The first person in my my family to come to America was brother Jethro Jakob Gass and his son Frederick Goss . Jakob was a swiss German migrated from rothenfluh Switzerland. He traveled over to Ephrata in 1727 on the James goodwill by way of David Crockatt, master of Rotterdam . Jakob was baptized in 1728 . He was head of council for a brief period in 1745 before being reinstated in 1746 . He would be succeeded in 1749 and die shortly after . He was a guardian of women's celibate groups . He was a well liked member of the community and had helped print and proof read the first German Bibles from 1742 to 1743 with the agent of Benjamin Franklin. He had a diary that he kept with written accounts of the life of a church member. It was said that brother lamech was also brother Jethro, but in fact I believe it to be his son Jakob Gass JR or his grandson due to the difference of dates .