BIOS: Jeremiah BERKEY, Stoystown, Somerset County, PA

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History of Bedford and Somerset Counties, Pennsylvania.  Bedford County by E. 
Howard Blackburn; Somerset County by William H. Welfley; v.3, Pub. The Lewis 
Publishing Company, New York/Chicago 1906, ppg. 282-284

Jeremiah BERKEY.

The ancestors of Jeremiah Berkey, of Stoystown, were among the first settlers of 
Somerset county.  The first generation came from Germany, probably before the 
revolution.  Jacob Berkey, grandfather of Jeremiah Berkey, was born in 1792, in 
Conemaugh township, where he led the life of a farmer.
The Berkey homestead is a tract which was originally designated as "the 
Vineyard" in the deeds and transfers dating back as far as 1780.  The order for 
the application of survey found in the purchase application book in the 
surveyor-general's office in the state of Pennsylvania, was entered April 7, 
1769, and the land was surveyed in September, 1776, for Thomas Mitchell.  The 
original tract included two hundred and eighty-four acres, ninety-two perches. 
On March 20, 1780, Thomas Mitchell conveyed the land by deed to John Vanderen, 
of Philadelphia, who, unable to pay his indebtedness, conveyed the property 
March 7, 1782, to John Hazelwood, Edmund Milne, Samuel Garrigues and Josiah 
Hawes, as assignees.  The next transfer was made June 28, 1805, to Edmund Milne, 
a merchant of Philadelphia, for the sum of one dollar in silver money of the 
State of Pennsylvania, and for other good and valuable considerations.  A deed 
dated August 1, 1805, shows that "the Vineyard" was sold at public sale to John 
Clarkson, of Philadelphia, and on the following day was repurchased by Edmund 
Milne.  The farm, at this period, was described as in Quemahoning township, 
Bedford county.
Ten years later, March 16, 1815, Edmund Milne conveyed the tract to General 
Alexander Ogle, of Somerset county, who, on April 26, 1822, sold it to Frederick 
Smith, Joseph Smith and Frederick Smith, junior.  The joint owners, being unable 
to meet their obligations, the farm was sold, June 6, 1827, by George Meese, 
high sheriff of Somerset county, to Charles Ogle, an attorney, and son of 
General Ogle, the previous owner.
Jacob Lohr, of Quemahoning township, purchased the farm from Charles Ogle March 
31, 1829, and on April 2, 1832, sold it to William Sadoris and Jacob Berkey, the 
latter mentioned above, grandfather of Jeremiah Berkey.  Jacob Berkey purchased 
his partner's interest and in his last will and testament, made August 31, 1837, 
gave the farm to his son, William Berkey.  The last transfer was made April 2 
1880, when William Berkey sold the farm to his son, Jeremiah Berkey, who is its 
present owner.
Jacob Berkey married Elizabeth Sadoris, who bore him the following children: 
Daniel, William, of whom later; Jonathan, deceased; Jacob S., Oliver, deceased; 
Henry S., Susan, Mary, and Louisa.  Daniel, William, Oliver and Henry S. served 
in the civil war, Oliver dying in the service.  Oliver, who served two terms of 
enlistment, was taken prisoner and for two months was confined in Libby prison.  
Jacob Berkey, the father, died in 1872, in Quemahoning township.
William Berkey, son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Sadoris) Berkey, was born August 4, 
1823, in Conemaugh township, and in 1883 took up his abode in Stoystown.  He is 
a Republican in politics.  He married Caroline, born in 1827, in Quemahoning 
township, daughter of Jacob Maurer, and their children were: Albert, Herman W., 
Jeremiah, of whom later; Jacob M., Catharine E., Amanda, Minerva, Adella C., 
Mary E., deceased; Noah, Bertha, Anna, and William.
Jeremiah Berkey, son of William and Caroline (Maurer) Berkey, was born December 
6, 1852, on the Berkey homestead, and received his education in the common 
schools of Quemahoning township.  After leaving school he spent a short time in 
teaching, and then turned his attendion to farming, a calling which he has 
followed continuously ever since, cultivating the homestead acres, of which he 
has been the owner for more than a quarter of a century.  Politically he is a 
Republican.
Mr. Berkey married, April 11, 1878, Anna C., born April 8, 1856, in Berlin, 
daughter of John Fisher, a native of Germany, and they were the parents of three 
children: Harvey G., born March 11, 1880; William A., August 10, 1882; and 
Carrie G., May 30, 1886.  The mother of these children died January 1, 1888, and 
in 1892 Mr. Berkey married Mary E. (Bowman), widow of Harvey Engle, and daughter 
of Jacob and Mary A. (Weimer) Bowman, the former a carpenter of Elk Lick.  Mr. 
and Mrs. Bowman were the parents of three children: Mandfield Ross, Jessie B., 
and Mary E., wife of Jeremiah Berkey.  Mr. Bowman died in 1903.  By her first 
marriage Mrs. Berkey was the mother of one son, Harvey Clifford Engle, who lives 
with his mother and step-father on the Berkey homestead.  Mr. Berkey's second, 
William A. Berkey, graduated in 1902 from the Indiana State Normal School, 
afterward taught in the public schools of Johnstown and Indiana county and is 
now a student at Gettysburg College.