Along the Pequea
I’m sure you’ve heard or read that learning about your ancestor’s neighbors can greatly assist your family research. None of our ancestors lived in isolation. They had family, friends and neighbors who often shared their language and customs. These social groups often intermarried, moved and settled together, and sold land to or purchased land from each other. I’m starting a new series of articles that will trace land transfers on Pequea Creek from the original warrantee through 1800.
Mortgage: Henry Snyder, 1830
Among my grandfather’s papers, I found the original document of a mortgage between Henry Snyder and George Hillegas for 62 acres 40 perches in Upper Hanover Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The document was dated 17 Aug 1830!
Oops! That Can’t Be Right…
I’ve been going through Lancaster County deeds for Hoovers, taking notes and trying to attribute them to Hoover family members. Sometimes I can easily figure out who the deed belongs to; sometimes I just don’t have enough information. One deed I’ve been working on helped me catch an error in my database and straighten out a family line. All by following the inheritance of land from one generation to the next.
Daniel Hoover, late of Conestoga (now Pequea) Township
Daniel Hoover of Conestoga Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania was born ca 1783 and died sometime between 24 Sep 1850 and 17 Nov 1851. He was a carpenter and apparently had a large family that included 15 children. Here is what I learned about his family from deed records.
Henry Hoover (Strasburg), d. ca 1833
Deed records can provide information on individuals we might otherwise have known nothing about. Such is the case of Henry Hoover of Strasburg Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania who died circa 1832/3, single with no issue. The deeds state he was one of eight children and name the heirs of four of his siblings—Christian, Esther[?], Elizabeth[?], and Freny.
Christian Hoover of Hempfield Township
Researching an individual is particularly difficult when they have a common name. It is even more difficult if there is more than one person of the same name in the same general location at apparently the same time. Such is the case with Christian Hoover of Hempfield Township, Lancaster County.
How Many Henry Hoobers in Martic Township?
So, just how many Henry Hoobers were there in the Conestoga (now Pequea)/Martic (now Providence)/Lampter/Strasburg township area of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania? If you’d asked me that question yesterday, I’d have said one. Now today, I’m not so sure… According to the township warrantee maps, there were 5 tracts either warranted to or patented to Henry… read more
From Deed to Land Warrant and Back Again
For some reason I got stuck on John Hoover today when I was deciding where to start on my Huber/Hoover work. Which John Hoover, you ask? I was hoping to find information on John Hoover (Huber), son of Hans Ulrich (Woolerick) Huber of Conestoga Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. I don’t have much information on him…. read more
Lancaster Deed Book Index
I’ve written about how much I love deeds—and the great information you can find in them—and I’ve written about how great it is to find the Lancaster County Deed books viewable online. One thing that’s not so great is not having a deed index online, too. I’m working on changing that! I’ve been going through… read more
Don’t Forget Deeds!
Have I mentioned I love deeds? Well, even if I have, it bears repeating. I LOVE deeds! They can be a treasure trove of genealogical information.
Comments