Harshbarger line: Valentine Geiger 1718-1777

 Actually, his name was Johan Valentine Geiger.  I don't have much to say about this ancestor so I'd better include every word that I can.  The few records I've found for him refer to him as Valentin or Valentine, rather than Johan, but we need to keep our eyes out and minds open for both possibilities.  Our Valentine was the son of another Johan Valentine, and his wife Johanna Fredericka Henckel Geiger.   He was apparently born in Pennsylvania (most trees are saying Hanover, Montgomery County, Pa but I've not found that documented yet) on June 2, 1718.  His mother was expecting Valentine when the family arrived in Philadelphia in 1717.  

What a voyage that must have been!  I certainly hope that mama was over the morning nausea and not prone to seasickness.  These voyages were not easy-sleeping quarters were cramped, food and cooking equipment were limited, there was little fuel for cooking fires, and of course, for mothers of small children, they had extra burdens in keeping their young children safe and occupied.  Valentine probably grew up hearing stories of the trip and perhaps wondering how the family made it.  

The Geigers were a Lutheran family so they undoubtedly attributed the safety of their journey to the hand of God.  Valentine grew up in what became New Hanover, Montgomery County, but at the time of their arrival it was still part of Philadelphia County.  He would have learned his catechism and other religious lessons, probably learned to read and write (in German, most likely), and was likely taught a trade since he wasn't the oldest son in the family.  He probably also learned to handle a gun and how to hunt.

Valentine married Sarah Vetatoe, a young widow, on May 1, 1747, when he was almost thirty years old.  I don't know Sarah's story, partly because her previous husband's name can be spelled so many different ways.  I saw one hint that her maiden name may have been Van Atta, but I am taking that with a grain of salt at this point.  Valentine and Sarah had 6 children during their almost seventeen years of marriage, before Sarah died in early 1764.  They were apparently still in New Hanover at this time, perhaps because of concerns that moving any further west was just too dangerous due to tensions (not to mention ambushes and massacres and battles) with some of the indigenous people.  The French and Indian War didn't do a lot to ease the tension, but by 1774 Valentin had moved on to Sunbury, Pennsylvania.  

It appears that Valentine was a bit different than many of our German ancestors, in that I haven't found record that he ever owned land.  He may have farmed as a tenant farmer, but I'm leaning toward the idea that he had a trade that he practiced in town, because in 1774 he purchased lot 285 in Sunbury.  This was just prior to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War.  Valentine was too old to have served in this war but there is perhaps a likelihood that he would have been at least in the militia at some point during the French and Indian War, sometime between 1756 and 1763.  

Valentine remarried, to Anna Margaret Nagle, and she was named in his will when Valentine died on May 23, 1777.  She received 350 pounds Pennsylvania currency in the will, and son Jacob received 60 pounds plus one shilling sterling.  The other children received bequests ranging from 200 to 350 pounds, so perhaps Jacob, the oldest son, had received land or something else of significant value earlier.  This seems to me to be a respectable estate and it makes me wonder how Valentine accumulated such relative wealth.  I'm sure there is more to the story and that I haven't yet found the most valuable records about him.  

The line of descent is

Johan Valentine Geiger-Sarah widow Vetatoe

Jacob Geiger-Elizabeth Shultz

Anthony Geiger-Mary Kirk

Elizabeth Geiger-George Harter

John Harter-Mary Bennett

Clara Harter-Emmanuel Harshbarger

Grover Harshbarger-Goldie Withers

Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Beeks

Their descendants