Harshbarger line: Joseph Burkholder 1783-1863

 I've been waiting to write about Joseph because I thought that surely I would find more information about him.  It's been about three years now and I still haven't found more information so I'm going to go with what I've got.  Nuggets are better than nothing, and Joseph needs to be acknowledged as an ancestor for the Harshbarger family.  

Joseph is another ancestor of Swiss/German descent, who was born in Pennsylvania, moved to the Portage-Stark County area of Ohio, and then traveled on to Whitley County, Indiana. Like so many of the men in this line, he was a farmer and appears not to have had a lot of education, although he made sure his children got at least some public education. 

To start at the beginning, Joseph is believed to have been the son of Adam and Maria Gingerich Burkholder. born in 1783 in (Old) Bedford County, Pennsylvania.  The family seems to have been in Franklin County, Pa a few years later, but Franklin was one of the counties created from Bedford so it is possible that they never moved and that what we are seeing here is merely a label change.  Joseph married Elizabeth Miller about 1810, and she may also have been from Franklin County.  The 1810 census shows about 35 Miller families in that county, and possibly she is hidden there, as one of the women aged 16-25.

By 1820, the only Joseph Burkholder that I can locate is in Middleton Township, Columbiana County, Ohio, with a female and two young children.  This appears to be our Joseph.  In 1830, the family is in Harrisburg, Stark County, Ohio, with seven persons under the age of 20, and a few years later the family is in Portage County, Ohio, where several of the family were enrolled in school.  The family was changing, however, as there were now just seven people in the family, including two who had not been born yet for the 1830 census.  I haven't found Joseph in the 1850 census.  He may have been in the process of moving from Ohio to Whitley County, Indiana and may thus have been missed, or he may have been missed for any number of other reasons (Gold rush seems unlikely, but it's always possible).

We know that he was in Whitley County by 1854, when he purchased land from Daniel Sayer for $400.  The plot was for $400 for 40 acres, which may have been a steep price to pay.  But son Michael was already there and Joseph may have realized he might be needing help over the next few years.  I've written before of his youngest son, Hiram's service in the Civil War, and we can see how this weighed on Joseph's mind as he wrote his will in late June of 1863.  Hiram was to have $50 in case he returned from the War, and he also made bequests to his wife for her natural life.  All the children were to share in the proceed of the farm after paying the $50 to Hiram, except two daughters to whom he had apparently given or loaned money were to have that amount deducted from their share.  Fortunately, as we know, Hiram did return from the war and he seems to have helped with the farm until he married.  Elizabeth deeded the farm to this youngest child in 1870.  

I wish I knew more about Joseph.  For instance, was he in the War of 1812?  What was his religion? Did he speak German, or English, or both languages?  What stories could he tell us of his various moves, and why he moved each time?  I would love to know more of his story, but I'm glad I know this much.  

The line of descent is:

Joseph Burkholder-Elizabeth Miller

Barbara Burkholder-Benjamin Buchtel

Nancy Fannie Buchtel-Adam Kemery

Della Kemery-William Withers

Goldie Withers-Grover Harshbarger 

Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Beeks

Their descendants