Tag: Rittenhouse

From Clocks to Legacy: The Story of Johann Henrich Heilig and the Rittenhouse Connection

Johann Henrich Heilig, my 6th great-grandfather, was born in 1700 and married Susanna De Wees Rittenhausen in 1729. Susanna’s family was prominent in early American industry, particularly in the Rittenhouse paper mills, which I’ve written about previously. If you’re a descendant or admirer of the Rittenhouse legacy, I recommend exploring the Rittenhouse Family Descendants and Friends Facebook page and learning about their efforts to preserve this rich history. The Rittenhouse Town Board of Directors actively maintains the historic Homestead House (built in 1707), the surrounding village, and a barn constructed during the WPA era.

Henrich’s origins remain debated among historians. Earlier accounts suggest he was born in Hannover, Germany, while newer research points to Baden-Wuerttemberg. What we do know is that Johann arrived in Philadelphia in 1720 aboard the Polly. Since passenger lists weren’t required until 1727, his exact journey is pieced together through indirect evidence.

By April 11, 1747, Johann was officially naturalized as a resident of Pennsylvania, meeting the colonial requirement of seven years’ residency. By this time, he was known as Henry—a clockmaker by trade. Clockmaking was a respected profession during the 18th century, vital for navigation, surveying, and precise timekeeping.

Henry and Susanna initially settled in Cheltenham but later purchased land on the borders of Pennsburg and Upper Hanover Townships in Montgomery County in 1749 and 1750. This property, acquired from surveyor William Parsons (an associate of the Penn family), remained in the family for generations. Passing from Henrich to his son George, and later to George Jr., the land was eventually sold to the Hoch family in the 1860s. Remarkably, the Hoch family still owns the house today—a living testament to centuries of stewardship.

Before 1684, the Lenape Indians roamed the hills and fished the streams of the land on either side of the Perkiomen Creek. In 1684, the Indians lost this land when  William Penn purchased it for reportedly “two watch coats, four pairs of stockings and four bottles of cider.”  In time, Pennsylvania Germans settled in the area. Around 1840, the area now known as Pennsburg began to appear like a village.  The hub comprised a general store, a carpenter and blacksmith shop, and several houses.
Most of the land was owned by the Heilig Brothers.  They owned and resided in the oldest house in Pennsburg, located at Seminary and Fourth Streets. The Heilig Brothers took it upon themselves to refer to this village as “Heiligsville.” Residents had their ideas, and out of loyalty to the then Pennsylvania Senator, James Buchanan, wanted to name the area Buchanansville.

As the village grew, a meeting was held in 1843 at the Hilleg family store to decide on a permanent name and layout of boundary lines.  After a week-long, bitterly contested battle, it was finally decided to name the village “Pennsburg” after William Penn.

https://www.pennsburg.us/borough-history website


Henrich and Susannah had five children:

i. Heinrich Heilig, b. 1722, ii. Jurg George Heilig, b. 1720; d. 1796, Upper Hanover Township., iii. Johannes Heilig (Source: Willbook I – 1796, 149-150.).
iv. Anna Maria Heilig (Source: Willbook I – 1796, 149-150.), m. Michael Slonaker., v. Susanna Heilig (Source: Willbook I – 1796, 149-150.), b. 1726; m. Henry Deany.


Johannes or John changed the surname to Highley. The other children kept the German spelling of Heilig.

This notation appears on a locally sold postcard by Len Hillegass of the Heilig House: “The Heilig House at 313 W. 4th Street is considered the oldest house in Pennsburg. Wounded and ill Colonial Soldiers were cared for there by the very compassionate Heilig family during the Colonies’ fight for independence from British rule during the American Revolution.” Album by Reid Heilig
You can see other pictures of the house at https://imageevent.com/heilig/heiligheritage/heilighousepennsburgpa?n=1&z=2&c=4&x=0&m=24&w=0&p=0.

Henry was a clockmaker. He passed down the art of his clockmaking skills to his children and nephews. One of the most famous was David Rittenhouse, an avid astronomer; he built complicated astronomical clocks and orreries, or planetary models, that kept time and predicted celestial events.

David Rittenhouse tall case clock. 1984.0416.007.

Henry is listed in the U.S., Craftperson Files, 1600-1995.

With hand made brass works in the German style, it consists of 19 bells, a wooden cylinder with pins that activate 19 hammers to play tunes, a bone wave to switch tunes. Iron frame is dovetailed together. You can read more about each piece on Reid Helig’s site at https://imageevent.com/heilig/hheiligclock/themusicmechanism

Henry was buried along with his wife in the mostly Rittenhouse family cemetery, Methacton Mennonite Cemetery. Click here for a partial list of burials with links to tombstone photographs. Henrich’s and Susannah’s are below. This cemetery is located in Worcester Township, Montgomery County, PA.

Henrich Heilig .. Died May 14, 1775 .. Aged 74 year 11 Mo 12 days
Susannah Rittenhouse .. Departed This Life December 13, 1769 .. Aged 71 Years
The interesting thing about Susannah’s tombstone is that it shows her maiden name as “Rittenhouse.” However, this would be the correct person calculating the birth year by her age at death.

A wonderfully thorough history is written by Linton E. Love, a descendant of the Rittenhouse family. In it are the descendants of Henry and Susannah. Linton has created a database extending from the 17th century up to the 21st century from Claus to his 12,810 descendants as of March 2005!

Johann Henrich Heilig’s story is one of perseverance, skill, and enduring family ties. From his arrival in Philadelphia to the land that remains in familial care, his legacy is woven into the fabric of American history. Whether as a skilled clockmaker or as part of the Rittenhouse connection, his contributions remind us of the resilience and dedication of early immigrants. By reflecting on his life, we not only honor his journey but gain inspiration for preserving our own family stories for generations to come. Do you have a Heilig clock? You might!

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From Krefeld to Nicetown: The Legacy of Hans de Neus and Philadelphia’s Early Settlers

Some sources show that Hans de Neus was born in France in about 1670 and was a French Huguenot fleeing prosecution.   However, the more research I do, the more I see that he seems to have been born in Germany.   

His parents were Olletgen te Neuss and Nelis Wienands, both from Germany.

Hans founded the Nice family in Philadelphia, specifically in Nicetown, consisting of 725 acres. He is believed to have gone to Holland to seek refuge from religious (Mennonite) persecution. In Holland, he met and married his wife, Janneke Bloemen. It is said that they celebrated the construction of their house by breaking a bottle of schnapps over it, christening both the house and their plantation as Nicetown.

Wikipedia states “This original early 18th century structure burned in 1800. Hans and his brother Jan had emigrated from Amsterdam in 1698; Jan settled in Germantown. Both were Mennonite ministers and could read and write. Hans and his descendants were well known as zimmermen (builders of houses). One descendant was a member of the Carpenter’s Society of Philadelphia in the early 1800s. Another was Captain John Nice of Germantown, who led the charge at the Battle of Germantown during the Revolutionary War. Other authors provide varied suggestions for the origin of Nicetown. Finkel says that it was “[n]amed for de Neus, Dutch Huguenots who settled there about 1700”.[3] Other spellings seen for the same surname are Neiss, Neisse, and, of course, the Nice seen in the placename Nicetown. There are 19th-century headstones in nearby Germantown marked with the surname Nice.”

The “te Neues” family had lived near Krefeld, Germany, at Lürrip since at least 1296.1

In his 1911 book Colonial Families of Philadelphia, John W. Jordan stated that Hans was born in Crefeld, but he did not provide the source for this information. (Krefeld, also known as Crefeld until 1929, is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany). According to Mt. Airy scholar J.M. Duffin, the Krefelders were German-speaking and originally Dutch-speaking Germans who were Quakers. Krefeld is located on the border of the Netherlands and Germany, so it is understandable that they would be fluent in both languages.

Krefeld

Chronicle – the emigration

Krefeld · The Mennonites have their origins in the Anabaptist movement, which arose in Zurich around 1525. The movement spread to the Netherlands, where in 1536 Menno Simons took up the ideas of the Anabaptist movement and formed a consciously pacifist community with the moderate part, called “Mennonites”.

  • 2Krefeld became a place of refuge for Mennonites who were persecuted in many places and for the religious community of Quakers who later joined them. But here too there were tensions with the long-established population. It just so happened that at that time the governor of Pennsylvania, William Penn, wanted to recruit settlers for his country. They should be God-fearing people who, like Penn, should also be Quakers. The German lawyer Franz Daniel Pastorius arrived, founded “Germantown” and acquired the 13 families. 328 years ago the Krefeld residents, Mennonites and Quakers, sailed from Holland to America . On July 24, 1683 the English sailing ship “Concord” set sail from the Dutch port of Gavesend. On October 6, 1683 they reached Philadelphia

Mennonites are a branch of the Christian church, with roots in the radical wing of the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Part of the group known as Anabaptists (because they rebaptized adult believers), the Mennonites took their name from Menno Simons, a Dutch Catholic priest who converted to the Anabaptist faith and helped lead it to prominence in Holland by the mid-16th century. 3

It is now known that the Nice family is one of the families in The Ancestry of the Thirteen Krefeld Emigrants of 1683, as mentioned in the 1956 article of the Franconia Mennonite Conference. The origins of the Franconia Conference are connected with the settlement of the Mennonites at Germantown near Philadelphia in 1683. The early Mennonite settlers of Germantown represented four distinct groups: (1) those from Krefeld who arrived in 1683 ff. and bore such names as Lensen, Op den Graeff, van Bebber, Telner, Umstat, Jansen, Neuss, Tyson, Sellen, and Hosters, William Rittenhouse, first Mennonite minister in America, H. Kasselberg, and Jacob Godshalk, the first American Mennonite bishop.

William Rittenhouse in the above article is my 8th great-grandfather.

In other sources I’ve read, Jacob Godshalk’s father served the Neuss family.

From the book Pennsylvania German Roots Across the Ocean,

Neuss_Pennsylvania German Roots Across the Ocean

His wife, Jenneken “Jane” Blomen, was born in Holland around 1670. Further research is needed on her family.

Hans’ brother, Jan, married Elisabeth Lucken, who was the sister of one of the 13 founders of Germantown in Philadelphia. Both brothers and their wives traveled to Philadelphia to seek religious freedom in William Penn’s colony, which was specifically established for that purpose.  Below is written in Appendix C of William Penn and the Dutch Quaker Migration to Pennsylvania:

Neuss Wm Penn and the Quaker Migration

Evidently, Hans was naturalized as “Nous” in 1709, but the name did not stick.

In the following PDF link is accounts information and a black and white photo of a Silver Porringer made by Jan de Neuss.  A Philadelphia Silver Porringer4

It is interesting to note the relationship of this family long ago with William Penn’s secretary, James Logan, especially considering that my grandmother Kunkle, whose family is the Neuss’, married a Logan.

Here is an excerpt from the diary of one of our Revolutionary War cousins, which is housed at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. It even includes his resignation letter to General George Washington!   The Diary of Captain John Nice, of the Pennsylvania Line5

“The Early History of the Germantown Congregation,” Germantown Meeting House History states, “…in 1690, the Germantown Mennonites chose William Rittenhouse as their minister, and Jan Neuss their deacon. For unknown reasons, Rittenhouse felt unable to supervise communication, so in 1702, Jacob Gottschalk and Hans Neuss were ordained ministers to assist him.”6

The last name is now spelled Neis in my branch.  Bertolet’s Mennonite Church Cemetery was once Zachariah Neis’ farm.  His daughter, Susanna Neis, married Michael Schlonecker, Jr., whose family came from Germany.  They had Esther Slonaker, who married Conrad Hawk,  who had Esther “Hettie” Hawk, who married Michael Kunkle, who had Charles, who had Hilda, my grandmother!

The story of Hans de Neus is a testament to the resilience and determination of those who sought a new life in America. From the bustling town of Krefeld to the quiet fields of Nicetown, Hans and his descendants played a significant role in shaping the early history of Philadelphia. Their journey is more than a tale of migration; it’s a narrative of faith, perseverance, and community-building. As we reflect on their legacy, we are reminded of the rich tapestry of cultures and histories that form the foundation of our nation, with the Neis family standing as a proud thread woven into that fabric.

Image created by OpenAI’s DALL-E, August 2024.

  1. Hassan, Hazel Deter. The Nice Family History: Descendants of Henry Clemmer Nice, 1822-1892. 1965. ↩︎
  2. “Krefeld: Chronicle: the Emigration.” Rheinische Post, 23 Mar. 2011, rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/krefeld/chronik-die-auswanderung_aid-13560923. Accessed 18 Aug. 2024. ↩︎
  3. “Who Are The Mennonites.” Mennonite Church USA, 2020, http://www.mennoniteusa.org/who-are-mennonites/history/. Accessed 18 Aug. 2024. ↩︎
  4. “170 A Philadelphia Silver Porringer The Historical Society of Pennsylvania.” The Pennsylvania State University, 1931, journals.psu.edu/pmhb/article/download/28223/27979. Accessed 18 Aug. 2024. ↩︎
  5. Nice, J., & Burd, E. (1893). Extracts from the Diary of Captain John Nice, of the Pennsylvania Line. The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 16(4), 399-411. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20083504 ↩︎
  6. “The Historic 1770 Germantown Mennonite Meetinghouse.” Germantown Mennonite Historic Trust, http://www.meetinghouse.info/early-history-of-the-germantown-congregation.html. Accessed 18 Aug. 2024. ↩︎