The family of Christian Harshbarger

 I hesitate to write this blog post, because I have little documentation to back it up.  Most of what I'm going to report here comes from FamilySearch and Find A Grave, and I'm not sure that it's all correct.  So take this not as a report to be believed, but as a round up of ideas for further research.  

Christian Hershberger or Harshbarger (I use Harshbarger because it makes it easier for me to distinguish between father and son on my tree, but many sites are using the spelling Hershberger, including census records) was born about 1745 to Christian and Barbara Rupp Hershberger, in Berks County, Pennsylvania. He married Catherine Magdalena (or Magdalena Catherine) van Gundy, the daughter of Peter and Fronica Ann Forny van Gundy, likely in Berks County, where the couple lived for many years.  At some point after 1790 they have moved to Bedford County, Pennsylvania, in what later became Somerset County, and he died there about 1815.

Christian and Magdalena had many children.  I don't know how many for sure, but there seems to be a possibility of at least 13, with one apparently dying young (or at least, no one has been able to trace her yet that I know of). As I found with the first generation of Hershbergers, many of the same names are used over and over, and it is hard to keep them all straight.  This is their family, subject to further refinement and research:

Christian Harshbarger, born 1765, died 1848 in Elk Lick Township, Somerset County, married Anna Shrock, the daughter of Ulrich and Anna Christner Schrock.  Their children are thought to be John, Peter, Joseph, an unidentified child, Abraham, Mary, Eve, Henry and Jacob.  

Benjamin was born in 1767 and died in 1861.  He married Mary Magdalena Speicher, the daughter of Michael and Maria Louise Fockner Speicher.  Their children are Magdalena, Catherine, Benjamin, Abraham, and Christian.  Benjamin may have later married Anna Mast, but I've found no mention of children from that marriage.

John or Johannes was born about 1770, and married Christena Elizabeth Fehler, the daughter of John Jacob and Anna Eva Behney Fehler.  Their children were Eva, Leonard, Susanna, Catherine, George, Thomas, John Henrich, Christena, and Mary Magdalena.  I will write more about this family in my next post.  

Joseph was born in 1774 and died in or before 1855 in Somerset County.  He married Sarah Hochstetler, daughter of John and Veronica Mast Hochstetler.  Their children are Rebecca, Mary, Moses, Veronica, Jacob, Magdalena, Martha, Susanna, Elizabeth, Adam, Christina, John, Mary, and Dorothea.  I think Joseph is likely another son, and I've seen Catherine, Sarah, and Hannah also listed as their children.

The next child was Daniel, born in 1776.  His first wife's name may have been Elizabeth, but I haven't found even a hint of who she might have been.  Their known child is Isaac.  He then married Veronica Lapp, daughter of Michael and Mary Zug Lapp, and their children were Nancy, John, and Lydia.  

David was also born in 1776 (so may or may not have been a twin to Daniel) and died in 1861. He married Catherine Miller, the daughter of John and Margaret Kline Miller.  Their children are listed as John, William, Kathryn, Samuel, Solomon, Barbara and Daniel, plus three who are not named.  They may have died as infants, or perhaps there are records waiting to be found for this family.  

The first daughter was Catherine, born in 1778, who was likely greeted with considerable rejoicing by her parents.  Sadly, there seem to be no records and no mention at all of her, so the possibility is strong that she died at a young age.  

Magdalena Mary was born in 1780 and died in 1862.  She married John Miller, the son of Christian and Mary Magdalena Weaver Miller.  Their children are Mary, John, Leah Sarah, Charlotte, Jesse, George, Christian, Benneville (? I wonder if this could have been misread and might be Benjamin?), Sarah, Catherine, and Lydia.

Henry was born in 1782 and died in 1870.  He married Mary Blough, the daughter of Jacob and Anna Marie Kauffman Blough.  Their children were Veronica, Jonas, Anna, Nancy, John, Henry, Daniel, and Jacob.  

Barbara was born in 1784 and may have died in 1808.  She married Jacob Foy, the son of Nicholas Foy and they had Rosanna and Jacob.  Mary Magdalena may have been their child also, or she may be the child of Jacob's second marriage, to Mary Van Gundy (yes, she was part of Peter Van Gundy's family, somehow).  

Peter was born in 1785 and died in 1865.  He married Barbara Kauffman, the daughter of Isaac and Barbara Schindler Kauffman.  There seem to be just two known children for this couple, Adam and Ann.  

Elizabeth was born in 1788 and married John Kauffman, the son of John and Anna Kauffman.  Their children are Christian, Mary, and Catherine.  I do not have a death date for her, so she may have died sometime after their third child was born.  

Christian's last known child was Abraham, born in 1790 and possibly died in 1821.  He married Elizabeth Rachel Blough, the daughter of John and Nelle Berkey Blough.  Their children were Catherine, Veronica, Elizabeth, Magdalena and Rachel.  

If my count is both complete and correct, which is not likely, there were 80 grandchildren of Christian and Magdalena.  What a family reunion that would have made!  

Some of these grandchildren eventually ended up in Lagrange County, Indiana, where many of the names mentioned (Hershberger, Hochstetler, Miller, Yoder) are still plentiful.  I've often been asked whether we are related to the Hershberger/Harshbarger family of Lagrange County, and I've replied "probably distantly."  I can now change that answer to "distantly".

I certainly welcome additions, corrections, and confirmations to this post.  Please contact me at happygenealogydancingATblogspotDOTcom.