John George KUHN, Bavaria to Pennsylvania

John George KUHN, is my 4th great-grandfather on my mother's father's KUHN line, my children's 5th great-grandfather, my grandchildren's 6th great-grandfather.  

Born about 1720 in Bavaria or Württemberg, he was the 2nd son of the three sons and one daughter of John KUHN & Anna Barbara ADAMS. The parents and their four children likely immigrated about 1730, settling in Goshenhoppen, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. That time period is suspected because of the marriage dates of John George and his brothers before 1741. To date I have not found the family on ship lists coming to settle in Pennsylvania. 

An excerpt from The Gettysburg Compiler, PA, on July 19, 1911, written by John Reilly Kuhn, provided some brief information on the immigrant settler John KUHN:

     "The first priest to come to America to minister to the German Roman Catholics was Rev. Theodore Schneider, S. J., who landed at Philadelphia in 1741, and was conveyed to the settlement at Goshenhoppen, where he established headquarters at the house of John Kuhn, a carpenter and farmer.
     In the course of two years, John Kuhn, with his sons and neighbors, erected a dwelling-house for Father Schneider, with a very substantially constructed Chapel as an addition thereto. This Chapel was completed in 1743, and remains as part of the magnificent church at Bally, Berks County, Pa.   This church compares favorably with Conewago Chapel, and is filled several times every Sunday by the devout descendants of the first settlers in that community.
     The writer of these notes is a grandson of John Kuhn, who settled near Conewago Chapel in 1785, who was a grandson of John Kuhn the carpenter who built the original chapel." 

John George KUHN married Catherine RIFFEL on 27 Nov 1744, at his father's home in Macungie.  The marriage was registered at St. Paul's Catholic Church, Goshenhoppen. Witnesses were John George's parents and siblings. 

John George and Catherine had the following known children:
    1.  George Jacob, chr. 31 Mar 1746, Goshenhoppen PA, d. 17 Nov 1825,
             Pikesville, MD; m. Magdalena Topper/Tapper.
    2.  Barbara, b. abt 1748, Goshenhoppen PA; 
    3.  Mary Eva, b. abt 1750, Goshenhoppen PA; d. 1778, Lancaster Co., PA
    4.  Anna Margaret, chr. 28 Apr 1752, Goshenhoppen PA; d. 12 Apr 1802,
            Adams Co., PA
    5.  John I[Ignatius] ancestor, b. abt 1754, Greenwich, Berks co, PA,
             d. 1 Mar 1826 Reading, Berks PA; m. Theresa FRICKER, 25 Apr 1775
            in Goshenhoppen, b. 1 May 1760 Reading, Berks PA, d. 20 Apr 1821;
            12 known children

John George KUHN died unexpectedly in early 1762.  His widow Catherine married about October 1762, to Joseph Ehrmann. They had a daughter Appolonia in 12 July 1763. 

So little is known about John George's life. He was a farmer, also known as a carpenter, was married, had 5 known children, little is known about his children except his younger son, John I. KUHN, who had 12 children. John George KUHN died only 42 years of age.  

I have a list of more research resources to work through, and hopefully will be able to add more to this sketch of my 4th Great-grandfather, son of our first KUHN settler in Pennsylvania. 
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If any of these people are also your ancestors, I am happy to share what I have about their families and ancestors as well. You can best contact me at celiaDOTwinkyATgmail.com - as Blogger is not allowing me to reply to any comments on my posts.  

#52Ancestors: Theresa [Taresy] FRICKER, 1760-1821, Pennsylvania, USA

 Another post in the year-long challenge, #52Ancestors by genealogist Amy Johnson Crow. I am way behind, but every post is another post! Today I am sharing the limited information I have about my 3rd great-grandmother on my mother's paternal line: Theresa FRICKER. 

Born or baptised apparently 1 May 1760, in Reading, Pennsylvania, of unknown parents, Theresa left almost no records, as did many women of the times. The FRICKER family would have been Roman Catholic, as shown when she married into the KUHN family in 1775, in the Goshenhoppen, Berks, PA chapel. Non-Catholics would have been noted as such in the records. Note that her first name is sometimes spelled as Farasy, Farrasy, Farracy, Tarasey, Tarasy.  

My first note of Theresa FRICKER was seeing her marriage registration, a typed published transcription of Goshenhoppen marriages: p.107

And here come several questions or problems noted in this marriage transcription. Normally witnesses are family members. However I have not yet found a Henry Kuhn of the age to be a witness. John I. KUHN's father and brother had both died by 1775, and all Henry Kuhns in the family were under 18, although one was about 18, a 2nd cousin. I also have no idea of the family of Catharine Erman and her relationship to either of the marriage couple. I've looked up various surname spellings [eg, Ehrman] with several Ehrman, Ermann variations, but no clarity. These two people are good clues, but to date, I have no details to help me place them in the friendship or family circle of this couple. 

Note that women kept their maiden names after marriage, as per the custom of the Dutch. 

Much of the details have come from the Goshenhoppen registers [transcribed/typed], the KUHN obelisk in the Conewago Basilica cemetery, and elderly relatives' records. [photo by permission] 

The twelve children of Theresa FRICKER & John I[Ignatious] KUHN were the following, 2 boys, and 10 girls! 

    1.  Catherine, b. 24 May 1776, bap. 27 May 1776; m. est 1795 to Jacob Grett

    2.  Mary Magdalen, twin, b. 22 May 1778, bap 29 Mar 1789, d. abt 1801; m. est 1800 to John Arthur

    3.   Magdalana, twin, b. 22 May 1778, bap 8 Jun 1778, d. abt 1809, Conewago

    4.  Farracy [Theresa], b. 22 Oct 1780, d. 12 Jan 1847, Pennsylvania; m. est 1805 to Aloysius Owings 1784-1809; 2 boys

    5.  Anna Maria, b. 18 May 1783, bap. 25 May 1783; died young

    6.  Judith, b. 28 Sep 1785, bap. 9 Oct 1785, d. 8 Feb 1848, Abbottstown, Adams, PA; m. Benjamin Fink (1781-1842); 1 girl, 2 boys

    7.  Anna Appolonia, b. 17 May 1791, bap 20 May 1791, d. 12 Dec 1879 Gettysburg, Adams, PA; m. 10 Oct 1826 to Georg Richter; 2 boys

    8.  Margareta, b. 6 Mar 1794, d. 24 Jan 1874 Fort Seneca OH; m. 2 Feg 1817 Conewago Chapel PA to Philippus Staub, 4 boys, 6 girls

    9.  Elizabeth, b. est 1796 Conewago PA, d. 11 May 1852; m. est 1820 to Eusebius Owings

  10.  John, b. 14 Oct 1797, d.30 Mar 1887; m. 28 Jan 1823 to Susan Mathias; 2 boys, 5 girls

  11.  Anna, b. 30 Jan 1801, d. 13 Feb 1807, Conewago PA

  12.  Joseph Jacobus [ancestor], b. 4 Oct 1803, d. 18 Sep 1878 McSherrytown PA; m. 5 Nov 1826 to Jane Rebecca McCABE; 3 girls, 6 boys. Note that Jacobus is Latin form of  James. 

On the Goshenhoppen registers there are mentions of only three other people with the Fricker surname, and they seem to be about her age or younger. And I haven't found that surname on any early passenger lists, although I certainly should look again. All I know about her is that she married, had 12 children, and over 30 grandchildren, and died. So little.

Theresa FRICKER died 20 Apr 1821, aged 60 years, at their home in McSherrytown, Adams, PA. She is clearly listed with her husband on the KUHN obelisk in the Conewago Basilica Cemetery, Adams, PA.   

Her husband, John, died 5 years later, 1 Mar 1826, apparently in Reading, Berks, PA, likely staying with one of his children, after Theresa died.  

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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, No. 42: Theresa FRICKER, PA

Following the challenge from Amy Johnson Crow to write a post weekly, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, here is my 42nd installment, Theresa FRICKER, my 3rd great-grandmother on my mother's father's KUHN line.

Theresa was spelled many different ways, e.g, Taresy, and a daughter was named Farracy, which seems to be another variation.  I have information on Theresa in terms of her marriage and death/burial details, the names of her 11 or 12 children - but I have no information on her parents and relatives.  

She is found on the large detailed KUHN obelisk in the cemetery of the Conewago Chapel Basilica with her birth and death dates inscribed, a major source of information.  Other details may be found in the Goshenhoppen and Conewago Registers, and the William Kirkpatrick book, detailing the Eckroth-Eckenroth-Eckenrode Family, Vol.1 & 2, 1987, pub. by Chris Pelikan. 

Theresa or Tarasy FRICKER, was apparently born 1 May 1760 in Reading, Berks, PA, of unknown parents.  I have found a record of an Anthony Fricker's child being baptised, with Theresa Fricker as witness, which appears to indicate he may be a brother of hers, but this is currently only speculation.  

She married John Ignatius KUHN, b. about 1753 in Greenwich, Berks, PA about 30 miles north of Reading. They were married 25 Apr 1775 in Bally, Berks, PA.  Note that the Borough of Bally was originally named "Goshenhoppen", which means "meeting place" in the local Indian language. Since they married in Bally, it is likely she was born in Bally, but this is not yet proven.  Her husband, John Ignatius KUHN, was the 4th of 5 children of John George KUHN and Catherine RIFFEL, who were born in Germany; they had married 27 Nov 1744 in Macungie, Lehigh, Pennsylvania. 

Theresa and John had either 11 or 12 children:
  1.  Catherine, b. 24 May 1776, d. Baltimore MD; m. Jacob Grett
  2.  Mary Magdalena, b. 22 May 1778, d. aprox 1801;  m. John Arthur
  3.  Farracy Theresa, b. 12 Oct 1780, d. 12 Jan 1847; m. Aloysius Owings her 1/2 1st cousin, 2 sons known
  4.   Anna Maria, b. 18 May 1783, died 'very young'
  5.  Judith, b. 28 Sep 1785, d. 8 Feb 1848 Abbottstown PA; m. Benjamin Fink 26 Apr 1807 Conewago Chapel; 2 living sons known
  6.  Anna Appolonia, b. 17 May 1791, d. 11 Dec 1879 Gettysburg PA; m. George Richter; 2 sons known
  7.  Margareta, b. 6 Mar 1794, d. 24 Jan 1874 Fort Seneca OH; m. Phillip Staub 2 Feb 1817 Conewago Chapel; 10 children known
  8.  Elizabeth, b. abt 1796, d. 11 May 1852; m. Eusebius Owings (possibly relative of Aloysius Owings seen above m. to #3 Farracy)
 9.  John, b. 14 Oct 1797, d. 30 Mar 1887 Conewago PA; m. 28 Jan 1823 Susan Mathias Conewago Chapel; 7 children known
10. Magdalena, b. 1799, d. abt 1809
11. Anna, b. 30 Jan 1801, d. 13 Feb 1807.  Note: #10 and #11 may be the same child, i.e. "Anna Magdalena (abt 1800-1807)"
12. Joseph Jacobus KUHN [ancestor], b. Oct 1803, d. 18 Sep 1878 McSherrystown PA; m. 5 Nov 1826 Jane Rebecca McCABE, Conewago Chapel; 9 children (ancestor line follows 2nd child, Dr. Louis DeBarth KUHN).

Theresa died 20 Apr 1821 in McSherrystown, PA, and is buried in the Conewago Chapel Basilica Cemetery, along with many other KUHN relatives. She died 5 years before her husband, John I. Kuhn, who died 1 Mar 1826.  

If you have further information on Theresa FRICKER or her family, including their children, please do not hesitate to contact me via calewis at telus dot net, or in the Comments below.  I appreciate any corrections, additions, etc. Thanks for stopping by.

52 ANCESTORS in 52 WEEKS, #25: Catherine RIFFEL, 1725-1799

Following the challenge of writing 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, issued by Amy Johnson Crow, here is my 25th installment, Catherine RIFFEL, my 4th great-grandmother, through my mother's father's lines.  

Although Catherine's birth date is 'known' to be 30 Apr 1725 in Germany, she married in Pennsylvania, so I can assume that she immigrated with at least one member of her family to Pennsylvania, before her marriage in 1744.  To date, I have no records of parent(s)  "Riffel" or variants of that name, and I am listing her on this blogging challenge to remind myself of all the research still to be done on her and her family.  I have no names of her parents at this point.

The group of immigrants into the Goshenhoppen region and later the Adams County region of Pennsylvania seem to have come from the southwestern region of what is now Wurrtemberg and from Bavaria. Two little villages' names which show up in several historical records are: Neckartailfingen, and Schlaitdorf in Wurrtemberg. Both of these villages are situated 20 km south of Stuttgart, as seen on the Google map at right.   Although these are tantalizing clues, I have yet to confirm that either the families of Catherine RIFFEL or John George KUHN originated from either of these places. A very sparse bread crumb trail! 

On 27 Nov 1744, in Macungie, PA, Catherine was married to John George KUHN, second son of John KUHN and Anna Barbara ADAMS. His parents apparently arrived about 1732 to Pennsylvania.  Catherine & John's marriage is listed in the Goshenhoppen Register (transcribed, online), as:
"KUHN, John George, 27 Nov 1744, in John Kuhn's house, to Catharine Riffel; witnesses the bridegroom's parents and brothers, and others."  

Because her parents are not listed as witnesses, I might wonder if they had died before 1744-? Of course, the "and others" statement doesn't tell us if those others were relatives of any kind.  Mystery. I took a moment to go through an online listing of the Goshenhoppen Registers of baptisms, finding and highlighting 79 RIFFEL names!  I felt like such a twit when I saw so many.  How did I possibly miss this? Well, probably because I'd earlier been searching only for KUHN names in those early searching days.  

Some of the highlighted baptisms took place "in John Joseph Riffel's house" or "at Joseph Riffel's house at Macungi".  This could be the same person of course. They give me bits of information which I need to research further, with several different possible relationships to keep in mind, at all times. I think I'll need a spreadsheet to figure out the who's and when's.

Catherine RIFFEL and her husband John George KUHN, had 5 children whom I know of, the first 4 born in Goshenhoppen:
1. George Jacob, b. 31 Mar 1746; m. 03 May 1768 Magdalen Tapper; d. 17 Nov 1825 Pikesville, MD
2. Barbara, b. abt 1748; m. 09 Jun 1767 John Lochler; 
3. Mary Eva, b. abt 1750; m. 13 Sep 1768 to (probably) Nicholas Walter; d. 1778, PA
4. Anna Margaret, b. 28 Apr 1752; m. 14 Mar 1771 to Robert Owings; d. 12 Apr 1802, PA; 6 children
5. John Ignatius [direct ancestor], b. abt 1753 in Greenwich, Berks, Pa; m. 25 Apr 1775 to Theresa (Tarasy) FRICKER; d. 1 Mar 1826, Reading, Berks, PA; 12 children

There may be other children as well, although because the Kuhns named their children the same names, there is some confusion about who belongs with whom.  

Catherine died 15 March 1799 aged 74 years of age, in Adams county, PA, and was buried in the Conewago Chapel Basilica Cemetery, where several generations of KUHN families are buried.  I'd love to give you a little more information on the Conewago Cemetery, but FindAGrave and Ancestry are down today from a DDoS issue... it could take awhile, so I'll post anyway.  I may update this post at a later time. 

If you have further information on any of the children, or of Catharine RIFFEL's parents and family, do please contact me at calewis at telus dot net, or in the Comments below.  I particularly appreciate any corrections you may have to share!  

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.