USA > Pennsylvania > Historic background and annals of the Swiss and German pioneer settlers of southeastern Pennsylvania, and of their remote ancestors, from the middle of the Dark Ages, down to the time of the Revolutionary War > Part 21
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"In religion, freedom must be al- lowed to every man to believe and profess that which in his judgment is necessary to his salvation. No one may be persecuted and punished for such faith and such profession,if his life and doctrines do not tend to the injuring of the state.
And as to these Mennonites, it is well known that they have at all times conducted themselves as good inhabitants and subjects. Therefore, the Holland authorities cannot in any way, lend a hand to the forcible trans- portation and banishment of Menno- nites to America; nor do anything whereby they might give color of ap- proving even indirectly, such pro- ceedings as have been inflicted upon the Mennonites in the Canton of Berne." (Müller 265.)
1710-St. Saphorin, the Mennonites' Friend Still Assists Them.
Obstacles arose and largely pre- vented Ritter's project from realizing any important results. Louis Michelle (who before, had been to America, both in what is now Lancaster County, Pa., and in what is now the region of New Berne, North Carolina), was assisting Ritter in the project of tak- ing the Mennonites down the Rhine and it fell to him to tell them that there was no home in Holland for them and no funds to take them on to America. It thus became neces- sary to persuade those who were in Holland to find means to go on to America and also those who were coming on to Holland to do the same.
says in a communication, dated March 28, 1710, in arranging for a temporary stay for them in Holland where Hol- land Mennonites were prevailed on to take care of them, for he says "they cannot be expected to go back to Berne and be killed." March 29, 1710, St. Saphorin wrote to the English Ambasador at Hague (Holland) Lord Townsend to win him over. Müller says, the manner in which he presents the project does him great credit as a diplomat.
He says among other things "Some private individuals of good family of Berne, have purchased from the Queen of Great Britain a considerable portion of land in North Carolina and seven thousand acres in Pennsylvania in order to found colonies there under the mild government of the Queen. More than eighty families belonging to a religion, according to their consciences from the Canton of Berne are on the way there. Besides these, there are fifty Anabaptists or Menno- nites who are in prison because they will bear no arms for the defence of the Fatherland-will not obey the sovereign nor recognize him-and who have been given their liberty on the condition that they bind them- selves to settle in America where their sect is tolerated. And on the condition that they go to America, they have been allowed to sell their goods. And favorable contracts have been made with the owners of the land; and the state of Berne has as- sumed to pay all expenses from Berne to America. All this was carried on with Mr. de Stanin the Ambassador of the Queen of Great Britain. It will be of great advantage to the kingdom of Great Britain if the American col- onies became populated with these people, in part, as both the families of these brethren in faith, who are going thither from Switzerland and all Mennonites are very good farmers
147
MENNONITES PLEAD FOR HELP TO GO TO AMERICA
and industrious people. And as in | majority desired to live in the Palati- large part they are provided with money, they will be brought into the colonies without cost to Great Bri- tain. Thus all will be of great ad- vantage to her."
"My lord Townsend," he says, "is therefore requested to intervene with their high mightiness the Holland states general, that they grant to all those who are in Holland a free pas- sage who hope to emigrate from Switzerland to America." (Müller 266.)
The Mennonites, seeing the transac- tions of Berne simply religious per- secution by which they meant to send their subjects to America by force just as they previously sent them to the galleys of Venice, were about to alarm their brethren in faith then in England, to interest the Queen in the cause of their Swiss brethren, when St. Saphorin took up their case as above. (Do. 267.)
1710-Hans Funk Leads a Colony Out of Switzerland.
There is a brief note in Müller (p. 206) stating that about 1710, appar- ently, Hendrick Funk led a colony of 12 exiled Mennonite families out of Switzerland.
1710-Burkholder, Zellers, Braekbill, Rupp and Donens at Amsterdam, Plead for Help to Transport Swiss Mennonites to America.
This year, according to Dr. Schef- fer of the Mennonite College at Am- sterdam (Holland) in his article on Mennonite Emigration to Pennsyl- vania in Vol. 2 of Pa. Mag. of Hist. and Biog. pp. 117-126, five Swiss Mennonite leaders, Hans Burchi or Burghalter, Melchoir Zeller, Benedict Brechtbuhl, Hans Rupp and Peter Donens were in Amsterdam pleading for their people in Switzerland. The
nate but found great difficulty in ac- complishing it. The Palatinate com- munity were generally poor and much hardship they endured there for want of religious liberty. They were sub- ject to the humors of the elector, or worse, of his officers. For nearly seven years they waited, often sup- ported by the Netherland brethren, always hoping for better times. Finally, at a meeting of the Elders at Manheim, in the Palatinate, held Feb. 1717, it was decided to call upon the Mennonite brethren of Netherlands for help in carrying out the project of going to Pennsylvania, which they had long contemplated, and which at last came to maturity. And the very land to which in 1710, they were to be forcibly exiled, they adopted in 1717. viz. Pennsylvania-particularly the Pequea and Conestoga Valleys.
The actual numbers coming here in 1717 we will treat of under that year. I may note here too, that this same Hans Burchi, or as Dr. Scheffer calls him Burghalter in 1727, was a Menno- nite preacher at Conestoga. Also ac- cording to Rupp, Brechbuhl trans- lated the Wanderland Seele into the German from the Dutch.
1710 -- Swiss Mennonites the First Settlers in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
We now enter upon a most inter- esting item, locally-the first settle- ment in the Imperial County of Lan- caster. This settlement was the Men- nonite colony on Pequea Creek near Willow Street in 1710.
Müller says (p. 365) that among the emigrant Palatinates to Pennsylvania, there were a large number of exiled Bernese. Bernese emigrated not only out of the Palatinate( where many had prviously settled) in 1710 to America but also directly out of the Emmen- thal. They were two months on the
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148 JOURNEY OF FIRST SWISS SETTLERS TO LANCASTER COUNTY
ocean and experienced all the hard- | Wherewith we commend you all to ships of first settlers.
Müller says further "Bernese Men- nonites are mentioned in a letter written by Toren van Gent in Rotter- dam to Jacob Forsterman in Amster- dam, dated March 31, 1710, which' Mennonites had gone to England on their way to Pennsylvania and whom the Rotterdam brethren had helped with money to reach London. And says Müller (p. 366) they are likely the same six Swiss Mennonites, who on the 27th of June, 1710, wrote from London to their brethren in the faith in Amsterdam.
That letter quoted in full by Müller, p. 366, is as follows:
"Worthy and Beloved Friends:
the merciful God (together with courteous greetings from us all) and remain your true friends. London, the 24th of June, 1710.
JACOB MILLER,
MARTIN OBERHOLTZER, MARTIN MAILY, CHRISTIAN HERR,
HANS HERR, MARTIN KINDIG."
These six pioneers came from Lon- don in the Mary Hope, a small ship having ninety-four passengers on board (one of whom was the famous Quaker . preacher, Thomas Chalkley), with John Annis, master, and left London early Friday, June 29, 1710, in the morning, and later the same day left Gravesend for America and reached the Delaware in September.
"Besides wishing you all temporal and eternal welfare we have wanted We base our belief on Chalkley's Journal, page 74, where he says: "I took passage in the Mary Hope, John Annis master, bound for Philadelphia; --- - and on the 29th of the 4th month (June), 1710, at Gravesend, we set sail and overtook the Russian fleet at Harwich and joined them and sailed with them as far as Shetland, north- ward to the Isle of Orkney. We were two weeks with the fleet, and then left them and sailed to the westward for America. In this time we had rough seas, which made divers of us sea sick. After we left Shetland we were seven weeks and four days at sea before we saw the land of Amer- ica. We had sweet and solemn meet- ings on the first and fifth days; had one meeting with the Germans, or Palatines, on the ship's decks and a person who understood both lan- guages interpreted for me. The people were tender and wrought upon, be- haved sober and were well satisfied." He also says the ship was small and was well loaded, with ninety-four on board; and all were brought well and safe to Philadelphia in September, to inform you how that we have received that financial aid which the dear friends out of their great kind- ness of heart have given toward our journey. And this kind contribution came very opportunely to us, because the journey cost more than we had imagined. God bless the worthy friends in time and eternity; and whatever may be of good for the body and wholesome for the soul may the merciful God give them and contin- ually be and remain their rewarder. But of our journey we report that we were detained almost ten weeks, be- fore we were put on board ship; but then we actually entered into the ship on the 24th, were well lodged and well cared for, and we have been informed we will set sail from here next Saturday or Sunday from Gravesend, and wait there for the Russian convoy. God be with us, and bring us to land in America as hap- pily as here in England. Herewith we commend you to the merciful God; and, should we not see one another in this life, may God permit us to see one another in eternity. 1710; and that the Palatines were
149
LANCASTER COUNTY'S FIRST SWISS COLONY
wonderfully pleased with the coun- | try, mightily admiring the pleasant- ness and fertility of it."
It is not known that in the fall of 1710 any other Palatines than these who signed the London Letter, came to Philadelphia. Chalkley's ship left Gravesend, and was under convoy of the Russian fleet, just as the Menno- nite letter says they expected to do; it had Mennonites on board; it left Gravesend (which is fifteen miles from London) on Friday, June 29, al- most the day the Palatines wrote they expected to leave. They expected to go Saturday, the 30th, but to catch the Russian fleet, they had to sail a day earlier. We find that the 29th of June, 1710, was Friday, because in 2 Col. Rec. p. 533, June 16, 1711, was said to be Tuesday, and the 25th was thus. Tuesday, and the 25th of June, 1710, therefore, Monday, which made the 29th on Friday.
This traces up these six pioneers of Lancaster County settlement from Amsterdam (where prior to March 31, 1710, there were gathered), to their arrival in Philadelphia in September, 1710. Other fragmentary evidence makes it fairly clear that, in the win- ter of 1709 and 10 they fled out of the Emmenthal near Berne and went to Holland to collect means, etc., from wealthy Mennonites there and make arrangements to go to Pennsylvania. Lancaster County thus owes a debt of thanks to Holland for helping the opening up of this county and for helping so good and God-loving a class of early settlers here.
We shall next trace the movements of this handful of settlers from Phil- adelphia to Pequea Creek, their steps to acquire land there and bring it under their dominion. While only six are signers of the letter quoted, it is certain that several more were in the colony.
1710-The Pioneer Swiss Colony Se- cures Land on Pequea Creek, Lancaster County, Pa.
Shortly after arriving in Philadel- phia in September, 1710, the Colony just mentioned secured the right to take up land on Pequea Creek.
They procured for themselves the following warrant, which is No. 572 of the Taylor Papers, in the Histori- cal Society Building at Philadelphia.
Phil. ber 16, 1710.
By a warrant from dated
the Sth day of Oct. Lord, one
thousand seven hundred and is authorized and required to survey and lay out to Rodolph
Bundely and company ten thousand acres of land with reason- able allowances for roads and high- ways on the northwest side of a bill, about twenty miles easterly from Conestoga and near the head of Pequea Creek, and thereof
with my office.
JACOB TAYLOR.
To Isaac Taylor Surveyor
of the County of Chester."
The blanks above are occasioned by reason of the fact that the original paper has partly crumbled to pieces because of age. There is no full copy of it.
In Vol. 19, Sec. Series of Penna. Archives, p. 529, may be found cer- tain minutes of Penn's Commission- ers of Property of their meeting held Sept. 10, 1712, making reference to the same tract. It is there stated that, the Commissioners granted ten thousand acres of land to the Pala- tines, by warrant dated -ber, 1710 and that part of it (2000 acres) was laid out to Martin Kendig.
Rupp, in his history of Lancaster County (p. 90) quoting the same min- utes says, the warrant was dated the 6th of October 1710. The copy which I give above "of the original, found
150 FACTS ABOUT ORIGINAL SETTLEMENT IN LANCASTER COUNTY
in the Taylor Papers seems to be dated the 8th of October as I state; but the date is so indistinct that the 6th may be correct.
Rupp (p. 85) sets out another paper, apparently not in the archives, stated to be a document signed by former commissioners, which states that those former commissioners by a warrant bearing date the 10th of October 1710, granted unto John Ru- dolph Bundely, Hans Herr, and divers other Germans, late inhabitants in or near the Palatinate of the Rhine, 10,000 acres to be laid out on the north side of a hill, about twenty miles easterly of Conestoga, near the head of Pequea Creek" etc.
Thus we have the 6th-the 8th and the 10th of October, declared as the date of this first title of land in Lan- caster County by our Swiss-German ancestors.
There is an order to survey accord- ing to the Taylor Papers (No. 573) dated October 16, 1710, which sets out that by a warrant dated 11th day of eighth month (October) 1710, there was given to John Rudolph Bundely 500 acres of land adjoining the 10,000 located or to be laid out to the Pala- tine Company.
Thus the true date is not later than October 1710.
These pioneers at once journeyed to the head of Pequea Creek but did not find that point to meet their de- sires and journeyed down the stream until they arrived at a point on the creek directly east of present Willow Street and there took up, on both sides of the creek 6,400 acres of this land and had it surveyed Oct. 23, 1710 and divided the 27th of April, 1711. This may be found in a map called "Plot of Original Tract of Old Rights in Lancaster County" in the Office of Internal Affairs at Harris- burg. The remainder was divided later. (See Mennonites of America by C. Henry Smith, p. 146.)
The division was as follows: Be- ginning on the west Martin Kendig 530 acres-Martin Mylin 265 acres- Christian Herr 530 acres - Martin Kendig 264 acres-John Herr 530 acres - John Bundely 500 acres - Christian Franciscus 530 acres-Ja- cob Miller 1,008 acres-John Funk 530 acres-Martin Kendig 1,060 acres. The tracts extend nearly north and south and are of regular parallel form, the whole plot reaching from West Willow on the west to Stras- burg on the east.
Upon this tract also are the remains of the original settlers in the private grave yards on the same-one on the bank of Pequea Creek, known as Tchantz's Graveyard, afterwards called Musser's, where are found tombstones (practically intact today) over the resting places of the Mylins and Millers-one adjoining the brick Mennonite Willow Street Church, where lie the Herrs-and one just east of Willow Street, where repose the Kendigs and some of the Mylins.
The division lines of the old origi- nal farms, determined the public road of today of that whole section of ten square miles, five miles from east to west and two miles or more from north to south; these roads be- ing located precisely on the old property lines. Much of the original tract is today owned and occupied by descendants of the original owners.
1710-Record of Subdivision of Pequea Tract.
In the record of warrants at Har- risburg the subdivision of the great tract mentioned above may be found. Among other facts, it is set out that "Martin Kendig late an inhabitant of Switzerland, had . surveyed to him 1060 acres of land in Strasburg town- ship, bounded by Mylin, Herr and Funk-another of 530 acres and an- other of 265 acres. Recorded Sept. 1711.
151
ANCIENT HOME OF OUR COUNTY PIONEERS
Likewise Christopher Franciscus of | Switzerland 530 acres bounded by Miller, Bowman and Bundely-in 1710 Funk had 530 acres founded by Ken- dig and Miller, surveyed Feb. 28, 1711. Bundely of Switzerland had 500 acres bounded by Bowman. surveyed in 1710 and Mart. Mylin 265 acres --- Christian Herr 530 acres and John Herr 530 acres-all recorded July 3, 1711; Wendell Bowman 530 acres re- corded July 7, 1711. Warrants for all of these are dated 1710. (See Rupp 79.)
1710-Membership and First Steps of Pequea Colony.
We have mentioned above six of the members of the Pequea Colony-those signing the London Letter. Rupp says that in addition to them, Hans Mylin, Michael Oberholtzer and others (whom he does not name), were in the Colony. (Rupp 75.) He says their warrant was recorded and the land surveyed Oct. 23, 1710; and that April 27, 1711, the surveyor- general, at their request subdivided it; "into so many parts as they had previously agreed upon."
In warrant book 1700-1714 p. 229, Shippen, Griffith Owen and Thomas under date of Oct. 10. 1710, Edward Story-Penn's land commissioners- order Jacob Taylor, Surveyor General, to survey to those named above the full quantity of ten thousand acres, with allowances for highways into as many small tracts as they (the pur- chasers) shall agree or appoint to each of them his respective share to be holden by the purchasers, their heirs and assigns under the rents rc- served, of one shilling Sterling yearly for every hundred acres. They were to pay 500 pounds Sterling for the land-one hundred pounds each year so that in six years they should pay principal and interest in full. (See Rupp 75.)
1710-Lancaster County Ancestors Banished From Berne This Year.
Prof. Kuhns (p. 46) in his "German and Swiss settlements of Pennsyl- vania" states that, in 1710 among those banished out of Berne were the names of Brechbühl, Baumgartner, Rupp, Fahrni, Aeschliman. Maurer, Ebersold rand others and that as - surely as these are of Bernese origin, the names of Landis, Brubacher, Meiley, Engli, Ringer, Gut, Gochenor and Frick are from Zurich ..
The particular Swiss home of the pioneers of Lancaster County may claim our brief attention in this item.
The ancient Herr home we have discussed before.
Martin Meiley and his ancestors, says Mr. Schnebeli of Obfelden, came from the Canton of Zurich. And he says the ancient home of Meileys was at Hedingon in Canton Zurich; and that there are doctors and pro- fessors of that nanie there now.
Of the Kendigs, Oberholtzers and Millers, this same authority also says they were from Zurich. He says too that, the name Müller is most numer- ous there (as it is here) of them all. In Canton Glarus there are many Herrs and Tschudys.
Mr. Schnebeli says that "It is prob- able that two of the six signers cf the London letter were from Zurich Oberland (that is southeast part of the Canton-mountainous part). They are Martin Kendig and Martin Ober- holtzer.
Jacob Müller was from Zurich, for a certainty. There were nine dead Millers on the battle field of Keppel where Zwingli met his death Oct. 11, 1531. The Müllers are most promi- nent in Switzerland.
They have been statesmen, domes- tic and foreign. The president of Switzerland in 1909 was a Müller.
152 ATTEMPT TO FORCE MENNONITES INTO PESTILENTIAL SWAMPS
A branch of the Oberholtzers came from a village called Oberholtz near Wald. There are families of that name there today.
dor, Von Bundeli, to give all the aid he could and report to the leaders of the Swiss Mennonites that they would have religious freedom there and be Speaking again of the Mileys, Mr. Schnebeli says. there was a Colonel Meiley in late years. There is today exempt from war. The States Gen- eral of Holland told their Ambassa- dor at Berne to help the project also. a Rev. Meiley and a Dr. Meiley there | The letters which passed between too.
Other now familiar Lancaster
County names are found in the County of Obfeldon and says Mr. Schnebeli, "At the beginning of the 18th century several Obfeldon resi- dents moved to Pennsylvania, such as Huber, Landis. Ringger, Gut, Funk, and others."
He concludes by saying that the best anthority on these subjects is Dr. Weber, the High Librarian of Canton Zurich.
1710-Projected Lithuanian Colony of Swiss Mennonites in Prussia.
As early as 1526 there were Menno- nites in Marienberg, Prussia, asd thus that section of the German Empire was not a new country to them. When this nation had become depopulated by pestilence and what Müller calls the northern war (Müller 329) King Frederick of Prussia, in 1710 asked Berne to send a colony of the perse- cuted Mennonites there. The Prus- sian Ambassador Von Bundeli was consulted by Berne as to the matter. The Prussian King also opened the matter with the Ambassadors at the Hague and at Hamburg and reported that the Dutch and the Hamburg Mennonites thought this would be a good place to locate some of the per- secuted. But these Dutch and German brethren advised that by all means a committee of Mennonites should go and view the land to see whether their Swiss brethren would like the place.
King Frederick thought well of the project and told his Berne Ambassa-
Berne and King Frederick's officers are said to be very interesting, but we do not have copies of them. They are dated July 31, 1710-Sept. 26, 1710 and Nov. 14, 1710. They may be found says Müller 330 in Schaerers History, etc.
Müller, however, goes on to tell us that from the correspondence, it is plain that the following conditions were laid down by Prussia:
1. That Berne should allow the Mennonites full freedom to depart with their goods.
2. They should be brought free- that is without expense to the Prus- sian boundary.
3. That before they came, a commit- tee of Mennonites of Germany and Holland were to be allowed to ex- amine all the conditions of the coun- try and see whether it would be satisfactory to and suited to the needs of the brethren.
Berne agreed Nov. 14, 1710, to the projects in the following manner:
1. That ten per cent. of the estates which the Mennonites took with them was to be given up to be applied to the expense especially to the expense of the needy ones; and that all who went were to forfeit Swiss citizen- ship.
2. Berne undertook to see that those who were paupers should be landed at Frankfort.
3. Berne would not have a commit- tee of Swiss Mennonites go to view the land-the Holland and Prussian Mennonits should do that.
4. Berne expressed the hope that the Mennonites would find a comfort-
153
BRACKBILL'S SERVICES FOR HIS BRETHREN
able place there so that none of them would attempt to come back.
The particular place in Prussia where these Mennonites were to be settled was in a district on the east- ern border of Germany called Lith- uania. This is a former grand-duchy, later sub-divided between Russia and Prussia.
This colony of Mennonites was to be made up of a considerable number of Swiss Mennonites who had been banished from Berne and were now in Holland with the brethren there and of a lot more still in Switberland around Berne, who had not yet been sent out.
The project failed. A few Menno- nites from the Palatinate went but as wars were numerous in those sections then, they found that their principle of non resistence was not respected and that while they were not com- pelled to bear arms, they were com- pelled to pay large sums of money as · the price of exemption. Then the Mennonites in Switzerland were not willing to go to a place which war and pestilence had once made deso- late. The Swiss Mennonites in Hol- land were too well pleased with the happy condition of the Dutch Menno- nites with whom they were living as' servants, etc. (and with prospects of getting to Pennsylvania) to leave and go back east again. (Müller 329 and 330.)
1710-Benedict Brackbill's Valuable Services for His Swiss Brethren.
One of the finest and foremost characters in the Mennonite troubles of the beginning of the 18th century in Switzerland was Benedict Brack- bill or (Brechbuhl) ancestor of our Strasburg Township and other east- ern Pennsylvania Brackbill's of today -- one of the best and most numeorus of the families of the great county of Lancaster.
According to Brons 215 and Müller 329, etc., Brackbill and two other church brethren Zahler (Zellers) and Burchi (Burgholder) March 22, 1710, appeared before the authorities of Amsterdam (Holland) to request Hol- land to prevent the Swiss Mennonites, whom Berne was now forcibly throw- ing out of Switzerland, from crossing Holland to the ocean. There three patriots found out that a ship-load of fifty-seven of these Swiss brethren (of whom we have spoken of before) mostly old people and in many cases husbands separate from wives, etc., were taken out of the jails about Berne and were being sent down the Rhine. They were sick and half starved in their imprisonment and were not fit to travel at all. By the time the vessel reached Manheim, thirty-two had to be taken off the ship or they would have died. They were left to the mercies of Manheim. They were all to be sent to America. (In a later item, see page 159, we give their names, which on inspection will nearly all be found to be our common Lancaster county names of today.)
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