Melchior Beyer - "the only immigrant Schwenkfelder known to have gone back to Europe after the migration to Pennsylvania, for he again returned to America in 1749 from Holland and brought with him Hans Ulrich Seiler, a Swiss Redemptioner, who murdered Abraham Beyer's daughter, Anna Rosina, wife of David Schultz (see The SCHOLTZE Family.)" I've included the story of her murder in the comments below this post.
Our Concise Direct Line:
Melchoir Beyer
married
Eva Unknown
Abraham BEER (BEYER) 1690 - 1754
married
Rosina JAECKEL (YEAKEL) 1699-1770
Anna Maria Beyer 1720-1802
married
David Yeakel 1762-1820
married
Anna Kreibel 1766-1841
Maria Yeakel 1791-1854
married
Daniel Hein
married
married
Ward Welsh Truckenmiller
Charles "Fred" Truckenmiller
married
married
The following is from "Genealogical Record of the Schwenkfelder Families: Seekers of Religious Liberty who Fled from Silesia to Saxony and Thence to Pennsylvania in the Years 1731 to 1737". Edited by Samuel Kriebel Brecht, A.M. Printed for The Board of Publication of the Schwenkfelder Church, Pennsburg, Pennsylvania. Rand McNally & Company. 1923. [NOTE: The Silesia referenced below was an area of Europe which is now in southwestern Poland. Germany ceded this province to Poland after WW II. The area borders present day Germany and the Czech Republic. The founder of the Schwenkfelder Church, Caspar Schwenckfeld, was born in Ossing, Silesia, which was changed to Ossig (Osiek in Polish), and is still a small town outside of Lubin, Poland, which is outside of Legnica (Liegnitz in German), Poland. For more information, see the website of the Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center at: http://www.rpc.ox.ac.uk/rpc/sfld/s_guide.htm The SLHC is located in Pennsburg, PA.]
THE BEYER (BEER) FAMILY
MELCHIOR BEYER was married to Eva, nee unknown.
Their known children were:
1. Ursula BEYER (BEIER), b. about 1686, d. May 15, 1767,, m. Rev. Balzer (Balthasar) HOFFMAN, b. 1687 in Harpersdorf, Liegnitz, Silesia, d. July 11, 1775, son of Christopher Hoffman and Ursula Anders. Ursula and Balthasar came to Pa. in 1734 with their children and settled in Lower Salford Twp.
Their children were: i. Anna, b. 1712, d. Jan 16, 1796, m. George Schultz.
ii. Rosina, b. Dec. 21, 1718, in O. Hdrf., d. June 14, 1788, m. 1) Christopher Seipt, 2) Christopher Yeakel
iii. Christopher, b. Dec. 3, 1727, at Berthelsdorf, Saxony, d. Jan. 29, 1804, m. Rosina Dresher.
2. Abraham BEER (BEYER), b. Aug. 16, 1690 in Nieder Harpersdorf, Silesia, d. Oct. 30, 1754, m. Nov. 1717, Rosina JAECKEL (YEAKEL), b. June 16, 1699, d. July 30, 1770, dau. of Hans and Maria Jaeckel (Yeakel).
Abraham Beer fled with his wife, two sons, three daughters, one foster son, and one foster daughter. When they came to Pa. in 1736, there were three sons and three daughters.
They settled in Worcester Twp., Pa. He was naturalized June 21, 1743, and is the only immigrant Schwenkfelder known to have gone back to Europe after the migration to Pennsylvania, for he again returned to America in 1749 from Holland and brought with him Hans Ulrich Seiler, a Swiss Redemptioner, who murdered Abraham Beyer's daughter, Anna Rosina, wife of David Schultz (see The SCHOLTZE Family.) Abraham and Rosina are both buried in the Methacton Cemetery.
Although Abraham Beyer signed his name as "Beer" to the Oath of Allegiance, he soon changed it to "Beyer." There are more variations in the spelling of this name than that of any other Schwenkfelder immigrant. We find the following variations in spelling: "Beer, Baer, Bar (umlaut over 'a'), Bayer, Bear, Beyer, Boyer, Byer, and Buyer." As a matter of fact in one legal paper the same name was written four different ways, and we find the same man signing one form of spelling at one time and another form at other times.
Children of Abraham BEER (BEYER) and Rosina JAECKEL (YEAKEL) were:
i. George, b. Dec. 21, 1718 in Nieder Harpersdorf, d. 1736-1739.
ii. Anna Rosina, b. Aug. 13, 1720 in Nieder Harpersdorf, d. June 14, 1750, m. David Schultz (Scholtze.)
iii. Abraham, b. Feb. 1722, d. Mar. 6, 1796, m. Barbara Hiestand.
iv. Anna Maria, b. about Mar. 1, 1725, d. Apr. 10, 1802, m. 1) Abraham Jaeckel (Yeakel), 2) Peter Gerhard, who m. 2nd time, Elizabeth Krauss.
v. Andrew, b. about 1733, d. Apr. 19, 1773, m. Philipina Weyand.
vi. Susanna, m. Dirk (Derrick) Casselberry.
vii. George, b. July 13, 1739, d. Sept. 19, 1744. Buried in Methacton Cem.
3. Maria BEYER, b. about 1694, d. Mar. 12, 1768, m. Melchior KRAUSS of Neu Armenruhe, b. ?, d. before 1737. Maria Beyer Krauss arrived in Pa. in 1737 with her children. She is buried in the Washington Schwenkfelder Cemetery.
Children of Maria BEYER and Melchior KRAUSS were:
i. Melchior, b. ?, d. Sept. 16, 1779, unmarried.
ii. Christoph, b. May 19, 1720, in Neu Armenruhe, d. Oct. 23, 1795, m. Susanna Schultz.
ii. Christoph, b. May 19, 1720, in Neu Armenruhe, d. Oct. 23, 1795, m. Susanna Schultz.
Following is the account of Anna Schultz' murder:
ReplyDelete"During the past summer, Abraham Beer (Beyer), of Methacton, on his
return from a journey to Rotterdam took with him on the ship a couple of
beggar-boys who bound themselves to serve seven years for their passage
money; but after their arrival here they heard that a certain boy of their
own age was obliged to serve only four years for his passage, until he was
twenty-one. Thus it happened that one of these boys, who was a Swiss, and
who had an indolent disposition, did everything in a disgusted or spiteful
manner.
However, Beyer's brother-in-law, David Schultz, hoped to win him over by
kindness, and took the boy with his indenture from Abraham Beyer. But since
David Schultz was a land surveyor, and on this account was obliged to be away
from home a great deal, on account of laying out roads, &c., his wife was
obliged to look after the boy and keep him at work, and the boy said, on two
occasions she boxed his ears, and he therefore decided to get revenge.
During the night of June 14th, as he says, he entered her room through
the window, took a long, pointed knife with the intention of stabbing her.
But as he reached her bedside she moved, whereupon he went back till he
thought she fell asleep, when he again returned, but as he approached her
bed, she again turned over, and he again went back till he thought she was
fast asleep. Thereupon, he stabbed her in the throat, near the gullet,
through the large vein, the knife sinking about four inches deep, or deeper
than the length of the blade. He then ran out of the house in his shirt
and hid in a neighbor's haystack. Mrs. Schultz, however, ran up and down the
stairs, but on account of the rapid loss of blood, she fell on her face at
the foot of the stairs, and died. After he was discovered the boy admitted
everything as above related.
He was taken to Philadelphia and put in prison, where he must remain
until the Supreme Court meets. His own confession states that he did it with
premeditation.
He tells the story so that all may know it and makes no excuse for doing
it except for spite, because he was to work seven years for his passage money.
He was only eighteen years of age, and had six more years to serve.