Research – Page 17 – A Pennsylvania Dutch Genealogy

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A Theory Regarding Christian Huber’s Sister Ann

Kris Hocker on 24 Dec 2012

A little while back I did a series of posts about Christian Hoover of Heidelberg Township, York County, including a transcript of his inventory and the clues—or lack thereof—found in his wife’s probate file. Yesterday while researching the estate of Henry Küny (aka Keuny, Kuny, Kiny, Keiny, Keny), presumably the husband of Christian’s sister Ann, I came up with a new theory.

Let’s start with Christian’s will. In it he states: “and whereas Johannes Keny son of my Sister Ann is Justly indebted to me in the Sum of Nine Pounds Ten shillings it is my Will that he pay unto my Executrix the Sum of six Pounds part there of and unto his Brother Henry Keny the sum of one pound fifteen shillings also part thereof and the remaining Sum of one pound fifteen shillings I do bestow unto himself.”¹

Christian does not name his sister’s husband, just her sons Johannes and Henry. Information I found online named Henry Keuny of Germany Township as the husband of Ann Huber. And indeed this Henry had a wife named Ann and sons named Johannes and Henry.² Seems like a match, right?

And here’s the rub. At an Orphans Court on 26 Mar 1782, Ann Keiny petitioned the court for guardians for her children “John Keiny aged thirteen and upwards and Anna aged nine years and upwards and Henry aged seven years and upwards, and Barbara aged four years and upwards, and Jacob aged about eleven months.”³ John, son of Henry and Ann Keuny, would have been three years old in 1771 when Christian wrote his will; their son Henry wouldn’t have been born yet! How can a three year old be indebted to his uncle? And was Christian a psychic to know Ann would have a son named Henry about four years after his death?

The answer, of course, is that it’s not really possible that Christian was referring to the children of Henry Küny of Germany Township in his will. Here’s where my eureka moment comes in. I believe that Christian was referring to Henry Küny of Germany Township as his sister’s son in his will. So, where’s Henry’s brother, Johannes Küny?

John Küny of Germany Township was named guardian of Henry and Anna Küny’s children Magdalena, John, Anna, Henry, Barbara, and Jacob. So, there was both a Henry Küny and a John Küny, most likely a relative and quite possibly his brother, living in Germany Township. Both John and Henry Kiny are listed in the 1779 and 1780 tax lists for Germany Township.⁴ Henry Küny died in 1781 and only John Kenney and the Widow Kenney are listed in the 1781 tax list for Germany Township.⁵

At an Orphans Court on 30 Nov 1790, “Henry Keeny aged fifteen years and upwards” petitioned the court for a new guardian, as did “Henry Danner, Executor of the Last Will and Testament of John Keeny deceased,” on behalf of Barbara and Jacob Keeny.⁶ So, John Küny died in 1790.

A search of the Pennsylvania probate records on FamilySearch.org shows John Küny of Germany Township wrote his last will and testament on 16 Jan 1790. It was proven on 4 Jun 1790. It named his wife Anna, only daughter Anna, wife of Adam Gissler, granddaughter Magdalena Gissler, grandson John Gissler, and niece and nephew, Barbara and Jacob Küny, children of his brother Henry.⁷ Henry Danner and John Kehr were named as his executors. The will was witnessed by George Miller, John Thomas and John Summer.

So, Henry and John Küny of Germany Township were, in fact, brothers. What else can we learn about them?

John Küny land survey

John Küny (as Kieny) warranted a tract of land containing 100 acres in Germany Township on 16 Jun 1763 and a tract of 50 acres on 30 Apr 1765.⁸ The tracts were surveyed on 10 Aug 1765.⁹ This means that John was in York County by Jun 1763 at the latest. I found no warrants or patents for Henry Küny though the tax lists indicate he owned 100 acres in Germany Township.

A Johannes Küny arrived in Philadelphia aboard the ship Brothers on 30 Sep 1754.¹⁰ Also onboard were a Jacob Huber and a Christian Huber—relatives, perhaps?¹¹ A Henrich Küny arrived aboard the ship Myrtilla on 21 Sep 1765.¹²

What does this mean for researching Christian Huber? To be entirely honest, I’m not exactly sure. I believe it makes it more likely that Christian—and apparently his brothers, too—were immigrants, not first-generation Americans. Although that’s always a possibility in colonial research, 1749 is late enough that Christian’s parents might have been early immigrants.

Since Johannes and Henry Küny were presumably immigrants, born in Europe, finding their parents in Europe may also provide the location of Christian Huber’s birth. That, in turn, may provide additional information on his brothers that helps me to identify them in Pennsylvania. At least, that’s what I’m hoping.

1805 Petition for Partition of Ulrick Hoover’s Real Estate

Kris Hocker on 23 Dec 2012

I’ve been researching Ulrich Huber of Adams and York County recently. Here’s a transcript of the petition to partition his York County property put forth by his son Henry Hoover.

To the Honorable the Judges of the Orphans Court of York County
The Petition of Henry Hoover one of the sons of Ulrick Hoover late of Adams County who died Intestate Humbly Showeth—

That the said Ulrick Hoover lately died Intestate leaving a widow named Eve; and John Hoover his eldest son, Susanna intermarried with John Roerbach, Michael, Catherine, Eve, intermarried with George Werley; George, Henry Peter, Elizabeth, Mary, Barbara, David and Sarah; and Eve, Catherine, Elizabeth and [empty space], grandchildren of said Intestate, being children of Intestates daughter Magdalena who was intermarried with Philip Keller, and died in the lifetime of her father; all lawfull issue or their Representatives to Survive him—

That said Intestate died seized in his Demesne as of fee of three messuages one Merchant mill one saw mill and five hundred acres or there abouts of land situate in Manheim Township, York County, adjoining land of Jacob Keller, George Werley, Andreas Miller George Peter & Peter Sabel—

That the widow children and grand children of said intestate hold the said messuages mills and tract of land as tenants in common and undivided—

Your Petitioner, therefore prays your Honors to direct an Inquest, to make division or partition of the Real estate of said Intestate, to and amongst the widow children and children of his deceased daughter Magdalena if the same will admit of such division or partition without prejudice to or spoiling the whole but if the same can not be so divided without prejudice to or spoiling the whole then to divide the same into as many parts or parcels as the same will admit of without prejudice to or spoiling the whole and value the same each parcel separately

But if the same will not admit of division or partition as all without prejudice to or spoiling the whole then to value the whole undivided according to the writ of General Assembly in just case made & provided & your Petitioner shall prey [?]

Henry Huber [signed in German]¹

I received a digital version of his estate files from the York County Archives. It included this partition request, a draught of Henry Hoover’s portion and a draught of George Hoover’s portion of the partitioned lands, and Michael Hoover’s refusal to take any of his father’s real estate.

The clerk’s record of this petition also included the following:

Whereupon it is ordered by the Court that the Sheriff of the County of York, in his proper person with twelve good and lawful men of his Bailiwick in the presence of all the parties who shall choose to attend, or the Guardians of such of them as are Minors, they having respectively had due due [sic] and legal notice thereof Do hold an Inquest on the aforesaid premises and make partition thereof to and amongst the Widow and children and grand children of the said deceased (preference being give to the eldest son)

If the same will admit of such partition without prejudice to or spoiling the whole. Otherwise to value the who undivided According to the Act of Assembly in such case made and provided and that the said Sheriff do make return of said Inquisition as well under his own hand and Seal as the hands and seals of said Inquest to the next Orphans Court after the same shall be held.²

Friday Find: Deutche Digitale Biblithek

Kris Hocker on 14 Dec 2012

Thanks to the Digital Public Library of America’s blog post I found the German Digital Library. The goal of the library is “to offer everyone unrestricted access to Germany’s cultural and scientific heritage, that is, access to millions of books, archived items, images, sculptures, pieces of music and other sound documents, as well as films and scores, from all over Germany.”¹ Rather than providing only online access to the collection of one institution, these items will be from archives, libraries, museums, etc. from across Germany. The digital library will serve as a central access point, providing easy access to artifacts that demonstrate Germany’s unique heritage and knowledge.

The site is in beta, so obviously it’s incomplete, but I was able to quickly and easily find sources for my ancestral town simply by typing “Rußheim” in the search engine. Among the search results were church books from the early 1800s— the “Rußheim, evangelische Gemeinde: Standesbuch.” I was able—I think—to locate a record for my 4th cousin 5 times removed, Johan Friedrich Hacker. I don’t speak German and I have difficulty in reading the German script, but I was able to recognize key words, including “mother,” “father,” and the names associated with each.

I get a thrill in viewing original records, even if it’s only by remote through an online digital version. This record was written down 181 years ago with pen and ink and paper in a bound book and now I can view it from across an ocean without leaving my house! Rather extraordinary.

Take a look through the site and let me know what you find!

Tracing Your Ancestors Using Deeds

Kris Hocker on 11 Dec 2012

Thanks to Randy Seaver’s geneablog round-up, I read a great article that illustrates how to find your ancestor’s origins using deeds in conjunction with other records. If you’re stuck for ideas, deeds and other land records can be a great source of information.

1835 Guardian Petition for Anthony Parsons’ Children

Kris Hocker on 21 Nov 2012

After learning that Anthony Parsons might be Sarah (Parsons) Leedy’s father, I decided to see if I could find more information on him. From his tombstone, I know that he died in 1834. So, I decided to see if I could find any estate records for him on FamilySearch.org.

The Pennsylvania Probate records on FamilySearch include will books and Orphans Court books for Perry County. I didn’t find a will for Anthony Parsons, but I did find two references to him in the Orphans Court books.

January 1735 Petition for Guardians

The first is a petition on behalf of his minor children.¹ In the January 1835 term a petition was made on behalf of George, Anthony, Sarah and William Parsons, the minor children of Anthony Parsons, late of Perry County by the mother Catharine Parsons. The petition states that they were all under the age of 14—therefore born after 1821—and requests the court to appoint a suitable guardian. George Parsons, quite possibly Anthony’s brother, was named as guardian.

The second reference was for the settling of Anthony’s estate. The Register of Perry County presented a copy of George Varns’ administration of Anthony’s estate to the court on 4 April 1836.² There was a balance of $16.79 due to the administrator.

So far, the details are consistent with Anthony being the father of Sarah (Parsons) Leedy. What more can we find?

Out on a New Limb

Kris Hocker on 19 Nov 2012

I’ve come to the realization lately that in my zeal for researching the Hacker/Hockers and Huber/Hoovers, there are quite a few of my family lines that I haven’t done much work on. This weekend one of those lines opened up.

I just recently sent away for the death certificates of my 3x great grandfather Samuel K[rehl?] Leedy and his wife Sarah (Parsons) Leedy from my father’s side of the family and my 3x great grandmother Anna (Mechling) Wieder, wife of Saul Wieder, from my mother’s side of the family. That will finish up the last of my ancestors who died after 1906 when state-wide death registration began in Pennsylvania.

Anthony Parsons (1793-1834)

Coincidentally, I was going through my binders of gravestone photos I’ve taken, comparing what I have to what’s up on Find a Grave, when I saw a photo request for the gravestone of Anthony Parsons from Hill Cemetery in Perry County, Pennsylvania. Several years ago I’d visited the cemetery looking for Samuel K. and Sarah (Parsons) Leedy and taken photos of gravestones with surnames that I recognized. One of those was Anthony Parsons’. So, I uploaded the photo and several others I’d taken.

This led to a connection with a new cousin—and the information that Sarah (Parsons) Leedy’s father was very likely Anthony Parsons!

Now, maybe I’d have learned that when Sarah’s death certificate comes back, but maybe not. Anthony Parsons died 24 March 1834 at the age of 41 years 10 months and [24?] days. Sarah was born about 1833, so she never really knew her father. The informant for her death certificate may not have known the names of her parents. I’ll have to wait and see. But, in the meantime, I can research Anthony Parsons to learn all I can about him and his family!

Friday Finds: Marriage Record of Sarah Craig Buchanan

Kris Hocker on 2 Nov 2012

It’s funny how a record that you dismissed as irrelevant—because it did not pertain to the person you were researching—can abruptly become relevant with additional research.

I viewed the following record on ScotlandsPeople because I was hoping to find information on my ancestress Sarah Craig, wife of James Buchanan. It didn’t pertain and I set it aside. More recently, I researched Alexander Buchanan as a possible brother to my ancestor James Buchanan. The marriage record of Sarah Craig Buchanan became relevant because she was the daughter of Alexander Buchanan and his wife Elizabeth Kelly… and likely niece to James Buchanan and his wife Sarah Craig, quite likely her namesake.

Marriage record for James Sands and Sarah Craig Buchanan of Cuilhill, Scotland on 12 July 1872.

Lesson learned? When there are similarities of name and place, don’t dismiss a record just because it’s obviously not the same person. Those similarities may point to a possible relationship. Niece, nephew, brother, sister—or even neighbor or best friend. Those relationships may provide clues that help you over a brick wall.

In this case, the records from the families of James and Alexander Buchanan seem to indicate that their family may have been amongst those Irish who left Ireland due to the famine in the 1840s. In their case, instead of immigrating to United States, they sought relief by going to Scotland where they became coal miners.

Jacob Huber’s Martic Township Tract

Kris Hocker on 1 Nov 2012

On 22 November 1717, Martin Kendig (Kendick, Kendrick, Cundigg) and John Herr (Heer) were warranted 5,000 acres in Lancaster County by the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania.¹ They, in turn, transferred this land to their fellow immigrants.

Jacob Hoober 1733 survey

John Taylor surveyed 210 acres from this warrant for Jacob Huber on either 24 or 28th January 1733.² The survey states: “Under a mistake John Taylor applied for a [Warrant] to the Secretary on the new terms wc^h was granted as afores^d But Jacob Hoober purchased the right of 210 ^as of Martin Kendrick & John Heer part of 5,000 ^as granted to them & it is accordingly Returned into the Secretary’s office the — day of December 1735.” You can see the warrant here on my site.

Jacob Huber patented this tract of 210 acres on 22 October 1736.³ He had, quite likely, been living on his father, Hans Huber’s property in Earl Township prior to this purchase. He patented several adjoining tracts as well: one directly to the south in 1745 [A3], containing 48 ½ acres,⁴ and one to the north in 1759 [A1], containing 167 ½ acres.⁵

Huber/Hoover/Hoober land patents

Jacob Hoover left 250 acres [A2 & A3] to his sons Jacob and Mathias. He also left about 150 acres in Contestoga (A1: the tract just north of this one) to his son Christian.⁶ A distribution from his estate was paid out to his heirs by 14 June 1765.⁷

Mathias Hoover quitclaimed ½ of the property left to him and his brother to Jacob on 20 November 1772.⁸ On 21 November 1772, Jacob and his wife Barbara sold 66 acres 40 perches from their piece of the tract to Mathias. By metes and bounds, this piece appears to be the top portion of the tract Jacob Huber patented in 1736, adjoining lands of Henry Huber, the tract willed to Christian Hoover, and Pequea Creek. Mathias took out a mortgage from Marcus Young of Martick on this 66 acres on 4 January 1773.⁹ Payment was acknowledged on 8 June 1776.

On 12 June 1776, Mathias and his wife Mary sold 10 acres of their land to Henry Resh/Rush.¹⁰ On 10 August 1776, Mathias and his wife Mary sold 19 acres from the 66 they’d purchased from Jacob Hoover to John Hart of Conestoga Township.¹¹

I’m not sure about the division of the rest of the property. Jacob Huber Jr. purchased additional land, as did his son, Martin Hoover Sr. However, at least a portion of the land Jacob and Barbara Huber sold to Mathias Huber, eventually found its way back to Jacob’s descendants. In the settling of Jacob Huber’s granddaughter Elizabeth Hoover’s estate, a deed was issued for the sale of her property. This deed stated that the 113 acres being sold was part of the “same premises of which Martin Huber Sen. [her father], died seized testate” which he will to his children equally and that it was “also a part of the same premises which Jacob Hoover & wife by their Deed of Indenture bearing the date the 21st day of Nov A.D. 1772…[granted] unto Mathias Hoover.”¹²

Category: Research