Kleckners of Pennsylvania, Part I: The Family of Anthony Kleckner, 1723-1804

Kleckners of Pennsylvania Francis S. Fox PART I THE FAMILY OF ANTHONY KLECKNER, 1723-1804 Four times in eighteenth century Pennsylvania the surname Klockner or Klockener appears on the official lists of persons arriving in the port of Philadelphia. They are Johan Henrich Klockner, 1734;' Caspar Klockner, 1740;2 Johannes Steffan Klockener, 1753,3 and Andon Klockener, 1753. 4 Because this surname is so unusual these men may have been related, but only in the case of Steffan and Andon Klockener is there evidence of a connection. There is a good probability that 'Steffan and Andon, who arrived in Philadelphia within three days of one another, were brothers, but this probability is best assessed by studying the facts of Steffan KlOckener's life. These are presented in Part II. This information may also prove helpful to researchers who discover printed tax and militia records in the Pennsylvania Archives for two John Klockeners from the adjoining counties of Berks and Northampton. One of them is Andon's son John. The other is almost certainly Steffan's son John, jr. The surname Klockener is an occupational surname, probably a variant of Glockner, which means bell ringer. However, non-Germans could neither pronounce it nor spell it so this surname appears in many forms in eighteenth century documents. Some of these are Klickner, Klegner, Klicknar, Klecknar, Klechner, Kleckner, Klockner, Klockenger, Klockher, Klocknert, Kloeckner, Klucknar, Klaiknor, Klackner, Cleikinger, Clockner, Clegner, Clickenner, Clecknor, Cleckner, Clucknor, Glockener, Gleackner, Gleckner, Gloeckner, Glukner. Gradually the Kleckner variant of the surname came to prevail. Andon, a colloquial form of the given name Anthon, and Steffan will appear hereafter in anglicized form. Anthony Kleckner was born in 1723, probably in Wurttemberg, Germany,' and died in 1804 in Moore Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania.' He married first, probably in Wurttemberg circa 1750, Elizabeth Margaret ( ) who died about 1774-1775 probably in Allen lbwnship, Northampton County. He married a second time in 1776, Maria Catherine Stopp.7 Anthony, his first wife, and two children traveled from Rotterdam to Philadelphia on the ship Edinburgh, Captain John Lyon, master. On 2 October 1753, at the Court House on High (now Market) Street, Anthony signed the oath of allegiance to the King of England, George II, and an abjuration of all other loyalties.' t 985 KLECKNERS OF PENNSYLVANIA, PART 1 27 GERMANTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA On best surmise, Anthony lived in the vicinity of Germantown, Pennsylvania for the next seven years, possibly laboring under an indenture. He first appears in the records of St. Michael's Lutheran Church, Germantown, 3 September 1758, at the baptism of Daniel, his fifth child, witnessed by Heinrich and Catherine jagersdorff. 9 in September 1759 Anthony and his wife witnessed the baptism of a namesake, Anthony Bast, son of John and Anna Catherine Bast." On 24 February 1760 they participated in a triple baptism. John and Anna Catherine Bast sponsored Anna Catherine Kleckner, Anthony's seventh child; Stephen Kleckner (Anthony's presumed brother) and his wife, Anna Elizabeth, sponsored Anna Elizabeth Bast; Anthony and his wife Elizabeth Margaret, sponsored Elizabeth Margaret Kleckner, first child of Stephen. LOWER SAUCON TOWNSHIP, NORTHAMPTON COUNTY Sometime in 1760 Anthony moved about forty miles north of Germantown to Lower Saucon Township, Northampton County. He remained there about fourteen years. Anthony appears on Lower Saucon tax records in 1761' and again in 1766 13 when he was taxed on 40 acres of cleared land, 60 acres uncleared, with 2 horses, 8 cows, and 4 sheep. in 1768 he was appointed collector of taxes for the township and paid fourteen pounds tax on his own property.' He is listed again on Lower Saucon tax rolls in 1772' s and 1773. 1' On 6 December 1760 the baptism of Anthony's eighth child John Phillip was witnessed by John Phillip and Susanna Reifschneider at Triniti,, Lutheran Church in neighboring Springfield Township, Bucks County." His eldest son, John, evidently born in Wurttemberg, was confirmed and received first communion at Trinity Lutheran Church on the second Sunday after Easter in 1768. 's In November 1769 John Nicholas and his sister Elizabeth received communion with their mother at this church' and in October of the following year Anthony, his wife, and daughter Maria Margaret were communicants.' The last mention of the Kleckner family in the records of Trinity Lutheran Church is 28 May 1772 when Anthony received communion with his wife and eldest son, John.' ALLEN TOWNSHIP, NORTHAMPTON COUNTY Sometime during 1772-1774 Anthony moved to 100 acres in Allen Township, since 1798 Hanover Township.' This region, about ten 28 THE PENNSYLVANIA GENEALOGICAL MAGAZINE May miles north of Lower Saucon, lies across the Lehigh River in the heart of present-day Northampton County. Anthony settled in an area of the township called Drylands and owned property there for six years. Elizabeth Margaret, Anthony's first wife and mother of nine children, died about 1774-1775. 23 Anthony still appears on the tax 24 rolls of Allen Township in 1775. MOORE TOWNSHIP, NORTHAMPTON COUNTY It is not clear when Anthony settled in Moore Township, which borders Allen Township to the north and east. He does not appear on tax records for 1776. One surmise is that he moved there in 1776 about the time of his second marriage to Maria Catherine Stapp; she and her four children lived in Moore Township.' This surmise is supported by records at Salem Lutheran Church, Moore Township, which shows Maria Catherine (Stopp) Kleckner to have been a communicant in November 1776 26 and again in December 1777.'7 Also, Anthony's daughter Anna Catherine was confirmed at the same church on 11 March 1778. 2g Tax records for 1777 and 1778 are missing. in 1779, however, Anthony is listed as a tax-paying property owner in Moore, Allen, and Lower Saucon Townships.' In 1780 he paid property tax in Moore Township and is identified as a laborer on the tax rolls;' that same year he was also taxed in Allen Township.' After 1780, Anthony does not appear on tax records of townships other than Moore, which suggests that he chose this period to consolidate his land holdings in Moore Township where he lived the rest of his life. On 29 August 1778 Anthony attended a sheriff's auction at the Northampton County Court House in Easton and purchased a set of blacksmith tools for seventy-four pounds.' He may have presented these tools to his eldest and newly married son, John, whom, according to a grandson's recollection, Anthony himself had trained as a blacksmith.' John is identified as a blacksmith on Moore Township tax rolls in 1780. 34 In 1781 Anthony and four unmarried children including his blind daughter Margaret were communicants at Trinity Lutheran Church at Hecktown, Allen Township.' The following year Anthony and "his children" were communicants at the same church.' At the time of the War of the Revolution, two of Anthony's five sons, John and Nicholas, were married and had children and farms 1985 KLECKNERS OF PENNSYLVANIA, PART I 29 of their own.' Daniel, Solomon, and Phillip probably lived at home. All five appear in a variety of printed records of the Northampton County Militia for the period 1778-1784. 3s MOORE TOWNSHIP RECORDS DOCUMENT ACTIVITIES BETWEEN 1783 AND 1791 Anthony bought fifty acres of land in Moore Township from Henry Lutz in 1783." In 1785 he was taxed for 135 acres, I horse and cow.' That same year he also registered a warrant for twenty-five acres, which was surveyed 12 December 1785:H Anthony appears on township tax rolls for 1786 and 1788 with no significant change in property or taxes.' In 1789 Anthony was involved in a property line dispute. The complaint was heard by the Board of Property on 5 October 1789 and a resurvey ordered. 43 The matter was resolved at the next meeting of the board on 1 April the following year." On 28 November 1791 Anthony sold the SO acres he had acquired from Henry Lutz in 1783 to Conrad Die! of Allen Township.' The transaction was consummated before a Justice of the Peace in March the following year. On 20 August 1786 Anthony and his daughter Anna Catherine witnessed the baptism of Anna Catherine, child of John and Elizabeth (Kleckner) Bingeman.' A few years later, on 2 June 1789, Anthony and his wife, Maria Catherine, sponsored the baptism of another grandchild at Zion's (Stone) Church in Kreidersville, Pennsylvania.' This child of his eldest son, John, was named Anthony. The infant died eighteen months later on 4 November 1790." On 5 July 1793, following the birth of two more children, John honored his father by naming another son Anthony.' Anthony's wife, Maria Catherine, appears on the communion register of Salem Lutheran and Reformed Church in 1789." The first United States census in 1790 lists Anthony Klikner [sic] as a resident of Moore Township along with three free white females.' Presumably these women were his wife Maria Catherine, their daughter Susanna, and Anthony's daughter Margaret by his first wife. TH ON V KLECKNER'S WILL On 2 August 1794 Anthony signed his will. This document provides an unusual glimpse of Anthony's character. He was a careful man who concerned himself with the most minute particulars of 30 THE PENNSYLVANIA GENEALOGICAL MAGAZINE May material transactions and personal relationships. His bequests and stipulations would indicate an aggressive businessman and even more vividly a husband and father who retaliated against those who displeased him, but who at the same time was capable of love and charity, For those who would interpret Anthony for themselves, an abstract of his will follows.' ABSTRACT OF ANTHONY KLECKNER'S WILL I give a . my wife Catherine if she be living at the time of my death and in lieu of those things she brought to me at the time of our intermarriage, one good coverbed with feathers, one good chaff bed, one pillow with feathers, two sheets, one bedstead, one kitchen cupboard, two pewter dishes, one pewter soup baton [sic], four pewter plates, eleven pewter spoons, one old iron stove, one cow, one chest, the same she brought to me, one cloc [sic] ,the same she brought to me, one spinning wheel, one table, one chair, one pair of scissors [sic], her hymn book, her side saddle, one dungfork, one iron pot, one fork, one frying pan, one baking iron, one iron skimmer, one iron flesh fork, one pot chain, one earthen cream pot, the value of eighteen pence earthen milk pots, one pail, one small bucket, one small tub, one looking glass, and one beehive with swarm, And I give . a my a a .wife . .ail my messuage, tenement and two contiguous tracts of land, situate in Moore Township . so long as she shall remain my widow, and not longer. . if my . wife shall enter into wedlock again . my . . executor, as soon after such incident as possible . .shall sell the said estate to the best advantage, and from the monies arising from such sale, shall pay to my . . wife . . . the sum of twenty pounds lawful money of Pennsylvania . . in full for her . share . . of all my estate. . . and [from] the remainder .pay . . my youngest daughter, Susannah, the only child by me begotten upon the body of my .wife Catherine, the sum of twenty-five pounds . . if Susannah shall have dutifully and obediently attended and served me to the end of my life and her mother to the termination of this estate, but if she shall not have served me and her mother, the . . legacy shall be reckoned as part of the residue of my estate And I give . . my beloved daughter, Margaretha, who altho under the infirmity of blindness, has done me the most substantial, real and beneficial services and at all times behaved very dutifully to 1985 KLECKNERS OF PENNSYLVANIA, PART I 31 me, the sum of two hundred and fifty pounds lawful money of Pennsylvania, to be set apart by executors, . . and by them put out or kept on interest thereof to be paid yearly and every year to my said daughter Margaretha for her own use, . . and in case she should not be capable to subsist by the said interest, then on her application, . as much of the the . • executors shall have liberty to take in principal as from time to time may be necessary for her support . and I give and bequeath the same unto my eight children, share and share alike, to wit: one share . to my son John Nicholas, .one share thereof to my daughter one share . . to my son John, Christina, the wife of John Heldman, which share I order my executors to put out on interest and the interest thereof to be paid yearly to my said daughter Christina, for which her own receipt only, without the concurrence of her husband, who has most materially offended me, shall be a sufficient voucher . . . and I . . appoint my son, Daniel Kleckner and my friend John Hasse, of Bethlehem . to be executors of this, my last will and testament . . Andon KlOckener(s) Anthony Kleckner died in Moore Township probably in July or August 1804. His will was probated 11 September 1804. An inventory of his estate taken on 29 September revealed an estimated net value of $2,422. However, at the final accounting on 22 November 1805 the net value was set at 1,276 pounds.' Under the terms of Anthony's will, the sale of his land in 1805 meant that his wife remarried soon after his death. When the estate was disbursed late in 1805, she received a final settlement of twentyfive pounds as stipulated in the will. A little more than half of the inventoried value of Anthony's estate was in bonds, notes receivable, and cash. There were eight interestbearing bonds with a value of $673, forty notes receivable valued at $541, and $116 in cash. Family, friends, and neighbors apparently looked to Anthony as a banking resource. Numerous small notes included one for $2.28 due from his eldest son John and another for $17.11 due from Andrew Kleckner.' (This may have been Anthony's nephew See Part IL) Curiously, the interest on one bond held by Anthony's attorney was diverted to Samuel Stopp, 55 Anthony's stepson. It is interesting to speculate on Anthony's motivation in this matter. 32 THE PENNSYLVANIA GENEALOGICAL MAGAZINE May This is the only evidence that Anthony concerned himself with the four stepsons of his second marriage. When Anthony's estate was disbursed, 250 pounds was placed in trust for his daughter Margaret while the remaining eight children each received 114 pounds. These assets provided firm roots for the estimated 100,000 direct descendants of Anthony Kleckner. Of these, 50,000 in the eighth, ninth, and tenth generations may well be alive today.' A village sprang up at the crossroads near Anthony's farm and was called Klecknersville, a name that can be found on contemporary maps at the southern edge of the Blue Mountain in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. POSTERITY OF ANTHONY KLECKNER Children, presumably born in Wurttemberg: i. John, b. 12 Aug. 1750, d. at Mifflinburg, Pa. 21 Sept. 1839; m, in Allen Township, Northampton County, Pa., 1 June 1778 Barbara Koch, b. 6 May 1760; d. at Mifflinburg 9 July 1849; dau. of Jacob and Sarah Koch. John belonged to the Lutheran Church and Barbara was a member of the Reformed Church.' Children, born in Allen Township: 1. Daniel, b. 2 Feb. 1780, bp. Reformed 30 April 1780, witnessed by Daniel Kleckner and Catherine Koch;" d. S Sept. 1833.' 9 2. John, b. 2 Dec. 1781, bp. Lutheran 24 March 1782, witnessed by Daniel Kleckner and Elizabeth Koch." 3. Joseph, b. 15 Nov. 1783, bp. Reformed 11 Jan. 1784;61 d. prior to 1835, date of father's will. 4. Maria Christina, b. 19 Oct. 1785, bp, Lutheran 20 Nov. 1785, "sponsored by parents;"62 d. at Loganton, Clinton County Pa., 12 Feb. 1845; m. Mathias Snook ca. 1808, b. 16 Aug. 1775, d. at Loganton Dec. 1852. Christina and Mathias had eleven children.' 5. Elizabeth, b. 3 March 1787, d. at Loganton_ 1 Aug. 1833; m. John Heckman, 25 Jan. 1807; b. 1787, d. at Loganton 24 April 1870. Elizabeth and John had ten children." 6. Anthony, b. 19 May 1789, bp. Reformed 7 June 1789, witnessed by Anthony and Maria Catherine (Stopp) Kleckner;65 d. 4 Nov. 1790." 7. Anna Barbara, b. 2 Aug. 1791, bp. Reformed 9 Oct. 1791, witnessed by John Nicholas and Barbara Kleckner,' m. Peter Pontius,", b. 20 March 1783, 3 985 KLECKNERS OF PENNSYLVANIA, PART I 33 d. 24 Dec. 1862.' About 1792 or 1793 John Kleckner moved sixty miles west across the Susquehanna and started a new life as tavern keeper, farmer, distiller, blacksmith, and land speculator. Children, born in West Buffalo Township, Northumberland County (since 1813 Union County). 8. Anthony, b. 5 July 1793, bp. 8 Sept. 1793, witnessed by Solomon and Barbara Kleckner;7° d. at Loganton I_ Sept. 1860; m. Sarah Munich 3 June 1813; b. at Hanover, Dauphin Co., Pa., 29 Aug. 1791, d. at Loganton, July 1865. Anthony and Sarah had eleven children." 9. Margaret, b. 1795; in. Jonas Hartman. Margaret and Jonas had eleven children?' 10. George, b. 1797; d. 1834;73 m. Miss Ruhl ca. 1817.74 11. Elias, b. 8 Aug. 1799; d. 30 March 1861; m. Catherine (---), b. 9 July 1807, d. 12 June 1899. 75 12. David, b. 1 Aug. 1802, bp. Reformed 24 Nov. 18U2 at Zion Church, Allen Township, Northampton Co., witnessed by George and Elizabeth Koch;76 m. Esther Wingert, 8 June 1829; b. Bern Township, Becks Co., 15 Dec. 1810, dau. of John and Elizabeth Wingert." David and Esther had nine daughters and no sons. To summarize, as presently verified, five of John Kleckner's children presented him with fifty-two grandchildren. (The actual total is probably close to seventy) The rate of childbirth among his children suggests that there may have been four generations present at the funeral of Barbara Kleckner in 1849. ii. Margaret, b. 1752; d. at Mifliinburg, Pa., 9 Aug. 1829. 78 A 1781 communion record says Margaret was blind.' Margaret was probably forty-two and her father seventy-one when his will was drawn in 1794. Anticipating that his greatly loved handicapped daughter would outlive him, he made a generous financial provision for her and, to ensure her further happiness, indicated in the will that "it shall be at the free will . , of my said daughter . to live with her brother John or any other of her brothers or sisters, or any other person whatsoever, as she shall think proper, 1 knowing her industry and discretion."80 Margaret probably lived with or close to her brother John following the death of her father in 1804. Children, born at Germantown: iii. John Nicholas, prob. b. 1754; m. (1) 19 June 1772, Anna Maria Ritter, b. 6 May 1757; d. 12 Dec. 1785; dau. of 34 THE PENNSYLVANIA GENEALOGICAL MAGAZINE May Caspar and Margaret Ritter.' He m. (2) 17 April 1786 Anna Maria Seib; d. 10 Dec. 1789; dau. of Jacob and Rosina Seib.' He m. (3) 3 June 1790, Barbara Schneider!' Children, born in Allen Township: 1. Anna Maria, b. Jan. 1774 bp. Lutheran 2 Feb. 1774, witnessed by Caspar and Margaret Ritter." 2. Susanna, b. 14 Jan. 1778, bp. Lutheran 2 Feb. 1778, witnessed by John Kleckner and Susan Stitler." 3. Caspar, b. 18 June 1782, bp. Reformed 23 May 1782, witnessed by John Caspar Ritter and Elizabeth Kleckner, "both single.' Contrary to baptismal records, the burial record for Anna Maria (Ritter) Kleckner says she gave birth to nine boys and one girl. g' The absence of baptismal records suggests that the boys failed to survive childbirth. The reference to just one girl suggests that the writer of the statement may have had a lapse in memory or perhaps he was acknowledging that one daughter was dead in 1785. 5. Jacob, b. 24 Dec. 1787, bp. Lutheran 10 Feb. 1788, witnessed by Jacob and Rossina Seib; d. 12 Feb. 1788." 6. Solomon, b. 29 Nov. 1790, bp. Lutheran 9 Jan. 1791, witnessed by Solomon and Barbara Kleckner. 89 iv Elizabeth, prob. b. 7 5 5; m. John Bingeman ca. 1785. Children, born in Allen Township: 1. Anna Catherine, b. 20 Aug. 1787, bp. Lutheran 21 Oct. 1787, witnessed by Andoni [sic] Kleckner and dau. Anna Catherine." From this date on, the whereabouts of this family is unknown. There is no further reference to John and Elizabeth Bingeman in the records of the four churches attended by members of the Kleckner family and the families of their wives. However, the inventory of Anthony's estate reveals that in 1804 John Bingeman owed Anthony twenty-seven dollars. v. Daniel Heinrich, b. 15 April 1757;9' d. Moore Township, Northampton Co., ca. 1834; m. prob. 1788-1789 Elizabeth Barlieb.' Daniel was the son who stayed home and took over the family farm. A good place to begin research on this family is the records of Salem Lutheran and Reformed Church in Moore Township which Daniel and Elizabeth attended regularly for many years. Tombstones for some of their children and grandchildren are found in the cemetery across the road from the church. 1985 KLECKNERS OF PENNSYLVANIA, PART 1 35 vi. Christina, prob. b. 1758; m. John Heldman ca. 1781. Children, born in Allen Township: 1. Elizabeth, b. 18 Nov. 1783, bp. Lutheran 21 Dec. 1783, witnessed by Elizabeth Kleckner.93 2. John Nicholas, b. 24. April 1785, bp. Lutheran 8 May 1785, witnessed by John Nicholas and Anna Maria Kleckner.' 3. John, b. 20 Dec. 1786, bp. Lutheran 14 Jan. 1787, witnessed by John and Barbara Kleckner." 4. John Phillip, b. 23 July 1788, bp. 27 July 1788, witnessed by John Phillip Kleckner and Elizabeth Huber.' 5. Joseph, b. 18 Jan. 1793, bp. 13 April 1793, witnessed by Lorenz Prader.' Anthony Kleckner says in his will that John Heldman "has most materially offended me" and its terms assure that this son-in-law will never receive any of the money bequeathed to his daughter Elizabeth. One wishes he had hinted at the nature of his displeasure. vii. Anna Catherina, b. 20 July X759;48 prob, d. in Moore Township ca. 1788. Children, born in Lower Saucon Township, Northampton County: viii. John Phillip, b. 15 Sept. 1760; bp. Lutheran 6 Dec. 1760;99 d. in Allen Township 14 Jan. 1845; m. 2 December 1788 Elizabeth Huber, b. 27 October 1767; d. in Allen Township 3 May 1839. 1' John Phillip and Elizabeth were childless. This probably contributed to their popularity as witnesses for many baptisms. They were regular communicants at Christ Lutheran and Reformed Church in Schoenersville, Pa., for forty years. ix. Solomon, b. 20 March 1765; d. at New Berlin, Pa., 18 Aug. 1837; m. 19 Feb. 1790 Barbara Huber; b. 15 Nov. 1773; d. 11 June 1843. 14 Children, born in Allen Township: 1. Jacob, b. 13 May 1790, bp. Lutheran, no dates, witnessed by Michael and Anna Huber. 1 1)2 Solomon joined his brother John and moved in 1792 or 1793 to West Buffalo Township, Northumberland County (since 1813 Union County). Solomon and Barbara had nine children as follows: John, Jacob, Peter, Joseph, William, Michael, Susanna, Elizabeth, and Catherine.'" Children, born in Moore Township: x. Susanna, b. ca. 1777. 36 THE PENNSYLVANIA GENEALOGICAL MAGAZINE May Further research is underway on a branch of the Kleckner family that begins with (1) Anthony (1723-1804), and continues with (2) John (1750-1839), (3) Anthony (1793-1860), (4) Robert 0814.1 87 8), (5) Harvey ( 1 843- 1 9 1 1), (6) Grace Ella (Kleckner) Shreckengast (1876-1902), and her daughter, (7) Mildred Mae (Shreckengast) Fox, born 1901, adopted 1902 by Kathryn (Kleckner) Morris, sister of Grace Ella Kleckner. For well over a hundred years this branch of the Kleckner family lived most of their lives in Sugar Valley, Clinton County, Pennsylvania. Early settlers at the beginning of the nineteenth century, they bought land, farmed, planned a town, sold real estate, built and operated grain mills, hotels, taverns, and stores, helped organize banking and insurance businesses, were active in politics and the Lutheran Church, and reproduced themselves generously. Midway in the nineteenth century, the Sugar Valley Klecknets and their kin could have filled —and probably did all of the benches at Camp Meeting. Today, as far as I have been able to discover, the Kleckner surname has disappeared from Sugar Valley. NOTES 1 Ralph Beaver Strassburger, Pennsylvania German Pioneers, vol. 1, ed. William John Hinke, (Norristown, Pa,: Pennsylvania German Society, 1934), p. 137. Henrich, age 45, was accompanied by his wife Clara, age 37, and their children Maria Elizabeth, 11, Cathrina, 7, Jaannis Gerard, 4 and Magdalena, 3. Caspar Kleckner was 26 when he arrived in Philadelphia. 2 Strassburger, p. 289. 3 Strassburger, pp. 568, 570, 571. In lists B and C which he signed, Steffan's family name is interpreted first as Klockner and then as KlikIcener. The latter spelling is probably correct since circumstantial evidence presented in Part II of this paper makes a strong case that Steffan and Andon Klockener were probably brothers. 4 Strassburger, pp. 577, 579, 580. Anthony Kleckner is listed on the passenger manifest (list A) as Anthon KJekner aged 30. On lists B and C which he signed, his name is spelled Andon fackener. 5 Since, according to the undocumented staternent in The History of that Part of Me Susquehanna and Juniata. Valleys Embraced in the Counties of Mifilin, Juniata, Perry, Ertl i0 01 and Snyder, vol. 2 (Philadelphia; 1886), p. 1361 Anthony's son John was born in Wurttemberg, Anthony himself may well have been born in Wurttemberg. 6 Probate Docket 2254 (Easton, Pa.: Northampton County Court House), date of probate 11 September 1804, inventoried 29 September 1804, 7 Charles R. Roberts et al,, History of Lehigh County, vol. 2 (Allentown, Pa.; 1914), p. 1296. 8 Strassburger, pp. 579 580. 9 Records of Si. Michael's Lutheran Church, Germantown, Pa., baptisms 13 October 1741-6 September 1807, (Collections of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1896 Ph IL:1), p, 38& Hereafter St. Michael's Church. le' Si. Michael's Church, p. 394. St. Michael's Church, p. 407. 12 Northampton County Tax Lists for 1761. copied by personnel of WPA, unpublished (Easton Public Library, 1938), A2'91 1985 13 Mathew S. Henry, ICLECKNERS OF PENNSYLVANIA, PART 1 37 History of Easton, Pennsylvania, and Northampton County in Me American Revolution, unpublished (Easton Pubic Library, 1900), p. 292. 14 Tax records for 1768, Lower Saucon Township, Northampton County (Collection of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania: XR702). 15 Pennorlivania Archives, 3rd Series, 19:32. Hereafter Pa. Arth, L6 Henry, p, 4 17 Benjamin Franklin Fackenthal, Sundry Tombstone Inscriptions and Church Data, Springfield Church, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, vol. 2, unpublished (Easton Public Library, 1933), p. 425, 18 Fackenthal, p. 457. 19 Fackenthal, p. 460, 2° Fackenthal, p. 461. 21 Fackenthal, p, 462+ 22 Henry, p. 105. 23 These dates are a surmise based on the assumption that Anthony followed the customary practice of the day by re-marrying as soon as possible after the death or his first wife, His second marriage took place in 1776, probably in the second half of the year. 24 John C. Clyde, The Scotch-Irish of Northampton County, vol. 1 (Easton: The Northampton County Historical and Genealogical Society, 1926), p. 28. " John Stopp, husband of Anthony Kleckner's second wife, registered a land warrant for twenty acres in Moore Township on 1 June 1772, Pa. Arch., 3rd Series, 26:169. He paid twelve shillings tax on this property the same year, Pa. Arch., 3rd Series, 19:61. Probably in the spring of 1776 he joined a militia company led by Captain Thomas Craig and went off to war. He was captured at Fort Washington, N.Y., on 16 Nov 1776 and was reported to have lost his rifle in action, ,Pa. Arch., 5th Series, 8:536. He never returned home and presumably died in service. Spurred by a burst of patriotic fervor, John Stapp may have abandoned his Family, leaving them in dire straits. The true circumstances of this matter are unknown but it is a fact that Maria Catherine Stopp and Anthony Kleckner elected to marry before she gained the mantle of widowhood. 26 Records of Salem Lutheran and Reformed Church, Moorestown, Pa., 1774-1840, ed. Clarence E. Beckel, trans. A. S. Leiby, unpublished (Bethlehem Public Library, 1950), p. 60. Viewed as four corners, the churches attended by Anthony Kleckner and his family and their kin Salem Lutheran and Reformed, Moorestown; Dryland. (Trinity) Lutheran and Reformed, Hecktown; Christ Lutheran and Reformed, Schoenersville; Zion's (Stone) Church, Kreidersville are set in rolling farmland about six miles from one another. 2? Salem Church, p. 60. 28 Salem Church, p. 61. 29 Henry, pp. 17, 122, 160. 3" Franklin Ellis, History of Northampton County (Philadelphia: 1877), p. 76. 31 Ellis, p. 7 . 32 Pa. Arch., 6th Series, 12:441. 33 History of that Part of the Susquehanna, p. L361. 34 Ellis, p. 75. 35 Records of Dry/and [Trinity] Lutheran and Reformed Church, 1763-1808, liecktown, Pa., ed. Clarence E. Beckel, trans. William j, Hinke, unpublished (Bethlehem Public Library, 1938), p. 111, Dr /end Church, p. 112. 37 Henry, pp. 17, 22. 38 John Kleckner, Pa. Arch., 3rd Series, 6:743, 23:286; Sth Series, 4:330, 5:246, 8:66, 197, 260, 274, 285, 317; 6th Series, 3:792, 879. Daniel Kleckner, Pa. Arch., 3rd Series, 23:292; 5th Series, 4:315, 5:246, 8:254, 260, 267, 279, 299, 595 6th Series, 3:792, 879. John Nicholas Kleckner, Pa. Arch,, 5th Series, 8:160, 254, 281, 291, 299+ Solomon Kleckner, Pa. Arch., 6th Series, 3:792, 879. Philip Kleckner, Pa. Arch., 6th Series, 3:792,, 879. 39 Deed Book 2, p. 2 (Easton, Pa.: Northampton County Courthouse). 38 THE PENNSYLVANIA GENEALOGICAL MAGAZINE May ' Pa. Arch., 3rd Series, 19:139. 41 Pa. Arch., 3rd Series, 26:110. 42 Pa. Arch., 3rd Series, 19:248, 351. 43 Pa. Arch., 3rd Series, 1:670. " Pa. Arch., 3rd Series, 1:689. 45 Deed Book 2, p. 2 (Easton, Pa.: Northampton County Courthouse). 46 Recordc of Zion's [Stone] Church, Kreidersville, Pa., ed, and trans. Clarence E. Becket, unpublished (Bethlehem Public Library, 1936), p. 83. 47 Zion's Chvrch, p. 17. #8 Zion's Church, p. 72. 49 Mrs. Franklin M. Earnest, The Dreisbach Church, (The Northumberland County Historical Society, 1939), I 1:99. s° Salem Church, p, 67. s' Headles of Families at the First Census of the United States Mken in the Year 1790, (Washington, DC, 1908), p. 177. 52 Will Book 4: 179 (Easton: Northampton County Courthouse). 53 Probate Docket 2254 (Easton: Northampton County Courthouse). 54- Probate Docket 2254. 55 Roberts et al, p. 1296. Samuel Stopp married Salome Fux and settled in Easton. 56 There were approximately 47 children in the third generation of the Kleckner familyi the total may have been as high as 60. Allowing for early deaths and unmarried or infertile men and women, the estimated number of total descendants is based on an average of 6 children per person in generation three (three females and two males in this generation actually had 11, 11, 10, i 1, and 9 children respectively) with the average reduced by one for subsequent generations, ending with .5 for generation nine. This calculation results in 108,909 direct descendants of Anthony Kleckner. Ten percent of generation eight, ninety per cent of generation nine and all of generation ten results in 56,216 descendants possibly alive today. I devised this method of calculating the number of Anthony's descendants because I was unable to locate data on family size in America that could be applied in the context of this paper. 57 History of that Part of the Susquehanna, p. 1361. 58 Zion's Church, p. 7. 59 Mary Belle Lontz, Tombstones cif Union County, Pennsyvlania (Milton, Pa., 1967), ph 74. 1' Zions Church, p. 71. 61 ZiOn:r Church, p. 12. 62 Records of Christ Lutheran and Reformed Church, Schomersvilie, Pa., ed. and trans. Clarence E. Beckel, unpublished (Bethlehem Public Library, 1936), p. 12. 63 John Blair Linn, History of Centre and Clinton Counties, (Philadelphia: Louis H. Everts, 1883), pp. 616, 619. 64 Linn, p. 616, 65 Zion's Church, p. 17, 66 Christ Church, p. 72. See note 48. Anthony was bp, Reformed at Zion Church and interred Lutheran at Christ Church. 67 Christ Church, p. B. 68 John Kleckner's will, signed 1 May 1835, filed 12 Oct. 1839, Union County Courthouse, Lewisburg, Pa. 69 John B. Linn, Annals of Buffalo Valley (Harrisburg: Lane S. Hart, 1877), pp. 458, 574. 70 Earnest, p. 49. 71 Kleckner family Bible, courtesy Mary E. Hoffer. n Kleckner family data, unpublished, cornpded by Mary E. Hoffer, Jersey Shore, P. 13 See n. 72, above. 74 History, of that Part of the Susquehanna, p. 1404. 44 1985 KLECKNERS OF PENNSYLVANIA, PART I 39 7s See n. 72 above. 76 Zion's Church, p. 94. 77 History of Mat Part of Me Susquehanna, p. 1361. 78 A1111141$ of Buffalo Valley, p. 571. 79 DrykInd Church, p. 111. 8° Will Book 4:179 (Easton: Northampton County Courthouse). 81 Christ Church, p. 71. 82 Christ Church, p. 70. 83 Drylands Church, p. 70. 84 Drylands Church, p. 15. 85 Drylands Church, p. 19. 86 Christ Church, p. 2. 87 History of Christ Lutheran and Reformed Church, unpublished (Bethlehem Public Library, 1930), p, 33. 88 Christ Church, p. 72. °9 Christ Church, p. 9. 9° Eion's Church, p. 83. 91 St. Michael's Church, p. 3 86 . 92 Salem Church, p. 71. Daniel was not counted in census of Anthony Kieckner's household in 1790. Daniel and his wife Elizabeth Barlieb attended communion at Salem Church 4 Oct. 1792. Marriage of Daniel and Elizabeth presumed to take place before 17904 93 Christ Church, p. 2. 94 Christ Church, p. 3, 95 Christ Church, p. 6. 96 Christ Church, p. 7. 97 Christ Church, p. 12, 98 St. Michaels Church, p. 394, 99 Fackenthal, pi 425. 1 " Gloria Hartzell, Genealogical History of John Francis Huber from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, (Gilbertsville, 1983), p. 29. 1 °1 Hartzell, p. 29. 102. Christ Church, p. . 103 Commemorative Biographical Record of Centre, Clinton, Union, and Snyder Counties (Chicago, 1898), p. 974. PART II THE FAMILY OF STEPHEN KLECKNER, c.1733 - 1787 There is a good probability that Johannes Steffan Klockener and Andon Klockener, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1753 within three days of one another were brothers. Stephen Kleckner was born circa 1733 probably in Wurttemberg, Germany. He died in 1787 in Brunswick Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania (in what, since 1811, has been Schuylkill County and, since 1834, West Brunswick Township). He married, ca. 1758-1759, perhaps in Germantown, Anna Elizabeth Stephen travelled from Rotterdam to Philadelphia on the snow Rowand, Captain Arthur Trans, Master. On 29 September 1753 at the Court House on High (now Market) Street he signed the oath of allegiance to the King of England, George II, and an abjuration of all other loyalties.' GERMANTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA Stephen appears in the records of St. Michael's Lutheran Church, Germantown, on 24 February 1760 at the baptism of his daughter Elizabeth Margaret which was witnessed by Anthony Kleckner and his wife Elizabeth Margaret. At the same time Stephen and his wife Anna Elizabeth witnessed the baptism of Anna Elizabeth Bast, daughter of John and Anna Catherine Bast while John and Anna Catherine Bast witnessed the baptism of Anna Catherine Kleckner, daughter of Anthony and Elizabeth Margaret Kleckner.' LYNN TOWNSHIP, NORTHAMPTON COUNTY Later in the year, as noted in Christopher Sauer's Pennsylvania Berichte, Stephen Kleckner left Germantown and "settled near When (Valentine) Probst in the Allemangel,"'the frontier region of Albany Township in the northeast corner of Berks County. Stephen's place was just over the Northampton county line in Lynn Township where he appears on the tax rolls in 1761 s and 172.6 On 26 April 1762 the baptism of Stephen's son Andreas (Andrew) is noted in the records of the Allemangel or New Jerusalem Church located near the Kleckner farm but just over the line in Berks County near present-day Wer- 1985 KLECICNERS OF PENNSYLVANIA, PART II 41 nersville. Sponsors of this baptism were John Bast and Christine Steidel, wife of the local barber.' At the same church on 12 June 1763, Stephen's son John Jr. was baptized with Margaret Steidel and John Schuman as sponsors.' The Reverend Daniel Schumacher was the minister for both of these baptisms. BRUNSWICK TOWNSHIP, BERMS COUNTY Possibly in 1764-1766 Stephen crossed the first ridge of the Blue Mountains and settled in Brunswick Township, Berks County. On 9 May 1771 according to the records of Zion (Red) Church near present-clay Orwigsburg, the Reverend Daniel Schumacher confirmed Elizabeth Margaret Kleckner and Anna Catherine Kleckner.' These girls were evidently cousins, the same two who were baptized twelve years earlier in Germantown. But there was another Margaret Kleckner at the church that day in 1771. One surmises that this child was Stephen's daughter born ca. 1770-1771 and that the Reverend Mr. Schumacher baptized her following the confirmation ceremony. The notes in Daniel Schumacher's pastoral register indicate that he prepared illuminated certificates for Anna Catherine Kleckner and her recently born cousin, Margaret, to commemorate the events of 9 May 1771. The Stephen Kleckner family appears in the records of Zion Church for the last time in June 1777 when Andrew, John jr., and Mary are confirmed. 11 In 1779 Stephen Kleckner is listed on the tax rolls of Brunswick Township, assessed on 108 acres, 2 horses and 7 cattle. '2 The following year he is taxed 5 pounds on 101 acres, 2 horses and 5 cattle." MILITIA SERVICE: JOHN, SR. CONFUSED WITH JOHN, JR. in 1780 John Kleckner served in Captain Jacob Baldy's company of the 6th Battalion, Berks County Militia, commanded by Colonel Joseph Heister "in service to the United States" 10 August to 9 September." In 1781 John served two tours of militia duty. The first was under Captain Daniel Will, Windsor Township Militia "over the Blue Mountains," from 28 May to 31 July,'S Then, from 16 August to 16 October John served in a detachment under the command of Captain Charles Krouse of the 1st Battalion, Berks County Militia, guarding prisoners-of-war around Lancaster.' But the John Kleckner that appears in these militia records was most likely John, Jr. as John, 42 THE PENNSYLVANIA GENEALOGICAL MAGAZINE May Sr. would have been about fifty years old at the time and was supporting a wife and five children at home. John, Jr. was seventeen when he served his first tour of duty. In 1781 Stephen Kleckner paid tax on 100 acres, 3 horses and 4 cattle in Brunswick Township. 17 That same year John, Jr. received depreciation pay for service in the Berks County Militia." In 1784 Andrew Kleckner appears as a single freeman on the tax rolls of Brunswick Township and is taxed two pounds. 'The following year he paid taxes of 10 pounds 9 shillings.' The purpose of the tax was not recorded although presumably it was a property assessment because of the relatively large amount of the tax. Perhaps he had taken responsibility for the family farm because his father was ill. Stephen Kleckner died intestate in 1787. The descendants of this branch of the Kleckner family continued to live in Schuylkill County for many years.' Children, born presumably in Germantown, Pa.: i. Elizabeth Margaret, b. 22 January 1760, bp. Lutheran 24 Feb. 1760.22 Children, born in Lynn Township, Northampton County, Pa.: ii. Andreas, b. 1 April 1762, bp. Luthern 26 April 1762. 2' 24 iii. John, Jr., b. 31 May 1763, bp. Lutheran 12 June 1763. Children, born in Brunswick Township, Berks County, Pa.: iv. Mary, b. ca. 1764. v. Catherine, b. ca. 1766. vi. Margaret b. ca. 1770-1771 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I have been well served by the staff and resources of the following institutions: Boston Athenaeum, Boston Public Library, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Widener Library at Harvard University, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Archives Division, Pennsylvania State Library, Easton Public Library, Northampton County Courthouse, Bethlehem Public Library, Lehigh County Historical Society. Material found in Horatio Gates Shull, Fetterman [Fethermani, Kleckner, Huber, Bender, Richards Genealogies, unpublished (Easton Public Library, 1930), is fragmentary and often confusing, but it provided helpful leads. The same may be said for the brief paper by David Spurgeon Jenkins, The 1985 KLECKNERS OF PENNSYLVANIA, PART II 43 Kleckner-Fessier Families in Gerais, Schuylkill, Northampton and Lancaster Counties, unpublished (The Library of the New England His- toric Genealogical Society, 1957). I am especially grateful to Mary E. Hoffer, Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania, who generously shared data compiled in her study of the Kleckners of Union and Clinton Counties. NOTES I Marriage date based on birth of first child in 1760. 2 Ralph Beaver Strassburger, Penwylvania German Pioneers, vol. 1, ed. William John Hinke, (Norristown, Pa.: Pennsylvania German Society, 1934), pp. 570, 571. 3 Records of St. Michael's Lutheran Church, Germantown, Pa., baptisms 13 October 174-1-6 September 1807, unpublished (Collections of the Genealogical Society or Pennsylvania: Ph 21,:1), p. 407. 4 Edward W. Mocker-, German Settlers of Pennsylvania, (Baltimore, 1981), p. BS 3 Northampton County Tax Lists for 1761, copied by personnel of WPA, unpublished (Easton Public Library, 1938), Al2. ° Charles R. Roberts et al., History of Lehigh County, vol. 2 (Allentown, Pa., 1914), p. 1463. 7 Frederick S. Weiser, trans., Daniel Schumacher's Baptismal Register, (Allentown, Publications of The Pennsylvania German Society, 1968), 1:278. 8 Weiser, 1:290. Wireiser, 1:393. F( My surmise is that Schumacher baptized Margaret following the confirmation service on 9 May 1771 as a favor to the Kleckner family, long-time friends. Later he inadvertently listed Margaret's name with Anna Catherine and Elizabeth Margaret in the section of his register set aside for confirmations. 1 assume that the Margaret Kleckner in question was the daughter of John Kleckner born ca. 1770-1771. If this was not so, I have no other explanation for the appearance of Margaret Kleckner in the confirmation section of the register 9 May 1771. 11 1-1.A. Weller, A Documentary History of the Old Red (Zion) Church in West Brunswick Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, (Publications of the Schuylkill County Historical Society, vol. 2, no. 3, 1910), p. 257. 12 Pennsylvania Archives, 3rd Series, 18:195. 11 Pa. Arch., 3rd Series, 18:332. 14 Pa. Arch., 2nd Series, 14:299. 15 Pa. Arch., 5th Series, 5:277+ 16 Pa. Arch., 2nd Series, 14:305; 5th Series, 5:171. 17 Pa. Arch., 3rd Series, 18:459. 18 Pa. Arch., 5th Series, 4:262. 19 Pa. Arch., 3rd Series, 18:590. 2. Pa. Arch., 3rd Series, 18:717, 21 Records Intestate, Vol. 4, p. 102, 1787 (Reading: Berks County Court House). See Account Index Record ' October 1788 for analysis of Stephen Kleckner's estate. This data in David Spurgeon Jenkins, The Kleckner-Fessler Families in Berks., Schuylkill, Northampton and Lancaster Counties, Pennsylvania, unpublished (The Library of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1957), 6 22 Records of St. Micas Lutheran Church, Germantown, Pa., Baptisms 13 October 1741 September 1807 (Collections of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1896 Ph 2L:1), p. 407. 23 Weiser, ibid., p. 278. 24 Weiser, ibidpi p. 290.