Peter Ginther, born January 12, 1740 Lancaster County, PA, was the first Ginther in my direct line to be born in America. Shortly after his birth he was baptised by a Lutheran minister. His parents both died before he was two years of age. He was raised by non relatives in the Lutheran faith. Peter Ginther's father was probably the Peter Ginther who with his brothers John Casper Ginther and George Ginther came to America on the ship "Thistle" in 1738. This Peter Ginther with his wife, Susanna Ros,is found in records up to 1740-1742 in the Lancaster Co. PA area and then disappears before 1742.

In the year 1762 Peter Ginther (b. 1740) married in Lebannon, Dauphin Co., PA to his first wife, Maria Catherine Williams of Conestoge. Their first child, Catherine was baptised by a Lutheran minister as her name does not appear with his eleven other children on the Hebron church register (Moravian church at Hebron, PA). She does appear, however, in his obituary. The Hebron church register starts with Christian.

The following is a list of Peter Ginther & Maria Catherine (Williams) Ginther children:
Catherine b. abt. 1763, died bef. 1814
Christian Frederic b. Dec. 31, 1764, m. Mary Barbara Fry
Anna Maria b. Aug. 17, 1766, died Sept. 10, 1766
Peter (twin) b. Jun. 27, 1767, died Mar. 10, 1769
Susanna (twin) b. Jun. 27, 1767, July 27, 1768
Susanna b. Jul. 6, 1769, m. Abraham Fry
John Peter b. Oct. 20, 1771, m. Eva Lehman
Anna Maria b. Sept. 17, 1773, m. Andrew Gehring; John Cline
Samuel b. Mar. 3, 1775, died young
Justine Julianna b. Mar. 30, 1777, died Jun. 14, 1777
Justine Julianna b. Apr. 4, 1778, died Nov. 4, 1778
Justine Julianna b. Nov. 4, 1779, m. John Frederic Dell

Maria Catherine (Williams) Ginther died Feb. 24, 1790 at Lebannon, PA. Peter Ginther married second on July 8, 1792 to Elizabeth Swartz b. May 10, 1762. After Peter's death on Jan. 11, 1814 at Gnadenhutten, Tuscarawas Co., OH, Elizabeth (Swartz) Ginther married second on Apr. 16, 1818 in Gnadenhutten, Tuscarawas Co., OH to Christopher Demuth of Gnadenhutten. Elizabeth (Swartz)Ginther-Demuth died Feb. 02, 1840 and was buried in Gnadenhutten Moravian Church Cemetery on Feb. 03, 1840.

Children of Peter Ginther and Elizabeth (Swartz) Ginther:
Sarah Elizabeth b. May 24, 1793, died young
John George b. Jun. 27, 1795, died young in 1814
Daughter name unknown, b. & died
John Adam b. Feb. 24, 1800, m. Lydia Demuth
Abraham b. Aug. 13, 1802, m. Catherine Werner

Peter Ginther, Sr. was a Revolutionary soldier, a potter by trade and adhered to the Moravian church after 1763. He died at the age of 74 in Gnadenhutten, OH and is buried in the Moravian Cemetery there. He served in the Revolutionary War in the Sixth of the Second Battalion of Lancaster County Militia in 1781 with Captain John Stone as Private Seventh Class. Lancaster County Militia was between the ages of 18 and 53.