-- Why our ancestral mother, Louisa, and her two sons left Europe?

-- What happened to Francois Clavel, Louisa's 1st husband?

-- Why Louisa married three times?

-- Why early members of the Clewell family are closely associated with the Moravian Church?

 (Left, Reverend Lewis Philip Clewell (1843-1904), our first family historian. He is largely responsible for the material published below. Some photos and history have been added and updated to the original 1907 publication. Tragically, Rev. Clewell died before he saw his work published in the volume, History of the Clewell Family. Today, we owe him an eternal debt of gratitude, for without his "history," we would know precious little about the origins of our family.)

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History

-of the-

Clewell Family

-in the-

United States of America

1737—1907

-By-

Lewis B. Clewell and Rev. Lewis P. Clewell

-Edited by-

Wilson D. Seyfried

Bethlehem, PA, U.S.A.

The Keystone Printing Company

1907

PREFACE

Editor’s Preface

          The preparation of the Clewell Family History has been undertaken by me as a “Labor of Love.” Whatever diffidence I have felt in executing this trust, it has been undertaken as a posterior duty and esteemed to be a great privilege. My daily duties made the work burdensome at times, so that it would have been my choice to have had more leisure for accomplishing our purpose, but the patience of our patrons and subscribers has been sufficient.

            The history has been a work of no small magnitude. Rising from obscurity and the humblest beginnings, our forefathers builded better than they knew. Little did they think as they mingled with men, fulfilling their missions, that their deeds were to be known by later generations and that their posterity should be so numerous. Our generation is indebted to the authors for their enthusiasm they displayed in their undertaking. We regret that one of them could not see his work while to the other we bow in gratitude and adoration.

            We trust that our kinsfolk will receive this volume as a book of information and before harshly criticizing it, contemplate the circumstances and perplexities in recording the families in their proper order. It may contain errors, due to wrong reports or in transcribing or even in calculating the dates since we have found obituary records differing with the records on tombstones thus making it impossible to avoid inconsistencies. But we believe the mistakes are few and unimportant.

            We now submit the work to our readers with a feeling of confidence that it is worthy of success and hope that they will find it a source of entertainment and interest, and that it will help to promote in the hearts of all the sympathy and respect for higher aspirations and closer fellowship.

            Bethlehem, Pa.,    August 1907.                                                  The Editor.

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Authors’ Preface

            Regrets have been expressed repeatedly by members of the Clewell family that so little is known of the genealogy and history, coupled with desires that some one might be moved to snatch it from oblivion. With this object in view, we, Lewis B. Clewell, a descendant of Franz, and Lewis P., of George Craft Clewell, undertook the task: the former, to collect and tabulate the genealogy, the latter, to compile a brief history.

            The former proved the more difficult task; the family, already in the seventh or eighth generation, numbers thousands and are widely scattered over the American Continent, of some all traces are lost; others, indifferent as to whence and whom they are, neglected to furnish the needed dates, etc., so that, in spite of the patient and painstaking efforts to make the record as complete as possible, some branches of the family remain incomplete.

            The historical part proved more satisfactory. The writer had ready access to the valuable archives of the Moravian congregations at Schoeneck, Nazareth and Bethlehem. He also came into possession of valuable family records.

            It is a laudable undertaking; if you find that you belong to an honorable family, it is a strong incentive to lead an honorable life; for while nobility is not in the blood, but in the character, it still remains a fact that blood will tell.

            “The history,” as Dr. Stapleton well says in his Memorial of the Huguenots “is a story of suffering for the sake of the ‘faith once delivered to the saints.’”

            With two-fold object, to rescue from oblivion the memory of our honored ancestors, and impress upon the minds of their numerous descendants the fact that theirs is an honorable descent; that it may prove, as well, an incentive to all who read, “to so run, that they may likewise obtain,” we have undertaken the task. If these desired objects are gained, even in part, we shall feel amply compensated for our efforts.

            Bethlehem, Pa., December 1903.                                                The Authors.

            This book goes forth as the history of the first seven generations of the Clewell Family in the United States. As its preparation has been connected with several other names from whom some assistance has been derived, the extent of such aid will be fully acknowledged. The particular connection of Mr. Wilson D. Seyfried with the publication, deserves special mention, which is now given.

            When the history was first proposed, such was the condition of my health, that in view of contingencies, we sought the aid of a competent person to assist us in the work. We induced Mr. Seyfried to join us in the work, and he has been identified with us in every stage of the book’s progress, until its conclusion. My co-laborer, Rev. Clewell, was confident of his part and soon after the first Reunion favored the publication of the data then collected, but the Angel of Death intervened. He had his manuscript prepared while I had collected between four and five hundred families but no end in sight. Thus ended our joint labors.

            After the death of my colleague and through the ill-health of myself, the work rested mainly on him. The large increase in the genealogical part of the history made it necessary to revise the history and when it is known that he has performed his duties in the school room, during the whole period of his connection with the work, it will be acknowledged that he has acquitted himself to the history with fidelity, especially in view of the fact, that there was no pecuniary reward in sight. He is the Editor and as such we honored and recognized him.

            Whatever defects or omissions may exist in the volume, they will find an ample excuse in the circumstances under which it was written. The whole book so fully expresses my personal views, that I accept the surviving authorship without reserve, and for its contents assume the sole responsibility. My part has been to collect and suggest. So far as frail humanity would permit, it is a truthful and complete history of the Clewell Family. To insure the correctness of our manuscripts we mailed over a thousand of them to people who are competent to approve them.

            It is a very pleasant duty to acknowledge the assistance that I have received from Rev. George F. Bahnson, of the Schoeneck Moravian Church; Bishop J. Mortimer Levering, of Bethlehem, Pa.; Rev. William Oerter, of Lebanon, Pa.; Bishop Charles L. Moench, of Philadelphia, Pa.; Dr. P. F. Laugenour, of Statesville, N. C.; Mr. J. O. Knauss, of the Department of Public Instruction, of Harrisburg, Pa.; and the pastors of the Nazareth Moravian Church: for their research of records. To them a frank acknowledgment of obligation is cheerfully accorded. I, also, wish to express my sincere thanks to Mr. Lucius E. Ricksecker; Mr. Oliver L. Fehr; Capt. Frank C. Stout; Mr. Stephen A. Trein; and Mr. Ephraim Loux, for their self-sacrificing labor.

            And now, my dear kinsfolk, having assigned to all concerned proper credit, my task is about to close. One word more and I have done. My days of practical usefulness are passing away; I can not much longer mingle in the Reunions of the family. This doubtless is my last effort to serve my kindred. It is my last tribute to my ancestors, —my farewell to that loving band of friends and kinsmen, the sons and daughters of Franz and George Craft Clewell.

            Bethlehem, Pa.,    August, 1907                                              Lewis B. Clewell

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Introduction

            Motive lies back of every effort. The honoring of one’s parents and ancestors of a remoter degree, the transmission to our posterity of permanent, reliable, and easily accessible family records, the promotion of better acquaintance with one’s own and stronger ties of love and kinship, and a general interest in biography, constitute the motives and furnish the justification for the publication of a work like this.

            Interest in one’s ancestry, as distinguished from family pride, is natural, and not always born of vanity. Your own child, that wishes to be told a story of when you were a little boy, is only manifesting a natural interest which all of us possess. Benjamin Franklin in his inimitable “Autobiography” expressed the same interest.

            Honoring one’s ancestor, without worshipping them (as the Chinese do), and without attempting simply to honor ourselves (as the wealthier or more famous families might be disposed to do), is always commendable. One of the purposes of this book is the proper recognition of the sterling qualities of our forefathers.

            The Clewell descendants have not the same temptation to family pride that might be supposed to exist in families whose founders, though not more honorable from a moral point of view, had yet achieved greater things in literature, politics, or finance.

            The life history, in its early stages, of the first Clewell ancestors in America, reads, as does Lincoln’s, to use his own quotation, like the “simple annals of the poor.” When the widowed “stamm-mutter” and her two boys, Franz and George, arrived in Philadelphia, in the year 1737, they were in worse plight than Franklin was when he arrived at the same place just a few years previous, with a singe dollar in his pocket.

            While many of the Clewell family were schooled in the same as were Lincoln and Franklin, and though the Clewells are now represented in every calling and profession, it is not yet of record that they have produced shining lights of such magnitude as Franklin and Lincoln. But there is hope, possibly, in rising generations.

            Family pride is, in most aspects, a contemptible thing. It is not the purpose of this book to foster any of it. The achievements of our ancestors are not our own. The Joneses have other blood in them besides Jones’ blood, and if we trace our lineage back far enough will we not all arrive at a common origin?

            Family pride is proper only when it deters one from wrong doing. But even then, to do right for love of right is better. It is a proper interest in our ancestry, then, rather than family pride, that prompts the publication of this book.

            “One half of the world does not know how the other half is getting along.” Just as true is it that “One generation knows very little about the other.” It is a pitiable fact that many children do not know the time and place of birth of their parents, to say nothing of remoter generations. It would puzzle a good many to give their grandmother’s Christian name. But children are not always to blame for ignorance of matters which transpired before their advent into this world. Hence, the necessity and duty of transmitting in some form, whether by autobiography (not necessarily printed), or diary, or in family Bible, or, in case of large families a work like this, accurate family records.

            If such records had been kept, one might have the satisfaction of ascertaining who his ancestors were on all lines, for some generations back. As before indicated, no Clewell is a Clewell only. Where there is no marriage into one’s own family, every person has or had two parents, four grand parents, eight great grand parents, sixteen great great grand parents, and so on, the number increasing by a geometrical ratio of two with every generation. How many of these ancestors can we name? This question again suggests the importance of transmitting proper records to our children.

            It is the absence, in many cases, of such records, that makes the compilation of a family history such a laborious task. The amount of labor involved in the production of such a work as this is much greater than imagined by most readers. Great credit is due the compilers of the patience, self-sacrifice, labor, and skill bestowed upon this work.

            The form of the present record and the method of using it, as explained in the “Preface,” will be found to be most satisfactory, as it enables lineage to be traced in either direction with the least possible effort. It comes as near perfection as any to be found in our day. The Jewish system of family records differed from others in that each family record carried names of male descendants only, the female descendants, unless unmarried, being reckoned as of the family into which such married, and celibacy being at a discount then, as it ought to be now. This system, if universally adopted, would have the immense advantage of saving all duplication of record, at the same time affording perfect record of female descendants, as well as male, by reference from one family record to another.

            Any record is better than none. A large portion of the Clewell record was preserved in some form or other, for which due credit is to be given. With many other families such a compilation as this is utterly impossible for lack of reliable data.

            The present compilers had an advantage possessed by comparatively few American families, in that there was but one founder of the name Clewell (two, if you consider the family as beginning with the brothers Franz and George). The Smiths, the Millers, and thousands of other names, have been reinforced by repeated importations from other countries; and thus, whoever attempted to compile, for instance, a Smith family history would deserve the profoundest commiseration of everybody.

            The Clewell family is of Huguenot origin. And, no doubt, much of the sterling character of our ancestors was developed in the school of affliction and persecution. Other countries have gained what France has lost. For a more complete history of the family, the reader is referred to the reports of reunions and to the biographies.

            “If you would train a child aright, you must begin with his grandmother.” There is much food for reflection in that saying. The laws of heredity never ceased to operate upon mankind, and one generation helps or hinders succeeding ones according as it transmits good or bad qualities to the next generation. Our race is a fallen one, to be sure, but it is an undisputed fact that some have suffered more from the fall than others. Who will say that it’s not in some measure due to the piety of our persecuted ancestors that there are today so many among their descendants preaching the good tidings of redemption the only Way whereby man can be saved?

            Beyond the period of Huguenot persecutions, the Clewell family cannot be traced. Very few families can be traced as far even as that. The farther back we go beyond that period, the greater the darkness and general ignorance, until we again reach the first centuries of the Christian era. Surnames were not in common use prior to the tenth century. It was no doubt providential that family records should be broken at this point. Had they not been thus broken, how many would still be priding themselves as being of the “seed of Abraham” according to the flesh instead of seeking to be united to the true “Seed” by faith.

            On account of the liberal sprinkling of biography in this work, and the interesting statistics found in the reports read at reunions, the book, we trust, will be of considerable general interest, an interest shared by many who are not of the Clewell lineage. The biographies represent life as it really is, —its struggles, its successes, its sorrows, its joys, its every-day duties, and some of its extraordinary tasks.

            But, of course, the work will be of special interest to those of the kin covered by the title of the book. To the unmarried, it might be well to suggest that they first consult the index of the book, as the laws forbid marriage within certain degrees of consanguinity. The Jews, in whose favor some of our laws make an exception, have sometimes so intermarried that one could figure himself out as being his own grandfather, —probably an undesirable result.

            In looking through the book, the reader (if he be a Clewell descendant) will undoubtedly find names of persons of whose kinship with him he was entirely unaware. He needs to be “introduced” to them, and this book will do it. Thus the book will enlarge his acquaintance and ought to promote love and sociability, and if it accomplishes these results only, the book will be doing a good work.

            The Clewells evidently believe in “race preservation,” as there are now more than four thousand of them, although the eighth generation is just beginning to “sprout,” as it were. This shows well by comparison, considering that families ordinarily grow by geometrical ratio. The family of Roger Williams, several generations older, number about eighteen thousand.

            May this book be a worthy memorial of those ancestors of ours that have fallen asleep. And as to the living ones, so widely scattered, and many of them so little acquainted with one another, may this book itself be between them a genuine and most cordial “Introduction.”

            Providence, R. I., April, 1907                                                 Chas. W. Loux.         

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To the Memory

of the

“Mothers” and “Fathers” of the Clewell Family

Who have gone to enjoy the full fruition

of the

“Fatherhood of God” and the Brotherhood of Man,

the Fundamental Tenet of Our Better Lives,

Which sought Recognition at their hands;

To the

Executive Committee

And

Living Kindred

With the Hope and Belief that their struggles will

Likewise be crowned,

This Volume is Dedicated.

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A General History

-Of the –

Clewell Family

FROM WHERE  ¢ ¢

s to whence the Clewells are is a matter not easily determined. All the records in our possession, however, assure us that the grand-parents of Franz and George Clewell were French Protestant or Huguenots. They lived in the southern part of France in the province of Dauphiny (Dauphiné) in the town of Grenoble, and from this place they fled to Auerbach in Baden. No attempt has been made to trace our ancestry in Europe for reasons which are almost self evident. One might wish to know more about them and without doubt could discover much interesting data bearing upon their ancestral lineage or affiliation.

DAUPHINY  ¢ ¢

auphiné was formerly a frontier province in the southeastern part of France, now comprising the departments of Dróme Isére and Hautes Alps. It is a mountainous district with beautiful and fertile valleys. It borders on Italy and Switzerland on the east with the lofty Alps mountains as its boundary. Its chief city was Grenoble. It has a strong fortress and even at present is an important city. It was originally a city of the Allobroges and later was fortified by the Romans who had conquered the province, 121 B.C. and the people became loyal subjects of that empire. In the 5th Century, it was conquered by the Burgundians who were originally a German tribe, and for a short period was a part of an independent kingdom. From 1032 until the middle of the 14th Century, it was a possession of Germany when it was presented to France by the last Lord of the old rulers who had the title of “Dauphin” from which the province received its name. Among the public buildings of Grenoble is the “Palace of Justice” which was originally the palace of the Dauphin.

Such is the history of the country from which the grandparents of Franz and George Clewell fled. Whether the history sheds any light upon their ancestors or not, is left to the judgment of the reader but the environment in which people live is a great factor in their lives and the laws of heredity can neither be disavowed.

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DERISIVE TAUNTS  ¢ ¢

here are those in the family who regard it very probably that they originally came not only from this frontier province of ancient Gaul, but from the frontier of the frontier, namely, Spain. Two plausible reasons are given: First, there is an old saying among the older Clewells that they were sometimes, in derision, called “Schwartze Spanier,” Black Spaniards as well as “Schwartze Fransoa” Black Frenchmen. Second, that the early members of the family, before they were much intermarried with the fair-haired and blue-eyed Germans, were a very black-haired and black-eyed people, although of remarkable fair skin. Their vivacity of disposition and temper, their versatility and impulsive eccentricities, indicate that they were descended from the Latin or Celtic races, rather than from the fair and more phlegmatic Germans who overran and conquered ancient Gaul, converting it into modern France.

THE FAMILY  ¢  ¢

he family must have been quite numerous for the name appears among the exiles of various lands and also among the galley-slaves to which some had been condemned. Michael Clavel who was number 37,246 had been in servitude for three years on the ship “La Fidelle” and another person, Antoine Clavel, who was number 30,789, had been in servitude for six years on the ship “La Vieille Reale.” They were among galley-slaves that were released by King Louis XIV of France in 1713 and 1714 respectively. Rev. David Clavel, a prominent member of the Reformed Church, was born in 1754, in Genoa. As early as 1628, a John Clavel, a poetical highway-man under Charles I, who after being reprieved wrote a poem on the “Tricks of Highwayman and How to Catch Thieves.”

Another branch of the family, the one in which we are directly interested, fled from Dauphiny to Auerbach, Baden, for the sake of “the Faith once delivered unto the Saints.”

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EDICT OF NANTES  ¢  ¢

uring the struggles of the Reformation period, the Protestants of France were successful in obtaining a decree which secured for them religious freedom. They enjoyed this privilege to see 760 churches rise but were denied the printing of books on the tenets of their religion, except in such places where it already existed nor were they allowed to approach the heart of the government with their religion and consequently their political strength was gradually crushed and their liberties interfered with. On October18, 1685, King Louis XIV of France revoked the Decree and more than 400,000 of the Protestants left their country and fled to other countries for protection rather than submit to Popish superstition. Among these refugees were merchants, manufacturers and skilled artisans, the most intelligent and most religious people of the nation. The loss to the French king was immense and the despotic ruler being entrapped through   his half-secret marriage to one who was governed by the Jesuits, wreaked vengeance upon the Protestants with sword and fire. With the alternative of Popish superstition and oppression, and the truth as it is in Jesus, they chose the latter. Leaving in quick flight, they left all their worldly goods behind in order to find refuge where they might worship God according to the teachings of His Word and the dictates of their consciences.

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THE FLIGHT  ¢  ¢

here is a well authenticated tradition that an only brother of Francois Clavel became separated from the rest of the family during the flight and was never heard of again. He doubtless, became a victim of the persecution. Their first resting place in their flight was in Geneva, Switzerland, whither the parents of the future wife of Francois had also fled. How long they stopped in that city we are not told but they continued their journey, perhaps to gratify a desire for greater safety, into Baden from whence their posterity was destined to continue the flight until they landed upon the shores of the New World.

FRANCOIS CLAVEL  ¢  ¢

hen our ancestors arrived in the Palatinate they renewed their allegiance to the Reformed Church of which they were consistent and zealous members as is evident from the autobiography of Franz Clewell. Francois Clavel was married in Auerbach to Louise Frache in 1718. He appears to have been a man of more than ordinary intelligence and force of character. He died in the year 1730, leaving a widow and two sons, Franz, aged ten, and George Craft, aged four years.

LOUISA FRACHE  ¢  ¢

he widow, Louisa Clavel, nee Frache, was born in Geneva, Switzerland, on the 5th of December, 1695. Her parents, as already stated, were among the French Huguenots who were compelled to seek refuge under a Protestant ruler. They were also members of the Reformed Church. She received a very good education as well as a thorough religious training. Her span in life from her birthplace in Geneva to her last resting-place on Schoeneck’s “God’s Acre,” shows that she played the part of a heroine in many respects.

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HER SECOND MARRIAGE  ¢  ¢

bout a year after the death of her husband, Francois Clavel, she married Johannes G’Fellern, a native of Switzerland. This marriage no doubt, was prompted by feeling the need of a protector for herself and  her children in those unsettled times. The religious wars continued and the persecutions of the Protestants were as furious as ever. This union was blessed with one daughter who died in infancy. No further mention is made of her second husband except that his name appears among the immigrants of the Billender Townshead which anchored in the Delaware at Philadelphia on October 5, 1737, from Amsterdam, Holland.

THE PASS  ¢  ¢

hat he assumed the responsibility of a father is evident from the so called PASS which he obtained from the officers in whose jurisdiction they lived. The Pass, which is the possession of Mr. Jacob Clewell of Philadelphia, Pa., is written in German. The cut is a correct facsimile of the original and a strict literal translation of the same follows.

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TRANSLATION OF THE PASS  ¢  ¢

WE CHARLES, by the grace of God, margrave of Baden and grave of Sausenberg, count of Spanheim and Eberstein, lord of Roeteln, Badenweyler, Lahr and Mahlberg & cet., by these presents acknowledge and declare, that, upon the humble petition of John Gefaeller from Auerbach in our bailiwick of Stin, who desires to betake himself to the island of Pennsylvania and to make his home there; together with his wife, Louise Frasch and her two children from her first husband, John Franz Cleve and George Craft Cleve;--we have, for a suitable consideration, graciously released them from servitude by which heretofore they have been allied and belonged to us; and we do this with the understanding, that neither we nor our princely heirs will have to obtain any further claims on them or their heirs on account of the servitude, unless they should sooner or later again settle in one of the other places within our principality and territory, where we have serfs, in which case they shall again be and become serfs, as before.

In testimony of this we have ordered the present document to be executed for the aforesaid John Gefaeller, given under our own signature and imprinted seal of the princely chancery, at our princely residence, the city of Carls-Ruh, April 6, 1737.

It was generally understood that the above secured for them the passage on the ship but it is not exactly that except in an indirect sense. It will be noticed that the tenor of the instrument is the releasing of the man as well as of his wife and the two children from servitude and when we read of their being held as serfs we may become overwhelmed with astonishment. But our descendants will not only find relief in their mortification, if any there should be,, in the history of the times and the sense in which the word was used but also, the fact is settled forever that the descendants of Franz and George Clewell have elevated their position in society and that they lived that positive life which had the assurance of being rewarded while the blood of the nobility has degenerated in many instances.

The term serf must not be construed in this document as meaning a slave and must also be distinguished from the serfs or villains of the early middle ages. These were subjugated by the conqueror and consisted of the population of the earlier races. There are also instances of persons selling themselves by reason of famine or other pressing causes to the lords for the sake of protection and still others who surrendered themselves to churches and monasteries for the sake of the benefits to be derived from the prayers of their masters. Different as was the condition of the serfs in different countries and at different periods, his position, on the whole, was much more favorable than that of a slave and by the customs of France and Germany the serfs were only bound to fixed payments and duties in respect to their lords. It is this latter condition from which our ancestral family seeks release, and, like true and loyal subjects they petitioned their lord for their freedom and by paying their respects were privileged to take advantage of their purpose in a very honorable and creditable manner. Whether the island of Pennsylvania as it was then conceived, could afford them greater protection in the vicissitudes of life than this lord who was unable to cope with the difficulties of the times, must have been a serious problem to them but their sturdy spirit of independence and their Christian zeal over-shadowed all such thoughts. Moreover the wise have said, “There are no gains without pains” and the journey was begun. According to tradition the voyage was a stormy one. Storm after storm overtook them and during one of these storms Johannes G’Fellern was drowned.   

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THE LANDING  ¢  ¢

hus we see that Louise Clavel G’Fellern landed at Philadelphia, a widow for the second time and now it seems the worst time of her trials was at hand. It may be taken for granted that they had some account of the surpassing advantages that were to be realized in this new country before they left the Fatherland, but now the one on whom they had depended was missing. They had left a home but where were they to find one here and who would support them? The colony with which they came resolved to try their fortunes in the Schuylkill Valley but what incentive did the forests of the valley offer to a woman in her position and to be separated from her acquaintances or even kindred and stay in the city, was equally odious to her. Just what made her to follow the colony into the Schuylkill Valley we are not told but after she had handed her two sons, Franz and George, over to their future masters as “Redemptioners” she traveled alone in her bereavement and anxiety.

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THE REDEMPTIONERS  ¢  ¢

he family was among the thousands whose pecuniary means were very limited but this was no insurmountable obstacle for a chance to try the fortunes of the new world. Therefore, they generally entered into contracts with the shipmasters for their passage to the New World. By the terms of these contracts, the person agreed upon the arrival of the ship at the designated port that he would allow himself to be sold into service to the highest bidder for a term of time sufficient to liquidate their indebtedness to the ship. Consequently upon their arrival, such persons who entered into such a compact were exposed for sale at auction or privately and their services sold for a period of from three to five years whichever might be found necessary to defray the expenses of the passage.

The price paid for them varied according to age and physical condition but ordinarily they brought ten pounds, equal to about $26.67 in the old money of the province of Pennsylvania, or about $50 according to the money standard of to-day.

The sales of these unfortunates were chiefly made to the comparatively wealthy residents in the south-eastern part of the province of Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, because there the greater need of such service was felt and the people had also more ability to pay for such services. But the time came when the market for these servants in the city became overstocked and it was necessary to dispose of them at places more remote.

The guardian of our ancestors saw both her sons sold into such servitude as well as that of their future wives. Franz Clewell became the servant of a planter in the Schuylkill Valley while George found his master in the city and served his term as a “button-maker.”  Such was the introduction our ancestors received but this stroke proved to be their fortune as well as to many others, for it laid the foundation of a material prosperity, which resulted frequently in the possession of their hundreds of acres of fertile land, their barns and granaries filled, besides means by which they could have been the happy possessors of bonds and stocks. After George had served his time as a redemptioner, he also joined his friends in the vicinity of Oley in the Schuylkill Valley and the dawn of a brighter future became apparent. His brother, Franz, had acquired his own possessions and soon afterwards married Salome Kuechley and George followed the example a few years later by taking her sister, Anna Maria Kuechley and making her his wife.

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HER THIRD MARRIAGE  ¢  ¢

hether the mother of these two maidens died in Oley or a few years after they had left that place we are not certain but the fact remains that their father Johannes Kuechley became a widower and some time before the year1750 had married their mother-in-law, Louise Clavel G’Fellern or the mother of their husbands. The three families lived closely together for the rest of their parents’ lifetime as their possessions or plantations were contiguous which they purchased from the Provincial government and which were situated north of Nazareth.

Here on the frontier, between the plantation of Franz Clewell on the east and the plantation of George Clewell on the west they, in the declining years of their lives, lived under the protection of their sons and daughters, breaking words of wisdom to them and guiding them until all seemed to have been fairly begun when they again were summoned to suffer a great loss. In the year 1756, not many years after their marriage, she became a widow for the third time through the death of her husband. This being before the organization of the church at Schoeneck, or about a year after they had petitioned the Moravians for a minister and while they occasionally had religious services in Franz Clewell’s house they, for some reason, buried his remains on his own possessions.

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HER WIDOWHOOD  ¢  ¢

he remained a widow for about eleven years in which she prepared for her final summons. The Gospel as preached by the Moravian ministers, convicted her of her sins and shortcomings and reminded her of the instructions she had received in the days of persecution. When Franz was received into the communion of the church at Schoeneck it impressed her deeply and she eagerly longed for the same privilege. After much prayer and many trials, she was received into the church on January 23, 1763, according to the customs of the Moravians and on August 6th of the same year she was permitted to partake of the Holy Communion. She was thereby much humbled and exclaimed “Moncher Sauyeur m’a pris mon coein” –“My loving Saviour has come very near to my heart.”

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LOUISA'S DEATH  ¢  ¢

uring her last years she was unable in consequence of advanced age and infirmities to leave her home and she was almost totally deaf, making it very difficult to converse with her and during the last few months of her life she could hardly be understood. She died of a violent and sudden hemorrhage from an attack of pleurisy at six o’clock on the morning of October 5, 1767, aged 72 years less two months. She was buried at Schoeneck on the Moravian God’s Acre where her resting place is marked by a white marble slab and bears the following inscription:

“Louisa Kuechley,

geborne Frache,

geboren December 1695

zu Geneve in der Schweiz:

Mutter von Franz

und George  Clewell.

Sie war die stamm-mutter

von der zahlreichen Clewell’s familie: Gestorben October, 1767”

Louisa Kuechley, maiden name Frache, born December, 1695, in Geneva, Switzerland. Mother of Franz and George Clewell and ancestress of the numerous Clewell family. Died October, 1767.

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CASTING LOTS  ¢  ¢

t may not be amiss at this time to digress for a while from our direct subject and give a few general points or hints on their experiences as members of the Moravian church, then generally known as the Brethren’s Church. It appears that it was a more serious matter to belong and have the privileges of a church than at present. The fact that our ancestors became refugees and sought religious freedom is a thing that can hardly be appreciated to-day, and when they had the opportunity of uniting with a church here in America it was seized and its precincts were approached with deep piety. The guiding hand of Providence in the affairs of men was recognized by those persecuted people while they humbly submitted to Divine Will. The custom of deciding questions by lot among Moravians was uncommonly prevalent, both privately and in the control of church affairs. It was used in various ways, in making selections, in seeking guidance in perplexity and in deciding questions and was usually conducted by drawing names or numbers or slips on which were written the word  “yes” or “no.” It was not, however, at exclusive Moravian custom but rather as a Providential ruling. After our ancestors, Franz and George Clewell, as well as their mother, were admitted into the Society of the Brethren, the question whether they were fit subjects to partake of the Lord’s Supper was decided by lot. In the case of Franz it was favorable at once but unfavorable to that of his mother and brother and therefore they did not become full members of the church until some time afterwards. They submitted to the decision without murmuring and prepared for the next chance.

Previous to 1818, lot was applied to many marriages. This, perhaps, was to carry out lofty ideals in the selection of consecrated associates and as a matter of complete subjection to Divine guidance. However, the law of love took its course—and as a result the system was generally disapproved. There were also such among our descendants who were Moravians that desired to marry some one not of the church and they would not submit to the system and again dissatisfaction arose. In one particular instance when the hand of a descendant widow with her three children was sought in marriage by one who belonged to the church, he made his intentions known to the officials of the church who wanted to proceed with lot when he told them “the widow or none.” Lot was favorable and the marriage was a happy one as many among our descendants could testify.

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THE NAME  ¢  ¢

any of our readers may dispute the correctness of the orthography of the name Clewell and no attempt will be made to decide that question but rather to present the various forms of the name which came to our notice while gathering the data for this book. It will be noticed that in the baptismal certificate of George Craft the name is spelled Clavell while in the passport the name is spelled Cleve. That the latter is a clerical error is almost self-evident, perhaps confounded with the duchy, Cleves, in Westphalia while the former may have been the form used by the people in Europe. In the recital of the deed by the Commonwealth to Franz, the name is repeatedly spelled  “Klewell” alias “Clavell” while Franz writes his own name with a K and about a year afterwards, under the same circumstances, he writes Clewell. This may be explained by comparing the so-called hard sound of C with the German K.

The form “Clewell” appears on the legal documents that were executed by both Franz and George as their signatures and the same form is used by their children in the execution of documents in the settlement of the estates with the exception of Abraham, the youngest heir of George, who signed his name Klewell. The reason for this was explained by his son, Abraham, who was still living at the time of the first reunion. Abraham, son of George, had his family in Philadelphia and when the children entered school the teacher persisted in spelling the name with a K and the whole family yielded.

In the list of taxable people of Northampton County, in 1780, the name is spelled “Clewelder” and “Cleweld.” In each case the name begins with a C and the spelling of the rest of the word is simple to anyone who understands the Pennsylvania German dialect. This instance goes to prove the erroneousness of official records which may have also been the case with the name on the passport.

In the genealogy it will be noticed that Joseph William Clewell spells his name “Cavelt.” The history of the man will explain the orthography of the name. While being yet a mere lad he became separated from his parents and was raised in a Pennsylvania German family who had not only neglected their own education but failed to do their duty to the boy and consequently when the time arrived that he had occasion to write his name, he spelled it according to the pronunciation of the word among those people.

Another form of the name is that of John F. and James D. Clewell. But this form is similar to those already explained. Local pronunciation often changed the spelling of the name.

We were often attracted by the similarity of our family surname to that of others, like Clayville, Clavill and Clavell. The first two as far as we have investigated have a history peculiar of their own while the latter are inhabitants of Canada and claim to descendants of the pioneers of the colonial days as well as of French nationality. We have reason to believe that they are a distinctive branch of the family and that their form of the name which is Clavell, bears the greater resemblance of the original form. We leave the duty of finding the connecting link to the future family historian.

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THE VILLAGE OF

SCHOENECK

The history of that small village about one mile north of Nazareth called Schoeneck and which means “Pleasant Corner” does not strictly belong to our Family History but it is so closely allied with our early ancestors that it may find a proper place among these pages.

It was in the year 1754 that a number of dwellers in Bushkill Township then a part of Plainfield Township, wrote a petition to the Synod of the Brethren now commonly known as Moravians, who were holding their sessions in Bethel on the Swatava, asking that body to send a minister, who could proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them pure and unadulterated like the Apostle of old. The letter thus addressed was signed by Franz Clewell, George Clewell, John Peter Stoudt, a brother-in-law of the above named and John Kuechle, father-in-law of the aforenamed Henry Kostenbader, Walter Mueller and -------- Bleily.

Among these seven persons, Franz Clewell, who had been awakened by a sermon of Rev. Eschenbach in Oley, was the prime author of this movement, influenced principally by his concern for the salvation of his children. 

It was resolved by that Synod to send a minister to them who met the seven petitioners in the house of Franz Clewell. Here in this house, services were held from time to time by Moravian ministers who came on request, during the year 1755 and each meeting attracted more of the neighbors and thus continuing until 1756 the question of building a place of worship and a school-house was earnestly discussed.

  All of them felt the need but the obstacles that had to be overcome seemed like mountains because of their limited number in building and supporting the same.

About the year 1756, the Moravian Synod again came to their aid when they passed a resolution that a congregation place should be established on the Nazareth Tract a short mile from Nazareth Hall in the direction of the Blue Mountains. This place so established, received the name Schoeneck, named after a place in Austria which belonged to Count Zinzindorf’s family.

In 1760 George Clauss, who later became the father-in-law of Elizabeth Clewell, oldest daughter of George Clewell, built the first house in the place. In the spring of 1762, the building of the proposed place of worship and school-house was commenced and so steadily and vehemently was the work pushed that the third of October of the same year was set apart for its consecration.

This was the first church which evidently stood a few rods north of the present church. On August 12, previous to the consecration of this church, Rev. Daniel Neibert and his wife Hannah, arrived as the first regular pastor.

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The Clewell Family in America

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