Misc: Blue Book Of Schuylkill County By Mrs. Ella Zerbey Elliott: The Zerbey's 309-323 Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Diane Olsen. USGENWEB NOTICE: Printing this file 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. __________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 309 Of the Zerbeys ______________________________________________________________________________ took his old note book, with its square and oblong four notes then in use instead of the present octave of round and stemmed ones, and extracting his tuning fork from his black satin vest pocket took the pitch and in his high quavering nasal voice sang the new tune through to the end of the hymn with such assistance as the frightened members of the choir and congregation could give him. This feat for a man of nearly seventy years was the talk of the countryside for weeks. DESCENDANTS OF PHILLIP ZERBE, OF HETZEL'S, WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, BERKS (NOW SCHUYLKILL COUNTY) Phillip' Zerbe came to this side of the Blue Mountain, Pinegrove Township, Berks County, about 1760. His early history is largely conjectural, but he is supposed to have been a son of Lorentz Zerbe and born in Heidelberg Township about 1717, or perhaps earlier. The first record we have of him is when he and his brother, John Zerbe the miller, petitioned for a new county to be erected from Lancaster County, 1738. (Penna. Archives) Phillip "Serwin" surveyed (40) forty acres of land in Heidelberg Township, October 2, 1751; returned September 18, 1772, (Berks County court house). This was the same Phillip that petitioned for a new county. There is no record of his first marriage which must have occurred about 1738. Daniel Rupp's history of Berks County gives him as an early, member of Christ's Church (Stouchsburg). He is said to have had twelve children with his first wife, but of these only four have been located: Phillip2, of Hetzel's; Jonathan, Benjamin and John, b. 1750, who married Barbara Witman, November 2, 1773. (Christ Church records). Phillip1 Zerbe is also noted on the same records as having married Susanna ___ February 26, 1782, his second wife. ______________________________________________________________________________ 310 BLUE BOOK OF Genealogical Records ______________________________________________________________________________ (Note -- Phillip Zerbe on list of taxables, Berks County, 1754.) Of these four sons, Phillip2 and Jonathan2 settled in Pinegrove Township. John2 is supposed to have remained in Rehersburg, Berks County, and Benjamin2 is probably the man of that name who went West. (Note -- Mrs. Lucetta Bretz, eighty-three years of age, remembers that her grandfather, Phillip2, had a brother Benjamin, who went West.) There were four Zerbes north of the Blue Mountain, from 1754 to 1760; John the miller had taken up a tract of a thousand acres of land, which he sold to his sons, Benjamin, Daniel and John Jr.; and Phillip, his brother, and Jonathan, his son, of Cumru, both came later than the former. John the miller never lived here, nor is it positively known if John Jr. ever did. Jonathan, of Cumru, was the progenitor of the Centre County line. (Note-The Phillip and Daniel Zerbe, first cousins, who went overland from Berks County, about 1785, and settled near Shamokin Dam, (Delmatia), Northumberland County, were sons of Daniel and Benjamin Zerbe, of the Blue Mountain Hollow, Pine Grove Township.) March 9, 1749, Adam Klinger, deeded to Phillip Zerbe by original warrant (Deed Book, 12-22) a tract of land. John Klinger died 1768 and Adam asked for a partition. There were two tracts, one of one hundred acres and the other of forty acres, both in Heidelberg Township. George Forrer bought sixty-five acres of this land at the appraisement. It is not clear how many acres were in the Zerbe tract. It says in the deed, "being part of a larger tract of 89-3/4 acres and allowances as granted to the said Phillip "Zerby." Phillip Zerbe settled in the "Blue Mountain Hollow," about four miles east of Pinegrove, 1760, on a tract of land now owned by Benjamin Loy. This land adjoins that after- ______________________________________________________________________________ SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 311 Of the Zerbeys ______________________________________________________________________________ ward purchased from the state to erect upon it Hetzel's church. He died 1790. His son, Phillip2, bought the property, December 16, 1790, for the sum of fifty-five pounds in gold. (Translated from "Der Readinger Zeitung" of September 1, 1790: NOTICE -- Pursuant to an order of Sale from the Orphans' Court of Berks County, there will be offered at public vendue on Saturday, the 18th of September, at the public house of Gottfried Roehrer, Tulpehocken Township, Berks County, a certain plantation and tract of land situated in Pine Grove Township, in said county, containing 80 acres, together with the usual allowances; lately the property of Philip Zerbe, deceased. For more particular information inquire of SUSANNA ZERBE, Administratrix. ADAM KALBACH, Administrator. August 16, 1790. DESCENDANTS OF PHILLIP2 ZERBE Phillip2 Zerbe, (Phillip1) who bought and lived on the old homestead adjoining Hetzel's church, was born October 23, 1765, d. October 13, 1831. He married Christina Boyer, da. of Assumas Boyer, Jr., and wf. ___ Nagle. Christina was a granddaughter of Heinrich Boyer and Elizabeth Marie Zerbe (Martin1) Boyer, of Tulpehocken. Phillip2 Zerbe and John Lingle were granted a warrant for a tract of land from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, May 8, 1798, called " Good Intent," for twelve shillings and six pence, to be held in trust for the Lutheran congregation and upon which tract was built Hetzel's church. Phillip lived upon the place until his death, 1831. Christina survived him about ten years, living with her daughter Christina, wf. of John Zerbe, who lived on the old Assumas Boyer homestead, about four miles northeast of Pinegrove. The children of Phillip2 and Christina Zerbe were: Phillip3 Zerbe; wf. Elizabeth ___ They owned a farm near the old homestead of his father and grandfather. John, b. April 17, 1795; d. April 15, 1863; wf., Magdalena ___. Both buried at Denver, Indiana. Philopena, b. May 5, 1796; d. April 8, 1870; buried at Hetzel's church. She was unmarried and lived with her sister, Christina Zerbe. ______________________________________________________________________________ 312 BLUE BOOK OF Genealogical Records ______________________________________________________________________________ Catharine, married Adam Stahl, of Suedburg, who was the father of John and George Stahl of the same place. Daniel, b. December 1, 1799; d. February 17, 1874; first wf., Catharine Swartz; second wf., Catharine Bretzious, widow. He lived on a farm four miles northeast of Pinegrove at the upper end of the Union Canal dam. He was a sawyer and at his saw mill prepared lumber for the building of boats for the Schuylkill Canal and furnished ties for the first railroad built to Pine Grove. Christina, b. July 10, 1801; d. January 25, 1885; married John Zerbe, a native of Westmoreland County, and a son of Emanuel and Barbara Zerbe, of Rehrersburg, Berks County. They lived four miles northeast of Pine Grove, on the old Assurnas Boyer's homestead, and had one daughter, Lucetta, who married George Bretz. Their children were: Mary, Edward and Lucetta. Phillip3 Zerbe, wf. Elizabeth, owned and lived on a farm near the old homestead of Phillip' and Phillip2. Children: Jonathan, b. in Washington Township, Schuylkill County, December 31, 1819, and died at his home in Cedar County, Iowa, February 25, 1903. He was married to Catharine Emerich, June 15, 1846, and on the day of their marriage they set out for Ohio. A Mechanicsville, Cedar County, newspaper man, says: "He came to Iowa in the Spring of 1865 and resided in that county since." He had thirteen children, four boys, Henry, Jacob, Jonathan and Solomon, and nine girls, all of whom are living. He had ninety-six grandchildren and forty-one great grandchildren, making a total of one hundred and fifty direct descendants. He was eighty-three years of age. John, (Phillip3); b. Jan. 11, 1921; d. Dec. 23, 1884; married Maria Honnecker; lived about three miles east of Pine Grove. He was a veteran of the Civil War. He was noted as the best shot at the old shooting matches. He had children: Caroline, 1845; Mary Ann, 1850; Emanuel, 1852; Rebecca, 1857; Elizabeth, 1859; John, 1861; George, 1863; Reuben and William (twins), 1874. Jacob, b. February 1, 1823; m. Catharine Klick. They had one son, William, b. March 25, 1849. Sudden death, June 24, 1861. Joseph, b. September 12, 1825; d. July 17, 1895; m. Katharine Loose; they lived on a farm three miles east of Pine Grove; was a plasterer by trade; had children, Lewis, Percival, 1854; Joseph Jr., 1855, and Frank. Leah, b. October 31, 1828; d. February 13, 1912; m. Daniel Herring; no children. Benneville, b. September 19, 1830; d. March 7, 1877; m. Amanda Royer; had one daughter, Emma. Kate, m. ___ Sherman. ______________________________________________________________________________ SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 313 Of the Zerbeys ______________________________________________________________________________ Reuben; b. July 27, 1837; m. Amanda Krick; he lives one mile east of Pine Grove; is a plasterer by trade. His children are: Harry, an engineer, of Allentown, and Mrs. Wash Zimmerman; Mrs. Harry Shollenberger, and Mrs. William Schwartz, all of Pine Grove. Levi, b. November 11, 1842; unmarried. CHILDREN OF PHILLIP2 (PHILLIP1) John Zerbe (Phillip2, Phillip1), b. April 17, 1795; d. April 15, 1863; wf., Magdalena. Both died at Denver, Indiana, and are buried there. They lived on a farm three miles east of Pine Grove, but moved to Indiana before the Civil War. children are: Jonathan, b. February 17, 1817; moved to Indiana with his parents and removed to Mechanicsville, Iowa. Had no children. John, b. October 20, 1820; went West with his parents settling in Cedar County, Iowa, where they had the following children: Andrew J., Bigelow, Kan.; Carolina, Mason, Lewis and Mrs. Emanuel Roberts, all of South Omaha, Nebraska. Rosina, b. December 12, 1823; m. Jacob Zerbe, son of Peter and Elizabeth, a born Zerbe, of Newtown, Schuylkill County; moved to Argos, Indiana. Children: Mrs. Eliza Rogers, Jacob Zerbe, of Argos, and George, Emanuel, Rosa Ann, Mrs. Susan Kerns and Peter Zerbe, all settled in Indiana. Katrina, b. May 17, 1825; m. ___ Hertzog; moved West; children: Mary, John, George, Michael, Jackson, Frank. Walter S. Hertzog, of Glendale, Los Angeles County, Cal., is a descendant. Samuel, b. April 30, 1827; wf. ___ Wolf; moved to Mechanicsville, Cedar County, Iowa; children: Samuel A., St. Cloud, Minn.; John G., Mrs. Charles Esternacht, Mrs. Dr. Russell and Mrs. Sarah Macker, all of Mechanicsville, Iowa. Michael, b. November 8, 1828; unmarried; lives at Mechanicsville, Ia. Frank, son of a second marriage; lives in the West. The children of George W. Zerbe (Jacob and Rosina), of Argos, Ind., were: Bessie, Ruby, Bernice. He is an oculist and jeweler. The children of Mrs. Eliza, wf. of Eli Rogers, were; Rev. Frank T. Rogers, Harry, Clayton, Artella, Harley and Tessie. DESCENDANTS OF DANIEL3 ZERBE, (PHILLIP2, PHILLIP1) Daniel4 Zerbe, Jr.; b. August 1, 1824; d. January 9, 1882; Was a great grandson of Phillip1 Zerbe, of Hetzel's; first wf., Maria Esther Gebert. They had four children: William L., b. 1845; Ellen, 1848, married Frank Lutz; Mary Ann, 1850, married William Klopp; one d. in infancy. Second wf., Bar- ______________________________________________________________________________ 314 BLUE BOOK OF Genealogical Records ______________________________________________________________________________ bara Krick, children: Henry, Alice, Daniel 0., Lewis, Clara and Ida. Daniel Zerbe, Jr., lived near his father's place at the Union Canal dam, where lie kept a hotel, three miles northeast of Pine Grove, where he entertained many Pottsville fishing parties to the "Big Dam." Levi, b. February 20, 1826; d. young. Jared, b. April 20, 1828; wf., ___ Lehman; lived north of Pine Grove. They had eighteen children. Louisa, b. December 19, 1830; m. Benneville Hummel. They were the parents of Hon. Edward Hummel, member of the Legislature, Of Pine Grove. Edward, b. June 2, 1832; lived a bachelor for eighty years on the old homestead of his father's. Peter, b. March 7, 1847; an only son of second marriage; d. when about 32 years old. WILLIAM L., ZERBE, OF PINE GROVE William5 Lafayette Zerbe, (Daniel4 Jr., Daniel3, Phillip2, Phillip1) ; b. December 18, 1845. He was raised by his grandfather, Daniel Zerbe, Sr., at the "Big Dam." He married Melissa Hehn, of near Friedensburg and settled in Pine Grove, 1874. He was a shoemaker by trade and entered the shoe business, in which he was engaged twenty-five years and became prosperous. He died July 15, 1905, leaving one son, William E. Zerbe. William6 E. Zerbe, (William L.); b. February 15, 1868; wf., Lillian May Shelly. He learned the trade of cabinet maker and carpenter, but for twenty- one years has been engaged in the furniture and undertaking business. About nine years ago he added a retail lumber business to his other ventures and has been successful in all of the branches conducted under his management. He is a member of St. John's Lutheran church, the Masonic, Odd Fellows and P. 0. S. of A. lodges, and owns considerable property in Pine Grove, his home town. Mr. Zerbe, who is a self educated man and versatile genius, for a time pursued the study of music in his odd moments, he played upon all instruments and made a study of the theory of music, transposing the scores for some ______________________________________________________________________________ SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 315 Of the Zerbeys ______________________________________________________________________________ years for the Pine Grove band, of which he was a member. He was an ardent collector of old coins and his knowledge of the eras and values of these coins made of him a numismatist of no small reputation. He also studied up the Zerbe ancestry of the branch to which he belongs, and rendered valuable assistance to the author in the compilation of his ,line and its connection with others of the same name. The children of William and Lillian Zerbe are: Charles W., b. January 31, 1889; wf., Emma Lehmy. They have one son, Harry. Charles is engaged in the lumber business with his father. James M., b. September 7, 1891; wf. Ollie Hoy; one son, Walter; Annie M., b. March 16, 1902, at home; John S., b. March 16, 1902; d. May 14, 1913. James is associated with his father in the undertaking business. JONATHAN ZERBE (PHILLIP1) Jonathan2 Zerbe, (Phillip1); wf., Magdalena Deppen. They lived on their own farm, about four miles northeast of Pine Grove, now owned by the Jacob Ulmer estate, of Pottsville, Pa. He later removed to Tremont, when that town had only several houses and kept a hotel. He also owned large tracts of coal lands in the West End. He was b. November 16, 1769, and was buried at Hetzel's church, November 22, 1846. Rev. John Gring, of Lebanon, preached his funeral sermon, (Gring's records). They had the following children: Jonathan3, b. March 12, 1795; 4. May 21, 1849; wf., Rosina Gebert. He lived near his father's place and is buried at Clouser's church, east of Llewellyn. Children: Katrina, b, May 10, 1827; Solomon, b. April 20, 1836; lived in the Hegins Valley. One of his sons lives in Tremont. John3 D., (Jonathan2), b. March 17, 1798; d. March 9, 1890, aged 91 years, 11 months, 22 days; wf., Barbara Schroppe. They lived at Water Tank, one mile west of Silverton, between Tremont and Llewellyn. (This man made many early visits on horseback to the Centre County Zerbes.) ______________________________________________________________________________ 316 BLUE BOOK OF Genealogical Records ______________________________________________________________________________ He is buried at Clouser's Church. Their chilren [sic] were: John Jr., lived at same place, b. 1822, railroader; his widow and son Frank live on the homestead. Other children were: Israel and William, d.; Mrs. Mary Gehres, d., of Port Carbon; Mrs. Sarah Bernhardt, Mrs. Sarah Ruch, Mrs. Lens Walker, Phila., and Mrs. Charles Gable, eighty-eight years of age, who lives with her son Henry, in Hegins Township, on the main road, near Valley View. She was married, 1847, and had nine children: Sarah, wf. of Noah Geist, Weishample; Charles, Ashland; William, d., Phila.; Ellen, wf. of Frank Yoder; Daniel and Henry, Hegins; Katharine, wf. of Elias Buffington, Ashland; Emma, wf. of Marcus Herb, Mt. Carmel, and Mary, wf. of Charles Miller, of Valley View, Hegins Township. (Note Mrs. Gable contributed an interesting reminiscence on another page, and Mrs. Miller furnished information. Mrs. Gable has 39 grandchildren, 36 great grandchildren, and one great, great grandchild living.) Elizabeth3, (Jonathan2); b. 1794; d. October 27, 1849. She married Peter Zerbe, of Rehersburg. They settled in Newtown, Zerbe P. 0., 1828. Michael3, (Jonathan2); first wf., Magdalena Bucher; second, Polly Tobias. Their children were: George, Michael and Frank, who settled in Michigan. He had six children with his first wife and one with the second. His da., Mary, married John Zerbe, of Newtown; b., December 10, 1826; d., July 14, 1851; Katrina, b. May 6, 1828; John, b. August 24, 1830. George Zerbe, (Michael); b. October 5, 1834; wf., Catharine Dewald, Pinegrove. Miss Jennie Zerbe, a recent professional nurse, employed by the King's Daughters of Pottsville, Pa., is a granddaughter of George Zerbe. Michael Zerbe lived on his father, Jonathan's3 place, (Ulmer's farm), up to the time of his death, which occurred on a winter night when on coming home from Tremont he lost his bearings and stuck in a snow drift, one hundred yards from his own home and was frozen to death. Samuel3, (Jonathan2, Phillip1); b. September 6, 1805; d. September 11, 1872; wf., Susanna Lengle. He was a blacksmith and lived two miles east of Pinegrove. Children: William, b. about 1830; m. Eliza Kinsell; lived near his father's place; children: William, Kate, Susan, Harriet, Samuel, George, Elias. Jacob, b. January 7, 1832; m. Rebecca Wenrich; lived near his father's place; children: Franklin, Mrs. Elias Kinsell, Mrs. Ed. Bretz, Mrs. Wm. Kinsell, Isaac, Jacob, and Amos Zerbe, principal of the Tremont schools. John, b. May 11, 1836; he had two daughters and two sons. ______________________________________________________________________________ SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 317 Of the Zerbeys ______________________________________________________________________________ Isaac, b. about 1845; m. Louisa Umbenhower; lives at East Hanover, Lebanon County, Pa. One of his sons is Harry Zerbe, of Cressona, Pa., hotelkeeper. Anna, b. December 16, 1842; m. George Zuby. Solomon Zerbe, (son of Jonathan); b. July 12, 1813; d. of smallpox, January 11, 1847; m. Lucinda Boyer; they had one son, George, b. about 1845, who now lives in Lebanon County. Salome, (Jonathan2), wf. of George Daubert, who were the grandpaernts [sic] of Charles Daubert, living two miles northeast of Pine Grove. Amos5 Walter Zerbe, (Jacob1, Samuel3, Jonathan2 Phillip1); b, August 11, 1878; wf., Lillian Spancake, b. May 5, 1879; m., December 31, 1905; son, Jacob Stuart, b. December 3, 1909. Mr. Zerbe is a school teacher by profession and first taught at Blackwood, Schuylkill Co., from where he went to East Greenville, Montgomery Co., where he was supervising principal of schools. He occupied the same position in Reilly Township, Schuylkill County, and is at present principal of the Tremont High School. He has been successful in his vocation and is looked upon as one of the leading educators of the county. J. E. Zerbe, of Allentown, formerly of Summit Hill, Schuylkill County, removed to Bloomingdale, near the former place where he bought the White Bear Hotel and a hundred acre farm adjoining it, was a great grandson of Jonathan Zerbe. (The Zerbes of Ohio, most of their ancestors came from Pinegrove Township, Pa., hold their annual reunion at Piqua, Ohio, August 1.) PETER ZERBE, OF NEWTOWN, ZERBE P. 0. Peter Zerbe, the head of the Newtown Zerbes, came to that place in 1828, from Rehersburg, Berks County. He was Married to Elizabeth3 Zerbe, (Jonathan2, Phillip1), about 1814. at Hetzel's; several children were born at Rehersburg and were: Jacob, Joseph, John, Peter, Martin and Henry. Jacob, b. May 26, 1817; wf., Rosina, da. of John Zerbe. They moved to Walnut, Indiana. Children: Elizabeth, Jacob Jr., Peter, George, Emanuel, Rosina and Susan. Peter, son ______________________________________________________________________________ 318 BLUE BOOK OF Genealogical Records ______________________________________________________________________________ of Jacob and grandson of Peter, of Newtown, and wife visited this section, 1914. He is sixty-one years of age, having left Newtown with his parents when thirteen years of age. He and his father's family are prospering in Indiana and other Western States. Joseph, b. July 11, 1819; d. June 2, 1872; unmarried; lived at Newtown. John, b. October 9, 1822; wf., Maria, da. of Michael Zerbe; lived at Newtown. One son, Roseberry Zerbe, b. 1850, d. 1873. Peter, b. November 20, 1820; wf. ___ Green; lived at Newtown; had two sons and several daughters; sons Aaron and Joseph of that place. Martin, b. October 21, 1824; he lived at Blackwood, but for many years kept the leading hotel at Newtown. He has several children living at that place, Martin, Frank and Elizabeth; one dead. Henry, b. January 6, 1827; was killed at a lumber landing, August 20, 1862. His wife was Margaret Kerschner. Henry and Martin together built the hotel. An iron plate, inscribed 1810, which was brought from Rehersburg, was imbedded in the wall. He had one son, Henry. Henry Zerbe (Henry, Peter); wf., Sarah. They had thirteen children born to them, several deceased; Charles, Newtown; Henry Jr., Donaldson; Monroe, Pinegrove; Lloyd, and Franklin, Newtown; Dora, wf. of Wm. Long; Sarah, wf. of Wm. Gauntlett, both of Pottsville; Annie, wf. of Ralph Klinger, Wiconisco, and Mary, at home; Mrs. Sarah Zerbe, wf. of Henry, d. March 20, 1915. Henry Zerbe, or "Harry," as he is better known, is a prominent citizen of Newtown. He was postmaster for a number of years, school director and occupied many positions of trust in his home town. He is now engaged in the grocery business, owns some property and is altogether an all around man of affairs. The town was first called Swatara, its proper name, but a little gathering of houses farther down the creek was known by the same name, then it was named Newtown. One day a U. S. post office representative from the general department called on Postmaster Zerbe and inquired as to the early history of the place. He said, "there ______________________________________________________________________________ SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 319 Of the Zerbeys ______________________________________________________________________________ are several Newtowns in the state, there is always a confusion. We will name the town Zerbe, after Peter Zerbe, the first settler." Harry Jr., one of Harry Zerbe's sons, is engaged in the hotel business at Donaldson. A newspaper item says, "Henry Zerbe is improving the water line to his hotel." Henry3 has a brother Oliver, who lives at Nicetown; his son is a Presbyterian clergyman at Rochester, N. Y. Peter Zerbe, head of the Zerbe P. 0. families (Newtown), son of Peter Zerbe, of Rehersburg, b. May 12, 1781. Peter5 Zerbe, (Peter4, Johannas3 and Margaretta, George2 Peter, Martin1), b. 1801. It will be noted that the Norwegian Township Zerbes are not of the John the miller (Lorentz1) line, although they intermarried several times, making their children, as in the case of Peter who married Elizabeth, a born Zerbe, the issue of the two branches. ZERBE RECORDS, JACOB'S CHURCH John Zerbe, b. September 27, 1781; d. July 17, 1853; is on record at Jacob's church (1780) as having communed there 1799. A John Zerbe was confirmed there 1810. August 18, 1799, Daniel Zerbe and wf., Anna Maria, bap. a daughter, Maria Catharine; sponsors, Leonard Ried and wf., Anna Maria Zerbe. February 20, 1803, George Zerbe and wf., Catharine, bap. a da. Anna Catharine; August 28, 1803, Jacob and Catharine Zerbe bap. a daughter, Salome; and another daughter, Cathrine, April 14, 1805. John Zerbe and wf., Elizabeth, doubtless the former, stood sponsors for Margaret Bressler at baptism. REMINISCENCES OF OLD SETTLER John Zerbe, b. October 9, 1822, at Rehrersburg, Berks County, lived and died in Newtown, Zerbe P. 0., Schuylkill County, January 22, 1905, aged 82 years. He was married to ______________________________________________________________________________ 320 BLUE BOOK OF Genealogical Records ______________________________________________________________________________ Mary, daughter of Michael and Magdalena Zerbe, of Pine Grove Township. The following is a brief abstract of a history of his life as written by himself in his later years and duly signed and witnessed. "My father, Peter Zerbe, of Newtown, after whom Zerbe P. 0. is named, took up a tract of land in Schuylkill County, and in 1826-'27, during the summer, with his two eldest sons, Jacob and Peter Jr., came over to make improvements on the place. On September 28th, 1828, we removed from Rehersburg, Berks County, to our new home. I was then six years old and remember well the two four-horse teams that brought us and our belongings to Schuylkill County. The teams belonged to my father's brother, Jacob, and to his cousin, John Zerbe. "We started at sunrise and reached Pine Grove at noon, where they fed the horses and we had dinner. Three miles further we reached Umbenhauer's tavern, the only house in seven miles, when we came to my grandfather, Michael Zerbe's house (my mother's father), where our parents left me and my smaller brothers, Martin and Henry, while they journeyed on. (This place is now Ellis Minnig's Hotel, Tremont). The next morning my grandmother's maid, Luda Lengel, brought us three little boys four miles east into Norwegian Township, and during that trip we saw only one small shanty, this was a half mile from our place. My father had a house ready for us, but we put in a hard winter. We had no near neighbors, we saw no people for weeks and even months. We were without school, lodge or church, and shoes and proper clothing were hard to obtain and our house was insufficient to protect us from the severe weather. My father worked hard, at making shingles, in Painter's Swamp, to support his family and while working here dislocated his shoulder and was laid up for weeks through the accident. "He could not work and as soon as he was able he went ______________________________________________________________________________ SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 321 Of the Zerbeys ______________________________________________________________________________ to Berks County for assistance. His relatives came and brought flour, potatoes and other necessaries; meat we did not need as my brothers could always get rabbits, venison and other game, but my mother told our friends she was afraid we would have to move back to Berks County in the Spring. My father got better and when the weather opened, my father's cousin, John Zerbe, came again and brought him a plow, two horses, harness and some feed for them, and supplies for us. That summer we got on our feet and it went better. We cleared fifteen acres and planted it all in oats, corn, wheat and rye and potatoes we had in plenty. We worked hard but prospered, as all honest men can do that have the will. "In a distance of thirteen miles, east, west, north and south, of Llewellyn, to the gap of the Second Mountain and ten miles north and south and two miles east of Pencal Ridge, there were living among the earliest inhabitants, Peter Starr, Michael Zerbe, the Clousers, Flibs, Zimmermans, Hafers, Bretzs, Confairs, Longs, Geberts, J. Zerbe, Housemans, Adams, Werners and Stitsels.These were all settled on the road that leads to Pine Grove, from Llewellyn. Our nearest neighbor was Mrs. John Adams, great grandmother of John Sterner, who now lives on the place, and Umbenhauer's tavern was farther on. These were all the inhabitants when we came here in 1828. -- John Zerbe." (Seal) TALE OF A CATAMOUNT Mrs. Ellen Zerbe, wf. of Charles Gable, d., eighty-three years old, and grandmother of Oscar Geist, of Gordon, relates the following among many other interesting tales: "We lived in the Blue Mountain Hollow, in Pinegrove Township. My father was Jonathan Zerbe, who reached the age Of 97 years and had eight children (referred to elsewhere). ______________________________________________________________________________ 322 BLUE BOOK OF Genealogical Records ______________________________________________________________________________ "Wild animals were plentiful in the country around where we lived, and the children were not allowed to roam about in the woods. One night, when my father was away from home, after we had gone to bed we heard the most bloodcurdling screams outside, like a woman crying for help and other frightful yells. The boys were for going out and seeing what the noise was about, but were not allowed to, and the smaller children covered their heads with the bed quilts and coverlets. "In the morning we found the remains of a large deer, his horns in his effort to escape a catamount and perhaps a pack of wolves, bad caught in between the bars of our rail fence, he could not get away and he was thus devoured, only parts of his frame and carcass remaining. The cries of a catamount very much resemble those of a woman or child in distress. My father saved the horns and nailed them up in our barn." (Mrs. Ellen Gable, the above, fell upon the icy porch at the home of her son, Henry Gable, Hegins, February 7, 1915, and fractured her hip. She is 88 years old at this writing.) INDIAN STORY OF JOHN ZERBE John Zerbe, son of Phillip1 by his first wife, came to Pinegrove Township early and took a tract of land and cleared it. This land was afterward taken up by his stepbrother, Jonathan Zerbe (Phillip1) and part of it now belongs to the Jacob Ulmer estate, Pottsville, and is known as Ulmer's farm. A thrilling experience is related of this man with the Indians. After building his log house and planting his field in corn, the Indians from the Swatara Valley, who visited him frequently to beg, borrow and steal, came and made some demands upon him, which he refused. This angered them and they determined to have revenge. ______________________________________________________________________________ SCHUYLKILL COUNTY 323 Of the Zerbeys ______________________________________________________________________________ One night he heard a cow bell in the corn field which signified that one of his cows was in the corn. Suspecting that all was not right he took a pail ostensibly to go to the spring for water, the path to which lay through the corn field. He carried his old flintlock musket behind his back and when nearing the sound of the cow bell, threw down the pail, took aim and fired, killing instantly a full blooded Indian. He went to the spring but there were no other Indians in sight. He scooped out a grave in the cornfield and buried the red man near where he fell. That grave can still be seen on the Ulmer farm and also a mound of chips near the spring where the Indians congregated and sat whittling their bows and arrows. One day John Zerbe and a man named Nagle, father-in-law of Assumas Boyer, went out to hunt. On their return John Zerbe found his wife and children murdered. The massacre was too horrible to relate. One of the girls was terribly mutilated but still living and suffering dreadfully. The half-crazed father seeing she could not live, himself put an end to her misery by completing the work of the Indians and dispatching her. Overcome with grief, remorse and sorrow at the death of his loved ones, he abandoned everything and returned to Rehersburg, Berks County. Jonathan Zerbe afterward settled upon the same tract of land. CENTRE COUNTY ZERBES There are two different branches of Zerbes in Centre County. One descended from Martin1 Zerbe and the other from Lorentz1, brothers, (1710). Phillip Zerbe, of the latter line, came to Centre County about 1800. He was born in the Blue Mountain Hollow, Pinegrove Township, Berks County, and married Barbara,