A Pennsylvania Dutch Genealogy

Is This a Schneider Breakthrough? DNA Points to a Possible Family for Jacob Schneider

Kris Hocker on 1 Oct 2018

So another Schneider family—actually two have come up in my ongoing search to find Jacob Schneider’s family. It’s a fairly common occupational surname, but if they are related, just not to Jacob, they will be the fourth and fifth Schneider families in my pedigree. As a comparison, I’m only descended from one Smith and one Jones family.

I’ve been working with the matches I share with four cousins who presumably descend from Jacob and Catharina (Nuss) Schneider’s son Jacob. They each share two DNA segments with me. One of them, however, shares three segments with my Mom.

I noticed recently that while he shares some of the same shared matches that I’ve traced back to the Nuss family, he also shares DNA with another cluster of individuals.¹ Wondering if perhaps this group represented the Schneider side of the family, I started researching these matches.

As with most of my DNA matches, I haven’t been able to research most of them. No family trees. Usernames instead of real names. No locations. But there were a handful for whom I was able to build pedigrees.

By tracing the pedigrees of these matches, I was able to find a common ancestral couple: Conrad Schneider and his wife Catharina Betz. This cluster includes descendants from two of their offspring—Catharina (Schneider) Bender and Balthasar Schneider. To better understand all the relationships, I built a chart showing how each match fits in the family and the amount of DNA (in centimorgans) they share with my mother.

Schneider DNA matches chart

On the chart, my Mom is shown in yellow, my Schneider cousins who match the presumed Nuss cluster in blue, and those cousins who match in the presumed Schneider cluster in the darker green.

The question is how does Jacob Schneider fit into this family. Assuming, of course, that these DNA matches indicate that he does and not some other currently unknown family connection.

I tried fitting Jacob into the family three different ways in the What Are the Odds? tool. This tool allows you to test out various hypotheses using the shared cM from multiple matches to create a statistical probability. The first hypothesis places Jacob as a grandchild of Conrad and Catharina, the second as a son, and the third as a nephew to Conrad. According to the tool, option three is not statistically possible. Both option one and two are equally possible, statistically.

However, based what I know about the family members, it’s more likely that Jacob was a grandchild of Conrad and Catharina. I estimate that Jacob was born between 1756 and 1765 based on his recorded ages in multiple census enumerations.² Conrad was born 17 March 1699 and died between 12 July and 10 August 1759. ~~he cannot be Jacob’s father.~~ His age makes it unlikely that he’s Jacob’s father.³ Furthermore, no son named Jacob is mentioned in Conrad’s probate records.⁴

So, if my Jacob was a grandson of Conrad, who were his parents? On the Schneider side of the family, there are five options—Conrad’s sons:

Leonhard Schneider (1725-1797)
Elias Schneider (1733-?)
Michael Schneider (1735-1806)
Balthasar Schneider (1738-1800)
Henry Schneider (1740-1821)

Leonard Schneider (1725-1797), Conrad’s eldest son, married Maria Christina Hens in 1752⁵ and had five surviving daughters. He married three more times after her death, but according to his estate papers, did not have a son named Jacob.⁶

Elias Schneider (1733-?) married Anna Maria Nuss, Conrad Nuss’ sister, 7 December 1756 at Old Goshenhoppen Church.⁷ I only have information on the births of three children: Conrad (1757), Anna Margaretha (1764), and Catharina (1771).⁸ My Jacob, born 1756-1765, could easily fit into this family. But at this point I have nothing to indicate that he does—besides, maybe, DNA.

Michael Schneider (1735-1806) married Anna Maria Cressman.⁹ His eldest son, named Jacob Adam, was born in 1765, but he married Elizabeth Yost and lived in Bucks County.¹⁰ He’s not my Jacob.

Balthasar Schneider (1738-1800) married Maria Sophia Vogel at Old Goshenhoppen 3 December 1757.¹¹ I did not find a baptismal record for a Jacob in church records associated with other children of Balthasar. However, the will of Balser Schneider of Heidelberg Township, Northampton (now Lehigh) County, does refer to a son named Jacob, as far as I can interpret.¹²

However, three of the matches I’ve placed as descended from him can be traced back to Jacob Schneider (1774-1850) and Margaret Brandstetter (1783-1836) of Lehigh County. Given the location and birth year, I find it more probable that this Jacob is the son of Balthasar, than my Jacob.

Henry Schneider (1740-1821) married Maria Christina Freyfogel on 14 September 1763. He lived in Marlborough Township and had a son named Jacob born in 1765.¹³ Based on analysis of the baptismal records for Henry’s children at Old Goshenhoppen, however, I would conclude that this Jacob married Elizabeth (___) and had children starting in the early 1790s baptized at Old Goshenhoppen. This rules him out as a possible match to my Jacob.

So, at this time, I have no documentary evidence that includes a possible match for my Jacob to this family. Given the DNA data I have, the probabilities for each possibility are equal regardless of which son he may descend from. But I think I may have narrowed it down to one.

My current working hypothesis is that he may be a son of Elias and Anna Maria (Nuss) Schneider. It would certainly help to explain the apparently close ties to the Nuss family and the large number of genetic matches to the Nuss family I’m finding in my research.

Unfortunately, Elias is proving quite elusive. He served as an administrator of his father’s estate in 1753 and remained in the area until at least 1771, based on his children’s baptisms at Old Goshenhoppen. But I’ve found no other evidence of him in Upper Salford or Marlborough townships. I may have to get really creative to find a paper trail for him or his family members.

Note: Minor edit for third option on What Are the Odds?. It should have been nephew, not brother. (2 Oct 2018)
Note: Correction of Conrad’s date of death. (8 Oct 2018)
Note: Added “to the Nuss” family to provide additional clarity regarding my hypothesis for Jacob’s parentage. (13 Dec 2020)

AncestryDNA Updates Ethnicity Estimates

Kris Hocker on 12 Sep 2018

If you’ve been reading the genealogy blogs today, you probably already know. Ancestry updated their AncestryDNA ethnicity estimates. It is based on a significantly larger reference population (3,000 -> 16,000 samples) and includes more regions (26 -> 43) and subregions (363 -> 380). You can see Ancestry’s announcement on their blog.

Currently—and for a limited time, you can compare your old results to the new ones on the map. The ethnicity estimate percentages also provide the specific, numerical changes for each region. Here is my original map.

2017 Ancestry Ethnicity Map

It included:

63% Europe West
16% Ireland/Scotland/Wales
5% Scandinavia

There were also a number of low confidence regions, including the Iberian Peninsula (4%), Great Britain (4%), Caucasus (4%), Europe South (2%), European Jewish (<1%), and Asia South (<1%).

And here’s my new ethnicity map.

2018 Ancestry Ethnicity Map

Not only have the amounts changed, but the way the areas are grouped has changed, as well. For instance, England/Wales/Northwestern Europe (yellow) is now one category. 61% of my DNA is from the areas it encompasses. Ireland/Scotland (green) is now 18%. Germanic Europe (teal), once part of Europe West, is now it’s own category and 18% of my ethnic makeup. Previously, Scandinavia was one block, now it is two categories: Norway and Sweden. I’m apparently 5% Norwegian. Additionally, I am now 1% Eastern European/Russian and 1% Greece/Balkans. The last two are really the only categories I could question.

If you look at my estimates from my paper trail versus Ancestry’s estimates, it breaks down like this:

Region	Pedigree	Ancestry 2017	Ancestry 2018
Western Europe	72.82%	63%	61%
Germanic Europe	(see W. Europe)	(see W. Europe)	13%
Ireland/Scotland	14.04%	16%	18%
Scandinavia	3.12%	5%	6% (Norway)
England/Wales	3.12%	4%	(see W. Europe)
Italy/Greece	—	2%	1%
Iberian Peninsula	—	4%	—
European Jewish	—	<1%	—
Unknown	6.24%	—	—
Caucasus	—	4%	—
Eastern Europe/Russia	—	—	1%

Once you get past the organizational changes, you can that, in reality, not much has changed at all in how my ethnicity is classified. I’m still an American mutt of largely Western European—Germanic and British—descent.

In fact, the interesting bits have disappeared, meaning that unknown 6.24% is most likely from the same areas in Western Europe as the majority of my other ancestors.

To read more about today’s changes, check out these blog posts.

The DNA Geek: Major Enhancement to AncestryDNA’s Ethnicity Estimates
Genetic Genealogist: AncestryDNA Revises Ethnicity Estimates
Legal Genealogist: AncestryDNA Ethnicity Estimates Updated
Ancestry’s white paper: Ethnicity Estimate 2018 White Paper

Bill & Ruth’s Excellent Adventure

Kris Hocker on 5 Sep 2018

On 24 September 1941, William “Bill” Hocker Jr. married Ruth Hoover at Olivet Presbyterian Church in Harrisburg.

Anna Hocker, Ruth (Hoover) Hocker, William Hocker, Don Hoover outside Olivet Presbyterian Church

William’s sister Anna stood up with the couple, as did Ruth’s brother Don. Anna later married another of Ruth’s brothers, Willard “Boots” Hoover, almost a year later in 1942. Bill and Ruth were married for 66 years—a most excellent adventure.

Reunion: Finding A Couple’s Descendants Who Are Your DNA Matches Search Tip for Reunion Users

Kris Hocker on 28 Aug 2018

I’ve been a bit frustrated in my attempt to use Reunion to track my DNA matches. The problem? Trying to locate DNA matches in the database who descend from a specific couple. I’m pleased to say I found a solution, but also a bit embarrassed about how easy it turned out to be.

The Problem

I do most of my work identifying relationships with my DNA matches in Google Sheets. I have a master list and additional spreadsheets with subsets of individuals who form clusters for which I’m trying to identify our shared ancestor.

I build out pedigrees for my matches in Reunion. That way I can attach them to the correct ancestor once I get back far enough in their tree. The assumption, of course, is that I will actually get back to that shared ancestor. That’s not always the case, but I remain hopeful and keep trying.

The problem arises when I want to find those cousins who I’ve traced to a specific couple. Unless there’s only one of them, it can be confusing trying to descend the family tree. I wanted a quick way to see if I have added an individual to the database.¹

The Solution

When I add my DNA matches in to Reunion, I tag them in two ways. First I check a “Flag” that I added—“DNA Match.” The flag will show if I’m looking at a person’s record in Reunion. Secondly, I select a “Child Status” that I created—“DNA Match.” This status I can see if I’m looking at their parents. Additionally, I add the match details into the notes field

I can easily find all my DNA matches in the database by selecting either of the tags in a search. What I was missing was a way to narrow it down to only those descended from a specific couple.

The solution, it turns out, was so simple, it made me feel stupid.

I usually keep all my direct ancestors “marked” in the database. It makes it easy to identify them out of a list of similarly named people without having to remember birth and death dates. The answer to my problem involved using marking a bit differently.

In order to find DNA matches who are descendants of a specific couple, the first step is to mark all their descendants in the Reunion database.

Mark descendants

When you are on the page of the couple you’ve chosen, go to Mark Groups. Select “Mark” as your action and “Descendants of” as your target group. Be sure to check “Unmark everybody first” to limit your search group to just this subset of the database. Click “Mark.”

Now that you have selected a target group to search, go to “Find.”

Look for marked DNA matches

To set your search parameters, first select “Person Marked” under “Attributes” in the conditions pop-up, then select “Yes” in the second menu. This will find all people who are checked in the database.

Add another condition by checking the “And” box. The operator menu allows you to flip this check box between “And” and “Or.” If you want both parameters to be true, then use “and.” If either conditions should be true, use “or.”

Choose “Child Status” from “Attributes,” then either “Contains” or “Is” in the second menu and type your status in the text box. If you choose “Is” make sure to type in the exact text of the child status. Alternately, I could select “DNA Match checked” from “Flags” or search for text in a notes field. Use whatever method you’re using to tag your DNA matches.

Click “Find” to start the search. The results will appear in the sidebar.

And there it is. The remarkably simple answer to a problem that’s been plaguing me for a while. Why didn’t I think of it sooner?!

Hope this tip helps some of you Reunion users out there.

Jacob Schneider’s Timeline

Kris Hocker on 19 Aug 2018

Last week I wrote about using tax records to fill in the details of Jacob Schneider’s life. I wrote about what I found; now I want to show you how I organized it.

Timelines are an invaluable tool for genealogical research. Not only do they help you organize what you’ve found and see what may be missing, they can also show you inconsistencies and overlaps that can point to potential identification mistakes.

There are three places I have created time-based lists of events: 1) in the miscellaneous notes field in Reunion, 2) Evernote and 3) Google Sheets (spreadsheet). Any one of these—or a combination of them—may work for you.

Reunion is my goto for any information pertaining to an individual; everything I find goes there.

I use Evernote when I want to be more organized and structure my research. I found a template from Colleen Greene that includes sections for biographical information, clues, tasks, and a research log. I added a timeline to the template and use it to keep myself focused during research, to try to adhere to standards.

My Google Sheets timelines I use for collecting data from specific sources. It allows me to compare data—census, tax, etc.—for a specific location or surname through time. I also use it to create compact timelines, a simplified version of my Evernote timelines. These are really helpful when trying to distinguish between multiple individuals with the same name in a given location.

Here is Jacob Schneider’s timeline from my Google spreadsheet.

Jacob Schneider timeline

This spreadsheet only includes records for Jacob Schneider and his presumed family members. I used color to differentiate between people, baby blue being for Jacob himself. Samuel Snyder’s entries are not colored in order to highlight them as I wrote up my proof argument for why I believed him to be Jacob Schneider’s son and Judith Ann Wolf’s husband.

I wouldn’t consider this timeline complete. The tax records need more specific dates and I’m still looking for additional records. For example, Henry received communion at New Goshenhoppen, so he had to have been baptized and confirmed. I’m hoping to find record of that for him and his siblings. Baptism sponsors—especially for the eldest children—can help find additional family members and identify parentage for Jacob and Catharine.

When I examined the records for Conrad and Jacob Nuss in conjunction with this timeline, it became clear that Jacob Schneider was likely working with Jacob Nuss as a saddler. They were both in Upper Hanover Township from 1791 through 1801. Conrad Nuss, Jacob’s presumed father-in-law only overlaps in Upper Hanover with Jacob in 1791 and 1793. Jacob Schneider, like Conrad, is later found in Hereford between 1805 and 1808.

I really like the way a narrative starts to appear when you examine these records. Jacob likely met Catharine while he was apprenticing, learning the saddler trade, and married his boss’s niece! I wouldn’t have thought of this scenario without seeing the occupations in the tax record and the location overlaps in the timeline.

TBT: Using Online Land Office Records at the PA Archives

Kris Hocker on 16 Aug 2018

Way back in 2012 I wrote a post entitled How to Use the Online Land Records at the PA State Archives. This post explained the process of land rights passing from William Penn to colonists through the Land Office in colonial Pennsylvania. If you’re researching a Pennsylvania immigrant—or even a first generation colonist—these records can be invaluable.

How to Use the Online Land Records at the PA State Archives

After this post I used Jacob Huber of Lancaster County’s records to illustrate the resources created during this process:

Jacob Hoober 1733 Warrant

Jacob Hoober’s 1733 Survey

Jacob Hoober’s 1736 Land Patent

For additional resources to find your ancestors land, check out the Warrantee Township maps:

Pennsylvania Warrant Township Maps

and also the Genealogical Map of the Counties:

Pennsylvania Genealogical County Map

Hope you’ve enjoyed this Throwback Thursday post.

Building a Timeline for Jacob Schneider Clues from Tax Records Help to Build a Life Story

Kris Hocker on 13 Aug 2018

Based on my genetic genealogy research and the paper trail I’ve built for Jacob & Catharine (___) Schneider, I’m fairly certain that they are the parents of my 4x great grandfather Henry Schneider. I’m also pretty certain that Catharina’s parents were Conrad and Anna Margaretha (Roeder) Nuss. But that hasn’t stopped the search for additional evidence. After all, I would like to know who Jacob’s parents were.

Tax Records

I was combing through Montgomery County tax records for other research when I decided to look for Jacob and Henry in the records. Tax records may not provide a lot of genealogical information, but they can give you residency for a person between census years.

They can also be matched up with other records for verification or provide information when those other records are lacking. For instance, many times our ancestors did not record deeds with the county recorder. It wasn’t required and it cost money. Having a deed for yourself was enough to prove ownership, so that’s all they did. Tax records can fill in that evidentiary hole when you don’t have the deed. They can tell you if your ancestor owned land, when they owned it, how much they owned, and what it was worth.

Jacob Schneider

In Jacob’s case, I have a deed, but it’s the years before his purchase I want to know more about. He first appeared in Upper Hanover Township tax records in 1791¹ as a single man.² He continuously appears in the available records, taxed on his occupation and 1 or 2 cows (his only property), through 1804 when his name was crossed out.³ At that point, I know he’s still alive, so he must have moved out of the township.

In 1810, he reappeared in Upper Hanover, taxed on 85 acres of land, 1 horse, 2 cows, and a dog.⁴ His occupation was listed as a saddler. Records show him in the township through 1829 when an entry consistent with prior records is attributed to “Jacob and Samuel.”⁵ This is consistent with the deed record which shows he purchased 85 acres from Henry Roeder on 2 April 1810.⁶ Jacob died sometime before 24 October 1829.⁷ His administrators, Henry and Catharine Schneider, reported to the Orphans Court during the January 1830 session that they sold Jacob’s land to Michael Gery and, indeed, Michael Gery was taxed on 85 acres in that year.⁸

So, Jacob Schneider worked as a saddler, even after he purchased his land in 1810. In order to learn this trade, he likely apprenticed as a young man with a saddler. Do you know who was also listed as a saddler in tax records?

His presumed father-in-law Conrad Nuss!

I found both Conrad and his brother Jacob listed in various tax records in Upper Hanover from 1774⁹ through 1793.¹⁰ Curious about the years Jacob was missing from Upper Hanover, I checked Hereford Township records in Berks County where Conrad wrote his last will & testament in 1808. I found Jacob Snyder (“sadler”) in Hereford from 1805 through 1809 and Conrad from 1806 through 1808.¹¹ It doesn’t seem like much of a stretch to argue that Jacob learned the saddler’s trade from one (or both) of the Nuss brothers and married Conrad’s daughter.

My 4x great grandfather Henry Schneider was taxed in Upper Hanover, too. He first appears in the records at age 25, taxed as a single man in 1817.¹² He was taxed on his occupation—cordweiner, aka shoemaker—and his property—one or two cows—until he purchased land from his father-in-law’s estate in 1830.¹³ Henry’s mother and siblings show up in the records, too:

mother Catharine in 1832-1834¹⁴
sister Catharine in 1831-1834¹⁵
Elizabeth in 1830 and 1832¹⁶
Jacob in 1819 and 1829¹⁷
Samuel in 1826-1840¹⁸
Daniel in 1831-1837¹⁹
Michael in 1832²⁰
John in 1832-1837²¹

Only Sarah and Jonas do not appear in the tax record, perhaps because they were too young for the records I looked at or they moved out of the township while still minors.

Conclusions

It seems to me that these records support the hypothesis that Henry was the son of Jacob and Catharine. The overlap in the tax record—at a time when there doesn’t appear to be another Snyder family living in the township—between Jacob and persons with the names of his children, each appearing shortly after they would have presumably come of age, is consistent with a familial relationship.

Several of these individuals also had money “at interest” according to the records in the early 1830s. This is consistent with payouts from an estate settlement. Henry and Catharine submitted their administration account of Jacob’s estate on 13 April 1831.²² There was a balance $1,232.21 to pay the heirs. Catharine would have received a third—$410, and the ten children would have divided the remaining $822.

The records also support my hypothesis that the Samuel Snyder who married Judith Ann Wolf, daughter of my 4x great grandparents Jacob and Magdalena (Brey) Wolfe, was the son of Jacob and Catharine (Nuss) Schneider. These tax records place Jacob’s son Samuel in the same location as the Wolfe family both directly before and after the marriage to Judith Wolf. They also note that he was a single man through 1831, but not after 1832, just about the time Samuel and Judith likely married.²³

All in all, these tax records improve my understanding of Jacob Schneider’s life and family and add evidence to the argument that he and Catharine are my 5x great grandparents and the descendant of Samuel and Judith (Wolf) Snyder, their descendants, too.

By the Railroad Tracks

Kris Hocker on 1 Aug 2018

In honor of the recent Hoover family reunion, here’s a family photo from about 90 (wow!) or so years ago. I love the candid family photos. Here the family members are sitting by railroad tracks, possibly above a creek, near a railroad marker (C 34).

Aunt Annie Houdeshell, Peg, Don, Bob, Ruth Hoover

Peg, Don, Bob, and Ruth Hoover

My grandmother identified this photo as being “Aunt Annie, Peg, Don, Bob, and Ruth.” However, Aunt Annie—Anne Belle Houdeshell—died in 1924. Bob was born the following year.

I’m terrible at estimating children’s ages, but I’d guess the youngest child in the photo to be around two years old. I’m pretty sure Grandma could recognize herself and her siblings, so that places this photo around 1927 or 1928, give or take. The trees are bare, but the family is not bundled up. I’d guess spring or a warm fall day.

I wonder what they’re all looking at.

One Small Step for a Man

Kris Hocker on 4 Jul 2018

Here’s an almost Wordless Wednesday post in honor of the moon landing which happened 49 years ago this month.

Photo of the televised 21 Jun 1969 moon walk by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin (photo by my dad)

In July 1969, I was still a baby, so I don’t remember this at all. At the time, my family was living at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida. We got to see the launch of the Apollo 11 rocket at the Kennedy Space Center and watched the landing on television. My father took this picture from that broadcast.