Hans Jacob Allwein was born on 16 April 1719 in Lorraine, Alsace, France. He was the son of Jacobus Joannes Allewijn (1693 – 1779) and Catarina De Gunst Allewijn (1697 – 1779).

The villages of Frei Laubersheim and Fürfeld, separated by a distance of about two kilometers, were served by the Benedictine order of the Roman Catholic Church during the early 1700s. According to both the Frei Laubersheim and Fürfeld church books, two boys, "Jos (abbrev. for Johannes) Jacob Aloenz and Jos Nicolaus Aloenz, sons of the married couple Johannes and Maria Elizabetha Aloenz" were baptized on August 8, 1717 in Fürfeld. [Endnote 13] There is no information given on their birth dates, nor is there an explanation of why there were two children baptized on the same day. Given high rates of infant mortality during those times, it was customary for parents to baptize their children almost immediately after they were born, so it may be that Johannes Jacob and Johannes Nicolaus were twins, although that is merely speculation. The witnesses to the boys' christenings were Johannes Jacob Limbach and wife Anna Maria from Wollstein (a village located 8 kilometers northeast from Fürfeld) and Johannes Nicolaus Gatton and wife Catharina from Winterborn (a village about 4 kilometers to the south).

At age 24, Hans Jacob left home with his shoe last and hammer and walked 60 miles to the Rhine River. He floated to Rotterdam and embarked for America on the ship "St. Andrew," under the command of Capt. Charles Stedman, with 103 men, 60 women and 60 children. They stopped in Plymouth, England to take on provisions and water, then sailed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, arriving on September 2, 1741. He lived in Berks County, Pa, and married Katrina (maiden name unknown). Hans, who went by the name Jacob, died in 1781; Katrina in 1790

Hans Jacob Alwine immigrated on the ship St. Andrew, which sailed from Rotterdam to the port of Philadelphia in October, 1741, and who settled in Bern Township of what would become Berks County, Pa. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s about Hans Jacob Alwine: Name: Hans Jacob Alwine Year: 1741 Age: 22 Estimated Birth Year: abt 1719 Place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Source Publication Code: 9041 Primary Immigrant: Alwine, Hans Jacob. Source Bibliography:

STRASSBURGER, RALPH BEAVER. Pennsylvania German Pioneers: A Publication of the Original Lists of Arrivals in the Port of Philadelphia from 1727 to 1808. Edited by William John Hinke. Norristown [PA]: Pennsylvania German Society, 1934. 3 vols. Vols. 1 and 3 reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1964. Repr. 1983. Vol. 1. 1727-1775. 776p. Page 304

Pennsylvania Census, 1772-1890 about Hans Jacob Alwine: Name: Hans Jacob Alwine State: PA County: Philadelphia County Township: Philadelphia Year: 1741 Database: PA Early Census Index

Hans married Katrina in 1741 in Pennsylvania, USA. Don't know Katrina's last name or the name of her parents. Hans and Katrina had the following 6 known children:
Mary Elizabeth ALLWEIN b: 1742 in Berks Co, Pa
Johannes ALLWEIN b: 24 Apr 1746 in Berks Co, Pa
Maria Magarethe ALLWEIN b: 1747
Catherine ALLWEIN b: Abt 1750
Conrad ALLWEIN b: 23 May 1753 in Berks Co, Pa
Barney ALLWEIN

Hans Jacob and Catharina Allwein were apparently christened in March of 1749 at the White Oak Brethren Church in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, suggesting that whatever their original religious orientations, they were involved with the Brethren faith community at about age 30.[11] There were several Brethren groups in 18th century Pennsylvania field. As is known, the Brethren groups descendant from the Schwarzenau community in Westphalia settled in Germantown in 1719 and others came later. The Schwenkfelders are interesting in this context because they settled originally in the Skippack and Perkiomen creek areas of Montgomery county, just over the line from the Goshenhoppen area in Berks county [see Glatfelter, 1981, p. 67]. What may seem odd about Hans Jacob and Catharina's christening in a Brethren Church is that it appears to have occurred less than a year following the baptism of their son John in a Reformed Church in Heidelberg Township. On the other hand, we know that people then, as now, could freely change their religion, based on the opportunities that exist for them as well as their own personal preferences. We do not know the true nature of the connection of Hans Jacob and Catharina to the White Oak Brethren Church, but it does suggest some interesting possibilities. Why might Hans Jacob and Catharina have baptized their son John in a Reformed Church in April of 1748 and then less than a year later were themselves baptized in a Brethren Church in an adjacent county? If they were Mennonites what is the rationale that one can give to the fact that they baptized their son at all? Or, if they were of the Roman Catholic faith, why would they partake in the sacraments of Protestant churches? One rather intriguing hypothesis for this, advanced by Christine Alwine Paige, is that Hans Jacob and Catharina might have been motivated by a desire to qualify for naturalization as British citizens by getting certification that communion had been taken at a Protestant church (Rootsweb, Oct. 7, 1999). This would account not only for the baptism of their son at a Reformed Church, but their own baptisms in the Brethren Church as well, and it is not inconsistent with their connection to the Roman Catholic Mission at Goshenhoppen. In conclusion, German-speaking people of many different religious faiths were immigrating to America during the 18th century, and without better evidence it is difficult for us to know the religious beliefs of Hans Jacob and Catharina Allwein for sure.

Jacob Allwine, shoemaker, owned 100 acres of land in Bern Twp. Berks Co. Pa. in 1767 along with 2 horses, 2 cattle, 4 sheep. His tax was 7 shillings. source: Tax lists Pa. Archives 3rd series 1897.