JOHANNES BECHTEL b Oct. 30, 1690, at Frankenthal; d Apr. 16, 1777, at Bethlehem, Pa. Married Feb. 13, 1715, at Heidelberg, Maria Apollonia Maret. He was a citizen of Heidelberg at the time and was referred to as a teacher. Emigrated to Pennsylvania, U.S.A., 1726, and settled in Germantown, where he was a minister in the Reformed Church, joined the brotherhood of Moravians and wrote the first Reformed Catechism published in the U.S. It was printed, by Benjamin Franklin. He had 9 children, the descendants of whom live in the U.S. Many important meetings were held in his home. (Have records only of five daughters) John Bechtel was born in 1690 at Weinheim in the Palatinate, to which town his parents had fled when the French sacked and burnt Franckenthal, their native place. He was early sent to the parish school and also received a religious training, but he had the misfortune to lose his mother when he was nine years of age, and his father five years later. He was then sent to Heidelberg and apprenticed to a wood-turner, and after serving his time, as was then the custom, spent the first three years as a journeyman in traveling through Germany, working at his trade. In 1714 he returned to Heidelberg with the intention of making it his home, and the following year married; but in 1717 he removed to Franckenthal where he carried on his trade. With his wife and three daughters, in 1726, he immigrated to Pennsylvania and settled in Germantown where he resided for twenty years. His house and lot was located on Hain Street, adjoining that of Theobald Endt, and was nearby the resident of John Stephen Benezet, a prominent merchant of Philadelphia, whose three daughters married Moravian clergymen. Reared in the German Reformed Church, and being an earnest, pious man, two years after he settled in Germantown he began to hold religious meetings for his Reformed brethren at first in his own home. The congregation he gathered built a small church on Market Square in 1733. He was a friend of Count Zinzendorf and often he preached in Bechtel's Church. In 1746 he and Cornelius Weygandt and others applied to the Moravians to open a boarding school for their children, and to further this object John Bechtel offered his house and lot to the church which was accepted. The school opened in Sept. 1746. Among the pupils from Philadelphia were some who later became famous. John and Maria A. Bechtel had 5 daughters: MARIA AGNETTA b Sept. 19, 1719 in Frankenthal, Germany married Cornelius Weygandt I, July 5, 1739 at Germantown, Pa.; ANN MARGARET b Sept. 13, 1721 at Franckenthal, mar. by Count Zinzendorf to Rev. Gottlob Buttner. She accompanied him to the Moravian Mission among the Indians in N.Y. and Conn., where he died in 1745 at Shecomeco. She mar. second Rev. JOHN G. YOUNGMAN and entered with him in mission service among the Indians. She was proficient in both the Delaware and Mohican dialects; MARY SUSAN b at Frankenthal in May 1748, mar. Rev. John Levering. He died in mission work and she mar. second 1768 John Merck; MARIA APOLLONIA b at Germantown June 12,1733, mar. Christian Weber. She died Dec. 27, 1808. Other daughter unknown. John Bechtel died April 1777 at Bethlehem and his wife died in 1758. His wife born at Heidelberg May 14,1691 Excerpts from "Penna. Magazine of History" 1895 & "Judge Carl Bechtel Johannes Bechtel, a widower, wrote the following about himself. I was born in the year 1690 on October 3rd in Weinheim on the mountain road in electoral Palatinate, where my parents had fled because the city of Franckenthal, where they otherwise lived, had been burned by the French. My dear parents sent me to school and church regularly. In my 9th year I lost my mother and in my 14th [I lost] my father. In 1704 I came to Heidelberg and was apprenticed to a turner. At that time I look for a good stirring of my heart. In 1709 I set out as an itinerant [journeyman], fell into vain company, and lost my innocence. To my shame I must confess that I became rather reckless and where things were wildest that's where I most enjoyed being; this lasted for about three years. Then my dear Savior began to work in my heart so that I became anxious and afraid in the company of my jolly friends, and his chastising mercy worked so powerfully in me that when I came home I remembered everything that I had done over the course of the day. Then I often dissolved in many tears and promised to make it better without thinking that I unfortunately could do nothing until finally, through the Savior's grace, his word came to me: Without me you can do nothing, The I began to pray with tears that He would have mercy on me and forgive me all my sins and I resolved to improve myself. I also ttried more and more to free myself from my vain companions. In 1714 I allowed my friends to convince me to become a master craftsman in Heidelberg. In February 1715 I married my dear wife, who went to the Savior here on February 7, 1758. We were married 43 years and had 9 children, of whom 5 daughters are still alive and from them we have 38 grandchildren, of whom 7 have gone to the Savior, and 16 great-grandchildren. I hope and pray that all of them may progress toward the Savior and that none of them will be lost. In the year 1717 I moved from Heidelberg to Franckenthal until in 1726 I moved to Pennsylvania with my wife and 3 children. I lived for 20 years in Germantown. In 1738 I became acquainted with the dear Br. Spangenberg when he was living with Wiegner in Skippack, since we traveled there for a visit every 4 weeks. The blessed H[einrich] Antes, Stiefel, J. A. Gruber, I, and others from Germantown had many blessed hours together with each other. In 1742, when the dear Blessed Disciple (Count Zinzendorff) came to Pennsylvania, I became acquainted with him and other people [and] my heart quickly felt a tender inclination to him and I came to love them heartily. When I heard the blessed Count preach in the church in Germantown for the first time it was this way in my heart: "Yes That is indeed the true and only basis of blessedness: Jesus Christ and his merits and suffering. No other foundation can one lay. It is only through his death that life is earned." And from then on the Brethren were the dearest visitors in my house, and when hate and bitterness against the Brethren began to grow in the country I received my own portion in abundance. Then my Reformed religious relatives, among who I had served as a preacher for more than 16 years, began now to torment me somewhat until they expelled me on Sunday, February 9, 1744. The congregation's watchword for that day was: "The Jerusalem above is mother to us all. In the East and the West it is for those who are pressed down, still always something for the best from the congregation." I did not know it [the watchword], however, until I came to Bethlehem but thereafter I knew in my heart that I belonged in the congregation. I asked the Savior to see to it that I received grace and to bring me to the congregation. He heard my plea and in early 1746 I received permission to move to Bethlehem which, to my great joy, occurred on September 13th. "Now" I thought, "I will live for the dear Lord alone and through his grace I wil l be productive and blessed and thus he will keep me until my end." Thus far [what] the blessed [brother wrote himself].
In the year 1742 he was ordained a Reformed preacher in Germantown through the laying-on of hands in the name of the Trinity by Bishop David Nitschmann. At the same time he was also made a Reformed catechist in His name. Here in B[ethlehem] he served the Economy and the congregation with his whole heart and joyfully in all ways, especially by doing hand work. For many years he was president of the Overseers Board. He spent his time, especially his years as a widower, in quiet fellowship with the Savior, and was loved by all, just as he loved them heartily. The lovely services of worship to the Lord were his joy, and he did not miss any meeting lightly. On the 18th of March was afflicted with a serious case of fainting and has been laid up since that time. He told those who visited him that he believed that he would soon see his salvation. "Oh, if He would only come to take me soon" was his heartfelt wish and it was fulfilled on April 16th at 11 o'clock in the evening. He was in his 87th year. He was buried on the 20th.

Source: "The Weygandt Frase Bechtel Family Record" by Esther Weygandt Powell.