Friday, May 20, 2016

Harshbarger line: Hubert Brower 1694-1786, Immigrant

This will be another short post, since I've already written about his son Christian and there is less information about Hubert.  But as an immigrant, the one who brought five children with him to America, he deserves at least a mention.  As part of the Mennonites who were basically forced or at least encouraged to leave their homes in Fuss Gonheim, the Palatinate, (Germany), they arrived at Philadelphia in 1726.  The family is fortunate to have the original pass which allowed them to leave their home in Foss Gonheim and sail to the New World.  In order to get this pass, they would have needed to show a certain amount of funds, as the authorities wanted to make sure the unwanted Mennonites would not return to them. 

Almost by definition, Mennonites were poor so it is impressive that the family had enough money to come to America.  Unfortunately, there don't seem to be good land records, or perhaps Hubert never had land.  He may have supported himself as a stone mason or a carpenter, which were occupations of many of the family.  At any rate, by 1743 his three sons had all purchased land in East Coventry Township, Chester County, Pa so it is likely that the immigrant family lived somewhere in the vicinity. 

I've not located tax or land records for Hubert, and neither have I located his will.  At this point, this is all I know about him but it is enough to give a sense that he was determined to raise his family, and that they would own land and have a good start in life.  As Mennonites, they would have likely been hard working people who didn't participate in the wars of the time, French and Indian or Revolutionary, but they would have been good neighbors.  Hubert is believed to have died about 1786, so he lived into his 90s. He must have been a remarkable man!

The line of descent is:

Hubert Brower-Anna possibly Este
Christian Brower-first wife
Barbara Brower-Tobias Miller
Mary Miller-Johan George Harter
George Harter-Elizabeth Geiger
John Harter-Mary Bennett
Clara Ellen Harter-Emmanuel Harshbarger
Grover Harshbarger-Goldie Withers
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Margaret Beeks
Their descendants 

Update July 31, 2021  Please disregard this post.  George Harter who married Elizabeth Geiger is not the son of the Johan George Harter who married Mary Miller. 



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