These pages focus on the descendants of Elizabeth Schwalm (1798-1843), who was the daughter of Johannes Schwalm and Ottilia Bobb. Elizabeth married Alexander Klinger (1797-1827), son of Alexander Klinger and Magalena Haag, and grandson of Johann Philip Klinger and Eva Elizabeth Beilstein.
Johannes Schwalm was born on 20 May 1749, Merzhausen, Germany. He was a career soldier who came to America in 1776 as part of the von Knyphausen Regiment of Hessian soldiers contracted by Landgrave Frederick of Hesse-Cassel to fight on behalf of the British against the rebelling American colonists.
After landing in August, 1776, his Regiment was sent to Long Island, before moving to Trenton, NJ, to participate in the fighting there. In December, 1776, he was taken prisioner and later transfered to Lancaster, PA, where a number of prisioners were housed. Eventually he was part of a prisioner exchange on June 21, 1778, but was recaptured in 1779 as his regiment was attempting to leave America and was jailed in Philadelphia perhaps until about 1783.
In 1788, Johannes bought a small farm in what is now Lebanon County, east of Myerstown. In 1795, he sold that property and moved "across the Blue Mountain" following the Tulpehocken Path to the area east of what is now Klingerstown in Schuylkill County, along the Mahantongo Creek. He married Ottilia Bobb after 1788 and died most likely on 25 December 1833, at age 84. More information about Johannes, as well as Frederick S. Schwalm, can be found in the book "Johannes Schwalm the Hessian," published in 1976 by the Johannes Schwalm Historical Association (https://www.jsha.org/).
Alexander Klinger's grandfather, Philip Klinger, immigrated to America from Pfaffen-Beerfurth in what is now Hesse, Germany, in 1741. He settled in Reading, Berks County, PA, before acquiring about 1,000 acres of land near Klingerstown, PA, along the boundary between what is now Schuylkill County and Dauphin County, PA. Philip's land was mostly in what is now Dauphin County, PA, near the village of Erdman. Philip served in the Revolutionary War and is recognized as a Patriot by the Daughters of the American Revolution.
While Alexander's grandfather fought on behalf of the Colonial cause, Elizabeth's father fought on behalf of the British cause. That did not, however, stop the two families from intermarrying extensively.
Elizabeth Schwalm and Alexander Klinger, lived with Alexander's parents on Philip Klinger's homestead, which was close to what is now Klinger's Church, near Erdman, Dauphn County, PA. Many of their descendants, especially in the first several generations, lived in Dauphin, Northumberland, or Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, although some of them moved westward in the 19th Century to places like Iowa and Kansas.
It is intended that non-public, personal details about persons who are or may be living be excluded from these listings. These pages are a "work in progress" and subject to further revision and correction. The listings will be updated from time to time as additional information comes to light.
These listings draw on a variety of sources of varying quality, but any mistakes in their use or omission are my responsibility. Anyone with additional information or corrections should contact the compiler listed below.
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