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Due largely to the account of Dr. Frederich Krebs of the Stadtarchiv of Speyer, DEU, as translated and perpetuated by Don Yoder in his book Rheinland Emigrants, it has been widely accepted that Johannes Schuy (Juy), the third child of Daniel Schuy (Juy), died a few days after his birth in Dannstadt in 1730. But what of the son Johannes mentioned in Daniel's will, filed 21 May, 1777 in Lancaster County, PA? Although no documentation exists to support such a claim, many family historians have explained this descrepency by concluding that Daniel and Maria Margaretha named another son, born later in Pennsylvania, Johannes, in memory of their lost child.
The historical record does not support such a claim.
ITEM: The first time that Johannes Schuy appears in any civil or church record in Pennsylvania (other than on a ship's list) is 4 Jan, 1749, when he applied for a patent on 150 acres of land in Hanover Twp, Dauphin County, PA1. From that date on, however, his name appears in dozens of records through April of 1816.
ITEM: There is no record of the death of Johannes Schuy (or Juy) in the Kirchenbuch of the Reformed Church at Dannstadt. There is, in fact, a single entry containing his name, documenting both his birth (24 Nov, 1730), and subsequent baptism (28 Nov, 1730) by Carolo Christopher Becker. Neither does Dr. Winfried Seelinger, in his book on the histories of the families of Dannstadt, make note of such a death.2
ITEM: Daniel Schuy's mother, Judith, died on 30 Mar, 1747.3 Learning of her death, Daniel returned to Dannstadt to settle his share of the estate.4 Given the vagaries of mid-eighteenth century transportation, it is not unreasonable to conclude that Daniel most likely reached Dannstadt in late 1747 or early 1748. (Indeed, the records of Swatara Reformed Church in Bethel Township indicate Daniel's daughter Catharine was baptized on 4 Jun, 1747, and Krebs himself reports 1748 as the year Daniel sold his interest for 3350 florins.) These dates are important because...
ITEM: On Passenger List C of the ship Loyal Judith, which arrived at Philadelphia on 15 Sep, 1748, is the signature of Johannes Schuy.
ITEM: The Johannes Schuy of Hanover Township, Dauphin County, was the son Johannes mentioned in Daniel Schuy's will because he was the Johannes who signed the bond of indemnity authorizing the release of funds set aside by Daniel for his daughter Elizabeth.5 And
ITEM: The signature of this Johannes Schuy, on his will dated 02 Jan, 1808, closely matches the signature of the Johannes Schuy who entered Philadelphia in September of 1748.
It seems evident, therefore, that not only does the combination of circumstantial and documentary evidence substantially discount the interpretation of events by Krebs and Yoder, but rather they strongly support the conclusion that the Johannes Schuy who died on 16 April, 1816 was one and the same as the Johannes Schuy whose birth and baptism were recorded in the Dannstadt Kirchenbuch on 28 Nov, 1730. Why Daniel and Maria left their two year old son with Daniel Juy, Sr. and Judith is fodder for conjecture. Was he too ill to travel? Did they think he was too young to survive the hardships they knew lay ahead of them? Were there plans for Daniel Sr., Judith, and Johannes to join the family in Pennsylvania at some later time? We may never know. But leave him behind, alive, they did. Alive to be reunited with his father in the winter of 1747/48, and to join him in Pennsylvania the following September.
1. Shuey, Dennis Boeshore; The History of the Shuey Family in America: From 1732 to 1919, Page 289, Galion, Ohio, 1919
2. Seelinger, Winfried, Familien in Dannstadt und Schauernheim 1840 bis 1880, Page 338, Hemsbach, DEU, 1994
3. Kirchenbuch of the Reformed Church of Dannstadt, Book 2, Death and Burial Records
4. Yoder, Don; Rheinland Emigrants, Page 42, Baltimore, 1981
5. Shuey, Dennis Boeshore; ibid., Page 290
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