Marriage – A Pennsylvania Dutch Genealogy

1702 Marriage of John Jones & Margaret Waterman

Kris Hocker on 17 Nov 2014

I’ve been researching and gathering information on John Jones of Philadelphia, because I think I may be descended from him—although at this time it’s a really big leap. So, I’ve been searching through the Quaker meeting records on Ancestry, looking to document information that I’ve found in online forums.

One of the items I’m searching for is the maiden name of John Jones Jr.’s wife. According to an abstract of John Jones Sr.’s will, his son John was married to a woman named Margaret as of 28 Feb 1708. According to the Quaker meeting records, John Jones married Margaret Waterman. They announced their intention to marry on 29 Jan 1702 and again on 26 Feb 1702:

John Jones and Margaret Waterman appeared at this Meeting Declaring thier Intentions of Marriage with each other it being the first time Sarah Goodson and Hannah Carpenter are appointed to Enquire concerning her Clearness and make report thereof to the next monthly.¹

I was surprised by the date. My understanding was that John Jones (the father) married Margaret Waterman, widow of Humphrey Waterman, in 1696 and had their first child in 1697. What was with the 1702 date?

My confusion soon cleared, however, when I found the actual marriage record. It reads:

Whereas John Jones Son of John Jones of Philadelphia in the Province of Pennsylvania Merchant & Margaret Waterman Daughter of Humphrey Waterman late of the same place deceased having declared their intentions of taking Each other in Marriage before Several Monthly Meetings of the people of God called Quakers in Philadelphia aforesd according to the good order used amongst them Whose proceedings thereinafter due deliberation thereof and consent of parties and relations concerned they appearing clear of all others were approved by the said Meetings Now this is to certify all whom it may concern that for a full accomplishment of their said Intentions this Eleventh day of the first Month in the year according to the English account one Thousand Seven hundred & two they the said John Jones & Margaret Waterman appeared in a publick & solemn assembly of the aforesaid people mett together att their publick meeting house in Philadelphia aforesaid and in a solemn manner according to the Example of the holy men of God recorded in Scriptures of Truth He the said John Jones taking her the said Margaret Waterman by the hand declared as followeth (viz.) Friends In the Fear of the Lord and before this Assembly I take this my friend Margaret Waterman to be my Wife promising through the Lords assistance to be a failthfull & Loving husband till it shall please the Lord by death to Separate and then & there in the said Assembly the said Margaret Waterman Likewise declared as followeth (viz.) Friend In fear of God & before this Assembly I take this my friend John Jones to be my husband promising through gods assistance to be a faithfull & loving wife till it shall please God by death to Separate us and for a further confirmation thereof they the said John Jones & Margaret Waterman now (assuming the name of her husband) Margaret Jones did then & there to these presents sett their hands and we whose Names are here underwritten being present amongst others att the Solemnization of their said Marriage & Subscription as aforesaid have also to these presents as witnesses thereunto subscribed our Names the day & year above written²

The marriage intentions and marriage record refer to John Jones Jr. and Margaret Waterman, daughter of Humphrey Waterman. The couple signed the record “John Jones Junr.” and “Margaret Jones Junr.” Then—it appears to me—the family members signed after them.

John Jones Sen^r
Margaret Jones Sen^r
Jane Waterman
Rich^d Jones
Sam^l Jones
Marcy Waterman
Eliza Waterman
Grace Jones
Yeamans & Mary Gillingham

These names seem to be consistent with the family members of John Jones, merchant, of Philadelphia who came from Barbados in 1683, and his wife Margaret, formerly the widow of Humphrey Waterman, who also came to Philadelphia from Barbados. Furthermore, I also found the record of the marriage between John Jones [Sr.] of Philadelphia and Margaret Waterman in the records of the Abington Monthly Meeting. It was recorded in the minutes of the meeting on 30 Nov [9th mo] 1696.³

I’m not sure how Yeamans & Mary Gillingham fit in, but their names are grouped with the rest of the family members, so I expect I’ll be researching them, too.

19th Century Newspaper Death Notices

Kris Hocker on 28 Aug 2014

Newspapers can be an invaluable source of historical information to put our ancestors’ lives in context. But they can also provide direct content, such as BDM—birth, death, marriage—dates, about our ancestors, too. I have found casual, social news about family, marriage announcements, death announcements, and obituaries in newspapers where they lived during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The information provided in a newspaper can vary greatly—from the limited data of a death notice:

Died—On Tuesday last, in this borough [Harrisburg], Miss Amelia, daughter of the last Judge Henry dec’d.¹

to a short article:

During the storm of Thursday afternoon, Samuel Hocker was killed, in the vicinity of Spring Mills, Montgomery county, by lightning, while standing under a tree, with three other men. His companions were all stunned, but escaped without much injury.²

to a longer obituary:

Died—On Thursday the 3d instant, Thomas Girty, in the 90th year of his age.

The name of this veteran, and of some of his family, is associated with some of the most interesting events in the history of the first settlement of this country. Could the incidents of his life be collected they would form a valuable work, and give a proper idea of the intrepidity, enterprise, and heavy sufferings of that class of early settlers, who were formerly called Indian Hunters. Girty was born in 1731, in Shennan’s valley. He was taken prisoner with his whole family in ’55 by the Indians, and brought to Fort Kittaning, where his step father was burnt in his presence, at the stake. After this hellish transaction the four brothers and mother were sent off among the different tribes of the Northwestern Indians. Thomas Girty made his escape and fell in with General Armstrong. The rest of the family were exchanged in the year ’58 at General Forbes’ treaty.³

So, don’t discount newspapers because your ancestor wasn’t famous or a person of great importance. You might not find anything. But you might just hit the genealogy jackpot.

Friday Find: Hocker—Drake Marriage Announcement

Kris Hocker on 9 Nov 2012

Newspapers are a wonderful resource for finding not only the genealogical date, but the also the details that make a person’s life colorful.

For instance, from the marriage announcement for T.P. Drake and Alice Hocker, we find they were married at her sister’s home on 1426 Hubbard Street, Jacksonville and that the decorations included palms and cut flowers, that the bride wore “a costume of white satin trimmed with pearls and point lace,” and that “her long bridal veil was caught up with a pearl and diamond ornament.”¹ We also learn that they planned to live in Florida for most of the year, but spend their summers elsewhere.

Have you found any interesting details about the lives of your ancestors from newspapers?

Friday Finds: Marriage Record of Sarah Craig Buchanan

Kris Hocker on 2 Nov 2012

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

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

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

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

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

On This Date: Weidman, Leedy, Frantz & Neidig

Kris Hocker on 19 Mar 2012

On 19 Mar 1743, Mathias Martin Weidman, my 8x great grandfather, died in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

On 19 Mar 1912, my 3x great grandfather Samuel Krehl Leedy died in Upper Mifflin Township, Cumberland County. He’s buried in the Hill Cemetery near New Buffalo, Pennsylvania.

On 19 Mar 1812, Michael Frantz, my 4x great grandfather, and Elizabeth Neidig were married in Salem Lutheran Church in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.

On This Date: George & Mary Magdalena (Landis) Hocker

Kris Hocker on 2 Mar 2012

On 2 Mar 1819 George Hocker, son of Johan Adam & Sophia Maria (Hershey) Hocker, and Magdalena Landis, daughter of Henry and Catharine (___) Landis, were married at Zion Lutheran Church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. They were only married for six short years before she died in 1825.

Wordless Wednesday: Wieder Anniversary

Kris Hocker on 13 Apr 2011

Edwin and Mae (Waage) Wieder at 50th Wedding Anniversary

In honor of my great-grandparents wedding anniversary next Tuesday, April 19th…

Edwin J. Wieder, son of Emanuel J. and Alavesta (Dillinger) Wieder, married Mary Catharine “Mae” Waage, daughter of Dr. Charles Theodore and Lydia S. (Eshbach) Waage, on 19 Apr 1905 at Dr. Waage’s home in Pennsburg, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The couple had 55 years together before Edwin’s death on 22 Jan 1960 at age 79. Mae lived another ten years, dieing on 28 Nov 1970 at age 93.

The photo shows them on the 50th wedding anniversary on 19 Apr 1955. Their anniversary was written up in the Town and Country on 20 Apr 1955.

Wordless Wednesday: Wedding Photo

Kris Hocker on 6 Apr 2011

Russ and Mildred Greulich, 1937

A wedding photo taken on 12 Jun 1937 in front of the Grace Lutheran Church in Norristown. It includes (L to R): Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bobb, Edwin J. and Mary Catharine “Mae” (Waage) Wieder (parents of the bride), Gertrude Wieder (bride’s sister), Mildred (Wieder) Greulich, Russell Greulich, Lillian Witmer (Snyder) Greulich (groom’s mother), Helen Wieder (bride’s sister), Elmer Greulich (groom’s father), and ??.

Lizzie Bobb was a first cousin to Lydia (Eschbach) Waage, Mary Catharine (Waage) Wieder’s mother. She was, I believe, a daughter of Abraham H. and Margaretha Rebecca (Moyer) Bobb. There was a significant age gap between Lydia and Lizzie, placing Lizzie’s age closer to Mary Catharine’s. Lizzie can be found in many of the family photos.

Fearless Females: How Did They Meet?

Kris Hocker on 5 Mar 2011

Today’s entry to celebrate Women’s History Month in the blog meme Fearless Females is:

How did they meet? You’ve documented marriages, now, go back a bit. Do you know the story of how your parents met? Your grandparents?

My parents both went to Pennsylvania State College in Centre County, Pennsylvania. My father was in a fraternity and my mother in a sorority. They met, I believe, through those groups.

The Hockers, 1941

When my paternal grandmother was eighteen, she left Pine Glen and took a job as domestic help, looking after the children, the house, etc. for the Bogar family in Harrisburg. (She’s still friends with Mrs. Bogar!) My grandfather was working with his father, a carpenter, who was doing some work on the Bogar’s house when they met. My grandfather told us that he took one look at grandma and knew she was the woman he’d marry. She made him wait, however, until she was twenty-one and could get her mother’s blessing on the marriage.

I don’t know how my maternal grandparents met. They never talked about their families. I do know that the Greulichs and Wieders lived in neighboring communities in northern Montgomery County. My maternal grandparents were even cousins-by-marriage. My grandfather’s Aunt Katherine Greulich married my grandmother’s Uncle John William Wieder. Perhaps they met through the family. My grandfather’s parents, however, were not keen on the marriage. Apparently, E. J. Wieder, my grandmother’s father had “gone through a fortune” and that somehow made my grandmother a less than stellar match for their only son. Edwin J. Wieder was a jeweler for 30 years in Pennsburg—a business he opened shortly before his marriage in 1905. He was a postmaster for Pennsburg for nine years and a town burgess for eight years. He also served on the town council and as an auditor. It’s quite likely that he lost the jewelry business during the depression (1932-1935).

My grandmother was a physical education teacher by vocation, but a musician—a violinist—by avocation. My grandfather once told my mother that grandma’d turned down a career as a violinist to marry him. She likely got her passion for music from her mother Mary Catharine “Mae” Waage, who was a “successful and well liked music teacher” before her marriage.[1 “A Pretty Home Wedding,” Town and County, Apr 1905] Grandpa was also a amateur musician. He played trombone and one summer played in a shipboard band for his passage to Europe. My maternal grandmother also made my grandfather wait for marriage. They waited two years until she got her teaching certificate.

Fearless Females is, a blogging meme, presented by Lisa Alzo of The Accidental Genealogist blog in celebration of National Women’s History Month.

Fearless Females: Marriages

Kris Hocker on 4 Mar 2011

Elmer and Lillian (Snyder) Greulich (c 1901)

Today’s entry for Fearless Females is about family marriages:

Do you have marriage records for your grandparents or great-grandparents? Write a post about where they were married and when. Any family stories about the wedding day? Post a photo too if you have one.

Elmer and Lillian Greulich marriage record, 21 Sep 1901

My great-grandparents Elmer Calvin Greulich and Lillian Witmer Snyder were married on 21 Sep 1901 in East Greenville, Montgomery County, Pennsylvnia.¹ Elmer, born 6 Aug 1880, was the son of immigrant Karl Philipp (Charles Philip) Greulich and his second wife Caroline Krauss Wolf. Elmer was a cigarmaker. Lilliam, born 26 Oct 1879, was the daughter of Henry D. and Saraphine K. (Witmer) Snyder. She was a teacher.

My great-grandparents Edwin Joshua Wieder and Mary Catharine “Mae” Waage were married on 19 Apr 1905 in Pennsburg, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.² Edwin, born 29 Mar 1880, was the son of Emanuel and Alavesta Esther (Dillinger) Wieder. Edwin was a jeweler, then a baker and postmaster at Pennsburg. Mae, born 27 Oct 1877, was the daughter of Dr. Charles Theodore and Lydia S. (Eshbach) Waage of Pennsburg. She was a music teacher and later a postal clerk in Pennsburg. Coverage of their wedding stated:

E.J. Wieder and Mae Waage Marriage Record

“A Pretty Home Wedding. Amid Profuse Decorations in the Presence of a number of Relatives and Invited Guests Two if Our Young People are Married.

A pretty wedding was solemnized at 3:30 o’clock on Wednesday afternoon at the residence of Dr. C. T. Waage, of Pennsburg, when his only daughter, Miss Mae C. was united in marriage to E.J. Wieder Jr. of Pennsburg. The ceremony was performed by two uncles of the bridge, Revs. O.F. Waage, of Pennsburg, and Rev. Kehm, of Sellersville…

…The bride was attended by Miss Stella Troxell, cousin of the bride, of Philadelphia, and Charles W. Keely, of the firm Dotts & Keely, of Philadelphia, was best man. Miss Gertrude Anders, of Lansdale, presided at the piano, and Dr. Fred Waage, cousin of the bride, was usher…

…The guests present were Dr. and Mrs. C. T. Waage, parents of the bride, Mr. and Mars. E. J. Wieder, parents of the groom, John Wieder [brother], Miss Cora Wieder [sister], Miss Lizzie Bobb [cousin of the bride], Miss Ada V. Waage [aunt], Mrs. and Mrs. M. K. Gilbert, Dr. and Mrs. W. H. Hunsberger, Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Steckel, Misses Vinnie Mensch [cousin’s F.O. Waage soon-to-be bride], Nora Kneule, and Florence Dyson, of Pennsburg; Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Ott [groom’s cousins], and Mr. and Mrs. Emanuel Moyer [groom’s aunt and uncle] and daughter of Limeport; Mrs. Frank [Dillinger] Heller [groom’s aunt] of Standard; Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Anders, of Landsdale; Miss Alice Welker, of Red Hill; John Hillegass and Miss Bertha Raudenbush, of East Greenville; Mr. and Mrs. Charles Jacoby, Mr. and Mrs. Cressman, Mrs. Dr. Ritter, Harry Kehm [bride’s cousin] and Miss Tillie Cressman, of Sellersville, and George Welker, Mr. and Mrs. F. F. Huber, Mrs. C. F. Schoenly, George Day, Frank Haring, Misses Sarah Weil and Nora Keller, members of the St. Mark’s choir.”³

William and Isabella (Smith) Hocker

My great-grandparents William Howard and Isabella Aitken (Smith) Hocker were married 13 Oct 1914 in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania by Rev. H. Everett Hallman.⁴ Will, born 17 Aug 1890, was the son of Albert Curtin and Lillian Ainsley (Leedy) Hocker. Will was a carpenter. Isabella, born 4 Apr 1893, was the daughter of William and Eliza Craig (Bonnington) Smith. She was telephone operator in Harrisburg.

Clyde and Nora (Houdeshell) Hoover

My great-grandparents Clyde L. and Nora Melinda (Houdeshell) Hoover were married 16 Apr 1908 in Dubois, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania.⁵ Clyde, born 30 Oct 1886, was the son of Samuel Thomas and Victoria (Walker) Hoover of Pine Glen, Burnside Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania. Clyde was a lumberman. Nora, born 26 Oct 1891, was the daughter of George W. and Lovina Caroline (Force) Houdeshell. Nora, aged 16, was a cook at a lumber camp. Her father apparently told all his daughters at age 16 to either get married or get a job. Nora, I’m told, refused to give her consent to a marriage for any of her daughters who didn’t wait until they were 21 years old.

Fearless Females is, a blogging meme, presented by Lisa Alzo of The Accidental Genealogist blog in celebration of National Women’s History Month.

Tag: Marriage