Person:Johan Faust (1)

The progenitor of the American Fausts of our lineage, Peter Faust was among the first to come to this country from Hesse. He was a farmer in both America and Germany. Peter was born in 1689 in Langensbold, suffered the loss of his father at age five, was married twice and was the father of seven children. His first wife was Magdalena Adam, who was from a family of lawyers and architects that records show had lived in the area since at least the mid 1500's. She died at the birth of their son Philip in 1714, a year after they were married. Three years later, he married Elizabeth Grauel, a resident of the nearby village of Ravolzhausen. They were the parents of six children.

    In 1733, Peter sold his property and, with his family emigrated to America. He and his wife were forty years old and his children were 20, 14, 13, 9, 5, 3 and 2. They traveled to Bingen, a town on the Rhine River, and took a river boat to Rotterdam where they boarded the ship "Elizabeth". His cousin Philip Faust, together with his family, was on the same embarkation. The ship docked in Philadelphia August 27, 1733. Sadly, Magdalena, the 3-year-old, died at sea.
    Such a death was not unusual as the ships were very crowded, overrun by rats and infested with vermin. Food was limited, mostly biscuits; drinking water often contained dirt and bugs. Many were taken ill with scurvy and other maladies. Further, there was the fear of being attacked by pirates. This ordeal had to be endured for the approximate eight weeks required to make the journey, up to several weeks longer if adverse weather conditions were encountered.
    Upon arrival, the two families made their way about 65 miles northwest of Philadelphia to what is now Berks County Pennsylvania where earlier arriving Germans had established a few frontier settlements in Delaware Indian country. Peter purchased 200 acres of forestland in 1736 in an area that abounded with game -- deer, bear, wild turkey and many other animals and birds. He set about clearing the land, the first patch being a kitchen garden into which would be planted in the spring the seeds they had brought with them -- culinary and medicinal herbs and a few favorite vegetables. Long hours of clearing, planting and harvesting became his lot for the remainder of his life. Farming was a laborious task in colonial days. Hoes and mattocks were employed to prepare land for seeding. although crude plows drawn by oxen or horses gradually became available to the settlers. The sickle and cradle scythe were the primary tools used in harvesting wheat, and threshing was done by beating the bundles of stalks with a flail or by treading out the grain. Hoes, axes, spades, simple harrows, pitchforks and the like were improvised by the farmers themselves, with the ironwork being done by a blacksmith. The Germans were considered the best farmers in the colonies. They rotated crops and used natural fertilizers whereas most of the others did not follow these productive practices and, consequently, depleted the soil very quickly and were forced to clear new land or move on to other areas.
    The work was equally strenuous for the women of the household. Their days were spent cooking over a fireplace, spinning wool and flax, weaving, dyeing the cloth with nuts, berries and plants and making the basic clothes for the family by hand stitching. They also helped with chores outside the house, often including field work. Their dress was quite plain, appropriate to the utilitarian life they led. A blouse might be of linen or linsey-woolsey (a combination of linen and wool), or possibly even leather, cut loosely and sometimes laced in front; collars were seldom worn but a small shawl might be thrown around the neck and shoulders; skirts were cut full, falling in straight folds to the ankles; woolen stockings were worn in the winter. Most had no finery such as jewelry and ribbons. Their hair was worn long, gathered into plaits or coiled in a knot at the back of the head. Both in clothing and coiffures, these frontier women could not match the elegance of the town ladies in Philadelphia.
    Peter left a will written in German (he could read and write in German) and, among other provisions, it contained the following: "First, my son Peter shall have the plantation and all what is on it, horses, cows, sheep, swines, and all the household goods, except the mother's bed. Peter shall also give to the mother every year: 15 bushels of wheat and 14 bushels of rye; 15 pounds of flax; and a cow which she likes best of all the rest, and he must fodder the cow like his own creatures; also a fat swine, the garden near the old house to her use; and every year, the wool of one sheep, one gallon of rum, a half gallon of molasses, a third part of the apples, and five shillings in money; and she shall have the use of the kitchenware during her lifetime as much as Peter, and all that she does not want of these things mentioned shall be Peter's." He also made less detailed bequests of his other heirs, which were primarily in money or forgiveness of debts but did include a cow and a black mare colt to specific sons.
    The will illustrates an accepted practice of the period in which the youngest son cared for the parents in their old age and, in turn, became recipient of the home farm. Actually, the youngest son was Henrick but there is little record of him after arriving in America so it can be assumed that he died before his father. The name Henrick would show up twice in the next generation, both of them grandsons of the elder Peter. One of them left behind a magnificent decorated chest which is included in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Fine Art as a prime example of early German primitive artistry.

From A Family History by Don Faust, 1997.

1. ↑ A. Donovan Faust (Foust). A Family History: The Ancestors of Thomas Wilson Faust. (1997).