History: Family: The MEISTHER (MESCHTER) Family: Montgomery & Lancaster Cos, PA Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Thera. tsh@harborside.com USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: Printing this file within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. http://www.usgwarchives.net/ ____________________________________________________ The following is from "Genealogical Record of the Schwenkfelder Families: Seekers of Religious Liberty who Fled from Silesia to Saxony and Thence to Pennsylvania in the Years 1731 to 1737". Edited by Samuel Kriebel Brecht, A.M. Printed for The Board of Publication of the Schwenkfelder Church, Pennsburg, Pennsylvania. Rand McNally & Company. 1923. [NOTE: The Silesia referenced below was an area of Europe which is now in southwestern Poland. Germany ceded this province to Poland after WW II. The area borders present day Germany and the Czech Republic. The founder of the Schwenkfelder Church, Caspar Schwenckfeld, was born in Ossing, Silesia, which was changed to Ossig (Osiek in Polish), and is still a small town outside of Lubin, Poland, which is outside of Legnica (Liegnitz in German), Poland. For more information, see the website of the Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center at: http://www.rpc.ox.ac.uk/rpc/sfld/s_guide.htm The SLHC is located in Pennsburg, PA.] THE MEISTHER (MESCHTER) FAMILY MELCHIOR MESCHTER, a cobbler of Berthelsdorf, b. about 1676, d. Dec. 23, 1732, m. EVA YEAKEL. Eva came to Pa. as a widow with her three children in 1734. She lived with her daughter, Rosina Wiegner, in Hereford Twp., Montg. Co., Pa. She is buried in the Washington Schwenkfelder Cemetery. Children of MELCHIOR MESCHTER and EVA YEAKEL: 1. David MESCHTER, b. 1707, d. Mar. 31, 1785, m. Ursula Anders, b. 5 Apr 1705, d. Apr. 14, 1793, dau. of George Anders and Anna Reinwald. David Meschter bought land in Hereford Twp., Montg. Co., Pa. He and his wife are buried in the Washington Schwenkfelder Cemetery. No issue. 2. Rosina MESCHTER, b. about 1708, d. Dec. 29, 1772, on Oct. 13, 1729, m. Melchior WIEGNER, b. June 9, 1701, d. July 28, 1766, son of George Wiegner and Maria Heebner. [Note from contributor: In another place, Schwenkfelder book lists this Rosina as the daughter of Melchior Meschter and Susanna Bormann, rather than Melchior Meschter and Eva Yeakel. I have no way of determining which is correct for certain, though since this entry in the book states that Eva Yeakel Meschter "lived with her daughter Rosina Wiegner", I'd tend to believe that she is the mother of Rosina, rather than Susanna Bormann.] Rosina and Melchior Wiegner settled in Hereford Twp., Pa. They are both buried in Washington Schw. Cem. Child: i. George, b. about 1737, d. Jan 25, 1776, m. Maria Christina ______. Maria Christina (Catherine), after George's death, m. John Roeder. Children of George and Maria Wiegner: 1) George, b. Sept. 17, 1767, d. July 7, 1826, m. Susanna Weiss. 2) Susanna, m. John Gery. 3) Magdalena, b. Jan 19, 1775, d. Jan 15, 1853. 3. Anna Maria MESCHTER, b. ?, d. July 2, 1742, m. Melchior Schultz. No issue. 4. Infant son MESCHTER, d. Sept. 3, 1732, aged 4 months. ************************ BALTHASAR MEISTHER (MESCHTER), b.?, d. Apr. 1, 1723, is buried in the "Viehweg" in Harpersdorf, and was a gardener in Langneundorf, Silesia. Wife's name is unknown. [Note from contributor: The Schwenkfelder book doesn't indicate what, if any, relationship there was between Balthasar and the above Melchior.] Known children of Balthasar MEISTHER (MESCHTER): 1. Melcher MEISHTER (Melchior Meschter), b. 1695, d. ?; on Oct. 17, 1729, m. 1) Anna KRAUSE (KRAUSS), b. about 1701, d. Nov. 16, 1731, dau. of Melchior Krause (Krauss). On June 26, 1732, Melchior Meschter m. 2) Regina ANDERS, b. 1705, d. ?, youngest dau. of George Anders of Berthelsdorf, formerly of O. Hdrf. Melchior and Regina came to Pa. in 1734. They lived on a farm near West Point, Montg. Co., Pa., owned in 1920 by Enoch Heebner. Children of Melchior and Regina Anders MESCHTER were: i. Rosina, b. May 18, 1733 in Berthelsdorf, d. Aug 14, 1734 en route to America and was buried at sea. ii. George, b. after 1734, d. Aug. 1, 1801. iii. Susanna, b. Apr. 16, 1739, d. May 20, 1834, m. Christopher Neumann. iv. Maria, b. Apr. 26, 1742, d. Feb. 10, 1826, m. Christopher Reinwald. v. Christopher, b. Dec. 17, 1746, d. May 4, 1797, m. Rosina Kriebel. 2. Gregorius MEISTHER (MESCHTER), b. about Nov., 1705, d. Dec. 16, 1775; on July 25, 1733, m. Maria KRAUSS, b. ?, d. Nov. 11, 1756, youngest dau. of Melchior Krauss, and sister to Anna, first wife of Melchior Meschter. Maria and Gregorius were married in Berthelsdorf, Saxony, and came to Pa. in 1734. Gregorius 'made his mark' in signing the Oath of Allegiance. He was naturalized Apr. 10, 1759. He bought land in Hereford Twp., Pa., where he lived and died. Both Gregorius and Maria are buried in Washington Schw. Cem. Children: i. Christopher, b. June 4, 1734 on the "St. Andrew", en route to America, d. Feb. 12, 1791; m. Christina Yeakel. ii. Maria, b. Dec. 21, 1736, d. ?, m. Andrew Dague, b. ?, d. in Lancaster Co., Pa. iii. Melchior, b. June 28, 1740, d. Dec. 21, 1793, m. Anna Maria Yeakel iv. Susanna, b. Sept. 5, 1742, d. Aug. 2, 1809, m. _____ Deischer. v. Baltzer, b. Oct. 1, 1745, d. Aug. 2, 1809, m. Magdalena Getman. vi. Anna, b. May 29, 1748, d. May 17, 1833, m. Jacob Seibert. vii. George, b. Apr. 18, 1750, d. ?, in Germany, m. ?, no issue.