Dad’s Got Ancestors! Wilhelm Rittenhouse, the Paper Maker

My Rittenhouse ancestors are from my paternal Smith line. 
Wilhelm Rittenhouse was my 9^th great grandfather.

My mother’s maternal line was very well established, so I was frustrated when initial research into my father’s paternal (Stine) line did not yield results. I turned instead to his Smith antecedents and within short order excitedly emailed my family saying, “Dad’s Got Ancestors!” I had discovered the Rittenhouse family.

Wilhelm Rittenhouse

Wilhelm Rittenhouse (1644-1708) is arguably my most famous immigrant ancestor. He built the first paper mill in the British North America and the mills run by his extended family held a virtual monopoly on paper making for about 40 years. Many of the important colonial documents of that period were printed on paper sporting a Rittenhouse watermark. The family-owned business continued to make paper for 150 years.

Wilhelm Rittenhouse was born in 1644 in a small village outside of Mühlheim on the Ruhr River in Germany. He probably learned the paper making trade in his home village, then followed an aunt and uncle to the Netherlands where they operated a paper mill. He lived in the Netherlands for over 20 years, taking the citizen’s oath in 1679. He married a Dutch woman, Geertruid Pieters, in 1665, and their three children -- Nicholas or Claus, Gerrit, and Elisabeth -- and were all born in the Netherlands. The family papermaking business expanded and Wilhelm learned all parts of the business.
 

1690 homestead, now serving as the kitchen/bakery

It isn’t known why Wilhelm relocated his family, including the three children, to Pennsylvania in 1688. William Penn presented a very attractive vision for his new colony, including business opportunities and religious freedom. While in Amsterdam, Wilhelm became a Mennonite, and although no longer persecuted for their beliefs in the Netherlands, many Mennonites joined with Quakers to move to Pennsylvania. Wilhelm brought a good skill set to the colonies, including the ability to negotiate, speak multiple languages, build mills, and make paper.

By the summer of 1889 Wilhelm had several town lots in the new Germantown settlement, but by the fall of 1890 he had leased acreage on a tributary of the Wissahickon Creek in preparation to build a paper mill. This acreage eventually formed Rittenhouse Town.

One of Wilhelm’s partners in this venture was William Bradford, who had an established printing business with a government contract. In exchange for financing, Bradford held a monopoly on much of the paper mill’s output for a number of years.

Paper making fit nicely into the colony’s economy. At this time, paper was made from cloth rags. William Penn promoted the growing of flax to make into cloth; the cloth in turn became rags for paper. This early “green” economic system is described in the first poem published in Pennsylvania, Richard Frame’s 1692 poem A Short Description of Pennsilvania excerpted below.

The German-Town, of which I spoke before,
Which is, at least, in length one Mile and More,
Where lives High-German People, and Low-Dutch,
Whose Trade in weaving Linnin Cloth is much,
There grows the Flax, as also you may know,
That from the same they do divide the Tow;
….

A Paper Mill neare German-Town doth stand,
So that the Flax, which first springs from the Land,
First Flax, then Yarn, and then they must begin,
To weave the same, which they took pains to spin.
Also, when on our backs it is well worn,
Some of the same remains Ragged and Torn;
Then of those Rags our Paper it is made,
Which in process of time doth wate and fade:
So what comes from the Earth, appeareth plain,
The same in Time returns to Earth again.

About 1700 a devastating flood wiped out the original paper mill, and a new improved one was built, this time without Bradford financing. At last Wilhelm was free to expand his customer base and reputation.

1707 Homestead

On the personal side, while Mennonites were free to practice their religion in Pennsylvania, there was more support for the Quaker establishment and some Mennonites converted. Those who stayed true to their Mennonite beliefs, including Wilhelm and his family, began meeting in homes in 1690. However, there was no official minister or deacon until 1698 when Wilhelm reluctantly agreed to serve in that capacity. 
 

1770 meetinghouse that replaced 1708 log structure

Unfortunately, ministers could not baptize or celebrate communion. In 1702 the colonials begged Europe for an ordained bishop to be sent to the colony, but the trip was considered too arduous, so they were told to prayerfully choose a bishop from their midst. Eventually Wilhelm overcame his misgivings and agreed to serve as the first bishop in British North America. Before he could celebrate either rite, he died unexpectedly, so historians agree he cannot technically have been considered a bishop. Nevertheless, he is credited with having made arrangements before his death to have the Mennonite meetinghouse in Germantown constructed.

Stone with initials and 1707 date

Wilhelm’s son Claus or Nicholas (1666-1734) was his partner in the paper mill and took over the business on Wilhelm’s death.  Claus, in turn, prepared his son William Dewees Rittenhouse (1691-1772) to inherit the mill. William Dewees was the last of my line to own the mill; he bequeathed the mill to his son Jacob. I am descended from two other sons of William, Nicholas and (probably) Henry. [Note that I am NOT a descendant of the well-known David Rittenhouse, who was a cousin.]

Oldest part of home built for William D Rittenhouse

I feel somewhat awestruck to have Wilhelm Rittenhouse as an ancestor. When I studied Pennsylvania history in school, names like William Penn and Benjamin Franklin seemed far removed. That makes it startling to read that William Penn took a personal interest in seeing that Wilhelm’s paper making business got back on its feet after the 1700 flood, and to read that that Benjamin Franklin preferred to print on Rittenhouse paper. Think of the words and ideas that were expressed on that paper! I was delighted to find that Historic Rittenhouse Town is not only a National Historic District, but that two of Wilhelm’s homes have survived, a small building built in 1690 which now serves as a bakery and a larger homestead dated 1707. It is also somehow comforting to know that as the Rittenhouse family expanded and dispersed, family ties to those who stayed in the Germantown area were maintained.

National Historic Landmark Plaque

I highly recommend taking the time to visit HistoricRittenhouse Town, which is located in Fairmount Park. Go on a summer weekend and choose to pay for a tour, which provides access inside the homesteads and a docent to tell the stories. If you’ve a mind to learn more, the website below  provided the most detailed information that I have found to date, and I have borrowed from it for this post.

"WilliamRittenhouse," Immigrant Entrepreneurship, 2014, Immigrant Entrepreneurship. 5 Apr 2014 <http://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entry.php?rec=9>