Holtzschwamm Church Plate
I was so excited to find this commemorative plate on eBay. It has great significance in my family history. My ancestors emigrated from the German Palatinate in 1717. They left persecution as Mennonites and arrived in the young colony of Pennsylvania, settling first in Germantown, moving on to Lancaster and then settling for many generations in York County.Holtzschwamm means woody swamp
The first church was a log cabin building erected in the center of the old graveyard. (See the open area in the above picture). The church in the above photo is the third one and was erected in 1849 at a cost of $2,800.00.For a time the building served two congregations ~ Lutheran and German Reformed My fourth Great-grandfather served as an Elder of the Reformed Consistory in 1838.
Holtzschwamm means headstones
He and his wife are buried in this churchyard cemetery as are his son Jonas and many other family members.
Born 1758, died 1814
One of the entrance gates to the graveyard.
Interior of the Holtzschwamm Church building
Holtzschwamm Church interior, including a potbelly stove (one of 4 used for heating), a portrait of Moses Bentzel, the designer of the building and the organ (still in working condition). One Sunday each fall, the building is opened and there is a special service held. (last pic)
Above photo taken October 2007
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What an interesting piece of your family history. Enjoyed visiting your site!
Blessing,
Shana
Beautiful plate and what a nice link to your heritage. Jean
What a beautiful plate! And so nice that your family history is tied to the church. Thank you for sharing the interesting history. Have a wonderful weekend!
That is a plate to cherish.
Have a nice weekend,
Val
What a fantastic Show and Tell! I love the story you shared and the history behind the church. I'm amazed at the cost of the church in the 1800's.
What a great bit of family history! I love the old church and all the photos. The organ is so beautiful, especially in the last photo with the fall colored flowers ~ the painting of Christ is wonderful.
Thanks for sharing your pretty plate and the memories it holds for you.
What a gift to know so much of your families history.
Heading to Lancaster in 2 months, hopefully, if hubby's schedule doesn't change.
What a wonderful job you did on the research!
Enjoy your day!
You posted a most perfect show n tell…not only your wonderful plate [I love how you have it sitting atop a bible stack] and yet, you shared some wonderful history of the lovely church!! That was most interesting.
My show n tell is posted if you'd like to stop by today…it's my dining room centerpiece I made for Autumn! [with mouseover captions]
Wow…. what interesting history!!
Love the plate…. :>)
Thanks for sharing, Mrs.H.
Love~ Miss Jen
I love the plate. Its simple but nice. Thanks for sharing.
What a beautiful plate and how wonderful that you have a family connection to this church! Wow! What a treasure.
That cemetery looks very familiar. My father's family is from Pennsylvania and when I was young, I got very interested in genealogy and asked him for family information. This created a spark in him and he created a beautiful book of that side of the family information. When I went to visit him (over 30 years ago now!), he took me to a cemetery to show me where our family was buried. Now I'm going to have to pull out my books from him and see if it's the same one!
I'm so glad I found your blog. It's beautiful and I will definitely be back to visit. I came from Kelli's Friday Show & Tell – just so you know. 🙂
God bless you – Julie