Bios: JOHANNES JAGER (JOHN YEAGER): Philadelphia (now Montgomery) and Bucks (now Northampton) Counties, 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 The Strassburger Family and Allied Families of Pennsylvania, by Ralph Beaver Strassburger, 1922, pp. 177-196. JOHANNES JAEGER (John Yeager) [original spelling was Jager with umlaut over 'a'] Johannes Jager (John Yaeger), born October 9, 1721, in Germany, came to America on the ship "Loyal Judith", James Cowie, Master, sailing from Rotterdam and arriving in Philadelphia September 2, 1743. On the same ship was Johann Philip Odenwelder (Odewelder), and it is probable they both came from the same part of Germany, as a warm friendship existed between these two men and their families for many years. Just east of Manheim and Worms and south of Frankfort, in Germany, lies Odenwald, or forest of Oden, an immense wooded tract that covers a wide area. The Teutonic word 'ode' signifies desolate, and 'wald' forest, while 'jager' is the German for hunter or gamekeeper. John Yeager, when he came to Pennsylvania, settled in New Hanover Township, now Montgomery County. On April 12, 1748, John Yeager was married by the Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, pastor of the Trappe Lutheran Church, to Eve Elizabeth SCHNEIDER, who was the daughter of John Adam and Elizabeth Schneider, of New Hanover, Pa. Eve Elizabeth (Anna Elizabeth, or Maria Elizabeth, as her name sometimes appears), was born in Hoehnburg, Germany, February 28, 1728, and died in Easton December 4, 1804. The Rev. Thomas Pomp, pastor of the Easton Lutheran Church, officiated at her burial and entered upon his private record that "she was born February 28, 1728, in Hoehnburg, Germany, the daughter of John Adam Schneider and wife, Elizabeth, the sponsors at her baptism being John Martin and Anna Maria Schneider. She was confirmed by Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg at "Falconer Schwam." It further states that "she lived in marriage forty-eight years and had nine children, four sons and five daughters, all living at the time of her death; forty grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren." Rev. Pomp's account says: "Her illness began last Sunday a week ago with alternate heat and cold, which increased notwithstanding all efforts to restore her health. She died Wednesday at 12 o'clock, aged 76 years, 8 months and 6 days, and was buried December 6, 1804, at Easton." Upon the record of Falkner Swamp Lutheran Church we find among those confirmed on "Sunday after Easter, 1746, Anna Elisabeth Schneider, Johann Adam Meyer's step-daughter." From this we infer that her father, John Adam Schneider, died and her mother married, second, John Adam Meyer, a neighbor and fellow church member. John Yeager and his wife, Eve Elizabeth, were members of the New Hanover Lutheran Church, and the following children were baptized by the pastor of this charge: Joh. Christophel Jager, b. Jan 19, 1751; bap. May 26, 171. Par. John and Maria Elisabeth. Sponsors, Christian Huber and wife. Anna Catherina Jager, b. Dec. 11, 1751; bap. Jan. 5, 1752. Par. Johannes and Elisabeth. Sponsors, Joh. Jorg Zimmerman and wife. Eva Jager, b. Nov. 24, 1754; bap. Dec. 25, 1754. Par. Johannes and Elisabeth. Sponsors, Valentin Stichter and Eva Singer, both single. An advertisement appeared in Saur's Germantown paper, date unknown, in which Thomas Forster states that "he made his home with John Yeager in Falkner Swamp, one mile from Johannes Schneider." About 1757 John Yeager seems to have removed to some part of Bucks County, for we find that his next child, a son, John, born October 31, 1757, was baptized by the pastor of the Tohickon Reformed Church in Bedminster Township, Bucks Co. Johannes, son of Johannes Jager und Elizabeth, baptized 31 August 1757, born 16 August 1767. Wits. John Moor and wife Eve Elizabeth. Just after the last-named date he and his family removed to what was known as the Forks of Delaware, then in Bucks, but later a part of Northampton County. The Forks of the Delaware was understood to include the entire present area of Northampton County, except the townships of Williams and Lower Saucon; that is, all territory between the Rivers Delaware and Lehigh and thence to the Blue Mountains. Easton was laid out in 1750. Thomas Penn gave the land and as he had married Julianna Fermer, daughter of Lord Pomfret, he requested that the new town be called Easton after Lord Pomfret's house, and when, two years later, a new county was erected out of Bucks, it was given the name of Northampton. The Proprietaries' Manor of Fermer was included in the newly erected county. Part of this Manor consisting of 11,000 acres, know as the Barrens, or Dry Lands, lay within the Forks of the Delaware, but being Proprietary land, was not open for settlement. Some of the settlers about the Falkner Swamp and the Perkiomen region, among others Paul Moser, Philip Odenwelder and John Yeager, decided to push their way up the valley twoards the Blue Mountain in search of larger and more desirable farms. That section was then almost a wilderness, and the following description of the country and the hardships experience by these venturesome pioneers is given in a petition under date of May 15, 1765, which sets forth that for "twelve years (1752-1765) they had experienced great hardships and inconvenience in traveling back and forth to Easton, which was environed on all sides with hills and rivers, secluding it from the rest of the country"... that owing to great distance and bad roads it was "unsafe in winter for traveling on horseback and almost impassable for wagons and vehicles many people find such inconveniency in recovering their rights they rather choose to submit to lose them than attempt to recover under so great discouragement." And further "the road to Easton is so inconvenient passing through large tract called the Dry Lands so thinly inhabited that in the distance of twelve miles from Bethlehem to Easton there is but one or two huts, and not one drop of water neither in summer nor fall season to refresh either man or horse so that in winter travellers are in danger of perishing with cold or being parched up in the summer with heat." It is not known just where John Yeager and his family settled upon their arrival in Northampton County, as the term "The Forks" applied to such a large area. About 1758, we find in "A List and return of the number of Waggons draught horses and pack horses in the Foarks township, Northampton County (1744 to 1765)" that "John Yeger had one draught and one pack horse." The earliest land purchase of which we have record is dated April 6, 1785, wherein it is recited that John Yeager of Forks Township, Northampton County, purchased of Eve Moser, widow, a tract of seventy acres of land lying in Forks Township, part of a larger tract which Philip Odenwelder, the elder, in 1768, sold to Paul Moser, deceased, and all a part of the large tract called the Dry Lands. John Yeager died on April 6, 1796, and was buried in the graveyard of the old St. John's Lutheran Church at Easton. He made a will dated April 2, 1796, which was proved May 23, following, in which liberal provision was made for his wife out of his personal estate, and to his sons, Henry and Philip, he left his plantation, which, at that time, consisted of two hundred acres. He names in all nine children, each of whom is to receive an equal share of the entire valuation of the estate. Elizabeth Yeager, widow of John, died December 4, 1804, andwas buried beside herhusband in the old St. John's Lutheran graveyard at Easton. As the city grew and built up around the churchyard, the tombstones were finally removed and re-erected in the Easton Cemetery lying on the edge of town, and the burial plot is now occupied by business houses. The two stones marking these graves were placed in the lot belonging to their son-in-law, John Conrad Edelman. Children of John Yeager and Elizabeth Schneider: 1. Anna Maria Yeager, born January 17, 1749, died August 20, 1828; married March 9, 1771, Philip Odenwelder, born Sept. 2, 1748, d. May 20, 1828, son of John Philip Odenwelder, Sr., and wife Anna Maria. Children: i. Anna Rosina Odenwelder, b. 31 Dec 1776 ii. John Philip Odenwelder, b. 17 Apr 1780 iii. Elizabeth Odenwelder, b. 9 apr 1784 2. Joh. Christophel Yeager, born January 19, 1751. Probably died young as no mention is made of him in his father's will. 3. Anna Catharine Yeager, born December 11, 1751, died April 22, 1834, Easton, Pa.; married March 23, 1773, John Konrad Edelman, born November 20, 1751, died November 21, 1807. Children: i. Elizabeth Edelman, b. 15 Nov 1780, d. 17 Jan 1807. ii. Peter Edelman, born 7 Feb 1785, d. 11 Nov. 1826. 4. Eve Yeager, born November 24, 1754, died July 16, 1835, married John Andrew Strassburger, born January 24, 1754, died April 27, 1825. Children: i. Catherine Strassburger, born July 23, 1784, d. January 28, 1864, married 1) Chrisian Young, 2) Jacob Hartzel. ii. Elizabeth Strassburger, b. ?, d. July 1812, m. Dr. Joel Shelly. iii. Anna Christinia Strassburger, b. December 11, 1785, d. January 26, 1823, m. Christian Berger. iv. John Strassburger, b. Feb. 14, 1787, d. Feb. 19, 1863, m. Maria Gangewer. v. Mary Strassburger, b. ?, d. ?, m. in 1809, John Engleman. vi. John Andrew Strassburger, born Oct. 3, 1796, d. May 2, 1860, m. 1) Catherine Stout, 2) Anna Stover (Worman). vii. Hannah Strassburger, probably the youngest child of John Andrew and Eva. After the death of her sister, Elizabeth, she married her brother-in-law, Christian Berger.