The
missing piece of the puzzle about how the Indian Attack Story became part of the oral
tradition reported in The First Zehner Hoppes Family History (See my
Hoppesgenerations publication The Hoppes Family Indian Attack Story, which first
appeared in February 2000) has been found, thanks to Denise Kern. In this article published two years ago, I
debunked the tale of the Indian attack on the Hoppes family but then mused:
Nevertheless, old
legends die hard; and I still would like to know how the story began in the first place.
My own belief is that it originated with Solomon Hoppes wife Mary Magdalena, nee
Schneider. Her parents were Michael Schneider and Mary Magdalena Sanders/Xanders/Zanders. If her father Michael were the grandson or some
other relative of the Hans Schneider whose family was butchered by Indians in the 1763
raid above Allentown, then Solomons wife Polly would be the logical source. Can anyone out there help me on this?
My starting point in
linking Michael Schneider and his wife Polly with the murder of the Johannes Schneider
family was the wonderful publication Eighteenth Century Immigrants From Northern
Alsace, by Annette Burgert, 1992. She
provides the following data for her Immigrant #445:
SCHNEIDER, JOHANNES age 24
Diedendorf=67260 Sarre-Union
Lydia, 1741 S-H, I: 301, 302, 303
Diedendorf Reformed CB:
Hans Ulrich Schneider
from Melchenau, Canton Bern [CH-4917 Melchnau, BE], son of Joseph Schneider, now
inhabitant at Seewiler [Siewiller], m. 13 Sept. 1701 Anna Catharina, daughter of the late
Peter Rohr. In later records, Ulrich
Schneider is mentioned as a weaver in Diedendorf; later he is the Almossenpfleger at
Diedendorf. Children:
1. Johannes Nicolaus,
bap 10 April 1703
2. Christin,
bap 13 September 1705
3. Josephus,
bap 12 January 1707
4. Otto
Johann, bap 9 December 1708
5. Christian,
bap 12 December 1711
6. Judith
Maria, bap 8 January 1713
7.
Margaretha, bap 14 January 1714
8. Johann
Fridrich, bap 8 September 1715, confirmed 1730
9. Johannes,
bap 14 August 1718, confirmed 1732
10. Maria
Magdalena, bap 11 May 1721
11. Anna
Ottilia, bap 5 November 1724
12. Maria Dster, bap 18 December 1727, confirmed 1741
13. Johann
Daniel, bap 1 March 1731, confirmed 1743
Ulrich Schneider,
linenweaver and Almossenpfleger, d. 23 February 1743, age 73 years, 5 months, 3 days. Born in Melchenau, Canton Bern.
Catharina nee Rohr,
widow of Ulrich Schneider, d. 13 March 1744, age 66 years, 10 days.
Records of Saarwerden
county office for Kirberg, dated 18 October 1764, a contemporary table of the descendants
of Joseph Schneider: Ulrich Schneider and his wife had five children who are referred to
as emigrated to America: Johann Nicolaus, Johann Friedrich, Johannes, Maria
Ester, and Johann Daniel Schneider.
Egypt Reformed CB,
Lehigh Co.
Johannes Schneider
lived a short distance NW of Egypt church. He
sponsored a son of his brother Joh. Friederich Schneider in 1743. John Schneider and his wife Anna Margareta nee
Wotring [b. 20 October 1725, daughter of Abraham Wotring] lived in what is now North
Whitehall Twp., Lehigh County. His name
appears in the settlement of Abraham Wotrings estate.
The Schneiders had five known children, three of whom were murdered by
the Indians on 8 October 1763:
1. Eva
2. Sarah, b. 16 August 1752, baptized at Egypt Reformed Church, sponsors: Joseph Kennel
and wife Sara
3. Magdalena
4. Susanna, baptized 12 April 1763, Egypt Reformed CB, sponsors:Peter Burckhalter; Susanna
Seger
From the above, it is
clear that Johannes Schneider apparently had no sons and, therefore, could not have had
any male descendants that would have spread the Indian attack story. It is equally clear that he had plenty of brothers
who might have. Concerning her
Immigrant #447, Johannes Schneiders next older brother, Annette Burgert states:
Robert and Alice, 1738 S-H, I: 212, 214, 216
Diedendorf Reformed
CB:
Hans Ulrich Schneider,
linenweaver at Diedendorf, and wife Anna Catharina nee Rohr had a son:
Johann Fridrich,
baptized 8 Sepember 1715, confirmed 1730
Friederich Schneider
and wife Anna Maria had:
1. Georg Jacob,
baptized 28 July 1741, sponsors: Georg Jacob, son of Georg Kern; Anna Barbara, daughter of
Nicolaus Seger
2. Johann Samuel, born
20 November 1742, baptized 6 March 1743, sponsors: Johannes Schneider; Samuel Seger;
Catharina Eberhardt.
Friederich Schneider
is of special interest because, shortly after the birth of his son Samuel, he moved
northward into Heidelberg Township of Northampton County, the traditional home of the line
from which the Michael Schneider who married Polly Xander originated. There Friederich Schneider became a prominent
landowner, his acquisitions included the following land warrants:
Frederick
Sneider
October 2, 1746
44
Frederick Snyder
August 7, 1766
27
Frederick Snyder
November 11, 1766
44
Frederick Snyder
April 8, 1767
62
But did either of
Friederich Schneiders two sons recorded in the Egypt Reformed Church Book, Lehigh
County have a son Michael born about 1785 1790, the most likely age to be the
father of Mary Magdalena (Polly) Schneider born in 1810?
Well, recently I uncovered the following data about the younger son Samuel
Schneider at RootsWeb.com:
� Birth: 20 NOV 1742 in Lehigh Co., PA 1
� Baptism: 6 MAR 1742/43 Egypt Reformed
Church, Lehigh Co., PA 2
In the Revolutionary
War he was enrolled in the 6th class, 7th company, 3rd battalion (later 6th) from the
western portion of Heidelberg.
Father: Johann
Friedrich Schneider b: ABT. SEP 1715 in Diedendorf, Germany
Mother: Anna
Maria Saeger b: 7 AUG 1720 in Reichenbach, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany
Children
1. Jacob
Schneider b: 27 AUG 1773 in Pennsylvania
2.
Daniel
Schneider b: ABT. 1775 in Pennsylvania
3.
Johan
George Schneider b: ABT. 1777 in Pennsylvania
When none of these
children included a Michael Schneider, I turned to Denise for help about the other son,
George J. Schneider baptized 28 July 1741, and within a few hours Denise provided the
information that George and Anna Catharina Schneider did, indeed, have a son Michael
baptized on 13 June 1787 at the Alolheo Lutheran Church in Berks County. Because the given name Michael was rare among
Schneiders in the area and because a birth date of 1787 was in the expected range, I
conclude that the linkage between the Johannes Schneider who was slain by Indians in
October 1763 and the branch of the Hoppes family where the Indian attack story arose is
complete.
Harry Hoppes
February 26, 2002