After a brief registration and a few tasty nibbles of genuine Moravian Sugar Cake, our reunion began with the introduction of an unexpected guest, Dr. Paul M. Peucker, the Head Archivist of the Moravian Archives in Bethlehem, PA. Dr. Peucker kindly brought and displayed the two newly rebound and preserved Schoeneck Church Registers, for which our family supplied the funds.
Dr.
Peucker, who was very thankful for our donations, explained the
historical significance of the two volumes. For us Clewells, the
Schoeneck Church Registers document the lives and activities of our
earliest known family members. They provide a witness to: baptisms,
weddings, confirmations, and burials. They are an invaluable historical
record, not only of the Schoeneck Moravian Church, but also of our
family. Many thanks! to all who graciously donated to the
preservation of these two invaluable, historical volumes.
Next, everyone who attended the reunion, received envelopes stuffed with copies of eleven historical documents which our genealogist briefly explained. They included: George Craft Clewell’s will, copies of the first three Reunion bulletins, several pages from the 1790 Census--spelling our surname as CLAYWELL, a map showing the locations of the Clewell homesteads, two timelines, and personally created ancestor and descendant reports. These envelopes were a treasure-trove of historical information which everyone greatly appreciated!
Then, we traveled a few miles away, and toured the Henry Homestead (near Jacobsburg, PA). This is the site where the Henry family eventually settled and built the renowned Henry gun factory. Not only did we tour the family’s home, which was tastefully decorated with original furniture and other personal possessions, but we also toured the Henry museum. There, we viewed numerous examples of original Henry rifles and the exquisite craftsmanship used to create these magnificent firearms.
After a delightful lunch of Fat Daddy’s chicken and ribs, our next featured guests, co-authors, Patricia McAndrew and ???? ???????, related their experiences of researching and writing about one of our Clewell ancestors, James Pfeiffer (Peifer).
James,
a direct
descendant of George Clewell, was a Civil
War veteran,
whose numerous letters were
saved, and later transcribed (the originals were eventually lost). They
record his enthusiasm for the Union’s cause at the beginning of the war,
and his doubts, frustrations, and disappoints toward the end of the war.
Bethlehem Boy is a wonderful account of our cousin’s unique
experiences during our nation’s most turbulent times. Perhaps the best
feature of this book is we get to read James’ thoughts, not the authors’
interpretations; they did an outstanding job of letting James “speak for
himself.”
In a previous newsletter, it was explained that we were unable to publish our genealogy because of a poorly considered motion made and carried at our 2004 Reunion.
At
our 2007 Reunion, a new motion was made and carried, which replaces the
one from 2004. The new motion gives the Executive Committee the
authority to make decisions for publishing our genealogy. Further,
should anyone wish to make their thoughts known, they are invited to
attend Executive Committee meetings. (Contact our Clewell Family
Association President, JoAnn Heckman, at 610-759-5564 for dates
and times of meetings.)
