Johan Jacob Pitsenbarger (1767 - 1840)

Born 23 Feb 1767 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Ancestors

Husband of Margaret (Butcher) Pitsenbarger — married 1792 in Shenandoah Co., VA

Descendants

Died 9 Jul 1840 at age 73 in Wayne Township, Darke County, Ohio, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Glenn Rutz [send private message] and Carrol Mick [send private message]

Biography

Jacob Pitsenbarger was born 23 February 1767 and baptized on 1 March 1767 in Lancaster co., Pennsylvania to parents Abraham Pitsenbarger and Elizabeth Teissinger. ^[1] His parents migrated to Virginia shortly before the start of the American Revolutionary War and his father served in the Virginia militia. While in Virginia, Jacob met and married Margaret Butcher about 1792. Shortly after their marriage Jacob and Margaret had moved to Bullskin Township, Fayette, Pennsylvania. ^[2]In 1816 Jacob paid taxes of $3.60 on his 160 acres of land in Randolph Twp, Montgomery Co., OH, ^[3][4] and finally to Wayne Twp, Darke Co. before 1830. ^[5]

Among other children, they had two sons: Jacob Asbury Pitsenberger (b:18 Aug 1802 in Fayette Co., PA d:24 Sep 1878 in Darke Co., OH and Henry Pitsenbarger (b:10 Nov 1805 in Fayette Co., PA d: after 1870)). Henry accompanied his father to Darke Co., while Jacob Asbury remained in Montgomery Co. until about 1841 when he moved north to Neave Twp, Darke Co. Jacob Asbury was married (6 Sep 1825 in Montgomery Co.) to Susannah Miller (b:24 Apr 1804 in Montgomery Co., OH d:24 Apr 1859 in Darke Co., OH). Jacob & Elizabeth were buried at the West Branch Cemetery in Neave Twp, Darke Co., OH. Jacob Asbury later married (10 Nov 1861 in Darke Co., OH) Christina Troop. Henry was married (25 Sep 1828 in Montgomery Co.) to Elizabeth Miller (b:17 Sep 1810 in Montgomery Co., OH d:11 Feb 1863 in Darke Co., OH). Elizabeth was buried at Yoder Cemetery north of Versailles in Wayne Twp, Darke Co., OH. Henry lived with his daughter Catherine in the 1870 census. None know when/where Henry died and was buried.

____________________________________________________________

NEW INFORMATION CONCERNING DARKE COUNTY PIONEER

JACOB PITSENBARGER (1767-1840) ^[6]

There has long been confusion over the exact number and names of Jacob Pitsenbarger's children. Unlike the situation of his younger brother Peter (died in Darke Co. December 3, 1837), who left a will listing his children, later researchers have had to rely on less personal documents and descendants' memories to determine the extent of Jacob's family. While this article does not presume to have the final answers, some new information has come to light during the past year (1990) which should be considered by those investigating Jacob's family.

Jacob Pitsenbarger was born in 1767, the eldest son of Abraham and Elizabeth Pitsenberger. He was bequeathed a third part of his father's real property in Abraham's 1781 will. He married Margaret Butcher in 1792/3 and moved to Fayette Co., Pennsylvania, where his family was counted in the 1810 census. In 1811 (according to Beer's 1880 History of Darke Co.) he moved to Ohio and settled in Randolph Township, Montgomery Co., where he paid taxes in 1816. His presence in Montgomery Co. up to 1828 is implied by the marriages of some of his children there. By the time of the 1830 census Jacob had moved to Wayne Township, Darke Co., where he remained, situated north of Versailles, until his death July 9, 1840.

Following Jacob's death there was a minor flurry of activity in the Darke Co. Court of Common Pleas. On September 4, 1840, Daniel R. Davis was appointed administrator of Jacob's estate. Then on December 26, 1840, Jacob's widow Margaret relinquished her rights in the matter and their son Henry Pitsenbarger was named administrator of the estate, a task which occupied Henry until February 14, 1859. These facts were reported by Anita Short and Ruth Bowers in their abstracts from the Court records, and all future researchers have presumed that, unlike his brother, Jacob died intestate, without a will.

In May 1990 I visited the Darke Co. Court House to obtain a copy of Jacob's brother Peter Pitsenbarger's 1837 will. Peter was my ancestor. Peter's will was indexed but not copied into the will books. Short & Bowers had noted that so I could explain to the clerk at the Probate Court that Peter's will was loose. However, the clerk was busy and couldn't spare the time to hunt up a loose will from the vault. Instead, she permitted my entry to the vault pointing at a series of drawers where the old wills were stored. I found Peter's will. I also found other Pitsenbarger wills.

In an envelope labeled "Jac Pitsenbarger" I found two wills bound tightly together with a strip of paper, one inside the other. The outer will was that of Jacob's son Jacob Asbury Pitsenberger (died 1878). The inner document was the last will and testament of Jacob Pitsenbarger, Jacob Asbury's father, an unrecorded will unknown to modern researchers. Dated July 31, 1837, it was witnessed by Daniel R. Davis and Elijah Ward. Accompanying documents included the court appearance of Davis and Ward attesting to the signature (mark) of Jacob Pitsenbarger and their statement that Jacob was of sound mind when he made the will. Also included was a paper documenting his widow's appearance in court to relinquish her rights to the estate, also witnessed by Davis.

There is no official explanation of why the court first assigned the role of administrator to Daniel Davis and eventually awarded that task to Henry Pitsenbarger. However, the will fails to expressly name an executor and that may be the reason the court acted in the manner it did. I believe the reason Henry was chosen administrator was due to him being the eldest son living in Darke Co. at the time. Henry's older brother Jacob Asbury was still living in Montgomery Co. and would not move to Neave Twp, Darke Co., until the following year.

Of interest to genealogists are the bequests: "Second I give and bequeath unto my three sons Henrey John and Jonathan the plantation on which we now reside situated in Wayne Township Darke County Ohio containing two hundred and forty acres of land ... each one of them to have an equal quantity thereof Thirdly that all my personal property shall be appraised and sold by my executors and the procedes thereof be equally divided between my son Jacob and my daughters Elizabeth Slonaker Katharine Radibaugh Phebe Fetters and Margaret Metzgar and my grandson Jacob Cox ..."

Who was this Jacob Cox? The will called him a grandson, but none of Jacob's known daughters had married into the Cox family. To explain the identity of Jacob Cox, I must cite another's research. In April of 1990 (just before leaving to visit Darke Co.), I received a letter from Robert D. Anderson of Dayton, OH, a descendant of William Cox. He inquired as to whether Jacob & Margaret Pitsenbarger had had a daughter named Barbara, a name long preserved among the descendants of Jacob Cox as the given name of his mother who died on the day of his birth, April 4, 1820, in Randolph Township, Montgomery Co., OH. Anderson had discovered the results of a civil suit brought February 24, 1823, by a Jacob Pitzerbarger against William Cox in the matter of the custody of Jacob Cox, a minor. The case was decided in the Montgomery Co. Court of Common Pleas May 19, 1823, by the Honorable Joseph H. Crane. Jacob lost the suit and the court confirmed its earlier assignment of William Cox as guardian of Jacob Cox.

Anderson provided further information that Jacob Cox's father John (son of William) had died suddenly in 1822, and that shortly after the civil suit was decided, William Cox moved to Wayne/Randolph Co., IN, taking little Jacob with him. Anderson also provided a copy of the John Cox estate sale of November 28, 1822, where a Jacob and Henry Pitsenbarger purchased items (Jacob bought a quilt). As final proof of the connection between Jacob Pitsenbarger and Jacob Cox, Anderson sent copies of two slips of paper signed by Jacob Cox dated September 6, 1841, and February 22, 1842, indicating he had received a total of $54.66 from Henry Pitsenbarger, acting as administrator of Jacob Pitsenbarger's estate. This was enough evidence to add Barbara to the list of Jacob's children, and the bequest to "my grandson Jacob Cox" in Jacob's will clinched the matter.

On the basis of the newly discovered will and Robert D. Anderson's information about Jacob Cox, we can now assemble a preliminary list of Jacob & Margaret (Butcher) Pitsenbarger's children in probable order of birth: Anna Catherine (born 1794, married Adam Rodabaugh), Phoebe (born ca. 1795, married Daniel Fetters), Barbara (born 1796, married John Cox), Elizabeth "Betsy" (born ca. 1798, married Adam Slonecker), Jacob Asbury (born 1802, married 1- Susanna Miller and 2- Christina Troop), Margaret (born ca. 1803, married Jacob Metzger), Henry (born 1805, married Elizabeth Miller, sister of Susanna), John D. (born ca. 1809, married Peter's daughter Sarah "Sally" Pitsenbarger), and Jonathan B. (born 1812, married Peter's daughter Anna Mary Pitsenbarger).

Future research will determine whether this list is complete. On the basis of his age (as reported in the 1830 Darke Co. census), the Philip Pitsenbarger of Jackson Co., OH, in 1820 and Darke Co., OH, in 1830 is certainly Jacob's youngest brother and not his son, as some researchers previously believed.

Family

Jacob and Margaret Pitsenbarger Family Posted 23 Feb 2021 by Richard Schwartz Jr Jacob b Feb 1767, VA, was the eldest son of Abraham and Elizabeth Pitsenbarger. Jacob m 1792 Margaret's BUTCHER (dau of Georg Valentine METZGER called BUTCHER; and Maria KIEPERT) . Per "Families of Darke County, Ohio" Darke County Genealogical Society Greenville, Ohio, 1994, known children all born in Ohio, include:

Anna Catherine PITSENBARGER, b 1794, d 1864 Darke, OH; m ca 1815 Adam RODABAUGH

Anna Phoebe PITSENBARGER, d ca 1837/1841; m 1817 Daniel FETTER

Barbara PITSENBARGER, b 1796, d 1820 Montgomery, OH; m 1819 John COX

Elizabeth "Betsy" PITSENBARGER, b?, d?; m 1821 Adam SLONECKER

Jacob Asbury PITSENBARGER, b 1802, d 1878 Darke, OH; m(1) 1825 Susanna MILLER; m(2) 1861 Christina TROOP

Margaret PITSENBARGER, b ca 1803, prob Fayette, PA, d 2 Mar 1865, prob Darke, OH; m 1827 in Montgomery, OH Jacob METZGER, d ca 1840, prob Montgomery, OH; Margaret remained living w/ inlaws and brother Jonathan was named as guardian of her minor children, Dec 1840; Jacob and Margaret's known children include Sarah, b 23 Dec 1832, d 29 May 1895 Darke, OH; m 1854 cousin Jacob PITSENBARGER son of Peter PITSENBARGER / Jonathan b 11 Jun 1834, d 21 May 1895 Darke, OH; m 1863 cousin Phebe Lavina PITSENBARGER, dau of Peter PITSENBARGER / Elizabeth, b 5 Feb 1837, d 21 Jan 1863 Darke, OH; m ? / Jacob Israel, b 2 Mar 1839, d 4 Mar 1904 New Weston, Darke, OH; m 1862 cousin Elizabeth Ellen PITSENBARGER, dau of Peter PITSENBARGER'S son Henry PITSENBARGER.

Henry PITSENBARGER, b 10 Nov 1805 Fayette, PA, d ca 1870; m 25 Sep 1828 in Montgomery, OH, Elizabeth MILLER, b 17 Sep 1810 Montgomery, OH, d 11 Feb 1863, bur Yoder Cem (Elizabeth was dau of Jacob 1776-1858 and Catherine METZGER ca 1771-1832) / 1830 census shows fam living in Wayne, Darke, OH with Jacob and Margaret PITSENBARGER / Henry lived with dau Catherine in Darke, OH / Known children include Susanna 1829-1852 (prob bur Yoder Cem), m 1852 Allen DAVIDSON; Jacob S. 1831-d inf ?, Elizabeth 1833-1912, m 1851 Daniel KERSHNER; Margaret 1835- ca 1911, m 1865 John BROOKS; Catherine 1837-? MO, m 1858 cousin Hiram Jackson PITSENBARGER; Sarah Ann 1840-? MO?, m 1866 Cousin Isaac Ruben PITSENBARGER; Manassah 1843-1940 IL, m 1867 Caroline GULIC; Ephraim 1845-d inf, Darke, OH; Mary "Mollie" 1847-1939 IN, m 1867 Dr. Hezekiah BROWN; Phebe Ella 1850-1922 TN, m 1875 William HARRIS; Barbara Ann 1852-1914 IN, m 1871 John ENGLISH.

John D. PITSENBARGER ca 1809 PA-1863 Darke, OH, m 1834 Sarah PITSENBARGER b 1812 TN, d 1877 Darke, OH; Sarah "Sally" was dau of Peter PITSENBARGER and Molly FRY, and was John PITSENBARGER'S 1st cousin. John and Sarah farmed in northern Wayne Twp, Darke Co, OH. Both are bur Yoder Cem, Wayne, Darke, OH along with many Pitsenbarger fam members.

Jonathan B. PITSENBARGER, b 1812, d 18 Apr 1886 Darke, OH, m 1839 cousin Anna Mary PITSENBARGER

Sources

1. ↑ Research documents obtained from the archivist at Trinity Lutheran Church, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Cover letter is dated February 6, 2001. Documents are in my personal family collection. Glenn Rutz.
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1810", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH27-D4Q: viewed 18 February 2024), Entry for Jacob Pitsonberger, 1810. Citing: Bullskin TWP > Fayette > Pennsylvania > Page 1029.
3. ↑ "Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:7NB4-6TMM: viewed 19 February 2024), Entry for Jacob Pitzenbarger, 1816, Montgomery county.
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1820", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHLQ-HR2: viewed 18 February 2024), Entry for Jacob Pituberger, 1820. Citing: Randolph TWP > Montgomery > Ohio > Page No.103
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1830", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH5L-VVN: viewed 18 February 2024.) Entry for Jacob Pitsenbarger, 1830. Citing: Wayne > Darke > Ohio > Page No.40
6. ↑ Wally Garchow [Another version of this was published Darke County Kindling, X:2, July 1991, pp. 31-32]

• Source: Abbreviation: International Genealogical Index (R) Title: International Genealogical Index (R) Author: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Publication: Copyright (c) 1980, 2002, data as of November 27, 2005 Repository: #R847
• Repository: Name: Family History Library Address: Family History Library CONT 35 N West Temple Street CONT Salt Lake City, Utah 84150 USA Name: Family History Library Address 1: 35 N West Temple Street Address 2: Salt Lake City, Utah 84150 USA
• Source: Abbreviation: tombstone Title: tombstone Subsequent Source Citation Format: tombstone BIBL tombstone.
• Source: Abbreviation: Lancaster County Birth Records Title: Lancaster County Birth Records Subsequent Source Citation Format:
• Thank you to Carrol Paul for creating WikiTree profile Pitsenbarger-7 through the import of Charles Elmer Paul ancestors.ged on Feb 20, 2013.
• Thank you to Robert Harter for creating WikiTree profile Pitsenbarger-12 through the import of harter.ged on Aug 31, 2013.
• Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 23 June 2021), memorial page for Jacob Pitsenbarger (31 Jan 1767–9 Jul 1840), Find A Grave: Memorial #10412823, citing Yoder Cemetery, Darke County, Ohio, USA. Also contains a photo of the gravestone which contains his name, dod, and age at death in years, months, and days.
• See also the Pitsenbarger timeline created by Kem Luther. It is "Abraham and Jacob Pitsenbarger: Documents and Chronology" at https://kemluther.com/notbooks/genealogy/
• "A History of Pendleton County, West Virginia" by Morton, Oren Frederic, 1857-1926. Publication date 1910. Publisher: The author. Franklin, W. Va (https://archive.org/details/historyofpendlet00mort/page/318/mode/2up?q=Pitsenbarger:viewed 14 February 2024).