FREEMAN-L Archives

Archiver > FREEMAN > 2002-09 > 1031374818


From: "Beverly Howard" <>
Subject: Re: [FREEMAN-L] Freemansville, Cumru Twp., Berks Co., PA
Date: Sat, 7 Sep 2002 00:11:06 -0500
References: <002701c2533f$7643e000$cb4c1c43@vaio>


Jim,
Your message is the first I've seen about Freemans in S.E. PA since I've
been on this list. I'm hoping that my missing Freemans may be related to
yours in Berks Co.

My ancestor Isabella Hodgkiss (Hotchkiss, Hodgkins) Freeman married John
Norvell in Philadelphia in 1822. The marriage announcement in the newspaper
says Miss Freeman, but no mention of her parents. We have circumstantial
evidence that she may have been related to the Sarah Dewees who married a
Hodgkiss and was widowed at a young age. Sarah was from the Berks Co
Dewees/Potts family. One of her children, Martha married Col. Stephen
Harriman Long and one of Isabella's children worked for Col. Long. Also,
Isabella's son Freeman named one of his daughters Sarah Dewees Norvell.

One interesting thing is that both Stephen Long and John Norvell had fathers
who were at Valley Forge during the Rev. War. The Dewees/Potts family owned
the land at Valley Forge.

There were several Isabellas in the Woodbridge, NJ Freeman family, but
apparently none of them are my Isabella.

The only other lead I've had is Tristram Bamphylde Freeman in Philly, but he
came over from England in the 1890's. I've been in touch with his
descendants and they say he did not have an Isabella, although the IGI says
he did. A bio of him says that he adopted a daughter.

Any connections with your Freemans?
Beverly Bode Howard



----- Original Message -----
From: "James Freeman" <>
To: <>
Sent: Tuesday, September 03, 2002 6:45 AM
Subject: [FREEMAN-L] Freemansville, Cumru Twp., Berks Co., PA


> Hello all,
>
> Certainly seems to be a surge in activity on this list recently.
>
> My Freeman ancestry is a line most likely from Germany (All spoke or wrote
in German) and all the ancestors I have found lived in Berks Co., PA.. The
small village ( if you want to call it that) of Freemansville in Cumru Twp.,
Berks Co was named after the family that did their best trying to populate
the area, starting sometime just before 1810 when they first showed up on
the Census there listed as the family of George Freeman.
>
> I am interested in learning more about the generations of Freemans that
lived in this area as well as the families that also lived there and married
into the Freeman family. Some of the surnames I'm interested are
Breidenstein, Weidner, Gerhart, Britton and Keffer. I have a good bit of
info on this line that I want to eventually put into a comprehensive book
about the Freeman family history in Berks County, PA . I'd like more human
interest information as I don't want to create a book just of names and
dates. I want to get into what their lives were like, what they did for a
living etc.
>
> Incidently, George Freeman, mentioned above, married 18 Aug 1805,
Elizabeth Gerhart, whose parents had land in Cumru Twp. George was the son
of Casper Freeman, a Rev. War vet, and Christina Schmidt. Casper lived &
raised his 12 kids on land inherited from his father Henrich Freyman.
Henrich's land was located in what is now Center Twp., Berks Co. Henrich's
marriage to the widow Anna Catharine Gesell was on 24 Sep 1752 in Berks
County and is the oldest documentation I have of the family in this area. I
have yet to determine where Henrich came from but suspect that he was born
in the area or brought to America as a child. I have not found anything
about who his parents were, but he did have a sister, named Maria Elizabetha
Freyman who lived in the area and married Christian Berger and 2nd Adam
Smith. I have not been able to find out where Henrich got the land that he
willed to his only son Casper. He did not receive it by Warrant from the
state of PA and no record of the tra!
> nsfer to him have been found.
>
> I have yet to see anything on this list pertaining to the Berks County
Freeman family. Hopefully this will stir something up.
>
> Jim Freeman
> Shoemakersville, PA
>
>
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