John Jacob Mickley (1737–1808) was a farmer and soldier from Whitehall Township,

Lehigh County, Pennsylvania Lehigh County (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Lechaa Kaundi'') is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 374,557.

, known for transporting the

Liberty Bell The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American independence, located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (now renamed Independence ...

from

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in September, 1777 during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

Life and family

He was born on December 17, 1737, to John Jacob Mickley (1697–1769) and Elizabeth Barbara Burkhalter (1719–1769) at their family homestead near

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

in Whitehall Township. His father's birth name was Jean Jacques Michelet. At the time, the homestead was part of Northampton County, but is now part of Lehigh County. He married Susanne Miller (1743–1807) in November, 1760. On October 8, 1763, several settlers, including two of his siblings, Henry and Barbara, were killed in an Indian attack. In 1913, a granite marker was erected by the

Lehigh County Historical Society Lehigh County Historical Society is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1904, dedicated to collecting, preserving, and exhibiting the history of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The Historical So ...

commemorating this event. He died on December 12, 1808.

Revolutionary War

On November 15, 1776, he was elected to the General Committee of the Revolution of Northampton County. After General

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

's defeat at the

Battle of Brandywine The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American Continental Army of General George Washington and the British Army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777, as part of the Ame ...

on September 11, 1777, Philadelphia, then capital for the

Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress was a late-18th-century meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolutionary War. The Congress was creating a new country it first named "United Colonies" and in 1 ...

, was under imminent attack by the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

under General

Sir William Howe William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB PC (10 August 172912 July 1814) was a British Army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British land forces in the Colonies during the American War of Independence. Howe was one of three brot ...

. On September 14, to prevent capture of the city's tower bells, which could be melted into cannonballs, the

Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania The Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was the collective directorial executive branch of the Pennsylvanian state government between 1777 and 1790. It was headed by a president and a vice president (analogous to a gov ...

ordered that these bells be taken down and transported out of the city. The

, also known as the State House Bell, from

Independence Hall Independence Hall is a historic civic building in Philadelphia, where both the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted by America's Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Fa ...

was among these bells and was secured on Mickley's wagon. However, his wagon broke down on September 23 in

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

. The bell was then transferred to the wagon of

Frederick Leaser Frederick Leaser (1738–1810) was a Pennsylvanian German farmer, Patriot (American Revolution), patriot and soldier from Lynn Township, Pennsylvania, Lynn in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. During the American Revolutionary War, he transported the L ...

, who delivered it on September 24 to the Zion Reformed Church in

Allentown Allentown may refer to several places in the United States and topics related to them: * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a town in Wilkinson County * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in T ...

, where it was hidden until June 1778 when the British departed Philadelphia.

Legacy

On November 19, 1908, the Liberty Bell Chapter of the

Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promote ...

unveiled the Saving of the Liberty Bell Plaque, describing the efforts of Mickley and Leaser, at Zion Reformed Church in

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The city has a population of 125,845 as of the 2020 United ...

. The plaque was unveiled by a descendant, nine-year old Edwin John Jacob Mickley. On October 12, 1917, the Michelet Chapter (Allentown, Pennsylvania) of the

dedicated the Revolutionary and Huguenot Memorial for his father, himself, two of his brothers, John Martin and John Peter, who also served during the war, and his sister Magdalena at St. John's Union Cemetery in Mickleys.

Gallery

File:John Jacob Mickley family monument, St. John's Union Cemetery, Mickleys, PA.jpg, John Jacob Mickley Family Memorial File:John Jacob Mickley (1737–1808) gravestone, St. John's Union Cemetery, Mickleys, PA.jpg, Gravestone at memorial base

References

External links