Incollect Magazine - Issue 3

Issue 3 126 www.incollect.com Birth Certificate for John Stoll This English-language certificate records only the July 8, 1825, birth—no baptism—of John Stoll, son of Jacob and Magdalena (Haldeman) Stoll (Fig. 4). John Stoll became a miller and lived near Ephrata in Lancaster County. He married Elizabeth Bare, died in 1898, and was buried at Wolf ’s Cemetery in Ephrata, where his parents, wife, and many other relatives are also buried. This cemetery is the site of the former Steinmetz Meetinghouse, built in 1847 and razed in 1939. The Stolls were members of the Church of the Brethren, also known as German Baptists or Dunkards. This denomination, along with the Amish, Mennonites, and some other German-speaking religious sects, did not practice infant baptism but waited until a person could make an informed decision as an adult to join the church and be baptized. This likely explains why the certificate records only John Stoll’s birth and not his baptism, which likely occurred many years later. Bentz made at least one other certificate that records only a birth, which is also in English and decorated with a clockface. 4 Bookplates for Barbara and Maria Kemper Pasted in the front and back of this tune book are double bookplates made for Barbara and Maria Kemper in 1836 (Figs. 5 and 6). Barbara’s bookplate is pasted inside the front cover, f lanking the title page, and is in English. Maria’s is pasted inside the back cover and written in German. In keeping with standard conventions, Bentz used a Roman style font for the English-language text and Fraktur for the German-language inscription. Simila r examples of this a re found on gravestones and indeed on the title page of this book, which gives the title in both English and German— The Union Choral Harmony, consisting of Sacred Music (Der Un ion Chor a l Ha rmon ie , ent ha lt end Kirchen-Melodien). There are also subtle differences in the decoration of the two book- plates—a pair of small yellow birds are perched in the flowers on Barbara’s bookplate, while Maria’s has only flowers—but overall, the two bookplates appear quite similar other than Bentz’s choice of language and font. Printed by Francis Wyeth of Harrisburg in 1833, the tunebook was written by Henry C. Eyer (1797–1879). An accomplished composer who also served as a state senator from 1843– 45, Eyer was deeply connected to fraktur via both his father, Johann Friedrich Eyer, and uncle Johann Adam Eyer—both well-known fraktur artists and schoolmasters. Bentz made these bookplates in 1836, just three years after the tunebook was printed; although he was only forty-four years old at the time, these are some of his last known dated fraktur. There are multiple women named Barbara and Maria Kemper at this time in northern Lancaster County, but it was most likely sisters who jointly owned this tunebook. There is a Kemper family graveyard in Ephrata Township. Intriguingly, the tombstone of a Barbara Fig. 5 : Bookplate for Barbara Kempter, attributed to Samuel Bentz, Lancaster County, Pa, 1836. Watercolor and ink on wove paper. H. 5¾ x W. 11 inches. Collection of the Dietrich American Foundation (7.9.1327). Photo by Gavin Ashworth.