Political theater will imitate Broadway musical (and London stage) this week as my fair lady, Sarah Palin, will meet and greet heads of state and world statesmen, including (I kid you not) Hamid Kharzai, Henry (Higgins) Kissinger and Bono. These tete-a-tete's will take place off-Broadway at the United Nations following on the heels (peep toe Red Monkey's for the fashionista) of a 60,000 strong turnout in Florida. Summa bonum!
Will Eliza Doolittle emerge from these meetings, her social class undetected and speaking with a Harvard accent? Let's hope not!
The great and continuing appeal of Sarah Palin is the unvarnished authenticity of her personality, roots and vernacular. She's folksy, down home and politically astute. No one seriously thinks she is ready to decorate the oval office tomorrow, but a large and growing part of the electorate appreciate her moxie, work and family ethic and want to see her succeed. This leader has followers who are also believers.
Nor can one seriously think that Obama has the chops to lead. Those who drank communion Kool Aid at the church of Obama sense that the tent revival crowds have moved on to another attraction. Those who had church-envy when the Obama crusade dominated the media now throng to the thrill of the Palin event. The rain for McCain comes mainly from Palin.
But for the incipient collapse of world financial markets and the resurgence of Islamic Terrorism, this would be great entertainment. Clearly, neither Presidential candidate (perhaps no imaginable candidate) has the depth of knowledge and the range of experience to handle the complexity of these daunting problems, or others that will soon emerge.
So the choice is yours: do you want Sarah Palin, a novice in training, a heart beat away from the Presidency, or do you want Barrack Obama, the novice to be trained on the job? Come to think of it, didn't we do that on the job training thing with Jimmy Carter?
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
THE PALIN EFFECT
THE PALIN EFFECT
For the most part, my personal political points of view (note the plural) have not been expressed in this blog. Like most of the folks in my clan, I am highly opinionated, but eclectic on the major social-political-economic issues that are so hotly and mindlessly churned in the various infotainment media. What follows is not a paid or unpaid political advertisement.
Unless you have been lost in a remote and uninhabited portion of the planet for last couple of months, you must be aware of two meteorological phenomena that have dominated headlines (for those few who still read print media), web blogs (for those that read pixels) and leads to the various and incessant talking head programs (for those that don’t read at all). One is the string of hurricanes – Gustav, Hanna, Ike and Josephine – marching through the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico – and the Chinook from the Arctic known as the Palin effect that has turbocharged the McCain-Campaign.
On September 6 and 7, the remnants of Hanna drenched the Washington, DC metropolitan area. On September 8 – a rare sunny but moderately cool day – the Palin effect swept into Fairfax County, just across the Potomac, and turned out a record shattering crowd of 23,000 red shirted supporters.
I wanted to observe, first hand, the Palin effect. My day began, as usual, at 5:00 a.m. in a tree covered northwest section of Washington, D.C. less than a quarter mile from Rock Creek Park. Rock Creek Park flows from second base (DC looks like a baseball diamond) to the west of the pitcher’s mound (Capitol Hill and various monuments) until it flows into the Potomac. Home base is Arlington National Cemetery. Rock Creek Park also serves as a wildlife superhighway (although it was not invented by Al Gore) bringing an abundance of deer, fox, squirrels and other critters into the neighborhood. Frequently, between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m., military helicopters fly over headed to or from disclosed and undisclosed locations with various executive level officers aboard. All of this activity often spices-up the morning walk with our two Australian shepherds.
On Palin day, I drove first to Dulles Airport in northern Virginia to pick up an equally adventurous cousin who was arriving by red-eye from Los Angeles. My cousin had agreed to drop in on the Palin-McCain Rally on the way back into the city. The rally organizers recommended that all participants wear something red to visually reinforce the rally theme – Keep Virginia Red (Republican). Serendipitously, my cousin has a deep loyalty for the Anaheim Angels, so I took along the Angels baseball cap from my last visit to the west coast and Angels stadium (Angels 7, BoSox 4!).
By e-mail late the day before, the McCain Campaign sent an alert changing the venue from a high school auditorium (capacity 6,000) to a nearby city park (capacity 30,000). The media buzzed, first that Obama supporters had objected to the rally in a public school, even though Obama had used several such venues in Virginia during the primary season, and then that the McCain Campaign had voluntarily withdrawn because the auditorium could not accommodate the anticipated crowd.
Our instructions told us to park in a shopping mall across from the high school where buses would then take us to the nearby park. We got to the mall at 8:30, about half an hour after the buses started ferrying supporters to the park. About 200 people were ahead of us; within 15 minutes about 500 people were lined up behind us. We then learned that similar bussing operations were underway from other satellite parking lots.
By 9:00 a.m. we were on board and underway to the park, about 3.5 miles from the mall. The crowd was lively, talkative and about 60 percent female, aged 9 months to 90 years. There were many noticeable 3 and 4-generation clusters.
Our bus rolled up to the park and then kept on going as we looked out on a line extending from the park entrance for about a half-mile. The bus stopped, we filed out and then walked up a side street looking for the end of the line. Another half-mile and we found it!
The line moved steadily forward as new bus arrivals continued to stream past us in the other direction looking for the new end of the line. One of the new arrivals – a woman in her 80’s – fell while walking down the sloping street. After helping her up, the line spontaneously and collectively decided that she need go no further toward the end, but should instead join the forward moving ranks. I was privileged to be her escort.
She seemed a bit unsteady from the fall, so I asked her, “Who are you going to vote for?” She immediately brightened, got the joke and said strongly and emphatically, “Palin and McCain!” in that order. Cheers from the crowd.
It turns out that Shirley had survived both cancer and a stroke, so she was not even a little bit daunted by the long walk or the trip from Richmond that morning (about 100 miles south of Fairfax) to get to the rally. Looking around the crowd, I think I saw the same excited and steely determination among the rest of the marching sisters of Sarah Palin. This was a remarkably tough, capable and well organized cadre of grandmothers, mothers and daughters from church groups, PTAs, medical offices, small businesses, executive suites and every other walk of working, professional and domestic life.
Just before 11:00 a.m., when the introductions were to begin, we finally filed into an already crowded outdoor amphitheater. Several prominent democrats and former supporters of Hillary Clinton told the crowd why they were now backing McCain-Palin, as the excitement and anticipation continued to grow. Finally, former Senator and candidate Fred Thompson took the microphone to introduce Palin who would then speak and introduce McCain. No one of the 23,000 or so present was sitting down, both because there was no room to sit down and because no one wanted to sit down.
I will not go into the speeches. If you saw the conventions or any of the reports, you already know the applause lines. This is about the “Palin Effect,” not about Sarah Palin herself or even her political views.
When the speeches and chanting ceased, this very orderly crowd moved slowly through the funnel created by the narrow exits, still chattering, excited and energetic after four hours (not counting travel time or the bus trip) they had spent that morning to hear a self-proclaimed hockey mom speak for 15 minutes. When we finally poured out of the enclosure and onto the four-lane road where the busses were parked, about 75% of the crowd decided to walk the 3.5 miles back to the mall – Baby Bjorns and baby strollers, mothers and fathers and an awesome number of daughters.
Luckily, the Fairfax Police station happened to be right next to the park. They immediately turned one of the lanes going away from the park toward the mall into a very wide walkway. The river of red shirts and placards (“We Love You Sarah”, “Drill, Baby, Drill”, etc.) flowed out toward Main Street and past isolated clusters of forlorn looking Obama acolytes.
When we turned the corner onto Main, traffic was backed up as far as we could see, the 3.5 miles (my cousin had a pedometer) to the parking mall and beyond. The drivers of the idling cars, for the most part, seemed to be enjoying the spectacle and many were actively participating in it, mostly supporters but also some mostly good-natured folks from the other side.
And the rally kept going in the mall! The McDonalds that we filed into for something to drink was wall-to-all in red shirted people. You could tell from their conversations, they did not know each other, but had probably learned how to network at an age even before they knew what the term meant. If the Palin effect takes hold, we will see very soon how it will spread.
For the most part, my personal political points of view (note the plural) have not been expressed in this blog. Like most of the folks in my clan, I am highly opinionated, but eclectic on the major social-political-economic issues that are so hotly and mindlessly churned in the various infotainment media. What follows is not a paid or unpaid political advertisement.
Unless you have been lost in a remote and uninhabited portion of the planet for last couple of months, you must be aware of two meteorological phenomena that have dominated headlines (for those few who still read print media), web blogs (for those that read pixels) and leads to the various and incessant talking head programs (for those that don’t read at all). One is the string of hurricanes – Gustav, Hanna, Ike and Josephine – marching through the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico – and the Chinook from the Arctic known as the Palin effect that has turbocharged the McCain-Campaign.
On September 6 and 7, the remnants of Hanna drenched the Washington, DC metropolitan area. On September 8 – a rare sunny but moderately cool day – the Palin effect swept into Fairfax County, just across the Potomac, and turned out a record shattering crowd of 23,000 red shirted supporters.
I wanted to observe, first hand, the Palin effect. My day began, as usual, at 5:00 a.m. in a tree covered northwest section of Washington, D.C. less than a quarter mile from Rock Creek Park. Rock Creek Park flows from second base (DC looks like a baseball diamond) to the west of the pitcher’s mound (Capitol Hill and various monuments) until it flows into the Potomac. Home base is Arlington National Cemetery. Rock Creek Park also serves as a wildlife superhighway (although it was not invented by Al Gore) bringing an abundance of deer, fox, squirrels and other critters into the neighborhood. Frequently, between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m., military helicopters fly over headed to or from disclosed and undisclosed locations with various executive level officers aboard. All of this activity often spices-up the morning walk with our two Australian shepherds.
On Palin day, I drove first to Dulles Airport in northern Virginia to pick up an equally adventurous cousin who was arriving by red-eye from Los Angeles. My cousin had agreed to drop in on the Palin-McCain Rally on the way back into the city. The rally organizers recommended that all participants wear something red to visually reinforce the rally theme – Keep Virginia Red (Republican). Serendipitously, my cousin has a deep loyalty for the Anaheim Angels, so I took along the Angels baseball cap from my last visit to the west coast and Angels stadium (Angels 7, BoSox 4!).
By e-mail late the day before, the McCain Campaign sent an alert changing the venue from a high school auditorium (capacity 6,000) to a nearby city park (capacity 30,000). The media buzzed, first that Obama supporters had objected to the rally in a public school, even though Obama had used several such venues in Virginia during the primary season, and then that the McCain Campaign had voluntarily withdrawn because the auditorium could not accommodate the anticipated crowd.
Our instructions told us to park in a shopping mall across from the high school where buses would then take us to the nearby park. We got to the mall at 8:30, about half an hour after the buses started ferrying supporters to the park. About 200 people were ahead of us; within 15 minutes about 500 people were lined up behind us. We then learned that similar bussing operations were underway from other satellite parking lots.
By 9:00 a.m. we were on board and underway to the park, about 3.5 miles from the mall. The crowd was lively, talkative and about 60 percent female, aged 9 months to 90 years. There were many noticeable 3 and 4-generation clusters.
Our bus rolled up to the park and then kept on going as we looked out on a line extending from the park entrance for about a half-mile. The bus stopped, we filed out and then walked up a side street looking for the end of the line. Another half-mile and we found it!
The line moved steadily forward as new bus arrivals continued to stream past us in the other direction looking for the new end of the line. One of the new arrivals – a woman in her 80’s – fell while walking down the sloping street. After helping her up, the line spontaneously and collectively decided that she need go no further toward the end, but should instead join the forward moving ranks. I was privileged to be her escort.
She seemed a bit unsteady from the fall, so I asked her, “Who are you going to vote for?” She immediately brightened, got the joke and said strongly and emphatically, “Palin and McCain!” in that order. Cheers from the crowd.
It turns out that Shirley had survived both cancer and a stroke, so she was not even a little bit daunted by the long walk or the trip from Richmond that morning (about 100 miles south of Fairfax) to get to the rally. Looking around the crowd, I think I saw the same excited and steely determination among the rest of the marching sisters of Sarah Palin. This was a remarkably tough, capable and well organized cadre of grandmothers, mothers and daughters from church groups, PTAs, medical offices, small businesses, executive suites and every other walk of working, professional and domestic life.
Just before 11:00 a.m., when the introductions were to begin, we finally filed into an already crowded outdoor amphitheater. Several prominent democrats and former supporters of Hillary Clinton told the crowd why they were now backing McCain-Palin, as the excitement and anticipation continued to grow. Finally, former Senator and candidate Fred Thompson took the microphone to introduce Palin who would then speak and introduce McCain. No one of the 23,000 or so present was sitting down, both because there was no room to sit down and because no one wanted to sit down.
I will not go into the speeches. If you saw the conventions or any of the reports, you already know the applause lines. This is about the “Palin Effect,” not about Sarah Palin herself or even her political views.
When the speeches and chanting ceased, this very orderly crowd moved slowly through the funnel created by the narrow exits, still chattering, excited and energetic after four hours (not counting travel time or the bus trip) they had spent that morning to hear a self-proclaimed hockey mom speak for 15 minutes. When we finally poured out of the enclosure and onto the four-lane road where the busses were parked, about 75% of the crowd decided to walk the 3.5 miles back to the mall – Baby Bjorns and baby strollers, mothers and fathers and an awesome number of daughters.
Luckily, the Fairfax Police station happened to be right next to the park. They immediately turned one of the lanes going away from the park toward the mall into a very wide walkway. The river of red shirts and placards (“We Love You Sarah”, “Drill, Baby, Drill”, etc.) flowed out toward Main Street and past isolated clusters of forlorn looking Obama acolytes.
When we turned the corner onto Main, traffic was backed up as far as we could see, the 3.5 miles (my cousin had a pedometer) to the parking mall and beyond. The drivers of the idling cars, for the most part, seemed to be enjoying the spectacle and many were actively participating in it, mostly supporters but also some mostly good-natured folks from the other side.
And the rally kept going in the mall! The McDonalds that we filed into for something to drink was wall-to-all in red shirted people. You could tell from their conversations, they did not know each other, but had probably learned how to network at an age even before they knew what the term meant. If the Palin effect takes hold, we will see very soon how it will spread.
Monday, March 31, 2008
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES
Good genealogy depends on good sources. In the cut and paste internet age, bad genealogy reproduces faster than computer viruses. For that reason, accept no substitute for primary records personally examined. To illustrate the point, consider the following list of citations for Captain Peter Bell (1734-1778) followed by a critique of the quality and accuracy of the source:
1. Marriage Name: Peter Bell Year: 1765 Place: Annapolis, Maryland Source Publication Code: 321 Primary Immigrant: Bell, Peter Annotation: Marriage, birth and death notices taken from Maryland newspapers. Names 139 persons who must have arrived as ship passengers. Source Bibliography: BARNES, ROBERT W. Gleanings from Maryland Newspapers 1727-1775. Lutherville, Md.: Bettie Carothers, 1976. 72p. Page: 5
In the form appearing above, the citation came from a popular genealogical search engine. The compilation authored by Robert Barnes was also available in the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) Library, a few blocks from my office at the symbolically apt address of 1776 D St. NW. The book does not identify the newspaper from which the information was "gleaned" or explain how the author deduced the date of marriage, the place or that Peter Bell "must have arrived as a ship passenger." You are thinking, no doubt, "Well, how else did he get here? Swim the Atlantic? Walk the Siberian land bridge?" Not likely, I suppose, but I want to know exactly what Robert Barnes found in what issue of what paper that warranted the assignement of a marriage date and the conclusion that he arrived through Annapolis.
2. The following is excerpted from History of Leitersburg District, Washington County. MD, Herbert C. Bell (1898) 3rd Ed. 1985, Caslon Press, Waynesboro, PA 17268, pp193-95:
Captain Peter Bell was probably a native of Germany and emigrated to America in early manhood. Definite information regarding his personal history begins with the year 1767, when he purchased from Peter Shiess a tract of 248 acres, part of the larger original survey called All That's Left, to which he gave the name of Bell's Choice. Its location in the northern part of the District adjacent to Mason and Dixon's Line and the Hagerstown and Waynesboro turnpike; the present owners are Daniel S. Wolfinger and Joseph M. Bell.
Although a secondary source, the beginning gets immediate attention and respect. It's a cautious start, alerting the reader that Peter Bell was "probably a native of Germany" and then transitioning to "definite information regarding his personal history." From other parts of the book we know that that author is a direct descendant and also that he reads German and that German was the language of the church and schools that the children of Peter Bell attended, all pretty good grounds for surmising that Peter Bell was probably a native of Germany as it came to be by the time the book was written. The definite information arises from a land record which the author had researched up to the time of writing. Confidence in the author increases when the land record is easily located in the Maryland Archives and when the stone house described is viewed and photographed at the location adjacent tot he Mason-Dixon line.
Near the turnpike on the Wolfinger farm there are several springs and here at the first settlement of the District there was a marsh, south of which on the slope of a hill near the line that separated his land from his brother Anthony's Peter Bell erected the improvements that constituted his residence. The main road from Hagerstown to Nicholson Gap passed through his land and the travel over this thoroughfare doubtless gave him advantages not enjoyed by his more isolated neighbors.
About the year 1775 he removed to Hagerstown, where he owned the lot at the corner of Franklin and Potomac streets now the location of the market house in that city. It is probable that he engaged in merchandising here, as the settlement of his estate shows that 225 persons were indebted to him in sums ranging from 1s. 3d. to 65 pounds.
Once again a primary source, the land record, is invoked followed immediately by another primary record, the estate inventory, both of which are located int eh Maryland archives.
On the 25th of November, 1776, he was elected a member of the Committee of Observation for Washington County, and during his connection with this body he served as a member of a subcommittee of seven appointed for the purpose of "licensing suits." It appears that the judicial functions of the Committee were intrusted to this sub-committee. On the 30th of December, 1776, the Committee ordered the militia of the county to march to the assistance of General Washington. Some who had served in the Flying Camp claimed exemption from this order, and it is entered in the minutes of the Committee under date of January 4, 1777, that "On motion of Captain Bell it is resolved that the Flying Camp are by no means exempt from marching with the militia." The following entry occurs in the minutes for January, 6, 1777: "On motion, Resolved, That Matthias Need serve as a committeeman in the room of Captain Bell, who hath resigned." His resignation is not difficult to explain.
In a letter from Colonel John Stull t0 the Maryland Council of Safety, January 11, 1777, he says: "The militia of my battalion have marched almost generally. * * * There are some of the former commissioned officers who have gone in the German battalion whose places are vacated in the militia; others have been elected to serve in their room, viz., Captain Peter Bell in the room of Captain William Heyser," etc. He requested the Council to forward commissions for these officers to Philadelphia. The following entry occurs in the minutes of the Counsil of Safety under the date of January 15, 1777: "Commissions issued to Peter Bell, appointed captain, Jacob Ott, first lieutenant, Michael Ott, second lieutenant, and William Conrad, ensign, of a company of militia in Washington County."
Their commissions were duly forwarded to Philadelphia, and Thomas Johnson, the first Governor of the State, writing from that city on the 29th of January informed the Counsil of the arrival of Stull's battalion. There can be little doubt that it proceeded to New Jersey, then the scene of Washington's operations. [The facts regarding Captain Peter Bell's military record have been obtained from the minutes of the Committee of Observation for Washington County, now in the custody of the Maryland Historical Society, and from the published Archives of Maryland, Journal and Correspondence of the Counsil of Safety, 1777, p. 42, etc.]
Once again, Herbert Bell has accurately quoted from source documents.
No roster of Captain Bell's company is known to be in existence. The names of the commissioned officers have been given; John Eyerly was the drummer, and many years after the war with Private Black, Schultz, and Lock he visited Peter Bell, Jr., the Captain's second son. Eyerly was then living at Green Spring near Bath, W. Va. Frederick Bell, the Captain's oldest son, used to relate that he rode in front of his father on his horse when the militia marched from Hagerstown. It was called out to serve until the 15th of March, but probably continued in the field beyond that date.
Since the writing of the History of the Leitersburg District, several muster rolls have come to light and are now held at the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore Maryland.
Captain Bell did not long survive the hardships of the campaign. He died at Hagerstown in the spring of 1778, probably in February, as his will is dated January 21st and was admitted to probate on the 2d of March. The inventory of his personal property was the first to be entered upon the official records of Washington County.
All true and corroborated by the source documents cited.
Peter Bell married Elizabeth Leiter, a member of the family that has given its name to Leitersburg District. Their children were Juliana, who married Francis Bittle; Frederick; Elizabeth, who married Peter Krauth; Maragaret, who married Barnhart Lowman; Peter, and Daniel. Bittle and Krauth removed to the Shenandoah valley in Virginia; Lowman located at Middlebrook, Augusta County, Va., in 1880, and there he was engaged in business as a tanner until his death in 1846. He has numerous descendants in Shelby County, Mo. Peter and Elizabeth Bell were members of St. John's Lutheran Church at Hagerstown, and here the baptisms of several of their children are recorded. He was buried in the graveyard adjacent to the old church building; his grave is unmarked and its exact location cannot be determined, but it is supposed to be under the west wall of the present church edifice.
The first line of this paragraph has led many amature and professional genealogists into error by identifying Peter Bell's wife as the daughter of Jacob Leiter. No primary document supports that conclusion. Jacob Leiter does not refer to a daughter by the name of Elizabeth in his will. Johann Friederich Vogeler, on the other hand, names all of the children of Peter and Elizabeth Bell as his grandchildren and beneficiaries in his will.
3. Archives of Maryland, Volume XVI. "Journal and Correspondence of the Council of Safety, January 1, 1777" and "Journal and Correspondence of the State Council, March 20, 1777- March 28, 1778." http://www.mdarchives.state/. Hardcopy at DAR Library, 1776 D St., Washington, DC
p. 42: Gentn Washington County January 11th 1777.
The militia of my Battalion have marched almost generally. Colo Smith's Battalion are now ready, there are some of theformer Commissioned officers who have gone in the GermanBattalion whose places are vacated in the Militia, others havebeen elected to serve in their room, viz. Capt. Peter Beall in the room of Capt. Wm Heyser, Jacob Ott, 1st Lieut. Michael Ott2nd Lieut. and William Conrad, Ensign: likewise the followingGentlemen were advanced in Capt. Fackler's company, viz.Leonard Shryock to 2nd Lieut. in the room of Adam Smith and Michael Tomer, Ensign.It is earnestly requested that Commissions may be madeout for the foregoing Gentlemen, each respectively and sentby the Bearer Melcher Belsheever, who will meet the Bat- talion at Philadelphia. The men are spirited in the defenceof Liberty, and hope no delay will be made in forwardingtheir Commissions, otherwise I doubt confusion may arise intheir companies as they are agreeably elected, and havepledged my honour to be assistive in procuring their respec- tive Commissions, and send an express for that purpose. Ihope my request will be comply'd with, and am,Gentlemen,Your most obedt & Humbl ServtThe Honble Council of Safety John Stull.of Md at Annapolis
4. Archives of Maryland, Volume XVI. "Journal and Correspondence of the Council of Safety, January 1, 1777" and "Journal and Correspondence of the State Council, March 20, 1777- March 28, 1778." http://www.mdarchives.state/. Hardcopy at DAR Library, 1776 D St., Washington, DC
p. 50: C. S. J.
Wednesday, January 15. 1777. Council met. Present as on yesterday.
Commissions issued to Peter Beall appointed Captain, Jacob Ott, first Lieutenant, Michael Ott, second Lieutenant, and William Conrod, Ensign of a Company of Militia inWashington County. Also to Leonard Shryock, second Lieut. and MichaelTamer, Ensign of a Company in said County. Also to James Smith first Lieutenant of Captain William Brown's Company of Matrosses. Copy of Letter No 106 was sent to Col. Stull, and Copy of No 107 to Plummer Williams. Ordered That the Western Shore Treasurer pay to Mrs Sands (of John) three Pounds five Shillings. That the said Treasurer pay to Oliver Whiddon four Pounds ten Shillings. Whereas the odious Practice of forestalling and Ingrossing is more particularly at this Time prejudicial to the State by enhancing the Price of Provisions, so that neither the Army,on which the Fate of America depends, nor Individuals can be supplied on reasonable Terms, and the honorable Congress having recommended to the executive Powers of this and the neighbouring States to limit the Price of Provisions, It is there-fore earnestly recommended to all Committees of Observation, and other well disposed Persons, Inhabitants of this State, to enquire after and take notice of such as are guilty of the Offences aforesaid, and return their names, together with the names of the Witnesses who can prove the Charge, to the Council of Safety, or to the Justices of the several CountyCourts, that such Delinquents may be proceeded againstaccording to Law. Adjourned till next Day 10 O'Clock.
1. Marriage Name: Peter Bell Year: 1765 Place: Annapolis, Maryland Source Publication Code: 321 Primary Immigrant: Bell, Peter Annotation: Marriage, birth and death notices taken from Maryland newspapers. Names 139 persons who must have arrived as ship passengers. Source Bibliography: BARNES, ROBERT W. Gleanings from Maryland Newspapers 1727-1775. Lutherville, Md.: Bettie Carothers, 1976. 72p. Page: 5
In the form appearing above, the citation came from a popular genealogical search engine. The compilation authored by Robert Barnes was also available in the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) Library, a few blocks from my office at the symbolically apt address of 1776 D St. NW. The book does not identify the newspaper from which the information was "gleaned" or explain how the author deduced the date of marriage, the place or that Peter Bell "must have arrived as a ship passenger." You are thinking, no doubt, "Well, how else did he get here? Swim the Atlantic? Walk the Siberian land bridge?" Not likely, I suppose, but I want to know exactly what Robert Barnes found in what issue of what paper that warranted the assignement of a marriage date and the conclusion that he arrived through Annapolis.
2. The following is excerpted from History of Leitersburg District, Washington County. MD, Herbert C. Bell (1898) 3rd Ed. 1985, Caslon Press, Waynesboro, PA 17268, pp193-95:
Captain Peter Bell was probably a native of Germany and emigrated to America in early manhood. Definite information regarding his personal history begins with the year 1767, when he purchased from Peter Shiess a tract of 248 acres, part of the larger original survey called All That's Left, to which he gave the name of Bell's Choice. Its location in the northern part of the District adjacent to Mason and Dixon's Line and the Hagerstown and Waynesboro turnpike; the present owners are Daniel S. Wolfinger and Joseph M. Bell.
Although a secondary source, the beginning gets immediate attention and respect. It's a cautious start, alerting the reader that Peter Bell was "probably a native of Germany" and then transitioning to "definite information regarding his personal history." From other parts of the book we know that that author is a direct descendant and also that he reads German and that German was the language of the church and schools that the children of Peter Bell attended, all pretty good grounds for surmising that Peter Bell was probably a native of Germany as it came to be by the time the book was written. The definite information arises from a land record which the author had researched up to the time of writing. Confidence in the author increases when the land record is easily located in the Maryland Archives and when the stone house described is viewed and photographed at the location adjacent tot he Mason-Dixon line.
Near the turnpike on the Wolfinger farm there are several springs and here at the first settlement of the District there was a marsh, south of which on the slope of a hill near the line that separated his land from his brother Anthony's Peter Bell erected the improvements that constituted his residence. The main road from Hagerstown to Nicholson Gap passed through his land and the travel over this thoroughfare doubtless gave him advantages not enjoyed by his more isolated neighbors.
About the year 1775 he removed to Hagerstown, where he owned the lot at the corner of Franklin and Potomac streets now the location of the market house in that city. It is probable that he engaged in merchandising here, as the settlement of his estate shows that 225 persons were indebted to him in sums ranging from 1s. 3d. to 65 pounds.
Once again a primary source, the land record, is invoked followed immediately by another primary record, the estate inventory, both of which are located int eh Maryland archives.
On the 25th of November, 1776, he was elected a member of the Committee of Observation for Washington County, and during his connection with this body he served as a member of a subcommittee of seven appointed for the purpose of "licensing suits." It appears that the judicial functions of the Committee were intrusted to this sub-committee. On the 30th of December, 1776, the Committee ordered the militia of the county to march to the assistance of General Washington. Some who had served in the Flying Camp claimed exemption from this order, and it is entered in the minutes of the Committee under date of January 4, 1777, that "On motion of Captain Bell it is resolved that the Flying Camp are by no means exempt from marching with the militia." The following entry occurs in the minutes for January, 6, 1777: "On motion, Resolved, That Matthias Need serve as a committeeman in the room of Captain Bell, who hath resigned." His resignation is not difficult to explain.
In a letter from Colonel John Stull t0 the Maryland Council of Safety, January 11, 1777, he says: "The militia of my battalion have marched almost generally. * * * There are some of the former commissioned officers who have gone in the German battalion whose places are vacated in the militia; others have been elected to serve in their room, viz., Captain Peter Bell in the room of Captain William Heyser," etc. He requested the Council to forward commissions for these officers to Philadelphia. The following entry occurs in the minutes of the Counsil of Safety under the date of January 15, 1777: "Commissions issued to Peter Bell, appointed captain, Jacob Ott, first lieutenant, Michael Ott, second lieutenant, and William Conrad, ensign, of a company of militia in Washington County."
Their commissions were duly forwarded to Philadelphia, and Thomas Johnson, the first Governor of the State, writing from that city on the 29th of January informed the Counsil of the arrival of Stull's battalion. There can be little doubt that it proceeded to New Jersey, then the scene of Washington's operations. [The facts regarding Captain Peter Bell's military record have been obtained from the minutes of the Committee of Observation for Washington County, now in the custody of the Maryland Historical Society, and from the published Archives of Maryland, Journal and Correspondence of the Counsil of Safety, 1777, p. 42, etc.]
Once again, Herbert Bell has accurately quoted from source documents.
No roster of Captain Bell's company is known to be in existence. The names of the commissioned officers have been given; John Eyerly was the drummer, and many years after the war with Private Black, Schultz, and Lock he visited Peter Bell, Jr., the Captain's second son. Eyerly was then living at Green Spring near Bath, W. Va. Frederick Bell, the Captain's oldest son, used to relate that he rode in front of his father on his horse when the militia marched from Hagerstown. It was called out to serve until the 15th of March, but probably continued in the field beyond that date.
Since the writing of the History of the Leitersburg District, several muster rolls have come to light and are now held at the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore Maryland.
Captain Bell did not long survive the hardships of the campaign. He died at Hagerstown in the spring of 1778, probably in February, as his will is dated January 21st and was admitted to probate on the 2d of March. The inventory of his personal property was the first to be entered upon the official records of Washington County.
All true and corroborated by the source documents cited.
Peter Bell married Elizabeth Leiter, a member of the family that has given its name to Leitersburg District. Their children were Juliana, who married Francis Bittle; Frederick; Elizabeth, who married Peter Krauth; Maragaret, who married Barnhart Lowman; Peter, and Daniel. Bittle and Krauth removed to the Shenandoah valley in Virginia; Lowman located at Middlebrook, Augusta County, Va., in 1880, and there he was engaged in business as a tanner until his death in 1846. He has numerous descendants in Shelby County, Mo. Peter and Elizabeth Bell were members of St. John's Lutheran Church at Hagerstown, and here the baptisms of several of their children are recorded. He was buried in the graveyard adjacent to the old church building; his grave is unmarked and its exact location cannot be determined, but it is supposed to be under the west wall of the present church edifice.
The first line of this paragraph has led many amature and professional genealogists into error by identifying Peter Bell's wife as the daughter of Jacob Leiter. No primary document supports that conclusion. Jacob Leiter does not refer to a daughter by the name of Elizabeth in his will. Johann Friederich Vogeler, on the other hand, names all of the children of Peter and Elizabeth Bell as his grandchildren and beneficiaries in his will.
3. Archives of Maryland, Volume XVI. "Journal and Correspondence of the Council of Safety, January 1, 1777" and "Journal and Correspondence of the State Council, March 20, 1777- March 28, 1778." http://www.mdarchives.state/. Hardcopy at DAR Library, 1776 D St., Washington, DC
p. 42: Gentn Washington County January 11th 1777.
The militia of my Battalion have marched almost generally. Colo Smith's Battalion are now ready, there are some of theformer Commissioned officers who have gone in the GermanBattalion whose places are vacated in the Militia, others havebeen elected to serve in their room, viz. Capt. Peter Beall in the room of Capt. Wm Heyser, Jacob Ott, 1st Lieut. Michael Ott2nd Lieut. and William Conrad, Ensign: likewise the followingGentlemen were advanced in Capt. Fackler's company, viz.Leonard Shryock to 2nd Lieut. in the room of Adam Smith and Michael Tomer, Ensign.It is earnestly requested that Commissions may be madeout for the foregoing Gentlemen, each respectively and sentby the Bearer Melcher Belsheever, who will meet the Bat- talion at Philadelphia. The men are spirited in the defenceof Liberty, and hope no delay will be made in forwardingtheir Commissions, otherwise I doubt confusion may arise intheir companies as they are agreeably elected, and havepledged my honour to be assistive in procuring their respec- tive Commissions, and send an express for that purpose. Ihope my request will be comply'd with, and am,Gentlemen,Your most obedt & Humbl ServtThe Honble Council of Safety John Stull.of Md at Annapolis
4. Archives of Maryland, Volume XVI. "Journal and Correspondence of the Council of Safety, January 1, 1777" and "Journal and Correspondence of the State Council, March 20, 1777- March 28, 1778." http://www.mdarchives.state/. Hardcopy at DAR Library, 1776 D St., Washington, DC
p. 50: C. S. J.
Wednesday, January 15. 1777. Council met. Present as on yesterday.
Commissions issued to Peter Beall appointed Captain, Jacob Ott, first Lieutenant, Michael Ott, second Lieutenant, and William Conrod, Ensign of a Company of Militia inWashington County. Also to Leonard Shryock, second Lieut. and MichaelTamer, Ensign of a Company in said County. Also to James Smith first Lieutenant of Captain William Brown's Company of Matrosses. Copy of Letter No 106 was sent to Col. Stull, and Copy of No 107 to Plummer Williams. Ordered That the Western Shore Treasurer pay to Mrs Sands (of John) three Pounds five Shillings. That the said Treasurer pay to Oliver Whiddon four Pounds ten Shillings. Whereas the odious Practice of forestalling and Ingrossing is more particularly at this Time prejudicial to the State by enhancing the Price of Provisions, so that neither the Army,on which the Fate of America depends, nor Individuals can be supplied on reasonable Terms, and the honorable Congress having recommended to the executive Powers of this and the neighbouring States to limit the Price of Provisions, It is there-fore earnestly recommended to all Committees of Observation, and other well disposed Persons, Inhabitants of this State, to enquire after and take notice of such as are guilty of the Offences aforesaid, and return their names, together with the names of the Witnesses who can prove the Charge, to the Council of Safety, or to the Justices of the several CountyCourts, that such Delinquents may be proceeded againstaccording to Law. Adjourned till next Day 10 O'Clock.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
THE PECULIAR REVEREND SCHWERDFEGER
THE PECULIAR REVEREND SCHWERDFEGER
Two histories report that an aspiring preacher by the name of John Samuel Schwerdfeger (German for sword polisher), whose name connects with both the Bells and the Vogelers, arrived in Baltimore in the spring of 1753.
The History of Frederick County Maryland by T.J.C. Williams and Folger McKinsey (1910 reprinted in 2005 Clearfield Pub.) Vol. I at 8 notes:
"Among the curiosities of the Colonial times was the purchase of a pastor by a Lutheran congregation at York, Pa. This pastor subsequently came to the Lutheran church in Frederick, having been sent by the Pennsylvania Synod. He was the Reverend Samuel Schwerdfeger. Schwerdfeger was raised an orphan in Neustadt, in Bavaria and was a graduate of the University of Erlangen. He studied law and theology. Being very poor he was desirous to go to the New World and fell into the hands of "emigrant runners" who shipped him as a redemptioner to Baltimore. He arrived there in the spring of 1753 and was offered for sale for a term of years to pay his passage. He was advertised as 'a studious theologian.' The Lutheran congregation at York, being at the time in a contest against their old pastor, the Rev. Mr. Schaum, hearing of this bargain, concluded to buy Mr. Schwerdfeger as their pastor, which they did."
The second, well researched and documented account of the Rev. Samuel Schwerdtfeger's [note the variation inthe orthography of the spelling] remarkable and idiosyncratic career appears in Pastors and People: German Lutheran and Reformed Churches in the Pennsylvania Field, 1710-1793 by Charles H. Glatfelter, Vol. I, Pastors and Congregations (The Pennsylvania German Society, 1980 Breinigsville, PA), pp. 130-131:
"John Samuel Swerdtfeger, Lutheran. Born June 4, 1734 at (8801) Burgberheim, Bavaria. Son of a pharmacist. Matriculated as a student of theology at Erlangen, April 17, 1751. Left after a short time, possibly for financial reasons and possibly because he was advised to change his career plans. May have been counseled to become a scrivener.
During these years returned to Philadelphia to be naturalized there during the September-October 1765 session of the Supreme Court, (NFP, p. 99). Resigned somewhat abruptly in 1768 and went back to Europe. Upon his return to America in 1769, found it all but impossible to obtain a parish. Tried to reinstate himself in Frederick, whose members clearly did not want him back. Several other vacant congregations were likewise uninterested in him.
The ministerium in 1770 recommended a charge on the Berks-Lehigh county border. He lived in Lynn township, Lehigh county, for several years, but was soon without a position. In 1773, according to Muhlenberg's journal, the ministerium took up 'the necessary provision for Pastor Shwerttfeger, who has no position, has a wife and five children, and lacks the wherewithal for a living.' (MJ 2:547)
In the following year, Schwerdtfeger found his 'wherewithal' in New York. Served Albany (1774-1784) and Hosek, or Feilstown, (1777-1788). During the revolution he espoused the British cause, although moderately enough so that he was allowed by his congregation to continue preaching. In 1786 he was one of the founding members of the New York Synod.
In 1790 accepted a call from a congregation made up of loyalists who had established the town of Williamsburgh in what became Dundas county, Ontario. Later that year he dedicated what has been called the first Protestant church in Canada. Two years later, became pastor of a second congregation, at Matilda.
During the 1780's and 1790's he tried to improve his still poor financial situation by claiming land grants from the British government on the strength of his stand as a loyalist during the revolution.Died in 1803 at Williamsburgh and was buried there. Sources: Information received from the Landeskirliches Archiv, Nuernberg; Arhibald F. Bennet, A Guide to Genealogical Research (Salt Lake City, 1951), PP 116-126; Beale M. Schmucher, "The Lutheran Church in York, Pa."; Lutheran Quarterly (18 (1888): 493-494; MJ; DH; James Croil, Dundas: or a Sketch of Canadian History (Belleville, Ontario, 1972), pp. 250-252, 313, reprint of an 1861 edition: Ontario Historical Society Publications 26:317-318 and 31:33.
The Schwerdfeger Connection to Vogeler and Bell
Schwerdfeger became the minister in charge of the Monocacy Church, while Johann Freiderich Vogeler may have been part of that congregation and also had responsibilities for smaller congregations known as Jacob's and Beard's churches very close to the farmlands purchased by Anthony and Peter Bell.
We know from surviving documents that Anthony Bell, Peter Bell and Johann Friederich Vogeler all received Lutheran communion from Schwerdfeger in connection with and as a prerequisite to becoming naturalized citizens of Maryland. Even though Queen Anne initially conferred the Maryland proprietorship on Lord Baltimore as a haven for English Catholics, by the mid 1700's, King George III required all new immigrants to Maryland who wished to own land and have rights of citizenship to take communion in a Protestant faith (Jews excepted) and swear or affirm allegiance to the King after living in the colony for at least seven years. Since King George came from German speaking Prussia, German Protestants were thought likely to be good subjects.
The Maryland Provincial Court records, which I personally examined on October 19, 2006, contain the following entry:
Provincial Court Judgements, 53 Judgements DD9 1765. George Keeler, Peter Bell and Jacob Wacker of Frederick County German Protestants come into Court here between the hours of nine twelve of the Clock in the Forenoon of the thirteenth Day of September One in the pursuance of an Act of Parliament made and [???] in the Thirteenth Year of his late Majesty King George the Second Instituted "An Act for the Naturalizing such foreign Protestant and such others therein mentioned as are Settlers or shall Settle in any of his Majesty's Colonies in America" pray to have the Several Oaths appointed by the said Act Administered to them they having produced the following Certificate of their having received the Sacrament //to wit// These is to certify all Mon where these presents shall concern that George Keeler, Peter Bell and Jacob Wacker Natives of Germany but now residents in Frederick County in the Province of Maryland did in the 20th day of August in the Year of our Lord."
A similar proceeding followed the communion of Anthonius Bell and Johann Freiderich Vogeler among others:
253. September 12, 1764 September 4, 1764 DD- 6,281
Bell, Anthonius of Frederick County, German
Cammerer, Ludwig German, Communion only
Giesert, Frederick of Frederick County, German
Huber, Adam of Frederick County, German
Kohler, George of Frederick County, German
Mong, Nicklas of Frederick County, German
Ritter, Jacob of Frederick County, German
Stephan, Andreas of Frederick County, German
Vogler, John Frederick of Frederick County, German
Lutheran, Frederick County Schwordfeger
wit Conrad Hogmire, Ludetig Funk, Dewald Scheffer
We probably have the Reverend Scherdtfeger to thank for the absence of any record of marriage for either Peter Bell to Elizabeth Vogeler or Anthony Bell to Maria Schneeberger. Most likely they were both married by Schwerdtfeger in one of the rough hewn log churches built near their farms or at the Monocacy church in Frederick. Schwerdtfeger was a notoriously poor recordkeeper, except when it came to the births and baptisms of his own children. As we will see in the next segment, the vital records for the families of Peter and Anthony become more frequent and regular as they begin to prosper and take a prominent position in the devloping western Maryland community.
Two histories report that an aspiring preacher by the name of John Samuel Schwerdfeger (German for sword polisher), whose name connects with both the Bells and the Vogelers, arrived in Baltimore in the spring of 1753.
The History of Frederick County Maryland by T.J.C. Williams and Folger McKinsey (1910 reprinted in 2005 Clearfield Pub.) Vol. I at 8 notes:
"Among the curiosities of the Colonial times was the purchase of a pastor by a Lutheran congregation at York, Pa. This pastor subsequently came to the Lutheran church in Frederick, having been sent by the Pennsylvania Synod. He was the Reverend Samuel Schwerdfeger. Schwerdfeger was raised an orphan in Neustadt, in Bavaria and was a graduate of the University of Erlangen. He studied law and theology. Being very poor he was desirous to go to the New World and fell into the hands of "emigrant runners" who shipped him as a redemptioner to Baltimore. He arrived there in the spring of 1753 and was offered for sale for a term of years to pay his passage. He was advertised as 'a studious theologian.' The Lutheran congregation at York, being at the time in a contest against their old pastor, the Rev. Mr. Schaum, hearing of this bargain, concluded to buy Mr. Schwerdfeger as their pastor, which they did."
The second, well researched and documented account of the Rev. Samuel Schwerdtfeger's [note the variation inthe orthography of the spelling] remarkable and idiosyncratic career appears in Pastors and People: German Lutheran and Reformed Churches in the Pennsylvania Field, 1710-1793 by Charles H. Glatfelter, Vol. I, Pastors and Congregations (The Pennsylvania German Society, 1980 Breinigsville, PA), pp. 130-131:
"John Samuel Swerdtfeger, Lutheran. Born June 4, 1734 at (8801) Burgberheim, Bavaria. Son of a pharmacist. Matriculated as a student of theology at Erlangen, April 17, 1751. Left after a short time, possibly for financial reasons and possibly because he was advised to change his career plans. May have been counseled to become a scrivener.
Went to England, where to obtain passage to America he apparently became an indentured servant. Arrived in Baltimore in 1753. There is evidence that some members of the York congregation, dissatisfied with with Helrich Schaum, bought Schwerdtfeger's release from the terms of his indenture and brought him -- a nineteen year old -- to York as their pastor. Whether or not this account is true, he served in the York area (1753-1758). Preached to part of the York congregation (1753-1754) and at Canadochly and Kreutz Creek (1755-1758). Served on the Earltown parish, including Bergstrasse (1758-1763), Earl township (1758-1763), and Muddy Creek (1759-1763).
About 1759 married Anna Dorothea Schwab (born 1735), whose baptism is recorded in the Earltown register. They had nine children, one of whom married Guenther Wiegandt. In 1760 wrote to the reconvened ministerium, complaining that he had not been invited to attend. Was pastor of the Frederick parish, including Beard's and Loudon congregations, from 1763 to 1768. [Note that the Bells and Vogelers were part of the Beard's and Fredericks congregations, and they received communion from Rev. Schwerdtfeger in connection with their naturalizations during the time that he preached there.]During these years returned to Philadelphia to be naturalized there during the September-October 1765 session of the Supreme Court, (NFP, p. 99). Resigned somewhat abruptly in 1768 and went back to Europe. Upon his return to America in 1769, found it all but impossible to obtain a parish. Tried to reinstate himself in Frederick, whose members clearly did not want him back. Several other vacant congregations were likewise uninterested in him.
The ministerium in 1770 recommended a charge on the Berks-Lehigh county border. He lived in Lynn township, Lehigh county, for several years, but was soon without a position. In 1773, according to Muhlenberg's journal, the ministerium took up 'the necessary provision for Pastor Shwerttfeger, who has no position, has a wife and five children, and lacks the wherewithal for a living.' (MJ 2:547)
In the following year, Schwerdtfeger found his 'wherewithal' in New York. Served Albany (1774-1784) and Hosek, or Feilstown, (1777-1788). During the revolution he espoused the British cause, although moderately enough so that he was allowed by his congregation to continue preaching. In 1786 he was one of the founding members of the New York Synod.
In 1790 accepted a call from a congregation made up of loyalists who had established the town of Williamsburgh in what became Dundas county, Ontario. Later that year he dedicated what has been called the first Protestant church in Canada. Two years later, became pastor of a second congregation, at Matilda.
During the 1780's and 1790's he tried to improve his still poor financial situation by claiming land grants from the British government on the strength of his stand as a loyalist during the revolution.Died in 1803 at Williamsburgh and was buried there. Sources: Information received from the Landeskirliches Archiv, Nuernberg; Arhibald F. Bennet, A Guide to Genealogical Research (Salt Lake City, 1951), PP 116-126; Beale M. Schmucher, "The Lutheran Church in York, Pa."; Lutheran Quarterly (18 (1888): 493-494; MJ; DH; James Croil, Dundas: or a Sketch of Canadian History (Belleville, Ontario, 1972), pp. 250-252, 313, reprint of an 1861 edition: Ontario Historical Society Publications 26:317-318 and 31:33.
The Schwerdfeger Connection to Vogeler and Bell
Schwerdfeger became the minister in charge of the Monocacy Church, while Johann Freiderich Vogeler may have been part of that congregation and also had responsibilities for smaller congregations known as Jacob's and Beard's churches very close to the farmlands purchased by Anthony and Peter Bell.
We know from surviving documents that Anthony Bell, Peter Bell and Johann Friederich Vogeler all received Lutheran communion from Schwerdfeger in connection with and as a prerequisite to becoming naturalized citizens of Maryland. Even though Queen Anne initially conferred the Maryland proprietorship on Lord Baltimore as a haven for English Catholics, by the mid 1700's, King George III required all new immigrants to Maryland who wished to own land and have rights of citizenship to take communion in a Protestant faith (Jews excepted) and swear or affirm allegiance to the King after living in the colony for at least seven years. Since King George came from German speaking Prussia, German Protestants were thought likely to be good subjects.
The Maryland Provincial Court records, which I personally examined on October 19, 2006, contain the following entry:
Provincial Court Judgements, 53 Judgements DD9 1765. George Keeler, Peter Bell and Jacob Wacker of Frederick County German Protestants come into Court here between the hours of nine twelve of the Clock in the Forenoon of the thirteenth Day of September One in the pursuance of an Act of Parliament made and [???] in the Thirteenth Year of his late Majesty King George the Second Instituted "An Act for the Naturalizing such foreign Protestant and such others therein mentioned as are Settlers or shall Settle in any of his Majesty's Colonies in America" pray to have the Several Oaths appointed by the said Act Administered to them they having produced the following Certificate of their having received the Sacrament //to wit// These is to certify all Mon where these presents shall concern that George Keeler, Peter Bell and Jacob Wacker Natives of Germany but now residents in Frederick County in the Province of Maryland did in the 20th day of August in the Year of our Lord."
A similar proceeding followed the communion of Anthonius Bell and Johann Freiderich Vogeler among others:
253. September 12, 1764 September 4, 1764 DD- 6,281
Bell, Anthonius of Frederick County, German
Cammerer, Ludwig German, Communion only
Giesert, Frederick of Frederick County, German
Huber, Adam of Frederick County, German
Kohler, George of Frederick County, German
Mong, Nicklas of Frederick County, German
Ritter, Jacob of Frederick County, German
Stephan, Andreas of Frederick County, German
Vogler, John Frederick of Frederick County, German
Lutheran, Frederick County Schwordfeger
wit Conrad Hogmire, Ludetig Funk, Dewald Scheffer
We probably have the Reverend Scherdtfeger to thank for the absence of any record of marriage for either Peter Bell to Elizabeth Vogeler or Anthony Bell to Maria Schneeberger. Most likely they were both married by Schwerdtfeger in one of the rough hewn log churches built near their farms or at the Monocacy church in Frederick. Schwerdtfeger was a notoriously poor recordkeeper, except when it came to the births and baptisms of his own children. As we will see in the next segment, the vital records for the families of Peter and Anthony become more frequent and regular as they begin to prosper and take a prominent position in the devloping western Maryland community.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
FOUNDING MOTHERS AND FATHERS -- BELLS AND VOGELERS
WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?
Where did they come from? How did they get here? These were the questions put to my Great Niece Desirae to investigate and report upon over the past Christmas holiday. What about the Bells? This was the question repeatedly put to me to investigate and report upon by my Mother some five years ago. Desirae, I understand, handed in her report on time. Mine is long overdue, and still incomplete.
The Scarcity of Records
We do not yet have direct documentary evidence either as to the place of origin or as to the time and route taken by the first known Bell ancestors who arrived in colonial Maryland sometime between around 1750 and 1756. No corroborated ship arrival lists or emigration documents have been found for Peter Bell (1736-1778) and Anna Elizabeth Vogeler Bell (1741-18??). Elizabeth's father and mother, Johann Friederich Vogeler, may be the same person who shows up in one of three ship arrival lists for Philadelphia, but Vogeler is a common name and corroborative evidence must still be found to tie him to one of the possibilities.
An abundance of indirect and circumstantial evidence points to the lower Rhine region as the probable European home of the Bells. One of their grandchildren, a German speaking Lutheran Minister, wrote in a short biography published in the History of the Maryland Synod that Peter Bell came from Alsace. Another descendant and usually accurate genealogist, Herbert C. Bell, wrote in The History of the Leitersburg District that Peter Bell's brother, Anthony Bell, "learned his trade in Weisbaden," an area located on the lower Rhine close to the region known as Alsace. He also said, "Captain Peter Bell was probably a native of Germany and emigrated to America in early manhood. Definite information regarding his personal history begins with the year 1767, when he purchased from Peter Shiess a tract of 248 acres, part of the larger original survey called All That's Left, to which he gave the name of Bell's Choice." Even today, a sign marks the boundary to Bell's Choice about 100 yards from the little bridge that crosses the Antietam Creek on the Mason-Dixon line that still defines the border between Pennsylvania and Maryland.
Clues from other Bell Immigrants
Another indirect way of narrowing the possible European origin makes use of the frequency of a surname appearing in the tax records, church registers (kirchenbuch) and other documents. One problem encountered when using this method arises from the changing and variable orthography of the time. In the colonial Maryland records, Peter and Anthony variously appear as Bella, Beala and Beil in addition to Bell. Other possbilities include Behler, Beiler and Bellerin among others. We cannot rule-out the possibility that Bell came into use in the colonies as the English equivaent for the German word for Bell, i.e. Klinger. However, the German word closest to Bell comes from the Latin root shared with the English word belicose, and suggests a military origin.
Another narrowing approach makes use of well-researched genealogies of other German-speaking Bells. Beginning in 1709, several substantial waves of German-speaking farmers emigrated from the entire length of Rhine Valley from its headwaters in Switzerland to the lower regions in present day France and Germany. That 1709 group included at least one family bearing the Bell name; however that group, after a stay in a refugee camp near London, settled in the Schoharie region of present day New York. They suffered greatly at the hands of English governors wishing to exploit them as indentured servants for the purpose of harvesting tar and pitch from trees for use as ship stores. These Germans negotiated separately with the Iroquois to resettle on their lands, fought in the French and Indian Wars and many were massacred, including several of the Bells among them. Conrad Wiser lead a large party of the surviving German Lutherans out of New York to resettle in Pennsylvania. At least one of the families associated with Wiser eventually settled near Frederick, Maryland and was a charter member of the same church that may be associated with Johann Frederick Vogeler. However, no direct connection between Wiser and Peter and Anthony Bell has surfaced.
Another German speaking Bell family turns up in the resettlement of Nova Scotia after the English deported the Hugonauts, poetically immortalized by Longfellow's Evangeline. That line of German speaking Bells, carefully researched and documented by Winthrop Bell in his, does not appear to connect to the Anthony and Peter Bell line.
The Bell name and variants also appear in family lines from Scotland, Ireland and England, families who also settled in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia as well as North and South Carolina. Some bad genealogical research by Fielder Beall, frequently cited and copied, arbitrarily assigned Peter and Anthony to an English Bell family which had settled many years earlier in the Sommerset area in the Maryland Tidewater region.
Why Did the Bells Leave Alsace?
We can speculate about Peter and Anthony's reasons for leaving their homeland based on the extensive research on the several waves of German-speaking immigrants who left the Rhine Valley for the Americas before, during and after they appeared in Maryland.
The region suffered the scourges of war, famine and religious strife for most of the 17th and early part of the 18th century. Naturally, the vast amounts of inexpensive unsettled land, promises of religious toleration and freedom from the ravages of war and also military conscription attracted many immigrants, a large number of which had to sell themselves as indentured servants for a period of seven years or more to pay for their passage to America. Some immigrants came as part of organized religious groups, and these immigrants generally
had some capital assets resulting from inheritance and acquired wealth.
Each of the successive waves of German speaking immagrants to America in the first half of the 18th Century resulted, in part, from a combination of promotions by the Proprietors and land speculators seeking to promote immigration for the settlement of the frontier. Of course, every wave sent letters back to their homelands, and this too, fostered further emigration.
German Speaking Arrivals through Baltimore and Annapolis
Although some connection may yet be found between the Schoharie Bells and Peter and Anthony, more likely Peter and Anthony came directly from their homeland on the lower Rhine to Maryland through the port of Annapolis or the Port of Baltimore. No 18th Century ship lists survive from the emigrant arrivals through these Maryland Ports, but other documents from the time attest to several vessels of German-speaking families arriving in the 1750's. Williams and McKinsey in History of Frederick County Maryland concluded from an examination of entries fround in the Colonial records at Annapolis that 1060 German emigrants arrived by that route between 1752 to 1755. "The ship Integrity arrived at Annapolis Sept. 18, 1752 from Cowes, J. Coward, Master, brought according to the record the baggage of 150 Palatine passengers. September 19, 1753, the ship Barclay, J. Brown, Master, landed 160 Palatines at Anapolis. The ship Friendship, from Cowes, land 300 Palatines at Annapolis, November 18, 1753 and 450 on January 16, 1755." Vol. 1, p. 7.
I examined a microfilm copy of these port records at the Maryland Historical Society in January 2008. Many other ship arriving at Annapolis refer directly to numbers of indentured servants and convicts arriving from Cowes, not just baggage, but indivudals are not named. We know that individuals arrived with their baggage in some cases, for example, Mr. Christopher Bartholomew Mayer, ancestor of Charles F. Mayer, a president of the B&O Railroad Company, made famous nationally and eternally by the Monopoly board game. He came on the ship Patience Capt. Hugh Steel, Master, arriving at Annapolis on October 4, 1752, bearing a letter dated London July 9th, 1752 from Caecilius Calvert, one of the proprietors of Maryland, to Benjamin Tasker. By separate letter of the same date, Calvert commends to Tasker "a number of Palatines" which he "desires you will give such necessary assistance to these people on their arrival to forward them to Manockesy [one of the variant spellings of Monocacy] (which I understand is in Frederick County) or where else the shall want to go to settle within the province, as in your power, and that they may be accommodated in a proper manner. But the charges attending any such service to them must be done in the most moderate manner in respect to the Proprietor and to answer their requisites necessary to their service. The increase of people being always welcome, your prudence would have supplied this letter in a kind reception of them; nevertheless as particular occasions may require your favour, I conclude my recommendation of them, in giving all possible satisfaction relating to the manner and place they shall chose to settle in Maryland."
Whether the Bell's were on this ship or another one, they found a welcome when they arrived in Maryland. They were welcomed because of their reputation as industrious farmers, tradesmen and artisans to a new land that needed and appreciated their skills and cpacity for hard work. I will conclude this first chapter on the Bells at this point, and let the reader reflect on what learning, if any, the history of the Bells arrival teaches for our current national debate on imigration.
Where did they come from? How did they get here? These were the questions put to my Great Niece Desirae to investigate and report upon over the past Christmas holiday. What about the Bells? This was the question repeatedly put to me to investigate and report upon by my Mother some five years ago. Desirae, I understand, handed in her report on time. Mine is long overdue, and still incomplete.
The Scarcity of Records
We do not yet have direct documentary evidence either as to the place of origin or as to the time and route taken by the first known Bell ancestors who arrived in colonial Maryland sometime between around 1750 and 1756. No corroborated ship arrival lists or emigration documents have been found for Peter Bell (1736-1778) and Anna Elizabeth Vogeler Bell (1741-18??). Elizabeth's father and mother, Johann Friederich Vogeler, may be the same person who shows up in one of three ship arrival lists for Philadelphia, but Vogeler is a common name and corroborative evidence must still be found to tie him to one of the possibilities.
An abundance of indirect and circumstantial evidence points to the lower Rhine region as the probable European home of the Bells. One of their grandchildren, a German speaking Lutheran Minister, wrote in a short biography published in the History of the Maryland Synod that Peter Bell came from Alsace. Another descendant and usually accurate genealogist, Herbert C. Bell, wrote in The History of the Leitersburg District that Peter Bell's brother, Anthony Bell, "learned his trade in Weisbaden," an area located on the lower Rhine close to the region known as Alsace. He also said, "Captain Peter Bell was probably a native of Germany and emigrated to America in early manhood. Definite information regarding his personal history begins with the year 1767, when he purchased from Peter Shiess a tract of 248 acres, part of the larger original survey called All That's Left, to which he gave the name of Bell's Choice." Even today, a sign marks the boundary to Bell's Choice about 100 yards from the little bridge that crosses the Antietam Creek on the Mason-Dixon line that still defines the border between Pennsylvania and Maryland.
Clues from other Bell Immigrants
Another indirect way of narrowing the possible European origin makes use of the frequency of a surname appearing in the tax records, church registers (kirchenbuch) and other documents. One problem encountered when using this method arises from the changing and variable orthography of the time. In the colonial Maryland records, Peter and Anthony variously appear as Bella, Beala and Beil in addition to Bell. Other possbilities include Behler, Beiler and Bellerin among others. We cannot rule-out the possibility that Bell came into use in the colonies as the English equivaent for the German word for Bell, i.e. Klinger. However, the German word closest to Bell comes from the Latin root shared with the English word belicose, and suggests a military origin.
Another narrowing approach makes use of well-researched genealogies of other German-speaking Bells. Beginning in 1709, several substantial waves of German-speaking farmers emigrated from the entire length of Rhine Valley from its headwaters in Switzerland to the lower regions in present day France and Germany. That 1709 group included at least one family bearing the Bell name; however that group, after a stay in a refugee camp near London, settled in the Schoharie region of present day New York. They suffered greatly at the hands of English governors wishing to exploit them as indentured servants for the purpose of harvesting tar and pitch from trees for use as ship stores. These Germans negotiated separately with the Iroquois to resettle on their lands, fought in the French and Indian Wars and many were massacred, including several of the Bells among them. Conrad Wiser lead a large party of the surviving German Lutherans out of New York to resettle in Pennsylvania. At least one of the families associated with Wiser eventually settled near Frederick, Maryland and was a charter member of the same church that may be associated with Johann Frederick Vogeler. However, no direct connection between Wiser and Peter and Anthony Bell has surfaced.
Another German speaking Bell family turns up in the resettlement of Nova Scotia after the English deported the Hugonauts, poetically immortalized by Longfellow's Evangeline. That line of German speaking Bells, carefully researched and documented by Winthrop Bell in his, does not appear to connect to the Anthony and Peter Bell line.
The Bell name and variants also appear in family lines from Scotland, Ireland and England, families who also settled in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia as well as North and South Carolina. Some bad genealogical research by Fielder Beall, frequently cited and copied, arbitrarily assigned Peter and Anthony to an English Bell family which had settled many years earlier in the Sommerset area in the Maryland Tidewater region.
Why Did the Bells Leave Alsace?
We can speculate about Peter and Anthony's reasons for leaving their homeland based on the extensive research on the several waves of German-speaking immigrants who left the Rhine Valley for the Americas before, during and after they appeared in Maryland.
The region suffered the scourges of war, famine and religious strife for most of the 17th and early part of the 18th century. Naturally, the vast amounts of inexpensive unsettled land, promises of religious toleration and freedom from the ravages of war and also military conscription attracted many immigrants, a large number of which had to sell themselves as indentured servants for a period of seven years or more to pay for their passage to America. Some immigrants came as part of organized religious groups, and these immigrants generally
had some capital assets resulting from inheritance and acquired wealth.
Each of the successive waves of German speaking immagrants to America in the first half of the 18th Century resulted, in part, from a combination of promotions by the Proprietors and land speculators seeking to promote immigration for the settlement of the frontier. Of course, every wave sent letters back to their homelands, and this too, fostered further emigration.
German Speaking Arrivals through Baltimore and Annapolis
Although some connection may yet be found between the Schoharie Bells and Peter and Anthony, more likely Peter and Anthony came directly from their homeland on the lower Rhine to Maryland through the port of Annapolis or the Port of Baltimore. No 18th Century ship lists survive from the emigrant arrivals through these Maryland Ports, but other documents from the time attest to several vessels of German-speaking families arriving in the 1750's. Williams and McKinsey in History of Frederick County Maryland concluded from an examination of entries fround in the Colonial records at Annapolis that 1060 German emigrants arrived by that route between 1752 to 1755. "The ship Integrity arrived at Annapolis Sept. 18, 1752 from Cowes, J. Coward, Master, brought according to the record the baggage of 150 Palatine passengers. September 19, 1753, the ship Barclay, J. Brown, Master, landed 160 Palatines at Anapolis. The ship Friendship, from Cowes, land 300 Palatines at Annapolis, November 18, 1753 and 450 on January 16, 1755." Vol. 1, p. 7.
I examined a microfilm copy of these port records at the Maryland Historical Society in January 2008. Many other ship arriving at Annapolis refer directly to numbers of indentured servants and convicts arriving from Cowes, not just baggage, but indivudals are not named. We know that individuals arrived with their baggage in some cases, for example, Mr. Christopher Bartholomew Mayer, ancestor of Charles F. Mayer, a president of the B&O Railroad Company, made famous nationally and eternally by the Monopoly board game. He came on the ship Patience Capt. Hugh Steel, Master, arriving at Annapolis on October 4, 1752, bearing a letter dated London July 9th, 1752 from Caecilius Calvert, one of the proprietors of Maryland, to Benjamin Tasker. By separate letter of the same date, Calvert commends to Tasker "a number of Palatines" which he "desires you will give such necessary assistance to these people on their arrival to forward them to Manockesy [one of the variant spellings of Monocacy] (which I understand is in Frederick County) or where else the shall want to go to settle within the province, as in your power, and that they may be accommodated in a proper manner. But the charges attending any such service to them must be done in the most moderate manner in respect to the Proprietor and to answer their requisites necessary to their service. The increase of people being always welcome, your prudence would have supplied this letter in a kind reception of them; nevertheless as particular occasions may require your favour, I conclude my recommendation of them, in giving all possible satisfaction relating to the manner and place they shall chose to settle in Maryland."
Whether the Bell's were on this ship or another one, they found a welcome when they arrived in Maryland. They were welcomed because of their reputation as industrious farmers, tradesmen and artisans to a new land that needed and appreciated their skills and cpacity for hard work. I will conclude this first chapter on the Bells at this point, and let the reader reflect on what learning, if any, the history of the Bells arrival teaches for our current national debate on imigration.
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