USA > Pennsylvania > The Pennsylvania-German in the Revolutionary War, 1775-1783 > Part 22
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Rupp has this interesting record with regard to him :
"Captain Jacob Yoder was born in Reading, 1758. To him belongs the honor of having descended the Missis- sippi in the first Flat Boat-and if no other powers than those of time, and wind, and storm shall assail the tablet, of which an account is given below, which will preserve the fact recorded in deep indentations upon it, through a series of years to come.
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"The iron tablet was cast by Hanks & Niles, of Cincin- nati, in 1834, and now marks the spot where remains the bones of Captain Yoder. It is one of the first of the kind ever executed west of the Alleghanies. It has this in- scription :
JACOB YODER WAS BORN IN READING, PENNSYLVANIA, AUGUST IITHI, 1755; AND WAS A SOLDIER IN THE REVOLUTIONARY ARMY IN 1777 AND 1778;
HE EMIGRATED TO THE WEST IN 1780, AND IN MAY 1782, FROM FORT REDSTONE, ON THE MONONGAHELA RIVER, IN THE FIRST FLAT BOAT THAT EVER DESCENDED THE MISSISSIPPI. HE LANDED AT NEW ORLEANS WITH A CARGO OF PRODUCE. HE DIED APRIL 7, 1832, AT HIS FARM IN SPENCER COUNTY, KENTUCKY, AND LIES HERE INTERRED BENEATII THIS TABLET.
Major Matthias Richards.
Major Richards was born in Falkner Swamp, Mont- gomery county, Pa., on February 26, 1758, died August 4, 1830, married, May 8, 1782 (his second wife), Maria Salome Muhlenberg (1765-1827), youngest daughter of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, D.D. His father was Matthias Richards, and his grandfather John Frederick Reichert, who emigrated to America from Augsburg, Germany, 1700 or 1703.
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In 1777 he volunteered in Col. Daniel Udree's Second Battalion, Berks County Militia, and was present at the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, and in subsequent operations. In 1780 he was Major of the Fourth Bat- talion, Philadelphia County Militia, Lieut. Col. Anthony Bitting.
He removed to Berks county in 1788, having been ap- pointed Justice of the Peace for that county, which office he held for forty years, at various times together. As- sociate Judge of the Berks County Courts, 1791-1797; Inspector of Customs, 1801-1802, at which time he moved to Reading; Member of Congress for the counties of Berks, Lancaster, etc., 1807, and reelected 1809-1811; Collector of Revenue, 1812; Clerk of the Orphans' Court for Berks County, 1823; after that appointed Associate Judge of Berks County Courts by Gov. Shulze.
Capt. Jacob Bower.
Jacob Bower, of Reading, was born in 1757. He entered the service, in June, 1775, as Sergeant of Capt. George Nagel's Company, from Reading ( First Defend- ers), in Col. Thompson's Battalion of Riflemen; pro- moted to Quartermaster; First Lieutenant January 18, 1776, in Capt. Benjamin Weiser's Company of the Ger- man Regiment, raised in Heidelberg township of Berks county, near the town of Womelsdorf; "served as Captain in Flying Camp; " Captain Sixth Pennsylvania Conti- nental Regiment, February 15, 1777; transferred to Sec- ond Pennsylvania, January 1, 1783 ; died at Womelsdorf, August 3, 1818.
At the close of the war he settled at Reading, and be- came a prominent county official. He first filled the office
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of Sheriff for one term, 1788-1790; then County Com- missioner, 1790-1793; Recorder, Register and Clerk of the Orphans' Court, 1792-1798; County Auditor, 1799 and 1800,
He was the son of Conrad Bower, innkeeper, of Read- ing, who died in 1765, and whose widow became the second wife of Michael Bright.
Capt. Bower served faithfully during the entire war and was a most gallant officer.
Capt. Henry Christ, Jr.
A man of prominence in Reading who showed a proper enthusiasm in the first movement at the outbreak of the Revolution. He was appointed, by Edward Biddle, as one of the Committee on Correspondence. On March 9, 1776, he was commissioned Captain in Col. Samuel Miles' Pennsylvania Rifle Regiment, participated in the battle of Long Island, and other operations of that splendid organi- zation, until March 19, 1777, when he resigned.
In 1777 he was placed on the Committee to collect arms, etc. Upon his return from the army he was ap- pointed a Justice of the Peace for Reading, and, in 1784, reappointed for another term of seven years. He also served as Recorder, Register, and Clerk of the Orphans' Court, from 1777 to 1789; he was also Clerk of the Quarter Sessions for 1789.
He died at Reading, in August, 1789, and left a large estate.
Capt. Peter Decker.
Capt. Decker was a retired gentleman at Reading in 1768. He was commissioned as Captain, January 5, 1776, and raised a company as a part of Lutz's Battalion
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of the Flying Camp. The county quota being already filled, on May 26, 1776, the company was mustered into Col. Magaw's Fifth Pennsylvania Battalion, with which they participated in the battles of Long Island and Fort Washington. In the latter engagement all the survivors of the company were taken prisoners, November 16, 1776. Capt. Decker resigned from the service on Feb- ruary 1, 1777. In 1779 he was a resident of Cumru township, where he kept an inn until his death in 1784.
Col. Balser Geehr.
He was born of German parentage at Germantown, on January 22, 1740, and removed to Amity township, Berks county, when a young man. By 1767 he was living in Oley township, employed as a gunsmith, where he married Catharine Hunter (laeger or Yeager), a sister of Col. Daniel Hunter. In 1771 he purchased a large plantation, of 500 acres, in Bern township, and moved upon it in 1772.
Upon the outbreak of the Revolution he became a member of the Standing Committee of Observation, in 1774. He took an active part in the formation of the County Militia, and was made Colonel of the Fourth Battalion, which marched to join Washington's army, passing through Bethlehem on Sunday, September I, 1776, where they attended divine service.
He officiated as Judge of the County Courts from 1775 to 1784, and represented the County in the General As- sembly for the years 1782 and 1786, and from 1792 to 1799. He died June 19, 1801.
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Col. Henry Haller.
Henry Haller was a tailor at Reading in 1765, and, in 1775, was engaged as an innkeeper, by which time he had become a man of much influence.
He was chosen to command what is ordinarily known as Lutz's Battalion of the Flying Camp, in 1776, but was detained to complete the organization of the militia, and, in that way, prevented from participating, with his com- mand, in the Long Island Campaign. In January, 1777, his battalion, of which Gabriel Hiester was Major, was on active duty at Newtown.
Hle took a prominent part in all the work pertaining to the war. He was a delegate to the Provincial Con- ference of June 18, 1776; a member of the Committee of Safety, the Committee on Attainder, and the Com- mittee to Collect Arms, etc .; a member of the Assembly from 1776 to 1781. During the years 1778, 1779 and 1780 he was wagon-master of Berks county, and, during 1779-1780, wagon-master-general for the army.
After the Revolution he moved up the Schuylkill Valley, beyond the Blue Mountains, in Brunswick township, where he died in September, 1793.
Capt. Jacob I ivingood.
Jacob Livingood was born in Tulpehocken township, Berks county, on January 26, 1752. His grandfather, of the same name, came with the German colony, from New York Province, in 1729.
On October 2, 1781, he was commissioned as Captain to raise a company of riflemen for service on the frontier, until January 1, 1782. He took such pride in his uni- form that he died with it on him, and was thus laid to
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rest, in accordance with his wish, in the burying ground of the Lutheran Church near Stouchsburg.
Col. Nicholas Lutz.
He was born February 20, 1740, in the German Palat- inate, and came to Pennsylvania when a young man. Some time previous to the Revolution he located at Read- ing, and became the owner of two mills at the mouth of the Wyomissing creek.
In 1775 he was selected as Chairman of the Standing Committee of Observation. He served as delegate to the Provincial Conference of June 18, 1776, and, upon his return, began at once to enlist men for his battalion. He was commissioned as Lieut. Colonel, and participated in the battle of Long Island where he was taken prisoner and exchanged on September 10, 1779.
In 1780 he was appointed Commissioner of Forage, and, as such, purchased supplies for the army until the. close of the war. He was a member of the General Assembly from 1784 to 1786, and, again, from 1790 to 1794; and he filled the office of Associate Judge of the county from 1795 to 1806. He died November 28, 1807.
Capt. John Ludwig.
John Ludwig was born in Heidelberg township, of Berks county, the son of Daniel Ludwig.
He was in command of a company in Lutz's Battalion of the Flying Camp, at Long Island. He also was Cap- tain of a company in Col. Joseph Hiester's Battalion, August, 1780, in New Jersey.
He was commissioned Justice of the Peace in 1777, and, again, in 1784; delegate to the Pennsylvania Con-
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vention to ratify the Federal Constitution in 1787; served in the General Assembly in 1782-1783, and, again, in 1788-1790; also served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, from 1790 to 1793. In 1795 Gov. Mifflin appointed him a Justice of the Peace, which office he held at the time of his death, in July, 1802.
Col. George Nagel.
His father, Joachim Nagel, was born February 21, 1706, at Eisenberg, three miles from Coblentz, Germany. George, the eldest son came to Pennsylvania in 1748, and was followed by the family in 1751.
They settled in Douglass township of Berks county, and erected a grist mill which was operated by the father until his death, July 26, 1795.
George was born at Eisenberg, about 1728. He lo- cated in Reading, Pa., about 1755, and engaged in the work of a blacksmith. He served during the French and Indian War as an Ensign, being stationed, for a time, at Fort Augusta. At the outbreak of the Revolution he raised a company of volunteers which became the First Defenders of that war. They were attached to Col. Thompson's Battalion of Riflemen. His commission was dated June 25, 1775; promoted to Major of Fifth Bat- talion, Col. Robert Magaw, January 5, 1776; to Lieut. Colonel Ninth Pennsylvania Continentals, October 25, 1776, to rank from August 21, 1776; to Colonel of Tenth Pennsylvania Continentals, February 17, 1778; became supernumerary July 1, 1778.
Upon his return to Reading he carried on the mercan- tile business until his death in March, 1789.
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Capt. Peter Nagel.
Brother of Col. George Nagel, was born October 31, 1750, at Eisenberg, Germany, emigrating, with his father, in 1751, to Douglass township, Berks county. When a young man he moved to Reading, and became a hatter.
He was prominently identified with the County Militia during the war, his name appearing as a captain in the returns from 1777 to 1783. In 1777 he commanded the Fourth Company of Lieut. Colonel Joseph Hiester's Bat- talion, which was engaged at Germantown, and in later operations. In 1778 he was a Captain in Col. Joseph Hiester's Fourth Battalion, which was then again in active service. In 1780 he is also reported in Col. Joseph Hiester's Sixth Battalion. His company was on duty guarding prisoners at Reading, 1781-1782.
In 1793 he was appointed a Justice of the Peace for Berks County, and served continuously until his decease; officiated as Coroner from 1781 to 1787, and Treasurer of Reading, from 1815 to 1828. He died November 30, 1834.
Dr. Bodo Otto.
Dr. Bodo Otto was born in Hanover, Germany, 1709, and obtained his christian name in honor of Baron Bodo, his sponsor in baptism. He was the son of Christopher and Marie Magdalena Otto. He received his education as a surgeon in the University of Göttingen, and was made a member of the College of Surgeons at Luene- berg, and had charge of prisoners in the Fortress Kale- berg and the Invalides.
In 1755 he emigrated to America, locating at Read- ing in 1773. He was chosen a delegate to the Provin- cial Conference of June 18, 1776. As an evidence of his
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patriotism he tendered his services to the Government as a Surgeon, which were gratefully accepted. During the gloomiest period of the war, he, with his two sons, were in charge of the camp hospital at Valley Forge. After the disastrous battle of Brandywine, September 11, 1777, Trinity Lutheran Church at Reading was used for hos- pital purposes, with the consent of the congregation, and possibly under the direction of Dr. Otto.
At the close of the war Dr. Otto returned to Read- ing, resumed his practice, and took a prominent part in the administration of local affairs. He died June 13, 1787, and his remains were interred in Trinity Lutheran church-yard.
The following complimentary certificate was furnished him at the close of his service :
"This is to certify that Dr. Bodo Otto served in the capacity of a senior surgeon in the Hospitals of United States in the year 1776, and when the new arrangement, in April, 1777, took place, he was continued in that sta- tion until the subsequent arrangement of September, 1780, when he was appointed hospital physician and surgeon, in which capacity he officiated until a reduction of the number of the officers of said department, in January, 1782, was made. During the whole of the time he acted in the above stations he discharged his duty with great faithfulness, care and attention. The humanity, for which he was distinguished, towards the brave American sol- diery, claims the thanks of every lover of his country, and the success attending his practice will be a sufficient recom- mendation of his abilities in his profession.
" Given under my hand, the 26th day of January, 178.2. " JOHN COCHRAN, "Director of the Military Hospitals."
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Dr. John d. Otto.
John Augustus Otto, son of Dr. Bodo Otto, was born in Hanover, Germany, on July 30, 1751, and came to Philadelphia, with his father, in 1755, where he was given a thorough education, and especially prepared to practice medicine and surgery. He accompanied his father to Reading when he removed thence in 1773.
During the Revolution he assisted his father in surgical operations, and in attending the military hospitals. After the war he established a large practice at Reading, and was recognized as an eminent physician. He served as a Justice of the Peace from 1785 to 1789, and, in 1790, filled the office of Prothonotary.
He married Catharine Hitner, of Montgomery county, and died December 14, 1834.
Capt. John Soder.
John Soder was born in Bern township, Berks county, where his father, Nicholas Soder, settled, having emi- grated from Berne, Switzerland, in 1735, and was brought up to farming, which occupation he pursued until his de- cease.
He was in command of a company of Berks County Militia during the summer of 1776; in 1777 he was Cap- tain of Fifth Company, Third Battalion, Col. Michael Lindemuth. The record of his enlistments, obtained from the Pension Office of the United States, shows that he served as a Captain four different times during the war, each time for a period of sixty days, in different years.
He died in April, 1817, possessed of a considerable estate.
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Capi. John Spohn.
John Spohn was born in Cumru township, Berks county, on January 19, 1754, son of John Spohn an early settler in that district. He was brought up as a farmer, and died as such, April 19, 1822.
He recruited one of the carly companies in Reading. On January 5, 1776, he was commissioned Captain, and his command attached to Col. Robert Magaw's Fifth Pennsylvania Battalion. He participated in the move- ments of the army about New York until November 4, 1776, when he resigned.
He was married to Maria Beidler, daughter of Conrad Beidler, a prominent miller of Robeson township, who owned, and carried on for a long time, the large mill at the mouth of the Allegheny creek.
Col. Henry Spyker.
He was the son of Peter Spyker, Judge of the County Courts.
He officiated as Paymaster of the Militia of Berks County, from August, 1777, to the close of the war.
In 1777 he was Colonel of the Sixth Battalion of Berks County, participated in the battle of Germantown, and further operations of the year.
He continued at the head of the Sixth Battalion for 1778, and subsequent years of the war.
He represented the county in the General Assembly for the years 1785-1786.
Col. Daniel Udree.
Daniel Udree was born at Philadelphia on August 5, 1751. About the year 1768 he resided on the Moselem
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Forge property in Richmond township, along the Onte- launee creek, in the employ of his uncle, Jacob Winey, of Philadelphia, who was largely interested in the iron industries of Berks county. In 1778 he had become part owner of the Oley Furnace, and, subsequently, became its sole owner, as well as of the Rockland Forges, with a landed estate embracing, altogether, 2,700 acres in one connected tract.
In 1777 he was chosen Colonel of the Second Battalion, Berks County Militia, and, with the First Battalion, Col. Daniel Hunter, took part in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, etc. It is said that, in the former engage- ment, he had a horse shot from under him.
He was again elected Colonel of the same battalion, in 1778, and, for many years, was prominently identified with the militia of the county and state.
In the War of 1812-1815 he was Major-General of the Sixth Division, which included the two battalions that constituted the Second Brigade.
Col. Udree represented Berks county in the General Assembly from 1799 to 1803, and also in 1805. He also represented the county in the National Congress for two termis, from 1813 to 1815, and from 1823 to 1825.
Ile died suddenly, from a stroke of apoplexy, at his home on the Oley Furnace property, on July 15, 1828.
Capt. Benjamin Weiser.
Benjamin Weiser, the youngest son of Col. Conrad Weiser, was born August 12, 1744, in Heidelberg town- ship of Berks county.
On July 8, 1776, he was commissioned Captain in the German Continental Regiment, but left the service Oc-
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tober 31, 1776. He removed to the vicinity of Selins- grove in Northumberland county, and served as Captain of a Northumberland County Militia Company, at Phila- delphia, January 30, 1777.
On January 1, 1778, he was appointed Justice of the Peace for Northumberland County (now Snyder) .
He was pursued by the phantom of recovering on his grandfather's possessions in New York State, and made various efforts to that end.
Lient. Peter Weiser.
Peter Weiser, according to a notation in the Pennsyl- vania Archives, was a "son of Conrad Weiser." It is needless to say that this is an unauthorized interpolation to the original record. It has caused much trouble to genealogists.
The Rev. J. W. Early, of Reading, Pa., has just dis- covered his will, and kindly placed its contents at the dis- posal of the writer.
He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the First . Pennsylvania Continental Regiment, doubtless about the time of its organization, say in June, 1776. Just prior to the battle of Long Island, on August 12, 1776, the will was written. In it he leaves practically all his property to his brothers Jabez and Conrad. He seems to have participated in the services of his splendid regiment until the battle of Germantown, where he was severely wounded and captured. A letter of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, dated Philadelphia, November 5, 1777, says: "Peter Weiser is still alive." Fearing that his wound might prove fatal, on November 16, 1777, he added a codicil to the will bequeathing to Adolph Gillman, in whose house on
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Market Street, Philadelphia, he was cared for, such a sum of money as might be necessary to defray the expenses which had been incurred.
This establishes the fact that he was the second son of Philip Weiser (September 7, 1722-March 27, 1761), who was the eldest son of Col. Conrad Weiser. Peter was born April 26, 1751, and died about February, 1785, his will being proved at Reading, Pa., on February 23, 1785.
Lieut. William Witman.
He was, most likely, a son of Christopher Witman of Reading.
In February, 1777, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Ninth Pennsylvania Continental Regi- ment; shot through the body with a musket ball at Ger- mantown; captured and paroled; left off the roll in the arrangement of 1778; resided in Berks county in 1789; died October 12, 1806.
Capt. Daniel De Turk.
His ancestor was Isaae De Turck, a French Huguenot, who fled to the Palatinate of Germany, emigrated to Esopus, New York, and, from thence, to Oley township of Berks county, between 1704 and 1712.
It was in a barn of this family, in Oley township, that the first Indian converts of the Moravians were baptized.
He was commissioned a Captain of the Flying Camp, and, with his company, passed through Bethlehem, Au- gust 26, 1776, on his way to the front.
Capt. George Will.
He was a shoemaker of Berks county, and a native of Stettin, Germany. His father, when a young man, had lived at the Moravian settlement of Herrnhut.
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He, also, was in command of a company of the Flying Camp, attached to Major Gabriel Hiester's First Bat- talion. He passed through Bethlehem, on his way to the front, August 23, 1776, where the company attended divine service.
Capt. George May.
Capt. George May, of Reading, was from Langen- diebach, in the Wetterau, Germany, and had once worked at Herrnhaag, the abandoned Moravian settlement of that region.
He was a Captain in Lutz's Battalion of the Flying Camp, at the battle of Long Island.
LEBANON COUNTY. Gen. John Philip De Hans.
Son of John Nicholas De Haas, was born about 1735; said to have come from Holland but was probably Ger- man; emigrated to America, and, on March 28, 1739, settled in Lebanon county.
He served in the French and Indian War as Ensign, December, 1757; Adjutant, Col. Armstrong's Battalion, April 30, 1758; Captain, Col. Burd's Battalion, April 28, 1760; Major, June 9, 1764. He was with Bouquet in the expedition of 1763. In June, 1764, Major De Haas was in command at Fort Henry. From 1765 to 1775 he resided at Lebanon, where he was a Justice of the Peace and an iron-master.
At the outbreak of the Revolution he was on the Com- mittee of Observation for Lebanon Township. On Feb- ruary 22, 1775, he was made Colonel of the First Penn- sylvania Battalion, to rank from January 22. His regi-
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ment was in the Northern Campaign of 1777 and par- took of all the privations of that unfortunate expedition to Canada. His battalion became the nucleus of the Second Pennsylvania Continental Regiment, of which he was commissioned Colonel October 25, 1776. On Feb- ruary 21, 1777, he was promoted to Brigadier General and seems to have been in continuous service until 1778, when he appears to have left the service.
He removed to Philadelphia in 1779, and died in that city on June 3, 1786, leaving a son, John Philip, who served as an Ensign in his father's regiment.
Col. Abram Doebler.
The son of Anthony Doebler, was born March 17, 1765, in Lebanon Co., Pa.
In 1777, when but twelve years of age, he was a mem- ber of Col. Grubb's Battalion of Associators, and in active service at Brandywine and Germantown.
After the Revolution, upon the organization of the militia, under Act of Congress, he was made a Brigade inspector of Pennsylvania troops. Hle assisted in enroll- ing the volunteers for the Whiskey Insurrection of 1794. He died in Lebanon, August 17, 1849.
Col. John Gloninger.
Son of Philip and Anna Barbara Gloninger; he was born in Lebanon, September 19, 1758.
When the Revolution broke out he served as a subaltern in the Associators. Towards the close of the war he was in command of a battalion of the militia.
Upon the organization of Dauphin county he was ap- pointed County Lieutenant, May 6, 1785. He was a
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representative to the General Assembly in 1790, resign- ing to accept the position of State Senator. Upon the erection of the county of Lebanon, in 1813, he was com- missioned an Associate Judge, an office he filled for many years.
He died at Lebanon, on January 22, 1836.
Col. Philip Greenawall.
Philip Lorenz Greenawalt was born June 10, 1725, in Hassloch, in Boehl, Germany. He came to America in 1749, located at first in Lancaster county, then removed to Lebanon.
He was commissioned Colonel of the First Battalion, Lancaster County Associators, and was with Washington at Trenton and Princeton. His battalion was at Brandy- wine and Germantown, and the conduct of Col. Greena- walt during the former engagement received the com- mendation of the Commander-in-Chief, especially with re- gard to his protection of the Continental supplies.
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