Johann Christopher Heller, Sr

Christopher Heller (age 50) and his five sons, Simon (age 17), Michael, Daniel, Ludwig and Christopher, Jr., arrived in Philadelphia from Rotterdam on September 5, 1738. Colonial records only show Christopher and Simon (they only required registration of males over age 17), but Lower Saucon Church records contained the names of his other children.

Christopher settled in Lower Saucon Township, which was then in Bucks County, at the foot of the south slope of the Lehigh Mountain not far from the present village of Seidersville. He built his log house and large log barn and outbuildings on a tract that was an original purchase of 176 acres under warrant dated September 8, 1742. This plantation, as it was called, was known as ‘Delay'. Christopher lies buried in the cemetery at the lime Kiln Schoolhouse in Lower Saucon Township.

Simon Heller and a number of his brothers took up residence on a tract of land in Lower Saucon Township along the beautiful Saucon Creek. This early Heller settlement has since developed into the present Borough of Hellertown.

Christopher Heller, who was born in Petershiem, near Bingen, along the Rhine, in the Province of Pfaltz, Germany, in 1688, and emigrated to America in 1738, arriving in Philadelphia with his six sons on the fifth of September of that year. He established his home in what is now Milford township, in the southern part of Lehigh county. He passed the last few years of his life with his son Daniel, who lived along the creek a short mile below Hellertown, and where he died in the year 1778.

HISTORY:

Gently gliding down the sunny slope of Lehigh mountain on a south bound electric car, one is very much impressed with the extensive view to the south, also to the east and to the west, a magnificent panoramic display of fertile cu!tivatii)n. The eastern end of tlie long valley wliich stretches southwesterly to the southernmost part of Pennsylvania, is known as the greatest productive valley in the world.

Blind, indeed, to the perfections of God's handiwork in nature, and inlets to a sluggish soul, must be the eyes that fail to see, or that grow weary of resting upon the beauties of the land- scape which is here unfolded to view.

Far down in this valley of the Sau- cons, nestling in a well chosen place, just on the east boundary of the charming village of Seidersville, in Low- er Saucon township, Northampton coun- ty, is an ancient log house, a preten- tious habitation even long after the log cabin days, a mute reminder of the times fast being forgotten, the period when the red man held undisputed sway and the white man was the inter- loper. Constructed purposely to with- stand an onslaught of the wily Indian, a snug domicile standing some distance from the mountain foot hills, a place selected probably to avoid surprises from any lurking enemy, it was a safe re- treat after a hard day's toil. This old log house and plantation, known by the title of "Delay" was the American home of Christopher Heller, who landed at Philadelphia, September 5, 1738. The tract upon which he erected this log cabin was his original purchase of 176 acres under warrant dated September 8, 1742. Here he resided until the end of his days.

Christopher Heller, aged 50, and his son Simon, aged 17, were passengers on the good ship "Winter Galley," from Rotterdam, September 5, 1738. ^^Hiether any other members of the family were included among the passengers is un- known. All research to the present time, establishes the family only as the father and six sons.

http://pagenweb.org/~bucks/BIOS_DAVIS/hellerwilliam.html

http://www.dimmicks.com/history/hellertown.htm

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:The_Ship_Winter_Galley

https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1992-05-03-2858903-story.html

GEDCOM Source

@R-848899903@ U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc 1,7486::0

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Place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Year: 1738; Page Number: 96 1,7486::3317567

GEDCOM Source

@R-848899903@ U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc 1,7486::0

GEDCOM Source

Place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Year: 1738; Page Number: 96 1,7486::3317567

GEDCOM Source

Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Church and Town Records, 1669-1999 Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. <i>Historic Pennsylvania Church and Town Records</i>. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
<p><i>Methodist Church Records</i>. Valley Forge, Pennsylvania: Eastern Pennsylvania United Methodist Church Commission on Archives and History.</p> 1,2451::0

GEDCOM Source

Historical Society of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Historic Pennsylvania Church and Town Records; Reel: 555 1,2451::18054294

GEDCOM Note

More about Johann Christoph Heller's Life <p>http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=db519979-cb0b-47b9-a51...</p>

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Johann Christoph Heller 1688-1778 <p>http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=162b97dc-36e4-4bb6-bdb...</p>

GEDCOM Source

@R703013215@ Ancestry Family Trees Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. Ancestry Family Tree http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=150807728&pi...

GEDCOM Source

@R-1098072798@ U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc 1,7486::0

GEDCOM Source

Place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Year: 1738; Page Number: 96 1,7486::3317567

GEDCOM Source

@R-1098072798@ U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc 1,7486::0

GEDCOM Source

Place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Year: 1738; Page Number: 96 1,7486::3317567

GEDCOM Source

@R-1098072798@ Ancestry Family Trees Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.

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Ancestry Family Tree http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=64316063&pid...

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Mar 19 2023, 4:22:20 UTC