John Blankenbaker's Germanna History Notes

Note 1589

(Leaving Hesse for a while.  I have not exhausted what Hesse could tell us, but I thought a change of topic might be welcome right about now.)
(John's discussion of Hesse starts up again in Note Nr. 1616, dated 12 March 2003 .  GWD, WebMaster)

We have had some discussion about the Yagers and baptismal sponsorships.  So I thought we might take a look at the baptisms of the children of Michael Yager and his wife Elizabeth.  (I will use modern spellings throughout, whereas the surname was spelled many different ways, including Yaeger, Yeager, Jager, Jaeger, etc..)

We are not certain what Elizabeth's maiden name was.  It is widely reported that it was Manspiel, but I am not certain if there are any facts supporting this idea.  When their eldest child, John, was baptized, the sponsors were John Weaver, Peter Clore, and Dorothy (Cook) Carpenter.  One of these is a very rational choice by the principles that I generally espouse.  That is Peter Clore who is a brother-in-law of the father, Michael.  He had married Barbara Yager.  But why John Weaver and Dorothy Cook Carpenter were selected is unknown.

For the next child, Samuel, in 1752, the sponsors were John Zimmerman, John Weaver, and Barbara Chelf.  Barbara is Michael's sister, so she is an obvious choice, except in 1752 she was a Clore not a Chelf.  I could not say whether John Zimmerman is really a Zimmerman or a Carpenter.  In any case, he and John Weaver are mysteries.

For the next child with sponsors, Susanna, she was named for her aunt, Susanna Willheit Yager who married Michael's brother Nicholas.  Both of these were sponsors, and are the expected type of choice.  The third sponsor was Susanna Utz, and we have a handicap in that we do not know her maiden name.  The reason for choosing her is not obvious.

For Eva, the sponsors are Nicholas Yager, Susanna Utz, and Barbara (Kaifer) Weaver, the wife of John Weaver above.  Nicholas, yes, the other two are mysteries.  For the child Elizabeth, the sponsors are Nicholas Yager, Susanna Yager, and Barbara Weaver again.  Two strikes and one ball.

For Jemima, Godfrey Yager, Nicholas's brother is a sponsor.  Then come two that are not clear as to why they were chosen:  Nancy Graves and Elies. Becker.  It is not clear whether Graves was Nancy's maiden name or married name.  For Michael, we strike the batter out.  The sponsors are Phillip Chelf, Barbara (Yager Clore) Chelf, and John Yager, the last being Nicholas' brother.  Barbara has remarried and her new husband is Phillip Chelf.

For Hanna, the sponsors are Phillip Chelf and Barbara Weaver.  Barbara Weaver remains a mystery.  For Rachel, the sponsors are John Yager, Mary (Willheit) Yager, and Susanna (Willheit) Yager, for one brother and two sisters-in-law.  (That's all folks but the story will continue.)
(07 Feb 03)