Joseph* and Christian Hostetler were taken by the Lenape Indians. There is almost no record of the experience of Joseph during his time with the Indians, just the factual information when he was taken, but even his return dates are not known. His captivity is estimated to be around 8 years. His father, Jacob, escaped from 3yrs captivity from the Lenape Indians and proceeded to spend 5 years petitioning the Governor and other officials to organize a swap of Indian and White captured children. When this was achieved, the swap occurred in the summer of 17xx and continued for x years.
At the first official meeting to swap captive children, the Indian’s advised some of the white children/adults were too far away and would only be able make their way to the East Coast after the winter (the winter of xxxx is reported to have arrived early) and would only be able to arrive the following Spring. It is considered that Joseph returned, albeit reluctantly, in this second – less well-documented – swap in the Spring of xxxx.
“After parting, Joseph was adopted into one of the families in full fellowship, or in other words, was made after their manner a full Indian. As he was a skilled hunter and backwoodsman. Hertzler, in his Family History (pg. 152), states Joseph was respected, and after his adoption, treated with the same kindness that any original Indian received. “ From ‘Descendants of Jacob Hostetler, the Immigrant of 1736, Part I” (pg. 34)
“It is related of Joseph, that although the Indians had murdered his Mother, brother and sister, and committed many other atrocities, he had become so attached to them and their customs and manner of living that he hesitated long before he decided to leave them and readopt civilization and live with the whites. The mutual attachment between him and his Indian brethren was such that it (the kinship) was kept long after his return. In due time he married… and settled down, but the habits he acquired during his long captivity never fully left him”. DJH, pg 45.
Christian, on the other hand, let his story be quite well-known. See “AN INDIAN SPEAKS GERMAN”
The Ulrich/Baker Ancestral Lines 
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