P e t e r W a l m e r A C h u r c h B u i l d e r

July 16, 2018
P e t e r W a l m e r
A C h u r c h B u i l d e r
Who Are We?
Where Have We Come From?
Why Are We Here?
Where Are We Going To?
A Generation!
A Heritage!
A Purpose!
A Destiny!
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A STORY AND STUDY
Based On:
Genealogical Studies By Bev Wyld
Historical Information By Salem, Walmer’s Union Church
Life Experiences Of James E. Barbush
A 10th Generation Descendant of
Peter Walmer. The Elder
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Author
James E. Barbush
December 25, 2002
2021 Blue Mountain Parkway
Harrisburg, PA 17112
JamesEBarbush@GMail.com
Cell: 717-514-5549

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Peter Walmer – A Church Builder Table Of Contents
Page 1 of 42
Who Are We?
Why Are We Here?
-----------------------------------------------
A Generation!
A Heritage!
A Purpose!
A Destiny!
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1 HOW FAR BACK CAN WE GO?
CHAPTER 2 MY JOURNEY
INQUISITIVE JOSEPH – LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
CHAPTER 3 THE STORY OF PETER AND HIS DESCENDANTS
THE JOURNEY BEGINS
LEAVING THE HOMELAND
JOURNEYING WITH OTHERS
SAILING THE SEA TO A NEW LAND
MAKING NEW COMMITMENTS
THE NEW FAMILY SETTLES IN PENNSYLVANIA
ATTACK ON THE SETTLEMENT
WALMER’S CHURCH
CHAPTER 4 HISTORY OF WALMER’S CHURCH
“PERSEVERANCE WINS” “Anhalt Ge-Winnt”
A DESIRE TO PRACTICE HIS FAITH “Boys, we must have a church. Must have.”
“HOW HOLY IS THIS PLACE” “Wie Heilig Ift Viefe Gtotte” (An Altar Declared?)
CHAPTER 5 DRIVEN BY HISTORY & DESTINY
PETER’S HOMELAND - THE GERMAN PALATINATE
PETER’S RESPONSE TO THE CALL OF WILLIAM PENN
PETER’S CALL ALONG SIDE OTHERS OF DESTINY - Johann (Hans) Nicolaus Eisenhauer
CHAPTER 6 WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
MISSION AND GOALS OF CHRISTIANS
OUR IDENTITY
RESTORATION OF THAT WHICH WAS STOLEN
PETER WALMER’S DESTINY AND PROSPERITY
CHAPTER 7 A “GLIMPSE” PROVIDED BY GOD - God’s Way Of Showing And Leading Us
WHAT’S IN A NAME
WHAT’S IN A SCRIPTURE
REMINDER – LEST WE FORGET.
HINTS OF HERITAGE AND DESTINY The Physical Drives You To The Spiritual
A GLIMPSE OF IDENTITY The Spiritual I Have Been Driven To
CHAPTER 8 ANSWERS FOR THE QUESTIONS

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Peter Walmer – A Church Builder Table Of Contents
Page 2 of 42
A P P E N D I C E S
• Appendix 1 The Generations of Jesus Christ
The Book of The Generation of Jesus Christ, Son of David, Son of Abraham
The Book of Matthew, Chapter 1, Verses 1 to 17 (KJV)
• Appendix 2 Declarations
• Appendix 3 My Generations To Peter Walmer
• Appendix 4 Ancestral Information For
Peter Walmer & Anna Margaretta Walmer
• Appendix 5 Another Version of Peter Walmer’s History
• Appendix 6 Walmer Castle And The Town Of Walmer In England
• Appendix 7 The Call of William Penn
Ideas On Liberty
William Penn - America's First Great Champion For Liberty And Peace
By Jim Powell
Salem, Walmer’s Union Church
Lutheran
&
United Church of Christ

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Peter Walmer – A Church Builder Introduction
Introduction Page 3 of 42
Who Are We?
Why Are We Here?
-----------------------------------------------
A Generation!
A Heritage!
A Purpose!
A Destiny!
INTRODUCTION
Do you ever think about why some people are leaders, whether in high offices such as governors
of states, mayors of cities, or executives in large corporations? What about people that are leaders of
organizations closer to your local community, like leaders in your church, coaches of sports teams, or
leaders in your neighborhood. What about yourself? Are you in a particular position of leadership or
have you felt that you should be in a certain position of leadership?
Maybe you haven’t asked these questions. Maybe you have just been living out your life, doing
what you think you are supposed to be doing, and not really wondering why you are involved in what you
are doing and where you are doing it.
There are certain qualities about people that make them a natural in what they are doing.
Where do those qualities come from? Are they just learned through education and life’s experiences, or
are they inherent in people, or both?
What did your parents do in life? Were they leaders? Did they just live life, get by, and raise their
children? Did they encourage you to be an influence in the world?
In this book, I want to explore these questions about who we are, what we are doing, and what
should we be doing. I want to explore the whys of those questions so that we can sift out the real
purpose of our lives, the true meaning of our lives.
You and I are here, in this world today. For what purpose have we been brought to the
particular place that we live at this particular time? That’s a large question. Unanswerable? No,
just hidden maybe, but hidden only for a while.
I want to phrase our explorations in four specific questions with four specific answers that
concern our Identity. The questions are:
Who are we? Where have we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going?
These are questions that we should all ask about ourselves as individuals and those around us.
There are answers that we should all come to know. In general terms, we can answer these questions
with solid answers. In specific terms, we can only partially answer these questions and we need to
explore them to ascertain what our lives are about.

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In looking at what our lives are about, we can look back at what the lives of others related to us
were about – others being our parents, grandparents, and other ancestors. We can look at the lives of our
children and grandchildren to see what their lives are about. Then we can think about the lives of our
future generations, our children’s children, and explore what their lives could be about.
In that assessment, we may be able to find some common threads that are transmitted through
the generations, common threads that give us hints as to why we are doing what we are doing at the time
and place we are doing it.
You may ask,
“Why do I want to do that? What’s the difference? My life is good, as it is. I don’t need that
introspective.”
My answer to that is,
“If you don’t look at these things, you may be missing out on what could be the greatest
happenings in your life. You may be missing out on knowing and understanding what the
greatest events were in the lives of your ancestors. You may be missing out on creating for you
children and their children the possibilities that will lead them to great accomplishments.”
So, we must understand our Identity, we must ask questions, and we must seek their answers,
so that we and our other family members do not miss out on anything that was truly intended for us
and them. Therefore, we consider the following:
• Question! Who Are We?
Answer! We Are A Generation!
• Question! Where Have We Come From?
Answer! We Are Part Of A Heritage, Passed Down From Our Forefathers!
• Question! Why Are We Here?
Answer! We Are Here To Fulfill A Purpose!
• Question! Where Are We Going To?
Answer! We Have A Destiny!
I believe that these are important questions with important answers. I believe that for us to be
fully successful in our lives and to help our children be successful in their lives, we must understand the
answers and we must do it with vigor. Therefore, with vigor, I believe it is necessary that we make a
proclamation about ourselves, a proclamation that profoundly states something about our Identity.
With these questions and their answers, we can vigorously make . . .
Declarations
About
Our Heritage And Our Destiny
Those declarations are found on the next page.

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DECLARATIONS !!!!
About Our Heritage And Our Destiny
• Question! Who Are We?
• Question! Where Have We Come From?
• Question! Why Are We Here?
• Question! Where Are We Going To?
These questions and their answers are not softly spoken, but they are D E C L A R E D!
DECLARED WITH EXCLAMATION! DECLARING THAT WE ARE NOT JUST
DRIFTING THROUGH TIME AND THE UNIVERSE WITHOUT IDENTITY, NOT
KNOWING WHERE WE HAVE COME FROM, NOT KNOWING WHY WE ARE LIVING,
AND NOT KNOWING WHERE WE AND OUR CHILDREN ARE GOING!
BUT WE ARE DECLARING THAT
WE ARE A Generation!
WE HAVE A Heritage!
WE HAVE A Purpose!
WE HAVE A Destiny!
WE ARE NOT A GENERATION THAT CAN KEEP THIS PURPOSE, THIS HERITAGE,
AND THIS DESTINY JUST FOR OURSELVES.
BUT WE ARE > > > > --- A P I V O T I N G P O I N T
RECEIVING AND ACTING ON WHAT OUR FOREFATHERS HAD, AND
TRANSFERRING THAT WHICH OUR FOREFATHERS HAD TO OUR CHILDREN, TO
OUR CHILDREN’S CHILDREN, AND TO OUR OTHER FUTURE GENERATIONS, SO
THAT THEY, IN THEIR TIME, WILL ACT ON AND BE
A Generation, with A Heritage, with A Purpose, with A Destiny!
So, yes, yes - a yes that is softly spoken, but spoken with assurance. We are important,
we are significant. Though we may only be a speck in the universe, living in a minuscule
fraction in time, we are a speck that has been greatly influenced by things of the past and a speck
that has great influence in our present time and future time.
So, yes, yes, I believe it. I know it. It is so.
We Are A Generation!
We Are Part Of A Heritage, Passed Down From Our Forefathers!
We Are Here To Fulfill A Purpose!
We Have A Destiny!
Do I have your attention? Do I have your interest? Questions, Questions.
If your answer is yes, come along and hear more about this journey we are on.

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Peter Walmer – A Church Builder Chapter 1
Chapter 1
How Far Back Can We Go?
If you were to look at your own ancestry, how far back can you go? How far back could you
trace your ancestry? Physically, only as far as back recorded information could take you. Traditionally,
only as far back as family tradition and stories would allow you.
If you were to look at the ancestry of humanity, where would you start? Where did man begin?
The Bible says that God created Adam in His image and from Adam, He created Eve. Do you believe
that? I do. That’s recorded information. But what happened from there?
The Bible talks about a great flood in the day of Noah. Except for Noah and his family, all the
people that were living in Noah’s day, all the people who were descendants of Adam and Eve, all the
people who were creations and descendants of God(?), all were cleared from the face of the earth.
What happened to all the generations, the God-given heritage and purpose, and the God ordained
destiny? Obviously, they had to be carried on through Noah and his family. Seemingly a thin line, a thin
connection, but carried on and passed down nonetheless.
Onward, from Noah to where? Whoa! Large topic. Too large and beyond the scope of this
discussion. There is recorded history that talks about much and whatever else we may want to explore.
But let’s move quickly to New Testament times. Let’s briefly look at a genealogy in the New
Testament. The Book of Matthew talks about the genealogy of Jesus Christ. The book is also called,
“The Generation of Jesus Christ, The Son of David, The Son of Abraham”. The book lists all the
generations from Abraham to Jesus,
• Starting with and listing 14 generations from Abraham to David,
• Continuing and listing 14 more generations from David to the carrying away of the
Israelites into Babylonian captivity, and
• Continuing and listing 13 more generations from the Babylonian captivity to Jesus.
For these 13 generations from Babylonian captivity to Jesus, the Bible more specifically says
14 generations from Babylonian captivity to “the Christ”.
There is no discrepancy between the “13 generations from the Babylonian captivity to Jesus” and the
“14 generations from the Babylonian captivity to “the Christ””. The 13th
generation is the physical
Jesus and the 14th
generation is the Body of Christ (interpreted as the Church), an on-going generation.
Therefore, if you start with Abraham as a source generation, then
Jesus is the 41st
generation.
The Body of Christ (the Church) is the 42nd
generation.
Can anyone trace their ancestry back that far, 42 generations? How many years is that? Could it
be a 1,000 years, or more? For this discussion, there is no need to know the answer to that question, other
than to say, it’s a lot of years and a lot of generations. Appendix 1 of this writing provides the detail of
the genealogy of Christ as presented in the Book of Matthew.

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How many of your ancestors are you aware of? Did you or someone in your family record the
genealogy of your family? Is it being worked on now, in this day? Maybe you don’t even know who
your father is, or who your mother is, for whatever the reason. Maybe you have been adopted,
maybe both or one of your parents died without leaving you much information about your ancestry.
Maybe you just haven’t wondered at all about these things. That’s all right. The important thing is that,
even if your are not informed of your ancestry for whatever the reason, you need not feel left out.
There is a God, who is a Father, and He will show you all that you need to know about
your GENERATIONS, your HERITAGE, your PURPOSE, and your DESTINY!
Whether you can trace your ancestry back 42 generations, 14 generation, 7 generations,
2 generations, or no generations is not the issue. The issue is finding out . . . .
Who You Are.
Where You Have Come From.
Why You Are Here.
Where You Are Going.
Matthew 1:17
So there were fourteen generations
from Abraham to David.
And there were fourteen generations
from David until the people were taken to Babylon.
And there were fourteen generations
from the time when the people were taken to Babylon
until Christ was born.

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My Journey Page 9 of 42
Chapter 2
My Journey
If I may, let me take you on a journey that gives me some “hints” (the type of which we
will consider later) as to my journey through this life in discovering who I am, where I have
come from, why I am here, and where I am going. I recognize that this discovery is not just
for me, but certainly will affect my family, my children, my children’s children, and succeeding
generations.
To bring you on this journey, I have written “The Story of
Peter and His Descendants” (Chapter 3). It’s a story that I
learned of at the age of 50 in 1999. Until then, I never knew
of the ancestors that I am going to tell you about. Apparently,
my close relatives never knew of this ancestry either, because
I never heard anyone talk of it. The only bits of information I
heard was that my grandmother (Grandma Barbush –
Elizabeth “Lizzie” Walmer) on my father’s side, was Irish
and her maiden name was Walmer. Therefore, I was led to
believe that I had an Irish strain in me. That was supposedly
where I got my blonde hair from, since blonde hair could not
have come from either my father’s or my mother’s Italian
side.
I mostly heard about the ancestry of my grandfather,
Frank M. Barbush. My father, Albert F. Barbush, Sr.,
desiring to search his ancestry and provide it to the rest of the
family, spent many
hours searching his
father’s ancestry (the ancestry of Frank M. Barbush).
He did a pretty good job of it. I have his work today
and have referred to it on occasion to try to understand
who was whom, and who is whom. I still meet people
that are related to me since my father’s family was
large and most lived locally. My father’s ancestral
charts are useful in understanding who I may be
related to.
My Grandma Barbush, Elizabeth “Lizzie”
Walmer, was seemingly absorbed into her
husband’s Barbush family. Therefore, I never heard
anything of Grandma’s family, except to hear her
maiden name, Walmer, and maybe occasionally see
and hear of a brother and sister of hers, a great uncle
and great aunt of mine.
Lizzie’s Daughters & Daughters-In-Law
1st
Row: Sarah Barbush, Elizabeth
“Lizzie” Barbush, Violet (Barbush)
McLaughlin, Betty (Barbush) Keyes
2nd
Row: Gertie Barbush, Delores (Barbush)
Duttenhoffer, Ann Barbush, Eve Barbush,
Mary Barbush,
Lizzie’s 5 Sons
Front: Frankie, Albert
Back: Charles, Kenny, Billy

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In spite of my having lived for 50 years and not knowing anything about my Grandmother’s
Walmer ancestry, I had suddenly been handed her ancestry, an ancestry that takes me back
through my father, through his mother, and back 7 more generations to a man named Peter
Walmer that came from Germany to America in 1741.
The year of my discovery of my Walmer ancestry was 2000. Peter Walmer’s arrival in
America was 258 years earlier. I am a 10th
generation descendant of this man, Peter, who was
brave enough to sail the sea at the age of 21 and start something in America. His journey started
before the Colonies fought to be free, before the Declaration of Independence, before the
formation of the United States. Wow! Peter was here in this place at a time when great things
relating to our country were happening, when our country was being formed. Wow!
How did this discovery come to me? For me, I believe it to be a true story that I should
share with you and others. From here, I will tell you how I discovered it. And later I will tell
you more about it. Also, I will try to explain how such discovery is applicable to you and your
family.

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INQUISITIVE JOSEPH – LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
My son Joseph is much like I was as a child, an inquisitive lad, a searcher, looking through the
things of his grandparents and parents, exploring to find something of interest, playing all the while.
I remember when I was a child, less than 10 years old, we went to my Grandma Cirillo’s house
every Sunday. Grandma Cirillo was my mother’s mother. My Grandma Cirillo was Josephine, and her
husband, my grandfather, was Dominic. We called him Pop. Other relatives of my mother were also
there every week. There was my mother’s brother, Uncle Larry, and his children, my cousins Larry
(called Little Larry), Stevie, and Karen. The women were usually in the kitchen. The men and children
were in the dining room where the television was and where Pop sat at the dining room table. There, at
the large dining room table, Pop played Solitaire a lot and we all played Rummy, watched television with
him, and ate Grandma’s weekly made spice cake with white icing. Of course, my Dad was always there.
The small grandchildren laid under the big, old dining room table and watched television from there,
while laying with our dog, Tammy, often using her as a pillow.
Sometimes, I would go off exploring through the old, two story, duplex house. It was quite a neat
place. There was the living room with its old style wallpaper, its cabinets where Grandma kept knick-
knacks, and some sort of fireplace. There was the great, dark wood stairwell, with big, old wood framing.
The stairs were between the living room and the dining room. It was dimly lit and the steps creaked when
you went up them. There were steps that led to a landing that turned, and then more steps that led to the
second floor, just outside the bathroom. There was a light that hung over the stairwell. I don’t remember
much light being given off.
Around two sides of the stairwell on the second floor, there was a heavy wooden rail that made a
balcony over looking the two sides of the stairwell. As you followed the rail around, you came to a left
turn that led down a hallway that went to a back bedroom and a rear stairway. The hall was dark. Before
I take you down that hall, let’s go back to the top of the stairs and go to Grandma’s bedroom, in the front
of the house.
After coming up to the top of the stairs, you turned left and went into Grandma’s bedroom.
I remember the sitting table, the dresser, the jewelry, and the large windows that lit the room. It’s a little
vague to me, but I mostly remember being there and exploring – lying on the bed and looking at all the
neat things.
There was another bedroom as you turned right at the top of the steps. I spent much time there.
That’s where I slept when we stayed overnight. I spent much time playing with the alarm clock that had
hands and numbers that glowed in the dark. That was quite the thing for me as a child, in the dark, as I
was going to sleep and listening to the ticking of the wind-up clock.
I remember the bathroom at the top of the steps. I think it had white ceramic tiles with black, maybe
green trim. It was bright with a window. I remember the old tub with legs and the sink with old style
fixtures.
Now, let’s go back to that dark hallway. That was the neatest place of all. It was long and dark.
There was another bedroom at the back of the house on the left side of the hall. I don’t remember
anything about that room. At the end of hall, there was another stairway that went down to the kitchen.
There was a door to the kitchen that was always closed. I would sneak down the steps and listen to the
women talking in the kitchen.

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I explored my Grandma Cirillo’s house, over and over again. Apparently, my son, Joseph,
picked up that instinctive trait from me. At the age of 10, Joseph, being like me, was on the hunt in
our home one night. I am the keeper of family heirlooms, such as photographs, historical documents,
china, glassware, and other keepsakes. We have always instilled in Joseph the heritage that he has
obtained from his grandfather, Albert F. Barbush, Sr., a man he never met. My wife, Yvonne, was
pregnant with Joseph while my father was going through his last days, fighting a losing battle with
cancer. Joseph was there in my father’s last days as an unborn infant. Joseph, in his mother’s womb, was
there in the bedroom, along with many of us family members, when my father died on April 7, 1989,
2½ months or 77 days before Joseph’s birth on June 23. My father even put his hand on my wife’s
pregnant belly during his last moments.
My father had been gone for over 11 years, when on an evening in August 2000, after one of his
explorations, Joseph came down to our family room with a small pack of items that he pulled out of
his Grandma’s desk – his grandma being my mother, Mary Barbush. She had lived with us for about
16 months in 1997-98 and many of her things were with us.
In his exploring, Joseph found an old newspaper article, circa World War II, about my father,
his brothers, and his sisters (my aunts and uncles). The article had pictures of them in military uniform
and talked about them serving in the war. Other items that Joseph found were photographs of my sister
Joanne. She was my mother’s first child, her only daughter, who died after only five hours of life.
There was also my baby book that I had only seen once. There wasn’t much in it, just a few notes.
Joey brought his discovery of treasures to my wife and
me as we sat on the couch. We looked at the newspaper article
and the few photographs of my older sister that I never knew. I
scanned my baby book. It was half a century old. In the baby
book, I noticed some genealogy that my mother wrote. It went
back to my great grandparents and their names that suddenly
caught my eye – Israel Walmer - my Great Grandfather, and
Johanna Hart - my Great Grandmother. These were the
parents of my grandmother, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Walmer. The
book stated my grandmother was Elizabeth Walmer that married
Frank Barbush. The little that I knew about the ancestry of
Grandma Barbush was that her maiden name was Walmer. I heard that mentioned occasionally when I
was a child. I also remember Grandma’s brother Jim Walmer, my father’s uncle. There was also an Aunt
Effie, my grandmother’s sister. That’s about all I knew about Grandma Barbush’s Walmer ancestry.
Barbush was always the main focus of any family history to which I was introduced. But being a
Christian, and having read about Israel in the Bible and knowing that Johanna was also a biblical name, I
was “intrigued” by the names of my great grandparents, Israel and Johanna Walmer. I wanted to
know more.
LAUNCHED INTO THE JOURNEY
At the discovery my great grandparents’ names on the evening of August 3, 2000 (2 days before
the 25th
birthday of Jennifer, my oldest daughter), I immediately went to the internet to do a search of
Walmer ancestry. I found a website about Walmer ancestry that had a bulletin board where I posted a
note seeking information about Israel Walmer. I didn’t learn anything that night, but the next day brought
surprising revelation.
On August 4, I found e-mail from a woman who claimed to have been searching Walmer
ancestry for 23 years. Her name is Bev Wyld, a Walmer descendant. I was excited by the immediate
and sudden response to my inquiry and quickly responded with an e-mail. I briefly explained to Bev our
discovery of my great grandparents’ names, Israel and Johanna Walmer. I told her I was the 3rd
son of
Albert F. Barbush, Sr. and he was one of 9 children of Frank and Elizabeth Barbush.
GREAT GRANDPARENTS
ISRAEL WALMER
&
JOHANNA WALMER

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I had e-mail conversations with Bev Wyld over several days. I learned that, even as I was
discovering the names of my great grandparents (Israel & Johanna Walmer), Bev Wyld was continuing
her investigations of the Walmers. She was awaiting information from the National Archives on the
pension of my great, great grandfather, Israel B. Walmer, Sr. She was also in the process of searching out
the burial site of my great grandfather, Israel B. Walmer, Jr. As I was just discovering my heritage, Bev
was continuing the process of detailing that heritage. Coincidence? Or God-incidence?
After several more e-mail conversations and within 3 to 4 weeks from our August 3rd
discovery,
Bev Wyld graciously sent me a packet of information that traces my heritage for 9 generations
before me. She provided me with information about a heritage that goes back to a man identified as
Peter Walmer The Elder who came from Germany in 1741 and settled in Pennsylvania, near where I
have always lived. The information and heritage includes Peter’s acquisition of land from the sons of
William Penn, Thomas and Richard, and the founding and construction of a church that still operates
today. Also included is information about the joining with others of apparent destiny, being that Peter
boarded a ship to America that was also boarded by an ancestor of Dwight D. Eisenhower, one of our
Presidents. This was the beginning of our discovery of many interesting and meaningful items about our
heritage. These were things that I have never heard about ancestors in all my 50 years. At the on-set of
my moving discovery, I knew that I was on a destined journey. I knew that God was revealing
something to me.
That’s how my personal journey started. I did not create it. I did not think it up. I could not
have imagined it. It was all handed to me. It was only about a month from our first discovery of the
names of my great grandparents in my baby book to having received a complete document from Bev
Wyld detailing my ancestry and related information. It was the start of a journey that we are still on and
enjoying immensely.
After receiving my ancestral report from Bev, I noted information from the report about the
addresses of residences and about burial sites for my great grandparents. They are all local sites in
Harrisburg. One Friday morning, we went looking for those sites and discovered that I have unknowingly
been past these sites throughout my life. The history of my family was right before me all the time
without me at all knowing of its existence, let alone its meaning. I’ve seen the house on Brookwood
Street, where Israel may have lived with his sister, my great Aunt Effie, only blocks from my childhood
home on Duke Street. I’ve seen where Israel is buried, not the exact burial plot, but the lot in which he is
buried with others. That’s near where I have worked and traveled regularly. The heritage was there all
the time. I just did not know it. No one seemed to know it. But now I know it. Now, I am finding it.
And it is greater than I ever could have imagined.
With what I was introduced to, through the actions of my exploring son, Joseph, with the
information searched and gracefully provided by Bev Wyld, my family is continuing on this
journey that we have been launched into. There is more to be discovered and more to be understood
about
Who We Are.
Where We Have Come From.
Why We Are Here.
Where We Are Going.
In the following several chapters, I will provide much of what I have learned about Peter Walmer The
Elder, his journey, how it has affected me and others, and how it continues.
Psalm 25:13
They will enjoy a good life, and their children will inherit the land.

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The Story of Peter Walmer And His Descendants Page 15 of 42
Chapter 3
“The Story of Peter and His Descendants”
THE JOURNEY BEGINS
Somewhere in a European country, sometime around 1720, a child was born. The country was
likely Germany and the male child was named Peter in his language. His last name is not
ascertained. It may have been something sounding like Walmer. It may have been Waldheimer that
means "Dweller In The Woods". It may have been Wallmer, or Wolmer, but supposedly not to be
confused with Vollmer/Vollmar or Follmer/Fullmer. Who can know? When the foreign newcomers
came to America, whether German or other, they may not have been able to read or write, and probably
did not speck English. The English-speaking clerks that registered the foreign newcomers may have
written things down in English as they sounded. So what is the real name of Peter Walmer? We are
uncertain. But Peter Walmer sounds great to me.
So, let’s follow Peter Walmer’s journey, as near as we know it, with the accuracy of discovered
information that has been recorded and passed on to us.
LEAVING THE HOMELAND
This boy of German descent most likely grew up in Germany. We
know nothing of his life until an adventurous journey that he embarked on
at the age of 21. Peter left a place in Germany in 1741, possibly with a
group of Palatines, people of certain German descent. He traveled down
the Rhine River to Rotterdam, a trip believed to have taken 6 months. We
don’t know if he was alone, with friends, or with family. But we know that
he went, maybe such as the biblical Abram did when he left his homeland
for a country that he knew not.
Around that time, there were many
Palatines going to the new country, America.
It’s recorded that 10 ships came to America in
1741. One of the ships that repeatedly made the
trip to and from America was named “Europa”.
Peter boarded the Europa along with 43 other
males above the age of 16. The ship was
mastered by Captain Lumsdaine.
I wonder what Peter’s thoughts were
during that time. Who was he with? Was he big and strong, was he timid?
Who can say? But certainly, to begin a journey at such a young age and to
venture onto the seas surely must indicate that Peter was courageous, strong,
and committed to something. We can only wonder about many things – his purpose, his resolve, and his
reasons for the trip.
Depiction of
The Ship Europa
The Black Forest
Region of Germany

July 16, 2018
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JOURNEYING WITH OTHERS
Who else could have boarded that ship with Peter? Bev Wyld, the woman who gave me the
ancestral information about Peter Walmer, who is also a living descendant of Peter Walmer, has been told
on numerous occasions by an aunt and uncle of hers, that Peter was one of five or six brothers that came
to the Colonies. Bev has no reason to believe this is correct, since there is no evidence of another male
Walmer at that same time period and there is no additional male Walmer on the passenger list of the ship
Europa. Also, since baptismal records include relatives, there is no record of a Walmer as a baptismal
sponsor for children that Peter would have later.
Could Peter have come with a wife? We don’t know. Only the males above the age of 16 were
listed on the ship’s register. And to date, no marriage record has been found for Peter Walmer. We do
know that Peter Walmer, Jr. was born in 1720, so Peter either brought a wife with him or married shortly
after arriving in the U.S. (5)
We do know of one interesting character who was on board the ship Europa with Peter
Walmer. That was Johann (Hans) Nicolaus Eisenhauer. What was his goal, what was his mission, and
what was his destiny? We are given a “hint” by discovering that Hans is an ancestor of President Dwight
David Eisenhower. (61) Whoa! Talk about GENERATIONS! HERITAGE! PURPOSE! DESTINY!
There, at a beginning of something where these men were, and there, at certain beginnings of America,
these men, Peter and Johann, were together. Did they talk about their purpose, what they were doing,
where they were going, why they were going, what they had hoped for? We can only conjecture and
assume that on such a voyage, they must have conversed about such things.
SAILING THE SEA TO A NEW LAND
We don’t know what the trip was like as Peter, Hans,
Captain Lumsdaine, and the others crossed the Atlantic
Ocean. Did they weather storms? Was there sickness? How
long did it take? Since there are records of 10 other ships and
ship registers, maybe there are other records about such trips.
Maybe we can discover such records in our continued searches
for information.
After the journey across the sea, they arrived in
America, landing at Lewes, Delaware on November 17,
1741. At the age of 21, Peter and others of the ship’s
passengers stepped onto America’s soil to further carry on their
journey. Upon their arrival, being greeted by Englishmen, the
men were registered. Peter, possibly not able to read or write,
made a mark, “I”, in a register, probably next to the place where
a clerk signed his name. (62).
MAKING NEW COMMITMENTS
What then? Did Peter know where to go next or did the
Englishmen direct him where to go? We know that when these
new arrivals were registered, there was no infectious disease
reported on board. So, on November 20, 1741, the passengers
went on to Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. There, they took an
Oath of Allegiance to the government before Ralph Asshelton,
Esq. After having left his homeland and family, Peter swore an
allegiance to a country that he had never been in before. How could he do that? Why did he do that?
"Passage To America, 1750"
EyeWitness to History
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/p
assage.htm
Ryves Holt House (1665)
is purportedly the oldest surviving
house in the U.S. state of Delaware. It
is located at 218 Second Street in
Lewes, Delaware.
http://www.nps.gov/frst/planyourvisit/
ryves-holt-house.htm

July 16, 2018
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What did he leave and what did he think he was going to? The oath was
taken on the 3rd
day after arriving in America. What happen during those
3 days? Travel by horse or wagon? Travel by waterways? More voids
in the history.
Our next record is that sometime before November 11, 1742,
Peter Walmer was married at the age of 22. He met a young lady by
the name of Anna Margret or Anna Margaretta. Her last name, we do
not know, nor do we know her age. For us, here, we will remember her
as Anna Margaretta. A beautiful name that matches the romantic journey
that Peter had embarked upon. She must have been a beautiful woman.
THE NEW FAMILY SETTLES IN PENNSYLVANIA
(1742 to 1757)
Peter and Anna Margaretta Walmer had the first three of their
children. Peter, Jr. was born in 1742. Susanna Margaret was born in
1744. George was born around 1745. We do not know where they started
to raise this family, but we know that on July 15, 1745, Peter Walmer
bought land in Lancaster, Pennsylvania from the Honorable James
Hamilton, Esq. And then on October 9, 1746, Peter and Anna Margaretta
sold that land to Michael Fortiney. (63) Where did Peter get the money he
needed for the land? Did he come from a wealthy family and bring an
amount of savings from his homeland? Did he come across a good deal?
Did he work and trade for the land? Regardless, Peter and Anna
Margaretta acquired the property, then sold the property only 15 months
later. Did he make a considerable profit for his next venture?
Apparently Peter and his family had settled in Pennsylvania in the
Lancaster County area. We do not know where the family lived after
selling the Lancaster property. We know that there was another son, John, born in 1748. The family had
grown to six members – Peter Sr., Anna Margatetta, Peter Jr. (~ 6 years old), Susanna Margaret (~ 4 years
old), George (~ 2 years old), and the baby, John.
Six years passed, a period of time for which we have yet to discover records of where Peter and
the family were living. But in 1751, a significant event happened. Peter obtained land from significant
people involved in the founding of Pennsylvania. Records show that Peter Walmer obtained 100 acres of
land in Hanover Township, Lancaster County, from Thomas and Richard Penn, the sons of William Penn.
Warrant #407 records the acquisition. Again, as he did with Johans Eisenhauer, Peter came in contact
with people of destiny.
Another record of land acquisition shows up in 1754. Peter apparently acquired 277 acres of land.
I do not know if this is adjacent to his last land acquisition or located some distance away.
But considering where Peter finally settled, I assume that he acquired 277 acres of farm in East Hanover
Township, in what was then Dauphin County and is now Lebanon County. The land is recorded as
surveyed on February 12, 1754 for 277 acres and 80 perches, and patented to Peter Walmer on August 18
(or Aug 22), 1766 for 270 acres. (64). After being in America for over 10 years, Peter and his family
permanently settled on a farm in Pennsylvania.
Having settled into a permanent residence and becoming a farmer, Peter and Anna Margaretta had a
5th
child in 1755. They named her Anna Maria.
Once embarking the ships,
the first stop for the German
immigrants was to the
Philadelphia Court House.
http://lynnheidelberg.org/begi
nnewlife.html

July 16, 2018
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Further evidence of continued prosperity and community involvement is that Peter Walmer and
Margaretta were sponsors at the baptism of Catarina Margaretha, the daughter of John Adam Herbert
(Hanover), born September 5, 1757 and baptized February 19, 1758. (46). Also, in 1751 and 1756, Peter
Walmer was recorded as a resident of East End Hanover inhabitants.
ATTACK ON THE SETTLEMENT (September 1757)
The year was 1757. Peter had been in America for about 15 years. Peter had married a fine
woman, settled, and they had been raising 5 children – 3 boys and 2 girls, ranging in age from the
youngest daughter Anna Maria (~ about 2 years old) to Peter, Jr., the oldest son (~ about 15 years old).
In between were John (~ 8 years old), George (~ 10 years old), and Susanna Margaret (~13 years old).
Two of the children were named after their parents, Peter, Jr. after his father Peter, and Anna Maria after
her mother Anna Margaretta. The other three children, Susanna, George, and John, may have been
named after Peter’s relatives that were back in his homeland of Germany. One who had left his home as
Peter did, would likely have named his children after loved ones as a remembrance.
The season is the fall, in September, probably harvest time. Peter and Anna Margaretta were
going about their duties of raising their large family and getting ready for the coming winter.
They probably knew that there were dangers in this land, but the work of raising the family on the farm
had to go on. The actual day was September 30th
or October 1st
, depending on the account of this event.
Peter and his wife had been out in the field harvesting. They were bringing in a load of hay when a
raiding party of about 30 Indians led by a French lad attacked the house. The Indians went through the
house, broke honey pots and windows, scattered the flour, tore up the beds, and ruined everything they
could not take with them. They took all they could carry. They even took the children.
The French leader was 17 year old Michael La Chanvignerie, the son of the commandant at Fort
Machault (Franklin Co.). Also in the party was a Frenchman, La Jardin. Apparently, the raiding party
left Ft. Machault on September 11, 1757. They traveled through the Lebanon Valley, passing many
deserted places until they came to Peter Walmer's place. After 19 days of traveling through the
countryside and then coming upon Peter’s place of prosperity, they took advantage of the situation. They
wrecked or stole much of what Peter and Anna Margaretta owned, even the children.
How frightening and hideous this event must have been to Peter, Anna Margaretta, and their
children. One report says that the Indians made off with the five children, the youngest not yet a year old
and could not walk. Imagine the raiding party of boisterous men and one of them scooping up the little
one. You can almost visualize and hear what was happening. Over 30 men moving through the house,
wrecking, smashing, breaking, and taking; destroying the prosperity that was built; destroying the peace
and order that was there; the frightened children huddling together; the oldest son trying to protect the
younger siblings. But these were men, more than 30 of them, with no care or concern for anyone or
anything.
Did Peter and Anna Margaretta know what was happening? Could they hear the commotion?
Could they see what was going on? We can only wonder. They were living on a 200-acre farm, in the
hills and woods of Pennsylvania. The possibility is that they may not have heard or seen anything, until it
was too late, and the raiders were riding off with their children.
What happened when Peter and Anna Margaretta returned to the house? They were surely
devastated and shocked. But Peter, he must have been a big man, a strong man, a determined man. After
all, he came alone to a new land, acquired much land, settled, and was successfully raising his family. He
was a hard worker in an unsettled land. He surely had resolved to get his children back, because the
children are mentioned in later records.

July 16, 2018
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Justice must have come, since the son of the Commander was captured. The report is that he stuffed
bread inside his shirt, but dropped it. While backtracking to find the bread, he got lost and separated
from the raiding party. On October 12, a sentry at Fort Henry arrested La Chanvignerie. It is reported
that while being held prisoner, La Chanvignerie was allowed to write a letter in which he told his parents
he was being held prisoner but was treated well.
What happened? How was this all resolved? Did Peter and Anna get the children back? This
is not fully clear, but their 3rd
child, George, appears in the 2nd
generation of ancestors; and Peter, Jr.,
George, and John are listed in several later recorded assessments. So, the male children must have been
returned to the family. We have yet to discover the date of death for the 2 sisters, Susanna Margaret and
Anna Maria. If they had been killed by the raiding party, that should have been a significant event to
have been recorded in the story of the attack of the raiding party. So, we are left with a mystery
concerning the return of all the children.
WALMER’S CHURCH (1751)
Today, there is a small church building located 2 miles northwest of Ono in Union Township,
Lebanon Co., Pennsylvania. It is on the edge of Fort Indiantown Gap, a U. S. Military training base.
The church is believed to be built on Walmer’s property that he acquired from the Penns. The church is
certainly believed to be a family church started early in Walmer’s American history.
Local tradition says that Peter Walmer and his six sons
built Walmer's Church in 1751. (3) But how could this be?
We have not seen records showing that Peter had 6 sons that
were old enough in the year 1751 to have helped their father
build a church. In 1751, Peter had been in America for only 9
years. So, how could Peter and 6 sons have built anything?
Certainly, Peter could have built the church on his own or with
help from neighbors.
That the church was founded by Peter Walmer seems not
to be absolutely provable at this point with records that have been viewed. In the graveyard next to
the church, there are no tombstones or markers for Peter Walmer The Elder or Anna Margaretta. But in
the graveyard there are tombstones for many other Walmers, their relatives, and other families with which
the Walmer generations have had relationships. Therefore, we find it very probable that Peter and Anna
are buried there along with many other early and later ancestors. And given the apparently destined
journey that Peter had been on, coming from Germany to America,
joining with other men of destiny (Eisenhauer and the Penns), I do
tend to believe that Peter did build the original church. Maybe he did
not do it with 6 literal sons, but it is a good and educated guess to
believe that he did build the church with the help of his young family
and with the help of other church founders and their families.
For me personally, another “hint” that Peter is the founder of
this church that still operates today, about 250 years later, are the
circumstances of how I suddenly discovered this Walmer heritage
that comes to me through my father’s mother. God has shown me
several things over the years in some very unique ways. Knowing
how God has worked in my life, knowing what He has shown me
concerning other events in my life, knowing how He has shown those things to me in unusual ways, I am
strongly inclined to believe that I was destined to discover this heritage. Therefore, I am strongly inclined
to believe that there are spiritual connotations to this discovery in addition to physical ones.
Cemetary At
Walmer’s Church

July 16, 2018
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So, let us move on in Peter’s journey, and discuss what has been presented in documents
discussing the church history of Walmer’s Church.
Genesis 12: 1-4
Now the LORD had said unto Abram,
Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house,
unto a land that I will show thee:
And I will make of thee a great nation,
and I will bless thee, and make thy name great;
and thou shalt be a blessing:
And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee:
and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him:
Genesis 12: 7
And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said,
Unto thy seed will I give this land:
and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.

July 16, 2018
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History of Walmer’s Church Page 21 of 42
Chapter 4
“History Of Walmer’s Church”
Portions Of This Chapter Taken From
The 250th
Celebration Booklet
Church History, 1750- 2000
“PERSEVERANCE WINS” - “Anhalt Ge-Winnt”
Peter Walmer must have been a man of great fortitude and purpose. The overwhelming
evidence that I see for this assumption is:
(i) the continued existence of a 250 year old church congregation.
(ii) the Walmer descendants and relatives that are still at that church.
(iii)the Walmer descendants, like myself, that have discovered their heritage and have come to attend
the church.
(iv) the relatives and friends that make trips from other cities and states to visit the church.
(v) the other friendly people that have found refuge at the church through the many years.
(vi) the survival of the church as a union church – 2 denominations meeting together, sharing one
place, sharing one pastor, and sharing each other.
(vii) the spread of Walmers throughout the region, as evidenced by the presence of Walmer grave
stones in several churches along Route 22, as you head east towards Harrisburg..
(viii)The fact that Bev Wyld has searched Walmer genealogy and found over 2300 Walmer’s tied back
to this one man, Peter Walmer.
If not for fortitude and purpose, and mostly God’s calling, how could a young man of 21 have left
his homeland in Germany, sailed the seas in a small wooden ship, and settled in a new and still dangerous
land, bringing forth great heritage.
Peter is said to have had a very pertinent slogan - “Anhalt ge-winnt”, which means
“Perseverance wins”. This must have been, for it would have taken a rugged pioneer with great
persistence to acquire 270 acres of land, build a log home and a log church, and raise a family in a still
somewhat dangerous and unsettled land, in a time 250 years ago. Peter must have practiced that slogan
and applied it to his church and spiritual life, as well as to his family life, because in the year of 2000 we
marked the following anniversaries:
• The Sestercentennial The Commemoration Of 250 Years Since The Establishment Of
Salem, Walmer’s Reformed Congregation,
Now The United Church Of Christ
• The Bicentennial The Commemoration Of 200 Years Since The Establishment Of
Salem, Walmer’s Lutheran Congregation
In Lebanon County, Pennsylvania.
• The Sesquicentennial The Commemoration Of 150 Years Since
The Erection Of The Current House Of Worship.
These two congregations, the Reformed Congregation - United Church Of Christ
the Lutheran Congregation
have worked together through two centuries as
“Anhalt ge-winnt” - “Perseverance wins”

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A DESIRE TO PRACTICE HIS FAITH - “Boys, we must have a church. Must have.”
In the heart and mind of Peter Walheimer (that may have been his name prior to taking on
Walmer) must have been conceived the thought of establishing a place where he could continue to
work out his faith in God. He must have desired a place where he could worship. He must have wanted
a place not only for himself, but for his wife, Anna Margaretta, his children, and his neighbors.
His conception was birthed and continues, and has been known as Walmer’s Church. This new thing has
not remained a small church in a new land, but it has become something that would involve his many
descendants, affect numbers beyond what he had imagined, and possibly have a world wide impact far
beyond the house and small church in a wooded and farmed countryside in Pennsylvania.
Peter may have sadly missed the services of the sanctuary he enjoyed in his homeland beyond
the sea, and must have realized the importance of providing his family with proper religious
training. Feeling and desiring so, he is believed to have one day said to his “six sons”, “Boys, we must
have a church. Must have.” This was supposedly in the year 1750. Though we have yet to find records
that support his having six sons in the year 1750, the story is certainly one that is desired to be believed,
not just as a folklore, but as a continuance of the destiny and heritage that this man was to fulfill and carry
out. As said in the previous chapter, maybe Peter did not do it with six literal sons, but it is a good and
educated guess to believe that he did build the church with the help of his young family and with the help
of other church founders and their families, “sons” of other of the church’s founders and friends joined
together with Peter.
No sooner was the suggestion made to build the place of worship than arrangements were
effected to put the construction into practical operation. A site was selected on Peter’s farm. He and
“six sons” began the erection of a log structure, 30 feet by 32 feet in dimension. It is reported to have
only taken 6 days to build the house of worship. The completed building consisted of only bare walls
with a door, a few windows, and a roof. A floor was added about 50 years later. Logs were laid in
rectangular order on the bare ground for the worshippers to sit on during the service. These logs later
served as joists, possibly in the same original log building. The pulpit was at the entrance of the church,
as a precaution we are told, so that the congregation could notice who came into the building. This was
the decade of the French and Indian War when many local massacres were perpetrated, and as Peter
discovered in his own experience, one must be on guard at all times. Many years elapsed before a Stiegal
stove was secured and the house of worship was comfortably heated. The stove was 4 feet long and
weighed 400 pounds. The crude primitive building, with some alterations and improvements, stood until
it burned about 100 years after it was built.
In 1783, another log building was erected close to the church and the building was initially used
by the ministers and sextons. Peter was 63 years old at the time and could have been involved in the
construction.
Peter died on July 2, 1795, at the age of 75. Still, beyond the life span of Peter Walmer, the life of
the church continued, or I should say “persevered”. In 1837, the log building close to the church building
was given an additional use, that of being a parochial school. Both the schoolroom and the sexton’s
house were contained in this one small building with a few windows and a thin partition between the
schoolroom and the combination family kitchen and living room. There was also a loft where the family
crept and slept.
Another man of German descent, living in the area with the Walmers, and apparently also a
man with the fortitude of Peter was John Gerberich. At the building of the church, John was given
the nickname, “Forty-foot John”. The story goes that John, like Patrick Henry, memorably declared,
“For forty foot dimensions, a big church”. He passed away in the 1800s and was still known as “Forty-
foot John”. “A big church” – I believe that we can ponder the significance of that potentially prophetic
statement, having seen the apparent spread of the Walmers to many other churches in the region and
beyond.

July 16, 2018
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In those early years, the people of Walmer’s Church must have had a tremendous spirit and drive.
The members lived around and near the church. They came to services walking along paths, through
fields and wooded areas, climbing over the fences (over stiles in lieu of gates), and walking over a
footbridge across the creek.
“HOW HOLY IS THIS PLACE” - “Wie Heilig Ift Viefe Gtotte” (An Altar Declared?)
In Walmer’s Church today, in the front of the Sanctuary, above a painted picture depicting
Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsamane, is a statement in German ~ “Wie Heilig Ift Viefe
Gtotte”. The translation is “How Holy Is This Place”.
Could it be, that when Peter Walmer came upon and obtained this land from
the sons of William Penn, he declared the place to be holy ground and
dedicated the land for the purposes of God?
Could it be, that Peter’s presence and work in this land would be part of,
branch of, and continuation of what William Penn declared to be A Holy
Experiment – The Seed Of A Nation?
With what we know at this time, we can only imagine. But looking at Peter
Walmer’s arrival in this land, and looking at a still standing church, hearing
and reading about Peter Walmer’s descendants that are scattered near and far,
we strongly want to believe that Peter did as Abram did when he left his
country and was directed by God to a promised land, where he built an
altar to worship God. That picture of Abraham is described in the Bible’s
Book of Genesis in Chapter 12.
Genesis 12
Verses 1 to 8
New Century Version
The LORD said to Abram,
"Leave your country, your relatives, and your father's family, and go to the
land I will show you. I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you. I will
make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who
bless you, and I will place a curse on those who harm you. And all the people on
earth will be blessed through you."
So Abram left Haran as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. At this
time Abram was 75 years old. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and
everything they owned, as well as all the servants they had gotten in Haran.
They set out from Haran, planning to go to the land of Canaan, and in time they
arrived there. Abram traveled through that land as far as the great tree of Moreh
at Shechem. The Canaanites were living in the land at that time.
The LORD appeared to Abram and said,
"I will give this land to your descendants."
So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. Then he
traveled from Shechem to the mountain east of Bethel and set up his tent there.
Bethel was to the west, and Ai was to the east. There, Abram built another altar
to the LORD and worshipped him.

July 16, 2018
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As others have been directed by God to do things that were far beyond themselves, was Peter
also called by God to perform a task that would reach far down through his generations to today
and even beyond to our descendants?
Was Peter like Columbus, whose name means “Christ Bearer”, who knew from scripture that the
world was not flat, but was a globe (Isaiah 40:22), and he was sent on a mission to a new land?
Could Peter have been tasked by God to leave his homeland for a new land, where he would find
ground that God had destined for him, where he would claim and declare that ground to be holy for
God’s purposes, and there would he build an altar or a church where he could worship God?
We think of these questions and ponder them.
We do this not to exalt Peter, a man, not to learn about genealogy and history, not to preserve
and glorify an old and beautiful church building and place, and certainly not for our own
exaltation.
We do ponder these things to discover who we are with respect to God, Our Father, and His
Son, Our Savior, Jesus Christ The Lord.
We desire to do what we have been destined to do while being guided by the Holy Spirit.
We desire to draw closer to a Father and a Savior, through His Holy Spirit.
2 Timothy 3:10
But you have followed what I teach, the way I live, my goal, faith, patience, and love.
You know I never give up.
1 Peter 1:9
And you are receiving the goal of your faith--the salvation of your souls.
Isaiah 40:22
God sits on his throne above the circle of the earth, and compared to him, people
are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the skies like a piece of cloth and spreads them out like a tent to sit
under.

July 16, 2018
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Driven By History And Destiny Page 25 of 42
Chapter 5
Driven By History & Destiny
Here I want to discuss how I believe that the life of Peter Walmer The Elder was intertwined
with history that was taking place and a destiny that was to occur.
Peter left the oppression in his homeland to look for a better life in a foreign land. He settled in
a land that was just being discovered and developed. His journey and settlement in that new land put him
in the midst of a history that was being made in a land that was destined to be great. His life was mingled
with the lives of others that were also destined to be key individuals in the making of history.
I see three distinct situations in which Peter was involved that could relate to his God given call
and destiny. The following three areas look at the history of Peter’s time and show Peter’s connection to
other people with call and destiny.
1. Peter’s Homeland - The German Palatinate.
Concerning the history of Peter’s homeland, there was the oppression of the German Palatines that
must have driven Peter from that homeland.
2. Peter’s Response To The Call Of William Penn.
Concerning the history and destiny of the new land, there
was Peter’s acquisition of land from men that were destined
to develop the land in the style of a reasonably governed,
religious, and “Holy Experiment”. Peter obtained land from
the sons of William Penn in the Province of Pennsylvania,
becoming a part of Penn’s “Holy Experiment”.
3. Peter’s Call Along Side Others of Destiny
Johann (Hans) Nicolaus Eisenhauer.
Concerning the history of others of destiny, there was Peter’s
accompaniment with others on the trip to America, others
who were destined to be pioneers in bringing government to the new land. Peter travelled on the ship
“Europa” with one noted as Johann (Hans) Nicolaus Eisenhauer, an ancestor of President Dwight D.
Eisenhower.
Each of these situations are discussed in this chapter.
1 Corinthians 10:11
The things that happened to those people are examples. They were written down to
teach us, because we live in a time when all these things of the past have reached
their goal.
Philippians 3:12-14
I do not mean that I am already as God wants me to be. I have not yet reached that
goal, but I continue trying to reach it and to make it mine. Christ wants me to do
that, which is the reason he made me his.
Brothers and sisters, I know that I have not yet reached that goal, but there is one
thing I always do. Forgetting the past and straining toward what is ahead, I keep
trying to reach the goal and get the prize for which God called me through Christ to
the life above.
Pennsylvania State Capitol Rotunda
inscribed with
William Penn’s Vision.

July 16, 2018
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PETER’S HOMELAND - THE GERMAN PALATINATE
The Rhineland Palatinate in today’s Germany is located in West Germany. Extending through
West Germany is the Rhine River, the most important river in Europe. The Rhine River extends from
the southern portion of the country, flowing 820 miles northwest into the North Sea. The river rises in
eastern Switzerland and forms part of the boundaries of Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, France, and
West Germany. In the southwestern portion of West Germany is located a wooded mountainous region
called The Black Forest.
In the 1600s and 1700s, there was great turmoil and suffering in the Palatinate, as in most
German lands at that time. There were wars and religious persecutions. Rich rulers invaded the land
and overtook the people. The Palatinate people experienced armies that pillaged, burned villages,
destroyed livestock and crops, and killed civilians. In the 1600s, approximately half of the German
population of the province perished from the oppression. In the 1700s, after a time of rebuilding and re-
populating the countryside, battles relating to religious politics occurred. Since the Rhineland was a
principal battle area, the people of the Palatinate suffered repeatedly. The pillaging of farms left many of
the peasant folk homeless, starving, and facing an uncertain future. The stress of the oppression
encouraged large-scale emigration to England, Ireland, and America. The impulse to emigrate gained
additional impetus from poor harvests and brutal winters that occurred early in the 1700s.
The first mass exodus of people from the Palatinate began in 1709 and continued through the
1750s. Peter’s life began early in this era in 1720 and he traveled to America towards the end of the era
in 1741. Peter’s immigration occurred in the tail end of this particular immigration. The emigrants
traveled up the Rhine River to Dutch ports. From there, they sailed either directly to America or to
England, where they stayed a while or transferred to ships bound for America. The impact on America
was great. There were approximately 250,000 German speaking colonists in America by 1775.
We do not know exactly where Peter came from. Possibly, a traditional story may give us a hint of
his origin. Tradition states that Peter Walmer’s original name was Waldheimer, which means "Dweller
In The Woods". (3) Bev Wyld, the most versed researcher of Walmer ancestry, has found only one
instance of this particular spelling of the name. Otherwise, the name is almost always found as Walmer,
sometimes as Wallmer or Wolmer, not to be confused with Vollmer, Vollmar, Follmer, or Fullmer.
Remember that when the German immigrants arrived in the new land, unable to read or write English, the
English clerks that took the information wrote things down as they sounded.
So what could be the significance of the name Waldheimer - "Dweller In The Woods"? Could it
be that this one was from the Black Forest area of the Palatinate? This is an area along the Rhine River
in the western part of the area. Could it be that Waldheimer was destined to live in the new land of
Pennsylvania, Penn’s Woods? Could it be significant of both the Black Forest and Penn’s Woods? We
cannot know without additional ancestral information from Peter’s homeland, but we can wonder.
We could consider the God given Biblical names of persons that are meaningful to their
character and origin. That is a topic we will touch on later.

July 16, 2018
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PETER’S RESPONSE TO THE CALL OF WILLIAM PENN
William Penn and Peter Walmer were two men from different generations and from different
countries. However, the life work of William Penn had a life changing effect on Peter Walmer.
Time Line Yrs.
William Penn’s Birth 1644 Oct. 14 London, England 1st
William Penn’s Arrival In America 1682 Nov. 8 Ship Named Welcome 38th
William Penn’s Death 1718 July 30 nearly 73 years old 74th
Peter Walmer’s Birth 1720 Circa Germany 76th
Peter Walmer’s Arrival In America 1741 Nov. 17 Ship Named Europa 97th
Peter Walmer’s Death 1805 July 2 74 or 75 years old 161st
Peter Walmer’s Birth 76 years after Penn’s Birth
2 years after Penn’s Death
Peter Walmer’s Arrival In America 60 years after Penn’s arrival
Peter Walmer’s Death 77 years after Penn’s death
Depending on how you define the span of a generation, the 76 years between the births of Penn
and Walmer could be considered as 3 generations, and possibly including part of a 4th
generation. The 76
years could make one a great-great grandparent of the other. Though William Penn and Peter Walmer
were several generations apart and born a country apart, their destinies became intertwined. I believe that
both attained their destiny when arriving in America. Though apart in some respects, they were uniquely
connected in terms of God ordained destiny. Having followed Penn, Peter Walmer had a destiny that was
certainly affected by the destiny of William Penn. Peter’s destiny was so uniquely intertwined with
Penn’s as though to be a response to what Penn had brought to America.
Penn’s quest for spiritual peace and liberty led him to establish a sanctuary that offered
something to the oppressed peoples of Europe. Penn’s American sanctuary became known as
“Pennsylvania”, a name meaning "Forests of Penn". This sanctuary was established to allow people to
escape the religious persecutions that were occurring between Protestants and Catholics, and the
oppression of the Quakers and the Jews. In this sanctuary, Penn offered protection for the freedom of
conscience. In the new land, Penn established a city that he named “Philadelphia”, a Greek name
meaning "city of brotherly love”. Penn developed his “First Frame of Government”, expressing ideals
that anticipated the “Declaration of Independence”. These ideals, property as written below, related to
the rights of Personal Freedom and the Possession Of Private Property:
Personal Freedom: "Men, being born with a title to perfect freedom and uncontrolled
enjoyment of all the rights and privileges of the law of nature ...“
Private Property: “no one can be put out of his estate and subjected to the political view
of another, without his consent."
Penn's “First Frame of Government” provided for secure private property, virtually unlimited free
enterprise, free press, trial by jury, and religious toleration. He called “Pennsylvania” his
"Holy Experiment", which he believed would be the “seed of a nation”.
Though Penn was a Quaker, his policy of religious toleration and peace attracted all kinds of
war-weary European immigrants -- English, Irish, Germans, Catholics, Jews, and various Protestant
sects including Dunkers, Huguenots, Lutherans, Mennonites, Moravians, Pietists, and Schwenkfelders.
Liberty brought so many immigrants that, by the time of the American Revolution, “Pennsylvania” had
grown to over 300,000 people, became one of the largest colonies, and was America's first
great melting pot.

July 16, 2018
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By creating “Pennsylvania”, Penn set an enormously important example for liberty. He showed
that people with courage, persistence, and resourcefulness can live free. He showed how a free society
could actually work. He showed how individuals of different races and religions can live together in
peace. He affirmed the resilient optimism of free people.
The ideals that William Penn was instrumental in establishing in America were offered to more
than those people that lived during his life span and in his homeland. Those ideals spanned the
generations and were offered across the geography of the time. Those ideals, being established in
America with the "Holy Experiment”, were passed down to his sons and others as the call continued to be
broadcast. Peter Walmer, from another generational time and from another country than William Penn,
responded to that call and became intertwined in what William Penn was destined to establish.
So, Peter responded, and from what we know about the history of the immigration from the German
Palatinate, Peter must have been one of those wanting to escape the difficult conditions in his homeland
and wanted the ideals that were being offered in America.
Was Peter’s response like this? Peter Walmer, a European immigrate, sought to go to America to
find a better life - economically, culturally, and religiously. In America, he would be able to buy and own
land. In Europe, only the upper class owned land, and everyone else paid rent and could be easily
evicted. William Penn, and later Penn’s sons, owned the Province of Pennsylvania, and offered such land
to the immigrants. Peter sought to obtain some of that land and to begin a new life of promise.
Therefore, Peter decided to leave his homeland and sail the seas for the fulfillment of a promise.
Could that have been how Peter decided to leave his homeland for a new land? What did Peter
think about when he was deciding to leave and when he made the decision to leave? What was Peter so
concerned about that made him sail the seas in a small wooden ship? Did he pray? Did he sense a call of
God? What was he leaving – home, family, friends, things that he owned? What about his mother,
father, brothers, sisters, cousins? Did he sense a call of God that was stronger than that which held him to
his homeland? Did he leave with uneasiness about the unknown? Did he leave with hope and
expectation in his heart? Was he encouraged by his family and friends to make the great venture. What
was he expecting to find when he arrived in the new land? Was he going based on the recommendation
of someone who had heard about the new land or someone who may have already been to the new land?
Questions, many questions to ponder and wonder about. I have possible answers to those
questions that I may discuss later.

July 16, 2018
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
PETER’S CALL ALONG SIDE OTHERS OF DESTINY
Johann (Hans) Nicolaus Eisenhauer
As far as we know, Peter left his homeland without other family members. We have discovered
no recorded information of other Walmers being on the ship “Europa”. We have no record of Peter
having been married to Anna Margaretta prior to his departure from Germany. We do know that the ship
was mastered by Captain Lumsdaine and there were 43 other males above the age of 16. One of those
males was Johann (Hans) Nicolaus Eisenhauer, an ancestor of President Dwight David Eisenhower.
I find it striking that these two men, Peter Walmer and Johann Nicolaus Eisenhauer were
aboard this ship together at the time of history that they were in. It was a time when America was
being developed. It was a time that was affected by William Penn’s invitation that was initiated in the
1600s and continued through the 1700s to come to a land of governmental and religious freedom. It was
a time before the Revolutionary War in America. It was a time and place in which religious freedom was
being offered to those who were in captivity.
This man Peter, an ancestor of mine, was on the same ship as was an ancestor of a President of
our United States, Johann (Hans) Nicolaus Eisenhauer. Who was this Hans? What was his mantle?
Was it one of government? What happened to him after he arrived in America? The information is
probably out there somewhere, somewhere in the history books, records, and now on the web. But that
exploration is a bit beyond the scope of this writing. So, I will only guess and conjecture, that these two
men, Hans and Peter had something in common, a common call, a common destiny, destined for a land
that promised the opportunity that was going to allow them to fulfill all or part of their destiny.
Maybe my “intrigue” has some basis, because even when I wrote the above and all that precedes
it, I did not know the following about the Eisenhauers, until discovering it later:
Johann (Hans) Nicolaus Eisenhauer was born in 1691 in Forbach, France. He was married in
1722 to Anna Margaretha Strubel in Karlsbrunn, Germany. Nine children were born in
Karlsbrunn, Germany between 1725 and 1739. Four children died in Karlsbrunn, Germany.
Johann Nicolas Eisenhauer came to America in 1741 aboard the "Europa" with his son, Peter,
and they settled in Pennsylvania. He died in 1760 in Pennsylvania.
One of the children of Johann and Anna was Johannetta Margaretha Eisenhauer.
Another child of Johann and Anna was Johann Peter Eisenhauer, born on March 15, 1722 in
Forbach, France, and died in 1802 in Paxton, Pennsylvania.
What I see in the above is this. Similar names crop-up that were common to Peter’s family and
Johann’s family.
• Peter and Johann both married women named Anna Margaretta.
• Peter and Johann both settled in Pennsylvania.
• Peter and Johann both had a son named Peter.
• Johann had a daughter named Johannetta.
Peter had a descendant named Johanna, my great grandmother.
Trivial coincidences? Maybe. Maybe not. Sometimes inner thoughts seem to be confirmed by facts.
Johann (Hans) Nicolaus Eisenhauer was born in 1691. Peter Walmer was born in 1720. That makes
Johann to be 29 years older than Peter. When they sailed the sea to America, Peter was 21 years old and
Johann was 50 years old. Johann could have been a father figure to Peter, maybe a substitute for the
father that he left in his homeland, or the father that was no longer available to him because of an early
death.

July 16, 2018
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Johann may have had some fatherly wisdom for Peter during the trip, as to what to do on the
lonely voyage, or what to expect upon arrival in America. Maybe Johann influenced Peter in being
directed from Philadelphia to the area of south central Pennsylvania.
Conjecture? Guessing? Yes. But, it’s fun to imagine, fun to ponder and wonder. Who knows the
truth, but God? We just need to believe that we are destined for greatness by a God, the true God, the
Father who cares about us and wants us to move in heritage and destiny.
Jeremiah 32:39
I will make them truly want to be one people with one goal.
They will truly want to worship me all their lives,
for their own good and for the good of their children after them.
2 Corinthians 5:9
Our only goal is to please God whether we live here or there,
Ephesians 1:10
His goal was to carry out his plan,
when the right time came, that all things in heaven and on earth
would be joined together in Christ as the head.

July 16, 2018
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
What Does It All Mean? Page 31 of 42
Chapter 6
What Does It All Mean?
So what does all this discussion and information mean to us? What am I wanting and trying to
tell you? Is this a discussion of genealogy and history? Is this a discussion about me and my family?
Can I convey to you what I am feeling that the true meaning of this is? I hope so. I need to.
I started early in this book to talk about “My Journey”. We are all on a journey, each on our own
individual journey. But what is that journey about? Where are we coming from? Why are we here?
Where are we going? Who are we? Who is each one of us? What is our individual purpose and our
collective purpose?
Whatever this discussion is about, it must be tied to our God and Father, and our Savior, Jesus
Christ. It cannot be so deeply involved in understanding ourselves that we do not connect with what God
is doing in our lives because of what Jesus Christ did for our lives.
What “hints” has God given to let us know the answers to these questions? Does not the Bible
talk about genealogies? There is much given in the Old Testament about various genealogies. There is
the genealogy of Jesus given in the New Testament in the Book of Matthew. There is much given in the
Scriptures about our identity, heritage, purpose, and destiny. We will discuss some of that later.
I think, at this point, I would like to discuss some things about our mission and goals as
Christians. I have scanned the introductory verses of the letters of the New Testament. Generally, the
first verse and sometimes through the second and third verses of each letter are verses of greetings. These
verses offer some enriching truths that I have attempted to put into words as a statement of mission and
goals for us as Christians. I have written these as a mission and goals for Walmer’s Church, but they are
for any Christian really.
Ephesians 1:7-10
In Christ we are set free by the blood of his death,
and so we have forgiveness of sins.
How rich is God's grace, which he has given to us so fully and freely.
God, with full wisdom and understanding, let us know his secret purpose.
This was what God wanted, and he planned to do it through Christ.
His goal was to carry out his plan, when the right time came,
that all things in heaven and on earth would be joined together in Christ as the head.

July 16, 2018
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MISSION AND GOALS OF CHRISTIANS
As a Christian, and being that Walmer’s Church is made up of Christians, we should have the
following mission and goals, all based on God’s Words:
Walmer’s Church, having a strong historical past and having persevered for over 250
years, has strong spiritual foundations. Members of Walmer’s Church want to build on that
foundation and continue to grow in what God has planned for them as individual members and as
a community.
As Christians, believing in salvation by Jesus Christ, the members of Walmer’s Church
are responding to the call of our God and Father to spread the Good News, that just as God
Our Father planned, Jesus Christ died for our sins and rescued us from the evil world in which we
live. The Father has sent us out to tell all people the great things He has done for us, and that He
chose us to be his very own through what Christ did for us and decided to make us holy in His
eyes without a single fault.
As Christians, we are appointed by God to be messengers of Jesus Christ. So as we have
been invited by Our Father, along with all Christians, we carry the Good News about Jesus Christ
Our Lord and God’s invitation for all to be His people made acceptable to Him by Christ Jesus.
While reaching within the Walmer’s Church Community and continuing to grow in our
trust in the Lord, in our love for His People, and in seeking to see lives changed, we want to
reach out to the surrounding community, spread the life changing Good News, and add to God's
Community, His Kingdom. We want to increase our faith, becoming rich in God’s blessings,
while attaining peace-filled hearts and minds.
Knowing that Jesus Christ Our Lord is our only hope, we desire the Holy Spirit to be at
work in our hearts, cleansing us with the blood of Jesus. With this knowledge of Jesus Christ, we
want to bring faith to God’s people, to teach them to know God’s truth, so they can have the
eternal life that God promised.
Therefore, we want to build within the Walmer’s Church community so that we can
reach out to the surrounding community, and add to God’s community, His Kingdom.
Front View
of
Walmer’s Church
from
Coulter Road

July 16, 2018
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
As I was thinking on this, I thought that I should take that Statement Of Mission And Goals and see
what is contained therein concerning Identity, Heritage, Purpose, and Destiny. Before I did that, I had
a hunch that all 4 aspects would be covered, and they are. All of the underlined phrases are in the
Statement Of Mission And Goals.
• Concerning Identity:
1. We are called Christians believing in salvation by Jesus Christ. Therefore, we are “of
Christ”, we are ones “identified by Christ”.
2. My family is identified with Walmer’s Church as members of a local church body. Your family
is identified with your local church.
• Concerning Heritage:
1. The Heritage of Walmer’s Church is in a strong historical past that has led to a Church that has
the Church’s persevered for over 250 years.
2. The Heritage of Walmer’s Church is strong spiritual foundations. Members of Walmer’s
Church want to build on that foundation.
3. The Heritage of all Christians is that we have a Father that is the Creator of all things and has
planned from the beginning of the world a place for us, and that Father has sent us into the world
to tell all people the great things He has done for us.
4. The Heritage of all Christians is that God, Our Father, planned that Jesus Christ would die for
our sins and rescue us from the evil world in which we live.
5. The Heritage of all Christians is in knowing that Jesus Christ Our Lord is our only hope, we
desire the Holy Spirit to be at work in our hearts, cleansing us with the blood of Jesus.
• Concerning Purpose:
1. As Christians, the Father has purposed us to tell all people the great things He has done for us.
2. As Christians, we are purposed to be responding to the call of our God and Father to spread the
Good News and we are appointed by God to be messengers of Jesus Christ.
3. As Christians, God’s purpose is to invite us to carry the Good News about Jesus Christ Our
Lord and to carry God’s invitation for all to be His people made acceptable to Him by Christ
Jesus.
4. As Christians, while reaching within the Walmer’s Church Community and continuing to
grow in our trust in the Lord, in our love for His People, and in seeking to see lives changed, we
want to reach out to the surrounding community, spread the life changing Good News, and
add to God's Community, His Kingdom.
• Concerning Destiny:
1. We are chosen by the Father to be his very own through what Christ did for us.
2. We are destined to continue to grow in what God has planned for us as individual members and
as a community.
3. We are destined by the Father to be made holy in His eyes without a single fault.
4. We are destined to be rescued from the evil world in which we live.
5. We are destined by Our Father to carry the Good News about Jesus Christ Our Lord and God’s
invitation for all to be His people made acceptable to Him by Christ Jesus.
6. We are destined to have our faith increased, to become rich in God’s blessings, and attain peace-
filled hearts and minds.
7. We are destined to grow within our local church community and reach out to the surrounding
community to spread the life changing Good News, and add to God's Community, His Kingdom.
8. We are destined that the Holy Spirit will be at work in our hearts, cleansing us with the blood of
Jesus.
9. We are destined, with the knowledge of Jesus Christ, to bring faith to God’s people, to teach
them to know God’s truth, so they can have the eternal life that God promised.

July 16, 2018
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
OUR IDENTITY
With the belief and recognition of what God has done for us through Jesus Christ, and with an
understanding of our God ordained mission, I believe that this discussion is about our identity –
who we are as individuals and who we are corporately. This discussion is about our recognition of
our identity and the identity of those around us. This discussion is about what God has planned for us
and how He wants us to be involved in what He is doing. How can I discuss that with you? How can I
present it such that you will be stirred to delve into what God is doing in your life? I pray that God will
enlighten you and direct you.
I’ll take you back to the introduction of this book. You and I are here in this world today.
We have been brought to the particular place that we live at this particular time. Have you understood, do
you understand, who you are, where you have come from, why you are here, where you are going?
We all should understand these things about ourselves. These are things that we all should all come to
know. In general terms, we can know these things. In specific terms, we can only partially know these
things and we need to explore them to ascertain what our lives are all about, and what the lives of our
children and our children’s children are and will be all about.
• Question! Who Are You?
Answer! You Are A Generation!
• Question! Where Have You Come From?
Answer! You Are Part Of A Heritage, Passed Down From Your Forefathers!
• Question! Why Are You Here?
Answer! You Are Here To Fulfill A Purpose!
• Question! Where Are You Going To?
Answer! You Have A Destiny!
DECLARATIONS! These questions and their answers are not softly spoken, but are DECLARED!
DECLARED WITH EXCLAMATION!
DECLARING THAT YOU ARE NOT JUST DRIFTING THROUGH TIME AND THE
UNIVERSE WITHOUT IDENTITY, NOT KNOWING WHERE YOU HAVE COME FROM, NOT
KNOWING WHY YOU ARE LIVING, AND NOT KNOWING WHERE YOU AND YOUR
CHILDREN ARE GOING!
DECLARING THAT YOU ARE A Generation!
YOU HAVE A Heritage!
YOU HAVE A Purpose!
YOU HAVE A Destiny!
YOU ARE NOT A GENERATION THAT CAN KEEP THIS PURPOSE, THIS HERITAGE, AND
THIS DESTINY JUST FOR YOURSELF, BUT YOU ARE A “PIVOTING POINT”,
RECEIVING AND ACTING ON WHAT YOUR FOREFATHERS HAD, AND
TRANSFERRING THAT WHICH YOUR FOREFATHERS POSSESSED TO YOUR
CHILDREN, TO YOUR CHILDREN’S CHILDREN, AND TO YOUR OTHER FUTURE
GENERATIONS, SO THAT THEY, IN THEIR TIME, WILL ACT ON AND BE…………..
A Generation, With A Heritage, With A Purpose, And With A Destiny!
So, yes, yes. A yes that is softly spoken, but spoken with assurance that you are important,
you are significant. Though you may only be a speck in the universe and a minuscule fraction in time,
you are a speck that has been greatly influenced by things of the past and a speck that has great influence
in your present time and future time. So, yes, yes. Believe it. Know it. It is so.
Are you at attention? Are you interested? If you answer yes, come along and hear more about
this journey you are on.

July 16, 2018
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
RESTORATION OF THAT WHICH WAS STOLEN
I came to learn a part of my identity and heritage at the age of 51. A very important part of my
identity was hidden from me for so long, for all of my life. Why was that? My answer to that is that
my identity was stolen by Satan, our enemy. My heritage was stolen by that enemy. What God wanted
me to know and to fully walk in was hidden and buried. How could this have happened? Let me give
you some background before I give you my answer to this question.
PETER WALMER’S DESTINY AND PROSPERITY
The beginnings of Peter Walmer in America appears to be a story about:
Destiny and Prosperity.
Destiny
Coming to America may have been a God ordained call that Peter Walmer responded to as a
young man, 21 years of age. In 1741, Peter came to America at its beginnings, even before the founding
of the United States. His venture put him on a journey that was intertwined with other men of destiny,
such as Johann (Hans) Nicolaus Eisenhauer (an ancestor of President Dwight D. Eisenhower) and
William Penn (founder of Pennsylvania). He traveled the seas on a ship with Johann Eisenhauer. Once in
America, he obtained land from the sons of William Penn, Thomas and Richard. Peter lived during the
period of the Revolutionary War and through the founding of the United States in 1776.
Possibly, at the call of William Penn to come to a better land in America, Peter may have left his
German homeland for religious freedom and other freedom. William Penn had gained ownership of the
land that became Pennsylvania. Peter Walmer obtained 270 acres of that land from Penn’s sons, Thomas
and Richard Penn. We can only speculate, but we know that Peter started his family and farmed this
rather large property, starting in his twenties.
In this settlement that Peter had established, he started a church that is still functioning today,
over 250 years later. There are still descendants of Peter in the congregation’s membership.
The following words that Peter is believed to have spoken echo from the past and reflect the
permanence and determination of a young man that was given an apparent God ordained mission.
• His words, “Anhalt ge-winnt” meaning “Perseverance wins”, seem indicative of the Walmer’s
Church that stands today, over 250 years after its founding.
• His words, “Jungen, müssen wir eine Kirche. wir haben müssen” meaning “Boys, we must
have a church. Must have.”, seem indicative of this man’s call and purpose to plant a church in
this land of America.
• The words, “Wie Heilig Ift Viefe Gtotte” meaning “How Holy Is This Place, seem to be and
could very well be a quote from a man named Peter Walmer that declared the ground that he
obtained to be holy ground. The German words are imprinted in the front of the church sanctuary
above a painting depicting Jesus praying in Garden of Gethsamane.

July 16, 2018
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Is this the destiny that Peter Walmer was called to - the declaration that a place is holy and
the building of an altar that was the initiation of a church, more importantly and specifically,
the spreading of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
Is this the heritage that Peter left to his descendants - a heritage that has spread through the land
because of calling, perseverance, and desire?
Is this the heritage that my grandmother, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Walmer, who somehow discovered
or knew - one that involved the prosperity and destiny that she walked in?
Certainly, I want to believe that it is.
Certainly, I want to claim it as my inheritance, being a 10th
generation descendant of
Peter Walmer and being a grandson of “Lizzie” Walmer, a 9th
generation descendant.
Certainly, I want to claim it as the inheritance for my children (the 11th
generation), and their
children to come (the 12th
generation).
Prosperity
Peter Walmer came on a wooden ship to a foreign land. How much could he have brought with
him? There is no indication of how much he had to start with. But Peter was soon able to acquire around
200 acres of land, start a farm, and raise a family. Peter had many children and his children had many
children. In the years to follow, his children and relatives settled the land and spread throughout the
region. That sounds like prosperity.
Peter’s raising of his own immediate and large family and his founding of a church apparently
led to the establishment of many more families and other churches in the area. If you begin at
Walmer’s Church on the edge of Fort Indiantown Gap and travel west on Route 22 towards Harrisburg,
you find several churches that have many Walmer grave sites. That which had been started by one man,
grew into a very large thing. Bev Wyld, an ancestor of Peter Walmer and the expert on Walmer ancestry,
reports that she has documented over 2300 descendants of Peter Walmer. She has traced all but one of
the people back to Peter Walmer.
Prosperity Seems To Disappear
With all the evidence that I have seen concerning the ancestry of Peter Walmer, there is one the
thing that strikes me. When I travel west from the location of Peter’s settlement in East Hanover
Township, getting beyond Linglestown and arriving in Harrisburg, I do not easily find evidence of the
Walmers. Being a Walmer descendant and having lived in Harrisburg and the surrounding area all my
life, I never heard anything of the Walmers from my family or anyone else. My grandmother was a
Walmer that married a Barbush. Why did I never hear of the Walmers?
In the initial days of our discovery of our Walmer ancestry, I learned where my great
grandfather, Israel Walmer, Jr. is buried. Israel is buried in East Harrisburg Cemetery located in the
2300 block of Herr Street. That cemetery is on the northern side of Harrisburg, adjacent to an old
development called Edgemont. Israel’s grave site no longer has a marker. Information from the cemetery
states the lot number and grave site in which Israel is buried, but there is no longer a marker, no
gravestone. Therefore, the exact site would need to be determined by field survey and measurements.

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