JOHANNES JACOB WILTENSINN

In 1689, the town of Alzey and the castle, under the French troops' scorched-earth policy, were burnt down, in the Nine Years' War, when Louis XIV's armies left numerous Rhine Valley areas conquered and ruined. Our ancestor, Johannes Wiltensinn was born one year later, near Alzey in Pfalz, Germany in 1690. Somehow the Wiltensinns eked out a living for a few years in this area but after Johannes married and started a family, he decided to seek a better life in Pennsylvania, where he had learned there was freedom of religion and beautiful land, rivers, and forests, unlike his devasted home land.

John Wiltensinn, at age 48, and his small family embarked late in 1738 from Rotterdam, Holland, on the ship Jamaica Galley, which carried a total of 320 passengers, and arrived in Philadelphia on February 7, 1739. "List 68B: Palatines imported in Ship Jamaica Galley, Robert Harrison, Commander, from Rotterdam, but last from Cowes in England. Qualified Feb 7, 1738/9" (Historians say that such voyages lasted from 7 to 12 weeks, sometimes longer.)

They went to the area of what is now Hanover, in York County, PA, but in those days was still a part of Lancaster County. Family legend says their arrival occurred during a blinding snow storm towards spring. The site they settled on was about a mile or so west of where St. Paul's (Dub's) Church now stands. (The above pictured map is marked with a red star, which is the Church location.)  It was at this settlement that their first child in America was born on January 6, 1740--Georg Carl. 

Johannes secured a sizable amount of acreage and enjoyed the beauty of his new country and the company of other German immigrants nearby. He was a farmer and a weaver and he and his family of three sons and one daughter attended the Lutheran services at the Wildasin's Meeting House. Members of two other denominations also held church services here, perhaps on alternating Sundays or weekdays.

(When Europeans first reached this land, it was the territory of Susquehannock Indians, a powerful tribe that controlled much of the land near the Susquehanna River. Wars and the push of settlers, most of which were German farmers, led to the demise of the Susquehannocks.) 

And it was here that Johannes died, at age 64, around 1754, and later his wife, Catherina, and son, Georg Carl. All three are buried where Wildasin's Meeting House now stands. See the note below:

'Prior to 1829 there was located on a knoll along a private road or path, joining the present Hanover-Glen Rock Highway with the Black Rock Road, a private burial ground known as Wildasin's Graveyard.  Since then a frame building  has been erected and the area used for public school, worship and burial.  The adjoining farm from which it gets its name was tenanted by Richard Bankert, a descendant of the original Wildasin family, until the existence of Codorus State Park.  It was first used for a burial ground by George and Magdalena Wildasin." [George and Magdalena were probably Richard Bankert's direct ancestors.]

With all of these directions and names of places and  buildings, perhaps my relatives, who live near Philadephia, would like to venture a trip to find this Meeting House and Wildasin burial ground. Give it a try, Tom and Deb...and your sons, too! Take photos for our family to see!

JOHANNES JACOB WILTENSINN
BORN: 1690    near Alzey, Pfalz, Germany
MARRIED: abt. 1729                   Germany
DIED:          abt. 1754 Hanover, York, PA, USA
SOURCES: Immigration/Passenger records of Philadelphia, PA;Stories from online Wildasin web pages; Wikipedia map and historical articles;