Research – Page 3 – A Pennsylvania Dutch Genealogy

Quick & Dirty Trees for DNA Matches

Kris Hocker on 14 Oct 2018

I’ve talked about building pedigrees for my AncestryDNA matches and how it’s helped to identify some of my unknown ancestors. I haven’t really gone into detail about what all that entails.

Blaine Bettinger of The Genetic Genealogist shared a video he made about how he builds a quick and dirty tree for his genetic matches to identify their shared ancestor. Click the video below to watch or go to YouTube for a larger version.

When I build a tree, I do something a little different.

First, I usually build the tree in my Reunion file since it’s my go-to for my genealogy research. I can make the connection to shared ancestors and track genetic cousins in the database, even—now that I’ve figured out how—quickly find the genetic matches I’ve identified who descend from a shared couple.

Second, I don’t get information from family trees. I usually search for online records, using relevant sources based on the target’s lifetime. These may include Ancestry, FamilySearch, Fold3, Internet Archive, Google, Facebook, and other websites that compile information.

I search for just enough information from records to reliably know I’ve got a specific family group, then move on to keep going up the family tree. The amount of research varies from family to family based on what’s available and how easy it is to find. I only really use trees when I’m totally stuck and searching for clues.

I guess my process is not quick & dirty by this standard. But it isn’t up to the Genealogical Proof Standard either. It falls somewhere in between. That’s why I usually hedge my statements or refer to relationships as being a “working hypothesis.”

However, these trees—either the quick & dirty method Blaine outlines or my method—provide an excellent starting point for breaking through brick walls in your family tree using your DNA matches. They help you to identify connections so that you can focus your research in the right area, saving time, effort, and maybe even some money.

Slow Down, Don’t Move Too Fast

Kris Hocker on 11 Oct 2018

Question for my Hocker readers, can you spot what’s wrong with this family group sheet? There are several errors, including two mistakes in assigning parentage.

Hocker Group Sheet

I’ve seen this family grouping in databases across the internet and it never fails to make me shake my head. I can understand why people make these mistakes, but still.¹ Even if you haven’t done the research and don’t know the Hocker family well, you should be able see why these errors are, in fact, errors.

Let’s start with the most obvious mistake: two sons named Adam?! Yes, families often used the same name more than once for their children, but—and this is important—it usually happened when an older child died and a younger child was given their name. Two Adams who both lived to adulthood? Nope. George Foreman is not the norm.

The first Adam Hocker in the list of children is not the son of John and Christiane (Sterling) Hocker. The second Adam in the list is their son. C’mon, people, just look at the dates! John got Christiane pregnant when she was ten years-old?! Nope.

Adam Hocker (1812-1870) married Eve Hamaker, daughter of Adam and Magdalena (Snavely) Hamaker III, on 22 February 1838. They were both from Derry Township. They remained in Dauphin County all their lives, raising nine children: Jacob H., John, Adam H., Elizabeth, Sarah, David R., Eve Malinda, Martin M. and Anna C. Adam’s tenth child, Mary Ann, was from an unknown first marriage.

I have a very good idea who Adam’s parents were. It’s still only a guess—without any proof, documentary or otherwise. But, I can tell you they are not John and Catharine (Sterling) Hocker.

John and Catharine’s son Adam travelled to Ohio with the family in the late 1830s. He married Anna Engle, daughter of Jacob and Nancy (Moyer) Engle, on 19 April 1859 and died in Randolph Township, Montgomery County on 8 September 1907.²

The second error? I bet my Colorado Hocker relatives saw it straight away.

John Hocker (1788-1868) was not the son of Martin and Christiana (Beinhauer) Hocker. Yes, they had a son named John, but he was born 6 May 1804 in Derry Township and died 28 Jun 1884 in Pennsylvania, likely in Cumberland County.

No, John Hocker (1788-1868) was the son of Adam and Sophia Maria (Hershey?) Hocker, also of Derry Township, my 5x great grandfather and Martin’s older brother. John was Adam’s eldest son, born while the family was still living in Harrisburg. I’ve written about my research tying the Montgomery County, Ohio Hockers to Adam and Mary, because it’s one of the families my Uncle Bill got wrong in his Hacker-Hocker genealogy.

But even without knowing the research or the family, you should be able to see there’s something wrong here. Martin and Christiana married 22 March 1799 at Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church. He was 31 years-old and she was 22 years-old. Having a child 11 years earlier when Christiana was 11 years-old? It’s just not feasible—or reasonable—even if you didn’t know their marriage date.

Additionally, John and Catharine’s daughter Anna was born 15 October 1824, not in 1828. Their son John K. Hocker died 11 July 1914 in Ludlow Falls, Miami County, Ohio, not in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.

So…

I didn’t write this post to shame the owner of this family tree. Everybody makes mistakes. Been there, done that, bought the damn t-shirt.

The point is that a little thought, a little analysis, can go a long way toward preventing mistakes like this. Do the dates make sense? Are the ages appropriate for the implied actions? Yes, our ancestors may have married young—though not as many as you might think. But how young?

I understand the drive to find a family for your ancestor. It can be almost compulsive, the need to connect a generation to a previous generation, to tie off all the lose ends, to fit everybody into a family. Especially when you’re eager to move on to the next person, the next discovery.

But taking the extra time to get it right is worth it. There’s a difference between making a convenient familial connection for an ancestor and making the correct one. Believe me; I’ve done both.

It’s like the difference between fitting two puzzle pieces together and finishing the puzzle. When it all comes together, when all those bits of information you’ve found work together, it all just makes sense.

So take my advice—I’m trying to follow it, too: slow down.

There’s no trophy for getting there first. But there is a reward for getting it right. It’s the feeling of satisfaction you get in knowing you did everything you could to get it right, and, as a result, can be reasonably certain that you did. And it feels pretty darn good.

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)

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.

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.

Climbing Esther’s Family Tree

Kris Hocker on 30 Jun 2018

Research has added a couple more generations of Schneiders to my family tree. And, no, they are not related—as far as I know—to the Jacob Schneider who married Catharina Nuss, father of my four times great grandfather Henry Snyder.

Up until recently I’ve had three known ancestors who were Schneiders and “tree-tops”¹ for their respective lines:

Jacob Schneider (ca 1756-1765–1829) who married Catharina Nuss
Eva Elisabetha (Schneider) Jäger (1728–1804) wife of Johannes Jäger (1721–1796), ancestors of my fifth great grandmother Eva (Yeager) Strassburger, wife of Johann Andreas Strassburger (1754–1825)
Esther (Schneider) Person (1801–1867), wife of Abraham Person (1797–1876) and mother of my three times great grandmother Helena (Person) Dillinger (1829–1894), wife of William Dillinger (1825–1896)

Recently, I decided to see what I could find on Abraham Person and his wife Esther Schneider now that deed records are online on FamilySearch. I got lucky and found Esther’s parents, grandparents, great grandparents, and great great grandparents.

Esther’s Parents

On 29 March 1861, “Anna Maria Schnyder, widow and relict of Jacob Snyder late of Upper Saucon township…, who died intestate, Samuel Snyder of Upper Milford Township…a son of said deceased and Catharine his wife, Abraham Person of Salisbury Township…and Esther his wife, who is a daughter of said deceased, Jacob Snyder of Lower Saucon township…another son of said deceased and Elisabeth his wife, and William Snyder of Warren County in the Commonwealth of New Jersey, another son… and Lydia his wife” sold 115 acres 10 perches in Upper Saucon Township to David Snyder (another son).²

Jacob Schneider was born 29 June 1778 and died 9 December 1860 in Upper Saucon Township.³ He was buried in Friedensville Cemetery. He married Anna Maria Shaffer, born 16 September 1780 and died 11 November 1863.⁴

The couple had five children:

Esther Schneider was born 21 September 1801 and died 14 January 1867, Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania;⁵ she married Abraham Person.⁶ Abraham was born 9 March 1797 and died 26 April 1876.⁷ He, too, is buried in the Union-West End Cemetery in Allentown.
William Schneider was born 30 March 1804 and died 1 July 1880, Washington Township, Warren County, New Jersey;⁸ he married Lydia Bogert.⁹
David Schneider was born about 1810.¹⁰ He married Sarah (___).¹¹
Samuel Schneider was likely born 17 September 1812 and died 8 May 1891 in Emmaus Borough.¹² He married Catharine (___).¹³
Jacob Schneider Jr. was possibly born 25 April 1816 and died 15 June 1905 in Hellertown.¹⁴ He married Elizabeth (___).¹⁵

Esther’s Grandparents

According to the deeds, Jacob Snyder received 48 acres of his father’s land from Henry Egner, and his wife Catharine, and John Snyder on 3 May 1813. This land had been left by David Schneider to his heirs: Jacob Schneider, Catharina Schneider wife of Henry Egner, and John Schneider.¹⁶

David Schnyder’s will named his wife Esther and children Jacob, Catharine, and John.¹⁷ His executors were Abraham Snyder and John Geisinger.

David granted his wife the right to remain on his property until his youngest child (John) was 21 years-old and to “take wheat Rye as much as she as she [sic] & my children shall want for their Died [sic]…four old hogs and four shoads [sic] and kitchen gardon [sic] as much she will take and she shall have the Hoise [sic] to choose three sheeps out of my stock for her use and she my said wife shall have her peacable abode on my Premises…”

David Schnyder (aka Taylor) wrote his last will & testament on 22 August 1785 and it was probated 1 October 1785. He most likely died sometime in September 1785. He left behind a wife and three underage children. On 16 June 1789, David’s uncle Abraham petitioned the Orphans Court for guardians to be appointed for his children: Jacob, Catharina, and John.¹⁸ Esther likely died sometime between David’s writing his will and her children dividing their father’s land in 1804.

David and Esther had children:

Jacob Schneider [see above]
Catharina Schneider was born 19 January 1780 and died 6 July 1861 in Upper Saucon Township.¹⁹ She married Henry Egner.²⁰ Some of Catharina’s children married into the same Wieder family that her brother Jacob’s great granddaughter Alavesta later joined. Their children were first and second cousins of Alavesta’s husband, E. J. Wieder.
John Schneider was born before 1783.

Esther’s Great Grandparents & Great Great Grandparents

On 25 June 1804, David’s children divided up between them the real estate that remained in his estate after the executors had sold a portion to pay his debts. Catharina and her husband received 65 acres of land as her full portion from the estate, Jacob received the rest of the remaining land, and John received £675.²¹

This deed records the history of the land from its first purchase from the Proprietaries of the province. The land was purchased by Heinrich Schneider on 20 June 1743, the patent recorded in Patent Book A11:187. ²² Henry Schneider and his wife Elizabeth granted the land to Mary Schneider, “widow the relict and administratrix… of there [sic] son Jacob Schneider late of the place abovesaid [Upper Saucon] yeoman deceased for the use of David Schneider and Elizabeth then a minor children under the age of twenty one years” on 18 May 1759.

Jacob Schneider and his wife Mary were both likely born sometime before 1738, possibly in Pennsylvania. Jacob died prior to 18 May 1759 and Mary sometime after that. More research is required to narrow those timeframes. Prior to his death, Jacob’s father sold 227 acres in Upper Saucon Township to him, but did not complete the deed. After his death, Heinrich and wife Elizabeth had the deed recorded and Mary gave them the second payment for the land.

Jacob and Mary had children:

David Schneider was born between 18 May 1738 and 1757 and died in September 1785.
Elizabeth Schneider was born between 18 May 1738 and 18 May 1759. No more is currently known.

Henry Schneider (aka Taylor) was living in Richland Township, Bucks County when he and his wife Elizabeth sold the land to their daughter-in-law Mary in 1759.²³ He patented the land on Saucon Creek on 20 June 1743 prior to the creation of Northampton County. The land adjoined that of Thomas Owen, Valentine Humil, Isaac Samuel, and John Pugh. He may have been the Henry Schneider who died 16 September 1761 and was buried in East Swamp Mennonite Cemetery in Quakertown.²⁴

Henry and his wife Elizabeth had at least two children:

Jacob Schneider [see above]
Abraham Schneider died after 16 June 1789. ²⁵

Esther (Schneider) Person’s ancestry

Based on this research Heinrich Schneider and his wife Elizabeth are my eight times great grandparents through their son Jacob and grandson David. Heinrich was most likely my immigrant ancestor on this line. Both Jacob and David died young, leaving behind widows with young children. Makes you wonder what their lives were like growing up.

The Hard-To-Find William Bowerman

Kris Hocker on 10 Jun 2018

I’ve recently posted about members of the Schott family. I began researching the family because one of my AncestryDNA matches traced their family back to William Bowerman and Maria Elizabeth Schott.

Since then I’ve traced two of our Shared Matches back to Peter and Catharina Magdalena (Fritz) Schott. These matches descend from Peter and Magdalena’s son Peter. They both share about 21 cMs of DNA with me. Assuming Catharine (Bowerman) Parsons, my fourth great grandmother, is a daughter of William and Elizabeth, one of these matches is estimated to be a fifth cousin twice removed, the other a sixth cousin once removed.

But what do I really know about William and Maria Elizabeth (Schott) Bowerman? Truthfully, not much.

William was allegedly born about 1786 in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania and likely died about 1810-11 in Dauphin County. Elizabeth (Shott) Bowerman was born 30 June 1792.¹ I do not know when or where she died. Nor do I know when the couple married.

William warranted 110 acres 2 perches in what is now Jackson Township on 19 September 1809.² It adjoined land of John Enders, John Hoffman, Michael Herman, Ludwig Shellman, Godlove Kline, and Peter Sweigert. It was surveyed for William on 19 December 1809.³ He was taxed in Halifax Township (Jackson’s precursor) that year.⁴

He was listed in the 1810 census just before Peter & Adam Sweigert and Christian Shutt with 1 male (<10), 1 male (16-26), 2 females (<10), and one female (16-26).⁵ William and Elizabeth had three children—Catharine (28 January 1808), John (23 March 1809), and Elizabeth (10 August 1810), all baptized at Fetterhoff’s Reformed and Lutheran Church in Halifax Township.⁶

And that’s it!

William does not show up in earlier or later tax records in Halifax, nor can I locate him in census records or deeds. He either died or moved away by 1811. If he died in Dauphin County in 1810/11, then there should have been Orphans Court records for his children who would have all been minors at the time, requiring the appointment of guardians. I did not find any reference to them. He was a land owner, so there should have been a settlement of his estate. Nothing.

His land was patented to Hugh Moore in 1811, but I found no record of a sale in Dauphin County Deeds. The last year Moore is included in Halifax tax records was 1814 (Jackson wasn’t created until 1828).

I did a quick check in the Cumberland County⁷ Orphans Court indices in case William and Elizabeth moved across the Susquehanna. No joy.

What happened to the family after 1810?

Did Elizabeth remarry? With three young children to support, I would expect she did. But who? What happened to the children?

John Bowerman, son of William and Elizabeth, appears in the 1830 census for Upper Paxton Township.⁸ John married Anna Maria Woland.⁹ Her family was from Upper Paxton Township, so it seems likely that William’s wife and children remained in upper Dauphin County or, at least, came back.

Presumably his eldest daughter Catharine married Anthony Parsons and raised five children in Buffalo Township, Perry County (across the river from Halifax Township), between 1826 and 1834. She, too, remains a bit of a mystery. How did she meet Anthony? What happened to her after Anthony died in 1834?

I know nothing about William and Elizabeth’s youngest daughter Elizabeth beyond her birth date.

It’s so frustrating. I paged through the Dauphin Orphans Court books looking for entries from 1810 through the early 1830s when William and Elizabeth’s children had all come of age. I found nothing. I guess I’ll need to widen my search area. The lack of records in Dauphin County may indicate they moved out of the county.

So, I’m left with a dearth of information for a potential five times great grandfather, who presumably died in his early 20s, leaving a very young wife with three children under the age of four. Without my AncestryDNA matches, I wouldn’t even have that.

Christian Shotte, Inquest Awarded

Kris Hocker on 3 Jun 2018

Christian Shott of Halifax Township died intestate. His widow, Anna Maria Shott, petitioned the Orphans Court on 18 February 1823 to make a partition of his lands for his heirs—his surving siblings and children of his deceased siblings, as follows:

“Upon the petition of Mary Shotte widow and relict of Christian Shotte late of Halifax township in the County of Dauphin Yeoman deceased Stating that the petitioners said husband Christian Shotte lately died intestate leaving the petitioner his Widow and no issue but left brothers and sisters of the whole blood, and the children of brothers & sisters of the whole blood, namely Peter who resided in Dauphin County, Margaret who was intermarried with Freeman who died before they [sic] intestate, and the residence of the said Margaret is unknown to the petitioner, the children of Jacob Shotte a brother of the whole blood who died before the intestate in Dauphin County, the children of Michael Shotte a brother of the whole blood who died before the intestate in Dauphin County, Philip Shotte who died intestate since his brother the intestate in Dauphin County leaving a Widow and three children, The children of Ludwig Shotte, a brother of the whole blood, of the intestate who died before the said Intestate not in Dauphin County, The children [page 363] of Cathrine Loudermilch who died before her brother the intestate in Dauphin County, The children of Christiana Cooper, who died before her brother the Intestate, not in Dauphin County, and the children of Mary Sweigart who died before her brother the Intestate in Dauphin County, and that the said intestate died seized in his demesne as of fee of and in the two following Tracts or pieces of land with the appurtenances both situate in Halifax Township, Dauphin County, one whereof patented land containing about fifty two acres more or less, which was surveyed in pursuances of a warrant for Jacob Waggoner dated the 21st of November 1774. The other bounded by lands of George Werfle, Jacob Wefle and others, and containing about fourteen acres more or less, and not patented; therefore praying the Court to award an Inquest to make partition of the premises aforesaid to and among the heirs and legal representatives of the said Intestate in such manner and such proportions as by the laws of the Commonwealth is directed, if such partition can be made without prejudice to or spoiling the whole, but if such partition cannot be made thereof as aforesaid then to value and appraise the same and make report thereof according to law Whereupon an Inquest was awarded agreeably to the prayer of the petitioner and to the acts of the General assembly in such case made and provided

By the Court”¹

Christian Gleim, Esq., the High Sheriff of Dauphin County, reported back to the Orphans Court on 6 May 1823 that the two adjoining tracts of land could not be divided and would not adequately accomodate more than one of Christian Shott’s heirs.² The property was valued at $240 by the twelve men who visited and assessed the land on 24 April 1823.

Two days later, the Court issued a Rule that the heirs should “come into Court on the 2nd day of September next and accept or relinquish their several and respective rights of taking the estate.”³ The Court issued another Rule for the same purpose on 3 September 1823.⁴

When none of the heirs appeared, the Court ordered that Christian Shott’s administrator, Joseph Miller, should sell the land at public vendue on 30 December 1823.⁵ Miller reported back to the Court 3 February 1824 that he had sold the land to Mary Stroh.⁶

What Can I Learn?

First, this document states that Christian was married and left a widow named Mary, but did not have children (no issue). Therefore, it provides the names of his siblings, including the married names of his sisters. Secondly, you’ll notice that the petition referred to Christian’s “brothers and sisters of the whole blood, and the children of brothers & sisters of the whole blood.” What, pray tell, you ask, does that mean?

“Whole blood” (aka full blood) is a legal term indicating a descent from the same couple—or born of the same mother and father. So, according to the petition, Christian shared the same parents with:

Peter Schott
Margaret (Schott) Freeman
Jacob Schott
Michael Schott
Philip Schott
Ludwig Schott
Catharine (Schott) Loudermilch
Christiana (Schott) Cooper
Mary (Schott) Swiegert

This claim is curious.

Most of the information I’ve seen online—yes, I know—indicates that Ludwig was married twice. Jacob, Michael and Ludwig were children of his first marriage; Peter, Margaret, Philip, Catharine, Christiana, Mary and Mary Magdalena (not mentioned in the petition) were children of his second marriage to Anna Barbara Laurin in 1757.

Christian Schott, Jacob Schott’s eldest son, was born in 1775. While Jacob could have started his family at 18—assuming Jacob was born in 1757—in my experience it’s a bit more common for males of German descent from this time period to be a bit older—in their mid 20s—at the time of marriage. Even if I assume all the information online regarding birth years for Jacob, Michael, and Ludwig is wrong, I’d still estimate Jacob’s birth, at least, to be prior to his father’s marriage to Anna Barbara. Furthermore, Catharine and Christiana were born 23 January 1758—ten months after Ludwig’s marriage to Anna Barbara. There really isn’t an opportunity for the birth of a previous child.⁷ Assuming, of course, that the date is correct.

The petition also tells us whether Christian’s siblings were alive or deceased, and if dead whether or not they died in Dauphin County. Since we know the date of this petition 18 February 1823, we know that all his siblings—with the exception of Peter—died prior to 1823. In Philip’s case, the document also tells us he left three surviving children. We also know that all of them except Ludwig and Christiana died in Dauphin County. So, in researching this family, we should search for probate records in Dauphin County.

Thirdly, the petition provides information regarding Christian’s real estate. Based on this document we learn that he owned two pieces of land in Halifax Township, one of which was patented. The patented land was warranted to Jacob Waggoner in 1774. The other property adjoined that of George Werfle and Jacob Werfle. The Jackson Township warrantee map shows Christian’s land (#82) was located to the northeast of land on which his brothers Peter and Philip resided (George Henry Fritz’s property) and land which his brother-in-law Adam Loudermilch warranted in 1785 (#65).⁸ This tract adjoined Edward Paine, Michael Haverstick, Henry Werfel, and Jacob Werfel.

Conflicting Evidence

The information provided by Christian Schott’s widow Mary for this petition conflicts with other information regarding this family. Which is correct? At this point, I do not know.

I have birth dates for Christian and several of his siblings placing their births after the reported marriage date for Ludwig and Anna Barbara. I do not have birth dates for Ludwig’s three eldest sons. The dates reported online vary from source to source and are all prior to Ludwig and Anna Barbara’s marriage. But the only documentary evidence I have simply shows at least two of them were born by 1758.⁹ This is inconclusive. While it’s highly unlikely that they could be born by 1758 and still be children of Ludwig and Anna Barbara, until I verify the marriage date, that doesn’t mean much.

Two Ludwig Schotts Using Land & Probate Records to Distinguish Between Two Men

Kris Hocker on 31 May 2018

On 10 February 1785, Ludwig and Catharina Schott had a son they named Ludwig in Upper Paxton Township, Dauphin County. He was baptized at Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church in Killinger. Seven months later on 3 September 1785, Ludwig’s brother Jacob and his wife Margaretha also had a son. He was baptized at St. Peter’s (Hoffman’s) Reformed Church in Lykens Valley. They, too, named him Ludwig.

One of these Ludwig Schotts married Margaretha Messner. Which one?

Ludwig Schott

Ludwig Shott married Margaretha Messner by 1811 in the upper end of Dauphin County. When he died in 1824, he and Margaret had four living children: Catharine, Susanna, John and George (a minor).¹ By 15 November 1841 when Susanna’s husband Christian Lenker petitioned the Orphans Court for an inquest to partition Ludwig’s land, Margaret had married Philip Schott.

According to the inquest, Ludwig’s land was partially in Mifflin Township and partially in Upper Paxton Township. He held 110 acres 23 1/4 perches of land “bounded by lands of the heirs of Jacob Shott, Ludwich Lenker, Jacob Woland, Peter Minnich, and others” along with an interest in and share of a grist mill—“the saw mill having fallen down”—between Jacob Shott and Ludwig Shott.²

Heirs of Jacob Shott? Jacob, like Ludwig, was a popular name in this family. Not only is there Jacob Shott, the father of one of the Ludwigs, but each of the Ludwigs had a brother named Jacob.

I found no record of deeds between Jacob and Ludwig Shott. However, from the probate, we know that we are looking for the Ludwig who:

1. Was married to Margaret

2. Owned land adjoining Jacob Shott, Ludwig Lenker, Jacob Woland and Peter Minnich

3. Shared ownership of a grist mill with Jacob Shott based on an agreement from 20 August 1824

Ludwig Schott, the Immigrant

Ludwig Schott Sr., grandfather of these two men, was in Upper Paxton Township, living along Wiconisco Creek by 1756. On 7 March 1756, Ludwig, along with his neighbors Andrew Lycans and John Rewalt, were fired upon by Native Americans. The men, injured, “managed to get over the mountains into Hanover Township, where they were properly cared for.”³ They did not return to their homes for some time.

During this timeframe, Ludwig married his second wife, Anna Barbara Laurin, at Augustus (Trappe) Lutheran Church in Montgomery County on 10 March 1757.⁴ Their first three children were born in Lancaster County and baptized at churches in Lancaster Borough.⁵

By 1767, he’d most likely moved his family back to the Lykens Valley. He applied for 160 acres on the north side of Wiconisco Creek 24 September 1767.⁶ The land was surveyed 19 May 1768. He did not patent it. Instead, 116 1/2 acres from this tract were patented to Jacob Shott in 1843 and the other 43 by Christian Bock in 1806.

There were two additional tracts adjoining this one that were warranted to a Ludwig Shott (Shutt, Shaut), presumably the same man. The 96 1/2-acre tract directly to the north was warranted 29 August 1774 and surveyed 29 February 1775.⁷ It was patented as two pieces of land in 1806 to Christian Bock and 1834 to Philip Shutt. The tract to the south, 87 3/4 acres, was warranted 26 April 1785 and surveyed 29 May 1806.⁸ It, too, was patented as two tracts, one of 22 acres on 4 June 1806 to Christian Bock and the second of 65 1/4 acres to Jacob Shutt on 12 June 1820.

Ludwig died circa 1788.⁹ After twelve men determined that the estate could not be divided among the heirs, Ludwig’s eldest son Jacob was awarded the property by the Orphans Court with the stipulation that he pay the other heirs their share of the value of the land—£415.

Jacob Shott

Jacob Shott died intestate on 1 October 1808.¹⁰ His eldest son Christian petitioned the court for an inquest to make a partition of his estate. Prior to his death Jacob owned about 220 acres in Upper Paxton Township with a mill. According to the petition, Jacob left a widow named Elizabeth and children: Christian, Jacob, John, Ludwig, Peter, Philip, Ann Mary wife of Leonard Snyder, Catharine wife of John Adam Herman, and Christiana wife of Abraham Feidt.

Jacob Shott Jr.

Ultimately, Christian relinquished his rights to the property.¹¹ The next eldest son, Jacob, took possession and agreed to pay the other heirs their share within a year of 1 March 1813. With Jacob Messner Sr. as surety, Jacob was bound for the sum of $8,000—twice the appraised value of the land (as was the custom).

Jacob died intestate in March 1840 in Mifflin (now Washington) Township.¹² His eldest son John petitioned the Orphans Court to partition his land, about 128 acres adjoining Ludwig Lenker, Samuel Longenbaugh, and others, on which there was a grist mill—“the one half of which mill belongs to the heirs of Ludwig Shott.”

And violà!

There’s the Jacob who owned the adjoining land and 1/2 the grist mill—Jacob Shott, son of Jacob Shott and grandson of Ludwig Shott. Was Ludwig Shott his brother? It seems most likely, but I found no deeds between him and his brother Ludwig. What evidence is there to show that this Ludwig was Jacob’s brother?

Although there are no deeds directly between Jacob and Ludwig, there are several pertaining to the property that either mention them or in which they are primary actors. The most direct reference, however, was recorded in a deed granting a power of attorney by Jacob’s brother John to their brother Christian.

On 14 November 1818, John Shott appointed his brother Christian as his trustee and guardian to “take recover and receive my said property and monies and the interest thereon accrueing and to dispose thereof for me and my use.”¹³ According to the document this included his inheritence from “my brothers Jacob Shott and Ludwig Shott who have taken the real estate of my father Jacob Shott deceased at the valuation of thereof the sum of five hundred and fifty dollars and twenty-five cents.”

Additionally, Jacob Shott and Ludwig Shott sold to Christian Shott on 22 April 1814, 16 acres 80 perches of land adjoining their land, Christian’s other land, and George Minnich, for $231.¹⁴ So, sometime between accepting his father’s land from the Orphans Court on 1 March 1813 and the following spring, Jacob must have formerly sold part of their father’s land to Ludwig—possibly in lieu of or as Ludwig’s share of the inheritance.

An examination of tax records for Upper Paxton Township shows that Jacob and Ludwig had been sharing the land—and paying taxes on it together—since their father’s death. In 1808 Jacob Sr. is crossed out and marked deceased on the tax list and Jacob and Ludwig are listed together with an assessed valuation of $600 and tax of $4.50.¹⁵ They are listed together in the Upper Paxton tax records until 1820 when Jacob is listed in the Mifflin Township records with the grist and saw mill.¹⁶

Why’d You Do That?

You may ask, why I went through this exercise when the Ludwig who married Margaretha Messner is shown as Jacob Schott’s son in online family trees. Maybe I’m just a curious sort, maybe I’m perverse and untrusting, or maybe I just get confused easily when there are multiple people with the same name—and there are so many of them in my families!

But I often find myself asking (even of myself), “how do you know that?” Especially where there are no citations or source information. When you come upon conflicting information—and it’s likely you will—how will you resolve it?

I could’ve just cited the online family tree and left it at that. But by doing the work, I’ve collected and reviewed documentation that not only verifies the relationship between Ludwig and Jacob, but also starts to fill in the timeline of Ludwig’s life and provide insight into the family. It adds to the knowledge I’ve accumulated regarding this family which in turn will help me to better understand future clues in a much more efficient manner.

Category: Research

So…