We are fortunate to have a good amount of information about John. He is also known as Johannes, but it seems that most of the records about him refer to him as John. Henry Meyer in volume 8 of the Pennsylvania-German magazine does a wonderful job of telling John's story, making it easy for us to imagine him and proud for us to honor him. I recommend that you get a copy of the magazine (it's on Google, at no cost) in order to get a full sense of the man and his family. This is necessarily shortened.
John was born in late 1732 or early 1733 in Linsenhofen, Wuerttemburg, Germany. This alone makes him different from many of our ancestors, because he wasn't Swiss and may not have suffered religious persecution. He and his family were Lutheran, Well, actually he may have been a bit of a free thinker, but mostly he was Lutheran. His family had lived in the little village for at least five generations, going back to Petrus Buchtel who was born there in 1610. For references, it's near Stuttgart, Germany, and has a population of about 2500 people, but that's about all I've been able to find about it. John's parents were Johannes and Lucia Ehhalt Buchtel, and he had a sister and quite probably other siblings.
John came to America in 1753, possibly because war seemed to be brewing at home. He was single when he arrived here, and had little in the way of material goods. He served an indentureship to pay off the cost of his passage, and married Catherine Seiler or Scheler, a neighbor who was also working to pay off her indenture. They were married December23,1760 and first went to live in Snyder County. Later they moved to Brush Valley, in what is now Centre county, and this is where they made their forever home.
John and Catherine had at least 9 children, and all of the family members are considered to be pioneers of Centre County. they had to clear their land while keeping an eye out for wolves, bears, and even panthers. By 1792, the year they apparently moved to Brush Valley, the threat from the native Americans was pretty much over, but there were still many dangers to overcome. John farmed and planted apple trees as well. His grapevines were not as successful, and I don't understand the slang in the article that explains why. It is apparent that the failure was not due to lack of work on John or the family's part. John was also a cooper (made barrels, buckets, and pails) and a mechanic, and as the Valley filled up, or as travelers passed, his skills were much needed. He seems to have been well educated, or self-educated, with particular interests in mathematics, astrology (common at this time period) and philosophy. As already stated, he was a Lutheran but not a regular church goer. It is said that ministers went to him in order to learn.
John several times mentioned that he would not die in his bed and that prediction came true one unnoted day in 1809. He was standing in the doorway to his house, and fell down dead. Some of the Buchtel children wanted to move on to Ohio, perhaps because they weren't given enough land to survive on in their father's will (that is just speculation on my past). In 1812, all but two of the children, plus Catherine herself, set off for a new home near Uniontown, Stark County, Ohio, and Catherine died there in 1813. The trip was probably quite difficult for her.
There is a picture in the article of a home that Solomon Buchtel built in Brush Valley near Rebersburg. It is probably not standing any longer, but it looks like it would have been a nice farm home at the time it was built.
I admire John Buchtel and would like to learn more about him. One thing I'm really curious about is where he got his education, and what his parents hoped that he would do with it. Did they want him to become a pastor or a schoolteacher? And what inspired him to continue his learning while he was so busy doing the back breaking work of farming and breaking in new land?
The line of descent is:
John Buchtel-Catherine Seiler
Solomon Buchtel-Maria Margaretha Reber
Benjamin Buchtel-Barbara Burkholder Long
Fannie Buchtel-Adam Kemery
Della Kemery-William Withers
Goldie Withers-Grover Harshbarger
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Margaret Beeks
Their descendants
Showing posts with label Long. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Long. Show all posts
Friday, March 10, 2017
Friday, February 24, 2017
Harshbarger line: Introducing Barbara Burkholder Long Buchtel Kemery
We found her! We found Barbara Long, the most recent brick wall ancestor that I couldn't locate. Dawna Morton, a distant cousin, found the clue that allowed us to begin to learn her story, and I can't thank her enough. There is still more to learn, but I wanted to share my excitement at "finding" her, and my admiration for what must have been a remarkable woman.
Barbara was actually born a Burkholder, not a Long. Her father was Joseph Burkholder (in some records showing as Barkholder) and her mother may have been Elizabeth Miller. I haven't found the for sure documentation of that yet, but Barbara's youngest brother, Hiram's mother was Elizabeth Miller. She was born in 1826 somewhere in Ohio, probably Portage County but it could have been elsewhere.
The first mention we can find of her is in an every youth census of Portage County taken in 1838. This book lists all, or nearly all, of the youth in the county who were between the ages of 4 and 30, and it lists them by school district. So in Suffield School District #4, there is Joseph Barkholder with the following children: Joseph Barkholder Jr., Eliza Barkholder, Barbary Barkholder, and Eva Barkholder. (Joseph Jr. later married Catherine Miller, who is listed on the same page as a daughter of Barbary Miller. There is also a parent named Anthony Miller on the page, and he needs to be investigated further as he could possibly be related to Elizabeth Miller).
The next we know of Barbara is her marriage license, just two years later. It can be found on FamilySearch, and clearly shows her to be fourteen years old at the time of the marriage license on Augut 13, 1840. So the approximate birth date we have for her of 1826 is correct, although I still don't think the Georgetown, Brown County location showing on the internet is correct. She was marrying a Thomas Long, who was 21 years old. Elizabeth Burkholder, Barbara's mother, was there and gave consent to the marriage.
We don't know why a fourteen year old girl was marrying a 21 year old man, nor why it was her mother who gave permission and not her father. Speculation would be that it was the honorable thing to do, to get married, and that father did not approve, but that is only speculation. At any rate, the two married. They had a baby who died in 1842. I'm unable to locate my notes that gave the name of the child and how old he was when he died, but there exists a slight possibility that Barbara was pregnant with this child when she married Thomas.
Another piece of the puzzle that is missing at the moment is what happened to Thomas. Either the marriage failed or Thomas died, but I can't say which at this point. My guess is that Thomas died, because Barbara and her second husband were married March 24, 1844 and they named a son Thomas, presumably in remembrance of Thomas Long. Benjamin Buchtel was 38 years old when he married, and his bride was 18. I've looked for an earlier marriage record for Ben, as he was known, but have not located one. This may have been his first marriage.
In 1850, the family, under the name indexed as Booken, is listed in Brimfield, Portage County, Ohio. There were already three children in the family, Joseph Jr, Betsey, and Fannie. Also living with them was Susan Long, aged 76. I am thinking this may be Thomas's mother. She would have had Thomas when she was 43 years old, which is well within the realm of possibility. I need to trace her further to fill in that part of the puzzle.
Joseph Burkholder and family moved to Whitley County, Indiana sometime around April of 1854, when he purchased land. Joseph Jr and his wife Catherine were there also, as was an as yet unplaced Michael Burkholder. He was in Portage County in 1850 aged 28, so he may well be a son of Joseph Sr also. Ben and Barbara Buchtel show up in Whitley County in February of 1860, when he purchased land, and were there for the 1860 showing 6 children. One more would join the family in a few years.
It may have seemed from the outside that things were going well for Ben and Barbara, but in March of 1871 she filed for divorce. Now, in those days, divorce was not as common as it is now and usually it was the man who filed. Barbara still had children at home, and as far as I know now had no visible means of support. She did, however, have about a dozen witnesses who testified on her behalf, showing that Ben had become an alcoholic, beat her often, the most recent time with a club, and had several times threatened to kill her. One wonders whether she was injured or had bruises to show the court, because she apparently filed shortly after the club beating. She was promptly granted a divorce, and also maintained custody of Solomon, aged 14, and Evie, who was 6 and blind.
Somehow, Barbara provided for herself and the two children, perhaps assisted by some of her other children. Benjamin didn't change his will, and when he died on or before January 10,1872, she inherited land from him. Roughly two years after the divorce, she married Daniel Kemery, who was not only a neighbor but the father in law of her daughters Margaret, who was married to Alexander Kemery, and Fannie, who was married to Adam Kemery. Daniel was 15 years older than she was, but would have provided security for herself and the children. We can hope it was a love match, also, because Barbara had had a hard life.
Barbara was apparently loved by the Kemery children and grandchildren because in some of the Kemery obituaries, she is listed as the mother of the children, when she was clearly the stepmother. It is possible that grandchildren of Daniel provided the information and they may not have known Daniel's first wife, Susan or Susanna Essig. At any rate, Daniel died in 1877. Barbara died within the next two years, because in a March 1879 deed Adam Kemery, her son in law, describes her as deceased, of Whitley County, and she had died intestate.
That is what is known of Barbara Burkholder Long Buchtel Kemery. She died in her early 50's, perhaps of hard work, stress, and the effort of giving birth to at least eight children. She'd moved to a new state As I sit back and look at her life, I just have to admire her. When she gathered up her courage to get a divorce, and rounded up witnesses who told her story for her, she became more than a typical woman of her time. I am not really a feminist, but I sure admire courage, and I would describe her as courageous. I'm so glad I got to know her this much, and would love to know more.
(Besides the sources mentioned in this post, I've also referred to divorce papers, wills, and deeds found in the Whitley County File Management department and the recorder's office, and the census records of 1840, 1850, 1860, and 1870. It's been fun putting most of this together, after Dawna gave me a push in the right direction!)
The line of descent is:
Benjamin Buchtel-Barbara Burkholder
Fannie Buchtel-Adam Kemery
Della Kemery-William Withers,
Goldie Withers-Grover Harshbarger
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Margaret Beeks
Their descendants
Barbara was actually born a Burkholder, not a Long. Her father was Joseph Burkholder (in some records showing as Barkholder) and her mother may have been Elizabeth Miller. I haven't found the for sure documentation of that yet, but Barbara's youngest brother, Hiram's mother was Elizabeth Miller. She was born in 1826 somewhere in Ohio, probably Portage County but it could have been elsewhere.
The first mention we can find of her is in an every youth census of Portage County taken in 1838. This book lists all, or nearly all, of the youth in the county who were between the ages of 4 and 30, and it lists them by school district. So in Suffield School District #4, there is Joseph Barkholder with the following children: Joseph Barkholder Jr., Eliza Barkholder, Barbary Barkholder, and Eva Barkholder. (Joseph Jr. later married Catherine Miller, who is listed on the same page as a daughter of Barbary Miller. There is also a parent named Anthony Miller on the page, and he needs to be investigated further as he could possibly be related to Elizabeth Miller).
The next we know of Barbara is her marriage license, just two years later. It can be found on FamilySearch, and clearly shows her to be fourteen years old at the time of the marriage license on Augut 13, 1840. So the approximate birth date we have for her of 1826 is correct, although I still don't think the Georgetown, Brown County location showing on the internet is correct. She was marrying a Thomas Long, who was 21 years old. Elizabeth Burkholder, Barbara's mother, was there and gave consent to the marriage.
We don't know why a fourteen year old girl was marrying a 21 year old man, nor why it was her mother who gave permission and not her father. Speculation would be that it was the honorable thing to do, to get married, and that father did not approve, but that is only speculation. At any rate, the two married. They had a baby who died in 1842. I'm unable to locate my notes that gave the name of the child and how old he was when he died, but there exists a slight possibility that Barbara was pregnant with this child when she married Thomas.
Another piece of the puzzle that is missing at the moment is what happened to Thomas. Either the marriage failed or Thomas died, but I can't say which at this point. My guess is that Thomas died, because Barbara and her second husband were married March 24, 1844 and they named a son Thomas, presumably in remembrance of Thomas Long. Benjamin Buchtel was 38 years old when he married, and his bride was 18. I've looked for an earlier marriage record for Ben, as he was known, but have not located one. This may have been his first marriage.
In 1850, the family, under the name indexed as Booken, is listed in Brimfield, Portage County, Ohio. There were already three children in the family, Joseph Jr, Betsey, and Fannie. Also living with them was Susan Long, aged 76. I am thinking this may be Thomas's mother. She would have had Thomas when she was 43 years old, which is well within the realm of possibility. I need to trace her further to fill in that part of the puzzle.
Joseph Burkholder and family moved to Whitley County, Indiana sometime around April of 1854, when he purchased land. Joseph Jr and his wife Catherine were there also, as was an as yet unplaced Michael Burkholder. He was in Portage County in 1850 aged 28, so he may well be a son of Joseph Sr also. Ben and Barbara Buchtel show up in Whitley County in February of 1860, when he purchased land, and were there for the 1860 showing 6 children. One more would join the family in a few years.
It may have seemed from the outside that things were going well for Ben and Barbara, but in March of 1871 she filed for divorce. Now, in those days, divorce was not as common as it is now and usually it was the man who filed. Barbara still had children at home, and as far as I know now had no visible means of support. She did, however, have about a dozen witnesses who testified on her behalf, showing that Ben had become an alcoholic, beat her often, the most recent time with a club, and had several times threatened to kill her. One wonders whether she was injured or had bruises to show the court, because she apparently filed shortly after the club beating. She was promptly granted a divorce, and also maintained custody of Solomon, aged 14, and Evie, who was 6 and blind.
Somehow, Barbara provided for herself and the two children, perhaps assisted by some of her other children. Benjamin didn't change his will, and when he died on or before January 10,1872, she inherited land from him. Roughly two years after the divorce, she married Daniel Kemery, who was not only a neighbor but the father in law of her daughters Margaret, who was married to Alexander Kemery, and Fannie, who was married to Adam Kemery. Daniel was 15 years older than she was, but would have provided security for herself and the children. We can hope it was a love match, also, because Barbara had had a hard life.
Barbara was apparently loved by the Kemery children and grandchildren because in some of the Kemery obituaries, she is listed as the mother of the children, when she was clearly the stepmother. It is possible that grandchildren of Daniel provided the information and they may not have known Daniel's first wife, Susan or Susanna Essig. At any rate, Daniel died in 1877. Barbara died within the next two years, because in a March 1879 deed Adam Kemery, her son in law, describes her as deceased, of Whitley County, and she had died intestate.
That is what is known of Barbara Burkholder Long Buchtel Kemery. She died in her early 50's, perhaps of hard work, stress, and the effort of giving birth to at least eight children. She'd moved to a new state As I sit back and look at her life, I just have to admire her. When she gathered up her courage to get a divorce, and rounded up witnesses who told her story for her, she became more than a typical woman of her time. I am not really a feminist, but I sure admire courage, and I would describe her as courageous. I'm so glad I got to know her this much, and would love to know more.
(Besides the sources mentioned in this post, I've also referred to divorce papers, wills, and deeds found in the Whitley County File Management department and the recorder's office, and the census records of 1840, 1850, 1860, and 1870. It's been fun putting most of this together, after Dawna gave me a push in the right direction!)
The line of descent is:
Benjamin Buchtel-Barbara Burkholder
Fannie Buchtel-Adam Kemery
Della Kemery-William Withers,
Goldie Withers-Grover Harshbarger
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Margaret Beeks
Their descendants
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Harshbarger line: Daniel Sayler, Immigrant 1708-1778
I opened up my file folder to write about this gentleman today and found nothing. I had no notes, no print outs, no documentation, nothing. So what I've found in the last hour on the internet will be the basis for this blog post, with a go to the top of the list requirement that I find documentation for this. Much of the information I am using I found on a site by Stewart Saylor of Friedens, Pa, headed "Descendants of Josepth Seiter and (---) Unknown. I found a little more on Ancestry and on Find a Grave, but please note, all of these are secondary sources. And to make it worse, some of them appear to be contradictory.
Daniel Sayler was born June 15, 1708 in Sembach (also known as Lembach, also known as Schaumburgh), Lippe, Nordhien-Westfalen, Germany. I tried to pull this up on Google but only got more confused. I think, though, that it is in southern Germany, somewhere close to the border with Switzerland. Daniel's father was Joseph Seiler, born 1687 in Willenstein, Germany, and his mother is unknown. He had three brothers but two died young, leaving Jacob as his sole brother through most of his life. He also had three sisters, at least one of whom died young. The family appears to have moved from place to place as the children were born in four different locations. It would be interesting to know the story behind that, because for the most part, unless they were refugees, families stayed in one location.
There are reports that Daniel was in the New World by 1730, and also there appears to have been a Daniel Seiler who came on the Muscliffe Galley in 1744. If this is our Daniel, he may have returned to the "Old Country" to settle or claim an estate, since he was the oldest surviving son. Joseph had died in 1740 but it is unknown when his mother died. There is conflicting information as to the name of his wife. Most trees on Ancrestry give her name as Hanna Gerber. I also found one tree giving her name as Hanna "Anna" Barbara Hahn. He is supposed to have married each woman in Lancaster County, Pa, in either 1735 or 1738. Since one child, the one we are interested in, was born in 1736 it is possible that the first wife died in or shortly after childbirth, and he remarried. More research needs to be done. Daniel had eight children, all born in Pennsylvania: Catherine, Johannes, Jacob, Christian, Daniel, Julia, Mary, and Daniel.
His last known child was born in 1749, in Lancaster County, where the family had settled. This is noted in one site as Lebanon Township, so apparently it eventually became Lebanon County. He had purchased land there before 1761, but sold it at a cheap price to two of his sons, John and Christian, and moved to Frederick County, Maryland in 1772. Both of these would have been "frontier" locations, and Daniel would likely have had to clear his second farm, build his second home in the wilderness, and start all over again there. He was 64 years old at the time, so perhaps he depended on his youngest son Daniel to do the heaviest work.
Daniel died in 1778 in Frederick County, Md. and is buried at Johnsville, Frederick County, Md. In his will, which is written in German, he advises that he had sold his Pennsylvania land to his two oldest sons at a very good price so they would get nothing further from him. (If they contested this, they were each to get a shilling, as payment in full.) He left his Maryland land to his youngest son, Daniel, and asked that each of his daughters be paid "three and thirty pounds, six shillings, eight pence) beginning three years after the death of both himself and his wife, one daughter a year. Since his wife died in 1791, payments would have begun in 1794 or 1795, when presumably the farm was producing a good profit. It is likely that at least one of the crops that was grown was tobacco.
There is so much research I need to do here. Who was his wife, and who was the mother of each of his children? Where, exactly, were his farms? What prompted him to come to America, establish a farm, and then move yet again to Maryland? What religion did he practice?
It sometimes seems premature for me to put a sketch like this in a blog post, but I hope the Harshbarger descendents will think of this as an outline for research, if someone should so choose and if I don't make much progress myself. At least we know where he came from, and have some idea of how and where he lived his life, and that is more than we had when I started this post. If someone reading this has additions or especially corrections, please contact me: happygenealogydancing AT gmail DOT com.
The line of descent is:
Daniel Sayler (Seiler)-Hanna or Anna
Catherine Sayler-Johannes Buchtel
Solomon Buchtel-Maria Margaretha Reber
Benjamin Buchtel-Barbara Long
Nancy Buchtel-Adam Kemery
Della Kemery-William Withers
Goldie Withers-Grover Harshbarger
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Margaret Beeks
Their descendents
Daniel Sayler was born June 15, 1708 in Sembach (also known as Lembach, also known as Schaumburgh), Lippe, Nordhien-Westfalen, Germany. I tried to pull this up on Google but only got more confused. I think, though, that it is in southern Germany, somewhere close to the border with Switzerland. Daniel's father was Joseph Seiler, born 1687 in Willenstein, Germany, and his mother is unknown. He had three brothers but two died young, leaving Jacob as his sole brother through most of his life. He also had three sisters, at least one of whom died young. The family appears to have moved from place to place as the children were born in four different locations. It would be interesting to know the story behind that, because for the most part, unless they were refugees, families stayed in one location.
There are reports that Daniel was in the New World by 1730, and also there appears to have been a Daniel Seiler who came on the Muscliffe Galley in 1744. If this is our Daniel, he may have returned to the "Old Country" to settle or claim an estate, since he was the oldest surviving son. Joseph had died in 1740 but it is unknown when his mother died. There is conflicting information as to the name of his wife. Most trees on Ancrestry give her name as Hanna Gerber. I also found one tree giving her name as Hanna "Anna" Barbara Hahn. He is supposed to have married each woman in Lancaster County, Pa, in either 1735 or 1738. Since one child, the one we are interested in, was born in 1736 it is possible that the first wife died in or shortly after childbirth, and he remarried. More research needs to be done. Daniel had eight children, all born in Pennsylvania: Catherine, Johannes, Jacob, Christian, Daniel, Julia, Mary, and Daniel.
His last known child was born in 1749, in Lancaster County, where the family had settled. This is noted in one site as Lebanon Township, so apparently it eventually became Lebanon County. He had purchased land there before 1761, but sold it at a cheap price to two of his sons, John and Christian, and moved to Frederick County, Maryland in 1772. Both of these would have been "frontier" locations, and Daniel would likely have had to clear his second farm, build his second home in the wilderness, and start all over again there. He was 64 years old at the time, so perhaps he depended on his youngest son Daniel to do the heaviest work.
Daniel died in 1778 in Frederick County, Md. and is buried at Johnsville, Frederick County, Md. In his will, which is written in German, he advises that he had sold his Pennsylvania land to his two oldest sons at a very good price so they would get nothing further from him. (If they contested this, they were each to get a shilling, as payment in full.) He left his Maryland land to his youngest son, Daniel, and asked that each of his daughters be paid "three and thirty pounds, six shillings, eight pence) beginning three years after the death of both himself and his wife, one daughter a year. Since his wife died in 1791, payments would have begun in 1794 or 1795, when presumably the farm was producing a good profit. It is likely that at least one of the crops that was grown was tobacco.
There is so much research I need to do here. Who was his wife, and who was the mother of each of his children? Where, exactly, were his farms? What prompted him to come to America, establish a farm, and then move yet again to Maryland? What religion did he practice?
It sometimes seems premature for me to put a sketch like this in a blog post, but I hope the Harshbarger descendents will think of this as an outline for research, if someone should so choose and if I don't make much progress myself. At least we know where he came from, and have some idea of how and where he lived his life, and that is more than we had when I started this post. If someone reading this has additions or especially corrections, please contact me: happygenealogydancing AT gmail DOT com.
The line of descent is:
Daniel Sayler (Seiler)-Hanna or Anna
Catherine Sayler-Johannes Buchtel
Solomon Buchtel-Maria Margaretha Reber
Benjamin Buchtel-Barbara Long
Nancy Buchtel-Adam Kemery
Della Kemery-William Withers
Goldie Withers-Grover Harshbarger
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Margaret Beeks
Their descendents
Friday, January 2, 2015
Harshbarger line: Nicholas Pontius 1728-1794
One reason I love doing this blog is that I learn so much by doing it. When I decided to write about Nicholas Pontius today, I had maybe three facts about him-his parents, his siblings, and birth and death dates. In only about half an hour's research online, I've found enough to write several paragraphs, I suspect. Of course, I still have many many questions, but they will wait until my next trip to the Allen County Public Library, or until I have time to do a bit more in depth work on line, whichever comes first. Nicholas is an immigrant ancestor, and that is reason enough to want to know more about him.
Nicholas is actually Johann Nicholas Pontius, and as one would guess, he is of German descent. His parents are Johann Peter Pontius and Anna Catherina Hausch, and he was born just before August 24, 1728 in Berglengenbach, Rheinland-Pfalz, in what is now Germany. The August 24 date is the date of his christening, which took place at the "Evangelish Lutherische" there. It is currently a small village of about 478 people, and there is no reason to think that it was a larger town at the time of his birth. It is located near the French border, and is in that part of the country that frequently changed hands during the long wars in the 17th century.
Nicholas was the second youngest in his family, and his father died in 1736, when Nicholas was only 8 years old. We don't know how the family supported themselves, without the bread winner, but in 1738 his mother and some of her children, including John and Nicholas, came to America in search, no doubt, of a better life. They arrived on the ship "Glasgow" on September 9, 1738, from Rotterdam. Nicholas' older brother John took the oath of allegiance the next day, but Nicholas was still a child and probably stayed on ship with his mother until this was completed.
Nicholas would have helped to support his mother in some way while he was learning how to live in America. As a teenager, he would have likely been hired out to work on a farm, or perhaps he served as an indentured servant for a period of time. By 1749, though, we was ready to take on family responsibilities of his own and he married Anna Margaret Shuey, daughter of Daniel and Mary Margaretha Schilling Shuey on November 22, in Bethel Township, Berks County, Pa. The Shueys were a French Huguenot family, and the families may have been acquainted "back home".
Nicholas and Anna Margaret had at least 7 children, born from 1752 to 1767, so they were a busy family. Nicholas may have purchased land in 1762, because that is when he was naturalized. In order to be naturalized, he had to have been confirmed in the church so this would have been a busy year for him. I don't yet know much about his life at this time, except that when the Revolutionary War came he is listed as being in the inactive militia (possibly an Associator) from 1777-1779, under Capt. John Folmer, 6th Battalion, 7th Company from 1777-1779. I am not sure what it means, but the record in the Pennsylvania Digital Archives online gives "muster fines" of 0.7.6, so perhaps he missed some drills.
He paid taxes in 1759 in Berks County and from 1767 to 1791 was taxed for land and personal property. When he died without a will in 1794, his oldest son Daniel noted that Nicholas was "late of Bethel Township in the the County of Berks, yeoman" and that Nicholas owned 154 acres of land with "appurtenances" and asked the court to make partition. (Daniel ended up buying the farm, which had a value of 850 pounds.) His personal property was inventoried at a value of 45.14.3, and includes household goods, clothing, books, and items and grains necessary to farming. His burial location is not known, nor is Anna Margaret's. It appears that she died less than a month after Nicholas's death.
I'd love to find actual church records in Berks County for them, as none of the sources I have used mentions the specific church they attended. Berks County has a lot of good records, so it puzzles me that this information isn't yet available. There may be maps available that show the exact location of his farm, and that would be wonderful! I guess I have more researching to do. I've used sources from Ancestry, FamilySearch, and the Pennsylvania Digital Archives for this article, but there is more to be done.
The line of descent is:
Nicholas Pontius-Anna Margaret Shuey
Mary M Pontius-Conrad Reber
Maria Margaretha Reber-Solomon Buchtel
Benjamin Buchtel-the mysterious Barbara Long
Nancy Buchtel-Adam Kemery
Della Kemery-William H Withers
Goldie Withers-Grover Harshbarger
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Margaret Beeks
Their descendents
Nicholas is actually Johann Nicholas Pontius, and as one would guess, he is of German descent. His parents are Johann Peter Pontius and Anna Catherina Hausch, and he was born just before August 24, 1728 in Berglengenbach, Rheinland-Pfalz, in what is now Germany. The August 24 date is the date of his christening, which took place at the "Evangelish Lutherische" there. It is currently a small village of about 478 people, and there is no reason to think that it was a larger town at the time of his birth. It is located near the French border, and is in that part of the country that frequently changed hands during the long wars in the 17th century.
Nicholas was the second youngest in his family, and his father died in 1736, when Nicholas was only 8 years old. We don't know how the family supported themselves, without the bread winner, but in 1738 his mother and some of her children, including John and Nicholas, came to America in search, no doubt, of a better life. They arrived on the ship "Glasgow" on September 9, 1738, from Rotterdam. Nicholas' older brother John took the oath of allegiance the next day, but Nicholas was still a child and probably stayed on ship with his mother until this was completed.
Nicholas would have helped to support his mother in some way while he was learning how to live in America. As a teenager, he would have likely been hired out to work on a farm, or perhaps he served as an indentured servant for a period of time. By 1749, though, we was ready to take on family responsibilities of his own and he married Anna Margaret Shuey, daughter of Daniel and Mary Margaretha Schilling Shuey on November 22, in Bethel Township, Berks County, Pa. The Shueys were a French Huguenot family, and the families may have been acquainted "back home".
Nicholas and Anna Margaret had at least 7 children, born from 1752 to 1767, so they were a busy family. Nicholas may have purchased land in 1762, because that is when he was naturalized. In order to be naturalized, he had to have been confirmed in the church so this would have been a busy year for him. I don't yet know much about his life at this time, except that when the Revolutionary War came he is listed as being in the inactive militia (possibly an Associator) from 1777-1779, under Capt. John Folmer, 6th Battalion, 7th Company from 1777-1779. I am not sure what it means, but the record in the Pennsylvania Digital Archives online gives "muster fines" of 0.7.6, so perhaps he missed some drills.
He paid taxes in 1759 in Berks County and from 1767 to 1791 was taxed for land and personal property. When he died without a will in 1794, his oldest son Daniel noted that Nicholas was "late of Bethel Township in the the County of Berks, yeoman" and that Nicholas owned 154 acres of land with "appurtenances" and asked the court to make partition. (Daniel ended up buying the farm, which had a value of 850 pounds.) His personal property was inventoried at a value of 45.14.3, and includes household goods, clothing, books, and items and grains necessary to farming. His burial location is not known, nor is Anna Margaret's. It appears that she died less than a month after Nicholas's death.
I'd love to find actual church records in Berks County for them, as none of the sources I have used mentions the specific church they attended. Berks County has a lot of good records, so it puzzles me that this information isn't yet available. There may be maps available that show the exact location of his farm, and that would be wonderful! I guess I have more researching to do. I've used sources from Ancestry, FamilySearch, and the Pennsylvania Digital Archives for this article, but there is more to be done.
The line of descent is:
Nicholas Pontius-Anna Margaret Shuey
Mary M Pontius-Conrad Reber
Maria Margaretha Reber-Solomon Buchtel
Benjamin Buchtel-the mysterious Barbara Long
Nancy Buchtel-Adam Kemery
Della Kemery-William H Withers
Goldie Withers-Grover Harshbarger
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Margaret Beeks
Their descendents
Friday, June 20, 2014
Harshbarger line: Daniel Shuey, Immigrant 1704-1777
I just love these immigrant ancestors. It is so difficult to understand their bravery, from a distance of almost 300 years, but somehow, for some reason or reasons, they summoned up the courage to leave their family homes, get permission from the state authorities (which was a feat in itself), gather up their children, travel to Rotterdam (usually), and then spend weeks or months in a rolling, crowded, unsanitary ship, traveling to America. Once they got here, the men had to declare their loyalty to the British king before they were permitted to leave the ship permanently. Then they had to find a place to live, or possibly had to serve an indentureship (both husband and wife would have had to serve, and children, too).
Most of the Germans settled in the areas west of Philadelphia, in Lancaster or Berks or Lebanon County, although not all the counties were named in the early years. Then, when the families were free to go, they had to make a home for themselves out of what was a wilderness. Land was purchased or rented, and then cleared. Log cabins were built at first, and barns and other out buildings followed, as the crops were planted and harvested. It is hard to imagine how the families ate until the harvest came in. They would have brought grains with them from Philadelphia, and whatever else they could afford, but the only fruits would have been those naturally growing in the area (berries, mostly) and they would probably have also gathered nuts and honey from the surrounding forest. As their crops and animals began to produce, the farm would have made an attractive offer to the wild animals of the area, which included panthers, wolves, and bears. As if all this wasn't enough, there were the Indians to deal with and eventually fear and finally, battle.
Would Daniel Shuey and his wife, Mary Margaretha Shilling, have come to America if they could fully comprehend all that would be required of them once they arrived? The answer perhaps is in their religion, and in their history. The Shueys were members of the Reformed church, rather than the Lutheran Church in America (they attended the Swatara Church). Daniel's family had been French Huguenots, with the name Jouy) in prior generations, but the family had been forced to flee to Germany when Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes which had allowed other religions in France other than Catholicism. The stories Daniel would have heard of the escape of his grandparents from France to Germany due to religious persecution was probably a motivating factor in moving to America, since much of the German area was also going through religious disputes and wars. Another factor may have been economic, as many of the French/German people had fled with little or nothing to their name, and it was hard to make a decent living as a refugee family.
Daniel and his wife and oldest son came to America in 1732, on the ship Johnson, which sailed from Rotterdam to Philadelphia. The 305 passengers on this ship are all referred to as "Palatinates", since they had lived in Palatine, an area of Germany near the French border. Daniel owned land by 1746, but the original records have apparently been lost. There is a record of a receipt for additional land purchased by Daniel in 1746, which adjoined Daniel's "dwelling plantation", so he had already been there for some time. It appears from various additional receipts that he may have owned as much as 1000 acres of land by the time of his death, so he was apparently a successful farmer in America.
This Daniel was the son of Daniel Shuey or Jouy and Judith l'Avenant, and Mary Margaret Schilling was the daughter of Benedict Schilling and Anna Barbara Hoffman. Daniel was born in 1704 in Oggersheim, Pfalz, Germany, and the marriage took place on October 16, 1725 in Dandstadt, Pfalz, Germany. Several children had already been born to the couple by the time they immigrated, but it is unclear if they were all on this ship. We know that Ludwig and Anna Margaret made the trip, and we know that several children were born after the couple arrived here, including Elizabeth, Barbara, and Peter. The family was fortunate indeed that they lost no family members to the Indians, the reason apparently being that there was a fort very near the family home, and also the family farm served as a base for small contingents of soldiers.
Daniel died in May, 1777, and left a will written in German that fortunately has been translated. He left his home and belongings and 200 pounds to his wife, and then gave instructions for what appears to be a separate sum of 200 pounds. He left some of his sons and sons in law only 1 shilling, explaining that they had already received their share of his estate. At the time of his death it appears that Ludwig, John, Martin, Anna Margaret the wife of Nicholas Pontius, Catharine the wife of Jacob Giver, and Barbara the wife of George Feesers were living and were to share 200 pounds to be delivered in 1784. Also Peter, Daniel, and Elizabeth were mentioned in the will. Mary Margaretha is listed as having died in 1800 in Bethel Township, which would have made her 97 years old at the time. This is a little confusing to me because in the will she is named as Mary Martha. There is a possibility that this is not the wife of 1725, but further research needs to be done on this.
I think it's fun to find a "German" Harshbarger who actually has French roots. Even in this most German of families, there are other lines involved, from other countries. It's part of what makes family history so fascinating.
This post is taken largely from a book called "The History of the Shuey Family in America from 1732 to 1919" by Dennis Boeshore Shuey. There is a 2008 paperback version of this available from Amazon, but it is also available on Internet Archive.
The line of descent is:
Daniel Shuey-Mary Margaretha Schilling
Anna Margaret Shuey-Nicholas Pontius
Mary M Pontius-Conrad Reber
Maria Margaretha Reber-Solomon Buchtel
Benjamin Buchtel- (brick wall) Barbara Long
Nancy Buchtel-Adam Kemery
Della Kemery-William Withers
Goldie Withers-Grover Harshbarger
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Margaret Beeks
Harshbarger children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren
Most of the Germans settled in the areas west of Philadelphia, in Lancaster or Berks or Lebanon County, although not all the counties were named in the early years. Then, when the families were free to go, they had to make a home for themselves out of what was a wilderness. Land was purchased or rented, and then cleared. Log cabins were built at first, and barns and other out buildings followed, as the crops were planted and harvested. It is hard to imagine how the families ate until the harvest came in. They would have brought grains with them from Philadelphia, and whatever else they could afford, but the only fruits would have been those naturally growing in the area (berries, mostly) and they would probably have also gathered nuts and honey from the surrounding forest. As their crops and animals began to produce, the farm would have made an attractive offer to the wild animals of the area, which included panthers, wolves, and bears. As if all this wasn't enough, there were the Indians to deal with and eventually fear and finally, battle.
Would Daniel Shuey and his wife, Mary Margaretha Shilling, have come to America if they could fully comprehend all that would be required of them once they arrived? The answer perhaps is in their religion, and in their history. The Shueys were members of the Reformed church, rather than the Lutheran Church in America (they attended the Swatara Church). Daniel's family had been French Huguenots, with the name Jouy) in prior generations, but the family had been forced to flee to Germany when Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes which had allowed other religions in France other than Catholicism. The stories Daniel would have heard of the escape of his grandparents from France to Germany due to religious persecution was probably a motivating factor in moving to America, since much of the German area was also going through religious disputes and wars. Another factor may have been economic, as many of the French/German people had fled with little or nothing to their name, and it was hard to make a decent living as a refugee family.
Daniel and his wife and oldest son came to America in 1732, on the ship Johnson, which sailed from Rotterdam to Philadelphia. The 305 passengers on this ship are all referred to as "Palatinates", since they had lived in Palatine, an area of Germany near the French border. Daniel owned land by 1746, but the original records have apparently been lost. There is a record of a receipt for additional land purchased by Daniel in 1746, which adjoined Daniel's "dwelling plantation", so he had already been there for some time. It appears from various additional receipts that he may have owned as much as 1000 acres of land by the time of his death, so he was apparently a successful farmer in America.
This Daniel was the son of Daniel Shuey or Jouy and Judith l'Avenant, and Mary Margaret Schilling was the daughter of Benedict Schilling and Anna Barbara Hoffman. Daniel was born in 1704 in Oggersheim, Pfalz, Germany, and the marriage took place on October 16, 1725 in Dandstadt, Pfalz, Germany. Several children had already been born to the couple by the time they immigrated, but it is unclear if they were all on this ship. We know that Ludwig and Anna Margaret made the trip, and we know that several children were born after the couple arrived here, including Elizabeth, Barbara, and Peter. The family was fortunate indeed that they lost no family members to the Indians, the reason apparently being that there was a fort very near the family home, and also the family farm served as a base for small contingents of soldiers.
Daniel died in May, 1777, and left a will written in German that fortunately has been translated. He left his home and belongings and 200 pounds to his wife, and then gave instructions for what appears to be a separate sum of 200 pounds. He left some of his sons and sons in law only 1 shilling, explaining that they had already received their share of his estate. At the time of his death it appears that Ludwig, John, Martin, Anna Margaret the wife of Nicholas Pontius, Catharine the wife of Jacob Giver, and Barbara the wife of George Feesers were living and were to share 200 pounds to be delivered in 1784. Also Peter, Daniel, and Elizabeth were mentioned in the will. Mary Margaretha is listed as having died in 1800 in Bethel Township, which would have made her 97 years old at the time. This is a little confusing to me because in the will she is named as Mary Martha. There is a possibility that this is not the wife of 1725, but further research needs to be done on this.
I think it's fun to find a "German" Harshbarger who actually has French roots. Even in this most German of families, there are other lines involved, from other countries. It's part of what makes family history so fascinating.
This post is taken largely from a book called "The History of the Shuey Family in America from 1732 to 1919" by Dennis Boeshore Shuey. There is a 2008 paperback version of this available from Amazon, but it is also available on Internet Archive.
The line of descent is:
Daniel Shuey-Mary Margaretha Schilling
Anna Margaret Shuey-Nicholas Pontius
Mary M Pontius-Conrad Reber
Maria Margaretha Reber-Solomon Buchtel
Benjamin Buchtel- (brick wall) Barbara Long
Nancy Buchtel-Adam Kemery
Della Kemery-William Withers
Goldie Withers-Grover Harshbarger
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Margaret Beeks
Harshbarger children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Harshbarger line: Conrad Reber
We're going back a ways here, since Johann Conrad Reber was born in December 10, 1751 in Langenselbold, Main-Kinzig-Kreis, Hesse, now Germany. His parents, Johann Conrad Reber and Anna Margaret Conradt, emigrated to America shortly after his birth, as another of their children was born in 1754 in Upper Tulpehocken Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
Conrad grew up in a typically large German family of 8 children. He would have worked hard on the family farm and his early years would have been spent with one eye out for warring Indians, as well as wolves, panthers, bears, and other more natural dangers. There is a Conrad Reber who was a private in the Militia during the time of the Revolutionary War, but I am not sure whether it was this Conrad. He would have been the right age and this is the right location, but another Reber family claims this as their Conrad, and I haven't yet found proof one way or the other. Conrad most likely would have been in either the militia or the American army. I found a listing for a Conrad Reber in 1779 who was taxed for having two cattle, and I think this may be our Conrad Reber because he was listed just two names above Peter Pontius, who was probably his brother in law. In this list, Conrad is listed under occupation as "joiner", which is a skilled carpenter. Conrad would likely have served an apprenticeship to learn this skill, unless his father taught it to him.
Conard married Mary Margaret Pontius, daughter of Nicholas Pontius and Anna Margaret Shuey, probably in Berks County but date and location as yet not located. By the 1790 census, his household shows three males under the age of 16, and a total of five females, one of which would have been Margaret. I show a total of ten children for them, with four being born in the 1790s. Known children are Christina, Margaret Elizabeth, Magdalena, Daniel, Maria Margaretha, Conrad, Thomas, Catherine, John, and Henry. Of course there
The History of Centre County by John Blair Linn states that Conrad Reber came to Miles Township, Centre County, in 1801, where he remained some 8 or 10 years. This is where daughter Maria Margaretha met and married Solomon Buchtel in 1805. A Conrad Reber acquired land in Ohio in 1806 but it appears this was not our Conrad, as he stayed in Miles Township for about 10 years before moving west. Before he moved, he laid out the town of Rebersburg, in Centre County, Pa. It was not hard to choose a location for the town, as he situated it near two churches, a tavern, and a couple of other buildings that were already there. He also deeded some of his land to the Reformed Church, for the erection of a building.
Sometime around 1811, it appears that he and much of his family moved on to Uniontown, Ohio in Stark County. They lived some miles from the nearest town, Canton, and were apparently in Ohio during the War of 1812. By now the Rebers would have been in their 60's, so military service would not have been expected. Conrad died in Lake Township, Stark County, Ohio on September 7, 1823, and Margaret died in 1831. I don't have their burial information or their estate information at this time, but I need to locate that.
I also need to find a marriage date and location and the baptismal/birth date information for their children. Once again, we don't know a lot about this family. I have the feeling that they were not dirt poor since they paid taxes in Berks County and since they could donate land for the church in Centre County, but estate and land records would also give us clues there.
The line of descent is:
Conrad Reber-Mary Margaret Pontius
Maria Margaretha Reber-Solomon Buchtel
Benjamin Buchtel-(brick wall) Barbara Long
Nancy Buchtel-Adam Kemery
Della Kemery-William Withers
Goldie Withers-Grover Harshbarger
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Margaret Beeks
Harshbarger children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren
Conrad grew up in a typically large German family of 8 children. He would have worked hard on the family farm and his early years would have been spent with one eye out for warring Indians, as well as wolves, panthers, bears, and other more natural dangers. There is a Conrad Reber who was a private in the Militia during the time of the Revolutionary War, but I am not sure whether it was this Conrad. He would have been the right age and this is the right location, but another Reber family claims this as their Conrad, and I haven't yet found proof one way or the other. Conrad most likely would have been in either the militia or the American army. I found a listing for a Conrad Reber in 1779 who was taxed for having two cattle, and I think this may be our Conrad Reber because he was listed just two names above Peter Pontius, who was probably his brother in law. In this list, Conrad is listed under occupation as "joiner", which is a skilled carpenter. Conrad would likely have served an apprenticeship to learn this skill, unless his father taught it to him.
Conard married Mary Margaret Pontius, daughter of Nicholas Pontius and Anna Margaret Shuey, probably in Berks County but date and location as yet not located. By the 1790 census, his household shows three males under the age of 16, and a total of five females, one of which would have been Margaret. I show a total of ten children for them, with four being born in the 1790s. Known children are Christina, Margaret Elizabeth, Magdalena, Daniel, Maria Margaretha, Conrad, Thomas, Catherine, John, and Henry. Of course there
The History of Centre County by John Blair Linn states that Conrad Reber came to Miles Township, Centre County, in 1801, where he remained some 8 or 10 years. This is where daughter Maria Margaretha met and married Solomon Buchtel in 1805. A Conrad Reber acquired land in Ohio in 1806 but it appears this was not our Conrad, as he stayed in Miles Township for about 10 years before moving west. Before he moved, he laid out the town of Rebersburg, in Centre County, Pa. It was not hard to choose a location for the town, as he situated it near two churches, a tavern, and a couple of other buildings that were already there. He also deeded some of his land to the Reformed Church, for the erection of a building.
Sometime around 1811, it appears that he and much of his family moved on to Uniontown, Ohio in Stark County. They lived some miles from the nearest town, Canton, and were apparently in Ohio during the War of 1812. By now the Rebers would have been in their 60's, so military service would not have been expected. Conrad died in Lake Township, Stark County, Ohio on September 7, 1823, and Margaret died in 1831. I don't have their burial information or their estate information at this time, but I need to locate that.
I also need to find a marriage date and location and the baptismal/birth date information for their children. Once again, we don't know a lot about this family. I have the feeling that they were not dirt poor since they paid taxes in Berks County and since they could donate land for the church in Centre County, but estate and land records would also give us clues there.
The line of descent is:
Conrad Reber-Mary Margaret Pontius
Maria Margaretha Reber-Solomon Buchtel
Benjamin Buchtel-(brick wall) Barbara Long
Nancy Buchtel-Adam Kemery
Della Kemery-William Withers
Goldie Withers-Grover Harshbarger
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Margaret Beeks
Harshbarger children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Harshbarger line: Solomon Buchtel 1773-1840
Solomon Buchtel was born in 1773 to Johannes John Buchtel and Catherine Seiler. Both of his parents were born in Wurtemburg, Germany and had immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1753. His parents married in 1760, probably after their terms of indenture were over, and initially lived in Snyder County, Pa. They soon moved to Brush Valley, Centre County, Pa, where most of their children, including Solomon, were born. This was frontier land at the time, and there were likely encounters with Indians during those early years on the farm. Solomon had 7 brothers and sisters.
His father was a truly intelligent man (I'll write about him another time) so it is likely that Solomon had inherited at least some of that curiosity and energy. Solomon married Maria Margaretha Reber, daughter of Johann Conrad Reber and Mary M Pontius, about 1805, and the couple settled near Rebersburg, Pa. to raise their family. I've seen a copy of a picture of their home, which he built himself. It was a frame two story dwelling, with an addition. I'm not sure if the smaller section might have been the original section, or whether it was the addition. At any rate, the home had enough room to raise the 8 children that were born to the couple: Benjamin, Solomon, Johnathon, Thomas, Henry, Hannah, Joseph, and William.
I haven't been able to trace Solomon through the US Census, nor Find A Grave, nor any of my usual sources, so I have much to do yet to learn his story. He purchased land in what became Greene Township, Summit County in 1815, so that gives us an approximate date for his move. I have notes that the 1820's census lists the occupation as manufacturing, but I can't duplicate that finding in a current search, so perhaps that is not correct. He is listed on an 1830 tax list for Stark County (parent of Summit County) in Lake Township, Uniontown, as having a town lot, so perhaps he was engaged in some form of manufacturing rather than farming. His oldest son Benjamin was married in Summit County, Ohio in 1844. I have an "internet" death date of about 1840 in Portage County, but I don't know if that is correct and I'm only guessing that is an Ohio location.
This is as much as I know about Solomon. Since he had 8 children, I am hoping that another descendent or two have information about him and about Maria Margaret Reber, that would help fill in the many blanks in this story. I'd love to hear from you!
Here is the line of descent:
Solomon Buchtel-Maria Margaret Reber
Benjamin Buchtel-Barbara Long
Nancy Fanny Buchtel-Adam Kemery
Della Kemery-William Withers
Goldie Withers-Grover Harshbarger
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Margaret Beeks
Harshbarger kids, grandkids, and great grandkids
His father was a truly intelligent man (I'll write about him another time) so it is likely that Solomon had inherited at least some of that curiosity and energy. Solomon married Maria Margaretha Reber, daughter of Johann Conrad Reber and Mary M Pontius, about 1805, and the couple settled near Rebersburg, Pa. to raise their family. I've seen a copy of a picture of their home, which he built himself. It was a frame two story dwelling, with an addition. I'm not sure if the smaller section might have been the original section, or whether it was the addition. At any rate, the home had enough room to raise the 8 children that were born to the couple: Benjamin, Solomon, Johnathon, Thomas, Henry, Hannah, Joseph, and William.
I haven't been able to trace Solomon through the US Census, nor Find A Grave, nor any of my usual sources, so I have much to do yet to learn his story. He purchased land in what became Greene Township, Summit County in 1815, so that gives us an approximate date for his move. I have notes that the 1820's census lists the occupation as manufacturing, but I can't duplicate that finding in a current search, so perhaps that is not correct. He is listed on an 1830 tax list for Stark County (parent of Summit County) in Lake Township, Uniontown, as having a town lot, so perhaps he was engaged in some form of manufacturing rather than farming. His oldest son Benjamin was married in Summit County, Ohio in 1844. I have an "internet" death date of about 1840 in Portage County, but I don't know if that is correct and I'm only guessing that is an Ohio location.
This is as much as I know about Solomon. Since he had 8 children, I am hoping that another descendent or two have information about him and about Maria Margaret Reber, that would help fill in the many blanks in this story. I'd love to hear from you!
Here is the line of descent:
Solomon Buchtel-Maria Margaret Reber
Benjamin Buchtel-Barbara Long
Nancy Fanny Buchtel-Adam Kemery
Della Kemery-William Withers
Goldie Withers-Grover Harshbarger
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Margaret Beeks
Harshbarger kids, grandkids, and great grandkids
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