Item Info

Scripts/Text: Fraktur
Language: German
Weiser Number: 120
Physical Description: Leaf
Material: Wove paper; watercolor; ink
Transcription:

[in wreath]
Martha Burger \ wurde den 9 ten August im Jahr \ unseres Herrn und Heylandes 1846 \ zur Welt geboren und den 6ten September \ darnach durch das Bad der heiligen Taufe \ gereiniget, und der christlichen Gemeine \ einverleibe, durch den ehrw. Hⁿ. N. P. \ Hacke, reformirter Prediger. In \ Fränklin Township, Westmore= \ land Caunty, Pennsylva= \ nien.

[on the left]
Eltern \ sind Georg \ G. E. Burger \ und seine gelieb= \ te Gattin Elisabeth \ eine geborne Schuma= \ cher.

[on the right]
Taufzeugen \ waren die \ Eltern selbst.

[beneath wreath]
Mit frohen Mund will \ ich o Gott! Dir feyerlich \ nun versprechen in Freud und Schmertz, bis in den Tod, den Taufbund \ nicht zu brechen. Gib nur durch Deine Gnadenkraft, die alles Gute \ in uns schaft, das Wollen und Vollbringen. Zwar mächtig wird in \ meiner Brust, die Sünde sich empören, sie wird auch oft zur bösen \ Lust, mich suchen zu bethören. die Welt wird ihre List und macht, die \ manchen schon zu Fall gebracht, an mir wohl auch versuchen. Doch \ Deines Geistes Kraft und Gnad kann bey so viel Gefahren, auf wahrer Tugend \ eb’nem Pfad, allmächtig mich bewahren. Erbarme Dich, und steh’ mir bey, \ Daß meines Lebens Zierde sey, ein frommer Christen=Wandel. Amen. 
 

Translation:

[in wreath]
Martha Burger was born into the world on the 9th of August in the year of our Lord and Savior 1846, and she was cleansed on the 6th of September after that through the bath of the holy baptism, and incorporated into the Christian congregation through the honorable Mr. N. P. Hacke, Reformed preacher. In Franklin Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. 

[on the left]
Parents are Georg G. E. Burger and his beloved wife Elisabeth, a born Schumacher.

[on the right]
Sponsors were the parents themselves.

[beneath wreath]
With a happy voice do I want to, O God, now solemnly promise you not to break the covenant of baptism in joy and pain, until death. Grant through the power of your mercy, that creates all good in us, the will and achievement. To be sure, sin will rise powerfully in my breast and will often try to tempt me to evil desires. The world will try on me its cunning and power which has brought to a fall many a man already. But your spirits’ power and mercy can preserve me mightily in many dangers on the even path of true virtue. Have mercy and stand by me that my life’s adornment may be a pious Christian conduct. Amen.
 

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

Hand-drawn; hand-colored; hand-lettered. The birth and baptismal information in Fraktur is within a wreath with a bow in the center of the document. The parents’ and sponsors’ names are next to it, and the religious text is beneath it. In the upper center is an urn with a flame. It is flanked by two pots with flowers as well as triangular pedestals and two columns topped by flower pots. Along the lower sides are two leafy stems of flowers, and on the bottom is a tulip. Based on information in a letter from Richard K. Beamer, a descendent of Georg Burger, Burger's middle names were Gottfried Ephraim, and he lived from 1790 to 1861.

Associated Names: Schumacher, Elisabeth
Provenance: Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch

Bibliography:

"George Gottfried Ephraim Burger"  in Russell D. and Corinne P. Earnest, Papers for Birth Dayes: Guide to the Fraktur Artists and Scriveners (East Berlin, Pa.: Russell D. Earnest Associates, 1997), 2^nd ed., vol. 1, pp. 140-141.

Lynn A. Brocklebank, "Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Fraktur: An Initial Survey," The Magazine Antiques 129, no. 1 (January 1986): 258-267

Sotheby's (May 8, 1974); lot 25.

Creation Place Town/Township: Creation Place Note:Based on artist's location and location of birth
Region/County:Westmoreland
City/Town/Township:Franklin Township
State/Province:Pennsylvania

Creation Year (Single Year or Range Begin): ca. 1850
Image Dimensions Width: 41.6 cm
ShelfMark: FLP 1100
Creator Name: [George Burger (1790-1861)] - Decorator
[George Burger (1790-1861)] - Scrivener