The Original Thirteen Families of Germantown

 The story of the first settlers of Germantown begins in the flat countryside of the lower Rhine River in Germany. They were originally Mennonites, but most of them had become Quakers and had formed a small Quaker meeting for worship in the town of Krefeld. Persecuted by the authorities, they responded eagerly to William Penn's call for Quakers to settle in his new colony of Pennsylvania. After an arduous journey down the Rhine to Rotterdam and a longer journey across the Atlantic in a small crowded ship, they finally arrived in the fall of 1683. Their first act in the colony was to gather together in a crude wooden house in Philadelphia and draw lots for their land north from the city, along a dirt trail that would become known as Germantown Road. There they settled, raised their families, wove fine linen, and established their own little township with its own town government and court. This small beginning was the first German settlement in Pennsylvania and it had an impact on Pennsylvania history far beyond the thirteen founding families. Their stories are full of drama, humor, and above all, human interest.

Sue Long