***BURIED UNKNOWN***POLLY ANN,DAD JACOB SOWDER BORN 1734 PA. D.MAY 1819 IN MONTGOMERY,CO.VA. WIFE ELIZABETH---------BORN 1738 FRADERICK,MAYLAND. D 18 JUN 1788 VA.****Will of Jacob Sowder
(c. 1734-1819)
In the Name of God ____ Amen I Jacob Sowder of Montgomery County and state of Virginia Do hereby Make my last will and testament In the manner and form Following that is to say --- -----------
1st I Desire all my just Debts to be paid
2dly after all my Debts and funeral Expences are paid I give and Bequeath to my wife Anna Sowder all my Estate Both Real personal duren her Natural Life if She Remains a widow and if She marries again after My Death My will is that she shall only have the Third part of my Estate During her natural life and then to be Divided among my Chidren hereafter Directed
3rdly I give to son Adam Sowder one dollar
4thly I give to my son Jacob Sowder one Dollar
5thly I give to my son Christian Sowder one Dollar
6thly I give to my Daughter Polly Deweese one dollar
7thly I give to my Daughter Berbary Beckett one dollar
8thly I give to my son Micheal Sowder fifty Dollars after my wife's death or marie again
9thly I give to my Daughter Betsy Bond to have ten pounds cash after my Wife's death or marriage again
10thly I give to my son Anthony Sowder one Dollar
11thly I give to my son Daniel Sowder, two hundred Dollars
12thly I give to my Daughter Sally Poff one Dollar
13thly I give to my Daughter Anna Terry one Dollar
14thly I give to my Daughter Caty Sowder one Dollar
15thly I give to my Daughter Cina Sowder one Hundred Dollars
16thly I give to my son John Sowder two Hundred Dollars
17thly I give to my Daughter Rebeckah Sowder one Hundred Dollars
18thly I give to my Son Joseph Sowder two hundred Dollars
For them to Have and to Hold them their Heirs forever and my will is that my Executors shall make a Right to my Land sold ___ or is to sell one hundred acres to ___ and all or any Land or Lands is sold or is to sell it is my will that my Executors may make a right to said land or lands if it lawful And my will is that if any money or property left after my wife's death That it shall be divided amongst all my Children and I do appoint my wife Anna and my son Michael Sowder to be my Executors and I do hereby Disannul all and Every will or wills gifts ___ of ____ Date ___ this
my Last will and testament and I do revoke all other wills and testaments and By me any other them This only to stand forever In witness whereof I do here by set my hand and seal this 25th day of November one hundred eight hundred and eighteen
His
Jacob Sowder
mark
Signed sealed and delivered
In presents of us
___ Daniel Sowder (his mark)
Anthony Sowder
Henry Shekey (?).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------...Jim Souder of Moutain Grove, MO, wrote that "the earliest known record of a Sauter/Sowder family in America is a land deed dated 16 May 1719, in which Jacob Sauter purchased 300 acres of land from Hans Graff and his wife, Susanna, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania." (Hans Graff was a Swiss Anabaptist who started a settlement in PA about 1712.) "The will of Jacob Sowder, dated 8 March 1733, was written in German. It makes mention of his wife, Anna, and his two daughters, Mary Sowder, wife of John Sowder, and Susanna Martin." Lancaster County Deeds (Bk. B, p. 583) show that Susanna Martin, daughter of Jacob Sowder, of Lampeter Township, sold 300 acres of land granted to her father by Hans Graff to John Roser of Lampeter Township on 26 March 1740. This Jacob Sowder is believed to have deceased in 1736. He may be our ancestor. Ann Groff Sowder (born c. 1690) is said to have lived one hundred five years until 1795.
(See also the Gruner Project and the Enderlein Project. These concern my paternal Great Granparents and their ancestors/decendants.) (My family tree at Geni.com is now as complete as I can make it, stretching back into the 1600's for both Gruner and Souders branches.)
A 1945 version of the Souder story comes from Stanley Souders (Mother's cousin). It is reproduced verbatim, except for some punctuation for clarity, but I added numbers for reference and a few italicized parenthetical comments. At first blush, this account seems authentic and detailed, but closer examination produces questions and casts doubt on its accuracy. Much of what Stanley has to say about Christian Souder may well be true, but the timing is off and it does not appear to be relevant. I think it's the wrong Christian Souder, but perhaps a relative still. "Christian Souder emigrated to America in the ship Harle of London, Ralph Harle, Master, from Rotterdam, last of Cowes, and landed at Philadelphia, PA on September 1, 1738. The ship carried 156 men, 65 women, and 167 boys and girls, 388 in all. Christian purchased a farm in New Britain township, Becks (Bucks?) County, PA from John James in 1744, and sold the same to Henry Wireman in 1747, when he moved to Franconia Township, Montgomery (then Philadelphia) County, PA. There he had purchased a farm from Michael Hentz on December 1, 1746. This was the farm now (1945) owned and occupied by Paul K. Fisher, near the Indianfield Lutheran Church. In 1755, Christian purchased the farm now owned by Preston A. Souder, near the Indian Creek Reformed Church, known as "Pioneer Farm." Here he resided until his death. He was naturalized on 25 September 1747, and he died in 1774. His wife's name was Margaret. They are buried in unmarked graves, probably at Franconia Mennonite cemetery. Their ages are not known. They had six sons; no record of daughters has been found. All Six sons served in the American Army during the Revolutionary War, also had three daughters. Children of Christian Souder and wife Margaret: 1. Jacob Souder, married Barbara Funk born 1752, lived on homestead in Franconia Twp. They had eight children: Christian, Susan, John, Anna, Barbara, Marie, Elizabeth and Catherine. 2. CHRISTIAN SOUDER: died in 1822, married Mary Oberholzer. She preceded him in death. They are buried in unmarked graves, probably at the Franconia Mennonite Cemetery. They lived on the Edwin J Moyer farm on East Chestnut Street, Souderton, PA. They had five Children. a. CHRISTIAN SOUDER, born May 6 1808 b. Abraham Souder married Hester Brenner, lived in Franconia Twp. Children: Christian, Elizabeth, Abraham, Barbara, John c. Catherine Souder married Christian Hunsberger d. Magdalena Souder married Abraham Yeakel, 1777- ?. Children: John, Elizabeth, Abraham, Jacob, Anna, Mary, Kate, Christian, Henry, Lena e. Susanna Souder married Jacob Yeakel, 1771-1847. Children: Anna, Mary, Elizabeth, Magdalen 3. Abraham Souder married Catherine Freed, lived in Rockhill Twp. Among their children were: Susanna, Mary, Catherine. 4. Isaac Souder, 1736-1805, married Maria Groff, lived in Franconia Twp. They had only one child, Elizabeth, who married Joseph Freed. 5. John Souder married Mary Brenner, lived in Germantown. 6. Henry Souder, died 1830, married Ann Clemner, lived in Franconia Twp. Among their children were John, Mary, Ann, and Susanna. 7. Susanna Souder married Abraham Sonantz. 8. Barbara Souder, 1745-1835, died unmarried. 9. Catherine Souder, died 1787, married John Moyer (1756-1814). Children: Margaret, Henry, Maria, Barbara, and Catherine. There's a handwritten note at the bottom of the page (probably from one of mother's siblings) that reads "1st page of Stanley Souder's book on Souders History. We evidently are related to the first Christian Souders. He would be our Great-Great-Great-Great maybe huh!" Whatever that meant (Was it serious or sarcastic?); I can't make the connection positively between these folks in Pennsylvania and what we know of the family antecedents as factual at locations in Virginia, Tennessee, and Indiana. Jacob (#1above in Stanley Souders' account) may have served with the New Jersey cavalry during the Revolutionary War, but his wife's name doesn't match what we have been told, nor is there any indication of living in Virginia. Moreover, since Christian (#1 above) may be a Revolutionary War Vet, that means he had to have been born by 1763-65 at the latest, and if "Barbara" was his mother, then she would have been aged 11-13 at his birth. Actually, his war record shows his birth as 1750 (DAR Patriot Index), meaning Barbara probably couldn't be his mother. ‘Christian' (#2 above) doesn't have a wife named Polly as our ‘Christian' did (although ‘Polly' was a nickname for ‘Mary"), and he died a year too soon in the wrong place, but might be the Revolutionary War Veteran. Our ‘Christian' was born in Frederick, MD, and was buried in Washington County, IN, 1823. It's true that there was a Jacob Souder still in Lancaster County around 1800, and there are possible links to the Oberholtzers in PA and Funks in VA; however, this Souder clan appears to be people who stayed in Pennsylvania for an extended period, unlike our ancestors. Perhaps they are cousins. ‘Christian Souder' (#2a above) has the same birthday as our ancestor, but the parentage and place of birth don't match with what we know as fact from other sources. It's also possible that some combination of related Pennsylvania families joined together to make the trek to Virginia.
While our family may have started in Pennsylvania and certainly associated with Mennonites, I can't positively identify what relationship, if any, they had with the religion. Coming from southwest Germany, it's as likely they were followers of the Reformed (Zwingli) Church or Anabaptists. The report by Stanley Souders that purports to trace the Missouri Souders to Pennsylvania, has inconsistencies that make me question its applicability. I can't see precisely how our known, recorded ancestors fit in. I think Stanley Souder's account has flaws or misunderstandings, e.g., only one of Christian and Margaret Souder's sons (Christian, 1750-1822) is listed in The Daughters of American Revolution Patriot Index (vol. III, P-Z), along with our known Great-Great-Great-Great Grandfather Jacob Sowder (Souder) of VA (b. 1734- d. 1819). Other Souder veterans, Jacob (born 1749, in PA, d. 1804) and John (b. 1726 in PA-d.1788) might be members of this PA family.
Another possible candidate for the first Sowder in our line is one Jacob Sowder (b. 1687-1695 in Germany or PA) who married Anna Rosenberger (b.1697 in Dilsberg, Baden-Württemberg). She died in Milford Twp, Bucks County, PA. Their alleged children included Susanna (b. 1712?), Mary (b. 1715), Christian (born 1713-6 in Rotterdam), John (1724-1784), Henry (born 1727 in Berks Co., PA), Sarah (b. ?), and Jacob (b. ?). The subsequent generations (according to over sixty on-line family trees) are filled with Yeakels, Oberholtzers, and the like, but it is a pot-puree of fusions between persons identified in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Indiana, and Missouri that fails to match the few records available or the family legend. If Anna Rosenberger Sowder is the mother of Jacob Sowder (II, born 1712?, probably in Baden or Rotterdam), then her son Henry could hardly have been the ‘Henry Sowder' head of family in the Virginia land grant of 1735 – he would still have been a child. Anna Rosenberger's family (Heinrich and Barbara Rosenberger) were Swiss from around Zurich (Landikon, Birmensdorf). Anna's grandparents (Rudolf Rosenberger and Adelheid Mueller) moved the family to Baden sometime after the birth of her father (19 Nov 1678). Eventually, Anna's father immigrated to Pennsylvania. The family roots were in the same Swiss village for at least five generations to about 1550, so something must have prompted their relocation. It could be that they were Anabaptists and kept moving to avoid persecution. Anabaptists were considered anathema by the intertwined religious and political hierarchies because they threatened stability by rejecting the idea that anyone was "born into a church." They saw "salvation" as a conscious choice which had to be maturely made, and thereafter, baptism by immersion was required.
Swiss and German leaders were determined to rid themselves of the dissident Anabaptists, as they increasingly exhibited aspects of political liberalism and rising economic expectations. In the early 1700's, Queen Anne of England decided to offer aid to these persecuted Protestants by allowing them to settle in the colonies. Refugees flocked into Dutch ports to take advantage of the Queen's offer. Even after every ship available was pressed into service (including some that were marginally seaworthy), hundreds died from exposure and starvation while awaiting transportation to America. The voyage, once commenced, took seven weeks, and disease spread quickly aboard the overcrowded vessels taking a particularly heavy toll among the children. Those without money to pay for transport had to sign "indentures," for specified years of servitude which were then sold by the ship owners to colonists who needed laborers. In Pennsylvania, at that time private property owned by the Penn family, the need for labor was reinforced by a desire to assist fellow religious dissenters, and the number of Swiss-German immigrants to Philadelphia soon began to overwhelm the English there. Because this influx of German speaking immigrants frightened some of the colonials, after 1727 Pennsylvania required each newcomer to swear an oath of allegiance to the British monarch. Unfortunately, these records don't help for ancestors arriving earlier.
Another Souder/Sowder was a Hessian mercenary captured by Washington's Army at Trenton (or maybe deserted, according to English records; however, these records also disingenuously attempt to cover the fact that the British fleet callously marooned many Hessians in their haste to evacuate after the war). Records indicate he stayed in Virginia and received a land grant in the eastern part of the state, but he's probably not our guy. Some of the Souder descendants in Indiana believe this Adolph Souder had four sons: Frederick, Christian, Jacob, and Christley, the first two born in Germany. After his capture he was taken to North Carolina and labored making shoes for the Continental Army. At the end of the war he was given a land grant the Hoosiers presumed to be in Greene County Tennessee. This may be based on the coincidence of those four names being in the 1812 tax records of Greene County. Other Hoosier Souders claim that they were told the four were cousins. It's possible that some of the Souders in Pennsylvania and/or Virginia may have immigrated to America before their relative, Adolph, was conscripted in Hessen and sent to America, or he could have sent for family members after the war. The western part of Hessen and the Palatinate abut, and families often overlapped the national borders. Sauters/Souders from either country could be part of the same family. The relationship between Christian Souders and Frederick Souders has never been explained, but they held land jointly in Greene County, TN. My Great-Great-Great Grandfather (Christian) was commonly known by the nickname "Christley," and his land was in a different district from Frederick's and "Christian's." Since the tax rolls show both a Christley and a Christian, I'm speculating that "Christian" (another person entirely) actually was Frederick's brother and a son of Adolph, while Jacob is our Christley's brother. The fact that Frederick came to Indiana is probably just coincidence; furthermore, the naming of Christley's son "Frederick" was likely more of the same.
Mary Fern Souder () reports in 2009 that DNA testing establishes that Jacob Sowder and Anna Groff could not be the ancestors of Jacob Sowder (1734-1819) of Virginia. In spite of all the speculation about such a connection, it appears to be inaccurate. Perhaps Jacob Souder and Anna Rosenberger will someday be shown to be his ancestors or maybe it was Adolph Souder/Sauter the Hessian Soldier captured at Trenton by Washington's Continentals. Mary Fern Souders' assertion, however, is refuted by the DNA test results (Family Tree DNA; 2010 #N88308) of a direct descendant of Jacob Sowder (d. 1819 Copper Hill, VA) which showed him to be related to the Souders of Lancaster, PA. While I lack any expertise in this field, I can only speculate that Mary Fern Souders' "participants" were not actually descendants of Jacob Sowder of VA.The DNA of the descendant of Jacob Sowder of Copper Hill, VA, traces to Hirzel in northeast Switzerland near Zurich. There are indications of the family there back to the 1300's. The DNA tests of Souders at Lancaster, PA, are related to the village of Koelliken, some 50 miles east of Hirzel, and records go back to 1414. These Souders/Suters were Anabaptists that were forced out of Switzerland to Elsass and Pfalz in the mid 1600's. Whether the Souders in Lancaster, PA, and those in Copper Hill, VA, knew they were related is unknown. The Swiss word "Suter" refers to sewing leather -- a shoemaker.
Clarence Souders, my mother's brother, believed that Jacob Sowder (I, the original "Souders" settler in America, b. 1688) came from Southern Germany (Rhine-Palatinate) or Switzerland, but as likely it might be Baden-Württemberg. In fact, I have discovered one family tree (Ball – ancestry.com) that asserts he came from Cungfeld, Mannheim, Württemberg. Religious and territorial wars devastated Germany during the mid 1600's; the Palatinate's population was reduced by 60%, Württemberg's by 80%, and Bohemia's by 35%. Population loss in Hesse and Thuringia was about 50%. (Some modern scholars think these casualties were exaggerated by local officials in order to acquire welfare aid and tax reductions; however, even they consider casualties of 40% possible.) Elsewhere, Berlins' population declined by over half, and Frankfurt lost about 80%. The devastation was greater in the countryside than the cities, where walls provided a small degree of protection. The economy was ruined. German peasants, indis- criminately slaughtered and tortured by both sides (Catholic and Protestant), neglected the fields. Famine spread, along with disease. When the Thirty Years War ended in 1648, French Armies returned to devastate Southwestern Germany in the later 1600's for decades. To make matters worse, the Little Ice Age hit Germany hard in the early 1700's. Autumn of 1708 was the worst of it. Stories claim that, by November, firewood wouldn't burn in the open air, and by January, liquor was freezing in the bottle. Birds fell out of the sky dead on the ground; spit froze before it hit the earth; rivers all froze over; and the oceans froze deep enough along the coast to support a loaded wagon. Grape vines and orchards were ruined. Recovery from these effects took many years, even when temperatures began to move toward normal. The extreme cold came on the heels of the Black Death. From the mid 1660's to about 1670, the Bubonic Plague hit the Rhineland severely. To increase the dismal effect, the political system took no note of the people's distress. The commons literally starved, while the nobles lived gaily on taxes they squeezed from the peasants.
It's noteworthy that the born 1688 Jacob Sowder's (I) oft recorded wife's father (Johannes/‘Hans' Jacob Groff) came from the Cungfeld, Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg area of Southwest Germany, but her grandfather, Hans Graf, was from Switzerland. Ann Groff's records aren't clear about whether she was born in Germany or Pennsylvania. Baden-Württemberg is the lower Rhine Valley and "Black Forest" country adjacent to Switzerland. It's also a place where Anabaptists-Baptists-Mennonites still faced persecution about the time of immigration, and Lancaster, Montgomery, and Bucks Counties, PA, (where various web family trees show the Sowder family living) were areas of resettlement. Many special restrictions were put on these dissenters in Europe, e.g., special taxes, no church buildings, and meetings limited to a few people. Consequently, they were eager to take advantage of William Penn's offer of cheap land and the free exercise of religion. Since many of these groups (not all) were Pacifists, William Penn and his agents actively recruited Germans in the late 1600's and early 1700's.
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