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PA Schwenkfelder Heritage & Relics: A Brief History

Sincere apologies, as this report has been inordinately long in coming, but worth the wait, I feel. So without further ado…

A Brief History of The Schwenkfelders in Pennsylvania

(Aptly elucidated by Candace Perry, Curator of The Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center)

Caspar Schwenckfeld von Ossig (1489-1561), a contemporary of Martin Luther, is the “father” and namesake of the Pennsylvanians known as Schwenkfelders. He was an aristocrat, writer, thinker, and courtier of the German states. The modern day Schwenkfelder Church is the manifestation of translations his original ideas and writings. It is unclear if he intended a church to be formed from his ideas.

The earliest followers in the 16th century were intellectual, professional women (a rare breed at the time). During the 16th-19th centuries this small group evolved into a  larger faith group that settled in Silesia (Poland) These followers were literate, educated, and industrious, but not very wealthy. This was due largely in part to the influence of Pietism in the 17th century.

During the early 1700s, current Roman ruler Frederic Augustus II issued a mandate that the Schwenkfelder community choose between the Lutheran and Catholic churches. When they refused, he placed sanctions on burials and marriages, and refused to acknowledge Schwenkfelders as citizens of the state. In 1726, the Schwenkfelders escaped across the border to Saxony, but due to further persecution, the Schwenkfelders find wealthy European Mennonites to fund a voyage to America.

Schwenkfelders had short beds because they slept propped up on pillows. It was believed to be unhealthy to lie completely horizontal while sleeping.

In 1734, the first Schwenkfelders arrive in Philadelphia on the St. Andrew. The passage was very trying, and only 208 survived the voyage. 15-year-old Christopher Schultz documented the voyage in his journal. This is the only written record of the Atlantic crossing. The boy who posed for this sculpture was a descendant of Schultz.

The offer of religious tolerance in Pennsylvania was extraordinary. Schultz wrote, upon landing in Philadelphia: “People mingle like fish in the sea.”  In Europe, Schwenkfelders and Jesuits were at odds. Once settled in Pennsylvania, the first Schwenkfelder settlers actually helped to build a Jesuit chapel.

Schwenkfelders inhabited in the area from Chestnut Hill to Lehigh County and did not extend further. One family only is known to have moved to Virginia. For the first fifty years (1730-1780) it was hard to keep all of the Schwenkfelders together and practicing religion. Lay pastors acted as circuit riders during this time.

A Tour of Schwenkfelder Artifacts from The Museum…

Foreground: Pewter teapot from Philadelphia (The Chestnut Hill group of Schwenkfelders had more money and more contact with the British influences in Philadelphia)

Background: Redware is old tradition of earthenware dishes. It is now also a contemporary practice. Most redware was more utilitarian than decorative, especially for pies! Around 10 am, men would take a break in the fields to eat small meat pies they had brought with them.

“The Head of The House Chair” – Specific objects corresponded to particular family members

The Blanket Chest was decorated and celebrated. However, the Schwenkfelder Dower chests were very plain with medallions and writings. “IN” was a suffix denoting a female. This chest from 1772 belonged to Esther Wiegner.

Decorated hand towels served as embroidered samplers. Unlike schoolgirl samplers, these were made at home, amongst family during the teenage years. Motifs were collected on the samplers for future designs.

A model of The Kraus Palace, a multi-story family dwelling.

The Schwenkfelder Heritage Center’s Fraktur Collection is “The Best Around,” says Candace. Short for “frakturshriften”, which means “decorated manuscript.” The Schwenkfelder Center’s collection came directly from families. Today, fraktur is seen as whimsical folk art, but it was not intended to be hung, or even decorative. The purpose was to teach and reward schoolchildren. These are so well preserved because they were hidden away in Bibles and chests. The colors were created from watercolor paints and inks.

“Vorshrift” was the term for a writing sample, used as a teaching tool. Schoolmasters created fraktur of religious texts or moral lessons and gifted the pages to students. Teenagers would copy the schoolmaster’s fraktur as a pastime.

Fraktur appears notably different from what is stereotyped as a “PA Dutch” look. David Creeble, who discovered fraktur in an antique shop in New York City, thought it was middle eastern.

Marriage certificate by Andreas Kolb, Mennonite Schoolmaster (1783)

Quilting was not common amongst Pennsylvania Germans until the late 19th century when fabric was cheaper to purchase. Until then, they spun and wove their own flax. Flax spinning was a huge trade, as was dyeing and weaving. These were typically men’s jobs. Quakers brought quilting to rural Pennsylvania.

As men grew old and no longer worked in the fields, they did household tasks like peeling apples and weaving flax on the smaller tape loom for garters and drawstrings. This larger 18th Century loom is very handsome and rare. After the age of handweaving came to a close, most large looms were broken up and repurposed.

Family portrait of the descendants of Israel Kriebel at the family homestead in Hereford Township (1912) Schwenkfelders are easily identifiable by their last names. There are a finite number of Schwenkfelder names whose members are related by blood. Some of these include: Yeakel, Heebner, Kriebel, and Harntraft.

Commissioned mural depicting the ship’s log of all Schwenkfelders who made it to Philadelphia.

Other Craft & Folk Art on Exhibition…

 

White quilts with line drawing motifs – typically red, green, or blue picture patterns

 

Candace’s favorite quilt due to its bright and unexpected color combinations.

The Christmas Putz (“Putz” means “to decorate or polish”). Commonly assembled and siaplyed in Pennsylvania German homes in Lehigh and Montgomery Counties for the holidays.

Two Washington Printing Presses: one from a German newspaper, the other from Town & Country (circa 1889)

The Library…

The Library houses a vast collection of German manuscripts and incunabula, mostly European, that were brought to United States before WWI and II. Like the fraktur, most came directly from families. Most of the books and manuscripts are in German script. The language barrier has stunted the growth of Pennsylvania German scholarship.

“If you’re coming here, you’re looking for a German…an OLD German!” says Candace.

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A warm thank you to Candace Perry for hosting me and Julie in January. The time she spent with us was thoroughly educational and worthy of pause and reflection. The Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center is a wonderful resource, and most certainly worth the drive down a few windy roads for anyone interested in discovering more about a fascinating part our Pennsylvania history!