Johann Conrad Weiser, Sr.

Biography Early life Johann Conrad Weiser was born in 1662 in Großaspach, Württemberg, Holy Roman Empire to Jacob Weiser, an innkeeper, and his wife, Anna Trefz. Weiser married Anna Magdalena Uebele and they had a total of fifteen children. He served as a corporal in the army of the Holy Roman Empire, and fought in the Nine Years' War of 1688 to 1697 between a coalition of European powers and France. He was a member of the Württemberg Blue Dragoons, and was stationed at Affstätt, Herrenberg, Württemberg in the 1690s. Soon after the birth of Conrad Jr., the Weisers moved back to their ancestral home of Großspach. Afterwards, he followed the trade of a baker.

In the fall of 1713, Weiser and his family reached Schenectady. They stayed at the home of John Meyndert during the winter of 1713-14. The Mohawk, part of the Iroquois Confederacy, helped the German Palatines throughout the winter, in which they earned their trust. Hunter and his allies worked on a compromise to prevent the men from leaving. Because Hunter had threatened to arrest Weiser, the three commissioners decided to leave from Philadelphia instead of New York. They departed the city in 1718, but fell into the hands of pirates in the Delaware Bay. They lost their personal money, but not that of the colony. They were released and left without money and suitable clothing.

The ship stopped at Boston for more supplies. The commissioners finally arrived in London and found that Queen Anne had died. The new monarch, King George I, was not interested in their case. Hunter had sent agents to England, who portrayed the Germans as rebels and enemies to the Crown. Progress was slow for the representatives. During this time, Walrath grew tired of waiting and embarked for home, but died at sea. Later, Weiser and Scheff were imprisoned for debt. They wrote for help, but their letters were intercepted. Finally, word reached Schoharie and the community collected money for their redemption. After months of waiting, their debts were paid. In July 1720, Weiser and Scheff petitioned to the Board of Trade.

By this time, Hunter had resigned as governor and took a position in Jamaica. The newly commissioned Governor of New York, William Burnet, was ordered to grant land to the Germans. In 1723 he completed what was called the Burnetsfield Patent, whereby 100 heads of families received about each on the north and south sides of the Mohawk River west of present-day Little Falls. Weiser and Scheff were dissatisfied and had a falling out in 1721. Refusing to follow Weiser, Scheff returned home but died six months later. Weiser returned to North America in 1723. He decided to migrate to the colony of Pennsylvania.

Later life and death In 1723, William Keith, Baronet Governor of Pennsylvania, was in Albany on business when he heard about the suffering of the Germans in New York. He invited them to the colony of Pennsylvania. With the help of the Mohawk, Weiser led a group of Germans from Schoharie south to the Susquehanna River; they traveled along Indian paths and by canoe to present-day Tulpehocken in the spring of 1723. Weiser was unhappy with many of his fellow Germans, and returned to New York a few years later. He wandered around New York for several years. Conrad Jr. brought him to the home of his grandsons in Pennsylvania in May 1746, where he died soon after.

Family

Children Johann Conrad Weiser and Anna Magdalena Ubelin had 16 children, of which 13 are known: Maria Catharine Weiser (who married Conrad Boss and remained in Großaspach); Anna Margarete Weiser; Anna Magdalena Weiser (who married Jan Johannes De Lange); Maria Sabina Weiser; Johann Conrad Weiser Jr. (who became a pioneer, interpreter, and diplomat in Pennsylvania); George Frederick Weiser; Christopher Frederick Weiser; and Anna Barbara Weiser (who married Nicholas Pickard). John Frederick Weiser, Rebecca Weiser), John Frederick Weiser (later children were frequently named after one who had died), Erhard Frederick Weiser, and Rebecca Weiser all died young, the second John Frederick while the family was at the work camp at Livingston Manor.

Descendants Numerous Conrad and Anna Magdalena Ubelin Weiser descendants played notable roles in early colonial and federal American life: Major General Peter Muhlenberg; Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg and William Augustus Muhlenberg, American clergymen; and Peter M. Weiser, a member of the Corps of Discovery on the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Several politicians descend from Weiser, including: Frederick Muhlenberg, the 1st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives; John Andrew Schulze, the 6th Governor of Pennsylvania; Francis Swaine Muhlenberg, US Congressman; Henry A. P. Muhlenberg, Congressman; Henry Augustus Muhlenberg, Congressman; William Muhlenberg Hiester, Congressman; Isaac Ellmaker Hiester, Congressman; and Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg, Congressman.