More
about Adam Barnhart and his American ancestors, click here.
If you have corrections or additions to make to
this page or other pages in this website contact me:
Marla Hembree at:
miller.malcom.ft@gmail.com
Because Adam Barnhart and Elizabeth Leininger, his wife, name their first and only son (as far as we know) "Joseph", I am making an assumption that Adam names his son after his father, a Joseph Barnhart. This was a common nomenclature custom among the German immigrants of that era. Following that pattern, it is possible that Adam's father, Joseph, names him after his own father "Adam". For further information about "naming customs" ► See this website here:
Generation No. 1
Descendants of Adam Barnhart/Bernhard/Barnhardt
ADAM3 BARNHART (Joseph2 BERNHART, ADAM1 ) was born 1774 in Cumberland Co., PA, and died 1850 in West Salem Twp., Mercer Co., PA. He married ELIZABETH LININGER/ LEININGER/ LEYNINGER, daughter of JOHN , or maybe GEORGE LEININGER. She was born 1782 in York Co., PA, and died 1854 in probably West Salem Twp., Mercer Co., PA.
The only totally verifiable facts above about Adam Barnhart of Mercer Co. Pa. are those printed in rust colored type. The rest are family traditional facts handed down over the years.
The rest of this Genealogy Report about Adam, Elizabeth and their offspring
can be verified by US Census records.
Children of ADAM BARNHART and ELIZABETH LININGER/LEININGER/LEYNINGER are:
i. CATHERINE
A. BARNHART,
b. 18 Nov 1804, York Co , PA; d. 04 Jan 1891, Hartington,
Nebraska buried at Hartington City Cemetery.
My great great
grandmother.
ii. Elizabeth Barnhart, b; 1810, Mercer, Mercer Co. PA, d. probably in NY State.
ii.
SALOMA BARNHART,
b. 25 Jun 1812, Mercer, Mercer Co. PA; d. 12 Nov 1893, Cadiz,
Green Co., Wisconsin.
III. JOSEPH BARNHART,
b. Abt. 1817, Mercer Co. PA.
iv.
LOVINA BARNHART,
b. Abt. 1822, Mercer, Mercer Co. PA; d. Wisconsin.
According to US Census records Adam and Elizabeth live in West Salem Twp., Mercer County PA as early as 1810. On the 1810 census, the family consists of 1 male 26-44 (Adam age 36); 1 female 26-44 (Elizabeth age 28); and 4 females under age 10. One of these girls must have be Catherine, (age 6) and one must have been Elizabeth (not yet 1 year old). Saloma has not been born yet so that leaves two unidentified girls in the family that must have been born between 1800 an 1810. My guess is that the were born after Catherine and before Elizabeth (1804 -1810).
The 1820 Census shows the family has grown. There is 1 male under 10 (Joseph, age 3), 1 male 45 and over (Adam age 46); 3 females under 10, Saloma (age 7-8) and 2 unidentified girls between 8 and 10. Could they be twins? This 1820 census also shows 2 females between 10-15 one of which must have been Elizabeth just over age 10; 1 female 16-25 (Catherine, age 19); and 1 female 26-44 (Elizabeth age 38). I cannot explain the 3 extra girls. The two under 10 could be as yet unidentified daughters of Adam and Elizabeth. The other girl between 10-15 could be a relative that lives with them for several possible reasons, one being that her parents are dead or otherwise unable to take care of her.
I have only been able to uncover two other historical records about Adam Barnhart. Please go here to see them.
The 1830 Census from the same Twp. and County again show a changed record. Adam (age 56) and Elizabeth his wife (age 48) are still recorded. Joseph (age 13), Saloma (age 18) and Lovina (age 8, born in 1822) are still at home. Catherine (age 26) and Elizabeth (age 20) are gone and married. Unidentified and unexplained children are: 1 male (under 5) and 1 female (10-14). It seems nearly impossible that Elizabeth, the mother, could still be child bearing at age 48.
1n 1840 the Adam (age 66), Elizabeth (age 58), Joseph (age 23), and Lovina (age 18) are still living under one roof in Salem Township. Saloma, at age 28 by that year, was already married in 1832 . Again recorded, two unidentified females. One is a girl under age 5 and the other is a female (age 20-29). Whose baby can this be? Is the girl (age 20-29) a yet undiscovered daughter. She seems to have been a part of the family since 1810. It was just this past year that we have found Saloma. Up until 1850 only the name of the head of a family was recorded on a census. It is doubly difficult to trace girls whose first names were never recorded and even if they lived to get married after 1950, the census would no linger reflect her maiden name. It was easy for girls to slip out of the picture. So unless someone uncovers a church birth, baptism, or marriage record, we may never learn who she was.
Generation No. 2
1. CATHERINE A.4 BARNHART (ADAM3 BARNHART, JOSEPH BARNHART2 was born 18 Nov 1804 in York Co , PA, and died 04 Jan 1891 in Hartington, Nebraska and is buried at Hartington City Cemetery. She married JOHN HOVER 1821 in West Salem, Mercer Co., PA, son of JONATHAN HOVER and ELIZABETH HASTINGS. He was born 08 Mar 1800 in Pennsylvania, and died 12 May 1860 in Cadiz. Green Co, WI. Notes for JOHN HOVER: By 1850 Census John Hover had moved to Wayne Township, Lafayette Co. Wis. Has several relatives living with him.
Children of CATHERINE BARNHART and JOHN HOVER are:
i.
JOSIAH HOVER,
b. Abt. 1822, West Salem, Mercer Co., PA; d. 19 Apr 1892,
Perhaps Dixon Co. NE.
ii. ELISABETH HOVER, b. Bet. 1825 - 1826, West Salem, Mercer Co., PA; m. JOHN MADRELL; b. 1820, England.
iii.
BENJAMIN HOVER,
b. 1827, West Salem, Mercer Co., PA.
Notes for BENJAMIN HOVER:
On
the 1850 Census Benjamin Hover at age 23 is living with his
mother and Father in Wayne Twp., Lafayette Co., Wisconsin. His
sister, Catherine (age 11) and his brother Uriah (age 13) live
with them along with several other persons: George Daniels (age
9), Charles Kane (age1), Sarah Kane (age 19), the 5th child of
Catherine and John Hover. "Kane" is her married name. Also
living with them are Catherine Madrell (age2), Elizabeth Madrell
(age 25) and William J. Madrell (age 1). The others are probably
unidentified relatives.
Sarah Kane is his sister, married to Anderson Peter Kane and
Charles Kane is probably their son. Where Anderson Peter is, I
cannot guess.
iv.
PHEBE
HOVER,
b. 1830, West Salem, Mercer Co., PA.
v.
SARAH HOVER,
b. 28 Mar 1831, Greenville, Mercer Co., PA; d. 14 Dec 1901,
buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Jo Davies Co., Ill.; m.
ANDERSON PETER KANE,
08 May 1848; b. 12 Oct 1819, Mohawk Valley, NY; d. 08 Feb 1897,
Warren, IL. Where Anderson Peter Kane when the 1850 was taken is
anybody's guess. On other census records A.P. is listed as a
miner.
vi.
URIAH HOVER,
b. 1837, West Salem, Mercer Co., PA; m.
MARY JANE POWELL.
vii.
CATHERINE ANN HOVER,
She is
my Great Grandmother b. Jun 1839, West Salem, Mercer Co., PA; d. 1913, Hartington,
Nebraska buried at Hartington City Cemetery; m.
WILLIAM BENJAMIN MILLER,
Bet. 1856 - 1857; b. 25 Jul 1837, Butler County, Pennsylvania;
d. 26 Nov 1927, Hartington, Nebraska buried at Hartington City
Cemetery.
Notes for Catherine Ann and William Benjamin Miller,
My Great Grandfather.
According to the 1900 Cedar Co., Nebraska Census, William and
Catherine Miller had born 16 children, 9 of whom were still
living in 1900. At the time of the 1900 census, their sons
Charles, age 34, William, age 28, and daughter, Alta, age 17,
were still living with their parents.
2.
Elizabeth4 Barnhart,
(ADAM3BARNHART, JOSEPH2 BARNHART,
ADAM1
BARNHART)
b.1810
Married
Henry Hover,
b. 1805. Henry is a brother of Elizabeth's sister, Catherine's
husband, John Hover.
3.
SALOMA4 BARNHART
(ADAM3BARNHART, JOSEPH2
BARNHART,
ADAM1
BARNHART)
was born 25 Jun 1812 in Mercer, Mercer Co., PA, and died 12 Nov 1893 in
Cadiz, Green Co., Wisconsin. She married
HUGH B. HASTINGS
born
in Mercer, Mercer Co., PA, and dies 1 Oct 1857 in Mercer, Mercer Co., PA and
died 01 Oct 1857 in Cadiz, Green Co., Wisconsin.
She married (2)
JOHN G. HARTNEL
18 Jul 1867.
Children of
SALOMA BARNHART and HUGH HASTINGS are:
ii. ELIZABETH HASTINGS, b. 1835, Mercer, Mercer Co., PA.
iii. MARGARET HASTINGS, b. 1838, Mercer, Mercer Co., PA.
iv. DAVID E. HASTINGS, b. 1838, Mercer, Mercer Co., PA.
v. MARY E. HASTINGS, b. 1842, Mercer, Mercer Co., PA.
vi. JOHN O. HASTINGS, b. 1844, Mercer, Mercer Co., PA.
vii. SARAH K. HASTINGS, b. 1845, Mercer, Mercer Co., PA.
viii.
PHEBE HASTINGS,
b. 1848, Mercer, Mercer Co., PA.
4. JOSEPH4 BARNHART (ADAM3 BARNHART, JOSEPH2 BARNHART, ADAM1 BERNHART) was born Abt. 1817 in Mercer Co. PA. He married MARGARET J. MORELAND. She was born abt. 1830. Joseph is 13 years her senior.
Children of JOSEPH BARNHART and MARGARET MORELAND are:
i.
MARY E.
BARNHART,
b. Abt. 1850.
ii.
CATHERINE
BARNHART,
b. Abt. 1853.
iii.
JAMES
BARNHART,
b. Abt. 1854.
iv.
LEWIS K.
BARNHART,
b. Abt. 1857.
v.
WILLIAM
BARNHART,
b. Abt. 1860.
vi. ANDREW G. BARNHART, b. Abt. 1864.
5. LOVINA4 BARNHART (ADAM3 BARNHART, JOSEPH2 BARNHART, ADAM1 BARNHART) was born Abt. 1822 in Mercer, Mercer Co. PA, and died in Wisconsin. She married WILLIAM NELSON. He was born Abt. 1816. Notes for WILLIAM and Lovina NELSON: In 1850 William and Lovina Nelson are living with 5 of their children in West Salem Twp., Mercer Co., PA. In 1860 William and Lovina Nelson are living with 9 of their children in Wayne Twp., Lafayette Co., Wisconsin.
Children of LOVINA BARNHART and WILLIAM NELSON are:
i. ELIZABETH NELSON, b. Abt. 1841.
ii. JOHN NELSON, b. Abt. 1843.
iii. ELEANOR NELSON, b. Abt. 1845
iv. NANCY NELSON, b. Abt. 1847
v. WILLIAM NELSON, b. Abt. 1849.
vi. JOSEPH NELSON, b. Abt. 1851.
vii. JAMES NELSON, b. Abt. 1855.
viii. LOVINA NELSON, b. Abt. 1857.
ix. MARY NELSON, b. Abt. 1859.
After his military service, Peter Sr. returns to his life in Somerset County
and continued his family of 11 children. Then in 1804, Peter pulls up stakes
and moves again with his wife and the children still at home to Chautauqua
Co., NY. where he continues to be an active, successful and worthy member of
that that community. He dies and is buried there along with his wife at
Mayville Cemetery.
His son,
Peter Jr., and his first wife, Amy Waterbury (all born in Chautauqua Co.,
NY.) have 5 children before she dies in 1824. He and his second wife, Sally
Herrick Barnhart have 9 children (also all born in Chautauqua Co.,
NY). After 1846 son Peter Jr. moves his "remaining at home" family members
to Buchanan County, Iowa, and died on 03 Aug 1876 in Washington Twp. He is
buried at Oakwood Cemetery in that Township. Oddly enough, Washington
Township is just east of Perry township and Jesup, Iowa, where William Miller
and Catherine Hover Miller live with their family about 10 miles apart
during that same time period. Does that say something about a family
relationship or is it just a wild coincidence?
I am convinced that our Adam Barnhart is not a son of this Peter Barnhart
even though his brother Jacob has a son named Adam. I do believe that there
is more than likely a family relationship there, perhaps cousin or uncle. I
have much convincing proof that Adam is not Peter Sr.'s son and I would be
glad to share that with any who would care to see it.
I also have done much research on the Barnharts who settled at first in
Montgomery County, PA . Again, I do not believe that our Adam is a son of
Casper or Jacob Barnhart who made their marks in that county. I do not
believe that the Peter Barnhart Sr. (▲above)
is a son of either one of these Barnharts although there are similar names
in in both families. I would be willing to share my research about those
families for anyone who requests it.
First of all I have had very little luck tracing the ancestry our Adam
Barnhart who was born in 1774 in Cumberland Co., PA. This year of birth date
can be calculated from census records. So I tried a "back door" approach
and delved into the ancestry of his wife, Elizabeth Leininger, born in York
County, PA, in the year 1782. Her birth year can also be calculated from census
records. What I uncovered about the Leininger family is a riveting and real
tale of a pioneer family who survived the hardships of life in Pennsylvania
starting in 1748, through the French and Indian Wars in (1755) and then
through the Revolutionary war and beyond.
Click here for Leininger History
Finally, I am convinced that our Adam Barnhart came from a family of Bernharts
who sailed to America and landed at Philadelphia in the fall of 1752 in
quick succession. Among those immigrants is an
Adam Bernhard
and one
Johannes Bernhard
(which
translates to John) and what looks like a father and son both named
Joseph.
I do not have any hard-bound evidence to back me up but I do have some
convincing clues that lead me in that direction. Following, hopefully in
logical order, are these "clues".
There have been many online family tree website owners who have connected
him to the "famous" Peter Barnhart (1751-1836) who came to America with his
older brother, Jacob, about 1867 at age 16 and lived in Baltimore for awhile
where they may have worked as indentured servants. Peter and his
brother Jacob located in Somerset County about 1773 (verified by county tax
and historical records), where he married Mary Martha "Molly" Boyer at
Stoystown in Somerset County. He purchased land in Quemahoning Township as
does Jacob. When the Revolutionary war breaks out, Peter travels
back to Lancaster County to join the war effort. I cannot explain why
he does this except he may have family connections there or may have wanted
to serve under Captain Phllip Duck from that County. The record at the right
► does not tell in what battles he participated as a soldier because the
records of the 3rd Pennsylvania Battalion have been lost.
The Barnhart/Barnhardt/Bernhard Families
Before continuing, remember to set your web browser text
size to "Larger".
I have slogged and
struggled for about a year now as to how to make my research on the Barnhart/Barnhardt/Bernharts
as accurate as possible. It has not been easy as there is much-distorted and
poorly-researched information on the Internet. Even some of my own
research through census and historical records have been embellished with my
instincts, experience with old records and with guess work. Wherever I
have inserted this last, I will say so in the paper work following below.
The Barnhardt were a prolific bunch and my research has been much impeded by the
unfortunate fact that the passing down of family
given
names to the next generations was important to them. For instance, in one branch
of the Barnharts, the sons have all been given the first names of
"Johan"
or "Johannes" and the middle name (probably the name they were commonly
called by) is also a family name passed on, in most cases, from their parents
former generations. Their daughters names also contain former generational given
names but the girls in this family, both had the same middle name of "Elizabeth".
This is further confused because the father's brothers and/or cousins have also
followed the same custom and giving their children those very same names. Some
of these same-named children may have even been born the same year or close to
it. To further complicate research, there are many variations of the spelling of
the name Barnhart such as you see above. I will only use this
Barnhart spelling in the rest of this
document.
The Barnharts were exceptional and admirable families. For the most part
they were refugees from the Palatinate areas of Germany and immigrated to
America to escape religious persecution and the inevitable confiscation of their
wealth and property during the 1700s. Some came with their wealth intact
and others did not. They regularly offered up their service to their new county
as soldiers of the Revolutionary War. They inserted their talent and good
citizenship into their new homeland and communities. Usually well educated
and considering learning important to their families, they were welcomed as
hardworking, honest, faithful Christians, active in their local Reformed
churches and in the politics of their community. It isn't so surprising why so many Barnhart researchers want to include them
into their genealogical family trees. Myself included.
All that being said, I present what I believe is fairly accurate as far as my own heritage If any out there have corrections or additions, I would be glad to hear them Please write me (Marla Miller Hembree) at:
I have done much research amongst the many
Barnhart/Barnhardt/Bernhart Families who came to America to find freedom from
the religious persecution they suffered in Germany for their protestant faith.
I can definitely connect my family to the Adam Barnhart born in Cumberland Co.
in 1774 by backtracking though several recorded generations. Adam
died in Mercer County, PA in 1850 of Dingering(?) disease. (I never have
found a clear definition of Dingering disease). He was a farmer and an active
church member according to Mercer County historical records. On page
611, a large volume entitled Mercer County History records
Adam as having donated money to "clear off the timber" and fence the property in
order to prepare for a new church building. That church was Good Hope
Reformed Lutheran Church. Other donating members at that time are
Andrew and Henry Lininger, who are Adam's wife, Elizabeth's, people.
Excerpt 3 ▼ shows a partial list of the ship "Nancy" that arrived in Philadelphia from Rotterdam, via Cowes, England on the Isle of Wight just about 11 miles southwest across the sea channel from Portsmouth. This ship arrives on Sept. 27, 1752 just one day after the arrival of the ship "Richard and Mary". Joseph Bernhard and his son Joseph Jr. (over 16) are passengers. I have also highlighted the name "Bayer", which is common alternate name for the name Boyer. The Boyers and the Bernhart/Barnharts settled close to each other in the counties of southeastern Pa. (Remember the Peter Barnhart mention in the narrative above marries a Mary Martha "Molly" Boyer.) The captain of this ship also has a familiar family name, Ewing.
It is not so hard to imagine that these two ships may
have left Rotterdam near the same day.
What you see here are 4 excerpts from a large historical book- form document named A Collection of Upwards of Thirty Thousand Names of German, Swiss, Dutch, French and Other Immigrants in Pennsylvania from 1727 to 1776, written by Professor I. (Israel) Daniel Rupp, (an author of several well-known historical books of the time). published in 1927 in Philadelphia. The first excerpt shows a partial passenger list (males over 16 only) of the ship "Richard and Mary" which arrived Sept 26,1752 from Rotterdam in the Netherlands with a stop in Portsmouth, on the south coast of England. ◄Excerpt 1 An Adam Barnhart is highlighted.
Below is an introduction to the book written
by Rupp which
explains how the list was compiled and interprets the markings in his book.
Excerpt 2 ▼from pages 40 and 41.
|
DAR
Military Record
of Peter
Barnhart |
|
BARNHART, PETER
Ancestor #:
A006544
Service: PENNSYLVANIA Rank: PRIVATE
Birth: 1751
GERMANY
Death:
8-13-1836 HARTFIELD NEW YORK
Service
Description:
1) CAPT. PHILIP DUCK 3D BATT, MILITIA.
Residence 1) County: LANCASTER CO. - State:
PENNSYLVANIA
Spouse: MOLLY BOYER |
This last ship
(excerpt 4 ▼), the "Neptune" from Rotterdam
arrives on Oct 4, 1752. Among the passengers are Johannes (John) and
another Joseph Bernhart.