Johannes Weller
(1716-1792) was from a
family of millers of
Diedenshausen,
Wittgenstein,
Westphalia. He arrived
in Philadelphia on
Sept 9, 1743 aboard
the ship "Lydia". By
1744 he was in the
Owens Creek area
northeast of present
Thurmont where he
married Catherine
Ambrose, daughter of
the miller Matthias
Ambrose. In that year
he purchased his first
land, a 50 acre tract
called "Beauty"
located on a shelf of
the mountain,
overlooking the later
town. He also
purchased a tract on
Owens Creek downstream
from his
father-in-law, which
became his home
plantation, part of
"Arnold's Delight". In
1767 he made his last
land purchase, buying
"Buck's Horn" of 72
acres. He and
Catherine had 11
children before his
death in 1792.
Sometime after 1796
Catherine and 6 of her
adult children moved
to Kentucky, where she
died in 1804. She is
buried in Bardstown,
KY.
John’s son, Jacob
Weller (1752-1831)
married ca. 1774 Anna
Krall (1754-1812)
daughter of Christian
Krall. They were the
parents of 9 children.
Called "Old Jake" he
was described as a
teamster in family
records. Jacob
inherited or purchased
from his brothers the
tracts "Bucks Horn"
and "Beauty". Jacob
Weller died in 1831,
leaving a will. At the
time of his death
Weller's Church on the
land "Beauty" was
still unfinished. His
grave was the first in
the United Brethren
cemetery.
Jacob Weller, B.S.
(1775-1846), . Was the
eldest child of Jacob
and Anna, born Jan
25th and baptized Feb
27th according to the
records of Apples
Church. His
grandparents John and
Catherine were
sponsors. Jacob was a
blacksmith and always
signed documents
"Jacob Weller, B.S."
to distinguish himself
from the several other
local Jacob Wellers.
In 1800 Jacob married
Anna Margaret Weller,
daughter of John Jacob
(1739-1809) and
grandaughter of
tailor, John Jacob
"The Moravian" who had
emigrated in 1738 and
owned extensive lands
in the Jimtown area,
some patented before
Frederick county was
formed.
This marriage united
the two area Weller
families, but it is
unknown if they had
some earlier Europeon
family relationship.
Jacob and Margaret had
5 children before her
death in 1816; she is
buried at Apples
Church. In 1817 Jacob
married Mary Love
(1796-1872). By this
union there were 10
more children.
Jacob B.S. began
buying lots in the new
"Town of Mechaniks"
bordering his own
lands. His first
purchase on Aug, 1805
was for lots 6 & 7 on
the north side of the
Main Road.
Construction on his
large stone house
began almost
immediately; the date
1805' is inscribed on
the west side chimney
gable. This building
was used as both a
home and the first inn
in town, with a large
stable area on the
east side. The Inn
must have been quite
successful since he
received $4,000 for it
at the time of its
sale in 1813. The
building has been
little altered and is
now restored as a
significant example of
Anglo-German
architecture, listed
as a Frederick
Landmarks site and on
the Inventory of
Maryland Historic
Sites.
Concurrent with his
purchase on the north
side of Main Street,
Weller purchased 2
acres (lots 16,17,18 &
19) on the south side
of the street. On this
site he built a one
and one half story
stone building,
probably with workshop
behind it. This simple
building would become
known as the "Match
House". From 1811 on,
Jacob operated an edge
tool factory making
shovels, hoes, etc at
a large tilt forge on
Hunting Creek. After
his marriage to
Margaret Love he built
an additional large
brick home immediately
west of the "Match
House".
Jacob Weller, B.S. is
credited with the
manufacture of the
first friction matches
in the U.S., copied
from French models
imported to Frederick.
The time was about
1825, for they were
well known by 1832
when a student at
Mount St. Mary's
college wrote of
buying some which sold
for 12 and a half
cents a block.
Although requiring
only simple
ingredients, the
experiments resulted
in several explosions
at the workshop. Jacob
and son Joseph
traveled extensively
to sell the matches,
with little success,
especially when they
attempted to sell the
matches to area
farmers, they were met
with suspicion for
their new-fangled and
possibly dangerous
product. Unfortunately
Jacob failed to patent
his invention;
copy-cat manufacturers
sprang up in the wake
of his sales route.
The first patent for
friction matches was
issued to a man in
Massachusetts in 1836.
By the late 1830's
Jacob was in financial
ruin, forced to file
as an Insolvent Debtor
whose trustees sold
off Jacob's lands.,
but despite his
failures, Jacob
remained a popular and
respected citizen of
Mechanicstown (renamed
Thurmont in 1894).
Jacob was buried in
the cemetery of the
church he established.
Weller's Church on the
hill, was later called
the United Brethren
Church, but today,
rechartered as
Weller's United
Methodist Church, it
remains an enduring
monument to Thurmont's
pioneering
industrialist and his
family.