Donated by Lynnette Davis

This letter was in the possession of Henry Hommer's son, Edward.
This is all we know of his attempt to find out more, and that the family said he needed his parent's marriage certificate (which makes me think if he was related it was through his mother)and that he didn't have enough money to go to Philadelphia or Germany to investigate further.

This was at the bottom of what I was given:
Brothers and sisters of John Nicholas Emmerich from the parish register
of the Evangelical Parish Planig deposited at the Mayoralty Bieblesheim.

children of John Nicholas and Catherine Emmerich
Anna Barbara - 29Apr1687
Elizabeth - 2Mar1691
Katherine - 24Jun1693
John - 8Oct1697
John Nicholas - 12July1702 (the Captain)
Mary - 14Jul1704
Mary Barbara - 2Nov1705

Here is what "our" letter about the supposed Emmerich estate contained, we do not have the original. The original was supposedly in German, although it said it came from Washington.
A letter dated March 12, 1857, from Washington contains the following related to the preceding inheritance:

Bieblesheim, May 5^th, Groph Hessien, Mayoralty Bieblesheim, signature "Hanger"

"I have received your letters of January 28th and February 5th, 1857. I have kept to myself the particular observations about Captain Emmerich. I find it confirmed that he lies on a German Church Yard in Philadelphia. The church was considerably endowed by a testament which is found in the archives of the church. Until now no one seemed to be in sympathy with taking it out and showing it. With this information the legitimate heirs intended to authorize two commercial houses at Mayence and Korenzahl to carry on their affairs, but these demanded too
much (money?) and the heirs desisted from their intention and deferred up their mandate to the district cashier Bender at Speyer the 26th of May 1857 (this date must have been in error in the translation as it doesn't correspond with the date of letter). Bender died and the affair remained quiet until today.
Concerning the claims of the family Emmerich to the heritage of John Nicholas Emmerich from Bieblesheim in Reinish Prussia, deceased at Philadelphia in 1762:
On July 12, 1702 a son was born to John Nicholas Emmerich and wife Catherine in Bieblesheim, and was named after his father. In the years 1725-1730 he went abroad as a traveling sailor on a ship called Rosselschiff and commanded by a lord named Baruch, thinking to come to America this way. The captain of the ship persuaded him to stay on and he agreed and stayed with him until Baruch's death. During their life they became good friends, and the captain confessed to Emmerich that his name (the captain's) was also Emmerich and that they were closely
related. Lord Baruch fell very ill and died.
Before his death the captain is said to have appointed John Nicholas Emmerich as sole heir, and left him a considerable fortune, which Emmerich enlarged upon as ship owner to the sum of 20 million dollars. In 1759 Emmerich wrote for the last time to his family, and about 1762 he arrived with the Rosselschiff (on which he made his business journeys) in the port of Philadelphia, where he soon died. He is said to be intered in a cemetery there. According to the other reports, he made a last will and left a considerable capital to the church of Philadelphia, and to have established there an establishment for the blind. The testament is to have been deposited at the archives of the church, a custom house, or at the establishment for the blind. In a report to the family, he put an Astor in America in possession of his property, which is said to be invested partly in Philadelphia and partly in the greatest houses of London (for example at the Kornhillstreet 77 or 78) and which shall amount to the large sum of 20 million dollars.
They say that the Astor was a good friend of Captain Emmerich, and was probably named executor of a last will, which the fortune of he invested or made use of in his own interest. Before his death he is said to have commissioned his relatives to hand over undiminished the fortune of Emmerich to his heirs. Already in the year 1762 the heirs had proved their quality in the Acts through the concerning abstracts of the civil list, made the proper steps to come into the possession of their heritage, and repeated them in the year 12 of the French Republic 1811-1812 and in the years 1852 and 1857. But always without success as they did not have Emmerich's last will. If they had possessed it they would have applied to the government of the country for assistance, which it would not have refused."

Our home page is at: http://elwood.pionet.net/~stevedd/yourpage.html

Last Update: 01Aug98 Email: D.L.Emrick

Return to: Emmerich Emerich Emerick Emrick Emrich