1. Peter NEWCOMER/NEUKOMMER Senior
(1)(2)
(3) was born about 1684 in Langnau Im Emmental, Berne, Switzerland.
He died on 29 Jan 1732 in Leacock, Lancaster, PA. Death is also listed as 1733.
Source unclear.
Came to the US in 1719. But his son Wolfgang is said to have come to US with
his parents in 1749. Either 1719 or 1749 or the family members that came together
is wrong. Peter Neukommet is the spelling of the Newcomer name on a marriage
record in Switzerland in 1704, but Neukommer may have been the correct spelling.
"Neu" and "komm" translate as "new" and "come",
but "et" makes it a command--"come here". Use of "er"
is common to signify a person of or from a given location, but there is no known
place named "Neukomm." Nonetheless, Neukommer seems more likely as
a surname than Neukommet. Charlie Newcomer reported on an Allfort and a Heinrich
Neukommer that used the more likely spelling. However, I cannot link a link
between my Newcomers and Allfort and Heinrich Neukommer. Maybe the confusion
between "Neukommet" and Neukommer" springs from the difficulty
of reading German script of 1700.
At any rate, it is a guess that this is the Peter Newcomer who immigrated to
America. The Peter on the marriage record married Katharina Blaser on 27 April
1704 in Langnau Im Emmantel, Berne, Switzerland.
The tombstone of a grandson (Henry Newcomer) of Peter Newcomer is inscribed Heinrich
Neukommets.
Peter immigrated to Leacock Township, Pennsylvania from (Langnau?) Switzerland
in 1717. His wife, four children--Hans, Wolfgang, Maria?, and Peter, Jr.--arrived
with him in Philadelphia on 24 August 1717. Barbara Carter reported that Peter
arrived at Philadelphia in 1717 aboard the "Phoenix."
Another source believes that Hans preceded the family in 1711. And yet another
possibility is that Peter arrived in 1711, but did not gain title to his land
until 1717. According to George P. Rowland, Jr., the dates 1711 and 1717 are
tied together, if confused by many genealogists. In 1711 a group of Mennonites
came to Pennsylvania lead by Mr. Mylin and Mr. Kendig. They chose the Lancaster
area to buy land; land bought on installments paid over six years. It was in
1717, then, that each member of the group received his deed to the land. The
counter to this possibility is the precision of the arrival date in Philadelphia
of 24 August 1917.
In 1729 Peter Newcomer was naturalized a British citizen.
Other spellings of names that may have become Newcomer are:
* New Kamats.
* Nieuwommet--used at the University of Amsterdam in referring to Swiss Taufers.
* Neuwkomet--showing the Dutch influence.
* Niewcomer, Newkomer, Newcummer, Newcumber, Newcome and Newcomer all appear
in the Pennsylvania census or on Strassburger shipping lines list of passengers.
In German,
* Neu translates as new.
* Komm translates as come.
* Komet translates as comet or meteor.
* Kommet translates as come here.
* Kometen translates as rapid.
* Neukommer translates as Newcomer.
In all of the spellings, the individuals were German Anabaptists from Landvogtei
of Erguel, a part of Bishopric of Basel, Canton Berne, Switzerland. They left
Switzerland because of religious persecution. Referred to as Dunkards and Mennonites.
Mennonites originated in the Netherlands, and were part of the Anabaptist movement.
In Switzerland, the Anabaptists were mostly Swiss Brethren and some Mennonites.
Between 1625 and 1660, 1,170 Mennonites were executed in France. In Zurich,
Switzerland, the Reformed Church was founded by Zwingli (Calvin founded the Reformed
Church in Geneva). Zwingli's Taufer Jaegers persecuted Mennonites. The Taufer
Jaegers were a special police force, and their name means those who hunted Anabaptists.
When Anabaptists were caught, they were tortured to death. The methods were
quite horrendous. The German Baptist Brethren originated in Crefeld, Palatinate,
Germany in 1709. Along with English Quakers, Mennonites and Brethren believed
in (1) separation of church and state, (2) adult baptism, (3) opposition to military
service, and (4) refusal to swear any kind of oath. Due to persecution by Reformed
churches, Mennonites established two customs that lasted even after the need
ceased. Holding of religious services in private homes began as a way to avoid
detection by the authorities. Burial in family plots began because Mennonites
were forbidden burial in recognized church cemeteries.
Christian Nieuwkommet, 38, and his wife and 6 children, with 7th expected, were
recorded in January 1672 at Greisheim, northwest of Strasbough, France. Hans
Nieuwkommet and his family lived in the Black Forest of Germany for a short while
before moving on to France.
A Babe Newcomer was among the Bern, Switzerland Anabaptists that fled to the
Palatinate in 1671.
In 1699 a Mennonite Christian Neucommet was living in Lower Palatinate. In 1731
a Christian Newcomer is listed as a deacon at Rohrrohf, two hours east of Mannheim,
Germany.
Palatinate immigrants to the Susquehanna River in 1711 include Hans Newkomen.
Hans Newcomer is mentioned among the early settlers of western Chester County
along the Susquehanna River. A Hans Newcomer is listed on the assessment roles
in 1718, 1721 and 1725. Peter Newcomer is also listed for 1721 and 1725.
Immigrants to Philadelphia from Rotterdam, Holland include Johannes Navcommet
or Neykomet on 15 June 1728 aboard the ship "Mortonhouse," Christian
NewComer Sr. and Jr. in 1742, Christian Newcomer on the ship "Brotherhood"
on 3 November 1750, Christian and Ulrich Nieucomer 1754 and Christian Newcomer
in 1754.
A John Newcomer was listed as owning 60 acres of land in Conestoga Manor in 1735.
In 1745 a Ulrich Newcomer, a Swiss, was "found" wandering in France
or Germany.
Scharf credits the first Newcomer in the USA to Heinrich Neukomer who immigrated
to American in 1724, settling in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Peter NEWCOMER/NEUKOMMER
Senior had the following children:
+2 i.
Johannes "Hans" NEWCOMER.
3 ii.
Maria? NEUKOMMER(1)
(4) was born about 1713 in , , Switzerland.
A Maria Newcomer married a John Brubaker (1719-1804), but I cannot verify
if it was this Maria Newcomer.
+4 iii.
Wolfgang NEWCOMER.
+5 iv.
Peter NEWCOMER Junior.
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