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
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