A Catholics Past?

Possibly my Oldest Known American Ancestor
(from a Bio sheet provided by another researcher...information yet to be verified)



Daniel Falckner

Daniel and Justus Falckner were brothers, born in Langen-Reinsdorf, Zwichau, Saxony, the sons of the Rev. Daniel Falckner. Daniel was the older, born 25 November 1666. He was educated at Erfurth and ordained in Germany.

Daniel arrived in Philadelphia on 23 June 1694. In 1698 he returned to Germany, but was back in Pennsylvania again in 1700. Upon his return a tract he wrote, probably while in Germany, called "Curiuse Nachricht von Pennsylania in Norden-America" was published in Frankfurt and Leipzig in 1702. He knew William Penn and acted as agent for the Frankfurt Land Co. to survey 25,000 acres previously sold the company by Penn. In this work he supplanted Francis Daniel Pastorius who had come to Pennsylvania in 1683.

Anna Maria Schuckart is presumed to have been Daniel's wife and the mother of his two daughters; one named Molly married Wilhelm Dern.

Daniel Falckner was active in Germantown. However, in 1798 he disappeared from history for a time. His brother, Justus, was ordained on 24 Nov 1703 by the Swedes in Penn's English colony: this being the first Lutheran ordination in America. He served the Dutch Lutherans in New York and had three congregations - Albany, Hakensack and New York (New York and New Jersey had the same governor at that time.) Pastor Falckner traveled about 1500 miles a year. He died in 1723. About this time Daniel Falckner reappeared, living then in New Jersey.

He died, probably in New Jersey, after 1741; but before 1745.

So the question is am I guilty as a Catholic or guilty as a descendant of a proponent of the then Catholic church wrongs turned Catholic....... on the other hand, I never thought how strong and long this German-American genealogy might be.