Revised
September 17, 2009

Third Generation:

The Family of David Boyer, 1806-1883

Gunsmith of Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania

        The fourth child of George and Anna Maria Boyer, the grandfather of Lewis Elmer Boyer, was named David Boyer.   David was born, according to his baptismal certificate, in Manheim Township, on the 8th of April 1806, at the hour of 9 in the evening. The certificate, written in German and hand illuminated, said that the baptism was performed by the Lutheran pastor.[1] David was baptized at the Red Church on August 10, 1806. It was just two years after his grandfather, Johann Friedrich Boyer, had been buried from the same church.

Gun made by David Boyer of Orwigsburg and passed down through his family	To George Bayer and his wife Maria Hartinger is born a son, David Bayer, April 8, 1806, at 9 p.m., in Mannheim Township, Berks Country.

        David was a gunsmith, the maker of a long rifle known as a "Pennsylvania-Kentucky" rifle (see photo above). One gun known to be made by David was stamped "D. Boyer," and some gun experts believe that other guns stamped "D. Boyer" may also have been made by David of Orwigsburg. Others point out that there may have been two people named D. Boyer who made guns at various times, the first one around 1800, making rather rustic flintlock rifles, and the second one around 1840, using a cap percussion system and showing superior craftsmanship. Some experts also think that D. Boyer the gunmaker may have lived in Reading, Pennsylvania, while others believe he spent his entire life in Orwigsburg, 30 miles north of Reading, also in Berks County. (Orwigburg was included in the new Schuylkill County when Berks County was divided in 1811.) 

        The sections below provide information on David Boyer's role as a gunsmith in Orwigsburg and on his two wives and his nine children.  They also discuss the debate over whether there were one or two gunmakers who signed their work "D. Boyer," and whether these gunmakers lived in Reading or Orwigsburg. 

        David Boyer's children were:

1.  Joseph Boyer (1829-1908)

2.  Violetta Boyer (Schock) (1832-1904)

3.  Lawrence Boyer (1837-?)

4.  Matilda Boyer (Jenkins) (Dietrich) (Elliot) (1838-?)

5.  George B. Boyer (1839-1907)

6.   William B. Boyer (1843-1925)

7.  Marie Barbara "Annie" Boyer (Gerber) (1847-1935)

8.  Charles Boyer (1850-1869)

9.  Thomas B. Boyer (1854-1857).

LINKS:

Neil Boyer's Home Page

Boyer Family of Orwigsburg Home Page

Origins of the Boyer Family

Association of American Boyers

The Immigrant Johann Friedrich Boyer

Children of Johann Friedrich Boyer

David Boyer of Orwigsburg

Footnotes to this Section

The Boyer Family of Easton, Pennsylvania

Waltman Family of Northampton County

David Boyer, the Gunsmith

        David was a maker of a long rifle known in some quarters as a “Pennsylvania Kentucky” rifle. One of his guns passed down through the hands of the oldest child in each generation of the Lewis Elmer Boyer family, and in 2008 it was in the possession of Karen Lloyd, the daughter of Floyd Elwood Boyer, Jr., in Florida. The rifle is stamped "D. Boyer."

        It is believed that the "best rifle" award of the Schuylkill County Agricultural Society in 1860 was for a gun made by David, possibly this same gun.  The certificate was made out to David's son George B. Boyer, but George was only 20 at the time and it is believed he was exhibiting his father's work product. David was then 54, presumably a prime age for the production of high-quality guns. The David Boyer rifle that was passed down through the Lewis Elmer Boyer family (possibly a different gun but probably the same) won the "first premium" award for "best antique firearm" when it was entered into the Kentucky State Fair in 1974 by Floyd Elwood Boyer, Jr., a great-great-grandson of David.

Certificate for "Best Rifle" presented at the 1860 Schuylkill Country Agricultural Fair to George B. Boyer. George, then 20, apparently was exhibiting a rifle made by his father, David Boyer of Orwigsburg.

        It was reported that David also made a gun for his son Charles, who died at the age of 19 in 1869. That gun --  said to have been marked with wild turkeys forming a cross --  was given to another son of David, William B. Boyer, after Charles died.  William's son Robert Boyer remembered that the gun was in the possession of his father all of his life. When William died in 1925, it was understood that that gun was passed on to a grandson, Elwood Eckert, the son of Mary (Mame) Boyer Eckert. However, in 1987, Elwood’s daughter Lillian Eckert Haring, of Belvidere, his only known survivor, said she had no knowledge of a “Boyer Gun” in the family.[2] Thus, the trail to that particular gun apparently has been lost. Lillian Haring died on November 16, 2008 at the age of 90.

        Other Guns by "D. Boyer."  There is no known gun that bears the inscription "David Boyer," but there has been considerable interest among gun collectors and other parties interested in long rifles that have been signed or stamped "D. Boyer." Some believe there were at least two individuals making guns who signed them "D. Boyer," and some believe that the "D. Boyer" who made guns came from Reading, Pennsylvania, rather than from Orwigsburg, which is 30 miles to the north. Some of the rifles were thought to have been made around the year 1800, and these were distinguished from the ones made about 1840-1860. The later guns were considered to be of a higher degree of professionalism, while the earlier guns were more rustic, without decorative brass plating, intended for practical use around a farm.  Other analyses of the Pennsylvania long rifle may be found here and here.  Some of the more rustic guns were called "Schimmel" rifles, and several Schimmel rifles have been located bearing the inscription "D. Boyer.".  One expert provided this explanation for this type of rifle:

        An example of the view that there were two people named "D. Boyer" is a study reporting that in the collection of the Western Pennsylvania Historical Society, in Pittsburgh, there was at one time a gun carrying the inscription "David Boyer, Orwigsburg," engraved in script letters on the lid of the patch box.[3] The author examined numerous records and published this conclusion (the text contains a number of errors but is presented here as indicative of the research that has appeared about this gunmaker):

David Boyer’s name first appears in the assessment records of the Borough of Orwigsburg in the year 1837. He owned a house and a lot but no description of his occupation is included. At later dates he acquired six valuable units of real estate, mostly with improvements on them; some of these are described as being located in the sprawling country side of North Manheim Township, adjoining the borough. Records indicate that Orwigsburg propered at mid-century, for it was the county seat, not far from the Philadelphia-Sunbury turnpike, and was near the busy water course of the Schuylkill Canal. In this prosperity Boyer seems to have shared.

Since no will or administrative record appears in the court house, some form of intestacy must be presumed, or he may have moved from the county.

David Boyer is thought to have been a second generation gunsmith, although no documentary data on an earlier one exists. That some guns of an earlier period are attributed to a craftsman named Boyer is the main source of information in this matter. Both the earlier Boyer and David were specialists in the making of over-and-under guns. Both makers made fine guns that were typical of their period and are eagerly sought by collectors. [4]

        Note: David Boyer’s tombstone in Orwigsburg, and the baptisms of his children, indicate that he did not leave town, as suggested by the author of this study. And while there might have been a contention that David was a second-generation gunsmith, no evidence has been located to show that his father George or his grandfather Johann Friedrich Boyer made guns. 

        A 1905 report on David's son William B. Boyer said that although David was indeed a gunsmith, he did that work only for a brief number of years. In later years, it was said, he lived on a farm he had purchased and was a leading citizen of the community. The study said that David was a deacon in the Lutheran church and at one time held the office of councilman.[5] (The reference to the farm in this section also seems inaccurate, because census and church records are quite clear that David lived, at least for his last 50 years, within the town of Orwigsburg. David was listed among those who took communion at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in 1847 and also from 1880 to 1882, the year before he died. His wife Hannah was also listed at the church in 1845 and 1846, as well as from 1880 to 1887. The suggestion that David was a councilman has not been confirmed, although it would seem logical considering his apparent prominence in the town.)

        More Sightings of the Boyer Rifle.  In 1986, there was a "Boyer Rifle" on display in Washington at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, on the third floor in the ordnance section (it was no longer there in 2005). In a general description of the Kentucky Rifle, the display said:

To meet the conditions of hunting and warfare in America, Swiss and German settlers in Pennsylvania altered the massive jaeger rifle of their homelands. The resulting weapon was lighter, long barreled, and more accurate. First known as the Pennsylvania rifle, it later achieved fame as the Kentucky rifle because of its use by frontiersmen such as Daniel Boone. 

        Under a long weapon entitled the "Boyer Rifle," the Smithsonian display said:

This double barreled weapon, made about 1800 by Daniel Boyer of Arwigsburg, Pa., could be used as either rifle or shotgun because one barrel was rifled and the other smooth. The barrels were rotated into firing position by releasing a hinged catch forward of the trigger guard. They were fired by a single lock of English make.

        In contrast to these guns, the David Boyer gun that in 2008 was in the possession of descendants of Floyd Elwood Boyer, Jr., had two barrels "side by side," with one smooth round barrel and one shaped as a heptagon. It was not a flintlock gun but was fired by a cap on top of the percussion system, indicating that it was made at a later time.  (Gun experts report that few if any flintlock rifles were made after 1840.)  Also engraved "D. Boyer" (see photo at left), it was 48 inches in length, with a barrel of 33 3/4 inches, weighed 10 pounds, and contained brass trim on curly maple wood. Upon examination of photographs of the gun, the expert said that the David Boyer gun was superior in craftsmanship to the one in the Smithsonian collection, but that also reflected the fact that it was undoubtedly made much later than the one at the Smithsonian. It was probably made in the late 1840s. This conclusion appears to bolster the contention of gun historians that there was a different "D. Boyer" who made guns around 1800, possibly in the Orwigsburg area.[6]

        At least one study offered the hypothesis that early American gun makers were descended from craftsmen in Europe and that the gun-making skills were transported across the Atlantic. An example is given of a rifle made in Germany "by a member of the Boyer family" which was "almost identical to a detail on a rifle made by D. Boyer of Pennsylvania." The author said this similarity in itself proved nothing, but he hoped it would inspire further investigation of the European roots of Kentucky rifle makers[7]. If this thesis should prove out, it could mean that the two immediate ancestors of David, his father George and even the immigrant Johann Friedrich Boyer, were also gunsmiths, but there is no other report to substantiate this idea.  

Gun stock of David Boyer's gun	"Side by side" barrels -- rifle or shotgun	Cheek side wood carving

Gun found in California: Right side, patchbox detail, cheek side

D. Boyer inscription	Apparently stamped "Reading PA"  with other (illegible) wording on the right	Double barrel: Over and under

April 8, 1806    Born in Mannheim Township, near Orwigsburg

August 10, 1806    Baptized, Red Church, Orwigsburg

1829    Son Joseph Boyer born in Orwigsburg

1830    Census shows David's father but apparently not David, then 24

1832    Daughter Violetta born in Orwigsburg

1836    David buys property in Orwigburg, twice

1837    Son Lawrence born in Orwigsburg

1838    Daughter Matilda born in Orwigsburg

1839    Son George Boyer born in Orwigsburg

1840    Census shows David, master gunsmith, living in Orwigsburg

1843    Son William Boyer born in Orwigsburg

1847    Daughter Annie born in Orwigsburg

1847    Took communion in St. Paul's Church, Orwigsburg

1850    Census shows David living in Orwigsburg

1850    Son Charles born in Orwigsburg

1850    David does not appear in the census

1854    Son Thomas reportedly born in Orwigsburg

1854    David buys more land in Orwigsburg

1860    Census shows David, gunsmith, living in Orwigsburg

1860    Son George, 20, wins prize for best rifle at Schuylkill County fair

1866    Son Charles confirmed in Orwigsburg

1869    Son Charles buried at Orwigsburg

1870    Census shows David, gunsmith, living in Orwigsburg

1870    St. Paul's Lutheran Church records show David a "faithful Lutheran"

1880    Census shows David, gunsmith, living in Orwigsburg

1883    David dies, is buried in Orwigsburg

        Many of the published reports on a gunsmith named "David Boyer" or "D. Boyer" appear to contain errors, given the lack of clear identification. There is no indication in the list above that David left Orwigburg at any time.  Nevertheless, it is possible that he spent some time in Reading, which is 30 miles to the south, probably a ride on horseback of one or two days in this era and probably not too difficult.  While there is no evidence to back this up, one may speculate that David left Orwigsburg to go to Reading to learn the gunsmith trade, and that this resulted in the words "Reading PA" being appended to one or more of his rifles. No other "D. Boyer," gunsmith, appears in census records of Orwigsburg and none at all in Reading. If there were earlier "D. Boyer" guns, made around 1800, they must have been made by someone else. However, several have pointed out that the lettering in "D. Boyer" on these guns appears interestingly similar, including a small tail on the right side of the Y on some of the guns, suggesting that all of the stamping was done by the same person.  Information is welcome from anyone who can contribute to the solution of the mystery.

        Note:  Wikipedia contains a section on the Boyer Rifle which includes other information, some of it is at variance with the presentation here. The Wikipedia page links back to the discussion here.

David Boyer’s Family

David was married twice.  He first married Susannah Montgomery, who had one child, Joseph Boyer. After Susannah’s early death, David married Hannah Beck, and they had eight children.  No further information could be developed on Susannah, and the marriage is reported only in American Boyers. It is not known when she was born or when she died. We can presume that she was about the same age as David, who was born in 1806. It is likely they were married before their son Joseph was born in 1829, and Susannah must have died before David married Hannah. Hannah’s first child was born in 1832. Thus, Susannah must have died between 1829 and 1832, possibly in childbirth when Joseph was born.

Hannah Beck was born on November 19, 1810, judging by the age given on her tombstone, and was thus four years younger than David. She came from Carbon County, according to one report.[9]The 1830 census for Manheim Township shows the family of David’s father George Boyer, but David, who was then 24, is not among them. Possibly David was not then living with his parents, for the 1830 census also showed the household of a David Boyer in neighboring Brunswick Township, next to Orwigsburg. This included one male between 20 and 29 (presumably David), and one female between 30 and 39 (possibly Susannah). There was no listing of a male under 5, although Joseph, born in 1829, was then 1. And the census report also showed one female between 10 and 15, one female between 5 and 10, and six girls under 5, and these eight children are a mystery. Possibly they were offspring of others in his family. Or perhaps this was another David Boyer entirely.

        The 1840 census shows David’s father George still in Manheim Township, and David is not with him. But in 1840, the census shows the household of David Boyer in Orwigsburg (apparently David had moved into town from Brunswick Township). That census showed one male between 30 and 40, one female between 20 and 30, one male between 20 and 30 (perhaps an error in age by the census-taker), two females between 5 and 10, and two males under 5. These could have been David Boyer, who was then 34, David’s second wife Hannah, who was then 29, possibly David’s son Joseph (although he would have been only 11), and David and Hannah’s children Violetta, 8; Matilda, 5; Lawrence, 3; and George B. Boyer, less than a year.

            On August 10, 1854, when he was 48, David paid $43 to Henry Beyer for a one acre triangular piece of land in Orwigsburg, bounded by land already owned by David, next to land owned by the estate of James Price, and by the Orwigsburg Middleport Road; it is possible that this land adjoined the property at Warren and Tammany Streets.[10]

In 1860, David reappears in the census, and this family is recorded:

David Boyer, 53, master gunsmith, owner of real estate valued at $500

and personal property valued at $200

Hannah Boyer, 50

Violetta Boyer, 24

George Boyer, 20, apprentice gunsmith

William Boyer, 17

Anna Boyer, 13

Charles Boyer, 9

The 1870 census seemed to show that all but one of David’s children had gone off on their own. It recorded this family:

David Boyer, 63, gunsmith, owner of real estate valued at $2,000

and personal property valued at $300.

Hannah Boyer, 59, keeping house (cannot read or write)

Annie Boyer, 21

George Faust, 17 (possibly a grandson)

Annie Jenkins, 10 (child of David's daughter Matilda).

The 1880 census recorded this family:

David Boyer, 74, gunsmith

Hannah Boyer, 69, wife, keeping house

Annie Jenkins, 20, granddaughter, single.[11]

            On August 30, 1841, David paid $10 for a large family Bible, printed in Munich, Germany, in 1798, and bound with heavy leather straps. In 1986, that Bible was in the custody of Donald J. Boyer of Easton, great-grandson of David's son William B. Boyer. The Bible contained only limited family information, It did include reference to the confirmation of David's son Charles B. Boyer on December 24, 1866, at the Reformed Church in Orwigsburg (three years before Charles died), and a receipt for taxes of $15 paid to James W. Kaiser in Orwigsburg on May 16, 1889 (six years after David's death). 

Boyer Row in the Lutheran Cemetery in Orwigsburg. Gravestones include those for David and his wife Hannah Beck, and for Walter Ellsworth Boyer, a grandson. No stone has been located for David's first wife, Susannah Montgomery.

            David died on June 23, 1883, at the age of 77 years, 2 months, and 15 days, according to his tombstone and according to the burial record at St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Orwigsburg, which notes in the margin that he was "a faithful Lutheran." Hannah died eight years later, on December 29, 1891, at the age of 81 years, 1 month and 10 days. Their tombstones, labeled "Father" and "Mother," are easily found in the northwest corner of the Old Lutheran Cemetery, among many other Boyer tombstones.[12] 

            Although David was known to have owned property, the extent of his estate is unknown. Besides the real property transactions noted above, there exists, possibly as part of the settlement of David’s estate, a handwritten receipt from G. H. Gerber, attorney, dated January 2, 1893, ten years after David’s death. The paper indicates that George B. Boyer, "trustee," a son of David, paid $567.67 to be distributed to two other children of David, $402.67 to Mrs. Elliot, and $150 to Lawrence Boyer, with $15 going for the lawyer's fee. George’s will, written years later, bequeathed to his surviving children "my one quarter interest in the farm situated in the Borough of Orwigsburg." George had moved to Easton at the age of 33, and perhaps this farm had been inherited from David. What happened to that property is unknown.

The Children of David Boyer

            1. Joseph Boyer, the only child of David's first wife, Susannah, was born in Orwigsburg in 1829. According to the American Boyers (1986), he was a farmer. The records of St. Paul's Lutheran Church note that he married Rebecca Deibert on September 16, 1851, when he was 22 and she was 18. They both died in 1908, when he was 80 and she was 76, and they are both buried in the Lutheran Cemetery in Orwigsburg. 

Tombstones in the Lutheran Cemetery in Orwigsburg for Joseph Boyer and his wife Rebecca Deibert Boyer. Stone at right memorializes six of their eleven children.

Lutheran Cemetery tombstone for Savannah Boyer Heiser, daughter of Joseph Boyer, and her husband, James W. Heiser	Twin children of Savannah and James Heiser: Hazel Marie, Died Nov. 19, 1894, Aged 1 Day. Harrold, Died Nov. 19, 1894, Aged 1 Day.

            American Boyers (1986) lists 11 children for Joseph and Rebecca. A tall obelisk tombstone lists six of them, none having lived past age 17. On the tombstone are references to Henry Pierce Boyer (1852-55), Sarah W. Boyer (1853-62), Oliver Boyer (1861-78), Hannah B. Boyer (1863, 14 months), Annette L. Boyer (1870-71) and Agnes Boyer (1872-78). The other children were Mary Catharine Boyer (1854-1922), who married Daniel Riegel; Edgar Boyer, who lived with his sister Savannah in 1910; Savannah Boyer (1859-1948), who married James Heiser (1856-1943); James Boyer (1866-1944), who married Emma Long; and Clara Boyer, who married Morgan Michael Zuber.[14] (This Joseph Boyer is easily confused with another Joseph Boyer whose life span (1828-1905) was almost identical; the other Joseph was a first cousin, the son of David's brother Daniel.[15])

          Savannah Boyer, one of the children of Joseph and Rebecca, married James Heiser, and they had six children: Walter Ellsworth Heiser (1889-1979), Hazel Marie and Harrold Heiser (twins who died at birth in 1894), Cora Heiser (died in 1918), Florence (Flossie) Heiser, and Howard (Pete) Heiser. Information on the Heisers was developed by Ann Heiser of Hamburg PA, a granddaughter of Walter Ellsworth Heiser, and her father, Harold Heiser.

            2. Violetta Boyer was born to David and Hannah Boyer on January 8, 1832, and married Henry B. Schock, a cousin, the son of David's sister Kate Schock. According to the 1986 American Boyers text, they had four children: Thomas, George, Kathleen and Hannah Schock. Violetta died on December 12, 1904, at the age of 72, and was buried in the Lutheran Cemetery in Orwigsburg next to her (unmarried) daughter Hannah Schock (1870 1943). St. Paul's records note Violetta's confirmation on March 21, 1847, when she was 15, as well as her death.[16]

            3. Lawrence Boyer was born on March 1, 1837.  His baptism certificate, citing David Boyer and wife Hannah Beck as parents, was at one time in the possession of Walter Stanley Boyer.  Lawrence was married to Philippine (“Phoebe”) Faust. They are named in the St. Paul's church official record of baptism of a son, Johann Peter, on September 12, 1861. The record names the father as "Lorenz" Boyer, and says the sponsors at the baptism on September 12, 1861, were "David Boyer and wife Hannah Beck, grandparents." The 1907 obituary of Lawrence's brother, George B. Boyer, said that Lawrence lived in Indiana. The 1986 American Boyers text reported that in 1910 Lawrence Boyer lived in Coupeville, Allen County, Washington. It says that he and Phoebe had four children – Johann Peter, Susan, Kate and Professor Charles O. Boyer.[17]

            4. Matilda Boyer was born about 1838 and lived in Tower City. Her marriage to William Elliott in 1875 was the third marriage for each of them. Matilda had first married Frederick C. Jenkins, a native of Wales who was active in the Civil War; Jenkins died of wounds suffered in the battle of Cold Harbor. Their children were Violet, Annie and Mary Jenkins. Later she married John Dietrich, and they had one child, Howard Dietrich. After John's death, she married her third husband, William Elliott. He had been born in England in 1830, married Jemima Little in 1852, and traveled to America in 1857. Jemima died in 1860, and in 1862 William married Mary Tobias. It is not known how that marriage ended, but when William was 45, he married Matilda, then 37. They married in Tower City, where William was a well-known merchant and member of the City Council for eight years. They had no children. When William retired, it was reported that Matilda bought his house on Grand Avenue in Tower City. An account of William's life said that "no residents of the borough were held in higher estimation." William died on January 16, 1916, at the age of 86.[18] They had no children.

            5. George B. Boyer, the father of Lewis Elmer Boyer, was born on October 29, 1839, in Orwigsburg. He married Sarah Ann Dreher about 1873 and moved the family to Easton.  George worked for the Lehigh Valley Railroad. They had six children, but only Lewis Elmer Boyer and his sister Sallie lived beyond the age of 22.  Sarah Dreher Boyer died in 1890 at the age of 47, and in 1895 George married Adeline Apgar.  He died in 1907 and is buried in Hay's Cemetery, Easton, with Sarah and three of their children. Adeline died in 1915 and is buried with the Apgar family in Lebanon, New Jersey.  More detail on George and his family is provided in the section on the Boyer Family of Easton.

            6. William B. Boyer was born on April 29, 1843, according to baptism records at St. Paul's Church.[19] He moved to Easton about the same time as his brother George, and he was also a railroader. He was married to Martha A. Yeager.  A separate section on William is included in the link to the Boyer Family of Easton.

            7. Marie Barbara "Annie" Boyer, according to baptismal records of St. Paul's Church,[20] was born on April 25, 1847. She married Phaeon Gerber (1851-1920) and lived in Lehighton. She died on April 30, 1935, at the age of 88, according to their tombstone in the Reformed Cemetery in Orwigsburg. The stone gives her name as "Annie M. Gerber nee Boyer."  They had no children.

Tombstones in the Lutheran Cemetery for two of the children of David Boyer. Annie Boyer married Phaeon Gerber and lived to be 88.  Charles B. Boyer died at the age of 19. One of David's guns reportedly was made for Charles.

            8. Charles B. Boyer, according to his tombstone, located next to the tombstones of David and Hannah, was born August 12, 1850, and died December 23, 1869, at the age of 19 years, 4 months and 11 days. This apparently is the same person as the "Karl Boier" who is identified in a baptismal certificate which was once in the possession of David's great grandson, Walter Stanley Boyer. Maintaining German spelling, an English translation referred to the parents as David and his wife "Tohana, maiden name Beck," and said that their son, "born in Orwichsburg, Schulkyl Caunty, in the Staat of Pensylvanien in Nord Amerika, was baptized and given the name Karl Boier" on April 6, 1851. The gun that was passed along to William B. Boyer reportedly was first made by David for Charles.[21]

            9. Thomas B. Boyer, mentioned for the first time in the 1986 volume of American Boyers, is reported to have been born on June 28, 1854, and to have died less than three years later, on March 22, 1857. A printed list of tombstone inscriptions shows him to be buried in the Old Lutheran Cemetery in Orwigsburg, but no grave could be located in 1985, nor any records of birth or death at the Orwigsburg churches.[22]