A Pennsylvania Dutch Genealogy
the genealogy & family research site of Kris Hocker
Here are my shared matches with one of my presumed Snyder cousins. I’ve erased names and replaced them with the names of ancestors I shared with each—where I’ve been able to identify them.
Shared matches to a presumed Snyder cousin
I think I’m on the right track, linking Catharina (___) Schneider to Conrad Nuss and Anna Margaretha Roeder’s daughter Catharina.
This is a needlework sampler by Amanda Deischer. The image was sent to me by Amy Finkel of Samplings, an antique sampler and needlework dealer, of Philadelphia (thanks, Amy!).
This is what she had to say about the sampler:
It’s a classic Pennsylvania German motif sampler and the handsome red and blue silk on crisp white linen was used by 19th century samplermakers in this community as well. After it’s framed it will be added to our Current Selections in January.
~Amy
According to the National Museum of American History, samplers were the method by which young women, not only learned basic needlework skills, but also showed off these skills to prospective mates. As such, they are an artifact that provides insight into the education of girls in American society during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
“The emergence of large numbers of these samplers has resulted in much research in diaries, account books, letters, newspaper ads, local histories, and published commentary that is helping to illuminate the lives of women in early America.”1
It appears that Amanda stitched this sampler in 1852. The year appears at the end of the second row of needlework. She would have been approximately 18 or 19 years old, depending on the exact date of the work.2 I recognize the images as classic Pennsylvania Dutch motifs. German was spoken at home in my mother’s family into the 1940s. I’ve seen evidence in some of my family lines that it was the primary language more than 100 years after those families had settled in Pennsylvania. It would not surprise me at all to learn that Amanda’s family was the same.
Amanda Deischer was the daughter of Peter Deischer (1793-1861) and Anna Maria Trump (1792-1874) of Hereford Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. She was born 17 June 1833 and died at the young age of 23 on 17 October 1856. She was buried at Zion’s Evangelical Lutheran Church cemetery in Zionsville, Upper Milford Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.
Amanda’s older sister Judith married Joseph Snyder, son of Henry and Sarah (Wißler) Schneider, about 1852 or so. They were my 4x great grandparents.
A funny thing happened as I researched the pedigrees of the AncestryDNA matches I shared with my presumed Snyder cousins. A specific surname kept showing up. And it wasn’t Snyder.
I’ve been trying to prove that my four times great grandfather, Henry, was the son of Jacob Schneider and his wife Catharine of Upper Hanover Township, Montgomery County. Part of that effort has involved working with my AncestryDNA matches to find potential Snyder matches and determine how we match. I believe I’ve identified three Snyder cousins—one possible descendant of Henry’s brother Samuel, and two descendants of a potential sibling Jacob Snyder.
To help organize my research, I entered these three individuals (in orange, below) into their own version of the spreadsheet I’ve been using to track my DNA cousins. One column includes a list of our Shared Matches from AncestryDNA.
I used this to identify individuals who turned up over and over again and entered them into the spreadsheet with their Shared Match list. This gave me a list of top candidates for additional research.
DNA match spreadsheet
Some of them had family trees; most did not. Still, I was able to start building family trees on Ancestry for some of these individuals using searches on Google, Ancestry, FamilySearch, and—where possible—Facebook. A lot of it was “pinging” names to see what I could find online, especially possible associates or family members. If I was able to get to parents or grandparents, I was sometimes able to locate obituaries which helped fill in the tree to the point which I could use census and other records on Ancestry and FamilySearch.
All told I was able to locate ancestors who resided in the Upper Hanover Township/East Greenville area and/or were members of the New Goshenhoppen Reformed Church for four of the Shared Matches (marked blue in the Shared Matches column). They all could be traced back to one of two families. A fifth included one of the surnames, but I haven’t been able to tie it to the same couple, yet.
Who were these people? Conrad Nuss and his wife Maria Margaretha Roeder.
Conrad Nuss, son of Jacob and Anna Maria (Reiher) Nuss, was born 17 March 1743, Upper Salford Township, Montgomery County, and died 18 March 1808 in Upper Hanover Township.1 He married Maria Margaretha Roeder, daughter of Johann Michael and Maria Susanna (Zimmerman) Roeder, at New Goshenhoppen on 22 August 1769.2 She was born 27 June 1745.
They had the following children (italics indicates descendant matches):
It turns out that I had already researched the Conrad Nuss family. Why? Remember Jacob Schneider’s FAN Club? There were connections between Jacob and members of the Nuss family, but I didn’t realize their importance.
Jacob Snyder’s FAN Club
On 2 April 1810, Jacob Schneider purchased 85 acres of land in Upper Hanover Township from Henry and Margaretha Roeder.19 This land adjoined that of John George Brey, John Griesemer, Andreas Gräber, Conrad Brey and Conrad Marks. Henry Roeder was the half-brother of Conrad Nuss’ wife Anna Margaretha Roeder.
If Catharina was Conrad’s daughter, then Jacob bought his land from her uncle.
Michael Gery was named as the guardian of Jonas Schneider in the 1829 Orphans Court records for Jacob’s estate.20 This Michael was one of two men: Michael Gery, son of Jacob and Gertraut (Griesemer) Gery, or his nephew Michael Treichler Gery, son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Treichler) Gery Jr. The elder Michael married Anna Maria Nuss and the younger Michael married Sarah Nuss, both women Conrad’s daughters.
Regardless of which Michael Gery the document refers to, if Catharina was a Nuss, Jonas’ guardian was his uncle.
After Jacob’s death, Catharina and Henry, his administrators, sold his land on 21 November 1829.21 To whom? Michael Gery of Hereford Township. Both uncle and nephew of this name were living in Hereford Township. I have not done enough research to determine which one made the purchase.
However, in either case, if Catharina was a Nuss, then they sold the land to her brother-in-law.
Conrad Nuss and family were members of the New Goshenhoppen Church. Baptisms for most of his children—including including his eldest daughter Catharine—can be found in the church records. My four times great grandfather Henry and presumably several of his siblings—Jacob, Elizabeth, and Catharina—were confirmed and/or took communion at the church.22 Henry and sister Catharine were both buried in the church’s graveyard. It’s not uncommon for children to be baptized in their mother’s church.
If Catharina was Conrad’s daughter, then finding her children in New Goshenhoppen Church records—even though I don’t find their father Jacob—makes a lot of sense.
Daniel Nuss sponsored Carl Schneider’s baptism at New Goshenhoppen Reformed Church on 21 February 1836.23 Carl was the son of Daniel and Sara Schneider. Jacob and Catharina had a son named Daniel.
If this is their son—and I think it possible—and Catharina was a Nuss, then her youngest brother sponsored her grandson.
Lastly, I guesstimated Catharina’s birth year at being between 1770 to 1775, based on Henry’s 1792 date of birth. I lean toward 1770 in the estimate. Conrad Nuss’ daughter Catharina was born in May 1770. This fits the family timeline and the picture that’s emerging from all the various pieces of evidence.
I was able to trace the ancestry of several DNA matches I share with presumed Snyder cousins back to Conrad and Maria Margaretha (Roeder) Nuss of Upper Hanover Township. My relationship to each—mostly 5th cousins—fits nicely into the 4th-6th cousin range, as estimated, with 20+ centimorgans of shared DNA.
Because Conrad’s son Johannes married Esther Schultz, daughter of Andrew Schultz and Charlotte Yeakel, my 5x great grandparents, two of these matches can not be used to prove a relationship to the Nuss family without using a chromosome browser. Which Ancestry does not have.
Fortunately, I’m also related to descendants of Elizabeth (Nuss) Hertzel, Michael Nuss, and Daniel Nuss, three of Conrad and Margaretha’s other children. This supports the idea of a familial connection between Henry Schneider and his potential grandparents Conrad and Margaretha.
Without the DNA evidence, the facts found in the paper trail did not connect for me. I knew they were meaningful, but I did not know exactly how. Knowing the connection could be through the Nuss—not Gery, Brey or Griesemer—family and their associations helps to explain the evidence found in the documentation.
Based on this research, I’m hypothesizing that Henry’s mother, Catharina, was the eldest daughter of Conrad Nuss and Maria Margaretha Roeder.
When I mentioned this research and the conclusions to my Mom, she said, “Oh, yes. Nuss is very common up around East Greenville. My dad told me we’re related to them.” Thanks, Mom.
Catharina Schneider, 1793-1877, gravestone at New Goshenhoppen Church cemetery
Catharina Schneider, daughter of Jacob and Catharina Schneider, was born 24 January 1793 and died 24 August 1877. She was buried in the cemetery at New Goshenhoppen Church UCC (formerly Reformed) Church in East Greenville, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. She was 84 years 7 months old.
This stone was found lying in the grass in the same area of several other Schneider family members. Directly to the right was the stone of Sophia Snyder (1832-1907), daughter of Henry and Sarah (Wißler) Schneider. Behind these stones were the markers for Lucy Anna (Schneider) Mack and her husband Peter. She was Sophia’s sister.
Why is this important? Cemetery plots are often shared by family members. Thus her sharing a plot with Henry’s daughters, and her gravestone naming her parents as Jacob and Catharina, is one more piece of evidence suggesting that Henry was the son of Jacob and Catharina (___) Schneider of Upper Hanover.
Ever since I discovered that Heinrich Schneider (aka Henry Snyder) of Upper Hanover Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania was the father of my 3x great grandfather Joseph Snyder, I’ve been on a mission to trace the family back further.
I discovered a couple who may be Henry’s parents—Jacob Schneider, who died in 1829, and his wife Catharina. Montgomery County Orphans Court records list Jacob’s children as:
Henry served as one of the administrator’s of Jacob’s estate.1 Sarah and Jonas were both underage as of 19 October 1829. Sarah, however, was over 14 years-old, so she was born between 19 October 1808 and 19 October 1815.2 Jonas was under 14 years-old; he was born after 19 October 1815 and before 19 October 1829.3
In September, I located a gravestone for a Catharine Snyder, born 24 January 1793 and died 24 August 1877, in the New Goshenhoppen Church cemetery in East Greenville. She was buried in the same plot as Henry’s daughters and son-in-law, indicating she was family. I believe her to be Henry’s sister and my 4x great aunt.
I traced one of my AncestryDNA matches’ family back to Samuel and Judith (Wolf) Snyder. I was able to determine that Judith was a daughter of Jacob and Magdalena (Brey) Wolf, and, therefore, sister to my 3x great grandfather Joel Wolf.4 But since Samuel had a brother named Jonas,5 he may have been a son of Jacob and Catharina, and thus my blood relative, too, making “E” doubly related to me.
Recently, I found two matches who trace their ancestry back to Jacob Snyder (1796-1882) and Anna Maria Fluck (1800-1870). To the best of my determination, Snyder is our only common surname. Jacob and Maria resided in Springfield Township, Bucks County, not far from Upper Hanover Township where my presumed ancestor Jacob (Sr.) owned land.6 This Jacob was born 9 January 1796,7 making him only four years younger than Henry.
Jacob Sr.’s household had 3 males born after 1790 as enumerated in the 1800 census8 and one male aged 10-15 in 18109, making it possible that this Jacob was Henry’s younger brother. Jacob Schneider, presumably Henry’s brother, was confirmed at New Goshenhoppen Evangelical Lutheran Church on 1 April 1815, aged 17 years.10 It’s not an exact match, but I’m keeping it as a definite possibility given the DNA matches.
Both of these matches descend through Jacob and Maria’s son Joseph, through children of both of his wives. Both appear in my Shared Matches list for the other. One of them also matches “E,” the descendant of Samuel and Judith (Wolf) Snyder, but does not have the surname Wolf in her family tree.
Assuming that we all match through children of Jacob and Catharina (___) Schneider, this is what our tree would look like.
I match each of them a little over 20cMs on 2 segments, according to AncestryDNA. These numbers are consistent with the proposed relationships fifth cousin (T), fourth cousin once removed (T2 and E). Unfortunately, they’re also consistent with a range of other cousin relationships, too.
Unfortunately, I can’t pinpoint the relationship to these matches with certainty. I believe that the Snyder family is likely the connection—Jacob fits given his dates and locations. So, my working hypothesis is that Jacob was the son of Jacob and Catharina (___) Schneider. I’m going to continue to work through our shared matches to see if I can identify additional points of connection.
Who knows? I might even determine Catharina’s maiden name.
Back in May I wrote a post about possibly discovering the identity of one of the children of Jacob and Magdalena (Brey) Wolf based on a match through AncestryDNA. The match was a descendant of Samuel and Judith (Wolf) Snyder. I followed it with a post regarding one of our shared matches whose ancestry could be traced back to the Brey and Yeakel families, both of which appear in my Wolf line. This discovery supported my hypothesis that either or both Samuel and Judith were related to my Snyder and Wolf lines.
Now that FamilySearch has started making Pennsylvania deed books available online, I was able to search for Jacob Wolf of Allentown in the indices. And guess what I found? The names of Jacob’s children—and in two cases where his children had died, his grandchildren.
Jacob Wolf was born 5 November 1787 in what is now Lehigh County to Conrad and Catharine (Yeakel) Wolf. He married Magdalena Brey and they had eleven children, seven of whom were alive when he died 20 January 1868.
On 25 January 1868, Joel Wolf, Conrad Wolf, Absalom Wolf, Ephraim Grim, and John Schimpf posted $5,000 bond on the estate of Jacob Wolf. Joel, Conrad and Absalom were the estate administrators.1 On 7 February, Henry Kleckner and John Schimpf took an inventory of Jacob’s “goods and chattels.” They were apparently worth $2,772.60.2 Joel and Absalom Wolf submitted their administration account on 12 March 1869.3 While it is customary that family members served as estate administrators, so we can infer that Jacob, Conrad and Absalom were related to Jacob—presumably his sons—not one of the documents name their relationship.
In early April 1869, a series of deeds relating to the estate were recorded with the Lehigh County Register of Deeds. In each of the deeds, the heirs of Jacob Wolf were selling his property in Allentown. On 1 April, the estate sold land to C.L. Martin,4 on 2 April to George Seiple,5 John Bowen,6 Absalom Wolf,7 Joel Wolf,8 and Mary Wolf.9
In each case, the deed specifically names Jacob’s children and, in two cases, his grandchildren, as:
Jacob Wolf’s heirs
The signatures associated with these deeds included all the named heirs and where appropriate, their spouses (in brackets).
The 1850 census enumeration for Jacob’s household in East Allentown only includes Jacob, Magdalena, Charles, and Catherine Wolf.10 However, family members were living nearby. His daughter Judith and her family is only four households away11 and Absalom’s only another two households farther on.12 In 1860, Tilghman and Sophia Fatzinger are four households prior to Jacob,13 Jacob and Julianne14 are next door to Jacob,15 grandson Jacob and wife Amanda16 are multiple pages earlier, as are Samuel and Judith Snyder17 and Absalom and Louisa.18
Based on this information Jacob’s daughter Judith was, in fact, the Judith (Wolf) Snyder who I wrote about in my post Unexpected Discovery from AncestyDNA Match. This makes “E” and I 4th cousins once removed through Judith (Wolf) Snyder and potentially 4th cousins once removed through Samuel Snyder, as well.
Furthermore, I also have another match, “J,” on AncestryDNA who can trace his family back to Jacob Wolf, born about 1819 of Lehigh County. Given the birth year and location—and our match as 4th-6th cousins, I’m theorizing that this Jacob is the son of Jacob and Magdalena (Brey) Wolf. This would make us fifth cousins. “J” shares 44 cMs of DNA with me. Nearly twice the average for fifth cousins, possibly indicating an additional relationship, but a definite possibility.
I know some people seem to think that if they do the DNA test, their family tree will just magically build itself. That has not been my experience, at all. Without the work that I’ve already done to build out my pedigree, I wouldn’t be able to identify my relationship to more than a handful of my DNA matches.
The DNA match itself is one more piece of evidence that I can use to build my proof statement. While it may help me to assess genealogy records pertaining to an ancestor with more confidence, it is still only one piece of the puzzle that I must build into a larger picture.
John Witmer was born 15 January 1811 in eastern Pennsylvania and died 21 May 1885 in Milford Township, Bucks County.1 About 1832, he married Rachel Jones, daughter of Henry Jones and presumably Martha Bartleson. She was born 5 March 1809 in Hilltown Township, Bucks County and died on 10 September 1897.2 Both John and Rachel were buried in the old section of the cemetery at Christ Church in Trumbauersville.
John appears on tax records for Milford Township from 1837 through 1853 on Ancestry and census records from 1840 through 1880.
1880 John Witmer census
In 1880, John and Rachel were residing next door to their son Eli J. Witmer and his family in Milford Township.3 John was a 69-year-old farmer and Rachel, aged 71, was keeping house.
1870 John Witmer census
Their children Susanna, Abel, Eli, and Catharine, aged 14 through 27, were still living at home with John and Rachel in 1870.4 John’s occupation was listed as “Super Wiser.” Daughter Susanna was working as a “taylor,” Abel was attending school, Eli was a farm laborer, and Catharine was a domestic servant.
1860 John Witmer census
In 1860, John and Rachel were living in Milford next door to a Jacob and Susanna “Witemer,” quite likely John’s parents.5 Jacob was 73-years-old and Susanna was 71. John and Rachel’s children John, Milton, Eli, Catharine and William were all living in their household. John was a farmer, while Jacob was a retired farmer.
1850 John Witemer census
John was working as a “huckster” or peddler in 1850.6 His household included: wife Rachel, children Edward, Henry, William, Mary Ann, Susan, John, Able, Milton, and 70-year-old Henry Jones, Rachel’s father.
1840 John Witmer census
In 1840, John can be found living near his brothers-in-law Levi Jones and Lewis Jones.7 John’s household included: two males under 5 [Henry and William], one male 5-10 [Edward], one male 15-20 [?], one male 20-30 [John], and one female 20-30 [Rachel]. Henry Jones was likely the 50-60 year-old man in Lewis Jones’ household.
John Witmer and Rachel Jones had the following children:
This post is part of a blogging challenge entitled 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, created by Amy Crow of No Story Too Small in 2014. Participants were to write about one ancestor every week. I’m revisiting this challenge for 2017. This is my fourteenth 52 Ancestors post, and a make-up post for week thirteen.
Perhaps not so surprisingly, I’ve fallen behind on my 52 ancestors posts. I’m hoping to catch up. Here’s a short one to start me off.
Henry Jones was born 15 July 1776 in Hilltown Township and died 10 December 1854 in Milford Township, both in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.1 He was buried in Christ Church cemetery in Trumbauersville. He was the son of Edward and Rachel (Lewis) Jones.2
Henry married Martha Bartleson by 1806.3 They lived in Milford Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania where Henry was a farmer and carpenter. Martha died prior to 1 June 1830.
Henry and Martha (Bartleson) Jones had children:
Henry and Martha are my 5 times great grandparents.
This post is part of a blogging challenge entitled 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, created by Amy Crow of No Story Too Small in 2014. Participants were to write about one ancestor every week. I’m revisiting this challenge for 2017. This is my tenth 52 Ancestors post, and a make-up post for week nine.
This week’s ancestor is Godfrey Wißler. He is my five times great grandfather on my mother’s side. I’ve written about him before, posting his last will and testament last December. It was his farm that Heinrich Schneider purchased and that passed down to his son Joseph Snyder, then grandson Henry Snyder.
Godfrey, son of Jacob Wißler Jr. and his wife Esther(___),1 was born about 1757 and died sometime before 21 October 1829 when his will was proven. He married Eva Catharina Weiß, daughter of Hans Erhardt Weiß and Susanna Huth, at New Goshenhoppen Reformed Church near East Greenville on 22 September 1782.2 Eva was allegedly born 1 April 1759, died 5 January 1798, and buried at New Goshenhoppen.3
However, other records seem to contradict this date of death. Godfrey and Eva were members of New Goshenhoppen and took communion there in the fall of 1808 and 1 April 1815.4 Additionally, two of Godfrey’s daughters, including my four times great grandmother Sarah (Wißler) Snyder, were born after 1798.5
In 1800 through 1820, Godfrey can be found in the census enumerations for Upper Hanover Township. His household included one male aged 26-45, two females less than 10, and one female aged 26-45 in August 1800.6 The 1810 enumeration lists one male aged 45+, two females under 10, one girl aged 10-15, and one female 16-25.7 I’m not sure why his wife Eva was not listed, as she’s included in the communion records in 1808 and 1815. In 1820 the household included one male aged 45+, one female 16-26, two females aged 26-45, and one female 45+.8
The census entries don’t clear up the question of Eva’s death. Nor do the known birth dates of his children. In fact, Eva Catharina might not have been his first wife. New Goshenhoppen burial records list the burial of “Susana, child of Godf. Wissler, aged 9 years, 2 months” on 25 December 1785.9 Since Godfrey and Eva Catharina married at New Goshenhoppen in 1782, either Susana’s birth predates the marriage or Susana wasn’t Eva’s child and Godfrey was married previously.
I have birth dates for two of Godfrey’s daughters—Catharine, born 15 October 1789,10and Sarah, born 8 August 1799. For two others—Elizabeth and Susanna (the second such named)—I have only estimates based on the order in which Godfrey named his daughters in his will. I presume Elizabeth was the eldest surviving daughter as her children are named as receiving the first portion from Godfrey’s estate. Elizabeth was already deceased. She was likely born sometime between 1782 and 1789. Susanna is named in the will as his youngest daughter, so she was born after 1799, most likely making her the 16-26 year-old in the 1820 census.
Given the number of years between Catharine and Sarah’s births, it’s likely that there were unrecorded children who were born in the interim and died prior to the 1800 census. A break like this between births can also indicate the death of a wife and subsequent remarriage. But in this case, that doesn’t necessarily apply. If Eva died in January 1798 and Sarah was born in August 1799, then Godfrey remarried fairly quickly to another woman also named Eva—sometime between January and December 1798. I have yet to locate a record of a marriage.
Assuming that the records I’ve found are correct and apply to this family, then it appears that Godfrey may have been married three times. He would have had to marry his first wife prior to 1776 (Susana’s estimated birth year) and she would have died prior to September 1782. He next married Eva Catharina Weiss on 22 September 1782 and she died in January 1798. He married another Eva prior to December 1798. She was alive as of 7 August 1820 (census date) and deceased prior to 23 April 1825 when Godfrey wrote his will.
Looks like I’ve got more research to do on this family.
This post is part of a blogging challenge entitled 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, created by Amy Crow of No Story Too Small in 2014. Participants were to write about one ancestor every week. I’m revisiting this challenge for 2017. This is my eighth 52 Ancestors post, part of week seven.
I wrote a post about my ancestor Rachel Jones, wife of Jacob Witmer, back in 2014. While I knew Rachel’s maiden name based on the death certificates of several of her her children,1 I did not have information regarding her parents. At the time I postulated that Henry Jones was Rachel’s father, but I did not know the name of his wife. I’m still looking for evidence of who she was.
Assuming that Henry was her father, I determined that her mother died prior to 1830 in Milford Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.2 Based on the 18203 and 18104 census enumerations, she was most likely born sometime between 1775 and 1784.5 Unfortunately, the pre-1850 census records do not list the names of the household members.
I’ve seen Martha Bartleson listed as his wife online. I’ve never been sure just from where that information came, as no sources were provided. Recently, I came across a posting in a Find A Grave forum that included the following:
“I found Henry in the 1810, 1820 and 1830 censuses, 1810 in Hilltown, then Milford. His wife appears to be deceased by the 1830 census.
Are you familiar with the book, Morris Lewis and His Descendants, by Mary Jane Erwin? It was published by the Lewis-Jones Assoc. in 1936. It is very helpful through there are errors, of course. That is where I got the birth and death dates for Henry Jones. It contains this story about Martha: “In the early history of the settlement of New Jersey and the eastern border of Pennsylvania, it was customary for emigrants to bring their servants with them and allow them to work for the price of their passage after arriving here. Sometimes they had to work a long while until [their debt] had been cancelled. Undoubtedly, Martha Bartleson was tired of working. It is said she took one of her master’s horses, where she lived in New Jersey, mounted and rode until she reached the Delaware. The horse swam the river. She reached the Pennsylvania side. When dismounted, she turned the horse about, and it is supposed it returned to its owner, while Martha Bartleson made her way through the country to Hilltown, where she met and married Henry Jones.” [p 22, as related by John Davis, one of her grandsons]” 6
What really struck me about this story is its similarity to a story that was apparently passed down through the Witmer family. It was reported in an article on four generations of the Witmer family. It went:
“There is an interesting romance connected with the emigration to this country of Mr. Witmer’s grandmother. She was a typical English girl and exceedingly pretty and fearless. Crossed by her parents in a love affair, Miss Jones escaped from her home with the aid of her favorite saddle horse, and swam across the English Channel on horse-back and fled the country.7”
Both versions are charming stories. The story from the forum posting does provide some clues to follow up on—as the Witmer story does not. First, there’s the name. Martha Bartleson. Second, the location—New Jersey. And third the fact of her indentured servitude.
Both stories seem to imply that Martha was an immigrant, though only the Witmer story states it as “fact.” And that could simply be referring to her mode of arrival in Pennsylvania, not necessarily her arrival in the United States. Indentured servants were not only immigrants. Sometimes families bound out children to pay debts or to provide for their care and education. Either way if she was a servant and ran away before the end of her term, I would think there should be a record of it.
To be honest, both stories strain my credulity. But as with most family stories, there is likely a kernel of truth in there. I just need to dig it out. Wish me luck!
This post is part of a blogging challenge entitled 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, created by Amy Crow of No Story Too Small in 2014. Participants were to write about one ancestor every week. I’m revisiting this challenge for 2017. This is my seventh 52 Ancestors post, part of week six.