Johannes Bleikers, Original 13 Families of Germantown, PA

Johannes Bleickers, who was badly mistreated during the agitation against the Quakers in Krefeld in 1680, because after the Quaker fashion he would not remove his hat, bears the name of an occupation as his surname. There was a branch of the Preyer family from Gladbach which practiced the bleaching trade at the foot of the Abteiberg near Gladbach. Paulus, Leonard, Claes Priors were listed as bleachers . The last appears also with the name Bleikers. [Translator 's note: In German a bleacher is ein Bleicher] Whose son Johannes is cannot be determined due to the difficulty of separating the various Preyers. The Judith Preyers who witnessed the Quaker wedding is a sister or first cousin of Johannes Bleickers. Their common grandparents are, in view of the Christian name Judith, Peter and Jutgen Priors in Monchen gladbach-Hardterbroich. Also Johannes Bleickers wife is not known. However, he was already married by 1683, since a son Peter, was born to him on the voyage to America. (Source - Genealogies of Pennsylvania Families Vol. III pg. 511.)

Generation No. 1

1. JOHANNES1 BLEICKER1 was born Abt. 1650 in Prussia, Germany (Rhineland), and died Aft. 1721 in Northampton Twp, Bucks Co, PA. He married REBECCA Abt. 1680 in Krefeld Germany.He was part of the Dutch Quaker migration to America in 1683 on the ship Concord, with wife and son Peter.Bleikers, Johannes "The Dutch Pioneers of Germantown, 1683," pp. 395-398; and "Dutch and German Settlers in Germantown, 1683-1709," pp. 399-421. Complete list of early Dutch and German settlers in Germantown, with places of origin given. Supplements no. 5924, MyeHULL, WILLIAM I. William Penn and the Dutch Quaker Migration to Pennsylvania. (Swarthmore College Monographs on Quaker History, 2.) Swarthmore, PA: Swarthmore College, 1935, pp. 395-421. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1970.

Johannes Bleickers, who was badly mistreated during the agitation against the Quakers in Krefeld in 1680, because after the Quaker fashion he would not remove his hat, bears the name of an occupation as his surname. There was a branch of the Preyer family from Gladbach which practiced the bleaching trade at the foot of the Abteiberg near Gladbach. Paulus, Leonard, Claes Priors were listed as bleachers. The last appears also with the name Bleikers. [Translator's note: In German a bleacher is ein Bleicher] Whose son Johannes is cannot be determined due to the difficulty of separating the various Preyers. The Judith Preyers who witnessed the Quaker wedding is a sister or first cousin of Johannes Bleickers. Their common grandparents are, in view of the Christian name Judith, Peter and Jutgen Priors in Monchengladbach-Hardterbroich. Also Johannes Bleickers wife is not known. However, he was already married by 1683, since a son Peter, was born to him on the voyage to America. Genealogies of Pennsylvania Families Vol. III pg. 511

At a Council held at Philadia., the 29th of sep br., 1709 The Govr. acquainted the board, that last night the speaker attended with several members of the house, brought him the BILL for naturalizing the germans, which he now desired to pass, and accordingly he was pleased to give his assent to the said bill, being Instituted an Act for better ENABLING OF DIVERS INHABITANTS OF THE PROVINCE OF PENNSYLVIA., to Hold and enjoy lands, tenements and Plantation in the Province, by which are Naturalized the persons following, vizt.[ Here follow eighty-three names, " all of the County of Philadia." except " Johannes Bleikers of the County of Bucks."] ...... which Act was Ordered to pass the seal, when the persons concerned or any in their behalf should appear and pay the Charge, and then adjourned. " Mean while, nearly twenty years before, ON THE SEVENTH OF THIRD MONTH,1690, Thomas Lloyd, deputy governor of Pennsylvania, had granted "Naturalization" to sixty-two of the first settlers in Germantown, WHO WERE THEREBY MADE "FREEMEN", A STATUS WHICH THELAW OF ENGLAND DENIED TO FOREIGNERS. in RETURN, THEY "SOLEMNLY PROMISED FAITH AND ALLEGIANCE TO WILLIAM AND MARY ANDFIDELITY AND LAWFUL OBEDIENCE TO WILLIAM PENN AS PROPRIETARY". William Penn and the Dutch Quakers.

The last name on the marriage-certificate of 1681 is JOHANNES BLIJKERS. He was one of the Krefeld exiles of 1679; and on his return, he suffered the severe beating which Peter Hendricks graphically describes in his letter of June, 1680 (Supra, pg 200).By the following March, he had recovered sufficiently to attend the wedding-ceremony, and two years later, he accompanied the pioneers on the "CONCORD" to Germantown. His wife's name does not appear upon the marriage- certificate, and perhaps he was not married at the time. But he was married before the departure for Pennsylvania; and on the voyage across the Atlantic, his wife bore him a son, who was given the name Pieter.

While en route in Rotterdam, JOHANNES bought through Benjamin Furly 200 acres of Penn's land; and half dozen years later, he acquired fifty more acres in Germantown. Two years afterwards, he was chosen one town's four FENSBESICHTGERS (fence-viewers, boundary overseers). In 1702, he was one of the subscribers to the school opened by Pastorius; and in 1708-09, he was naturalized. The people who sighed the marriage-certificate were all members of the Krefeld Quaker Community and were nearly all connected by blood or marriage with one or another of the wedding guests. Thus the thirteen men and twenty women and children who founded Germantown were a single community, united by ties of consanguinity, of a common ancestry and language (that of Holland) and of a common religion (that of the English Quakers).

The thirty-four settlers of Germantown in 1683 (the number usually given is 33. This was the number of those who sailed from London on the "Concord"; but two babies were born at sea, and the mother of the Op den Graeffs died in Phila. en route to the Germantown settlement. ) came from Krefeld and were divided approximately as follows: 13 Men (Johannes Blijkers) 9 wifes (Mrs. Johnannes Blijklers) 1 unmarried women 1 youth 2 infants born at sea ( peter Blaker) 8 other children They arrived in Philadelphia on the 6th of October; on the 12th of that month, Penn issued to them and Pastorius a warrent for 6, 000 acres, one half of which was to go to them and one-half to be reserved for Frankfort company; on the 24th., Penn's surveyor, Thomas Fairman, measured off for them fourteen plots of land in Germantown; and on October 25 1683, the thirteen pioneer men, together with Francis Daniel Pastorius, met in a "dug-outcabin", the home of Pastorius on the banks of Delaware in Phila., and drew lots for the sites of their future homes.

Having reviewed the signers of the Krefeld marriage certificate of 1681, it is seen that seven of the eleven men who signed it, namely, the three Isacks op den Graeff brothers, Thones Kunders, Jan Siemes, Lenart Arents, and Johannes Blijkers, were among the thirteen men who were the pioneer settlers of Germantown in 1683. ibid p231. Peter (Blaker) was a son of John (Bleiker), a native of Germany, who immigrated to America in 1683 and settled in Germantown, from which place he came in 1700 to Northampton township, this country, where he purchased one thousand acres of land and lived there until his death. He had three sons: PETER, SAMUEL, AND PAUL AND TWO DAUGHTERS. (Catherine)History of Bucks County p 1011 The year following Penn's arrival in Pennsylvania, thirteen Germans, with their families, numbering 33 persons all related to each other, all hailing from Crefelt, a city of the lower Rhine in Germany a few miles from Holland's border, set sail July 24,1683, from GRAVESEND, ENGLAND, on the 500 ton ship CONCORD, for the new World.

This group of non-conformists, once Mennonites, had been convinced by Quakers preachers from England and had founded a Meeting of the society of Friends at Crefelt, but learning of William Penn's Holy Experiment in Pennsylvania where freedom of religious worship was honored, they decided to move in a body to America. They had bought 18,000 acres of land in Penna. From Benj. Farley of Rotterdam, Holland, Penn's agent; this acres was eventually added to the 25,000 acquired by the Frankford Company under Daniel Francis Pastorius, a German scholar-historian, who later joined the Crefelters, settled them in Germantown near Philadelphia and became their leader, dedicated to furthering German interests in the new land.

A few of these early German settlers moved to land grants further upin Penna., later to be known as "The Pennsylvania Dutch". The Crefelt pioneers landed in Phila. October 6, 1683, after seventy-four days at sea. On the 12th of the same month a warrent was issued to Pastorius for 6,000 acres of land " on behalf of the German and Dutch purchasers"; on the 24th of Oct., 1683, the settlers drew lots for choice of location. Of the thirteen male adult emigrants on the CONCORD, Thomas Kunders, before leaving for America, purchased on June 8, 1683,a warrent of 500 acres from Leonard Arets ( apparently land agent for the group) a weaver of Crefeld. This land, to be located " in Pennsylvania" cost Kunders.

There follows the list of thirteen Germans from Crefelt (who actually embarked first from Holland and after taking on stores in England, sailed from Gravesend on the CONCORD July 24, 1683).( Authorities disagree on the names of wives, according to C. V. Roberts in Roberts- Watson Family Sketches)

• 1. Thomas Kunders, B. ca 1657d. 1729 m. Elin Teissen (or Elin Streypers) sister of Reyneir(?) of William (?).
• 2. Leonard Arets b. Germany; m. (?)Streypers, sister of William.
• 3. Abraham Op den Graeff, B.Germany 4. Derrick Op den Graeff B. Germany
• 5. WilhelmStreypers, B. Germany; m. Maria (Lucken) Seiman, widow of JanSeimans or Simons. One authority says Wilhelm was a brother-in-law of Thomas Kunders (Conrad), Leaonard Arets, ReyneirTyson, and Jan Lucken.
• 6. Herman Op den Graeff, B. Germany
• 7.Reyneir Teissen (Tyson). M. Margaret Stereypers, B. ca.1652.Some authority disagree that he was among the thirteenemigrating together from Crefelt in 1683.
• 8. Jan Seimans(Simons) m. Merchen (Maria ) Williamsen Lucken, sister of Jan.She married 2nd Wilhelm Streypers.
• 9. Jan Lensen (Jensen),possibly relative of Dirck Jansen (?) whose name appers firstin Germantown in 1700 as a resident.
• 10. Peter Keurlis
• 11.Johanne Bleikers
• 12. Abraham Tunis
• 13. Jan Lucken

Children of JOHANNES BLEICKER and REBECCA are:

• 2.
• i. CATHERINE GERTSIE2 BLEICKER, b. June 1682, Krefeld Germany; d. February 02, 1702/03, Middletown, Bucks Co. PA.
• 3.
• ii. PETER BLAKER, b. October 1683, at Sea on the ship, Concord; d. Abt. 1775, Northampton Twp., Bucks Co., PA.
• iii. JUDITH BLAKER, b. 1684, Germantown, Phila., PA; d. 1721, PA.
• Notes for JUDITH BLAKER:
• Never married. According to John Marshburn records, Judith was a witness to her brother Samuels wedding.
• iv. PAUL BLAKER, b. November 14, 1685, Germantown, Philadelphia, Pa; d. 1770, Northampton Twp., Bucks Co., PA; m. PHEBE HIBBS, July 26, 1715, Bucks Co, PA (no issue).
• v. ABRAHAM BLAKER, b. May 29, 1687, Germantown, Philadelphia, Pa; d. Bef. 1701, Germantown, Philadelphia, PA.
• Notes for ABRAHAM BLAKER:
• Not really sure of date of death as no further information has been found on Abraham.
• 4.
• vi. SAMUEL BLAKER, b. December 11, 1689, Germantown, Philadelphia, PA; d. 1771, Warwick Twp., Bucks Co PA.

Source and Additional Information