Beeks line: Johann Wilhelm Berkheimer, 1706-1745, Immigrant

I love it when I find someone in the ancestry of President Obama, who I've not yet written about.  It means that much research has already been done and I'm not likely to uncover any hidden gems.  The pros have done it for me.  Much of this information came from family websites and from people who like to research presidents.  More power to them, and thank you very much!

He seems to have gone by the name Wilhelm, so that is how I'll refer to him.  Wilhem was born in 1706 in Frankenthal, Bayern, Germany to Balthasar and Anna Margaretha (maiden name unknown ) Berkheimer.  Frankenthal was a town that was all but destroyed in the wars of the seventeenth century so it is a wonder that any records at all have survived.  (Or maybe they didn't survive, and that is why we have no specific birth date for him.)

We know that he arrived in Philadelphia with his wife, Maria Salome Hallman (Heilman or Heyllman are also spellings of the same name) four children, and a Susanna Berkheimer, who may have been a sister or cousin.  Wilhelm is listed as being 20 in 1732 but he was more likely 26 years old then, as his wife, listed as Salome, was 25.  The children were named Leonhard, Valentin, Magdalenea Louisa, and Johann Georg.  They arrived together on the "Samuel" on August 11, 1732.  It's possible that a son Henry was born in the New World, also. 

The family made their way to what is now Perkiomen Township, Montgomery County, Pa  I have a copy of a land grant for 25 acres to Wilhelm Berkheimer, which gives him 25 acres of land adjacent to the land he already owns, if I am reading this correctly.  This was dated 1742, so he owned land prior to that time.  Probably he farmed and possibly he had another occupation also.  His family would have felt right at home here because the whole valley was settled primarily by German immigrants.  There are tax records for him through 1744, but I don't yet know when they started.

1745 must have been a very rough year for both Wilhelm and Salome died that year.  Most likely they died of one of a number of diseases but it's possible there was an accident that killed them both.  It would be interesting to know the cause of death, because that would give us a glimpse into the kind of life they had.  Both were just about 40 years old when they died, which was young, and they would have left a young family, although several of the children were teen agers.  Wilhelm and presumably Salome are buried at the Old Goshenhoppen Church Cemetery in Woxall, Perkiomen Township, Montgomery County, Pa.

There is more research to be done on this family, to determine the causes of death, when they acquired land and how much, and whether they were of the Lutheran or the reformed faith.  However, we do have this much information and it's a start, and a reminder of how little we really know about our ancestors. 

The line of descent is:

Wilhelm Berkheimer-Maria Salome Hallman
Leonard Berkheimer-Maria Catherine Kerger
Magdalena Berkheimer-Samuel Goodnight
Catherine Goodnight-Jacob Dunham
Samuel Goodnight Dunham-Eliza Matilda Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Homer Aldridge
Gretta Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants

Beeks line: Anthony Hallman 1671-1759, Immigrant

One of the things I like most about researching ancestors is unexpected finds.  Who would have thought that the Beeks line would turn up what appears to be a Mennonite family?  Closer investigation indicates there may be a mystery to be solved here  This immigrant, and his wife, are said to be buried in the graveyard of the Mennonite Church at Skippack, Montgomery County, Pa., which was right next to his property.  However, the family attended the Lutheran church at Trappe, Pa.  So was this merely a burial of convenience, or is it possible that his wife was Mennonite?  Right now, we don't know because we don't know who his wife was. 

Let's start at the beginning. Anthony was born in 1671, in Klein Neidersheim, Palatinate, Germany.  This is just a little east and a little north of the Alsace-Lorraine region, and is in the general area where Mennonites settled.  But the village was small, and since these small villages were homogenous, we will, until proven otherwise, assume that Anthony, at least, was Lutheran.  He married Maria Salome last name unknown about 1702.  I've seen various guesses as to when he arrived in the New World, but I've seen nothing that seems to have documentation.  He may have been here as early as 1708 but most likely it was more like 1721, since children were born in Germany at least through 1718.   We also don't know whether the family travelled together to the New World or whether Anthony came over first.  He was naturalized in 1731, when laws were changed so that all persons had to swear fealty to the British king.  He was a blacksmith by trade, owned land and probably farmed it, at least initially, and later in life purchased a mill in Gwynedd. 

Anthony was one of the founders and part of the building committee of the Augustus Lutheran Church at Trappe (1743, when he was already 72 years old) and was still serving as church warden at the time of his death.  One of the doors to the building had his name inscribed above it, as "A. Heilmano."  He had purchased land in 1720, perhaps before he even laid eyes on it, and then purchased another tract in 1736.  He eventually sold the first tract to his son Henry. 

Anthony and Maria Salome had at least eight children together, before her death in 1746.  Anthony lived another 13 years, dying in 1759.  There may have been trouble in the Hallman family, for in his will he disinherited his son John, "for reasons best known to himself" and left bequests to his daughters and children, and son Henry.  Whether there was a split in the family or whether John had already received his bequest, we'll probably never know.

I think I'd have liked Anthony.  He was a hard worker, apparently thrifty but yet generous to his church, and raised a family in difficult times. 

The line of descent is:

Anthony Hallman-Maria Salome
Mary Salome Hallman-Johann Wilhelm Berkheimer
Johann Leonard Berkheimer-Maria Catharine Kerger
Magdalena Berkheimer-Samuel Goodnight
Catherine Goodnight-Jacob Dunham
Samuel G Dunham-Eliza M Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants

Beeks Line: Samuel Goodnight

This is another case of too many questions, and not enough answers.  Samuel Goodnight's claim to fame today is that he was the father of Catherine Goodnight, who was married to Jacob Dunham. Catherine and Jacob, of course, are ancestors of President Barack Obama.  I wonder what Samuel would have said to us in his last days, looking back on his life?  What would he have said were the most important accomplishments in his life?

He was born in Germantown, Pa in 1761, the son of Christian Gutknecht (Americanized to Goodnight when the parents arrived in Philadelphia in 1752) and Mary Magdalena Grunholtz. The Gutknechts were from the Alsace region of France or Germany, depending on the time period, and can be traced back to the village of Ried bel Kerzers, near Bern, Switzerland. It's a German speaking village to this day.  Germantown was largely a service oriented area which became swallowed up by Philadelphia, and Christian became a "tobacco preparer" there.  Samuel was one of 7 children.  We don't know how he got to Montgomery County but one possibility was that he was set up in an apprenticeship there. This was common among families with many children, especially if they didn't own enough farmland to support adult children. 

Samuel worked, then, at some sort of trade or business, but we don't know what it was. He married Magdalena Berkheimer about 1785 in Montgomery County.  He is found in tax lists for Worcester Township, Montgomery County in 1786 and 1788, and is on the Septennial census there in 1793. 

He is noted as having had military service in the Montgomery County Militia from 1785-1786, in the 7th Co of the 6th Battalion, commanded by Lt. Col. Robert Curry, but perhaps this is incorrect. According to what I've been able to learn, the 6th Battalion disbanded at the end of the Revolutionary War. Lt. Col. Robert Curry was in command from 1775 to at least 1777.  So either Samuel served in the Revolutionary War at a very early age, or the facts are wrong concerning his dates of service. DAR says anyone trying to prove this ancestor must prove his service. I didn't find him on the Pa Digital Archives listings, nor did I find him on Fold 3. 

By 1810, he and his family had moved to Berkeley, Va. Samuel and Magdalena were each over 45 years of age, but by now they had a full house.  There were two males aged 10-15, 2 males 16-25, one female aged 10-15, and one 16-25.  The names of five of their children are known: Martha, Samuel, Christopher, Catherine, and Leonard. We may be missing the name of one son, or perhaps there was a boarder in the household.  Another problem I have is that I have the birthdate for Samuel Jr. as being 1819.  This would be much too late for him to be a child of this couple, although he could be a grandson, perhaps. 

The 1820 census shows them in Bath Township, Morgan County, WV but it is unlikely that they moved. Morgan County was formed in 1820 from part of Berkeley County.  Of course, this was actually Virginia and not West Virginia during this time period.  The 1820 shows one male under the age of 10, one male between the age of 26 and 44, one female between the ages of 26 and 45, and then Samuel and Magdalena, each over the age of 45.  This looks like it could be one of their children, plus a spouse and grandson, who are living with them, but that is just a guess.  In 1830, the family is still in Morgan, Virginia.  It is now composed of Samuel, a free white female 50-59, and a male aged 10-14.  The female aged 50-59 may not be Magdalena, or she may simply not have "aged" as much as Samuel did during the 10 years between the censuses. 

One other possibility is that I saw one record, undocumented, that said Samuel and Magdalene weren't married until 1819, in Berkley County, Va. I have not seen a source for that. However, because Leonard Berkheimer, Magdalena's father, is found in Worchester Township, Montgomery County at the same time as Samuel, I think the likelihood is that the Montgomery County location and date of 1785 are likely correct. We need to keep looking for those records.

It is believed that Magdalena died about 1830.  Samuel then went on, probably with family, to Fayette County, Ohio, where he died about 1833. 

I'll keep looking for answers about this couple. I don't know their religion, or his occupation, and I may be missing the name of one child. When was Samuel Jr really born?  Was our Samuel in the Revolutionary War?  And what would Samuel have thought that his greatest accomplishment was? 

The line of descent is:

Samuel Goodnight-Magdalene Berkheimer
Catherine Goodnight-Jacob Dunham
Samuel Goodnight Dunham-Eliza Matilda Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Homer Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Beeks children, grand children, etc.