The following is a history of the origins of Camp Town (also known as Campington), based on the History of Philadelphia 1609-1884:

When the British army entered Philadelphia the barracks were again occupied by the royal troops, whether by regiments or companies is not known. Soldiers were encamped in the open fields near, north, south, and west of the more luxurious quarters. There is no record by which may be ascertained what regiments or organizations were accommodated at the barracks.

Discipline was rather loose in the Northern Liberties after the British evacuation, and the soldiers were sometimes unruly. In December, 1779, complaint was made to the Supreme Executive Council “of great irregularities at the barracks and destruction of the buildings; and also that there is danger of bloodshed from the disputes between the soldiers and the neighboring inhabitants, and that the same are owing to the neglect of the proper officers providing wood." Measures were taken to prevent further mischief. The supply of fuel was a great difficulty at this time. In order to prevent, in some degree, the scarcity, the Council had ordered that the wood growing on a tract of land on the west side of the Schuylkill, belonging to some persons residing in Great Britain, should be cut down and brought to the city for the use of the poor, the same to be valued and accounted for when required. In pursuance of these orders, William Bradford, Tench Francis, James Ash, Isaac Melchor, William Hall, Andrew Tybout, David Duncan, William Miller, William Forbes, Thomas Shields, and Joseph Copperthwaite had cut down considerable quantities of the wood for those uses. They found themselves confronted by a person called William Wood, who made claim to the property, and took possession of some of it. The Supreme Executive Council proceeded promptly, and ordered Wood to be arrested and brought before them by the sheriff of the county. The consequence was that Wood was soon convinced of his error, "made some acknowledgments," and being reprimanded, was dismissed. Probably some of this wood went to the barracks. The necessity of the case and the want of fuel led to considerable destruction there. A committee of the Council, which had been detailed to make an examination of the condition of the barracks, made a very unpleasant report:

"That they find them in a very ruinous condition, all the Bedsteads (except a few In the Invalid quarter) missing having been burned, as we are informed, for want of Wood. Almost all the Glazing of the windows broken, plastering pulled down, the laths & partitions cut up to light fires. The floors much cut up and injured. The soldiers having brought their wood into the rooms, and there cut up for their fires; the rooms A galleries are so full of filth and ordure as to render these places extremely offensive; In short the whole of the buildings are in very bad order. . . . That upon a special inquiry what Wood had been served out, and what prospects there are, it appears to the committee that great part of the Fall & Winter there has been only half allowance, and that irregularly served. That they have been occasionally 2 days without Wood, even to cook their victuals, By which means the Buildings and Fences in the neighborhood had Suffered, which had occasioned great disturbance among the Inhabitants, so as not only to break the peace, but to endanger the lives of both soldiers and citizens; that there is not at present any stock of wood or any other supply than from day to day, and that so insufficient that unless there is some effectual reform in case of bad roads or bad weather which may be expected at this season, they will be destitute, and the like abuses on the buildings and in the neighborhood probably renewed."

    The number of soldiers who might be accommodated at the barracks was not stated, nor the number of soldiers who were in quarters at that time. In regard to the officers there were more than enough. Isaac Melchior was barrack-master; Gen. Gibbs Jones, chief barrack-master and captain of artillery; Christian Schaffer, assistant barrack-master and superintendent of the carpenters; John Fauntz, assistant barrack-master. Beside these principal officers there were three superintendents of wagoners and woodcutters, an issuer of wood, two clerks, and teamsters to an unknown number. There were twenty-one teams at the barracks, and twelve at Bristol, besides several more at the same place whose number was not ascertained. Col. Melchior and his assistants had a number of riding horses for their own use, and the affairs of the establishment were conducted at an extravagant rate. On the last day of December the barrack-master reported that a body of Continental troops were marching into the city, and unprovided with barracks or other cover, from which it would seem that the barracks were filled to their capacity. He asked assistance from the Council so that they might be secured suitable quarters. Orders were issued to the justices of the peace of the city and liberties to billet the troops in the public-houses, proportioning them according to the size of the house. Measures were taken also to recompense citizens who lost their wood when the troops were "constrained" to use that article. The barrack-master was ordered to replace it in the following proportion: "for twenty men one-eighth of a cord of wood for every twenty-four hours, and Bo on in proportion for a greater or lesser number of men."

The use of the barracks was given up to the United States at some time before the end of 1779, at which period the report above quoted was made. Consequently, there were disputes whenever the State authorities undertook to interfere. The report of the condition of the buildings was sent by the Council to the delegates of Pennsylvania in Congress, and the Council said, "Should there be any attempt to refer the correction of these abuses to the authority of the State, we desire you would object to it. We cannot think of involving ourselves in any further disputes with these officers, who, being under the immediate appointment of Congress, resent our interference, and in consequence treat us with very little respect or decency. ... At all events we decline acting farther than giving you information as members of Congress, being resolved never again to commit ourselves as parties or accusers, and with the officers of Congress incur the imputation of indulging private resentment when we have only the public interests in view." The representations made produced no result. So that some months afterward President Reed wrote to the delegates in Congress stating that the abuses and mischiefs continued, "so that in a little time these buildings will be useless to the publick." One thousand pounds in gold, it was said, would not repair the damages that those buildings had sustained during the previous year. The Council, therefore, determined to take the buildings under their own care, and appoint a barrack-master. They requested the delegates in Congress to move in that body for an order to the Continental officers to pay due regard to the barrack master within his department. Matthew McConnell was appointed town-major after this, and Leonard Cooper was superintendent in 1781. In January of the same year, a considerable number of officers belonging to the Pennsylvania line being in the city, were unprovided with decent quarters. Orders were given that they should be billeted by the Deputy Quartermaster-General.

In 1781, Col. Lewis Nicola, who was formerly barrack-master and at that time town-major, appears to have been in authority sufficient to take charge of the barracks again. He was directed to appoint a trusty sergeant to assist him in preserving the barracks from "being damaged by the soldiery that may be quartered therein from time to time." Various repairs were placed upon the barracks during that year.

In November, Robert Morris, superintendent of finance, and Richard Peters, executing the duties of (he War Department, wrote to President Moore stating that a regiment of Federal troops would be stationed in the city during the ensuing winter, and that upon their arrival the militia doing duty would be discharged. Therefore they applied for the use of the barracks, and requested that a barrack-master should be appointed and the buildings put in order.

    Col. Nicola was discharged from his duty as town major in February, 1782, there being practically no farther occasion for his services.

After the conclusion of the Revolution, as soon as public officers became settled down to peaceable thoughts, it was considered necessary to dispose of much of the property acquired for military purposes daring the struggle. On the 1st of April, 1784, the Assembly passed an act authorizing the sale of the barrack lots in the Northern Liberties. The money realized was to be appropriated toward the payment of the sums agreed to be paid to the late proprietaries. The Supreme Executive Council appointed Michael Hillegas and Tench Francis commissioners " to apportion and lay off the ground whereon the barracks are situate into as many lots as may be necessary, with such and so many streets and lanes that the interest of the State and the convenience of the inhabitants may be best promoted, and to make sale thereof." The commissioners opened on the south side of the barrack-ground a new street, to which they gave the name of Tammany Street. As early as 1772 a street had been laid out through the Coats property, north of Green Street, running northward, which was called St. John Street. This highway was continued by the commissioners through the centre of the barrack lot from Green to Tammany Street. Near the Germantown road, Pitt Street was in line of St. John Street. South of Pegg's Run, Ann Street extended on the same line from Vine Street to Cohocksink Creek. The route of St. John Street was confirmed from Pegg's Run to Germantown road in June, 1793. East and west of St. John Street, between Second and Third, small and narrow streets were laid out, to which the commissioners, with delicate taste, gave floral names. Rose Alley was east of Third Street and Lily Alley west of Second Street.

It was the opinion of Messrs. Hillegas and Francis that the best plan to dispose of the property would be to rid it of all the barrack buildings except the centre house for the officers. The materials would bring fair prices. The bricks, in consequence of scarcity, could be sold for nearly as much as new bricks. The lumber might be used, and other material, such as floors, window-sashes, etc. The lots thus being made vacant could be sold at a better price than if incumbered with inconvenient buildings.

The destruction of the barracks was found to be inconvenient in after-years for the want of some place at which the troops might be lodged. In 1788 a contingent being necessary from Pennsylvania, Lieut.-Col. Josiah Harmer was placed in command.

    Capt. David Ziegler, upon recruiting service, was embarrassed for want of quarters. In this emergency the Supreme Executive Council applied to the managers of the House of Employment, requesting them "to permit Capt. Ziegler to occupy an apartment in the Bettering House for the reception of such soldiers as he may enlist during his stay in this city." The application was not successful, and an order was issued to Clement Biddle to procure a house for the purposes of Capt. Ziegler on the best terms that he could.

    The barracks became, as soon as they were erected, a place in which the inhabitants of the city took much interest. Except the militia and volunteer associations, organized under authority of the Lieutenant-Governors, there had been few regular soldiers seen in Philadelphia from the time of the settlement up to 1756, when the remnants of Halkett's and Dunbar's regiments marched back in retreat, it might be said, after the disaster of Braddock's Field. The Royal American regiment, although composed principally of emigrants from Germany and Switzerland, who had been settled in America some of them perhaps for many years, were commanded by officers thoroughly instructed in the military methods of Continental Europe, governed by obedience to such British methods as were considered necessary to be observed by superior authority. Halkett's and Dunbar's regiments were almost entirely composed of soldiers born in Great Britain. Col. Bouquet must have introduced some peculiarities founded upon his experience in the Dutch and Italian armies. Col. Montgomery's Highlanders were objects of great curiosity. Their peculiar costumes, their pipers and music, even their speech, so difficult to be understood by persons not used to cosmopolitan communications, were strange. Subject to proper precautions incident to military organizations, visitors to the barracks were welcome, at least at particular times, when it was understood that the sentries could be passed and access to the premises occupied by the troops was unrestricted. The parades and reviews were matters of continued interest. There was always something going on at the barracks which was worth looking at. It was a popular place to be visited by young people, and even by elderly and grave citizens.

The commissioners who erected the barracks are not known to have made any formal report as to their plans or description of the buildings. It is known that the barracks were of brick, that they had cellars under them, and occupied a parallelogram bounded on the west by Third Street, probably a little back from that highway, the middle building or officers' quarters being possibly in front of the barracks proper, which were of brick, and faced a ground for parade and exercise.

Among the collection of curiosities in possession of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a powder.horn upon which is engraved a representation of the city, with a sort of a map and other details sufficient to authorize the Inference that it was the work of a British soldier who was in Philadelphia before the Revolution. From the manner of spelling the name Front Street (" Frond Street") It seems probable that this work was done by a foreigner, a German or Swiss soldier belonging either to Bouquet's or Haldiman's battalions. There is a rude but perfectly obvious representation of the barracks exactly where they would be, in reference to other localities on the map or plan. According to this representation the barracks were one-storied buildings with a pitched roof, which possibly may have been available lofts for sleeping purposes, although there are no marks of garret-windows. Doors at Intervals appeared to have been placed on the west parallel. Chimneys are also marked. The description by Watson does not agree with this rude sketch. He says that "the houses were all of brick, two stories high, and a portico around the whole hollow-square." The view which Mr. Watson publishes shows a gallery above the first story and on a level with the floor of the second story, stretching around the three sides of the quadrangle. The number of soldiers who could be accommodated is also a matter of doubt. Mr. Watson says that they were tenanted "by three thousand men, all in the same year." (" Annals of Philadelphia," vol. i. page 415.) This is a doubtful phrase, and may mean that altogether, in one year, three thousand individual soldiers had tenanted the building. If it meant that three thousand men were at one time quartered there, the statement may be suspected to be an exaggeration. It has already been shown that in March, 1775, Gen. Forbes demanded quarters for seventeen hundred and fifty-two men. Montgomery's battalion of Highlanders in the winter of 1768-69 consisted of thirteen hundred men, and there were four companies of Royal Americans, probably not more than four hundred men, altogether seventeen hundred men. No larger numbers than these are spoken of on the scanty records which remain to show the use of this building.

So far as noted, the battalions of British troops quartered at the barracks were infantry or foot soldiers. Yet there was artillery there. The king's birthday, in June, 1772, was celebrated at the barracks by a discharge of twenty-one cannon. After the barrack lots were laid out, the little street running from Second to Front, below Green, and known as Duke Street, was popularly called Artillery Lane. This was in allusion to the storage of cannon near there, either upon the barracks lot or upon the line of Duke Street. The presence of the troops in the Northern Liberties gave to that portion of the county a new nickname. It was called Camping-town and Camptown for many years. In time this appellation was shifted northward, and was generally known as a name applied to Kensington.

There may be a clue to the  location of the Ridge Rd plantation which seems to connect with the directions to Philip Eisenbrey’s house, as follows:

“26 February 1851. At the office during the morning and in the afternoon about 3 o'clock drove out of town about 8 miles to see a Mr. Philip Eisenbrey and his wife upon some matters of business. Carrie accompanied me. We had a very nice horse. Went out the 2nd Street road to just beyond the 6th mile stone, and then turned off to the right, proceeded about 1/2 a mile & then turned to the left, and in a short time arrived at the house. They were perfect strangers to us, but treated us with much politeness and kindness.”

Source: Bryn Mawr. Edu : Journals of J. Warner Erwin noted his activities, almost daily throughout his life. The journal that follows covers the years from 1839 to 1853, from age 14 to 29, that include his marriage in 1850 and the responsibility of a daughter a year later. A chronicle of a dozen and a half years in the life of a young Philadelphia gentleman, a conveyancer, who describes mid-nineteenth century living in the city, trips throughout the country by steamship, rail and carriage, as well as numerous social events including his courtship, marriage and the birth of his two children. J. Warner Erwin was a conveyancer, a 19th-century term for a writer of deeds, leases, property transfers, real estate agreements, and other legal matters. In 1843 he worked with his father, but in 1845 started his own office.

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Eisenbrey Colonial Neighborhood: 

Location, Location, Location . . . . . . . . .

Philadelphia Street names in Colonial times:

Sassafrass Street – known today and also known then as Race Street

Mulberry Street – known today and also known then as Arch Street

High Street – known today as Market Street

Crown Street – located between 4^th and 5^th Streets between Vine and New Streets (today-Lawrence St.)

Etris’s Alley – W. side of 5^th Street between Sassafras and Vine Streets

Sassafras Alley – N. and S. from Sassafras to Sheibell’s (or Schievely’s) Alley between 5^th and 6^th

Star Alley – N. and S. Cherry to Race between 5^th and 6th 

Steinmetz’s Alley – E. side of 4^th Street between Sassafras and Vine Streets

Wood Street – From the York to the Ridge Road between Vine and Callowhill Streets  (plantation location ??)

Zane Street – Between 7^th and 8^th between High and Mulberry Streets

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Eisenbrey Neighborhood Maps of Philadephia 1776 - 1797 :

 Map of Philadelphia 1776

Source:  Hill Map of 1797

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 In looking through the occupations and addresses of the family members and the related family members and friends of the Eisenbrey family during the colonial period shows that the family married other families connect to the Eisenbrey family’s businesses. Examples of this would be that the family in running the tavern or just having contact with other families due to geographic location or members of the Lutheran church or German community in Philadelphia at the time, such as Catherine’s sister, Elizabeth marrying Peter Lex, being a butcher/grocer and Lex family located within a block or two. The connectivity continues such as Jacob being a tallow chandler requiring access to animal fats, which Peter Lex and his family could supply as butchers. With John being in lumber business, it made it very convenient for Philip to be a coach painter, with John manufacturing the coaches. With Henry being a tobacconist, it would be curious to see if Peter in Maryland was growing tobacco, supplying Henry with the product. Having family or relations that supplied the needs of the family business would allow the family to build their wealth and thrive in a growing/booming city such as Philadelphia, while it was the capital of the new country or during the Revolution. The Eisenbrey family was directly or indirectly involved in significantly important “necessity” occupations… tavern –entertainment/shelter for visitors; grocers –supply food; cordwainer/tailor/dressmaker –clothing; soap –clean civilized city; lumber –growth of the city residency; and  coachmaking/painting –transportation. The family plantations also could have been available for growing food for the Philadelphia markets or for the family during hard times.

The Philadelphia City Directories listing the Eisenbrey family members address and occupation are referenced in the "Eisenbrey-History" section.

Eisenbrey Family Occupations (with Colonial Definitions) :                                                                       

• tavern keeper – inn keeper
• grocer
• merchant (mer.)
• carpenter
• carver
• labourer
• tailor
• book keeper
• accountant
• clerk
• dressmaker
• furnisher and clothier (dry goods)
• gent’s furnishing goods
• umbrella form maker
• stationery
• shop keeper
• baker
• milkman
• dentist
• farmer
• tobacconist – one that buys and sells tobacco as a tobacco merchant.
• carter – a wagoner (driver of a wagon), stable headman or charioteer
• coach maker – a person who makes horse drawn coaches
• coach painter  - a person who painted signs or coaches
• cordwainer – a shoemaker or worker of leather
• fruiterer – a person who bought and sold fruit
• intendant – a director of a public or government business
• sawyer – one who cut timber into logs or boards
• tallow chandler – a person who made and sold tallow candles and soap. See explanation below :           

According to the dictionary, a person that makes or sells candles is a chandler.

In the early day, each town, especially in Europe, had their chandler. A chandler had to meet requirements to ensure only good candles were sold. A chandler belonged to the "The Tallow Chandler Guild" which was established in 1462. Amazingly, at this time in history, candles were so important that is was a crime to adulterate wax in any way!

Being a chandler meant going through an apprenticeship. But after your apprenticeship, being a chandler ensured you earned good money.

Candles in the early days were not very good though. Candles were made using tallow. Only the very rich could afford beeswax candles. So the majority of people had to use the low quality tallow candles.

Smoke from a tallow candle smells bad, creates soot and produces noxious fumes.

It was during the 1800's that candle making really became a business. What most people don't know is that candle makers and soap makers both required tallow for making their respective products. As a result, Proctor (a candle maker) and Gamble (a soap maker) merged and thus was the creation of Proctor & Gamble!

As times progressed, so did the quality of ingredients and thus candle makers were able to move away from tallow. It was in 1823 that stearin was isolated from tallow. Candle makers discovered that adding extra stearin to their candles created candles that burned with less smoke, brighter light and the stearin helped to create firmer candles.

Then, in the 1850's, the car was invented. With the invention of the car came the use of petroleum. This meant a whole new industry was created which was the petro-chemical industry. It was at this time that paraffin wax was created.

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Eisenbrey Family Religious Experience in Philadelphia:

GERMAN LUTHERAN CHURCH:

ST. MICHAEL'S AND ZION.

The German Lutherans of Philadelphia are supposed to have been embodied in congregations before 1742, but there are no records which conclusively prove the fact. St. Michael's Church of Germantown is the oldest German Lutheran congregation in Pennsylvania. The corner-stone of the church building in that village was laid by John Dylander of the Swedish Lutheran church (Gloria Dei) at Wicaco in 1737, and the ministrations there were under the charge of Mr. Dylander for some time, but having his duties to perform at Wicaco, his services at Germantown were irregular and the congregation dwindled to six or seven persons in 1740. Rev. Valentine Kraft was in charge of a German Lutheran congregation in Philadelphia in 1742, but being dismissed, he went to Germantown and filled the pulpit of St. Michael's, when at the end of a year that congregation became dissatisfied with him, and he was again removed. The German Lutheran congregation in Philadelphia under Kraft, and probably John Philip Streiter and Rev. Mr. Faulkner, worshipped in a barn in Arch Street near Fifth, which it occupied jointly with the German Reformed congregation. This congregation, anxious for the services of a pastor, united with the Lutheran congregations of New Hanover and Providence in application to the Lutheran authorities at Halle for the appointment of a minister. Deputies were sent abroad, among whom was Daniel Weissenger. The first overtures were made to F. M. Zeigenhagen in England, who was chaplain to King George II. He took an interest in the matter, and by communication addressed to Dr. Franken of the University of Halle induced the Lutheran authorities to send out to Pennsylvania Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg. He landed at Charleston, S. C., in 1742, and arrived in Philadelphia November 28 of that year. He found the Lutheran congregations not only in Germantown and Philadelphia, but in other parts of Pennsylvania, involved in controversies serious in character. Germantown and Philadelphia congregations, besides the trouble with Rev. Valentine Kraft, were struggling against the assumptions of Count Nicholas Louis von Zinzendorf, the Moravian leader, who had come to Philadelphia in 1741, assumed the name of Louis von Thurnstein, and claimed authority to be inspector-general of the Lutherans in Pennsylvania. Zinzendorf under this assumed authority commenced the building of a church for the use of the Lutherans at the corner of Sassafras (Race) and Bread streets, and laid the corner-stone September 10, 1742. The building was under way when Muhlenberg arrived, and if the latter had been submissive to the claims of Zinzendorf, the first German Lutheran church built in the city would have been dedicated in the building on Race Street. But Mr. Muhlenberg stoutly resisted the authority of the Hernhiitter, and although the latter was sustained by some members of the Lutheran congregation, Muhlenberg had sufficient strength and influence in argument to carry the congregation with him; and so it happened that a Moravian congregation was afterward formed which took possession of the church building originally designed for the Lutherans, and the latter looked about for a site suitable for a building of their own. The church on Race Street was transferred to the Moravians on the 1st of January, 1743. Mr. Muhlenberg preached his first sermon on the morning of the 5th of December, 1742, in the barn on Mulberry Street, and the same afternoon preached at the Swedes' Church in Wicaco. For some time he officiated for both congregations, there being a vacancy at Gloria Dei in consequence of the death of Rev. John Dylander. In the year 1743 the Lutheran congregation bought a lot of ground situate on the east side of Fifth Street, extending from Appletree Alley to Cherry Lane, for the sum of £200. The corner-stone was laid on the 5th of April, 1743. The congregation had but little money, but great faith, and the construction of the building was pressed on in hope that the money necessary to pay for it would be raised by contribution as necessity required. On the 29th of October the work was so far completed that it was possible to use the house for worship. There had been expended upon it up to that time £1500—an enormous sum for the times, and which weighed heavily on a congregation few in numbers and poor in purse. To finish the edifice required, according to estimate, a very considerable additional sum. They resolved to use the building as it stood, the interior work not being completed. The scaffolding erected to enable the bricklayers to put up the walls remained on the outside. The windows were without sashes or glass.

 St. Michael's German Lutheran Church

Several were nailed up with boards, not sufficiently close to keep out the drifting snows in winter. The humble congregation formed their auditorium by placing loose boards on logs, and these were their pews. There was no stove to keep the interior warm, and yet during five years in summer and winter the church, furnished in that rough fashion, was used by the congregation. In winter the drifting snow sometimes covered up the text in the Bible which lay on the pulpit, so that the minister was compelled to wipe it off before he could read from the sacred volume. The money required to pay the debt of the church was slowly obtained. The church when finished cost, including the ground, about $8000. The interior work was finished by degrees, and on the 14th of August, 1748, the church as completed was solemnly dedicated to the service of Almighty God. The ceremonies were imposing. The pastor, Rev. Henry M. Muhlenberg, officiated, and was assisted by Revs. Brunnholz, Handschuh, Kurz, and Schaum of the German Lutheran Church, and Rev. Mr. Sanderlin of the Swedish Lutheran church at Chester. The building, according to the original plan, was seventy feet long, forty-five feet wide, and thirty-six feet high. A steeple fifty feet in height rose from the centre of the roof, but being heavy for the supports, the walls showing a tendency to spread, it was taken down in 1750, and even then, weakness being apparent, as a measure of strength two porches were erected upon the north and south sides near the eastern end of the building, thus giving to the church a cruciform shape which was not according to the original intention. The congregation, when the church building was completed, increased rapidly, so that in two years after the dedication it was found necessary to erect galleries. This work was accomplished in 1750, and in 1751 the church furniture was made complete by the placing of an organ in the gallery which was considered at the time one of the largest and finest instruments in America. No alteration was made in the interior during the one hundred and thirty years it remained in use. Stoves were introduced toward the end of the last century, when religious people generally were coming to the conclusion that it was not sinful to worship the Lord in a building comfortably warmed. The old chandeliers, resplendent with glass drops, remained until the last. The pulpit was a little old, queer-shaped tub with sounding-board above it. The pews were square and roomy, with backs sufficiently high to hide children and small persons entirely from the general view of the congregation. The galleries were supported on low pillars, and the ceilings under them came much nearer the floor beneath than is usual in modern churches. The interior had a strange appearance to worshippers from other churches, and the effect upon the mind was suggestive of the sincerity and piety of the humble congregation which had erected this quaint temple. During the whole period of its use for worship the German language was maintained by a succession of pious and earnest pastors whose hearts were in their ministry. In 1759, £200 were appropriated to the purchase of additional ground for burial purposes. The graveyard was established on the north side of the church, extending to Cherry Street, with a lot on the north side of Cherry street which was purchased for £915 currency. Here were deposited during a hundred years the remains of the leading members of the congregation and their families. The old tombstones bore the names of citizens whose descendants have attained to wealth and local distinction. Upon the weather-stained tablets were to be found memorials of the families of Lex, Ludwig, Hansell, Fritz, Graff', Huber, Greiner, Riehle, Woelper, Boraef, Fromberger, Eisenbrey, Mierken, Emerick, Shubert, and many others.

In 1760, £447 was appropriated for the purchase of a house and lot adjoining the church, upon which to erect a school-house. The building was commenced the same year, and finished July 27, 1761. The school was opened April 13 of that year by Pastor Brunnholz with a small number of pupils. It soon increased to one hundred and twenty children. This number being more than the school-house could comfortably accommodate, the scholars were transferred to the church during the summer and the moderate weather of spring and autumn. In the winter they were crowded in the school-house, which was warmed by means of stoves. There were six classes, and the tuition was upon the plan of the German orphan schools. Quarterly examinations were held in the church before the whole congregation, and among the best scholars cakes were distributed as rewards of merit, and printed verses from Scripture were given to the deserving. There were other recreations for the pupils. Mr. Brunnholz, writing to Halle, said: "In pleasant weather we go out into the country, with the children walking two by two. At one time they repeat their verses as if with one mouth, and at another time they sing, which animates me even in the greatest despondency. Sundays they assemble in front of my house, whence they go by twos to the church, where they are examined by Mr. Heinzelman." On the occasion of the dedication of the school-house Dr. Muhlenberg preached in the church from Second Kings, 2d verse, concerning the miraculous purification of a poisonous spring. Afterward, Provost Wrangel, Pastor Handschuh, and Pastor Muhlenburg, with the elders, deacons, and members of the church, and the scholars, went in procession to the new school-house, which was consecrated with prayer, singing, and a short discourse upon a text taken from the 80th Psalm. The schoolmaster examined the children, and a collection was made amounting to £\2. After the consecration, which took place on Monday, the pastor, elders, deacons, and some friends dined together, a dinner being a method of winding up the ceremonies of an important celebration as much in vogue at that time as it is now. The congregation increased so much in the course of a few years after the church was established that another building for the use of Lutherans became necessary. Thomas and Richard Penn granted a charter to St. Michael's September 25, 1765, with authority for "erecting and supporting one church more within the said city of Philadelphia or the liberties thereof for the better accommodating the said congregation." Thus was formed a new congregation, which went out from St. Michael's, and which was established under the care of that church. This was Zion Lutheran Church, at the south-east corner of Fourth and Cherry streets, which was dedicated on the 25th of June, 1769. During the occupation of Philadelphia by the troops, Zion Church was seized by the British and converted into a temporary hospital, and St. Michael's was used as a garrison church. In 1791, St. Michael's was embellished and improved, and the front organ-pipes gilt, to the great comfort of the congregation, which accomplished the work with the moderate sum of £6o. The additions could not have been many, but they were satisfactory, and St. Michael's was rededicated in honor of the embellishments. The yellow fever of 1793 was very severe upon the congregations of St. Michael's and Zion churches, no less than six hundred and twenty-five members dying within three months. The burning of Zion Church in 1794 crowded in the worshippers of Zion upon the church edifice of St. Michael's, which accommodated them as well as room would allow until Zion Church was rebuilt and rededicated in November, 1796.

The German element in these churches met in time the same difficulty which had injured the Swedish Lutheran congregation and reduced the number of members, but it presented itself in a different way. The children of the original members, growing up among an English speaking population, and understanding the usual language of the country much better than that of their fathers, were anxious for English preaching. The agitation in favor of this change met with stubborn opposition from the old members. In 1802 the controversy assumed importance, and the question of introducing English preaching was carried into the election of trustees in February, 1803, the German party and the English party each nominating a ticket. The German party were triumphant. The question was again in contest in the election of 1804, when the German party had only a majority of seven. In 1805 they had a majority of thirty-four. They then offered the English party the use of St. Michael's Church and the Cherry Street school-house, with the privilege of burying in the Eighth street graveyard to those who had relatives interred in the old ground, the new congregation to pay one-third of the old debt. The offer was not accepted. In 1806 the quarrel reached its height. Nearly fourteen hundred votes were cast. The Germans had a majority of one hundred and thirty. After this the English party virtually separated from the church. They formed a new congregation under the Rev. Philip F. Mayer, who preached to them in English at the old Academy in Fourth Street. From this movement originated St. John's English Lutheran Church, which was built in Race Street between Fifth and Sixth, and opened in 1809. In 1814 the same question was again agitated in Zion and St. Michael's by a new English party, which numbered about one-fourth of the congregation. After three years of trial, not succeeding in overcoming the steady adherence of the Germans to the ancient method of worship, this party also separated and went to the Academy in 1817, where they established C. F. Cruse as pastor. The congregation adopted the title of the church of St. Matthew. The resistance to the introduction of English finally came to a limited compromise. It was resolved that within the schools the English language might be taught, but that the German language in the church should not be given up so long as fifty members were in favor of its use. On the 14th of June, 1843, the Centenary Jubilee of St. Michael's was celebrated by the members. The interior was beautifully decorated. Every pillar was entwined with flowers and evergreens. The door-frames, windows, gallery, choir, and organ were wreathed with the same materials, and festoons of roses filled up the open spaces in other parts of the building. The pulpit was handsomely decorated, and above it appeared upon a ground of sky-blue silk the inscription, "Peace be within thy walls." Tablets of marble were upon the north and south walls, which bore inscriptions in German of which the following are translations:

Opened for Divine service the 20th of Oct'r, called as minister in the year 1757, This Church, a work of faith and love of our German ancestors, and the fervent zeal of their first regularly called minister, the Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg,

In Memory of the teachers of this congregation, whose earthly tabernacles found a resting place in front of the altar of this Church, John Dietrich Heinzelman, called as assistant minister the 26th of July, 1753; died the 9th of February, 1756; Peter Krunnholz, called as minister in January, 1745; died July 5, 1757; John Frederick  Handschuh, was, by Divine assistance, founded the 5th of April in the year 1743; 1743; finished and dedicated the 14th of
Aug., 1748, and received the congregation at the celebration of its icoth Jubilee, the 14th of June, 1843. 9th of Oct'r, 1764; John Frederick Schmidt, called as minister the 18th of Sept'r, 1786, died the 12th of May, 1812; Justus Henry Chr1stian  Helmuth, called as minister the 25th of May, 1799, died the 5th of Feb'y, 1825.

Portrait of Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenburg

- The Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg may be justly considered the founder of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He was descended from a Saxon family which during the Thirty Years' War removed to Eimbeck in Hanover, a free city of the German Empire. His father held a judicial position in the city, and Henry Melchior, the son, was born there in the year 1711. His father died, leaving a small estate, while the boy was young. By the kindness of friends he was enabled to continue his studies, and in the struggle with adversity which followed he acquired courage, energy, and determination, which were to be of the utmost advantage to him in after life. In 1735, being twenty-four years of age, he entered the University of Gottingen, which had been founded during the previous year by George II., king of England and elector of Hanover, and during his studies at that university became chaplain to Count Reuss XXIV. He made here some valuable and influential friends, among whom was Gesner the painter and poet and Count Erdman Henkel. After graduation, by the advice of the latter, he removed to Halle, where he enjoyed the friendship of Franke, Celarius, and the inspector Fabricius, men of influence in the Lutheran Church. They advised him to accept the mission to America. For this charge he was peculiarly fitted from his skill in languages. After his arrival in Pennsylvania he frequently preached not only in German, but in English and Low Dutch. His influence among the Germans was very great. He remained at Philadelphia, in charge of St. Michael's, preaching also at Germantown, New Hanover, and Providence, until the opening of Zion Church in 1767. He resigned in 1774, and went to the church of Augustus at the Trappe, where he remained until his death in 1787. Muhlenberg married, shortly after he came to America, Anna, the daughter of Conrad Weiser, a man of great ability and activity, and of influence with the Indians. The records and archives of Pennsylvania are full of accounts of the transactions of Conrad Weiser with the Indians and his reports of internal affairs. By this wife Mr. Muhlenberg had three sons. John Peter Gabriel, the eldest, born in 1746 at the Trappe, was sent to Germany for his education, and while at Halle ran away and enlisted in a regiment of dragoons as a private. Being discovered and reclaimed, he finished his studies, and was ordained to the ministry in 1772. At the commencement of the Revolution he beat the drum ecclesiastic, and, declaring to his congregation that there was a time to preach and a time to fight, appeared in the pulpit in military uniform covered by the minister's gown, which after a stirring patriotic sermon he stripped off, disclosing the soldier's garb and announcing his intention to recruit. He already held the commission of colonel, and he raised the Eighth Virginia, commonly called the German regiment. He rose rapidly in the Continental army, and became finally major-general. He fought at Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, and Stony Point, and was next in command to La Fayette at the capture of Yorktown in 1780. Afterward returning to Pennsylvania, he became Vice-President of the State, member of Congress, United States Senator, and finally collector of the port of Philadelphia, to which position he was appointed in 1803, and which he held till his death in 1807.

Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg, second son of the founder of the Lutheran Church, born at the Trappe in 1750, was ordained to the ministry, officiated in Philadelphia and New York, was member of the Continental Congress, and Speaker of the first and third Federal Congresses. He was President of the Council of Censors of Pennsylvania, State Treasurer, President of the State convention which ratified the United States Constitution, and Receiver-General of the Land Office under the Federal government. It was his casting vote as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives which carried the bill that provided for the fulfilment of some of the stipulations of Jay's treaty—an instrument exceedingly unpopular among the hot Democrats in the last decade of the last century'.

Gotthilf Henry Ernst, the third son, was also educated at Halle, and returning to America was ordained in 1774 third minister and assistant in the Philadelphia congregation. In 1780 he removed to Lancaster, and took charge of the Lutheran church in that town, holding it for thirty five years, until his death. He had botanical tastes, and was a member of the American Philosophical Society and of scientific associations in Berlin and Gottingen. He published some works on botany, and left in manuscript a treatise on the flora of Lancaster county. Henry Augustus Muhlenberg, clergyman and statesman, born at Lancaster in 1782, was his son. He served as pastor of the Lutheran church at Reading for twenty-six years, was member of Congress from 1829 to 1838, and was supported as Democratic candidate for governor of Pennsylvania by the anti-Wolf branch of that organization; the result of which was that both Wolf and Muhlenberg were defeated and Joseph Ritner elected. He was minister to Austria in 1838-40. One of his sons, Henry A., third in descent from Henry Melchior, was member of Congress in 1853-54, and died in the latter year. Rev. William A. Muhlenberg, a great-grandson of the Lutheran founder, became an Episcopal minister, was rector of St. James's, Lancaster, of the Holy Communion, New York; founder of St. Luke's Hospital, New York, and of the Matthias Industrial Community of St. Johnland. He was the author of that well-known hymn, " I would not live alway." He died in New York City April 8, 1877, age eighty years.

Concerning John Dietrich Heinzelman, who was assistant minister of St. Michael's a little over two years and a half, scarcely anything is known. He was probably sent over from Halle. He was very earnest in the school-work of the congregation during his ministry.

The Rev. Peter Brunnholz, a native of Schleswig, ordained April 12, 1744, was sent over from Germany, and sailed for America near the close of 1744. Messrs. Schaum and Kurtz, afterward most excellent and earnest Lutheran ministers in Pennsylvania, came with him. The voyage was long and the winds contrary. They reached the city on the 25 th of January, 1745. They probably landed at some distance from the builtup portions of the town. After they reached the shore, and were walking to the city, they met a German who came out of a piece of woods near the road. Observing that they had just come from a vessel lying in the Delaware, this man accosted them with the question, "Are there any Lutheran ministers on board?" On learning their character he leaped for joy; he took them to the house of a German merchant known for hospitality. The elders, the deacons, many members of the church, soon gathered around them; an express was sent off to Providence to convey the intelligence to Muhlenberg; and upon that day they all united to "thank God and to take courage." They found immediate service. Schaum opened his school in Philadelphia, and Kurtz took the school at New Hanover. Brunnholz officiated at St. Michael's, part of the time at Germantown.

Pastor John Frederick Handschuh arrived from Germany in 1748; was sent by Muhlenberg to Lancaster, but returned to Philadelphia, where he first became permanently attached to the church of St. Michael's, Germantown, and in 1756 became permanently attached to St. Michael's, Philadelphia, where he remained eight years.

Rev. Johann Frederick Schmidt filled the pulpit of St. Michael's for twenty-six years. He was born in Germany on the 9th of January, 1746, and was nearly twenty-three years old when he came to America in 1769. He was educated at Halle, and had charge of the Germantown congregation for sixteen years, including the Revolutionary period. In memory he remains with a fragrant odor of piety. He was earnest, industrious, simple and kindly in his manners, and held in universal respect.

Rev. Justus Henry Christian Helmuth came over with Schmidt in 1769, and was shortly afterward elected pastor of the Lutheran church at Lancaster. He came to Philadelphia in 1779, and was first associated in the service of Zion. He was a man of more than ordinary ability. "He always preached with surprising unction, with great fervor and pathos. He was able not merely to hold an audience subdued under the charm of his eloquence, but at times to electrify them. The minds of those who heard him could not wander: they were chained. Their feelings seemed to be completely under the control of the speaker. His commanding, impassioned manner gave to his words a power which was felt by all—an effect which was truly astonishing." Dr. Helmuth was a fine scholar and linguist. He was professor of the German and Oriental languages in the University of Pennsylvania for eighteen years, and for twenty years he was principal of the theological seminary for the preparation of candidates for the ministry. In the fevers of 1793 and 1800 he remained with his flock, in the midst of which the effects of the pestilence were terrible. He lost no occasion for the performance of his duty at the bedsides of the sick and dying, and was earnest and devoted throughout his service.

Portrait of Rev./Dr. Justus Henry Christian Helmuth

The German Evangelical Lutheran Ministerium of Pennsylvania was present at the centennial celebration of St. Michael's Church in 1843, and several of the descendants of Father Muhlenberg. The exercises were deeply interesting, and the spirit then manifested ought to have been sufficient to preserve the church as a venerable memorial of the past. In twenty years the interest in the old building had entirely died out in the congregation. Zion had left its position at Fourth and Cherry, and erected a grand edifice on Franklin Street above Race. St. Michael's had fallen into disuse. The churchwardens and vestrymen were divided as to the use of the property. Some of them joined in the erection of a new St. Michael's, corner of Trenton Avenue and Cumberland Street, which they claimed was truly the mother-church. Others abandoned all interest in the estate. Acts of Assembly were passed in 1853 and 1871, giving authority to the rector, vestry, and wardens to sell the church property. An attempt was made to prevent this consummation by an application to the Court of Common Pleas for an injunction. The effort failed. During the course of that year the church and lot at Fifth and Appletree Alley were sold. The mouldering remains of the founders of the church were removed from the burying-ground by such of their descendants as lived and who cared for the memory of their ancestors. The bones of others, in indistinguishable confusion, were transferred to a corporation cemetery. The weather-stained walls, the curious low, round-arched windows, and all the distinguishing features of this old landmark were removed from sight, and the history of St. Michael's, after more than a century and a quarter of usefulness in Philadelphia, ceased.

German Lutheran Church School House

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The Eisenbrey family would have had religious training in the German Lutheran Church as well as had their education (learning to read and write) in the church Sunday school classes at the School House above. It would have been to meet other members of the “german” community in Philadelphia, meet other merchants and their future spouses. With the minister of the church signing John’s Will in 1793 and mentioning him in his diary, it is expected that the family had not only a close proximity but close association with the church. They also changed with the church as it changed as described above. We have church records that help to tie the Eisenbrey family history.