April 19, 1809.

In the name of God Amen. I Felix Clodfelter of Rowan County and State of North Carolina having arrived to an honourable age but yet in good health of body, and sound in memory, think it my duty to make and Ordain this my last Will and Testament in the following manner. First I recommend my precious Soul into the hands of Almighty God who gave it; and my body to be buried in a Decent and Christain manner. Take will that all my lawfull debts be paid out of my personal estate. I Will to my beloved wife Sarah full possession of the House I now live in during her lifetime, likewise one quarter of an acre of Land to be Sown in due Season with ??? yearly her lifetime. One half of the garden to her use her lifetime, two milk cows to be kept for her use to be willid and kept in service and if they should fail and be unfit for her service – two others to be put in their place to be kept during her lifetime. I Will to her the old negro woman Aggey to serve her her life time. Also her spinning wheel, her chest, her bed and basons and furniture, and all the linnen she now has in possession. Also two basons, two plates, four spoons, three knives and forks, and the large shelf in the kitchen, two small iron potts and the frying pan, also the corner cupboard containing all within it, also the clock her lifetime, and after her decease to be sold, also a Prayer Book and Hymn Book and watering can, also a small bed and ??? with the furniture belonging, also the firetongs and shovel, and little walnut table. The following articles to be found her yearly; Ten baskets of wheat to be made into flour, to her hand for her use, ten baskets of corn ground and brought into the house, one hundred and fifty pounds of good pork, fifty weight of beef in due season, also one bushel of salt and ten dollars in cash to be paid unto her yearly, also sufficient supply of ael to be Had for her use, all the above mention duties to be performed unto her by my son Jacob. And as respecting my land, my Will is that my son Jacob, have my homesteaded plantation, also the moo? part of a lot that I purchased of Thomas Long, to extend to the dividing line already run dividing the same from his brother John’s line and his brother Peter after my decease to him and his heirs forever. I also give unto my son Peter the land and Plantation on which he now lives, including the south part of my homested plantation, and the south part of that I purchased of Thomas Long, Jacob’s part and also from his brother John’s part to him and his heirs forever. I also give unto my son John the land and plantation where he now lives, situate on the north side of my homested plantation including part of the same and part of that which I bought of Thomas Long by lines already run dividing the same from his brother Jacob’s, to him and his heirs forever. And as respecting my moovable? property (the slaves excepted) and also the perisable property (excepting that already given) to be sold at public value at the discretion of my Executors hereafter named, and the same to be divided equally between both male and female heirs, also the children of my daughter Susanna Nifong deceased, to have a child’s part intended for their mother to be equally divided among them. My Negro woman Aggy I will that she continue in my family her lifetime and have liberty to live with any of my children to whom she may choose, and that they provide for her and keep her as may be required her lifetime. Take Will that my negro man Solomon and his wife Patt with her increase, and my negro lad Johnson be sold at public value at the discretion of my Executors, among my heirs in manner above mentioned to be equally divided. Lastly I do appoint and ordain my two sons George and Peter Executors of this my last Will and Testament, utterly revoking and making null and void every other Will, Gift or ??? heretofore made by me, ratifying and confirming this and no other to be my last Will and Testament. Acknowledging and confirming this by setting my hand and seal the ninteenth day of April in the year of our Lord – One Thousand, Eight Hundred and Nine.

Felix Clodfelter F his mark

In Presence of Ja Clinard

Britain J. Heymore

What I love about this will is the distinctive “mark” he used for his name.  Perhaps he could not write (or spell) his name, but he could make a fancy “F!” Isn’t it wonderful?

The family, which included at least four living children (three had died previously), immigrated to the United States in 1743.  But tragedy had marred their journey.  On April 21, 1742, Felix’s father, Peter Glattfelder, drowned in the Rhine River.  They had only begun their journey to Pennsylvania with Peter’s brother and family, Casper and Elizabeth Glattfelder and their six children.  Saddened by their loss, Casper returned to Glattfelden with both families, uncertain about how to proceed.  After the birth of yet another child in 1743, it was decided that they would still make the move to the states and bring Peter’s wife and children along.  It is not known what happened to Peter’s wife, Salomea.  She may have remarried or died along the way.  Tragedy struck again when Casper’s wife and new baby died enroute on the second attempt.  Nevertheless, Casper arrived in Pennsylvania with both groups of children on August 30, 1743 on the ship called the Francis and Elizabeth. Today, he has a large number of descendants who keep in touch even with our distant cousins in Switzerland through a wonderful website — the Casper Glattfelder Association of America.   If you go to this site you can see photos and other details about Glattfelden and the family there.

Our ancestor, Felix Glattfelder, son of the deceased Peter, was sixteen years of age when he arrived in the states.  Seven years later, in York Co., Pennsylvania, he married Maria “Sarah” Myers, who had immigrated with her parents and brothers from Wurttemburg, Germany.  By 1763, they were living in Davidson Co., North Carolina with several children, including Charity.  Somewhere along the line the name spelling was changed to “Clodfelter,”  but only for those who went to North Carolina.  They had at least nine children, including Jacob, a cabinet maker.  Jacob Clodfelter and his son, Joseph, have been credited with making the beautiful pierced tombstones of Davidson County, because one stone in particular was signed by Joseph Clodfelter.  The two are known to have been cabinetmakers who used these types of designs in their workwork, and so historians have concluded that they probably made all of the pierced stones, which are found only in Davidson County, North Carolina.

In my next post, I will share with you Felix Glattfelder’s interesting will of 1809.

On March 6, 1756, Peter (aged 8) and his mother were headed to the home of Caspar and Barbara Neufang, to help in the delivery of a child.  Balthasar had stayed home to care for the other children, of which there were now five total.  Sadly, on the way Anna and Peter were attacked by Native Americans near the Schuylkill River.  She was scalped and killed and young Peter was taken captive.   Apparently the trouble with the Eastern Delaware Indians stemmed from a massive land deal with Governor William Penn, Northeast of the Neufang homestead.

After witnessing his mother’s death, Peter was forced to march about 50 miles to the main Delaware village to the West, Kittanning, along with 100 other prisoners from the region.  It was said that Peter was “lucky” to have been adopted by the tribe to replace a lost loved one, or to serve as a slave.  Most were killed or cruelly tortured, and survivors were driven back beyond the Blue Mountains.  By late 1756 over 300 Pennsylvania settlers had been killed and militia scouts reported 347 vacant farms in this area.  Balthasar and his children probably took refuge at Fort Lebanon, just a few miles South of his homestead.

It was not until March of 1758 that Teedyuscung, the Indian Chief, agreed to peace, following an attack on Kittanning by the military.  On December 1, 1759, Peter was finally released at the age of twelve and personally delivered to Governor Hamilton of Pennsylvania by Teedyuscung himself.  But he had been with the tribe so long that he no longer knew how to speak German.  Imagine how difficult his childhood had been!  At the time that he was returned to his father, Balthasar was a Private serving in the 2nd battalion of the Pennysylvania Regiment, and he had been remarried.  What a reunion that must have been!

Peter Neufang married our Dorothy Clodfelter sometime before 1773, but apparently had no children and had died (mysteriously) by November of 1775, when she married our Revolutionary Patriot, Johannes Kuntz.  In North Carolina Dorothy’s sister, Anna Maria, married Peter’s brother, Martin; and her sister Susanna married Peter’s brother, George.  All three families are found in the genealogical records of Davidson County, North Carolina, but the name spellings are often different — Neufang (also spelled Nifong), Clodfelter (Glattfelder) and Koontz (Kuntz, Koonts, Coonce, etc.). What amazing trials some of our ancestors faced!

You don’t want to miss this opportunity to help these children!

Here they are setting up a temporary shelter for medical treatment.

Obviously, if you build a medical tent in the middle of a typhoon disaster, the people will come — people with serious injuries and needs.  Mothers and fathers concerned for the health of their children.

I’ve been so blessed to see this church reaching out to others in need.  If you’d like, you can make a contribution to this ministry through Compassion International and join others in this vital effort today.

2008–Ways

2009 –Hold

2010–Trust

What is my word this year?  Refuge.  As God was impressing this word upon my heart before Christmas, I had no idea that the year would begin with this very concept.  One morning, I awoke to find this message from my former LDP student, Emjay, on Facebook:

Mommy…our city was devastated by the typhoon last night.  Many lives were lost…and all our things and house are gone by the flood..my father and brother were almost drowned..thank God they were saved. We have nothing left..please pray for us..

All last week, I have been sharing photos and information about the relief efforts from Emjay’s church, of which Compassion is a supporting partner.

The church is a refuge for many families right now, and will continue to be for several weeks.  The Lord is the ultimate refuge for His people.  What does it mean to be a refuge?

The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.  The LORD is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed.  – Psalm 28:7-8 (ESV)

In you, O LORD, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me! … Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me!  For you are my rock and my fortress…Psalm 31:1-3 (ESV)

Here are some photos of the church as a place of refuge in the Philippines right now.  If you would like to contribute to the relief effort, please click here and you will be directed to a quick way to make your donation on behalf of all these precious people.  The needs are huge, and we need to come alongside Pastor Jay and his congregation as they reach out to so many in need.

From the looks of these photos, it is obvious that a refuge provides:

• Shelter
• Safety
• Provision
• Nourishment
• Rest
• Fellowship
• Comfort
• Encouragement

Please make a donation today!

This week I have been asking for donations to support the ministry of Emjay’s Compassion project in this crisis.  ”Operation Hope” has many aspects to the relief of hundreds of families.  I already told about the homeless people living in the church, and about the supplies needed to support them.

Taking Supplies to the Community

The church also implemented a huge outreach to their community.  Many truckloads of supplies have gone out to various villages in the region.  I am amazed that a church of this size can have such a huge outreach — I saw dozens of photos of church members going out to the community with food, medicine, clothing and armloads of love.

Medical Relief

The church is also sending out medical teams to minister to people in need.

I’m so pleased to see Compassion’s complementary interventions at work.  The church is the first to reach out in any crisis, so it makes sense that if we support the church and the Pastors, the funds and supplies will get to those in need quickly.  No red tape; no government intervention.  Compassion’s projects are always the first to reach out to the victims of a natural disaster.

I was really pleased to see this happen in a situation that is very close to me.  Here is Eva (Emjay’s Project Director) with Pastor Jay and some of the other relief team volunteers from the church in Iligan City.  If you would like to help support this team, please click here to be directed to a donation page at Compassion.

I think it’s wonderful to note that Compassion does not focus on our own name — for example, you see here, on the left, the name of the church — “Ikthus Iligan.”  We want the name of the church to be prominent in the community, so that people will be drawn to the church and ultimately drawn to Christ.  This church has a very special pastor named Jay, who immediately went out in the flood to help victims.  We want to come alongside Pastor Jay and his church to support them in this crisis.

He also mobilized his own church to reach out in many ways to the needy people of their community.  Operation Hope has many different aspects of relief and support, which I will cover on this post and the next.

Refuge for the Homeless

Since many families had lost their homes, the church became a refugee center for several people, including Emjay’s family.  Imagine taking ten or more families into your church for the holidays — and beyond.

Supplies for Families

The church also collected clothing, blankets, household items and groceries for the families that lost everything.  People in the community began bringing bags of clothing and supplies to the church, which in turn are being dispersed to those who need them.

Crowds of People in Need of Support

Imagine trying to meet the very real needs of all these people!  If you would like to contribute funds, please send them to Compassion International and ask them to send them to the flood victims of the Philippines.  If you prefer, you may contact me and I will send the contributions along with the funds we are raising here in our town.  Thank you so much for your support!

You can also support this fund drive by clicking here, where you will be taken to Compassion’s website for donations for Philippine flood victims.

Now that’s she’s finished, we are able to talk on Facebook.  Here is the sad message she sent me:

Mommy…our city was devastated by the typhoon last night.
Many lives were lost…and all our things and house were gone by the flood.
My father and brother were almost drowned.  Thank God they were saved.
We have nothing left.  Please pray for us…

I immediately googled the name of her city — Iligan City in the Philippines — and was shocked to see the news.  Over a thousand people had died in the floods.  It was right in the area we had visited a year and 1/2 ago.

I contacted her Project Manager, Eva, to see what we could do to help.  This is what Eva wrote to me:

God is good all the time! Emjay and her family are now safe and are taken cared of by our church disaster team headed by our senior pastor…

Her father was injured during the flood, causing his hand to swell. right now he is under medication. His right hand is still in bad condition. he cannot use it for now because the wound is deep. Thank God that Emjay’s family is safe. Their house was totally wiped out. All their things were gone…

About our church condition — we have 3 casualties.
2 staff of Compassion and  1 compassion assisted child. The church rooms are being used as an evacuation center for 10 families. We are also accepting Relief goods to help people  in their desperate hours. We want to help more people… according to our assessment they need food, kitchen utensils, cooking utilities, shelters, blankets, shoes, medicines, groceries and toiletries. Thank you so much for expressing help for the church especially that we need to feed the people who are refugees and volunteers in our HOPE OPERATION.

I will tell you more about “Hope Operation” in the next post.

I was able to wire some support to Emjay’s family, but am also collecting funds for the church project itself, which will be sent through Compassion.

This church is amazing.  Though it is not very large, it has a huge outreach in the community.  This week I will focus on this church and will be collecting funds to send to them.  If you would like to donate, please click here.

Here are some photos from this very special Compassion project (taken before the flood):

I had asked God for a loyal dog that would put her head on my lap, and that is exactly what I got.  In fact, she was always at my side, and when I sat down she would paw at me for attention.  I loved her so much.

She was hilarious:

She thought that everything on the floor belonged to her.  She would curl up on laundry waiting to be washed, squeeze in on top of parts of a quilt that might be hanging down onto the floor, and certainly try to get on top of the Christmas tree skirt:

Holly was the most loving, gentle, quiet dog you could imagine.  She would only bark once when she wanted back in the house.  She would never bark at other dogs, horses, deer or rabbits, although she certainly wanted to chase them.

Here is one of the last walks we took before she started having too much pain.  Walking was one of her favorite activities in the whole world.  She can see in the photo that she’s looking for rabbits:

I will always miss my special friend and companion, Holly.