Godfrey Lenhart, who is the son of the German emigrants 1708 Johan Peter and Anna Maria Margaretha Lenhart, was born in Greenwich Twp., Berks Co., PA in 1754. He moved with his parents in 1756-57 from Berks Co., to York Co., PA, where he married Mary Elizabeth Harbaugh Holtziner on November 14, 1778 (1). Mary was the daughter of Yost Harbaugh and Maria Elizabeth (2.). As an interesting sidelight, Godfrey was two years younger than his wife. The 1795 will of G. Coppenhoeffer, stepfather to Mary Elizabeth, mentions her as his daughter and as the wife of Godfrey (3). G. Coppenhoeffer was the third husband of Mary Elizabeth's mother, Maria Elizabeth, It is claimed that Mary Elizabeth really is the daughter of Yost Harbaugh but went by the name of her guardian, Bernard Holtziner (4). She is stated to have been born on Good Friday, 1753 at Kreutz Creek and to have died in York on June 22, 1824. Godfrey died 1819. The will of Godfrey Lenhart was made on July 2, 1819 and filed on August 25, 1819. His wife died in 1824 so she was still living at the time of his death. The will mentions the following children (5): William, a noted mathematician; Henry, who married Mary, and was a Methodist Minister in Williamsport, PA, Elizabeth who married John Boyley, Margaret who married George Kuntz, and Catherine, who married John McPherson (6).

Godfrey served in the York Co. Militia during the Revolutionary War (7). "The Revolution War progressed and records show that Godfrey served in several units of the military. He was always a leader in the unit, Ensign,

Captain and/or record keeper of some kind. Records of his military service are during 1779, 1780, 1781 and as late as 1783.

Godfrey was an outstanding man of some local prominence, as he was active in the organization and operation of post roads, a fire company, and the York Bank (known later in 1937 as the York National Bank and Trust Co.) (8) "

Godfrey's occupation in the city of York was both a silversmith and a clockmaker. A drawing of York's Center Square in 1799 by Lewis Miller hangs in the York County Heritage Building, York, PA. The drawing shows a picture of Godfrey Lenhart's shop, a one-story building, located at the intersection of Continental Square, N. George Street and Center Square (9). He was making tall clocks before the Revolution (10). Several of his clocks still exist.

Here let me reveal a bit of history that is connected with Godfrey Lenhart, the clockmaker. Mr. J. F. Rauhauser, Jr. Esq., President of the York County Bicentennial Commission, Inc. tells the story in his discourse, "The Secret History of the Birth of the Nation."

"The facts are unassailable and the law irrefutable. In fact, and by law, the United States of America was created, - born, if you will - on November 15, 1777, in Yorktown, Pennsylvania. Not in Boston; nor even in Philadelphia. Not on July 4, 1776 by the Declaration of Independence; nor yet by the Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787. But instead, the United States of America first came into being, as a sovereign independent nation, by action of the Continental Congress, duly convened in the colony of Pennsylvania, and in the town of York, which thus became the nation's first capital.

It happened this way. Representatives of the thirteen colonies, sitting in the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, received news that a great force under British General Howe was approaching that city. Bundling their public papers into guarded wagons, the representatives agreed, on September 18, 1777, to move to the town of Lancaster just east of the Susquehanna River. A brief entry in the Journals of the Continental Congress indicates some members of Congress did stop in Lancaster on September 27, but it was then quickly decided "to repair to the town of York, in Pennsylvania," thus affording to the Congress the added protection of the broad expanses of that river. Congress thereafter convened in York from September 30, 1777 until June 27, 1778, when it returned to Philadelphia, only then evacuated by the British.

Among the Resolutions adopted by the Congress on July 2, 1776, before it left Philadelphia, was one which proposed that a plan for the permanent binding together or confederation of the 13 newly independent colonies should be prepared. John Dickinson of Pennsylvania, as Chairman, and delegates from each of the other colonies served the committee to carry out this resolve. A draft of the Articles of Confederation was shortly submitted to the delegates, but only limited consideration was given to the matter until it was taken up in almost daily debate after the Congress convened in York.

Then it was, on November 15, 1777 that the Articles of Confederation were officially adopted. Then it was that the participating colonies agreed '...hereby severally (to) enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for ...common defense, the security of ...liberty and...mutual and general welfare...'

By Articles I it was established that "The stile of this confederacy shall be 'The United States of America.'
Until that moment The United States of America did not exist.

True it is that the 13 colonies declared their separate independence from Great Britain on July 2, 1776 in Philadelphia, but in that same Declaration of Independence they solemnly declared themselves to be "free and independent states" with the right retained by each to do "all acts and things which independent states may of right do." That Declaration did not create a union of any sort. It created 13 independent states.

True it is that each independent state or colony thereafter had to ratify the act of its authorized delegates in the adoption of the Articles of Confederation, but, by definition, the term ratification gives assent as of the time of the original event. The original event was the adoption of the Articles on November 15, 1777, in York, Pennsylvania, which created The United States of America.

True it is, also, that the present Constitution of the United States of America was adopted in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787, but its preamble states the purpose for its adoption to have been 'to form a more perfect union,' or, in other words, to improve on the union that therefore existed.

In brief, the United States of America was officially created on November 15, 1777 and thereafter, upon ratification, operated throughout the American Revolution under the Articles as its First Constitution. The experience gained under the first charter dictated the necessity of having a government with more centralized power. And although the delegates met in Philadelphia for the avowed purpose of improving, by amendment, The Articles of Confederation, they did in fact adopt an entirely new and second Constitution.
It is perhaps a little known, infrequently told, almost secret history. But it is true, - in fact and in law. It happened in Pennsylvania. In the Capital City of Yorktown. On November 15, 1777. Then and there The United States of America was born. (11)"

Our very own ancestor, Godfrey Lenhart made the clock that timed the Continental Congress from September 30, 1777 through June 27, 1778 (12). The clock still stands in the old courthouse. However, the old courthouse and furnishings I am told are not authentic. The only authentic piece of furniture is the thirty hour clock, marked as number 30, made by Godfrey Lenhart. Godfrey's signature appears on the face of this clock and I assume this is the case with all his clocks. This is most likely the oldest piece of Lenhart property known to the Lenhart family at this time, 2001. Godfrey would have been a young man of 23 years when his clock was used by the Continental Congress.

Pat Lenhart states, "We can be definite that the clock as pictured in the book (13) was made was by Godfrey before 1777. Godfrey was born 1754, so he constructed the clock before he was age 23. The reason I say it was made before 1777 that the Continental Congress fled Philadelphia very suddenly just before September 1777 to escape the British. George Washington was encamped with his troops at Valley Forge at the time and wanted the Congress to meet at York. Washington was losing badly during this time, his troops were ill equipped and unable to protect Philadelphia so he wanted the congress to meet in a safer location on the western frontier beyond the wide Susquehanna River which was then 'the West'. The Susquehanna was the largest river east of the Mississippi. With this type of last minute arrival in York, there was no time to order a special order clock; in fact the congress had no means so couldn't afford one at any rate. They came into York and met in and used the York Co. courthouse, which already existed. The clock was most likely already there. Godfrey is described as one of the original clockmakers in York and the courthouse sat on the city square, as did Godfrey's shop. Godfrey no doubt constructed the clock for the court building and there it remains to this day. He probably constructed the clock many months before he was 23 years of age (14).

"Godfrey and his brother William purchased a clockmakers business July 25, 1788 Lot #70 in Carlisle, PA from Jacob Herwick for 75 pounds. They kept the business for seven months and on February 16, 1789 William Lenhart of Dover Twp., York, PA and Godfrey Lenhart of the town of York, sold the property to their brother Christopher Lenhart a wagonmaker of Franklin Co., for 75 pounds. Nearly one month later March 5, 1789 Christopher Lenhart and his wife Mary of Southampton, Twp., Franklin Co., PA sold it to Moses Thompson of Carlisle, a saddler for 150 pounds more than twice what he paid for it. It could be that Godfrey knew Jacob Herwick as a clockmaker or perhaps purchased the business to gain clocks, parts and other inventory (15), as by then and up until 1802 the embargoes placed by the British made it impossible to get clock parts. Those Lenharts purchased and sold land/property, real wheeler-dealers, as they moved wes t (16)."

May 21, 1998 one of Godfrey's clocks, number 29 was auctioned off. They presumed they would get between $20,000 and $25,000 for the clock. The clock was formerly owned by Gifford Pinchot (17). It has been reported that one of Godfrey's clocks was auctioned off several years ago for a large sum of money.

Pat Lenhart wonders as do I, "From whom Godfrey picked up this trade and where he apprenticed. Maybe it was when they were living in Greenwich Twp., Berks, Co., PA that Godfrey's father made some connections? Maybe he learned this trade in York Co., under a Master. Or he may have moved away from home to learn his trade in a more urban situation? Maybe Godfrey's techniques and or styles can be attributed to a known master someplace in eastern PA? It is said at that time many of the clock artisans used the one material they had in abundance in PA -wood. This meant that almost all gears and working parts were made of wood. Usually there was one metal gear and the rest wood (18).

Pat Lenhart says, and I agree, "It is so easy to be fascinated by the early Pennsylvania clocks such as those Godfrey Lenhart built. One has so many questions and as always, with the study of genealogy, it gets into the history surrounding it. Pat searched books at the library, sat in the bookstore reading current books an even purchased one online from eBay on Penna. clocks and clockmakers. From her research she states that clockmaking in the 1770's was a highly skilled occupation and the clockmaker held a place in high esteem in the community, such as was given to medical doctors and ministers, certainly above blacksmiths and carpenters. She goes on to state that although a clock is fairly simple in the way it works, at that time a clockmaker most likely apprenticed for years and had to understand the forces of physics, engineering, mathematics, astronomy and artisan skills necessary to construct a clock. The average citizen of early rural Penna. did not have a formal education and the prime occupation was that of farmer. In fact, York, PA was considered the western frontier of the nation at Rev War times in 1770's. The first settlers there were Quakers, then followed by the Germans who were termed Penna. Dutch, many Mennonites and other very conservative religious beliefs. When Pat posted the item(s) to the Lenhart Rootsweb list, many were offended that the author called Godfrey Lenhart's clock, 'the plainest, most unattractive clock of the Penna. tall clocks'. She agreed as do I agree, and indeed, no doubt he had no idea that a bunch of Lenhart descendants would read his book and judge him for his words on a Lenhart product!!! Pat thinks he could have chosen a better description such as 'clock which illustrated the effect of the Shaker principles of simplicity, purity, and utility on the clockmaker's craft.' It wasn't that Godfrey couldn't make fancy clocks as the text says other clocks of his are recorded which had arches and scrolls. History tells us the style of the clock and case were more a product of it's purchaser, and no doubt many clocks were special ordered. More likely, Godfrey was an astute business man who constructed a product to meet the demand in his market. Living among Quakers and Mennonites who used no adornment in their homes and businesses, he could surely sell plain clocks to them. Also a plain case most likely sold for less money as it would have taken less time to construct, thus give him a greater market share. History tells us that only the wealthy could afford clocks in their homes and it was considered to be one of the biggest investments in the home. Very often the clocks were named in wills as to who in the family would inherit them. We do have a copy of Godfrey's will and a clock is not mentioned, but the buildings he owned for his clockmaking business are and he was very specific as to the disposition of the property.

The books Pat Lenhart read says that the clockmaker, "If working alone, could only construct 4 or 5 clocks per year and he would be very lucky to be able to sell that many in any year. There were over 40 clockmakers in and around York who made tall clocks, so he certainly had competition. Each clock had to be crafted individually from scratch. Although by 1770 clocks were being made in England and were in fairly great supply, getting parts and products in the colonies took a long period of time and the English had placed embargoes on some of the finished clocks, gears and workings. Using the natural resource most readily available to them, -- wood -- Penna. clockmakers often carved some of the gears, other parts and the case from wood. Other metal parts had to be made in their shop, so they usually combined silversmithing and metal working with clockmaking. All the clocks made up until about 1830 were "tall clocks", taller than 6 feet. The clock was a pendulum and weights clock. The pendulum powered the clock and theoretically could swing forever, but forces of gravity caused it to slow down and eventually it would stop. A pendulum was different lengths in different parts of the country, since the pendulum determines the period or time of swing. A tall clock located in London would have a 39.14 inch pendulum to give sixty ticks per minute when perfectly adjusted. However, one in Havana Cuba would need a pendulum of 39.05 inches in length because it is near the equator, so the construction of a clock had to conform to the higher requirements of mathematics and physics..........So before springs were used, weights on long chains were used to supply a power to counteract the forces of gravity. The length of the chain measured how long the clock would run, thus within a normal home or business, where only a clock of 6 - 8 feet high could be accommodated, most all the clocks were 24 hour clocks - or in a location where the case could be a little taller, 30 hour clocks were made which gave a little leaveway in case someone forgot to pull the chain every morning at the appointed time. Pat Lenhart, like myself, will never forget touring Thomas Jefferson home at Monticello. Jefferson had designed a clock so the weights didn't have to be pulled so often. It was in the entry over the door, that room was two stories high and the chains went through holes in the floor to another two stories below where the servants could pull them. (19)"

In the summer of 2000 I (Arlean Lenhart Childs) had the joy of researching in one of the most, if not the most, beautiful well managed Historical Societies in our nation. While in York, PA I had the privilege of viewing the clock that timed the Continental Congress in the old courthouse museum, which is open to the public. I also had the joy of viewing the display of silver spoons, silver ladle, and ledger from Godfrey's silversmith and clock shop of 1801, and a drawing of Godfrey on the second floor of the Historical Society Museum (20). The pine case of the clock is tall and narrow with Godfrey's signature inscribed on the tin face. Roman Numerals tell the hour and around the outside of the Roman Numerals are Arabic numbers for telling the minutes. It had a sweep second hand. The pendulum was made of brass, suspended on a rod about 3' long. As my husband, Norman, twin brother Arthur, nephew Jay Crow and I viewed this colonial creation, made by our ancestor, our hearts swelled with pride to know that one of our family helped in the cause of the American war of independence.

Compiled 11-2001 by:
Arlean Lenhart Childs
304 Carrie Lane
Olney, IL 62450
e-mail address: ncchilds@wworld.com

1. First Reformed and Trinity Reformed Church, York, PA, Records
2. Maria Elizabeth Coppenhoeffer, Register of Wills, York, PA.
3. G. Coppenhoeffer, 1795 Register of Will, York, PA.
4. William H. Rinkenbach, A.B., M.S., The Lenhart Family of Greenwich and Albany Twps., Berks Co. and York Co., PA, 1937 pg. 7.
5. First Reformed and Trinity-Reformed Church, York, PA, Records.
6. First Reformed and Trinity-Reformed Church, York, Records.
7. Revolutionary War Military Abstract Card file on Pennsylvania State Archives website: www.digitalarchives.state.pa.us/
8. William H. Rinkenbach, 1937 pg. 8.
9. Curator of Collections; The York County HeritageBuilding, 250 East Market Street, York, PA. A copy of this drawing was given to Arlean by Nancy Thomas during the 2000 Lenhart Reunion in Lenhartsville, PA.
10. "Clockmakers Outside of Philadelphia", from the Internet.
11. J. F. Rauhauser, Jr, Esq. President York County Bicentennial Commission, Inc. The Secret History of the Birth of the , PO Box 1776 York, PA 17405.
12. Clock No 30 is in the old courthouse museum, York, PA.
13. Gibbs James W. PENNSYLVANIA CLOCK AND WATCHES. Antique Timepieces and Their Makers. The Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park and London, pg, 202-203.
14. Pat Lenhart researcher of genealogy on the LENHART-L@rootsweb.com
15. Merri Lou Scribner Schaumann, A History and Genealogy of Carlisle, Cumberland Co., PA, 1751-1835 copyright 1987, Dover, PA. This information came from Keith Dull, Margaret Gonzalez, and Pat Lenhart genealogy researchers at LENHART-L@rootsweb.com
16. Pat Lenhart of the LENHART-L@rootsweb.com
17. Dispatch/Sunday News May 21, 1998. This information was sent to Arlean by way of e-mail from David and Judy Lenhart of Oregon
18. Robert L. Riffle genealogy researcher at LENHART-L@rootsweb.com
19. Pat Lenhart at LENHART-L@rootsweb.com, Nov. 4, 2001; Pat Lenhart's sources of information are: George H. Eckhardt, Pennsylvania Clocks and Clockmakers 1955; James W. Gibbs Pennsylvania Clocks and Watches, Antique Timepieces and Their Makers; Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park and London, pg. 202-203; Merri Lou Scriber Schaumann, A History and Genealogy of Carisle, Cumberland County Pennsylvania 1751-1835; Copyright 1987, Dover, PA; Whisker, J., Pennsylvania Clockmakers, Watchmakers & Allied Crafts; Petrucelli, S.; Study of Early Pennsylvania Clocks - James B. Whisker, Daniel D. Hartzler, Steven P. Pertrucell; Maryland Clockmakers; Wood, S. B. C.; Clockmakers and Watchmakers of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania - Hoffman, D., La-Fonde, E. and Snyder, J; Charles Edwin Inc., Berks County Tall Case Clocks; James Clayton Johnson, These Clocks All Look alike; Thomas Lynch Montgomery, under the Direction of the Hon. Robert McAfee, Secretary of the Commonwealth, edited, The Ingenuity Behind The American Tall Case Clock, Pennsylvania Archives, Sixth Series, Volume II. Harrisburg Publishing Company, State Printer, 1906.
20. Display can be found on the second floor of the York Co., Historical Society Museum.