The Menges Family History Pages

Berks County, Pennsylvania

Rockland Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania:

During the 18th century various Menges family groups immigrated to the American Colonies, with the largest numbers settling in Pennsylvania; other Menges immigrants settled in New York, New Jersey, Maryland and North Carolina. The popularity of Pennsylvania as a new home was in part due to the freedom and stability promised by William Penn. In 1681, the British Government made a grant of land to William Penn in liquidation of a claim of his father against the government of sixteen thousand pounds, to which he fell heir after his father's death. This tract of land in North America, lying north of Maryland; on the east bounded by the Delaware River; on the west limited as Maryland and northward to extend as far as plantable. Such were the boundaries of Pennsylvania, as defined by the Charter of Charles II of England, granted to William Penn in the year 1681.

After Penn had acquired honest title to the Indian lands he offered them for sale in blocks of five thousand acres for one hundred pounds, or at a rate of ten cents an acre for the choicest land in Pennsylvania. Such as desired to rent land were charged one penny per annum for each acre rented. Such liberal terms naturally gave a great stimulus to emigration when Penn visited Germany and proclaimed to the persecuted Palatinates the great opportunities awaiting those who would emigrate to the land of promise in the New World.

Another incentive for emigration from Germany to Pennsylvania was the many similarities between the topography and climate in Pennsylvania and that of the Rhine Valley. There were mountains and lowlands, with lime stone soil as rich as the calcareous soils of the Palatinate. The price of a dozen acres of land in the Rhine Valley purchased a hundred or perhaps three hundred acres of fertile land in Pennsylvania. By the mid 18th century, the cost of coastal land in Pennsylvania was more expensive than the immigrants could afford and most new arrivals moved inland from Philadelphia, taking land in the more sparsely settled counties of Northampton and Berks.

When no more lands remained on this side of the Susquehanna, the Germans crossed the river and founded the counties of York and Cumberland. Still later they spread over Dauphin, Lehigh, Lebanon and other counties, while toward the end of the century the tide of colonization swept to the south and the newly opened west. As early as 1732 a number of Pennsylvania-Germans under Jost Hite made their way along the Shenandoah Valley and settled Frederick, Rockingham, Shenandoah and other counties in Virginia. In the central and western parts of North Carolina many communities were settled by Germans from Berks and other counties in Pennsylvania.

Certain restrictions were placed on immigrants regarding the ownership of land. Upon arrival in Philadelphia, the immigrants took the Oath of Allegiance to the English King. After a waiting period of seven years, without more than two months at any one time out of the colonies, immigrants were eligible for naturalization and the right to own property.

Johann Conrad Menges, along with 108 fellow passenger from the ship "Albany," took the following Oath of Allegiance at the Courthouse in Philadelphia on September 2, 1749:

"We Subscribers, Natives and late Inhabitants of the
Palatinate upon the Rhine & Places adjacent, having
transported ourselves and Families into this Province
of Pennsylvania Colony subject to the Crown of Great
Britain in hopes and Expectations of finding a Retreat
& peaceable Settlement therein, Do Solemnly promise &
Engage, that We will be faithful & bear true Allegiance
to his present MAJESTY, KING GEORGE THE SECOND
and Successors, Kings of Great Britain, and will be faithfull
to the Proprietor of this Province; And that we will demean
ourselves peaceabl to all His said Majesties Subjects, and
strictly observe and conform to the Laws of England and of
this Province, to the utmost of our Power and best of our
understanding."

Signatures:

Johann Conrad Menges

Johann Jerg Menges

Conrad signed his name on the Oath as CONRATH MENGES and as was frequently the practice, later changed the German "th" to "d". His handwriting, along with his brother Johann Georg, was small in style with extended J's, H's and S's. The style is identical with that of the 1754 Menges immigrants which, along with other information, leads us to believe that the two groups were related, probably cousins, and that they came from the same general area of Germany. In many cases the immigrants were illiterate and made their "X" on the Oath in place of a signature. The fact that Conrad and Johann Georg signed their names indicates that they were educated, probably in a Lutheran Church school as here were no public or state schools in Germany during the 18th century.

Many German immigrants who came to Pennsylvania in the 18th century were required to serve a period of indenture because either they or a member of their family could not pay for their passage to the colonies. These "Redemptioners" were given free passage on ships and by law, were given fourteen to thirty days, depending of the colony, to raise the money. If at the end of that time the immigrants were unable to do so, a contract of indenture was made for a period of time equal to the unpaid balance of the passage.

Some passengers made partial payment before they left Germany, while others owed the full amount. In some instances where an entire family was unable to pay the passage, one or two members served the entire time for the unpaid bill. Terms of the redemptioners' contracts were anywhere from two to ten years, depending upon the unpaid balance of the indenture.

German redemptioners are not to be confused with British indentured servants, as they differed in many ways. The Germans usually came in family units with all their goods and chattels, intent on settling permanently in this country. Many of the men were skilled tradesmen who were allowed to practice their skill as a part of the indenture. Indentured servants, on the other hand, were required by British law to be single. If the contract of indenture was made prior to passage, the term of the servitude was normally four years, except in the case of convicts who were required to serve either seven or fourteen years.

Indentured servants were generally used for manual labor and were sent to all colonies except those in New England. A large number of indentured servants were extremely poor and chose this system because the "masters" were required to provide them with food and lodging for the duration of the contract and a new suit of clothes upon its termination.

There is no record of Conrad and Johann Georg as having been Redemptioners. However, there is no knowledge of Conrad's activities or whereabouts after he signed the Oath until two and one-half years later when on April 18, 1752, he appeared as a single communicant in the Old Williams Township Congregation. The Old Williams Church was located about four miles from the Delaware River on a road leading from Ranksville to Hellertown and was used as a rallying point for newly arrived German immigrants. The first thing an immigrant did upon his arrival in Philadelphia was to find the nearest route to the unsettled lands and to go there at the earliest possible moment. Naturally, these people wanted to go where their friends and relatives were, or if neither of these had preceded them, then where the German language was spoken and where the customs of the Fatherland were practiced.

It is apparent that Johann Georg settled in another area of Pennsylvania (he later resided in the Town of Reading, as there was a George "Menkis" listed there on the 1767 tax lists) as shown in the following newspaper advertisement placed in Christopher Sower's Germantown Newspaper by Conrad on December 24, 1757, in an attempt to locate his lost brother.

"Johann Conrad Menges, Upper Milford Twps. Northampton
County with his brother-in-law, Nazius, 1.5 miles from
Abraham Meyer of New Goshenhoppen, seeks his brother
Johann Georg who arrived in America 8 years ago. The
latter was born in Hebstahl, Grafschaft (Dukedom of)
Fursteneau, and is a tailor."

The Goshenhoppen region included from early times two sections, one nearer Philadelphia, know as Old Goshenhoppen, comprising part of Upper Salford Township, the other farther north, in Upper Hanover Township, known as New Goshenhoppen. The New Goshenhoppen region extends along the Perkiomen Creek, in the upper end of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, covering small strips of land in the adjacent counties of Berks, Lehigh and Bucks. It is a tract ten miles long and five miles wide which extends from Treichlersville (Lehigh County) to Sumneytown (Montgomery County), north and south and from the Bucks County line to the Perkiomen, east and west. In addition to Sumneytown, it includes the borough of East Greenville and the villages of Green Lane, Red Hill, and Pennsburg. It is a region rather than a township.

Conrad's newspaper advertisement served its purpose as the Upper Milford tax list for 1762 shows Conrad and Johann Georg back together again, being taxed five and four pounds sterling, respectively. The brother-in-law Nazius is the same person as the Natius Reicher who, along with his wife Anna Mareretha (Menges) Reicher, appears as sponsors at the baptism of Conrad's second child, Anna Mareretha. Nazius and Natius are shortened versions or pet names with alternate spellings of the name Ignatius. Ignatius and Mareretha also appear in the church records of St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Red Hill, Upper Hanover, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, for the baptism of their daughter Eva Susanna, on October 5, 1752. In the Red Hill records, Ignatius' surname is given as "Reichel". Research at the Beerfelden parish in Hessen, Germany has disclosed a marriage record for Johann Georg to Maria Catharine Holzchuh on May 30, 1761. Evidently Johann Georg returned to Hebstahl, married one of the local girls and was back in Berks County in time for the Milford Township tax lists in 1762. The marriage record further indicates that Johann Georg was born in Unterhebstahl (under or south Hebstahl) and not in the village of Hebstahl as was stated in the newspaper advertisement. The marriage record also included the information that the father of Johann Georg was Johann Menges and that he was a miller and not a farmer as formerly believed. Sometime during the ten-year period between 1752 and 1762, Conrad married his first wife. The marriage probably took place in Upper Milford Township, although no record has as yet been found to give the exact date and location. The only reference we have to a first marriage is the listing of Conrad as a widower at his marriage to Anna Catharina Bechtel.

On January 10, 1764, Conrad Menges, widower, married Anna Catharina Bechtel, daughter of Peter and Anna Mareretha Bechtel. Conrad and Anna Catharina? marriage was recorded in the records of the Christ Lutheran Church, Dryville, Rockland Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. It was not the custom of the time for marriages to be performed in the Church. Couples usually came to the Pastor and were usually married in the parish house. Sometimes marriages were performed in a private home or a public house. At any rate, the original log church, built 1747 was replaced in 1764. Among old land grant office records in Philadelphia and in old deeds, the land or property is described as being located "on der Bieber Creek nahe der Bieber Kerche," viz., along Bieber Creek, near the Bieber Church, the creek being the stream of water flowing close by the church. This shows that the church in its early history was known as Bieber Church as well as Mertz Church. The first church was erected on three-fourths of an acre of land donated by Henry Mertz, hence the name "Mertz Church." It should also be noted that Conrad's marriage took place during the pastorate of the Reverend Johann Helfrich Schaum.

Conrad and Anna Catharina's first child was born February 27, 1765, and was baptized Johann Conrad Menges on April 14, 1765, at the Christ Mertz Lutheran Church. The sponsors were Conrad Rauenzaner and Elizabeth Bechtelin. The sponsor, Elizabeth Bechtelin, is an unmarried relative of Conrad's wife Anna Catharine Bechtel. As was the case with most early Pennsylvania German Church records, the suffix was used to indicate that a female was unmarried, either single or being a widow. Contrary to standard practice, the suffix may be added to the given name instead of to the surname. The suffix used most was (in); but it may only be an (n) or (ern). It primarily depended on the pronunciation of the surname with the suffix. An example would be: KISTLER(n).

Baptisms were usually performed on the first Sunday after birth or the first Sunday on which a church service was held. Pastors usually served six churches and held two services per Sunday. Therefore, church services at any given church were held every six weeks. As will be seen in this first generation of the Menges family, German children were baptized with two names, the second being the "call" name and the first being the same, frequently, for several or all sons or daughters. In general, these first names were Johann for males and Anna or Catharina for females. Another family rule for naming children was the Leitnamen-Sitte or Lead-name-rule. According to this rule, the first born son had to have the first name of his father's father and the second born son the first name of his mother's father, respectively. Correspondingly, the first two daughters had to have the first names of their father's mother and their mother's mother, respectively. Only after the fourth child were godparents selected from aunts and uncles, and only thereafter were neighbors chosen as godparents. It should be mentioned here that Conrad Menges, Senior's given name was Johann Conrad, but for convenience and to avoid confusion with his first son of the same name, we will use the call name rather than the full given name when referring to Johann Conrad, Sr.

Johann Conrad, Jr. was probably born in Longswamp Township, Berks County as Conrad Menges appears on that Township's tax list for the year 1767. It may seem unusual for a family to live such a long distance from their church, but it must be remembered that in those days churches served a large territory. As mentioned above, the baptismal or marriage ceremony did not usually take place in the church itself. But instead were performed elsewehere by the pastors and recorded it in their own church books. The marriage and death records were considered the property of the pastor, whereas baptismal records were the property of the church. On February 27, 1767, Conrad and Anna Catharina's first daughter, Anna Mareretha was born. She was baptized March 3, 1767, in the Christ Mertz Lutheran Church with Natius Reicher and wife Ann Mareretha as sponsors. As mentioned earlier, Natius Reicher, or Ignatius Reichel, is the brother-in-law mentioned in the newspaper advertisement of 1757 and Anna Mareretha is, therefore, the sister of Conrad and Johann Georg Menges. This is a plausible relationship as German emigrants in the 18th century often undertook the voyage to America in small family groups.

Sometime during the months following Anna Mareretha's birth, Conrad Menges moved his small family to Rockland Township, which lies adjacent to and due west of Longswamp Township. Both townships are located in Berks County, which was the heart of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country. Berks County is roughly the shape of a diamond with an area of about 900 square miles. The land is of a rolling character interspersed with hills and mountains, and intersected by numerous streams. According to church and tax records, Conrad lived in Rockland Township for a period of approximately 28 years (1768-1796). It would appear that Conrad's first purchase of land was 50 acres in Rockland Township, as his 1768 tax was on 50 acres, 2 horses and 2 cattle. As with most early immigrants, Conrad's house was probably a log cabin built of squared logs after the fashion of log houses of the German forest regions. These houses had steeply pitched roofs and were built by using heavy, square timber posts with side grooves into which planking was fitted instead of being nailed as was the usual American practice. To conserve heat, windows were small and set high under the eaves. His farm was no doubt located in virtual isolation which was a profound change as most immigrant farmers such as Conrad Menges had been accustomed to a village-type life in Germany. An excellent description of the change from village to farm and how it affected he German immigrants' life is found in Thomas J. Wertenbaker's The Founding of American Civilization pages 272-273.

"Whereas before they had a compact community life, almost touching elbows with their neighbors on either side, with the church, the mill, the blacksmith shop, the baker, all within easy walking distance, they now lived in comparative isolation.

"The village well, in the Palatinate a place for neighborly gossip, gave way to the spring or farm well, the community bake-house to the private oven. The farmer could no longer sit behind his double-door conversing with passers-by.

"Household industry - spinning, weaving, shoemaking, tailoring, became more important than ever, when there was no village smithy or shoemaker or tailor close at hand. It was difficult to foster religion and to establish efficient schools, when the distances were so great. It must have been a hardship upon the pious German to hitch up his horse on Sunday morning for a journey perhaps of five miles over rough roads to attend worship. Had the settlers not been filled with religious zeal, the change from village to the farm would have had a most serious effect upon the congregation."

The isolation of the backwoods had no terror for Conrad Menges and other German immigrants. As a race of bauren (farmers) they were well aware that the character of the timber was an indication of the nature of the ground on which it stood. They were not afraid to work. The felling of tree and the clearing of the land neither intimidated nor deterred them from locating where these obstructions to farming were greatest. The richness of the land they knew was greatest where trees were largest and stood thickest.

The nearest neighbor to the new farmer may have lived five or ten miles away, but they quickly gathered about the newcomer and aided in the construction of his log dwelling, and in putting in such grain and vegetables as he season would allow. Often a cow or other domestic animals were given by an established neighbor and in this way the early hardships and needs were relieved until the settler was able to take care of himself and his family.

The acquisition of land, plus the traditional policies of the Proprietary Government, pushed the Germans into the silence and gloom of the forest. In spite of the isolation and hardship of the forests, Berks County was relatively safe from the Indian attacks that had occurred in the early 1760's. By the time Conrad Menges and his family moved to Rockland Township, the French and Indian War was over and the frontier had moved farther westward.

In the years between the close of the French and Indian War and the outbreak of the Revolution the Pennsylvania Germans in the back country were little affected by King George's attempts to intimidate the colonies. However, nine out of ten Pennsylvania Germans supported the Revolution heart and soul, and the tenth man was either Mennonite, Amish, Brethern, Schwenkfelder or Moravian. The Pennsylvania German Country was almost untouched by the fighting in the Revolutionary War. There were no battles on its soil, although Valley Forge is on the edge of the Dutch Country. At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, Pennsylvania differed from the other American Colonies in being totally devoid of military organizations. In 1775, many volunteer companies appeared in various localities. These volunteer companies, whose members were known as Associators, made up the Military Association -- a civilian reserve designed to repel invasion. Organization was on a territorial basis so that a company consisted of men from a single township, while a battalion included all the Associators of several neighboring townships. Ages ranged from sixteen to sixty years.

In theory, the Military Association was a voluntary organization, but men refusing to enroll were termed Non-Associators, and as the struggle became bitter such men were disarmed, fined and otherwise punished. Coercion led numbers of half-hearted Whigs and many Tories to enroll in the Military Association, diluting its ardor and dissipating its effectiveness. During the winter of 1776-1777 the Association collapsed, and the Assembly replaced it with a militia system, through imperfect, proved better adapted to Pennsylvania's needs.

The Pennsylvania Militia was organized under an act of March 17, 1777, which provided for compulsory enrollment by the constables of all able-bodied male whites between the ages of eighteen and fifty-three. Exemptions were extremely limited and an estimated 60,000 men were enrolled. For purposes of administration and drill, companies and battalions of militia were set up on a geographical basis similar to the arrangement already familiar with the Associators. Local militia activities were co-ordinated by a County Lieutenant who reported to the Supreme Executive Council. Each training company was divided by lot into eight equal classes. These classes were an effective device for rotating service and established quotas. As need for men arose, each class was in its turn called for a two-month tour of active duty. This class system made it possible to call troops in such numbers as were needed without depriving any particular district of its entire labor and protective force. Once on active duty, militiamen were reorganized into new but temporary commands, units entirely distinct from their permanent home companies. Under such a system the permanent training companies could have no campaign history, could win no battle honors.

In many instances, members of the militia gave no military service beyond occasional routine drill and some escaped even that. Only in extreme cases was any individual militiaman required to drill with his neighbors as many as twelve times each year, and at most he was called upon to perform during the entire course of the war, two or possibly three, short tours of active duty. On the frontier, where the menace from Indians allied with the British was constant, the response to calls for militia duty was excellent, but elsewhere it was much less satisfactory. Many listed on company rosters never drilled, and tens of thousands enrolled in the militia never experienced a single day of active duty.

Avoiding militia calls was not difficult. A man who failed to report for drill merely paid an Exercise Fine. A militiaman called for active duty who found such duty inconvenient was permitted to hire a substitute to march and fight in his stead. Frequently no substitute was furnished, but instead a Substitute Fine was paid. These militia fines became an important source of revenue to the various states and counties.

Sometime during the period 1777-1778 Conrad Menges was enrolled in the Berks County Battalion of the Pennsylvania Militia. He served no active duty and was in fact one of those who failed to report for mustering on the appointed day. According to The Fine Book of Berks County, he paid fines of 65:11:3. These fines, along with farm products, were no doubt Conrad's greatest contributions to the Revolutionary War effort. We should probably include whiskey as a contribution, as Conrad operated a still through the years 1780-1784.

By 1780, Conrad's property had increased to 150 acres, with four horses and three cattle. Along with Conrad's increased wealth, his family had likewise grown, six children having been born after Johann Conrad and Anna Margaret. Of these six children, two died shortly after birth. These two were Catharine Elizabeth, born December 26, 1773, and Johann Jacob, born August 12, 1776. The remaining four children were; Catharina, born or baptized March 24, 1769, Peter born July 29, 1771, Jacob born September 17, 1777, and Christian born in May, 1780. Conrad's wife Anna Catharina died either at the birth of Christian or shortly thereafter. Anna Catharina was probably buried in the cemetery at the Christ Mertz Lutheran Church. No death record has been found for Anna Catharina as death records were not customarily kept by churches at this early date. By 1782 or 1783, Conrad had married his third wife, Anna Maria. We do not as yet know Anna Maria's maiden name, but she was no doubt from the neighborhood - possibly a Bechtel relative, such as a younger sister of Anna Catharina or sister-in-law, as Peter and Anna Margaret Bechtel were the sponsors at the baptism of Conrad and Anna Maria's first child. This child, also named Anna Maria, was born Christmas Day in 1783 and was the last of Conrad's children to be baptized at the Christ Mertz Lutheran Church. Conrad's remaining children, Elizabeth, John, and Solomon, do not appear in the Christ Mertz baptismal records. It is believed, however, that hey were born in Rockland Township, as Conrad did not move to Turbot Township until 1796. This belief is based on Conrad's sponsorship of his grandson, Johannes Kime, at the child's baptism in the Christ Mertz Lutheran Church on April 3, 1796, and Conrad's appearance at the Courthouse in Sunbury on April 28, 1796, for the purchase of land in Turbot Township.

By the time Conrad moved from Rockland Township, his three eldest children had married and had started families of their own. Conrad, Jr. was married to Christina Kerchner and had two children. Anna Margaret was the wife of Christian Kime with four children and Catharina was married to Benedict Pott and also had four children.