When my family and I visited Pennsylvania in 2008, one of
our stops was the
Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center at Pennsburg.
This is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of the
Schwenkfelder history and to the history of
southeastern Pennsylvania and the
Perkiomen Region.
A research colleague remembered that when he visited the Center, he saw a map
showing exactly where to look for his ancestor's land. I hoped we might be
able to do the same. It seems that a
dedicated member of the Schwenkfelder
volunteer staff undertook painstaking research in the 1940s, and produced
detailed maps showing tracts of land identified by the names of some patent
holders.
I had contacted the Archive ahead of time, and they were
expecting us. The drawings were amazing, and I had a copy of
Christian
Schneider's patent with me, with its description of fence posts, stones, a
white oak tree, and a stretch
"along the Great Road leading from
Macungie to Philadelphia North thirty two degrees East .... "
My son-in-law, with his drawing and drafting skills and
photos from his trusty camera, penciled in the dimensions of the patent on a
road map, even showing the location of one or two markers.
For the first time, we could see exactly where the land
was in relation to important events in the family's life. There was
Red Hill
at the top, in
Upper Hanover Township. That's where baptisms of many
neighboring families were recorded at
St. Paul's Lutheran church. The photo introducing this blog shows part of St. Paul's front entrance. Two of Jacob and Maria Magdalena Schneider's children were baptized there.
[Also see Street Guide - Map 7425.]
Part of Christian's land was in Frederick Township, and
below and to the east, we saw where
Upper Salford Township lay. This
was where
Old Goshenhoppen Reformed and Lutheran congregations built their
church in
1744.
Jacob and Maria Magdalena's marriage record was inscribed
there in
1751, by
Rev. Lucas Raus, naming
Christian Schneider as Jacob's
father.
A 200th anniversary booklet mentions
that
Old Goshenhoppen was represented at the first
Coetus [Synod] of
Pennsylvania in 1747 at Philadelphia, by Christian Schneider and
Daniel
Hister, who accompanied
Rev. George Michael Weiss. The Synod was held at
Old
First Reformed Church of Philadelphia, which became our
Christian Schneider's
church. He was buried from there in
April, 1784.
I sent for a copy of the Coetus
minutes on CD, which names the participants.