Harshbarger line: The family of Johannes George (Jurg) Riedt

Who, we might reasonably ask, is Johannes George Riedt (Reidt/Reed, etc.) and why haven't we heard about him before now?  The answer to the second part of the question is easy: I overlooked this family line.  The answer to the first part of the question is a little harder.  He was born about 1652 in Baalborn, in what is now Germany, the son of Hans George and Anna Margaretha Riedt..  He was a husbandsman and vinekeeper in Germany, apparently not entirely successful. He married Anna Catherina Anspach, or possibly Anna Catherina Sterf, in 1681 or 1689.  It's possible that he married one, that she died, and that he married again but I couldn't say which wife came first, if that is the case.  I have also seen her referred to as Anna Bern Sterf Riedt Anspach, indicating that she may be a Bern who married three times.  I'm totally unsure of anything except that is wife was Anna Catherina, at least at one point.

He and his children (9? 11?), along with his wife. left Germany in 1709 and went to London, where they were supported by Queen Anne.  The Palatines, for that is what they were, thought they had a guarantee of financial support and transportation costs to go to America, but Queen Anne didn't see it that way.  She finally sent them on to New York, all expenses paid, but the families were all considered indentured servants and were expected to work to pay off all that the Queen had "invested" in them.  George did not fulfill his end of the bargain, as he died on ship on the way to New York.  That left Anna Catherina a widow.  Fortunately, most of the children were now adults, or nearly so, but at least three were likely either kept at home or bound out to other families.  It was a hard life.  

 I've found at least 12 names for children of this couple.  One source says they had nine children, one says eleven but names just nine, and other family historians have varying numbers listed in their trees or information.  So this list may or may not be complete, but it's more than I knew when I started researching this family.  

Anna Maria is usually referred to as "Reed" for her maiden name.  She was born in 1681 and died in 1750 in Stouchsberg, Berks County, Pennsylvania.  Her husband is Balthasar Anspach, and he may be a nephew of Anna Catherine Anspach.  His parents are Jacob and Anna Dorothea Fischer Anspach.  Their children include Maria Barbara, Leonard, Johann Peter, Johannes, Anna Margaret, Joseph George, and Anna Catharina.   

Now there is an 8 year silence, which makes me wonder whether first wife, the mother of Anna Maria, died and George remarried sometime before 1689, when Johann Michael was born.   He married Maria Barbara Faeg, the daughter of Johannes and Anna Margaretha Becker Faeg.  Their children include Anna Catherina, Anna Margaretha, Elisabetha, Johan Michael, Daniel, and Catherine Christina.  Michel died in 1754 in Tulpehocken, Berks County, Pennsylvania.

Johann Leonhard was born about 1691 and died in 1747 in what is now Tulpehocken, Berks County, Pa.  Sadly, we know his cause of death.  He was a miller, and got caught in the cog of the machinery.  He married Anna Eliza Catharine Schaeffer, the daughter of Johann Philip and Martha Schrodt Schaeffer.  Their children are Johann George, Johann Nicholas, Johann Friderich, Mria Margaretha, Johann Peter, and Leonard.   

John George (not sure why his name is seen in the English form, but it often is) was born in 1692 and died in 1741 (probably) in Tulpehocken, Berks County, Pennsylvania.  He married Catherine Dieffenbach, the daughter of Johann Dieffenbach and his first wife, name not yet found.  Their children are Catherine Barbara, Johannes, George Peter, Marie Elisabeth, and John Casper.   

There may or may not have been a Nicholas Riedt, born in 1695 and died in 1754.  I have not located any actual documentation for this person, or for any children he may have had.

Johan Peter was born abot 1695 and died in 1747 in Tulpehocken, Berks County, Pa.  He married Anna Catherina Faeg, the daughter of Johann Peter and Anna Maria Risch Faeg (also seen as Veek).  Their children are Elizabeth, Peter, Johann Casper, Johann Jacob, Johann Leonhart, Anna Catherina, and John Heinrich.

It appears that two daughters, Anna Barbara born in 1697 and Anna Margaret born in 1699, died on the same voyage as their father.  Was there a communicable disease on board, or were these deaths the result of malnutrition caused by serious food shortages while waiting in England for the trip to begin? I wonder if we'll ever know.  One tree I saw stated that there was also a son, Johann, who died on the same voyage.  No birth date or location was given, so I don't know how much credence to put in that.  Regardless, our Anna Catherine had many sorrows to deal with as she arrived in New York.  

Johann Philip is a mystery.  The most detailed records I located conflated information with his brother Johann Casper (see below) and also with a later Johann Philip.  He is said to have been born in 1698 and died before 1755, but that is all that I can say.  I would rather post no information rather than mis-information, but would be thrilled to learn more, one way or the other.

Johann Casper was born in either 1702 or 1707.  Possibly there was a son born in 1702 who died, and our Casper was named for him.   He married Anna Margaretha Bart or Barth, the daughter of Hans Michael and Maria Magdalena possibly Breyler Barth.  Their children are Johann George, Johann Michael, Elisabetha Catherina, Maria Barbara, Johann Casper, Johann Fridrich, Johann Philip, Maria Margaretha, Christina, Frederick, and Johann Petrus.  After Anna Margaretha's death in 1760, he married Anna Maria Schirmer.  Johann Casper was the only one of the children to live through the Revolutionary War.  As I write about this family in my next post, I wonder if any of the children have a military record?