Conrad Wetzel, Jr.

Conrad was born in Waldeck, Germany which could be Waldenseifer, Germany. He came to Pennsylvania in 1720 or earlier and settled in Lehigh Co. and supported his family by farming. A patent was issued to Conrad Wetzel 25 Feb 1734, in Lower Milford Twp. for 145 acres, 53 perches. He failed to meet the conditions of the warrant and it was transferred to Peter Moyer 10 Jan 1747. A second warrant was issued to Conrad Wetzel in 1748 for 164 acres, but this one was sold in 1753 to George Stahlnecker. Conrad was a charter member at the Moravian Church, Emmaus, Lehigh Co., PA. His earlier associations were with the St.Paul's (Six-Corner) Lutheran Church in Red Hill, Upper Hanover Twp., Montgomery Co., PA.

Name: Conrad Wetzel Sex: M Birth: BEF. 1697 in Waldsiefer, Germany Death: 5 APR 1753 in Macungie Twsp., Lehigh Co., Pa. Burial: ABT. 8 APR 1753 Old Moravian Cemetery, Emmaus, Lehigh Co., Pa. Religion: Moravian Emigration: 1720

Floyd's Northumberland County Genealogy Pages 656 thru 688 Electronic edition copyright 2001 by Tony Rebuck. All rights reserved. This electronic work may be freely distributed and displayed: (1)without modification, (2) on a strictly non-commercial basis, and (3) retaining this copyright notice. Wetzel. Among the early immigrants to Pennsylvania were a number of Wetzels, some of them undoubtedly related. One Hans Martin Wetzel arrived on the ship "Brittania" and qualified by taking the oath of allegiance, at Philadelphia, Sept. 21, 1731. His age then is given as thirty-one years. His wife, Maria Barbara Wetzel, was thirty-three years old. On the same ship were the following, probably children: Hans Martin Wetzel aged six years; Nicholaus Wetzel, aged four years; Catherina Wetzel, aged three years. There is also the name of Maria Barbara Wetzel, who may have been a sister of the pioneer (Pennsylvania Archives, pages 29, 34 and 35). John Jacob Wetzel came on the ship "Charming Nancy" of London, Charles Stedman, master, from Rotterdam, qualified Oct. 8, 1737. Philip Wetzel came on the ship "Davy," William Patton, commander, from Amsterdam, qualified Oct. 25, 1738. Hans Martin Wetzel, who came to the New World in 1731, settled on that territory now embraced in Lehigh county, Pa. Six years later he was followed by John Jacob Wetzel, who located in Hereford township, in Berks county, only several miles distant; and these two, in 1738, were followed by Philip Wetzel. That a kinship existed between these three pioneers cannot be doubted, and it is very probable that they were brothers - another group of the "three brothers" found among the immigrant ancestors of so many American families. In the list of early settlers in the region of Emaus, Lehigh Co., Pa., in the section of Milford and Longswamp townships, whose names with place of birth appear on the original church record of the Emaus Moravian Church, was that of Catharina Wetzel, who was from "Uppa" Mannheim, in the Palatinate. The genealogist gleans from the above item that the Wetzels were German Palatinates. According to family tradition an old Wetzel had settled somewhere on the Ohio river, and had a number of children, among whom were sons: John, Georg, and Louis. It is further stated that this pioneer and his wife were scalped by the, Indians, and that when the sons returned home and found their parents thus cruelly murdered they vowed vengeance upon the savages. Louis thereafter devoted himself to the extermination of the Indians. He was a rare marksman, and could run like a deer. The compiler of this article is of the impression that the place of settlement was not the Ohio, but the Susquehanna, river. A large number of Wetzels live in Snyder county, Pa., in the Buffalo Valley, in Union county, and in the Mahantango valley, in the lower part of Northumberland county. They all speak German, and say their forbears spoke of "Der Longswamp, in Bercks County." The Federal Census Report of 1790 records these Wetzels as heads of families, etc.: George Wetzel and wife had five sons and two daughters, all the sons under sixteen years of age; he then lived in Longswamp township. Conrad Wetzel also lived in Longswamp township and had two daughters. Philip Wetzel lived in Hereford township, and he and wife had then two sons under sixteen years of age, and three daughters. John Wetzel had two sons over sixteen years of age, one son under sixteen, and two daughters: he lived in Macungie township, Northampton (now Lehigh) county. John Wetzel, Jr., lived in the same township as his father, and he and his wife had two daughters. Conrad Wetzel lived in Upper Milford township; his family consisted of himself and wife, two sons under sixteen years of age, and three daughters. Peter Wetzel lived in Upper Mil-

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ford township, Northampton (now Lehigh) county, and had one son under sixteen years of age and two daughters. Michael and Conrad Wetzel both lived in Penn township, Northampton county, in 1790; it appears that Michael was a widower, and had a son over sixteen years old, and that Conrad was married but had no children. John Wetzel lived near the present line of Berks and Lehigh counties, Pa. He had sons: Henry, Peter, Daniel and Hans Georg, who lived in Lehigh county. The old Wetzel homestead is located near St. Peter's Church, in Upper Milford township. It was built in 1740, of logs, and was occupied until 1900. Peter Wetzel, son of John, was born in 1778 and died in 1870, in his ninety-second year. He owned a thirty acre tract of land near Red Lion, in Longswamp township, on which he lived. He was a carpenter and coffin maker, being an excellent mechanic and an expert wood worker. In his day he made many coffins. It was then the custom to place the dead n a large covered wagon, to which usually were hitched fourteen horses. The seats were arranged along the two sides of the wagon, and occupied by the bereaved, the coffin being placed in the middle between the two rows of mourners. They now proceeded to the church. "Old Peter" Wetzel, as he was known, was a popular man, personally, and well known in his line. He held many funerals, and taught many the carpenter's trade. His wife, Anna Margaret Gaumer, died when past eighty years of age. Both were members of the Reformed congregation of Longswamp church. They had children: George; Sallie, who married Nathan Heimbach and had children, Amanda, Lovina, Sarah and Henry; and Lydia, who married Henry Heimbach, a brother of Nathan (they had no children). George Wetzel was born in Longswamp township in November, 1818, and died there in October, 1900, aged eighty-two years. His wife Leah was a daughter of David Conrad, of Longswamp township. She was born in 1821, and died in 1899, aged seventy-eight years. They are buried at the Longswamp Church, of which both were members, belonging to the German Reformed Congregation; he was a deacon and elder. He was a Democrat in politics, and served his district on the school board. He owned his father's homestead of thirty acres, and also bought 120 acres of land, was prosperous, and built an addition to the old barn. He and his wife had eleven children, namely: Peter, Mary, Charles, Caroline, David C., Henry C., Lovina, Sallie, Amanda, Katie and Levi. Of these Mary, Caroline, Lovina, Katie and Levi all died within six weeks time, from diphtheria, in 1862. David C. Wetzel, shoemaker at Seisholtzville, in Berks county, Pa., was born in the adjoining township of Longswamp, Feb. 28, 1847. When seventeen years old he commenced to learn his trade from his brother Charles. When twenty-four he married Amelia, daughter of William and Amelia (Ruth) Meitzler, of Hereford township, and in 1873 they moved to Seisholtzville, where they have since lived. He usually had three or four apprentices, and in a winter season made several hundred pairs of shoes by hand, shoe factories in those days being unknown. He and his family occupy a house that was built about the time of the Revolutionary war, if not earlier; it is of log construction, but is now weather- boarded, and in winter is very warm. Mr. Wetzel and his family are members of the Reformed Church in Longswamp township. He and his wife have two children: Irwin D., now of Norristown, Pa., married Rosa Fry, and their children are, Ambrose, Herbert, Warren and Minerva; Minnie married Harry O. Moll, of Seisholtzville, Pa., and had Pearl, Verna and George. Henry C. Wetzel (brother of David C. Wetzel), a retired farmer at Seisholtzville, Pa., was born in Longswamp township, Feb. 17, 1849. When twenty-one years of age he began farming for his father at Red Lion, continuing thus for fourteen years. In 1888 he purchased the Christophel Bittenbender farm on which he has since lived, a tract of 112 acres. The present house on this farm was built by Jacob Bittenbender, Sr. Mr. Wetzel in 1895 built the present barn. He has a valuable property and the excellent condition of farm and buildings testify to his good management and prosperity. He retired in 1900. He is a Democrat and has held township offices. He and his wife are members of Huffs Church, where be serves as elder. In 1875 he married Hannah, daughter of Christophel and Abby (Rush) Bittenbender, and granddaughter of Jacob and Susanna (Jung) Bittenbender, also of Hereford township. Mr. and Mrs. Wetzel have had one son, Ambrose, who was born in 1876 and died in 1895. There was a John Wetzel who became an early resident of Packer township, Carbon Co., Pa., as early as 1812, and located on lands still owned by his descendants. He had four sons, John, Valentine, Daniel and David, and four daughters. The sons settled in the township, David living to be very old. The daughters became the wives of Stephen Kerber, James Troy, Lewis Hettinger and Philip Hinkle, respectively.

Immigration: 1720 Pennsylvania Religion: Member of Old Moravian Church in Emmaus, Pennsylvania 1

Note: Baptized and reared a Lutheran in Germany. Came to Pennsylvania in 1720 and worked the land. He and his wife were among the original 34 members of the early Moravian settlement in Emmaus, Pennsylvania.

Sources: Type: Web Site Author: Kerchner, Charles Title: Descendants of Conrad Wetzel URL: http://www.kerchner.com/des3578.htm Date: Dated Sept 14, 1999. Viewed 12/19/2000. Type: Book Author: Worman, Dorothy Elsie Periodical: Gilbert-Knappenberger-Jarrett Publication: Decorah, IA: Anundsen Publishing Company Date: 1990 Text: LDS Temple sealing record. See research log for film and batch numbers.

Name: Conrad WEITZEL Sex: M Birth: in WALDESIEFER, GERMANY Death: BEF. 5 MAY 1753 in MACUNGIE, NORTHAMPTON CO., Pennsylvania

Marriage 1 Catherine BAYER b: in GERMANY Married: APR 1729 in NORTHAMPTON, PENNSYLVANIA Children John Wetzel b: 14 DEC 1730 in BUCKS CO., Pennsylvania Catherine Wetzel Conrad Wetzel Henry Wetzel Magdalena Wetzel Bernhard Wetzel Anna-Maria Wetzel Jacob Ernhart Wetzel

Husband of Catharine (Bayer) Wezel. Information from God's Acre Registry of Burials.∼Conrad Wetzel, Sr. 1697 Waldesiefer, Germany:
05-5-1753 Macungie Twp., Northampton Co. Pa.
1812 Lehigh Co.Pa buried at Old Moravian Cem.

Wetzel family background: The Wetzels wee charter members of the Moravian Settlement in Emmaus, Pa. The records of this group contain much information as to the orgins of their early families. (See THEY CAME TO EMMAUS, by Preston Barba).

CONRAD WETZEL was born in the principality of Waldeck (Germany)1697. He was Baptized and reareda Lutheran. Little is known of his life, but that he came to Pennsylvania in 1720 and there tilled the soil. In April 1729 he married Catharine Bayer.

Family members say the headstone is still legible.* Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Apr 22 2022, 16:39:58 UTC