PART II

PART II.

IV. MARIA ROYER, DAUGHMER OF III. CHRISTIAN.

IV. MARIA ROYER, p. 505, married John Shank, b. July 7, 1775;

d. in fall of 1835. He came to Franklin Co, prior to 1801. He was

a well-to-do-farmer, settled on a farm joining IV. John Royer, p. 509,

built a log house on his farm near Cold Spring which in its day

was regarded as a mansion, people coming from far to behold it. See

illustration. It has now been razed to the ground. They were like-

ly members of the Brethren Church, though the Shanks as a rule

were Mennonites. They had eight children:

Page Name Name Death

527 V. Christian Shank Nov. 1, 1800 May 31, 1884

531 V. John " Jan. 2, 1803 Sept. 23, 1870

537 V. Jacob "

538 V. David " Aug. 16, 1811 aged 74 yrs.

540 V. Nancy "

540 V. Henry " Sept. 29, 1813 Oct. 25, 1875

541 V. Daniel " Nov. 12, 1817 Apr. 5, 1892

544 V. Michael "

John Shank, the husband of Maria Royer, was in Franklin Co. as early

as 1801, for on Apr. 17, 1801, he bought for 1653 [pounds], in Washington

Twp.,

157 A. and 80 P. of land. See Recorder's office, book 5, p. 169. On Aug.

19, 1812, he bought in the same twp. 150 A., 158 P., for 1509 [pounds], 17

s., 6 d.,

book 10, p. 3. Mar. 3, 1814, also in Wash. Twp., he bought, 30 A., formerly

sold by Md. With Jacob Hollinger, Jr. on Apr. 22, 1814, he bought in

Guilford Twp., 150 A. He was evidently a man of substance, a good bus-

iness man, and trustworthy to an unusual degree, otherwise his father-in

law would not have passed by his two sons and with the oldest son have

made him one of the executors of his will.

As to his ancestry: The tradition that he came from Lancaster county,

Pa., seems not open to doubt. He seems also to have been related to the

Shanks who settled in Washington Co., Md. Very likely he is descended

from the Shanks who settled at a very early date where the city of Lancaster

now stands. The first one of the name we meet is Michael Shank who bought

land and was in the county, at that time yet, Chester Co., in 1710. He was

doubt one of the original Mennonite colony under the leadership of Hans Herr,

which came from Switzerland or the Palatinate and settled in what is now

Lancaster Co., in 1709. These were the first settlers in the county. In the

year 1717 Samuel Bethel, one of the original land owners of Lancaster bor-

ough and the county seat, met Michael Shank in the office of the register

gen-

eral and purchased of him a tract of land, upon the Conestoga Creek, consist-

ing of about 100 A. The land lay between the Millersville Pike and Hoff-

man's Run, adjoining Lancaster City. Shank had the land surveyed; and his

patent and transfer to Bethel are both dated Dec. 13, 1717, and recorded in

the register's office for Philadelphia, in Patent Book A, vol. V., p. 275.

In the survey of Theodore Eby's land May 10, 1718, on the west side of

te Conestoga Creek, we are told that his land joined the lands of Henry

Funck and Michael Shank.

In 1718 what is now Lancaster Co., was created Conestoga Twp., out of

Chester Co. The first assessment made this year, (1718), giving names of

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