THE GERMANS part II

The host was a Mennonite and his name is Abraham Muller ~ from Leonhard Schnell's diary

Grandpa Johann Georg Hutzel

In 1739, George (7GGF) and Margaretha's Swinehart's (7GGM) daughter, Magdalena (6GGM), married George Hutzel (6GGF). Grandpa George was born in Pfaffenhoffen, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany, near Stuttgart. He arrived in Phildelphia on 27 Aug 1733 on the Scottish ship Thistle of Glasgow. The name shown on the ship's roster was Jerg Hertzel. With him on the ship was his brother Ludwig Hertzel (6U). Grace L. Tracey and John P. Dern, authors of Pioneers of Old Monacacy, write that "[a] clue to Hutzel's whereabouts after his arrival in America may be found in the records of the Muddy Creek Lutheran congregation in East Cocalico Township Lancaster County PA. . .He was for many years a leader of the (Lutheran) Brethren at Ephrata." About five miles separate Ephrata from East Cocalico.

(1) Ephrata/East Cocalico, PA (2) Frederick, MD

By the time of his marriage to Magdalena in 1739, George had made the move to Maryland and it was there that he met his bride. Records show that, in 1742, a George Hootsill was appointed to oversee the road from "the top of Katoctin to Monacacy Wagon Road ford." Grandpa George "adhered closely to the Lutheran religion in Frederick County." He, along with his father-in-law, George Swinehart, contributed to the purchase of the first Lutheran Church book in 1743. That same year, George and his father-in-law "took comunion preperatory to their naturalization."

George Hutzel purchased his first piece of property from his father-in-law in 1747, the same year that George Swinehart divested most of his property to other sons-in-law. The price was sixteen pounds "current Maryland money." In 1756, Grandpa George recieved a patent for a piece of land called "Markley's Purchase" which lay next to George Swinehart's property. Also in 1757, George Hutzel's name "appeared on the roster of Stephen Ramsburg's Militia Co." At that time, the French and Indian War was still raging but, luckily for Grandpa George, Maryland didn't see much action in that war.

George and Magdalena Hutzel had a whopping twelve children. George died in 1778 at age 67, "probably of a stroke on route to a friend's house." Magdalena died, also of a stroke, in 1788 at age 63.

Grandpa Abraham Miller

After 1727, the roster lists of Germans arriving in Philadelphia were scrupulously kept. Determining when our grandfather, Abraham Miller (6GGF) came, however, remains a bit of a conundrum. Three Abraham Millers appear on ship rosters before 1743 and The Pioneers of Old Monocacy authors have found conflicts with all three. Whenever our Abraham arrived, he was in Maryland on June 11, 1737 "when he and five others agreed to purchase...the entire tract of "Tasker's Chance" for a consideration of £200."

Tracey and Dern maintain that "the tract name best remembered today is 'Tasker's Chance,' the land on which most of the city of Frederick is now located." There turned out to be a problem with the sale of the land, but Abraham stayed put as a "squatter" and eventually, in 1747, received a deed for 294 acres.

Note: Today, high priced homes and condos adorn the property that once belonged to Abraham Miller. They are all part of the Worman Mill Conservancy Homeowner Association, named after the mill that sat quite near to Abraham's property on the banks of the Monocacy River.

Abraham and his wife Frana (6GGM) (later Francis in his will) probably married in Germany ca. 1730 and brought at least two children with them to America. By the time he was finally able to buy his "Tasker's Chance" acreage, all of his seven children had been born.

Abraham was naturalized in 1740 and signed the 1742 petition to divide Prince George County to create Frederick County.

that old-time religion

Grandpa Abraham, unlike the two Georges (Swinehart and Hutzel) was not a Lutheran. Though rare in Maryland, Abraham was a practicing Mennonite. In 1743, while still squatting on his Tasker's Chance land, Abraham recieved a visit from two traveling Morovians. From the Morovian missionary Leonhard Schnell's diary:

The third (river) is called Manakes (Monocacy), through which I had to carry my companion because he was very tired, for we had already walked forty miles. A mile further we found a house, where the people at first objected to taking us in, but were finally persuaded. The host was a Mennonite and his name is Abraham Muller.

According to Wikipedia, "[t]raditionally, Mennonites sought to continue the beliefs of early Christianity and thus practice the lovefeast (which includes footwashing, the holy kiss and communion), headcovering, nonresistance, the sharing of possessions and nonconformity to the world...Over the years, Mennonites have become known as one of the historic peace churches, due to their commitment to pacifism."

lawsuits and community affairs

The man who needed to be carried when the two Morovian men visited Grandpa Abraham in 1743 was John Hussey. That same year, Hussey accused Abraham of "taking his stray horse." Luckily for our grandfather, he had two men who could vouch for him and the court found in his favor. There seemed to be no hard feeling between the two men, however. In 1748 Abraham is listed as an administrator of Hussy's estate.

In spite of his peace-loving ways, it appears that Grandpa Abraham wasn't opposed to a friendly law suit every now and then. In 1646, he sued Johannes Tafflemeyer for £56. Then in 1750, a jury acquitted Tetur Laney, who had been charged with stealing two hogs from Abraham. Perhaps it was Abraham's Mennonite ways that allowed him to remain friends with the alleged hog-stealing Tetur. That same year, the two men completed a land sale of 200 acres from Tetur to Abraham.

Also in 1750, Abraham was charged by the court with keeping a "tippling house" so it seems the Mennonites were okay with a little nip once in a while. That same year, he was accepted by the same court as security for the builders of the new Court House. In 1751, Abraham and another man were appointed by the court to "lay out a wagon road to Frederick Town."

final years

Since non-Lutherans were not really welcome in the Old Monocacy, it appears that most did not stay there long. Possibly because of persecution, Grandpa Abraham, like many Mennonites, moved away from that community. He didn't go far. In 1750, Abraham purchased property in Lewistown, only ten miles from Frederick. There he and Margaret lived out lived out the rest of their lives.

(1) Frederick (2) Lewistown

Abraham named his new property, which eventually grew to 1,289 acres, "Miller's Chance." According to Tracey and Dern, "[a]ltogether Miller operated three mills and his place became a landmark reference point in the early road records, continuing so until at leat 1784."

Abraham died at his home in 1754 at the young age of 47. He wrote his will just two days before his death and mentioned several land transactions that were still ongoing. When she administrated his will, Francis "solemnly affirmed, she being a Protestant Dissenter," which seems to confirm that the Millers kept their Mennonite beliefs for life. Grandma Francis married again to a man named Shelhorse. I can find no date for her death.

Grandpa Michael Born

We have very little information on our grandfather Michael Born (6GGF). His name appears on the roster of the ship Thistle which arrived in Philadelphia on 28 Sep 1738. Another name on the roster was that of Anna Maria Sents (6GGM) who was traveling with her daughter, eight year old Kattarins Barbel Sents (5A). These two, who would soon be married and living in New Jersey, apparently met aboard ship.

A marriage record in Assweiller, Alsace, France shows that our grandmother Anna Maria had married Hans Adam Zentz in 1728. Records from that town also show two children born to them, Johann Christian (5U) and Kattarina Barbal. While Johann Christian's name is not listed on the the Thistle's roster, he most probably came to America with his mother and sister. There is a record of Christian Zentz' marriage ca. 1754 in York County, PA.

Anna Maria's husband, Hans Adam Zentz, is another story. He is not on the ship's roster nor are there any records of him in America. The most likely scenario is that he had either died in Alsace or on the trip over on the ship. Single mother Anna Maria must have met Michael Born while crossing the ocean and married him shortly after docking in Philadelphia.

Records of children born indicate that the couple first settled in Salem, New Jersey. The family may have still lived in Salem in 1749 when marriage records for the United Methodist Church there show that Barbara Barn married John Kinish. Since Barbara's name had been changed from Zentz to Born, it seems that Grandpa Michael must have adopted her. Her older brother Christian, however, kept the Zentz name.

Sometime before 1754, the Borns, possibly without Barbara, were in York County, PA. A few years later they reached their final destination, Manchester, Maryland.

(1) Salem, NJ (2) York County, PA (3) Manchester, MD

Michael and Anna Maria Born had five children, four daughters and a son. In 1762, one of their daughters, our grandmother Anna Margaretha (5GGM), married Peter Christophel Armagost (5GGF).

Michael Born died in 1780 at age 84. Anna Maria died in 1796 at age 86. The words on their gravestones are written in German. Anna Maria's translates as:

Here rests in God the former Anna Maria Born. She was born in Alsace, in the village of Tiefebach, September 3rd, 1710, and died January 6th, 1796. Her age was 86 years 2 months and 3 days.

This post wraps up the first half of the eighteenth century. Our next post will begin the tumultuous second half of the seventeen hundreds which included both the final French and Indian War and the American Revolution.