Mathias Gmelin (1677-1756)

While searching for the gravestone of another early German immigrant by the name of Heinrich Kasselberg (1670-1729) for Find-A-Grave request, I went to the nearby Methacton Mennonite cemetery. It was a dreary overcast day, one that had begun with a heavy fog. A day just perfect for wandering around an old burial ground!


In the wall surrounding the cemetery, one finds a commemorative marker that begins, "This marks the place of the first church house built prior to 1771." The local historic society says the "oldest surviving stone in the cemetery (and within the township) appears to be that of George Beyer, age 4, dating to 1744, when this was a neighborhood cemetery."

So that rules out finding Henry Kasselberg here...

A giant white oak marks the northwest corner of the cemetery. The oak is estimated to be 300+ years old and may be the oldest living object east of the Mississippi River. I've written about this tree before.

I decided to see where Henry's offspring were buried, as there were several mentioned in the records. So I began to thread the rows of the cemetery noting the familiar family names. Some family names are remembered as street names, others as neighbohood areas.

Eventually, I came across this old stone. Typical of the period, it is inscribed in German.

I carefully wrote what it said in my notebook --

"Hier ruhet die Gebiene den
verstorbenen Mathias Gm
elin gebohren Im jahr 1677
Den 31 Jan Gestorben Im
jahr 1756 den 17 April
Seines Alter 79 jahr
2 Monath 2 Wochen
Und 3 T"
"Here rests the bones of Mathias Gmelin born in year 1677 on January 31 died in year 1756 on 17 April. His age 79 year 2 month 2 weeks and 3 days "

Born in Vaihingen an der Enz, son of Jeremias and Christina (Zimmerman) Gmelin. Grandson of Jeremias Gmelin, Lutheran pastor of some renown in Auggen, Germany. Mathias became a Pietist (The Pietist movement combined the Lutheranism of the time with the emphasis on individual piety and living a vigorous Christian life - which influenced the Mennonite and Amish) and became a member of the Schwazenau Brethren, and eventually immigrated to America. He was naturalized in Philadelphia Co. 9 Jan 1729/30. He settled at Methacton in Worcester Township. He was a farmer and also a glazier (a person whose profession is fitting glass into windows and doors) by trade.

He is a typical example of a German immigrant of the time. The Germans settled Germantown, about 10 miles west of Philadelphia, because the English-speaking residents of the growing city, including no less than Benjamin Franklin, told them "to keep going up the Schuylkill river, they were not wanted there" deeming them to be "...generally of the most ignorant Stupid Sort of their own Nation..."

Eye-opening, huh?