========================================================================= Date: Wed, 02 Jun 1999 19:40:44 +0000 From: Mark Edward Steinke To: BECK-L@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <375588BB.50C0@fuse.net> Subject: Re: [BECK-L] Beck/Becker connection I'm not sure if I'm the person to whom Tom is referring as the subscriber who has been researching the ancestors of "Yahon" Heinrich Beck or not. However, I am the person who called the Beck/Becker connection into question, and I have done some research on this family, so I will go ahead and relay my findings. This will be lengthy and I apologize to all those on the list who are not interested in this line for cluttering their "in-boxes". To start with, I am not a descendent of this family (as far as I can tell). I do have Beck ancestors in Northampton Co., PA, but the evidence suggests (although absolute proof is still lacking) that my Becks were the family of Johann Georg Beck and Anna Maria Gucker who lived in Upper Mount Bethel Twp. and came to Northampton Co. in 1752 from Oberriexingen, Württemberg. However, records of this family are found in some of the same churches in PA where records of the family of "Yahon" Heinrich Beck are found, and some family histories have some members of these two families mixed together (e.g., Jacob Beck, son of Johann Georg Beck and Anna Maria Gucker, who was born in Oberriexingen and died in Northampton Co. in 1819 is listed in some accounts as being the son of Heinrich and Anna Maria). Therefore, I got involved in researching both groups of Becks to try to straighten them out and place where my Beck belongs (my Beck is Elizabeth, who married Adam Weiser in 1755 at St. Paul's Lutheran and Reformed Church in Upper Saucon Twp., which is now in Lehigh Co., PA. Evidence suggests that she is the daughter of Johann Georg Beck and Anna Maria Gucker, baptized in Oberriexingen on 14 Feb. 1732). Records of the family of Heinrich Beck in America begin in 1740 when the ship Lydia landed in Philadelphia. Captain James Allen's list of his passengers, sworn to on 27 Sept. 1740, lists three Becks (Pecks); John Hendrick Peck was listed as age 30, Johan Wilhelm Peck as age 18, and Johan Jacob Peck as age 16 (source: Strassburger and Hinke "Pennsylvania German Pioneers", vol 1, page 276). Oaths of allegiance and abjuration which were signed by the passengers list these men as Beck. It would seem reasonable that the 18 year old William and 16 year old Jacob were brothers. If the list is correct about Henry being 30, he isn't old enough to be the father of the two younger Becks. He could, however, be an older brother. This is corroborated by a family tradition passed down in the Peck family of Virginia. A Johann Jacob Peck (orig. Beck) made his declaration of intent to become a subject of the English Crown in 1747 in Frederick Co., VA, stating he had been in this country upwards of seven years. This indicates an arrival date of 1740 or earlier. The tradition in this family is that he arrived with two brothers, Henry and Ludwig, who remained in the north. So, the arrival of the Lydia is 1740 is a reasonable match for this Jacob Peck who was naturalized in 1747; the age of 16 for John Jacob Beck on the Lydia is a reasonable match to the age of Jacob Peck of Frederick Co., VA (and later Frederick Co. MD); and even though the names don't quite match with tradition, the listing of two other Becks on board with Jacob is a reasonable match. Now, let's move to Northampton Co. There is a William (Wilhelm) Beck who died in Northampton Co. on 30 March 1777. His headstone in the Reformed and Lutheran Church Cemetery in Petersville, Moore Twp. lists his birth year as 1721 (some accounts list a birth date for William as 21 Sept. 1721. ANYONE KNOW THE SOURCE OF THIS???). There is little doubt this is the John William Beck who arrived on the Lydia in 1740. For one, the birth year of 1721 is a good match to the age of 18 for William on the Lydia, and while there are records of several Henry and Jacob Becks arriving in this country in the mid 18th century, William Beck is not so common. Now, there is a Henry Beck who died intestate in Northampton Co. about 1766. According to a History published in 1940 by William M. Beck of Galion, OH, his age at the time of his death was 75. I don't know his source for this. Subsequent histories have listed his birth as 1691, but I don't know if this is based on any primary document, or just on Mr. Beck's reference to him being aged 75, for which I still don't have documentation. ANYONE KNOW THE SOURCE OF THIS??? Because he died intestate, William Beck petitioned to the court to sell his estate, stating Henry left five children of which he was the eldest. Now is where the problem really comes into play. According to the ages listed on the passenger list, the Henry and William who arrived on the Lydia could not have been father and son. This means one of three things: 1) The age for John Henry Peck as listed in Strassburger and Hinke's book is in error. This would also mean that the tradition among the Pecks of VA that Jacob arrived with two brothers is also in error (this is assuming that the Jacob Peck of VA and MD is the same John Jacob Peck who arrived on the Lydia in 1740, which is unproven). 2) The Henry Beck who died in 1766 is not the Henry who arrived in 1740 on the Lydia. It could be that three brothers arrived together in 1740, and their father, also named Henry, followed them later. This would mean, however, that William wasn't the oldest child, since the Henry who arrived with him was 12 years older. Perhaps, though, the Henry who arrived in 1740 died earlier than 1766, leaving William the eldest of the SURVIVING children of the Henry who died in 1766. 3) The William Beck who was the eldest of Henry's children in 1766 was not the same William listed on the passenger list in 1740. Being listed as age 30, it is likely that Henry arrived with a family. Since passenger lists often only listed males aged 16 and over, Henry may have arrived with his brothers William and Jacob, and also a young son named William not reported on the passenger list, and it is this younger William who petitioned the court in 1766. As I see it currently, any of the above three situations are possible. I will now touch upon the Becker dilemma. Somehow these Becks were connected to a Becker family of Rinsdorf near Siegen, Germany (listed in most places [as] Ruisdorf, but no such place exists. Ruisdorf is a misreading of Rinsdorf. Someone just confused the -in- for a -ui- which is easy to do). Anyway, supposedly the John Henry Beck of Northampton Co., PA was the Johann Henrich Becker baptized in Siegen on 20 Nov. 1691. The records for the Evangelical Church in Siegen are available on microfilm through the LDS church, so I ordered them in and took a look. Here is what I found - Marriage record (LDS film # 0802311) - On (Invocavit?), 1691 were married Alexander Becker, legitimate son of Henrich Becker of Rinstorf, and Anna Magdalena, widow of Thomas Achenbach of Achenbach. Baptismal record (LDS film # 0598262) - On Nov. 20, 1691 Johann Henrich Becker was born at Achenbach to Alexander Becker and Magdalen. Sponsor of the baptism was Johann Henrich Latsch. Marriage record (LDS film # 0802311) - On May __, 1713, were married Johann Henrich Becker, legitimate son of Alexander Becker of Achenbach, and Anna Catharin, legitimate daughter of Henrich Schuss of Obershelden. Baptismal records (LDS film # 0598263) - The following were legitimate children of Johann Henrich and Anna Catharin Becker: - Elsbeth Becker, born Dec. 7, 1714 at Achenbach. Baptismal sponsor was Elsbeth Achenbach. - Anna Maria Becker, born Sept. 20, 1719 at Achenbach. Baptismal sponsor was Anna Maria Achenbach. - Johann Jacob Becker, born March 10, 1722 at Achenbach. Baptismal sponsor was Johann Jacob Schuss. - Anna Christina Becker, born April 29, 1724 at Achenbach. Baptismal sponsor was Anna Christina Schuss. I only looked at the baptismal records through 1726, but there is a conspicuous absence of a baptismal record in 1721 for William Beck to this Henry Becker. Actually, there is no record of a William Beck or Becker at all around the year 1721. Of course, tradition has it that William was born in Alsace-Lorraine, which is quite a distance from this Siegen in Germany. Perhaps the Johann Henrich Becker family left the Siegen area for Alsace around 1721 and it was there that William was born, then afterwards returned to the Siegen area where Johann Jacob and Anna Christina were born (and possibly others after the 1726 date that I stopped looking). I find this highly unlikely. It is my definite opinion that this Becker family of the Siegen parish is not the Beck family that settled in Northampton Co. My big question is now - why was the connection between these two families made? It's possible that someone was looking for the birth of John Henry Beck about 1691 (a year I still would like proof for), and just happened across the record of Johann Henrich Becker who was baptized in Siegen in 1691, and wanting so desperately to tie the Northampton Co. Becks to a hometown in Europe just said "Eureka!" and made the leap of faith that it was the same family without any other substantianting evidence. I always have a hard time believing someone would do this, but I've seen it happen more than once. That's all the more reason we have to verifyand follow up on info we get from other researchers (oops. I'll step off my soapbox now). Another possibility is that there was a legitimate document that led someone to look in the records at Siegen. There is a town of Siegen in Alsace, and perhaps someone found a document listing Siegen as the birth place and unfortunately turned to Siegen in Germany rather than Siegen in France. It is also possible that someone found a document listing the homeplace and just misread it (not too hard to believe knowing the style of writing used by the Germans). I will probably follow up and take a look at the records in Siegen, France, but would like to know a little more about the history behind why Siegen, Germany was researched before I spend much time looking in Siegen, France. CAN ANYONE FILL ME IN ON THE DETAILS??? Well, for better or worse that's pretty much the history of my research. Incidently, most of what I have found on the Henry Beck family, except for the records of Siegen, are based on the findings and writings of other researchers. It is my definite plan to make it to Northampton County sometime this summer and dig into the records myself. I can hardly wait! If anyone has any comments or questions, please let me know. Thanks, Mark Steinke TLN wrote: > > I have no "clues as to Yahon Heinrich's true ancestry". > > My Yahon Heinrich BECK connection to the BECKERs > was based on anothers research that has been disproven. > > A subscriber to this list has been researching the ancestors of > Yahon Heinrich BECK for sometime. Hopefully he will comment on your question. > > Tom Nagy > BECK listowner > > From: "Steven Russell" > Date sent: Mon, 31 May 1999 10:08:58 -0400 > Subject: [BECK-L] Beck/Becker connection > > > Tom Nagy, > > > > Concerning the following: > > > > +AD4-In my post, via the BECK mailing list, I showed a > > +AD4-BECK/BECKER connection between Yahon Heinrich BECK > > +AD4-b.1691 Alsace-Lorraine and Alexander BECKER b.1644/45 > > +AD4-Ruisdorf near Siegen, Germany. > > > > +AD4-From LDS microfilmed German records this connection is in error. > > > > +AD4-If you have used this BECK/BECKER connection in your > > +AD4-BECK database I strongly suggest removing it. > > > > Any clues as to Yahon Heinrich's true ancestry? > > > > Steven A. Russell > > > > Steven's Choral Connection: > > http://www.monmouth.com/+AH4-srussell/ > > ==== BECK Mailing List ==== > Search the BECK mailing list ARCHIVES > http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl > Enter: BECK ______________________________ ------------------------------ [Support RootsWeb]