John Frantz was born circa 1725, nineteen years after the birth (circa 1706) of Christian Frantz II. Owing to the large age difference, John Frantz was probably born of a second wife of Christian Frantz I, namely Anna Frantz, who was born circa 1695. John Frantz had settled in Bethel Township, on the other side of the creek from his brother Christian Frantz II, who lived in Tulpehocken Township. Little Swatara Creek was the natural dividing line between the two townships. Although the two brothers lived in different townships, they were close neighbors geographically. John Frantz lived on a farm of 190 acres. It was part of a 10,000 acre tract called Freame’s Manor, which had been patented in 1733 by Thomas Freame, a brother-in-law of the Penn brothers. John took legal title to his 190 acres through an indenture, dated 13 February 1755, in which he purchased his land from the estate of Thomas Freame for 86 pounds, 8 shillings, and 7 pence.[23] Today this land lies in Bethel Township, Berks County, near Route 501, bordering Martin Drive on the north, Bordner Road on the east, and Little Swatara Creek on the south. A bridge on Bordner Road crosses over the creek into Tulpehocken Township. On 19 June 1758, tragedy struck the John Frantz family. The first account of the tragedy was written in a letter[24] that day from Captain Christian Busse to Colonel Conrad Weiser. The letter began: “Dear Sir: At noon I received news that this morning about 8 o’clock, the Indians took and carried away the wife of John Frantz, with three children, six miles from here [Fort Henry], deep in the country….” The name of the wife was not given. Details of the abduction were made public in an article[25] published in the Pennsylvania Gazette ten days later. The article read: “A Letter from Fort Henry, in Berks County, dated the 19th Instant, mentions the Wife of John Frantz, and three Children, being carried off by the Indians; and that the Woman was found murdered a little Way from the Frantz House, she being weakly, and not able to travel.” More details of the murder and abduction were written in a very lengthy commission report[26] published more than a century later. This report stated: “The children were taken and kept captives for several years. A few years after this horrible affair, all of them, except one, the youngest, were exchanged. The oldest of them, a lad of 12 or 13 years of age, at the time when captured, related the tragical scene of his mother being tomahawked and shamefully treated. Him they compelled to carry the youngest.” Family lore claims that there was a fourth child of John Frantz who was not abducted. If so, there would have been three surviving children, the two who were abducted and returned, and the child who was never abducted. Two of these children were Christian and Daniel. According to family lore, the third may have been named Maria. John Frantz’s murdered wife was never named. Of these three surviving children, most is known about John Frantz’s son, Christian Frantz. He married Anna Barbara Ziegler, daughter of Philip and Regina [Regeul] Ziegler.[27] Philip Ziegler and wife were members of the Little Swatara Brethren congregation[28] along with John Frantz and [his second] wife.[29]
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