John Jacob Mickley (soldier)

John Jacob Mickley (1737–1808) was a farmer and soldier from Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania known for transporting the Liberty Bell from Philadelphia in September, 1777 during the American Revolutionary War.

John Jacob Mickley
The Saving of the Liberty Bell Plaque at Zion Reformed Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania
Born(1737-12-17)December 17, 1737
Egypt, Pennsylvania
DiedDecember 12, 1808(1808-12-12) (aged 70)
Known forTransporting the Liberty Bell from Philadelphia during the American Revolutionary War

Life and family

He was born on December 17, 1737 to John Jacob Mickley (1697–1769) and Elizabeth Barbara Burkhalter (1719–1769) at their family homestead near Egypt in Whitehall Township.[1] His father's birth name was Jean Jacques Michelet.[2] At the time, the homestead was part of Northampton County, but is now part of Lehigh County.[3]

He married Susanne Miller (1743–1807) in November, 1760.[1]

On August 8, 1763, several settlers, including two of his siblings, Henry and Barbara, were killed in an Indian attack. In 1913, a granite marker was erected by the Lehigh County Historical Society commemorating this event.[4]

He died on December 12, 1808.[1]

American Revolution War

On November 15, 1776, he was elected to the General Committee of the Revolution of Northampton County.[3]

After General George Washington's defeat at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, Philadelphia, then capital for the Second Continental Congress, was under imminent attack by the British Army under General Sir William Howe. On September 14, to prevent capture of the city's tower bells, which could be melted into cannonballs, the Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ordered that these bells be taken down and transported out of the city. The Liberty Bell, also known as the State House Bell, from Independence Hall was among these bells and was secured on Mickley's wagon. However, his wagon broke down on September 23 in Bethlehem. The bell was then transferred to the wagon of Frederick Leaser, who delivered it on September 24 to the Zion Reformed Church in Allentown, where it was hidden until June, 1778.[5][6]

Legacy

On November 19, 1908, the Liberty Bell Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution unveiled the Saving of the Liberty Bell Plaque, describing the efforts of Mickley and Leaser, at Zion Reformed Church in Allentown.[7] The plaque was unveiled by a descendant, nine-year old Edwin John Jacob Mickley.[8]

On October 12, 1917, the Michelet Chapter (Allentown) of the Daughters of the American Revolution dedicated the Revolutionary and Huguenot Memorial for his father, himself, two of his brothers, John Martin and John Peter, who also served during the war, and his sister Magdalena at St. John's Union Cemetery in Mickleys.[9][10]

  • John Jacob Mickley Family Memorial
  • Gravestone at memorial base

See also

References
  1. Hughes, Thomas P. (1894). American Ancestry: Giving the Name and Descent, in the Male Line, of Americans whose Ancesters Settled in the United States Previous to the Declaration of Independence, A.D. 1776. IX. Albany, New York: Joel Munsell's Sons. p. 133. OL 16097348W.
  2. Stapleton, Rev. A. (1901). Memorials of the Huguenots In America, With Special Reference to their Emigration to Pennsylvania. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Huguenot Publishing Company. pp. 82–83. OL 161051W.
  3. Roberts, Charles Rhoads; Stoudt, Rev. John Baer; Krick, Rev. Thomas H.; Dietrich, William J. (1914). "Mickley Family". History of Lehigh County Pennsylvania and a Genealogical and Biographical Records of its Families. III. Lehigh Valley Publishing Company. pp. 891–894. OL 7568151W.
  4. Roberts, Charles Rhoads; Stoudt, Rev. John Baer; Krick, Rev. Thomas H.; Dietrich, William J. (1914). "Indian Massacre". History of Lehigh County Pennsylvania and a Genealogical and Biographical Records of its Families. I. Lehigh Valley Publishing Company. pp. 844–845.
  5. Curtin, Williard S. (1960). "Liberty Bell Shrine". Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 86th Congress, Second Session. 106 part 8. p. 9751.
  6. Sipple, Rev. Simon (1937). History of Zion Reformed Church, Allentown, Pennsylvania, 1762–1937. p. 53. hdl:2027/wu.89069658623.
  7. "Memorial to the Patriots Who Safeguarded the Liberty Bell". The Allentown Morning Call. November 20, 1908. pp. 5, 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Liberty Bell Chapter". The American Monthly Magazine. National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. XXXV: 1218. 1909.
  9. "Michelet Chapter". Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine. National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. LIII: 112. 1919.
  10. "State D.A.R. Attend Memorial Unveiling. Beautiful Ceremony on Mickley's Cemetery At the Restored Tomb of John Jacob Mickley". The Allentown Leader. October 12, 1917. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
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