USA > Pennsylvania > Lebanon County > Lebanon > Addresses delivered at the second stated meeting of the Lebanon County Historical Society, held in the court house, Lebanon, Pa., Friday, April 15, 1898 > Part 1
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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 01850 8199
GC 974.801 L49L,
V.1 NO.3
ADDRESSES
DELIVERED AT THE
SECOND STATED MEETING
OF THE
ANON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
HELD IN THE
COURT HOUSE, LEBANON, PA Friday, April 15, 1898.
NON COUNTY IN HISTORY, BIOGRAPHY AND GENEALOGY, BY WM. H. EGLE, M.D., State Librarian, Harrisburg, Pa.
THE EARLY HISTORY OF SCHAEFFERSTOWN, PA.
BY ABRAM S. BRENDLE, EsQ. Schaefferstown, Pa.
PRESS OF. .. REPORT PUBLISHING COMPANY, LIMITED, LEBANON, PA.
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- LEBANON COUNTY IN HISTORY,. BIOGRAPHY AND GENEALOGY.
BY WM. H. EGLE, M. D., State Librarian.
Members of the Lebanon County Ilistor. ical Society:
Before proceeding with the paper which I have prepared for this occasion,, permit me to congratulate you all upon the or. ganization of a local historical society, through the instrumentality of which you may gather up the many fragments of your history and preserve them for pos- "terity. Whatever I may be able to do to further your patriotic zeal and cause, it will give me the greatest delight. There is something charming about your local history, and I have endeavored, so far as time was allowed me, to preserve some portion of its history, biography and ge- nealogy. What you or I may do today may not be found perfect, but yet it will form the nucleus of that truth of history for which we are all in search.
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My paper, as appears by the subject- Lebanon County in History, Biography and Genealogy -- will be only more of a help to you, a guide-than a resume of the past with its treasured history of almost a century and three-fourths can give us. This locality is growing old. In less than · twenty years the next generation can cel- ebrate the bi-centennial of its first settle- ment. My great interest in this county lies in the fact that my ancestors in two lines settled,. one in Heidelberg, and the other in Lebanon township, and hence I feel they, if not myself, "were to the ma- nor born."
- First, let me point out the sources of your history. These are being brought to light day by day, and I am greatly pleased to feel that through the instrumentality of several gentlemen who are members of your society much that was hidden to the historian a dozen or' a score of years ago is being brought to light. Need I refer to the "Hebron Diary" during the Revolu- tionary War, and to the records of Rev. `John Casper Stoever, who through alinost a fifty-year ministry, kept one of the most complete and invaluable registers of bap- tisms and marriages; as well, to that in-
teresting publication, "Landmarks of the 'Lebanon Valley."
. Our early settlers made history, but the records they kept are very meagre, -glean. ing a little here and there, time and re- search will, however, develop very much that is precious, instructive, and enter. taining. \It is the province of the lo- cal Historical Society, whether as individ. uals, or collectively to do this work.
In the first place it is our duty that we should inquire into the motives which brought the pioneers to this part of the New World-who they were-and the self-denials of those God-serving and God- fearing men and women who were the . builders of the Commonwealth,-this Commonwealth, the greatest in the Fed- eral Union of States.
The trials of our early settlers in their pioneer life, their modes of living, their dwellings; their rude implements of agri- culture, their early anu peculiar customis, some of which survive, although gradually disappearing, are for us to chronicle. The history of the early churches, of the min- isters and schools, will form entertaining topics . for consideration. Much that is interesting and important centres in and around your early churches. A few years ago I spent one of the most delightful days in visiting several of these landmarks in Bethel township, particularly Klopp's and the "Ziegel Kirche" at Mount Zion. One hundred and forty years of the his. tory of Lebanon county gathers around these structures-in the original log build. ings-now replaced by handsome edifices which would be an adornment to any city and especially the God's-acres which would put to shame many of the city cem. eteries, for their order, cleanliness and beauty. In this neighborhood occurred many instances of Indian warfare, where the marauding savages, cruel as the Span. . ish bandits and no less bloodthirsty, left death and desolation in their tracks. In this day of peace and plenty, we little think of the suffering of the brave pio- neers, who settled at the base of the Bin-
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Mountains, at the hands of the treacher- ous Shawanese and perlidious Delawares. It would make an interesting paper for some tof the members of your Society to ascertain where Dietrich Six dwelt, and who were his neighbors, in November, 1755. The Provincial authorities seemed alifferent and cared very little whether the "turbulent Irish and ignorant Ger- north, but stockades were created for their defense, and thus the tide of des- truction was obstructed and kept from sweeping all over the land, and the scalps ot the peaceful Quakers, who dwelt far . trom the frontiers were saved. The re- word of those eventful times is sufficient to harrow one's mind at the complacency of the heartless inhabitants who dwelt remotely from this scene. But, our an- castors came to stay, and the successful vanquishing of the encroaching French and Indian forces, was due to the back inhabitants wholly, and not to the pro- genitors of many whose descendants now look in vain for the military services of their ancestors, in that magnificent struggle which forever ended the French supremacy in America.
Following this came peace and prosper- ity, as well as an influx of settlers from . Europe which swelled the ranks of the hardy pioneers. When the tyranny of Great Britain became unendurable, the common interests of the colonies were . Lebanon, and that is about all we know cemented, and the Scotch-Irish and Ger- man-Swiss, stood shoulder to shoulder in that struggle for independence-the War of the Revolution. Were they wanting the valor, in patriotism? . No. They car- bestly resolved "that while they professed - During the French and Indian war --- 1755 to- 1764- there were a number of offi- cors in service from this portion of then baneaster county, despite the as sertion of a recent writer, who has stated that the Germans and Scotch. trish on the frontiers were slow to volunteer -- a palpable untruth and . yet this saying is to be expected from the would be historian who acknowledged that he knew nothing of the history of interior Pennsylvania. Of Captains Adam Read, John Philip De Haas, John George Miller we have record, but where will we find" Biographical data of Lieutenants . John Nice, Adam Henry, Martin Heidler and Adam Rontour. The same may be said. of bientenants Martin Thomas and Balzer Orth, although in the record of the Orth and of the Thomas fanulies, refer- to be loyal subjects of Great Britain, they would not submit to unjust and in- iquitons laws, as they were not slaves but freemen." Yes, this portion of then Lan- raster connty, sent into the war some of the bravest of its heroes. Need I refer to Colonels John Philip De Haas, Nicholas Haussegger, and Joseph Wood, Captains Joho Reily and Peter Grubb, Jr., valiant officers of the Pennsylvania lane. The Associators and Militia of whom there were several battalions in active service during the war, proved themselves patri- uts and heroes in many an engagement with the hired mercenaries of Great Brit ain. A record of all affairs in which your thestors took part, onght to he prepared In some one of the members of your Si. ciety.
The events which followed after peace was declared, and the struggle for the for- mation of a new county out of the north- ern portion of Lancaster county, were of momentous consequence. The struggle was not for separation, but for the loca- tion of the county town. Lebanon was then a flourishing village, Harrisburg had been only laid out by the proprietor on the Susquehanna, then considered a navigable stream, and on the highway to the west, gave it pre-eminence in the eon: test, and it was selected. . For twenty- eight years, however, the subject was a matter of great irritation; and when, if 1813, a separation took place Steitztown was happy.
man" were swept from the face of the --- "merely on paper. Its location, however,
Now, as to Biography :- I heard an Ed- itor not many miles away from this city, say, in pointing out the defects of the late history of your county-the objectionable features were the biographies of that work. I expressed my regret that it was not fuller, for @hat would we not give for just such a record of the inhabitants of a century or more prior. How dearly would we treasure it. The sequel showed that in the subsequent years full use, without quotation marks, was made of much of this data preserved therein. How little do we know of the more prominent of the carly settlers. George Steitz came to this country, took up land, laid out the town of of the founder. The same may be re- marked of 'Isaac Myer, the founder of Myerstown. The few brief points which have come down to us have been preserv- ed in the history of your county.
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ence may be found. Several companies, as you well know, came from this local- ity. It will be your province to make search for these early pioneers who de- fended the frontiers and, under Forbes and Bouquet, drove the wily savage to the then far west.
Of your revolutionary heroes there are a large number of whom we have only the mere-names. If you will . bm look up the wills, deeds and the admims. tration accounts of your early settlers at Lancaster, Harrisburg and Lebanon, you may be able to secure some clue as to these ancestors of yours.
Apart from the military wien during the struggle for independence, many there were whose' services to the county and state ought not to continue to be unre- corded. What is known of Samuel Jones, save that he was a justice of the peace as early as 1736, and that he was the father of. William Jones, who laid out Williams- burg, now Jonestown. Adam Read was another man who held official position prior to the revolution, and whose servic- es on the frontiers as a justice have never been appreciated by the biographer. Scat- terel through the archives and the "Co- lonial Records" is found to be correspond. ence which will greatly assist the chron- icler. During the revolutionary period, among the justices for this section of Lan- easter county were John Thome, Henry Schaffer, Samuel Jones and Adam' Nees. Other officers were Christopher Uhler, Christopher Kucher, Robert Clark, Adam Orth, Philip Greenawalt and Philip Mars- tellas. Of the last named, a prominent member of the first Constitutional Convention -- that convention that for- ever ended the proprietary govern. ment of the . Pemis-it was with dif- ficulty that I gathered up sufficient data to make a readable sketch. lle was one of the most remarkable men in this section. during the revolutionary era. At the close of that war, however. he removed to Virginia, and the last pub- lic duty we find he performed was in be- ing one of the pall bearers at the funera? of General Washington. - Others there were, prominent not only in official life. alone,. but in the church and in local af. fairs, of whom no record has been pre- served. It will be your province to gatlı- er up all possible information concerning these heroes of the past, of the days of '76.
Coming down to later times, Lebanon
county participated in the war of 1812-14, and her services in that second war for : - independence were as memorable as any section of the state.
In the days which passed between the war of 1812 and the rebellion, from the time the county of Lebanon entered upon its independent career, there were many leaders of public opinion in the county, men who deserve recognition at your hands, and I ask you, therefore, to gather up these fragments of your biographical Instory that not one item may be fost. During this period we had what was known as the so-called "corn-stalk" miil- .. tia. No doubt there are many persons still living who well recollect scenes fam- ons in their history, the "training or bat- talion days." Ridiculous though they may seem to those Who nave sinfply looked at the ludieroys side of these affairs, yet their major generals and brigadier gener- als and all the other officers, arrayed in -all the pomposity of war, were pre-eminent in their day and generation. It'may seem like an attempt to resurrect the dead, but events transpiring within these five de- eades brought to the front many remark. able personages. It was only two years ago that I was waited upon by the grand- daughter of General Stine, of the Leban- on County Militia, who informed me that she was in possession of the sword of her ancestor. 1 informed hier that in due time a Historical Society would be organ- ized in Lebanon, and that sword ought to be intrusted to its keeping. It is true ii is not the sword of Bunker Hill, Brandy- wine or Germantown, but it is the wea pon of a general whose services to the county were esteemed and appreciated by his fellow eitizens.
Need I refer you to the prominent part taken by Lebanon county in the "late un- pleasantness?" It may be said, "Have we not the survivors of that civil conthet with us?" It is trne, but how long wili they remain with ns? Their ranks are being decimated daily,-but what of the personal reminiscences of the men? Each one has a story to tell of "bullet and shell" and "hard tack and coffee." But the day is rapidly coming when we will no more hear their stories. Some effort should be made to preserve these remin iscences, brief though the record of each man may be, yet they will be invalable to all who admire the history of Lebanon county in the years to come. What would
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we not give for the reminiscenees of the sires of '76?
In gathering up your personal records, bear in mind that the glory of any local- ty does not consist solely in the records of those in official and military life, but also of those who have assisted in making the wilderness to blossom as a rose, of those enterprising men and women who have entered into literary pursuits, as well as those who through their industry, en- torprise and thrift have made Lebanon county one of the most prosperous, a. well as one of the greatest producing counties of the commonwealth. They may sneeringly designate your county as "Little Lebanon," but it has within it all the clements of energy and success s :- passing that of many seetions three times its extent.
I now come to Genealogy -the lustory ot the family. To know nothing of our . ancestry or from whenee we came, to have no reverence for the precious meut- ories of the past or an interest in those who are to succeed us in the battle of life, is to ignore the elements and influences that have made us what we are, to rept- cate the natural instinets and affections of the human heart and to suppress the aspirations and hopes of a soul that is to course on through endless circles of eter- mty. And what more precious testimon. im of your love of kindred and home can you leave than that which provides for the transmission of the history of your ancestry, yourself and family to future Enerations? And how consoling is the thought, that when you shall have bee :: gathered to your fathers, this history shall live through all coming time as a precious inheritance to your descendants. Ils is a trust that Providence has con- laled to your care; and who so dead to simpathy and affection, to kindred, and country, that would not preserve the res. up of his ancestors, the place of his Faith, the home of his childhood, and the. swral spot where repose the loved and lat ours of earth
To us, as American citizens, the history " the family is of primary importance. For too many years we have been content with tradition, and in the midst of our business and the demands of the present, ' ther forgotten the past, or allowed the information we may have secured to be overlooked, until too late, when precious memories have been effaced, and interest- ing facts passed into oblivion,
It is now nearly a century since one of our early statesmen noted that the colo- nists showed greater care over their "orig- inals' than people of the same quality in England; and boord Houghton, after his second visit to America, noted in an ad- mirable review of this conntry, that the literature relating to pedigrees was alto- gether larger in America than in England, cutting a larger swath through the com- munity, and that people in general were at more trouble here than there to know their ancestry accurately. For to an Eng- lishman who knew that there were no titles to secure by this care, and no set. tled estates whose reversionary interest might make a marriage certificate and a baptismal registry the bridge over which distant cousins pass to great wealth, this attention to ancestry-to one's "originals" -- was as unexpected as it was astonishing. English pedigree writ- ers deem it worth little to trace out col. lateral lines, but American toilers in the same tield deal with all branches of a family alike, and go to extraordinary pains to establish collateral relationships. It is perfectly plain that this labor and trouble implies at least an interest in . one's family. Family pride, pure and sim- . ple, is a thing which a great many Amer- jeans would feel some shame in acknowl- edging. And yet, one has only to watch American public life a short time to see that family connections play an import- ant part in affairs, and to perceive that a large share of the public men of today are descended from, or related to, the public .. men of yesterday. You may consider it pride or not, but it is only a pious duty. - and everything which pertams to one's own family should be carefully recorded and preserved for the benefit of these who are to follow. He who collects and keeps his own family history is not only a benefactor in his way, but will receive the blessings of future generations. These records should be guarded with venera. tion, and, if possible, preserved in perina- neut form; and I am glad to note the in- creased interest taken everywhere in this partienlar subject.
Unfortunately there are at the present time some motives for pedigree building which are surely not landable:
. First, and [ believe it is foremost, those who search for a titled ancestry.
Second, we have those for whom I have also absolute disgust-fortune-hunters.
It was not my intention to refer to
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those prime motives of snobbery which have recently shown themselves in our midst, by claiming royal or titled descent. With all the pomp, and glitter, and show, there has been crowned in New York a "Queen of the Holland Dames," while in the city of Pluladelphia "The Order of the Crown" has created an intense Sen- sation among the 400 of the Quaker City. In addition to these we find "The Barons of Runnymede > all of which show to what lengths American snobbery can run. In every large city in the Union there are dealers in stationery who will manufac- ture coats of arms for decoration on card, carriage and plate, for whoever will pay for it and in addition, there are hundreds of persons who are willing to pay a good price for any statement which traces .. back their lineage to some crowned head or titled aristocracy, be the same white, _black or Indian. In many of these cases the descent is far-fetched, and it is such work as this which brings genealogy into disrepute and ridienle. Yet as these per- ple who seek such notoriety have more money than brains, it is not necessary to * give my hearers further advice.
We have another class very nearly as despicable-seekers after wealth. Some of them have heard that a fortune was awaiting them in Europe, or that a 99. year lease was about to expire in_some portion of America, located in the center -of some large city, the value of which would be millions; or, large land grants in some sections of the States, and all that :+ necessary to secure these is the proof of their. descent. We read very frequentes, and it is copied by all the newspapers of the United States, that millions of dollars are awaiting claimants in England, Ire- land and Germany, and at once the gene- alogist is besieged by persons inheriting -the same name, who are desirous of se- euring therefrom all these mythical for- tunes.
Perchance, and I regret to say it, there "is no country in the world except the United States where people are so easily duped and defrauded. The reason is ow- ing to the great greed for gain and a de- sire to become suddenly_rich. I say; it here, to my hearers, that all these reports are arrant frauds, and I hope that you have little or no patience with individuals who are deceiving hosts of honest people . by holding before them delusive dreams of wealth. Is it, then, any wonder that those who are actuated by the honorable
and- pious motive of securing and preserve "ing records of their aneestors, are fre- quently mut with the question, "Is there any money in it?" In many instances peo- ple have positively refused to commim- - cate information, fearing they might not get their share in the unbounded wealth of legacies in foreign lands, or some inher' itance in our own country.
You know as well as I do that of these immense fortunes to which many duped Americaus have laid claim, not one dollar- has ever come to this country. The fact is, every year we find that affairs are revers- "ed. as in the cases of the Goulds and Van ' derbilts and other wealthy families, and great fortunes have gone to Europe, and this kind of fortune hunting seems to be the only field that is successful nowadays. We now come to that class of people who' 'are worthy of emulation, deserving unistinto eacho with a pious motive of preserving the record of their ancestry, gather up the precious threads ot genealegical woof they may find seat. tered here and there, and withont inordi- nate vanity, weave them into a continu- ous story of family history, honorable in
. the beginning, patriotie in a long line of God-fearing and estimable men and . We. men. They seek not descent from a de- bauche monarch or an inheritance to a mythical fortune. Purity of lineage_out- ranks all the titles which a sovereign may confer. These people are to be honored for what they have done and are to be ad mired for their loving and patriotic work which will live long among family annals, free from the self-aggrandizement of royal 'scent-and the taint of cupidity-when these shall have been discarded and ig nored by their former devotees, -- "Tlie Order of the Crown," and "The Barons of Runnymede."
Build your pedigree well; place little reh- ance upon tradition unless you have doen ments to prove it. Tradition, it has been said, "lies like a tombstone," and you are all aware of the truth of that saying, and vet you should never cast aside the infor- mation which has come down to you through tradition, from those who have passed from the stage of life. It may fur- nish you chues to facts, and these are what you want in pedigree building.
. In these days of patriotic-hereditary so- . eieties, much interest is manifested in ge- nealogical work, but I would admonish you to be sure you have your pedigter built up to, and ineluding the first settler
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m this country. Recently I had a de- mand for the revolutionary services of any one of the name of Williams. Among the rolls I found some twenty, each with a different Christian or baptismal name, aud tso stated. My correspondent repliet that! I should give those from the ('im- berland valley, as her ancestors were from that section. I found there were five, cent her the lot, of which I presume she took her choice, and is now a full-ttedged descendant of a revolutionary solcher. Now, this is all wrong. Had the person built np her pedigree to the revolutionary era, there is no doubt at all that. she would have come across the accurate name of her ancestor. You may think this is difficult to do. It is not as difficult as one would imagine. Of course, in, the ab- sence of town records, the pedigree build- er may not find the information so read- dly at hand, but there are other sources from which proper data may be secured to prepare the annals of the family.
Beware of the three brothers' theory, and be satisfied that there is but one head of the family, concerning whom you pro- pose to prepare a record. Neither sy that your ancestor came over on the "Mayflower" or on the "Welcome" with William Penn, unless you have positive anthority, as the list of passengers on both. those vessels are known, and yon- may make a mistake. It is sad to think of how many ancestors came over on those vessels; were this all true, both of them wonkl have gone to the bottom long intare they reached mid-ocean. It was only recently that a gentleman gave me the name of his ancestor who came over on the Mayflower, and who lost his hte while hunting shortly after landing, in 120. I do not know what the ancestor - was hunting just at that time, but I am are of one thing, that all the emigrants on the. Mayflower were glad enough to romain on board the vessel until the spring of 1621. Besides that, I could not and the name among the list of those who came over on that famous vessel. These are matters that should be guarded "sainst. Do not claim too much. Secure the facts and place them on record.
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