Conrad Weiser: Pennsylvania Peacemaker

by Arthur D. Graeff, Lawrence Knorr (Contributor), George M. Meiser IX (Contributor)

Conrad Weiser (1696-1760) was a Pennsylvania German pioneer, interpreter, and representative of the colonies to the Indians. Weiser was one of the most important figures in North America during the colonial period. Without Weiser's knowledge of native languages and customs and his deft handling of negotiations on behalf of the Penns and other royal governors, the long peace between the proprietors and the natives would have been short-lived. This second revised edition of Arthur Graeff's 1945 biography contains copious footnotes, numerous pictures, and a thorough index missing from the first edition. About the Arthur Dundore Graeff, Ph.D., (1899-1969) was a lifelong educator and history enthusiast from western Berks County, Pennsylvania, the heart of the Pennsylvania Dutch culture. Graeff was a scholar and leader in the study of Pennsylvania Dutch culture on the boards of both the Pennsylvania Folklife Society and the Pennsylvania German Society. He helped lead the combination of these groups in the late 1960s and was the president of the combined organization. He was a contemporary of such scholars as Fred Weiser, Don Yoder, Preston Barba, Albert Buffington, and Alfred Shoemaker. Graeff was the author of several books and numerous papers and articles but was best known for his Scholla series of local history in the "Reading Times." Graeff originally published this volume through the Pennsylvania Folklore Society in 1945. Lawrence Knorr, his grand nephew, has edited this volume and added a new epilogue about the importance of Conrad Weiser to American history. George M. Meiser IX provides his recollections of Arthur Graeff the beloved local historian.

414 pages, Paperback

Published August 13, 2019

Reviews

[J.R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thrust land-hungry newcomers into confrontation with long-settled native peoples and you have a recipe for conflict.
This was the situation in much of colonial North America in the 18th century and it often did erupt into bloody conflict. Yet, the diplomacy of one man in Pennsylvania was largely responsible for maintaining a level of peace between the settlers and the Indians from 1731 until his death in 1760.
The name Conrad Weiser is familiar throughout Pennsylvania's Susquehanna Valley, though even there the extent of his role in fairly negotiating for both sides is not as widely appreciated as it should be.
This second edition of Arthur D. Graeff's 1945 biography sheds light on Weiser's importance as a diplomat for Pennsylvania's colonial government as well as his lesser known similar duties for the neighboring colonies of New York, Maryland and Virginia.
Born in Germany, Weiser came with his family and other Palatine immigrants to New York state in 1709. There, as a youth, Weiser went to live with the Iroquois for nearly a year, learning their language and customs, factors which would prove invaluable in his later years.
In 1729, Weiser relocated to the Tulpehocken region of what is now Berks County, Pennsylvania. The Iroquois had over-powered the Delaware and other tribes of the commonwealth and Shikellamy had been appointed governor over them at Shamokin (present-day Sunbury, Northumberland County).
Weiser's acquaintance with Shikellamy in their New York days led to his being appointed as an interpreter for the Pennsylvania colonial authorities. In the book, Graeff explains how it proved beneficial to both the English officials and the Native Americans to have this German serve in this capacity.
The success of his early efforts cemented the relationship and it became an important cog in keeping bloodshed to a minimum despite some examples of chicanery and treachery on both sides. He and Benjamin Franklin were responsible for building the chain of forts that protected settlers during the French and Indian War, and Weiser engineered the treaties which ended massacres in the region, though it was not binding on the Delaware and Shawnee in western Pennsylvania.
In addition to his career as a diplomat, Weiser's list of achievements in other fields reveals him to have been a man of many talents. Those aspects of his life are denoted in the chapters of this book and in the epilogue by Lawrence Knorr, Graeff's great-grand-nephew, who edited the volume and added the valuable index.
If you're a lover of history, you may want to add this volume to your shelves.

[Melissa Hogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book because Conrad Weiser might be an ancestor of mine (through one of his brothers). It is an ancestral line with a brick wall and difficult to prove. But this is a great story of the German Palatines who came over to the Colonies via England's Queen Anne and how they carved out a living first in New York and then in Pennsylvania (many left when they were not compensated for their commitment to the indenture).

Conrad Weiser has great stories of his time living with the Native Americans, and he was a leader in the area of Pennsylvania where and the other German Palatines settled. They were first to form communities and churches, among other achievements.

Check out the Conrad Weiser homestead in Pennsylvania! I sure wish, even after all this time, I could knock down my brick wall and prove the Weiser were my ancestors!