IMPORTANT FRAKTUR BIRTH AND BAPTISMAL CERTIFICATE FOR DAVID CUSCHWA, WASHINGTON COUNTY, MARYLAND, CIRCA 1805

This very rare and highly important southern fraktur begins with several lines of elaborate German text, which read in translation: "Whoever believes and is baptized should be saved, but those who don't believe will be damned." It then continues on to record the birth of David Cuschwa on September 10, 1804, in the "Provintz" or province of Maryland and his subsequent baptism by Pastor Rahauser on March 20, 1805. David’s parents are identified as Johannes and Catharina (Seibert) Cuschwa. In German script, a later hand added a notation at the bottom of the certificate stating that David died and was buried in the year 1831 at age 26 years, 4 months, and 15 days.

Beneath the text, the fraktur artist has painted an extraordinary scene rife with symbolism of the American Revolution. At the left, a crowned figure stands in front of a castle, identified as George III in the German text underneath which is flanked by a recumbent lion symbolizing the British monarchy. At the right, a man on horseback bearing a raised sword is identified underneath as General George Washington and accompanied by a trumpeting solider and a shield-bearing eagle based on the Great Seal of the United States. Across the green field in between King George and Washington is a row of five soldiers, each holding a musket with fixed bayonet and wearing the distinctive tall, pointed headgear of Hessian soldiers—specialized mercenaries who served under the British command. About 30,000 German-speaking soldiers, mostly from the state of Hesse-Kassel, served in the American Revolution. Many remained in America after the war, settling in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and other areas with heavy concentrations of German-speaking people. The inclusion of Hessian soldiers on this Maryland fraktur may be particularly significant, as there was a so-called “Hessian Barracks” constructed in 1777 near Frederick, Maryland, by British and Hessian prisoners of war. It housed prisoners from the battles of Saratoga, Trenton, and Yorktown.

Southern fraktur are far less common than examples from Pennsylvania. In addition to the birthplace of Maryland recorded on this certificate, several other clues link it more precisely to the Hagerstown area of Washington County, Maryland. First, the pastor who conducted the baptism can be securely identified as Jonathan Rahauser (1764–1817), a native of York County, Pennsylvania, who was ordained as a minster of the German Reformed Church in 1791. Rahauser led the Hagerstown area charge from 1782 until his death in 1817, serving numerous backcountry congregations along the Pennsylvania–Maryland including Besore’s, Greencastle, Conocococheague, Funkstown, and Troxel’s. Second, the Cuschwa/Cushwa family has deep roots in the vicinity of Clear Spring, located about 12 miles west of Hagerstown but still well within Washington County, Maryland. David Cuschwa, the recipient of this fraktur, is buried in a family cemetery located in Clear Spring along with his parents, grandparents, and numerous siblings. David’s grandfather, Johannes/John Cushwa Sr. (1731–1805), was a native of Berks County, Pennsylvania, who in 1754 assisted in the construction of Braddock’s Road in western Pennsylvania and later served in the American Revolution. Around 1760, John Cushwa settled in what is now Washington County, Maryland, in an area that became known as Cushwa’s Establishment.

Sotheby’s wishes to thank Lisa Minardi for her assistance in researching this fraktur. Minardi is the executive director of Historic Trappe, home to the new Center for Pennsylvania German Studies.