2012 – A Pennsylvania Dutch Genealogy

How Old Were They?

Kris Hocker on 31 Dec 2012

When judging a document to determine whether or not it applies to your ancestor, it’s always a good idea to keep in mind how old they were. If they weren’t old enough to buy land, then maybe that deed belongs to someone else.

But do you know how old they had to be?

Today, we need to be eighteen to vote or join the military, twenty-one (in most states) to drink alcohol legally, and sixteen in order to obtain a driver’s license. In colonial times, there were also age-based restrictions and they often varied from state to state.

If you’re researching in colonial Pennsylvania like me, you’re pretty lucky; it’s very clear cut. A person obtained legal age at 21. Before that they were required to have a guardian for their estate and that guardian was responsible for all legal actions on their behalf. Before the age of 14, the Orphans Court chose and appointed a guardian for a child. After the age of 14, a child could request a specific person to be appointed as their guardian by the court.

But what if you don’t know how old they were?

Knowing the age-based legal restrictions can help you to estimate a time frame for person’s birth. A child who requested a guardian would have to be between the ages of 14 and 21, giving you a seven year date range for their birth. A man who appears in a Pennsylvania tax list would have to be 21 years-old, giving you a year that he would’ve been born in or before.

For more information on this subject you can read “Legal Age in the Colonies” by Robert Baird or the series “How Old Did Folks Have to Be?” on the Legal Genealogist.

Cite This Page Plugin

Kris Hocker on 28 Dec 2012

I recently had a question from another blogger about the page citation that I display on every post and some pages. I don’t use a plugin to add it to the page—I wrote the PHP myself and included in my templates. But it got me thinking about how it could be useful as a plugin for other genealogy bloggers who self-host their WordPress blogs.

So, I spent the morning putting together a simple plugin. The plugin is currently configured to appear only on posts (only on the individual post page, not the main index page), not pages, and does not include any options for customization. For an example of what it displays, please see the end of this post (gray box not included).

So, how does it put the citation together? The first name and last name comes from those fields in the post author’s user profile. The page title and site name come from post title and blog name and description. The modified date is generated from the last time the page was saved and the accessed date is generated from the current date.

I am looking for testers to make sure that it will work and who can provide feedback and suggestions to make it work better. If you’d like to participate, please get in touch.

Friday Find: William Penn’s Charter

Kris Hocker on 28 Dec 2012

Do you ever wonder about the laws governing colonial Pennsylvania? You can read William Penn’s charter and the early laws of the colony online.

How to Use the Pennsylvania Probate Records on FamilySearch

Kris Hocker on 26 Dec 2012

The FamilySearch website includes a collection entitled “Pennsylvania, Probate Records, 1683-1994.” While it isn’t indexed and doesn’t include every county, it’s pretty easy to use once you figure it out.

Probate records can provide quite a bit of family information on your ancestor. A will may tell you how the decedent wanted his property divided and who was to get which pieces. You can get the name of a spouse, children, and associates—as the executor and witnesses were usually people the individual knew and trusted. A will may also point you to other documents. For instance, if the individual ordered that their real estate be sold, you might be able to locate deeds for the sale.

Intestate records may provide the names of the individual’s spouse and children, especially if they were minors and required guardians for their estate or if the decedent’s property needed to be partitioned. In the latter case, you should be able to find deed records for the transfer of ownership to the heir who accepted the property. Later deed transactions may also help you prove family relationships between individuals where there may not be other evidence.

Using this collection is not difficult. Navigating your way through it reminds me a lot of the “old days” of sitting down at a microfilm reader. There are no quick links directly to the information for which you’re looking. So, you’ll need to bounce around until you get to the right page.

Let’s take a look at the Lancaster County probate records.

FamilySearch Pennsylvania Probate Records collection

The available records for Lancaster County include indexes for Letters of Administrations 1730-1830, Orphans’ Court records 1742-1755, and Wills 1729-1947, and Will Books 1730-1908, volumes 1A through 2R. To find a will, you need to start with Will indexes.

Let’s try to find a will for Henry Huber of Martic Township. I start with “Will Index 1729-1949 A-K.” Clicking on the link pulls up the first frame.

Next I’ll need to try to locate the page(s) that include the Huber surname for first names beginning with the letter “H.” You could scroll page by page, but I usually estimate a starting point and go back/forth from there until I locate the page. I guestimated about image 200 and came up short with the Daub surname and jumped forward until I landed in close proximity to my target, then scrolled image-by-image until I hit the right page. All in all, I’d say it only took a few minutes to find the entry for Henry Huber.

As you can see from the image (click to enlarge), Henry Huber is the first entry. His will was dated 1757 and is located in Will Book B1, page 202. Since the book is online, I can go to find a copy of the will.

Click on the word “Lancaster” in the breadcrumb trail above the image to open the list of links to available books again.

I clicked on “Wills 1730-1773 vol A-B.” Book B is the second book in this series, so I need to jump forward until I’ve reached it. If there are two books, I go forward about half the number of images and adjust from there. Each image for a book contains a two-page spread, so jumping forward 10 images will jump you ahead 20 pages.

A little back and forth and ta-da! Henry Huber’s 1757 last will and testament.

The various counties in Pennsylvania have different records available to view. For instance, York and Adams counties not only have wills, but also the orphans court records. That means that you can find proceedings for intestates and guardianship petitions. The format of the indexes may also vary from county to county. Instead of a strictly alphabetical and chronological list, some of them use the Russell key indexing system. It uses key letters within the surname to index the names in groups which are then separated out by first name.

If you have Pennsylvania ancestors, give the collection a try and let me know what you find! If you have questions, you can let me know those, too.

An Unexpected Christmas Gift

Kris Hocker on 26 Dec 2012

A Christmas card arrived from my mother’s first cousin once removed—a first cousin to both her mother and father—and in it was an unexpected Christmas gift. I’ve tried unsuccessfully to find my GG grandfather Gruelich’s immigration to the United States. Even though we know what year he came, I still couldn’t find the ship’s name or what happened to him after his arrival.

Well, Bill found it! George Jacob, Carl Greilich (Greulich) and Emma Greilich (Eva Greulich) arrived in New York City on 28 Jan 1856 aboard the ship Dorette from Bremen. George Jacob is listed as aged 33, a mechanic, Carl is listed as aged 17, a mechanic, and “Emma” is listed as aged 23, occupation unknown.

According to family lore, George Jakob—a half-brother to Carl and Emma—traveled to the U.S. with his siblings, but continued his journey and went on to South America. We don’t know where on the continent, however. Eva Catharina Greulich supposedly went on to Binghamton, New York and married.

A Theory Regarding Christian Huber’s Sister Ann

Kris Hocker on 24 Dec 2012

A little while back I did a series of posts about Christian Hoover of Heidelberg Township, York County, including a transcript of his inventory and the clues—or lack thereof—found in his wife’s probate file. Yesterday while researching the estate of Henry Küny (aka Keuny, Kuny, Kiny, Keiny, Keny), presumably the husband of Christian’s sister Ann, I came up with a new theory.

Let’s start with Christian’s will. In it he states: “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.”¹

Christian does not name his sister’s husband, just her sons Johannes and Henry. Information I found online named Henry Keuny of Germany Township as the husband of Ann Huber. And indeed this Henry had a wife named Ann and sons named Johannes and Henry.² Seems like a match, right?

And here’s the rub. At an Orphans Court on 26 Mar 1782, Ann Keiny petitioned the court for guardians for her children “John Keiny aged thirteen and upwards and Anna aged nine years and upwards and Henry aged seven years and upwards, and Barbara aged four years and upwards, and Jacob aged about eleven months.”³ John, son of Henry and Ann Keuny, would have been three years old in 1771 when Christian wrote his will; their son Henry wouldn’t have been born yet! How can a three year old be indebted to his uncle? And was Christian a psychic to know Ann would have a son named Henry about four years after his death?

The answer, of course, is that it’s not really possible that Christian was referring to the children of Henry Küny of Germany Township in his will. Here’s where my eureka moment comes in. I believe that Christian was referring to Henry Küny of Germany Township as his sister’s son in his will. So, where’s Henry’s brother, Johannes Küny?

John Küny of Germany Township was named guardian of Henry and Anna Küny’s children Magdalena, John, Anna, Henry, Barbara, and Jacob. So, there was both a Henry Küny and a John Küny, most likely a relative and quite possibly his brother, living in Germany Township. Both John and Henry Kiny are listed in the 1779 and 1780 tax lists for Germany Township.⁴ Henry Küny died in 1781 and only John Kenney and the Widow Kenney are listed in the 1781 tax list for Germany Township.⁵

At an Orphans Court on 30 Nov 1790, “Henry Keeny aged fifteen years and upwards” petitioned the court for a new guardian, as did “Henry Danner, Executor of the Last Will and Testament of John Keeny deceased,” on behalf of Barbara and Jacob Keeny.⁶ So, John Küny died in 1790.

A search of the Pennsylvania probate records on FamilySearch.org shows John Küny of Germany Township wrote his last will and testament on 16 Jan 1790. It was proven on 4 Jun 1790. It named his wife Anna, only daughter Anna, wife of Adam Gissler, granddaughter Magdalena Gissler, grandson John Gissler, and niece and nephew, Barbara and Jacob Küny, children of his brother Henry.⁷ Henry Danner and John Kehr were named as his executors. The will was witnessed by George Miller, John Thomas and John Summer.

So, Henry and John Küny of Germany Township were, in fact, brothers. What else can we learn about them?

John Küny land survey

John Küny (as Kieny) warranted a tract of land containing 100 acres in Germany Township on 16 Jun 1763 and a tract of 50 acres on 30 Apr 1765.⁸ The tracts were surveyed on 10 Aug 1765.⁹ This means that John was in York County by Jun 1763 at the latest. I found no warrants or patents for Henry Küny though the tax lists indicate he owned 100 acres in Germany Township.

A Johannes Küny arrived in Philadelphia aboard the ship Brothers on 30 Sep 1754.¹⁰ Also onboard were a Jacob Huber and a Christian Huber—relatives, perhaps?¹¹ A Henrich Küny arrived aboard the ship Myrtilla on 21 Sep 1765.¹²

What does this mean for researching Christian Huber? To be entirely honest, I’m not exactly sure. I believe it makes it more likely that Christian—and apparently his brothers, too—were immigrants, not first-generation Americans. Although that’s always a possibility in colonial research, 1749 is late enough that Christian’s parents might have been early immigrants.

Since Johannes and Henry Küny were presumably immigrants, born in Europe, finding their parents in Europe may also provide the location of Christian Huber’s birth. That, in turn, may provide additional information on his brothers that helps me to identify them in Pennsylvania. At least, that’s what I’m hoping.

1805 Petition for Partition of Ulrick Hoover’s Real Estate

Kris Hocker on 23 Dec 2012

I’ve been researching Ulrich Huber of Adams and York County recently. Here’s a transcript of the petition to partition his York County property put forth by his son Henry Hoover.

To the Honorable the Judges of the Orphans Court of York County
The Petition of Henry Hoover one of the sons of Ulrick Hoover late of Adams County who died Intestate Humbly Showeth—

That the said Ulrick Hoover lately died Intestate leaving a widow named Eve; and John Hoover his eldest son, Susanna intermarried with John Roerbach, Michael, Catherine, Eve, intermarried with George Werley; George, Henry Peter, Elizabeth, Mary, Barbara, David and Sarah; and Eve, Catherine, Elizabeth and [empty space], grandchildren of said Intestate, being children of Intestates daughter Magdalena who was intermarried with Philip Keller, and died in the lifetime of her father; all lawfull issue or their Representatives to Survive him—

That said Intestate died seized in his Demesne as of fee of three messuages one Merchant mill one saw mill and five hundred acres or there abouts of land situate in Manheim Township, York County, adjoining land of Jacob Keller, George Werley, Andreas Miller George Peter & Peter Sabel—

That the widow children and grand children of said intestate hold the said messuages mills and tract of land as tenants in common and undivided—

Your Petitioner, therefore prays your Honors to direct an Inquest, to make division or partition of the Real estate of said Intestate, to and amongst the widow children and children of his deceased daughter Magdalena if the same will admit of such division or partition without prejudice to or spoiling the whole but if the same can not be so divided without prejudice to or spoiling the whole then to divide the same into as many parts or parcels as the same will admit of without prejudice to or spoiling the whole and value the same each parcel separately

But if the same will not admit of division or partition as all without prejudice to or spoiling the whole then to value the whole undivided according to the writ of General Assembly in just case made & provided & your Petitioner shall prey [?]

Henry Huber [signed in German]¹

I received a digital version of his estate files from the York County Archives. It included this partition request, a draught of Henry Hoover’s portion and a draught of George Hoover’s portion of the partitioned lands, and Michael Hoover’s refusal to take any of his father’s real estate.

The clerk’s record of this petition also included the following:

Whereupon it is ordered by the Court that the Sheriff of the County of York, in his proper person with twelve good and lawful men of his Bailiwick in the presence of all the parties who shall choose to attend, or the Guardians of such of them as are Minors, they having respectively had due due [sic] and legal notice thereof Do hold an Inquest on the aforesaid premises and make partition thereof to and amongst the Widow and children and grand children of the said deceased (preference being give to the eldest son)

If the same will admit of such partition without prejudice to or spoiling the whole. Otherwise to value the who undivided According to the Act of Assembly in such case made and provided and that the said Sheriff do make return of said Inquisition as well under his own hand and Seal as the hands and seals of said Inquest to the next Orphans Court after the same shall be held.²

Surname Saturday: Henry D. Snyder

Kris Hocker on 22 Dec 2012

Henry Snyder (1859-1931)

My great great grandfather Henry D. Snyder, son of Joseph and Judith (Deysher) Snyder, was born 3 Mar 1859 in Pennsylvania, probably in Montgomery or Bucks counties.¹ He died in Upper Hanover, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania on 30 Sep 1931.

About 1879, Henry married Saraphine K. Witmer, daughter of Edward J. and Lydia Amanda (Kline) Witmer of Bucks County. Saraphine was born 30 Oct 1861 in near Pennsburg, Marlborough Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.² She died 4 Aug 1938 in Lansdale, Hatfield Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania where she was living with her daughter and son-in-law.

Henry and Saraphine (Witmer) Snyder had one child, a daughter:

Lillian Witmer Snyder, born 26 Oct 1879 in Marlborough Township, Montgomery County and died 13 Feb 1949 in Sellersville Hospital, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She married Elmer Calvin Greulich, son of Charles and Caroline (Wolf) Greulich, on 21 Sep 1901 in East Greenville, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

Surname Saturday: William Smith

Kris Hocker on 15 Dec 2012

William Smith, my great great grandfather, was born 25 Sep 1851 in Greenburn, Whitburn district, West Lothian, Scotland.¹ He was the son of James and Isobel/Isabella (Aitken) Smith.² He died on 23 Feb 1905 in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.³ He was allegedly buried in Paxtang Cemetery in a grave donated by a family friend (or his son James was), although his death record states he was buried in Harrisburg Cemetery. I’ve not been able to prove or disprove either location.

William and his children have somewhat difficult to research—as one might expect given their surname. I was able to trace William as a boy in Scotland through the 1851 and 1861 Scottish census entries for his family. On 30 Mar 1851, James, Isabella and their children were living at Crossroads in Whitburn parish in Linlithgow, Scotland.⁴ William was listed as age 2.

James and Isabella both died in 1856, leaving their children orphans.⁵ Their sons—Thomas and William—were living with their aunt and uncle Margaret and Thomas Smith in Whitburn parish, Linlithgow in 1861.⁶ Thomas was working as an “engine man,” probably at nearby mine with his Uncle William who was a miner, while William was still in school.

Sometime after this William went to work as a ship’s engineer, presumably for the White Star line. Wingeard states William tried to emigrate to New York in 1871, but he must have returned to Scotland as he married Eliza Craig Bonnington on 12 Dec 1882 at The Manse, Uphall Parish, Linlithgow, Scotland.⁷ The daughter of Peter Purvis and Elizabeth (Buchanan) Bonnington, Eliza was born 2 Oct 1866 in Juniper Green, Colinton parish, Midlothian, Scotland.⁸ Eliza died 18 Oct 1846, at age 80, in Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.⁹

William must have been determined to come to America, though. He filed a declaration of intent to become an American citizen in Berks County on 20 Sep 1886 and became a U.S. citizen on 12 Jan 1893 in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. William and Eliza must have come over together and sent for their young children after they’d settled, because young James and Bess Smith were living with their grandparents on 2 Apr 1871 in Loanhead parish, Midlothian, Scotland.¹⁰

The family was all together, living in Harrisburg in Jun of 1900 at 1437 Zarker Street.¹¹ William is listed as an engineer as is his eldest son James. According to the census, he immigrated in 1887 and had been in the U.S. for 13 years. This is the only document I have that shows the whole family together. William died just 4½ years after the census; his youngest son, Robert, was only 5 years old.

William and Eliza Craig (Bonnington) Smith had six children:

Elizabeth “Lizzie” Smith, born and died 17 Jun 1884, Liberton parish, Midlothian, Scotland
James Smith, born 22 Jun 1885, Liberton parish, Midlothian, Scotland and may have died in Texas or Pennsylvania
Elizabeth Marian “Bess” Smith, born 31 Oct 1887 in Liberton parish, Midlothian, Scotland and died 3 Jan 1973, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania; she married Frank L. Lutz on 7 May 1917 in Elkton, Maryland
William “Willie” M. Smith, born 28 Mar 1892, Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania and may have died in France after WWI
Isabella Aiken Smith, born 4 Apr 1893 and died 21 Jul 1962 in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania; she married William Howard Hocker on 13 Oct 1914 in Harrisburg.
Robert “Bobbie” Thomas Alexander Smith, born 7 Apr 1899 in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania and died 12 Nov 1970 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania; He married a woman named Ruth.

Friday Find: Deutche Digitale Biblithek

Kris Hocker on 14 Dec 2012

Thanks to the Digital Public Library of America’s blog post I found the German Digital Library. The goal of the library is “to offer everyone unrestricted access to Germany’s cultural and scientific heritage, that is, access to millions of books, archived items, images, sculptures, pieces of music and other sound documents, as well as films and scores, from all over Germany.”¹ Rather than providing only online access to the collection of one institution, these items will be from archives, libraries, museums, etc. from across Germany. The digital library will serve as a central access point, providing easy access to artifacts that demonstrate Germany’s unique heritage and knowledge.

The site is in beta, so obviously it’s incomplete, but I was able to quickly and easily find sources for my ancestral town simply by typing “Rußheim” in the search engine. Among the search results were church books from the early 1800s— the “Rußheim, evangelische Gemeinde: Standesbuch.” I was able—I think—to locate a record for my 4th cousin 5 times removed, Johan Friedrich Hacker. I don’t speak German and I have difficulty in reading the German script, but I was able to recognize key words, including “mother,” “father,” and the names associated with each.

I get a thrill in viewing original records, even if it’s only by remote through an online digital version. This record was written down 181 years ago with pen and ink and paper in a bound book and now I can view it from across an ocean without leaving my house! Rather extraordinary.

Take a look through the site and let me know what you find!

Year: 2012