Monday, September 15, 2014

52 Ancestors: #37 - Hans Jerg (George) EBERT

Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued a challenge:  write one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor.  It can be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem – anything that focuses on one ancestor.



My 6X great-grandfather Hans Jerg (George) EBERT lived to be roughly 61 years old, and half of that life was spent in the British colonies that later became the states of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia.  He didn’t live to see the establishment of a new country although his wife Margaret Christina witnessed the American Revolution, or part of it anyway. 


Great Philadelphia Wagon Road
George arrived in Philadelphia from Germany in 1731 and settled in York County.  At some point, he joined other Germans who followed the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road south through Maryland into the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Virginians today know this route as the Valley Pike, or Route 11.  













Some highlights of George’s 30 years in the American colonies:
  • He lived under the rule of King George II.
  • There was a slave revolt in New York in 1741. 
  • The Centigrade thermometer was invented.
  • South Dakota saw its first settlement in 1743.
  • Sign language for deaf-mutes was developed.
  • Britain and its colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar (which explains why some of our ancestors show a “double year” for life events such as birth or death).
  • Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning rod and bifocals.
  • Halley’s Comet made an appearance.
  • The French and Indian War lasted past George’s lifetime.


THREE GENERATIONS:
Hans Jerg (George) EBERT (1701 Germany – 1762 ) & m1) Johannata Charlotte HUNERMANN (1695 Germany – )  1724  Germany ; & m2) Margaret Christina STARKE (1698 Pennsylvania  – 1778 Rockingham Co, VA )  1732 Pennsylvania

George and Johannata had the following children:
1. Philip EBERT ( 1725 Germany – ? Pennsylvania)
2. John EBERT ( 1726 Germany – 1804 Pennsylvania ) & Maria RICHM  1750 Pennsylvania
3. Catherine Sybella EBERT ( 1727 Germany – ) & John SCHAUT 15 May 1748 New Hanover, Montgomery, Pennsylvania
4. Andrew EPPARD ( 1728 Germany – 1804 Rockingham Co, VA ) & Mary Elizabeth UNKNOWN ( - 1804 Rockingham Co, VA )  1761
  • John EBERT ( 1762 Pennsylvania – 1834 ) & Sarah UNKNOWN ( 1770 – 1834)
  • Enoch EPPARD ( 1768 Pennsylvania – 1838 Page Co, VA ) & Elizabeth HEPLER

George and Margaret had the following children:
1. Jacob EBERT ( 1733 Philadelphia, PA – 1807 Rockingham Co, VA )
2. Windle EBERT ( 1736 Pennsylvania – 1810 Rockingham Co, VA ) & Christina MOYLE 1769
  • Johann George EPPARD ( 23 Apr 1780 Rockingham Co, VA – 1869 Rockingham Co, VA ) & Catherine BEASLEY  (1784 – 1850 Rockingham Co, VA ) 28 Apr 1802 Rockingham Co, VA
  • Philip EBERT ( 23 Apr 1780 Rockingham Co, VA – 1850 Moonsville, Madison, IN ) & Margaret UTZ (1785 Rockingham Co, VA – Before 23 Aug 1853 Madison Co, IN )  11 Mar 1803 Rockingham Co, VA
3. George EBERT ( 1737 Pennsylvania –1804 Virginia ) & Catherine BAKER  1760

4. Margaret Christina EBERT ( 02 Feb 1738 Philadelphia, PA – 19 Dec 1818 Rockingham Co, VA) & George Jacob MOYER ( 06 Jan 1727 Germany – 19 Feb 1796 Rockingham Co, VA )  1757
  • Philip MOYER ( 1757 Rockingham Co, VA – 20 Jun 1797 Rockingham Co, VA
  • Gasper MOYER ( 1760 Rockingham Co, VA – 1814 Rockingham Co, VA
  • Jacob MOYER ( 1760 Rockingham Co, VA – Jul 1795  Rockingham Co, VA
  • Mary Margaret MOYER ( 15 Feb 1762 Rockingham Co, VA – 08 Dec 1820 Rockingham Co, VA) & John Stephen CONRAD (26 Feb 1749 Berks Co, PA – 12 Aug 1822 Rockingham Co, VA)  1782 Rockingham Co, VA
  • Anna Marie Mary MOYER ( 24 May 1764 Rockingham Co, VA – 24 Feb 1838 ) & Daniel BAUGHER ( 30 Mar 1756 Conewago, PA – 13 Feb 1812 Rockingham Co, VA )   1783 Rockingham Co,  VA
  • George Jacob MOYER ( 16 Feb 1767 Rockingham Co, VA – 1833 Montgomery Co, OH )
  • Michael MOYER ( 1769 Rockingham Co, VA – 1852 Stanardsville, Greene, VA)
  • Henry MOYER ( 22 Jun 1771 Rockingham Co, VA – Nov 1841 Montgomery Co, OH )
  • Christina MOYER ( Dec 1774 Rockingham Co, VA – 01 Jun 1837  Rockingham Co, VA )
  • Barbara MOYER ( 24 May 1777 Rockingham Co, VA – 28 May 1848 Rockingham Co, VA ) 
5. Eva Christina EBERT ( 08 Oct 1739 Lancaster, Pennsylvania – 1740 Pennsylvania)

6. James EBERT ( 1740 Pennsylvania –1815 Rockingham Co, VA ) & Elizabeth OLDHAM  1761 




© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

16 comments:

  1. Wendy, this research on your ancestor George has left me stunned. You could find quite a bit about him even though it was such a long time back.

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    1. You are kind, but much of the Ebert/Eppard research was done by others long before me. They are a well-researched family. I have left out some dates and spouses when I've been unsure.

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  2. Quite a lot of changes in George's 30 years as a colonist. I really enjoyed researching this period, and like you had ancestors in most all the places you mentioned...except maybe Philadelphia. Darn It...I was hoping for a Benjamin Franklin connection somewhere along the family lines. It is great when much of the research is done for us by previous family historians and genealogist. Good job on the write up.

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    1. I wonder if people even knew it when they passed Ben Franklin on the road.

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  3. If George had written a journal it would be great to read his thoughts on those great events!

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  4. WoW! And we think we have witnessed progress!
    Happy Monday!

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    1. Every age had exciting world-changing moments, I think.

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  5. Wendy,

    I like how you included a timeline of historical events that occurred during George's lifetime.

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    1. That was a last minute bit of inspiration as I hemmed and hawed over what to say, what to say when I had nothing to say.

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  6. Interesting to see the historical time line as well. I wonder if your ancestor was aware of all or any of these major events.

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    1. I wonder the same thing. Did these Eberts read a newspaper?

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  7. It's interesting to see all that happened during his lifetime. Without the news to keep him updated, Like Sally said, I wonder how much they were aware of the way their world was changing. It seems like we rely on the news to keep us updated, so without that, I wonder how much they were aware of.

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    1. Yeah -- did Jerg say, "Lightning rod? What's a lightning rod?" And did that Gregorian calendar throw everyone into a tizzy with starting the year in January instead of March? Was it akin to the uproar over Y2K and efforts in the US to go metric??

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  8. I third...or fourth... the timeline praise. That's a great idea to put his life in context.

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    1. It IS interesting, I agree. So much that we take for granted was brand new at one time.

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