History of the Ulrich Wirth Family 
The name Wirth means “innkeeper” in German. The “h” at the end of the name is silent, so the name is ordinarily pronounced like “veert”. In the Pennsylvania German dialect, however, it is pronounced more like “vayrt,” which would suggest the spelling Wert to most German listeners. Those who kept written records here in Pennsylvania (especially pastors) were often from other German-speaking areas of Europe and thus unfamiliar with the peculiarities of the Pennsylvania German dialect. When they heard Wert, they wrote Wert, and that’s how many of us came to have this spelling of the surname.
Our Wirth ancestors were making a living as linen-weavers in the village of Rauweiler (pictured above) in the northern Alsace at least as early as 1714. The towns in this area were largely inhabited by Swiss emigrants who had moved in to repopulate this area after the devastating Thirty Years’ War. There are various clues that our Wirth line probably came to the northern Alsace from the village of Eriswil, located in an important linen-weaving area in the canton of Bern, Switzerland, but I am still trying to confirm this.
The Reformed church records of Diedendorf and Rauweiler show that my sixth great-grandfather Johann Ulrich Wirth was baptized in 1714, married Maria Schmit in 1740, and then had five children with her while still in Europe. In 1748, this family took the same bold step that Ulrich’s sister had taken about four years earlier, setting off down the Rhine to begin the perilous journey to the New World. At Rotterdam, the family boarded a ship called the “Two Brothers,” which took them first to Portsmouth, England, and then out onto the open sea. The terrible hardships attending these voyages are well-documented elsewhere; Ulrich and Maria entered upon this ordeal with their five children between the ages of 1 and 7. The ship arrived at Philadelphia on 15 September 1748.
The family’s whereabouts during their first four years in America are unknown, but by 1752 they had settled in what would soon officially become Whitehall Township, Northampton County. The creation of this new township in the “back parts” of Northampton County was requested in a petition signed by Ulrich Wirth, Lorenz Guth (another direct ancestor of mine), and a few of their neighbors. More precisely, Ulrich’s property was in the area we now call Schnecksville in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. (Lehigh County was created from the western part of Northampton County in 1812.) The oldest surviving property map of this area shows that Ulrich and his two oldest sons owned a vast amount of land in the area that is now occupied by the Lehigh/Carbon Community College and parts of the Trexler/Lehigh County Game Preserve. Anyone who has experienced the natural beauty of the game preserve and state game lands near Schnecksville can well imagine what a bounteous, untamed idyll of forest and stream was enjoyed by Ulrich’s children during their youth. The church they attended at this time was Schlosser’s Reformed church, which later became known as Unionville, and still later as Neff’s.
By the mid-1770’s, Ulrich’s oldest children had already married and moved out to establish their own families when the desire for independence from Great Britain took a firm hold in Northampton County. The seven oldest sons of Ulrich and Maria all appear on rosters of various militia and state line units during the Revolutionary War. At least four of them are documented to have performed active duty, and one paid the ultimate price for our liberty. (In all likelihood, all seven of the oldest boys served active duty during the war, but the full extent of their contribution can no longer be ascertained, due to the disappearance of most active duty rosters over the years.)
No information on the death or burial of Ulrich or Maria has been found, but 1790 census records indicate that Ulrich may have migrated to south-central Pennsylvania with his son Jacob (as mentioned below).
The following is a brief introduction to Ulrich’s children:
Johann Jacob Wirth – The oldest son served as a first lieutenant in the Northampton County militia. In 1785 Jacob, his wife, his children, and their families were part of a large migration to the Gettysburg area, and his descendants spread out from there.
Balthasar (“Baltzer”) Wirth – This interesting character moved to Heidelberg Township, where his property became known to the locals as Wertheim (“Wert homestead”) as early as 1776. A local history describes him as “a terror to the Indians” and “a man of undaunted courage and possessed of great strength and endurance.” Baltzer served actively as a private in the county militia during the war. One of his descendants founded Wert’s Beverages in Topton, Berks County, PA.
The twins Samuel and Daniel Wirth – These two moved to Weisenberg Township, near the top end of what is now called the Loch Valley. (See photo above.) While living here, they attended first Lowhill, then Weisenberg churches. In addition to farming, they carried on the linen-weaving trade of their father, as evidenced by the fascinating inventories of their possessions that are recorded with their letters of administration.
Samuel fought the British, Hessians, and Tories as one of Kichlein’s Northampton County riflemen. He was dead by May 1777, indicating that he died in either the battle of Long Island, the battle of Fort Washington, under the barbaric conditions of British captivity, or afterward, from an illness he contracted while imprisoned. The proud but obscure history of Kichlein’s riflemen has been the special focus of my research for several years. It is contained in the historical document for Samuel, whose patriotic self-sacrifice left behind a grieving young wife, four children aged 7, 5, 3 and 1, and a prospering farm.
Daniel is my fifth great-grandfather in this line. Shortly after his twin Samuel’s estate was settled in 1777, the Militia Act was passed, and Daniel was elected to the office of ensign in his company of the county militia. Unfortunately, none of the rosters for his tours of active duty have survived the years. He became the first in a line of at least four consecutive Daniels in Weisenberg Township.
Very little is known about daughter Maria Eva Wirth. She may be the “Maria Wirt” who is listed as a sponsor at the baptism of her nephew Johann Georg (son of Jacob) in 1773.
Christian Wirth, one of Ulrich’s American-born children, held the ranks of second sergeant and ensign in the county militia at different times during the Revolution. There is also a strong possibility that he is the same Christian Wert who served as a private in Captain Lewis Farmer’s company in Colonel Samuel Miles’ Pennsylvania Rifle Regiment. (There is no conflict in service dates to rule out this service in a state regiment.) Miles’ Regiment was heavily involved in the battle of Long Island, where Christian’s brother Samuel is known to have fought. (See above.) As of 1784, he was still living in Whitehall Township.
Jost Wirth (sometimes anglicized to “Joseph”), is another of the younger, American-born children. Several of his tours of active militia duty are documented in the form of muster rolls. He helped protect the Northampton County frontier in areas now known as East Penn township, Lehighton, Wind Gap, and possibly Stroudsburg.
Johann Nicholas Wirth must have been too young to serve when the war started, but in 1778 he began to appear as a drummer and fifer on county militia rosters. Militia muster rolls provide documentation for several of his tours of active duty as a private. One of these involved service at “Hamilton Township” – possibly Brinker’s Mill near Sciota. Nicholas married Margaret Seidel, and they apparently joined the late-18th century migration to south-central Pennsylvania that included his brother Jacob’s entire clan. (See above.)
Christina Barbara Wirth, another of the American-born children, married Joseph Nelig on 18 October 1774. Nothing else is known about her.
Theobald (“Dewalt”) Wirth must have been one of the youngest children in the family. He is named as a sponsor at the baptism of one of Nicholas’ children. He is also mentioned in a statement by his nephew Daniel, who says that “Dawalt died near Landisburg,” thus indicating that he, too, had joined the westward migration described above.
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