Research – Page 9 – A Pennsylvania Dutch Genealogy

The Hocker Farm

Kris Hocker on 18 Sep 2016

In 1831 William L. Breton painted a water color, entitled “The Hocker Farm.”¹ Breton was an Englishman, a self-made artist of the nineteenth century who painted Philadelphian scenes.²

The question, I have, is whose farm was this?

Johann George Hocker, the immigrant, moved his family to Whitemarsh Township about 1763. He died in 1821 and his property was sold by his administrator, son Martin Hocker, to Casper Schlater. So George’s farm wouldn’t have been the “Hocker farm” by 1831.

By that time, to the best of my knowledge, his only surviving son lived in Virginia. Perhaps it was the farm of one of his grandsons—Martin or John, sons of Martin—who were, as far as I know, the only grandsons still living in Whitemarsh Township. Regardless of whose farm it actually was, the painting provides a glimpse into a nineteenth century farm yard. One which was owned by a member of our Hocker family.

The painting itself apparently descended through Clara Hocker Illman, wife of Henry A. Illman. Although the typed inscription that accompanies the painting states that she was “a daughter of a Civil War General Hocker,” Clara was the daughter of Edward Wellington and Mary Ann (Hocker) Williams of Germantown.³

Her grandparents were Christopher Mason and Mary Ann (Phillips) Hocker. Their son Christopher Mason Hocker Jr., I believe, did serve in the Civil War. However, to the best of my knowledge, not as a General. Christopher Sr. was a stonecutter and the family resided in Germantown. He died 25 June 1847.⁴ His wife survived him and ran a boarding house until her death 28 July 1893⁵ with the assistance of her daughter Martha.

A Beautiful Circle A DNA Circle Happy Dance

Kris Hocker on 31 Aug 2016

If you’ve been following along with my research through the years, you know that I’ve spent a significant amount of time researching the Hoover family. I’ve been determined to identify the ancestry of my 3x great grandfather Christian Hoover.

I had located information that led me to believe he was the son of Philip and Hannah (Thomas) Hoover of Armstrong County and could trace the family back to an immigrant ancestor named Andreas Huber. Later I discovered that the connection I’d made between Philip’s grandfather George Huber and Andreas was incorrect. George was actually the son of the immigrant Michael Huber. But, while I could build a circumstantial case that Philip and Hannah were Christian’s parents, I didn’t have any direct evidence of the connection.

And then I took a DNA test.

DNA Circles

This spring I took a DNA test. I was mostly curious about what the results would be. I figured any proof I might get from DNA would come from Y-DNA tests on various male family members.

I found a lot of matches through Ancestry. Like 130 pages of DNA matches. It was totally overwhelming. Some of those matches shared their family tree, some didn’t. Some share ancestors, some share ancestral surnames, some I had no clue where we matched, and some I knew—even without a family tree—exactly who they were and how we were related. But while it’s all very interesting, I mostly haven’t learned anything new.

Then I made my family tree public so I could get DNA circles.

What are DNA circles?

According to Ancestry, they are “a great way to discover other members who are related to you through a common ancestor.” The Legal Genealogist has a great, simple explanation of DNA Circles. She does a great job of explaining what they mean—and what they don’t mean.

In order for a DNA circle to be created for you, several things need to happen. First, you have to have a public family tree. This applies to your DNA matches, too. If you have DNA matches through a common ancestor, but they either don’t have family trees at Ancestry or haven’t made their tree public… no DNA circle.

Two, you have to share a common ancestor in your public family trees and that common ancestor must be within six generations of you—a 4x great grandparent or closer. So, if you’re hoping to see a DNA circle for descendants of your 5x great grandfather, it’s not gonna happen. Furthermore, that common ancestor must be easily identifiable as being the same person. Significant differences in name, dates, etc. may nullify the connection—meaning no circle.

Three, you have to have a DNA match to at least two other people who also share the common ancestor within those same six generations in their public family tree. Oh, your relations—siblings and first cousins—all get lumped into a family group and count as a single person. So, those two other DNA matches must be at least second cousins.

So, after all those must haves in order to create a DNA circle, I actually have circles for Philip Hoover and Hannah Thomas among my matches! I can not tell you how happy that made me—you’ll just have to imagine the happy dance I did when they came up in my account.

Take a look at this diagram and I’ll explain how these matches work.

I have three DNA matches in this circle. AncestryDNA does not tell us whether or not we all share the same DNA segments. But each of us shares DNA with the other three matches.

Three of us are descendants of my 2x great grandfather Samuel Thomas Hoover and his wife Victoria Walker. Our great grandfathers were brothers. We are third cousins. The fourth person is a descendant of one of Philip and Hannah (Thomas) Hoover’s daughters. She is one generation closer to the couple, than the other three, so she is a 3x great granddaughter, while we are 4x great grandchildren.

The other two people in the circle do not share DNA with me or the other two descendants of Samuel and Victoria (Walker) Hoover. They only share DNA with the female descendant of Philip and Hannah.

Based on my research, Philip and Hannah (Thomas) Hoover had the following children:

Christian Hoover (c1821-1 Oct 1887)
Mary Ann Hoover (22 Nov 1825-?)
John Thomas Hoover (4 Nov 1827-?)
Margaret Hoover (c1831-?)
Barbara Hoover (c1833-?)
William Hoover (c1835-?)
Jacob Hoover (8 Feb 1836-14 Sep 1909)
Ralston Hoover (c1839-13 Jun 1862)
Sarah Hoover (1 Jul 1842-8 Aug 1906)
Samuel M. Hoover (c1845-?)

According to our family trees, the six persons in this DNA circle are descended through three of Philip and Hannah’s children: Christian (aka Christopher), Margaret, and Sarah. Christian’s descendants share matching DNA with Sarah’s descendant, but not Margaret’s descendants. Sarah and Margaret’s descendants also share DNA.

So does this prove that our Christian was the son of Philip and Hannah (Thomas) Hoover? Well…

I believe it does prove a biological connection between Christian and this family. It’s possible that he could be their eldest son. It’s also possible that Philip is his uncle or his cousin. The research I’ve done into this family provides enough circumstantial evidence to say the Christian is likely the son of Philip and Hannah, not a nephew. But I still have unknowns in prior generations, including two of Philip’s uncles. Without knowing exactly how our DNA matches, I can’t say anything for sure.

But, you know, I’ll take it. It’s one more data point that backs up my supposition that my 3x great grandfather was the son of Philip and Hannah (Thomas) Hoover. And I’ll keep looking for more. Until I find evidence proving otherwise, I’m going with it.

Pirated?!

Kris Hocker on 22 Aug 2016

Disheartened. Found that someone pirated my ebooks and made them available online for free download.

Does the Spelling of a Name Really Matter? The Importance of Identifiers Beyond Name

Kris Hocker on 12 Aug 2016

Just how much does a surname’s spelling indicate familial relationships or lack thereof? I once had someone tell me that my Hockers of Dauphin County were not related to the Hackers of Lancaster County because the name was spelled differently—even though both spellings (and others) were used in documents in Lancaster County.

Fortunately, in this case, I was dealing with one family with its surname spelled multiple ways. By what happens when you have multiple surnames that all end up sharing the same spellings and misspellings? And when the families both live in the same general area in the same time period? And when they both use some of the same given names for their children?

A mess.

This is the case with my Weidman family. If you followed along with my posts on John Weidman’s pedigree, you got an insight into this with the question of who Mary Adams married—Christopher Witman or Christopher Weidman. The problem of deciphering between the families is not limited to marriage records, though.

It actually starts with the families’ arrival in Pennsylvania. Martin Weidman and his father are listed in Strassburger’s Pennsylvania German Pioneers as “Mathias Whiteman” and “Mathew Whiteman.”¹

Mathias and Martin as listed in ship’s list

Also with the family onboard the ship Elizabeth were Maria Catrina Whitman (aged 38), Margret Whiteman (aged 30), Johanes Whitman (aged 15), Eliza Whitman (aged 13 1/2), Christoffer Whiteman (aged 8), Mathias Whiteman (aged 6), Wendell Whiteman (aged 3 1/2), Elizabeth Whiteman, dead (aged 2).²

The consistency is off even within these records, varying between Whiteman and Whitman. Matthias’ signature, however, is more accurate. It appears to read “Wheidtman,” but is likely “Weidtman” as found in Gräben church records.³

Mathias Weidtman’s signature

The problem doesn’t get better in documents from later years either. Compare the following households in the 1758 tax assessment and tax return for Cocalico Township.

1758 Cocalico Township tax assessment

There are six Whitman/Whiteman men listed in the tax assessment: Christopher, George, John, Peter, Martin and Michael.

Now take a look at the tax return for the same year.

1758 Cocalico Township tax return

As you can see even in records from the same year, written by the same man, the names are spelled differently. Here there are both Weidman and Witman spellings used. Additionally, the “Peter Whitman” from the assessment is listed as “Peter Wittmer” in the return.

I found this to be true in most of the records I reviewed. In some, the spelling varied within the same document. In 1749, Christopher Witman sold land to William Adams. In the deed his surname is variously spelled as Weidman, Wheitman, Wittman, and Weitman.⁴ In the deed where Christopher purchased the land, his surname is Whittman.⁵ This is important because there were two men: “Christopher Weidman” and “Christopher Witman.” Knowing which one sold the land can be critical to getting the family research right.

The importance of consistent spelling—especially with surnames—is a fairly modern construct. People spelled words as they heard them. It wasn’t until the 1830s—at least here in the U.S.—when literacy became a mark of success and “gentility”—that spelling became at all important.⁶

It’s only by tracing these families through time, comparing multiple documents and matching tracts of land based on size, boundaries, location, and neighbors, and identifying children, spouses and associates linked to each family—often through multiple generations—that it’s possible to weed through the confusion and build an understanding of who’s who. Name alone just does not cut it.

Encephalitis Lethargica A Mysterious “Sleepy Sickness" that Killed Millions

Kris Hocker on 5 Jul 2016

Recently I’ve been discussing encephalitis lethargica with a family member who contacted me. Her ancestor, Krehl Samuel Hocker, died of the illness back in the 1930s. But, like most people, she had never heard of it.

What is Encephalitis Lethargica?

In the wake of the influenza epidemic of the early twentieth century, another mysterious illness swept ‘round the world. Between 1915 and 1926, more than five million people took ill with the disease.¹ Nearly a third of those stricken died. Those who survived were never the same. Despite all this, most people have never heard of it.

It started with a high fever, sore throat and headache. As it progressed, patients also experienced lethargy, double vision, tremors and strange body movements, and sometimes violent behavior or psychosis. Symptoms rapidly worsened and doctors were at a loss on what to do.

Some patients improved only to devolve into convulsions and paralysis. These patients were left in a motionless and speechless state, aware and reactive to outside stimulus, but unable to act on their own, living but not really alive. Survivors often ended up in comas, sometimes indefinitely.

What Causes It?

For 70 years, the medical establishment has considered the illness a “medical mystery.” Because it hit so soon after the Spanish Flu, many believed that it may have been related. However, doctors found no evidence of the flu in the brain tissue of it’s victims.

In recent years, however, there have been new patients identified who have been diagnosed with the disease. In studying it’s progression in those patients, doctors found that all the cases started with a sore throat. Further testing showed evidence of a rare form of streptococcus bacteria in all the patients. Additionally, in studying the case records from the earlier epidemic doctors found that not only did the patients present with a sore throat, but there was evidence of diplococcus, a form of streptococcus, involvement.

The thinking now is that encephalitis lethargica is the result of an autoimmune reaction to a bacterial infection—most likely a form of streptococcus. The immune system goes into overdrive and attacks normal cells in the brain, causing brain inflammation, which ultimately results in the wide-range of symptoms experienced by patients.

Our Connection

Two of our Hockers died of this disease.

Krehl Hocker, son of Albert C. and Lillian A. (Leedy) Hocker, was a relatively young man in 1930, just 45 years-old. The only member of his family to go to college, he was living and working in Philadelphia as a chemist.² He’d been married only twelve years and had two young children: Robert, aged ten, and Elizabeth, aged eight. At some point that year, he contracted encephalitis lethargica. Partially paralyzed, he was sick and bedridden for what remained of his life. He died of the disease at home on 7 July 1935.³

Incredibly, he was perhaps the more fortunate of the two.

Laurence Stokes, son of Joseph B. and Emma Matilda (Hocker) Stokes, was also a young man. Born 29 January 1890, he was only 38 years-old when he contracted the disease in 1928.⁴ He was living and working in Philadelphia as a shoemaker at a factory.⁵ Unlike Krehl, he was institutionalized after he became ill.⁶

Without his medical records, it’s impossible to know what exact symptoms he experienced that led to him being confined. Some of the reports from the time are truly terrible. But we can hypothesize that whatever his symptoms, he either couldn’t be cared for in a home environment or had no one to take care of him. He died at the Philadelphia Hospital for Mental Illnesses on 31 March 1932.⁷

Disease affected our ancestors in large ways and in small. In this case, a largely unknown disease affected the lives of two of our Hockers and their families in a profound and painful way.

John Weidman (1756-1830) Continued Was He Christopher Weidman's Son?

Kris Hocker on 21 Jun 2016

In my last post, I posited that John Weidman (1756-1830) could have been the son of Christopher³ Weidman (Martin², Mathias¹), but wasn’t the son of a member of President Buchanan’s direct family. Can we prove that he was (or wasn’t) the son of Christopher?

Christopher Weidman wrote his last will and testament on 20 March 1777. He names his “beloved wife Anna Maria,” his daughters Anna Maria and Catharine, and his sons “Christophel Weidman & John Weidman.”¹ He bequeathed his sons all the personal and real estate that he owned that he hadn’t specifically left to his wife and daughters. He also named his sons as his executors. On 10 December 1794, Christopher and John Weidman received Letters Testamentary on Christopher Sr.’s estate.

Christopher Jr. and his wife Eva sold 95 acres 30 perches of land from her father Wendel Horning’s estate to John Weidman on 20 May 1792.² At the time, Christopher was of Cocalico Township and John was of Warwick Township. Apparently, John sold the land sometime before 1 April 1797, because John Bricker used it as collateral for a mortgage from John Weidman “of the Town of Lebanon” on that date.³ John Bricker was the son of Christian and Barbara (Kissinger?) Brücher. Barbara was Christopher Sr.’s second wife.

On 21 December 1798, Christopher Striegel and his wife Catharine, Christopher’s daughter, sold to “John Weidman of the Town and Township of Lebanon” all their right and title to three tracts of land that Christopher Sr. had owned at the time of his death.⁴

On 20 February 1826, John Weidman “of East Hanover Township in the County of Lebanon” quitclaimed his half share of his father’s land to Michael Schebler of Cocalico Township.⁵ This deed specifically names John as one of the sons of Christopher Sr. It also mentions both of Christopher’s daughters: Catharine, wife of Christopher Striegel, and Anna Maria, wife of Abraham Forney, and states that Christopher Sr.’s widow was now deceased.

According to this deed, Christopher Jr. petitioned the Orphans Court to hold his father’s land and they granted it to him for £1,854. He was to pay the other heirs their shares of this amount. It appears however, that he didn’t. So the other heirs sold their shares of the estate. As reported above, Catharine and her husband Christopher sold their share to her brother John in 1798 when they were living in Virginia. Anna Maria and her husband Abraham sold their share to Michael Schebler on 3 April 1820.⁶ Six years later, John also sold his shares to Michael Schebler. Christopher Jr. died 4 December 1824.⁷ His administrators, sons Henry and William Weidman, sold his share of his father’s lands to Michael Schebler, through his assignee Samuel Eberle.⁸

John Weidman of Union Forge, Lebanon County wrote his last will and testament on 6 June 1830.⁹ He names his wife Elizabeth, son Jacob B. Weidman, daughter Elizabeth wife of Rev. Daniel Ulrich, daughter Maria wife of Dr. John Mish. These children are consistent with the John Weidman Esq. who served in the Revolutionary War.¹⁰

Since John’s wife Catharine died in 1794, Elizabeth was presumably a later wife.¹¹ John makes specific mention of his “wife’s house, stable and fences, situate in the Borough of Lebanon, and which she still owns as her own property.”¹² This indicates to me that she may have been living there at one time, that perhaps that was where they met and married. After Catharine’s death in 1794, John would have had three, possibly four young children. During this time period, most widowers in that situation would have remarried within a couple of years—when John was known to be of Lebanon Borough (see below).

Looking at a timeline for John Weidman, son of Christopher, from these documents, we get:

20 May 1792: of Warwick Township (Lancaster County)
1 Apr 1797: of Lebanon Borough (Dauphin County)
21 Dec 1798: of Lebanon Borough (Dauphin County)
20 Feb 1826: of East Hanover Township (Lebanon County)
6 Jun 1830: of Union Forge (East Hanover Township, Lebanon County)

We can add more by looking at census records.

1793: Warwick Township (Lancaster County)¹³
4 Aug 1800: East Hanover Township (Lebanon County)¹⁴
6 Aug 1810: East Hanover Township (Lebanon County)¹⁵
7 August 1820: [East] Hanover Township (Lebanon County)¹⁶
1 Jun 1830: [East] Hanover Township (Lebanon County)¹⁷

While the deeds pretty much identify John Weidman of East Hanover Township as the son of Christopher Weidman, the additional documents fill in the time between the deeds. Biographies of John’s descendants indicate that he served in the Revolutionary War.

So, I’m reasonably certain that the John Weidman who wrote his will in 1830 was the son of Christopher Weidman Sr. of Cocalico Township and a Revolutionary War veteran.

John Weidman’s (1756-1830) Pedigree Was He Really Related to President Buchanan?

Kris Hocker on 16 Jun 2016

An issue recently came up in a Facebook group that I belong to for my Weidman surname. A fellow family researcher had found information that connected our Weidmans to President James Buchanan.

I’ve never been terribly interested in making connections to famous persons in my family research. My ancestors were all farmers and laborers with a few shoemakers, innkeepers, tailors and such thrown in the mix. And I’m good with that.

Here is the page of information relating to the issue in question.¹

Reading the information, I was nodding. Yes, Martin Weidman had a son named Jacob. True, Jacob had a son named Christopher. I don’t have much information on Christopher, so this was looking like new data to add to the database. Christopher and his wife had a son named John born in 1756 who fought in the Revolutionary War…

Wait! What?

Right away I knew this information couldn’t be correct. Jacob Weidman, son of Martin and Anna Margaretha (Still) Weidman, was born 12 March 1736.² There’s no way that Jacob had a grandson born when he was twenty years-old. No way.

Do the math. It just doesn’t add up.

Jacob’s son Johannes Fridrich was born 17 August 1764,³ so he wasn’t the John referred to in the article. What about Jacob’s older brother Christopher? Did he have a son named John? Maybe Jacob was incorrectly added to the pedigree.

Christopher Weidman

Reviewing my information I found that, yes, Christopher and his wife Anna Maria did, in fact, have a son named John. I didn’t actually have birth information for him, but a birth in 1756 was consistent with what I knew about his siblings.

What wasn’t consistent was a mother named Sarah Buchanan. Where was that coming from? Was I mistaken in the name of Christopher’s wife?

I went back through the information I had on Christopher. He was born 7 March 1724 in Gräben, Baden-Durlach.⁴ He came to Pennsylvania with his parents and grandparents, arriving in Philadelphia on 27 August 1733.⁵ After their arrival, Christopher’s family settled in what—at the time—was often referred to in official documents as Cocalico Township in Lancaster County, though today it’s Clay Township.⁶

I found a record of a marriage between “Christopher Wittman” and “Mary Adams” at Muddy Creek Lutheran Church in Cocalico Township on 20 June 1748.⁷ Christopher would have been twenty-four years old in 1748.

In his last will and testament, written 20 March 1777, Christopher named his wife Anna Maria. I have baptismal and communion records at Emanuel Lutheran and Reiher’s Reformed churches naming Christopher and his wife Anna Maria from 1769 through 1777.⁸ Deeds from his estate settlement, however, name his wife as Barbara.⁹ He married Barbara (Kissinger) Bücher, widow of Christian Brücher, 8 November 1785.¹⁰ So, his wife Anna Maria died sometime between 6 July 1777 and 8 November 1785.

I found no evidence that Christopher had a wife named Sarah. Unfortunately, I can’t positively rule it out either.

Mary Adams

Part of the problem with Weidman research is the lack of consistency of the spelling of the surname in historical records. Add in another unrelated family named Witman who also lived in the same general location and you’ve got a problem. Add a contemporary of Christopher Weidman named Christopher Witman… well I’m sure you see where I’m going. Since some records list known Weidman family members with the “Witman” spelling, it’s a pretty tangled web to unweave sometimes.

Since I didn’t find any records naming Christopher’s wife between the marriage in 1748 and 1769 baptismal records, I decided to research Mary Adams. Who was she? And can I document connections between her family and the Weidmans?

Christopher and his wife Anna Maria sponsored children of George and Catharina (Weidman) Wächter,¹¹ Martin and Anna Catharina (Enck) Laber,¹² George and Margaretha (Weidman) Illig,¹³ Michael and Susanna (___) Rogh (or Roth),¹⁴ and Christopher and Catharina (Weidman) Stichel.¹⁵ Anna Maria also sponsored a daughter of Jacob and Anna Maria (___) Enck.¹⁶ No obvious signs of a sibling of “Mary Adams” there.

William Adams of Cocalico Township wrote his last will and testament on 21 November 1772.¹⁷ He does not name his daughter, but does name his grandsons, John and William Witman. So, most likely Mary Adams was not only the daughter of William Adams, but also deceased prior to 21 November 1772 when William wrote his will. Futhermore, while our Christopher Weidman did have a son named John, to the best of my knowledge, he did not have a son named William.

There was also connection between the family of Christopher Witman Sr. and William Adams. On 7 April 1749, Christopher Witman and his wife Barbara sold 246 acres of their 356 acres in Cocalico Township to William Adams.¹⁸ This Christopher Witman wrote his last will and testament 18 February 1765 and it was proven on 12 September 1770.¹⁹ In it he names his son Christopher.

Apparently, while our Christopher was married to a woman named Anna Maria, she quite possibly wasn’t Mary Adams, daughter of William Adams. She most likely married Christopher “Witman” in 1748 and was deceased before 1772.

Sarah Buchanan

So, did Christopher marry a member of President Buchanan’s family? A Sarah Buchanan? What do we know about President Buchanan’s family?

I didn’t know anything, but a quick internet search revealed a bio of the president. He was the son of Irish immigrant “James Buchanan, Sr. (1761–1821), a businessman, merchant, and farmer, and Elizabeth Speer, an educated woman (1767–1833).”²⁰ So, immediately, we know Sarah couldn’t have been the president’s sister, not since her alleged son was born in 1756 and her father was born in 1761 in Ireland. She couldn’t have been an aunt either—though James Buchanan Sr. did have a sister named Sarah who married William Morrison—unless said aunt was significantly older than her brother. Again, the timeframe does not fit.

Conclusion

While I neither confirmed nor disproved that our Christopher Weidman was married to a woman named Sarah Buchanan, I do not believe he could have been married to a “Sarah Buchanan” from President Buchanan’s family. In fact, I found zero evidence that he had a wife named Sarah.

However, I believe I’ve also proven—at least to myself—that the conclusion that he married Anna Maria Adams in 1748 may, quite likely, be incorrect. I now think that marriage was between the Adams and “Witman” families, not our Weidmans. At a minimum, I’ll need to do more research.

Now I’m adding another item to my research agenda.

Who was Anna Maria (___) Weidman?

Skepticism: Wherefore Art Thou?

Kris Hocker on 12 Mar 2016

A healthy dose of skepticism can be a valuable tool in genealogy. It’s important to examine each record critically. It’s a lesson I’ve just had cause to remember, again.

I was looking at the record in my Reunion database for my ancestor Daniel Boileau and I found the following:

Daniel Boileau came to Milesburg from Huntingdon County to make flour-barrels at the Milesburg grist-mill. He and his father-in-law Mr. Robertson, had fought side by side in the Revolutionary war as soldiers in the French army. Boileau settled eventually on a bit of land south of Milesburg, and died there in 1840. In front of the old log house that was his home at that place stands a hickory-tree that he planted with his own hands upon the occasion of Gen. Jackson’s first campaign for the Presidency. ¹

“He and his father-in-law Mr. Robertson, had fought side by side in the Revolutionary war as soldiers in the French army.”

I also have Daniel’s death date as 28 November 1840. At that time he was 69 years old, placing his birth about 1771.² The 1840 census for Spring Township, Centre County confirms this.³ His age, 60-70, places his birth between 1770 and 1780. This would make him about 12 years old at the end of the war.

France entered the war in February 1778 with the Treaty of Alliance. At that time, Daniel was six or seven years old. I have a very hard time seeing a boy that young being allowed to join the French army. He would have only been ten years old at the time of the Battle of Yorktown where General Cornwallis surrendered in 1781.

Granted young boys (and occasionally girls) served in historic armies. But at the time the armies were most active in the north—where one would assume Daniel would have served since that’s where he ended up—he would have been exceptionally young to have been a soldier. Not impossible, but not very likely either.

Skepticism Found

Looking at that quote now, I’m surprised I just added it to the database without a qualification. I find it unlikely to be the absolute truth. But it’s possible that it contains parts of the truth.

First, there could have been a Daniel Boileau—perhaps a relative, perhaps even his father—who served in the Revolutionary War. Different people with the same name are confused for each other all the time. And it’s not uncommon for fathers and sons of the same name to be reduced to one person. Adding several hundred years to the problem, only makes it harder to differentiate between people.⁴

In this scenario, I’m less certain of the French army connection, unless the soldier eventually brought his family over from France. If they were already here, wouldn’t he have just served with the colonials?

Alternatively, perhaps Daniel and his father-in-law fought together in a different war. At the time of the War of 1812, Daniel would have been about 41 years old. Not the age of the average soldier—especially if his father-in-law fought beside him—but not outside the realm of possible. The planting of a hickory tree in honor of Andrew Jackson’s first presidential campaign seems to indicate some strong feelings for the man who played a pivotal role in the War of 1812.⁵

Regardless, I apparently need to give my inner skeptic more of a free reign when researching my ancestors.

Using the Census to Fill In Family Details The Ancestry of Abraham Huber (1847-1910)

Kris Hocker on 10 Feb 2016

In my last post regarding Abraham Huber, I learned that he was the son of John Huber from John and Christian’s last will and testaments. Based on those documents, I was able to create a simple outline of the family. Now I want to flesh that out a bit with information from census records.

We know that John and Christian lived in Providence Township. John died in 1862, his widow in 1890. Christian died in 1881. Based on this information I’m going to start with the 1880 census for Providence Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

1880 Census

Abraham’s household is located on the first page of the Providence Township records.¹ His household includes:

Abraham Huber, age 31
Christian Huber, his uncle, age 79
Margaret Huber, his mother, age 70
Susan Huber, his sister, age 45
Catharine Huber, his sister-in-law, age 29
Emma Huber, his niece, age 11
Tobias Huber, his nephew, age 9
Susan Huber, his niece, age 6
John Sheridan, a servant

The next household is also a Huber family, headed by John Huber, aged 76, and his wife Elizabeth, aged 70. This may be the “little” John Huber mentioned in the 1892 deed.

1870 Census

The family is also located near the beginning of the records for Providence in 1870. In this record, Margaret is listed as the head of household.² The family includes:

Margaret Huber, age 60
Christian Huber, age 42, Farm manager
Tobias Huber, age 38, Farm laborer
Susan Huber, age 35
Abraham Huber, age 24, Farm laborer
Mary Rineer, age 32
Fanny Rineer, age 10
Mariah Rineer, age 8
Margaretha McFalls, age 20
Christian Huber Sr., age 71, Retired

Christian and Tobias Huber—John’s executors—are listed with the family. They both died in 1876, and so are not included in the 1880 census. John’s daughter Mary is included with her two daughters this time, while daughter-in-law Catharine Huber and her daughter Emma are not listed. So, it’s likely that Catharine’s husband is still alive.

And indeed, their household was found two pages later:

John Huber, age 30, Farm laborer
Catherine S. Huber, age 19
Emma R. Huber, age 1

Once again, John and Elizabeth Huber’s family is listed directly after this Huber family.

1860 Census

The 1860 census provides our first glimpse of John Huber in these records.³ His household is included on page nine of the Providence records. It includes:

John Huber, age 71, Farmer
Margaret Huber, age 52
Christian Huber, age 33, Farm hand
Tobias Huber, age 28, Farm hand
Susan Huber, age 26
John Huber, age 20, Farm hand
Abraham Huber, age 13

Daughter Ann Huber is listed in the next household, headed by her husband James McFalls.

James McFalls, age 34, Laborer
Ann McFalls, age 32
John McFalls, age 8
William McFalls, age 3

I could not locate Christian Huber Sr. in the 1860 census. However, John and Elizabeth Huber’s household, as expected, is nearby, three households down from John and Margaret Huber’s family.

1850 Census

Providence Township was established in 1853, taken from Martic Township. So, John and family are located in the 1850 census for Martic.⁴ The family is number 164 and includes:

John Huber, age 60, Farmer
Margaret Huber, age 41
Christian Huber, age 20
Anny Huber, age 22
Tobias Huber, age 21
Susanna Huber, age 17
Mary Huber, age 13
John Huber, age 11
Abraham Huber, age 3
Daniel Huber, age 1
James McFalls, age 24, Laborer
Christian Huber, age 49, Laborer

This census includes all the family seen in the other census records, plus Daniel, age 1. His absence from the 1860 census, leads me to believe that he died prior to 1 Jun 1860. Note James McFalls living in the household. He married Anna Huber sometime in the next year to two years.

Furthermore, the wide age gap between John and his wife Margaret and between sons John Huber and Abraham Huber makes me think that Margaret might not be John’s first wife. She’s old enough to be Christian’s mother, but the gap between children either relates to a previous marriage and death of the spouse or a number of children who died young. We’ll need to see what the previous census shows for more clarity.

Again, as in previous census entries, the John and Elizabeth Huber family is located within three household of John and Margaret’s. Also on this page, however, are two other Huber households: Jacob and Anny Huber and Abraham and Mary Huber.

1840 Census

In the 1840 census, John’s household includes:⁵

John Huber, 40-50 (b. 1790-1800)
Male, 30-40 (b. 1800-1810) [brother Christian?]
Male, 10-15 (b. 1825-1830) [son Christian?]
Male, 5-10 (b. 1830-1835) [son Tobias?]
Male, <5 (b. 1836-1840) [son John?]
Female, 70-80 (b. 1760-1770) [Mother?]
Female, 10-15 (b. 1825-1830) [Annie?]
Female, 5-10 (b. 1830-1835) [Susanna?]
Female, < 5 (b. 1836-1840) [Mary?]

If John was married to Margaret, there should be a woman, aged about 31 (26-44), in the household. The fact that there isn’t strengthens my feeling that Margaret was John’s second wife and that Abraham and Daniel were children of this union. If so, John’s first wife died sometime between January (John’s birth) and August 1840 (census).

As in previously viewed census records, John’s brother Christian was living in his household. It also appears that John’s mother, aunt, or other senior female may have been living with him in 1840, too.

1830 Census

In 1830, John was living adjacent to Peter Huber in Martic Township. His household was composed of:⁶

John Huber Sr., 30-40 (b. 1790-1800)
Male, 30-40 (b. 1790-1800) [brother Christian?]
Male, <5 (b. 1826-1830) [son Christian?]
Female, 60-70 (b. 1760-1770) [Mother?]
Female, 20-30 (b. 1800-1810) [1st wife?]
Female, <5 (b. 1826-1830) [Annie?]

Since his children are under 5 years of age, he likely married sometime around or just prior to 1825. He was probably living at home in 1820. Both his brother Christian and the senior female were living with John in 1830, too. If the female is his mother, his father likely died prior to this census.

Conclusions

Based on the information in the census records, we can flesh out John’s family some. Here’s what it looks like with the new information.

Children of Unknown Huber:

John Huber, born about 1790 and died 11 Dec 1862, married first Unknown by 1825, married second Margaret (___) by 1847. Margaret (___) Huber died in 1890.
1. Christian Huber was born about 1827 and died in 1876; never married
2. Ann Huber was born about 1828; married James McFalls
  1. John McFalls, born about 1851/2
  2. William McFalls was born about 1856/7
3. Tobias Huber was born about 1830 and died in 1876; never married
4. Susanna Huber was born 1834 and died after 1892; never married
5. Mary Huber was born about 1837; married John Rineer
  1. Fannie Rineer was born about 1860
  2. Mariah Rineer was born about 1862
6. John Huber was born about 1840 and died 1876; married Catharine (___)
  1. Emma Huber was born about 1869
  2. Tobias Huber was born about 1871
  3. Susan Huber was born about 1874
7. Abraham Huber was born about 1847 and died after 1892.
8. Daniel Huber was born about 1849 and died before 1860.
Christian Huber was born about 1800 and died in 1881; never married

Who Are We? DNA and the Genealogist's Search

Kris Hocker on 2 Feb 2016

Interesting information on DNA and our common ancestry. Consider this.

“You share no DNA with the vast majority of your ancestors.”

“You have more ancestors — hundreds a few generations back, thousands in just a millennium — than you have sections of DNA.”

You have 64 great-great-great-great-grandparents — but if you are a man, you share your Y-chromosome with only one of them.

The amount of DNA you pass on to your descendants roughly halves with each generation. It is a matter of chance which of your descendants actually carry any of your DNA.

Alva Nöe, “DNA, Genealogy, And the Search for Who We Are“

Will testing your DNA really tell you who you are? Or are the stories we find about our ancestors much more enlightening than the test tube? What do you think?

Category: Research