Born 1684
Died 1756
Married
Anna Marie Berigal
Daughter of Jame Briegal (Von Bruegal) of Holland
Born 1690
Died 1765
Children
- John Henrich Zeller
- John David Zeller
- Hartman Zeller 1711-1800 (Rev. Stapleton gives Hartmans name as Martin)
- Anna Maria Zeller married Saltztius 1715-1776
- Barbara (or Barbaralis) Zeller 1720-1785 married Lerew
- Anna Catherine Zeller 1722-1794 married John Pontius
- Johannes Zeller 1723-1805
- Anna Elizabeth Zeller 1725-1803 married Battorf.
- John George Zeller 1725-1802
1684 - Heinrich Zeller is Born
He was likely the brother of Johannes Zeller, who arrived with him.
"The other Zeller immigrant Johan Zeller, was said to be the brother of Johan Heinrich, but there is no proof of this. However, it is my opinion that they probably were brothers, as they seemed to be doing pretty much the same things at the same time and always lived fairly close to one another. Furthermore, Johan named Heinrich a co-administrator of his will, along with his son, so it seems likely there was a close family relationship. Johan Zeller was closely associated with the widow Anna Potterf. Often on various documents their households were combined. This leads one to believe that Johan was probably married to Anna's daughter. If indeed there was a matriarchal figure in the Zeller family it was probably Anna Potterf rather than Chlotilde De Valois." - Zeller Family Newsletter
1709 - On the List At St Catherine's Parish In London
"Although it has been reported that Johan Heinrich Zeller was born in Paris in 1685 there is no evidence to support this.
The first evidence we find of his existence is the receiving list at St. Catherines Parish in London of June 2 1709 which lists him as single, 30 years of age and a cooper (barrel maker) and does not indicate any children. His religion was Reformed. This would make his birth-date about 1680. However we find out later that he has a daughter who was born in Etzbach Germany so 1675 seems to be a more appropriate birth-date. His apparent brother John Zeller was listed as age 23, single, no dependents and his religious preference was Lutheran. Heinrich's death has been given as Jan 04 1756 in Tulpehocken, Berks Co PA. " - From the Zellers Family Newsletter
The first evidence we find of his existence is the receiving list at St. Catherines Parish in London of June 2 1709 which lists him as single, 30 years of age and a cooper (barrel maker) and does not indicate any children. His religion was Reformed. This would make his birth-date about 1680. However we find out later that he has a daughter who was born in Etzbach Germany so 1675 seems to be a more appropriate birth-date. His apparent brother John Zeller was listed as age 23, single, no dependents and his religious preference was Lutheran. Heinrich's death has been given as Jan 04 1756 in Tulpehocken, Berks Co PA. " - From the Zellers Family Newsletter
this appears to refer to St Katherine Coleman's Parish in London -
https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/St_Katherine_Coleman,_London_Genealogy
1710 - Heinrich Zeller Arrived In America
Johan Heinrich Zeller arrived in the port of New York June 14 1710 after a voyage of only two months. However these Palatines boarded their 11 ships early in the previous winter and spent the whole time aboard ship in English waters coming now here. Upon arriving in the New World they were first housed in camps on an island and it wasn't until October that they were sent up the Hudson River to their permanent settlement at Livingston Manor.
The Zellers were french huegenots, forced to free France due to religious persecution, according to many sources.
Records indicate that Heinrich and his family as well as his assumed brother Johan lived in a community called Anneville, which later became a town, called Germantown.
The Zellers were french huegenots, forced to free France due to religious persecution, according to many sources.
"The majority of these names have been changed in the spelhng but their origin remains the same. The above were, with others, from Alsace and Lorraine, who left France on the
revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Others, whom the blind bigotry of monarchs drove across the seas to settle in eastern Pennsylvania, from 1730 to 1780, were..."
Name: Johann Henrich Zeller
Arrival Year: 1710
Arrival Place: New York, New York
Source Publication Code: 3988.10
Primary Immigrant: Zeller, Johann Henrich
Annotation: Most are date and port of arrival; a few list date and place of settlement. Exhaustive historical and genealogical information are also provided.
Source Bibliography: KNITTLE, WALTER ALLEN. Early Eighteenth Century Palatine Emigration. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. 1997. 320p.
Page: 291
Memorials of the Huguenots in America: shows:
"Among the Huguenots exiles were several branches of the ancient Sellaire or Cellier family of France. The name is met with among the refugees to England and America prior to the Revocation (1685), and even in faraway Cape Colony, where a descendant, General Cellier, became famous as a Boer leader in the Transvaal war. One branch retired to the Palatinate about the period of the Revocation. Of this family was Jean Henri Sellaire, who, with his family, followed the great exodus of Palatinates to London in 1708. In 1709 he came to New York with the Palatinates, where his name and that of his son John as 'Zeller' appears among the settlers of Livingston Manor in 1710. About 1727 he came overland through the trackless wilderness to Tulpehocken, locating near the present town of Sheridan, where he established a considerable estate and where he died at a very advanced age in 1756.
"JOHANN HEINRICH ZELLER, reported to have been born in France in 1684, and to have married ANNA MARIA BRIEGAL, daughter of JAMES BRIEGAL (VON BRUEGAL) of Holland,32 came with his family to Pennsylvania from Schoharie probably about the same time as JOHANN ZELLER. Unlike JOHANN, he took up land, not in Heidelberg Township, but in what became Tulpehocken Township in the present Berks County, but was then Lancaster County." - Genealogies of Pennsylvania Families from the Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine. Volume III: Stauffer-Zerbe, article entitled "Zeller Family Revision" by John F. Valentine Published in 1977
Name: Johann Henrich Zeller
Arrival Year: 1710-1714
Arrival Place: New York, New York
Source Publication Code: 1811
Primary Immigrant: Zeller, Johann Henrich
Annotation: Governor Hunter's claim against the British government for the subsistence account of the Palatines, 1710-1713. Involves 847 debtors, according to records in London. Also in no. 4003, Knittle.
Source Bibliography: EHLE, BOYD, compiler "Palatine Heads of Families from Governor Hunter's Ration Lists, June, 1710 to September, 1714." In The Book of Names..., by Lou D. MacWethy. St. Johnsville, New York: The Enterprise and News, 1933, pp. 65-72. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1969.
Page: 72
But again, the Zeller Family Newsletter disagrees and offers this history instead:
"It turns out that the Zeller family and other of our associated families (Walborns, Potterfs/ Batdorfs) were part of a large group of Germans who lived in the Palatinate during the last half of the 17th century. As a result of the Thirty Years War and other conflicts living conditions were very bad for the German common people. The winter of 1708-09 was especially severe. Livestock froze to death, grapevines were killed.There was great familine and suffering among the people. Queen Anne of England sent representatives up and down the Rhine with so called " Golden Books" describing the wonderful opportunities in the "New World". She was eager to get people to go to America to settle the land that the English had claimed in what became New York. The poverty inflicted Germans flocked to London in huge numbers where they became a terrible drag on the English economy.
But again, the Zeller Family Newsletter disagrees and offers this history instead:
"It turns out that the Zeller family and other of our associated families (Walborns, Potterfs/ Batdorfs) were part of a large group of Germans who lived in the Palatinate during the last half of the 17th century. As a result of the Thirty Years War and other conflicts living conditions were very bad for the German common people. The winter of 1708-09 was especially severe. Livestock froze to death, grapevines were killed.There was great familine and suffering among the people. Queen Anne of England sent representatives up and down the Rhine with so called " Golden Books" describing the wonderful opportunities in the "New World". She was eager to get people to go to America to settle the land that the English had claimed in what became New York. The poverty inflicted Germans flocked to London in huge numbers where they became a terrible drag on the English economy.
So Queen Anne conferred English citizenship up on them and as soon as transportation could be arranged hustled them off to the New World where they were to produce tar and pitch for the Queen's navy in return for their transportation and sustenance. They were also to be given land to farm.They first arrived in the port of NY and after a period were sent up the Hudson River to Livingston Manor a huge tract of land that the English government had awarded to Robert Livingston. This is in the present area of Kingston NY. They were settled in a group of villages where they were to build themselves shelters and they were to be given rations and sustenance until they became self-sufficient. The English Governor Robert Hunter and the Livingston manor were charged with this responsibility. The experiment was a terrible disaster. The settlers nearly starved to death and either the pine trees were the wrong kind or they were not properly instructed how to do this work.
After a few years of this unsatisfactory life many of the German settlers moved the area of Schoharie NY where they took up land that had been given by the Indians for these people to live on. The two Zellers families among those who moved to Schoharie, but even then the Dutch had already laid claim to the land and finally Governor Keith of Pennsylvania offered them the opportunity to settle in the area along the blue mountains that eventually became Berks Co and the Tulpehocken area.
Fortunately for our research there were records kept on these people which are now available. They included registration lists in Britain, Gov. Hunter's provision lists and the church records of the Reverend Joshua Kocherthal, letters and official documents and others so we are able to piece together quite a bit of documentary information about the Zeller families. Of course these records, like census and other old records having been recorded by human beings do not always agree in every respect. "
After a few years of this unsatisfactory life many of the German settlers moved the area of Schoharie NY where they took up land that had been given by the Indians for these people to live on. The two Zellers families among those who moved to Schoharie, but even then the Dutch had already laid claim to the land and finally Governor Keith of Pennsylvania offered them the opportunity to settle in the area along the blue mountains that eventually became Berks Co and the Tulpehocken area.
Fortunately for our research there were records kept on these people which are now available. They included registration lists in Britain, Gov. Hunter's provision lists and the church records of the Reverend Joshua Kocherthal, letters and official documents and others so we are able to piece together quite a bit of documentary information about the Zeller families. Of course these records, like census and other old records having been recorded by human beings do not always agree in every respect. "
1711 - Fought in Queen Anne's War - The Canadian Expedition
The Zeller newsletter explains -
" Johan and Henry both served in the so- called Canadian Expedition of 1711. This was during the War between England and the French for the territory in Canada. A request for 300 volunteers went out and men of Livingstone manor willingly and cheerfully volunteered for an expedition to capture Quebec. The whole thing was poorly planned and ended in a disaster.
The men were discharged in Albany and were forced to find their own way back to their homes only to find their families in desperate circumstances as they had received no subsistence due to the fact that their men had not been " working". "
"ZELLERS, RAHNS, SEITZINGERS
John Henry Sellaire (Zeller), Huguenot, came to New York, 1710, with the one thousand immigrants. His name and that of his son John is on the list of settlers at Livingstone manor. He was in Queen Anne's war, 1711. He died 1756.
John Henry Zeller came from the Schoharie, N. Y., to Chester County, Penna., (Berks), 1727. He built the block house, as a refuge from the Indians (part of which is still
standing) on the mill creek, between Womelsdorf and Stouchsburg.
Zeller, John Henry, wf. Anna Maria ; c, John George, John Henry, John David, Hartman (Martin,) John, Anna Maria Saltzberger, Barbara, Catharine Pontus, Anna Eliza-
beth Battdorf. His son John George lived on the homestead in, Marion Twp., between Wintersville and Stouchsburg. "
Another history specifies that he was on the list for the 1711 Canadian Expedition.
The Quebec Expedition, or the Walker Expedition to Quebec, was a British attempt to attack Quebec in 1711 in Queen Anne's War, the North American theatre of the War of Spanish Succession. It failed when seven transports and one storeship were wrecked and some 850 soldiers drowned in one of the worst naval disasters in British history.
Henry married Anna Maria Berigal
U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900
Name: Johanna Zeller
Gender: Male
Birth Year: 1693
Spouse Name: Anna Maria Breigell
Spouse Birth Year: 1693
Number Pages: 1
"Huguenot Pioneers," pp. 176, cited in Note 1. Her surname has been spelled in various ways, and it is of interest to note that a Johann George Brigel was a sponsor at a baptism in Schoharie in 1715. See MacWethy, pp. 29, cited in Note 2, "The Kocherthal Records of the West Camp Lutheran Church," and that a J.G. Brugel was a sponsor in 1742 in the records of Host Reformed Church, Tulpehocken Township, Berks County, Book 1, pp. 1 in GSP, hereinafter cited at Host Reformed Church Records. These records are translated of the originals by the late Mrs. C.M. Steinmetz.
"Henrich's wife was said to be Anna Maria Von Briegal and to have been married in Holland. However none of the early records show him having a wife so I think he may have come to America as a widower with one daughter. It seems most likely that he married- Anna Maria Briegel after arriving in America. A George Briegel was in this group of Palatines and it seems likely that Anna Maria was his daughter or possibly sister. But no proof exists and very little is known about George Briegal except that there was also a George Briegal in the Tulpehocken area. " - From the Zeller Family Newsletter
Another source says one of Clothilde's sons married in Holland -
The following is taken from a chapter in the book entitled Notable Women of Pennsylvania, edited by Gertrude Biddle and Sarah Lowrie (Philadelphia, 1942) and is from a short biography of a French woman named Clothilde de Valois:
"Shortly after their son’s marriage in Holland the Zeller’s journeyed to England and the Lady Clothilde, as she was recorded there, place herself, her children, and husband under the protection of Queen Anne, who made them welcome not only in England but, should they choose, in her colonies across the sea. With many of their race and a considerable number of their own class and position, they gladly accepted the chance to begin again in a new world. Clothilde at this time was the sole head of her family, her husband having died, either in London or before their ship arrived at New York in June 1710."
"Henrich's wife was said to be Anna Maria Von Briegal and to have been married in Holland. However none of the early records show him having a wife so I think he may have come to America as a widower with one daughter. It seems most likely that he married- Anna Maria Briegel after arriving in America. A George Briegel was in this group of Palatines and it seems likely that Anna Maria was his daughter or possibly sister. But no proof exists and very little is known about George Briegal except that there was also a George Briegal in the Tulpehocken area. " - From the Zeller Family Newsletter
Another source says one of Clothilde's sons married in Holland -
The following is taken from a chapter in the book entitled Notable Women of Pennsylvania, edited by Gertrude Biddle and Sarah Lowrie (Philadelphia, 1942) and is from a short biography of a French woman named Clothilde de Valois:
"Shortly after their son’s marriage in Holland the Zeller’s journeyed to England and the Lady Clothilde, as she was recorded there, place herself, her children, and husband under the protection of Queen Anne, who made them welcome not only in England but, should they choose, in her colonies across the sea. With many of their race and a considerable number of their own class and position, they gladly accepted the chance to begin again in a new world. Clothilde at this time was the sole head of her family, her husband having died, either in London or before their ship arrived at New York in June 1710."
1737 - Land Warrant -
Recited in Berks County Deed Book B-2, pp. 84,; 28 DEC 1772, John Zeller and Leonard Anspach to Johann George Zeller. On 6 NOV 1734, one "Henry Seller" obtained a warrant for 200 acres in then Lancaster County, and on 21 DEC 1737, two more warrants for 150 acres each, also in Lancaster County. It has not been established for this record that these were taken out by Johann Heinrich Zeller. Pennsylvania Archives, 3rd Series, XXIV, pp. 519, 521. - Genealogies of Pennsylvania Families from the Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine. Volume III: Stauffer-Zerbe, article entitled "Zeller Family Revision" by John F. Valentine Published in 1977
On 2 DEC 1738, he purchased from Casper Wister, the Philadelphia brass-button maker, 115 acres a branch of the Swatara Creek in Tulpehocken. Later he took up another 115 acres, adjoining the first tract, which were patented to him 10 OCT 1750.33
1737 - Named As Exector in his (presumed to be) brother Johannes Will
1737
Tulpahockon
He mentions Executors J.Henry Zeller, Martin Partorff (Martin Batdorf is his daughter, Mary Elizabeth's father in law.) and Christien Walborn Batdorf which is spelled Partorff here.
1722 - Daughter Anna Cathrina Zeller was born
Catherine Zeller & Peter Pontius were Heather's Paternal 8th great grandparents. Read more about them here:
ANNA CATHRINA ZELLER, born ca. 1722; died after 8 DEC 1771; married by the Rev. Stoever 14 JAN 1743, JOHN PONTIUS, born ca. 1718; died after 1790 in Northumberland (now Union) County.44 He had arrived at Philadelphia on the Ship Glascow, qualifying 9 SEP 1738, aged 20.45 He settled in Tulpehocken Township where in 1768 he was rated on 100 acres of land. He appears to have removed to Buffalo Township, Northumberland County, after 1772, when he was a party to the division of his father-in-law's estate, and before 1778.46 Three children were baptized by Stoever: JOHANN HEINRICH PONTIUS, 1 APR 1744, sponsors Heinrich Zoeller and wife; JOHN PETER PONTIUS, 25 OCT 1747; JOHANNES PONTIUS, 18 AUG 1751. On Whitsunday, 1765, his sons ANDREAS, JOHN PETER, and JOHN NICHOLAS PONTIUS were communicants at Host Reformed Church, and at Christmas, 1769, JOHANNES, JOHN GEORGE, and ANNA MARIA PONTIUS, his sons and daughters, communed at the same Church.
Millenium File:
Name: Anna Catherine Zeller
Gender: Female
Birth Date: 1722
Birth Place: Tulpehocken, Berks, Pennsylvania, USA
Father: Johan Heinrich Zeller
Mother: Anna Maria PerigalBerigal
Spouse: John Frederick Pontius
Children: Mary Elizabeth Pontius
1745 - Henry built Fort Zeller
Memorials of the Huguenots in America: shows:
His house, a massive stone edifice, erected with a view to protect the family and neighbors in case of an attach from the Indians, is still standing." This house, now an historical relic of the section, and known as "Zeller's Indian Fort," was erected in 1745, on the banks of the mill creek and, as stated, was used for a fort. But the author of the paragraph quoted was not quite accurate when he called it a "massive stone edifice." The walls are massive enough, but the building could hardly be called an edifice. He also erected the first meeting place of these early Schohaire settlers for worship, defense and mutual conference.
1756 - Heinrich Zeller Died
Find A Grave Entry:
Name: John Heinrich Zeller
Birth Date: 1679
Birth Place: France
Death Date: 1756
Death Place: Stouchsburg, Berks County, Pennsylvania, USA
Cemetery: Tulpehocken Trinity UCC Cemetery
Burial or Cremation Place: Millardsville, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, USA
Has Bio?: Y
Spouse: Anna Maria Zeller
Mother: Clothilde Zeller
Probate:
Berks County Will Book 1, pp. 13, Will of Heinrich Zeller.
Name: John Henry Zeller
Probate Date: 1756
Probate Place: Berks, Pennsylvania, USA
Inferred Death Year: Abt 1756
Inferred Death Place: Pennsylvania, USA
Item Description: Probate Estate Files, Wert, Christina-Zwerentz, Ludwig, 1752-1799
The Will Of Johannes Heinrich Zeller
In the name of God Amen!
The Third day of August in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and fifty four, I Johan Henrich Zeller of Tulpehoken in the County of Berks yeoman, calling to mind the mortality of my body and knowing that it is appointed for all men once to die, but being yet of Perfect mind and memory fo therefor ordain this my las will and testament, that is to say. Principally & first of all I give and recommend my soul in the hands of God that gave it and for my body. I recommend it to the earth to be buried in a Christian like and decent manner at the discretion of my herein mentioned executors, nothing doubting but at the general resurrection I shall receive the same again by the mightly hand of God and as touching such worldly state wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me in this life, I give, devise, and dispose of the same in the following manner set for, that is to say -
First I give and Bequeath to my son Johan George Zeller, and to his Heirs and asigns for ever my plantation whereon I know live, and all my real and irrevocable estate. the Dowry due to my loving wide Anna Maria excepted and upon condition that he my said son Johan George Zeller his heirs and assigns, shall pay unto my herein mentioned executors the sum of two hundered and fifty pounds current money of Pennsylvania in manner and form following. That is toe say forty pounds part thereof for my son Johan Heinrich Zeller Junion. Within four months after my decease, Item forty pounds for my son Johan David Zeller also within four months after my decease, nevertheless if my son John George will keep and maintain his said brethren during their life time. they being simple in victuals and drink. washing and lodging handsomely and to the satisfaction of thier guardian herein mentioned he shall not be obliged to pay any thing for them as long as he keeps them so, and after ????? the said Johan Heinrichs or Johan Favid decease he my said son Johan George shall be requited for the sum given to them by me as aforesaid and shall never pay them, otherwise if he don't keep them so as aforesaid he shall pay such sums for their use and maintenance and what is left after their decease shall be equally divided among and between all my children or their representative. The remainder sum of one hundred and seventy pounds shall be equally divided between the rest of my children or their representatives to wit: Hartman Zeller, John Zeller, Anna Maria Saltzgeber, Barbaralis Lerew, Catrina Pontious, and Anna Elisabeth Battorff, and for the payment of the said sum of one hundred and seventy pounds he shall have a years time after my deceased, provided he doed not offer to sell his land herein bequeathed to him, if so then he shall give security for hte payment of the whole sum of two hundred and fifty pounds before mentioned. As to my moveables I give and bequeath them to my before named loving wife Anna Maria, and what is left after her decease shall be equally divided between my before named nine children or to thier representatives.
Item, I ordain and nominate my son John Zeller and Leonhard Anspach my son in law executors of this my last will and testament, and I do hereby disallow and revoke all and every other former testaments, wills, legacies and executors by me in any way before this time named, willed, and bequeathed. Ratifying and confirming this and no other to be my last will and testament.
In witness whereof I have here unto my hand seal the day and year first above written
Be it remembered that I do appoint the aforesaid John Zeller and Leonhard Anspach to guardian said sons John Heinrich and John David who being not able to care for themselves because of their simplicity, until an orphans court in this county shall see cause to appoint others.
Burial:
The Zeller Memorial was placed in by the Zeller Family Association, in Reeds Cemetery.
https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/45852/reeds-cemetery
From the find a grave website -
"Reed's Church or Rieth's Church was erected in 1727 about 1/2 mile northeast of Stouchsburg. It was made of roughly hewn logs and reportedly had a tree stump for a pulpit. The church was constructed so that it may be used as a fort in the even of an Indian attack. Supposedly a vault for the storage of ammunition was placed under the earthen floor. While the cemetery remains, the church is no longer there.
Records of Reed's Cemetery published by the Tulpehocken Settlement Historical Society is extremely helpful in identifying the older tombstones."
Additional Research:
Name: John Henry Zeller
Probate Date: 1756
Probate Place: Berks, Pennsylvania, USA
Inferred Death Year: Abt 1756
Inferred Death Place: Pennsylvania, USA
Item Description: Probate Estate Files, Wert, Christina-Zwerentz, Ludwig, 1752-1799
The Will Of Johannes Heinrich Zeller
The Third day of August in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and fifty four, I Johan Henrich Zeller of Tulpehoken in the County of Berks yeoman, calling to mind the mortality of my body and knowing that it is appointed for all men once to die, but being yet of Perfect mind and memory fo therefor ordain this my las will and testament, that is to say. Principally & first of all I give and recommend my soul in the hands of God that gave it and for my body. I recommend it to the earth to be buried in a Christian like and decent manner at the discretion of my herein mentioned executors, nothing doubting but at the general resurrection I shall receive the same again by the mightly hand of God and as touching such worldly state wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me in this life, I give, devise, and dispose of the same in the following manner set for, that is to say -
First I give and Bequeath to my son Johan George Zeller, and to his Heirs and asigns for ever my plantation whereon I know live, and all my real and irrevocable estate. the Dowry due to my loving wide Anna Maria excepted and upon condition that he my said son Johan George Zeller his heirs and assigns, shall pay unto my herein mentioned executors the sum of two hundered and fifty pounds current money of Pennsylvania in manner and form following. That is toe say forty pounds part thereof for my son Johan Heinrich Zeller Junion. Within four months after my decease, Item forty pounds for my son Johan David Zeller also within four months after my decease, nevertheless if my son John George will keep and maintain his said brethren during their life time. they being simple in victuals and drink. washing and lodging handsomely and to the satisfaction of thier guardian herein mentioned he shall not be obliged to pay any thing for them as long as he keeps them so, and after ????? the said Johan Heinrichs or Johan Favid decease he my said son Johan George shall be requited for the sum given to them by me as aforesaid and shall never pay them, otherwise if he don't keep them so as aforesaid he shall pay such sums for their use and maintenance and what is left after their decease shall be equally divided among and between all my children or their representative. The remainder sum of one hundred and seventy pounds shall be equally divided between the rest of my children or their representatives to wit: Hartman Zeller, John Zeller, Anna Maria Saltzgeber, Barbaralis Lerew, Catrina Pontious, and Anna Elisabeth Battorff, and for the payment of the said sum of one hundred and seventy pounds he shall have a years time after my deceased, provided he doed not offer to sell his land herein bequeathed to him, if so then he shall give security for hte payment of the whole sum of two hundred and fifty pounds before mentioned. As to my moveables I give and bequeath them to my before named loving wife Anna Maria, and what is left after her decease shall be equally divided between my before named nine children or to thier representatives.
Item, I ordain and nominate my son John Zeller and Leonhard Anspach my son in law executors of this my last will and testament, and I do hereby disallow and revoke all and every other former testaments, wills, legacies and executors by me in any way before this time named, willed, and bequeathed. Ratifying and confirming this and no other to be my last will and testament.
In witness whereof I have here unto my hand seal the day and year first above written
Be it remembered that I do appoint the aforesaid John Zeller and Leonhard Anspach to guardian said sons John Heinrich and John David who being not able to care for themselves because of their simplicity, until an orphans court in this county shall see cause to appoint others.
Burial:
https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/45852/reeds-cemetery
From the find a grave website -
"Reed's Church or Rieth's Church was erected in 1727 about 1/2 mile northeast of Stouchsburg. It was made of roughly hewn logs and reportedly had a tree stump for a pulpit. The church was constructed so that it may be used as a fort in the even of an Indian attack. Supposedly a vault for the storage of ammunition was placed under the earthen floor. While the cemetery remains, the church is no longer there.
Records of Reed's Cemetery published by the Tulpehocken Settlement Historical Society is extremely helpful in identifying the older tombstones."
Additional Research:
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John Pontius (son in law of Henry Zeller) appears to have removed to Buffalo Township, Northumberland County, after 1772, when he was a party to the division of his father-in-law's estate, and before 1778
Memorials of the Huguenots in America: shows:
He died in January, 1756, and his will, made Aug. 3, 1754, was probated Jan. 20, 1756. This will shows a wife, Anna Maria, and children: John George (who obtained the homestead), John Henry, John David, Hartman (The Rev. Mr. Stapleton gives this name as Martin), John, Anna, Maria Saltztius, Barbara (or Barbaralis) Lerew, Catharine Pontius and Anna Elizabeth Battorf. The executors are shown as his son John and son-in-law Leonard Anspach, accordingly there must have been another daughter."
..on 3 AUG 1754, he had his Will drawn. He gave the plantation "whereon I now live" and all his moveable estate to his son JOHANN GEORGE ZELLER, he to pay pds. 250 for it to the other heirs. Out of this sum his sons JOHANN HEINRICH and JOHANN DAVID were each to have pds. 40, but JOHANN GEORGE was to care for them, "they being simple." The balance of pds. 170 was to be divided between the rest of his children: HARTMAN ZELLER, JOHN ZELLER, ANNA MARIA SALTZGEBER, BARBARALIS LEREW, CATHARINA PONTIUS and ANNA ELIZABETH BATTORF. He provided for his wife ANNA MARIA, and nominated his son JOHN and son-in-law LEONARD ANSPACH executors.
The Will was accepted for probate 20 JAN 1756.34 ANNA MARIA ZELLER, widow of JOHANN HEINRICH, is reported to have survived him until 1765, but it was not until 1772 that any disposition of his property was made.
On 28 DEC of that year JOHN ZELLER of Berks County, ANNA MARIA SALTZGEBER, widow of Lancaster County, JOHN PONTIUS of Berks County in right of his wife ANNA CATHERINE, LEONARD SCHWARTZ of Berks County in right of wife ANNA ELIZABETH, BARBARA LERU of (blank), and HARTMAN ZELLER of Frederick County, Maryland, for consideration of pds. 250 paid by JOHN GEORGE ZELLER, released and quitclaimed their rights in the 245 acres of which JOAHNN HEINRICH ZELLER had died seized.
Thus from his Will and the quit-claim deed, a list of the children of JOHANN HEINRICH ZELLER can be firmly established. - Genealogies of Pennsylvania Families from the Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine. Volume III: Stauffer-Zerbe, article entitled "Zeller Family Revision" by John F. Valentine Published in 1977
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Research:
Various dates may be confusing because prior to 1752, the English used the Julian calendar and the Germans used the Georgian (Gregorian) calendar. So some dates may be shown as month, day, year/year. Anna Maria Catharina Zeller's death is sometimes shown as January 14, 1748/1749. That is because under the (old) Julian calendar, the new year did not begin until March 25th. So her death on January 14th was considerd as being in 1748
under English records. However, her death date is recorded in church records as January 14th, 1749, because church records used the Georgian calendar. Today we use the Georgian (Gregorian) calendar.
Various dates may be confusing because prior to 1752, the English used the Julian calendar and the Germans used the Georgian (Gregorian) calendar. So some dates may be shown as month, day, year/year. Anna Maria Catharina Zeller's death is sometimes shown as January 14, 1748/1749. That is because under the (old) Julian calendar, the new year did not begin until March 25th. So her death on January 14th was considerd as being in 1748
under English records. However, her death date is recorded in church records as January 14th, 1749, because church records used the Georgian calendar. Today we use the Georgian (Gregorian) calendar.
JOHANN HEINRICH ZELLER
Genealogies of Pennsylvania Families from the Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine. Volume III: Stauffer-Zerbe, article entitled "Zeller Family Revision" by John F. Valentine Published in 1977
JOHANN HEINRICH ZELLER, reported to have been born in France in 1684, and to have married ANNA MARIA BRIEGAL, daughter of JAMES BRIEGAL (VON BRUEGAL) of Holland,32 came with his family to Pennsylvania from Schoharie probably about the same time as JOHANN ZELLER. Unlike JOHANN, he took up land, not in Heidelberg Township, but in what became Tulpehocken Township in the present Berks County, but was then Lancaster County. On 2 DEC 1738, he purchased from Casper Wister, the Philadelphia brass-button maker, 115 acres a branch of the Swatara Creek in Tulpehocken. Later he took up another 115 acres, adjoining the first tract, which were patented to him 10 OCT 1750.33 Four years later on 3 AUG 1754, he had his Will drawn. He gave the plantation "whereon I now live" and all his moveable estate to his son JOHANN GEORGE ZELLER, he to pay pds. 250 for it to the other heirs. Out of this sum his sons JOHANN HEINRICH and JOHANN DAVID were each to have pds. 40, but JOHANN GEORGE was to care for them, "they being simple." The balance of pds. 170 was to be divided between the rest of his children: HARTMAN ZELLER, JOHN ZELLER, ANNA MARIA SALTZGEBER, BARBARALIS LEREW, CATHARINA PONTIUS and ANNA ELIZABETH BATTORF. He provided for his wife ANNA MARIA, and nominated his son JOHN and son-in-law LEONARD ANSPACH executors. The Will was accepted for probate 20 JAN 1756.34 ANNA MARIA ZELLER, widow of JOHANN HEINRICH, is reported to have survived him until 1765, but it was not until 1772 that any disposition of his property was made. On 28 DEC of that year JOHN ZELLER of Berks County, ANNA MARIA SALTZGEBER, widow of Lancaster County, JOHN PONTIUS of Berks County in right of his wife ANNA CATHERINE, LEONARD SCHWARTZ of Berks County in right of wife ANNA ELIZABETH, BARBARA LERU of (blank), and HARTMAN ZELLER of Frederick County, Maryland, for consideration of pds. 250 paid by JOHN GEORGE ZELLER, released and quitclaimed their rights in the 245 acres of which JOAHNN HEINRICH ZELLER had died seized.35 Thus from his Will and the quit-claim deed, a list of the children of JOHANN HEINRICH ZELLER can be firmly established.
32 "Huguenot Pioneers," pp. 176, cited in Note 1. Her surname has been spelled in various ways, and it is of interest to note that a Johann George Brigel was a sponsor at a baptism in Schoharie in 1715. See MacWethy, pp. 29, cited in Note 2, "The Kocherthal Records of the West Camp Lutheran Church," and that a J.G. Brugel was a sponsor in 1742 in the records of Host Reformed Church, Tulpehocken Township, Berks County, Book 1, pp. 1 in GSP, hereinafter cited at Host Reformed Church Records. These records are translated of the originals by the late Mrs. C.M. Steinmetz.
33 Recited in Berks County Deed Book B-2, pp. 84,; 28 DEC 1772, John Zeller and Leonard Anspach to Johann George Zeller. On 6 NOV 1734, one "Henry Seller" obtained a warrant for 200 acres in then Lancaster County, and on 21 DEC 1737, two more warrants for 150 acres each, also in Lancaster County. It has not been established for this record that these were taken out by Johann Heinrich Zeller. Pennsylvania Archives, 3rd Series, XXIV, pp. 519, 521.
34 Berks County Will Book 1, pp. 13, Will of Heinrich Zeller.
35 Berks County Deed Book B, pp. 88; 28 DEC 1772, John Zeller et als. to John George Zeller.
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Millenium File
Name: Johan Heinrich Zeller
Gender: Male
Birth Date: 1685
Birth Place: Paris, Seine, France
Death Date: 1756
Death Place: Berks., Pennsylvania, USA
Father: James Jacques Zeller
Mother: Clothilde De Valois
Spouse: Anna Maria PerigalBerigal
Children: John Zeller; Anna Catherine Zeller
Spouse Father: James PerigalVan Berigal
