Chambers Sweigart

In 1564, the cloistered community of Sponheim, Germany consisted only of the monastery and a convent under the abbot Jacobus Spira. The abbess at the convent was a nun by the name of Beatrix. Why is this of interest to me? Well, it turns out that they were both ancestors of mine. "How can this be," you might ask, "since neither priests nor nuns could marry?" A strange turn of events led to their marriage, and they established a family that took many strange twists and turns over the centuries.

In 1565, Prince Friedrich III the Pious of Pfalz became a Calvinist and as was the policy at that time, all of the citizens of Pfalz were required to follow the religion of the prince. So that meant the monastery and convent at Sponheim had to be closed. On February 13, 1565, Abbot Jacobus Spira, as his last official act, transferred the monastery with all goods and property to Prince Friedrich III. Jacobus Spira then took the office as the first Reformed minister to Sponheim.

He then took Beatrix to be his wife after she surrendered the convent and cloister, St. Katharinen bei Braunweiler. Jacobus and Beatrix parented five children, including a son, Johann. Johann is of interest to me because I follow in his line. Now Johann begat Hans Simon who in turn begat Philip Jakob.

Philip Jakob had a son Johann Wilhelm Spira who came to America on September 14, 1753 on the ship Edinburgh. Johann Wilhelm was a tailor and set up shop in Germantown near Philadelphia. Later he moved to Conshohocken, to Reading, and finally to Cocalico Twp., Lancaster, PA. Several sources mention Johann Wilhelm and his family. They are as follows:

According to Martin Grove Brumbaugh on pages 189-190 of "A History of the German Baptist Brethren", 1899: William Spyra and his wife were among 57 persons then baptized and in the fellowship of the Germantown congregation of the German Baptist Brethren, (now known as the Church of the Brethren).

According to Don Durnbaugh on page 175 of his "The Brethren in Colonial America", 1967: William Spyra and his wife are listed as one of the families living at Beggarstown, 8 miles NW of Germantown with Alexander Mack, his wife, daughter, Christopher Sower, etc. (Alexander Mack was the founder of the Church of the Brethren in Schwarzenau, Germany in 1708.)

According to the source, "History of the Church of the Brethren of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania", Conrad Good: William Spira and Maria Spira were baptized on 2 October, 1767 possibly by Alexander Mack, Jr.

Now Johann Wilhelm and Maria Spira begat Catherine Spera who married Martin Schweikart, a Lutheran from Bergstrasse, Ephrata Twp, Lancaster Co., PA. They had a number of children, including a son Johannes. Johannes married Elizabeth Usner and they had a number of children, including Chambers Sweigart who married Annie Reiff, a Mennonite. Chambers left the Lutheran church and joined the Mennonite Church.

Chambers and Annie Sweigart had a daughter Frances who married Reuben W. Horst. Reuben and Frances had 14 children including Ada who was my mother. Ada married J. Landis Weaver. I was the oldest of 6 children in that family. After marrying, Mary N. Musser, I left the Mennonite Church and became a member of my wife's church, the Church of the Brethren.

During the four and a half centuries of this story, the family changed religions a number of times. From Catholic, they became Reformed (Presbyterian), to Church of the Brethren, to Lutheran, to Mennonite, and back to Church of the Brethren. I even held affiliate membership in the Presbyterian Church during the 18 years we lived in Florida as snowbirds. In my family who were Mennonite, I had a sister who married a Catholic, another who married a Jew, another who married into the Church of God, a brother who married a Methodist, and my youngest brother who married a Mennonite girl, but later became a member of a non-denominational church. Now since all my ancestors were either Swiss or German, I don't suppose you could say we were multi-cultural, but we certainly were multi-religious.

The final thing I want to say about all this is that had Friedrich III remained Catholic, none of this story would have taken place. Jacobus Spira and Beatrix would have remained as Abbott and Abbess of Sponheim, and they never would have married. So, even though I am an advocate of the separation of church and state, I feel rather lucky that Friedrich III forced his subjects to become Calvinist.