Researching Michael Bender (1766-?) of Menallan Township

In order to connect my DNA matches to the Conrad Schneider family of Upper Salford Township, I have been using reverse genealogy to build the family tree. I’ve had several descendants of Conrad’s daughter Eva Catharina (Schneider) Bender turn up in my Schneider cluster, so I’ve been tracing her family to see if I can find more.

Just recently, I’ve been working on her son Michael Bender’s family. Michael was born 15 October 1766 in Philadelphia County and baptized at Old Goshenhoppen Church in Upper Salford Township on 12 April 1773.¹ His uncle Michael Schneider was his sponsor. Michael moved with his family to Menallen Township, York (now Adams) County in the 1770s.

Based on baptisms in Bender’s Church, I know Michael married a woman named Susanna Schmoyer. I found online extractions for baptisms of Elias (1790), Samuel (1791), Jacob (1795), Magdalena (1796), Daniel (1798), and Rachel (1804).² Tax and census records place Michael in Menallen Township through at least 1800.

Ancestry’s hints provided information on two Michael Benders who died in Adams County in the early-to-mid 1800s: 1) Michael Bender of Hamilton Township who died in 1835, and 2) Michael who died in 1850 and was buried at Franklin Church Cemetery in Clear Springs.

Michael Bender of Hamilton Township left a will which names his wife Sophia and children: Daniel, Jacob, Susanna wife of George Myers, Sophia wife of Jacob Shunk, and Sarah, deceased.³ Michael died in 1835, aged about 70 years, and was buried in the East Berlin Cemetery.⁴ This family only partially fits the Michael I’m researching.

The gravestone of Michael Bender who died in 1850 states that he was 83 years 8 months and 22 days old when he died.⁵ He died 10 April 1850. Calculating a birthdate from that age tells us he was born 17 July 1766. This doesn’t match my Michael’s birthdate, though it’s only months off. So, again, close but not exact.

Now I have two Michael Benders born around the same time, living in Adams County, neither of which truly matches what I’ve found for Catharina’s son Michael. Poking around in online family trees wasn’t terribly helpful either. There is no consistency; most of them seem to be mash-ups of multiple families.

Wish I Had a Clue

But I did find a clue pointing to another Bender family from Lancaster County. Pulling out my handy-dandy Lancaster County resources, I did, in fact, find Benders in Lancaster County.

These Benders were members of the Moravian Church in Lancaster Borough. Going through the records, I found Michael Bender of Lampeter Township, son of Leonhard and Susanna (Farni) Bender, who married Sophia Kurtz of Manheim Township on 29 October 1793⁶ and the births of his children Sarah, Daniel and Jacob.⁷ I also located the birth record of Michael Bender born 17 July 1766, son of Michael and Maria Margaretha (Taubenberger) Bender.⁸

Based on this information, Michael Bender, son of Catharina (Schneider) Bender is neither the Michael of Hamilton Township, nor the Michael who died in 1850. Those men are from another Bender family which can be traced back to Johann Leonhard Bender of Kirchardt, Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.⁹

Lessons?

1. Sometimes the available choices don’t actually apply to the person you’re researching.
2. It pays to dig in and research the hints.
3. Most importantly, remember that there are options other than what Ancestry’s hints provide you.

Unfortunately, this new research complicated my work on building out the Bender family tree by adding another, unrelated family to the mix. But at least now I know these families and the potential for mixing ’em up exists and can watch out for it.

Three Michael Benders:

Michael Bender, son of Jacob Nicolas Bender and Catharina Schneider, was born 15 October 1766, Philadelphia County, and married Susanna Schmoyer.

1. Elias Bender, born 27 September 1789, baptized 17 January 1790 at Benders Church
2. Samuel Bender, born 21 June 1791, baptized sometime between 27/29 August and 25 September at Benders Church (no baptism date recorded)
3. Jacob Bender, born 10 October 1794, baptized 26 April 1795 at Benders Church
4. Magdalena Bender, born 3 September 1796, baptized 23 October 1796 at Benders Church
5. Daniel Bender, born 4 June 1798, baptized 19 August 1798 at Benders Church
6. Rachel Bender, born 4 November 1802, baptized 19 February 1804 at Benders Church

There may be other children for this family.

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Michael Bender, son of Johann Leonhard Bender and Susanna Farni, was born 14 September 1765, baptized 15 September 1765 at the Moravian Church in Lancaster, and married Sophia Kurtz, 29 October 1793.

1. Sarah Bender, born 18 August 1794, baptized 14 September 1794 at the Moravian Church in Lancaster, died before 8 November 1835
2. Daniel Bender, born 9 November 1795, baptized 4 December 1794 at the Moravian Church in Lancaster, married Mary Spangler
3. Jacob Bender, born 9 August 1797, baptized 20 March 1798 at the Moravian Church in Lancaster
4. Susanna Bender married George Myers
5. Sophia Bender married Jacob Shunk

The children of this family were born in Lampeter Township, Lancaster County.

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Michael Bender, son of Michael Bender and Maria Margaretha Taubenberger, was born 17 July 1766, baptized 20 July 1766 at Lititz Moravian Church, and married Elizabeth Ziegler.

1. George Bender, born 22 December 1791, baptized 25 Dec 1791 at the Moravian Church in Lancaster
2. Anna Maria Bender, born 7 May 1794, baptized 30 May 1794 at the Moravian Church in Lancaster
3. Catharina Bender, born 23 January 1796, baptized 11 Feb 1796 at the Moravian Church in Lancaster
4. Michael Bender, born 3 January 1798, baptized 20 January 1798 at the Moravian Church in Lancaster
5. Ludwig (aka Lewis) Bender, born 29 October 1799, baptized 16 November 1799 at the Moravian Church in Lancaster

Michael and Elizabeth resided in Manor Township as of 1799. There may have been other children born in this family after 1800.

• Category: Research
• Tag: DNA, Family Research, Maternal Line