OUR BARNHISEL LINE OF ANCESTORS

When I began my family research c. 1985, I knew only one great grandparent, Mary Ann Wilderson. I soon learned that her mother's maiden name was Rachel Barnhisel, the last name on our Barnhisel descendancy list below. I had the mistaken idea that Barnhisel was a very unusual name and that it would be a difficult name to find records for. When I visited my local Family History Center to begin my study of the Barnhisel surname, one of the volunteers heard me speak the name, Barnhisel, and said that John Milton Bernhisel was an important figure in the Mormon Church history. John was a good friend of the founder of the church, Joseph Smith, and was elected to be the church's representative in the United States Congress c. 1850s. You can imagine my surprise and pride in my "cousin" Bernhisel! From that point on, I found out that unusual names are the easiest kinds of names to find for the simple reason that there are fewer to find. Compare these kinds of names to having names like Smith, Jones, or Johnson to search for, for instance.

At the top of our Barnhisel list below, is the man who begins this surname. Hans Bernhard Hausele who was a butcher in Bad Kreuznach, Germany. According to Hans, he was not allowed to reveal his birthplace, former residence, or family background. These were the rules of the Butcher's Guild of which he was a member. It seems that eventually two of his names became combined, leaving out the "hard" part=Bernhausele. As I have mentioned many times, the spelling of surnames changed often, due to lack of education and various other reasons. So our list of Barnhisels reflects some of those changes.

Hausele, Hans Bernhard born aft. 1610, lived in Kreuznach, Germany d. 1670 Germ.
Bernthausel, Johann Martin 1651-1726 in Kreuznach, Rheinland, Germany
Bernthausel, Johann Valentin 1699 in Kreuznach; emigrated to PA; d. 1764 in Albany, PA
Bernthausel, Johann Martin 1729 in Klein-Neidesham, Germ; d. 1802 in Tyrone, PA
Barnhisel, Henry Adam 1776 in Albany, Berks, PA; d. 1824 in Girard, Trumbull, OH
Barnhisel, Martin 1799 in Tyrone, PA; d. 1875 in Wethersfield, Trumbull, OH
Barnhisel, Rachel 1823 in Wethersfield, Trumbull, OH; d. 1908 in Newton, OH