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SHAKING THE BRANCHES
A Historical Review
Of My Lineage
Traced Through the
by
4484 Clifford Road
Brownsburg, Indiana 46112
317-290-1732
kmbolender@aol.com
First Edition
Dedication
To my family,
my wife, my sons, their children
and to the generations to come
this book is dedicated
with
love and affection
Eighteenth Century Germany
Anchors Aweigh
Voyage to the New World
The Land of Promise
Settlers in Pennsylvania
Changing Times
Revolutionary War
Migration to Ohio
More Grandparents
My Direct forbears
My Father, Mother and Family
Author's Descent from Progenitor
Phillip Carl Schenkel's Handwriting
Orphan's Court Records, Lancaster Co., PA
Barbara Bolender's Administratrix Document
Stephen Bolender's Handwriting
Virginia Military District & Survey
Stephen Bolender's Deed for 1,000 Acres
Legible Copy of Stephen Bolender's Will
Legible Copy of Elizabeth Bolender's Will
Warren B. Hill's Report Card (1864)
We are the people to whom the past is forever speaking
because we cannot help ourselves,
for the past speaks to us with many voices.
Far out of that dark nowhere which is the time
before we were born, men and women who were
flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone
went through fire and storm to break a path to the future.
We are a part of the future they died for;
they are apart of the past that brought the future.
What they did—the lives they lived, the sacrifices they made,
the stories they told, the songs they sang,
the food they ate, finally, the death they died –
make up a part of our own experience.
We cannot cut ourselves off from it.
It is as real to us as something that happened last week.
It is a basic part of our heritage as human beings.
author unknown
Though my name appears on this book's cover, no room would be left for the title if it included the names of all those who contributed to its development.
· To my wife, Donna, whose love, encouragement and patience helped see me through this project. Without her support, this book would not have been possible. There were days the 'honey do' list had to wait. Some nights she went to bed alone while I sat at the word processor. She helped proofread my manuscript and made helpful suggestions. She supplied me with pens, note pads and reams of copier paper.
· To Harold Miller, a distant cousin, who has been a leading researcher on Bolender and Shinkle genealogy. He generously supplied me with whatever resources he had on hand. His research booklet, BEGINNINGS OF THE FAMILY OF PETER AND (MARIA) BARBARA BOLENDER, has been a great help.
· To my brother, Leon Bolender of Mt. Vernon, OH, who is greatly gifted in research and accurately deciphering records of our ancestors. His assistance has helped me correct many errors through several revisions.
· To my cousin, Elsie Bolender of Lexington, KY, whose writings of records and stories handed down through the family has been a treasure trove of information.
· To the Indianapolis Christian Scribes, led by Hank and Bernice 'Bunnie' Mercier. This group gave me much encouragement in the beginning days of my writing offering many helpful suggestions.
· To my friends, Rob Green and Bob Taylor, both computer experts who always came to our rescue when computer glitches occurred.
· To my friend and 'webmaster,' Jon Green, whose expertise in WebPages design and construction helped develop the website, Shaking the Branches, which will eventually contain this manuscript.
· To the many cousins I have met on the Internet whose exchanges of information have added pieces of the puzzle to help complete the picture.
· To my sister, Eleanor Dedek of South Bend, IN, who shared her time proofreading, editing and suggesting improvements for the entire manuscript. Eleanor encouraged me to be myself and tell my stories my own way. I DID!
Shaking the Branches
As we study past history, we find it was common practice in ancient civilizations to hand down stories of ancestors and forefathers to descendants for many generations. Ancient tribal peoples told and retold tales of their ancestor's courage, determination, and stamina when faced with difficulty and challenges. The Old Testament is full of such stories which even today enable the Jewish people to feel like they know their forefathers even after milleniums of time. It was considered a duty to share the stories, thus leaving a legacy for their children and children's children.
Today, how many grandchildren even know their grandparents, or their aunts and uncles? Many of us live in historical vacuums unable to name more than a generation or two of our ancestors. At times I have felt disappointed in my lack of knowledge concerning the genealogy of my family. It's hard to feel like I know ancestors who left no diaries, letters, or journals. With only names and dates and not much else, how can we know the stock from which we descended? I strongly wish they would have left a record of their lives for our generation to read and enjoy. This could provide families and friends with a link to history which can be cherished for generations to come.
In today's world we stay in touch with our loved ones by telephone and E-mail. Few write letters and rarely does anyone keep a diary. We preserve no written record of all the ups and downs of our lives and the times in which we live. How will our grandchildren and their children ever know from whom and from where they came, or the condition of the world in our time unless we record our memories in a form they can keep?
A growing curiosity has motivated me to try to discover more about the Bolender* and Shinkle* family roots. The connection of the two families will be explained in the first chapter of this book. A genealogy of the Bolender and Shinkles has evolved over the years with extensive research by Harold Miller, a distant relative, from Milford, OH. My brother, Leon Bolender of Mt. Vernon, OH, with careful accuracy, has refined, corrected, and further recorded more complete information.
In October 1997, my wife Donna and I enjoyed a vacation trip to Pennsylvania which included three days in the Lancaster County area. This is the area to which Peter Bolender, my fourth great grandfather, immigrated in 1750 from Germany. While there, we visited the Old Lancaster Court House archives and were able to locate some old records dating back to 1772. One record was the original document giving Peter Bolender's wife, Barbara, administratrix authority concerning his estate. This old paper was no doubt filled out with a goose quill pen by authorities representing the British Crown. It was exciting to see the original which predated the Revolutionary War by a few short years.
At the Court House, we also found several court records, copied from the originals, of an Orphans Court distributing the balance of Peter Bolender's monies (measured in pound sterling, shillings and pence) to his widow, Barbara, and to the four children. Other records pertained to the granting guardianship of the three younger daughters. Their son, Stephen Bolender, my third great grandfather, was 16 years old at the time, so he didn't require a guardian.
While in Lancaster, I visited the Lancaster Co. Historical Society's archives and Berk's Co. Historical Society looking at records and ship passenger list of emigrants from Germany in the eighteenth century. I searched church records at the archives of the Reformed Theological Seminary. This proved to be a treasure trove of information.
In the following book, I will attempt to describe the historical setting concerning why our ancestors left Europe for the New World, what conditions they faced on their journey in coming here, what life was like for them in the Colonies, their involvement in the Revolutionary War, and their migration westward to Ohio and beyond.
It has been an exciting adventure researching and exploring history which directly affected the Bolenders' and Shinkles' sojourn and saga. During our trip to Pennsylvania, I had the feeling I was visiting our forefathers at their home and getting to know them.
Since our trip, I have corresponded with a number of distant cousins, by E-mail, who are also researching the Bolender and Shinkle genealogy. They have shared with me further bits and pieces which help toward completing the puzzle.
Several public and historical libraries have been helpful in my studies of history that directly affected our forefathers. At the end of this genealogical-historical coverage will be a bibliography of the resource material used.
This book is not intended to replace the present
genealogy records which others have prepared over the years. It is intended to
be a helpful tool alongside other records to aid the reader in understanding the
historical setting. It will add flesh and blood to what otherwise would be only
names and dates.
For the sake of time and space, I have limited most of this book to my direct line ancestry.
Emancipation from Bondage
Eighteenth Century Germany
Have you ever wondered how our European ancestors lived? What were the political, economic, social, and spiritual conditions that shaped their lives? Why did they leave their homeland in Germany and with great difficulty make their way to the 'New World'? Were they wealthy, famous, royalty or none of the above? In this genealogical history I will attempt to answer these questions.
First, let's look at some history of the area now called Germany. Celtic peoples inhabited it until a series of military campaigns brought it within the Roman Empire in the first century BC. The Teutons (German speaking peoples) subdued the Roman Empire by 500 a.d. and they culturally absorbed the Celtic peoples.
The first Bolender found so far dates back to about 1100, at the large Bolanden Estates, near a small village called Bolanden. Ferdinand Bolender, who owns the Great Guesthaus Hotel and Restaurant in Linsengericht, Germany, says this is the origination of the Bolender name. His aunt, supposedly, has the family history dating clear back to this era. I trust, in the near future, this will be made public so we can share this valuable history of the Bolender family.
Records trace my fourth great grandfather, Peter Bolender* and Phillip Carl Schenkel (Shinkle),** back to an area in Europe now called Germany. Phillip Carl Schenkel and several relatives lived in a small village called Edenkoben. His youngest daughter Margreta would, in the future, marry Peter Bolender's son Stephen (my third great grandfather). This would be the beginning of many marriages between the two families for at least one hundred fifty years.
Records show that the Bolender and Schenkel families were 'Palatine.' A 'Palatine' is someone who came from the region of Germany called 'The Palatinate.' Germany as a country did not exist in the 18th century. Prior to 1871, the area that is now Germany consisted of separate states, such as Wurttemberg, Prussia, Bavaria, etc., whose boundaries changed frequently as a result of war and other causes. The 'Palatinate' was one of those states and was located along the Rhine River, roughly where the modern German state of Rhineland-Pfalz is located.***
The Palatinate was land owned by a 'feudal lord' who was a secular prince of the Holy Roman Empire. Along the Rhine valley, he lived in a castle on a hilltop overlooking his large estate with the river in view. The feudal lord owned the inhabitants farming the land and tending the estate. They were called 'serfs' or 'peasants' who, owning little, lived in poverty.
A description of our ancestor, Phillip Carl Schenckel's homeland is given by Dr. Alfred Hans Kuby, presently a resident and village historian of Edenkoben, Rhineland Pfalz, Germany. A retired pastor, scholar, and educator, he first came to the United States as a WWII prisoner in the mid nineteen-forties. He loves America and is a frequent lecturer for the Pennsylvania Chapter of "The Palatines to America." In his book, Life In a Palatine Town Between 1648 and 1798, he describes:
"...the old towns and villages in the Alsace, Palatinate, Hessen, and Wurtemberg have narrow roads, each house close beside each other. High arched gateways permitted the wagons hauling the grain harvest and hay to pass through. Beside each house is a neatly tended garden. Around the town are harvest fields, meadows, vineyards, and somewhere within sight is a forest. They grew farm animals to produce milk and meat. They grew vegetables, millet, oats, apples, pears, sweet grapes, plums, nuts and chestnuts. Potatoes became an important food in the 18th century."
The emigrants brought this style of living to the 'New Land,' but with one highly important difference. They now had much more space, making it possible to expand their buildings, gardens, harvest fields and meadows.
In Germany, most villages had a church. In 1648, Edenkoben had only one church, which was a medieval building used by the Reformed congregation. Edenkoben lay in an area whose people were Reformed, but whose Prince Elector was Catholic. In terms of political jurisdiction, Edenkoben belonged to the Electorate of Kurpfalz (Pfalz), whose capitol city was Heidelberg.
In another lecture to the Pennsylvania Chapter, given in April 24-25, 1998, Dr. Kuby states:
"The inhabitants of Edenkoben paid several types of taxes, one being the obligatory per capita assessment to pay the costs for the Prince Elector to build the enormous Castle at Mannheim, which today houses the very large Mannheim University. After WWII, the US Military used this castle, temporarily, for a prison."
In 1981, Dr. Kuby wrote about these emigrants under the title, The People of the Snow Ketty:
"During the years 1749 to 1752 almost 70 residents of Edenkoben immigrated to North America. Their diet was lots of bread made from rye and other grains such as spelt and oats. They also had pulp of millet and soup of barley. They added lentils, peas, beans, carrots, onions, cabbage and red and white wines. Everybody drank wine and most drank milk. Most meals were without meat. Occasionally, they had chicken. In November, a goose might be had. Eggs were eaten frequently.
"If they wanted something extra and quite special, they could eat chestnuts, almonds, apples, and pears. A very special food item was the 'Latwerg', a kind of jam made from Damson Plums and spices. After they immigrated to Pennsylvania, they didn't have the right kind of plums so they used apples. They began producing 'apple butter'."
To gain insight into conditions, leading to the exodus from their homeland to the New World, let's review some 17th and 18th century history. The principalities of the Palatinate, Baden, and Wurttemberg had suffered greatly from the terrible Thirty Years War (1618-1648). During the war the Palatine population had been reduced from 1,000,000 to 50,000. Before recovering from the ravages, the Palatinate was subjected to the plundering of the troops of the French monarch Louis XIV during the War of the Grand Alliance (1689-1697). These periodic invasions by the French devastated the land, and a large proportion of the population was reduced to poverty. Next came the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1713) which caused much devastation of Wurttemberg. In 1708-1709, a severely cold winter froze the wildlife in the forests and killed fruit trees and vineyards. All Europe suffered from the cold, but the Germans in Wurttemberg and the Palatinate suffered more so, due to their impoverished condition. To make matters worse, their selfish and incompetent rulers, living in rich luxury, shamelessly exploited the people. Religious conditions were also bad. In the Palatinate, the Catholic rulers persecuted many of the Protestants groups, hampering the peasants in the exercise of their religious beliefs.
To the dissatisfied populace in Germany, America appeared as the land of promise, offering both freedom and economic opportunity. William Penn, head of the colony of Pennsylvania, promoted colonization by distributing printed advertisements in England. These soon spread to Germany. At the same time fellow countrymen, who had already immigrated to America, sent back glowing reports of their life in America.
During the period, 1710 to 1776, an estimated 225,000 persons from the Rhine district and nearby regions, especially the Palatinate and Wurttemberg, immigrated to the colonies in America. So many came from the Rhinesh Palatinate that in England and America all German immigrants were known as Palatines.
In 1952, some genealogist, tracing family roots of their Palatine ancestors, visited Edenkoben, Germany and found information regarding 18th century serfs having been emancipated from serfdom and thence having immigrated to the New World. Because our ancestor Phillip Carl Schenkel, and other Schenkels, are mentioned in their findings, I will give a quote, translated from German, from the book, Ship Passenger Lists. Pennsylvania and Delaware (1641-1825). A chapter titled, "18th Century Emigrants from Edenkoben in the Palatinate", pp. 187-189:
"... throws some light on the difficulties faced by
the Palatine serfs (peasants) of the 18th Century when it came to emigration. For their release from bondage as subjects and their manumission (emancipation) from serfdom a special duty had to be paid, besides the so-called "Tenth Penny," a sum to the extent of 10% of the emigrant's property. Yet emigrants with no means were "manumitted" anyway. But for secret emigration (leaving without permission), the penalty was mostly the confiscation of the property.
"From Edenkoben, then under the rule of the Electoral Palatinate, there emigrated in the 18th Century, according to the Protocols of the Bailiwick of Neustadt, a comparatively large number of persons. Actually the number may have been still higher, due to the secret emigration. Many of these emigrants' names can be located in the Pennsylvania Ship Lists.
"For instance, in 1750 Jacob Komer of Edenkoben, who is going to Pennsylvania with his wife, was released from serfdom, likewise in 1751 George Krass, with wife and two children. In 1752 Nicolas Leonhard, who had secretly emigrated around 1749, requested manumission so that his inheritance could be handed over to him. His request was granted, yet he had to pay 35 florins (guldens) for his manumission, for the "Tenth Penny" 31 florins, and for the Military Treasury, in the lieu of military service unrendered 7 florins. His brother Wilhelm Leonhard, who later also wanted to emigrate, was described as an "ill-behaved and dissolute petitioner" (ohnartiger and liederlicher Supplican), so that his request for emigration could be granted with no difficulties at all.
"In 1752 Martin Grun, Heinrich Schenkel, and Christian Muller went to 'Pennsylvanien.' They had to pay all the aforementioned duties, except Martin Grun who, because of his having no property, was manumitted without charge. But the request for emigration met with great difficulties in the case of the three stepdaughters of Martin Grun--Anna Barbara, Marie Elisabetha, and Maria Catharina Frank--who were such good workers, at the best age for working, and so plainly valued by the Electoral Government that they received manumission reluctantly and only after long struggles.
"For the same year, 1752, a great emigration year, Philip Carl Schenkel and Jacob Welde of Edenkoben also went as emigrants to North America, all manumitted gratis (without charge) on account of their poverty. Likewise in 1752 came the departure from Edenkoben of Jacob Schuster and Johann Phillip Schenkel with his wife, both serfs of the Zweibrucken Government. The departure of other persons, Abraham Sonntag and Jacob Schenkel, occasioned serious apprehensions on the part of the Electoral Government, on account of the competition with Pfalz-Zweibrucken, which also possessed serfs in Edenkoben.
"But when the Mayor of Edenkoben reported that the Electoral Palatinate possessed 315 men and 377 women as serfs in Edenkoben, while Zweibrucken could muster only 36 men and 40 women, the right of departure was granted the petitioners for the payment of a small duty, or even gratis, because they have so little property and cannot make a good living in Edenkoben."
According to other records, in 1752 Phillip Carl Schenkel, along with Johann, Phillip, Jacob and Heinrich (doubtless his brothers or cousins), emigrated to America, taking passage at Rotterdam in the ship 'Snow Ketty' commanded by Theophilus Barnes, touching at Portsmouth, England and landing at Philadelphia on October 16, 1752.
*Take note of the spelling of Bolender in different records. Variations may include Poland, Polander, Pollender, Bolend, Bollender, Bollinder, Bohlander, Bohlender, Boland, Bolander, and Bollander.
**Take note of the spelling of Schenkel in different accounts and records. Variations may include Schenkel, Schenckel, Shankle, and Shinkle.
**Phillip Carl Schenkel was born June 8, 1717, in Edenkoben, Germany. His father was Nicholas Schenkel and his grandfather was Bartholomew Schenkel. As of March, 1998, exciting new information concerning Phillip Carl's ancestors is being gleaned from old church records dating back to the 1550's in Schaffhausen, Switzerland.
***Geographically, the Palatinate was divided between two small territorial clusters: the Rhinish, or the Lower Palatinate, and the Upper Palatinate. The Rhinish Palatinate included the lands on both sides of the Middle Rhine River between its Main and Neckar tributaries. Its capitol until the 18th century was Heidelberg. The Upper Palatinate was located in northern Bavaria, on both sides of the Naab River as it flows south toward the Danube, and extended eastward to the Bohemian Forest. The boundaries of the Palatinate varied with the political and dynastic fortunes of the feudal lords.
Anchors Aweigh
Voyage to New World
The difficult journey from the Palatine region in Germany to Philadelphia in the New World could take up to six months. The trip was divided into three parts. The first part, fraught with difficulty, led down the Rhine River to the seaport Rotterdam, Holland.
Feudal lords owned the land and ruled the principalities through which the Rhine River flows. Peasant farmers made up the major part of the citizenry living in these regions. The rulers lived in castles built on the hilltops overlooking the Rhine valley. They took advantage of travelers going down the river by charging tolls for passage through the lord's principalities. Historians have termed them 'The Robber Barons of the Rhine.'
Gottlieb Mittelberger in his book, Journey to Pennsylvania in the year 1750, writes:
"This journey down the Rhine can take up to six weeks due to having to stop at 26 different customs houses, where the ships are examined, which is done when it suits the convenience of the customhouse officials. In the meantime the ships with the people are detained long, so that the passengers have to spend much money. When the ships finally arrive at Rotterdam, they are detained there likewise five to six weeks. Because things are dear (expensive) there, the poor people have to spend nearly all they have during that time."
The second part of the journey led from Rotterdam to one of the English ports. Most of the ships stopped at Cowes, on the Isle of Wight. In England a delay of one to two weeks might be necessary while the ships waited to be passed through the custom house with another possible long wait for favorable winds.
The third part of the journey, the transatlantic voyage, brought much suffering and hardship. When the ships finally weighed anchor at Cowes, writes Mittelberger:
"The real misery begins with the long voyage. The passengers being packed densely, like herrings, without proper food and water, were soon subject to all sorts of diseases, such as dysentery, scurvy, typhoid and smallpox. Children were the first to be attacked and died in large numbers."
Thirty-two children died on Mittelberger's 1750 voyage. He continues:
"The terrors of disease, brought on by poor food and lack of good drinking water, were much aggravated by frequent storms. The misery reaches a climax when a gale rages for two or three nights and days, so that everyone believes that the ship will go to the bottom with all human beings on board. In such a visitation the people cry and pray most piteously. When in such a gale the sea rages and surges, so that the waves rise often like mountains one over the other, and often tumble over the ship. When the ship is constantly tossed from side to side by the storm and the waves, so that no one can walk, or sit, or lie, and the closely packed people in the berths are thereby tumbled over each other, both the sick and the well--it will be readily understood that many of these people, none of whom had been prepared for hardships, suffer so terribly from them that they do not survive."
The duration of the voyage depended on the wind and weather. Lack of wind, or storms in the Atlantic, could make a voyage take up to twelve weeks, adding greatly to the misery of the passengers. Under ideal conditions, arrival at the destination could take as few as seven weeks.
When at long last the ship reached the Delaware River in sight of Philadelphia, the city of 'Brotherly Love,' where all their miseries were to end, the travelers suffered another delay. A health officer visited the ship and, if he found any persons with infectious diseases, he ordered the ship to sail one mile from the city for their removal. In 1750, a hospital had been built outside the city limits to treat the sick persons arriving on the ships. Including burials at sea, hundreds died every year.
A registrar on each ship required those on board to sign the ship list of passengers. On most ships, some of the passengers who could not write would make an X and the ship's registrar would sign for them. The British registrars did not always clearly understand the German names, thus spelled the names as best they could. Illegible writing also caused the ship passenger lists to be sometimes inaccurate as to the spelling of names. This is believed to be the case with Peter Bolender, whose name cannot be located on any passenger list. A clue is to be found in several books of Ship Passenger Lists.* A list of foreigners imported in the ship, Patience, (Captain Hugh Steel from Rotterdam), sailing from Cowes, England (near Portsmouth), arriving, August 11, 1750, shows 121 passengers on board. The list shows a Peter Poland (X) and a Stephen Poland (X). The X by their names means the ship's registrar had them make an X and the registrar filled in their names, as he understood the pronunciation. These two men are believed to be Peter and Stephen Bolender (possibly brothers). Their point of origin in Germany is not certain. **
According to church records in Pennsylvania, the Bolenders and Shinkles attended the same church, thus the beginning of the close relationship of the two families. Marriages would take place between the Bolender and the Shinkle families for at least the next 150 years.
* "Collection of Upwards of Thirty Thousand Names of German, Swiss, Dutch, French, and other Immigrants in Pennsylvania, 1727 to 1776." Rupp.
**In March 1998, I received a possible clue to the origin of Peter Bolender, from Mrs. Julie A Benston. She also is a descendent of Peter Bolender and his son Stephen. She writes, "At one time, I did go to the German church records. Nothing definitive, but there was a large incidence of baptisms of the Bolender family in the Bayern, Pfalz area of Germany, including a baptism for a Peter Bollender, son of Johannes and Eva Bollender on 10 October, 1703 in Bayern, Pfalz, Hassloch. Since this is the same area of Germany from which the Schenkel family is known to have come, and since the Bolenders do seem to be closely intertwined with the Schenkels, this might be a clue (though not confirmed) to the Bolenders' origins in Germany."
The Land of Promise
Settlers in Pennsylvania
Arrival at Philadelphia must have been a relief to the Bolenders and Shinkles, even though they faced new challenges. A vivid account of the landing of passengers in the harbor of Philadelphia is given in a report by the Rev. Henry M. Muehlenberg. He writes:
"After much delay one ship after another arrives in the harbor of Philadelphia. One or more merchants receive the lists of the freights and the agreement which the emigrants have signed with their own hand in Holland, together with the bills for their travel down the Rhine and the advances of the 'newlanders' (emigrants to the New World) for provisions, which they received on the ships on account (credit). Formerly the fare for single was six to ten louis d'ors. But now it amounts to fourteen to seventeen louis d'ors. After the health officer checks for infectious diseases, the new arrivals are led in procession to the City Hall and there they must render the oath of allegiance to the King of Great Britain."
"We subscribers, natives, and late inhabitants of the Palatinate upon the Rhine and places adjacent, having transported ourselves and families into this providence of Pennsylvania, a colony subject to the Crown of Great Britain, in hopes and expectations of finding a retreat and peaceable settlement therein, Do solemnly promise and engage, that we will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His present Majesty, King George the Second, and his successors, kings of Great Britain, and will be faithful to the proprietor of this Province; and that we will demean ourselves peaceably to all His said Majesty's subjects, and strictly observe and conform to the Laws of England and of this Province to the utmost of our power and the best of our understanding."
"After this is accomplished they are brought back to the ship. Then announcements are printed in the newspapers, stating how many of the new arrivals are to be sold as 'indentured servants'. Those who have money are released. Whoever has well-to-do friends seeks a loan from them to pay the passage, but there are only a few who succeed. The ship becomes the market-place. The buyers make their choice among the arrivals and bargain with them for a certain number of years and days. They then take them to the merchant, pay their passage and their other debts and receive from the government authorities a written document, which makes the newcomers their property for a definite period."
New settlers continued to come in spite of all the hardships. Historians have said that those who survived the hardships pushed ahead without complaining. After serving their few years for repayment of their voyage debts, they became successful farmers. Pennsylvania flourished, evidence of the perseverance of these early pioneers. About one half of the Palatine immigrants to the colonies settled in Pennsylvania. In the early wave of immigration, the first settlement of German immigrants was Germantown, just north of Philadelphia. By the 1750's most were locating in Lancaster and Berks Counties. The majority of them came as 'indentured servants' and it was said of them, "When these people served out their time, they were just as poor as when they arrived." The period of service required to pay off the transportation debts took about five years. As conditions in Pennsylvania improved for them, they began to prosper, due in part, to the influence of William Penn.
Shunning an easy life, William Penn, son of a wealthy British admiral, became a Quaker missionary. From his father, Penn had inherited a claim to L16,000 ($80,000) that his father had lent to King Charles II. The King, reluctant to part with that much money, paid off the debt in 1681 by giving Penn a large portion of land which he named Pennsylvania (Penn's Woods) in honor of his father.
William Penn considered his colony (one of the thirteen) a 'Holy Experiment.' He treated the Indians fairly, trying to protect them in their dealing with settlers and traders. He wrote a series of descriptions promoting his colony, Pennsylvania. These circulated throughout England and the European continent, attracting many settlers, including Germans.
William Penn, a gentlemen, believed in brotherly love but didn't believe in war. He was given a 'Charter of Proprietorship,' which gave him freedom to draft the first laws of a moral plan which provided freedom of conscience for all. He thus maintained an environment inviting to Europeans fleeing from tyrannical monarchies, wars and religious persecution. This experiment in idealism worked well until after Penn's death, when leadership passed to his sons who failed to hold the same philosophies. Conditions gradually began to change.
Other benefits in Pennsylvania attracted German settlers. New immigrants who homesteaded there received 50 acres of land. The fertile soil provided the type of farming to which the German peasant farmers were already accustomed. Clearing the land provided the logs to build new homes.
In the book, The Story of the Conestoga, 1750--1850, p 78, one early traveling visitor described the homes he observed being built:
"These dwellings are made with the trunks of trees, from twenty to thirty feet in length, about five inches in diameter, placed one upon another, and kept up by notches cut at their extremities. The roof is formed with pieces of similar length to those that compose the body of the house, but not quite so thick, and gradually sloped on one side. Two doors, which often supply the place of windows, are made by sawing away a part of the trunks that form the body of the house. The chimney, always placed at one of the extremities, is likewise made with the trunks of trees of a suitable length; the back of the chimney is made of clay, about six inches thick, which separates the fire from the wooden walls. The space between these trunks is filled up with clay which isn't always airtight. The homes are rather cold in spite of the large amount of wood which is consumed during the winter. The doors move upon wooden hinges, and the greater part of them have no locks. In the night time they push them to, or fasten them with a wooden peg. Four or five days are sufficient for two men to finish one of these houses, in which not a nail is used."
A house-raising was an enjoyable time of hard work when the neighbors pitched in and helped build a new home. The women helped to prepare the hearty meals to keep the men satisfied. German farmers often attached a stable and cow barn to the house. In the cooler weather the heat from the animals help heat the house. Farm animals were valuable and well cared for. Basements, dug in the earth, provided cool storage for food including vegetables, milk and butter. Where limestone was available, more permanent homes replaced the log cabins. As the 18th century progressed, more and more homes were built of brick.
The Germans brought their Old World skills and traditions in preparing foods such as sausage, scrapple and smoked or pickled meats. Their pigs ran loose in the woods, eating acorns and roots, and in nine months they were big enough for slaughter. The first cold period in December, the German neighbors gathered together to butcher the pigs. They sharpened their knives to kill, clean and butcher the hogs for the winter months ahead. Hams, shoulders and bacon were soaked in brine before being hung in the smokehouse over a wood fire. Vension, bear and pork were preferred over beef.
One colonial writer in Colonial Records, iv p 315, described the Germans as follows:
"The Germans were principally farmers. They depended more upon themselves than upon others. They wielded the mattock, the axe and the maul, and by the power of brawny arms rooted up the grubs, removed saplings, felled the majestic oaks, laid low the towering hickory; prostrated, where they grew, the walnut, poplar, chestnut--cleaved such as suited the purpose, into rails for fences--persevered untiringly until the forest was changed into arable [tillable] land. They were those of whom Gov. Thomas said, 1738: "This province has been for some years the asylum of distressed Protestants of the Palatinate, and other parts of Germany; and I believe it may be truthfully said, that the present flourishing condition of it is in a great measure owing to the industry of those people; it is not altogether the fertility of the soil, but the number and industry of the people, that makes a country flourish."
The Germans retained their language and customs at least through the first and sometimes the second generation. Many of the descendants remaining in Pennsylvania are still known today as Pennsylvania Dutch (Dutch being a corruption of Deutsh--German). The immigrants in the eighteenth century belonged to various Christian groups. The Protestant included Lutheran, German Reformed and Moravian. Some immigrants were Catholic, and quite a number were Anabaptists such as Mennonites, Amish and Brethren (Dunkards).
Germans were prominent in the development of such colonial industries as blacksmithing, harness and saddle making, shoe making and in the manufacture of woolens and paper. The chief industry, farming, was successful because both men and women were hard workers. The women helped in the fields in the summer months. The women not only cooked and kept house, but also spun wool and flax. They wove a mixture of wool and flax into cloth, known as 'linsey-woolsey,' which was popular for clothing because of its warmth. Spinning wheels were as necessary in a farmhouse as tables, chairs and beds. During the long winter months farm families, in their log homes lighted by candles and warmed by the fireplace, manufactured all kinds of objects from bone buttons to leather breeches and hemp string bags.
Wheat and corn were also widely grown in Pennsylvania. Corn was a principle crop, easily cultivated and giving good yield under the rough frontier conditions. Nutritious and tasty when prepared in a variety of ways, it also provided excellent fodder for the livestock. In the form of corn liquor it was easy to store and transport.
Peter Bolender had many skills as a farmer, saddlemaker, blacksmith and a distiller. In 1750, when Peter Bolender arrived, 95% lived in the country and only 5% lived in the villages. About 90% of the farmers made their own clothing. Buckskin was commonly used in the 1700's but as deer populations diminished, flax and wool came into more common usage. Out of necessity, almost every home had a large garden, making the family self-sufficient. Beyond their own needs, the farmers sold produce from their gardens and the excess from their field crops.
The Bolenders' and Shinkles' German Reformed Pastor, Rev. Waldsmidt, died in 1786. The Berks County estate papers give some insight into what could be found in a typical Pennsylvania Dutch home. The inventory taken Oct. 25, 1786, showed that this country pastor had what was probably typical possessions for a farmer of the time.
· several horses
· many cows
· sheep
· hogs
· horse collars
· saddles
· bridles
· one horse whip
· large wagon
· plow
· hay-forks
· wooden shovels
· hoes
· axes
· wooden rakes
· brooms
· 10 ton hay
· 44 bushel wheat
· 40 bushel rye
· 30 bushel oats
· 3 bushel buckwheat
· hand saw
· coffee mill
· spinning wheel
· sauerkraut cutter
· wooden funnel
· copper kettle
· iron pots
· earthen pots
· instrument to make fire
· iron lamps
· pewter plates
· brass candlestick
· house clock
· a cane
· a man's hat
· an old gun
· half bushel onions
· two bushel dried apples
· half bushel dried peaches
· 8 bushel Indian corn
· 50 head of cabbage
· 10 bushel of turnips
· 75 bushel of potatoes
· 7 bee hives
· 1 muskrat trap
Fish and game were plentiful and could be hunted without fear of the Indians, who were friendly from the beginning. Having a variety for a healthy diet enabled the settlers in Pennsylvania to avoid a period of famine or sickness such as other colonies experienced.
As new villages were formed in the colony, they each had their own schools and churches. Schools among the Germans were run by the churches. The colony gave land for these. Michael Schlatter provided curriculum for the German Reform Church Schools. In the colon