Book: Gleanings, A History of the Holben and Rettinger Ancestors of Twide R. Holben, 1883-1965. By Richard Holben. Gc 929.2, H6914h,1977912. Located at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Almost all the information presented on the Holben family comes from this book. When I have had an opportunity to check ther eferences provided, the information has been presented correctly. I will try to verify more of it as the opportunity presents itself. In 1742 Johan Jacob Holben, 25 years old, sailed from Rotterdam to Philadelphia, PA. on the ship, Francis and Elizabeth. On 21 September1742, the boat was anchored in Philadelphia harbor. Male passengers over 16 years old were escorted in pairs to Philadelphia City Hall to sign an oath swearing fidelity to the King of England.
By 1743 Jacob Holben was married and living on 50 acres he later warranted from the Penns in present day Weisenberg Township, Lehigh County (then Bucks County and later to become part of Northampton). His wife's name was Catherine Weiss.
In Charles R. Roberts' History of Lehigh County he states, "He (Jacob Holben) lived for some time in a log building on which there was no door. For a stairway the family used a ladder on which they crawled up to the garret. Around this house the wolves would howl at night and often entered the lower apartment while the family slept in the garret. Sometimes the wolves made attempts to get up on the ladder or crawl up on the logs."
Religiously, the Jacob Holbens were of the Reformed Church. Jacob was one of the early members and first Elders of the Reformed Congregation in Weisenberg. By 1754 the congregation built its first church and one room school just over the hill from the Holben house. It was a simple log structure.
In about 1756 Indian allies of the French were raiding regularly through the passes in the Blue Mountains of Pennsylvania. The province of Pennsylvania in order to protect its settlers, erected a string of small forts and blockhouses at strategic gaps in the mountains. Fort Everitt at Lynport, was just 5 miles northwest of the Holben home in Weisenberg. Young Jacob was 8 years old at the time and his brothers, Theobald, 7, and Lorentz, 6, may have experienced anxious moments on their way to school. Jacob is buried in the old Weisenberg Church Cemetery in Lehigh County, PA. The marker is a fieldstone with a hand-carved inscription. Check book, Helfrich Personal - and Pastoral Records, Page 520. This book is at Southern State.