Abraham Blumer - PLAQUE
South Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Born in Grabs, Switzerland, chaplain of the First Battalion Northampton County Militia, 1781 is buried in this cemetery. He ministered to the reformed congregations of Jordan, Union, Egypt and Allentown from 1771 to 1801.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Born in Grabs, Switzerland, Abraham Blumer crossed the Atlantic to serve the German Reformed congregations of the Lehigh Valley, ministering at Jordan, Union, Egypt, and Allentown from 1771 to 1801. During the Revolution he also served as chaplain to the First Battalion of the Northampton County Militia. He spent three decades tending to the spiritual life of his frontier congregations and is buried in this cemetery.
Why it matters
His career reflects how immigrant clergy anchored the German-speaking communities of colonial and early Pennsylvania, and how even ministers took up the cause during the Revolution.
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Related people
- Β· Abraham Blumer
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Muhlenberg House
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This Trappe house was the home of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, the German-born pastor often called the organizer of the Lutheran church in America, who lived here from 1776 until his death in 1787. His son Peter Muhlenberg β famous for reportedly shedding his clerical robes to reveal a Continental uniform β went on to become a general in the Revolution and later lived in the same house. Under one roof the family joined the story of American religion to the story of American independence.
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South Whitehall Township, PA Β· est. 1947
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