Advertisement

Advertisement

Carl Heinrich “Charles” Werkheiser

Birth
Germany
Death
28 Jun 1782 (aged 48–49)
Northampton County, Pennsylvania, USA
Burial
Burial Details Unknown Add to Map
Memorial ID
View Source
Married Anna Margaretha HAUSMAN 1737 – 1781; parents of:

John Martin WERKHEISER 1758 – 1829
Johannes "John" (Pvt.) WERKHEISER Sr 1759 – 1831
John George Adam (Pvt.)WERKHEISER 1762 – 1833
John Peter WERKHEISER (Pvt.) 1764 – 1843
Catharine WERKHEISER 1765 –
Johan Nickolaus WERKHEISER 1766 – 1830
Valentine WERKHEISER 1768 – 1846
Carl Heinrich WERKHEISER Jr. 1770 – 1827
William Heinrich "Henry" WERKHEISER 1773 – 1825
Elizabeth WERKHEISER 1781 – 1845

WERKHEISER, CHARLES DAR Ancestor #: A123043
Service: PENNSYLVANIA Rank: PATRIOTIC SERVICE
Birth: 1733 EUROPE
Death: 1782 NORTHAMPTON CO PENNSYLVANIA
Service Source:
MARX, OATHS OF ALLEGIANCE OF NORTHAMPTON CO, PA, 1777-1784, P 38a
Service Description:
1) TOOK OATH OF ALLEGIANCE,
2) NORTHAMPTON CO, 4-29-1778
Residence
1) City: BETHLEHEM TWP - County: NORTHAMPTON CO - State: PENNSYLVANIA
Spouse 1) ANNA X

The following article was written by James Wright for an Easton Newspaper.

"One day in 1781 [probably early June] a Forks township farmer and his wife rose early to do their many chores about the family farm. This in itself was not unusual. Unfortunately, before the day was over the wife was dead and the husband was accused of murder.
The murder of Anna (Hausman)Werkheiser by her husband Charles would result in the execution of the latter. Charles or Carl Werkheiser, progenitor of the large Werkheiser family of Northampton County, was born in Germany in 1733. He imigrated to America aboard the ship Phoenix from Rot- terdam. Charles arrived in Philadelphia on Oct. 1, 1754. About 1757 he married a woman named Anna whose last name was believed to be Hausmann. At first the couple settled in Bethlehem town- ship, Pa. and attended Dryland Church at Hecktown. Eventually the Werkheisers moved to Forks Township, where they acquired a 272 acre farm along Kesslersville Road immediately south of its intersection with Uhler Road. The couple raised a family of eight sons and two daughters; John Martin, John, George Adam, John Peter, John Nicholas, Valentine, Wilhelm Henry, Carl Henry Jr., Catherine and Elizabeth. The pair approached their twilight years with the satisfaction of seeing a large family and many heirs.
What happened at this point is something that has not survived in written record. Rather the event has been passed down by the Werkheiser family by word of mouth for more than 200 years. It appears one day in 1781 Charles and Anna rose early and went to the barn to begin the daily chores. An argument erupted between them and in a fit of rage Charles picked up a heavy horse collar and beat his wife to death. Charles was taken into custody, charged with the murder, found guilty, and sentenced to death. The execution was ordered to be carried out by hanging between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 29, 1782 in Easton, Pa. The minutes of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania published in the Colonial records of Pennsylvania, shed little light on the affair. The day before the execution, Charles Werkheiser petitioned the council for a stay of execution. The stay was dismissed and the hanging occurred the following day. It is not known whether he was hanged in the circle at Easton near the court house, or on Gallows Hill. In August of the same year it was ordered that the portion of the condemmed man’s property that was forfeited to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania be returned and divided equally among his children. Eventually Charles’ son John acquired the 272 acre farm from Christian Butz. Little else is known about the episode and even Charles Werkheiser’s resting place is uncertain. No record of his burial at nearby Forks Church exists. There is a tradition that the unfortunate man was buried on his farm and that his grave was a few feet south of the Old Uhler’s Hotel (now the Victaulic guest house) on Uhler Road. If this is so, all traces of the grave have now been obliterated.

Carl was hung on June 28, 1782 - six to eight months after the murder. He was 49 years old. The hanging took place in Easton at the courthouse, which was then located in what today is called the Circle. The Northampton County Court of Common Pleas had seized his farm before the hanging and afterwards ordered the Sheriff to sell it at public sale to pay his just debts, maintenance in prison, and the charges of prosecution, trial, and execution. No one has ever been able to find his burial site."

SOURCE: Carl Heinrich Werkheiser Family History
Thanks to M. Wiberg http://www.wiberg-loeffler.com/
Married Anna Margaretha HAUSMAN 1737 – 1781; parents of:

John Martin WERKHEISER 1758 – 1829
Johannes "John" (Pvt.) WERKHEISER Sr 1759 – 1831
John George Adam (Pvt.)WERKHEISER 1762 – 1833
John Peter WERKHEISER (Pvt.) 1764 – 1843
Catharine WERKHEISER 1765 –
Johan Nickolaus WERKHEISER 1766 – 1830
Valentine WERKHEISER 1768 – 1846
Carl Heinrich WERKHEISER Jr. 1770 – 1827
William Heinrich "Henry" WERKHEISER 1773 – 1825
Elizabeth WERKHEISER 1781 – 1845

WERKHEISER, CHARLES DAR Ancestor #: A123043
Service: PENNSYLVANIA Rank: PATRIOTIC SERVICE
Birth: 1733 EUROPE
Death: 1782 NORTHAMPTON CO PENNSYLVANIA
Service Source:
MARX, OATHS OF ALLEGIANCE OF NORTHAMPTON CO, PA, 1777-1784, P 38a
Service Description:
1) TOOK OATH OF ALLEGIANCE,
2) NORTHAMPTON CO, 4-29-1778
Residence
1) City: BETHLEHEM TWP - County: NORTHAMPTON CO - State: PENNSYLVANIA
Spouse 1) ANNA X

The following article was written by James Wright for an Easton Newspaper.

"One day in 1781 [probably early June] a Forks township farmer and his wife rose early to do their many chores about the family farm. This in itself was not unusual. Unfortunately, before the day was over the wife was dead and the husband was accused of murder.
The murder of Anna (Hausman)Werkheiser by her husband Charles would result in the execution of the latter. Charles or Carl Werkheiser, progenitor of the large Werkheiser family of Northampton County, was born in Germany in 1733. He imigrated to America aboard the ship Phoenix from Rot- terdam. Charles arrived in Philadelphia on Oct. 1, 1754. About 1757 he married a woman named Anna whose last name was believed to be Hausmann. At first the couple settled in Bethlehem town- ship, Pa. and attended Dryland Church at Hecktown. Eventually the Werkheisers moved to Forks Township, where they acquired a 272 acre farm along Kesslersville Road immediately south of its intersection with Uhler Road. The couple raised a family of eight sons and two daughters; John Martin, John, George Adam, John Peter, John Nicholas, Valentine, Wilhelm Henry, Carl Henry Jr., Catherine and Elizabeth. The pair approached their twilight years with the satisfaction of seeing a large family and many heirs.
What happened at this point is something that has not survived in written record. Rather the event has been passed down by the Werkheiser family by word of mouth for more than 200 years. It appears one day in 1781 Charles and Anna rose early and went to the barn to begin the daily chores. An argument erupted between them and in a fit of rage Charles picked up a heavy horse collar and beat his wife to death. Charles was taken into custody, charged with the murder, found guilty, and sentenced to death. The execution was ordered to be carried out by hanging between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 29, 1782 in Easton, Pa. The minutes of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania published in the Colonial records of Pennsylvania, shed little light on the affair. The day before the execution, Charles Werkheiser petitioned the council for a stay of execution. The stay was dismissed and the hanging occurred the following day. It is not known whether he was hanged in the circle at Easton near the court house, or on Gallows Hill. In August of the same year it was ordered that the portion of the condemmed man’s property that was forfeited to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania be returned and divided equally among his children. Eventually Charles’ son John acquired the 272 acre farm from Christian Butz. Little else is known about the episode and even Charles Werkheiser’s resting place is uncertain. No record of his burial at nearby Forks Church exists. There is a tradition that the unfortunate man was buried on his farm and that his grave was a few feet south of the Old Uhler’s Hotel (now the Victaulic guest house) on Uhler Road. If this is so, all traces of the grave have now been obliterated.

Carl was hung on June 28, 1782 - six to eight months after the murder. He was 49 years old. The hanging took place in Easton at the courthouse, which was then located in what today is called the Circle. The Northampton County Court of Common Pleas had seized his farm before the hanging and afterwards ordered the Sheriff to sell it at public sale to pay his just debts, maintenance in prison, and the charges of prosecution, trial, and execution. No one has ever been able to find his burial site."

SOURCE: Carl Heinrich Werkheiser Family History
Thanks to M. Wiberg http://www.wiberg-loeffler.com/


Advertisement

See more Werkheiser memorials in:

Flower Delivery Sponsor and Remove Ads

Records on Ancestry

Advertisement