Origins of Carpenter and Zimmerman and Rufener families and Surname translation information.

Note Family:
The Zimmermans lived in the village of Wattenwyl in Oberland Berne, about sixteen miles from Berne, Switzerland. Heinrich was the oldest of four sons an six daughters. He had black hair and blue eyes, grew to be fully 6 feet tall, and was very energetic as a youngster. He attended the village school were he often found himself in trouble because of his adventurous spirit and abounding energy. His father was a prosperous burgher and no doubt was weary of getting his son out of scrapes with the teachers.

Note 1690:
After he completed school, his father gave consent for Heinrich to serve in  King Louis XIV Swiss Guards. He protected Switzerland against the Empire and Against Savoy . This Alliance was formed in 1658 . In 1690 there was as many as 30,000 Swiss in that Service. Finally  Henrich returned to Switzerland in 1696 after the Peace of Ryswick . Heinrich was then apprenticed to a doctor to learn the practice of medicine.

Note 1698:
There was much talk in Berne at this time about the New World and the Colonies, where freedom of conscience was guaranteed under the reign of Queen Anne.  William Penn had come to the upper Rhine and Heinrich had heard his preaching of this new land where opportunity, prosperity and freedom was available to all. Unhappy with the political climate in Switzerland, he determined to see this land for himself. He was in love with Salome Rufener, but was not able to marry her as yet and so he bid a tearful good bye, went down the Rhine to Rotterdam and then took passage to London. William Penn had an office in London similar to a land agency where he furnished information about Pennsylvania. When Heinrich arrived in Germantown, he was greeted by many Swiss people. He explored the countryside and then worked to earn his passage back to Switzerland. He was not able to return until the latter part of 1700. In 1701 he and Salome were married. He was very enthusiastic about the New World. His parents apparently decided that they would not emigrate.

Note 1706:
Heinrich found himself at odds with the Swiss government and in 1706 he decided it was time to leave. He was forced to leave by night on horseback and make for the border. By early daylight he and Salome, along with their two sons, Emmanuel, 4 and Gabriel, 2, were near the Lake of Thun, where Heinrich had arranged for a boat. Heinrich was stunned to see that they were being pursued by 2 mounted Hussars. When within a few hundred yards of the shore, he stopped and sent his wife and children forward with directions to launch the boat and be ready to push off when he joined them. As the Hussars drew near Heinrich commanded them to halt, which they did not heed, so he began pelting them and their horses with stones. As the Hussars tried to recover from their excited and unruly animals, Heinrich took off on foot toward the boat. He was fleet of foot, but one of his pursuers had recovered enough to come after him. Just as Heinrich approached the boat, the Hussar caught him by the tail of his coat. Salome rose to the occasion, and by a well directed blow with an oar, laid him sprawling. Heinrich sprang aboard, they pushed off and were safe at last and on their way to being Pennsylvania colonists.

Note 1729:
In 1728 Heinrich and his sons were naturalized and exchanged their Zimmerman name for the name Carpenter. This was due to the Immigration Records. Once the Switzerland Goverment found out where they lived it was fearful that that they could be brought back to serve in the Military.

Note Misc.:
According to Carpenter Family of Lancaster, p.1, by  A.Y. Casanova, Heinrich was probably not a Mennonite, nor were his older children, though his younger sons married into Anabaptist families. He arrived in Germantown, PA in 1706 and in 1712 he bought land in Lancaster County. In 1718 he was taxed in Conestoga. He was a wealthy man with large land holdings in Lancaster. He transferred land to his son, Emanuel. His son Jacob received part of his land later, but there is no mention of Christian receiving land from his father.

Note Gabriel:
Gabriel Carpenter of Earl Township was the second son of the pioneer Heinrich and was a large landholder, the owner of a mill and a surveyor. Gabriel was not as prominent in county affairs as his elder brother Emanuel but he exerted some influence. He took no part in the Revolution having died prior to the outbreak of that historic struggle but the records show that he furnished supplies to the Province for Braddock's march to Fort Duquesne in the French and Indian War. The second house built by Gabriel was located at the forks of the Graff and Carpenter Runs and still stands after having weathered the storms of nearly 180 years.

Note Salome:
Salome was the eldest daughter and fourth child of Heinrich Carpenter and was named after her mother. She was the first wife of John Wistar, a descendant of a German family residing at Germantown to which locality she removed and where she later died leaving a daughter Salome Wistar who later married Dr. Chancellor of Philadelphia. After the death of his wife, Salome, John Wistar married again, and by his second wife, was the father of the celebrated Dr. Caster Wistar, of Philadelphia, Pennsylivania, who was the half-brother of Salome Wistar. Solome Wistar inherited from her grandfather, Heinrich Zimmerman, 500 acres of land, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Note Jacob:
He was the sixth son and seventh child of Heinrich and died prior to the Revolution. He appears to have been a man of unusual prominence and was a member of the Legislature from 1766 to 1772. In addition to his legal and political occupation, he practiced surveying and was a prosperous farmer.

Note Henry:
Went to Europe to study to be a doctor; when he returned, he brought the Forney family with him. Probably the first American to graduate at a Continental Medical School and practiced in Lancaster Co. from 1735 until his death in 1777

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