Category: Research

Family research

Online Pennsylvania Deeds at FamilySearch

Kris Hocker on 15 Jan 2018

I’ve posted before regarding Pennsylvania deed records being digitized and added to the FamilySearch website. I’ve been using them recently and thought I’d post a list of all the counties with online deeds currently available.

It’s actually complete—meaning if there were microfilm rolls previously listed, there are now deeds online. There are two counties—Philadelphia and Wyoming—which can only be viewed at a Family History Center or associated library, and several with one or two films yet to be digitized.

Online Pennsylvania Deeds, by County

The years are dates for which deeds are available online. Deed indexes usually are inclusive into the 20th century. If the timeframe you’re looking for isn’t included online, you can still perform a look-up in the index and request a copy of the deed from the county Recorder of Deeds.

If you have questions, drop me a line or tell me what you think in a comment below.

Building Pedigrees for Shared Matches How DNA Matches Helped Me to Better Understand Jacob Schneider's Paper Trail

Kris Hocker on 18 Dec 2017

Building Pedigrees for Shared Matches

A funny thing happened as I researched the pedigrees of the AncestryDNA matches I shared with my presumed Snyder cousins. A specific surname kept showing up. And it wasn’t Snyder.

I’ve been trying to prove that my four times great grandfather, Henry, was the son of Jacob Schneider and his wife Catharine of Upper Hanover Township, Montgomery County. Part of that effort has involved working with my AncestryDNA matches to find potential Snyder matches and determine how we match. I believe I’ve identified three Snyder cousins—one possible descendant of Henry’s brother Samuel, and two descendants of a potential sibling Jacob Snyder.

To help organize my research, I entered these three individuals (in orange, below) into their own version of the spreadsheet I’ve been using to track my DNA cousins. One column includes a list of our Shared Matches from AncestryDNA.

I used this to identify individuals who turned up over and over again and entered them into the spreadsheet with their Shared Match list. This gave me a list of top candidates for additional research.

Snyder DNA match spreadsheet

DNA match spreadsheet

Some of them had family trees; most did not. Still, I was able to start building family trees on Ancestry for some of these individuals using searches on Google, Ancestry, FamilySearch, and—where possible—Facebook. A lot of it was “pinging” names to see what I could find online, especially possible associates or family members. If I was able to get to parents or grandparents, I was sometimes able to locate obituaries which helped fill in the tree to the point which I could use census and other records on Ancestry and FamilySearch.

All told I was able to locate ancestors who resided in the Upper Hanover Township/East Greenville area and/or were members of the New Goshenhoppen Reformed Church for four of the Shared Matches (marked blue in the Shared Matches column). They all could be traced back to one of two families. A fifth included one of the surnames, but I haven’t been able to tie it to the same couple, yet.

Who were these people? Conrad Nuss and his wife Maria Margaretha Roeder.

The Nuss/Roeder Family

Conrad Nuss, son of Jacob and Anna Maria (Reiher) Nuss, was born 17 March 1743, Upper Salford Township, Montgomery County, and died 18 March 1808 in Upper Hanover Township.1 He married Maria Margaretha Roeder, daughter of Johann Michael and Maria Susanna (Zimmerman) Roeder, at New Goshenhoppen on 22 August 1769.2 She was born 27 June 1745.

They had the following children (italics indicates descendant matches):

  1. Catharina Nuss, born 3 May 17703
  2. Jacob Nuss, born 22 September 17714 and died 18575
  3. Susanna Nuss, born 3 November 17736 and died before 14 Feb 17757
  4. Anna Maria Nuss, born 4 May 17758 and died 29 August 18679
  5. Johannes Nuss, born 4 September 1780 and died 13 March 185210
  6. Elisabeth Nuss, born 25 December 175211 and died 30 April 184312
  7. Susanna Catharine Nuss, born 5 May 178513
  8. Michael Nuss, born 16 June 178714 and died 2 October 185815
  9. Anna Margaretha Nuss, born 12 July 178916
  10. Daniel Roeder Nuss, born 19 June 1791 and died 21 December 186717
  11. Sarah Nuss, born 7 March 1795 and died 25 July 184418

It turns out that I had already researched the Conrad Nuss family. Why? Remember Jacob Schneider’s FAN Club? There were connections between Jacob and members of the Nuss family, but I didn’t realize their importance.

Jacob Snyder's FAN Club

Jacob Snyder’s FAN Club

Connection #1

On 2 April 1810, Jacob Schneider purchased 85 acres of land in Upper Hanover Township from Henry and Margaretha Roeder.19 This land adjoined that of John George Brey, John Griesemer, Andreas Gräber, Conrad Brey and Conrad Marks. Henry Roeder was the half-brother of Conrad Nuss’ wife Anna Margaretha Roeder.

If Catharina was Conrad’s daughter, then Jacob bought his land from her uncle.

Connection #2

Michael Gery was named as the guardian of Jonas Schneider in the 1829 Orphans Court records for Jacob’s estate.20 This Michael was one of two men: Michael Gery, son of Jacob and Gertraut (Griesemer) Gery, or his nephew Michael Treichler Gery, son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Treichler) Gery Jr. The elder Michael married Anna Maria Nuss and the younger Michael married Sarah Nuss, both women Conrad’s daughters.

Regardless of which Michael Gery the document refers to, if Catharina was a Nuss, Jonas’ guardian was his uncle.

Connection #3

After Jacob’s death, Catharina and Henry, his administrators, sold his land on 21 November 1829.21 To whom? Michael Gery of Hereford Township. Both uncle and nephew of this name were living in Hereford Township. I have not done enough research to determine which one made the purchase.

However, in either case, if Catharina was a Nuss, then they sold the land to her brother-in-law.

Connection #4

Conrad Nuss and family were members of the New Goshenhoppen Church. Baptisms for most of his children—including including his eldest daughter Catharine—can be found in the church records. My four times great grandfather Henry and presumably several of his siblings—Jacob, Elizabeth, and Catharina—were confirmed and/or took communion at the church.22 Henry and sister Catharine were both buried in the church’s graveyard. It’s not uncommon for children to be baptized in their mother’s church.

If Catharina was Conrad’s daughter, then finding her children in New Goshenhoppen Church records—even though I don’t find their father Jacob—makes a lot of sense.

Connection #5

Daniel Nuss sponsored Carl Schneider’s baptism at New Goshenhoppen Reformed Church on 21 February 1836.23 Carl was the son of Daniel and Sara Schneider. Jacob and Catharina had a son named Daniel.

If this is their son—and I think it possible—and Catharina was a Nuss, then her youngest brother sponsored her grandson.

Lastly, I guesstimated Catharina’s birth year at being between 1770 to 1775, based on Henry’s 1792 date of birth. I lean toward 1770 in the estimate. Conrad Nuss’ daughter Catharina was born in May 1770. This fits the family timeline and the picture that’s emerging from all the various pieces of evidence.

Conclusions

I was able to trace the ancestry of several DNA matches I share with presumed Snyder cousins back to Conrad and Maria Margaretha (Roeder) Nuss of Upper Hanover Township. My relationship to each—mostly 5th cousins—fits nicely into the 4th-6th cousin range, as estimated, with 20+ centimorgans of shared DNA.

Because Conrad’s son Johannes married Esther Schultz, daughter of Andrew Schultz and Charlotte Yeakel, my 5x great grandparents, two of these matches can not be used to prove a relationship to the Nuss family without using a chromosome browser. Which Ancestry does not have.

Fortunately, I’m also related to descendants of Elizabeth (Nuss) Hertzel, Michael Nuss, and Daniel Nuss, three of Conrad and Margaretha’s other children. This supports the idea of a familial connection between Henry Schneider and his potential grandparents Conrad and Margaretha.

Without the DNA evidence, the facts found in the paper trail did not connect for me. I knew they were meaningful, but I did not know exactly how. Knowing the connection could be through the Nuss—not Gery, Brey or Griesemer—family and their associations helps to explain the evidence found in the documentation.

Based on this research, I’m hypothesizing that Henry’s mother, Catharina, was the eldest daughter of Conrad Nuss and Maria Margaretha Roeder.

 

Addendum

When I mentioned this research and the conclusions to my Mom, she said, “Oh, yes. Nuss is very common up around East Greenville. My dad told me we’re related to them.” Thanks, Mom.

The Snyder Connection Inching Closer to Proof of Henry's Parentage

Kris Hocker on 5 Dec 2017

The Snyder Connection Inching Closer to Proof of Henry's Parentage

Ever since I discovered that Heinrich Schneider (aka Henry Snyder) of Upper Hanover Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania was the father of my 3x great grandfather Joseph Snyder, I’ve been on a mission to trace the family back further.

I discovered a couple who may be Henry’s parents—Jacob Schneider, who died in 1829, and his wife Catharina. Montgomery County Orphans Court records list Jacob’s children as:

  • Henry
  • Jacob
  • Elizabeth
  • Catharine
  • Samuel
  • Daniel
  • Michael
  • John
  • Sarah
  • Jonas

Henry served as one of the administrator’s of Jacob’s estate.1 Sarah and Jonas were both underage as of 19 October 1829. Sarah, however, was over 14 years-old, so she was born between 19 October 1808 and 19 October 1815.2 Jonas was under 14 years-old; he was born after 19 October 1815 and before 19 October 1829.3

In September, I located a gravestone for a Catharine Snyder, born 24 January 1793 and died 24 August 1877, in the New Goshenhoppen Church cemetery in East Greenville. She was buried in the same plot as Henry’s daughters and son-in-law, indicating she was family. I believe her to be Henry’s sister and my 4x great aunt.

I traced one of my AncestryDNA matches’ family back to Samuel and Judith (Wolf) Snyder. I was able to determine that Judith was a daughter of Jacob and Magdalena (Brey) Wolf, and, therefore, sister to my 3x great grandfather Joel Wolf.4 But since Samuel had a brother named Jonas,5 he may have been a son of Jacob and Catharina, and thus my blood relative, too, making “E” doubly related to me.

Recently, I found two matches who trace their ancestry back to Jacob Snyder (1796-1882) and Anna Maria Fluck (1800-1870). To the best of my determination, Snyder is our only common surname. Jacob and Maria resided in Springfield Township, Bucks County, not far from Upper Hanover Township where my presumed ancestor Jacob (Sr.) owned land.6 This Jacob was born 9 January 1796,7 making him only four years younger than Henry.

Jacob Sr.’s household had 3 males born after 1790 as enumerated in the 1800 census8 and one male aged 10-15 in 18109, making it possible that this Jacob was Henry’s younger brother. Jacob Schneider, presumably Henry’s brother, was confirmed at New Goshenhoppen Evangelical Lutheran Church on 1 April 1815, aged 17 years.10 It’s not an exact match, but I’m keeping it as a definite possibility given the DNA matches.

Both of these matches descend through Jacob and Maria’s son Joseph, through children of both of his wives. Both appear in my Shared Matches list for the other. One of them also matches “E,” the descendant of Samuel and Judith (Wolf) Snyder, but does not have the surname Wolf in her family tree.

Assuming that we all match through children of Jacob and Catharina (___) Schneider, this is what our tree would look like.

Snyder chart

I match each of them a little over 20cMs on 2 segments, according to AncestryDNA. These numbers are consistent with the proposed relationships fifth cousin (T), fourth cousin once removed (T2 and E). Unfortunately, they’re also consistent with a range of other cousin relationships, too.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, I can’t pinpoint the relationship to these matches with certainty. I believe that the Snyder family is likely the connection—Jacob fits given his dates and locations. So, my working hypothesis is that Jacob was the son of Jacob and Catharina (___) Schneider. I’m going to continue to work through our shared matches to see if I can identify additional points of connection.

Who knows? I might even determine Catharina’s maiden name.

Old Fashioned Census Research

Kris Hocker on 11 Oct 2017

Old Fashioned Census Research

My pre-computer notes from the 1830 census microfilm

“Back in the day” before images were available online, researching census records meant a trip to the local NARA office or genealogical society to scroll through microfilm images. To make a copy to take home, you had to print from the microfilm image or copy the information by hand.

I have binders full of pages like this for families I’m researching. All headed for the shredder and recycling now…

Identifying Jacob Wolf’s Children Using the Paper Trail to Understand a Genetic Match

Kris Hocker on 27 Sep 2017

Back in May I wrote a post about possibly discovering the identity of one of the children of Jacob and Magdalena (Brey) Wolf based on a match through AncestryDNA. The match was a descendant of Samuel and Judith (Wolf) Snyder. I followed it with a post regarding one of our shared matches whose ancestry could be traced back to the Brey and Yeakel families, both of which appear in my Wolf line. This discovery supported my hypothesis that either or both Samuel and Judith were related to my Snyder and Wolf lines.

Now that FamilySearch has started making Pennsylvania deed books available online, I was able to search for Jacob Wolf of Allentown in the indices. And guess what I found? The names of Jacob’s children—and in two cases where his children had died, his grandchildren.

Jacob Wolf

Jacob Wolf was born 5 November 1787 in what is now Lehigh County to Conrad and Catharine (Yeakel) Wolf. He married Magdalena Brey and they had eleven children, seven of whom were alive when he died 20 January 1868.

On 25 January 1868, Joel Wolf, Conrad Wolf, Absalom Wolf, Ephraim Grim, and John Schimpf posted $5,000 bond on the estate of Jacob Wolf. Joel, Conrad and Absalom were the estate administrators.1 On 7 February, Henry Kleckner and John Schimpf took an inventory of Jacob’s “goods and chattels.” They were apparently worth $2,772.60.2 Joel and Absalom Wolf submitted their administration account on 12 March 1869.3 While it is customary that family members served as estate administrators, so we can infer that Jacob, Conrad and Absalom were related to Jacob—presumably his sons—not one of the documents name their relationship.

In early April 1869, a series of deeds relating to the estate were recorded with the Lehigh County Register of Deeds. In each of the deeds, the heirs of Jacob Wolf were selling his property in Allentown. On 1 April, the estate sold land to C.L. Martin,4 on 2 April to George Seiple,5 John Bowen,6 Absalom Wolf,7 Joel Wolf,8 and Mary Wolf.9

In each case, the deed specifically names Jacob’s children and, in two cases, his grandchildren, as:

  • Joel Wolf [Elizabeth]
  • Conrad Wolf [Catharine]
  • Absalom Wolf [Louisa]
  • Jacob Wolf [Julianne]
  • Mary Wolf
  • Eliza, widow of Charles Wetherhold
  • Mary, wife of David Miller
  • Emanuel Wolf (dec’d)
    • Children of Emanuel: Charles [Amanda], Enos, Susan and Lavinia
  • Judith (dec’d), wife of Samuel Snyder
    • Children of Judith: Jacob [Caroline], Nathaniel, Charles [Coletta], Sophia wife of Tighlman Fatzinger, and Anna wife of Daniel Mabes
1869 Deed Jacob Wolf Heirs

Jacob Wolf’s heirs

The signatures associated with these deeds included all the named heirs and where appropriate, their spouses (in brackets).

The 1850 census enumeration for Jacob’s household in East Allentown only includes Jacob, Magdalena, Charles, and Catherine Wolf.10 However, family members were living nearby. His daughter Judith and her family is only four households away11 and Absalom’s only another two households farther on.12 In 1860, Tilghman and Sophia Fatzinger are four households prior to Jacob,13 Jacob and Julianne14 are next door to Jacob,15 grandson Jacob and wife Amanda16 are multiple pages earlier, as are Samuel and Judith Snyder17 and Absalom and Louisa.18

Based on this information Jacob’s daughter Judith was, in fact, the Judith (Wolf) Snyder who I wrote about in my post Unexpected Discovery from AncestyDNA Match. This makes “E” and I 4th cousins once removed through Judith (Wolf) Snyder and potentially 4th cousins once removed through Samuel Snyder, as well.

Furthermore, I also have another match, “J,” on AncestryDNA who can trace his family back to Jacob Wolf, born about 1819 of Lehigh County. Given the birth year and location—and our match as 4th-6th cousins, I’m theorizing that this Jacob is the son of Jacob and Magdalena (Brey) Wolf. This would make us fifth cousins. “J” shares 44 cMs of DNA with me. Nearly twice the average for fifth cousins, possibly indicating an additional relationship, but a definite possibility.

I know some people seem to think that if they do the DNA test, their family tree will just magically build itself. That has not been my experience, at all. Without the work that I’ve already done to build out my pedigree, I wouldn’t be able to identify my relationship to more than a handful of my DNA matches.

The DNA match itself is one more piece of evidence that I can use to build my proof statement. While it may help me to assess genealogy records pertaining to an ancestor with more confidence, it is still only one piece of the puzzle that I must build into a larger picture.

How Are We Related? Mining AncestryDNA Shared Matches

Kris Hocker on 30 May 2017

I last wrote about an AncestryDNA match who was a descendant of Samuel and Judith (Wolf) Snyder, a possible cousin through Jacob and Catharine (___) Snyder and/or Jacob and Magdalena (Brey) Wolf. This post is about what I learned by mining our Shared Matches.

Besides my mother, I share four matches with this cousin, who for simplicity’s sake, I’m going to call “E.” Let’s call these four match #1 – #4. According to Ancestry they all match within the 4th through 6th cousin range. That means we share 3rd through 5th great grandparents as common ancestors.

Since I’m looking to prove a match to either Jacob and Magdalena (Brey) Wolf and/or Jacob and Catharine (___) Schneider, I would need to match these individuals through one of the following lines:

  • Jacob Schneider & Catharine (___), 5x great grandparents
  • Henry Schneider & Sarah Wißler, 4x great grandparents
  • Joseph Schneider & Judith Deischer, 3x great grandparents
  • Conrad Wolf & Catharine Yeakel, 5x great grandparents
  • Jacob Wolf & Magdalena Brey, 4x great grandparents
  • Joel Wolf & Elizabeth Krauss, 3x great grandparents
  • Conrad Brey & Maria Magdalena Klein, 5x great grandparents

If the generational estimate is off, a match might be through the ancestors of either Jacob Schneider or his wife Catharine or Jacob Wolf or his wife Magdalena Brey. I have only determined ancestors for Jacob Wolf and Magdalena Brey, so a Snyder connection would be more difficult to figure out.

Shared Matches

Figure 1: Shared matches

Match #1 has a large online family tree, but it does not share any family members with mine. Match #1 and I share 22.6 cMs on two DNA segments. Our shared surnames are Snyder and Walker. Snyder might connect with E, but Walker would connect to other maternal ancestors.

Match #2 has a small online family tree, but it is private. We share 22.4 cMs on one segment.

Match #3 also has small online family tree, but again, no family members in common. We share 20.5 cMs on two segments.

Match #4 does not have a tree associated with their DNA results, but does have a small online tree. It only goes back a couple of generations and does not include any of my known relatives. We share 20.3 cMs on two DNA segments.

Building Out a Family Tree

Ancestry Save to Tree function

Figure 2: Save to Tree function

Match #4’s tree was the smallest and included both dates and places. Since I could easily see the possibility of a quick connection, I started with her tree. I added the people in her tree to my own, using the “Save to Tree” function, and started building out their family trees. Since my maternal ancestry is all eastern Pennsylvania, I paid more attention to those family members who were born in and around that location.

Before too long I reached Emma Caroline (Stout) Hallowell. Emma was born 7 November 1864 and died 24 December 1948 in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.1 She was the daughter of Jesse Stout and Amanda Yeakle. Upon seeing the Yeakle surname, I knew I had found the right line.

Yeakle (aka Yeakel, Jäckel, Yeagle) appears in my family tree numerous times. It’s a well-known, Schwenkfelder surname from the Perkiomen region. Luckily, my ties to this community come primarily through one line, making it relatively easy to trace. I also have a resource I can turn to for this family—the Genealogical Record of the Schwenkfelder Families.2

Emma Stout pedigree

Figure 3: Emma Stout pedigree

Amanda (Yeakel) Stout, Emma’s mother, was born in November 1833 in Springfield Township, Montgomery County and died 31 October 1904 in Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.3 She was the daughter of Jacob Schultz and Lydia (Brey) Yeakle.

Since E may match me on the Snyder and/or Wolf family lines, seeing Lydia Brey was a “happy-dance” moment. Jacob Wolf’s wife was Magdalena Brey, daughter of Johann Conrad and Maria Magdalena (Klein) Brey. Lydia (Brey) Yeakle’s father was Philip Brey, a son of Johann Conrad and Maria Magdalena (Klein) Brey. This makes Match #4 and I 6th cousins through the Brey line.

Match #4 also matches me through Jacob Schultz Yeakle. He was born 16 October 1802 and died 30 May 1863 in Springfield Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.4 He was the son of Isaac and Regina (Schultz) Yeakle. So, we are also 6th cousins through Andrew and Charlotte (Yeakel) Schultz, Regina’s parents.

Regina (Schultz) Yeakle’s sister Christina married George Krauss. Their daughter Elizabeth Krauss married Joel Wolf, son of Jacob and Magdalena (Brey) Wolf. This couple is my gateway to the Schwenkfelders. Any connection I have to this community can be traced through them.

Since we match on two segments, it’s possible that match #4 and I share both a Brey and a Schultz/Yeakel DNA segment. E and I also share two segments, making it possible that we share both a Wolf/Brey and a Snyder segment. Or it could be Yeakel and Wolf segments as both surnames appear multiple times in Jacob Wolf’s ancestry. Only more analysis will tell.

Conclusions

What does this mean regarding my family connection to E? Based on my identifications of match #4’s ancestry, I think that my case for Judith (Wolf) Snyder being the daughter of Jacob and Magdalena (Brey) Wolf is stronger.

If the relationship is true, E and I would be 4th cousins once removed. According to the Shared CM project the average shared DNA for that relationship is 20 cMs with a range between 0 and 57 cMs. E and I share 24.5—just about average.

I’m still looking for a paper trail to document Jacob’s children. But I think the DNA analysis may be pointing to one of them.

Unexpected Discovery from AncestryDNA Match Building a Match's Family Tree

Kris Hocker on 19 May 2017

According to Ancestry, I have 363 DNA matches who are 4th cousins or closer. That’s a lot of cousins. Parsing through them all to identify where we match is not a small undertaking. As more people test at Ancestry, that task is unlikely to get any easier.

These cousins and I share between 20 cMs (4th cousin) and 615 cMs (2nd cousin). As you might expect, I’m spending time on the matches with either higher amounts of matching DNA or Shared Ancestor Hints (aka shaking leaves)—not on those with either a severely limited online tree or no tree.

However, sometimes it pays to spend the time building out a match’s family tree.

The Snyder Family

I recently had a new match pop up in my list. According to the link to her profile, she didn’t have a family tree, but I viewed the match anyway. Turns out she did have a tree; she just hadn’t associated it with her DNA test.1

The tree was small, only going back a few generations, none of whom matched my identifiable family members. But it included one Elizabeth Snyder. Since this person also matched my mother and Snyder is one of her family surnames, I did a little research on Elizabeth.

I was able to locate Elizabeth’s death certificate.2 She was born to Charles Snyder and Coletta Zellner in Allentown and died in Lehigh County. I recognized the surnames Snyder and Zellner from my research and, of course, Allentown is right up the road from where my Schneider/Snyders lived in Upper Hanover Township, Montgomery County.

So, I dug around a little and traced Elizabeth’s tree.

Using census records, marriage records, death records, and Find A Grave, I was able to trace Elizabeth’s ancestry back to Samuel Snyder and Judith Wolf of Allentown. In 1850, the family was living in the East End of Allentown.3

Samuel was 48 years-old, a laborer, and his son Charles was 7 years-old. Jonas Snyder, identified in later records as Samuel’s brother, was also living in the household.4 Just one family away was the household of Absalom Wolf. Judith Snyder’s maiden name was listed as Wolf on her son’s death certificate.5 Could they be related?

1850 Samuel Snyder & Absalom Wolf

Figure 1: 1850 census –
Samuel Snyder & Absalom Wolf

Absalom Wolf was most likely the son of Jacob and Magdalena (Brey) Wolf of Upper Hanover Township and Allentown, my four times great grandparents.6 Indeed, if you look four households before the Snyders (at bottom of the previous page), you’ll find Jacob and Magdalena and their children Charles and Catharine.7

Isn’t it possible that Samuel and Judith were living in the same neighborhood in Allentown as her parents and brother?

I found Jacob Wolf living in multiple locations in the Allentown general area. He was living in Allentown in 1860,8 1850, and most likely in 1840.9 In 1830, his household can be found in Upper Hanover Township near his wife Magdalena’s father Conrad Brey.10 In 1820, he was living in Milford Township11 next door to Daniel Brey, son of John Conrad and Elisabeth (Schneider) Brey,12 and in 1810 in Upper Hanover.13

Both the 1820 and 1830 census include an entry for a female in the appropriate age range to be Judith. Furthermore, in looking at the households on the same page as Jacob in 1830 census, I noticed two households in particular. One was his father-in-law Conrad Bry [Brey], as already mentioned. The other was Catharine Snyder.14

Yes, that Catharine Snyder! Mother of my 4x great grandfather, Henry Snyder.

1830 Catharine Snyder enumeration

Figure 2: 1830 Catharine Snyder enumeration

Seeing Catharine got me thinking about the children she had with Jacob Schneider. I knew that they had a son Jonas—it’s not a common name in my family lines—and that he was young when Jacob died about 1829, but couldn’t remember if they had a son Samuel. Looking them up in Reunion, I found that Jonas was born after 16 November 1815 and before 19 October 1829. An 1820 birth fits into this range. It also fits with the 1820 census15 and 1830 census records for the family.

Jacob and Catharine also had a son named Samuel. According to my guesstimates, he was likely born between 1795 and 1800. If I or the census ages are off a little, Samuel, too, could fit right into this family. Since I don’t have firm birth dates or even ages from the Orphan’s Court documents, it’s currently impossible to know for sure based on the information at hand. However, if Samuel was the son of Jacob and Catharine, and Judith was the daughter of Jacob and Magdalena, the fact that both families are shown as living in Upper Hanover in 1830 and appear to be living near each other—only seven households apart—puts Samuel and Judith in the right place to meet prior to their marriage about 1833.

Conclusions

So, I have a bunch of circumstantial evidence that points to Samuel and Judith being the children of Jacob and Catharine (___) Schneider and Jacob and Magdalena (Brey) Wolf.

  1. A DNA match of 24.5 cMs on 2 segments between myself and a descendant of Elizabeth Snyder, who also matches my mother
  2. A family tree that includes Elizabeth Snyder
  3. A death certificate naming Elizabeth’s parents as Charles Snyder and Colette Zellner
  4. A death certificate for Charles Snyder naming his parents as Samuel and Julian (Wolf) Snyder—Judith/Judy in other records
  5. Census records that place Samuel’s household in the same neighborhood in Allentown as Jacob Wolf and his son Absalom Wolf
  6. Census records that name Jonas Snyder, born about 1820, as Samuel’s brother
  7. An Orphan’s Court document naming the children of Jacob Schneider of Upper Hanover as: Henry, Elizabeth, Jacob, Catharina, Samuel, Daniel, Michael, John, Sarah, and Jonas, and stating Sarah and Jonas were minors (under 21 years-old) as of 19 October 1829
  8. Census records that show both families—Snyder and Wolf—living near each other in 1830
  9. Burials for members of both Jacob Wolf’s family and Samuel Snyder’s family in Union-West End Cemetery in Allentown

The facts seems to create a compelling story. I’d feel more confident with evidence that was more direct, but I may have to settle for an argument based on circumstantial evidence. I’ll keep digging into both families to see what else I can come up with.

Henry Landis Jr. (1764-1824) 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Kris Hocker on 16 May 2017

One of the most common difficulties in researching your family is the common, repetitive use of given names in families. This can not only make it difficult to correctly identify men of the same name and generation, but also to distinguish between father and son.

I’ve run into that situation in my Landis family. Molly Landis was the daughter of Henry Landis and Catharine Baum. According to my Reunion file, Henry was the son of Henry Landis Sr. and Catharine Baum.

At best this would be unusual. It strikes me as suspicious for two reasons: one, I have absolutely no idea where I got this information. None at all. And, two, I’ve repeatedly seen information for Henry Landis Sr. and Henry Landis Jr. conflated into one person.

Henry Landis Jr. was born 10 May 1764 in Lancaster County.1 He died 27 March 1824 in Swatara Township, Dauphin County.2 He wrote his last will and testament on 23 October 1823 and added a codicil on 1 March 1824.3 It was recorded on 14 April 1824. In it he mentions his children, but no wife, meaning she predeceased him. His children included: Jacob, Barbara wife of John Walter, Molly wife of George Hocker, Henry, John, Elizabeth, Adam, Samuel, Sarah Ann, and Joseph. According to Henry’s 1824 codicil, Sarah Ann and Joseph were to be supported out of the funds from the estate until they reach the age of 15 years-old.4

Prior to his death, Henry had stated in a 29 June 1821 Orphan’s Court record that his wife Catharine, a daughter of Barbara Baum of Lancaster County, died before her mother, leaving several children under the age of 14.5 He asked to be appointed as their guardian. They were Henry, John, Adam, Samuel, and Elizabeth.

On 26 April 1785, Henry Landis of Derry Township wrote his last will and testament, naming his wife Anna, and his sons Felix and Henry, and brother John.6 On 4 October 1791, John Kaufman and Abraham Derr were appointed guardians for Elizabeth, Ann, and Jacob Landis, “children of Henry Landis deceased during their minority’s the said children being severally under the age of fourteen years.”7 Henry’s son John Landis, being over 14 years, chose John Kaufman as his guardian.8

His widow Anna wrote her last will and testament on 25 September 1807 and it was proven on 30 March 1818.9 She named her husband Henry Landis and children Elizabeth Reesor, Anne, Christopher (aka Stophel), Peter, and John.

There are several facts that I can deduce from these documents.

  1. Molly’s father Henry Landis died in 1824.
  2. Molly’s mother Catharine Baum died before 1821.
  3. Henry Landis Jr. had children who were born after Catharine Baum died—Sarah Ann and Joseph.10
  4. Henry Landis Jr.’s second wife died before 23 October 1823 as she is not mentioned in his will.
  5. Henry’s father Henry Landis died in 1785.
  6. Henry Sr. was married to Anna when he died.
  7. Henry Sr.’s two eldest sons were Henry and Felix.
  8. Anna named her children as being: Elizabeth, Anne, Christopher, Peter, and John.
  9. Henry Sr.’s youngest children—minors when he died—were John, Elizabeth, Anne and Jacob.

Based on these documents it is not possible to determine if Henry Jr.’s mother could have been a woman named Catharine Baum. Anna did not name Felix or Henry in her will, so they could have been born to an unknown first wife. They were the only living children not named in Anna’s will.

I have not found documentation to show that Henry Sr. had a wife prior to Anna. I have not found a marriage record and/or date for his marriage to Anna that would show whether or not she married him prior to Felix or Henry Jr.’s births. At this point I have no way of knowing whether or not Anna was Henry Jr.’s mother.

Can DNA Help?

Could my AncestryDNA matches shed some light on this question?

I have several matches to known children of Henry Landis Sr. and Anna Poorman (aka Böhrman). Presumably, this could be through DNA that we’ve inherited from Henry. Or it could be DNA inherited from Anna, since I also have a number of matches with no known recent common ancestor, whose ancestral surnames include Poorman. Or it could be from both of them. Triangulation of the segments with Landis or Poorman matches from outside this specific family would be the only way to determine where the matching DNA came from.

I also have a match who is descended from Johann Georg Böhrman. Anna (Poorman) Landis was George’s granddaughter. The match is through one of Anna’s uncles. Assuming that Henry Jr. is the son of Anna, that would make us seventh cousins twice removed.

However, just when I started to get excited, I saw that Ancestry predicts our possible relationship to be fourth-to-sixth cousins. We share 24.3 centimorgans of DNA on two segments. That’s about three times the average amount for seventh cousins. Furthermore, our shared matches do not include any of the other Henry Landis Sr. descendants. So, most likely our shared DNA is not from the Böhrman/Poorman line.11

Conclusions

I’m inclined to believe that I made an error in entering Catharine Baum as Henry Jr.’s mother. Outside of Anna’s will, I’ve found no reason to believe that Henry Sr. had more than one wife in the documentary record. There is no break in the children’s birth years that would indicate a death and remarriage. Anna’s birth in 1745 would make her only 15 years-old in 1760 when Felix was reportedly born, but  either of those dates could be incorrect.

So, based on these assumptions (until proven otherwise), I have the following:

Henry and Anna (Poorman) Landis had the following children:

  1. Felix Landis (1760–bef 30 Apr 1810), married Christina (___)
  2. Henry Landis (10 May 1764–27 Mar 1824), married Catharina Baum:
    1. Barbara Landis (1796–ca 1824) married John Walter (1792–1854)
    2. Jacob F. Landis (1797–1863) married Hanna Emma Fishburn (1798-1838)
    3. Mary Magdalena “Molly” Landis (1800–1825) married George Hocker (1794–1873)
    4. Rev. Henry Landis (1804–1875) married Christina Hocker (1808–1865)
    5. John B. Landis (1805–1857)
    6. Elizabeth Landis (1807–aft Mar 1824)
    7. Adam Landis (1808–aft 1821)
    8. Samuel Landis (20 May 1810–aft 1821)

    Henry Landis married Unknown:

    1. Sarah Ann Landis (1812–?)
    2. Joseph Landis (ca 1809-1814–?)
  3. Anna Landis (30 Jun 1767–8 Jul 1767)
  4. Christopher Landis (27 Aug 1770–13 Jul 1830)
  5. Peter Landis (ca 1773–?) married Eva Lauman
  6. John B. Landis (7 Aug 1775–bef Sep 1829) married Elizabeth Rutt (bef 1785–1823-29)
  7. Anna B. Landis (aft 4 Oct 1777-23 May 1818) married John Reesor
  8. Elizabeth Landis (1778-1846) married Christian Reesor
  9. Jacob B. Landis (9 Apr 1781-3 Feb 1806)
Note: Please take this information with a grain of salt and verify it through your own research. I can’t identify all its sources. It is very much still a work-in-progress!

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 sixteenth 52 Ancestors post.

Mary Magdalena “Molly” (Landis) Hocker 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Kris Hocker on 6 May 2017

52 ancestors in 52 weeks

Mary Magdalena Landis was born 4 February 1800 in Londonderry Township to Henry Landis Jr. and his wife Catharine Baum. She grew in Derry Township, most likely on land her father purchased from Adam Hocker in 1803.1 She had three sisters: Barbara, Elizabeth, and Sarah, and six brothers: Jacob, Henry,2 John, Adam, Samuel, and Joseph.

On 2 March 1819, Molly married George Hocker, son of Adam Hocker, in Zion Lutheran Church in Harrisburg.3 They most likely lived on Adam Hocker’s property in Swatara Township—as that’s the property that George received per his father’s probate. They had two children: Isemiah, born 9 May 1821,4 and Levi, born 17 January 1824.5 A little over a year after Levi’s birth, Molly died on 22 February 1825.6

I’ve often wondered how George managed after her death. He was a 31-year-old widower with two young children, aged one and four, and a farm to operate. He remarried in 1835, but for ten years he remained a widower. Did he love her? Miss her? How did he manage?

I think that answer to that is family. Both George and his younger brother Adam received the Swatara property from the probate. It’s possible that their mother Mary came to live with them and manage their household. Brothers John and Jacob, who were already married and had started their families, were living on the Derry Township property. Brother Benjamin was sixteen and may have already been apprenticing for his future as a merchant. George was the most in need of his mother’s assistance.

George and Adam shared the Swatara property through the mid-to-late 1830s when Adam sold his share to George and moved to Cumberland County. In the meantime, Adam had married Mary Hoover and started his own family. Molly’s children grew up surrounded by George’s family—grandmother, uncle, and cousins.

George and Mary Magdalena (Landis) Hocker had children:

  1. Isemiah Hocker (9 May 1821–7 Dec 1882) married Henry Wagner
  2. Levi Hocker (17 Jan 1824–31 Oct 1876) married Anna Frantz

52 ancestors in 52 weeks

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 fifteenth 52 Ancestors post.