Frederick Hummel1

M, #3218, b. circa 14 April 1726, d. 24 June 1779
Last Edited: 22 Dec 2013

Family 1:

Rosina (?) b. 20 Dec 1732, d. 26 Dec 1768

Children:

Valentine Hummel+8,24 b. 17 Feb 1753, d. 20 Oct 1802
Eva Maria Hummel25,24 b. 7 Nov 1756
Frederick Hummel+ 25,24 b. 5 Oct 1758, d. 7 Dec 1802
David Hummel25 b. 9 Jan 1761, d. 3 Oct 1793
Rosina Hummel+24 b. 24 Feb 1764

Family 2:

Barbara Blessing b. c 1750, d. 1797

Children:

Catharina Hummel+26 b. 2 Aug 1770
Christian Hummel26 b. 25 May 1772, d. 7 Mar 1837
John Hummel26 b. 11 Oct 1774, d. 11 Sep 1832
Elizabeth Barbara Hummel26 b. 20 Jun 1777, d. 25 Mar 1834

Notes

  • Note*: Frederick Hummel's origins are unknown. Legends abound, but after extensive research by Janet Snyder Welsh and others, no records have been found of his immigration, nor links of him to the pioneer Hummel families in Berks and neighboring counties, nor with the first Palentate arrivals from New York.

    The Biographical Encyclopedia of Dauphin County (published 1898) and the History of Dauphin County (1907) both state that he was born in Wurtemburg, Germany and that his first wife Rosina was born in Pfalz, Germany; evidence for these statements has not been found.6,7
  • Note: The earliest record of Frederick Hummel is the baptism of his son Valentine recorded by Rev. Johann Caspar Stover. Weiser's translation & abstract: "Friedrich Hummel, Sw., a son Joh. Valentin, born 1753 February 17, baptized 1753 February 24, sponsors: Joh. Valentin Kittering and Juliana Grosserin." The "Sw." means either Swatara Township or Swatara Creek [which is the northern boundary of Derry Township]. So by 1753 Frederick Hummel lived in what is now Dauphin County, in either Derry or an adjacent township.8
  • Note: The baptism records of Frederick Hummel's children are from three churches: 1) The earliest child at Hill Evangelical Lutheran Church, on Quittapahilla Creek, in what is now North Annville Township, Lebanon County, about 14 miles east of Hummelstown; 2) The next three children at St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Derry Township, Dauphin County, also called Hill Church, about two miles south of Hummelstown; and 3) all the children at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, Hummelstown, Derry Township, Dauphin County.
  • Note: Hummelstown: On 6 Oct 1762 John Campbell and his wife Margaret granted to Frederick Hummel a tract of 151 acres plus allowances in Derry Township, Lancaster County, now Dauphin County (Lanc. H:100). Here Frederick Hummel laid out a plan for a town called Fredericks Town, later named Hummelstown. The tract appears on the PHMC Warrantee township map, along Swatara Creek, originally warranted to Henry Chambers.

    Within four months the General Plan for the town had been recorded and lots were being sold. On 25 Jan 1763 Frederick Hummel of Derry Twp. and wife Rosina sold lot #28 to Anthony Emerick for 15 shillings (ref. Dauphin 1M:351). That lot adjoined a lot previously purchased by Christopher Wigman. Many lots were sold prior to his death (per Dauphin Co. Deeds Bk. 1 G, p. 329).

    Lands were sold with ground rents due yearly in two parts: Typically 6 shillings British Sterling per lot were due to Frederick Hummel and his heirs, and one shilling to the church. These continued to be due until 1877 (Welch, p. 7)

    He also purchased 100 acres across the river in Cumberland county in 1774 (Penn Archives).9,10,11,12,13
  • Note: Lancaster County Tax Lists:

    Tax Lists (Hawbaker, Vol. 3, p. 49):
    1759, Derry, East End, Humble, Fredrick

    Tax Lists (Penn Archives, 3rd Series, Vol. 17, p. 29, 202, 341):
    1771, Lancaster Co., Frederick Town:
    Fred'k Hummel - 50 acres, 2 horses, 2 cattle, no servants, 10 shillings

    1772, Derry Township, Fredrick Town:
    Fred'k Hummel - 50 acres, 3 horses, 3 cattle, no servants, 9 shillings

    1773, Hummels Town:
    Fred'k Hummel - 50 acres, 2 horses, 2 cattle, no servants, 12 shillings

    Tax Lists (Hawbaker, Vol. 2, p. 36):
    1779, Derry Township, Humbel, Fredrick

    Tax Lists (Penn Archives, 3rd Series, Vol. 17, p. 730):
    1782, Lancaster Co., Humble's Town:
    Frederick Humble,     1,500 acres14,15
  • Note: Patriotic service - Hummelstown Resolves 1774: At public meetings in Lancaster County revolutionary resolves were proclaimed at Hanover 4 June 1774 and at Middletown 10 June 1774. "Not to be behind their Scotch-Irish neighbors, the German inhabitants located in the east of the county met at Frederickstown (now Hummelstown), on Saturday, the 11th of June, at which Capt. Frederick Hummel was chairman, resolving to stand by the other townships in all their action."
    [Text of Hanover Resolves & others: Penn. Archives, 2nd Series, Vol. XIII, p. 271.]16
  • Note: Military service - Associators 1776: On 13 Mar 1776 Frederick Hummel was elected 2d Major of the Fourth Battalion Lancaster County Associators, under Col. James Burd. (Penn. Archives, 5th series, 7:335)
    Companies of this battalion were active participants in various engagements in New York and New Jersey in 1776.
    This compiler could find no further reference to Frederick Hummel in this role. Any help would be appreciated.

    Military service - Militia 1777: The militia rolls for 1777 list private "Fred. Humbel, S'nr." in the 3rd class of Capt. William Laird's company, the Seventh company, Sixth Battalion, Lancaster Co. (Penn. Archives, 5th Series, 7:535). His Military Abstract Card indicates there was an Appeal Book entry Dec. 29, 1777 for 'over age'. And he does not appear in the militia rolls for 1778-79.15,17
  • Note: Patriotic service - Gun Repair, 1777: A payment of £1.2.6, categorized under "Guns", was made to "Capt. Fred. Hummel, to repairs besides Moulds, Thimble & Screw". This item is in a list submitted by Jas. Collier, 1st. Lieut. stating "that the Losses...were sustained during the Time I belonged to Capt'n Reed's Company at the Retreat from long island & the white plain. Given under by hand this 8th Day of August, 1777." (Penn. Archives, 5th series, 7:355)

    This payment entry is open to interpretation: Hummel may have made the repairs, or a gun owned by him and used by someone else needed repair. Compare it to another entry in the same list, under "Guns", to "Widow Shell", and in another company's list to "Widow Diveler, to repair of George Cooper's gun".
  • Note: Patriotic service - Gun Manufacture, 1777: A "Miscelaneous List of Revolutionary Soldiers" states "Hummel, Frederick, appointed in charge of manufacture of guns at Hummelstown, to rank as Captain, September 13, 1777." (Penn. Archives, 3rd series, 23:462.)

    Due to the British advance, the gun factory in Philadelphia was moved to Hummelstown from October 1777 to December 1778 (see Heckert paper). The move included tools, craftsmen and their families. The Executive Council resolution to establish the factory was made 3 Oct 1777. Hummel's role is unclear; executive Council correspondence regarding the factory was all with Peter de Haven, the superintendent. (Penn Archives, 1st series, VI:52, 58, 453, 475, 633, 640, VII:133, XI:379)

    Presumably this 1777 statement about Captain Hummel, and the one above regarding gun repair, refer to Frederick Hummel senior, rather than to his son who only turned eighteen in October 1776.18,19,15
  • Note: Land for church
    "Frederick Hummel wanted to provide for the financial and spiritual welfare of his family by buying land and recreating the society he had left behind in Germany, which included a town and the German Protestant churches, Lutheran and Reformed. He was a Lutheran and it is this church that benefited most from his stewardship. In the deed transferring land from Hummel to the church on June 24, 1766, he stipulated that 'the German Evangelical Lutheran Congregation professing the Doctrine Worship and Discipline agreeable to the Invariable Confession of Augsburg' was the holder of the deed...The deed also provided for a school and a cemetery."20
  • Note: English translation of will of Frederick Hummel, Derry Township, Lancaster Co., yeoman. Will written 8 April 1779, proven 21 July 1779.
    Wife Barbara to have one third interest of the plantation, choice of houses to live in, household goods and livestock. Eldest son Valentine to have £30. Frederick and David to have the town and the plantation. Rosina to have household goods and livestock. Christian and John to have plantations in Greenwood Township, Cumberland County [now Perry County], and in Armstrong Valley, Upper Paxton Township, Lancaster County. George [not further identified] to teach Frederick to read and write in English. Ground rents to be used for schooling the children, in English - in 1779 for David and Rosina, in 1780 for Catharine and Christian, in 1781 for John and Barbara. Properties to be appraised after two years. All children to be equal heirs. Executors John Wunderlich & [son] Valentine Hummel; guardian John Eardy; witnesses Adam Dihin [Dilin, Dilman] and Jacob Ricker.
    Lancaster Co. Will Book Y, Vol. 2, pages 253-254. [Photocopy from Lancaster County Archives; abstracted by compiler.]
  • Note: The will of Frederick Hummel of Derry Township in Lancaster Co., yeoman, was proved 21 July 1779. Witnesses Adam Deehm and Jacob Ricker appeared. Letters Testamentary were granted to executors John Wunderlick and Valentine Hummel. "The Last Will and Testament of Frederick Hummel of the Township of Derry in the County of Lancaster being written in High Dutch and therefore could not be Recorded."
    Lancaster Co. Will Book C, p. 551. Viewed on FHL microfilm 21335. [Abstracted by the compiler.]21
  • Note: On 25 Sept 1789 "On motion...in behalf of Frederick Hummel & David Hummel, sons and legatees of Frederick Hummel late of Derry Township deceased, and..with the consent and approbation of Valentine Hummel & John Wunderlick executors..., Peter Friedley in right of his wife Eve, John Wunderlick in right of his wife Catharina, Rosina Hummel and John Early guardian over persons & estates of Christian Hummel, John Hummel & Barbara Hummel, minor children of the aforesaid Frederick Hummel" the court appointed six men to value the lands and estate in and near Hummels Town devised to Frederick Hummel & David Hummel by their late father Frederick Hummel.
    [Dauphin Orphans' Court Dockets, Vol. 1A, p. 203-204, image 123-124.]

    On 19 Nov 1789 the valuation was reported to the court as £910.
    [Dauphin Orphans' Court Dockets, Vol. 1A, p. 207, image 125]

    On 9 April 1790 the account stating the real and personal estate of Frederick Hummel was
    approved by the court with the concurrence of the parties interested. The widow's dower or third was
    £249.5.10; the share for the nine children or their heirs was £55.8.4 3/4 each.
    [Dauphin Orphans' Court Dockets, Vol. 1A, p. 278, image 160]

    Researcher Janet Welsh points out that an earlier appraisal of the real estate at £1205 had been recorded in Lancaster County Orphans' Court 3 Dec 1782 (before Dauphin County was split off). Use of the later valuation meant that Barbara, the widow and second wife, received about £99 less, and her children together £109 less.22,23

Citations

  1. [S559] Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, Hummelstown, Pa. FHL microfilm #1433180, item 7 originals. item 8 translation by Frederick S. Weiser. #1433181, item 1 translations continued, item 2 typescript. It. 7. p. 90, It. 8, p. 243, Baptism of children of "Friedrich Humel & fr. Rosina".
  2. [S528] Welsh, Janet Snyder, The Hummels : Paper Given At The Hummelstown Area Historical Society By Janet Welsh On The Occasion of The Celebration Of Frederick Hummel's 250th Birthday (Copy courtesy of David Leebrick, May 21, 2013, ), p. 3.   Welsh--The-Hummels--Hummelstown-Area-Hist-Soc.pdf
  3. [S474] Stoever, Johann Casper, Early Lutheran Baptisms and Marriages in Southeastern Pennsylvania : The Records of Rev. John Casper Stoever from 1730 to 1779, orig. publ. 1892, with an index by Elizabeth P. Bentley (Baltimore: Genealogical Publ. Co., 1988), p. 73.   Stoever--Early-Lutheran.pdf
  4. [S155] Find A Grave; url: http://www.findagrave.com/
  5. [S155] Find A Grave; url: http://www.findagrave.com/, FindAGrave Memorial# 22726736. Photos by Egg_and_Dart. Hummel Memorial Cemetery.
  6. [S528] Welsh, Janet Snyder, The Hummels, p. 2-3.   Welsh--The-Hummels--Hummelstown-Area-Hist-Soc.pdf
  7. [S76] Commemorative Biographical Encyclopedia Of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania; Containing Sketches Of Prominent And Representative Citizens, And Many Of The Early Scotch-Irish And German Settlers; Illustrated (Chambersburg, Pa.: J.M. Runk & Company, 1896).
  8. [S526] Weiser, Frederick S., translated and abstracted by, Hill Evangelical Lutheran Church near Cleona and Annville in North Annville Township, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, Parish Registers, 1743-1943. Also known as Evangelical Lutheran congregation on the Quittapohila in [then] Lebanon Township, Lebanon County. Earliest records by Rev. Johann Caspar Stover (FHL microfilm 1723651, item 3, ), p. 31.
  9. [S254] Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania, Recorder of Deeds; Deeds, 1729-1867 ; Index, 1729-1894. FHL microfilm series. Deed Book H, page 100, FHL microfilm 21384.
  10. [S522] Website: Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, State Archives, Land Records, Related Resources: Land Records Indices. URL Oct 2021: https://www.phmc.pa.gov/Archives/Research-Online/Pages/…
  11. [S112] Dauphin Co. Pennsylvania; Recorder of Deeds. FHL microfilm series. Vol 1M, p. 351 Hummel to Emerick, FHL 21266.
  12. [S528] Welsh, Janet Snyder, The Hummels, p. 7.   Welsh--The-Hummels--Hummelstown-Area-Hist-Soc.pdf
  13. [S340] Pennsylvania Archives, digital image, Fold3.com Series 3, Vol. 24, p. 690. Warantees of Land Cumberland Co.; June 1774.
  14. [S201] Hawbaker, Gary T. and Clyde L. Groff, A New Index Lancaster County, Pennsylvania before the Federal Census. Vol 2. Index to the 1750 Tax Records. Vol. 3 Index to the 1780 Tax Records (Hershey, Pa.: 1982).   Hawbaker--New-Index.pdf
  15. [S340] Pennsylvania Archives, digital image, Fold3.com.
  16. [S76] Commemorative Biographical Encyclopedia Of Dauphin Co, p. 32.
  17. [S523] Website: Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, State Archives, Revolutionary War Military Abstract Card File. Series #13.50. Images.
  18. [S202] Heckert, J. Wayne, "Rifles and Muskets of the Swatara: Clandestine Hummelstown Factory Armed the Revolution", The Kentucky Rifle Association Bulletin Vol. 34, No. 1 (Fall 2007), p. 3-6. footnoted.   Heckert--Rifles-and-Muskets-on-the-Swatara.pdf
  19. [S303] "Minutes of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, from its organization to the termination of the Revolution, Vol. XI", Colonial Records of Pennsylvania, Volume 11 ((viewed on Google eBook), ), XI:314, 337, 331, 363, 394.
  20. [S562] "Zion's Foundation" in Lutheran Historical Society of the Mid-Atlantic Newsletter, Vol. 15 Issue 2 (Spring 2004). Copy obtained from Allen County Public Library.    Luth-Hist-Soc--Zions-Foundation.pdf
  21. [S255] Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania, Register of Wills; Wills, 1730-1908 ; Index to Wills, 1729-1947. FHL microfilm series.
  22. [S330] Orphans' Court Dockets, 1785-1852 ; Index to Orphans' Court Dockets 1785-1937. FHL microfilm series.; available of FamilySearch.org
  23. [S528] Welsh, Janet Snyder, The Hummels.   Welsh--The-Hummels--Hummelstown-Area-Hist-Soc.pdf
  24. [S559] Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, Hummelstown, Pa. FHL microfilm #1433180, item 7 originals. item 8 translation by Frederick S. Weiser. #1433181, item 1 translations continued, item 2 typescript., p. 3, baptism of children of Frederick Hummel and wife Rosine.
  25. [S395] Saint Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Typescript. Translated by Frederick Weiser. Also known as Hill Church and Sand Hill Church and Maxe Church. FHL microfilm 1433179, item 2. p. 11, baptism of children of Fridrich Hummel.
  26. [S559] Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, Hummelstown, Pa. FHL microfilm #1433180, item 7 originals. item 8 translation by Frederick S. Weiser. #1433181, item 1 translations continued, item 2 typescript., p. 3, baptism of children of Frederick Hummel and 2nd wife, Barbara.