002-SweetLandOfLiberty 8/16/00 3:44 PM Page i 002-SweetLandOfLiberty 8/16/00 3:44 PM Page ii 002-SweetLandOfLiberty 8/16/00 3:44 PM Page iii 002-SweetLandOfLiberty 8/16/00 3:44 PM Page iv Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fox,Francis S.,1925– Sweet land of liberty :the ordeal of the American Revolution in Northampton County,Pennsylvania / Francis Fox. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-271-02062-8 (cloth : alk.paper) ISBN 0-271-02063-6 (pbk.:alk.paper) 1. Northampton County (Pa.)—History—18th century. 2. Northampton County (Pa.)— Biography. 3. United States—History— Revolution,1775–1783—Social aspects. 4. Pennsylvania—History—Revolution, 1775–1783—Social aspects. 5. United States— History—Revolution,1775–1783—Biography. 6. Pennsylvania— History—Revolution, 1775–1783—Biography. I. Title. F157 .N7 F69 2000 974.82203—dc21 00-020695 CIP Copyright © 2000 The Pennsylvania State University All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Published by The Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park,PA 16802-1003 It is the policy of The Pen n s y lvania State Univer s i t y Press to use acid-free paper for the first printing of all clothbound books.Publications on uncoated stock satisfy the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials,ANSI Z39.48–1992. 002-SweetLandOfLiberty 8/16/00 3:44 PM Page v . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . It is our indispensable duty to establish such original principles of government,as will best promote the general happiness of the people of this State ...and provide for future improve- me n t s , without parti a l i t y for,or prejudice against any particular class, sect, or denomination of men whatever. —From the preamble to the Constitution ofPennsylvania,1776 002-SweetLandOfLiberty 8/16/00 3:44 PM Page vi 002-SweetLandOfLiberty 8/16/00 3:44 PM Page vii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Preface ix Introduction xiii Robert Levers Lewis Gordon Elias Long Henry Geiger Michael Ohl John Wetzel and John Ettwein Elizabeth Kurtz Joseph Romig Jacob Stroud George Taylor Phillis Mathew and Mary Myler Isaac Klinkerfuss Henry Legel EveYoder and Esther Bachman Afterword by Michael Zuckerman Abbreviations Notes Index 002-SweetLandOfLiberty 8/16/00 3:44 PM Page viii 002-SweetLandOfLiberty 8/16/00 3:44 PM Page ix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I still wore short pants when my mother began to infuse me with facts and fiction about ancestors and kin. On long journeys she smoothed the way with dramatic monologues—voice-overs, really—about runaway horses, picnics, berry picking, natural disasters, festive dinners, sleigh rides, wed- dings,and funerals.These stories teemed with grandparents,aunts,uncles, cousins—and black sheep.Over time Mother’s magical tales slipped away from me. But years later I discovered that the names of a few persons and places lodged in my memory. Around 1970,while browsing in a library,I came across a collection of books on Pennsylvania history.Annals ofBuffalo Valleycaught my eye.Set in ornate, cursive type decked with simulated gold leaf, this title illuminated the spine of the book from top to bottom.What is more,Buffalo Valley had a familiar ring.I pulled the volume from the shelf,turned to the index,and found an entry for John Kleckner,who,according to my mother,had been the progenitor of her line in America. However, as I learned that day, the honor actually belonged to John’s parents,who had emigrated to Pennsylva- nia in the eighteenth century.“Never heard of ’em,” said Mother.I decided then and there to search for the lost generation. Anthony and Elizabeth Kleckner,and their son,John,left Derschen— located in the Duchy of Wurttemberg,Germany—in 1753 and journeyed to Philadelphia,Pennsylvania.2Upon completing a seven-year indenture in Germantown, Anthony moved his family north and took up land in Northampton County.3In the search for my ancestor I discovered that An- thony had attended an auction in 1778 and purchased a set of blacksmith tools for £73.4 I pursued his lead and discovered that in 1778 a magistrate in North- ampton County had ordered eleven Mennonite men to swear allegiance to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,an oath mandated by law.The Men-