Abraham Herr (abt. 1672 - bef. 1725)

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Biography

Descendant of Bishop Hans Herr. #2 in T. W. Herr, p. 1.

Birth

Abraham Herr was born about 1660 in Mannheim, Mannheim, Württemberg, then part of the Holy Roman Empire, now Baden-Württemberg, Germany^[1]

Family

Abraham Herr's first wife may have been named Anna and she may have been Anna (Bar) Herr (1672-1749). However, no evidence has been found. Richard Warren Davis says only: "Abraham had six children by his first wife who was supposedly a Bär." He does not provide a source. ^[2] According to him, Heinrich Bar and Verena (Meyer) Bär had two daughters named Anna, but one was married to Hans Nussli (abt.1662-) and the other was married to Jacob Oberholtzer (no profile found). ^[3]

They had the following children:

1. Abraham, born June 25, 1700 in Württemberg, HRE, Switzerland.
2. Rudolph, born about 1701 in Württemberg, HRE
3. Barbara, born January 1, 1702 in Württemberg, HRE
4. Elizabeth born about 1704
5. Christian born about 1707
6. John, born about 1710

Abraham Herr married Frena Musselman in about 1722 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Their children were: ^{[4] [5]}

1. David, born about 1722
2. Samuel, born in 1722, probably in Chester County (now Lancaster County), Pennsylvania

Immigration

Abraham immigrated on August 24, 1717 as part of the second group of Herr family to settle in Conestogo in Pequea Valley.^[6][7]

• "Abraham Herr, the first son of Hans Herr, was a grandfather when he came to America, and he settled in Lancaster township on the east side of the Wabank road, near the Mennonite Meeting House. This old homestead is still [the book was published in 1903] in the possession of an Abraham Herr. There he reared a large family and died at a ripe old age." ^[8]

• "He was the only one of the family that settled in Manor township, and having several children grown when he came there, the family became very numerous."^[9]

On October 12, 1719, Abraham and his brother, Hans, petitioned James Steel for a grant of 400 acres for their brother, Isaac, who had recently arrived. In the 1720s, according to the estimates of architectural historians, he built a house that still stands at 25 Bentley Lane in Lancaster Township near Millersville on land that went to his son, Rudy.^[4]

Death

Abraham Hair died in Conestoga Township, Chester County (now Manor Twp., Lancaster County), Pennsylvania, sometime before 14 December 1725, the day his son Abraham was given Letters of Administration. ^[10] The inventory of his estate, taken on 10 January 1725/6, included 250 acres of land with improvements. ^[11]

Burial

He is buried in the Red Brick Church Mennonite Cemetery, Lancaster, PA

Research Notes

• Some sources give his birth place as Zurich, Switzerland or Alsace. Note that Germany did not exist as a country or even a concept during his lifetime.
• His marriages and children are in dissarray, being an amalgam of sources. One source shows clearly he married Anna Bare, who had Samuel b. 1686, and that after he married Feronica Musselman, without other children mentioned. This information is sourced, while the other sources with the remaining children do not site their sources.

Sources

1. ↑ U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900
2. ↑ Davis, Richard Warren. Emigrants, Refugees, and Prisoners, Volume III. Page 139. Available on Familysearch at https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS87-7SQZ-Q?i=1310&cat=761809.
3. ↑ Davis, Volume III, page 12.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Herr, Theodore W., Genealogical Record of Reverend Hans Herr and His Direct Lineal Descendants, (third edition, 1994), page 788.
5. ↑ Best, Jane Evans. The Groff Book, Volume 2: A Continuing Saga (Groff History Associates, 1997), page 35, person HH21.
6. ↑ Friesen, p.36
7. ↑ Martin G. Weaver, "Mennonites of Lancaster Conference" (Scottsdale, PA: Mennonite Publishing House, 1931), pp. 37-38
8. ↑ Biographical Annals of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (J.H. Beers & Co., 1903), page 29.
9. ↑ Jane Evans Best, "Groff Book II" (Morgantown, PA: Masthof Press)
10. ↑ Letters of Administration: Chester County, Pennsylvania, Estate Papers (1713-1810), Estate #200. FamilySearch.org film #005547089, image 513 of 892.
11. ↑ Inventory: Chester County, Pennsylvania, Estate Papers (1713-1810), Estate #200. FamilySearch.org film #005547089, image 515 of 892.

See Also:

• "U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900," Yates Publishing, U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.

• Best, Jane Evans, "Bear Saga Update: Part One," Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage, Vol. 21, No. 3 11-26, July, 1998

• Best, Jane Evans, "Martin Kendig's Swiss Relatives," Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage, Vol. XV, No. 1 2-18, January, 1992

• Davis, Richard Warren, "Emigrants, Refugees, and Prisoners, Volume III".

• Friesen, Steve, "A Modest Mennonite Home: The Story of the 1719 Hans Herr House, an Early Colonial Landmark," Good Books, Intercourse, PA, 1990, ISBN 0-934672-90-3

• Harris, Alexander, "A Biographical History of Lancaster County : being a history of early settlers and eminent men of the county; as also much other unpublished historical information, chiefly of a local character," Lancaster, PA: Elias Barr & Co., ©1872; FHL film #928247

• Herr, Theodore W. Genealogical Record of Reverend Hans Herr and His Direct Lineal Descendants, (1908) page 1, person #2.

• Herr, Theodore W., "Genealogical Record of Hans Herr and his Direct Lineal Descendants," Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, reprint of 1994

• Musselman, Christian, "Emily D. Phelan"

• Wenger, Samuel S., "The Wenger Book," Pennsylvania German Heritage History Inc.

• "Biographical annals of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania : containing biographical and genealogical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and many of the early settlers," Chicago, IL: J. H. Beers & Co., ©1903; FHL film #0908995

• Martin Genealogy Project Database, http://www.genealogygoldmine.com/martin

• Württemberg, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1500-1985: Lutherische Kirchenbücher, 1500-1985. Author: Evangelische Kirche Nellingen (OA. Blaubeuren)

Acknowledgments

• WikiTree profile Herr-85 created through the import of The Sammons Family Tree.ged on Jun 9, 2011 by Steve Sammons.
• WikiTree profile Herr-87 created through the import of john_w_martin-rootsweb.ged on Aug 5, 2011 by Cody Coggins.
• WikiTree profile Herr-96 created through the import of Abraham Herr.ged on Aug 18, 2011 by Cody Coggins.
• WikiTree profile Herr-148 created through the import of Most 2011_7b.ged on Oct 17, 2011 by Mike Saufley.
• WikiTree profile Herr-233 created through the import of Reichard Martin Family Tree.ged on Apr 2, 2012 by Ryan Myers.
• WikiTree profile Herr-243 created through the import of Reichard Martin Family Tree.ged on Apr 2, 2012 by Ryan Myers.
• Thanks to Charles Seamon for starting this profile.
• Thank you to Sandy Minder for creating WikiTree profile Herr-298 through the import of Delong gedcom.ged on Apr 27, 2013.