UNITED METHODIST HISTORICAL SITE CORYDON, INDIANA
Johann George Pfrimmer was born in the village of Berstett, near Strasbourg, in the German speaking Alsace province of France on July 24, 1762. He was named after his father, Johann Georg, at his baptism on July 25,1762 and was called George (pronounced Gay-yorg in German) by his family. His family originated in Echwersheim as early as 1570. He was 2nd of 3 sons, the 1st, Jacob remaining to become mayor of Berstett, the 3rd, Michael, who migrated to Bischheim, a suburb of Strasbourg, where he raised his family, and from which three of his grandsons would migrate to Harrison County, Indiana, where their great-uncle, John George Pfrimmer, had lived. In 1840's, other cousins from Eckwersheim emigrated to Canada and US.
Family tradition says Pfrimmer was educated in medicine and surgery at Nevers,
France, and then served in the French Fleet under Admiral DeGrasse in 1782 in the West Indies where he received a sabre scar on his face. By 1784 he was married to Elizabeth Ann Senn of Sissach, and was a blacksmith at nearby
Wenslingen, Switzerland. He landed at Philadelphia, PA, on July 7,1788 with his wife, and 2 of his 3 children, 1 died at sea. They lived in Berks, Co. PA, until 1801. He was a member of the German Reformed Church, but was
converted when he became a part of more evangelical brethren. By 1790 he was ordained, and ministered in western PA. He was part of the founding conference of The Church of the United Brethren in Christ on Sept. 25,1800 when Rev.
Philip Otterbein and Rev. Martin Boehm were elected bishops. Pfrimmer's religious training of children is recorded by another UBC founder Rev. Christian Newcomer in 1800. From 1801 to 1808 he lived in Washington Co. PA and held
evangelical meetings. In 1801-2 he was reluctant to be subject to Conference actions and offended both the German Reformed and UBC by making an irregular claim to ordained ministerial standing in both churches. This was resolved
with the UBC by 1805. He visited Harrison Co, IN, in 1807, and moved his family to Indiana. They arrived and settled east of Corydon on May 10,1808. On Oct. 11,1808 he entered 160 acres SW of Corydon, which went to descendants in
the Hays family. They gave it to the Parks Commission for the Harrison Nature Reserve in 1970's. Shortly after his arrival Pfrimmer was selected to sit as 1 of 3 Judges of the Court of Common Pleas. As judge he helped organize
Harrison County, and build the Courthouse-Capital Building. He was also appointed probate judge by William Henry Harrison while Indiana Territory Governor. 1811 was a busy year. Rev. J. George Pfrimmer supervised Harrison's mills
on Blue River and later was a partner with Harrison in a grist mill 6 miles west of Corydon. He bought and freed 2 slaves for $400. He was known as a scholarly man, so besides Law he was also involved in practicing medicine,
farming, milling, trading, politics, preaching, and music. They had bought a piano from PA, and he was known for composing hymns to popular tunes of choral music. However, his 2 main activities were ministry and medicine after 1812.
In 1812 he organized Pfrimmer's Chapel UBC in January. Samuel Pfrimmer gave permission and a log "class meeting house" was built on his property in 1816, and the land was deeded in 1825 to Pfrimmer's Chapel Trustees.
The first Record Book dates from 1818 and includes family names like Pfrimmer, Winters, Row, Shields, Harbison, Zenor, Venner, Deutsch, Bruce, Gehlbach, Turley, Quebbeman, and others. He also organized a number of other UB
Churches in IN: Stoneycypher and Charlestown (1813), Corydon (Old Capital), Brown's now Potato Run and 2 churches in KY (1814), Beech Woods (now Concord -1815), Union (1818), and in Dearborn Co. Bonnell's (1815), Weisburg and
Longnecker's (1816), Lawrenceville (1818), Harts (1819), and in Fayette Co. Waterloo (1819) and Orange (1820) as well as Georgetown in Floyd Co. (1820).
