Sometimes I wish I descended from Christopher. . . .

That branch has so more drama in it than Michael’s does!!

We have wife beaters in this branch, we have bootleggers and we have somebody who enlisted in the Civil War three times just to collect the bounty!  Yes, he deserted all three times and he got caught. And he even applied for a pension!!  However, our government, in one of their smarter moves, turned him down.  Duh!

I keep thinking I’ve found the end of the drama, but then more just jumps up and slaps me in the face! I love this branch of the Axer family! and it always seems to be Christopher’s kid Jacob’s branch! The others, it seems, lead fairly normal lives.

Christopher’s grandson John is our subject this week, his first born, heir to the throne, yada, yada, yada. As I documented previously, John married Anna Maria Ferree and they had a daughter Lydia. So far so good.

My trip to the National Archives opened up a new chapter in this guy’s life for me. I got his military record and matched it with a file I had for the military pension for John Axer, Lieutenant in the First Maryland Calvary. Guess what? Same guy! . . . . and just what is he doing in NYC after the war??? This guy traveled from Lancaster to Maryland to NYC . . . . and now he has a different wife!!

How did I come to the conclusion that the guy in NYC is the same John Axer that was born in Lancaster, PA? For one thing I compared signatures, and for another, and most importantly, death dates matched exactly!

There is NO divorce in Lancaster County for John and Anna Maria Ferree, perhaps there is one in Philly. I certainly hope there is a divorce record, because Ida claims to be his widow while wife #1 is still alive!! What goes on here?

Another interesting fact is a letter in his file requesting a leave of absence from the military to go home to Lancaster because “one of his children” has just died and his wife is very ill. Who died? Who was the wife in Lancaster? Anna Maria was in Philly from 1850, and just exactly how many children did he have???

. . . . so now we add Ida F., as one of John’s wife and the search continues for his children! Now we must find out when he picked this one up, and when he got rid of the other! Who knows? Rosanna Kiplinger may be his wife, too! He may have wives in 3 separate states ~ and children scattered far and wide!

So continues another week of research with a lot of loose ends to tie up . . . . . somehow!

 

Let’s get started on a few updates

The primary purpose of this blog is to update my genealogy as new information jumps out at me! Since I am spending more and more time researching in Lancaster, more information on the Lancaster lines will appear here than others. The Axer/Auxer, Kleiss and Leader families are my lines with the primary ties to Lancaster.

This week I went thru (hastily, I might add!) some Church records previously overlooked, and found several entries that pertain to our Auxers and at least one that pertained to the Kleiss family ~ although sorting out those Kleiss’ with the same first name has become a real chore!

These are the corrections, with my comments in red.  As always, if you want the source and to document it, simply contact me and I will provide you with the information.  If you only collect names, at least reference me as your source . . . . .please.

• Charles Edward Albright, son of Frederic Albright and Sarah born Axer, born Oct. 17, 1846 – aged 8 yrs, 9 months and 8 days. Buried on Woodward Cemetery.

• Charles Edward Albright, son of Frederic A. Albright and wife Susan (sic) born Axer. Sponsors – Mary Ann Hentsch born Evans and Catherine McGinnis. Born: Oct. 17, 1846 Baptised: May 20, 1847

• December 18, 1836 marriage – John, Axer, son of Jacob and Sarah Axer to Anna Maria Ferree, dau. of Philip and Dorothea Ferre.

This differs drastically from the info rec’d elsewhere. I could never figure out why there were 2 John Axers’ in MD and both were married to somebody named Rosanna!! I do know that our John Axer was in Baltimore in 1846. He died in 1879 and his widow and daughter can be found in Philadelphia after that point.

• Aug. 3, 1845 marriage -Frederic Anthony Albright, son of Anthony Albright, deceased, and wife Susan born Seib, to Sarah Axer, dau. of Jacob Axer, deceased, and wife Susan born Ward, both of Lancaster.

• Walter Franklin Albright, son of Frederic A. Albright and wife Susan (sic) born Axer. Sponsors – Susan Albright and the parents. Born: Oct. 14, 1851 Baptised: Nov 14, 1852

• Sarah Catherine Albright, dau. of Frederic A. Albright and wife Susan (sic) born Axer. Sponsors – the parents, Br. Samuel Beam and the grandmother Albright. Baptised: Jul 8, 1855

• 1868, Died Jan 26, Buried Jan 29 – Clara Elizabeth Auxer, only daughter of the widow Sarah Auxer, born Milchsack, departed this life after a few days illness. Age 18 years and 10 months. The parents were not member of the church, but the child was a scholar in our Sunday School. Remains interred in Lancaster Cemetery.

• 1869 Died Dec 1, Buried Dec 5 – Andrew Clayton McGinnis, infant son of George W. McGinnis, and his wife Sophia born Chambers, died of scarlet fever at Carlisle, Pa. The remains were brought here and interred in the Lancaster Cemetery. Funeral services held at the home of the grandparents McGinnis, aged 1 yr and 7 mos. By D. Bigler, assisted by Rev. Wm. Nivin of the Reformed Church.

Information previously obtained said he died in Lancaster. Evidently, not so.

• May 30, 1847, Marriage -Henry Burkins (Buckius) son of William Burkins, and wife Augusta born Weiss, to Mary Vehrer, dau. of George Vehrer and wife Elisabeth born Kline, deceased of Lancaster.

This would be the brother of Susan Axer who married George, the son of Jacob Axer.

• Feb. 8, 1871, Marriage -John Myer, widower, was married to Sarah Axer, widow – both of Lancaster. Ceremony at parsonage.

Widow of Jacob Axer, mother of Sarah Elizabeth above? Time frame fits.

• Marriage, Sept. 23, 1847 -John Hanson, son of George Hanson, and wife Mary Magdalena born Devault, both deceased, to Susan Axer, dau. of George Axer and wife Mary born Doland, deceased, all of Millerstown, Lancaster Co.

??????? I think Millerstown (Millerstown is in Perry County!) really means Millersville, and I think this is the George who was the father of the “Poor Children,” since he lived in that area and had a daughter, Susan/Susanna who would be marriageable age in 1847. Mary Doland may very well be the Polly Dalin that has appeared in other Church records, since Polly is a nickname for Mary ~ Think about it!

• Marriage, May 24, 1827 -George Doebler, widower, from Conestoga Twp., and Susanna, Warrick.

Was this the George Doebler who married Anna Maria Auxer? Did she die before 1827??? More research to do on this one!

• Marriage, Sept. 14, 1836 – Ferdinand Gerber, son of John and Rachel Gerber, to Rebecca Kleiss, dau. of John and Margaret Kleiss, both of Lancaster.

Which John was married to Margaret? Love those Kleiss boys!

Back to the drawing board! Next week I’ll spend more time in this set of records. Doesn’t the database keep changing? So many things we’ve taken for Gospel truth has become fiction the more research we do! Lesson learned? Seek your own documentation or ask to see somebody else’s!