Jacob Funck, who had laid out Hamborg in Foggy Bottom, declared that in 1768 he had received 5 pounds current money for a lot and burial ground for a German Presbyterian Church and likewise 5 pounds for a German Lutheran Church. These lots passed into the ownership of the church founded in 1833 at 20th and G Streets, NW, Washington, D.C. They formed the material basis for this church. It is known today as the United Church?Die Vereinigte Kirche. This congregation celebrated its 175th anniversary this year. From this church emerged the Washington Sängerbund and Prospect Hill German Cemetery.

Funck’s statement was witnessed by Anthony Gosler and Daniel Reinzel. Gosler is mentioned in the 1783 assessment and the 1790 census as living with his family in Georgetown. We know a little more about Daniel Reinzel or Reintzel. Johannes Daniel Reintzel was born in 1755 in Berks County, Pennsylvania. The 1783 assessment has him living in Georgetown. In the fall of 1793, Daniel was appointed by the Commissioners of the new Federal City to help conduct a drawing to raise money for the construction of public buildings. At the beginning of the 19th century, he is living in his house on M and 33rd Streets. (It stood there until 1967.) We also know that he was Presbyterian; therefore, we may assume that he represented the German Presbyterians or Reformierte. Gosler probably represented the Lutherans. Reformed and Lutherans united as die Deutsche Evangelische Gemeinde Concordia. Evangelisch means Protestant.

Daniel Reintzel’s father, Johannes Valentine Reintzel Sr., arrived in Philadelphia in 1738 aboard the ship Friendship. The English spelled his name on the ship’s manifest as “Valatin Rinisell.” He was a Palatine or Pfälzer, and he boarded the ship in Rotterdam, Holland.

Daniel’s mother was Maria Sarah Riegel; she was from around Kaiserslauten, Rhineland. They were married in 1740 in Pennsylvania. After her death, the father moved to Georgetown, Province of Maryland, around 1767. He died in Georgetown after 1790.

Funck’s statement is not dated, but it was written around 1770. In that case, Daniel Reintzel would have been only 15 when he witnessed Funck’s affidavit. It is unlikely that the German Presbyterians of Georgetown would have sent an underage representative; therefore, it is more likely that he personally represented his father, Valentine Reintzel Sr. Thus, we may assume that it was Reintzel Sr. who put up the 5 pounds for the Presbyterian lot.

Daniel Reintzel became an officer of the Georgetown Masonic Lodge as did his brother Anton Reintzel. Masons enjoyed great prestige in 18th century America. Not only were George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, Lafayette as well as Lewis & Clark Masons but so were nine signers of the Declaration of Independence and thirteen signers of our Constitution. And so was Jacob Funck.

Daniel’s younger brother, Johannes Valentine Reintzel Jr., was a Georgetown Councilman and merchant.

Valentine Reintzel source: History of The Grand Lodge of Masons, District of Columbia

As members of the Georgetown Lodge, the three brothers took part in the laying of the cornerstone of the President’s House. The procession formed at Sutter’s Fountain Inn in Georgetown and proceeded to the President’s Square. In an excavation at the SW corner of what became the White House, President Washington and other Masons placed a plate of polished brass. It read, “This first Stone of the President’s House was laid the 13th Day of October, 1792, and the 17th year of Independence of the United States of America. On top of this plate they set the corner stone. After the ceremony, they returned in regular order to the Fountain Inn where 16 toasts were drunk including to the 15 United States, to the President of the United States, to the fair daughters of America, and to the memory of those who bled in the cause of liberty.

Valentine Reintzel became Worshipful Master of the Georgetown Lodge of Masons in 1793. As such, he assisted George Washington in laying the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol. After crossing the Potomac, Washington was received in Georgetown by his Alexandria Lodge and by the Georgetown Lodge headed by Valentine Reintzel. From there they marched in solemn procession to the President’s Square, where they refreshed themselves. (The President’s House was still in the process of construction.) Then, “The procession marched two a-breast, in the greatest solemn dignity, with music playing, drums beating, colors flying, and spectators rejoicing; from the President's Square to the Capitol, in the City of Washington…” (Columbian Mirror & Alexandria Gazette).

They reached the SE corner of what was to become the Capitol of the United States. There Washington, Reintzel and three other Masonic dignitaries stepped into a trench. Here they helped Washington cement a large silver plate to a stone bed. It read, “This South East corner Stone of the Capitol of the United States of America in the city of Washington, was laid on the 18th day of September 1793, in the thirteenth year of American Independence, etc.” The cornerstone was lowered onto this plate by means of block and tackle. After the ceremony, the participants feasted on a roasted oxen weighing 500 pounds. Washington handed the gavel that he had used to Worshipful Master Reintzel. This gavel is being kept to this day in the vault of Riggs Bank on M Street and Wisconsin Avenue. It may be seen from the lobby through a window when the vault is open. It has been used on some other solemn occasions by the Queen of England and by several U.S. Presidents. In the Capitol building is a sculpture that shows Reintzel aiding Washington in laying the cornerstone. This ceremony is also captured in a huge mural in the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, VA.

In the 19th century, European emigrants typically had little property or education. The Germans were an exception. They came from all areas of Germany and represented all regional origins, educational levels, economic standing, and religious and political orientations. A sizable number were craftsmen who hoped to preserve their method of earning a living. Some chose Washington, DC, as their new home.

Washington is unique because it is a planned capital city. George Washington envisioned the city not only as a seat of government but also as a thriving industrial metropolis. However, over the years the city never gained an industrial base, which until 1860 was one factor that kept the city from growing.

Until the Civil War began, Washington, DC, was a small Southern city. However, during this war the District of Columbia experienced a phenomenal growth of population, from 61,000 in 1860 to 110,000 citizens in 1870.

Meeting the needs of such rapid growth was not an easy task. Since Washington could not provide for its growing needs through increased local factory production the talents of craftsmen were especially important. It was especially during this period the German immigrant craftsmen made major contributions to the successful growth of the capital city.

A study of nearly 30,000 male workers in the 1870 federal census for the District of Columbia indicated that only 7% were from Germany. In addition, 9% were from Ireland and 2% from England. Men from many other countries made up another 3%. About one-quarter of American-born workers were skilled craftsmen, as were one-fifth of those from Ireland and a little more than one-third of those from Great Britain. In comparison, half of the Germans were skilled workers.

As the city grew so rapidly, it was the Germans who disproportionately helped meet the everyday needs of its citizens. More than half of the city’s bakers and confectioners were of German birth. Of skilled workers helping to meet the city’s need for nourishment and clothing, one-third were German, as were one third of the city’s cabinetmakers and upholsterers.

These immigrants also helped bring culture and beauty to the city. Four of the city’s five piano makers were German, as were nearly half of its watchmakers, and two-fifths of its jewelers. Saddle makers, gunsmiths, locksmiths, turners, instrument makers and model makers, they all made significant contributions to the rapidly-expanding nation’s capital city. It is important to remember that these percentages come from a group that made up only 7% of the city’s working male population.

Of the men buried here at Prospect Hill, who lived and worked in Washington in 1870, more than three-fifths were skilled craftsmen. Therefore, they not only reflect the total 1870 German immigrant percentage of skilled craftsmen, they exceeded it.