Phillip Wendell Holtzel and his wife Elizabeth Margaretta emigrated from Germany in 1748. They, and their son, Johann Tobias arrived at Philadelphia on board the Hampshire on 07 September 1748. Johann Tobias was recorded on the ship’s passenger list at the age of sixteen, having been born about the year 1732. The Holtzel family took up residence in Paradise Township, York County, Pennsylvania.
About the year 1754, Johann Tobias Holtzel married Engela Elisabeth Mohr, a daughter of Peter and Maria Catharina Mohr. The Mohr family had arrived in America from their home in Zweibrucken, Germany just three years earlier, on 16 September 1751. Engela Elisabeth had been born in Germany in 1733. Johann Tobias and Engela Elisabeth gave birth to twelve children, their last being born in the year 1765.
The surname, Holtzel, being pronounced somewhat like Hel-sel, was often written that way by the speakers of English. And so, Johann Tobias Holtzel’s name was written as Tobias Helsel in the roster of Captain Michael Ege’s Company of Associators in March 1776. He also served in Captain Thomas White’s Company, the 1st Company of the Fifth Battalion of the York County, Pennsylvania Militia.
After the War, Johann Tobias Holtzel continued to live in Paradise Township, York County. He died in October 1792.
