a family tree with destiny - peter walmer (1742) to barbush (2013)

P e t e r W a l m e r

A C h u r c h B u i l d e r

Who Are We? Where Have We Come From?

Why Are We Here? Where Are We Going To?

A Generation! A Heritage!

A Purpose! A Destiny!

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A STORY AND STUDY

Based On:

Genealogical Studies By Bev Wyld

Historical Information By Salem, Walmer’s Union Church

Life Experiences Of James E. Barbush

A 10th Generation Descendant of

Peter Walmer The Elder

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Author

James E. Barbush

December 25, 2002

2021 Blue Mountain Parkway Harrisburg, PA 17112

[email protected]

Cell: 717-514-5549

mailto:[email protected]

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Peter Walmer – A Church Builder Table Of Contents

Page 1 of 42

Who Are We?

Where Have We Come From? Why Are We Here?

Where Are We Going To? -----------------------------------------------

A Generation! A Heritage!

A Purpose! A Destiny!

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1 HOW FAR BACK CAN WE GO?

CHAPTER 2 MY JOURNEY INQUISITIVE JOSEPH – LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

CHAPTER 3 THE STORY OF PETER AND HIS DESCENDANTS THE JOURNEY BEGINS

LEAVING THE HOMELAND

JOURNEYING WITH OTHERS

SAILING THE SEA TO A NEW LAND

MAKING NEW COMMITMENTS

THE NEW FAMILY SETTLES IN PENNSYLVANIA

ATTACK ON THE SETTLEMENT

WALMER’S CHURCH

CHAPTER 4 HISTORY OF WALMER’S CHURCH “PERSEVERANCE WINS” “Anhalt Ge-Winnt”

A DESIRE TO PRACTICE HIS FAITH “Boys, we must have a church. Must have.”

“HOW HOLY IS THIS PLACE” “Wie Heilig Ift Viefe Gtotte” (An Altar Declared?)

CHAPTER 5 DRIVEN BY HISTORY & DESTINY PETER’S HOMELAND - THE GERMAN PALATINATE

PETER’S RESPONSE TO THE CALL OF WILLIAM PENN

PETER’S CALL ALONG SIDE OTHERS OF DESTINY - Johann (Hans) Nicolaus Eisenhauer

CHAPTER 6 WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN? MISSION AND GOALS OF CHRISTIANS

OUR IDENTITY

RESTORATION OF THAT WHICH WAS STOLEN

PETER WALMER’S DESTINY AND PROSPERITY

CHAPTER 7 A “GLIMPSE” PROVIDED BY GOD - God’s Way Of Showing And Leading Us

WHAT’S IN A NAME

WHAT’S IN A SCRIPTURE

REMINDER – LEST WE FORGET.

HINTS OF HERITAGE AND DESTINY The Physical Drives You To The Spiritual

A GLIMPSE OF IDENTITY The Spiritual I Have Been Driven To

CHAPTER 8 ANSWERS FOR THE QUESTIONS

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Peter Walmer – A Church Builder Table Of Contents

Page 2 of 42

A P P E N D I C E S

Appendix 1 The Generations of Jesus Christ The Book of The Generation of Jesus Christ, Son of David, Son of Abraham The Book of Matthew, Chapter 1, Verses 1 to 17 (KJV)

Appendix 2 Declarations

Appendix 3 My Generations To Peter Walmer

Appendix 4 Ancestral Information For Peter Walmer & Anna Margaretta Walmer

Appendix 5 Another Version of Peter Walmer’s History

Appendix 6 Walmer Castle And The Town Of Walmer Located In England

Appendix 7 The Call of William Penn Ideas On Liberty

William Penn - America's First Great Champion For Liberty And Peace By Jim Powell

Salem, Walmer’s Union Church

Lutheran

&

United Church of Chris t

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Peter Walmer – A Church Builder Chapter 1

Introduction Page 3 of 42

Who Are We?

Where Have We Come From? Why Are We Here?

Where Are We Going To? -----------------------------------------------

A Generation!

A Heritage! A Purpose! A Destiny!

INTRODUCTION

Do you ever think about why some people are leaders , whether in high offices such as governors of states, mayors of cities, or executives in large corporations? What about people that are leaders of organizations closer to your local community, like leaders in your church, coaches of sports teams, or leaders in your neighborhood. What about yourself? Are you in a particular position of leadership or have you felt that you should be in a certain position of leadership?

Maybe you haven’t asked these questions. Maybe you have just been living out your life, doing what you think you are supposed to be doing, and not really wondering why you are involved in what you are doing and where you are doing it.

There are certain qualities about people that make them a natural in what they are doing. Where do those qualities come from? Are they just learned through education and life’s experiences, or are they inherent in people, or both?

What did your parents do in life? Were they leaders? Did they just live life, get by, and raise their children? Did they encourage you to be an influence in the world?

In this book, I want to explore these questions about who we are, what we are doing, and what should we be doing. I want to explore the whys of those questions so that we can sift out the real purpose of our lives, the true meaning of our lives.

You and I are here, in this world today. For what purpose have we been brought to the particular place that we live at this particular time? That’s a large question. Unanswerable? No,

just hidden maybe, but hidden only for a while.

I want to phrase our explorations in four specific questions with four specific answers that concern our Identity. The questions are:

Who are we? Where have we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going?

These are questions that we should all ask about ourselves as individuals and those around us. There are answers that we should all come to know. In general terms, we can answer these questions with solid answers. In specific terms, we can only partially answer these questions and we need to explore them to ascertain what our lives are about.

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In looking at what our lives are about, we can look back at what the lives of others related to us were about – others being our parents, grandparents, and other ancestors. We can look at the lives of our children and grandchildren to see what their lives are about. Then we can think about the lives of our future generations, our children’s children, and explore what their lives could be about.

In that assessment, we may be able to find some common threads that are transmitted through the generations, common threads that give us hints as to why we are doing what we are doing at the time and place we are doing it.

You may ask,

“Why do I want to do that? What’s the difference? My life is good, as it is. I don’t need that

introspective.”

My answer to that is,

“If you don’t look at these things, you may be missing out on what could be the greatest

happenings in your life. You may be missing out on knowing and understanding what the

greatest events were in the lives of your ancestors. You may be missing out on creating for you children and their children the possibilities that will lead them to great accomplishments.”

So, we must understand our Identity, we must ask questions, and we must seek their answers,

so that we and our other family members do not miss out on anything that was truly intended for us and them. Therefore, we consider the following:

Question! Who Are We? Answer! We Are A Generation!

Question! Where Have We Come From?

Answer! We Are Part Of A Heritage, Passed Down From Our Forefathers!

Question! Why Are We Here?

Answer! We Are Here To Fulfill A Purpose!

Question! Where Are We Going To?

Answer! We Have A Destiny!

I believe that these are important questions with important answers. I believe that for us to be fully successful in our lives and to help our children be successful in their lives, we must understand the answers and we must do it with vigor. Therefore, with vigor, I believe it is necessary that we make a proclamation about ourselves, a proclamation that profoundly states something about our Identity

With these questions and their answers, we can vigorously make

Declarations

About

Our Heritage And Our Destiny

Those declarations are found on the next page.

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DECLARATIONS !!!!

About Our Heritage And Our Destiny

Question! Who Are We?




These questions and their answers are not softly spoken, but they are D E C L A R E D!

DECLARED WITH EXCLAMATION! DECLARING THAT WE ARE NOT JUST

DRIFTING THROUGH TIME AND THE UNIVERSE WITHOUT IDENTITY, NOT

KNOWING WHERE WE HAVE COME FROM, NOT KNOWING WHY WE ARE LIVING,

AND NOT KNOWING WHERE WE AND OUR CHILDREN ARE GOING!

BUT WE ARE DECLARING THAT

WE ARE A Generation!

WE HAVE A Heritage!

WE HAVE A Purpose!

WE HAVE A Destiny!

WE ARE NOT A GENERATION THAT CAN KEEP THIS PURPOSE, THIS HERITAGE,

AND THIS DESTINY JUST FOR OURSELVES.

BUT WE ARE > > > > --- A P I V O T I N G P O I N T

RECEIVING AND ACTING ON WHAT OUR FOREFATHERS HAD, AND

TRANSFERRING THAT WHICH OUR FOREFATHERS HAD TO OUR CHILDREN, TO

OUR CHILDREN’S CHILDREN, AND TO OUR OTHER FUTURE GENERATIONS, SO

THAT THEY, IN THEIR TIME, WILL ACT ON AND BE

A Generation , with A Heritage , with A Purpose , with A Destiny !

So, yes, yes - a yes that is softly spoken, but spoken with assurance. We are important,

we are significant. Though we may only be a speck in the universe, living in a minuscule fraction in time, we are a speck that has been greatly influenced by things of the past and a speck

that has great influence in our present time and future time.

So, yes, yes, I believe it. I know it. It is so.

We Are A Generation!

We Are Part Of A Heritage, Passed Down From Our Forefathers!

We Are Here To Fulfill A Purpose!

We Have A Destiny!

Do I have your attention? Do I have your interest? Questions, Questions.

If your answer is yes, come along and hear more about this journey we are on.

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Chapter 1

How Far Back Can We Go?

If you were to look at your own ancestry, how far back can you go? How far back could you trace your ancestry? Physically, only as far as back recorded information could take you. Traditionally, only as far back as family tradition and stories would allow you.

If you were to look at the ancestry of humanity, where would you start? Where did man begin? The Bible says that God created Adam in His image and from Adam, He created Eve. Do you believe that? I do. That’s recorded information. But what happened from there?

The Bible talks about a great flood in the day of Noah. Except for Noah and his family, all the people that were living in Noah’s day, all the people who were descendants of Adam and Eve, all the people who were creations and descendants of God(?), all were cleared from the face of the earth. What happened to all the generations, the God-given heritage and purpose, and the God ordained

destiny? Obviously, they had to be carried on through Noah and his family. Seemingly a thin line, a thin connection, but carried on and passed down nonetheless.

Onward, from Noah to where? Whoa! Large topic. Too large and beyond the scope of this discussion. There is recorded history that talks about much and whatever else we may want to explore. But let’s move quickly to New Testament times. Let’s briefly look at a genealogy in the New Testament. The Book of Matthew talks about the genealogy of Jesus Christ. The book is also called, “The Generation of Jesus Christ, The Son of David, The Son of Abraham”. The book lists all the generations from Abraham to Jesus,

Starting with and listing 14 generations from Abraham to David,

Continuing and listing 14 more generations from David to the carrying away of the Israelites into Babylonian captivity, and

Continuing and listing 13 more generations from the Babylonian captivity to Jesus.

For these 13 generations from Babylonian captivity to Jesus, the Bible more specifically says

14 generations from Babylonian captivity to “the Christ”.

There is no discrepancy between the “13 generations from the Babylonian captivity to Jesus” and the “14 generations from the Babylonian captivity to “the Christ””. The 13

th generation is the physical

Jesus and the 14th

generation is the Body of Christ (interpreted as the Church), an on-going generation. Therefore, if you start with Abraham as a source generation, then

Jesus is the 41st generation.

The Body of Christ (the Church) is the 42nd

generation.

Can anyone trace their ancestry back that far, 42 generations? How many years is that? Could it be a 1,000 years, or more? For this discussion, there is no need to know the answer to that question, other than to say, it’s a lot of years and a lot of generations. Appendix 1 of this writing provides the detail of the genealogy of Christ as presented in the Book of Matthew.

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How many of your ancestors are you aware of? Did you or someone in your family record the genealogy of your family? Is it being worked on now, in this day? Maybe you don’t even know who your father is, or who your mother is, for whatever the reason. Maybe you have been adopted, maybe both or one of your parents died without leaving you much information about your ancestry. Maybe you just haven’t wondered at all about these things. That’s all right. The important thing is that, even if your are not informed of your ancestry for whatever the reason, you need not feel left out.

There is a God, who is a Father, and He will show you all that you need to know about

your GENERATIONS, your HERITAGE, your PURPOSE, and your DESTINY!

Whether you can trace your ancestry back 42 generations, 14 generation, 7 generations,

2 generations, or no generations is not the issue. The issue is finding out:

Who You Are .

Where You Have Come From. Why You Are Here .

Where You Are Going.

Matthew 1:17

So there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David.

And there were fourteen generations

from David until the people were taken to Babylon.

And there were fourteen generations

from the time when the people were taken to Babylon until Christ was born.

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My Journey Page 8 of 42

Chapter 2

My Journey

If I may, let me take you on a journey that gives me some “hints” (the type of which we will

consider later) as to my journey through this life in discovering who I am, where I have come from, why I am here, and where I am going. I recognize that this discovery is not just for me, but certainly will affect my family, my children, my children’s children, and succeeding generations.

To bring you on this journey, I have written “The Story of Peter and His Descendants” (Chapter 3). It’s a story that I learned of at the age of 50 in 1999. Until then, I never knew of the ancestors that I am going to tell you about. Apparently, my close relatives never knew of this ancestry either, because I never heard anyone talk of it. The only bits of information I heard was that my grandmother (Grandma Barbush – Elizabeth “Lizzie” Walmer) on my father’s side, was Irish and her maiden name was Walmer. Therefore, I was led to believe that I had an Irish strain in me. That was supposedly where I got my blonde hair from, since blonde hair could not have come from either my father’s or my mother’s Italian side.

I mostly heard about the ancestry of my grandfather, Frank M. Barbush. My father, Albert F. Barbush, Sr., desiring to search his ancestry and provide it to the rest of the family, spent many hours searching his father’s ancestry (the ancestry of Frank M. Barbush). He did a pretty good job of it. I have his work today and have referred to it on occasion to try to understand who was whom, and who is whom. I still meet people that are related to me since my father’s family was large and most lived locally. My father’s ancestral charts are useful in understanding who I may be related to.

My Grandma Barbush, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Walmer, was seemingly absorbed into her husband’s Barbush family. Therefore, I never heard anything of Grandma’s family, except to hear her maiden name, Walmer, and maybe occasionally see and hear of a brother and sister of hers, a great uncle and great aunt of mine.

In spite of my having lived for 50 years and not knowing anything about my Grandmother’s Walmer ancestry, I had suddenly been handed her ancestry, an ancestry that takes me back through my father, through his mother, and back 7 more generations to a man named Peter Walmer that came from

Germany to America in 1741.

The year of my discovery of my Walmer ancestry was 2000. Peter Walmer’s arrival in America was 258 years earlier. I am a 10

th generation descendant of this man, Peter, who was brave enough to sail

the sea at the age of 21 and start something in America. His journey started before the Colonies fought to be free, before the Declaration of Independence, before the formation of the United States. Wow! Peter was here in this place at a time when great things relating to our country were happening, when our country was being formed. Wow!

How did this discovery come to me? For me, I believe it to be a true story that I should share with you and others. From here, I will tell you how I discovered it. And later I will tell you more about it. Also, I will try to explain how such discovery is applicable to you and your family.

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INQUISITIVE JOSEPH – LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

My son Joseph is much like I was as a child, an inquisitive lad, a searcher, looking through the things of his grandparents and parents, exploring to find something of interest, playing all the while.

I remember when I was a child, less than 10 years old, we went to my Grandma Cirillo’s house every Sunday. Grandma Cirillo was my mother’s mother. My Grandma Cirillo was Josephine, and her husband, my grandfather, was Dominic. We called him Pop. Other relatives of my mother were also there every week. There was my mother’s brother, Uncle Larry, and his children, my cousins Larry (called Little Larry), Stevie, and Karen. The women were usually in the kitchen. The men and children were in the dining room where the television was and where Pop sat at the dining room table. There, at the large dining room table, Pop played Solitaire a lot and we all played Rummy, watched television with him, and ate Grandma’s weekly made spice cake with white icing. Of course, my Dad was always there. The small grandchildren laid under the big, old dining room table and watched television from there, while laying with our dog, Tammy, often using her as a pillow.

Sometimes, I would go off exploring through the old, two story, duplex house. It was quite a neat place. There was the living room with its old style wallpaper, its cabinets where Grandma kept knick-knacks, and some sort of fireplace. There was the great, dark wood stairwell, with big, old wood framing. The stairs were between the living room and the dining room. It was dimly lit and the steps creaked when you went up them. There were steps that led to a landing that turned, and then more steps that led to the second floor, just outside the bathroom. There was a light that hung over the stairwell. I don’t remember much light being given off.

Around two sides of the stairwell on the second floor, there was a heavy wooden rail that made a balcony over looking the two sides of the stairwell. As you followed the rail around, you came to a le ft turn that led down a hallway that went to a back bedroom and a rear stairway. The hall was dark. Before I take you down that hall, let’s go back to the top of the stairs and go to Grandma’s bedroom, in the front of the house.

After coming up to the top of the stairs, you turned left and went into Grandma’s bedroom. I remember the sitting table, the dresser, the jewelry, and the large windows that lit the room. It’s a little vague to me, but I mostly remember being there and exploring – lying on the bed and looking at all the neat things.

There was another bedroom as you turned right at the top of the steps. I spent much time there. That’s where I slept when we stayed overnight. I spent much time playing with the alarm clock that had hands and numbers that glowed in the dark. That was quite the thing for me as a child, in the dark, as I was going to sleep and listening to the ticking of the wind-up clock.

I remember the bathroom at the top of the steps. I think it had white ceramic tiles with black, maybe green trim. It was bright with a window. I remember the old tub with legs and the sink with old style fixtures.

Now, let’s go back to that dark hallway. That was the neatest place of all. It was long and dark. There was another bedroom at the back of the house on the left side of the hall. I don’t remember anything about that room. At the end of hall, there was another stairway that went down to the kitchen. There was a door to the kitchen that was always closed. I would sneak down the steps and listen to the women talking in the kitchen.

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I explored my Grandma Cirillo’s house, over and over again. Apparently, my son, Joseph, picked up that instinctive trait from me. At the age of 10, Joseph, being like me, was on the hunt in our home one night. I am the keeper of family heirlooms, such as photographs, historical documents, china, glassware, and other keepsakes. We have always instilled in Joseph the heritage that he has obtained from his grandfather, Albert F. Barbush, Sr., a man he never met. My wife, Yvonne, was pregnant with Joseph while my father was going through his last days, fighting a losing battle with cancer. Joseph was there in my father’s last days as an unborn infant. Joseph, in his mother’s womb, was there in the bedroom, along with many of us family members, when my father died on April 7, 1989, 2½ months or 77 days before Joseph’s birth on June 23. My father even put his hand on my wife’s pregnant belly during his last moments.

My father had been gone for over 11 years, when on an evening in August 2000, after one of his

explorations, Joseph came down to our family room with a small pack of items that he pulled out of his Grandma’s desk – his grandma being my mother, Mary Barbush. She had lived with us for about 16 months in 1997-98 and many of her things were with us.

In his exploring, Joseph found an old newspaper article, circa World War II, about my father, his brothers, and his sisters (my aunts and uncles). The article had pictures of them in military uniform and talked about them serving in the war. Other items that Joseph found were photographs of my sister Joanne. She was my mother’s first child, her only daughter, who died after only five hours of life. There was also my baby book that I had only seen once. There wasn’t much in it, just a few notes.

Joey brought his discovery of treasures to my wife and me as we sat on the couch. We looked at the newspaper article and the few photographs of my older sister that I never knew. I scanned my baby book. It was half a century old. In the baby book, I noticed some genealogy that my mother wrote. It went back to my great grandparents and their names that suddenly caught my eye – Israel Walmer - my

Great Grandfather, and Johanna Hart - my Great Grandmother. These were the parents of my grandmother, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Walmer. The book stated my grandmother was Elizabeth Walmer that married Frank Barbush. The little that I knew about the ancestry of Grandma Barbush was that her maiden name was Walmer. I heard that mentioned occasionally when I was a child. I also remember Grandma’s brother Jim Walmer, my father’s uncle. There was also an Aunt Effie, my grandmother’s sister. That’s about all I knew about Grandma Barbush’s Walmer ancestry. Barbush was always the main focus of any family history to which I was introduced. But being a Christian, and having read about Israel in the Bible and knowing that Johanna was also a biblical name, I was “intrigued” by the names

of my great grandparents, Israel and Johanna Walmer. I wanted to know more.

LAUNCHED INTO THE JOURNEY

At the discovery my great grandparents’ names on the evening of August 3, 2000 (2 days before the 25

th birthday of Jennifer, my oldest daughter), I immediately went to the internet to do a search of

Walmer ancestry. I found a website about Walmer ancestry that had a bulletin board where I posted a note seeking information about Israel Walmer. I didn’t learn anything that night, but the next day brought surprising revelation.

On August 4, I found e-mail from a woman who claimed to have been searching Walmer ancestry for 23 years. Her name is Bev Wyld, a Walmer descendant. I was excited by the immediate and sudden response to my inquiry and quickly responded with an e-mail. I briefly explained to Bev our discovery of my great grandparents’ names, Israel and Johanna Walmer. I told her I was the 3

rd son of

Albert F. Barbush, Sr. and he was one of 9 children of Frank and Elizabeth Barbush.

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I had e-mail conversations with Bev Wyld over several days. I learned that, even as I was discovering the names of my great grandparents (Israel & Johanna Walmer), Bev Wyld was continuing her investigations of the Walmers. She was awaiting information from the National Archives on the pension of my great, great grandfather, Israel B. Walmer, Sr. She was also in the process of searching out the burial site of my great grandfather, Israel B. Walmer, Jr. As I was just discovering my heritage, Bev was continuing the process of detailing that heritage. Coincidence? Or God-incidence?

After several more e-mail conversations and within 3 to 4 weeks from our August 3rd

discovery,

Bev Wyld graciously sent me a packet of information that traces my heritage for 9 generations before me. She provided me with information about a heritage that goes back to a man identified as Peter Walmer The Elder who came from Germany in 1741 and settled in Pennsylvania, near where I have always lived. The information and heritage includes Peter’s acquisition of land from the sons of William Penn, Thomas and Richard, and the founding and construction of a church that still operates today. Also included is information about the joining with others of apparent destiny, being that Peter boarded a ship to America that was also boarded by an ancestor of Dwight D. Eisenhower, one of our Presidents. This was the beginning of our discovery of many interesting and meaningful items about our heritage. These were things that I have never heard about ancestors in all my 50 years. At the on-set of my moving discovery, I knew that I was on a destined journey. I knew that God was revealing

something to me.

That’s how my personal journey started. I did not create it. I did not think it up. I could not have imagined it. It was all handed to me. It was only about a month from our first discovery of the names of my great grandparents in my baby book to having received a complete document from Bev Wyld detailing my ancestry and related information. It was the start of a journey that we are still on and enjoying immensely.

After receiving my ancestral report from Bev , I noted information from the report about the addresses of residences and about burial sites for my great grandparents. They are all local sites in Harrisburg. One Friday morning, we went looking for those sites and discovered that I have unknowingly been past these sites throughout my life. The history of my family was right before me all the time without me at all knowing of its existence, let alone its meaning. I’ve seen the house on Brookwood Street, where Israel may have lived with his sister, my great Aunt Effie, only blocks from my childhood home on Duke Street. I’ve seen where Israel is buried, not the exact burial plot, but the lot in which he is buried with others. That’s near where I have worked and traveled regularly. The heritage was there all the time. I just did not know it. No one seemed to know it. But now I know it. Now, I am finding it. And it is greater than I ever could have imagined.

With what I was introduced to, through the actions of my exploring son, Joseph, with the information searched and gracefully provided by Bev Wyld, my family is continuing on this journey that we have been launched into. There is more to be discovered and more to be understood about

Who We Are.

Where We Have Come From.

Why We Are Here.

Where We Are Going .

In the following several chapters, I will provide much of what I have learned about Peter Walmer The Elder, his journey, how it has affected me and others, and how it continues.

Psalm 25:13 They will enjoy a good life, and their children will inherit the land.

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The Story of Peter Walmer And His Descendants Page 12 of 42

Chapter 3

“The Story of Peter and His Descendants”

THE JOURNEY BEGINS

Somewhere in a European country, sometime around 1720, a child was born. The country was likely Germany and the male child was named Peter in his language. His last name is not ascertained. It may have been something sounding like Walmer. It may have been Waldheimer that means "Dweller In The Woods". It may have been Wallmer, or Wolmer, but supposedly not to be confused with Vollmer/Vollmar or Follmer/Fullmer. Who can know? When the foreign newcomers came to America, whether German or other, they may not have been able to read or write, and probably did not speck English. The English-speaking clerks that registered the foreign newcomers may have written things down in English as they sounded. So what is the real name of Peter Walmer? We are uncertain. But Peter Walmer sounds great to me.

So, let’s follow Peter Walmer’s journey, as near as we know it, with the accuracy of discovered information that has been recorded and passed on to us.

LEAVING THE HOMELAND

This boy of German descent most likely grew up in Germany. We know nothing of his life until an adventurous journey that he embarked on at the age of 21. Peter left a place in Germany in 1741, possibly with a group of Palatines, people of certain German descent. He traveled down the Rhine River to Rotterdam, a trip believed to have taken 6 months. We don’t know if he was alone, with friends, or with family. But we know that he went, maybe such as the biblical Abram did when he left his homeland for a country that he knew not.

Around that time, there were many Palatines going to the new country, America. It’s recorded that 10 ships came to America in 1741. One of the ships that repeatedly made the trip to and from America was named “Europa”. Peter boarded the Europa along with 43 other males above the age of 16. The ship was mastered by Captain Lumsdaine.

I wonder what Peter’s thoughts were during that time. Who was he with? Was he big and strong, was he timid? Who can say? But certainly, to begin a journey at such a young age and to venture onto the seas surely must indicate that Peter was courageous, strong, and committed to something. We can only wonder about many things – his purpose, his resolve, and his reasons for the trip.

JOURNEYING WITH OTHERS

Who else could have boarded that ship with Peter? Bev Wyld, the woman who gave me the ancestral information about Peter Walmer, who is also a living descendant of Peter Walmer, has been told on numerous occasions by an aunt and uncle of hers, that Peter was one of five or six brothers that came to the Colonies. Bev has no reason to believe this is correct, since there is no evidence of another male Walmer at that same time period and there is no additional male Walmer on the passenger list of the ship Europa. Also, since baptismal records include relatives, there is no record of a Walmer as a baptismal sponsor for children that Peter would have later.

Could Peter have come with a wife? We don’t know. Only the males above the age of 16 were listed on the ship’s register. And to date, no marriage record has been found for Peter Walmer. We do know that Peter Walmer, Jr. was born in 1720, so Peter either brought a wife with him or married shortly after arriving in the U.S. (5)

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We do know of one interesting character who was on board the ship Europa with Peter Walmer. That was Johann (Hans) Nicolaus Eisenhauer. What was his goal, what was his mission, and what was his destiny? We are given a “hint” by discovering that Hans is an ancestor of President Dwight David Eisenhower. (61) Whoa! Talk about GENERATIONS! HERITAGE! PURPOSE! DESTINY! There, at a beginning of something where these men were, and there, at certain beginnings of America, these men, Peter and Johann, were together. Did they talk about their purpose, what they were doing, where they were going, why they were going, what they had hoped for? We can only conjecture and assume that on such a voyage, they must have conversed about such things.

SAILING THE SEA TO A NEW LAND

We don’t know what the trip was like as Peter, Hans, Captain Lumsdaine, and the others crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Did they weather storms? Was there sickness? How long did it take? Since there are records of 10 other ships and ship registers, maybe there are other records about such trips. Maybe we can discover such records in our continued searches for information.

After the journey across the sea, they arrived in America, landing at Lewes, Delaware on November 17, 1741. At the age of 21, Peter and others of the ship’s passengers stepped onto America’s soil to further carry on their journey. Upon their arrival, being greeted by Englishmen, the men were registered. Peter, possibly not able to read or write, made a mark, “I”, in a register, probably next to the place where a clerk signed his name. (62).

MAKING NEW COMMITMENTS

What then? Did Peter know where to go next or did the Englishmen direct him where to go? We know that when these new arrivals were registered, there was no infectious disease reported on board. So, on November 20, 1741, the passengers went on to Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. There, they took an Oath of Allegiance to the government before Ralph Asshelton, Esq. After having left his homeland and family, Peter swore an allegiance to a country that he had never been in before. How could he do that? Why did he do that? What did he leave and what did he think he was going to? The oath was taken on the 3

rd day after arriving in America. What happen during those 3 days? Travel by horse or wagon?

Travel by waterways? More voids in the history.

Our next record is that sometime before November 11, 1742, Peter Walmer was married at the age of 22. He met a young lady by the name of Anna Margret or Anna Margaretta. Her last name, we do not know, nor do we know her age. For us, here, we will remember her as Anna Margaretta. A beautiful name that matches the romantic journey that Peter had embarked upon. She must have been a beautiful woman.

THE NEW FAMILY SETTLES IN PENNSYLVANIA (1742 to 1757)

Peter and Anna Margaretta Walmer had the first three of their children. Peter, Jr. was born in 1742. Susanna Margaret was born in 1744. George was born around 1745. We do not know where they started to raise this family, but we know that on July 15, 1745, Peter Walmer bought land in Lancaster, Pennsylvania from the Honorable James Hamilton, Esq. And then on October 9, 1746, Peter and Anna Margaretta sold that land to Michael Fortiney. (63) Where did Peter get the money he needed for the land? Did he come from a wealthy family and bring an amount of savings from his homeland? Did he come across a good deal? Did he work and trade for the land? Regardless, Peter and Anna Margaretta acquired the property, then sold the property only 15 months later. Did he make a considerable profit for his next venture?

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Apparently Peter and his family had settled in Pennsylvania in the Lancaste r County area. We do not know where the family lived after selling the Lancaster property. We know that there was another son, John, born in 1748. The family had grown to six members – Peter Sr., Anna Margatetta, Peter Jr. (~ 6 years old), Susanna Margaret (~ 4 years old), George (~ 2 years old), and the baby, John.

Six years passed, a period of time for which we have yet to discover records of where Peter and the family were living. But in 1751, a significant event happened. Peter obtained land from significant people involved in the founding of Pennsylvania. Records show that Peter Walmer obtained 100 acres of land in Hanover Township, Lancaster County, from Thomas and Richard Penn, the sons of William Penn. Warrant #407 records the acquisition. Again, as he did with Johans Eisenhauer, Peter came in contact with people of destiny.

Another record of land acquisition shows up in 1754. Peter apparently acquired 277 acres of land. I do not know if this is adjacent to his last land acquisition or located some distance away. But considering where Peter finally settled, I assume that he acquired 277 acres of farm in East Hanover Township, in what was then Dauphin County and is now Lebanon County. The land is recorded as surveyed on February 12, 1754 for 277 acres and 80 perches, and patented to Peter Walmer on August 18 (or Aug 22), 1766 for 270 acres. (64). After being in America for over 10 years, Peter and his family permanently settled on a farm in Pennsylvania.

Having settled into a permanent residence and becoming a farmer, Peter and Anna Margaretta had a 5

th child in 1755. They named her Anna Maria.

Further evidence of continued prosperity and community involvement is that Peter Walmer and Margaretta were sponsors at the baptism of Catarina Margaretha, the daughter of John Adam Herbert (Hanover), born September 5, 1757 and baptized February 19, 1758. (46). Also, in 1751 and 1756, Peter Walmer was recorded as a resident of East End Hanover inhabitants.

ATTACK ON THE SETTLEMENT (September 1757)

The year was 1757. Peter had been in America for about 15 years. Peter had married a fine woman, settled, and they had been raising 5 children – 3 boys and 2 girls, ranging in age from the youngest daughter Anna Maria (~ about 2 years old) to Peter, Jr., the oldest son (~ about 15 years old). In between were John (~ 8 years old), George (~ 10 years old), and Susanna Margaret (~13 years old). Two of the children were named after their parents, Peter, Jr. after his father Peter, and Anna Maria after her mother Anna Margaretta. The other three children, Susanna, George, and John, may have been named after Peter’s relatives that were back in his homeland of Germany. One who had left his home as Peter did, would likely have named his children after loved ones as a remembrance.

The season is the fall, in September, probably harvest time. Peter and Anna Margaretta were going about their duties of raising their large family and getting ready for the coming winter. They probably knew that there were dangers in this land, but the work of raising the family on the farm had to go on. The actual day was September 30

th or October 1

st, depending on the account of this event.

Peter and his wife had been out in the field harvesting. They were bringing in a load of hay when a raiding party of about 30 Indians led by a French lad attacked the house. The Indians went through the house, broke honey pots and windows, scattered the flour, tore up the beds, and ruined everything they could not take with them. They took all they could carry. They even took the children.

The French leader was 17 year old Michael La Chanvignerie, the son of the commandant at Fort Machault (Franklin Co.). Also in the party was a Frenchman, La Jardin. Apparently, the raiding party left Ft. Machault on September 11, 1757. They traveled through the Lebanon Valley, passing many deserted places until they came to Peter Walmer's place. After 19 days of traveling through the countryside and then coming upon Peter’s place of prosperity, they took advantage of the situation. They wrecked or stole much of what Peter and Anna Margaretta owned, even the children.

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How frightening and hideous this event must have been to Peter, Anna Margaretta, and their children. One report says that the Indians made off with the five children, the youngest not yet a year old and could not walk. Imagine the raiding party of boisterous men and one of them scooping up the little one. You can almost visualize and hear what was happening. Over 30 men moving through the house, wrecking, smashing, breaking, and taking; destroying the prosperity that was built; destroying the peace and order that was there; the frightened children huddling together; the oldest son trying to protect the younger siblings. But these were men, more than 30 of them, with no care or concern for anyone or anything.

Did Peter and Anna Margaretta know what was happening? Could they hear the commotion? Could they see what was going on? We can only wonder. They were living on a 200-acre farm, in the hills and woods of Pennsylvania. The possibility is that they may not have heard or seen anything, until it was too late, and the raiders were riding off with their children.

What happened when Peter and Anna Margaretta returned to the house? They were surely devastated and shocked. But Peter, he must have been a big man, a strong man, a determined man. After all, he came alone to a new land, acquired much land, settled, and was successfully raising his family. He was a hard worker in an unsettled land. He surely had resolved to get his children back, because the children are mentioned in later records.

Justice must have come, since the son of the Commander was captured. The report is that he stuffed

bread inside his shirt, but dropped it. While backtracking to find the bread, he got lost and separated from the raiding party. On October 12, a sentry at Fort Henry arrested La Chanvignerie. It is reported that while being held prisoner, La Chanvignerie was allowed to write a letter in which he told his parents he was being held prisoner but was treated well.

What happened? How was this all resolved? Did Peter and Anna get the children back? This is not fully clear, but their 3

rd child, George, appears in the 2

nd generation of ancestors; and Peter, Jr.,

George, and John are listed in several later recorded assessments. So, the male children must have been returned to the family. We have yet to discover the date of death for the 2 sisters, Susanna Margaret and Anna Maria. If they had been killed by the raiding party, that should have been a significant event to have been recorded in the story of the attack of the raiding party. So, we are left with a mystery concerning the return of all the children.

WALMER’S CHURCH (1751)

Today, there is a small church building located 2 miles northwest of Ono in Union Township, Lebanon Co., Pennsylvania. It is on the edge of Fort Indiantown Gap, a U. S. Military training base. The church is believed to be built on Walmer’s property that he acquired from the Penns. The church is certainly believed to be a family church started early in Walmer’s American history.

Local tradition says that Peter Walmer and his six sons built Walmer's Church in 1751. (3) But how could this be? We have not seen records showing that Peter had 6 sons that were old enough in the year 1751 to have helped their father build a church. In 1751, Peter had been in America for only 9 years. So, how could Peter and 6 sons have built anything? Certainly, Peter could have built the church on his own or with help from neighbors.

That the church was founded by Peter Walmer seems not to be absolutely provable at this point with records that have been viewed. In the graveyard next to the church, there are no tombstones or markers for Peter Walmer The Elder or Anna Margaretta. But in the graveyard there are tombstones for many other Walmers, their relatives, and other families with which the the Walmer generations have had relationships. Therefore, we find it very probable that Peter and Anna are buried there along with many other early and later

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ancestors. And given the apparently destined journey that Peter had been on, coming from Germany to America, joining with other men of destiny (Eisenhauer and the Penns), I do tend to believe that Peter did build the original church. Maybe he did not do it with 6 literal sons, but it is a good and educated guess to believe that he did build the church with the help of his young family and with the help of other church founders and their families.

For me personally, another “hint” that Peter is the founder of this church that still operates

today, about 250 years later, are the circumstances of how I suddenly discovered this Walmer heritage that comes to me through my father’s mother. God has shown me several things over the

years in some very unique ways. Knowing how God has worked in my life, knowing what He has shown me concerning other events in my life, knowing how He has shown those things to me in unusual ways, I am strongly inclined to believe that I was destined to discover this heritage. Therefore, I am strongly inclined to believe that there are spiritual connotations to this discovery in addition to physical ones.

So, let us move on in Peter’s journey, and discuss what has been presented in documents discussing the church

history of Walmer’s Church.

Genesis 12: 1-4 Now the LORD had said unto Abram,

Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house,

unto a land that I will show thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great;

and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee:

and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him:

Genesis 12: 7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said,

Unto thy seed will I give this land:

and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.

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History of Walmer’s Church Page 17 of 42

Chapter 4

“History Of Walmer’s Church”

Portions Of This Chapter Taken From

The 250th

Celebration Booklet


Church History, 1750- 2000

“PERSEVERANCE WINS” - “Anhalt Ge-Winnt”

Peter Walmer must have been a man of great fortitude and purpose. The overwhelming evidence that I see for this assumption is:

(i) the continued existence of a 250 year old church congregation.

(ii) the Walmer descendants and relatives that are still at that church.

(iii) the Walmer descendants, like myself, that have discovered their heritage and have come to attend the church.

(iv) the relatives and friends that make trips from other cities and states to visit the church.

(v) the other friendly people that have found refuge at the church through the many years.

(vi) the survival of the church as a union church – 2 denominations meeting together, sharing one place, sharing one pastor, and sharing each other.

(vii) the spread of Walmers throughout the region, as evidenced by the presence of Walmer grave stones in several churches along Route 22, as you head east towards Harrisburg..

(viii) The fact that Bev Wyld has searched Walmer genealogy and found over 2300 Walmer’s tied back to this one man, Peter Walmer.

If not for fortitude and purpose, and mostly God’s calling , how could a young man of 21 have left his homeland in Germany, sailed the seas in a small wooden ship, and settled in a new and still dangerous land, bringing forth great heritage.

Peter is said to have had a very pertinent slogan - “Anhalt ge-winnt”, which means

“Perseverance wins”. This must have been, for it would have taken a rugged pioneer with great persistence to acquire 270 acres of land, build a log home and a log church, and raise a family in a still somewhat dangerous and unsettled land, in a time 250 years ago. Peter must have practiced that slogan and applied it to his church and spiritual life, as well as to his family life, because in the year of 2000 we marked the following anniversaries:

The Sestercentennial The Commemoration Of 250 Years Since The Establishment Of Salem, Walmer’s Reformed Congregation, Now The United Church Of Christ

The Bicentennial The Commemoration Of 200 Years Since The Establishment Of Salem, Walmer’s Lutheran Congregation In Lebanon County, Pennsylvania.

The Sesquicentennial The Commemoration Of 150 Years Since The Erection Of The Current House Of Worship.

These two congregations, the Reformed Congregation - United Church Of Christ the Lutheran Congregation

have worked together through two centuries as


“Anhalt ge-winnt” - “Perseverance wins”

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A DESIRE TO PRACTICE HIS FAITH - “Boys, we must have a church. Must have.”

In the heart and mind of Peter Walheimer (that may have been his name prior to taking on

Walmer) must have been conceived the thought of establishing a place where he could continue to work out his faith in God. He must have desired a place where he could worship. He must have wanted a place not only for himself, but for his wife, Anna Margaretta, his children, and his neighbors. His conception was birthed and continues, and has been known as Walmer’s Church. This new thing has not remained a small church in a new land, but it has become something that would involve his many descendants, affect numbers beyond what he had imagined, and possibly have a world wide impact far beyond the house and small church in a wooded and farmed countryside in Pennsylvania.

Peter may have sadly missed the services of the sanctuary he enjoyed in his homeland beyond

the sea, and must have realized the importance of providing his family with proper religious training. Feeling and desiring so, he is believed to have one day said to his “six sons”, “Boys, we must have a church. Must have.” This was supposedly in the year 1750. Though we have yet to find records that support his having six sons in the year 1750, the story is certainly one that is desired to be believed, not just as a folklore, but as a continuance of the destiny and heritage that this man was to fulfill and carry out. As said in the previous chapter, maybe Peter did not do it with six literal sons, but it is a good and educated guess to believe that he did build the church with the help of his young family and with the help of other church founders and their families, “sons” of other of the church’s founders and friends joined together with Peter.

No sooner was the suggestion made to build the place of worship than arrangements were effected to put the construction into practical operation. A site was selected on Peter’s farm. He and “six sons” began the erection of a log structure, 30 feet by 32 feet in dimension. It is reported to have only taken 6 days to build the house of worship. The completed building consisted of only bare walls with a door, a few windows, and a roof. A floor was added about 50 years later. Logs were laid in rectangular order on the bare ground for the worshippers to sit on during the service. These logs later served as joists, possibly in the same original log building. The pulpit was at the entrance of the church, as a precaution we are told, so that the congregation could notice who came into the building. This was the decade of the French and Indian War when many local massacres were perpetrated, and as Peter discovered in his own experience, one must be on guard at all times. Many years elapsed before a Stiegal stove was secured and the house of worship was comfortably heated. The stove was 4 feet long and weighed 400 pounds. The crude primitive building, with some alterations and improvements, stood until it burned about 100 years after it was built.

In 1783, another log building was erected close to the church and the building was initially used by the ministers and sextons. Peter was 63 years old at the time and could have been involved in the construction.

Peter died on July 2, 1795, at the age of 75. Still, beyond the life span of Peter Walmer, the life of the church continued, or I should say “persevered”. In 1837, the log building close to the church building was given an additional use, that of being a parochial school. Both the schoolroom and the sexton’s house were contained in this one small building with a few windows and a thin partition between the schoolroom and the combination family kitchen and living room. There was also a loft where the family crept and slept.

Another man of German descent, living in the area with the Walmers, and apparently also a man with the fortitude of Peter was John Gerberich. At the building of the church, John was given the nickname, “Forty-foot John”. The story goes that John, like Patrick Henry, memorably declared, “For forty foot dimensions, a big church”. He passed away in the 1800s and was still known as “Forty-foot John”. “A big church” – I believe that we can ponder the significance of that potentially prophetic statement, having seen the apparent spread of the Walmers to many other churches in the region and beyond.

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In those early years, the people of Walmer’s Church must have had a tremendous spirit and drive. The members lived around and near the church. They came to services walking along paths, through fields and wooded areas, climbing over the fences (over stiles in lieu of gates), and walking over a footbridge across the creek.

“HOW HOLY IS THIS PLACE” - “Wie Heilig Ift Viefe Gtotte” (An Altar Declared?)

In Walmer’s Church today, in the front of the Sanctuary, above a painted picture depicting Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsamane, is a statement in German ~ “Wie Heilig Ift Viefe

Gtotte”. The translation is “How Holy Is This Place”.

Could it be, that when Peter Walmer came upon and obtained this land from the sons of William Penn, he declared the place to be holy ground and dedicated the land for the purposes of God?

Could it be, that Peter’s presence and work in this land would be part of, branch of, and continuation of what William Penn declared to be A Holy Experiment – The Seed Of A Nation?

With what we know at this time, we can only imagine. But looking at Peter Walmer’s arrival in this land, and looking at a still standing church, hearing and reading about Peter Walmer’s descendants that are scattered near and far, we strongly want to believe that Peter did as Abram did when he left his

country and was directed by God to a promised land, where he built an altar to worship God. That picture of Abraham is described in the Bible’s Book of Genesis in Chapter 12.

Genesis 12

Verses 1 to 8

New Century Version

The LORD said to Abram, "Leave your country, your relatives, and your father's family,

and go to the land I will show you. I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you. I will make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless

you, and I will place a curse on those who harm you. And all the people on earth will be

blessed through you."

So Abram left Haran as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. At this time

Abram was 75 years old. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and everything they

owned, as well as all the servants they had gotten in Haran. They set out from Haran, planning to go to the land of Canaan, and in time they arrived there. Abram traveled

through that land as far as the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. The Canaanites were living in the land at that time.

The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "I will give this land to your descendants." So

Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. Then he traveled from Shechem to the mountain east of Bethel and set up his tent there. Bethel was to the west,

and Ai was to the east. There, Abram built another altar to the LORD and worshipped

him.

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As others have been directed by God to do things that were far beyond themselves, was Peter

also called by God to perform a task that would reach far down through his generations to today

and even beyond to our descendants?

Was Peter like Columbus, whose name means “Christ Bearer”, who knew from scripture that the world was not flat, but was a globe (Isaiah 40:22), and he was sent on a mission to a new land?

Could Peter have been tasked by God to leave his homeland for a new land, where he would find ground that God had destined for him, where he would claim and declare that ground to be holy for God’s purposes, and there would he build an altar or a church where he could worship God?

We think of these questions and ponder them.

We do this not to exalt Peter, a man, not to learn about genealogy and history, not to preserve

and glorify an old and beautiful church building and place , and certainly not for our own

exaltation.

We do ponder these things to discover who we are with respect to God, Our Father, and His

Son, Our Savior, Jesus Christ The Lord.

We desire to do what we have been destined to do while being guided by the Holy Spirit.

We desire to draw closer to a Father and a Savior, through His Holy Spirit.

2 Timothy 3:10 But you have followed what I teach, the way I live, my goal, faith, patience, and love.

You know I never give up.

1 Peter 1:9 And you are receiving the goal of your faith--the salvation of your souls.

Isaiah 40:22 God sits on his throne above the circle of the earth ,

and compared to him, people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the skies like a piece of cloth and spreads them out like a tent to sit

under.

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Driven By History And Destiny Page 21 of 42

Chapter 5

Driven By History & Destiny

Here I want to discuss how I believe that the life of Peter Walmer The Elder was intertwined

with history that was taking place and a destiny that was to occur.

Peter left the oppression in his homeland to look for a better life in a foreign land. He settled in a land that was just being discovered and developed. His journey and settlement in that new land put him in the midst of a history that was being made in a land that was destined to be great. His life was mingled with the lives of others that were also destined to be key individuals in the making of history.

I see three distinct situations in which Peter was involved that could relate to his God given call and destiny. The following three areas look at the history of Peter’s time and show Peter’s connection to other people with call and destiny.

1. Peter’s Homeland - The German Palatinate. Concerning the history of Peter’s homeland, there was the oppression of the German Palatines that must have driven Peter from that homeland.

2. Peter’s Response To The Call Of William Penn. Concerning the history and destiny of the new land, there was Peter’s acquisition of land from men that were destined to develop the land in the style of a reasonably governed, religious, and “Holy Experiment”. Peter obtained land from the sons of William Penn in the Province of Pennsylvania, becoming a part of Penn’s “Holy Experiment”.

3. Peter’s Call Along Side Others of Destiny - Johann (Hans) Nicolaus Eisenhauer. Concerning the history of others of destiny, there was Peter’s accompaniment with others on the trip to America, others who were destined to be pioneers in bringing government to the new land. Peter travelled on the ship “Europa” with one noted as Johann (Hans) Nicolaus Eisenhauer, an ancestor of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Each of these situations are discussed in this chapter.

1 Corinthians 10:11 The things that happened to those people are examples.

They were written down to teach us,

because we live in a time when all these things of the past have reached their goal.

Phil 3:12-14 I do not mean that I am already as God wants me to be.

I have not yet reached that goal, but I continue trying to reach it and to make it mine.

Christ wants me to do that, which is the reason he made me his.

Brothers and sisters, I know that I have not yet reached that goal, but there is one thing I always do.

Forgetting the past and straining toward what is ahead,

I keep trying to reach the goal and get the prize for which God called me through Christ to the life above.

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PETER’S HOMELAND - THE GERMAN PALATINATE

The Rhineland Palatinate in today’s Germany is located in West Germany. Extending through West Germany is the Rhine River, the most important river in Europe. The Rhine River extends from the southern portion of the country, flowing 820 miles northwest into the North Sea. The river rises in eastern Switzerland and forms part of the boundaries of Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, France, and West Germany. In the southwestern portion of West Germany is located a wooded mountainous region called The Black Forest.

In the 1600s and 1700s, there was great turmoil and suffering in the Palatinate, as in most German lands at that time. There were wars and religious persecutions. Rich rulers invaded the land and overtook the people. The Palatinate people experienced armies that pillaged, burned villages, destroyed livestock and crops, and killed civilians. In the 1600s, approximately half of the German population of the province perished from the oppression. In the 1700s, after a time of rebuilding and re-populating the countryside, battles relating to religious politics occurred. Since the Rhineland was a principal battle area, the people of the Palatinate suffered repeatedly. The pillaging of farms left many of the peasant folk homeless, starving, and facing an uncertain future. The stress of the oppression encouraged large-scale emigration to England, Ireland, and America. The impulse to emigrate gained additional impetus from poor harvests and brutal winters that occurred early in the 1700s.

The first mass exodus of people from the Palatinate began in 1709 and continued through the 1750s. Peter’s life began early in this era in 1720 and he traveled to America towards the end of the era in 1741. Peter’s immigration occurred in the tail end of this particular immigration. The emigrants traveled up the Rhine River to Dutch ports. From there, they sailed either directly to America or to England, where they stayed a while or transferred to ships bound for America. The impact on America was great. There were approximately 250,000 German speaking colonists in America by 1775.

We do not know exactly where Peter came from. Possibly, a traditional story may give us a hint of his origin. Tradition states that Peter Walmer’s original name was Waldheimer, which means "Dweller

In The Woods". (3) Bev Wyld, the most versed researcher of Walmer ancestry, has found only one instance of this particular spelling of the name. Otherwise, the name is almost always found as Walmer, sometimes as Wallmer or Wolmer, not to be confused with Vollmer, Vollmar, Follmer, or Fullmer. Remember that when the German immigrants arrived in the new land, unable to read or write English, the English clerks that took the information wrote things down as they sounded.

So what could be the significance of the name Waldheimer - "Dweller In The Woods"? Could it be that this one was from the Black Forest area of the Palatinate? This is an area along the Rhine River in the western part of the area. Could it be that Waldheimer was destined to live in the new land of Pennsylvania, Penn’s Woods? Could it be significant of both the Black Forest and Penn’s Woods? We cannot know without additional ancestral information from Peter’s homeland, but we can wonder.

We could consider the God given Biblical names of persons that are meaningful to their character and origin. That is a topic we will touch on later.

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PETER’S RESPONSE TO THE CALL OF WILLIAM PENN

William Penn and Peter Walmer were two men from different generations and from different

countries. However, the life work of William Penn had a life changing effect on Peter Walmer.

Time Line Yrs.

William Penn’s Birth 1644 Oct. 14 London, England 1st

William Penn’s Arrival In America 1682 Nov. 8 Ship Named Welcome 38th

William Penn’s Death 1718 July 30 nearly 73 years old 74

th

Peter Walmer’s Birth 1720 Circa Germany 76th

Peter Walmer’s Arrival In America 1741 Nov. 17 Ship Named Europa 97

th

Peter Walmer’s Death 1805 July 2 74 or 75 years old 161st

Peter Walmer’s Birth 76 years after Penn’s Birth 2 years after Penn’s Death Peter Walmer’s Arrival In America 60 years after Penn’s arrival Peter Walmer’s Death 77 years after Penn’s death

Depending on how you define the span of a generation, the 76 years between the births of Penn and Walmer could be considered as 3 generations, and possibly including part of a 4

th generation. The 76

years could make one a great-great grandparent of the other. Though William Penn and Peter Walmer were several generations apart and born a country apart, their destinies became intertwined. I believe that both attained their destiny when arriving in America. Though apart in some respects, they were uniquely connected in terms of God ordained destiny. Having followed Penn, Peter Walmer had a destiny that was certainly affected by the destiny of William Penn. Peter’s destiny was so uniquely intertwined with Penn’s as though to be a response to what Penn had brought to America.

Penn’s quest for spiritual peace and liberty led him to establish a sanctuary that offered something to the oppressed peoples of Europe. Penn’s American sanctuary became known as “Pennsylvania”, a name meaning "Forests of Penn". This sanctuary was established to allow people to escape the religious persecutions that were occurring between Protestants and Catholics, and the oppression of the Quakers and the Jews. In this sanctuary, Penn offered protection for the freedom of conscience. In the new land, Penn established a city that he named “Philadelphia”, a Greek name meaning "city of brotherly love”. Penn developed his “First Frame of Government”, expressing ideals that anticipated the “Declaration of Independence”. These ideals, property as written below, related to the rights of Personal Freedom and the Possession Of Private Property:

Personal Freedom: "Men, being born with a title to perfect freedom and uncontrolled enjoyment of all the rights and privileges of the law of nature ...“

Private Property: “no one can be put out of his estate and subjected to the political view of another, without his consent."

Penn's “First Frame of Government” provided for secure private property, virtually unlimited free enterprise, free press, trial by jury, and religious toleration. He called “Pennsylvania” his "Holy

Experiment", which he believed would be the “seed of a nation”.

Though Penn was a Quaker, his policy of religious toleration and peace attracted all kinds of war-weary European immigrants -- English, Irish, Germans, Catholics, Jews, and various Protestant sects including Dunkers, Huguenots, Lutherans, Mennonites, Moravians, Pietists, and Schwenkfelders. Liberty brought so many immigrants that, by the time of the American Revolution, “Pennsylvania” had grown to over 300,000 people, became one of the largest colonies, and was America's first great melting pot.

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By creating “Pennsylvania”, Penn set an enormously important example for liberty. He showed that people with courage, persistence, and resourcefulness can live free. He showed how a free society could actually work. He showed how individuals of different races and religions can live together in peace. He affirmed the resilient optimism of free people.

The ideals that William Penn was instrumental in establishing in America were offered to more than those people that lived during his life span and in his homeland. Those ideals spanned the generations and were offered across the geography of the time. Those ideals, being established in America with the "Holy Experiment”, were passed down to his sons and others as the call continued to be broadcast. Peter Walmer, from another generational time and from another country than William Penn, responded to that call and became intertwined in what William Penn was destined to establish.

So, Peter responded, and from what we know about the history of the immigration from the German Palatinate, Peter must have been one of those wanting to escape the difficult conditions in his homeland and wanted the ideals that were being offered in America.

Was Peter’s response like this? Peter Walmer, a European immigrate, sought to go to America to find a better life - economically, culturally, and religiously. In America, he would be able to buy and own land. In Europe, only the upper class owned land, and everyone else paid rent and could be easily evicted. William Penn, and later Penn’s sons, owned the Province of Pennsylvania, and offered such land to the immigrants. Peter sought to obtain some of that land and to begin a new life of promise. Therefore, Peter decided to leave his homeland and sail the seas for the fulfillment of a promise.

Could that have been how Peter decided to leave his homeland for a new land? What did Peter think about when he was deciding to leave and when he made the decision to leave? What was Peter so concerned about that made him sail the seas in a small wooden ship? Did he pray? Did he sense a call of God? What was he leaving – home, family, friends, things that he owned? What about his mother, father, brothers, sisters, cousins? Did he sense a call of God that was stronger than that which held him to his homeland? Did he leave with uneasiness about the unknown? Did he leave with hope and expectation in his heart? Was he encouraged by his family and friends to make the great venture. What was he expecting to find when he arrived in the new land? Was he going based on the recommendation of someone who had heard about the new land or someone who may have already been to the new land?

Questions, many questions to ponder and wonder about. I have possible answers to those questions that I may discuss later.

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PETER’S CALL ALONG SIDE OTHERS OF DESTINY

Johann (Hans) Nicolaus Eisenhauer

As far as we know, Peter left his homeland without other family members. We have discovered no recorded information of other Walmers being on the ship “Europa”. We have no record of Peter having been married to Anna Margaretta prior to his departure from Germany. We do know that the ship was mastered by Captain Lumsdaine and there were 43 other males above the age of 16. One of those males was Johann (Hans) Nicolaus Eisenhauer, an ancestor of President Dwight David Eisenhower.

I find it striking that these two men, Peter Walmer and Johann Nicolaus Eisenhauer were aboard this ship together at the time of history that they were in. It was a time when America was being developed. It was a time that was affected by William Penn’s invitation that was initiated in the 1600s and continued through the 1700s to come to a land of governmental and religious freedom. It was a time before the Revolutionary War in America. It was a time and place in which religious freedom was being offered to those who were in captivity.

This man Peter, an ancestor of mine, was on the same ship as was an ancestor of a President of our United States, Johann (Hans) Nicolaus Eisenhauer. Who was this Hans? What was his mantle? Was it one of government? What happened to him after he arrived in America? The information is probably out there somewhere, somewhere in the history books, records, and now on the web. But that exploration is a bit beyond the scope of this writing. So, I will only guess and conjecture, that these two men, Hans and Peter had something in common, a common call, a common destiny, destined for a land that promised the opportunity that was going to allow them to fulfill all or part of their destiny.

Maybe my “intrigue” has some basis, because even when I wrote the above and all that precedes

it, I did not know the following about the Eisenhauers, until discovering it later:

Johann (Hans) Nicolaus Eisenhauer was born in 1691 in Forbach, France. He was married in 1722 to Anna Margaretha Strubel in Karlsbrunn, Germany. Nine children were born in Karlsbrunn, Germany between 1725 and 1739. Four children died in Karlsbrunn, Germany. Johann Nicolas Eisenhauer came to America in 1741 aboard the "Europa" with his son, Peter, and they settled in Pennsylvania. He died in 1760 in Pennsylvania.

One of the children of Johann and Anna was Johannetta Margaretha Eisenhauer.

Another child of Johann and Anna was Johann Peter Eisenhauer, born on March 15, 1722 in Forbach, France, and died in 1802 in Paxton, Pennsylvania.

What I see in the above is this. Similar names crop-up that were common to Peter’s family and Johann’s family.

Peter and Johann both married women named Anna Margaretta.

Peter and Johann both settled in Pennsylvania.

Peter and Johann both had a son named Peter.

Johann had a daughter named Johannetta. Peter had a descendant named Johanna, my great grandmother.

Trivial coincidences? Maybe. Maybe not. Sometimes inner thoughts seem to be confirmed by facts.

Johann (Hans) Nicolaus Eisenhauer was born in 1691. Peter Walmer was born in 1720. That makes Johann to be 29 years older than Peter. When they sailed the sea to America, Peter was 21 years old and Johann was 50 years old. Johann could have been a father figure to Peter, maybe a substitute for the father that he left in his homeland, or the father that was no longer available to him because of an early death.

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Johann may have had some fatherly wisdom for Peter during the trip, as to what to do on the lonely voyage, or what to expect upon arrival in America. Maybe Johann influenced Peter in being directed from Philadelphia to the area of south central Pennsylvania.

Conjecture? Guessing? Yes. But, it’s fun to imagine, fun to ponder and wonder. Who knows the truth, but God? We just need to believe that we are destined for greatness by a God, the true God, the Father who cares about us and wants us to move in heritage and destiny.

Jeremiah 32:39 I will make them truly want to be one people with one goal.

They will truly want to worship me all their lives, for their own good and for the good of their children after them.

2 Corinthians 5:9 Our only goal is to please God whether we live here or there,

Ephesians 1:10 His goal was to carry out his plan,

when the right time came, that all things in heaven and on earth

would be joined together in Christ as the head.

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What Does It All Mean? Page 27 of 42

Chapter 6

What Does It All Mean?

So what does all this discussion and information mean to us? What am I wanting and trying to tell you? Is this a discussion of genealogy and history? Is this a discussion about me and my family? Can I convey to you what I am feeling that the true meaning of this is? I hope so. I need to.

I started early in this book to talk about “My Journey”. We are all on a journey, each on our own individual journey. But what is that journey about? Where are we coming from? Why are we here? Where are we going? Who are we? Who is each one of us? What is our individual purpose and our collective purpose?

Whatever this discussion is about, it must be tied to our God and Father, and our Savior, Jesus Christ. It cannot be so deeply involved in understanding ourselves that we do not connect with what God is doing in our lives because of what Jesus Christ did for our lives.

What “hints” has God given to let us know the answers to these questions? Does not the Bible talk about genealogies? There is much given in the Old Testament about various genealogies. There is the genealogy of Jesus given in the New Testament in the Book of Matthew. There is much given in the Scriptures about our identity, heritage, purpose, and destiny. We will discuss some of that later.

I think, at this point, I would like to discuss some things about our mission and goals as Christians. I have scanned the introductory verses of the letters of the New Testament. Generally, the first verse and sometimes through the second and third verses of each letter are verses of greetings. These verses offer some enriching truths that I have attempted to put into words as a statement of mission and goals for us as Christians. I have written these as a mission and goals for Walmer’s Church, but they are for any Christian really.

Ephesians 1:7-10 In Christ we are set free by the blood of his death, and so we have forgiveness of sins.

How rich is God's grace, which he has given to us so fully and freely.

God, with full wisdom and understanding, let us know his secret purpose. This was what God wanted, and he planned to do it through Christ.

His goal was to carry out his plan, when the right time came,

that all things in heaven and on earth would be joined together in Christ as the head.

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MISSION AND GOALS OF CHRISTIANS

As a Christian, and being that Walmer’s Church is made up of Christians, we should have the

following mission and goals, all based on God’s Words:

Walmer’s Church, having a strong historical past and having persevered for over 250 years, has strong spiritual foundations. Members of Walmer’s Church want to build on that foundation and continue to grow in what God has planned for them as individual members and as a community.

As Christians, believing in salvation by Jesus Christ, the members of Walmer’s Church are responding to the call of our God and Father to spread the Good News , that just as God Our Father planned, Jesus Christ died for our sins and rescued us from the evil world in which we live. The Father has sent us out to tell all people the great things He has done for us, and that He chose us to be his very own through what Christ did for us and decided to make us holy in His eyes without a single fault.

As Christians, we are appointed by God to be messengers of Jesus Christ. So as we have been invited by Our Father, along with all Christians, we carry the Good News about Jesus Christ Our Lord and God’s invitation for all to be His people made acceptable to Him by Christ Jesus.

While reaching within the Walmer’s Church Community and continuing to grow in our trust in the Lord, in our love for His People, and in seeking to see lives changed, we want to reach out to the surrounding community, spread the life changing Good News, and add to God's Community, His Kingdom. We want to increase our faith, becoming rich in God’s blessings, while attaining peace-filled hearts and minds.

Knowing that Jesus Christ Our Lord is our only hope , we desire the Holy Spirit to be at work in our hearts, cleansing us with the blood of Jesus. With this knowledge of Jesus Christ, we want to bring faith to God’s people, to teach them to know God’s truth, so they can have the eternal life that God promised.

Therefore, we want to build within the Walmer’s Church community so that we can reach out to the surrounding community, and add to God’s community, His Kingdom.

Front View

of

Walmer’s Church

from

Coulter Road

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As I was thinking on this, I thought that I should take that Statement Of Mission And Goals and see what is contained therein concerning Identity, Heritage, Purpose, and Destiny. Before I did that, I had a hunch that all 4 aspects would be covered, and they are. All of the underlined phrases are in the Statement Of Mission And Goals.

Concerning Identity:

1. We are called Christians believing in salvation by Jesus Christ. Therefore, we are “of Christ”, we are ones “identified by Christ”.

2. My family is identified with Walmer’s Church as members of a local church body. Your family is identified with your local church.

Concerning Heritage:

1. The Heritage of Walmer’s Church is in a strong historical past that has led to a Church that has the Church’s persevered for over 250 years.

2. The Heritage of Walmer’s Church is strong spiritual foundations. Members of Walmer’s Church want to build on that foundation.

3. The Heritage of all Christians is that we have a Father that is the Creator of all things and has planned from the beginning of the world a place for us, and that Father has sent us into the world to tell all people the great things He has done for us.

4. The Heritage of all Christians is that God, Our Father, planned that Jesus Christ would die for our sins and rescue us from the evil world in which we live.

5. The Heritage of all Christians is in knowing that Jesus Christ Our Lord is our only hope, we desire the Holy Spirit to be at work in our hearts, cleansing us with the blood of Jesus.

Concerning Purpose:

1. As Christians, the Father has purposed us to tell all people the great things He has done for us.

2. As Christians, we are purposed to be responding to the call of our God and Father to spread the Good News and we are appointed by God to be messengers of Jesus Christ.

3. As Christians, God’s purpose is to invite us to carry the Good News about Jesus Christ Our Lord and to carry God’s invitation for all to be His people made acceptable to Him by Christ Jesus.

4. As Christians , while reaching within the Walmer’s Church Community and continuing to grow in our trust in the Lord, in our love for His People, and in seeking to see lives changed, we want to reach out to the surrounding community, spread the life changing Good News , and add to God's Community, His Kingdom.

Concerning Destiny:

1. We are chosen by the Father to be his very own through what Christ did for us.

2. We are destined to continue to grow in what God has planned for us as individual members and as a community.

3. We are destined by the Father to be made holy in His eyes without a single fault.

4. We are destined to be rescued from the evil world in which we live.

5. We are destined by Our Father to carry the Good News about Jesus Christ Our Lord and God’s invitation for all to be His people made acceptable to Him by Christ Jesus.

6. We are destined to have our faith increased, to become rich in God’s blessings, and attain peace-filled hearts and minds.

7. We are destined to grow within our local church community and reach out to the surrounding community to spread the life changing Good News, and add to God's Community, His Kingdom.

8. We are destined that the Holy Spirit will be at work in our hearts, cleansing us with the blood of Jesus.

9. We are destined, with the knowledge of Jesus Christ, to bring faith to God’s people, to teach them to know God’s truth, so they can have the eternal life that God promised.

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OUR IDENTITY

With the belief and recognition of what God has done for us through Jesus Christ, and with an understanding of our God ordained mission, I believe that this discussion is about our identity –

who we are as individuals and who we are corporately. This discussion is about our recognition of our identity and the identity of those around us . This discussion is about what God has planned for us and how He wants us to be involved in what He is doing. How can I discuss that with you? How can I present it such that you will be stirred to delve into what God is doing in your life? I pray that God will enlighten you and direct you.

I’ll take you back to the introduction of this book. You and I are here in this world today. We have been brought to the particular place that we live at this particular time. Have you understood, do you understand, who you are, where you have come from, why you are here, where you are going? We all should understand these things about ourselves. These are things that we all should all come to know. In general terms, we can know these things. In specific terms, we can only partially know these things and we need to explore them to ascertain what our lives are all about, and what the lives of our children and our children’s children are and will be all about.

Question! Who Are You?

Answer! You Are A Generation!

Question! Where Have You Come From?

Answer! You Are Part Of A Heritage, Passed Down From Your Forefathers!

Question! Why Are You Here? Answer! You Are Here To Fulfill A Purpose!

Question! Where Are You Going To?

Answer! You Have A Destiny!

DECLARATIONS! These questions and their answers are not softly spoken, but are DECLARED!

DECLARED WITH EXCLAMATION!

DECLARING THAT YOU ARE NOT JUST DRIFTING THROUGH TIME AND THE UNIVERSE WITHOUT IDENTITY, NOT KNOWING WHERE YOU HAVE COME FROM, NOT

KNOWING WHY YOU ARE LIVING, AND NOT KNOWING WHERE YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN ARE GOING!

DECLARING THAT YOU ARE A Generat ion!

YOU HAVE A Herit age!

YOU HAVE A Purpos e!

YOU HAVE A Des t iny!

YOU ARE NOT A GENERATION THAT CAN KEEP THIS PURPOSE, THIS HERITAGE, AND THIS DESTINY JUST FOR YOURSELF, BUT YOU ARE A “PIVOTING POINT”,

RECEIVING AND ACTING ON WHAT YOUR FOREFATHERS HAD, AND

TRANSFERRING THAT WHICH YOUR FOREFATHERS POSSESSED TO YOUR

CHILDREN, TO YOUR CHILDREN’S CHILDREN, AND TO YOUR OTHER FUTURE

GENERATIONS, SO THAT THEY, IN THEIR TIME, WILL ACT ON AND BE…………..

A Generation, With A Heritage , With A Purpose , And With A Destiny!

So, yes, yes. A yes that is softly spoken, but spoken with assurance that you are important, you are significant. Though you may only be a speck in the universe and a minuscule fraction in time, you are a speck that has been greatly influenced by things of the past and a speck that has great influence in your present time and future time. So, yes, yes. Believe it. Know it. It is so.

Are you at attention? Are you interested? If you answer yes, come along and hear more about this journey you are on.

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RESTORATION OF THAT WHICH WAS STOLEN

I came to learn a part of my identity and heritage at the age of 51. A very important part of my identity was hidden from me for so long, for all of my life. Why was that? My answer to that is that my identity was stolen by Satan, our enemy. My heritage was stolen by that enemy. What God wanted me to know and to fully walk in was hidden and buried. How could this have happened? Let me give you some background before I give you my answer to this question.

PETER WALMER’S DESTINY AND PROSPERITY

The beginnings of Peter Walmer in America appears to be a story about:

Destiny and Prosperity.

Destiny

Coming to America may have been a God ordained call that Peter Walmer responded to as a young man, 21 years of age. In 1741, Peter came to America at its beginnings, even before the founding of the United States. His venture put him on a journey that was intertwined with other men of destiny, such as Johann (Hans) Nicolaus Eisenhauer (an ancestor of President Dwight D. Eisenhower) and William Penn (founder of Pennsylvania). He traveled the seas on a ship with Johann Eisenhauer. Once in America, he obtained land from the sons of William Penn, Thomas and Richard. Peter lived during the period of the Revolutionary War and through the founding of the United States in 1776.

Possibly, at the call of William Penn to come to a better land in America, Peter may have left his German homeland for religious freedom and other freedom. William Penn had gained ownership of the land that became Pennsylvania. Peter Walmer obtained 270 acres of that land from Penn’s sons, Thomas and Richard Penn. We can only speculate, but we know that Peter started his family and farmed this rather large property, starting in his twenties.

In this settlement that Peter had established, he started a church that is still functioning today,

over 250 years later. There are still descendants of Peter in the congregation’s membership.

The following words that Peter is believed to have spoken echo from the past and reflect the permanence and determination of a young man that was given an apparent God ordained mission.

His words, “Anhalt ge-winnt” meaning “Perseverance wins”, seem indicative of the Walmer’s Church that stands today, over 250 years after its founding.

His words, “Jungen, müssen wir eine Kirche. wir haben müssen” meaning “Boys, we must

have a church. Must have.”, seem indicative of this man’s call and purpose to plant a church in this land of America.

The words, “Wie Heilig Ift Viefe Gtotte” meaning “How Holy Is This Place, seem to be and could very well be a quote from a man named Peter Walmer that declared the ground that he obtained to be holy ground. The German words are imprinted in the front of the church sanctuary above a painting depicting Jesus praying in Garden of Gethsamane.

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Is this the destiny that Peter Walmer was called to - the declaration that a place is holy and

the building of an altar that was the initiation of a church, more importantly and specifically,

the spreading of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Is this the heritage that Peter left to his descendants - a heritage that has spread through the land because of calling, perseverance, and desire?

Is this the heritage that my grandmother, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Walmer, who somehow discovered or knew - one that involved the prosperity and destiny that she walked in?

Certainly, I want to believe that it is.

Certainly, I want to claim it as my inheritance, being a 10th

generation descendant of Peter Walmer and being a grandson of “Lizzie” Walmer, a 9

th generation descendant.

Certainly, I want to claim it as the inheritance for my children (the 11th

generation), and their children to come (the 12

th generation).

Prosperity

Peter Walmer came on a wooden ship to a foreign land. How much could he have brought with him? There is no indication of how much he had to start with. But Peter was soon able to acquire around 200 acres of land, start a farm, and raise a family. Peter had many children and his children had many children. In the years to follow, his children and relatives settled the land and spread throughout the region. That sounds like prosperity.

Peter’s raising of his own immediate and large family and his founding of a church apparently led to the establishment of many more families and other churches in the area. If you begin at Walmer’s Church on the edge of Fort Indiantown Gap and travel west on Route 22 towards Harrisburg, you find several churches that have many Walmer grave sites. That which had been started by one man, grew into a very large thing. Bev Wyld, an ancestor of Peter Walmer and the expert on Walmer ancestry, reports that she has documented over 2300 descendants of Peter Walmer. She has traced all but one of the people back to Peter Walmer.

Prosperity Seems To Disappear

With all the evidence that I have seen concerning the ancestry of Peter Walmer, there is one the thing that strikes me. When I travel west from the location of Peter’s settlement in East Hanover Township, getting beyond Linglestown and arriving in Harrisburg, I do not easily find evidence of the Walmers. Being a Walmer descendant and having lived in Harrisburg and the surrounding area all my life, I never heard anything of the Walmers from my family or anyone else. My grandmother was a Walmer that married a Barbush. Why did I never hear of the Walmers?

In the initial days of our discovery of our Walme r ancestry, I learned where my great grandfather, Israel Walmer, Jr. is buried. Israel is buried in East Harrisburg Cemetery located in the 2300 block of Herr Street. That cemetery is on the northern side of Harrisburg, adjacent to an old development called Edgemont. Israel’s grave site no longer has a marker. Information from the cemetery states the lot number and grave site in which Israel is buried, but there is no longer a marker, no gravestone. Therefore, the exact site would need to be determined by field survey and measurements.

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I have surely driven past this cemetery on hundreds and hundreds of occasions throughout my entire life. For 4½ years, I even worked one block from the cemetery entrance for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation at 21

st and Herr Streets. I even walked through that cemetery during some

lunch times. Yet, I never knew and never heard anything about a great grandfather that was buried in that location.

After having received the information about my ancestry, I learned that for all my life I lived in an area where my ancestors lived and worked, but I never knew anything about these particular ancestors. I’ve now seen places where my ancestors lived and worked, places where my ancestors died and places where they were buried. But that discovery was made after I had already lived for 51 one years. Now that’s 51 years, half a century. What about those before me that did not know about great grandfather Israel and his ancestors? What about my father, Albert, and his mother, Elizabeth? What did they know about the Walmers? What did they know about Peter Walmer? Certainly they knew Israel, since Israel was my father’s grandfather and my grandmother’s father. Apparently, they did not know about Peter Walmer. Nothing was ever conveyed to me and my relatives about any heritage of the Walmers.

My father did considerable research of the Barbush ancestry and some research of my mother’s Cirillo ancestry. He recorded the information that he collected and made it accessible to others in the family. I have that information. There is no information on Walmer ancestry. If my father would have done any research, he would have recorded that information and I would have it, as I have the rest of his recorded ancestral information. Therefore, it’s a safe assumption that my father knew very little or nothing of the Walmer ancestry, and certainly knew nothing of ancestry that goes back to Peter Walmer. Why is that? Why did not my father or any of my other family members know or tell me what they may have known about our Walmer ancestry?

I believe that in an attempt to stop the spread of the Gospel, the spread of the Good News, Satan stole my heritage , Satan stole my destiny, Satan stole my prosperity. In his temptation of my ancestors to sin and his success in that, he stole what was rightfully theirs and mine. For many years, even decades, he successfully took and buried the destiny and prosperity that belongs to me and left no marker for me to find. That seems to be why Israel Walmer’s burial site has no gravestone.

Satan saw what I can now see ; that from this one man Peter Walmer, the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was carried from certain roots in Germany, sailed the seas in a small ship, was preached in a small family church in Lebanon County, and spread from that point, gradually, through 10 generations to “Lizzie” Walmer, reaching the City of Harrisburg. I do not ignore the fact that I have only sited one path for this spread of this Gospel, from farms in Lebanon County westward towards Harrisburg. There must have also been a spread to the south towards Lebanon, and to the east and north to other towns. I have not researched any such spread in those directions.

I sense that Satan attempted to crush forever what is rightfully mine. He attempted to bury

forever an identity that I need to understand and walk in.

Though successful for a time,

SATAN’S PLOT HAS BEEN EXPOSED.

SATAN’S PLOY HAS BEEN REVEALED.

THAT WHICH WAS LOST IS NOW FOUND.

THAT WHICH WAS BURIED IS NOW UNCOVERED.

THAT WHICH WAS STOLEN IS NOW BEING RETURNED.

RESTORATION OF THE Destiny AND Prosperity IS NOW BEING RESTORED.

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I believe that the physical and spiritual prosperity that Peter Walmer possessed can be understood and regained. I believe that the opportunity to own acres of land that can support many inhabitants can be reestablished. This repossession of prosperity may not take the form of physically owning much land, but it does take the form of having spiritual authority in a land that is lived in by the descendants of Peter Walmer, authority that can change the look of the spiritual landscape , authority that can push away the plots of a devil and bring in the plans of a heavenly God and Savior. But in order for that to happen, there must be a discovery of

Who We Are?

Where Have We Come From?

Why Are We Here?

Where Are We Going To?

There must be a learning and training of how we are to operate in this atmosphere where Satan

wants to kill, destroy, and bury, but where God wants to bring life and expose real Destiny and Prosperity

Destiny and Prosperity Identified Again

So, by the Grace of God, through God’s leading of a young boy named Joseph to the discovery

of a 51 year old baby book that contains the name s of Israel and Johanna Walmer, a journey was started and Destiny and Prosperity are being rediscovered and reclaimed. Identity is being

relearned. Questions are being answered.


Answer! We Are A Generation!


Answer! We Are Part Of A Heritage,

Passed Down From Our Forefathers!





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A “Glimpse” Provided By God – God’s Way Of Showing And Leading Us Page 35 of 42

Chapter 7

A “Glimpse” Provided By God

(God’s Way of Showing and Leading Us)

Seems that God has a way of showing us things and leading us into learning about ourselves. He has a way of revealing to us what is really going on around us. Many times we are not even looking

for a particular thing. He just reveals it, shows us something interesting that makes us ask questions,

and therefore, delve further into what He wants us to see. He teaches us about who we are and what we are about.

A preacher once said to me, “The physical will drive you into the spiritual.” That means we can look at physical things and God will teach us a spiritual message. When we have seen a physical

thing, our interest may be peaked in such a way that we begin to ask questions, and then investigate

the topic to get answers to those questions. God may put thoughts in our minds that stir our inquisitive nature. In finding the answers, we begin to see a spiritual truth that drives us to

investigate deeper, all the while gaining further insight into what God wants us to learn. This is a spiritual truth that I will not further discuss in this book because it is a large topic that requires

considerable explanation and reference to Scripture as proof. What I want you to know in the

context of this book is that God gives us “hints” that begin to reveal to us what is really going on around us.

What’s In A Name

God gives us a “glimpse” into something, a brief and unexpected look at something of interest to us. This “glimpse” may be his way of giving us a “hint” as to something about ourselves. It may be our name. For example, take Christopher Columbus. Why did he discover America? There was a

time when Columbus was revered without question, but today, he has been talked about and looked

upon as being someone evil who did terrible things to the inhabitants of the land that he discovered. But basic questions are - who was Christopher Columbus and why did he come to America? A hint

may be in his name, Christopher, that means “bearer of Christ”. He came to America to bring Christ.

Whatever people say about him today, his name means “bearer of Christ”. Did Christopher understand the meaning of his name and did Christopher understand that he was on a mission to carry

Christ to another land? That’s possible and likely on both questions. Was Christopher perfect in

carrying out that mission? Who of us is perfect in carrying out any mission? But did Christopher seek to carry out what he believed to be a God-given destiny? Most likely.

Generally, the name of a person in the Bible is a connotation of something about the person’s character or is a name given because of a specific event surrounding the person’s birth. Often, God

changed a person’s name because of a character change in that person. That name change may have also been recognized at a specific event in the person’s life, an event that showed the change in

character.

The Old Testament character, Abram (meaning “exalted father”) had his named changed by God to Abraham (meaning “father of a multitude”, or “father of nations”). Abram was

an exalted father in his family, but because of God’s promises, he became the father of many nations.

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Jacob (meaning “supplanter”, or “grabber”) had his named changed by God to Israel

(meaning “God’s soldier”, or “one who prevails with God”). Jacob was a schemer and was grabbing at his brother Esau’s heel at birth, but he prevailed with God as he wrestled with

God one night and became Israel, the father of the 12 tribes of Israel.

The New Testament character, Simon (“God heard”, or “delight”) had his named changed by Jesus to Peter (meaning “small rock”). God must have delighted in Simon. Peter

became the small rock during the founding of Christ’s church, but Jesus is the “large rock”

or cornerstone of the church’s foundation.

Saul (meaning “asked for”, or “God’s blessing”) had his named changed by Jesus, after His

resurrection, to Paul (meaning “dynamo of energy and faith”). God’s blessing was greatly

on Saul as he became a dynamo of energy and faith. Paul was the prime mover of the early church, having taught greatly and having written many of the New Testament letters.

These are just a few examples of the names of people. The pattern is probably repeated hundreds

of times in the Bible with the names of people and places. God also attaches meaning and significance to named events and the meaning of numbers. All of this is far too large a topic for this

discussion, therefore, we will restrict our discussion.

What’s In A Scripture

“Hints” are provided in scripture. Christopher Columbus received a hint that the world was not flat, that it was round. At a time when all believed in a flat world, Christopher believed otherwise

and staked his life on that belief, believing that he was going to sail around a “globe” rather than fall

over the edge of a flat disk. Where did he get that belief? I read in a book, the name of which I do not remember, that Christopher’s belief was from scripture and resulted from the translation of the

word “circle” to mean “globe”.

Isaiah 40:21-22 (KJV): Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

What about you and me? What does your name mean? What were you named at birth? Do you

feel that you live according to the meaning of that name? Do you feel that your character has changed from what you used to be and you could have another name that applies to your new

character? Has God changed your name as He did the names of the Biblical people? Remember that God’s changing of one’s name was often accompanied by a significant event in the person’s life.

Was there a specific life changing event in your life?

We must answer the following for ourselves:

Are the meanings of our names and our places significant to our character and what we are

about, or did that stop with Biblical people and places?

Does God still do such things with people and places today?

I believe that God continues to do today what He did in the past. God provides us with “hints”

today, just as He did in Biblical times. I have sited one example, Christopher Columbus. Do we see

the “hints”? Do we act on the hints that God gives to us? Or do we think that such things are only for those that are mentioned in the Bible and that we are not worthy of such consideration by God?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________



A REMINDER – LEST WE FORGET

At this point, I stop in my writing and your reading to be reminded of what we

are to be about. I should not to be delving into something that results in self -

exultation. I should be delving into issues during each and everyday of my life

that are going to make me more like Jesus Christ. I am to be telling others about

the Good News, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am to be loving and

learning to love more. It is so easy to write about self and forget to even mention Jesus Christ, the One Who is Our Lord and should be Our Savior. We can become

sidetracked and locked into self, self focused and forgetting what we are to be

about.

But yet, I still believe, as the Scripture says,

Acts 10:34 Peter began to speak:

"I really understand now that to God every person is the same.” (New Century Version)

or

Acts 10:34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:…”

(King James Version)

It can be a frightening thing to attempt to express beliefs and teach about the

Scriptures, because what if I am wrong in my beliefs and teaching? So what I am

about to say, I say with some reserve, some caution.

I believe that God wants us all to attain what he has ordained for us,

individually and corporately. I believe that God destined and used the people

mentioned in the Old Testament and the New Testament to do great things. I

believe that God still does that today with us. I believe that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. I believe that God uses whom and what the

world would say is “dysfunctional, ugly, or stupid (foolish) for his purposes.

We do not worship the prophets of the Old Testament when we read about how

greatly they were directed and used of God. We do not worship the individuals of

the New Testament when we read about the great tasks they were assigned,

whether they took part in the birth of the Messiah, preached the Gospel to the

world, or were used as instruments in miracles. These people of the Old and New

Testaments were all chosen by God to do what He wanted done, to be a part of

what He had planned. Is that not also for us today? I believe it is.

So, with the above reminder, I press on, keeping in mind the God given mission.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________



Hints of Heritage and Destiny (The Physical Drives You To The Spiritual)

In my story, what physical hints did God give me that led me to investigate and learn

spiritual truth? What did God want me to learn about my own Identity (Heritage, Purpose, and Destiny) that would lead me to delve into the Scriptures and learn more about God’s plan for me

and others?

1. The First Hint - The Names of a Great Grandfather and His Wife. For this particular journey that I am sharing with you, I told you in Chapter 2 about my inquisitive son,

Joseph, who led me to the discovery of the names of my great grandparents on my father’s side. The names - Israel and Johanna Walmer - were written in my baby book.

Being a Christian, my interest was immediately peaked because the name Israel is very significant in the Scriptures, not only as the name of a nation, but also as the name of the father of the 12 tribes of Israel. Another point of interest was that Israel was originally

named Jacob and that my name, James, is a derivative of the name Jacob. Then the name Israel being coupled with the Biblical name Johanna was also a point of interest. I did

not remember specifics about a Biblical Johanna, but I knew that there was one spoken of in the Bible.

2. Hint – I learned about an ancestral heritage that I never knew about. (Chapter 3)

3. Hint – Peter Walmer is identified with building a church, a church that still operates today, over 250 years later. (Chapter 4)

4. Hint – Peter Walmer is identified as a man of faith and perseverance (Chapter 4)

5. Hint – Peter Walmer is identified as having traveled with other men of destiny. (See Chapter 5)

6. Hint – Peter Walmer apparently responded to The Call Of William Penn. (Chapter 5)

7. Hint – Elizabeth “Lizzie” Walmer, my grandmother, appears to be a focal point and

turning point by which I am able to discover and understand parts of my Identity, My Heritage, My Purpose, and My Destiny.

8. Hint – This journey appears to tie into what God has already showed me regarding my

father, Albert F. Barbush, Sr. and what has been handed down to me through him concerning identity and spiritual heritage.

A GLIMPSE OF IDENTITY - The Spiritual I Have Been Driven To

Though I would like to talk great detail about the spiritual identity that I have come to

recognize, I will be brief because I am out of time for now. I want to provide this manuscript to family members on Christmas Day, December 25, 2002. This is the morning of Christmas of

Christmas Eve.

The physical heritage that I have come to see over the past few years has led me to believe that God has great plans for us. We not only inherit physical aspects from our ancestors, we also

inherit spiritual aspects from them. As we must accept and act on a physical inheritance, we must also accept and act on a spiritual inheritance.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________



I believe that the spiritual inheritance that has been handed down is a governmental one. I can see this governmental mantle in my preceding generations, as far back as I can go, starting

with Peter Walmer The Elder, then down though the generations of my ancestral line through numerous Walmer generations to great grandparents, Israel and Johanna Walmer, to my

grandmother, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Walmer, then to my father, Albert F. Barbush, Sr.

Like I said, I need to be brief. So, I will not delve into proof or explanation of this governmental mantle at this time. I will conclude here and with the next Chapter 8 that includes

scriptures concerning our Identity, Heritage, Purpose, and Destiny.

We all must explore for ourselves the questions and answers discussed in this manuscr ipt:


Answer! We Are A Generation!


Answer! We Are Part Of A Heritage, Passed Down From Our Forefathers!





We all must find out for ourselves the fullness of the answers to those questions. We do not

need to be overly zealous in our pursuit of these answers about ourselves. God will lead in His gentle way and in His own time. We should be cognizant that we can have great influence on the

events of this world. We are not insignificant, but we can be greatly significant. We can make history and we can the direction of history. Peter Walmer did. Johann Nicholas Eisenhauer did. We can. You can.

Read the scriptures in Chapter 8 and see yourself in them. See the great plan for which God has made you to be a part.

FUTURE WRITING

An entire chapter needs to be written concerning the governmental mantle. Regional aspects

need to be considered.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________


Answers For The Questions Page 40 of 42

Chapter 8

Scriptural Answers For The Questions

Future Writing - Discuss each area 1. Who Are We? A Generation!

We are a generation, a generation of today, that carries the flavor of yesterday, and projects

the flavor of tomorrow.

Gen 12:7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "I will give this land to your descendants." So Abram

built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

Mat 1:17 So there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David.

And there were fourteen generations from David until the people were taken to Babylon.

And there were fourteen generations from the time when the people were taken to

Babylon until Christ was born.

2. Where Have We Come From? A Heritage!

We have come from a heritage that has been destined to project us through today and propel our children into the future.

Psa 25:13 They will enjoy a good life, and their children will inherit the land.

Psa 37:29 Good people will inherit the land and will live in it forever.

Psa 47:4 He chose the land we would inherit. We are the children of Jacob, whom he loved. Selah

Gal 3:29 You belong to Christ, so you are Abraham's descendants. You will inherit all of God's

blessings because of the promise God made to Abraham.

3. Why Are We Here? A Purpose!

We are here to be part of the fulfillment of a purpose that was started before we were here, that continues while we are here, and will continue after we are gone from this world.

1 Cor 14:26 So, brothers and sisters, what should you do? When you meet together, one person has a song,

and another has a teaching. Another has a new truth from God. Another speaks in a different

language, and another person interprets that language. The purpose of all these things should

be to help the church grow strong.

Eph 1:7-10 In Christ we are set free by the blood of his death, and so we have forgiveness of sins. How rich

is God's grace, which he has given to us so fully and freely. God, with full wisdom and

understanding, let us know his secret purpose. This was what God wanted, and he planned to

do it through Christ. His goal was to carry out his plan, when the right time came, that all

things in heaven and on earth would be joined together in Christ as the head .

Eph 3:11 This agrees with the purpose God had since the beginning of time, and he carried out his plan

through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Phil 2:2 If so, make me very happy by having the same thoughts, sharing the same love, and having one

mind and purpose.

2 Tim 1:8-10 So do not be ashamed to tell people about our Lord Jesus , and do not be ashamed of me, in

prison for the Lord. But suffer with me for the Good News. God, who gives us the strength to

do that, saved us and made us his holy people. That was not because of anything we did

ourselves but because of God's purpose and grace. That grace was given to us through Christ

Jesus before time began, but it is now shown to us by the coming of our Savior Christ Jesus. He

destroyed death, and through the Good News he showed us the way to have life that cannot be

destroyed.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________



4. Where Are We Going To? A Destiny!

We are going towards the destiny for which we have been chosen.

Jer 32:39 I will make them truly want to be one people with one goal. They will truly want to worship me

all their lives, for their own good and for the good of their children after them.

1 Cor 10:11 The things that happened to those people are examples. They were written down to teach us,

because we live in a time when all these things of the past have reached their goal.

2 Cor 5:9 Our only goal is to please God whether we live here or there,

Eph 1:10 His goal was to carry out his plan, when the right time came, that all things in heaven and on

earth would be joined together in Christ as the head.

Phil 3:12-14 I do not mean that I am already as God wants me to be. I have not yet reached that goal, but I

continue trying to reach it and to make it mine. Christ wants me to do that, which is the reason

he made me his. Brothers and sisters, I know that I have not yet reached that goal, but there is

one thing I always do. Forgetting the past and straining toward what is ahead, I keep trying to

reach the goal and get the prize for which God called me through Christ to the life above.

2 Tim 3:10 But you have followed what I teach, the way I live, my goal, faith, patience, and love. You

know I never give up.

1 Pet 1:9 And you are receiving the goal of your faith--the salvation of your souls.

1 John 2:5 But if someone obeys God's teaching, then in that person God's love has truly reached its goal.

This is how we can be sure we are living in God:

Genesis 12:1-9

1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's

house, unto a land that I will show thee:

2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bles s thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a

blessing:

3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth

be blessed.

4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him:

and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and

the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of

Canaan they came.

6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was

then in the land.

7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an

altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.

8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the

west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.

9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________



FIT THIS IN???

LIVING STONES

Recall the evening of prayer at Walmer’s Church on Wednesday, June 12, 2002. When I had

turned on the music and turned on all the lights and we prayed about the generations, the prayers of previous generations, the fulfillment of those prayers. I had the feeling of being in a very nice church, but it did not feel like a physical church, but a spiritual house. I felt that we

were living in a spiritual house, the culmination of the past Christian generations till now. Maybe this is the Church of The Firstborn that I felt I had a word for when I was discovering the

malls (Hebrews 12:22).

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Peter Walmer – A Church Builder Appendices

A P P E N D I C E S

Appendix 1

The Generations of Jesus Christ The Book of The Generation of Jesus Christ, The Son of David, The Son of Abraham The Book of Matthew, Chapter 1, Verses 1 to 17 (KJV)

Appendix 2 The Declarations

Appendix 3 My Generations To Peter Walmer

Appendix 4 Ancestral Information For Peter Walmer & Anna Margaretta Walmer

Appendix 5 Another Version of Peter Walmer’s History

Appendix 6 Walmer Castle And The Town Of Walmer Located In England

Appendix 7 The Call of William Penn Ideas On Liberty William Penn - America's First Great Champion For Liberty And Peace By Jim Powell

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Peter Walmer – A Church Builder The Generations of Jesus Christ

Appendix 1 Page 1 of 1

A p p e n d i x 1

The Generations of Jesus Christ

The Book of Matthew

Chapter 1, Verses 1 to 17

(KJV)

__________________________________________________

The Book of The Generation

of Jesus Christ

The Son of David

The Son of Abraham

______________________________________________________________________________

Abraham begat Isaac;

And Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;

And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon;

And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; And

Jesse begat David the king;

And

David the king begat Solomon

of her that had been the wife of Urias; And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa; And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias;

And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias; And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias;

And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:

And

after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;

And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor; And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud;

And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob;

And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born

Jesus, who is called Christ.

So all the generations

from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and

from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and

from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Peter Walmer – A Church Builder Declarations


A p p e n d i x 2

Declarations

Questions

Who Are We?

Where Have We Come From?

Why Are We Here?

Where Are We Going?

Declarations! These questions and answers are not softly spoken, but they are DECLARED!

DECLARED WITH EXCLAMATION!

DECLARING THAT

WE ARE NOT JUST DRIFTING THROUGH TIME AND THE UNIVERSE WITHOUT IDENTITY,

NOT KNOWING WHERE WE HAVE COME FROM

NOT KNOWING WHY WE ARE LIVING

NOT KNOWING WHERE WE AND OUR CHILDREN ARE GOING!

DECLARING THAT


WE HAVE A Heritage!

WE HAVE A Purpose!

WE HAVE A Destiny!

DECLARING THAT

WE ARE NOT A GENERATION THAT CAN KEEP THIS PURPOSE

THIS HERITAGE

THIS DESTINY

JUST FOR OURSELVES

WE ARE A PIVOTING POINT

RECEIVING WHAT OUR FOREFATHERS HAD

ACTING ON WHAT OUR FOREFATHERS HAD

TRANSFERRING THAT WHICH OUR FOREFATHERS HAD

TO OUR CHILDREN

TO OUR CHILDREN’S CHILDREN

TO OUR OTHER FUTURE GENERATIONS

SO THAT THEY, IN THEIR TIME

WILL ACT ON AND BE A Generation,

With A Heritage,

With A Purpose,

With A Destiny!

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Peter Walmer – A Church Builder Declarations


DECLARATIONS!

These questions and answers are not softly spoken, but they are DECLARED!

DECLARED WITH EXCLAMATION! DECLARING THAT WE ARE NOT JUST

DRIFTING THROUGH TIME AND THE UNIVERSE WITHOUT IDENTITY, NOT

KNOWING WHERE WE HAVE COME FROM, NOT KNOWING WHY WE ARE LIVING,

AND NOT KNOWING WHERE WE AND OUR CHILDREN ARE GOING! BUT

DECLARING THAT


WE HAVE A Heritage!

WE HAVE A Purpose!

WE HAVE A Destiny!

WE ARE NOT A GENERATION THAT CAN KEEP THIS PURPOSE, THIS HERITAGE,

AND THIS DESTINY JUST FOR OURSELVES, BUT WE ARE

A PIVOTING POINT,

RECEIVING AND ACTING ON WHAT OUR FOREFATHERS HAD, AND

TRANSFERRING THAT WHICH OUR FOREFATHERS HAD TO OUR CHILDREN, TO

OUR CHILDREN’S CHILDREN, AND TO OUR OTHER FUTURE GENERATIONS, SO

THAT THEY, IN THEIR TIME, WILL ACT ON AND BE

A Generation, With A Heritage, With A Purpose, And With A Destiny!

So, yes, yes, a yes that is softly spoken, but spoken with assurance that we are important, we

are significant. Though we may only be a speck in the universe, living in a minuscule fraction in time, we are a speck that has been greatly influenced by things of the past and a speck that has great influence in our present time and future time. So, yes, yes, I believe it. I know it. It is so.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Peter Walmer – A Church Builder My Generations To Peter Walmer

Appendix Page 1 of 1

A p p e n d i x 3

My Generations To Peter Walmer

128 PETER WALMER THE ELDER 1ST GENERATION

64 GEORGE WALMER 2ND GENERATION

32 GEORGE WALMER 3RD GENERATION

16 JOHN WALMER 4TH GENERATION

8 SAMUEL WALMER 5TH GENERATION

4 ISRAEL B. WALMER 6TH GENERATION

2 ISRAEL B. WALMER JR. 7TH GENERATION

1 ELIZABETH "LIZZIE" WALMER 8TH GENERATION

A ALBERT F. BARBUSH, SR. 9TH GENERATION

B JAMES E. BARBUSH 10TH GENERATION – LIVING

C JOSEPH DAVID JAMES BARBUSH 11TH GENERATION – LIVING

JENNIFER LYNN BARBUSH 11TH GENERATION – LIVING

DENA MARIA BARBUSH 11TH GENERATION – LIVING

JAMIE MARIE BARBUSH 11TH GENERATION – LIVING

NICHOLAS STEVEN JAMES MARTINEZ 11TH GENERATION – LIVING

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Peter Walmer – A Church Builder Ancestral Information For Peter Walmer


A p p e n d i x 4

Ancestral Information For Peter Walmer & Anna Margaretta Walmer

The 1ST GENERATION

Great Great Great Great Great (5G) Grandparents

of

Elizabeth "Lizzie" Walmer

128 PETER WALMER THE ELDER

Earliest ancestor.

Birth. Born ca 1720 in Germany.

Occupation. Farmer.

Marriage. bef November 11, 1742 when Peter was 22, he married Anna Margret/ Margaretta (form of name uncertain).

Children. Peter and Anna Margaretta Walmer had the following children:

i. Peter ( 1742 - 1794 ) ii. Susanna Margaret ( 1744 - ____ )

64 iii. George (ca 1745 -< 1817 )

iv. John ( 1748 - 1797 )

v. Anna Maria ( 1755 - ____ )

Sponsors. Peter Walmer and Margaretta were sponsors at the baptism of Catarina

Margaretha, the daughter of John Adam Herbert (Hanover), born September 5, 1757, baptized February 19, 1758. (46)

Peter Walmer and wife Margaretha were also sponsors at the baptism of a

son Peter, born to Gorg and wife Anna Schaffer, September 29, 1759, baptized June 10, 1760. (91)

Will. Peter Walmer's will written March 7, 1792, proven July 2, 1795. He was living in East Hanover Twp., Dauphin Co., Pa. - this later becomes Lebanon Co. Executors named - sons George and Peter. Will names

Peter, the first born, sons John and George, daughter Susanna and son-in-law Peter Shell. (66) Peter Walmer Sen'r does not mention a wife so she

must have died prior to March 7, 1792. There is a paper filed at Harrisburg, Pa. by George Walmer, the surviving heir of Peter the Elder, dated January 19, 1796. Brother Peter is deceased by this time. This is a

settlement of the accounts.

Death. Peter died in Dauphin Co., Pa. (later becomes Lebanon Co.)

bef July 2, 1795. He was 75. Will is probated this date.

129 Anna Margret/ Margaretta ………………… (Wife Of This Peter Walmer The Elder)

Death. Anna Margret/Margaretta died bef March 7, 1792. Margaret is not mentioned in husband Peter's will written this date.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________



A. PETER WALMER THE ELDER CAME TO THE COLONIES ON SHIP "EUROPA"

Palatines Depart Rotterdam. Their port of embarkation had been Rotterdam,

passengers classified as Palatines (area of Germany),

The trip down the Rhine to Rotterdam took six months.

Arrival In America. Landed at Lewes, Delaware November 17, 1741.

Interesting Note About Lewes, Delaware. “Lizzie’s” daughter, Violet, married Don

McLaughlin. The family were outdoors people being interested in fishing, hunting, boating, and farming. Violet reported that the family traveled to Lewes often where they docked a boat.

Age. Peter Walmer, age 21, made his mark (I).

Name. A clerk signed his name. (62)

[Note by BW: I have been told on numerous occasions by an aunt and uncle that Peter Walmer was one of five or six brothers that came to the Colonies. To date I have no reason to believe this is correct. There is no additional male Walmer on the "Europa's"

passenger list, there was never a Walmer given as a baptismal sponsor for Peter's children, just no evidence of a male Walmer during that same very early time period.]

Next evidence:

[Note by BW: To date have found no marriage record for Peter Walmer. Only the males above the age of 16 were listed on the ship’s register. Peter Walmer Junior was born in

1742 so Peter Walmer Sen'r either brought a wife with him or married shortly after arriving in the U.S. (5) )

To Philadelphia. There was no infectious disease reported on board so on November 20, 1741 the passengers went on to Philadelphia, Pa. to take an Oath of Allegiance to the

government before Ralph Asshelton, Esq.

The Ship “Europa”. There were 44 males above the age of 16, Capt. Lumsdaine,

master.

Interesting Eisenhower Note - Hans Nicholas Eisenhauer, first generation of the

Eisenhower family in American, also came on the Europa. He was the ancestor of President Dwight David Eisenhower. (61)

Other Ships. Ten ships came to the U.S. in 1741 –

B. SETTLED IN PENNSYLVANIA.

Lancaster Land Purchase From Hamilton. July 15, 1745 Peter Walmer buys land in Lancaster, Pa. from the Hon. James Hamilton, Esq. On October 9, 1746 Peter and Anna Margaret sell the land to Michael Fortiney. (63)

Lancaster Land Obtained From Penns.

Warrant # 407 to Peter Walmer August 14, 1751 for 100 acres

in Hanover Township, Lancaster Co. from Thomas and Richard Penn (sons of William Penn)

Surveyed February 12, 1754 for 277 acres, 80 perches.

Patented to Peter Walmer August 18 (Aug 22), 1766 for 270 acres. (64)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________



C. WALMER’S CHURCH

Tradition states that Peter Walmer and his six sons built Walmer's Church in 1751. (3) [Note

by BW: I have doubts about this being Peter Walmer the Elder. Walmer's or Salem is a union church (a church shared by different denominations) located 2 miles northwest of Ono

in Union Township, Lebanon Co., Pa. Egle puts the first church in this location in 1770. That this was clearly a family church in early Walmer history is very clear. There are no stones or markers for Peter Walmer the Elder and his wife but they are in all likelihood

buried here, along with many other early and later ancestors.]

D. INDIAN ATTACK

1. One Account of The Indian Attack

"On September 30, 1757, the five children of Peter Walmer were carried away, 4 girls

and a boy.

This was a raid led by a French lad, son of Commander of Fort Machault.

There were 30 Indians in the raiding party.

The Indians went through the house, broke the honey pots, scattered the flour and ruined everything they could not take with them.

The son of the Commander of Machault had stuffed bread inside his shirt and dropped it. While backtracking he got lost and was captured. They left him write a letter and I

believe printed the contents or partly as I recall reading he told his parents he was held prisoner but was treated well.

I also remember Peter Walmer was out in the field making hay and his wife was with him

when the Indians attacked the house. Her name was Anna Margaret, by baptismal record of Ann Maria."

(9, letter dated May 8, 1980)

2. Another Account of The Indian Attack

"From Montgomery's History of Berks Co. is the account of the capture of a

Michael La Chanvignerie, a French Officer who was examined in Reading Pa. on October 16, 1757 by Conrad Weiser.

He told of his part of being in this area of the county before when his party killed and scalped a German and took 7 children prisoner.

He was captured at Fort Henry. But this still is not the event of Peter Walmer's."


_____________________________________________________________________________________________



3. Another Account of The Indian Attack

"page 494 Conrad Weiser, Friend of Colonist and Mohawk, by Wallace.

The attack on the Walmer farm led by Indians and Michael La Chanvignerie age 17, son of the commandant at Fort Machault (Franklin Co.), began with the departure of the

raiding party from Ft. Machault September 11, 1757.

Also in the party was a Frenchman, La Jardin and 33 Indians.

They came through the Lebanon Valley passing many deserted places till they came to

Peter Walmer's place.

Peter and his wife were in the fields bringing in a load of hay.

It was October 1, 1757.

The Indians had made off with the five children the youngest not yet a year old and could not walk.

They took all they could carry. The rest they destroyed, scattered the flour, spilled the honey, broke the pots and windows, tore up the beds.

On 12 Oct a sentry at Fort Henry arrested La Chanvignerie after he got lost in the forest and separated from the raiding party. [Note by BW: I am sure I read this elsewhere too because this didn't mention how he got lost by going back for the bread he lost from

inside his shirt.)"


[Note by BW: I have not confirmed any of the above.]

_____________________________________________________________________________________________



E. RECORDED ASSESSMENTS, EMPLOYMENTS, & CENSUS

Recorded Residents. 1751 East End Hanover inhabitants list:

Petter Halmer (44)

Recorded Assessment. 1756 Original East End Hanover assessment list;

Peter Walmor fled from the Indians, possibly to Lebanon.

Recorded Assessments. (No records prior to 1759 found giving township officials) (85)

Recorded Assessment. 1759 Hanover assessments:

Walmer, Peter

Recorded Employment. 1762

Peter Wallman (?) Constable (85)

Recorded Employment. 1768 Peter Walmer road overseer in Hanover, Dauphin

(later Lebanon Co.) along with Joseph Huthison (67), (85)

Recorded Assessment. 1769 Assessment list East End Hanover:

Peter Walmor

Recorded Assessment. 1770 East Hanover assessment: Walmor, Peter

Wallmore, John - freemen

Recorded Assessment. 1771 Assessments for East Hanover Township

Wallmore, George Walmore, Peter 100 acres 2 horses 2 cows Walmore, John - freemen

Recorded Assessment. 1772 Assessments for East Hanover Walmor, George 100 acres 1 horse 2 cows

Walmore, Jno 150 acres 2 horses 2 cows Walmore, Peter 100 acres 1 horse 1 cow

Recorded Assessment. 1773 Return of Hanover east end

Walmer, Peter Sen. 120 acres 3 horses 2 cows Walmer, Peter Jr. 100 acres 2 horses 3 cows

Walmer, George 100 acres 2 horses 1 cow

Recorded Employment. 1774 Overseers of the Poor – Peter Wolmer and Wm McClure (85)

Recorded Property. 1779 Effective Suppy Tax Walmor, Peter Sen'r 120 acres

Walmor, Peter Jun'r 90 acres Walmore, Geo 80 acres Walmore, Jno - inmate

Recorded Property. 1782 Returns and Valuations Hanover Walmore, Geo 87 acres ___ 2cows

Walmore, Peter 200 acres 1 horse 2 cows Walmore, Peter Jun'r 135 acres 2 horses 3 cows Walmore, Jno - inmate

Source for above tax information: (44)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________



Definitions:

Freemen - Men 21 years of age or older, unmarried.

After marriage a man appears on the regular tax list.

Inmates - Persons who were married but owned no property.

Probably laborers or merchants.

Recorded Census. 1790 First U.S. Census - Dauphin Co., Pa. (65)

Walmor, John Walmer, Peter Walmer, George

[Note by BW: Since he is not listed separately, it is very probable that by this first census Peter Walmer the Elder was living with one

of his children.]

F. CHILDREN QUESTIONED

[Note by BW: I have seen written by some people that Peter Walmer had 6 sons and 5 daughters. I think this is an error in early tax assessment interpretation].

Pound - a monetary unit of the United Kingdom Abbr. "L"

Shilling - coin of the United Kingdom Abbr. "s"

Pence - coin of Great Britain, plural of penny, penny Abbr. "d" (261)

On certain tax assessments it was written Peter Walmer - s/6 and d/5. This was taken to mean six sons and five daughters but I believe should be six shillings and five pence.

G. WALDHEIMER - "DWELLER IN THE WOODS"

Tradition also states that the original name was Waldheimer - "Dweller In The Woods" . (3) I

have only found to date one instance of this particular spelling of the name. Otherwise it is almost always Walmer - sometimes Wallmer, or Wolmer - not to be confused with Vollmer,

Vollmar > Follmer, Fullmer. There was an early family by the name of Wolmer in Montgomery Co., and later Bucks Co. I don't feel these were relatives to Peter but perhaps Follmers. Remember - the clerks taking the information were English, our ancestors were

German and they didn't read or write. Things were written down as they sounded.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________



H. WALMER CASTLE AND THE TOWN OF WALMER LOCATED IN ENGLAND

"The name "Walmer" in respect of the coastal town bearing that title comes from the Jutes

who named the stretch of low-lying seashore between Deal and Walmer (ideal for invasion, unlike the cliffs at Dover to the south and Ramsgate to the north). The Jutes were given to

raiding the area circa 500 AD and described the area as "Weallar" or "land of the slaves" and this became corrupted to "Walmer" in time. The Germanic tribes from Jutland eventually settled the area.

Henry VIII got on the wrong side of the Pope during the English Reformation in the 16th century and fearing invasion from Catholic forces from Europe began improving the defenses

along the Kent coast (Julius Caesar and his "veni, vidi, vici" bit - and the Jutes, and William the Conqueror, among others, had found it relatively easy to cross the 25 miles of English Channel) He refurbished Dover Castle (originally built as a wooden, prefabricated structure

brought across by William's brother in 1066 and later developed into a formidable stone building) and built three new castles at Deal, Walmer and Sandown in 1538. These were late

castles built to withstand cannonade: the walls are series of semi-circles. Sandown is now just ruin, but Deal and Walmer castles are in good condition: Walmer Castle is the official residence of the Queen Mother." (199, email letter dated May 17, 1999)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Peter Walmer – A Church Builder Another Version Of PeterWalmer’s History


A p p e n d i x 5

Another Version Of Peter Walmer’s History

The following is a brief history of Walmer’s Church taken from a church brochure:

The Northern Section of Lebanon County, as far east as the Swatara Creek, was originally settled by Scotch and Irish people. This is clearly indicated by the old land titles upon which

appear such names as Reed, Graham, Stewart, McClintock, Cunningham, and others. Lebanon County was also settled by a few Germans, as evidenced in a history of Berks and Lebanon Counties where a few German names appear among the names of 75 taxables in East Hanover

Township for the year 1730, to which this section then belonged. One of those first Germans to settle in this section of the country was Peter Walheimer. The exact time of his arrival is not

known, although the supposition is that it occurred between the year 1740 and 1750. Peter is the ancestor of the numerous Walmer families afterward inhabiting this portion of Lebanon County.

Tradition has it that the name Walheimer was changed to Walmer. The story is that his

Scotch Irish neighbors found the name W a l h e i m e r too long and difficult to pronounce, so they omitted the middle syllable and called him Walmer. This in course of time became the

accepted family name.

According to the Gerberich Family history, the prevailing names in the vicinity of Walmer’s and among the membership of the two congregations in the 19th century were Bashore, Shuey,

Gerberich, and Walmer. Anyone who lived there for any length of time was related to them as they to each other. One member of the congregation, General Shuey, traveled throughout the

country and finally settled in California where he may have met another man from the same locality, James Lick from Lickdale, who most likely also had appeared within the portals of Walmer’s.

Peter Walmer had purchased his farm which included the early church ground and the old cemetery from Squire Reed, the original grantee, from the Penns. Today all the land is within

Fort Indiantown Gap, in Area 3 South, but the land and buildings and cemetery are still church property.

Walmer’s Church was exclusively reformed until 1800. There was a number of Lutheran

families that settled in close proximity to the church and had aided in building the 1783 structure and defraying the expenses. They were granted a right to worship there, and from that time

forward, Walmer’s Church has been a Union Church. The second structure was erected in 1783, cost 105 pounds, 2 shillings, and 10 ½ pence.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Peter Walmer – A Church Builder Walmer’s Castle & The Town Of Walmer, England


A p p e n d i x 6

Walmer Castle And

The Town Of Walmer Located In England

"The name "Walmer" in respect of the coastal town bearing that title comes from the Jutes who

named the stretch of low-lying seashore between Deal and Walmer (ideal for invasion, unlike the cliffs at Dover to the south and Ramsgate to the north). The Jutes were given to raiding the area circa 500 AD and described the area as "Weallar" or "land of the slaves" and this became

corrupted to "Walmer" in time. The Germanic tribes from Jutland eventually settled the area.

Henry VIII got on the wrong side of the Pope during the English Reformation in the 16th century

and fearing invasion from Catholic forces from Europe began improving the defences along the Kent coast (Julius Caesar and his "veni, vidi, vici" bit - and the Jutes, and William the Conqueror, among others, had found it relatively easy to cross the 25 miles of English Channel)

He refurbished Dover Castle (originally built as a wooden, prefabricated structure brought across by William's brother in 1066 and later developed into a formidable stone building) and built

three new castles at Deal, Walmer and Sandown in 1538. These were late castles built to withstand cannonade: the walls are series of semi-circles. Sandown is now just ruin, but Deal and Walmer castles are in good condition: Walmer Castle is the official residence of the Queen

Mother." (199, email letter dated May 17, 1999)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Peter Walmer – A Church Builder The Call of William Penn


A p p e n d i x 7

The Call Of William Penn

A short summary of this is provided in the chapter.

This writing about William Penn is an abbreviated and modified version of

An Original Document Titled Ideas On Liberty

William Penn America's First Great Champion For Liberty And Peace

by Jim Powell

Reprinted on www.quaker.org by permission.

Mr. Powell is editor of Laissez-Faire Books and Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute.

He has written for

The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, American Heritage,

and more than three dozen other publications.

THE BEGINNINGS OF WILLIAM PENN

William Penn was born on October 14, 1644, in London. William’s father, William Penn

Sr., was a navy Admiral and was seldom home since he was a much sought after naval commander and had good personal relationship with kings and leaders. Admiral Penn knew the

waters around England, could handle a ship in bad weather, and get the most from his crew. That left William to be primarily raised by his mother.

Left mostly to himself, young William became interested in religion. He became

acquainted with the work of Thomas Loe, a missionary for the Society of Friends, known as Quakers. He then acquired an education in Greek and Roman classics and began to rebel when

he entered Oxford University. He defied Anglican officials and rebelled by protesting compulsory chapel attendance, for which he was expelled at age 17 (in 1661). His parents then sent him to France where he would be less likely to cause further embarrassment and he might

acquire some manners. He enrolled at l'Académie Protestante, the most respected French Protestant university, located in Saumur. He studied with Christian humanist Moïse Amyraut,

who supported religious toleration.

William Penn began to study law in August 1664 at Lincoln's Inn, the most prestigious law school in London. He learned the common law basis for civil liberties and gained some

experience with courtroom strategy. He was going to need it.

William Penn became involved with governmental leadership when his father, Admiral

Penn, was assigned to rebuilding the British Navy for war with the Dutch and asked that his son serve as personal assistant. Admiral Penn also used his son as a courier delivering military messages to King Charles II. Young William developed a cordial relationship with the King and

his brother, the Duke of York, the future King James II.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________



Penn's quest for spiritual peace led him to attend Quaker meetings even though the

government considered this a crime. In September 1667, police broke into a meeting and arrested everyone. Since Penn looked like a fashionable aristocrat rather than a plain Quaker, the police

released him. He protested that he was indeed a Quaker and should be treated the same as the others.

Penn drew on his legal training to prepare a defense. Meanwhile, in jail, he began writing about freedom of conscience. His father disowned him, and young Penn lived in a succession of Quaker

households. He learned that the movement was started by passionate preachers who had little education. There was hardly any Quaker literature. He resolved to help by applying his scholarly

knowledge and legal training. He began writing pamphlets, which were distributed through the

Quaker underground.

In 1668, William Penn met his wife to be. One of the Quaker households in which Penn lived

in was that of Isaac Penington, a wealthy man in Buckinghamshire. Penn met Penington’s

stepdaughter, Gulielma Springett, and it was practically love at first sight. Penn married Gulielma on April 4, 1672. She was to bear seven children, four of whom died in infancy.

Penn religious zeal led him to attack the Catholic/Anglican doctrine of the Trinity. The Anglican bishop imprisoned him in the notorious Tower of London. Ordered to recant, Penn

declared from his cold isolation cell: "My prison shall be my grave before I will budge a jot; for I

owe my conscience to no mortal man." He was released seven months later. But during his imprisonment, he wrote pamphlets defining the principal elements of Quakerism. His best-known

work from that period was “No Cross, No Crown”, which presented a pioneering historical case for

religious toleration.

Penn was the only person who made major contributions to liberty in both the New World

and the Old World. Before he conceived the idea of Pennsylvania, he became the leading defender

of religious toleration in England. He was imprisoned six times for speaking out courageously. While in prison, he wrote one pamphlet after another, which gave Quakers a literature and attacked

intolerance. He alone proved capable of challenging oppressive government policies in court--one of his cases helped secure the right to trial by jury. Penn used his diplomatic skills and family

connections to get large numbers of Quakers out of jail. He saved many from the gallows.

Beginning in the late 17th

century, William Penn began efforts that would make him the first great hero of American liberty. This was a time when Protestants and Catholics persecuted

each other and also Quakers and Jews. Penn established an American sanctuary that protected

freedom of conscience. While Colonists were stealing land from the Indians, Penn traveled unarmed among the Indians and negotiated peaceful purchases. He gave Pennsylvania a written constitution

that limited the power of government, provided a humane penal code, and guaranteed many fundamental liberties. He also insisted that women deserved equal rights with men.

Penn's dramatic example caused quite a stir in Europe. For the first time in modem history, a

large society offered equal rights to people of different races and religions. The French philosopher Voltaire, a champion of religious toleration, offered lavish praise - "William Penn might, with reason,

boast of having brought down upon earth the Golden Age, which in all probability, never had any

real existence but in his dominions."

Despite the remarkable clarity of Penn's vision for liberty, he had a curious blind spot

about slavery. He owned some slaves in America, as did many other Quakers. Antislavery didn't

become a widely shared Quaker position until 1758, 40 years after Penn's death. Quakers were far ahead of most other Americans, but it's surprising that people with their humanitarian views could

have contemplated owning slaves at all.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________



THE FOUNDING OF PENNSYLVANIA

Penn became convinced that religious toleration couldn't be achieved in England. Possibly as part of an easy means to get rid of troublesome Quakers, Penn went to the King and

asked for a charter enabling him to establish an American colony. On March 4, 1681, Charles II signed a charter for territory west of the Delaware River and north of Maryland, approximately the size of the present Pennsylvania, where there was living about a thousand Germans, Dutch,

and Indians without any particular government. The King proposed the name "Pennsylvania", which meant "Forests of Penn" - honoring the Admiral William Penn, the younger Penn's

deceased father,. Penn would be proprietor of the territory, owning all the land and being accountable directly to the King. According to traditional accounts for which there are no verifying documents, Penn agreed to cancel a debt of £16,000 that the government owed the

Admiral. At the beginning of each year, Penn had to give the King 2 beaver skins and a 1/5 of any gold and silver mined within the territory.

Having gained the territory, Penn sailed to America on the ship named Welcome and arrived November 8, 1682. With assembled Friends, he founded Philadelphia. Penn chose the Greek name that means "city of brotherly love". He approved the site between the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers. He envisioned a 10,000 acre city, but his more sober-minded Friends thought

that was overly optimistic. They accepted a 1,200-acre plan. Penn named major streets including Broad, Chestnut, Pine, and Spruce.

Penn was most concerned about developing a legal basis for a free society. On April 25, 1682, Penn and the initial land purchasers adopted his “First Frame of Government”, where he expressed ideals anticipating the Declaration of Independence: "Men being born with a title to perfect freedom and uncontrolled enjoyment of all the rights and privileges of the law of nature

... no one can be put out of his estate and subjected to the political view of another, without his consent."

Penn provided that there would be a governor - initially, himself - whose powers were limited. He would work with a Council of 72 members that proposed legislation and a General Assembly of up to 500 members that either approved or defeated the legislation. Each year, about a third of members would be elected for three-year terms. As governor, Penn would retain

a veto over proposed legislation.

Penn's First Frame of Government provided for secure private property, virtually

unlimited free enterprise, a free press, trial by jury, and, of course, religious toleration.

Whereas the English penal code specified the death penalty for some 200 offenses, Penn reserved it for just two offenses - murder and treason. As a Quaker, Penn encouraged women to

get an education and speak out as men did. He called Pennsylvania his "Holy Experiment", that

which he believed would be the “seed of a nation”.

Penn's First Frame of Government was the first constitution to provide for peaceful

change through amendments. A proposed amendment required the consent of the governor

and 85 percent of the elected representatives. Even as benevolent as Penn was, people in Pennsylvania were disgruntled about his executive power as proprietor and governor. People

pressed to make the limitations more specific and to provide stronger assurances about the prerogatives of the legislature. The constitution was amended several times. The version adopted on October 28, 1701 endured for 75 years and then became the basis for Pennsylvania's

State Constitution, adopted in 1776.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________



Penn had insisted on low taxes. A 1683 law established a low tax on cider and liquor, and a low tariff on imports and on exported hides and furs. However, to help promote settlement, Penn

suspended all taxes for a year. When the time came to reimpose taxes, he encountered fierce resistance and had to put it off.

For Penn, the collecting of rent was always a headache. He never earned enough from the Colonies to offset the costs of administration that he paid out of his personal capital. Toward the end of his life, he complained that Pennsylvania was a net loss, costing him some £30,000.

Penn's practices contrasted dramatically with other early colonies, especially Puritan

New England that was a vicious theocracy. The Puritans despised liberty. They made

political dissent a crime. They whipped, tarred, and hanged Quakers. The Puritans stole what they could from the Indians. Whereas, Penn achieved peaceful relations with the Indians - Susquehannocks, Shawnees, and Leni-Lenape. Indians respected his courage because he

ventured among them without guards or weapons, and he was a superior sprinter who could out-run Indian braves. He took the trouble to learn Indian dialects so he could conduct negotiations

without interpreters. From the very beginning, he acquired Indian land through peaceful, voluntary exchange. Reportedly, Penn concluded a "Great Treaty" with the Indians at Shackamaxon, near what is now the Kensington district of Philadelphia. Voltaire hailed this as

"the only treaty between those people [Indians and Christians] that was not ratified by an oath, and that was never infringed." His peaceful policies prevailed for about 70 years.

DEFENDING PENNSYLVANIA

Penn faced tough challenges while defending Pennsylvania back in England. There was

a lot at stake because Pennsylvania had become the best hope for persecuted people in England, France, and Germany. Charles II tried to establish an intolerant absolutism modeled after that of

the French King Louis XIV. Concerned that Pennsylvania's charter might be revoked, Penn turned on his diplomatic charm. Behind the scenes, Penn worked as a remarkable diplomat for religious toleration. Every day, as many as 200 petitioners waited outside Holland House, his

London lodgings, hoping for an audience and help. He intervened personally with the King to save scores of Quakers from a death sentence. He was able to have the founder of the Society of

Friends, George Fox, get out of jail. He helped convince the King to proclaim the Acts of Indulgence that resulted in the release of more than a thousand Quakers. Many had been imprisoned for over a dozen years.

Penn's fortunes collapsed after a son was born to James II in 1688. A Catholic succession was assured. The English rebelled and welcomed the Dutch King William of Orange

as William III, who overthrew the Stuarts without having to fire a shot. Suddenly, Penn's Stuart connections were a terrible liability. He was arrested for treason. The government seized his estates. Though he was cleared by November 1690, he was marked as a traitor again. He

became a fugitive for four years, hiding amidst London's squalid slums. His friend John Locke helped restore his good name in time to see his wife, Guli, die on February 23, 1694. She was

48.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________



Harsh experience had taken its toll on Penn. As biographer, Hans Fantel put it, "he was getting sallow and paunchy. The years of hiding, with their enforced inactivity, had robbed him

of his former physical strength and grace. His stance was now slightly bent, and his enduring grief over the death of Guli had cast an air of listless abstraction over his face." His spirits

revived two years later when he married 30 year old Hannah Callowhill, the plain and practical daughter of a Bristol linen draper.

Penn faced serious problems because of his sloppy business practices. Apparently, he

couldn't be bothered with administrative details, and his business manager, fellow Quaker Philip

Ford, embezzled substantial sums from Penn's estates. Penn signed papers without reading them. One of the papers turned out to be a deed transferring Pennsylvania to Ford who demanded rent exceeding Penn's ability to pay. After Ford's death in 1702, his wife, Bridget, had Penn thrown

in debtor's prison, but her cruelty backfired. It was unthinkable to have such a person govern a major colony, so in 1708, the Lord Chancellor ruled that "the equity of redemption still remained

in William Penn and his heirs."

In October 1712, Penn suffered a stroke while writing a letter about the future of

Pennsylvania. Four months later, he suffered a second stroke. While he had difficulty speaking and writing, he spent time catching up with his children whom he had missed during his missionary travels. He died on July 30, 1718. He was buried at Jordans, next to Guli.

THE FRUITS OF PENN’S WORK

Long before his death, Pennsylvania ceased to be a spiritual place dominated by

Quakers. Penn's policy of religious toleration and peace - no military conscription - attracted all kinds of war-weary European immigrants. There were English, Irish, and Germans, Catholics,

Jews, and an assortment of Protestant sects including Dunkers, Huguenots, Lutherans, Mennonites, Moravians, Pietists, and Schwenkfelders. Liberty brought so many immigrants that

by the American Revolution Pennsylvania had grown to some 300,000 people and became one of the largest colonies. Pennsylvania was America's first great melting pot.

Philadelphia was America's largest city with almost 18,000 people. It was a major

commercial center. Sometimes more than a 100 trading ships anchored there during a single

day. People in Philadelphia could enjoy any of the goods available in England. Merchant companies, shipyards, and banks flourished. Philadelphia thrived as an entrepôt between Europe and the American frontier.

With an atmosphere of liberty, Philadelphia emerged as an intellectual center. Between 1740 and 1776, Philadelphia presses issued an estimated 11,000 works including pamphlets,

almanacs, and books. In 1776, there were seven newspapers reflecting a wide range of opinions. No wonder Penn's "city of brotherly love" became the most sacred site for American liberty,

where Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, and delegates drafted the Constitution.

By creating Pennsylvania, Penn set an enormously important example for liberty. He

showed that people who are courageous enough, persistent enough, and resourceful enough can

live free. He went beyond the natural right theories of his friend John Locke and showed how a free society would actually work. He showed how individuals of different races and religions can live together peacefully when they mind their own business. He affirmed the resilient

optimism of free people.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________



PROVINCIAL PENNSYLVANIA, 1681-1754

The Province of Pennsylvania was given to William Penn in 1681 by King Charles II.

Penn was to be the King's lord in this part of the British Empire. As such, Penn was the proprietor or outright owner of all the land in Pennsylvania. He created three original upper

counties (Bucks, Philadelphia, and Chester) and three original lower counties (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). In 1702, the lower counties split off to form their own province, Delaware, that was still owned by Penn. Penn was therefore proprietor of two provinces in British America. By

1754, Lancaster, Berks, and Northampton counties were added to Pennsylvania.

Penn was an aristocrat. His family owned many estates in England, Ireland, and now

America. The Penn family made money by collecting rent in Europe and by selling plots of land in America. He also wanted a haven for like-minded pacifists. He wanted to make a "cocoon" or a "Holy Experiment." It is Pennsylvania where "Religious Freedom" motif was nurtured, not

in Plymouth or greater Massachusetts as popular culture tends to argue.

The Land

Europeans immigrated to America to find a better life - economically, culturally, and

religiously. In America they would be able to buy and own land. In Europe, only the upper class owned land, and everyone else paid rent and could be evicted easily. Since Penn, and later his sons, owned the Province, he was the one to see for land. The land that the Penns did not

sell, remained with them. The Penns kept the choicest plots that they called "manors." Second to the King, the Penns were the largest landowners in America.

Initially, Pennsylvania was principally inhabited by English and German pacifists (e.g., Quakers, Mennonites, and Amish). In the 1750s, Scottish Presbyterians, English Anglicans, and German Lutherans started to fill up the "back country" (the west) which undermined Quaker

authority.

Problems occurred concerning the land of the Province. There was a boundary dispute

between Lord Penn and Lord Baltimore. Maryland claimed southern Pennsylvania up to Lancaster. Maryland Sheriffs were sent up here to evict people as late as the 1720's. Penn was able t have the King intercede, whereby surveyors, Mason and Dixon, marked the boundary – the

"Mason and Dixon Line."

The Peaceable Kingdom

Pennsylvania was founded on a dream. A "Holy Experiment" in which all peoples could

live peaceably together - "The Peaceable Kingdom." The Quakers and others tried to cocoon themselves from the rest of the world. They tried to achieve a utopia. A new "Garden of Eden." Pennsylvania had no coast, was protected by the narrows of the Delaware and Susquehanna

rivers to the south, New Jersey and the Delaware River to the east, and the Blue and Allegheny Mountains to the north and west.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________



Pennsylvania's Government

The King appointed Penn, who was the executive or governor of Pennsylvania. The governor executed or carried out the laws passed by the King or the Assembly. William Penn, his son Thomas, and grandson John, were the Governors of Provincial Pennsylvania. They could

veto laws passed by the provincial legislature but could not tell the legislature what to do.

The legislature consisted of the Assembly. It was elected by the citizens of the province.

The criteria for citizenship was: white male, over 21, $50 or 50 acres, and Protestant Christian. Even Swedes, Dutch, and Germans were allowed to become citizens if they met the above criteria. The Assembly had authority to raise taxes that were always low, and pass laws that

were few.

Unlike the rest of the British Empire, Quaker Pennsylvania had no compulsory militia.

Only volunteers without pay. Citizens had the right of free speech, bearing of arms, petition, etc. The original three counties (i.e., Quakers) held most of the seats in the Assembly. Often conflict between the Penns and the Quaker Assembly, especially when Thomas and John Penn, who

weren't Quakers, took over the governorship.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Peter Walmer – A Church Builder Other Books To Be Written


OTHER WRITINGS

ALBERT F. BARBUSH, SR.

A Heritage And A Destiny From A Father To His Sons

(Completed)

OTHER BOOKS TO BE WRITTEN

HINTS THAT GOD GIVES

(The Physical Leads To The Spiritual) What’s In A Name?

What’s In An Address? Where You Live!

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Peter Walmer – A Church Builder Other Books To Be Written


P e t e r W a l m e r - A C h u r c h B u i l d e r A Generation! A Heritage! A Purpose! A Destiny!

December 25, 2002

a family tree with destiny - peter walmer (1742) to barbush (2013)

Spiritual

peter walmer appendix

church builder chapter

son chapter

stolen peter walmers

prosperity chapter

story of peter

walmer castle

town of walmer