JOHANN VALENTIN BERNTHAUSEL

Our 6th great grandfather, Johann Valentin Bernthausel, had a number of nicknames such as Val, Veld, or Velten but he seemed to prefer to be called Felty, especially in his later years. He was born in a place called Bad Kreuznach, Germany, shown in the picture above, in 1699 and was baptized at the Lutheran Church on the 25th of June that year. Years later, he is listed as a shoemaker in the local records. He picked Susanna Bohlen to be his bride and they were married  on the 12th of November in 1720.  Their first four children were born in Klein-Neidesheim. 

Felty and his family arrived in the port of Philadelphia on the ship "Samuel" in 1728. The next record we have tells of Felty's purchases that he made at the estate sale of Laurence Bingam in Philadelphia County, PA in April 1733. In that same year, a new daughter is being baptized in Schifenthill in Philadelphia County. In 1734, great grandpa has signed his Declaration of Intent and on 11 April 1741 he received his Naturalization papers. Now, he's able to buy land in Buck County. He bought 100 acres in 1745 and 50 more acres in 1750 and this land seems to be located in what was later called Lynn Twp. in Lehigh County, where "Valentine Barontheisel" is listed as an early settler.

Are you noticing how much our ancestors moved around? In 1752 a "Felty Bensel" shows up on a tax list in Tulpehocken Twp. in Berks County and in 1760 in Albany Twp., Berks County. 

Felty died in Windsor Twp., Berks County, PA in 1764.