Towards the end of the seventeenth century, the Pennsylvania assembly denied a petition from the many Germanic people coming to Pennsylvania to ban slavery.
They considered slavery immoral, against their biblical beliefs and their society mores. And so these people who could afford to do so, began purchasing slaves for the express purpose of granting them freedom.
In 1751, one of my ancestors, Andreas Baierle from Sinsheim in the German Palatinate and then owner of the first stone tavern/inn in Lancaster, Pa., purchased a slave and thereafter set him free.
So my question is, if reparations are granted, do I and the many other descendants of these good German immigrants get refunds or rebates along with 270-300 years accumulated interest?
Donald Holloway is a retired Duke Hospital pharmacist, where he worked for 36 years. His letter is in response to the Sept. 4 story on a reparations panel.
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