Item Info

Scripts/Text: Fraktur
Language: German
Weiser Number: 470
Physical Description: Leaf
Material: Wove paper; watercolor; ink
Transcription:

Geburt und Tauf-Schein. \ Diesen beyden Ehegatten, als Johannes Kober \ und seiner ehelichen Hausfrau, Salome \ eine geborne Keller ist eine tochter zur \ Welt geboren, im Jahr unseres Herrn 1820 \ den 22. October diese tochter ist \ geboren in Pensylvanien Nord=Ame= \ rika in Cumberl: Caunty, und \ ist getauft worden mit dem \ Namen Susanna \ von Hr. Predi= \ ger Susa

[next to heart]
Taufzeugen waren: [blank]

[along lower edge]
Chämbersburg: Gedruckt und zu haben bey F. W. Schöpflin.

[in upper left]
Ich bin getauft, ich steh’ im Bunde, \ Durch meine Tauf mit meinem Gott; \ So sprech ich stets mit frohem Munde, \ in Kreuz, in Trübsal, Angst und Noth. \ Ich bin getauft, deß freu’ ich mich, \ Die Freude bleibt mir ewiglich.

Ich bin getauft, ob ich gleich sterbe, \ Was schadet mir das kühle Grab? \ Ich weiß mein Vaterland und Erbe, \ Das ich bey Gott im Himmel hab’ \ Nach meinem Tod ist mir bereit, \ Des Himmels Freud’ und Feyerkleid.

[in upper right]
Wann wir kaum gebohren werden, \ Ist vom ersten Lebenstritt, \ Bis ins kühle Grab der Erden, \ Nur ein Kurtz gemeßner Schritt. \ Ach! mit jedem Augenblick, \ Gehet unsre Kraft zurück, \ Und wir sind mit jedem Jahre, \ Allzureif zur Todtenbahre!

Und wer weiß in welcher Stunde, \ Uns die letzte Stimme weckt, \ Denn GOtt hat’s mit seinem Munde \ Keinem Menschen noch entdeckt. \ Wer sein Haus nun wohl bestellt, \ Geht mit Freuden aus der Welt, \ Da die Sicherheit hingegen, \ Ewigs Sterben kan erregen. 
 

Translation:

Birth and Baptismal Certificate.
To these two married people namely Johannes Kober and his lawful wife Salome, a born Keller, a daughter was born into the world in the year of our Lord 1820, on the 22nd of October. This daughter was born in Pennsylvania, North America, in Cumberland County, and was baptized with the name Susanna by Mr. Preacher [blank].

[next to heart]
Sponsors were: [blank].

[along lower edge]
Chambersburg: Printed and to be had from F. W. Schöpflin.

[in upper left]
I am baptized, I stand united with my God through my baptism. I therefore always speak joyfully in hardship, sadness, fear and need. I am baptized, that’s a joy for me. The joy lasts eternally.

I am baptized, and when I die, how can the cool grave hurt me? I know my fatherland and legacy that I will have with God in Heaven. After death, Heaven’s garment of joy and celebration is prepared for me.

[in upper right]
Scarcely born into the world, it is only a short measured pace from the first step to the cool grave in the earth. O with every moment! Our strength diminishes, and with every year we grow more ripe for the bier.

And who knows in what hour the final voice will awaken us, because God has not revealed this to anybody yet. Who tends to his house will depart from the world with joy. Because surety, in contrast, can provoke eternal death.
 

Category: Birth and Baptismal Certificate (Geburts und Taufschein)
Media Type: Manuscripts
Source: Rare Book Department
Notes:

Hand-colored; hand-lettered; printed form. The main text in Fraktur within a heart is in the center of the document. Two verses in Fraktur are above it. In the upper center is an eagle behind a shield, with arrows in its claws and a branch in its beak. In the upper corners are two cherubs. The one on the left is holding two branches, and the one on the right is playing a harp. On the sides are two figures that suggest the printer’s admiration for the French Revolution. Both are female figures representing justice. The one on the left is holding a flaming sword. The right one is holding a scale. Next to her are a bundle of fasces and a sheet of paper representing the Declaration of Liberty. In the lower corners are a variety of fruit, including grapes, apples, and a pear on the left, and a rose hip in the right. The entire document is enclosed in a decorative border on the top and sides.

Associated Names: Schöpflin, Friedrich Wilhelm
Bibliography:

Klaus Stopp, The Printed Birth and Baptismal Certificates of the German Americans (East Berlin, Pa.: Russell D. Earnest Associates, 1997) vol. 2, p. 54.

Secondary Place County: Geographic Coverage State/Province:Pennsylvania
Geographic Coverage Note:Based on location of birth
Geographic Coverage Region/County:Cumberland

Creation Place Town/Township: Creation Place Note:Based on location of printshop
Region/County:Franklin
City/Town/Township:Chambersburg
State/Province:Pennsylvania

Creation Year (Single Year or Range Begin): ca. 1822
Image Dimensions Width: 30.2 cm
ShelfMark: FLP 670
Creator Name: Friedrich Wilhelm Schöpflin (1777-1825) - Printer/Publisher
Anonymous - Scrivener
Anonymous - Decorator