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THE FISHBURNS
, by John E. FISHBURN
One of the early German immigrants who settled among the Derry Scotch-Irish in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, was Johann Philipp Fischborn. In a manuscript handwritten in 1893, Philip's great-grandson, Philip B. Fishburn, writes:
He was born in Germany in Plannich, nine miles from Kreuznach, Hessedarmstadt, May 7, 1722, and in the year 1749 he had left the old country and went on ship and came across the deep ocean into this country at New York or Philadelphia not knowing right at which place and from whence he had started out on a journey and had traveled over the hills and dales through the country in search for good land and good stones and pure good water and water power near to it suitable for grinding grain. And at last he came to the place where we are now settled down and came to a nice strean of running water pure and clear. . . .
Later, the manuscript continues:
As he had traveled over the hills and dales and looked over the New World north and south and east and west thought this is a place like a hone. He then took up a tract of land including six hundred acres more or less and plenty of the best limestone land and iron ore and flint stones on top of the land. . .
Philip the Pioneer had established himself in America. His original tract of land now includes much of the present town of Hershey, the Hershey Chocolate properties, and adjacent farm land. At score point, probably early in 1752, he returned to Germany. Later that same year, he brought his bride-to-be, Catharine Elizabeth Bretz, to the new country and they were married on November 10, 1752. They lived in a log cabin built near the center of his land, and "a deep well was dug down there and lined up with a stone wall". It was this same year that the Sand Hill Church was founded, being the oldest Lutheran church in Dauphin County. Philip loaned the land to the new church, and the church building itself was constructed in 1756. Philip was a farmer, as were most of his neighbors, and he had some knowledge of gunsmithing As it was, these early German settlers farmed for their sustenance, constantly fought Indians, and attended their church with a Bible in one hand and a gun in the other. During the French and Indian War,the Delawares, in league with the French, constantly raided the settlers. There were massacres at the fort at Manady, north of Derry, and at Conastoga and Lancaster in 1763.
Various records give some indication of Philip's activities over the years. His Lutheran heritage was strong, and he and his wife served as godparents at many local baptisms. He was one of the larger landowners in the county and added additional acreage as time passed .6 With Peter Hummel and John Carmony, he helped lay out the borough of Hurmelstown. In 1773, Philip was Constable of Derry Township. He was Overseer of Roads in 1782. In 1774, his father died in Germany, and Philip appointed Nikolas Diehl of Lancaster to serve as his proxy in the settlement of the family holdings in Planig in 1778. There is no record of Philip's ever returning again to Germany.?
Philip and Catherine raised a large family. Four of their sons - Philip, Ludwig, Peter, and Deterick - served in the Revolution. Philip himself did good service repairing guns and contributing blankets for the cause. Their children, who became progenitors of the various lines of descent, are listed in the table next below. When you reach the page, you will find a list of the children; click on the appropriate name to see basic detail--another link just below the child's text will take you to family data detailed in DESCENDANTS of HANS FISCHBORN 1570-1637.
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