The area surrounding Peter Finger's York Co. farm is characterized by rolling
hills, which tend to run in a north-east / south-west direction. Some spots are a bit
more rugged than others, especially as one goes westward - the further east in York
County, the more gentle the slope of the hills and the wider the valleys. The typical
valley in the area of Peter Finger's farm is about a mile or two between hilltops.
Today, farming appears to be focused on the hill-sides nearing the bottom of the
valleys. The valley bottoms are crisscrossed with small streams or creeks, usually
just a few feet across. Some of these areas are grassy barrens, while others are
swampy and overgrown with brush.
The topography of Peter Finger's farm, which has Beecher Hill running along the
northwestern part and Dug Hill Ridge running along the southern part, must have
obliged him to farm mostly in the southeastern corner of his land and may be the
reason he added the 37-acre southern portion of The Addition along the Maryland
border. This area, which slopes gently uphill as one moves south (the top of Dug Hill
Ridge lies south and east of Peter Finger's acreage), is now home to the Village
of Blackrock. The northern part of Peter Finger's land along Beecher Hill, which
was acquired via the 21¾-acre portion of The Addition, is heavily wooded.
According to J.A. Finger IV, there is an old tannery at the top of Beecher Hill,
which, since the Fingers were tanners, may date back to the time of Peter Finger's
residence in Pennsylvania. The South Branch of Gunpowder Falls flows through Peter
Finger's farm near its southern corner at the Maryland border, with little streams
both east and west of the current location of the Black Rock Church of the Brethren
coming together just south of Peter's farm inside Maryland. The eastern stream
flows close beside Peter's old house and must be the source for an Artesian well
that is inside the basement of Peter Finger's house.
Though Peter Finger may have been raised in a Mennonite family, over time he
associated with the German Reformed Church (sometimes called "German
Presbyterians" in older documents - i.e., they were Calvinists). This may be due
in large part to having married Catharine Barbara Reinhardt, probably in 1753 since
their first child was born in 1754. The Reinhardts were members of the German Reformed
Church. After his marriage, perhaps Peter Finger thought it would be a good idea to
memorialize his land purchase from Andrew Hershey via the 1754 survey, since the
Mennonites forbade marriage outside the church and imposed discipline via the practice
of "shunning," or avoidance of all social intercourse with expelled members.
Alternatively, the deteriorating health of Andrew Hershey (I believe he died Dec. 24,
1754) may have motivated Peter Finger to clarify his farm's boundaries.
I have been able to find records of two of Peter Finger's daughters'
christenings. The Private Register of German Reformed (but originally Moravian) Rev.
Jacob Lischy records that Catharina Finger was christened August 14, 1757. Her
sponsors were Melcher and Margreth Kühner. On October 20, 1776 Margaretha Finger
(born May 20, 1776) was christened, according to church records, at German Reformed
and Lutheran Stone (St. Jacob's) Union Church in Glenville, Codorus Township, York
County.
Peter Finger became a naturalized citizen of England in 1762 at Annapolis, Maryland.
In the first step of the naturalization process, Peter received communion at St.
Anne's Parish (Episcopal / Church of England), Annapolis on Apr. 14, 1762. He
returned to Annapolis in the fall and "between the hours of 9 and 12 in the
forenoon" took the "Oath of Affirmation" on Oct. 10, 1762. Peter
Finger's companions were:
Stephen Bower
Jacob Cramlich
Michael Whitmore
John Keener
Melcher Keener
Note: the Melcher Keener above is likely the same man as the Melcher Kühner who
sponsored the 1757 christening of Peter Finger's daughter, Catharina.