My immediate segment of the Shedenhelm family is concentrated in Iowa. They are related to Joshua McClellan Shedenhelm and Elizabeth Johnson, both of whom came from Ohio. Joshua and Elizabeth had two sons- Clarence (who married Myrene Simmons) and Melvin (who married Bertha Cheney)- and they gave rise to family clusters in the central and southwestern parts of the state. Clarence and Melvin had a sister, Jennie Belle, who reared eight children with Thomas E. Tanner before she died at a young age. These three siblings had a sister named Maude, who died in infancy. Together, Clarence & Myrene, Melvin & Bertha, and Thomas & Jennie Belle had 25 children... who, in turn, have given birth to another 64 children.
Many, if not most, of these family members either lived in, or are still living in, Iowa, but this was nor always the case. Indeed, before they migrated to Iowa in the early 1850s, a significant part of the Shedenhelm family was centered in Ohio- especially in Seneca county, where they settled in the early part of the 4th decade of the 19th century. Indeed, Betsy (Shedenhelm) Ruse and many of her descendants remained in Ohio, as did Henry Shedenhelm and his family, Mary (Shedenhelm) Freeze and her family, and the families of G.N. Shedenhelm, Henry D. Shedenhelm, J.W. Shedenhelm, Thomas Monroe Shedenhelm, and John Grafton Shedenhelm. The Shedenhelm family has left a huge imprint on many Ohio communities and continues to do so. For reasons that are unknown to me at this time, one of Grafton Shedenhelm's children- Frances Marion- moved to Michigan, where he embraced the surname of Shetenhelm and reared children and ancestors who live there to this day. The record shows that many of the Shetenhelms lived in the Vermontville area of the state. It also shows that descendants of Frances Shedenhelm died in places like Home, Eaton Rapids, and Cadillac, Michigan.
No doubt, Ohio became the home of many members of our family, who followed their dreams to Ohio and bought land at an attractive price. They- the Shedenhelms, Ruses, Yarians, Schalls, Farvers, and Culvers- have left there mark on the great state of Ohio... but before they moved to Ohio, they lived in Frederick County, Maryland. They began their lives in America in Frederick County and Frederick County served as the foundation for all of the family stories that followed. As noted in previous blogs, our family story began when Frederick Schittenhelm arrived in America in 1766. Like thousands of other Germans who initially arrived in Philadelphia, Frederick found his way to Maryland, and he is listed in the 1790 Federal Census as a resident of Frederick County. Frederick, who probably spoke Schwabian German his entire life, reared four children with his wife in Maryland. They had two sons and two daughters. Jakob Sheetenhelm was the first born and he was baptized on July 11, 1777 in the Evangelical Church of Middleton. George Shedenhelm was the second son, He was baptized in the German Reformed Church of Frederick on April 27, 1782 and spent his early years in Frederick County, before he and his wife, Catherine Lease, relocated to Ohio by May 25, 1832, and purchased 80 acres of land in Seneca County. . Elizabeth Schidenhelm was the oldest daughter and she was baptized in the German Reformed Church of Frederick on August 22, 1779. When she reached adulthood, Elizabeth married Nathan Brashear Jr, who was part of a well-established Maryland family. Eventually, Nathan, Elizabeth and their children moved to Ohio, where they made their home for generations. Catharina Sheatenhelm was Frederick and Maria's youngest child. She was baptized in the Evangelical Reformed Church on January 16, 1789, and married Anthony Eckhart in 1806. Census records show that Anthony, Catharina, and their many children lived in Falls, Ohio by 1830, Thus, most of the small America Shedenhelm family followed their dreams and enticing land offerings by moving to Ohio circa 1830.
But Jakob Sheetenhelm, Mary Walter, and their immediate family stayed put. They remained in Maryland and left their mark in that state well into the 20th century. My 3rd great-grandfather, George, married Catherine Lease, who was part of an established Maryland family... but his brother, Jakob (and more specifically, Jakob and Mary Walter's children) who made sure that our relationship with the Lease family of Maryland would be forever intertwined. Their eldest daughter, Catherine, married Daniel Lease and they had seven children- Gideon Thomas, Mary, Eleanor, Josiah, Oliver, Rachel Ann, and Catherine- all of whom are my 2nd cousins. Gideon married Elizabeth Sponseller; Josiah married Sarah Ketrane; Oliver married Minerva Zimmerman... and taken together 7 children are my 3rd cousins. Jakob and Mary's daughter, Delilah, married Charles Lease, and they had a son named Amos, who married Mary Houck in 1870... and they had five children- all of whom are my 3rd cousins. Jakob and Mary's son, Reuben, married Mary Elizabeth Lease and they had 10 children- Margaret, Mary (who married Robert Lease), John, George W., Sidney Anne, Delilah, Zachariah, Elizabeth, Charlotte, and Ida- all of whom are my 2nd cousins, Finally, Jakob's and Mary's son, Jacob, married Mary E. Lease, and together, they had 6 children- Mary, Elmer, Harry R., George, William R., and Robert S.- who are also my second cousins. The years, of course, have frayed the Shedenhelm-Lease ties, probably even in Maryland, but it is clear that 1) the Sheetenhelms stayed in Maryland and 2) that many of them built families with the Lease family. Their names dot graveyards around Frederick, Maryland and history books too because many of them were well-known farmers, businessmen, and public servants.
More broadly, our family tree reveals that the following people were rooted in Maryland: Mervin Simmons and Mary Agnew (great-grandparents); 2nd great grandparents Grafton Shedenhelm, Baker H. Simmons, Teresa Jarboe, John Agnew, Catherine Redmond; 3rd great-grandparents George Shedenhelm, Catherine Lease, John H Simmons, Eleanor Howard, William Jarboe, Loretta Atwood; 4 great-grandparents Frederick Schittenhelm, Jacob Lease, Abraham Simmons, Abigail West, John Ford, Ruhannah Howard, John Howard, Rebecca Brooke, John Baptiste Jarboe, Elizabeth Abell, Abraham Barnes, Catherine Rousby, James Atwood; 6th great-grandparents Abraham Simmons, Mary Townsend, William West, Esther Duvall, Edmund Howard, Margaret Dent, Barbara Dent, Cutherbert Abell, Mary Clarke, Henry Jarboe, Elizabeth Hendley; and 7th great-grandparents John Jarboe, Sarah Joy, Joseph West, Rebecca Mears, Samuel Duvall, Elizabeth Ijams, James Ford, Elizabeth Stogdon, Mordecai Price, Mary Parsons, Edmund Teal, and Hanna Randall. Maryland- St Mary's County, Baltimore County, Queen Anne's County, Charles County, Apple Ridge, Hagerstown, Buckeytown, Leonardtown, and Frederick County- has been home to our family for centuries!
Someday, I hope to visit many of these places. I want to see their churches (Catholic and Protestant), walk on their land, visit their graves... and listen for their voices. Perhaps some of you have already done this.
No comments:
Post a Comment