2010 – Page 3 – A Pennsylvania Dutch Genealogy

Proving Your Ancestry

Kris Hocker on 9 Sep 2010

Rootsweb Review had an excellent article yesterday by Mary Harrell-Sesniak entitled “Have You Really Proved Your Ancestry.” The article starts out:

“Researchers often feel they’ve proved ancestry because they located family in one or more online trees.

But tying into a database doesn’t suffice as proof. For that, you need to verify an author’s sources and references – whether they are from original or derivative documents – and whether they can be treated as primary or secondary sources.”

One of the reasons I started posting my research online was because when I searched for information online all too often the data I found only referenced someone else’s family file as a source. And that’s if there were sources at all. Unless there are sources—and I mean documentation like birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates, estate files, wills, deeds, obituaries, etc.—how can you know if the information you find online has any substance?

It’s certainly easy enough to find someone with the right name in the right area, decide they’re related and add them to your file. But have you really proven anything? No. Unless you have sources that you can verify—and no, finding it in a book isn’t a verification—and analyze yourself you can’t know if what that other researcher found is true.

I found this last part out myself the hard way. I had reviewed another researcher’s work, gathered the documentation and verified that yes, indeed, they said what was claimed. So, the information was good, right? Hmm. Not so fast. I was ignoring the problems I kept seeing with the timelines regarding births of children and grandchildren (the parents were just TOO young), because all the data seemed to fit. Once I actually did the analysis, I found that several key documents that I already had—although very difficult to read—actually disproved the connection that the other researcher and I were trying to make.

So, yes, you need to find and verify sources. Do they exist? Do they say what the other researcher claimed? You also need to perform your own analysis of the source. Is it an original document or a derivative? It’s best to get as close to the original document as possible. Is the information in the document primary information—created at the time by someone with firsthand knowledge of the event—or secondary information—created after the fact? The closer to the original event the document was created, the more reliable the information is deemed.

Will: Christian Hoover (1771)

Kris Hocker on 8 Sep 2010

Christian Hoover of Heidelberg Township, York County wrote his last will & testament on 15 Feb 1771; it was proven on 21 Mar 1771. His wife Mary was his executor.¹

The following is a transcription of his will.

In the Name of God Amen I Christian Hoover of
Heidlebergh [sic] Township in the County of York and Province of Pennsylvania being
Weak of Body but of Sound and Perfect Mind and Memory Blessed be God
and calling to mind the Mortality of the Human Body and that is is Appointed
for all Men once to die Do make and Publish this my last Will and Testament in
Manner and form following (that is to say) Principally and first of all I recommend
my Soul to God who gave it and as for my Body I recommend it to the Earth to be
Buried in a Christian like and decent Manner at the Discretion of my Executrix
nothing doubting but at the General Resurrection I shall receive the same again by
the mighty power of God and as touching what Worldly Estate it hath pleased God to
bless me with in this life I give and devise and Bequeath in the following manner and
form I give and Devised unto my beloved Wife Mary all that my Plantation whereon
I now Dwell Situate in York County aforesaid as well as the Lands that I hold in right
of a certain John Digges as the that Granted me by the Honble [sic] the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania
with all and singular the appurtenances thereunto belonging to Hold to her and to
her Heirs and assigns forever subject nevertheless at her decease to the Payment of
three Hundred Pounds Lawful Money of Pennsylvania to be paid by her Heirs or
assigns in three equl [sic] Anual [sic] payments of one Hundred pounds each payment, the first
of which payment to be made in one Year after her decease into the Hands of Johannes Hoover
and Johannes Line in trust for the use of the Surviving Children of my tree Brothers namely
Jacob Hoover Ulrich Hoover and Henry Hoover so that they may have each share and share
alike Also I give unto my beloved wife aforesaid all my Goods and Chattles and Personal Estate
whatsoever that I may die Possess of and do allow her thereout to pay all my Just Debts, and
also the Sum of One hundred Pounds in two Years after my Decease into the Hands above named
Johannes Hoover and Johannes Line in trust for the use of the surviving Children of my
three brothers aforenamed to be divided equally between them share and share alike, and whereas
Johannes Keny son of my Sister Ann is Justly indebted to me in the Sum of Nine Pounds
Ten shillings it is my Will that he pay unto my Executrix the Sum of six Pounds part there
of and unto his Brother Henry Keny the sum of one pound fifteen shillings also part thereof
and the remaining Sum of one pound fifteen shillings I do bestow unto himself.

And I make and Appoint my said wife Mary Whole and Sole Executrix of this my
Last Will and Testament in hopes that she will see the same performed according to my
true Intent and meaning——And lastly I do hereby revoke all former and other Will or
Wills by me at any time heretofore made and Declare this only to be my last Will and
Testament. In Witness whereof I the said Christian Hoover have hereunto set me Hand
and seal this fifteenth Day of February in the Year of our Lord one thousand and seven hundred
and seventy one.
Christian [his X mark] Hoover

Signed Sealed Published and Declare
by the said Christian Hoover the Testator
as and for his last Will and Testament
in the Presence of Us who have subscribed
our names as witness thereto in the Presence
and at the request of the said Testator

James Calhoun
Christian Milheim
Casper Krapf

York County SS^r. Before me Samuel Johnston Esq^r Deputy Register for the Probate of Wills
and Granting Letters of Administration in and for the County of York in the Province of Pennsylvania
Personally appeared James Calhoun and Christian Milheim two of the subscribing witnesses
to the foregoing Instrument of Writing and on their Solemn Oaths respectively Taken according
to law Do respectively say that they were Personally present and saw and Heard the above named
Christian Hoover Sign Seal Publish and Declare the foregoing Instrument of Writing as and
for his last Will and Testament and that at the Time of the Doing thereof the said Christian
Hoover was of sound and Disposing mind and Memory to the Best of these Deponants [sic] knowledge
and Belief and that they subscribed their names as witnesses to the same in the presence of the
said Testator and at his request and that they also saw Casper Krapf sign the same as a
Witness in the Presence of the said Testator and at his request.
Jas. Calhoun
Christian Milheim

Sworn and Subscribed before me
at York the s^d Day of May 1771
Saml Johnston Dep Reg^r

A true copy compared with the Original at York the 23^d
Day of March 1771
Saml Johnston Dep Reg^r

Hershey Before Hershey

Kris Hocker on 3 Sep 2010

Hershey Before Hershey

Trolling about the internet following leads, I came across a site with some fantastic tools for those researching ancestors from Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. The site—Hershey before Hershey—is a collaboration between Hershey High School and the Hershey/Derry Township Historical Society in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The interact section includes lists of ancestors from the 1700s, 1800s, and 1900s, a list of tract holders from the warrantee township map with links to the tract surveys on the Pennsylvania Archives web site, and an interactive warrantee township map—a google map with the warrantee map as an overlay! The explore section includes information on various cemeteries and other places of historical interest—including a photo of the house of my 6 times great uncle Martin Hocker. The experience section includes brief histories of the townships, religious groups in the township and various ethnic groups.

Don’t Stop at the Abstract

Kris Hocker on 1 Sep 2010

Here’s my bit of wisdom for a Wednesday: don’t stop your research at the abstract. Find the full document. Why, you ask, when the abstracter extracted all the genealogical information from the document? Ah! But what if they didn’t?

According to Abstracts of York County Wills from 1749 to 1820, Christian Hoover of Heidelberg Township, York County, Pennsylvania wrote his will 10 Feb 1771 and it was proven 21 Mar 1771. His wife Mary was his executor. The abstract lists no one else.

However, if you read the will, Christian stipulates that after Mary’s death there are to be 3 yearly payments of £100 pounds to be paid by her heirs or assigns “into the Hands of Johannes Hoover and Johannes Line in trust for the use of the Surviving Children of my three Brothers namely Jacob Hoover Ulrich Hoover and Henry Hoover…and whereas Johannes Keny son of my sister Ann…unto his brother Henry Keny…”¹ That’s some important family information missing from the abstract.

I’ve seen this will referenced as evidence that Christian Hoover, son of Gregor Jonas and Anna Maria (Kreutzer) Hoover, died childless and left his estate to his brother Johannes Hoover of Manheim Township, Lancaster County and his children. From the will we can determine that Christian probably died childless—he doesn’t name or make any reference to having any—and he does leave his estate to his nieces and nephews. However, he lists his brothers as Jacob, Ulrich and Henry, and a sister Ann and her sons Johannes and Henry Keny [Kuny], making no reference to a brother named John. The money from his estate is left in the hands of a John Hoover, but he is not named as being a brother.

A Grave Matter

Kris Hocker on 30 Aug 2010

Jacob and Catharine Ritter had nine children who all died between 1834 and 1852, none older than 2 years. They—and other family members—were all buried in the family cemetery on the family farm. Unfortunately, no one is quite certain where the cemetery was located.

In June construction crews working on a development in Penn Township, Lancaster County uncovered 21 gravestones for Ritter children and other members of the Ritter, Longenecker, Wolff and Minnich families, wood and what may be bone. The stones were all stacked on top of one another, indicating that they’d been moved at some time, possibly in order to till the plot. Work at the site immediately stopped.

Now it’s time to decide what to do with the remains. The final decision may be based on determining where the cemetery actually was. So far, the lawyers for the developer have not been able to find a record of the cemetery. The farm was owned in 1869 by Jacob Ritter and in 1879 by Peter Longenecker. Through deeds they’ve determined that some of Peter Longenecker’s heirs were Minnichs. They attempted to contact possible relatives in the area via mailing, but received no response.

The developer would like to move the headstones to Mellinger Mennonite Cemetery, 12 miles away. Grave Concern believes the burial site should be preserved and would like the area fenced off. A Lancaster County Judge has asked them to look into a compromise. A Penn Township manager has suggested the artifacts could be moved to one of two lots on the site that were slated to remain open ground.

What do you think they should do?

For more information you can view an article in the Harrisburg Patriot-News or a follow-up in the Lancaster Intelligencer.

Friday Finds: FamilySearch Wiki

Kris Hocker on 27 Aug 2010

In looking for information about Roxburghshire, Scotland I came across the FamilySearch Wiki information on Scotland. This site includes information on all the Scottish counties, including information on available records (census, court records, civil registration, etc.), maps, and its parishes. The parish pages will tell you about the records available for that parish, including church and civil records.

I found it quite informative—especially the list of parishes in each county and the parish information. The pages also point to another site I’ve used successfully—Scotlands People (the Scottish Records Office)—to find census, birth, marriage and death records.

It also points to a site that has UK census records online—for free! I found my ancestor William Bonnington in the old town of Galashiels in Selkirkshire in the 1841 census. It doesn’t give you an image to view like Scotlands People does, but it will show you the household and its associated information. You can click to view the previous or next household if you want to see more about the neighbors. The data is not 100% for every county for every census, but there is a page to see the database stats for each.

Friday Finds: Scottish Maps

Kris Hocker on 20 Aug 2010

One of the joys of browsing other genealogy blogs—besides getting ideas on how to organize information, which always intrigues the designer in me—is finding new goodies to help my research. So, hat’s off to Kathleen Moore for finding and posting two helpful maps of Scotland in her blog “The Misadventures of a Genealogist”.

The first is a map showing the locations of the various Scottish clans. The only surname I recognize from my family is Buchanan, shown just to the north of the Highland border line, northwest of Glasgow. My Buchanans seemed to have been miners and were located in Shotts in Lanarkshire.

Scottish Clan map (src: Geneawiki)

The second map shows the administrative subdivisions in Scotland. The majority of my Scottish ancestors lived in Lothian (East, West & Mid), Lanarkshire, and parts of the Scottish Borders.

Scottish Administrative Subdivisions (src: Wikipedia)

Tombstone Tuesday: E.J. & Alavesta Wieder

Kris Hocker on 17 Aug 2010

Emanuel J. Wieder (1855-1929) & Alavesta (Dillinger) Wieder (1857-1923)

Emanuel J. Wieder was born 11 Nov 1855 in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, youngest son of Saulus and Anna (Mechling) Wieder. He died 26 Jul 1929 and was buried 30 Jul 1929 in St. Mark’s Union Cemetery in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania. He married Alavesta Esther Dillinger on 10 Jun 1878 in Upper Saucon Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. She was born 19 Oct 1857 in Lehigh County, daughter of William and Helena (Person) Dillinger. She died 11 Jan 1923 and was buried 16 Jul 1923 in Pennsburg.

The couple had three children who are also buried in the plot with their spouses: Edwin Joshua Wieder (1880-1960) and his wife Mary Catharine Waage (1877-1970), Cora Anna Wieder (1886-1964) and her husband Vallandingham S. Trumbore (1883-1968), and John William Wieder (1887-1972) and his wife Katharine Jane Greulich (1887-1960).

Do You Know Your Family Health History?

Kris Hocker on 14 Aug 2010

We’ve all heard how diseases can now be predicted by blood tests that search our DNA for specific markers, thus proving that a lot of the most common ailments run through our family lines. Tracing your family’s medical history for illnesses that have affected your parents, grandparents and other relatives can tell you something about the possibilities for your future health. Even the Surgeon General has a campaign—the Family History Initiative—to encourage Americans to learn all they can about their family health history.¹

So, how can you go about it? The best way to start is simply to ask family members. Some information may be kept private, but folks will usually talk about the most common illnesses—heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and diabetes—or the medications they or family members are taking. Try to get information on family members as far back as you can. Write this information down to share it with your doctor.

Where else can you get health information, especially for relatives your family never knew? Death certificates.

Elmer Greulich Death Certificate Medical Information

Elmer Greulich’s cause of death

We all know death certificates can be helpful in identifying the names of a previous generation—the parents of the deceased. But these documents also provide information on the cause of death and contributing factors. While the cause of death is important, the contributing factors may actually tell you more about the state of your relative’s health.

For instance, the death certificate of my ancestor Elmer Greulich lists his cause of death as a “coronary occlusion.”² This is a blockage of a coronary artery, which may cause a heart attack. Fairly common. The contributory causes include hypertensive arteriosclerosis and cardiovascular disease, present for 10 years. Not a big surprise given his cause of death.

However, they also include “diabetes mellitus.” This is a major piece of family health information—especially since cardiovascular disease can be caused by diabetes. Knowing that diabetes is present in your family is an important piece of information to share with your doctor. Untreated it can cause all types of nasty damage to your body and lead, ultimately, to death. Given Elmer’s age at death—66—it is more likely that he had type-2 diabetes. Type-1 diabetes left untreated would have probably killed him much younger.

I’ve also learned that some scientists believe that if your mother has type-2 diabetes, you’re more likely to get the disease.³ Elmer’s mother died of gangrene of the foot.⁴ Diabetes can cause reduced blood flow or lack of circulation, leading to “dry gangrene”. ⁵ At this point, I’ll probably never know for sure if she had diabetes, but the possibility is there. It’s certainly worth learning the cause of death for her other children, or possibly her siblings.

Obituaries can also provide information regarding a relative’s health. Elmer’s obituary states that he was “partially blind the last four years and in ill health for several years.” So, it is likely that his death was the result of diabetes as changes in vision and blindness can be long-term effects of the disease.⁶

Where have you found family health history information?

Family Photo Galleries

Kris Hocker on 12 Aug 2010

I’ve started uploading additional images to a new set of pages in the Galleries section of this site. The first new page is a family photos page for the Greulich family. It includes family portraits from 1887, 1901, 1929, and 1941/2, starting with a family portrait of the Karl Philipp and Caroline K. (Wolf) Greulich family.

Charles Greulich family (c 1887)

Karl was the first Greulich in our family to settle in America. He emigrated from Haag, Germany in 1855 after the death of his parents Georg Philipp and Anna Margaretha (Wurzel) Greulich. He was 17 years old. Sometime after his arrival, he anglicized his first name to Charles. He married Caroline K. Wolf, daughter of Joel and Elizabeth (Krauss) Wolf of Upper Hanover Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania in August 1864. He had previously been married to Caroline’s sister Susanna K. Wolf, who died in 1863. Charles and Caroline had children: Clarence Jefferson (1865-1865), Morris Linton (1866-1931), Irwin Franklin (1867-1934), Charles Ambrose (1869-1942), Chester Daniel (1871-1939), Lily Elenora (1873-1936), Hannah Louisa (1875-1929), Nevin Wilson (1876-1949), Anna E. (1878-1945), Elmer Calvin (1880-1947), Flora (1883-1950), Carrie A. (1885-1963), Katharine Jane (1887-1960). Charles and Susanna had one child Emilie Matilda (1863-1863).

I hope to also be including a family documents gallery which will hold scanned deeds, wills, estate records, etc.—basically any documentation of interest. This will also allow me to link from the footnotes on my family pages directly to the relevant document.

Year: 2010