#52Ancestors: Anna Barbara ADAMS 1698-1753

Continuing the #52Ancestors  challenge by genealogist Amy Johnson Crow, here is my 5th great-grandmother on my maternal KUHN line, Anna Barbara ADAMS, abt 1698-1753.  The photo here is of the village of Neckartailfingen, a drawing done in 1683, from the forest log of Andreas Kieser. It is believed the ADAMS and KUHN families may have lived here. 

Anna Barbara ADAMS and her husband, John KUHN, plus their 4 living adult children, emigrated to Pennsylvania between 1730-1742. They had been said to be living in the Wuerttemberg region - now the southwest portion of Germany. I haven't been able to definitively pinpoint where she was born, nor her husband's birthplace. The Kuhns have "always" been of the Catholic faith, so I still have a few more options for research.  

John KUHN was a carpenter, and was responsible for the erection of the first Catholic church in Goshenhoppen in the early 1740s for the region's first Catholic priest: Father Theodore Schneider, signature on the right [1741].  

In several different KUHN trees, and also on one questionable document, it appears that she may have been born in Schlaitdorf, close to the Neckar River. As the Kuhn family likely came with others from the same region, I have been researching as many of the early immigrant in-laws and neighbours as possible, in their region of Pennsylvania. Challenging. So far, nothing definite has been found, but several crumbs, perhaps! 

Anna Barbara's parents were apparently Hans Jacob ADAMS and Margareta SCHAFER. As it is said her daughter was born in/near Schlaitdorf, it is likely her parents lived here and may have been born here as well. Another in-law states the family lived in Neckartailfingen, a smaller village within a kilometer from Schlaitdorf, on the Neckar River.  

Her mother Margareta died on 26 Jan 1753, on apparently the same day/year as Anna Barbara's death, in Berks county, Pennsylvania. This may indicate a serious illness going through the community, or, may be an error in transcription. I have not found the church register information for this time period.  

Children of Anna Barbara ADAMS and John KUHN, all born in Wuerttemberg region: 

    1.  Henry, b. abt 1718, d. 22 Aug 1765 Salisbury, Northampton, PA; m.
         bef 1741 to Anna Margaret Schmidt [1720-1773]; 10 known children.

    2.  John George, [ancestor],  b. abt 1720, d. 1762 in PA, aged only 42;
          m. 27 Nov 1744 in father's home, Macungie PA, to Catherine RIFFEL
          [1725-1799]; 5 known children

    3.  Eva Mary, b. abt 1722, d. abt 1756 aged 34, after 6th child, Macungie PA;
         m. 24 Apr 1743 in father's home, Macungie PA to Philip Schmidt;
         6 known children

    4.  Joseph, abt 1724, d. 1782, aged 58 Macungie PA; m. to unknown person;
         1 son

Re other ADAMS or SCHAFER/SHAEFER individuals or families in the region:
There is one other Adams at the same time in the community: a Simon Adams marrying Catharine Eck/Egg on 13 Feb 1776, but I would have expected an Adams or Schafer individual to be witnesses.  One Catharine Schafer [dau of Henry Shaefer] married Solomon Grett 10 Nov 1816; no witnesses listed. No other Schafer individuals show up in church records of this time and place.

Note that Burials for the old Goshenhoppen Church [Bally, Berks, PA] begin in 1765, marriages from 1741, baptisms. also from 1741.  These details are from compilations produced and published by Barbara Brady O'Keefe, Miami FL, in 1982 [copyrighted]. Not all baptisms would be of babies, it must be noted, so I cannot make assumptions about a baptism following shortly after a birth.

I need to keep digging into the compilations of the Goshenhoppen church to see if I can find more clues to follow. Plus search for the Catholic church records on FamilySearch and online. And wouldn't it be lovely to find a family Bible-? of any of the Kuhn, Adams, or Schafer families.

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If these are your ancestors, I am happy to share what little I have on these ancestors. And if there are errors, please do let me know, via calewis at telus dot net, or in the Comments below and I will get back to you either by email or in the Comments. I appreciate the opportunity to correct any issues in these family trees.

Blogger - or my computer - is still not letting me "reply" to your comments, for some unknown reason. If I don't reply to your Comment, please know that I'm totally thrilled you came to read my post and commented!  You truly make my day!!

This week's #52Ancestors/52Weeks: Hans Jacob ADAMS b. c1665

I have missed a few weeks of genealogist Amy J Crow's year long challenge to write about an ancestor each week, but I'm determined to blog more often. This week, I am writing on Hans Jacob ADAMS, my possible 6th great-grandfather (7th for my children, 8th for my grandchildren). 

He is not yet proven in my tree, but I am placing some information about him here, in the hopes that others may have had better results. I would like to remove him if he is not the correct ADAMS father.

Hans Jacob ADAMS is estimated to be born about 1665, aparently in Schlaitdorf, Wuerttemberg region in what is now south-west Germany. The tip of the red marker on the map above is on Schlaitdorf. Approximately 27km south of  Stuttgart, Schlaitdorf is a very small town on the Neckar River. Below the map is the small write-up on Schlaitdorf in the Meyers Gazetteer - a wonderful online resource.

Currently the population is approximately 2,000, but would likely be smaller in the early-mid 1700s, when he and his small family emigrated from Wuerttemberg to Pennsylvania.

I have very little information on the ADAMS family who came from Wurttemberg to Pennsylvania. Several online trees state his wife was Margaret Schäffer - however a marriage record in Wurttemberg only has a Hans Jacob Adams marrying Margaret Schäffer in 1715. Clearly, that date is incompatible with the details of an Anna Barbara ADAMS b. abt 1698 Schlaitdorf, Germany, who was possibly the one who married our immigrant John [Johan] KUHN. At this point, Anna Barbara ____ is a fairly hard brick wall, at least until I find more likely documents and stories. No confirmed parents or siblings.

An important point about the ADAMS family is that for Anna Barbara to marry John [Johan] KUHN, she and her parents would be highly likely to be in the Roman Catholic faith. All of their children, grandchildren, and all down the descendants, the KUHN family are Catholic. In fact, John KUHN, a carpenter, opened his home to Rev. Father  Theodore Schneider, the founder of the Goshenhoppen Mission,until he had his own home. John is said to have built - with others of course - the first Chapel at Goshenhoppen [above]. It would be very unusual for a Catholic to marry a Protestant in the early 1700s in Wurttemberg.

Children of Anna Barbara [possibly ADAMS] and John KUHN, all b. in Wurttemberg:
  1.  Henry/Heinrich, b. abt 1718, d. Aug 22, 1765 Salisbury PA; m. before 1741 Anna Margaret Schmidt in Macungie, PA; 10 children.
  2.  John George [ancestor], b. abt 1720, d. Jan 1760 Conewago PA; m. Nov 27, 1744 to Catherine RIFFEL in Macungie, PA; 5 children; [Catherine's 2nd husband and had 3 additional children w. him]
  3.  Eva Mary, b. abt 1722, d. abt 1756; m. Apr 24, 1743 to Philip Schmidt in "John Kuhn's house" Macungie PA; 6 chidlren
  4.  Joseph/Jost, b. abt 1724, d. 1782 Macungie PA; apparently married with one son, also named John b. abt 1747, no further info found to date.

As you see, I have an extremely limited amount of data about Anna Barbara [possibly ADAMS]. I have seen a note on family files and online trees, that perhaps her name is Ickerode [variant spellings]. Dig, dig, dig.

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If these are your ancestors, I am happy to share what little I have on these ancestors. And if there are errors, please do let me know, via calewis at telus dot net, or in the Comments below. I appreciate the opportunity to correct any issues in my family trees.

Blogger - or my computer - is still not letting me "reply" to your comments, for some unknown reason. If I don't reply to your Comment, please know that I'm totally thrilled you came to read my post and commented!  You truly make my day.

52 ANCESTORS in 52 WEEKS, #13: John KUHN

Following the challenge of writing 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, issued by Amy Johnson Crow, here is my 13th installment, for John KUHN, my 5th great-grandfather on my maternal line.  

John KUHN is the original KUHN immigrant, coming from the Wurttenmberg region, settling first in the Goshenhoppen area in Pennsylvania with other Roman Catholic immigrants. John is frequently spelled Johan and other variants on records, of course, let alone Kuhn variants.  Kuhn is a relatively common surname in Germany, so this is our family's version of a 'John Smith.'

Various researchers have not been certain when the original immigrant John KUHN arrived in British America, with his family.  However, it seems to have been by 1732 or 1733, when he is noted living in the Goshenhoppen area, in what is now Berks County, Pennsylvania.   Most of the following information has been found in a variety of places including the following:  (a) "Eckroth-Eckenroth-Eckenrode Family" Vol. 1 & 2, William Kirkpatrick; published 1987 by Chris Pelikan; (b) FindAGrave Memorial information at Conewago Chapel Basilica Cemetery; (c) Goshenhoppen Church Registers: Births, Marriages, Deaths [I have pdf copies of these]; (d) Early Catholic Migration website; all online. 

John KUHN arrived with his wife, Anna Barbara [?Adams], and at least these 4 children, all born in Wurrtemberg region; all married in Pennsylvania in or around Macungie Township, near the border of Lehigh county:
 - Henry, b. abt 1715-1720, m. Anna Margaret Schmidt bef 1741; d. 1765; 10 children
 - John George* [direct ancestor], b. abt 1720-1725, m.27 Nov 1744 to Catherine Riffel; 6 children
 - Eva Mary, b. abt 1722-1725, m. 24 Apr 1743 to Phillip Schmidt; d. 1756; 6 children
 - Joseph Jacob, b. abt 1725-1730, m. ? to unknown person; d. 1782; at least one child, a son

John KUHN died on 14 Feb 1751, his wife, Anna Barbara died several years later. They are buried - as are many others of my KUHN ancestors - in the Cemetery of the Conewago Chapel Basilica.  

His death is listed in the Goshenhoppen register, as transcribed:
 KUHN, John, on 14 Feb 1751, carpenter, with whom Rev. Theodore Schneider, the founder of the Goshenhoppen missions, was wont to lodge.  

Note that Father Schneider was the first priest arriving in Philadelphia in about 1741, sent to minister to the German parishioners.  John Kuhn and his sons and neighbours built a church which stands  in Bally, Berks County, PA, as shown in the link in the second paragraph above.  

Various early tax registers show the Kuhn surname spelled a variety of ways: Coontz, for example, as well as Koon, Koone,  Kuhnz, and other variants. 

There have been a few tantalizing clues about precisely where in Wurttemberg the family originally lived, before they emigrated en masse.  On several records they are listed as from Wurttemberg, specifically from Schlaitdorf, and there is a very possible birth record in Neckartailfingen, Wurttemberg.  Both Schlaitdorf and Neckartailfingen towns are next to each other. A tiny clue, but challenging to research.  

If you have information or questions about John KUHN and his family, do leave a comment or contact me via calewis at telus dot net; I would love to hear from you.