When Michael Glass was sixteen years old he made the journey from his home in Germany to America aboard the ship "Phoenix." He arrived in Philadelphia after several months at sea and signed the Oath of Allegiance to the King of England on November 25, 1752 at the old Court House in Philadelphia.
John T. Humphrey, in his essay, "Mid-Eighteenth Century Pennsylvania", had this to say about that experience.
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| Old Philly Courthouse on the right |
“When the alien immigrants entered the courthouse, a representative of the government was waiting. He told them they were now in a country that belonged to the King of England; a fact that required them to take an oath of allegiance to that King and his successors. The immigrants had to promise they would conduct themselves as good and faithful subjects, that they would not revolt against his Majesty, nor would they settle on lands that were not their own. They were also required to abjure or renounce allegiance to the Pope. In the words of another narrator, “After we took the oath, we signed our names to two different papers, one belonged to the King and the other to the government of Pennsylvania.”
It is likely that Michael spent several years as an indentured servant working off the cost of his passage to America. Sometime before 1768 he had located in Northampton Co., Pennsylvania where he met and married Christina Hubler, a daughter of Johann Jacob Hubler.
The birth and baptism of their first child Anna Maria, was recorded at Emmanuel Petersville Church in Moore Township on February 26, 1769. Michael and Christina became the parents of 12 more children whose births were recorded in several different churches in Northampton County. The baptisms of Maria Barbara, Regina and Maria Magdalena followed by Elizabeth, Maria Christina, and Catharine are recorded in the baptismal records of Stone Church, Kreidersville, Allen township, Northampton Co., PA. The baptisms of daughters, Christina and Rosina are both recorded in Easton at John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. No birth record of their son, Louis or Ludwig who is mentioned in the will of his father has been found. The birth record of Maria Margaret is found in the baptismal records of Plainfield Reformed, Northampton Co., PA. And finally the baptismal records of Eva and Michael are found in the church records of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran, Easton, PA.
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| Artists conception of original church and log cabin. |
The Revolutionary War was heating up during this time. Michael signed the Oath of Alleigence to support the efforts of the Americans in the War for Independence on June 26, 1778. He served in the militia in the 4th Battalion, 8th Company, 4th Class under Colonel John Sigfried and Lt. Col. Nicholas Kern. In addition, his DAR record Ancestor #: A045334 says that he served as part of the Flying Camp under Caption Rundio.
Michael was born August 19, 1736 in Dickenschied, Rhein-Hunsruck-Kreis, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. His wife Christina Hubler was born June 14, 1747 and died April 11, 1813. Michael Glass died on 19 April 1808 in Lower Mt. Bethel Township, Northampton Co. Pennsylvania. He may have been buried somewhere in Lower Mt. Bethel, but no grave site has been found by this researcher. An inquest for his estate was filed by the petitioner, James Jones, son-in-law on August 24, 1808 in Lower Mt. Bethel. Those listed were: Christina his widow and 10 children. Ludwig; Anna Maria, wife of Philip Deyley; Barbara, wife of Michael Swartz; Rachael, wife of Samuel Jones; Magdalena, wife of petitioner; Catharine, wife of Adam Meyer; Margaret, wife of John Frey; Christina, wife of Leonard Kester; Eve, wife of Frederick Deal and Elizabeth, wife of Michael Deal. At the time of his death he owned two tracts of land. A 270 acre tract which was accepted by James and Magdalena Jones and the lesser 34 acre tract went to Ludwig.
Elizabeth Glass married Michael Diehl (Deal), whose father also gave service in the Revolutionary War. They had a daughter named Catherine "Caty" Diehl who married Frederick Immick. Their son Aaron married Catherine Morey. Aaron and Catherine Immick had a daughter named Sarah, the first telephone operator in Lower Mount Bethel, who married Samuel Frey. Isaac, the son of Sarah and Sam Frey, married Mary Alice Fangboner and their daughter, Edna was Ron's grandmother.
Elizabeth Glass married Michael Diehl (Deal), whose father also gave service in the Revolutionary War. They had a daughter named Catherine "Caty" Diehl who married Frederick Immick. Their son Aaron married Catherine Morey. Aaron and Catherine Immick had a daughter named Sarah, the first telephone operator in Lower Mount Bethel, who married Samuel Frey. Isaac, the son of Sarah and Sam Frey, married Mary Alice Fangboner and their daughter, Edna was Ron's grandmother.
Sources:
- "Pennsylvania German Pioneers", by Ralph Beaver Strassburger; edited by William John Hinke, Genealogical Pub. Co. 1966 (pgs 507-509)
- "Mid-Eighteenth Century Pennsylvania", by John T. Humphrey; http://www.angelfire.com/al2/McCalebs/PennLife1700s.html
- Humphrey, John T., Pennsylvania Births, Northampton County, Gateway Press, Baltimore, MD 21202
- "The old Court House and Friends Meeting",graphic. Philadelphia:Kennedy and Lucas Lithograph,1830
- Pennsylvania Archives, Series 5, Volume 8, page 317
- Daughters of the American Revolution, http://www.dar.org, Ancestor #: A045334
- “An Index of Names Appearing in Church Records of Twenty-Eight Churches in the Easton Pubic Library” compiled by Personnel of the Works Progress Administration, Robert F. Ehret and the Staff of the Easton Public Library. Easton, Pa, 18042
- http://www.emmanuels.org, sketch of Emmanual's Church
Your comments and suggestions below are appreciated. It is with pleasure that I am able to present this information here for you to see. If you discover a relationship here, I would very much enjoy hearing from you.
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