Peter (Kerlin) Keurlis (1693 - 1762)

Born Sep 1693 in Germantown Township, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, British Colonial America

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Cloud) Kerlin — married 1716 in Pennsylvania, British Colonial America

Descendants

Died 1762 at about age 68 in Mansfield Township, Burlington, New Jersey, British Colonial America

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Biography

Peter (Kerlin) Keurlis was a Pennsylvanian.

Peter was a Friend (Quaker)

Pieter (known as Peter) was born in 1693 in Germantown, Pennsylvania to Johannes Pieter Keurlis ^[1] and Elizabeth Doors. His parents had immigrated from Krefeld, Germany in 1683 with his two oldest siblings. His father was one of the original 13 settlers of William Penn’s new Germantown Colony in Pennsylvania. They were Quakers (formerly Mennonite) from Waldniel, Kempen, Rheinland. Prussia, Germany. He was the last of four other children born in the American Colonies. He married Mary Cloud, daughter of Joseph Cloud, about 1716 in Pennsylvania ^[2] They resided in the Township of Concord in Chester County, Pennsylvania and had at least four (possibly seven) children together:

1. Joseph Kerlin (1716-1790)
2. Susannah Kerlin (1718-?)
3. Agnes Kerlin (1720-1775)- uncertain?
4. Johannes “John” Kerlin (1721-1812)
5. Mary Kerlin (1725-1763)
6. Elizabeth Kerlin (1728-?)
7. Ann Kerlin (1736-1816)

Occupation: He was a blacksmith and cordwainer (an artisan shoemaker who makes new shoes from leather- who is skilled in the craft of creating leather shoes from scratch, from drafting the pattern to cutting the leather to stitching the uppers and soles together).

In 1737, there is a record of 45 acres of land he purchased and had surveyed in Chester County, Pennsylvania. ^[3]

After his wife Mary passed away, he left Concord about 1739 and went to work for his brother-in-law, the Ironmaster Thomas Potts. He worked at Mt. Pleasant Forge, Spring Forge, Pine Forge, and perhaps elsewhere for the Potts Ironmaking industry. His son, John Kerlin, went with him to the Douglass Township/Colebrookdale area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After Thomas Potts passed away in 1752, Peter eventually relocated to New Jersey.

He passed away in 1762 in Mansfield Township, Burlington, New Jersey, British Colonial America. ^[4] This is where his Will is probated. Will Date: 20 Jun 1760; Probate Date: 26 Mar 1762; Named son Joseph as Administrator. ^{[5] [6]}

Information on immigration of his father, Peter Kerlin/Keurlis:
http://www.ulib.iupui.edu/kade/germantown.html "The settlers to Germantown came from the Lower Rhine where German and Dutch cultural ways mingled. These thirty-three settlers from Krefeld, Germany who established the first sizable, stable and distinctly German settlement in America at Germantown, PA in 1683, were followed by more than seven million immigrants to our shores from German-speaking countries. The city of Krefeld west of the Rhine near Düsseldorf, known for the manufacture of silk and linen, prided itself on being a haven of tolerance during the 17th century, and a refuge for those suffering religious oppression. When changes in the rule of the region caused the spirit of religious acceptance to diminish, some among the Mennonite and Quaker families decided to accept the invitation of William Penn to settle in America.

The English Schooner which brought these German settlers to the port of Philadelphia was named the Concord, an appropriate symbol of the immigrants' friendly cooperation with the English and Dutch aboard. All the passengers, attached to religious groups outside the established churches, answered the call of William Penn to share the "Holy Experiment" and settle on the land granted to William Penn. At age 36 Penn had petitioned King Charles II and received a vast province on the west bank of the Delaware River, which was named Pennsylvania after his father (to whom Charles II had owed a large debt canceled by this grant).

When the thirteen Mennonite families from Krefeld landed in Philadelphia on October 6, 1683 after a 75-day voyage, they were greeted not only by Penn but also be a young, 32-year old German lawyer, Francis Daniel Pastorius, who had become close friend with Penn since his arrival on August 20, 1683 on the ship America with about a dozen people, among them his personal servants."

"In 1988, under the leadership of the Greater Germantown Housing Development Corporation, the Germantown community initiated a comprehensive economic development program for the area which was suffering urban decay. Plans called for the renovation of the 49 houses along Germantown Avenue and the creation of new job-producing enterprises in the neighborhood. In the center was to be a town square and historic park dedicated to the 1688 slavery protest and to the thirteen pioneer families. It was also fitting that thirteen "family trees" were planted.

On a marker, previously placed for the families in Germantown, is written: In commemoration of the Landing of the German Colonists, October 6, 1683, FRANZ DANIEL PASTORIUS, Dirk, Herman, Abraham Op Den Graeff*, Tuenes Kunders, Lenert Arens, Reinert Tisen, Wilhelm Strepers, Jan Lensen, PETER KEURLIS, Jan Siemens, Johann Bleikers, Abraham Tuenes and Jan Lueken with their families."

"Germantown was founded by German settlers - thirteen Quaker and Mennonite families from Krefeld (Germany)[1][2], in 1681." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germantown,_Philadelphia,_Pennsylvania

Society of Friends: Quaker Marriage Certificates, Concord Monthly Meeting, Delaware Co. Penn., 1679-1808, compiled by Gwen Boyer Bjorkman, Salt Lake City Family History Library, 974.814 K2b; page 65.:
“At the marriage of Mary Kerlin and Nathaniel White, Mary is identified as "Spinster, daughter of Peter Kerlin of the Township of Concord....Black Smith". Marriage dated: 4 Oct 1745, "Nathaniel White of the township of Kennett in the County of Chester...of Pennsylvania Plaisterer and Mary Kerlin Spinster Daughter of Peter Kerlin of the Township of Concord in the County affsd. Black Smith...4, 10 m, 1745...at the Publick meeting House in the township AforeSd... Those in attendance at her wedding included Susanah Kerlin, Joseph Kerlin and Matthias Kerlin. Since Susanah Kerlin and Joseph Kerlin both signed in the column directly under the signatures of the bride and groom, the authors of this text indicates that they were direct relatives. (974.814 K2b)”….. excerpted [Her older brother, Joseph Kerlin, was a signatory to his sister Mary’s Marriage Record, 1745]”…...excerpted

Sources

1. ↑ Pieter Kearlis in the U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935; Name: Pieter Kearlis; Event Type: Birth; Child: Pieter Kearlis; Monthly Meeting: Abington Monthly Meeting; Historical Meeting Data: Search for this monthly meeting in the 'Quaker Monthly Meetings Index'; Religion Sect: Pre-Hicksite; Yearly Meeting: Philadelphia Yearly Meeting; Meeting State: Pennsylvania; Meeting County: Montgomery
2. ↑ Peter Kerlin in the U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900; Name: Peter Kerlin; Spouse Name: Mary Cloud; Spouse Birth Place: Pennsylvania; Spouse Birth Year: 1701; Number Pages:1
3. ↑ Peter Kerlin, Record of Warrant of Land Survey for 45 acres in Chester County, Pennsylvania, Feb 1737
4. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/196426817/peter-kerlin : accessed 06 July 2022), memorial page for Peter Kerlin (Sep 1693–1762), Find a Grave Memorial ID 196426817, ; Maintained by Kathleen Berry Jordan (contributor 48291233) Burial Details Unknown.
5. ↑ New Jersey, U.S., Abstract of Wills, 1670-1817; Name: Peter Kerlin; Residence Date: 1760; Residence Place: New Jersey; Death Place: Mansfield, Burlington; Will Date: 20 Jun 1760; Probate Date: 26 Mar 1762….Will mentions daughters: Susannah and Mary, sons: Joseph and John
6. ↑ Will of Peter Kerlin in the Chester County, Pennsylvania Wills, 1713-1825: Peter Kerlin; Description: Decedent, Residence: Concord; Prove date: 23 Feb 1762; Remarks: “Peter Kerlin of Concord. February 23, 1762. Adm. to Joseph Kerlin.”.

• Peter Kerlin in the Pennsylvania, U.S., Land Warrants and Applications, 1733-1952; Warrant of Land Survey, Warrant Date:13 Feb 1737; Warrant Place: Concord, Chester, Pennsylvania: 45 acres of land surveyed in Chester County.

• http://www.germantownhistory.org/crierindex.htm……Keurling, Peter, Keurlis, Peter

• http://www.ulib.iupui.edu/kade/germantown.html

Acknowledgements

A grateful “Thank you” and acknowledgement to George Kirlin for his correspondence and information generously provided which was incorporated into this profile…..Catherine Wilkes