Will: John Philip Keller (1812)

Kris Hocker on 25 Jan 2013

John Philip Keller signature

 In researching Ulrich Huber of Adams and York counties, I’ve been looking for Philip Keller, husband of Ulrich’s daughter Magdalena. All I really knew about the couple was that Magdalena had died prior to her father’s death and that she and Philip had children: Eve, Catharine, Elisabeth and John.1

Today, I came across a possible clue—a gravestone for a Magdalena Keller who died in July 1805 and was buried in Middletown, Frederick County, Maryland. According to her gravestone, she was approximately 40 years of age at the time of her death. Since this fits the parameters of Ulrich’s daughter, I decided to search for records for Philip Keller in Frederick County Maryland, starting with estate records. I found two wills, one of which is a match.

“In the Name of God I John Phillip Keller of Frederick County and State of Maryland being weak in Body but of sound mind and memory calling to mind the uncertainty of Life do make this my last will and Testament in manner and form following to wit that Body by Buried in a Christian like manner — I give and bequeath unto my son John Keller his heirs and assigns all my real Estate consisting of Several Tracts of Land he yielding and paying therefor Six hundred pounds Lawfull [sic] money in the following manner that is to say one year after he shall arrive to the age of twenty one years Seventy five pounds and the yearly sum of Seventy five pounds without Interest untill [sic] the said whole sum of Six hundred pounds shall be fully paid & shall be Devided [sic] between all my Daughters in manner and form hereafter mentioned — I give and bequeath unto Catharine Hoover her heirs and assigns five hundred Dollars lawfull [sic] money — I Give and Bequeath all the residue of my personal Estate unto my three Daughters Eve, Catharine and Elisabeth to be Equally divided share and share alike taking into view at the same time Two hundred and fifty pounds advanced to my son-in-law Barnit Whip and two Hundred and fifty pounds advanced unto my son in law Michael Motter as a part of their Estate

It is my will that all my real Estate herein Devised to my son John shall be rented out to the best Advantage and so as not to have any part of it destroyed by my Executor hereafter named until my said Son shall arrive to the age of Twenty one years or untill [sic] he shall choose a Guardian which said rents Shall be for the sole use and benefit of my said son John — It is my will that before an Equall [sic] Division of my personal Estate shall take place Between my Daughters my Youngest Daughter Elisabeth shall first have forty pounds lawfull [sic] money after which a Division shall take place Equally share and share alike — And Lastly I constitute and appoint my friend Peter Coblentz my whole and sole Executor of this my last will and Testament this twenty first day of November in the year of our Lord Eighteen hundred and twelve — In Witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed my seal”2

John Philip Keller signature

Philip’s will was witnessed by Joseph Swearingen, Adam Shank, and Michael Keller. The will was proven on 30 Nov 1812.

The children listed in this will match those listed in Ulrich Hoover’s probate records as those of his daughter Magdalena, wife of Philip Keller. No wife is listed, making it likely that John Philip Keller was a widower, also a match. Additionally, he left a bequest to Catharine Hoover. Magdalena had a sister named Catharine who was unmarried at the time of her father’s estate probate circa 1805-1813.3 It’s possible that she went to live with her brother-in-law to care for her sister’s children after Magdalena died.

Part 3: Ulrich Hoover of York & Adams Counties, Pennsylvania

Kris Hocker on 9 Jan 2013

Last time, in Part 2 I provided a long list of information pertaining to Ulrich Hoover in a chronology. As you read through it, however, you’ll notice a number differences between this information and what we learned about Ulrich from his estate records. Additionally, you can see several inconsistencies between the individual pieces of data.

First, while there are birth/baptism records for most of the children listed in Ulrich’s estate records, there are several who are missing from the list. Those whose birth/baptism records are listed include:

  1. Susanna, daughter of Ulrich & Anna Maria
  2. Michael, son of Ulrich & Susanna
  3. Anna Catharina, daughter of Ulrich & Susanna
  4. Eva, daughter of Ulrich & Eva
  5. Johan George, son of Ulrich & Eva
  6. Peter, son of Ulrich & Eva
  7. Maria Elisabeth, daughter of Ulrich & Eva
  8. Anna Maria, daughter of Ulrich & Eva
  9. Barbara, daughter of Ulrich & Eva

Ulrich’s eldest son Johannes, daughter Magdalena, son Henry, son David and daughter Sarah are not found in the church records—though Henry was likely the unnamed son baptized on 25 Oct 1780.

There are also several children listed who are not included in the Orphans Court records. They include:

  1. Jacob, son of Ulrich & Anna Maria
  2. Daniel, son of Ulrich & Anna Maria
  3. Johan Daniel, son of Ulrich & Anna Maria
  4. Anna Maria, daughter of Ulrich & Anna Maria
  5. Maria Barbara, daughter of Ulrich & Susanna
  6. Johann Jacob, son of Ulrich & Susanna
  7. Christian, son of Uli & Catharina

If these are all children of our subject, Ulrich had a lot of children, many of whom predeceased him. Are they really all his?

This is where the inconsistencies become very important. Did you notice that after Ulrich & Susanna’s daughter Anna Catharina was baptized in Aug 1767, Ulrich & Anna Maria not only sponsored several children, but also sold land in Taneytown in 1768? Then Ulrich & Susanna had a son Johan Jacob born on 4 Aug 1769.

We know from the probate records that Ulrich had a daughter named Susanna. This was likely the Susanna, daughter of Ulrich & Anna Maria, who was baptized at St. Jacob’s (Stone) Church on 25 Mar 1760.1 So, he must have been married to Anna Maria. We also know that two of the children of Ulrich & Susanna Huber—Michael & Anna Catharina—match children of Ulrich listed in his probate records. So, he was married to Susanna. We also know that Ulrich left a widow named Eve.2 And six of the children of Ulrich & Eva listed in the church records match those listed in Ulrich’s probate file.

Logically, it would appear that Ulrich was married three times—first to Anna Maria, second to Susanna, and third to Eva. However, what about the references to Ulrich & Anna Maria after children were born to Ulrich & Susanna?

I believe there were two Ulrichs, both married—initially at least—to women named Anna Maria. Both may have started in the same general area,3 but by the early 1760s, one of them was most likely living in Taneytown.

I believe this is supported by the multiple warrants in Codorus Township. The first warrant (1751) is separate from the subsequent three (1765 & 1774) which were grouped together in location. Additionally, Smallwood reported that Ulrich’s gravestone states that he was born 27 Mar 1734.4 That date would have made him only 17 years old in 1751, too young to own land.

The 1758 start date for quit rent and interest on 250 acres warranted in 1765 fits better. Ulrich would have been 24 by then. Also, the names some of the surrounding land owners—Werley and Keller (sons-in-law)—tie to Ulrich’s family. Furthermore, these tracts are identified in Ulrich’s estate records as belonging to him and subsequently belonged to his sons John, Henry and George.

Separating out the two Ulrichs married to women named Anna Maria may prove problematic—at least where their children are concerned—without additional research on the Ulrich Huber of Taneytown. The only child we can be fairly certain belonged to Ulrich & Anna Maria Huber of York & Adams counties was Susanna. But based on this research, I would list Ulrich’s children as follows.

Children with wife Anna Maria:

  1. Johannes, born before 1760
  2. Susanna, born before 25 Mar 1760, baptized 25 Mar 1760

Children with wife Susanna:

  1. Michael, born before Dec 1763, baptized Dec 1763
  2. Maria Barbara, born before Dec 1765, baptized Dec 1765, may have died before 1793, but before 1805
  3. Anna Catharina, born 7 Aug 1767, baptized 11 Aug 1767
  4. Johann Jacob, born 4 Aug 1769, baptized 8 Aug 1769, may have died prior to 1778, but before 1805

Children with wife Eva.

  1. Eva, born 31 Dec 1773, baptized 2 Jan 1774
  2. Johann George, born 10 Jan 1776, baptized 3 Mar 1776
  3. Jacob, born 20 Aug 1778, baptized 4 Oct 1778, most likely died before 1805
  4. [Henry], born 26 Sep 1780, baptized 25 Oct 1780
  5. Peter, born 3 Oct 1785, baptized 18 Dec 1785
  6. Maria Elisabeth, born 18 Dec 1788, baptized 29 Jan 1789
  7. Annmaria, born 30 May 1791, baptized 10 Jul 1791
  8. Barbara, born 12 Mar 1793, baptized 9 May 1793
  9. David, born about 1797
  10. Sarah, born about 1797

I’ve placed Johannes first simply because he was the eldest son. He may have been born after Susanna, but before Michael, say late 1761 or very early 1762. Ulrich also had a daughter Magdalena, but I don’t know when she was born. I’d need to know more about her before I could even “guesstimate” her position in the birth order. But there are four years between Johann Jacob and Eva and five years between Henry and Peter.

Update: A gravestone from the Christ Reformed Church in Middletown, Maryland, states Magdalena Keller died 24 Jul 1805, aged about 40 years.5 We know that Ulrich’s daughter died before 21 Nov 1805, because her children are named in the petition to partition her father’s land. That same document indicates that she was the wife of Philip Keller. John Philip Keller is also buried in this cemetery. So it’s quite possible—maybe even likely—that this is Ulrich’s daughter.

“Aged about 40 years” would place her birth in 1765—when her sister Barbara was born. It’s possible that they were twins. But there’s that word about.6 It’s more likely that she was slightly older or younger than 40 years. Given that Michael was born in 1765 and I have most often seen wives who are younger than their husbands, I would theorize that Magdalena was born between 1769 and 1773. Since I don’t have a death date for Susanna or an exact marriage date for Ulrich and Eva, I can’t determine which woman was her mother.

So, if there were two Ulrich Hoovers in this general area, were they related? Were they related to any of the other Hoovers in the area? Who was the Christian Hoover listed as a neighbor to Ulrich Hoover’s 1751 land warrant? Was he related to the George Hoover who later owned the tract adjoining this land?

All these questions—and research—because Christian Hoover of Heidelberg Township bequeathed money to the surviving children of his brothers—Ulrich, Jacob and Henry—without naming any of them.

Read more:

Part 2: Ulrich Hoover of York & Adams Counties, Pennsylvania

Kris Hocker on 7 Jan 2013

While I was researching Ulrich Hoover of York & Adams Counties, I decided to put together a timeline that included all the information I’d found for “Ulrich Huber” in York County & the surrounding area for the late 1700s. I wanted to see what I had, whether or not it made sense, and whether or not I could determine that it all applied to the same man.

Here’s what I found:

18 Dec 1751: John Ulrick Hoover warranted 50 acres in Codorus Township, York County.1

10 Feb 1754: Ulrich & Anna Maria Huber’s son Jacob was baptized by Rev. Jacob Lischy.2 Jacob and Esther Keller were the sponsors.3

8 Aug 1756: Ulrich & Anna Maria Huber’s son Daniel was baptized by Rev. Jacob Lischy.4 Daniel and Elisabeth Renolly were the sponsors.5

25 Mar 1760: Ulrich & Anna Maria Huber’s daughter Susanna was baptized at St. Jacob’s (Stone) Union Church.6

26 Jun 1760: Ulrich & Anna Maria Huber’s son Johan Daniel was baptized by Rev. Jacob Lischy.7 Daniel and Elisabeth Renolly were the sponsors.8

4 Nov 1760: Ulrich Hoober sold 50 acres in Codorus Township to Conrad Supinger.9

15 Aug 1762: Ulrich & Anna Maria Huber’s daughter Anna Maria was baptized by Rev. Jacob Lischy.10 Görg & Anna Maria Lickefelder were the sponsors.11

 6 Dec 1763: Ulrick Hoover purchased lot 78 in Taneytown, Carroll County, Maryland from Raphael Taney.12

 Dec 1763: Ulrich & Susanna Huber’s son Michael was baptized by Rev. Jacob Lischy.13 Michael & Catharina Böhler were the sponsors.14

22 Jun 1764: Ulrich Hoover purchased “Resurvey on Brothers Agreement” from Raphael Taney.15

5 Feb 1765: Ulrich Hoover purchased lot 89 in Taneytown from Raphael Taney.16

30 Apr 1765: Ulrich Huber received a warrant for 50 acres in Codorus Township, York County. 17 He also received a warrant for 100 acres in Codorus Township.18

 Aug 1765: Ulrich & Anna Maria Huber were sponsors for Johan Jacob Schreyer, son of Johannes and Maria Margreth Schreyer, and Johan Peter Sprengel, son of Heinrich and Anna Maria Sprengel.19

27 Dec 1765: Ulrich & Susanna Huber’s daughter Maria Barbara was baptized by Rev. Jacob Lischy.20 Michael Noll and Anna Marg. Fischbornin [Fischborn] were the sponsors.21

5 Jun 1766: Ulrich Hoover purchased lot 3 from Andrew Stiger in Taneytown.22

Jul 1766: Ulrich & Anna Maria Huber were sponsors for Anna Maria Kohn, daughter of Jacob & Magdalena Kohn.23

11 Aug 1767: Ulrich & Susanna Huber’s daughter Anna Catharina was baptized in St. Jacob’s (Stone) Church.24 She was born 7 Aug 1767.

23 Sep 1768: Ulrich & Anna Maria Hoover sold lots 3, 7, 8 in Taneytown and Resurvey on Brother’s Agreement to Mark Alexander.25

 4 Aug 1769: Ulrich & Susanna Huber’s son Johan Jacob was born.26 He was baptized in St. Jacob’s (Stone) Church on 8 Aug 1769.

28 Aug 1769: Ulrich Hoover purchased lot 15 in Taneytown from Robert Owings.27

8 Sep 1769: Ulrich Hoover sold 2 horses and a cow to Jacob Good.28

31 Dec 1773: Ulrich & Eva Huber’s daughter Eva was born.29 She  baptized in St. Jacob’s (Stone) Church on 2 Jan 1774.30

13 Sep 1774: Ulrick Hoober received a warrant for 100 acres adjoining his lands near George Werly & Stephen Peter.31

 10 Jan 1776: Ulrich & Eva Huber’s son Johann George was born.32 He was baptized in St. Jacob’s (Stone) Church on 3 Mar 1776.33

20 Aug 1778: Ulrich & Eva Huber’s son Jacob was born.34 He was baptized on 4 Oct 1778 in St. Jacob’s (Stone) Church.

1779: Ulrich Hoober was taxed on 300 acres in Codorus Township, York County, Pennsylvania.35

1780: Ulrich Huber was taxed on 200 acres in Codorus Township, York County, Pennsylvania.36

 26 Sep 1780: An unnamed child was born to Ulrich and Eva Huber.37 This child—most likely Henry—was baptized on 25 Oct 1780.

1781: Ulrich Huber was taxed on 300 acres and 3 mills in Codorus Township, York County, Pennsylvania.38

1782: Ulrich Huber was taxed on 300 acres in Codorus Township, York County, Pennsylvania.39

28 Oct 1782: Uli & Catharina Huber’s son Christian was born.40 Christian was baptized at St. Jacob’s (Stone) Church.

3 Oct 1785: Ulrich & Eva Huber’s son Peter was born.41 He was baptized on 18 Dec 1785 in St. Jacob’s (Stone) Church.

18 Dec 1788: Ulrich & Eva Huber’s daughter Maria Elisabeth was born.42 She was baptized in St. Jacob’s (Stone) Church on 29 Jan 1789.

30 May 1791: Ulrich and Eva Huber’s daughter Annmaria was born.43 She was baptized on 10 Jul 1791 in St. Jacob’s (Stone) Church.

9 Dec 1791: George Keller of Manheim Township names his “trusty friend Ulrich Huber” to be one of the executors of his estate.44

12 Mar 1793: Ulrich and Eva Huber’s daughter Barbara was born.45 She was baptized in St. Jacob’s (Stone) Church on 9 May 1793.

13 Apr 1798: Letters of Testamentary were issued on the estate of George Keller of Manheim Township to Ulrich Huber and Michael Miller.46

 Aug 1807: The York County Orphans Court appointed Christian Lentz as guardian for David and Sarah Hoover, aged 10, children of Ulrich Hoover, late of Reading Township.47

Did you see the inconsistencies? Looking at the data in an integrated timeline helped me come to a couple of conclusions. I’ll tell you about them in my next post.

Read more:

Ulrich Hoover of York & Adams Counties, Pennsylvania

Kris Hocker on 6 Jan 2013

Ulrich Hoover of York and Adams counties became of interest to me because of a possible connection to Christian Hoover of Heidelberg Township, York County. Ulrich had come up in the data I’ve been compiling on Hoovers of Pennsylvania and Maryland, but since I’ve been focusing on Lancaster County Hoovers, I hadn’t researched him.

Most of what I know about Ulrich came from a Hoover mailing list posting by Richard Smallwood. However, his estate records have been enlightening.

Ulrich’s estate records—from both Adams and York counties—are consistent in the names of his children and, for the most part, list them in the same order. Based on these records alone, I would list his children as:

  1. Johannes “John” Hoover
  2. Susanna Hoover, m. Johannes “John” Rohrbach
  3. Michael Hoover
  4. Catharine Hoover
  5. Eve Hoover, m. George Werley
  6. George Hoover
  7. Henry Hoover
  8. Peter Hoover
  9. Elizabeth Hoover
  10. Mary Hoover
  11. Barbara Hoover
  12. David Hoover
  13. Sarah Hoover
  14. Magdalena Hoover, dec’d., m. to Philip Keller

Johannes is consistently named as Ulrich’s eldest son.

When he died in 1805, Ulrich Hoover owned property in York County spanning the border between Manheim and Codorus townships and in Adams County in Reading and Latimer townships.1 Henry Hoover— “fourth son of Ulrich Hoover”—took 132 acres on the border of Manheim and Codorus townships in York County that included the merchant and saw mills.2 His brother George— “third son of the intestate”—took a tract of 300 acres in Codorus Township.3  Eldest son John initially refused to take any of the York County land, but eventually accepted a third tract of 111 acres in Manheim Township, adjoining the other tracts.4

According to Adams County Orphans Court records, John also accepted land in Reading Township, containing 223 acres.5 John accepted the second Adams County tract, containing 105 acres in Latimer Township, acting as Michael Hoover’s assignee.6

While I did not find any warrants for Ulrich Hoover in Adams County, I found several for “Ulrich” in York County. The first warrant was for John Ulrich Hoober for 50 acres in Codorus Township, dated 18 Dec 1751.7 I believe Ulrich sold this tract to Conrad Supinger on 4 Nov 1760.8 At the time of the land warrant, this tract adjoined land that had recently belonged to Christian Hoober. While this tract picques my interest the most, I’m not entirely convinced that it applies to this Ulrich Hoover.

Ulrich received another land warrant on 30 Apr 1765 for 50 acres in Codorus Township, adjoining Stephen Peter and Johan George Werley.9 It was noted on the warrant that the interest and quit rent were to be from 1 Mar 1758.10 This tract was surveyed on 14 Jul (5th month) 1766.11 Ulrich received a warrant for 200 acres, adjoining land of Philip Miller, George Keller, Francis Hoff, Anthony New/Neu, and Jacob Lingefelta on the same day.12 This warrant, too, noted that the interest and quit rent were to start from 1 Mar 1758. It was originally surveyed on the same day as the first tract, but two surveys were recorded for this tract—one in the name of George Hoover13 and one for Jacob Keller.14

A third warrant was issued for Ulrich Huber on 13 Sep 1774 for 100 acres, adjoining his other tracts.15 It was surveyed on 12 Sep 1794 for 108 acres and 12 perches.16

Based on these land warrants, Ulrich was probably living in York County by 1758, and possibly as early as 1751. This means he was probably living in York County from the time he was a young adult, so his children were likely born there. Check back next time to see what records I was able to find for them.

Read more:

Top 10 Posts of 2012

Kris Hocker on 4 Jan 2013

Top 10

I like to take a look at my website stats to see what posts & pages get viewed. Partly due to curiosity, but it’s also useful when I need inspiration. I’m sharing with you as a kind of year in review.

Here’s a list of the top ten most viewed posts on my site for 2012.

  1. Lancaster County Deed Books Online with 216 page views and 144 unique Views
  2. George Hoover (ca 1735/40-1813) with 235 page views & 203 unique views (#5 in 2011)
  3. Andreas Huber Origins: Trippstadt, Ellerstadt, or Ittlingen? with 239 page views and 210 unique views (#7 in 2011)
  4. 5,000 Acres—Where Did It All Go? with 240 page views and 122 unique views
  5. Pennsylvania Marriages, 1885-1950 with 249 page views and 161 unique views
  6. Huber Immigrants with 271 page views and 230 unique views (#6 in 2011)
  7. Pennsylvania Warrant Township Maps with 351 page views and 253 unique views (#3 in 2011)
  8. How to Use the Online Land Records at the PA State Archives with 443 page views and 284 unique views
  9. Home page with 1,086 page views and 691 unique views (#1 in 2011)
  10. Pennsylvania Genealogical County Map with 1,665 page views and 741 unique views (#2 in 2011)

It’s an interesting mix of my research, how-tos and Pennsylvania genealogy resources, and older and newer posts. Do you have a favorite  or most useful post? If you have a blog, what were your top 10 most viewed posts in 2012?

How Old Were They?

Kris Hocker on 31 Dec 2012

When judging a document to determine whether or not it applies to your ancestor, it’s always a good idea to keep in mind how old they were. If they weren’t old enough to buy land, then maybe that deed belongs to someone else.

But do you know how old they had to be?

Today, we need to be eighteen to vote or join the military, twenty-one (in most states) to drink alcohol legally, and sixteen in order to obtain a driver’s license. In colonial times, there were also age-based restrictions and they often varied from state to state.

If you’re researching in colonial Pennsylvania like me, you’re pretty lucky; it’s very clear cut. A person obtained legal age at 21. Before that they were required to have a guardian for their estate and that guardian was responsible for all legal actions on their behalf. Before the age of 14, the Orphans Court chose and appointed a guardian for a child. After the age of 14, a child could request a specific person to be appointed as their guardian by the court.

But what if you don’t know how old they were?

Knowing the age-based legal restrictions can help you to estimate a time frame for person’s birth. A child who requested a guardian would have to be between the ages of 14 and 21, giving you a seven year date range for their birth. A man who appears in a Pennsylvania tax list would have to be 21 years-old, giving you a year that he would’ve been born in or before.

For more information on this subject you can read “Legal Age in the Colonies” by Robert Baird or the series “How Old Did Folks Have to Be?” on the Legal Genealogist.

Cite This Page Plugin

Kris Hocker on 28 Dec 2012

Cite This Page plugin

I recently had a question from another blogger about the page citation that I display on every post and some pages. I don’t use a plugin to add it to the page—I wrote the PHP myself and included in my templates. But it got me thinking about how it could be useful as a plugin for other genealogy bloggers who self-host their WordPress blogs.

So, I spent the morning putting together a simple plugin. The plugin is currently configured to appear only on posts (only on the individual post page, not the main index page), not pages, and does not include any options for customization. For an example of what it displays, please see the end of this post (gray box not included).

So, how does it put the citation together? The first name and last name comes from those fields in the post author’s user profile. The page title and site name come from post title and blog name and description. The modified date is generated from the last time the page was saved and the accessed date is generated from the current date.

I am looking for testers to make sure that it will work and who can provide feedback and suggestions to make it work better. If you’d like to participate, please get in touch.

How to Use the Pennsylvania Probate Records on FamilySearch

Kris Hocker on 26 Dec 2012

The FamilySearch website includes a collection entitled “Pennsylvania, Probate Records, 1683-1994.” While it isn’t indexed and doesn’t include every county, it’s pretty easy to use once you figure it out.

Probate records can provide quite a bit of family information on your ancestor. A will may tell you how the decedent wanted his property divided and who was to get which pieces. You can get the name of a spouse, children, and associates—as the executor and witnesses were usually people the individual knew and trusted. A will may also point you to other documents. For instance, if the individual ordered that their real estate be sold, you might be able to locate deeds for the sale.

Intestate records may provide the names of the individual’s spouse and children, especially if they were minors and required guardians for their estate or if the decedent’s property needed to be partitioned. In the latter case, you should be able to find deed records for the transfer of ownership to the heir who accepted the property. Later deed transactions may also help you prove family relationships between individuals where there may not be other evidence.

Using this collection is not difficult. Navigating your way through it reminds me a lot of the “old days” of sitting down at a microfilm reader. There are no quick links directly to the information for which you’re looking. So, you’ll need to bounce around until you get to the right page.

Let’s take a look at the Lancaster County probate records.

FamilySearch Pennsylvania Probate Records collection

The available records for Lancaster County include indexes for Letters of Administrations 1730-1830, Orphans’ Court records 1742-1755, and Wills 1729-1947, and Will Books 1730-1908, volumes 1A through 2R. To find a will, you need to start with Will indexes.

Let’s try to find a will for Henry Huber of Martic Township. I  start with “Will Index 1729-1949 A-K.” Clicking on the link pulls up the first frame.

Lancaster County Will Index 1729-1949 A-K
Next I’ll need to try to locate the page(s) that include the Huber surname for first names beginning with the letter “H.” You could scroll page by page, but I usually estimate a starting point and go back/forth from there until I locate the page. I guestimated about image 200 and came up short with the Daub surname and jumped forward until I landed in close proximity to my target, then scrolled image-by-image until I hit the right page. All in all, I’d say it only took a few minutes to find the entry for Henry Huber.

Lancaster County Will Book Index
As you can see from the image (click to enlarge), Henry Huber is the first entry. His will was dated 1757 and is located in Will Book B1, page 202. Since the book is online, I can go to find a copy of the will.

Click on the word “Lancaster” in the breadcrumb trail above the image to open the list of links to available books again.

Breadcrumb link for Lancaster County probate records
I clicked on “Wills 1730-1773 vol A-B.” Book B is the second book in this series, so I need to jump forward until I’ve reached it. If there are two books, I go forward about half the number of images and adjust from there. Each image for a book contains a two-page spread, so jumping forward 10 images will jump you ahead 20 pages.

A little back and forth and ta-da! Henry Huber’s 1757 last will and testament.

Lancaster County Will Book B:202
The various counties in Pennsylvania have different records available to view. For instance, York and Adams counties not only have wills, but also the orphans court records. That means that you can find proceedings for intestates and guardianship petitions. The format of the indexes may also vary from county to county. Instead of a strictly alphabetical and chronological list, some of them use the Russell key indexing system. It uses key letters within the surname to index the names in groups which are then separated out by first name.

If you have Pennsylvania ancestors, give the collection a try and let me know what you find! If you have questions, you can let me know those, too.

An Unexpected Christmas Gift

Kris Hocker on 26 Dec 2012

A Christmas card arrived from my mother’s first cousin once removed—a first cousin to both her mother and father—and in it was an unexpected Christmas gift. I’ve tried unsuccessfully to find my GG grandfather Gruelich’s immigration to the United States. Even though we know what year he came, I still couldn’t find the ship’s name or what happened to him after his arrival.

Well, Bill found it! George Jacob, Carl Greilich (Greulich) and Emma Greilich (Eva Greulich) arrived in New York City on 28 Jan 1856 aboard the ship Dorette from Bremen. George Jacob is listed as aged 33, a mechanic, Carl is listed as aged 17, a mechanic, and “Emma” is listed as aged 23, occupation unknown.

According to family lore, George Jakob—a half-brother to Carl and Emma—traveled to the U.S. with his siblings, but continued his journey and went on to South America. We don’t know where on the continent, however. Eva Catharina Greulich supposedly went on to Binghamton, New York and married.