Skip to main content

Full text of "The life of (John) Conrad Weiser, the German pioneer, patriot, and patron of two races"

See other formats 


1 


NYPL  RESEARCH  LIBRARIES 


is 


i 


v.3g'>^'JJ>-A'..^-^^    *^—  -   .-j^i^^L; 


COXRAD    WEISER'S    GRAVE, 

NEAR  WOMELSDORF,  PA. 


THE    LIFE 


OP 


(John)  Conrad  Weiser, 


THE 


GERMAN  PIONEER,  PATRIOT, 


AND 


PATRON  OF  TWO  RACES. 


Br 

REV.   C.   Z.   AYEISER,  D.  D. 


SECOND  EDITION. 


READING,  PA.: 

DANIEL  MILLER,  PUBLISHER. 

189». 


i  .i  !'- 


Air on. lENOX   AND 
T1LO€K  fOUNDATIO'.o. 

R  '  L 


PREFACE. 


There  is  no  apology  needed  for  writing  the  life  of  Conrad 
Weiser,  if  the  opinions  and  wishes  of  knowing  men  carry  with 
themselves  any  meaning  or  force.  On  the  13th  day  of  Xo- 
vember,  1793,  General  George  Washington,  accompanied  by 
General  Joseph  Hiester  and  other  distinguished  men,  stood  at 
the  grave  of  Conrad  Weiser,  and  said  :  "  This  departed  man 
rendered  many  services  to  his  country,  in  a  difficult  period, 
and  posterity  will  not  forget  him.''  Richard  Peters,  Secretary 
of  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania,  wrote  already  in  1761  : 
''Since  1744  he  has  acted  a  prominent  part  between  the  In- 
dians and  the  Government,  by  whom  his  loss  will  be  severely 
felt.  A  faithful  sketch  of  him  by  some  of  his  descendants 
would  be  exceedingly  interesting."  Samuel  Hazard,  compiler 
and  editor  of  "  Pennsylvania  Archives"  and  "  Colonial  Rec- 
ords," is  careful  to  preserve  the  above  remarks  in  his  valuable 
collections.  Thomas  H.  Burrows  says  :  "  On  many  occasions 
he  was  of  the  greatest  service  to  the  Province  by  his  influence 
with  the  Indians."  Franz  Loeher,  author  of  "  The  History 
and  Fortunes  of  the  Germans  in  America,"  speaks  of  his  sig- 
nificance in  these  words :  "  One  man,  whose  name  figures  so 
laro;ely  in  the  orisfinal  records  and  events  of  his  day,  deserves 
special  mention."  Prof  I.  Daniel  Ruj)}),  the  antiquarian  and 
dweller  among  the  McDie-'^,  has  frequently  revived  his  name  in 
his  numerous  writings.  Geo.  F.  Baer,  Escp,  of  the  Reading 
Bar,  remarks  in  his  address,  delivered  at  the  dedication  of  the 
new  wing  of  Palatinate  College,  Myerstown,  Pa.,  December 
23,  1875,  on   the  Pennsylvania  Germans  :  "  Then,   too,   the 


4  PRE  r  A  C  K. 

name  and  fame  of  Conrad  Wcisor,  the  great  Indian  Inter- 
preter and  ])oare-nmker,  will  l)e  rcscncd  from  com])arative 
obscnrity,  and  he  will  l)e  ^dven  the  liiLdi  rank  and  place  iu 
history  which  he  so  faithi'ully  earned  and  so  richly  merits." 

No  student  of  our  Colonial  era  need  he  told  of  the  promi- 
nence of  the  man  and  his  works.  The  wonder  is,  not  that  the 
links  which  compose  his  long  and  eventful  history,  should  now 
be  united  in  a  chain  ;  but  that  this  service  had  not  been  done 
for  him  long  ago. 

The  "  Life  of  Conrad  Weiser"  is  not  a  manufactured  one. 
It  is  not  invented,  imagined  or  made  up.  It  is  no  "  baseless 
fabric  of  any  airy  vision" — no  Hiawathian  structure  of  poet- 
ical art — no  arraying  of  an  Enoch- Arden  skeleton  in  fictitious 
flesh  and  blood  ;  but  the  simple  record  of  his  life,  as  we  find 
it  enshrined  in  the  facts,  events  and  deeds  of  a  long,  steady, 
unostentatious  and  efficient  course.  It  is  but  a  reprint  of  an 
Autobiographical  Journal,  of  parts  of  the  Pennsylvania  Ar- 
chives, Colonial  Kecords,  the  Hallische  Nachrichten',  the 
numerous  Monographs  of  I.  D.  Rupp,  and  a  gathering  up  of 
the  floating  traditions  among  his  descendants,  both  in  Peun- 
sylvania  and  Wurtemberg.  It  is  a  presentation  of  the  man, 
so  far  as  this  may  be  done,  from  his  remains.  The  manner  of 
its  execution  we  must  leave  to  the  judgment  of  others.  Were 
it  but  half  as  ably  done  as  it  was  willingly  done,  then  the 
work  would  verily  be  equal  to  the  occasion.  As  it  is,  we  can 
only  pray  the  review'er's  kindness  to  take  the  hearty  will  for 
the  imperfect  deed.  To  the  disappointed  *'  descendant"  of  Con- 
rad Weiser  we  feel  like  saying,  "  Go  thou  and  do — better  !" 

C.  Z.  WEISER. 

New  Goshenhoppen,  Pennsburg,  Pa., 
Centennial  Year,  May. 


IXTRODUCTIOX  TO  SECOND  EDITIOX 


No  man  has  done  more,  and  few  as  much,  for  the  early 
settlers  of  the  Colony  of  Pennsylvania  than  Conrad  Weiser. 
Had  he  liyed  in  New  England,  he  would  have  been  remem- 
bered long  ago  in  marble,  story  and  song  ;  but,  because  he 
lived  in  Pennsylvania,  he  is  forgotten  even  by  his  own  people. 
The  very  grave  in  which  he  is  buried  is  known  to  very  few, 
and  not  decently  kept.  He  and  his  wife  lie  buried  in  an  old 
orchard  on  the  farm  once  owned  by  him,  near  AVomelsdorf, 
Berks  county. 

I  started  a  movement  in  1893  to  begin  to  raise  funds  f«)r 
the  erection  of  a  monument  to  his  memory,  as  well  as  to  pro- 
tect the  grave.  This  spot  should  be  the  shrine  for  every 
Pennsylvania  German. 

We  devoted  a  period  during  the  Berks  County  Teachers' 
Institute  of  that  year  to  devise  means  and  plans  to  launch  the 
movement.  It  was  resolved  and  agreed  that  the  second  day 
of  November  should  be  kept  as  "  Conrad  AVeiser  Day."  Spe- 
cial exercises  were  held  in  every  school  in  the  county,  suitable 
programs  arranged  and  a  contribution  taken. 

By  these  means  we  collected  8204,  which  sum  is  now 
deposited  with  the  Pennsylvania  Trust  Company  of  Keading. 
It  is  hoped  that  ere  long  sufficient  money  will  be  raised  to 
carry  out  this  movement. 

In  our  visitation  of  schools  throughout  the  county  fre(|uent 
inquiries  were  made  as  to  where  books  could  be  had  contain- 
ing information  relative  to  the  life  and  works  of  Conrad  Wei- 
ser.     To  meet  this  want,  the  publisher  of  this  book  reluc- 


b  I  N   I'  i:  n  D  r  CI   I  n  N. 

tJintly  consontod  to  issiu*  aiiotlirr  rdition  of  the  "  I>ifo  ot"  Con- 
rad Wriscr,"  nnd  include  in  the  same  tlic  most  hcjiutifnl,  yet 
patlietic  Indian  storv  ever  written — the  story  of  Ke^dmi  Ilart- 
man,  tlie  German  captive. 

It  is  lioj)ed  tliat  this  book  will  find  its  way  into  many 
homes  in  Pennsylvania,  and  there  arouse  sufficient  local  pride, 
and  love  and  respect  for  ancestry  to  comj)lete  the  movement. 

W.  M.  ZIXHMAN. 

Reading,  Pa.,  September,  1899. 


COXTEXTS. 

CHAPTER  I. 
Conrad  Weiser's  Remote  Ancestry  and  Native  Place Page  y 

CHAPTER  ir. 
Conrad  Weiser's  Parents — His  Father  and  Mother 12 

CHAPTER  III. 
The  Exodus  of  Conrad  Weiser's  Father 15 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Conrad's  Father  Chief  of  the  Colony  at  Livingstone  Manor... 19 

CHAPTER  V. 
Conrad's  Father  Chief  of  the  Colony  at  Schoharie 22 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Conrad  Weiser's  Father  the  Defender  of  the  Rights  and  Liberties  of  his 

Countrymen  at  Schoharie 24 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Conrad's  Father  Leads  a  Colony  to  Tulpehocken,  Pennsylvania — His  Re- 
turn and  Wandering  — His  Visit  to  Tulpehocken — His  Death 28 

CHAPTER  VIIL 
John  Conrad  Weiser,  Junior — His  Name— Birth-Place — Baptism 31 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Conrad's  Arrival  in  America — His  Stay  with  the  Maqua  Indians 35 

CHAPTER  X. 
Conrad  Weiser  and  His  Step-Mother 39 

CHAPTER  XL 
Conrad  Weiser's  Brothers  and  Sisters — His  Occupation— His   Marriage — 

His  Departure  for  Pennsylvania -13 

CHAPTER  XII. 
Conrad  Weiser's  Advent  in  Pennsylvania — The  Beginning  of  His  Official 

History '19 


8  CONTENTH. 

CHAI'TKR  Xiri. 
ConrRfl  Weiser,  Provincial  Interpreter — JoHtice  of  the  Peace — 17.'i2-174;^     53 

CIIAPTKU  XIV. 
Ten  More  Years  of  Imiiiin  Intcrc«mr.''c  —  Mi.-8ion«  antJ  Duties — 1744-1754     6;i 

(ilAi'THK  XV. 

The  French  t\ud  Indian  War — Conrad  Weiscr,  Su|icrintendent  tf  the  In- 
dian Bureau — Colonel  — His  Death  Officially  Announced — 1751- 
1760 77 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
Conrad  Wciser's*  Failing  Health— His  Death— His   Burial-lMace 88 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
Conrad  Wciser  as  a  Religious  Character 92 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Conrad  Wei?er's  Will — His   Possessions — His  Sons  and  Daughters — His 

Posterity  99 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
Summary  and  Conclusion 114 

Appendix. 

Authentic  Autobiography  of  Conrad  Weiser 118 

Letter  of  Conrad  Wciser 128 

Dedication   Hymn 131 

Story  of  Regina 134 


LIFE  OF  (JOHN)  CONRAD  WEISER. 


CHAPTER  I. 


CONKAD     WEISER's     REMOTE     ANCESTRY     AND     NATIA'E 

PLACE. 


The  first  condition  necessary  to  a  fair  understiinding 
and  correct  appreciation  of  a  character  is  to  know  his 
origin.  Call  it  providence,  destiny,  fatality,  no  man  can 
wholly  escape  from  his  ancestry,  if  we  may  credit  that 
part  of  the  Declaration  of  Sinai — "  for  I  the  Lord  thy 
God  am  a  jealons  God,  visiting  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers 
upon  the  children  unto  the  third  and  fourth  generations  of 
them  that  hate  me,  and  showing  mercy  unto  tliousands  of 
them  that  love  me  and  keep  my  commandments.'^ 

In  the  ancient  Electorate  of  A\  urtemberg,  also  caHed 
the  Duchy  of  Wurtemberg,  a  part  of  the  once  famous 
Palatinate  of  the  Rhine,  and  in  tlie  town  of  Gross-Aspach, 
a  place  of  some  note  in  the  county  of  Backnang — the 
pedigree  of  Conrad  Weiser  took  its  first  beginning.  ''  In 
this  place,"  he  tells  us,  in  a  fragment  of  his  maiuiscript 
biography,  "  my  ancestors,  from  time  immemorial,  were 
born  and  are  buried — as  well  on  my  fathei*'s  as  on  my 
m-^ther^s  side." 

The  Lutheran  Pastor  Eisenliart,  of  Gross-Aspach, writes 

for  us,  February  17,  1871,  from   whose  letter  wo  extract 

as  follows  :  "  I  herewith  send  you  the  Weiser  Hneage  from 

the  earliest  date  within  my  reach.     Our  Church  b(.K)ks 

2 


10  THE    LIFE   OF 

extond  l)a('k  hut  to  1603.  Diiriiiir  that  year  the  parson- 
age, to^etlicr  with  some  two  liiiiKh'cd  homes,  was  laid  in 
ashes  hy  the  I'l'cnch.  'Plie  reeords  were  aeconhnu;ly 
destroyed.  I  may  then  ascend  no  hi<i;lier,  notwithstand- 
ing my  anxiety  to  serve  yon.  Tlie  Pcinior  Loci  in  1697 
epitomized,  from  memory  and  trachtion,  tlie  names  of  all 
the  surviving  memhers  of  the  congregation.  On  this  roll 
the  name  of  John  Miehael  Weiser  np])cars,  who  died  in 
1721  ;  and  also  that  of  John  Conrad  Weiser,  w^ho  is  des- 
ignated a  *  baker'  in  handicraft,  as  well  as  distinguished 
by  the  title  of  Corjwral."*  From  the  same  source  we  learn 
that  a  certain  Frederick  Weiser,  of  the  direct  line,  is  at 
this  time  a  resident  of  Gross-Aspach — a  statement  which 
a  lately  emigrated  nephew  confirms.  We  may  also  state, 
on  written  and  vei'bal  authority,  that  the  name  Weiser 
may  be  traced  on  the  facade  of  an  antique  Avine-press, 
which  Avas  regarded  as  one  of  the  ancient  landmarks  of 
the  place — in  1870,  at  all  events.  The  patronymic  is 
likewise  engraved  in  the  tablet  of  a  venerable  stone  man- 
sion, which  either  the  historical  Conrad's  father  or  grand- 
father had  erected.  An  eye-witness  describes  it  as  stand- 
ing over  from  the  Magistrate's  office  in  Gross-Aspach. 
We  were  told  that  the  stone  had  been  carefully  replaced 
during  the  rebuilding  of  the  house  in  1799. 

Conrad's  manuscript  autobiography  contains  this  note 
touching  his  forefathers  :  ^^  My  great-grandfather  was  Ja- 
cob Weiser,  and  my  grandfather  was,  likewise,  Jacob 
Weiser."  The  former  he  designates  a  ^^  Schuldheisz,"  the 
Chief  Magistrate  of  a  district,  somewhat  beyond  a  Justice 

*  The  pastor  alluded  to  bore  the  name  of  Hegele.  He  was  subsequently 
deposed  from  the  ministry  for  engaging  in  the  very  unclerical  business  of  a 
wine  merchant. 


CONRAD   WEISER.  11 

of  the  Peace  among  us.  It  is  worthy  of  notice  thai  the 
grandfather  and  father,  as  well  as  Conrad  himself,  filhMl 
the  same  office  in  their  several  days. 

On  the  strength  of  Pastor  Eisenhart's  letter,  Conra<l 
Weiser's  record,  and  the  sayings  of  an  eye-witness  and 
living  descendant,  we  are  safe  in  regarding  Gross-Aspach 
as  the  cradle-place  of  Conrad  Weiser's  ancestry,  and  that 
ancestry  as  of  some  age  and  honorable. 

The  numerous  descendants  of  our  venerable  hero,  scat- 
tered as  thev  are  over  a  number  of  states  at  this  dav,  mav 
hereby  learn  the  source-spring  of  their  being.  AVe  know 
of  no  Weiser-scion  in  America,  which  is  not  an  outgrowth 
of  Conrad,  and  through  him  a  branch  from  the  original 
trunk.  This  humble  sketch  will  afford  them  the  mean?;, 
however  spare,  of  knowing  the  quarter  of  their  earthly 
origin,  as  well  as  the  period  of  their  forefather's  arrival 
in  America,  and  line  of  their  blood  and  name — all  of 
which  is  fast  proving  a  great  satisfaction  to  the  children 
of  German,  Swiss,  French,  English  and  other  emigrated 
ancestry,  in  the  measure  according  to  which  the  society  of 
our  country  is  crystallizing  into  families — a  process  which 
no  nation  can  eventually  escape. 


12  THE    LIFE   OF 


CIIAPTKIJ     I  J, 


CX>NRAi)  W  HISEU.S  PARENTS.       HIS  FATHER  AND  MOTHER. 


Conrad  ^^'eiser^s  ftitlier  was  Joliii  Conrad  AVeiser.  He 
was  Ijoru  and  reared  in  the  town  of  his  ancestry,  Gross- 
Aspacli.  Following  the  hnmblc  trade  of  a  baker  in  early 
life,  he  sneceeded  bv  dili^j^ence  and  self-cultnre  to  attain  to 
the  position  and  office  of  "  Schuldheisz,"  or  American 
lOsqnire.  He  occupied,  likewise,  the  station  of  a  Corporal 
ill  the  military  service,  and  is  so  distinguished  in  the  obit- 
uary note  of  his  wife,  which  is  entered  on  the  necrological 
roll  of  his  native  place. 

His  wife,  the  mother  of  Conrad,  was  Anna  Magdalena 
Uebele — not  AVebele,  as  it  is  usually  written.  This  wor- 
thy woman  was  a  native  of  the  same  place.  AVe  are  told 
that  the  name  is  still  worn  by  living  representatives  and 
descendants  there. 

On  tlie  first  day  of  May,  A.  D.  1709,  she  died  in  the 
forty-third  year  of  her  life.  The  primal  sorrow  of  her 
sex  carried  her  from  the  bosom  of  her  large  family  into 
eternity,  when  about  to  become  the  mother  of  her  six- 
teenth child.  Almost  a  moiety  of  this  large  group  must 
have  died  quite  young.  Eisenhart  informs  us  that  only 
twelve  names  are  enrolled,  though  in  the  mortuary  notice 
it  is  distinctly  mentioned  in  these  words  :  "Anna  Magda- 
lena Welser  died  in  the  forty-third  year  of  her  life — the 
mother  of  sixteen  children.^' 


CONRAD    WEISEK.  13 

The  catalogue  of  surviving  children,  in  17 Id,  runs 
thus:  Catharine,  Margaret,  ^Magdalena,  Sa])ina,  (.'onrad, 
George  Frederick,  Christopher  Frederick,  Rarhani  and 
John  Frederick.  Seven  of  their  children  must,  then,  have 
preceded  her  to  that  unknown  and  silent  shore,  ^\'e  feel 
constrained  to  add  a  tribute  of  regard  over  the  asiies  of 
such  a  "  mother  in  IsraeP^  in  view  of  the  ])are  but  elo- 
quent flict  just  told  us.  Is  not  such  a  woman  a  martyr  in 
a  certain  sense  ?  Her  noted  son,  Conrad,  had  then  boon 
in  his  thirteenth  year,  and  tender  enough  never  to  have 
forgotten  his  early  and  great  loss.  He  kindly  writes  of 
her  :  '^She  Avas  much  beloved  by  her  neiirhbors  and  feared 
God.  Her  motto  w^as,  'Jesus  Christ  !  For  Thee  I  live  ; 
for  Thee  I  die  ;  living  or  dying,  I  am  Thine.'  " 

Her  religious  nature  was  largely  implanted  and  per- 
petuated in  her  son,  as  we  shall  more  fully  learn  in  these 
pages.  The  doctrine  that  ascribes  all  the  noble  (pialities 
and  virtue  of  a  child  to  the  mother  is  a  fiilse  doctrine. 
^Mind  is  not  of  the  mother'  exclusivelv.  The  children  of 
the  Indians  are  always  distinguished  by  the  name-  of  the 
mother.  The  reason  they  give  for  this  habit  is,  that  their 
offsj^ring  are  indebted  to  the  father  for  their  souls,  the 
invisible  part  of  their  being,  and  to  the  mother  for  their 
bodies.  We  are  inclined  to  endorse  their  view  as  ortho- 
dox. The  Scriptural  argument  in  favor  of  its  correctness 
can  be  conducted  with  ease,  if  we  are  permitte^l  to  (piote 
the  holy  mystery  of  the  incarnation  as  an  analogy. 

Yet  the  maternal  influence  counts  for  much,  certainly 
— for  one-half,  if  you  please — in  the  formation  of  the 
offspring's  character.  This  woman,  thougli  dying  in  mid- 
life and  Avhen  her  son  was  but  a  child,  lived  on  in  him. 
Lilve  a  good  angel,  her  piety   cleaved  close  to  his  heroic 


1  1  THK    T.IP'K    OF 

fjpiril  all  tln-niiL^li  lii.8  eVfUt  I'lil  lilc.  \V\'  iiiiisl  v,\i!V  Imld 
the  child  <»!'  rcliLnoiis  parents  al  a  prrmiuiu. 

Conrad  could  never  cease  re<;rettinL!:  the  loss  of  his 
mother.  Any  half-orphan,  of  any  tcndrrness,  will  ap|)re- 
ciate  his  feclinj^s.  Von  seem  constantly  to  detect  a  sigh- 
ing after  her.  This  is  an  <'vi<h'nce  of  the  aniiahility  of  his 
nature,  wliich  even  the  savages  could  feel  in  later  years. 
P>ut  miLrht  n(tt  that  e\cell(Mit  mother's  longer  stay  on  earth 
have  soi'tened,  weakened  and  enervated  the  child,  and  thus 
unfitted  the  man  for  the  miles  and  miles  of  marching,  for 
the  severe  life  that  lay  before  him  ?  May  not  such  a  sil- 
ver lining  he  found  to  the  dark  cloud  which  so  often  emp- 
ties its  fatiil  charge  on  a  household  and  strikes  the  mother? 

Conrad's  heart  was  of  his  mother,  let  us  concede.  But 
the  strength,  energy  and  self-reliance,  Avhich  he  exhibited, 
came  by  his  fiither.  Had  not  his  father  been  just  the 
cast-iron  man  he  was,  his  offspring  would  never  have 
shown  so  hardy  a  son.  By  Providence,  then,  the  mother 
was  suffered  to  come  aloft,  lest  the  son  might  be  petted 
;ind  indulged  beneath  the  level,  from  which  it  is  only  pos- 
sible to  construct  and  elevate  a  hero.  In  more  than  one 
noble  life  may  we  find  some  such  philosophy  illustrated. 


COXRAD   WEISER.  15 


CHAPTEK   III. 


THE    EXODUS   OF   CONRAD    AVEISER's    FATHER. 


"yIs  a  bird  that  wandereth  from  her  nest,  so  is  a  man 
that  icandereth  from  his  place.^^ — (Prov.  27  :  8.) 

The  man  who  is  led  forth  by  the  demon  of  unrest,  or 
mere  loA^e  of  adventure,  from  his  country  and  kindred, 
will  surely  realize  the  truth  of  the  wise  man's  words.  God 
"  had  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men  for  to  dwell 
on  all  the  face  of  the  earth ;  and  hath  determined  the 
times  afore  appointed,  and  the  bounds  of  their  habitations^ 
This  pregnant  saying  finds  its  application  in  the  individ- 
ual and  family,  no  less  than  in  the  kindred,  stock,  tribe 
and  race.  It  is  in  the  violation  of  this  Providential  order- 
ing that  we  may  find  the  cause  of  the  shipwreck  of  men 
and  nations.  There  is  a  w^edding  of  names  to  places,  no 
less  than  a  nativism  of  plants  and  animals. 

But  it  was  not  from  any  such  adventurous  motive,  we 
may  safely  say,  that  John  Conrad  Weiser,  already  beyond 
mid-life,  left  Europe  ;  the  Palatinate  ;  the  Duchy  of  W'ur- 
temberg  ;  Gross-Aspach ;  the  dust  of  his  ancestoi's  that 
had  been  gathering  and  mouldering  for  several  genera- 
tions ;  the  cradle-place  of  his  being  ;  his  kindred  and 
neighbors  and  friends — the  like  of  which  no  man  can  ever 
hope  to  replace  in  the  latter  half  of  his  history  ;  his  home- 
stead, hallowed  by  the  dearest  associations  and  traditions ; 
and  the  fresh  tombs  of  his  faithful  and  pious  wife  and  lit- 


\(]  TMK    r-iFi:   OF 

tie  ones  :  all  these  i\>v  North  AiiHi-ica — the  \\  ildeniess  of 
the  New  World — tlie  Iiuliaii  Territorv  of  the  Province  of 
New  York.  ^^'ll^^  then,  was  tliis  Al)rahainie  Exodns'^ 
We  niav,  to  l)e  snre,  only  snrniise;  hut  in  this  way,  per- 
ha])s,  approximate  the  trne  eanses. 

Hiiroj)e  was  in  a  state  ol'  unrest.  Tiu^  l*aUitinate  had 
heen  nio<t  ernelly  visited  and  devastated  by  the  French, 
especially  ill  1  ^83  and  1693.  Religions  wars  bore  heav- 
ily on  that  once  fair  rei^ion.  Spanish  aggressions  were 
followed  by  pestilence  and  famine.  Finally  came  the  win- 
ter of  1709,  when  birds  perished  on  the  wing,  beasts  in 
their  lairs,  and  mortals  fell  dead  in  the  way. 

Why,  then,  continne  to  dwell  in  this  fated  place?  Had 
not  good  Queen  Anne,  of  England,  offered  a  free  passage 
to  America,  the  fabled  land  of  promise  ?  Had  not  Hol- 
landers, Swedes,  Swiss  ;  Lutherans,  Reformed,  Mennon- 
ites,  (Quakers,  all  these  opened  the  way  already  since 
1613?  Could  not  Penn  and  Pastorius,  and  others,  be 
trusted  ? 

A  migrating  epidemic  seized  upon  the  stricken  masses, 
and,  as  by  a  wave,  30,000  Germans  washed  along  the 
shores  of  England.  The  Israelites  were  not  more  astounded 
at  the  armored  carcasses  of  Egyptian  soldiers  lying  by  the 
banks  of  the  Red  Sea,  the  morning  after  their  deliver- 
eranee,  than  Avere  the  English  at  this  immense  slide  of 
humanity.  A  three-headed  demon  stared  the  realm  of 
Queen  Anne  in  the  face — poverty,  famine,  w^ar.  Alarm 
set  in.  Riots  ensued.  How  came  the  deliverance  ?  Five 
chiefs  of  the  Mohawk  Indians,  who  constituted  an  embas- 
sage to  the  British  government  for  the  purpose  of  asking 
aid  against  French  aggressions,  saw  and  pitied — yes,  pit- 
ied ! — this  perishing  mass  of  men,  women  and  children. 


COXRAD    WEISER.  17 

They  offered  to  open  their  hunting  grounds  Iving  hevond 
the  great  sea.  The  government,  only  too  happy  over  such 
a  prospective  riddance,  devised  ways  and  means  of  trans- 
portation, and  Robert  Hunter,  the  Provincial  Governor  ol" 
New  York,  led  4000  Palatinates  thitherward.  ''At  t\w 
head  of  this  colony,''  says  the  Schwcebische  Mcrkur  mid 
Kronihy  ''  stood  John  Conrad  AYeiser."  Xational  calam- 
ity drove  him  a  voluntary  exile  abroad.  Domestic  atilic- 
tion,  too,  had  but  two  months  earlier  embittered  his  cup. 
And  may  not,  at  certain  intervals,  along  the  line  of  his- 
tory, the  same  impulses  stir  the  bosoms  of  prophet-men  or 
pivot-men  as  moved  the  ancient  Chaldean  shepherd  to 
peril  his  all — not  knowing  whither  he  went. 

Let  us  listen  to  the  nearer  details  of  the  veritabh' 
uprooting  of  himself  and  his  homestead,  as  given  by  the 
son:  "In  1709  my  father  moved  away  from  Gross- 
Aspach,  on  the  24th  day  of  June,  and  took  eight  children 
with  him.  Mv  eldest  sister  remained  there  with  her  hus- 
band,  Conrad  Boss,  with  whom  she  had  two  children. 
My  father  sold  them  his  house,  fields,  meadows,  vineyard 
and  garden.  But  they  could  pay  only  75  guldens  ;  the 
remaining  600  guldens  were  to  be  paid  at  a  subse(pient 
period.  As  this  was  never  done,  it  was  made  a  present 
to  them."  A  man  at  that  period  and  in  that  country  own- 
ing a  homestead  with  adjoining  fields,  meadows,  vineyard 
and  garden  worth  675  guldens,  and  titled,  besides,  as  an 
Esquire  and  Corporal,  he  may  well  be  considered  to  have 
been  the  leading  spirit  of  the  colony. 

We  will  but  add  a  morsel  touching  their  voyage  :  "In 
about  two  months  we  reached  London,  in  Knghmd,  ahuig 
with  several  thousand  Germans,  whom  (^ueen  Anne,  of 
glorious  memory,  had  taken  in  charge  and  was  furnishin«^ 


1,S  THK    \.\VK    OF 

with  luoil."  From  the  ch^sc  of  August  until  near  the 
close  of  the  ycnr — four  months — they  hiy  over  the  Black- 
moor.  "Ahout  Christmas  day  mo  eniharkecl,  and  ten  ship 
loads  with  ahout  4000  souls  were  sent  to  America.'^  From 
a  later  notice  we  learn  that  this  was  a  full  six  months' 
vovage.  Considering  the  condition  of  this  living  freight, 
the  rude  construction  of  sailing  vessels  and  the  season  of 
the  year,  we  cannot  well  exaggerate  the  misery  and  suffer- 
ing of  our  Palatinate  forefathers.  And  yet  Conrad,  who 
having  l)een  but  thirteen  years  old  at  the  time,  did  not 
forget  to  magnify  the  kindness  of  Providence  through  a 
record  in  his  private  j(Uirnal  of  this  tenor  :  "  Give  thanks 
to  the  T.«ord,  for  His  mercy  endureth  forever.  Let  the 
redeemed  of  the  Lord  say  so,  Avhom  He  hath  redeemed? 
and  gathered  them  out  of  the  lands,  east  and  west,  north 
and  south.  They  wandered  in  a  solitary  way.  In  the 
wilderness  they  found  no  city  to  dwell  in.  Hungry  and 
thirsty,  their  souls  fainted  in  them.  Then  they  cried  unto 
the  Lord  in  their  trouble,  and  He  delivered  them  out  of 
their  distress  !'^ 

In  what  respect,  we  may  ask,  were  the  Puritans  in 
advance  of  the  Palatines?  Neither  in  suffering  nor  in 
patience  did  the  English  excel  the  German  pilgrims.  We 
hail  not  the  former  less,  but  the  latter  more. 


CONRAD    WEISER.  19 


CHAPTER   IV. 


COXRAD's    father   chief    of   the    colony    at    LIVING- 
STONE   MANOR. 


Queeu  Anne  had  directed,  with  the  acquiescence  of  the 
benevolent  ^Mohawk  Chiefs,  that  the  goodly  tract,  on  which 
Newberg  and  New  Windsor  subsequently  rose,  should  be 
granted  by  Letters  Patent  to  the  Palatines,  as  best 
adapted  for  the  founding  of  their  homes,  schools  and 
churches — the  triune  characteristic  of  our  forefathers' 
advent.  Robert  Hunter,  Governor  of  Xew  York,  and 
Robert  Livingstone,  a  wealthy  landlord  of  the  province, 
however,  knew  too  well  how  to  hold  the  emigrants  in  sus- 
pense and  delay  the  consummation  of  the  good  intention 
of  the  royal  heart,  until  those  grounds  should  fall  undt'r 
their  own  hands  and  control.  They  artfully  and  wickedly 
changed  the  course  and  destiny  of  the  unsuspecting  colony. 
Having  anchored  at  Xew  York  on  the  17th  day  of  June, 
1710,  the  conspirators  removed  the  Germans  to  Living- 
stone Manor  by  the  following  autumn,  with  the  malicious 
design  of  owning  and  possessing  living  property.  Hardly 
had  the  locating  been  effected,  ere  they  imposed  an  annual 
ground  rent  for  ten  acres  on  every  separate  family.  Then 
$33  were  exacted  j^c/*  capita  as  passage  moiu-y.  Accord- 
ing to  Franz  Loeher's  calculation  this  taxation  would  have 
netted  the  sum  of  S200,000  for  the  men-mongers.     Like 


20  Tin-:  \.\VK  OF 

tlu'  t;i>k.s  wliicli  the  IO«i:y})(i:ni  rule  r>  iiiijMKSi'd  upon  tlic 
Israclitrs,  we  ninv  rctrnnl  tlic  l)iiriiiiiLr  oll.-ir  nnd  the  ciil- 
tivatinii  of*  li('m|),  which  tlit'so  j^rccdy  men  exacted  i'vom 
the  (uTiiian  eohmy  at  Liviiiu::st(Hie  Mailer.  Let  u.s  hear 
Conrad's  own  words,  lest  we  niiu:hl  falsely  charge  :  ^' Here, 
in  Livinirstone  Manor,  or,  as  it  was  called  by  the  Gov- 
ernor,  Jjdbeusfrinfi  Manor,  we  were  to  hnrn  tar  and  cul- 
tivate hemp  to  defray  the  ex])enses  incurred  by  Queen 
Anne  in  briniriniz;  us  from  Holland  to  En<»;land,  and  from 
Kni::land  to  America.  We  were  directed  by  several  Com- 
missioners, viz.  :  John  Cast,  Henry  Meyer  and  Richard 
Leykott,  who  were  })ut  in  authority  over  us  by  Rol)ert 
Hunter,  Governor  of  New  York."  Who  can  refrain  from 
recurring  to  the  task-masters  in  Egypt  ?  Did  we  but 
have  access  to  their  names,  we  might  place  them  most 
a] )positely  aside  of  their  modern  successors.  Hunter  and 
Livingstone  were  cousin-germans  in  the  bargain  and  sale. 
The  grounds  were  to  have  been  a  free  gift,  and  their 
passage  was  to  have  been  a  free  passage  likewise.  It  was 
simply  an  outrage. 

For  a  little  while  the  colony  toiled  under  the  strange 
and  galling  yoke,  rather  than  provoke  the  ire  of  their 
Pharaohs,  in  whose  hands  they  found  themselves,  as  clay 
in  the  potter's.  But  fjuietly  a  rebellion  was  brewing,  and 
the  soul  of  that  rebellion  was  John  Conrad  Weiser,  their 
Esquire  and  Corporal.  To  him  had  already  been  accorded 
the  position  of  counsellor  and  leader  during  the  voyage 
hither,  and  he  now  naturally  led  the  movement  of  resist- 
ance, which  resulted  in  the  emancipation  of  the  colony  at 
Livingstone  Manor  in  1713. 

Quite  pathetic  is  his  sou's  record  in  reference  to  this 
deliverance :  "  Many  a  time  have  they  afflicted  me  from 


CONRAD    WEISER.  21 

my  youth^  may  Israel  now  say,  and  the  Germans  of  New 
York  ;  many  a  time  have  they  afflicted  me  from  my  youth, 
yet  they  have  not  prevailed  against  me." — "They  have 
ploughed  upon  my  back ;  they  made  long  furrows." 

^^  Except  the  Lord  build  the  house,  they  lalior  in  vain 
that  build  it."  Xo  pilgrim  ever  suifered  more  than  the 
Palatinate  pilgrims,  nor  with  less  blarney  ! 


22  THE    TJFE   OF 


CllAPTKJi   V. 


Conrad's   father  chief   of  the  coeony   at  Scho- 
harie. 


The  Palatines  confidently  believed  themselves  to  be 
in  near  ])r<)sj)ect  of  Schoharie  Valley,  the  territory  indi- 
cated and  donated  by  Qneen  Anne,  at  the  suggestion  and 
favor  of  the  ]\I(jliawk  Chiefs,  who  had  witnessed  their  sad 
condition  on  the  Blackmoors  near  London.  Their  sad 
discipline  at  Tiivingstone  Manor  dispelled  their  delusion. 
Then  it  was  that  they  remembered  the  friendly  Chiefs 
and  their  generous  offer,  with  good  Queen  Anne's  grant. 
Could  not  all  those  favors  be  revived  ?  Deputies  were 
sent  to  the  MohaAvks  during  the  spring-tide  of  1713. 
John  Conrad  Weiser  was  the  first  of  seven  deputies. 
AVithout  awaiting  the  issue,  the  majority  of  the  colony  left 
tiieir  village  homes  along  the  Hudson.  These  villages 
were  Palatinate,  the  Camp,  Germantown,  the  German 
Flats,  Tarbush,  Ancram  and  Kheinbeck.  Some  strayed 
aljout  in  isolation,  others  sojourning  at  Albany  and  Schen- 
ectady— all  awaiting  a  report  from  the  deputies.  In  No- 
vember the  consent  of  the  Indians  was  received.  The 
valley  was  opened  for  their  entrance  for  the  consideration 
of  §300.  About  one  hundred  and  fifty  families  were  con- 
sequently transferred  to  Schoharie,  about  forty  English 
miles  from  Albany,  in  the  spring  of  1714.  The  sacrifice 
and  toil  incident  to  their  second  settling  cannot  be  prop- 
erly realized,  even  after  reading  the  graj)hic  recital  of  the 
junior  Conrad,  which  we  here  insert :  "  In  the  spring  of 
1714  my  father  removed  from  Schenectady,  where  he  had 


CONRAD   WEISER.  23 

procured  winter  quarters  for  his  family  witli  a  man  of  tho 
first  rank  of  the  Maqua  Xation  (Meinterstcin),  with  aljout 
150  families  in  great  poverty.  One  borrowed  a  horst' 
here,  another  there  ;  also  a  cow  and  some  harness.  With 
these  things  they  joined  together,  until  being  suj)pli('d, 
though  poorly.  They  broke  ground  enough  to  plant  corn 
for  their  own  use  the  next  year.  But  this  year  our  hun- 
ger was  hardly  endurable.  Many  of  our  feasts  were  of 
wild  potatoes  (oehmanada)  and  ground  beans  (otagraquara), 
which  grew  in  abundance.  We  cut  mallow  and  picked 
juniper  berries.  If  we  were  in  need  of  meal,  we  were 
obliged  to  travel  from  thirty-five  to  forty  miles  and  beg  it 
on  trust.  One  bushel  was  gotten  here  and  one  more 
there,  sometimes  after  an  absence  from  one's  starving  fam- 
ily for  two  or  three  days.  With  sorrowful  hearts  and 
tearful  eyes  the  morsel  was  looked  for — and  often  did  not 
come  at  all.'' 

And  yet  here  an  embryonic  civilization  was  forming 
in  the  wilderness,  which  fruited  in  plenty  and  happiness. 
In  the  course  of  a  few  years  the  following  villages  sprang 
up  :  Gerlachsberg,  Smithberg,  Foxberg,  Weisersberg, 
Brunnerberg,  Hartmansberg  and  Upper  Weisersberg. 
The  names  of  the  deputies  were  severally  allotted  to  the 
settlements. 

Given  a  spot  of  ground,  with  poverty  and  hunger  to 
boot,  and  the  German  will  turn  the  desert  into  a  garden. 
This  is  characteristic  of  his  nature,  which  we  see  exhibited 
almost  daily. 

The  inner  life  of  the  settlement  is  shown  us  with  a 
tinge  of  sarcasm  in  these  words  :  "In  those  days  there 
was  no  king  in  Israel,  but  every  man  did  that  which  was 
right  in  his  own  eyes."  Such  a  fellow-feeling  renders 
men  wondrous  kind. 


24  Tin-:    IJFE    OF 


CHAPTER  VI. 


CONRAD     WEISER's     FATHER     THE     DEFENDER     OF    THE 
RIGHTS    AND     LIBERTIES    OF    HIS    COUNTRY- 
MEN   AT    SCHOHARIE. 


The  story  of  Naboth's  garden  is  a  sad  commentary  on 
the  covetousness  of  the  human  heart.  There  is  tliis 
redeeming  feature  about  the  conduct  of  Ahab  and  Jezebel, 
though,  that  they  offered  an  equivalent  in  money  or 
another  garden  in  exchange  for  it.  This  is  more  than  can 
be  said  for  Governor  Robert  Hunter  and  his  mercenary 
coadjutors — the  evil  genii  of  the  Germans.  They  per- 
mitted the  unsophisticated  and  unsuspecting  colony  to 
remain  in  peaceful  and  prosperous  possession  of  their 
newly  acquired  settlements,  until  their  dwellings  became 
homelike  and  attractive,  their  fields,  meadows  and  gardens 
fruitful.  Then,  as  the  hawk  pounces  upon  a  dove-cote, 
these  miserable,  but  powerful  parties  fell  upon  their  vic- 
tims. And  these  were  some  of  their  pretexts  :  The  Ger- 
mans' titles  were  defective  ;  they  had  no  proof  of  Queen 
Anne's  grant ;  they  had  not  flattered  Governor  Robert 
Hunter ;  the  Provincial  Governor  had  long  before  sold 
their  fruitful  valley  to  seven  landlords :  Robert  Living- 
stone, Meyndert  Schuyler,  John  Schuyler,  Peter  Van 
Brughen,  George  Clark,  the  Provincial  Secretary^  Doctor 
Steeds  and  Rip  Van  Dam.  Surely  these  Germans  must 
either  fly  or  buy. 


CX)NIIAD   WEISER.  25 

The  singular  and  suspicions  part  of  the  wliole  transac- 
tion is  that  these  are  just  seven  landlords,  one  for  every 
one  of  the  seven  settlements  !  In  the  hmgiiage  of  the 
record  "  a  great  uproar  arose  both  in  Schoharie  and  Al- 
bany upon  this  notice/'  In  vain  did  the  terrified  and 
perplexed  Germans  cry  out  against  the  injustice  of  sueh 
technicalities  and  fraud.  Of  what  avail  were  the  plead- 
ings of  the  Queen's  favor  or  the  Indians'  generosity  ?  Tlie 
ears  and  hearts  of  the  voracious  plunderers  were  deaf  and 
dumb. 

The  Palatines  determined  to  delegate  three  Connnis- 
sioners  to  London.  These  were  Weiser,  Schaff  and  Wal- 
rath. 

The  Governor  and  his  crew,  in  order  to  gain  time,  plot 
more  effectually,  and,  perhaps,  wholly  prevent  the  depar- 
ture of  the  delegates,  pretended  to  contemplate  a  favorable 
compromise.  But  suspicion  and  jealousy  had  now  filled 
the  minds  of  the  Germans,  and  would  not  suffer  them  to 
brook  delay.  They  secretly  departed  on  their  mission,  at 
the  expense  of  the  colony,  which  was  doubtless  a  burden 
for  them  to  bear. 

Already  in  Delaware  Bay  they  fell  into  the  clutches  of 
pirates.  Their  private  purses  were  delivered,  but  not  the 
trust  money  of  the  colony.  They  were  subjected  to  severe 
trials.  Weiser  was  bastinated  three  different  times,  in 
order  to  induce  him  to  disgorge.  But  he  was  too  firm  to 
yield.  Schaff  told  them  they  had  their  all,  after  which 
they  were  liberated  without  provision  or  suitable  clothiug. 
They  embarked  a  second  time  from  Boston,  after  liavinii: 
begged  or  bought  their  outfit,  and  arrived  in  London  poor, 
strange  and  helpless,  only  to  find  that  good  (^ueen  Anne 
had  died. 
3 


26  THE   LIFE   OF 

ITunlcr  Mild  ('(»in)):niy  liiid  likewise  despatched  tlieir 
agents  to  Knu^land,  who  knew  hut  too  well  liow  to  mis- 
rejH'csent  the  (lernians  as  rel)els,  as  a  jK'stiferous  set  and 
as  enemies  to  the  Crown.  The  German  delegates  were 
indieted  and  ini]insoned  for  debt.  Tliey  wrote  for  help, 
hnt  their  letters  were  int<?rce])ted.  Finally  the  report  of 
their  sad  lot  reached  the  ears  of  their  people  at  Schoharie, 
and  money,  gotten  with  sweat  and  toil,  was  forwarded — 
£70  for  redemj)tion.  The  affairs  Ccane  before  the  "  Lord's 
Commissioners  of  Trade  and  Plantations,''  too,  and  Gov- 
ernor Hunter  was  recalled.  Walrath  grew  tired  and 
embarked  for  home,  but  died  at  sea. 

Nothing  daunted,  the  remaining  two  petitioned  anew, 
and  succeeded  at  last  in  having  an  order  issued  to  the 
newly  commissioned  Governor,  William  Burnet,  to  grant 
"  vacant  lands  to  all  the  Germans  who  had  been  sent  to 
New  York  by  the  deceased  Queen  Anne." 

In  1721  Schaff  and  Weiser  had  a  quarrel.  The  former 
would  no  longer  submit  to  Weiser's  dictation,  and  returned. 
His  son,  Conrad,  says :  "/S^e  hatten  beide  hai^te  Koepfe.^^ 
Six  months  after  his  return  Schaff  died. 

John  Conrad  Weiser  returned  in  1723,  after  an  absence 
of  four  years  of  suffering  and  sacrifice  in  the  interest  of 
the  colony. 

The  new  Governor  felt  like  conciliatino^  the  disaffected 
parties,  but  they  w^ere  nevertheless  obliged  to  see  their 
best  acres  abandoned  or  retained  at  enormous  prices. 
Some  made  a  virtue  out  of  necessity  and  fell  in  with  the 
new  order,  even  at  the  expense  of  their  manhood.  Others 
would  rather  scatter  here  and  there  over  the  province. 
But  Weiser  could  not  trust  any  longer.  Whilst  his  son 
was  coming  forward  and  assumed  a  conspicuous  part,  the 


COXRAD   WEISER.  27 

elder  could  not  fit  himself  into  the  existing  circumstances. 
He  quietly  planned  another  exodus,  whicli,  th(>ugh  resuh- 
ing  in  a  failure  for  himself,  as  all  his  projects  had  jjmvcn 
since  he  left  Gross-Aspach,  was  a  happy  enterprise  i'ov  his 
son  in  the  end. 


28  THE    LIFE   OF 


CHAPTER  yii. 


Conrad's  fatiieu  j.eads  a  colony  to  tulpehocken, 
pennsylvania.      his   return    and   wan- 
dering,    iils  vlsit  to  tulpe- 
hocken.    his  death. 


About  this  time,  1723,  His  Excellency,  William  Keith, 
Ilaronet  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  had  been  staying  in 
Albanv.  liearins:  of  the  unrest  of  the  Germans  in  that 
province  and  anxious  to  draw  them  into  his  own,  he  lost 
no  time  to  inform  them  of  the  freedom  and  justice  that 
were  accorded  to  their  countrymen  in  Pennsylvania.  It 
is  even  intimated  that  Governor  Keith  secretly  meditated 
the  founding  of  an  independent  state. 

The  manuscript  record  of  the  younger  Conrad  Weiser 
relates  the  following  :  ^'  The  people  got  news  of  the  land 
on  the  Swatara  and  Tulpehocken,  in  Pennsylvania.'^ 
Many  of  them  united  and  cut  a  road  from  Schoharie  to 
the  Sus({uehanna  river,  carried  their  goods  there  and  made 
canals,  and  floated  down  the  river  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Swatara,  driving  their  cattle  over  land.  This  happened 
in  the  spring  of  the  year  1723.  From  thence  they  came 
to  Tulpehocken,  and  this  was  the  origin  of  the  settle- 
ment.'^  A  colony  of  some  sixty  families  located  princi- 
pally in  Heidelberg  township.  In  the  Schivcebische  Kronik, 
March  8,  1868,  it  is  asserted,  on  the  authority  of  Fr. 
Kapp's  "  History  of  German  Emigration  to  America,'^  that 


CONRAD    WEISER.  'ii) 

John  Conrad  Weiser  piloted  this  small  colony  to  Tulju'- 
hocken,  and  that  after  a  still  further  activity,  during 
twenty  more  years,  he  died  among  his  children  and  gnmd- 
children  in  1746.  It  seems  that  the  opening  and  closing 
items  of  the  relation  are  correct,  whilst  the  important 
omission  that  he  did  not  remain  at  Tulpehocken,  leaves  us 
under  a  wholly  wrong  impression.  It  has  ever  been  a 
saying,  on  what  authority  we  know  not,  that  it  had  been 
his  intention  to  commence  the  world  anew  on  this  theater. 
He  came  with  the  colony  as  a  leader  and  pioneer,  it  was 
said.  But  the  crowd  proved  too  anarchical  for  him.  Con- 
rad wrote  in  1745,  whether  with  special  or  exclusive  refer- 
ence to  this  occasion  we  know  not  :  '^Es  war  Niemand 
unter  dem  Volk,  der  es  regieren  Jconnte.  Ein  Jeder  thd^ 
teas  er  wollte,  und  ihr  starker  Eigensinn  hat  ihnen  bis  aiif 
diese  Stunde  im  Wege  gestanden.^'  His  older  children 
being  married  and  settled  in  New  York,  it  may  be  that 
he  returned  to  his  former  territorv  after  a  little  while.  Be 
this  as  it  may,  we  know  that  he  did  not  remain  here. 

"Der  Hallische  Nachrichter^'  contains  this  item  from 
the  pen  of  the  Patriarch  Pastor  INIuhlenberg  :  "  In  the 
year  1746  came  my  wife's  grandfather  to  my  house  ;  he 
had  resided  in  New  York  since  1710,  and  lately  on  the 
borders  of  New  England.  He  had  left  that  country  on 
account  of  the  dangers  which  he  apprehended  from  the 
French  and  Indians  who  had  lately  nuirdered  several  Ger- 
man families.  Moreover,  he  was  also  anxious  to  see  his 
children  and  grandchildren,  to  converse  with  them  on  tlie 
subject  of  religion  and  to  spend  his  last  days  unmolestedly 
among  his  kindred  in  Pennsylvania.  He  was  very  infirm 
and  frail  when  he  came,  and  was  confined  in  bed  for  some 
time  after  his  arrival.     After  he  had  been  somewhat  cun- 


30  THE    l-IT  E   OF 

valoscciit,  liis  son,  Connid,  my  fatlicr-iii-lnw,  who  resided 
at  1 1  ei<l  (11  )('!'<:;,  fifty  miles  ofV,  seni  a  wji^oii  with  suitable 
l)e(l(liii(r  for  them.  lie  reaclKMl  Hcidclhcru  with  miieh 
dithciilty  :  lived  hut  n  >hort  time  afterwards  with  his  sou, 
and  fell  asleep  in  (Icath  in  the  presenee  of  his  weeping 
children  and  grandchildren." — (/\npp\^  translation,)  His 
age  is  estimated  at  86  years. 

Thus  ends  tlie  long,  active  life  of  John  Conrad  Weiser, 
Senior.  After  an  almost  unl)roken  pilgrimage  of  thirty- 
six  years  in  the  New  AYorld,  he  dies  helpless  and  poor  in  the 
house  of  his  son.  One  could  wish  him  to  have  had  greater 
success  for  his  many  and  heavy  sacrifices.  A  sterling, 
good  man  he  showed  himself  to  be.  And,  alas  !  so  little 
fruit  to  enjoy.  Was  it  the  mistake  of  his  lifetime  to  leave 
his  country  and  kindred,  at  his  age,  and  in  his  widowed 
state,  wdth  his  large  family  of  motherless  children  ?  Or, 
was  he  to  be  a  forerunner  to  his  son,  who  should  thus  have 
an  open  field  to  labor  prepared  for  him  ?  Or,  again,  did 
he  but  fly  from  evils  wdiich  he  knew,  to  lesser  ones  he 
knew  not  of? 

His  son  finds  the  key  to  all  his  misfortunes  in  his  ill- 
fated  second  marriage,  as  we  shall  presently  see. 

His  remains  are  presumed  to  lie  entombed  in  the  grave- 
yard adjoining  the  Tulpehocken  church.  The  tomb,  it 
seems,  is  no  longer  to  be  distinguished  among  the  many 
in  that  locality.  The  Rev.  Dr.  C.  H.  Leinbach  and  son, 
and  Louis  A.  \yollenweber,  Esq.,  of  Womelsdorf,  have 
searched  for  it  in  vain,  doubtless  because  a  stone  is  want- 
ing or  its  inscription  proves  no  longer  legible. 


CONRAD   WEISER.  31 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


JOHN    COXEAD    T^^EISER,    JUNIOR.      HIS    NAME — BIRTH- 
PLACE— BAPTISM. 


It  will  doubtless  create  a  surprise,  bordering  close  on  a 
protest,  indeed,  to  be  told  at  this  late  day  that  the  pre- 
uomen,  John,  attaches  properly  to  the  historical  Conrad 
Weiser — thus  rendering  him  a  full  namesake  of  his  father, 
John  Conrad  Weiser.  Because  he  opens  his  autobiogra- 
phy in  this  wise  :  "  I,  Conrad  Weiser,  was  born,  etc.^' ; 
and  as  he  never,  on  any  occasion,  among  the  many  that 
called  forth  his  signature,  records  his  name  more  largely, 
the  public  naturally  took  and  tenaciously  held  to  plain 
Conrad  Weiser.  Whether  it  was  merely  conventional,  or 
in  order  to  distinguish  father  and  son,  without  dragging 
on  the  lubberly  affix,  ^'' Junior ^^  we  will  not  decide.  But 
all  discussion  is  cut  short,  and  all  doubt  must  vanish 
before  the  face  of  the  Baptismal  Record,  ^vhich  Pastor 
Eisenhart  deciphered  and  forwarded.  That  reads  :  '^  John 
Conrad.'^  The  date  and  place  of  birth  are,  however,  not 
noted  with  the  entry  of  his  name.  This  want  Conrad  su^)- 
plies  in  his  autobiography.  He  tells  us  that  he  was  born 
at  Afstaedt,  which  is  a  small  village  in  Herrenberg,  a 
county  contiguous  to  that  of  Backnang,  Wurtemberg,  '■'  on 
the  2d  day  of  November,  A.  D.  KiOG.^'  He  is  careful, 
too,  to  note  that  he  ^^  was'^  baptized  in  the  church  in  Kue|>- 
pingen,  on  the  12th  day  of  the  same  month  and  year. 
Kueppingen  was  the   nearest   church  town   to  Afstaedt. 


82  THE    IJFE   OF 

T^istor  Kiscnliart  l>:ul  llic  fi^oodnoss  to  address  a  letter  of 
in(|uirv  to  the  l^irtor  at  Kn('j)i)in<z;en,  and  received  the  fol- 
lowing rej)ly  :* 

"RovAL  Parsonagp:,  Kueppfngen. 

**  In  tlie  liaptismal  Record  of  tins  place,  which  also 
contains  the  hirth  notices  of  Afstaedt,  the  name  of  Weiser 
is  not  to  be  discovered,  whether  ten  years  previous  or  ten 
years  subsecpient  to  1696.  From  yonr  remarks  I  think 
tliis  rcmarkal)le,  indeed.  With  sincere  regrets  for  not 
being  able  to  serve  you,  and  recij)rocating  most  heartily 
your  kind  regards,  I  remain,  very  truly, 

"  KuEPPiNCiEN,  Feb.  15,  1871.         Pastor  Eckstein." 

*  The  following  letter  Pastor  Eisenhart  had  addressed  to  Pastor  Eckstein  : 

"A  clergyman  in  America,  Pastor  Weiser,  who  is  a  descendant  of  an  old 
family  of  Gross-Aspach,  some  members  of  which  emigrated  to  America  in 
1709,  has  respectfully  asked  me  to  furnish  him  with  the  records  of  his  lineage 
as  far  back  as  it  is  possible  to  cull  them  from  the  church  books,  since  he  is 
minded  to  frame  a  Genealogical  Tree,  and  to  arrange  the  chain  of  his  ances- 
tors. I  find,  however,  that  one  of  the  chief  characters  in  line  had  resided  in 
Afstaedt,  viz  :  John  Conrad  Weiser,  who  is  styled  a  Baker  and  Corporal ;  and 
his  son,  who  is  of  the  same  name,  and  played  a  prominent  part  in  America, 
it  seems,  was  born  there.  And  besides  him,  some  of  his  brothers  and  sisters 
must  have  been  born  in  Afstaedt,  namely  :  Maria  Catherine,  Anna  Margaret, 
Anna  Magdelena,  Maria  Sabina— the  fifth  child  would  then  be  John  Conrad. 
All  the^e  were  born  prior  to  1699.  During  this  year  the  family  seems  to  have 
taken  up  its  residence  in  this  place  again.  I  ask,  accordingly,  in  case  the 
church  books  extend  back  so  far,  to  inform  me  of  the  dates  of  the  births  of  the 
said  children,  and  also  of  the  title  the  father  bears  ou  the  Baptismal  Record. 
In  the  enclosed  paper,  in  which  the  *  fata'  of  the  Weiser  family  in  America 
are  mentioned,  he  is  denominated  a  Chief  Magistrate,  though  he  is  on  the 
Record  before  me  merely  designated  a  Baker  and  Corporal.  Had  he  perhaps 
been  appointed  to  this  higher  position  in  Afstaedt? 

"  Whilst  I,  in  advance,  return  my  thanks  for  the  desired  contributions, 
and  for  the  return  of  the  enclosed  slip,  I  embrace  the  opportunity,  at  the  S'ime 
time,  of  sending  the  warmest  greetings  of  the  inmates  of  the  parsonage  in 
Gross-Aspach,  to  the  honored  dwellers  in  the  parsonage  at  Kueppingen,  and 
on  the  score  of  old  friendship,  subscribe  myself  very  respectfully, 

"  Your  most  obedient, 

"Gross-Aspach,  Feb.  10,  1871.  PASTOR  EISENHART." 


CONRAD    WEISER.  33 

Eisenhart  says,  in  his  letter :  "I  was  especially  anx- 
ious to  know  whether  John  Conrad  \Yeiser,  the  elder,  had 
not  been  a  Chief  Magistrate  in  Afstaedt,  since  he  is  so 
styled  in  the  Schwa  eh  ische  Kronik  und  Jferkur,  which  I 
likewise  enclose ;  though  he  is  merely  denoniinatc<l  a 
baker  by  trade,  and  a  Corporol  of  the  Blue  Dragon,  in  the 
Records  before  me.'' 

But  whether  we  can  account  for  the  silence  of  the 
Record  at  Kueppingen  or  not,  Conrad  tells  us  all  we  need 
know  in  the  words  :  "  My  father  so  informed  me."  This 
is,  we  may  safely  say,  all  the  authority  that  most  men 
have  for  believing  that  they  were  born  and  baptized  in 
some  certain  place.  His  name  appears  on  the  Baptismal 
Record  in  Gross-Aspach  as  that  of  the  fifth  child  born  t<  > 
John  Conrad  and  Anna  Magdalena  Weiser,  without  date 
or  place,  as  before  mentioned.  Eisenhart  surmises  the 
five  eldest  children  to  have  been  born  at  Afstaedt  during 
the  father's  temporary  residence  there.  An  intelligent 
German  informs  us  that  government  officials  are  accus- 
tomed to  enter  items  of  domestic  historv  in  the  church 
books  of  their  ^^  Yater  Stadt,"  no  matter  in  what  locality 
they  may  have  transpired.  It  is  fair  to  surmise,  then, 
that  the  elder  Conrad  Weiser  removed  from  Gross-Aspach, 
in  Backnang,  to  Afstaedt,  in  the  adjoining  county  of  Her- 
renberg,  discharging  there  the  duties  of  his  office  until 
1699,  in  which  year  we  find  him  back  again  in  Gross- 
Aspach,  and  the  birth  of  his  sixth  child  entered  as  ot^cur- 
ring  there. 

The  pietistic  and  biblical  complexion  of  the  man  reveals 
itself  throughout  his  ^Manuscript  Journal,  in  the  Scriptural 
selections  which  he  appends  to  every  paragraph.  lb' 
crowns  the  entry  of  his  nativity   with  such  passages,  to 


34  THE    T,irE    OF 

wit  :  "  I  will  pPMi^c  'Plicc,  for  I  niii  rcarrully  and  wouder- 
fiillv  inixdv.  Marvelous  arc  Thy  works;  and  that  my 
sonl  knowcth  ri<dit  well.  iMv  substance  was  not  hid  from 
'riirc,  when  I  was  niailc  in  secret,  and  curiously  wrought 
in  the  lowest  ])arts  of  the  earth.  Thine  eyes  did  see  my 
substance  yet  being  iini)ertcct,  and  in  'J'hy  book  all  my 
members  were  written,  wdiich  in  continuance  were  fash- 
ioned when  as  yet  there  was  none  of  them.  How  precious 
also  are  Thy  tlionglits  unto  me.  O  God,  how  great  is  the 
sum  of  them." 


CONRAD    WEISER.  35 


CHAPTER   IX. 


Conrad's  arrival  in  America,     his  stay  with  the 

maqua  indians. 


Conrad  was  nearing  the  close  of  his  fourteenth  year, 
when  his  father,  a  widower  Avith  eight  chikh-en,  landed  at 
New  York — three  sisters  being  older,  and  three  brothers 
and  one  sister  younger  than  himself.  About  the  close  of 
November,  1713,  a  Chief  of  the  Maqua  Nation* — wlioni 
his  father  learned  to  know  favorably,  during  his  visit  t(j 
Albany,  on  his  mission  of  negotiation  for  Schoharie  Val- 
ley— made  a  friendly  stay  in  the  family.  This  Chief  was 
called  Quagnant  or  Guinant.  Manifesting  a  fondness  for 
the  lad,  he  besought  the  father's  consent  to  take  him  to 
his  own  people.  The  elder  Conrad,  knowing  the  Chief  as 
trustworthy,  and  the  younger  Conrad  feeling  no  longer 
any  home  attraction,  in  consequence  of  his  step-mother's 
entrance  into  the  household,  the  strange  recjuest  of  C Quag- 
nant was  acquiesced  in. 

Here  we  must,  as  we  also  happily  may,  allow  liini  to 
tell  his  own  experience:  "I  went  accordingly,  on  my 
father's  request.  I  endured  a  great  deal  of  cold  in  my 
situation,  and  by  spring  my  hunger  surpassed  the  coKl  l)y 
much,  although  I  had  but  poor  clothing.  On  account  of 
the  scarcity  of  provision  amongst  the  IniHans,  corn  was 
then  sold  for  five  and  six  shillings  a  busheL     Tlie  hwHans 


*  The  Maquas  were  the  Six  Nations. 


^{]  Tuv:  ^^VK  of 

wnv  oftentimes  s<»  iiiloxieiited,  tli;it  lor  (ear  of'lteinjj:  ninr- 
(lend   I  -(MM'eteil  mvself  ninoiiLT  tli(»  Imshes." 

It  ]u\\>\  not  !)('  overlnoked  tliat  Conrad  liad  liy  this 
time  entere<l  n]M>n  his  soventoentli  yeai'.  His  stay  eontiii- 
ned  diiriiiir  eii:;l>t  months,  in  which  period  the  foundation 
to  his  future  liistory  and  ciliciency  was  well  laid.  Ilun- 
<Tor,  thirst,  eold,  lyiuLT  in  ambushes,  entering  on  foot  races 
and  chases — courses  in  such  exercises  developed  lungs, 
])one  and  muscle,  without  a  bountiful  sup])ly  of  which  the 
necessary  endurance  for  his  subsequent  marches  over  trail- 
ing paths  for  miles  and  miles  would  never  have  come  to 
him.  Conrad  Wciser  had  a  call  to  a  mission,  and  this 
Indian  experience  was  the  "  college"  in  which  his  qualifi- 
cations were  developed. 

Beside,  Conrad  AVeiser  during  his  eight  months'  tui- 
tion under  Quagnant  rendered  himself  familiar  with  In- 
dian life — their  manners,  ways  and  habits  ;  their  instincts, 
likes  and  dislikes  ;  their  language — all  of  which  consti- 
tuted a  higher  order  of  education  for  his  future  work. 
This  was  civil-service-reform,  however  it7icivilized.  We 
question  whether  the  United  States  government,  or  any 
of  our  state  governments,  has  ever  had  an  official  or  pub- 
lic functionary  wdio  was  better  qualified  for  his  post  than 
Conrad  Weiser  proved.  Perhaps  when  the  world  mend- 
ers and  government  tinkers  are  all  dead,  statesmen  will 
take  a  step  backward,  in  order  to  get  on  in  all  matters 
pertaining  to  our  Indian  affairs. 

Conrad  Weiser  proved  an  apt  pupil  under  Chief  Quag- 
nant. Hear  him  tell  :  "  During  the  latter  end  of  July  I 
returned  again  to  my  father's,  from  my  Indian  home.  I 
had  acquired  a  tolerable  beginning,  and,  in  flxct,  under- 
stood the  greater  part  of  the  Maqua  tongue.'' 


COXRAD    "WETSER.  37 

He  had  at  once  occasion  to  apply  liis  knowle(l«<;c  in 
this  direction  under  tlie  homestead  roof:  "About  one  Knir- 
lish  mile  from  my  father's  dwelling  (at  Schoharie)  reside<l 
a  few  families  of  the  Maqua  tribe  ;  and  oftentimes  a  num- 
ber of  that  Xation  passed  to  and  fro  on  their  hunting 
expeditions.  It  frequently  happened  that  disputes  arose 
between  the  high-mettled  Germans  and  members  of  this 
tawny  Nation.  On  such  occasions  I  was  immediately  sent 
for,  to  interpret  for  both  parties.  I  had  a  good  deal  of 
business,  but  no  pay.  Xone  of  my  people  understo<Kl 
their  language,  excepting  myself,  and  by  much  exertion  I 
became  perfect,  considering  my  age  and  circumstances." 

How  rapidly  did  not  this  singular  episode  in  the  young 
man's  life  unfold  its  meaning  I  Providence  indicated  the 
open  door.  The  Chief  is  an  unconscious  instrument  in  the 
employ  of  the  higher  motor.  The  farseeing  and  thought- 
ful father  discerned  and  intelligently  interpreted  the  fact. 
The  vouth  voluntarily  lends  himself  to  this  combination 
of  circumstances.  In  eight  short  months  Conrad  ^^'eiser 
is  prepared  to  serve  as  benefactor  to  two  races  for  a  period 
of  nearly  fifty  years — in  a  manner  as  Joseph  served  both 
the  Israelites  and  the  Egyptians.  Do  we  not  lose  the 
emphasis  and  force,  in  a  large  measure,  of  Scriptural  nar- 
rative by  isolating  those  sacred  incidents  and  contining 
God's  remarkable  interventions  to  a  flir  remote  peri<Kl  ? 
Those  holy  relations  are  not  written  for  after  ages,  because 
nothing  similar  had  occurred  before,  perhaps,  or  will  there- 
after, but  rather  since  they  have  a  prophetic  bearing  upon 
the  Redeemer  of  the  world,  in  whose  interest  only  "  Holy 
Writ"  has  a  concern.  "  I  am  th(>  T.ord,  I  change  not." 
It  is  in  this  way  that  we  may  inter[)ret    many    profane 


38  THE  LIFE  or 

oocnrrcnros  wltliout  IxToiniiiLj:  wicked.  A  pruround  stu- 
(k'ut  nt'tlic  r)il)l('  is,  ]>('rlin])s,  Ix'st  (|ii:ilifi('(l  to  ])econio  a 
historian.  Is  not  Holy  Writ  ;i  pliotugra])li  of  history? 
Historv  (Iocs  r(^])ont  itself,  l)ut  not  so  as  to  be  a  mere  tau- 
tology. 


CONEAD  WELSER.  39 


CHAPTER   X. 


CONRAD   WEISER   AXD    HIS   STEP-MOTHER. 


\Yhen  Conrad  had  attained  to  his  fifteenth  }-ear,  his 
step-mother  entered  the  household,  in  1711.  We  cannot 
tell  her  name.  She  was  a  German  emigrant,  and  of  the 
province  of  Xew  York.  We  judge  her  to  have  been  lier 
husband's  junior  by  much,  since  she  survived  him  by 
many  years.  Her  step-son  does  not  speak  kindly  of  her. 
We  will  let  the  reader  judge  from  what  has  been  already 
noted. 

After  his  return  from  the  Maqua  tribe,  a  spell  of  sick- 
ness came  over  him  in  consequence,  doubtless,  of  his 
change  of  living.  This  he  relates,  but  not  without  reflect- 
ing severely  on  his  father's  second  wife.  "Alxnit  this 
time  I  became  very  sick,  and  expected  to  die  ;  and  was 
willing  to  die,  for  my  step-mother  was  indeed  a  step- 
mother to  me.  By  her  influence  my  father  treated  me 
veiy  harshly.  I  had  no  friend,  and  had  to  bear  hunger 
and  cold.  I  had  frequently,  during  my  sickness,  made 
my  determination  to  desert  from  my  father,  after  my 
recovery,  but  the  bit  of  the  bridle  had  been  hiid  so  tight 
to  my  mouth  that  I  gave  up  this  resolution.  I  was  tied 
with  a  cord  to  prevent  me  from  running  away.  I  was 
severely  chastised  by  my  father,  and  finally  took  another 
resolution."  This  time,  it  seems,  he  executed  his  design, 
since  we  find  him  no  later  under  his   father's  roof.     We 


40  THE    MFE   OF 

arc  sorrv  that  (  onrad  W'eiscr  Irft  tliis  portion  of  his 
inanuscript  record  to  remain.  Thcic  i.s  no  excuse  forliiiii, 
aftor  liis  experience  with  the  Maqua  Indians,  and  near  his 
t\vcnti(>t]i  year,  to  thus  reflect  on  his  father's  wife,  and, 
throuirij  her,  on  liis  father,  wlio  certainly  Iiad  proven  him- 
self a  very  worthy  man. 

The  benevolence  of  biographers  is  infinite,  it  is  said. 
This  must  be  taken  as  a  hyperbole,  in  the  present  instance. 
AVe  do  not  feel  like  suffering  his  harsh  words  to  pass 
unrebuked.  It  appears  that  every  step-child  feels  itself 
fully  licensed  to  berate  its  step-mother.  By  what  style  of 
exegesis  a  step-mother  is  excluded  from  the  embrace  of 
the  first  command  with  promise,  we  know  not.  Certain  it 
is  that  step-mothers  bear  a  very  different  reputation  from 
that  borne  by  step-fathers,  or  any  parental  characters  of 
whatever  sort.  They,  alas  !  constitute  a  race  of  women 
who  have  ^^  no  rights  which  we  are  bound  to  respecf 
From  Conrad  Weiser's  unwise  entry  one  feels  like  squat- 
ting them  lower  than  the  Maquas.  And  that  a  man,  who 
proved  himself  so  prudent  and  wise  during  a  long  and 
trying  life,  should  have  contributed  anything  towards 
strengthening  this  foolish  and  harmful  prejudice,  is  to  be 
regretted.  We  might  excuse  him  for  his  imprudence  on 
the  score  of  youthfulness,  had  he  but  in  maturer  years 
recorded  an  explanatory  clause.  But  even  his  son  records 
her  demise  (1781)  without  erasing  his  cruel  Avords. 

The  proverb  runs  :  "A  step-mother  makes  a  step- 
father.'' Perhaps,  by  extending  our  vision  a  little  fur- 
ther back,  we  might  learn  that  it  is  the  father  that  is  the 
occasion  and  cause  of  the  step-mother,  since  he  enjoys  the 
prerogative  of  conducting  her  into  the  family.  And  once 
there,  that  father  is  as  much  bound  to  "  protect''  his  sec- 


CONRAD   WELSER.  41 

oncl  wife,  or  step-mother,  even  though  it  be  again.st  hi.s  own 
natural  children,  as  he  is  required  to  shield  her  against 
any  one's  assaults.  Whilst  we  would  certainly  exjK'ct 
such  a  father  to  consider  duly  his  surroundings  and  rela- 
tions,  ere  he  leads  any  "  strange  woman"  to  his  hearth 
and  heart,  yet,  when  the  measured  step  has  been  taken, 
we  will  honor  him  all  the  more  for  asserting,  in  spirit  and 
conduct,  that  he  does  not  intend  the  spyder-and-fiy  phi- 
losophy to  animate  the  life  of  his  home. 

We  have  a  suspicion,  from  the  manner  in  which  Con- 
rad entangles  his  father,  that  the  elder  Conrad  \Veiser 
intended  to  be  master  in  his  own  house.  It  may  be  taken 
for  granted,  judging  from  his  heroic  conduct  at  Living- 
stone Manor  and  Schoharie,  that  he  was  fully  able  to  con- 
duct  his  family  matters  after  an  average  rule  of  right. 
The  younger  Conrad,  it  may  likewise  be  supposed,  had 
become  wilful,  as  it  were,  and  free  without  becoming  of 
age,  and  thus  rendered  the  discipline  of  his  father  some- 
what severe.  The  elder  Weiser  had  come  from  a  country 
in  which  the  parents  governed  the  children.  Here  is  a 
picture  of  our  Puritan  ancestors,  which  applies  e(pially 
well  to  our  Palatinate  forefathers  : 

"  They  were  too  stern,  we  acknowledge,  and  rigid  ; 
they  knew  little  or  nothing  of  the  gentleness  and  sweet- 
ness of  the  gospel ;  but  they  maintained  family  govern- 
ment, and  trained  up  their  children  to  honor  and  obey 
their  parents,  to  be  honest  and  upright.  Their  sons  grew 
up  with  strong  and  manly  characters,  patterned  ai'ter  their 
fathers,  and  tilled  worthily  their  places,  when  they  were 
gone,  in  the  family,  in  society,  in  the  church,  and  in  the 
state.  There  is  no  use  in  denying  it,  private  and  public 
virtue  was  the  rule  ;  men  and  women,  With  rarely  an 
4 


42  THE  LIFE   OF 

exception,  were  loyal  to  their  trusts,  and  could  be   relied 
on/' 

Such  a  man  and  lather  we  believe  the  elder  Wciser  to 
Jiave  been.  And  as  Conrad  was  reared  by  him,  and 
proved  a  true  man,  he  is  his  own  best  refutation. 

We  know  of  step-mothers  who  excelled  many  natural 
mothers.  ]\Iany  of  the  former  class,  too,  dare  not  venture 
half  way  up  to  the  privileges  and  duties  of  their  station, 
lest  they  be  tabood  by  the  children  of  their  husbands,  who 
are  instigated  and  encouraged  thereto  by  meddlesome 
neighbors  and  a  vitiated  public  conscience.  We  are  ready 
to  affirm  that  many  noble-hearted  women  have  entered 
family  groups  of  motherless  children  with  the  lofty  motive 
and  holy  determination  to  be  mothers  indeed,  who  were, 
however,  confronted  by  so  fierce  a  prejudice  against  them- 
selves, both  within  and  without  the  homes,  as  to  break 
down  and  die  broken-hearted — and  solely  because  they 
occupied  the  position  in  question.  Either  the  practice  of 
choosing  step-mothers  should  cease  on  the  part  of  wifeless 
fathers,  or  the  said  fathers  should  resolve  to  prove  some- 
w^hat  more  valiant  knights  to  the  women  who  enter  their 
castles  at  their  own  urgent  entreaties.  Then,  it  may  be, 
the  position  of  step-mother  will  no  longer  fall  under  par, 
because  the  character,  conduct  and  spirit  of  steio-children 
will  stand  at  a  higher  premium. 


CONRAD   REISER.  43 


CHAPTER   XT. 


CONRAD   WEISER's    BROTHERS    AND    SISTERS.      HIS    OCCU- 
PATION.      HIS    MARRIAGE.       HIS    DEPART- 
URE  FOR   PENNSYLVANIA. 


The  motherless  children  of  the  elder  Conrad  Weiscr 
had  been  separated  and  scattered  over  the  province  of  New- 
York  already  from  the  day  of  his  second  marriage,  as  the 
younger  Conrad  states.  .Having  informed  us  that  his  eld- 
est sister^  Mrs.  Boss,  remained  in  the  homestead  in  (iross- 
Aspach,  he  relates  further  that  two  of  his  brothers,  George 
Frederick  and  Christopher  Frederick,  "  were  bound  out, 
in  1711,  by  the  Governor  of  Xew  York,  with  the  consent 
of  my  father,  to  a  gentleman  on  Long  Ishuid."  He  speaks 
of  another  thus  :  "  My  youngest  brother,  John  Frederick, 
died  in  about  the  sixth  year  of  his  life,  during  the  month 
of  December  of  tlie  same  year  (1711),  and  was  buried  at 
Livingstone  Manor,  '  in  the  country ^^  as  the  j)eopk'  caUed 
it.  His  tomb  was  the  first  by  the  spot  where  the  Re- 
formed church  now  stands.''  X  sister  became  the  wife  of 
a  Mr.  Picket,  Avhose  son,  John,  Conrad  subsequently  rec- 
ommended, in  1750,  to  the  ^lahawks,  ''as  well  suited  to 
learn  their  language,  ,.nd  serve  them  after  1  should  grow 
too  old." 

Conrad  left  his  father's  house  during  17b'i-14  for  an 
Indian  town,  about  eight  miles  south  of  Schoharie.  Here 
he  resided  until  he  left   for  Pennsvlvania,  in   17*J1>.     n<' 


44  THE   LIFE   OF 

was  omplovcd,  like  llic  vast  niajoritv  of  liis  CJornian  fcl- 
lows,  in  ao^ricultiiiT  under  its  rudest  form.  W'itli  only  a 
limited  education,  hut  of  an  energetic  and  brave  spirit,  he 
filled  tiie  position  of  a  school-master,  and  thus,  in  the 
course  of  fifteen  years,  secured  to  himself  a  solid  and  use- 
ful self-culture,  whilst  he  was  teaching  rudiments  to  his 
wards.  Conrad  AVeiser  was  eminently  a  self-made  man, 
so  far  as  this  is  possible  for  one. 

Here,  too,  Conrad  Weiser  opened  his  own  family  his- 
tory. Of  this  event  he  speaks  plainly  :  ^^  In  1720,  while 
my  father  was  in  England,  I  married  my  Anna  Eve  ;  and 
was  given  in  marriage  by  Rev.  John  Frederick  Hrcger, 
Reformed  clergyman,  on  the  22d  of  November,  in  my 
father's  house,  at  Schoharie.^'*  The  maiden  name  of  his 
wife  we  have  never  found  mentioned  ;  nor  has  any  one 
else,  so  far  as  we  could  learn.  Were  we  open  to  gossip, 
we  might  give  full  heed  to  the  current  and  somewhat 
romantic  tradition  that  Conrad  Weiser  had  married  a 
Mohawk  Indian  maiden.  The  invariable  absence  of  her 
patronymic,  coupled  with  the  fact  of  his  earlier  and  later 
residence  among  the  Maqua  people,  constitutes  the  basis 
of  the  strange  surmise.  The  fact  or  fancy  that  the  imme- 
diate descendants  of  the  pair  had  always  been  distin- 
guished by  straight  raven-colored  hair  and  a  bronzed  com- 
plexion, came  in  as  an  after-thought,  and  served  as  a  very 
handy  support  to  the  view  agoing.  It  was  mooted,  too,  that 
the  primitive  name.  Eve,  ^vas  ominous  of  the  conceived 
idea ;  and  that  it  was  designedly  chosen,  in  order,  on  the 
one  side,  to  ignore  her  former  Indian  origin,  and,   on  the 


*  The  colony  extended  along  both  sides  of  the  Hudson.  Pastor  John 
Frederick  Haiger  officiated  on  one  side,  and  Pastor  Joshua  Koeherthaler  on 
the  other. 


CONRAD    WEI8ER.  45 

other,  to  indicate  her  incipient  motlierhootl  to  a  difforont 
race. 

It  is  not  well  to  fly  in  the  face  of  an  old  creed,  if  it  is 
in  any  wise  supported  by  reasonable  credentials.  Never- 
theless, we  hesitate  not  to  write  down  Mrs.  Anna  P^ve 
Weiser  as  a  full-blooded  Palatine  woman.  It  is  easy 
to  account  for  the  rise  and  onward  flow  of  the  story  of 
Conrad  Weiser  s  Mohawk  wife.  His  silence  touchinu^  her 
patronymic  made  it  necessary  for  his  posterity  to  go  in 
search  of  it.  As  Indians  wear  no  family  cognomen,  tlie 
notion  that  she  might  have  been  an  Indian  lay  nearer, 
and  proved  easier  to  harbor,  than  to  successfully  ferret 
out  the  lost  name.  The  organ  for  marvelous  conception, 
besides,  is  large  in  many ;  and  nothing  proves  more 
attractive  than  Indian  romance,  in  proportion  to  the  dis- 
tance exactly. 

Whilst  we  cannot  adduce  a  record,  or  any  positive  and 
direct  testimony  against  the  partially  accepted  Action, 
there  is  yet  much  strong  circumstantial  proof  to  the  con- 
trary, which  mars  and  spoils  the  romance  for  us.  Con- 
ceding the  truth  of  the  singular  saying  for  a  moment, 
how  are  we  to  account  for  the  almost  entire  ignorance  of 
the  mother's  vernacular,  on  the  part  of  their  elile.st  chil- 
dren, at  least  ?  Had  it  been  indeed  the  mother-tongue  of 
the  household,  then  it  is  fair  to  suppose  that  the  Mohawk 
dialect  midit  have  become  a  family  parlance  more  or 
less;  and  the  older  sons  and  daughters  would  naturally 
have  taken  it  up  in  a  measure.  And  yet,  Samuel  even  is 
found  to  be  too  imperfectly  ac(iuainted  with  the  Indian 
tongue  to  be  efliciently  employed  by  the  government,  in 
the  room  of  his  deceased  father,  after  the  fairest  trial  had 
been  afforded  him.     His  daughter,  Mrs.  Heintzelman,  on 


46  TIIK    LIFE    OF 

tlio  word  ol'lirr  fatlicr,  *' iiiulcrstood  only  licrc  and  tlicrt; 
a  \v(H'd,  IVoni  hcarinu;  tlic  Indians  talk  at  lionie."  Nur 
has  tlic  learned  world  derived  any  contribution  of  AFo- 
liawk  lore,  even  tlirouu;li  tlie  scholarly  Muhlenl)er<j^  line, 
though  Mrs.  Anna  Maria  Muhlenberg  was  Conrad  Wei- 
scr's  eldest  daughter  I  In  no  child  of  the  Indian  inter- 
preter has  any  knowledge  of  the  supposed  ??io^^6r-tongue 
cropped  out.  Conrad  had  practically  learned  the  Maqua 
language  in  his  early  youth,  as  we  have  seen,  and  had 
found  an  almost  unbroken  occasion  to  use  it  officially  dur- 
ing a  long  life.  This  fact,  of  itself,  would  not  warrant 
ns  to  expect  even  an  acquaintance  with  a  strange  tongue, 
in  the  offspring,  much  less  a  familiarity.  The  language 
of  court,  government,  or  office,  does  not  generally  invade 
the  precincts  of  the  home.  But  let  that  tongue  be  the 
inherited  one  by  the  wife  and  mother,  and  flow  from  her 
lips,  then  the  children  wdll  betray  it,  let  them  deny  it 
never  so  persistently. 

As  for  the  straight,  black  hair  and  the  dark  hue  of 
Conrad  Weiser's  immediate  offspring,  little  stress  should 
be  laid  on  it.  The  stride  between  the  premises  and  the 
conclusion  is  a  fearfully  long  one.  Thomas  Corwin  once 
said  :  "  No  man  ought  to  be  so  impertinent  as  to  allude 
to  the  Abolition  theme  in  the  presence  of  a  man  of  my 
own  complexion  !"  Still,  Thomas  Corwin's  mother  was 
not  an  Indian  woman.  It  would,  indeed,  prove  a  difficult 
task  to  find  a  sufficient  number  of  Indian  maidens  to 
mother  all  the  offspring  of  sombre,  tawny  hue.  A  hair 
is  a  slender  thing  to  run  a  distinction  on,  and  a  shade  is 
a  fickle  thino;. 

The  fact  that  the  Indians  characterized  Conrad  Weiser 
as  '^  one-half  a  Seven  Nation  Indian  and  one-half  an  Eng- 


CONRAD    WEISER.  17 

lishman/^  seems  to  support  the  romantic  theory.  JJut 
even  this  double  claim  is  satisfied  by  the  circumstances  of 
his  birth  and  adoption.  It  is  ever  so  interpreted  and 
explained  by  the  responses  of  the  different  Governors  and 
officials,  in  councils  and  conferences.  Besides,  his  feHow 
interpreter,  Shekallamy,  an  Indian,  is  spoken  of  in  like 
terms,  who  certainly  had  not  been  wedded  to  a  white 
woman. 

A  much  more  likely  explanation  for  the  absence  of 
Anna  Eve's  family  name  is  that  she  had  been  an  inden- 
tured orphan  girl,  whose  parents  had  either  died  during 
her  early  infancy,  or  whose  parentage  had  been  ignored 
in  consequence  of  her  indentured  condition.  Such  an 
accident  befel  the  young  not  seldom,  during  the  unorgan- 
ized and  unfixed  state  of  society,  of  her  maiden  days. 
The  lot  of  the  "  redemptioner''  was  a  sad  lot  in  more  than 
one  respect.  We  have  heard  it  said  that  Conrad  Weiser 
called  his  bride  "  My  Anna  Eve,''  for  the  very  good  rea- 
son that  neither  he  nor  she  could  tell  what  more  to  call 
her. 

We,  therefore,  call  for  the  record.  And  until  that  is 
produced,  or  its  equavalent,  we  will  permit  John  Kolfc, 
the  handsome  English  planter  of  Virginia,  to  remain 
alone  in  the  glory  of  having  won  and  wedded  the  Indian 
maiden,  Pochahontas — however  inviting  a  basis  the  low 
whisper  affords  him  to  build  his  romance  upon,  wlio  prides 
himself  over  the  imaginary  Indian  blood  coursing  through 
his  veins.     (See  note,  next  jKtge.) 

Here  four  of  his  children  were  born — Philip,  Fred- 
erick, Anna  Maria  and  Madlina. 

Aside  of  his  domestic  calling,  as  farmer  and  peda- 
gogue, he  had  acquired  some  skill  as  a  lapidary.     There 


48  THE    LIFE    OF 

is  in  oiir  jioHsossion  a  stone  liandle  to  a  riding-whip,  wliich 
onr  lorcfhthors  have  ever  highly  prized  and  carefully 
secnred,  becanse  it  was  the  workmanship  of  Conrad  Wei- 
ser.  Jt  is  of  an  octag(jiial  i'orni,  and  very  high  polish. 
This,  with  a  large  mirror  and  a  heavy  silver  spoon,  con- 
stitntes  our  whole  collection  of  souvenirs  of  the  man, 
though  other  members  of  his  line,  it  is  said,  retain  a  larger 
and  rarer  cabinet. 

During  his  father's  absence  in  England,  and  after 
1723,  Conrad  seems  to  have  taken  a  conspicuous  place  in 
Provincial  affairs.  Familiar  with  the  Mohawk  tongue, 
be  stood  between  the  Indians  and  the  English,  as  w^ell  as 
between  the  English  and  the  Germans,  in  all  matters  oi 
intercourse  or  dispute  ;  whilst  the  active  part  his  sire  had 
taken  during  his  active  life  at  Livingstone  and  Schoharie 
had  initiated  him  early  into  the  secret  of  shielding  his 
own  countrymen  against  the  tricks  and  encroachments  of 
government  officials.  ^'  In  the  commencement  of  the  year 
1721,''  says  he,  '^  I  was  sent  wdth  a  petition  to  the  newly 
arrived  Governor  Burnet.^'  In  such  like  transactions  he 
bore  a  diligent  hand  for  about  a  decade  of  years,  when  he 
left  the  province. 

*  We  find  the  following  extract  recorded  in  an  old  family  Bible,  which  we 
insert  here,  without  being  able,  however,  to  vouch  for  its  correctness  : 

"  Kev.  Mr.  Muhlenberg,  likewise,  writes  in  the  Halliache  Nachrichten  : 
*  Our  young  interpreter  remained  back  and  entered  into  matrimony  with  a 
German  Christian  maiden,  of  Evangelical  parentage,  in  1720.'  " 


CONRAD    WEISER.  4<J 


CHAPTER   XII. 


COXRAD     WEISER's     ADVENT     IN     PENNSYLVANIA.       THE 
BEGINNING   OF   HIS   OFFICIAL   HLSTORY. 


Six  years  after  his  father's  pioneer  visit  to  this  prov- 
ince, at  the  head  of  a  colony  of  perhaps  sixty  families, 
and  nine  years  after  his  marriage,  Conrad  Weiser  arrived 
at  Tnlpehocken,  being  now  thirty-three  years  old.  We 
are  not  left  in  doubt  as  to  the  time  and  place  of  his 
advent.  '^  In  1729  I  removed  to  Pennsylvania  and  set- 
tled at  Tulpehocken.'^  Here,  in  this  valley,  in  the  town- 
ship of  Heidelberg — named  after  a  city  in  south  Germany, 
in  the  duchy  of  Baden — one-half  mile  east  of  the  town  of 
Womelsdorf,  he  located  his  permanent  residence,  in  the 
year  when  Independence  Hall  was  commenced.  His 
chief  aim  was  to  be  a  farmer,  as  we  infer,  both  from  his 
own  later  declarations  and  the  extent  of  agricultural  acres 
which  gradually  came  into  his  possession — numbering 
nearly  one  thousand  acres,  during  a  period  of  thirty  years. 
But  the  circumstances  of  the  country  at  that  time  and  the 
peculiar  qualifications  of  the  man  did  not  attbrd  him  such 
seclusion.  There  is  a  divinity  in  the  affairs  of  men,  com- 
munities -and  thingcs  which  manifests  itself  in  the  law  of 
demand  and  supply — in  that  law  of  compensation  which 
provides  organs  and  agents  for  every  legitimate  emer- 
gency. The  intermingling  of  Indians,  English  and  Ger- 
man people  challenged  the  presence  and  service  of  just 


60  THE   LIFE    OF 

siicli  a  mail,  as  a  solution  to  the  roniplication  of  cir(;iini- 
stances.  And  here  a_»>:ain  was  fiiKillcd  that  saying,  "  There 
standeth  one  among  you." 

Conrad  Weiser  first  appears  in  the  charaeter  of  a  vol- 
unteer inter[)reter  for  the  Couneil  of  Pennsylvania  and 
several  Indians.  Shekallamy*  finds  him,  already  in 
1731,  in  the  wilds  of  Tulpehoeken,  and  prevails  on  him 
to  aecompany  him  to  Philadelphia.  Here  Governor  Gor- 
don, likely,  learned  to  know  and  appreciate  him.  The 
sum  of  forty  shillings  was  accorded  him  on  this  occasion 
for  his  free-will  services.  Under  date  of  December,  1731, 
we  find  the  following  entry  made  in  the  account  of  the 
Provincial  Treasurer  :  "  To  cash,  by  order  of  the  Board, 
paid  to  Conrad  Weiser,  who,  at  Shekallamy's  desire, 
attended  him  from  Tulpehocken,  £2,  lis."  After  this 
introduction  he  remains  continually  in  the  public  eye. 
A  like  order  to  the  one  just  mentioned  is  recorded  as  hav- 
ing been  honored  March,  1732,  for  £3,  13s.,  5d.,  for  ser- 
vices rendered  to  the  Shawnese  Indians  and  the  province. 

But  the  way  was  now  opening  for  a  more  public  and 
significcnt  station.  In  the  month  of  August,  1732,  the 
Six  Nationsf  express  themselves  as  "  very  desirous  that 
there  may  be  more  frequent  opportunities  of  conferring 

*  Shekallamy  was  an  agent  for  the  Five  or  Six  Nations,  and  resided  at 
Shamokin.  He  is  spoken  of  "  as  a  trusty  and  good  man,  and  a  great  lover  of 
the  English."  In  1756,  on  Feb.  24,  his  son  spoke  in  these  words  concerning 
him,  in  Philadelphia:  "  My  father,  who,  it  is  well  known,  was  all  his  life  a 
hearty  and  steady  friend  to  the  English,  and  to  this  province  in  particular, 
charged  his  children  to  follow  his  steps  and  to  remain  always  true  to  the  Eng- 
lish, who  had  been  ever  kind  to  him  and  his  family." 

t  The  "  Four,"  "  Five"  and  "Six  Nations"  were  an  Indian  Union,  formed 
by  the  following  tribes  :  M aqua  (Mohawks),  Onondagos,  Senekas,  Oneydas, 
Tuskaroras,  Cayoogas,  Conrad  Weiser  says  these  lived  from  200  to  500  miles 
from  Lancaster,  Pa.     They  are  spoken  of  as  the  Iroquois,  and  for  the  most. 


CONRAD    WELSER.  .')! 

and  discoursing  with  their  brothers,  and  that  these  may 
be  managed  by  the  means  of  Shekalhimy  and  Conrad 
Weiser.'^  On  the  foHowino;  dav  the  Indians  say  that 
^^  they  would  be  pleased  to  have  an  answer  to  their  prnpo- 
sition.''  The  Governor  replied  as  follows:  *'As  to  what 
you  have  said  about  employing  Shekallamy  and  Couni<l 
Weiser,  on  which  you  gave  the  first  strings  ofM'arapnni,* 
we  are  very  glad  you  agree  with  us  in  the  choice  of  so 
good  men  to  go  between  us.  We  believe  them  to  be  very 
honest,  and  will  with  cheerfulness  employ  them."  The 
Council  then  presented  the  sum  of  £12  to  Conrad  Weiser 
"  for  accompanying  and  being  very  careful  of  the  Indians 
on  their  way  from  Tulpehocken ;  and  for  having  been 
extremely  useful  in  framing  an  initiatory  treaty  with 
them.^^  It  is  also  said,  to  the  honor  of  the  man,  that 
^'  because  the  men  were  not  only  \ery  acceptable  to  the 
Indians,  as  appeared  by  their  late  recommendation  of 
them,  but  likewise  seemed  to  be  persons  of  truth  and  hon- 
esty, all  due  encouragement  should  be  given  them."  Hav- 
ing thus  secured  the  good  will  of  the  Provincial  OtHcials 
and  Indian  Chiefs,  by  his  native  excellence  and  faithful- 
ness, he  is  the  acceptable  mediator,  henceforth,  between 
the  waxine  and  waniuo;  races.  Conrad  Weiser,  acconi- 
ingly,  in  the  course  of  three  years,  steps  out  of  his  Tul- 

part  dwelt  in  the  northern  portion  of  the  United  States— near  the  great  laken, 
in  Xew  York,  etc.  Onondago  was  their  Council  Ground,  whither  the  delegates 
came  annually  or  semi-annually  to  deliberate  on  general  affairs.  Their  con- 
ventions were  said  to  have  been  quite  edifying. 

*  A  Belt  of  Wampum  is  a  leathern  string,  on  which  are  threaded  white 
and  violet  shells,  which  are  found  on  the  coasts  of  New  England  and  Virginia, 
and  are  cut  into  beads  of  an  oblong  form.  It  is  a  very  solemn  instrument 
among  the  Indians,  as  well  as  an  ornamental  wearing.  It  signifies  a  leag^e 
of  friendship,  a  ratification,  a  mark  of  honor,  etc. 


52  THE    LIFE    OF 

poliockoii  obscurity   into   the   position   of  an  olTicial   and 
historical  character. 

William  l\'nn  and  Conrad  Wciser  are  two  men,  at 
least,  of  whom  the  Indians  think  and  speak  well.  It  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  the  pacific  spirit  of  Penn  was 
perjK'tuated  by  Weiser,  and  that  the  fair  name  of  our 
Commonwealth,  touching  our  treatment  of  the  Indians,  is 
perhaps  as  much  owing  to  the  fine  policy  of  the  latter  as 
it  is  to  the  amiable  mind  of  the  former. 


CONRAD  WEISER.  53 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


CONRAD    WEISER^    PROVINCIAL    INTERPRETER.       JUSTICE 
OF   THE   PEACE.       1732 1743. 


From  the  year  1732,  when  George  Washincrton  was 
born,  we  may  regard  Conrad  AVeiser  the  officially  recog- 
nized interpreter  of  Pennsylvania.  President  Logan  says, 
October  12,  1736  :  "  Conrad  Weiser  and  Shekallamy  were, 
by  the  treaty  of  1732,  appointed  fit  and  proper  persons 
to  go  between  the  Six  Nations  and  this  government,  and 
to  be  employed  in  all  transactions  with  one  another  ; 
"  whose  bodies,"  the  Indians  say,  ^'  were  to  be  equally 
divided  between  them  and  us,  we  to  have  one-half  and 
they  the  other.'^  They  say  "  they  have  always  found 
Conrad  faithful  and  honest.  He  is  a  good  and  true  man, 
and  has  spoken  their  words  and  our  words — not  his  own." 
The  Indians  have  presented  him  with  a  dressed  skin  to 
make  him  shoes,  and  two  deer  skins  to  keep  him  warm." 

The  provinces  of  Virginia,  Maryland  and  New  York 
employed  him  in  a  like  capacity,  somewhat  later.  On 
the  side  of  the  Indians  all  Tribes  and  Nations  engaged 
him,  and  there  w^as  no  important  negotiation  transacted, 
involving  the  interests  of  both  races,  in  which  he  was  not 
made  use  of.  Durino;  the  interval  between  17;)2  and 
1736  the  messengers  of  the  Six  Nations  were  constantly 
pasing  to  and  fro,  in  order  to  bring  the  treaty  to  a  ratifica- 
tion.    Conrad  Weiser  is  the  pivot  man  on  all  such  occa- 


54  THE    LIFE   OF 

RioTiP.  Slicl<;illaniy  naively  says,  in  1734,  wlion  not  find- 
ing liis  trusty  friend  on  liand  :  "  Haviniji;  finished  inquiry, 
T  will  go  to  see  Conrad  Weiser,  at  Tulpeliockeu,  and 
either  relate  it  to  him  to  be  sent  down  hither  in  writing, 
or,  if  it  be  found  to  be  of  consequence,  I  will  come  hither 
and  deliver  it  myself." 

In  1735  he  made  a  religious  somersault,  which  will  be 
noticed  hereafter. 

The  Council  ^linutes,  as  they  are  preserved  for  us  in 
the  Colonial  Records  and  Pennsylvania  Archives,  fre- 
quently record  his  name,  at  short  intervals,  over  a  dozen 
or  more  pages.  Notice  is  taken  of  his  valuable  services, 
both  by  the  Indians  and  the  Council,  again  and  again, 
and  always  in  most  favorable  terms.  In  September,  1736, 
the  Chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations  were  expected  in  Philadel- 
phia to  confirm  the  treaty  of  1732.  He  informed  the 
Council,  from  Tulpehocken,  that  a  large  number  would 
arrive  from  Shamokin,  on  the  Susquehanna,  and  was 
asked  to  repair  to  Philadelphia  at  once,  to  attend  and 
provide  for  them.  On  the  27th  the  Chiefs,  with  Weiser, 
came  to  the  President's  house  at  Stenton.  Here  a  feast 
was  provided.  On  the  28th  the  Council  was  held,  in  the 
presence  of  Governor  Thomas  Penn,  the  Chiefs  and  other 
dignitaries.  Conrad  Weiser  the  Indians  style  ^^  our 
friend.''  The  sum  of  £20  is  awarded  him,  and  in  no 
grudging  way,  as  may  be  gathered  from  the  following 
extract  :  "  He  has  been  very  serviceable — which  sum  the 
Provincial  Treasurer  is  directed  to  pay,  and  that  he 
advance  the  said  sum." 

When  Governor  Gooch,  of  Virginia,  desired  this  prov- 
ince to  mediate  between  the  Six  Nations,  the  Cherokees, 
the  Catawbas  and  others,  and  himself,  Logan  writes  thus  : 


COXEAD   WEISER.  65 

"I  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  Conrad  Weiser,  and 
judging  him,  from  the  experience  this  goverumcnt  has 
had  of  his  honesty  and  fidelity,  to  be  the  liiost  pro|>er 
person  to  carry  the  Six  Xations  the  proposed  message  in 
this  letter,  I  engaged  AVeiser  to  undertake  the  l)usiness, 
and  gave  him  proper  instructions  to  that  end.  He,  now 
being  returned,  has,  in  his  own  words  and  handwriting, 
given  a  very  distinct  and  satisfactory  account  of  the 
errand  he  was  sent  on  ;  the  Board  will  find  it,  in  sub- 
stance, to  signify  that  the  Six  Xations  are  ready  and  will- 
ing to  treat  of  and  conclude  a  peace  with  their  enemies  ; 
but  declining  to  go  to  Williamsburg,  they  propose  Al- 
bany.'' 

In  1737  he  was  accordingly  sent  to  Onondago,  N.  Y. 
This  was  his  first  great  mission.  He  leaves  Tulpehocken 
in  February  for  a  journey  some  five  hundred  miles  long, 
through  a  wilderness  without  road  or  path,  in  the  face  of 
danger.  His  experiences  are  well  told  in  his  Journal,  to 
which  the  reader  is  referred.  In  all  the  following  years 
his  name  occurs  on  many  pages,  as  though  he  were  the 
most  prominent  man  of  the  day.  AVe  (piestion,  too, 
whether  anv  one  man  had  been  more  widclv  and  more 
favorably  known,  at  that  period,  than  Conrad  Weiser 
was.  It  would  tire  our  hand  to  write  and  but  weary  the 
eye,  were  we  faithfully  to  insert  this  entry — "Conrad 
Weiser,  interpreter" — as  often  as  it  is  made  to  stand  on 
the  official  record. 

During  the  year  1738,  in  May,  he  accompanies  IVishop 
Spangenberger,  David  Zeisberger  and  Shebosch,  Moravian 
missionaries  to  the  Indians,  to  Onondago  again.  'Hieir 
hardships  were  many  and  great,  all  of  which  he  cheer- 
fnlly  and  heroically  endured. 


50  THE  lifp:  of 

But  he  was  not  unniindfiil  of  home  interests,  tliongh, 
as  it  seems,  so  constantly  engaged  abroad.  AVe  never 
found  a  man  busier  over  a  larger  territory,  without  neg- 
lecting his  own  house  and  neighborhood.  In  1739-40, 
February  4,  he  saw  the  propriety  of  organizing  a  new 
county,  and  accordingly  signs  a  prayer  to  that  effect, 
though  the  county  of  Berks  did  not  come  forth  till   1752. 

In  the  vear  1741  he  was  commissioned  as  a  Justice  of 
the  Peace  for  Lancaster  county,  and  thus  succeeded  to  the 
office  which  his  father  and  grandfather  had  filled  in  Gross- 
Aspach.  He  continued  in  service  as  a  Justice  for  many 
years,  and  after  the  erection  of  Berks  county  he  filled  it 
within  that  territory,  likewise.  Fr.  Lceher  speaks  of  him 
as  a  Magistrate  "  known  far  and  wide  as  an  upright  offi- 
cer.'^ But  he  displeased  the  lawless  on  many  occasions, 
for  be  it  remembered,  Conrad  Weiser  was  a  religious  man. 
Of  a  certain  family  he  complains  woefully,  and  thinks 
them  "  worse  than  any  Indian  or  Frenchman.^'  He 
acknowledges  that  he  stands  in  dread  of  the  members  of 
the  household.  And  well  he  might.  One  night  those 
upon  whom  he  pronounced  the  law^s  penalty,  barred  his 
windows  and  blockaded  the  doors,  setting  fire  to  some 
straw  and  other  combustibles  which  they  had  carried 
under  the  stoop.  One  of  the  children  awoke  and  gave 
the  alarm.  They  broke  through  a  window  and  thus 
escaped  being  burned  alive. 

It  is  related,  as  showing  the  humor  of  the  man,  that  a 
certain  troublesome  w^oman,  w^ho  had  been  continually 
worrying  him  for  the  arrest  of  her  husband  on  the  charge 
of  "  assault  and  battery,'^  was  once  asked  by  him  whether 
she  did  not  sometimes  deserve  a  little  castigation  at  her 
husband's  hands  ?     To  this  query  the  woman,  after  some 


CONRAD   WEISER.  57 

hesitation,  made  answer  that  she  believed  it  to  ht-  his 
right  and  her  profit  to  have  a  chastisement  administered 
occasionally,  but  that  he  indulged  too  frequently  and  too 
severely  in  the  discipline. 

In  July,  1742,  an  account  of  his  expenses  was  exhib- 
ited, amounting  to  £36,  18s.,  3d.  This  seems  a  large 
bill ;  but  that  it  did  not  strike  the  officials  as  being  too 
exorbitant,  or  as  calling  for  an  investigation,  the  extract 
which  we  insert  will  show  :  ^^  Taking  into  consideration 
the  many  signal  services  performed  by  Conrad  Weiser  to 
this  Government,  his  diligence  and  labor  in  the  service 
thereof,  and  his  skill  in  the  Indian  languages  and  meth- 
ods of  business,  we  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  said  Con- 
rad should  be  allowed,  as  a  reward  from  this  Province,  at 
this  time,  the  sum  of  thirty  pounds  at  least,  besides  pay- 
ment of  his  said  account.^^ 

Cannassatego,  a  Delaware  Chief,  bespeaks  the  good 
will  of  the  Council  at  Philadelphia  after  this  manner,  in 
his  behalf:  ^^  \Ye  esteem  our  present  Interpreter  to  bo 
such  a  person,  equally  faithful  in  the  interpretation  of 
whatever  is  said  to  him,  by  either  of  us  ;  equally  allic^d 
to  both.  He  is  of  our  Nation  and  a  member  of  our 
Council,  as  well  as  of  yours.  When  we  adopted  him,  we 
divided  him  into  two  equal  parts — one-half  we  kept  for 
ourselves  and  one-half  we  kept  for  you.  He  has  a  great 
deal  of  trouble  with  us.  He  wore  out  his  shoes  in  our 
messages  and  dirtied  his  clothes  by  being  among  us,  so 
that  he  is  as  nasty  as  an  Indian.  In  return  for  these 
services  we  recommend  him  to  your  generosity.  And  in 
our  own  behalf  we  gave  him  five  skins  to  buy  him  clothes 
and  shoes  with.^' 

The  Hon.  George  Thomas,   Lieut.  Governor  of  the 
5 


58  THE  LIFE  OF 

proviuce,  replied  in  these  words  :  ''  We  entertaiu  the  same 
sentiments  of  the  abilities  and  ])robity  of  the  interpreter 
as  yon  have  expressed.  We  were  induced,  at  first,  to 
make  nse  of  liim  in  this  important  trust,  from  his  being 
known  to  be  agreeable  to  you,  and  one  who  had  lived 
amongst  you  for  some  years  in  good  credit  and  esteem 
with  all  your  Nation,  and  have  ever  found  him  equally 
faithful  to  both.  We  are  pleased  with  your  notice  of 
him,  and  think  he  richly  deserves  it  at  your  hands.  We 
shall  not  be  wanting  to  make  him  a  suital)le  2:ratification 
for  the  many  good  and  faithful  services  he  has  done  this 
government." 

It  was  in  this  year,  during  the  month  of  July  (12th), 
that  another  Tribe  ratified  the  deed,  given  some  years 
earlier,  for  the  land  along  the  Schuylkill.  To  this  instru- 
ment the  names  of  Benjamin  Franklin  and  Conrad  Wei- 
ser  are  appended. 

But  another  important  mission  opened  before  him. 
Count  Zinzendorf  had  arrived  in  America,  and  was  anx- 
ious that  Conrad  Weiser  should  accompany  him  to  Beth- 
lehem, to  preach  to  the  Indians.  There  he,  accordingly, 
interpreted  for  the  Count  during  the  month  of  August. 
^'  This  is  the  man,''  said  he,  "  whom  God  hath  sent,  both 
to  the  Indians  and  the  white  people,  to  make  known  His 
will  to  them."  On  a  similar  errand  he  accompanied 
Count  Zinzendorf,  shortly  afterwards,  to  Shamokin.  He 
was  enraptured  over  the  success  of  the  gospel  among  the 
Indians.  He  expresses  his  delight  in  a  letter,  from  which 
we  cull  the  following  extracts  : 

"  I  was  very  sorry  not  to  have  seen  you  at  Shamokin 
(Buettner),  owing  to  your  indisposition.  But  the  pleas- 
ure I  felt,  during  my  abode  there,  left  a  deep  impression 


COXRAD    WETSER.  50 

upon  me.  The  faith  of  tlie  IndiaDs  in  our  I^ord  Jcsiis 
Christ — their  simplicity  and  iinatfected  deportment ;  their 
experience  of  the  grace  procured  for  us  l)y  the  sulferin^s 
of  Jesus,  preached  to  them  l)y  the  brethren — has  impressed 
my  mind  with  a  firm  belief  that  God  is  with  vou.  I 
thought  myself  seated  in  a  company  of  primitive  Chris- 
tians. 

^^  The  old  men  sat  partly  upon  benches  and  ])artly 
upon  the  ground,  for  want  of  room,  with  great  gravity 
and  devotion,  their  eyes  steadfastly  fixed  upon  their 
teacher,  as  if  thev  would  eat  his  words.  John  was  the 
interpreter,  and  acquitted  himself  in  the  best  manner.  I 
esteem  him  as  a  man  anointed  with  grace  and  spirit. 
Though  I  am  not  well  acquainted  with  the  Matii^ander 
language,  yet  their  peculiar  manner  of  delivery  renders 
their  ideas  intelligible  to  me  as  to  any  European  in  this 
country.  In  short,  I  deem  it  one  of  the  greatest  favors 
bestowed  upon  me  in  this  life  that  I  have  been  at  Sha- 
mokiu. 

"That  text  of  Scri])ture,  ^  Jesus  Christ  the  same  yes- 
terday and  to-day,  and  forever,'  appeared  to  me  as  an 
eternal  truth  when  I  beheld  the  veneralJe  patriarchs  of 
the  American  Indian  Church  sitting  around  me,  as  living 
witnesses  of  the  power  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  of 
His  atoning  sacrifice.  Their  prayers  are  had  in  remem- 
brance in  the  sight  of  God — and  may  God  fight  against 
their  enemies.  May  the  Almighty  God  give  to  you  and 
your  assistants  an  open  door  to  tlie  hearts  of  all  the  hea- 
thens. This  is  the  most  earnest  wish  of  your  sincere 
friend,  Coxrad   Wkiskr." 

However  sansruine  he  may  have  been  of  tlie  conver- 
sion  of  the  Indians,  at  the  time  of  his  writing,  we  do  not 


GO  THE   TJFE   OF 

find  tliat  lie  colloairncd  loiin-or  with  the  Moravian  mission- 
arics  in  prosecuting  th(>  noble  undertaking;.  This  much 
credit  nuist,  nevertheless,  be  given  him  that  he  at  that 
early  day  suggested  the  only  true  plan  by  which  any  mis- 
sionary work  can  ever  be  carried  forward,  Avhcther  the 
material  to  be  evangelized  be  Indian,  African,  or  Asian 
or  European.  Pastor  Muhlenberg  states  it  in  these  words  : 
"  ]\Ir.  Weiser  is  of  the  opinion  that  to  convert  them  to 
Christianity  it  would  be  essential,  among  other  methods, 
to  adopt  something  like  the  following  : 

'^  I.  Several  missionaries  should  take  up  their  abode 
in  the  midst  of  the  Indians  and  strive  to  make  themselves 
thorough  masters  of  their  language  ;  conform  as  far  as 
possible  to  their  costumes,  manners  and  customs,  yet 
reprove  their  natural  vices  by  a  holy,  meek  and  virtuous 
deportment. 

^^11.  Translate  Revealed  Truth  into  their  own  lan- 
guage, and  present  the  whole  as  intelligibly  as  possible. 

"III.  The  missionaries  should  study  the  Indian 
tunes  and  melodies,  and  convey  to  them  the  law  and  the 
Gospel,  in  such  tunes  and  melodies,  in  order  to  make  an 
abiding  impression,  and  thereby,  under  the  blessing  and 
increase  of  God,  patiently  wait  for  the  fruits  of  their 
labors.'^ — {From  Rupp^s  History  of  Berks  and  Lebanon 
Counties:.) 

The  interest  which  our  hero  took  in  the  evangelizing 
of  the  Indians  wdll  become  all  the  more  striking  when  we 
recall  the  fact  that  he  spent  three  months  in  instructing 
Pyrlacus,  Buettner  and  Zander — missionaries  from  Europe 
in  1741 — in  the  Maqua  or  Mohawd^  language  at  Tulpe- 
hocken,  during  1743,  in  order  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the 
Iroquois,  or  Six  Nations. 


CONRAD    WEISER.  61 

The  year  1 743  was  a;  busy  year  for  him.  The  (J«>v- 
eriior  (Thomas)  sends  him  to  Shamokin.  Of  this  trip  he 
says:  ^' On  the  30th  of  January,  1743,  in  the  evening,  1 
received  the  Governor's  order,  together  with  the  dejxjsi- 
ti(jn  of  Thomas  McKee,  and  set  out  next  morning  with 
Mr.  McKee  for  Shamokin,  where  we  arrived  on  the  1st 
of  February.  I  left  Shamokin  the  6th  and  arrived  at 
home  in  the  night,  the  9th  of  February.'^ 

In  April  the  interests  of  Virginia  and  Maryhmd  re- 
quire his  services.  The  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  accord- 
ingly, sends  him  to  the  same  place.  His  own  words  are 
these  :  "In  April,  1743,  I  arrived  at  Shamokin  (9th),  by 
order  of  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  to  accpiaint  the 
neighboring  Indians,  and  those  of  Wyoming,  tliat  the 
Governor  of  Virginia  was  well  pleased  with  the  media- 
tion, and  ^vas  willing  to  come  to  agreement  with  the  Six- 
Nations  about  the  land  his  people  were  settled  upon,  if  it 
was  that  they  contended  for,  and  to  make  up  the  matter  of 
the  late  unhappy  skirmish  in  an  amicable  way.'' 

But  he  is  not  permitted  to  recruit  long  in  his  Tulpe- 
hocken  home.  It  ^vas  the  opinion  of  the  Board  that  Con- 
rad Weiser  should  be  immediately  sent  for  and  despatched 
to  Onondago  again.  Instructions,  given  under  the  hand 
and  lesser  seal  of  the  Province  of  Pennsvlvania,  dated 
June  18,  1743,  were  put  into  his  possession.  He  was 
charged  with  delivering  the  good  will  of  the  Governor 
and  Council  of  Virginia,  with  the  distribution  of  £100  ; 
and  with  authority  to  arrange  the  time  and  i)hice  of  meet- 
ing during  the  coming  spring,  in  order  to  form  a  Treaty  in 
regard  to  some  disputed  lands.  Here  are  five  hundred 
more  miles  to  be  gone  over.  By  the  1st  day  of  August 
he  hands  up  his  Keport  to  the   Governor.     He    kept    a 


02  T1II<:    LIFE   OF 

Journal,  noting  nil  his  experience,  "  for  liis  memory's 
sake  and  satisfaction."  We  will  relate  some  cnllings, 
since  there  are  '^  several  things  mentioned  which  are  mere 
ceremonies  and  trifling  details." 

He  went  on  horseback.  He  smoked  many  pipes*  of 
Philadelphia  tobacco,  and  told  them  that  "  it  was  enough 
to  kill  a  man  to  come  such  a  long  and  bad  road,  over  hills, 
rocks,  old  trees,  rivers,  to  fight  through  a  cloud  of  vermin, 
and  all  kinds  of  poisonous  worms  and  creeping  things, 
besides  being  loaded  with  a  disagreeable  message."  The 
tawny  people  laughed  at  him.  He  met  Aquoyiota,  an  old 
acquaintance  of  his,  a  Chief  seventy  years  old.  While 
there,  they  feasted  him  on  ''  hominy,  venison,  dried  eels, 
squashes  and  Indian  corn-bread." 

The  Record  of  Conrad  Weiser,  covering  eleven  years 
of  constant  service,  was  above  all  taint  or  suspicion.  His 
private  life,  his  official  history  and  his  religious  zeal  all 
combine  to  present  him  a  very  beautiful  character  before 
us.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  hear  the  good  reports,  coming  in 
from  all  sides,  which  endorse  the  traditional  estimation  of 
the  man. 

*  The  Pipe  of  Peace  is  the  Indian  Flag  of  Truce.  It  is  often  termed  the 
"  Calumet" — for  what  reason  we  know  not.  It  consists  of  a  reed  some  four 
feet  long,  inserted  in  a  bowl  of  red  marble,  curiously  painted  over  with  hier- 
oglyphics and  adorned  with  feathers.  Every  Nation  has  its  own  peculiar  dec- 
orations. 


COXBAD    WEISER.  63 


CHAPTER   XIV. 


TEN    MORE    YEARS    OF    INDIAN    INTERCOURSE.       MISSIONS 

AND   DUTIES.       1744-1754. 


Scenes  of  blood  were  frequent  in  those  days.  Through 
Conrad  Weiser^s  philanthropic  and  wise  policy  many  gory 
outbreaks  were  prevented,  as  our  ancestors  believed  and 
assured  us.  But  ^vithal  they  did  occur.  In  April,  1744, 
Governor  Thomas  was  informed  that  J'~>hn  Armstronjr,  an 
Indian  trader,  with  his  two  servants,  AVoodward  Arnohl 
and  James  Smith,  had  been  murdered  at  Juniata  by  three 
Delawares.  Conrad  was  despatched  to  the  Chiefs,  at  Sha- 
mokin,  to  look  up  and  demand  satisfaction  for  the  deed. 
The  culprits  were  imprisoned  at  Lancaster  and  hanged  at 
Philadelphia.  In  reference  to  this  matter  he  says,  in  a 
letter,  dated  Tulpehocken,  April  26,  1744  :  "  I  am  always 
willing  to  comply  with  His  honor's  commands,  but  could 
wish  they  might  have  been  delayed  till  after  Court,  where 
my  presence  by  many  is  required  on  some  particular  ac- 
counts. But  as  the  command  is  pressing  and  cannot  be 
delayed,  I  am  prepared  to  set  out  to-morrow  morning  for 
Shamokin.  I  mil  use  the  best  of  my  endeavors  to  have 
the  Governor's  and  Council's  request  answered  to  s:itisfac- 
tion,  by  delivering  up  the  two  Indians  and  the  goods.  *  *  * 
I  am  afraid  they  have  made  their  escape  far  enough  by 
this  time."  In  May  he  makes  his  interesting  report. 
The  Delaware  Indians  acknowledged  the  deed  without 
pleading  ''  insanity."     "  It  is  true,"  said  a  Chief,  "  we,  by 


61  THE   LIFE   OF 

the  instigation  of  the  evil  spirit,  liavc  murdered/'  *  *  * 
"  ^Ye  hav^e  transgressed,  and  we  are  ashamed  to  look  up. 
We  have  taken  the  murderer  and  delivered  him  up  to  the 
relatives  of  the  deceased,  to  be  dealt  with  according  to  his 
works.  The  dead  bodies  are  buried.  Your  demand  for 
the  goods  is  very  just.  We  have  gotten  some,  and  will 
do  the  utmost  of  what  Ave  can  to  find  them  all.  Our 
hearts  are  in  mourning,  and  we  are  in  a  dismal  condition 
and  cannot  say  anything  at  present."  A  grand  feast  was 
prepared  for  over  one  hundred  persons,  who  devoured  a 
big,  fat  bear  in  silence.  A  Chief,  the  oldest,  arose  and 
said  :  ^^Althougli,  by  a  great  misfortune,  three  of  their 
white  brothers  had  been  murdered  by  the  Indians,  the  sun 
had  still  not  gone  down,  and  war  set  in ;  but  that  only  a 
little  cloud  had  crossed  the  face,  which  now  too  had  been 
cleared  away  ;  and  that  all  the  evil-doers  should  be  pun- 
ished, whilst  the  country  remained  in  peace,  and  the  Great 
Spirit  must  be  praised."  He  then  struck  on  a  musical 
tune,  w^hich  all  chimed  along.  No  words  seemed  to  be 
employed — merely  a  tune,  which  was  very  solemnly  ut- 
tered. At  the  end  the  veteran  exclaimed  :  "  Thanks  ! 
Thanks  !  To  Thee,  Great  Governor  of  the  World,  that 
Thou  hast  chased  aAvay  the  clouds  and  suffered  the  sun  to 
shine  on  once  more.     The  Indians  are  Thy  children." 

The  Great  Council  was  held  at  Lancaster,  Pa.,  June 
22,  and  a  Treaty  was  made  with  the  Six  Nations.  The 
Governor  was  present,  and  the  Commissioners  of  Virginia 
and  Maryland.  This  Conference  was  a  protracted  one 
and  ended  about  the  close  of  July.  Many  pleasant  occur- 
rences are  noted  as  having  transpired  during  the  proceed- 
ings. The  Indians  frequently  shouted  their  "Jo/iaA," 
which  denotes  approbation  and  good  feeling.     It  is  a  loud 


CONRAD    AVEISER.  (JO 

cry,  and  consists  of  a  few  notes  pronounced  in  unison,  in 
a  musical  manner,  in  the  nature  of  our  ^Hurrah.'  Three 
hundred  j)Ounds  were  distributed  among  the  Indians  in 
presents,  of  vermilion,  flints,  jewsharps,  boxes,  lead,  shot, 
gun-powder,  shirts,  blankets  and  guns.  Conrad  Weiser 
interpreted,  and  explained  the  present.  A  deed  was 
executed,  by  which  all  their  claim  and  title  to  certain 
lands  lying  in  the  Provinces  of  Virginia  and  Marykmd 
were  released.  They  demanded  that  Conrad  Weiser  sliould 
sign  the  instrument,  as  well  with  his  Indian  name  as  with 
his  English.     His  Indian  name  was  Tar achaw agon. 

The  messenger  of  the  Governor  of  Virginia  made  the 
following  complimentary  allusion  to  the  Interpreter  in  his 
address  to  the  Sachems  and  Warriors  of  the  Six  Nations  : 

^^  Our  friend,  Conrad  Weiser,  when  he  is  old,  will  go 
into  the  other  world,  as  our  fathers  have  done.  Our  chil- 
dren will  then  want  such  a  friend,  to  go  between  them 
and  your  children,  to  reconcile  any  differences  that  may 
arise  between  them  ;  who,  like  him,  may  have  the  ears 
and  tongues  of  our  children  and  yours. 

'^  The  way  to  have  such  a  friend  is  for  you  to  send 
three  or  four  of  your  boys  to  Virginia,  where  we  have  a 
fine  house  for  tkem  to  live  in,  and  a  man  on  purpose  to 
teach  children  of  yours,  our  friends,  the  religion,  language 
and  customs  of  the  white  people.  To  this  place  we  kindly 
invite  you  to  send  of  your  children  ;  and  we  promise  you 
they  shall  have  the  same  care  taken  of  them,  aud  be 
instructed  in  the  same  manner  as  our  own  children  ;  and 
be  returned  to  you  again  when  you  please.  A  nd  to  con- 
firm this,  we  give  you  this  string  of  Wampum." 

To  this  proposition  Canassatego  replied  in  these  words  : 

"  Brother  Assaraquoa :  You  told  us,  likewise,  you  had 


66  THE    LIFE   OF 

a  great  house  provided  for  tlie  education  of  youths;  that 
tliere  were  several  white  people  and  Indian  cliildren  there 
to  learn  languages,  to  read  and  write  ;  and  invited  us  to 
send  some  of  our  children  among  you. 

"  We  must  let  you  know  we  love  our  children  too  well 
to  send  them  so  great  a  way.  And  the  Indians  are  not 
inclined  to  give  their  children  learning.  We  allow  it  to 
be  good,  and  we  thank  you  for  your  invitation.  But  our 
customs  differing  from  yours,  you  will  be  so  good  as  to 
excuse  us. 

"We  hope  Tarachawagon  (Conrad  Weiser)  will  be 
preserved  by  the  Great  Spirit  to  a  good  old  age.  When 
he  is  gone  under  ground,  it  will  be  time  enough  to  look 
out  for  another.  And,  no  doubt,  amongst  so  many  thou- 
sands as  there  are  in  the  world,  one  such  man  may  be 
found  who  will  serve  both  parties  with  the  same  fidelity 
as  Tarachawagon  does.  AVhile  he  lives  there  is  no  room 
to  complain." 

Surely  the  old  Chief  had  knowledge  of  a  very  good 
sort  of  philosophy.  It  was  teaching  the  popular  proverb  : 
"  Never  cross  a  bridge  till  you  come  to  it''  ;  or  the  Chris- 
tian theory,  "  Fear  not,  but  trust  to  Providence.'' 

This  apt  reply  reminds  us  of  another,  similar  in  kind. 
General  George  Washington,  while  President  of  the  United 
States,  sent  an  Agent  to  the  Chypewyan  Tribe,  whose 
friendship  it  was  requisite  we  should  cultivate  to  preserve 
the  lucrative  fur  trade.  Among  other  things  that  the 
illustrious  President  offered  was,  "  that  the  United  States 
would  take  two  or  three  of  the  sons  of  their  Chiefs  and 
educate  them  in  our  colleges."  When  the  proposition  had 
been  offered,  the  Indians,  who  never  give  an  immediate 
answer  to  things  that  they  think  of  importance,  told  the 


CONE  AD    WEISER.  67 

Agent:  " They  would  think  of  it."  After  a  short  time 
they  returned  for  an  answer:  ^^That  tliey  had  consuhi'd 
on  the  sul)ject,  and  were  of  the  opinion  that  it  would  ren- 
der them  effeminate  to  be  educated  in  our  schools,  as  it 
would  totally  disqualify  them  to  hunt  or  pursue  the  war  ; 
but,  in  return  for  the  civility  of  their  Chief,  Washington, 
they  would,  if  he  would  send  the  sons  of  his  men  among 
them,  educate  them  to  pursue  the  chase  for  several  davs 
without  eating  ;  and  to  go  Avithout  clothing  in  extremely 
cold  weather,  and,  in  frosty  nights,  to  lay  on  the  ground 
without  covering,  and  every  other  thing  requisite  to  make 
them  Indians  and  brave  men." 

The  Lancaster  Treaty  brought  Conrad  Weiser  £15, 
3s.,  6d.,  to  defray  his  expenses  by. 

During  this  year  the  Governor  sent  forth  intimations 
of  a  war  in  prospect  against  the  French.  In  order  to 
keep  the  Indians  on  good  terms  with  the  English,  Conrad 
Weiser  was  kept  in  constant  employment.  Hearing  of 
the  death  of  a  Chief  among  the  Onoudagos,  he  suggests  a 
visit  of  condolence,  which  he  was  accordingly  ordered  to 
perform,  in  September. 

This  being  a  very  critical  time,  the  traffic  in  liquor 
which  the  traders  carried  on  for  pelFs  sake,  gave  the  Gov- 
ernment much  to  do.  Reduced  to  a  state  of  intoxication, 
they  would  barter  their  skins  away  for  a  mere  song,  and 
after  having  recovered  from  a  drunken  fit,  they  were  ready 
to  seek  revenge.  Conrad  Weiser  was  the  pacificator  of 
the  day.  Governor  Thomas  said,  at  Philadelphia,  .Vugust 
24,  1744  :  "Tho'  the  Indian  traders  are  not  the  best  sort 
of  people,  and  may  not  do  you  well,  yet  you  are  not  to 
take  revenge  yourselves,  but  apply,  in  all  cases,  to  Conrad 
Weiser,  who  is  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  will  hear  your 


(IS  THE    TJFE   OF 

coniplniiits  and  procure  you  such  redress  as  our  law  will 
give  you."     The  Dclawares  were  satisfied  with  this  advice. 

With  the  opeuiug  of  1745  came  furtluT  duties  and 
tasks  for  our  diligent  man.  In  flanuary,  at  his  suggestion 
again,  he  builds  a  house  for  Shekallamy,  at  Shamokiu, 
"49 J  feet  long  and  17 1  wide,  and  covered  with  shingles, 
in  17  days" — which  we  may  regard  a  speedy  job  for  that 
period.  During  this  year,  too,  he  gave  his  eldest  daugh- 
ter in  marriage  to  the  grand  old  Lutheran  Patriarch,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Henry  Melchior  Muhlenberg,  as  we  shall  learn 
in  another  place.  But  he  has  little  time  to  spend  in  fes- 
tivities at  home.  French  machinations  call  him,  in  com- 
pany with  Shekallamy  and  others,  to  Onondago  again. 
He  sets  out  on  the  19th  of  May.  The  result  of  his  nego- 
tiations, which  opened  on  the  6th  of  June,  may  be  seen  in 
a  letter  of  his,  to  which  the  reader  is  referred. 

Here  we  will  insert  an  anecdote,  which  we  extract  from 
Rupp's  History  of  Berks  and  Lebanon  Counties  : 

"  It  was  probably  while  at  Onondago  this  time,  the 
current  anecdote,  related  by  Dr.  Franklin,  touching  Wei- 
ser  and  Canassatego,  which  is  found  in  Drake's  Indian 
Biography,  Book  V.,  p.  12,  13,  originated.  As  the  edi- 
tors of  the  valuable  Encyclopedia  Perthensis  have  thought 
this  anecdote  worthy  a  place  in  that  work,  it  has  gained 
one  here  : 

"  ^  Dr.  Franklin  tells  us  a  very  interesting  story  of 
Canassatego,  and  at  the  same  time  makes  the  old  Chief 
tell  another.  In  speaking  of  the  manners  and  customs  of 
the  Indians,  the  doctor  says  :  The  same  hospitality,  es- 
teemed among  them  as  a  principal  virtue,  is  practised  by 
private  persons  ;  of  which  Conrad  Weiser,  our  interpreter, 
gave  me  the  following  instances  :  He  had  been  naturalized 


CONRAD   WEISER.  69 

among  the  Six  Xations,  and  spoke  well  the  ]\Iohawk  lan- 
guage. In  going  through  the  Indian  country,  to  carry  a 
message  from  our  Governor  to  the  Council  at  Onondago, 
he  called  at  the  habitation  of  Canassatego^  an  old  acquain- 
tance, who  embraced  him,  spread  furs  for  him  to  sit  on, 
placed  before  him  some  boiled  beans,  and  venison,  and 
mixed  some  rum  and  water  for  his  drink.  When  he  was 
well  refreshed,  and  had  lit  his  pipe,  Canassatego  began  to 
converse  with  him  ;  asked  how  he  had  fared  the  many 
years  since  they  had  seen  each  other ;  whence  he  then 
came  ;  what  occasioned  the  journey,  etc.  Conrad  answered 
all  his  questions  ;  and  when  the  discourse  began  to  flag, 
the  Indian,  to  continue  it,  said,  ^  Conrad,  you  have  lived 
long  among  the  white  people,  and  know  something  of 
their  customs  :  I  have  been  sometimes  at  Albany,  and 
have  observed  that  once  in  seven  days  they  shut  up  their 
shops  and  assemble  in  the  great  house  ;  tell  me  what  that 
is  for  ;  what  do  they  do  there  f  '  They  meet  there,'  says 
Conrad,  ^  to  hear  and  learn  good  things.'  ^  I  do  not 
doubt,'  says  the  Indian,  '  that  they  tell  you  so ;  they  have 
told  me  the  same  ;  but  I  doubt  the  truth  of  what  they  say, 
and  I  will  tell  you  my  reasons.  I  went  lately  to  Albany, 
to  sell  my  skins,  and  buy  blankets,  knives,  powder,  rum, 
etc.  You  know  I  used  generally  to  deal  with  Hans  Han- 
son ;  but  I  was  a  little  inclined  this  time  to  try  other  mer- 
chants. However,  I  called  first  upon  Hans,  and  asked 
him  what  he  would  give  for  beaver.  He  said  he  could 
not  give  more  than  four  shillings  a  pound  ;  but,  says  he, 
I  cannot  talk  on  business  now  ;  this  is  the  day  when  we 
meet  together  to  learn  good  things,  and  I  am  going  to  the 
meeting.  So  I  thought  to  myself,  since  I  cannot  do  any 
business  to-day,  I  may  as  well  go  to  the  meeting  too,  and 


70  THE  LIFE  OF 

I  wcMit  with  him.  There  stood  up  a  man  in  ])lack,  and 
began  to  tidk  to  the  people  very  angrily  ;  I  (hd  not  under- 
stand what  he  said,  but  perceiving  that  lie  looked  much 
at  me,  and  at  Hanson,  I  imagined  that  he  was  angry  at 
seeing  me  there  ;  so  I  went  out,  sat  down  near  the  house, 
struck  fire,  and  lit  my  pipe,  waiting  till  the  meeting 
should  break  up.  I  thought,  too,  that  the  man  had  men- 
tioned something  of  beaver,  and  suspected  it  might  be  the 
subject  of  their  meeting.  So  when  they  came  out,  I 
accosted  my  merchant.  '  Well,  Hans,'  says  I,  ^  I  hope 
you  have  agreed  to  give  more  than  4s.  a  pound.'  '■  No,' 
says  he,  ^  I  cannot  give  so  much ;  I  cannot  give  more  than 
three  shillings  and  sixpence.'  I  then  spoke  to  several 
other  dealers,  but  they  all  sung  the  same  song, — three  and 
sixpence,  three  and  sixpence.  This  made  it  clear  to  me 
that  my  suspicion  was  right ;  and  that  whatever  they  pre- 
tended of  meeting  to  learn  good  things,  the  purpose  was 
to  consult  how  to  cheat  Indians  in  the  price  of  beaver. 
Consider  but  a  little,  Conrad,  and  you  must  be  of  my 
opinion.  If  they  met  so  often  to  learn  good  things,  they 
would  certainly  have  learned  some  before  this  time.  But 
they  are  still  ignorant.  You  know  our  practice.  If  a 
white  man,  traveling  through  our  country,  enters  one  of 
our  cabins,  we  all  treat  him  as  I  do  you  ;  we  dry  him  if 
he  is  wet ;  we  warm  him  if  he  is  cold,  and  give  him  meat 
and  drink,  that  he  may  allay  his  thirst  and  hunger ;  and 
we  spread  soft  furs  for  him  to  rest  and  sleep  on  :  we  de- 
mand nothing  in  return.  But  if  I  go  into  a  white  man's 
house  at  Albany,  and  ask  for  victuals  and  drink,  they  say, 
^  Get  out,  you  Indian  dog.'  You  see  they  have  not  yet 
learned  those  little  good  things,  that  we  need  no  meetings 
to  be  instructed  in,  because  our  mothers  taught  them  to  us 


COXRAD   WEISER.  71 

when  we  were  children  ;  and  therefore  it  is  impossible 
their  meetings  should  be,  as  they  say,  for  any  such  pur- 
pose, or  have  any  such  effect  :  they  are  only  to  contrive 
the  cheating  of  Indians  in  the  price  of  beaver/  " 

In  October  he  is  in  Xew  York,  surrounded  by  Chiefs. 
In  December  he  is  directed  by  the  Governor,  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  the  Council,  to  employ  scouts  among  the  Sha- 
mokin  Indians  ^'  to  watch  the  enemy's  movements,  and  to 
engage  the  whole  body  of  Indians  there  to  harass  them  in 
their  march.  The  pay  or  reward  to  be  given  them,  in  all 
such  transactions,  to  be  entrusted  to  his  own  good  judg- 
ment to  determine/^ 

A  slight  intermission  of  missionary  travel  seems  to 
have  been  granted  him  during  the  year  1746.  But  it  was 
by  no  means  an  idle  year.  As  farmer,  Justice  of  the 
Peace  and  Interpreter,  he  found  enough  to  do.  It  would 
prove  a  difficult  task  to  find  a  character  whose  record  pre- 
sents a  less  broken  chain. 

In  1747  the  Proprietary  Governor,  John  Penii,  dies. 
He  is  charged  in  June  to  carry  the  sad  news  to  tlie  Indi- 
ans at  Shamokin.  In  October  he  writes  to  Secretarv  Pe- 
ters  and  advices  that  a  handsome  present  should  Ik'  made 
to  the  Indians  on  the  Ohio  and  Lake  Erie  •'  *  *  *'  since 
they,  by  their  situation,  were  capable  of  doing  nuicli  mis- 
chief if  they  should  turn  to  the  French." 

And  in  November  he  is  found  again  at  Shamokin. 
This  time  Shekallamy,  his  old  friend  and  iViend  of  tl»e 
Province,  is  in  the  deep  waters  of  affiiction.  ( 'onnid  \\  ci- 
ser's  heart  was  not  the  one  that  could  pass  ])y  on  tlie  other 
side,  or  even  but  come  and  look  upon  him.  ''  I  arriv«'<l," 
says  he,  "at  Shamokin  on  the  9th,  about  noon.  I  was 
surprised  to  see  Shekallamy  in   such   a  condition  as    my 


rZ  THE    LIFE   OF 

eyes  beheld.  He  was  hardly  able  to  stretcli  forth  his 
hand  to  bid  me  welcome.  In  the  same  condition  was  his 
wife — his  three  sons  not  quite  so  bad,  but  very  poorly  ; 
also  one  of  his  daughters  and  two  or  three  of  his  grand- 
children. All  had  the  fever.  There  were  three  buried 
out  of  the  family  a  few  days  before,  namely  :  Cajadis,  She- 
kallamy's  son-in-law,  who  had  been  married  to  his  daugh- 
ter above  fifteen  years,  and  was  reckoned  the  best  hunter 
among  all  the  Indians,  and  two  others.  I  administered 
medicine  to  them,  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Graeme. 
Shekallamy  soon  recovered  from  his  sickness.  The  medi- 
cine had  a  very  good  effect.  *  *  ^-  Four  persons  thought 
themselves  as  good  as  recovered  ;  but,  above  all,  Shekal- 
lamy was  able  to  go  about  with  me,  by  a  stick,  before  I 
left  Shamokin,  which  was  on  the  12th,  in  the  afternoon." 
"  I  must,  in  conclusion,"  he  goes  on  to  say,  "  recom- 
mend, as  an  objent  of  charity,  Shekallamy.  He  is  ex- 
tremely poor.  In  his  sickness  the  horses  have  eaten  all 
the  corn.  His  clothes  he  gave  to  the  Indian  doctors  to 
cure  him  and  his  family  ;  but  all  did  no  good.  He  has 
nobody  to  hunt  for  him,  and  I  cannot  see  how  the  poor  old 
man  can  live.  He  has  been  a  true  servant  to  the  Govern- 
ment, and  may  still  be,  if  he  lives  to  get  well  again.  As 
the  winter  is  coming  on,  I  think  it  would  not  be  amiss  to 
send  him  a  few  blankets,  or  match-coats,  and  a  little  pow- 
der and  lead.  If  the  Government  would  be  pleased  to  do 
it,  I  would  send  my  sons  with  it  to  Shamokin,  before  the 
cold  weather  comes."  This  is  the  parable  of  the  ^  Good 
Samaritan'  in  a  practical  way.  He  had  from  his  thor- 
ough acquaintance  with  the  Gospel,  as  Muhlenberg  says, 
learned  the  full  import  of  the  admonition  of  St.  James, 
and  failed  not  to  realize  it  on  this  poor  Indian. 


COXRAD   WEISER.  73 

His  prayer  for  charity  was  not  unheeded,  either.  £16 
were  given  him,  which  his  sons  promptly  delivered  to  the 
unfortunate  family. 

He  informed  Secretary  Peters  that  the  present,  intended 
for  the  Ohio  Indians,  had  been  dealt  out  with  too  sparing 
a  hand.  The  Council  regretted  that  it  had  already  been 
forwarded,  as  it  was,  but  assured  him  that  no  further 
action  would  be  taken  in  this  direction  without  consultinof 
him  ;  and  requested  him  to  attend  the  Council  at  Phila- 
delphia, in  view  of  a  conference  with  the  Ohio  Warriors. 

In  November  he  speaks  of  his  timely  arrival  at  Pax- 
ton,  to  prevent  the  Indians  about  there  from  going  over 
to  the  French. 

His  temperance  principles  came  to  the  surface  again 
and  again.  He  does  not  look  with  favor  on  the  liquor 
traffic  with  the  Indians.  "  It  is  an  abomination  before 
God  and  man,^'  as  he  puts  it. 

About  the  close  of  1747  and  beginning  of  1748  a  mis- 
sion to  Ohio  was  spoken  of.  The  Provinces  of  Virginia 
and  Maryland  were  asked  to  join  with  Pennsylvania  in 
preparing  a  suitable  bribe  for  the  Indians  dwelling  on  tlie 
banks  of  the  Ohio  river,  who  were  allied  to  the  Six  Na- 
tions. This  Province  alone  gathered  about  ten  thousand 
pounds  for  this  and  similar  purposes.  Conrad  W'eiscr  was 
immediately  thought  of  as  the  envoy.  He  endeavored  to 
excuse  himself  from  performing  so  long  and  hazardous  a 
journey.  But  he  was  finally  prevailed  on  to  undertake  it, 
through  the  earnest  words  of  Secretary  Peters.  Tlie  enter- 
prise was  postponed,  however,  until  the  11th  day  of  Au- 
gust, 1748,  when  he  set  out  from  his  home  at  Tulpeh(H'ken. 
We  have  not  the  space  to  remark  on  all  the  thrilling  inci- 
6 


74  THE   LIFE   OF 

dents,  but  ninst  refer  tlie  reader  to  liis  Journal.     P)V  tlie 
second  dav  of  October  lie  arrives  safe  at  his  home. 

In  the  month  of  April,  1749,  his  commission  as  Jus- 
tice of  the  Peace  was  renewed.  By  the  first  day  of  July 
he  is  in  Philadelphia,  interpreting  for  the  Indians  of  vari- 
ous tribes.  In  August  Governor  Hamilton  speaks  thus 
to  the  Board  : 

^^  Mr.  Weiser  having  defrayed  the  expenses  of  the  last 
Indians,  in  their  journey  to  and  from  this  city,  I  advanced 
him  the  sum  of  £60  on  his  going  way.  He  must,  by  this 
time,  have  laid  out  a  considerable  sum  more,  which  you 
will  please  to  order  payment  of.  And  tho'  from  your  long 
knowledge  of  his  merits,  it  might  be  unnecessary  in  me  to 
say  anything  in  his  favor,  yet  as  the  last  set  of  Indians 
did  damage  to  his  plantation,  and  he  had  abundant  trouble 
with  them  and  is  likely  to  meet  much  more  on  this  occa- 
sion, I  cannot  excuse  myself  from  most  heartily  recom- 
mending it  to  your  mind,  to  make  him  a  handsome  reward 
for  his  services.^' 

He  continued  busy  with  his  tawny  friends  during  the 
entire  month,  mediating,  negotiating,  pacifying  and  labor- 
ing in  the  service. 

In  this  year  he,  with  Secretary  Peters,  aided  by  the 
magistrates  of  the  county,  the  delegates  of  the  Six  Na- 
tions, one  Chief  of  the  Mohawks,  and  Andrew  Montour, 
the  Interpreter  from  Ohio,  whom  Weiser  had  recom- 
mended to  the  Board  as  a  person  of  capacity,  because  of 
his  long  residence  among  the  Iroquois,  was  directed  to 
proceed  to  Cumberland  county,  to  drive  forth  certain 
white  squatters  and  intruders  on  Indian  ground.  We, 
accordingly,  find  him  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Confer- 
ence, at  that  place,  on  the  17th  of  May,   1750.     The  bal- 


CONRAD   REISER.  75 

ance  of  the  month  and  a  part  of  Jnly,  again,  is  consumed 
with  some  Conestogoe  Indians  and  the  Twightccs.  Indecil 
it  were,  perhaps,  more  proper  to  note  his  rare  visits  home 
than  his  goings  abroad,  since  he  seems  to  be  forever  roam- 
ing at  large,  Avhilst  his  arrivals  at  home  are  more  like 
angels'  visits.  He  is  the  Indian  Agent,  in  fact,  during 
these  years.  The  President  of  the  Province  of  Virginia, 
Honorable  Thomas  Lee,  requests  him  to  proceed  U)  Onon- 
dago,  in  August,  as  usual,  on  Indian  affairs.  After  an 
absence  of  two  mouths  he  returns,  "in  perfect  heahh,  on 
the  first  day  of  October."  During  this  trip  he  visited  his 
relatives  and  friends  in  the  Province  of  New  York,  his 
earlier  home,  and  recommends  the  nephew,  Jolm  Picket, 
to  the  Mohawks  as  his  successor,  who  resided  al)out  one 
mile  from  Canawadagy. 

In  May,  1751,  the  Governor  designed  sending  him  on 
a  second  mission  to  Ohio.  He  answers,  from  Tulpehoc-ken, 
that  his  presence  is  more  necessary,  during  the  a]i])roacli- 
ing  Fall,  at  Albany,  and  suggests  that  substitutes  be  sent, 
which  request  was  granted  him.  In  June,  however,  we 
find  him  ah*eadv  at  Albanv  on  otiicial  l)usiness,  and  in 
August  at  Phihidelphia  again,  talking  Indian  and  I]ngH>h, 
as  usual. 

In  Juno,  1752,  when  Moravian  missionaries  designinl 
to  operate  on  the  Six  Nations  and  request  suitabh'  ])ass- 
ports,  Conrad  AVeiser  is  first  consuhed  in  the  matter,  a 
circumstance  wliich  shows  still  more  plainly  how  j)erfcetly 
the  whole  Indian  territory,  and  all  matters  related  thereto, 
lay  under  his  hand. 

Governor  Dinwiddie  was  fearing  the  presages  of  thr 
coming  storm  in  1753,  and  requests  his  jircsence  at  Albany 
in  behalf  of  Virginia.     He  must  needs  go  to  the  ATohawk 


76  THE   TJFE   OF 

country,  too.  He  set  out  from  liis  home  in  Ilcidclborf^, 
July  24 til ;  arrives  at  New  York  by  the  first  day  of  Au- 
gust— "being  taken  ill,  I  sent  my  son  Sammy  with  one 
Henry  Van  der  Ham  to  Flushing,  on  Long  Island,  to 
wait  on  Governor  Clinton  to  deliver  Governor  ?Tamilton's 
letters.  August  7th,  took  passage  on  board  a  sloop  to 
Albany."  By  the  close  of  August  he  returns  to  Philadel- 
phia. At  Carlisle  a  part  of  September  is  spent  with  Chiefs 
of  the  Six  Nations  and  other  tribes.  Conrad  Weiser  and 
his  Indian  friends  seemed  to  be  flitting  about,  here,  there 
and  everywhere. 

But  the  spare  days  at  home  were  devoted  no  less  zeal- 
ously to  improvements.  He  subscribes  to  a  petition  for  a 
highway  from  Reading  to  Easton.  And,  as  if  the  man 
had  not  a  sufficient  number  of  burdens  on  his  shoulders,  a 
company  of  benevolent  men  of  London,  forming  a  scheme 
for  the  instruction  of  German  youths,  constituted  a  Gen- 
eral Board  of  Trustees  for  its  execution,  in  which  the  fol- 
lowing list  of  names  was  made  to  stand  : 

Governor  James  Hamilton,  Chief  Justice  Allen,  Rich- 
ard Peters,  Secretary  of  the  Province,  Benjamin  Franklin, 
Esq.,  Conrad  Weiser  and  E-ev.  William  Smith,  D.  D.  The 
Reverend  Michael  Schlatter  was  constituted  Visitor  Gen- 
eral by  the  Board. 

The  wonder  is  that  the  man  did  not  succumb  under 
the  heavy  load  before  this  date.  We  merely  sketched  his 
shiftings,  from  one  to  several  hundred  miles  distant,  his 
trials,  duties  and  labors.  But  the  mere  recital  is  already 
fearful.  Hardly  any  one  of  his  cotemporaries  held  out  so 
long,  even  under  less  pressure.  Men  of  his  own  race 
retire  and  die.  The  hardy  Indian,  indeed,  bends  his  back 
and  bows  his  head.     Still  he  clings  to  life  and  duty. 


CONRAD    WEISEK.  77 


CHAPTER  Xy. 


THE     FEEXCH     AND     INDIAN      WAR.        CONKAD      UKl^HK, 

SUPERINTENDENT    OF    THE    INDIAN     lU'REAU. 

COLONEL.       HIS  DEATH   OFFK  lALLY 

ANNOUNCED.       1 754-1  760. 


King  William's  (1689-1697),  Queen  Anne's  (17(^2- 
1713)  and  King  George's  wars  (1744-1 74S)  were  lollowetl 
by  the  French  and  Indian  war,  whieh  extended  its  blmxly 
trail  from  1754  to  1763.  The  course  of  the  last  season  <»f 
carnage  was,  the  region  west  of  the  Allegheny  mountains, 
along  the  Ohio  river.  The  French  territory  Kent  around 
from  Quebec  to  New  Orleans.  The  English  occupied  a 
narrow  strip  along  the  coast  one  tliousand  miles  in  K-ngth. 

"As  unto  the  bow  the  cord  is,"  so  these  tracts  were 
the  one  to  the  other.  Both  })arties  claimed  the  (hsputrd 
ground,  regardless  of  the  Indians,  who  were  the  real  pro- 
prietors after  all.  The  French  encroached  on  English 
parts  by  breaking  uj)  old  forts  long  established  and  plant- 
ing new  ones.  Early  in  the  Spring  they  became  still  more 
aggressive  at  Port  Du  (^uesne  (Pittsburg),  which  was  the 
key  to  the  region  west  of  the  Alleghenies.  As  long  as 
this  point  was  held  by  them,  Virginia  and  Pemisylvania 
were  a  battle-field.  The  Colonics  spent  §1G,0()0,()(K)  in 
this  war,  and  suifered  such  horrid  Indian  cruelties  as 
never  were  and  never  will  be  toM. 

Washington  and  I3rad<l()ck  were   the  principal    figures 


78  THE    LIFE   OF 

on  tlic  field  ;  Benjamiii  l^'raiiklin  was  tlic  central  head  in 
the  Provincial  Cabinet,  and  Conrad  AVeiser  was  Superin- 
tendent of  the  Indian  Department.  In  April,  1754,  the 
Governor  sent  Conrad  AYeiser  to  Shamokin  on  a  mission 
of  inquiry  and  conciliation  among  the  Chiefs  over  some  of 
the  Six  Nations.  In  June  he  accompanies  Benjamin 
Franklin  to  Albany.  These  are  some  of  Governor  Ham- 
ilton's words  :  ^^  I  have,  agreeably  to  your  desire,  sent 
Mr.  AYeiser,  with  the  Commissioners,  and  directed  him  to 
do  you  all  the  service  in  his  power,  which  he  professes 
most  willingly  to  do  ;  and  only  recpiests  that  he  may  not 
be  made  use  of  as  a  principal  Interpreter,  inasmuch  as 
from  a  disuse  of  the  language  he  is  no  longer  master  of 
that  fluency  he  formerly  had,  and,  finding  himself  at  a 
loss  of  proper  terms  to  express  himself,  is  frequently 
obliged  to  make  use  of  circumlocution,  which  would  pique 
his  pride  in  the  view  of  so  considerable  an  audience.  He 
says  he  understands  the  language  perfectly  when  he  hears 
it  spoken,  and  will  at  all  times  attend  and  use  his  endeavor 
that  whatever  is  said  by  the  Indians  be  truly  interpreted 
to  the  gentlemen.  And  in  this  respect  I  really  think  you 
may  securely  rely  on  his  good  sense  and  integrity.^^ 

This  Council  at  Albany,  lasting  through  June,  July 
and  part  of  August,  was  a  very  important  one.  Here  the 
first  "  Plan  of  Union"  for  the  Colonies  was  suggested  ; 
more  lands  were  purchased  from  the  Indians  and  Deeds 
executed,  to  which  instruments  the  names  of  Franklin, 
Weiser  and  others  were  subscribed. 

In  August  he  is  sent  to  Aucquick,  to  learn  the  mind 
and  relations  of  the  Indian  dwellers  there.  In  December 
he  aids  the  Governor  in  framing  suitable  messages  to  the 
Tribes, 


CONRAD    WEISER.  79 

In  the  beginning  of  1755  (January)  lie  is  sent  tor  "  l»v 
express'^  to  come  to  Phila(lel])liia.  Let  it  l)e  l)«>rn('  in 
mind  that  ^'by  express'^  did  not  mean  a  swiit  and  easy- 
going air  passage,  but,  at  best,  on  horseback — wliieh  a^'-ain 
meant  to  go  on  foot  by  more  than  half  the  distanee,  lead- 
ing the  horse  by  the  bridle.  The  Mohawks  had  brought 
ne^vs  touching  the  Connecticut  people,  and  Conrad  Weiser 
was  needed  to  talk  it  over.  In  June  we  find  him  to  have 
been  engaged  in  providing  for  his  Indian  friends,  some 
forty-five  miles  above  Shamokin,  on  the  northwest  branch 
of  the  Susquehanna.  John  Harris  demands  his  presence, 
likewise,  at  this  time  on  account  of  savage  depradations. 
So  too,  in  July  following,  whilst  acting  in  the  capacity  of 
a  quarter-master  for  some  needy  Indians,  the  presence  of 
the  Owendotts  at  Philadelphia  called  him  "  by  express" 
thither. 

One  would  think  that  when  the  country  luul  been  in 
such  a  state  of  unrest,  no  one  would  be  likely  to  dream  of 
a  religious  conspiracy.  Still,  no- less  than  five  Justices  of 
Berks  county  subscribed  to  a  praver,  adtlressed  to  the 
Council,  asking  that  a  certain  Catholic  Chapel  at  (Joshcn- 
hoppen  be  looked  after,  since  there  were  rumors  of  Indians 
occupying  it  with  arms.  After  sonic  little  iiupiiry  it  was 
found  that  there  seemed  to  be  but  little  ibundation  t'oi- 
such  a  rumor. 

During  this  period,  when  sent  fi)r  to  come  to  IMiiladcl- 
phia  in  haste,  he  reports  himself  as  indisposed.  I'his  is 
the  second  time  that  he  com})lains  of  being  unwell.  He 
sends  his  son,  Samuel,  as  a  substitute,  who  had  previously 
accompanied  him  on  some  of  his  expeditions.  In  August 
he  is  promptly  at  his  post  again,  attending  no  less  than 
three  different  conferences.     In  September  Governor  Mor- 


80  THE   LIFE   OF 

ris  sends  liiin  to  Harris'  Ferry.  The  month  of  October 
he  spends  at  liome,  thongh  his  sons,  Frederick  and  Peter, 
had  to  go  to  Shaniokin  in  his  stead.  His  liousehold  seems 
to  have  been  in  the  employ  of  the  Province,  as  well  as  lie. 

On  tlie  31st  day  of  October  Governor  Morris  forwards 
his  commission  as  '^  Colonel.''  He  accompanies  the  letter 
with  some  complimentary  words  :  ^^  I  heartily  commend 
your  conduct  and  zeal,  and  hope  you  will  continue  to  act 
with  the  same  vigor  and  caution  that  you  have  already 
done,  and  that  you  may  have  a  greater  authority,  I  have 
appointed  you  a  Colonel  by  a  commission  herewith.  I 
have  not  time  to  give  you  any  instructions  with  the  com- 
mission, but  leave  it  to  your  judgment  and  discretion, 
which  I  know  are  great,  to  do  what  is  most  for  the  safety 
of  the  people  aud  service  of  the  crown."  Was  this  not  a 
Carte-Blanche  ? 

No  one  will  imagine  Conrad  Weiser  to  have  proven  a 
mere  ornamental  Colonel,  verily.  He  commanded  a  regi- 
ment of  volunteers  from  the  county  of  Berks,  and  had 
command  over  the  Second  Battalion  of  the  Pennsylvania 
regiment,  consisting  of  nine  companies.  ^^  He  exerted 
himself  by  day  and  night,  in  the  protection  of  his  suffer- 
ing neighbors  and  fellow-citizens,  and  repelling  the  savage 
Indians  in  their  incursions.  He  was  vigilant,  brave  and 
active,  in  the  full  sense  of  the  terms.  A  number  of  forts 
and  block  houses  were  erected  under  his  directions  on  the 
frontiers  of  Lancaster  and  Berks.  *  ^  *  He  distributed 
his  companies  very  judiciously — stationing  one  company 
at  Fort  Augusta,  one  at  Hunter's  Mills,  seven  miles  above 
Harrisburg,  on  the  Susquehanna  ;  one-half  company  on 
the  Swatara,  at  the  foot  of  the  North  Mountain ;  one  com- 
pany and  a  half  at  Fort  Henry,   close  to  the  gap  of  the 


CONKAD    WEISER.  81 

moimtain,  called  the  Tolhea  Gap ;  one  coinpaiiy  at  Fort 
AVilliam,  near  the  forks  of  the  Schuylkill  river,  six  Miilcs 
beyond  the  mountain  ;  one  company  at  Fort  Allen,  erecte<l 
by  Benjamin  Franklin,  at  Gnadenhuetten,  on  the  Lclii«;li ; 
the  other  three  companies  were  scattered  between  tlie  riv- 
ers Lehigh  and  Delaware,  at  the  dispositions  of  the  cai>- 
tains,  some  at  farm  houses,  others  at  mills,  from  three  to 
twenty  at  a  place." — Rupp. 

But  though  a  Colonel  in  active  service,  he  dare  n(H 
absent  himself  from  the  many  Conferences  and  Treaty- 
makings  which  were  being  held  at  short  intervals  during 
these  years.  In  November,  1755,  he  is  in  Philadelphia, 
with  two  hard  cases  on  his  hands — Scarrozady  and  drunken 
Tigrea.     Here  is  a  specimen  of  a  speech  : 

"AYe  tell  you  the  French  have  a  numerous  alliance  of 
other  Indians,  as  well  as  the  Delawares,  in  this  war." 

(Danced  the  war  dance.) 

"  AYhen  AVashington  was  defeated,  we,  the  Dclawari-s, 
were  blamed  as  the  cause  of  it.  AVe  will  now  kill.  A\'e 
will  not  be  blamed  without  a  cause.  We  make  up  three 
parties  of  Delawares.  One  party  will  go  against  Carlisle, 
one  down  the  Susquehanna,  and  I  myself,  with  another 
party,  will  go  against  Tulpehocken,  to  Con  rail  \\'eiser." 

The  revolted  Delawares  caused  much  anxiety  to  tlu- 
Government,  and  Conrad  AVeiser  was  the  onlv  man  who 
could  effect  anvthinij:  with  them.  In  December  his  letters 
and  reports  were  forwarded,  and  thus  another  year  came 
to  its  close. 

Harris'  Ferry  claims  his  services  during  .January  of 
1756.  He  accompanies  Governor  Morris  and  James  I^h 
gan  to  Carlisle,  during  the  same  montli,  where  a  Confer- 
ence was  held.     Back  again  to  Harris'   Ferry  and  Phila- 


82  THE   LIFE   OF 

(l('l])hia  in  I^\'l)riiaiy.  A  <^ood  j)art  of  July  is  spent  at 
Eastoii.  Cortiiiii  insimiatioiis  in  Christian  Sowers'  paper, 
at  Gennantown,  to  the  effect  tliat  the  ill-will  of  the  Indi- 
ans had  been  excited  by  the  dishonest  and  covetous  spirit 
of  the  Government,  offends  his  honor,  in  September,  for 
which  he  reports  the  editor  and  wants  him  punished.  It 
turned  out  not  quite  as  bad  as  he  had  thought,  however, 
and  he  and  Sowers  Avere  fast  friends  to  the  end  of  his  life. 

In  October  Shayetowah,  John  Shekallamy's  brother, 
complains  of  having  lost  his  friend  Conrad  Weiser,  before 
the  Board,  and  expresses  a  strong  inclination  to  see  him 
again.  He  might  have  seen  him  on  this  occasion,  but, 
alas  !  the  old  Interpreter  is  unwell  for  the  third  time.  He 
could  not  travel,  though  asked  to  come  ''  by  express.'' 
Long  exposure  and  age  are  beginning  to  tell,  for  he  is  now 
in  his  sixtieth  year.  His  sou,  Samuel,  is  his  proxy  again, 
who,  by  the  way,  is  styled  ^^  Captain  Sam."  But  in  No- 
vember he  had  recruited,  and  goes  to  Easton. 

The  Indians  desire  a  Council  to  be  held  there,  and 
Conrad  Weiser  so  arranged  it.  The  Governor  did  not 
fancy  to  go  abroad,  and  thought  it  unnecessary  to  gratify 
such  whims  of  theirs.  But  Conrad  knew  better,  and  the 
proposed  Council  was  held,  which  proved  an  important 
one,  lasting  nearly  three  weeks. 

During  this  year  he  took  up  his  residence  in  Reading, 
at  the  corner  of  Penn  and  Callowhill  streets.  In  old 
times  it  was  the  principal  hotel  in  the  place.  "  Here," 
says  the  Reading  Times,  "  the  war  song  of  the  savage  was 
sung,  the  war  dance  wound  down  and  the  calumet  of  peace 
finally  smoked."  The  house  was  built  in  1751  and  known 
as  the  ^'  Wigwam."  Many  a  Conference  was  held  within 
its  walls,  and  Treaties  effected  under  its  roof,   in  the  old 


CONRAD    AVEISER.  83 

ludian  Agent's  day.  The  walls  are  still  standing  np  to 
the  second  story. 

In  1757  he,  with  Logan,  prepared  the  Oovernur's 
message  to  the  Six  Nations.  In  ]\Iay  he  docs  the  same 
service  for  a  Council  Member,  Croghani,  who  undL'rtouk 
the  task  of  replying  to  the  Delaware  Indians,  but  failed. 

The  condition  of  the  frontier  settlers  was  truly  deplor- 
able at  this  period.  Sickness  and  savages  made  their  lot 
a  hard  one,  indeed.  Appeals  to  the  Government  were 
made,  but  a  deaf  ear  was  turned  to  their  cries.  The  fol- 
lovv'ing  appeal  we  copy  from  Rupp's  History  of  Berk^  an^l 
Lebanon  Counties  : 

"Die  hintern  Einwohner  zu  Dopehocken  bitten  um 
eine  Beysteuer,  dasz  sie  mehr  Wacten  bezahlen  kennen  zu 
ihrer  Sicherheit,  weil  die  Festungen  so  weit  auseinander 
liegen  und  die  Voelcker  drinnen  wenig  Dienste  thunn. 
Wer  willen  ist,  etwas  zu  steuern,  der  kann  es  ablegen  in 
Lancaster  bei  Herrn  Oterbein,  und  Herrn  Gerock,  Luth. 
Pred. ;  in  Xew  Hanover  und  Provident/  by  ^Ir.  ^Tui-h- 
lenberg  und  Leydig ;  in  Madetsche  by  Dr.  Al>rahain 
Wagner;  in  Goschenhoppen  by  ]\Ir.  Michael  Rcycr  ;  in 
Germantown  by  Christopli  Saner,  Sr.,  und  in  i*hihidclphia 
bey  Hr.  Hundshuh,  und  dabey  schreiben,  wie  viel  gegcben 
worden ;  und  diese  kcennen  es  uebersenden  an  Col.  Con- 
rad Weiser ;  oder  Peter  Spycher,  oder  an  Ilr.  Kurtz,  wie 
es  einem  Jeden  beliebt. 

"  Diejenigen,  welche  in  Rnlie  und  Sicherheit  ihre 
Erndte  haben  kuennen  schneiden  und  heinibringen,  hal)en 
Ursache,  Gott  davor  zu  danken." 

That  Conrad  Weiser  could  not  please  every  Indian 
may  be  seen  from  the  following  remarks  of  Tecdyuscuug, 
9-  Delawarian  Chief,  uttered  in  the  month  of  July  : 


84  THE   LIFE   OF 

"I  was  deceived  by  Courad  Weiser,  wlio  promised  to 
ti^ive  me  notice  (to  call  on  the  Governor),  but  he  broke 
his  word  with  me.  And  if  he  could  do  it  in  this  instance, 
he  may  do  it  in  another/' 

The  Governor  plead  a  misunderstanding,  and  l)egged 
the  Chief  to  suspend  judgment  till  an  explanation  could 
be  had.  This  occurred  at  Easton,  where  a  protracted 
Council  was  held,  and  resulted  in  a  Treaty.  At  a  meet- 
ing of  the  Board,  September  1 2th,  Mr.  Weiser  Avas  ordered 
to  build  a  house  for  the  Delaware  Indians  at  Wyoming. 
The  bloody-minded  Teedyuscung  Avas  inclined  to  have  a 
price  fixed  for  scalps.  By  request  Conrad  Weiser  uttered 
his  mind  on  the  subject  in  these  words  :  '■^  It  is  my  hum- 
ble opinion  that  no  encouragement  should  be  given  to  the 
Indians  for  scalps,  for  fear  we  must  then  pay  for  our  own 
scalps,  and  those  of  our  fellow  subjects,  as  will  certainly 
be  the  case.  Allow  as  much  for  prisoners  as  you  please 
— rather  more  than  was  intended.'^  He  ever  remained  a 
humane  man,  though  among  the  savages  for  a  lifetime. 

As  to  building  a  house  at  Wyoming,  he  seemed  to  be 
in  doubt.  At  all  events,  he  was  unwilling  to  attend  to  it. 
^^  I  am  in  a  very  Ioav  state  of  health,  and  cannot,  without 
great  hazard,  undertake  any  journey." 

Previous  to  this  writing  Ave  find  him,  during  1757,  at 
a  Treaty-making  in  Lancaster,  in  May,  and  also  again  in 
Easton,  in  August.  His  rare  appearance,  during  the  last 
two  years,  is  explained  by  the  part  of  the  letter  just  quoted. 
It  seems  odd  to  the  eye,  that  has  accustomed  itself  to  find 
his  name  on  so  many  successiA^e  pages,  now  to  find  strange 
names,  noAV  of  this  man,  then  of  that  one,  in  his  familiar 
room.     But  all  things  end. 

In  1760  the  Indian  Agents  at  Fort  Augusta  inform 


CONRAD    WEISER.  85 

the  Council  that  John  Shekallamy  is  anxious  to  see  Con- 
rad Weiser.  The  Secretary  had  written  to  him  and  asked 
him  to  take  the  trouble  upon  himself  to  go  to  Shamokin. 
The  answer  was  that  he  could  not  go,  but  that  he  wcjuld 
send  his  son  Samuel.  And  lo  I  his  name  appears  never 
again  as  Interpreter. 

There  is  a  record,  though,  which  we  extract  from  the 
minutes  of  an  Indian  Conference  held  at  Easton,  and 
insert,  as  in  good  place,  here.  It  bears  the  date  August 
3d,  17G1,  and  reads  thus  : 

"  Seneca  George  stood  up  and  spoke  as  follows  : 

"  Brotlier  Onas  :  We,  the  Seven  Xations,  and  our  cou- 
sins are  at  a  great  loss  and  sit  in  darkness,  as  well  as  you, 
by  the  death  of  Conrad  AVeiser,  as  since  his  death  we  can- 
not so  well  understand  one  another.  By  this  belt  we  cover 
his  bodv  with  Ixirk. 

^^  Brother  Onas  :  Having  taken  notice  of  the  death  of 
Conrad  AVeiser,  and  the  darkness  it  has  occasioned  amongst 
us,  I  now  by  this  belt  raise  up  another  Interpreter,  by 
w^hose  assistance  we  may  understand  one  another  clearlv. 
You  know  that  in  former  times,  when  men  grew  old  and 
died,  we  used  to  put  others  in  their  placi-s.  Now,  as  Con- 
rad Weiser  (who  was  a  great  man,  and  one-hall'  a  Si'ven 
Nation  Indian  and  one-half  an  I'jiglishman)  is  drad,  we 
recommend  it  to  the  Governor  to  appoint  his  son  (pointing 
to  Samuel,  then  present)  to  succeed  him  as  an  Interpreter, 
and  to  take  care  of  the  Seven  Xations  and   their  rou>ins." 

The  Governor,  James  Hamilton,  answered  :  ''  lircth- 
ren  :  We  are  very  sensible,  with  you,  that  both  of  us  have 
sustained  a  very  heavy  loss  by  the  death  of  our  old  and 
good  friend,  Conrad  AVeiser,  wlio  was  an  able,  experience*! 
and  faithful  Interpreter,  and  one  of  the  Council   of  the 


86  THE   LIFE   OF 

Sovoii  Xnti(^ns  ;  mid  tliat  siiice  liis  death  we,  fis  well  as 
you,  have  sat  in  darkness,  and  are  at  a  great  loss  for  want 
of  well  understan(hng  what  we  say  to  one  another.  We 
mourn  with  you  for  his  deatli,  and  heartily  join  in  eover- 
inff  his  body  with  bark. 

"  Brethren  :  Having  tlius  paid  our  regards  to  our 
deceased  friend,  we  cannot  but  observe  with  you  that  there 
is  a  necessity  of  appointing  some  other  person  to  succeed 
him,  by  whose  assistance  we  may  be  enabled  to  find  the 
true  sense  and  meaning  of  wdiat  there  may  be  occasion  to 
say  to  one  another,  either  in  Council,  or  by  letters  or  mes- 
sages. 

"  Brethren  :  In  conformity  to  the  ancient  custom  of 
taking  from  among  the  relations  of  any  man  who  dies, 
some  fit  person  to  supply  his  place  (as  Mr.  Weiser  was  by 
adoption  one  of  the  Six  Nations,  though  by  birth  one  of 
us),  we  think  you  did  well  to  cast  your  eyes  upon  one  of 
his  children  ;  and,  inasmuch  as  Samuel  Weiser  is  the  only 
one  amongst  them  who  has  any  knowledge  of  the  Indian 
language,  and  has  lived  among  you,  we  shall  be  glad  to 
make  trial  of  him  for  the  present,  and  if  we  find  him 
capable  of  serving  in  the  office  of  Interpreter  and  in  the 
managen7ent  of  Indian  affairs  (in  both  which  capacities 
his  father  so  well  acquitted  himself),  we  shall  appoint  him 
to  that  service.  We  look  upon  this  choice  of  yours  as  a 
mark  of  your  grateful  aifection  for  Conrad  Weiser,  who 
was  always  your  sincere  friend,  and  we  join  this  belt  to 
yours  in  token  of  our  concurrence  as  far  as  to  make  trial 
of  him.'^ 

In  a  letter  of  Secretary  Peters,  dated  Feb.  12,  1761, 
Philadelphia,  we  read  :  "  Poor  Mr.  Weiser  is  no  more  ; 
he  died  suddenly  in  the  summer,  and  has  not  left  any  one 


CONRAD   WEISER.  87 

to  fill  his  place  as  Provincial  Interpreter.     His  son,  Sam- 
uel, has  almost  forgotten  what  little  he  knew/' 

Thus  closes  his  Indian  record.  From  1724  to  the  end 
of  his  life  he  had  been  among,  and  in  almost  daily  inter- 
course with  the  Indians,  a  period  extending  over  forty-six 
years. 

If  Thomas  JeiFerson  felt  prompted  to  say  of  Lewis 
and  Clarke  and  their  brave  companions  that  they  ^'  de- 
served well  of  their  country/'  who  (from  1804-6)  per- 
formed a  journey  of  3,000  miles,  through  an  unexplored 
portion  of  the  Continent,  covered  with  Indian  Tribes,  we 
need  not  hesitate  to  affirm  the  same  of  Conrad  Weiser, 
who  did  a  greater  thing,  and  in  a  still  more  ditHcult  era  of 
the  country's  history.  In  imitation  of  Charles  Tiamb  \v<' 
sav  : 

ft' 

''  When  mortals,  such  as  he  was,  die, 
Their  place  we  may  not  well  supply, 
Though  we  among  a  thousand  try. 
With  vain  endeavor." 


88  THE   LIFE    OF 


CHAPTEll   XVI. 


CONRAD   WEISER's    FAILING    HEALTH.       HIS   DEATH.      HIS 

BURIAL-PLACE. 


During  the  last  five  years  of  his  busy  and  trying  life 
Conrad  Weiser  showed  signs  of  a  wearing  down  and  com- 
ing dissolution.  On  several  occasions  he  could  not  respond 
to  the  call  of  the  Government,  as  we  have  seen,  because  of 
indisposition.  When  he  was  appointed  Colonel  in  1755, 
he  was  infirm — too  much  so  to  discharge  the  onerous  duties 
of  the  office,  one  may  say.  His  son-in-law  says  :  ^'  JEr  war 
schon  alt  an  JahreUy  schivach  an  Leibeskraeften,  etG^  And 
yet,  though  verging  on  sixty,  he  seemed  to  perform  with 
vigor  and  promptness  all  the  functions  of  Interpreter,  Jus- 
tice and  Soldier.  He  had  lived  too  long  and  well  to  suc- 
cumb at  once.  Men  may  not  die  when  they  will,  nor 
always  when  they  might.  The  sad  privilege  of  shortening 
one's  life  implies  the  prerogative  of  lengthening  it,  too,  in 
a  measure.  We  may  master  circumstances  to  a  degree, 
even  though  we  are  mastered  by  them  finally.  The  state 
of  his  health  had  already  indicated  an  abandonment  of  pub- 
lic life,  when  the  burdens  of  a  Colonelcy  were  imposed 
upon  him  ;  but  the  pressure  from  without  and  the  patriotic 
impulse  from  within  did  not  permit  him  to  give  up  and 
retire. 

However,  all  things  end  in  this  world,  and  we  speak 
of  the  mighty  as  fallen,  sooner  or  later.  On  September 
19,  1759,  he  writes  :  "  I  am  in  a  very  low  state  of  health, 


CONRAD   WEISER.  89 

and  caunot,  without  great  hazard,  iiiidrrtakc  any  joiiriicv." 
On  the  24th  day  of  the  following  November  he  signs  and 
seals  his  last  will  and  testament,  an  act  in  wiiich  man 
shows  that  he  has  learned  to  know  himself  a  mortal.  How 
plainly  the  confession  is  embodied  in  the  adjunct  "  laM  /'* 

On  the  12th  day  of  July,  1760,  eight  months  later,  <>n 
a  Saturday,  as  he  left  his  home  in  Reading,  in  his  average 
health,  he  was  seized  with  a  violent  attack  of  colic,  which 
ended  his  life  on  the  following  Sunday  (13th),  about  the 
hour  of  noon.  Thus  died  Conrad  Weiser,  July  13,  1760, 
on  his  farm  at  Womelsdorf.  On  the  loth,  the  Rev.  John 
Nicholas  Kurtz,  Lutheran  Pastor  at  Tulpehocken,  Lei)anon 
county,  preached  his  funeral  discourse  on  the  two-fold  text 
in  Genesis  15  :  15,  and  Psalm  84  :  11-12  :  "v1/k/  thou 
shaH  go  to  thy  fatliers  in  peace  ;  thou  .shalt  be  buried  in  a 
good  old  a//6." — "  For  the  Lord  God  is  a  sun  and  shield : 
the  Lord  will  give  grace  and  glory :  no  good  thing  will  JIc 
withhold  from  them  that  icalk  uprighthj.  0  I^ord  of  hosts^ 
blessed  is  the  man  that  trusteth  i-i  thfc.^^ 

Unfortunately  Conrad  Weiserowneda  private  burying 
ground,  in  which  his  mortal  remains  were  interred,  'i'he 
spot  lies  one-half  mile  east  of  the  town  oi'  Womelsdorf, 
south  of  the  turnpike  road.  A  rough-hewn  siindstune, 
single  and  alone,  stands  over  his  dust.  The  following  epi- 
taph may,  with  ditliculty,  be  deciphered  : 

"  Dies  ist  die 

Ruhe  Sta^tte  des 

weyl.  Ehren  geachteten  M.  Conrad  W'eiser  ;  dei-selbige  ist 

gebohren  1696  den  2.  November  in  Alsta^t  im    A  nit    Ib-r- 

renberg  im  Wittenberger  Lande,  und  gestorben 

1760  den  13.  Julius,  ist 
alt  worden  63  Jahr, 
7  8  Monat  und  13  Tag." 


90  THE   LIFE   OF 

Pastor  Muhlenberg  is  probably  the  framer  of  this  in- 
scriptioii. 

It  is  held  as  true  that  ludians  frequently  visited  his 
tomb,  for  many  years  after,  out  of  affectionate  regard  for 
their  old  friend. 

I.  D.  Rupp,  Esq.,  says  he  ^^  visited  the  grave  of  Wei- 
ser,  February  21,  1844,  and  was  pained  to  see  no  enclosure 
or  fence  around  the  grave  of  so  great  and  good  a  man.'' 
For  the  letter  "  M."  in  his  epitaph  we  cannot  account — if 
it  is  really  an  M.  Our  ancestors  told  us  it  stood  for  the 
German  term  Mann, — des  geachteten  Mannes,  etc. 

A  desolate  tomb  is  a  sad  spectacle — but  only  for  mor- 
tals, who  see  where  they  must  shortly  lie.  Blessed  are  the 
dead,  who  heed  it  not. 

Neither  do  the  weight  and  shadows  of  great  monuments 
contribute  anything  towards  an  immortality.  There  is  no 
life  in  a  stone,  and  it  can  create  none.  Pillars  and  shafts 
have  never  yet  immortalized  a  dead  man,  though  they  do 
oftentimes  entomb  him  all  the  more.  The  ^  living  dead' 
die  no  more,  whilst  the  ^  buried  dead'  are  forgotten,  even 
if  the  stone  remain — to  tell  how  dead  they  are.  The  Pyr- 
amids endure,  but  who  may  tell  the  Pharaohs  in  and  un- 
derneath ?  The  dust  of  Priestly  lay  long  quite  unostenta- 
tiously at  Northumberland  ;  yet  his  disciples  could  ever 
find  it.  Governor  Simon  Snyder's  ashes  are  covered  by  a 
low  prostrate  marble,  at  Selinsgrove,  without  line  or  letter 
of  an  epitaph,  and  still  his  grave  is  known.  Only  the 
'  dwellers  in  tombs'  need  imposing  sentinels,  lest  we  know 
not  where  we  tread. 

Of  what  avail,  then,  are  monuments  ?  They  ought  to 
be  planted  as  disinterested  testimonials  to  worth  and  vir- 
tue.    As  proofs  of  an  immortality,  rather   than   as  pro- 


CX)XRAD    WEISER.  91 

moters  of  it,  we  valiit' them.  When  they  are  challeiipfl, 
more  than  imposed,  are  they  aj)pn)i)riate  only.  As  marks 
of  the  hal^itation  of  distinguished  chist,  they  are  not  a 
mockery.  There  is  a  kinship  between  the  moiuuls,  manes 
and  men,  which  Pagans,  Mohammedans,  Jews  and  Chris- 
tians feel  and  acknowledge  ;  and  this  bond  the  Hame  of 
cremation,  even,  may  not  dissolve. 

After  a  little  while  and  the  grave  of  Conr..d  Wciscr 
can  no  longer  be  known  by  Indian  or  white  man.  Some 
becoming  mark  there  should  be,  on  which  to  engrave  tlie 
almost  obliterated  inscription  : 

'^This  is  the 

resting-place  of 

the  once  honored  and  respected 

Conrad  A\'eiser, 

u'ho  icas  born  November  2d,  A.  D.  IGUG, 

in  Afstaedt,  County  of  Herrenberg,  Wucricmber(jy 

and  died  July  13th,  A.  D.  17 GO, 

aged  63  years,  8  months  and  13  days^ 

A  respectable  citizen  of  Womelsdorf  writes  :  "If  any 

man  in  Berks  county  deserves  a  monument,   it    is  Conrad 

Weiser." 


92  THE   LIFE   OF 


chaptp:Pv  xvii. 


CONRAD    AYELSER   AS    A    RELIGIOUS   CHARACTER. 


Conrad  Weiser  was  a  Lutheran  von  Haus  aus.  His 
ancestry  had  been  born  and  reared  in  this  persuasion.  He 
forgets  not  to  tell  us  of  his  baptism  at  Kueppingen.  The 
Reverend  Christopher  Bockenmeyer^  Lutheran  minister, 
baptized  a  number  of  his  children.  But  back  of  that 
formation,  which  tradition  and  education  had  established 
in  his  constitution,  lay  a  sensitive  and  deep  religious  tem- 
perament, inherited,  perhaps,  from  his  excellent  mother, 
which  began  to  manifest  itself  already  in  early  childhood, 
became  more  and  more  apparent  in  the  period  of  youth, 
and  remained  patent  during  his  long  and  trying  man-age. 
In  his  manuscript-record  he  adopted  the  habit  of  crown- 
ing every  paragraph  with  apt  and  pointed  Scriptural  selec- 
tions, wdiich  betrays  the  spirit  that  animated  his  soul.  In 
his  fifteenth  year  he  said :  "  I  became  so  much  attached  to 
my  Bible  that  I  looked  upon  it  as  my  comfort,  and  it 
became  my  book  of  delight.'^  We  feel  like  denominating 
him  a  religious  enthusiast,  and  that  of  the  Pietistic  order. 
The  hymns  of  his  composition  are  of  this  tenor.  Hence 
it  was  that  his  piety  carried  him  again  and  again  beyond 
his  denominational  setting.  Whether  it  was  because  of 
the  fact  that  his  beloved  Anna  Eva  had  been  of  the  Re- 
formed Church,  or  because  he  was  more  partial  to  Pastor 
Haeger   than   to  Parson   Kocherthal,  we  have  it,   at  all 


CONRAD    WEISKK.  il.'J 

events,  over  his  own  hand,  tliat  lie  was  j;iven  in   niarriaj^e 
by  the  Refornied  ck'rgynian  at  Schoharie. 

We  know  little  of  significance,  touching  his  ivliginu> 
history,  until  we  find  him  at  Tulpehocken,  some  six  years. 
In  the  year  1735  his  enthusiasm  breaks  forth  in  a  note- 
worthy manner.  The  advent  of  Conra<l  Bcisel,  a  ho^us 
monk  and  founder  of  the  German  Seventh  Day  Baptists, 
marks  an  epoch  in  his  spiritual  life.  The  un>ettled  an«l 
formal  condition  of  the  Germanic  Churches  in  Pennsylva- 
nia had  doubtless  told  most  sadly  on  the  morals  and  reli- 
gion of  their  membership.  An  excitement  was  challen^e<l, 
produced  and  fostered.  Beisel  placed  his  '^candle-stick 
in  the  benighted  region  of  Tulpehocken,"  and  with  tlie  aid 
of  his  sanguine  disciples  succeeded  in  creating  an  awaken- 
ing. John  Peter  Miller,  a  Reformed  missionary  fn>m  tiie 
Palatinate,  in  1726,  officiated  as  pastor  in  Tulpehocken  at 
this  period.  He  and  his  Elders  and  prominent  members, 
as  well  as  Conrad  Weiser  and  his  Lutheran  associates,  de- 
voted themselves  heartily  to  the  work  of  '  Revival,'  and 
were  themselves  eddied  into  and  engulfed  by  it.  Oiiring 
May  of  1735  Pastor  Miller,  Conrad  Weiser,  the  Chorister, 
three  Elders  of  the  Tulpehocken  Church,  and  a  number  uf 
family-heads  were  initiated  into  the  Association  by  immer- 
sion. This  episode  is  as  'the  Hy  in  the  ointment,'  in  the 
otherwise  fair  life  of  the  man  and  hero  ;  and  becomes 
especially  objectionable  in  view  of  tlie  radicalism  with 
which  he  pursued  his  new  and  pseudo  religion,  to  tlie 
injury  of  his  former  creed.  On  a  certain  day  Miller, 
Weiser  and  others  assembkMl  at  the  house  of  Gcnlfrietl 
Fidler's,  and  after  having  collected  the  Heidelberg  Cate- 
chism, Luther's  Catechism,  the  IValter  and  several  other 
time-honored  Books  of  Devotion,  burned  tliem  to  ashes. 


94  THE    LIFE   OF 

Tviko  nil  perverts  iVoni  tlie  faith  of  tlieir  forefathers,  he 
showed  his  love  and  /eal  for  liis  adopted  fanatieism,  not 
so  nmeli  in  deeds  of  charity  and  proofs  of  regeneration, 
as  by  dishonoring  the  parental  theory  and  practice  by  which 
he  came  to  a  knowledge  of  fundamental  truth  pertaining 
to  God,  and  man's  relation  to  Him.  Tliere  is  a  genuine 
conversion  possible  for  man,  and  such  a  radical  one,  too, 
as  involves  a  very  antipodal  position  to  the  one  previously 
occupied ;  but  in  all  cases  of  genuine  revolutions  of  this 
kind,  a  convert  will  not  feel  himself  obliged  to  transgress 
^  the  first  commandment  with  promise'  by  kicking  his  spir- 
itual mother.  Such  conduct  argues  a  perversion,  rather 
than  a  conversion,  in  every  instance.  John  Philip  Boehm, 
Reformed  Pastor,  in  Whitpain  township,  Philadelphia 
county,  in  his  blasts  against  the  Baptists,  and  efforts  of 
Count  Zinzendorf,  in  1742,  says  with  much  sarcasm  of 
Conrad  Weiser  :  "  Der  ist,  wie  die  gemeine  Sage  ist,  ein 
'  Justice^  *  *  *  ijrf^d  ^g  igi  noch  nicht  bekannt  wor~ 
den,  dasz  er,  seit  der  Zeit,  durch  Buse  widergekehret  itnd 
sich  widerum  zu  seiner  vorkin  gehahten  Luther isclien  Re- 
ligion verfupget.^' 

His  fall  may  be  somewhat  mitigated  by  the  fact,  that 
Pastor  Miller,  who  had  been  an  educated  and  zealous 
laborer  in  the  Church  and  a  student  from  the  University 
of  Heidelberg,  led  the  way  from  home.  The  shepherd  led 
the  sheep  astray.  But  this  only  for  a  short  season.  (See 
Weiser's  letter  of  withdrawal  in  Appendix,  dated  1743.) 
Conrad  Weiser  held  out  but  for  a  very  brief  period  -in 
his  new  quarters,  as  Beisel  writes  :  ^'  He  was  soon  en- 
trapped in  the  net  of  his  own  wisdom."  This  imitation 
monk  had  forebodings,  it  seems,  already  from  the  start,  of 
his  coming  apostasy,  in  consequence  of  some  curious  pedal 


CONRAD    WEISEK.  95 

examination  he  had  made;  liad  \\arnc<l  him,  accurdin;:Iy, 
of  the  peculiar  temptation  to  which  he  stood  exix»scd,  and 
endeavored  to  prevent  the  rehip.se.  ''  But,  in  spite  iti'  all 
this  caution  he  fell  a  victim  to  the  blood-thirsty  avenger. 
Yea,  though  he  had  subjected  himself  to  a  mo-t  vigorous 
penance,  which  completely  emaciated  him,  and  sutlercd  his 
beard  to  grow  to  such  a  length  that  no  one  knew  him  any 
longer,  and  had  voluntarily  contributed  of  his  j)oss('ssi<»ns 
for  the  furtherance  of  the  Society's  welfare — still,  he  fell 
awav." 

But,  after  going  so  far  from  home,  it  is  hardly  possi- 
ble to  again  arrive  there  in  so  short  a  time.  The  breth- 
ren of  the  homestead  will,  at  all  events,  not  hold  them 
above  suspicion.  Hence  we  may  term  Conrad  Weiser  a 
sort  of  religious  vagrant,  ever  after.  His  spiritual  activ- 
ity seems  to  be  all  circumference  without  centre.  He  i> 
all  things  to  all  men,  without  being  anything  to  himself, 
in  a  religious  sense — perhaps  as  dangerous  a  spiritual  state 
as  one  can  well  occupy. 

In  1738  his  ardor  and  zeal  are  enlisted  in  the  grand 
ideal  of  converting  the  Indians,  in  company  with  iii^hop 
Spaugenberger,  David  Zeisberger  and  Shebosch,  Moravian 
missionaries.  Like  a  full-built  herald  of  tlie  cros.s  he 
accompanies  them  to  Onondago.  So,  too,  he  l)ei»omcs  a 
willing  yoke-fellow  to  Count  Zinzendorf,  in  1742,  on  a 
similar  errand  to  Bethlehem,  Shamokin  and  Philadelphia. 
He  was  so  full  of  the  Moravian  spirit  just  now  that  he 
instructed  Pvrlacus,  Buettner  and  Zander  in  the  Mohawk 
tongue,  in  order  to  qualify  them  to  preach  the  (i08|h?1 
among  the  Iroquois.  Once  he  writes  of  tlie  success  of 
this  movement  in  these  words  :  ''  I  thouglit  myself  soate<1 
in  a  company  of  primitive  Christians." 


96  THE    lAFE    OF 

But  in  1743  liis  ardor  seems  to  cool  in  tliis  direction, 
too.  A  Providential  man  appears  on  the  American  ter- 
ritory, who  brings  the  erring  man  back  to  the  Church  of 
his  fathers.  The  Rev.  Henry  Melchior  Muhlenberg, 
D.  D.,  who  had  emigrated  in  1742  as  the  Apostle  of  Lu- 
theranism  in  America,  visited  the  Tulpehocken  region  in 
1743.  Doubtless  both  Muhlenberg  and  Weiser  found  in 
each  other  something  of  complemental  parts.  They 
learned  to  know  and  esteem  one  another  at  once.  Their 
friendship  ripened  into  a  relationship — that  of  father-in- 
law  and  son-in-law.  This  is  very  delicately  told  by  the 
Lutheran  Patriarch  after  this  manner  :  "Im  Jakr  174-S 
ivard  unser  Freund,  Conrad  Weiser ^  beJcannt  mit  dem 
ersten  hereingesandten  Deidschen  Evangelischen  Prediger, 
gewann  ihn  und  seine  Lehre  lieb  und  gab  ihm  174-^  seine 
aelteste  Tochter  zur  Ehegenossin.  Diese  Freundschafts-: 
Verbindung  verursachte  dann  und  wann  einen  Besuch  und 
eine  anhaltende  Correspondenz  ;  beide  wurden,  so  viel  Gott 
Gnaden  verliehen,  auf  die  Seelen-Frbauung  gerichtet,  ivobei 
er  verschiedene  Jahre  ziemlich  murder  und  lebhaft  im  Glau- 
ben  schien.  Die  heilige  Bibel  war  ihm  durch  und  durch 
behannt.^^ 

The  influence  of  his  illustrious  son-in-law  unquestion- 
ably did  much  towards  restoring  the  spiritually  wayward 
man  to  his  proper  equilibrium.  We  hear  no  more  of  his 
religious  wandering.  But  to  steady  and  properly  root 
again  one  who  has  so  fearfully  uprooted  himself  is  no 
easy  matter.  We  fear  Conrad  Weiser  was  never  himself 
again  since  his  Beisel  experience.  Pastor  Muhlenberg's 
words  in  reference  to  the  close  of  his  father-in-law's  career 
have  an  ambiguous  ring.     Hear  and  judge  : 

"Als  aber  der  gefsehrliche  Krieg  in  diesem  Theile  der 


CONRAD    WKISER.  07 

AVelt  zwischen  den  Franzoseu  iiiid  Knglaiul  aiishnich  uiid 
unsere  benachbartcu  wiklcn  Nationeu  uieist  IjinidhrmH-liig 
wordcn,  den  Feinden  ziifielen  mid  unsere  Gn-nzen  ver- 
wuesteten,  gerieth  Conrad  Weiser  in  neue  Versuehnnt^cn. 
Die  Landes  Obrigkeit  verordneto  ilm  zuni  ()l)ri.st  Lcnt- 
uant.  Die  Aemter  sind  hier  bisweikn  nur  t'iir  Personeu, 
und  die  Personen  uicht  fiir  die  Aemter  geschaffen. 

^^  Und  weil  man  seiner  nun  besonders  in  diesen  I'ni- 
stsenden  benoethigt  war  und  ihm  noch  viel  melir  Miihe 
und  Last  auflegen  wollte,  so  sollte  das  Salariuni  einst 
Obrist  Leutnauts  Alles  ersetzen.  .  .  .  Diese  Ik'dicn- 
ung,  Charge,  oder  Last,  wie  man  es  nennen  mag,  that  ihni 
und  seiuen  Kinderu  mehr  Schaden  an  Seel  und  Leib,  als 
einiger  zuvor.  Er  war  schon  alt  an  Jaliren,  sehwacli  an 
Leibeskrseften,  der  lux'uslichen  Pflege  gewohnt,  muszte 
viel  abwesend  von  Haus  sein  und  aueh  oft  mit  den  Vor- 
nehmen  in  der  Stadt  und  europiuisehen  Kriegshekk-n 
wegen  den  Indianer  Sachen  conferiren. 

"  Der  allergn^edigste  und  erbarniungsvolle  Mittler  un<l 
Menschenfreund,  der  nicht  Lust  hat  an  des  Mensclien- 
verderben,  erhielt  sein  natiirliches  Tieben  bis  fast  zuin 
Ende  des  wunderlichen  Xrieges,  und  verlieh  ihin  noi-h 
eine  besondere  Gnadenfrist,  so  dasz  er  Zeit  hatte,  sich  zu 
recolligiren  ;  im  lilute  des  Lanimes  die  l>«'lki'kung  ik-s 
Geistes  abzuthun,  seine  Kk'idcr  hell  /u  niaclien,  seine 
Seeligkeit  mit  Furcht  und  Zittern  zu  schaHcn  und  t-in 
gna}diges  Ende  zu  erwarten.  Es  kostet  gewisz  vid,  cin 
Christ  zu  sein  und  zu  bleiben." 

The  weather-vane  character  of  his  creed  is  still  fur- 
ther proclaimed  by  the  two  items  foUowing,  which  we 
find  entered  in  the  liible  of  our  late  father,  to  wit  : 

a)  During  the  razing  and  rebuilding  of  the  ]\efi)rnied 


98  THE   LIFE   OF 

Church  odifloe  at  Reading,  Berks  county,  the  name  of 
Conrad  Weiser  was  found  on  the  list  of  the  Building 
Committee. 

b)  From  a  letter  of  Bishop  Spangenberg,  dated  Toa- 
mencin,  Montgomery  county,  Nov.  8,  1737,  we  gather 
this  extract  :  ''  I  have  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  certain 
man,  Conrad  AVeiser,  who  was  nurtured  in  the  faith  of  the 
Reformed  Church,  but  who  has  for  some  time  been  iden- 
tified with  the  Seventh  Day  Baptists.^' 


CONRAD    WKISKK.  99 


CHAPTER    X  V  F  I  [. 


CONRAD    WEISER'.S     WILL.       HLS     POSSKS-SIONS.       JUS     SONS 
AND    DAUGHTERS.       HIS    POSTERITY. 


Conrad  Weiser  Imd  becu  of  a  ])rolific  anccstrv,  and 
was  himself  the  father  of  fifteen  chilch-en,  eight  of  wht>in 
seem  to  have  died  in  their  minority  years.  His  seven 
surviving  ones,  made  mention  of  in  his  last  Will  and 'H-s- 
tament,  were  :  Philip,  Frederick,  Samuel,  Jjeujamin,  Pe- 
ter, Anna  Maria  and  Margaret. 

Their  father  having  died,  possessed  of  nearly  one  thou- 
sand acres  of  land,  which  were  by  devise  shared  out  among 
themselves,  the  sons  naturally  took  to  farming  as  their 
principal  employment.  The  manner  in  which  hedispose<l 
of  his  possessions,  and  to  whom,  we  can  best  gather  iVom 
his  Will  : 

"  In  the  name  of  God.  Amen.  T,  Conrad  Weiser,  of 
the  town  of  Reading,  in  tlie  county  of  J>erks,  in  the  l*rov- 
ince  of  Pennsylvania,  gentleman,  beiug  of  perfect  liealth 
of  body  and  of  sound  and  disposing  miud  and  memory 
(blessed  be  God  for  the  same),  yet  considering  the  unerr- 
tainty  of  human  life  and  desirous  to  (piit  mvK'lf  as  far  a.^ 
I  may  of  the  cares  of  this  world,  do  make  this  my  last 
will  and  testament,  lierel)y  revoking  and  making  voi<l  all 
other  and  former  wills  by  me  heretofore  made.  Imprimis. 
I  do  will  and  order  that  such  debts  as  may  Ih»  owing  by 
me  at  the  time  of  my  decease  with  my  funeral  exi>ensos  be 


100  THE    JJFE    OF 

paid  I))'  my  executors  liereiuafter  named  as  soon  as  conven- 
iently may  be  after  my  decease.  Item.  I  give,  devise 
and  bequeath  unto  my  beloved  wife,  Ann  Eve,  the  mes- 
suage and  lot  whereon  I  now  live  in  the  town  of  Reading, 
to  hold  to  her,  my  said  wife,  during  the  term  of  her  nat- 
ural life,  and  after  my  said  wife's  decease  I  will  and  order 
the  said  messuage  and  lot  to  be  sold  by  my  executors  or 
the  survivor  or  survivors  of  them  for  the  best  price  that 
can  be  had  for  the  same,  and  the  money  arising  from  the 
sale  thereof  to  be  divided  among  all  my  children  or  their 
representatives,  share  and  share  alike.  Item.  I  give,  de- 
vise and  bequeath  unto  my  said  wife  Aun(e)  and  to  her 
heirs  forever  my  lot  of  ground  situate  in  Callowhill  street, 
in  the  said  town  of  Reading,  marked  in  the  plan  of  said 
town,  No.  72.  Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  unto  my  said 
wife  an  annuity  or  yearly  sum  of  twenty  pounds  (interest 
on)  for  and  during  her  natural  life,  or  until  she  marry 
again,  to  be  paid  as  hereinafter  directed.  Item.  I  give 
and  bequeath  unto  my  said  wife  two  of  my  best  feather 
beds,  of  her  own  choice  ;  all  my  kitchen  utensils,  and  the 
sum  of  fifty  pounds,  current  money  of  Pennsylvania,  to  be 
paid  to  my  said  wife  by  my  executors  within  one  month 
after  my  decease,  which  I  do  declare  to  be  in  lieu  of  her 
dower  and  full  discharge  of  all  demands  she  may  make  on 
my  estate.  I  give,  devise  and  bequeath  unto  my  four 
sons,  Philip,  Frederick,  Samuel  and  Benjamin,  that  is  to 
say  to  each  of  my  said  sons  and  his  heirs  for  ever,  the  part 
of  a  share  to  him  allotted  in  a  Draft  Plan  signed  with  my 
own  proper  hand  and  to  this  will  annexed  of  all  that  my 
plantation  in  Heidelberg,  in  the  said  county  of  Berks,  and 
my  several  tracts  of  laud  lying  contiguous,  containing  in 
the  whole  about  eight  hundred   and   ninety   acres, — they, 


COXrwAD    WETSER.  101 

my  said  sons,  paying  each  of  thorn  the  sum  of  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  pounds  lawful  money  of  the  said  l^rovince 
unto  my  executors,  for  the  use  hereinafter  mentione<l, 
within  one  year  after  my  decease." 

Then  follow  the  apportionments  and    payments,  as  per 
plan  or  draft. 

^^lUm.  I  give  and  bequeath  unto  my  children,  Piiilip, 
Frederick,  Peter,  Samuel,  Benjamin,  ^Taria  Muhlenl)erg 
and  Marjj:aret  Fiuker,  all  those  mv  lands  lvin<;  bevond 
the  Kittochtany  mountain,  and  all  my  grants  or  rights  to 
lands  lying  beyond  the  same  mountains,  to  be  dividttl  in 
manner  following,  that  is  to  say  (the  lands  being  describe<l) 
with  the  Proviso — I  do  order  and  direct  my  executors  to 
secure  out  of  the  whole  ca})ital  the  annuity  or  yearly  sum 
of  twenty  pounds  hereinbefore  bequeathes!  to  my  said  wife 
in  such  manner  as  shall  be  agreeable  to  her  and  corresi)on- 
dent  to  tliis  mv  will.  And  I  do  will  and  order  that  the 
shares  of  my  children  be  paid  to  them  respectively  within 
twelve  months  after  my  decease,  or  sooner  if  the  same  can 
conveniently  be  done.  But  if  my  son  Benjamin  should 
then  be  under  a":e,  it  is  mv  will  and  order  that  his  breth- 
ren  put  the  same  to  interest,  and  mortgage  it  to  his  In-st 
adv^antage  during  his  minority." 

Other  provisions  follow  relative  to  his  grandson,  Israel 
Heintzelman.  "  Iti-m.  One  hundred  pounds  out  of  the 
share  allotted  to  his  mother,  which  shall  be  put  to  interest 
and  manac-ed  for  his  best  advantage  until  he  arrives  at  tlu» 
age  of  twentv-one  years,  and  then  be  paid  to  him  with  the 
profits  thereof,  and  the  remaining  part  of  my  siiid  daugh- 
ter Margaret's  share  of  the  residuary  part  of  my  estate,  I 
do  order  and  direct  my  executors  to  put  the  same  to  inter- 
est on  good  security  and  pay  her  yearly  the  interest  thertM)f 


102  THE   LIFE   OF 

during  licr  natural    life.     Provided,    nevortholess,    if  my 

said  daughter  doth  educate  lier  children  in   the  principles 

and  according  to  the  rites  of  tlie  Jloman  Church.     In  such 

case  (or  after  the  death  of  the  said  Margaret)  it  is  my  will 

and  I  do  order  and  direct  my  executors  or  the  survivors 

of  them,  with  the  consent  of  my  other  children  as  soon  as 

the  same  is  aianifest  to   them,    to    retain    the   interest  of 

money  of  my  said  daughter's  share  and  manage  the  same 

to  the  best  advantage  for  the  use  of  her  children,  to  be  paid 

to  them  in  equal  shares,  together  with    the   principal,    as 

they  shall  respectively  attain  the  age  of  twenty-one  years. 

And  I  do  constitute  and  appoint  my  wife  Aun(e)  Eva  and 

my  sons  Peter  and  Samuel  executors  of  this  my  last  will 

and  testament.     In  witness   whereof  I  have  hereunto  set 

my  hand  and  seal  this  twenty-fourth  day  of  November  in 

the  year  of  our  Lord  one   thousand   seven    hundred  and 

fifty-nine. 

Conrad  Weiser.     [Seal.] 

James  Whitehead, 

Subscribing  witnesses  :  Abraham  Brossus, 

■James  Biddle.'' 

This  will  was  sworn  to  by  James  Biddle  and  Abraham 

Brossus,  July  31,  1760,  on  which  day  it  was  registered  in 

the  "  General  Office,  Reading,  Berks  County.'' 

^^  Letters  testamentary  in  common  form  under  the 
seal  of  the  said  office  on  the  will  above  written  of  the  said 
Conrad  Weiser  were  granted  to  Ann(e)  Eve  Weiser,  Peter 
Weiser  and  Samuel  Weiser  therein  named,  they  being  first 
solemnly  sworn  thereto  according  to  law." 

Inventory  thereof  to  be  exhibited  on  or  before  the  31st 
day  of  August  and  an  account  of  their  administration 
when  thereunto  required. 


COXRAD  WEISER.  103 

Registered  and  examined  hy  James  Ikvd. 

The  plan  or  explanation  of  the  draft  is  a])pen(h(l. 

On  the  corner  of  Penn  and  Callowhill  streets,  Read- 
ing, stood  Weiser's  house,  erected  in  1751.  It  was  for 
many  years  used  as  a  wigwam,  where  the  Indians  met  for 
treaty.  After  his  decease  it  was  used  as  a  dwelling-house 
and  partly  as  a  tavern  up  to  1798,  when  John  Keim  and 
sons  commenced  business  as  Iron  and  Hardware  Mer- 
chants and  was  known  as  '^  The  White  Store,"  which  they 
continued  up  to  1803  ;  by  G.  B.  D.  Leim  to  1810  ;  by  \\. 
Keim  until  1817  :  by  G.  B.  D.  Keim  and  his  son  to  18.37  ; 
bv  Keim  and  Stiehter  to  1841  ;  bvStichter  and  McKniirht 
to  1858,  when  it  came  into  possession  of  Mr.  Joseph  L. 
Stiehter. 

The  deed  conveying  the  property  from  the  executors 
of  Conrad  Weiser  to  Wm.  Bird  is  dated  Sept.  30,  17i>5, 
and  recites  the  deed  granted  by  the  Penns  in  1751  to 
Weiser.  The  consideration  was  £554,  5s.,  subject  tu  a 
ground  rent  of  7s.  Another  conveys  the  same  by  Mark 
Bird  and  Mary  Bird  to  Nicholas  Keim  (WiUiam  having 
died  intestate.)  Another,  January  KJ,  171»!>,  to  ,Iohn 
Keim.  Another  to  G.  B.  I).  Keim.  Tliere  is  also  a  quit 
claim  deed  from  the  attorney  of  the  Penns  to  (I.  \\.  I). 
Keim,  1826.  Another  deed,  1842,  fn»m  (J.  1>.  I  >.  \\v\in 
to  Joseph  L.  Stiehter  and  James  McKnight  I'or  the  same 
property. 

From  the  foretroine:  instrument  it  will  be  known  tlial 
the  sire  left  a  g()f)dly  territory  of  hind  to  l>e  divided  among 
his  children.  From  the  good-will  which  the  Indians 
invariably  cherished  for  him,  as  well  as  from  the  tlatter- 
ino^  recommendations  wiiich  the  authorities  were  ever 
ready  to  impress,  as  an  imprimatur,  on    his    oflieial  a<'ts, 


104  THE    LIFE   OF 

we  are  warranted  to  believe  that  Conrad  Weiser  came 
lionestly  by  his  tliousand  acres.  Lieut,  (lovernor  Thomas 
says  of  him,  April  25,  1743  :  ^'  Our  Indian  Interpreter  is 
a  man  of  great  probity  and  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
Indian  affairs."  We  have  the  record  of  a  fair  negotiation 
and  purchase  of  a  good  portion  of  his  possessions,  besides, 
preserved  in  some  of  his  letters.  To  Secretary  Peters  he 
writes,  July  17,  1748  :  ^'As  Mr.  Parsons  will  (I  hope) 
deliver  this  to  you,  with  a  draft  of  that  piece  of  land  he  laid 
out  for  me,  by  your  order  (I  find  it  is  above  400  acres)  he 
will  cut  off  on  the  side  of  the  hill,  if  you  require  it,  so 
much  as  you  shall  think  fit.  But  I  would  rather  have  it 
all,  and  pay  to  the  Honorable  proprietors,  as  they  (or  you) 
shall  think  fit.  I  don't  doubt  but  what  their  Honors  will 
let  me  have  it  as  soon  as  any  other  man.  Therefore,  I 
pray,  let  it  be  conveyed  to  me  and  I  will  do  what  will  be 
required  of  me.  The  other  small  tract  I  had  surveyed  to 
me  by  Proprietary  Warrant,  on  the  usual  conditions  ;  also 
the  right  of  William  Eonst  to  37  acres  joining.  I  would 
have  a  patent,  for  a  good  part  is  paid  ;  the  rest  I  will  pay 
before  I  take  patent  out  of  your  or  Mr.  Lordner's  hands.'' 
We  are  the  more  concerned  to  bring  to  light  the  way 
and  manner  by  which  Conrad  Weiser  came  by  such  a 
large  number  of  acres,  for  various  reasons.  First  of  all, 
no  Indian  Agent  seems  to  be  above  suspicion,  now-a-days 
especially.  Furthermore,  it  has  been  whispered  and  insin- 
uated through  taking  anecdotes,  at  all  events  that  our  hero, 
too,  as  well  as  all  other  Indian  traders,  knew  how  to 
defraud  poor  Lo.  The  story  which  has  been  orally  per- 
petuated down  to  the  day  that  now  is,  and  which  ever  and 
anon  crops  forth  in  print,  touching  his  wily  procedure,  is 
likely  to  confirm  one  in  the  belief  that  he  was  not  clear  of 


CONKAD    WEISER.  105 

stratagem.  It  is  of  this  tenor  :  ^'  Shekallainy  came  to 
Conrad  Weiser  and  intbrmt'd  him  of  his  gloriuus  drt*am. 
'  I  dreamed/  said  Shekallamy,  *  that  Tarachawagon  (Wei- 
ser) had  presented  me  with  a  ritie.'  Conrad,  of  course, 
handed  over  to  his  dusky  friend  the  coveted  weapon,  sus- 
pecting all  the  while  that  Shekallamy  had  a  dream — 
'  which  was  not  all  a  dream.' 

'^A  few  days  later  Conrad  Weiser  had  a  dream,  and 
told  Shekallamv  so.  The  Chief  asked  for  its  revelation. 
'  I  dreamed/  said  Tarachawagon,  that  Shekallamy  pre- 
sented me  with  the  large  and  beautiful  island  nestleil  in 
the  Susquehanna  river.'  The  nonplussed  Chief  at  once 
made  over  his  favorite  island — the  Isle  of  Que — hut 
added,  '  Conrad,  let  us  never  dream  again  I'  " 

We  believe  the  whole  to  be  a  mere  make-up.  It  is 
true,  the  Isle  of  Que,  on  which  a  i)art  of  Seliusgrove  now 
stands,  had  been  owned  by  the  old  Interpreter,  and  that  it 
remained  for  one  or  two  generations  in  the  possession  ot 
his  direct  descendants  ;  but  there  is  nothing  to  warrant  us 
in  saying  that  his  title  rested  on  a  mere  nightly  s})ecula- 
tiou.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  true  that  Shekallamv  had 
been  a  very  poor  chief,  so  poor  that  Conrad  Weiser  inter- 
cedes for  him,  as  an  object  of  charity,  beibre  the  Council 
at  Philadelphia.  It  is  necessary,  l>elbre  we  may  crcilit 
the  story,  to  set  aside  all  the  testimony,  vuluntcered  from 
all  parties  of  his  day,  in  confirmation  of  his  uprightness, 
probity  and  honor.  To  accept  the  good  rep(»rt  which  Con- 
rad Weiser  challenged  for  himself  in  his  ojK'n,  working 
day,  and  in  the  same  breath,  as  it  were,  to  admit  tiiat  he 
would  rob  an  Indian  Cliicf,  in  such  a  wholesale  manner, 
recommending  him  as  a  pensioner  to  the  Ciovernment 
besides — is  absurd. 
8 


106  THE    TJFE    OF 

Wc  arc  more  ready  to  trust  a  tradition  wliich  our  late 
father  never  tired  of  rcpeatin*^,  and  runs  thus  : 

"  Conrad  Weiser  once  sat  resting  on  a  login  his  exten- 
sive forest  land.  Presently  an  Indian,  who  had  stealthily 
approached,  squatted  down  hard  by  him.  Conrad  moved 
aside  somewhat ;  the  intruder  pressed  harder  against  him. 
Again  Conrad  granted  more  room  ;  but  the  Indian  pressed 
still  harder  on  him.  Tlien  Conrad  demanded  an  explana- 
tion of  his  strange  and  rude  procedure.  The  Indian 
answered  :  ^^  Thus  the  whites  did  to  the  Indians.  They 
lighted  unbidden  on  our  lands.  We  moved  on  ;  they  fol- 
lowed. We  still  moved,  and  they  still  followed.  We  are 
moving  onward  now,  and  they  are  following  after.  Con- 
rad, I  will  not  push  you  from  the  log  entirely.  But  will 
your  people  cease  their  crowding  ere  we  roll  into  the 
waters?'^  This  is  at  all  events  plausible.  And  if  any  of 
our  readers  desire  some  proof — let  them  look  all  around  ! 
This  is,  in  Indian  phrase,  more  than  ^  the  singing  of  a 
bird.'     It  has  abundant  authenticity. 

We  have  not  succeeded  in  tracing  Conrad  Weiser's 
descendants  to  any  satisfactory  degree,  either  in  line  or 
locality.  American  life  has  not  yet  crystallized  the  family. 
Well  grounded  facts,  reliable  traditions  and  legitimate 
inferences,  nevertheless,  lead  us  to  believe  that  his  sons 
quartered  themselves  on  their  paternal  grounds  originally, 
with  the  design  of  devoting  themselves  to  farming,  and 
from  these  several  centres  spread  over  the  counties  of 
Berks,  Lebanon,  Northumberland,  and  their  offspring 
again  into  Dauphin,  York,  Franklin,  Lehigh,  Montgom- 
ery and  Bucks,  as  well  as  into  the  states  of  New  York 
and  Ohio.  His  posterity  has  become  quite  large,  and  in 
more  than  one  instance  respectable  and  significant. 


CONRAD    WEISKIi.  107 

All  his  SOUS  inherited  tluir  sire's  <rl()>vin^  patrintiHin 
auJ  gave  evidence  of  it  during  the  wars  of  their  dav.  One 
was  shot  through  the  lungs,  at  the  hattle  of  Braudywine, 
but  survived.  It  was  fre(juently  mentioned  in  our  hear- 
ing that  the  brave  man  never  realized  his  wound  tnitil  his 
boot  had  filled  with  blood.  The  bullet  was  earrietl  with 
him  to  his  grave.  We  cannot  tell  which  son  he  was,  with 
certaintv. 

Samuelj  after  having  walked  in  the  ways  of  his  father 
for  a  while,  both  before  and  after  Conrad's  decease  aban- 
doned forever  the  governmental  and  j)olitical  arena.  ( )f 
his  children  we  have  learned  nothintr. 

Philip,  who  is  said  to  have  been  the  wounded  soldier, 
settled  on  that  part  of  the  inheritance  on  which  the  town 
of  Womelsdorf  now^  stands — the  homestead.  His  son 
Jabeth  succeeded  him,  a  daughter  of  whom  {Mrs.  IHiza- 
beth  Lcicars)'^  is  now  living  at  Hamburg,  l*a.  She  was 
born  June  16,  1788,  and  is  doubtless  the  oldest  surviving 
descendant  of  Conrad  ^\'eiser.  She  has  in  her  possession 
a  large  silver  spoon  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  old,  which 
was  one  of  a  half  dozen  bought  ami  presenteil  to  tlie 
daughter  of  Conrad  Weiser,  Mrs.  Muhlenberg,  as  a  bri- 
dal gift.t  V^L'  are  very  sure  of  owning  a  mate  to  it  :  l»ut 
it  ])uzzles  us  greatly  to  account  lor  the  priinis<-uous  dis- 
tribution of  the  set,  as  well  as  for  its  es<.':ipi'  from  the 
Muhlenheri]:  household. 

Pliilij)  was  the  fathci"  of  another  sou,  (hnnttl,  whose* 
familv-roll  we  are  enabled  to  enter  in  full.  He  raisiil  u 
group  of  twelve,   four  of  whom   di(«l    in    younger  years. 


*  See  Note  A  at  end  of    hapter.     Mrti.  L.  h.i>  -uu-c  'iio<J 
t  We  are  indebted  fur  tbe^e  particulars  to  the  late  Kev.  W.  F.  P.  Darij,  of 
Reading,  Pa. 


108  THE   LIFE   OF 

The  surviving'  eight  children  were  J>enjaniin,  Frederick, 
Johu  Conrad,  Daniel,  Sophia  (SchawbeV),  Hannah 
(Rhoads),  Mary  (Holsteiu),  Catherine  (Bassler).  This 
grandson  of  our  hero  located  along  the  Susquehanna  river, 
in  what  is  now  Snyder  county,  at  Selinsgrove,  a  part  of 
which  town  had  once  been  known  as  Weisersburg.  The 
Rev.  Dr.  Daniel  AVeiser  had  been  the  latest  surving  mem- 
ber of  this  line.  He  died  December  9,  1875.  There  are 
a  number  of  grand  and  great-grandchildren  of  the  third 
Conrad  still  living  in  that  district. 

The  same  Philip  had  also  a  third  son,  who  bore  his 
father's  name,  of  whose  history  we  are  not  able  to  record 
anything. 

Benjamin,  the  youngest  son  of  the  older  Conrad, 
seems  to  have  inherited  the  greater  share  of  his  father's 
roving  propensity.  He  was  pursued  by  the  phantom  of 
recovering  on  his  sire's  possessions  in  the  State  of  New 
York.  In  a  letter  to  Governor  Simon  Snyder,  April  2, 
1788,  he  says  in  reference  to  the  matter  in  prospect  : 
"  Since  I  saw  yon  last  I  saw  a  gopd  deal  of  the  world 
(that  is,  diiFerent  sorts  of  people).  I  was  last  summer  at 
Mohawk  river,  but  could  not  get  matters  settled  to  my 
mind.  I  might  have  gotten  a  considerable  sum  for  my 
right,  though.  I  shall  now,  in  a  few  days,  set  off  again, 
and  am  sure  of  having  it  done  pretty  nigh  to  my  satis- 
faction.' This  letter  had  been  written  from  Providence, 
one  of  the  points  along  the  ^'  shore  of  New  England,'^ 
where,  according  to  Muhlenberg's  words,  his  grandfather 
had  wandered  prior  to  his  last  visit  to  Pennsylvania. 

For  many  long  years  the  idea  of  reclaiming  the  Scho- 
harie lands  was  entertained  by  some  of  Conrad  Weiser's 
descendants.     We   are  glad  to  record,  though,  that  the 


(X)NRAD    WEISKK.  109 

same  game  of  Sli-possossin«r'  the  later  oeciipaiits  was  in»t 
played  od  them,  which  eaused  siieii  sorrow  to  the  original 
squatters.  ''Befiser  Unrcrhf  zu  /rifhii,  aU  unf/mr/it  :» 
streiteny     (See  Note  \l  at  tiul  ol' Chapter.) 

We  have  not  been  able  to  gather  any  notices  ni  ih*- 
other  sons  of  Conrad  Weiser,  or  of  their  posterity.  I*>f<  r 
and  Frederic!:  can,  therefore,  be  but  mentioned. 

Of  the  daughters  we  present  some  spare  notes.  The 
eldest,  Anna  Maria,  became  the  wife  of  the  honored  and 
venerable  Lutheran  Patriarch,  Kev.  Dr.  IIenr\  Melchior 
Muhlenberg.  The  ramifications  of  his  offspring  have  not 
been  furnished  us. 

His  second  daughter,  Margaret,  became  the  wife  of  a 
Mr.  Heintzelmau,  by  her  first  marriage.  Conrad  Wei- 
ser, in  a  letter  to  Secretary  Peters,  May  19,  17o5,  says  as 
mucii.  Speaking  of  two  Indian  lads,  he  writes  :  "  If  you 
could  prevail  with  Mr.  Heintzelman,  my  son-in-law,  for 
a  few  weeks'  board  with  him,  it  would  be  agreeable  to 
the  lads,  because  my  daughter  is  somewhat  use<l  to  the 
Indians  and  understands  here  and  there  a  word." 

In  his  will  lie  also  makes  mention  of  his  grandson, 
Israel  Heintzelman. 

It  appears,  however,  that  she  was  left  a  widow  Ix'fore 
the  death  of  her  father,  and  that,  l)y  a  s(»e(Mid  marriage, 
she  became  Mrs.  Finker.  As  he  calls  her  **  Margaret 
Finker"  in  his  testamentarv  instrument,  it  has  Ihimi  sur- 
mised  that  she  had  entered  upon  her  second  widowh<M>d 
already  prior  to  the  demise  ol' Conrad  \\  ti-er. 

If  a  typogra[)hical  error  may  not  Ih'  inferriil,  we 
might  fix  the  date  of  Mrs.  Anna  Eve  Weiser*8  death  on 
the  10th  day  of  June,  17^1,  at  the  estimated  age  of  85 
years.  Her  remains  are  presumed  to  lie  by  those  of  her 
honored  husband. 


no 


TFIE    LfFE    OF 


With  these  s])are  and  very  unsatisfactory  notes,  touch- 
ing the  posterity  of  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  we  must 
rest  content.  Perhaps  they  may  serve  as  an  incentive,  in 
the  minds  of  those  who  are  more  directly  interested,  to 
train  up  a  Family  Tree  from  the  roots  here  inserted. 


CONRAD    WEISER'S    STORE    IN    READING. 

Col.  J,  L.  Stichter,  of  the  city  of  Reading,  the  former 
])roprietor  of  Conrad  Weiser's  homestead,  now  known  as 
^^The  White  Store,^  addressed  a  letter  to  Col.  J.  Ross 
Snowden,  Cor.  Sec.  of  the  Historical  Society,  September  1, 
1869,  from  which  we  extract  the  opening  lines : 

^'  Dear  Sir  :  Conrad  Weiser  figures  so  prominently 
in  the  Colonial  Records  of  Pennsylvania  that  I  thought 


CX)NRAT)    WEISER.  Ill 

your  society  would  a]>]>rociat('  a  relic  from  a  building 
which  he  orit!:inally  owned  and  constrnctcil.  In  altering 
the  walls  of  the  building,  whleli  has  since  pass^-d  into  niv 
possession,  I  reserved  a  })iece  of  the  limestone  fbnndatinn, 
a  specimen  of  which  I  forwarded  you  by  the  lion.  (ieo. 
Sharswood,  to  be  deposited  among  the  relics  of  your  soci- 
ety. This  building  was  constructed  in  ITol  bv  Conrad 
Weiser,  and,  after  undergoing  many  changes,  is  now  a 
large  mercantile  house,  in  which  some  of  the  old  wall  is 
still  retained."     ***:^     *******- 

The  follow^ing  letters  are   pertinent  to  the   relic  men- 
tioned, to  wit : 

'M*PiiLA.,  Aug.  30,  l,s«i!». 

''My  Dear  Sir  : — I  have  to  acknowledge  the  re<-eipt 
of  your  favor  of  the  24th  ult.,  with  the  accompanying 
relic  of  the  Weiser  House.  I  have  to  thank  you  for  your 
politeness.  I  agree  with  you  that  tlie  stone  had  better  be 
deposited  in  the  cabinet  of  the  Flistorical  Society,  but  it 
appears  to  me  it  had  better  been  presented  directly  by  your- 
self with  a  communication  detailing  such  reminiscences  of 
the  house  as  you  possess,  and  which  would  not  fail  to  Ik'  a 
paper  of  great  interest.  If  you  address  your  letter  to 
Col.  J.  Ross  Snowden,  Prothonotary  of  the  Supreme 
Court  and  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Historical  St)- 
ciety,  to  whom  I  have  handed  the  relic,  he  will  take  gn^at 
pride  and  pleasure  in  j)resenting  it  to  the  So«"iety  in  ymir 
name.  ^^ery  truly  yours, 

**  (Jeo.  SlIAlt.SW(K)I). 

''J.  L.  Sticiiter,  Ks(j.,  Reading." 


112  the  life  of 

^'  Historical  Society  of  Penna., 
"Phila.,  Sept.  2,  1869. 
"  ]\[y  Dear  Sir  : — I  have  received  your  favor  of 
yesterday,  and  also  from  Judge  Sliarswood  the  interesting 
relic,  to  which  your  letter  refers.  Any  memorial  of  the 
distinguished  Indian  Agent  and  Interpreter  and  Soldier, 
Col.  Weiser,  possesses  peculiar  interest,  more  especially 
so  valuable  a  relic  as  a  piece  of  the  foundation  stone  of 
his  mansion  house  in  Keading,  built  in  1751.  This  relic 
will  be  placed  among  the  cherished  objects  of  interest  in 
the  cabinet  of  our  Society.  I  will  have  the  honor  to  pre- 
sent it,  in  your  behalf,  at  the  next  meeting  of  our  Society, 
and  will  then  read  your  interesting  account  of  Col.  Wei- 
ser and  have  it  placed  among  our  archives. 

'^  I  am  with  great  respect 

^'  Your  obedient  servant, 
''  James  Ross  Snowden,  Corres.  Sec. 
"  J.  L.  Stichter,  Esq.,  Reading,  Pa.'^ 


"  Historical  Society  of  Penna., 
''  Phila.,  Sept.  14,  1869. 

"  Sir  : — I  am  directed  by  the  Society  to  communicate 
to  you  their  thanks  for  a  piece  of  the  limestone  founda- 
tion of  the  mansion  originally  constructed  and  owned  by 
Conrad  Weiser,  a  German  refugee.  This  venerable  relic 
will  be  placed  in  our  cabinet  of  curiosities,  and  your  inter- 
esting letter  will  be  filed  among  the  archives  of  our  So- 
ciety. 

^'  I  have  the  honor  to  be 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 
"  James  Shrigley,  Librarian, 
"  J.  L.  Stichter,  Esq.,  Reading,  Pa.^^ 


CONRAD    WEISKK.  113 

Note  A. — Mrs.  Lewars,  the  aged  gran>Miiughter  of  Conrad  We'wer,  ten- 
aciously held  to  the  opinion  that  the  old  Interpreter  had  another  daughter, 
Elizabeth,  who  had  been  intermarried  with  the  Reverend  Mr.  .^^rhultze.  We 
have  found  no  confirmation  of  her  saying  in  any  record  extant,  but  are  'juite 
willing  to  credit  her  report.  She  also  related  that  still  another  daughter  had 
been  intermarried  with  a  Mr.  Womelsdorf,  to  whom  the  father  gave  the  farm 
upon  which  the  town  of  Womelsdorf  now  stands — he  having  located  and 
named  the  town. 

We  have  not  the  mind  to  dispute  with  a  witness  of  her  age  and  ancestral 
line.  We  are  the  less  inclined  to  controvert  the  sayings  of  Conrad  Wei.<er'a 
descendants  so  long  as  there  is  no  direct  antagonism  with  known  fact*,  on 
account  of  the  imperfection  of  the  records  at  hand.  Thus,  for  instance,  .Mrs. 
Muhlenberg  is  written  "Anna  Maria"  here,  and  simply  "Anna"  in  another 
place,  whilst  "Maria"  stands  for  a  sister.  So,  too,  we  find  the  names  "  Mag- 
dalena"  and  "  Margretta"  used  interchangeably,  sometimes  indicating  on«, 
then  again  two  daughters. 

Note  B. — Repeated  attempts  were  made  at  different  times  to  investigatt 
the  titles  and  papers  relative  to  those  New  York  lands.  Attorney  Miller  wa< 
on  one  occasion  employed  to  enter  upon  the  task  of  dispossessing  the  occu- 
pants. The  aggressive  party  was  led  to  entertain  great  hope  of  success.  Fi- 
nally it  was  discovered  that  rats  had  carried  away  the  records.  A  happy 
ratification,  say  we. 


1  14  TITE    TJFE    OF 


CHAPTER    XIX. 


SUMMARY    AND     CONCLUSION. 


Having  reached  tlie  end  of  our  task,  we  may  be  allowed 
to  rest  and  look  back  upon  the  course  we  have  followed  ; 
and,  like  him  who  has  journeyed  awhile,  sit  down  at  the 
end  of  our  way  and  ask  for  the  result  obtained  from  our 
efforts. 

Our  way  has  not  been  like  the  path-finder's,  which 
must  first  be  discovered  and  then  trodden  with  difficulty 
and  caution.  It  lay  not  unmarked  over  a  trackless  region, 
but  broken,  open  and  well  beaten  by  Conrad  Weiser  him- 
self. Even  a  century  and  a  decade  of  years  could  not 
close  it  over  again — so  long  did  it  retain  the '  right  of  way.^ 
He  made  his  own  history,  and  we  had  but  to  follow  in  his 
^^Foot-j^rints  on  the  sands  of  timey 

Like  every  noble  soul,  he  proved  his  own  biographer, 
and,  accordingly,  rendered  it  an  easy  task  for  the  scribe 
coming  after  to  perform  the  part  of  a  recorder  and  chron- 
icler. Man  and  the  race  make  history,  indeed,  but  not  so 
much  with  pen  and  parchments  as  by  the  weaving  of  noble 
deeds  into  a  living,  harmonious  whole.  The  unbroken 
chain  which  Conrad  Weiser  forged  in  the  furnace  of  his 
trying  life,  we  simply  recounted,  link  by  link,  from  his 
cradle  to  his  tomb.  And  the  fact  that  the  history  of  a 
mortal  may  thus  be  detailed,  a  hundred  and  more  years 
after  he  has  passed  by  and  away,  without  indulging  in 


CON  HAD    WEISER.  1  1  .'> 

verbose  panegyrics  or  ainplityiiii;  eulogy, — (his  shows  that 
we  have  not  been  walking  side  by  side  with  a  myth,  but 
with  a  eharacter  worthy  of  a  record.  We  protest  against 
the  charire  of  haviuir  iralvinizinl  a  ti<-titious  skeleton  into 
an  a[)parent  life.  We  comniuned  with  a  still  living  man, 
though  dead.  I^ive  men  cannot  die.  We  bury  only  dead 
men.  As  there  are  men  dead,  though  they  live,  so  are 
there  men  living:,  though  thev  are  dead.  The  (had  burv 
the  dead,  whilst  the  living  hold  the  living  in  life  everlast- 
ing.    In  a  certain  sense,  he  that  liveth  shall  never  die. 

We  set  out  in  search  of  Conrad  ^^'eise^'s  ancestry,  in 
(jrross-Aspach,  in  Herrenburg,  and  followed  his  sire  to 
Afsttedt,  in  Backnang — his  birth-place.  We  .'^aw  him 
borne  a  l)al)e  in  his  mother's  arms  to  the  church  at  Ku«*p- 
pingen,  where  he  was  christened  ''  John  Conrdd.'^  W  •• 
flitted  with  the  family  of  five  children  back  to  the  town  of 
Gross-Aspach,  where  his  excellent  mother  died.  We  ac- 
companied the  motherless  household  in  its  .^ad  exjxlus  from 
the  fated  "  VaterlanLV^  to  London,  and  stood  near  to  them 
in  their  sufferings  and  want  along  the  Blackmoor  with  the 
Indian  Chiefs.  Thence  we  sailed  with  them  on  a  six 
months'  voyage  to  New  York.  We  related  the  days  of  trial 
on  Livingston  Manor  and  Schoharie  Valley.  Whilst  the 
sire  stood  as  helmsman  to  the  Palatinate  Colony  there,  we 
trailed  off  with  the  son,  for  several  montlis,  among  the 
Macpia  Indians,  and  .'^aw  him  there  laying  the  foundation 
to  his  future  mission.  During  the  father's  etVorts,  succes.>^»s 
and  reverses,  we  beheld  the  son  growing  into  manhood, 
entering  into  marriage,  and  succeeding  the  elder  in  tl»c 
office  of  benefactor  to  German  ami  English,  to  Indian  and 
white  men.  Following  the  eventful  life  of  the  sire  down 
to  his  pitiable  end,  we   related  his   otrspring  s   arrival    at 


IIG  THE    LIFE    OF 

Tulpelioc'ken,  in  Pciiusylvania.  Here  there  remained  for 
us  to  toll  the  interesting  story  of  thirty  years — how  he 
emerged  into  prominence  as  a  citi/en,  leader  and  officer; 
serving  his  day,  his  peo})lc  and  his  country,  as  Justice, 
Colonel  and  Chief  of  the  Indian  Bureau.  We  stood  by 
his  tomb  as  we  stood  by  his  cradle. 

Nor  did  we  forget  to  relate  his  intimate  relation  to 
God  during  his  long  and  constant  contact  with  his  fellow 
men.  In  a  word,  we  presented  the  record  of  his  own 
writing — crowded  with  thoughts,  words  and  deeds  that 
breathed,  lived  and  fruited  in  a  glowing  immortality. 

And  now  it  remains  but  for  us,  briefly,  to  learn  some 
lessons  from  Conrad  Weiser's  busy  life : 

1.  We  cannot  all  be  like  him.  We  would  not  if  we 
could.  The  way  to  fill  a  man  with  unrest,  is  to  point  out 
a  character  as  an  exemplar  and  advocate  an  imitation  pro- 
cess. No  two  men  are  alike,  and,  consequently,  their  mis- 
sions neither.  Know  thyself  first,  and  mature  ;^%se//"  sub- 
sequently— that  is  a  true  and  practical  philosophy.  ^^Be 
thyself  is  a  motto  that  is  overlooked  and  neglected  too 
much  by  far.  But  remembering  that,  our  hero  may  prove 
the  truth  of  Longfellow's  words  for  us  : 

"Lives  of  great  men  all  remind  us 
We  can  make  our  lives  sublime, 
And,  departing,  leave  behind  us 
Footprints  on  the  sands  of  time." 

2.  Goethe  says  :  "  On  due  reflection  I  am  of  the  convic- 
tion more  and  more  that  energy  constitutes  the  great  differ- 
ence between  men."  Given  a  good  constitution  and  a 
sound  mind,  we  believe  the  doctrine  will  realize  itself  in 
every  individual.  It  failed  not  in  the  history  of  our  hero. 
Action,  perseverance,  diligence,  application — all  these 
fruits  of  energy  are  manifest  at  every  point  of  his  life, 


CONRAD    WEISER.  117 

"  Let  us,  then,  be  up  mvi  'loiog, 
With  a  heart  fur  any  fate  : 
Still  achieving,  still  pursuing, 
Learn  to  labur  and  to  wait." 

3.  Religion  is  no  hindrance  to  an  earnest,  active  and 
successful  life.  Conrad  Weiser  v/as  erratic  in  his  pietv  ; 
but  this  was,  perhaps,  more  the  fault  of  his  .surroundiu^rs 
than  his  own.  Times  and  circumstances  divert  men  from 
the  narrow  way  too  often.  He  reeled  anil  stairgered  to 
and  fro,  but  never  abandoned  his  love  for  (xod  and  innn. 
An  old  descendant  savs  :  "  In  those  times  thev  lia«l  nn 
churches.  Conrad  Weiser  was  an  intelligent  mau,  and 
was  often  called  on  to  preach  funeral  sermons,  oHtr 
prayers,  and  lead  in  singing  hymns  over  the  l)urying  of 
the  dead.  His  son-in-law,  Muhlenberg,  nlicved  him  of 
such  duties  after  his  arrival."  Howsillv  the  notion,  then, 
that  the  prosecution  of  one's  religicnis  duties  enervates  us 
for  the  discharge  of  our  secular  duties.  fJrn  d  Labont 
was  finely  illustrated  in  his  long  and  efficient  course. 

"Act,  act  in  the  living  present  I 
Heart  within  and  Gud  o'erhead  ! 

4.  Conrad  Weiser  was  a  '  father'  of  the  so-cidlcd  ''  J\iin- 
sylvania  Gennan,^.'^  We  mention  this  fact  as  an  incentive 
to  the  numerous  youths  in  I^ast  Pennsylvania,  who  may 
consider  it  an  allliction  to  Hud  that  such  blood  courses  in 
their  veins.  Let  it  be  remembered  and  rcpeati'd  that  our 
ancestry  numbers,  in  its  line,  noble  characters — men  who 
would  grace  any  position  in  life  Here  is  a  pioneer  iu  civ- 
ilization, an  honorable  and  honored  public  olliirr,  an  histor- 
ical character  abreast  with  the  men  of  his  day — and  a  l*rnn- 
sylvania  German  notwithstanding.     As  such  he  has  left 

"  Footprints  that  perhaps  another, 
Sailing  o'er  life's  solemn  main, 
A  forlorn  and  shipwrecked  brother, 
Seeing,  shall  take  heart  again." 


lis  rilK    MFK   OF 


APPENDIX. 


AUTHENTIC  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  CONRAD  WEISER. 


[AmoDg  tlie  several  copies  of  Conrad  Weiser's  ^'  Manu- 
script Autobiograpliy/'  which  are  with  his  descendants, 
some  are  imperfect,  and  others  are  incorrect,  in  conse- 
quence of  wrong  translation,  misconception  and  careless- 
ness. We  will  present  a  reprint  of  the  fullest  and  most 
reliable  narrative,  from  his  own  hand.  It  has  been  trans- 
lated for  the  ^'  Collections  of  the  Pennsylvania  Historical 
Society,"  by  Dr.  H.  II.  Muhlenberg,  of  Reading.] 

In  the  year  1696,  on  the  2d  of  November,  I,  Conrad 
Weiser,  was  born  in  Europe,  in  the  land  of  Wiirtemberg, 
in  the  county  (Amt)  of  Herrenberg,  the  village  is  called 
Astaet,  and  was  christened  at  Kupingen,  near  by,  as  my 
father  has  informed  me.  I  say,  I  was  born  on  the  second 
day  of  November,  sixteen  hundred  and  ninety-six.  My 
father's  name  was  John  Conrad  Weiser,  and  my  mother's 
name  was  Anna  Magdalena,  her  family  name  was  Uebelen. 
My  grandfather  was  Jacob  Weiser,  my  great-grandfather 
also  Jacob  Weiser.  He  was  magistrate  (Schultheiss)  in 
the  village  of  Great  Aspach,  in  the  county  (Amt)  of  Back- 
nang,  also  in  the  land  of  Wiirtemberg.  In  this  latter  vil- 
lage my  ancestors  from  time  immemorial  were  born,  and 
are  buried  there  as  well  on  my  father's  as  my  mother's 
side.  In  the  year  1709  my  mother  passed  into  eternity 
on  the  first  day  of  May,  in  the  43d  year  of  her  age,   while 


CONRAD    WEISKK.  119 

pregnant  with  her  sixteenth  chihl,  h-avin^  chihhvn,  (  alri- 
na,  ]\Iargareta,  ^Nlagdalena,  Sal)ina,  Conrad,  (u'or^^e  I'*red- 
eriek,  Christopher,  Barbara,  John  I'^nMU'rick,  and  was 
buried  there  bv  the  side  of  mv  ancestors.  She  was  a 
woman  fearing  God,  and  much  beloved  l)y  licr  neighbors. 
Her  motto  was,  "Jesus  Christ,  I  live  for  TIkt,  I  die  for 
Thee,  Thine  am  T  in  life  and  death." 

In  the  year  al)ove  mentioned,  namely  in  17ui>,  my 
father  moved  away  from  Great  Aspach  on  the  •24th  of 
June,  and  took  ei<rht  children  with  him.  Mv  eldest  sis- 
ter,  Catrina,  remained  there  with  her  hu>l)and,  Conrad 
Boss,  with  whom  she  had  two  cuildren.  Mv  father  sold 
them  his  house,  fields,  meadows,  vineyard  and  garden,  but 
they  could  only  pay  him  75  gulden,  the  remainder,  <)00 
gulden,  was  to  be  paid  to  my  father  at  a  subsequent  j)en«Kl, 
which  was  never  done,  so  it  was  made  a  present  to  them. 
In  about  two  months  we  reached  London  in  I^ngland, 
along  with  several  thousand  Germans,  whom  Queen  Anne, 
of  glorious  remembrance,  received  and  iurnishe*!  witli 
food.  About  Christmas  Day  we  eml)arked,  and  ten  siiip 
loads  with  about  4,000  souls  were  sent  to  Ameri<'a. 

On  the  1.3th  of  June,  1710,  we  came  to  anelior  at  New 
York  in  North  America,  and  in  the  same  autnnm  were 
taken  to  Livingston's  Manor  at  the  expense  of  the  (iueeii. 
Here  in  Livin<rston's,  or  as  it  was  called  l>v  the  (iennans, 
Loewenstein's  Manor,  we  were  to  burn  tar,  and  cultivate 
hemp,  to  repay  the  expenses  incurred  l)y  tlie  Queen  in 
brin<dn<r  us  from  Holland  to  Ku'dand,  and  from  Mnghin«l 
to  New  York.  We  were  directe<l  l)y  several  commission- 
ers, viz.,  John  (Ust,  Henry  Mayer,  liichard  Scykott,  (more 
properly  Sacket),  who  were  put  in  authority  over  ii.s  l>y 
Robert    Hunter,    Governor  of  New    York.      Hut   neither 


120  THE   LIFE   OF 

object  succeodcd,  and  in  tlie  year  1713  the  people  were 
discharged  from  tlicir  engagements  and  declared  free. 
Then  the  people  scattered  themselves  over  the  whole  Prov- 
ince of  Xew  York.  Many  remained  where  they  were. 
Abont  150  families  determined  to  remove  to  Schochary  (a 
place  about  forty  English  miles  to  the  west  of  Albany.) 
They  therefore  sent  in  July  deputies  to  the  land  of  the 
Maquas  to  consult  with  the  Indians  about  it,  who  allowed 
them  to  occupy  Schochary.  For  the  Indian  deputies  who 
were  it  England  at  the  time  the  German  people  were  lying 
in  tents  on  the  Blackmoor,  had  made  a  present  to  Queen 
Anne  of  this  Schochary,  that  she  might  settle  these  people 
upon  it.  Indian  guides  were  sent  to  show  the  Germans 
where  Schochary  was.  My  father  was  the  first  of  the 
German  deputies. 

In  November,  1713,  when  the  above  mentioned  depu- 
ties had  returned  from  the  Maqua  country  to  Livingston's 
Manor,  the  people  moved  the  same  autumn  to  Albany  and 
Schenectady,  so  as  to  be  able  to  move  in  the  spring  to 
Schochary.  Bread  was  very  dear,  but  the  people  worked 
very  hard  for  a  living,  and  the  old  settlers  were  very  kind 
and  did  much  good  to  the  Germans,  although  some  of  a 
different  disposition  were  not  wanting.  My  father  reached 
Schenectady  the  same  fall,  where  he  remained  with  his 
family  over  winter  with  a  man  named  John  Meyndert. 

A  chief  of  the  Maqua  nation  named  Quagnant  visited 
my  father,  and  they  agreed  that  I  should  go  with  Quag- 
nant into  his  country  to  learn  the  Maqua  language.  I 
accompanied  him  and  reached  the  Maqua  country  in  the 
latter  end  of  November  and  lived  with  the  Indians  :  here 
I  suffered  much  from  the  excessive  cold,  for  I  was  but 
badly  clothed,  and  towards  spring  also  from  hunger,  for 


CONRAD    WEISER.  '  121 

the  Indians  had  notliing  to  cat.  A  hii-hcl  <>f  Indian  corn 
was  wortli  five  to  six  shiUings.  And  at  this  pcriinl  tlic 
Indians,  \\heu  drunk,  were  so  barbarous,  that  1  was  fre- 
quently obliged  to  hide  from  drunken  Indians. 

1714.  In  the  si)rini'-  niv  father  removed  from  Schen- 
ectady  to  Schochary,  with  ab(jut  loO  families  in  great  |m)v- 
erty.  One  borrowed  a  horse  here,  anotlier  there,  also  a 
cow  and  plow  harness.  AVith  tliese  things  they  unitcnl  and 
broke  up  jointly  so  much  land  that  they  raised  nearly 
enough  corn  for  their  own  consumption  the  following  year. 
But  this  year  they  suffered  much  from  hunger,  and  made 
many  meals  on  the  wild  potatoes  and  ground  beans  which 
grew  in  great  abundance  at  that  place.  The  Indians 
called  the  potatoes  Ochna-nada,  the  ground  beans  Otai'h- 
Raquara.  When  we  wished  for  meal,  we  had  to  travel 
35  to  40  miles  to  get  it,  and  had  then  to  borrow  it  on 
credit.  They  would  get  a  bushel  of  wheat  here,  a  couple 
at  another  place,  and  were  often  absent  from  home  three 
or  four  days  before  they  could  reach  tlieir  suffering  wives 
and  children  cryintj  for  bread. 

The  people  had  settled  in  villages,  of  which  tiu-re  were 
seven.  The  first  and  nearest  to  Schenectady  was  calleil 
Kneskern-dorf ;  2.  (xerlachs-dorf :  3.  Fuchsen-<lorf :  4. 
Hans  George  Schmidts-dorf ;  5.  \Veisers-<lorf,  or  Brun- 
nen-dorf ;  6.  Hartmans-dorf ;  7.  Ober  Weisers-ilorf".  So 
named  after  the  deputies  who  were  sent  from  Livingston's 
Manor  to  the  Macpia  country. 

Towards  the  end  of  July  1  returned  from  among  the 
Indians  to  my  father,  and  had  made  considerable  progress, 
or  had  learned  the  greater  part  of  the  Ma(pia  language. 
An  English  mile  from  my  father's  house  tiiere  livinl  several 
Macpia  families,  and  there  were  always  Mannas  among  us 
9 


122  THE   LIFE   OF 

luuitiiig,  so  that  there  was  always  sonietliing  for  me  to  do 
in  interpreting,  bnt  without  pay.  There  was  no  one  else 
to  be  found  among  our  people  who  understood  the  language, 
so  that  I  gradually  became  completely  master  of  the  lan- 
guage, so  far  as  my  years  and  other  circumstances  permitted. 

Here  now  this  people  lived  peaceably  for  several  years 
without  preachers  or  magistrates.  Each  one  did  as  he 
thought  proper.  About  this  tim(i  I  became  very  sick  and 
expected  to  die,  and  was  willing  to  die,  for  my  step- 
mother was  indeed  a  step-mother  to  me.  By  her  influence 
my  father  treated  me  very  harshly ;  I  had  no  other  friend, 
and  had  to  bear  hunger  and  cold.  I  often  thought  of 
running  away,  but  the  sickness  mentioned  put  a  bit  in  my 
mouth  ;  I  was  bound  as  if  by  a  rope  to  remain  with  my 
father  to  obey  him. 

I  have  already  mentioned  that  my  father  Avas  a  wid- 
ower when  he  left  Germany,  and  landed  in  1710  with 
eight  children,  in  JSTew  York,  where  my  two  brothers, 
George  Frederick  and  Christopher,  were  bound  by  the 
Governor,  with  my  then  sick  father's  consent,  over  to 
Long  Island.  The  following  winter  my  youngest  brother, 
John  Frederick,  died  in  the  sixth  year  of  his  age,  and 
was  buried  in  Livingston's  hush,  as  the  expression  then 
was,  and  was  the  first  one  buried  where  now  the  Reformed 
church  in  Weisers-dorf  stands. 

In  the  year  1711  my  father  married  my  step-mother, 
whom  I  have  mentioned  above.  It  was  an  unhappy 
match,  and  was  the  cause  of  my  brothers  and  sisters  all 
becoming  scattered.  At  last  I  was  the  only  one  left  at 
home,  except  the  three  children  he  had  by  my  step-mother, 
viz.,  John  Frederick,  Jacob  and  Rebecca.  Everything 
went  crab-fashion  ;  one  misfortune  after  another  happened 


(X)NRAD    WEISER.  123 

to  our  tliiiiily,  oi'  which  I  always  was  partaker.  I  fre- 
quently did  not  know  where  to  turn,  and  K'arncd  t<>  pray 
to  God,  and  the  I>il)le  heeanie  a  very  agreealjle  l)«K»k  to  me. 

But  to  return  to  Sehoehary.  The  people  had  taken 
possession  without  informing  the  (Jovernor  of  New  York, 
who,  after  letting  them  know  his  dissatisfartion,  sold  the 
land  to  seven  rich  merehants,  four  of  whom  HvimI  in  Al- 
banv,  the  other  three  in  New  York.  Tiie  names  of  those 
in  Albany  were  Myndert  Shvller,  John  Shvller,  Rol)ert 
Livingston,  Peter  Van  Brughen  ;  of  those  in  New  York 
were  George  Clarke,  at  that  time  Secretary,  Doctor  Stadts, 
Rip  Van  Dam.  Upon  this  a  great  uproar  arose  in 
Sehoehary  and  Albany,  because  many  persons  in  Ali)any 
wished  the  poor  people  to  retiun  their  lands.  The  jH'ople 
of  Sehoehary  divided  into  two  parties;  the  strongest  did 
not  ^yisll  to  obey,  but  to  keep  the  land,  and  therefore  sent 
deputies  to  England  to  obtain  a  grant  from  George  the 
first,  not  only  for  Sehoehary,  but  for  more  land  in  addition. 
But  the  plans  did  not  succeed  according  to  their  wishes, 
for  in  the  first  place  the  deputies  had  to  leave  secretly  and 
embarked  at  Philadelphia  in  1718.  As  soon  as  they  got 
to  sea  they  fell  into  the  hands  of  pirates,  who  robbed  them 
as  well  as  the  crew  of  their  money,  but  then  set  tliem  free. 

My  father,  who  was  one  of  tiie  deputies,  was  three 
times  tied  up  and  Hogged,  but  W(»uld  not  confess  to  having 
money  ;  finally  William  Scliclf,  the  otlier  deputy,  s:iid  to 
the  pirates,  this  man  and  1  liave  a  purse  in  common,  and 
I  have  already  ffiven  it  tt)  you,  he  has  nothiui:  to  t:ive 
you  ;  upon  which  they  let  him  go  free.  The  ship  had  to 
})ut  into  Boston  to  purchase  necessaries  for  the  en*w  and 
passengers,  in  place  of  those  taken  by  the  pirates.  When 
thev  reached  Enij:land,  thev  found  times  had  changed   ami 


124  THE   LIFE   OF 

that  there  was  no  longer  a  (^aeen  Anne  on  the  tlirone. 
They  still  found  some  of  the  old  friends  and  advocates  of 
the  Germans,  among  whom  were  the  Chaplains  at  the 
King's  German  Chapel,  Messrs.  Boehni  and  Roberts,  who 
did  all  in  their  power.  The  affiiirs  of  the  deputies  finally 
reached  the  Lords  Commissioners  of  Trade  and  Planta- 
tions, and  the  Governor  of  New  York,  Robert  Hunter, 
was  called  home.  In  the  meanwhile  the  deputies  got  into 
debt ;  Walrath,  the  third  deputy,  became  homesick,  and 
embarked  on  a  vessel  bound  to  New  York,  but  died  at 
sea.  The  other  two  were  thrown  into  prison  ;  they  wrote 
in  time  for  money,  but  owing  to  the  ignorance  and  over- 
confidence  of  the  persons  who  had  the  money  to  transmit 
which  the  people  had  collected,  it  reached  England  very 
slowly.  In  the  meantime  Robert  Hunter  had  arrived  in 
England,  had  arranged  the  sale  of  the  Schochary  lands  in 
his  own  way  before  the  Board  of  Trade  and  Plantations. 
The  opposite  party  was  in  prison,  without  friends  or 
money.  Finally,  when  a  bill  of  exchange  for  seventy 
pounds  sterling  arrived,  they  were  released  from  prison, 
petitioned  anew,  and  in  the  end  got  an  order  to  the  newly 
arrived  Governor  of  New  York,  William  Burnet,  to  grant 
vacant  land  to  the  Germans  who  had  been  sent  to  New 
York  by  the  deceased  Queen  Anne. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  year  1720  this  William  Bur- 
net arrived  in  New  York.  In  the  commencement  of  the 
year  1721  I  was  sent  to  New  York  with  a  petition  to 
Governor  Burnet.  He  appeared  friendly,  and  stated  what 
kind  of  an  order  from  the  Lords  of  Trade  and  Plantations 
he  brought  with  him,  which  he  was  resolved  to  comply 
with,  but  deputies  were  yet  in  England,  not  content  with 
the  decision,  but  could  get  nothing  more  done.     In  the 


CONRAD    \S  EISER.  125 

last  named  year,  viz.,  1721,  William  SclielV  returned  Imiin', 
having  (|uarreled  with  my  father;  they  h(»th  liad  liard 
heads.  At  last,  in  the  month  of  November,  1723,  mv 
father  also  returned.  Seheff  died  six  weeks  after  lii- 
return. 

Governor  Burnet  gave  patents  for  land  to  the  few  who 
were  willing  to  settle  in  the  Macjua  eountry,  namely  in 
Stone  Arabia,  and  above  the  falls,'-'  but  none  on  tiie  river, 
as  the  people  hoped.  They  therefore  scattered,  the  larger 
part  removed  to  the  Maqua  c(Hnitry  or  remained  in 
Schocharv,  and  boug^ht  the  land  from  the  ijefore  name<l 
rich  men. 

The  people  got  news  of  the  land  on  the  Swafara  an<l 
TiiZ/^^AocA-en,  in  Pennsylvania  ;  many  of  them  united  and 
cut  a  road  from  Schochary  to  the  Susquehanna  river,  car- 
ried their  goods  there,  and  made  canoes,  and  floated  down 
the  river  to  the  mouth  of  the  Swatara  creek,  and  drove 
their  cattle  over  land.  This  happened  in  the  spring  of 
the  year  1723.  From  there  they  came  to  Tulj>i'h<H'ken, 
and  this  was  the  beginning  of  Tulpehoeken  settlement. 
Others  followed  this  party  and  settled  there,  at  rir>t,  also, 
without  the  permission  of  the  Proprietary  of  iVnn.sylva- 
nia  or  his  Commissioners  ;  also  against  the  consent  of  the 
Indians,  from  whom  the  land  had  not  yet  been  puri'hase<l. 
There  was  no  one  among  the  people  to  govern  them,  each 
one  did  as  he  pleased,  and  their  obstinacy  has  stinxl  in 
their  way  ever  since.  Here  I  will  leave  them  for  a  time, 
and  describe  my  own  circumstances. 

In  1720,  while  my  father  was  in  England,  1  married 
my  Ann  ICve,  and  was  given  her  in  marriage  by  the   Rev. 

*  The  falls  of  the  Mohawk  river. 


126  THE   LIFE   OF 

Joliii  Frederick  Heger,  Reformed  elergyniaii,  on   the  22d 
of  Xovember,  in  my  fatlier's  house  in  Sclioeliary. 

In  1722,  the  7th  of  September,  my  son  Philip  was 
horn,  and  was  baptized  by  John  Bernhard  von  Duehren, 
Lntheran  clergyman  ;  his  sponsors  were  Philip  Brown  and 
wife. 

The  13th  of  January,  1725,  my  daughter  Anna  Mad- 
lina  was  born  ;  was  baptized  by  John  Jacob  Oehl,  Reformed 
clergyman  ;  her  sponsors  were  Christian  Bauch,  Junior, 
and  my  sister  Barbara. 

In  1727,  my  daughter  Maria  was  born  on  the  24th  of 
June,  and  was  baptized  by  William  Christopher  Birken- 
meyer,  Lutheran  clergyman.  Her  sponsors  were  Niklas 
Feg  and  wife. 

In  1728,  December  24th,  my  sou  Frederick  was  born  ; 
was  baptized  by  John  Bernhart  von  Duehren,  Lutheran 
clergyman  ;  his  sponsors  were  Mklas  Feg  and  wife. 

These  four  were  born  to  me  at  Schochary.  Afterwards, 
namely,  in  1729,  I  removed  to  Pennsylvania,  and  settled  in 
Tulpehocken,  where  the  following  children  were  born  to 
me,  namely : 

1730,  the  27th  of  February,  my  son  Peter  was  born, 
and  in  1731,  the  15th  of  February,  I  had  two  sons  born, 
who  were  called  Christopher  and  Jacob  ;  the  first  lived  15 
weeks,  the  latter  13  weeks,  when  they  were  released  from 
the  evils  of  this  world  and  taken  to  a  happy  eternity. 

1732,  June  19th,  my  daughter  Elizabeth  was  born. 

1734,  the  28th  of  January,  my  daughter  Margaret  was 
born. 

The  23d  of  April,  1735,  my  son  Samuel  was  born. 

The  18th  of  July,  1736,  I  had  again  a  son  born  to  me. 
I  called  him  Benjamin  ;  when  he  was  three  months  old, 


(?ONRAD    WEISER.  IJT 

the  care  of  the  Ahiii«^htv  (Jod  took  iiiiii  a\viv  :  tljt-  •<iiik' 
year  my  daughter  Elizabetli  loHowcd  liin,.  \  nitTcifnl 
God  will  '/wv  them  all  to  nie  again,  to  tlic  lionor  of  Hi.-^ 
glory. 

The  11th  of  Augui^t,  17  40,  another  <(m  was  JMirn  ;  I 
called  his  name  Jaebez.  Tlie  mercy  of  (irnl  rcniovtMl  jiini 
from  the  evil  of  these  davs  when  he  was  17  davs  old. 

The  27th  of  February,  1742,  another  daughter  was 
born;  I  called  her  name  Hanna  ;  the  following  11th  of 
August  she  went  into  a  happy  eternity. 

The  16th  of  March  of  this  year  my  dear  daughter 
Madlina  went  from  time  to  eternitv,  throUirh  an  easv 
death,  after  a  long  and  tedious  illness.  Her  faith,  con- 
solation and  refuge  was  in  the  crucified  Savior,  Jesus 
Christ,  whom  she  had  vowed  herself  to  in  days  of  healtli, 
with  soul  and  body. 

The  12tli  of  August,  1744,  my  sou  Benjamin  was  Ixmi. 


128  THE   LIFE   OF 


LETTER  OF  COMAD  AVEISER 

TO  THE  LEADERS  AT  EPHRATA,  SEPTEMBER  3,  1743. 


[This  letter  was  found  among  the  papers  of  the  late 
I.  Daniel  Rupp,  the  well-known  historian  of  Pennsylva- 
nia. It  is  interesting  and  important,  because  it  clears  up 
a  point  in  the  life  of  Conrad  Weiser  which  had  been 
obscure  thus  far.  In  May,  1735,  he  joined  the  Seventh 
Day  Baptists  at  Ephrata  with  Rev.  John  Peter  Miller 
and  nine  other  families  of  Tulpehocken.  It  was  known 
that  he  withdrew  from  the  sect  at  a  later  period,  but  the 
exact  time  and  the  reasons  which  induced  him  to  take  this 
step  were  unknown.  Both  are  now  supplied  by  this  new 
letter,  by  which  he  severed  his  connection  with  the  Ephrata 
brethren. — W.  J.  Hinke.] 


Worthy  and  Dear  Friends  and  Brethren. 

It  cannot  be  denied  at  Ephrata  that  I  and  several 
other  members  of  the  community,  partly  gone  to  their  rest, 
partly  still  living,  were  compelled  to  protest  for  a  consid- 
erable time  against  the  domination  of  conscience,  the  sup- 
pression of  innocent  minds,  against  the  prevailing  pomp 
and  luxury,  both  in  dress  and  magnificent  buildings,  but 
we  achieved  about  as  much  as  nothing  ;  on  the  contrary, 
in  spite  of  all  protests,  this  practice  was  still  more  eagerly 
continued,  and  following  the  manner  of  the  world,  the 
attempt  was  made  to  cover  such  pride  and  luxury  with  the 
name  of  God.     It  was  most  zealously  defended,  so  that 


CONRAD    WEISER.  129 

for  years  nothing  has  been  heard  in  piiMic  a.ssenil)Iies  hut 
the  boast  :  "  There  the  work  .stands  ;  it  is  the  work  of  G'o(/," 
as  if  it  were  the  first  Balnlonian  inastcrpiwe.  \\'Ii«»le 
assemblies  were  held  in  honor  of  this  loathsome  i«l<)hitrv, 
while  the  leaders  have  indulged  in  the  most  tiilsouH-  -<'!f- 
praise  by  all  kinds  of  fietitious  stories. 

For  these  and  other  reasons,  which  1  roervt*  tor 
myself  to  state  them  at  a  fitting  opi)ortunity,  1  take  leave 
of  your  young,  but  already  deerepit  sect,  and  I  desire 
henceforth  to  be  treated  as  a  stranger,  esjK'cially  l>v  vmi, 
the  presiding  officers  (su])erintcndeuts),  whenever  1  ?hould 
come  to  Ephrata  because  of  business  or  other  jxrsonal 
inclinations,  or  should  meet  you  somewhere  else.  You 
will  no  doubt  know  liow  to  instruct,  as  usual,  the  other, 
partly  innocent,  minds,  as  to  what  they  have  to  con>ider 
me.  I  make  a  distinction  between  them  and  you,  and 
hope  the  time  will  come  when  they  shall  be  liberate*!  tronj 
their  physical  and  spiritual  bondage,  as  also  from  the 
thraldom  of  conscience,  under  which  they  are  groiining. 
I  protest  once  more  against  you,  the  overseers,  who  teeil 
yourselves  and  do  not  spare  the  Hock,  but  scatter  and 
devour  them.  ******* 

******  *** 

*  *  [A  few  lines  are  here  torn  oil'.]  * 


I   ^V     ie»      lllUJ."?    clUJ     IILTIL:     LlJl  11     I'll. J 

*  *  t-  ******* 


I  hope  the  end  is  near  and  the  deliverance  has  oomr.  Of 
course  I  know  beforehand  that  you  will  not  consider  my 
words,  especially  since  1  am  not  the  son  of  a  prophet  or  a 
prophet  myself  Xor  do  I  a})peal  to  a  spirit  in  my  head 
or  bodv  as  the  cause  of  this  letter,  l)ut  mv  conclusions  are 
founded  upon  the  eternal  truth  and  tiie  rea.«*<)nablenes8  of 
the  thing  itself.  T  am  in  earnest ;  you  may  ridi<Mde  me 
as  much  as  you  please. 


130  THE   LIFE   OF 

Hercwitli  T  ('(nicliule  and  live  in  hope  that  the  time 
will  come  when  all  knees  shall  bow  before  the  name  of 
Jesus,  even  those  of  such  proud  saints  who  publicly 
declare  rather  to  l)uni  in  hell  than  bow  before  Him. 

Why  doest  thou  extol  thyself,  O  poor  earth?  The 
iudirment  of  God  can  humble  thee  in  a  moment.  Do  it 
rather  willingly  ;  it  is  no  disgrace,  for  the  heathen  are 
his  inheritance  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  his 
possession.  He  is  a  King  of  all  kings  and  a  Lord  of  all 
lords.  Worship,  majesty  and  power  belong  to  Him,  for 
the  Father  has  made  all  things  subject  to  Him.  He  will 
give  His  honor  to  no  other,  nor  His  glory  to  the  mighty. 
He  is  the  Lord,  and  beside  Him  there  is  no  Savior. 

If  there  is  any  one  not  satisfied  with  my  statement,  let 
him  convince  me  of  the  contrary.  Victory  belongs  to 
truth.  The  authority  of  man  has  no  power.  To  be  silent 
is  good  at  times,  but  in  this  case  it  would  be  bad.  If  you 
have  anything  to  say  in  your  defence,  or  undertaken  a 
reformation,  let  me  know,  for  I  shall  be  glad  to  hear  it. 

Finally,  I  remain  a  friend  of  truth  and  sincerity,  and 
of  all  those  who  love  them,  but  a  sworn  enemy  of  all  lies 
and  hypocrisy.     Farewell. 

September  3,  1743.  Conead  Weiser. 


CONRAD    WFTTSER.  I'M 


DEDICATIU-X   IIVMX. 


Conrad  Weiser  composed  the  followinj^  beautiful  \ .  . 
which  were  used  at  the  dedication  of  a  church  : 

Jehovah,  Herr  und  ^lajestiet  I 
Hcer  uuser  kindlicii  Flchen  : 
NeiiT  deine  Ohren  zuni  Gebet 
Der  Schaaren,  die  da  stelien 
Vor  deiuein  heiligen  Angesiciit  : 
Verschniiche  unsere  Bitte  nicht, 
Um  deiues  Xamens  willcn  I 

Dies  Hans  wird  heute  eiugeweiht 
Vou  deiuem  Bundes-Volke  : 
Lasz  uns,  Herr,  deine  Ilerrlichkeit 
Hernieder  in  der  Wolke, 
Dasz  sie  erfuelle  dieses  Flaus 
Und  treibe  aHes  Boese  aus, 
Um  deines  Xamens  wiUen  I 

Es  halte  Xiemand  das  gemeiu, 

AA^as  du  fuer  rein  erkheret  : 

Dies  Hans  soil  eine  Wohnung  .>ein, 

Worin  man  dich  verehret. 

Es  bleibe  stets  ein  Heiligthum 

Fuer's  reine  Evangeliuin  ! 

Um  deines  Xamens  willen  I 

Verleihe,  dasz  es  nie  gebricht 

An  treuen  Kircheu-lva'theii, 

Die  nach  (Jewisson,  Amt  und  rili«ht 

Fuer  sich  und  Andere  Iwten, 

Daniit  (lurch  ihren  Dienst  und  Tron 

Der  Kirche  wohlgerathen  sei, 

Um  deines  Xamens  willen  ! 


132  THE   LIFE   OF 

O  ]\Iajosta)t,  crziierne  nicht, 

Dasz  wir  iins  iiiiterwiiidcn, 

7a\  bitten,  dasz  deiu  Recht  iind  Ijicht 

Hier  stetig  sei  zii  findcn  ! 

Drum  gieb  uns  Lelirer,  die  erfuellt 

Mit  deinem  Geist  und  Ebenbild, 

Urn  deines  Namens  willen  ! 

AVenii  deiue  treueii  Knechte  hier 
In  deinem  Namen  lehreu, 
Wenn  sie  erhoehen  dein  Panier ; 
Dann  lasz  dein  A^olk  so  hoeren, 
Dasz  sich  eroeifne  ihr  Verstand, 
Ihr  Wille  werde  umgewandt, 
Um  deines  Namens  willen  ! 

Hier  oeffne  sich  der  Boten  Mund, 

Und  triefe  recht  vom  Fette  ! 

Er  mache  Fluch  und  Segen  kund, 

Und  ringe  in  die  Wette 

Mit  Gott  und  seines  Geistes  Kraft, 

Die  ihm  den  A¥eg  zum  Herzen  schafft, 

Um  Jesu  Christi  willen  ! 

Lasz,  Jesu,  diese  Quelle  sein 

Ein  reines  Meer  der  Gnaden, 

Darinnen  unsere  Kindelein 

Von  Erb-  und  Suenden-Schaden 

Durch  dein  Verdienst,  Blut,  Schweisz  und  Tod 

Errettet  werde  aus  der  Noth, 

Um  deines  Namens  Avillen  ! 

Lasz,  Majest?et,  auf  diesem  Platz 
Die  reinste  Lehre  bleiben, 
Und  deine  Knechte  solchen  Schatz 
Nach  deinem  Willen  treiben. 
Behuete  uns  vor  Zsenkerei, 
Vor  Sicherheit  und  Heuchelei, 
Um  deines  ^Namens  willen  ! 


CONRAD    WKISKH.  133 

Das  i.st  uiul  l)K'ihet  ewi^  wahr, 
Was  C'liristi  Muiul  trcspnK'hcn  : 
\\  er  al)-  uiid  /nthut,  hat  <:[iui/.  klar 
Des  Mittlcrs  Wort  izichroclii'ij. 
Drum  invt  nicht,  Gott  husset  sich 
In  soldier  Sadie  absonderlich 
Xidit  in  (lie  Tiienge  siK)tten  I 

Lasz  dieses  Hans  die  Werkstatt  sein, 

Worinu  viel  tauseiid  Seelen 

In  Bnsz  nnd  Glauben  nnr  allein 

Mit  Jesu  sieli  verni:elilen 

Durch  deines  Wurtes  Lel)ens-Salt 

Und  deiner  Sakramenten  Kraft, 

Uni  deines  Naniens  willen  I 

Gieb  end  Hell,  lueehste  Majestiut 

Des  Hininiels  und  dcr  Erden, 

Dasz  Fuerbitt,  Dank,  Preis  und  Gebet 

Mag  liier  geopfert  werdeii 

Fuer  jeden  Stand  der  ( 'liribtenheit, 

Daniit  in  alle  Kwigkeit 

Dein  Nam'  creehret  werde  ! 


Vor  Feuer,  Krieg  und  Wassers-Xotli 

Wollst  du  dies  liaus  bewahren  I 

Daniit  iiaeh  sel'geni  T(k1 

Die  Xaclikoninien  ertaliren, 

Dasz  wir  dich,  walm'U  <  Jott,  geliebt 

Und  uns  in  deineni  Wort  geucbt, 

Fni  deines  Xaniens  willen  I 


134  THE    LIFE   OP 


THE  STOEY  01'  REGINA. 


One  of  tlie  most  thrilling  stories  connected  with  the 
time  of  Conrad  Weiser  is  that  of  a  young  girl  named  Re- 
tina Hartman.  It  occurred  durino-  the  cruel  French  and 
Indian  war,  which  continued  from  1755  to  1763. 

The  colonies  inhabited  by  the  German  immigrants 
belonged  to  England,  whilst  the  French  possessed  Canada 
and  Louisiana.  A  war  broke  out  between  England  and 
France,  and  this  war  was  extended  to  the  American  con- 
tinent. The  French  succeeded  in  gaining  the  Indians  to 
their  side.  It  is  believed  that  the  French  promised  to 
repossess  the  Indians  of  the  lands  which  they  formerly 
occupied  and  which  were  then  in  the  possession  of  the 
Germans.  The  result  was  that  the  savage  Indiaus  fought 
for  the  French,  and,  returning  to  Berks  county,  committed 
numerous  cruelties  and  outrages.  The  Germans,  who 
were  without  protection,  were  often  surprised  by  the  sav- 
ages, and  many  of  them  scalped  and  killed,  and  their 
homes  burned.  In  a  number  of  places  the  men  always 
took  their  rifles  with  them  to  church,  and  some  of  them 
stood  on  guard  outside,  whilst  the  people  worshiped  inside. 
The  history  of  Berks  county  abounds  with  Indian  cruel- 
ties. In  many  cases  the  children  who  were  not  killed, 
were  carried  oif  into  captivity.  The  people  of  the  whole 
county,  especially  the  northern  part,  were  for  years  in  a 
state  of  insecurity,  and  their  suiferings  were  great.  Tlie 
story  given  below  is  only  one  of  many  similar  ones. 


CX)NRAT)    WEISER.  135 

Ainona;  tlio  Palatinate  faniilics  who  lia«l  cini^rratr*!  to 
the  Tulpchockcn  rotrion  to  enjoy  rcli^^ioiis  trt»e(l<»in  wius 
that  of  Henry  Hartman,  which  eunsisted  of  lather,  mother, 
two  sons  and  two  danghters.  They  resided  in  wliat  is 
now  Bethel  township,  uear  the  place  where  Fort  Henry 
was  afterwards  erected.  The  parents  were  pious  ix'opU', 
who  tauoht  their  children  to  pray,  read  the  Scriptures  and 
to  sing.  There  were  of  course  no  Sunday  schools,  and 
about  the  only  instruction  which  the  children  reeeive<l 
came  from  the  parents.  But  this  instruction  was  of  the 
right  sort,  as  is  evident  from  the  fruit  it  bore.  The  family 
could  attend  church  but  seldom,  the  only  church  at  Tid- 
pehocken  being  a  considerable  distance  away.  One  of  the 
favorite  hvmns  often  suno;  bv  the  family  commenced 
thus  :  '^Alone,  yet  not  alone  am  I."  This  hymn  was  a 
source  of  consolation  to  them  in  their  lonelv  home,  it 
proved  a  great  blessing  after  awhile,  as  we  shall  see. 

On  October  16,  1755,  the  Hartman  family  were  vis- 
ited by  a  terrible  tragedy.  The  mother  and  youngest  son 
had  gone  to  the  mill.  During  their  tibsence  the  cruel  In- 
dians had  sur[)rised  the  family  and  performed  their  blcMwly 
work.  A\  lien  the  mother  and  son  returned,  they  found 
that  the  father  and  the  oldest  son  had  been  murdered  and 
scalped  by  the  Indians,  anil  the  two  daughters,  Ikirbara, 
twelve  years  of  age,  and  Regina,  ten  years  of  age,  taken 
captives,  and  the  buildings  burned  I  What  an  a\N  tul 
sight  I  What  a  fearful  change,  the  work  of  a  few  min- 
utes !  The  once  ha})py  family  was  partly  munlei-ed.  partly 
captured,  and  the  remainder  homeless.  W  hat  mu>t  have 
been  the  feelings  of  the  mother  and  daughtj-r'.'  Ami  what 
must  have  been  the  feelings  of  the  two  inuiKcnt  daugh- 
ters, as  they  beheld  their  father  and  brother   murdero<]  in 


136  THE   LIFE   OF 

cold  1)1()(k1,  and  the  torch  a])])li('d  to  the  beloved  luinible 
homo,  whilst  they  themselves  were  about  being  carried 
away  into  unknown  regions,  with  rude  and  cruel  Indians 
as  their  only  companions.  They  could  hardly  hope  ever 
to  see  their  mother  and  brother  ajrain. 

The  two  sisters  were  taken  to  an  obscure  place  in  the 
mountain  and  held  there  until  a  number  of  child  captives 
had  been  collected,  when  they  entered  upon  their  journey. 
Many  were  too  young  to  walk,  and  these  were  tied  on  the 
backs  of  the  older  and  stronger  ones.  Their  journey  led 
them  through  woods  and  briers,  and  over  rough,  stony 
paths.  Their  clothing  was  nearly  all  torn  oif  their  bodies. 
Thus  they  traveled  several  hundred  miles.  Then  Barbara 
was  separated  from  Regina.  This  was  a  most  painful 
experience  for  both.  Their  hearts  were  still  bleeding 
from  the  loss  of  their  parents  and  their  home,  and  now 
they  were  parted  without  any  hope  of  ever  meeting  again 
in  this  world.  And  they  never  saw  each  other  again. 
Here  the  record  ends  as  far  as  Barbara  is  concerned. 
Nothing  is  known  of  her  subsequent  experience  and  his- 
tory.    It  is  assumed  that  she  died  as  a  captive. 

Begina  was  taken  about  one  hundred  miles  farther, 
where  she  and  a  little  girl,  which  she  had  to  carry,  were 
given  in  charge  of  a  cruel  Indian  woman,  who  had  a  son. 
Her  experience  can  better  be  imagined  than  described. 
It  was  hard  enough  to  be  deprived  of  parents  and  home, 
but  this  was  not  all.  The  son  was  often  away  from  home 
for  long  periods,  and  poor  Regina  was  compelled,  under 
threats  of  death,  to  secure  the  food  upon  which  they  sub- 
sisted. Conrad  Weiser  stated  that  when  he  resided  in 
New  York  they  often  made  a  meal  on  ^^  wild  potatoes  and 
ground   beans,    which   grew   in   abundance."      These  no 


(X)NRAi)   \s  hi>j.i:.  137 

doubt  furnished  food  for  the  IiuUair^  of  New  York,  aiu«»ug 
whom  Rc<^ina  is  supposed  t<>  havr  l)een  at  this  time. 

The  eondition  and  surroundiujjfs  of  the  youu^r  and 
tender-hearted  Re«riua  were  most  sad.  From  ten  to  nine- 
teen years  of  aije,  when  she  mostlv  nee<led  the  eare  of 
parents  and  friends,  slie  was  compelled  to  live  beyond  the 
pale  of  civilization  and  among  savage  Indian>.  licr 
native  tongue  was  German,  but  during  these  years  she 
never  heard  a  word  of  German  excei)t  in  conversation 
with  her  younger  companion,  who  was  l)rought  with  her 
into  captivity.  She  gradually  became  reconciled  to  her 
sad  fate,  became  inured  to  the  life  of  the  Indians,  adopted 
their  customs  and  learned  their  language.  Thus  she  spent 
the  nine  years  of  her  exile  without  any  hope  of  l)eing 
restored  to  her  mother. 

The  cruel  war  continued  and  numerous  nnirders  were 
committed  in  Berks  county.  However,  by  176<)  the  In- 
dians and  the  French  were  finally  defeated  and  driven 
from  this  part  of  the  country.  \\'hen  the  treaty  of  peace 
was  made,  Col.  Bouipiet,  who  commamled  the  I'^nglish 
army,  included  in  the  treaty  a  conditit)n  that  all  the  ehil- 
dren  who  had  been  taken  captive  during  the  war  siiould 
be  returned.  Thev  were  accordingly  gathered  from  dit- 
ferent  sections  and  brought  to  Fort  l)u«piesne,  where  the 
city  of  Pittsburg  is  now  located.  i'hey  were  niggnl,  and 
some  of  them  were  almost  entirely  without  clothing. 
Their  sufferings  must  have  been  great,  for  it  was  in  the 
month  of  Decembei'.  The  garrison  of  the  f«»rt  >uj)pliiHl 
the  poor  captives  with  clothing  as  far  as  |)ossible. 

The  captive  children    were   then   brought    to   ( 'arlisle, 
Pa.,  and  notice  published  in  the  papers  that  parents  whose 
children  had  been  taken   captive  «luring  the   war,  should 
10 


138  THE    LIFE   OF 

come  and  claim  tlicm.  Tlie  heart  of  Mrs.  Hartmaii  was 
filled  with  joy,  because  she  hoped  that  now  at  last  her 
Iuni2:-lost  dauii'hters  would  be  returned  to  her.  She  went 
to  Carlisle,  but  how  should  she  recognize  her  children  ? 
During  these  nine  years  they  had  greatly  changed,  not 
only  by  time,  but  especially  by  their  condition.  The 
unfavorable  surroundings  naturally  had  their  effects  upon 
the  young  girls.     But  the  mother  hoped  and  prayed. 

We  now  come  to  the  most  touching  and  thrilling  part 
of  the  story.  The  children  were  drawn  up  in  line,  and 
the  anxious  mother  walked  along  the  line  and  looked 
carefully  at  each  child,  but  reached  the  end  without  find- 
ing either  Barbara  or  Regina.  We  may  imagine  her  feel- 
ing of  disappointment.  Col.  Bouquet  asked  the  mother 
whether  the  children  had  no  marks  on  their  bodies  by 
which  she  could  recognize  them,  or  whether  she  could  not 
do  something  by  which  they  might  recognize  her.  The 
mother  replied  that  they  used  to  sing  certain  hymns  in  the 
family,  before  the  children  were  taken  captive,  and  possi- 
bly they  might  still  remember  these.  Col.  Bouquet  asked 
her  to  sing  one  of  these  hymns.  With  trembling  voice 
the  troubled  mother  commenced  to  sing : 

Allein  und  doch  nicht  ganz  alleine, 

Bin  ich  in  meiner  Einsamkeit ; 
Denn  wenn  ich  ganz  verlassen  scheine, 

Vertreibt  mir  Jesus  selbst  die  Zeit ; 
Ich  bin  bei  Ihin  und  Er  bei  mir, 

So  kommt  mir  gar  nichts  einsam  fuer. 

The  following  is  a  translation  : 

Alone,  yet  not  alone  am  I, 

Though  in  this  solitude  so  drear ; 
I  feel  my  Savior  always  nigh, 

He  comes  the  weary  hours  to  cheer ; 
I  am  with  Him  and  He  with  me, 

Even  here  alone  I  cannot  be. 


CONRAD    WKISER.  139 

The  mother  had  scarcely  sung  two  lines,  when  Ke^nna 
sprang  from  the  line^  joined  in  singing  the  old  i'aniiHar 
hvnin,  and  mother  and  dau<rhter  embraced  each  otiier  and 
shed  tears  of  joy  that  they  were  united  again  after  a 
dreary  separation  of  nine  years.  Their  iov  was  marred 
only  by  the  fact  that  Barbara  was  not  there.  Re<jrina  had 
neyer  heard  of  her  .«^nce  their  separation  soon  after  their 
capture.  She  ^yas  never  heard  of  again.  When  Regina 
and  her  mother  were  about  leaving,  Regina's  companion 
clung  to  her  and  begged  to  be  permitted  to  go  with  her. 
The  record  implies  that  her  request  was  granted,  and  that 
she  was  brought  along  to  Tulpehocken. 

Truly,  '^godliness  is  profitable  unto  all  things."  The 
devotional  spirit  of  the  Hartman  family  brought  its  own 
reward  in  the  discovery  of  the  lost  daughter.  But  for  the 
singing  of  the  fiimiliar  hymn,  the  mother  and  daughter 
\vould  likely  never  have  found  each  other.  It  is  an  inter- 
esting fact  that  the  hymn,  by  the  singing  of  which  Regina 
recognized  her  mother,  describes  her  feelings  during  her 
captivity  most  aptly.  The  good  seed  sown  in  child  hearts 
will  bear  fruit  in  after  years.  The  religious  instruction 
imparted  to  the  child  Regina  was  not  lost.  It  is  stated 
that  during  her  captivity  she  often  took  her  yoimg(ierman 
companion  away  from  the  Indian  hut  t»)  some  secluded 
spot  and  engaged  in  prayer  with  her.  and  in  singing  the 
hvmns  which  she  had  learned  under  the  parental  roof. 
Again,  when  Regina  returned  to  the  home  of  lier  mother, 
she  inquired  for  the  family  l>ii)le  and  the  old  liynui  book. 
Dr.  Henry  ]Melcliior  Muhlenberg,  the  celebrated  Lutheran 
patriarch,  states  in  his  otlicial  report  that  the  mother  told 
him  that  Regina  often  asked  for  "  the  b(M)k  in  which  Christ 
so  kindly  spoke  to  the  children,  an<l  the  people  could 
speak  to  Him.'' 


140  THE    LIFE    OF 

Alas,  the  dear  old  family  Bil)le  had  been  hurncd  when 
the  Indians  destroyed  the  home.  IJiit  Dr.  Muhlenberg 
gave  them  a  Bible  and  money  to  purchase  a  hymn  book. 

We  are  not  told  much  of  the  history  of  Mrs.  Hart- 
man  and  her  daughter  Regina  after  the  latter's  return 
from  captivity.  It  is  assumed  that  they  spent  the  remain- 
der of  their  lives  in  Tulpehocken.  Dr.  Mnhlenberg  knew 
the  family  well.  From  him  we  learn  the  birthplaces  of 
father  and  mother  in  Germany.  He  also  gives  us  the 
motive  of  their  coming  to  the  new  world.  Like  many 
others  they  sought  a  country  of  religious  freedom.  Dr. 
M.  says  that  "  the  father  was  already  old  and  too  weak  to 
do  hard  work,  but  endeavored  to  bring  up  his  children  in 
the  fear  of  God  in  this  land,  where  few  schools  were  to  be 
found."  Regina  lived  to  a  good  age^  and  was  a  pious 
lady.  She  was  buried  by  the  side  of  her  mother  at  Christ 
Lutheran  Church,  near  Stouchsburg,  Pa. 

This  is,  in  short,  the  story  of  Regina,  which  has  such 
a  large  place  in  the  hearts  of  our  Pennsylvania  German 
people. 


form  410 


•|>':?^^S