The family of Andrew Kepler 1776-1855

 First, a bit of a clean up paragraph.  I've listed his parents in a previous post as Bernard and Maria Elizabeth Lindemuth Kepner, based on records in Berks and Schuykill counties in Pennsylvania.  Because so many of his siblings stayed in that area, I've thought it was correct.  I still am leaning toward this parentage.  However, I should mention that other trees, also with records, give him Bernhart Kepler 1736-1804 and Rebecca Zieber as parents.  I am not convinced of that yet, but I want to leave it in this post for anyone who is researching; perhaps records can be found to clarify this.  Also, this seems to be the first generation that almost exclusively is noted as Kepler rather than Kepner or various other spellings.  

So, Andrew was presumably born in Berks County, Pennsylvania in 1776.  He married Anna Maria Kramer, the daughter of Daniel and Anna Maria Geise or Geist Kramer, and the couple had at least 9 children together, some in Pennsylvania and some in Ohio.  Sometime about 1809 they moved to what is now Summit County, Ohio, and were perhaps the first family to settle in Green Township.  Andrew was a private in the War of 1812. Although I have not yet traced his military history, he is likely to have seen at least some action.  Andrew died in 1855 in Green Township, Summit County, Ohio.

The children of Andrew and Anna Maria have at least some documentation to them, although some is a bit sketchy.  Also, because Andrew's brother John settled in the same area, and used many of the same names for his children, it's possible that the names and dates are confused, between children of the two fathers.  I've seen two different birthdates for Elizabeth, one of 1800 and one of 1817.  It is possible that there are two Elizabeths, the first not surviving, but it's also possible that one Kepler is the father of one Elizabeth, and the other is the father of the other one.  I'm not sure about that.  

Elizabeth may have been the first born daughter, if she belongs in this family and if her birthdate is 1800.  She married Samuel Stover, the son of Emanuel and Susannah Price Stover.  Their children are Hannah, Leah, Zachariah, Samuel, Margaret John, Solomon and Amanda.  Elizabeth died in 1882 in Big Bend, Republic, Kansas.

Mary was born next, in 1801.  She was married three times-to Jones Coolman or Koolman, George Harshbarger, and John Palmer or Paulner.  Her only known children are with George, and they include Lewis, John, Andrew Jackson, Leah, and Milo.  I have written of this family in a post about the family of George Harshbarger, who was the son of Johannes or John and Christina Elizabeth Fehler Harshbarger.  Mary died sometime after 1881.

Catherine, born in 1803, married Peter Wilhelm, possibly the son of Abraham and Mary Wilhelm.  Their children are Abraham, Andrew, Margaret, Sarah, Hiram, and Catherine.  She died about 1861 in East Liberty, Summit, Ohio.

Sarah, born in 1805, married David Warner, the son of Henry and Catherine Schumaker Warner.  Their children are an unnamed girl, Andrew, Henry, Samuel, John, Sarah, Margaret, and David.  I have seen a "son" William listed, but Sarah would have been 54 when he was born.  It seems unlikely.  She died in 1892 in Summit County, Ohio.

I have no records for John, so this is basically heresay.  He was born about 1807 and died in 1885.  His wife was Mary Kintz, the daughter of John and Susanna Wisner Kintz.  Their children are Margaret, Sarah, Mary Ann, Elizabeth, Lucetta, John, Ephraim, Lovena, Martha, Simon, and possibly another Elizabeth. There is a family in the 1850 census in Green Township, Summit, Ohio that fits this list, but it would give John a birth date two years earlier, so I'm not sure it's correct.

Margaret was born next, in 1808. She married Lewis Haring, the son of Conrad and Christina Stroman Haring.  Their children are Mary, Hannah, Sarah, Leah, Samuel, Hiram, and Lewis. She died in 1892 in Summit County, Ohio.

Jacob was born in 1809 and married Christina or Christiana Harshbarger, the daughter of Johannes and Christina Elizabeth Fehler Harshbarger.  (She was sister to George Harshbarger, who married Jacob's older sister Mary.) Their children are Elizabeth, Adam, Solomon, William, and unnamed infant, and Sophia.  Jacob died in 1871 in Green Township, Summit County, Ohio.

There may or may not be a son Barnett.  He is mentioned in the will of Andrew Keplar of Green Township, Summit County, Ohio in 1851.  I'm not sure this is the same Andrew, because my death date for Andrew is 1855.  Perhaps my death date is actually the final settlement of an estate, so I am including him here.  Barnett is reported to having been born in 1812 in Bedford County, Pennsylvania.  Did the Kepler family go there for relative safety during the War of 1812?  I'm just not sure.  He married Hannah Woods, currently not further identified.  Their children are Lucius, Margaret, Elizabeth, Andrew, Amanda, and Eleanor.  This family lived in Hocking County, Ohio, so I'm not sure this is our family.

Andrew was born in 1815 and died in 1894 in Summit County, Ohio.  He married Sarah Kintz, the daughter of John and Elizabeth Cook Kintz.  I'm not sure whether Sarah, the wife of Andrew, and Mary, the wife of John, are related but it seems possible that they are cousins.  Their children are Mariah, Hiram, Isabella, John, Sylvester, Oliver, Annanias, Simon, and Llewellyn.  

Then there are no reports of children born for 7 years, during which there may have been unsuccessful pregnancies or still births.  Samuel was born in 1822 and died in 1854.  He married Margaret Warner, the daughter of John and Elizabeth Cook Warner.  Again, I don't know whether Margaret and David, who married Samuel's sister Sarah, are related but it seems at least possible.  Their children are John, Elizabeth, Mary, Sarah, Lucinda, Louisa, Seneca, Alfred, Catherine, Samantha, Rebecca, and Andrew.

Lastly, there may have been a daughter, Rebecca, born in 1823.  I have not located any information about her and it's possible that she did not live a long life. Her mother would have been 47 years old at the time of her birth, which is not impossible but is somewhat unexpected.  I have a question mark after her name, for the time being.

Many of the many grandchildren of Andrew and Anna Maria would have been of the correct age to have fought in the Civil War.  I have not researched them, but it would be a fun rainy day project! We can guess that this was a tightly knit family, since almost all of the children lived their lives in close proximity to their parents.  We can be grateful for their example of good citizenship and hard work.