Catarina (maiden name unknown) was born in Germany in 1687. Her first husband was (FNU) Engle, and she had two known children, Melchor and Anna Susanna. She married second Johann Michael Beyerle. The family arrived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1730. Nothing is known of her second husband after selling the Lancaster property to Melchor. Catarina apparently moved to Virginia with Melchor, where she died in 1757.
Regarding her headstone, there was some "mystery" about it which has since been resolved.
In 1899, while the foundation of a nearby stockade fort was being documented, a tombstone was removed from this graveyard and taken to Charleston, West Virginia, for examination and preservation.
The badly weathered original stone, of red sandstone quarried nearby, was five inches thick, twenty-two inches wide, and four and one-half feet high. The inscription, translated from the German, is said to have been:
Katrina Bierlin
Born 1687, died 17_7.
Oh how blessed is Jesus
He is the light of my eyes,
And joy of my heart forever.
Some said that the missing number was "0" rather than "5" and the tombstone provided proof of the existence of a very early settlement.
However, a recent article published by the Jefferson County Historical Society basically puts that story to rest and establishes that the date is almost assuredly 1757 and the woman buried here was the mother of Melchor Engle, Catherine Beyerle.
The stone pictured here replaced the original when it was removed to the West Virginia archives and (incorrectly) stated Catarina Beierlin b 1687 d 1707.
Regarding her headstone, there was some "mystery" about it which has since been resolved.
In 1899, while the foundation of a nearby stockade fort was being documented, a tombstone was removed from this graveyard and taken to Charleston, West Virginia, for examination and preservation.
The badly weathered original stone, of red sandstone quarried nearby, was five inches thick, twenty-two inches wide, and four and one-half feet high. The inscription, translated from the German, is said to have been:
Katrina Bierlin
Born 1687, died 17_7.
Oh how blessed is Jesus
He is the light of my eyes,
And joy of my heart forever.
Some said that the missing number was "0" rather than "5" and the tombstone provided proof of the existence of a very early settlement.
However, a recent article published by the Jefferson County Historical Society basically puts that story to rest and establishes that the date is almost assuredly 1757 and the woman buried here was the mother of Melchor Engle, Catherine Beyerle.
The stone pictured here replaced the original when it was removed to the West Virginia archives and (incorrectly) stated Catarina Beierlin b 1687 d 1707.
Catarina (maiden name unknown) was born in Germany in 1687. Her first husband was (FNU) Engle, and she had two known children, Melchor and Anna Susanna. She married second Johann Michael Beyerle. The family arrived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1730. Nothing is known of her second husband after selling the Lancaster property to Melchor. Catarina apparently moved to Virginia with Melchor, where she died in 1757.
Regarding her headstone, there was some "mystery" about it which has since been resolved.
In 1899, while the foundation of a nearby stockade fort was being documented, a tombstone was removed from this graveyard and taken to Charleston, West Virginia, for examination and preservation.
The badly weathered original stone, of red sandstone quarried nearby, was five inches thick, twenty-two inches wide, and four and one-half feet high. The inscription, translated from the German, is said to have been:
Katrina Bierlin
Born 1687, died 17_7.
Oh how blessed is Jesus
He is the light of my eyes,
And joy of my heart forever.
Some said that the missing number was "0" rather than "5" and the tombstone provided proof of the existence of a very early settlement.
However, a recent article published by the Jefferson County Historical Society basically puts that story to rest and establishes that the date is almost assuredly 1757 and the woman buried here was the mother of Melchor Engle, Catherine Beyerle.
The stone pictured here replaced the original when it was removed to the West Virginia archives and (incorrectly) stated Catarina Beierlin b 1687 d 1707.
Regarding her headstone, there was some "mystery" about it which has since been resolved.
In 1899, while the foundation of a nearby stockade fort was being documented, a tombstone was removed from this graveyard and taken to Charleston, West Virginia, for examination and preservation.
The badly weathered original stone, of red sandstone quarried nearby, was five inches thick, twenty-two inches wide, and four and one-half feet high. The inscription, translated from the German, is said to have been:
Katrina Bierlin
Born 1687, died 17_7.
Oh how blessed is Jesus
He is the light of my eyes,
And joy of my heart forever.
Some said that the missing number was "0" rather than "5" and the tombstone provided proof of the existence of a very early settlement.
However, a recent article published by the Jefferson County Historical Society basically puts that story to rest and establishes that the date is almost assuredly 1757 and the woman buried here was the mother of Melchor Engle, Catherine Beyerle.
The stone pictured here replaced the original when it was removed to the West Virginia archives and (incorrectly) stated Catarina Beierlin b 1687 d 1707.
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