(Continued from Thursday.)
-Records of Solomon from John H. Kreider.
Abraham Kreider, son of "Big Tobias" married Dec. 22, 1839, to Mary (Polly) Rittle of Kimmerlings, b. Oct. 19, 1819; farmer, selling his part in the homestead to his brother Solomon in 1847; farmer north of Mt. Lebanon cemetery, on the farm now owned by Henry Sholly at East Reinoehlsville, which Abraham likely bought as early as 1847 at least. Several acres of this farm are now in the Mt. Lebanon cemetery. After Abraham's death his widow continued on the farm till she was married Feb. 7, 1861, to John Custer. Both Abraham and his wife were Reformed and are buried at Kimmerling's church. He made his will Dec. 21, 1857, his son John not yet being of age, and it was probated April 27, 1859. He orders that he be buried at Kimmerlings. The executor was Martin Light. Abraham had 2 children:
-From Mrs. Ida Blouch.
Likely all men would like to be remembered by their descendants. To cultivate the memory of those who begot us is commendable. It is keeping the first commandment with promise. The one perfect man saw to it that his ancestry is put down all the way back to Adam, not for his own satisfaction only but for an example to us who strive to follow in his footsteps. We are now writing of a Kreider, the last of our history, who is likely unknown to every one of his descendants - George, who had the farm on Snitz Creek on the west side of the Colebrook road.
Egle in his History of Lebanon county has little about the Kreiders, but he has somewhere gotten a list of the children of Jacob who settled on Snitz Creek, with the year of birth of all but the three oldest. George was born according to Egle in 1736.
George, as intimated, was the last of the four brothers to divide up the 585 acre tract. He received the smallest portion of all, only 104 1/2 acres. Whether this was because he was the smallest man, or whether because the land was esteemed as more valuable we know not. It was wedge-shaped, coming almost to a point across the Snitz Creek, to the Mace farm; and extended north to the land of one Joseph Seefley, whose land was immediately east of George Stites. It included the Brightbill farm and the old Herr home.
George Kreider, Sr., of Lebanon township, Dauphin county, yeoman, and his wife Mary on April 18, 1800, conveyed this farm to their son, George, Jr.,
"it being a Piece or Parcel of a larger Tract which the Honorable the late Proprietaries of Pennsylvania in and by their certain Patent or Grant bearing date the sixth day of May, Anno Domini one thousand seven hundred and sixty, for the consideration therein mentioned did give, grant, release and confirm unto Christian Kreider, Martin Kreider, Tobias Kreider and George Kreider. . . . And whereas the said Christian Kreider, Martin Kreider, Tobias Kreider and George Kreider have made full, perfect and absolute partition of the said Tract of Land and in and by their certain Indenture bearing date the twenty-sixth day of July in the year of our Lord 1760."
In 1800 this land ran by land of Martin Kreider, John Light and Tobias Kreider.
Now we know that George of the four brothers had a son, George. Did he have any other children? North of the Tunnel there lived a family of Kreiders. They seem to feel that they are related to the other Kreiders. Yet neither they nor the others can find any connection. On the farm close to the canal is a small private cemetery. The first row of graves are of Walters; the second, Kreiders; and the third, Bombergers. Joseph Kreider, who later retired to Ebenezer, owned the farm. He helped to build up the Ebenezer United Brethren church, and he wanted to be buried there, and he wanted his parents there, but his grandparents he feared had too thoroughly gone back to mother earth for removal, so he left them in the old graveyard, not altogether without Kreider companionship. At the other end of the Kreider row is the oldest stone of all. It is limestone; moss covered, with lettering apparently as follows: "G. K., 1821 A. 90." In regard to the year, the last figure may be a 7, for at the upper end of the figure a stone chip has been broken off. We believe it to be 1827. This is without doubt the year of death and "A 90" surely gives the age at death. 90 from 1827 is 1737, or one year after the birth of George Kreider, of Snitz Creek, according to Egle. It is likely that George died early in the year 1827, before he reached his birthday, and so was only 90 years of age when he died. Furthermore, to prove the identity, we would say that there is no other Kreider of like age whom we have discovered whose initials would be "G. K." We are quite certain that beneath this stone is all that was mortal of George Kreider, of Snitz Creek, and that Johannes Kreider, b. July 14, 1761; d. July 22, 1847; aged 86 years and 8 days, the grandfather of Joseph of Ebenezer, was the son of old George of Snitz Creek. The descendants of Johannes above can now begin to reckon their relationship to the other Kreiders. They are no longer a branch cut off. So now we credit George Kreider of the four brothers of Snitz Creek with 2 children, he may have had more.
George, Sr., afore, and George, Jr., afore, and George the son of Tobias the First, are no doubt the three George Kreider's listed as non-associators in 1777.
George Kreider, Jr., was dissatisfied with his inheritance. He began selling it off. April 6, 1811, George Kreider, Jr., yeoman, and his wife Elizabeth conveyed to Frederick Embich, of the borough of Lebanon, joiner, 2 lots, one "by the great road," Abraham Kreider's, Michael Krause's, containing 10 acres and 20 perches; the other "by land of the out lots," by land of Jacob Buecher, Jr., of Tobias Kreider, and Bernard Embich, 2 acres and 17 perches.
On April 1, 1812, George Jr., and wife Elizabeth transferred to Jacob Arndt, of the borough of Lebanon, hatter, two tracts, one "on the Great road leading from Lebanon to Coalbrook furnace," containing 38 acres and 64 perches, likely the present Brightbill farm; the other by land of Henry Shantz, Joseph Zuber, and Peter Shindel, containing 2 acres and 68 perches.
So George Kreider, Jr., sold out and went to the Shenandoah Valley. He likely had children, but we have learned nothing about them. But why did he move? This brings us to
Some weeks back we stated that at some future time we would write on this important subject. The time has now arrived. It is handed down by tradition through a hundred years that the reason that George Kreider moved away from Snitz Creek was because he could not live on a shot [sic] latchet. At least George declared in connection with selling: "I cannot live on a shoe latchet!"
Now, it so happens that some people must have the simplest matters explained. So we are constrained to explain. It has already been stated that George's farm was wedge-shaped, the point at the south extending across Snitz Creek. We are informed that in ye olden time farmers got hay differently from the way they do today. Perhaps some have seen our foreign population cutting the long grass in swampy lands along the Quittapahilla, leaving it dry in the sun, and in a few days erecting it into a decent hay rick. These people came practically from the abode of our ancestors and still retain their customs. We have passed on, are so taken up with the new things, that we fail to show to our forefathers the respect of learning how they lived. Well, our forefathers got their hay in the same old way that these foreigners get it today. No plowing and harrowing and rolling and drilling and no sowing timothy seed and clover seed. We have become so smart that we have ceased to be smart. They knew that water made grass grow, so they WATERED MEADOWS.
Now, George Kreider's farm being wedge-shaped with the point going across the Snitz Creek, had very little meadow land. So narrow was his strip of meadow land that he likened it to a shoe latchet. George could not live on a shoe latchet, so he sold out and moved to the Shenandoah Valley. Who would not sell out if he had to live on a shoe latchet?
It is a long way back and it is not remembered who they were, but Hon. A.S. Kreider has the tradition that John Kreider, Sr., who lived north of Gravel Hill, married twin sisters. It has not been uncommon; we have seen[, ] for Kreiders to marry sisters, but to the John in question we award the cake. The given name of one wife is Barbara b. Sept. 28, 1759; d. Feb. 2, 1825. The other wife had the same birthday.
We have already given our reasons for concluding that John above was a son of George of Snitz Creek. Assuming that our position is correct, and we have no doubt of it. George, the father, after conveying his home farm to his son George, Jr., likely went to his other son, John, across the Gravel Hill, or perhaps he took up abode with John when George sold out and went to the Shenandoah Valley. The fact that George's tomb stone is alone suggests that the wife, Mary, who was alive in 1800, may have died and been buried in the old Kreider cemetery along Snitz Creek.
We cannot determine when John bought this farm or when his father bought it for him, if that were the way. We have been unable to lay our hands on any of the old deeds, and they are not on record in the Court House. But John bought land to the original Kreider tract.
On April 1, 1805, John Kreider, Jr., received from the heirs of one John Walter, through Christian Long the Elder, three tracts of land, adjoining John's other land, and adjoining land of Henry Beshore and Jacob and John Snavely, which three tracts were 124 1/2 acres of warranted land, 1 acre and 70 perches of warranted land, and 5 acres, 72 perches of patented land. These lands were of two original tracts:
May 23, 1741, one Martin Kerstetter received warrant for 250 acres, whose heirs Oct. 11, 1759, transferred it to Philip Greenawalt, who July 30, 1764, transferred it to Jacob Ziegler, who April 18, 1768, to Jacob Gingrich and Christian Gingrich and wife Catharine, May 1, 1770, their half to Jacob, who with wife, Elizabeth, on April 3, 1776, transferred 124 acres of his land to John Walter, afore.
Also the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania by two warrants, one dated 3rd month, 1741 the other Oct. 23, 1745 gave to Charles Shally (Sholly) 216 1/2 acres to John Snevely. John Walter willed Nov. 4, 1797, that his trusty friend, Christian Long, Jr., execute a deed to his land, which was to be sold. The carrying out of this will resulted in John Kreider, Sr., buying the three adjoining tracts as previously stated.
We are informed by a great-grand-daughter that John, Sr., was a lay preacher of the United Brethren Church.
(To be continued next Monday)