Johann Jacob Zettelmeyer, born 7 Dec 1706 in Dorf Erbach, Hesse, Germany, was the last documented child of Hans Georg Zettelmeyer. Georg was about 70 years old when Jacob was born and he died shortly after Jacob reached age 7.

Although his father was Catholic, Jacob was raised as a Lutheran. Apparently after Georg died, his widow took the children from Dorf Erbach back to her home of Bad König (known at that time simply as "König"). There she must have resumed her old faith and brought up her children in the Lutheran church as well.

Jacob married in Bad König on 13 Aug 1726 to Anna Margaretha Barbara Eichelbauer. The marriage record tells that he was a master shoemaker. It also mentions that the father of each had already died:

On 13 Aug 1726 Master Johann Jacob Zettelmeyer, shoemaker in König, legitimate son of the deceased Beysitzer Georg Zettelmeyer in Dorf Erbach, and Anna Margaretha Barbara, legitimate left-behind daughter of Johannes Eichelbauer deceased, formerly a miller and citizen here in König.

Jacob and Anna Margaretha Barbara’s first recorded child was Johann Georg Zettelmeyer, who was born 3 Sep 1735 in König. While it is likely that there were other children born after his 1726 marriage but before this child in 1735, we have no record of them at this time. This record tells us that Jacob had relocated from Erbach to König.

The König church records disclose the names of eight children born to Jacob and Anna Margaretha Barbara:

Jacob and his family left Germany in 1751 for the New World, arriving at Philadelphia on 24 Sep 1751 aboard the ship Neptune. The passenger list indicates that Jacob made a mark for his signature. His son Georg was sick on board and made no effort to sign:

Jacob and Anna Margaretha Barbara also had children born after they arrived in America. There are baptismal records for some but not all of them—George Adam, Godfrey and Elizabeth (identified in his will) have no baptismal record that has been located to date. But two sons do have baptismal records:

So it appears that there were at least 13 children born to the immigrant couple. Some probably died in childhood, but to date we do not have that information.

These records are quite interesting and raise several questions. First, were there other children born in the nine years between their marriage and the birth of Johann Georg? Logic suggests there were. Perhaps they were living in some other town for a few years. Second, why did they name two children Anna Maria? The first one most likely died shortly after birth, but it is possible that both lived and were called by different names (although I seriously doubt it). Third, what became of Adam? Berks Co PA church records show that Hans Adam was born to the couple in 1755. Perhaps Adam died as a child and Hans Adam was the person who moved to Burke Co NC. Fourth, was Johann Georg the same as Georg Zettelmeyer who was listed as on board the ship when Jacob came to America in 1751? He was the right age to have been listed by name. And he may be the child listed in Jacob's will that I thought might have been an error, in that Hans Adam was omitted.

The records sometimes provide as much frustration as they do satisfaction. For example, when a widower marries, the records do not mention his former wife's name nor the names of his parents. The man's parents are listed for a first marriage. A widowed woman who remarries does not have her parents listed, but her former husband's name is given.

Another item of interest is that when Jacob's son Johann Martin was born in Berks Co PA in 1757, Johann Martin Rausch was a godparent. Martin Rausch was also a witness to Jacob's will in 1774. He and his wife came from Brensbach and Nieder Kainsbach, a few miles west of König. Martin was born in Ober Kainsbach.

I examined an article I had printed from an Internet site that deals with German genealogy. The article set out three naming patterns that were commonly used by 18th-century Germans:

Pattern A

Pattern B

Pattern C

Whenever a duplicate name occurred in the patterns, the next name in the series was used. If a child died in infancy, the name was often reused for the next child of the same gender.

Armed with this new information, I undertook an analysis of the Johann Jacob Zettelmeyer and Anna Margaretha Barbara Eichelbauer children with each of the three naming patterns applied. I have reordered the children in light of several factors:

• the German birth records
• the 1840 Cambria Co PA census marginal notation that indicated that Godfrey Settlemire was age 88 (and thus born about 1752)
• information from a descendant that Godfrey was born 14 May 1752 and died 27 Apr 1842
• re-analysis of census information on George Adam

Also our relative Dora Kamalu, who located the German baptismal records, shared that contrary to my assumption that Jacob's will tended to indicate that George Adam was the oldest child, she had found that often the youngest child was the one left at home to take care of aging parents, and that may account for his being mentioned so prominently in the will. I am not certain that he was the youngest, but he may have been the last son at home. An analysis of the census information indicates that he was born between 1750 and 1755, assuming those entries were correct. (I do not know where he is buried nor what dates are shown on his tombstone.) Smoke Church in Berks Co PA was not organized until 1756, and the birth records for children before that date were likely kept by the minister who baptized them. Rev. Daniel Schumacher’s records include Hans Adam and Johann Martin in 1755 and 1757, and I have considered that Johann Martin may have been the last son born. Otherwise I would expect the Smoke Church records to include later-born children.

Of the three patterns, Pattern A comes closest to matching the results of this family. If these are all of the children and if this order of birth is accurate, then we may be able to determine, at least partially, that another naming pattern was used:

That pattern appears to be as follows:

Whatever naming pattern was used, it seems clear that the second daughter, named Anna Maria, died before the third daughter was born. As a result, the third daughter was also named Anna Maria.

I have reexamined the baptismal records for Smoke Church to see if I may have missed Godfrey, Elisabetha, and George Adam. They were not there. Then it struck me that since Smoke Church was organized in 1756, at least two of the children may not have been recorded there—they may have been born earlier than 1756. Then I recalled that Rev. John Casper Stoever, a Lutheran minister who traveled around southeastern Pennsylvania, left records of baptisms, marriages, and burials at which he officiated. I rechecked them even though I had poured over them in researching for the book. However I found nothing further.

One final thought—if George Adam was the youngest son, he may have been born in or around 1758. He would have been age 16 when his father wrote his will. Perhaps someone will locate his tombstone or burial record. Either of these may supply better information as to his birth.

Jacob made his will on 22 Dec 1774 in Berks Co PA. His date of death has been generally been reported to have been 5 Oct 1775, but I believe that he died in January 1775 because the witnesses to his will appeared in court to prove the will on 20 Jan 1775 and 4 Feb 1775. Clearly he must have died between 22 Dec 1774 and 20 Jan 1775. The October date seems to be based upon his tombstone, which reads:

HI RUET IACOB 
ZETELMEIER
D V OC 1775 (the grass hides the "D")

The final line has been interpreted to read "Died 5 Oct 1775." The German for "here lies" is "hier ruht." I have yet to locate an explanation of the abbreviations or initials in the third line. As I examine the photograph that line may actually read "D·V·O·C· 1775." I have not been able to determine just what that means.

My family visited Berks County in March 1990. Click here to view some of the pictures we brought back.

Last Updated Sunday, June 25, 2000 09:30 AM