Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Dietz, Reighard, Rogers, Croyle, Ream, Thomas & Wertz families added

These families were added or had significant edits this week. Check down several generations for new info.
Samuel Dietz 1775-???? of Jenner Twp
Jacob Z Reighard 1831-1905 of East Conemaugh
Silas D Rogers 1842-1915 of Stonycreek Twp
Henry Croyle 1788-1850 of Upper Yoder Twp
Jacob M Ream 1840-1890 of Upper Yoder Twp
Samuel L Thomas 1858-1929 of Roxbury
John A Wertz 1848-???? of Stonycreek Twp

David Christner's wives

David Christner, born 1781, of Jenner Twp, has been shown with a son Jesse, born about 1818, and an unknown son, born about 1806, who was married to a woman named Susanna. This is not correct – Susanna was David Christner’s 2nd wife, after Elizabeth Mishler.

Susanna “Crisner” is enumerated in the 1850 census in Conemaugh Twp, Somerset Co, age 44. living with George “Deets”. Both are listed as mulatto, as are Susanna’s children, Samuel 18, Susanna 14, George 10 and Lavenia 4. In 1860 Jenner Twp, Susan “Crisner” is living with the same four children, as well as Elizabeth age 29, and her two children Joseph “McKelvia” and Franklin Risher. All are again listed as mulatto. However, in all later census, all these people are listed as white.

In the 1850 census, also in Conemaugh Twp, David Christner, age 60, is living with the family of his son Jesse.

However, the 1840 census shows David Christner as a white male 50-60, with a free black woman 24-36, and three black children, which exactly matches Susanna and her children Elizabeth, Samuel & Susanna. In 1830 David “Crisner” has a white woman 40-50, a boy and 3 girls, who are Elizabeth Mishler and son Jesse, as well as three daughters. The 1820 census for David “Christian” has 1 son and 2 daughters.

Therefor, Jesse is David Christner’s only son, and Susanna was David’s 2nd wife.

The only black families living in Jenner or Conemaugh Twp from 1820 to 1860 are those of Samuel Steel and Samuel Dietz, both of Jenner Twp. In 1850, Susanna was no longer living with David Christner and was instead living with George Dietz, who had no wife or children in either the 1840 or 1850 census. I strongly believe, but only on this circumstantial evidence, that Susanna was a daughter of Samuel and Sarah Dietz, and was a sister of Samuel Jr and George Dietz, among possible others.

George Thomas, died in Civil War

According to the obit of his daughter Mary (1844-1919), wife of David Dietz, George Thomas was killed in the Civil War and buried at Arlington National Cem. A search of Arlington burial records at Ancestry.com on 27 June 2006 showed every George Thomas buried there died after the war, except one, who had no dates listed and was buried in site 2498. Ancestry lists 200,064 burials at Arlington, but Wikipedia reports that more than 260,000 are buried there, so Ancestry's records appear to be incomplete.

George and Rachel Thomas apparently did not marry. Rachel was only 15 when Mary was born in 1844, and was married to Henry Roseman by the time of her daughter Rachel's birth in May 1850.

Assuming George Thomas is from the vicinity of northwest Somerset County (where most of the Thomas family does come from), one candidate is the son of George (of Christian) and Eve. This George was in the census age 20 in 1850, in Conemaugh Twp, Cambria Co, and age 27 in 1860 in Shade Twp, Somerset Co. At this date I have not found him in the census after 1860. If those ages are correct, he may be too young. This George Thomas is supposed to have married a woman named Lucy, but I have found no record. The Mishler tree says his wife was Lucinda Mishler, and they were married in 1854 in the state of Indiana, but I am confident that the 1860 census in Shade Twp is the correct one, and there George is single living with his widowed mother.