The Life of (John) Conrad Weiser, the German Pioneer, Patriot, and Patron of Two RacesJohn Conrad Weiser was among very few colonial settlers to achieve fluency in Native American languages, working for decades as an interpreter and peacemaker between European settlers and native tribes. The services rendered by Conrad Weiser were immensely important to the colonists of North America. He spent time living with the Maqua tribe, learning their customs and culture, and achieving supreme command of their language. When disputes arose, Weiser was called upon - on several occasions, his mediation and diplomacy prevented disagreements from descending into violence. In maturity, he served as Superintendent of the Indian Bureau; an agency which promoted peaceful cooperation between Native Americans and white Europeans. This biography charts Weiser's humble beginnings in Germany, his boyhood emigration to America, and his first communications and residence with the Maqua. His greatest successes as interpreter and promoter of peaceful understanding are related in detail. Strongly revered for decades after his death in 1760, George Washington himself revisited Weiser's gravesite in 1793 to remember his contributions. Weiser remains a pivotal figure in the history of colonial America, and his house in Womelsdorf, Pennsylvania is today a museum dedicated to study of the era. The author of this biography, Clement Zwingli Weiser, was a descendent keen on family research, who lived at the turn of the 20th century. |
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... things they joined together , until being supplied , though poorly . They broke ground enough to plant corn for their own use the next year . But this year our hun- ger was hardly endurable . Many of our feasts were of wild potatoes ...
... thing to run a distinction on , and a shade is a fickle thing . The fact that the Indians characterized Conrad Weiser as " one - half a Seven Nation Indian and one - half an Eng- lishman , " seems to support the romantic theory . 46 THE ...
... things which manifests itself in the law of demand and supply - in that law of compensation which provides organs and agents for every legitimate emer- gency . The intermingling of Indians , English and Ger- man people challenged the ...
... things mentioned which are mere ceremonies and trifling details . " He went on horseback . He smoked many pipes * of Philadelphia tobacco , and told them that " it was enough to kill a man to come such a long and bad road , over hills ...
... things that the illustrious President offered was , " that the United States would take two or three of the educate them in our colleges . " been offered , the Indians , who answer to things that they think of importance , told the sons ...