Johannes Weidenhammer (1726-1804)
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| Militia Roll from PHMC Revolutionary War Militia Battalions and Companies |
Early Life
Johannes Weidenhammer, the ancestor of nearly every Weidenhammer and Weidenhamer line in America, was born 1726 in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. [Weidenhammer, S.D., family research] He was raised and educated in Europe (probably Baden-Württemberg) and when he became of age, made his decision to emigrate, the only one in his family, to Pennsylvania. He left Rotterdam aboard the ship Edinburgh, with James Russell as Master in summer of 1748 and arrived in Philadelphia on 5 Sep 1748. [Rupp, Thirty Thousand Names of Immigrants in Pennsylvania 1727-1766, 1876, pp. 181-183; Strassburger, Ralph Beaver, Pennsylvania German Pioneers, 1934; vol. 1, p.371]
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Courthouse at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Strassburger, Pennsylvania German Pioneers) |
Between 1727 and 1740 the Pennsylvania Assembly passed, among other immigration act, “An act for better enabling divers inhabitants of the province of Pennsylvania to hold lands and to invest them with the privileges of natural-born subjects of the said province.” By taking the Oath of Allegiance Johannes became immediately able, to legally own land with no residency requirement. [Blog: Clio the History Muse: Favorite Discovery: Naturalization Acts by the Assembly]
In 1750 Johannes married Margareth Magdalena Ehtiegre or Eblinger or Ebeling (c. 1727-1812). In 1752 he purchased land in Ruscombmanor Township, Philadelphia County which that same year became Berks County (Pennsylvania German: Barricks Kaundi) [Wikipedia, Berks County, Pennsylvania], speaking their native language and preserving their culture within the German settlement in the area surrounding the Schuylkill River. A later deed refers to Johannes as a "weaver." Weaving had been a major occupation in Germany in the early 18th century. It is possible Johannes was trained in this occupation and brought it with him to America.
Looking at the map below, the south-west boundary of Philadelphia County is formed by the Scuylkill River. The upper half of the Schuylkill runs through the center of what is now Berks County (see color map below)
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Pennsylvania County Boundaries at the time of Johannes Weidenhammer's Arrival |
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Berks Co. Pennsylvania |
The original Weidenhammer homestead was located three-quarters mile north of Moselem Springs on the main highway leading from Reading to Easton. They became members of the Moselem Union Church (AKA Zion Moselem Church) and had together six sons and three daughters.* [Weidenhamer, Charles D, family history, 1927, p.2]
Johannes was taxed as "John Weidenhammer" on property he owned in Bern and Maidencreek Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. He was known as a thrifty and prosperous farmer. The 1768 Tax Record shows his holdings as 150 acres in Bern Township, two horses, three cattle and four sheep. By 1779 he had moved to Maidencreek Township and was assessed with 320 acres, four horses and six cattle. [Pennsylvania Archives, Berks County Tax Records 1779]
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| 1779 Tax Record (Pennsylvania Archives) |
Service in the Pennsylvania Militia
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| Officers, 2nd Battalion, Northeastern Section [Montgomery, History of Berks County, Pennsylvania in the Revolution] |
Many young immigrant men had left Germany to avoid conscription in the armies of the German principalities. They went to great lengths to avoid the draft in their homeland, only to find that they were conscripted at an advanced age in America. Did they resent being called into the military in their adopted land? Did they support the American cause or were they compelled by the threat of penalties?
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| Nation Makers by Howard Pyle (depicting the Battle of Brandywine) |
In the summer of 1777 Daniel Hunter's Battalion, with the 1st Pennsylvania Militia Brigade under Brigadier General James Potter, proceeded to Chester where they joined Major General John Armstrong's Division in the main body under General George Washington facing Howe near Chadds Ford in the Battle of Brandywine Creek. In the company of the Continental Army they engaged the British in an effort to retain control of Philadelphia. [Montgomery, Morton L., History of Berks County, Pennsylvania, in the Revolution, from 1774 to 1783, 1894; p.268] More troops fought at Brandywine than any other battle of the American Revolution. "It was also the longest single-day battle of the war, with continuous fighting for 11 hours." The battle was a loss for the Americans, although Washington's army was able to escape, with the help of General Nathaniel Greene's division, but not without close to 1,200 Americans killed, wounded or taken prisoner by a possibly inflated British count. There are no American records of losses at Brandywine. The loss left Philadelphia vulnerable, and two weeks later it was taken by the British. [Wikipedia, Battle of Brandywine]
With Philadelphia taken, and later Germantown, Berks County was 60 miles from the British encampments, and open to British foraging and mistreatment of residents. British prisoners were held in Reading, and the area secured by militia troops and the Invalid Corps. Berks County residents were surely fearful and on high alert in the summer of 1777.
Life After the Revolution
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| Modern Day Berks County Farm in Winter (By Nicholas - Flickr, CC BY 2.0) |
After serving in the Pennsylvania Militia, John Weidenhammer returned to his life of farming. A proven good manager, both his holdings and his family continued to increase throughout the remainder of his life.
"[John Weidenhammer] died Aug. 3, 1804 in his seventy-eighth year and the fifty-fourth year of his marriage... survived by five sons and four daughters,* twenty-seven grand-children and forty-eight great-grandchildren." He died where he made his home, in Moselem Springs, Maidencreek Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, and is buried alongside his wife at Zion Moselem Church Cemetery. [Montgomery, Morton; Historical and Biographical Annals of Berks County, 1909; vol. II, p.1648] The epitaph on his tombstone read "Good night you who were my friends all my life." He apparently left no will and no probate of his estate has been found. [Weidenhamer, Charles D, op. cit., p.2]
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| Stele of Johannes Weidenhammer Zion Moselem Church Cemetery Photo by S.D. Weidenhammer |
Known children of Johannes Weidenhammer and his wife, Margareth Magdalena Ebeling: son Johannes (c. 1751-c. 1792) m. Rosina Dunkel; daughter Christina (c. 1752-c. 1817) m. George Wilhelm Staudt; son George (1761-1807) m. Catherine Heberacker; son Johann Jacob (1763-1847) m. Catherine Elizabeth Gross; son Johann Adam (1765-1849) m. Elizabeth Dunkel; and son Samuel Weidenhammer (c. 1770-?). This count is five sons and one daughter; son Johannes Jr. died prior to his father, leaving four sons and one daughter to survive the immigrant patriarch. [Weidenhamer, Charles D, family history, 1927, p.2] According to Montgomery, there are one son and three daughters of Johannes Weidenhammer unaccounted for. [Montgomery, Historical and Biographical Annals of Berks County, 1909; vol. II, p.1648; Weidenhamer, Charles D, op. cit. p.3]
*Note the count of children differs. Records of Johannes' children are scarce until their adulthood. It has been impossible, so far, to identify the unknown daughter(s) and son.
