Book Reviews

Book Reviews [Unless otherwise noted, book reviews are by the Editor.] Guide to County and Municipal Records on Micro, film in the Pennsylvania State Archives. Compiled and edited by Nancy L. P. Fortna and Frank M. Suran. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1982. 50 pp. Available from PHMC Publications, Box 1026, Harrisburg, PA 17120. $6.25 ppd. The state capital has in recent years become a major, indeed indispensable center for genealogical research on Pennsylvania families. Not only are there the State Library and the State Archives proper, but the Archives have added to their vast collection of Pennsylvania source materials microfilms of many county, borough and city records from all over the commonwealth. Not all counties have been filmed as yet—fifty-five of sixty-seven are listed here—but the gaps will be filled as the program continues. To show. the reader the value of this index, the records filmed in Adams County include all the Adams County tax lists from 1800-1842; the Register of Negroes and Mulattoes, 1800-1820; all deeds, 1800-1851, with indexes; birth records, 1852-1855, 1893-1899; death records, 1852-1855, 1893-1905; marriage records, 1852-1855, marriage license dockets, 1885-1950; orphans' court dockets, 1800-1853; and wills, 1800-1851, with will index for 1801)1864. As an example of the municipal holdings, the films from Lancaster offer the Borough Council Minutes, 1742-1818; City Select Council Minutes, 1818-1825, 1830-1878, 1891-1895; Mayor's Record Book, 1852-1863; Mayor's Registry of Colored Persons, 1820-1849; and City Common Council Minutes, 1837-1849, 1876-1893. Thus one can sit up to a microfilm reader in Harrisburg and use vital and other records from most of Pennsylvania's counties and early municipalities at times when it is not convenient to drive to the remotest areas of the state. Early Events in the Susquehanna A Collection of the Writings and Addresses As Presented by John H. Garter Before This Society. Sunbury, Pennsylvania: Northumberland County Historical Society, 1981. 351 pp. Illustrations, maps. Available from Northumberland County Historical Society, 561 Third St., Northumberland, PA 17857. Paper, $10.00; hardback, $20.00 plus $1.50 postage John Haas Carter, a charter member and long-time president of the Northumberland County Historical Society, is one of the leading local historians of the Susquehanna Valley. This volume makes available for a wider 78 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine readership his major papers and addresses given before the society from 1928 to the present. While essentially the orientation is historical, with much material on the Indians and the relations of whites and redmen in the area, the French and Indian War and the Revolution, there is much material of genealogical interest as well. It is good, for example, to have available the lengthy history of the Himmel Church, with the church records from 1774 to 1817 (pp. 39-71). The article, "Land Grants in Northumberland County to the Pennsylvania Officers of the Pontiac War" (pp. 101-123) includes the surveys of lands in the Buffalo, West Branch, and Bald Eagle Valleys, all before the Revolution, in areas across the Susquehanna in Central Pennsylvania. The article on "The Spread Eagle Manor: Ancient Gateway to Northumberland County" ((pp. 145-151), deals with the settlement of the Klingerstown area—where Northumberland, Dauphin, and Schuylkill Counties come together. Of interest also are "General John Bulk Northumberland County's Highest Ranking Revolutionary Officer" (pp. 232-242), and that on "Alexander McKee, Our Most Noted Tory" (pp. 243-257). In the entire book one catches something of the excitement of pioneer life and settlement in the middle and upper Susquehanna Valley in the times when Indians, white traders, Moravians, and Scotch-Irish and Pennsylvania German pioneers were crisscrossing the area for trade, evangelism, and agricultural settlement. Swiss Genealogical Research: An introductory Guide. By Paul Anthon Nielson. Foreword by Heinz K. Meier. Virginia Beach/Norfolk, Virginia: Donning, 1979. 85 pp. Illustrations. Available from Donning Co., Publishers, 5659 E. Virginia Beach Blvd., Norfolk, VA 23506. Paper $5.95 ppd. Some years ago the Swiss-American Historical Society published and distributed this book by an American genealogist resident of Switzerland. Of the several volumes recently published on Swiss genealogical research I find it the most concise. The work describes, with case studies on various lineages, how to trace American families to their Swiss origins. We learn the laws and systems involved in Swiss citizenship—the Swiss even today are technically citizens of the political community where their ancestors had their Heimatrecht or citizenship rights. In a delightful chapter called "American Homework: Ways of Finding Leads to the Swiss Place of Origin," the author takes us on a careful tour through the American records that one has to search before applying to Swiss archives. This deals with family tradition. Bible records, newspaper obituaries, historical publications, emigrant passenger lists, census records, and other official records such as pension files. Most detailed is Chapter III, "Swiss Tools for Genealogical Research". These include the Swiss Family Name Book the six-volume Familiennamen- Book Reviews 79 buck der Schweiz, which lists all Swiss families and the places where they held citizenship rights before 1800, 1800-1900, and from 1900. Each community also has a Register of Citizens (Biirgerregister) beginning with the nineteenth century. Each community has a civil registry office, where most local vital records are carefully preserved. Even the parish registers kept by the churches are now usually deposited with these state registry offices (e.g., as in Canton Bern), or centralized in the cantonal archives (e.g., as in Canton Zurich). These records are described in full detail, listing and analyzing the types of data that one can expect to find in 'them. Also described are Swiss Court Records, Notarial Files, Land Records, Emigration Records and other civil documentation, with hints on their use. Finally, the author makes practical suggestions on the universal problems caused by "old handwritting". In other words, he tells us what to look for in Swiss records, what to expect, and how best to extract the data. For example, "if one desires to trace his lineage back to the earliest point possible . then it is wise to extract all entries of the surname for which one is searching in the community from which the ancestor was known to have originated" (p. 56). In the event that the ancestor does not turn up in that community, then it is prudent to "make an area search for a given time span" (p. 68), searching the adjoining parishes or political communities. The book is carefully footnoted, illustrated with examples of Swiss archival documents, and includes a most useful glossary of terms commonly found in Swiss genealogical' sources (p. 71). Thomas Parke and Rebecca Hooper of Chester County, Pennsylvania. Abiah Taylor. Richard Woodward. Robert Pyle. Aaron Bullock. John Hannum. John Chalfant. By Ernestine Parke Moss, Memphis, Tennessee: Privately printed, 1982. 271 pp. Illustrations, Index. Available from Ernestine P. Moss, 658 Stonewall, Memphis, TN 38107. $17.50 ppd. This volume is a composite treatment of several early Chester County families, mostly Quakers, with some allied families of other traditions. The Parkes were from County Carlow, Ireland, and settled in the Great Valley of Chester County in 1724. The Taylor line is that of Abiah Taylor, Jr., who emigrated from Berkshire in 1702 and settled along the Brandywine. The Swaffers were a Cheshire family who came to Pennsylvania in 1684. The Woodwards of Worcestershire emigrated circa 1687, settling in Thornbury, Middletown and elsewhere. The Chalfants emigrated in 1699 and settled in Birmingham. Additional families treated are Hannum, Southery, Bullock, Stanfield, Houlston, and others. The book is carefully researched, and good use was made of printed and manuscript sources, newspaper obituaries, census records, etc. Thorough biographical sketches of the emigrants, with copious materials on British Isles ancestry, are included. Wills, family letters, and other 80 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine personalia enliven the account. The author is preparing a second volume on her ancestry, to include the Wierrnan (Weyerman) and allied families. Standards and Colors of the American Revolution. By Edward W. Richardson. Philadelphia: The University of Pennsylvania Press and the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution and Its Color Guard, 1982. 341 pp. Available from University of Pennsylvania Press, 3933 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19104. $50.00 ppd, This handsomely illustrated and authoritative volume on the flags of the American Revolution will be a welcome addition to the shelves of the headquarters of the patriotic societies, their members, and all genealogists concerned with revolutionary service of ancestors. In addition to the regimental standards and colors of the Continental Army, the regimental and militia standards of the various states are covered, plus those of the French allies, the British regulars, and the German auxiliary and mercenary troops serving with the British. Finally the state seals and other symbols of the new government are discussed and pictured. The book is illustrated with a whole host of well reproduced engravings, portraits, Revolutionary battle scenes, and other pictorial materials, a great deal of it in full color. The Philadelphia and upstate Pennsylvania standards are fully covered. The text is well documented and there is an extensive bibliography. Lippincott. Five Generations of the Descendants of Richard and Abigail Lippincott. By Judith M. Olsen. Woodbury, N.J., 1982. 471 pp. Map, indexes. Available from Gloucester County Historical Society, 58 North Broad St., Woodbury, NJ 08096. Paper. $18.50 ppd. The Lippincott family, of considerable New Jersey and Pennsylvania interest, has at last received its due attention in this impressive work, the result of twenty-five years of collecting information. The immigrant ancestor, from Sidbury, Devonshire, settled first in Massachusetts, then returned with his family to England, and finally, after enduring many difficulties caused by his Quaker faith, returned with his family to America, settling in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, where he died in 1683. The lines of the seven children who reached maturity are traced, including the female lines, bringing family members (in some cases) down to the middle of the nineteenth century. Ample documentation is given, not only from the detailed records kept by the Friends, but from many other primary sources, plus the usual published sources. While the early generations were concentrated in the Shrewsbury and Burlington areas, a few of the later ones dispersed to Philadelphia and beyond. The compiler adds great interest to her account by including extended biographical material when warranted. She also includes a short chapter on English origins, several early diary Book Reviews 81 excerpts, and separate sections on fifteen of the allied families. The index of names shows, by rough count, some 9,000 names (with many entries for Haines, Shinn, White); the index of places is rich in English locations, and shows the wide dispersal of the family throughout New Jersey. This is a major and successful effort, greatly needed, and will be much appreciated. We now look forward to a subsequent publication that will build on this fine foundation. Effingham P. Humphrey, jr. Pastors and People: German Lutheran and Reformed Churches in the Pennsylvania Field, 1717-1793. By Charles H. Glatfelter. 2 volumes. Volume I: Pastors and congregations. Breinigsville, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania German Society, 1980. 551 pp. Publications of the Pennsylvania German Society, Volume XIII. Volume II: The History. Breinigsville, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania German Society, 1981. 544 pp. Publications of the Pennsylvania German Society, Volume XV. Available from the Pennsylvania German Society, Box 97, Breinigsville, PA 18031. $25.00 per volume. At last researchers have at hand a definitive work on the majority tradition among the Pennsylvania Germans, the Lutherans and Reformed. Genealogists especially will find these volumes indispensable for locating clergy and congregations. The first volume includes detailed biographies of all the known colonial clergymen of both the Lutheran and Reformed denominations in Pennsylvania and adjoining areas (pp. 15-172). Not included are the Canadian German settlements and those in the Carolinas and Georgia. Of the clergymen included, their European origins are carefully cited, marriages and in some cases descendants are given, land transactions noted, and other documentation provided. The detailed history of all the known congregations of both churches follows (pp. 175-506). This includes, usually by county, every known congregation in Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, plus the District of Columbia. Useful maps are provided; for Pennsylvania sites the Reading Howell map of 1792 is affixed showing the locations of congregations. The book is illustrated, thoroughly documented, and completely indexed. It will prove extremely useful for genealogists struggling to identify the location of that ancestral baptism or burial or marriage, or pinning down a reference to a minister on a Taufschein or other document. The second volume provides a long overdue history of the Pennsylvania German "church people," their relation to the European mother churches, the Great Awakening, the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, and the establishment of the new nation. A particularly valuable chapter is "The Pastor and the Parish," which deals with the relations between clergy and laity, contacts with other denominations, the thorny language question, and the relation to Indians and Negroes in Colonial Pennsylvania. This book too is beautifully illustrated, with useful maps, complete documentation, bibliography, and index. 82 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine The Records of the Swedish Lutheran Churches at Raccoon and Penns Neck, 1713-1786, With and introduction and notes by Dr. Amandus Johnson. Woodbury, NJ., 1982. 387 pp. thus., index. Available from the Gloucester County Historical Society, 58 North Broad St, Woodbury, NJ 08096. Cloth, $19.30 ppd.; paper, $13.50 ppd. Originally published as part of tie*. American Guide Series under the aegis of the Works Progress Administration in 1938, this extremely important work has now been reprinted by the Gloucester County Historical Society as part of its outstanding program of publications, now numbering over eighty. The noted authority Dr. Johnson gives a helpful historical framework for the establishment of the churches, long awaited by the Swedes who had settled in the 17th century on the Jersey side of the Delaware River, and had had to travel long distances to worship. With the coming of churches, congregations could be organized and stabilized; fortunately for current research and knowledge, detailed records were kept and have been preserved. The usual records of baptisms, marriages and deaths (more often, burials) occupy little more than one-third of the contents of this publication. Their value is greatly enhanced by the inclusion of locations, godparents, causes of death and other data. The rest of the material is divided into two categories—Minutes of Parish Meetings and Supplementary Historical Entries, and Documents (which include indentures, leases, historical and financial accounts, a Register, probably of 1786, and the like). This material gives a vivid picture of the religious and social life of the period. Effingham P. Humphrey, jr. Supplement to Shoemaker Pioneers, Published 1975. By Benjamin H. Shoemaker, 3rd. Philadelphia, 1982. 24 pp. Illus. Available from Mr. Shoemaker, 515 Locust Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19144. Paper, $5.00. Mr. Shoemaker's original work, reviewed in PGM 29:245, sorted out over seventy Shoemaker families (of whatever spelling) that settled in Colonial America, mainly in Pennsylvania and New York. The compiler has not rested on his laurels, but has continued to collect information, and has now circulated some additions and corrections to his work. Also added are many photographs, some of the family sites in Germany and America, plus family portraits. A most commendable venture, which we wish other genealogical writers would emulate. Effingham P. Humphrey, Jr. The Wenger Book: A Foundation Book of American Wengers. Edited by Samuel S. Wenger, et al. Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania German Heritage History, Inc., 1978. 1218 pp., plus advertisements and folding charts. Available from Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, 2215 Millstream d., Lancaster, PA 17602. $39.50 plus $2.00 postage. Book Reviews 83 The Wenger-Wanger-Whanger family of Lancaster County has attracted a great deal of genealogical attention in recent years. Since the pioneer Wenger Book (1903) made its appearance, at least eleven either books and pamphlets on the family have appeared, covering its diffusion in the United States and Canada. This is the twelfth, and by far the most extensive treatment. A labor of many years, joined in by several Wenger genealogists and headed and completed by Lancaster attorney Samuel S. Wenger, the book is a monumental contribution to Pennsylvania Mennonite genealogy and history. Essentially it is the genealogy of the emigrant Christian Wenger and his wife Eve Graybill (Krayenbal) who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1727. The book takes their descendants to the sixth generation and in some cases beyond that. In addition to Pennsylvania, Virginia and Ontario, as well as other emigration settlements of Pennsylvania Germans are involved. Materials on the Swiss backgrounds of the Wengers in Canton Bern are given from archival sources in Switzerland. Separate chapters deal with the relation of the Wengers to the Mennonite and other churches, and to American military history. The historical section of the book includes many charming sketches and vignettes of the life of the family, personalities remembered by the present generation, autobiographical chapters, and stories of the migration to Canada and the Midwest. One lengthy section deals with the business enterprises associated with the family, including numerous mills, contracting firms, restaurants, motels, and food processing plants. For the Pennsylvania genealogists one of the most valuable sections of the book is "Other Progenitors Identified with the Wengers," pp. 1039-1111. This includes brief genealogies of the following Lancaster County families: Bowman, Brubaker (Brubacher), Bucher, Buckwalter, Burkholder, Carpenter (Zimmerman), Eberly, Eby, Erb, Eshelman, Fox, Good, Groff, Herr, Hershey, Hess, Horning, Horst (Horsch), Huber, Kauffman, Landis, Lefever, Lichty, Long, Martin, Musser, Myer, Noldt (Nolt), Reiff, Resh, Rohrer, Rutt, Sauder, Seibel, Sensenig, Shirk, Stauffer, Weber (Weaver), Witwer, and Zimmerman. These are sizeable sketches, with information about origins in Europe, emigration, and a genealogy of descendants to the third generation. This section alone goes a long way toward making the book an encyclopedia of Lancaster County Mennonite genealogy. A Thief Histog o 'chaefferstown. By A. S. Brendle. Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania: Historic Schaefferstown, Inc., 1979. 233 pp., plus 91 pages index. Illustrated, folding charts. Available from Historic Schaefferstown, Inc., John Hickernell, Treasurer, Schaefferstown, PA 17088. $17.50 ppd. To the very active preservation and historical group called Historic Schaefferstown, Inc., we owe the republication, in hard cover, of A. S. Brendle's pioneer history of Sehaelrerstown, Lebanon County, published origin- 84 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine any in 1901. The Schaefferstown area was from very early times Heidelberg Township, part of Lancaster County until 1785 when it was set off into Dauphin County, and in 1813 into the new county of Lebanon. For this culturally important Pennsylvania German area this book gives the basic historical data, plus the bonus of much genealogical material. The "Genealogical Register" (pp. 196-227) includes genealogical data on the following families: Albright, Brecht, Bricker, Bucher, Bucks, Dissinger, Fessler, Fried, Gass, Garrett, Hoffman, Houser, Iba, Kapp, Kolb, Causer, Landis, Krumbine, Keath, Mock, Neff, Pfeffer, Philippi, Ream, Reily, Sanders, Smith, Stober, Seiler (Saylor), Strohm, Weber, Umbehend, Valentine, Stiegel, Strickler, Reager, Wunderlich, Zieger, Zimmerman, Kitzmiller, Beinhauer, Achey, Winter, Bender, Royer, Hickernell, Souder, Krum, Krieger, Lutz, Kral', Beamesderfer, Bobb, Miller, Murdock, and others. What is given in each case is all the known children of a pioneer married couple of the area, with birthdates and some marriages. A detailed genealogy of the Schaeffer family is included (pp. 216-227), starting with Alexander Schaeffer from Schriesheim in the Palatinate, for whom the town was eventually named. But best of all the book gives us the Lutheran church records of Schaefferstown from 1770 to 1832 (pp. 91-14.6), and the Reformed church records from 1757 to 1864 (pp. 147-168). Cemetery records are also included (pp. 169-187) for the Lutheran, Reformed, United Brethren and Evangelical churches as well as several private burial grounds of the area. Warrantees of Heidelberg Township are included (pp. 187-192), plus a list of the immigrants who settled the area from 1727 to 1787 (pp. 193-195). Ebbes fer Alle-Ebber—Ebbes fer Dich: Something for Everyone—Something for You. Essays in Memoriam Albert Franklin Buffington, Breinigsville, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania German Society, 1980. 534 pp. Publications of the Pennsylvania German Society, Volume XIV. Available from the Pennsylvania German Society, Box 97, Breinigsville, PA 18031. $25.00. This symposium, a memorial volume honoring a Pennsylvania German scholar, includes three lengthy articles which will be of genealogical interest to Pennsylvania researchers. Walter Klinefelter's "The Gunsmiths of York County, Pennsylvania" (pp. 131-181) includes detailed biographical sketches of all the known gunsmiths of the county. The names included are the following: Alloway, Altiand, Armstrong, Bailey, Bear, Brenise, Gritz, Doll, Edwards, Ernst, Eyster, Frey, Gobrecht, Gooding, Grove, Hacker, Hammond, Harris, Heckert, Herzog, Jacob, Kline, Klinedinst, Leitner, Lether, Newcomer, Nichman, Nunnamacker, Picket, Rathfong, Schriver, Schroyer, Schwartz, Sell, Weishans, Wigle, Willis, and Zorger. Secondly, Frederick S. Weiser has edited "The Earliest Records of Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 1730-1744" Book Reviews 85 (pp. 395434), including baptisms, one confirmation list of 1743, and four lengthy pages of marriages. Also of interest to genealogists is Frederick S. Weiser's article, "1 A E S D: The Story of Johann Adam Eyer (1755-1837), Schoolmaster and Fraktur Artist with a Translation of His Roster Book, 1779-1787" (pp. 435-506). The Roster Book lists Schoolmaster Eyer's pupils at Hilltown, Deep Run, Bedminster, Perkasie and elsewhere in Bucks County during and after the American Revolution. The children's names are inscribed, often with indication of parentage, the date the pupil began instruction, the time the pupil "left," and the fee for teaching. The Three Zug (Zook) Brothers of 1742 and Their Mate Descendants Until 1850; Also the 1768 Amish Almsbook. By Paul V. Hostetler. Baltimore: Gateway Press, 1982. 213 pp. Illustrated, maps. Available from Paul V. Hostetler, 50 Todd St., Hamden, CT 06518. $17.50 ppd; The considerable genealogical work that has been done on Amish families of colonial Pennsylvania is advanced by this careful book. In the Amish world the name Zug (Zook) is a widespread one. The first Amish settlement in America was the so-called Northkill settlement in Bern Township, Lancaster (now Berks) County, established by 1740. The area was devastated by Indian incursions during the French and Indian War after which many of the families moved to Chester, Lancaster and other counties. The three brothers dealt with in this genealogy were Johannes, Christian, and Moritz Zook. The book is arranged in scrapbook form, giving letters, original wills in German, English estate inventories, township warrantee maps, and county atlas maps with the Zook farms marked. There is also much historical data on the origins of the Zug (Zaugg) family in Canton Bern, Switzerland, and their connection with the Palatinate in Germany before coming on to Pennsylvania. Among the historical materials included are excerpts from the Northkill Amish Almsbook, 17E8-1907, an unusual genealogical source in German. If more genealogists would proceed in the manner in which Paul Hostetler has put his book together, showing step by step how he arrived at his conclusions, their work could be checked, traced, and expanded, as the compiler of this valuable book obviously intended his work to be. I also approve of the author's generous offer in the book following his copyright notice--"Permission to reproduce in any form may be secured from the author".