Kistler Kin
Allemaengel
Roads to Allemaengel
​
Whether or not Hannes Kistler and John George Kistler were brothers, they appear to have been closely related and they stayed close together throughout life. Like most Pennsylvania Germans, they were born to be farmers and when they came of age, they sought land to farm. Because Quakers and others already occupied most of the good land close to Philadelphia, new arrivals like them were forced farther and farther out into the hinterland.
​
While it’s possible that their first stop was Falkner Swamp or Goschenhoppen in Montgomery County, as the early historians speculated, there is no proof of it. These were areas of German settlement closer to Philadelphia that predated Allemaengel and had established Lutheran congregations. Of the two, Goschenhoppen appears to be the better candidate since the “Road to Levan’s” originates there. The Goschenhoppen region extended along Perkiomen Creek from Salford on the main branch to Hereford and Barto on the headwaters.
We know that by 1745 John George was living near New Jerusalem in the Oley Hills of Berks County and we assume Hannes lived with or near John George since he also signed the road petition. For whatever reason, they soon afterward migrated farther north to where the ridge of Blue Mountain doubles back on itself to create a cove that the Germans called The Eck (the corner). This was Allemaengel, which roughly translates as “all wants” or “all deficiencies,” possibly because of the poor soil, but certainly an indication of how hard life was on the frontier. The Allemaengel region included Albany Township, Berks County and Lynn Township, Lehigh (then Northampton) County where pastoral records documented the growth of the two families.
​
Getting to remote Allemaengel was a challenge. The illustration below shows the few roads that existed in the 1750s. The purple line shows the petitioned road, which I call the Road to Levan’s. Modern place names are shown for reference.
The Petitioned Road: The Road to Levan's
​
Below is a 1755 survey of the road for which John George Kistler and Johannes Kistler signed a petition in 1745. The brothers were probably already in Allemaengel before the road was completed. The drawing is split, beginning at lower right at the Montgomery County line and ending at top left at Daniel Levan’s, just east of present-day Kutztown. Note that the northern terminus was not at Abraham Levan’s mill mentioned in the road petition. The survey allowed me to plot the road on modern maps. See bottom illustration. Note that John George Kistler's 1747 land warrant was near, but not on, the Road to Levan's.
​
Daniel Levan's Inn east of Kutztown. Known locally as Kemp's Hotel, the structure is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Old Philly Pike
​
To reach Allemaengel from Levan's, travelers would have taken the Philadelphia Pike, also known as the Allemaengel Road. In Albany Township, the Philadelphia Pike later became known as Old Philly Pike.
​
Below is a 1754 survey of Old Philly Pike. Note "County Line," "Lutheran Church" and "Probsts Mill" at right. The light lettering in the crease at center is "John Kistler," which notation is at the exact location of the Kistler-Donat log house on the former Mathias Teck property. The illustration at bottom shows Old Philly Pike outlined on the modern road system. I indicate the Berks-Lehgh country line and the location of Jerusallem Church, Probst Mill and John Kistler's property. Only a short segment of the modern road designated “Old Philly Pike” in Albany Township follows the original wagon road.
The Kistlers Settle in Allemaengel
​
Johannes (Hannes) Kistler apparently assumed ownership of the property on Old Philly Pike in Albany Township, Berks County originally warranted in 1747 to Mathias Teck. In 1765 Johannes (Hannes) Kistler added 41 acres adjacent to the original tract ("his other land"). When John George Kistler moved to Allemaengel, he settled nearby in Lynn Township, Lehigh (Northampton) County. Note property warranted in 1746 to Henry Muhlenberg for Jerusalem Church.
The Indian Troubles
Unfortunately for the white settlers, the first decade in Allemaengel coincided with the French and Indian War and its echo, Pontiac’s Rebellion. At the time, Blue Mountain pretty much defined the northern frontier and the scattered farms of Allemaengel became the target of repeated Indian raids in which houses and barns were burned, people shot or tomahawked to death and women and children abducted. It is miraculous that neither Hannes nor John George appear to have suffered any loss. In spite of the depredation, Allemaengel continued to grow.
​
The Allemaengel Churches
​
The fortunes of Hannes Kistler and John George Kistler reflect the history of the Lutheran church in Allemaengel. Like others in the back country, the people of Allemaengel suffered from a lack of preachers. Into this void stepped Bishop Nicolaus von Zinzendorf and the Moravians who were aggressively proselytizing among the people living along Blue Mountain. Alarmed by the inroads they were making, Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, the head of the Lutheran Church in America, did whatever he could to block them. In 1746 he took the extraordinary step of buying the property on which the people of Allemaengel were to erect their log church and forbade the Moravians to enter. The site of the log church, where a monument now stands, is in the hollow between the current Jerusalem Church on the hill and the village of Stony Run.
In time, an itinerent preacher named Daniel Schumacher became the de facto pastor at Allemaengel and he remained there for many years. Originally, both Hannes Kistler and John George Kistler were members of the Allemaengel Church, later known as Jerusalem Church, aka the Red Church. However, a schism occurred that split the congregation and the Kistler families. Muhlenberg had appointed Schumacher to the pastorate of other congregations but soon removed him when he learned that Schumacher had never been ordained and, among other black marks on his character, was accused of being a drunkard and abandoning his wife in Nova Scotia. Schumacher eventually made his way to Allemaengel where the people, desperate for a pastor, accepted him. My take on the matter is that Muhlenberg tolerated Schumacher at Allemaengel because few others were willing to minister to the backcountry congregations during the Indian troubles. However, when peace returned, Muhlenberg came after Schumacher and removed him from the pulpit of Jerusalem Church. By that time, Schumacher was well established in the valley and rather than move on, he formed a breakaway congregation, Friedens Church, aka the White Church. Hannes Kistler was among those who followed Schumacher to Friedens. Some claim that Hannes was buried in the Friedens graveyard, although there is no headstone and no record of it. His son Wilhelm was buried at Friedens. John Robertson speculated that Hannes was buried on the farm. John George Kistler remained with the Jerusalem congregation and, as we know, is buried in the Jerusalem graveyard. Schumacher became well known as a fraktur artist.
Present-day Jerusalem Lutheran Church near Stony Run, PA, also known as the Red Church.
​
​
Of Hannes Kistler's sons, only Wilhelm remained in Allemaengel. However, John George Kistler's sons stayed and their progeny populated the area east of present-day Kempton, which became known as Kistler Valley.
​
As Allemaengel became settled, affordable farmland became scare and those of the next generation who were not in line to inherit property were forced to look elsewhere. What is remarkable is that a good number of the original settlers pulled up stakes and moved across the Susquehanna River to what is now Perry County. Why did those who were already well-established want to relocate? And why did they all go to the same place? I think many of them had prospered and wanted larger farms, but they found themselves hemmed in and unable to expand. I also think the older generation wanted to keep their extended families together and they looked for a place where their sons and sons-in-law could also find land. Hannes Kistler died in Allemaengel, but most of his family and friends migrated to other places. His son Abraham joined the exodus to Perry County while most of his other children journeyed down the Shenandoah Valley into North Carolina.
Grave of Wilhelm Kistler at Friedens Cemetery, Stony Run, PA. Plaque by Rev. Leonard Kistler and Charles Kistler.
Check out The Kistlers of Kistler Valley, a well-done 45-minute YouTube video by Darlene Schneck about the 2023 Kistler Reunion in Kistler Valley. It's a good thumbnail history.
Another item that you should look into is Hobart Kistler's A History of the Kistlers of Kistler Valley, Pennsylvania and Allied Families, available on Amazon. It adheres to the "three sons" theory but also to the Aarberg connection. Sadly, Hobart died not long after the book was published.