Alice Wintamute

Alice married Henry Dodderer on 16 Apr 1794. Henry (son of Jacob Dodder and Helen Lydie Dildine) was born on 5 Jan 1771; died on 20 Feb 1804. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Esther Dodderer was born on 19 Sep 1794; died in 1872.
2. Catharine Dodderer was born on 28 May 1798; died on 5 Jan 1877.
3. Anne Marie Dodderer was born on 9 Nov 1800; died on 28 Nov 1877.
4. Peter Dodderer was born on 30 Apr 1803.
5. Lydia Dodderer was born on 17 May 1796 in Stillwater, Sussex County, NJ; died on 15 Nov 1865 in Walpack, Sussex County, NJ.

Alice married John Wilson about 1805. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Hannah Wilson
2. Margaret Wilson
3. Elizabeth Wilson

Notes:

[Signed will as Peter WINDAMUTE]

Peter married Esther Rhodes on 28 Dec 1775 in Sussex County, New Jersey. Esther (daughter of Charles Rhodes and Alice Van Kirk) was born on 25 Jul 1751 in Stillwater, Sussex County, New Jersey; died on 2 Mar 1815 in Stillwater, Sussex County, New Jersey. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

On May 11, 1711, Johann George Windemuth was born in the southwest region of the Rhineland-Palatinate just east of the Rhine River in Pfungstadt, Germany. Johann was the youngest son of Johann Christoph Windemuth, a wainwright, and Mary Marguerite Kleppinger, a tailor. It was a challenging time to grow up in the Palatinate region of Germany in those years. The many years of war with their French neighbors really took its toll. Other factors like severe winters crippled the local economy. The economy was directly affected by the weather dependent agricultural industry. It is no wonder why so many ?poor Palatines?, like Johann George Windemuth, decided to leave everything behind to take the treacherous journey to North America.

Johann?s journey to North America started in May of 1736. He took a small crowded scow up the Rhine River to the port city of Rotterdam, Holland. Confronted with an endless barrage of tolls, depleting all or most of your resources was inevitable. The feverish demand to get to North America fed the economic growth of the bustling Colonial City of Philadelphia. As the existing pool of laborers and craftsmen were running low, the influx of these Palatine Germans really filled that void. This new bond between Palatines and the growth of Philadelphia created a new trade that was no different than indentured servitude. The Palatines were the unintended architects of this new trade, where their debt was sold to the highest bidder. They were mandated to work off their debt, which in many cases lasted 3 or more years. It is debatable who ended up with the better part of this arrangement. Cheap labor or temporarily relinquishing your freedom to live free in a new fertile land. It was only around 30 years later that the bargain was tested as the Colonists were preparing to declare their independence from Great Britain.

The path to freedom starts in Rotterdam. It is there that brokers traded the freedom of these Germans in exchange for passage to Colonial North America . Fueled by the promise of a fresh start, Johann and thousands of others ended up trading their freedom in exchange for the cost of the trip. He quickly made arrangements with Captain Robert Harle whose ship was named ?Harle?. Harle had a decent reputation, but he, too, could not escape the pressure to maximize profit at the expense of the desperate Palatines. Once all this business was sorted out, it was off to London. While in London, the passengers were immedietaly expected to pledge their allegiance to the King of England in exchange for the right of way to the Colonies. The Crown was desperately hoping to flood the Colonies with presumed loyalists.

During the summer of 1736, Johann and others flirted with death across the Altantic on the ship Harle. Overcrowding, rancid provisions and sea sickness were only some of the dangers. This was certainly not a deterrent to Johann. After four harrowing months, Johann finally arrived in Philadelphia. Despite coming from a rural community, life in the city of Philadelphia was likely more comfortable and familiar than expected. By 1736, there were thousands of German speaking people residing in Philadelphia. Johann and his family became acquainted with Johan Peter Bernhardt and his family. Most likely Johann George?s father struck up a friendship with Johan Peter Berhardt. There is the possibility they were acquainted back in Germany. This relationship eventually led to Johann George marrying the daughter of Johan Peter Bernhardt, Margaret Elizabeth Bernhardten in 1739. Johann George was 25 and Margaret Elizabeth 18 at the time of their marriage. A few years later in 1741, Johan?s youngest daughter, Maria Catharine, ended up marrying a young Palatine man named Caspar Shaver (later to be known as Caspar Shafer).

This new alliance, the Wintermute-Shafer family, was now ready to build a new future together. They unleashed themselves from the shackles of debt and raised enough money to lease some land. While many German immigrants looked to settle in Pennsylvania. They decided to settle in the ?wilderness? of New Jersey. They made a deal with the London Company who were trading properties that were part of the William Penn tract. One of the members of the London Company was Dr. John Fothergill, a very close friend of Benjamin Franklin. Some of that unsold land ended up in Western New Jersey, in what is now called Sussex County. They chose to settle in a small village called Stillwater that was part of the town of Hardwick, New Jersey. The alluvial and limestone rich land they chose was along the Paulinskill River and across from a powerful spring called The Big Spring. Their risk was certainly paying off, but all they had to do was get there.

The not so easy path to Stillwater was following a trail north east along the ?Blue Mountain? ridge (now known as Kitattinny). This was a risky journey that required tenacity and the basic knowledge of survival. They would have had to negotiate with rough terrain and their new cohabitants, the Lenape Indians. They ended up in Stillwater sometime in 1742. They did not waste any time settling in. They quickly built a rudimentary log cabin and began clear cutting fields for farming. The Shafers and the Wintermutes evolved into a productive and successful family business enterprise. By 1755, Johann had four children - his oldest was Elizabeth Snook, the 2nd child was Margaret Kreter, his first son was George and the youngest was Peter. It was at that time he decided to build a stone house along the Paulinskill river. A few years later he built a fulling mill along the river, which is said to be the first or one of the first in Sussex county. Eventually, his son Peter operated the mill and was able to build his own stone house (now known as Bonnie Brook Farm) on the road with an eye shot of his father?s house. While history paints a picture that Johann was in his brother-in-law?s (Caspar Shafer?s) shadow, there is an untold story about how great this man really was. A man whose dreams came true and died free in a country that was built on courage, hope and the promise of prosperity. He remained in Stillwater the rest of his life and was buried in the Stillwater Cemetery on December 19, 1782. He was survived by his wife, 5 children and 15 grandchildren. Three of his grandchildren were born within just a few months prior to his passing. The Windemuth aka Wintermute family is alive and well today. They are very proud of their heritage and the Windemuth family organization has come to visit the home many times over the years. Stillwater would not be the community it is today without Johann George Wintermute.



You can find this article here:
https://thebonniebrookfarm.com/f/remembering-johann-george-wintermute

Johann married Johanna Margaretha Elizabetha Bernhardten in 1739 in Sussex County, New Jersey. Johanna (daughter of John Peter Bernhardt) was born on 5 Aug 1721 in Kezenheim, Grafschaft Bolander, Europa; died on 15 Feb 1800 in Stillwater, New Jersey; was buried in 1800 in Buried in Stillwater, N.J. Cemetery. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

From her toombstone:



Here Rests in God

Margaret Elizabeth Windemuth, born 1721, (Aug. 5) in the Kezenheim in the Grafschaft Bolander Europa, Came to America with father, mother and two sisters in the year 1731. Died Febry 15 1800 aged 78 years 6 months and 10 days.

Notes:

From an old record we learn that Charles Rhodes, the father of Esther, was, with another boy, kidnapped from England and impressed as a sailor, and while on the Jersey coast was fortunate enough to make his escape. His friends, learning
of his whereabouts, supplied him with some goods to start a store. A chest in which some of the goods were sent to him, was in the Wintermute family for a long time, until the spring of 1890 when it was sold at vendue with other goods disposed
of by David H. Wintermute, of Newton, and so passed out of the family. The chest had a drawer in one end and beneath that a secret compartment. Rhodes served as Surrogate of Sussex County for a long time.



An old Bible of Charles Rhodes Sr, in possession of Mrs. Crissey, of Glenwood, says there were born to he and wife, Alice, a daughter, 25th of July, 1751, at sunrise; a son, Joseph, 27 June, 1755, at 9 o'clock a.m.; William, December 20,
1756, at 4 or 5 o'clock a.m.; Isabella, November 7, 1759; Charles, 19 June, 1763

Charles married Alice Van Kirk on 5 Aug 1760. Alice was born on 3 Mar 1733; died on 24 Aug 1821. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Education: Godfather was Christoph Stoelner.

1736 Census, he is in Phila, Pa.

"Pa. German Pioneers from 1727-1808" by R. B. Strassburger, Gen. Pub. Co. 1980 - List 41B Palatines imported in Ship Harle, Ralph Harle, Master, from Rotterdam last from Cowes. Qualified Sept. 1, 1736 - Johann Jorg Windemuth, List 41A J.
Christophel Windemuth.

Johann married Maria Margarethe Kleppinger on 4 Jan 1701/1702 in Pfungstadt, Starkenburg, Hessen, Germany. Maria (daughter of Johan Kloppinger and Apollonia Wambold) was born about 1680 in Germany; died on 14 Feb 1718 in Pfungstadt. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Second Boat, Issue of July-August 1990 Published by Pentref Press 67 Main Street PO Box 398 Machias Me 04654 page 7 Second Boaters and their ships Kleppinger, John Georg 1707-1786 from Palatinate Germany in 1737 in "St Andrew Galley" (Prob
first to England) Settled Kreidersville Northampton County Pa. (Present Allan Township Northampton County just north of Bethlem Pa)

Notes:

He was the first person buried in the Stillwater cemetery, where the old German Church was years after erected. The inscription reads as follows:



" Here Rests

The John Peter Bernhardt who was born in the Kezenheim in the Grafschaft Bolander Europa (Rhenish Bavaria). Came with his frau and children to America in the year 1731 and died December 28, 1748."





From the history of Sussex county we are told that John Peter Bernhardt first settled in Philadelphia in 1730, and in 1742 located in the wilderness where the village of Stillwater now stands. (The above dates are evidently wrong, as the
inscription on the tombstone of Bernhardt and his daughter, Margaret Elizabeth, who married John George Windemuth, both say they emigrated in 1731, and it seems to be as evident that he made his settlement at Stillwater at an earlier date than
that given, we think not later than 1736.) Sussex history also says that Peter Windemuth came about the same time, an inexcusable error, as there was no Emigrator by the name of Peter.





Johan Peter Bernhart

Date of arrival: 26 Sept 1741

Ship: St. Mark

Port of destination: Philadelphia

Joseph married Mary. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]