*[Gestern war ich Tennis spielen.]
I continue with the exploration of why people may have moved to the Robinson River Valley, to which exploration others also made contributions. The case in this Note also involves the Stoever/Stöver family.
Theobald (Dewald, David) Christler (Crisler) purchased land in Orange County, Virginia, in 1736. He was not a newcomer to America, as he had arrived in Philadelphia as a boy in 1719 with his parents who settled in Philadelphia County (now Montgomery County). In the early 1730s, land was still available in Pennsylvania. Also, the Shenandoah Valley was attracting attention as a place to find good land. So why did Theobald Crisler go to the RRV?
Johannes Bender, blacksmith at Lambsheim in Germany, married Anna Helena ____. Three daughters, known from the marriage records at neighboring Frankenthal, included Anna Maria, b. c1686, m. Leonhard Christler; and Anna Catharina, b. c1688, m. 1707 Christian Merkel. Leonard Christler (or Christele) had three children baptized in Frankenthal. One was Johann Theobald, who was christened 18 August 1709.
Johannes Bender, his son-in-law Leonhard Christler, and his son-in-law Christian Merkel, sold their property in 1719 and emigrated to Pennsylvania. Johann Caspar Stoever, Jr., married Maria Catarina Merkle on 8 April 1733 at Trappe. Her death record at Hill Lutheran Church in Cleona, Pennsylvania, says she was born 14 May 1715 at Lambsheim, the daughter of Christian Merkling and Maria Cath. A Stoever genealogy gives her maiden name as Merkle and Merckel.
I suggest that Theobald Christler and Maria Catarina Merkel might have been first cousins. There are points for and against this suggestion. The marriage record from Frankenthal suggests that Christian Merkel married Anna Catharina. The death record for the widow of Johann Caspar Stoever says that her mother’s name was Maria Cath.
In favor of the relationship are the common elements, Lambsheim and the name in common, Merkle. The Christler family settled in Francois Township, which was about eight miles from Trappe, where the Stoever-Merkle marriage is said to have taken place.
One possible implication to be drawn from the suggestion is that Theobald Christler became aware of the Robinson River community and church through the marriage of his cousin to Johann Caspar Stoever, Jr. His cousin’s father-in-law was the minister there. Theobald might have attended at the wedding.
The Gaars knew Johann Christian Schultz, who married Johann Caspar Stoever, Jr. The Garrs went to the RRV. There, the daughter Rosina Gaar married Theobald Christler. More evidence is needed but it looks like a promising area to study.
*[Yesterday I played tennis.]
(28 Mar 07)
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.