Chair Bags 2019

     There doesn’t seem to be very many opportunities to do things for my children anymore.  They are very independent adults.  But I do get to sew chair bags for my daughters kindergarten classroom every few years.  I think the last set I made lasted five years. This year was a chair bag project year.  The hardest part for me any more is getting them cut out.  The amount of fabric purchased is very large so it requires getting up and down off the floor multiple times.  I am not getting any younger.  Therefore I drove the four hours to my daughters on an early April weekend and we tackled cutting them out.   

     After the pieces were all cut out and we had experienced an enjoyable pajama party weekend,  I headed home and the next step was to serge all the edges.  It always is a struggle for me to thread my serger and I wasn’t able to get the tension quite right. But I knocked them out and had them all serged a few weeks later. 

The next step was to assemble the pencil pouches and attach them to the rectangles. 

After attaching the pencil pouches the sides were sewn and the chair bags were finished.  

In the classroom, kindergartner's do not have desks.  They have tables.  The chair bags hold folders and supplies so that precious learning time is not wasted waiting in line at cupboards getting what is needed for the next lesson.  

      I am not sure if these chair bags will last five years like the last set did.  But we have added a new project.  Using scrap fabric from all the years I have made chair bags, I am now working on book caddies.  They will be taken back and forth from home inside the child's back pack with reading assignments inside them.  This will be helpful because lunch boxes and every thing else gets shoved into back packs.  Since the book caddies will be leaving the classroom and going into homes, there will need to be a new set each year.  This will give me an annual  winter time project if they turn out to be helpful.

The Vengeance of Mothers by Jim Fergus

The Vengeance of Mothers

by

Jim Fergus

     This is the third novel by Jim Fergus I have listened to on audio.  The first one I listened to by this author I liked so well I have listened to it three times.  The name of it is "1000 White Women".  The novel I just finished, "The Vengeance of Mothers", is a sequel to "1000 White Women" and again,  I enjoyed it very much.  It picks up the story where the other one ended, the massacre of a Native American village in the late 1800s and covers several months that follow.  A handful of new white women come west by mistake with the debunked "brides for Indians" program and the adventures continue.   These two books are just fun reads.  They are not realistic novels in some ways but are historically accurate in other areas.   I have also read Jim Fergus' novel called "The Wild Girl" and found it too very enjoyable.  If you don't read this author's works you are missing out.  Please click on the book title and author's name above to learn more and enjoy the video that follows.  The video is the first few minutes of the book being read aloud.  

My Christmas In July

   

     In the 1990’s I had a large herb garden in which I grew aromatic herbs.  I would harvest them all summer and in the fall, after adding essential oils, I would turn the jars every day and make potpourri.  So my interest in essential oils and learning about plants goes way back .  So those who know me should not find it surprising that the last couple years I have been buying a essential oil product here and there from a Young Living member.  Lately I have been considering becoming a Wholesale Member/personal user.  Since I regularly use their Thieves hand sanitizer and Lavender Vitality meeting the $50 a year obligation will not be a problem. I may well decide to use more items as time goes on and participate in a more in depth way.  But for now I have a lot of material to read and much to learn.
     Today my Welcome Kit arrived so I feel  like I  gave myself a Christmas Present in July.

     To learn more about lavender click HERE.  To see what I use from Young Living as Lavender click HERE.  To read about Thieves click HERE. 

     I am excited about getting into learning about the oils and their uses.  I am looking forward to the membership prices at the personal use level. 

Year Of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

Year Of Wonders

by

Geraldine Brooks

     About four months ago I read my first book by Geraldine Brooks.  This pm I finished my second.  I really enjoyed both books and will read more of her work.  The first book review can be found HERE.  But this post is about the second book I read by this author and it is entitled Year  Of Wonders.  This novel is historical fiction.  It is the story of a town that was stuck by plague in 1665 in England and  the experiences of a woman named Ann as the year of contagion progressed.  I highly recommend this book.  I enjoyed it very much.  I had trouble putting it down.  I did not begin to guess what would happen next as  the story unfolded and was often on the edge of my seat.   Please click on the author's name and book title above to follow the links and  learn more.  And enjoy the video that follows which describes the true story the novel is based on.  If you don't read this book you will be missing out.  

Genealogical Proof Statement: The Two Martin Rohrers

     This is the fourth and final proof statement that Shively and I have co-authored to date.  It is my hope that we continue to make progress and have the need to write more.  In this paper we differentiate between the two Martin Rohrer's that were living in Western Maryland in the late 1700s.

Differentiating Between the Martin Rohrer’s of Washington County, Maryland. 

     The early Rohrer families of Washington County, Maryland have many given names that are used over and over in the same and subsequent generations, making differentiation a challenge to the researcher.  Common given names in the families for males were Frederick, Samuel, Jacob, and John.  One name that is not used as often but very often confused by researchers is Martin.  

     The two Martin’s addressed in this paper lived in Washington County, Maryland in the latter 1700s.  One was born in Germany in 1738 and purchased land in Washington County, Maryland in 1765.  He can be found in numerous land records as he purchased a lot of land in the area.  He attended the German Reformed Church and married Christina Myers.  The couple had seven children — all daughters.  It is believed that this Martin was the son of Frederick Rohrer.  He died in 1806.  Martin the immigrant is often confused with another Martin who was in the area at the same time.  

     This second Martin was born in 1751 in Lampeter Twp., Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.   A death date has not been found for this second Martin but is believed to be about 1783-1786 which makes for further confusion.  The younger Martin inherited land in Washington County, Maryland from his father John as stated in John’s will filed in Pennsylvania (1771).  

     The land the younger Martin inherited was called “Piney Hill”.  In the 1783, Washington County,  Maryland Tax Assessment  (Washington County - Maryland State Archives MARYLAND INDEXES (Assessment of 1783, Index) 1783 MSA S 1437) there is listed: Martin Rorer. Brothers Request, 481 acres. WA Upper Antietam and Jerusalem (p. 60 MSA S1161-10-9 1/4/5/53)  and Martin Rorer. Piney Hill, 300 acres, WA Lower Antietam and Sharpsburg (p. 36. MSA S1161-11-1. 1/4/5/54.)  This record clearly differentiates between the two Martins by the location of their land. The first Martin listed is Martin the Immigrant and the second Martin is the younger Martin.  

Mary Rohrer Dexter

Shirley Boyd

September 2018

Genealogical Proof Statement: The First Husband Of Mary Garver Rorer Smutz

     In my prior two blogs I discussed the father of first, Jacob Isaac Rohrer and second, Captain John M Rohrer and why I believe they are brothers, contrary to the common information on the online trees today.   In this paper,  my friend and research colleague, Shirley and I explain why we think Mary Garver/Carver is the mother of Jacob Isaac and Captain John M.  

The First Husband of Mary Garver Rorer Smutz

        Researchers of both the Smutz and Rohrer lines have been searching to place the Mary Rorer who married Abraham Smutz in 1784 in the correct Rohrer family.  It is the purpose of this paper to explain the most likely explanation of who Mary was.  

     On page 534 of the text, Maryland records, colonial, revolutionary, county and church: from original sources by Brumbaugh, Gaius Marcus, publication date 1915,  the tenth line from the top states:  “Smortz, Abraham and Mary Rorer, July 1, 1784”.  The heading several prior pages (p. 529) from this list of names reads:  “Marriages by Rev George Young, August 15, 1777 - December 27, 1785”.   If one looks further, a January of 1799,  guardianship court hearing for the children of Christian Carver recently deceased (sometimes in the records listed as Carver and sometimes as Garver but differentiating between a C or a G is difficult in the records) named the adult children of Christian who are listed as having appeared at the guardianship hearing.  Included in this list is Abraham Smutz and Mary his wife. From this it can be concluded that Mary’s maiden name was Carver/Garver, and she was married prior to marrying Smutz to  someone named Rorer.  To reinforce this, Maryland record Liber O, folio 183 - 186 on February 20, 1802, clarifies ownership of the Christian Carver/Garver land, Mary again, is listed with her husband Abraham Smutz.   As a result her maiden name of Garver/Carver is reinforced in two records.   

     But which Rohrer was Mary’s first husband?  A marriage record for her to a man named Rohrer has not been found.  But a good clue has been located in another guardianship record.  On August 8, 1786, John Rohrer of Martin guardianship is turned over to Yost Gardiner and John Huffer.  See Maryland Genealogical Sources, Series - Guardianships 1786 - 1834 Washington County, Maryland - Volume MD21-4 by Marilee Beatty Hageness (2001) page 83.  If one returns to the records noted in the paragraph above regarding Christian Carver/Garver,  it will be discovered that Yost Gardiner is married to Mary’s sister Nancy.  This clue draws a connection between Mary and Martin Rohrer born 1751 in Lampeter Twp., Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, who was the father of John M. Rohrer  (not to be confused with Martin Rohrer born1738 in Germany).   

     Another piece of indirect evidence that Mary is Martin Rohrer’s widow is the 1803 tax list for Washington County, Maryland which lists Abraham Smutz as paying taxes on 100 acres of “Penny Hill” and John Rohor (sic) of Martin as paying taxes on 90 acres of “Penny Hill”.  Martin Rohrer inherited 320 acres of land called “Piney Hill Enlarged” in Washington County Maryland from his father John Rohrer who died in 1771 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  

     A third and less substantial piece of indirect evidence is the 1790 census for Abraham Smutz in Washington County, Maryland.  It lists three white males under age sixteen as living in the household along with one white male over sixteen and four white females.  In 1790 Abraham and Mary had been married six years.  Since Mary was married before, several of those children could come from her marriage to Martin Rohrer.  We have proven that Martin is the father of John M. Rohrer and Jacob Isaac Rohrer. (In 1790 John was 12 and Jacob 10)  There could have also been a daughter from that union.  It should be noted six children are listed on an online tree for Abraham and Mary but four of them were born before Mary and Abraham were married.  So perhaps Abraham was a widower with prior children.  The census records before 1850 make it challenging to determine exactly who was in any given household.  

     A final clue is a DNA match between a descendant of Martin Rohrer and a descendant of Abraham Smutz, where the common denominator could well have been Mary.  But that many generations back in the PA Dutch lines that are so closely intertwined there could be a different unknown connection between the two descendants.  Until another connection is found though this remains a substantial clue in deciding who Mary was married to prior to Abraham.  

     Further research in this area needs to be completed.  A marriage record for Mary’s first marriage,  a baptismal record that lists Mary with her first husband, a land record that lists them together, or a will that lists them both would be the type of direct evidence that would clear up the questions.  One problem is not having a death date for Martin Rohrer.  To find the records surrounding his death would likely include the name of his widow.  An explanation of the guardianship hearing for John Rohrer of Martin taking place two years after Mary’s marriage to Smutz needs to be discovered.  So our search continues.  

     But at this time it is our conclusion, based on indirect evidence,  that Martin Rohrer was the first husband of Mary Garver.  

Mary Rohrer

Shirley Boyd

September 2018

Genealogical Proof Statement: The Father of Captain John M Rohrer

     As I explained in my previous post, after watching Cyndi from Cyndi's List present a webinar on how to correct some of the misinformation that is abundant on online trees, I decided to post some of the proof statements that I have written in conjunction with a friend that I do research with on a regular basis.  We work together on our Rohrer line.  The one I have chosen to share in this post is about an individual that most of the trees in our opinion have incorrect.  Our proof statement explains why we think that John M Rohrer and Jacob Isaac Rohrer are brothers.  

    

The Father of Captain John M. Rohrer

     The early Rohrer lines in Pennsylvania and Maryland are confusing to sort out.  Given names are repeated in both the same generation and all the generations that follow.  Spellings of the surname are bastardized to Rorer, Rehrer, Rhorer and other variations.  The time period from the early 1700s to the mid 1800s are a tangled web to try and sort out who goes with which family group.  Therefore it is not surprising that some of the key players in the Rohrer family have been placed in different families of origin among the online trees.  Even excellent researchers disagree on important relationships throughout these early Rohrer families.  The purpose of this paper is not to criticize those that disagree but instead to clarify why we have reached the conclusions that we have as far as who was the father of Captain John M. Rohrer (1778-1850).  

     We believe Martin Rohrer (1751-1785?) was Captain John M. Rohrer’s and Jacob Isaac Rohrer's father.  What follows are reasons why we have come to that conclusion.  

      There is a deed in the Maryland land records, Liber P,  dated April 28, 1806, that names “John of Martin” on page 615, and on page 616, John’s wife is named as Elizabeth.  Captain John M. Rohrer married Elizabeth Keplinger in 1800. This land record is about Piney Hill, which was the land that Martin Rohrer inherited from his father John Rohrer (1696-1771) of Lampeter, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  The fact that John of Martin and his wife Elizabeth were selling off part of Piney Hill off to Casper Snavaley places John of Martin as an heir of Martin Rohrer. 

      In addition, the book, A History of Washington County Maryland by Thomas J. C. Williams, Volume 2, page 963 explains that John M. Rohrer’s daughter, Harriet E. Rohrer, married Frederick Rohrer and that they were not related.  According to the book, the Frederick she married was a descendant of Frederick Rohrer (1742-1823).  This is the Frederick that some researchers have named as the father of John M. Rohrer.  Frederick Rohrer (1742-1823) did have a son named John.  This son was not named in Frederick’s will, written in May, 1823, because his son John, died 6/21/1791.  In fact,  at the time of his death, a local newspaper “The Washington Spy”  announced John’s demise and named his father as Frederick.  It went on to say that John was 18 which places his birth in 1773.   Captain John M. Rohrer was born in 1778  and died in 1850 so he would have most likely been named in Frederick’s will had he been his son.  John M.’s brother Jacob Isaac (1780-1850) also was still living when Frederick wrote his will and was not named.  Frederick had a son named Jacob (1770-1818).   The Washington Spy newspaper reported - October 19, 1791 “Frederick Rohrer, Hagerstown to leave these parts for a few months,  requests persons to settle accounts with his son, Jacob."  Jacob Isaac (1780-1850) would have been only ten and too young for legal work.  Frederick’s son Jacob (1770-1818) would have been  21 in 1791.

     Another fact that distances Frederick Rohrer (1742-1823) from being Captain John M. Rohrer’s father is location.  In 1766 Frederick married Catherine Deamer in York County, PA, ( just over the Maryland state border) and then settled in the  Hagerstown, MD, area where he raised his family.  However, he moved back and forth between Maryland and western Pennsylvania numerous times. He lived in Western Pennsylvania  1766-1771 but returned to Hagerstown (Elizabethtown) when he could no longer live with the warring Indians.  Hagerstown was his home until 1793, at which time,  he moved permanently to Greensburg, PA.   Piney Hill, the land that Captain John M. Rohrer inherited,  is located in Lower Antienam, Washington County, Maryland, which places Captain John M. (1778-1850) and Frederick (1742-1823)  at opposite ends of the part of Washington County that would later become Frederick County.    

     

~ Mary Rohrer Dexter

   Shirley Boyd

  September 2018

Genealogical Proof Statement: The Father Of Jacob Isaac Rohrer

   

Yesterday  afternoon as I was getting ready for work and then during my commute to work I listened to a free webinar by Cyndi Ingle about solving the issue the genealogical community has with incorrect online trees.  This webinar is free for six more days and can be found HERE.  It is well worth the listen!  One of the things she suggests is to write proofs on our conclusions and put them on our blogs.  I have a few proofs that a friend and I have worked on and written together.  Her and I have discussed ways to get the word out on our progress and I am not sure why I never thought to add my blog to the places I posted them.   I have them in the memory area at family search and have sent them to historical societies and libraries to be placed in vertical files.  Now I will post them one a time here, every few days till I get them all up.

The Father Of Jacob Isaac Rohrer

It has been a long search but we believe that Martin Rohrer (1751-after 1783), the son of John Rohrer (1695-1771), of Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is the father of Jacob Isaac Rohrer.  

Our theory is based on the land records of “Piney Hills” as found in the Maryland Archives.  Sometimes is referred to as “Penny Hills”.   It should be noted that Piney Hills border edge matched Samuel Rohrer’s land borders.  Samuel was Magdelene’s grandfather.  John of Lampeter’s purchase was made six months after Samuels.  

On 3/7/1763 John of Lampeter, Lancaster, Pennsylvania bought “Piney Hills” from John Swearingen.  The record of this purchase can be found in the Frederick County, Maryland land records Liber H – p. 314 as follows:  16 Mar 1763 Between John Rorer farmer of Lancaster County PA and John Swearningen farmer of Frederick County, MD, 350 PA money paid by John Rorer “Piney Hills Enlarged” being of the Elk Ridge Mountains and on the Draught of waters of the Little Antietam in the County of Frederick, 320 acres.  Catherine wife of John Swearingen.  John Rorer paid an alienation fine.  

John of Lampeter, Lancaster, PA left “Piney Hills” to his son, Martin, in his will which was written 12/1/1768 and proved 12/7/1771 in Lancaster County PA.  

When Martin Rohrer (1751-after 1783) died, his son John M Rohrer inherited “Piney Hills”. Martin Rohrer paid the taxes for Piney Hill in 1783.   In 1792, there are land transactions that involved the land that had been John of Lampeter in Lancaster County Pennsylvania involving John’s son Jacob and the other children of John of Lampeter.   These are in the 21397 Lancaster Co PA Deed Book 1790-1792 NN1791-93, NN-353-59 20 Mar 1789, NN-573-577-23 Mar 1789 and NN-573-578 3 Mar 1792.  Martin’s name being included in these records seem to indicate Martin was still alive in 1792 but no record of him has been found in Washington County Maryland after the 1783 taxes record, and Abraham Smutz and John M Rohrer paid taxes for portions Piney Hills in 1803 – 1804.

John M Rohrer sold 56 ¾ acres of “Piney Hills” to Jacob Rohrer in 1810 for 527 pounds 10 shillings.  The record of this can be found in the Maryland Archives for Frederick County land records Liber W p 366-368.  The purchase was made 10/10/1810 and recorded 12/24/1810

Jacob Isaac Rohrer married Magdalene Rohrer in 1811 in Washington County, MD. 

Then in 8/25/1817 in the Frederick County Maryland land records Liber CC 323-325, a clarification is recorded about “Piney Hills”.  The deed of 1810 left out a piece of the land.  And at this time the land is sold by Jacob Rohrer and John M. Rohrer to Frederick Rohrer for $4,420 US money.   This land record states that Magdalene Rohrer, wife of Jacob Rohrer and Elizabeth Rohrer, wife of John M. Rohrer agree to the sale.  At the time frame of the 1817 sale, the only living Jacob Rohrer with a wife named Magdalene was our Jacob Isaac Rohrer.  

On 8/25/1817, Jacob purchased land in Holmes County, Ohio from his brother Frederick Rohrer for $1400.  This sale can be found in Vol II transcripts Holmes Co., Millersburg, Ohio Probate Court p 46-47. (It was recorded 11/20/1817.)  The dates of this purchase following his sale of the land in Maryland explains where he got the money to purchase his farm in Holmes County Ohio. 

In addition to the land records we also took into consideration that Jacob Isaac Rohrer named his first son Martin which could have been conceivably after Jacob Isaac’s father who died at the age of 35.  

While we continue to study and search for confirmation in early census records, administration records, estate records, land records, wills, marriage records and church records, it is our belief that we have found the father of Jacob Isaac Rohrer.   In regards to the identity of Jacob Isaac’s mother – we have theories but the search continues for confirmation of these ideas.  We hope that by obtaining some original records, as opposed to transcriptions of records, we will be able to clarify some details of who Jacob Isaac’s mother might be.  

It should also be noted that, in early Rohrer records, just like there are many Jacobs, Fredericks, Johns, and Samuels, there are many Martins.  Early Rohrer records repeat given names in different generations along with the same given name being in different lines in the same generation, sometimes in the same family unit.  Various Rohrers married women with the same given name and various Rohrers married women with the same surname.  Therefore, it is not surprising that several publications confuse the Martins.   We would like to clarify that there is another Martin (1767-1845) who is the son of Samuel Rohrer (1728-1788).  This Samuel was our Magdalene’s grandfather and this Martin (1767-1845) was the brother of John Rohrer, Magdalene’s father.  It was this Martin who went with Capt. Lewis into Indian County. His identity can be verified with his military record, his marriage record, a land record, and his will, the latter two recorded in Muskingum County, Ohio.   Another Martin who is frequently confused with the Martin who is the son of John of Lampter is John’s younger half-brother.  This Martin had all daughters.   Documentation can be provided to differentiate these Martin’s from the Martin who is Jacob Isaac’s father upon request.  

Shirley Boyd and Mary Rohrer Dexter (November 2017)