,  Ich  hab  gedrunke=drink. 

Dnob,  des,  Ducher  =  cloth. 

duninile,    gedummelt=hurry.      dummel    dich=hurry  up! 

«'l»  or  ev  =  before  or  whether.  Ich  hab  ihn  ksehne,  ev  ,er  gang  is.  Ich  weiss  net 
eb  sie  fat  is  oder  net.     eb  occurs  before  consonants  and  ev  before  vowels. 

Epper= somebody.     eppas  =  something. 

Ern,    die=harvest.     ernte,    Ich    hab    gernt=to  harvest. 

esse,    Ich   hab    gesse=eat.     Ess-sache=:eatables. 

fabre,  Ich  bin  kfahre  =  drive. 

fertigrr finished,    "done."     As    proper    name  written   Fatic. 

finne,  Ich  hab  gfunne  =  find. 

fat  (for  fort)=forth,  away.  Used  in  composition  with  many  verbs,  as  :  fat-fliege; 
der  Vogel   is  fat-kfloge=the  bird  has  flown  away. 

freni= strange. 

fresse,  Er  hat  kfresse=eat  (of  animals  and  vulgar).  Fress  oder  verek  is  a  very 
common    e.xpression.     Compare,    Root,   hog,  or  die. 

Fress-grunkbit,  die  =  gluttony. 

Friede,  der=peace.     Ei  du  liever  Friede   noch  eimol!   is  a  common  exclamation. 

froge,  Ich  hab  gfrogt  =  ask. 

friih  =  early.     Des   Friih-yohr=spring. 

Funk,   die,   Funke  =  spark.     Funk   is   a   common  family-name. 

fiirobe,   Ich   hab   mich  kfiircht=be   afraid. 

futseb=: undone,,    "done    for."     Very     commonly  used  in  English. 

Oang,  der,  Gang=hall,   passage-way  in  house. 

gar=done;  gar  nix  =  nothing  at  all.  Gerver=tanner,  whence  the  very  common 
family  name,  Garber. 


518  THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 

Gaul,  der.  Gaul=horse.     Pferd   not  in   use.     As   family-name,   Geil. 

Geist,  der,   Geister=ghost.     die   Geister  komme  zriick  in  die  Welt. 

gehl=j'ellow. 

geve   (geb),  Ich  hab  geve=give. 

giesse,  Ich  hab  die  Blume  gegosse=sprinkle,  water. 

glauve   (aw),  geglaiibt=believe. 

glei    (a),   gleiner,    gleinst=small.     As   surname  Kline  or  Cline. 

glel  (for  gleich)=at  once. 

Gleid   (a),  des,  Gleiter=clothing. 

gleiohe,  Ich  had  ihn  gegliche=like,  be  fond  of. 

Gliiok,   des  =  luck;    des   Ungluck=bad   luck.     As   surname  Click. 

gnuiik=enough. 

Grab    (aw)    des,    Graver=grave.     grave    (grab),   gegrave=dig. 

Grant,   des,    Grauter  =  cabbage,   herbs,    weeds. 

Grot,   die,    Grote^toad.     Note    unmodified  o. 

gwiiinc,  Ich  hab  gwonne=win,  gain. 

Haver,   der=oats.     Wickel,   wickel    Haver-stroh,  Wie  kschwind  bist  du  do?=incaiita- 
ition  to  call  Jack  o'lantern  into  one's  presence. 

Halm    (aw),   der,    Hahne  =  rooster.     As   family-name,  Haun. 

lienko,  khunke=:hang.     (nk  has  ngh  sound  as  always.) 

llaiit,  die,  Haut=skin. 

lieve   (heb),  khove=hold. 

Heiiiiat   (a),  dienzhome.     Ich  geh  gern  heim  =  I  want  to  go  home. 

lieisse  (a),  kheisse=call,  or  tell  with  Infinitive. 

lielfe,  er  hut  mir  kholfe=:help. 

Hem,   des,    Hemmer  =  shirt.     Hem-armel=shirt-sleeve. 

hocke,    khockt  =  sit.      Hock     dich    'nunner=sit  down. 

Hiinkel,  des,  Hiinkel  =  chicken,    hen     des     Hunkeli  =  chick.     As    proper    name   written 
Henkel. 

Hutzel,   die=dried    peach   with    sed.     Also    used   in  English. 

Hiivel,   der,    Hiivele=ill.     Note    weak    plural. 

Jagd,    die  =  noise.     jage,    gejagt— chase. 

Ksis,  der=cheese.     Schmier-kas   is   a  common  dish  in  the  Valley. 

Katz,    die,    Katze=cat.     des    Katzli=kitten.     As  proper  name  Kaetzel. 

kaufe    (aw),   Ich  hab   gekauft=buy.     As    proper  name  Coffman. 

ken   (for  kein)=no. 

kenne,  Ich  hab  gekennt=know. 

Kii<)])|>,  der,  Kn6pp=bud,  dumpling,  button.     Schnitz  un'  Knopp  is  a  common  Valley 
■dish.     As   family   name   Knopp   or  Knupp. 

koniiiie,  Ich  bin  komme=:come. 

Kopp,   der,    Kopp=head.     des   Haup=scalp. 

Koii,  des,  Koner==corn,  grain  of    corn.      Walsch-kon=maize. 

Ksiclit,  des,  Ksichter  =  face. 

lade    (aw),   Ich  hab  glade  =  load. 

Land,    des,    Lanner  =  land.     die    Landschaft=landscape. 

Latwerg,    die=apple-butter.     die    Hafe    sin  all  voll  Latwerg. 

Laub    (aw),  des,   Lauve  =  leaf,  foliage. 

lanfe   (aw),  Ich  bin  gluffe=walk;    (of  water)   flow,     's  wasser  lauft  so  scho. 

Leb  or  Leve,  des  =  life.     In  sei  Leve  net  or  sei  Leb  Dag  net=never. 

Leid  (a),  es  dut  mir  so  leid  =  I  feel  so  bad  about  it. 

leinig  (a),  also  allei   (a)=alone. 

lelte,  Ich  hab  glitte  =  suffer. 

lerne,  Ich  hab  glernt=learn  or  teach.     Du  verdammter  Narr!    bist  zu  dumm  zu  ler- 
ne,  as  the  old  schoolmaster  said  to  the  dull   boy. 

Lent,  die  =  people.     Used  as  a  plural,  but    a    common    exclamation;     Grosses    Lelt! 
would  seem  to  indicate  a  neuter  singular. 

link  — left,     die   link   Hand.     Link  is  a  common  family  name. 

Lob,  der,  Love=lion. 

liige    gloge,r=iie.     Der    Liigner=liar.     Wann    der    Deifel    all    die    Liigner    'n    Heimat 
geve  muss,  schmeisst  er  sich  selvert  aus  der  Heimat. 
lusse,  Ich  hab  glusse=let. 

Mad    (aw)    die,  Mad=maid.     Die  Mad  holt  wei,  Herr  schenkt  aus. 
MJitel,    des,    Mad=:girl.      Diminutive    from  Mad   having  same   plural.     A  second  dim- 
inutive, Des  Matli,  occurs. 


THE   GERMAN   DIALECT   IN   THE  VALLEY  OF  VIRGINIA  519 

Maun,  der,  Manner  or  MannsleiL=man.  Diminutive,  des  Mannli  used  of  an  old 
withered  man,  as  in  the  incantation  to  cure  burns:  's  alt  Mannli  springt  livers  Land 
,  's  Feier  muss  not  brenne,  's  Wasser  muss  net  losche. 

Maul,    des,    Mauler=mouth.      The    usual    vi^ord.     Mund  not  in   use. 

Milch,  die=milk.     Melke,   Ich  hab   gmolke^to  milk. 

Middag'=noon.  Noch-middag  —  afternoon.  Vor-middag=forenoon.  Middag-esse 
=dinner.    Morge-esse  =  breakfast.    Nacht-esse=supper. 

Miick,  die,  Mucke=:fly. 

Nagel,  der,  Nagel=nail;  diminutive,  des  Nagli  =  clove,  pink.  Naglistock  =  pink 
stalk. 

neliuie,   Ich   hab   gnomme=take.     Nehm    Stuhl  =  take  a  chair. 

nei    (a)=no.      net=not.      noch    net=not  yet. 

Obs,  des=fruit.     die   Frucht=:grain. 

Ovet,  der,  Ovete=evening.  Sometimes  pronounced  Avend,  especially  in  Avend- 
mahl  =  the  Lord's  supper. 

Peif,  die=:pipe.  peife,   Ich  hab  gepiffe=whistle. 

quelle,   es   hut   gequellt=bubble.      's   Wasser  quellt  'ruf  so  scho. 

Had    (aw),   des,    Raderrrwheel. 

liege,   der  =  rain,    regere,    es   hut     gregert  =  tp   rain.  • 

reisse,    Ich    hab    grisse    or    verrisse=tear. 

rieolie,   es    hut    groche  =  smell. 

Kind, 'des,   Rinner=heifer, 

Itock,   der,   Rock  =  dress,   coat 

Itiib,  die  Riive^turnip. 

rutsche,    grutscht  =  slide     (of    children).    Commonly   used   in   English. 

saufe,   ksoffe  =  drink    (of    cattle    and    vulgar). 

Schof,  des,   Schof=  sheep. 

sehaffe,   Ich  hab   kschafft=work. 

scliiesse,  Ich  hab  kschosse  =  shoot.  der  Schiitz,  der  schiest  un'  der  Wassermann 
giesst. 

scliiune,    Ich    hab    kschunne=skin,    flay.  Used    sometimes    in    English. 

solilofe,    Ich   hab    gschlofe=:sleep.     Schlafrig=sleepy. 

Scliloss,  des,  Schlbsser  =  lock,  schliesse,  Ich  hab  gschlosse=,to  lock,  der  Schliissel 
=key. 

soiineide,  Ich  hab  kschnitte=cut  Schnitz  =  cut-apples,  used  commonly  in  English 
both  as  noun  and  verb. 

Schreoklicli  and  unerbarmlich  are  used  to  emphasize  a  quality;  sehr  is  not  used; 
recht   is   used  for  mild   emphasis.   Compare  Englih. 

selireive    (schreib),    Ich   hab    gschrive=write. 

Sclireiuer,  der=carpenter. 

schwatze,  Ich  hab  kshwatzt=talk.  The  usual  word;  spreche  not  used  except  in 
verspreche,    versproche=promise.      tz=tsch  as  usual. 

sclnvininie,  Ich  bin  kschwumme=swim. 

siuke,  es   is  ksunke  =  sink. 

sofrar,  nearly,   almost.     Sie   is   sogar  dot. 

Speck,   derr=bacon.      Speck   un'   Bohne   is  a  common  dish. 

Speicher,  der  =  second  story  of  a  house.  Uver-speicher=garret. 

spinne,    kspunne=spin.      die    Spinn=spider.     Spinn-rad=spinning  wheel. 

spot=late;    (perhaps   for  spat  rather  than  for  spat.) 

spriug-e,   Ich   bin   ksprunge^run.     Spring  dapper=run    quickly. 

Stadt,  die,   Stadt=town.     des   Stadtli=village. 

Stei   (a),  der=stone. 

steig:e,    Ich    bin   kstige  =  climb.      Reduplication  scarcely  audible  a  often. 

sterye   (sterb).  Er  is  kstorve=die. 

stosse,  kstosse  =  hook.     die  Kiih    stosse     mit  ihre  Horner.     Also  of  elbow. 

Strump,    der,    Strump=:stocking.      Strum-bandel=garter. 

strublicli  =  'strubly"    (of    hair    and     feathers) ;   no  exact  equivalent  in  English. 

Tier,  or  Ktier,  des=beast. 

trage  (aw),  getrage=carry. 

uunerg:ehe,  die   Sonn  is  unnergaage=set,  sink,  go  under. 

verfriere,  es  is  verfrore=freeze.     Simple  word  not  in  use  apparently. 

vergehe,  es  is  vergange=:fade,  die  away. 

yereresse,   Ich   hab   vergesse=forget. 

Terliere,  Ich  liab  verlore=lose. 

veiTOte,  Ich  hab  verrote=betray.     Die  Diefel  verrot  uns! 

Tersanimle,  mir  hen  uns  versammelt=meet.  assemble. 

verschrecke,   Ich   hab   verschreckt=scare.     Ich  bin  verschrocke=be  scared. 

I 


520  THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 

versuche,  Ich  hab  versucht=taste. 

wachse,  Ich  bin  gwachse=grow.  des  Abwachse="under  growth." 
wahr=true.  die  Wahrit= truth. 

Wald=:wood,    used   by    older    people,    der  Busch  is  now  in  use. 
wannr=when:   both  rel.  and  int. 
were   (web),  Ich  hab  gweve  or    gwove=  weave. 

weg-gche,   Ich   bin   weg-gange=go   away.     Geh  weg  do!     Pach  dich! 
AVep,  der=road.    e  is  long  in  substantive,  short  in  adverb. 

weib,  des  (or  die),  Weiver=wife,  woman,  die  Weibsleit  ==  womankind.  Diminutive, 
des  Weivli. 

>Vei,  der = wine.     As  a  proper  name  written  Wine. 

>Vel,  welle=:which?  Compare   Was   fur'n=what? 

wie  =  how    (int.),  as   (rel.)   Wiffel  Horner     hut  'er  Bock? 

Wie^,  die,  Wiege  =  cradle.  wiege,  Ich  hab  gwoge=:weigh. 

W'h,  die,   Wise  =  meadow. 

wiiike,  Ich  hab  gwunke^iwink,  beckon. 

"tVitt-frau    (aw),  die    (or  des  Witt-weib) :    Wittweiver=widow. 

wiist,  ugly,     hasslich  has  literal  meaning,  hateful. 

Zah    (aw),   der,    Zah  =  tooth.      Zah-weh=  toothache. 

zersprin^e,  es  is  zersprunge=spilt,  fly  in  pieces. 

zleffe,  Ich  hab  gezoge=pull.     Ich  bin  gezoge=:move. 

Zirkel,   der=circle.     As   family   name    Zirkle.  • 

Ziiver,  der=tub. 

ziiiiiaohe,  Ich  hab  zugmacht=shut.     Mach  die  Diir  zu. 

The  following  story  is  still  told  by  the  elderly  women  of  the  Valley.  It  is 
the  more  interesting  as  it  contains  a  very  old  and  common  German  legend, 
which  has  been  immortalized  by  Burger  in  his  splendid  poem,  "Lenore." 

'S  war  eimol  ei  Matel,  wn  ihr  Liebling  fat  in  der  Grieg  is,  un'  is  dot 
gmacht  worre.  Sie  hnt  sich  so  arg  gedratiert  un'  hut  ksat :  "O  wann  ich 
ihn  just  noch  eimol  sehne  konnt !"  EiOvet  is  sie  an  'n  Partie  gauge,  aver  es 
war  ken  Freud  dat  fiir  sie.  Sie  hut  gwiinscht,  ihre  Lieve  war  dat  au.  Wie 
freudlich  sie  sei  hatt  konne !  Sie  is  'naus  in  den  Garde  gauge,  un'  war  allei 
im  Monlicht  khockt.  Kschwind  hut  sie'n  Reiter  hore  komme.  'S  war  ihre 
Lieve  ufm  weisse  Gaul.  Er  hut  ken  Wat  ksat,  aver  hut  sie  uf  den  Gaul 
hinner  sich  gnomme.  un'  is  fatgritte.  As  sie  kschwind  fatgritte  sin,  hut  er 
ahalte  sage : 

Der  Men  scheint  scho  hell, 
Un'  die  Dote  reite  schnell. 

Des  is  all  as  er  ksat  hut  un'  nix  sonst.  Am  letzt  sin  sie  an  'n  Begrab- 
nissplatz  komme,  un'  dat  recht  vor  ihne  is  sei  Grab  ufgange.  'S  Matel  is 
in  die  Kirch-Diir  gsprunge,  wu  uf  'war.  Der  Spuk  is  ihr  nochgange,  un' 
wu  er  die  Diir  agregt  hut,  dat  hut  sich  sei  Hand  gebrennt.  'S  Matel  war 
so  verschrocke,  as  sie  net  lang  glebt  hut. 

H.  M.  HAYS. 

University   of   Virginia, 
April   24.    1908. 


NOTE.— The  foregoing  paper,  reprinted  from  Dialect  Notes,  Vol  111,  Part  IV, 
1908,  will  interest  our  readers  and  may  serve  as  an  occasion  for  noting  dialect  varia- 
tions, in  spelling,  gender,  sound,  etc.  We  shall  be  pleased  to  hear  from  our  readers. 
—Editor. 


521 


Reviews  and  Notes 


EDUCATION  (BOSTON)  for  September 
contains  an  article  on  Macaulay's  Essay  on 
Milton,  by  Chas.  H.  Rominger.  M  r. 
Rominger  is  a  teacher  of  English  at  the 
Nazareth  Military  Academy,  Nazareth,  Pa. 
We  do  not  know  that  we  have  been  told 
anything  new  or  interesting  about  IViacaulay 
or  Milton;  and  surely  the  article  is  not 
written  in  Macaulay's  style. 

THE  EXILES  by  Elsie  Singmaster  in 
Harpers'  for  October,  is  again  a  story 
whose  scene  is  laid  in  Millerstown,  Pa.  It 
is  a  story  of  the  Civil  War  time.  A  half 
dozen  young  men  enlisted  in  the  army;  one 
of  these,  Calphenus  Knerr,  did  not  come 
back  alive.  The  wife  has  her  troubles  with 
an  unruly,  posthumous  child,  a  boy,  who  fi- 
nally enlists  in  the  army  to  desert  it  and  re- 
turn to  his  mother.  To  avoid  being  detected 
they  move  from  town  to  another.  Finally 
the  boy  decided  to  give  himself  up,  when 
the  mother  produces  a  paper  which  shows 
that  he  is  free;  she  had  kept  this  to  her- 
self for  five  years.  It  is  not  easy  to  tell 
whose  torture  was  the  greater,  the  boy's  or 
the  mother's.  It  is  a  pathetic  little  story 
full  of  interest;  the  suspense  is  fully  main- 
tained until  the  end. 

EOINDATIONS   OF    GERMAN:    By    C.    F. 

Kayser,   Ph.   D.  Professor    of    the    Ger- 
man Language  and  Literature,    Normal 
College   of  the   City  of  New   York,  and 
F.   Monteser.   Ph.    D.   Head   of  the   Ger- 
man  Department,   DeWitt  Clinton   High 
School,     New      York.     American     Book 
Company,  New  York,  1909. 
The    teaching   of   German    is    getting   far- 
ther and  farther  away  from  the  use  of  the 
large,    comprehensive    grammar     of    former 
times.     It  has  been  found  out  that  it  is  not 
good   pedagogy  to  put  such  comprfchensive, 
detailed    text-books    of    German,    or    of    any 
language  for  that  matter,  into  the  hands  of 
l)eginners.      This    book    was     written    with 
that   end   in    view.     It   might   be   questioned 
Jiowever,   whether   it   does   not   still   contain 
too   much   material    for  the   beginner;    it  is 
l)elieved    that    still    more    could    have    been 
j)rofitably    omitted.      For   the    real    "founda- 
tions" in  German  can  after  all  be  expressed 
in  a  very  limited  space. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that 
this  book  is  not  an  abridgement  of  the 
authors'  former  book.  "A  Brief  German 
Course."  The  book  is  an  entirely  new 
work  and  is  written  from  a  different  stand- 
))oint.  It  makes  use  of  what  is  called  "liv- 
ing grammar";  and  this  is  one  of  its  de- 
sirable features.  Its  vocabulary  is  that  of 
every  day  life,  and  the  phrases  of  its  ex- 
orcises are  colloquial  and  idiomatic.  It  is 
a   workable   book    written   by    teachers    for 


teachers  and  pupils  as  well.  It  is  worth 
examining  by  those  who  are  looking  for  a 
beginners'  book  in  German. 

THE    PSYCHOLOGY    OF    THINKING:    By 

Irving  Elgar  Miller,  Ph.  D.,  Department 
of  Psychology  and    Pedagogy,    and    Su- 
pervision  of    Practice    Teaching,    State 
Normal    School,  Milwaukee,   Wis.   Cloth 
12  mo.,  303    pp.    Price    $1.25    net.     The 
McMillan  Company,   New   York,   1909. 
Here   is   something  new   and  original;    ia 
this  respect  we  know  of  nothing  of  its  kind 
since    the     appearance     of     "Thinking    and 
Learning  to  Think"  by  Dr.  Schaeffer,  State 
Superintendent  of  Schools  of  Pennsylvania. 
A  marked  change  has  taken  place  in  the 
views  on   Psychology;    for  the   last  quarter 
of  a  century  it  has  been  slowly  severing  its 
(tonnections  with  Philosophy,    or    Metaphy- 
sics,  and   has   been   trying  to  ground   itself 
us  a    natural    science.      The    psycliological' 
laboratory  with  experiment  in  physiological 
l)sychology    is    the    fruitful    expression    of 
this     powerful     impulse.     And     with     this 
movement  there  has  sprung  up  an  interest 
in  the    genetic    and    functional    aspects    of 
mind.     It  is  in  this  way  that  the  biological 
l)oint  of  view  has  come    to    dominate    psy- 
chological thought. 

The  main  point  of  view  which  the  author 
follows  in  the  discussion  of  thinking  is  bio- 
logical, but  it  is  biological  in  th.;  broad 
sense.  He  does  not  think  of  life  as  re- 
duced to  its  lowest  physical  terms;  he 
makes  it  include  everything  that  makes 
life  worth  living;  and  he  thinks  of  the  life 
process  in  the  terms  of  the  satisfaction  of 
the  needs  of  man  at  his  present  level  of 
evolution  and  civilization. 

Thinking  thus  has  a  functional  and  a 
l)iological  interpretation.  So  "The  Psy- 
chology of  Thinking"  is  an  attempt  to  fol- 
low the  working  and  actions  of  the  mind 
as  it  struggles  with  problems  of  concrete 
life,  and  to  arrive  at  the  significance  of  the 
processes  involved  and  to  show  how  the 
control  over  the  forces  of  the  world  has 
grown ;  for  "thinking  is  the  task  to  con- 
sciously adjust  means  to  ends";  and  this  is 
really  of  what  our  life  consists;  to  think 
out  solutions  to  the  problems  that  con- 
front the  individual  the  nation,  and  the- 
world.  The  book  is  thorough  in  its  devel- 
opment of  the  dynamic  aspect  of  mental 
l)rocesses. 

It  is  strongly  pedagogical  in  its  aim  and 
purpose.  It  points  out  very  clearly  the  sig- 
nificance of  the  psychological  facts  and 
princii)les  for  education  and  the  leaching 
])rocess.  It  is  well  worth  the  while  for 
every  teacher  to  read  it,  especially  if  he  is 
an  extreme  advocate  of  formal  discipline. 
The  illustrations  and  comparisons  of  the 


522 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


author  are  simple  and  original ;  they  are 
taken  from  the  common  experiences  of 
every  day  life.  We  must  readily  accept  the 
author's  reason  for  the  preponderance  of 
the  mathematical  interest  and  the  many 
references  to  mathematics,  for  nowhere 
else  does  the  teacher  get  closer  in  touch 
with  the  actual  mental  processes  involved 
in  thinking.  The  book  is  a  most  wholesome 
one  to  read  it  is  packed  with  thought.  It 
is  written  in  a  plain  non-technical  style, 
and  is  most  interesting  and  instructive 
reading. 

SCHWE^KFELDER  HT3IX0L0GT  and  the 

Sources    of    the     First     Schwenkfelder 
Hymn   Book    Printed    in    America.    By 
Allen     Anders     Seipt,    A.     M.,     Ph.    D., 
Member    of    the    Historical     Society    of 
Pennsylvania,   and  formerly    Instructor 
in    German    in    Ohio    Wesleyan    Univer- 
sity. American      Germanica      Press, 
Philadelphia,  1909. 
Dr.    Seipt   was   born   and   raised   at  Wor- 
cester, Montg.   Co.,   Pa.      He    obtained    his 
university  education   at    the    University    of 
Pennsylvania,    from     which     institution     he 
also  received  his  degree  of  Doctor  of  Phil- 
osophy.    The  book  under  consideration  was 
his  thesis  submitted  to  the    institution    for 
the   degree. 

This  is  the  first  time  an  attempt  has  been 
made  to  give  an  account  of  the  Schwenk- 
felder hymn  books  and  hymn  writers.  The 
author  had  the  rare  opportunity  of  working 
on  virgin  soil.  There  was  also  something 
to  investigate  to  make  the  effort  worth 
while.  The  book  has  to  do  with  material 
relating  to  the  production,  transcribing, 
compiling,  and  editing  of  hymns  o  f 
Schwenkfelder  authorship,  dating  from  the 
middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  to  that  of 
the  nineteenth,  a  period  of  well  nigh  three 
hundred  years. 

The  main  part  of  the  thesis,  however, 
centres     around     the      "Neu-Einge.-ichtetes 


"Yankee  Doodle"  in  German 

We  are  indebted  to  a  Summit  Hill  sub- 
scriber for  sending  us  the  following,  clip- 
ped from  a  daily  paper. 

In's  Lager  ging  ich  und  Papa 

Mit  Hauptmann  Herr  von  Gutwiug; 

Das  maennliche  Geschlecht  stand  da 
So  dicht  wie  Heftig-pudding. 

Yankee  Doodle,  setzt  es  fort, 

Yankee  Doodle  Pathchen, 
Mit  der  Musik  haltet  Schritt, 

Bereit  seit  mit  den  Maedchen. 
Ein  tausend  Maenner  sahen  wir, 

So  reich   wie  Gutshen   Darmstaedt, 
Und  was  da  in  Verswuestung  ging! 

Ich  wuensch  dass  ich's  gespart  haet. 
Da  war  der  General  Washington 

Auf  seinem  weissen  Reiter; 


Gesang-Buch,"  printed  by  Christopher 
Sauer,  Germantown,  1762.  This  was  the 
first  Schwenkfelder  hymn-book  prijited  in 
America,  in  fact  the  first  one  printed  at  all. 
Its  compilation  led  the  writer  back  to  Ger- 
many to  the  time  before  the  Schwenkfel- 
ders  fled  to  America.  It  was  found  that 
Casper  Weiss  and  Rev.  George  Weiss, 
father  and  son,  the  latter  of  whom  only 
came  to  this  country,  were  the  first  promot- 
ers of  a  Schwenkfelder  hymn-book. 

Following  these  men  came  Rev.  Balth- 
asar  Hoffman,  and  Christopher  Hoffman, 
also  father  and  son;  the  former  had  already 
distinguished  himself  in  Germany.  The 
next  foremost  hymnologist  was  HaJis  Chris- 
topher Hiibner.  The  man,  however,  who 
was  chiefly  instrumental  in  compiling  and 
writing  the  edition  of  1762  was  the  Rev. 
Christopher  Schultz,  a  man  of  the  most 
scholarly  attainments  and  talents^  a  man 
to  whom  the  Schwenkfelders  are  indebted 
as  they  are  to  no  one  else  for  what  they 
are  and  what  they  possess. 

This  is  an  admirable  piece  of  work;  it  is 
scholarly.  And  it  is  scholarly  without 
being  technical,  and  yet  popular  without 
being  unscholarly.  The  writer  has  brought 
together  an  amazing  amount  of  material 
and  information.  Surely  very  few,  if  any, 
of  the  Schwenkfelders  themselves  had  any 
idea  that  there  was  so  much  material 
available  concerning  their  hymnology. 

The  few  extremely  local  references  can 
be  easily  overlooked  as  being  but  refer- 
ences shown  to  favored  friends.  There  are 
a  few  illustrations,  some  of  which  are  fac- 
simile reproductions  of  title  pages.  An 
admirable  chapter  is  the  one  entitled  "A 
Descriptive  Bibliography."  This  gives  a  de- 
scription and  historical  account  of  thirty- 
five  hymn-books  that  were  consulted.  The 
book  should  appeal  to  every  Schwenk- 
felder; it  is  a  valuable  contribution  to 
things  Schwenkfeldian. 


Er  sah  so  gross  und  maechtig  aus 
Man  meint  er  waere  breiter. 

Ein  kupfernes  Geschuets  war  da 

Von  Ahorn-Blockes  Wuerde; 
Auf  holzern  Karren  banden  sie's, 

Mei'm  Vaters  vie  zur  Buerde. 

Und  wenn  es  abgeschossen  ward 
Von  Pulver  nahm's  ein  Horn  voll, 

Wie   Pap's  Gewehr  so  macht's   'nen  Laerm 
Nur  eine  Nation  mehr  toll. 

Da  sah  ich  auch  ein  kleines  Fass 

Mit  Leder  war's   umfangen; 
Sie  schlugen  drauf  mit  Stoeckchen  zwei 

Die  Mannschaft  rief's  zusammen. 

Die   Haelfte  kann  ich  nicht  erzahlen, 
Es  wurd  zu  dumpf  zum  Schwaufen, 

Ich  hob  den  Hut,  verbeugte  mlch, 
Und   bin  heimwarts  gelaufen. 


EDITORIAL  DEPARTMENT 


523 


The  Pennsylvania-German 

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Editorial  Staff 
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Prof.  E.  S.  Gerhard,  Editor  of  "Reviews 
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Old  Trappe  Church 

Lutheran  Woman's  Work  for  October  has 
an  Interesting  article  on  the  Old  Trappe 
Church  by  Miss  Sarah  Van  Gundy  of 
Washington,  D.  C. 

*     *     4» 

A  Prosperous  Business  School 

We  are  pleased  to  acknowledge  receipt 
of  catalogue  and  booklets  of  the  Huntsinger 
Business  School  of  which  one  of  our  sub- 
scribers, a  hustling,  prospering  Pennsyl- 
vanian  in  Yankeedom  E.  M.  Huntsinger 
of  Hartford,  Conn.,  is  President  and  Prin- 
cipal. A  school  like  Huntsinger's  that 
places  2939  graduates  in  situation.^  in  151 
months  becomes  an  important,  an  almost 
indispensable  factor  in  a  community. 
Continued  health  and  prosperity  to  Brother 
Huntsinger. 

Our  Reprint  Proposition 

An  insufficient  number  of  advance  orders 
having  been  received,  the  proposal  to  re- 
print the  earlier  volumes  of  THE  PENN- 
SYLVANIA-GERMAN can  not  be  carried 
into  effect  at  this  time.  We  are  anxious 
to  make  it  possible  for  all  who  wish  to  do 
so  to  complete  their  files  of  THE  PENN- 
SYLVANIA-GERMAN. We  will  hold  the 
matter  under  advisement  for  a  time  and 
hope  to  offer  another  plan  later  on.  In  the 
meantime  we  shall  be  pleased  to  receive 
suggestions  on  the  subject. 

♦     *     4» 

Reprint  of  Articles 

Of  the  articles  that  have  appeared  in 
THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN  so  far 
this  year  the  following  have  been  reprinted: 


Notes  on  the  Kuntz  and  Brown  Families, 
History  of  the  Plainfield  Church,  Hans 
Joest  Heydt,  History  of  the  Susquehanna 
County  Historical  Society,  History  of  the 
Blauch  Family,  One  of  John  Brown's  Men, 
The  German  Dialect  Spoken  in  the  Valley 
of  Virginia.  In  addition  to  these  the  series 
of  articles  on  "Seeing  Lancaster  County 
from  a  Trolley  Window"  will  on  comple- 
tion be  revised  and  issued  in  pamphlet 
form.  We  are  led  to  do  this  by  the  many 
words  of  praise  respecting  the  articles.  We 
would  be  pleased  to  receive  from  our 
readers  suggestions  respecting  mistakes  or 
omissions. 

This  reprint  will  contain  between  seventy 
and  eighty  pages,  bound  in  paper  covers 
and  will  be  sold  at  the  following  rates:  per 
hundred  $7.50,  per  dozen  $1.00,  per  copy  10 
cents. 

4»  «i»  * 

"Molly  Pitcher"  Pure  Fiction 

Mr.  Martin  I.  J.  Griffin,  editor  and  pro- 
prietor of  the  "American  Catholic  Histori- 
cal Researches"  who  has  been  referred  to 
as  the  "engaging  smasher  of  nisto'rical 
false  gods",  in  the  October,  1909,  issue  of 
his  periodical  takes  Molly  Pitcher  off  her 
hero's  pedestal — Molly,  "Dutch,  Dutch  as 
sourcrout"  as  her  granddaughter  called 
her.  He  quotes  approvingly  the  words  of 
J.  Zeamer  of  Carlisle.  "The  story  of  Molly 
Pitcher's  exploit  at  the  battle  of  Monmouth 
is  a  pure  fiction,  for  there  is  not  anywhere 
the  slightest  corroboration  of  it."  It  is 
painful  to  see  heroes  consigned  to  the  scrap 
heap,  but  truth  must  prevail  and  if  idols 
have  no  clear  title  they  ought  to  be  dis- 
lodged. We  hope  to  say  more  about  this 
later. 


524 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Interest  in  Local  History 

The  'Germantown  Independent  Gazette" 
of  September  3  abounds  in  historic  lore. 
We  note  the  following  interesting  subjects 
of  articles  in  this  issue:  DeBenneville 
Estate  at  Branchtown,  Concord  School 
Puzzle,  Early  Records  of  Frankford 
Bridge,  Facts  and  Traditions  of  Lower 
Dublin  Township,  Henry  Antes.  Historic 
Germantown  must  have  lovers  of  historic 
lore. 

4"      4»      4" 

Family  Reunions 

We  gave  in  our  September  issue  a  list 
of  family  reunions  to  which  the  following 
may  be  added.  We  will  repeat  what  we 
said  in  connection  therewith.  "We  will  on 
renuest  send  names  and  addresses  of  the 
officials  of  these  meetings  and  would  be 
pleased  to  reprint  some  of  the  papers  read 
if  submitted  by  the  authors  or  their 
fiiends." 

Sei)tember 

11.  Miller,    Powder  Valley. 

18.  Geyer,   Ringing  Rocks   Park. 

25.  Fisher,  Rolling  Green  Park. 

October 

6.  Reedv,  Millbach. 

7.  Ruby,  York. 

14.   Rockefeller.  Easton.    (A  correction.) 

4»     *     4« 

F«(r  the  ,lo!ie  Book 

—Dr.  Philip  Schaff  was  accustomed  to 
say  the  Pennsylvania  Germans  used  the 
following    form    of    comparison:    Schmarter 


Kerl — Aerger  schmarter  Kerl — Verdammter 
schmarter   Kerl. 

— State  Superintendent  Dr.  Schaeffer  tells 
a  story  showing  how  astonished  foreigners 
are  that  German  farmers  in  America  are 
able  to  give  their  children  a  good  educa- 
tion.    He  says:  — 

"When  I  entered  the  University  of  Ber- 
lin they  asked  the  occupation  of  my 
father.  'Ein  Bauer,'  I  replied  in  good 
Pennsylvania  German.  They  were  aston- 
ished that  the  son  of  a  peasant  should 
cross  the  ocean  to  study.  When  I  told  them 
how  many  acres  my  father  was  tilling, 
they  exclaimed:  'Er  ist  kein  Bauer;  er 
muss  ein  Gutsbesitzer  sein.'  (He  is  no 
peasant,  but  the  owner  of  an  estate.)" 

— .loe  Cannon  made  a  speech  in  Lancas- 
ter soon  after  his  election  as  Speaker  of 
the  House  of  Representatives.  By  way  of 
introduction  he  related  an  incident  that 
occured  in  connection  with  revival  services 
in  Danville,  Illinois.  After  the  sermon  the 
minister  went  through  the  audience  mak- 
ing personal  appeals.  From  one  young 
man  he  received  the  reply:  "No,  I  do  not 
need  the  new  birth,  I  was  born  in  Lancas- 
ter county,  Pennsylvania." 

— "Ah,  I  have  an  impression!"  exclaimed 
Dr.  McCosh,  the  President  of  Princeton 
College,  to  the  Mental  Philosophy  class. 
"Now,  young  gentlernen,  can  you  tell  me 
what  an  impression  is?" 

No  answer. 

"What;  no  one  know?  No  one  can  tell 
me  what  an  impression  is!"  exclaimed  the 
Doctor,  looking  up  and   down  the  class. 

"I  know  "  said  Mr.  Arthur,  "An  impres- 
sion is  a  dent  in  a  soft  place."  "Young 
gentleman"  said  the  Doctor,  growing  red 
in  the  face,  "you  are  excused  for  the  day." 


The  Forum 


IIEAMNG  OF  NAMES 


By  Leonliard  Felix  Fuld,  M.  A.  LL.  M. 

EDITORIAL  NOTE.— Mr.  P^ild  has  kindly 
consented  to  give  a  brief  sketch  of  the  de- 
rivation and  meaning  of  the  surname  of 
any  subscriber  who  sends  twenty-five  cents 
to  the  Editor  of  THE  PENNSYLVANIA - 
GERMAN  for  that  purpose. 

18.     DILLER 

If  the  name  DILLER  is  derived  from 
the   French   it  means  "Great  David"  and   if 


it  is  derived  from  the  Irish  it  means  "ojie 
born  at  the  time  of  the  great  flood."  The 
Irish  form  of  this  name  is  also  written 
DILLON. 

Much  more  frequently  however  the  name 
DILLER  is  German  and  means  a  man  who 
cuts  boards.  The  Midde  High  German 
word  for  board  was  DILLE  and  the  Mod- 
ern German  is  DIELE.  This  is  a  technical 
term  used  to.  designate  boards  cut  from  the 
trunk  of  a  tree  lengthwise,  and  the  DIL- 
LER was  the  man  who  cut  the  DIELE. 
These  boards  were  used  in  Germ.any  for 
many  years  for  street  pavements,  for  ships 
and  for  house  floors. 


THE  FORUM 


525 


19.     HIESTAND 

HIESTAND  is  a  compound  of  HIES  and 
STAND.  HIES  is  a  contraction  of  MAT- 
THIAS which  is  the  German  of  MAT- 
THEW, a  Hebrew  word  meaning  "the  gift 
of  Jehovah."  The  Latin  of  this  name  is 
MATTHAEUS,  the  French  MATHIEU,  the 
Italian  MATTEO,  the  Spanish  MATEO,  the 
German  MATTHAEUS  or  MATTHIAS  and 
the  diminutive  MAT. 

There  are  three  possible  derivations  of 
the  second  syllable  of  the  namd  HIES- 
TAND. It  may  be  derived  from  TAND 
meaning  "a  toy."  It  is  more  likely  that  it 
is  derived  from  STAND,  meaning  a  shoot- 
ing box  or  place  from  which  the  shooter 
takes  his  aim  when  shooting  at  a  target, 
and  in  a  derivative  sense,  a  man's  position 
or  station  in  society,  as,  for  example,  IN 
GUTEM  STANDE,  in  good  condition. 

If  the  name  is  of  a  comparatively  modern 
origin,  on  the  other  hand  the  most  likely 
derivation  is  from  STANDKRAEMER,  or 
stall  keeper,  retailer  at  a  stall.  Thus 
HIESTAND  would  be  the  stall,  booth,  or 
stand  of  MATTHIAS. 

20.     ARTZ 

Two  possible  derivations  have  been  sug- 
gested for  ARTZ.  It  may  be  derived  from 
ARTZ  meaning  a  physician.  It  is  more 
likely  however  that  it  is  a  corruption  of 
HERZ,  a  heart,  and  denotes  a  strong, 
courageous  man. 

21.     HERBEIN 

HER  means  "hither,"  the  meaning  gen- 
erally being  one  of  motion  in  the  direction 
of  the  speaker.  BEIN  means  "legs."  It  is 
likely  that  this  name  is  derived  from  an 
innkeeper's  sign  which  had  the  picture  of  a 
pair  of  legs  and  the  word  "HER,"  thus  ex- 
pressing the  motto:  "Let  your  legs  bring 
you   hither." 

LEONHARD  FELIX  FULD. 

*      *      * 

^Vajland's  "German  Element" 

In  1907  an  edition  of  500  copies  of  "The 
German  Element  of  the  Shenandoah  Valley 
of  Virginia"  was  published  privately  by  the 
author,  John  W.  Wayland,  Ph.  D.,  Instruc- 
tor in  History  in  the  University  of  Virginia. 
In  1908  an  index  containing  over  3000 
items  was  added,  being  bound  in  with  the 
copies  then  on  hand.  The  complete  book 
is  a  large  octavo  of  323  pages. 

Six     copies     remain     on     hand     for  sale. 
Price,  $3.00,  post  paid. 
Address, 

John  W.  Wayland, 
Harrisonburg,  Va. 


York  County  Good  Enousrh 

A  subscriber  in  York  county  sent  us  the 
following  clipping  from  the  Reformed 
Church    Record: 

Thomas  A.  Edison,  the  electrical  inven- 
tor, says:  I  do  not  know  that  Dr.  Cook's 
work  has  any  particular  value  from  a  prac- 
tical and  scientific  viewpoint,  but  it  has 
great  value  as  a  demonstration  of  what 
American  energy  and  brains  can  accom- 
plish. Aren't  we  Americans  great  people? 
We  call  ourselves  Americans,  but  as  a 
matter  of  fact  we  are  a  lot  of  cross-breeds, 
and  in  that  lies  our  power.  We  are  a 
mixture  of  the  best  of  Europe. 
To  this  he  added  these  words: 

"Ich  will  grad  raus  sage  dasz  die  Penn- 
sylvanisch  Deutsche  Bauere  Kinner  gantz 
dankbar  fiihle  dasz  America  discovered 
is  worre  lang  vor  dem  North  Pole  un 
zwolf  ZoU  viereckig  mee  werth  hott  in 
Pennsylvania  das  144  Acker  am  North 
Pole." 

*    ♦    * 

IKF0K3IATI0X   WANTED 

Who  knows  anything  of  Jeremiah  Miller 
who  was  a  .Revolutionary  soldier.  He  may 
have  had  other  brothers  beside  Yost.  They 
were  sworn  into  service  at  Ephrata,  Lan- 
caster county,  Pa.,  in  1777.  Any  descend- 
ants knowing  anything  of  these  men  will 
confer  a  great  favor  by  communicating 
with 

WM.    H.    MILLER, 

Stoyestown,   Pa. 
A  great  grandson  of  Yost  Miller. 

V        V        '1' 

Where  was  Montgomery,  Virginia? 

January  17,  1798  "Thomas  Proctor  of  the 
City  of  Philadelphia  in  the  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania, Esquire"  deeded  to  "Mary  Broom- 
burgh  of  Washington  County  Maryland" 
one  certain  Lot  or  piece  of  ground  in  the 
Town  of  Montgomery  in  the  State  of  Vir- 
ginia Marked  in  a  general  Plan  of  the  said 
Town  No.  1334  situated  on  the  South  side 
of  Washington  Street  in  the  said  Town." 
This  deed  was  acknowledged  before 
Thomas  Smith,  Esq.  one  of  the  Associate 
Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsyl- 
vania February  3,  1798,  and  witnessed  by 
Sarah  .A.  Charlton  and  Daniel  Grant. 

The  Library  of  Congress,  and  the  Vir- 
ginia State  Library  at  Richmond,  Va.,  are 
unable  to  afford  any  information  as  to  the 
location  or  history  of  the  "Montgomery, 
Virginia".  The  town  was  platted  of  con- 
siderable size  to  contain  at  least  1334  lots. 

The  deed  was  evidently  intended  for 
Mary  Brumbaugh,  born  in  1767  and  resi- 
dent in  Washington  Co.,  Md.  until  her 
marriage  to  Samuel  Ullery,  a  minister  of 
the  German  Baptist  Church  and  one  of  the 


326 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


first  ministers  of  that  denomination  in 
Bedford  Co.,  Pa.  German  names  were 
very  often  mispelled  in  legal  documents 
through  misinterpretation  of  speech  or 
writing. 

Any  person  who  can  throw  any  light  on 
this  matter  will  confer  a  decided  favor  by 
addressing  the  editor,  or  Dr.  G.  M.  Brum- 
baugh, 905  Mass.  Avenue  N.  W.,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.  he  having  the  original  deed  & 
being  engaged  in  the  preparation  of  "Brum 
baugh  Families,"  which  mauscript  is  soon 
to  go  to  press. 

*    4»     ♦ 
Rockefeller  Ancestry 

(Copyright,  1909,  by  the  Brentwood  Company.) 

German  genealogists  have  taken  excep- 
tion to  the  claims  put  forward  by  the 
French  that  John  D.  Rockefeller  is  de- 
scended from  the  Marquesses  of  Roque- 
feuil,  in  the  Province  of  Languedoc,  who 
were  driven  out  of  France  by  the  revoca- 
tion of  the  edict  of  Nantes. 

They  have,  by  dint  of  careful  investiga- 
tion of  state,  communal  and  parish  records 
of  the  former  principality  of  Neuwied,  as- 
certained that  he  is  descended  from  Johann 
Thiel  Rockenfeller,  who  emigrated  with 
his  wife,  Anna  Gertrude  Alsdorf,  and  child- 
dren  from  Bonefeld,  in  1735,  to  German- 
town  in  New  York.  It  is  further  shown 
that  this  John  Thiel  Rockenfeller  was  the 
fourth  son  of  a  certain  Tonges  Rockenfel- 
ler, who  in  1685  married  Gertrude  Pauli, 
at  Bonefeld. 


Tonges  Rockenfeller  himself  was  born 
in  1660,  his  father,  Johann  Wilhelm  Rock- 
enfeller hailing  from  Ehlscheid.  This  dis- 
poses absolutely  of  the  Gallic  story  to  the 
effect  that  the  Standard  Oil  magnate  is  de- 
scended from  these  Languedoc  Marques- 
sess  de  Roquefeull,  who  were  expelled 
from  France  on  the  repeal  of  the  edict  of 
Nantes. 

John  Thiel  Rockenfeller,  the  ancestor  of 
John  D.  Rockefeller,  and  who  emigrated  to 
America  in  1735,  was  by  no  means  the 
only  member  of  his  family  to  seek  his  for- 
tunes in  the  New  World.  For  a  few  years 
previously,  his  cousins  Johann  Peter 
Rockenfeller  and  John  Wilhelm  Rocken- 
feller, had  emigrated  from  Segetidoif,  in 
the  principality  of  Neuwied,  to  Ringoes, 
New  Jersey. 

The  parish  records  show  that  the  Rock- 
(>nfellers  were  very  numerous  in  the  prin- 
cipality of  Neuwied,  not  only  at  Bonefeld 
and  Segendorf,  but  also  at  Alt.vied,  at 
Meisbach,  Rengsdorf  and  Ehlscheid.  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  and  thioughout 
all  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  cen- 
turies. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  parish  regis- 
ters of  the  Neuwied  village  of  Fahr  show 
that  a  Johann  Rockenfeller  was  born  there 
on  July  26,  1841,  and  that  in  his  boyhood 
emigrated  to  America.  Some  people  have 
attempted  to  identify  him  with  the  petro- 
leum king,  but  there  is  nothing  to  war- 
rant this  belief,  save  the  mystery  which 
has  always  existed  with  regard  to  the 
father  of  John   D.   Rockefeller. 


Historical  Societies 


Chester  County  Historical  Society 

Saturday  Sept.  11,  1909  was  the  day  set 
apart  by  the  Chester  County  Historical  So- 
ciety for  the  dedication  of  the  huge  flint 
boulder  and  the  metal  marker  at  the  grave 
of  Old  Indian  Hannah,  the  last  of  the 
Lenni  Lenape  Indian  tribe,  who  wa.s  buried 
■  iln  Newlin  township,  in  1802.  In  1730,  sev- 
eral Indian  wigwams  were  located  on  the 
bank  of  a  pond  or  on  the  farm  of  Wil- 
liam Webb,  the  emigrant,  near  the  present 
Anvil  Tavern,  in  Kennett  township,  and  not 
far  from  the  East  Marlborough  township 
line  and  it  was  there  that  Indian  Hannah 
was  born   on  the   property. 

*     *     * 

Lanca/iter  County   Historical  Society 

Lancaster  county  paid  tribute  to  the 
achievements  of  one  of  her  great  native 
sons,   Robert    Fulton,    when    a    handsome 


bronze  tablet  erected  in  the  place  of  his 
birth,  was  unveiled  Sept.  21,  1909,  by  one 
of  his  greatgranddaughters,  Mrs.  Alice 
Sutcliffe,  his  biographer.  It  was  a  notable 
gathering  that  surrounded  Fulton  house, 
in  Little  Britain  township. 

The  tablet  is  of  solid  bronze  in  the  form 
of  a  shield.  At  the  top  is  a  likeness  of  the 
Clermont  and  below  is  the  inscription: 

Clermont— Robert   Fulton — 1S07. 
Here  on  November  14,  1765,  was  born 
Robert  Fulton,  inventor, 
Who  on  the  waters  of  the  Hudson 
on   August   11,    1807,    first    success 
fully  applied  steam  to  the  purposes 
of  navigation.  At  this  place  he  spent 
the  first  years  of  his  life. 
"Without  a  monument  future    gen- 
erations would  know  him." 
Erected   by   the   Lancaster   County 
Historical   Society   at  Centenary 
of  His  .Achievement,  Septem- 
ber, 1909. 


HISTORICAL  SOCIETIES 


527 


The  tablet  was  designated  by  Miss  Mary 
T.  Magee  and  the  work  executed  in  bronze 
by   John  A.   Weitzel,   both   local   artists. 

Space  does  not  permit  the  printing  of  the 
ecellent  speeches  and  poems  that  were  de- 
livered. Lloyd  Mifflin,  the  poet  of  Norwood 
Lancaster  county,  read  the  followmg  son- 
nets: 

I 

A  child  of  Lancaster,  upon  this  land 

Here    was    he    born,    by     Conowingo's 
shade ; 

Along  these  banks  our  youthful  Fulton 
strayed 

Dreaming  of  Art.  Then  Science  touched 
his    hand. 
Leading  him  onward,  beneath  her  wand, 

Wonders  appeared  that  now  shall  never 
fade: 

He     triumphed     o'er    the     Winds,     and 
swiftly  made 

The   giant.   Steam,  subservient  to   com- 
mand. 
******** 

How  soft  the  sunlight  lies  upon  the  lea 

Around  his  home,  where  boyhood  days 

were  sped! 
These  checkered  shadows  on  the  fading 
grass 
Symbol  his  fortunes,  as  they  fleeting  pass: 
"He    did    mankind    a     service," — could 

there  be 
A  tribute  more  ennobling  to  the  dead? 


II 

Time-honored    son,    whose    memory    we    re- 
vere. 
Around    the    wondering    earth    thy    lus- 

lustrous  name 
Shone   in   old   days,   a    sudden    star    of 

Fame! 
Nor  is  that  glamour  dimmed.  No  leaves 

are  sere 
Among    thy    laurels.     Deeper    seems,    each 

year. 
Thy    priceless    benefaction.     Let     them 

crown 
Thy  great    achievement    with    deserved 

renown. 
Who    reap    the     guerdon     of     thy     rich 

career! 

Long  thou   hast  passed    the    dark    Lethean 

stream, 
Yet      who     but    envies    that    illustrious 

sleep? 
Though   thou   art   dust,  yet  vital   is  thy 

Dream : 
The  waves  of  all  the  world  shall  chaunt  of 

thee : 
Thy  soul   pervades  the  Ship,  and  wings 

Deep, — 
Thy  Spirit  is  immortal  on  the  seas! 


The  committee  of  the  Lancaster  County 
Historical  Society  which  had  charge  of  the 
exercises  was  composed  of  D.  F.  Magee,  H. 
Frank  Eshlman,  W.  U.  Hensel,  W.  M. 
Franklin,  A.  K.  Hostetter,  Dr.  Joseph  H. 
Dubbs,  the  Rev.  George  I.  Browne,  George 
Steinman,  Richard  M.   Reilly,  Miss  Maraha 

B.  Clark,  Mrs.  Mary  N.  Robinson.  The  com- 
mittee of  southern  Lancaster  county  citi- 
zens was  composed  of  Joseph  Swift,  Frank' 

C.  Pyle,  William  F.  McSparren,  D.  F.  Helm, 
James  M:  Paxson,  Frank  Maxwell,  Will 
Shoemaker,  James  G.  MsSparen,  Day  Wood 
and  L.  R.  Swift. 

*     *     i» 

Annual  Meeting  of  the  Moravian   Historical 
Society 

On  the  appointed  day,  the  fourth  Thurs- 
day in  September,  this  Society  hald  its 
Annual  Meeting  in  its  Museum  in  the 
Whitefield  House  at  Nazareth.  The  business 
meeting  was  attended  by  19  persons.  The 
minutes  of  the  last  annual  meetins;  having 
been  read  and  approved,  the  reports  of  the 
Treasurer  and  Executive  Commitee  were 
communicated.  The  total  receipts  for  the 
year  were  $947.08,  expenditures  $316.04, 
balance  on  hand  $501.04,  being  ample  to 
pay  for  the  pamhlet  that  will  soon  be  is- 
sued. The  Trust  Funds  of  the  Society 
amount  to  $5212.96.-  During  the  year  one 
member  died,  6  withdrew  and  3  were  drop- 
ped, a  loss  of  10.  Five  Life  members  and  6 
active  and  associate  members  joined;  the 
present  membership  is  110  Life,  and  237  ac- 
tive and  associate  members;  total,  347. 
The  Secretary  also  read  a  letter  from  the 
pastor  of  the  Moravian  congregation  at 
Sharon,  O.,  Bro.  J.  E.  Weinland,  stating  that 
the  graves  of  the  Indians  buried  in  the  old 
Goshen  cemetery  had  been  located  and 
would  probably  in  the  near  future  be 
marked  with  memorial  stones. 

The  Librarian  reported  that  a  large 
number  of  visitors  had  inspected  the  con- 
tents of  the  Museum  during  the  past  year, 
but  only  a  minority  were  Moravians  or 
members  of  the  Society.  The  total  num- 
ber of  books,  manuscripts  and  relics  is 
about  5000.  The  Publication  Committee  re- 
ported that  the  Transactions  for  the  year, 
containing  the  History  of  the  Moravian 
College  and  Theological  Seminary,  would 
soon  me  ready  for  distribution.  Three  new 
members  were  admitted  and  the  old  officers 
were  re-elected.  The  meeting  adjourned  at 
12  o'clock. 

One  hundred  and  forty-one  persons  sat 
down  at  2  p.  m.  to  enjoy  the  annual  Ves- 
per prepared  by  the  committee  of  arrange- 
ments. Vice-President  Abraham    S.  Schropp 


528 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-eERMAN 


called  on  all  to  unite  in  singiny  grace, 
"What  Praise  to  Thee,  dear  Saviour."  Af- 
ter all  had  partaken  of  the  repast,  the  an- 
nouncement of  the  death  of  one  member 
during  the  year,  Mrs.  Rev.  Eugene  Leibert, 
was  followed  by  singing  the  usual  hymn, 
"Let  us  call  to  mind  with  joy." 

The  Vice-President  now  called  on  Bro. 
Paul  de  Schweinitz  to  read  a  paper  relating 
many  details  concerning  a  settlement  of 
Bohemians  in  Texas.  Ever  since  1848 
Bohemians  have  been  emigrating  to  the 
United  States  in  small  groups,  some  set- 
tling in  the  Northwest,  others  in  Texas. 
Prof.  A.  G.  Ran  followed  with  a  paper  en- 
titled. Notes  concerning  trades  and  indus- 
tries in  Bethlehem,  beginning  with  the 
year  1759,  when  the  abolition  of  the  Beth- 
lehem Economy  was  being  agitated.  The 
trades  were  so  varied  and  at  the  same  time 
so  carefully  supervised  by  the  church  auth- 
orities as  to  make  Bethlehem  indv^pendent, 
industrially,  of  other  settlements  in  Penn- 
sylvania. 

At  this  stage  Prof.  Geo.  T.  Ettinger  of 
Muhlenberg  College  and  Prof.  C.  A.  Marks, 
of  Allentown,  were  requested  to  make  a 
few  remarks  and  responded  with  cordial 
greetings  from  the  Lehigh  County  Histori- 
cal Society.  Bro.  G.  F.  Bahnson  also  com- 
municated some  interesting  facts  concern- 
ing the  Sbor  at  Jungbunzlau  in  Bohemia, 
The  meeting  was  brought  to  a  close  soon 
after  four  o'clock  with  the  singing  of  the 
Long  Metre  Doxology. 

4.    4.    4. 

Historical  Society  of  York  County 

Last  June  an  interesting  paper  was  read 
before  this  society  to  which  the  York 
Gazette  referred  in  the  following  lines: 

The  paper  was  prepared  by  Samuv?l  Small, 
jr.  It  refers  to  the  business  career  of  the 
firm  of  P.  A.  and  S.  Small,  which  was 
founded  in  1809.  It  was  during  that  year 
that  George  Small,  grandfather  of  the  sen- 
ior member  of  the  present  firm,  opened  a 
general  store  at  the  northeast  corner  of 
Centre  square  and  East  Market  street.  He 
prospered  in  business  and  laid  the  founda- 
tion for  an  extensive  hardware  and  general 
merchandising  business  before  the  close  of 
the  war  of  1812-15.  The  purport  of  this 
paper  was  to  show  the  growth  and  develop- 
ment of  York  and  the  mercantile  business 
in  general  during  the  past  one  hundred 
years.  The  author  of  this  paper  says  when 
George  Small  began  the  mercantile  business 
In  1809  York  had  a  population  of  2,800,  or 
about  the  size  of  Red  Lion;  Philadelphia, 
78,000;  Baltimore,  35,000;  New  York,  96,- 
000;  Pittsburg,  4,700;  and  Chicago  was  only 
a  small   Indian  trading  post. 

The  paper,  which  required  about  thirty 
minutes  to  read,  was  brimful  of  interesting 


facts,  and  is  the  basis  of  a  souvenir  book 
which  the  firm  of  P.  A.  and  S.  Small  ex- 
pects to  publish,  containing  the  account  of 
the  growth  and  development  of  oni  of  the 
leading  business  houses  in  souther'i  Penn- 
sylvania. The  founder  of  this  business  is 
remembered  only  by  a  few  of  the  oldest 
citizens  of  York,  but  his  sons  and  succes- 
sors, Philip  A.  Small  and  Samuel  S?nall,  sr., 
are  remembered  by  many  people  of  this 
community. 

Philip  A.  Small,  the  head  of  the  lirm,  was 
identified  with  a  large  number  of  the  public 
institutions  of  York.  He  was  looked  upon 
as  one  of  the  best  trained  business  men  in 
southern  Pennsylvania.  His  brother,  Sam- 
uel Small,  sr.,  was  noted  for  his  benevo- 
lence. He  founded  the  York  Collegiate  in- 
stitute and  endowed  it  so  as  to  enable  it  to 
prosper.  He  gave  a  large  amount  of  money 
to  charity  and  was  one  of  the  chief  promot- 
ers of  the  Children's  Home  of  York  and 
the  York  City  hospital.  Under  the  excellent 
management  of  these  two  brothers  the  firm 
of  P.  A.  and  S.  Small  purchased  nearly  one- 
third  of  all  the  wheat  grown  in  York  county 
for  a  period  of  thirty  years  or  more.  They 
established  the  Codorus  mills  and  manufac- 
tured thousands  of  barrels  of  choice  flour, 
much  of  which  found  its  way  to  foreign 
markets.  A  large  quantity  of  Codorus  flour 
was  sold  to  the  inhabitants  of  Cuba. 

It  was  in  the  counting  room  of  this  firm 
that  the  Committee  of  Safety  organized  and 
conducted  its  business  befoe  York  was  cap- 
tured by  General  Early,  commanding  ten 
thousand  Confederate  soldiers,  on  June  28, 
1863,  W.  Latimer  Small,  George  Small  and 
Samuel  Small  succeeded  their  father  and 
uncle  in  business.  For  twenty  years  or 
more  W.  Latimer  Small  managed  the  grain 
business  and  looked  after  the  interest  of 
the  large  flouring  mills  owned  by  the  firm. 
Samuel  Small,  the  present  senior  member 
of  the  firm,  looked  with  judicious  care  after 
the  mercantile  business  and  other  large  in- 
terests, for  the  firm  owned  and  managed 
the  Ashland  furnaces,  situated  along  the 
Northern  Central  railroad,  near  Baltimore. 

George  Small,  the  eldest  son  of  Philip  A. 
Small,  early  in  life  moved  to  the  city  of 
Baltimore,  where  he  became  one  of  the 
leading  citizens.  He  also  looked  after  the 
interests  of  the  firm  of  P.  A.  and  S.  Small 
in  that  city.  Mr.  Small  was  one  of  the  per- 
sons who  conducted  President  Lincoln 
through  the  city  of  Baltimore  when  he  was 
on  his  way  for  the  first  time  to  Washing- 
ton. General  Grant,  after  he  retired  from 
the  presidency,  was  a  frequent  visitor  at 
his  home  in  the  Monumental  city. 

The  story  of  the  growth  and  development 
of  the  business  of  the  firm  was  listened  to 
with  the  closest  attention  and  the  paper 
was  considered  one  of  the  best  ever  read 
before  the  Historical  Society  of  York 
county. 


Vol.  X 


NOVEMBER,  1909 


No.  II 


Seeing  Lancaster  County  from  a  Trolley  Window 


(CONTINUED   FROM   OCTOBER   ISSUE) 


TRIP  TO  TERRE  HILL 

F  T  E  R  going  north  on 
Queen  street  and  east  at 
the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road depot  we  turn  a  few 
ri-ght  angles  until  we 
reach  New  Holland  ave- 
nue, the  beginning  of  the 
Xew  Holland  turnpike 
the  historic  highway  to  Blue  Ball  in- 
corporated 1810  and  completed  1825. 
As  we  proceed  we  shall  notice  pres- 
ently to  our  right  th(  buildings  of  the 
Lancaster  Cork  \\'orks  and  at  a  dis- 
tance a  standpipe  crowning  ^he  east 
end  of  the  city  ;  to  the  left  are  located 
Lancaster  and  St.  -vlary's  cemeteries 
in  use  about  60  and  50  years  respec- 
tively and  the  looo-foot  building  of 
the   Lancaster  Silk  Mill. 

We  now  notice  the  two  branches  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  converging 
and.  passing  under  a  bridge  of  the 
one.  the  Cutoff  line,  we  presently 
reach  at  the  ]\rcGrann  farm  the  Ross- 
mere  suburlian  tracks  leading  north- 
ward to  Rossmere.  the  ball  grounds 
and  returning  to  the  city  by  way  of 
the  stock  yards. 

\\'e  are  now  in  ^lanheinl.  one  of  the 
original  townships  with  boundaries 
but   slightly   changed,   a   rich,   produc- 


tive, slightly  undulating  farming  sec- 
tion lying  between  the  two  Cones- 
togas.  We  shall  say  more  of  the 
township  on  our  Lititz  trip. 

We  turn  away  from  the  turnpike  to 
the  right  at  Eckerts  or  Eden  Hotel 
near  the  village  schoolhouse,  made 
conspicious  with  its  yellow  and  blue 
colors,  cross  the  Conestoga  and  after 
a  short  detour  through  the  fields  re- 
turn to  the  pike  at  Zook's  Corner.  In 
crossing  the  stream  we  probably  no- 
ticed the  Eden  Paper  ]\Tills  to  our  left 
at  a  neat  iron  structure,  Binkley 
Bridge,  the  original  of  which  ante- 
dated by  a  few  years  historic  Witmer 
Bridge.  At  Zook's  Corner  we  notice 
the  McGrann  poultry  farm  to  the  left 
and  i)resently  to  our  right  on  a  pleas- 
ing and  prominent  eminence  the 
Frank  McGrann  residence. 

We  cross  the  upper  end  of  East 
Lampeter  tc^wnship  and  enter  Upper 
Lcacock.  Our  road,  running  along  a 
ridge,  the  water-shed  between  tlie  Con- 
estoga and  Mill  Creek,  affords  most 
of  tlie  time  charming  views  reaching 
to  a  hazy  distance — Furnace  Hill, 
Ephrata  Hill.  Brecknock  Hills,  Welsh- 
Mountain  being  in  sight  most  of  the 
way  to  Terre  Hill, 


530 


THE    PEXNSYLVAXIA-GERMAX 


EPHKATA    CLOISTER   BUILDINGS 


Among  the  early  settlers  of  Upper 
Leacock,  formed  out  of  Leacock  in 
1843,  \vere  Jacob  Bushong.  who  set- 
tled near  Heller's  church  the  ancestor 
of  a  numercms,  widely  -  scattered 
famil}'.  Emanuel  Cari)enter.  himself 
noted  and  the  head  of  a  noted  famil\'. 
on  whose  land  according  to  tradition 
the  county's  first  court  was  opened  to 
be  later  adjourned  to  Postlethwaite's 
]jlace.  Hans  Good  who  accpiired  in 
1734,  300  acres  of  land  lyirig  between 
Bareville  and  Mill  Creek  which  he 
sold  ten  years  later  to  Andrew  Rare 
ancestor  of  the  Lancaster  book  firm, 
Bare  &  Sons.  Hans  Graf  who  in  seek- 
ing lost  horses  found  Elysian  fields 
which  he  settled  1718  now  known  as 
Grofif's  Dale.  Isaac  LeFevre  son-in- 
law  of  the  widow  Madam  Ferre  and 
others. 

Leacock,  lying  southeast  of  Upper 
Leacock,  is  with  it  an  Amish  settle- 
ment in  a  rich  agricultural  commun- 
ity, crossed  near  its  center  by  the  old 
Philadelphia  road.  Its  most  impor- 
tant village  is  Intercourse,  5  miles  to 


(Uir  right,  formerly  known  as  Cross 
Keys,  the  name  of  its  hotel,  Imilt  it 
is  said,  in  1754.  The  change  of  name 
was  made  in  1814  when  a  landowner, 
George  Brungard.  in  an  unsuccessful 
venture,  laid  out  a  village  of  over  one 
hundred  and  fifty  lots  which  \\ere  dis- 
posed of  by  lottery. 

About  a  mile  west  of  Intercourse  is 
the  historic  Leacock  Presbyterian 
church,  to  which  reference  was  made 
in  a  previous  article. 

MECHANICvSBURG 

As  we  ap])roach  jMechanicsburg  we 
notice  about  a  mile  south  on  elevated 
ground  Heller's  church,  built  i860 
and  ofiicially  known  as  Salem  church. 
It  occupies  the  site  of  an  original 
small  leg  structure  with  seats  of  slabs 
and  a  floor  of  bare  ground,  the  earli- 
est Reformed  church  in  Lancaster 
county.  Acording  to  a  papei  in  the 
cornerstone,  "This  congregation  was 
founded  in  the  year  1722,  by  a  num- 
ber of  German  Reformed  fathers. 
The  first  house  was  built  in  1722,  re- 


s]-:i-:i\(;   L\>:(\\STii:rj  couxty  from  a   trolley  wixdow 


531 


MAIN  STREET  LOOKING  EAST,  AUAMSTOWN,  PA. 


paired  in  1802,  rebuilt  and  enlarged 
by  the  same  congregation. "The  Luth- 
eran church  held  services  here  also  un- 
til the}'  built  their  own  place  of  wor- 
shi])  in   the  Aillage  in    1838. 


^^echanicsburg,  clean  and  peaceful, 
is  the  chief  village  and  busin^•^s  cen- 
ter of  the  township  over  a  century  old 
and  so  named  60  years  ago  on  account 
of  the   mechanics    its    machine    shops 


■^Mz:''i^ 


b'^OT  m^^^^  '^^ml\ 


^^^ 


STRtET    SCENE,    INTERCOURSE,    PA. 


532 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERIMAN 


drew  to  the  place.  From  thi^  point 
))ast  Leola  and  through  Bareville  our 
ride  takes  us  through  a  rosary-like 
chain  of  attractive  homes.  Bareville 
named  after  its  first  settlers  can  point 
with  pride  to  the  Bareville  Trustee  As- 


Ni:w     HOLLAND     SCHOOr   HOCSK     A.Nl)     STKF.KT     SCKM'S 

sociation,  known  as  the  Bareville  Lit- 
erary Society,  organized  1843,  incor- 
porated 1849.  which  has  had  a  strong 
moulding  influence  on  the  community. 
To  our  right  \vc  notice  wooded  ris- 
ing ground,   the   western     i.'\u\    of    the 


\\elsh  Mountains  made  famous  by 
the  notorious  Abe  Buzzard  gang 
whose  haunt  was  at  Blue  Rock  4 
miles  southeast  of  New  Holland,  a 
stigma  happily  removed  by  the  labors 
of  the  Mennonite  Industrial  Home 
near  Mt.  Airy. 

Near  the  rotary  sta- 
tion we  get  fuller 
views  to  the  East. 
South  and  West  and 
notice  also  the  tracks 
of  the  Lancaster  and 
Downingtown  R  a  i  1- 
road,  completed  to 
Xew  Holland  about 
1876  and  to  Lancas- 
ter. 1890.  At  the  ro- 
tary station  we  ob- 
ser^•e  a  road  crossing 
our  tracks  obliquely 
from  the  southeast. 
This  is  the  historic 
I'eters  road  leading 
from  \\'hite  Horse 
n  e  a  r  Springgarden, 
l^ast  S  p  r  i  n  g  V  i  1 1  e, 
a'-ross  ]\Iill  Creek  at 
Huber's  ^lill.  consti- 
<-ning  the  pike  for  a 
sliort  distance  and 
then  turning  north- 
ward toward  T  a  1- 
mage    and    beyond. 

A      short       distance 
lievond      the      rotary 
station   we   enter  Earl 
tin\nship,     one   of   the 
original    townships    of 
1729,      so     named     in 
honor   of     Hans     Graf 
tlie     Inisv     clatter    of 
whose      mill      cheered 
the      neighbors     when 
the      county      w  a  s 
founded.       Nearly    all 
\estiges   of    the     mill, 
once      the    objective 
point   of    the    primitive    roads,    which 
stood  at   the  junction  of  the  Cocalico 
and   Conestoga,   several    miles    north- 
west of  us    disappeared    decades   ago. 
Not  far  from  this  place  is  Hinkletown 
on    the    Paxtang    road,    named    after 


SEEING  LANCASTER  COUNTY   FllOM   A    TROLLEY  WINDOW 


533 


Georg-e  IHnkle  who  was  licensed  to 
keep  a  tavern  there  before  the  Revo- 
hition.  A  part  of  the  place  was  for- 
merly known  as  Swopestown  on  ac- 
conut  of  the  Swabians  (Swopes)  liv- 
ing there. 

NEW  HOLLAND 

New  Holland,  (a  name  suggestive 
of  Hollander  settlers)  variously 
known  also  in  its  earlier  days  :is  Earl- 
town,  Sau  Schwamm, 
and  New  Design,  a 
thriving,  elongated, 
well-located  borough, 
housed  along  a  sin- 
uous street  and  the 
oldest,  largest  a  n  d 
most  important  town 
of  Earl  townshi])., 
was  settled  in  1728 
by  John  Dififenderffer, 
(ancestor  of  historian 
Frank  R.  Dift'enderf- 
fer)  laid  out  in  1760 
and      incorporated     i  n 

1895. 

One  imagines  the 
Conestoga  teams 
threading  their  way 
amid  the  trees, 
stumps  and  around 
the  mud  puddles.  The 
effort  t  o  straighten 
out  and  level  the  road 
as  indicated  by  the 
old  houses,  at  times 
hugging  the  road  and 
under  the  proper 
level,  has  not  been 
fully  successful,  will 
not  be  — why  should 
it  be,  since  a  quaint 
charm  and  attractive- 
ness is  afforded  not 
otherwise  obtainable. 
The  place  is  prosperous  and  rejoices 
in  its  silk  mill  and  iron  indust.nes. 

Time  was  when  a  justice  of  the 
peace  who  was  also  a  member  of  the 
Colonial  Assembly  would  walk  bare- 
foot from  New  Holland  to  Lancaster 
and  sit  shoeless  as  a  member  of  the 
Justices'  Court.     Times  change. 

New  Holland  may  point  with  pride 


til  the  mo\cmcr.t  organ:;:,  d  in  1785' 
under  the  leadership)  ot'  Rcw  .Melz- 
heimer,  aided  l-\-  oi.e  hundred  and 
thirty-three  origir.al  snl  .-enj.er.^  be- 
sides other  contributors,  t  >  establish 
an  English  and  (ierman  free  stho.)l 
which  was  kei.t  u  >  until  d  s  daced  by 
the  rubhc  School  Sy-tem.  The 
iKuise  in  which  Ex-Con.gressman  Isaac 
C.    Hiester   was   born   is   still   standing' 


NEW     HOLLAND    CHURCHES 

on  i\Iain  street  opposite  Brimmer  ave- 
nue. Another  noteworthy  house  is 
Roberts  Folly  a  three  story  double 
brick  building  erected  by  ex-Congress- 
man and  former  U.  S.  i^Iarshall  A.  E. 
Rol)erts. 

Among  New  Holland's  illustrious 
sons  were  Dr.  Diller  Luther  and  Dr. 
iMartin    Luther    for     more    than    fifty 


534 


THE    PEXXSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


years  two  of  Reading's  prominent  men 
and  Congressmen  Isaac  E.  Hiester  and 
A.  E.  Roberts. 

But  we  must  not  fail  ti)  take  a  look 
at  the  two  historic  church  Iniihhngs 
on  the  nortli  side  towards  the  east 
end  of  the  town. 

The  Lutheran  church  records  go 
back  to  1730,  the  first  entry  probably 
being  made  b}'  Rev.  John  Casper 
Stoever.  In  1744  four  acres  of  land 
were  acquired  on  which  a  church 
building  of  logs  was  erected,  replaced 
b}^  a  stone  structure  in  1763  which 
was  remodeled  in   1802  and  itself  gave 


the  orderly  arrangement,  the  close 
cropped,  velvety  green,  c  o  v  e  r  i  n  g 
walks,  graves  and  unoccupied  ground. 

There  is  quite  a  suggestive  con- 
trast between  the  condition  of  the 
cemeteries  with  their  words  and  em- 
blems of  Christian  hope  and  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  few  graves  in  a  family 
burying  ground  a  mile  or  mc^re  to  the 
north  with  their  neglected  weed  cov- 
ered unsightly  stones  glorying  in  man. 

Beyond  Xew  Holland  our  attention 
is  drawn  to  the  hilly  landscape  we 
are  approaching,  shut  off  for  a  mo- 
ment to  be  spread  out  in  minuter  de- 


HOME    OF    MISS    BLANCHE    NEVIN 


way  to  the  present  building  in    185 1. 

The  Reformed  church  record,  dates 
from  1746,  but  services  were  probably 
held  prior  to  this.  The  congregation 
worshipped  in  the  Zeltenreich  church 
building  about  2  miles  southeast  of 
New  Plolland  until  the  present  build- 
ing was  erected  in  town  in  1799.  The 
centennial  of  the  structure  was 
marked  by  a  remodeling  in   1899. 

The  cemeteries  of  the  two  churches 
adjoin  and  together  form  one  of  the 
lo\-eliest  rural  burying  grounds  of  the 
ceiunty  with  the  gentle  northern  slope, 


tail  as  we  cross  the  ridge  md  de- 
scend the  gentle  slope  to  Blue  Ball — 
a  ten  minute  ride  from  New  Holland. 
This  noted  spot,  situated  at  the  junc- 
tion of  the  old  Paxtang  and  Horse- 
shoe roads,  so  named  on  account  of 
the  blue  balls  of  its  hotel  sign  dating 
l^acl'v'  to  i/Cyf)  was  already  widely 
known  |)rior  to  and  in  the  Conestoga 
w-agon  era.  Traffic  from  Lancaster. 
Harrisburg  and  beyond  passed 
through  on  its  wa}-  to  Morgantown, 
Downingtown  and  points  eastward. 
Residents   of   the   place   have   not   for- 


SEEING  LANCASTER  COUNTY  FROM  A  TROLLEY  WLXDOW 


535 


gotten  that  the  historian  Sydney 
George  Fisher  t)nce  confounded  Bhie 
I  Jail  with  another  place  and  inciden- 
tally cast  discredit  upon  it. 

\\'e  are  now  in  I^ast  Earl  founded 
185 1.  Beyond  to  the  east  lies  Caer- 
narvon one  of  the  original  townships 
settled  prior  to  1730  by  the  \\'elsh 
(hence  the  name)  the  hcinie  of  bus}' 
scenes  in  the  height  of  its  'won  indus- 
tries. The  iron  works  in  operation 
here  prior  to  1750  occasioned  negro 
slavery  and  also  drew  white  workmen 
into  tlie  neighborlKHxl  among  whom 
were  two  ])rosperous  l)rothers  James 
and  William  Old.  According  to  tra- 
dition James  engaged  as  woodchop- 
per.  a  young  Irishman.  Rober'  Cole- 
man v.dio  was  diligent  in  business 
and  wt)n  the  heart  of  his  employer's 
daughter  Ann  Old.  This  union  laid 
the  foundation  of  the  celebrated  Cole- 
man  family  of   Cornwall. 

It  is  here  that  the  Conestoga  rises, 
called  creek  1)y  some  though  "river" 
would  be  more  ai)])ro])riate  in  view  of 
the  fact  that,  according  to  historian 
Diffenderffer.  fifty  of  the  most  noted 
streams  in  history  are  of  less  volume. 
A  t      Churchtown       resides       Blanche 


.\e\in  the  noted  sculptres.>  and 
daughter  of  Rev.  Dr.  J.  W.  Xevin,  in 
the  old  ancestral  homestead  of  the 
Windsor  i)ro])erly  previously  t  h  e 
Jenkins  estate  and  home  of  Congress- 
man Jenkins. 

TERRE  HILL 

Resuming  our  trip  we  leave  the 
road  at  Idue  Ball  and  make  a  bee  line 
for  Terre  Hill,  through  W'eaverland, 
settled  l)y  the  W'ebers,  Martins,  Wit- 
mers,  Xissle3'S  and  others.  To  our 
right  on  an  eminence  are  the  church 
l)uildin.g^  anc'  cenieter}  oi  *:he  \\'ea\'- 
erland  I\Iennonite  church,  one  of  the 
largest  congregations  of  this  faith  in 
the  county. 

We  gradually  descend  to  the  Con- 
estoga after  crossing  wdiich  on  an  iron 
bridge  we  climb  about  158.7  feet  in  a 
distance  of  7(^6^  feet  to  the  terminus 
of  the  line  on  Main  street  of  Terre 
Hill,  the  voungcst  l^orough  of  the 
count V.  kno\\n  in  its  early  history  as 
h'airxille  the  first  houses  of  which 
were  erected  about  70  years  ago. 

To  get  our  bearings  we  will  take  a 
walk  to  and  over  a  knoll  west  of  the 
town  to  find  hill  and  vale,  hamlet  and 


CONESTOGA  VALLEY  LOOKING  SOITH   I-KOM  CHCKCHT  )\VN.  P.\. 


536 


THE    PEXNSYLVAXIA-GERMAX 


BRIDGE    ACROSS    THE    CONESTOGA    NEAR    BLUE    BALL 


town,  forest  and  farm  spread  before 
us  like  a  vast  panorama.  New  Hol- 
land, Blue  Ball,  Goodville,  Church- 
town  are  soon  located  with  the  ^Velsh 
Mountains  as  a  background.  Turkey 
Hill  and  Center  Church,  Bowmans- 
ville  in  the  valley,  Stone  Hill  hiding 
Adamstown  from  view.  Ephrata  Hill 
at  the  foot  of  which  lies  historic  Dun- 
kertown,  Hahnstown,  Hinkletown, 
Brownstown  hill,  Millway's  Smoky 
Pillar,  the  hills  forming  the  county's 
northern  boundary  pass  m  review  be- 
fore us — even  the  church  steeples  of 
the  city  of  Lancaster  are  discernible 
with  glasses  on  a  clear  day. 

In  this  territory,  Swiss  and  Swa- 
bian.  Palatine  and  Quaker, Welsh  and 
Dutch  toiled  shoulder  to  shoidder  to 
lay  the  substantial  foundations  of  our 
country's  greatness.  What  an  in- 
spiration thrills  us  as  in  fancy  we  en- 
ter the  homes  of  the  pioneer  dwellers 
of  the  region,  share  their  homely  joys, 
their  strenuous  toil,  their  ho])es  and 
fears,  their  simple  lives,  their  priva- 
tions, their  gratitude. 

The  rich  farming  section  reaching 
from  Blue  Ball  to  TTinkletown  and  Iv- 


ing  between  the  New  Holland  pike 
and  the  Conestoga  once  furnished  an 
Indian  hunting  ground,  covered  with 
scrub  oak  which  Avas  burned  over  each 
vear.  The  hillsides  and  hill  top  once 
covered  with  chestnut  sprouts  and 
dotted  with  distilleries  are  n  o  w 
marked  with  productive  farms,  a 
camj)meeting  grove,  a  thriving  bor- 
ough with  pleasant  homes,  churches 
and    schools. 

The  story  is  told  that  once  a  much 
abused,  long  sufifering  wife  of  the 
hillside  called  on  a  neighbor  a  distil- 
ler on  Sunday  morning,  showed  him 
the  bruises  on  her  bare  back  and  said, 
"This  is  what  I  get  for  the  stuff  you 
give  my  husband  on  Saturday."  The 
distillery  was  closed  and  the  distiller 
helped  to  build  a  church. 

Brecknock  township,  lying  to  the 
north  of  Terre  Hill,  and  quite  hilly, 
has  been  called  in  parts  Die  Schweitz 
the  Switzerland  of  the  county.  It  was 
originally  settled  by  the  Welsh  who 
gave  it  its  name. 

The  township  has  its  rugged  moun- 
tain scenery  and  curious  rock  forma- 
tions  like   The   Devil's   Cave   and  the 


SEEING    LANCASTER   COUNTY    FRO.M    A    TliOLLEY   WINDOW 


Rock  Cellar  and  dnriiii;"  the  Revolu- 
tionai  y  War  arfordcd  a  hiding-  i)lacc 
for  those  wh.i  tried  to  esca;)e  militia 
service.  If  time  allnwed  we  might  go 
to  Rowmansville  and  listen  to  some 
of  the  tales  of  jiioneers  in  the  commun- 
ity, of  John  Boehm  wlu)  during  the 
Re\'olutionary  War  left  divine  wor- 
shi])  on  .  Sunday  to  pursue  horse 
thieves  whom  he  o\ertook.  attacked 
with  a  piece  of  ]:)roken  fence  ^ail  and 
left  in  trium])h  after  recovering  the 
horses — of  Elias  Lein[)ach,  brush- 
maker  and   rei)airer  of   clocks   who   in 


(*t  i)()))uhition  along  the  way.  \\  e  pass 
in  a  few  minutes  Center  Squa/e  near 
which  to  the  left  the  Center  1  lotel  did 
l)usiness  in  former  days — the  Urowns- 
town  and  h'armersville  road  is  crossed 
al)out  midway  betwen  the  two  thri\- 
ing,  hustling,  business  rivals..  We 
pass  tlie  Conestoga  Valley  Park  at  the 
crossing  of  the  Conestoga  and  at  Dia- 
mond Station,  the  stopping  place  for 
Akron  a  thriving  town  on  the  hill  half 
a  mile  away  showing  its  enterprise  by 
constructing  a  substantial  ^\■alk  from 
town    to   trolley.     Avoiding   the    steep 


BIRD  S    EYE   VIEW    OF    ADAMSTOWN 


1850  made  his  vigorous  though  unsuc- 
■cessful  fight  against  the  adoption  of 
the  public  school  system. 

But  we  may  not  linger  here  and  re- 
trace our  steps  to  the  trolley  station 
and  return  to  the  junction  at  Mechan- 
icsburg"  bound  for  Ephrata  a  n  d 
Adamstown. 

TRIP  TO  ADAMSTOWN 

I^eaving  the  well  kept  waiting  room 
with  its  neat  surroundings  at  Mechan- 
icsburg  we  start  on  a  30  minute  trip 
through  the  fields  to  Ephrata,  the  trol- 
ley line    apparently    avoiding    centers 


grades  of  the  hills  about  us  we 
wind  around  and  at  the  well  known 
Cocalico  Hotel  turn  into  the  main 
street  of  historic  Ephrata  where  we 
leave  our  car  for  a  stroll  through  the 
town.  We  follow  Main  street  down 
to  the  narrow,  humped  arch  stone 
bridge  erected  over  a  hundred  years 
ago  spanning  the  historic  Coc^ilico  to 
the  cloister  buildings  of  the  Seventh 
Day  Baptist  Society.  As  we  approach 
these  sacred  grounds,  \vorld  renowned 
for  various  activities  that  ceased  a 
hundred  years  ago,  we  see  a  vision 
])ass   before   us   covering  well   nigh    a 


538 


THE    PEXXSYLVAX I  A-GER.AT  \X 


Crrahcu  Creek  Cjin      tphrata  Tj       '  ^^Sl- -j.^^  -.j.  - 


\tim^'-  ,^ 


Mam  Strecl,   Lphrsta.Pa. 


EPHRATA    SCENERY 


century :  John  Conrad  Beissel,  immi- 
grant l)aker,  religious  enthusiast  and 
superb  leader,  seeking  a  recluse's  soli- 
tude, to  be  joined  by  admiring  follow- 
ers ;  men  and  women  tilling  the  soil 
besides  building  humble  cottages,  and 
stately  cloister  buildings,  paper,  saw, 
flour,  fulling  and  oil  mills  in  which 
their  increasing  numbers  find  employ- 
ment, the  crude  printing  press  kept 
busy  making  half  a  hundred  books 
(some  heavy  tomes)  and  continental 
money,  the  inmates  of  both  sexes  pale 
and  emaciated,  noiselessly  moving 
about  (barefooted  when  the  ^\•eather' 
])ermits)  in  their  strange  white  capu- 
chin dress  of  cowl  .and  gown,  male 
and  female  scarcely  distinguishable  at 
a  distance.  One  sees  men  and  women 
retire  at  night  to  their  se])arate  houses 
through  the  narrow  hallways  to  their 
dingy  cells  with  low  ceiling,  limited 
s')ace,  creaking  doors  with  svoodcn 
hinge  and  latch,  walls  covered  with 
strange  and  elegant  German  script,  to 
meditate  or  sleep  on  their  wooden 
benches  and   ])illows. 


One  can  hear  the  busy  hum  of  their 
Saturday  Sabbath  School  meetings, 
their  midnight  services.  We  see 
American  troops  coming  and  taking 
a\\ay  printed  sheets  to  be  fired  after 
the  British  in  freedom's  cause  and 
s  o  o  n  thereafter  half  a  thousand 
wounded  soldiers  brought  here  from 
the  disastrous  battlefield  to  be  ten- 
derly cared  for  and  finally  restored  to 
health  or  carried  away  t(^  their  last 
resting  places  in  ]\lount  Zion  ceme- 
tery. \\  e  see  the  growing  country's 
leading  men  makmg  pilgrimages 
hither  to  show  their  respects  or  to 
benefit  by  the  bountiful  j^rodacts  of 
the  hand,  head  and  heart  of  this 
strange  communistic  life  and  acti\-ity. 

lUit  historic  reverie  must  give  way 
to  the  mule  reminders  of  these  scenes. 
\\'e  will  stroll  through  the  cemetery 
])y  the  roadside  and  read  the  inscrip- 
tions of  tombstones,  examine  the 
buildings  with  their  speechless  though 
elo(|ucnt  contents,  pay  our  homage 
to  the  sacred  soil  of  the  hillside 
marked     b\-     a     statelv    shaft     costinsr 


SEEING  LANCASTER  COUNTY  FROM  A  TROLLEY  WINDOW 


539» 


$5000,  erected  l)y  the  state  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Ephrata  Monument 
Association,  bearins^"  these  amon<;  other 
words:  "Sacred  to  the  memor}'  of  the 
patriotic  soldiers  of  tlie  American 
Revolution  who  foui^ht  in  the  battle 
of  Brandy  wine,  Sept.  11,  A.  1).,  1777. 
About  500  of  the  sick  and  w  umded 
were  brouj^'ht  to  Eph- 
rata f  o  r  treatment. 
Several  hundred  died 
who  were  buried  in 
this  c  o  n  s  e  c  r  a  t  e  d 
ground." 

Retracing  our  steps 
and  passing"  along 
Main  street  of  the 
orderly,  thrifty  bor- 
ough we  notice  to  our 
left  "Ye  A'illage  Inn" 
erected  1777,  modern- 
ized by  paint  a  n  d 
renovations.  To  our 
right  is  the  Eagle 
hotel,     (Kcupying     the 

site     of    a    pre-Revo-  

lutionary  hotel  at    the 
intersection     of     the  ^"^"^  ^^'^  ^ 

historic  roads  between  Downingtown 
and  Harrisburg  and  between  Reading 
and  Lancaster.  Eor  a  time  the  place 
was  known  as  Dimkertown  (Mi  ac- 
count of  the  Baptist  Society  and  then 
Gross'    Corner. 

Continuing  our  way  across  tne  rail- 
road to  the  stmimit  at  Mountain 
Spring  House,  a  noted  resort  for  sixty 


years,  we  get  a  "panoramic  \'iew  of 
unsurpassed  beauty  to  the  northwest.'^ 
The  tourist  will  long  for  an  observa- 
tory' on  the  summit  of  the  mountain 
to  take  in  the  wide  expanse  of  rural, 
scenery  to  the  east,  south,  west  and 
northwest. 

One  gets  an   idea  of  the  growth  of 


lEW    AND    MAIN    STREET,    REAMSTOWN 

the  place  by  comparing  the  present 
pojndous  and  substantial  borough 
with  the  condition  in  1854  when  there 
were  only  eleven  houses  from  this  re- 
sort to  the  old  stone  bridge. 

After  the  proposed  trolley  line  from 
Ephrata  to  Lebanon  by  way  of  Clay 
and  Schaefferstown  is  built  the  trolley 
tourist  will   have  a  convenient  oppor- 


THE    OI.I)    HISTORIC    MUDDY    CREEK    CHURCH 


540 


THE    PEXXSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


tunity  to  study  Elizabeth,  Clay  and 
West  Cocalico  townships :  lor  the 
present  we  retrace  our  way  to  the 
waiting-  room  in  the  old  stone  house 
and  resume  our  trip  to  Adamstown. 

The  line  takes  to  the  fields  away 
from  the  old  historic  higbwaj^  along 
which  in  days  of  yore  the  country's 
leading  men  travelled  to  and  tro  be- 
tween Washington  and  the  East  by 
way  of  Easton,  Reading,  Lancaster 
and  York.  Wc  presently  pass  a 
Reams  homestead  with  the  old  well 
and  neatly  built  farm  house  close  by 
which  across  a  run  rest  the  remains 
of  the  Reams  ancestors. 
REA^ISTOWX 

After  a  fifteen  minute  run  ^^■e  reach 
Reamstown,  early  name  Zoar.  a  his- 
toric spot  once  the 
metropolis  of  this 
section  of  the 
county,  the  scene 
of  many  battalion 
drills,  abolished 
1846.  The  place, 
settled  by  Everhart 
Ream  1723,  laid 
out  by  his  son  To- 
bias in  1760,  was 
important  enough 
to  have  a  number 
of  hotels  prior  to 
the  Revolution. 
The  Union  church 
the  people  previously  worshipping  at 
Muddy  Creek.  On  the  site  of  the  Odd 
Fellows'  Hall  once  stood  a  hotel,  the 
Continental  House,  used  as  a  hospital 
after  the  battle  of  Brandy  wine  in  1777. 

Of  those  that  died  here,  most  if  not 
all  lie  buried  in  the  cemetery  adjoin- 
ing the  church  edifice. 

Less  than  two  miles  away  is  Denver, 
a  clean,  enterprising  young  borough 
owing  its  birth  and  growth  to  the 
Reading  and  Columbia  Railroad. 
About  2  miles  northeast  we  pass  the 
historic  Muddy  Creek  church,  a  union 
church  dating  back  to  1730  about 
which  time  the  first  house  of  wor- 
ship of  stone  was  erected.  The  third 
and    present   building   was    erected    in 


p.    M.    MUSSER    MEMORIAL    CHAPEL 

was    erected    1817      and  distilleries 


1847.  The  schoolhouse  close  by  is 
but  one  of  the  many  speechless  wit- 
nesses that  the  early  fathers  did  care 
for  school  as  well  as  church.  The  cele- 
brations held  each  year  by  the  Union 
Sunday  School  of  this  organization 
are  known  and  spoken  of  far  and 
wide. 

A  short  distance  beyond  the  ^luddy 
Creek  church  Schwartzville  is  passed 
and  Adamstown  borough  on  the 
county  line  soon  comes  to  view  where 
our  trip  w^ill  end  at  the  junction  with 
the  Reading  Trolley  System  affording 
trolley  connection  with  Reading,  Al- 
lentown  and  Easton,  Pottstown,  Nor- 
ristown  and  Philadelphia. 

ADAMSTOWN 
Adamstown  was  laid  out  in  1761  by 
^Villiam  Addams, 
a  n  Englishman 
married  to  a  Ger- 
m  an  g  i  -'  1,  the 
great-great  grand- 
parents o  f  Hon. 
James  Addams 
Beaver,  Ex -Gover- 
nor and  Judge. 
The  place  was  in- 
corporated in  1850. 
The  chief  indus- 
tries of  the  place 
have  been  hat  fac- 
t  o  r  i  e  s,  tanneries 
The  place  is  pleas- 
antly situated  along  the  hillside,  the 
schoolhouse  crowning  the  town,  from 
which  an  abundance  of  pure  sand- 
stone water  flows.  One  of  the  noted 
sons  of  the  place  is  P.  M.  Musser,  of 
Iowa,  wdio  has  remebered  his  pa- 
rental home  by  a  neat  chapel  in  the 
cemetery  overlooking  the  valley.  The 
tourist  may  well  wish  for  a  necroman- 
cer's skill  to  make  pass  before  himself 
the  noted  men,  who  by  stage  coach 
and  other  conveyance  entered  the 
county  at  this  point  on  their  way  to 
the  nation's  capital  at  Washington. 

But  we  must  leave  this  charming, 
historic  place,  old  in  years  but  young 
in  spirit,  and  enterprise,  to  return  to 
busy  Center  Square  ready  for  another 
trip. 


541 


The  Early  Churches  of  the  Goshenhoppen  Region 

By  Rev.  C.  M.  deLong,  East  Greenville,  Pa. 


i 

w 

n 

\^ 

NOTE. — The  following  paper  was  read  by 
the  author  before  the  Montgomery  County 
Historical  Society  at  their  Fall  meeting  held 
at  Perkiomen  Seminary,  Pennsbvi.rg,  Pa., 
October,  1908. 

HEN,  a  few  Aveekj  ago,  I 
Avas  asked  to  prepare  a 
])  a  p  e  r  o  n  the  early 
churches  of  the  Goshen- 
hoppen region,  it  was 
with  a  certain  degree  of 
diffidence  that  I  c  o  n- 
sented  to  tlie  i-equest. 
The  time  was  short  and  my  official 
duties  prexented  me  from  giving  the 
subject  the  care  and  attention  which  it 
demands.  I  felt  too,  that  to  prepare 
such  a  sketch  was  a  Herculean  task. 
For  we  must  remember  that  liere  we 
stand  on  historic  ground.  Some  of  the 
churches  of  this  section  had  been  or- 
ganized e\en  liefore  ^Vashington  Avas 
born.  There  are  few  communities  not 
only  in  this  state  but  in  our  whole 
country  with  such  a  rich  religious  her- 
itage. \\'e  are  very  glad  that  the 
Montgomery  County  Historical  So- 
ciety has  honored  us  with  its  presence 
and  has  turned  its  attentic:)n  to  this 
historic  spot.  Heretofore  your  re- 
searches were  conducted  chiefly  in  the 
lower  end  of  our  cotinty.  Having 
'H)n'!e  into  our  midsi.  I  am  sire  that 
this  comparatively  unknown  -md  un- 
explored region  will  with  your  help 
and  influence  yield  a  very  r'ch  and 
most  interesting  history.  The  subject 
assigned  me  is  very  extensive.  In  the 
time  allotted  I  can  give  l)ut  a  mere 
outline  of  the  early  religious  life  of 
the  Goshenhoppen  region.  A  book 
might  be  written  not  only  on  each  of 
the  denominations  represented  here 
but  on  each  one  of  our  historic 
churches.  This  should  be  done  and  I 
believe  will  be  done  with  your  aid  and 
encouragement. 

The   word    Goshenhoppen    is    of    In- 
dian  origin.      In   the  the    verv    oldest 


records  this  is  the  name  applied  to  the 
upper  end  of  Montgomery  County  in- 
cluding bordering  portions  of  Berks, 
Lehigh  and  Bucks.  The  Goshenhop- 
pen region  is  larger  than  has  been 
generally  supposed.  In  the  earliest 
documents  even  the  church  at  Bally  is 
termed  "The  Goshenhoppen  Roman 
.  Catholic  Mission."  It  extends  as  far 
south  as  Upper  Salford  township  in 
Avhich  the  Old  Goshenhoppen  church 
is  located. 

Into  this  region  at  a  very  early  date 
poured  the  Mennonites,  Reformed, 
Lutherans,  Catholics,  Schwenkfelders 
and  some  Moravians.  Many  of  these 
left  their  homes  in  the  old  world  be- 
cause of  religious  persecution.  None 
suffered  more  for  Christ's  sake  than 
the  Mennonites  and  Schwenkfelders. 
They  were  literally  driven  out  of  the 
fatherland  and  for  no  other  reason 
than  that  they  wanted  to  worship  God 
according  to  the  dictates  of  their  own 
conscience.  But  all  Protestants  suf- 
fered untold  wrongs  not  so  much  at 
the  hands  of  the  Catholic  laity  as  of 
Catholic  rulers.  It  was  not  religious 
persecution  alone  however  that  di- 
rected the  steps  of  our  forefathers  to 
the  New  World.  For  a  hundred  years 
Germany  had  been  the  battlefield  of 
Europe.  The  Thirty  Years'  War  and 
the  French  invasion  of  the  Palatinate 
followed  in  rapid  succession.  These 
wars  were  not  brought  on  so  much  by 
the  masses  as  by  the  jealous  rulers  of 
the  different  countries.  They  lived  in 
great  splendor.  The  debt  incurred  by 
such  extravagances  was  loaded  upon 
the  poor  people  and  they  were  reduced 
to  a  condition  of  unbearable  servitude. 
"Then"  says  Loher  "the  people  looked 
into  each  other's  faces  and  said:  "Let 
us  go  to  America  and  if  we  perish  we 
perish !  "  The  Catholics  who  settled 
in   the  Goshenhoppen    region    perhaps 


.■542 


THE    PEXXSYLVAXIA-GERMAN 


NEW  GOSHENHOPPEN  CHURCH    I769-1S57 


liad  as  much  cause  for  leaving  the  old 
world  as  many  Protestants. 

These  people  were  told  of  Penn's 
province  in  tJie  new  world  where 
liberty  of  conscience  and  a  greater  de- 
.gree  of  political  ireedom  was  guaran- 
teed. Naturalh"  persons  of  many  di- 
verse religious  convictions  w  ere 
•drawn  to  Penns3dvania.  They  left  the 
liouse  of  bondage  and  came  to  the 
promised  land.  The  great  English 
liistorian  Alacaulay  says  that  into  the 
American  nation  was  ])ourc(l  the  most 
liberty-lo\-ing  lilood  of  all  Europe. 
Such  was  the  character  of  the  earh- 
settlers  of  the  Goshenhoppen  region. 
They  were  men  and  women  ()f  strong 
convictions  and  high  ])rinciples.  Thc^' 
were  made  of  heroic  stuff. 

What  sect  efTected  the  first  church 
organizations  in  the  Goshenhoppen 
region  we  cannot  definitely  deter- 
mine. The  old  cemetery  of  the  New 
Goshenhoppen  church  gi\es  us  a  clue 
to  this  question.  Here  \\c  find  the 
oldest  graves  in  this  region.  A  well 
sustained  tradition  tells  us  that  John 
Henry  Sproegel  who  owned  13000 
acres  of  land,  a  part  of  whicli  lay  in 
what  is  now  I^pi^er  IIano\'cr  and  Xcw 
Hanover  townshi])s  donated  to  the 
people  of  this   section   a   tract   of  land 


for  Ijurial  purposes.  Just  wlien  this 
bene\olent  act  transpired  we  do  not 
know.  AVe  do  know  that  Joh:.  Henry 
Sproegel  was  naturalized  in  1705.  We 
also  know  that  in  1719  he  dor.ated  50 
acres  for  the  use  of  church  and  school 
purposes  at  Falkner  Swamp  Fur- 
thermore, we  have  discovered  recently 
that  a  Reformed  congregation  existed 
here  as  early  as  1727.  We  may  there- 
fore surmise  that  the  New  Goshen- 
hoppen gra\eyard  had  been  set  apart 
some  years  prior  to  this  date.  This 
old  cemetery  was  a  burial  place  for 
the  common  use  of  all  Pro:estants. 
Here  we  find  the  graves  of  Lutherans, 
Reformed.  Schwenkfelders  and  Men- 
nonites  side  by  side.  Here  is  the  rest- 
ing place  of  many  of  the  first  settlers 
of  whom  we  have  record.  But  the  very 
oldest  graxes  are  not  marked  by 
tombstones  and  hence  do  not  tell  us 
their  exact  age  nor  the  names  of  their 
occupants. 

As  has  already  been  stated  the  Re- 
formed had  a  congregation  at  Goshen- 
hojipen  as  early  as  1727.  Rev.  John 
l^hili]:)  I5oehm  in  a  letter  to  the  Classis 
of  Amsterdam,  dated  Nov.  12,  1730, 
says  Holy  Communion  was  .idminis- 
tered  at  Goshenhoppen  by  Rev. 
George  Michael  Weiss  on  October  12, 


•1 


THI':    EARLV   CHl'HCHES   OF    THE    GOSHEXHOPPEX    REGION 


543 


1727.  Weiss  had  come  tn  America  in 
September  of  the  same  year.  It  seems 
as  though  the  cong-regation  had  l^een 
organized  prior  to  this.  Although 
r>oehm  nowhere  states,  so  far  as  we 
know,    that    he    had     been    pastor    at 


ground  thai  he  was  not  ordained. 
Again  IJoehni  in  all  his  writings 
shows  that  he  was  intima'.el}^  ac- 
fjuainted  wiih  the  conditions  a:  Gosh- 
enho;)])en.  J  think  we  can  feel  safe 
in  saying  therefore,  that    John    Philip 


r^: 


NEW  GOSHENHOPPEN  REFORMKU  CIICKCH  AND  REV.  C.   M.  deLONG 


Goshenhoppen,  yet  this  is  (juite  prob- 
able. He  preached  at  Falkner  Swamp 
not  far  from  Goshenho]ipen  as  early 
as  1725.  And  if  he  had  not  ministered  ] 
to  these  people  why  did  W^eiss  ])rotest 
against  Boehm  to  the  members  of  the 
Goshenhoppen      congregation     on     the 


lloehm,  the  pioneer  pastor  of  the  Re- 
formed Church  in  the  United  States, 
was  the  first  minister  at  Goshenhop- 
)en. 

Then  came  Rev.  George  Michael 
Weiss.  He  was  the  first  regularly  or- 
dained   minister    of    the    German    Re- 


544 


THE    PEXXSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


formed  Cliurch  in  this  country  and 
also  the  first  missionary  sent  here  by 
the  Palatinate  Consistory.  He  con- 
tinued to  serve  this  congregation  until 
1730  when  he  and  elder  Jacob  Reiff 
went  to  Holland  and  Germany  to  col- 
lects moneys  for  the  churches  in 
Pennsylvania.  He  had  a  second  pas- 
torate at  Goshenhoppen  extending 
from  1748  to  1761  when  he  died.  He  is 
buried  in  the  New  Goshenhoppen 
church  yard  in  front  of  the  present 
edifice. 

The  church  register  at  New  Goshen- 
hoppen. which  is  the  oldest  congrega- 
tional record  of  the  Reformed  church 
in  this  country  opens  with  the  year 
1731.  On  the  title  page  is  written  the 
name  of  Rev.  John  Henry  Goetschy. 
That  he  did  not  make  the  first  entry 
we  know  from  the  fact  that  he  did  not 
land  in  Philadelphia  until  1735.  When 
the  book  was  opened  in  1731  a  num- 
ber of  pages  it  seems  were  left  blank. 
Upon  one  of  these  he  undoubtedly 
wrote  the  preface  in  173.5  when  he  be- 
came pastor.  Who  then  opened  the 
record  and  who  was  the  third  pastor 
at  Goshenhoppen?  It  was  Rev.  John 
Peter  Aliller.  This  we  learn  from  two 
sources.  In  the  first  place  one  of  the 
first  baptisms  recorded  in  this  register 
shows  that  John  Peter  Miller  was 
sponsor.  Again  Boehm  in  his  letter 
of  1739  to  the  Synod  of  Holland  refers 
to  the  congregation  at  Goshenhoppen 
as  follows :  "When  pastor  Weiss  came 
in  the  beginning  to  this  country  and 
caused  all  the  confusion  they  adhered 
faithfully  to  him  and  when  he  traveled 
to  Holland  to  make  the  well  known 
collections  they  joined  themselves  im- 
mediately to  Miller."  Pastor  Miller 
continued  to  serve  Goshenhoppen  un- 
til 1734.  In  1735  he  was  converted  to 
the  faith  of  the  Seventh  Day  Dunkers 
at  E])hrata  of  whose  society  he  be- 
came a  most  devoted  member. 

The  fourth  pastor  at  Goshenhoppen 
as  has  already  been  intimated  was 
John  Henry  Goetschy.  Pie  served 
from  1735  to  1740.  Thus  I  might 
go  on  and  give  the  names  of  'he  pas- 


tors of  this  historic  church  down  to 
the  present  day.  But  this  is  not  in 
the  scope  of  this  paper  since  I  am 
limited  to  the  beginning  of  church 
life  in  this  region. 

The  first  house  of  worship  un- 
doubtedly was  a  schoolhouse  The 
exact  spot  where  it  stood  we  learn 
from  a  draft  made  by  surveyor,  David 
Schultz.  It  was  located  on  the  east 
side  of  the  old  cemetery.  This  was 
the  common  house  of  worship  for  the 
Reformed,  Lutherans  and  Mennonites 
in. those  early  days. 

The  first  church  must  hav^e  been 
built  before  1739.  Boehm  in  his  let- 
ter of  January  14,  1739  to  the  Holland 
Synod  says,  "As  I  have  heard  from 
people  that  live  there  (meaning  Gosh- 
enhoppen) they  have  built  a  pretty 
large  church  at  that  place,  which  will 
be  sufficient  for  them  for  some  time, 
but  it  is  poorly  made  of  wood."  It 
stood  on  the  site  of  the  second  build- 
ing which  was  erected  in  1769.  This  is 
confirmed  by  the  fact  that  the  grave  of 
Geo.  Michael  Weiss  who  died  in  1761 
before  the  second  church  had  been 
built  was  under  the  pulpit  of  the  old 
church  and  likewise  was  under  the 
pulpit  of  the  second  edifice.  The  third 
church,  the  present  spiritual  home  of 
the  congregation,  was  erected  in  1857. 
This  congregation  from  the  \ery  be- 
ginning had  a  very  healthy  growth. 
As  early  as  1769  its  membership  in- 
cluded 90  families. 

The  old  grave3^ard  of  the  New  Gosh- 
enhoppen congregation  is  not  all  that 
John  Henry  Sproegel  donated  to  the 
religious  sects  of  this  region.  Boehm 
in  a  letter  of  1744  to  the  Holland 
Synod  states  that  Goshenhoppen 
church  "has  50  acres  donated  by  some 
one  that  all  religions  and  sects  should 
have  the  privilege  of  building  a 
church  thereon."  When  we  m  addi- 
tion to  this  remember  that  Sproegel 
donated  a  similar  tract  of  50  acres  to 
the  Falkner  Swamp  congregation  in 
1719  for  the  use  of  the  church  and 
school  we  are  forced  to  the  conclusion 
that  from  the  very  beginning  he  gave 
to  the  religious  sects  of  this  commun- 


THE  EARLY  CHURCHES  OF  THE  GOSHENHOPPEN  REGION 


545 


ity  the  whole  tract  of  fifty  acres,  now 
the  farm  belonging-  to  the  New  Gosh- 
enhoppen  church.  It  has  -generally 
I)een  held  that  Sproegel  originally  do- 
nated only  6  acres  and  that  ihe  con- 
gregations later  bought  an  additional 
tract  making  in  all  50  acres.  But  this 
1  do  not  believe.  It  is  true  that  in  1796 
Abraham  Singer  and  others,  the  suc- 
cessors to  the  Sproegel  estate  gave  to 
the  congregations  a  deed  for  a  tract  of 
50  acres  for  which  £95  was  paid. 
The  deed  says  nothing  about  the  six 
acres  having  previously  been  donated 
l:)ut  £95  was  the  price  paid  for  the 
50  acres.  How  shall  we  explain  all 
this?  John  Henry  Sproegel  donated 
these  50  acres  outright.  It  never  had 
been  his  intention  that  this  tract 
should  be  paid  for.  But  the  good  man 
died.  No  deed  had  been  given.  The 
estate  came  into  the  hands  of  Abra- 
ham Singer  and  Thomas  Tresse.  The 
congregations  had  no  clear  title.  From 
antither  source  I  learned  that  Sproegel 
did  not  give  deeds  but  only  a  kind  of 
agreement.  The  new  owners  de- 
manded settlement.  Accordingly  the 
three  congregations,  Lutheran,  Re- 
formed and  Alennonite  in  1794  bought 
this  tract  of  land  for  £95.  One  half 
of  it  was  paid  at  once  and  the  balance 
on  the  23rd  of  February,  1796,  when 
the  deed  was  handed  over.  But  in 
this  same  3^ear  1796  the  Lutherans 
sold  out  their  share  to  the  Reformed 
who  now  owned  two-thirds  of  the 
pro])erty. 

These  50  acres  then  were  owned 
jointly  by  the  Lutherans,  Reformed 
and  Mennonites.  From  a  draft  made 
I'V  David  Schnltz  in  17C)9  we  learn 
that  two  acres  belonged  exclusively  to 
the  Lutherans  on  which  to  erect  a 
church,  two  and  one-half  to  the  Re- 
formed and  two  to  the  Mennonites  for 
a  similar  purpose.  The  remaining  44 
acres  were  owned  in  common  intended 
for  the  use  of  a  school  and  burial 
ground.  The  land-marks  designating 
the  two  acres  on  which  the  Menno- 
nites had  proposed  to  erect  a  church 
can  be  seen  to    this    day.     A\'hy    this 


church  never  was  Inull  we  do  not 
know,  i'.ut  undoubtedly  the  Menno- 
nite  congregaticm  at  Goshenhoppen 
was  swallowed  up  by  neighboring 
churches  of  the  same  faith.  Other 
Mennonite  congregations  were  organ- 
ized in  this  region  simultaneously 
with  this  one.  \Ve  are  told  that  Dan- 
iel Longenaker  and  Jacol)  Beghtly 
were  ministers  at  Hereford  (now  the 
Washington  Mennonite  church)  as 
early  as  1727.  The  first  meeting- 
house was  erected  there  in   17^1. 

NEW  GOSHENHOPPEN  LUTHERAN 
CHURCH 

Altht)ugh  the  New  Goshenhoppen 
Lutheran  congregation  did  not  sell  its 
share  to  the   Reformed  until   1796,  this 


OIJ)  SIX  CORNERED  CHURCH  BUII.T  1803 

does  not  say  that  it  had  its  church 
home  on  the  Sproegel  tract  until  this 
time.  That  it  had  its  beginning  here 
we  do  not  question,  \\hen  it  was  or- 
ganized we  do  not  know.  This  con- 
o-re^ation  held  its  first  services  in  the 
New    Goshenhoppen    school-house    the 


546 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


coiiinion  property  of  all  the  sects.  The 
first  church,  a  wooden  structure,  was 
built  in  1750  not  on  the  land  that  had 
been  donated  by  Sproegel  and  later 
paid  for  to  his  heirs  but  near  the  site 
of  its  present  house  of  worship  about 
a  mile  east  of  Pennsburg.  It  was  then 
known  as  the  Xew  Goshenhoppen 
E\-ano'elical  Lutheran  Church.  A 
more  substantial  edifice  was  erected 
in  1803.  Xow  its  name  was  changed 
to  Christ  church.  In  1871  when  a  more 


drea  who  was  pastor  from  1743  to 
1752.  Frederick  Schultz  served  from 
1752  to  1756.  The  present  pastor, 
Rev.  O.  F.  \\'aag"e.  has  written  an  ex- 
cellent history  of  this  congregation 
and  we  hope  that  some  day  it  will  be 
])Ut  into  book  form  and  published. 

The  Old  Goshenhoppen  church  in 
Upper  Salford  township  dates  its 
origin  to  1732,  when  the  Lutherans 
and  Reformed  purchased  a  tract  of 
thirty-eight  and    one-fourth    acres    for 


ST.  PAUi,\S  I^UTHERAN  CHURCH 


perfect  church  organization  was 
effected  a  new  name,  St.  Paul's,  was 
assumed  by  which  it  is  known  to-day. 
It  had  not  ben  known  that  the  name 
Christ  church  had  been  given  it  until 
a  writing  found  in  the  corner-stone  of 
the  church  razed  to  the  ground  in 
1877  revealed  the  long-forgotten  fact. 
The  first  pastor  of  this  congrega- 
tion was  John  Jacob  Justus  Birken- 
stock,  a  school-teacher.  He  was  or- 
dained in  1739  and  ministered  until 
1743.     Then  comes  John  Conrad  An- 


the  use  of  school  and  church.  In  the 
fall  of  the  same  year  a  schoolhouse 
was  erected.  This  was  the  regular 
place  of  worship  for  both  congrega- 
tions until  the  spring  of  1744.  Then 
the  corner-stone  of  the  first  church 
was  laid.  But  it  was  not  completed 
until  1748.  On  a  large  stone  ever  the 
entrance  was  inscribed  in  German. 
"The  .united  liberality  of  the  Luth- 
erans and  Reformed  erected  this 
temple."  This  served  as  a  house  of 
worship   until    1858   when   the   present 


THE  EARLY  CHURCHES  OF  THE  GOSHENHOPPEN  REGION 


547 


more  modern  builclinj4"  was  erected. 
From  the  very  beginning  to  this  day 
the  Old  Goshenhoppen  church  ■  and 
tract  has  been  a  union  possession 
jointly  purchased  and  owned  by  the 
Lutherans  and  Reformed.  The  origin 
of  Lutheran  and  Reformed  "Union" 
churches  we  can  trace  to  (Germany. 
After  the  Reformation  the  presence  of 
a  common  danger  l^rought  l^oth 
branches  of  Protestantism  m  o  r  e 
closely  together.  \\y  an  electoral  de- 
cree Reformed  and  Lutherans  were 
in  many  places  recpiired  to  worship 
in  the  same  building.  Such  churches 
in  the  Palatinate  undoubtedly  were 
the  prototypes  of  the  many  union 
churches  here  in  America. 

THE    OLD    GOSHENHOPPEN    CHURCH 

Concerning  the  early  pastors  at  Old 
Goshenhoppen  I  need  not  speak.  Both 
the  Lutherans  and  Reformed  congre- 
gations originally  belonged  to  the 
same  charges  of  which  the  New  Gosh- 
enhoppen churches  were  a  part.  With 
a  few  exceptions  the  pastors  were  the 
same.  The  second  pastor  at  the  New 
Goshenhoppen  Lutheran  church,  John 
Conrad  Andrea  was  the  first  pastor  at 
Old  Goshenhoppen.  Whethe  ■  John 
Peter  Miller  the  third  pastor  at  New 
Goshenhoppen  was  the  pioneer  Re- 
formed pastor  at  Old  Goshei.hoppen 
we  do  not  know.  r>ut  his  successor 
John  Henry  Goetschy  preached  here. 

From  this  it  seems  as  though  the 
N  e  w  Goshenhoppen  congregation 
were  older  than  the  Old  Goshenhop- 
pen. Such  is  the  case.  The  latter  is 
a  child  of  the  former.  Wlienever 
r>oehm  in  his  early  letters  speaks  of 
the  Goshenhoppen  church  he  means 
the  New  Goshenhoppen  church.  For 
example  in  1739  he  refers  to  a  church 
building  at  Goshenhoppen  made  of 
wood.  That  this  means  the  New 
Goshenhoppen  church  we  know  from 
the  fact  that  the  Old  Goshenhoppen 
congregation  did  not  build  a  church 
until  1744.  How  then  do  we  explain 
the  names?  These  two  churches  do 
not  take  their  names  old  and  new  from 
the  time  of    their    organizations,    but 


they  are  named  after  the  sections  in 
which  they  are  located.  The  south- 
ern portion,  Old  Goshenhoppen,  lay 
nearer  to  Philadelphia  than  the  north- 
ern portion.  New  Goshenhoppen,  and 
consequently  came  to  be  known  ear- 
lier. Hence  the  distinction.  This 
congregation  Ijelonged  to  the  charge 
of  which  New  Goshenhoppen  Nvas  the 
mother  church  until  1818  when  un- 
der the  ministry  of  the  younger  Faber 
the  relations  were  severed 

In  the  lower  end  of  Lehigh  county, 
t)ne  mile  north  of  Spinnerstown,  Bucks 
county,  is  the  Great  Swamp  Reformed 
church.  Its  earliest  members  were 
almost  exclusively  Zurichers.  The 
church  register  opens  with  the  year 
1736  under  the  pastorate  of  John 
Henry  Goetschy.  The  congiegation 
however  existed  prior  to  1734.  For  in 
that  year  Boehm  speaks  of  it  in  his 
letter  to  the  Holland  Synod.  \\'hen 
it  was  organized  remains  for  the  fu- 
ture historian  to  unearth.  From 
Boehm's  letter  we  learn  that  it  was 
one  of  the  outlying  points  at  which 
the  Goshenhoppen  pastor  preached.  Of 
the  many  congregations  that  com- 
prised the  New  Goshenhoppen  charge 
this  was  the  last  one  to  sever  its  rela- 
tions. 

Its  first  spiritual  home  was  a  log 
church  which  gave  way  to  a  building 
of  stone  in  1772.  The  third  church 
was  built  in  1837.  The  present  beauti- 
ful edifice  was  erected  in  1872.  Great 
Swamp  was  a  union  church  uniil  1762. 
Then  the  Lutherans  erected  vdiat  is 
now  know^n  as  Sheetz's  church  on 
land  donated  by  an  elder  of  th.it  name. 

THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH 

Among  the  settlers  that  poured  into 
the  Goshenhoppen  region  were 
many  Catholics  from  the  Palatinate. 
In  1741  the  Jesuits  of  Germany  sent 
one  of  their  number.  Father  Theodore 
Schneider  to  minister  to  the  Catholics 
of  Pennsylvania.  He  settled  at  what 
is  now  Bally,  Berks  county.  He 
opened  the  church  record  immediately 
after  his  arrival  in  1741.      This    Gosh- 


548 


THE    PEXXSYLVAXIA-GERMAN 


enhoppen  register  is  believed  to  ante- 
date all  existing  Catholic  registers  in 
Pennsylvania.  St.  Joseph's  Church, 
Philadelphia  and  Conewago  Church  in 
Adams  county  both  are  older  but  their 
early  records  it  is  believed  no  longer 
exist. 

Before  the  church  had  been  built 
divine  services  were  held  in  a  farm- 
house.    In   1745  a  chapel   t,:,  by  36  feet 


was  completed.  S  o  popula'-  w  a  s- 
Father  Schneider  with  his  Protestant 
neighbors,  the  ^lennonites,  Schwenk- 
felders  and  others  that  they  gen- 
erously aided  him  to  build  his  church. 
And  if  he  was  not  their  spiritual  coun- 
sellor he  was  to  many  of  them  a  bod- 
ily physician.  Many  Protestants  sent 
their  children  to  his  school.  He  died 
in     1764     and     is    buried    in    the    little 


OhD  GOSHENHOPPEN  CHURCH 


THP]   EARLY   CHURCHES   OF   THE   GOSHEXHOPPEX   REGIOX 


549 


<:hai)cl  wliicli  he  l)uilt.  lie  was  sue- 
ceeded  1)\'  l-"ather  John  l>aptist  de  Rit- 
ter,  aiiDlher  Jesuit  who  ser\ed  the 
congregation  until  17S5.  This  church 
had  a  marvelous  growth.  As  early  as 
1784  it  had  500  communicant  mem- 
hers.  At  different  times  additions  were 
built  to  the  original  cha;>el  until  to- 
day the  Church  of  the  Alost  Blessed 
Sacrament  has  a  beautiful  and  imj)os- 
ing  edifice.  Other  congregations  of 
this  region  would  ha\'e  done  well  had 
they  imitated  the  Catholics  in  erecting 
their  s])iritual  homes.  Too  many  con- 
gregations build  churches  merely  for 
a  generation  and  then  destroy  them 
having  no  reverence  for  the  old  and 
the  sacred.  Here  we  have  a  church 
building  that  speaks  more  eloquently 
of  the  congregational  history  than 
Avords  can  tell. 

But  the  labors  of  these  Catholic 
missionaries  were  not  confined  to  the 
Goshenhoppen  region  alone.  The 
church  record  tells  us  that  they  said 
mass  or  administered  the  sacraments 
at  Falkner  Sw^amp.  Reading,  Oley, 
Easton,  Haycock  in  Bucks  county, 
Macungie,  Alle  Mangel  or  "Lackall" 
in  Alban}'  Township,  Berks  county, 
Longswamp,  JMaidencreek,  Ruscom- 
anor,  \\'indsor,  Allentow^n,  Bethlehem 
and  even  in  New  Jersey.  The  in- 
fluence of  this  church  extended  far  and 
■wide.  Just  as  the  New  Goshenhoppen 
congregation  at  one  time  was  the 
mother  church  of  a  charge  compris- 
ing Old  Goshenhoppen,  Great  Swamp, 
Saucon,  Egypt,  IMaxataw^ny,  Moselem, 
Oley  and  others  and  was  largely  in- 
strumental in  organizing  and  nursing 
them  through  its  pastor,  so  the  Cath- 
olic church  at  Bally  through  its  mis- 
sionary efforts  directly  or  indirectly 
was  responsible  for  the  organization  of 
most  Catholic  churches  in  soiitheast- 
ern  Pennsylvania. 

The  remarkable  growth  of  many 
congregations  in  the  Goshenhoppen 
region  must  be  attributed  partly  to  the 
fostering  care  of  the  mother  church  in 
the  old  country.  The  question  is  often 
asked,  Do  missions  pay?  It  is  not  my 
purpose  to  preach    a    missionary    ser- 


mon. And  yet  1  cannot  refrain  from 
impressing  upon  }-ou  the  fact  that 
ever}'  one  of  the  large  and  healthy 
congregations  in  this  region,  among 
the  strongest  in  their  respective  de- 
nominations, formerly  was  a  mission 
church  under  the  watchful  eye  of  the 
fathers  in  Germany  and  Holland.  The 
Society  of  Jesuits  in  Germany  sent 
Father  Schneider  to  lially.  The  Palat- 
inate Consistory  sent  Geo.  Michael 
Weiss  to  Goshenho])pen.  Later  the 
Reformed  Church  of  l^olland  sent 
ministers  and  money  to  the  Pennsyl- 
vania congregations.  The  Lutheran 
institutions  at  Halle  did  the  same  for 
their  struggling  churches  in  America. 
These  large  flourishing  congregations 
therefore  are  grand  monuments  to  the 
early  missionary  labors  of  the  church. 

THE    SCHWEXKFELDER   CHURCH 

The  primitive  churches  of  all  sects 
that  settled  in  the  Goshenhoppen  re- 
gion have  been  referred  to  except 
those  of  the  Schwenkfelders.  Their 
first  meeting  house  which  served  both 
as  a  place  for  public  worship  and  a 
school  w^as  erected  in  1790  wdiere  the 
present  Hosensack  church  stands. 
Prior  to  this,  preaching  services  were 
held  in  the  different  Schwenkfelder 
homes.  From  the  very  year  of  their 
arrival  down  to  the  present  time  they 
ha\e  annually  observed  "Memorial 
Day"  or  "Gedachtniss  Tag"  1  unique 
custom.  Concerning  this  day  of 
prayer  ex-governor  Pennypacker  says: 
"There  were  many  sects  which  were 
driven  to  America  by  religious  perse- 
cutions, but  t;)f  them  all  the  Schwenk- 
felders are  the  only  one  wdiich  estab- 
lished and  since  steadily  maintained  a 
memorial  day  to  commemorate  its  de- 
liverance and  give  thanks  to  the  Lord 
for  it.  To  George  Weiss  belongs  an 
honor  which  cannot  be  accorded  to 
John  Robinson,  William  Penn  or 
George  Calvert.  The  beautiful  ex- 
ample set  by  German  was  follow^ed 
neither  by  Pilgrim  or  Quaker."  The 
log  meeting  house  at  Flosensack  was 
replaced  in  1828  by  a  stone  structure 
which  stands  to  this  day.     In  1791  the 


550 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


second  Schwenkfelder    meeting'    house    lege  or    university    training    yet    they 
was  built  which  stood  until   1824  when     were  good    shepherds    for    they    were 
the  present    Washington    church    was      strong     in     God.       Of      them      every 
erected  on  the  site  of  the  old  building.      SchwenkfeUler  may  well  feel  proud. 
T  h  e     third     Schwenkfelder     meeting 
house  in  the  Goshenhoppen  region  was 
built  at  Kraussdale  in  1825.     This  was 
replaced   in    1857  by  the  present  brick 
building. 

.As  (jeorge  Michael  \\'eiss  was  the 
first  minister  at  Xew  Goshenhoppen  of 
whose  pastorate  we  have  definite 
knowledge  so  a  George  Weiss  "was  the 
first  pastor  of  the  Schwenkfelders.  At 
the  age  of  33  he  was  asked  to  formu- 
late the  Confession  of  Faith  of  the 
Schwenkfelders.  When  Ave  consider 
the  many  writings  from  his  ])en,  we 
are  forced  to  conclude  that  he  w^as 
truly  a  remarkable  man  .  He  'ike  the 
other  Schwenkfelder  pastors  of  that 
earlv   i;e 


CHCRCH  OP  THE  Most  BI.ESSKD  SACRAMENT,  BAI.I^V 


ing.  They  were  given  no  financial  re- 
muneration for  their  services.  They 
made  no  sj^ecial  preparation  for  this 
holy  office.  They  were  calle  i  away 
from  the  plow  or  the  weaver's  loom. 
But  they  thoroughly  mastered  the  doc- 
trines of  their  church  and  the  teach- 
ings of  the  }5il)le,  expounded  them 
forcibly  on  ilie  Lord's  day  and  wrote 
of  them  in  \oluminous  l)ooks.  Many 
of  them  commanded  the  highest  re- 
spect of  members  of  other  (lenomina- 
tions.     .Although  they  received  n<j  c.jI- 


EDUCATION 

A  paper  on  the  early  churches  of  the 
Goshenhoppen  region  would  not  be 
complete  without  a  passing  reference 
to  schools  and  education.  The  New 
Englanders  have  hcalded  thrc^ughout 
the  length  and  breadth  of  this 
country  that  they  are  the  pioneers  in 
this  great  work.  And  the  idea  is  cur- 
rent that  our  German  forefathers  more 
or  less  opposed  education.  Bancroft 
well  says  of  the  Germans  in  A^merica : 
".\ either  they    nor    their    descendants 


THE  EARLY  CHURCHES  OF  THE  GOSHENHOPPEN  REGION 


551 


lia\  0  laid  claim  to  all  that  is  their  due." 
Tlie  reason  that  such  a  false  impres- 
sion exists  is  that  we  have  been  too 
timid  and  have  not  yet  told  the  world 
wliat  our  ancestors  did  along'  educa- 
tional lines.  The  first  building  erected 
by  the  Lutherans,  Reformed  and  Men- 
nonites  at  New  Goshenhoppen  was  a 
schoolhouse.  The  schoolhouse  a  t 
0 1  d  Goshenhoppen  preceded  the 
church  by  twelve  years.  The  Catholic 
school  at  Bally  was  the  nucleus 
around  which  the  congregation  was 
built  up.  The  Aery  year  the  Schwenk- 
f elders  landed  George  Weiss  attended 
faithfully  to  the  instructic^n  of  the  chil- 
dren. And  as  early  as  1745  the  jNIora- 
vians  had  a  boarding  school  for  boys 
on  the  farm  of  Henry  Antes  in  Falk- 
ner  Swamp  which  was  attended  by 
students  from  far  and  wide.  Instead 
of  denouncing  the  forefathers,  let  us 
profit  by  their  exam])]e.  In  religious 
instruction  we  would  do  well  if  we 
would  imitate  them  and  introduce  a 
little  more  of  it  into  our  SA-.^tem  of 
education. 

We  are  told  that  the  Xew  England- 
ers  were  led  by  men  trained  at  Ox- 
ford and  Cambridge.  Most  of  the  pas- 
t(^rs  who  piloted  our  ancestors  into 
the  Goshenhoppen  region  were  grad- 
uates of  the  best  universities  of 
Switzerland  and  Germany  and  one  of 
them  was  even  a  university  regent 
and   i^rofessor.       (ioetschy    studied    at 


Zurich.  John  Peter  Miller  and  Geo. 
Michael  Weiss  were  graduates  of 
Heidelberg.  And  Father  Schneider  at 
one  time  was  professor  of  philosophy 
and  polemics  at  Liege  and  later  re- 
gent of  the  university  of  Heidelberg. 
The  Goshenhoppen  region  has  a 
moral  and  spiritual  life  that  is  unique. 
There  are  few  communities  where 
])eo])le  have  greater  reverence  for 
church  and  the  things  of  God.  This 
we  attribute  to  a  large  extent  to  the 
religious  heritage  of  our  fathers.  They 
are  dead  and  gone  and  yet  they  live. 
They  are  buried  and  yet  they  speak. 
Removed  from  us  by  almost  200  years 
their  influence  is  felt  powerfully.  They 
laid  the  foundations  of  our  churches 
deeply  and  securely.  Upon  this  their 
children  and  their  children's  children 
inspired  by  the  noble  example  of  the 
fathers  erected  a  spiritual  temple  that 
the  storms  of  unbelief,  fanaticism,  of 
new  and  untried  religions  have  not 
been  able  to  shake.  Every  ono  of  our 
primitive  churches  is  to-da}'  in  a 
healthy  and  flcuirishing  condition  and 
the  same  spirit  was  imbibed  by  the 
congregations  that  were  founded  later. 
We  are  proud  of  our  community,  of 
our  villages  and  towns,  of  our  schools 
and  homes.  We  love  this  beautiful  val- 
lev  with  its  graceful  Perkiomen.  But 
there  is  nothing  we  prize  more  highly 
than  the  heritage  of  our  early 
churches. 


(NOTE. — For  the  illustrations  used  in  this  article  credit  is  due  to  "Town 
and  Country,"  Pennsburg,  Pa.) 


552 


Berlin  and  Brothersvalley 

By  W.  H.  Welfley,  Somerset,  Pa. 


X  tlic  orij^inal  plan  of  Ber- 
lin there  were  yi  lots. 
The  first  deed  to  be  re- 
corded in  the  Deed 
Record  f  o  r  Somerset 
count}'  is  for  lot  A^o.  56, 
sold  to  Adam  Miller  the 
consideration  being-  13 
with  the  annual  ground 
rent  of  one  S[;)anish  milled  dollar. 
That  ])art  of  Berlin  east  of  Divi- 
sion street  was  platted  a  few  years 
later  on  ground  bought  from  Jos- 
ejjh  Johns  by  Jacob  Kefifer.  John 
Fisher     and     Francis    I  lav — a.id    was 


shillings 


(concluded   from   OCTOBER   ISSUE) 

1790.  In  1800  the  town  had  become  a 
\'illag"e  of  54  houses  and  two  churches. 
Re\'.  Frederick  Wm.  Lange  was  pas- 
tor of  the  Lutheran  Church  and  Rev. 
Henry  Giesey  of  the  ReformedChurch. 
The  bell  of  the  Lutheran  Church  was 
cast  in  Amsterdam  in  1753.  James 
Ferrell  is  said  to  have  l:)een  the  first 
male  child  born   in   Berlin. 

In  1794  occured  an  event  that  caused 
a  thrill  of  horror  over  the  entire  com- 
munity of  which  Berlin  was  the  com- 
mon centre.  This  was  the  murder  of 
Elder  Jacob  Glessner  by  the  Rev. 
Cyriacus    Spangenberg',    pastor  of    the 


called  the  first  addition  of  55  lots  and  Reformed  Church  and  which  accord- 
under  an  agreement  apparently  of  the  ing  to  the  best  accounts  took  place 
same  nature  as  the  one  already  recited  within  the  church. 

that  was   made   under  date  of  August  Xearly   all   of  the   pioneer   ministers 

25,   1787.  and  recorded  at   Bedford.  of     the'     Lutheran       and       Reformed 

The     annual    ground     rent    of    one  Churches  were  men  of  piety  and  learn- 

Spanish   milled  dollar    is    retained    on  ing  whose    godly    lives    did    honor    to 


these  lots,  but  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Lutheran  Church  only.  There  must 
have  been  some  misunderstanding 
somewhere  about  this  ground  rent 
When     the     Reformed    church     found 


the  Master's  service  in  which  they 
labored.  But  there  were  also  wolves 
in  sheep's  clothing;  sometimes  they 
were  men  who  had  really  been  or- 
dained to  the  ministry  but  had  lapsed 


they   were   not   getting   their   share   of  into  evil  ways  and  had  been  disowned 

these  ground    rents    there    was    much  by  the  Church  authorities  where  they 

bad  feeling  over  the  matter  which  cul-  were   best   known.        Often   they  were 

minated     in     lawsuits    that    were    not  outright     impostors     who    never    had 

finally   determined    until     1809;    when  been  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel  or 

the   courts    decided    that    these    rents  administer   the    Holy   Sacraments.     In 

belonged  to  the  Lutheran  Church  and  most  cases  they  were  men  of  good  ad- 

the   trustees  of   the   Reformed   Church  dress  and  were  possessed  of  fair  edu- 

executed     a     deed     to     the    Lutheran  cation  and  so  could  all  the  more  readi- 

Church    in    which    they    renounced    all  ly  impose  on  a  simple-minded  people, 

further  claims  to  the  ground  rents.  It  was  easy  to  impose  upon  those  who 

The  site  of  Berlin  was  a  well  chosen  ^^^  ^^^^s  had  been  without  the  Church 


one  and  from  that  day  to  this  it  has 
been  the  business  centre  of  a  large 
])  a  r  t  of  the  surrounding  country. 
Stores  were  kept  here  as  early  as  1785 
by  John  Hopkins,  John  Fletcher  and 
Robert  Philson  who  received  their 
stocks  of  goods  by  pack  horses  which 
were  only  displaced  by  wagons  about 


privileges  which  they  left  behind  them 
when  they  entered  the  wilderness  to 
make  homes  for  themselves.  Even 
amid  doubts  and  fears  thev  would 
hope  for  the  best. 

As  the  veil  which  hid  a  corrupt  spirit 
gradually  became  thinner  and  people 
would  begin  to  find  them  out  they 
usually     sought     pastures     elsewhere. 


BERLIN    AXD    BROTHERSVAT.LEY 


553 


This  class  of  men  was  kn')\vn  as 
"Heriunlauter."  L"\riacus  S,)angen- 
berg  certainly  must  ha\e  been  a  man 
of  this  type,  lie  is  supposed  to  have 
come  to  America  with  the  Hessian 
mercenaries  who  were  brought  o\er 
by  the  British  during-  the  Revolution- 
ary War,  but  whether  as  a  soldier  or 
in  some  other  capacity  is  not  known. 
It  goes  without  saying"  that  he  was 
well  educated  and  his  family  connec- 
tions appear  to  have  been  quite  re- 
spectable. His  uncle,  Rev.  Samuel 
Dubendorf,  holds  a  place  of  honor  in 
the  early  history  of  the  Reformed 
Church.  As  to  this  man  hin\self  his 
military  life  certainly  had  undermined 
and  weakened  his  moral  principles. 

Apparently  he  seems  to  have  tired 
of  a  military  life  and  determined  to 
enter  the  ministry  of  the  Church.  The 
Reformed  Church  however  claims 
that  he  was  not  a  lawfully  ordained 
minister  of  the  Church  and  the  records 
would  seem  to  bear  them  out  in  this. 
The  Minutes  of  the  Coetus  which  met 
in  Philadelphia  in  1783  show^  that 
Spangenberg  appeared  before  that 
body  and  asked  to  be  received  into 
the  ministry  by  examination  and  or- 
dination, but  his  application  was  then 
refused  because  according  to  common 
report  as  well  as  by  his  own  admis- 
sion he  had  already  administered  the 
rite  of  holy  baptism  and  had  also 
tried  to  induce  the  Rev.  Mr.  Boose  to 
confer  ordination  upon  him,  and  fur- 
ther that  his  conduct  and  bearing  was 
altogether  more  like  that  of  the  soldier 
than  the  minister.  In  the  year  1784 
when  the  Coetus  met  at  Lancaster  he 
again  appeared  before  that  body  still 
seeking  ordination.  AMiile  his  appli- 
cation was  now  looked  upon  with 
somewhat  more  favor  it  was  again  re- 
fused at  least  until  inquiry  could  be 
made  concerning  him  from  the  fathers 
of  the  Church  in  Holland.  Their  an- 
swer when  it  came  was  not  favorable. 

In  the  meanwhile  he  had  prevailed 
upon  his  uncle  to  give  him  a  letter  of 
recommendation  to  an  irregular 
preacher  named  Philip  Jacob  Michael 


who  ga\'e  him  ordination  and  it  was 
on  this  questionable  authority  that  he 
started  forth  as  a  minister. 

It  is  needless  to  follow  Spangenberg's 
entire  career  as  a  minister  but  about 
1788  he  drifted  into  Bedford  County 
preaching  at  liedford  and  Picrlm,  final- 
ly settling  at  the  latter  place.  The 
])reacher  lived  in  the  church  which 
was  the  log  house  first  buik  fo.  church 
antl  school  purposes  and  one  end  or 
part  of  which  had  been  ]:)artiti(jned  olT 
for  the  preacher's  use.  The  entrance 
to  the  buildings  was  into  the  preach- 
er's kitchen  fnMii  which  a  door  opened 
into  the  church  proper. 

It  is  quite  evident  that  some  of  the 
preacher's  evil  conduct  had  come  to 
light  but  that  there  were  also  some 
who  still  adhered  to  him  and  there 
was  strife  and  dissension  in  the  con- 
gregation. Accounts  of  wrong  doing 
elsewhere  followed  him  into  this 
mountain  region  and  when  new  acts 
of  impropriety  confirmed  the  rumors 
that  had  pursued  him  most  of  the  bet- 
ter class  of  the  congregation  turned 
against  him. 

It  was  natural  that  a  bitter  feeling 
arose  between  this  element  who 
wished  to  get  rid  of  a  minister  who 
had  disgraced  his  calling  and  dishon- 
ored the  Church  and  that  part  of  the 
congregation  whose  confidence  he  had 
still  been  able  to  retain  and  wdio  en- 
abled him  to  hold  his  place  in  spite  of 
complaints  and  protests.  It  was  at 
last  agreed  that  the  question  wdiether 
the  minister  should  be  retained  or  not 
should  be  determined  by  a  vote  of  the 
congregation,  and  a  da}'  was  set  when 
this  difficulty  which  w'as  threatening 
the  peace  of  the  Church  should  be 
settled.  Accounts  of  w^hat  lollowed 
dilTer  somewhat  in  their  details.  On 
the  appointed  day  the  congregation 
came  together,  Spangenberg  being 
present.  There  was  an  open  discus- 
sion in  which  both  sides  expressed 
their  views  very  freely  as  to  what  had 
best  be  done.  Among  others  present 
was  Elder  Jacob  Glessner,  a  promi- 
nent member  of  the  congregation,  and 


554 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


looked  Upon  as  one  of  its  ])illars,  a 
man  who  on  account  of  his  standing', 
both  in  the  Church  and  the  commu- 
nity was  possessed  of  great  influence 
among'  his  fellows. 

It  is  said  that  during  the  prolonged 
discussion  Elder  Glessner  had  re- 
mained silent,  but  just  before  ihe  vote 
was  to  be  taken  he  rose  in  his  place 
and  advocated  a  change  of  ministers 
and  expressed  the  hope  that  the  result 
of  the  vote  that  was  about  to  be  taken 
would  support  him  in  his  opinion. 
\\'hate\er  it  was  that  he  had  said  it 
had  the  effect  of  throwing  Spangen- 
bcrg"  in  a  great  rage.  Springing  to 
his  feet  he  drew  a  large  knife  that  he 
h  a  d  concealed  somewhere  about  his 
person  and  rushing  upon  the  defence- 
less elder  he  drove  its  glittering  blade 
deep  into  the  heart  of  his  victim,  who, 
the  blood  gushing  from  his  wound, 
fell  to  the  fioor  beside  the  altar  and 
there  died  in  the  presence  of  the  horri- 
fied spectators.  Paralyzed  by  the 
dreadful  scene  these  did  not  even 
attempt  to  stop  SpangenberL^'  as  he 
rushed  out  of  the  church  and  sought 
refuge  in  an  out-lot  belonging  to  the 
church  and  set  apart  for  the  i^arson's 
horse  and  still  known  as  the  "Pfarrer's 
Swamp."  The  man  who  had  baptized 
their  children,  confirmed  the  youths, 
administered  to  them  the  holy  com- 
munion and  who  had  buried  their 
dead  was  now  a  murderer  and  his 
bloody  crime  had  been  perpetrated 
within  the  pale  of  the  sanctuary  itself. 
iUit  presently  the  murderer  was  pur- 
sued. When  found  and  arrested  he 
said,  "Ich  harl  es  net  geduhn,  Meim 
Herr  Gott  hut  es  geduhn."  Such  is 
the  account  of  this  crime  most  gener- 
ally received. 

l)Ut  another  account  has  it  that  it 
was  the  church  council  and  not  the 
entire  congregation  that  had  heen  in 
session  and  that  after  all  parties  had 
left  the  church  the  j^reacher  called 
Elder  Glessner  back  into  the  house 
and  then  stabbed  him  to  death.  When 
found  and  arrested  the  preacher  was 
taken    before    Adam     Miller.     I'^sc]..     a 


Justice  of  the  Peace  who  resided  in 
Berlin  and  by  him  was  committed  ta 
the  jail  in  Bedford.  The  Docket  of 
Esquire  Miller,  still  preserved  by  his 
descendants,  has  the  commitment  of 
the  preacher  recorded  therein  and  as  it 
throws  some  further  light  on  the 
tragedy   it   is   reproduced   here. 

Whereas  Cyrianus  Spangenberg  of  Rude- 
meister  late  of  Bedford  in  said  county,. 
Minister  has  been  arrested  by  David  Esh- 
bach  and  Matthis  Zimmerman  of  Said 
County  and  brought  before  me  and  upon 
his  own  confessment  He  being  moved  and 
Seduced  by  the  instigation  of  the  Devil  on 
the  19  day  of  March  1794  on  the  day  afore- 
said on  the  hour  of  two  in  the  afternoon 
on  the  same  day  with  force  and  arms  in 
Berlin  in  the  house  where  he  the  Said 
Cyrianus  Spangenberg  did  live  in  the 
County  aforesaid,  in  and  upon  Jacob  Gless- 
ner then  and  their  being  in  the  peace  of 
God  and  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, feloniously  voluntarily  and  of  his 
malicious  forethought  made  an  assault  and 
that  the  aforesaid  Cyrianus  Spangenberg 
then  and  there  with  a  certain  Knife  made 
of  Iron  and  Steele  of  the  value  of  eight 
pence  which  he  the  said  Cyrianus  Spang- 
enberg then  and  there  held  in  his  right 
hand  and  struck  him  the  said  .Jacob  Gless- 
ner on  the  left  side  two  wounds,  one  is 
mortal,  one  other  on  the  right  side  mortal 
on  the  said  .Jacob  Glessner.  And  now  I 
c  ommand  you  and  each  of  you  that  you  or 
one  of  you  to  receive  the  said  Cyrianus 
Spangenberg  into  your  custody  in  the  said 
Gaol  there  to  remain  till  he  be  delivered 
from  your  custody  by  due  course  of  law 
Given  under  My  hand  Seal  this  20  day  of 
March    1794 

ADAM   MILLER   .J.    P.    (Seal) 

The  Docket  also  shows  that  Jacob 
Gibler,  John  Zeigler,  David  Esh- 
baugh,  Mathis  Zummerman,  Jacob 
\\'iant  (Weyand),  Frederick  Old- 
father  and  Mary  Buce  were  held  in 
£40  bail  to  appear  in  court  as  wit- 
nesses. It  also  alleges  that  iMargaret 
Louise  S])angenberg  reputed  wife  of 
the  Tiiinister  was  not  his  wife. 

Sj)angenberg's  trial  took  place  at 
Bedford  and  on  April  27,  1795  he  was 
found  guilty  of  murder  in  the  first  de- 
gree and  sentenced  to  death.  He  seems 
still  to  have  had  some  friends  and  a 
vain  effort  was  made  to  secure  a  par- 
don or  at  lest  a  commutation  of  the 
sentence    from    the   Governor,  on   June 


BERLIN    AND    BROTHERSVALLEY 


55S 


25.  The  Governor  transmitted  the 
papers  that  had  l)een  filed  in  the  case 
to  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  State  and 
solicited  an  oi)inion.  Ilis  answer  was 
ag'ainst  either  pardon  or  commutation 
of  the  sentence. 

The  Governor  then  issued  his  war- 
rant to  Jacob  Bennett.  High  Sheriff  of 
Bedford,  directing  that  the  prisoner 
be  executed  on  Saturday,  October  10, 
1795.  between  the  hours  of  10  o'clock 
in  the  forenoon  and  2  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon.  The  day  and  the  hour 
came.  The  doomed  man,  his  coffin 
on  the  same  vehicle,  was  con\eyed  to 
the  place  of  execution  and  there  in  the 
presence  of  a  great  concourse  of 
people  the  sentence  of  the  law  was 
carried  into  effect. 

An  early  industry  in  Berlin  ^vas  the 
manufacture  of  hats.  Besides  sup- 
plying the  local  demand  Berlin  hats 
Avere  shi])ped  as  far  west  as  Pittsburg 
and  points  along  the  Ohio  River. 
Early  hatters  of  the  period  about  1800 
were  George  Johnson,  Henry  Lohr, 
-\Tichael  Ream. 

We  have  this  account  of  a  Tair  that 
was  held  at  Berlin  in  1808  from  the  re- 
collections of  one  who  was  present. 

"Great  crowds  of  people  from  all  parts 
of  the  county  were  in  attendance  during  its 
continuance   of  three   days. 

"There  were  no  exhibits  of  any  kind  at 
this  fair  which  was  held  on  a  farm  later 
owned  by  Herman  Brubaker.  A  race  track 
a  mile  around  was  in  front  of  where  the 
house  now  is.  Four  horses  .ran  a  race 
which  was  won  by  a  horse  from  Ligonier 
known  as  the  Ligonier  Pony.  There  was 
fiddling  and  dancing  in  all  the  taverns 
from  morning  until  night  and  from  night 
till  morning.  Among  the  fiddlers  were 
Peter  Lavie,  John  Lave  and  Peter  Trout- 
man  the  latter  an  old  Revolutionary  sol- 
dier who  lived  in  Southampton  Township, 
Each  of  these  fiddlers  had  his  own  place 
where  he  held  forth.  In  short,  in  those  days, 
horse  racing  and  frolicking  constituted  a 
fair.  This  one  wound  up  with  a  foot  race 
for  the  whiskey  between  Ludwig  Baer  and 
Valentine  Lout,  who  weighed  250  pounds 
apiece  and  we.re  TO  years  old,  after  running 
a  couple  of  rods  Lout  tripped  Baer,  both 
falling  to  the  ground  in  a  heap  to  the  great 
amusement  of  the  sjjectators.  Such  were 
the  amusements  of  our  forefathers  when 
they  went  out  for  the  puri)ose  of  having  a 
good  time." 


The  militia  trainings  and  mustering 
of  the  surrounding  country  were  held 
at  Berlin,  and  for  many  years  com- 
panies of  riflemen  and  infantry  as  well 
as  of  cavalry  and    artillery    were    kept 

U]). 

All  the  fights  and  quarrels  of  the- 
rough  part  of  the  community  were- 
l^ostponed  to  the  day  of  "Die  Grosse- 
Mustering"  to  be  then  settled.  Few 
of  these  gatherings  passed  off  without 
one  or  more  bloody  fights  having  tak- 
en place,  sometimes  as  the  results  of 
previous  quarrels,  oftentimes  as  the- 
result  of  a  previous  challenge  that  had 
been  passed  between  parties  for  the 
championship — for  there  were  those 
who.  looked  on  it  as  a  great  lionor  to 
be  the  bully  at  such  a  gathering.  The- 
Marquis  of  Queensbury's  Rules  cut 
but  little  figure  on  an  occasion  of  this 
kind.  It  was  a  common  thing,  almost 
as  if  by  preconcerted  arrangement  for 
a  great  ring  to  be  suddenly  formed  in 
the  center  of  which  were  two  fellows 
dealing  each  other  sledge-hammer 
blows  that  would  have  felled  an  ox, 
while  the  crowds  of  spectators  taking 
sides  shouted  lustily  for  their  favor- 
ites. This  over,  others  would  sud- 
denh'  remember  that  they  too  had 
grievances  that  must  be  settled  which 
they  at  once  proceeded  to  do. 

Somerset  County  was  formed  out  of 
a  part  of  Bedford  County  in  1795. 
Under  the  terms  of  the  act  creating 
the  new  county  the  Governor  of  the 
state  appointed  a  commission  wha 
were  to  assemble  at  Berlin.  Their 
(lutv  was  to  fix  upon  a  permanent  seat 
of  justice.  The  men  chosen  were 
men  of  reputation  and  from  remote 
parts  of  the  State  and  were  presumed 
to  be  disinterested.  The  temporary 
seat  of  justice  however  was  fixed  at 
Brunerstown.  an  early  name  of  Som- 
erset. The  ])eople  of  Berlin  built  high 
hojies  on  their  town  being  honored  by 
l)eing  ch(tsen  as  the  county  seat.  \Miy 
should  they  not  have  had  such  hopes? 
Their  town  was  the  oldest  and  it  may 
be  said  almost  the  only  town  in  the 
new  countv,  for  it  is  not  very  certain 


556 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAX 


that  Brunerstown  had  more  than  a 
half  dozen  houses.  It  also  was  well 
located,  almost  everything  could  be 
said  in  its  favor.  \Ye  must  assume 
that  the  commission  at  least  came  to- 
gether at  Berlin.  How'carefuily  they 
looked  over  the  situation  then  no  one 
at  this  day  can  tell.  They  came  across 
the  ridge  to  Brunerstown.  Plere  the 
Berlin  people  claimed  that  one  Adam 
Schneider,  an  evil-minded  and  design- 
ing man  got  in  some  work  tliat  was 
■exceedingly  prejudicial  to  the  interests 
of  their  tow^n  in  that  he  lured  the  com- 
missioners into  an  upper  room  in  his 
tavern  or  dwelling  whichever  it  was 
where  he  had  them  gaze  into  the  bot- 
tom of  a  certain  black  bottle  which  he 
had  provided  for  the  occasion  until 
they,  the  commissioners,  were  unable 
to  see  the  merit  of  any  place  other 
than  Brunerstown  for  a  county  seat, 
and  the  claims  of  Berlin  were  not  con- 
sidered at -all.  At  any  rate  Bruners- 
tov.m  was  chosen  to  be  the  county  seat 
and  from  that  day  on  was  known  as 
Somerset,  the  town  having  been  re- 
platted  and  renamed  all  on  the  self 
same  day. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  out- 
come of  this  county  seat  contest  was 
the  cause  of  much  recrimination  and 
bad  feeling  between  the  people  of  the 
two  towns,  and  it  became  necessary 
that  several  generations  should  come 
and  go  before  the  people  of  Berlin 
became  reconciled  to  the  situation. 

For  many  years  there  was  much 
rivalry  and  jealousy  between  the 
people  of  the  two  towns.  If  there  was 
a  Fourth  of  July  celebration  or  any 
other  public  demonstration  in  the  one 
town  the  other  was  always  sure  to 
try  and  eclipse  it  at  the  first  oppor- 
tunitv.  Such  were  the  still  remem- 
bered sleighing  parties  ot   1839. 

The  winter  of  1838-39  was  marked 
for  its  deep  and  continuous  snows.  A 
snow^  that  fell  early  in  the  month  of 
December  1838  with  many  additional 
inches  afterwards  furnished  first-class 
sleighing  for  four  months  without  a 
single    day's    interruption.       Of  those 


who  took  part  in  this  contest  for  su- 
premacy, in  the  role  of  large  sleighing 
l)arties  from  Berlin  aiid  Somerset,  the 
late  John  O.  Kimmell.  Esq.,  was  prob- 
al)ly  the  sole  survivor. 

Mr.  Kimmel  l(jr  many  /ears  a 
worthy  and  honored  member  of  the 
Somerset  bar  in  his  94th  year  was  still 
alert  and  active,  with  his  intellectual 
powers  still  unclouded.  In  1839  Mr. 
Kimmell,  who  was  born  and  reared  in 
Berlin  still  resided  there.  One  day 
he  and  the  late  George  Johnson  wdio 
was  then  his  business  partner  headed 
what  was  considered  a  good  sized 
sleighing  party  with  Somerset  as  its 
destination,  with  fourteen  young  men 
and  sixteen  pretty  Berlin  girls.  (Ber- 
lin has  always  been  noted  for  its 
beautiful  w^omen.)  The  party  entered 
the  countyseat  town :  then  drove 
through  town  to  the  top  of  "Gravel 
Hill"  and  back  through  others  of  the 
principal  streets,  and  finally  to  the  re- 
spective hotels  of  Isaac  Ankeny  and 
Joseph  Imhofif  where  they  partook  of 
dinners  such  as  could  only  be  had  at 
these  popular  hostelries  and  then 
spending  the  afternoon  in  making 
social  calls.  Kimmel  and  Johnson  being 
r'uite  proud  of  their  fine  procession  of 
sleighs,  twitted  the  Somersetters 
over  their  inability  to  equal  or  beat  it. 

The  Somerset  people  headed  by  the 
Ankenys,  Neft's  and  Ilolderbaums 
took  up  the  matter  and  enlisted  the 
co-operation  of  the  surrounding 
country.  Early  on  the  morning  of  the 
appointed  day  for  the  gathering, 
sleighs  filled  with  young  and  old  be- 
gan t(^  appear  on  the  streets  vntil  the 
number  reached  sixty-seven.  With 
this  number  the  procession  started  for 
Berlin  which  was  reached  before  ten 
o'clock  in  the  morning  and  as  it 
moved  through  the  principal  streets 
the  elated  sleighers  exultingly  ex- 
claimed, "Now  where  is  your  boasted 
procession  of  sixteen?"' 

It  goes  without  saying  that  all  of 
this  set  the  entire  Berlin  region  aflame 


Aa^rivAsaaHJ^OHa   axv   xnaaa 


55T 


with  the  rcsuk  that  duriiii;-  the  follow- 
ing- week  Somerset  was  o\erwhehne(l 
with  surprise  by  an  aggregation  of 
sleighs  such  as  never  Ijefore  or  since 
has  been  seen  in  these  parts.  In  the 
first  sleigh  a  large  banner  was  borne 
with  the  inscription  "Beat  this  if  you 
can."  This  was  followed  by  one  hun- 
dred and  two,  one  and  two-horse 
sleighs.  One  of  the  crestfallen  Soni- 
ersetters,  a  lawyer  who  afterwards 
became  a  noted  Judge  in  a  far  western 
state  ,  looking  at  the  long  line  of 
sleighs  already  in  the  town  and  seeing 
no  end  to  the  procession  coming  down 
the  hill  east  of  the  town  exjlaimed, 
•"Why,  this  beats  all  h — 11."  Victory 
perched  on  the  banner  of  Berlin  and 
Somerset,  so  far  as  sleighing  parties 
go.  was  effectually  sciuelched.  On  the 
following  Sunday  the  pastor  of  the 
Lutheran  Churcli  at  Berlin  took  for 
his  text  the  flag  inscription,  "Beat 
This,"   and   went   f(jr   the   sleighers   by 


severely  censuring  all  who  iiad  en- 
gaged in  what  he  called  an  ungodly 
contest.  He  denounced  the  whole 
affair  as  worldly  and,  therefore,  at  va- 
riance with  the  spirit  of  religion,  yet 
e\erything  had  been  conducted  de- 
cently and  in  order. 

Like  all  rural  communities  the 
growth  of  Berlin  has  l)een  slow,  little 
more  than  the  natural  increase.  After 
railroads  had  penetrated  Somerset 
County  and  the  opportunity  for  the 
development  of  its  vast  mineral  re- 
sources had  come,  the  count  v  forged 
rapidly  ahead  both  in  population  and 
wealth.  Berlin  however  was  slow  in 
sharing  in  the  general  prosperity  of 
the  county.  But  within  the  last  half 
dozen  years  there  has  been  a  great 
change,  and  the  town  is  rapidly  com- 
ing to  the  front  as  a  wide  awake 
and  progressive  community.  The  town 
has  both  water  works  and  electric 
li"-ht. 


In  Y^  Olden  Time 

By  Daniel  Miller,   Reading,  Pa. 


HA\  E  the  pleasure  and 
perhaps  the  good  fortune 
of  possessing  a  consider- 
al)le  collection  of  old 
newspapers  of  Berks 
and  neighboring  coun- 
ties, some  of  which  date 
back  a  good  deal  over 
one  hundred  years.  These  papers  are 
of  interest  for  \arious  reasons.  They 
serve  as  an  index  to  the  primitive 
condition  of  things  in  the  long  ago, 
compared  with  the  present  day. Those 
were  days  of  small  things  in  news- 
paperdom,  as  well  as  in  things  gener- 
ally. These  papers  indicate  the  won- 
derful changes  which  ha\-e  occurred 
during  a  century  or  more. 

The  news  then  travelled  slowly. 
The  oldest  paper  in  my  possession, 
the  first  number  of  the  "Reading  Ad- 
ler."  dated  Xov.  29.  1796,  contains  re- 
ports   of    events    which    occurred    in 


Europe  fully  three  months  before  the 
date  of  the  paper.  There  were  then  no 
steam  mail  ships,  and  of  course  no 
ocean  cables.  Xow  we  receive  re- 
ports of  important  events  from  all 
parts  of  the  world  quickly,  in  some 
instances  so  to  say,  before  they  have 
transpired,  according  to  time,  be- 
cause cablegrams  travel  faster  than 
the  sunlight. 

There  has  been  a  wonderful  develop- 
ment in  newspaper  publishing  during 
a  century.  The  early  papers  were  ex- 
ceedingly small,  compared  with  the 
wondrous  papers  of  the  present  day. 
The  'Reading  Adler"  was  at  first 
printed  upon  a  sheet  16  by  203^ 
inches.  There  were  four  pages  of 
three  columns  each.  How^  insigni- 
ficant the  early  paper  looks,  compared 
with  the  present-clay  Sunday  papers 
of  our  large  cities  which  contain  as 
high  as  forty  or  fifty  pages.  The  same 


S58 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


-evolution  has  occurred  in  printing- 
presses.  A  hundred  years  ago  the 
papers  were  printed  on  crude  hand 
presses,  constructed  nearly  entirely  of 
wood.  I  have  a  picture  of  the  origi- 
nal "Adler"  press,  the  only  printing 
press  ever  built  in  Berks  county.  It 
was  constructed  in  1796  in  Exeter 
township  by  John  and  Jacob  Snyder 
and  Francis  Ritter,  mostly  of  wood. 
The  iron  work  used  was  hammered 
out  at  the  blacksmith  shop  in  Exeter 
township,  near  Oley  Line.  Two  men 
■were  required  to  operate  this  primi- 
tive press — one  to  apply  the  ink  and 
the  other  one  to  make  the  impression. 
About  200  impressions  could  be  made 
per  hour,  and  this  was  hard  work. 
This  means  that  about  one  hundred 
-copies  of  the  paper  could  be  printed 
on  both  sides  in  one  hour,  since  only 
one  side  could  be  printed  at  one  time. 
This  was  quite  a  contrast  with  the 
•great  web  presses  of  the  present  day, 
which  are  operated  by  steam  and  elec- 
tricity and  print  40  to  50.000  complete 
papers  per  hour. 

The  paper  upon  wdiich  the  early 
journals  were  j^rinted  was  of  course 
of  an  inferior  quality  compared  with 
the  paper  of  the  present  day.  but  it 
is  remarkably  well  preserved.  The 
ink  also  was  good.  One  of  the  pecu- 
liarities of  the  papers  of  a  century 
ago  and  much  later  was  the  almost  en- 
tire absence  of  local  news.  There 
really  was  very  little  of  this  kind  of 
news,  and  there  was  neither  facility 
nor  effort  to  secure  what  there  was. 
The  news  published  was  of  a  general 
character,  and  frequently  items  of  a 
very  trifling  character  from  all  sec- 
tions of  the  country  were  published. 
Much  of  the  news  published  was 
copied  from   the   Philadelphia   papers. 

The  first  papers  issued  in  Berks 
and  neighboring  counties  were  in  the 
German  language.  The  majority  of 
the  people  were  German,  and  the 
English  papers  started  later  had  a 
hard-  and  long  struggle  to  maintain 
their  existence.  One  of  the  early  Ger- 
man papers,  the  "Welt  Bote"  was  in- 


tended for  the  people  of  Berks, 
Schuylkill  and   Lebanon  counLies. 

A  short  review  of  the  contents  of  a 
few  of  these  papers  may  not  be  de- 
void of  interest. 

The  first  newspaper  issued  in  Read- 
ing was  "  Die  Neue  Unpartheiische 
Readinger  Zeitnug" — (The  New  Im- 
partial Reading  Newspaper).  It  was 
started  in  1789.  Its  founders  were 
John  Gruber  and  Gottlieb  Jungman. 
JMr.  Gruber  died  in  Hagerstown,  Md., 
January  5,  1855,  at  the  age  of  90 
years.  I  have  in  my  possession  a 
copy  of  this  paper  bearing  date  March 
10,  1802.  The  paper  is  16  by  20^2 
inches  in  size.  At  this  time  it  was 
published  by  Messrs.  Jungman  and 
Bruckman  in  the  German  and  Eng- 
lish printing  office  where  all  kinds  of 
printing  in  both  languages  was  exe- 
cuted "clean,  quickly  and  at  the  low- 
est rates."  The  subscription  price  was 
one  dollar  per  year.  The  paper  in 
my  possession  is  No.  682,  which 
clearly  proves  that  it  was  started  in 
1789.  It  is  generally  supposed  that 
the  "Reading  Adler"  was  the  first 
paper  issued  in  Reading,  but  this  is 
an  error.  The  motto  of  the  "Unpar- 
theiische Readinger  Zeitung"  was : 
"\Ae  are  all  Republicans;  we  are  all 
Federalists."  The  population  of  Beskr 
county  was  then  only  551 1,  which 
indicates  the  limited  field  for  news- 
papers at  that  time. 

In  the  news  columns  of  this  paper 
is  a  report  of  a  French  massacre  in 
St.  Domingo.  Several  towns  were  en- 
tirely destroyed  and  the  people  killed. 
IMuch  space  is  devoted  to  a  report  of 
the  funeral  in  Boston  of  Hon.  Sam- 
uel Philips,  Lieutenant  Governor  of 
Massachusetts.  Rev.  Mr.  Baldwin, 
chaplain  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, delivered  a  so-called  heart- 
melting  sermon  on  the  words:  "Be- 
hold an  Israelite  indeed  in  whom  is  no 
guile."  The  bells  of  the  city  tolled 
from  2  to  4  o'clock.  The  Pennsyl- 
vania Legislature  was  in  session  in 
Lancaster.  The  paper  states  that  on 
March  i  the  Senate  voted  in  favor  of 
making  Harrisburg  the  capital  city  of 


IN    YE   OLDEN   TIME 


559 


the  State,  but  that  the  House  had  a 
few  days  later  voted  in  favor  of  re- 
maining at  Lancaster,  consequently 
the  seat  of  State  government  would 
remain  in  the  latter  city.  (Lancaster 
was  the  capital  city  of  the  State  from 
1799  until  1812,  when  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment was  removed  to  Hairisburg, 
where  it  has   ever  since   remained.) 

Hon.  Jacob  Rush  was  at  this  time 
President  Judge  of  the  Berks  Conuty 
Court,  whilst  Col.  Nicholas  Lotz, 
well-known  in  the  struggle  for  Ameri- 
can freedom,  James  Dienier  and  Ben- 
jamin Morris  were  the  Associate 
Judges.  Nicholas  Dick  was  the  sher- 
iff of  the  county.  The  latter  officer 
published  the  usual  court  proclama- 
tion in  which  some  curious  phrases 
occur.  He  speaks  of  the  Judges  as 
those  of  the  "Peinlichen  Hals  Ger- 
ichts  und  Allegemeine  Gefangniss 
Erledigung."  which  translated  liter- 
ally means  :  "Painful  Neck  Court  and 
General  Jail  Delivery."  The  former 
part  of  the  sentence  evidently  refers 
to  capitol  crimes.  Henry  Betz  offers 
his  services  for  writing  all  kinds  of 
legal  documents  at  his  office  opposite 
the  Thomas  Jefferson  hotel.  He  states 
that  he  would  remove  on  the  first  of 
April  to  Penn  street,  next  door  to  the 
store  of  William  Bell.  Casper  Thiell 
offers  for  sale  in  Hamburg  a  machine 
for  cutting  nails. — A  German  school- 
master is  wanted  for  the  school  of  the 
German  Reformed  church  in  Phila- 
delphia. Applicants  to  apply  to  Rev. 
Mr.  Helffenstein,  as  pastor. — A  female 
negro  slave  is  offered  for  sale.  She 
is  hearty,  strong  and  well,  and  has 
still  seven  years  to  serve.  Apply  at 
the  office  of  the  paper. — Jacob  Brecht 
and  John  Strohecker,  burgesses  of 
Reading,  warn  people  against  selling 
lottery  tickets  in  the  borough. — The 
county  account  for  1801  is  published 
in  the  paper.  The  total  amount  of 
county  tax  received  was  $8,763.87. 
(At  the  present  time  the  receipts 
amount  to  about  $525,000)  Some 
of  the  items  of  expenditure  are  inter- 
esting, such  as  $25.61  for  printing; 
$26.16     for     fox     and     crow     scalps; 


$524.07  for  costs  of  Schuylkill  Bridge 
Lottery;  $276,813^  as  commission  of 
county  treasurer;  $2,666.66  to  Oba- 
diah  Osburn  on  account  of  the  erec- 
tion of  a  Penn  street  bridge. The  work 
of  erecting  a  bridge  was  commenced 
in  the  fall  of  1801,  but  soon  after  en- 
tering upon  this  work  the  contractor 
failed  and  the  bridge  was  finally 
erected  only  in  181 5.  In  the  begin- 
ning of  the  enterprise  a  lottery  had 
been  arranged  to  raise  a  portion  of 
the  money  for  the  erection  of  the 
bridge  but  the  movement  was  a  fail- 
ure, and  the  county  had  to  pay  over 
$500  for  costs  connected  with  the 
venture.  In  those  days  lotteries  were 
frequently  employed  to  secure  money 
for  public  enterprises,  even  for  the 
erection  of  churches. 

Mr.  Gottlieb  Jungman,  one  of  the 
proprietors  of  the  paper,  published  a 
prospectus  for  the  publication  of  a 
German  edition  of  the  Bible  at  $5.00 
per  copy,  bound  in  calf  skin.  In  case 
the  Bible  is  taken  unbound  the  cost  of 
binding  will  be  deducted.  As  soon  as 
600  subscribers  have  been  secured  the 
publisher  will  order  the  type  and 
paper,  and  call  for  one-half  of  the 
price  of  subscription.  The  balance  to 
be  paid  upon  delivery  of  the  Bible. 
The  Bible  was  issued  in  1805.  I  am 
glad  to  be  the  possessor  of  a  copy  of 
this  issue.  It  was  originally  the 
property  of  Mr.  Philip  Lotz,  a  son  of 
Col.   Nicholas   Lotz. 

THE  READING  ADLER 
The  next  oldest  paper  in  my  pos- 
session is  the  "Impartial  Readinger 
Adler,"  the  first  number  of  which  was 
issued  on  November  29,  1796.  The 
second  number  was  issued  Avith  the 
beginning  of  the  year  1797.  This  is  the 
oldest  German  weekly  continuously 
published  in  the  United  States.  The 
first  publishers  were  Jacob  Schneider 
and  George  Gerrish,  and  the  paper 
was  issued  from  the  "German  and 
English  printing  office  on  Penn  street, 
the  seventh  door  west  of  the  court 
house,  and  next  door  above  the  sign 
of  the   Farm  Wagon."  where  all  kinds 


560 


THE    PEXXSYLVANIA-GERMAX 


of  printing  was  executed  "cheap  and 
clean."  The  subscription  price  was  a 
Spanish  dollar  per  year,  one-half  of 
which  was  payable  at  the  time  of  sub- 
scription, and  the  balance  in  six 
months.  To  pa}^  a  whole  dollar  at  one 
time  was  evidently  regarded  as  being 
too  much.  The  paper  was  delivered 
by  carriers  to  subscribers  in  the  town, 
and  sent  by  first  opportunity  'o  those 
in  the  country.  Why  not  send  the 
papers  by  mail  ?  Because  there  were 
no  postal  facilities  in  Berks  county. 
Only  one  post  of^ce  existed  in  the 
whole  county,  the  one  at  Reading  es- 
tablished in   1793. 

A  large  portion  of  the  "Adler"  was 
taken  up  with  news  from  Europe, 
notably  from  the  seat  of  Avar  in  Italy. 
The  paper  contained  only  a  few  ad- 
vertisements. Samuel  Filbert  adver- 
tises a  large  stock  of  Dry  and  \^^et 
Goods  at  his  store  in  Oley  township. 
The  Dry  Goods  included  cloth,  satin, 
muslin,  calico,  silk,  stockings,  etc., 
whilst  among  the  ^^'et  Goods  he  men- 
tions Jamaica  s])irits,  brandy,  gin, 
molasses,  brown  sugar,  four  kinds  of 
wine,  etc.,  all  of  Avhich  is  offered  cheap 
for  cash  or  on  short  credit. — Nathan- 
iel von  \\  inkel  informs  the  public  that 
a  horse  was  stolen  in  the  night  of 
Nov.  20  from  his  stable  on  Ridge 
Road,  eleven  miles  north  of  Philadel- 
phia, and  offers  $15  reward  for  the  re- 
covery of  the  horse  and  the  arrest  of 
the  thief,  or  $10  for  the  return  of  the 
horse  alone. — Conrad  Fasig  offers  the 
highest  cash  price  for  good  and  clean 
flax  seed. —  Nicholas  Seitessinger  of- 
fers a  good  position  to  a  competent 
blacksmith  at  his  shop  at  the  upper 
ferry  across  the  Schuylkill  river  near 
Reading.  There  was  then  no  bridge 
at  Reading. 

In  the  course  of  time  the  "Adler" 
became  one  of  the  most  profitable 
newspapers  in  the  country.  Some  of 
the  early  German  papers  in  eastern 
Pennsylvania  were  during  many 
years  the  most  widely  circulated  jour- 
nals, but  the  transition  from  German 
to  English,  which  in  recent  years  has 
been    very    rapid,    has    evidently    af- 


fected the  circulation  .of  these  papers, 
and  many  have  suspended  publica- 
tion. I  could  name  nearly  a  dozen 
which  have  passed  out  of  existence  in 
Berks  and  the  adjoining  counties 
during  the  past  forty  years.  In  Leba- 
non county  there  is  no  German  paper 
published  now.  The  number  of  Ger- 
man papers  is  now  small,  and  the 
time  is  rapidly  coming  when  very 
few  will  remain. 

WELT   BOTE 

The  next  oldest  German  paper  in 
my  possession  is  "Der  Welt-Bote  und 
A\'alire  Republikaner  von  Berks, 
Schuylkill  und  Libanon  Caunties," 
bearing  date  of  March  7,  1821.  It  was 
published  by  Henry  B.  Sage,  in  East 
Penn  Square,  where  all  kinds  of  print- 
ing in  the  German  and  English 
languages  was  executed  clean  and  at 
the  cheapest  rates.  This  issue  was  of 
the  eleventh  vokune  which  indicates 
that  the  paper  was  started  in  the  be- 
ginning of  181 1.  Montgomery's  his- 
tory of  1886  contains  no  record  of  this 
paper,  but  the  omission  will  be  cor- 
rected in  the  new  history.  The  first 
article  in  the  paper  is  a  doleful  appeal 
to  delinquent  subscribers  to  pay  up, 
some  owing  from  four  to  ten  years. 
The  publisher  threatens  to  prosecute 
all  who  fail  to  pay  by  April  4.  It  is 
the  same  song  which  has  been  sung 
ever  since  by  publishers  who  must  do 
a  credit  business. — A  comet  was  re- 
cently seen  in  the  western  sky. — In 
those  days  the  governor  of  the  state 
appointed  the  several  county  officers. 
This  custom  prevailed  from  the  erec- 
tion of  the  coimty  in  1752  until  the 
adoption  of  the  amended  constitution 
in  1838  since  which  time  they  are 
elected  by  the  people.  The  paper  con- 
tains a  list  of  appointments  for  a  num- 
ber of  counties. — A  week  previous  to 
the  date  of  the  paper  there  died  in 
Harrisburg  Benjamin  Foulke.  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Legislature  from  Bucks 
county.  Accompanied  by  the  state  of- 
ficials and  the  members  of  the  Legis- 
lature the  body  was  carried  out  of 
the   city   and   placed    upon    a    wagon 


IN   YE   OLDEN    TIME 


561 


which  conveyed  it  to  Bucks  county. 
The  wagon  passed  through  Reading 
on  Thursday  of  last  week. — The  ces- 
sion of  Florida  from  S]:)ain  to  the 
United  States  was  recently  completed 
and  the  editor  expresses  the  hope  that 
our  country  may  long  remain  inde- 
pendent.— In  the  House  of  the  Legis- 
lature a  resolution  was  offered,  but 
not  passed,  to  request  the  governor 
to  submit  a  list  of  the  names  of  all 
ofifice-seekers.  There  was  then,  as 
now,  no  lack  of  patriotic  citizens,  who 
were  willing  to  serve  their  country. — 
A  committee  which  had  been  ap- 
pointed to  consider  the  advisability 
of  revising  the  state  constitution,  re- 
ported that  there  was  no  need  for  re- 
vision.— A  French  journal  reports  the 
population  of  the  United  States  as 
being  about  twelve  millions. — Politi- 
cal corruption  was  then  adready  a 
prolific  growth.  The  Legislature  re- 
moved the  State  treasurer,  and  Gov. 
Jose]  ;i  Hiester.  of  Berks  county,  re- 
ceived a  full  share  of  blame  for  this 
act.  The  "Welt  Bolte"  charges  that 
the  former  state  administration  had 
been  thoroughly  corrupt. 

In  those  days  there  were  not  many 
wealthy  people.  The  paper  states 
that  a  certain  gentleman  in  New  York 
wishes  to  retire  and  therefore  offers 
his  i8  houses  and  i6  lots  for  sale.  The 
editor  thinks  that  a  man  who  owns  so 
much  property  could  well  afford  to 
retire. — Robbers  were  evidently  not 
as  plenty  in  those  days  as  now.  This 
Reading  paper  warns  the  public 
against  a  beggar  who  is  reported  to 
have  robbed  a  man  in  New  Jersey  of 
$8.  A  description  of  the  rogue  is 
given. — On  February  14  the  votes  of 
the  several  states  for  President  and 
Vice  President  Avere  counted  in  Con- 
gress. James  ]\Ionroe  wa.«5  declared 
elected  President  and  Daniel  D. 
Thompkins  Vice  President.  —  The 
paper  contains  a  report  of  the  census 
of  Berks  county  taken  in  1820.  The 
population  of  the  county  was  46,251, 
a  gain  of  9.418  in  ten  years.  The  bor- 
ough of  Reading  contained  4,278 
people,  against  3,462    ten    years    pre- 


vious.    Lebanon   county  had  a   popu- 
lation of  17,909. 

Robert  Porter  was  President  Judge, 
and  Charles  Shoemaker  and  Gabriel 
Hiester  were  Associate  Judges,  whilst 
Henry  Betz  was  Sheriff  of  Berks 
county. — The  firm  of  George  D.  B. 
and  Benneville  Keim  threatens  to 
prosecute  all  debtors  who  owe  longer 
than  one  year. — Keim  &  Dankel  ad- 
vertise a  large  stock  of  hardware. — - 
Jacob  Uhle,  of  Lebanon,  informs  the 
public  that  he  will  make  a  trip  to 
Europe  on  April  i,  and  will  attend  to 
all  business  entrusted  to  him.  He  will 
deliver  letters  and  bring  replies  for  50 
cents  each.  Letters  must  be  pre- 
paid.— Dr.  Lob  stein  offers  his  profes- 
sional services  and  portrays  his  skill 
as  a  physician  in  an  advertisement  oc- 
cup3nng  nearly  a  column  of  the  paper. 
He  states  that  he  recently  treated  five 
patients  for  gravel  and  piles. — The 
paper  contains  the  annual  county  ac- 
count. The  total  receipts  amounted 
to  $21,620.1634-  Among  the  items  of 
expenditure  were  these :  Cost  for 
special  election  for  member  of  Con- 
gress. $326.50;  for  firewood  and  clean- 
ing chimney  $17;  attorney  fees  $16 
(lawyers  were  then  cheaper  than 
now)  ;  tuition  for  poor  children 
$50.40;  costs  for  dividing  Tulpe- 
hocken  township  $30;  balance  in  the 
treasury,  $2,679.76^. 

Those  were  the  days  of  cheap  liv- 
ing. Among  the  published  market 
prices  we  note  these:  wheat,  60  cents; 
O'C-  35  cents ;  oats,  25  cents ;  butter, 
8  cents;  ham,  6  cents;  rye  Avhiskey,  22 
cents  per  gallon. 

In  those  days  newspaper  publishers 
dealt  in  certain  articles  which  would 
now  hardly  fall  into  their  line.  The 
publisher  of  the  "Welt  Bote"  adver- 
tised for  sale  not  only  all  kinds  of 
legal  blanks,  but  also  a  certain  oil  for 
the  cure  of  rheumatism,  cattle  pow- 
der, etc.  It  was  then  and  long  after 
customary  for  newspaper  offices  to 
sell  cattle  powder,  patent  medicines, 
etc.  This  was  done  in  the  office  of 
the  German  paper  in  Lebanon,  when 
I  entered  it  as  an  apprentice  in  1859. 


562 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


LIBERALE  BEOBACHTER 

The  "Liberale  Beobachter"  or  Ob- 
server was  founded  in  September, 
1839,  by  Mr.  Arnold  Puwelle.  Pre- 
vious to  that  time  all  the  German 
papers  in  the  county  were  Democratic 
in  politics.  Mr.  Puwelle  broke  the 
monotony  by  issuing  a  German  Whig 
paper.  He  was  a  Catholic  in  religion. 
I  have  a  number  of  the  early  issues 
of  this  paper  in  m}^  possession,  the 
earliest  one  bearing  the  date  of  April 
13,  1841.  It  was  published  in  the  of- 
fice of  Sixth  and  Liberty  streets,  op- 
posite Behm's  hotel,  at  $1.50  yer  year. 
The  motto  of  the  paper  was :  "Willing 
to  praise,  and  fearless  to  criticise." 
This  issue  is  No.  32  of  the  second  vol- 
ume. The  principal  item  of  news  is 
the  report  of  the  death  of  President 
W'illiam  Henry  Harrison  on  April  4. 
1841.  An  official  announcement  of 
his  death  was  made  from  Washington 
by  the  five  members  of  the  cabinet, 
with  Daniel  Webster  as  Secretary  of 
State  at  the  head.  The  paper  ap- 
pears in  mourning,  the  head  and  col- 
umn rules  being  inverted. 

A  large  portion  of  the  "Beobachter" 
is  devoted  to  news  from  Europe,  the 
most  important  of  which  was  that  a 
strong  sentiment  for  war  against  the 
United  States  had  developed  in  Eng- 
land on  account  of  the  McLeod  afifair. 
A  London  paper  is  quoted  to  the  ef- 
fect that  the  English  government  was 
making  preparation  for  war  in  the 
event  of  the  execution  of  McLeod.  It 
was  stated  that  six  regiments  were 
ordered  to  be  in  readiness  to  embark 
for  the  American  coast.  Alexander 
McLeod  had  been  arrested  in  New 
York  state  as  a  participant  m  the 
burning  of  the  vessel  "  Carolina " 
which  was  a  result  of  the  Canadian 
rebellion  against  British  authority. 
Fortunately  McLeod  proved  his  inno- 
cence and  was  liberated,  and  the  war 
cloud  disappeared  as  quickly  as  it  had 
gathered. 

There  was  a  scarcity  of  news,  so 
that  some  rather  trifling  matter  was 
published.  For  example,  on  the  sec- 
ond day  of  April  a  colored  person  en- 


tered the  residence  of  Mr.  Hunter  in 
New  York  and  was  in  the  act  ^f  steal- 
ing a  gold  watch,  when  Mr.  Hunter 
seized  him  and  handed  him  over  to 
the  police.  In  the  struggle  the  cloth- 
ing of  both  parties  was  somewhat 
torn. — Another  and  singular  case  of 
attempted  robbery  occurred  in  a  Bor- 
dentown,  N.  J.,  hotel  during  the 
night.  A  colored  person  entered  the 
room  of  a  pedlar  with  the  intent  of 
robbery,  but  the  pedlar  awoke,  seized 
the  burglar  and  dragged  him  down  to 
the  bar  room  to  deliver  him  mto  the 
hands  of  the  landlord.  There  it  was 
found  that  the  robber  was  a  white 
man.  who  had  blackened  his  face  for 
the  occasion,  and  when  his  face  had 
been  washed  it  was  discovered  that 
the  robber  was  none  else  than  the 
landlord  himself.  He  was  bound  over 
for  court. 

The  advertising  columns  inform  us 
of  the  cornerstone  laying  of  the  Re- 
formed and  Lutheran  church  at  Cox- 
town,  Berks  county,  on  Sunday,  April 
25.  Hucksters  were  not  allowed  to 
sell  strong  drink  near  the  place.  Cox- 
to^vn  is  now  Fleetwood. — The  county 
commissioners  publish  the  annual  ap- 
peal days.  These  officials  were 
Michael  Reifsnyder,  George  Weiler 
and  John  Long.  John  Y.  Cunnius 
was  the  clerk. — There  was  then  only 
one  Heidelberg  township,  instead  of 
three  as  now,  and  the  borough  of 
Reading  was  divided  into  two  wards 
— North  Ward  and  South  Ward. 
Penn  street  was  the  dividing  line. — 
The  population  was  then  about  8,500. 
— Keim  &  Stichter,  hardware  mer- 
chants, advertised  Brandreth's  Pills 
which  contained  no  mercury  and  did 
not  injure  the  teeth. — One  of  the  in- 
dustries of  that  time  was  chair-mak- 
ing. Frederick  Fox,  father  of  Cyrus 
T.  Fox.  was  engaged  in  the  business 
on  Penn  street,  between  Sixth  and 
Seventh.  He  advertised  all  kinds  of 
chairs  for  sale,  including  the  best 
Philadelphia  styles.  This  industry  has 
gone  out  of  existence  in  most  eastern 
towns. — Another  industry  was  that  of 
weaving  counterpanes,  which  was  car- 


IN   YE   OLDEN    TIME 


563 


ricd  on  in  Millersburg,  Bethel  town- 
ship, by  Daniel  Uordner  and  Abra- 
ham Klinger.  —  Mr.  Philip  Zieber, 
later  the  well-known  real  estate  agent, 
advertised  all  kinds  of  wine. —  The 
market  prices  were :  wheat  85  cents, 
rye  40,  oats  22,  corn  35,  rye  whiskey 
20.  apple  jack  25,  butter  12,  etc. 

The  "Beobachter"  of  December  12, 
1843,  devotes  nearly  one-half  of  its 
space  to  the  message  of  President 
John  Tyler,  and  in  consequence  it 
contains  Httle  news.  In  the  advertis- 
ing columns  Stichter  &  McKnight  of- 
fer all  kinds  of  hardware  at  the  "old 
white  stand,"  where  the  Stichter 
family  has  ever  since  been  engaged  in 
the  same  kind  of  business. — Freder- 
ick Lauer  offers  all  kinds  of  coal  at 
his  brewery  on  Chestnut  street,  near 
Third. — Augustus  C.  Hoff  advertises 
his  general  store  at  Third  and  Penn 
streets,  at  the  sign  of  the  Plow  and 
Harrow. — George  Getz  advertises  his 
large  book  store  at  the  corner  of 
Fourth  and  Penn  streets,  directly 
opposite  the  residence  of  Hon.  Henry 
A.  IMuhlenberg.  Among  the  articles 
mentioned  are  sand  and  sand  boxes. 
There  was  then  no  blotting  paper  in 
use,  but  only  sand. —  A  two-column 
advertisement  praises  the  virtues  of 
Oakeley's  patent  medicme.  Singular- 
ly it  is  recommended  by  Drs.  H.  A. 
IMuhlenberg,  S.  G.  Birch  and  John  B. 
Otto,  a  thing  which  reputable  medical 
practitioners  of  the  present  day  will 
never  do. — In  the  published  list  of 
banks  the  value  of  the  notes  of  the 
Farmers  and  the  Berks  County  banks 
is  quoted  as  being  three-fourths  of 
their  face  value  in  each  case. — The 
Reading  branch  of  the  Bank  of  Penn- 
sylvania  is   reported  as  "broken." 

The  "Beobachter"  of  Jan.  9.  1844. 
contains  an  article  in  reference  to  an 
over-issue  of  notes  of  the  Berks 
County  Bank.  The  discussion  in  the 
papers  had  made  the  notes  of  this 
bank  worthless.  At  this  time  it  was 
a  mystery  how  large  the  over-issue 
was,  and  by  whose  authority  it  was 
made.  The  paper  demanded  that  the 
guilty  parties  be  brought  to  justice. — 


Among  the  news  items  is  the  state- 
ment that  a  woman  was  found  dead 
in  Boston. 

The  copy  of  the  "Beobachter"  of 
xA.ugust  6,  1844,  is  of  special  interest. 
The  first  article  in  this  paper  is  a 
lengthy  letter  from  Hon.  Henry  A. 
^luhlenberg,  United  States  Ambassa- 
dor to  Austria  from  1838  to  1840.  The 
letter  is  dated  Vienna,  X^ovember  30, 
1838.  There  was  quite  an  interval  be- 
tween its  writing  in  1838  and  its  pub- 
lication in  1844.  This  letter  is  inter- 
esting. Mr.  Muhlenberg  was  a  grand- 
son of  Rev.  Henry  Melchior  Muhlen- 
berg, the  noted  Lutheran  missionary. 
He  described'  his  trip  from  America 
to  Austria  and  expressed  his  impres- 
sions freely.  His  experiences  and  ob- 
servations led  him  to  be  proud  of 
being  an  American  citizen.  He  calls 
Paris  an  immense  city,  with  900,000 
people,  very  narrow,  dirty  streets,  and 
no  pavements.  He  was  presented  to 
the  king  of  France,  Louis  Phdippe, 
who  had  many  questions  to  ask  about 
America.  Between  Paris  an  1  Metz 
the  country  was  not  inviting.  Mr. 
^luhlenberg  says :  "The  manure  pile 
is  nearly  always  immediately  before 
the  door,  and  in  many  places  the 
people,  horses,  oxen,  pigs  and  chick- 
ens live  under  the  same  roof.  The 
same  is  largely  the  case  in  Germany, 
and  one  result  is  that  one  can  hardly 
defend  himself  against  the  fleas  and 
^-ermin  generally.  The  principal 
hotels  are  filled  with  them,  and  even 
the  palaces  of  the  kings  are  not  free 
from  them." 

The  "Beobachter"  publishes  under 
its  editorial  head  what  it  calls  "  the 
Democratic  Republican  Whig  ticket, 
"which  was  composed  of  Henry  Clay 
for  President  and  Theodore  Freyling- 
huysen  for  Vice  President,  and  Gen. 
Joseph  Markel  for  Governor.  The  op- 
position was  called  "Locofocos." 
James  K.  Polk  was  the'  Democratic 
candidate  for  President.  Party  spirit 
ran  high  then.  One  of  the  arguments 
against  Polk  was  that  his  grandfather, 
Ezekiel  Polk,  had  been  a  Tory  or 
friend  of  England  during  the  Revolu- 


564 


THE    PEXXSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


tion.  His  friends  of  course  denied 
this,  but  the  "Beobachter"'  published 
an  affidavit  of  Thomas  Alexander,  of 
Mecklenburg-,  N.  C,  under  date  o  f 
June  IQ,  1844.  to  the  effect  that  said 
Ezekiel  Polk  had  been  a  captain  of 
the  North  Carolina  militia  at  the  time 
of  the  Revolution,  but  had  done  noth- 
ing for  the  American  cause.  Instead, 
when  Lord  Cornwallis  established  his 
headquarters  at  Charlotte,  Polk  went 
to  him  and  sought  British  protection. 
yir.  Alexander,  who  made  the  affi- 
davit, was  a  member  of  Capt.  Polk's 
military  company. 

The  tariff  question  was  then  already 
a  burning  issue.  One  of  the  argu- 
ments against  Polk  and  his  party  was 
that  they  w^ere  in  fa\-or  of  free  trade. 
It  was  argued  that  in  the  event  uf  free 
trade  the  states  would  ha\-e  to  furnish 
all  the  money  for  the  support  of  the 
national  government,  for  which  pur- 
pose the  sum  of  $28,500,000  was 
needed  annually.  Of  this  sum  Penn- 
sylvania's share  would  have  been  $3,- 
345,000,  which  would  have  been  a 
crushing  burden. 

Among  the  news  items  was  the 
statement  that  in  Cincinnati  a  certain 
man  was  prosecuted  for  $5,000  dam- 
ages for  biting  off  the  tip  of  the  prose- 
cutor's nose.  The  accused  defended 
his  action  on  the  ground  that  the 
prosecutor's  appearance  had  been  im- 
proved by  the  act,  and  therefore  had 
';ufifered  no  loss. — Various  Democra- 
tic ^^'hig  meetings  are  advertised  in 
this  paper. 

Among  the  advertisements  is  that 
of  J.  Henry  Meyre.who  proposes  to 
go  to  Europe,  and  therefore  offers  for 
sale  certain  personal  property,  includ- 
ing an  approved  recipe  for  com- 
pounding a  bedbug  powder.  It  will 
cost  only  12^/2  cents  per  year  to  keep 
a  house  free  from  these  unv/elcome 
guests.  —  George     Gernant,      Henry 


Schaeffer,  John  S.  Schroeder  and 
Jacob  D.  Barnet  offer  themselves  as 
candidates  for  the  office  of  sheriff, 
each  one  of  whom  makes  the  custo- 
mary promises  of  fidelity,  if  elected. 
]\Ir.  Gernant  was  elected,  whilst  Mr. 
Schroeder  was  successful  in  1847.  — 
John  S.  Richards,  Jacob  Ploffman  and 
G.  \A\  Arms  offer  the  public  their  ser- 
vices as  attorneys. — Publisher  P  u- 
welle  offers  Krienle3''s  Celebrated 
Gravel  Pills. 

Those  were  days  of  the  old  and  un- 
satisfactory banking  system  A\'hich 
continued  until  the  national  banks 
were  established  during  the  Civil 
^^'ar.  Of  the  numerous  state  banks 
many  were  unsoimd  and  there  were 
frecjuent  failures.  AA'hen  a  man  had 
$100  in  bank  notes  in  his  pocket  he 
never  knew  how^  much  of  it  \\'as  good 
and  how  much  bad.  ^\'hen  a  person 
was  offered  a  bank  note  he  usually 
asked:  "Is  this  note  good?"  In  many 
instances  neither  party  could  know. 
For  the  benefit  of  the  people  the 
paiiers  published  a  list  of  the  banks  in 
the  state  \vith  an  indication  of  their 
standing.  There  is  such  a  list  in  this 
riaper.  A  considerable  number  of 
ba^nks  was  closed,  the  notes  of  some 
were  above  par,  some  at  par,  and 
many  below  that  standard.  Then 
again  there  were  many  counterfeits  of 
bank  notes,  so  that  even  if  a  bank  was 
in  good  condition  it  was  often  a  ques- 
tion whether  a  note  oft'ered  in  pay- 
ment A\'as  genuine  or  a  counterfeit. 
For  this  reason  counterfeit  detectors 
were  published — pamphlets  contain- 
ing lists  of  counterfeit  notes  and  a  de- 
scription of  them.  In  the  paper  before 
us  the  notes  of  the  Farmers  National 
Bank  of  Reading  are  quoted  as  being 
par,  but  there  were  counterfeits  of 
this  bank  in  circulation.  The  notes  of 
the  Berks  County  Bank  w^ere  not 
taken  by  brokers. 


565 


Death  of  A.  Milton  Musser — A  Mormon  Historian 

By  Dr.  I.  H.  Betz,  York,  Pa. 


The  death  of  ]\Ir.  ISIusser  occurred 
on  September  24th  at  the  age  of  79 
years.  He  had  undergone  a  surgical 
operation  for  an  intestinal  trouble 
which  terminated  fatally. 

Ten    years    ago    on    a    visit    to    Salt 
Lake  t.'ity  we  called  at  the  historian's 
ofifice  and  found  an  elderly  gentleman 
deeply  immersed  in  a  formidable  pile 
of   papers.      We    presented    our    card 
bearing  the  address — "York,   Pa."   He 
brightened   up   and   shook   hands    cor- 
dially remarking,  "You  are  near  from 
my  old  home  town, — ^Marietta,  which 
I  left  in  the  '40's."  He  then  went  on 
to  make  inquiries  about  the  Lancaster 
county     Alussers     and     many     allied 
families  in  Lancaster  and  York  coun- 
ties.    After  due  formality  I   informed 
Mr.    jMusser  that   my   visit   to   his   of- 
fice    related     to     facts    bearing    upon 
Mormonism.      He   cheerfuil}'-  assented 
to  my  wishes  and  urged  me  to  remain 
and  he  would  do  all  in  his  power  to 
gratify  my  wishes.     Mr.  Musser  was 
an     exceedingly     well-presrved     man 
and  when  animated    he    was    voluble 
in     expression.       I     learned    that    he 
came  to  LTtah  with  Brigham  Young  in 
1847     arid    had    been    entrusted    with 
many  important    interests    by    Young 
in  relation  to  the  affairs  of  the  church, 
which     he     had     performed     to     the 
President's      satisfaction.         He      had 
made   a   trip   around    the    world    con- 
suming five  years.     He  enlarged  very 
fully  upon  the  history,  the  usages  and 
polity  of  the    church.      He    was    very 
familiar  with  every  doctrinal  phase  of 
the    organization.      He    was    fluent    in 
expression,     gentlemanly     in    i^earing 
and  charitable  towards  other  phases  of 
thought   and    practice    differing    from 
his  own.     We  of  the  East  who  have 
never  come  in  contact  with  Mormon- 
don  on  the  surface  are    apt    to    form 
very  unfavorable  opinions  concerning 
it  as  a  whole.      We  met  a  number  of 
the  higher  class    Mormons    anc^  they 


struck  one  as  possessed  with  a  high 
degree  of  ability  and  intelligence. That 
they  are  ignorant  and  uncultivated 
cannot  be  maintained  for  a  moment. 
Their  work  and  organization  which 
has  endured  well  on  to  a  century 
would  seem  to  confirm  this  opinion 
strongly.  For  and  against  Mormon- 
ism an  immense  amount  of  literature 
has  sprung  up  which  from  an  histori- 
cal point  of  view  is  exceedingly  inter- 
esting to  the  student.  The  conversa- 
tion took  a  very  wide  turn  and  I 
formed  copious  notes.  Mr.  ]Musser 
did  not  shirk  the  question  of  polyg- 
amy. He  based  its  truth  on  a  biblical 
point  of  view  but  claimed  that  being 
in  conflict  with  National  law  they  ac- 
cepted the  edict  and  were  law  f.biding. 
He  admitted  he  was  the  husband  of 
three  wives  and  the  father  of  seven- 
teen children.  The  late  dispatches 
have  exaggerated  the  numbers  of 
both.  At  intervals  young  men  came 
in  from  the  outer  room  delivering 
messages.They  deferentially  addressed 
him  as  "father"  while  he  responded 
"my  son."  The  most  tender  attitude 
and  feeling  was  expressed  by  both 
father  and  sons.  Mr.  Musser  exhib- 
ited photos  of  his  three  wives  and 
his  12  sons  and  five  daughters.  The 
daughters  were  especially  handsome 
and  prepossessing.  The  sons  im- 
pressed one  favorably.  He  presented 
me  with  an  autograph  photo  of  him- 
self. Before  leaving  he  introduced 
his  sons  as  follows:  "This  is  the  son 
of  wife  No.  I,  and  this  is  the  son  of 
wife  No.  2  while  this  is  the  son  of 
wife  No.  3.  I  wish  I  had  a  hundred 
more  I  would  be  so  much  nearer 
the  kingdom  of  heaven."  While  he 
admitted  they  no  longer  practiced 
polygamy  at  the  same  time  they  felt 
in  honor  bound  to  provide  for  and 
maintain  their  families. 

As  regarded  the  moral  condition  of 
the     community     he    presented    some 


566 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Statistics,  and  drew  some  inferences. 
He  admitted  that  the  IMormons  were 
not  faultless.  He  said  that  some  of 
their  yonug  men  Avhen  going"  away 
from  home  restraints  sometimes 
would  get  into  trouble.  Excesses  he 
claimed  never  Avere  more  characteris- 
tic of  the  young  and  inexperienced 
than  the  reverse.  Twenty  years  pre- 
viously he  said  not  a  single  convict  in 
the  city  prison  was  a  IMormon.  In 
the  State  penitentiary  only  five  were 
Mormons.  In  all  the  prisons  of  the 
than  territory  containing  125  prisoners 
not  more  than  11  were  Mormons.  In 
the  20  counties  of  the  State  13  were 
without  a  dramshop,  brewery,  gamb- 
ling house  or  brothel.  Out  of  200  sa- 
loon, billiard  or  bowling  alleys  and 
pool  table  keepers  not  over  a  dozen 
professed  to  be  ]\Iormons.  All  brothels 
in  the  State  it  was  claimed  were  pa- 
tronized by  Anti-]\Iormons.  Ninety- 
eight  per  cent,  of  the  gamblers  of 
Utah  it  was  claimed  were  Anti-Mor- 
mons. Xinety-five  per  cent,  of  the  law- 
yers were  said  to  be  gentiles  and 
eighty  per  cent,  of  all  the  litigation  in 
the  State  was  of  Anti-Mormon  origin. 
Of  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  towns 
and  villages  in  two  hundred  cf  them 
there  was  not  a  single  prostitute.  Of 
the  suicides  committed  in  Utah  over 
90  per  cent,  were  committed  among 
the  gentiles.  Of  the  homicides  and 
infanticides  over  80  per  cent. were  per- 
petrated by  the  17  per  cent,  of  Anti- 
Mormons.  The  arrests  in  Salt  Lake 
City  20  years  ago  were  said  to  have 
been  1020.  Of  these  851  were  of  the 
gentile  portion  while  169  were  Mor- 
mon, which  formed  three-fourths  of 
the  population.  But  on  the  other 
hand  it  must  be  admitted  inferences 
as  such  cannot  always  be  based  on 
statistics.  The  statistics  we  will  not 
hold  in  question,  but  we  are  not  pre- 
pared to  accept  the  inferences  as  such 
in  favor  of  Mormonism.There  maybe 
modifying  and  extenuatmg  circum- 
stances. When  a  poor  man  becomes 
a  Mormon  and  removes  to  Utah  he 
must   be   industrious   or   fail    to   make 


a  living  which  means  starvation.  It 
is  an  old  saying  that  "Satan  finds  mis- 
chief for  idle  hands  to  do." 

Mr.  Musser  presented  me  with  a 
copy  of  "  Freedom "  published  at 
Manila  by  his  son  Don  Musser.  The 
journal  was  ably  conducted  and  was 
a  firm  supporter  of  the  policy  of  the 
government. 

Another  son  was  a  lieutenant  in  the 
Utah  Battery  in  the  Philippines. They 
were  expected  home  soon  and  a  royal 
welcome  awaited  them.  On  one  point 
Mr.  Musser  criticised  the  popular  con- 
ception in  the  public  mind  that  polyg- 
amy was  sensualism.  Of  course  its 
essence  was  based  upon  biblical  inter- 
pretation. Reverend  John  P.  New- 
man held  a  discussion  with  Elder 
Orson  Pratt  on  the  "Bible  and  Polyg- 
amy "  nearly  thirty  years  before, 
which  was  hotly  debated  in  which 
both  contestants  and  their  supporters 
claimed  the  victory.  Mr.  Musser  re- 
called the  visit  and  interview  with, 
Brigham  Young  during  his  memor- 
able overland  journey  aross  the  plains 
to  California  by  Plorace  Greeley.  He 
said  notwithstanding  Greeley  criti- 
cized the  Mormons  freely  yet  person- 
ally they  w^ere  much  pleased  with 
him.  It  was  in  that  famous  interview 
which  some  readers  still  recall  as  pub- 
lished in  the  Tribune  that  Brigham 
Young  told  Greeley  that  evevyhody 
in  Mormondom  worked  except  him- 
self and  it  kept  him  busy  to  keep  the 
rest  at  it. 

\Ye  hope  in  the  future  to  write  some 
fuller  accounts  of  Mormonism  as  we 
saw  it.  In  this  paper  w^e  recall  with 
tender  respect  the  courtesy  and  yevy 
full  information  we  received  at  Mr. 
Musser's  hands.  We  do  this  more  so- 
since  his  evolution  from  one  of  the 
most  conservative  denominations  in 
Christendom  to  one  that  is  diametri- 
cal in  attitude  is  one  of  those  j^eculiar 
phases  of  thought  with  which  we 
come  in  contact. 


567 


How  I  Became  a  Schoolmaster  m  Brecknock 

By  Hon.  A.  G.  Seyfert,  Owen  Sound,  Ontario,  Canada 


X  the  SeDtember  number 
of  THE  PENNSYL- 
VANIA-GERMAN 
magazine  I  recently  read 
a  most  interesting  ar- 
ticle, "How  I  Became  a 
Schoolmaster  in  Amer- 
ica." The  sketch  is  a 
translation  from  the  German  as  origi- 
nally published  in  1903  by  Henry  Eh- 
man,  of  Philadelphia.  I  was  not  only 
interested  in  the  reading  of  it,  but  it 
reminded  me  of  how  I  became  a 
schoolmaster  in  Brecknock,  today 
thirty-eight  years  ago.  The  date  is 
firmly  fixed  in  my  memory,  for  it  was 
October  9,  1871,  the  first  day  of  the 
Chicago  fire. 

My  father  was  not  an  educated  man 
as  the  world  now  looks  on  the  term. 
He  did  not  have  any  high  school  or 
college  training,  but  he  was  endowed 
with  more  than  the  ordinary  good 
common  sense  and  a  normal  know- 
ledge of  the  common  school  studies. 
He  believed  in  education,  and  was 
one  of  the  leaders  in  organizing  the 
public  school  system  in  the  township 
of  Brecknock.  Berks  county,  where  he 
then  lived.  He  was  anxious  that  his 
children  should  have  a  better  educa- 
tion than  he,  and  with  that  end  in 
view  he  constantly  impressed  upon  us 
the  advantages  an  educated  person 
had  over  an  uneducated  one.  When 
I  was  ten  years  old  I  was  hired  to  a 
farmer  for  ten  dollars  a  year,  with  the 
provision  that  I  was  to  go  to  school 
every  day  the  school  was  open.  From 
that  time  until  I  was  eighteen,  as  a 
hired  boy  upon  a  farm  my  lot  was 
not  an  easy  one.  The  hardships  of 
the  hired  farm  boy  were  but  little 
better  at  times  than  the  life  of  a 
slave.  It  was  work  from  da3dight  to 
night,  and  then  turn  the  cornsheller 
or  churn  after  night  by  light  of  a  lan- 
tern for  recreation.  The  injunction 
that  I  was  to  go  to  school  every  day 


the  school  was  open  was  not  always 
carried  out.  The  farm  and  its  en- 
vironments were  more  to  my  liking 
than  the  dull  school  room,  hence  the 
attendance  was  irregular.  English  was 
largely  Greek  to  me,  and  the  greater 
part  of  my  school  days  was  taken  up 
in  an  effort  to  comprehend  what  I 
was  after.  To  be  handicapped  with 
an  unknown  language  to  learn,  and  a 
mother  tongue  to  forget,  is  one  of 
the  great  obstacles  in  the  early  life 
of  our  Pennsylvania  German  children. 
We  had  no  folklore  or  English  read- 
ing matter  to  create  a  love  for  higher 
ideals  or  to  create  an  inspiration  to 
become  somebody  above  the  normal 
standard   of  a   rural   community. 

To  the  one  teacher  who  was  the 
real  teacher  of  them  all  I  owe  a  debt 
of  gratitude  which  I  can  never  pay. 
Samuel  B.  Foltz,  of  Terre  Hill,  still 
among  us  although  almost  ninety 
years  of  age,  was  an  inspiration  to 
me  in  creating  within  me  a  love  for 
knowledge  that  will  never  be  satis- 
fied in  this  life.  His  relentless  drill 
and  discipline  were  better  for  the  de- 
velopment of  character  than  many  of 
the  new  ideas  now  taught.  As  an 
example  for  boys,  his  splendid  Chris- 
tian conduct  under  all  conditions  and 
circumstances  was  a  character  builder 
worthy  of  the  greatest  teacher. 

Under'  these  conditions  and  environ- 
ments I  grew  from  a  lad  to  nearly 
manhood  physically,  but  mentally  my 
knowledge  was  limited  to  a  small 
horizon.  Geography  and  history 
were  my  favorite  studies,  but  gram- 
mar 1  knew  not,  nor  could  I  tell  a 
noun  from  a  verb.  My  English  was 
worse  than  hog  Latin. 

In  the  spring  of  1869,  I  came  to 
live  with  the  late  S.  S.  Martin,  near 
Blue  I'all,  where  for  two  years  I  had 
the  benefit  of  new  surroiuidings, 
which  quickened  my  wits  and  sharp- 
ened  mv   a-:)netite    for   reading.      Here 


568 


THE    PEXXSYLVAXIA-GERMAX 


I  acquired  a  taste  for  newspapers.  An 
old  file  of  the  Philadelphia  Inquirer 
containing  the  story  of  the  Civil  Wslv 
was  discovered  on  the  garret  of  ]\Ir. 
Martin's  house.  The  reading  of  these 
papers  enlarged  my  view  of  affairs  in 
general,  and  from  that  time  to  the 
present  I  can  truthfully  say  that  I 
have  derived  more  practical  know- 
ledge from  reading  newspapers  and 
magazines  than  from  the  many  books 
I  have  also  read. 

These  were  the  preparations  for  a 
schoolmaster  when  I  went  with  fear 
and  trembling  to  the  examination  for 
teachers  in  Brecknock,  in  the  fall  of 
1871.  I  made  a  dismal  failure  of  it. 
As  the  time  drew  near  for  the  schools 
to  open  for  the  five  months'  term. 
Stone  Hill  was  vacant,  and  my  father 
urged  me  to  make  another  attempt  to 
secure  a  certificate.  Superintendent 
Evans  held  a  special  examination  for 
those  who  had  schools  but  no  certif- 
icates. The  most  of  those  in  the 
class  that  Saturday  in  the  school 
building  on  the  corner  of  Chestnut 
and  Prince  streets,  Lancaster,  were 
like  me  a  failure  at  a  former  examina- 
tion. My  second  effort  was  but  lit- 
tle more  of  a  success  than  the  first. 
When  it  came  to  grammar  and  I  was 
asked  to  parse,  "A  severe  battle  was 
fought  on  the  plains  of  Italy,"  I  went 
down  and  out,  for  I  knew  no  more  of 
grammar  than  I  did  a  few  months 
before  when  first  examined.  I  went 
home  disheartened,  but  not  discour- 
aged. Stone  Hill  had  no  teacher  and 
I  no  certificate.  The  Board  of  Direc- 
tors was  kind  to  me  and  urged  me  to 
open  the  school,  trusting  to  good  luck 
for  a  certificate.  On  the  morning  of 
October  9th,  the  historic  date  of  the 
great  Chicago  fire,  I  made  the  first 
attempt  as  a  teacher,  and  for  four 
weeks  taught,  notwithstanding  that  I 
was  not  legally  nor  mentally  quali- 
fied as  a  teacher.  The  County  Insti- 
tute convened  on  the  Monday  of  the 
fifth  week,  and  I  went  to  Lancaster 
and  attended  every  session.  On 
Saturday  morning  I  went  to  Superin- 
tendent   Evans'    house    for    an    inter- 


view, wishing  to  know  if  he  would 
give  me  a  certificate  or  not.  He  asked 
me  how  long  I  had  attended  the  In- 
stitute, and  when  I  told  him,  replied, 
"Good  for  you.  You  are  the  first  and 
only  teacher  from  Brecknock  that  has 
ever  done  that."  At  that  time  a  day 
or  so  was  all  that  the  most  of  them 
attended,  and  some  of  them  not  even 
that  much.  When  asked  if  I  knew 
any  more  of  grammar,  I  frankly  told 
him  that  i  did  not.  He  told  me  to  go 
home  and  go  on  with  the  school  and 
he  would  send  a  certificate  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Board,  William  B. 
Renninger,  now  a  resident  01  Bow- 
mansville,  and  one  of  Nature's  noble- 
men. To  him  I  also  owe  a  debt  of 
gratitude.  His  kindness  of  heart  in 
assisting  a  poor  lad  to  better  himself 
has  never  been  forgotten.  The  suc- 
cess after  failure  was  not  due  to  what 
I  knew,  for  that  was  very  little.  I 
knew  enough,  however,  to  knew  that 
no  one  could  teach  without  order,  and 
so  became  as  long  on  discipline  as  I 
was  short  in  ability.  The  most  of  the 
figures  on  the  certificate  sent  me  were 
4's,  but  the  one  received  as  the  official 
mark  for  teaching  was  2  minus.  The 
reader  may  wonder  how  I  had  the 
nerve  to  attempt  to  teach  without  at 
least  some  training.  The  secret  was 
this :  Like  many  other  young  men 
who  lived  on  a  farm  at  that  day  I  was 
fool  enough  to  think  that  I  must  have 
a  buggy  as  one  of  the  essentials  in 
being  equal  to  other  young  men  who 
were  my  associates  in  the  rural  com- 
munity. How  to  get  It  without  the 
means  to  buy  one  was  a  mystery  that 
I  solved  by  buying  one  on  credit  with 
a  note  and  two  friends  for  security. 
This  note  of  $140  I  was  determined  to 
pay,  but  only  half  of  the  funds,  or  $70, 
was  available  at  the  end  of  my  sum- 
mer's work.  The  balance  depended 
on  securing  the  school,  and  accounts 
for  my  persistence  in  hanging  on  until 
I  got  it  and  the  note  was  paid  in  full. 
However,  this  foolish  transaction 
turned  out  better  than  I  had  antici- 
pated, for  it  gave  me  my  first  lesson 
in  economy,  and,    at    the    same    time, 


HOW   I   BECAME   A  SCHOOLIMASTER   IN    BRECKNOCK 


569 


the  opportunity  to  gain  a  reputation 
for  an  lionorable  purpose  in  life. 
Thirty-eiijht  years  after  the  forego- 
ing affair  it  seems  Hke  ancient  history 
to  repeat  such  a  boyish  freak,  and  I 
only  want  to  add  that  the  buggy  was 


afterwards  converted  into  money  and 
tlie  same  spent  for  Normal  School 
training. 

NOTE. — We  hope  that  some  day  Hon.  A. 
G.  Seyfert  will  favor  our  readers  with  a 
paper   on    "The    Hired    Boy." — Ed. 


The  Nicholas  Hess  Family 


NOTE. — The  following  paper,  prepared 
ty  Asher  S.  Hess  of  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  was 
read  by  Hon.  Jeremiah  S.  Hess  of  Heller- 
town,  Pa.,  at  the  third  annual  reunion  of 
the  Hess  family  at  Rittersville,  Pa.,  Aug. 
21,  1909.— Ed. 


ICHOLAS  Hess,  whose 
descendants  are  so  nu- 
merous in  Bucks  county. 
and  also  in  Lower  Sau- 
con  township  and  the 
Bethlehems,was  a  native 
of  Zweibruecken,  in  the 
Palatinate,  Germ  any, 
who  landed  in  America  about  the 
year  1741  aged  about  18  years.  Pala- 
tinate, or  Pfalz,  is  located  in  South-, 
western  Germany,  bordering  o  n 
France  in  what  is  known  as  Rhenish 
Bavaria,  which  had  been  ravaged  by 
fire  and  sword  under  the  barbarous 
rule  of  King  Louis  XIV,  of  France. 
In  order  to  escape  these  dreadful 
persecutions,  thousands  emigrated  to 
the  American  Colonies.  leaving 
friends,  home  and  fireside,  braving 
the  perils  of  a  long  and  dangerous 
ocean  voyage  of  perhaps  five  or  six 
months'  duration  in  a  wooden  sailing 
vessel,  landing  on  these  uninviting 
shores,  with  starvation  confronting 
them,  and  the  savage  "red  man"  as 
their  undesirable  and  treacherous 
neighbors.  The  brave,  indejjendent 
spirits  of  these  pioneer  emigrants  de- 
serve the  plaudits  of  the  whole  Amer- 
ican Nation. 

About  the  age  of  21  years  or  more, 
being  then  a  resident  of  Bucks  county 
Pennsylvania,  Nicholas  Hess  married 
Catharine  Funk,  who  was  born  in 
Montgomery  county,  Pennsylvania, 
in  the  year  1726.  She  was  the  young- 
est child  of  Martin    Funk,    who    was 


supposed  to  ha\e  been  a  brother  of 
Bishop  Henry  Funk,  an  eminent 
Mennonite  divine  and  author,  who 
came  to  America  in  1719  and  settled 
at  Indian  Creek,  [Montgomery  county, 
Penns3'lvania,  near  Harleysville, 
Nicholas  Hess  settled  on  a  tract  of 
113  acres  of  land  located  in  Spring- 
town  township,  Bucks  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, near  the  village  of  Spring- 
town,  for  which  he  received  a  patent 
from  Thomas  and  Richard  Penn,  Au- 
gust 21,  1752,  for  the  consideration  of 
17  pounds,  10  shillings  and  3  pence, 
which  is  equal  to  85  dollars  and  ii 
cents  for  the  entire  tract,  or  a  fraction 
over  seventy-five  cents  per  acre.  In 
the  year  1800  after  the  death  of  Nicho- 
las, this  same  tract  of  113  acres  was 
appraised  at  670  pounds,  which  is 
equal  to  $3256.20,  or  $28.81  per  acre. 

Nicholas  Hess  had  five  children, 
three  sons  and  two  daughters,  Con- 
rad, the  oldest,  born  in  1746,  was  a 
farmer  and  settled  at  Springtown,  and 
became  a  man  of  considerable  wealth. 

Philip  came  next,  was  a  soldier  in 
the  Revolutionary  War,  serving  as  a 
private  in  Captain  Josiah  Bryan's 
Company  of  Pennsylvania  Militia, 
from  Bucks  county.  It  is  not  positive- 
ly known  in  what  engagement  he  took 
part,  if  any,  but  the  supposition  is  that 
the  command  participated  in  some  of 
the  home  battles,  possibly  Brandy- 
wine.  Germantown,  or  Monmouth,  as 
the  company  responded  to  a  call  for 
troops  early  in  1777  for  the  defense  of 
Philadelphia.  Philip  afterward  set- 
tled on  a  farm  near  Springtown. 

Elizabeth,  third  child  of  Nicholas 
Hess,  was  married  to  Samuel  Beidel- 
man,  who  was  an  Indian  fighter.     He 


570 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


joined  Gen.  Sullivan's  expedition  in 
1779,  of  3600  men  against  the  Six  Na- 
tions (Iroquois)  Indians  who  had  be- 
come very  troublesome  in  Chemung 
Valley,  New  York  State.  The  terri- 
fied savages  were  completely  routed, 
and  fled  in  disorder  to  the  forests.  Air. 
Beidelman  subsequently  settled  i  n 
Chemung  Valley,  where  he  and  his 
wife  ended  their  days.  One  of  his 
sons,  Abraham  by  name,  when  quite 
young,  returned  to  Northampton  Co., 
and  finally  settled  in  Williams  town- 
ship, south  of  Easton,  where  he 
amassed  considerable  wealth,  while 
his  descendants  became  quite  numer- 
ous  in   Northampton   conuty. 

John  George,  fourth  child  of  Nicho- 
las Hess,  was  a  miller  by  trade  and 
owned  what  Avas  known  as  Hess' 
Mill,  on  Saucon  Creek,  north  of  Hel- 
lertown,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  be- 
came quite  prosperous. 

Catharine,  fifth  and  youngest  child 
of  Nicholas  Hess,  was  married  to 
Jacob  Beysher,  a  musician.  They 
emigrated  west,  after  which  all  traces 
of  the  family  were  lost. 

Of  the  grandchildren,  Mary  Magda- 
lene, daughter  of  Conrad  Hess,  was 
married  to  George  Amey,  who  was  a 
pioneer  woodsman  and  pierced  into 
the  wilds  of  AA'ayne  county  about  the 
year  1800  where  he  settled  and  as- 
sisted in  clearing  the  forests.  He  was 
killed  bv  a  falling  tree  about  the  vear 
1816. 

Jacol)  and  John  Hess,  sons  of  Philip 
Hess,  both  marched  with  a  company 
of  Bucks  county  militia  to  Alarcus 
Hook  on  the  Delaware  river  south  of 
Philadelphia,  in  defense  of  their 
country  in  the  War  of  1812-14. 

Mary  Hess,  daughter  of  Philip 
Hess,  was  married  to  Philip  Barron, 
whose  father,  Jacob  Barron,  was  a  sol- 
dier in  the  Revolutionary  War,  serv- 
ing as  a  private  in  the  same  company 
with  Philip  Hess. 

Elizabeth  Hess,  oldest  daughter  of 
Philip  Hess,  was  married  to  Michael 
Frankenfield.  whose  father,  Adam 
Frankenfield,   was    also    a    soldier    in 


the    Revolutionary   War    in    the    same 
company. 

George  Hess,  Jr.,  son  of  John 
George  Hess,  commanded  a  company 
of  militia  from  Northampton  county 
and  marched  to  Marcus  Hook  in  the 
War  of  1812-14.  Returning  home  he 
became  one  of  Easton's '  most  promi- 
nent men.  He  was  Easton's  first  bur- 
gess, when  the  town  was  incoiporated 
into  a  borough,  and  afterwards  be- 
came associate  judge  of  Northampton 
county. 

Rev.  Samuel  Hess,  his  brother,, 
resident  of  Hellertown,  a  well  known 
clergyman  of  the  German  Reformed 
church,  preached  the  gospel  for  forty 
years. 

Joseph,  another  son  of  John  George 
Hess,  some  sixty  years  ago  was  the 
owner  of  a  farm  which  covered  the 
greater  part  of  the  ground  now 
occupied  by  the  borough  of  South 
Bethlehem,  from  whose  ownership  in 
1858  it  passed  into  possession  of 
Charles  Brodhead  at  $300  per  acre. 
The  old  one  and  a  half  story  stone 
farm  house  is  still  standing  at  the 
corner  of  Fourth  street  and  Brodhead 
avenue,  in  a  fairly  good  state  of  pres- 
ervation. 

Rev.  Isaac  Hess,  a  grandson  of  Con- 
rad Hess,  a  promienent  Evangelical 
clergyman  at  Reading.  Pa.,  preached 
the  gospel  without  interruption  for 
fifty-one  years.  He  reached  the  mar- 
vellous age  of  91   years. 

Rev.  Henry  Hess,  grandson  of 
Philip  Hess,  was  a  clergyman  of  the 
Reformed  church,  which  calling  he 
followed  for  thirty-six  years,  residing 
at  Mansfield,  O. 

Of  the  fourth  and  fifth  generations 
we  may  mention  the  following  as 
soldiers  in  the  Civil  War:  George  R. 
Hess,  Springfield,  and  his  two  sons. 
Martin  and  Jeremiah ;  Alartin  fell  at 
Antietam.  Thomas,  Jesse  and  Levi, 
brothers  of  Henry  Hess,  of  Ohio, 
who  emigrated  to  Nashville.  Tenn., 
before  the  war,  and  it  is  supposed 
joined  the  Confederate  army.  George 
A.  Hess,  Springtown ;  WilKam  T. 
Hess,   Lower  Saucon  township,   killed 


THE    NICHOLAS    HESS    FAMILY 


571iL 


in  skirmish  near  Richmond,  Va.,  Au- 
gust 6,  1864;  Lieutenant  Charles  T. 
fless.  Lower  Saucon  township;  Lieu- 
tenant Colonel  Edward  T.  tless,  and 
his  brother,  Francis  G.  Hess,  Spring- 
town  ;  John  W.  Hess,  Reading,  Pa. ; 
Sergeant  Joshua  K.  Hess,  Bethlehem, 
Pa.,   captured   at     Gettysburg;    Chris- 


topher C.  Hess,  of  Ohio,  great-grand- 
son of  Philip  Hess,  captured  at 
Chickamauga,  and  died  in  prison 
September  19,  1863 ;  George  D.  Hess^ 
Beech  Creek,  Pa.,  responded  to  the 
call  for  home  guards  during  Lee's  in- 
vasion of  1862. 


"Die  Neu  Welt"  by  Michael  Herr 

By  M.  A.  Gruber,  Washington,  D.  C. 


NOTE — We  recently  received  from  a 
subscriber  a  letter  conveying  the  transla- 
tion appended  to  Mr.  Gruber's  communica- 
tion. This  was  forwarded  to  Mr.  G.  for 
investigation  with  the  result  as  stated  by 
him. — Ed. 

Washington,  D.  C,  Sept.  20,  1909. 
My  dear  Mr.  Kriebel : 

The  Congressional  Library  being- 
open  on  Sundays  from  2  to  10  P.  M., 
I  took  myself  to  that  wonderful  re- 
pository of  ancient  and  modern  lore 
and  found  the  book  referred  to  in 
your  communication  of  the  i6th  in- 
stant, in  which  communication  was 
also  enclosed  a  translation  of  a  clip- 
ping relating  to  that  book  and  the 
translator   thereof,   Michael   Herr. 

The  original  appears  to  have  been 
entitled 

XOVUS  ORBIS  REGIONUM, 
a  work  in  Latin,  by  Simon  Grynaeus 
(1493-1541),  some  parts  having  been 
apparently  translated  into  Latin  from 
the  Italian,  French  and  Spanish  for 
the  purpose  of  bringing  the  subject 
before  the  men  of  note  at  those  times. 
The  translation  made  by  Michael 
Herr  is  entitled 

DIE  XEW  WELT 

and  was  printed  in  1534.  the  title  page 
reading  as  follows: 

DIE  NEW  WELT,  DER  LANDSCHAFTEN 
UNND  INSULEN,  so  bis  hie  her  alien  Alt- 
weltbeschrybern  unbekant,  Jungst  aber 
von  den  Portugalesen  unnd  Hispaniern  im 
Nidergenglichen  Meer  herfunden.  Sambt 
den  sitten  unnd  gebreuchen  der  Invvonen- 
den  volcker.  Auch  was  Giitter  oder  Waren 
man    bey     inen    funden,    und     inn     unsere 


Landt  bracht  hab.  Do  bey  findt  man  aucb 
hie  den  usprung  und  altherkummen  der 
Fiirnembsten  Gwaltigsten  Volcker  der  Alt- 
bekanten  Welt,  als  do  seind  die  Tartern, 
Mosouiten  Reussen,  Preussen,  Hungern^ 
Schlafen,  etc.  nach  anzeygung  und  innhalt 
diss  umbgewenten  blats. 

Gedruckt  zu  Straszburg  durch  Georgen^ 
Ulricher  von  Andia,  am  viertzehenden  tag 
des   Mertzens. 

An.    M.    D.    XXXIIII 

The  spelling  and  capitalization  is- 
the  same  as  in  the  volume,  except  that 
the  first  seven  words  that  I  have  given- 
in  capitals  are  shown  in  ornamental" 
type,  and  for  the  "umlaut"  the  letter 
"e"  is  used.  Observe  "unnd"  for 
"und";  "inn"  for  "in";  "Furnembsten"" 
for  "Vornehmsten,"  etc.  It  will  be 
noted  that  there  is  no  uniformity  in 
the  orthography  of  words,  some  words- 
being  spelled  tw^o  or  three  different 
ways. 

The  preface  of  the  book  opens  as- 
follows : 

Dem  Wolgebornen  Herrn,  Herrn  Reyn- 
harten  Graffen  zu  Hanaw,  Herrn  zu  Liech- 
tenberg,  des  Hohen  Stiffs  zu  Straszburg,. 
Thiimeuster    seinem    Gnedigen    Herrn,    etc. 

The  preface  of  the  book  closes  as 
follows  : 

Darumb   auch   Ewer   Gnad   dem   Buch   als, 
ein  Patron  und  beschirmer  zugeben  ist,  die 
woll    der   Allmechtig   zu    seinen    ehren,   und" 
viler   armen   nutz    nach     seinen    willen,    lit! 
langwiriger    gesundheyt    erhalten.      Amen. 
Ewer  Gnaden  williger 
diener. 
Michael   Herr,  Der  freyen  kunst  und 
Artzney   liebhiiber. 

The  table  of  contents  given  on  the 
page  on  the  same  sheet  opposite  the 
title  page,  is  as  follows: 


572 


THE    PEXXSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Anzeygung  und  Inhalt  disses  Buchs  der 

Newen   Welt. 

Eyn    vorrede    zn    dem   Wolgebornen    Herrn, 

Herrn    Reynharten    Graffen    zu    Hanaw, 

und   Herrn   zu   Liechtenberg,   etc. 
Die    Schiffart    Aloysll     Cadamusti     zu     den 

frembden    Landen. 
Die    farten     Christophori    Columbl,     die     er 

aus   beuelh     fbefehl)     des    Konlgs    von 

Hlspanla  gethon  hat,  zu   vllen   vor  un- 
■bekanten    Inseln. 
Die    Schiffart    Petri    Alonsj\ 
Die   Schiffart  Plnzoni. 
Bekiirtzung    der    Schlffarten    Arbericl    Ves- 

pucll.      (Vesputli) 
Eyn   Biichlin   der   Schlffarten    Petri   Altarls, 

sambt  etllcher  Kaufleut  Mlssluen. 
Die   Schlffarten   Josephl   des    Indlaners. 
Vier    Schlffarten   Americl   Vesputli. 
Eyn    Sendbrleff    Konig    Emanuels    aus    Por- 
tugal, Babst  Leonl  dem  zehenden  zuge- 

schrlben,   von   den   slgen   In    India,   und 

Malacha  herlangt. 
Die      reysen     Vartomans      des      Romlschen 

Radtsherrn,     so      er      den      Morgenlen- 

discheu    volckern   gethon   hat, 
Eygentliche     beschreybung     des     Heyllgen 

lands     durch     den     Miinch     Burcardum 

beschriben. 
Drey  Biicher  von  den  Morgenlendern  Marx 

Paul  von  Venedlg. 
Eyn  Buch  Haythons  von  den  Tartern. 
Zwey    Biichlin     Mathis     von     Michaw,     von 

beden    SarmatUs   Inn   Asia   und   Europa 

gelegen. 
Paulus    louius    von     der    Moscoulten     bott- 

schaft. 
Dreissig  Biicher,  in  drey  zehenden  getheylt 

Petri  Martyrls   von  Anglerla,  darin  al- 

ler   handel   von   den    New    herfundenen 

Inseln,   begrlffen   ist. 
Aber  eyn  Biichlin  disselben  Petri  Martyrls 

von   den   Jungst  herfundenen    Inseln. 
"Zwey   Biichlin   Erasmi   Stelle,   von   dem   al- 

ten    herkomen    der    Breussen. 

The  last  page  of  the  volume  closes 
■as  follows : 

End  der  Newen  Welt,  sampt  andern  der 
art   Bucher. 

Getruckt  zu  Straszburg  durch  Georgen 
Ulrlcher  von  Andia,  Im  jar  nach  der  ge- 
burt  Christ!,  tausendt,  funffhundert  und 
vier  und  dreissig. 

Zeyger  der  dritternen 

abcdefghijklmnopqrstu 
(orv)rzz  ABCDEFGHIJKL 
MNOPQRST  selnd  alles  drittern,  on 
allein  das  ist  ein  duern. 

The  items  given  above  in  the  table 
of  contents  are  shown  more  fully  and 
at  length  as  captions  of  the  respective 
■articles. 


In  the  first  paragraph  of  the  preface 
he  speaks  of  his  book : 

"das  von  der  Xewe  Welt  Oder  jungst 
herfunden  Inseln  gemacht  1st,  welches  ich 
durch  bit  unnd  vermogen  wlllen  etllcher 
melner  guten  freund  disse  lange  winter- 
nacht  aus  Latin  in  Teutsche  sprach  ver- 
dolmetscht  hab,  den  selben  will  ich  ein  mal 
fur  alle  geantwurt  haben,  es  geschehe  aus 
kelnem  freuel  (Frevel).  ja  aus  wolbedach- 
ten  vorsatz   und  wlllen." 

Tn  speaking  in  the  preface  concern- 
ing his  translation,  he  says  that  he 

"eyner  freyen  reden  gebraucht,  mehr 
dem  verstand,  dann  den  worten  nach.  So 
habend  sich  auch  vlel  worter  bin  und  her, 
zutragen,  die  kein  eygen  Teutsch  haben, 
die  hab  ich  miissen  auszsprechen  wie  ich 
gemocht  hab,  als  zu  elm  exempel  das  wort 
Goslppln,  Oder  wie  es  etllch  nenne.  Gosam- 
plum,  das  hab  ich  fiir  und  fur  baumwollen 
verteutscht,  wie  wol  Ich  weis,  das  es  etwas 
kostllchers  dan  baumwollen  1st.  Die  well 
aber  ich  sunst  kein  eygen  Teutsch  worrt  do 
zu  gehabt  hab,  unnd  das  Goslppium  in 
form  und  gestalt,  auch  im  gewechs  sich 
mit  der  baumwollen  verglelcht,  hab  ichs 
auch  baumwollen  genent.  Ich  weis  auch 
wol  das  es  die  nicht  fiir  wullln  tuch,  sun- 
der fiir  lynen  tuch  gehalten  habend,  das 
man  ausz  dem  Goslpplo  macht,  das  nennen 
sle  auch  zu  zeltten  Xylon,  oder  Bcmbicem, 
wie  wol  es  nicht  Bombix  it.  Wo  sich  auch 
andere  worter  zutragen  haben,  die  kein 
Teutsch  gehabt  haben,  die  hab  ich  ent- 
weder  also  ston  lassen,  oder  auff  das  be- 
quemlichst  als  ich  gemocht  hab  vertol- 
metscht.  Das  hat  sich  allermeyst  zutragen 
in  den  namen  stedt,  lander,  volcker  un 
wasser." 

Speaking  concerning  the  names  of 
different  kinds  of  sailing    vessels,    he 

says : 

"Dann  ich  musz  yhe  bekennen  das  ich 
mein  lebtag  nit  uber  drey  stunden  auff 
dem  Meer  gefaren  bin."  x  x  x  "Dann 
solt  ich  allein  die  namen  der  schiff  ver- 
teutscht haben.  ich  hett  aller  schifleut  am 
Reyn  zu  gehiiffen  bedorfft,  so  vll  selnd  der 
Almadlen,  Canoen,  Uru,  Lintres  oder  Won- 
oxilla,  Bergantinen,  Carauelen,  Naues 
onerarle  et  Pretorie,  Galeatie,  und  der 
gleichen,  die  alle  in  dem  Buch  benambt 
werden." 

He  also  states  that  he  named  "Pro- 
montorium  ein  vorgestaden,  Sinum 
ein  Busam.  Breuia,  Sandschemmel 
oder  Seychen."  Then  adds,  "Dise 
und  der  gleichen  worter  komen  selten 
in  das  gmien  Teutsch  gesprech,  und 
seind  doch  denen    vast    wol    bekandt 


'DIE  NEU  WELT"  BY  MICHAEL  HERR 


573. 


die  auff  dem  ]\Ieer  oder  do  be3'vvonen. 
Den  selben  wil  ich  den  rhum  des 
selben  wissens  gern  giinen." 

It  will  be  observed  that  "n"  is  used 
for  "v"  in  the  words  "freuel",  "Cara- 
uelen"  and  "Xaues." 

According  to  the  foregoing  extracts 
from  the  preface  of  ^lichael  Herr's 
work,  DIE  NEW  WELT,  it  will  be 
noted  that  Ilerr  did  not  coin  the  word 
"P)aumwollen'',  as  stated  in  the  trans- 
lation of  the  newspaper  or  magazine 
clipping,  but  that  he  merely  applied 
the  word  as  the  designation  of  a  sub- 
stance for  which  he  had  no  corres- 
ponding German  word.  It  does  not 
even  appear  that  Herr  originated  any 
words,  but  either  used  the  words  of 
the  original  or  applied  the  most  con- 
venient German  words  then  in  use, 
apparently  making  a  few  compound 
words  to  suit  the  occasion. — "Reun- 
schiffiein''  being  a  word  of  that  kind, 
probably  v\hat  would  now  be  termed 
Rheinschiffchen,  a  little  ship,  boat,  or 
skiff  used  on  the  Rhine. 

Of  course  credit,  and  probal^h^  a 
vast  amount  of  credit  must  be  given 
Michael  Herr  for  undertakmg  the  task 
at  that  time  of  translating  "during  the 
long  winter  nights"  a  Latin  work  on 
travels  and  voyages.  The  statement 
made  in  the  translated  clipping  that 
a  man  bearing  the  name  of  Herr  "'was 
the  first  to  write  a  comprehensive  de- 
scription of  America"'  is,  to  say  the 
least,  exaggeration,  although  the 
statement  may  Avithout  doubt  be  made 
that  Michael  Herr  was  the  first  to 
render  a  German  translation,  and  pos- 
sibly to  have  compiled  in  one  volume, 
descriptions  of  the  newly  discovered 
lands  and  islands  of  the  western  At- 
lantic ocean. 

The  volume  is  quarto  in  si.ze.  about 
12  by  8  by  i^^  inches:  two  columns 
to  a  page  (excepting  the  preface),  the 
two  pages  facing  each  other  being 
numbered  as  one.  the  number  being 
on  the  right  hand  page,  making  a 
book  of  504  pages  of  subject  matter. 
Each  column  is  headed  "Die  New 
Welt".      Three    kinds    of    pauses    are 


used,  namely:  Period  (.)  ;  Question 
mark    ( ?)  ;  Comma,  etc.   (|). 

Picture  initial  letters  are  found  at 
the  beginning  of  the  different  articles, 
a  certain  coat  of  arms  introducing  the 
preface. 

The  preface  abounds  with  "E.  G." 
and  "Ewer  Gnad",  havmg  reference 
to  "Dem  Wolgebornen  Herrn,  Herrn 
Reynharten  Graffen  zu  Hanaw,  etc." 

If  any  further  description  is  desired, 
and  you  will  indicate  what  features  or 
peculiarities  are  wanted.  I  shall  be 
pleased  to  accomodate  you. 

A\'ith  best  wishes  to  yourself  and 
THE  PENNSYLVANIA-  GERMAN, 
I  am  Most  sincerely  yours, 

:m.  a.  gruber. 


THE  CLIPPING 
(Referred  to  at  beginning  of  letter.) 

According  to  Homer's  well  known 
words  "There  were  men  of  courage 
before  Agamemnon"  so  the  high  Ger- 
man was  written  before  Luther,  nev- 
ertheless Luther  is  considered  as  the 
creator  of  the  written  German.  This 
is  only  relatively  correct;  at  the  most 
we  can  only  say  that  Luther's  transla- 
tion of  the  Bible,  was  the  first  general 
example  of  high  German,  and  occu- 
pies that  rank  today. 

But  Luther  had  predecessors  and 
contemporaries  who  are  less  cele- 
brated only  because  they  wrote  on 
other  than  religious  topics  which 
were  the  burning  questions  of  the 
time.  Hutton  wrote  a  good  vigorous 
German,  fruitful  of  good.  Sebastian 
Brandt,  Ruchinger  in  Nurnberg  and 
many  others  had  printed  German 
books,  though  that  scarcely  belongs 
here.  An  author  proves  himself  truly 
creative  in  language,  when  as  a  trans- 
lator, he  is  forced  to  coin  words  for 
ideas  which  are  quite  foreign  to  his 
people.  In  a  forgotten  translation  of 
the  collection  "Orbis  Novum"  of 
Gyrnaus,'  printed  by  Dr.  M  i  c  h  a  e  1 
Herr  in  1534.  we  find  the  latter  in  the 
translation,  creating  such  admirable 
new  words  that  we  must  place  him  on 
the  same  platform  with  Luther  and 
Melancthon.     Dr.  Herr  of  Haganau  at 


574 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


the  boiindar}'  of  Alsace  and  the  Palat- 
inate,   appears    to    have    been    in    the 

^service  of  the  Count  of  Hanau  which 
or  who  was  the  sacristan  of  the  high 

-cathedral  of  Strasburg-.  He  complains 
in  the  preface  to  his  484  paged  Quarto, 
that  it  was  very    difficult    for    him    to 

;give  German  names  to  things  that  had 
never  been  in  Germany,  and  to  de- 
scribe or  designate  in  pure  German 
objects,  which  at  best    could    only    be 

"known  to  dwellers  b}^  the  sea,  the 
Netherlanders.  Herr  is  the  origina- 
tor of  such  German    words    as    baum- 

"wolle  (cotton),  meerbusen  (gulf), 
vorgebirge  (promontory),  psiltalh  for 
papegei    (parrot)    from    which    subse- 

•quently  sittig  (moral,  well  bred, 
chaste)    is    derived,   wnth    many   other 

"words. 

Some   have   not  been    so    generally 

•adopted,  although  not  bad,  for  ex- 
ample, the  light  boat  in  which  Colum- 

Tdus  went  from  the  caravel  to  the  land 

Tie  called  Reunshifflein  (a  little  run- 
ning ship?)   here  is  a   small  specimen 

•of  his  waiting.     He  describes  the  use 

of  coal  among  the  Chinese  under  the 

-great  tartar    Kublai    Khan,    as    Marco 

Polo  had  observed  it  about  the  end  of 

the  13th  century. 


Stones  that  bum  like  wood.       Out  of  all 

the  mountains  of  the  country  of  Cathay; 
they  dig  real  black  stones  which  burn  in 
fire  like  wood,  and  retain  the  fire  a  long 
time,  so  that  if  they  are  kindled  in  the 
evening  they  keep  through  the  whole  night 
a  clear  fire. 

These  stones  are  much  used,  for  in 
many  places  there  is  no  wood.  A  later 
dynasty  forbade  the  Chinese  to  mine,  and 
in  spite  of  the  lack  of  wood  for  many 
centuries    no   coal   was    burned   in   China. 

Herr's  book  is  very  rare,  it  is  doubt- 
ful if  there  are  a  dozen  copies  extant, 
while  the  Latin  original  has  entirely 
disappeared. 
As  Herr's  book  is  among  those,  how- 
ever, which  find  a  place  in  the  cata- 
logue of  antiquarians,  we  may  dis- 
cover that  there  are  only  three  copies 
existing  in  the  United  States,  in  the 
library  of  Congress,  in  a  library  in 
New  Haven.  Conn,  and  in  the  pos- 
session of  a  collector  of  rare  books  in 
Baltimore.  Md. 

The  many  Americans  and  German 
Americans  of  the  name  of  Herr  may 
well  be  proud  that  a  man  bearing  their 
name  was  the  first  to  write  a  compre- 
hensive description  of  America,  and 
also  at  the  same  time  win  a  place 
among  the  creators  of  the  high  Ger- 
man written  language. 


Firemen's  Drill 

— Now  for  another  picture.  At  one  end  of 
a  little  village  stand  a  group  of  loitering 
firemen  in  uniform.  A  sharp  guttural  com- 
mand. Two  of  them  stand  at  attention. 
Another  command.  With  measured  steps 
and  slow  they  "charge"  two  ladders  stand- 
ing against  a  drill-tower.  As  they  reach 
the  ladder,  the  stern  order  "Halt"  rings 
out  clear  and  strong.  "Aufsteigen"  is  the 
next  command.  "Eins."  Up  goes  the  right 
foot.  "Zwei:"  Up  goes  the  left  foot.  "Drei." 
Up  goes  the  right  foot.  And  so  on  till 
"Zehn."  By  that  time  the  men  have 
reached  the  top  of  the  ladder  facing  open 
windows  and  the  captain  gives  the  wholly 
unnecessary  command,  "Halt."  They  stood 
there  for  some  time  as  motionless  as  sta- 
tues. Then  we  heard  a  word  with  which 
"we  became  familiar    at    railroad    stations — 


"einsteigen."  "'Eins."  In  went  the  right 
legs.  "Zwei."  In  went  the  left  legs,  all 
but  the  big  feet.  "Drei."  The  big  feet  are 
safe  within.  After  some  time  came  the  cry: 
"Heraus-steigen."  "Eins."  Out  came  two 
big  feet.  "Zwei."  Out  came  two  legs. 
"Drei."  Out  came  the  other  two  legs  with 
them,  necessarily,  the  bodies  that  belonged 
to  them.  But  they  stood  there  motionless. 
"Herab-steigen"  was  the  next  command. 
"Eins."  The  right  feet  went  down  to  the 
next  lower  rung.  "Zwei."  The  left  feet  fol- 
lowed suit.  And  so  on  until  all  four  feet 
reached  the  firm  ground — and  then  the  cap- 
tain shouted,  "Halt."  as  if  he  feared  his 
heroes  would  go  further  down.  And  this 
process  was  repeated  until  all  of  the  braves 
had  had  their  turn.  It  was  not  thrilling.  It 
did  not  make  the  blood  boil.  But  it  was 
very  unique. 

— The  Moravian. 


575 


LITERARY  DEPARTMENT 


DER  MENSCH 

(By  Louise  A.  Weitzel,  Lititz,  Pa.) 

Der  Mensch  is  nie  zufridde, 

Guckt   for   sich    un   zuriick, 
An    seinem    Dasein    un    Schicksal. 

Hut  en   ewiges   Geflick. 

Un    doch    werd   Alles    besser 

Ass   wie   der   Mensch   ale. 
Der   hut   die    same    Fehler 

Ass  mer  am  Adam  g'seh. 

Er    wackst    uf    alle    Seite 

Doch  is  es  jedeni  klar 
Das  er  eigentlich  viel  klener  is 

Ass   er   vor   alters   war. 

Was  bat  ihn  all   die  Weishelt 
Un  all   der   gross   Vershtand 

Schreibt   er   sich   selver   alles    zu 
Was   kommt  aus   Gottes   Hand? 

Wer  macht  dann  all  die  Sache 

Die    der    g'sheit      Mensch    endeckt? 

Wer   gebt   ihm   ah   de   Muth   dazu 
Das    er    die    Hand    ausstreckt? 

Wer  hut  de  Nord   Pole  dann   gemacht! 

War's    Peary    oder   Cook? 
Wann  ener  hatt  gebs  net  meh  Wort 

In    unserem    Zeitungsdruck. 

Dano   die  Wrights,   wass   sin  siedann? 

Was  henn  sie  dann  gedo? 
Hatt  Gott  ke  Luft  fer  Bahn  gemacht 

Sie  ware  ivvel   droh. 

'Sis  alles  recht,  sinn  schmerte  Leut, 

'Sgehort  ne  alle  E'hr. 
Doch    das    sie   Gottes   dankbar   sinn 

Des  hort  mer  nimmermehr. 

Es  is  der  same  all  Hockmuthgeischt 
Das   mer   vor    alters   kennt, 

Un  lest  uf  jedem  Pyramid 
Un  jedem  Monument. 

Es  war  amol   a  Konig 

Drivve  in  Babylon, 
Im   Grassfeldt  hut  er  Gott  erkennt. 

Ward  kle,   der  grosse  Mann. 

Es   war   amol   en  annerer 

Der   die    Welt   erobert  hut, 
Doch    war   en   jammerlicher    Sclave 

Un  starb  der  Welt  zum  Spott. 

A  Mancher  hut  viel   ausgericht, 

Viel  g'seht  un  ah  g'ernt, 
Doch  mit  dem  allem  hot  er  nie 

Sich    selver   kenne   gelernt. 


DIE   AERSCHTA  HLSSA 
(By  Rev.  A.  C.  Wucliter,  Springfield,  0.) 

Sawg,   alter  chap,  sawg  waescht  du  noch, 

Denkscht   alsamohl   noch   drah, 
Was   sel'n   schtolz   un   hochmut  war — 

Die  aerschta  hussa  aw? 
Wie'd  uff  un  ob  bischt,  ous  un  nei. 

Im   sack  drin   rumg'wiehlt; 
G'laeht  gons   ivver,  yehderm   g'sawt; 

"Hob   Hussa!"   un  drah   g'fiehlt. 

Ich  wett  aw  noch  so'n  alter  cent 

Der  Schneider  war  net  weit; 
Er  hut  in  sellem  haus  g'wuhnt 

Lengscht   fohr   der   hussa-tzeit. 
S'war   yuscht'm   Dad    sei   alter    rock — 

"Den   henkt   m'r    nimmie    uff!" 
Noh  macht  die  Mommy  hussa  drous. 

Die  letz   seit  uvva  druff. 

So'n   schtolz   un   hochmut — hussa   an; 

Die   aerschta,   noch   mit   seek! 
Fer  Kueb   un  bend'l,   naeg'l,   schteh, 

Un   noch  fiel   on'rar  dreck, — 
So'n  hochmut — well,   sel   is  my  text 

Fun  alles  was  noch  kummt; 
S'gebt,  waescht,  noch  meh  so  hochmutdings 

Wuh's  yehderm  brummt  un  summt. 

Ferschtonna,  alles  nemmt  mohl  ob 

Wie'm  mullykup  der   schwons; 
M'r  wachst  so  aus  d'  hussa  raus, 

Fergesst's    om    end    schier    gons. 
Un    doch    wie    seller    schwons    fergeht 

Schiebt's    argets    desto    meh; 
So  bei  un  bei,  mir  wehs  net  wieh, 

Der  Mullykup  grickt  beh. 

G^waenlich  geht's  mit  hochmut,  schtaat, 

Os   wie  bei'm   Pharoh   dert; 
Die  'sivva  darra  yohr  gebt's  aw 

Bis    dos's   onnerscht  wert, 
S'geht  rough  un  tumble   sellie  tzeit. 

Die   hussa-dreher   scheb, 
Der  schpieg'l   uff'm  aermel,  waescht, 

Der  wommes  uhna  kneb. 

Die  hoohr  die  henka  uff  der  schtern 

Wie's   dachschtroh   on'ra  hitt, 
Un  won's'n  schaed'l  gevva  soil 

S'waer  noth  m'r  gengt  tzum  schmidt. 
Fun    city    fashions,    liehwer    Gott! 

Hut  nimmond   nix   g'wisst; 
S'war  evva  so  im   'busch'  g'west — 

S'war  aw  net  fiel  fermisst. 

Un  doch  uff  ehmol,  so  wie'n  drahm, 

Ferennert  sich   des   ding, 
Die  hohr  sin  g'schaed'lt,  saef  un  berscht. 

Sin  now  mohl  aus  der  'schling.' 


576 


THE    PEXXSYLVAXIA-GERMAN 


Was    machts?     Gebfs     hohr     ferleicht     am 
bart? 

Die  maed   fiel   schenner  sawg? 
Die   wesch   muss   noch   der  laundry  now, 

S'wert    schlimmer    olla    dawg. 

S'is  aw  son  art  fun  hochmut,  sel, 

Un   doch — m"r   kumma   drah, 
S'is  ken   fergleich   mit   sellem   dert^ 

Die   aerschta  hussa   aw! 
Die  Mommy  waehs's,  never  mind, 

"Won's    eisaheff'l    singt, 
Won's  kwolla  schlogt  bis  uv\a  naus, 

Der  deck'l  hupst  un  schpiingt.   • 

Fun  sclitillschtond  waehs  die  lieb  welt  nix, 

S'geht   immer   forwaerts   doh; 
Wie   waer's  won's   waer,   wie's   ehmol   war? 

Eil    s'gaebt  ken   'hinnanoh 
So  geht's  yoh'm  gonsa  menscha  g'schlecht — 

Yah!    guck  m'r  net  so  schei! 
Du  waescht  wie's  is,  ich  melin  wie's  .war, 

Du   warscht   yoh   aw   d'   bei. 

Des  hochmutdings   im  mensch   is  fiel 

Os    wie   ferdorva   blute, 
S'will   aus'm  system,  s'muss  aw  raus 

Schunscht  fielt  der  mensch  net  gute. 
Ferleicht  war's  naigscht'n  neier  gaul. 

En   buggy    funk'lnei, 
Fer  noch  der  fair  in  Allentown 

Un  uff  die  freierei. 

So   roustz'kumma,   meiner   sex, 

Mit  maed'l   un  mit  fuhr 
Macht  ebber  biss'l   frotsich,   waescht, 

Won's  aushalt  noh,  bishure. 
Un  doch  won's  on's  fergleicha  geht 

Mit  olla  fronsla  drah, 
S'is   evva   net   wie   seller   schtaat — 

Die   aerschta  hussa   aw! 

M'r  sin  noch  net  gons  uvva  draus, 

S'geht  ols  die  laider  nuff, 
So    ivverdem    gebt's    huchtzich,    gosh! 

Was    blaeht's'n    Kerl    net   uff! 
En   frah! — mit   erbschaft,   ousenpalt, 

Un   dehl    im    'willa'   noch! 
Un's   behvy!    wuh's   noch    fashion    is, 

Doh   schteht  der  kup   aerscht   hoch. 

Un  doch  om  aller  letschta  end 

Won  alles  uff  g'zaehlt, 
Tzu    was    amount   so'n    hochmut,    sawg, 

So'n   hochmut  os  em  kwaehlt? 
Der  aerscht  war  evva  doch  der  schenscht — 

S'war  gar  ken  humbug  drin; 
So    froh    un    froehlich    liehwie   tzeit, 

S'war'n   rechter  Engelsinn. 

Braucht's  awg  net  butza.  s'is  yoh  wohr, 

Ferbei    is,    waescht,    ferbei; 
S'war  moryets,   sel,   s'is  ovet  now — 

M'r  meht  es  kennt  net  sei! 
Doch  wett  ich   dreimohl   uvvadruff, 

Un  denkscht  aw  nimmie  drah, 
Dei    graeschtie   frehd   war   sellamohl — 

Die   aerschta   hussa   aw! 


ES  FET   OD  IXSCHLICH  LICHT 

(By  Frank  R.  Brunner,  M.  D.) 

Du    Liewe    zeit!      Wan    Ich    dra    denk 
An    selle    Lichter,    wo — Bei    Henk, 

Mir  hen  mit  misse  schaffe; 
Owets  gans  schpot  und  morgens  friih, 
Mit   mein're    arbeit   uf   de    Knie; 

Und   habs    recht   misse   mache. 

Do  war   des   alt  Fet-Lampe  Licht; 
Dabei  zu   schaffe  war  en  g'schicht 

Die  gar  net  war  zu  lowe. 
En  Hoke  dra.   do  henkt  mer's  uf, 
En  Wiege  drin,  den  schterd  mer  nuf; 

Die   Flam   war   oft  betroge. 

'Schmutzamschel,"  heest  mer  ah  sei  Lamp. 
Nau   sehnt  mer  kens  meh — Gott  sei  Dank, 

Mer  mus  Es  zu  oft  butze. 
Do  war  die  alt  Butz — scheer  dabei; 
Der  ferbrendt  Wiege  petzed  mer  nei; 
Die    Finger    oft    ferschmutze. 

Und  Winters   wan's   war   bitter   Kalt, 
Hot  die  Familie,   Jung  und  Alt, 

Sich   am   Holsz-Offe   kalte. 
Hen  oweds  noh   beim   Fet  Licht  g'schaft, 
Und   all    Ihr  erwed   guth  gemacht, 

Die  Kalt  lossen  sie  walte. 

No  war  ah   Spermacti  ol; 

So  halwer  Weis   und  halwer  Gehl; 

Sel  war  en  bissel  besser. 
As   wies   Fet-Lamp   und    Inschlich   Licht; 
Doch  mus  mer  ah  dabei  sei,  dicht. 

Sel  trimt  mer  mit  em  Messer. 

Es   Fluid   Licht  hot  ah,   eh   zeit, 

Gans   guth   gedient  fer  Nacht  schafleit, 

Und  war  ah  recht  ahsehnlich. 
Es  branch  ken  butzes,   schmokt   ah  net, 
Und  hot  em  guth  geleicht  ans  Bet; 

Doch  war  es  ah  gefahrlich. 

No  wie  des  Kohl-bl  kumme  is; 

Ich  wehs  noch  guth,  Ich  du  gewis — 

Sel    hot   alles   gebotte. 
Do  war  ken  butzes — Oh!    wie   scho 
Hot  es   gebrendt,  gros  oder  kleh; 

Es  lost  sich  net  ferschpotte. 

Kaum  war  des  Kohl-61   recht  im  gang, 
Kunt  schon  der  Gas-Lichtj  mer  war  bang 

Des  wehr  noch  fielmeh  g'fehrlich. 
Doch  war  des  Gas  en  besser  Licht; 
Es   fallt  net  um,  Ferbrecht  ah   nicht; 

Net  halwer  so  beschwehrlich. 

Lecktrisiti  biet  alles  nau, 

Es  is  so  schnell  mer  mehnt  somehow, 

Es  wher  der  alt  Kerl  selwer. 
Mer  dreht  juscht  ergends   ebbes   rum, 
No  blitze  Lichter  um  uns  rum; 

Mer  schteht  und  gucht  wie  Kalwer. 


LITERARY   DEPARTMENT 


577 


En    fancy   Licht,   war   ah,  e'moK 

En    Inschlich    Llcht.      Ich    wehs    noch    wolil 

Wie   der   Bras   schtock   als   klitzerd. 
Und  wan  die  Bohs  als  kiimme  sin. 
War's  fancy   Licht  im   Parlor  drin, 

Und   alles   hot   gezwitzerd. 

Ich   kan   noch   sehne   wie  mei  Mam 
Die  Wiege  uei  hot  in  die  Farm, 

Und  sie  guth  zu  gebunne. 
No    wan    des    Inschlich    g'schmolse    war. 
Hot   sie   die    Farm   g'fillet.      'Sis   wohr. 

Als   mol    hot    ehns    gerunne. 

En  Inschlich  Licht  gleich  Ich  als  noch 
Fer  im  Hans  rum  zu  geh;    'Sis  doch 

Meh  saf,  meh  schnock,  meh  handig 
As  ehnig  anner  Licht  im  Hans, 
Fer   rum   zu   trage;    sel   halt   aus; 

Doch    brendt's    net   so    lebendig. 

Und   in   der   Schtub   bei    Tode   Leit, 
Hot  es  gedient  in  sel're  zeit, 

Wan  mir  dert  ware  Wache. 
Do  hen  die  Buwe  und  die  Mad 
Gesotze   und  geschwatzed  mit  Frad. 

Was  ware  sel   als  sache. 

Der   Tod   war   ufen    Bord   geshtreckt. 
Und  mit  em  Lein-Tuch  zu  gedeckt; 

Es  Licht  dabei  geschtane. 
No  hot  mer's  misse  butze   geh; 
Sel  nemt  no  allemol  als  zwe; 

Sonscht   dat   der    Tod    em    fange. 

Wan  Ich  nau  sehn  en  Inschich  Licht, 
Denk  ich  an  selle  froh,  alt  g'schicht, 
Wo  unser  Schponk  hot  kowe. 


Der  Tod  war  uns  en  Schauder  Lascht, 
Drum   hebt  mer,  an  de  Mad,   sich  foscht. 
No   hen   mir's   kenne   lowe. 

Mer  meent  es  kent  net  miiglich  sei; 
Des   alt  fergeht,   'sis   alles   neu; 

Gucht  grad  hie  wo  Ihr  wolle. 
Wans   noch   fiel    langer  so   ferd  geht, 
Dan  wehr  es  mir  die  groschte  Frehd, 

Mei  Johre  iiber  holle. 

Ud   doch   is   es   ah   plenti   lang, 
Eh  mol  zu  lewe.     Ich  bin  bang 

Mer   kent   es   leedig  weree. 
Die  Himmel's  Lichter  biete  weid 
Die   Lecktrick   Lights   in   unsre  Zeit; 

Mer   mus   do   immer  scherre. 

Der   Heiland   sagt — "Ich  bin   das   Licht, 
Das   leichted   jeder   Mensch   zur   pflicht, 

Und  wie  sie  wandre  solle." 
Und  wer  sel  Licht  nemt  fer  sei  geid. 
Der  wandert  gliicklich  alle  zeit; 

Duth  net  im   Dunkle  falle. 

Er  is  der  Weg,  des  Licht,  der  Held 

Der  uns  den  Weg  weisd  durich  die  Weldt; 

Uns  auge  gebt  zu  sehne. 
Und   wer  sei  Auge  guth  uf  hot. 
Den   fiihrt  der  Heiland   zu   seim   Gott, 

Und  duth  Ihn  Himlich  krone. 

Dert   hen    sie   G'oldne   Lichter    Schteck; 
Sie  hen  ken  Schmutz  und  ah  ken  Dreck; 

'Sis    alles    Glans    und    shimmer. 
Niemand   ferbrend   dert  dra   sei   Hand; 
Niemand   der   ehner  Tnit   sich    nemt. 

Sie  scheine  nun  und  immer. 


REVIEWS  AND  NOTES 


ALLE   FUEN'F!— By   Helene    Stokl.     Edited 
with    exercises,    notes    and    vocabulary 
by  Dr.  Wilhelm  Bernhardt.     Cloth;    101 
pp.   D.  C.   Heath   &  Co.    Boston.    1909. 
This    is    a     pathetic     little     story     of    the 
death    of    a    poor    woman    who    had    to    die 
strongly    against   her     will     and     leave    be- 
hind her  five  little  children.     The  Introduc- 
tion  gives  an  account  of  the  writer  whose 
husband    died    and    left    the    mother    strug- 
gling   with     three     children.       The      writer 
seemingly  gives  forth  a  chapter  out  of  her 
own   life.     The   story   is   alive   with   interest 
and    feeling.      It    is    a    picture    not    only    of 
German  life  but  of  life  everywhere  with  its 
trials    and    sorrows. 

The  book  has  the  usual  features  of  a  text- 
book; the  notes  are  adaptable  and  discrim- 
inating. The  vocabulary,  like  the  vocabu- 
laries of  most  of  these  texts,  is  somewhat 
full.  The  half-dozen  pages  of  exercises 
both  for  written  and  oral  work  are  well 
prepared  and  workable. 


ELEMENTS     OF     GERMAX     GHA1IUAR— 

By  Thomas  H.  Jappe;  Teacher  of 
German,  New  York  Elementary 
Schools.  Cloth;  133  *[jp.  American 
Book   Company,   New   York. 

This  little  book  reduces  German  Gram- 
mar to  its  lowest  terms;  it  has  brought 
the  amount  of  GTammar  necessary  in 
studying  German  to  a  minimum.  The  book 
might  be  termed  the  "pocket  edition"  of 
German  Grammar.  The  author  of  the  book 
contends,  and  rightly  so,  that  in'itructiou 
in_  German  without  the  fundamentals  is  a 
waste  of  time  unless  the  whole  object  is 
the  acquiring  of  some  conversational 
phrases. 

The  book  is  divided  into  three  parts; 
the  grammatical,  the  conversational,  and  a 
part  containing  German  songs.  This  latter 
part  is  rather  a  unique  feature  to  find  in 
a  Beginning  German ;  but  it  very  likely 
has  its  educational  value.  The  main  ob- 
ject of  the  book  seems  to  be  the  acquire- 


578 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERM  AX 


ment  of  some  facility  in  German  conversa- 
tion together  with  some  of  the  fundamen- 
tals of  Grammar. 


BAROX      STIEGEL— In     the     Joha     Rung 

Prize  Series— By  Rev.  M.  H.  Stine,  Ph. 

D.  Author  of  "A  Winter  Jaunt  Through 

Historic  Lands.     Cloth;    331   pp.     Price 

■$1.25.      Lutheran     Publication     Society, 

Philadelphia. 

This    is    an    historical    tale.    The    general 

outline   of   the    story   narrates   in   the   main 

the  historical  account  of  the  life  of  Baron 

Stiegel. 

Baron  Stiegel  came  from  Mannheim, 
Germany  in  1750.  He  finally  settled  in 
Lancaster  county.  Pa.  In  memory  of  his 
native  town  he  laid  out  and  founded  Man- 
heim,  Lancaster  county,  Pa.  He  was  a 
great  iron  master  of  his  time.  liis  fur- 
naces at  Elizabeth  were  famous  works  in 
those  days  and  his  large  ten-plate  iron 
stoves  were  more  so. 

Seemingly,  however,  one  might  think 
that  this  were  more  of  a  "purpose"  novel 
than  an  historical  novel,  or  tale;  for  it  was 
written  in  the  hope  that,  in  these  days 
when  the  attainment  of  riches  and  fame 
are  held  up  as  the  highest  ideals  of  a  truly 
successful  life,  it  might  be  seen  that  God 
intends  life  on  earth  to  be  the  avenue 
which  ends  at  the  gate  of  heavea."  The 
Baron  of  history  was  twice  married;  and 
after  his  imprisonment  for  debt  he  engaged 
in  the  iron  business  a  second  time.  The 
Baron  of  the  story  was  married  only 
once;  and  after  his  imprisonment  he 
served  as  a  minister  for  a  few  years.  This 
change,  we  are  to  suppose,  was  more  so  as 
to  conform  to  the  spiritual  claims  with 
which  the  book  was  written. 

On  the  whole  there  is  rather  much 
moralizing  and.  preaching.  One  is  almost 
inclined  to  think  that  the  book  could  be 
accepted  as  a  book  on  moral  virtues  with 
illustrations  from  the  life  of  Baron  Stiegel. 
This  is  however  not  saying  anything 
against  the  moral  sentiments  expressed, 
for  they  are  noble  and  well  worth  pon- 
dering; but  these  are  just  the  parts  that 
will  be  skipped  by  the  readers,  for  they 
have  picked  up  the  book  "Baron  Stiegel" 
and  it  is  of  Baron  Stiegel  they  wish  to 
read.  The  subject  would  lend  itself  to  a 
capital  romance  of  Revolutionary  times. 

The  book  gives  an  admirable  account  of 
the  conditions  of  life  in  Pennsylvania  in 
the  eighteenth  century.  It  also  goes  to 
show  what  a  fine  field  for  the  exercise  of 
romantic  genius  can  be  found  among  these 
people  of  south-eastern  Pennsylvania.  Any 
collection  of  things  and  books  Pennsyl- 
vania-German is  hardly  complete  without 
a  copy  of  "Baron  Stiegel." 


THE  G0VEK3.MEXT  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES  AND  OF  THE  STATE  OF 
PENNSYLVANIA.— By  C.  L.  Gruber, 
Professor  of  Civics  in  the  Keystone 
State  Normal  School,  Kutztown,  Pa. 
Cloth;  619  pp.  Price  $1.50  (by  mail 
$1.65).  J.  B.  Esser,  Printer,  Kutztown, 
Pa.     1909. 

There  are  not  many  branches  of  study 
in  the  schools  today  that  are  receiving 
more  attention,  or  that  are  undergoing 
greater  changes  than  Civics:  the  science 
of  government.  The  text-books  on  this 
subject  are  exceedingly  numerous. 

The  book  at  hand  is  a  very  large  and 
seemingly  comprehensive  text-book.  The 
treatise  on  the  United  States  is  in  two 
parts;  Part  I  has  to  do  with  the  pre-con- 
stitutional  era,  and  Part  II  with  the  con- 
stitutional era.  The  part  of  the  book  that 
has  to  do  with  the  government  of  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania  is  likewise  divided 
into  several  parts;  Part  I,  The  Govern- 
ment of  Pennsylvania  before  the  adoption 
of  the  Constitution  of  1873;  Part  II,  The 
Government  under  the  Constitution  of 
1873.  And  then  follows  a  discussion  of 
County,  Township,  Borough  and  City  gov- 
ernment. In  addition  to  these  se/eral  di- 
visions there  are  several  indexes  and  an 
appendix. 

This  book,  we  are  afraid,  is  just  a  little 
too  large  and  comprehensive  for  a  text- 
book. Seemingly  there  are  a  number  of 
things  in  it  that  hardly  belong  to  its  im- 
mediate province.  Although  the  discussion 
of  the  origin  and  development  of  the  flag, 
of  our  national  songs,  and  of  the  legal 
holidays  is  relegated  to  the  appendix,  nev- 
ertheless  these   things   are   in   the   book. 

There  are  also  a  few  things  in  it  that 
belong  rather  to  the  domain  of  history 
proper,  the  pre-continental  era  of  the 
United  States;  likewise  the  origin  of  Penn- 
sylvania, its  name,  territory  and  boundar- 
ies. And  much  of  the  detail  about  the 
postal  service  can  be  had  in  any  pamphlet 
sent  out  by  the  Post-OfTice  Department. 
And  a  little  more  space  devoted  to  the 
principles  of  good  citizenship  and  a  little 
less  to  the  origin  and  the  technicalities  of 
the  Constitution  would  probably  give  the 
book  a  better  balance. 

The  book  contains  a  vast  amount  of  in- 
formation not  easily  accessible  elsewhere. 
The  book  approaches  as  closely  to  a  cyclo- 
pedia of  Civics  as  anything  we  have  seen. 
It  is  an  admirable  book  to  refer  to,  for 
collateral  reading  and  for  preparing  pupils 
for  examination. 


579 


EDITORIAL  DEPARTMENT 


The  Pennsylvania-German 

An  illustrated  monthly  magazine  devoted  to 
the  Biography,  History,  Genealogy,  Folklore, 
Literature  and  General  Interests  of  German 
and  Swiss  settlers  in  Pennsylvania  and  other 
States  and  of  their  descendants. 

Editorial  Staff 
H.  W.  Kriebel,  Editor,  Lititz,  Pa. 
Prof.  E.  S.  Gerhard,  Editor  of  "Reviews 
and  Notes,"  Trenton,  N.  J. 

Publishers 
THE  EXPRESS  PRINTING  CO. 
H.  R.  GiBBEL,  President ;   E.  E.  Habeck- 
ER.  Vice  President ;  J.  H.  ZooK,  Secretary ; 
Dr.  J.  L.  Hertz,  Treasurer. 


Address  all  communications.    The  Pennsyl- 
vania-German, Lititz,  Pa. 

Price,  $1.50  a  year,  in  advance ;  15  cents 
per  single  copy. 

Additional   particulars    are    found    on 
page  2  of  the  cover. 


ADVERTISING  RATES 

One  Page,  one  year $50  00 

Half  Page,  one  year 27  50 

Quarter  Page,  one  year 14  00 

Eighth  Page,  one  year 7  50 

One  Inch,  one  year 4  00 

One  Inch,  one  month 40 

Reading  notices,  1  cent  a  word,  each  issue. 

Address.  THE  EXPRESS  PRINTING  CO.,  LITITZ.  PA. 


A  Correction 

A  few  glaring  mistakes  crept  into  the 
October  issue  which  we  wish  to  note.  On 
page  485,  the  picture  is  that  of  Henry  Neff 
Kagey,  an  uncle  of  John  Henry  Kagi.  On 
page  487,  line  6  of  first  column,  change 
thirties  to  fifties.       On  page  489,  after  the 


word  "skirmishing",  line  27  of  first  column, 
insert  "to  the  northeastern  section  of  tlie 
Kansas  territory."  On  page  493,  line  25  of 
first  column  change  years  to  yards.  "We 
owe  an  apology  to  Prof.  Wayland  for  al- 
lowing such  mistakes  to  blemish  his  excel- 
lent article. — Editor. 


The  Forum 


MEAM>G   OF   NAMES 


By  Leonbard  Felix  Fuld,  M.A^  LL.M. 

[EDITORIAL  NOTE.]  Mr.  Fuld  has 
Itindly  consented  to  give  a  brief  account  of 
the  history  and  meaning  of  the  surname  of 
any  subscriber  sending  twenty-five  cents 
to  the  editor  for  that  purpose. 

22.  KLEIN 

The  surname  KLEIN  means  small  in 
stature.  It  corresponds  to  the  Latin  sur- 
name PAULUS,  or  PAUL,  the  English 
LITTLE  and  the  French  PETTIT.  Liter- 
ally, it  means  one  who  has  paused  in 
growth. 

In  1790  there  were  202  families  bearing 
the  name  of  KLEIN  in  the  United  States 
and  these  families  had  961  members.  There 
were  two  families  bearing  the  name  in 
Massachusetts,      one      in      Rhode      Island, 


twenty-three  in  New  York,  138  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, twenty-two  in  Maryland,  five  in  Vir- 
ginia and  eleven   in  North  Carolina. 

23.     REDCAY 

The  surname  REDCAY  is  derived  from 
the  German  RATHJE  through  the  succes- 
sive corruptions  of  RADGE,  RIDGE,  RIT- 
CHIE and  REDCAY.  The  name  RATHJE 
is  composed  of  the  two  elements  RATH 
and  JE.  RATH  is  derived  from  the  Old 
High  German  RAT.  and  Old  Saxon  RAD. 
This  surname  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  Ger- 
many, where  it  has  been  found  since  the 
fifth  century.  It  means  council  and  hence 
"bright  in  council,  a  good  counsellor."  JE 
is  the  Frisian  suffex  of  endearment  mean- 
ing "my  dear  little  one."  Thus  the  Fris- 
ian MEISJE  is  the  equivalent  of  the  Ger- 
man MAEDCHEN,  a  girl,  and  RATHJE 
means  my  dear  little  counsellor. 

LEONHARD   FELIX   FULD. 


580 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


A    German    Loveletter    Anglicized 

Mr.    H.   W.    Kriebel, 

Editor  The  Penna.-German, 

Dear  Sir:  As  per  your  request  I  send 
you  the  inclosed  clipping,  which  I  hav  kept 
With  me  for  forty  year  at  least,  it  having 
been  handed  to  me  then  by  a  loving  hand. 
You  will  of  course  return  it  to  me  intact, 
as  I  hav  set  a  valu  upon  it  apart  from 
the  subject  matter. 

Permit  me  to  say  that  I  hav  often  made 
use  of  it  to  show  the  absurdity  of  trans- 
lations in  the  classes  it  has  been  my  priv- 
ilege to  teach.  I  regard  this  as  a  literal 
translation  of  a  very  fine  German  luv-let- 
ter.  only  occasionally  the  wrong  word 
found  opposite  the  German  word  in  the 
dictionary  was  taken  as  for  instance  "out 
to  squeeze  —  for  Auszudriicken  which 
should  hav  been  expjress,  and  so  with 
other  words.  The  letter  also  illustrates 
very  forcibly  how  the  choice  of  the  proper 
word  is  conditioned  by  the  context,  and 
thus  shows  the  great  importance  of  the 
study  of  another  language  if  a  thoro  com- 
mand of  English  is  to  be  attaind.  Hoping 
this  mav  contribute  somewhat  to  the  inter- 
est to  be  taken  in  "THE  PENNSYLVANIA- 
GERMAN"    I   remain   as   ever  yours, 

R.  K.  BUEHRLE. 

How  willingly  remember  I  me  of  the  eye 
gleam  where  we  after  burglary  of  the 
night  arm  in  arm  went  and  where  I  you 
the  first  love  interpretation  made  and  you 
bashfully   knocked    down    the    eyes. 

How  often  did  I  break  me  the  head  you 
in  your  mother  tongue  out  to  squeeze,  how 
outsijeakably  I  you  love.  Only  with  help 
of  my  woid-book  am  I  in  stand  to  You, 
these   lines   to  write. 

My  brother  is  angry  upon  me,  while  I 
you  marry  will.  But  I  make  me  nothing 
out  of  it.  What  goes  it  from  on?  Over 
short  over  long  will  I  come  to  New  York 
and  by  your  father  aiouiul  vour  hand  on 
hold. 

Now,  dear  essence,  stay  sound.  Believe 
me,  that  my  heart  licks  only  for  you  and 
that  I  si)eak  how  it  me  around  the  heart 
is.  I   draw 

Your   in    i)ain-courage   waiting 
Williem   Swetwood. 
After-writing 

Take  yourself  in  eight,  that  this  letter 
comes  not  in  unrlght  hands. 

Wie  gern  erinnere  ich  mich  des  Augen- 
blicks  wo  wir  nach  Einbruch  der  Nacht 
arm  in  arm  gin  gen  und  ich  dir  die  erste 
Liebeser  klarung  machte  und  du  beschie- 
den   die  Augen   niederschlugst. 

Wie  oft  habe  ich  mir  den  Kopf  zerbroch- 
en  dir  in  deiner  Mutter  sprache  auszu- 
driicken wie  unaussprechlich  ich  dich 
Hebe.       Nur     mit      Hiilfe      meines      Worter 


buches    bin   ich    im    Stand   dir    diese    Zeilea 
zu   schreiben. 

Mein  Bruder  ist  bose  auf  mich  weil  ich. 
dich  heiraten  wil.  Aber  ich  mache  mir 
nichts  daraus.  Was  geht  es  ihn  an? 
Ueber  kurz  oder  lang  werde  ich  nach  New 
York  kommen  und  bei  deinen  Vater  um 
deine  Hand  anhalten. 

Jetzt  liebes  Wesen  bleibe  gesund! 
Glaube  mir  dasz  mein  Herz  nur  leclizt  fiir 
dich,  und  dasz  ich  spreche  wie  es  mir  um 
das   Herz   ist. 

Ich  zeichne 

Dein  in  Wehmut  wartender 
Wilhelm  Suesholz 
Nachschrift 

Nim  dich  in  Acht  dasz  dieser  Brief 
nicht  in   Unrechte   Haende  kommt. 

^    •{•     4. 

The   Hessians 

Russel,    Kansas,   Oct.    4,    1909. 
H.  W.  Kriebel, 

Lititz,   Penn., 
My  dear  Editor: 

I  thank  you  very  cordially  for  the  infor- 
mation in  your  letter  of  August  2Sth,  your 
copies  of  the  Pennsylvania-German  Maga- 
zine, and  particulars  concerning  the  same. 
Also  for  the  very  excellent  pamphlet  which 
you  sent  me  as  prepared  by  Henry  F.  Lutz 
on  the  Germans,  Hessians  and  Pennsyl- 
vania Germans.  I  would  be  glad  Lo  learn, 
if  there  are  to  be  found  anywhere  lists  of 
the  thirty  thousand  Hessians  or  there- 
about who  came  to  the  United  States  dur- 
ing the  Revolutionary  War,  and  particular- 
ly of  the  twelve  or  thirteen  thousand  who 
never  returned  home,  and  also  of  the  six 
thousand  who  are  estimated  to  have  per- 
manently settled  in  America.  I  hardly 
feel  that  Mr.  Lutz  really  lays  as  much 
stress  upon  the  sale  of  these  soldiers  to 
Great  Britain  as  he  should.  As  I  under- 
stand it.  these  men  in  very  few  cases  came 
voluntarily,  but,  on  the  contrary,  came  re- 
luctantly and  with  the  feeling  that  they 
were  practically  enslaved  and  sold  beyond 
the  seas  into  a  war  with  which  they  had 
no  concern,  to  fight  against  a  people  with 
whom  they  had  no  quarrel,  and  for  a  king 
for  whom  they  could  have  no  attachment. 
I  say  this  advisedly,  because  I  distinctly  re- 
member the  intensely  bitter  feeling  in  my 
mother's  family  over  this  matter  such  as 
she  imbibed  in  Germany  even  as  a  child. 
My  mother's  mother  had  an  uncle  who  was 
conscripted  into  the  services  of  the  Elec- 
tor of  Hesse  and  sold  to  the  British  king 
and  sent  to  America  with  tlie  rest  of  them, 
and  was  never  heard  of  again.  I  recall 
thai  my  folks  regarded  it  as  a  high-handed 
outrage  which  they  as  a  people,  unarmed 
and  dK^'enceless  as  European  peopies  were 
kept  by    heir  sovereigns,  they  could  not  re- 


THE   FORUM 


581 


sist,  but  I  know  the  hatred  against  the 
Elector  or  Kurt'iierst  was  intense.  His 
life  was  in  danger  from  the  angrj'  popu- 
lace, and  if  he  had  not  been  especially 
vigilant,  and  at  times  in  hiding,  he  would 
probably  have  been  assassinated  by  the 
outraged  i)eople.  I  do  not  know  the  name 
of  this  relative,  nor  whether  related  to  my 
grandmother's  father  or  mother.  I  simly 
know  the  geneal  circumstances,  and  the 
Intense  feeling  on  part  of  the  common 
people. 

I  sup])ose  you  are  aware  of  the  exten- 
sive settlements  by  Pennsylvanians,  and  es- 
pecially Pennsylvania  Germans  in  Kansas. 
A   very    large    colony    settled    in    this,    Rus- 


sell, county  in  1871,  near  the  present  town 
of  Dorrance,  others  near  Bunker  Hill,  and 
in  1878  a  still  larger  colony  came  to  Wil- 
son in  the  adjoining  county  of  Ellsworth, 
and  spread  over  Ellworth  and  Lincoln 
counties,  and  some  of  them  in  Russell 
county.  Many  of  these  are  still  to  be 
found  at  Lucas  and  Sylvan  Grove.  I  think 
it  would  be  a  matter  of  interest  to  your 
readers  to  collect  as  extensive  data  as  pos- 
sible concerning  the  individual  and  colo- 
nial migrations  from  Pennsylvania  to  Kan- 
sas for  an  article  in  your  magazine.  These 
peoi)le  are  to  be  found  in  almost  every 
community.  Very  truly, 

(Hon.)    .1.  C.   RUPPEXTHAL. 


Clippings 


Dr.  Leanied's  Researches  in  Germany 

The  Scotch  and  the  Irish  are  after  the 
"Dutch"  as  shown  by  the  following  clip- 
ping and  compel  admiration  and  gratitude 
for  the  services  being  rendered.  Such  en- 
terprise puts  to  shame  the  niggardliness  of 
some  Pennsylvania  Germans  who  care  not 
a  finger  snap  for  the  history  of  their  for- 
bears and  fellow   Teutonic  brotherhood. 

"After  a  seven  months'  absence  on 
leave,  Professor  Marion  D.  Learned,  Ph.D., 
L.H.D.,  of  the  German  Department,  re- 
turned from  Europe  a  fortnight  ago.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  he  had  been  com- 
missioned by  the  Carnegie  Institution,  of 
Washington,  D.  C,  to  investigate  the 
sources  of  American  history  in  the  German 
archives.  Long  before  Professor  Learned 
sailed  for  Germany,  arrangements  had  been 
made  by  him  and  for  him  so  that  the  var- 
ious state  archives  should  be  easily  acces- 
sible to  him  in  his  researches.  He  visited 
all  the  important  archives  in  the  German 
Empire,  some  thirty  in  number,  from  Mun- 
ich on  the  South  to  Kbnigsburg,  Hamburg 
and  Bremen  on  the  North,  and  from  Mar- 
burg on  the  West  to  Breslau  and  Posen  on 
the  East.  In  all  cases  he  was  received 
with  utmost  courtesy  by  the  various  archi- 
vists, and  he  was  thus  enabled  to  get  at 
sources  verj'  quickly — a  fac  t  not  appre- 
ciated by  those  who  have  not  had  any  ex- 
perience in  research  work  in  Europe. 

Naturally,  some  archives  were  much 
richer  in  materials  than  others,  so  that  it 
was  necessary  for  him  to  spend  a  month  or 
mo.re  in  each  of  several  archives.  In  his  re- 
searches he  met  with  a  surprisingly  large 
store  of  hitherto  unpublished  material. 
Such  was  the  case  at  Marburg  for  example, 
•where  many  of  the  documents  dealing  with 
the  Hessians  are  preserved,  for  it  was 
chiefly  from  western  and  southern  Germany 
that  the  tide  of  emigration  flowed  to 
America. 

In  Berlin  he  was  received  in  private  au- 
dience by  Emperor  William  II,  who  showed 


a  most  remarkable  grasp  of  affairs  in 
America,  discussing  many  questions  with  a 
surprising  knowledge  of  details.  It  was  at 
the  Emperor's  suggestion  that  Professor 
Learned  was  enabled  to  see  the  many 
documents  from  the  time  of  Frederick  the 
Great.  These  documents  showed  in  minut- 
est detail  the  steps  by  which  Frederick  the 
Great  became  interested  in  the  new  Amer- 
ican republic,  and  they  shed  much  new 
light  upon  the  first  period  of  our  German- 
American  relations. 

Prof.  Learned  was  also  entertained  by  the 
American  Ambassador.  Dr.  David  J.  Hill, 
through  whose  instrumentality  many  cour- 
tesies were  shown  to  him.  While  in  Ber- 
lin he  presented  the  Emperor  with  a  copy 
of  his  recent  work,  "Francis  Daniel  Pas- 
torious,"  and  it  is  interesting,  in  this  con- 
nection, to  state  that  in  inscribing  this 
book  to  His  Majesty,  Professor  Learned 
conveyed  the  additional  information,  which 
is  not  generally  known,  that  it  came  from 
the  oldest  professorship  of  German  in  the 
United  States. 

During  his  stay  in  Berlin  he  attended  the 
meeting  of  the  Verein  fiir  das  Deutschtum 
im  .A.uslande,  being  the  representative  of 
the  German-American  alliance,  and  making 
three  German  addresses. 

At  the  suggestion  of  the  American  am- 
bassador he  was  invited  by  the  American 
Consul  General,  Mr.  Thackara,  to  be  the 
orator  at  the  Fourth  of  .luly  celebration  at 
Griinau,  a  suburb  of   Berlin. 

At  the  annual  dinner  of  the  German 
Shakspeare  Society,  held  at  Weimar,  he  de- 
livered an  address.  In  the  Wartburg  at 
Eisenach  the  Grand  Duke  of  Saxe-Weimar 
entertained  a  few  representatives  of  the 
German  Shakspeare  Society,  among  them 
Professor  Learned.  On  this  occasion  the 
Grand  Duke  presented  him  with  a  beauti- 
fully illustrated  folio  copy  of  the  "History 
of  the  Wartburg." 

He  also  attended  the  celebration  of  the 
five  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  founding 


582 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


of  the  University  of  Leipsig,  although  Am- 
bassador Hill,  whom  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  honored  with  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Laws,  in  1902,  represented  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  recognition  given  in  Germany  to 
Professor  Learned  is  another  evidence  of 
the  high  esteen  in  which  he  is  held  by  his 
colleagues  and  scholars  in  the  German  Em- 
pire, and  every  Pennsylvanian  should  feel 
proud  of  this  new  recognition  of  the  fame 
of  his  Alma  Mater  in  foreign  countries  by 
the  signal  reception  given  to  one  of  her 
most  distinguished  professors. 

He  gathered  a  vast  amount  of  material, 
part  of  which  will  be  kept  for  future  inves- 
tigations; the  major  part  will,  however,  be 
prepared  for  publication  by  the  Carnegie 
Institution,  and  it  is  hoped  that  this  new- 
book  by  Professor  Learned  will  appear  in 
1910."— Old   Penn,   Oct.   23,   '09. 

— In  the  ministry  for  forty-six  years,  with 
his  salary  for  all  the  time  ranging  between 
$500  and  $600  per  annum.  Rev.  Casper 
Streich,  pastor  of  the  Fifth  United  Breth- 
ren, Cleveland,  Ohio,  has  brought  up  a 
family  of  ten  children  The  happy  and  con- 
tented pair  recently  celebrated  their 
golden  wedding  anniversary  and  on  that 
occasion  forty  elatives  from  different 
I)arts  of  the  country  sat  down  to  the  an- 
niversary  dinner. 

Notwithstanding  the  small  salary  of  $600, 
one  of  the  couple's  six  sons  went  through 
college,  three  the  School  of  Pharmacy,  two 
the  Business  College  and  the  four  daugh- 
ters were  trained  in  crafts  that  will  enable 
them  to  gain  their  livelihood. 

"I  have  never  been  sick,"  said  Rev.  Mr. 
Streich.  "When  I  was  converted  at  eighteen 
years  of  age  I  was  ordained  in  186.3." 

He  has  held  pastorates  in  Zanesville, 
Dayton,  Portsmouth  and  Cleveland,  and  has 
built  eight  churches.  He  has  been  cenfer- 
ence  treasurer  for  twenty  years.  But  he 
longs  for  the  old-fashioned  revival  that 
brought  so  many  people  into  the  church. 

Rev.  Dr.  Streich  was  born  in  Germany 
in  1839,  and  his  wife  in  1841.  He  came  to 
this  country  from  Germany  and  wedded 
Miss  Rife  at  Cicleville,  O.,  June  26,  1859. 

At  seventy  he  is  strong  and  hearty. 
Pointing  to  his  i)icture  among  6  boys  lie 
said:  "They  say  this  one  is  the  youngest  of 
all." 

— Cyrus  W.  Klopp,  with  his  hospitable 
wife,  living  on  a  large  farm  near  Scull  Hill, 
Berks  county,  has  entertained  more  visitors 
in  a  year  than  any  other  farmer  in  the 
county. 

He  kept  a  list  of  all  pesons  who  called, 
and  from  May  1,  1908  to  May  1,  1909,  he  fed 
exactly  1233  persons,  and  1442  visited  his 
home.     Most  of  them   remained  for  a  meal 


or  two.  December  was  his  busiest  month, 
when  more  than  200  called. 

He  also  gave  meals  to  500  vagrants  and 
homeless  men,  75  per  cent,  of  whom  were 
allowed  to  sleep  in  the  barn. 

Other  Berks  county  farmers  are  known 
far  and  wide  as  great  entertainers.  People 
of  Berks  county  as  a  rule  are  very  hospi- 
table. Their  farms  produce  plentifully  andi 
the  Berks  housewife  knows  how  to  prepare 
the  food.  Nearly  all  farmers  who  enter- 
tain visitors  keep  a  list  of  guests,  and  each 
farmer  tries  to  get  ahead  of  the  other  in 
entertaining. 

*  *  * 

Death  of  Dr.  William  P.  Wessellioeft 

Dr.  William  Palmer  Wesselhoeft,  who" 
died  August  24,  1909  at  his  summer  home 
at  York  Harbor,  Me.,  was  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania in  1835,  the  son  of  William  Wessel- 
hoeft. His  father  brought  his  family  to 
Boston  in  1842,  and  became  one  of  the 
earliest  physicians  to  practice  homoeo- 
pathy  in  Massachusetts. 

Dr.  William  P.  Wesselhoeft  was  educated 
in  a  private  school  in  Boston  until  he  was. 
about  sixteen,  when  he  went  to  Germany 
with  his  cousin,  the  late  Dr.  Conrad  Wes- 
selhoeft. They  returned  to  enter  the  Har- 
vard Medical  School,  from  which  they  were 
graduated  together  in  1857. 

Dr.  William  P.  Wesselhoeft  then  began 
medical  practice  with  his  father,  becoming 
a  leader  in  the  homoeopathic  fraternity. 
He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Homoeopathic  Hospital  and  con- 
tinued to  serve  it  actively  until  about  1904^ 
when  he  resigned  from  active  service  and 
was  made  consulting  physician,  which  po- 
sition he  held  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He- 
was  a  member  of  the  Boston  Homoepathic 
was  a  member  of  the  Boston  Homoeo- 
pathic Medical  Society,  the  Massachusetts 
Momoeopathic  Medical  Society,  the  Amer- 
ican Institute  of  Homoeopathy  and  the  In- 
ternational Hahnemanian  Association,  of 
which  he  had  been  president.  He  was  also 
a  member  of  the   St.   Botolph  Club. 

Dr.  Wesselhoeft  held  a  peculiar  position 
in  the  medical  world.  His  reputation  was 
a  national  one  and  his  patients  were  from 
almost  every  State.  He  was  for  many 
years  one  of  the  most  active  of  Boston's 
physicians,  and  numbered  among  his  pa- 
tients members  of  many  of  its  most  influ- 
ential families.  Not  alone  his  skill  as  a 
physician,  but  his  strong  and  enthusiastic 
personality  and  his  oi)timism  gained  and 
held  the  confidence  of  his  patients  in  a  most 
unusual  degree.  For  the  past  two  years 
Dr.  Wesselhoeft  had  withdrawn  from  prac- 
tice owing  to  increasing  ill  health,  and  the 
end  came  not  unexpectedly.  Dr.  Wessel- 
hoeft leaves  a  son,  Dr,  William  Wesselhoeft, 
and  a  daughter. 


583 


Historical  Societies 


Der   Dentsolie   Pionier-  Verein     von    Phila- 
delphia 

The  latest  issue  of  the  "Mitteiluugen"  of 
this  society  (Zwoftes  Heft,  1909  contains 
the  address  delivered  by  President  C.  J. 
Hexamer  at  the  Jamestown  exposition  (in 
English),  a  sketch  of  the  Mosheim  Society 
of  Philadelphia  (1789-1792),  a  biographi- 
cal sketh  of  Oswald  Seidens ticker  and  two 
poems  by  him. 

4*    4"     ♦ 

Bradford  County  Historical  Society 

The  third  "Annual"  issued  by  the  Brad- 
ford County  Historical  Society  is  an  in- 
teresting and  valuable  collection  of  papers, 
etc.,  of  92  pages.  The  following  are  the 
leading  topics:  Bradford  County  during 
the  Revolution  (paper  read  by  C.  F.  Hev- 
erly),  Historical  Address  by  J.  Washing- 
ton Ingham,  Colonel  ,Iohn  Franklin,  Hon. 
Ulyses  Mercer,  Memorative  Reports  1908-9, 
Historical  Sketch  of  the  Society  with  lists 
of  officers. 

Our  readers  will  probably  be  interested 
in  the  following  quoted  from  page  48. 
Comment  is   unnecessary. 

"When  Joe  Kirby  commenced  shoemak- 
ing  in  Towanda  his  shop  was  very  small. 
He  was  a  tremendous  worker.  But  few 
men  could  work  as  fast  as  he  did  and  do 
their  work  as  well.  One  day  he  commenced 
making  boots  and  as  soon  as  a  pair  was 
finished  w^ould  throw  them  behind  his 
bench.  After  a  while  the  pile  would  crowd 
against  his  back  and  he  would  move  the 
bench,  in  an  hour  or  two  more  would  have 
to  move  it  again  and  again.  Just  before 
night,  he  would  have  to  move  it  clear  out 
of  doors  where  he  would  make  three  or 
four  pair  of  brogans  and  throw  in  the 
door." 

♦     *     ♦ 

I'nion  roiiiity  Historical  Society 

Buffalo  Valley's  last  Indian  massacre 
will  be  commemorated  by  special  anniver- 
sary services  to  be  held  here  tomorrow, 
under  the  direction  of  the  Union  County 
Historical  Society.  The  anniversary  will 
include  other  matters  of  more  or  'ess  gen- 
eral interest,  the  most  important  of  which 
centers  about  the  old  Eyer  barn  still 
standing  here,  which  in  1816  served  as  the 
meeting  place  for  the  most  important  of 
the  early  conferences  of  the  then  newly 
organized    Evangelical    denomination. 


.A  large  attendance  is  expected  at  the 
exercises,  which  will  take  place  in  the  open 
air  on  the  scene  of  the  Lee  massacre  of 
1782.  This  attack  was  one  of  the  last  of 
the  state,  and  its  commemoration  tomor- 
row falls  upon  the  anniversary  of  the 
Penn's  creek  massacre  of  1755,  which 
marked  the  first  official  break  in  the  treaty 
between  William   Penn  and   the  Indians. 

Members  of  the  historical  society  have 
been  using  every  effort  to  get  any  descen- 
dants of  the  Lees,  or  any  of  the  other 
families  connected  with  the  massacre,  to 
attend  the  anniversary.  A  movement  will 
be  started  to  raise  funds  for  the  erection 
of  a  monument  to  mark  the  scene.  Speak- 
ers will  include  Professor  Henry  T.  Cole- 
stock,  head  of  the  department  of  history  at 
Bucknell  University;  the  Rev.  S.  E. 
Koontz.  pastor  of  the  Winfield  Evangelical 
church,  and  a  member  of  the  Levi  Rook 
family,  which  operated  the  old  iron  fur- 
naces that  made  Winfield  one  of  the  fiour- 
ishing  centers  of  the  iron  trade  in  earlier 
years. 

Although  small  in  size  and  the  number 
of  its  inhabitants.  Winfield  is  rich  in  his- 
torical interest.  Almost  every  school  boy 
in  the  village,  and  in  other  nearby  towns 
in  the  valley,  boast  the  ownership  of  at 
least  one  or  more  stone  arrow  heads,  or  of 
the  old  Indian  mounds,  or  uneathed  from 
the  sites  of  the  former  camps  of  the  tribes 
of  the  Five  Nations.  An  Indian  path  which 
trailed  for  miles  through  the  valley  is  still 
to  be  traced  in  some  places,  where  it  has 
not  been  obliterated  by  civilization,  and  al- 
though the  last  Indian  left  long  ago,  his 
language  is  permanently  preserved  in  the 
names  of  mountains  and  streams  in  the 
region. 

Old  residents,  who  have  had  the  story 
handed  down  to  them  from  other  genera- 
tions, still  point  out  the  site  of  the  Lee 
mansion,  near  the  river  and  along  what  was 
formerly  the  old  Indian  trail.  They  tell 
of  how,  in  the  fall  of  1782,  a  band  of  sev- 
enty Indians  swooped  down  upon  the  Lees 
while  they  were  at  supper,  slew  Major  Lee 
and  John  Walker  and  a  wpman  named  Mrs. 
Boatman  and  her  daughter.  A  girl  in  the 
family  escaped  by  hiding  behind  the  chim- 
ney, and  she  later  spread  the  alarm  and 
started  out  a  rescue  party  after  the  In- 
dians, who  had  carried  off  Mrs.  Lee,  her 
baby  and  a  small  son,  Thomas.  The  cap- 
tives were  hurried  off  across  the  moun- 
tains. A  rattlesnake  bit  the  woman  on  the 
leg,  which  became  so  badly  swollen  that 
she  continued  the  journey  with  difficulty, 
and  finally,  pressed  hard  by  their  pursuers, 
the  red  men  shot  her  and  dashed  the  in- 
fant  against   a   tree.      The    babv    was    still 


584 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


alive  although  badly  bruised,  when  the 
rescuers  came  up  and  discovered  that  the 
Indians  had  made  their  escape  across  the 
mountains  with  the  boy,  Thomas.  So  fas- 
cinated did  the  lad  become  with  the  Indian 
life  that  he  had  to  be  compelled  by  force 
to  return  to  civilization  after  relatives  had 
effected  his  ransom  years  late. — The  North 
American.      (Winfield,   Pa.,   Oct.   15.) 

T  V  "f* 

Western     Pennsylvania    Historical    Society 

On  July  24,  1909,  the  Western  Pennsyl- 
vania Historical  Society  made  a  pilgrimage 
from  Pittsburg  to  Ligonier  to  examine  the 
location   of   the   old   fort   of   colonial   times. 

September  25  the  same  society  visited  the 
site  of  the  Bushy  Run  battlefield,  a  mile 
east  of  Harrison  City  in  old  Westmoreland 
county.  Pa.  Here  was  fought  what  Fran- 
cis Parkman,  the  greatest  of  our  colonial 
historians,  declares  was  the  best  contested 
battle  ever  fought  between  white  men  and 
Indians. 

Although  mapped  by  the  British  engineer 
Hutchins  soon  after  the  bloody  conflict  and 
described  as  26  miles  east  of  Fort  Pitt  and 
a  mile  from  Bushy  Run  by  Col.  Henry  Bou- 
quet in  his  official  report  of  the  battle  to 
General  Amherst,  historians  have  shown 
deplorable  ignorance  or  indifference  both  as 
regards  the  location  and  importance  of  the 
victory  gained  there  over  the  Eastern  Con- 
federates of  Pontiac,  August  6,  1763.  In 
connection  with  the  revival  of  historical 
interest  in  colonial  events,  as  one  of  the 
results  of  the  centennial  celebration  of  the 
capture  of  Fort  Duquesne  by  the  British- 
army  in  1758  under  General  Forbes,  with 
Cols.  Bouquet  and  Washington  as  division 
commanders,  the  Western  Pennsylvania 
Historical  Society  have  been  doing  some 
valuable  work  in  the  line  of  historical  in- 
vestigation. The  pilgrimage  to  Bushy  Run, 
Sept.  25  was  of  this  character. 

Rev.  Cyrus  Cort,  D.D.,  made  the  histori- 
cal address,  pointing  out  from  a  command- 
ing eminence  the  various  positions  of  the 
troops  of  Bouquet,  during  the  two  days' 
struggle.  His  great-great-grandfather,  An- 
drew Byerly,  was  in  the  battle  and  did  val- 
uable and  dangerous  services  in  caring  for 
the  many  wounded.  He  was  the  first  set- 
tier  on  the  old  Forbes  road  very  soon  after 
its  opening  in  the  fall  of  1758,  and  was 
keeping  a  relay  station  there  for  express 
riders  when  the  Pontiac  war  broke  out  in 
the  spring  of  1763.  His  family  barely  es- 
caped with  their  lives  to  Fort  Ligonier. 
There  they  were  besieged  by  the-  savages 
until  Col.  Bouquet  came  to  their  relief  with 
a  small  body  of  troops,  but  all  that  could 
be  secured  east  of  the  mountains  for  the 
emergency.  There  were  347  Scotch  High- 
landers belonging  to  the  42d  and  77th  regi- 


ments under  Maj.  Campbell  and  about  150 
Royal  Americans  and  Provincial  Rangers. 
The  Royal  Americans  were  German-Swiss 
enlisted  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Maryland 
and  the  Valley  of  Virginia.  Bouquet  was 
from  the  Canton  of  Berne  in  Switzerland. 
He  "became  a  communicant  member  of  the 
Reformed  church  March  25,  1735,  when  16 
years   old. 

After  gaining  distinction  in  the  army  of 
Sardinia,  fighting  against  the  combined 
armies  of  France  and  Spain,  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  a  prominent  position  by  the 
Prince  of  Orange  in  the  army  of  the  Dutch 
republic.  Because  of  his  knowledge  of 
German  and  French  as  well  as  English  he 
was  appointed  colonel  of  the  Royal  Ameri- 
can regiment  by  the  British  government  in 
1755.  Rev.  Michael  Schlatter  was  the 
chaplain  of  his  battalion  of  1000  men.  Rev. 
John  Conrad  Bucher  was  an  officer  in  the 
same  for  several  years  up  to  his  ordination 
at  Carlisle  in  1764,  and  he  preached  at 
Forts  Bedford,  Ligonier,  Pitt,  Redstone 
(Brownsville I,  etc.,  in  1764  and  1768. 

The  address  of  Dr.  Cort  was  very 
heartily  applauded  by  the  assemblage  that 
heard  it  Sept.  25  and  highly  commended  by 
the  other  speakers.  It  will  be  published 
with  some  illustrations  by  the  Historical 
Society.  Chancellor  S.  B.  McCormick,  of 
the  Pittsburg  University;  Hon.  Childers, 
British  Consul  at  Pittsburg,  and  Col. 
Church,  who  has  written  considerably  on 
historical  and  other  matters,  also  made 
good  addresses,  in  addition  to  remarks 
made  by  Mr.  Stevenson,  the  presiding  offi- 
cer and  secretary,  Burd.  S.  Patterson. 
Luncheon  was  served  by  special  caterers 
on  the  excursion  train  before  its  return  to 
Pittsburg.  Everybody  seemed  delighted 
v/ith  the  trip.  The  day  was  balmy  and  the 
view  from  the  place  of  meeting,  not  only 
over  the  historic  battlefield,  but  over  a 
large  part  of  the  best  farming  land  of  old 
Westmoreland  county,  was  pronounced  one 
of  the  grandest  to  be  found  anywhere  in 
the  land. 

With  his  little  army  Col  Bouquet  not 
only  defended  his  convoy  of  beef  cattle  and 
340  pack  horses,  loaded  with  flour  for  the 
relief  of  the  famishing  garrison  at  Fort 
Pitt,  but  by  a  brilliant  strategic  movement 
entrapped  and  bayoneted  forty  of  the  fierc- 
est savages,  with  Kukyriskung,  the  ring- 
leader of  the  eastern  end  of  the  conspir- 
acy, at  their  head.  Thus  he  snatched  vic- 
tory from  the  very  jaws  of  defeat  and  dis- 
aster and  rescued  hundreds  of  pioneer  set- 
tlers as  well  as  frontier  garrisons  from  de- 
struction by  bloodthirsty  savages.  By  his 
ability  and  fidelity  to  duty  under  most  dif- 
ficult and  trying  circumstances  the  poor 
Swiss  boy  from  the  shadow  of  the  Alps  be- 
came the  peer  of  the  noblest  spirits  in  the 
foremost  nations  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 
— Reformed  Church  Record. 


Vol.  X 


DECEMBER,  1909 


No.  12 


German  Character — An  Appreciation 

Annual  Address  by  Col.  Thomas  C.  Zimmerman,  L.  H.  D.,  President  of  The 

Pennsylvania-German  Society 

DELIVERED  AT  BETHLEHEM,  PA.,  ON  FRIDAY  MORNING,  OCTOBER  29,.  1909 


N  THE  selection  of  mate- 
rial for  this  address,  there 
will  be  found  a  slight  de- 
parture from  the  essen- 
vv^/'  I  tially  historical  features 
^^^3  of  a  subject  which  has 
^^  II  already  been  so  aoly  and 
fully  presented  in  that 
way  at  these  meetings.  Preferably 
for  the  occasion,  it  seemed  to  me, 
would  be  an  appreciation  of  the  Ger- 
man character,  representing  in  its 
various  phases  the  purity  of  the  do- 
mestic life  and  sterling  worth  of  the 
Germans ;  their  love  of  home  and 
country;  their  hatred  of  tyranny,  and 
their  unwavering  sympathy  with  the 
patriotic  trend  of  American   thought. 

Then,  too,  I  would  call  attention  to 
the  charm  of  the  mythical  literature 
and  the  fascinating  legendary  lore  of 
Germany,  whence  come  the  fairy  sto- 
ries, the  special  delight  of  the  juve- 
nile world,  as  well  as  the  reflected 
pleasure  of  those  who  are  older  and 
wiser,  but  who,  for  the  nonce,  have 
become  children  themselves.  And, 
finally,  a  word  about  the  noble  moth- 
erhood of  the  race — the  women  of  the 


early  Germans — from  whose  loins 
sprang  well  nigh  countless  genera- 
tions of  some  of  the  worthiest  and 
sturdiest  sons  and  daughters  of  earth. 
But  to  my  subject: 

THE    STORY   OF   MIGRATION 

The  story  of  migration,  which  goes 
back  to  the  days  of  Abraham  and 
Jacob,  when  shepherds  formed  them- 
selves into  nomadic  tribes,  is  the  story 
of  a  steadily-advancing  civilization.  It 
is  the  ver}^  antithesis  of  physical  inac- 
tion, and  a  good  test  of  the  enduring 
vitality  of  the  race. 

Among  the  greatest  of  the  migra- 
tory races  have  been  the  Germans, 
who  have  shown  far  greater  staying 
powers  than  any  other  people.  Ac- 
cording to  Hegel,  the  receptivity  of 
the  German  races — that  is,  the  easy 
adoption  and  ready  assimilation  by 
them  of  new  institutions,  and  the 
capacity  to  adjust  themselves  to  new 
environments — makes  them  the  best 
immigrants  in  the  world.  In  other 
words,  they  became  Gauls  in  Gaul, 
Britons  in  Britain,    and    they    learned 


586 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


how      to    become    Americans     in     the 
United  States. 

hVancis  Daniel  Pastorius,  and  his 
fellow  colonists,  who  with  his  little 
band  of  thirteen  families,  laid  the 
foimdation  of  the  first  German  settle- 
ment in  this  country  226  years  ago 
this  very  month,  must  have  Ijeen  of 
a  kind  described  by  Goethe  in  his 
Dichung  und  Wahrheit,  as  men  who 
were  filled  by  nature  with  a  rich  pre- 
vision of  force,  activit}^  and  tough- 
ness. 

THE  EARLY   EMIGRANTS 

The  emigrant  of  those  days  had 
qualities  which  gave  to  the  race  a  ro- 
bust energy  and  an  inflexible  sturdi- 
ness — qualities  that  were  potential  in 
moulding  the  character  of  the  Dopula- 
tion  of  Pennsylvania  and  other  future 
states  of  the  Union.  He  wa.>  plain, 
brave  and  straightforward,  liberty- 
]o\-ing  and  law-abiding.  He  was  or- 
derly and  thrifty.  To  all  these  qauii 
ties  he  added  a  love  of  civil  and  re- 
ligious liberty  that  was  deeply  en- 
grained in  his  heart.  But  for  his  ad- 
vent this  country  would  not  have 
made  its  great  advance  in  agriculture, 
for  he  was  pre-eminently  a  -nan  of 
the  soil,  and  knew  better  than  any  one 
else  how  to  secure  the  largest  returns 
from  the  storehouse  of  nature's  riches, 
for  was  it  not  Schiller  himself  who  in 
picturing  the  ha])py  homes  of  Ger- 
many, its  unity  of  domestic  life,  its 
patriotism,  its  music,  its  philosophy, 
its  history  and  its  poetry,  making  glad 
the  hearts  of  all  her  children,  said  it 
was  in  that  country  where 

"Man  and  the  soil   serene 
Dwell    neighbor-like   together — and   the   still 
Meadow   sleeps    peaceful     'round    the    rural 

door." 

BRAVE  PIONEERS 
Brave  men  were  these  pioneers;  not 
weaklings.  Hearts  of  oak  had  they; 
not  mere  palpitating  machines  that 
fluttered  at  the  thought  of  danger.  In 
their  struggle  for  bread,  willing  hands 
and  vigorous  constittuions  were  sup- 
plemented b}'-  healthful  impulres  and 
nerves  of  steel.  They  came  not  hither 
to  settle  down  in  the  lap  of  afiluence, 


nor  to  bask  in  the  favor  of  kings.  On 
the  contrary,  they  came  to  wrestle 
with  untried  dif^culties — to  grapple 
with  fate —  in  a  new  world ;  to  cut 
doAvn  and  clear  up  unbroken  forests, 
in  wliich  they  were  confronted  at  al- 
most every  step  by  hostile  savages 
and  wild  beasts.  Many  and  fierce 
were  their  struggles,  recalling  the 
conflicts  of  covenanters  and  clansmen 
in  the  highlands  of  Scotland,  the 
bloody  deeds  of  banditti  in  the  defiles 
of  Greece,  the  battles  of  Saracens  and 
Crusaders  on  the  plains  of  Asia 
Minor. 

In  his  description  of  the  Teutonic 
heart,  Tacitus  was  right  in  naming 
the  three  great  characteristics  as 
"love  of  country,  love  of  freedom  and 
love  of  domestic  life."  It  was  because 
of  the  hatred  of  tyranny  by  these 
early  settlers,  and  their  love  of  home 
and  country,  that  they  sought  -in  asy- 
lum here.  It  was  because  of  this  that 
the  1)lood  of  these  early  immigrants 
came  to  be  among  the  first  that  flowed 
into  the  veins  of  the  new  Christian 
Commonwealth  —  "  the  holy  experi- 
ment" which  William  Penn  invited 
them  to  join  in. 

FIRST  GERMAN  IMMIGRANTS 
One  can  almost  see  that  1  and  of 
brothers,  with  great  free  heart,  in  sol- 
emn talk  and  prayer,  giving  thanks  to 
God  on  that  blissful  eventide  when 
those  first  German  immigrants  arrived 
on  the  banks  of  the  DelawTire.  It 
must  have  been  to  them  like  standing 
on  the  shores  of  a  golden  age  of  hope. 
And  as  they  stood  there  in  prayer, 
throwing  themselves  for  the  hun- 
dredth time 

"Upon  the  great  world's  altar  stairs 
That  slope  through  darkness  up  to  God," 

the  eye  of  fancy  can  almost  see  the 
glimmer  of  the  rising  moon  upon  the 
whitened  sails  of  the  good  ship  Con- 
cord, after  its  months  of  tempestuous 
sailing,  bearing  upon  their  rufifled 
bosom  a  light  that  seemed  prophetic 
of  the  happiness  and  prosperity  which 
would  some  time  illumine  their  homes. 


GERMAN    CHARACTER— AN   APPRECIATION 


587 


ill  the  1^1  Dcrado  which  they  had  just 
foiiiul   in    the   new   world. 

True  it  is,  that  the  stabiHty  of  the 
German  character  is  well  defined  in 
the  expression  that  the  Palatines  were 
the  "one  race  in  the  L'nited  States 
which  most  fully  i^'ot  into  the  soil," 
and  in  fact,  that  they  have  held  their 
ancestral  seats  with  less  change  of 
ownership  than  any  other. 

GERMANY  ALWAYS  WITH  US 
In.  our  Revolutionary  Wat,  Ger- 
many was  in  symiiathy  with  this  coun- 
tr\-.  In  the  (_"i\il  War  she  -vas  in 
sym]:)athy  with  the  Union,  p-ederick 
the  Great  furnished  from  his  own  mil- 
itary staff  I'aron  Steuben  at  the  time 
of  the  Revolution,  to  train  the  coloni- 
al soldiers  in  the  use  of  arms.  He  was 
at  Monmouth  and  commanded  the  left 
wing  of  the  army,  and  was  side  by 
side  with  A\'ashington  at  the  surren- 
der of  Yorktown.  He  became  a  citi- 
zen of  the  United  States,  and  to  this 
day  his  remains  lie  buried  in  the  Em- 
])ire  state  of  New  York. 

The  whole  history  of  the  German 
people  has  been  one  of  sympathy  w^ith 
us  in  our  oppression  of  1776,  and  in 
our  efforts  to  make  this  "the  land  of 
the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave''  in 
the  sixties.  Their  whole  treatr.ent  of 
us  has  l^een  one  of  friendshi]:)  and  af- 
fection. 

A  PEACEABLE,  PATRIOTIC  PEOPLE 
\\'hile  we  of  the  cities  are  most  ac- 
customed to  associate  the  German 
with  l)usy  metropolitan  life ;  while  he 
is,  indeed,  an  active,  intelligent  spirit 
in  commerce  and  manufactures  in  the 
mechanic  arts  and  all  learned  profes- 
sions, nowhere  do  his  vigorous  natural 
traits  appear  to  better  advantage  than 
when  he  is  seen  as  an  agriculturist. 
His  native  shrewdness  was  shown  in 
his  acquisition  of  the  choicest  lands  in 
the  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  val- 
leys. These  he  caused  to  bloom  un- 
der a  cultivation  wdiich  represented 
the  joint  product  of  scientific  know- 
ledge and  patient  toil.  Where,  how- 
ever, fortune  cast  him  upon  a  rocky 
hillside,  he  showed  his  unconquerable 


disposition  and  gave  proof  of  ability  to 
obtain  from  nature  the  best  results 
from  the  scantiest  means,  and  it  ever 
has  been  that  the  German  farm  is  a 
model  home.  Comfort,  cleanliness, 
and  thrift  abide  there,  and  a  feature 
seldom  omitted  is  the  vine  and  arbor, 
which  is  the  summer  home  for  the 
family. 

Pennsylvania  and  \'irginia  w^ere  the 
two  states  first  to  receive  that  great 
im])act  of  immigration,  wdiicli  going 
out  from  them  has  reached  every  sec- 
tion of  the  Union  and  stamped  itself 
upon  all  the  occupations  of  our  life — 
making  part  of  us  a  peaceable,  patriot- 
ic people,  wdio  "have  learned  to  love 
their  new  home,  while  not  forgetful  of 
the  old." 

THE  TYPICAL  GERMAN 
In  this  age  of  sham,  where  there  is 
so  much  that  is  spurious,  it  is  refresh- 
ing to  have  the  lines  of  social  and 
commercial  intercourse  stren^thened 
by  contact  with  the  typical  German, 
wdio  is  honest,  who  speaks  the  truth, 
despises  hypocrisy,  loves  his  fellow- 
men,  loves  home  with  all  its  cognate 
pleasures,  who  pays  his  debts,  does 
his  work  thoroughly  and  is  -atisfied 
with  what  he  has  earned.  No  wonder 
peace  and  prosperity  follow  in  his 
wake  wherever  his  lot  is  cast. 

The  more  the  passionless  exploits 
of  this  people  are  considered,  the 
more  evident  it  becomes  that  the  Ger- 
man— the  patriot,  the  burden  bearer, 
and  hero,  the  i)atient.  painstaking, 
economic  citizen,  the  frugal  trades- 
man— deserves  an  honored  place  in 
the  eyes  of  an  appreciative  world. 
On  occasions  of  this  kind  the  descend- 
ants of  the  German  colonists  may  be 
pardoned  for  a  measure  of  self-lauda- 
tion. It  is  no  mean  inheritance  to 
have  been  descended  from  the  plain, 
sturdy,  God-fearing  men  wdio  colo- 
nized the  l)anks  of  the  Schuylkill  and 
tamed  the  wilderness  into  fertile  gar- 
dens and  doing  it  all  for  the  glory  of 
God  and  for  liberty  of  conscience. 
The  men  who  settled  this  region  were 
as  brave  and    pious    as    the    Puritans 


i88 


THE    PENXSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


and  vastly  more  tolerant,  and  they 
left  behind  them  records  that  are  un- 
stained. 

DESCENDANTS    OP^    EARLY    SETTLERS 

The  descendants  of  these  early  Ger- 
man settlers  are  today  the  central  in- 
tluence  and  impelling  power  of  a  large 
l)roportion  of  the  more  important  ac- 
tivities, \'\z..  in  cnnimerce,  industry, 
education,  agriculture,  as  well  as  m 
the  professions — men  who  n.jt  only 
made  this  portion  of  the  state  so  rich 
in  historic  reminiscence  and  it.<  people 
so  tolerant  of  religion,  hut  who  lived 
dee;)  the  foundations  of  a  stable  and 
an   enduring  pros;)erity. 

Look  wheresoever  }-ou  may,  you 
will  find  well  nigh  countless  evidences 
of  (ierman  genius  and  German  skill, 
while  along  every  artery  of  trade  are 
felt  the  (juickening  currents  of  Ger- 
man  life. 

Here  in  the  Bethlehem s.  as  in  Al- 
lentown.  Catasau(|ua  and  Reading, 
and  indeed,  throughout  the  whole  (^f 
Eastern  Pennsylvania,  there  are  in- 
dustrial cpiarters.  es!)ecially  in  the 
manuiacturing  districts,  where  the 
( iermans  introduced  \arious  handi- 
crafts in  a  modest  way,  that  are 
grown  to  l)e  among  the  largest  in  the 
country. 

The  story  of  German  enterprise, 
thrift  and  ]:)rosperity  in  the  eastern 
part  of  Pennsylvania  is  that  of  many 
other  countries  in  this  state.  In  the 
church,  at  the  bar.  in  the  medical  fra- 
ternity, in  school  and  universitv,  in 
journalism,  in  agriculture,  in  the  me- 
chanic arts,  in  the  business  life,  in 
manufacturing  industries,  in  war  and 
in  peace,  the  offspring  of  Teutonic 
stock  ha\e  held  their  own  with  the 
l)est. 

The  early  German  settlers  were 
great  factors  in  saving  the  provinces 
for  the  P>ritish  during  the  French  and 
Indian  Wars,  and  later  in  achieving 
the  independence  of  the  colonists.  In- 
deed, in  all  that  goes  to  make  the  life 
of  the  American  people  ■  hapoy  and 
prosperous,  and  honorable*  and  suc- 
cessful,    the     Pennsvlvania      Germans 


have  been  an  important  factor.  Par- 
ticularly is  this  true  in  the  upbuilding 
of  our  Commonwealth  and  in  the 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  EASTERN 
PENNSYLVANIA 
In  the  magnificent  development  of 
her  vast  natural  resources  —  in  her 
teeming  manufactories  of  every  va- 
riety— in  her  cultivated  farms —  in  her 
railroads,  canals  and  public  roads — in 
her  busy  and  progressive  cities,  towns 
and  villages — in  her  institutions  of 
learning,  her  public  school  system, 
and  her  newspapers,  Pennsylvania 
stands  today  the  peer  of  any  state  in 
the  Union.  She  is  an  empire  within 
herself,  and  there  is  upon  earth  no 
other  which  could  bear  complete  iso- 
lation from  al  1  outside  intercourse 
with  so  little  disadvantage.  And  these 
are  the  people  whom  it  has  become 
the  fashion  in  certain  cjuarters  to  de- 
ride ;  of  whom  it  is  said  they  have  no 
culture  and  no  literature  ;  whose  lan- 
guage is  held  un  to  ridicule,  and  whose 
thrift  is  made  the  subject  of  disparag- 
ing comment. 

DETRACTORS  OF  THE  PENNSYLVANIA 
GERMANS 
Among  these  detractors  is  Dr.  Falk- 
ner,  of  Connecticut,  whose  re.rent  de- 
risive characterization  of  wdiat  he  de- 
signates as  the  "illiteracy"  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Germans,  has  met  with 
well  merited  rebuke  at  the  hands  of 
college  professors  and  the  press  of 
the  state.  Rev.  Dr.  Schaeffer,  Su- 
l^erintendent  of  the  Schools  of  Penn- 
sylvania, head  of  the  National  Teach- 
ers' Association  and  regarded  as  one 
of  the  world's  greatest  educators,  says: 

"I  have  lived  among  Penna. -Germans  all 
the  days  of  my  life,  and  I  have  never 
known  one  who  could  not  read  or  write, 
and  if  illiteracy  means  the  inability  to  read 
and  write,  the  Connecticut  Yankee  is  cer- 
tainly off  his  base." 

Dr.  Stille,  himself  a  distinguished 
historian  and  scholar,  has  put  upon 
record  that  "of  all  the  races  which 
settled  on  the  soil  of  Pennsylvania, 
the  German  forms  a  very  important 
part  of  the  bed-rock  of  the  civilization 


GERMAN    CHARA.CTER— AX    APPRECIATION 


589 


of  the  State.  "What,"  he  said,  "can  a 
man  know  of  that  civihzation  who  is 
ignorant  of  the  special  history  of  the 
Pennsylvania-Germans.  Much  that  is 
falsely  called  history  has  been  written 
without   such   knowledge." 

Detractors  of  the  Peunsylvairia-Ger- 
mans,  like  Falkner,  must  not  overlook 
the  fact  that  they  whom  they  deride, 
led  all  the  other  colonists  of  America 
in  the  establishment  of  S  u  n  d  a  y 
Schools,  in  the  Abolition  movement; 
in  the  printing  of  Bibles ;  in  the  fact 
that  every  Pennsylvania-German  town 
had  its  printing  press,  and  that  the 
product  of  the  early  presses  of  each  of 
the  German  towns  of  Reading,  Lan- 
caster, Ephrata,  Skippack,  Sr.mmey- 
town  and  Frederick,  Aid.,  was  as  great, 
perhaps  as  the  number  of  books 
printed  in  Boston  and  in  the  Colonial 
period,  while  technically  the  adv^antage 
was  in  favor  of  the  Pennsylvania-Ger- 
man printers. 

As  showing  the  steady  advance  in 
the  accomplishment  of  the  "big 
things,"  I  would  state  that  six  years 
ago,  the  late  Dr.  Joseph  A.  Seiss,  then 
president  of  this  Society,  said  among 
other  things,  in  his  annual  address  at 
Lebanon  : 

"It  is  not  assumed  or  pretended  by 
members  of  this  Society  that  we  shall 
he  able  to  make  report  on  regions  so 
unknown  and  difficult  of  access  as  the 
North  Pole,"  and  yet  the  fact  is  now 
before  us  that  it  was  Dr.  Cook,  of  so- 
called  "illiterate"  Pennsylvania-Ger- 
man stock — family  name  Koch — who 
first  discovered  what  the  scientific 
■world's  most  distinguished  explorers 
after  hundreds  of  years  failed  to  bring 
to  light.  Another  victory,  truly,  for 
the  Pennsylvania-German!  But  why 
multiply  these  and  kindred  facts.  The 
pages  of  history  are  filled  with  them. 
And  they  will  live,  and  long  survive 
all  the  detractions  that  all  the  Falk- 
ners  may  invent  in  the  disparagement 
of  their  equals  if  not  their  betters. 

COMPETENT   TESTIMONY 

But  what  are  the  facts  in  the  case, 
Let  us  call  up    competent    testimony. 


"Of  the  persons  emigrating  from  Ger- 
many to  the  United  States."'  says 
Consul  General  Mueller,  in  h  report 
to  the  State  Department,  "ni'ie  hun- 
dred out  of  every  thousaand  aro  fitted 
to  enter  the  various  walks  of  active 
American  life."  He  adds,  "As  a  rule, 
they  are  strong,  well  trained  and  in- 
telligent." And  this  from  an  English 
source :  "Germany  yields  more  intel- 
lectual produce  than  it  can  use  and  pay 
for,"  says  the  gifted  Georgi  Eliot. 
What  a  splendid  tribute  to  the  intelli- 
gence of  this  people !  And  yet  well 
educated  as  are  the  large  proportion 
of  those  who  come  to  this  country 
they  are  not  of  a  kind, 

"Whose   pride  of  intellect  exalts  its  horn 
In    proud    contumely    above     the     Aise     and 
meek." 

True,  one  does  not  hear  nor  see 
around  the  habitations  gf  these  people 
the  silvery  splash  of  iridescent  foun- 
tains ;  one  does  not  behold  pillared 
corridors  encompassing  garden  and 
bower,  nor  trains  of  liveried  servants 
with  flowing  garments  dancing  atten- 
dance upon  pampered  guests ;  nor,  in- 
deed, come  into  contact  with  but  lit- 
tle, if  indeed,  any  of  the  glitter  and 
tinsel  of  luxurious  civilization ;  but 
what  is  far  better,  in  what  was  once 
an  unbroken  wilderness  one  may  see 
in  fancy's  eye  the  kindling  dawn 
bathing  in  roseate  beauty  the  humble 
abodes  of  a  happy  people ;  homes  that 
once  were  the  lairs  and  abiding  places 
of  wild  beasts  and  savages — I  say, 
one  may  behold  instead  a  flood  of  gol- 
den beauty  like  that  which  coming 
from  some  angel  of  light,  might  have 
transformed  the  streams  and  foun- 
tains of  the  lost  Eden  into  visions  of 
crystalline  loveliness. 

OUR  NATURAL  ADVANTAGES 
The  natural  advantages  of  Pennsyl- 
vania are  the  endowment  of  bene- 
ficient  Nature,  but  their  unparalleled 
development  and  her  steady  progress 
are  in  a  great  measure  attributable  to 
the  sterling  character  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Gqjmans.  That  race  character, 
which    has    been    developed   out    of   a 


590 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


thousand  years  of  history  on  another 
continent  is  unaltered  by  the  influences 
which  usually  w  o  r  k  out  radical 
changes  in  these  matters.  This  may 
seem  to  some  like  a  generous  over- 
statement of  historic  fact,  but  hear 
what  an  eloquent  reference  to  the 
people  of  this  state,  as  well  as  to  the 
beauty  of  their  environments,  was 
made  over  90  years  ago  by  Dupon- 
ceau,  when  in  pointing  to  these  things 
as  they  existed  during  the  first  cen- 
tury', he  said : 

"Should  Pennsylvania  hereafter  degen- 
erate, they  will  not  need,  like  the  Greeks, 
a  fabulous  Arcadia  to  relieve  the  mind 
from  the  prospect  of  their  crimes  and  fol- 
lies, and  to  redeem  their  own  vices  by  the 
fancied  virtues  of  their  forefathers.  It  is 
certain,  that  no  country  on  earth  ever  ex- 
hibited such  a  scene  of  happiness  and 
peace." 

As  with  the  German  immigrant  of 
today,  so  with  the  Germans  who  set- 
tled in  Pennsylvania  in  the  early  days 
of  this  country.  They  did  not  look 
upon  the  United  States  as  an  El  Do- 
rado, but  as  the  best  country  under 
heaven  for  a  man  or  woman  willing  to 
work,  and  Germans  are  workers.  They 
had  heard  of  this  new  country  with  its 
promise  of  fertility  and  loveliness  and 
enduring  treasures.  It  was  to  them  a 
sort  of  Elysium  which  had  long  been 
pre-figured  in  the  chambers  of  a  de- 
lighted expectancy. 

THE  NATIONAL  HONOR 
In  every  war,  from  the  Revolution 
to  the  hostilities  with  Spain,  Penns}^- 
vania  Germans  sustained  the  national 
honor  and  integrity  of  the  Union, 
Among  the  governors  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, they  contributed  Simon  Snyder, 
Joseph  Heister,  John  Andrews  Shulze, 
George  Wolf,  Joseph  Ritner,  William 
Higlcr,  James  A.  Beaver,  Francis  R. 
Shunk,  John  F.  Hartranft  and  Samuel 
W.    Pennyj)acker. 

Christopher  Sauer  was  a  pioneer  in 
type-printing.  His  Bibles  have  become 
famous.  The  Ephrata  monks  had 
their  own  type  and  press  and  paper 
mill.  William  Rittenhouse.  of  a  kin- 
dred race,  had  preceded  them  with  the 
first   paper    mill    in    America,    on    the 


Wissahickon.  Among  Pennsylvania 
scholars  and  authors  were  Pastorius,. 
of  Germantown ;  Dock,  of  Skippack ; 
Henr}^  Melchior  Muhlenberg,  o  £ 
Trappe.  Pennsylvania's  splendid  sys- 
ten  of  free  public  schools  had  an  ar- 
dent advocate  in  Governor  Shulze ; 
Governor  Wolf  in  1834  secured  the 
passage  of  a  bill  creating  the  system,, 
and  Governor  Ritner  gave  perman- 
ency to  it.  It  is  a  remarkable  com- 
mentary on  German  tendency  to  edu- 
cational progress,  that  free  schools- 
were  practically  conceived  and  created 
under  German  governors,  it  is  un- 
necessary to  point  out  how  much  the- 
same  element  have  had  to  do  with  the- 
administration  of  the  system  in  later- 
years,  down  to  the  present  tiine. 

ACTIVITY  OF  THE  PRINTING  PRESS 
Note,  if  you  please,  the  extent  and 
the  activity  of  the  German  press  in 
Colonial  America.  Printing  was  car- 
ried on  at  31  different  places  irt 
Pennsylvania;  three  in  Maryland; 
four  in  Ohio;  five  in  Virginia;  one  in 
Massachusetts  ;  one  in  Xew  York,  and 
one  in  New  Jersey  and  one  in  .N'ova. 
Scotia.  A  list  of  the  printers  and 
])ublishers  of  German  books  from 
1728  to  1830  is  as  follows:  At  Allen- 
town  there  were  six,  at  Easton  3,  at 
Ephrata  nine,  at  Germantown  9,  at 
Hanover  6,  at  Harrisburg  11.  at  Lan- 
caster 26,  at  Reading  17,  at  York  8,  at 
Lebanon  8.  at  Philadelphia  47.  besides 
others  elsewhere. 

HIGH    PRAISE    FOR    THE    PENNSYL- 
VANIA GERMAN 

At  the  great  Alaska-Yukon  Pacific 
Exposition  recently  opened,  "Penn- 
sylvania Day"  although  not  formally 
represented  by  any  building  or  com- 
mission on  the  grounds,  the  Pennsyl- 
\ania  Association  in  Washington,, 
numbering  a  membership  of  several 
thousand  and  representing  near  20,000' 
natives  of  the  Keystone  state  resident 
in  Wa.shington — brought  to  a  success- 
ful consummation  the  movement  or- 
gani/.ed  by  them  for  a  State  Day.  On 
that  occasion  high  tribute  was  paid  tO' 
the    Pennsyl\-ania    (ierman    by    one    of 


GERMAN   CHARACTER— AN    APPRECIATION 


591 


the  orators,  Hon.  Wm.  Uhler  liensel, 
ex-Attorney  General,  and  a  vice  presi- 
dent of  the  society,  who  said  in  sub- 
stance, that  the  historians  of  this 
people  have  ijcen  thoroughly  working 
their  fields  of  labor,  adding  these 
truthful  and  prophetic  words: 

"In  the  fullness  of  time,  the  romantic  or 
ideal  side  of  the  pastoral  life  of  Eastern 
Pennsylvania  will  tempt  the  pen  of  the  im- 
aginative writer,  and  when  this  shall  be 
touched,  no  phase  of  the  state's  history 
will  more  abound  in  richness  of  historic 
material.  Neither  Bret  Harte  on  the  Pa- 
cific nor  Cable  in  Louisiana,  nor  Haw- 
thorn and  Mary  Wilkins  in  New  England, 
Irving  in  New  York,  James  Lane  Allen  in 
Kentucky,  nor  our  own  Bayard  Taylor  in 
the  Quaker  settlements  of  Chester  county, 
had  finer  fields  for  the  exercise  of  roman- 
tic genius  than  has  that  future  master  of 
historic  fiction  who  shall  idealize  ^'ae  char- 
acter of  the  Pennsylvania  German  peasant 
farmer — "the  man  with  the  hoe,"  whose 
face  has  ever  been  lifted  to  the  stars. 

',The  Mennonites,  Amish  and  Dunkards 
have  for  two  centuries  ploughed,  seeded 
and  harvested  the  fields  of  Lancaster 
county,  and  in  all  this  time,  this  Pennsyl- 
vania county  has  held  primacy  of  all  these 
United  States  in  wealth  of  agricultural 
production — the  while  its  surplus  popula- 
tion has  moved  in  steady  procession  and 
with  even  tread  across  the  Ohio,  the  Wa- 
bash and  the  Mississippi,  beyond  the  'Great 
Divide,'  and  now  to  grasp  the  rich  possibil- 
ities  of   Puget  Sound. 

"From  the  beginning  in  wealth  and.  com- 
merce, as  in  the  race  elements.  Pennsyl- 
vania displayed  a  variety  of  versatility  un- 
known to  any  other  province;  and  today, 
with  two  billions  of  capital  invested  in 
manufacturing  enterprises,  her  steam  rail- 
roads have  assets  aggregating  five  billion 
dollars — one-third  the  entire  wealth  of  all 
the  railroads  in  the  United  States.  The 
unparalleled  wealth  and  variety  of  her  na- 
tural resources  have  given  her  govern- 
ment a  redundant  revenue,  and  to  her 
schools  and  charities  she  'scatters  plenty 
o'er  a  smiling   land." 

"In  science,  the  lustre  that  Ritten- 
house,  Rush  and  Barram  gave  to  her 
chief  city  has  been  reflected  b\  a  cen- 
tury of  schools  and  institutions  of  his- 
toric splendor,  rich  ecpupment  and 
world-wide  fame." 

THE   LAND  OF  LEGENDS 
\\'e   who  are  here  today    ha\e    rea- 
son   to  be   ])roud   of   the   many   virtues 
of      those      (jerman      pioneers.       They 


came  from  a  land  of  romance  and 
legend — from  a  country  who-,e  hill- 
sides are  dusky  with  luxuriant  fo- 
liage, and  where  little  burghes  nestled 
at  the  feet  of  towering  mountains,  are 
decked  with  clustering  vines,  where  the 
very  air,  painting  with  its  invisible 
fingers  the  flowers  of  the  field  and  the 
leaves  of  the  forest,  sweeps  over  rivers 
and  turret,  and  over  the  mountain 
crags,  until  every  nook  and  crevice 
seems  to  echo  with  the  whisper  of  a 
thousand  legends.  And  s])eaking  of 
legends  suggests  this  fact:  While  Eng- 
land and  Germany  have  exchanged 
literary  commodities,  America  has 
been  the  heir  of  all  these  commodities 
and  many  more.  While  this  is  true 
in  a  larger  sense,  it  is  specificially  so 
in  regard  to  much  of  our  mythical  lit- 
erature, as  for  example  the  fairy  story 
in  the  possession  of  which  Germany 
is  exceptionally  rich.  And  how  na- 
turally we  begin  our  way  up  in  litera- 
ture by  reading  the  German  Maer- 
chen.  It  is  the  literature  of  the  chil- 
dren and  the  fireside  of  the  family,  if 
you  please.  While  the  Germans  gave 
wide  currency  to  this  fascinating  read- 
ing, they  do  not  pretend  to  believe  in 
these  fairy  beings  themselves.  Sieh, 
das  ist  eine  wahre  Geschichte.  is  the 
half-wistful  phrase  which  occurs  so 
often  in  Hans  Andersen.  The  expres- 
sion of  a  v\^oul(l-be  credulity  —  who 
would  not  believe  the  fairy  story  if  he 
could?  That,  for  instance,  which  it  is 
stated  Herman  Lang  so  beautifully 
tells  in  his  charming  painting.  Das 
Alacrchen. 

Who  shall  steal  the  golden  key  of 
that  citadel  of  the  world's  childhood, 
the  German  fairy  tale?  Wlio  shall 
surrender  it  into  the  hands  of  the  in- 
fidel, that  wretched  Turk  who  is  al- 
ways at  our  gates — the  Encyclopedia? 
Those  drifting  sea  mists  of  northern 
gray  seas,  those  twilight  hazes  of  great 
forests,  the  shadow,  and  the  myriad  of 
spirit  images,  which  ha\'e  led  us  on- 
ward, u])  to  I'ndine  and  to  the  great 
poetry  of  Faust,  the  charm  of  Tieck, 
and  Goethe  and  Schiller.  The  richest 
literature  in  the    world,    after    Shakes- 


592 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


peare  and   ■Milton,  lies  behind  the  Ger- 
man language. 

WOMEN  OF  THE  EARLY  GERMANS 
And  now,  a  word  or  two  about  the 
women  among  the  early  Germans — 
their  personal  appearance,  their  cus- 
toms, their  high  stage  of  physical  de- 
velopment, their  gigantic  stature, 
their  education,  and  so  forth.  "The 
German  women  were  a  wonderful 
race,"  says  Louise  Cooper  Bates,  from 
whom  we  quote, 

■'Their  possibilities  for  development 
seemed  unsurpassed.  In  personal  appear- 
ance they  resembled  their  husbands,  seem- 
ing, as  Tacitus  remarks,  to  belong  all  to 
the  same  family.  They  were  nearly  seven 
feet  tall,  with  fair  skins,  ruddy  cheeks, 
bright  blue  or  keen  gray  eyes,  and  long 
fair  hair  upon  which  they  bestowed  the 
greatest  care.  So  tall  were  the  Germans 
that  Sidonius  Appollinaris,  a  Latin  poet, 
plaintively  relates  that  "being  in  Gaul,  and 
finding  the  people  so  tall,  it  was  impossible 
for  him  to  address  verses  of  six  feet  to 
patrons  who  were  seven  feet  high.'' 

"In  maidenhood,  the  hair  of  a  maiden 
was  allowed  to  flow  freely  over  her  shoul- 
ders; not  until  her  wedding  day  could  it 
be  bound  up.  Girls  'in  their  hair"  meant 
the  same  as  'girls  in  their  teens'  with  us. 
Married  women  could  braid  and  pin  up 
their  hair  and  adorn  it  with  garlands.  Long 
hair  was  a  mark  of  the  free  woman.  Any- 
one who  should  cut  it  off  was  jmnished 
with  death.  Heavy  fines  were  imposed 
upon  one  who  should  disarrange  a  woman's 
coiffure  or  'obbo'  so  that  it  came  down,  or 
upon  one  who  should  touch  a  maiden's 
braids.  Women  sometimes  took  oaths  by 
placing  their  hands  upon  their  braids  of 
hair.  German  law  prohibited  familiarities 
of  any  sort,  between  men  and  women. 
The  dress  of  a  woman  left  her  neck  and 
arms  bare.  A  heavy  fine  was  imposed 
upon  anyone  who  should  touch  her  hand, 
or  her  arm  below  the  elbow,  still  heavier 
if  he  touched  the  upper  arm." 

THE   MODERN   TYPE 
"Where   shall    we    find    the    truest 
modern    type    of    the    early     German 
woman?"  asks  the  writer,  who  makes 
answer  thus : 

"Among  these  early  people  was  a  nation 
of  Saxons.  These  Saxons  crossed  the  chan- 
nel to  subdue  Britain.  Loving  freedom 
above  all  things  they  later  pushed  west 
across  the  Atlantic  and  as  Puritans  sought 
a  place  where  they  could  worship  God  in 
freedom  of  soul.  From  these  people  have 
descended   the   women   who   today    standing 


side  by  side  with  their  husbands  in  the 
struggles  and  successes  of  life;  their  com- 
rades, homemakers,  friends  and  counselors, 
no  longer  their  chattels,  but  each  the  pos- 
sessor of  the  love  and  respect  of  the  other, 
these  American  women  of  today  are  the 
truest  modern  representatives  of  the  early 
German   women." 

Their  pure  lives,  passed  in  liealthful  open 
air  pursuits,  insure  to  them  long  and  beau- 
tiful careers.  In  whole  communities  there 
is  often  no  taint  of  disease.  They  transmit 
to  their  descendants  vigorous  constitutions 
and  healthful  impulses,  so  that  these  start 
in  the  race  of  life  so  much  better  equipper 
for  success  than  the  children  of  others." 

THE  WEISER  MEMORIALS 
Chief  among  those  who  shed  lustre 
upon  the  early  history  of  our  Com- 
monwealth was  Conrad  Weiser.  some- 
times called  "the  Father  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Germans" — the  pioneer,  hero, 
patriot,  soldier  and  trusted  interpreter 
— concerning  whom  the  prophetic 
words  of  General  Washington  have 
peculiar  significance  at  this  time,  now 
that  a  memorial  tablet  has  been 
erected  to  his  memory  through  the 
patriotic  efforts  of  the  school  children 
of  Berks  county  and  under  the  au- 
spices of  the  Historical  Society  of 
Berks  county.  The  tablet  which  is  of 
bronze  was  embedded  in  the  western 
wall  of  "The  Old  White  Store,"  near 
the  northeast  corner  of  Fifth  and 
Penn  streets,  Reading,  wherein  he  met 
the  Indians  in  conference  and  smoked 
the  pipe  of  peace.  The  dedicatory  ad- 
dress was  delivered  in  the  Academy  of 
Music,  before  the  Berks  County 
Teachers'  Institute,  on  the  afternoon 
of  Wednesday,  October  30,  1907,  by 
Thos.  C.  Zimmerman,  representing 
the  Historical  Society  of  Berks 
County. 

As  a  matter  of  historical  interest, 
the  following  inscription  appears  on 
the  tablet: 

"Posterity  Will  Not  Forget  llis  Ser- 
vices."— Washington. 

In  Memory  of 
Col.  Conrad  Weiser, 
Pioneer,    Soldier,    Diplomat,    Judge,   As    In- 
terpreter  and    Indian   Agent,   he   negotiated 
every  treaty  from  1732  until  near  the  close 
of  the  French  and  Indian  War. 


GERMAN    CHARACTER— AN    APPRECIATION 


593 


The  Weiser  Building,  where  he  often  met 
the  Indians  in  conference,  was  erected  by 
him  on  this  site  in   1751. 

***** 

Born  in  Germany,  in  1696.  arrived  in  Berks 
iu    1729,    died    in     1760.     near     Womelsdorf, 
where  his   remains  are   buried. 
***** 

His  unswerving  honesty,  set  a  shining  ex- 
ample to  future  generations — Under  the 
auspices  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Berks 
County  this  tablet  was  erected  in  1907  by 
the  school  children  of  the  county. 


Anotlier  movement  lo  perpetuate 
the  memory  of  Conrad  W'eiscr  was 
consummated  Saturday,  Sej)!.  25th, 
last,  under  tlie  auspices  of  the  Pa- 
triotic Order  of  Junior  Sons  of  Amer- 
ica of  Berks,  who  erected  a  handsome 
monument  in  the  Square  at  V»'omeIs- 
dorf,  about  one  mile  west  of  his  home, 
where  his  remains  He  buried. 

Thus,  after  more  than  150  years,  has 
tardy  justice  been  done  to  the  memory 
of  the  eventful  life  of  this  patriot,  sol- 
dier and  peace-maker,  who  bore  him- 
self so  bravely  and  grandly  through 
all  the  hardships  and  perils  of  the  aw- 
ful struggle  of  our  earlier  conflicts.  It 
may  be  said  of  him,  "His  was  the 
completeness  of  integrity — the  very 
chivalry  of  justice." 

GERMANY  AND  AMERICA 
Eloquent  with  golden  traditions 
and  radiant  with  the  flutter  of  flame- 
like banners,  one  may  trace  on  the 
broad  canvas  of  the  centuries,  as  one 
may  see  in  the  blended  colors  of  the 
two  nations — Germany  and  America 
— that  sweep  across  its  face  like  the 
deep  rose  of  the  dawn,  the  develop- 
ment of  a  race  that,  perhaps,  less  than 
any  other,  endeavors  to  maintain  its 
individuality,  its  prejudices,  and  its 
old  home  habits  when  once  it  has 
forged  the  indissoluble  links  that  bind 
it  to  the  Great  Republic.  Your 
Scotchman  and  your  Englishman 
amalgamate  slowly.  The  Irish  are 
clannish  in  a  less  degree,  but  they  do 
not  readily  cease  to  be  Irish  -  Amer- 
icans and  become  Americans  only.  In 
this  there  is  nothing    discreditable    or 


unbecoming.  It  has  its  origin  in  ra- 
cial pecularities  not  under  discussion 
here.  German  blood  and  German 
brain  and  brawn  have  made  a  deep 
impression  on  this  country.  In  the 
arts  and  sciences,  in  philosophy  and 
romance,  in  music,  painting,  sculpture 
and  architecture,  in  manufacture  and 
agriculture,  aye,  turn  your  eye  in  al- 
most any  direction,  and  you  will  find 
that  a  thread  of  German  culture  is 
\\i>\en  in  tlie  warp  and  woof  of  the 
highest   cix'ilization   of  America. 

CAUSE    FOR    REJOICING 

Let  us,  therefore,  rejoice  today,  that 
there  flows  in  our  veins  the  blood  of 
so  good  an  ancestry.  Let  us  renew, 
in  song  and  speech,  nur  undying  af- 
fection for  the  memory  (jf  those  gal- 
lant spirits  whose  virtue,  loyalty  ancj 
courage  contributed  so  much  to  the 
upbuilding  of  the  American  Republic. 

Let  England,  with  rapturous  emo- 
tion, point  to  the  little  island  that 
well  nigh  dominates  the  world.  Let 
her  boast,  as  well  she  may,  of  the  il- 
lustrious line  of  her  great  literary 
worthies  who  by  their  genius  have 
placed  upon  her  language  the  royal 
stamp  of  an  imperishable  perpetuity. 

Let  the  Newer  England — the  home 
of  the  thrift3^  alert  and  God-fearing 
Puritan,  and  the  seat  of  an  enlightened 
intelligence — let  her  sing  her  praises 
in  honor  of  the  illustrious  '^ons  of 
those  Eastern  Commonwealths  that 
have  given  to  this  nation  some  of  the 
brightest  minds  in  the  galaxy  of  the 
wise  and  great. 

Let  Ireland  "that  exquisitely  beauti- 
ful island  which  seems  to  have  been 
lifted  laughing,  yet  glistening  with 
tears  from  the  iridescent  depth  of  the 
jewel-crested  sea" — let  her  lisp  in 
tender  melody  to  enraptured  ears,  the 
story  of  her  wonderful  traditions.  Let 
her  dilate  with  loving  pride  upon  her 
enchanted  isles,  her  empurpled  bow- 
ers, and  the  green-crested  billows  of 
verdure  that  rise  and  fall,  like  the 
heavings  of  her  own  great  heart,  over 
one  of  the  fairest  portions  of  God's 
footstool. 


594 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Let  the  societies  of  Holland,  amid 
-oceans  of  oratory,  depict  th.  glory 
and  heroism,  and  the  great  civic  and 
domestic  virtues  of  the  children  of  the 
Netherlands. 

Let  the  Caledonian  clubs  make  the 
welkin  ring  with  hearty  shouts  for 
Robert  Burns,  the  poet-laureate  of 
humanity,  and  the  sweetest  warbler  of 
the  pent-up  songs  of  the  human  heart 
that  ever  lived,  and  let  the  sons  of 
Scotia  paint  with  loving  hand  the 
heroic  deeds  of  a  brave  and  noble  an- 
cestry. 

Freely  and  gladly  will  we  join  them 
all  in  their  affectionate  tributes  to  the 
memory  of  the  loved  and  honored 
ones,  who  gave  them  home  and  coun- 
try;  but  let  us.  descendants  of  the 
German   race,   be   not    a    whit    behind 


them  in  extending  a  most  loyal  and 
single-hearted  enthusiasm  to  the 
strong  virtues  of  our  forefathers.  Let 
us  not  forget  to  rehearse,  in  tenderest 
cadence,  the  story  of  that  "wide,  cool, 
silent  country,  'with  its  endless  realms 
of  forest  and  its  perpetual  melody  of 
river  waters,"  of  its  houses,  gabled 
and  peaked  and  carved  till  they  are 
like  so  many  poems  of  the  Minnesing- 
ers. In  brief,  let  ours  not  be  "Short 
swallow-flights  of  song  that  dip  their 
wings  in  tears,  and  skim  away,"  but 
songs  like  Heine's,  as  so  beautifully 
described  by  George  Eliot,  "full  of 
music  and  feeling — like  birds  tnat  not 
only  enchant  us  with  their  delicious 
notes,  but  nestle  against  us  with  their 
soft  breasts  and  make  us  feel  the  agi- 
tated beating  of  their  breasts." 


Lynn's  Honor  Roll 


NOTE. — We  published  an  article  on  Lynn 
Township  by  Dr.  F.  C.  Seiberling  in  THE 
PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN  of  April  1908. 
We  are  glad  to  make  room  for  this  list,  an 
honor  to  the  men  and  women  named,  to 
their  nj^tive  townships,  their  State  and 
Nation,     All  honor  to  Lynn! 

IMPENDED  is  a  list  of 
Lynn  townshi])  men  who 
ha\e  attained  prominence 
in  \arious  walks  of  life, 
as  compiled  by  Dr.  W. 
I*.  Kistler  and  D:.  Jesse 
( I.  Kistler,  l)oth  of  this 
city.  It  will  be  noticed 
that  there  is  an  especially  large  num- 
ber in  the  various  professions.  Of 
these,  nearly  all  are  graduates  of  .some 
leading  college  or  university.  The 
physicians  have  attained  prominence 
and  enviable  reputations  ])oth  in  the 
communities  in  which  they  are  "ocated 
and  amony-  their  brothers  in  the  pro- 
fession. The  attorneys  are  among  the 
leading  lights  ])racticing  at  their  re- 
spective bars.  The  businessmen,  scat- 
tered throughout  the  country,  are 
l)rogressive  and  successful,  and  those 
who  turned  their  attention  to  armino- 
liave    introduced    methods   which    have 


not  onl}^  enriched  themsehes  but 
have  done  much  to  improve  farming 
throughout  the  country. 

Physicians — Dr.  Peter  O.  Bleiler,  Al- 
lentown ;  Dr.  Charles  H.  Bleiler, 
Frackville.  Pa.;  Dr.  John  H.  Kressley 
Xew  Tripoli;  Dr.  Robert  D.  E.  Foll- 
weiler.  Allentown  ;  Dr.  Seth  W.  Kist- 
ler. Xanticoke,  Pa.;  Dr.  John  S.  Kist- 
ler, Shenandoah,  Dr.  Milton  S.  Kist- 
ler; Dr.  Dauglass  S.  Kistler  Wilkes- 
I'arre ;  Dr.  Willoughby  K.  Kistler, 
Lehighton  ;  Dr.  Jacob  K.  Kistler,  de- 
ceased;  Dr.  James  K.  Kistler, 
Kansas  City,  Mo. ;  Dr.  Emmel  L. 
I  loweter.  deceased,  Kempton ;  Dr. 
William  Iloweter.  Saylorsburg;  Dr. 
Edwin  K.  Howeter  ( D.  S.)  Reading; 
Dr.  \\^illiam  S.  Kistler.  IN'Iinersville ; 
Dr.  Hiram  S.  Kistler.  died  a  few 
months  after  graduation,  in  Kistler's 
X'allcy;  Dr.  Alvin  J.  Kistler.  Lehigh- 
ton; Dr.  Albert  X.  ^Tiller.  East  Texas; 
Dr.  l^^-ancis  H.  Rrobst.  Reading;  Dr. 
(i.  (irosscuj).  deceased,  Reading;  Dr. 
Daniel  H.  lirobst,  Reading;  Dr. 
(ieorge  F.  Seiberling,  Allento^vn  ;  Dr. 
Charles  A.  Bachman,  (D.  S.,)  Emaus ; 
Dr.    Edwin    F.    Eshelman.     Parryville ; 


LYNN'S   HONOR   ROLL 


595 


Dr.  J.  J.  Reitz,  also  clergyman,  Wal- 
nutport ;  Dr.  James  K.  Fetherolf, 
Stockertown,  present  coroner  of  North- 
ampton Co.;  Dr.  George  K.  Fetherolf, 
(V.  S.)  Reading,  meat  and  milk  in- 
spector; Dr.  Charles  O.  Henry,  Al- 
lentown  ;  Dr.  Chester  F.  Kistler,  Read- 
ing; Dr.  James  D.  Graver,  Royersford, 
Dr.  D.  W.  W.  Folweiler.  Lynnport; 
Dr.  Milton  Hartman,  I*"leet\vood ;  Dr. 
Phaon  P.  Flarmony,  Alahanoy  City; 
Dr.  H.  B.  Harmony,  J\Iahanoy  City; 
Dr.  Jacob  K.  Klingaman,  Nebraska; 
Dr.  William  J.  Fetherolf,  Steinsville; 
Dr.  O.  K.  Hoppes,  Tamaqua ;  Dr. 
Monroe  J.  Holben,  Slatington ;  Dr. 
Malcolm  Holben,  Slatington ;  Dr. 
Abraham  P.  Fetherolf,  Allentown ; 
Dr.  W.  P.  Kistler,  Allentown;  Dr. 
Jesse  G.  Kistler,  Allentown;  Dr.  H. 
Palmer  Kistler,  Denver,  Col. ;  Dr. 
Daniel  Brobst,  (deceased.)  Nebraska; 
Dr.  John  Krause.  druggist,  Philadel- 
phia; Dr.  Owen  Snyder,  (V.  S.)  Le- 
highton ;  Dr.  Elias  Snyder,  (V.  S.) 
Orwigsburg ;  Dr.  Edwin  Wiesner, 
Mantz\'ille;  Dr.  Nelson  F.  Kis'ler.  Al 
lentown  ;  Dr.  George  W.  Krause,  Mon- 
tana;  Dr.  Edwin  Solliday,  deceased, 
Tamaqua;  Dr.  Benjamin  Solliday, New 
Ringgold ;  Dr.  David  O.  Mosser,  de- 
ceased, Trexlertown ;  Dr.  John  A. 
Brobst,  Allentown;  Dr.  Charles  H. 
Brobst.  Peoria,  111 ;  editor  of  i  noted 
medical  periodical  and  successful 
practitioner ;  Dr.  Joseph  D.  Seiber- 
ling,  Philadelphia,  demonstrator  at  the 
Medico  Chi ;  Dr.  Uriah  Long,  Bos- 
cobel.  Wis.;  Dr.  Isaac  J.  Kistler,  de- 
ceased, West  Penn  ;  Dr.  Aaron  S.  Mil- 
ler, Saegersville ;  Dr.  Edward  P.  Mil- 
ler, deceased,  father  of  ]\Iessrs.  David 
A.  Miller  and  Samuel  P.  Miller,  of 
the  Morning  Call;  Dr.  F.  C.  Seiber- 
ling,  Allentown  ;  Dr.  Eugene  M.  Kist- 
ler. Allentown;  Dr.  P>ed  A.  Fetherolf. 
Allentown;  Dr.  C.  ].  Kistler.  Lehigh- 
ton ;  Dr.  Joshua  Seiberling,  Hyne- 
mansville ;  Dr.  James  Long,  Royers- 
ford;  Dr.  Jas.  O.  Fenstermacher,  (\'. 
S.)  Michigan. 

Clergymen — Rev.  Oliver  P.  Smith, 
D.D.,  Pottstown.  Pa.;  Rev.  Albert  O. 
Ebert,    New    Tripoli ;    Rev.     AViJJism 


Mosser,  Bethlehem;  Rev.  William 
Reinert,  missionary  to  China;  Rev. 
James  N.  Bachman,  deceased  of 
Lynnport;  Rev.  Adam  Bachman, 
SchaelTerstown ;  Rev.  J.  Peter  Bach- 
man, Mulberry,  Ind, ;  Rev.  Irwin 
liachman,  Saylorsburg;  Rev.  Oliver 
P.  Schellhammer,  York,  Pa.;  Rev. 
William  L\  Kistler,  Pennsburg;  Rev. 
Charles  E.  Kistler,  Reading;  Rev. 
Reuben  B.  Kistler,  deceased,  Cherry- 
ville ;  Rev.  George  GreenawaM,  Boy- 
ertown ;  Rev.  Jonas  Henry,  Superin- 
tendent of  Orphans'  Home,  Topton, 
Pa.;  Rev.  Geo.  Lutz,  Pennsburg, 
principal  of  schools ;  Rev.  Willoughby 
Donat,  Schuylkill  Haven;  Rev.  Astor 
C.  Wuchter,  professor  of  languages  at 
Wittemburg  College,  Ohio ;  Rev.  John 
A.  \\^aidelich,  Sellersville ;  Rev. 
Charles  E.  Creitz,  Reading;  Rev, 
Preston  A.  Behler,  Perkasie ;  Rev. 
James  Oswald,  Spinnerstown ;  Rev. 
Joseph  Miller,  Kansas ;  Rev.  Samuel 
K.  Brobst,  deceased,  Allentown,  Pa. ; 
Rev.  Alfred  W.  Kistler,  deceased, 
Kempton;  Rev.  William  F.  Seiberling, 
Mulberry,  Ind. ;  Rev.  Wilson  Donat, 
Lebanon,  Pa.;  Rev.  Edwin  L.  Kist- 
ler, Sunbury;  Rev.  Elmer  K.  Fether- 
olf,  Shamokin. 

Lawyers — John  L^rich,  Tamaqua; 
Wilson  A.  Wert,  Lynnville ;  Francis 
J.  Gildner,  Allentown;  George  M. 
Lutz,  Allentown ;  Howard  Greena- 
wald,  Reading ;  Edwin  L.  Alosser, 
Chicago ;  Samuel  J.  Kistler,  Allen- 
town ;  Lawrence  H.  Rupp,  Allentown. 

Prof.  George  A.  Miller,  probabl>^ 
the  most  ])rominent  mathemat'cian  in 
the  world.  Prof,  of  Mathematics  in  Il- 
linois  State  L^niversity,  Urbana,   111. 

Hon.  Mr.  Long,  U.  S.  Senator,  of 
Kansas,  a  descendant  of  Longs  and 
Kistlers  of  Lynn  and  a  cousin  of  Dr„ 
Jesse  K.  Kistler  and  Samuel  J.  Kistler, 
attorney,  of  Allentown. 

Gustavus  E.  Oswald,  principal  of 
the    Ilokendauqua   schools. 

Ral;)h  Miller  with  the  Baldwin 
locomotive  Works,  Philadelphia ;  Ja- 
cob Klingaman,  assistant  Superinten- 
dent in  the  LL  S.  Custom  Department 
headquarters,      New'     York ;      Charles. 


596 


THE    PEXNSYLVAXIA-GERMAX 


Mosser,  time  keeper  U.  S.  Xa\y  yard, 
Philadelphia ;  Prof,  ^^'illia^l  Fctherolf, 
teacher,  St.  Barnado.  Cal.,  graduate  of 
Muhlenberg-  College;  James  Fetherolf, 
graduate  of  Muhlenberg  College  and 
Nathan  Fetherolf  employed  in  the 
United  States  Foresty  Commission  ; 
William  Kistler,  deceased,  graduate  of 
^Muhlenberg,  drowned  while  fording 
the  Rio  Grande ;  Prof.  George  T.  Et- 
tinger,  Ph.D.,  dean  of  the  faculty  of 
^luhlenberg  College,  Allentown ;  Har- 
vey Lutz,  prominent  telegraph  oper- 
ator, Albuquerque,  New  ^Mexico;  Prof. 
L.  H.  Scheetz.  A\'eissport. 
Among  old  and  ex-teachers  are  :  Fer- 
dinand Strauss,  Jacob  S.  Kistler.  de- 
ceased ;  Mrs.  Oliver  Trexler,  of  Kutz- 
town  ;  Samuel  D.  Kistler,  Cal. ;  Edwin 
D.  Kistler,  Stony  Run;  Levi  Oswald, 
deceased ;  Annie  B.  Kistler,  Allen- 
town  ;  Thomas  G.  Fister,  Kempton, 
who  has  taught  continuously  for  thirty 
years  in  Lehigh  county ;  Phaon  Os- 
wald, also  notar}^  public  of  New  Tri- 
poli ;  Walter  Steiger,  deceased ;  Jen- 
nie Foster, \\^anamaker's  ;  Jacob  Leiby, 
Jacksonville;  George  A.  Bachman. 
Pleasant  Corner;  Elmer  Fisher. 
Switzer ;  Henry  Fusselman.  Trexler- 
town ;   Henry  A.   Kistler.   Lynnville. 

Among  the  prominent  men  who  fol- 
lowed agricultrual  pursuits :  Joseph 
Baush,  Harrison  S.  and  Amandus  Har- 
■mony,  deserve  the  honor  of  having 
•introduced  the  extensive  cultivation  of 
potatoes  which  has  since  proved  to  be 
"the  stepping  stone  to  wealth  to  many 
■of  Lynn's  farmers.  Reuben  Bach- 
man, of  Lynnville  and  Henry  F.  Kist- 
ler. of  W^anamaker's.  usually  raise 
from  5000  to  7000  bushels.  Other  great 
producers  are  Henry  A.  Kistler,  Lynn- 
ville; A.  J.  Kistler,  Mossersviiie ;  Na- 
than F.  Snyder,  of  New  Tripoli;  Ste- 
phen O.  Kistler,  Lynnville;  George 
W.  Kistler.  Amson  Kistler.  Alvin 
Fetherolf,  Albert  B.  Smith,  William 
PTartman,  Charles  Hollenbach,  Lewis 
Fenstermaker,  Jonas  Gildner,  James 
W.  German,  flarrison  A.  Henry, 
David  Fetherolf,  John  Hunsicker.  All 
these  usually  have  yearly  a  number  of 
ithousand    bushels    for     sale.     Reuben 


Hunsicker  and  Daniel  B.  Kistler,  both 
deceased,  were  the  wealthiest  farmers 
in  the  township.  Their  fortune  com- 
pared with  that  of  many  of  the  wealthy 
people  in  the  manufacturing  enter- 
prises. 

A  large  number  of  prominent  busi- 
ness men  from  Lynn  are  also  found  in 
all  parts  of  the  United  States.  Nathan 
D.  Kistler,  of  Blackwell,  Oklahoma, 
who  is  a  wealthy  banker  and  mer- 
chant ;  Richard  S.  Kistler.  merchant  of 
Allentown  ;  Abraham  D.  Kistler,  mer- 
chant and  contractor.  Allentown ; 
John  Kistler,  one  of  the  leading  clerks 
of  Hess  Bros.,  Allentown ;  Julius  A. 
Moyer,  tobacconist,  Bethlehem ;  Am- 
andus Oswald,  merchant,  Freeland ; 
William  HofTman,  dealer  in  grain  and 
potatoes.  New  Tripoli;  William  Moy- 
er. real  estate  broker,  Allentown,  Pa. ; 
Edwin  Camp,  wholesale  hardware,  Al- 
lentown ;  Solomon  S.  Bachman.  gen- 
eral merchandise.  Lynnville ;  Williab 
F.  Fetherolf,  cashier  for  the  L.  V.  R. 
R..  Allentown;  Charles  M.  Hun- 
sicker, photographer,  Allentown. 

Ex-county  officials — Hon.  Ex-Judge 
Haas,  ex-associate  judge.  Lynnville; 
Hon.  Samuel  J.  Kistler,  Sr. ;  ex-asso- 
ciate judge.  Legislature,  and  J.  P. 
Saegersille;  Hon.  Daniel  H.  Creitz, 
legislature,  Jacksonville ;  Hon.  Charles 
H.  Foster,  Legislature,  Wanamaker; 
Jacob  Leiby,  ex-county  commissioner; 
John  Peter,  ex-county  commissioner; 
Alvin  F.  Creitz,  J.  P.  for  25  years, 
Lynnport;  James  A.  Miller,  J.  P.  and 
merchant,  New  Tripoli ;  Elmer  C.  Kist- 
ler, J.  P.  and  teacher,  Lynnville ;  L. 
Sylvester  Lenhart.  ex-clerk  of  Or- 
phans' Court,  Fogelsville  ;  William  F. 
Krause,  deceased,  J.  P.  merchant  and 
slate  operator.  New  Tripoli ;  Jacob 
Waidelich,  ex-sherifif  and  proprietor 
of  American  Medicine  Co.,  Allentown ; 
vSilas  Camp,  recorder  of  deeds,  Allen- 
town ;  William  G.  Grosscup,  J.  P.,  and 
merchant,  Germansville ;  Perry  J. 
Kistler,  ex-burgess  and  merchant,  Le- 
highton. 

Prominent  women — Sarah  Mosser, 
wife  of  Dr.  Aaron  S.  Miller,  Saegers- 
ville;  Ellen  M.    Miller,    wife    of    Prof. 


LYNX'S   HONOR   ROLL 


597 


Smith. 
l(  inic'v, 
of  Rev 
caster ; 
win    I. 


Run  ;  Mary 
William  A 
Amelia     B. 


.Ahin  Rupp,  comity  superintendent  of 
Lehigh  county.  Allentovvn ;  Ida  AI. 
wife  of  I'Vancis  J.  Gildner,  at 
Allentown;  Mary  Mosser,  wife 
Dr.  (ieorge  AW  Richards,  Lan- 
Mary  Mosser,  wife  of  Dr.  Ed- 
Lingacre.  Shenandoah  ;  Lydia 
Kistler,  wife  of  Rev.  Phaon  O.  Sny- 
der, Ohio;  Matilda  Kistler,  wife  of  Dr. 
\\'ommer,  Barnsville;  Mary  M.  Kist- 
ler. wife  of  Dr.  Alvin  Baver,  Stony 
M.  Fister.  wife  of  Dr. 
Fetherolf,  Stemsville ; 
Kistler.  wife  of  Lawyer 
Rothermel,  Reading;  Ellen  B.  Kistler, 
wife  of  Dr.  Frank  Seidel,  Reading; 
Sallie  R.  Kistler,  wife  of  Rev.  John 
Schafifer,  Nescopeck;  Emma  Bach- 
man,  w'ife  of  Dr.  Joshua  Seiberling, 
Hynemanville ;  Lila  Bachman,  wife  of 
Dr.  Seth  W.  Kistler,  Nanticoke ;  Mary 
I.  Bachman,  wife  of  Rev.  Rupp, 
Northampton ;  Annie  Fegley,  wife  of 
Rev.  Alfred  O.  Ebert,  New  Triopli ; 
Clara  Hartman,  wife  of  Dr.  Krause, 
Philadelphia ;  Mary  Snyder,  wife  of 
Rev.  \A'illiam  A.  Reinert.  mis-sionary ; 
Mamie  Hartman.  wife  of  ex-district 
attorney  H.  AV.  Schantz ;  Alice  Hol- 
ben,     wife     of    Rev.    A.    C.    AVuchter, 


( jill)erts\ille  ;  Ida  Mosser,  wife  of  Dr. 
Al\in  j.  Kistler,  Lehighton ;  Am- 
anda Kistler,  wife  of  Dr.  Straub,  Min- 
ersville;  Bella  Kistler,  wife  of  Dr.  I. 
F.  Huff,  Sellersville ;  Rose  W.  Mosser^ 
wife  of  Owen  A.  Miller,  Philadelphia; 
Luc}'  K.  Mosser,  wife  of  Jos.  Clauss, 
Allentown ;  Mary  Hartman,  deceased, 
wife  of  D.  W.  W.  Follweiler,  Lynn- 
])ort ;  Sarah  L.  Fetherolf,  wife  of  Den- 
nis Hoppes  ;  Sarah  Lutz,  wife  of  Lewis 
P.  Harmony,  Jacksonville;  Sarah 
Bachman,  wife  of  Mahlon  C.  Dietrich, 
merchant.  Kempton ;  Edna  Hoppes, 
wife  of  Rev.  C.  Hanson  Arpe,  evan- 
gelist, Allentown ;  Helen  F.  Krause, 
wife  of  William  A.  Gotthart,  N.  P., 
real  estate  broker,  Allentown ;  Emma 
Kistler,  wife  of  Dr.  Peter  O.  Bleiler, 
Allentowm ;  Alice  Kistler,  deceased, 
wife  of  Dr.  C.  Alfred  Bleiler,  Frack- 
ville ;  Ida  J.  Kistler,  wife  of  Daniel 
H.  Brobst,  Reading;  Rosa  Mosser, 
wife  of  Edw^in  Camp,  Boston,  Mass. ; 
Emma  Klingaman,  wife  of  Dr.  Uriah 
Long ;  Sarah  Fetherolf,  wife  of  Mr. 
Hoppes,  prominent  miller,  Mohanoy 
City. 

— ^Morning  Call,  Nov.  4,  1909. 


Grace  Leinberger,  or  the  White  Rose 

A  TALE  OF  FRONTIER  LIFE 
By  J.  Fred  Bachman,  Danielsville,  Pa. 

(concluded  from  may  i.ssuk) 

PART  III. 


r  was  a  bright  spring 
morning.  The  sun  shone 
in  its  splendor  on  the 
])eople  as  they  gathered 
for  the  holiday  services 
in  the  quaint  old  church 
so  dear  to  them.  All  was 
joy  and  happiness  as 
they  greeted  each  other  in  their  sol- 
emn Christlike  manner. 

The  i)astor  had  prepared  an  un- 
usually interesting  and  instructive 
sermon     for    the     particular    occasion. 


and  the  young  people  and  th.^ir  aged 
parents  sat  with  bowed  heads  as  he 
uttered  each  instructive  phrase  and 
sentence  of  his  sermon. 

The  sermon  was  soon  over  and  the 
young  and  light-hearted  eagerly  pre- 
pared to  leave  for  the  open  air.     ' 

But  there  was  a  stir  in  the  congre- 
gation. The  organ  began  to  peal  forth 
the  happy  notes  of  a  wedding  march 
and  John  Hibsch  and  Grace  Lein- 
bersfer    dressed    in     their     best     attire 


;598 


THE    PENNSYLVAXIA-GER]\IAN 


walked  to  the  altar  to  be  made  man 
,and  wife. 

The  ceremony  ov^er.,  the  minister 
pronounced  the  l^enediction  over  them, 
while  the  congregation  stood  with 
bowed  heads.  The  organ  .again  pealed 
forth  its  sweetest  strains  and  the 
happy  couple  left  the  church  amid  the 
congratulations  of  their  many  iriends. 

John  Hibsch  and  wife  were  not  a 
little  surprised  on  emerging  from  the 
church  to  see  two  large  canvas-cov- 
ered wagons,  laden  with  furniture, 
])r()\"isions,  clothing  and  farniMg  im- 
plements, each  drawn  by  tv/o  high 
S|)irited  horses  standing  befoie  the 
door  awaiting  them.  Their  many 
friends  had  amply  provided  for  their 
wants  on  their  tedious  journey  and  in 
their  new   home  Avhich   awaited   them. 

The  missionary  and  his  bride  were 
now  at  their  wits"  end.  They  \\'ere  un- 
used to  the  managing  of  horses, 
"What  would  they  do  now?" 

They  were  not  kept  in  suspense 
long.  Two  stalwart  young  men,  fond 
of  adventure,  boldly  stepped  torward 
and  offered  their  services  and  before 
man}-  hours  the  missionary  and  his 
wife  were  snugly  tucked  in  one  of  their 
canvas  covered  wagons  among  the 
furniture,  bedding,  and  clothing  and 
A\ent  on   their  way  rejoicing. 

'I'hey  made  their  long  and  perilous 
journey  over  the  then  western  route 
sto])ping  here  and  there  with  friends, 
at  last  reaching  the  beautiful  Susque- 
hanna rixer  which  they  crossed  in  a 
flat-boat.  The  boat  was  in  poor  con- 
dition and  it  took  all  the  energy  of  the 
men  to  keep  it  from  sinking.  A  vio- 
lent thunder  storm  overtook  them  as 
the  party  reached  the  middle  of  the 
stream  and  they  were  swept  down  a 
considerable  distance  below  the  land- 
ing. With  some  difificulty  they  got  up 
to  the  landing  where  they  found  a 
well-built  log  house  in  wdiich  they 
changed  their  attire. 

Grace  was  surprised.  The  comfort- 
able house  where  Grace  and  her  hus- 
band were  so  hospitably  received  was 
occupied     by     Pat     Magra;h    and    his 


family.  Pat  was  a  well-to-do  farmer 
for  those  days.  He  had  a  large  farm 
and  surrounded  by  a  large,  lespect- 
able  family.  He  was  fond  of  relating 
stories  of  his  adventures  to  his  family 
during  the  long  winter  evenings  or 
during  rainy  summer  days,  lie  never 
tired  of  relating  his  adventures  with 
the  two  Indians  and  his  protecting 
Grace  Leinberger.  He  always  kept  shy 
of  relating  the  story  of  his  offering  to 
sell  her. 

After  the  famil}-  had  made  Grace 
and  her  husband  comfortable  and 
learned  A\hence  they  came  they  be- 
came inquisitive  as  to  their  destina- 
tion. But  this  did  not  satisfy  Pat's 
curiosity  and  the  conversation  drifted 
on.  He  must  know  who  the  young 
couple  were,  how  long  they  were  mar- 
ried, and  the  lady's  name  prior  to  her 
marriage. 

The  old  man  sat  musing.  "Grace 
Leinberger,"  he  said,  "That  name 
sounds  familiar."  His  wife  came  to 
his  aid.  "PajDa,  yt)u  are  thinking  of 
the  fight  you  had  with  the  Indians  and 
the  care  you  took  of  a  child  whose 
parents  were  killed  by  the  Indians," 
she  said.  "Oh,  that  is  it,"  said  the  old 
gentleman,  "I  see  now.  I  was  think- 
ing of  that  little  girl.  The  names  are 
S(^  familiar." 

This  aroused  Grace's  curiosity,  and 
she  told  the  entire  storv  as  it  was  re- 
lated to  her — how  her  parents  had 
been  brought  to  the  fort,  and  how 
Fredericka  Mishka  had  adopted  and 
cared  for  her.  The  jolly  old  man  was 
convinced  that  she  was  the  child  he 
had  at  one  time  offered  for  sale  in  the 
fort. 

The  kind  Pat  Magrah  and  his  family 
would  not  allow  Grace  and  her  hus- 
band to  leave  that  day — they  could 
nt)t  bear  to  think  of  it. 

During  the  evening  Pat's  sons  gave 
the  young  missionary  and  the  two  at- 
tendants a  lesson  in  eel  bobbing  while 
Pat  and  his  wife  and  daughters  were 
with  Grace,  talking  about  days  gone 
by  when  he  was  a  bold  young  hunter 


GRACE   LEINBERGER,   OR   THE   WHITE    ROSE 


599 


and     Indian     tighter    aloni^'    tli .      Blue 
Mdunlains  and  the   Lehigh    Ri'.  er. 

PART  IV. 

The  next  morning  the  missionary 
and  his  wife  were  up  at  an  eany  hour, 
desiKitched  a  hearty  meal  ot  fresh 
Suscjuehanna  eels — a  novelty  to  them 
— the  ln)rses  were  hitched  to  the 
wagons  and  all  were  ready  for  an 
early  start. 

But  a  new  surprise  faced  them,  for 
before  them  stood  Pat  Magrah's  fine 
young  horse  saddled  and  bridled  ready 
to  recei\'e  the  missionary,  "Take  him." 
said  the  jolly  old  man,  '"My  days  are 
numbered  and  I  can  do  without  him. 
You  will  need  a  horse  to  make  your 
long  journeys  in  that  wild  ^.ountry. 
Be  very  easy  with  him.  He  i.s  a  fine 
animal." 

The  missionary  was  dumbfounded. 
lie  patted  the  horse  gently,  but  could 
not  find  words  enough  to  express  him- 
self. 

Pat  could  not  understand  the  mis- 
sionary. 

"Take  him.  you  need  not  fear,  my 
family  will  not  forget  your  wife."  said 
Pat  jovially. 

At  the  conclusion  of  Pat's  speech, 
his  wife  handed  a  small  parcel  contain- 
ing some  silver  and  gold  to  the  mis- 
sionary's wife  wdiile  one  of  her  daugh- 
ters placed  a  large  bundle  of  clothing 
in  the  wagon. 

"Here  take  this  money,  I  have  no 
use  for  it.  Pat  gave  it  to  me.  ^  guess 
it  is  the  money  he  got  for  you  when 
he  sold  you,"  said  Mrs.  Magrah  to 
Grace  with  a  merry  twinkle  in  her 
eye.  Pat  winced  under  the  remarks. 
"I  did  not  sell  ye,"  he  said. 

The  missionary  mounted  his  horse, 
Grace  was  tucked  in  a  cozy  place  in 
the  wagon  and  the  journey  was  re- 
sumed. 

On  their  way  they  stopped  here  and 
there  with  friends  as  they  passed  from 
village  to  village  toward  Chrimbers- 
burg.  The  news  of  their  coming  hav- 
ing preceded  them,  the  people  were 
readv  to  receive  them. 


No  sooner  did  they  arrive  than  they 
were  met  by  a  delegation  of  brothers 
and  sisters  of  the  church  who  wel- 
comed them  in  a  true  Christlike  man- 
ner to  their  homes.  Several  days  were 
si)ent  when  the  journey  was  again  re- 
sumed. Traxelling  now  became  more 
difficult  and  hazardous.  The  moun- 
tains were  steep  and  the  roads  poor. 
Xn  l)ridges  spanned  the  streams  as 
heretofore  and  the  traxellcrs  'M'o^sed 
them  by  driving  and  wading  where 
the  water  was  shallow. 

A  mishap  l^efell  the  missionary  at 
one  of  the  creeks  which  they  crossed. 
The  water  was  dee])  and  the  "p])osite 
l)ank  steep  and  slip])ery.  The  mission- 
ary's horse  made  an  eifort  to  reach  the 
bank.  The  saddle  girth  broke,  and 
missionary,  saddle  and  all  fell  into  the 
water.  The  missionary  was  not  hurt 
but  uncomfortable  and  a  little  an- 
noved.  There  was  a  house  nearby 
where  he  changed  his  attire  when  the 
party  ccjntinued  their  journey  'n  good 
spirits.  To  make  matters  more  pleas- 
ant the_v  fell  in  company  with  several 
other  families  tra\eling  in  the  same 
direction. 

There  were  now  few  houses  along 
the  road  and  the  part}-  were  co'upelled 
to  encamj)  in  the  woods  and  ^leep  on 
their  wagons.  The  cooking  was  done 
in  the  woods  or  b}'  the  roadside  under 
sheltering  trees.  A  few  stc^nes  prop- 
erly arranged  served  as  a  fireplace  on 
which  to  do  the  cooking.  Their  table 
which  was  generally  some  laige  flat 
stone  was  ahvavs  abundantly  supplied 
with  fish  and  wild  game.  Grace  prov- 
ing to  be  a  good  cook  and  the  life  of 
the  party. 

Every  evening  the  party  would  ar- 
range to  stop  at  some  spring  or  small 
creek.  The  wagons  were  arranged  to 
form  a  hollow  square  in  which  the 
animals  were  kept  for  fear  ot  their 
straving.  Before  retiring  the  mission- 
arv  would  hold  services  with  his  little 
flock.  Grace  a.ssistnig  him  by  her  sing- 
ing. 

Travelling  over  the  rough  roads  war 
verv   hard   on   the   horses,   and   bv   the 


600 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


time  the  party  reached  Pittsburg  they 
were  ahnost  worn  out,  and  required 
rest.  Some  time  was  again  spent  with 
friends  and  making  occasional  trips  to 
small  villages,  where  the  missionary 
preached  to  small  congregations  and 
Grace  would  instruct  the  little  chil- 
dren in  the  AVord  of  God. 

Resuming  their  journey  they  passed 
through  Stubensville,  a  village  of  sev- 
eral small  log  houses  and  in  a  few 
(lays  reached  the  place  of  their  desti- 
nation near  Gnadenhiitten  wh'^re  the 
missionary  was  to  take  charge  of  a 
small  congregation  of  convcired  In- 
dians. 

These  poor,  simple,  untutored  people 
knew  no  bounds  to  their  joy  on  the  ar- 
ri\-al  of  Grace  and  her  husbanJ.  They 
took  them  to  a  small  clearing  at  the 
\'illage  near  a  fine  spring  of  water  and 
with  their  own  hands  helped  to  erect 
a  log  cabin.  A  wigwam  was  donated 
to  them  which  was  used  until  the 
cabin    was   com])leted. 

It  was  here  while  (irace  assisted  the 
Indians  to  make  a  bouquet  of  roses 
that  she  received  the  name,  White 
Rose, 

Oace  was  a  kind  and  loving  wife. 
She  al\\a}-s  sympathized  with  her 
husband  in  all  the  trials  and  troubles 
of  his  m'ssionary  work.  They  enjoyed 
the  confidence  of  the  Indians  and  lead 
a  happy  life  in  their  wild  west  home. 

The  Indians  always  befriended 
them  in  their  rude  simple  way.  They 
su])i)lic(l  their  table  with  food  and  al- 
ways insisted  that  they  should  attend 
their  feasts  and  great  councils. 

These  children  of  the  forest  never 
tired  of  praying  to  the  Great  Spirit  to 
protect  their  white  brother  and  sister 
from  all  harm.  The  old  Indian  chief, 
"I'ather  Isaac,"  frequently  remarked 
to  his  people  that  the  missionary 
knew  how  to  pray  to  the  Great  Spirit, 
but  that  he  did  not  know  how  to  take 
care  of  a  famil3^  He  made  a  ham- 
mock and  covered  it  with  his  choicest 
skins  f)f  wild  animals  to  make  a  soft 
bed  for  the  little 'white  girl — the  mis- 
sionary's  daughter. 


The  old  chief  was  fond  of  the  mis- 
sionary and  his  family  and  spent 
many  happy  days  with  them  in  their 
rude  house.  He  frequently  took  the 
little  child  to  his  home  where  he  en- 
tertained her  with  many  of  his  wild 
and  amusing  pranks. 

The  old  chief  was  one  day  shocked 
to  hear  the  story  of  the  Wild  Rose. 
Other  white  people  who  began  to 
flock  to  the  vicinity  related  her  story. 
His  visits  became  less  frequent  and  he 
seemed  to  shun  Grace.  He  could  'not 
refrain  from  weeping  when  he  looked 
on  her  child.  The  missionary  and  his 
wife  noticed  the  change  that  came 
over  the  chief,  and  on  several  occa- 
sions asked  the  cause  of  his  bereave- 
ment, but  he  made  no  reply. 

One  day  as  he  was  dancing  the  lit- 
tle crooning  girl  on  his  knee,  he 
glanced  at  its  mother  and  in  a  solemn 
tone  of  voice  said:  "Does  the  white 
man's  God  forgive  the  Indian's  sins 
also?" 

The  missionary  and  his  wife  looked 
up  in  surprise.  They  could  not  imag- 
ine what  he  meant. 

"The  Great  Spirit  will  forgive  all 
your  sins  if  you  ask  him  to  do  so," 
they  replied  in  unison. 

The  old  chief  did  not  speak  for  some 
time.  He  glanced  at  Grace,  then  at 
her  husband,  and  then  at  the  little 
child.     Tears  were  in  his  eyes. 

"Father  Isaac,"  said  Grace,  as  she 
looked  him  full  in  the  face,"  why  do 
you  ask  such  a  question?  Have  you 
bad  news  for  us?" 

The  old  chief's  hands  trembled  as 
he  fumbled  in  the  flaxen  curls  of  the 
little   child. 

"Can  the  White  Rose  forgive  a 
great  wrong?"  he  said  solemnly. 

"Father  Isaac,  what  a  question!'' 
exclaimed  Grace  in  astonishment.  'Tt 
is  my  duty  to  forgive  everything." 

"Can  you  forgive  Father  Isaac?"  he 
said. 

The  missionary  and  his  wife  could 
not  imagine  what  the  old  chief  meant. 
They  began  to  fear  that  some  bodily 
harm  would  be  done  them  by  the  In- 


GRACE   LEINBERGER,   OR   THE   WHITE    ROSE 


601 


(liaiis  and  that  l''atlier  Isaac  was  com- 
pelled  ti)   sanclit)ii    tlic   deed. 

"Father  Isaac,  1  inusl  I'orgnc  all 
wrong's  clone  lo  me,"  she  said.  "Hut 
you  never  ditl  me  a  wroni;-.  1  ha\e  nt> 
cause  to  fori;i\e  you  anything" 

The  chief  arose  from  his  chair  and 
paced  the  floor.  Tears  flowed  down 
his  brown  cheeks,  lie  could  not  utter 
a  word. 

"What  is  it,  l^'atlu-r  Isaac?  Must 
the  great  chief  kill  the  Whit'-  Rose 
and  her  husband  and  dear  little 
child?"  she  cried  as  she  flung  herself 
before  him  on  her  knees  and  begged 
for   mercy. 

But  the  chief  took  her  gently  by 
her  hands  and  bade  her  arise. 

"Isaac  no  kill  White  Rose,"  he 
said,  "White  Rose  good  to  Isaac. 
Isaac  kill  many  white  people.  Father 
Isaac  no  want  to  kill  now.  " 

"Father  Isaac  is  a  good  man  now," 
said  (^race.  "The  Great  Spirit  will 
forgive  him  all  the  bad  things  he  did. 
Isaac  did  not  know  any  better  wdien 
he  v^'as  young."  Isaac  gazed  long  on 
her  before  replying.  He  was  much 
troubled  in  his  spirit.  He  bent  direct- 
ly over  the  child  by  her  side  and  again 
Grace   began    to   fear  him. 

"Isaac  did  much  wrong  to  White 
Rose,  ^^dlite  Rose  no  forgive,"  said 
the  Indian  and  passed  out  of  the 
house. 

Grace  followed  him  to  the  door  and 
spoke  to  him,  but  he  made  no  ^eply  t(J 
her  questiiMis.  She  was  moved  with 
com]:)assion  towards  the  old  chief  wdio 
she  belie^'ed  was  compelled  to  kill 
them    against    his    will. 

"They  will  come  during  the  night 
and  murder  us  all."  she  thought. 

She  could  not  sleep  during  the 
night.  Even  the  moan  of  the  \vind  in 
the  trees  brought  to  her  nr.id  the 
glare  of  the  torch  and  the  war  whoop. 

The  next  morning  she  arose  at  an 
early  hour.  She  o])ened  the  door  of 
her  house  and  to  her  astonishment  be- 
held the  chief's  wife  standing  before 
her  and  weei)ing.  Grace  asked  the 
cause,     'i'he    onl\'    re])!}'    was:    "Isaac 


sick.       Xo    li\e    long.       Go    to     Great 
Spirit.      Xo   see   sun   set." 

(jrace  and  her  husband  took  their 
child  and  walked  to  the  chief  ■=  ca])in. 
The  old  chief  was  praying  when  they 
entered.  Me  gazed  upon  theiu  with- 
out uttering  a  word,  lie  beckoned  for 
the  little  child.  "Little  girl  good. 
Some  time  go  to  Great  Spirit.  In- 
dian no  good.  Kill  too  much.  Go  to 
bad  place,"  he  said. 

1 1  e  lay  down  on  his  couch  ex- 
hausted. His  lips  moved  in  prayer. 
Then  turning  he  spoke  to  Grace!  "can 
White   Rcjse   forgive   Father   Isaac?" 

"(jrace  immediately  went  to  his 
side  and  laid  her  hand  on  his  forehead. 

"Father  Isaac,  White  Rose  must 
forgive  everything  no  matter  what," 
she   replied   with   emotion. 

The  dying  chief  sat  up  in  bed  with 
a  great  etYort.  Then  and  there  he  re- 
lated the  incidents  of  the  muider  of 
her  parents,  how  he  and  a  number  of 
Indians  had  attacked  the  house ;  how 
Grace's  father  had  shot  Isaac's  broth- 
er ;  and  how  after  the  death  of  Grace's 
father  the  mother  was  killed  in  re- 
venge. 

"Father  Isaac,"  said  Grace  ps  tears 
rolled  down  her  cheeks,  "die  in  peace 
and  go  tt)  the  Great  Spirit,  sister  for- 
gives you  all.  Isaac  knew  no  better 
at  the  time  he  committed  the  deed. 
Isaac  will  meet  my  mother  and  father' 
and  they  will  greet  each  other  as 
brothers  and  sisters  greet  each  other. 
The  White  Rose  will  some  time  meet 
h'ather  Isaac.  Die  in  peace,  ( lod  will 
hax'C   mercy   on   your  soul." 

The  chief  closed  his  eyes,  lie  spoke 
no  more.  Mis  spirit  t(M>k  its  flight  to 
its   maker. 

That  evening  before  the  sun  set  they 
buried  his  remains  a  short  distance 
from  his  hut  under  a  large  Sju'eading 
oak  tree.  Grace  made  a  wreath  of 
white  roses  and  placed  it  on  h'S  body. 
After  the  burial  the  chief's  i)rethren 
followed  the  missionary  and  his  wife 
to  their  home  where  they  spent  the 
evening  in  singing,  praying,  and  read- 
ing the   Bible. 


602 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Grace  and  her  husband  H\td  and 
labored  amongst  these  simple  people 
many  years.  When  their  labors  were 
ended  they  were  buried  in  the  little 
graveyard  near  the  little  log  church 
which  he  had  erected  in  the  midst  of 
the  Red  people  according  to  their 
wish.  A  small  round  sand  stone  still 
stands  at  the  grave  of  each  and  can  be 
seen  by  the  belated  travelers  as  he 
passes  by. 


Xo  one  cares  for  the  last  resting 
place  of  Father  Isaac  and  his  beloved 
wife.  No  stone  marks  his  last  resting 
place.  The  white  man's  plow  turns 
over  the  sod  where  once  they  were 
laid.  His  descendants  all  went  to  the 
far  west.  They  love  to  sit  in  their  rude 
huts  and  relate  the  story  of  the  old 
chief,  the  White  Rose's  friend  as  they 
call  him. 


Christmas  in  the  Hessian  Camp 


AN  CAMPEN,  whilst  at 
jMcClure's  Fort,  which 
was  on  the  Susquehanna 
River,  above  Sunbury, 
upon  the  service  of  con- 
ducting scouts  around  the 
line  of  settlements,  was 
ordered  with  his  com- 
pany to  Lancaster,  late  in  the  fall  of 
1781.  He  descended  the  river  in  boats 
as  far  as  Aliddletown  (a  place  ten  miles 
below  Harris's  Ferry),  where  the  order 
was  countermanded  by  another,  di- 
recting him  to  march  to  Reading, 
Berks  county,  where  he  was  jomed  by 
a  part  of  the  3rd  and  5th  Pennsylvania 
Regiments,  and  a  company  of  the  Con- 
gress Regiment.  Their  principal  duty, 
while  here,  was  to  take  care  of  a  large 
body  of  Hessians  that  had  been  taken 
prisoners  with  General  Burgoyne. 
These  had  been  under  the  guaid  of  a 
company  of  militiamen,  whose  time 
had  not  yet  expired.  The  march  which 
Van  Campen's  soldiers  had  performed, 
was  on  account  of  lateness  of  the  sea- 
son and  bad  roads  extremely  fatigu- 
ing, and,  as  the  time  for  which  the 
militia  were  engaged  continued  them 
in  service  a  little  longer,  he  allowed 
them  the  space  which  intervened  as  a 
season  of  rest.  This  proved  grateful 
to  the  soldiers,  and  it  no  doubt  served 
to  invigorate  their  spirits,  for  in  the 
approaching  Christmas  holidays,  they 
were  found  to  be  sufficiently  recruited 
to  engage  in  the  exercises  of  sport. 
Some  of  those  belonging  to  Van  Cam- 


])en's  Company  determined  to  have  a 
frolic  wth  the  militiamen  before  they 
should  be  discharged  from  their  posts. 
They  were  stationed  at  a  little  dis- 
tance out  of  the  village,  near  the  di- 
rect road  from  Reading  to  Philadel- 
l)hia,  on  the  site  of  a  hill,  around 
which  the  way  turned  and  which  hid 
the  view  to  the  road  before  reaching 
the  place. 

When  Christmas  came,  twelve  or 
fifteen  young  soldiers  set  out,  with 
music  in  their  heads,  for  the  militia- 
men's camp.  Just  before  they  came 
to  where  the  road  turned  around  the 
hill,  and  while  they  were  yet  out  of 
sight,  they  arrayed  themselves  in  In- 
dian dress  and  crept  up  the  ascending 
ground  until  they  came  in  sight  of  the 
militiamen's  camp.  .  There  they  fired 
their  guns,  which  contained  an  un- 
usual charge  of  pow^der,  and  followed 
the  discharge  of  these  by  loud  and 
continued  yells.  They  presented  them- 
selves to  the  view  of  the  soldiers,  and 
began  to  jump  from  tree  to  tree  so  as 
to  produce  an  enlarged  idea  of  their 
numbers.  Their  unexpected  appear- 
ance produced  the  intended  efifect. 
The  soldiers  were  startled  by  the  sud- 
den roar  of  the  rifles,  which  echoed 
through  the  deep  forest  like  the  ter- 
rible thundering  of  cannon.  The  loud 
yells,  too,  from  the  supposed  Indians, 
were  enough  to  have  startled  them  in 
a  time  of  peace,  much  more  when  the 
savage  was  looked  for  at  any  moment 
to  commit  his  deeds  of  violence.    The 


CHRISTMAS  IN  THE  HESSIAN  CAMP 


603 


soldiers  conceixed  an  instantaneous 
alarm ;  fear  was  scattered  through- 
out their  ranks,  and,  with  a  sudden 
bound,  they  started  from  their  en- 
cam]Hnent.  The  sentinels  fled  with- 
out firing'  a  single  gun  and  the  whole 
comjiany  deserted  their  posts,  leav- 
ing' the  poor  TTessians  (whom  they 
had  been  jdaced  to  guard)  without  a 
man  to  prevent  their  being-  retaken. 
But  these,  too,  apjirehensive  that  they 
mig-ht  be  mistaken  for  rebels,  were  in- 
fected with  the  universal  panic  and 
showed  their  heels  to  the  enemy. 

The  camp-  was  -entirely  deserted  in 
a  few  moments  after  the  first  alarm 
had  been  given.  No  sooner  had  the 
militiamen  deserted  their  camp  than 
they  began  to  spread  the  alarm,  "that 
all  Niag-ara  was  let  loose ;  that  a  party 
of  several  hundred  Indians  had  at- 
tacked their  camp,  and  that  they  had 
just  escaped  with  their  lives.  The  in- 
telligence was  soon  brought  to  the 
troops  at  Reading,  who  were  imme- 
diately placed  in  the  order  of  defence, 
and  who  began  forthwith  to  march, 
with  \'an  Campen  at  their  head,  to- 
wards the  enemy.  Thev  had  not  gone 
far,  however,  before  they  were  met  by 
some  of  their  own  soldiers,  who  as- 
sured them  that  they  had  started  out 
upon  a  false  alarm,  at  the  same  time 
giving  them  a  history  of  the  secret  of 
the  attack  and  of  the  brave  defence 
which  had  been  made  by  the  militia- 
men. They  returned  to  their  quarters, 
very  much  amused  and  with  the  laugh 
upon  the  poor  soldiers  who  had  made 
such   a  displa}^  of  their  bravery. 

But  this  little  event  (which  had  been 
conceived  only  in  sport  like  many 
others  of  the  same  origin)  was  the  oc- 
casion of  serious  difficulty.  To  one 
party  it  aflForded  the  highest  amuse- 
ment, but,  to  those  who  had  commit- 
ted their  valor  to  their  heels,  it  was  a 
subject  of  constant'  annoyance.  They 
could  not  endure  the  chagrin  that  was 
brought  upon  them  by  having  been 
put  to  flight  by  a  few  boys  who  had 
been   disguised  as    Indians,    and    who 


had  SI)  successfully  played  oft"  their 
wits  upon  them  of  a  Christmas  holi- 
day. The  militia  officers,  whose 
bravery  was  somewhat  implicated  in 
the  affair,  declared,  that  they  would 
be  satisfied  with  no  reconciliation 
short  of  the  punishment  of  th.tse  who 
had  been  concerned  in  creating  the 
alarm. 

A  court-  martial  was  held  in  which 
Lieutenant  Van  Campen  sat  \v'ith  the 
militia  officers,  to  decide  the  point  at 
issue.  These  affirmed  it  to  be  right 
that  those  who  had  occasioned  the 
mischief  should  be  whipped,  while 
Van  Cam])en.  whose  soldiers  were  im- 
])licated,  unwilling  that  his  men  (who 
belonged  to  some  of  the  most  respect- 
able families  of  that  part  of  Pennsyl- 
vania) should  suffer  such  disgrace, 
would  allow  of  this  only  upon  condi- 
tion that  the  sentinels,  who  had  fled 
be  ])unished  as  the  martial-law  re- 
from  their  posts  without  firing  should 
quired — with  death.  These  terms 
were  not  agreeable  to  the  minds  of 
the  officers,  and  Van  Campen,  who 
declared  that  he  would  sooner  see  his 
men  shot  than  whipped,  continued  to 
sit  in  court-martial  for  the  space  of 
three  weeks.  A  compromise  was  fin- 
ally -Imade  between  the  two,  it  being* 
Ijroposed  that  the  sergeant,  who  had 
been  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  af^PVfT} 
shouH  be  broken  of  hts  ranJ*  This! 
was  allowed,  and  harmony  was  again 
restored  between  the  two  parties. 
The  sergeant  was  broken  of  his  rank 
at  night  and  restored  the  next  morn- 
ing; so  that  his  punishment,  after  all, 
was  more  nominal  than  real.  Imme- 
diately after,  Van  Campen  and  his 
men  entered  upon  the  care  of  the 
Hessian  soldiers  and  remained  in 
this  service  until  next  spring,  when 
they  were  relieved  by  the  militia  who 
took   them    again    under   charge. 


NOTE:  The  foregoing  extract  fiom  the 
"Life  and  Adventures  of  Moses  Van  Camp- 
en," published  in  1841  is  quoted  from  Mont- 
gomery's "History  of  Berks  County,  Penn- 
sylvania in  the  Revolution."  p.  159. 


604 


Christmas  in  Olden  Days 


MERE  is  much  more  wis- 
dom in  the  Christmas 
customs  of  today,  says 
the  Johnstown  Democrat, 
than  there  was  in  the 
days  when  those  of  our 
citizens  who  were  l:)orn 
before  the  war  wore  red- 
toed  hoots  and  went  to  school  in 
coats,  vests  and  ])antaloons  wdiich 
mother  cut  down  and  made  from 
father's  castoff  apjjarel.  It's  a  rare 
l)()y  these  days  indeed  who  wears 
clothes  "worked  over."  I^'ifty  years 
aj^o  i)eople  had  their  hair  cut  with  a 
crock  o\er  their  heads.  It  meant  a 
savint^  of  money.  It  meant  a  barber 
in  every  home.  The  son  sha\ed  his 
father  and  the  father  in  turn  sha\  ed 
the  son,  if  the  son  were  a  i^'rown  up 
cha')  and  was  "courting"  a  girl.  The 
mother  usually  was  the  hair  cutter. 
))robably  for  the  reason  that  she  was 
the  keener  of  the  crocks  and  the  scis- 
sors, which  were  regarded  as  'ler  oer- 
.sonal  property  anyway.  And  those 
were  the  days  of  the  trundle  bed.  X(U 
man}'  men  of  today  who  were  born 
l)efore.  the.  war  sleot  in  big  beds 
when  they  were  children.  Parado.xi- 
cal  as  it  may  seem.  the\'  were 
"brought  up"  under  a  l>ig  bed.  Their 
devoted  mothers  tucked  them  in  the 
trundles  and  these  were  shove  1  under 
the  parental  beds,  which  were  twice 
as  high  as  the  ordinary  beds  ot  today. 
Ucsides  a  straw  tick  at  least  a  foot 
thick  there  was  on  to])  of  that  a  tick 
of  feathers  a  foot  and  a  half  and  two 
feet  thick.  Cietting  into  it  the  night 
before  Christmas — or  any  winter  night 
for  that  matter — was  like  plunging 
garmentless  into  a  \at  of  ice  water 
\vith  the  thermometer  beloAv  zero. 
r>ut  then  the  shock  of  cold  lasted  but 
a  brief  moment.  Buried  in  the  bed  of 
feathers  one  \-ery  soon  found  warmth 
all  the  night  long.  Yet  then  the  go- 
ing to  bed  was  never  with  cheer. 
There    was    alwavs    the    dread    of     the 


plunge  into  the  deep  feather  tick,  to 
be  follo\ved  in  the  morning  by  the 
greater  dread  of  leaving  its  satisfying 
warmth  to  huddle  about  the  old  fire- 
place or  the  "sitting  room"  or  kitchen 
stove  until  the  fire  should  make  it  a 
glowing  red.  And  in  those  days  the 
Avindow  panes  were  thick  with  coats 
of  frost  and  ice  and  the  wind — _vou 
must  not  (U)ubt  it — came  with  chill- 
ing l>lasts  into  the  modest,  if  not  fru- 
gal, apartments.  Those  were  times 
wdien  furnaces  and  hot  water  iieating" 
swstems  were  unknown.  Even  the 
heating  sto\e  was  regarded  as  a  lux- 
ury. Why,  the  old  cannon  stove, 
bless  you.  was  the  ideal  "parlor" 
stove.  One  could  get  it  blazing  hot  in 
fi\e  minutes.  And  then  there  was  the 
long  wood  stove  into  wdiich  the  head 
of  the  family  ])oke(l  cord  wood  by  the 
dozen  i)ieces  and  how  it  \vould  roar 
when  the  tinder  caught.  We  can  re- 
member that  those  were  times  when 
the  old  man  had  a  good  job  on  his 
hands  to  induce  his  boys  to  keep 
enough  wood  sawed  and  piled  up  to 
meet  the  family  demands,  for  the 
sawing  of  wood  on  a  sawd)uck  was 
not  b\'  an\-  means  playful  work. 
Many  a  thoughtful  boy  regarded  a 
licking  as  far  more  cc^mfortable  than 
the  assignment  to  saw  the  day's  stip- 
'1}'  of  fuel.  And  he  generally  got  a 
licking,  for  the  old  man  hated  the  job 
and  if  he  had  to  look  after  it  It:  rarely 
retired  for  the  night  without  having 
the  satisfaction  of  "tanning  the  hide" 
of  the  neglectful  son.  We  got  ours. 
And  yet  jjcople  were  happy  in  those 
times  of  long  ago.  Christmas  was  an 
e\entful  occasion.  Hut  Christmas 
then  was  not  as  our  Christmas  is  now\ 
'Idien  $1  would  l)u\'  presents  sufficient 
to  make  a  wdiole  family  haijpy.  Twen- 
ty-five cents'  worth  of  stick  candy.  25 
cents'  \\-orth  of  oranges,  a  dime's 
worth  of  "shooting"  crackers,  a  10- 
cent  story  book,  a  5-cent  tin  horn  or 
two    and    a     10  cent    "jack"    knife    suf- 


CHRISTMAS   IN   OLDEN   DAYS 


605 


liccd  to  ])lcasc  all  the  children.  It  was 
an  abnndancc  of  jny  to  receixc  that 
iiincli.  And  all  of  it  was  put  in  the 
iitockins^s !  Idic  nii^ht  before  Christ- 
mas the  stockings  were  suspended 
empty  from  the  mantle  piece,  on  the 
bureati,  or  the  cupboard.  .\ncl  in  the 
still  watches  of  the  nii^lu  daddy 
crawled  out  of  the  warm  feathers  antl 
half  froze  \vhile  puttini;"  the  candy, 
the  nuts,  the  oranges  and  the  other 
sim])]e  thiui^s  in  the  home-knit  stock- 
ins^'s.  Hut  howexer  much  he  may 
have  suffered  from  the  cold,  he  was 
well  repaid  the  next  mornini^-  when  he 
beheld  the  c^ladness  of  his  children, 
o^^er  what  Santa  Clans  had  brought 
them.  Blessed  children  !  Thc'r  pres- 
ents were  abundant.  Their  cup  of  joy 
was  full.     All  was  happiness. 

It  is  somewdiat  different  today. 
Christmas  is  a  greater  event  than  it 
was  then.  Fifty  years  ago  all  the 
Christmas  shopping  was  done  on  the 
23d  or  24th.  Christmas  shop])iig  now 
lasts  six  weeks  or  more.  It  rages 
with  fury  for  a  month.  The  last  week 
before  Christmas  day  it  becomes  a 
veritable  crush.  The  purchases  run 
into  hundreds  of  dollars.  Someiimes  it 
runs  into  thousands.  It  is  true  they 
include  candies  and  t03^s  as  in  the  old 
days,  but  in  addition  to  these  there 
are  jmrchases  of  thousands  of  articles 


of  more  substantial  merit,  such  as 
])ianos  and  musical  instruments  of  all 
kinds,  high  class  furniture,  clothing, 
boots  and  shoes,  stockings  and  a  great 
variety  of  wearing  apparel,  fancy 
toilet  sets,  fancy  leather  goods,  rick 
cut  glass  and  decorative  works,  cost- 
ly jewelry,  including  diamonds  and 
pearls — in  fact,  everything  made  un- 
der the  sun.  The  gifts  are  generally 
useful — the  greater  number  of  them 
needed  and  therefore  the  more  worth- 
ily bestowed.  The  aim  is  getting  to 
be  more  and  more,  get  "him"  some- 
thing he  needs;  get  ".her"  something 
she  ought  to  have.  It  is  a  -sort  of 
Christmas  giving  that  in  the  end 
means  economy.  For  the  moment  the 
cost  may  worry  father,  but  in  the  end 
he  is  not  much,  if  anything,  out  of 
pocket,  for  the  things  he  has  bought 
his  family  are  the  things  sooner  or 
later  he  would  have  to  buy  anyway. 
We  are  speaking  of  course  of  the  av- 
erage family.  It  is  only  the  few  who 
can  indulge  in  gifts  of  luxury.  And  it 
is  doubtful  if  the  latter  enjoy  the  glad 
Christmas  time  as  much  as  the  for- 
mer. There  is  more  of  the  real 
Christmas  cheer  in  the  average  family. 
And  so  to  the  average  family  we  say, 
God  bless  you  all,  and  may  }'OU  see 
many  more  merry  Christmas  days. 


The  Dubbs  Family  of  Lower  Milford,  Lehigh  Co.,  Pa. 

By  Rev.  J.  H.  Dubbs,  D.D.,  Lancaster,  Pa. 


X  THE  oldest  extant  list 
of  members  of  the  Great 
Swamp  Church,  in  Lower 
Milford  township,  Lehigh 
County,  Pennsylvania, 
appears  the  name  o  f 
Jacob  Dubs.  He  was  in 
his  day  a  man  of  consid- 
eralile  local  influence,  and  the  numer- 
ous enterprises  in  which  he  Avas  en- 
gaged, indicate  that  he  was  possessed 
of  unusual  energy.  Now  that  his 
^descendants     are    scattered    far     and 


wide,  it  may  be  well  to  place  on  record 
a  few  facts  concerning  his  personal 
history  and  that  of  the  family  of 
which  he  was  a  member.  Some  of 
these  facts  were  published  by  the  pres- 
ent writer  in  October  1894,  in  the 
"Pennsylvania  Magazine  of  History". 
Jacob  Dubs  was  born  August  31, 
1710,  in  the  hamlet  of  Aesch,  parish 
of  Birmensdorf,  canton  of  Zurich, 
Switzerland.  His  parents.  Jacob  Dubs 
and  Anna  Glaettli,  of  Bachstellen, 
were  married  in  the  parish  church  of 


606 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Birmensdorf,  March  24,  1705.  Two 
older  sons,  both  named  Hans  Ulrich, 
had  died  in  infancy,  and  Jacob  re- 
mained the  only  surviving  child. 
(Extract  from  the  Records  of  the  Re- 
formed Church  at  Birmensdorf.) 

The  Dubs  family  had  for  many 
generations  been  settled  at  Birmens- 
dorf and  in  the  neighboring  town  of 
Afifoltern.  Many  of  them  had  been 
gunsmiths,  but  in  the  earliest  records 
they  are  called  armorers. 

Though  so  long  resident  in  Switzer- 
land, it  was  known  that  the  family 
was  remotely  of  Bohemian  origin. 
The  name  certainly  comes  from  the 
Bohemian  (Czech)  word  dub,  which 
signifies  an  oak  tree.  More  directly 
it  is  held  to  be  derived  from  the  name 
of  a  town  near  Prague,  called  Duba 
("The  Oaks")  or,  in  German,  Eichen 
or  Aycha.  In  Bohemia  the  name  is 
still  well  known,  though  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  country  it  is  generally 
written  Dubsky.  In  Merian's  "Topo- 
graphia  Bohemiae"  it  is  stated  that 
the  families  Von  Eichen  and  Berka 
were  originally  named  Dubs, the  name 
first  mentioned  being  a  translation, 
and  the  second  derived  from  an  estate 
which  the  family  had  purchased. 
Several  meml)ers  of  the  Dubsky 
family  have  held  prominent  positions 
under  the  Austrian  government. 

In  the  fifteenth  century  a  branch  of 
the  family  became  followers  of  the 
Reformer,  John  Huss,  and  during  the 
terrible  Hussite  wars  removed  to  the 
Austrian  province  of  Styria,  where  we 
find  them  settled  in  1446.  The  head 
of  the  family  entered  the  military  ser- 
vice and  distinguished  himself  in  an 
expedition  against  the  Swiss.  He  was 
knighted  by  the  Emperor  Maximilian 
I.  then  regent  of  the  empire,  and 
rccci\-cd  the  privilege  of  occupying  a 
clearing  in  the  imperial  forest.  The 
coat-of-arms  granted  on  the  occasion 
was  carefully  preserved  by  the  family. 
It  renresents  a  silver  lance,  with 
pennon,  on  a  blue  shield,  surmounted 
as  a  crest  by  three  ostrich  feathers 
(the  Bohemian  plumes),  two  silver 
and  centre  blue.       It  was  recognized 


and  approved  by  Frederick  I,  King  of 
Prussia,  in  1701,  and  appears  in  Hel- 
nier's  "  Europaische  Wappensamm- 
lung",  Nuremberg,  1705,  and  other 
heraldic  publications.  The  ancient 
motto,  "Ex  recto  decus",  may  be 
translated:  "'From  right  doing  comes- 
honor". 

The  writer  has  in  his  possession  an 
ancient  seal  with  these  bearings,  pre- 
sented to  him  by  the  late  Dr.  Jacob 
Dubs,  President  of  the  Swiss  Confed- 
eration, to  whom  he  was  indebted  for 
much  of  this  information.  The  plate 
which     is    here    reproduced    was    en- 


THE  Dl'BBS  COAT  OK  ARMS 

graved  to  serve  as  a  book-label  in  the- 
library  of  the  writer.  Of  course,  only 
the  central  part  properly  belongs  tO' 
the  coat-of-arms,  dates,  etc.,  having 
been  added  to  prevent  certain  interest- 
ing facts  from  being  forgotten. 

About  the  beginning  of  the  Protest- 
ant Reformation,  early  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  a  son  or  grandson  of 
the  Styrian  knight  removed  t  o- 
Switzerland.  We  do  not  accurately 
know  the  cause  of  his  removal,  but  it 
may     be    supposed    that    he    was    in- 


THE  DUBBS  FAMILY  OF  LOWER  MILFORD,   LEHIGH   CO.,   PA. 


607 


fluenced  by  Hussite  traditions  to  cast 
his  lot  with  the  Reformation.  At  any 
rate  he  and  his  family  became  earnest 
Protestants, while  the  family  in  Styria 
has  remained  Catholic  to  the  present 
day.  In  Switzerland  the  immigrant 
became  an  armorer,  but  was  subse- 
quently well  known  as  a  geiieral  man- 
ufacturer of  weapons.  When  Zurich 
was  invaded  by  the  Catholic  cantons, 
in  1531,  the  armorer  (der  Waffen- 
schmied)  Dubs,  of  Birmensdorf,  lost 
his  life  in  the  battle  of  Cappel,  when 
the  Reformer  Zwingli  was  slain.  This 
fact  is  recorded  in  the  ancient  chron- 
icle of  the  church  at  Affoltern,  and 
may  also  be  found  in  Bullinger's 
"History  of  the  Reformation".  The 
surviving  children  continued  m  their 
father's  employment,  and  for  many 
generations  the  descendants  were 
mostly  workers  in  iron,  though  some 
of  them  were  farmers. 

Jacob  Dubs — the  principal  subject 
of  this  sketch — became  like  his  father 
a  gun-smith.  He  seems  to  have  been 
fairly  well  educated  and  wrote  an  ex- 
"cellent  hand.  Specimens  of  his  writ- 
ing are  preserved  in  the  collection  of 
the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. Family  tradition  relates  that 
his  mother  died  in  his  l:)oyhood.  His 
father  married  a  second  time  and  had 
another  son  ;  then  he  too  passed  away. 
By  this  time  Jacob  was  of  age,  and 
he  determined  to  emigrate  to  America. 
Leaving  the  old  place  to  his  step- 
mother and  her  son,  he  gathered  up 
his  little  patrimony  and  started  on  his 
way.  He  sailed  in  the  ship  "Dragon", 
Charles  Hargrave.  master,  and  arrived 
at  Phildelphia  on  the  30th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1732.  Several  other  persons  of 
the  same  name  emigrated  from 
Switzerland  early  in  the  eighteenth 
century.  Of  these  Henry  settled  in 
Lebanon  county.  Pa.,  Oswald  in  York, 
and  John  Jost  in  the  A^alley  of  Vir- 
ginia. 

\\'hen  the  ship  arrived  Jacob  Dubs 
was  ill  and  could  not  personally  an- 
pear  to  be  (pialified,  so  that  the  clerks 
had  every  opportunity  to  play  havoc 
with  his  .name.  In  one  list  it  is  written 


"Tups"  and  in  another  "Dubbs".  The 
latter  has  been  most  generally  adopted 
by  his  descendants ;  but  the  pioneer 
himself  was  always  careful  to  preserve 
the  original  form. 

Not  long  after  his  arrival  the  immi- 
grant fixed  his  home  in  Milford  town- 
ship. It  was  then  in  Bucks  county,  but 
is  now  situated  at  the  lower  end  of 
Lehigh  within  a  short  distance  of  the 
line  of  Bucks.  The  tract  on  which  he 
settled  had  hitherto  been  unoccupied, 
except  that  Jacob  Wetzel  had  recent- 
ly taken  up  a  piece  along  its  southern 
line.  The  earliest  survey  was  made 
for  Jacob  Dubs  on  the  28th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1734,  by  Nicolas  Scull.  Ac- 
cording to  this  survey  the  "home 
farm"  originally  included  one  hundred 
and  fifty  acres  "with  the  usual  allow- 
ance of  six  per  cent",  but  it  was  in- 
creased by  subsequent  purchases.  A 
branch  of  the  Perkiomen  ran  through 
the  land  and  furnished  excellent 
water-power.  One  of  the  first  acts  of 
the  pioneer  was  to  utilize  this  stream 
l3y  the  erection  of  a  small  forge,  where 
he  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
arms  and  implements.  He  ma^.le  guns 
and  other  weapons  which  found  a 
ready  sale  among  the  early  settlers, 
but  did  not  limit  herself  to  this  kind 
of  work.  It  was  said  of  him  that  he 
made  everything  "from  a  plough  to  a 
darning-needle".  He  kept  agricultural 
imolements  in  store;  and  strangers 
came  a  great  distance  to  ''.urchase 
them  ]\Ien  called  him  "Ein  Tausend- 
kiinstler",  which  was  a  rather  polite 
way  of  saying  that  he  was  a  "jack  of 
all  trades".  In  later  days  he  amused 
himself  by  making  a  musical  instru- 
ment called  "ein  Fliigel" — a  harosi- 
chord.  an  instrument  now  superseded 
l:)y  the  piano. — which  was  long  in 
possession  of  his  descendants. In  brief, 
he  laid  the  foundations  of  a  number 
of  industrial  enterprises,  which  were 
develoned  l^y  his  son  and  grandsons 
and  became  of  considerable  local  im- 
portance. 

In  1734.  Jacol)  Dubs  was  "duly 
qualified  and  invested  with  all  the 
rights. of  a    natural-born    subject    of 


608 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Pennsylvania".  Soon  afterwards  he 
was  married  to  Veronica  ^^'elker,.  the 
eldest  daughter  of  John  George 
Welker,  of  Goshenhoppen.  She  is 
said  to  have  been  a  woman  of  some 
culture,  and  wdien  the  neighborhood 
began  to  be  settled  she  gathered  the 
children  of  the  neighbors  into  her 
kitchen  and  taught  them  to  read. 

The  following  list  of  the  children  of 
Jacob  and  Veronica  Dubs  is  copied 
from  the  records  of  the  Great  Swamp 
church  : 

I.  Felix,  born  February  28,  1738; 
baptized  by  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Goetschius. 
Sponsors.  Felix  Brunner  and  his  wife 
Barbara. 

2-.  Barbara,  born  April  5.  1744;  bap- 
tized by  the  Rev.  George  ]\Iichael 
Weiss.  Sponsors,  Jacob  Wetzel  and 
Barl)ara  ^^'etzel. 

3.  Margaretha,  born  1746;  baptized 
by  the  Rev.  G.  M.  Weiss.  Sponsor, 
Anna  Maria  A\^etzel. 

4.  Daniel,  born  October  5,  1748; 
baptized  by  the  Rev.  G.  M.  Weiss. 
Sponsors,  Daniel  Christman  and  his 
wife  Margaret. 

5.  Elizabeth,  born  October  16,  1750; 
bai)tized  by  the  Rev.  G.  M.  Weiss. 
Sponsor,   Elizabeth   Huber. 

In  early  days  the  family  must  fre- 
quently have  been  exposed  to  priva- 
tion and  danger.  This  is  illustrated 
by  a  tradition  related  by  a  descend- 
ant many  years  ago.  There  were 
wolves  in  the  woods  near  the  house, 
and  when  Daniel  was  a  little  boy  he 
sometimes  amused  himself  by  imitat- 
ing their  barking.  Once  while  he  was 
doing  this  a  wolf  rushed  out  of  the 
woods  to  attack  him ;  but  he  escaped 
by  running  to  the  open  window  of  the 
kitchen,  and  his  mother  drew  him  in. 
She  must  have  been  a  strong  woman. 

When  the  Indians  made  incursions 
into  the  Lehigh  Valley  —  probably 
about  1756 — Jacob  Dubs  joined  a  mili- 
tary company  and  followed  the  enemy 
beyond  the  Blue  Mountains.  They 
tracked  the  enemy  for  many  miles, 
but  there  was  no  conflict. 


The  family  was  profoundly  inter- 
ested in  the  welfare  of  the  church ; 
and  it  is  related  as  an  unusual  fact 
that  the  office  of  ruling  Elder  was 
held  at  different  times  and  places  by 
Jacob  Dubs,  his  son  Daniel,  and  five 
grandsons.  The  sixth  grandson  be- 
came a  minister. 

About  1759  the  family  suffered  a 
severe  affliction.  The  eldest  son, 
Felix,  had  grown  to  be  a  bright  young- 
man,  and  was  still  unmarried.  Hav- 
ing started  for  Philadelphia  with  a 
load  of  farm  produce,  he  spent  a  night 
at  North  Wales,  at  the  house  of  Mar- 
tin Schwenk,  whose  daughter  Eliza- 
beth was  afterwards  married  to  his 
brother  Daniel.  Rising  early  in  the 
morning,  while  it  was  dark,  Felix  fell 
into  the  well,  which  it  seems  was  not 
properly  covered,   and  was   drowned. 

The  daughters  were  all  happily 
married.  Barbara  became  the  wife  of 
Jacob  Boyer,  a  man  who  w^as  highiy 
esteemed  in  the  community.  During 
the  Revolution  he  sold  his  farm  and 
was  paid  in  dej^reciated  Continental 
money.  Becoming  financially  involved, 
he  removed  to  the  West — and  fin- 
ally settled  in  Tennessee,  where  he  is 
said  to  have  many  descendants.  Af- 
ter some  years  he  revisited  his  old 
home  in  Pennsylvania  and  paid  all 
his  old  debts  with  interest. 

Margaretha  became  the  second  wife 
of  Jacob  Dillinger  and  had  three  chil- 
dren.    Her  descendants  are  numerous. 

Elizabeth  was  married  to  Jacob 
Haak,  of  Berks  county,  and  from 
them  many  of  the  Haaks,  Sells, 
Gabels,  and  other  Berks  country  famil- 
ies derive  descent.  "Uncle  Haak"  must 
have  been  a  rather  peculiar  person. 
He  became  wealthy,  and  ui  later 
years  lived  in  a  style  which  his  plain 
neighbors  regarded  as  luxurious.  He 
was  an  enthusiastic  Freemason,  and 
took  great  pleasure  in  entertaining 
the  lodge  of  which  he  was  a  master. 
When  he  left  home  he  was  generally 
attended  by  a  faithful  negro  slave 
named  Sam,  who  understood  his  pecu- 
liarities and  did  his  best  to  humor 
him.     When  slavery  was  abolished  in 


THE   DUBBS   FAMILY   OF  LOWER   MILP^ORD.  LEHKiH  CO..  PA. 


609 


Pennsylvania,  his  master  said:  "'Sam. 
yon  are  a  free  man  ;  yon  may  go  \vhere 
yon  please.""  The  old  man  solemnly 
replied,  "O,  no.  master,  yon  can't  get 
rid  of  me  dat  way.  Yon  ate  de  meat, 
yon  mnst  pick  de  bone."'  So  Sam  re- 
mained with  his  master  to  the  end  of 
his  life. 

^^'hen  the  clanghters  were  niarried 
Daniel,  the  (.)nly  snrxiving  son.  re- 
mained at  home,  and  his  iatlier's  bnsi- 
ness  natnrally  passed  into  his  control. 
Under  his  direction  these  indnstries 
were  greatly  enlarged.  In  1772  the 
father  sold  his  real  estate  to  his  son 
for  three  hnndred  and  fifty  ponnds. 
The  exact  date  of  the  death  of  Jacob 
Dnbs.  the  writer  has  been  nnai)le  to 
<letermine.  For  several  years  the 
chnrch  records  are  incomplete,  and 
the  tombstone  has  crnmbled  so  that 
the  inscription  has  become  illegible. 
Tt  is.  however,  pretty  certain  that  he 
died  in  1775.  His  wife  survived  him 
for  several  years. 

After  his  marriage  to  Elizabeth 
Schwenk  Daniel  Dnbs  built  himself  a 
large  brick  house  which  is  still  stand- 
ing. It  is  believed  to  have  been  the 
first  brick  house  erected  within  the 
present  limits  of  T.ehigh  county.  The 


brick  \\  as  manufactured  on  the  ground 
under  the  direction  of  the  builder.  As 
already  intimated  the  industrial  enter- 
prises Avere  considerably  enlarged. 
There  was  what  would  nt:)w  be  called 
a  machine  shop — in  those  days  it  was 
termed  "die  Schleifmuehle."  Sickles 
\\'ere  ]n"oduced  in  large  numbers,  and 
screw-augers  manufactured  soon  af- 
ter their  invention.  A  grist-mill  was 
bnilt,  and  became  well  known  for  pe- 
culiarly fine  buckwheat  flour,  which 
was  a  staple  article  in  the  FMiiladel- 
])hia  markets.  There  were  also  a  tan- 
nery, a  saw-mill,  an  oil-mill,  and  in 
fact  a  whole  cluster  of  enterprises, 
such  as  in  those  days  were  sometimes 
conducted  by  a  single  man. 

In  December,  1824,  Daniel  Dubs 
disposed  of  his  real  estate  by  selling" 
it  to  three  of  his  sons.  John  took  the 
forge.  Daniel  Jr..  the  mill,  and  Jacob 
the  tannery.  There  had,  in  fact,  been 
a  dix'ision  by  written  agreement  as 
early  as  181 5,  but  it  seems  to  have 
been  discovered  that  a  more  formal 
act  of  transfer  was  a  legal  necessity. 

Elizabeth,  the  mother  of  the  family, 
died  on  the  20th  of  February,  1818. 
Her  husband  lived  until  Sept  22,  1828. 
Their    seven      surviving     children    all 


610 


THE    PEXXSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


left  descendants ;  but  it  is  not  our  pur- 
pose to  trace  their  history.  We  shall 
merely  enumerate  those  children  ad- 
ding a  few  notes  to  enable  scattered 
members  of  the  family  to  determine 
the  lines  to  which  they  may  severally 
belong. 

1.  ANNA  MARIA,  born  June  27, 
1777.  She  was  married  to  Henry 
Eberhard,  and  the  late  Michael  D. 
Eberhard,  of  Allentown,  was  her  son. 

2.  JACOB,  born  June  21,  1779; 
died  May  17  1852.  He  occupied  a 
part  of  the  home  farm,  and  built  a 
stone  house  which  we  believe  is  still 
standing.  One  of  his  grandsons,  the 
Rev.  Jacob  G.  Dubbs,  is  a  minister  in 
Lehigh  county. 

3.  HENRY  became  a  potter.  About 
1825  he  removed  to  Butler  county, 
Ohio.  The  wife  of  Rev.  F.  \V.  Berle- 
man,  D.D.,  pastor  of  Salem  church  on 
Fairmount  Avenue.  near  Fourth 
street  Philadelphia,  is  a  granddaugh- 
ter. Her  daughter  is  married  to  Rev. 
W.  J.  Hinke,  D.D..  who  is  well 
known  as  a  scholar  and  historian. 

4.  DANIEL,  born  April  7,  1786.  In 
1836,  he  removed  to  Montgomery 
county,  Ohio.  One  of  his  sons,  Dan- 
iel L.,  graduated  at  Heidelberg  Col- 
lege, Ohio,  and  was  for  some  time  a 
student  in  the  Theological  Seminary 
at  Mercersburg.  He  became  an  of- 
ficer during  the  Civil  war,  and  was 
fatally  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Fred- 
ericksburg. 

5.  JOHN,  born  Sept.  5.  1788;  died 
November  25,  1869.  He  lived  all  his 
life  at  the  old  homestead,  which  at  his 
death  passed  to  his  only  son,  Aaron, 
K.,  whose  surviving  children  are  Dr. 
John  H.  Dubbs.  of  Philadelphia,  and 
Mrs.  Sarah  E.  Hillpot,  of  Allentown. 

6.  SOLOMON,  born  Oct.  10,  1794; 
died  May  24,  1880.  He  resided  near 
Allentown,    Pennsylvania.       His    two 


sons,   Robert  and  Harrison,  have  left 
descendants. 

7.  JOSEPH  S.,  born  Oct.  16,  1796; 
died  April  14,  1877.  He  studied  for  the 
ministry,  and  was  well  known  in  his 
profession.  For  more  than  thirty 
years  he  was  pastor  of  Zion's  church, 
Allentown— and  several  neighboring 
churches.  He  was  twice  married.  By 
the  first  marriage  he  had  a  son  and 
two  daughters.  The  son,  Alfred  J.  G. 
was  for  many  years  a  minister,  and 
founder  and  first  pastor  of  Salem 
church,  Allentown.  The  only  surviv- 
ing son  of  the  second  marriage,  Jos- 
eph Henry  Dubbs,  is  a  member  of  the 
Faculty  oi  Franklin  and  Marshall 
College,  at   Lancaster. 

Concerning  the  commercial  inter- 
ests in  which  the  family  was  once  so 
actively  engaged,  it  may  be  enough 
to  say  that  there  came  a  time  when 
industrial  methods  were  changed  and 
all  such  rustic  manufactories  were 
doomed  to  pass  away.  During  the 
Revolution  and  the  War  of  1812  the 
family  was  actively  engaged  in  manu- 
facturing muskets  for  the  government 
service.  Aaron  K.  Dubbs,  who  died 
June  22,  1874,  was  the  last  of  the 
family  to  occupy  the  old  homestead, 
but  a  part  of  the  original  tract  re- 
mained in  the  possession  of  a  relative 
somewhat  longer ;  so  that  it  may  be 
said  that  the  old  place  belonged  to 
descendants  of  the  pioneer  for  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  years. 

Little  is  left  to  remind  the  present 
visitor  of  the  labors  of  early  days. 
The  mill  was  destroyed  by  fire  some 
time  ago ;  the  old  forge  has  recently 
been  taken  down ;  and  the  labors  of 
former  generations  are  almost  forgot- 
ten. It  mav.  however,  be  well  for  re- 
mote descendants  to  recall  the  fact 
that  their  forefathers  believed  in  hon- 
est toil,  and  were  earnest  and  God- 
fearing men. 


SEEING  LANCASTER  COUNTY  FROM  A  TROLLEY  WINDOW 


611. 


Seeing  Lancaster  County  from  a  Trolley  Window 


(continued   from  NOVEMBER  ISSUE) 

TO  MANHEIM  in  crossin.^-  over  the  bridi,'-e  sec  heavy 

,,,  .  „^--^^  ,       .  freitrht,  mail  or  passensrer  trains  speed 

lARTING      north      from     by  \vithont  passin-  throu-h  the  heart 

L  entre   bquare  we  turn  a  '  " 

number  of    corners    until 

we     strike     Duke      street 

along'     which      we     travel 

northward.    We   ii'-escntly 

cross  James  street,  lead- 
ing to  the  Franklin  and 
Marshall  College  Huildings  on  College 
Avenue.  A  few  squares  beyond  we 
reach  Ross  street  and  the  Lititz  iiike. 
About  two  squares  to  the  cast  of  us 
stands  a  monument  erected  in  recent 
years,  marking  the  site  of  the  home  of 
George  Ross,  a  signer  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence. 

I.iberty,  the  next  street  we  cross, 
marks  the  city  line  where  we  enter 
jManheim  township.  We  now  approach 

the  bridge  across  the  Cutoff  Railroad,  of  the  city.  The  railroad  as  originally 
close  by  which  to  our  right  are  the  laid  out  ran  outside  the  city.  Some 
Union  stockyards.     We  shall  i)robably     "bitterly   opposed    the   construction    of 


1    ^.JUSSH 

i!^^^"^^:- 

^^^^^^H      '^^^^H^B 

GEORGE    KO;  S    MONUMENT 


UNION    STOCK    V.\RDS 


612 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


the  railroad  through  the  citw  The 
masses  however  demanded  it  and  had 
their  way."  The  agitation  began  in 
183 1  to  procure  the  alterations  of  the 
route  of  the  railroad  "so  that  the  same 
may  pass  thre)ugh  the  city."  The 
building  of  the  road  was  completed  in 
1834  at  a  total  outlay  of  aboiit  $60,- 
000,  the  estimated  cost.  According  to 
Hensel.  "The  entire  cost  of  the  rail- 
way through  Lancaster  city  was  not 
as  great  as  a  single  bridge  on  the  new 
low-grade  road  across  the  Pequea ; 
and  all  the  land  damages  paid  between 


on  the  original  historic  road  (passing- 
through  Landis  Valley,  Oregon,  Eph- 
rata  and  Adamstown  to  Reading,  Eas- 
ton  and  beyond. 

Oreg"on,  about  six  miles  from  Lan- 
caster on  this  road  was  settled  in  1717 
by  Jacob  Baer  wdio  built  the  first  mill 
and  whose  son  started  the  first  tavern 
in  the  neighborhood.  The  place  was 
formerly  known  as  Catfish  on  account 
of  the  good  fishing.  The  place  was 
named  Oregon  at  the  time  the  Oregon 
question  was  before  Congress.  The 
graveyard  adjoining  the  I'nion  church 


CEMETERY    AT    OREGON 


"Big  and  Conestoga  bridge  and  Diller- 
ville  on  a  line  crossing  a  dozen 
strets  was  scarcely  a  tenth  the  amount 
.assessed  for  cutting  a  single  farm  be- 
tween Christiana  and  Quarryville  a 
few  years  ago." 

After  passing  the  stockyards  we  no- 
tice to  our  left  half  a  dozen  squares  or 
so,  the  largest  linoleum  plant  in  the 
United  States  and  beyond  the  Frank- 
lin and  Marshall  College  buildings 
piercing  the  skyline. 

A  scant  half  mile  beyond  the  stock 
yards  we  notice  a  road  brancning  ofT 
;to  the  right.     This  is  the  Oregon  pike 


is  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  county  out- 
side of  Lancaster. 

Our  route  lies  along  the  Lancaster 
and  Lititz  pike  past  lovely  homes  in  a 
rich  farming  section  to  the  rotary 
station  where  we  turn  to  the  west  on 
the  Manheim  branch  to  resume  the 
trip  to  Lititz  at  this  point  later. 

We  now  make  our  way,  partly 
through  fields,  partly  along  highways 
through  a  rich,  undulating  farming 
section  of  East  Hempfield  to  East 
Petersburg,  on  the  Manheim  turnpike 
about  4  miles  from  Lancaster.  This 
homelike  place  has  passed  the  century 


SEEING   LANCASTER  COUNTY  FROM  A   TROLLEY   WINDOW 


61c 


Ki;T.\RV     STATION'     XKAR    NKI-l'SVII.I.E 


mark  in  a^e,  a  store  and  hotel  having  Beyond     East    Petersburg-,    we    pass 

l)een    ereeted   here   ])rior    to    the    year      through   an   ideal    farming   section,    for 
1800.      \\'e    zigzag    through    the    clean      a  time   parallelling    the    Reading    and 


and  charming  place,  fearful  at  times 
that  the  tracks  might  lead  us  over 
somebo(h''s  front  yard  or  back  porch 
so  closelv  do  we  skirt  the  sidewalks 
at  places. 


Columbia  Railroad.  We  sj^eed  along 
the  turnpike  over  rising  ground  to  the 
crest  where  we  pass  the  Kaufifman 
Mennonite  meeting  house  to  soon 
find   a   characteristic     Lancaster    land- 


fit--;  -^^<j4fc'' 


(614 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


escape  spread  beiar£  li^  to  the  north. 
Alanheim  forming  tlie  center  and  fore- 
ground, the  South  Mountain  the  back- 
ground to  tlie  picture.  Descending 
the  gentle  northern  slope  we  soon  pass 
through  Manheim's  pleasure  resort, 
Kaufifman  Park,  of  ten  acres  presented 
to  the  town  in  1876  by  Abraham 
Kaufifman.  A  few  minute?  more 
bring  us  to  the  trolley  terminus  at  the 
:Southern  end  of  Manheira  close  by  the 
railroad. 

Alanheim  is  a  mile  long,  more  than 
half  as  wide  with  characteristic  eigh- 
teenth century  narrow  streets  and  a 
public  square,  far  famed  for  its  early 
Stiegel  history,  recalled  of  late  years 
by  the  red  rose  presentation  ceremony 
at  one  of  the  churches.     It  was  carved 


THE    STIF.GEL    MANSION 

•out  of  Ra])ho  township,  itself  cut  out 
of  the  historic  Donegal  in  1741.  The 
place  was  laid  oiit  in  1762  by  Henry 
William  Stiegel,  a  native  of  Manheim, 
Germany,  hence  the  name  of  the  place. 
To  the  two  houses  then  standing 
others  \vcre  soon  added,  including 
l.ongeneckor's  flouring  r.iill  and 
Stiegel's  large  glass  factory  upon  the 
corner  of  South  Charlotte  and  Stiegel 
streets.  The  place  was  sold  by  the 
sheriflf  in  1775,  the  glass  factory  in 
177Q  and  its  founder  died  a  poor  and 
disheartened  man  in  1783.  In  1809 
the  factory  was  torn  down  and  the 
brick  used  to  build  a  hotel  at  Neffs- 
ville.  Manheim  was  the  birthplace  of 
John  Seybert  (i 791 -i860)  first  bishop 
and  home  missionary  of  the  Evangeli- 
■cal    church.       His    father     (1761-1806) 


was  brought  to  this  country  at  the  age 
of  fifteen  among  German  mercenaries. 
His  mother  left  home  and  her  two 
children  aged  15  and  8  years  respec- 
tively to  join  the  Rappites  at  Har- 
mony, Pa.,  where  she  died  at  an  ad- 
A'anced  age.  Seybert  in  his  life  ex- 
emplified the  saying  familiar  in  Ger- 
man communities,  where  he  took  ofif 
his  hat  he  was  at  home.  He  died  in 
Ohio. 

Another  of  Manheim's  sons  who 
made  his  home  elsewhere  was  Gen- 
eral S  P.  Heintzelman,  the  hero  of 
Manassas,  Fair  Oaks,  Richmond  and 
Malvern  Hill.  He  was  born  mi  1805, 
graduated  frim  West  Point  1826  and 
then  served  in  the  regular  arm)%  mak- 
ina"    his    home    in    Washinaton.    D.    C. 


^i>«^  :r, 


THE    STIEGEI,   OFFICE 

where  he  died  in  i860.  He  was  direct 
descendant  of  L'onrad  Weis-.r  and 
Rew  Tobias  Wagner. 

We  would  lovQ  to  linger  longer  in 
this  historic  s])ot  but  we  hnve  the 
jjromise  of  two  articles  on  the  town 
and  the  celebrated  Danner  Museum 
and  shall  therefore  defer  for  the  pres- 
ent further  discussion  of  the  place. 

Retracing  our  way  to  the  rotary 
station  we  start  for  historic  Lititz  and 
soon  reach  Nefifsville  a  thriving  Avell- 
located  village  laid  out  about  a  cen- 
tury ago  by  John  Neflf.  It  was  known 
in  its  early  days  as  Fiddler's  Green  on 
account  of  the  green  trees  on  the  hotel 
sign  of  the  original  tavern  erected  by 
Leonard   Fiddler. 


SEEING   LANCASTER  COUNTY   FROM    A    TROLLEY   WLN'DOW 


615 


TO   LITITZ 

About  three  miles  to  the  n^lu  of 
Neffsville  there  still  stands  the 
"cradle"  or  first  place  of  worship  of 
the  United  Brethren  church,  the  his- 
toric Isaac  Long"  barn,  recently  the 
Jacob  Landis  property.  It  was  here 
that  a  minister  of  the  Reformed 
Church,  Philip  William  Otterbein, 
well  instructed  in  Latin,  Greek,  He- 
brew, philosophy  and  divinity,  tall  of 
stature  and  dressed  in  regulation  cleri- 
cal style,  for  the  first  time  n-iet  the 
Mennonite  minister,  Martin  Boehm,  a 
farmer,  short  of  stature  and  dressed  in 
plain   style  of  the   people  of  his   faith. 


The  occasion  was  a  meeting  (called  a 
'grosse  versammlung'),  assembled  for 
religious  ser\-ices.  attended  by  a  large 
promiscuous  crowd,  full  of  curiosity. 
Martin  Boehm  preached  the  opening 
sermon  with  such  force  that  at  the 
close,  before  he  had  time  to  resume 
his  seat,  Otterbein  arose  and  folding 
Boehiu  in  his  arms,  exclaimed  with  a 
loud  voice,  "We  are  brethren".  Thus 
a  fast  friendshi])  was  formed  between 
the  two  Avhich  death  alone  severed 
and  the  I'nited  Brethren  Church 
sprang  into   existence. 

About  a   mile  beyfmd   Xeffsville  we 
notice   on    the    right   hand   side,   build- 


THE   UKlCKIiKVILLE  LUTHEK.XN    CIIUKCIl 


616 


THE    PEXXSYLVAXIA-GERMAN 


A   TKN    Pr.ATK   STOVE 

ini;'  ( tperatii MIS  ^nino-  on,  the  trectit)n 
(»f  a  lionu'  for  old  people  by  tlie  breth- 
ren Church  t(i  take  the  place  of  the 
"home"  at  Maniieim.  The  site  is  in 
many  resjiects  an  ideal  one..  Near  the 
next  \illa.;;e.  Kissel  llill,  we  lea\e  the 
hi<>-h\\a\-    to   cut   a   fiiiure   S   across   the 


ing  across  the  turnpike  at  right  angles 
near  the  middle  of  the  })lace  and  re- 
turning to  the  turnpike  north  of  the 
village. 

At  this  point  we  get  a  good  view  of 
Elizabeth  township  lying  to  the  north, 
P)ricker\ille,  on  the  ridge  with  its 
unique,  historic  Reformed  and  Luth- 
eran church  buildings  and  beyond 
these  Cannon  Hill.  The  story  goes 
that  the  latter  point  was  so  named 
because  from  its  top  it  was  cus- 
tomary to  tire  signal  guns  giving  no- 
tice that  Uaron  Stiegel  whose  mansion 
and  business  were  located  at  the  foot 
of  the  hill  was  expecting  to  visit  Man- 
heim  or  W'omelsdorf  as  the  case 
might  l)e.  At  the  foot  of  the  hill  are 
the  ruins,  and  reminders,  the  stately 
mansion  of  the  Elizabeth  Furnace 
made  famous  by  Huber  and  his  son- 
in-law  Stiegel.  In  the  terraced  grounds 
surrounding  the  house,  stately  forest 
trees  have  taken  possession  of  the 
flower  beds  of  yore.  The  place  with  a 
numl)er  of  additional  farms  in  the  vic- 
inity belong  to  the  Cornwalls  and  is 
being  kept  in  good  repair.     The  house 


hill,    avoiding    the    steep   grades,   pass-has  its  \\'ashington    room    wdiere    the 


THK     HISTORIC    STlKt.l'.l.     Ili  i  M  i.M  i;  \|i  (  Xuw     l(  M,i:  .\i  A  .\  ) 


SEEING  LANCASTER  COUNTY  FROM  A  TROLLEY  WINDOW 


617 


I'allu'r  (it  our  (.'ounln'  is  said  to  have 
slc;)l  line  iii^ln.  The  historic  S])Ot 
nu-riis  and   will  lichly  repay  a  visit. 

The  Lutheran  and  Reformed 
churches  at  ItrickerNille  are  both  old 
conorei^aliDns.  the  former  dating  from 
1730.  the  latter,  from  1740.  The 
Lutheran  church  building-  has  a  gallery 


TOMKSTOXK    Ol'    riRST    WIl'H    OI"    BAUOX    STIECKL 

on  three  sides  and  a  candle-stick  pul- 
pit with  sounding  board.  In  the  ceme- 
tery adjoining  sleep  many  of  the  fath- 
ers and  mothers  of  the  communit}'. 
The  following  tombstone  inscription 
may  interest  our  readers,  marking  the 
resting  place  of  the  first  wife  of  Henry 
William  Stiegel. 


IIIER  X  RUHT 

ELISABETH 

(A  )  X  DEN 

WURMEN  X  tJBERG 

liBEN  X  SO  X  LANG  x  BIS 

lEHOVA  x  SIE  X  RUFET 

ZU  X  EINEM  X  ANDERN 

LEBEN  X  GOTT 

1ST  X  DI  E  X  SEEL  x  IN 

lESU  X  GLUTH  X  UN 

D  X  WUNDEN  X  BER 

EiTS  X  X  DUCH  X  KLUHT 

T  X  HOHL  X  DER  X  SU 

NDEN  X  WERCK  x  EN 

TBUNDEN  X  UND 

DIESES  X  1ST  X  DER  x  R 

UHM  x  X  (B)  X  DIE 

NACHWELT  x  GIBT 

DEFUNCTA  X  A  X  PATRE  x  EL 

ISAB  X  I  AC  X  RUBERS  x  F 

ILIA  X  NATA  x  1734  X  D  x  27 

MARTZ  X  NUPTA  x  H 

ENRI  X  GUILHELM 

O  X  STIEGEL  x  1757  X  D 

7  X  iNOV  X  DEN  ATA  x  A 

1757  X  D  X  13  X  FEBR 

Note   (A)   is  probably  Stiegel.   (B)   is  e 

IR  or  I  MR. 


ither 


While    we  are   studying   the    distant 
view  the  car  takes  us  along  to   Lititz 

but     a     mile  from     Kissel     Hill    and 

brings   us   to  the   end   of   our   journey 

close   by  the  P.   and   R.   depot   and  at 

the    entrance  to    the     Lititz     Springs 
Grounds. 


A    LITITZ    SPRINGS    VIEW 


&1S 


Michael  Keinadt  and  Some  of  His  Descendants 

By  "Alma  Klam" 


ICHAEL  KEINADT  was 
born  Jan.  29,  1720,  at 
Winterlingen,  Wurtem- 
burg,   Germany. 

He  engaged  in  trade 
and  made  several  voy- 
ages across  the  Atlantic, 
abont  1740.  Afte'-  many 
vicissitndes  and  discouragements  and 
the  loss  of  nearly  all  his  gocxls  he  set- 
tled in  Lancaster  county,  Pa.The  fol- 
lowing record  of  his  marriage  is  found 
in  the  church  register  in  New  Hol- 
land. "The  marriage  of  Michael  Keinet 
or  Keined,  son  of  Conrad  Kemet,  of 
Wurtemburg.  to  Margaret  Diller, 
daughter  of  Casper  Diller.  Feb.  21. 
1749." 

Casper  Diller  was  probably  a  re- 
fugee from  France  fleeing  from  the 
persecutions  of  1685  to  England  where 
he  married,  and  finally,  after  many 
trials,  settled  in  Lancaster  county.  Pa., 
where  he  purchased  property  in  1738. 
Michael  and  Margaret  Keinert  had 
ten  sons  and  three  daughters.  The 
sixth  son,  Casper,  was  born  at  Millers- 
town  ;  from  there  the  family  moved  to 
Yellow  Breeches  Creek  where  Michael 
bought  land.  Here  they  resided  till 
about  1789. 

George  Adam,  Conrad,  and  George 
Michael,  the  older  son  of  IMichael, 
served  in  the  war  of  the  Rc/olution 
imder  Washington. 

About  1785  Casper,  the  sixth  son, 
went  to  Augusta  county,  Va.,  leported 
favorably  and  settled  there.  The  farm 
he  bought  is  at  present  in  the  hands 
of  his  grandson,  Philip  M.  Coiner, — 
122  years  since  the  purchase.  About 
the  fall  of  1789  Michael  Keinet  and 
his  large  family,  except  his  son  Con- 
rad, moved  to  Augusta  county,  Va., 
and  bought  property,  the  most  of 
which  is  still  in  the  hands  of  his  de- 
scendants. The  home  he  built  and 
lived  in  is  at  present  in  the  hands  of 


his  great-grandson  Casper  Benton 
Coiner. 

.  George  Adam,  the  first  son  of 
Michael,  settled  in  Augusta  county, 
Va.,  where  most  of  his  descendants 
may  be  found.  The  Rev.  J  •  M . 
Schreckhise,  the  Rev.  J.  R.  Keiser, 
and  the  Rev.  J.  D.  Shivey,  Lutheran 
pastors,  are  among  his  children. 

IL  Conrad,  the  second  son  of 
Michael,  remained  in  Pennsylvania 
where  his  descendants  spell  the  name 
Kyner.  Three  sons  and  one  daughter 
of  Conrad  Keinet  moved  to  Ohio. 
These  descendants  spell  the"  name 
Kiner. 

John  Kyner,  a  grandson  of  Conrad, 
served  through  the  Civil  War  in  the 
Union  army  and  marched  witii  Sher- 
man to  the  sea. 

Hon.  James  Kyner,  also  a  grandson 
of  Conrad,  served  in  the  Civil  War  as 
a  Union  soldier  and  lost  a  leg 'at  Pitts- 
burg Landing.  After  the  war  he 
moved  to  Nebraska  and  was  elected 
to  the  legislature  of  that  state.  . 

HL  George  Michael,  the  third  son 
of  Michael  Keinet,  settled  in  Augusta 
Co.,  Va. 

George  Koiner,  .the  oldest  son  of 
Geo.  Michael,  served  in  the  war  of 
1812. 

Capt.  Geo.  H .  Killian,  a  grandson 
of  Geo.  Michael,  served  in  the  Con- 
federate army  during  the  Civil  War, 
was  a  captain  in  the  famous  "Stone- 
wall Brigade" ;  fought  in  many  battles, 
and  was  captured  at  "Bloody  Angle" 
in  the  battle  of  Spottsylvania.  "He 
was  one  of  the  ihip-load  of  Confeder- 
ate officers  placed,  by  the  Federals, 
under  the  Confederate  fire,  at  Hilton 
Head,  S.  C,  to  favor  the  operations  of 
the  northern  troops."  He  was  after- 
ward imprisoned  at  Ft.  Pulaski,  then 
transferred  to  Ft,  Delaware  from 
where  he  was  released  after  the  close 
of  war. 


MICHAEL  KEINADT  AND  SOME  OF  HIS    DESCENDANTS 


619 


Cyrus  Killian,  a  brother  of  Capt. 
Geo.  Killian,  was  also  a  member  of 
the  "Stonewall  Brigade",  and  shared 
his  brother's  imprisonment  at  Ft. 
Delaware. 

Dr.  J.  P.  Killian,  a  brother  of  the 
two  soldiers  above,  is  a  prominent 
physician,  at  Salem,  Va. 

Rev.  IMelvin  Killian,  son  oi  Capt. 
Killian,  is  at  present  pastor  at  Blacks- 
burg,  Va. 

lion.  Geo.  W.  Koiner,  a  grandson 
of  Geo.  Michael,  served  in  the  state 
legislature  of  \'irginia,  and  has  been 
Commissioner  of  Agriculture  of  Vir- 
ginia for  many  years. 

Dr.  Arthur  Z.  Koiner,  a  brother  of 
Hon.  Geo.  W.  Koiner,  was  a  promi- 
nent physician,  at  Salem,  Va. 

1\'.  Elizabeth,  the  fourth  child  of 
Michael  Keinet,  married  C!iristian 
Balsley  and  settled  in  Lancaster  Co., 
Pa. 

Christian  Balsley,  son  of  Elizabeth, 
was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812. 

Two  of  Elizabeth's  daughters  and 
one  son.  moved  to  Illinois,  where  she 
has  many  descendants. 

\'.  Mary,  the  fifth  child  of  ^Michael 
Keinet,  married  Geo.  ITedabaugh,  of 
Pennsylvania.  She  had  a  large  family, 
moved  to  the  western  states  ind  was 
lost  sight  of. 

IV^  Casper,  the  sixth  child  of 
Michael  Keinet,  was  the  first  of  the 
family  to  settle  in  Augusta  Co.,  Va. 
He  married  Margaret  Barger  and  was 
the  father  of  nine  sons  and  three 
daughters. 

Jacob  Coyner,  a  son  of  Casper, 
served  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  upon 
his  return  visited  his  relatives  in 
Pennsylvania,  making  the  trip  on 
horseback. 

Jonathan  Koiner,  grandson  of  Cas- 
per, graduated  from  Washington  and 
Lee  University  and  practised  law  in 
West  Virginia.  Later  he  served  in 
the  Confederate  army. 

Rev.  J.  S.  Komer.  son  of  Joiathan. 
graduated  from  the  Lutheran  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  at  Philadelphia.  Pa., 
acted  as  professor   in    Gustavus   Adol- 


phus  College,  at  St.  Peters,  Minn.,  and 
later  had  charge  of  dififerent  pastor- 
ates in  the  South. 

Casper  Koiner,  Jr.,  grandson  of 
Casper,  served  in  the  Confederate 
army  and  w^as  made  prisoner  at  Ft. 
Steadman. 

J  Ion.  Absalom  Koiner,  grandson  of 
Casper,  served  in  the  state  legislature 
of  Virginia  for  twelve  years.  He  was 
advanced  to  Major  in  the  Coniederate 
army  in  acknowledgement  of  dis- 
tinguished services  at  the  biitle  of 
Kernstown. 

Michael  Coiner,  son  of  Casper,  was 
a  soldier  under  Capt.  Link,  in   1812. 

Irenaus  Coiner,  grandson  of  Casper, 
was  a  soldier  in  the  Confederate  army. 
He  was  shot  in  the  chest  and  lungs 
near  Petersburg,  and  still  lives 

George  K.  Coiner,  grandson  of  Cas- 
per, served  in  the  Confederate  army 
in  the  "Stonewall  Brigade".  ^\'hile 
prisoner  at  Ft.  Delaware,  he  nearly 
lost  his  life  and  wa.s  exchanged  with 
the  surgeon's  "go  home  and  die".  In 
four  months  he  was  again  in  the 
ranks.  Later  his  haversack  was  shot 
from  his  side. 

Jacob  Coiner,  a  grandson  of  Casper, 
was  also  a  member  of  the  "Stonewali 
Brigade".  His  J.ocket-knife  arrested 
a  ball  which  would  probabl>  have 
taken  his  life,  in  the  first  battle  of 
]\Ianassas,  when  his  brigade  won  its 
distinguished  title. 

Daniel  Coiner,  a  grandson  of  Cas- 
per, was  also  a  member  of  the  '"Stone- 
wall Brigade"-  He  emigrated  to  Cal- 
ifornia with  his  wife  and  six  <"hildren 
by  the  Isthmus  route  before  tho  trans- 
continental railroads  were  built. 

Dr.  C.  C-  Henkel,  a  grandson  of 
Casper,  was  a  member  of  the  Virginia 
Medical  Examining  Board  of  "Stone- 
wall" Jackson's  Corps  during  the  Civil 
war,  and  later  a  useful  physician  at 
Ne.w  Market,  Va. 

Dr.  Abram  Henkel,  brother  of  Dr- 
C.  C.  Henkel,  graduated  at  the  New 
York  University  and  practised  at 
Staunton,  Va- 


620 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Dr.  Ilaller  Henkel,  also  a  brother 
of  Dr.  C.  C.  Henkel,  is  a  prominent 
physician  at  Staunton,  Va. 

Dr-  Casper  Miller,  a  nephew  of  the 
three  Henkel  brothers,  is  a  successful 
doctor  of  Baltimore,  Md. 

Elijah  Coiner,  a  grandson  of  Cas- 
])er.  was  an  officer  of  cavalry  in  Co. 
E.,  1st-  \"a.  Reg.,  of  the  Confederate 
army. 

Rev.  E.  T.  Coiner,  son  of  Elijah,  is 
pastor  of  a  Lutheran  congregation,  at 
Ashville,  N-  C. 

John  X.  Coiner,  a  grandson  o? 
Cas])er.  joined  Col-  Mosl^y's  command 
of  Scouts  in  the  Confederate  army, 
was  captured  and  imprisoned  in  Ft. 
I^elaware  for  i6  months. 

Marion  Coiner,  a  grandson  of  Casper, 
was  a  soldier  of  the  South  in  the  Civil 
war.  He  was  wounded  in  the  right 
arm  at  the  battle  of  McDowell  and 
would  most  probably  have  lost  his  life 
I)ut  for  his  diary  and  Hible  which  he 
carried  in  his  coat  pocket.  The  Indl 
passed  through  the  diary  and  lodged 
in  the  middle  of  the  I'ible- 

Cas)er  .M.  Coiner,  a  grantison  of 
Casner.  was  a  member  of  ist.  \'a.  Cav-. 
Confederate  States'  army  and  was 
killed  at  Kenton's  Landing. 

Martin  D.  Coiner,  a  grand.son  of 
CasDer.  died  at  Ft.  Delaware  "prison 
pen",  while  a  Confederate  soldier. 

\'iL  Catharine,  the  seventh  child  of 
Alichael,  married  (icorge  .Slagle  and 
later  moved  to  Augusta  Co-,  \'a., 
where  her  husband  died  lea\ing  her 
with  eight  .'^(mis  and  three  daughters. 
Sometime  between  1830  and  1S40  she 
removed  to  Ross  Co.,  O..  where  manv 
of  her  descendants  are  now  lixing- 

Dr.  Columbus  .Slagle.  who  at  one 
time  filled  the  chair  of  Diseases  of 
Children  in  the  ^Vlinneapolis  Cf)llege 
of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  is  one  of 
Catharine   Coiner's   grandsons. 

VHI.  John,  the  eighth  child  of 
Michael  Keinet,  settled  in  Augusta 
Co.,  Va.  He  married  Miss  Rhea. 
niece  of  Gov.  Rhea,  of  North  Carolina. 

John  M.  Coyner,  a  grandson  of 
Martin,  was  graduated    at    Hcnnenesa 


College,  Ind.,  and  spent  thirty-eight 
years  instructing  mostly  in  academies 
and  colleges.  In  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah, 
he  established  the  Salt  Lake  Collegiate 
Institute,  now  a  college  of  the  Presby- 
terians. He  finally  settled  in  Califor- 
nia. 

Robert  C.  Coyner,  brother  of  John  M. 
Coyner,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Union 
army  during  the  Civil  war. 

Sarah  B.,  daughter  of  Martin,  mar- 
ried James  Bell.  She  sent  her  seven 
sons  into  the  Confederate  army;  three 
were  killed,  three  were  wounded,  and 
the  youngest   returned   unhurt. 

■Martin  L.  Coyner,  a  son  of  Martin, 
was  a  constructor  and  contractor  of 
railroads,  and  crossed  the  plains  from 
X'irginia  to  California  three  times  by 
wagon. 

Rev.  David  H.  Coyner,  son  of  Mar- 
tin, graduated  from  William  and  Mary 
College,  and  was  a  Presbyterian  min- 
ister for  nearly  fifty  years.  He  was 
Post  Chajdain  near  Columbus.  Ohio, 
in  the  Union  army  during  the  Civil 
War.  He  also  sent  four  sons  into  this 
army. 

Ca])t.  Samuel  B .  Coyner,  grandson 
of  Martin,  was  a  member  of  the  "West 
Augusta  Guards"  which  was  ordered 
to  Flarper's  Ferry  during  the  John 
llrown  affair.  He  served  in  the  Con- 
federate army  as  Captain  in  Gen. 
.Ashby's  army,  followed  Jackson  in  his 
famous  'A'alley  Campaign  of  '62",  and 
after  manv  acts  of  bravery,  received 
his  death-wound  near  Culpepper 
Court  House. 

Major  James  W.  Coyner,  grandson 
of  Martin,  was  a  civil  engineer.  He 
joined  Gen.  Thomas  Jordan,  in  1870, 
in  the  Cuban  affair,  and  lost  his  life 
in  the  battle  with  the  Spaniards,  near 
Havana,  in    1871. 

C.  Luther  Coyner,  a  grandson  of 
Martin,  settled  in  Texas,where  he  took 
an  important  part  in  politics. 

X.  Jacob,  the  tenth  child  of  Michael 
Keinet.  settled  in  Ohio.  One  of  his 
grandsons  served  in  the  Indiati  wars, 
and  one  was  a  Union  soldier  in  the 
Civil     ^^"ar.        His     descendants     may 


MICHAEL  KEINADT  AND  SOME  OF  HIS    DESCENDANTS 


621 


now   be   found    in    Ohio,    Indiana,   Illi- 
nois,  Iowa,  Kansas  and   Washnigton. 

XI.  Christian,  the  eleventh  child  of 
Michael  Keinet,  settled  in  West  Vir- 
ginia, where  many  of  his  descendants 
are  now  living.  Others  may  be  found 
in  California,  Virginia,  Illinois  and 
Ohio. 

XII.  Philip,  the  twelfth  child  of 
Michael  Keinet,  settled  in  Augusta 
Co.,  Va.  He  was  an  ensign  in  the 
war  of  1812. 

Capt.  Benton  Coiner,  a  grandson  of 
Philip,  was  a  student  at  the  Virginia 
Military  Institute,  when  the  Civil  War 
broke  out.  lie  entered  the  army  and 
was  soon  promoted  to  Captain,  com- 
manding the  corps  of  Sharp  Shooters 
of  Pegram's  Brigade. 

XIII.  Of  Frederick,  the  thirteenth 
child  of  Michael  Keinet,  there  is  no  re- 
cord. 

Old  Alichael  Keinadt  sent  three  sons 
to  the  Revolutionary  war;  the  names 
of  one  son  and  four  grandsons  are 
written  on  the  roster  of  1812 ;  one 
great-grandson  fought  against  the  In- 
dians. In  the  great  Civil  strife  his 
descendants  fought  on  both  sides, — 
in  the  Union  army,  at  least,  one 
grandson  and  eight-grandsons ;  in  the 
Confederate  army  no  less  than 
twenty-three   great-grandsons. 

"Michael  Keinert  settled  in  Augusta 
county,  Va.,  when  it  was  practically 
a  wilderness — everything  had  to  be 
done,  woods  cleared  for  a  ^pot  to 
build  a  home,  and  the  stump  and 
brush  cleared  away  to  make  a  garden, 
The  tools,  if  not  brought  from  a  dis- 
tance, had  to  be  made  by  hand  in  a 
blacksmithshop,  so  also  the  farming 
implements.  Houses  were  built  of 
logs ;  barns  and  stables  were  covered 
with  straw ;  grain  was  reaped  with  a 
sickle;  threshing  was  done  with  a 
flail  or  by  treading  on  floors  with 
horses ;  hay  was  mowed  with  scythes 
that  had  to  be  sharpened  with  a 
whet-stone,  and  gathered  in  with  rake 
and  wooden  forks.  Public  roads  were 
very  few  and  the    private    ones    were 


rough  and  stumpy:  wheeled  \-ehicles 
fur  riding  were  rare,  women  traveled 
on  horseback  carrying  the  baby  on 
the  la|)  while  another  child  clung  on 
behind.  Cro])s  had  to  be  hauled  some- 
times 150  miles  to  market.  Flax  was 
raised  from  which  the  W(jmen  spun 
and  wove  linen,  and  woolen  garments 
were  home-spun  and  sewed  by  hand." 
Today  the  descendants  of  Michael 
Keinet  which  are  in  Augusta  county, 
\'a..  live  in  a  transformed  land.  Woods 
are  getting  scarce,  so  that  land-owners 
often  set  out  forest  trees  to  replace 
the  ones  cut  down.  Well  cultivated 
and  productive  fields  have  leplaced 
the  forest  and  brush,  so  that  "he  eye 
sweeps  over  a  park-like  region.  Black- 
smith shops  are  not  so  plentiful  and 
the  smith  is  mostly  employed  shoeing 
horses  or  now  and  then  mending  a 
wagon.  The  old  shop  has  been  re- 
placed by  the  ware-house,  the  hard- 
ware store,  the  stove  factory,  the 
buggy  factory,  etc.,  while  the  trains 
unload  tools  and  implements  of  all 
kinds  at  the  farmer's  very  door.  The 
log  hut  has  been  replaced  by  the  con- 
venient frame  mansion  wit'.i  "all 
modern  conveniences" — a  few,  very 
few,,  of  the  old  log  houses  remain, 
but  have  been  improved.  The  thatched 
barn  is  nowhere  to  be  seen,  but  the 
county  is  adorned  with  large,  roomy 
barns,  many  of  them  fresh  from  the 
hands  of  the  contractors.  The  poor 
sickle  has  been  stowed  away  among 
the  "relics"  and  the  IMcCormick 
binder  gathers  in  the  grain  ;  the  flail 
rests  beside  the  sickle  and  listens  to 
the  threshing  machine  as  it  easily  and 
gracefully  does  the  work  it  could 
never  have  accomplished;  scythe,  rake 
and  ])itch-fork  have  not  gone  to  rest, 
but  are  used  "along"  the  fences — not 
in  the  "fence  corners,"  for  rail  fences 
are  an  extravagant  adornment  that 
have  given  place  to  woven  wire — 
while  the  mower,  hay  rake,  hay 
turner,  and  hay  fork  do  the  principal 
work.  The  roads  that  were  once 
stumpy  and  rocky  are  now  smooth  or 


622 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


changed  into  pike,  crossed  off  and  on 
by  the  steel  rail  of  the  railroad. 
Women  ride  horseback  only  for  pleas- 
ure ;  the  fine  carriage,  the  automobile, 
and  the  palace  car  are  the  order  of  the 
day,  while  folks  run  to  the  window  to 
see  an  ox-team.  How  rare  the  woman 
w'ho  spins  or  weaves !  No  house- 
keeper is  without  her  sewing  machine. 

The  name  of  Michael  Keinadt  and 
his  descendants  has  undergone  many 
changes,  and  has  been  and  is  now 
written  Kainath.  Keinath,  Konat, 
Keynot,  Keinot,  Keinet,  Keinadt, 
Keinort,  Koinadt,  Kyner,  Coyner, 
Coiner,  Keiner,  Kiner,  and  Koiner. 

.At  the  present  time  the  many  de- 
scendants of  this  old  German  immi- 
grant are  scattered  over  our  broad 
land  in  Virginia,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio, 
Illinois.    Minnesota,     Iowa,     Missouri,, 


North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Kan- 
sis,  Washington,  West  X'irginia,. 
Maryland,  Indiana,  California,  Flor-^ 
ida  New  York,  Nebraska  and  Con- 
necticut. 

A  monument,  placed  over  the  graves 
of  Michael  and  Margaret  Keinadt, 
was  unveiled  in  October,  1892,  in  the- 
cemetery  of  Trinity  Church  (once 
called  Coiner's  Church)  near  Cri- 
mora,  Va.  To  commemorate  the  event 
a  reunion  of  the  descendants  was  held 
in  the  adjoining  grove.  It  was  esti- 
mated that  2000  of  old  Michael's  chil- 
dren were  present. 

[These  notes  were  taken  from  a. 
small  volume  entitled  "Koin.-r  His- 
tory and  Genealogy,"  published  by^ 
Stoneburner  and  Prufer,  Sraunton,, 
Va.] 


The  Value  of  Family  and  Social  Reunions 

By  Dr.  I.  H.  Betz.  York,  Pa. 


NOTE.— This  is  an  address  delivered  at  the 
Glatfelter  Reunion  September  11.  1909,  near 
Glatfelter  Station,  Pa. 


Y  FRIENDS: 

It  afifords  mo  rare 
])leasure  on  this  auspic- 
ious occasion  to  meet 
with  you  by  invitation  to 
do  honor  in  remem- 
brance of  one  who  as  a 
pioneer  set  his  face  to- 
wards the  New  and  untried  Western 
A\''orld — there  to  become  the  patriarch 
and  forebear  of  a  long  and  numerous 
line  of  descendants  —  of  whom  so 
many  are  assembled  here  today  and 
on  whose  roster  so  many  additional 
names  have  lately  been  entered 
swelling  the  sum  total  to  nearly  1500 
in  number.  Assuredly  those  \yho 
have  the  high  privilege  to  be  num- 
l)ered  in  this  goodly  company  if  ab- 
.sent  in  form  are  with  you  in  spirit  on 
this  memorable  occasion.  it  was 
proliably   this   major   fact   that   led    the 


committee  to  assign  to  me  the  topic: 
— to  offer  a  few  thoughts  on  the  value 
of  family  and  social  reunions  ruch  as 
this  gathering  today  so  fittinj^ly  ex- 
emi:)lifies. 

Casper  Glatfelter  in  whose  honor 
you  are  assembled  made  his  advent 
into  this  community  in  1743.  a  year 
that  Avas  memorable  for  at  least  two- 
other  landmarks  although  as  an  in- 
dividual he  antedated  them  both., 
1743  was  the  year  in  which  Thomas 
Jefferson  saw  the  light  of  day.  It 
was  in  1776  that  Jefferson  wrote  that 
immortal  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence whose  establishment  by  the- 
]:)lood3'  arbitrament  of  arms  made  a. 
new  Magna  Charter  of  Freedom.  It 
was  not  till  1863  that  the  great  ad- 
vancing host  of  humanity  saw  the- 
fruition  and  outcome  of  Jefferson's; 
labors  which  enunciated  in  theor)r 
what   now   became    realized    in    fact. 

It     was    in    the    establishment    and 
maintenance   of   these   immortal   truths 


THE  VALUE  OF  FAMILY  AND  SOCIAL  REUNIONS 


623 


that  the  Glatfoltcr  dcsceiulants  with 
legions  of  other  names  rendered  loyal 
support.  It  is  such  facts  as  these  that 
stimulate  jmtriotism  and  make  a 
strong  and  united  country.  The  des- 
cendants of  Caspar  Gladfelter  have 
permeated  all  the  activities  of  life  and 
in  common  with  others  of  our  eastern 
early  settlers  made  their  way  into 
other  regions  far  distant  from  the 
early  home  of  their  ancestor. 

Secondly  it  may  be  noted  that  1743 
was  the  year  which  witnessed  the  pub- 
lication of  the  first  American  Bible  in 
any  European  tongue  on  the  Amer- 
ican continent.  This  was  the  Bible 
published  by  Christoj)her  Saner  the 
elder  at  Germantown  to  be  followed 
by  two  other  editions  of  the  same  in 
1763  and  1776.  The  Bible  of  1743  an- 
tedates by  39  years  any  other  issued 
in  this  countr.y  It  would  be  interest- 
ing to  know  what  books  Caspar  Glad- 
felter brought  from  beyond  the  sea 
but  it  is  safe  to  say  that  in  common 
with  others  of  our  sturdy  and  God 
fearing  ancestors  these  were  at  least 
a  "Halle-Bible,"  a  "Gesang  Buch"  and 
"Arndt's  W'ahres  Christenthum"  or 
"Arndt's  Triie  Christianit}-."  T  o 
these  in  other  cases  may  have  been 
added  Johann  Stark's  "Handbuch" 
and  others.  These  \-olumes  were 
among  the  daily  used  books  oy  our 
ancestors.  —  whose  contents  became 
ingrained  in  their  moral  and  mental 
constittuions.  Notwithstanding  there 
was  a  paucity  of  books  and  literature, 
this  was  supi-»lemented  by  j^ersonal 
admonition  and  counsel  which  yielded 
good  fruits  which  we  today  with  all 
our  boasted  advantages,  have  hardly 
improved  upon.  The  ke^'uote  of  tlie 
Reformation  was  an  o;ien  Bible  and 
justification  by  faith  which  was  re- 
echoed by  Chillingworth — "The  Bible 
— the  Bible  is  the  Religion  of  Protes- 
tants." Turning  to  the  settlement  of 
our  c<nmtry  we  obserxe  that  Xew 
l^ngland  was  settled  ]\v  the  English 
Pilgrim  and  Puritan.  .\ew'  York  by 
the  Holland  Knickerbocker  and  Hu- 
guenots,   N'irginia    and    th^    South    bv 


the  Cavaliers  while  Pennsylvania 
was  chiefly  settled  by  the  Germans  of 
the  Reformation  and  the  Scotch  Irish 
who  accepted  the  teachings  of  Calvin 
and  the  Westminster  Confe  lion  of 
Faith.  (Jut  of  this  Consensus  of  op- 
inion have  issued  qrganizations  of 
fraternal  union  and  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  history  of  opinions. 

It  is  but  a  step  from  these  larger 
and  wider  organizations  to  descencl  to 
closer  fraternal  bonds  of  union.  The 
Puritans,  the  Huguenots  and  Cavaliers 
have  long  since  maintained  the  lead 
in  the  formation  of  aforesaid  organi- 
zations and  it  has  remained  for  the 
Pennsylvania  (jermans  of  cnir  own 
State  at  last  to  take  up  the  work  in 
earnest  in  this  direction.  The  Penn- 
sylvania German  Society  of  our  State 
which  was  organized  about  20  years 
ago  has  done  a  notable  work  in  gath- 
ering, ])reser\ing  and  ])ublishing  the 
materials  of  history,  social  customs 
and,  usages,  pertaining  to  our  people 
in  earlier  days.  The  formation  of  his- 
torical societies  in  the  State  and 
counties  has  been  a  notable  event  in 
gathering  and  displaying  the  emblems 
and  tools  pertaining  to  our  industries 
usages  and  customs.  All  these  de- 
partures ha\e  stimulated  interest  and 
investigation  in  every  direction, 
among  allied  families  and  among  indi- 
\iduals.  The  genealogists  of  Europe 
have  long  since  led  the  way  m  the 
tabulation  of  family  and  indixidual 
records.  Xothing  ]jroduced  so  much 
interest  and  rcxived  the  memories  of 
the  pasi  as  our  centennial  year  in  1876. 

To  this  the  favorite  struggle  from 
1861-3  contributed  \ery  much,  which 
was  a  Titanic  contest  for  the  preser- 
\ation  and  perpetuation  of  this  Un- 
ion one  and  indissoluble.  It  has  often 
been  remarked  that  the  settler.-,  of  our 
communities  are  intensely  democratic 
in  spirit,  broad  in  their  sympathies, 
and  earnest  in  their  convictions.  The 
l)ioneers  wlio  are  the  vanguard  or 
skirmish  line  of  civilization  are  opti- 
mists in  a  very  high  degree.  If  they 
are   beaten   hack   they  "pick   their  flint 


624 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


and  try  it  again."     If  they  meet  with 
disaster  they  console  themselves  with 
the  fact  that  they  are  thankful  that  it 
was  no  worse.     They  are  the    salt    of 
the  earth  whose  sufferings  and  heroic 
sacrifices   have  made   the   present  pos- 
sible.    It  is    to    their    self    denial,    in- 
dustry and  rigid  economy  that  we  are 
indebted   today  one  and   all.     Individ- 
ually we  are  one   and   all   indebted  to 
our    ancestors    who     have    borne    the 
heat  and  burden  of  the  day  to  whom 
we    are    thankful    for    the    favored    ad- 
vancement  we   may   have   made   as   to 
the  more  congenial  lot  that  may  have 
fallen   to   us.      We    must   never   forget 
that   to   these    honored    ancestors,    to 
these  good  parents  tributes  of  respect 
and  thanks  are  due  for  these  privileges. 
"Children  Obey  Your  Parents"  was 
carved  on  imperishable  stone  in  burn- 
ing words  that  will  never    be    effaced 
while  humanity  endures.     This  is  the 
one   inspiring   thought   that   shall    ani- 
mate us  now  and  always.     Out  of  this 
thought   we   are    moulded    as    though 
encarved  in  bands  of  steel,  in  cement- 
ing the  bonds  of  amity  and  friendship. 
It  is  this  fact  which  leads  us  to  come 
far     and     wide     each     3^ear     to     revive 
pleasing   and    tender   memories    at   the 
ancestral   shrine.     It  has  the  effect  of 
making    us    better    men    and    women. 
Men    erect     tangible     monuments     to 
perpetuate    noble    deeds     of     b.eroism 
and  patriotism  from  the  present  to  the 
future.    How  much    more    meet    is    it 
that  memory  should  pay    this    tribute 
to  the  simple  and  homely    virtues    of 
those  who  have  played  their  part  well 
in  all  the  relations  of  life.  Monuments 
Ate     concrete     embodiments      or      the 
symbols  of  action  while  the  more  ab- 
stract memory  is    a    higher    perpetua- 
tion of  virtuous  deeds. 

In  another  sense  these  gatherings 
have  their  value.  The  virtuous  and 
useful  life  of  an  ancestor  has  a  perpe- 
tual value  as  a  guidepost  for  descen- 
dants to  emulate  or  grow  up  to  the 
standard  of  the  forebear  and  if  pos- 
sible to  go  beyond  it. 


We  are  the  heirs  of  the  past  and 
while  the  world  has  advanced  and 
is  advancing  ours  may  be  the  privi- 
lege to  advance  with  it.  We  may  fail 
through  unforeseen  contingencies :  On 
the  other  hand  failure  without  oppor- 
tunity is  inevitable.  Ancestral  reun- 
ions by  descendants  are  now  held  in 
our  State  annually,  especially  in  our 
eastern  and  older  counties.  The  ear- 
liest settlements  were  made  in  those 
localities  and  the  various  families 
many  of  them  had  an  early  start  in 
the  settlement  of  the  State.  We  have 
lately  noted  names  of  many  lamilies 
who  have  assembled  in  such  reunions. 
The  most  of  these  reunions  have  been 
held  east  of  the  Susquehanna  river. 
\\'est  of  that  dividing  line  not  so 
many  have  been  held  for  ma.iy  and 
evident  reasons.  This  area  w.is  early 
included  in  the  eastern  co%nties — 
moreover  the  settlements  for  many 
reasons  did  not  have  a  basis  as  for- 
midable as  that  which  pertained  to  the 
original  counties.  Moreover  the  spirit 
of  emigration  became  more  rife  and  as 
the  Southern  Valleys  and  especially 
the  great  Mississippi  Valley  opened 
its  domains  whole  neighborh'^ods  in 
the  east  were  almost  depopulated  and 
were  replaced  by  people  of  other  na- 
tionalities. 

But  here  is  an  instance  where  the 
reverse  has  obtained.  While  many  of 
the  Glatfelter  name  have  taken  up 
their  abode  at  far  distant  points 
enough  remain  her  to  show  their 
strength  and  numbers  in  devotion  to 
the  surroundings  and  scenes  which 
their  ancestor  revered  and  loved  so 
well.  It  has  been  maintained  that  the 
man  who  could  elucidate  and  explain 
the  derivation  and  meaning  of  every 
geographical  term  in  our  county 
would  know  more  about  biography 
than  any  other  man  living.  T'lis  will 
also  apply  to  biographical  surnames. 
The  history  of  these  is  very  interest- 
ing which  however  may  not  be  con- 
sidered excepting  to  say  that  there 
are     no    things    in     which     especially 


THE  VALUE  OF  FAMILY  AND  SOCIAL  REUNIONS 


625 


elderly  persons  are  so  conser\  ative — 
as  in  the  maintenance  of  'ciigious 
faith  and  in  the  t)rthography  of  sur- 
names however  difficult  or  cumber- 
some. We  observe  in  a  vast  number 
of  names  how  gradually  they  have 
been  transformed  so  as  to  be  hardly 
recognizable  when  compared  with  the 
t)riginal.  This  has  been  the  case  with 
the  original  name  which  we  are  in- 
formed by  one  who  in  an  authority — 
was  originally  spelled  Glattfelder, 
but  which  our  I'ostal  Guide  and  gen- 
eral orthography  now  spells,  G  1  a  t- 
f  e  1 1  e  r.  Between  these  forms  many 
others  have  been  in  use  some  at  first 
sight,  altogether  in  disguise.  Nearly 
fifty  years  ago  we  became  acquainted 
with  a  member  of  the  State  Normal 
School  at  Millersxille  who  came  from 
Somerset  county.  Pa.,  who  already 
made  the  change  from  Glotielty  to 
Glatfelty  as  he  at  the  time  informed 
me.  For  the  amended  spelling  we 
have  recently  referred  to  tlu:  cata- 
logue of  1862  for  confirmation.  Amer- 
icans are  a  strenuous  and  swifr  people 
and  will  put  up  with  no  retardation  or 
intimidation.  They  will  abbreviate  or 
eliminate  on  the  spot  and  if  the  indi- 
vidual protests  they  will  anglicize, 
nolens  volcns.  Happily  the  fiitness  of 
things  in  the  end  prevails  and  the  in- 
evitable is  submitted  to  \\\\.\\  that  con- 
descending grace  that  is  such  a 
marked  characteristic  of  the  American 
people. 

Social  converse  is  meet  and  attrac- 
tive and  wdiile  these  reunions  are 
made  in  certain  cases  bi-ennial  or  tri- 
ennial doubtless  there  are  reasons  why 
they  should  be  annual. 

Time  is  passing  away  all  too  rapid- 
ly and  the  years  are  chasing  each  other 
in  panoramic  array.  We  too  are  pass- 
ing away  in  the  evening  of  life  and  it 
is  meet  that  these  enjoyable  occasions 
should  not  have  their  intervals  too 
long  and  far  between.  While  the  so- 
cial meetings  may  be  evanescent  and 
fleeting  it  is  meet  that  full  permanent 
records  should  be  made  to  be  handed 
down   to   future   posterity.      We    may 


seem  ol)livious  to  the  present,  but  ex- 
pectant of  the  future  but  the  past  is 
gone  and  can  never  return.  How 
earnest  and  solicitous  we  become  to 
restore  and  resurrect  its  past  records. 
h2very  name  and  date,  every  head- 
stone and  grave  becomes  'nvested 
with  new  mterest.  Gould  we  but 
lengthen  out  each  individual  genea- 
logy to  ten  generations  what  a  fund 
of  inestimable  value  would  be  in  our 
l)ossession  !  Such  a  family  tree  would 
unlock  many  of  the  mysteries  of 
heredity.  Individually  what  child  on 
its  2ist  birthday  would  not  deiight  to 
receive  a  photograph  of  every  month 
of  its  life  at  least  from  birth  to 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  to  be  per- 
haps supplemented  by  a  diary  extend- 
ing over  the  same  period,  day  by  day 
in  which  the  growing"  development 
and  capacity  of  the  subject  would  be 
delineated  and  tabulated  each  day  cov- 
ering bodily  or  physical,  intsllectual 
and  moral  development.  Happily  you 
have  an  able  exponent  amongst  you 
in  Dr.  Noah  M.  Glatfelter  who  has 
given  time  and  toil  in  gathering  the 
memorials  of  the  numerous  genera- 
tions in  tabulated  form  which  he  has 
set  forth  in  a  volume  that  will  gain 
added  interest  as  the  years  speed  by. 
Those  only  who  have  labored  in  sim- 
ilar undertakings  can  appreciate  what 
such  work  means  in  the  expenditure 
of  labor,  toil  and  means.  Such  work 
will  be  more  fully  valued  and  appre- 
ciated in  the  future.  The  family  his- 
torian should  be  encouraged  to  ex- 
tend the  work  and  enter  into  still  ful- 
ler details.  Now  is  the  time  to  ac- 
complish such  work  while  the  custo- 
dians of  such  priceless  knowledge  are 
still  in  our  midst.  Their  work  is  a 
labor  of  love  and  unfortunately  does 
not  redound  to  their  material  re- 
source but  the  reversd  We  should 
hold  up  their  hands  and  assist  them 
in  labors  which  in  the  end  will  re- 
dound to  our  own  benefit. 

We  must  remember  that    we    are  a 
part  of    humanity    and    cannot    disso 


626 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


ciate  ourselves  from  the  mass.  Pope 
has  well  said  : 

"Honor  and   fame  from    no    condition 

rise 
Act  well  your  part  there  all  th.  honor 

lies." 

In  Lincoln's  homely  phrase  "The 
world  will  I'ttle  heed  what  we  say  but 
what  we  do."  Still  another  well  used 
term  whose  origin  was  probably 
cradled  in  obscurity  but  crystallized 
and  based  on  human  experience  is 
that  "actions  speak  louder  than 
words."  It  is  character  that  wins  in 
the  battle  of  life.  No  one  ^an  go 
through  this  world  without  attaining 
a  mass  of  experience.  The  experience 
acquired  by  attrition  far  exceeds  that 
reflected  experience  that  is  solely 
gained  from  books.  The  experience  of 
the  aged  virtuous  man  or  woman  far 
exceeds  in  value  that  prompted  by 
those  younger  in  years  who  may  have 
acquired  it  from  the  traditions  of  the 
schools.  Books  and  schools  are  of 
course  helps  and   very    valuable    ones 


but  they  can  never  supplant  the  ma- 
terials from  which  such  knowledge  is 
formed.  Therefore  age  and  its  ac- 
companiments should  be  honored  and 
deferred   to. 

These  are  some  of  the  thoughts  that 
occurred  to  me  in  thinking  over  what 
I  should  say  to  this  gathering  com- 
posed of  the  aged,  those  in  middle 
life,  those  in  the  spring  time  of  youth 
or  to  those  upon  whom  life  is  opening 
its  possibilities. 

I  am  pleased  to  have  been  v/th  you 
and  rejoice  in  your  devotion  to  the 
founder  of  a  family  who  in  a  period  of 
200  years  in  this  year  1909  from  his 
birth  I  leain  has — as  was  pr-:;viously 
intimated  no  less  than  1500  descen- 
dants bearing  his  surname  and  pro- 
bably from  10,000  to  20,000  who  claim 
kinship  from  diverging  lines.  Truly 
Caspar  Glatfelter  has  placed  his  name 
among  the  immortals  and  will  be  can- 
onized in  the  affections  of  those  who 
have  descended  from  his  illustrious 
line. 


In  Memoriam 


Names  and  Age  of  Ministers  of  the  Gospel  of  the  Different  Denominations  Buried 

in  the  Protestant  Public  Cemeteries  at  Allentown,  Pa.,  Collected  in 

1 909  and  Alphabetically  Arranged  by  E.  K. 


NAME 

Bliem,  J.  C. 
Probst,  S.  K. 
Deisher,  Reuben 

Diefenderfer,  M.  H. 
Dubbs.  Joseph  S.,  D.D. 
Dubbs,  A.  J.  G..  D.D. 

lulwards,  Ebenezer 
I'ritzinger,  J. 
Gardner,  Geo.  F. 
German,  T.   1^, 


BIRTH 

1830,  April  5 

1822,    November    16 


1845,  Aug.  16 
1796,  Oct.  16 
182;'),  June  8 

1825 

1822.  June  29 
1827,  Apr.  14 
1867.  May  23 


DEATH  AND  AGE 

1903,  October  18 

1876.  December  23 
1902,  October  21 

79  yrs.,  10  mo.,  3  days. 
1901,  Feb.  27 

1877,  A])r.  II 
1897,  Nov.  7 

71  yrs.,  4  mo..  29  days. 

1 90 1 

1900.  Se])t.  25 

IQ08,  Aug.  3 

1894.  Oct.  8^ 


IN  MEMORIAM 

Ileimberger,  C.  D. 

1818 

1897 

Hofford.  W.  R.,  D.D. 

1833,  May  8 

1901,  Jan.  3 

Home,  A.  R.,  D.D. 

1834,  Mar.   24 

1902,  Dec.  23 
68  yrs.,  9  mo. 

Kepler,  Tobias 

184 1 

1901 

Kepler,  J.  S..  D.D. 

1799,  Aug.  19 

1864,  Dec.  22 

Kepler,  Christ.   D.D. 

1823,  Feb.  20 

1855.  Mar.  4 

Kepler,  Jno.  M. 

1855.  Dec.  19 

Jan.  19,  1899 

Kline,  Alfred  S. 

.   1896,  May  2 
36  yrs..  4  mo.,  13  days- 

Kuiikle,  J.  W. 

1827,  Oct.  19 

1880,  July  2 

Koehl,  Jno. 

1821,  April  I 

1892,  Jan.  6 

Lehr,  Conrad 

1853,  Feb.  14 

19OQ,  Alav  8 

Lentz,  David 

1834,  Ang.  20 

1898,  Mav  9 

^linnig-,  Wm.  G. 

181 1,  Feb.  16 

1887.  Tulv  15 

Rath,  Wm. 

1826,  Sept.  23 

1889,  jwiy  2 

Reily,  Wm.  M. 

1837,  Aug.  8 

1893,  Nov.  21 

Repass,  S.  A.,  D.  D. 

1838,  Nov.  25 

1896,  June 

Schantz,  F.  J.  F.,  D.D. 

1907,  Jan.  19 

Age :  71  yrs.,  11  days.. 

Schindel,  Jeremiah 

1807,  May  17 

1870,  July  2 

Schindel,  J.  D. 

1841,  Jan.  II 

1908,  June  2y 

Schoner,  Wm.  E. 

1859 

1901 

Seyfrit,  J.  K. 

1838,  June  18 

1908,  Feb.  9 

Schelly,  Wm.  N. 

1814,  Oct.  8 

1893,  Aug.  4 

Schmucker,  Baal,  M.D.D. 

^  1827,  Aug.  26 

1888,  Oct.  15 

Seip,  Theo.   L. 

'  1843,  J"ne  25 

1903,  Nov.  28 

Seip,  Frank  M. 

1868,  Sept.  20 

1898,  Twlv  2 

Seaman,  Chas. 

T898,  Sept.  6 
Age :  35  yrs. 

Stetzel,  Henry 

1810,  June  I 

1889,  Jan.  27 

Steinhauser,  J. 

1850.  July  5 

1904,  Sept.  25 

Sykes,  Jno.  H. 

1834,  Nov.  5 

1880,  Nov.  10 

Waj^ner,  Dr.  S.  G. 

1831,  Oct.  4 

1908.  Oct.  30 
77yrs..  26  days 

Walker,  Richard 

1812,  May  I 

1882,  Mav  10 

Young,  Andrew  s. 

1848.  Feb. 
37  yrs. 

Vundt,  Th.  M. 

1858,  bet).  10 

1907,  April  19 

Zeller,  Daniel 

1792,  May  27 

1868,  Sept.   12 

62r 


Proiiuiioiation  of  EDgrlish 

We  occasionally  find  weak-kneed  Anglo- 
maniacs  of  German  ancestry  Avho  are 
ashamed  of  their  fathers  and  of  their 
mother  tongue.  Such  should  ponder  the  fol- 
lowing clipijed  from  "The  Youth's  Com- 
l)anion": 

English  as  it  is  pronounced  is  (luite  dif- 
ferent from  English  as  it  is  spelled — in 
England.  The  London  Academy  thus  ren- 
ders the  words  sung  by  children  of  a  school 
where  music  is  carefullly  taught: 


Flahrs,  luvly  flahrs,  in  a  garden  yeh  my 
see. 
The  rowses  there  with  their  reuby  lip, 
Penks  the  'unny  by  loves  teh  sip. 

Teulips,  teulips,  gy  as  a  butterfly's  wing,. 

Merrygolds  rich  as  the  crahn  of  a  king„ 

Rich  as  the  crahn  of  a  king. 
But  none  seh  fair  teh  me. 
None  seh  fair  teh  me, 

As  these  wild  wood  flahrs. 

Sweet  wild  flahrs. 


628 


LITERARY  DEPARTMENT 


Karl  Christopher  Nadler 

THE  POET  OF  THE  PALATINATE 


ROM  the  high  beil-tower 
of  the  ruins  of  Heidel- 
berg castle,  once  the 
glorious  seat  of  a,  proud 
and  mighty  race,  one 
sees  to  the  immediate 
North  the  Heiligenberg 
on  whose  summit  the 
primitive  German  ,  the  invading  Ro- 
man, and  the  Christian  of  the  ninth 
century  have  in  turn  made  sacrifices 
to  their  Gods ;  beyond  the  Heiligen- 
berg are  the  dark,  rolling  m^-untains 
of  the  Odenwald;  to  the  South  rises 
the  Konigstuhl,  cloud-capped  .-entinel 
of  the  fair  city  spread  at  its  feet ;  out 
of  the  East  comes  the  Neckar,  wind- 
ing by  imperial  Wimpfen  with  its 
towers  and  turrets,  and  by  many  a 
vine-clad  ruin  where  fair  ladijs  once 
lingered  and  listened  to  the  low-voiced 
minnesinger;  in  the  West  the  Neckar 
flows  through  the  great  plain  of  the 
.Rhine,  the  garden  of  Germany,  motley 
with  fields  of  grain,  the  broad-leaved 
tobacco  plant,  and  high  poles  fes- 
tooned with  the  vine  of  the  hop.  This 
fair  garden  is  interrupted  in  the  re- 
mote west  by  the  Haardt  Mountains 
whose  gentle  forehills  are  covered 
with  noble  vineyards  which  have  for 
•centuries  gladdened  the  hearts  of  em- 
peror and  peasant  alike.  Such  in  a 
few  words  is  the  Palatinate,  the  home 
-of  a  large  number  of  our  Pennsyl- 
vania-German ancestors. 

The  heritage  of  the  Palatinate  to 
our  forefathers  was  wine,  poetry  and 
song — a  heritage  which  was  '.ost  be- 
yond apparent  recovery  in  the  wilds 
of  a  new  world.  The  banks  of  the 
Susquehanna,  Lehigh,  Conestoga  and 
Swatara  offered  no  special  advantages 
for  wine  growing.      Poetry    and    song 


also  could  not  thrive  among  a  people, 
who,  though  full  of  the  "Gemiithlich- 
keit"  and  love  of  mirth  so  characteris- 
tic of  the  German  of  the  Rhine,  were, 
on  the  one  hand,  expending  all  their 
energies  in  establishing  new  homes, 
clearing  forests,  and  fighting  Indians; 
who,  on  the  other  hand,  had  fallen 
under  the  asceticism  and  relentless  re- 
ligious severity  of  the  Quakers,  Men- 


KARL,  CHRISTOPHER  NADl^ER 

nonites,  and  disciples  of  Kelpius  who 
had  preceded  them  to  America  and 
from  whom  they  learned  to  '.lee  the 
earthly  enjoyments  of  life  as  ot  Satan. 
And  so  our  forefathers  builded  for 
their  descendants  the  sturdiness  of 
character,  the  thrift  and  frugality, 
and  the  simplicity  which  we  recog- 
nize and  respect  today  as  typical  of 
the   Pennsylvania-German.     What  our 


LITERARY    DEPARTMENT 


62» 


forctatlurs  ha\c  kjsl  tor  us,  h jwever, 
is  the  world  of  fine  fal)ling,  [)oetry, 
and  song  in  which  they  had  lived. 
They  have  not  even  left  us  artistic 
sense  to  appreciate  ourselves,  and  no 
Longfellow,  Irving,  or  Bret  Harte  has 
ever  risen  among  us.  "Harbaugh's 
Harfe,"  it  is  true,  once  resounded  with 
its  plaintive  notes  but  nearly  half  a 
century  has  passed  since  it  was 
quickened  last  by  the  master  hand. 
He  who  is  to  |)ortray  tlic  Pennsyl- 
\ania-German  truthfully,  with  full 
lights  and  shades,  for  us — his  joys. 
sorrows,  and  aspirations  alike — is 
alas !  still  unborn. 

We  turn  then  with  particular  inter- 
est to  a  poet  who  has  preserved  for  us 
not  only  the  language,  but  al-.o,  with 
the  art  of  one  of  Germany's  most  be- 
Kned  dialect  poets,  the  naivete,  the 
pathos,  and  the  delicate  humov  which 
characterized  our  Palatinate  fore- 
fathers.— namely.  Karl  Gottfried  Nad- 
ler,  poet  of  the  Palatinate. 

The  one  hundredth  anni\-er  ;ary  of 
the  poet's  birth  celebrated  with  appro- 
priate ceremonies  in  Heidelberg  on 
August  the  nineteenth  of  the  past 
summer  has  revived  interest  in  the 
poet  in  the  old  world,  and  it  is  only 
fitting  that  we  who  are  of  his  kin 
should  pay  tribute  to  his  memory  in 
America.  Material  for  a  biography 
of  the  poet  is  indeed  scant.  T-"rom  a 
letter  written  b}^  the  only  son  of  the 
poet  many  years  after  the  death  of  the 
latter,  we  learn  that  the  Nadlers  were 
descended  from  a  patrician  family  of 
Nuremberg.  Mow  they  came  later  to 
wander  into  the  Palatinate  is  not 
knowMi.  Suffice  it  that  the  poet  was 
born  August  IQ.  1809  in  fleidelberg  as 
the  son  of  Karl  Phillip  Nadler,  di- 
rector of  the  city  schools  and  organist 
in  the  church  of  Providence.  The 
jioet  lost  his  parents  at  an  early  age. 
but  seems  to  have  received  a  careful 
education.  After  leaving  the  Gymna- 
sium in  Heidelberg,  he  pursued  his 
studies  in  the  Universities  of  Heidel- 
berg and  P.erlin.  and  later  settled  in 
his  native  citv  as  advocate.  He  seems 


to  have  remained  in  Heidelberg,  was 
twice  married,  and  died,  still  a  young 
man,  on  August  26,  1849.  Beside 
being  active  as  an  efficient  advocate 
he  had  familiarized  himself  with  the 
English,  l-'rench,  and  German  litera- 
tures and  the  "Volkslied."  H  i  s 
musical  education  also  had  not  been 
neglected  as  his  activities  at  the  musi- 
cal evenings  in  the  house  of  Professor 
Thibaut,  the  friend  of  Goethe,  would 
testify.  While  still  a  student  m  Hei- 
delberg, he  had  already  tried  his  hand 
both  at  prose  and  verse,  the  results  of 
which  afiforded  much  pleasant  enter- 
tainment for  his  circle  of  friends;  the 
author,  however,  was  his  own  best 
critic,  and  never  permitted  their  pub- 
lication. During  his  student  year  in 
Berlin  he  wrote  a  satirical  novel  in 
which  he  portrayed  the  heroes  of 
the  day  and  lashed  their  weaknesses 
— -their  apotheosis  of  the  philosopher 
Hegel  and  the  singer  Sontag,  etc. — 
with  the  scourge  of  the  true  satirist. 
After  his  return  from  the  great  Ger- 
man capital  to  his  own  little  Palati- 
nate home,  Nadler  became  an  ardent 
admirer  of  tht  most  sincere  and  most 
genuine  of  literary  species,  the  Folk- 
song. His  enthusiastic  endeavors  to 
collect  these  songs  soon  made  him  ac- 
quainted with  the  wealth  of  poetry 
that  lay  among  the  folk  of  his  own 
district.  As  advocate,  he  had  also 
learned  to  know  the  peasant  of  the 
Palatinate  and  the  citizen  of  it-',  towns 
more  thoroughly  than  before. 

His  diligence  in  the  study  of  the 
"Volksl-'ed  "  his  sense  for  their  beauty, 
and  his  intimate  knowledge  of  the  life 
and  dialect  of  the  people  about  him 
occasioned  him  to  express  himself 
through  the  same  medium.  In  the 
s])ring  of  1846,  Nadler  began  to  write 
in  the  Palatinate  dialect,  and  soon 
won  the  applause  and  encouragement 
of  his  friends.  His  endeavors  'esulted 
in  a  rich  and  varied  collection  of 
poems  which  were  published  in 
Frankfurt  in  1847  under  the  charac- 
teristic title  of  "Frohlich  Pal.:,  Gott 
crhalts!" 


<630 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


Nadler  was  hy  birth,  by  '^ulture, 
^nd  in  his  poHtical  tendencies,  an  aris- 
tocrat, and  yet  his  aristocratic  nature 
in  no  wise  hindered  him  from  pene- 
trating to  the  hearts  of  the  people.  As 
advocate  he  stood  in  their  midst,  he 
spoke  their  language,  and  labored 
-among  them  ;  as  a  poet  he  knew  how  to 
value  the  naive  and  humorous  charac- 
ters of  the  Palatinate  and  with  the 
genius  of  the  true  artist  catch  them 
up,  transfigure  them  and  set  them 
forth  again  in  plastic  form.  Nadler's 
slender  little  volume  "Frohlich  Palz, 
Gott  erhalts"  is  the  poet's  only  claim 
to  immortality.  Among  its  contents 
are  many  poems  which  can  no  longer 
appeal  to  the  general  reader  who  is 
not  minutely  acquainted  with  the  polit- 
ical history  of  the  Palatinate.  We 
have  said  Nadler  was  aristocratic 
which  in  those  days  meant  ihat  he 
was  conservative  in  his  political  views. 
When  the  burger  uprisings  which  fin- 
ally resulted  in  the  Revolution  of 
1848  began  in  r)aden,  the  radical  party 
had  a  very  dangerous  opponent  in  the 
poet  Nadler  who  had  ceased  to  sing 
the  gentle  Folksong  and  now  em- 
ployed a  sharp  and  lashing  pen.  In  a 
short  time  Nadler  had  written  a  num- 
ber of  poems  in  the  Palatinate  dialect 
which  pictured  very  graphically  the 
follies  of  the  new  endeavors  tor  lib- 
erty. How  efifectively  he  ridiculed 
the  uprisings  and  its  heroes  in  illus- 
trated  in   the   poems    under    the    title 

"  Ilerr    Christoph    Hackstrumpf 

Eine  ])olitische  Idylle  in  dreizehn 
Bildern."  That  his  contemporaries 
of  the  opposing  party  recogni-:ed  his 
dangerous  power  of  ridicule  is  shown 
in  the  attempt  made  upon  the  poet's 
life  by  two  soldiers,  who  had  been 
prompted  to,  it  appears,  only  a  short 
time  before  the  poet's  natural  death 
in  1849. 

To  consider  these  political  poems 
and  the  poet's  own  attitude  toward 
the  political  uprisings  in  the  Duchy  of 
Piaden  Avould  take  us  beyond  the  scope 
of  this  paper.  We  have  to  do  with 
Nadler  here  only  as  the    poet    of    the 


people.  The  times  have  '.-langed 
since  1848.  The  vehement  speeches 
of  the  agitators  Hecker  and  Struve 
have  long  been  silenced  and  those  who 
had  been  incited  to  rise  in  ■^ebellion 
now  rest  in  quiet  among  the  vine-hills 
of  the  Rhenish  Palatinate.  The 
"Pfalzer"  of  today  has  long  forgiven 
Nadler  these  satirical  poems  which 
ridiculed  a  movement  that  was  once 
vital  to  his  fathers  and  sees  in  him 
only  the  gentle  poet  of  the  "Frohliches 
Palz." 

Nadler  is  perhaps  seen  at  his'  best 
in  those  short  poems  in  which  he  has 
so  well  expressed  the  gentleness, 
mirth,  and  trueheartedness  of  rhe  gen- 
uine "Pfalzer,"  his  life,  manner,  and 
legends.  We  need  only  to  lurn  to 
"Einladung"  the  first  of  the  poems 
collected  under  the  title  of  "Pfalzer 
Bauern"  to  be  impressed  not  only  by 
the  charm  of  the  poet  himself,  but 
with  the  naive  material  which  the 
poet  knows  so  well  to  employ : — 

Kummt,  ich  fiihr  iich  runner  in  mein  Keller, 
Dhut  die  Ehr  mer  an,  versucht  mein  Wein! 
Kiischtert  noch  der  Raih  aus  alle  Fasser, 
Aaner  werd  geringer,  aaner  besser, 
Ungsund   awver,   denk    i,     soil     iioh    kaaner 
seyn. 

's  sin  halt  Landwein,  wie  se  bei  uns  wachse, 
Aaner    leicht,    der    anner    rasch    un   derb; 
Konnt  'r  singe  druf  un  frohlich  lache, 
Dhut  'r  mer  kaan  saure  Gsichder  mache, 
Waasz  i  aa,  sie  sin  nit  all  ganz  schlecht  un 
herb. 

's  musz  was  Bsunners  in  de  Rewe  laihe, 
Dasz  mar  vun  dem  Bau  nit  losse  kann. 
War  mein  Keller  leer,  un  i  ging  hinner, 
War    mers     glaaw    i,     als     had     ich    kann 

Kinner, 
I    dhat     maane,     i    war     gar    kaan    rechter 

Mann. 

Hot  mar  'n  Wingart,  dhut  mar  Rewe  baue. 
Isch  der  Wein  im  Keller  aam  sein  Kind; 
Dorum   probt  jetzt  ihr   emol   mein   Fasser, 
Fremme  Aaage  sphe  alsfort  besser, 
Dann  die  Vadderlieb,  sell  waasz  raar,  Isch 
oft  blind! 

The  dialect  will  present  few  difficul- 
ties to  one  who  is  acquainted  with  his 
own  Pennsylvania-German  dialect  be- 
yond the  orthography  which   is  based 


LITERARY    DEPARTMENT 


631 


consistently  on  the  German  sound 
system.  It  is  to  be  lamented  that 
those  few  who  have  written  in  our 
own  dialect  have'usually  allowed  their 
orthography  to  be  affected  by  the 
English  sound  system  and  hence  no 
cmkI  of  inconsistencies  arc  at  hand. 

Whenever  the  subject  of  a  Pennsyl- 
vania-German literature  is  mooted, 
the  conclusion  is  reached  that  the 
peo])le  and  their  lives  offer  no  literary 
material  and  that  their  language  itself 
is  ill  adapted.  Should  we  not  rather 
ascribe  the  lack  of  literature  to  the  lack 
of  men  who  have  possessed  the  artis- 
tic sense  and  poetic  ability  to  depict 
the  ]^ennsylvania-German?  Our  dia- 
lect is  erroneously  thought  to  be  fitted 
only  for  the  depiction  of  humorous 
incidents.  To  what  advantage  dialect 
may  be  used  in  the  expression  of 
pathetic  lyric  thought  may  be  seen  in 
such  poems  as  Nadler's  "E  Wittfra" 
and  "Leb  wohl,    mein    Haamethland." 

\\'<'  cpiote  the   latter : 

Noch    blinne    Rewe    drowwe    aus'm    Wingart 
Nemm    ich   mer   mit    for    iiwwers   Meer, 
Un's   Vadders   Flint,   uu   uuser   aldi   Biwel; 
Sunscht    hewwi    jo    aa     gar      nix     vunnem 
mehr! 

Die  Name   sehtehne   drin   vun   uns   Kinner, 

Un  Johr  uu  Dag  wie  alt  mer  sin, 

Und    do   sein    Leiblied     vun    de     "gfangne 

Reider," — 
Un  aa  der  Modd'r  ihr  Dodesdag  isch  drin. 

Schier  maan   i  jetzt,  mar  hatt  nix  mehr  zu 

klage, 
Un   alles    isch   mer   wie   e   Traam; 
O!    wann  i  drin  bin,  noch  so  weid  im  Land 

drin, 
Sin  meiu   Gedanke   widder  all   darhaam! 

I  maan.  i  miiszt  die    Haameth    frisch    drin 

baue. 
En  schtarke  Bau,  un  schon  un  neu, 
Wo  alles  recht  dran  war,  un  nix  zu  flicke. 
For  alii  Ewigkeit  e  schtolz  Gebau! 

Ach,   'slsch  e  Traam!    doch  mag  mar  geern 

so   traame, 
Do  isch  die  Welt  aam  niemols  leer. 
Frischzu     darbei     die     Hand     gerhiirt,     nig 

gschlofe! 
Des    Wort   soil     unser    Basz    seyn    iiwwers 

Meer, 


Wann       Schtorm     wind     do     die     d  u  u  k  e  1 

Nacht  dorch  sause, 
Un  Wolke  fliege  in  der  Hoh, 
Do   denkt  an   uns,  wie  mir  die  Nacht  dorch 

I'ahre 
Weit  draus  uf  dere  diefe  dunkle  See. 

Un   seid'r   winterowends   do   beisamme, 
So  denkt  an  uns,  im  Land  so  weit, 
Wie  mir  aa  driiwwe  an  iicli  ewig  denke 
In  Gliick  un  Not,  in  Fraad  un  Traurigkeit. 

En    frische     Trunk     gebbt     noch     her     zum 

Abschied, — 
Ihr  Briiderl      All  ihr  P>eundl      Eur  'Hand! 
Lebt    wohl, — un    Gott    im    Himmel    soil  iich 

bschiitze! 
Leb  wohl   uf  ewig,  du,  niein  Vaddcland! 

More  characteristk\  perhaps,  are 
the  wine-songs,  full  of  y^enuine 
"I'falzer"  atmosphere  and  the  poet's 
own  dialect  humor.  \\'e  quote  the  lit- 
tle poem  which  has  for  its  theme  the 
celebrated  Heidellierg  wine — E  Kind- 
liches  Gebet : — 

Warum    is    's    Heidelberger    Fasz 
Dann    wol    so    lodderleer? 
"Ei   weil    der  Wein  getrunke   is, — 
Wo  kam  des  annerscht  her?" 

Ja,  awwer  warum  hot  mar  dann 

De    Wein    getrunke    all? 

Weil'  er  de   Herren   gut  hot  gschmeckt, 

"Deswege  war   's  der  Fall." 

Warum   hot   er   de   Herren   dann 
So   blunders   fein    gemundt? 
Ei,  weil  er  siisz  un  feurig  war; 
"So  will   marn  uf  die   Schtund." 

Ei,  wer  hot   dann   die   Siiszigkeit 
Un   's   Feuer  neingebrocht? 
"Der  liewe  Herrgott  hodden   halt 
Mit  Sunnehitz  gekocht." 

So   bischt  du,   liewer   Herrgott,   schuld, 
Dasz   's  grosze  Fasz   is   leer; 
Drum    mach    den   Schade    widder    gut, — 
Scliaff   's   vol!    uns   widder   her! 

Un  waun  's  villeicht  de  Wein  nit  halt 
Un   rinnt  un   is  verlecht. 
So  gewwen   uns  in  Flasche  her;  — 
Doch   wie   Du    's  machscht,  is   's  recht! 

The  above  few  poems  give  the 
reader  only  a  very  cursory  acquaint- 
ance with  the  poet.  Many  of  Nadler's 
verses  treat  phases  of  life  that  no 
longer  prevail  among  the  Palatinates 
who  have    lived    in    Pennsylvania    for 


632 


THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


more  than  a  century  and  a  hall,  yet 
those  of  their  c)ffs[)ring-  who  ead  the 
poet   carefully   must   still   feel   akin. 

Nadler  is  a  dialect  poet.  He  chose 
to  sing  only  of  the  Palatinate  people 
whom  he  knew  and  loved  so  well.  He 
chose  further  to  sing  of  them  through 
the  medium  of  the  speech  they  knew 
best — the  "Pfalzer"  dialect.  Divest 
his  poetry  of  this  quaint  dialoct  and 
you  rob  it  at  once  of  both  girb  and 
soul.  The  Low  Germans  have  had 
their  Fritz  Renter,  the  peasants  of  the 
Black  Forest-  their  Johann  Peter 
Hebel,  and  the  people  of  the  Palati- 
nate their  own  Karl  Gottfried  Nadler. 
The  dialect  poet  needs  no  justification. 
He  can  by  the  nature  of  his  medium  of 
expression,  appeal  only  to  a  circum- 
scribed number  of  people.  FPs  name 
will  never  be  inscribed  on  the  w^alls  of 
the  great  Walhalla.  All  of  us,  how- 
ever, who  have  wandered  through  the 
beautiful  valleys  of  the  Tyrol,  who 
have  lived  among  the  peasants  of  the 
Schwarzwald,    or    traversed    the    low 


stretches  of  the  Lunel)urger  lleide, 
must  certainly  ha\e  felt  the  ])oetry  of 
these  districts  and  that  of  their 
peoples,  and  longed  that  it  might  be 
preserved  for  us  in  undying  form. 
Herein  lies  the  mission  of  the  dialect 
poet :  to  paint  us  those  small  genre- 
pictures  which  are  found  along  the 
ways  untrodden  by  the  high  and 
mighty  in  art  who  lived  alone  on  the 
mountain  summit. 

Nadler  has  preserved  to  us  the  simple 
poetry  of  the  mountains  of  the  i  laardt, 
the  vines  on  its  slopes  purpling  in 
the  summer  sun,  and  the  towns 
spreading  over  the  fertile  plain  of  the 
Rhine.  In  this  poet  the  "Pfalzer 
Dauer"  lives  again  long  after  his  in- 
teresting and  varied  life  shall  have 
been  SAvept  away  by  the  encroaching 
sameness  of  our  ordinary  modern  life. 
For  all  this  we  thank  our  Poet  of  the 
Palatinate  and  in  his  own  words  ex- 
claim : — "Hoch  frohlich  Palz  un  palzer 
Spdoch,  un  palzer  Lewe  —  Gott  er- 
halt's!" 

— Preston   Albert  P.arba. 


REVIEWS  AND  NOTES 


HISTORICAL     (liERMAA      GRAMMAR  — IN 

the  Students'  Series  of  Historical  and 
Comparative  Grammars;  Edited  by  Jo- 
seph Wright.  Volume  I  Phonology,  Word- 
Formation,  and  Accidence.  By  Joseph 
Wright,  Ph.D.,  D.C.L.,  LL.D.,  Litt.D. 
Fellow  of  the  British  Academy,  and  Pro- 
fessor of  Comparative  Philology  in  the 
University  of  Oxford.  Cloth,  314  pp. 
Henry  Frowde,  Oxford  University  Press. 
London,  New  York  and  Toronto. 

This  is  Volume  I  in  the  series;  Volume  II 
which  is  being  written  by  Dr.  Fiedler  will 
deal   with  Historical   German   Syntax. 

Language,  like  many  other  things,  is 
being  studied  more  and  more  from  the 
scientific  view-point.  There  has  been  a 
steady  increase  in  the  number  of  people  who 
devote  themselves  to  a  scientific  study  of 
the  Language.  It  is  the  outcome  of  that 
desire  that  would  find  a  law  or  reason  for 
everything. 

Hitherto  this  scientific  study  of  Language 
has  been  hampered  by  the  lack  of  suitable 
text-books,  or  hand-books,  in  English.  The 
most  scholarly  and  most  scientific  treatises 
on   Language  have    before    this    been    pub- 


lished in  German.  The  book  in  hand  is  one 
of  the  first  as  well  as  one  of  the  best 
written  in  English;  it  ought  to  do  much  to 
facilitate  the  study  of  Language. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  say  that  anything 
that  comes  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Wright  is 
scholarly.  This  book  is  written  for  the  aver 
age  student;  it  is  not  to  be  taken  as  an  ex- 
haustive treatise  in  any  sense.  It  contains 
a  list  of  valuable  books  on  the  writing  of 
Grammar. 


THE  SELF-RECONSTRUCTION  OF  MART- 
LAND— 1864-1867.  Johns  Hopkins  Studies 
in  Historical  and  Political  Science.  Series 
Nos.  1  and  2.  By  William  Starr  Myers, 
Ph.D.,  Preceptor  in  History,  Princeton 
University.  Paper;  131  pp.  The  Johns 
Hopkins  Press,  Baltimore.     1909. 

Inasmuch  as  the  War  of  the  Rebellion 
was  waged  mainly  on  Southern  soil,  the 
North  felt  very  little  of  the  ravages  of  war. 
Industries  of  all  kinds  were  not  crippled  in 
the  North  as  they  were  in  the  South.  Con- 
sequently the  term  "Reconstruction"  has 
never  meant  to  the  North  what  it  hai  meant, 


REVIEWS   AND    NOTES 


633 


€ind  still  means,  to  the  South. 

Although  it  is  well  nigh  three  hundred 
years  since  the  Thirty  Years'  Wfu-  broke 
out  in  Germany,  the  country  has  not  yet  re- 
covered from  its  effects.  This  country  won 
the  admiration  of  the  world  for  the  rapidity 
with  which  it  recovered  from  the  effects  of 
the  great  struggle  of  four  years.  This 
showed  the  real  strength  and  solidarity  of 
our  country.  And  yet  in  spite  of  all  this  the 
South  is  still   "reconstructing". 

Though  Maryland  was  not  one  of  the  se- 
ceded states,  it  was  nevertheless  the  scene 
of  the  first  bloodshed  in  the  War.  Its  in- 
habitants were  e(iually  divided  as  sympa- 
thizers of  the  North  and  of  the  South.  After 
the  war  came  the  period  of  "reconstruc- 
tion" a  period  of  rebuilding  the  South,  both 
politically  and  industrially.  One  of  the  first 
states  to  take  up  the  work  was  Maryland. 
One  may  well  speak  of  the  "self-reconstruc- 
tion" of  Maryland.  The  State  took  its  own 
destiny  in  its  hands,  and  without  the  aid  of 
interference  of  Congress  built  up  its  status. 

The  book  in  question  was  a  dissertation 
submitted  by  the  writer  to  the  Faculty  of 
Johns  Hopkins  University  for  the  degree  of 
Ph.D.  It  is  written  mainly  from  docu- 
ment? ry  and  from  "unwritten"  history.  It 
covers  an  important  and  hitherto  unre- 
corded phase  of  the  history  of  Maryland. 
The  future  historian  of  the  state  cannot  ig- 
nore this  treatise. 


ROMANTIC  GER3IAJfY— By  Robert  Haven 
Schauffler,  author  of  "Where  Speech 
Ends".  Cloth;  royal  8vo.  400  pp.  Gilt 
top,  and  rough  edges.  Sixty-four  page 
illustrations  by  famous  German  artists. 
Price  $3.50  net.  Postage  19c.  The  Cen- 
tury Company,  New  York,  1909. 

Here  is  something  new,  original,  and  rare, 
and  as  delightful  as  it  is  rare.  It  is  a 
book  not  written  from  other  books,  but  from 
personal  observation  and  feeling.  The  writer 
has  said  many  nice  things,  but  the  a  ptest  re- 
mark that  he  made  is  found  in  the  first  few 
words  of  the  preface.  "In  the  surfeit  of 
books  on  Germany  one  subject  has  been 
strangely  neglected,  and  that  is — the  land 
itself." 
Nothing  of  the  kind  has  been  written  since 
the  appearance  of  Bayard  Taylor'.s  "Views 
Afoot"  in  1846.  The  author  has  written 
with  the  critical  eye  of  a  poet,  of  a  musician, 
and  even  of  an  artist.  There  is  a  richness 
of  style  and  a  poetic  vocabulary  that  are 
not  found  everywhere.  Listen  to  this  from 
"Berlin,  the  City  of  Hohenzollerns"'  "When 
I  stood  on  the  Cornelius  Bridge,  watching 
in  the  unrippled  surface  the  inverted 
pyramids  of  rosy  and  pale-blue  sky  framed 
by  the  dusky  softness  of  the  leaves,  I  praised 
God  for  letting  His  great  out-of-doo'-s  loveli- 


ness into  the  heart  of  that  self-contained, 
repellent  city."  In  addition  to  being  the 
story  of  the  principal  city  of  Germany,  it 
also  gives  a  happy  acquaintance  with  the 
smaller,  more  alluring  towns. 

The  book  is  superbly  illustrated  by  sixty- 
four  full  page  illustrations  by  famous  ar- 
tists: Hans  Herrmann,  Alfred  Scherres, 
Karl  O'Lynch  Von  Town,  Gertrude  Wurmb, 
Charles  Vetter,  and  Otto  F.  Probst. 

The  outside  appearance  is  in  perfect 
keeping  with  the  inside.  It  has  an  artistic 
cover  design  and  is  stamped  in  gold.  It  is 
a  fine  specimen  of  book-work  and  reflects 
great  credit  upon  the  publishing  firm  for 
producing  one  of  the  most  charming  and  ar- 
tistic books  of  years.  The  book  should  ap- 
peal to  every  German-Amercian,  in  fact,  to 
every  lover  of  the  picturesque. 

WHE>     SARAH     SAVED     THE     DAT— By 

Elsie  Singmaster.  Cloth;  135-  pp.,  illus 
trated.  Price  $1.  Houghton  Mifflin  Com- 
pany, Boston,  1909. 

The  story  in  this  book  appeared  first  as 
a  serial  stoiy  in  "Youth's  Companion"  un- 
der the  title  "When  William  Came  Home". 
This  is  Miss  Singmaster's  first  appearance 
in  book  form.  She  has  written  a  number 
of  stories  for  high  class  magazines.  It  is 
also  the  first  time  that  the  Pennsylvania- 
German  people  have  been  presented  in  a 
decent  way  and  in  a  manner  that  does  them 
justice.  The  writer  has  the  aptness  of 
playing  upon  their  foibles  without  giving 
offense.  She  idealizes  them  without  depart- 
ing from  the  actual  facts.  Hitherto  some 
writers  have  claimed  that  these  people  are 
too  sordid  to  be  idealized.  We  hope  that 
this  little  story  will  disprove  this  assertion. 

It  is  the  story  of  a  young  Pennsylvania- 
German  orphan  girl  who  makes  a  desperate 
effort  to  save  the  old  homestead  from  a 
covetous  uncle.  She  has  the  care  of  her 
younger  brothers  and  sisters  while  her 
grown-up  brother  is  in  far-off  Alaska.  The 
l)roblems  and  difficulties  of  life  assail  her 
quite  early.  If  any  jiarticular  criticisms 
were  to  be  made  against  the  story,  it  might 
be  said  that  the  girl  is  much  too  y;)ung  for 
undertaking  the  task  she  does.  We  believe 
that  if  the  girl's  age  were  eighteen  instead 
of  fifteen,  the  story  would  be  more  effective. 
It  would  make  the  reality  so  much  the 
stronger;  as  it  is,  it  almost  borders  on  the 
absurd  to  see  a  child  undertaking  such 
work. 

For  some  reason  or  other  nearly  every- 
one that  writes  anything  of  a  story  about 
the  Pennsylvania-German  people  is  apt  to 
bring  in  a  school  teacher:  but  the  strange 
thing  about  it  is,  that  this  teacher  is  nearly 
always  an  outsider  as  though  Pennsylvania- 
German   school   teachers   were  a  nonentity; 


634 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


and  yet  many  of  the  country's  most  noted 
teachers  and  educators  have  been  Pennsyl- 
vania-Germans. 

The  book  is  written  in  Miss  Singmaster's 
characteristic  and  unassuming  style.  It  is 
simple  in  all  respects,  without  complicated 
plot  or  complicated  characters.  It  is  light 
reading. 


This  is  primarily  a  book  for  girls.  It  de- 
picts, as  few  stories  have  done  a  devotion 
and  grit  that  is  characteristically  Pennsyl- 
vania-German. It  is  hoped  that  it  will  be 
widely  read  by  all  young  people  i^nd  that 
it  will  inspire  them  to  nobler  ideas,  ac- 
tions and  ideals  in  this  somewhat  frivolous 
and  indifferent  generation  of  young  people. 


Three  Hundred  Years  Ago 

This  year  of  important  centenaries  is  also 
the  beginning  of  a  series  of  tercentenaries 
of  most  unusual   interest. 

In  the  year  1609  culminated  that  move- 
ment of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  which  took 
them  to  Holland,  and  later  brought  them  to 
America.  Gov.  William  Bradford  has  told 
the  story: 

"By  a  joynte  consente  they  resolved  to 
goe  into  ye  Low-Countries,  wher  they 
heard  was  freedome  of  Religion  for  all 
men.... and  lived  at  Amsterdam." 

These  words,  cast  in  bronze,  have  been 
erected  this  summer  in  the  English  Re- 
formed church  in  Amsterdam,  where  many 
of  the  exiles  worshipped.  The  tablet  is 
the  gift  of  people  in  Chicago,  who  match  in 
this  manner  a  similar  gift  on  the  part  of 
the  people  of  Boston  to  the  city  of  Leyden. 
Thousands  of  Americans  will  read  these 
tablets,  which  will  have  their  abiding  in- 
fluence as  tokens  of  international  good- 
will. Each  of  the  tablets  bears  at  the  top 
the  words,  "One  in  Christ  " 

From  now  until  1920,  every  year  will 
bring  to  the  attention  of  the  public  the  his- 
tory of  those  brave  men  and  women  and 
their  deeds.  There  will  be  frequent  occa- 
sion for  the  rereading  of  Bradford's  quaint 
and  valuable  narrative,  and  of  reminding 
ourselves  of  the  contribution  made  to 
American  history,  and  the  history  of  the 
world,  by  the  men  and  women  who  left 
their  homes  in  England  for  a  sojourn  in 
Holland,  and  who,  after  twelve  years  in 
that  country,  left  Holland  for  America.  A 
paragraph  from  Bradfod's  story  with  its 
antique  spelling,  will  remind  us  of  the  hap- 
penings of  the  year  1608-9: 

"Being  thus  constrained  to  leave  their 
native   soyle  and   countrie,    their    lands    & 


livings,  and  all  their  friends  &  familiar  ac- 
((uaintance,  it  was  much  and  thoueht  mar- 
vellous by  many.  But  to  goe  into  a  coun- 
trie they  knew  not  (but  by  hearsay)  wher 
they  must  learne  a  new  language,  and  get 
their  livings  they  knew  not  how,  it  being 
a  deare  place,  &  subjecte  to  ye  miseries  of 
warr,  it  was  thought  by  many  an  adven- 
ture almost  despefate,  a  case  intolerable,  & 
a  miserie  worse  than  death.  Espetially 
seeing  they  were  not  acquainted  with  trads 
nor  traffique  (by  which  ye  countrie  doth 
subsiste)  but  had  only  been  used  to  a 
plaine  countrie  life,  &  ye  innocente  trade 
of  husbandry.  But  these  things  did  not 
dismay  them  (though  they  did  sometimes 
trouble  them)  for  their  desires  were  sett 
on  ye  ways  of  God,  &  to  injoye  his  ordi- 
nances; but  they  rested  on  his  provi- 
dence,  &  knew  whom  they  had  beleeved." 

Later  he  records  that  "They  heard  a 
strange  &  uncouth  language,  and  beheld  ye 
differente  maners  &  customs  of  ye  people, 
all  so  farre  differing  from  yt  of  their  plaine 
countrie  villages  (wherein  they  wt-re  bred 
&  and  had  so  longe-lived),  as  it  seemed 
they  were  come  into  a  new  world." 

It  was  well  for  the  world  they  were  not 
permanently  content  to  live  in  Holland. 
Their  fear  lest  their  children  forget  their 
mother  tongue,  and  also  their  distinctive 
habits  of  life  and  worship,  drove  them  over- 
seas to  America.  But  while  we  are  pre- 
paring to  commemorate  with  expositions 
and  celebrations  in  church  and  state  their 
arrival  in  America  in  1620,  we  may  well  be 
glad  that  the  world  has  not  forgotten  the 
tercentenary  of  their  arrival  on  the  hos- 
pitable shores  of  Holland,  where  "was 
freedom  of  religion  for  all  men." 

— The   Youth's   Companion. 


635 


EDITORIAL  DEPARTMENT 


The  Pennsylvania-German 

An  illustrated  monthly  magazine  devoted  to 
the  Biography,  History,  Genealogy,  Folklore, 
Literature  and  General  Interests  of  German 
and  Swiss  settlers  in  Pennsylvania  and  other 
States  and  of  their  descendants. 

Editorial  Staff 
H.  W.  Kriebel,  Editor,  Lititz,  Pa. 
Prof.  E.  S.  Gerhard,  Editor  of  "Reviews 
and  Notes,"  Trenton,  N.  J. 

Publishers 
THE  EXPRESS  PRINTING  CO. 
H.  R.  GiBBEL,  President ;  E.  E.  Habeck- 
ER.  Vice  President ;  J.  H.  ZooK,  Secretary  ; 
Dr.  J.  L.  Hertz,  Treasurer. 


Address  all  communications.    The  Pennsyl- 
vania-German, Lititz,  Pa. 

Price,   $1.50  a  year,  in  advance;  15  cents 
per  single  copy. 

Additional    particulars    are    found    on 
page  2  of  the  cover. 


ADVERTISING  RATES 

One  Page,  one  year $50  00 

Half  Page,  one  year 27  50 

Quarter  Page,  one  year 14  00 

Eighth  Page,  one  year 7  50 

One  Inch,  one  year 4  00 

One  Inch,  one  month 40 

Reading  notices,  1  cent  a  word,  each  issue. 

Address,  THE  EXPRESS  PRINTING  CO.,  LITITZ.  PA 


With  this  issue  the  tenth  volume  of 
THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 
is  brought  to  a  close. 

The  past  year  has  had  for  us  its 
lights  and  shadows,  its  hopes  and 
fears,  ias  pleasures  and  disappoint- 
ments. The  home  of  the  editor,  the 
place  of  ])ublication  have  been  trans- 
ferred to  historic  Lititz  where  the  print 
ing-  was  done  by  a  firm  that  had  not 
done  it  before.  This  involvea  many 
changes  and  details  that  must  be 
passed  by.  \\  e  have  during  the  year 
fallen  short  of  our  aims  in  the  getting 
out  of  the  magazine;  we  believe  that 
our  subscribers  will  at  least  give  us 
credit  for  trying  faithfully  and  honest- 
ly to  serve  them  as  we  best  knew  how 
under   existing   limiting   conditions. 

Death  has  taken  from  our  ranks  a 
number  of  warm  friends  of  our  work 
whose  departure  we  mourn,  whose 
I)laces  can  not  be  filled.  Peace  to  their 
ashes. 

The  year  has  brought  also  many 
warm  expressions  of  friendliness  and 
cheer  to  our  sanctum.  We  wish  in 
this  public  manner  to  thank  all  who 
have  in  the  past  year  served. with  us 
in  the  upbuilding  of  the  magazine  and 
these  have  been  many.  Without  their 
cooperation     the     magazine    could    of 


course  not  have  been  carried  forward. 
With  them  a  successful  year  has  been 
ours. 

We  can  not  in  this  connection  for- 
bear referring  to  the  first  issue  of  the 
magazine  in  January  1900  by  the 
founder  Rev.  Dr.  P.  C.  Croll.  He  in- 
troduced the  magazine  as  a  "new-born 
babe"  of  which  he  said  : 

"It  feels  that  it  has  a  distinct  life 
of  its  own  to  live.  It  therefore  comes 
to  join  the  large  journalistic  family 
labeled  with  a  special  tag.  It  wears 
this  upon  its  very  face  (cover)  and, 
does  not  feel  like  dying  before  its  re- 
cognized mission  has  been  well  set 
forth.  It  has  a  story  to  tell  that  has 
never  yet  been  fully  or  correctly  told. 
It  has  a  treasure  to  unearth  that  has 
been  hidden  even  to  many  of  its  own 
heirs.  It  has  a  mine  of  poetic  gems 
to  explore  that  must  not  be  allowed  to 

lie  in  oblivion  with  the  passing  of  the 
dialect  in  which  they  are  couched.  It 
has  a  wealth  of  biography  to  write, 
which  must  place  comparatively  un- 
known names  today  into  the  galaxy  of 
the  great  and  renowned.  It  has  broken 
bits  of  anecdote  and  sentiment  and  re- 
miniscence to  gather,  as  beads  upon  a 
string,  which  the  proud  descendants 
of  a  plain   but    sturdy  race  may  wear 


636 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


as  a  golden  necklace  in  the  presence 
of  the  lords  and  princes  of  other  race- 
classes  ;  its  very  name  must  declare  its 
mission,  to  which  it  professes  to  hold 
itself  loyal." 

The  founder  here  set  a  high  ideal 
for  the  magazine.  While  in  some  par- 
ticulars we  have  branched  out  we  feel 
that  we  have  not  yet  reached  the  aim 
set ;  its  mi.ssion  has  not  been  fulfilled ; 
it  does  not  feel  like  dying. 

It  may  he  in  place  also  to  note  that 
the  year  has  opened  quite  a  line  of 
new  and  in  part  unworked  sources  of 
material,  fields  which  we  should  like 
to  enter  and  reap  for  our  readers.  This 
makes  us  take  a  look  ahead.  A\  e 
should  like  to  announce  our  program 
for  i(;io  but  are  afraid  to  do  so.  We 
have  learned  that  some  material  must 
be  made  use  of  that  comes  unsolicited 
and  unexpected.  We  are  always  glad 
for  such  articles.  Some  topics  must 
l)e  taken  u])  ou  account  of  conditions 
relating  in  them,  that  can  not  be  fore- 
seen a  year  ahead.  Some  of  the  'uaterial 
is  of  a  transient  nature  and  must  be 
taken  uj)  at  once.  It  is  also  easier  at 
times  to  get  the  ])romise  of  articles 
tha  nthe  manuscripts  thereof  Some 
of  our  conril)Utors  have  found  it  \  ery 
difficult  to  gather  satisfactory  data  on 
topics;  a  few  have  even  dropped  the 
])re])aratiou  of  |)romised  articles  be- 
cause of  the  dearth  of  material  For 
these  and  other  reasons  we  deem  it 
inadvisable  to  make  any  definite  an- 
nouncement respecting  the  program 
we    have    majjpcd    out    for    ovirselves. 


\\'^e  may  say  however  that  we  are  in 
better  position  than  ever  before  to  give 
our  readers  more  interesting,  more 
valuable,  more  varied  magazine  in 
1910  than  in  any  previous  year. 

While  we  are  writing  these  lines 
letters  are  being  received  in  "eply  to 
the  circular  letter  sent  out  a  few  days 
ago.  The  suggestions  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  magaizne,  thus  far  but 
very  few,  we  shall  take  into  considera- 
tion and  adopt  wherever  practicable. 
Our  readers  will  of  course  bear  ii\ 
mind  that  we  are  limited  in  resources 
and  kept  from  deling  certain  things 
thereby. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  here  to  refer 
to  a  letter  just  received  reporting  that 
a  young  man  walked  twelve  miles  on 
a  Saturday  trying  to  get  subscribers 
for  The  Pennsylvania-German  and 
could  do  nothing.  The  people  told 
him  the  magazine  was  too  high  priced, 
that  they  could  get  journals  for  1-5  the 
I)rice — a  "40  to  60  page  journal 
monthly'"  l)eing  in  the  market  for  50 
cents  for  5  years.  We  rejoice  at  the 
success  of  such  publications  but  un- 
fortunately (or  fortunately?)  are  not 
in  their  class.  \\'e  are  giving  as  mtich 
reading  matter  in  our  line  as  other 
historical  magazines  in  their  line  at  a 
less  cost.  We  can  not — do  not  pre- 
tend to — compete  with  the  affluent 
dailys,  weeklys,  and  monthlies,  nor 
are  we  selling  paper.  Rut  in  our 
s)ecial  field  we  aim  to  furnish  the  best, 
the  cheapest,  the  largest  periodical  at 
tlie  ])rice  asked  for. 


The  Forum 


>IEAMNG    OF   IV AMES 


By  Leonhard  Felix  Fold,  M.A^  LL.M. 

[EDITORIAL  NOTE.]  Mr.  Fiild  has 
kindly  consented  to  give  a  brief  account  of 
the  history  and  meaning  of  the  surname  of 
any  subscriber  sending  twenty-five  cents 
to  the  editor  for  that  purpose. 


24.  BECHTEL 
The  surname  is  derived  from  the  Gothic 
BAIRTHS,  Old  High  German  PERAHT, 
BERAHT  and  Middle  High  German 
PERHT,  BERHT.  It  corresponds  to  the 
Modern  German  GLAENZEND  and  refers 
to  a  bright,  able,  brave  man.  It  was  cor- 
rupted into  BECHT  and  consequently 
changed  by  the  addition  of  the  suffix  of  en- 
dearment into  BECHTLEIN  and  BECHTEL 
"a  dear,  little,  brave  man." 


THE   FORUM 


637 


25.     SAND. 

The  surname  is  the  High  German  form 
of  the  Old  Saxon  SODH  and  the  Danish 
SAND,  meaning  true.  The  meaning  of  the 
name  is  "a  true,  honest  man." 


in  Bedford  county,  at  Hanover  Farm. 
Where  is  the  farm  located,  and  who  were 
his    i)arents? 

A.    Y.   C. 

•I*        V        v 


*    +    * 

INFORM  A  TIO>    WANTED 


Imlioft'  Faniilf 

Mr.  Edwin  S.  Arnold,  24  2nd  St.,  N.  E., 
Washington,  D.  C,  is  a  descendant  of  Carl 
Imhoff,  b.  June  17,  1770  who  migrated  from 
Lancaster  count.v,  Pa.  to  Perry  county.  Pa. 
soon  after  his  marriage.  Having  made  a 
study  of  the  descendants  of  this  family  he 
would  be  grateful  for  information  bearing 
on  the  family  and  will  in  return  cheerfully 
observe   the    ethics   of   reciprocity. 

*      *      ♦ 


King  and   Wright  Faniil/es 

Philip  and  Mary  (Wright)  King  migrated 
with  their  children  from  Lancaster  county. 
Pa.  to  Fairfield  county,  Ohio,  between  1810 
and  1815  probably.  The  undersigned  de- 
sires to  trace  the  connection  between  the 
descendants  of  this  family  and  persons  of 
the  same  name  and  ancestry  in  Lancaster 
county.  Pa.  All  information  received  will 
be  greatly  appreciated. 

(Mrs.)    FLORIDE   KISTLER   SPRAGUE, 
Chauncey,  Ohio. 

<•      4"      ^ 


Kramer  Family 

Parentage  desired  of  Hester  Kramer,  b. 
Sept.  2,  1776.  m.  Henry  Kistler,  of  Kutz- 
town,  and  Reading,  Pa.  She  had  a  sister, 
Susan  Kramer  who  m.  Daniel  Matts.  They 
all  came  to  Fairfield  county,  Ohio  about 
1812. 

FLORIDE    KISTLER    SPRAGUE, 

*      4-      4» 

The   GIbboney   Family 

Chauncey,  Ohio. 

1.  .John  Gibboney,  married  to  Elizabeth 
Ferree,  lived  in  Lampeter  township,  in  1790. 
Where  is  he  buried,  and  what  are  the 
names  of  his   children? 

2.  Jacob  Hoop,  of  Chester  county,  mar- 
ried Sarah  Ann  Gibboney,  (born  in  Lancas- 
ter   county,    November    6,    1790,)    and    lived 


The   Youth's   Companiou 

If  you  are  not  a  subscriber  to  the  Youth's 
Companion  you  ought  to  be.  The  sub- 
scriber hit  the  nail  on  the  head  who  said, 
"I  renew  my  subscription  to  "The  Com- 
panion" because  of  my  love  for  it  as  a 
youth,  my  appreciation  for  it  as  a  man  and 
my  need  of  it  as  a  father."  It  is  clean, 
wholesome,  elevating  and  cheap — one  of  the 
best  weeklies  at  the  price  charged  for  it, 
$1.75  a  year. 

<•     4*      4" 

Change  of  Names 

The  Rev.  George  U.  Wanner  of  New  York 
City,  President  of  the  Synod  preached  a 
sermon  on  "The  Return  from  Captivity," 
October  12th,  1909,  before  the  Synod  of  New 
York  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  church, 
in  recognition  of  the  two  hundredth  anni- 
versary of  the  Palatinate  immigration  from 
the  reprint  of  which  we  quote  the  follow- 
ing: 

"Even  the  names  of  the  old  families  were 
so  changed  that  if  our  ancestors  were  to 
come  back  to  us,  it  would  be  a  wise  father 
that  would  recognize  children  in  the 
amended  spelling  of  their  surnames.  Land- 
mann  become  Countryman,  Lauer  became 
Lawyer,  Guellich  became  Gillis,  Weider- 
wachs  became  Weatherwax.  Staring  be- 
came Starin.  Governor  Bouck's  ancestors 
were  the  Bauchs,  and  the  Rightmeyers  and 
the  Cryslaers  used  to  be  known  as  Richt- 
meyers  and  Kreislers. 

"The  same  thing  happened  to  the  names 
of  places,  Weisersdorf,  named  after  Con- 
rad Weiser,  of  Schoharie,  one  of  the  great 
men  of  our  history,  the  father-in-law  of 
Melchior  Muehlenberg,  the  grandfather  of 
two  men  whose  statues  the  respective 
states  of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  have 
placed  in  the  hall  of  fame  in  the  National 
Capitol,  Weiserdorf  was  changed  to  Mid- 
dleburg.  Lunenberg  into  Athens,  Beverwyck 
into  Albany,  Brunnerdorf  into  Schoharie, 
New  Durlach  into  Sharon  and  Seward, 
Heinzville  into  Hyndsville,  New  Rhinebeck 
into  Carlisle  and  Lower  Oppenheim  into  St. 
Johnsville. 

"It  may  be  said,  "What's  in  a  name?" 
That  is  but  a  superficial  matter.  Names 
are  things.  Nomen,  omen.  .And  another 
Latin  proverb  says  "Nomen  a  potiori  fit." 
(The   name    is    imposed    by    the    stronger 


638 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


man.)  These  outward  signs  are  indications 
of  an  internal  condition,  of  a  surrendered 
individuality,  of  a  subordinate  personality. 
They  were  the  labels  upon  which  v/ere  ad- 
vertised our  social  subjugation.  It  was  the 
period   of  our    Babylonian    captivity." 

+      *      "i* 

Oorniun  Lojaltj    to  the  Colonial  Cause 

In  the  same  connection  the  learned 
preacher  said,  speaking  of  the  Germans  in 
New    York   during   the    Revolutionary   War: 

"Almost  to  a  man  they  proclaimed  their 
loyalty  to  the  colonial  cause.  This  they 
did,  although  they  knew  that  by  doing  so 
they  would  provoke  the  horrors  of  Indian 
massacre,  a  taste  of  which  they  had  already 
had  in  the  French  and  Indian  wars.  Al- 
though they  could  not  write  histoiy,  they 
helped  to  make  history,  and  to  lay  the 
foundations  of  the   American   Republic. 

"The  German  farmers  stood  as  a  strong 
wall  against  the  hostile  forces  that  were 
pressing  down  from  the  north.  A  deter- 
mined attempt  was  made  by  St.  Leger  with 
a  combined  force  of  whites  and  Indians  to 
break  down  this  opposition.  Under  the 
leadership  of  General  Nicholas  Herkheimer 
the  embattled  farmers  awaited  the  attack. 
In  the  bloody  battle  of  Oriskany  the  Ger- 
mans withstood  for  two  days  in  a  hand-to- 
hand  conflict  the  onslaught  of  the  enemy. 
The  British  and  the  Indians  were  finally  re- 
pulsed. 

"In  itself  considered  it  was  one  of  the 
small  battles  of  the  wa,r.  But  its  conse- 
quences were  far-reaching.  It  broke  the 
power  of  the  Indians,  made  it  impossible 
for  the  English  to  secure  such  an  impor- 
_  tant  thoroughfare  as  the  Mohawk  Valley, 
and  prepared  the  way  for  the  capture  of 
Burgoyne  and  the  final  victory  of  the 
American  cause.  Washington  declared: 
"It  was  the  hero  of  the  Mohawk  Valley 
who  brought  about  the  first  fortunate 
change  in  the  hitherto  miserable  conduct 
of  the  northern  campaign.'  And  I  would 
fain  believe  that  it  was  a  proof  that  the 
Germans  were  beginning  to  find  themselves, 
and  a  harbinger  of  the  time  when  they 
would  win  still  greater  victories  in  the 
realm   of  thought   and  of  religion." 

4i      •{•      •{• 

Judge   Grosscup    on    the   "Dialect" 

In  a  speech  delivered  at  Bowers,  Pa., 
Nov.    7   of   this   year   Judge    Grosscup    said: 

"My  mother  lived  across  the  river  from 
Harrisburg.  My  father  came  from  Franklin 
Co.  They  talked  your  language  by  the  fire- 
side and  I  learned  to  love  it  with  my  child- 


ish heart.  It  has  conveyed  many  a  message 
of  love  out  in  Ohio,  where  we  heard  it 
spoken  among  the  neighbors,  for  Pennsyl- 
vania stretched  across  Ohio  into  Indiana 
and  into  Illinois,  carrying  the  vocabulary 
and  speech  of  her  people  I  believe  that  in- 
stead of  perishing,  as  English  takes  its 
place,  it  will  be  preserved  even  as  the 
Canadian  French.  I  love  the  Pennsylvania 
German  because  of  what  I  heard  in  my 
childhood  and  would  like  to  see  some  one 
give  it  in  story  for  there  is  sufficient  fibre 
in    it   to   vitalize    a   good   story." 

Who  is  getting  ready  to  write  the  im- 
mortal Pennsylvania-German  classic?  Do 
not  all  speak  at  once.  What  shall  be  the 
nature  of  the  story?  Judge  Grosscup  puts 
to  shame  some  of  us  living  in  the  very 
heart  of  Pennsyl-Germany.  Let  us  not  dis- 
own our   fathers   and  mothers. 

4*      4*      4" 

Pennsylvan/a  Germans 

Mr.  Thomas  C.  Zimmerman,  of  Reading, 
who  is  the  president  of  the  Pennsylvania 
German  Society,  yesterday  delivered  before 
the  Society  at  its  meeting  at  Bethlehem  one 
of  his  most  eloquent  addresses  on  the 
Pennslvania  Germans.  There  is  no  man  in 
Pennsylvania  better  fitted  to  speak  on  that 
subject;  for  Mr.  Zimmerman  is  of  German 
descent,  a  ripe  scholar,  an  eloquent 
speaker,  a  close  student  of  history  and  es- 
pecially of  the  history  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Gfermans,  and  everything  he  says  in  his  mas- 
terly addresses  is  the  last  word  on  that 
subject: 

It  is  supererogatory  here  to  make  any 
extended  reference  to  the  German  history, 
life  and  influence  in  Pennsylvania,  for  Mr. 
Zimmerman  leaves  nothing  to  be  said  on 
the  subject,  and  his  address  in  full  will  be 
found  elsewhere  in  this  issue  of  the  Star- 
Independent.  It  may  be  permissible,  how- 
ever, in  this  brief  reference  to  the  address, 
to  point  out  that  German  immigrants  are 
welcomed  wherever  they  appear  on  the 
face  of  the  globe,  because  they  are  hard 
workers,  home  builders  and  home  makers 
and  home  stayers,  and  they  add  greatly  to 
the  material  prosperity  of  any  country  in 
which   they   settle. 

They  developed  Eastern  Pennsylvania, 
and  made  it  blossom  as  the  rose;  they 
made  Lancaster  the  richest  agricultural 
county  in  the  world,  and  maintained  its 
supremacy  two  hundred  years;  they  have 
been  foremost  in  learning  and  literature 
and  they  owned  and  operated  the  first 
printing  presses.  Thev  were  among  the 
foremost  defenders  of  the  country,  when 
the  colonists  were  loynl  subjects  of  Eng- 
land  and   when   the   colonies   were   fighting 


THE  FORUM 


639 


for  independence.  And  what  the  Germans 
have  done  for  Pennsylvania  they  are  doing 
for  Argentina  especially,  and  for  one  or 
iwo  of  the  other  South  American  States. 
Their  industry  and  thrift  and  enterprise 
and  intelligence  and  their  race-old  custom 
of  taking  root  in  the  soil  make  them  inval- 


uable  to    any    country    in    which    they    elect 
lo   settle. 

Mr.  Zimmerman  does  full  justice  to  a 
subject  w^hich  we  have  but  feebly  touched. 
He  is  a  worthy  tribute  to  a  great  people  by 
one   of   its   worthiest   representatives. 

(Star   Independent,  Harrisburg,  Oct.  30.) 


Historical  Societies 


Dauphin    County    Historical    Society 

The  Historical  Society  of  Dauphin  county 
having  obtained  possession  of  the  Kelker 
Mansion  by  a  decree  of  the  Supreme  Court 
in  accordance  with  the  will  of  William  An- 
thony Kelker,  will  soon  occupy  it,  for  the 
meetings  and  muserm  of  the  organization 
— steam  heat  has  been  introduced  and 
other  conveniences,  costing  one  thousand 
dollars,  will  be  improvements  to  the  man- 
sion, before  it  will  be  i)ermanently  occu- 
pied. Friends  and  visitors  to  the  Capitol 
City  will  find  an  interesting  place  to  visit 
at  No.  9  South  Front  street,  after  the  mid- 
dle of  December. 

*      4*     * 

Lehi^li   County   Histor/cal   Society 

The  leading  features  on  the  program  of 
the  quarterly  meeting  of  the  Lehigh  County 
Historical  Society,  held  in  Trout  Hall,  Al- 
lentow^n,  on  Saturday,  Nov.  6th,  were  two 
interesting  ijapers,  one  by  Ralph  Metzgar, 
on  "The  Beginning  of  the  Lehigh  Canal," 
and  the  other  by  Rev.  C.  .J.  Cooper,  on  the 
"History  of  Jerusalem  Church  in  Eastern 
Salisbury."  Eight  new  member.^  were 
elected.  Receii)t  was  acknowledged  of  a 
numbers  of  books  and   papers. 

The  executive  committee  of  the  society 
met  at  the  jileasant  home  of  the  efficient 
Secretary,  Chas.  R.  Roberts,  on  North  Sixth 
street,  Friday  evening,  and  started  ar- 
rangements for  the  publication  of  a  history 
of  the  county  which  is  to  be  finished  by  the 
time  of  the  centennial  of  the  organizing  of 
the  county,  in  1912,  which  is  to  be  an  im- 
portant event.  Previous  to  the  business 
conference,  the  members  were  very  hand- 
somely entertained  to  a  luncheon  by  Mr. 
Roberts.  Wm.  M.  Gehman  and  O.  P. 
Knauss,  of  Macungie,  were  present. 

.Montgroniery    County   Historical    Society 

The  annual  fall  outing  of  the  Historical 
Society  of  Monta;imery  county  to  i)oints  of 
local,  state  and  national   interest   located  in 


our  county  have  always  been  among  the 
most  enjoyable  as  well  as  profitable  fea- 
tures of  the  society's  various  meetings 
during  the  year.  Under  the  ideal  condi- 
tions of  a  perfect  October  day  their  outing 
October  20  to  Valley  Forge  was  no  excep- 
tion and  all  who  had  the  pleasure  of  ac- 
companying them,  felt  amply  repaid  for 
the  time  thus  spent. 

The  members  and  friends  of  the  society 
from  Norristown  and  vicinity  filling  five 
coaches,  left  here  at  nine  o'clock  via  Jef- 
fersonville  and  Port  Kennedy,  viewing  en 
route  the  former  houses  of  Generr.ls  Han- 
cock and  Hartranft,  also  the  site  of  their 
last  resting  place,  Montgomery  cemetery. 
Arriving  at  the  Washington  Aiemorial 
Chapel.  President  .Joseph  Fornance  called 
the  societyto  order  and  the  Rev.  W.  Herbert 
Burk  w'elcomed  the  society  to  Valley  Forge 
and  the  Memorial  Chapel  in  an  eloquent 
address  full  of  valuable  information  of  the 
past  history  of  this  sacred  shrine  uf  human 
liberty  where  during  the  long  winter 
months  of  1777-'8  was  fought  by  American 
patriots  the  grim  foe  of  doubt,  despair, 
disease,  cold  and  hunger  winning  the  most 
important  victory  in  the  cause  of  human 
liberty.  Mr.  Wetherill,  chairman  of  the 
committee  on  a  memorial  bridge  across  the 
Schuylkill  river  at  the  site  of  the  Sullivan's 
bridge,  reported  progress.  .4  number  of 
new  members  were  elected  and  a  vote  of 
thanks  tendered  to  all  contributing  to  the 
enjoyment  of  the  outing.  At  12.30  adjourn- 
ment was  made  to  the  Parish  building 
where  the  Ladies'  Guild  and  members  of 
the  Audubon  Society  ser\'ed  an  excellent 
luncheon  that  was  i)rovided  by  a  life  mem- 
ber  Mr.    Wetherill,   of    Philadeli)hia. 

After  ihe  wants  of  the  inner  man  were 
amply  satisfied  all  i)resent  were  taken  on 
a  personally  conducted  tour  with  Rev.  Burk 
as  guide  in  charge,  first  visiting  the  mu- 
seum cf  American  history  adjoining  the 
chapel  building  where  many  interesting  rel- 
ics of  Washington  and  Valley  Forge  have 
been  collected,  classified  and  given  a  perma- 
nent home.  The  most  conspicious  relic  being 
the  personal  tent  used  by  Washington  at 
Vallev  Forge  which  was  recently  i)urchased 


640 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 


for  $5,000.  Coaches  were  then  taken  and 
a  complete  tour  of  the  grounds  made,  fre- 
quent stops  with  interesting  discriptions 
by  Mr.  Burk  of  all  historic  points  visited 
being  a  particularly  pleasant  feature.  The 
return  trip  was  made  by  way  of  King  of 
Prussia  and  Bridgeport  reaching  Norris- 
town    at   5    ]).    m.  — Register. 

*    *     ♦ 

Tlie   Peiinsjivania-Gennan    Society 

The  nineteenth  annual  meeting  of  the 
Pennsylvania-German  Society  was  held 
Friday,  October  29,  1909,  at  Bethlehem,  Pa. 
with  headquarters  at  the  historic  Sun   Inn. 

The  business  session,  attended  by  up- 
wards of  125  members,  was  held  in  the 
forenoon  in  the  Moravian  Sunday  School 
building.  The  meeting,  called  to  order  by 
Col.  T.  C.  Zimmerman,  President  of  the  so- 
ciety, was  opened  by  prayer  by  Rev.  Paul 
de  Schweinitz.  The  word  of  welcome  was 
spoken  by  Councilman  Harry  J.  Meyers 
and  responded  to  by  the  president,  who 
then  delivered  the  annual  address.  The 
secretary's  report  showed  the  society  pros- 
pering and  enlarging  in  its  scope  with  a 
present  membership  of  463.  The  treasurer's 
report  showed  total  receipts  for  the  year 
amounted  to  $1594.93  with  a  total  balance 
of   $3567    in   the   treasury. 

The  following  officers  were  elected  for 
the  ensuing  year:  President,  Gen.  .John  E. 
Roller,  Harrisonburg.  Va. ;  Vice  President, 
H.  M.  M.  Richards,  of  Lebanon  and  Dr. 
John  F.  Mentzer,  of  Ephi-ata;  Secretary, 
Prof.  George  T.  Ettinger,  of  Allentown; 
Treasurer,  Julius  F.  Sachse,  Litt.  D.,  of 
Philadelphia;  Executive  Committee,  Rev. 
Dr.  L.  Kryder  Evans,  Pottstown,  and  J.  E. 
Burnett,  Chestnut  Hill,  Pa. 

The  members  of  the  society  wsre  very 
delightfully  entertained  by  the  local  com- 
mittee in  the  afternoon.  The  entertainment 
included  a  trolley  trip,  a  gymnastiv;  exhibi- 
tion and  an  organ  recital. 

In  the  evening  the  members  and  guests 
gathei-ed  in  the  lobbies  and  parlors  of  the 
Sun  Inn  "in  a-  genuinely  Pennsylvania- 
German  fashion,  the  absence  of  formality 
making  the  assembly  most  democratic."  At 
the  banquet  which  followed  Dr.  Nathan  C. 
Schaeffer,  State  Superintendent  of  Public 
Instruction,  served  as  toastmaster.  Prof. 
John  L.  Stewart  of  Lehigh  University, 
spoke  on  "The  Pennsylvania  Germans  and 
the  Social  Development  of  Pennsylvania; 
the  Hon.  J.  Davis  Brodhead,  of  Easton, 
dwelt  humorously  on  "The  Pennsylvania- 
Germans  as  I  Have  Seen  and  Known  them" 
and  the  Hon.  Robert  E.  James  ,of  Easton, 
discussed  'T'he  Pennsylvania-Germans  and 
Education . " 


The  local  committee  of  the  society  was 
composed  of  the  following  members:  Abra- 
ham S.  Schropp,  chairman;  Franklin  H. 
Brunner,  Secretary;  Wm.  J  .Heller,  Treas- 
urer; Joseph  W.  Adams,  Albert  Brodhead, 
M.  A.  Borhek,  Edward  J.  Krause,  Albert 
G.  Ran.;  Prof.  W.  N.  Schwartze.  H.  S. 
Snyder,  Rev.  Dr.  J  H.  Clewell,  H.  A.  Dos- 
ter,  Dr.  H.  S.  Drinker,  H.  B.  Eggert,  Wm. 
J.  Heller,  L.  J.  Heller,  J.  S.  Krause,  H. 
A.    Krause,  W.   E.   Martin,  O.   F.   Reinhard, 

G.  William  Riegel,  Rev.  W.  D.  C.  Keller, 
Winfield  S.  Keck,  Rev.  Dr.  Paul  de  Sch- 
weinitz, A.  B.  Fichter,  C.  H.  Wenhold  and 
Jacob  H.  Brillhart. 

(Condensed   from   "The   Bethlehem   Times.") 

The  following  interesting  and  valuable 
data  were  given  on  the  programs  used  at 
the   meeting: 

"Bethlehem  was  founded  by  the  Mora- 
vians, the  oldest  of  existing  Protestant 
bodies,  in  1741  organization  of  the  local 
Moravian  congregation  being  completed 
June  25,  1742,  in  which  year  the  first  house 
of  worship,  now  the  oldest  structure  in  the 
town,    was   erected. 

"The  church-village  became  immediately 
the  center  of  aggressive  missionary,  edu- 
cational and  evangelistic  effort,  extending 
through  Pennsylvania  and  into  neighboring 
colonies  and  was  widely  known  as  the 
scene  of  busy  and  varied  industrial  activity. 

"Through  the  successful  experiment  of 
its  mechanics,  the  community  enjoys  the 
credit  of  constructing  the  first  water-works 
in  Pennsylvania,  1755.  It  imported  a  fire- 
engine,  built  in  London,  1698,  as  early  as 
1763. 

"During  the  War  of  Independence  the 
General  Hospital  of  the  Continental  Army 
was  located  here  from  1776  to  1778. 

"Its  spacious  and  beautiful  Central 
Moravian  Church  was  completed  in  1806. 

"It  is  the  home  of  the  following  well- 
known  educational  institutions:  The  Mora 
vian  Parochial  School,  1742;  the  Moravian 
Seminary  for  Young  Ladies,  founded  1749; 
the  Moravian  College  and  Theological 
Seminary,  founded,  1807,  and  permanently 
located  in  Bethlehem,  1858;  the  Prepara- 
tory School  for  Lehigh  University,  founded 
1878,  and  has  a  well  organized  Public  School 
System,  the  Bethlehem  School  District  hav- 
ing been  created  in  1836. 

"The  prosperity  and  fame  of  the  com- 
munity have  been  increased  through  the 
establishment,  in  South  Bethlehem,  of  the 
Bethlehem  Steel  Company,  which  dates  its 
beginning  from  1860,  when  ground  was 
broken  for  the  Bethlehem  Iron  Company, 
and  the  founding  in  the  same  place,  of  Le- 
high University,  by  Asa  Packer,  1865. 

"Organization  as  a  borough  was  secured 
in  1845." 


^rtt^al00tral  S^rcrbs 


OF 


PIONEER  PENNSYLVANIA  FAMILIES 

PAPER  1 

INTRODUCTION 


The  following  preliminary  state- 
ment respecting  Scope,  Reasons,  Lim- 
itations and  General  Regulations  of 
the  undertaking  seems  in  place  by 
way  of  introduction  to  the  publica- 
tion of  GENEALOGICAL  REC- 
ORDS. 

Aim  or  Scope 

The  object  in  undertaking  the  pub- 
lication of  GENEALOGICAL  REC- 
ORDS is  to  print  genealogical  data 
of  pioneer  German  families  in  Penn- 
sylvania and  other  states  and  their 
descendants,  attention  being  given  in 
the  beginning  mainly  to  death  rec- 
ords. Articles  under  the  following 
general  heads  will  be  published : 

I,  Lists  of  Burial  Grounds,  giving 
ownership,  history,  location,  size,  con- 
dition and  other  data.  It  is  desirable 
that  whenever  possi]>le  these  be  pre- 
])ared  by  townships. 

2,  Death  Records,  as  found  on  tomb- 
stones, in  church,  Family,  Pastors', 
Xewspa])er  Records,  supplemented  by 
brief  data  identifying  the  deceased 
with   ancestors  and   posterity. 

3,  F)ibliogra])hical  Notes,  giving  data 
respecting     sources       of     information. 


Church     Records    in    print,    or     tran- 
scribed,  etc. 

4,  Papers  of  a  General  Nature  bear- 
ing on  the  subject. 

Limitations 

Of  the  various  limitations  that  af- 
fect the  undertaking  and  that  ought 
not  to  be  overlooked  the  following 
may  be  noted. 

1.  It  is  obvious  that  a  few  indivi- 
duals can  not  do  the  work  hinted  at. 
Increased  labor,  attention  and  publica- 
tion expenses  must  be  taken  into  ac- 
count. Inscriptions  and  Death  Rec- 
ords must  be  searched  for  and  trans- 
cribed. In  view  of  these  and  like  lim- 
itations the  publisher  invites  and 
awaits  the  hearty  co-operation  of  the 
subscribers  of  the  magazine  both  by 
way  of  furnishing  material  and  secur- 
ing new  subscribers  to  the  magazine. 

The  magazine  having  no  Society, 
Association.  Famil3^  Corporation,  or 
])oimdless  wealth  to  fall  back  on  must 
depend  on  its  friends  for  life  and 
strength.  It  is  limited  by  the  supp<^rt 
given  by  the  subscribers. 

2,  As  a  general  rule  the  death  rec- 
ords   of   persons    born     prior     t(T     1800 


GENEALOGICAL   RECORDS 


and  at  least  i^,  years  of  age  at  death 
will  be  printed,  ■  Peparture  from  this 
rule  may  be  allowed  for  special  rea- 
sons to  be  determined  by  contributor 
and  editor  and  will  be  indicated  at  the 
beginning  of  the  article. 

.  3,  GENEALOqiC^L  '  RECORDS 
will  be  treated  as  a  separate  depart- 
ment of  the  magazine  with  is  own 
]:)aging  and  headli|ies,  etc.  By  this 
arrangement  the  general  make  up  of 
the  rnagazine  proper  will  not  be  inter- 
fered with,  the  minimum  number  of 
pages  of  reading  matter  will  not  be 
curtailed,  the  material  will  be  in  con- 
\enient  form  for  spearate  binding,  the 
way  is  opened  for  issuing  GENEA- 
LOGICAL RECORDS  as  a  separate 
publication  should  such  a  step  com- 
mend itself  feasible  hereafter.  Our 
present  plan  is  to  treat  the  magazine 
and  this  new  department  as  comple- 
mentary to  each  other.  The  latter 
will  therefore  not  be  offered  for  sale 
separately.  Reprints  of  articles  may 
be  ordered  and  arranged  for  during 
the  month  of  publication,  the  terms  of 
which  will  be  supplied  on  application. 

4.  It  does  not  seem  feasible  or  ad- 
x'isable  at  present  to  attempt  more 
than  is  indicated  under  Aim  and 
Scope,  Marriage,  Birth  and  Bap- 
tismal Records  furnish  valuable  gen- 
ealogical data  and  may  be  taken  into 
consideration  later.  Action  looking 
toward  the  publication  of  these  will 
in  great  measure  depend  on  the  re- 
ception accorded  the  present  effort. 

5,  One  of  the  practical  difficulties 
in  the  publication  of  these  records  is 
the  determination  of  what  are  import- 
ant, what,  unimportant  data.  A  libra- 
rian in  answer  to  a  question  expres- 
sed himself  as  follows  on  this  point : 
"The  printing  of  tombstone  inscrip- 
tions is  certainly  feasible,  its  desira- 
bility would  dejjend  on  how  far  you 
would  be  able  to  print  ones  of  histori- 
cal value  rather  than  ones  to  piece  to- 
gether genealogical  records  of  unim- 
])ortant  families." 

In  this  as  in  all  other  respects  it 
Avill  be  our  (ibjccl  to  ser\'e  our  readers. 


Suggestions  will  be  welcomed  and 
^luly:  considered.  At  the  same  time 
generous  forbearance  is  sought  if  we 
ei;r  in  judgment.  With  .  the  different 
tastes,  church  affiliations,  family  •con- 
nections.local  interests  represented  by 
our  readers  it  will  be  utterly  impos- 
sible to  meet  the  wishes  of  all. 

Reasons  V 

Among  the  reasons  for  undertaking 
the  publication  of  GENEALOGICAL 
RECORDS  may  be  mentioned  the  fol- 
lowing: .J 
I,  In  its  particular  field  THE  PENN- 
SYLVANIA-GERMAN aims,  at  ,whg,t 
the  National  German  American!  Al- 
liance has  indicated  in  its  platform  as 
one  of  its  objective  points: — "a  sys- 
tematic investigation  of  the  share  the 
Germans  have  had  in  the  develop- 
ment of  their  adopted  country  in  war 
and  in  peace  in  all  Kinds  of  German 
— American  activity  from  the  earliest 
days  as'  the  basis  for  the  foundation 
and  continuance  of  a  German  Amerr 
ican  His'tory. 

A  study  of  the  recQrds.of  the  death 
of  the  pioneers  Avith  correlated  data 
is  a  natural  and  necessary  part  of 
such  investigation  and  will  furnish 
valuable  information  for  the  historian 
and  genealogist. 

2,  Of  the  value  of  such  records 
many  students  of  genealogy  bear  test- 
imony, one  of  whom  we  quote  in  the 
following:  "Tombstone  inscriptions 
from  the  older  cemeteries  are  of  in- 
valuable use  to  genealogical  research 
and  any  person  who  places  such  data 
in  type  where  it  becomes  accessible  in 
the  larger  libraries  does  a  public  good 
and  assists  ]>osterity." 

3,  While  some  work  has  been  and  is 
being  done  in  this  field  by  individuals 
and  societies  it  is  highly  desirable 
that  there  should  be  concerted  effort 
among  the  workers.  The  necessity 
and  desirability  of  this  is  illustrated  by 
the  following  incident:  The  Secretary 
of  a  County  Historical  Society  in 
reply  to  a  letter  of  inquiry  sent  out  by 
the       Editor       concerning      published 


PAPER   I 


tombstone  inscriptions  said:  "I  can 
not  call  to  mind  any  church  in  this 
county  that  has  published  any,"  The 
I'ditor  at  the  same  time  had  in  his 
pt^ssession  the  printed  burial  record 
of  an  old  union  church  situated  with- 
in five  miles  of  the  county  seat  and 
containing  over  1300  records  of  bur- 
ials "that  have  stone  mark." 

If  correctly  informed  we  may  ven- 
ture to  say  that  no  united  effort  is 
being  made  anywhere  in  Pennsyb 
\  ania  by  any  society  or  church  to  do 
extended  systematic  work  in  this 
field.  If  we  have  been  misinformed 
we  hope  we  may  be  corrected.  We 
believe  that  with  due  support  the 
l)ublication  of  these  pages  will  arouse 
interest  in  the  subject  and  promote  a 
general  co-operation  of  those  interest- 
ed. 

4,  That  there  is  indifference  on  the 
subject  is  patent  to  all.  The  experi- 
ence of  the  Secretary  of  a  County  His- 
torical Society  will  ilustrate  this.  He 
says : 

"May  T  also  suggest  a  similar 
subject,  which  would  be  worth 
considering,  if  you  could  get  the 
County  Societies  to  co-operate.  It 
is  to  get  a  brief  history  of  the  in- 
scriptions of  the  many  private 
burial  places  in  eastern  Penns}^- 
vania.  Most  of  these  are  destin- 
ed to  be  destroyed.  I  have  done 
a  little  in  the  wa}^  at  least  of  lo- 
cating such  in  our  county,  but  so 
far  it  has  been  a  hard  matter  to 
get  any  one  else  to  carry  out  the 
work." 

The  publisher  hopes  that  the  work 
luTcwith  undertaken  may  induce 
L^)untv  Historical  Societies  to  take 
up  the  matter  in  fuller  detail  and  help 
to  preserve  from  obliteration  genealo- 
gical data  of  prime  importance  much 
of  which  has  already  been  lost. 

5.  Many  a  spot  is  rendered  sacred 
by  its  covering  the  dust  and  ashes  of 
the  forefathers  who  suffered  that  our 
country  might  become  and  be  what  it 
is.  Due  reverence  should  induce  pos- 
torit}'  to  hold  these  in  highest  esteem. 


Calling  attention  thereto  will  be  con- 
ducive to  such  end.  We  quote  from 
Dotterer's   Historical   Notes: 

"Along  the  northern  limits  of 
IVanklin  Square,  Philadelphia, 
rests  the  dust  of  thousands  of  the 
early  comers  from  the  continent 
of  Europe  to  Pennsylvania.  In 
the  year  1741  Thos.  Penn  direct- 
ed the  surveyor  general  to  survey 
to  the  congregation  of  the  Ger- 
man Reformed  Church  of  Phila- 
delphia a  piece  of  ground  306 
feet  in  length,  north  and  south, 
and  150  feet  east  and  west,  for 
use  as  a  burying  ground.  For 
nearly  one  hundred  years  the  Re- 
formed Church  people  who  came 
from  Germany,  Switzerland  and 
Holland, — the  palatines  and  Hug- 
uenots— at  the  end  of  their  life's 
work  were  laid  to  rest  in  this 
Gottes  Acker.  Some  sixty  years 
ago  the  Reformed  Congregation 
was  rudely  surprised  by  the  con- 
tention on  the  part  of  the  city 
that  the  burial  ground  must  be 
surrendered,  to  become  a  part  of 
the  public  square.  After  years  of 
litigation  the  city's  claim  was  es- 
tablished through  the  courts. 

Some  of  the  remains  of  the  dead 
were  removed ;  but  the  great  ma- 
jority of  the  graves  were  not  dis- 
turbed, except  that  the  head- 
stones were  turned  down  and  co\:- 
ered  with  a  layer  of  earth.  Now 
the  green  sod  covers  the  ancient 
cemetery,  broad  paths  have  been 
laid  through  it,  and  lofty  trees 
tower  above  it.  Hurrying  crowds 
daily  pass  over  it  unmindful  and 
uninformed  of  the  fact  that  they 
are  treading  upon  ground  which 
covers  the  fore  parents — if  not 
their  own — of  ma;iy  thousands  of 
the  dwellers  in  the  great  city." 

The  "God's  Acre"  described  in  the 
following  words  by  Daniel  IMiller,  of 
Reading,  in  his  paper  on  "Early  Mora- 
vian Settlements  in  Berks  County" 
finds  its  counterpart  in  many  other 
cemeteries: 


GENEALOGICAL   RECORDS 


"A   short  distance  north   of  the 
old    church    is    the    old    ^loravian 
God's   Acre.     The  plot  of  ground 
is  about  50  by  60  feet  in  size.   Un- 
til   recent    years    it    was    enclosed 
by  a  fence,  but  not  so  now.  Here 
lie  buried  the  remains  of  some  of 
the  earh'  settlers  and  adherents  of 
the   [Moravians.     There  are  a  few 
unhewn  stones  to     mark     graves, 
but  not   one  of  them   contains   an 
inscrr])tion    of    any     kind.        The 
])lace     is     often     overgrown  with 
weeds,  and  never  receives  any  at- 
tention  beyongl  that  bestowed  up- 
on  it  by  ^Ir.   Moyer.   the   present 
owner  of  the  place.     One  is  filled 
with    sadness    as    he    beholds    the 
place.     Alas,  these   pioneers   have 
been    forgotten   by    their    descen- 
dants." 
If    the    desecration   of  these   sacred 
spots   can   be   prevented,   the   memory 
of  the  dead,  the  knowledge  of  the  lo- 
cation of  the    resting    places    may    at 
least  in  some  cases  be  kept  alive  for  a 
time  by  our  making  note  of  such  data 
as   are   yet    procurable. 

General   Regulations 

1,  As  a  model  for  papers  on  Tomb- 
stone inscriptions.  Paper  III  follow- 
ing this  article  prepared  by  Prof.  P. 
J.  Bickel  and  Rev.  John  Baer  Stoudt 
deserves  particular  mention.  Those 
expecting  to  make  transcripts  will  do 
well  to  study  this  paper  and  coi^y  af- 
ter it  as  closely  as  possible. 

2,  Old  Newsj-japer  Files  supply  in- 
teresting data  in  this  line.  German- 
town,  Norristown.  Reading.  Lancas- 
ter. Easton,  Harrisburg.  York.  H'an- 
o\-er.  Allent(nvn.  Lebanon.  Bethlehem 
and  other  cities  ouglu  to  yield  ricli 
plunder  for  these  pages.  Who  will 
\-olunteer  to  explore  the  musty,  dust-v 
old  volumes  i)ublisbc(|  in  tliesc  places 
in  bygone  days? 


3,  Though  lack  of  space  prevents 
our  printing  all  the  inscriptions  in 
particular  burying  grounds,  it  does 
not  follow  that  they  should  not  be 
copied.  Copy  all  verbatim  in  the 
older  cemeteries,  gather  up  the  tradi- 
tions about  the  burying  grounds  and 
thus  preserve  them  and  give  a  certi- 
fied copy  to  your  County  Historical 
Society.  You  will  thus  render  val- 
uable services  to  the  present  age  and 
to  future  historians. 
4,  Correspondence  is  invited. 

a.  From  those  having  unpul^lished 
material  which  they  are  willing  to 
submit  for  publication. 

b.  From  those  willing  to  make 
transcripts  specifying  the  records  or 
sources  they  are  prepared  to  examine. 

c.  From  those  desiring  to  see  par- 
ticular records  in  print.  This  will  en- 
able us  to  ascertain  what  records  will 
be  most  apt  to  interest  subscribers. 

d.  From  those  able  to  supplement 
the  lists  that  may  ap])ear  from  time  to 
time. 

Abbreviations 

The  following  al:)l)re\iations  are 
recommended  : 

a.  age;  b.,  born;  bp.,  l)a')tized  ;  l)u.. 
l)uried ;  ch..  child  or  children;  chrc, 
church  record;  d.,  died;  da.,  days; 
dau.,  daughter  or  daughters ;  dauf., 
daughter  of;  E..  English;  G.,  Ger- 
man; hf.,  husband  of;  laj).  landed  at 
Philadelphia;  11.,  left  living;  md., 
married,  time  and  to  whom ;  mgr.. 
migration,  time  of  and  j^lace  from ; 
mo.,  month  or  months;  n..  (nee)  mai- 
den name  ;  s.  son  or  sons  ;  sf.,  son  of ; 
w.,   wife;   wf.     wife       of;   wo.     wido\\-. 

widow  of;  wk..  week;  &:.  and;  '" "" 

\-erbatim    transcripts;    ( tr).    notes 

made     by    transcriber ;( ed)     notes 

made  by  editor;  ?,  c|uestionable  state- 
ment; mlf..   married  life. 


PAPER      IV 


13 


.">7.  Scherer,  Johann  Gottlieb;  b.  Feb.  27. 
]77(5:   d.  Feb.  13.  1828. 

•">8.  Schemer,  Susanna:  w.  of  Johann:  nee 
Lipper;  b.  Mar.  7,  1781;  d.  Oct.  11, 
1840. 

.".9.  Ziegler,    Andreas;    b.    Nov.    30,   1744; 
d.    Feb.    25.    1800. 


(iO.  Ziegler,  Henriett  Sophia;  w.  of  And- 
reas, nee  Reidig;  b.  .July  25,  1749;  m. 
1749.   11  ch.;   d.  Aug.  5,  1829. 

in.  Ziegler.   Andreas;    b.   18,   1773; 
d.   May   10,   1849. 

()2.  Ziegler;  Magdalena,  Anna,  w.  of  And- 
reas;   b.  Nov.   9,  1775;    d.  April   6,  1845. 

fi3.  Ziegler,  Magdalena,  Anna,  w.  of  And- 
reas;   b.   Nov.    1775:    d.   Apr.   6.   1845. 


PAPER  V 

TOMBSTONE  INSCRIPTIONS  OF  LOWER  MILFORD  TOWNSHIP, 

LEHIGH  COUNTY,  PA. 

Transcribed  by  Charles  R.  Roberts,  Secretary  Lehigh  County  Historical  Society,  Allentown,  Pa 


The  biirA-inq-  places  of  Lower  Mil- 
ford  township  are  three  in  number, 
\iz:  The  Great  Swamp  Reformed 
Church.  near  Spinnerstown ;  the 
Chestnut  Plill  Church,  Reformed  and 
Lutheran,  near  Limeport,  and  the 
old  burying  ground  of  the  original 
Lutheran  congregation  of  LTpper  jNIil- 
tord  at  Dillingersville. 

GREAT  vSWAMP  REFORMED  Cin'RCH 

Burials  were  made  in  the  old  cemetery  at  this 
eliureh  probably  as  early  a.s  1736,  in  which 
year  the  church  records  were  begun.  In  this 
old  cemetery  the  writer  has  copied  the  follow- 
ing in.scriptions  (of  per.sons  born  prior  to  iSdO 
and  pa.st  16  years  of  age  at  death.  ) 

1.  Bahl,   Philip:    b.   Nov.   17.   1777: 
d.   Aug.   13.    1844. 

2.  Bleiler,    Anna    Maria;     (undecipherable). 

3.  Blyler,   Jchn   .1.;    b.   July   25,   1764; 
d.   July   26,   1846.     Aged   82   y.    Id. 

4.  Blyler,     Diana     Barbara;     w.     of     John 
Blyler.   n.    Berdo;    b.   Nov.    15,    1777: 

d.  Aug.  7.  1858.       Aged  80  y.  8  m.  23d. 

5.  Dietz,   Nicolaus;    b.   April    5,   1743; 
d.    Nov.   22.    1818. 

6.  Dietz,   Elizabeth:    wf.   of  Nicolaus   Dietz 
d.   July  28.   1S23..    Aged   70   y.   3m. 

i.Ditlovv,    Abraham;    b.    1731: 

d.    Sept.   25,   1808. 
S.  Dittlo,    Anna    Maria;     n.    Eberhard; 

b.    Dec.    29,    1766:    d.   Aug.    9.   1838; 

aged   71    y.   8   m.   20   d. 
9.  Dltlow.    Elizabeth;      dau.     Philip    Mnm- 

bauer;    b.    Jan.    15,    1783; 

d.    Dec.    15,    1811. 
l.>.  Dubs,   Daniel;    b.    Oct.    5,    1748: 

d.   Sei)t.   22,   1828. 

(Daniel    Dubs    was    the     great     grand- 
father of  Rev.  Prof.  Jos.  S    Dubs,  D.D., 

of    Lancaster.) 
11.     Dubs,  Elizabeth:    n.   Schwenk; 

b.  Oct.  15.  1753:   d.  Feb.  20.  1818. 


b    Feb.  26,  1768: 
Aged    75    y.    6    ni. 


12.  Dubs,   John   Jacob;    b.    June  21.    1779: 
d.   May   7,   1852. 

13.  Dubs,    John;    b.    Sept.    5.    1788; 
d.    Nov.    25,    1869. 

14.  Eberhard,  Adam;  b.  Feb.  27,  1782; 
md.  July  9,  1800;  d.  Sept.  16,  1858: 
Aged  76  y.  6  m.  16  d. 

15.  Eberhard,    Margaret:     wf.    Adam    Eber- 
hard;   n.    Mack;    b.    Aug    16,    1787; 

d.  Apr.  2,  1868.     Aged  80  y.  7  m.  27  d. 
Ki.  Eberhard,   Barbara:    b.    Sept.   2,    1766: 
d.    Sept.    24,    1827. 

17.  Eberhard,  Catharine;    b.    June   29,   1765: 

d.    March    31,    1847.        Aged    81    y.    9    m. 
2    d. 

18.  Eberhard,  Conrad: 

d.    Sept.    23,    1843. 
27    d. 

19.  Eberhard,     Maria;      wf.     Conrad     Ebei- 

hard;    n.    Reitnauer:    b.    Apr.    26,    1846.. 
Aged    80    years. 

20.  Eberhard,    Daniel;    b.    Jan.    17,    1778; 
md.    Maria   Erdmau;    d.    Dec.    9,   1857. 
Aged   79   y.   10  m.   23  d. 

21.  Eberhard,    Maria;    n.    Erdman;    b.    Mar. 

24,    1783;    d.    June    18,    1857.      Aged    74 
y.  2   m.  24  d. 

22.  Eberhard,  David;    b.   Feb.   15,    1778: 

d.  July  25,  1853.     Aged  75  y.  5  m.  16  d. 

23.  Eberhard,   Jacob;    b.   May   18,   1738: 

d.  Dec.  14,  1796.     Aged  58  y.  6  m.  27  d. 

24.  Eberhard,    Catharine;    wf.    Jacob    Eber- 

hard;  b.  Feb.  22,  1734;   d.  Feb.  2,  1812. 
Aged  77  y.  11  m.  8  d. 

25.  Eberhard,   John:    b.   Feb.   15.   1779; 

d.   March   8,   1849.       Aged   70  y.   23   d. 
20.  Eberhard,  Eva;    wf.    of  John  Eberhard: 
n.    Reitnauer;    b.   Nov.    9,   1772; 
d.  Nov.   19,  1854.     Aged  82  y.   10   d. 

27.  Eberhard,  John;   b.  May  21,  1787: 

d.  Aug.  1,  1851.       Aged  64  y.  2  m.  11  d. 

28.  Eberhard,  Joeph;  b.  July  21,  1735: 

d.  Oct.  13,  1808.  Aged  73  y.  2  m.  22  d. 

29.  Eberhard,    Catharine;    n.    Ligel : 

b.    Sept.   5,    1739;    d.    May   8,   1819. 
Aged  79  y.  8  m.  3  d.    fwf.   of  Joseiih). 


14 


GENEALOGICAL  RECORDS 


:;o. 
;;l 

.'.2. 
;13. 
■■'A. 


Eberhard,   Michael;    d.    1772. 
(From  other  sources  we  learn  that  he 
was    born     March     4,     1698,     and     died 
Nov.    3,    1772,    aged    74^^    years,    and    9 
weeks.) 

Eberhard.  Michael;  b.  March  31,  1732; 
d.  Apr.  15,  1783.  Aged  51  y.  2  weeks, 
b.  Feb.  22,  1757; 
Aged    44    y.    7    m. 


Margaret;       wf.      of 
b.    Feb.    26,    1768; 


38. 
:!9. 
40. 

n. 

12. 

13. 

-14. 

15. 

46. 
47. 
48. 
49. 

r.(». 

51. 

52. 


Eberhard,  Philip; 
d.  Sept.  25,  1801 
3    d. 

Eberhard,      Anna 
Philip    Eberhard; 
d.   .Jan.   24,   1824. 
Ehl,  Daniel;   b.  Sept.  30,  1790; 
d.    Feb.    12,    1831.      Aged   40   y.    4   m.    13 
d. 

Hillegas,    John;    b.    June    6,    1743; 
d.   March  4,   1803.     Aged   59  y.   8  m.   29 
d. 

Hillgas,    Anna    Maria;    b.    Oct.    25,1746; 
d.   March   28,    1795. 
Horlacher,    George;    b.    Oct.    6,    1738; 
d.    Nov.    22,    1813. 

Horlacher,  Eva;  n.  Hillegas;  b.  July 
16.  1745;  d.  Nov.  23,  1821.  Aged  76 
y.    4    m.    7    d. 

Huber,    Christian;    b.    Jan.    13,    1757; 
d.    Oct.    22,    1848.        Aged    91    y.    9    m. 
9   d. 

Huber,   Magdalena;    b.    Feb.    3,    1752; 
d.    Nov.    21,    1815.      Aged    63    y.     9    m. 
2  w.  4  d. 

Huber,  Maria;  n.  Engle;  b.  June  16. 
1757:     d.    June    16,    1843.      Aged    85    y. 

6  m. 

Huber,    Heinrich;    b.    May    31,    1786; 

d.   Oct.    18.   1853.     Aged   67  y.    4  m.    18 

d. 

Huber    Valentine:    b.    Dec.    18,    1761; 

d.    Nov.    2?,    1826.      Aged    65    v.     11    m. 

7  d. 

Huber,    Magdalena;      wf.     of     Valentine 
Huber:    n.    Schneider;    b.   May   2,    1783; 
d.  Feb.  28,  1848.     Aged  64  y.  9  m.  26  d. 
Jung,    Michael;    b.    Feb.     10,    1763;     md. 
Catharine  Erhart*     Had  7  s.  and  5  dau. 
d.  May  20.  1832.     Aged  69  y.  3  m.  9  d. 
Jung,  Catharine;   b.  March  29,  1765; 
d.    Feb.    10,    1827. 
Klein,    Georg;    b.    Feb.    3,    1719; 
d.   Oct.   23,    1803. 

Klein,    Maria    Catharine;     n.    Walhert; 
b.   Jan.   6,   1725;    d.   June   6,   1796. 
Kitweiler,    Rev.    John    Rudolph;    b.    Jan. 
2,   1717;    d.    Oct.    2,    1764.       Aged    47   y. 
9  m.      (This  is  the  odlest  stone   in   the 
cemetery.      Rev.    Kitweiler    was    called 
"The    Swiss    Minister.") 
Mumbauer,      Magdalena;      b.       Dec.       8, 
1724;    d.   April    9,   1807. 
Mumbauer.      John      Philip-     b.     July     6, 
1750;    d.    Dec.    22.    1834. 
Mumbauer.    Heinrich:    b.    Jan.    12,    1759; 
d.    Jan.    29,    1838. 


53.  Mumbauer,   George;    b.    Nov.    30,    1768; 

d.    Oct.    13,    1833. 

54.  Mumbauer,     Magdalena;      b.      Dec.     18. 

1763;    d.     July    31,    1855. 

55.  Rieser,  Ulrich:    b.  April   8.  1709; 
d.    Sept.    9,    1784. 

56.  Rieser,    Barbara;    b.    Apr.    1,    1714; 
d.    Apr.    7,    1782. 

57.  Rieser,    Andreas;    b.    Aug.    26,    1747; 

d.    Nov.    12,    1848. 

58.  Rieser,    Caspar;    b.    Sept.    30,    1749; 
d.  May  19,  1829. 

59.  Rieser,   Eva;     n.    Stahlnecker;     b.    Mar. 

8,    1752;    d.   Feb.   24,   1834. 

60.  Rieser,   Elizabeth;    b.   1735;    d.   Sept.   22. 

1815.      Aged    80    years. 

61.  Rieser,    John;    b.    July    13,    1737; 
d.    Jan.    13,    1824. 

62.  Rieser,    Catharine;    b.    Dec.    4,    1762; 
d.    July    5,    1817. 

63.  Rieser,   Sybilla:    b.  Nov.   5,  1758; 

d.    June   9,   1828. 

64.  Ruch,   John   George;    b.   Dec.   7,   1735; 

d.  Aug.  2,  1821.  Aged  85  y.  8  m.  22 
d. 

65.  Maria.Anna;  wf.  John  Georg  Ruch;  n. 
Rabenold;  b.  March  24,  1743;  d.  June 
13,  1823.     Aged  80  y.  2  m.  19  d. 

66.  Ruch,  Lorenz;   b.  June  2,  1764;   d.  Sept. 

1,   1849.     Aged   85   y.   2   m.   29   d. 

67.  Schell,   .Jacob:    b.   Aug.   26,    1756; 
d.   Aug.   26,   1833. 

68.  Catharine,    wf.    cf    Jacob    Schell; 

b.  July  31,  1776:  d.  Nov.  5,  1860.  Aged 
84  y.  3  m.  4  d. 

69.  Spinner,   David:    b.   May   16,   1758; 

d.   Nov.    16,    1811.     Aged   53  y.   6  m. 

70.  Spinner,  Catharine;    wf.  of  David  Spin- 

ner; n.  Horlacher;  b.  Aug.  24,  1766; 
d.  Mar.  11,  1821.  Aged  54  y.  6  m.  17 
d. 

71.  Spinner,  Ulrich:    b.    1717:    d.   1769. 

Aged    52   y.   3   m. 

(From  another  source  we  learn  he 
died  Sept.  6,  1769,  aged  52  y.  3  m.  and 
3  d.  This  is  the  second  oldest  stone 
in   the   cemetery.) 

72.  Schmidt,    Conrad;     b.    Aug.    7,    1764; 
d.    April    7,    1849. 

73.  Willauer.  Doctor  Christian;  b.  Mav 
27,    1760;    d.    March    20,    1817. 

Aged  56  y.  9  m.  23  d. 

74.  Wittmer.  Jacob;  b.  1726;  d.  Dec.  22. 

1793. 

CHESTNUT  HILL  CHURCH 

Burials  were  made  here  probably  as 
early  as  1757.  There  are  many  stones 
with    no   inscriptions. 

1.  Deisz.    Peter;    b.    March    14.    1753; 

d.   April   7.  1786.     Aged  33  y.  3  w.   3  d. 


PAPER     V 


ir. 


2.  Engleman,    Peter;    b.    June   7,    1754; 

d.  Jan.  1,  1812.  Aged  57  y.  6  m.  3  w. 
4  d. 

3.  Henricks.    Abraham;      b.     in     1773;      d. 

Feb.   12.   1818.     Aged  45  y. 

4.  Hendricks,  Scharlote;  wf.  of  Abraham 
Hendricks;  b.  Aug.  2,  1777;  d.  Jan.  27, 
1863.     Ag(d  85  y.  5  m.  25  d. 

5.  Hillegas,    Peter;    b.    Nov.    14,    1783; 

d.  July  19.  1859.     Aged  75  y.  8  m.  5  d. 

6.  Hillegas.  Elizabeth;  wf.  of  Peter  Hil- 
legas; b.  Feb.  9,  1785;  d.  Mar.  20, 
1860.     Aged  75  y   1  m.  11   d. 

7.  Rinker.    Samuel;    b.    Jan.    8,    1789; 

d.  Nov.  20,  1869.  Aged  80  y.  10  m. 
12    d. 

8.  Ruch,  John;  b.  Aug.  28.  1777;  d.  Nov. 
24,    1863.      Aged    86    y.    2    m.    26    d. 

9.  Ruch.    Elizabeth:    wf.    of   John    Ruch; 
b.    Jan.    29.    1778;    d.    Mar.    15,    1858. 
Aged  80  y.  1  m.   16  d. 

(Elizabeth,  wf.  cf  .John  Ruch  was  the 
wo.  of  John  Albright  and  the  grand- 
mother of  the  late  Judge  Edwin  Al- 
bright.) 

10.  Rothenberger,       Elizabeth;       b.       Stahl- 

mecker;  b.  Aug.  6,  1757;  d.  April  7, 
1835.     Aged  77  y.  8  m.  1  d. 

11.  Rothenberger.    John;    b.    Oct.    15,    1777; 
d.    July    1,    1843. 


12.  Stahlmecker.  Maria  Elizabeth;  b.  Dec. 
30  1726;  d.  March  30,  1890  Aged  73  y. 
3   m. 

13.  Stahlmecker,  Maria  Catharine;  b.  Julj 
23,  1760;    d.  Oct.  19,  1797. 

The  original  Lutheran  congregation  of 
Upper  Milford  township,  (the  upper  and 
lower  Milford  townships  in  Lehigh  county 
of  today  were  then  called  upper  Milford 
township  and  were  a  part  of  Bucks  county) 
has  a  record  beginning  in  1743.  Since 
1791  there  has  been  no  congregation  there, 
and  the  property  has  been  used  for  school 
purposes.  The  small  walled  graveyard 
contains  many  rude  stones  without  any  in- 
scriptions whatever.  There  are  but  thref 
stones  with  inscriptions,  which  are  given 
here. 

1.  Dillinger,   Jacob;    d.    Dec.   5,   1803. 
Aged    71    years. 

(John    Jacob    Dillinger   was   the    grand- 
father of  the    late    Judge    Jacob    Dillinger. 
of    Lehigh    County.) 

2.  Dillinger,  Anna  Maria;  second  wf.  of 
Jacob  Dillinger;  d.  May  27,  1815. 
Aged    61    y.    9   m. 

3.  Dillinger,  Catharine;    dau.   of  John   Dil- 

linger.     Departed    this    life    August    3, 
1808.     Aged   1   y.   5   m. 


PAPER  VI 

TOMBSTONE  INSCRIPTIONS  OF  PERSONS   BORN    PRIOR   TO   1800   AND 
PAST  16  YEARS  AT  DEATH  AT  ARENDTSVILLE. 
ADAMS  COUNTY,  PA. 

Transcribed  by  N.  A.  Gobrecht,  Altoona,  Pa. 


NOTE. — I  made  a  trip  specially  from 
Altoona  to  the  Arendtsville  Cemetery  to 
transcribe  several  hundred  inscriptions 
from  which  the  following  have  been  sel- 
ected. This  graveyard  was  started  by  the 
pioneer  settlers  in  the  year  1780.  There 
are  over  1200  graves,  over  which  there 
are  no  stones  or  markers,  many  of  these 
having  been  broken  off  or  pulled  out  by 
vandal  hands  to  be  piled  up,  with  few 
exceptions  in  the  corner  of  the  old  grave- 
yard. The  names  of  many  of  the  dead  are 
still  preserved  in  the  living  descendants. 
We  are  informed  that  no  parish  record 
antedating  1870  is  extant.  If  we  are  mis- 
informed we  hope  this  may  bring  it  to 
light.  It  is  highly  desirable  to  preserve 
for  posterity  the  names  of  the  dead  and  it 
is  hoped  my  effort  may  call  forth  addi- 
tional data  about  the  pioneers.  The  old 
log  church  at  Arendts  stood  till  1849  when 
the  brick  union  church  was  built  by  Lu- 
therans and  Reformed.  In  1875  the  Re- 
formed  bought  their   interest   of  the   Luth- 


erans in  the  old  church  and   remodelled   it. 
the   Lutherans   building   a   new    one. — tr.) 

PART  I 

IN    OLD    REFORMED   AND    LUTHER.^N 
GRAVEYARD 

1.  Beecher.    Elizabeth;    n.    Keplinger;    wf. 
John    Eeechea-;    d.    Aug.    14,    1845. 
Aged    90   y. 

2.  Beecher.   John;    d.   Nov.   14.   1838. 

Aged    90    y.    2    m.     "A   soldier  of   th.' 
Revolution." 

3.  Bluebaugh.  Benjamin;   d.   Aug.  24.  1844. 

Aged   70   y.   6   m. 

4.  Blumer,  Jchann  Adam;  b.  May  4,  1759; 
d.  Sept.  10.  1829.  Aged  69  y.  11  m. 
6  d. 

5.  Bluebaugh,    Eva;     d.    Aug.    27.    1849. 
Aged    85    y. 

6.  Crowl.    George:    d.    Mar.    28,    1810. 
Aged  50  y.  6  m.  7  d. 

7.  Claar,   David    T.;    d.   Aug.    10,    1830.       . 

Aged    65    y.  ' 


IfJ 


GENEALOGICAL   RECORDS 


9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
]-A. 
14. 
lo. 
16. 
17. 
18. 

II). 

20. 


23a 

24. 
25. 
2C. 
27. 
28. 
29. 

:\o. 

:!l. 
:;2. 
.13. 


36. 


Campbell,    Sarah:    d.    Mar.    3,    1856. 
Aged    74    y. 

Forster,    Frederick;    d.   Nov.    23,    1848. 
Aged   53  y.     JMurdered  in  his  house. 
Fox,  Christian;   d.  Feb.  17,  1795. 
Aged    81   y. 

Fox,   Magdalena;    d.    Dec.    9,    1802. 
Aged    76   y. 

Fox.    John    Jacob;    d.   Nov.    2,   1828. 
Aged   58   y.   4   m.    2    d. 
Gcod,   Charles;    d.   Aug.   16,   1823. 
Aged  76  y. 

Graullen,   Elizabeth;    d.   Mar.    2,    1816. 
Aged   53  y.   5   m.   13   d. 
Gilbert,    Jacob;    d.   Feb.   9,   1831. 
Aged  74  y.  7  m.  11  d. 
Hartman,  Jacob;    d.  Feb.  6,  1853. 
Aged   70   y.   10   m.   20   d. 
Hartman,     Catherine;      wf.      Jacob;      d. 
July  20,   1849.     Aged   61   y.   8  m.   11    d. 
Hapke,       Frederick       Christopher;        b. 
Sept.   26,   1747;    d.   Dec.    2.    1826. 
Aged  79  y.  3  m.   6  d. 
Hinsch,    Maria      Magdalena;     wf.     Rev. 
Lebrecht  L.:    b.   July   14,  1771;    d.  Eas- 
ter  Day,   1833.     Aged   61  y.   7  m.   22   d. 
Hapke,    Catherina    Dorothea    Olegartha ; 
b.   June  21,  1744;    d.  Nov.  25,   1819. 
Aged  75  y.  5  m.  5  d. 
Knouse,   Elizabeth;    d.    Aug.    5,   1850. 
Aged  73  y.  3  m.  7  d. 
Knouse  Margaret;    d.   Mar.   1,   1854. 
Aged   69   y.    11    m. 
Knouse,    Daniel;    d.    Feb.    29,    1839. 
Aged   73  y. 
.  Kraft,    Andreus;    d.    Aug.    10,    1789. 
Aged    64    y. 

Krund.  Nicholas  Henry;   d.  Oct.  7,  1816. 
Aged  82  y.   8  m.  4  d. 
Keim,    Sarah;    wf.    Peter;    d.    April    IS, 
1829.       Aged   29  y.   7  m.   21   d. 
Minter.     Annie     Catherine;     d.     Mav     9, 
1826.       Aged   85   y. 

Minter.   John   Martin;    d.   Aug.    23.   1810. 
Aged   80   y.    10   m. 

Minter,  .John  Baltzer;    d.   Aug.  23.   1858. 
Aged  85  y.  5  m.  28  d. 
Minter,  Catherine;    d.  July  8,  1S22. 
Aged   50  y.  7  m.   2   d. 
Oyler,    Valentine;    b.    Dec.    14,    1717; 
d.  April    10,   1790.     Aged  72  v.  3  m.   26 
d. 

Plummer,    Margaret    Korina;      b.     Jan. 
20,    1763.    d.    Oct.    3.    1820. 
Schneider.   Philip;    b.   June  3.   1773; 
d.    Mar.    6,    1847. 

Saltzgiver,   Elizal)eth;    d.   Sept.   18.   1827. 
Aged   35   y.   7   m.   1    d. 
Sfhlosser.    Philip;    b.   May   25,    1740: 
d.  Mar.  9,  1791.     Aged  50  y.  9  m.  14  d. 
Steinour,  Margaret,   d.   April    9.   1847. 
Aged    72   y.   5d. 

Walter,  Catherine;    wf.  Abram;    d.  Sept. 
11,   1847.     Aged   84  y.   8  m.   4   d. 
Wonder,    Barbara:    d.    July    IS.    1836. 
Aged   36   y.    5   m.    11    d. 


38.  Waller,    Sophia;    d.    Sept.    22,    1807. 

Aged   55  y.   3  m.   7   d. 

39.  Walter,    Henry;    d.    April    11,    1844. 

Aged   66  y.  1  m.  21  d. 

40.  Walter,    Mary;    wf.    Henry;    d.    May    20. 

1847.     Aged   70  y. 

41.  Walter,    Adam;    d.    June    20,    1830. 
Aged  78  y.  2  m.  18  d. 

42.  W^alters.   Frank;    d.   Sept.   9,  1813. 

Aged    20    y.    7    m.    3    d. 

PART  II 
Bodies  exhumed  from  the  Old  Graveyard 
and    reinterred    in    "  Greenmont    Cemetei-y" 
at  Arendtsville,   Adams  County   ,Pa 

1.  Arendt,     John.       Founder     of     Arendts- 
ville.     D.    Oct.   17,    1826.       Aged   58   y. 
2.  Arendt,    Catherine;    d.    Oct.    1,    1837. 
Aged   73   y.   8   m.   8   d. 

3.  Arendt.   Peter;    d.  Mar.   30,   1836. 

Aged   80  y. 

4.  Arendt,    Elizabeth;    d.    July    11,    1864. 
Aged  73  y.  7  m.  11  d. 

5.  Bluebaugh,    Jacob;    d.    Jan.    3.    1872. 

Aged  72   y.   11   m.  20  d. 

Bluebaugh,   Catherine;    d.    Jan.    1.    1890. 

Aged    89    y.    18    d. 

Bluebaugh,    Maria;    d.    Feb.    9,    1872. 

Aged   72   y.    11    m.    20   d. 
Beamer,   Michael;    d.   Jan.    6,   1835. 

Aged  76  y.  16  d. 

Beamer,    Anna    Barbara;     wf. 


G. 
7. 
8. 
9. 

10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 
16. 


Michael : 
4   m.    10 


d.   Mar.    20,   1821.     Aged    63   y 

d. 
Grammer,    Benjamin;    d.    Dec.    11,    1851. 

Aged  75  y.   5  m.   12   d. 

Grammer,     Margaret;      wf.      Benjamin; 

d.   Oct.   1,   1867.     Aged   81    y.   8  m.   5   d. 
Hartman,    John;    d.    June    22,    1817. 

Aged    38    y.    1    d. 
Oyler,   Jacob;    d.   July   26,   1807. 

Aged  51   y.   6  m. 

Oyler,  Anna  Barbara;    d.   Nov.   29,   1839. 

Aged    76    y. 
Saltzgiver,    George;    d.    July    2.    1841. 

Aged   72  y.   5  m.  27  d. 

Saltzgiver,    Anna    Catherine;      d.     .Tune 

23,  1852.     Aged  73  y.  1  m.  25  d. 

PART   III 


Bodies  exhumed  from  the  old  graveyard 
and  reinterred  in  "Fairview  Cemetery"  at 
Arendtsville,  Pa. 

1.  Arendt,   John;    d.   Oct.    17,   1874. 
Aged  89  y.  2  m.  22  d. 

2.  Arendt,    Elizabeth;    wf.    John;    d.    Aiiril 

30,   1853.     Aged   67  y.   3  m.   4   d. 

3.  Arendt,    Catherine;     2nd     wf.     John;     d. 

June  18,  1896.     Aged  80  y. 
1.  Beecher,    David;    d.    April    13,    1880. 

Aged   86   y.   7   m.   5   d. 
5.  Beecher,    Anna    Mary    Gilbert;     d.    July 

30,  1887.     Aged   90  y.   3  m.   4   d. 


PAPER      VI 


17 


6.  Bartley,   Henry;    d.   July  2,   1802.  18. 
Aged   49   y.   2   m.   2  d. 

7.  Bartley.    Christina;     wf.    Henry;      June       li). 

19.    1848.      Aged    90    y.    22  d. 

8.  Fisher.   Abraham;    d.    Oct.    22,    1885.  20. 
Aged  90  y.   11  m.   17  d. 

9.  Fisher,    Sarah;    wf.    Abraham;     d.     Jan.      21. 
1.    1878.      Aged    71    y. 

10.  Fehl,   Valentine;    d.    April    23,    1827.  22. 
Aged    69   y.    8   m. 

11.  Fehl.   Elizabeth;    d.   Sept.   14,   1831.  23. 
Aged  79  y.   10  m.   17  d. 

12.  Fehl,  Mary,  d.  Oct.   16.  1855.  24. 
Aged  65  y.  11  m.  22  d. 

13.  Fehl,    George;     "Gebohren    in    Deutsch-      2."). 
land";    d.    Nov.    6,    1848.     Aged   90   y. 

14.  FeM,    Sarah;    wf.    George;    d.    Nov.    25,       26. 

1825.     Aged  36  y.  3  m.    11   d. 

15.  Gobrecht,  William   D.;    d.  May   ri,   1859.       27. 

\ged  59  y.  5  m.  25  d. 

16.  llickenluher.  Andreas;    d.   Oct.   16,   1804.       28. 

Aeed    76   y. 

17.  Hickenluber,     Catherine;      d.      Oct.     24,       29. 

1806.      Aged    74    y. 


Lower,    .John;    d.   Oct.    18,   1865. 

Aged  68  y.,  7  m.,  3  d. 

Lower,  Catherine;   wf.  John;   d.  Jan.  25, 

1858.     Aged  57  y.,  7  m..  5  d. 
Steinour,    Cotherine;    d.    May    ll,    1804. 

Aged   26  y. 

Schlosscr.  Peter;    d.   June  2,  1811. 

Aged  86. 

Schlosser,     Elizabeth;       wf.    Peter;      d. 

Sept.  27,   1831.     Aged  61  y.  3  m.  12  d. 
Steinour,    John    Fred;    d.    Oct.    30,    1834. 

Aged  60  y.  6  m.  5  d. 

Steinour,    Catherine;    d.     May    1.     1867. 

A<;ed  94  y.  2  m.  22  d. 
Stoudt.     Anna     Margaret;     d.     Dec.     25. 

1831.     Aged  57  y.  9  m.  17  d. 
Wagner,  Catherine;   d.  Nov.  1,  1864. 

Aged  77  y.  Sm.  11  d. 


Widani,    Jacob;    d. 
Aged   67   y. 
Widam,    Sevilla;    d. 
Aged    60    y. 
Widman,   Barbara; 
Aged    75    y.    29    d. 


Feb.    12,    1828. 


April 


1822. 


d.   Nov     4,   1855. 


PAPER  VII 


A  PARTIAL  BURIAL  RECORD  OF  THE  WESTERN  SALISBURY  LUTHER- 
AN AND  REFORMED  CEMETERIES 

By  Tilghman  Neimeyer,  Emaus,  Pa. 


The  Jerusalem  church  of  Western  Salis- 
bury generally  known  as  the  Salisbury 
church,  is  located  on  the  banks  of  the 
Little  Lehigh  about  li/^miles  northeast  of 
Emaus.  This  is  one  of  the  oldest  congrega- 
tions in  the  Lehigh  Valley.  This  is  especi- 
al Iv  true  of  the  Reformed  Congregation. 

From  the  report  of  John  P.  Boehm  to  the 
Synod  in  Holland,  dated  Oct.  18,  1734,  we 
learn  that  members  of  the  Reformed  faith 
had  already  organized  themselves  and 
asked  for  a  pastor.  He  says  "thes  i  people 
thirst  for  the  hearing  of  God's  word  as  dry 
earth  for  water,"  and  further  remarks, 
"some  have  come  at  various  times  to 
conmiunion  in  my  congregation  at  Falkner 
Swamp,  a  distance  of  twenty-five  to  thirty 
miles,  and  brought  children  for  baptism." 
The  first  regular  pastor  of  whom  we  have 
any  knowledge  is  John  Wilhelm  Straub,  at 
one  time  a  schoolmaster  at  Cronan  in  the 
Palatinate.  Under  his  leadership  the  first 
building  was  erected  in  1711.  The  Luther- 
ans in  the  vicinity  assisted  in  its  erection 
and  were  in  1743  given  an  equal  right  with 
the  Reformed.  The  Lutheran  congregation 
was  organized  in  1742.  How  long  Rev. 
Straub  served  as  pastor  of  this  union  con- 
gregation we  do  not  know,  but  in  1747 
Rev.  Michael  Schlatter  in  his  diary  re- 
l)orts  the  congregation  vacant,  '^he  Re- 
formed     congregation      sustained      definite 


Syuodical  relations  and.  though  without  a 
regular  pastor,  still  Henry  Roth  represent- 
ed the  congregation  at  the  Meeting  of  thn 
First  Coetus  of  the  Reformed  Church  at 
Philadelphia,  Sept.   29,   1747. 

From  1748-1771  the  congregation  was 
supplied  by  the  Rev.  John  P.  Leydich  pas- 
tor of  the  congregation  at  Falkner  Swamp. 

1771-1799,  Rev.  John  B.  Wittner. 

1779-1781.  Conrad  Steiner.  a  nei^^liboring 
pastor  served  as  supply. 

17S1-17S5,    John    Henry    Helfrich. 

1785-1802,  The  congregations  were  prob- 
ably supplied  by  neighboring  or  mdepen- 
dent  pastor. 

1802-1815,  Jacob  Derhaut. 

1815-1857,  Daniel  Zeller 

1857-1876,  A.   J.  G.   Dubbs. 

1876-1892.  T.  N.  Reber. 

1893-1898,  C.   E.    Schaefter. 

1898-1900.  P.  A.  DeLong. 

1901-1908.  J.   P.   Bachman. 

1908—,  John  Baer  Stoudt. 

Who  the  first  pastor  on  the  Lutheran 
side  was  we  have  been  unable  to  learn, 
but  in  1759  Rev.  Daniel  Schumacher  be- 
came pastor,  continuing  in  office  until  Oc- 
tobei'  1763,  and  again  from  January,  1766  to 
December.  1768.  Rev.  Jacob  Van  Buskirk 
served  from  1769  to  1793.  He  was  'succeed- 
ed by  Rev.  George  Elison  who  served  but 
two  years,     until     1795.       Returning,     from 


GENEALOGICAL   RECORDS 


eected  in  1819 
$4,908.73.     In  1836     an  organ 
ro  was     put  in.       In  1896    this 
present     laVge 


Montgomery  county  whither  he  had  gone  in 
1793,  Rev.  Van  Buskirk  in  1796  again  be- 
came pastor  continuing  until  shortly  before 
his  death.  August  .^,  1800.  The  pulpit  there- 
after was     successively     filled  as     follows; 

1800-1803,    Paul    F.    Kramer, 

1803-1804.  John  G.  Roeller, 

1804-May  to  November,  John  C.  Dill 

180r)-1808.  Conrad  Jaeger, 

1808-1817,   Heinrich   Heine, 

1817-1819,  Heinrich  G.  Stecher, 

1820-1849,    Benjamin    German 

1850-18.52,    William    German 

1852-1857.  Jacob  Vogelbach 

1857-1889,  William  Rath, 

1889-Myron  O.  Rath. 

The   present  church  was 
at  a  cost  of 
costing  $800.' 

organ  was  replaced  by  the 
and  fine  instrument  at  a  cost  of  $1950.  In 
1870  and  in  1884  and  again  this  year  the 
church  was  renovated  and  improved.  In 
1884  the  interior  was  remodeled,  a  steeple 
erected,  and  in  the  spring  of  1885  a  1600 
|)0und  sweet  toned  bell  hung.  The  cost  of 
these  improvements  was  $4,911.80.  In  1899 
the  chapel  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $2300. 
The  cost  of  renovating  church  and  chapel 
this  year  will  approximate  $800. 

The  Reformed  side  is  in  possession  of  a 
folio  Bible  printed  in  Basle,  Switzerland. 
1747,  which  it  received  through  their  pastor 
Rev.  John  P.  Lydich  from  the  Classis  of 
Amsterdam  in  the  year  1752,  "as  a  present 
for  those  seeking  their  salvation." 

Many  graves  are  unmarked.  Out  of  over 
1300  inscrii)tions  the  following  have  been 
selected  as  of  persons  born  prior  to  1800 
and  i)ast  16  years  at  death.  A  draft  of  the 
cemetery  has  been  made  each  grave  being 
designated  by  row  and  number  or  lot.  All 
the  inscri])tions  carefully  copied  are  pre- 
served in  MSS.  volumes  and  indexed. 
Annual  additions  are  duly  noted.  \  Genea- 
logical Record  Book  of  some  of  the  families 
also  ])repared  by  the  transcriber  was  made 
(ise  of  freely  in  the  preparation  of  this 
record.  Rev.  John  Baer  Stoudt,  Reformed 
f)astor  of  the  Salisbury  Church  hns  added 
sui)plementary  notes  which  are  indicated 
by  the  initials  J.  B.  S. 

1.  Andreas,  Anna  Dila   (n  Hohn.  wf  Chris- 
tofel   Andreas) 

b.  Apr.  10,  1744;   d.  Aug.  7,  1828. 

a.  84  yrs.,  3  mo.,  27  da. 

2.  Andreas,  Christofel. 

b.  Nov.  15,  1745;  d.  Mar.,  1817. 

a.  72  yrs.,  4  mo.,  20  da. 

3.  Andreas,  Susanna;    d.   Dec.  4th,  1798. 

wf.  Henry  Jacob  Andreas, 
a.  26  yrs.,  2  mo. 

4.  Andreas,  Margaretta. 

b.  June  10.  1783;   d.  Nov.  2.  1858. 
a.  78  yrs.,  5  mo.,  10  da. 

(n.  Mohr,  wf.  I.  Jacob  Andreas.) 

5.  Andreas,  Jacob. 


b.  Mar.  20,  1777;  d.  July  20,  1844. 

a.  67   yrs.,   4   mo. 

"Nur  die  Erda;  wird  zur  Erde  Dass 
Dar    Geist    Verherrlicht   werda.' 

6.  Acker,  Daniel. 

b.  Apr.  20,  1792;  d.  Ma.  1,  1844. 

a.  51  yrs.,  10  mo.,  11  da. 

7.  Andreas,  Christian. 

b.  Sept.  26,  1788;   d.  Mar.  9,  1858. 

a.  69  yrs.,  5  mo.,  11  da. 

8.  Biery,  Catherine;   wf.  John. 

b.  Nov.   13,  1779;   d.   Jan.  23,  1858. 

a.  78  yrs.,  2  mo.,  10  da. 

9.  Biery,    John. 

b.  Oct.  28,  1770;   d.  Jan.  16,  1828. 

a.  57  yr.,  2  mo.,    19  da. 

sf.  Michael  Biery,  and  w.  Eva  Smith, 
Her  mother,  n.  Keck,  m.  Junel7,  1798. 
To  Catherine  Troxel,  dauf.  Daniel.  Had 
6  s.  6  d. — Henry, Jonathan,  .John,  Abra- 
ham, Nathan,  Daniel,  Franica,  Eliza- 
beth, Catherine,  Annie,  Lydia,  Maria. ) 
Michael  Biery,  father  of  John,  had  6  ch. 
John,  Jacob,  Henry,  Mrs.  Herman 
Rui)p,  Mrs.  Jonathan  Diefenderfer,  Mrs. 
Conrad  Bieber. 

(The  Biery 's  are  of  Swiss  descent 
originally  from  the  Canton  of  Berne. 
J.  B.  S. 

10.  Bader,  George. 

b.  Mar.  10,  1728;  d.  July  24,  1771. 

a.  43  yrs.,  4  mo.,  14  da. 

ll.Bogerts.  It  appears  that  Martin  Bogert 
was  the  first  that  came  to  the  country. 
Had  a  daughter  Maria,  born  in  1735. 
Peter  Bogert  died  1800.  He  had  2  ch.: 
Jacob  Bogert,  Sen.,  Catherine  m.  to 
Frederick  Mohr.  Peter  Bogert  came 
from  abroad  on  ship  106,  Nov  2,  1744, 
on  ship  Friendship.  John  Mason  was 
captain,  of  Rotterdam. 

12.  Bogert,   Jacob   Sen. 

b.  Aug.  26,  1748;   d.  Aug.  7,  1802. 

a.  59  yr.,  9  da.  M.  to  Anna  Mohry. 

13.  Bogert,  Anna. 

b.  July  15,  1753;   d.  Nov.  4,  1826. 

a.  73  yr.,  3  mo.,  19  da.    wf.  Jacob. 
They  had  2  s.  and  8  dau.,    Peter    d.    in 
youth,  John   Sen.,  Catherine,  Madelena, 
Maria,   Elizabeth,    Soloma,    Annie,   Mar- 
garette.  Bevy  and  Anna  Maria. 

14.  Bogert,  John  Sen. 

b.  Dec.  1,  1773:   d.  Aug.  15,  1854. 

a.  82  yr.;  8  mo.,  14  da.  M.  to  Maria 
Elizabeth  Kline. 

1.").  Bogert,  Elizabeth. 

b.  Oct.  28,  1767;   d.  Dec.  18,  1867. 

a.  100  yr..  1   mo.,  21  da.    dauf.  Lorence 
Kline  Sen.  and  w.  Eva  (nee  Stettler),  5 
ch.  Jacob,  John  Jr.,  Franica,  Lydia 
and  Elizabeth. 

16.  Bogert,  Jacob. 

b.  Nov.  14,  1797;  d.  Ma.  14,  1894. 

a.  96  yr.,  3  mo.,  21  da.   M.  1st  to  Lydia 
Fink,  2nd.  to  Anna  Wilt,  3d  to  Fry. 
(14  ch.) 


PAPER    VII 


19 


17.  Bogert.  Lydia. 

b.  Oct.  16.  1800;    d.  Apr.  13.  1835. 

a.  34  yr..  6  mo.,  27  da. 
IS.     Bieber,  Abraham. 

b.  Oct.  17,  1777:   d.  Dec.  5,  1804 

a.  27,  yr.,  12  da. 

Jacob  Bieber  after  1781,  came  from 
Kutztowii  and  settled  on  the  banks  of 
the  Little  Lehigh,  near  the  church.  He 
had  the  following  ch.  Abraham,  George, 
.John  and  Conrad.  In  1732  John  Geo. 
Beaver  emigrated  from  Koseuthal  in 
Alsace  and  settled  in  Oley  township, 
Berks  Co. 

In  1741  arrived  Dewalt.  probably  a  bro. 
to  the  above  named  John  Geo.  with  his 
sons,  John  Geo.  age  21.  John  Jacob  19, 
Dewalt  Jr.  19  and  settled  a    few    miles 
south  of  Kutztown.    (see  Martz  chrc.) 
In   1768    arrived    from  Deux  Ponts,  the 
three  bros.    Michael,  Valentine  and  Jacob 
of  the  same  family    as    the    above    and 
settled  in  the  West  Branch  Valley. 
Abraham  m.  a  dau.  of  Abraham  Griese- 
mer,  he  died  young  leaving  2  ch.  Abra- 
ham and  Solomon. 
,        Abraham  m.  Sarah  Darney  dauf.  Adam 
Darney  and  his  w.    Madlena  (  nee.    Bo- 
gert)  and  emigrated  to  Ohio. 
Solomon     received    the    old     homestead. 
J.  B.   S. 

19.  Bieber,  Geo. 

b.  Jan.  25,  1768;   d.  June  30,  1839. 

a.  71  yr.,  5  da.  m.  to  Eva  Kline. 

20.  Bieger,  Eva. 

b.  Nov.   12.  1765;   d.  Nov.   13.  1845. 

a.  80  yr..  1  da. 

Had  6  ch..  David.  Solomon,  Jonathan, 
Polly,  Elizabeth.  Hannah. 

21.  Bieber.  David. 

b.  Jan.  28,  1800:   d.  July   17.  1877 

a.  77  yr.,  5  mo.,  19  da.    Single. 

22.  Bieber.  Polly  M. 

b.  Feb.  13.  1793;   d.  Aug.  19.  1884. 

a.  84  yr..  6  mo..  6  da.   Single. 

23.  Brobst.      Eva      Catherine      wf.      Daniel 
Brobst. 

b.  Feb.  25,  1773;   d.  Sept.  10,  1809. 
a.  35  yr..  7  mo..  15  da. 
Bernd.  Anna  Maria. 
1).  Apr.  S.  1750;  d.  Mar.  5,  1816. 

a.  65  yr..  10  mo.,  25  da. 
Breinig,  John. 

b.  Mar.   12,  1836. 

a.  42  yr.,  9  mo.,  23  da. 
Bastian,  Michael. 

b.  Aug.  27,  1778;   d.  Mar.  14,  1844. 

a.  65  yr..  6  mo..  IS  da. 
27.  Bortz,  Catherine. 

b.  Mar.  27.  1780;   d.  Oct.  18,  1863. 

a.  83  yr..  6  mo..  22  da.,  wf.  Christopher 
Bortz,  b.    Ueberoth. 

2s.  Bortz,  Christopher. 

b.  Mar.  6.  1781;   d.  Feb.  28,  1865. 

a.  83  yr..  11  mo.,  22  da. 
29.  Butz,  Peter. 

b.  Nov.  3,  1766;   d.  Apr.  22,  1857. 


24. 


26. 


39. 


40. 


41. 


42. 


a.  90  yr.,  5  mo.,  19  da. 

Peter  Butz  was  a  sf.  Peter  Butz  1718 — 
1780,  who  came  to  Penna.  from  the 
Fatherland  in  1752  and  settled  in  Long- 
swamp  township  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Longswamp  church.  In  1761  he  bought 
a  farm  in  Macungie  township.  He  had 
the  following  sons:  John,  Samuel  and 
Peter.  John  and  Samuel  settled  in 
Longswamp  township  while  Peter 
moved  to  Cedar  Creek.  He  had  8  ch. 
John.  Abraham.  Peter,  Jonathan,  Bevy, 
Elizabeth,  Catherine  and  Hetty.J.  B.  S. 
Brader,  Adam. 

b.  July  12,  1787;   d.  Oct.  17,  1858. 

a.  71  yr.,  3  mo.,  5  da. 
Bastian,  Catherine. 

b.  June  26,  1781;  d.  Apr.  2,  1861. 

a.  79    yr.,    9    mo.,  6  da.  wf.  Daniel  Bas- 
tian, Dauf.  Henry  and  Eva  Hartzel. 
Bastian,  Daniel. 

b.  Apr.  3,  1783;  d.  May  4,  1871. 

a.  88  yr.,  1  mo.,  1  da. 

Baumer,  Dorothea  Born  Eisenhert,  wf. 
Daniel  Baumer. 

b.  Dec.  18,  1790;  d.  June  17,  1862. 

a.  71  yr..  5  mo..  29  da. 
Baumer,  Daniel. 

b.  Mar.  14.  1789;   d.  Sept.  6.  1872. 

a.  83  yr..  5  mo.,  23  da, 
Daubert,  Henrich. 

b.  Feb.  21,  1758;   d.  July  5,  182). 

a.  62  yr..  4  mo..  14  da. 
Diefenderfer,     Elizabeth     Born     Kohler, 

wf.  Henrich  Diefenderfer. 

b.  Mar.  31,  1795;  d.  Jan.  1,  1842. 

a.  46  yr.,  9  mo.,  1  da. 
Diefenderfer,   Henrich. 

b.  Mar.  13,  1791;   d.  July  24.  1802. 

a.  71  yr.,  4  mo.,  11  da.  He  was  a  bro.  to 
Elizabeth  Neimeyer  wf.  Conrad  and 
a  sf.  Henry  Diefenderfer  and  wf.  Susan 
born  Jarrett.) 

The  progeintor  of  the  Deifenderfers 
was  Alexander  who  emigrated  rrom  the 
Palatinate  1727.  and  settled  in  Bucks 
Co..  Pa.  Died  1768  and  is  bu.  at  the 
Great  Swamp  Church.  J.  B.  S. 
Danner.  Fredericha.  b.  Heintzen  wf. 
Jacob  Danner. 

b.  Oct.  17,  1771;  d.  Feb.  28,  1841. 

a.  69  yr.,  4  mo..  11  da. 
Danner,  Jacob. 

b.  May  18,  1762;  d.  July  3.  1825. 

a.  63  yr..  1  mo.,  15  da. 

Danner.  Magdelena.  wf.  Frederich 
Danner. 

b.  Sept.   9.   1789:    d.  Mar.   19.   1819. 

a.  29  yr..  G  mo.,  10  da. 
Dorney.  Adam. 

b.  Sept.  26.  1774;   d.  Mar.  29.  1345. 

a.  70  yr..  6  mo..  3  da. 

Dorney,  Maria  Magdelena. ,  Born  Bogert 
dauf.  Jacob  sen.  and  wf.  (nee  Mohry) 
Adam   Dorney. 

b.  Oct  11,  1780;   d.  Oct.   11  1840. 
a.  60  years. 


GENEALOGICAL  RECORDS 


43.  Dorney,  Peter. 

b.  Oct.  18,  1770;  d.  Oct.  19,  1851. 

a.  81  yr.,  1  da. 

44.  Dutt,  Maria.   Born   Siegfried,    wf.    Solo- 
mon Dutt. 

b.  Nov.  24.  1816;   d.  July  21,  1854. 

a.  37  yr.,  7  mo.,  27  da. 

45.  Eberhard,   Daniel. 

b.  Jan.  15,  1797;    d.  Oct.  20,  18.50. 

a.  53  yr.,  9  mo.,  5  da. 

46.  Eberhard,     Maria.     Born     Wieder,     wf. 

Daniel  Eberhard. 

b.  Apr.   8,  1790;    d.  Oct.   10,   1850. 

a.  60  yr.,  6  mo.,  2  da. 

47.  Eberhard,    Christina.     Wf.     John    Eber- 

hard 

b.  Apr.   7,   1793;    d.  Aug.   3,   1856. 

a.  63  yr.,  4  mo..  2  da. 

48.  Eberhard,   John. 

b.  June  23,   1799;    d.   Jan.   3,   1873. 

a.  73  yr.,  6  mo.,  10  da. 

The  Eberhards  are  descendants  of 
Joseph  Eberhard.  who  in  1727  mgr. 
Switzerland  and  in  1742  settled  in 
Lower  Milford  Township.  Bu.  at 
Swamp  church.  He  died  in  1760  leaving 
the    following    ch. — 

Michael,  Joseph,  Jacob,  John,  Peter  and 
Abraham.  J.  B..  S.) 

49.  Fischer,  Daniel. 

b.  Sept.  11,  1787;   d.  May  "25,  1824. 

a.  36  yr.,  8  mo.,  14  da. 

.50.  Flexer,  Anna  Maria.  Born  Mertz,  wf. 
Jacob  Flexer. 

b.  Dec.  18,  1780;  d.  June  11.  1855. 

a.  74  yr.,  5  mo..  24  da. 
.")1.  Flexer,  Jacob. 

b.  Sept.  30,  1780;  d.  Oct.  23,  1857. 

a.  77  yr.,  23  da. 

52.  Flexer,  John. 

b.  May  14,  1795;  d.  Jan.  28,  1868. 

a.  72  yr.,  8  mo.,  11  da. 

53.  Flexer,  Katherine,  wf.  John. 

b.  Apr.  5.  1791;  d.  Sept.  26,  1878. 

a.  87  yr.,  5  mo.,  21  da. 

54.  Gliick,  Daniel. 

b.  Sept.  6,  1778;   d.  Feb.  23.  1852. 

a.  73  yr.,  5  mo.,  17  da. 

55.  Gliick,  Eva  C;   b.  Steininger.    wf.    Dan- 
iel (iliick. 

b.  Oct.  24,  1781;  d.  Oct.  8,  1859. 

a.  77  yr.,  11  mo.,  14  da. 

56.  Gliick,   John    Geo. 

b.  Dec.  25,  1749;   d.  Dec.  18.  1816. 

a.  66  yr.,  11  mo.,  23  da. 

57.  German,  Rev.  Wm. ;   Lutheran  Preacher. 

dm  Grabia  ist  Rub.) 

b.  Sept.  16,  1796;  d.  June  28,  1S51. 

a.  54  yr.,  9  mo.,  12  da. 

58.  Heilig,  Peter. 

b.  July  11,  1777;  d.  Mar.  17,  1830. 

a.  52  yr.,  8  mo.,  6  da. 

59.  Hamer,  John  Geo. 

b.  Mar.  14.   1767;—? 
i:<t.  Hittel,  Geo.  Michael. 

b.  Dec.  7,—?:  d.  Dec.  16.  1786. 
<;i.  Hottenstein.  Anna;   b.  Kline  wf.  Stofflet 


1st  wf.  John  Hottenstein  Sen. 
b.  .Aug.  9,  1797;   d.  Dec.  29,  1828. 

a.  31  yr.,  4  mo.,  20  da. 

62.  Hottenstein,      Barbara;     b.     Kline      wf. 

Philip,  2d  w.  John  Hottenstein  Sen. 

b.  Oct.  28,  1792;   d.  Mar.   10,  1872. 

a.  79  yr.,  4  mo.,  13  da. 

63.  Hottenstein,  John   Sen. 

b.  Oct.  14,  1800;   d.  May  24,  1864. 

a.  63  yr.,  7  mo.,  10  da. 

64.  Harlacher,  Michael. 

b.  Sept.  30,  1799;   d.  Mar.  15,  1837. 

a.  37  yr.,  5  mo.,  14  da. 

65.  Henninger,  Lydia;  b.  Kohler  of  Peter 
and  Margarethe.  Wf.  Christian  Henn- 
inger Sen. 

b.  May  19,  1792;   d.  Jan.  17.  1849. 

a.  56  yr.,  7  mo.,  29  da. 

66.  Hottel,  Maria;  b.  Bildhouse.  Wf.  George 

Hottel. 

b.  Dec.  22,  1790;   d.   Oct.   10,   1873. 

a.  82  yr.,  9  mo.,  19  da. 

67.  Hartzel,  Andrew. 

b.  June  5,  1791;   d.  June  22,  1854. 

a.  62  yr.,  7  mo.,  17  da. 

Had  8  ch.,  Jonas,  Levy,  William,  Uriah, 
Ed.,  Hannah,  Amond..  and  Lucy. 

68.  Hartzel,  Adam. 

b.  Nov.  24,  1789;   d.  Aug.  22,  1873. 

a.  84  yr.,  8  mo.,  29  da. 

69.  Kohler,   John   Peter. 

b.  Nov.   16  1755;    d.  Feb  5,  1830. 

a.  74  yr.,  2  mo.,  20  da. 

7U.  Kohler,  Anna  Margaretta;  wf.  John 
Peter  Kohler. 

b.  Dec.  31,  1760;   d.  Sept.  18.  1841. 

a.  80  yr.,  6  mo.,  28  da. 

(At  the  head  of  the  Kohler  family  of 
Lehigh  Co.  stands  Jacob  Kohler  who 
mgr.  Muehl  Hausen,  Switzerland,  prior 
to  1730.— J.  B.  S.) 

71.  Keck,  Andrew   Sen. 

b.  Jan.   10,  1753;    d.  May   13,  1828. 

a.  75  yr.,  4  mo..  3  da. 

Andrew  Keck  was  the  youngest  son  of 
the  pioneer  Henry  Keck  who  in  1732 
left  his  home  in  Upper  Falls  and  with 
his  wife  came  to  Penna.  They  were 
sold  as  redemptioners  to  a  man  in 
Chester  Co.  and  in  1740  settled  in  Salis- 
bury township.  He  raised  six  sons  and 
a  daughter,  three  of  whom  took  part  in 
the  battles  of  Brandywine  and  German- 
tcwn.  Frederick  and  one  whose  name 
is  unknown  went  to  North  Carolina. 
Henry  settled  near  the  church.  John 
remained  on  the  old  homestead  J.  B.  S.) 

72.  Keck,   Barbara,    1st  wf.    Andrew.    Born 

Blank  of  Geo. 

73.  Keck,    Susanna.    2nd    wf.     Andrew    (nee 

Sheets! 

b.  Dec.  22,   1768;    d.  Jan.  15,  1853. 
a.  85  yr.,  24  da. 

ch.  9,  Andrew,  Geo.,  John,Jacob,  David, 
Charles  (associate  judge  in  1855).  Sol- 
omon.  Elizabeth.   Maria   Madalena. 


PAPER    VII 


21 


74.   Keck,    Andrew.     S.     of    Henry     and     a 
grandson  of    the    pioneer,    Henry    Sen. 
b.  Dec.  28,  1778;   d.  June  3,  1833. 

a.  54  yr.,  5  mo.,  5  da. 

M.  to  Magdelena  Kline  of  Loreiice  Sen. 
and  wife  Eva  Settler. 
7').  Keck,  Magdelena. 

b.  Mar.  3,  1779;   d.  Apr.  5,  1861. 

a.  82  yr.,  1  mo.,  2  da. 

cli.  12:  Joel,  Paul,  John,  Wm.,  Lorence, 
Andrew,   Soloma,   Lydia,  Julian,  Annie, 
Elizabeth  and  Maria. 
7(;.  Keck,  George. 

b.  Aug.  19,  1776;   d.  Apr.  4.  1822. 

a.  45  yr.,  7  mo.,  15  da. 

77.  Keck,  Anna  Catherine,  wf.  Geo.  Keck. 

b.  Sept.   13,  1780;   d.  May  11,   1S52. 

a.  71  yr.,  7  mo..  28  da. 

78.  Keck,   Benjamin. 

b.  July  31,  1789;   d.  Sept.   17,  1839. 

a.  50  yr.,  1  mo.,  17  da. 

79.  Keck,  Elizabeth.  B.  Kline  of  Philip.  Wf. 
Benj.  Keck  Sen. 

b.  May  2,  1791;   d.  Nov.  22,  1849. 

a.  50  yr.,  6  mo.,  20  da. 

50.  Kline,  Lorenz  Sen. 

b.  Feb.  5,  1735;  d.  July  6,  1819 

a.  84  yr.,  4  mo..  21  da. 

Lorenz  Kline  is  said  to  have  mgr. 
Rhineland  with  his  father.  Tradition 
says  that  the  father  returned  again  to 
the  Fatherland  to  bring  hither  some 
possessions,  and  that  nothing  further 
was  ever  heard  of  his  whereabouts.  J. 
B.  S. 

51.  Kline,  Eva.    wf.    Lorenz    Kline    Sen.    B. 
Stettler. 

b.  Dec.  25.  1740;   d.  Nov.  21,  1821. 

a.  84  yr.,  4  mo.,  27  da. 

Ch.  6:  Christcffel.  Peter.  Berndt,  Eliza- 
beth. Anna,  Margarette,  and  Magdelena. 

52.  Kline.  Christoffel. 

b.  June  3.  1765;   d.  Nov.  12.  1800. 

a.  44  yr..  5  mo..  9  da. 

53.  Kline,    Maria   Elizabeth,    wf.   Christoffel, 
dauf.  Jacob  Bogert  sen. 

b.  Oct.  14.  1774;   d.  Apr.  12,  1861. 

a.  86  yr.,  5  mo..  28  da. 

Ch.     5;     Laurenz,     Reuben,     Elizabeth, 
Anna  and  Sarah. 
84.  Kline,    Lorenz  s.   of    Cristoffel    and  wf. 
(nee  Bogert). 

b.  Aug.  17.  1794;   d.  May  13,  1882. 

a.  87  yr.,  6  mo.,  26  da. 

S."».  Kline,  Lydia  wf.    Lorenz.    dauf.    George 
and  Susanna   Kemmerer. 

b.  Apr.  9.  1804:   d.  Apr.  24.  1877. 

Ch.  G:    Helena,  Edwin.  Benj.,  Tilghman 

K.,   Margarette.   Lydia. 

(Congressman      Honorable     M.     C.      L. 

Kline    of    Allentown    is  a    grandson    of 

Lorenz  and  Lydia  Kline.) 
S6.  Kline,  Peter  sen.  s.  of  Lorenz   fen.  and 

wf.  Eva   (nee  Stettler.) 

b.  June  11,  1769;  d.  Apr.  22.  1858. 

a.  88  yr.,  10  mo..  11  da. 
87.  Kline.    Maria    wf.    Peter.    B.    Bogert    of 

Jacob  sen. 


b.  Aug.  26,  1776;   d.  Dec.  1,  1843. 

a.  67  yr.,  3  mo.,  5  da. 

Ch.  9:  Peter,  Henrich,  Gabriel,  Simon, 
Annie,  Maria,  Magdelena,  Elizabeth. 
Esther,  Anna  Maria. 

88.  Kline.  Henrich,  B.   Peter  sen. 

b.  ar.  17,  1799;  d.  Mar.  29,  1870. 

a.  71  yr.,  12  da. 

89.  Kline,  Lydia  wf.  Henrich  Kline.  B.  Kem- 
merer  of   Frederick. 

b.  Aug.  27.  1798;   d.  Sept.  6,  1876. 

a.  78  yr.,  10  da. 

90.  Kline.  Philip. 

b.  June  17,  1764;  d.  May  4,  1854. 

a.  89  yr.,  10  rao.,  17  da. 

(Philip  Kline  and  his  bro.  Adam  came 
to  Salisbury  township  from  Goshen- 
hoppen  about  1790,  J.    B.    S.) 

91.  Kline,  Anna  Margarette.  dauf.  Lorenze 
Kline  sen.  and  w.  Eva  (nee  Stettler  wf. 
Philip  Kline.) 

b.  Feb.  15.  1765;  d.  Oct.  26,  1845. 

a.  82  yr.,  8  mo.,  11  da. 

Ch.  5:  Solomon,  Daniel,  Elizabeth, 
Anna.  Susanna. 

92.  Kline,  Solomon. 

b.  .Apr.  6,  1795;   d.  May  27,  1869. 

a.  74  yr.,  1  mo.,  21  da. 

9."..  Kline,  Anna  Margarette.  B.  Ritter  of 
Martin  sen.  and  w.   (nee  Steininger. i 

b.  Nov.  27,  1797;   d.  Dec.  3.  1887. 

a.  90  yr.,  16  da. 

Ch.  6:  Solomon,  Tilghman  R.,  Gedion. 
Sarah,  Elvina.  Johannas. 

94.  Kline,   Daniel. 

b.  Aug.  27.  1787;   d.  Mar.  17.  1848. 

a.  60  yr.,  6  mo.,  21  da. 

95.  Kline.  Soloma.   B.   Bogert  of  Jacob  sen. 

b.  Oct.  20.   1790;   d.   Jan.  24,  1860. 

a.  69  yr.,  3  mo.,  4  da. 

Ch.  5:  Solomon.  Elizabeth,  Daniel  jr., 
Soloma,  Lydia. 

96.  Kline,  Adam. 

b.  Oct.  24.  1766:   d.  Feb.  15.  1847. 

a.  80  yr.,  3  mo..  21  da. 

97.  Kline.   Elizabeth.   B.   Snyder.   Wf.   Adam 

Kline. 

b.  Mar.  12,  1767;  d.  Apr.  26,  1849. 

a.  82  yr..  1  mo.,  14  da. 

98.  Kemmerrer.  Carl . 

b.  Dec.  7,  1794;   d.  Feb.  10.  1815. 

a.  20  yr.,  2  mo.,  3  da. 

99.  Kemmerer,  Henrich.  B.  of  T.  Kemmerer. 

b.  Apr.   4.  1740;    d.  Oct.   10.  1804. 

a.  61  yr..  6  mo..  10  da. 

(Henrich  Kemmerrer  was  a  sf.  T.  Kem- 
merrer who  with  two  of  his  bros.  came 
from  Wurtenburg.  1744.  to  Lehigh  C. 
Later  one  of  the  brothers  moved  to 
Strandsburg  and  the  other  one  to 
Western,   Pa.— J.   B.    S. 

100.  Kemmerrer.  Anna  Maria;   wf.  Henrich. 

b.  Dec.  25.  1733;  d.  Mar.  11,  1820. 
a.  82  yr.,  2  mo..  16  da. 

Ch.  9:  Jacob.  Geo.,  .lohn,  Adam.  Hen- 
rich. Martin  sen..  Catherine,  Mrs.  Bortz, 
Mrs.  Retter. 


GENEALOGICAL   RECORDS 


ml.  Kemmerer.  Henrich. 

b.  Oct.  23,  1774;  d.  Dec.  27,  1856. 

a.  82  yr.,  2  mo.,  4  da. 

102.  Kemmerer,  Magdalena,  wf    Henrich. 

b.  Sept.  1,  1780;   d.  Apr.  16,  1845. 

a.  64  yr.,  7  mo.,  15  da. 

Ch.    6:    John.    Samuel,    Henrich.    Leali, 
Mrs.    J.    Taylor.   Elizabeth. 

103.  Kemmerrer,  Magdalena;   wf.  Henrich. 

b.  Apr.  7,  1786;  d.  Apr.  22,  1856. 

a.  70  yr..,  15  da. 

104.  Kemmerrer,  Henrich. 

b.  Aug.  8,  1795;   d.  Sept  19.  1878. 
a.  83  yr.,  1  mo.,  11  da. 

105.  Kemmerrer,  Soloma;  b.  Blauk,  \vt". 
Henrich.  b.  Sept.  17,  1804;  d.  May  13. 
1855.  a.  50  yr.,  7  mo.,  27  da. 

106.  Kemmerrer,  John  Geo. 

1).  Aug.  26,  1793;  d.  Dec.  26.  1861. 

a.  63  yr.,  4  mo. 

107.  Kemmerrer,  Elizabeth.  B.  Weaber, 
wf.  John  Geo.  b.  Dec.  7,  1795;  d.  Mar. 
15,  1876;  a.  80  yr.,  5  mo.,  8  da. 

108.  Kemmerrer,  Geo.,  Sen. 

b.  Nov.  24,  1767;  d.  Feb.  4,  1851. 

a.  83  yr.,  2  mo.,  10  da. 

1119.  Kemmerrer.  Maria  Susanna.  B.  Stein- 
inger,    wf.   Geo.    Kemmerrer. 

b.  Nov.  8,  1774;   d.  June  11,  1857. 

a.  82  yr.,  7  mo..  13  da. 

Ch.   2:    George   and   Lydia. 

110.  Kemmerrer,    John. 

b.  July  14,  1780;   d.  Aug.  29    1803. 

a.  83  yr.,  1  mo..  15  da. 

111.  Kemmerrer,  Christina;  wf.  John.  B. 
Smith,  b.  Sept.  7,  1783;  d.  Nov.  11, 
1867.  a.  84  yr.,  2  mo.,  4  da. 

1  12.  Koehler,  Peter. 

b.  Dec.  31,  1797;  d.  July  24,  1800. 

a.  3  yr. 

113.  Koehler,  Elizabetli. 

b.  Oct.  4,  1789;   d.   1791. 

114.  Knauss,  Eva. 

b.  Mar.  10,  1790;  d.  May  17,  1875. 

a.  85    yr.,    2    mo..    7    da.     (v.    Vol.    VH; 
287.   J.   B.   S.) 

ll.'i.  Kuntz,  Catherine.  B.  Streby.  1st  wf. 
Henry   Minnich,   2ud   of  David   Kuntz. 

b.  July  11,  1783;  d.  Dec.  16,  1866. 

a.  83  yr.,  5  mo.,  5  da. 

116.  Kehm,   John   Jacob. 

b.  1717;  d.  June  16,  1775. 

a.  58  years. 

1 17.  Kehm,  George. 

b.  Feb.  2,  1794.  d.  July  8.  1852. 

a.  58  yr.,  5  mo.,  6  da. 

118.  Kehm,  Susanna  M.  (nee  Gorten)  wf. 
Geo.  Kehm.  b.  Mar.  3.  1792;  d.  Nov.  27, 
1859.  a.   67  yr..  8  mo..  24  da. 

Ch.    8;    David.    Reuben.   Solomon,   John. 
Michael,    Catherine,    Sallie,    Maria. 

119.  Kehm.  Henrich;  sf.  Michael  ind  Eva 
M.  Kehm.  b.  Jan.  15.  1792;  d.  Mar.  17, 
1861.  a.  69  yr.,  2  mo.,  2  da. 

120.  Lazarus,    Martin. 

b.  Oct.  13,  1774;   d.  Nov.  29,  1847. 
a.  73  yr.,  1   mo..  16  da. 


121.  Lazarus,    A.    Maria;     wf.    Martin, 
b.  May  29.  1776;  d.  Mar  7,  1829. 

a.  52  yr.,  9  mo.,  8  da. 

122.  Lazarus,   Maria. 

b.  Sept.  13,  1788;   d.  July  24,  1864. 

a.  75  yr.,  10  mo.,  11  da. 

123.  Mohr,    Anna    Maria;    wf.    Jacob    Mohr. 

b.  Stettler.  b.  .Aug.  26,  1750;    d.  Aug.  S. 
1825.  a.  74  yr.,  7  mo.,  19  da. 

124.  Mohr,   Jacob. 

b.  Mar.  18,  1746;   d.  Nov.  25,  1839. 

a.  93  yr.,  8  mo.,  7  da. 

125.  Marcks,   Conrad;    hf.   Miss   Mo-er. 

b.  June  12,  1745;  d.  Jan.  16.  1807. 

a.  64  y..  7  mo.,  14  da. 

Ch.    6;    John,    Petei,    Jacob.    C'-.therine. 
Margai'ette,  Mrs.  Willauer. 

126.  Marcks,  John. 

b.  Aug.  22,  1775;   d.  Feb.  21,  1859. 
a.  83  yr.,  5  mo.,  3  da. 

127.  Marcks,  Anna  Marg.  B.  Koeliler.  wf. 
Frederick,  b.  Aug.  18.  1787;  d.  Jan.  3, 
1847;   a.  59  yr.,  4  mo..  16  da. 

128.  Marcks,   Jacob,   sen. 

B.  Nov.  21,  1786;   d.  Sept.  9,  1860. 
a.  73  yr.,  9  mo.,  18  da. 

129.  Marcks.  Maria  Magdelena.  B.  Koeh- 
ler. b.  Jul.  22,  1784;   d.  Jan.  6.  1859. 

a.  74  yr.,  5  mo.,  15  da. 

130.  Mertz,   Geo.    Henrich. 

b.  Sept.   4,  1755;   d.  Jul.  23,  1827. 

a.  71  yr.,  10  mo.,  22  da. 

131.  Mertz.  Eva  Barbara. 

b.  Jan.  1749;   d.  Sept.  5,  1826. 

a.  77  y.,  7  mo.,  27  da. 

132.  Miller,   Adam. 

b.  Jun.   28,   1792;    d.   Jul.   5.   1864. 

a.  72  yr.,  7  da. 

133.  Miller,  Anna  Maria;    wf.   Adam. 

b.  Dec.  25.  1795;  d.  June  28.  1864. 

a.  68  yr.,  6  mo.,  3  da. 

134.  Miller,  George. 

b.  July  20.  1793;   d.  Jul.  23.  1877. 

a.  84  yr.,  6  mo.,  3  da. 

135.  Miller,  Susanna;  wf.  Geo.  Miller  B. 
Kelchner.  b.  Jan.  5.  1793;  d.  Oct.  16. 
1863.  a.  70  yr..  9  mo..  11  da. 

136.  Neitz,  Magdelena. 

b.  1745;   d.  Aug.  28.  1823. 

a.  78  years. 

137.  Neitz.  John  George. 

b.  Mar.  31.  1790;   d.  May  1.  1857. 

a.  67  yr.,  1  mo.,  1  da. 

138.  Ortin.   Maria.     B.   Andrew. 

b.  Oct.  18.  1786;   d.  Dec.  28.  1814. 

a.  28  yr.,  2  mo.,  10  da. 

139.  Ort.    Johannas. 

b.  Feb.  26,  1782;   d.  Sept.  12.  1853. 

a.  71  yr.,  6  mo..  15  da. 

(The  Orts  of  Lehigh  Co.  are  descend- 
ants of  Hans  Ord — John  Ortt.  to  whom 
a  tract  of  land  was  granted  in  Upper 
Milford  township.  Sept.  11,  ::738. — J. 
B.  S.) 
14(1.  Ort.     Magdelena;      wf.    .Tohannas    Ort. 

b.  Andreas,    b.    Dec.    6.    1781;     d.     Apr. 
30.  1857.  a.  75  yr.,  4  mo.,  24  da. 


PAPER    V  I  r 


23 


141.  Reinbold,  Susanna,  b.  Weider,  wf. 
Carnelius  Reinbold.  b.  Oct.  12,  1791 ; 
d.  Nov.  5.  1839.  a.  48  yr.,  26  da. 

142.  Ritter,   Martin,   sen. 

b.  Nov.  10,  1749;   d.  Nov.  2,  1827. 

a.  77  yr.,  11  mo.,  22  da.  (v.  Vol.  VII: 
292.— J.B.S.) 

(It  is  claimed  Philip  Ritter  was  the 
1st  of  the  Ritters  that  came  to  this 
country.  Also  that  three  brothers — 
Martin,  Casper  and  Daniel,  came  to- 
gether. They  settled  the  first  m  Dela- 
ware, then  in  Pa.,  moved  from  Upper 
Millfcrd  to  Salisbury  township,  owned 
800  acres  of  land. ) 

143.  Ritter,  Anna  Margarette.  R.  Stein- 
inger.,  wf.   Martin,  sen. 

b.  Jan.   11,   1752;    d.  Aug.   4,   1838. 

a.  82  yr.,  6  mo.,  24  da. 

Ch.  7:  Martin,  .lacob,  Michael.  Henrich, 
Daniel,    Anna,    Margarette,    .John. 

144.  Ritter,   Martin,   .Jr. 

b.  Nov.  7,  1781:  d.  Feb.  10,  1863. 

a.  81  yr.,  3  mo.,  3  da. 

14.").  Ritter,  Anna  Margarette.  B.  Bogert, 
wf.  Jacob,  sen.,  and  wf.  (nee  Mohry, 
wf.  Martin.)  B.  Jan.  5,  1786;  d.  Sept. 
2.5,  1861.  A.  75  yr.,  8  mo.,  20  da. 
Ch.  13 :  Mary  Ann,  Annie  B.,  Elizabeth 
B.,  Solomon  B.,  Gedian  B.,  Mnrtin  B., 
Soloma  B.,  Reuben  B.,  Jacob  B.,  Ed- 
win B.,  Chas.  B.,  John  B.)  (The  B. 
represents   Bogert  of   the   mother.) 

146.  Ritter,    Jacob. 

b.  Feb.  3,  1792;   d.  Apr.  29,  1830. 
a.  38  yr.,  2  mo.,  26  da. 

147.  Ritter,  Anna;  b.  Bogert,  wf.  Jacob, 
sen.,    and    wf.    (nee    Mohry.) 

d.  Mar.  24,  1826. 

a.  32  years. 

148.  Ritter,  Michael. 

b.  Sept.  14,  1794;   d.  Aug.  14,  1877. 

a.  82  yr.,  11  mo. 

(Hf.    Elouisa   Miller,    wf.    Jacob. 

149.  Ritter,   Henrich. 

b.  Apr.  10,  1779;   d.  May  14.  1833. 

a.  54  yr.,  1  mo.,  4  da. 

1.^0.  Ritter,   Lydia.      B.    Kuappenberger. 

b.  June  27,  1785;   d.  Jul.  28,  1832. 

a.  47     yr.,  1  mo.,  1  da.    (wf.  Henrich) 
Ch.    11:    Jacob,    Henry,    Anna    Rebecca, 
Sallie,      Lydia,      Polly,     Eliza,     George, 
Charles.    Daniel.   Jonathan. 

1.'>1.  Ritter.    John. 

b.  Mar.   26,   1784;    d.   Sept.   7.   1867. 

a.  83  yr.,  5  mo.,  11  da. 

152.  Ritter,  Maria  Susanna.  B.  Kline,  wf. 
Philip.  B.  Jan.  21,  1789:  d.  Dec.  15, 
1881.  A.  92  yr.,  10  mo.,  24  da. 

(Wf.  John  Ritter)  ch.  10:  Charles. 
Matilda,  Mary,  Isaac.  Elizabeth,  John, 
Martin,   Levy,   Reuben,    Daniel. 

153.  Ritter,    Daniel. 

b.  May  11,  1789;  d.  Sei)t.  4  1873. 
a.  84  yr.,  3  mo.,  23  da. 

154.  Ritter.  Lydia.  B.  Knauss,  wf  Abra- 
ham;   wf.  Daniel,    b.    Jul.    10,    1795;    d. 


Feb.  22.  1876.  a.  80  yr.,  7  mo,  12  da. 
Ch.  9:  Rebecca,  Henrietta,  Eliza,  Joel, 
Wm.,  Gedion,  Lydia,  Soloma,  Annie. 

155.  Ritter,   Christian, 
b.   Feb.   9,   1775. 

156.  Reinhard,  Hartman;  sf.  John  Rein- 
hard,  d.  in  1806.  b.  Dec.  11,  1762;  d. 
Mar.    18,   1822. 

a.  59  yr.,  3  mo.,  7  da. 

(Hartman  Reinhard  was  a  sf.  John 
Reinhard  who  died  in  1806  and  was 
probably  a  grandsf.  Geo.  Reinhard,  who 
mgr.  from  the  Palatinate  in  1750  and 
settled  in  Upi;er  Sacon  township  and  ;i 
sf.  Heinrich,  who  had  the  following  ch: 
John,  Geo.,  Andrew.  Jacob,  Solomon, 
Henry,  Abraham.  Catherine,  El'zabeth. 
Hannah.   J.    B.   S.  ) 

157.  Reinhard,  Catherine,  b.  Kemmerrer. 
wf.  Henrich,  sen.  b.  Oct.  16,  1771;  d. 
Mar.  15,  1832.  a.  60  yr.,  4  mo.,  29 
da.  Ch.  5:  Jchannas,  Geo.,  Henry, 
Maria,   Solomon. 

158.  Reinhard,  C.  G. 

b.  Jun.  6,  1777;   d.  Jun.  19,  1845. 

a.  68  yr.,  13  da. 

159.  Reinliard,   Johannas. 

b.  May  8,  1796;   d  Feb.   17,  1886. 

a.  89    yr.,    9    mo.,    9da.    (Hf.    Maria    W. 

b.  Roth,  wf.  Philip.)  Ch.  7:  Philip, 
John,  James,  Lewis.  Sarah,  Mary, 
Amandes. 

160.  Reinhard,  George. 

b.  July  22,  1789;  d.  Mar.  20.  1869. 

a.  79  yr..  7  mo.,  28  da. 

161.  Rejter,  Conrad 

b.  Sept.  29,  1775;   d.  Sept.  4.  1798. 

a.  22  yr.,  11  mo.,  6  da. 

162.  Rothe,   Francis;    sf.    Henrich   Roth. 

b.  Dec.  19.  1721;  d.  Dec.  28,  1757. 
(David  Schultz,  a  surveyor  of  Upper 
Hanover,  Montgomery  Co.,  in  his  jour- 
nal Dec.  1757  says:  "At  the  close  of  the 
year  died  Frantz  Roth  in  Salisbury 
township  after  an  illness  of  a  few 
hours."  J.  B.  S.) 

163.  Romich,  Maria  M.  b.  Stehler  wf.  Hen- 

rich. 
b.   Mar.   17.   1780;    d.  Aug.   15,   1845. 
a.  65  yr.,  4  mo.,  28  da. 

164.  Romich,  Soloma;  b.  Weinner  of  Geo. 
and  Eva  Wenner  wf.  Peter  Romich  jr. 
1).    Doc.   17,   1799;    d.  Aug.   4.   1847. 

a.  47  yr.,  7  mo.,  17  da. 

165.  Romich,  Peter. 

b  Oct.  1785;   d.  Sept.  7.  1869. 
a.  83  yr.,  11  mo.,  6  da. 

166.  Romich,  Margaretta;  wf.  Pete-.-  b.  Ger- 
man . 

1).  Oct.  8,  1789;   d.  Oct.  11,  1863 
a.  74  yr.,  3  da. 

(The  Rcmichs  are  descendents  of  Fred- 
erick  Romich  who,  settled   in  Macungie 
in  1732.   His  sons  were  as  follows: 
Frederick,  Adam,  Jacob,  Henry,  Joseph, 
J.  B.  S. 


24 


GENEALOGICAL   RECORDS 


167.  Reigel,  Benjamin. 

b.  Nov.  1792;   d.  May  30,  1861. 

a.  68  yr.,  6  mo.,  2  da. 

168.  Riegel,  Elizabeth.   B.   Funk  wf.   Benj. 

b.  Nov.  30,  1797;   d.  Jan.  27,  18S5. 

a.  87  yr.,  1  mo.,  27  da. 

169.  Strauss,   Maria.   B.   Hartzel   wf.   Geo. 

b.  .June  12,  1783;  d.  Jul.  24,  1829. 

a.  46  yr.,  4  mo.,  9  da. 
]7i).  Scheaffer,  Frederick. 

b.  Oct.  18.  1783;   d.  Mar.  18,  1811. 

a.  57   yr..  5  mo. 

171.  Scheaffer,     Catherine.    B.    Marcks    wf. 
Frederick. 

b.  Feb.  2,  1783;  d.  June  25,  1852. 

a.  69  yr.,  4  mo.,  15  da. 

(The  Schaeffers  of  Salisbury  are  de- 
scendents  of  Michael  Schaeffer  who 
with  his  father  Geo.  Frederick  landed 
at  Phila.  Aug.  27,  1739,  and  soon  after 
settled  in  Macungie.    J.  B.  S.) 

172.  Scheaffer.        Christiana,        wf.        John 

G  p  li  p  q  fFp  V 

b.  May  31,  1765;   d.  Feb.  14,  1806. 

a.  40  yr.,  7  mo.,   15   da. 

173.  Steininger,    Adam. 

b.  Dec.  25.  1768;   d.  Dec.  20,  1827. 

a.  58  yr.,  11  mo.,  26  da. 

174.  Steininger,     Catherine,     b.     Heilin    Avf. 
Adam. 

b.  Nov.  7,  1772;   d.  Feb.  24,  1813.    ' 

a.  42  yr.,  3  mo.,  17  da. 

175.  Steininger,  Christian. 

b.  Feb.   9,   1714;    d.    Apr.    11,  1771. 

a.  57  yr.,  2  mo.,     9  da. 

176.  Steininger,  Jacob. 

b.  Oct.   n,  1792;   d.  Aug.  26,  1868. 

a.  75  yr..  10  mo..  15  da. 

177.  Steininger,   Maria;    wf.   Jacob. 

b.  Feb.  11,  1794;   d.  Sept.  25,  1S45. 

a.  49  yr..  7mo.,  12  da. 

178.  Schmeirrer,    Anna   Catherine. 

b.  Nov.  24,  1754;   d.  Mar.  22,  1777. 

a.  22  yr.,  4  mo..  28  da. 

179.  Steininger,    Anna   Margareth. 

b.  Mar.  13,  1734;   d.  Jan.  17,  1794. 

a.  59  yr..  10  mo.,  4  da. 
ISO.  Schneider.   Christian. 

b.  Apr.  22.  1743;  d.  Oct.  1,  1810 

a.  67  yr..  5  mo. 
LSI   Stehler,   Maria   S. 

b.  Jul.  12,  1777;  d.  Feb.  9,  1845 

a.  67  yr.,  6  mo.,  27  da. 

182.  Schuler.   Rosianna. 

b.  .Aug.  3,  1761;   d.  Apr.  6,  1853. 

a.  91  yr.,  8  mo..  13  da. 

183.  Smith.   Jacob. 

b.  Jan.  4,  1791  ;  d.  Mar.  1859. 

a.  68  yrs..  2  mo.,  28  da. 

184.  Smith.       Catherine.     B.     Daubert     wf. 
Jacob 

b.  May  4,  1789;   d.  Nov.  19,  1879. 

a.  89  yr.,  6  mo.,  15  da. 

185.  Van  Buskirk.  Mathew. 

b.  Aug.   22.  1776;   d.   July   1778. 

186.  Van  Buskirk,  Geo. 

b.  May  22,  1778;  d.  ?  1778. 


187.  Weider,    Sarah;    b.    Weaber,    wf.    Lean- 
hard. 

b.  Aug.  29,  1797;  d.  Feb.  27,  1821. 

a.  23  yr.,  5  mo.,  27  da. 

188.  Wieder,  Leanhard. 

b.  Feb.  27,  1786;  d.  Oct.  20,  1828. 

a.  42  yr.,  8  mo.,  2  da. 

189  Wieder,      Susanna,      b.      Steininger    wf. 
Leanhard. 

b.  Jul.  2,  1794;  d.  Feb.  25,  1829. 

a.  34  yr..  7  mo.,  23  da. 

190.  Wieder,  John  Adam. 

b.  Dec.  13,  1750;   d.  June  20,  1825. 

a.  74  yr..  9  mo.,  7  da. 

191.  Wieder,  Christian,  b.  Dutten,  wf.  John 
Adam. 

b.  Apr.  10.  1757;   d.  Sept.  13,  1836. 

a.  79  yr..  5  mo.,  2  da. 
Ch.  10:   6  s.  4  dau. 

192.  Weaber.  Elias. 

b.  Nov.  23,  1753;  d.  Oct.  22,  183?. 

a.  85  yr.,  10  mo.,  29  da. 

(Elias  "\Veber.  tradition  says  was  one 
year  old  when  brought  to  Penn.  by  his 
father.  John  Weaber  who  is  buried  at 
the  Blue  Church.— J.  B.  S.) 

193.  Weaber,     Anna     Christian,     b.    Egner 
of  John  Mathias  Egner. 

b.  Feb.  26,  1761;    d.  Sept.  7,  1835. 

a.  74  yr.,  6  mo.,  12  da. 

Ch.  6:  Charles,  John,  Sarah.  Catharine, 
Molly,  Elizabeth. 

194.  Weaber.  Charles. 

b.  Oct.  29,  1799;  d.  May  19,  1852. 

a.  52  yr..  6  mo.,  21  da. 

195.  Weaber.  John  C,  Sen. 

b.  Jul.  29.  1785;   d.  Dec.  27.  1870. 

a.  85  yr.,  4  mo..  29  da. 

196.  Weaber.    Susanna    M. ,    b.    Schwartz. 
Wf.  John  C.  Weaber. 

b.  Aug.  25,  1786;   d.  June  9.  1866. 

a.  79  yr.,  9  mo.,  15  da. 

Ch.  8:  John,  Elias.  Joseph.  Polly, 
Eliza.   Maryan,    Sallie.   Thomas 

197.  Wieand.  Jacob. 

b.  Jul.  5,  1785;  d.  Feb.  6.  1849. 

a.  63  yr..  7  mo..  1  da. 

198.  Wieand,   Margarith.   wf.    Jacob 

b.  Sept.  5,  1779;   d.  Oct.  9,  1841. 

a.  62  yr.,  1  mo.,  4  da. 

199.  Wieand,  Henrich. 

b.  Feb.  15.  1789;   d.  .Tan.  13,  1877. 

a.  87  yr..  10  mo..  27  da. 

200.  Weiand.    Elizabeth;    b.   Leibensberger. 

b.  May  4,  1794;    d.  Aug.   19,  1869. 

a.  75  yr..  3  mo.,  15  da. 

201.  Wagner,  Magdelena  M.  b.  Taubert,  wf. 
John  Wagner. 

b.  Nov.  2.  1796;   d.  Sept.  14,  18*^9. 

a.  92  yr..  10  mo.,  12  da. 

202.  Yohe,  Anna  Maria,  b.  Quir,    wf.    Peter 
Yohe. 

b.  Oct.  11,  1775;    d.  Mar.  11.  1812. 
a.  66  yr.,  5  mo. 


PAPER    IX 


31 


48.  Schulz.    Rahel;     wo.    Matthias    Schultz; 
(1.  Dec.  24,  1845;   a.  79  yrrs.;   Bethlehem 

49.  Sterner,   C  hiistiana;       Hanover      twp.; 

Lehigh  Co.;  n.  Nenhardt;  d.  Feb.  8, 
1848;  a.  79  yrs.,  10  mo.  and  several 
da.;    bu.  Schoners  cemetery. 

50.  Stohler,     Friedrich;      Mount     .loy     twp., 

Lancaster  Co.;  d.  .Tjin.  19,  1847;  a.  89 
yrs.;  "letztes  Mitglied  der  friiheren 
Briidergemeine    daselbst." 

51.  Van  Vieck.  Ehrw.  Carl   A.;    d.    Dec.   21, 

1845;  a.  51  yrs.;  pastor  at  Bethany,  N. 
C;  New^port,  N.  J.;  Lancaster;  York; 
Nazareth,  Pa.;  Principal  Nazareth 
Hall;     Prof,    in     Theological     Seminary 


at  Bethlehem;  Prin.  of  High  School, 
Greenvile,  Tenn.,  where  he  died;  bu. 
Salem,  N.  C,  Jan.   3,   1846. 

52.  Walter,  .Joseph;  d.  Mar.  17,  1846;  a.  SC 
yrs.;    Bethlehem. 

53.  Wieder,    Henry;    IGmaus,    Pa.;    d.    April 

4,   1847;    a.   54   yrs. 

54.  Wohler,   Sarah;    wf.   Heinrich;    in   Hope, 

Indiana,  formerly,  of  Bethlehem,  Pa.; 
d.  Mar.  9,  1847;  a.  47  yrs.,  1  mo.,  25  da. 

55.  Yae^er,  Barbara;  widow  of  Rev. 
.lohann  Conrad  Jaeger;  d.  Sept.  9. 
1847;  a.  86  yrs.;  was  blind  the  last 
years  of  her  life. 


Genealogy  in  the  Cemeteries 

By  Col.  G.  W.  Crosley 


Amonji"  the  1:)eatniftil  ceineterics  in 
l(,)\va  there  are  few  that  for  beauty  of 
location  will  stirpass  or  equal  the  one 
-SO  appropriately  named  Graceland  at 
W'eb.^ter  City.  The  grounds,  streets, 
alleys  and  lots  are  well  cared  lor  and 
it  contains  many  beautiful  and  some 
costly  monuments.  In  this  respect, 
however,  it  does  not  differ  much  from 
a  g^reat  many  others,  but  it  ha^  occur- 
red to  the  writer  that  in  so  far  as  the 
keeping  of  its  records  is  concerned  it 
deserves  to  be  mentioned  as  an  ex- 
ample to  others  that  have  not  been  so 
careful  in   this  regard. 

The  cemetery  is  the  property  of  the 
city.  The  records  are  kept  at  the  City 
Mail  in  a  large  leather  bound  book  en- 
titled "Cemetery  Lot  and  Grave  Re- 
cord, City  of  \\^ebster  City."  This 
book  contains:  First,  names  Midexed 
in  alphabetical  order  of  all  ])ersons 
buried  in  the  cemetery,  giving  lot. 
division  and  block  and  location  on  lot. 
Second,  plans  of  all  blocks  and  lots  in 
each  section  of  the  cemetery,  show- 
ing names  of  persons  buried,  and  the 
location  of  each  grave  upon  lot  ;  these 
plats  also  show  shape  and  size  of 
each  lot.  Third,  a  complete  record  of 
all  soldiers  of  the  War  of  the  Rebell- 
ion and  other  wars  buried  in  this 
division  and  block,  company,  regi- 
menl.   ."^latc.   arm   of  service  to   which 


llie\'  belonged  and  metal  markers 
placed  at  each  soldier's  grave. 

In  addition  to  this  a  large  plot  of 
ground  has  been  set  apart  for  use  on 
Alemorial  Day,  shaded  by  fine  trees 
and  containing  an  open  space  in  the 
center  upon  which  stands  a  flug-staff'. 
I  may  add  that  there  is  no  ])lace 
where  Memorial  Day  is  more  faith- 
fully and  religiously  observed  than 
here.  Many  years  agc:»  the  city  au- 
thorities took  charge  of  these  exer- 
cises, and  each  year  the  members  of 
the  Local  Grand  Army  Post  and 
other  soldiers  and  members  of  the 
\\^oman's  Relief  Corps  are  the  hon- 
ored guests  of  the  city,  the  Grand 
Army  Post  conducting  the  services 
at  the  cemetery  according  to  their 
ritual,  but  being  relieved  of  all  care 
as  to  looking  after  the  details  lor  the 
observance  of  the  day,  and  all  ex- 
pense connected  therewith.  The  local 
military  company  and  the  children  of 
the  public  schools  always  ])articipate 
in  these  exercises,  and  the  business 
houses  are  closed. 

The  records  abo\e  referred  to  were 
compiled  by  Levi  Cottington.  an  old 
soldier,  and  the  work  of  getting  all 
the  names  and  locating  them  involv- 
ed l<ing  and  patient  effort  and  took 
o\er  one  year  for  its  cf^mpletion.  The 
indexinu".    j'tlatting    and    draftinsj"    wa^ 


32 


GENEALOGY    IN    THE   CEMETERIES 


done  by  Capt.  Frank  F.  Landers,  an- 
other old  soldier,  who  has  fur  long- 
years  been  the  voluntary  keeper  of  the 
death  record  of  old  soldiers  in  Web- 
ster City  and  Hamilton  county.  To 
these  two  men  is  due  the  whole  cred- 
it of  making  up  and  providing  for 
the  perpetual  keeping  of  these  inval- 
uable records.  Each  burial  is  prompt- 
ly reported  to  the  city  clerk  by  the 
sexton  and  at  once  added  to  the  rec- 
ord, so  for  all  time  it  will  be  kept 
complete  if  faithful  and  capable  men 
like  those  now  occupying  these  posi- 
tions succeed  them. 

Such   a   record  will   prove  of  value 
to  collectors  of  genealogical  facts  and 


compilers  of  local  history,  necrology 
and  biography,  and  to  throw  light  on 
the  general  history  of  the  town, 
county  and  State.  It  also  appeals  to 
the  best  and  holiest  sentiment  of  the 
human  heart  in  keeping  the  dead  in 
memory  and  is  evidence  of  a  high 
state  of  civilization  in  the  community. 

NOTE  BY  EDITOR— The  above  lines 
taken  from  ANNALS  OF  IOWA  Vol.  VII:  1 
are  introduced  here  as  an  example  and  in- 
centive to  our  readers.  Many  o  town, 
community,  church  and  family  should  go 
and  do  likewise.  Weeds,  thorns  and  neg- 
lect are  not  the  best  way  of  aonoring' 
"Father  and  Mother." 


WHAT  READERS  THINK  OF  THE  PENNSYLVANIA- 
GERMAN 


THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN  has  a 
wide  field,  it  has  won  for  itself  a  right  to 
live,  and  is  intensely  interesting,  instruct- 
ive and  entertaining.  I  would  enjoy  receiv- 
ing and  reading  a  daily  or  weekly  issue. 
HENRY  E.  KRA.M, 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

.Most  assuredly  it  should  find  a  welcome 
in  all  intelligent  families  and  serve  as  a 
history  for  the  rising  generations:  and 
find  many  of  the  young  desiring  to  read 
mine  and  they  enjoy  it. 

L.    M.    PLUCK. 
Souderton,   Pa. 

I  enjoy  it  very  much  and  hope  vou  may 
have   a   prosperous   year. 

J.   R.   FLICKINGER,    (Prin.,) 

Lock  Haven,  Pa. 

THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN  is  in 
its  proper  field  when  it  lays  up  a  supply 
of  Historical  information  and  makes  the 
people  of  that  class  feel  proud  of  their  an- 
cestry instead  of  to  blush  as  formerly. 
Rev.   E.    D.    BRIGHT, 

Derry,   Pa. 

Ohio  was  largely  settled  by  pioneers 
from  Pennsylvania  from  ISOO  until  1840  or 
even  longer — and  we  have  in  Ohio  no 
means  of  tracing  the  ancestry  of  these 
pioneers  from  Pennsylvania  or  of  knowing 
much  about  the  life  of  our  ancestors  in 
Pennsylvania  except  through  such  records 
as  may  be  i)ul)lished  in  Pennsylvania 
where  you  are  able  to  collect  it  for  us. 
Mrs.    GRAFTON   C.    KENNEDY, 

Davton.   Ohio. 


The  magazine  occupies  a  field  rich  in 
history  and  folk-lore,  and  I  can  bespeaj\ 
for  it  my  best  wishes  for  its  continued 
success.  WILLIAN    FEGLEY, 

Reading,    Pa. 

THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN  Mag- 
azine is  an  indispensible  production — a 
long  felt  want— and  should  be  supported 
by  every  one  of  Pennsylvania  German  ex- 
traction. Those  who  don't  read  it  are  miss- 
ing much.  Such  a  project  should  be  sup- 
ported and  encouraged.         1.  H.  BETZ, 

York,  Pa. 

The  "Pennsylvania-German"  has  a  distinct 
field,  all  to  itself  too.  It  is  recording  his- 
tory, it  is  placing  the  Pennsylvania  Ger- 
man in  his  correct  place,  it  is  presenting  to 
the  world  a  record  of  what  a  large  race 
has  done.  If  we,  as  a  race,  don't  record  our 
own  history,  no  other  race  will.  It's  up  to 
us  to  support  this  magazine.  It  has  a  right 
to  live,  and  it  is  going  to  thrive.  The  Penn- 
sylvania German  giant  is  awakening,  he  is 
losing  some  of  his  innate  modesty  and  con- 
servatism, and  he  will  be  recognized,  in 
time,   for  his   strength.     P.   J.   BICKEL. 

Mercersburg,   Pa. 

I  find  your  magazine  always  interesting 
and  of  value:  and  I  trust  that  you  are 
meeting  with  abundant  success.  The  Penn- 
sylvania "Dutchman"  will  some  day  come 
into  his  own  in  history,  song  and  story, 
and  your  work  will  then  be  appreciated 
even  more  than  it  is  now. 

O.   F.   HERSHEY, 
Baltimore,  Md.