Person Page 163

Francis Albert^{1,2,3,4,5,6,7}

Facts and Notes

• Name:⁸
• Marriage: Susanna Elizabeth Schreyack
• Religious Affiliation: Lutheran (prior to 1740)⁶
• Religious Affiliation: Morovian (starting about 1740)⁶
• Birth: 20 July 1719; Zweibrucken, Rhineland-Palatinate, GermanyBGO; In some sources Zweibrücken is referred to by its French name Deux-Ponts.^2,5,6
• Baptism: 30 July 1719; Rhineland-Palatinate, GermanyBGO⁷
• Arrival: 3 September 1739; Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USABGO; He arrived on the ship "Loyal Judith" from Rotterdam, Germany, when he was 20 years old. He is listed as "Johan Frantz Albert," but in keeping with German tradition probably went by his middle name.^4,5,9,10
• Occupation: Before 1756; Bethel, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USABGO; Shoemaker⁶
• Anecdote: 1756; See person note^{6,3,11,12,13,9}
• Death: 26 June 1756; Bethel, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USABGO; Murdered and scalped by Indians when he was 36 years old^{8,2,3,5,12,13,6}
• Burial: After 26 June 1756; Lickdale, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, USABG^8,2,5

• Note: Franz Albert, along with his parents, two brothers, and three sisters, arrived in Philadelphia on the 3rd of September, 1739, aboard the “Loyal Judith” from Rotterdam, Germany. [1] By 1740, they had migrated westward and established themselves in Bethel Township, near present-day Jonestown, in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. While his father and brothers acquired land in the area, Franz pursued a different path and made his living as a shoemaker. He also seemed to have converted from the French Huguenot faith to the Moravian belief, becoming one of the first members of the newly established Moravian church in Bethel Township in 1740.[2] The Moravians practiced communal life, emphasizing resource-sharing, cooperation, and mutual support. Their mission included spreading the Christian faith among Native American tribes in the region. Unfortunately, their missionary efforts could not protect them from the violence that erupted between the Indians and settlers during the French and Indian War of the mid-18th century.
  
  This war was part of a larger global conflict between France and Great Britain, with both sides enlisting Native American tribes to raid each other’s territories and harass settlers. Due to its strategic location between Philadelphia and the resource-rich Ohio Country, Bethel and the surrounding townships became prime targets for France and its Indian allies.
  
  In an effort to protect its citizens, Britain erected several forts, but these were not sufficient to prevent Indian raiding parties from attacking the inhabitants. In November 1755, a tragic incident occurred when Indian raiders killed 20 people and abducted several children. On 8th June 1756, a settler was attacked and brutally scalped by a party of Indians who then set his house ablaze, abducting his wife and some visiting children. Shortly after, the same raiding party murdered and scalped a four-year-old boy and abducted another. [2]
  
  Tragically, on the 26th of that same month, Franz Albert fell victim to the marauding Indians. While plowing a field for Mr. Fisher with another Moravian and two boys, they were ambushed by a party of nine Indians. The attackers captured Franz and his three companions, subjecting them to merciless beatings before scalping and killing them. [2,3,4] The brutal account of their deaths was vividly described in Benjamin Franklin’s Philadelphia Gazette, standing as a testament to the untold hardships endured during those turbulent times. [5]
  
  At the young age of 36, Franz left behind a widow and at least three children, one of whom was Robert Singleton Woodson’s 3rd-great-grandmother, Mary Albert. Franz’s family laid him to rest in the Bethel Moravian Church cemetery, but over the years, his tombstone has disappeared, though the graveyard still remains. [2, 6]
  
  Sources:
  [1] Rupp, Israel Daniel. A collection of upwards of thirty thousand names of German, Swiss, Dutch, French and other immigrants in Pennsylvania from 1727 to 1776.
  [2] Genealogy Trails, The History of Lebanon County.
  [3] William Henry Egle, M.D., M.A., Notes and Queries: Historical, Biographical and Genealogical Relating Chiefly to Interior Pennsylvania.
  [4] C. Hale Sipe, The Indian Wars of Pennsylvania.
  [5] Newspaper article, The Pennsylvania Gazette, 1 Jul 1756.
  [6] Find A Grave Memorial 13088195.
  

• Related Pages: Ancestors of Marianna Woodson; Notable People

Citations

1. [S439] McNaull, Margaret, Personal Family Tree, McNaull, Margaret. Personal Family Tree. Privately held by Marianna Cobb, Arlington, Virginia, 1993.
   
   These are copies of three separate genealogical records and a personal letter that were sent by Margaret McNaull to Marianna Cobb in Virginia in 1993. The copies were on file in the home of Mary Jane and Robert Reyes of Lorton, Virginia, as of 2014., Margaret McNaull Genealogical Records, Copies sent to Marianna Cobb on 11 May 1993.
2. [S519] Ancestry.com, U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current, http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=FindAGraveUS&h=91676792&indiv=try, Record for Franz Albert
3. [S656] William Henry Egle, M.D., M.A., Notes and Queries: Historical, Biographical and Genealogical Relating Chiefly to Interior Pennsylvania; Annual Volume, 1898, Pg 8. This book was accessed on GoogleBooks (https://books.google.com/books?id=uMUxAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false) on 21 Dec 2016.
4. [S488] Ancestry.com, U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s, http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=pili354&h=196300&indiv=try, Place: America; Year: 1719-1749; Page Number: 398, Record for Francis Albert
5. [S677] Ancestry.com, Ancestry Family Trees, http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=pubmembertrees&h=13178042697&indiv=try, Database online., Record for Mary Jane Albert
6. [S823] Genealogy Trails, http://genealogytrails.com/penn/lebanon/RuppBook/History.html, The History of Lebanon County (Genealogy Trails), Genealogy Trails citing “The History of the counties of Berks and Lebanon” published in 1844 by I. Daniel Rupp, pp 302-322. Accessed 4 Jun 2023.
7. [S845] Ancestry.com, Rhineland, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1533-1950, https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=61131&h=516286&indiv=try, Custodian: Evangelisches Kirchenbuchamt Hannover; Film Number: 493258; Page Number: 102;52;103, Record for Joh. Frantz Albert
8. [S655] Ancestry.com, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985, http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=PAChurchTownRecords&h=2441550&indiv=try, Historical Society of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Collection Name: Historic Pennsylvania Church and Town Records; Reel: 1000, Record for Franz Albert
9. [S820] Rupp, Israel Daniel, A collection of upwards of thirty thousand names of German, Swiss, Dutch, French and other immigrants in Pennsylvania from 1727 to 1776, http://www.familysearch.org/library/books/idurl/1/293219, pgs 136-138. FamilySearch International, Digital Version. Accessed 28 May 2023.
10. [S488] Ancestry.com, U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s, https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=7486&h=3040159&indiv=try, Place: Pennsylvania; Year: 1739; Page Number: 25, Record for Bastian Albert
11. [S844] C. Hale Sipe, The Indian Wars of Pennsylvania, pg. 285
12. [S36] Newspaper article, https://www.newspapers.com/image/39392031, The Pennsylvania Gazette (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 1 Jul 1756, Pg 2. Newspapers.com edition accessed 30 May 2023.
13. [S362] Online database, Find A Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/13088195/franz-albert, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/13088195/franz-albert: accessed 07 June 2023), memorial page for Franz Albert (30 Jul 1719–26 Jun 1756), Find a Grave Memorial ID 13088195, citing Bethel Moravian Cemetery, Lickdale, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, USA; Maintained by GerbLady (contributor 46637511).