Family – A Pennsylvania Dutch Genealogy

Pennsylvania German Motif Sampler by Amanda Deischer

Kris Hocker on 21 Dec 2017

Amanda Deischer sampler

This is a needlework sampler by Amanda Deischer. The image was sent to me by Amy Finkel of Samplings, an antique sampler and needlework dealer, of Philadelphia (thanks, Amy!).

This is what she had to say about the sampler:

It’s a classic Pennsylvania German motif sampler and the handsome red and blue silk on crisp white linen was used by 19th century samplermakers in this community as well. After it’s framed it will be added to our Current Selections in January.
~Amy

According to the National Museum of American History, samplers were the method by which young women, not only learned basic needlework skills, but also showed off these skills to prospective mates. As such, they are an artifact that provides insight into the education of girls in American society during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

“The emergence of large numbers of these samplers has resulted in much research in diaries, account books, letters, newspaper ads, local histories, and published commentary that is helping to illuminate the lives of women in early America.”¹

It appears that Amanda stitched this sampler in 1852. The year appears at the end of the second row of needlework. She would have been approximately 18 or 19 years old, depending on the exact date of the work.² I recognize the images as classic Pennsylvania Dutch motifs. German was spoken at home in my mother’s family into the 1940s. I’ve seen evidence in some of my family lines that it was the primary language more than 100 years after those families had settled in Pennsylvania. It would not surprise me at all to learn that Amanda’s family was the same.

Amanda Deischer was the daughter of Peter Deischer (1793-1861) and Anna Maria Trump (1792-1874) of Hereford Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. She was born 17 June 1833 and died at the young age of 23 on 17 October 1856. She was buried at Zion’s Evangelical Lutheran Church cemetery in Zionsville, Upper Milford Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.

Amanda’s older sister Judith married Joseph Snyder, son of Henry and Sarah (Wißler) Schneider, about 1852 or so. They were my 4x great grandparents.

Michael Frantz (1789-1865) 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Kris Hocker on 2 Feb 2017

I’ve written before about Michael’s parentage, but not very much about him. Michael Frantz Jr. was born 22 May 1789 in Paxton Township, Dauphin County.¹ He was the fourth child and second son of Michael and Veronica “Fannie” (Nissley) Frantz. He died in Upper Swatara Township on 5 June 1865 and was buried in the Churchville cemetery in Oberlin.²

On 19 March 1812, he married Elizabeth Neidig, daughter John and Mary (Bear?) Neidig³ who owned land adjoining his father’s. She was born 10 April 1790 and died 3 December 1821.⁴ She was buried in the graveyard on their property. After her death, Michael married Elizabeth Walter, daughter of Jacob and Ann (Stauffer?) Walter.⁵ She was born 20 October 1800 in Rapho Township and died 15 Sep 1882 in Swatara Township.⁶ Her family moved north into Swatara Township sometime between 1807⁷ and 1810.⁸

When Michael’s father died in 1797, his uncle Jacob Frantz was named as guardian of him, his brother John, and sister Veronica.⁹ His uncle Christian Frantz served as guardian of his older sisters Elizabeth and Mary. His uncles Christian Frantz and Jacob Nissley were the administrators of the estate.¹⁰ His brother John died before 1807 and sister Veronica likely died prior to 19 May 1810.¹¹ Michael served as the head of household in the 1810 census.¹²

On 19 April 1810, Michael purchased his father’s farm from his sisters for $2,000. It adjoined the Susquehanna River and lands of Jacob Nissley (likely his cousin), Jacob Eagley, John Neidig, and Henry Hagey.¹³ He farmed this land until his death in 1865. Michael was a member of the United Brethren Church. His ancestors—and likely his parents—were Mennonites.

Children of Michael and Elizabeth (Neidig) Frantz, born in Swatara Township:

Mary Frantz was born 28 November 1818. She married John Raysor.
Elizabeth Frantz was born sometime between 1812 and 1821. She married John Miller.

Children of Michael and Elizabeth (Walter) Frantz, born in Swatara Township:

Samuel Frantz was born 21 July 1825 and died 4 November 1908 in Mount Pleasant, Isabella County, Michigan. He married Catherine Hershey in 1847.
Anna Frantz was born 13 Sep 1828 and died 3 February 1918 in Harrisburg. She married Levi Hocker on 6 February 1851.
Michael Andrew Frantz was born 15 January 1830 and died 26 May 1917 in North Manheim Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. He married Barbara Anne Rush on 14 January 1861.
Fannie Frantz was born 10 May 1833 and died 16 November 1916 in Harrisburg. She married Abraham Hursh by January 1854.
Jacob W. Frantz was born 13 Jun 1835 and died 12 May 1906 in Florence, Marion County, Kansas. He married Emma Loveland about 1884.
John H. Frantz was born 21 January 1840 and died in 1904 in Florence, Marion County, Kansas.
Margaret “Maggie” Frantz was born 6 November 1837 and died sometime after 28 April 1910. She married Abraham Shirk after 8 June 1880.
Sarah Frantz was born 10 February 1842 and died 11 January 1851. She was buried in Churchville Cemetery.
Christian G. Frantz was born 8 March 1845 and died 13 March 1906 in the Dauphin County Alms House. He was a teacher and musician.

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 fifth 52 Ancestors post, part of week four.

It’s a Really Small World

Kris Hocker on 8 Jul 2016

I’ve recently joined the genetic genealogy club. Mom and I both had our DNA tested through Ancestry DNA. My results just came in. You know how the television commercials show someone making a surprise discovery through their DNA? Surprise, you’re not German, you’re Scottish.

Yeah, my results weren’t anything like that.

Instead, I found out I’m pretty much who I thought I was—genetically speaking—an American of Western European descent. In fact, according to Ancestry, I’m even more Western European than the typical native Western European! I’m 63% Western European, compared to an average of 48%. I’m also 16% Irish, 5% Scandinavian, 11% trace European regions (Iberian Peninsula, Great Britain, Italy/Greece, and European Jewish), 5% West Asian (Caucasus), and 1% South Asian (India). So, 95% European mutt with a little Asian blood thrown in way back.

None of this surprises me. Most of my relatives are of German-descent, including those from Alsace-Lorraine and Switzerland. The rest are from Scotland, Ireland, and Wales—regions reflected in my DNA as Irish and Scandinavian.

Cousins

The surprise came through examining my cousin matches. It seems like there were an awful lot of them! Some of them I even know how we’re related. I had five third cousin matches, including matches from the Hockers, Wieders, and Houdeshells. The rest were fourth-sixth cousins, meaning a common ancestor five or more generations back.

The surprise came in finding out that I match two of my third cousins (siblings) through three of my grandparents! Our match is closest through the Hockers—Albert Curtin and Lillian (Leedy) Hocker. This couple are our great great grandparents. So, we’re third cousins. Our grandfathers knew each other and spent summers visiting their grandparents on the farm in Cumberland County.

But these cousins also match me on the other side of the family! If I go back through my Wieder ancestors through the female line to Abraham and Anna Sibilla (Fuchs) Herb. We descend from their daughters Anna Margaretha (Herb) Bobb and Catharine (Herb) Fronheiser.

And we’re likely related through my ancestor George Heilig whose daughter Eva Elisabetha married Johann Jacob Kline. I’m not sure of the connection, but we both have Heiligs who lived in proximity to one another in our trees.

Furthermore, we match going back through my Hoover family, through Walker, Eckley and Mayes ancestors to the Dotterer family. Catharine Margaret Fetzer, daughter of Andrew and Magdalena (Dotterer) Fetzer, married Andrew Walker about 1791. They settled in Boggs Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania. I descend through their son, John who married Mary Lucas and had a daughter Catharine who married John Eckley, and two of their daughters: Catharine, who married George M. Walker, and Mary Ann who married John Mayes Jr.

It’s a really, really small world.

Ruth Olive Hocker (22 Aug 1920—12 Feb 2016)

Kris Hocker on 19 Feb 2016

Ruth Olive (Hoover) Hocker passed away Friday morning, the 12^th of February, at her home in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Born on 22 August 1920 in Lescontes Mills, Girard Township, Clearfield, County, she was one of the twelve children—seven sons and five daughters—of Clyde Leroy and Nora Melinda (Houdeshell) Hoover.

Hoover House, Pine Glen

When she was just a child, her family moved from Lescontes Mills where her father had been working as a lumberman, to Pine Glen, Centre County where her father was born. She grew-up there near her paternal grandparents and many other family members.

Ruth taking a photo

The house they lived in¹—while sizable enough for a family of 12 children—did not have electricity or running water. There was a well for water and an outhouse. Still is for that matter. When they needed water for cooking or washing, one of the children was sent either to the creek across the road or out back to the well. ²

When I asked about her favorite summer pastimes, she recalled that with chores there wasn’t a lot of free time. They baked their own bread, raised their own food—both animal and vegetable, harvested and preserved the food from the garden in the fall, and washed their clothes—and with 12 kids there was a lot of it—by hand. The girls worked in the house and gardens while the boys worked the farm and farm animals, hunted, and cut firewood.

When there was time, she liked to go on wood hikes with her father, picnics, reading books from the library her mother ran from their front room, and splashing in the creek. The boys, she remembered, sometimes played baseball.

At the age of 18 she moved to Harrisburg where she worked as a domestic for the Bogar family to earn money to go to college. That was where she met her future husband William H. Hocker. He accompanied his father to do some carpentry work at the Bogar house.

1941 Wedding photo

William and Kate—as she was known to close friends and family—were married 24 September 1921 at Olivet Presbyterian Church in Harrisburg. Bill’s sister Anna Louise and Ruth’s brother Don served as their attendants. The couple resided in Harrisburg, living in a home that had been owned by the Hocker family since the 1890s.

While Ruth worked outside the home at a flower shop after her children were grown, she was happiest tending to her home, family and friends. She enjoyed baking, sewing, and discovered a love of reading at a young age when her mother operated the Pine Glen library from their home.

Bill and Ruth Hocker in the kitchen at home

At home in the kitchen

She is survived by her children: Richard Hocker, William III Hocker, Virginia Davis, and JoAnn Hocker, four grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. Also surviving her are her sister Norma Jean (Hoover) Hoover, brother Marvin “Bud” Hoover, and various nieces, nephews and their children.

She was preceded in death by her parents and nine siblings, including: Harold L. Hoover, W. Russell Hoover, Helen F. Yingling, Sarah I. “Betz” Plubell, Willard C. “Boots” Hoover, Clyde L. Hoover, Donald V. Hoover, Gladys H. “Peg” Hoover, and Robert P. “Bob” Hoover.

She will be buried beside her husband at Paxtang Cemetery, in Paxtang, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.

On the Subject of Dogs

Kris Hocker on 10 Jan 2016

My dogs are a big part of my life. I’ve lived with pets all my life. When I was born, my parents had two cats and a dog, so my sister and I grew up with pets in the house. Thinking about that made me curious about whether or not dogs were a part of my ancestors’ lives.

I already knew about some of the dogs my grandparents had. So, I went looking through the various boxes of photos I have from both sides of my family to see if I had photos of them. Sure enough, I do. Here’s a gallery of some of the images I found.

I found photos with dogs from the Hocker family that go back to my great grandfather William H. Hocker Sr. On the Greulich side, the photos only go back to my grandfather Russell R. Greulich’s youth. I don’t know if his parents’ families had dogs and didn’t have any photos of them, or just didn’t have dogs. The Snyders were farming folks, so maybe they had one.

Looking at the photos, I noticed that dogs played a very different role in the Greulich family versus the Hocker family. The photos of my grandfather Greulich’s dogs show them as pets, companions. These dogs lived with the family in the house. The choice of dog breeds—Boston Terrier and American Eskimo Dog—is also indicative of their roles.

The Hockers’ dog were hunting dogs as shown by the “catch-of-the-day” style photos. That the Hockers chose hounds (Beagles, I think) is further evidence that their dogs were working dogs. They lived in a dog run in the yard. It wasn’t until my family’s dog Major, a German Shepherd/Elkhound mix, went to live with my grandparents when my Dad was stationed overseas that they allowed a dog to live in the house with them.

Today, we have Golden Retrievers. While they’re trained to be hunting and retrieving dogs, they’re family pets. They perform in agility and obedience competition, and serve as models for my sister—an excellent dog photographer. And they rule the house.

“Trey and I,” featured image shows author and her Golden Trey. Photo © Karen Hocker Photography.

Recipe: Funny Cake

Kris Hocker on 30 Sep 2015

I had a question from a reader regarding an earlier post about funny cake. So, I pulled out the recipe.

Funny Cake

Funny cake is a family tradition for Thanksgiving at our house. Sometimes we request it for Christmas, too. My mother got the recipe from my grandmother Hocker. It can easily be modified for gluten-free cooking.

Prep Time:15 minutes
Cook Time:30-40 minutes
Yield: 2 9″ pies

Chocolate Sauce

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
3/4 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cake Batter:

2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon Crisco
1 cup milk
2 eggs, separated
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

To make the chocolate sauce, add the sugar, cocoa, and warm water to a sauce pan. Bring to a boil while stirring and cook for 10 minutes, then add the vanilla. Pour into an unbaked pie shell in a 9″ pie pan.

In another bowl beat the egg yolks, crisco, and sugar together. Add the sifted flour and baking powder to the mix, alternating with the milk and vanilla extract. Beat the egg whites and fold into the mix. Pour over the cooled chocolate sauce and bake in a 375-400 degree oven for 30-40 minutes.

Optionally, to make the cake fluffier, you can add 1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar and a little sugar to the egg whites before you beat them.

Genealogical Serendipity How I Found the Maiden Name of One Many Times Great Grandmother While Trying to Find Another's

Kris Hocker on 13 May 2015

Recently, I was going through Dauphin County Orphans Court books researching those of a specific surname, hoping to locate clues to the family of one of my many times great grandmothers. The information I have for her is sketchy and gives her name as the same as her mother-in-law’s. So, I’d really like to create some clarity around the identities of these two women.

While the records didn’t yield anything, I kept seeing a familiar name in nearby records. When my 5x great grandfather, Michael Krehl, died in 1818, the administrator of his estate was named John Steiley.¹ So, when I kept seeing the Stehley surname crop up again and again, my interest was piqued.

Jacob Stehley of Harrisburg died intestate in Nov 1793, leaving a widow Elizabeth, three young children, and property in Harrisburg.² George Stehley, “eldest son and heir at law of Jacob Stehley late of Harrisburg… Brewer,” petitioned the court for an inquest to partition his father’s property in 1800.³ His petition named the seven children of Jacob Stehley: George, “Margaret, Wilhelmina the wife of Michael Krehl, John, Martin, Philip and Elizabeth (now decd).” John, Philip, and Martin were yet minors under the age of 21.

Because I have so little information on the family currently, it’s possible that Elizabeth was a second wife, and therefore not Wilhelmina’s birth mother. So, I haven’t yet added her in as such. As I gather more information—hopefully including a marriage date for Jacob and Elizabeth—I’ll be able to build a more complete picture of this family. Jacob is now one of the earliest of my ancestors to live in Harrisburg. He purchased his Front Street property for £120 on 15 Jun 1791.⁴ (The Hocker boys bought land there in 1785.)

Following up on the Stehley name gave me the maiden name of my 5x great grandmother, Wilhelmina (Stehley) Krehl, and presumably the names of my 6x great grandparents, Jacob and Elizabeth (___) Stehley.

52 Ancestors: Lillian (Snyder) Greulich (1879-1947)

Kris Hocker on 3 Sep 2014

Lillian Witmer Snyder

Lillian Witmer Snyder, daughter of Henry D. and Saraphine K. (Witmer) Snyder, was born 26 October 1879 in Marlborough Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. In 1880, her family was living adjacent Saraphine’s parents Edward and Lydia (Kline) Witmer.¹ Both Henry and Saraphine were working as tailors, as was Saraphine’s mother, Lydia.

Lillian’s grandfather, Joseph Snyder, died on 4 November 1895. Her father and uncle Amandus were the executors of Joseph’s will. They sold Joseph’s farm to their brother Mahlon for $2700. He and his wife Clara, then, sold the farm to Henry, minus 40 square perches for himself.² The family was likely living there in 1900 with Henry’s mother, Judith.³ Henry was listed as a farmer. Lillian was aged 20, working as a dressmaker.

Elmer and Lillian (Snyder) Greulich (c 1901)

Lillian married Elmer Calvin Greulich on 21 September 1901 in East Greenville.⁴ At the time, they were both 21 years of age. Lillian was working as a teacher and Elmer was a cigarmaker. The school building where she taught was located across from the New Goshenhoppen Reformed Church and adjacent to her father’s farm.

Lillian and Elmer’s only child—Russell Roy Greulich—was born Saturday, 23 July 1910 when the couple was living in Upper Hanover Township, just outside East Greenville.⁵ In 1922 when he was 12, the family moved to Lansdale, Pennsylvania, where they stayed.

Elmer Greulich (1880-1947) and Lillie W. (Snyder) Greulich (1879-1949)

Elmer died Friday, 10 January 1947 in Lansdale of a coronary occlusion.⁶ He’d been blind and bedridden due to diabetes for several years before he died. He was buried on Thursday, 16 January 1947 at New Goshenhoppen Reformed Church cemetery. He was survived by his widow, a son, three grandchildren, three sisters, and a brother.

Lillian died Sunday, 13 February 1947 in Sellersville Hospital of acute left ventricular heart failure.⁷ She was buried with her husband on Thursday, 17 February.

This post is part of an ongoing, 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 is my twenty-first 52 Ancestors post and part of week thirty-five.

52 Ancestors: Daniel Bobb Sr. (1747-1833)

Kris Hocker on 19 Aug 2014

Daniel Bobb Sr. Daniel Bobb of Hereford Township wrote his last will and testament on Saturday, 26 May 1827 and it was proven on Tuesday, 19 March 1833 in Berks County.¹

It read:

In the name of God, Amen—

I Daniel Bob Senior of Hereford Township in the County of Berks and State of Pennsylvania, Miller, being advanced in years though in perfect health of body, and of sound mind memory and understanding, but considering the uncertainty of this transitory life, do make and publish this my last will and testament, in manner & form following, to wit:

First, it is my will that all my just debts and funeral expence by duly paid and satisfied as soon as conveniently can be after my decease.

Item, it is my will and I do order and direct that my son Daniel his heirs Executors or administrators, shall, in pursuance of Articles of agreement between us now in the hands of Joseph M. Thompson, dated the 12th day of December AD 1826 — and of a special bond, or bond of maintenance given me by my said son Daniel dated in April 1827; give and render unto my beloved wife Catharine, as follows, that is to say — first, the full & absolute possession of the dwelling house wherein I now reside, and the garden thereto belonging, he shall deliver so much manure into said Garden, and at such times as my wife shall order and direct, and shall keep said garden fence in repair, he shall find my said wife so much fuel as she may request, cut small, suitable for the stove, and deliver the same to her door, or into her house, as she my order, and shall keep the fountain pump at said house in repair. He shall deliver my said wife yearly & every year, ten bushels of merchantable wheat, twelve bushels of Rye, ten bushels buckwheat & six bushels of Indian corn, to be ready ground & delivered into her house as such times and in such quantities as my said wife shall order. He shall also deliver to such place as my said wife shall direct, six bushels of good potatoes, six bushels of winter apples, of her choice, on the premises of my said son Daniel; also apples for drying & for her own summer use. Also to barrels of cider, one swine well fattened & to weigh two hundred pounds or upwards, killed & nicely cleaned, seventy five pounds weight of good beef, ten pounds & well hatcheled flax, eight pounds of good [?], six pounds of good clean wool, & two [?] bushels of salt; and shall keep number and provide for my said wife an half dozen hens, and an equal number & year, to kill if she sees proper. He shall feed in winter and pasture in summer for my said wife, one cow, in the same manner as his own are fed & pastured. All and singular the aforesaid provisions for my said wife , shall however, cease I determine so soon as she shall cease to be my widow, anything herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding, —

Item I do give & devise unto my said wife Catharine, further, all my household & kitchen furnature; bedding linnen &c. included, one cow of her choice, of my stock of cattle; twenty five pounds of lawfull money of Pennsylvania, to be paid to her by my executors soon after my decease;d and the interest of six hundred pounds (which sum I do hereby order & direct my executors hereinafter named to place, or let remain on interest for that purpose) yearly & every year during her lifetime. And further it is my will and I do order and direct, that in case my said wife should become helpless, or not able to do her own work; that then and in that case my Executors shall find, and, out of my estate, pay, a maid to do the work for & wait, on, my said wife. —

After the decease of my said wife it is my will, that, her movables, if there by any, shall be equally divided among my six children, hereinafter named. —

And as touching all the rest and residue of my estate, not otherwise disposed of, as also (after the decease of my said wife Catharine) the six hundred pounds, which I have ordered to be put on interest for my said wife, I do give and devise to same to my six children, viz. Elizabeth intermarried with Isaac Kummerer, John, Daniel, Mary intermarried with John Beitler, Catharine intermarried with Samuel Reidnower and Sarah intermarried with John Landis, share and share alike — The several sums of money or other things with which I have charged my children, or of which I have kept a memmorandum, shall be taken into account, in making distribution of my estate, among my said children; but no interest shall be charged to my said children, on my book account, or bonds, notes &c. that I may have against any of them. —

And whereas my son in law Samuel Reidnower has become an intemperate drinker, and does not treat my said daughter Catharine as an affectionate husband aught to do, therefore it is my will I do order and direct, that so much of my estate as would in pursuance of this my will fall to my daughter Catharine, shall be placed, or remain in the hands of my son Daniel, his executors or administrators, in trust for my said daughter Catharine, who shall if he or they can put the same to interest, and pay the said interest, yearly to my said daughter Catharine, and I do hereby further authorize my said son Daniel, his executors or administrators, as trustees of my said daughter Catharine to pay here from time to time such sum or sums, of the principle in his or their hands, as he or they shall in their discretion, think, she may stand in need of or her circumstances may require —

In case my said daughter should become a widow, the said trustee or trustees, shall forthwith, pay my said daughter Catharine, the ballance of her portion, in their hands, in full, but is she should no become a widow, the said trustee or trustees shall at her decease pay the ballance in their hands, to the legal heirs or representatives of my said daughter Catharine — The foregoing shall not be so construed as to make my son Daniel pay interest on my said daughters money, unless he can put it out to interest

And lastly I do nominate constitute and appoint my said son Daniel & my son in law Isaac Kummerer, to be executors of this my will, hereby revoking all others wills legacies & bequests by me heretofore made, and declaring this and no other, to be my last Will & Testament — In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 26 day of May in the year of Our Lord one thousand and eight hundred and twenty seven.
Daniel Bob {seal}
Signed Sealed & declared by the said testator as his last will & testament in the presence of us
Henry Eshbach
Elijah Eshbach

Berks County Ss —On the 19th day of March AD 1835 Then appeared Henry Eshbach and Elijah Eshbach and being duly sworn according to law, did depose and say that they were present and saw and heard the Testator sign, seal, publish, pronounce and de- this instrument of writing as and for his last Will and Testament and that at the time of the doing thereof he was of sound mind memory and understanding to the best of their knowledge, observation & belief.
Jer. Snyder Dept Reg’r

Letters Testamentary in Common form were granted to Daniel Bob & Isaac Kummerer

Daniel Bobb Sr.’s 1833 last will & testament

Daniel Bobb Sr. was buried in Hill Church Union Cemetery in Boyertown, Berks County, Pennsylvania.² Daniel named his wife Catharine and six children in his will.

Elizabeth Bobb was born 23 Mar 1776 and died 30 Jun 1850.³ She married Isaac Kummerer. He was born 27 October 1769 and died 16 April 1838.⁴
John Bobb was born about 1766-1784.
Daniel Bobb Jr. was born 26 July 1780 and died 27 June 1866.⁵ Daniel married Anna Margaret Herb, daughter of Abraham and Anna Sibilla (Fuchs) Herb, on 7 July 1805 in Oley Hills, Berks County.⁶ She was born 1 Jan 1783 and died 21 December 1865.⁷
Mary Bobb was born before 1790. She married John Beitler.
Catharina Bobb was born 6 Oct 1790 and died 9 July 1867. She married Samuel Reitenauer.
Sarah Bobb was born between 1795 and 1800. She married John Landis.⁸

This post is part of an ongoing, 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 is my twentieth 52 Ancestors post and part of week thirty-three.

Will: John Frantz (Manor), 1787

Kris Hocker on 30 Jul 2014

John Frantz of Manor Township wrote his last will and testament on 3 March 1786 when he was “old but of sound understanding & memory.” It was proven on 10 February 1787 when letters testamentary were issued to his “friend” Jacob Brubaker and “son” Jacob Frantz, his executors.

John Frantz, Dec’d
In the Name of God Amen.
I John Frantz of Mannor Township in the County of Lancaster and State of Pennsylvania Farmer being old but of sound understanding & memory (God by thanked) and calling to mind the mortality of my Body and Knowing that it is appointed for all men once to die I therefore do hereby make my last will and Testament
First I recommend my soul into the Hands of the Almighty God who gave it and my Body to be interred in hopes of a glorious resurrection through the merits of my Redeemer Jesus Christ and as to my Worldly Estate I give and bequeath the same in manner following
First It is my Will that all my just Debts shall be paid out of my Estate
Item I bequeath unto my four sons viz John Christian Jacob and Michael their Heirs & assigns to each of their Heirs & assigns the same of Five hundred Pounds of Good money which each of them has received already in the lands which they have got of me
Item I give and bequeath unto my Daughter Elizabeth her heirs and assigns the sum of five hundred and seventy Pounds in good money in gold or silver coin which my hereafter named Executors shall pay to her as soon as it can be made up out of my estate as her own property and that on account of my having given to my sons their lands something under price
Item I further order that if when my said Daughter Elizabeth has received her sum of money then the remainder of my estate shall be divided into equal shares to my children which I hereby name viz John Christian Jacob Michael and Elizabeth and each of them shall have as much as the other and none more than the other
Item I make constitute and appoint my Friend Jacob Brubacker and my son Jacob Frantz to be my whole & sole Executors of this my Last will and Testament making hereby null and void all my former wills & Testaments declaring this and no other to be my Last will and Testament In witness whereof I have hereto set my hand & seal the third day of March in the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty six
sealed signed & pronounced by the said John Frantz as his last will
& testament in the presence of us Jacob Kilheffer John Kilheffer

John Frantz (seal)

Lancaster County to wit On the tenth Day of February Anno Domini 1787 Before me the subscriber Personally appeared Jacob Killhefer and John Killhefer the two subscribing witnesses to the within Instrument of writing and on their solemn affirmation according to Law did Declare affirm and say that they were present and saw and heard John Frantz the Testator within named sign seal Publish pronounce and Declare the within writing as and for his Last Will and Testament and that at the doing thereof he was of sound and well disposing mind memory and understanding to the best of their Knowledge observation and Belief James Jacks Regr.
Be it remembered that on the Tenth day of February Anno 1787 the Last will and Testament of John Frantz late of Mannor Township Yeoman Deceased was proved in Due form of Law and Letters Testamentary thereon were granted unto Jacob Brubaker and Jacob Frantz the Executors in the said will named they having first been duly qualified well and truly to administer the estate of the said deceased and especially to exhibit a true and perfect Inventory thereof into the Registers Office at Lancaster within one month from the Date and to to render a just and true account of their administration on said Estate within one year or when thereof Lawfully required given under the seal of said office P me James Jacks Regr.¹

Based on this last will & testament and the deeds mentioned in previous Frantz articles, Hans and Catharine Frantz of Manor Township had five surviving children (in order listed in will):

John Frantz (of Warwick), married Elizabeth Hostetter[?]
Christian Frantz (of Manheim), married Mary (___)
Jacob Frantz (of Manor & Lampeter), married Barbara Hostetter [?], married 2nd Maria (___)
Michael Frantz (of Londonderry and Lower Paxton), married Fannie Nissley
Elizabeth Frantz

Category: Family

Cousins

Funny Cake

Instructions: