Peter Mock & Elizabeth

Peter Mock was born in Germany around 1742.  It is unknown when he immigrated to America and several different stories exist about who immigrated with him.  Some sources say he came with his parents and siblings, others say he came with two older brothers.  A story related by his great-granddaughter says that on the crossing from Germany, each family had to purchase their own food provisions for the trip.  During the voyage, a storm blew the ship off course, extending the duration of the trip.  Provisions ran low and the family arrived in the new world starving.  While their father was out getting food, the children came across some peaches and ate them, seeds and all.

Peter lived in Maryland for several years before coming to Bedford County, PA.  While living in Maryland, he married Elizabeth (Sample?), the daughter of German immigrants.  After moving to PA, Peter originally settled on Bobb’s Creek (now an area known as Pavia) but he found the land too wet so he moved to the hills in St. Clair township, in an area known as Hominy Hills.  It was so named by the local Indians because at one time there had been a mill there used to grind corn into hominy which the Indians visited.

At the time Peter and his family moved to Bedford (the late 1760’s), western Pennsylvania was still the backcountry of America.  Wild animals such as bear, wolves, boar and wildcats still roamed the area and raids and attacks from Indians still occurred.  Only ten years before Peter moved to Bedford, Fort Bedford was built during the French & Indian wars.  Just before the fort was built, Rebecca Walter, a ten year old girl, and her brother were kidnapped from a nearby town, their father shot and killed, and Rebecca was scalped but she didn’t die.  The brother and sister were held captive for seven years before being returned to their mothers.  The pair had forgotten English and the boy couldn’t handle living with his own people again and he ran away.  Rebecca stayed, married her childhood friend, and raised several children.  Twenty years after that incident, in 1777, a band of Indians attacked another household only a few miles from where Peter and his family were living and killed a settler and several of his friends who were with him at the time.  The Indians took his wife (Eve) and two youngest children.  The four older children managed to escape while the house burned.  The three were held captive with the Indians for a year until the Indians sold them to the British who held them under arrest for nine years before being allowed to return to their family.  After her return, Even became known as “Indian Eve”

Despite the dangers of the area, Peter and Elizabeth farmed several hundred acres and raised nine children: Peter Jr., Christopher, Paul, John, Jacob, David, George, Adam, and Fanny.  Another story relayed through Peter’s great-granddaughter is of his time in the militia during the Revolutionary War.  According to her, “Peter Mock, who was born in Germany, learned to speak the English language while serving in the Revolutionary War.  On one of his visits home during his war service, he wanted to surprise his wife whose native tongue was English – she having been born and reared in the United States.  Arriving home late one night, he woke her, told her who he was, and asked to be admitted – all in English.  His wife refused to open the door- not believing it to be he – until after he had spoken to her in German.”

Peter and Elizabeth are said to be buried in a small private cemetery situated on the land he owned.  Elizabeth passed away in 1813 at the age of 66 and Peter passed away in 1817 at the age of 75.