Craig suggests that I look more at the John Weaver family for a clue to the family of Michael Yager's wife, Elizabeth. I think the prospects there are slim as John Weaver's father, Peter, left a very complete will that seemed to cover all of the children and to omit none. John Weaver's wife, Barbara Käfer, comes from a family with an even more complete will. Michael Käfer spells out his five kids, his wife's four kids, and names the husbands of the women. This is why I do not think much can be found by exploring the Weaver-Käfer lines. On the other hand, Jacob Crigler seems to have died suddenly without any will. His children are uncertain and we are positive only about the two sons. Was there, perhaps, a daughter, Elizabeth?
Lets start with Michael Yager's brother, John. Only two of his children appear in the Baptismal Register. John Yager, Sr., and wife Maria had Barbara baptized (1777) with Godfrey Yager, Barbara Franck, and Barbara Carpenter as sponsors. Then two years later, Daniel was the child and his sponsor was John Wayland. When John Wayland and Rosina had Elizabeth baptized (1779), John Yager was a sponsor along with Elisabeth Christopher and Eve Fisher. When John Yager, Jun., son of Michael, and Anna Unknown had Samuel baptized, John Yager, Sen., was a sponsor, with Nicholas Willheit and Elizabeth Crigler. John Yager was also a sponsor for his brother Michael's son, Samuel. We discussed this one already. Finally, Daniel Böhme and Nancy had Johannes baptized in 1779 with John Yager, Philip Chelf, and Elizabeth Böhme as sponsors.
At first glance, these seem like a random set of names. The first thing to do is to add in the maiden names of the women and then consult the tables of ancestry.
Taking the baptism of Barbara, the daughter of John and Maria Yager, note that Maria was a Willheit. Godfrey Yager was chosen because he was a brother of John. Barbara Carpenter was probably chosen because she was a Weaver, and, hence, in the Clore-Weaver-Crigler-Yager complex. Barbara Franck was the minister's wife and was not a relation of anyone (special case).
For the baptism of Daniel of John and Maria Yager, the only sponsor was John Wayland. When you look in your charts though, you will see that John Wayland married Rosina Willheit who was a sister of the mother, Maria Yager.
When Daniel and Nancy Böhme selected John Yager, they selected a brother of Nancy's stepmother, Barbara Yager Clore Chelf.
John Yager, Sen., was a sponsor for his nephew, John Yager, Jun., who was the son of Michael. And John Yager returned the favor to the Waylands by being a sponsor of their Elizabeth.
The mystery is why were only two baptisms recorded. There were several more children than that and John Yager hardly ever missed a Communion Service. The only two children he had baptized were during the tenure of Jacob Franck. Did he feel none of the other preachers could do the job?
(11 Feb 03)
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.