Will the correct Solomon Himes please step forward!

There were four men by the name of Solomon Himes living in the counties of Armstrong, Clarion, and Jefferson County, Pennsylvania that were born within a few years of each other from 1836 to 1840.  Many people that have a Solomon Himes from one of these counties as an ancestor associate them with the wrong parents.  I will attempt to look at each of the four men by the name of Solomon Himes and explain why I have placed them with a particular Himes family.

1)  Solomon Himes who was born 1 April 1836 and died 13 July 1909 was a son of Peter Himes and Eva Shaffner/Shoffner.  The original baptismal record from the "Yeany" Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church near Shannondale in Clarion County, Pennsylvania gives his parents' names as Petrus and Eva Heims.  He was married to Lucina Smith and was in Company I, 62nd Pennsylvania Volunteers during the Civil War.  He is buried at St. John's (Windy Hill) Cemetery in Rose Township, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania.  Photographs of Solomon and Lucina's tombstones are on the Find A Grave website.

2)  Solomon Himes who was born 12 August 1838 and died 16 December 1889 was a son of Henry Himes and Salome Moser.  The original baptismal record from the "Yeany" Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church near Shannondae in Clarion County, Pennsylvania gives his parents' names as Heinrich Heim and Salome.  He was married to Rebecca Best.  He is buried at Saint Jacobs Union Cemetery in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania.  Photographs of Solomon and Rebecca's tombstones are on the Find A Grave website. 

3)  Solomon Himes who was born 8 January 1840 and died 6 June 1911 was a son of William Himes and Caroline Wonderling.  A transcribed baptismal record of the Trinity Reformed Church record by Cornelius Koppenheffer gives his birthdate as 6 January 1840 and his parents' names as William and Caroline Heim.  His tombstone gives his birthdate as 8 January 1840.  He was married to Lucetta.  He is buried at Shannondale Union Cemetery in Shannondale, Clarion County, Pennsylvania.  A photograph of Solomon and Lucetta's tombstone is on the Find A Grave website.

4)  Solomon Himes who was born 18 September 1837 and died 31 August 1897 was a son of  Christian Himes and Ann Mary Rettinger.  A Solomon aged 14 appears in the 1850 census with Christian Himes and a Solomon aged 23 appears in the 1860 census with Christian Himes in Redbank Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. He was married to Elizabeth and was in Company A of the 78th Pennsylvania Infantry during the Civil War.  He is buried at the North Freedom United Methodist Church Cemetery in North Freedom, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania.  A photograph of Solomon and Elizabeth's tombstone is on the Find A Grave website.

If anyone wants to verify the birthdates for the first two Solomon Himes listed above, the original "Yeany" Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church records should be consulted rather than the transcribed records by Cornelius Koppenheffer for this church since the transcribed records are incorrect.  It should also be noted that all four Solomon Himes are great-grandsons of the original John George Heim who settled in Armstong county, Pennsylvania in the early 1800's (see my earlier blog post regarding him).  Other records for the above men and their spouses such as obituaries and military records are available.  All I have attempted to do here is to connect each Solomon Himes with his parents and to give a reason for doing so.

Who were Christian and Samuel Himes' parents?

It has been a long time since I've posted on this blog but I hope to do better in the future.  The evidence for John George Heim and his five sons who migrated to Redbank Township in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania in the early 1800's is meager.  It is sometimes difficult to place Heim/Himes individuals into the right family groups.  Such is the case with Christian and Samuel Himes.

Christian Himes born about 1814 and Samuel Himes born about 1817 were brothers.  Both of them appear in the 1840, 1850, and 1860 censuses in Redbank Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. 

All evidence suggests that their parents were John George Heim, Jr. and his wife Susanna.  John George Heim Jr. (born 11 December 1776) was a son of John George Heim, Sr. and Rosina Miller.  The Jr. and Sr. were added to differentiate them from one another.  Both John George Heim Sr. and John George Heim Jr. appear in the 1820 census in Redbank Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania.  John George Heim Jr. has 2 males under the age of 10 in his household (Christian and Samuel).

Both John George Heim Sr. and John George Heim Jr. also appear as communicants on 12 December 1824 when the Lutheran pastor Gabriel Adam Reichert visits the Redbank area.  Georg Heim (Sr.) and Georg Heim Jr. and Susanna take communion with others (see the Journal of Gabriel Adam Reichert by Paul Miller Ruff).

Probate records from 1829 to 1832 at the Armstrong County Courthouse in Kittanning, Pennsylvania for George Himes include letters of administration, a list of appraised property, a vendue list, and an account.  William Orr was named administrator for the estate of George Himes.  William Himes and Jacob Himes appraised his property.  The vendue list and account names George Himes' relatives and neighbors.  The estate papers do not indicate any relationships other than names.

The probate records are believed to be those for George Heim Jr. rather than George Heim, Sr. since George and his wife Susanna disappear as sponsors for any children after 1829 but were sponsors for three children prior to December 1829 at the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church (Yeany's) in Shannondale, Redbank Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania.  (Susanna appears as a sponsor for a child by herself on18 January 1829).

Susanna later remarried Christian Shoffner.  Her will dated 8 February 1868 was probated in Clarion County, Pennsylvania.  It names her husband Christian Shoffner and her sons Christian Himes and Samuel Himes.  (She leaves her estate to her husband Christian Shoffner and to Christian and Samuel Himes' heirs after her husband Christian dies since her sons had predeceased her).

John George Heim and Children

It's been awhile since my last post but there was a lot going on at home.  I caught my grandson's respiratory illness, my husband and I had a home project completed, and we made a trip to Maryland and Pennsylvania to visit family.

The next family I want to discuss is John George Heim and his children who moved to the Redbank area of Armstrong County from Northumberland County, Pennsylvania between 1808 and 1820.  John George Heim was a son of John George Heim and his wife Mary Margaret and was born on 26 September 1758 and was baptized at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in New Holland, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania on 10 February 1860.  He and his wife Rosina Miller were married on 15 May 1774 at Christ Lutheran Church in Stouchsburg, Berks County, Pennsylvania.  They had the following children:

1.  William was born 27 February 1775 and was baptized on 7 May 1775 at the Himmel Church in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania.

2.  John George was born 11 December 1776 and was baptized April, 1777 at the Himmel Church.

3.  Jacob was born 21 March 1782 and was baptized 14 April 1782 at the Himmel Church.

4.  Christian was born 26 June 1784 and was baptized July, 1784 at the Christ Lutheran Church in Stouchsburg, Berks County, Pennsylvania.

5.  Maria Catharina was born 13 March 1787 and was baptized 29 April 1787 at the Himmel Church.  She married Lawrence Baughman in Northumberland County on 24 April 1806.

6.  Elizabeth was born 12 November 1789 and was baptized 24 January 1790 at the Klinger Church in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.  No further record has been found for her.

7.  John who was born between 1770 and 1780 may also be his son since he appears in Redbank Township, Armstrong, County in the 1820 census.  Jacob "Heym" and his wife Catharina were sponsors at the baptism of John's son Jacob on 6 September 1807.

All of John George Heim's children except Elizabeth appear in the 1810 and/or 1820 census in Redbank Township, Armstrong County with him.  The last time John Geoge Heim born 1758 appears in a record in Redbank Township, Armstrong County is when he is recorded as a communicant on 12 December 1824 by the Rev. Gabriel Adam Reichert.

Much additional information with sources regarding John George Heim's children and their descendants can be found at the links given in my blog.  His children and their families will also be discussed in future posts.

History of Redbank Township and John Wolf

It's been about two weeks since my last post.  Hopefully others will be able to find my blog since it now shows up on Google.

Since this blog will be about the families that lived in Redbank Township, a little history of the township is helpful.  The present township of Redbank in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania contains only about one-sixth or one-seventh of the territory included within the limits of old Redbank township, organized September 18, 1806.  All of Redbank and Mahoning and a part of Madison Township in Armstrong County, and Redbank, Porter, Monroe, Limestone, Clarion and Mill Creek Townships in Clarion County were included in the original township of Redbank.  Clarion County was erected on March 11, 1839 from parts of Armstrong and Venango Counties in Pennsylvania.

Since my maiden name was Wolfe, this was one of the first surnames I researched.  We will talk about John Wolf today.  John Wolf and his wife Christina Wolfgang first appeared in Armstrong County when their daughter Hannah was baptized on 11 August 1829 at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church (Yeany's), Shannondale, Redbank Township, Armstrong County (present day Clarion County).  Sponsors were Dieter Wolfgang (brother of Christina) and his wife Elizabeth.  John Wolf is in Clarion Township, Armstrong County in the 1830 census.  He bought 100 acres in Pine Creek Township, Jefferson County in 1834 which he and his wife Christina sold/transferred to their son Michael in 1847.  Both John Wolf and his wife Christina lived in Knox Township (formerly Pine Creek Township), Jefferson County from 1834 until their deaths.  John Wolf died about April, 1859 and his wife Christina died about September, 1866.  They had the following children: 

1. John born 7 January 1812-died 1874
2. Michael born 10 October 1816-died 1854
3. Jacob born 27 December 1818-died 4 April 1897
4. Daniel born 3 July 1824-died 15 December 1890
5. Hannah born 17 January 1829-died 31 March 1916
6. Samuel born 1830
7. Peter born 1836-died 21 September 1862
8. Possibly Henry born 1815 

A signature was found for John Wolf in the estate papers of George Himes (John Georg Heim) who died in Armstrong County about 1829.  He signed his name Johannes Wolf.

Hope you enjoyed this week's blog.

Welcome to Out of Redbank

Welcome to Out of Redbank.  I hope you enjoy reading about my Pennsylvania German families that settled in Redbank Township in Armstrong and Clarion County, Pennsylvania in the early 1800's. 
 
I decided to start this blog since many Pennsylvania German families that moved to this area from Berks, Schuylkill, and Northumberland Counties and other areas in eastern Pennsylvania first settled in Redbank Township.  They then moved out of Redbank Township to other areas in Armstrong, Clarion, and Jefferson County, Pennsylvania and beyond.

Many of the Pennsylvania German families that settled in Redbank Township worshipped in the same Lutheran and Reformed churches in eastern Pennsylvania and appear in the Lutheran and Reformed church records in Redbank Township and Jefferson County, Pennsylvania.

Some of the family names I will be talking about in this blog are Wolf(e), Himes/Heim, Boddorf/Battorff, Shoffner/Schaffner, Hetrick, and Brosius.  Although these names are those of my direct ancestors, there are many other Pennsylvania German family surnames in their extended families that will be mentioned.