Admin Bond: Jacob Huber, decd (1743/4)

Going through a stack of documents to file, I found an administration account I wanted to scan. Lo and behold there were actually two documents—I’d forgotten that I’d ordered the second. It was the administration bond for Jacob Huber of Martic Township.

Jacob Huber 1743 Admin Bond

Jacob Huber arrived in Lancaster County before 1718 and settled on land adjoining Pequea Creek in Conestoga Township. His land was adjacent to that of Hans Ulrich Huber, who was also arrived in 1718. He may have died prior to 23 Nov 1739. Hans Boyer, a neighbor, patented his land on 26 Nov 1739.1 Boyer’s survey refers to Jacob Huber’s tract as belonging to the Widow Hoober.

An administration bond was filed for Huber’s estate on 26 January 1743/4,2  as follows:

Know all men by these presents that we John Huber Henry Huber and
Samuel Byor yeomen __ __ __ yeoman all of the County of Lancaster
& province of Pennsylvania are held and firmly bound unto Peter Evans
Register General for the probate of Wills & Granting Letters of Administration
in & for the said province & the counties of New Castle Kent & Sussex on Dela
ware in the sum of Two Hundred & fifty __ pounds Lawful money of the said
province to be paid to the said Peter Evans or his Lawful attorney Executors
administs or assigns To which paymt well & truly to be made we bind ourselves
our Heirs Executors & Administratrs Joyntly & Severally firmly by these presents
sealed with our Seals & Dated this twenty sixth day of January ano dom 1743/4
The Condition of the above Obligation is such that is the above Bound
John Huber ___ administrator of all & singular the Goods Rights
& Credits of Jacob Huber — Deceased Do make of cause to be made a true and
perfect Inventory of all & singular the Goods Rights & Credits of the sd Decsd
which have or shal come to the Hands possession of Knowledge of the said
John Huber —— or into the Hands or possession of any other person
or persons for him and the same so made Do Exhibit or cause to be Exhibited
into the Registers Office in Lancaster County on or before the twenty sixth day of
February — next and the same Goods Chattels & Credits of the said Decsdt
at the time of his Death or which at any time after shal come to ye hands
or possession of the said John Huber —— or into the hands or possession
of any other person or persons for him Do well & truly administer according
to Law and further Do make or cause to be made a true & just account cal
culation or reckoning of the said Administration on or before the twenty sixth day
of January — which will be in the year of our Lord 1744/5 and all the rest
and residue of the sd goods Chattels & Credits which shal be found Remaining on
the said administrators accounts (the same being first examined & allowed
of by the orphans Court of the sd County) shal Deliver & pay to such person
or persons Respectively as the sd Court by its Decree or sentence shal Limit and
appoint and if it shal hereafter appear that any last will or Testament was
made by the sd Decsdt and the Executor or Executors therein named shal Exhibit
the same into the Registers office making Request to have it allowed accordingly
if the said John Huber ___ being thereunto Required shal Render and
Deliver up the said Letters of Administration approbation of such Testament being
first had & made in the sd office then this obligation to be void or Else to be d[?] re
main in force & virtue       John Huber
Sealed & Delivered }
in the presence of }           Henry Huber
John Morris
Samuel Blunston               Samuel Boÿer

I’m fairly certain that John Huber was Jacob’s son. He eventually patented Jacob’s tract, and warranted and patented an adjoining tract in Martic Township. Samuel Boyer was most likely a neighbor, possibly the son of Hans Boyer who owned the tract to the west of Jacob’s in Conestoga Township, or the Samuel Boyer who owned land just up the Pequea, or maybe the Samuel Byer who warranted property down the Pequea in Martic Township in right of Owen O’Neal. I’m not certain as to the exact identity of Henry Huber, but he may have been a son or other relative, possibly one of the two Henry Hubers who lived on Pequea and Beaver Creeks somewhat east northeast of Jacob’s property.

Henry Hoover of Lancaster County, PA and Rockingham County, VA

On 11 October 1791, Henry Huber of Martic Township married Barbara Huber (Jacob3, Johan Jacob2, Hans1) also of Martic Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Barbara inherited “the land whereon they now live” in Rockingham County, Virginia from her father Jacob Huber’s estate in 1810.1 Presumably the family moved from Pennsylvania to Virginia prior to 6 November 1808 when Jacob wrote his last will and testament.

Barbara’s ancestry was documented in Harry Huber’s The Huber-Hoover Family History, but who was this Henry Huber and how does he relate to the Hoover families who resided along Pequea Creek?

Assuming that these census records all relate to one man and that he was husband of Barbara Hoover, Henry Huber of Rockingham County, Virginia was:

  • 26-44 in 18102,
  • 45+ in 18203,
  • 50-60 in 18304,
  • and 70-80 in 1840.5

This places Henry’s birth between 1770 and 1775, and given that he married in 1791, quite possibly before 1771, plus or minus a couple of years.6

There were several Hoover families in Martic Township at that time—several of whom had children named Henry:

  1. Henry Huber (John2, Henry1 [K])
  2. Henry Huber (Jacob2, Henry1 [K2])
  3. Henry Huber (John2, Jacob1)
  4. Henry Huber (Ulrich1)
  5. Henry Huber (Jacob2, Ulrich1)
  6. Henry Huber (Ulrich2, Ulrich1)

Which of these men—if any—were possible candidates to be Barbara Hoover’s husband? Check back for future posts where I’ll outline the information I’ve compiled for each of these men.

52 Ancestors: #1 Nora Melinda (Houdeshell) Hoover (1891-1965)

For some reason, I’ve been thinking about my great grandmother Nora (Houdeshell) Hoover a lot recently. I never had a chance to meet her, but from the few stories I’ve heard, I think I would have loved her. So, I thought I’d start my 52 Ancestors series writing about her.

Clyde & Nora (Houdeshell) Hoover

Clyde & Nora (Houdeshell) Hoover

Nora Melinda (Houdeshell) Hoover was the eldest daughter of George Westfall/Wesley Houdeshell and Lovina Caroline Force. She was born 25 October 1891 in Wooster, Cameron County, Pennsylvania.1 She died of an acute myocardial infarction, possibly brought on by complications of diabetes, on 11 May 1965 in Pine Glen, Burnside Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania and was buried 3 days later in the Advent Cemetery in Pine Glen.

Great grandma was one of 12 children, 10 surviving to adulthood. She grew up in rural Pennsylvania where her father worked as a lumberman and also supported his family by farming. According to family stories, when she was 16, her father told her she was to either get married or get a job. So, she took a job as a cook in a lumber camp. Apparently, that’s where she met my great grandfather, Clyde L. Hoover. They were married 16 April 1908 in Dubois, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania.2 He was 21 (nearly 22) and she was 16. Clyde and Nora were the parents of 12 children—seven sons and five daughters.

Nora was a believer in education. She ran a small library from her home in Pine Glen. Today, it probably would be the equivalent of a small personal collection, but it provided an opportunity for Pine Glen residents to experience the world of books. She also wanted her daughters to wait until they were 21 before marrying, probably so that they would have a chance to fully grow-up, get an education, and experience life a bit before settling down to raise their families. My grandmother was married a month after her 21st birthday.

During the war—World War II, I presume—she planted a pine tree for every Pine Glen boy who went off to war, including four of her sons. I wonder what she thought as she watched those trees grow.

Family stories also allege that great grandma had Indian blood. I think that story arose mainly because she had straight dark hair as I’ve found no reason to believe her ancestry was anything other than northern European. Perhaps, one day one of my Hoover or Houdeshell relatives will have a DNA test and we’ll get proof one way or the other.


This post is part of an on-going blogging challenge entitled 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, created by Amy Crow of No Story Too Small. Participants must write about one ancestor every week. This post is part of week two.

Tuesday’s Tip: Search Mailing Lists

Mailing lists can be a great tool for collaboration with other researchers in your area of interest. They can also be a great source information. But you don’t necessarily need to be on a list in order to benefit from it.

The RootsWeb mailing lists are archived—and searchable.

Recently, I’ve been thinking about a series of emails from several years ago which included marriage and death transcriptions from a Lancaster County newspaper as a possible source for information. But I haven’t been able to find them in my inbox. I’ve changed computers since then, and those old emails apparently didn’t make it to the new computer.

Luckily, I remember which mailing list they were from. A quick search and I was able to pull up a list. Here are links to the archived emails for information from the 1848 Lancaster Intelligencer:

This information was transcribed by Maria Campbell and sent to the PALANCAS-L mailing list in 2010. For more examples with different years and newspapers, check out the archives of the PALANCAS-L mailing list or search for your ancestor.

 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks — A Writing Challenge

Amy Johnson Crow over at No Story Too Small has issued a challenge to geneabloggers to blog about an ancestor each and every week for 2014. Anything and everything is fair game, as long as it is devoted to 1 specific ancestor.

I actually spend a lot of time writing about folks that I’m not related to in any way. Most of the Hoovers in my Hoover Surname Study are—to the best of my knowledge—not directly related to my Hoovers (except perhaps back in the fog of times long gone). So, accepting this challenge would mean that I would have to focus on my own family. Not a bad thing.

The big question, however, is can I actually find something to say about 52 of my ancestors? I’ve already written about the ones I’ve researched. Can I find 52 more to write about? Have I even done that much research on my various family lines?

I’ve decided to accept the challenge, so I guess we’ll find out. Who knows, I might even surprise myself! Stay tuned.

Best of 2013

Now that 2013 is almost over, it’s time to look back and reflect on the year past. Here’s a list of the top 10 most viewed posts for this year.

  1. 5,000 Acres—Where Did It All Go? with 165 views (#7 in 2012)
  2. Pennsylvania Township Warrantee Maps with 177 views (#4 in 2012)
  3. Andreas Huber (1723—1784) with 180 views
  4. Huber Immigrants with 198 views (#5 in 2012)
  5. Jacob Hoover (ca 1746—1800) with 212 views
  6. Andreas Huber Origins: Trippstadt, Ellerstadt, or Ittlingen? with 241 views (#8 in 2012)
  7. Friday Finds: Trinity Lutheran Birth and Baptismal Records Online with 250 views
  8. How to Use the Online Land Records at the PA State Archives with 396 views (#3 in 2012)
  9. Pennsylvania Genealogical County Map with 1,919 views (#1 in 2012)
  10. Home page / Archives with 3,964 views (#2 in 2012)

Apparently, I was not particularly helpful or interesting this year as all of these pages were written in prior years—except perhaps whatever people were looking at on the home page! Most of theses posts—with the exception of the pages on Andreas and Jacob Huber—were fairly general, either providing information on how to use an online resource, directing readers to a resource, or providing information on multiple surnames. That two pages on specific people made the list was somewhat surprising—until I realized that although neither was related to President Hoover, both names were used in his family.

So, did you have a favorite post in 2013? What was it about and where was it posted? Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Understanding Colonial Legal Definitions

During genealogical research, it is common to come across terms which you may not understand—either because they are legal terms or because the context doesn’t fit your understanding of the word(s). This can create difficulties in interpreting a document and fully understanding its implications for your ancestor and their family.

Robert Baird (Bob’s Genealogy Filing Cabinet) has a list of colonial legal terminology and other articles that are incredibly useful in explaining terms and practices with which you may not be familiar.

Abraham Smith’s Conestoga Tract

This 84 acre tract in Conestoga Township on Pequea Creek was warranted to Martin Kendig and John Herr as part of a larger 5,000 acre warrant.1 It was surveyed to Martin Kendig and Hans Herr, one of four tracts labelled Hans Boyer, Jacob Hoober, Martin Boyer/Abrm Smith, and Christian Stone/Jacob Boyer.2 On 24 October 1735, Abraham Smith patented 84 acres [Patent Book A8:55].3

Abraham Smith Conestoga tract

Abraham Smith’s 84-acre tract in Conestoga (now Pequea) township

By 23 December 1750, this tract was owned by Henry Boyer.4 On 1 May 1776, Henry’s heirs—Jacob Boyer, Jacob & Anna (Boyer) Lehman, Henry & Margaret (Boyer) Hoover, and John Hoover and John Line, guardians of the minor children Barbara (Boyer) Leiaberger and Henry Boyer—sold their share of this 84-acre tract, along with two others, to Rudy Miller, husband of Elizabeth, widow of Henry Boyer.5

On 14 October 1780, Henry Boyer Jr., now of full age, and his wife Barbara sold their share of the three tracts to Rudy Miller, as well.6 Rudy Miller’s heirs—Rudolph Miller, Stephen & Mary (Miller) Rine, and Hugh & Barbara (Miller) Evans—sold their interest in Rudy Miller’s four tracts of contiguous land in Conestoga and Martic townships, including this 94 acres, to John Miller, another of Rudy Miller’s children.7

Pennsylvania Dutch Funny Cake

Pennsylvania Dutch Funny Cake
Yum! Funny cake is a holiday tradition in our house. It features a chocolate filling beneath a moist cake, all in a pie shell with a crunchy topping. It makes a perfect breakfast, snack or dessert. And every taste brings back memories of holidays past.