Germantown was one of the first settlements in what is now Philadelphia County. When was it founded?

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Germantown was one of the first settlements in what is now Philadelphia County. When was it founded?

2015-02-02 10:46

Answer: 1683


Germantown, Philadelphia was founded in 1683, when Francis Daniel Pastorius (1651- about 1720) bought land in Pennsylvania on behalf of the members of the Frankfort Company, a group of individuals who came together to purchase land in William Penn's new province. The Frankfort Company provided him with a letter of attorney, giving him power to oversee the lands on behalf of the company members. This initial contract was signed by Jacobus van de Walle (for himself and his wife, but also as attorney for Johann Wilhelm Peterson and his wife, Eleonore von Merlau Peterson), Daniel Behaghel, Johann Jacob Schütz, Caspar Merian, and Pastorius himself.

Pastorius came to Pennsylvania in 1683 and began the challenging task of overseeing a fledgling colony that lacked both the goods and skills to develop quickly. In November, 1685 he wrote to the company members and asked to be released from his responsibilities. This resulted in a reorganizing of the Frankfort Company, but not the release from service that Pastorius asked for. He would remain their agent until 1700, when he was replaced as principal agent for the company by three new men: Daniel Falkner, Johannes Kelpius, and Johannes Jawert.

Outside of his professional responsibilities, Pastorius wrote constantly. His writings included the first protest against slavery written in the United States (1688), a Detailed Geographical Description of Pennsylvania (1700), the  Young Country-Clerks Collection of legal document templates and examples, an English language primmer, letters, poetry, religious documents, guides on farming and beekeeping, and tracts on various subjects. He also wrote about more personal matters. He penned an account of his life in Germany and journey to Pennsylvania, and compiled bits of knowledge in his Bee-Hive, a collection of advice, information, and wisdom intended for his sons.

Researchers can access two collections related to Francis Daniel Pastorius: his papers (#574) and his records (Am. 3714), both of which relate to the history of Germantown. We also have a sizeable selection of books on the history of Germantown in our library.

Comments

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

I have a vested interest … I'm a descendent of one of the original 13 Dutch-German families, Quakers and Mennonites, who left their homes around Krefeld to escape devastating wars and persecution . Pastorius was a part of the story, but they arrived within 6 weeks of the time he did, worked with him to settle the details of their land purchases and to set up self governance, and it seems to me that their establishment as a community of weavers and dyers of linen, as farmers and Quakers is more central to what Germantown would become than the details of Pastorius's career.

Submitted by chutto@hsp.org on

Our purpose with the Question of the Week series is to highlight HSP's manuscript and printed collections through the lenses of history and historical events. In this case, we chose to discuss the founding of Germantown specifically through Pastorius's papers because they are in our collections. You're correct in saying that there's much more to the founding of Germantown than just Pastorius, much more than we could cover in one blog post.

For our blog posts generally, we often have to narrow our focus on one particular event, person, organization, or the like, and that occurs at the expense of delving into the greater story that could be told. Sometimes, it's thanks to commenters like yourself that the larger (or in some cases, hidden) history is revealed, and we appreciate that.

So thank you for taking the time to read and comment.

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