Harshbarger line: Lorentz Schollenberger 1737-1785

 Johann Lorentz Schollenberger (various spellings) qualifies as an immigrant ancestor.  He was born in Albig, in the Rheinland Palatinate of Germany on or before August 14, 1737.  His parents were Johann Friedrich and Anna Katherina Hoppach Schollenberger, and the family may have originated in Flaack, Zurich Canton, Switzerland.  I'm not finding Schollenberger names in the Mennonite records, so I'm guessing this was not a Mennonite family, but one that went to Germany for economic reasons.  It looks like it was Lorentz's great grandfather who made the move from Switzerland to what became Germany, sometime before his grandfather's birth in 1673. (I'm still researching the move and trying to establish a religion for this family.)

Friedrich, Lorentz's father, came to Pennsylvania in 1742, and we can assume that the family also came at that time.  Lorentz would have been five years old-old enough to be a handful, I would think, if he were so inclined.  

We have only bits and pieces of information about Lorentz's life here.  His father settled in Greenwich Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania and Lorentz stayed there his entire life.  He may have married twice.  The first marriage was about 1760 to Catherine Elizabeth Mertz, and they may have had two children.  She is believed to have died in 1762.  On August 13, 1763, he married Anna Elizabeth Mertz, the daughter of Johann Michael and Margareth Mertz.  The two Mertz women were sisters, with our Elizabeth being about 11 years younger than Catherine Elizabeth.  There were at least nine children born to Lorentz and our Elizabeth, so there was quite a family to support, and to help as the children grew older. 

I found (so far) only one tax record for Lorentz, from 1767.  He is listed in Greenwich Township, Berks County, with 150 acres of land, 4 horses, 4 cattle, and three sheep, and was taxed at "9" (shillings?).  This was the highest amount of tax on that page, so he must have been a little better off than some of his neighbors.  Perhaps he worked hard at his occupation as a weaver (noted on the guardian records discussed below) as well as on the farm.   

Elizabeth died in 1776 and unfortunately, Lorentz died at a relatively early age also, probably in 1785.  In November of that year, his son Jacob, who was born in 1769, (in court language, "above the age of fourteen") filed a petition asking that he be allowed to choose his guardian. In it, he says that his father died intestate (without a will) but seized (in possession of) a considerable real and personal estate.  I've been unable to locate the results of that petition, nor an inventory.  Oh, to be able to travel to Reading, Pennsylvania and look through the records there!  

This is as much as I've learned about Lorentz.  As he was 17 years old when the French and Indian war broke out, and as there were raids in Greenwich Township by natives helped by the French, it is likely that he was involved at some point in defense of his father's home, and possible that he was in a militia that went on patrols.  It's also possible that the family went to Reading during the worst time of the raids.  I don't know for certain, and I also don't know for certain what church the Schollenbergers were part of.  The names I've found are for a generation or two after our Lorentz, so I'm still searching for that information, also.  He was young enough to have served in the Revolutionary War, also, but I've not found any indication yet that he was in a militia or the Pennsylvania Line.  As a weaver, he may have been more valuable turning out material for soldiers' uniforms.

Yes, I wish I knew more about Lorentz, and yes, I'll keep looking.  But I'm happy to have even these tidbits, that help us understand a little bit more about this family.  

The line of descent is:

Lorentz Schollenberger-Elizabeth Mertz

Peter Schollenberger-Susanna

Catherine Schollenberger-George Essig

Susannah Essig-Daniel Kemery

Adam Kemery-Nancy Buchtel

Della Kemery-William Withers

Goldie Withers-Grover Harshbarger

Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Beeks

Their descendants