Harshbarger line: Where was George Essig in 1840?

Perhaps I should start at the beginning, with the "who" of george Essig.  He was the son of Simon and Juliana Margaretha Schneer Essig, and was born, some say in Adams County, Pennsylvania, on October 19, 1794.  This would make some sense, as his father, Simon Essig, is believed to have been the only one of his family to have escaped an Indian attack, near Emmitsburg, Maryland, before the Revolutionary War.  The two locations are near each other. 

Simon and Juliana moved on to Stark County, Ohio, and raised their rather large family there.  George was one of 14 children born to the couple.  His parents were on the 1810 tax rolls for Stark County, and it is reported that Simon was in Plain Township, Stark County, planting an orchard as early as 1806.  It appears that all but possibly one of the children in George's first family had been born before the move from central Pennsylvania to central Ohio was made.  What a trip that must have been!  george would have been eleven or twelve years old at the time, so he would have been old enough to help with whatever needed to be done.  He would also have been old enough to remember both Pennsylvania and the trip. 

There is a tradition that George served in the War of 1812 along with his brothers Jacob and Adam.  I have not found any evidence of George's having served, but tradition says that he was injured by Indians (fighting on the side of the British) near Put-in-Bay, Ohio.  Sometimes these stories are true and sometimes not, so take it with a grain of salt until records are found verifying this.  It is beyond doubt that the Essig family would have felt threatened by the events of the war.  Fort Meigs was not constructed until 1813, and it was 156 miles away from Canton, the nearest town to where the Essigs lived.  If George wasn't a soldier in the war, he would probably have been in a local militia, and certainly would have been prepared to protect his family from stray Indian raids.

After the war was over, George married Catherine Shollenberger (various spellings), daughter of Peter and Susanna Shollenberger, on September 6, 1816.  We can trace the couple in the 1820 census, when there were two children, and the 1830 census, when there were 7 children under the age of 20 (officially) or under the age of 14 (actually).  We know George owned land in 1828 in Plain Township, Stark County. 

Then George seems to go missing from the records.  A George Essig purchased public lands in Dekalb County, Indiana in 1840 and up through 1852.  I do not know whether this is our George or not.  It is possible, whether or not this was our George, that the family was traveling somewhere in 1840 and thus was missed in the census.  I found a George Essick in the 1840 census in Davidson County, North Carolina, but the ages were off and it doesn't seem likely this was our George.  Some families just get missed, or are hiding within another family and so don't get named in the early censuses. 

We do know that George and Catherine were in Whitley County, Indiana by 1850.  That year's census shows them with 4 children still at home, ranging in age from 13 to 20.  Some of the older children live near by, having started their own households.  (According to his will, there were 11 children living at the time of George's death.) By 1860, George and Catherine are living in Columbia City, where he still is listed as a farmer.  An eleven year old boy named Washington Payne is living with them.  I don't yet know who he is, whether he is someone living there to help care for them or whether he is part of the extended family. 

George died on April 11, 1866.  Although he is not shown as having any land in the 1860 census, his will gives land to his son Joseph and to son David, after the death of his wife Catherine, and to each of his other children $35, which Joseph is to pay at the rate of $10 per year.  Catherine lived until June 19, 1872.  They are buried at Oakgrove Methodist (Redbrush) Cemetery near Larwill, Indiana, which was near the land they owned and farmed. 

There is undoubtedly more to George's story.  He left Pennsylvania, arrived in Ohio when it was basically frontier, helped build Stark County, and then came to Whitley County while it was still early in that county's history, probably again clearing land and farming as his father and his father before him had done.  He would certeinly have stories of his own to tell!

The line of descent is:

George Essig-Catherine Shollenberger
Susannah Essig-Daniel Kemery
Adam Kemery-Nancy Buchtel
Della Kemery-William Withers
Goldie Withers-Grover Harshbarger
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Beeks
Their descendants