My family tree

Catharina Seibert was one of the five children who came to America with her mother and stepfather. In 1739, at the ag e of 26, she married Christian Lauer, who had made the crossing several years before her. (The Lauers, page 90) She wa s widowed at the time, having earlier been wed to a man named Steffen. Catharina and Christian had 7 children, 4 boys a nd 3 girls. Nine months after her death in 1769, he married her sister, Elizabeth Seibert Haffner, who had just returned to Pennsyl vania from the western Virginia frontier following the death of her husband and the episode where her mother, brother a nd his wife had been killed by Indians. Obviously, she was in dire need of someone to take care of her. The man the two sisters married, Christian Lauer, became an individual of considerable prominence in early Pennsylvani a and his story is worth recounting in some detail. He was the 12th of Peter Lauer's 13 children and was born as were most of the Lauers, in Hirstein, a village in the Pal atinate, a section of southwest Germany west of the Rhine River. Christian came to America by way of Rotterdam, sailin g on theship "Pennsylvania Merchant", and arrived at the port of Philadelphia in September of 1733. The journey probabl y began in the early summer, as several weeks usually were required to get to Rotterdam followed by about two months t o make the crossing. Accompanying him was his cousin Mathias Gisch, his half-sister Sophia, her husband Peter Roodt an d their four children. Lauer was 18 years old at the time, spoke no English and had total assets consisting of 4 reichs talers as a stake to gethimestablished in a new country. He obviously had paid for his passage as he did not become a n indentured worker for the seven years many of his countrymen were required to do as payment for their passage to th e new world. At the time they arrived, Philadelphia was the largest town in the colonies but still had under 20,000 inhabitants an d dirt streets. Roads in the countryside were poor to nonexistent, so the two cousins made their way by Indian trails t o what isnow BerksCounty, about 65 miles northwest of Philadelphia. There an earlier contingent from the same general a rea of Germany had settled a few years earlier on lands along Tulpehocken Creek. The settlements were a further incursi on into DelawareIndian country andlay beyond the boundary of the territory they had released in an agreement with Willi am Penn. But there was no halting the flow of new settlers. An industrious Christian Lauer began practicing his trade as a blacksmith, using the proceeds thus generated to acquir e land and go into other enterprises. At the time of his arrival, most of the buildings were log structures. Before lon g, however, quarries were opened and stone hauled from them by wagon became a favored material of the increasingly pros perous Germans for building their houses and churches. According to tax records in 1767, the man who had arrived in America with 4 reichstaler had amassed 470 acres of land i n Berks County as well as another 300 acres in adjacent counties. He also built or acquired a sawmill, two grist mills , a storeand an iron forge, constructed a large two-story stone house owned four slaves and a substantial amount of liv estock. (Upon his death in 1786, his will specified that any slaves he owned should be given their freedom upon reachin g the age of 28 years) Based upon these property, tax records, he apparently was the wealthiest man in the township. Th e fine stone house he built is still being lived in today. His Moselem Forge was one of the iron furnaces and forges in the region which played a significant role in gaining inde pendence for the colonies. Historical records note that "The ironmasters were in a situation to contribute a strong inf luence toward thesuccessful prosecution of the War of the Revolution. They supplied the Continental Government with can non balls, cast iron and wrought iron in various shapes and they cooperated heartily in the great social movement for r epresentative government. Their assistance was of the greatest consequence and cannot be overestimated." Christian Laue r was one of the eight ironmasters named. His support was further evidenced by participation in the Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia. Lauer also served 20 years earlier in the Associated Battalions, a militia organized for protection against the Delawar e and Mohawk Indians during the French and Indian War of 1755-1768. Because of the continuing spread of immigrants int o their lands, theIndians were easily incited by the French to attack the colonists. There were some terrifying times d uring that period, as illustrated by a letter from Peter Spycher. a prominent citizen of the community to Judge Conra d Weiser who was the chief magistrate of the district. In it, he gave this account: "Yesterday the Indians attacked the watch at Dietrich Six,. killed him and a great many mo re that night. This morning, people went to Thomas Bower's house where they found one man dead and saw four Indians set ting upon children scalping them -- three of the children are dead, two are still living though scalped. Later they wen t back to the Watch-house. they found six dead bodies. four of them scalped. Along the way, the Indians had set fire t o a stable and barn, burnt the corn, cows and other creatures and burnt the improvements on four other plantations. A t one place. they found five Indians in the house eating their dinner and drinking rum. We are in imminent danger to lo se our lives or estates, pray, therefore. for help, orelse the whole Tulpehocken will be laid waste in a very short tim e -- all the buildings will be burned, the people scalped. Do, therefore, lose no time to get us assistance." Weiser and Christian Lauer went to Philadelphia seeking help on behalf of the settlers, where they asked Benjainin Fran klin and others to intercede with the appropriate authorities. Despite their entreaties, the British provincial governm ent wasreluctantto commit troops to quell the marauding Indians. The only recourse was formation of their own protectiv e force. It was comprised of untrained settlers from several counties in eastern Pennsylvania, who were asked by Weise r to "fetch their arms whether guns, swords, pitchfork or axes." A force of about 350 was raised. Their subsequent acti on against the Indians prevailed and reasonable calm returned. The Associated Battalions later became a part of colonial forces in the Revolution and were known as the German Battali on of the Heidelberg Brigade. Christian Lauer was first a Major. then Colonel in that unit. The Pennsylvania State Muse um has among itscollections a small pewter canteen made by the noted Lancaster craftsman Christoph Heyne engraved "Col . Christ. Lauer 1776". Through the research of Barbara Wilson Faust in validating Christian Lauer's service as a Colone l in the revoIutionary forces, hisfemale descendants are eligible for membership in the selective organization Colonia l Dames of America. The Pennsvlvania Germans were uniformly strong supporters of their churches. Christian Lauer became an active member o f the Trinity Reformed Church upon his arrival on the Tulpehocken. In 1743 a group split off to form the Christ Luthera n Church.For the token payment of one shilling, Christian and two others each gave five acres of land upon which a fin e stone church was constructed. Church records also note that "Christian Lauer furnished nails, glass, hinges, lumber ( and whiskey and wine for the workmen). Donated money for the organ and for a school built later. He contributed freel y for the upkeep of the church." With the exception of two sons who died young, the children of Christian and Catharina Lauer would all marry well and l ead successful lives. In another instance of intermarriage. their son John married Elizabeth Theiss, who was the daught er of Christian'shalf-sister Barbara. His son Christian, Jr., who spelled his name Lower, became particularly prominent. He was an officer in the war and con tinued serving after its conclusion in a military unit now known as the National Guard, rising to the rank of General . He was acounty commissioner, served as state senator and was elected to the Congress of the United States (but fell i ll and died before being sworn in). Christian Lower, Jr. left a sizable estate, the inventory of which was 15 pages lon g. His will, madeout in exacting detail over 11 legal-length pages, is the longest on file at the Pennsylvania Archives . In it, he spelled out how his beloved wife was to be taken care of, what was to be provided for her in what amounts b y whom and at what time of year. Equally detailed bequests were made to his seven children. The productive life of the senior Christian Lauer came to an end in 1786 at the age of 71 but he and his family left a n indelible mark upon their adopted country.