Bios: REV JOHN CONRAD BUCHER, 1730-1780: Lebanon/Cumberland Counties, PA
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Source: THE PENNSYLVANIA GERMAN, Vol IV, LEBANON PA, July 1903, No. 3.,
FAMOUS PENNSYLVANIA GERMANS
REV JOHN CONRAD BUCHER
Scholar, Soldier and Pioneer Preacher
by REV. A. STAPLETON, A.M., M.S.
[small illustration on first page: Bucher Arms -- "Shield, Azure, and Centre
Argent on which is a Beech tree -- eradicated, vert, on which hangs a
hunter's horn-- stringed, or -- Crest, the tree and horn as on the shield."]
"From time immemorial the natives of Switzerland have been noted
for their valor, love of freedom and nobility of character. Not even the
mighty legions of Julius Caesar could conquer the brave inhabitants of her
snow capped Alpine summits and lake-embosomed valleys. Her history abounds
in episodes of startling and abosrbing interest, and her territorial limits
have ever been too circumscribed for her virile race, hence great numbers
of her people have sought a wider field for their activities in foreign
lands.
During the provincial period of our country the stream of
immigration from Switzerland to America was very heavy, especially to
Pennsylvania, and this Commonwealth can point to no better class of people
within her bounds than the descendants of the Swiss immigrants. From this
famous land and race came John Conrad Bucher -- the scholar, soldier and
pioneer preacher.
PARENTAGE AND EARLY LIFE
John Conrad Bucher came from a distinguished patrician family,
whose ancestral records run back in an unbroken line over four centuries.
They were of the Reformed faith and prominent in church life from the days
of the Reformation. As indicating the rank of the family it may be noted
that Mary Elizabeth (1732-1812), a sister to John Conrad Bucher, became the
wife of the Count John Conrad von Pyre. John Conrad Bucher was born July
13th, 1730, in Neukirk, near the city of Schaffhausen, on the Rhine. His
father, John Jacob Bucher, was "land vogt" of the district of Schaffhausen.
This office was of considerable importance. The father spared no pains or
expense in the education of his son. The records show that John Conrad
attended the Universities of Basil and St. Gall in his own country, besides
visiting, as was then the custom, other great seats of learning, to round
out his education. His "Gedenk Buch" (memento book) contained the
autographs of Zollikoffer, the great theologian, and Mosheim, the renowned
church historian, and others; men who were leaders in the literary world of
that day.
Besides a knowledge of the classical, he also possessed a thorough
knowledge of Hebraec and European languages. Among his theological books
are Dutch, French, English and German, all of which bear marks of studious
usage. His sermon notes abound in Greek-Latin and Hebrew references which
indicates a practical knowledge of these languages in a degree rarely
possessed by literary men.
[small oval illustration on page 292: Countess Von Pyre, nee Mary Elizabeth
Bucher, sister of Rev J. Conrad Bucher, born in Switzerland, May 16, 1732,
married first to Dr Ott and secondly to Junker J. Conrad Pyre.]
HIS COMING TO PENNSYLVANIA AND MILITARY CAREER.
The general supposition is that John Conrad Bucher, like many other
young men of quality, took service in the army of the Dutch Republic, and
then entered the British Army under a commission at the breaking out of the
war between France and England in 1755. It is well known that England at
this period sought the services of competent foreign officers to command her
troops sent to operate against the French in America. It has been held that
Bucher came as an officer in the Braddock Expedition which arrived in the
spring of 1755, and that he was present at the crushing defeat of Braddock
at Ft. Duquesne, July 9, 1755. Against this supposition stands the fact
that Bucher's arrival is given as November 1st, 1755, at which time the
army had been withdrawn from Western Pennsylvania, and was preparing to
operate in distant quarters. It should also be noted that he brought with
him a large number of theological books -- family heirlooms -- genealogical
records etc., all of which indicates his arrival in a civilian instead of a
military capacity. Among the relics mentioned is a massive gold signet
ring. The Bucher coat of arms is cut intaglio in a fine square ruby,
flanked with diamonds. This ring bears the date 1541, and has been in the
family since that time.
FORBES' EXPEDITION
[footnote: Vide Penna Arch. Second Series, Vol 11, p. 559.]
The first definite knowledge we have of our subject in a military
capacity is his participation in the expedition of General Forbes for the
reduction of the French at Fort Duquesne in 1758. In that expedition the
British forces were supplemented by a Pennsylvania contingent of 2,800 men,
mostly commanded by German, Dutch and Swiss officers.
The intelligent reader need hardly be told that this Expedition in
which the youthful Colonel Washington, who was fated to become "the father
of his country," again distinguished himself, was of the greatest
importance to the Province, as one of its immediate results was the
founding of Pittsburg on the site of the captured Fort Duquesne, and the
opening up of the Upper Ohio region for settlement.
After the successful termination of the expedition in the autumn of
1758, the Provincial forces were disbanded with the exception of 150 men
who were stationed in small detachments in the frontier forts. Bucher
remained in this service and was stationed at Ft. Louther, at Carlisle,
Penna. In 1759 he was in charge of small detachments on the frontier,
spending most of his time at Ft. Louther. In the winter of 1759 and 1760 he
was in charge of the garrison at Carlisle, and acted also as recruiting
officer. On February 26, 1760 he was married at Carlisle, as will be
presently more fully noted. On April 19th he was commissioned lieutenant,
and placed in command of the defenses of the valley, as is shown in the
following order:
"Carlisle, 12th June 1760
"Sir-- I am commanded by General Monkton* [*footnote: Commander of
the British forces] to acquaint you that you are to remain at Carlisle--
with the command of -- rank and file to guard the king's stores stationed
at that place. The General has therefore seen fit to order that you are not
on any account to absent yourself from Carlisle or suffer any of your
command to do it. You will carefully preserve an exact discipline and give
all the assistance in your power to Mr. Adam Hoops, agent to the provision
contractors in loading and unloading and forwarding the stores and
provisions to the army. The General has also directed me to acquaint you
that he has ordered the commanding officer at Shippensburg to report to
you, and he is to follow all such orders and directions as you may from
time to time have occasion to send him, copy thereof you are, with your own
reports, to transmit to the General.
"I am, sir, your most obedient humble servant
"Horatio Gates, M.B.
"To Lieut. Boughart, of the 1st Bat. The Penna. Regt."
The war between the mother country and France was still in progress
and the times were full of peril. Indian forrays were frequent, and
Bucher's command was frequently called out to repel the savage invaders. In
the autumn of this year he received the following order from General Gates,
the commanding officer:
"Carlisle, 3rd November, 1760
"Sir-- It is General Monkton's orders that you march forthwith to
join Captain Nelson on Sideling Hill with all the men of your command here
that are fit for duty. When you have performed all the services required of
you by Captain Nelson you are to return to Carlisle.
"I am, sir, your obedient, humble servant,
"Horatio Gates, M.B.
"To Lieut. Bougert, commanding detachment of the Pennsylvania,
Carlisle."
After this service he returned to the post at Carlisle for the
winter. The following spring, under orders of General Monkton, dated June
12th 1761, Lieutenant Bucher was placed in charge of the transportation
service at Ft. Pitt, a position that required great energy and alertness in
view of the great danger from the wily savages.
PONTIAC'S WAR
In 1762 we have nothing definite in regard to the movements of
Lieut. Bucher, other than may be gathered from the general operations of
the Provincial troops on the Pennsylvania frontiers as found in the
Archives of the State. A sudden change, however, occurred to break the
monotony and routine of garrison duty. Although the Treaty of Paris in
February, 1763, had closed hostilities between the mother country and
France, nevertheless the greatest peril that ever confronted Pennsylvania,
with the exception of the Confederate Invasion, during the civil War, was
suddenly thrust upon our frontiers by the uprising of the Indian tribes of
the Northwest.
This movement in the spring of 1763, known in history as "Pontiac's
Conspiracy," was a concerted action of the Northwestern tribes to make a
simultaneous attack on all the frontier forts from Fort Bedford at the base
of the Alleghenies to Detroit in the Lake region, with the purpose of
driving the encroaching white race into the sea. The great conspiracy was
well planned, and eight of the eleven garrisoned posts quickly succumbed. A
great number of soldiers and civilians were cruelly butchered by the
savages, and over 2,000 families, or practically all the inhabitants north
of the Blue Mountains, fled for their lives. The Pennsylvania Archives
state that on July 25, there were 1,384 refugees in the little village of
Shippensburg alone. Details of this great struggle are not material in this
connection, except as they may be related to the subject of this biography.
As soon as possible the British Government dispatched all the regular
troops available to Carlisle, where a formidable expedition was fitted out
for the relief of Fort Legonier and Fort Pitt, then closely besieged by the
red men. The command of this perilous expedition was intrusted to Col.
Bouquet, who, like Lieutenant Bucher, was a Swiss in the British service.
With this expedition was attached a part of the royal American Regiment,
composed of brave Pennsylvania frontiersmen, to whose lot it fell to do the
hard work of flanking and pioneering. In this command was John Conrad
Bucher, as Lieutenant in Captain James Piper's company. The expedition
proceeded undisturbed on its way to the relief of Fort Pitt, until they
reached Bushy Run, in now Westmoreland County. Here on August 5th, the
advance guard was suddenly set upon by the Indians in force, who had left
their investment of Fort Pitt and had purposed to ambush the expedition.
The main force of Bouquet was hurried forward and one of the most terrific
battles ever fought between the white and red races ensued. When darkness
closed the conflict at night it showed the army in dire straits, with every
prospect of being utterly annihilated on the following day. May we not
suppose that Lieutenant Bucher, who as we shall presently show, was already
then a minister, spent this night of woe and dispair in giving spiritual
comfort to the dying, and, like Paul at Melita, cheering his fellow men
with the promises of Divine assistance? Of his timely ministrations in thie
dire extremity we have no doubt.
The battle of Bushy Run was won by the whites and the army saved
from destruction by a brilliant ruse, into which the Indians, who were led
by some of the shrewdest chiefs their race has ever produced, should have
been the last to fall. On the second day of the battle the whites purposely
attenuated their line of battle at a point where the Indians were most
strongly massed. Bouquet had rightly divined what the foe would
consequently think and do. Without dreaming of its purpose, and supposing
that the thin line meant weakness and was easy of penetration, the red men
rushed against this point of least resistance, never dreaming of the
fleet-footed 77th Highlanders and royal Americans, who had been partly
concealed, and who, quickly enfilading them, crushed them as between the
upper and nether millstone. The brilliant victory that followed broke the
power of the red men-- the beleaguered forts were relieved, and Pontiac's
conspiracy foiled.
Contemporaneous with this movement, a force of Indians had
collected on the Great Island in the Susquehanna river below the present
city of Lock Haven. A company of Lancaster County Rangers had a severe
encounter with a part of this Indian force, in the Muncy Hills, in which
both sides sustained a considerable loss.
To clear the entire region of hostiles an expedition under Captain
Armstrong, fitted out at Fort Shirely in Huntington county, consisting of
about 300 Provincials. In this expedition was Lieutenant Bucher, who acted
in the capacity of adjutant to the command. Armstrong hoped to surprise the
Indians, but the wily savers were alert, and as the whites approached, they
abandoned their encampment, leaving behind a considerable amount of
supplies.
A part of the Provincial force remained on the Island until late in
November. In that month a sale was held of the captured stores, Lieutenant
Bucher acting as clerk. The purchasers were mostly officers from the
Cumberland Valley.
BOUQUET's GREAT EXPEDITION
Although the Indians were defeated, they were not wholly subdued.
Convoys to the frontier forts were still attacked, and Indian bands
penetrated the settlements, leaving death and destruction in their trail.
On July 26, 1764, Enoch Brown, a school master and all his pupils, with one
exception, were massacred and the school house burned, a few miles north of
Green Castle, in now Franklin county.
To send an overpowering force right into the Indian country and
destroy their villages and plantations was an undertaking of last resort,
and all the resources of the province were taxed to fit out the expedition.
This great movement was again entrusted to the efficient leadership
of Colonel Bouquet, and the place of rendezvous was again Carlisle. A great
quantity of stores and ammunition was gathered here for the maintenance of
the army. To this command was attached the Second Battalion of the
Pennsylvania regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Asher Clayton commanding. On July
12, 1764, Lieutenant Bucher was promoted to the rank of Adjutant in which
capacity he had previously served, as we have already noted. This promotion
was quickly followed by another, namely, on July 31 when he was given a
captain's commission. Captain Bucher acted as adjutant for his regiment in
this expedition, and some of his neatly-kept and hitherto unpublished
returns are still in the possession of his descendants. As showing the
great importance of this expedition it is worthy of note that the
Government bent every energy to equip it. Governor John Penn, grandson of
the founder of the Province, came personally to Carlisle to direct its
organization. After many vexatious delays the army was ready on August 9th,
1764, to enter upon the most daring and formidable expedition ever sent
against the red race. After an encouraging address by Governor Penn, the
army took up its line of march over the old Forbes road, by way of Forts
Bedford and Pitt, right into the heart of the Indian country on the
Muskingum river in Ohio. The brilliant success of the expedition, in the
subjugation of the red men and the recovery of over 400 white captives,
with which the touching story of the little German girl Regina is
inseparably connected, need not be related here.
Peace having dawned at last, Captain Bucher resigned from the army
in the spring of 1765, after a continuous service of about seven years.
By the terms of their service in the last campaign, which is the
"Bouquet Expedition" of history, the officers of the Provincial contingent
were entitled to bounty lands. At a meeting held on the 8th of September,
at Ft. Bedford, on their return march, they decided to select their lands
in close proximity. A command was appointed to negotiate the matter with
the Government. In 1768 and 1769, on the west branch of the Susquehanna
river, 24,000 acres were surveyed for them in Buffalo valley, in now Union
and Bald Eagle Valley, in now Clinton and Centre county, and on the
Chillisquaqua creek above Sunbury. The tracts were given by drawing lots,
Captain Bucher obtaining a fine body of land in Buffalo Valley, which he
exchanged for a property in Lebanon, which remained in the possession of
his descendants until 1844. After a most eventful military service of seven
years, in which period he participated in three great campaigns, frought
with peril, and all the excitement incidental to contact with hostile
savages, it would seem Captain Bucher, now a regular minister, still
inclined to the public service. There is extant a letter written to him,
dated at army headquarters, in New York, April 27, 1769, by an officer
named John Small, in which the writer acknowledges the receipt of a letter
from Bucher, written at Carlisle "about a twelvemonth ago," in which the
latter's application for a chaplaincy or some other government service, is
clearly implied. The writer was an intimate friend and states that he had
worked unremittingly in Bucher's interests, but hither to without avail,
and advised him to communicate directly with General Sir Frederick
Haldemand, who was also a Swiss in the British service, and at that time in
command of the South, with headquarters in Florida.
When the War of the Revolution broke out, it found Captain Bucher
in ill health, as the result of his severe service in the frontier wars.
His military ardor, however, was undaunted and the fire of his Swiss
patriotism unquenched, and he was ready to enter the struggle for American
freedom.
In the previous wars, as we have seen, he served in a purely
military capacity, but in the new conflict he chose a relation more in
harmony with his holy calling. He accepted the chaplaincy in the "Germany
Regiment," so called because composed of soldiers from the German counties
of Pennsylvania.
We have no data relating to his services in the opening stages of
the war, but that he was in active service in 1776, there can be no doubt.
In the spring of 1777, it is probable that his feeble health did not permit
him to follow the fortunes of war, and he sought and obtained a leave of
absence. Among his papers is an autograph letter in the German language,
from that stern old disciplinarian, the Baron von Arnt, at that time in
command of the regiment, of which the following is a translation:
"Quibbleton, May 4th 1777
"Highly Honored Sir Chaplain-- At my entry into the Regiment it
came to my knowledge that you were attached to it as Chaplain, but are now
at home on leave, but as I cannot have anybody belonging to the Regiment
absent without the greatest necessity, I herewith give you the order to
return to it without further delay, otherwise your resignation will be
required, and some one else take your place, so I do hope to have the
pleasure of seeing you with us soon.
"I am respectfully,
"Baron Von Arnt
Col. of the German Regiment.
The records of the German Regiment are very imperfect, and we do
not know whether Chaplain Bucher obeyed the summons or not. In the event of
his return, he saw plenty of hot work, in the campaign in which the
regiment participates soon after this summons.
HIS MINISTERIAL CAREER
It has been already observed that John Conrad Bucher came to
America with a very thorough intellectual equipment, undoubtedly with a
purpose to pursue the sacred calling of the ministry. By what authority he
was invested with the ministerial office we have not as yet determined, but
of its regularity we cannot doubt.
He first began to exercise ministerial functions in the spring of
1763, in Carlisle, while in command of a detachment of Provincials there.
His marriage record begins in March, and his baptismal record in April of
this year. Some of his sermon notes are also dated at Carlisle in the
beginning of this year. His baptismal and matrimonial entries in 1763 and
1764 are broken by great gaps caused by the military campaigns with which
he was connected. He, however, exercised occasionally while in active
service at such widely separated points as Fort Leigonier, Bedford,
Redstone, Fort Pitt and the Susquehanna. His marriage record for 1765
included 44 pairs, and a much larger number in 1766, showing him to have
been popular in this line of service. After his resignation from the army
in 1765 he became the pastor of the Reformed Society at Carlisle and
Falling Springs, or Chambersburg, in the Cumberland Valley, and Middletown
and Hummelstown, east of the Susquehanna. This is shown by his records,
which bear entries of baptismal services, etc., under these respective
captions. In 1766, he was regularly ordained by the order of the Synod, to
the full functions of the ministry, which, as we have seen, he had already
exercised for three years.
In 1768 he removed to Lebanon, not, as had been supposed, to take
exclusive charge of the Reformed Society there, but rather to reside on his
own properties, which, as we have noted, he acquired in exchange for his
bounty lands. His field of labor became much enlarged. We will give an
extract from his record as found in his diary, beginning with January,
1768: January 1,3,4,5, Carlisle; 8th, Quittapahilla; 9th and 10th, Lebanon;
11th, Heidelberg; 12th, Weiseichenland; 17th, Carlisle; 24th,
FallingSprings (now Chambersburg); 29th, Quittapahilla; 31st, Carlisle.
February 1st, Heidelberg; 2d, Weiseichenland; 3d, Rapho; 7th, Hummelstown
and Middletown; 8th, Blassers; 9th, Maytown; 14th, Carlisle; 21st, Falling
Spring; 26th, Jonestown and Klopp's; 27th, Camberlin's; 28th, Lebanon and
Quittapahilla; 29th, Schaefferstown.
This itinerary, which continues with but slight variations, and
occasional detours, constituted his regular field of labor, extending into
Lancaster, Lebanon, Berks, Dauphin, Cumberland and Franklin counties. His
extra trips, made doubtless, at the urgent solicitations of weak and
destitute societies, often involved a travel of hundreds of miles through
unbroken forests and over lofty mountains. We here give a few examples from
his diary. April 13, 1768, we find him at Dr. Schuebley's, in Franklin
county, and the next day at Hagerstown, Maryland. And a few weeks later,
May 3d, he preached at Quiggle's, and on the 5th on the Codorus; both
places were in York county. The folowing September he preached at Reading,
in Berks county. In October he made the following tour: October 2,
Carlisle; 4th, Falling Spring; 5th, Dr. Schuebley; 6th, Hagerstown; 7th,
Peter Shang's; 8th, Sharpsburg near the Potomac; 9th, Frederick; the last
four appointments being in Maryland. He then returned to his regular field.
A few weeks later, May 6th, he was in Bedford, and on the 13th and 20th, at
Ft. Redstone. He was undoubtedly the first trans-Allegheny minister to
preach in the German language. His diary of 1771 shows that he had
relinquished the congregations and seldom crossed the Susquehanna, but
preached regularly at the following places: Lebanon, Quittapahilla,
Maytown, Manheim, Rapho, Weiseichenland, Hummelstown, Blasser's, Jonestown,
Lancaster and Hemphill.
In giving and estimate of the character of John Conrad Bucher, we
are led to say unhesitatingly that he was one of the most learned and
zealous of all the ministers of colonial times. He preached in the English,
French, and German languages. He never wrote out his sermons in full, but
made beautiful and well arranged sermon briefs or notes, mostly in the
German language. That he took pains in their preparation is shown by the
frequent Greek, Latin and Hebrew references found in them. Several hundred
of these briefs are still preserved in a silk-lined receptacle, in the
fabric of which is woven the name "J.C. Bucher," and the date 1767.
This noble, patriotic and zealous divine was suddenly cut down by
the hand of death in the midst of his best years. On August 15,1780, he
went to Annville to perform a nuptial ceremony, and amidst the festivities
of the occasion suddenly expired from heart disease. His age was 50 years,
2 months and 5 days. His ashes repose in the Reformed churchyard at
Lebanon, Penna.
THE WIFE AND FAMILY OF JOHN CONRAD BUCHER
Inasmuch as there has been hitherto considerable uncertainty in
regard to the parentage of the wife of John Conrad Bucher, we have, after
considerable research, gathered the following facts. In 1733 John George
Hoke and his wife, Barbara, with their family, arrived in Philadelphia from
Germany. Among the minor children recorded in the Pennsylvania archives was
John George, Jr.
The town of York in Pennsylvania was laid out by order of the
Proprietors in 1741 and the first lots were sold in November of that year.
Among the first purchaser of lots was Samuel Hoak, who purchased lot 105,
and George Hoak, who purchased the adjoining lot, No. 107. These men we
know to have been brothers, and the latter was the father of Mrs. Bucher.
Prior to locating in York, George Hoak married in Lancaster county,
Barbara Lefevre, who was either a daughter or granddaughter of Isaac
Lefevre, who married Catharine, the eldest daughter of Madame Ferree. The
Ferrees and Lefevres were french Huguenots, who fled from France at the
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and located in the Palatinate. From
thence they went in 1709 to England, being assisted by Queen Ann, and from
thence to New York and two years later (1712) to Pennsylvania, locating on
lands granted them by William Penn during their sojourn in England.* [* see
memorials of the Hugenots by the author of this article.] George Hoak and
wife, Barbara, were among the first members of the Reformed Church at York.
Their eldest child seems to have been Mary Magdalena. They also had a son,
Benjamin, who in Provincial days settled near Winchester, Va., and Peter,
who was one of the first citizens of Uniontown, Fayette county, Penna.
Some time prior to 1759 George Hoak removed to Carlisle, Penna.
There is extant a letter from a presumable suitor addressed to Molly Hoke,
Carlisle, dated September 13, 1759, in which the writer pays his respects
to her parents. On August 21, 1761, his son in law, Lieutenant Bucher,
wrote to him from Fort Pitt, addressing his letter to George Hoke, Esq.,
Carlisle. Finally, the records of the county show that in 1762 George Hoke,
of Carlisle, died, and his wife Barbara became his executrix. The identity
of the family is thus incontrovertible established. The Hoke family
attended the Presbyterian Church, under Dr. Duffield, and that
distinguished minister likewise performed the ceremony at the marriage of
Lieutenant Bucher and Mary Magdalena, or "Molly" Hoke, which occurred, as
we have stated, on February 26, 1760* [*footnote: She was born February 2d,
1742, at York, Penna., and died at the home of her son at Alexandria, Pa.,
March 11th, 1819.] On November 4th, 1762, Dr. Duffield gave Mrs. Bucher an
honorable dismissal from his congregation * [footnote: Rupp's, Berks Co. P.
458.] and inasmuch as Lieutenant Bucher soon thereafter assumed the
functions of the ministry, we are inclined to the belief that the spring of
1763 marks the beginning of the Reformed Society at Carlisle under his
care, while serving as an officer of the garrison. Their family consisted
of four children, namely, John Jacob, who was born January 1st, 1764, and
died October 16, 1827. John George was born October 4, 1766, and died April
8, 1843; Mary Elizabeth was born April 8th, 1773, and died in 1791, and
John Conrad, who was born June 18, 1775, and died in 1852, besides two that
died in infancy.
The sons were all men of considerable prominence. John George lived
and died in Lebanon; John Jacob made his residence in Harrisburg, and was
one of the first and foremost citizens of the place. He was coroner of
Dauphin county in 1796, a justice in 1798, a member of the Legislature from
1803 to 1808, a Commissioner to erect the State Capitol in 1810. In the
Legislature from 1814 to 1816, and Associate Judge from 1818 to his death
in 1827. His son, John Conrad, born December 28, 1792, was in his day one
of the leading citizens of the Commonwealth, a member of Congress, and an
Associate Judge for many years. The many letters still preserved by his
descendants from many leading men of the nation, among them several
Presidents of the United States, indicates his high standing in public
affairs. John Conrad, the youngest son of the immigrant, located in
Alexandria, Huntington county, where he was a merchant. In 1812-1815 he was
postmaster, in the Legislature in 1815-1818, and County Commissioner from
1825 to 1828.
A considerable number of descendants from maternal lines also
became noted. Among the number we may specially mention the late Dr. Thomas
Conrad Porter, D.D., LL.D., a grandson of John Conrad Bucher, Jr. Dr.
Porter was born in 1822, and died in 1901. He was a scholar of rare ability
and lofty attainments, and for many years occupied the chair of Biology and
General Geology in Lafayette College.
Dr. Porter made extensive researches in various fields of study,
especially in Botany, and many contributions of permanent value issued from
his prolific pen. He was a linguist of note, an expert in Finnish and
other obscure literature. He was an authority on Ecclesiastical history and
enriched the literature of his Church with valuable contributions.
Although bearing an Anglo-Saxon name, he nevertheless was proud of his
German ancestry and at the time of his death was the President of the
Pennsylvania-German Society.
Conclusively we may add that John Conrad Bucher was on terms of
intimacy with the foremost men of his times. Among his papers, now
unfortunately scattered, were many from his companions in arms, the famous
Generals Bouquet and Stanwix. In ecclesiastical circles he was intimate
with the noted Peter Miller, Prior of the Ephrata community, who was one of
the most learned men of his times, and who, by direction of the Continental
Congress, translated the Declaration of Independence into the German
language. One of his bosom friends in the Forbes and Bouquet expeditions
was Major, afterwards General, John Philip de Haas, of Lebanon,
Pennsylvania. General de Haas was a member of his congregation at Lebanon
and sponsor at the baptism of most of his children.
The descendants of Rev. John Conrad Bucher, now so widely scattered
over the Union. have just reason to feel proud of their illustrious
ancestor, and the Reformed Church in America will doubtless assign him a
more honorable position in her history as his sterling qualities and
valuable services to his adopted country and the Church are better known
and appreciated.
APPENDIX I.
[We append the following beautiful tribute from the pen of Prof.
J.H. Dubbs, D.D., of Lancaster, Pa., first published in Philadelphia Press
among "Poems Worth Reading," and kindly furnished us by Mrs. E.B. Hummel,
of Harrisburg, Pa. -- Editor.]
CONRAD BUCHER
We have read full oft of the heroes grand
Who live in the annals of Switzerland;
Of the courage high and the warlike deed
Of Tell, and Melchthal, and Winkelried;
But in rhyme the story has ne'er been told
Of the little band of Switzers bold,
Who across the sea, to its Western shore,
The precious faith of their fathers bore.
Names uncouth in the English tongue--
Goetschius, Schlatter-- remain unsung;
But as brave were they as the men who fell
On the fields of Uri or Appenzell.
Have you read the story of one who came
Across the ocean in quest of fame,
>From the place where over the rocky wall,
At grand Schaffhausen, the waters fall?
Have you hjeard how he wielded his valiant sword,
But laid it aside to serve the Lord?
It was Conrad Bucher! Let me tell
How he served the king and his Maker well.
In the quiet cloisters of old St. Gall
He had heard in his youth his Master's call;
He had sat at the feet of godly men
In the schools of Basil and Goettingen.
But, 'twas said, in the land of the setting sun
There were battles fought and honors won;
And there came a message across the main
That Braddock was beaten at Fort Duquesne.
Could he hear the sound of the rolling drum
That to distant battles bade him come?
Did he heed the music far away,
When he followed the fortunes of bold Bouquet?
Have you read of the German regiment
That was farthest into the forest sent?
How in summer's heat and winter's snows
They freed the land from its dusky foes?
There bright in the forest's darkest shade
Was the flash of Bucher's battle-blade,
And the painted chiefs, the legends tell,
Knew the hand that smote them when they fell.
It was when they lingered, to rest awhile,
In the famous barracks of fair Carlisle,
That the soldiers prayed him to preach the Word,
So precious of old, so long unheard.
For there comes a time in the soldier's life
When he hungers anew for the Bread of Life,
And he longs, like the scion of Jesse's stem,
To drink of the waters of Bethlehem.
Once more the Master's call had come,
And louder it sounded that fife or drum;
"Renounce thy laurels and sheathe the sword!
Take up thy burden and serve the Lord!"
Ah! where was the soldier's dream of fame?
To the Saviour's altar he humbly came,
And the "Fathers" ordained the captain there,
With benediction and heartfelt prayer.
To his faithful soldiers, and fair Carlisle,
As a Royal Chaplain he preached awhile;
But then until life's work was done,
He served his Master in Lebanon.
And wherever our ancient churches stand,
>From bright Swatara to Maryland,
The hearts of the people were deeply stirred
When his voice like a trumpet blast was heard.
All hail to Bucher! For him, we know,
No drums are beaten, no bugles blow;
But 'tis well! For he cast his laurels down,
And took up the cross to win the crown.
APPENDIX II.
THE BUCHER ALBUM
Through the courtesy of Mr. C.P. Hatfield, of Alexandria, Pa., a
descendant and present possessor, we have had in hand for a few days the
original University Album of John Conrad Bucher. We had the title page
photographed and a facsimile of this Fractur Schrift probably by Mr. Bucher
himself serves as frontispiece to this issue. Nine years ago the late Prof.
Thomas C. Porter, of Easton, Pa., also a descendant of the subject of
foregoing sketch, published a small pamphlet of notes on this somewhat
remarkable Bucher relic. Same is also published in fifth volume of
Proceedings of Pennsylvania-German Society. The book itself is seven and
one half inches long, four and one half inches wide, and an inch thick,
well bound in red Morocco, with leaves of stout gilt-edged paper, with an
occasional one of vellum, which pages are adorned with beautifully
hand-painted illustrations. Of the lofty sentiments and well wishes by a
large body of university professors and student friends recorded here, as
well as affectionate effusions by close relatives, fifty-seven entries are
in Latin, thirty-four in German, two in Greek and two in Hebrew, and one in
French. One is a poetic sentiment set to music by the Professor of Music
in Marburg. Altogether it contains more illustrious signatures, more lofty
sentiment, betrays greater erudition and evinces a more careful chirography
and letter ornamentation than one is wont to find in such albums. The
names of several universities and scholarly men show our subject to have
been well born and advantageously surrounded in his youth. The reading of
it is like waking up the past of one hundred and fifty years ago, and
strolling through its German seats of learning, or like wandering through
an ancient and famous churchyard to read its tombstone inscriptions. We
would love to copy many but we will have to let one suffice. This is the
inscription of his own father in a fine hand, opposite a lovely
characteristic painting illustrative of sentiment, as follows:
FERANDUM ET SPERANDUM
Leide nur der Dürner stechen,
Du wirdst schon noch Rosen brechen.
Dieses wenige hat zu stäts-währendem Angedencken seinem liebem Sohn, Johann
Conrad Buchern, S.S. Theol. Stud. wohlmeinentlich beyfügen wollen.
Joh. Jacob Bucher, L.D.
Symb.--Mea Anchora Jesus Christus.
Neunkirch, den 30 October, 1751.
Translation
BEARING AND HOPING
Never mind the prick of the thorns,
You will pluck the roses by and by.
This tid-bit is kindly inscribed to the enduring memory of his dear son,
John Conrad Bucher, student of divinity, by John Jacob Bucher, L.D.
Motto: My anchor, Jesus Christ.
Neunkirch, 30 October, 1751
That of the celebrated church historian, John Laur, Mosheim, of
Göttingen, recorded on June 19, 1753, reads as follows: "Ama rejuri et
pronihilo putari, Memoriae et Honoris causa Scribebat."
Altogether the album merits careful preservation and is worth
attentive study.
APPENDIX III.
Mrs. E.B. Hummel, of Harrisburg, Pa., another descendant of the
subject of our sketch, possesses many relics of this illustrious ancestor--
among others, the original list of marriages and baptisms performed by him.
The former list was copied by Mr. Luther R. Kelker, of Harrisburg, who had
it published in the Pennsylvania Magazine for October, 1902. The portrait
of our subject's sister, the countess Von Pyre, herewith presented is also
in Mrs. Hummel's hands; so is the coat of arms. Also a large tin box,
padlocked, and full of valuable papers once belonging to a relative of this
celebrated pioneer. Also a complete genealogy of Bucher family from 1541,
and a family ring.
APPENDIX IV.
Tombstone inscription in First German Reformed graveyard of Lebanon, Pa.
HIER RUHET IM TODT DER LEIB
CONRAD BUCHER
PREDIGER 12 YAHR IN LIBANON
GEBOREN DEN 10TEN JUNI, 1730.
MIT SEINER EHEFRAU, MAGDALENA, LEBTE ER 20 YAHRE
ZEIGTE S. KINDER - 4 SIND IN DIE EWIGKEIT
VORANGEGANGEN,
GESTORBEN DEN 15TEN AUGUST, 1780.
SEINES RUHMVOLLES ALTERS, 50 Y., 2 M. UND 5 TAGE.
BUCHER
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