Birth & baptismal certificate on laid paper. Printed form with central textblock in German within a multiple line border. Infilled and decorated around textblock by Speyer; cross-legged angel at top, pelicans feeding young at sides and flowers at sides and bottom. Watercolors are red, blue, yellow, green and brown.
Infilled for Johannes, son of Valiendein (Valentine) and Eliesabetha (Elisabetha) Bohmer of Brecknock Township in Lancaster Co., born Dec. 13, 1788.
Georg Friederich Speyer (active 1774-1801) used this printed form produced c. 1789 by Barton & Johnson of Reading. See Notes.
General wear with numerous creases and wrinkles; one pronounced vertical centerline crease. Repaired tears, esp at left edge. All edges are ragged and uneven, esp. at right.
Conserved by CCAHA in 1989 (see report in file). Hinged into window mat & back mat. Relaced in its original frame using UF-3 Plexiglas and acid-free cardboard on reverse with a taped mylar dust shield.
Object ID
G.77.50.1
Notes
Printed form by Reading printers Thomas Barton and Benjamin Johnson, circa 1789 (see Klaus Stopp, The Printed Birth & Baptismal Certificates of the Pa. Germans, v. 4, p. 84). Speyer used this printed form for Johannes Bohmer who was born the previous year in1788.
Place of Origin
Lancaster County
Role
Artist
Credit
Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Richard Flanders Smith, Heritage Center Collection
Fraktur birth certificate for Lydia Glasz / Glass, daughter of Leonard Glass and wife Christina, nee German. Hand drawn and colored on paper. Unusual confronting women with yellow dresses and red parasols flank central textblock within border. Tree of life above textblock; undulating plant w/ flowers sit on shelf at sides. Triple-line outside border.
German text translates to "Lydia Glasz daughter of Leonard Glasz and his wife Christina a born German. Was born 25th day of Jan. in the year of our Lord 1811.
Some buckling of paper overall. Some bleeding of ink, causing brown marks around letters; also in entire upper left corner. Small 1.4" brown streak below the word "Christina" in center panel.
Condition report of 1986 by the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Phila. in file. No documented treatment. Matted and framed in 1996 by conservator Brian Howard.
Object ID
P.77.12
Notes
Similar to designs of Plate #61 in Weiser & Heaney, Penna. German Fraktur of The Free Library of Phila., v.1.
Research: Ancestry.com gives the marriage of fraktur recipient Lydia Glass to John Kempfer on 20 Nov. 1828 in Ephrata at the Bethany United Church of Christ. Husband John was born 19 Feb. 1809, died 4 April 1865. Lydia died 24 June 1853. Their daughter Elizabeth Kempfer (1836-1909) married David Rudy Buch (1834-1925) and lived in Lititz.
Ancestry also gives the 1810 Census in Earl, Lancaster Co. that lists Leonard Glase with 4 household members under 16 yrs., 1 at 16-25 yrs., and 2 over 25 yrs. Total of seven in home. Lydia was born the following year in 1811.
Place of Origin
Lancaster County
Credit
Gift of the James Hale Steinman Foundation, Heritage Center Collection
Fraktur on laid paper in polychrome lettering. Within a cross-hatched border is a birth record for Andrew Bare done in five lines of German above a heart containing eleven lines of text. Decorated with vining flowers at top and large flowers around heart.
Accompanying translation at right was written and signed by J. Watson Ellmaker (1840-1921), but undated. It states that the text within the heart is a baptismal prayer for Andrew Bare, born March 9, 1768, and gives an English translation.
Fraktur was originally purchased in a vertical frame with the translation below it, both glued to the same backing. Both pieces were conserved, matted and reframed side-by-side by Elizabeth C. Hollyday, April 1981. See NOTES
Fraktur has significant damage. Multiple losses, staining overall and mended tears and creases.
Translation paper has several light brown stains, esp. at top.
Conserved and reframed by Elizabeth C. Hollyday, April 1981. Edges of fraktur appear to be lifting somewhat. There still remain dark, hazy areas over much of surface.
Object ID
P.80.136
Notes
Published in Fraktur: Folk Art and Family, Russel & Corinne Earnest, 1999, p. 30.
Noted genealogist Jane Evans Best wrote a letter 9/27/84 correcting the genealogical info written by Ellmaker. She states that Andreas was not the father of noted publisher John Bear. This Andrew Bear was born 2/9/1768 and died 6/22/1797. He was baptized June 12, 1768 at Zeltenreich Reformed Church in Earl Twp. Best suggests it may have been the schoolmaster of the nearly Laurel Hill school who created this fraktur. The school was mentioned in a deed dated July 22, 1765 and was one of the earliest on record in Lancaster Co.
Also, Andrew Bear Jr. was not married to Mary Showers, but was married 12/22/1790 at New Holland Lutheran Church to Susanna Mayer, daughter of Abraham Mayer of Leacock Twp. The Bears had two children, John b. 7/31/1791 and Christina, born after 1792. The two children were mentioned in their grandfather Andrew's will dated 9/21/1805.
Place of Origin
Lancaster County
Credit
Gift of the James Hale Steinman Foundation, Heritage Center Collection
Fraktur birth record for Henry C. Harnish, ink, pencil and watercolor on buff wove paper.
Text in black lettering with polychrome shading in pink, blue and grey. Names decorated with calligraphic flourishes typical of this time. Each line is a different lettering styles.
Text reads: "Henry C. Harnish/ Son of/ John and Elizabeth Harnish/ Was Born/ September 4th 1874./ Pequea Township/ Lancaster County/ Pennsylvania." The text is surrounded by an oval drawn in pencil.
Removed from frame: old worn frame had wide molding, originally gilded, stained dark brown and varnished.
Fraktur is darkened with acid burn, especially around edges. Large oval acid burn (caused by knot in wood) just below center. Some small tears and losses around edges. Light soiling.
Frame heavily worn with many scratches, gashes and cracks. Removed from frame due to acidic wooden backing boards. Now unframed.
Object ID
P.00.41.1
Notes
Research: A John Harnish is listed as a farmer in New Danville in the 1869 Directory. See file for results of search for Henry.
NOTE: Gift of Irene N. Walsh (reimbursed purchase price).
Birth record in German for Barbara Eschlemann made on laid paper by the Johannes Schopp/Schopf Artist. Paper has Ephrata watermark (CIB with tulip design). Framed in old frame of softwood with dark, crazed finish and applied blocks at corners.
Execution is typical of this artist's design. Horizontal orientation has outer and inner double-line borders with central heart having an open ring at top from which emanate vining flowers. Space between inner and outer borders is especially full with typical flowers of muted colors as well as a crown at top and shells both at top and a large one at bottom center.
Within heart is the text: "Barbara Eschlemann/ Ist gebohren im Jahr unsers Herrn und Heilandes Jesu/ Christi Anno 1777 den 8 Januarius. Morgens um/ 4 uhr, im Zeichendes. Steinbock." Additional text is added in muted ink within the space between heart and inner border. At left is: "Gott allein/ Hilf dahichseyvonher(?)/ heu from(?) ohn alle heucheley(?)." At right is: "die Ehre/ damit mein gankes(?)/ Christenthum, dir Wohlgefalligley(?)."
Breaking at fold lines; two corners missing and two corners with small holes. Three-inch tear extends from left bottom corner to right side. Tear at bottom, 2" from right corner, extends upward 1/2-inch. Additional tears with losses at bottom, esp. at center. Reverse has paper tape repairs: vertical strip entire length of center fold line and shorter strip along bottom from center to torn corner. Several moisture stains along bottom.
Frames\'s wood backing removed and replaced with acid free backing, Dec. 2004.
Object ID
P.05.51.1
Notes
Gift of Irene N. Walsh (reimbursed purchase price).
See G77.50.11 for another Birth Record by Schoff Artist (done for Anna Schenck). Additional Schoff pieces are photocopied in this file.
Earnest, Papers for Birth Dayes, pp. 675-676.
Earnest, Fraktur: Folk Art & Family, pp. 99, 109.
Weiser & Heaney, Pa Germ. Fraktur in the Free Library of Phila. #870-872.
