This week’s ancestor is Godfrey Wißler. He is my five times great grandfather on my mother’s side. I’ve written about him before, posting his last will and testament last December. It was his farm that Heinrich Schneider purchased and that passed down to his son Joseph Snyder, then grandson Henry Snyder.

Godfrey, son of Jacob Wißler Jr. and his wife Esther(___),¹ was born about 1757 and died sometime before 21 October 1829 when his will was proven. He married Eva Catharina Weiß, daughter of Hans Erhardt Weiß and Susanna Huth, at New Goshenhoppen Reformed Church near East Greenville on 22 September 1782.² Eva was allegedly born 1 April 1759, died 5 January 1798, and buried at New Goshenhoppen.³

However, other records seem to contradict this date of death. Godfrey and Eva were members of New Goshenhoppen and took communion there in the fall of 1808 and 1 April 1815.⁴ Additionally, two of Godfrey’s daughters, including my four times great grandmother Sarah (Wißler) Snyder, were born after 1798.⁵

In 1800 through 1820, Godfrey can be found in the census enumerations for Upper Hanover Township. His household included one male aged 26-45, two females less than 10, and one female aged 26-45 in August 1800.⁶ The 1810 enumeration lists one male aged 45+, two females under 10, one girl aged 10-15, and one female 16-25.⁷ I’m not sure why his wife Eva was not listed, as she’s included in the communion records in 1808 and 1815. In 1820 the household included one male aged 45+, one female 16-26, two females aged 26-45, and one female 45+.⁸

The census entries don’t clear up the question of Eva’s death. Nor do the known birth dates of his children. In fact, Eva Catharina might not have been his first wife. New Goshenhoppen burial records list the burial of  “Susana, child of Godf. Wissler, aged 9 years, 2 months” on 25 December 1785.⁹ Since Godfrey and Eva Catharina married at New Goshenhoppen in 1782, either Susana’s birth predates the marriage or Susana wasn’t Eva’s child and Godfrey was married previously.

I have birth dates for two of Godfrey’s daughters—Catharine, born 15 October 1789,¹⁰and Sarah, born 8 August 1799. For two others—Elizabeth and Susanna (the second such named)—I have only estimates based on the order in which Godfrey named his daughters in his will. I presume Elizabeth was the eldest surviving daughter as her children are named as receiving the first portion from Godfrey’s estate. Elizabeth was already deceased. She was likely born sometime between 1782 and 1789. Susanna is named in the will as his youngest daughter, so she was born after 1799, most likely making her the 16-26 year-old in the 1820 census.

Given the number of years between Catharine and Sarah’s births, it’s likely that there were unrecorded children who were born in the interim and died prior to the 1800 census. A break like this between births can also indicate the death of a wife and subsequent remarriage. But in this case, that doesn’t necessarily apply. If Eva died in January 1798 and Sarah was born in August 1799, then Godfrey remarried fairly quickly to another woman also named Eva—sometime between January and December 1798. I have yet to locate a record of a marriage.

Assuming that the records I’ve found are correct and apply to this family, then it appears that Godfrey may have been married three times. He would have had to marry his first wife prior to 1776 (Susana’s estimated birth year) and she would have died prior to September 1782. He next married Eva Catharina Weiss on 22 September 1782 and she died in January 1798. He married another Eva prior to December 1798. She was alive as of 7 August 1820 (census date) and deceased prior to 23 April 1825 when Godfrey wrote his will.

Looks like I’ve got more research to do on this family.

This post is part of a blogging challenge entitled 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, created by Amy Crow of No Story Too Small in 2014. Participants were to write about one ancestor every week. I’m revisiting this challenge for 2017. This is my eighth 52 Ancestors post, part of week seven.

I wrote a post about my ancestor Rachel Jones, wife of Jacob Witmer, back in 2014. While I knew Rachel’s maiden name based on the death certificates of several of her her children,¹ I did not have information regarding her parents. At the time I postulated that Henry Jones was Rachel’s father, but I did not know the name of his wife. I’m still looking for evidence of who she was.

Assuming that Henry was her father, I determined that her mother died prior to 1830 in Milford Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.² Based on the 1820³ and 1810⁴ census enumerations, she was most likely born sometime between 1775 and 1784.⁵ Unfortunately, the pre-1850 census records do not list the names of the household members.

Martha Bartleson

I’ve seen Martha Bartleson listed as his wife online. I’ve never been sure just from where that information came, as no sources were provided. Recently, I came across a posting in a Find A Grave forum that included the following:

“I found Henry in the 1810, 1820 and 1830 censuses, 1810 in Hilltown, then Milford. His wife appears to be deceased by the 1830 census.

Are you familiar with the book, Morris Lewis and His Descendants, by Mary Jane Erwin? It was published by the Lewis-Jones Assoc. in 1936. It is very helpful through there are errors, of course. That is where I got the birth and death dates for Henry Jones. It contains this story about Martha: “In the early history of the settlement of New Jersey and the eastern border of Pennsylvania, it was customary for emigrants to bring their servants with them and allow them to work for the price of their passage after arriving here. Sometimes they had to work a long while until [their debt] had been cancelled. Undoubtedly, Martha Bartleson was tired of working. It is said she took one of her master’s horses, where she lived in New Jersey, mounted and rode until she reached the Delaware. The horse swam the river. She reached the Pennsylvania side. When dismounted, she turned the horse about, and it is supposed it returned to its owner, while Martha Bartleson made her way through the country to Hilltown, where she met and married Henry Jones.” [p 22, as related by John Davis, one of her grandsons]” ⁶

What really struck me about this story is its similarity to a story that was apparently passed down through the Witmer family. It was reported in an article on four generations of the Witmer family. It went:

“There is an interesting romance connected with the emigration to this country of Mr. Witmer’s grandmother. She was a typical English girl and exceedingly pretty and fearless. Crossed by her parents in a love affair, Miss Jones escaped from her home with the aid of her favorite saddle horse, and swam across the English Channel on horse-back and fled the country.⁷”

Both versions are charming stories. The story from the forum posting does provide some clues to follow up on—as the Witmer story does not. First, there’s the name. Martha Bartleson. Second, the location—New Jersey. And third the fact of her indentured servitude.

Both stories seem to imply that Martha was an immigrant, though only the Witmer story states it as “fact.” And that could simply be referring to her mode of arrival in Pennsylvania, not necessarily her arrival in the United States. Indentured servants were not only immigrants. Sometimes families bound out children to pay debts or to provide for their care and education. Either way if she was a servant and ran away before the end of her term, I would think there should be a record of it.

To be honest, both stories strain my credulity. But as with most family stories, there is likely a kernel of truth in there. I just need to dig it out. Wish me luck!

This post is part of a blogging challenge entitled 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, created by Amy Crow of No Story Too Small in 2014. Participants were to write about one ancestor every week. I’m revisiting this challenge for 2017. This is my seventh 52 Ancestors post, part of week six.