The Dietz Family of Berne and Schoharie:The First Generation |
By Harold H. Miller, August 2001
|
Introduction There have been many recent discoveries concerning the early Dietz families of Berne and Schoharie, New York. I would like to bring this new evidence to the attention of fellow Dietz descendents and researchers. It is not my intention to document the complete genealogy and history of the Dietz Family; I only wish to present in one place the essence of the new information that is now available, and to correct misinformation in older sources. For the complete story you must look to the sources I have cited. The Dietz Family When I began my genealogical work I used The Dietz Family, by George F Dietz, 1956, With an Appendix by Stanton L. Deitz, 1959. At the time I considered it as a sort of "family bible" to tell me who were my Dietz ancestors. In The Dietz Family the authors freely acknowledged that, due to lack of facts, there were large gaps in their research. Due to extensive missing data, much of their early history of the Dietz families of Schoharie and Berne was based on their speculation. They made clear the problems they had:
- They could not find the Feldbach, Germany that was the home of Johann Peter Dietz (whom Stanton mistakenly refers to as Johannes). - Because they could not locate baptism records in Germany, they guessed that the family was Catholic and had to estimate birth dates of the children of Johann Peter Dietz, the patriarch of the early Berne and Schoharie Dietz families. - They could not understand why Johann Peter and his wife were not sponsors of their grandchildren's baptisms. - They could not account for all of the Dietz men who apparently served in the Revolution. - They had trouble reconciling the 1781 Dietz massacre and the capture of Captain William Dietz with the 1782 will for William Dietz. - All of the early massacre descriptions clearly state that four young children of Captain William Dietz were massacred; yet all of the children of the William Dietz whose 1782 will was filed in Schoharie were adults at the time of the massacre, and living at the time his will was written. - The name of the massacred Johannes could not be found in any records except those of the massacre; so they decided that he must be Johann Peter Dietz. - They were puzzled over the fact that the wills of the brothers Adam, William, and Hendrick mentioned Dietz siblings for whom they could not account.
My reconstruction of the history of the Dietz family would not have been possible without the extraordinarily well-documented research of Henry Z Jones, Jr., published in 1991 in More Palatine Families. George F. Dietz, in his research for The Dietz Family, found records in Schoharie evidencing that the family had its origins in Feldbach, Germany, but he was unable to locate the records in any of three towns named Feldbach or Villbel. Jones discovered the baptism records of the children of Johann Peter Dietz in the church books of the Nordhofen Parish church, Vielbach, Westerwald, Germany. An earlier book by Jones, The Palatine Families of New York 1710, has the story, including ancestors and descendants, of the Palatine immigrants who were the first European settlers in Schoharie. Jones also gave advice that I found invaluable in analyzing the Dietz family: look at where people lived at the time. Baptism sponsors were invariably relatives or neighbors. When families were settled, marriages were almost always between neighbors. In my research I also relied heavily on William V. H. Barker's excellent 1999 genealogical compendium, Families of Herkimer, Montgomery & Schoharie. I believe it is an essential resource for anyone seriously interested in early Schoharie and Berne families.
Descendants of Johann Peter Dietz Finding the German ancestral home of the Dietz family led Jones to learn that Johann Peter Dietz was baptized in the parish of Nordhofen 27 June 1690, son of Johann Wilhelm Dietz and Maria Sturm. (Barker erroneously calls Johan Peter "Johannes." This is an error he picked up from The Dietz Family. The reason for this confusion is explained elsewhere in this narrative.) On 6 July 1712 Johann Peter married Anna Eva Becker. (In The Dietz Family the wife of Johann Peter is mistakenly listed as Maria Engelta Weiner. No source is given for this assertion; I have found no primary evidence of who she was, or even if she existed.) Jones found baptism records for eight children, although Barker says there was probably a ninth, Rosina. Jones also found a record of the death of Johann Peter, showing that he died on 18 January 1730, only four days after his last child. (This explains why he was not a sponsor of any of his grandchildren's baptisms recorded at Schoharie.)
This is the first generation of the descendents of Johann Peter Dietz and their spouses, as I now believe them to be: Johann Peter Dietz,
baptized 27 June 1690 Nordhofen, Vielbach, Westerwald, Germany; died 19 January
1730 Nordhofen, Vielbach, Westerwald, Germany. Married Anna Eva Becker, born circa
1690 probably Vielbach, Westerwald, Germany; married 06 July 1712 Nordhofen, Vielbach,
Westerwald, Germany; died after 22 March, 1752, Beaver Dam, Albany County, or
Schoharie County, NY.
Spelling of German Surnames Before I go any further I want to discuss the problem of determining the correct spelling of early German surnames: In
the 17th and 18th-century Germany was not yet united. There were considerable
differences in the dialects among the various principalities that make up what
we now know as Germany, sometimes enough that they would probably have had difficulty
understanding one another. The
early German immigrants we are talking about were for the most part poor, uneducated
farmers. Frequently they did not know how to spell their own name. They would
not be able to tell the preacher how to spell it, nor would they know if he correctly
spelled it or not, nor would they care.
Emigration The Dietz family was one of thousands of refugee families who in the early 18th Century fled from the Palatine area of what is now Germany, which for almost a century had been devastated by wars and resulting famines. The first large group of Palatine refugees was brought over by the British government in 1710 to help populate the American Colonies in New York and Carolina. Prior to being given a promised forty acres each, they were required to pay the cost of their transportation and subsistence by working on a British Naval store project to produce pitch tar from pine trees growing along the Hudson River. Work camps were established on both sides of the Hudson River near the where Greene, Ulster, Dutchess and Columbia Counties intersect. When the pitch tar effort failed in September 1712, many starving families moved to the Schoharie Valley without permission and settled in the wilderness on land that did not belong to them. For the next decade the British did everything they could to force the squatters to leave, pay rent to Dutch landlords who had been granted the land, or buy it from them. Realizing the futility of the situation, many early Schoharie settlers finally moved on to new wilderness homes elsewhere in the Mohawk Valley, and in Pennsylvania. It is my opinion that some moved to what is now the Town of Berne, Albany County. Among later arrivals of Palatine refugees to the British American colonies was the Dietz family. Although no evidence is given, The Dietz Family says that the family of Johann Peter Dietz arrived in what is now the United States in 1730. The earliest primary evidence I am aware of that places the family in the New World is the 25 August 1740 Schoharie Reformed Church marriage record for Adam. Still, I suspect that by 1734 the Widow Dietz had emigrated with all of her living children, except the 4-year-old child, Henrich P. who did not emigrate until 1744. I am guessing that the Dietz family probably accompanied a Shultes family who were also from Nordhofen; and that both families initially settled in Greene County near other former Palatine neighbors who had settled there after the failure of the pitch tar project. Speculating that the Dietz family emigrated with the Shultes family explains why the Widow Dietz would emigrate with so many young children; her oldest son would have been about 19 and unmarried. Of course they could have emigrated any time between early 1730 and 1740, since there are no known records of the family during that interval.
Initial settlement in Greene County Baptism and marriage records show that the widow Anna Eva Becker and at least two of her children, Maria Elisabetha and Johannes, settled first in or near Greene County. Since most of the other children were young, it is natural to assume that the whole family initially stayed together. I am guessing that they lived near Loonenburg since it is at the Zion Lutheran Church that the majority of their families’ baptisms and marriages are recorded. Still, since some were recorded in Coxsackie, Greene County and others in Saugerties, Ulster County, I conclude the family probably lived in the countryside where their baptisms and marriages were performed by itinerant or circuit preachers who later recorded the events at the next convenient church. In 1734 the widowed Anna Eva Becker had eight living children; Maria Elisabetha, the oldest, would have been at the most twenty-two. Although no marriage or baptism records have yet been found, it is probable that at the time she was or had been married to a man named "Shultes" and had a son named Mathias. The evidence to support her marriage and son’s birth is presented in context further along in the story. I am speculating that the Dietz family emigrated with the family of the father of Maria Elisabetha’s son Mathias Shultes. I do not know if Mathias’ father was alive at the time or whether he emigrated with his family. In fact, I can’t prove that Mathias was born before Maria Elisabeth emigrated, rather than being born later in New York. Mathias’ father was perhaps a descendant of Ludwig Matthias Schuldt who, according to Jones in his More Palatine Families (MPF), was also from Nordhofen. Jones found baptism records for two sons of Ludwig Matthias: Johannes Casparus, and Johann Henrich. Although Jones did not find a marriage record for Johann Henrich, he did find records to show Johann Caspar Schuldt married in 1730 in Germany. The following year they had a son, Johan Jacob, whose July 1731 baptism was recorded at Nordhofen. Jones found a September 1734 baptism record for their second son, Wilhelm, in the New York City Reformed Church book; indicating that the family immigrated between 1731 and 1734. The baptism record for Henrich, their third son, was recorded 5 September 1736 at the Zion Lutheran Church in Loonenburg (now Athens), Greene Co. One of the sponsors was Catharina Overbach. The baptism records for their next five children were recorded at various churches in Greene, Columbia, Ulster and Dutchess Counties, suggesting that, like the Dietz family, they too lived in the country. Catharina Overbach, the previously mentioned baptism sponsor of one of the sons of Johann Caspar Schuldt, was undoubtedly a granddaughter of Hans Henrich Oberbach, another German family with records in the Nordhofen Parish church book, but who were actually from nearby Maxsey. Jones, in Palatine Families of New York, says that three of Oberbach’s sons emigrated about 1710. They were among the thousands of refugees who had been brought over by the British and put to work in the camps along the Hudson River producing tar. By the time the Shultes family arrived about 1734, the Oberbach brothers had been living for a number of years in Greene County. Having once been near neighbors in Germany, the Dietz, Schuldt and Oberbach families were again neighbors in Greene County a couple of decades later. My assumption is that the Dietz family emigrated by 1734 with the Schuldt family, since Maria Elisabetha Dietz had a son whose father was probably a close relative of Johann Casparus. This is based on where the two families were from; and the fact that many of the names her son, Mathias Shultes, gave his children are the same names given by Johann Casparus Schuldt to his children. More research will have to be done to prove this theory.
Relocation to Beaver Dam, Albany County The oldest Dietz sons would have been unmarried teenagers in 1734; for this reason I assume they probably spent a few years in Greene County living with their mother. Nevertheless, sometime before his 1740 marriage, 25-year-old Adam moved northwest to settle near what is now Schoharie County, NY. Based on the location of the families of their future wives, it is likely that William and John Hendrick moved with him. I believe that, contrary to first appearances, the three brothers actually settled in western Albany County, in what is now the Town of Berne. Many researchers believe that because baptisms and marriages were recorded in the church records of Schoharie, the participants actually lived there. In fact, settlers living in a wide circle around Schoharie, including Beaver Dam (now Berne) would frequently have had their religious sacraments performed by itinerant or circuit preachers who would later record them in Schoharie, or elsewhere. There was no church in Beaver Dam until about 1765. Even then, for a number of decades more, many local sacraments continued to be recorded in Schoharie, since there was no full-time minister in Beaver Dam. Because of this, researchers cannot tell from a church record alone whether or not a person lived in Schoharie or nearby Beaver Dam; it was all the "greater" Schoharie area. Beaver Dam was on Fox Creek above the Helderberg Escarpment, at the far western edge of land that Kiliaen Van Rensselaer had been granted by the Dutch in 1629. When the English took control in 1664, they did not disturb the Patroon system. The Dutch Patroons, or Lords, generally did not believe in selling the land they had been granted. Rather, they brought settlers from The Netherlands and bound them with long-term leases. The land near the Beaver Dam, although owned by the Van Rensselaer family, was a long way from the bright lights of Watervliet on the Hudson River, where the family had their stately manor house. In fact, it was not until about 1774 that Stephen Van Rensselaer III seemed to realize there were squatters on his land, and asserted ownership rights by issuing leases and collecting rent. In trying to determine where a family actually lived, I studied baptism and marriage records to determine who were close friends and neighbors at the time of a particular event. This led me to conclude that by 1740 Adam, William, and Johann Henrich Dietz were living in the Beaver Dam area. One of the Dietz’ nearest neighbors must have been Peter Ball, since three of his sons married into the Dietz families. A 1787 map of Beaver Dam shows three of Peter Ball’s sons and four second-generation Dietz sons all living within a few miles of what is now the village of Berne. Peter Ball’s parents were among the large number of Palatine refugees who in 1710 were brought by the British to the Colonies. Unfortunately his father died during the sea voyage. Peter Ball is said to have settled in Schoharie, although a 1717 census does not show a Ball family living there. Because he would have been only 18 at the time, I doubt he had yet moved to the wilderness of Schoharie. I suspect that he and his mother, if she was still alive, were more likely living near Schenectady, since about 1720 he married (Anna) Margaretha from Princetown, a few miles west of Schoharie; and in 1724 there is a record of his son Johannes being born in Princetown. Based on where the sponsors of his son Jacob’s 1733 baptism appear to me to have been living, I believe Peter himself may have been living just east of Central Bridge, near what is now Schoharie Junction, on the road to Schenectady that went through Princetown. Probably to avoid having to buy land or pay rent, by 1737 he appears to have moved several miles west to squat on land near the Beaver Dam. The Dietzes, like the Ball family, were poor refugees. When they arrived in the area about 1740, not only was all of the best valley land near Schoharie already taken; it could only be had by lease or by purchase. Like Peter Ball, they realized that the land near the Beaver Dam could be had for the taking.
First Generation Adam: The 25 August 1740 Schoharie Reformed Church marriage record of Adam Dietz to Gertrude Ecker is the earliest evidence that I have found firmly placing the Dietz's in the greater Schoharie area. It is my opinion that he and his brothers John Hendrick and William cleared their homesteads next to each other near the junction of the Switzkill with Fox Creek. I would guess the three of them probably worked together to clear the land for the first homestead. Eventually they had their own farms next to each other in or near the Switzkill Valley. Not much is known about Adam. When Adam wrote his 26 September 1775 will, he said was a farmer "of Beaverdam in Rensselaer Wyck Manor in Albany County." The Dietz Family says that although Adam and Gertrude had a son Hendrick who married Catherine Houck, they apparently died childless. Actually Hendrick was Adam’s brother, not his son. I found an International Genealogical Index record of another possible son, Adam, supposedly baptized 3 September 1768; but since I have no found no record of this baptism or other evidence to support this, I do not believe it is true. In his will Adam mentions his "sister, Elisabeth, wife of Jurie Sibley." Barker believes that she was probably actually his niece Elisabeth, daughter of John Hendrick. It is probable that Adam was illiterate and that he dictated the will; obviously this could lead to errors, since he would not have been able to read what he signed. Whatever the case, I agree with Barker’s assumption. William: I believe that William Dietz (1720-1782) initially settled in Switzkill Valley near his brothers John Hendrick and Adam. On 14 July 1743 he married Dorothea Wanner, daughter of Ludwig Wanner and Anna Barbara Beisels. The Wanners were Palatine Germans from Sinsheim who had settled in the Schoharie area before 1717. The Dietz Family says that Dorothea’s last name was "Warner." While there were many Warners living in the Beaver Dam and Schoharie area at the time, it is a separate family from the Wanners. Later some of Ludwig’s descendants did change their name to Warner. William was a farmer and a blacksmith. His 29 July 1752 naturalization papers said he was a shoemaker of Schoharie; his 1782 will said he had a blacksmith shop in Schoharie. In fact the first bequeath in William’s will, and therefore uppermost in his mind, was as follows: "I do give and bequeath unto my son William Dietz and to his heirs and assigns for Ever all the blacksmith Tools in the shop in Schohary for his birth right." Since William did not will the shop itself, it can be assumed he did not own it. Because of the importance he placed upon his blacksmith tools, I deduce he was a blacksmith. His will also mentions his wheelwright tools, which would have been an appropriate sideline for a blacksmith. In both Simms' History of Schoharie, as well as Our Heritage, which is the history of Berne, William is referred to as being a shoemaker. In my opinion the authors were mislead by his naturalization papers; he was more likely to have made horseshoes than human shoes. Although William may have been living in Schoharie in 1752 when he was naturalized, there are a number of reasons for my concluding he originally settled near Beaver Dam: Roscoe's History of Schoharie says that about 1771
"William and John Dietz, of Beaver Dam, sons of Johannes Dietz who was massacred
by the Indians in 1782, at the latter place," purchased land north of Fox
Creek between the creek and Garlock’s Dorf. Roscoe really had his "facts"
confused, and this has mislead genealogists ever since. The William (Jr.) and
John who bought the land in Schoharie were actually sons of William, Sr., (1720-1782)
brother of Johannes. Nevertheless, based on other evidence presented below, I
believe that their father, as well as his brother Johannes, was "of Beaver
Dam." The same map shows two Dietz houses a mile or so north of Fox Creek. These undoubtedly represent the actual houses of John M. and William Jr., the sons of William Sr.; on the land they bought almost a decade earlier. William Sr. probably lived on rented land near the Fort and farmed land on the outskirts of Fox’s Dorf. In 1772 William helped in the construction of the
Reformed Church at Schoharie, now known as the Old Stone Fort. It was built within
a very short walk of where he was living at the time. The names of donors and
those who participated in the construction are carved into various stones in the
walls of the fort; most are at about eyelevel. Gar Weber, an Interpreter at the
Fort says that the names were chiseled into the stones as the church was built.
Following the name of William Dietz are the letters BM. There is also a "Peter Shneider B.M." By way of explanation for these initials, the Weber showed me the following 30 June 1997 letter from Cornelis Van Dam of the Theological College of the Canadian Reformed Churches of Ontario, Canada: "At the time of my visit you asked the meaning of V.D.M. [which followed another name] which means verbi divini minister "Minister of the Devine Word". You also asked about the meaning of BM or B. M. I checked a large Dutch dictionary as well as a Dutch encyclopedia and consulted with a colleague here. The most probable in our view is that B. M. stands for the Latin phrase bonae memoriae "of blessed memory", indicating that these people had already died when their names were engraved on the side of the church wall. If it could be determined that such was indeed the case, then that would be proof positive of this interpretation." In fact, William did not die until 1782, ten years after his name was carved in the stone. Weber believes that the BM could have been chiseled in after Wm. Dietz passed away. The letters BM are cut in the same style as William’s name, and clearly appear to have been done by the same person. In my opinion they are apparently, but not certainly, carved at the same time in 1772. Since most of the names carved in stone are German rather than the Dutch, someone suggested to me that the BM might stand for the German word baumiester meaning "architect" or "master builder." The placing of these letters after William’s name would be similar to today our adding Engr. or Arch. after someone’s name. However, Weber told me that a man named Bartholomew was the architect. Weber, who speaks German, contends that this alternative interpretation could not be true since BM suggests two words; and baumiester is always written as a single word. Also it should be noted that a current dictionary's list of German abbreviations does not include BM. (Perhaps a two hundred year-old dictionary would include the abbreviation; or perhaps it was a local usage.) It should also be noted that the workers who laid the stone were, for the most part, illiterate farmers. The carver might not have known that baumiester was two words; nor might he have known that BM is not a standard abbreviation. A 28 June1832 newspaper article in the Schoharie Republican describing the construction of a church at Livingston, Schoharie County, referred to the person in charge of the construction as "the master builder." In my mind this makes it certain that BM stood for baumiester, meaning Master Builder. I assume that William and Peter Snyder were in charge of construction. Roscoe, in History of Schoharie, reports that on 7 Nov 1775 William Dietz was appointed a member of the second board of the Schoharie "Committee of Safety." This committee, chaired by Johannes Ball, had the responsibility for the safety and protection of the citizens of the Schoharie and Duanesburg district during the Revolutionary War. I believe that this elder William (1720-1782) was the William who served on this very important committee. A DAR application states that this William served as a Captain in the 15th Albany County Militia. I believe that the Captain was his son William Jr. born 1749. Barker identifies William Jr. as probably the William Dietz, formerly of Tryon County, who in 1790 claimed war damages. Reading the claim would perhaps clear up the confusion as to whether it was William Sr. or William Jr. who was a captain. At the time of his 1782 death William was living in Schoharie on a farm that he evidently leased. This can be deduced from the fact that he left his horse, cows, sheep and hogs, to various children, but not the farm itself. The farm in Beaver Dam that he left to his son, Adam, also included the animals on it and more blacksmith tools. One of the most interesting stories about the early Dietz families is that of the 1781 massacre of Johannes Dietz and his family, which is described in more detail further on. However, I need to mention it here, since most earlier histories and genealogies mistakenly identify this William as the Captain William Dietz who was captured during the massacre of his parents, wife and children, and who died shortly thereafter in captivity. All accounts of the massacre make it clear that it was Johannes who was massacred, and his son William who was captured. But it was not this William and his parents; rather it was William's brother Johannes who was massacred and Johannes’ son, Captain William Dietz, who was captured. Roscoe, evidently being unaware of the existence of Johannes and his son, implied in his History of Schoharie, that it was this William baptized 1720 captured during the massacre of his family and his parents. Relying upon Roscoe’s misidentification, The Dietz Family mistakenly identifies the father of the Dietz siblings as the Johannes who was massacred. Many historians and amateur genealogists assumed that since Dorothea Wanner died 7 February 1782, she had been massacred; some fixed this as the date of the massacre. Her husband William died a few months later; shortly after writing his 25 March 1782 will. Stanton L. Deitz, in The Dietz Family, asserts that the will was written while William was in captivity, and was later brought back to Schoharie. However, the writer of the will does not make any reference to his being in captivity, nor does it read like that of a man whose family had been recently massacred, nor are there any records to show that the witnesses to the will were ever in captivity. All accounts of the massacre state that four young children of Captain William Dietz were massacred. This William’s children were all adults at the time of the massacre. Henrich P: For some unknown reason Henrich did not accompany his mother and siblings when they emigrated. If that were in 1734, he would have been only 4-years-old. According to Westerwald to America, by Annette K. Burgert and Henry Z Jones, Jr., Henrich "made a request to emigrate 13 April 1744...to join relatives already in America." Since Henrich was only 14 when he immigrated, he undoubtedly joined the household of one of brothers in Beaver Dam, even though his mother and some of his other siblings were living at the time in or near Greene County. I conclude he lived as a teenager in Beaver Dam because of his 12 October1749 marriage to Catherine Elisabeth Houck (Hauch) of Schoharie; at that time his mother and other siblings had not yet moved from Greene County to Beaver Dam. Heinrich’s Schoharie Reformed Church marriage record says he was born in Germany, son of "Johan Piter." As far as I know, this is the only contemporary record naming the father of the Dietz siblings; this is an additional reason for believing that Johan Peter was never in New York. In 1753 Henrich was on the Burnetsfield church building donation list next to Henrich Hauch and Harme "Sidnig." Henrich died before 12 July 1757, when his widow married Harme Sitnig. Note: The Dietz Family erroneously listed as one of the Dietz siblings a Catherine Dietz born 13 June 1726 who married Harmon Sidney. This was actually Catherine Elisabetha Houck, the widow of Henrich Dietz; her married name "Catharina Elisabetha Dietz" was recorded on the record of her re-marriage. On the baptism records of her children she was known as Catharina Elisabetha Hauch. The close proximity of their names on the Burnetsfield donation list suggests that in 1753 Heinrich Dietz and Catherine Elisabetha were living next to her father Henrich Hauch, and to Harme Sidnig, who a few years later became her second husband. This assumption is supported by the fact that two of Catherine’s sisters sponsored the baptisms of the two daughters of Henrich Dietz and Catherine. When Henrich Dietz died, his widow Catherine Elizabeth Hauch married Harme Sidnig (also spelled Sidney and Sitnig). On Roscoe’s map of Schoharie showing the routes traversed by Sir John Johnson during his 17 October 1780 raid through the Schoharie Valley, a Harmanus Sidney is shown living near a Houck family just north of the where the Cobleskill enters the Schoharie River. The 1790 Federal Census of Schoharie shows separate households near each other for Henry Houck, Catherine Houck and Hermanus Sidney. (The latter could either be Harme Sidnig, or his and Catherine Elizabeth's son, Harmanus Jr.)
I conclude that Heinrich Dietz and Catherine Elizabeth probably lived all of their short married life next to the Houck and Sidnig families in Schoharie Valley just east of Central Bridge near what is now Schoharie Junction. Maria Elisabetha: As previously noted, when Maria Elisabetha arrived in the Colonies, she and her son Mathias Shultes, her brother Johannes, and their widowed mother, Anna Eva Becker, initially settled in or near Greene County, NY. The first record of Maria Elisabetha in America is the Zion Lutheran Church, Loonenburg record for her 15 September 1743 marriage to Jacob Weidman. Barker says Jacob is probably the Hans Jacob baptized 28 October 1720 in Steinmaur, Switzerland. He was the son of Felix Weidman and Anna Huber according to an International Genealogical Index record that I found through the Latter Day Saints "Family Search." Barker also says he is undoubtedly the (Hans) Jacob Weidman who was unmarried when he emigrated from Bachs, Switzerland about 1738 - 1743 (according to Faust's "Lists of Swiss Emigrants...") More Palatine Families (MPF) has conflicting information as to when Jacob Weidman married Maria Elisabetha Dietz. Bruce Wideman, a direct descendant of Jacob Weidman, has since given Jones additional information. Bruce shared this evidence with me, as well as the reply he received from Henry Jones with his new conclusions regarding the marriage of Jacob Weidman. Jones will soon be publishing this new information and his revised opinion in Still More Palatine Families. Access to the exchange between Jones and Wideman has allowed me to present here a more accurate genealogy for this family. The 15 September 1743 marriage record says that Jacob Weidman married Lisabeth "Schieds." In writing MPF, Jones concluded that she was probably an Oberbach. William Barker identified her as Elizabeth Oberbach born about 9 May 1727, daughter of Peter Oberbach and his first wife Elizabeth Styne. Because of the last name of "Schieds," she would have had to been a 16-year old widow. Jones and Barker probably reached this conclusion partly based on the 13 November 1749 sponsorship of the Zion Lutheran Church baptism of Jacob's son Peter by "Pieter Overbach and Joh. Eva, gr-par." In MPF Jones assumed that both of the sponsors were "grandparents" even though he could find no evidence at the time that a Peter Oberbach ever married a Joh. (Johnanna) Eva. I am now believe that sometime before the 1749 baptism of Peter Weidman, Peter Oberbach’s wife Elisabeth Stein died; and that the widowed Peter then married the widow Dietz. Evidence of this marriage is not only the names of Peter Oberbach and Joh. (Johanna) Eva as sponsors of the baptisms of two grandchildren, but also the following from The Palatine Families of New York 1710, page 712. "An unplaced Anna Eva Overbach joined the Schoharie Reformed Church with letters on 22 March 1752." This is confirming evidence that Anna Eva Becker was by then the Widow Oberbach; and that she moved to Beaver Dam along with the families of her son Johannes and her son-in-law Jacob Weidman. Thus the two sponsors of the baptism of Peter were the baby’s step-grandfather Peter Oberbach and his grandmother "Joh. Eva"(Anna Eva) Becker. In Henry Jones’ letter to Bruce Wideman, he expressed the opinion that, although the 1743 marriage record identifies Jacob Weidman's wife as Lisabeth Schieds, (pronounced "Sheets" in German), she was probably Elisabetha Dietz, (pronounced "Deets" or "Teets" in German). In other words, the recorder of the marriage misunderstood the surname when it was said to him.
Bruce Wideman was told that the early portion of the Zion Lutheran Church book is in Latin. Perhaps the preacher who recorded the name of Jacob Weidman and Elisabeth "Schieds" was Dutch. If so, it would go a long way towards explaining the mangling of her last name (whether she was saying Dietz or Schuldts). As I understand it, there was enough difference between "high Dutch" and "low Dutch" that native speakers often could not understand one another. The Palatine Germans had definite patterns they followed in naming their children. In some families it was the custom to name the firstborn daughter after her paternal grandmother. Four of the five children of Jacob Weidman named their firstborn daughter Maria Elisabeth, including his oldest son William, born 1745. Jacob’s fifth child, Adam, named his second daughter simply Elisabeth. To me, that strengthens the contention that Jacob Weidman married Maria Elisabetha Dietz rather that Elisabeth Oberbach as Jones and Barker had both originally surmised. There is a 26 August 1743 Zion Lutheran Church baptism record for Peter Dietz, son of Maria Elisabetha's brother Johannes Dietz and Maria Oberbach, daughter of Peter; the sponsors were again "Pieter Overbagh and Joh. Eva - grandparents." I find it interesting that even if the baby’s sponsors, Peter and "Joh. Eva," were not married to each other, Peter Oberbach was the baby's maternal grandfather, and Anna Eva Becker his paternal grandmother. The 3 June 1754 Schoharie Reformed Church baptism record for Adam Weidman identifies his parents as Jacob Weidman and Elisabetha "Schulthys." This caused both Jones and Barker to speculate that Jacob may have married again. Thanks to Wally Weidman, a direct descendant, it is now clear that Elisabetha Schulthys was in fact Maria Elisabetha Dietz. Wally has the family bible of Adam Jr., son of the above Adam baptized in 1754. In his bible Adam Jr. wrote, "my grandfather was Jacob Weidman, his wife my grandmother was Maria Elesabeth Deits." Since Adam’s baptism record says his mother was named Schulthys, Maria Elisabetha Dietz must have been married to Schulthys before she married Jacob Weidman in 1743. In addition, Bruce Wideman recently found proof that Maria Elisabetha Dietz had a son named Mathias / Matthias Shultes when she married Jacob Weidman. Bruce has a copy of an indenture dated 1794 in which Jacob Weidman sold 261 acres to his son Peter. It reads in part: "...
Petrus Weidman paid unto William Weidman, Jacob Weidman Jun'r and Annatie Zimmer,
the children of the said Jacob Weidman each 50 pounds lawful money as aforesaid
and unto Matthias Schultes, his wife's son, the sum of twenty pounds like money
as aforesaid by the order and direction of him the said Jacob Weidman." Jacob Weidman moved his family to Beaver Dam about 1750, after the 13 November 1749 baptism of his son Peter was recorded at the Zion Lutheran Church, Loonenburg, and before the 19 January 1751 baptism of Annatje was recorded at the Reformed Church, Schoharie. The teen-aged Mathias Shultes moved with them. Jacob and Maria Elisabetha built their new home a few miles east of the homes of her brothers; most of who had settled near the Switz Kill more than a decade earlier. Also living near Beaver Dam was perhaps a relative of Jacob, a Hans Weidman and family. Hans had emigrated circa 1739 and, like Jacob, was from Steinmaur, Switzerland. Unlike Jacob, Hans had no known sons with male children to carry on his name. The Weidmans settled on the north bank of Fox Creek, just above the falls in what is now the village of Berne. By 1755 Jacob had built the first sawmill in the Helderbergs. It was just below the falls, and was powered by a waterwheel. Within a few years a gristmill was constructed below the sawmill. Bruce Wideman shared with me information from the early deeds and leases for the Weidman family. The earliest is a scrap of a 1774 lease for the mill land. This is one of the earliest Van Rensselaer leases for land in the Helderbergs. On 3 March 1787 Steven Van Rensselaer deeded outright 261 acres to Jacob Weidman. This was most unusual, since Van Rensselaer did not ordinarily sell his land. Still, even in this sale, Van Rensselaer kept all rights to the mills, milldam, and millstream. Included in Jacob’s purchase was all of the land on both sides of Fox Creek from the sawmill east on both sides of the Helderberg Trail (State Route 443) to its intersection with today’s Tabor Road. The 1787 map shows Jacob owning the southern 165 acres of lot 598 and his son Peter owning the northern portion of the land. 18 December 1790 Peter leased an additional 30 acres of lot 597, which was called the "Mill Lott." This is to the west of lot 598 and includes the lower falls and the land on which the gristmill is shown on the 1787 map. Based on this, I conclude that Jacob operated the sawmill and Peter operated the gristmill. The 1790 Federal Census for Rensselaerville, which at that time included Beaver Dam, lists for Jacob Weidman: 5 Free White Males over 16, 3 Free White Males under 16, and 5 Free White Females. There are separate households nearby for all of his children except Peter. By studying the number and ages of the occupants of Jacob’s household, I conclude that at the time of the 1790 census, Peter and his family were living with his parents. Jacob Weidman’s house is shown on the 1787 map as being on the south side of the Helderberg Trail just east of the mill. That is the site on which Peter later built his own home, as shown by a New York State Historical Marker that says: WEIDMAN HOME THE LARGEST HOUSE IN BERNE WITH TEN FIREPLACES BUILT BY PETER WEIDMAN IN 1800, STOOD ON THIS SITE In Our Heritage it says, "When the surveyor’s map of the Van Rensselaer’s estate was drawn in 1787 it clearly indicated that Jacob Weidman’s house and barn were already built on the Tabor Road location and that the grant was then owned by Jacob Jr. who also rented an adjoining tract of land. The footpath drawn on the map is approximately the same route as the present Tabor Road." While the map does show a house and barn on what is now Tabor Road, on a tract owned by Jacob Weidman Jr., it also clearly shows the house and barn of Jacob Weidman as being above the falls near the sawmill and gristmill; it was an easy walk to work. On 28 November 1794 Jacob sold the 261 acres in lot 598 to his son Peter, and presumably retired. Perhaps he died shortly thereafter, since I have found no later record for him. The last record for Elizabeth is 3 March 1794 when Jacob and Elizabeth sponsored the baptism of their great-grandson Jacob W. Ball. Johannes: Johannes was living in (or near) Greene County when his 26 December 1742 marriage to Maria Oberbach, daughter of Peter Oberbach and Elizabeth Styne, was recorded at the Katsbaan Lutheran Church, in Saugerties, Ulster County, NY. Their four children were born and baptized in the area of Greene County. This is why the authors of The Dietz Family could find no record of the birth of Johannes and Maria’s son, Captain William Dietz, who was captured during the massacre of his parents. Johannes and Maria moved to Beaver Dam to settle near his brothers sometime after the 16 February 1752/53 baptism of their youngest son was recorded in the Coxsackie Reformed Church, Greene County. Barker refers to Johannes as Lt. John Dietz based on the fact that on 20 February 1778 a John Dietz was promoted to second lieutenant and served under Captain Brown at Schoharie. It is my opinion that Johannes would have been too old to be this person. I believe that Lt. John Dietz was the Johannes born 1752 son of this Johannes’ brother William Dietz.
The Dietz Massacre The 17 November 1747 baptism of William Dietz, son of Johannes, was recorded at the Germantown Reformed Church, Columbia County. A few years later his parents moved to Beaver Dam. By 1774 William was married to Maria Magdalena Cregeler. In January 1778 a William Dietz was elected a member of the Schoharie Committee of Safety. Donhardt, in Indian Ladder, identifies William, son of Johannes, as the member of the Committee of Safety. While my initial thought was that would probably be his uncle William, who was first appointed to the Committee in 1775, I am now thinking that this William might have been the representative on the Schoharie Committee from Beaver Dam, since it appears not to have a separate board. Of course that explains why his family was massacred and he was captured. He and his wife and their four young children, all less than ten years old, were living on his parents' Switzkill farm when on 1 September 1781 his parents and family were massacred and Indians captured him. A 7 September 1781 letter from General John Taylor to then New York State Governor George Clinton describes the massacre as follows: "A Party
of the Enemy Consisting of fifteen Tories & Indians, murdered Capt. Dietz's
Father & Mother, his wife & four children with one Scotch Girl & took
himself off after having Exhibited to his View this horrid Scene; the house and
Barn was Burnt. They were pursued & overtaken at Breakabeen, but permitted
to escape." Josiah Priest relates a riveting description of the massacre in his Stories of the Revolution published in 1836. It was based on an interview with an eyewitness, Robert Bryce, who was eleven years old when he and his brother were captured along with Captain Dietz. The account by Simms in his 1845 History of Schoharie is also accurate, except for the date, but not nearly as compelling reading as the account by Simms. The most inaccurate description of the massacre is that in The Dietz Family. Each time the history was updated, the details of the massacre became more garbled. As I previously mentioned, Captain William Dietz's uncle, William Sr. (1720-1782), was mistakenly identified in The Dietz Family as the captured Captain William. It is now clear that Captain William Dietz died in the fall of 1781, shortly after his captivity, and could not possibly have been the William Dietz from Schoharie who wrote his will in 1782. Our Heritage says that Johannes and his wife were buried, along with the massacred family of their son William, in a common grave in the Beaverdam Cemetery. 200 Years of Discipleship, by Rev. John Myers, 1965, states that the grave was in line with one wall of the church, which then stood on a high location in the rear of the Beaverdam Cemetery. The Dietz Family says that "Johannes Dietz" is inscribed on his tombstone. In May of 2001 I was unsuccessful in my search for his tombstone. Johannes was baptized as Johannes and buried as Johannes; I find no credible evidence that he ever used the name John or Johan Peter. Johann Henrich: I believe that John Hendrick, (the name he used in his will) settled in the Switzkill Valley by 1740 along with his brothers Adam and William. On 25 November 1745 he married (Maria) Elisabetha Ecker, sister of (Maria) Gertrude Ecker who married his brother Adam. The Schoharie Reformed Church marriage record says that he was born in Germany and "liv here," meaning Schoharie. Maria Elizabeth was born in "Skogharie, liv here." It is my contention, that taken in the broadest sense, "liv here" means the greater Schoharie area, which included anything west of what is now the village of Berne, Albany County, NY. In 1767 there was a Hendrick in Lt. Veeder's Company in the Colony of Rensselaerwyck. Since Johan Hendrick’s younger brother Hendrick P. was dead before 1757, this would have to have been John Hendrick, evidence he was living in Beaver Dam rather than Schoharie. If he had been living in Schoharie in 1767, he would have been in Captain Sternberger’s Company at Schoharie. In John Hendrick’s 7 September 1784 will, half of his land was left to his wife Elizabeth for as long as she lived; it then went to four daughters. The other half was left to his son Adam. John Hendrick died shortly after he wrote his will. Although his will does not say where his land was located, the 1787 map of Van Rensselaer leases shows his son Adam living in Switzkill Valley on lot 519, just north of George Ball, the son of Peter Ball. I believe that it is most likely that Adam was leasing the land left to him by his father. Remember, like all Beaver Dam farmers at that time, John Hendrick did not actually own the land on which he lived, and could only leave to his son Adam the lease rights that he owned. Maria: I am assuming that Maria was living in the Switzkill Valley with one of her brothers, when on 16 November 1747 at the age of twenty she married Johannes Peter Ball, son of the Dietz neighbor, Peter Ball. It is my opinion that Johannes and Maria continued to live somewhere in the Beaver Dam area. They had nine children before she died after the birth of David, 1 May 1767. Johannes re-married on 2 August 1768 to (Anna) Gertrude Schmidt. He and his second wife had eleven children. Roscoe's History of Schoharie says that about 1771 Johannes Ball of Beaver Dam purchased some land about a half-mile north of what is now the Old Stone Fort. Like his new neighbor, William Dietz (1720-1782), Johannes participated in the 1772 construction of the Dutch Reformed church, and his name was carved in its stones. Johannes Ball was an ardent patriot; and during the Revolutionary War he was the Chairman of the Schoharie Committee of Safety. He died in 1804, and is buried in the churchyard adjoining the church he helped build. Rosina: Jones did not find a baptism record in the Nordhofen Parish church-book for Rosina; still, Barker says she was probably a daughter of Johan Peter Dietz, and decided that she was probably born about 1734. Since Jones found evidence that Johan Peter died in 1730, it is obvious that if Rosina is his daughter she must have been born earlier. I found an Ancestral File among Latter Day Saints records that said she was born about 1728. Not having any better information, I have decided to go along with that. Since Rosina would have been only twelve when three of her older brothers left the rest of the family in Greene County about 1740 to move to Beaver Dam, she undoubtedly remained with her mother and other siblings. Rosina would have moved with her mother to Beaver Dam about 1751, and would undoubtedly have lived with her mother or one of her brothers until she married Paul Brandner 1 July 1755. According to Jones in MPF, Paul was born in Langensteinbach, Germany and emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1752. "Paulus Brand" was naturalized 20 March 1762. (MPF: Scott & Stryker-Rodda, p.17). Since he was in Captain Ackerson's Schoharie militia in 1767 (New York Report of the State Historian, 1897; page 847), rather than Lt. Veeder's Co. at Rensselaerwyck, I am assuming that he and Rosina settled in Schoharie rather than Beaver Dam. This opinion is supported by the fact that the sponsors of their children's baptisms appear to have been residents of Schoharie. The last record I know of Rosina is that of the birth of their twin daughters Margaret and Catherine 25 October 1768. Paul died less then five years later on 19 April 1773. It seems likely that she would have re-married, since she would have had five children to raise by herself.
SOURCES AND RESOURCES
The Dietz Family, Genealogical Data Collected and Arranged by George F Dietz, New York City, 1956, With an Appendix by Stanton L. Deitz, Athens, Ohio, 1959 The Palatine Families of New York, Henry Z Jones, Jr., FASG, 1985; visit his web site at www.hankjones.com or contact him at HZJ3@aol.com or PO Box 261388, San Diego, CA 92196-1388 More Palatine Families, Henry Z Jones, Jr., FASG, 1991, Picton Press, Rockport, PO Box 250, ME 04856-0250 www.pictonpress.com Families (to 1825) of Herkimer, Montgomery & Schoharie, N.Y., William V. H. Barker; contact him at billbarker@compuserv.com or 22 Wheeler St., Shelton, CT 06484. The History of Schoharie County, William E. Roscoe, D. Mason & Co., Syracuse, NY, 1882; or available on the Internet at www.rootsweb.com/~nyschoha/roscoes.html Early Eighteenth Century Palatine Emigration, Walter Allen Knittle, Ph.D., Philadelphia: Dorance and Co., 1937. Reprinted Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1965. Available online at www.fortklock.com/knittle.htm Our Heritage, edited by Euretha Wolford Stapleton, Historian, Town of Berne, and produced by the Town of Berne Historical Commission, 1977, 144 page paperback history of the Town of Berne, Hope Farm Press, http://www.hopefarm.com, phone: 914-679-6809, address: 1708 Rte. 212, Saugerties, NY 12477. War in Schoharie, Edward A. Hagan, 1980, Available through the Schoharie County Historical Society, Schoharie, NY 12157 Stories of the Revolution, Josiah Priest, 1836; the description of the Dietz massacre is on the Internet at www.Bernehistory.org. History of Schoharie and the Border Wars of New York, Jeptha R. Simms, 1845 Beers’ 1866 Map of Berne, in the back of Our Heritage, as well as on the Internet at www.Bernehistory.org Even More Palatine Families, by Henry Z Jones, Jr., FASG, and Lewis Bunker Rohrbach, CG, to be published in 2001 by Picton Press, Rockport, Maine.
Harold H. Miller, born and raised in Berne, is directly descended from three children of Johan Peter Dietz. Now retired and living in southern Mexico, Hal is using the Internet to work with other far-flung descendants of Berne families on the genealogy and history of their early Berne ancestors. The results are available online at http://www.bernehistory.org. You may write him at halned1@gmail.com or Privada Gomez Farias #2, Colonia Centro, CP 68000, Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico
Appendix A Dietz, William of Schohary, Albany 5 July 1782 Albany AD 118. In the name of God Amen. The twenty fifth day of march anno Domini one thousand seven hundred and eighty two I William Dietz of Schohary in the county of albany yeoman considering the frailty of my body the certainty of death and the uncertain time and minute thereof but being of sound memory and mind praised be almighty god do make this my last will and testament hereby revokeing and disanulling all former wills and testaments by me heretofore at any time made either in word or writing and declaring this only to be my last will and testament in manner following first I bequeath my Soul to god who gave it to me hopeing for the pardon of all sins past thro the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ my body to the Earth to be decently interred at the discretion of my executors here after named there to rest in hope of a glorious resurection and my temporall Estate in the manner following that is to say I will that all my Just(?)Debts be paid out of my Said Estate. I do give unto my Son William Dietz and to his heirs and assigns for Ever all the blacksmith Tools in the shop in Schohary for his birth right. I do give and bequeath unto my son Johan Jost Dietz his heirs and assigns for Ever one Bed and beding and also my weaving Loom and utensels thereunto belonging. I do give and Bequeath unto my Son Johan Jost Dietz his heirs and assigns for Ever all my wheelwright ToolsI do give and Bequeath unto my Daughter Eva Dietz one feather bed with pillows Sheets and blanked one green rugg and curtings Complete for a Bedstead my wifes blue broad cloth Cloak and Black Quilted petticoat also four cows one hefer one horse one mare Seven Sheep two iron pots one tea kettle one Brass kittle and all my pewder- furniture to her heirs and assigns for Ever. I do give and Bequeath unto my Daughters marilis wife of hendrick Ball and Eva Dietz all the remainder of my household furniture and to their heirs and assigns Each and Even and Equal Share and portion thereof for ever and my wifes wearing apparel. I do give and bequeath unto my children William Dietz Johannes Dietz Adam Dietz Johan Jost Dietz Eva Dietz and marilis wife of hendrick Ball all my horn Cattle sheep and hogs herein before not given away their respective heirs and assigns Each an Even and Equal Share and portion of the Same for ever. I do give Devise and Bequeath unto my son Adam Dietz and to his heirs and assigns for Ever all that farm of Land Situate Lying and being at Beverdam in the manor Renselaerwick now in his possession as also I give him all the Stock of horses and Cattle and Blacksmith Tools which is with him of mine at the Said farm. I Do give Devise and Bequeath unto my sons William Dietz Johannes Dietz adam Dietz and Johan Jost Dietz all the Land Share portion and income of what I am Instituted to by the Last will and Testament of my Brother adam Dietz Deceased and to their respective heirs and assigns Each an Even and Equal Share and portion of the Same for Ever. I do give and Bequeath unto my Sons William Dietz Johannes Dietz adam Dietz and Johan Jost Dietz all my wearing apparel to their respective heirs and assigns Each an Even and Equal Share and portion of the Same for Ever. I Do give Devise and Bequeath all and Singular the Remainder of my Estate Both Real and personall whatsoever unto my Sons William Dietz Johannes Dietz and Johan Jost Dietz their respective heirs and Assigns Each an Even and Equal Share and portion of the Same for Ever - on condition my Said Sons William Dietz Johannes Dietz and Johan Jost Dietz their heirs Executors or administrators are to pay unto my Daughter marilis wife of hendrick Ball her heirs or Assigns the Sum of fifty pounds Currant money of the State of new york and unto my Daughter Eva Dietz her heirs or Assigns the Sum of one hundred pounds Currant money of the State of new york as also one decent Suit of wedding apparel and unto my two grant Daughters Children of my deceased Son Peter Dietz their heirs or Assigns Each of them the Sum of twenty pounds Currant money of the State of new york. It is my will that my said Sons William Dietz Johannes Dietz and Johan Jost Dietz their heirs Executors or administrators Buy for my Son adam Dietz his heirs or assigns to (?) much more Smith Tools as to make it fit to work with in also to buy him half a ton Iron and a half faccet Steel. Lastly I do nominate Constitute and appoint my Loving Sons William Dietz and Johannes Dietz the Sole Executors of this my Last will and Testament In Testimony whence of I have Signed Sealed published and Declared this to be my Last will and testament in the presence of the witnesses. Subscribing hereunto in my presence. Witnesses:.David Sternbergh, Peter Vroman, Abraham Sternbergh. William
Dietz's Will Probate dated July 5th 1782. Recorded Albany. |