Our sixth great grandfather, Mathias Loy/Mattes Ley, was born in Wurttemberg, Germany on the 22nd day of February in 1706. His future wife, Anna Maria Kumpf was also born in Wurttemberg in 1711. They married in Wurttemberg in 1732.
The Loys were not well-to-do and were redemptioners who contracted to pay for their passage to America by bond service for a specified period of time.
They arrived in America on 17 Aug 1733 on the ship Samuel. The master of the ship was Captain Hugh Percy. Mathias was sold to a farmer in Berks County, PA for his passage. At the Philadelphia port office, Mathias and Anna took the oath of allegiance.
It appears that this couple's children were all born and baptized in Pennsylvania. Their first child was daughter, Sybilla, born in June 1734. They had 10 children in all. The family attended the church called Frieden's Evangelical Lutheran Church near Wessnerville, in Berks County.
In 1762, Mathias wrote a will, at age 56. In 1763, Mathias was a tax collector in Berks County. In 1765, he earned his naturalization papers.
On the 26th of August 1783, Mathias passed away and was buried at the Frieden's Church Cemetery, the older portion of the cemetery at Frieden's Church, also known as New Allemangel or White Church, located near Wessnersville, Albany Twp. Many years ago the gravestones were located, deciphered, and recorded by Mrs.Sarah Kistler Brown, and some years later by Sylvester K. Loy. The original stones were in German spelling, and dates of birth preceded by Anno Christo (A.C). The original stones were in German script and stated that "to him and his wife, Anna Maria, had been born 10 children of whom 3 sons and 4 daughters survive. Evidently 3 children had died before Mathias wrote his will in 1762. [Perhaps their deaths prompted Mathias to write his early will?]
Before Mathias' descendant, Sylvester Kline Loy died, 20 October 1956, in Clearwater, FL, he provided a double gravestone for Mattes and Maria Ley to assure that the graves of these early ancestors would be marked for many years to come. He had inscribed on the new tombstone: "Mattes Ley Feb. 22.1706 Aug.25.1783 and Maria Ley Feb.27.1711 Dec. 14.1786 Landed at Philadelphia Aug. 17.1733" The old stones stand to the right.
MATTES LEY
BORN: 22 Feb 1706 in Wurttemburg, Germany
MARRIED: 1732 in Wurttemburg, Germany
DIED: 25 Aug 1783 in Albany, Berks, PA
SOURCES: Information abstracted from the book "Michael Loy (1740-1823)" page vi. Author, Gerald E. Collins. U.S. and Canada Passenger and Immigration Lists Index 1500-1900. Philadelphia port. Source Publication code 1804. Annotation: Taken from original manuscripts in the state archives Names 1-677, arriving in PA 521-667 $3776. Source Bibliography: Egle, Wm. Henry, editor. Names of foreigners who took the Oath of Allegiance to the Province and State of PA 1727-1775 Pennsylvania German Pioneers, vol. 1 by Strassburger and Hinke, page 106; Matthew Ley and Anna Maria Ley on Ship Samuel, 1733.
There are four departments that together make up the Champagne-Ardenne region: from north to south these are Ardennes, Marne, Aube and Haute-Marne. Eva was born in the Marne department in a town called Charville in Champagne, France in 1715. I'm sure that this is a picturesque part of the country where all the vineyards are growing grapes for the famous French Champagne. It was in the mid 1700s, that the royal government of France dictated the size, weight and shape of Champagne bottles and corks. They also mandated that the cork be securely tied onto the bottle.
Were Eva and her spouse, married in 1723, involved in the business of champagne? It's certainly a possibility and maybe we'll find out some day. What we do know is that this couple arrived in America in 1739. Perhaps Jean and Eva left France for religious reasons, since we know that Jean was a Huguenot.
The following list of their children may not be complete. Rachel was the only child who was born in France. The other children were all born in Pennsylvania.
Rachel unknown date
J. Nicholas abt. 1740
Catherine 1743
Anna Barbara 1744
Anna Christina1745 (our ancestor)
Heinrich F. 1746
John 1748
Ursula 1752
Anthony 1753
Eva Marie died after 1755 in Dover, York, Pennsylvania.
Jean Nicol Chateau was a French Huguenot from Charleviille, Champagne, France, born in 1715. He married Maria Eva Molitor, at age 17, who was a little older than Jean. They emigrated to Philadelphia, arriving on September the 3rd, 1739, with a young daughter. Their ship was called Loyal Judith.
Looking at the birthplaces and christenings of their children, it appears that this family lived in the eastern part of Pennsylvania, but perhaps in a few different counties. However, since the county borderlines were in a state of constant change in the early years of Pennsylvania, it is difficult to determine if the family was moving around, or merely that the counties were changing around. The children were born and christened in these counties: York, Berks, Lancaster, and Adam. The eldest child was born in France. The third child was christened on the 7th of August in 1744 at St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church in Goshenhoppen, in Berks, PA, pictured above. The church is set in an idyllic rural landscape in a community typical of a small town.
"In 1743, Fr. Schneider established St. Aloysius Academy, a fledgling educational institution that marked the beginnings of Catholic primary education in Pennsylvania. Now known as St. Francis Academy, the school is reportedly the oldest continuously operated Catholic school in Pennsylvania, and one of the three oldest in the original thirteen colonies. Protestants and Catholics lived in harmony, and the former seemed to offer a welcoming spirit that ran against the deep religious divisions that sometimes flared up in the British colonies." a quote from Wikipedia. This spirit of ecumenism and mutuality would, in my opinion, suit the Chateau family, because of the fact that Jean was a Huguenot. So, I like to think that the two older children may have attended this school.
By the fall of 1753, the Chateau family settled at Dover, York, PA. Jean died there in 1797.
Our sixth great grandfather, Mathias Loy/Mattes Ley, was born in Wurttemberg, Germany on the 22nd day of February in 1706. His future wife, Anna Maria Kumpf was also born in Wurttemberg in 1711. They married in Wurttemberg in 1732.
