The date and location of Henrich Bitting’s birth is not known. He is known to have lived and raised his family in the city of Freinsheim in the German Palatinate. Freinsheim had been destroyed by French troops in 1689 and all records were destroyed. Church records were resumed in 1699. In these records the family named is spelled in many different ways. No other families of a similar name show up in the records of Freinsheim or neighboring towns. There are, however, several historical records and current individuals named Bitting in the northern German province of Westphalia.
The first documentary record of Henrich and his wife Anna Catharine Schaeffer is the birth of their daughter Anna Sophia in 1699. A son, Martin was born in 1697, prior to the start of record keeping. While living in Freinsheim, Henrich owned land and served as a minor court official, "Raths-Diener" or tipstaff. [1]
In 1723 Henrich decided to emigrate to Pennsylvania. He obtained a passport from town officials on April 25, 1723. Presumably the family left Freinsheim shortly afterward, traveling down the Rhine River to Holland to board a ship. It is possible that they traveled on the Ship Globe which arrived in Philadelphia in September 1723.
The Bitting family settled in Hanover Township, Philadelphia (now Montgomery) county. In March 1724 (OS 1723) Henrich and his son Martin signed a petition for construction of a road through Falkner’s Swamp (New Hanover township). In 1728 they also signed a petition of local residents to the governor asking for protection from the Indians.
Henrich and his sons Martin and Ludwig are listed on the tax records of Hanover Township in 1734. Henrich is listed for 100 acres of land, however there are no records for land purchase. In 1741 the youngest son Jost took a warrant for land in New Hanover township. Since his older brothers had already established their own plantations, this may have been the belated documentation for land that had been pioneered by the late Henrich.
While no documentation has been found, Henrich likely died around 1740.