• Born: ? in Ober Harpersdorf, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
• Died: May 28, 1733 in Haarlem, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
• Spouse: Anna Heydrick
  • Born: 1675
  • Died: 1755
• Married: November 18, 1704 in Harpersdorf, Greiz, Thueringen, Germany
• Occupation: Farmer
• Children: 
  • Anna Maria (1700?-1778)
  • Balthasar (1706-1774)
  • Maria (1707-1790)
  • Susanna (1710-1794)
  • Melchior (1711-1779)

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First up, a note about Melchior’s birthdate. The Schwenkfelder Genealogy states on p. 146 that when he died in late May, 1733, Melchior was aged 40 years, 9 months. This would place his birthdate in August of 1692. If this were true, it would make him 18 years his wife’s junior. Okay, that’s not unheard of. However, it would also have meant that Melchior was only 15 years old when his eldest son was born, and that’s pushing the envelope – even for 17th century standards. And, if the birth year of his daughter Anna really is 1700 (which is not confirmed), he would have been only 8 when she was born. My suspicion is that the “40” years written in DAvid Schultz’s journal was actually “49” years. This error could have been made in the visual translation of a 0 vs a 9, or a mistype that has perpetuated an incorrect date across the internet. In my documentation I have left his date of birth as a question mark.

Melchior was part of the “second migration” of Schwenkfelders and would have been one of the first Schwenkfelder settlers in southeastern Pennsylvania. However, he died “suddenly” while he, his family, and a handful of other refugees followers made the long trek across what is now Germany and the Netherlands towards the Atlantic coast.

One of his fellow travelers, David Schultz (1717-1797) recounted their journey and of Melchior’s death in his journal. These entries talk of the generosity the group met from a Herr Heinrich Van Schmissen – notable since the Schwenkfelders were persecuted for their faith, so encountering someone willing to aid them on their travels was a greatly fortunate event.

It is interesting to read the gifts of food and drink the company received along their way: much bread, butter, and alcohol! After all, this was the early 18th century, when clean water did not exactly flow from faucets. We also gain an account of the group’s travels: from Berthelsdorf at the far East of Germany, up the Elbe River to Altona, Denmark (very near Hamburg), around the coast via boat to Amsterdam, and finally from there to Rotterdam, from which they departed to America.

Schultz also writes that on May 14 several of their group became ill on the journey, including Melchior. This day’s entry makes it sound as though Melchior died: “Melchior is no more.” However, the entry on May 28 specifically states that Melchior died that day at 7pm. Assuming that these writings were translated from German, this may explain the vagueness of the May 14th writing.

The following are scans from the Schwenkfelder Genealogy, detailing the journey and with excerpts from David Schultz’s records:

We’ll likely never know any more about how Melchior died or where he is buried. At 40 years of age, walking across town to visit Herr Van Putten, it’s possible he may have suffered a heart attach or stroke. As for where he may have been buried, we may hope that those “Dutch friends” may have found a place for him in a local church cemetery, but whether church laws allowed a Schwenkfelder to be interred there is entirely unknown and somewhat unlikely. And regardless, it is unlikely the location would have been well-marked, if at all.

It is a sad thing that Melchior led his family across hundreds of miles and was so close to the freedom he sought, only to die suddenly.

Below is a map showing the group’s travels based on Schultz’s journal entry: from Berthelsdorf, up the Elbe river (note that my red line does not follow the river) to Altona/Hamburg, via sea to Amsterdam and Haarlem, and to Rotterdam. The star shows an approximation of the town of Haarlem, just west of Amsterdam, where Melchior died and was buried.