John Geissinger was born 13 SEP 1739 in Upper Saucon Twp, Bucks (next part of Northampton & now Lehigh) Co, PA. He was the 6th of 11 children born to Philip and Anna Maria Geissinger. On 6 DEC 1764 he married Anna, the daughter of Jacob Landes. John was a successful Mennonite farmer and was one of the top tax payers in the county before the Revolutionary War. When the Security Act requiring Oaths of Allegiance to the state was enacted John and his two brothers Abraham and Henry along with 8 other Mennonite families in Northampton Co. were singled out and punished accordingly because it was against their religion to take an oath. 17 June 1778, these men were ordered by Judge Limbaugh to forfeit all of their personal property and leave the state within 30 days.
The peace-loving Mennonite families were frightened as armed men led by Capt Stahl descended upon their homesteads to seize and inventory all the families' possessions. Stahl's Company bore down first on the farm and home of John Geissinger reducing his wife and children to tears as everything they owned was seized. All of their animals, farm equipment, furniture, sacks of grain and personal possessions, down to the last parcel of thread, were seized, inventoried and sold at auction.
Several petitions were filed on the Mennonites behalf. One petition from 2 of the wives finally received legislative attention and the men were not banished from the state. The petition described how their quiet & peaceful husbands had donated teams of horses and drivers for the Continental Army. They also reported some wives were due to deliver babies & children were cold sleeping on the floors in empty houses with no bedding.
Because the crops were still in the fields during the seizure of property the families did not starve, the men were not banished from the state and stayed with their families to try to rebuild their lives. By 1785 John Geissinger's livestock assessment is only 4 horses & 7 cows and his tax assessment is ¼ of what it had been 10 years prior so it does not seem as though the government stepped in to replace the items seized.
Whether it was a show of patriotism, gratitude that they were able to at least keep their land & were not banished from the state or just fear for the survival of their families whose possessions had been stripped bare, all three Geissinger brothers enlisted in the militia. John's son John Jr.also joined him in the militia.
John Geissinger had 13 children, 9 with his first wife Anna Landes and 4 with his second wife Anna Marie Schmidt. .
John died 10 JAN 1811. He is reportedly buried in Saucon Mennonite Cemetery with a wife Anna on either side.
The peace-loving Mennonite families were frightened as armed men led by Capt Stahl descended upon their homesteads to seize and inventory all the families' possessions. Stahl's Company bore down first on the farm and home of John Geissinger reducing his wife and children to tears as everything they owned was seized. All of their animals, farm equipment, furniture, sacks of grain and personal possessions, down to the last parcel of thread, were seized, inventoried and sold at auction.
Several petitions were filed on the Mennonites behalf. One petition from 2 of the wives finally received legislative attention and the men were not banished from the state. The petition described how their quiet & peaceful husbands had donated teams of horses and drivers for the Continental Army. They also reported some wives were due to deliver babies & children were cold sleeping on the floors in empty houses with no bedding.
Because the crops were still in the fields during the seizure of property the families did not starve, the men were not banished from the state and stayed with their families to try to rebuild their lives. By 1785 John Geissinger's livestock assessment is only 4 horses & 7 cows and his tax assessment is ¼ of what it had been 10 years prior so it does not seem as though the government stepped in to replace the items seized.
Whether it was a show of patriotism, gratitude that they were able to at least keep their land & were not banished from the state or just fear for the survival of their families whose possessions had been stripped bare, all three Geissinger brothers enlisted in the militia. John's son John Jr.also joined him in the militia.
John Geissinger had 13 children, 9 with his first wife Anna Landes and 4 with his second wife Anna Marie Schmidt. .
John died 10 JAN 1811. He is reportedly buried in Saucon Mennonite Cemetery with a wife Anna on either side.
John Geissinger was born 13 SEP 1739 in Upper Saucon Twp, Bucks (next part of Northampton & now Lehigh) Co, PA. He was the 6th of 11 children born to Philip and Anna Maria Geissinger. On 6 DEC 1764 he married Anna, the daughter of Jacob Landes. John was a successful Mennonite farmer and was one of the top tax payers in the county before the Revolutionary War. When the Security Act requiring Oaths of Allegiance to the state was enacted John and his two brothers Abraham and Henry along with 8 other Mennonite families in Northampton Co. were singled out and punished accordingly because it was against their religion to take an oath. 17 June 1778, these men were ordered by Judge Limbaugh to forfeit all of their personal property and leave the state within 30 days.
The peace-loving Mennonite families were frightened as armed men led by Capt Stahl descended upon their homesteads to seize and inventory all the families' possessions. Stahl's Company bore down first on the farm and home of John Geissinger reducing his wife and children to tears as everything they owned was seized. All of their animals, farm equipment, furniture, sacks of grain and personal possessions, down to the last parcel of thread, were seized, inventoried and sold at auction.
Several petitions were filed on the Mennonites behalf. One petition from 2 of the wives finally received legislative attention and the men were not banished from the state. The petition described how their quiet & peaceful husbands had donated teams of horses and drivers for the Continental Army. They also reported some wives were due to deliver babies & children were cold sleeping on the floors in empty houses with no bedding.
Because the crops were still in the fields during the seizure of property the families did not starve, the men were not banished from the state and stayed with their families to try to rebuild their lives. By 1785 John Geissinger's livestock assessment is only 4 horses & 7 cows and his tax assessment is ¼ of what it had been 10 years prior so it does not seem as though the government stepped in to replace the items seized.
Whether it was a show of patriotism, gratitude that they were able to at least keep their land & were not banished from the state or just fear for the survival of their families whose possessions had been stripped bare, all three Geissinger brothers enlisted in the militia. John's son John Jr.also joined him in the militia.
John Geissinger had 13 children, 9 with his first wife Anna Landes and 4 with his second wife Anna Marie Schmidt. .
John died 10 JAN 1811. He is reportedly buried in Saucon Mennonite Cemetery with a wife Anna on either side.
The peace-loving Mennonite families were frightened as armed men led by Capt Stahl descended upon their homesteads to seize and inventory all the families' possessions. Stahl's Company bore down first on the farm and home of John Geissinger reducing his wife and children to tears as everything they owned was seized. All of their animals, farm equipment, furniture, sacks of grain and personal possessions, down to the last parcel of thread, were seized, inventoried and sold at auction.
Several petitions were filed on the Mennonites behalf. One petition from 2 of the wives finally received legislative attention and the men were not banished from the state. The petition described how their quiet & peaceful husbands had donated teams of horses and drivers for the Continental Army. They also reported some wives were due to deliver babies & children were cold sleeping on the floors in empty houses with no bedding.
Because the crops were still in the fields during the seizure of property the families did not starve, the men were not banished from the state and stayed with their families to try to rebuild their lives. By 1785 John Geissinger's livestock assessment is only 4 horses & 7 cows and his tax assessment is ¼ of what it had been 10 years prior so it does not seem as though the government stepped in to replace the items seized.
Whether it was a show of patriotism, gratitude that they were able to at least keep their land & were not banished from the state or just fear for the survival of their families whose possessions had been stripped bare, all three Geissinger brothers enlisted in the militia. John's son John Jr.also joined him in the militia.
John Geissinger had 13 children, 9 with his first wife Anna Landes and 4 with his second wife Anna Marie Schmidt. .
John died 10 JAN 1811. He is reportedly buried in Saucon Mennonite Cemetery with a wife Anna on either side.
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