View of Wiesenheim am Sand Germany, looking northward.
(Photo courtesy of http://www.weisenheimamsand.de )
My family are descendents of German immigrants who settled in America in the second quarter of the eighteenth century. These immigrants came from southwestern Germany, an area that had suffered the dislocations of war and political upheaval beginning with the Thirty Year's War in 1618. The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 brought only a temporary respite, as throughout the seventeenth century, French and German armies moved back and forth through the area, wreaking havoc with the lives of the inhabitants. As a result, the area remained economically depressed, and the people there saw little hope of economic advancement.
Oblique aerial photo of Weisenheim am Sand, looking northwards. Weisenheim is a small wine-growing village near Ludwigshafen Germany. This is where my ancestors in Germany are from.
(Photo courtesy of http://www.weisenheimamsand.de )
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Weisenheim am Sand is a small village (population about 4,200) located near Ludwigshafen in the southwest German state called the Rheinland-Pfalz. The first settlement was the Lorsch monastary called "Wisha" in 771. In 991 a basilica was located there. Documents from 1141 show the basilica being turned over to the Bishop of Worms. Starting in 1209, "Wisha" appears repeatedly in writings of the Woerschwiler/Sarr monastary. In 1522 the first references to the name "Weißheim uffm Sand" (Weisenheim am Sand) emerge. The Reformation arrived in 1556 when Weisenheim became home to a Reformed Protestant church. The Reformed Church started in a former Gothic building from the 12th century. Today, only the 14th century clock tower of the origional 12th century building remains. There is a website about the village in both German and in English.
In the Eighteenth century, Germany was not a united nation. Instead, it consisted of numerous states, each controlled by its own independent ruler. These petty princesses levied exorbitant taxes to maintain their armies and extravagant lifestyles. Against this background, it is not surprising that large numbers of germans responded to the pamphlet literature, which described to them the golden opportunities waiting for them in William Penn's colony of Pennsylvania.
The Molls of Weisenheim
Hans Georg Moll was born about 1665. He was from Hesse, in the east-central part of Germany. On 19 November 1687 he married Esther Margaretha Schmidt, the daughter of Adam Schmidt. Hans Georg and Esther Margaretha Moll had the following known children:
Hans Michael, baptized 15 June 1698
Maria Ursula, baptized 8 May 1701
Johan Peter, baptized 25 March 1709.
It is likey there were other children. Hans Georg Moll was a church elder in the Weisenheim Reformed Congregation. According to the church register, Hans Georg Moll was buried 1 December 1729 in Weisenheim.
67256 Weisenheim am Sand, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany, Lat (DMS) 49° 31' 5N Long (DMS) 8° 14' 52E. This is the town in Germany where John Michael Moll emigrated to Pennsylvania from in 1731.
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Johan Michael Moll was baptized Hans Michael Moll, 15 June 1698, in the Reformed Church at Weisenheim, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany, with Hans Michael Strauss and Maria Margaretha as sponsors. Michael married Anna Rosina (parents unknown) in 1729. Their child Hiob was baptized 30 July 1730, at the Weisenheim am Sand Reformed Church. Hiob Moll died as an infant shortly thereafter. In 1731, Michael and Rosana elected to leave Germany and immigrate to the British colony of Pennsylvania in North America. The reason for their migration is unknown, probably economic, seeing a better life in the New World.
Michael and Rosina settled in the Goshenhoppen region of colonial Pennsylvania, about 40 miles northwest of Philadelphia, and remained there the rest of their lives. Their children migrated to other parts of Pennsylvania, and later generations found their lives and families throughout the independent United States.
They were the parents of three Revolutionary War patriots.
