A short review of the information on the Deer families is warranted. There were two families, headed by brothers, John (#1) and Martin (#2), who were born in Germany in 1717 and 1725, respectively. John (#1) left a will which identified six children:
Martin (#2) did not leave a will so his children are less certain. Two sons are clear:
Potential daughters of Martin, Sr. (#2) are:
John Deer (#1) married the widow of Frederick Baumgartner, Catherine, who maiden name is unknown. This marriage was probably about 1747. Two of the Baumgartner daughters, Dorothy and Eve, are mentioned in the will of John Deer. Martin Deer (#2) was married perhaps as many as three times, first to Francis (in 1756), second to Veronica, and third to Anna Maria, with no maiden names known for any of them.
The family of John Deer (#3) was given in note 784. The family for Moses Deer (#6) was given in note 785. The family of Andrew (#9), who married Susanna Reser, was given in note 786. The family of Martin (#10) has not been given. He, too, married a Susanna, but her maiden name is unknown. Their children were:
The births of the four daughters are recorded in the Hebron Church Register. Only a narrow set of sponsors appears. On two occasions, Andrew Hirsch and his wife Susanna are sponsors. He was the brother of the father. At the baptism of Sara in 1791 (born 1 Mar), one of the sponsors was Barbara Hirsch (i.e., Deer). It seems best to interpret her as a sister, unmarried at the time, of Andrew. In a few years she married Ephraim Rouse. The sponsors furnish no clues as to the maiden name of the mother, Susanna.
In searching for the records of the Deers at the church, one must generally use the German form of the name, Hirsch.
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.