bullet Eva WEISER was born on 8 Feb 1801 in York Twp, York Co., PA. She died on 24 Mar 1885 in York Twp, York Co., PA. Parents: John WEISER and Catharine (WEISER).

She was married to Georg LEADER on 7 May 1819. Children were: Henry LEADER.

bullet Eva Elizabeth WEISER was born on 29 Jan 1753. She died in Apr 1831. Parents: Peter WEISER and Catharine WEISER.

bullet Eva Maria Elizabeth WEISER was born on 16 Jun 1788. She died on 22 Mar 1880. Parents: Jabetz WEISER and Mary Elizabeth WENGER.

bullet Frederick WEISER was born on 24 Dec 1728. He died on 15 Nov 1773. Parents: John Conrad WEISER and Anna Eve FEG.

He was married to Anna Amelia ZELLER. Children were: John Conrad WEISER, Anna Eva WEISER, John WEISER, Anna Catharine WEISER, Peter WEISER, Hannah WEISER, Anna Maria WEISER, Salome (Sarah) WEISER.

bullet Georg Friedrich WEISER was born on 22 May 1746. Parents: Christopher Frederick WEISER and Elizabeth (WEISER) .

bullet George WEISER died about 1779. Parents: George Frederick WEISER and Rebecca UDALL.

bullet George WEISER died on 5 Dec 1858. Parents: Benjamin WEISER and Catharine BAUMGARDNER.

bullet George Frederick WEISER was born about 1697. He died about 1764. Parents: John Conrad WEISER and Anna Magdalena UEBELE .

He was married to Rebecca UDALL on 21 Dec 1729. Children were: Prudence WEISER, Rebecca WEISER, George WEISER.

bullet Hanna WEISER was born on 27 Feb 1742. She died on 11 Aug 1742. Parents: John Conrad WEISER and Anna Eve FEG.

bullet Hanna Philippina WEISER was born on 14 Dec 1761. died young Parents: Philip WEISER and Sophia RIEM.

bullet Hanna Philippina WEISER was born on 7 Mar 1782. She died in 1828. Parents: John Conrad WEISER and Barbara BEYER.

bullet Hannah WEISER was born about 1764. Parents: Frederick WEISER and Anna Amelia ZELLER.

bullet Hannah Ann WEISER was born on 16 Apr 1860. She died on 6 Aug 1860. She was buried in St Luke's Lutheran Church Cemetery, Chanceford Twp, near New Bridgeville, PA. Parents: Henry WEISER and Sarah Ann SNODGRASS.

bullet Hannah Elizabeth WEISER was born on 11 Nov 1867. She died on 6 Aug 1870. She was buried in St Luke's Lutheran Church Cemetery, Chanceford Twp, near New Bridgeville, PA. Parents: Henry WEISER and Sarah Ann SNODGRASS.

bullet Heinrich WEISER was born on 27 May 1791. He died on 23 Apr 1796. Parents: John Conrad WEISER and Barbara BEYER.

bullet Helena WEISER was born on 9 Apr 1803 in York Twp, York Co., PA. Parents: John WEISER and Catharine (WEISER).

bullet Henrietta Snodgrass WEISER was born on 16 Oct 1862. She died on 14 Mar 1949. She was buried in St Luke's Lutheran Church Cemetery, Chanceford Twp, near New Bridgeville, PA. Parents: Henry WEISER and Sarah Ann SNODGRASS.

She was married to Isaac SAMPLE . Children were: Mary SAMPLE, Edith SAMPLE.

bullet Henry WEISER(233) was born on 15 Jan 1825 in York, PA. He was christened on 11 Apr 1825 in Christ Lutheran Church, York, PA.(13) He died on 24 Aug 1887 in Chanceford Twp., York Co., PA. He was buried in St Luke's Lutheran Church Cemetery, Chanceford Twp, near New Bridgeville, PA. 2G Grandfather to Brent Stanley Smeltzer

Henry's father spent all of his life in York, PA where he died. Henry received a common school education, at at 18 years of age went West, working all over the western states. For a time he was a boatman on the Mississippi River, and on his return home became captain and owner of canal boats on the Tide Water Canal, and followed this occupation for a number of years. He then bought the home farm and spent the rest of his life farming. Mr. Weiser attended St. Luke's Lutheran Church, where he is buried. In politics he was a prominent member of the Democratic party, being school director for several terms, and auditor. (Taken from Vol. 2, History of York County, PA, Published in 1907 by Prowell, page 961). Other records show him buying the farm (16 acres) in 1844-1845.

One LDS Website entry shows his father as Daniel and his mother as Maria. Parents: Daniel WEISER and Veronica ? (WEISER).

He was married to Sarah Ann SNODGRASS in Oct 1848. Children were: Casandra Ellen WEISER , Mary Catherine WEISER, Joseph Henry WEISER, Benjamin Franklin WEISER, Josephine Corinna WEISER, Elmira Jane WEISER, Daniel Wesley WEISER, Hannah Ann WEISER, Sarah Ann WEISER, Henrietta Snodgrass WEISER, Isabella Snodgrass WEISER , Alexandria Snodgrass WEISER, Ida Agnes WEISER, Hannah Elizabeth WEISER, Willie Charles WEISER, John Edward WEISER.

bullet Henry Solomon WEISER was born on 6 Nov 1783. He died on 29 Mar 1860. Parents: Jabetz WEISER and Mary Elizabeth WENGER.

bullet Henry Solomon WEISER was born on 14 May 1763. He died on 2 Sep 1829. Parents: Peter WEISER and Catharine WEISER.

bullet Ida Agnes WEISER was born on 19 Aug 1866. She died on 24 Nov 1930. She was buried in Dallastown, PA. Parents: Henry WEISER and Sarah Ann SNODGRASS.

She was married to Thomas GROVE. Children were: Harry GROVE.

bullet Isabella Snodgrass WEISER was born on 20 Dec 1863. She died on 29 May 1954. She was buried in Red Lion, PA. Parents: Henry WEISER and Sarah Ann SNODGRASS.

She was married to James SCOTT. Children were: Henry Oscar SCOTT , Blanche SCOTT.

bullet Jabetz WEISER was born on 3 Jul 1753 in Weiser Farm, Womelsdorf, PA. He died on 16 May 1829 in Womelsdorf, PA. He was buried in Zion Cemetery, Womelsdorf, PA. Took the oath of allegiance to the United States on 22 Jun 1778, and served as a private from 1777 to 1780 in Capt Daniel Womelsdorf's company, Berks County militia. Parents: Philip WEISER and Sophia RIEM.

He was married to Mary Elizabeth WENGER . Children were: John Philip WEISER, Mary Catharine WEISER, John WEISER, Samuel WEISER, Solomon WEISER, Henry Solomon WEISER, Eva Maria Elizabeth WEISER , Maria Philippina WEISER, Sarah WEISER, Rebecca WEISER.

bullet Jabez WEISER was born on 4 Aug 1742. Parents: Christopher Frederick WEISER and Elizabeth (WEISER).

bullet Jabez WEISER was born on 11 Aug 1740. He died on 28 Aug 1740. Parents: John Conrad WEISER and Anna Eve FEG.

bullet Jacob WEISER was born on 22 Sep 1736 in NJ. He died on 1 Jan 1808 in Tulpehocken Twp, Berks Co., PA. Parents: Christopher Frederick WEISER and Elizabeth (WEISER).

He was married to Anna Elizabeth KERR. Children were: Anna Elizabeth WEISER, John WEISER, John Jacob WEISER, Anna Maria WEISER.

bullet Jacob WEISER was born about 1712 in NY. Parents: John Conrad WEISER and Anna Margaret MILLER.

bullet Jacob WEISER was born on 15 Feb 1731. He died in May 1731. Parents: John Conrad WEISER and Anna Eve FEG.

bullet Jacob K. WEISER was born on 5 May 1810 in York, PA. He died on 22 Mar 1876 in York, PA. Parents: John WEISER and Catharine (WEISER).

bullet John WEISER was born on 25 Jan 1778 in Heidelberg Twp, Berks Co, PA. He died on 14 Nov 1847 in York, PA. Parents: Martin WEISER and Maria Catharina (WEISER).

He was married to Catharine (WEISER). Children were: Eva WEISER, Helena WEISER, John Adam WEISER, Jacob K. WEISER, John George WEISER, Daniel K. WEISER.

bullet John WEISER was born on 31 Mar 1754. died young Parents: John Conrad WEISER and Maria Margaret BATTORF.

bullet John WEISER was born on 15 Dec 1762. Parents: John Conrad WEISER and Maria Margaret BATTORF.

bullet John WEISER was born on 30 Jul 1793. He died on 10 Dec 1793. Parents: John Conrad WEISER and Barbara BEYER.

bullet John WEISER was born on 30 Nov 1779. He died on 29 May 1824. Parents: Jabetz WEISER and Mary Elizabeth WENGER.

bullet John WEISER was born in 1757. He died on 16 Sep 1827. Parents: Frederick WEISER and Anna Amelia ZELLER.

bullet John WEISER was born on 23 Jan 1766 in Tulpehocken Twp, Berks Co., PA. He died on 7 Nov 1825 in Tulpehocken Twp, Berks Co., PA. had 11 other children, besides Elizabeth Parents: Jacob WEISER and Anna Elizabeth KERR.

He was married to Elizabeth ANSPACH on 22 Feb 1789. Children were: Elizabeth WEISER.

bullet John Adam WEISER was born on 12 Jul 1807 in York Twp, York Co., PA. Parents: John WEISER and Catharine (WEISER).

bullet John Conrad WEISER was born on 29 Sep 1725. He died in Sep 1775. 6G Grandfather to Brent Stanley Smeltzer

Farmer in Tulpehocken, PA.

Known as Johannes Weiser, perhaps to distinguish him from his uncle, John Conrad, the Indian diplomat.

He was an active member of Christ Lutheran Church and frequently an officer of the congregation and its delegate to Synod. Parents: Christopher Frederick WEISER and Elizabeth (WEISER) .

He was married to Maria Margaret BATTORF on 29 Jan 1749. Children were: Catharine Elizabeth WEISER , Martin WEISER, John WEISER , Anna Maria WEISER, Christopher WEISER, Anna Eva WEISER, Anna Eva WEISER, John WEISER, Samuel WEISER, Elizabeth WEISER, Christina Elizabeth WEISER.

He was married to Elizabeth PREISS on 3 Feb 1774. Children were: Mary WEISER.

bullet John Conrad WEISER was born about 1662 in Grossapach, Germany. He died in 1746 in PA. 8G Grandfather to Brent Stanley Smeltzer Parents: Jacob WEISSER and Anna TREFZ?.

He was married to Anna Magdalena UEBELE about 1686 in Germany. Children were: Maria Catharina WEISER, Anna Margaretha WEISER, Anna Magdalena WEISER , Maria Sabine WEISER, John Conrad WEISER, George Frederick WEISER, Christopher Frederick WEISER, Anna Barbara WEISER , John Frederick WEISER, Rebecca WEISER, John Frederick WEISER, Erhard Frederick WEISER, Rebecca WEISER.

He was married to Anna Margaret MILLER. Children were: Jacob WEISER, Rebecca WEISER , John Frederick WEISER.

bullet John Conrad WEISER was born in 1696 in Germany. He died on 13 Jul 1760 in Womelsdorf, PA. He was buried in His farm, Womelsdorf, PA. The following is taken from a review of the book "Conrad Weiser 1696-1760 Friend of Colonist and Mohawk" by Paul A.W. Wallace:

Conrad Weiser, Pennsylvania's Indian ambassador, was one of the world's great originals, a hotheaded, true-hearted, whimsical Jack-of-all-trades; a farmer and owner of a tannery, one of the founders of Reading, Pennsylvania, a colonel during the French and Indian War, the first President judge of Berks County, a monk at Ephrata Cloisters, a pillar of the Lutheran Church, a promoter of Moravian missions, a rebel in New York and prisoner in an Albany jail, a hymn-writer, traveler, statesman, linguist, diplomat, woodsman and most notably an Indian agent.

His career introduces us to the whole colonial scene from New York to the Carolinas, taking in the seacoast towns, the frontier settlements, the forests of the Alleghenies, and the long houses and cabins of the Indians on the Hudson, Mohawk, Delaware, Susquehanna, and Ohio Rivers. He bought books from Benjamin Franklin and taught him what he knew about the Iroquois. He corresponded with Thomas Lee, the "President of Virginia." He quarreled with Gov. Denny of Pennsylvania, and in the conduct of Indian affairs, he was the rival of George Washington and Sir William Johnson. He introduced Count Zinzindorf to the Shawnees and saved his life in the Wyoming valley. He was advisor to Thomas Penn, General Forbes, and countless other notables. In his day, everyone knew him. Governors, churchmen, and Indian chiefs all relied on his advise. The Iroquois named him Tarachiawagon, "He Who Holds The Heavens." He was at home on Society Hill in Philadelphia as well as at John Harris' Ferry on the western frontier. He knew the Shamokin Trail like a village street and visited all the distant Indian towns from Onandaga to Logstown. He went everywhere, saw everyone, did everything and recorded in his journals, the most important information of his day. There was never any man like him, and never will be. He was as vital to the Pennsylvania frontier as George Washington was to Valley Forge. Yet, through all the excitement of his public life, he remained a common man who, above all else, always longed for his wife, his children and the little Tulpehocken home to which he came back finally to die.

Originally published in 1945. this deluxe 664 page book is printed on acid free paper, smythesewn and bound in a burgundy lexatone cover with gold embossing. Edition size limited to 1000 numbered copies. $44.95

Book available for ordering at http://www1.mhv.net/~hopefarm/

Other notes for John Conrad Weiser:
Source: Dallas, Texas, Johnson Library. "Conrad Weiser-Friend of Colonist and
Mohawk", (history room, row 119). 970.5 W427YW 1971. (Following paragraphs
copied from this book)

CONRAD WEISER....Receives the Queen's Bounty, Chapter 1.
Early in the morning on June 13, 1710, the ship LYON (of Leith, Captain
Stevens commander) drew into New York harbor with an escort, H.M.S.
FEVERSHAM. On board the LYON were 402 "poor Patines, among them thirteen year old Conrad Weiser (whom Count Zinzendorf in good time was to style the
Emperor of the the Irequois) with his father and seven brothers and sisters.
It was good to see land: the sands, the Fort, the Battery outside its
walls, the neat rows of houses, with rock, mountain, and forest in the back
ground. It was better yet to feel solid ground underfoot when they disembarked
at Nutten Island, now called Governors Island. Conrad had been on board since
Christmas: some five months in English waters, where the LYON and nine other
ships of the convoy had puttered about between London and Plymouth awaiting
final orders; and seven or eight weeks on the ocean where Conrad lay sick and
bewildered in the midst of tossing death. The passengers were packed tightly
below decks, amid smells, darkness, and vermin, with a subsistence allowance
of sixpence a day per head. Poor food and bad water prepared the way for
typhus, the "Palentine fever". The little children died, almost all of them,
and a great number of their elders. Some two hundred souls were lost, a third
of the passenger list. The ship's doctor, Thomas Benson, tells us that he
"administered aid and Medicines, to about 330 p'sons which have all been sick
at one time in the said passage and none but himself to assist them: during all
the said time..."

Years later, after Conrad had become famous throughout the colonies, he
wrote down for his children what he knew about his own early life. I was little
enough. The uprooting had been commplete, and the voyage from Plymouth to New
York had interposed a dark barrier to recollection. His real life began on that
Tuesday morning in mid-June of 1710. This is what he had to tell of his origin.
(Written by his son)

In the year 1696 on the 2nd of November Conrad Weiser, was born in Europe, in
the country of Wuertemberg, in the Magistracy of Herrenberg. The village is
said to be called Astodt [Astaet], and was baptized at Kuppingen nearby, as
informed by his father. Source: Weiser Family Association Booklet.

Other notes: Source: Book-History of Berks County, Pennsylvania, pg 330, 331.
Conrad Weiser was the most prominent historical character in the county of
Berks previous to his death in 1760. His great prominence arose from his
intimate connection with the provencial government of Pennsylvania for thirty
years. He was the principal judge of Berks County from 1752 to 1760. He was
born November 2, 1696, at Afstaedt, a small village in the County of Herrenberg,
in Wurtemberg, Germany, and there he acquired a general education, which
included the principles of the Christian religion according to the catechism of
Martin Luther. Whilst still in his fourteenth year he emigrated with his father and famiy (which included himself and seven other children) to New York, landing June 17, 1710. At that time several thousand Germans were sent to America by Queen Anne. Shortly after thier arrival they were removed to Livingston Manor by the Governor of New York, to burn tar and cultivate hemp to defray the expenses incurred by Queen Anne in conveying them from Holland to England and from England to America. They labored till 1713 in this employment under the directin of commissioners: then, finding that they were existing under a form of bondage, they protested against the treatment and this effected their release. About 150 families of them including the WEiser famiy, removed to Schoharie, forty miles west of Albany. Wjilst spending the winter of 1713-1714 at Schenectady, the elder Weiser was frequrntly visited by an Indian chief of the Mohawk tribe, and during one of these visits the chief proposed to Conrad to visit the Mohawk country and learn the language of that tribe. This proposition was agreed to. Conrad Weiser was in his eighteenth year when he went to live with the Indians. He was a strong yung man, but all of his strength was necessary to endure the sufferings which he was compelled to undergo whilst living with them. He had scarely clothing sufficient to cover his body during the winter of that trying year. Besides much suffering, he was frequently threatened with death by the Indians during a state of intoxication. In July, 1714, he returned to his
father's home at Schoharie. In Mohawk language, and while at home, he increased this knowledge by acting as interpreter between the German settlers of that vicinity and the Mohawk Indians. The settlers having been disturbed in their possessions, Conrad Weiser's father and a number of others migrated to Pennsylvania. They located in Tulpehocken in the spring on 1723, in the midst of the Indians: and there they also commenced the improvement of the land without permission from the land commissioners. The Indians complained but the settlers were not disturbed. Subsequently the Indians released their rights and about 1733 they moved beyond the Blue Moutains.

Conrad Weiser was married to a young woman of Schoharie in 1720. He continued at that place till 1729,when with his wife and five children he removed to the Tulpehocken settlement, locating on a tract of land near the prsent borough of Womelsdorf. Shortly after his arrival, his ability and sucess as an Indiann
interpreter became known to the Provencial government, and theGovernor employed
him in negotiation with the Indians. His first services in this capacity were performed in 1731, and from that time for nearly thirty years he was almost
constantly engaged in this important work. He assisted at numerous treaties, and in the published proceedings of these treaties his name appears prominently. His integrity was particularly recognized and publicly
complimented.

He was one of the most prominent men in the French and Indian War. HIs
numerous letters indicate his zeal, courage and patriotism. He served in the
war as a colonel, and his services were of great value to the government and to
the people of Berks county.

The first proceedings for the erection of Berks county were instituted in 1738.
In this behalf, Mr. Weiser was very active, and he continued active till the
county was established in 1752. The town of Reading was laid out by the Penns
in 1748, and in the ale of the town lots Mr. Weiser acted as one of the
commissioners. He was prominently identified with the first movements in
building up the town, and in developing the business interests of the place.

The Governor of the Province, in 1741, appointed him as a justice of the peace,
and he filled this office for a number of years. When the county was erected
in 1752, he was appointed one of the first judges. He acted as president judge
of the courts till his decease in 1760. He lived at Reading mostly during the
latter part of his life.

Conrad Weiser died on his Heidleberg farm July 13, 1760, and his remains were
buried in a private burying ground on the place, where they have remained
since. He left a widow and seven children: five sons, Phillip, Frederick,
Peter, Samuel and Benjamin; and two daughters, Maria (m. Rev. Henry Melchoir
Muhlenberg) and Margaret (m. a Finker). He was possessed of a large estate,
consisting of properties at Reading, and lands in Heidleberg township and in
the region of country beyond the Blue Mountains. In heidleberg, he owned a
tract which included the privilege of a "Court-Baron", granted to him in 1743,
the tract having originally contained 5,165 acres as granted to John Page in
1735, and having then been erected into a manor, called the "Manor of Plumton".
At Reading one of his properties was business stand, and it has continued to
be a prominent business location from that time till nw, a period embracing
over 150 years.

For upward of fifty years, various unsuccessful efforts were made in behalf of
erecting a suitable memorial to Conrad Weiser. In 1892 and 1893, the compiler
of this history (Morton L. Montgomery) delivered a lecture before local teachers' institutes in different parts of the county entitled "Life and Times of Conrad Weiser" for the purpose of securing a memorial, and the Reading Board of Trade led the school for observance by the teachers and scholars as "Weiser Day", and to facilitate this observance 3500 copies of the lecture were distributed gratutiously to all the schools of the city and county. It was not until October 30, 1907, that a modest tablet was placed in the west wall of the Stichter Hardware Store on Penn Square by the Historical Society of Berks County, which reads as follows:

POSTERITY WILL NOT FORGET HIS SERVICES-WASHINGTON.
________
IN MEMORY OF COLONEL WEISER

PIONEER, SOLDIER, DIPLOMAT, JUDGE, AS INTERPRETER AND INDIAN AGENT HE NEGOTIATED EVERY TREATY FROM 1723 UNTIL NEAR THE CLOSE OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR.-----The WEISER BUILDING, WHERE HE OFTEN MET THE INDIANS IN CONFERENCE, WAS ERECTED BY HIM ON THIS SITE IN 1751----BORN IN GERMANY IN 1696, ARRIVED IN BERKS IN 1729, DIED IN 1760, NEAR WOMELSDORF, WHERE HIS REAMINS ARE BURIED.----HIS UNSERVING HONESTLY SET A SHINING EXAMPLE TO FUTURE GENERATIONS---UNDER THE
AUSPICES OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF BERKS COUNTY THIS TABLET WAS ERECTED IN 1907 BY THE SCHOOL CHILDREN OF THE COUNTY.

-----------
By JOHN HOWER
http://www.leba.net/~jhower/Valley/Weiser1.html

When Conrad Weiser moved to the Lebanon Valley from Schoharie, New York, in 1729 at the age of 33, he brought with him a great knowledge of the Indian languages and customs.

Weiser had first lived with the Mohawk Indians in New York in 1712, two years after his family arrived with other refugees from the Palatinate region of Germany. Weiser's father, John Conrad, had the foresight to realize that a knowledge of Indian ways would serve both the colony and Conrad well in the years to come.

When he came to the Lebanon Valley, Weiser brought with him his wife, Anna Eve. Anna Eve's maiden name was never mentioned by Weiser and a romantic tradition has it that she was a Mohawk Indian. One other explanation for the lack of a maiden name may be that she was an indentured orphan girl. The lack of record keeping often could account for the omission of a maiden family name.

The first mention of Weiser as an interpreter for Pennsylvania come in 1731, when he accompanied Shekallamy to meet with Governor Gordon in Philadelphia. Shekallamy was an agent for the "Six Nations" (Iroquis) and was a friend of the English throughout his life. A statue of Shekallamy stands on the grounds of Weiser's homestead, just east of Womelsdorf.

On this first trip, Weiser volunteered his services, and by August 1732, he was employed as an interpreter by the governor. In later years, he also served in the same capacity for Virginia, Maryland and New York. Throughout the following years, Weiser was to make many trips to the Indians as a representative of the government and as a guide and interpreter for the Moravian missionaries.

The high regard that the Indians had for Weiser was evident by the name they gave him, Tarachawagon, which meant "holder of the heavens."

During this time, Weiser also became a justice of the peace for Lancaster County (Berks County was not formed until March 1752) and continued to increase his land holdings. By 1736, he had become one of the area's largest landholders, owning most of present-day Womelsdorf.

During his early years in Pennsylvania, Weiser underwent a religious transformation. On top of his duty to his growing family (four children by the time he arrived in Pennsylvania; fourteen children in all) his duties as an interpreter and justice of the peace, Weiser joined the Ephrata Cloister. During the first several years he contributed mostly his name and money by purchasing supplies in Philadelphia. In 1740, Weiser became a priest at the Cloister, but due to the great need for his services elsewhere he left the Ephrata community in 1741.

Throughout the 1740s, Weiser traveled extensively, negotiating treaties for several colonies and serving as a language teacher and guide for missionaries wanting to convert Indians to Christianity.

A story that comes from the portion of Weiser's life related the great strength Indians placed in dreams. It is related that on one of his visits to Shekallamy, the chief told Weiser that he had dreamed that Weiser had made him a present of his rifle. Weiser, several nights later, to Shekallamy that he had also had a dream in which Skekallamy presented him with an island in the Susquehanna River. Shekallamy gave Weiser the Isle of Que, said to be the chief's favorite. Whether this story is true or romanticized, the island was owned by Weiser and remained in his family for several generations.

Early in the 1750s, trouble started to break out among the settlers and the Indians, trouble which Weiser was to play perhaps one of his most important roles. The trouble, of course, was to become full warfare -- the French and Indian War.

The beginning of the French and Indian War in 1754 found Conrad Weiser the Superintendent of the Indian Department for the Provincial Government.

His duties included a trip in April 1754 to Shamokin in an effort to conciliate the chiefs of the Six Nations. In June of the same year he accompanied Benjamin Franklin to Albany as an interpreter for an Indian conference. This conference lasted through June, July and part of August. At this conference, more lands were purchased from the Indians and the first "plan of union" for the colonies was discussed. Throughout the remainder of 1754 and 1755, Weiser was almost constantly on the move between Philadelphia and Albany, this at a time when speedy travel might mean riding half the distance while leading a horse over mountain trails for the other half.

In October of 1755, Governor Morris advised Weiser that he had been commissioned as a colonel in the Provincial Service. Weiser commanded a regiment of volunteers from the present-day Berks County and had command of the Second Battalion of the Pennsylvania Regiment, consisting of nine companies. His command manned the line of defensive forts built along the base of the Blue Mountains.

The first of these forts were constructed during the winter of 1755-56, and were situated about 10 miles apart. Weiser's command stretched from the Delaware River at Easton to the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg. Private blockhouses scattered between these forts helped guard the Valley against attack.

The nearest of these forts and blockhouses were Fort Swatara, situated north of Lickdale on the farm of Peter Hedrick, and a private blockhouse near Harpers, north of Annville.

During the time Fort Swatara was actively manned, from January 1756 until May 1758, the average garrison consisted of 42 men and officers. Of these men, 8 to 10 were usually dispatched to assist settlers in Monroe Valley (known then as the hole), 8 to 10 on ranging duty along the mountain and 21 to garrison to smaller fort at Manada Gap (a private blockhouse in Manada Gap was actually in a better defensive position then the Provincial fort there).

The duties of command did not stop Weiser's travels as an interpreter, though. In November of 1756, he was called to a conference in Philadelphia to act as an interpreter for the Delaware Indians. Some of the Delawares had allied themselves with the French and were blamed for Washington's defeat in western Pennsylvania.

The years 1756 and 1757 found many people asking for Weiser's service, but age was beginning to catch up with him. On several occasions, Weiser's son, Samuel, was act as an agent for his father.

In January 1758, Weiser resigned his commission in the Provincial Service due to his failing health. This resignation did not remove Weiser from public life, however. He remained active in his private business dealings, served as the Chief Justice of the Reading court, and continued to serve as an Indian agent.

In 1758, Weiser assisted General Forbes by supplying wagons and drivers for the expedition to drive the French from western Pennsylvania. Many of the local people were not willing to lend wagons and teams for military use, but with the influence Weiser had, General Forbes was able to move his army west from Carlisle.

Weiser died on July 13, 1760. He had been active in Indian affairs until the day before his death. Weiser is buried on a knoll near his home.

The site is maintained by the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission.

-----------------

Perhaps the most fitting accolade bestowed on Conrad Weiser was by an Iroquois, who, speaking to white men upon the death of Weiser in 1760, lamented, "We are at a great loss and sit in darkness...as since his death we cannot so well understand one another."

Who was this man who had such far-reaching influence on relations between Pennsylvania and the Iroquois Confederacy; who had access to provincial governors and sachems alike; who interpreted and negotiated treaties; who was commissioned an officer during the War for Empire; but who also sat as a country judge, served as lay minister, and prospered as a farmer, tanner, and storekeeper?

Conrad Weiser was born November 2, 1696, in the German principality of Wurttemberg. By 1709, his father, Johann Conrad Weiser, had decided to heed Queen Anne's invitation to inhabitants of the Rhine Valley to migrate to England and to the British colonies in America.

The Weiser family settled on the New York frontier and in the winter and spring of 1712-1713, young Conrad resided with neighboring Mohawks to learn the language of the Iroquois and serve as a go-between for the German community.

During his years in New York, Weiser acquired a keen knowledge of the language, customs and statesmanship of the Iroquois Confederacy (or Six Nations), consisting of the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas and Tuscaroras.

By 1723, Germans from the Mohawk Valley had begun the overland trek 400 miles, following the Susquehanna river to settle the Tulpehocken Valley in what is now Berks and Lebanon Counties, Pennsylvania. In 1729, Weiser brought his German-born wife, Anna Eve, and their children to the Tulpehocken region, settling on 200 acres near the present town of Womelsdorf.

Over the next 31 years Weiser became a major land-holder, farmer, tanner and businessman. He and Anna Eve raised 14 children (seven of whom lived to adulthood).

By the early 1730's, Weiser had become known in government circles in Philadelphia for his knowledge of the Iroquois. Provincial Secretary James Logan hired him to guide the new Pennsylvania Indian policy recognizing Iroquois dominance over the indigenous Lenni Lenape and guaranteeing a stable and safe frontier.

Over the next two decades Weiser was constantly directing and implementing this policy through treaty negotiations, land purchases, and journeys to the Iroquois homeland. He worked closely with Shikellamy, who had been appointed by the Confederacy to embody Iroquois authority over the Lenni Lenape.

It was through Weiser and Shikellamy that the Pennsylvania frontier remained stable and peaceful until mid-century.

By 1755, however, growing competition between Britain and France had ignited a full-blown "War for Empire." Diplomacy was put aside as the Six Nations divided over which side to join.

Meanwhile, the French established an alliance with the Lenni Lenape and other Native American peoples and launched raids against the eastern Pennsylvania settlements along the Blue Mountain line.

Pennsylvania responded by forming provincial militia and building a line of outposts. In 1756, Weiser received a commission of Lieutenant Colonel with command of the 1st Battalion, Pennsylvania Regimen responsible for manning the line between the Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers. He held this post until 1758. In that same year an expedition to western Pennsylvania by General John Forbes resulted in the eviction of the French and an end to the fighting in eastern Pennsylvania.

Throughout his life, Weiser was active in local affairs. He served as a magistrate for Lancaster County, helped found and lay out the town of Reading in 1748, helped to establish Berks County in 1752, and was its President Judge until his death.

Though a Lutheran, Weiser joined the monastic community of Ephrata Cloister between 1735 and 1741. He lived intermittently as a celibate brother, withdrawing from family and political life until becoming disenchanted with the Cloister's leader Conrad Beissel.

Weiser, returning to the Lutheran Church, in which he had served as a lay minister, became a founder of Trinity Church in Reading. His daughter Maria married Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg, "patriarch" of the Lutheran Church in Pennsylvania.

At this death on July 13, 1760, Weiser owned several thousand acres, in addition to his farm, tannery and the store in Reading.

Movements to honor Weiser's considerable accomplishments culminated in the establishment of the Conrad Weiser Memorial Park by the Conrad Weiser Memorial Park Association in 1928. The nationally known Olmsted Brothers landscape firm designed the park.

Owned now by the Commonwealth, the Conrad Weiser Homestead is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, which preserves the restored Weiser structures, graveyard and landscaped park, in addition to interpreting Weiser's life.

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Parents: John Conrad WEISER and Anna Magdalena UEBELE.

He was married to Anna Eve FEG on 22 Nov 1720. Children were: Philip WEISER , Anna Magdalena WEISER, Anna Maria WEISER, Frederick WEISER, Peter WEISER, Christopher WEISER, Jacob WEISER, Margaret WEISER, Samuel WEISER, Benjamin WEISER, Jabez WEISER, Hanna WEISER, Benjamin WEISER.

bullet John Conrad WEISER was born on 30 Aug 1749 in Weiser Farm, Womelsdorf, PA. He died in 1803. Served in the American Revolution. Listed, on 17 May 1777, as Captain of the 4th Company, 6th Battalion of Berks County Militia. This record, and that of his cousin Conrad, both have been claimed for this man and a chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution at Selinsgrove, PA, has been named for him. Several descendants have joined patriotic societies on the basis of this service record. Parents: Philip WEISER and Sophia RIEM.

He was married to Barbara BEYER on 25 Jul 1771 in Reading, PA. Children were: Sophia WEISER, Benjamin WEISER, John Frederick WEISER, Peter WEISER, Hanna Philippina WEISER, Maria Barbara WEISER , John Conrad WEISER, Catharine WEISER, Heinrich WEISER, John WEISER, Daniel WEISER.

bullet John Conrad WEISER was born on 11 Sep 1786. He died in Feb 1829. no issue. Parents: John Conrad WEISER and Barbara BEYER.

bullet John Conrad WEISER was born on 15 Apr 1753. He died on 10 Sep 1804. Parents: Frederick WEISER and Anna Amelia ZELLER.

bullet John Edward WEISER was born on 10 Apr 1871. He died on 10 Oct 1913. He was buried in Bethel. Parents: Henry WEISER and Sarah Ann SNODGRASS.

He was married to Annie REICHARD . Children were: Ethel WEISER, Wilbur R. WEISER.

bullet John Ernest WEISER was born on 19 Sep 1932. no children Parents: Wilbur R. WEISER and Reba M. CRALEY.

He was married to Fayne ELSESSER.

bullet John Frederick WEISER was born on 25 Jun 1702. He died on 2 Jul 1702. Parents: John Conrad WEISER and Anna Magdalena UEBELE.

bullet John Frederick WEISER was born on 27 Feb 1705. He died in Dec 1711. Parents: John Conrad WEISER and Anna Magdalena UEBELE.

bullet John Frederick WEISER was born on 14 Nov 1714. He died on 2 Sep 1769. Parents: John Conrad WEISER and Anna Margaret MILLER.

bullet John Frederick WEISER was born on 31 Oct 1775. He died in 1840. Parents: John Conrad WEISER and Barbara BEYER.

bullet John George WEISER died young Parents: John WEISER and Catharine (WEISER).

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