Baumgardners - Frank & Frank, Fred & Fred

Karl Friedline wrote to point out a couple of errors (these folks are his wife's uncles)

Bessie B Ream was married to Frank Baumgardner, 1888-1971, son of Ananias Baumgardner and Amanda Weaver. I had Bessie married to Frank H Baumgarder 1891-1962, son of Henry Baumgardner & Sarah Jane Kring. Frank H was married to Anna Mae Stewart.

Also, Mary Mickel 1908-1955 of Windber was married to Fred D Baumgardner as early as 1941, when her sister Ruth's obit says they were living in Elton. I had linked this Fred as a son of the same Henry Baumgardner & Sarah Jane Kring, but their son Fred 1904-1983 was married to Nora Ellen Geiyer 1904-1987, and were living in State College in the 1930 census. I still don't know who the second Fred is, but I'm working on it.

It's Cold, Damn Cold

In case you haven't heard, Global Warming has hit western Pa, as there's been one day above freezing in the past four weeks, and it's snowed just about every day. Like I remember it as a kid.

So, I've spent a lot of time locked in my room doing work from home, which neglects my genealogy, but does pay better!

I took this pic last week of the Loyalhanna River east of the Bedford. The unusual thing was the blue sky.

Heirs of Jacob Stull

The following deed was filed in Cambria Co after the 1836 death of Jacob Stull Sr. of Richland Twp. John Stull paid each of the heirs $95.45 for their share of Jacob Sr's land, making John the sole owner. This document acknowledges the sale and releases any further obligations.

Jacob's wife is not named, and is presumed to have died before him.

His son Jacob Jr had died four years earlier in 1832, so John Stull and Jacob Jr's Widow Elizabeth, the administrators of his estate, acted jointly to represent Jacob Jr in this document.

The children appear to be listed in order of birth, not including John, who is of the second part (the purchaser).

I did not have a record of William Stull & Elizabeth, his wife. His placement between George (abt 1798) and Elizabeth (abt 1804) indicates a birth between 1800-1802, and makes a good match for the William Stull, age 49, and his wife Elizabeth, who are in Salt Lick Twp, Fayette Co, Pa in the 1850 census.

David Stull is listed last, with no spouse named. I am supposing the he was then born abt 1812, two years after Barbara. I had believed that he is the father of Dr. David D. Stull, born Oct 1833, the son of Martha "Matty" Layton, who had married John Helman by 1837. As David was not married in 1836, if he was the father of David D. in 1833, it would likely have been out of wedlock when David and Martha were both about 21.

Conard & Esther Stull appearing before the Justice of the Peace in Stark Co, Ohio, confirms that he is the Conrad Stull found in the 1830 and later censuses of Sandy Twp in that county.

Joseph Strayer and William Stull signed the original document in German script. Jacob Paul was the only male who made "his mark", being illiterate and unable to sign his name.


Release from the heirs of Jacob Stull Sen dec'd to John Stull

This indenture was made the first day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty six by and between

John Stull and Elizabeth Stull widdow administrators of the estate of Jacob Stull Jr said deceased,
Conrad Stull & Esther his wife,
Joseph Strayer & Motlena his wife,
George Stull & Elizabeth his wife,
Jacob Paul & Catharin his wife,
William Stull & Elizabeth his wife,
Adam Strayer & Elizabeth his wife,
Martain Stull & Motlena his wife,
Daniel Bomgardner & Barbara his wife &
David Stull all of the State of Pennsylvania of the one or first part and

John Stull of the township of Richland in the County of Cambria and state aforesaid the second part,

witnesses that whereas a certan Jacob Stull Sr of the Township of Conemaugh in the County of Cambria aforesaid and deceased was in his lifetime possesed with a certain tract of land containing two hundred acres one hundred and fifteen perches & the yusel allowance for roads & now be it known that the partay named in one or first part above writen are the liggle heirs in law to the aforesaid tract of land & devised of their father Jacob Stull Sen late desesed situated on the waters of Stony Creek now in Richland township in the County of Cambria adjoining lands of Christian Goughenour, Peter Warner and others and the said partais to this indenture have agreed each to sell their sepreat parts thereof. Now be it known that the said partais of the first part above named as well in consideration of the said divisors of the sum of ninety five dollars & fourty five cents to them each in hand paid by the said John Stull of the secant part above writen the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledge. Have and do by these present do grant bargon and sell remise releaise and forever quit claim unto the said John Stull his heirs executors administrators or assigns all their right title interest and claim of in and to the following described tract of land

John Stull Administrators of the estate
Elizabeth Stull her x mark of Jacob Stull Jr decd
Conrad Stull
Hesther Stull her x mark
Joseph Strayer (in Germ.)
Motlena Strayer her x mark
George Stull
Elizabeth Stull her x mark
Jacob Paull his x mark
Catharine Paull her x mark
William Stull (in Germ.)
Elizabeth Stull
Adam Strayer
Elizabeth Strayer her x mark
Martin Stull
Motlena Stull her x mark
Daniel Bomgarner
Barbara Bomgardner her x mark
David Stull

State of Ohio
Stark Co S.S.
Before me on of the acting Justices of the Peace in and for said county personally came Conrad Stull and Easter his wife signers to the within deed of conveyance...

Joseph Seese & Mary Ann Kuhns

I recently obtained the marriage license for this couple, which si the final piece in clearing up the family.

Joseph Seese married his 2nd cousin Mary Ann Kuhns on 11 Jul 1893, six years after the death of his first wife Augusta Wentworth on 2 Oct 1887 and six weeks after her divorce from Israel Wirick on 29 May 1893, and when she was 7+ months pregnant with Emanuel. Although 37 when married, Mary Ann went on to have four children with Joseph. They each had four children in their first marriages.

Joseph Seese & Augusta Wentworth:
John H 11 Feb 1883
Rachel May 1884
Mary Elizabeth 25 Jun 1885
Charles L 3 Nov 1886

Israel Wirick & Mary Ann Kuhns :
Ephraim 7 Apr 1876
Fred abt 1880
Barbara Ellen Apr 1885
Noah

Joseph Seese & Mary Ann Kuhns:
Emanuel E 20 Aug 1893
Elmer B 16 Jan 1896
Anna Dora 10 Apr 1898
Ida Agnes Sep 1900

Rev Reed Bennett Correction; Gromley Family Additions

I have corrected an error in my tree, as the parents of Rev. Oren Reed Bennett 1895-1966 are Jerome S Bennett and Alverta Rairigh of Montgomery Twp, Indiana Co, Pa, and not Isaac Bennett and Mary Jane Adams. I was investigating whether Laura Stiles and Cora Gromley were married to the same Reed Benett, and indeed they were, verified by his obituary on 29 Mar 1966 in the Indiana Evening Gazette, which is available in Ancestry's Historical Newspaper Collection.

While I was at that I did expand greatly on his first wife Cora's Gromley family in the northeast part of Indiana Co. Most of the additions were on the families of the brothers Obadiah and Josiah Gromley, and also that John J Gromley 1807-1890, was the father of Aaron 1840-, and son of Christian.

Weaver Mennonite / Richland Cemetery Photos

Last weekend I photographed over 1200 tombstones in the old part of section 1 (right behind the church) and section 2 & 3. This covers most or all of the original Weaver Mennonite Cemetery which later grew into the public Richland Cemetery.

I have reviewed all of the section 1 photos and made the appropriate additions and corrections to my family file. The photos are being given to Diann Olsen of the Cambria County Rootsweb site to transcribe and place on that webpage. This weekend I will be joining Diann, Lynn and others to complete photographing Headricks Cemetery.

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.

Somerset Co cemeteries added to township websites

The following cemetery have been updated

Ogle Twp
Mount Carmel Evangelical Lutheran

Paint Twp
Rummel Lutheran
Seese Farm

Conemaugh Twp
Wertz-Miltenberger Farm

Photos have been completed for Ogletown Brethren and Stahl Mennonite in Conemaugh Twp, they will be posted in the next week or so, time permitting

Appointed Webmaster for 3 Somerset Co Townships

I have volunteered and been accepted to develop and maintain the township webpages for Conemaugh, Paint and Ogle Twps, all in Somerset Co. These will be part of the main Somerset Co website at Rootsweb, run by Carol Hepburn and April Phillips. I will post here notice of major developments on my pages.

Melchior Seese's (1759-1835) Corrected Ancestry

Melchoir Seese was born in 1759 in Lancaster Co, the son of immigrants from Baden, Germany. He grew up in Franklin Co, served in the Cumberland Co Militia, and came to Somerset (then Bedford) County in the late 1780's, first in the Brothersvalley settlement, where he and his wife Sophia (Lint) were members of the Reformed Congregation, and then a short time later locating in Quemahoning Twp in the far northwest part of Somerset Co, just south of what would later be the city of Johnstown. Between the 1810 and 1820 census, he moved one last time a few miles east to the other side of the Stoney Creek into Shade (now Paint) Township, where he and Sophia are buried in a small family plot on a hilltop on the Jonas Weaver farm.

Most of what has been written about Melchoir Seese's early life has been a combination of two histories, one true, the other not. In my opinion it was the belief that Melchoir must be a brother of George Seese, a Mennonite who also lived in Brothersvalley, that introduced stories of Bucks Co, alongside the correct references to Lancaster and Cumberland counties.

It has been widely accepted that "Melchoir arrived in America with his father Jacob Seese on a ship named "Betsy" which arrived in Philadelphia on 19 Sep 1765."

I do not believe this to be true. The Strassberger & Hinke passenger list for this arrival lists only a Jacob Gauss for a name which might be taken as Jacob Seese. There's been no evidence that Jacob Seese arrived on this ship.

It has been widely accepted that "He came to America as a small child with his father settling in Upper Salford Township, Bucks County, Pa."

I do not believe this to be true. There is a Seese family which originated in Bucks Co. They were Mennonites, and George Seese of Somerset was likely from this family. Many descendants married into other Mennonite families and located to Ohio and Indiana in the early 1800's. A Jacob Seese died and left a will in Bucks Co in 1821, but makes no mention of a Melchoir. Although included in the "Amish and Amish-Mennonite Genealogies" by Hugh Gingerich and Rachel Kreider, they admit that Melchoir's descendants were Lutheran and Brethren. There is no evidence that Melchoir or Sophia themselves were ever Mennonite. In 1788, Melchoir Seese was listed as a deacon of the Reformed Church of Brothersvally, and in 1790 their third child John was baptized there.

At the same time, it has been widely accepted that "Melchoir grew up first in Lancaster co., ...before becoming a soldier from 1779-1782."; "Melchoir was a Private in the Cumberland Co., Penn Militia in 1782."; "Melchoir Seese enlisted in the Revolutionary War. The Pa. Archives, have him listed as a Private under Captain Sam Roder 1779-1782."

These statements can be documented to be true. The Seese records in Lancaster Co will be missed unless one realizes that the anglicized name Seese is found as Süss (or Suess) in the German language, which is how many church records were kept in Pennsylvania the 1700's. There was a Johann Melchoir Süss baptized 28 Mar 1759 at the Emanuel Lutheran Church in Brickerville, Lancaster Co, as well as Johann Caspar Süss on 6 Sep 1747 and Johann Balthasar Süss on 10 Jan 1754 at the Hill Lutheran Church, all sons of Christopher Süss.

There was a Melker Seese who was on the muster rolls of the Cumberland Co Militia during the Revolution (1779 - 8th Batt., Capt. Rogers Co; 1780 - 1st Batt. 5th Co; 1782 - 4th Batt., 8th Co), as well as a Caspar Seese and a Baltzer Seese. These are the only Seeses listed in the Pennsylvania Archives.

In each instance, Melchoir is with Caspar and Baltzer - whose given names are the same as the the three kings of the Orient (The Magi) as told in the Bible.

In his book, "Stover Brethren" (2001), Richard Weber documents that Melchoir was born in Lancaster Co on 27 Feb 1759, son of the immigrant Johann Christopher Süss and his wife Catherine Elizabeth Hager, both from Karlsruhe District of Baden, Germany; that two of Christopher's sister, Margaret and Elizabeth, had in turn been wives of William Stober, also born in Karlsruhe; and that both Christopher Süss and William Stober moved to Antrim Twp, Franklin Co, where a survey of Stober's land shows Süss adjacent to the north. Please consult Weber's book for a more detailed discussion of the Stober and Süss families in Karlsruhe and Pennsylvania than can be told here.

Also, the birthdate on Melchior Seese's matches the birthdate given in the baptismal record of Christopher Süss' son (in a way). Melchior's tombstone on the Weaver farm reads "MELCHIOR SEESE / DIED / June 27, 1835 / Aged / 76 yrs 4 mos / & 11 days " The baptismal record of Johann Melchoir Süss in the Emanuel Lutheran Church in Brickerville gives his birthdate as 27 Feb 1859 - 11 days later than Melchoir Seese's tombstone. First, remember that birth dates from tombstones, obituaries and death certificates are only as good as the sources used by the survivors. Second, the 11 day error is exactly what the date correction would be if he would have been born under the old calendar, which was last used in the British colonies on 2 Sep 1752, seven years before Mechoir's birth. It is plausible that the survivor who had the tombstone inscribed knew Melchoir's birthdate to be 27 Feb 1759, calculated the age as 76y 4m (0d), and then added 11d for the calendar correction, thinking Melchoir had been born under the old calendar.

It is my conclusion that Melchoir Seese was not Mennonite, and had no connections to Jacob or George Seese, or Bucks Co. Melchoir was born in Lancaster Co, moved as a young child to Franklin Co, and served in the Cumberland Co Militia during the Revolution. When he came to Somerset Co in the late 1780's, he was a neighbor of George Seese, who was a Mennonite and likely had his roots in Bucks Co. The two have not been proven to be brothers.

Census Data Added to Database

The vast majority of the households found in the censuses of Paint Twp (1840-1870), Richland Twp (1850-1870) and Adams Twp (1870) have been added to my database. Future plans are to enter Jackson, Croyle, Summerhill, Taylor, Yoder, and both Conemaughs, as well as additional years. These will be announced as they are added.

My database can be viewed at Ancestry.com's GenConnect