Berks-Lancaster-Schuylkill County PA Archives Family History.....Umbenhauer, Stephanus 1698 - 1764
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  File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
  Neil Scheidt neilain@dejazzd.com February 23, 2012, 10:03 pm

  Sketch of Umbenhauer Farm may be found at http://usgwarchives.net/pa/berks/photos/umbenhauer-farm.jpg

  Sketch of William is at http://usgwarchives.net/pa/berks/photos/umbenhauer-wm.jpg

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  Source: Reading Eagle - Dec 23 1894
  
  The large farm of William Umbenhauer adjoining the borough of Bernville has been
  in the hands of the Umbenhauer family for 153 years and no other people have
  ever lived there. The family history of the Umbenhauers is full of interest.

  About the year 1735 Stephen Umbenhauer, who then spelled his name Umbenhawk, left
  his native country of Switzerland and sailed for America in company with a
  brother considerably younger. They landed in New York and after staying there a
  while went to Philadelphia and thence made their way by foot near the present
  location of Stouchsburg. Here they took up a tract of several hundred acres.
  Stephen was married at the time, but his brother was single and lived with him.

  The two brothers intended to clear and cultivate the land in partnership. The
  land granted them near the present village of Stouchasburg was surveyed in 1737
  by William Parsons, deputy surveyor of the province of Pennsylvania. The results
  of their labor at the above named place were not very encouraging as they did
  not understand the cultivation of lime stone soil of that region. In Switzerland
  they had meadow land. 

  Stephen's brother died, and was buried near the Lutheran church of Tulpehocken. 
  He was still single. Stephen was now the only Umbenhauer in Switzerland or America.
  When the brothers left their native country, all the rest of their family had 
  died out, and the two remaining members had barely enough money to take them to the new world. 

  Shortly after his brother's death, Stephen abandoned his claim near Stouchsburg, although
  a rude house and other buildings had been constructed, and with his family drifted down 
  the Tulpehocken valley in search of a nice tract of tillable meadow land. Finally they saw a
  tree of great height. It towered far above all the rest. great trees bespeak a
  fertile soil and Mr Umbenhauer knew this, so he shifted his course in the
  direction of the big tree. He was confident of finding good land here, and when
  he finally reached the spot, he was not disappointed. They arrived toward the
  close of winter of 1741. Mr Umbenhauer immediately began the building of a house
  for his family and on the 19th of July of the same year purchased a tract of 235
  acres here. Previous to this purchase he had to make several trips to Lancaster
  where the land office was located. An old deed examined by the Eagle's traveling
  correspondent says the tract is situated on North creek. This stream is now
  known as Northkill, probably because it flows into the Tulpehocken from the
  north. £15 and ten shillings was the amount paid for the land, which was then
  included in Lancaster county instead of Berks. 

  In 1743 Mr Umbenhauer and his family became members of the old Tulpehocken Lutheran church.
  This church was about nine miles from the Umbenhauer home, and was the nearest house of worship.
  Mr Umbenhauer cleared the land as rapidly as possible and his farm was in a very
  short time considered one of the most fertile in the valley. Stephen Umbenhauer
  died comparatively young, and on April 9, 1853 [sic, s/b 1753], his son Balthaser, who
  spelled his surname Umbehacker, bought the farm for the sum of £200. After Balthaser's
  death, his son Thomas, became the purchaser on Nov 8, 1794, for the sum of £950.
  About the year 1817, Thomas Umbenhauer, who then spelled his name Umbenhauer, laid
  out the village of Bernville, which was then entirely on his land and was known
  as Umbenhauerstown for a number of years. The place of course, was only a small
  fraction of the present enterprising borough of Bernville. Thomas Umbenhauer was
  one of the leading men of the county in his time. He died aged about 70 years.
  At the time of his death the village had been the means of reducing his farm to
  133 acres. The farm now became the property of his son Peter, who purchased
  additional tracts thus raising the acreage to about 160. Peter lived to be about
  72 years of age. After his death his son William, who is now 70 years of age,
  and still owns the property, purchased the land.

  The farm has not been reduced in size, but greatly improved in every respect.
  A large new barn was erected in 1839 and a substantial brick house took the 
  place of the old log home in 1870. It is one of the most fertile in Northern Berks. 
  Its appearance has changed greatly in the last 100 years. Both house and barn
  used to be of logs. The old barn was over 100 feet in length.
  
  Families such as these are truly the representative people of old Berks.
  
  This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/pafiles/
  
  File size: 4.9 Kb