They say that many checks, especially the handwritten/manuscript ones, can tell a story, often with a human interest angle. The item below, drafted in 1798 in Tulpehocken Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, probably did, too. But, when I bought it many years ago in 1985, the dealer wasn't sure about it; he guessed it was a promissory note based on its structure and appearance, however, with its difficult to read handwriting and its equally arcane old German language, he threw his hand sup in the air and wished me luck in trying to find out just what that story really was. Since I don't read much German (oh, why couldn't this have been in Spanish, French or even Polish for that matter!), I quickly gave up the effort and put it aside for awhile. What I didn't realize at the time was that it would remain in my "To Be Examined" file for fully two decades, the only one of over three hundred manuscript checks and receipts in my collection I simply could not decipher.
What prompted me to pick up this item again in 2006 was that we were able to trace my wife's family tree (Zeh/See lineage) to Palatine, Germany (near Frankfurt) in the early 1700's, exactly when the Palatine Germans who settled in Tulpehocken began to emigrate to the US. They all settled first in the area around Schoharie, New York before moving on. Some, as most of my wife's Zeh ancestors did, went south, ultimately ending up in Virginia and Maryland. Others went west and settled along the Tulpehocken Creek, 15-20 miles west of Reading, PA. The Palatine Germans who moved to Tulpehocken are believed to have retained their customs and language far longer than did those who moved to Virginia; that may explain the German language on the note.
When I picked up the note again, therefore, the first task was to get it translated. As before, this was easier said than done. I asked several of my colleagues at the U.S. Department of State who have near-native German fluency to give it a try, but the colloquial old Southern German expressions used by the drafter over two hundred years ago remained a challenge. Finally I contacted Ms. Nancy Freehafer, who coordinates the Berks County Rootsweb site. She kindly came to the rescue, translating the key expressions and also pointing out several Palatine German research sites that might contain information on the people mentioned in the note.
In fact, it turned out that this was not a promissory note at all, bur more likely a receipt for services. It now seems that this note was drafted by a Mr. Christoph Shmith, who acknowledges receiving the sum of eleven shillings and three pence on January 15, 1798 from Mr. Peter Schutz as payment for Shmith's expenses in the funeral (casket and other burial costs?) of Mr. Franz Schutz. The one point in the receipt that still needs clarification is the reference tucked in the middle of the text to "one and a half Taler", a taler being one of a series of silver coins minted in various German states from the 15th to the 19th centuries. Could the funeral costs have been calculated locally in terms of old German coinage, one and a half Taler; and if so, was this sum the equivalent at that time of the eleven shillings and three pence?
As for the three Tulpehocken Germans, recent research confirms that both Shmith and Peter Schutz came to the US on board the ship "Patience", which sailed from Rotterdam (with a stopover in England) in July 1750 and registered its complement of 124 Palatine immigrants at the courthouse in Philadelphia, PA on August 11, 1750. Franz Schutz, perhaps Peter's brother, came over two years later, also registering on the Philadelphia tax rolls before heading west to Tulpehocken. Based on the available federal census data for 1790, 1800 and 1810, it seems that Shmith died sometime after 1800, leaving behind two daughters and his wife. Not sure what happened to Peter Schutz, but perhaps further research using parish, land or other civil records in the Tulpehocken area would be productive. There is always more to do, but after all, isn't that why check collecting is such a rewarding and educational hobby?
Source: Sheldon Rabin, "An Unusual Item from Pennsylvania: Two Decades to Solve the Puzzle," The Check Collector, American Society of Check Collectors, April-June 2006 (No. 78), p. 21.
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