.
The story of the JOHAN ADAM DRUMM FAMILY, below, as
written by Lewis W. Donar and edited by Brendan D. Strasser first appeared in the newsletter of the Albany
Township Historical Society, Spring 1998. Johan Adam Drumm was the 6th great grandfather of the
author of this website, R.E. Harrington (phone: 703-780-9109; e-mail: richardharrington31@gmail.com).
.
The MURDER of ADAM DRUM
THE
JOHAN ADAM DRUMM FAMILY
Johan Adam Drumm, son of Johan Christian and Anna Elisabeth (Doll) Drumm, was born and raised in Ulmet,
Germany, a town in the Palatinate, known as the Pfalz. His exact birth date is
unknown, but his christening took place on 9 December 1705 in Ulmet. On 22 January 1733 he was married to Gertraud (Maria Gertrude) Bier, daughter of Peter and Ann
Catharine Bier of Ulmet. John Adam and Gertraud became the parents of a son, Johan Christian, born
in Ulmet and christened on 17 April 1735, and of whom
nothing more is known. He does not appear on ship immigration records and in
1775 documents concerning ownership of the deceased Adam's Albany Township
land. George Drumm, Christian's brother, is listed as
Adam's sole living heir.
At age 31, Johan
Adam Drumm and his wife, Gertraud,
arrived in the New World aboard the ship "Samuel", on 29 August 1737.
(Johan Christian Doll and Johan Peter Doll were also on board, but any
relationship to the mother of Johan Adam has not yet been established.) On the
following day, 30 August, Adam appeared at the courthouse in Philadelphia, Pa.,
to sign the necessary qualification papers, one being the swearing of
allegiance to the King of England, George II, and the other a pledge to abide
by the laws of the province of Pennsylvania. Being able to write, he signed
both by his own hand.
Adam established
himself as a land owner in Albany Township, Berks County, Pa., by warrant dated
20 January 1736 for a tract containing 205 acres. In the year 1738, a son,
George, was born; his exact birth date is unknown. On 4 November, 1741, it is
noted on a draft of a tract of land drawn in favor of Andreas Hagenbuch that Adam Drum was already, in possession of the
neighboring tract. The Drumm tract adjoined the Hagenbuch tract on the northwest, between it and the tree
line of the Blue Mountain.
Keeping this in
mind, we turn now to another tract of land eight-tenths of a mile farther to
the West. This tract is identified on a draft of
"The great road of Catawissey to
Philadelphia" drawn in February 1752, along which is noted the course and
distance of a short stretch of this road, East, 43 perches [about 710 feet],
"Along the land of Adam Trum." Evidence
exists that at some time between 1741 and 1752, Adam
sold his initial tract to Frantz and Martin Bailey and took residence on his
second purchase. At a much later time, the first purchase was in the possession
of Mr. Clifford Lutz, the second the farm of Mr. Oskar Dietrich. It must be
assumed that the Drumm family was living on this
second plantation when the following events occurred.
It was evidently
a hot Wednesday afternoon with thunderstorms threatening. At that time of day
the family quite probably was gathered for the evening meal when suddenly two
things took place almost simultaneously. A thunderstorm of major proportion
broke over the countryside, and the Drumm family was
brutally attacked by Indians. The date was 22 June 1757.
In a letter
written on 25 June 1757 to David Schulrz of Hanover
Township, Berks County, Pa., James Reed of Reading, Pa., gives the following
account of this attack:
"Last night
Jacob Levan came to see me, and showed me a letter of
the 22d inst. From Lieutenant Engle by which he advised Mr. Levan
of the murder of one Adam Trump (an alternate spelling of "Drumm) in Allemangel, by Indians
that evening, and that they had taken Trump's wife and his son, a lad of
nineteen years old, prisoners; but the woman escaped, though, upon her flying,
she was closely pursued by one of the Indians (of which there were seven), that
he threw his tomahawk at her, and cut her badly ill the neck, but 'tis hoped
not dangerously. This murder happened in as great a thunderstorm as has
happened for twenty years past: which extended itself over a great part of this
and Northampton Counties--for I found much mischief done, as I came from
Easton, Northampton County, to this place, the length of fifty two miles, the
day before yesterday, and which I hear has broken down the dams of seven
forges, and six gristmills, on Maxatany creek,
chiefly in this county; the rest in Philadelphia County. I almost forgot to
mention (but am so hurried just now, 'tis no wonder) that the Indians, after
scalping Adam Trump, left a knife, and a halpert, or
spear, fixed to a pole in his body."
Adam Trump was
dead, his wife was badly wounded and his son, George, was a captive of the
Indians who having stolen, a quantity of liquor out of the house, moved
westward and arrived at a hill (today known as Hawk Mountain). The consumption
of liquor was having its effect on the Indians, for they began to make much
noise and dance around in the road. As they ascended the hill, things were in
such a state that at an opportune time, George made his escape by running down the
other side of the hill. [This writer is familiar with this stretch of road in
its unimproved state and can appreciate the effort made by George in descending
this water-soaked ground road in the dark of night; having descended the
mountain, he immediately had the Schuylkill river to cross and then a great
deal of travel in a very hilly countryside to get to his destination at Fort
Lebanon.]
Captain Jacob
Morgan, the commander of Fort Lebanon, which was located several miles west
from where George Drumm made his escape, wrote in his
daily journal for 24 June 1757:
"Yesterday
morning about 8 of the clock, the son of one Adam Drumm,
(whom the Indians had killed the night before in Allemingle
[sic] and took his son captive) found an opportunity to make his escape and
came to this Fort. He informed me that the Indians (8 in number) had got a
quantity of liquor out of his father's house and came to a hill about 7 miles
from this Fort, where they got to dancing, and made themselves drunk he took
the opportunity and escaped to the Fort. An Indian followed him near a mile and
a half whom our men tracked; so as soon as the young man came I sent out a
party to the place where the man left them, but when they came there they only
found an old pair of mogasins and a deer skin whom
they had left, but the Indians were fled; they tract't
them as far as they could but night coming, were obligated to return home. I
have this day sent out a party to intercept them in the way to the gap of the
second mountain. (where Schuylkill [this should read: Swatara
Creek] comes through) being the place which I found they often retreat back;
the men will range about 2 days."
George returned
to his home and continued operation of the plantation; however, nothing further
has been learned about his mother. On 16 October 1757, we find that George Trumm and Elisabeth Hem, single, witness the baptism of
Elisabeth Scherff, daughter of Christoph
and Christina Scherff, four years before the erection
in 1760-61 of the first New Bethel (or Corner) Church in Albany Township.
Sometime in late
1759, George married Maria Catharina Strasser,
daughter of Johann Nicolaus and Maria Catharine Strasser
of Albany Township; also in 1759, we find George on the Albany Township tax
list.
On the 17 July
1760, George Trumm and Maria Catharina witnessed the
baptism of Maria Catharina Schwenck, daughter of Hans
Nicolaus and Maria Barbara Schwenck. Also in 1760,
during the construction of the New Bethel Church, George contributed 1 pound in
cash money, 13 days of hand labor, and 3 days of hauling with a team of horses.
George and Catharina's first child was born on 22 August 1760 and was baptized
5 weeks later on 18 September 1760, with the name of Johann Henrich.
Elisabeth Strasser was one of the sponsors, though as
Elisabeth was the name of both Catharine's mother and one of her sisters, which
one served as sponsor is unknown.
Other children
were Anna Maria, born 13 July 1763; Maria Catharina, born 19 March 1766; Eva
Barbara, born 26 September 1767; Johan George, born 6 April 1773 Johannes, born
11 June 1778; and Charles born 1780.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The above story of the murder of
Johan Adam Drum (9 December 1707 - 22 June 1757) did not occur in Monroe
County. However, relatives of Johan Adam Drum ultimately migrated to and
established the Drum line in Monroe County, Ohio. Upon immigration to America in August of
1737, Adam Drum and his wife of four and half years settled on land about 20
miles west of the present location of Allentown, Pennsylvania. This was the
approximate site where he was killed.
Adam's nephew, Johann Philipp Drum
(3 Mar 1721 - 14 Nov 1788), son of Adam's older brother, Johann Simon Drum (8
Sep 1689 - ?), also immigrated to America and settled in Pennsylvania. Two
generations later, this branch of the Drum family in the person of Jacob Drum
(1770 - 3 Oct 1842) moved to Graysville, Monroe County, Ohio.
Adam Drum of this story, therefore,
was the great-granduncle of the first known resident of the Monroe County Drum
family, Jacob Drum (1770 - 3 Oct 1842). At least two Monroe County lines
spawned from the 1808 migration of Jacob Drum (1770 - 3 Oct 1842) to Monroe
County. One branch was that William Drum (1824 - ?) who
was the subject of an article in the Hardesy/Caldwell
Atlas*. Another branch leads to Monroe County's own, Dr. Shirley A. Harmon, whose tireless work
contributes so extensively to the Monroe County, Ohio genealogy effort.
* The source of the article about of Phillip Drum (1799 - ?) and his son,
William Drum (1824 - ?) is a book titled the "Combined History and
Atlas of Monroe County, Ohio." The material for the "Combined
History and Atlas of Monroe County, Ohio." was taken from two
nineteenth century books: (1) "History of Monroe County Ohio,"
a product of the H.H. Hardesty & Co., publishers, Chicago and Toledo, 1882
and (2) "Caldwell's Atlas of Monroe County, Ohio," a product
of Atlas Publishing Company, Mount Vernon, Ohio, 1898. Copies of the "Combined
History and Atlas of Monroe County, Ohio" are available from the
Monroe County Historical Society in Woodsfield, Ohio. They can be reached at:
phone 740-472-1933 and e-mail address moncohissoc@att.net
Last
modified 22 August 2014 by reh
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