John Haak (abt. 1700 - 1755)

Born about 10 Oct 1700 in Wiesloch, Kurfürstentum Pfalz, Heiliges Römisches Reich [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 26 Feb 1755 at about age 54 in Heidelberg Township, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

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Biography

Baptism: 10 Oct 1700 Johann George Haug baptized as the son of Plaichard Haug (a saddler) and his wife Anna Elizabeth Schieler. sponsor: Has Georg Schlosser, the cartwright.^[1][see Research Notes]

14 Oct 1738: a John Hock appears on a list of immigrants naturalized at British Citizens and living in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Possibly this pertains to this person. Among the other men on the same naturalization list are a number of familiar Tulpehocken names: Abraham Witmer, Christian Lawyer/Lauer, Jacob Lawyer/Lauer, Caspar Reed/Rieth, George Unrook/Unruh, Caspar Stump, Mathias Tice/Dice, Tobias Pickle/Bickel, Reter Rutt/Ruth, Valentine Hergelrot/Herchelroth, Herman Walburn/Walborn, Peter Schell/Shell, Michael Koppenheffer, Thomas Koppenheffer.

John Haak was among the names listed as present at the laying of the cornerstone of Christ Church, Tulpehocken, the 12th day of May, 1743. By that time, several of his children had already been born, but it is uncertain where, or even if those children were baptized. (Christ Church, Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of Tulpehocken, Berks County).

But hang on... this gets interesting.

"Be it known to all men as well to our own, who are here present and hear, read and subscribe to this as well as our future descendants, into whose hands, before whose eyes and to whose ears this may come, that today, the 12th day of May, 1743, here gathered on a tract of land consisting of fifteen acres, of which George Unruh, Jacob Fischer and Christian Lauer each sold and deposited five acres… for the erection of an Evangelical Lutheran Church and School… in the presence of our own as well as a great multitude of other people, there were placed in an opening made in two stones, one laid upon the other, in which cavity was fitted a box of walnut wood… the articles deposited as an exhortation to faithfulness and continuance… *it is also our unanimous agreement and will, that no other teacher and preacher than one who with heart and confession adheres to the pure and sincere Evangelical Lutheran Doctrines, shall teach or perform an y ministerial acts in the same…* … for the information of our descendants this writing was duplicated, completed and signed with same contents..."

Put in historical context: 2 events occurred in Tulpehocken that thwarted the gathering of the congregation, the first being the "Tulpehocken Awakening" and the second "The Tulpehocken Confusion".

For clues about John Haak, it's the first event that interests me the most.

A brief account is this: Johan Peter Müller came to Tulpehocken to fill the vacancy of a strong and unifying Minister in 1730. Conrad Beissel, a compelling and radical German Pietist was at the same time set out to convert and gather a flock of Anabaptist adherents willing to form a new community (of Sabbatarians, and these were fairly apocalyptic). Beissel managed with the help of Michael Wohfarth, Israel and Emmanuel Eckerlin, etc, persuade the young minister Peter Müller to be baptized afresh into the sect, along with the Elder schoolmaster of the community, the much revered (and financially blessed) Conrad Weiser. Following this event, which was apparently an enormous crisis for everyone in Tulpehocken (as well as Germantown, Amwell, etc, where others succumbed and abandoned their congregations and sometimes their families and children) and immediately after which there was a book burning, orchestrated by Conrad Weiser... Peter Miller went into seclusion, near the creek where he was baptized by Beissel, built a cabin, and refused for many months to join any congregation. Rev. Boehme was called back to act as minister in his place, but then finally as Beissel was able to secure funding and build his Cloister in Ephrata, Peter Müller relented and both he, Conrad Weiser, and several other Tulpehocken families, left Tulpehocken and went into the radicalized cloister of Ephrata.

Just which families they were other than Mueller and Weiser is not clear to me yet, (although I know Fahnestock was one that came from Amwell, New Jersey).

But I will post for you the map of the location of this baptism (that drove a wedge into the heart of the church at Tulpehocken, and divided families), both present day and with an overlay of 1860's landowners. I do believe that the land the Haak's occupy in that Landowner's map they had even as far back as 1735 when this crisis occurred.

By 3 September 1743, Conrad Weiser was through with his many years at the Ephrata Cloister, and returned to Tulpehocken, and the registers of this Christ Church are full of Weisers, so one gets a sense that things had gone back to "normal" at the time of the laying of the cornerstone.

Please see the attached Photos.

He married Anna Dorthea Dieffenbach (1714-~1761)^[2]They had the following children, who were all under age 16 in Oct 1757:

1. John
2. Christopher
3. Jacob
4. John Nicholas
5. Christian
6. Catharine

Oct 1757: [See attached document in his wife's profile.] Jacob Greeninger and Dorothy his wife, late Dorothy Haag, Widow and Administratrix of John Haag, deceased, having been cited by virtue of and order of orphans court to appear this day to give security for the payments of the shares of John Haag, Christopher Haag, Jacob Haag, Jn Nicholas Haag, Christian Haag and Catharine Haag, Orphan and minor children of said John Haag, deceased. The said Jacob Greeninger do pay or give security of the respective shares of the children to their guardians, Andrew Saltsgeber and Geroge Conrad before the first Tuesday of December next.

Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society references an article in Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine (vol. 24, no. 3) that not only lists the minor children but others. The will of John Hauck is available online only as a slim description, as the original was in German. Finding the original German will would be a blessing.

A list of their children (minor or not) with sources being Lancaster County Will Book Y-2, 310;1755 [Book Y vol 2 is much later than 1755, so this is confusing] PGM 1966, p. 210 (Penn. Gen. Magazine, article) Lanc. Courthouse. Orphans Court, 1756, Part III, p. 59 purports the following children in this order, but the daughters are likely listed at the end, regardless of their birth order:

1. Michael [perhaps eldest son, but not eldest child]
2. John
3. Jacob
4. Christopher
5. George
6. Nicholas
7. Christian
8. Elizabeth
9. Mary Barbara
10. Catharine

A cursory investigation suggests that descendants are available for some of these children, or at least the following marriages occurred:

• Elizabeth Haak m. Wittmer
• Michael Haak m. Schaeffer (Sabina Schaeffer, daughter of Alexander Schaeffer, founder of Schaefferstown, and Schaefferstown is the place where many of the later generations of Haaks resided)
• George Haak m. Bechtel (attributed to another family, elsewhere, but worth sorting out
• John m. an Elizabeth and his son William Haak m. Forry
• John Nicholas (Nicholas) m. Catharine Ruth.

Of Nicholas and Catharine's children: Maria Catharine Haak m. Siebert Jonathan "Jonas" Haak m. Mees Maria Barbara Haak m. Keppenhafter John Haak m. Lightkip William Haak m. Strock (or Strauch, Strack) Margaretta Haak m. Rothermel.

John Haag lay on his death bed the 25th of February 1755 when Andreas Kreitzer and Philip Brideback came to him in the time 'of his last sickness'. According to the entry in the court books John Haag "did tell the said Philip Brideback that he wanted to make his Will and desired him to write what he should tell him, which he the said Philip Brideback did, and after he had wrote it, read it over to the Testator, and the said John Haag approved of the same and desired these deponents to sign their names as witnesses thereto, which they did in his presence..." They say he died the next morning.

I sure would love to see that German will.

Research Notes

It is not certain that the John Haag who married Anna Dorothea Dieffenbach is the same as Johann Georg Haug baptized in 1700, in Weisloch. However, the Dieffenbach and Haug families were both from Weisloch and the two families traveled together through Rotterdam. On Governor Hunter's lists in New York, the two families are usually listed near one anoter

This person is clearly different from Hans George Haag (1707-1786), who left a family bible that names most of his children. The named children are different from the list above from the Orphan's court (1757).

In The Palatine Families of New York, by Henry Z. Jones Jr (1985), there are a number of listings that potentially relate to this family. Under the family name of Hauch//Hauck, there are about 45 names listed; most are children or grandchildren of Lucas Haug and his widow Margaretha (Hunter Lists #280), or they descend from George Plaichard Haug (Hunter Lists # 281) and his wife Anna Elizabetha Schlier, who were from Wiesloch and who are also noted next to the name of Conrad Dieffenbach, John Sewel's ship on the Rotterdam Lists.

Under the family name Hack, there are 5 people listed, and one additional listing under Hag. That is:

• Hans Hack (b. ~1645), from Andernach (p. 16), father of:
• Maria Catharine Hack (b. ~1667) m Henrich Barthel (Hunter Lists #13), (p. 16)
• Theobald Hack (b. ~1675) married Anna Maria Henneschiedt, son of Michael Henneschiedt (Hunter lists #296), p. 373
• Hans Adam Hag, baptism sponsor for Anna Catharine Lawyer in 1661, she was a daughter of Peter Lawyer (Hunter Lists #445), p. 540
• Margaretha Hack (b. ~1740). She married Johann Anthonius Minckler, son of Kilian Minckler (Hunter Lists #513), p. 645
• Johann Peter Hack (b. ~1725) sponsored the baptism of Petrus Leick, son of Georg Reiffenberg and Anna Maria Leick and grandson of Johann George Reiffenberg (Hunter Lists #591, p. 764

Of particular interest in drawing the connection between this John Haak and the Haaks or Hauck's from Wiesloch is this article by John L Tevebaugh: [1] "Dorothea had married Johannes/Hans Georg Hock (also Haak, Haag, Hack and other varieties, including a later Hawk), who may have been a later child in the Hauck family that left Wiesloch with the Dieffenbach family in May, 1709; see Jones, I, p. 158. "

Sources

1. ↑ Church books located in Weisloch, located 10 km south of Heidelberg
2. ↑ https://tulpehockenroots.org/tng/getperson.php?personID=I533&tree=meyerfam

• Pennsylvania, Church Records - Adams, Berks, and Lancaster Counties, 1729-1881; Baptism of John Haack, son of John and Dorothy Haack, 2 Sep 1749. (Role: Father) Heidelberg, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Millbach Reformed Congregation.
• Pennsylvania, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993
• PGM—Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine (periodical); volume 24, No.3, p.213 (need transcript of source quotation)