Cline/Kline BERKS CO. PA-David Catherine Jonathan Benjamin Gideon Leah Christina
I'm looking for information on my Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandparents, David [d. 1821] & Catherine Kline/Klein/Cline. Their children (in no particular order): Jonathan, David, Benjamin, Gideon, Leah, Catherine, Christina "Steena" [my GGGG-Grandmother]. Any help you can give me would be appreciated. THANKS IN ADVANCE & BEST WISHES,
Kati McSweeney [email protected]
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The following is transcribed from "Bobenmoyer and Related Families 1638-1962" by Lawrence Frederick Bobenmoyer, 1962. I got a xeroxed copy from the Garst Museum in Ohio on Friday, March 28, 2003.
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THE KLINE FAMILIES
In colonial times there were scores of Kline families living in eastern Pennsylvania and directly across the Delaware River in New Jersey. They all originally came from Germany and the most of them were members of the Reformed Lutheran Church. A smaller number were German Baptists (Dunkards).
In the period 1727 to 1775 eighty-eight Kline male adults and heads of families are recorded in the ship lists of immigrants coming into the port of Philadelphia. All probably were descended from a common ancestor.
Berks and adjoining counties had dozens of Kline families and the military records are well represented by that name. It has been spelled in various ways, such as, Kline, Klein, and Cline.
My branch of that name was living in the Kutztown, Maxatawny, and Long Swamp vicinities prior to and during the Revolution.
The census of 1790 lists 104 Kline families living in Berks and adjoining counties.
My ancestor, David Kline, was living in Maxatawny Township about 1770 and was still there fifty years later when he passed away. He was a well to do farmer living there and was married to his wife, Catherine, for no less than fifty years.
According to his will signed in 1821, he was the owner of several small tracts of land totalling 277 acres.
Children of David (b. ? d. 1821) & Catherine (b. ? d. ?) Kline NOT IN ORDER OF BIRTH I. Jonathan II. David III. Benjamin IV. Gideon V. Leah VI. Catherine b. November 13, 1780 d. April 20, 1854 m. Christian Lukonbill. Christian b. 1787 d. 1852 No further record. VII. CHRISTINA ANN b. October 26, 1782 Berks Co., PA d. January 12 1858 Darke Co., OH m. JOHN FREDERICK BOBENMOYER 1800. JOHN b. May 18, 1780 Berks Co., PA d. December 28, 1869 Darke Co., OH. Same as Bobenmoyer Family Number Four [posted below-km]. Please turn to page 12 for further description
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THE WILL OF DAVID KLINE, BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 1821
In the name of God, AMEN. I David Klein of Maxatawny Township in the County of Berks and the State of Pennsylvania (yeoman) being sick and weak in body, but of sound and perfect mind, memory, and understanding, and taking into consideration the uncertainty of this life do make and ordain this my last will and Testament in manner and form following, that is to say:
First and principally, I commend my soul into the hands of God my creator, hoping through the merits of a beloved Redeemer to be made partaker of life everlasting, and my body to the Earth to be interred in a decent and christian like manner, at the discretion of my Executors, hereinafter named.
As as to the worldly estate with which it has pleased God to bless me in this life, I dispose thereof as follows viz.
Imprimis, I give and bequeath unto my wife, Catherine, the one half of the house in which I now reside for her sole use and occupancy during her life. Also my best bed and bedstead with the furniture, two chairs, one table, one chest and such other household and kitchen furniture and firewood considered necessary for her use.
And the sum of 36 pounds Pennsylvania currency per anum for her support and maintenance during her natural life to be paid to her by my executors regularly as the same shall become due.
Item: It is will and desire that the remainder of my personal property shall be sold as soon as conveniently may be after my decease, and my bonds, notes, and outstanding debts collected and the proceeds thereof appropriated to the payment of my just debts and funeral expenses.
As I have reason to suppose that my personal estate will not be sufficient for that purpose. It is my will, and I do hereby direct that my real estate be rented out to the best advantage for ten years after my decease. Saving only the right of my wife to the one half of the house as aforesaid, and the proceeds thereof appropriated to the liquidation of the residue (if any) of my just debts.
If any overplus remain after payment of my just debts as aforesaid the same shall be placed out at interest until the expiration of the said ten years.
Item: I give and bequeath unto my son, Jonathan, the following tracts of land with the appurtenances viz: One tract of 114 acres on which I reside. One tract of 66 acres adjoining the last mentioned. One tract of 28 and one half acreas adjoining the first mentioned tract. One third of a tract of 60 acres of woodland also adjoining the aforementioned tracts. One tract of 9 acres adjoining lands of Benjamin Klein, Jacob Scharadin and others.
To have and to hold the said tracts of lands aforementioned with the hereditaments and appurtenances unto my said son Jonathan and to his heirs and assigns from and after the expiration of the term of ten years as aforesaid, forever.
He paying thereout and therefrom yearly from the time he shall obtain possession of the same. Unto my other children the sum of 150 pounds until the same shall amount to 2500 pounds and no more.
Item: It is my will and I do hereby direct that the remainder of my real estate be sold at the expiration of ten years from the time of my decease as aforesaid. The proceeds thereof as well as any overplus rent that may be remaining after the payment of my just debts as aforesaid be equally divided amongst my six remaining children viz: 1. Catherine 2. Gideon 3. David 4. Benjamin 5. Christiana 6. Leah. And their heirs.
I do hereby ordain, constitute and appoint Christian Lookenbill, Frederick Bobbenmoyer, and Jonathan Klein to be Executors of this my last will and Testament.
And lastly, I do hereby revoke and annul all Wills by me heretofore made, allowing and confirming this and no other as my last Will and Testament. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this twelfth day of March Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and twenty one.
David Klein.
Signed, sealed, and acknowledged as his last Will and Testament in presence of us. Interlined before signing.
Jacob Graeff
Reuben Kline
James Donagan
Letters testamentary in common form under the seal of the office on the testament and last will of David Klein, deceased were granted to:
Christian Lookenbill
Frederick Bobbenmoyer and
Jonathan Klein, Executors therein named. They being first duly qualified thereof.
Recorded in Will Book D, page 291, with probate in Will Book 5, page 380. Records of the Register of Wills for Berks County. Reading, Pennsylvania
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The following is transcribed from "Bobenmoyer and Related Families 1638-1962" by Lawrence Frederick Bobenmoyer, 1962. I got a xeroxed copy from the Garst Museum in Ohio on Friday, March 28, 2003.
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JOHN FREDERICK BOBENMOYER 1780-1869
The third JOHN FREDERICK BOBENMOYER'S life as an infant has been described in the previous generations and will not be repeated here.
He was more commonly known as JOHN F. BOBENMOYER.
About the year 1800 he was united in marriage with CHRISTINA ANN KLINE (1782-1858) in Berks County. He had been reared in the home of Peter Kline following the death of his grandfather. It is thought that Christina was a niece of Peter Kline. She was his helpmate for nearly sixty years and was affectionately known by her friends as Aunt Steena. They became the parents of a large and honorable family of five sons and four daughters, all growing to maturity.
Their home in Berks County and later in Ohio was known for miles around as being one of hospitality. According to tradition the hungry and tired stranger or traveler was never turned from the door of JOHN F. and STEENA BOBENMOYER's home.
He was a very sociable person and was happiest when surrounded by his children, grandchildren, and a few close friends. Both he and his wife loved neighborhood gatherings when old friends met and engaged in leisurely conversation.
Although both were hard workers, they nearly always found time to lend a helping hand to others. In manners he was rough and uncultured, but a more honest man never lived. In fact, in some of his dealings he was too honest, if such a thing is possible.
POLITICAL AFFILIATIONS
In politics he was an old line Democrat and never missed a presidential election from the day he was old enough to vote. Right or wrong he stood by his party through thick and thin and always voted for the presidential candidate at the head of the ticket.
He believed that in a free country every citizen should vote for good candidates or the ones that were supposed to be good. Altogether he cast his vote for his party's candidates in 17 presidential campaigns.
According to tradition, he voted first in Berks county for Thomas Jefferson in 1804 and last in Darke County, Ohio, for General Seymour in 1868. On the slave question both he and his good wife took the stand that regardless of race or color all people were created equal.
This stand was not always in sympathy with some of the leaders of their party. From childhood both he and his wife were friends to the blackman.
He lived to see twelve grandsons put on the Blue and march away with Ohio regiments in answer to the call of Abraham Lincoln.
THE BOBENMOYER FAMILIES MOVE TO OHIO 1832
On May 1st, 1832 JOHN FREDERICK III sold the old Longswamp homestead inherited from his grandfather and turned his eyes westward.
A record of this sale is to be found on page 45, Vol. 41, Deed Book for Berks County in the court house in Reading, Pennsylvania.
Thousands from Eastern seaboard states were annually pouring into the vast Empire west of the Appalachians. The new state of Ohio was being settled by leaps and bounds, and every month brought hundreds of hardy pioneers via covered wagon or by steamboat.
To leave a region that for one hundred years had been the family home was not easy. Every tree, rock, and stream had memories both pleasant and sad. Old friends and old scenes were not easy to part with forever, but the call of the West could not be resisted.
Not one member of the immediate family remained behind in Berks County.
JOHN FREDERICK BOBENMOYER III his wife, CHRISTINA, all their children, four already married, with other families made up the wagon caravan. The distance of more than five-hundred miles was like thousands of similar undertakings, wrought with hardships. I will make no attempt to describe that trip at this time. except to say that it was far from being a pleasant one.
They reached their destination in the extreme southwestern part of Ohio in mid-summer 1832. All the Bobenmoyer families located near a place called Seven Mile about thirty miles northwest of Cincinnati in what is now Butler County.
SOUTHWESTERN OHIO IN 1832
The city of Hamilton [my Great-Great-Grandfather's middle name-km] near where the Bobenmoyers located was then a rough, log frontier trading post. The region was very new and had a rich productive soil and abundance of rain.
Vast forests covered the entire landscape and in many places the trees stood so close together that it was necessary to remove some before buildings, such as, cabins or stables could be erected.
Wildflowers, fruits, berries, walnuts, and hickory nuts were to be found in profusion. Small game, such as, the raccoom and opposum were found on every hand. The forests abounded with all kinds of fowl which was a boon to the early settlers.
Only a generation had passed since General St. Clair's disastrous defeat by the Red Skins on the Upper Wabash near the present site of Fort Recovery. General Wayne's victory over the Indians near where Fort Wayne, Indiana now stands, was less than a generation in the past.
Greenville was then known as Fort Greenville and was a rough frontier trading post. The battle of Tippecanoe in neighboring Indiana had only been fought twenty years before and was still the Big Talk on the frontier.
The sound of the ax could be heard from morning until night as the frontiersmen slowly but steadily hewed the homes from the virgin forests. The woodsment rapidly and ruthlessly chopped and burned the noble trees until within a few decades the entire region resembled the prairie states farther west. Ohio passed from the ranks of the leading lumber states long, long ago.
THE LAST HOME OF JOHN FREDERICK & CHRISTINA, DARKE COUNTY, OHIO
JOHN FREDERICK III and his wife, CHRISTINA lived in Butler County a little over twenty years when they made their final move. This move was a short one of about thirty-five or forty miles to the north.
In 1853 they, with two sons, Ben and Charles, and two daughters, Mrs. Julian Dubbs Rose and Mrs. Susan Karn, moved to Darke County, Ohio. They located on farms several miles south of Greenville near the present site of Arcamum where they all lived the remainder of their lives.
One son, John Bobenmoyer, remained in Butler County. Another son, George, located in Mercer County and another, David, in Paulding County.
CHRISTINA ANN (KLINE) BOBENMOYER died January 12, 1858 in Darke County. JOHN FREDERICK III was active until almost the end. Late in the year 1869 while still quite spry he contracted a cold that turned into lung fever (pneumonia) from which he did not recover. On the 28th day of December, 1869, he passed to his final rest just four months before this ninetieth birthday.
Children of JOHN FREDERICK (1780-1869) & CHRISTINA (1782-1858) BOBENMOYER
All of these children were born in Berks County, Pennsylvania and were members of the Reformed Lutheran Church. All moved to Butler County, Ohio by covered wagon in 1832.
I. CATHERINE b. April 9, 1801 d. 1844 in Butler County, OH m. JACOB TRINE in Pennsylvania Children: 1. Henrietta 2. Carolina 3. SOPHIA 4. Charles 5. Elizabeth 6. Catherine 7. Susan 8. Sarah A. 9. Frederick E. 10. David R. 11. Christina
[CATHERINE & JACOB TRINE are my Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandparents; SOPHIA is my Great-Great-Great-Grandmother-km]
II. David b. April 10, 1803 d. October 29, 1855, Paulding Co., OH m. Saloma Heffner 1829 in Pennsylvania. Saloma b. November 15, 1807 d. February 1, 1899, Paulding Co., OH Children: 1. Harry 2. Bennewell 3. Caroline 4. Edward 5. Juda 6. Elizabeth 7. Christina 8. David 9. James. One of the sons of Edward (David) homesteaded in 1880 in Hitchcock County, Nebraska. A grandson of Edward, John Bobenmoyer is still living on that homestead in 1961.
III. Benjamin b. March 8, 1805 d. ? Darke Co., OH m. Sarah Rheinschmidt 1826 in Pennsylvania Children: 1. Charles 2. Eliza 3. William 4. Mary 5. Sophia 6. Frederick 7. Nathan 8. John 9. Christian 10. Catherine 11. Benjamin
IV. John b. February 11, 1806 d. October 27, 1889, Butler Co. OH m. Saloma Dubbs 1836 Saloma b. April 19, 1815 d. June 30, 1889, Butler Co., OH Children: 1. Frank 2. Susan 3. Sarah 4. Henry 5. John 6. Margaret 7. Mary 8. Elizabeth 9. Charles 10. Clara
V. George b. February 12, 1809 d. March, 1888, Mercer Co., OH m. Lydia Henninger March 26, 1829 in Pennsylvania Lydia b. December 14, 1810 d. October 1860, Mercer Co., OH Children: 1. Lucy 2. Polly 3. Sarah 4. Martin 5. Gideon 6. Henry 7. Julian 8. John Frederick 9. Lydia 10. Susan 11. George Samuel 12. Maryetta
VI. Julian b. April 17, 1815 d. August 30, 1898, Darke Co., OH m. Michael Dubbs 1834. Michael b. 1809 d. 1845 Children: 1. Henry 2. Mary Ann 3. David F. 4. Julia A. 5. Samuel Taylor 6. Emily Jane 7. Josephine 8. Winfield Scott
VII. Charles b. March 4, 1817 d. 1900? Darke Co., OH m. Caroline Burkholder April 20, 1847 Children: None
VIII. Sarah b. May 13, 1823 d. August 18, 1854, Butler Co., OH m. Titus Schuler December 22, 1842 Titus b. August 19, 1815 d. October 24, 1903, Darke Co., OH Children: 1. Christian 2. Amandus B. (author of the "Schuler-Bobenmoyer Clan Book") 3. Lucy Ann 4. Samuel A. 5. Mary Jane
IX. Susan b. January 11, 1826 d. ? Darke Co., OH m. John Karn October 29, 1846 Children: 1. William Henry No further record.