THE JOHN MARTIN WERKHEISER HOME PAGE


        This is John Martin Werkheiser's lineage. Happy reading! Sources are the Werkheiser historians and Pennsylvania marriages.

        1. John Martin was born on March 28, 1758 in Milford Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania and died on February 7, 1829, in Plainfield Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania. John was baptized on March 7, 1759 at the Saint Paul's Lutheran and Reformed Church, known as the Blue Church. The church was located in Upper Saucon Township, on the west side of Coopersburg, Pennsylvania. His sponsors were John Marin Hausman and Elizabeth Barbara Schelp.

        John married Barbara Itterly. Barbara was born on August 7, 1785 and died on May 12, 1855. John was a farmer. John Martin was about 47 and Barbara was about 20 when they got married. Barbara was 27 years younger than her husband. John Martin was almost 70 years old at the birth of their last child. John and Barbara are buried in the Plainfield Cemetery. John and Barbara had ten children:

        11. Jacob Werkheiser was born on August 16, 1806. He was baptized on October 9, 1806 in Plainfield Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania. His sponsors were Jacob and Elizabeth Itterly. Jacob married a Mary ? From the "Bookshelf Scrapbook" in the Marx Room at the Easton Public Library is a newspaper clipping dated September 27, 1907 or 1908. Jacob Werkheiser, a native of Forks Township, Northampton County, is 107 years of age. Jacob is said to be the oldest resident of Illinois. He was born in 1801 and moved to Illinois in 1861. He possesses most of his faculties and has a very good memory. Mr. Werkheiser boasts that he has been sick but two weeks of his life. He is a total abstainer and uses tobacco moderately. He leads the simple life, doesn't worry and takes great delight in an old violin, upon which he plays all the popular airs by note. His gradfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Some people believe he is the oldest native born in the United States today.
        With all of the Werkheisers that have born and raised in Northampton County, this newspaper abstract or article was the only entry on file about Werkheisers in the Marx Room of the Easton Public Library until 1989, when the John and Deborah Hahn Werkheiser family book was placed there. It has been and still is a puzzle as to where Jacob lived in Illinois. It isn't possible that his gradfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. When you look at Carl and Anna's grandchildren and great grandchildren he doesn't fit. If you change his date of birth from 1801 to 1806 then he fits as John Martin's son. The 1806 Jacob, was a mason, and bought his father's 23 acre farm at public sale on April 23, 1833 for $605.00. He resold it to John Nicholas Werkheiser, a yeoman, on April 9, 1834, for $675.00. There is no further record of Jacob who could be the Jacob in the newspaper article. Jacob and Mary had one child:
        111. Anna Elizabeth Werkheiser (b. 1830).
        12. Hannah Werkheiser was born on December 16, 1807. She was baptized on July 24, 1808, in Plainfield Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania. Her sponsors were John and Veronica Hahn Bauer. Hannah married Jacob Ruth on July 1828. Hannah and Jacob had two children:
        121. Caroline Ruth (b. 1834).
        122. John Henry Ruth (b. 1840).
        13. Charles Werkhieser (5/14/1809-7/20/1848). You may read more about Charles on his own home page. Just follow the link at the bottom of this page.
        14. George Werkheiser (b. 1815).
        15. Peter Werkheiser (b. 1817).
        16. Eliza Werkheiser (b. 1819).
        17. John Werkheiser (2/10/1821-7/8/1865) was baptized in 1821. His sponsors were John Itterly and Margaret Werkheiser. This is from the original baptismal certificate in the John and Deborah Werkheiser family book. He married Deborah Hahn (1/13/1822-9/17/1904) on August 28, 1841. John and Deborah moved to Kent, Illinois in 1851. Deborah is buried in the Yellow Creek Cemetery in Kent, Illinois. John and Deoborah had eleven children:
        171. Ephraim Werkheiser (b. 1842).
        172. William Werkheiser (b. 1844).
        173. John Werkheiser (b. 1846).
        174. Amandus Werkheiser (b. 1848) married Mary Coomber (b. 1850).
        175. Sarah Werkheiser (b. 1850) married Homer Graves III (b. 1847).
        176. George Werkheiser (b. 1852) married Alice Zellers (b. 1862).
        177. Aaron Werkheiser died young.
        178. Henry Werkheiser (b. 1855) married Ellen Metz (b. 1855).
        179. Emma Werkheiser (b. 1857) married David Oliver Finkenbinder (b. 1857).
        179a. Amos Werkheiser (b. 1860) married Magnolia Wheeler.
        179b. Ellen Edith Werkheiser (b. 1862) married John Hoyman (b. 1854).
        18. Michael Werkheiser was born on November 25, 1822. He was baptized on April 30, 1823. His sponsors were Michael Itterly and Catherine Werkheiser.
        19. Phoebe Werkheiser married James Jones
        19a. Anna Maria Werkheiser was born on February 29, 1828. She was baptized on November 15, 1828. Her sponsor was her mother. Anna Maria married Alfred Reimel. They had two children:
        19a1. Amandus R. Reimel (b. 1874).
        19a2. Lydia Reimel. All the baptisms were from the Plainfield Reformed Church, 1763-1852.

        John Martin Werkheiser did not have a will. Lewis Micke, Esquire, George Hopple (farmer), and John Bauer (farmer) were appointed to settle his estate. Barbara Werkheiser (wife) and their eldest son, Jacob, signed the renunciation with an X.

        Will #4048, page 165 for John Martin Werkheiser was filed on November 24, 1829. The inventory and appraisal was filed on December 26, 1829 by George Hopple and John Bauer. The settlement of the estate was filed on April 3, 1833.

        A public sale was announced in November 1832 in the Easton Correspondent (a German newspaper) and in the Democrat Argus (an English newspaper) both printed in Northampton County. The sale day was December 27, 1832. The farm consisted of 21 acres, 93 perches, a log house, small barn, and adjoined lands of Abraham Bellisfield, George Frakenfield, Henry Swely, and Charles Heimer. Thirty-nine men received disbursements from the sale, which would suggest that John Martin had a lot of debts. Some of the debts were as follows:

        George Vout(Vaut)-$1.50
        John Baurer-$31.04,
        John Uhler-$1.05
        Valentine Werkheiser-$42.81
        Peter Werkheiser-$28.74 <
        Jacob Werkheiser-$3.30
        Martin Seiple-$34.15
        Charles Werkheiser-$1.40
        Peter Bellisfield-$3.25
        Nicolas Werkheiser-$.82
        John Werkheiser Sr.-$4.50
        George Werkheiser-$2.90
        George Seiple-$2.55.
        The inventory and appraisal consisted of:
        beds, bedstands, and bedding together-$17.00;
        1 stove and pipe-$4.00;
        1 table, old chest, and 3 old chairs together-$1.12 1/2;
        25 bushels of corn at 40 cents/bu.-$10.00;
        1 pigeon net, old saddle, scythes, and cradle together-$3.25;
        3 spinning wheels, 2 old reels, 3 old tubs together-$2.25;
        1 beehive with old iron, old griddle, and 5 bags-$1.62 1/2;
        1 kitchen dreckter and crockery ware, and old bake trough-$1.68 1/2;
        2 tubs, 3 pails, half bushel, churn tub, and half barrel-$1.75;
        1 iron kettle, iron pots, frying pans, and coffee burner-$1.34;
        1 mall and 2 wedges, grubbing hoe, 1 garden hoe-$1.62 1/2;
        a pair of old hames, tongue, chain, and axe-$.80;
        4 geese at $.25 per piece-$1.00;
        8 acres of rye in the ground-$21.00;
        40 bushels of rye at $.60/bu.-$24.00;
        1 horse at $40, 1 wagon at $20, and 1 sleigh at $5-$65.00;
        2 ploughs, 1 harrow, 1 swingel tree (used to beat flax or hemp)-$7.00;
        a pair of hay ladders, 2 cow chains-$1.25;
        1 old windmill, cutting box, hay fork, 1 rake and sundries-$2.55;
        a harness set $2, scythes $.75, sled benches $.25-$3.00;
        second crop corn fodder together-$1.00;
        3 tons of hay at $8-$24.00;
        11 pigs at $10.50, 6 sheep at $6-$16.50;
        2 cows $18, 3 heifers at $10-$28.00;
        10 bushels of potatoes at $.20/bu.-$2.00, for a total of $242.75.

        The following is a list of the buyers at the sale:
        Jacob Bauer, Jacob Boestler, Adam Breidinger, George Dant, John Kratzer, Peter Holland, George Happel, Valentine Werkheiser, Abram Zearfos, Peter Werkheiser, Jacob Breidenger, John Uhler, John Rogers, John Werkheiser Sr., Mat S. Henry, Charles Werkheiser, Fredereck Teel, John Engler, Peter Bellisfield, George Werkheiser, George Frost, Abraham Heller, Jacob Werkheiser, Michael Deal, Christopher Fecher, George Seiple, Jacob Caster, Nicolas Werkheiser, Martin Seiple, and Jacob Deal.

        On January 25, 1833, the farm was sold and bought by Jacob for $605.00. His farm sale brought $300.01. Back accounts were owed to him by John Uhler for $3.00, George Frankenfield for $.58, and Hannah Shook for $3.25.

        On April 22, 1831, Barbara filed a petition to have guardians appointed for four of her ten children. John a minor under 14, had Andrew Stecker as his guardian. Eliza and Anna under 14, had John Bauer appointed as their guardian. Phoebe under 14, had Jacob Ruth appointed as her guardian.

        On March 19,1839, John Bauer filed release and settlement as guardian of Eliza and Anna Werkheiser. He charged $10.00 for each out of their inheritence of $109.02. The original sum was $73.50 plus interest.

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        WERKHEISER LINEAGE:
        Charles Werkheiser