FARMER AND WHEELWRIGHT

Johan (John) is first mentioned in the Philadelphia records, 19 Jan., 1730, when he (Johan Bartholome ) purchased of John Henry Kalkglase ran assignee of the Frankford (Holland) Company, and his wife Agnes 22 acres of laud in Germantown, Pa. On the 28 July following, he "Johan Bartholome of Germantown, wheelwright," and his wife Dorothy, deeded 1 acres of above with the improvements on the same. In 1736 he deeded Geo. Herger the Blacksmith, " a portion of the same ". The clerk , in, recording this deed,was apparently bothered to decipher the witnesses' signatures, and after making a facsimile of them, remarks in coarse lettering "DUTCH ."

Land Records reflect sale of a larger parcel of the same in Feb., 1743, and two months later purchase of 469 acres in Bethlehem, Hunterdon Co., N.J. , which he sold 3May, 1757.

When naturalized in 1740, Johan is identified as a "foreigner" and he preferred to "affirm" rather than "take" an oath of allegiance.

Johan apparently owned other property in both Germantown and Bethlehem. He had the following advertisement published:

"Sept. 1, 1751, Johan Bartholomew in Philadelphia Co., makes known that he will sell a plantation of 175 acres of Land. It was formerly an Indian Town, and was called Mussicemickem. There is on it a good dwelling house and a great frame barn. The whole land has many flowing springs by which many meadows can be watered. Many meadows are already made and still more can be made . There are about 80 acres of cleared land well fenced and it has a number of thrifty green hedges. The rest is good woodland and in particular has large poplar trees for saw blocks. There is on it a good bearing orchard; has a good deed: whoever is so inclined may inquire of the owner near the place. Louis Geschicht. Schreiber."[note: "Schreiber" means "writer," or "secretary", "scribe" in the German language which was commonly used in the Germantown area at that time.]

This document indicates that Johan then was living in GermanTown at the date of his appointment (22Feb., 1768) as administrator of his brother, Daniel Bartholomew's(of Amwell Township) estate. The administration account for this estate (17 Feb.,1769) states that he was a farmer in Bethlehem Township . The facsimile of his signature is from the papers concerning the Bethlehem purchase of 1743.

About 1770 Johan moved with his family to new settlement lands in the Charlotte River Valley of New York--then to Tryon Co. also in upper New York. This land is in today's in Schoharie, Oswego and Delaware counties. Johan purchased this lot from Sir William Johnson [Crown Indian Agent in northern frontier areas of New York] This large tract contained a thousand acres, as well as several small settled lots in Schoharie Co.This was for the most part uncleared and unsettled frontier.
The large thousand acre tract was split about equally on both north and south sides of Charlotte River. In the town of Canajoharie. This tract is now divided between towns of Worcester and Harpersfield. The large land section was long known locally by the name of "Bartholomew Settlement."

Documentation of the family's settlement in town news records includes: "Soon after reaching the valley of the Charlotte, three of Johan Bartholomew's horses wandered away; two of them being finally found within three and five miles of his former residence in Bethlehem, N. J."

A few years after settlement in the Schoharie, Indian hostilities fueled by Indian unrest enflamed the region. British and Tories in the settlements conflicted with the growing revolutionary sentiments of the American settlers. The Revolutionary War began and continued from 1777 until 1784. The local residents spent much of those seven years, especially the latter four, inside the protection of the Schoharie Fort. Indian allies of the British and Tories raided the area repeatedly, seeking to drive Yankee revolutionaries out of New York areas. Johan and his family sided with the Yankees against the Indians ad the British.

Three of Johan's patriotic sons served with Schoharie's revolutionary leader, Col. John Harper. On an expedition against a party of Tories and Indians in the early summer of 1777, Johan's sons were captured and taken away to British strongholds in Canada. The family were not intimidated and intensified their support of the Revolutionary cause. The entire family sent provisions, made weapons (including lead bullets) and the women provided bandages, clothing and food for the fighting Revolutionary forces. All the sons enlisted with Revolutionary forces.

After the Revolution, though several Bartholomew sons were killed, others returned to the Schoharie to farm and rebuild after the many Indian and Tory predations (farms burned out). Bartholomew and his wife then lived with the family of his youngest son, Philip Bartholomew in Middleburg, Schoharie Co N. Y.Johan died there in 1798. His specific burial place is unmarked and unknown, but family lore indicates he and his wife were buried in a small plot behind their home in Schoharie.

Johan had married Germantown native, Dorothy Endt,in about 1730,in Germantown, Philadelphia Co., Pennsylvania. This couple had many (perhaps as many as 16) children in their long marriage, but the hardships of their frontier life had claimed lives of most of the babies born. Family Bibles record all births and some deaths.