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From: John Helmut Merz <>
Subject: Pennsylvanis Oath
Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1999 23:11:47 -0800


For a long time I have in my possession a book by Thompson Westcott
with the simple title of
Names of persons who took the Oath of Allegiance to the State of
Pennsylvania, between the years 1777 and 1789.
Published by Genealogical Publsihing Company, Baltimore, 1965.

A long time ago a went through the book name by name and found a total
of 178 names of Hessians listed who took the oath and added them to my
files. After that I advised Mark Schwalm of the Johannes Schwalm Hist.
Association of my find and supplied my list to him. He did get the
book or a copy of it for himself and went through it with a fine comb
and found even a few more, and published all these names in the JSHA
Journal of 1994. You can find the list and explanations on pages 15-23.
At the bottom of page 15 in the footnotes Mark gave me credit for the
inspiration to look for those Hessian names. He also did a rather good
job of finding all these names in the Hessian military files, Hetrina,
etc., and thereby identifying most of those deserters.

The Oath the deserters had to take, was as follows:

We the subscribers do swear (or affirm) that I renounce and
refuse all allegiance to George the third, King of Great
Britain, his heirs and successors, and that I will be
faithful, and bear true allegiance to the commonwealth of
Pennsylvania
as a free and Independent State, and that I will not at
any time do or cause to be done any matter or thing that will
be
prejudicial or injurious to the freedom and Independence thereof,
as declared by Congress; and, also, that I will discover
and make known to some one Justice of the Peace of this State,
all
treasons or traitorous conspiracies which I know or hereafter
shall know, to be formed against this or any of the United
States of America.
Plunkett Fleeson Philadelphia, 1778.

Here is a typical line as found in the listings:

1782, Aug.14.
Peter Shuchard, deserted the Brittish Army & Hessian
Line at N.York in 1779. Schoolmaster.

Heinrich Albert, deserted the Brittish & Line of Anspach
in Virginia in 1781. Taylor.

John Spalter (his mark), deserted the Brittish Service &
Hessian Line in Jersey 1778. Labourer.

For more information on these names you should contact the JSHA and
ask for their Journal of 1994.
Regards, John. http://www.cgo.wave.ca/~hessian use re-load

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