Johan Balthasar Pickel (b. 1686, d. 05 December 1765)
Johan Balthasar Pickel (son of Hans Balthasar Pickel and Anna Eva Mullier) was born 1686 in Baptized 2 Sept 1686 Durkheim, Germany, and died 05 December 1765 in Grave at Oldwick NJ Lutheran Church. He married Anna Gertrude (Charity) Reiter on 16 August 1718 in On the Raritan, Probably Millstone.
Notes for Johan Balthasar Pickel: From the book, " Early Germans in New Jersey" "Three brothers of the name Pickle are said to have come from Hamburg to Staten Island, then to Black Mills, near New Brunswick, then to Hunterdon County. Their names were Johann Balthazar, Franz Wilhelm, and John Nicholas. They came from the county of Hartenberg, Germay."
"Balthazar bought land at Round Valley before 1729. He was the most wealthy and influenthal man among the early German Lutherans in this part of New Jersey. He built, almost entirely of his own money, the Central Church at New Germantown (Oldwick) furnished the seats for the earlier church at Rockaway (now Potterstown, near Lebanon) in 1733; left at his death a legacy of 1000 pounds to support the preaching of the gospel."
From another source," The Faithful and the Bold" by Norman C. Wittwer, Jr. "John Balthazar Pickle was born in 1687 at Durkheim in the Palatinate, the son of Hans Balthazar Pickle (Pickel) and Anna Eva Mullier. He was just a boy when his father died and his mother was remarried in 1704 to Matthias Reinbold. With his mother and step-father, young Baltes joined the 1709/1710 migration and was followed, some 17 years later, by an older brother John Nicolaus Pickel, who also settled in Hunterdon County."
"Baltes Pickle assumed early responsibility in the affairs of the founding of the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in New Germantown (Oldwick NJ) . This is evident by the use of his and his mother's homes as meeting places. The first meeting in 1715 was given as Nine Mile Run and in 1716 as Matthias Reinbold's place at Nine Mile Run. This was the home of Baltes' mother and step-father and possibly his own. After Baltes' marriage in 1718 to Anna Gertrud Reiter the meetings were held in his home near Potterstown and Round Valley. An earlier frontier worship service was held on Ausgust 1, 1714 at the home of a pioneer family of freed blacks, Aree van Guinee and his wife, Jora. Baltes Pickle was also present at this meeting."
"When at last the Raritan congregation under Pastor Johann Albert Weygand reconsolidated itself and in 1749 built the Zion Lutheran Church at Oldwick, it was Baltes Pickle who generously contributed money and much effort to its construction. He also contributed 25 pounds toward the purchase of Zion's first organ. Finally, he bequeathed to Zion by his 1765 Will the then magnificent some of 1000 pounds. The building still stands today and has a very active congregation. Baltes Pickle is buried behind the Oldwick Church."
Another Source, "Historic Notes, Oldwick's Zion Church" " In the surrounding churchyard are the graves of many of the participants in the affairs of the early church. One of the headstones marks the grave of Baltus Pickel who was the leader of the early migrants to Hunterdon. Baltus Pickel was known widely for his sustained dedication to the true purpose of the church. He contributed 25 pounds toward the purchase of its organ, one of the first in the colonies. On his death he left the princely sum of 1000 pounds to the church."
Another Source, "The First 275 Years of Hunterdon County-- 1714-1989 Page 10, "Toward the end of the 1720-1730 decade, Germans also began to appear in northern Readington and Lebanon Townships. These were members of a group of Palatines who came to America in 1710 with Governor Robert Hunter. The purpose in bringing the Palatines was to produce naval stores in the pine forests of New York. After the collapse of the project, a group of these Germans settled in or near Franklin Twp, Somerset County, before 1714. Chief among this group was one Balthasar (Baltes) Pickel, who for 50 years provided the civil and spiritual leadership of the community, even to the extent of building two churches at his own expense. By 1729 he had purchased a large tract west of Whitehouse and settled there. Baltes was baptized Sept. 2, 1687
More About Johan Balthasar Pickel and Anna Gertrude (Charity) Reiter: Marriage: 16 August 1718, On the Raritan, Probably Millstone.
Children of Johan Balthasar Pickel and Anna Gertrude (Charity) Reiter are:
Maria Catherine Pickel, b. 15 July 1718, Baptized 2 August 1719, d. 1744, buried New Germantown Churchyard.
+Balthasar Pickel,Jr., b. 08 September 1720, On the Raritan, d. 25 November 1786, New Germantown, NJ ,b. at Lutheran Church in Oldwick.
Johan Balthasar Pickel (b. 1686, d. 05 December 1765)
Notes for Johan Balthasar Pickel: