Sometimes I have a lot of information to put into a blog polizst, and sometimes, "I got nuttin". The latter is the case today. I'm writing this post mostly in the hopes that someone will help straighten me out, because honestly, I'm not sure that Andreas Zimmerman is our ancestor. Lots of sites say that he is, but I can't find anything that connects Andreas to our known ancestor, Anna Elizabeth Zimmerman, who married Johann Jacob Hetrick. Surely someone has some documentation that connects Anna Elizabeth to Andreas?
In fact, the problems start with Anna Elizabeth's birth or baptism date. When I actually look at the records, the date frequently quoted is the date Anna Margaretha was christened. I can't find such a record for Anna Elisabetha. There is an Anna Elizabetha born two years earlier, in a different place, and her mother's name is given as Anna Margaretha, with a father's name of Zimmerman, but I haven't been able to trace her down.
So all I will say about Andreas is that he was born in or about 1672, and he married Anna Elizabetha Mueller on April 24, 1703, again with no documents to support that statement. He and his wife came to Pennsylvania in 1727 (actually, we're not sure she came with him but it appears likely) and they settled at or near Pine Grove, in what is now Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. This would have been very much frontier country, which is where many of the German immigrants headed. Andreas must have worked very hard there, but I've not found his name in any of the early Pennsylvania land records, so I don't know whether he owned land. I've also not located his name in church records, but this was very early in the settlement of Pennsylvania and records for the frontier are scarce.
The next thing I know about Andreas is that he died in 1733, and his wife died in 1740. I have a list that shows this couple with 10 children, all born in Germany, but I don't know whether or not it is accurate, or complete. I haven't found a will, or a cemetery, or anything that helps me anchor this man to a definite time and place. It's frustrating! Surely someone knows something!
If you can help prove or disprove this line, I would be very glad to hear from you!
The supposed line of descent is:
Andreas Zimmerman-Anna Elisabetha Mueller
Anna Elizabetha Zimmerman-Johan Abraham Hetrick
Johan Jacob Hetrick-Anna Elizabeth Nuss
Abraham Hetrick-Sarah Lemmon
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Showing posts with label Nuss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nuss. Show all posts
Friday, June 14, 2019
Friday, October 5, 2018
Holbrook line: John/Johan/Hans Michael Reyer, Immigrant
No one seems to be sure of his first name, which doesn't really matter much because he would have gone by the name of Michael, anyway. Hans Michael Reyer (also various spelling for the last name, such as Reiher) was born in 1686 or 1689 in Schwabbach, Wurtemburg, in what is now Germany. His parents were Johannes Michel Reiher, from Paris, France (or possibly Metz) and Anna Caatharina last name as yet unknown. They married in Wurtemburg.
This man, whom I will refer to as Michael, led a fascinating life. He was a part of the Huguenot movement, the French Protestants who were persecuted by the Catholics in France, if we are to believe what we read. He lived to be about 83 years old, some say 86. He was married three different times, and had 24 children, as reported in "The Perkiomen Region volume 1, printed in 1895). I have found names and approximate birth dates for "only" eleven of them.
I've not found anything yet about his early life, or even his early married life, but he emigrated in 1732 when he gave his age as 45, and arrived at Philadelphia on a ship called the Loyal Judith. Two sons arrived with him but we don't know how many of the rest of his family may have come, or when, except that his wife and at least one daughter arrived here also. They may have traveled on the same ship and simply not been listed, because they were women. At least two and more likely more of the children were born in America. There was a huge age different in the children, with birth years from about 1711 to at least 1752. His first wife, our ancestor, Anna Maria Seeland, died in 1742 in Upper Salford Township, in what is now Montgomery County, Philadelphia.
As of yet, I don't know much about Michael's life here except that he was a member of the Old Goshenhoppen church, which was Lutheran. He was one of the church wardens and as such, along with representatives from the Reformed church, bought jointly thirty eight and a quarter acres for the use of the two congregations in 1737. The first mention I've found of a church building was 1744, so it may have taken a while to raise the funds to erect the building. Micheal is believed to be buried at the cemetery there but I didn't locate records on Find A Grave.
He wrote his will on November 1, 1771 and died January 3, 1772. A son, John, filed a petition that the estate not be probated until another son, Charles, was present. There may be a family dynamic indicated that we don't understand. In the petition, he refers to his father as "yeoman", meaning he owned land. The inventory of personal property was valued at 79 pounds, 18 shillings, and one pence, including a large Bible, several books, and an almanac. He could read, but we don't know whether these were written in English or in German. He must have owned a good deal of land because it sold for 790 pounds, 14 shillings. Michael had done well for his family. This was not a huge estate but it was more than many of his neighbors.
I wonder how many of his children were still living, and were still in the same general area. I wonder how he managed to support such a large family. Did his older children postpone their own marriages and families in order to help raise the younger ones? What sort of problems did this area have with the native Americans during the French and Indian war? Michael was already relatively old when the conflict started. Did he serve? Did he take his family to a safer area, or a fort? What else could Michael tell us about if we could sit down and ask him about his life?
I'd like to do more research about Michael, and if I find more information, I will post updates or a new blog. In the meantime, it's good to know more about this French or German ancestor, who took a big risk in coming to America.
Our line of descent is
Hans Michael Reyer-Anna Maria Seeland
Anna Maria Reyer-Johan Jacob Nuss
Anna Elizabeth Nuss-Johan Jacob Hetrick
Abraham Hetrick-Sarah Lemmon
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
This man, whom I will refer to as Michael, led a fascinating life. He was a part of the Huguenot movement, the French Protestants who were persecuted by the Catholics in France, if we are to believe what we read. He lived to be about 83 years old, some say 86. He was married three different times, and had 24 children, as reported in "The Perkiomen Region volume 1, printed in 1895). I have found names and approximate birth dates for "only" eleven of them.
I've not found anything yet about his early life, or even his early married life, but he emigrated in 1732 when he gave his age as 45, and arrived at Philadelphia on a ship called the Loyal Judith. Two sons arrived with him but we don't know how many of the rest of his family may have come, or when, except that his wife and at least one daughter arrived here also. They may have traveled on the same ship and simply not been listed, because they were women. At least two and more likely more of the children were born in America. There was a huge age different in the children, with birth years from about 1711 to at least 1752. His first wife, our ancestor, Anna Maria Seeland, died in 1742 in Upper Salford Township, in what is now Montgomery County, Philadelphia.
As of yet, I don't know much about Michael's life here except that he was a member of the Old Goshenhoppen church, which was Lutheran. He was one of the church wardens and as such, along with representatives from the Reformed church, bought jointly thirty eight and a quarter acres for the use of the two congregations in 1737. The first mention I've found of a church building was 1744, so it may have taken a while to raise the funds to erect the building. Micheal is believed to be buried at the cemetery there but I didn't locate records on Find A Grave.
He wrote his will on November 1, 1771 and died January 3, 1772. A son, John, filed a petition that the estate not be probated until another son, Charles, was present. There may be a family dynamic indicated that we don't understand. In the petition, he refers to his father as "yeoman", meaning he owned land. The inventory of personal property was valued at 79 pounds, 18 shillings, and one pence, including a large Bible, several books, and an almanac. He could read, but we don't know whether these were written in English or in German. He must have owned a good deal of land because it sold for 790 pounds, 14 shillings. Michael had done well for his family. This was not a huge estate but it was more than many of his neighbors.
I wonder how many of his children were still living, and were still in the same general area. I wonder how he managed to support such a large family. Did his older children postpone their own marriages and families in order to help raise the younger ones? What sort of problems did this area have with the native Americans during the French and Indian war? Michael was already relatively old when the conflict started. Did he serve? Did he take his family to a safer area, or a fort? What else could Michael tell us about if we could sit down and ask him about his life?
I'd like to do more research about Michael, and if I find more information, I will post updates or a new blog. In the meantime, it's good to know more about this French or German ancestor, who took a big risk in coming to America.
Our line of descent is
Hans Michael Reyer-Anna Maria Seeland
Anna Maria Reyer-Johan Jacob Nuss
Anna Elizabeth Nuss-Johan Jacob Hetrick
Abraham Hetrick-Sarah Lemmon
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Tuesday, July 24, 2018
Holbrook line: Johan Jacob Nuss, Immigrant
Trying to understand someone who died 260 years ago is hard. We can't understand the culture of the times, we can't understand how these people lived and socialized. When our ancestors are not of English extraction, it's harder, because of additional cultural and language differences. That is why I am doing a mild happy genealogy dance today. I've been able to trace down a bit of information with help from other genealogists, AND I've found a will, written in English. Oh, happy day!
It's easy to forget that we have German lines in our family, since so many of the Holbrook lines trace back to New England and then mostly to England. But we do have several lines that are German. One of those is that of Johan Jacob Nuss. His story begins on June 25, 1716, either his birth or christening date, at Heuchelheim bel Frankenthal, Pfalz-Rheinland, Germany. It ended on September 20, 1757 in what is now Upper Hanover, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. (At the time, this was known as Goshenhoppen, Lancaster County). In between those dates, his life is not an open book, but we do find glimpses here and there.
Jacob was born to Peter and Anna Margaretha Nuss. He was one of at least six children, but as the youngest of those six, he would have not have been favored financially and probably would have struggled his whole life to make a meager living. His mother had been dead ten years when Jacob made the trip to America in 1736 on board the ship "Marie", which sailed from Rotterdam to Cowes to Philadelphia. Jacob was 20 years old and single when he came to America, a young man with big dreams.
Life apparently started well for Jacob. He married in 1738 to Anna Maria Reiher, daughter of Hans Michael and Anna Maria Seeland Reiher. (Note: this family's surname in America shows up as Reyer, as well as numerous variations). We don't know much about the next 19 years of his life, except that he and Maria had at least six children. Jacob purchased land and built a home, possibly about 1745. He had two hundred and sixty acres plus a dwelling house and out buildings, which were confiscated by the sheriff in March of 1757 to "satisfy a debt of four hundred and forty-two pounds (English), one shilling and six pence, owed by Jacob Nuss to Adam Clampffer, and was bought at public sale by William Clampffer, of Philadelphia, and transferred to him February 28, 1758."
I have some thoughts about this: 442 pounds plus of English money was a lot of money in those days; a calculator shows a rough value of $80,000. How did Jacob accumulate that much debt? Secondly, this was in 1757 in a land that was under the threat of attack by native Americans in connection with the French and Indian war. Did this have anything to do with the debt? Jacob died of "dropsy" (probably heart failure) in September of 1757, still in his early 40's. Jacob may have taken on much debt, not knowing his days were short. He is buried in the Old Goshenhoppen cemetery, near the church he and his family attended for most of the years of their marriage.
As you can imagine, the estate took some time to settle. As nearly as I can determine, there isn't an actual will for Jacob, just an inventory and that is somewhat confusing. As far as items go, he had what seems to be a lot of fabric on hand. Was he a weaver, or a merchant of some kind? He had a Bible, and guns, plus twelve pounds of lead for pouring (bullets?), but no farm animals were noted. The largest amount on the inventory is "Outstanding book debts, notes, and bonds" of 408 pounds. Was this a case of neighbor helping neighbor, or were the "book debts" those due him as a merchant? (I sure wish someone more familiar with the customs and wills of this time and place could help educate me on what I am seeing!) The estate had an original value of almost 381 pounds after all the debts were paid and collected. The last papers in the file are from 1765, when apparently the children were all provided for.
This is what we know of Jacob's life, just glimpses really. There are so many questions that I can't answer, and if I could ask him those questions, there would be a language barrier. But let us know forget to acknowledge that we have Germans in our Holbrook background, and I hope to write more of them in the coming months.
This line of descent is:
Johan Jacob Nuss-Anna Maria Reyer or Reiher
Anna Elizabeth Nuss-Johan Jacob Hetrick
Abraham Hetrick-Sarah Lemmon
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
It's easy to forget that we have German lines in our family, since so many of the Holbrook lines trace back to New England and then mostly to England. But we do have several lines that are German. One of those is that of Johan Jacob Nuss. His story begins on June 25, 1716, either his birth or christening date, at Heuchelheim bel Frankenthal, Pfalz-Rheinland, Germany. It ended on September 20, 1757 in what is now Upper Hanover, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. (At the time, this was known as Goshenhoppen, Lancaster County). In between those dates, his life is not an open book, but we do find glimpses here and there.
Jacob was born to Peter and Anna Margaretha Nuss. He was one of at least six children, but as the youngest of those six, he would have not have been favored financially and probably would have struggled his whole life to make a meager living. His mother had been dead ten years when Jacob made the trip to America in 1736 on board the ship "Marie", which sailed from Rotterdam to Cowes to Philadelphia. Jacob was 20 years old and single when he came to America, a young man with big dreams.
Life apparently started well for Jacob. He married in 1738 to Anna Maria Reiher, daughter of Hans Michael and Anna Maria Seeland Reiher. (Note: this family's surname in America shows up as Reyer, as well as numerous variations). We don't know much about the next 19 years of his life, except that he and Maria had at least six children. Jacob purchased land and built a home, possibly about 1745. He had two hundred and sixty acres plus a dwelling house and out buildings, which were confiscated by the sheriff in March of 1757 to "satisfy a debt of four hundred and forty-two pounds (English), one shilling and six pence, owed by Jacob Nuss to Adam Clampffer, and was bought at public sale by William Clampffer, of Philadelphia, and transferred to him February 28, 1758."
I have some thoughts about this: 442 pounds plus of English money was a lot of money in those days; a calculator shows a rough value of $80,000. How did Jacob accumulate that much debt? Secondly, this was in 1757 in a land that was under the threat of attack by native Americans in connection with the French and Indian war. Did this have anything to do with the debt? Jacob died of "dropsy" (probably heart failure) in September of 1757, still in his early 40's. Jacob may have taken on much debt, not knowing his days were short. He is buried in the Old Goshenhoppen cemetery, near the church he and his family attended for most of the years of their marriage.
As you can imagine, the estate took some time to settle. As nearly as I can determine, there isn't an actual will for Jacob, just an inventory and that is somewhat confusing. As far as items go, he had what seems to be a lot of fabric on hand. Was he a weaver, or a merchant of some kind? He had a Bible, and guns, plus twelve pounds of lead for pouring (bullets?), but no farm animals were noted. The largest amount on the inventory is "Outstanding book debts, notes, and bonds" of 408 pounds. Was this a case of neighbor helping neighbor, or were the "book debts" those due him as a merchant? (I sure wish someone more familiar with the customs and wills of this time and place could help educate me on what I am seeing!) The estate had an original value of almost 381 pounds after all the debts were paid and collected. The last papers in the file are from 1765, when apparently the children were all provided for.
This is what we know of Jacob's life, just glimpses really. There are so many questions that I can't answer, and if I could ask him those questions, there would be a language barrier. But let us know forget to acknowledge that we have Germans in our Holbrook background, and I hope to write more of them in the coming months.
This line of descent is:
Johan Jacob Nuss-Anna Maria Reyer or Reiher
Anna Elizabeth Nuss-Johan Jacob Hetrick
Abraham Hetrick-Sarah Lemmon
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Holbrook line: Johan Jacob Hetrick 1730-1789 Immigrant and patriot
Johan Jacob Hetrick was born in 1736 in Gocklingen, Landau, Germany, which is a village of less than 1000 persons, just a few miles from the border of France. From what little I know of German history, and World War I, and World War II, it is likely that this land has been in contention for centuries. Perhaps even in 1749, when Jacob emigrated to Pennsylvania, it was still recovering from the Thirty Years War of the previous century. Since he was only 19 when he came to America, it may be that he came for economic reasons. His mother, Anna Elizabeth Zimmerman, came either with him or shortly before he came, but died shortly after arriving here. His father, Johan Abraham Hetrick, died in 1743 in Germany, and the whole remaining family may have decided to make a fresh start here. Other Hetricks came to America during the middle years of the 18th century, but I've so far not been able to establish a connection.
Jacob married Anna Elizabeth Nuss, apparently back in Gocklingen although I've not found records for that marriage. If so, he must have gone back to marry a "home town girl" and then brought her back to his home in Pennsylvania. By this time, he may have been settled in Codorus, York County, Pennsylvania, about 1762, where he probably intended to live out an uneventful life. The first challenge to that was his family. He and Elizabeth had at least 9 children. The last six were baptized in Stone's Union (Reformed) Church, Brodbeck, Pa. He became a land owner of 200 acres called "Duck Hill" in 1767, and was constable in 1771 and supervisor for Codorus township in 1774. At about the same time, he obtained a license to sell "beer and cyder." In 1772 he was listed as an innkeeper. This was a family job. Elizabeth would have been the cook and hospitality hostess, and the children would all have been helping from an early age. Jacob is listed on tax records for 1783 and 1787, and when he died he owned land in both Codorus and Manheim townships.
The interesting part of Jacob's story is his involvement, if he was involved, in the Revolutionary War. He was a second lieutenant and then a first lieutenant in the 7th Battalion of the Pennsylvania Militia. This unit was made up mostly of Germans who, for reasons of honor or religion, didn't really want to fight. The reason of honor was that they had sworn an oath to Britain when they got off the ship at Philadelphia, and were hesitant to dishonor that. Also many from Germany frowned on military service, as a matter of principle, and of course, there were the normal family reasons for not wanting to serve. However, when Philadelphia was "captured" by the British and used as their headquarters, enough of the militia were willing to fight that the 7th Battalion may have been engaged in battle. It's also possible that they weren't involved at all, or that they served long only long enough to allow other soldiers to take a furlough, or they may have been used to guard British prisoners. I would love to find the answer to this mystery but the sources I've found seem to contradict each other. Jacob is listed as a soldier under the DAR and the Sons of the American Revolution; I just don't know what his exact service was.
Jacob was an immigrant, a pioneer, a successful farmer and businessman, a patriot soldier, and a father. I am proud to be his descendant.
The line of descent is
Johan Jacob Hetrick-Anna Elizabeth Nuss
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Jacob married Anna Elizabeth Nuss, apparently back in Gocklingen although I've not found records for that marriage. If so, he must have gone back to marry a "home town girl" and then brought her back to his home in Pennsylvania. By this time, he may have been settled in Codorus, York County, Pennsylvania, about 1762, where he probably intended to live out an uneventful life. The first challenge to that was his family. He and Elizabeth had at least 9 children. The last six were baptized in Stone's Union (Reformed) Church, Brodbeck, Pa. He became a land owner of 200 acres called "Duck Hill" in 1767, and was constable in 1771 and supervisor for Codorus township in 1774. At about the same time, he obtained a license to sell "beer and cyder." In 1772 he was listed as an innkeeper. This was a family job. Elizabeth would have been the cook and hospitality hostess, and the children would all have been helping from an early age. Jacob is listed on tax records for 1783 and 1787, and when he died he owned land in both Codorus and Manheim townships.
The interesting part of Jacob's story is his involvement, if he was involved, in the Revolutionary War. He was a second lieutenant and then a first lieutenant in the 7th Battalion of the Pennsylvania Militia. This unit was made up mostly of Germans who, for reasons of honor or religion, didn't really want to fight. The reason of honor was that they had sworn an oath to Britain when they got off the ship at Philadelphia, and were hesitant to dishonor that. Also many from Germany frowned on military service, as a matter of principle, and of course, there were the normal family reasons for not wanting to serve. However, when Philadelphia was "captured" by the British and used as their headquarters, enough of the militia were willing to fight that the 7th Battalion may have been engaged in battle. It's also possible that they weren't involved at all, or that they served long only long enough to allow other soldiers to take a furlough, or they may have been used to guard British prisoners. I would love to find the answer to this mystery but the sources I've found seem to contradict each other. Jacob is listed as a soldier under the DAR and the Sons of the American Revolution; I just don't know what his exact service was.
Jacob was an immigrant, a pioneer, a successful farmer and businessman, a patriot soldier, and a father. I am proud to be his descendant.
The line of descent is
Johan Jacob Hetrick-Anna Elizabeth Nuss
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
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