The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
State of Service: MD
Qualifying Service: Private / Patriotic Service
Johannes Nutzel was born about 1749-1750 and raised in the Rhine Valley, Germany. It was later said that he had light hair and eyes, stood six feet tall, and weighed about 200 pounds.
He may have been an officer in the bodyguard of the Landgrave as England had a compact with Germany, which required a certain number of men to fight during the American Revolution to fill their quota. Johannes found himself aboard a ship to America. He admired the Americans for their efforts of liberty. It was decided John would not go to battle against them and, at his first favorable opportunity, would leave the ship. He confided his plan to two other men, and when the vessel anchored off an island (presumably Bermuda), the three Germans jumped quietly overboard and swam for the shore. They were soon discovered and fired upon as they were nearing the shores. Two of them reached the shore, and the other was never heard from. Once they landed on the island, the two comrades were without money but were shipped to America, agreeing to pay for their passage. On reaching America, the ship's captain sold their papers to a man named Schnebly, who lived near present-day Downsville, Maryland.
Johannes was allowed to join the American army because he would work for his passage after the war.1 John Netsley is found on the list of men enrolled in Captain Mantz's Company on 13 July 1776. On 20 July, they marched to Leonardtown and, from there, Philadelphia, where they arrived on 23 August 1776.2 In 1778, John Nitzly took the oath of allegiance.3
Upon returning after the Revolutionary War, he signed a lease from Otho Holland Williams in 1788 for lot # 55, which lies on the north side of Salisbury Street, for 3 bushels of wheat to be paid annually in May.4
Johannes married Barbara Miller, and the following children are listed in his family bible:
Elizabeth was born on 26 March 1794
Catherine was born on 27 March 1796
Johannes was born on 2 November 1797
Magdalena was born on 30 April 1800
Sarah was born on 28 November 1802.1
On 13 December 1806, Otho Holland Williams was the clerk of courts who recorded the incorporation paper of Zion Lutheran Church, which consisted of German Evangelicals in Williamsport, Maryland. John Netcil was one of the members recorded.
Johannes was skilled in the brewer and cooper trades. He died on Christmas Day 1819.1
Sources:
Miller, William Alexander, Four Old families of Williamsport, Maryland, 1941, papes 1-11.
Archives of Maryland Online. Muster rolls and other records of service of Maryland Troops in the American Revolution Vol 18, pages 47-48
Carothers, Bettie, 9000 Men Who Took Oath of Allegiance and Fidelity To Maryland During the Revolution, Vol 1, Maryland. Lutherville: self-published, 1978, page 57
Washington County Land Records Liber E Folio 931-935
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