Jacob Heinrich Frey (abt. 1638 - abt. 1721)

Born about 1638 in Gundetswil, Canton of Zurich, Switzerland [uncertain]

Husband of Anna (Hertzeller) Frey — married 26 Jan 1657 in Gundetswil, Canton of Zurich, Switzerland

Descendants

Died about 1721 at about age 83 in Weiler, Kraichgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Robert Moody [send private message]

Biography

N.B. To see the original bio for Jacob, click here.

This biography originally said that Jacob was born before 1640 in Gundetswil, Canton of Zurich, Switzerland., whereas his father was said to have been born in 1659 and his mother in 1655. I am therefore removing 1640 as his yob. If you have information and sources for all concerned, please enter that information here and notify me and/or the profile manager. 21 Aug 2018. Robert Moody detached parents on 16 Jun 2023.

He is said to have married Anna Hirtzeller on 26 January 1657.

In 1721 Jacob died in Weiler, Kraichgau,^[1] Jacob married Anna Hirtzeller (daughter of Jacob Hirtzeller) January 26, 1657 in Gundetswil, Canton of Zurich, Switzerland; born about 1638 in Hinterwil, Canton of Aargau, Switzerland; died in Baden, Province of Alsace.^[2] Baden-Württemberg, Germany, of unknown causes.

The "Sippenbuch", or family history book, originating at the "Evangelical Church of Altenheim",^[3] lists family records that date back to the 1500's. Children of Jacob and Anna Frey were baptized there. (see Google map, "Altenheim—Ichenheim, Neuried, Germany")

Children of Jacob Frey and Anna Hirtzeller

1. Johann Mathause Frey, baptized 15 November 1657 in Altheim, Province of Alsace, Germany.^[4]
2. Wilhelm (William) Frey, born about 1658 in Altheim, Province of Alsace, Germany.
3. Andrew Frey, born about 1659 in Altheim, Province of Alsace, Germany.
4. Elizabeth Frey, born about 1660 in Altheim, Province of Alsace, Germany.
5. Friedrich Frey, baptized June 12, 1661 in Altheim, Province of Alsace, Germany.
6. Johann Jacob Friedrich Frey, baptized 12 June 1661 in Altheim, Province of Alsace, Germany; burial in Baden, Province of Alsace, Germany.
7. Heinrich Frey baptized June 17, 1663 in Altheim, Province of Alsace, Germany; died 1734 in Zieglersville, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania; married Anna Maria Catherine Levering April 26, 1692 in Germantown, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania; born March 1673 in Mülheim, Germany, died 1754 in Germantown, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.
8. Peter Frey, born about 1666 in Altheim, Province of Alsace, Germany.
9. Catherine Frey, born about 1675 in Altheim, Province of Alsace, Germany.

Note

Records and research of Charles Burgess, co-founder of the Heinrich Frey Family Association -- from a birth certificate that appears to be for Heinrich.

Heinrich Frey^[5] (possibly Jacob Heinrich)^[6] was born in 1626 in Altheim, Alsace Lorraine, Germany,^[7] one of two known children, both sons, of Friedrich and Maria Rudolph Frey.

On 25 January 1657, when he was in his early thirties, he married Anna Herzeller in Gundetswil, Zurich, Switzerland.^[8]

Research note

Janet Ariciu indicates there were just five chldren and then lists just four:

Click here for a larger view of the document below:^[9]:

18_0 Census Image for household

In October 1685, when he was in his late fifties, he migrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. citing/quoting from “WILLIAM PENN and the DUTCH QUAKER MIGRATION TO PENNSYLVANIA” by William Hull.

In 1681 he was living in Heilbronn,Germany.

Note: The Good News Spreads.

Vague rumors of Penn's grant began to be spread abroad in Holland and Germany even before it had finally passed the privy seal. FOR EXAMPLE, on the 6th of February, 1681, the father of Heinrich Frey, a future settler in Germantown, wrote a letter from his home in Heilbron to his son, who was then in New York, in which he said.

"Dear Son: Your letter from far away America reached us and gave us great joy; and when, a few days, later, the father of your friend came to see us, our joy; and when, a few days later, the bounds," He speaks next of the persecution in Germany, and says that thousands would gladly leave the Fatherland if they had the means of doing so. "A merchant from Frankfurt was with us last week and informed us how along the Rhine a number of families have banded together to accept the invitation of a Englishman named William Penn, who had recently visited that community, to settle in that beautiful land and there establish new homes. After I had received this information, I went at once to our minister, whose parents live at Worms on the Rhine, and begged him earnestly to learn what truth there was in these reports and to find out if possible if there would be any opportunity for us to join them and go to the New World. He then informed me that these reports were all true and that he had been informed by one who had inside knowledge that in a place called Kriegsheim near Worms many were preparing themselves to go the New World. When I gave the Goodman Your letter to read, he was greatly surprised and said that you were on the land to which these emigrants were going. It is the providence of God that has shown these burdened people so glorious a land. We, as also the Platenbach family, are only awaiting a good opportunity when the dear Lord will take us to you. Your brother Peter is learning Shoe-making and will soon be free [from his apprenticeship]. America is the only dream of Elisabeth. Catherine, only six years old, ask us daily, 'Will we soon be going to our brother in America?'^[10]

He died on an unknown date in an unknown location of unknown causes.

Sources

1. ↑ Note: Kraichgau Region—formerly a part of the Palatinate, later a part of northern Baden; devastated in the Thirty Years' War, then settled in 1652 by Swiss Mennonite settlers from the Zürich Canton. From 1650 to 1679 settlements were established in the Electoral Palatinate area near Sinsheim. By 1691 Jacob Frey had relocated the family to Heilbronn on the Eastern edge of the Kraichgau Region, not far from Wimpfen and Bonfeld. "Weiler" is located South of Sinsheim and West of Heilbronn in the Kraichgau Region. (see Google map, "Heartland of the Lower Palatinate").
2. ↑ Source: Sippenbuch of Altenheim Evangelical Church.
3. ↑ The village of Altenheim is about twelve miles South of Strasbourg and forty-five miles distance from the capital city of Karlsruhe, Germany. The Altenheim Evangelical parish is very old; it became a Lutheran Evangelical Church in 1557. Altenheim church books start in 1634, and begin with extractions from church books for Ichenheim and an older Altenheim church book. The Ichenheim Catholic parish is also very old. The parish became Lutheran Evangelical in 1554-1629 and in 1649-1680.
   Note: Strasbourg is currently the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and the seat of the European Parliament. Strasbourg's historic city centre, the Grande Île (Grand Island), is a UNESCO World Heritage site; it has been a site of coexistence between Catholic and Protestant cultures fused into a Franco-German culture for centuries — a potential bridge of unity between France and Germany. The Strasbourg Grand Mosque, inaugurated 27 September 2012, now stands as the largest Islamic place of worship in France. (Another Grande place of worship in the Grande Île is the "Strasbourg Cathedral".)
4. ↑ This is the English representation of the location in the 17th Century. The current English representation of the location is "Altenheim, Neuried, Germany". (see detail on Google map, "Altenheim—Ichenheim, Neuried, Germany").
5. ↑ Parish, Timothy , Parish Family Tree, URL: http://www.gencircles.com/users/timothyparish/2/data/2403 MyHeritage.com.Last updated February 23, 2003. Heinrich Frey-Jacob Frey-Anna Hertzeller.
6. ↑ Scott, Wendy, comp., The Scott Family Home. This page was last updated on November 11, 2004 7/17/2009. Anna Hirtziller, ID 125187
7. ↑ Morris, Laurel Black, comp., Ancestry Studies: Black-McCoy Tillman-Rath [citing Ancestral Files]. Note: This source relies on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ancestral File (TM), (June 1998 (c), data as of 5 JAN 1998). etc. and I think is basically very unreliable. Unable to locate on 28 Mar 2020.
8. ↑ Parish, Timothy, Parish Family Tree, URL: http://www.gencircles.com/users/timothyparish/2/data/2403 MyHeritage.com.Last updated February 23, 2003. Heinrich Frey-Jacob Frey-Anna Hertzeller.
9. ↑ http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~janet/genealogy/Frey.html
10. ↑ Ariciu, Janet URL: http://www.geocities.com/janet_ariciu/Frey.html Unable to access on 29 Mar citing/quoting from “WILLIAM PENN and the DUTCH QUAKER MIGRATION TO PENNSYLVANIA” by William Hull.

See also:

• Evangelical Church of Altenheim; Descendants of Fredric Frey — Jacob Frey and Anna Hirtzeller: http://www.goodmanancestors.com/frey.html; : http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~katy/fry/b1139.html

• Jon Frye, Frye Family Association Journal. (4356 Chippewa Trail, Jamestown, OH 45335).

• Henderson L. "Hank" Adams, correspondence and copies of his Frey and Spears family records. (1008 Beachview Drive, Ft. Walton Beach FL 32547; 850 862-4671).

• Jacob Frey [Frey-350] was adopted by Jon Cunnyngham on Feb 20, 2013.
• Hull, W. Isaac. (1935). William Penn and the Dutch Quaker migration to Pennsylvania. [Swarthmore, Pa.: Swarthmore college].

• Ariciu, Janet citing/quoting from “WILLIAM PENN and the DUTCH QUAKER MIGRATION TO PENNSYLVANIA” by William Hull.

• SMITH, KATHRYN, "Levering/Bokar/Frey," Levering Famiy GenForum # 25. Posted 9 Apr 2000. Genealogy.com. URL: https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/levering/25/ Accessed ( May 2020.

Acknowledgments

• Patricia Prickett Hickin created Heinrich Frey (1626-). (Imported data from GEDCOM upload #156973, Person I8729) on 27 Mar 2020.
• WikiTree profile Frey-276 was created through the import of Moody-Howell_2011-06-05.ged on Jun 11, 2011 by Robert Moody.
• WikiTree profile Frey-350 was created through the import of Lois for WikiTree.ged by Kay Haden on Oct 10, 2011.