The Story of Melchior Flinspach (Flinchbaugh) His small family came from Wurttemberg, Germany written by J M Flinchbuagh 1928 |
During the eighteenth century up to the Revolutionary War great numbers of German emigrants came to America. In a comparatively short time thirty thousand heads of families settled in Penn's Woods. They came from the Upper Rhine valley, from the section bordering on France and Switzerland. What induced these people to leave their fatherland in such great hordes? In the first place this section of Europe had repeatedly been devasted by war and war usually leaves in it's path suffering, poverty and distress. The immigrants who came from Europe to Pennsylvania were in many instances very poor and found it difficult to get the means to pay for their passage, but the proprietors of Pennsylvannia, knowing the sterling characteristics of the German people, their honesty and abilities as farmers distributed ciculars describing in glowing terms the advantages of migrating to the new world. And our ancestors, tired of warfare, rebellious against political oppression, weary of sowing and having their crops taken by an invading army, sick with anguish in seeing their loved ones slain and their homes devasted, turned longing eyes to AMERICA, THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITY. Having heard so much relative to barring the foreigner from our shores it was amusing to the writer to see in the archrives of the State the name foreigner opposite the first Flinchbaugh to come to this land of freedom. The Upper Rhine Valley was often spoken of as the Palatinate or "Pfaltz" and if one would have been over there in the summer of 1753 we might have seen many of the Germans with their families and such household effects as they could easily take with them, move down this valley possibly in boats or other conveyances until they came to the great port of Rotterdam in Holland from which port most of the early German immigrants sailed. Among this group was Melchior Flinchbaugh (the name is spelled in many ways in the early records, sometimes Flinzbach, Flinszbach, Flintxpach and still in other ways) with his wife Sophia Catharine and at least one son, possibly a half dozen children. They embarked on the ship Brothers, Wm Muir commander. The anchor is lifted, with the prow of the ship is turned toward the Golden West, to the land of promise. With tear-dimmed eyes they look for the last time upon the fatherland, at least it is the last look for all axcept possibly the father, who may have returned later. The ship touches land at Cowes, England, again sets it's sails to the breeze and starts on it's long voyage accross the Atlantic. Strange emotions must have filled the breasts as the land faded from site, leaving behind home, friends, kindered, loved ones, the graves of their fathers, to make their homes in a new and untamed country. Strange forebodings must have filled their minds as they set sail for a country only partly civilized, with virgin forests, wild beasts and still wilder Indians, but eventually they reached the City of Brotherly Love, September, 1753. The German refugees who came to America prior to the Revolutionary War, not being British subjects, were compiled to swear allegiance to the British Crown as Pennsylvania at that time was a British Colony. Among the lists of foreingers who that day, September 26, 1753, before Joshua Maddox, Esq. took the usual qualification, or oath of allengence, was Melchior Flinchbaugh (spelled by him Flinspach). The subject of our sketch wrote his name to the oath in a legible hand and became a British subject. Remember that was 1753, before the Declaration of Independance, before bunker Hill, in fact before the French and Indian War. Many of the names that appear in the same list are familiar and doubtless some others of the same little band eventually settled in York County. In the same lists of names appears the name Hans Philip Flinspach and among the taxables of York Township for the year 1769 are the names of both Melchior and Hans Philip F-----. The writer has made a dilligent search for an account of his estate in the Office of Orphans Court, in the early church records and elsewhere but can find no futher trace of said Hans Philip, or his descendants and has come to the conclusion that he left no male survivors and feels convinced that all of the Flinchbaugh people are descendants of Melchior Flinchbaugh. The human race has thus far travelled mainly westward and westward Father Melchior travled and settled on a hillside of York Township to a place where he established a home to the west of the village of Arbor and south of Dallastown. The farm later occupied by John Flinchbaugh, who died at the advanced age of ninety-seven, dying some fifteen years ago. (this was written in 1928) Here he established a home for wife and children, felling the forest and tilling a stuborn soil. We presume the early home was very crude, the comforts few, the soil ardous, and the privations many, but a large and respectfull family of seven children was raised to maturity in piety and simple faith and trust in God, for the early records of Blymires Church show that the early children were consecrated to God by the sacrament of Baptism and the children and grandchildren observe the Lord's Supper consistently. As previously stated Melchior and his wife reared seven children, four sons, Adam, Ludwig, Martin and Frederick; three daughters, Catharine, intermarried with Jacob Blymire; Regina married Jacob Tome (Thome); Rosina, married Christopher Shoop. Of these children Adam was probably the oldest and Frederick the youngest. Ludwig died before his father's estate was closed, leaving a daughter Elizabeth, bearing the christian name of her mother and whom John Kohler was appointed guardian. Regina Flinchbaugh Tome (Thome?) also died before the closing of the estate leaving two sons, Jacob Tome (Thome?) and John Tome (Thome?). |
Part Two |
Melchior's signature 1753 in Philadelphia |
