JOHANN HEINRICH PENSINGER

Our 4g grandfather, Johann Pensinger, was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on the 4th day of November in 1759. He was christened in the neighboring county of York, PA. Probably in late 1775, Johann enlisted into the 4th Pennsylvania Regiment and served about one year. He was wounded at the Battle of the Three Rivers where he lost a leg. He was hospitalized for two years, possibly at the Ursuline Convent in Trois-Rivieres where wounded soldiers had been treated after the battle.

The Battle of Trois-Rivières was fought on June 8, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War. A British army under Quebec Governor Guy Carleton defeated an attempt by units from the Continental Army under the command of Brigadier General William Thompson to stop a British advance up the Saint Lawrence River valley. The battle occurred as a part of the American colonists' invasion of Quebec, which had begun in September 1775 with the goal of removing the province from British rule.

Johann was discharged from the military in 1779, at age 20, in Philadelphia, PA. At age 25, in 1784, he married a 16 year old girl named Rosanna Singer. They had eleven children and lived in Montgomery Township of Franklin County, PA. By 1818, in reduced circumstances, Johann asked for government assistance for support via a pension made available to him. He received an annual total of about $18.00.

Johann died on the first of May 1820 and was buried in Montgomery, Franklin, PA.

JOHANN HEINRICH PENSINGER
BORN: 4 Nov 1759    ,Lancaster, PA
MARRIED: abt 1784 PA
DIED:  1 May Montgomery, Franklin, PA
SOURCES: Family Group Record in Anccestry File at FamilySearch.org; Census Records: 1790-1820; military records; Wikipedia article about the Battle of 3 Rivers.

CATHARINE MOTTER

Here we have yet another female ancestor who we know too little about. Family historians, such as myself, are given permission to at least make estimated guesses about their family members' dates. I would say that Catharine was probably born around 1750 and died after 1813. We do know that she married John Jacob Wildesinn about 1770 in Manheim, York, Pennsylvania. One interesting comment about her surname. Motter translated means "mother" and she definitely fills that description since she bore eleven children. Below, is the list of their children with a few scattered facts about them: 

John Jacob b.     1770 d. 1822 Manheim, York, PA *

Charles b. 31 May 1773 Manheim, Lancaster, PA d. 5 Feb 1863 Newton, Trumbull, OH (our ancestor)

Margaretha b. 9 Jul 1773** Hanover, Lancaster, PA d. 13 Nov 1852 East Lewiston, Mahoning, OH

Martin b.    1790       PA        d. 12 Feb 1870 Beaver, Mahoning, OH

Samuel b. abt. 1805

Elizabeth     born ? died ?  Beaver, Mahoning, OH

Eve b. ? d. before 1813 Manheim, York, PA*

Judith no information about her

Juliana b,  ? d. bef. 1813  Manheim, York, PA*

Magdalen Christina no information about her

Christina no information about her

*In the 1800s Manheim was considered to be in the York County boundaries.
**There is a glaring problem with the birthdates of Charles and Margaretha that I'm unable to account for at this time. I have a reliable source citation for Charles' birth, but I don't seem to have a source for Margaretha's information. I think Margaretha must have been born later than 1773. I will investigate further.

CATHARINE MOTTER
BORN: abt. 1750
MARRIED: abt. 1770
DIED: aft. 1813
SOURCES: Church records from St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, Manheim, York, PA; Census records 1790-1870 of OH and PA

JOHN JACOB WILDESINN

The above oil on canvas was painted by Wayne Fettro.  It depicts 18th century buildings that at one time existed in the colonial town of Manheim. Also shown are forms of the glass that may have been produced by Henry William Stiegel at his American Flint Glass Manufactory.


John Wildesinn was born on the 8th of April in 1747 in Hanover, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the son of Johannes Jacob and Catherine Barnitz Wiltensinn. (The surname was spelled a variety of ways, depending on who was writing it, I suppose.) He was christened at the St. Matthew's Lutheran Church on the 27th of April, 1747. The witness of the baptism was Hans Jacob Scherer.

John's bride, in 1770, was Catherine Motter. They were married in Mannheim, York County, PA.  Some of the first settlers of this southwestern part of York county, emigrated from the Grand-Duchy of Baden, near the historic old town of Manheim, on the Rhine. Catherine and John, both of German heritage, grew up among many German-Pennsylvanian families. In fact, the clerks at the immigration offices in Philadelphia, began to  send the numerous German emigrants specifically to York County when the coastal Pennsylvania counties became too populated. The books that I have read about these ethnic neighborhoods state that the people depended on one another in order to cope with the language and cultural differences that surrounded them. For instance, it was comforting to have folks living nearby that could speak their former language, while at the same time, most Pennsylvania-Germans made great efforts to learn the English words, too.
John and Catherine reared a fine family of eleven children successfully. About the year 1813, John died at the age of 66.

John Jacob Wildesinn
Born: 8 Apr 1747 Hanover, Lancaster, PA
Married:      1770  Manheim, York, PA
Died:            1813 Manheim, York, PA
Sources: Book: ""York County, Pennsylvania Church Records of the 18th Century", Vol I, pg 188;  Record of John Jacob Wildesinn's Will.

JANE CUSTARD (1752-1850)

The colored area is Sussex County, New Jersey.
Jane's birthplace, Walpack Township, Sussex County, New Jersey, is named from a corruption of the Lenape Native American content word "wahlpeck," which means "turn-hole," or an eddy or whirlpool. The Custard family settled in the Upper Delaware Valley (known as the "Minisink"). By 1731 this valley had been incorporated as Walpack Precinct. Much of Sussex County has remained relatively rural and forested but the eastern side is part of New York City's Metropolitan  area of today.

On the first day of May 1752, Jane was baptized at the Dutch Reformed Church in Walpack. Also, she was probably married at this church on the tenth of June in 1777 to George Brokaw. This following list of their children includes their birthplaces to give you an idea of their migrating pattern:
Abram              8 May 1778  Somerset, Somerset, NJ (our ancestor)
Benjamin        28 Dec 1779   Somerset, Somerset, NJ
Sarah             20 Feb 1782   Somerset, Somerset, NJ
George Davis 27 Mar 1784   Somerset, Somerset, NJ
William B.     10 Feb 1785   Beaverton, Fayette, PA
Judith             19 May 1788  Beaverton, Fayette, PA
Jane                15 Jul 1790    Washington, Washington, PA
John P.            23 Dec 1793   Washington, Washington, PA
Mary Ann       14 Feb 1796  Washington, Washington, PA
Isaac              30 Apr 1798  Washington, Washington, PA
Jacob              31 Oct 1800   Washington, Washington, PA
Peter               25 Dec 1802           , Jefferson, OH  
  
After her husband died in 1842, Jane lived with her daughter Judith's family.  Jane died, at age 98, in 1850, and was buried at the Crabapple Cemetery, near Cadiz Twp., Harrison, Ohio.

JANE CUSTARD
BORN: bef  1 May 1752  Walpack Twp., Sussex, NJ
MARRIED:10 Jan 1777 Walpack Twp., Sussex, NJ
DIED:          7 Oct 1850 Cadiz Twp., Harrison, OH

Sources: 1850 Federal Census; Dutch Reformed Church Records;
Researchers at GenForum: Norma Custer and Susan Custer; Book: "Our  Brokaw/Bragaw Heritage"