Tag: Friday Finds

Mortgage: Henry Snyder, 1830

1830 Mortgage of Henry Snyder

1830 Mortgage of Henry Snyder

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! Here’s what it says:

“This Indenture made the third day of April in the year of our LORD One Thousand Eight Hundred and thirty Between Henry Snyder of Upper Hanover township in the County of Montgomery and State of Pennsylvania Cordwainer ~ of the first part, and George Hillegas Seneor [sic] of the same township county and state~ aforesaid Storekeeper ~ of the second part.

Whereas, the said party of the first part, in and by A certain obligation or writing obligatory bearing the date herewith, standeth bound unto the party of the second part, in the sum of fourteen hundred Dollars Lawful Money of Pennsylvania conditioned for the payment of the sum of seven hundred Dollars of lawful Gold of Silver Money current in the State of Pennsylvania, on the first day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty one, with the Lawful Interest for the same, as in and by the said Recited Obligation, and Condition thereof ~

as by the said obligation and the condition thereto, will fully appear: Now this Indenture witnesseth, that the said party of the first part, for and in consideration of the aforesaid obligation, and of the debt therein mentioned, and for the better securing the payment of the same at the times and in the manner in the said obligation specified, and for further consideration of one Dollar him in hand paid by the party of the second part, at and before the sealing and delivery of those presents, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, HATH granted, bargained, sold, released, and confirmed, and by these presents, DOTH, grant, bargain, sell, release and confirm unto the said party of the second part, his heirs and assigns, all that certain Messuage tenement and tract of land situate in Upper Hanover township in the County of Montgomery and State of Pennsylvania Beginning at a stone a corner of George Hillegas land by the same North thirty five degrees west one hundred fourteen perches and seven tenth of a perch to a stone a corner of the Reformed Congregation land by the same north forty one and one half degrees East forty perches six tenth of a perch to a stone a corner in said line of Jacob [?]oyers land, by the same south forty five degrees East twenty one perches and three tenth of a perch to a stone by the same North twenty seven degrees East nineteen perches to a stone by the same South fifty one degrees East seventeen perches and seven tenth of a perch to a stone by the same South thirty eight degrees West thirteen perches and [one?] tenth of a perch to a stone [?] the same South forty two degrees East twenty two perches to a stone by the same north forty eight and one half degrees East forty two perches to a stone in a line of Henry [?] land by the same South forty one & one half East twenty five perches and nine tenth of a perch to a stone by the same North fifty four degrees fifty minutes East eighty three perches and seven tenth of a perch to a stone by the same South forty seven degrees East eight perches to a line of James Ashmead land by the same South forty two and one quarter degrees west one hundred eighty eight perches and seven tenth to the place of Beginning Containing sixty two Acres forty perches of land (It being the same which Jacob Stoyer[?] Administrator to the will annexed of Godfreyd Wissler yeoman deceased by his Indenture dated the day previous the date hereof duly Acknowledged have granted and Confirmed unto the said Henry Snyder (party hereto) to hold the same to him his heirs and Assigns in fee as in and by said Recited Indenture, intended to be Recorded, Relation being thereunto had appears)

Together with all and singular the hereditaments and appurtenances thereunto belonging, and the remainders and reversions, rents, issues and the profits thereof; and all the estate, right, title and interest of him the said party of the first part, his heirs and assigns, of, in and to the same: To have and to hold the premises hereby granted, with the appurtenances, unto the said party of the second part, his heirs and assigns; to the use of the said party of the second part, his heirs and assigns forever. Provided always nevertheless, that if the said party of the first part, his heirs, executors or administrators, do and shall pay or cause to be paid to the said party of the second part, his executors, administrators or assigns, the aforesaid debt or sum of money in the said obligation and condition mentioned, at the times and in the manner therein specified and provided, then and thenceforth as well this Indenture as the estate hereby granted, shall determine and become void, any thing herein before contained to the contrary notwithstanding. In Witness whereof the said parties to these presents have hereunto interchangeably set their hands and seals the day and year first above written.

Henry Snyder (seal)

Sealed and delivered in the presence of
[written in German, can’t read]
Jacob Gerhard

Montgomery County Ss

On the third day of April Anno Domini 1830 before me Jacob Gerhard Esquire one of the Justices of the peace in and for said County personally appeared Henry Snyder the grantor above named and acknowledged the foregoing Indenture to be his act and deed. Witness my hand and seal the day and year just above written.

Jacob Gerhard (seal)

I haven’t done much primary research into this family, but I can’t imagine this document being saved and passed down unless either Henry Snyder was a relative or the document pertained to the farm of my great-great grandfather Henry D. Snyder. Additional research is needed to determine the truth of either hypothesis.

Friday Finds: An Old German Midwife’s Record

Update (7/4/2011): I’ve added the possible names of children and their parents where I have information. As you can see there’s more to add. If you have information that fits, please send me an email. Thanks.

An Old German Midwife's Record

An Old German Midwife’s Record, 1795-1815

Yesterday, I was poking around online trying to find Huber information when I came across the most wonderful article. I found a book entitled The American Ethnographical Survey, Conestoga Expedition, 1902. In it there was an article that included a transcription of an old German midwife’s record.1

Susanna (Rohrer) Müller (aka Miller) lived in Martic (now Providence) Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and served as a midwife from 1792 through 1815 when she died. She kept a careful record of her practice. It included the date, the number of children, the name of the family, and how much she charged them in pounds, shilling and pence. She scrupulously tried to capture the family name as she heard it. This record is a wonderful find for a genealogist—both as a possible source for birth information and as a German speakers record of both German and English names.

Scrolling through the pages, I recognized many, many names from my deed research in the Martic and Conestoga townships area. The following is a list of Huber/Hoover families she served and the relevant dates:

  • 20 Dec 1795: Henrich Huber
  • 24 Apr 1796: Martin Huber
  • 5 Oct 1796: Hans Huber
  • 19 Mar 1797: Abraham Huber [Christianna, daughter of Abraham & Anna (Huber) Huber?]
  • 29 Sep 1797: Henrich Huber
  • 20 Nov 1797: Hans Huber
  • 11 Dec 1797: Marde [Martin] Huber [Jacob, son of Martin & Mary (Miller) Huber]
  • 23 Feb 1799: Henrich Huber
  • 20 Mar 1799: Abraham Huber [Anna, daughter of Abraham & Anna (Huber) Huber?]
  • 19 Nov 1799: Peter Huber [Esther, daughter of Peter & Mary (Huber) Huber?]
  • 28 Mar 1800: Marde [Martin] Huber [Martin Jr., son of Martin & Mary (Miller) Huber]
  • 29 May 1800: Hener [Henry] Huber [Benjamin, son of Henry & Barbara (Huber) Huber, daughter of Jacob Huber Jr.?]
  • 4 Jul 1800: Christle [Christian] Huber [Christian Jr., son of Christian Huber]
  • 17 Mar 1801: Abraham Huber [Mary, daughter of Abraham & Anna (Huber) Huber?]
  • 1 Aug 1801: Martin Huber, Schreiner [Martin, son of Martin & Mary (Eshleman) Huber?]
  • 6 Oct 1801: Hans Huber
  • 1 Feb 1802: Abraham Huber
  • 2 Sep 1802: Martin Huber [Samuel, son of Martin & Mary (Miller) Huber]
  • 12 May 1803: Henner [Henry] Huber [child of Henry & Barbara (Huber) Huber, daughter of Jacob Huber Jr.?]
  • 28 Jun 1803: Marden Huber, Schreiner [Anna or Elizabeth, daughter of Martin & Mary (Eshleman) Huber?]
  • 26 Mar 1804: Abraham Huber
  • 8 Apr 1804: Peder [Peter] Huber [John, son of Peter & Mary (Huber) Huber]
  • 21 Jun 1804: Henrich Huber
  • 17 Sep 1805: Hanes [Johannes] Huber, Maurer
  • 27 Mar 1806: Abraham Huber [Elizabeth, daughter of Abraham & Anna (Huber?) Huber]
  • 27 Feb 1807: Jacob Huber
  • 26 Apr 1807: Jacob Huber, living with Peder [Peter] Guth [Good]
  • 25 May 1807: Christle Huber
  • 17-23 Jun 1807: Marde Huber, Schreiner2 [child of Martin and Mary (Eshleman) Huber?]
  • 3 Mar 1808: Mardin Huber, Schreiner [child of Martin and Mary (Eshleman) Huber?]
  • 20 Sep 1808: Hans Huber, Maurer
  • 14 Apr 1809: Abraham Huber, Schumacher [Jacob, son of Abraham & Mary (Huber?) Huber]
  • 23 Mar 1810: Marde Huber [possibly David, son of Martin & Mary (Miller) Huber]
  • 14 Aug 1810: Hans Huber, Maurer
  • 5 Apr 1811: Henrich Huber
  • 5 Sep 1811: Abraham Huber, Wewer
  • 17 Oct 1811: Mardin Huber, Schreiner [Barbara, daughter of Martin & Mary (Eshleman) Huber?]
  • 15 Nov 1811: Jacob Huber
  • 24 Dec 1811: Abraham Huber
  • 17 Oct 1812: John Huber, Maurer
  • 30 Nov 1812: Marden Huber [possibly Mary, daughter of Martin & Mary (Miller) Huber]
  • 2 Dec 1812: Henrich Huber
  • 9 Jul 1813: Jacob Huber
  • 18 Sep 1813: Abraham Huber
  • 15 Feb 1814: Abraham Huber
  • 13 Sep 1814: Abraham Huber, Wewer
  • 12 Apr 1815: John Huber, Maurer
  • 21 Apr 1815: Abraham Huber, Schum. [daughter of Abraham & Mary (Huber?) Huber?]
  • 24 May 1815: Daniel Huber [Catharine, daughter of Daniel & Susanna (Moyer?) Huber?]
  • 19 Sep 1815: Abraham Huber
  • 30 Mar ??: Martin Huber

Some of the entries indicate an occupation. I’ve translated them, as follows:

  • Schreiner = carpenter
  • Maurer = mason
  • Schumacher = shoemaker
  • Wewer = weaver?

Unfortunately, the entries do not include the names of the babies she delivered. However, using other documents that provide approximate birth dates with the dates in this record could help determine exact birth dates for children born in this area in the late 1790s and early 1800s.

You never know what you’ll find online. I’m certainly glad that I followed this search result!

Friday Finds: York County Archives

I‘m accustomed to visiting the websites of state and county archives to learn more about their holdings to determine if I should plan a visit or request information by mail. Sometimes you can find quite a bit more. Such is the case with the York County Archives (Pennsylvania).

I’ve been pondering additional research on Christian Hoover of Heidelberg Township. His will names his brothers Ulrich, Jacob and Henry and his sister Ann Keny, but doesn’t provide any additional information. The will specifically leaves money for the surviving heirs of his brothers and two of his sister’s sons John and Henry, but again does not provide any other clues, no other names or locations.

Wondering what estate information was available for research and where I could write to get it, I did a search for York County estate files and wound up at the York County Archives website. The site provides a list of available records and additional information on each records group. It also provides access to indices for many of the records groups. You can search by surname and the site will provide a link to an index in PDF format for that name.

Although the Estate Files (1749-1958) were not indexed, I emailed the archives and they very quickly got back to me with a list of available records from Christian’s estate file AND suggested some additional files for a Ulrich Hoover that might be relevant. I ordered the files, paying by credit card online, and received them as PDF files the NEXT morning via email. Since then I’ve also ordered several deed files and experienced the same friendly, efficient and fast turnaround.

Talk about customer service!

If you know specifically what document you’re looking for and can’t get to York County yourself, this is a fantastic alternative to hiring a researcher or ordering films through the FHL. I know I’ll probably be ordering more records in the near future!

Friday Finds: Order LDS Films Online (Soon?)

I’ve known that you could order microfilm online from the Church of the Latter Day Saint’s FamilySearch if you lived in Australia for a little while. Now, however, if you live in Utah you can do it, too. And it’ll soon be available to the rest of us in the United States.

“You can sit at home and order microfilms and microfiche from FamilySearch in Salt Lake City. All you need is a computer with an Internet connection and a user ID, which is free.

The films and fiche will be delivered to a Family History Center near you and you will be notified when they arrive. You then must go to the Family History Center and use the microfilm and microfiche readers there to view the materials.”

This makes so much sense to me. I haven’t actually ordered films in recent years because of the inconvenience—having to drive to the nearest Family History Center—over 30 minutes away—to spend mere minutes writing up the order and paying for it. Then driving back down when the microfilm arrived. There are so many other avenues of research I can follow from home that I couldn’t be bothered. Now I’ll be able to conveniently follow-up on research that I’d tabled due to the inconvenience factor. Yay!

Update: This has been available for some time now. I’ve been ordering films from them and having them sent to a local library that is part of the FHL’s program. It’s incredibly convenient and—except for one bobble that was quickly corrected—has been a smooth and reliable process!

Friday Finds: Maryland Historical Magazine

I was recently going through the stacks of materials distributed around my “office” when I came across a document I’d ordered from PERSI—”Proceedings of the Committee of Observation for Elizabeth Township District [Washington County]” from the Maryland Historical Magazine, Volume 13. I had ordered this because copies I had made at the Pennsylvania State Library were difficult to read; I was hoping for a clearer copy.

What I found made me unhappy. The copies I’d made were not from volume 13, number 2; they were from volume 13, number 3. So, here I have a nice stack of reading that doesn’t include the information that I was seeking. My bad for not clearly marking each photocopy with its full source citation!

Maryland Historical Magazine

Maryland Historical Magazine, Volume 13, Number 3, page 245 PDF

I went online to see if I could find somewhere I could order copy of the pages from the correct volume. Instead I found a page on the Maryland Historical Society’s website that seemed to imply that they were providing online access to the periodical.

Wow! I logged in and sure enough volumes 1, number 1 through volume 99, number 4 are available online as PDFs through a joint project of the Maryland Historical Society and Maryland State Archives. Volumes 101-104 are available to members of the Maryland Historical Society. The volumes have been indexed, so you can search them.

Online viewing through the PDF viewer I have was not optimal—the text appears jagged and bitmapped. Opening the file in Preview on the Mac (an option in the viewer) was similar. However, downloading the file and viewing in the Adobe PDF viewer solved the problem—crisp, clear text! I search for “Hoover” in the PDF and it skipped to the first notation (see blue highlight).

I’m so glad I decided to clean up a bit and discovered my mistake. It lead to a wonderful online resource!

NARA Online Public Access: Have You Tried It?

The National Archives launched Online Public Access (OPA) on Dec. 27th. What is it? It’s a search tool for all their online records and/or information about their records. It will also display the online records. It includes:

  1. Data from the Archive Research Catalog (ARC)
  2. Selected electronic records in the Archive Database (AAD)
  3. Selected electronic records from the Electronic Records Archives (ERA)
  4. Web pages from Archive.gov

For more information, please visit the Narations blog.

Friday Finds: Henry Huber’s Strasburg Property

I’ve been researching the Hoovers of Lancaster County, doing a surname study. Recently, I’ve started a document to record the facts I’ve been compiling for each Hoover—especially the land transactions. This allows me to more easily see what I know and trace the information through generations.

I was recording the information I have for Henry Huber, youngest son of Ulrich Huber of Conestoga Township, and discovered that nearly every piece of information I’ve found for him puts him in Strasburg Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Consistency, that’s good. However, the only deed I’ve found for him shows him selling land in Lampeter Township.

Christian Herr tract, Lampeter Township

Christian Herr tract, Lampeter Township

Anna Herr, Henry’s wife, was the daughter of Abraham and Feronica (__) Herr of Lampeter Township. When Abraham died in 1756 he left his property in Lampeter (now West Lampeter) Township to two of his daughters—Anna and Barbara.1 Each daughter received 125 acres. On 14 Jun 1774, Henry and Anna (Herr) Huber sold 27 1/4 acres of their share to Christian Rohrer.

So, if Henry and Anna (Herr) Huber owned property in Lampeter Township, you’d expect them to live there, right? There is a Henry Hoover listed in Lampeter Township tax records in 1770, 17712, 17803 and 1782.4 However, when Henry and Anna sold the 27 1/4 acres to Christian Rohrer in 1774, they were “of the Township of Strasburg.”5

Henry Hoover is listed in Strasburg Township tax records from 1771 through 1782 (the latest I have).6 He also appears there in the 18007 and 1810 United States census enumerations.8 So, where did he live in Strasburg Township and when did he purchase the property?

After Henry Huber died, his heirs divided up his Strasburg Township property. In a series of deeds between the heirs, we learn that Henry owned 261 acres 123 perches, adjoining Conrad Hoak, John Neff & others, at the time of his death sometime prior to 8 Dec 1813.9 This Strasburg Township land was divided between Abraham (50 acres), Christian (103 acres), and David (107 acres).10

John Huber's Strasburg Township property purchased 1808

John Huber’s Strasburg Township properties, 1808

By the tax records, he probably purchased the property at or before 1770. The earliest deed record I’ve found is in a deed recording his son John Huber’s purchase of 103 1/2 acres from Jacob Graff on 2 Apr 1808.11  This deed names one of the adjoining properties as that of Henry Hoover. A second deed for John Huber from 2 Apr 1808 also names Henry Hoover as the owner of an adjacent property.12 Both of these properties were once part of the estate of Henry Resh, husband of John’s sister (and Henry’s daughter) Feronica.

John Resh Strasburg property

John Resh Strasburg property

A look at the warrantee map for Strasburg Township shows us the location of Henry Resh’s property and the adjoining property that Henry Hoover most likely owned. The land from two properties—John Rush and John Resh—as well as #6 on the map were most likely owned by Henry Resh.13 I’d need to do a more detailed analysis to know for sure—Henry’s land was made up of several parcels purchased from Martin Kendick and two additional parcels purchased from his brother Jacob Resh after their father John’s death.

This survey from 1809 also shows the location of Henry Huber’s property—notice the adjoining property to the left owned by Jacob Neff (#13 on the warrantee map, patented to Anne Neff).14 It was actually the first piece I found which actually showed Henry Huber’s name on a Strasburg Township tract. This led me to several other surveys and to plot the tracts John Huber purchased in 1808.

Andrew Hook (Hoak) survey

Andrew Hook (Hoak) survey, Strasburg Township, ca 1809

Hershey Before Hershey

Hershey Before Hershey

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.

Friday Finds: FamilySearch Wiki

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

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

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

Scottish Administrative Subdivisions (src: Wikipedia)