BRETHREN-L Archives

From: <>
Subject: Re:Ida JOHN
Date: Tue, 04 Nov 1997 00:22:31 -0500

Linda;

Descendants of Martin John

Generation No. 1

1. MARTIN1 JOHN was born 1773 in Bedford County or Huntingdon County,
Pennsylvania. He married MARY ESTHER BAUSSER 1796, daughter of MATHIAS
BAUSSER and ANNA UNKNOWN.

Notes for MARTIN JOHN:
Esther in her native language called Matilena Bowser, youngest child of
Mathias and Anna Elizabeth, of whom we have any certain record, was
born, no doubt, in Paradise Township, York, PA, 1758. She was married to
Rev. Martin John, a Dunkard minister, and came to Washington Township,
Armstrong, Pennsylvania, and settled on what is known as the Jonas
Bowser farm. He erected a log house on his property, the first building
in that section of the county, in 1803. This house, subsequently, had a
second story added to it, and thus stood and sheltered four generations
until 1918 when it was allowed to fall into ruin. Martin John died in a
small log house on the farm of Henry Helsel, his son-in-law, near
Sherret, PA, in 1847. Esther had previously died. They spoke only the
"Palantine German." Their bodies repose in a small burial plot on
William Hay's farm, not more than ten rods from Addison B. Bowser's land
which was a part of Martin's tract-a wooded hill top-where Henry Helsel
and his wife Elizabeth and a number of other early settlers were
buried. These neglected graves are easily descernable by depressions in
the ground, or the slanting field stones which still remain. Under the
primeval oaks sleep those hearty god-fearing pioneers: their fields
remain: the roads they made through the forest, and the churches they
established, but the treasure of a human life is less enduring, as this
forgotten burial place is a melancholy witness. With the children of
Esther Bowser and Martin John we attain the end of the family of Mathias
Bowser, Sr., the progenitor of the largest branch of the Bowser clan,
that to which the writer belongs. There are hundreds of this branch of
the Bowser family who are not recorded in this history for the reason
that it is physically impossible to visit units so widely scattered in
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and other states, and
because of failure elicit a response to any kind of request for data,
names, and dates.

Notes for MARY ESTHER BAUSSER:
Esther in her native language called Matilena Bowser, youngest child of
Mathias and Anna Elizabeth, of whom we have any certain record, was
born, no doubt, in Paradise Township, York, PA, 1758. She was married to
Rev. Martin John, a Dunkard minister, and came to Washington Township,
Armstrong, Pennsylvania, and settled on what is known as the Jonas
Bowser farm. He erected a log house on his property, the first building
in that section of the county, in 1803. This house, subsequently, had a
second story added to it, and thus stood and sheltered four generations
until 1918 when it was allowed to fall into ruin. Martin John died in a
small log house on the farm of Henry Helsel, his son-in-law, near
Sherret, PA, in 1847. Esther had previously died. They spoke only the
"Palantine German." Their bodies repose in a small burial plot on
William Hay's farm, not more than ten rods from Addison B. Bowser's land
which was a part of Martin's tract-a wooded hill top-where Henry Helsel
and his wife Elizabeth and a number of other early settlers were
buried. These neglected graves are easily descernable by depressions in
the ground, or the slanting field stones which still remain. Under the
primeval oaks sleep those hearty god-fearing pioneers: their fields
remain: the roads they made through the forest, and the churches they
established, but the treasure of a human life is less enduring, as this
forgotten burial place is a melancholy witness. With the children of
Esther Bowser and Martin John we attain the end of the family of Mathias
Bowser, Sr., the progenitor of the largest branch of the Bowser clan,
that to which the writer belongs. There are hundreds of this branch of
the Bowser family who are not recorded in this history for the reason
that it is physically impossible to visit units so widely scattered in
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and other states, and
because of failure elicit a response to any kind of request for data,
names, and dates.

Children of MARTIN JOHN and MARY BAUSSER are:
2. i. CATHARINE2 JOHN.
3. ii. ELIZABETH JOHN, d. 1858, Roudabush farm.
iii. ESTHER JOHN, m. SIMON STEELSMITH.

Notes for ESTHER JOHN:
Immediately after their marriage, Esther and her husband went with her
sister, Christina and her husband who also had just been married, to the
state of Indiana where they settled.

iv. CHRISTINA JOHN, m. PETER HELSEL.

Notes for CHRISTINA JOHN:
Immediately after their marriage, Christina and her husband went with
her sister, Esther and her husband who also had been married, to the
state of Indiana where they settled.

4. v. JOHN JOHN, b. 1785; d. 01 March 1866, Armstrong County,
Pennsylvania.
5. vi. PETER JOHNS, b. 1790, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania;
d. Aft.
1860.
6. vii. MARTIN JOHN, b. 1797, Bedford or Huntington County,
Pennsylvania; d. 30 November 1856, Sugarcreek Township, Armstrong
County, Pennsylvania.

Generation No. 2

2. CATHARINE2 JOHN (MARTIN1). She married JOHN CRISMAN.

Child of CATHARINE JOHN and JOHN CRISMAN is:
i. ELIZABETH3 CRISMAN, m. HARVEY GRAY.

Notes for ELIZABETH CRISMAN:
Elizabeth Grey and Elizabeth John were the oldest living granddaughters
of Esther Bowser.

3. ELIZABETH2 JOHN (MARTIN1) died 1858 in Roudabush farm. She married
HENRY HELSEL.

Child of ELIZABETH JOHN and HENRY HELSEL is:
7. i. ESTHER3 HELSEL, b. 12 February 1819; d. 05 June 1851.

4. JOHN2 JOHN (MARTIN1) was born 1785, and died 01 March 1866 in
Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. He married ELIZABETH CRISMAN.

Notes for JOHN JOHN:
John John settled two miles east of his father's farm in Washington
Township and erected a large brick house which remained until 1915, when
it was torn down.

Children of JOHN JOHN and ELIZABETH CRISMAN are:
8. i. ISAAC3 JOHN.
9. ii. JOHN JOHN , JR..
10. iii. PETER JOHN.
11. iv. SAMUEL JOHN.
12. v. PHILLIP JOHN.
13. vi. ESTHER JOHN.
vii. PETER JOHN.
14. viii. MARTIN JOHN, b. 1812; d. 1884.
15. ix. FREDERICK JOHN, b. 1817.
16. x. ADAM C. JOHN, b. 1826; d. 20 January 1892, Washington
Twp.,
Armstrong County, Pennsylvania.
17. xi. HENRY JOHN, b. 1836, Pennsylvania; d. 22 July 1885,
Washington
Twp., Armstrong County, Pennsylvania.

5. PETER2 JOHNS (MARTIN1 JOHN) was born 1790 in Huntingdon County,
Pennsylvania, and died Aft. 1860. He married CATHARINE HELSEL.

Notes for PETER JOHNS:
Peter John married Catharine Helsel, a sister of Henrey Helsel, who had
married Peter's sister Elizabeth. Their farms joined. The cemetery
already referred to on William Hays' farm, as the burial place of Ester
and Martin John, is on the tract of land owned by Peter John, and
evidently a part of the orginal purchase by his father, Martin.
Catherine told Addison B. Bowser that slight excavations, marks of the
old Indian town at Kittanning, were still discernable in her girlhood
days; she also described the Indians with their canoes transporting
goods from Pittsburgh up the Allegheny River to their towns on its head
waters, their golden ear-rings flashing in the sun as their bodies
swayed eit hthe manipulation of the "pole."

Child of PETER JOHNS and CATHARINE HELSEL is:
18. i. MARTIN3 JOHNS, b. 1822, Cowanshannock Township,
Armstrong
County, Pennsylvania; d. 28 April 1900, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania.

6. MARTIN2 JOHN (MARTIN1) was born 1797 in Bedford or Huntington
County, Pennsylvania, and died 30 November 1856 in Sugarcreek Township,
Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. He married MARY CRISMAN 1822.

Notes for MARTIN JOHN:
Martin John settled on a portion of his father's tract of land two miles
north of Montgomeryville, Pa., where he followed the pursuit of a
farmer. His will dated March 8, 1856; probated, Sept. 30, 1856

Children of MARTIN JOHN and MARY CRISMAN are:
i. JACOB3 JOHN, d. Infancy.
19. ii. ESTHER JOHN.
20. iii. ANNA JOHN, b. 1830, Washington Twp., Armstrong County,
Pennsylvania.
iv. CHRISTIANA JOHN, b. 1832; d. 1850, age 18.
21. v. MICHAEL JOHN, b. 1833; d. West Kittanning.
22. vi. ELIZABETH JOHN, b. 06 October 1834, Washington Twp.,
Armstrong
County, Pennsylvania.
23. vii. CATHARINE C. JOHN, b. 06 October 1836, Washington Twp.,
Armstrong County, Pennsylvania; d. Abt. 1900, Watersonville,
Pennsylvania.
24. viii. CHRISTIAN JOHN, b. 06 April 1842.

Generation No. 3

7. ESTHER3 HELSEL (ELIZABETH2 JOHN, MARTIN1) was born 12 February
1819, and died 05 June 1851. She married BARTHOLOMEW BOOHER.
Notes for BARTHOLOMEW BOOHER:
Bartholomew Booher was a descendant of Bartholomew Bucher who came from
the Palantine, probably Switzerland, and landed at Baltimore early in
the eighteenth century, and purchased land in Frederick County,
Maryland. He became a large landowner, as he owned large tracts of land
in Bedford County, PA. In his will in Frederick County, Maryland, he
mentioned one of his sons, Bartholmew, in disposing of his Pennsylvania
estates. Bartholomew Bucher, Jr., was the father of Frederick Bucher,
who was the father of Bartholomew Booher, husband of Esther Helsel.

Children of ESTHER HELSEL and BARTHOLOMEW BOOHER are:
25. i. HARRY4 BOOHER.
ii. EMANUEL BOOHER, b. 03 April 1840; m. MARY FAIR.
26. iii. ELIZABETH BOOHER, b. 06 September 1841.
27. iv. ISABELLE BOOHER, b. 03 February 1844; d. 08 February
1914.
28. v. HENRY BOOHER, b. 27 July 1846; d. Abt. 1917, Arizona.
29. vi. MARY BOOHER, b. 01 January 1849.
vii. CLEMENCE BOOHER, b. 1858; m. NONE.
30. viii. CLARA BOOHER, b. 09 March 1861.

8. ISAAC3 JOHN (JOHN2, MARTIN1). He married CATHARINE LASHER.

Children of ISAAC JOHN and CATHARINE LASHER are:
i. MARGARET4 JOHN.
ii. ABRAHAM JOHN.
iii. MARTHA JOHN, m. JOHN A. JOHN.

9. JOHN3 JOHN , JR. (JOHN2, MARTIN1). He married ANN TOY.

Children of JOHN JOHN and ANN TOY are:
i. WILLIAM4 JOHN, m. NONE.
ii. JAMES JOHN, m. ADALINE HOOKS.

10. PETER3 JOHN (JOHN2, MARTIN1). He married (1) NANCY A. FLENNER,
daughter of DAVID FLENNER and JULIA BOWSER. He married (2) CATHERINE
BOWSER, daughter of VALENTINE BOWSER and ELIZABETH FLENNER.

Children of PETER JOHN and NANCY FLENNER are:
31. i. MARY JANE4 JOHN.
ii. IDA JOHN, m. LEVI CRISMAN.
iii. NANCY E. JOHN, m. ANTHONY C. BOWSER.
iv. FREDERICK K. JOHN, m. HARRIET ANN BOWSER.
v. JULIA ANN JOHN, b. 1848; m. ABRAM CRISMAN.
vi. JOHN ADAMS JOHN, b. June 1850; m. MARTHA WHITE.
vii. PETER JOHN, b. 1852; m. CATHARINE JOHN.
viii. ELIZABETH M.JOHN, b. 1854; m. DAVID WYANT.

32. ix. DAVID ISAAC JOHN, b. 1857.

Enough?

Sincerely,
Tom Nagy
JOHN listowner

S Chaffee wrote:
>
> Tom,
>
> I am nonplussed as to what to ask first. I'm searching for more
> information on Ida JOHN, d. 1889 who was married to Levi Firman CRISSMAN.
> I have the CRISSMAN line pretty much, but my JOHN info is sketchy. I
> don't have a marriage date for the above couple and thought that the
> church might have that record. (The court house doesn't.)
> I think that Ida was the daughter of Peter JOHN, b. 1821 and Nancy A.
> FLENNER, b. 1826. (That's the sum total of my info on this couple.)
>
> Peter JOHN was likely the son of John JOHN, b. 1794 and Elizabeth
> CRISSMAN, b. 1795. That's all that I have on them.
>
> Nancy A. FLENNER was the daughter of David FLENNER and Julia Ann BOWSER.
> End of info on that line
>
> The WHITE line that I'm interested in is John Knox WHITE, b. 16 Mar 1863
> in Armstrong Co., m. 16 Nov 1886 in same, d. 5 Jul 1920 in same. He was
> the son of John WHITE and Rebecca KENNA? (The death certificate was very
> difficult to read.)
>
> John Knox WHITE's wife was Mary Jane CRISSMAN, b. 30 Jul 1856 in
> Armstrong Co., d. 26 Sep 1924 in same, daughter of John CRISSMAN (who
> knows which one) and no mother for her either.
>
> If you can further my research, that would be great. If not don't worry
> about it, I'm used to "batting my head against a brick wall" on this one.
> If you can point me in the right direction, that would be great, too.
>
> We visited Kitanning courthouse, historical society, newspaper office,
> and library a little over a year ago. That's how I got what I have, but
> we couldn't find Adrian. We tried, but ran out of time.
>
> Thanks for e-mailing back.
>
> Linda
>
> On Sun, 02 Nov 1997 20:27:40 -0500 writes:
> >Linda;
> >
> >Lots of CRISSMAN's, FLENNER's and JOHN's in my wifes BOWSER line.
> >And a couple WHITE's. I have a BOWSER family history written in
> >1922 that covers the Armstrong Co. BOWSERS. Lots of these surnames
> >have married into the BOWSER's.
> >
> >SIncerely,
> >TOm Nagy
> >
> >
> > S Chaffee wrote:
> >>
> >> Tom,
> >>
> >> Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! An address would be great, if
> >this
> >> church is still in existance.
> >>
> >> The families that I'm working on may ring some bells for you: JOHN,
> >> FLENNER, WHITE, KENNA, CRISSMAN.
> >>
> >> Do you by any chance connect to any of these?
> >>
> >> Linda
> >>
> >
> >

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