Andreas “Andrew” Hoover (Huber, Hubner), son of Gregor Jonas and Anna Maria (Kruetzer) Huber, was born 1 Jan 1723 in Ellerstadt, Bad Dürkheim, Germany and baptized 7 Feb 1723/5 in Ellerstadt, sponsored by Andreas Hartman. [1, 2] He died sometime between 25 May and 24 Jul 1784 in Union Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania.[3]
Andrew married Catharine (___) probably about 1743, in Germany and quite possibly in Ellerstadt or a nearby village. Some family researchers have given her family name as Waymire, but I have seen no evidence to prove this and it’s possibly a confusion with the wife of other Andrew’s (1738, Two Sisters, Ittlingen) son Andrew, who married a Waymire.
Andrew Hoover emigrated—and likely his wife and several children—to the United States in 1754 aboard the ship Edinburgh, captained by James Russel from Rotterdam to Philadelphia. He took the oath of allegiance on 30 Sep 1754 at the Courthouse in Philadelphia.[4] There was also a Johannes Huber on the Edinburgh, but at this time no relationship is known.
By Feb 1755, Andrew had obtained the “Cousins Obligation” in old Frederick County, Maryland near present day Leitersburg. He and his wife, Catharine, raised their family there until 1763, when Andrew sold this property to Jacob Retter.[5] Andrew was a co-executor of the will of Jacob Leiter, founder of Leitersburg, in 1765, so likely remained in the area even after selling his property in 1763. On Nov 24 1772, Andrew purchased from John Snavely “Warm Weather” a tract of 28.5 acres.[6] In 1776 Andrew witnessed the will of Leonard Stephen.[7] On 28 Sep 1779, Andrew bought 140.5 acres from Francis and William Deahnis, a tract called “Resurvey on What You Know.”[8] These latter two tracts were sold to Jacob Shank after Andrew’s death in 1784. Henry, Andrew’s “son and heir-at-law” and co-executor of his estate, completed this sale from Fayette County on 24 Feb 1785.[9]
Andrew and his family were possibly Mennonites and were therefore religious objectors during the Revolution. In 1776 Andrew and several members of his family (as well as several other Hoovers) were fined for not serving in or contributing to the war effort by the Committee of Observation for Elizabeth Town District (now Hagerstown).[10] Fines were as follows:
John Hoover, 2 shillings (likely Andrew’s son)
Henry Hoover, 2 shillings (likely Andrew’s son)
Andrew Hoover, not fined, over 50 years (Andrew)
John Hoover, not fined, over 50 years (probably Hoover/Sweeper line)
John Hoover Jr., 2 shillings (probably Hoover/Sweeper line)
Jacob Hoover, 2 shillings (probably Hoover/Sweeper line)
Oulerich Hoover, 6 shillings (probably Hoover/Sweeper line, Ulrich)
Christian Hoover, 5 shillings (probably Hoover/Sweeper line)
John Huntzaker, 5 shillings (likely Andrew’s son-in-law)
Nicholas Huntzaker, 5 shillings (John’s brother)
Additionally, a gun was confiscated from five-year-old George Hoover. It’s possible—maybe even likely—that this George was the son of Henry and grandson of Andrew. A Henry Hoover “non associator” had a “Musket delivd to Captn Samuel Hughes” in 1777.[10]
About 1769, one of Andrew’s sons went west to land newly opened to settlers in Western Pennsylvania. Jacob was definitely in the area by 1770 as he had a settlement of 400 acres, as well as possibly another of 1000 acres on Dunkards Creek, Monongalia County, Virginia, adjoining the lands of Nicholas Shinn. Jacob was given this land by Virginia in 1781 (based on the 1770 settlement).[11] An early deed in “Youghiogini County,” Virginia named that county as the place Andrew Hoover [Jr.] lived.[12]
It is not known exactly when the other members of the family moved to Fayette County, but it was likely sometime around 1779. Andrew Hoover bought about 212 acres of land from John Waller on the Redstone Creek (possibly to the east of Uniontown) on 5 Nov 1779. His son Andrew Jr., millwright, and son-in-law John Huntzaker purchased 28 acres of land from John Waller close to Andrew Sr.’s land. Also, these two men received lots in Uniontown during a lottery in 1776.
Andrew and Catharine (___) Hoover had children, as follows:
- John2 Hoover, born ca 1744, Germany; married Mary (___); possibly moved to Licking County, Ohio sometime after 1810?
- Jacob Hoover, born ca 1746, probably Germany, died bef 8 Sep 1800, German Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania; married Anna Maria (___).
- Henry Hoover, born 1/4 Dec 1748, probably Germany, died 23 Sep 1823, Johnstown, Licking County, Ohio; married Eve Hamline.
- Maria Catharine Hoover, born ca 1750, probably Germany, died Maryland or Ohio; married John Harbaugh before 1777 in Maryland
- Elisabeth Hoover, born 10 Jun/Sep 1752, probably Germany, died 18 Apr/May 1791/2 by Indians on Hunsaker’s Knob, near Dunkard’s Creek, Monogalia County, Virginia; married John Hunsacker.
- Andrew Hoover Jr., born ca 1755, old Frederick County, Maryland, died possibly before 1800 in Fayette County, Pennsylvania; married Maria Hans, daughter of Heinrich Hans of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
- George Hoover, born ca. 1766, old Frederick County, Maryland, and died 20 May 1847 in near Uniontown, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. He married Rosannah (___) about 1796/7, presumably in Fayette County.
- Anne Hoover, born in old Frederick or Washington County, Maryland, died sometime after her father’s Will was recorded in Jul 1784; no more is known.
The birth order and birth dates is fairly speculative. Andrew’s Will deeded his Union Township land to his three sons John, Jacob and George, stating that John, “being the elder of the three,” should have first choice. His other children are listed in this order: Henry, Andrew, Elizabeth Hoontzacker, Catherine Herbach, and Anne Hoover.
I find some of the birth dates of Andrew’s grandchildren to be problematic—their parents having to have become parents as teenagers. But that’s a story for another post. I’ll include more information as I post data about Andrew’s children. If you’ve got questions or—please, God!—additional information on this family, please let me know.
Footnotes
- Kiesel, Karl A., Passing Through Germany (Unknown: Read Books, 2006); the IGI lists 1 Jan 1723, 23 Jan 1722/3 or 29 Jan 1723 as birth dates for Andreas
- There is much confusion between this Andrew and the Andrew (1738, Two Sisters, Ittlingen) who was the ancestor of President Hoover, especially regarding their origins in Germany. I won’t get into it here, but I firmly believe the Andrew of Ellerstadt to be our Andrew’s ancestor. I plan to write another post on the issue laying out the evidence.
- Fayette County Will Book, Vol. 1:24
- Pennsylvania German Pioneers (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing, 1966), Volume 1, 1727-1775, page 618
- Frederic County, Maryland Deed Book, Liber H: 635
- Frederic County, Maryland Deed Book Liber P: 515
- Washington County, Maryland Will Book, Liber A: 17
- Washington County, Maryland Deed Book, Liber B: 176
- Washington County, Maryland Deed Book, Liber D: 649
- Maryland Historical Magazine (Baltimore, Maryland: Maryland Historical Society, unknown), Vol. 12, pages 262-265 and Vol. 13, pages 244-247.
- Reports on Claims to Unpatented Land, Monongalia, Yohogania, Ohio Counties, Virginia-West Virginia, page 159; also Wiley, Samuel B., History of Monongalia County, West Virginia, From Its First Settlements to the Present Time; With Numerous Biographical and Family Sketches. (Kingwood, West Virginia: Preston Printing Company, 1883)
- Hoover, Luella Schaumburg, “Some Descendants of Andrew Hoover” (typescript; State Library, Pennsylvania), page 8.
I have copies of most of the documents referred to above. If you’d like copies, please let me know.
There is a Catherine Hoover in my family tree that is supposed to have been a daughter of Andrew Hoover. She is said to have been born about 1762, and married my ancestor Thomas Byrn in North Carolina before 1780. Do you know anything about her?
I’m afraid I don’t beyond the following. Your Catherine Hoover was the daughter of Andrew Hoover (1738), possibly born in Ittlingen, Germany. Andrew came over in 1738 on the ship Two Sisters at the age of 15. By 26 May 1762, he was in Frederick County, Maryland where he lived and raised his family until moving to North Carolina. He sold his Frederick County land on 8 Oct 1799. He is the ancestor of President Hoover.
You’ll see Ellerstadt as his German place of origin all over the web and in published books. However, no other immigrant on the Two Sisters has been shown to be from Ellerstadt, while several are proven to be from Ittlingen. Since a young boy would not have been traveling alone, it is more likely that he was from Ittlingen and traveling with friends, neighbors or relatives. Check out my post on the three Andrew Hoovers for more information on their origins and the confusion among them.
Well done! My own family appears in Crawford County Ohio around 1840. A Jacob Hoover patented land there in 1822. My GGG-grandad Samuel wed Sarah Casto there in 1834. Samuel was born 1813 in PA and his brother William was born there in 1806. Andrew is a name both of these men gave to their sons. There is a David Casto involved in the Shinn/Hoover land case in Monongalia Chancery Court, 1815….A David and Abel Casto patented land about a section away from Jacob Hoover in Crawford County ca 1822 as well. If any of this rings a bell please let me know!
That’s some interesting information!
I don’t know of any of the descendants of Andrew Hoover who went to Crawford County. The only locations I’ve been able to document are in Licking County, Ohio and Ohio County, Kentucky. That doesn’t mean that they couldn’t have. I’ve certainly not documented the whole family. Andrew Hoover Jr. may have had a son named Jacob; I’ve only documented his daughter Anna Maria. Henry Hoover had a son named Jacob; I know almost nothing about him, but believe he remained in Fayette County. Jacob Hoover had a grandson named Jacob, but I believe he stayed in Ohio County, Kentucky. And I don’t know of any children from John and Mary (___) Hoover, Andrew Hoover Sr.’s eldest son. They may have had a son named Jacob, but I’ve no data on their children except tick marks on census records that may or may not have actually been their children.
There was a Henry Hoover, a single man, in the tax records of Tyrone Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania in 1801 and maybe 1802, and also a Sarah Hoover. I wonder if she’s the widow Hoover (45+) there in 1800 with 1 male 10-15, 1 male 16-25, 1 female 10-15, and 1 female 16-25?
Also, there were various members of other Hoover families from Lancaster County who ended up in Richland County, Ohio which is the next county over from Crawford. Perhaps there’s some relationship there. John Hoover and his wife Elizabeth Fessel went from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to Rockingham County, Virginia, then circa 1822 to Richland County, Ohio. According to the information I have they had children: Benjamin, Samuel, Anna, John, Joseph, Maria, Elizabeth, William, Caroline, Barbara, Sarah, and David. John was a descendant of Hans Huber of Earl Township. Also, Christian Huber and his wife Anna followed the same route.
I’ll keep a look out for additional information!
Thank you very much for all your splendid research. I am a Kern. A descendant
of Lt. Willikam Kern and Catherine Hoover Kern. A descendant of their third
son Jacob and Lavina Sleasman. My information on the Kern’s comes from a copy
of a book by Tilden H. Kern “The Descendants of Abraham Kern” dated l960.
I have quite a bit of information on the Kern’s but it is just wonderful to find
family history of the Hoovers. If by some chance we are related to the Hoover Sweeper
Hoovers, I have to chuckle because I lived in North Canton, Ohio, and passed the old
Hoover plant every day! Thank hyou again.
Your info is great. I am a descendant to Mary (Polly) Hoover. She was the daughter of George and Elizabeth Garrison. I have a lot of info on this side of the Hoover Family. If anyone is interested, please let me know. I knew that Andreas came over to the United States in the mid 1700′s but I didn’t know exactly where he was from. Thank you for all your help.
Suzie, I’m glad you were able to get something new from my research. And I’m always interested in information from other branches of the family…
Thanks for posting some great information (and sources!), Kris. I thought I’d pass along, in case you didn’t know, information about Elizabeth Huber’s (1752-1792) spouse, John HUNSAKER Jr. (By the way, I show a birthdate of 10 June 1752 for Elizabeth. This was provided to me by Alan Davis, another researcher.)
Per the “Isaac Hunsaker Family Book”, Elizabeth Huber and John Hunsaker Jr. were married in Sept 1773. John was the son of John Hunsaker (who was son of Hartman & Anna Hunsaker) and Maria Magdalena Beery (who was daughter of Nicholas Bieri and Barbara Miller). Quite a bit of information on the Hunsaker family is available; one book of note is “History of Abraham Hunsaker & His Family” published in 2001 by Gwen Hunsaker Haws & Kenneth B. Hunsaker.
My descent is through John Hunsaker Jr.’s brother, Jacob.
Darlene,
thanks for the information on Elizabeth and John and the sources. I haven’t done any research into the Hunsaker family, yet. But do know this about John Hunsaker Jr.:
John Hunsaker likely met Elizabeth when her family was living near Leitersburg, Maryland. He was listed as a “non-enroller,” “non-Associator” as were Andreas, Henry and John Hoover and Nicholas Huntsaker and fined in the spring of 1776 in the Elizabeth Town District (the area near Hagerstown). However, I believe he went to Fayette County, PA with his brothers-in-law (Jacob, Andrew Jr. and George), possibly as early as 1769/70. He was listed in several land transactions with Andrew Huber Jr. in 1775 and 1776. John Hunsaker was listed in the Springhill township tax lists for 1785 and 1786.
And that—except for the story of the Indian attack—is all I know about John Hunsaker Jr. And probably only a small portion of what you know. ;^)
Kris
I’m impressed with your website. I wish I had your talent. I only live about a hundred miles or so from Harrisburgh, PA. I haven’t made the trip out because I don’t know what records I would search when I got there. My ancestors were extremely poor. Didn’t own property and at one time, as a boy, my father lived on a shanty house boat on the Ohio. As far as I can guess they had nothing to tax. I was able to find them in the 1850-60 census for Feyette & Westmorelend Co. But after that, no luck.
Could you point me in a direction. I’m lost.
Robert J.Hoover
Census records are a great place to start. All that was required was residency in a certain locale. If you have trouble finding them in census records, sometimes its locale—you’d be surprise how often they moved—and sometimes it’s the spelling. The census enumerators often wrote down what they heard, which sometimes has little to do with the actual names. Transcriptions for the indices can also be in error.
Tax records sometimes show not only property owners, but tenants or unmarried men who were of age, but didn’t own property. It often varies from year to year and township to township. I found one Hoover whose property was limited to a horse. On one record I found children of one of my Hockers listed among the township poor.
I’d be happy to help, Robert. Can you provide me more information on your family? Names and dates, for instance. I can poke around and see if I can get you started…