Source Text:

Name: PVT Johann Philip “John” Klinger VVeteran
Birth Date: 11 Jul 1723
Birth Location:
Death Date: 30 Sep 1811 (aged 88)
Death Location:
Burial: Zion Lutheran Church Cemetery
City: Erdman
County: Dauphin County
State: Pennsylvania
Country: USA
Memorial ID: 29683247

Johan Phillip Klinger, son of Johannes and Agatha Heist Klinger, was born in the village of Pfaffen-Beerfurth, in the Odenwald region, state of Hesse, German in 1723.
He and his brother Alexander immigrated to Philadelphia on the ship Albany in 1749. Tragically, Johann Phillip's wife Anna Elizabeth Heist died en route and was buried upon arrival in Philadelphia at Trinity Church. There were no children from this marriage. Johann Phillip created a home near what is now Reading, PA. He then returned to Germany in 1753 and married his second wife, Eva Elizabeth Beilstein, on 25 May 1754. They returned to Philadelphia on the ship Neptune in late 1754, settling near Reading where all eight of their children were born:
• Eve Elizabeth, born 10 Mar 1756, died 12 Mar 1820
Johann Philip, born April 25, 1758, died July 30, 1758: ref: Pa. German Society, Vol. 1
• Christina, born 10 May 1760, died shortly after birth
• John George Esquire, born 13 May 1761, died 24 Apr. 1840
• Johan Phillip,Jr., born 11 Dec 1765, died ~1829
Christiana, born June 10, 1764, died Dec. 11, 1768 of smallpox.
• Alexander, born 16 Feb 1767, died 16 Apr 1839
• Johan Peter, born 3 Nov, 1773, died 10 Aug 1858
Like his brother Alexander, Johan Phillip was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. He was a private in Sgt. George Eisenpeis' detachment of the Berks County Militia. Pennsylvania Archive records indicate that this detachment guarded convention prisoners of war.
After the Revolutionary War the Klinger brothers Johan Phillip and Alexander acquired land near Klinger's Gap in the Mahantongo Mountains. Phillip's land was approximately 1200 acres southeast of the Gap and was divided into four sections known as Springfield, Union, Mt. Holly and Salem.
Phillip stipulated that a portion of his land should be set aside and used as a Church, cemetery and school. Zion Lutheran Church (locally known simply as Klinger's Church) is found at the corner of Klinger's Church Road and Fearnot Road in Erdman, PA.
To read in more detail about Johann Philip Klinger, the early Klinger Family and Klingerstown, PA, see the following books:
• The Klingers by Mary Klinger, 1989
• Zion (Klinger's) Church, compiled by Irwin R. Klinger 31 Jul 1987
• The Descendants of Johann Peter Klinger and Catharina Steinbruch, by Max E. Klinger
∼Served in the Revolutionary War, for 4 Penn Regiment 1782, Cert #69958, DAR #A066071

Family Members
Children
Elisabeth Klinger Weiser 1756–1820
Johann Philip Klinger 1758–1758
Christina Klinger 1760–1760
Johann George Klinger 1761–1840
Christiana Klinger 1764–1768
Alexander Klinger Sr 1767–1839
Johann Peter Klinger 1773–1858