Hans Bauer immigrated to America between the years of 1708 and 1717, and settled in Colebrookdale township, Berks County, then Philadelphia County. He came from Switzerland with a company of Mennonites, who fled from the old country to escape persecution.

Hans Bauer bought three tracts of land at different times and places. His first purchase was a tract of 215 acres from Thomas Hopkinson, for L100 [100 pounds British sterling]. The land was taken from a tract of 600 acres, at that time described as Douglass Manor, and was situated on a branch of the Perkiomen Creek. The land was originally granted by William Penn to Henry Thompson, of Westminster, Eng., in the year 1695, for L20 and a certain annual quit rent. Henry Thompson sold the land to Humphrey Hill. After his death it was sold by Richard Hill, James Logan and Robert Ashton, commissioners of Hill's estate, to the above named Thomas Hopkinson, who came from London, England, in the year 1725. The property lies in Hereford township, along a public road leading from Churchville to Claytonville.

His second purchase was a tract of 201 acres, and was made on November 28, 1734. This land was part of the great Manatawny tract owned by the Frankfort Land Company, who owned 25,000 acres, which they purchased from William Penn in 1701. The Manatawny tract was located partly in Montgomery and Berks counties. That portion purchased by Mr. Bauer was in Montgomery, in the neighborhood known as New Goshenhoppen. It is not known how much Hans paid for the tract, but at the time of the purchase he paid as part payment L15 and 10 shillings.

His third purchase was a tract of land containing 150 acres, which he bought from the Penns in the year 1734 for the sum of L23 and 5 shillings. This tract was located in the valley known as the "Butter-tahl," in Hereford township, Berks county, on the road leading from Schultzville to Claytonville. The land is now owned by Rev. John Ehst and Joseph Moyer. On April 6, 1749, he sold the same tract to his two sons, Michael and Abraham.

Hans Bauer was a member of the Mennonite church. It is not known whether he had more than two children, Michael and Abraham. George Schultz was his executor, who resided in Upper Hanover township. Schultz was a very prominent man, and was a member of the Schwenkfelder church.

[Hans Bauer's grave is in a small Schwenkfelder cemetery. The gravestone is new and says that he was the first settler of Berks County, Pennsylvania. Barton Bower] 

GENERATION II

ABRAHAM, SON OF HANS BAUER

Abraham, son of Hans, was the owner of two tracts of land, both of which he sold to Michael on December 26, 1751. One tract contained 108 acres, for which he received the sum of L5 [5 pounds British sterling], and the other tract 74 acres and 8 perches, for which he received the same sum. In the year 1752 he and his wife moved to Huntingdon county, PA., where they both died. They had three children: George, Samuel, Jacob, whether they had more is not known.

MICHAEL, SON OF HANS BAUER

Michael Bauer, married Fronica, daughter of Johannes Landis. On July 7, 1784, he sold a tract of land containing 108 acres to his son-in-law, Christian Moyer, for the sum of L325 [325 pounds British sterling]; also a tract containing 74 acres and 28 perches for L175. Children: Samuel, Fronica, Anna.

THE MENNONITES.

As nearly all of the descendants of Hans Bauer, the first ancestor, are Mennonites, presented here is a short sketch of the early history of that denomination.

In church history we find that Martin Luther, Zwingli, Melchoir, Buchnar, Bullinger, Calvin, and others, were raised up as humble instruments by God in His all wise Providence to reform abuses which had crept into the Church, while the work of Menno Simons is little known. It is not generally known that Menno Simons was contemporary with Luther and others in their good work. He had personal interviews with all of them.

There is some dispute whether the Mennonites are descended from the Waldensians. Dr. Ypeji, Professor of Theology at Groningen, and a member of the Dutch Reformed Church, says in a work written by him and published at Breda in 1813, that we have no authority that the Baptists, who were formerly called Anabaptists and later Mennonites, were not the original Waldensians, as is claimed. This testimony, coming from such high official authority in the Dutch Reformed Church, should be sufficient to give the Mennonites the honor of that origin.

Menno Simons was a native of Witmarsum. He was born in Freasland in the year 1495. He, as well as his contemporaries, was educated to the Catholic faith, and in his 24th year he undertook the duties of a priest in his father's village, called Piningum. In the year 1530 he examined the New Testament. He proceeded not far therein before he discovered that he had been deceived. His mind became completely changed, and in the year 1537 he renounced his former views and embraced the doctrines of the New Testament, which he zealously advocated. His whole object now was the reformation and the spiritual education of his fellowmen, and travelled from one country to another for that purpose. He died January 31, 1561.

We find, however, that Menno Simons was not the first to renounce the Catholic faith. The Waldensians advocated their faith many years before he was born.

According to "Martyrs' Mirror" (part I, page 136) the faith of the Mennonites existed before the time of Pope Sylvester, in the year 315. In an ancient book written by Jacobus Mehrlingius, a Roman Catholic, who stood high in his church, they are accredited of having existed during the time of the Apostles and of Waldi, and that they were in no way a new sect. The writer called them Koetzers, an Army of Lyons. (See B. H., 670.)

It is well known by all who are acquainted with the early history of this country that the Mennonites were among the first settlers in America. They fled to this country to escape the severe persecution of the Catholics and Zwinglians, which the Catholics continued several hundred years previous to the year 1520. When the Catholics relented the Zwinglians commenced. Because of this relentless persecution and oppression a large number of Mennonites fled from Canton, Zurich, Bern. Schaffhousen and Switzerland about the year 1672, took up their abode in Alsace, on the Rhine, where they remained until 1708, when they emigrated to London and thence to Pennsylvania. (See Rupp's 30,000 Names, Page 7.)

In the year 1688 the first Mennonite preacher came to America. His name was William Rittenhouse, of Amsterdam, Holland. He had a family of two sons and one daughter, and settled at Germantown. At that time Germantown had only thirteen houses and as many families. The town was called by that name because it was inhabited by nearly all German settlers. Rittenhouse was not an ordained bishop, but he gathered a small flock of Mennonites and preached to them. But they soon found that they were in want of a regular ordained bishop to perform baptism and hold communion. Finally they consulted the bishops of the Mennonite churches of Altona and Hamburg, in the old country, who advised them to lay the matter in the hands of the Lord, and to appoint a bishop out of their number. Accordingly William Rittenhouse was appointed in the year 1708, but he died soon afterward.

In the year 1702 Jacob Godshall, a Mennonite preacher and bishop, came to America, and after the death of Bishop Rittenhouse was appointed to fill the vacancy. Two other preachers were appointed in the Germantown church, but their names are not positively known. There are reasons, however, to believe that their names were Nicholas Rittenhouse and Dirk Keyser. (See Cassel's History of the Mennonites, Page 67.)

Between the years of 1702 and 1727 about 40,000 or 50,000 Germans left their native country and emigrated to the English colonies in America to escape persecution and the ravages of the troops of Louis XIV.

In the years 1708 and 1709, 33,000 Germans mostly of them Mennonites, were invited by Queen Anne to come to her for safety, and about 13,000 of them arrived in London during the Summer of 1708. They were for some time in a destitute condition and depended wholly upon the charity of the inhabitants of the English metropolis. (See Rupp's 30,000 Names, Page 3.) Of the above number that came to London 7000 of them, after suffering great privations, returned half naked to their native country, and about 10,000 died for want of substance and medical attendance. The survivors were transported to America and many of them perished in ships. Several thousand also embarked for the Sicily Islands, but they never arrived there. They were misled and died of hunger.

On December 25, 1709, ten vessels, containing over 4000 Germans, left the old country and arrived at New York on June 14, 1710, after a six months voyage. During the voyage and shortly after the arrival 1700 of the number died. The survivors were encamped on Governor's Island in tents, which they brought with them from England. Here they remained until Autumn of the same year, eventually about 1400 of them were removed to Livingston Manor, 100 miles up the Hudson River. The widowed women, sickly men and orphaned children remained in New York. The orphans were apprenticed by Governor Hunter to citizens of New York and New Jersey along the Hudson River, to manufacture tar and raise hemp. They were indentured to serve as Queen Anne's subjects in order to pay for their transportation and sustenance to the amount of L10,000, which had been advanced by Parliament.

Scarcely had the Mennonites commenced to make their land arable when a commissioner by the name of Martin Kindig was sent to Switzerland and Germany to induce the brothers and sisters of their faith to come to Pennsylvania. He was very successful, as large accessions were made to the new colonies during the period of 1711 and 1717. So great was the influx of Swiss and German emigrants at this time that in 1717 Governor Keith led to the adoption of a measure which prevented the loss of over 30,000 names of the first German emigrants who came to Pennsylvania. He was first jealous of the Germans, but afterward heartily espoused their cause and aided to preserve the memory of the oppressed and persecuted. (See Colonial Records, Volume 3, Pages 29, 228.)

After the year 1716 a lot of Germans and a few Frenchmen began to penetrate the forests and wilderness from twenty to seventy miles west and north of Philadelphia. Large German settlements thus sprung up at different points within the present limits of Montgomery and Berks counties.

At Goshenhoppen a church was organized as early as 1717, and some Mennonites came here also from the Netherlands, settling themselves along the Perkiomen and Skippack. A church was built at Goshenhoppen by the Lutherans, Reformed and Mennonites, and they gave every denomination the privilege to worship therein.

Source: Rev. Henry S. Bower, A Genealogical Record Of The Descendants Of Daniel Stauffer and Hans Bauer and Other Pioneers, together with historical and biographical sketches, and a short history of the Mennonites; with a history of the House of Hohenstaufen, by Fred Raumer, of Germany. Harleysville, PA: News Printing House, 1897.