Harshbarger line: Adam Burkholder 1728-1800 Immigrant

 Adam Burkholder was an immigrant to Pennsylvania, coming here sometime before 1751, when he is known to have owned land.  Unfortunately, there is not much information about his early years.  He was born in 1728 in Oberdiessbach, Bern, Switzerland, a son of Adam and Anna Mellinger Burkhalter.  It appears that the family was either Mennonite or of another Anabaptist group, and since Anna died in Germany in 1761, they were likely religious and economic refugees from the Swiss persecutions.  

Adam likely came to America as a young man.  We don't know whether he paid his own way or whether he had several years of service as an indentured servant.  If the latter is the case, then that would put his arrival probably in the early to middle 1740's, given that he had enough money saved to buy land prior to 1751.  So far as I have been able to find, no records have been located that give details of his immigration, so the time of his immigration is speculation at this point.  

We know that his wife was Maria Gingerich, daughter of Yost (Joseph) and Anna Elizabeth Huber Gingerich, and it is likely that the marriage took place in Pennsylvania, perhaps about the same time as the first land was acquired.  Again, I'm not locating records.  He seems to have gone to what was the frontier of Cumberland County, which broke off into Franklin County in 1784.  So for roughly 50 years, he may have lived in the same location in what is now Greene Township of Franklin County.

Adam and Maria had as many as 12 children, with eleven living at the time that he wrote his will.  (More on that, later.  First there is more to tell.)

Adam would have been the right age and location to be involved in the French and Indian War, but his Mennonite upbringing may have prevented him from actively participating.  By 1780, though, he was a private in the Third Company, Fourth Battalion of the Cumberland County Militia, under Captain Joseph Culbertson.  (This should make him eligible for DAR recognition, but so far his service seems to have gone unnoticed.)  Culbertson had served earlier in the war and it is possible that Adam did also, but I've not found records stating so.  In 1780-81 the "enemy" would have been some of the native American tribes who were still trying to drive the Americans back to the east. Adam served as a wheelwright during the 1780-81 time period, so perhaps this was his way of supporting his family, neighbors, and country without taking up arms.  Again, that is speculation on my part.  

Adam seems to have been not a poor man.  He wrote his will in 1797, and when his will was probated February 5, 1800 (so exact date of death is unknown), his estate was valued at 3472 pounds.  (Currency was still in flux at this time and I haven't found a reference that would allow this to be converted to dollars.) One reason I think he was probably better off than many of his neighbors is that he had ten shirts in his inventory.  Either he was living comfortably, or he was a bit of a dandy, but based on the other items in the inventory, he lived a comfortable, hard working life.  Much of the inventory and other estate papers are damaged, but we know he had books, a gun, powder horn, and knives, and a number of farm animals, as well as land.  He left much to his wife and then passed most on to his children, although in the final settlement, Joseph's name is missing.  Adam does mention having given much to his children earlier, so perhaps Joseph had already received his entire inheritance, or perhaps he received it when he reached the age of 21.  

Maria died in 1813, and both of them were buried on their farm, now part of the Letterkenny Army Depot, which has a Chambersburg address, but is actually north of Chambersburg.  Unfortunately, their graves are unmarked.  

I'd sure like to know more about Adam, and about how the wars affected his family and his life.  Did they have to leave their home and go back to Carlisle or Lancaster or another larger settlement?  What led him to become active in the militia?  And was he still a Mennonite at the time of his death?  

The line of descent is:

Adam Burkholder-Maria Gingerich

Joseph Burkholder-Elizabeth Miller

Barbara Burkholder-Benjamin Buchtel

Nancy Buchtel-Adam Kemery

Della Kemery-William Withers

Goldie Withers-Grover Harshbarger

Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Beeks

Their descendants