A Little Saturday Research Delight Were Barbara, Daniel and Mary Ann Smith Related?

I was doing some Beinhauer family research yesterday and noticed once again that two of Johann Peter and Christina (Weber) Beinhauer’s children married Smiths. I’ve always wondered if they were related to Martin Hocker’s second wife Barbara Smith—he was married first to Christiana Beinhauer. So, I decided to find out.

Background

Daniel Smith married Margaret Beinhauer 19 May 1812 at Salem Reformed Church in Harrisburg. Margaret was born 21 Oct 1784 and died 23 Dec 1870 in Hummelstown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. I didn’t have any information on this couple beyond that.

John Peter Beinhauer married Mary Ann Smith sometime before 1812. He was born 30 Nov 1787 and died 25 November 1853.¹ She was born 8 April 1790 and died 4 April 1877.² They are both buried in the Churchville Cemetery, Oberlin, Swatara Township, Dauphin County.

Martin Hocker married Christiana Beinhauer 22 March 1799 in Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lebanon County.³ He was born 21 October 1768 in Cocalico Township, Lancaster County and died 25 April 1862 in Derry Township, Dauphin County.⁴ She was born 23 August 1777 in Cocalico Township and died 15 December 1808 in Derry Township.⁵

After Christiana’s death, Martin married again about 1809 to Barbara Smith. She was born 6 October 1787 and died 16 March 1878 in Derry Township.⁶ Martin and both his wives are buried in the Hummel Memorial Cemetery in Hummelstown.

Unlike the Beinhauer’s and Smith’s, I have significant information on Martin and his family. What more could I find on the Smiths who married into both the Beinhauer and Hocker families?

A Little Research Fun

I started with Daniel and Margaret (Beinhauer) Smith. A check of the census records turned up Margaret Smith living in Hummelstown by herself in 1860. Knowing she died in 1870, I went looking to see if she left a last will & testament.

She did. As expected, it indicates that her husband predeceased her. It also names various individuals, along with nieces and nephews as her heirs.⁷  Margaret and Daniel apparently did not have children—at least none that survived to leave heirs of their own.

Looking for deeds pertaining to Margaret’s estate, I didn’t find any that helped answer the research question. I found several deeds relating to Daniel’s estate—dated 1872?!

At first, I didn’t think they could be for Margaret’s husband. Going by Margaret’s census record, he’d most likely died prior to 1860, after all. But I decided to check them anyway. And, boy, am I glad I did.

From those deeds I discovered the following relationships:

• Magdalena Smith, daughter & legatee⁸
• Mary Beinhower, daughter & legatee⁹
• Susanna Messimer, sister & legatee¹⁰
• Barbara Hocker, sister & legatee¹¹
• Elizabeth Smith, legatee¹²
• John Smith, legatee¹³

I was a little confused by the deeds for Magdalena Smith and Mary Beinhower. If they were alive in 1872, shouldn’t they have been named in Margaret’s will? Perhaps they were Daniel’s daughters from a previous marriage?

But then something else caught my eye. All these deeds named David Roop and George Roop as Daniel’s administrators of the will. Daniel had left a will.

Daniel Smith of Upper Swatara Township wrote his last will and testament on 2 February 1845 and it was proven on 4 September 1845.¹⁴  He named his widow Margaret and bequeathed to her a house and lot in Hummelstown. He also directed his executors to sell any property not bequeathed to his wife after her death and divide the proceeds equally between his brother and sisters. He names them as:

• John
• Susanna
• Elizabeth
• Magdalena
• Barbara
• Mary

He makes absolutely no mention of children in his will. Additionally, all the legatees from the deeds are named specifically as his siblings in his will. So, I find it probable that Magdalena Smith and Mary Beinhauer weren’t his daughters, but his sisters.

Conclusion

Were Barbara (Smith) Hocker, Daniel Smith, and Mary Ann (Smith) Beinhauer related? Based on the information from the will and deeds, I find it highly likely that they were.

• Category: Research
• Tag: Hacker-Hocker Genealogy