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 22
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Brackbill and his two fellow labor- ers agreed that these people were too weak to try to reach America and that they would all die on the trip. The Holland authorities agreed to what he asked. And thus when St. Saphorin, the Swiss Ambassador in Holland, asked for freedom of the Swiss emi- grants to go on, he was refused by Holland. St. Saphorin was a great friend of the Swiss Mennonite suffer- ers.
When the ship containing the re- mainder of the fifty-seven reached Holland at Nimiwegan. they knew that Switzerland could not harm them and they disembarked. They found Brackbill, Zellers and Burgholder waiting for them and they brought them before the Dutch Mennonite Congregation there for comfort, etc. There too, they gave testimony of
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SENDING SWISS MENNONITES DOWN THE RHINE
their suffering and treatment as we | Holland, arranged so that the journey have set out before. (Brons 215).
There it was too, that Benedict Brackbill got Holland interested in trying to get them to settle in Lith- uania; and it seems he had been in that place of proposed settlement to examine conditions too. (Müller 330.)
Brackbill also did another service
for his Swiss brethren, when he visited Holland's capital in March, 1710. They were represented by Berne as bad people and enemies of government and this was beginning to poison the Dutch against them. Brackbill explained their faith in all points and satisfied them that the Swiss Mennonites were the same good Christians as were the Holland Men- nonites.
The circumstances leading up to the jail delivery in Berne resulting in the fifty-seven brethren having been sent down the Rhine are harrowing and horrible.
In February, 1710, Berne decided that the government must get rid of the imprisoned Mennonites, as their imprisonment excited sympathy and kept the cause alive. The Council acted on the matter and a large num- ber of the body held out for executing them all; but the majority carried through a vote to send them to Amer- ica. Then the Holland Mennonites determined to help them all they could and gathered up a fund of 50,000 guilden for the cause. A guilden is worth forty cents. The government of Holland too was favor- able to them. All this again shows the gratitude Lancaster County and all southeastern Pennsylvania owe to Holland (Brons 215).
1710-Preparations to Send the Swiss Mennonites Down the Rhine.
The negotiations between the Swiss and Holland Government with Mr. Ritter, deporting agent, of which we have spoken before, finally bore fruit. [ a
might be accomplished. They asked for a promise on the part of the States General, that the prisoners upon their arrival in the country would be in due form declared free, so that they might go unhindered to their brethren, who would take care of them. This request was granted by Holland on April 3rd, with the advice not to allow them to return to their fatherland; for in such an event a further protection would be impossible.
At last the important information was received that the Swiss ship had arrived at Nimwegen, where the pris- oners were set free by the authority of the Holland Government. Their soon- to-be-expected arrival had been her- alded from Neuwied, by the teacher of said congregation. Tielman Rupp, in a letter by his son, Lieubard Rupp to Jacob Hendriks in Amsterdam, dated April 6th. Originally (the writer states) there had embarked at Berne 56 persons, who were shipped down the Rhine, among them Brechbuhl, Zahler and Burki, ancestors of famous Eastern Pennsylvania families today. Of these 28 were by reason of sick- ness and infirmities incapable of travelling further; and upon urgent entreaties the officer released them on the 29th of March at Mannheim. The other 28 were transported further. At Neuwied, an effort had been made to land them (which place was passed April 3rd, at three o'clock in the after- noon), but the attempt was frustrated by two officers and fifteen men of the guard. In the letter of Tieleman Rupp the Hollanders are requested to pur- chase their liberty. Alhough the Messrs. Von Bent and Jan Frederiksen hurried from Rotterdam to Nime- wegen, on the strength of this letter, it was impossible to reach Nimewegen in time, the ship having arrived there April 6th. The banished travelers had been apprised that there existed congregation of Anabaptists or
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SWISS MENNONITES RESCUED AT NIMEWEGEN
Mennonites in this port, and asked | with tears of joy and cheerful minds leape that some of them, ever under escort of a guard, be permitted to visit their brethren of the faith. Mr. Ritter placed no obstacles in their way. They sought out and found the place of meeting and the teacher, Hendrick Laurens, residing there. We will now let this Hendrik Laurens tell his own story of the arrival, as he wrote it to the brethren at Amster- dam.
"It was on the 6th of April that they arrived here 'at Nimwegen. As soon as they had heard that fellow-believers resided here, one of them came to me, guarded by two soldiers; but the sol- diers went away and let the man re- main with me. After I had spoken about this matter to other servants of our congregation, we went together to the vessel, and there found our Swiss brethren. We had a talk with the officer of the guard, and soon saw that some refreshments ought to be sup- plied to these people, as they had spent twenty days on the water in great dis- tress and misery ; whereupon we brought them into the town. Now we said to our captive brethren: 'The sol- diers will not get you out of here easily, for if they should use force, we will make complaint to the States General.' But nothing of the kind happened. Now they were free, over which we felt great joy, and we show- ed them all token of friendship and love, to their great delight and happi- ness. After we spent some time hap- pily together, and they regaled them- selves, with great enjoyment, they left the following day. But they could only walk with difficulty, for by reason of their long imprisonment they had become quite stiff; some of them had been confined for almost two years amid much suffering, and particularly last winter during the intense cold, when their feet were shackled with fetters. I went with them for an hour and a half outside of the town. Then |
we embraced each other and parted with a kiss of peace. Thereupon they returned to the Palatinate, to seek out their wives and children, who were scattered there, as well as in Switzer- land, and in Alsace, not knowing whither they had gone. They were quite confident and of good cheer in their misery, although all their world- ly goods had been taken from them. There were among them a preacher and two teachers. They were by nature a very sturdy, hardened people, cap- able of enduring great privations and hardships, with long unshorn beards, wearing disordered clothing, heavy shoes, made all the more clumsy by horseshoes on the heels and great nails being driven into them. They were very assiduous to serve God with prayer, reading and other works, were very plain in all their actions, like lambs and doves. They asked me how the congregation was conducted here which I told them; and they seemed to be very well pleased. But we could converse with them only with dif- ficulty, owing to the fact that in Switzerland they had dwelled in the mountains far from villages and cities, and had little intercourse with other people. Their language was quite coarse, awkward and uncouth; and they could hardly understand anyone who did not speak their language. Two of them went to Deventer in order to see whether they could make a living in this country." Such is the letter of their host Laurens. (Müller, p. 170.)
1710-Brechbiehl, Zahler (Zellers) & Burki and Their Neighbors, Swiss Mennonites Tell of Berne's Cruelty.
The Swiss sufferers, Brechbuehl, Zahler, Burki and others, before men- tioned as being at Nimewegen, after- wards went to Cleve, there to await the result of the negotiations of their brethren in Holland, of which thy had
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DEPORTATION OF 1710 DOWN THE RHINE
no knowledge; and then to wander further South.
When about twenty of them had ar- rived there (one, Bendicht Brechbuhl, upon leaving the ship had preceded them to Crefeld, by way of Cleve), they repaired to the teacher for the congregation at Cleve, Isak Vrauken. Here the emotion and pity of the liberated brethren were great. In a trice their arrival was known; one of the deacons asked the privilege of car- ing for half of them. The other breth- ren also canie around, and each one asked for his portion, in order to exer- cise hospitality. Consequently no one could entertain more than two himself; for a teacher and a deacon remained with Vrauken. Whoever re- ceived no guest, brought clothing. These strangers could not be persuad- ed to lie in bed; but preferred to sleep on straw, as most of them had sub- sisted for one or two years on nothing but bread and water. Meats and other nutritive foods did not agree with them. They made no other request than to be taken as soon as possible to Mannheim, where their fellow-prison- ers, as we have seen before, 28 in num- ber, were left behind. ' When asked about the state of their purses, they refused to accept anything, saying they had partaken of more than they could ever recompense. But Isak Vrauken collected hurriedly 9 florins of Cleve money and slipped them into their hands, whilst Vice Chancellor Heine procured for them a good pass- port and 30 floirns, in the bargain. So they remained a few days longer at Cleve, principally upon the suggestion of some brethren at Emmerich, to await tidings from Holland which were soon expected, as two delegates had left Rotterdam on April 11th, to come to their aid with good advice. As Sunday had arrived, Vrauken's guest occupied in his stead the pulpit of the congregation of Cleve. Albeit the brethren of Cleve did not under-
stand the sermon, it nevertheless did not likely fail to create a deep im- pression.
Isak Vrauken writes to the Commit- tee at Amsterdam, he has found that these people are well versed in the Holy Scriptures, that they are very humble without any hypocrisy or de- ceitful show of character. Of the twenty, seventeen were married. They had a heartfelt longing for wife and children after such a long and grie- vous separation. None of them had a desire to return to Switzerland. They preferred rather to settle down in the Palatinate, at Mannheim or elsewhere. On May 2, 1710, the Committee of Amsterdam transmitted the sum of 1200 florins to the congregations in the vicinity of Mannheim, who were not able to care for the Swiss who had remained there, and for those who had just returned there from Nimwegen.
The Committee of the Mennonites at Amsterdani had asked some of the Swiss, freed at Nimewegen, to come before them in order thoroughly to learn the conditions in Switzerland. In their meeting at Amsterdam on April 25, 1710, twenty-four questions were submitted to them to be answered. Of four of these questions written, an- swers were requested, viz: How and by whom were they taken prisoner? How long and where were they im- prisoned? How were they treated then? Whether an investigation had been conducted and by whom? These Swiss were, Benedicht Brechbuhl of Trachselwald, teacher and elder at Mannheim; Hans Burki, of Langnau, deacon, and Melchoir Zahler, deacon of Frutigen. Brechbuhl had once be- fore been expelled from the Bernese territory and gone thence to Mann- heim. Returning to fetch his wife and children, he was taken prisoner and in that way got among the deported. Upon his liberation at Nimwegen, he at once traveled toward Mannheim and was then recalled to Holland. Three
!
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BURKI'S AND BRECHBUHL'S REPORT AT NIMEWEGEN
of these Swiss sufferers made reports in writing of their treatment.
1710-Hans Burki's Report.
For the remembrance of my descen- dants and of all my fellow-believers, I, Hans Burki, of Langnau, want to relate what happened to me. I had gone to the mountain called Blutten- ried (Community of Langnau), in company with my wife and two sons. There a poor man came to us to whom we gave something to eat; this man subsequently went to Harvag to the authorities and told them that he saw me. Thereupon the Bailiff of Trach- selwald sent the traitor with a few others to take me prisoner. They came quite early in the morning to my hut, in which I stood unawares of any evil, and when I noticed the man before the door I had him supplied with something to eat. Then I was made a captive and they took me away from my wife and twelve children and led me to Castle Trachselwald and placed me into a prison or dungeon, for four days, during which time I was taken sick. Then the bailiff with two pro- vosts brought me on a cart into the city of Berne. There they placed me. | been about 21 months, for in the month of July, 1708 I was taken captive, and on the 18th of March, 1710, I was led away from Berne. Will come to a close here.
sick as I was, in the prison, called Ahur. After two days the gentlemen called and questioned me, whereupon I confessed my faith. Then they lock- ed me up alone in a separate hole in the Ahur, and there I lay sick about five weeks, and altogther 17 weeks, in solitary confinement. Thereupon they led me into another prison, named the Island. There I lay during the whole long and cold winter with an un- healthy body, and suffered very much from the intense cold. For a long time I was watched so closely that none of my family or anyone else could come to me, so that my friends did not know whether I was living or dead. Thereupon, at the beginning of the month of May, 1709, I was brought with all the other prisoners to the hospital, and there, too, I was kept in
such close surveillance that only very few persons could speak to us. We were compelled to work on wool from early morning until late at night, viz: from four o'clock in the morning until eight o'clock at night, and we got nothing to eat and drink but bread and water. This lasted about thirty- five weeks. Thereafter ten more weeks we were treated less severely. Then the authorities had us conveyed to the ship, viz: on March 18, 1710, with the design of having us taken to America. The authorities told us that if any time and by any means . we were to return to their country, they would inflict the death penalty on us. Thus the merciful Father has by his strong hand and through the medium of our brethren and friends in Hol- land, delivered us from our oppres- sors, as we arrived at Nimewegen, and came to the town where they had to release ns. For this we thank the Almighty God and Father of all mercy, who will not forsake all those who place their confidence in him, but will cause them to prosper. The whole time of my imprisonment has
Brechbuhl's Report.
It was in the year 1709, on the 12th of January, that the authorities of Berne sent seven provosts with a con- stable, early in the morning to my house, whereby we were greatly frightened so that my wife and my- self tried to hide ourselves. I con- cealed myself under a haystack. They searched my house in every nook and corner. Finally they came to the hay- stack and thrust their swords in it, so that they struck me and were made aware that some one was hiding therein. Thereupon I crept out and they seized me, asked my name and whether I was a preacher, which I
.
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MELCHIOR ZELLERS REPORT AT NIMEWEGEN
told them and acknowledged it. Then | were forbidden by pain of loss of their they led me into my room; there the possessions, privileges and expulsion from the country, to harbor any one of us and to give them food or drink; furthermore it was ordained that if anyone would discover or see any Anabaptist or Mennonite, he was to inform the pastor or bailiff of such fact. A reward was set, a liberal sum of money, for some 50, for others 100 Thaler of the realm, and they had their subjects make oath, that if they can get hold of any of us, be it in the houses or on the roads, or elsewhere, they should bind us and lead us all into captivity, so that the same hap- pened about this time to myself. For when I was about to get some bread and wine for my sick and pregnant wife, now deceased, which was about between 10 and 11 o'clock at night, I was asked whether I was not a Bap- tist. And when I did not deny this, they told me they had to be true to their solemn promise and would not perjure themselves on my account, or they would not do this injury. There- upon they led me part ways with much cursing and swearing. But at the same time I was released by a good friend .. constable gave me a box on the ear and tied my hands on my back and led me out of my house. Thereupon my children began to lament and cried so piteously that, as the saying is, a heart of stone would have been touch- ed thereby. But the provosts were in great glee that they had succeeded in catching me. They led me hence to the city of Berne in company with two other brethren, and put us in impris- onment and that too, in the very long and cold winter, there we lay as pris- oners. If we wanted anything warm, we had to pay dearly for wood. After six or seven days they brought me in another jail. There they put iron shackles on me. In the mean time the authorities had given those who cap- tured me 100 Thaler, which my family had to reimburse out of my estate. After two days they again brought me in the tower and set me in a separate hole and fastened me to an iron chain. There I laid about 18 weeks. After that they led me with all the other prisoners to the hospital. There we were compelled to work from four o'clock in the morning to eight o'clock in the evening in wool and they fed us with bread and water, but supplied these in sufficient quantity. This last- ed about 35 weeks. The remaining ten weeks the work was easier. So the whole time of my imprisonment at Berne was one year, 7 months and 7 days. This happened in the 44th and 45th years of my age.
Benedicht Brechbuhl, a Native of the Emmenthal.
1710-Melchior Zahler's Statement.
In the year 1709, about the month of March, the authorities of Berne had issued a commandment and a strict mandate, which they had announced from the pulpit in all their territory against the so-called Anabaptists or Mennonites, wherein all their subjects -
After that the gentlemen of Berne had caused to be sent to the city of Berne, from all parishes wherein it was presumed that some Anabaptists dwelled, two, three or more persons; these people had to remain there for several weeks at great expense to the people of their respective parishes, so that by such loss and detriment we were to be made all the more obnox- ious and hated by the peasantry, whereupon many of our people re- moved about that time from the coun- try to Alsace, Mompelgard and Neuen- burg, whereby the oppressed fugitives and banished, suffered great distress and poverty, since everything was taken and robbed from the most of them, so that nothing was left to them; and all this against all rights
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NAMES OF THOSE DEPORTED DOWN THE RHINE IN 1710
and justice and against their own mandate.
At the same time, I, Melchior Zah- ler, also went to dwell in the territory of Neuenburg. Thereafter some time, my brother-in-law with a friend well known to me by the name of Hans Germann, both Reformed, requested me by word of mouth through a con- fidant, to come back to my possessions in the Bernese District. Thereupon I went to this well known friend, who showed me all love and friendship, and who wanted to give over to me my two children in order that I might maintain and clothe them. Then I wanted at one time to visit my brother and sister and my other children, and while I was with my brother and sister and other children, he went to the Reformed pastor and betrayed me. He divulged everything, the time, the night when I returned into the coun- try; and of the clothing, etc. All this he told the pastor. Thereupon this pastor sent three provosts on the same evening, who took me prisoner, bound me and took me to the pastor who questioned me concerning my creed, about infant baptism, swearing of an oath, about the regulation of the ban, about the carrying of arms, about the institutios of the authorities, etc. And he ordered them to again bind me and transport me to Berne, which was subsequently done on February 27, 1710.
Once before, in the year 1706, I had been imprisoned for three weeks, and now at Berne in the hospital six weeks my right hand shackled and locked ,and fed on bread and water, whereby I was afflicted during this time with much anguish, sadness and misery, for the reason that they had betrayed me so falsely, and that they had robbed me of all my children and worldly goods.
They also took away from me, be- sides my five children, more than
15,000 florins; furthermore banished me from my estate and ties of blood, and transported me with the following company to be sent to America with- out giving me a penny for the jour- ney, viz:
Hans Burki, who was captured July, 1708-Christian Sattler, captured and made prisoner July, 1708 - Isaac Baumgartner, taken prisoner the first time. ...; 1709 the second time- Benedicht Brechbuhl, a teacher, on January 12, 1709 - Jacob Ulrich- Peter Zalfanger-Kaspar Bieri-Chris- tian Janthauser-Christian Berger of Laupersville-Dan. Moser (Musser)- Ulrich Schmied of Langnau-Nicklaus Blaser of Lauperswyl-Peter Hofer of Schoenek-Peter Hofer of Laupers- wyl-Christian Grahenbühl-Samuel Reber; this Samuel Reber, according to a letter of Runkel, of January 17, 1711 (A. A. No. 1301), came back and was sentenced to imprisonment for life -- Ulrich Ellenberger --- Peter Koh- ler-Henrich Wenger of Moglenberg --- Christian Steiner, a deacon-Hans Jacob of Uetendorf-Jacob Schwander -Peter Thonen of Reutigen-Hans Gasser, a teacher-Hans Stubet (Sto- ber), a deacon-Hans Rupp of Sigris- wyl-Hans Murdt (Maurer) of Nieder- hunigen-Niklaus Hager of Nieder- hunigen-Ulrich Fahrni of Schwarzen- egg-Hans Ramseier-Yost Kopfler- Hans Engle of Rothenbach - Durs Rohrer a deacon-Rudolph Stettler, a teacher -- Michael Aeschlimann, a dea- con-Niklaus Baltzer-Melchior Zah- ler taken prisoner February 27, 1710, and once before in May, 1706-Mathias Grähenbühl - Benedict Muster (Mus- ser) of Diesbach-Benedicht Maurer- Hans Berain-Niklaus Moser, a teach- er, who died in prison-Benedicht Nusbaum-Peter Mutrich of Trub and Niklaus Luthi-and the women folks are Katharina Ebersole - Elizabeth Gerber-Elizabeth Gerber of Signau- Elizabeth Krieg (Krick) of Hettings- hem-Elizabeth Steiner of Nurzenburg
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SUMMARY OF SWISS SENT TO THE GALLEYS
-Anna Schenk of Diesbach-Barbara Fahrni-Margaretha Engel of Dies- bach-Magrith Aeschlimann-Katha- rina Ellenberger of Eggiwyl and Bar- bara Frutiger, who escaped from the Basle district.
The above named women and men folk were on March 18, 1710, trans- ported from Berne in a ship after en- during much persecution and oppres- sion and severe imprisonment; of these people 32' were liberated at Mannheim on the following 28th of March in consideration of the fact that they were old and feeble people, and some of them very sick. The other 26 were somewhat stronger, were taken to Nimwegen, where, on April 9, they were set free through the in- tercession (or intervention) of the high and mighty gentlemen of the States General and the Dutch Breth- ren and friends, which happened by divine will or decree."
At the close of the whole episode we enter once more the residence of the Ambassador, St. Saphorin, at The Hague, and find him busily engaged with the Messrs. Ritter and Isott, which, of course, ended to the disad- vantage of that firm. In consequence thereof there remained for the master of the ship, Schinder, 12 Thaler of the money which he had received at Berne for the maintenance of the ser- geant and the soldiers. As he could not enter upon the home journey with this small amount, St. Saphorin paid over to Schinder for this purpose 130 Thaler, taking a proper receipt there- for.
On April 26th, the Ambassador also received a well merited testimonial from his government for his exeer- tions.
1710-Brief Summary of Galley Torture
other Mediterranean countries. Müller in his Chapter No. 13, page 215, dis- cusses the whole subject. Wars with Turkey made strong galley-men necessary. Switzerland was glad to send our Mennonite ancestors to this torture. As early as 1540 ninety Anabaptists or Mennonites were taken out of the dungeons in Austria, to be handed over to the great king of Venice for galley-service; but they escaped from the torture at Trieste. Twenty were afterwards captured and transferred to the galleys. When they arrived a receipt was given by the of- ficer who took them and an agree- ment that after two years, they would be released. It was also agreed that they were to be used in one ship and not be separated. Any that would re- pent their religion before reaching the galley could go back.
In 1671 George Orell was in Venice collecting payments due to Zurich and Berne for the hiring of our Menno- nite brethren as galley-servants. (Do. 216). £ He reports that Venice . was greatly pleased with. these people There are works devoted entirely to the subject of galley-punishment.
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