Johann Valentin Geiger was born shortly before December 21, 1685 in Mosbach, Baden-Wuerttemburg, Germany. Actually this would have not been Germany and not Baden-Wuerttemburg. At the time that he was born, this was part of the Electorate of the Palatinate. Regardless, to us he was born in southern Germany. The town itself is ancient, possibly dating from the 9th century, and there are many wonderful pictures of medieval appearing buildings in Mosbach, on the internet. Whether you want to tour Europe in person some day, or just want to learn a little about our ancestors, looking at these pictures could give you some inspiration.
Valentin's parents were Johann Valentin Geiger (Giger and Kyger are alternate spellings) and Maria Barbara Bauer, and he was one of at least four children. We don't know the occupation of his father, but it may be that he was not a farmer. Perhaps he was a merchant or a tradesman of some sort, since this town had a population that would support such activities.
Sometime about 1716 Valentin married Johanna Fredericka Henckel, daughter of Anthony Jacob Henckel, the Lutheran pastor who came to the New World early. A son was born to them and Fredericka was again expecting a child when the family traveled to the New World in September of 1717 (arrival date). The Geigers came with Fredericka's parents, who were already 45-50 years of age. Valentin would have been 42 and Fredericka about 25 when they arrived at Philadelphia.
Several more children were born in quick succession and perhaps sympathy is due to Fredericka. Anthony had been born in the Old World, and possibly Johann Jacob. Valentine was born June 2, 1718, and then Barbara, Christopher, and Mary Margareta. There is about a 16 year gap in children, and then Anna Barbara was born. She is listed as a child of Valentin and Fredericka, but Fredericka would have been 45 years old in 1737, so this would have probably been a very difficult birth. Fredericka died April 2, 1739 in Philadelphia County, in what would become New Hanover, Montgomery County, Pa.
We can guess that Valentin would have been a farmer. This was a frontier area when the family went there, and life would have not been easy. It must have been sparsely populated, because even in 1930, the township had a population of 1,467, and this would have been 200 years after the Geigers arrived. Of course, for a few years, they would have seen the Henckel's frequently, but they were dead by 1730.
Valentin married Maria Elizabeth Schmidt in or about 1741, and four more Geigers were born to this marriage-Johann Dietrich, John Henry, Benjamin, and Charles. Most of the older children would likely have been out of their parent's home when the second family came along, which could be a good thing. Housing eleven children in one household would have been difficult.
We know little else about the family. They attended the New Hanover Lutheran Church, which was the first German Lutheran Church in America and was organized by Daniel Falckner about 1700. From 1742 to 1761 Henry Melchior Muhlenberg served as the pastor, and I found a document on Ancestry.com from the Historic Pennsylvania and Church records, kept by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. It is written in German, but appears to be a record of some sort of tithes, offerings, or pledges. Muhlenberg's name is at the top, with a number of 1.5 in what I take to be the "shillings" column. Valentin Geiger is three lines down, with 7 shillings and 6 pence attributed to him. (It would be great to find a translation of this handwritten document!)
Valentin died December 1, 1762, and he is believed to be buried in the New Hanover Lutheran Church cemetery, Montgomery County, Pa (It was Philadelphia County until 1784). I have not found a will for him.
I'd like to know more about the man, of course. What was his livelihood in Germany, and in Pennsylvania? Did he own the land he lived on here? Why did he decide to come to the New World? Was it so his wife could keep an eye on her parents, or were there other reasons? And I always wonder about the immigrants-were they glad they came to the New World where they could start over, or did the difficulties and dangers they encountered make them long to go back?
The line of descent is
Johann Valentin Geiger-Johanna Fredericka Henckel
Johann Valentin Geiger-Sarah (widow?) Vetatoe
Jacob Geiger-Elizabeth Shultz
Anthony Geiger-Mary Kirk
Elizabeth Geiger-George Harter
John Harter-Mary Bennett
Clara Harter-Emmanuel Harshbarger
Grover Harshbarger-Goldie Withers
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Margaret Beeks
Their descendants
Showing posts with label Shultz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shultz. Show all posts
Friday, January 16, 2015
Harshbarger line: Johann Valentin Geiger Immigrant 1685-1762
Friday, August 22, 2014
Harshbarger line: Anthony Jacob Henckel, immigrant and Lutheran pastor
Basically, Germans who came to America in the early 1700's were from one of two sets of religious beliefs. One was the Mennonite/Amish/Brethren group, which was more or less anti-establishment, although that would not have been the way they described themselves. The Harshbargers were part of this group. The other was the established church in much of what would become Germany, which was the Lutheran church. (There were also German Roman Catholics but so far I haven't found any ancestors that belonged to that group.). This is an extreme over-simplification, but it helps to at least have a broad outline to begin connecting dots.
Anthony Jacob Henckel was a Lutheran, but more than that, he came to America relatively late in life to be a missionary and a pastor to the Germans who had preceded him to America, and to those who would come after he did. He had grown up in an educated family, but I don't know whether it was an educated wealthy family or an educated poor family.
He was born to Georg and Anna Eulalia Dentzer Henckel in 1668, and was Christined on December 27, 1668 in the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Merenberg, Hesse-Darmstadt. His father had graduated from the University of Geissen and was a schoolmaster, and a Lutheran. He was one of at least six children, so with a schoolmaster father and a large family, perhaps the family was not wealthy. Nevertheless, somehow the family or someone else paid for Anthony Jacob to also attend the University of Geissen, where he studied theology. He graduated on January 16, 1692, and was ordained into the Lutheran Church on February 28, 1692. About two months later, on April 25, 1692, he married Maria Elizabeth Dentzer, daughter of another Lutheran pastor, Reverend Johann Nicolaus Dentzer and Barbara Catherina Giebel.
Anthony Jacob and Maria Elizabeth had 12 children, born in various locations in Germany. Rev. Henckel served in several different churches and towns in Germany, and having come under increasing pressure from Roman Catholic church authorities, decided it would be best for his family and for the Lutherans who were already here, if he were to move to America. 7 of his children came with him. 4 had died in infancy/childhood, and one may have come to America later. The Henckels would have had their hands full, with children ranging from 4 to 23 when they made the trip to America in 1717. They arrived in 1717, probably in September in Philadelphia, and were no doubt pleased to get their feet on solid ground again.
He purchased land soon after he arrived, in New Hanover township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, about 250 acres. He and his family would have cleared enough of the land to build a cabin and then perhaps (or perhaps not) a home, and then to set out crops to live on, and a barn for the animals. At the same time, Reverend Henckel was tending to a spiritual flock. He founded St Michael's Lutheran Church in Germantown, and the New Hanover Lutheran Church in Montgomery County, and taught or preached in other locations as he was called to do. He encouraged the Lutherans in the Tulpehocken settlement in Berks County to build their first church, which they did in 1727. His signature is on petitions asking for a road through Faulkner Swamp, and on a petition in 1728 asking for protection from the Indians, as his home was on the frontier and the native Americans were threatening.
Reverend Henckel died following a fall from a horse, at Germantown, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. There seems to be some question whether he may have had a medical crisis that caused the fall, but regardless, he lived for less than a day. He was able to give an oral will before he died on August 12, 1728. His widow lived for another 15 years and died on January 23, 1743. They are buried at St. Michael's Lutheran Church in Germantown.
I admire this couple greatly for their devotion to their Lord and their family, for their courage and vision in coming to America when they were in their late 40's, and for their ability to adapt to a different way of life here.
The line of descent is:
Anthony Jacob Henckel-Maria Elizabeth Dentzler
Johanna Frederika Henckel-Johann Valentine Geiger
Valentine Geiger-Sarah Vetatoe
Jacob Geiger-Elizabeth Shultz
Anthony Geiger-Mary Kirk
Elizabeth Geiger-George Harter
John Harter-Mary Bennett
Clara Harter-Emmanuel Harshbarger
Grover Harshbarger-Goldie Withers
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Margaret Beeks
Harshbarger children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren
Anthony Jacob Henckel was a Lutheran, but more than that, he came to America relatively late in life to be a missionary and a pastor to the Germans who had preceded him to America, and to those who would come after he did. He had grown up in an educated family, but I don't know whether it was an educated wealthy family or an educated poor family.
He was born to Georg and Anna Eulalia Dentzer Henckel in 1668, and was Christined on December 27, 1668 in the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Merenberg, Hesse-Darmstadt. His father had graduated from the University of Geissen and was a schoolmaster, and a Lutheran. He was one of at least six children, so with a schoolmaster father and a large family, perhaps the family was not wealthy. Nevertheless, somehow the family or someone else paid for Anthony Jacob to also attend the University of Geissen, where he studied theology. He graduated on January 16, 1692, and was ordained into the Lutheran Church on February 28, 1692. About two months later, on April 25, 1692, he married Maria Elizabeth Dentzer, daughter of another Lutheran pastor, Reverend Johann Nicolaus Dentzer and Barbara Catherina Giebel.
Anthony Jacob and Maria Elizabeth had 12 children, born in various locations in Germany. Rev. Henckel served in several different churches and towns in Germany, and having come under increasing pressure from Roman Catholic church authorities, decided it would be best for his family and for the Lutherans who were already here, if he were to move to America. 7 of his children came with him. 4 had died in infancy/childhood, and one may have come to America later. The Henckels would have had their hands full, with children ranging from 4 to 23 when they made the trip to America in 1717. They arrived in 1717, probably in September in Philadelphia, and were no doubt pleased to get their feet on solid ground again.
He purchased land soon after he arrived, in New Hanover township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, about 250 acres. He and his family would have cleared enough of the land to build a cabin and then perhaps (or perhaps not) a home, and then to set out crops to live on, and a barn for the animals. At the same time, Reverend Henckel was tending to a spiritual flock. He founded St Michael's Lutheran Church in Germantown, and the New Hanover Lutheran Church in Montgomery County, and taught or preached in other locations as he was called to do. He encouraged the Lutherans in the Tulpehocken settlement in Berks County to build their first church, which they did in 1727. His signature is on petitions asking for a road through Faulkner Swamp, and on a petition in 1728 asking for protection from the Indians, as his home was on the frontier and the native Americans were threatening.
Reverend Henckel died following a fall from a horse, at Germantown, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. There seems to be some question whether he may have had a medical crisis that caused the fall, but regardless, he lived for less than a day. He was able to give an oral will before he died on August 12, 1728. His widow lived for another 15 years and died on January 23, 1743. They are buried at St. Michael's Lutheran Church in Germantown.
I admire this couple greatly for their devotion to their Lord and their family, for their courage and vision in coming to America when they were in their late 40's, and for their ability to adapt to a different way of life here.
The line of descent is:
Anthony Jacob Henckel-Maria Elizabeth Dentzler
Johanna Frederika Henckel-Johann Valentine Geiger
Valentine Geiger-Sarah Vetatoe
Jacob Geiger-Elizabeth Shultz
Anthony Geiger-Mary Kirk
Elizabeth Geiger-George Harter
John Harter-Mary Bennett
Clara Harter-Emmanuel Harshbarger
Grover Harshbarger-Goldie Withers
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Margaret Beeks
Harshbarger children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren
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