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Note: x-posted to all forums I think might be interested in this research.
What follows is an account of a pet project I have affectionately named “The Hess Mess in Shohola, PA.” My father and I have been researching our Hess family from Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany to Shohola, Pike, Pennsylvania. I am sharing this information in the hope that individuals also researching the Hess family of Shohola, PA will share their sources so we can all confirm if we are indeed related.
To date, I have been in touch with and located many trees that include information on Hess families in Shohola. What began as a mission to find a death record and gravestone for our relative, “John Hess,” in Shohola has morphed into a family puzzle that we are committed to solving. After finding records of a “Conrad Hess and Ellen Adolph” who were the parents of a Nicholas, Jacob, Ellen, Frank and John through the LDS church Web site and reading a biography of Nicholas Hess, Sr. in the Northeast Pennsylvania Biographies, page 1767 (link to the page online below), we set off to see if the John included was “our” John and if the other children were his siblings. At this point, the answer is “perhaps?” Those records submitted to the Family Search site included birth years listed as “abouts” and there is no source record attached to any of them – just that the info was submitted by a member who was doing their own research. Additional research was necessary on our end and hopefully individuals reading this can share how they received their Shohola Hess information and dates.
We have been reading primary source microfilm copies of church records, obtained through a local Family History Center, near where our relative, Johannes “John” Hess, was born in Klein-Umstadt, near Dieburg, in Hesse, Germany (source: Kirchenbuch of the Evangelische Kirche Klein Umstadt (Kr. Dieburg)). Disclaimer: We are not professional genealogists. Additionally, we are not old German Gothic handwriting experts but have been receiving help from volunteers at the Family Research Center and taping into the years both my father and I spent in school German classes to translate this material. My Dad has also spent many hours comparing individual letters to charts, but again, this is a work in progress and by no means is all the information below absolute. I will comment that it is darn close, however, as dates are very clearly written and many of the church’s records can also be found on the Family Search site now that we know what individuals we are looking to research. From these records, we have surmised the following to date:
Magdalena “Helena” Fritz (b. abt 1800) married Johann Konrad “Conrad” Hess (b. abt 1794) on 17 Jul 1827 as recorded on page 63 of the Kirchenbuch of the Evangelische Kirche Klein Umstadt (Kr. Dieburg). The birth records of these two individuals have not been discovered as of this writing (28 Mar 2008), but the dates are approximate as Johann Konrad is listed as what appears to be 33 and Magdalena as what appears to be 27 at the time of the marriage. In the old German writing, it is also written that one child was born before the marriage (Johann Nikolaus [Hess] on 22 Aug 1820). Their marriage took place three months before a second child, Magdalena, was born on 8 Oct 1827.
Utilizing the Evangelishe christening church records from Wald-Amorbach, Starkenburg, Hessen, Germany (and Hergershausen, Starkenburg, Hessen, Germany for the first child, Johann Nikolaus,) we have found the following children of Magdalena Fritz and Conrad Hess. Note: “Helena” Fritz is listed as the mother in three (for Magdalena, Johann Georg, and Jakob) of the five records, but we believe this is a nickname for Magdalena and therefore still believe she is the mother of all five children we have located). Conrad is spelled as such in all the children’s records and Johann Konrad in his marriage record and the christening record of Johann Nikolaus.
The 5 children we have found born to Conrad Hess and Magdalena Fritz are:
1) Johann Nikolaus Hess, b. 22 Aug 1820. Christened 23 Aug 1820, Evangelish, Hergershausen, Starkenburg, Hessen. Parents listed as Johann Konrad Hess and Magdalena Fritz. I believe this is the “Nicholas Hess” of Shohola, Pike, Pennsylvania who I have seen cited as one of the “founders” of Shohola and is also part of other family trees as born on 22 Jul 1820. Since he was born over 7 years before sibling Magdalena, and his parents were not married at that time (we have learned that by including his name in the marriage record it legitimatized his birth), it is likely that Magdalena Fritz was from Hergershausen and that Johann Nikolaus was born, in addition to being christened, here.
2) Magdalena Hess, b. 8 Oct 1827, most likely in Klein-Umstadt like our relative Johannes “John” Hess, the fifth child we have located, who was also christened in the Evangelishe church in Wald-Amorbach. Christened 17 Oct 1827 in Evangelishe, Wald-Amorbach, Starkenburg, Hessen. In the christening record, she is listed as the 2nd child, 1st daughter. I believe Magdalena may be “Ellen Hess” born abt. 1824 in some family trees I have come across as Ellen is not a particularly German name.
3) Johann Georg Hess, b. 15 Mar 1830, most likely in Klein-Umstadt like our relative Johannes “John” Hess, the fifth child we have located, who was also christened in the Evangelishe church in Wald-Amorbach. Christened 28 Mar 1830 in Evangelishe, Wald-Amorbach, Starkenburg, Hessen. In the christening record, he is listed as the 3rd child, 2nd son.
4) Jakob Hess, b. 16 Sep 1832, most likely in Klein-Umstadt like our relative Johannes “John” Hess, the fifth child we have located, who was also christened in the Evangelishe church in Wald-Amorbach. Christened 23 Sep 1832 in Evangelishe, Wald-Amorbach, Starkenburg, Hessen. Died 14 May 1848 (by what might have been a drowning if the information from the Northeast Pennsylvania Biographies, page 1767, located at http://www.distantcousin.com/Other/NEPABio/Pages.asp?Page=1767 holds any truth and links the individuals in this family together). This might be the “Jacob Hess” born abt. 1822 in some family trees I have come across. In his christening record, he is listed as the 7th child, a son. This is inconsistent with the number of children thus far as no other Hess children, and certainly not #4, #5, #6 in this family, were christened at this church in the two years between the 3rd child Johann Georg in March 1830 and the 7th child Jakob in September 1832. Perhaps there were 3 stillborn children that were counted? Twins? Triplets? I don’t know.
5) Johannes “John” Hess, b. 9 Mar 1835 in Klein-Umstadt, Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany. (Known as John in America). Parents listed as Conrad Hess and Magdalena Fritz. Christened 22 Mar 1835 in Evangelishe, Wald-Amorbach, Starkenburg, Hessen. In his christening record, he is listed as the 8th child, the 6th son. See notes about number of children in Jakob, child #4, above. Died 29 Dec 1901 in Shohola, Pike, Pennsylvania. Cause: Heart trouble per Pike County Courthouse (Milford, PA) Register of Deaths. Arrived in America in 1854. Married (1) Rosena Ohlman, b. 15 Jan 1835, in 1857 in Shohola, most likely. She died (most likely due to complications from the birth of her second child) on 3 Sep 1862 (per the grave monument only – have not located primary source as of this writing). Married (2) Louisa C Stoll, b. Mar 1844, in 1872 in Shohola, most likely. She gave birth to 5 additional children.
Grave monument in the Old Shohola/Worzel Cemetery reads:
A.D. 1900
JOHN HESS
BORN MARCH 9, 1835
AT KLEINOHMSTADT, HESSENDARMSTADT, GERMANY, -
CAME TO SHOHOLA, IN 1854; MARRIED ROSENA OHLMAN,
IN 1857; CLEARED THE FARM NEAR HERE WHERE HE LIVES
IN OLD AGE. IN 1872, HE MARRIED SECOND WIFE, LOUISA STOLL.
Another panel reads:
ROSENA OHLMAN,
FIRST WIFE OF JOHN HESS,
JAN. 15, 1835, SEPT 3, 1862
I have been unable to locate any primary record for an “Ellen Adolph” through Family Search, online searches, or individual Hess family trees. I have noted that both females in the primary research are named/called Magdalena in Germany. Perhaps in America, both were known as Ellen? If the mother Magdalena used the nickname “Helena” in some of the German records, perhaps her daughter Magdalena also used this nickname and gave/pronounced it as “Helen-a” when arriving in America. Perhaps this was “American-ized” into Ellen.
In response to the entry on Family Search that lists the marriage of Ellen Adolph and Conrad Hess as “about 1819,” I believe this is an incorrect response to Johann Nikolaus’ birth in 1820. Since I have found the primary record of the marriage of Magdalena Fritz and Conrad Hess as 17 Jul 1827 and it also includes the birth of Johann Nikolaus to legitimize it, I do not believe this can be considered an accurate account.
Additionally, the last name “Adolph” for mother Ellen/Magdalena might be due to a second marriage. Perhaps Conrad Hess, whose death date is unknown, died shortly after our relative John was born in 1835 and with five children, Ellen/Magdalena needed to find a husband? Thus, she married a Mr. Adolph. This is speculation, but possible.
I also understand from others that many mistakes were included in the biographies such as the Northeast Pennsylvania Biographies, which cite Nicholas Hess Sr.’s parents as Conrad Hess and Ellen Adolph, the only place I have found an official reference to this possibility. I want to note that Adolph and Fritz are both male names acting as surnames. Perhaps the biographer was confused and substituted one for another? In the biography, the number of children matches the number of children for which we have found christening records (5 children: 4 sons, 1 daughter) and the fact that Jakob/Jacob died in 1848 in Germany, as recorded in the margin of the church record, I am cautiously optimistic that these Hess’ are all directly related. This biography also indicates that all children (except Jakob/Jacob) immigrated to America and from the trees I have found and my own research, Johann Nikolas/Nicholas, Magdalena/Ellen, Johann Georg/George and Johannes/John all appear on census records in Shohola, Pike, Pennsylvania.
At first I believed that all Hess families found in the census records of the relatively small Shohola, PA town were related but my father remembers during an early conversation with a Shohola historian that there were actually two separate Hess families in town. I plan to gather more information from this individual (perhaps it is known which individuals belonged to which Hess family) but have not at this time.
This is the information I have uncovered and the observations I have made. I am sharing it with the hope that it will spark some discussion amongst us Hess descendants and I welcome any additional insight and comments. Hopefully there will be some “missing piece” to this puzzle that will allow us all to “officially” connect with our Hess relatives!
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