 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 Last Updated: 18 Jul 2021 |
 |
| © Henry Deemer, 2021 |
|
|
German or French? Alsace is a region in eastern
France on the western bank of the Rhine River
adjoining Germany and Switzerland. It was conquered by
France in 1639. Prior to that it was part of the
Holy Roman Empire. As far back as the Roman Empire
it was decidedly German. Prior to World War II its
language was Alsatian, an Alemannic dialect related to the
German dialect Swabian. So the DIEMERs should be
considered German.
In 1750 Andreas DIEMER sailed to America from Rotterdam by way of Cowes, England on board the ship Phoenix. He arrived at Philadelphia 28 Aug 1750.
He married Christine Margaretha NAUMANN 6 Jul 1755 at St. Paul’s Lutheran (Blue) in Upper Saucon Twp., Lehigh county, just south of Allentown. Christine was born in Griesbach, Alsace in 1720 and immigrated to Philadelphia in 1750 with her parents, John Christian NAUMAN and Anna Marie Schied.
Around 1764 Andreas family relocated to Moore Twp., Northampton county, PA. In 1785 he obtained a warrant for 45 acres of land in Moore Twp.
Several of Andreas’ children were baptized at the Dryland Church in Hecktown, Lower Nazareth Twp.. He and his wife were communicants at Emmanuel Lutheran in Bath, Moore Twp., Northampton county until the 1787.
In 1787 the entire family, except for eldest son, Phillip, immigrated to Hempfield Twp., Westmoreland county in western Pennsylvania. They apparently stopped off along the way as they appear as communicants at Millbach Reformed Church in Heidelberg Twp., Lebanon (then Lancaster) county.
Andreas DIEMER died in Westmoreland, 6 Jul 1796.
Johann Peter Diemer
(son of Andreas)
Andreas’ son, Johann
Peter DIEMER was born in Northampton county 20 Jul
1760. He died in Lycippus, Unity Twp., Westmoreland 27 Mar
1837. Peter was a veteran of the American Revolution
having served in 1777, and again in 1779. Peter
married Susanna Maria
HEIL (1769-1810). She was a daughter of Jonathan HEIL
(1749-1833) and Anna
Maria SILVIUS (1744-1800). The HEIL and SILVIUS
ancestors are noteworthy.Heil and Silvius
families
Jonathan HEIL’s father
was Johann Nickel
“Nicholas HEIL. Nicholas was born 2 Dec 1715 in
Meisseheim, Germany. He married Maria Magareta THEISEN
14 Nov 1741 at Meisenheim. The couple emigrated on
board the Robert and Alice from Rotterdam and arrived in
Philadelphia 24 Sep 1742. Their children were all born
in America. He purchased land at Point Phillips, Moore Twp., Northampton
(the Bucks) county 15 Dec 1749.The HEIL property at Point Phillips was about a mile south of Smith Gap in the Blue Mountain. On 1 Jan 1756, near the beginning of the French and Indian War, a group of marauding Indians came through Smith Gap and burned several houses and barns, including those of Nicholas HEIL. The family managed to escape, except for one daughter, Catherine, who was captured. The HEILs fled to the Moravian settlement at Nazareth about 6 miles to the south east. It appears that Catherine was later released. Nicholas returned to his land. He died 14 Feb 1760 and is buried at Emmanuel Lutheran and Reformed Church, Petersville, Moore Twp.
Anna Maria SILVIUS’ father was Johann Heinrich “Henry” SILVIUS. He was born in the Palatine region of Germany in 1700. He married Anna Margaretha PETTY in 1727 in Germany. Henry departed from Rotterdam on board the Queen Elizabeth, 22 Jun 1738. Due to a storm at sea, the trip to Deal, England which normally took two to eight days took three to five weeks. He finally arrived at Philadelphia on board the Queen Elizabeth 9 Sep 1738. When Henry arrived he was ill and had to remain on the ship in quarantine on the Delaware River a mile downriver from the city. He arrived without funds and had to serve three to six years as an indentured servant for a family in Germantown. There is no record of his wife other than she arrived in America in 1738.
Henry SILVIUS’ children were born in the 1740s in Northampton county north of Allentown. He died in Forks Twp., Northampton in 1776. His son, John Nikolaus SILVIUS, Jr., was born in 1743 near Whitehall, Northampton (later Lehigh) county. Nikolaus, and his sister Anna Maria were abducted by Indians 4 Apr 1743 near Fort Allen located near present-day Weissport along the Lehigh River 10 miles north of the Lehigh Gap. Anna Maria later married Jonathan HEIL, son of Nicholas HEIL
The 2 Jul 1761 issue of Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette features a “List of Children” recovered from Indian captivity includes the name of Niklolaus. The children were being held at the Pennsylvania State House (aka, Independence Hall) awaiting to be reclaimed by family or friends.
In 1787 the DIEMER, HEIL, and SILVIUS families moved west to Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
Johann Peter DIEMER’s son, Jonathan (1789 - 1860) migrated from Westmoreland to Jefferson county where he was a pioneer settler.
