Barbara Kendig (bef. 1700- ca. 1780)There are no extant court records that establish the ancestry of Barbara Kendig, wife of Jacob Boehm (ca. 1693-1781). However, circumstantial evidence provides a possible lead. The following material was compiled from posts #943, #1010, and #1012 to the Beam Family Genealogy Forum. See:
http://genforum.genealogy.com/beam/messages/943.html Ancestry of Barbara Kendig, Wife of Jacob Boehme (
- 1781) of Lancaster Co., PA There are many books, magazine articles, and internet databases that show Barbara Kendig, wife of Jacob Böhm/Boehme (ca. 1693 - 1781) of Lancaster Co., PA as the daughter of Martin Kendig. However, none of these sources offer any proof of this relationship. The will of Martin Kendig in 1748 mentioned his son Jacob and four grandsons, but made no mention of any daughters [N.B. Martin Kendig’s second wife, Barbara, was mentioned in his will. His first wife, Elizabeth Bar, died between 1729 and 1736.]. Subsequent court records regarding the estate of Martin Kendig clearly indicate that he had no other heirs. In addition, the approximate date of the first known marriage of Martin Kendig (to Elizabeth Bar) is chronologically incompatible with Martin Kendig being the father of Barbara Kendig. The only source that actually provides the maiden name of Jacob Boehme’s wife is a book about their grandson, Rev. Henry Boehm, “Reminiscences, Historical and Biographical, of Rev. Henry Boehm,” Rev. J. B. Wakeley, D.D., 1875. This book, based on the papers of Rev. Henry Boehm, stated that Jacob Boehme married a Miss Kendig shortly after his arrival in Pennsylvania. Since Jacob Boehme arrived in Pennsylvania circa 1717 and since Jacob and Barbara’s first child was born by 1720, the marriage had to have taken place circa 1718. Additionally, Rev. Henry Boehm made the following comment about Martin Kendig: “My grandfather was induced to come to America from the glowing description given of this country by Martin Kendig, one of the seven families who had settled in what is now Lancaster County, PA.” What is interesting in this quotation is that Rev. Henry Boehm did not acknowledge any type of relationship to Martin Kendig, who according to most sources would have been his great-grandfather. However, even though Jacob Boehme was not one of the earliest landowners in then Chester Co., PA, he acquired property that was less than a mile from both Martin Kendig and and Martin’s brother, Henry Kendig. It is also known from an interview of Rev. Martin Beam, son of Jacob and Barbara Boehme, conducted in 1811, that Barbara Kendig had a sister Nancy (probably christened Ann or Anna), who married a Keagy, probably Hans Kägy/Johannes Keagy ( - 1748) [N.B. Not Manor John Keagy. Manor John Keagy married Anna Meyer. Anna Meyer subsequently married James Jacks between 1763 and 1766.]. Therefore, to establish the possible ancestry of Barbara Kendig, one has to locate a male Kendig who had at least two daughters in the right age bracket circa 1720. [N.B. Jacob Boehme was one of the executors of the will of Hans Kägy/Kagi ( - 1748). The widow was still living in 1748 and two of the daughters were named Anna and Barbara.] There is an excellent article about Martin Kendig’s extended family in a 1992 journal of “Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage” (“Martin Kendig’s Swiss Relatives”). This article discusses the five Kendig landowners in Conestoga Twp., Chester county (later Lancaster Co., PA) in 1718 and their possible connections and ancestry. The men were Martin Kendig, Henry Kendig, Georg Kendig, Hans Jacob Kendig, and Jacob Kendig. Henry Kendig was probably the brother of Martin Kendig. Henry died intestate in 1725. His wife’s name was Barbara and their only known child was born circa 1700. While it is possible that Henry Kendig was the father of Barbara Kendig, there is no evidence to support this relationship. Georg/Jörg Kendig died testate circa 1755. His will and onomastics establish that he was not the father of Barbara and Nancy Kendig. Hans Jacob Kendig died intestate circa 1735. Hans Jacob is believed to have had daughters named Anna and Barbara, but since Hans Jacob did not marry until April 1703, his daughter Barbara (born circa 1705) would have been too young to have married Jacob Boehme. This Barbara Kendig is believed to have married by 1744 to Abraham Burkholder ( - 1776). Jacob Kendig died intestate circa 1727. Jacob is only known to have one child and since Jacob did not marry until 1704, any daughters that he might have had would have been too young to have married circa 1718. In summary, none of the Kendig landowners in 1718 in Conestoga Twp. are good candidates to be the father of Barbara and Nancy Kendig. However, the most plausible of these men would be Henry Kendig, brother of Martin Kendig. However, it is also possible that Barbara and Nancy’s parents died enroute to Pennsylvania or shortly after their arrival or that they did not own land. |