Origin stories, part 1

For members of the Eckert, Kidder, McMahan, and Taschwer families

It’s nearly Thanksgiving. And I’ve been thinking about the history of people coming over to America, and how our own personal family histories fit into those stories.

One of the more common “goals” of genealogists — at least in the U.S. — is tracing a family line back to the original immigrants from the Old World. So, I thought y’all might be interested in some answers to the question: Where did our ancestors come from in the first place, anyway???

What follows is a little list of the ancestors that I know of (so far) who came “across the pond” and established families here on our current continent.

This edition is for members of the Eckert, Kidder, McMahan, and Taschwer families (Gary’s ancestors); the next edition will include Thekla’s ancestors (Chapman, Longenecker, Mitchell, and Thompson families).

The ancestors listed below immigrated from Austria, England, France, Germany, Ireland, and Switzerland.

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Benedict Taschwer and Mary Kroisenbacher, 2nd great-grandparents

(Taschwer Family)

I’ve already written a bit about good ol’ Ben and Mary.

Benedict Taschwer + Mary Kroisenbacher > William Taschwer > Karen Taschwer, grandmother

Auguste Vernier, 5th great-grandfather

(Eckert Family)

Auguste was born in 1783 or 1784 in France, or maybe Switzerland. Though his exact birthplace is currently unknown, we can guess that it might have been near the known birthplace of his sons — the tiny village of Montécheroux in the department of Doubs in France, less than 10 miles from the Swiss border.

Auguste arrived in New York City in May of 1836 on a ship called Troy. He was in his early 50’s and in the company of his four teenaged sons; his spouse may have already passed away, or she may have joined them in America at another time. His reasons for leaving his homeland have been lost to time, but the choice might have had something to do with the upheaval in his home country following the July Revolution of 1830.

Auguste Vernier > Frederick Vernier > Louis Vernier > Amanda Vernier > Emma Lair > Vincent Francis Eckert, grandfather

Johann Hiestand, 6th great-grandfather

(Eckert Family)

Johann was born circa 1711-1712 in a small village outside of Worms, near the Upper Rhine river in what was then the Kurpfalz region of the Holy Roman Empire and is now part of the Rhineland-Palatinate state of Germany.

He arrived as a young man in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 21, 1731 aboard a ship called Britannia. The passengers aboard the ship were identified as Palatines, which meant they were a part of a mass immigration from what is now the southwestern part of Germany — which had been basically destroyed by decades of war — to England or Ireland, and from there to various overseas colonies.

Johann Hiestand > Isaac Hiestand > Anna Hiestand > David Culler > Catherine Culler > Earl Mahlon Eckert > Vincent Francis Eckert, grandfather

James Wilson, 6th great-grandfather

(McMahan Family)

An application for membership in the Sons of the American Revolution that was filed in the early 1900’s by one of James’s descendants claims that he was born circa 1740 in County Antrim in what is now Northern Ireland (the part that is included in the UK). This same document claims that he fought in the American Revolution as part of a company from Pennsylvania.

An old, uncredited book about the history of York County, PA provides a few more details on his life. He probably immigrated to the colonies in the early 1760’s, when he settled near Hopewell Township and built himself a log cabin. James applied for several land patents and eventually claimed nearly 200 acres for himself there in Pennsylvania.

James Wilson > Jane Wilson > Mary Smith > John Hartzell > Isaac Hartzell > Idella May Hartzell > Carolyn McMahan, grandmother

Rudolph Oberly, 7th great-grandfather

(McMahan Family)

Here’s another guy who shows up on a SAR application, although his name is listed as John Rudolph Oberly instead of just Rudolph. He was born in June of 1712 or 1713 in Wallisellen, Switzerland. He was buried in 1780 in Lower Saucon, Northampton County, PA. His headstone is inscribed in German, so we can assume that was his native language; Switzerland was a land of many languages at the time.

He appears on a passenger list from a ship called Mercury that sailed from Rotterdam, Holland and arrived in Pennsylvania at the end of May in 1735. Under the name Hans Rudolph Aberli he traveled in the company of several Swiss families from Zurich to Pennsylvania; it is this expedition’s records that revealed Rudolph’s Swiss origins.

Rudolph Oberly > Elizabeth Oberly > Mary Kleinhans > Isaac Hartzell > John Hartzell > Isaac Hartzell > Idella May Hartzell > Carolyn McMahan, grandmother

Johann George Kleinhans, 7th great-grandfather

(McMahan Family)

George — he preferred to go by his middle name, though perhaps it was originally “Jörg” given his apparent German-ness — was born circa 1710 somewhere near the Middle Rhine region of the Holy Roman Empire.

At the age of 22, he crossed the Atlantic on a ship called Samuel that sailed from the port of Cowes on the Isle of Wight in the English Channel. He arrived in Pennsylvania in early August, 1732. George and the other passengers aboard the ship were, like Johann Hiestand above, identified as Palatines.

George Kleinhans > George Frederick Kleinhans > Mary Kleinhans > Isaac Hartzell > John Hartzell > Isaac Hartzell > Idella May Hartzell > Carolyn McMahan, grandmother

Andreas Lerch, 8th great-grandfather

(McMahan Family)

Andreas was born in the late 1680’s or early 1690’s in the village of Langenselbold in the Holy Roman Empire. This area is now part of the state of Hesse, Germany. He was married to Elizabeth Faust, who passed away sometime before he immigrated to America. The widower Andreas and five of their young adult children — Antonius, Gertrude, Johannes, Pancratius, and Peter — and other Lerch family members, plus nearly 400 other passengers sailed across the Atlantic on a ship called Queen Elizabeth.

They landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 16, 1738. The family settled on new farms around what would become known as Lower Saucon, Northampton County, PA.

Andreas Lerch > Gertrude Lerch > Christina Naulin > Jacob Hartzell > Isaac Hartzell > John Hartzell > Isaac Hartzell > Idella May Hartzell > Carolyn McMahan, grandmother

James Kidder, 9th great-grandfather

(Kidder Family)

James was born circa 1625 in the village of East Grinstead in the historical county of Sussex in England. This is located on the northern edge of the ancient Ashdown Forest, known in popular culture as the “Hundred Acre Wood” from A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh stories.

James’s reason for traveling to the colonies, and the time at which he did so, is unclear. What we do know is that he was in Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts by 1650. By that time he was married to a woman named Anna Moore and they’d had their first child there in the New World. The family soon moved to the nearby newly-established town of Billerica, where James would eventually be killed in a skirmish with Native Americans during King Philip’s War.

James Kidder I > James Kidder II > James Kidder III > Ephraim Kidder > Stephen Kidder > David Franklin Kidder > Carolus Kidder > David William Kidder > Melvin Louis Kidder > Gary Lee Kidder, grandfather