Johannes (Buhrman) Poorman (1743 - 1826)

Born 1743 in Kingdom of Prussia

Descendants

Died 1826 at about age 83 in Foxville, Frederick County, Maryland, United States

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Biography

Research Notes

Evolution of the Surname: There are various records and documents under both the Buhrman and Poorman surnames for Johannes and his descendants. Researchers generally agree that the original German spelling of the surname was Buhrman or Buhrmann, and Poorman was an attempt to Anglicize that name, whether deliberate or accidental. The name is shown as Burman on Johannes' immigration oath of allegiance documents, ^[1][2] but as Poorman on his tombstone ^[3]. Source ^[4] notes that the names Buhrman or Buhrmann, in their original usage, meant country-dweller, as distinguished from a resident of a town or village. The old Gothic spelling Boevrman, Dutch spellings Boerman or Burman, or the Swedish Burman are all variants of the same name.

A note on the Find A Grave memorial ^[3] for Johannes indicates that the name Poorman originated at the port of entry in Philadelphia, presumably due to a misunderstanding or mis-communication between Johannes and the English-speaking clerks. The author of Source ^[4] (pp. 4-5, 34-37) (who is a descendant) agrees that the change of surname occurred at the port of entry, but she introduces another complication. The slides with her manuscript include copies of some old papers that were found among Johannes' personal effects and that apparently belonged to him. The papers seem to indicate that the bearer had a sponsor for his trip to America, documented in a formal agreement in 1766. Another document dated 1770 certifies that the person named in the sponsorship document had discharged his debts and obligations in Germany, and there is also a Dutch translation of the latter document. The signatures and initials on the papers, however, are not Buhrman, but appear to be a different surname altogether, a name beginning with the letter L. These documents cause the author to question whether Buhrman was the original surname at all. She speculates that the mis-communication at the port of entry could have been Johannes L. responding to a question by stating that he was from a rural area in Germany rather than giving his surname. The documents are difficult to read and translate, and at the time of the manuscript, the actual name on the sponsorship documents had not been determined.

By the mid-1800s, it appears that all family members had reverted to the Buhrman spelling.

Biography

Dates of birth and death from Source ^[3]. Date of marriage is an estimate based on Johannes' arrival in the U.S. in 1767 and the birth of he and Illen's son Henry in 1769.

Death Record

● Interred at Mount Bethel Cemetery, Garfield, Frederick County, MD. ^[3]

● Tombstone inscription:

[The family farm where John, Illen, and daughter Anna were originally buried would have became part of Catoctin Mountain Park in the 1930s.]

Census Data

● U.S. 1810 Census (J. Poorman). Residence, Frederick County, MD. Head of household with 1 male (26-45), 1 male (45 & c.), and 1 female (16-26). (Accessed 02 Mar 2021.) ^[5]

● U.S. 1800 Census (John Poorman). Residence, Emmitsburg District, Frederick County, MD. Head of household with 1 male (10-16), 1 male (16-26), 1 male (45 & c.), 1 female (16-26), and 1 female (45 & c.). (Accessed 02 Mar 2021.) ^[6]

● U.S. 1790 Census (John Poorman). Residence, Frederick County, MD. Head of household with 2 males (16 and up), 2 males (to 16), and 5 females. (Accessed 02 Mar 2021.) ^[7]

Immigration Records

Johannes immigrated through the port of Philadelphia on 10 Nov 1767 on the ship Sally.

● "List of Foreigners Imported on the Ship Sally, Patrick Brown, Master, from Rotterdam, Last from Cowes, Qualified Nov. 10, 1767. ^[1]

Johannes Burman"

● Introductory text in the applicable List of Arrivals: ^[2]

"[List 269C] At the Court House, Novemr 10, 1767.

"Present: John Gibson, Esquire.

"The Foreigners whose names are underwritten, imported in the Ship Sally, Patrick Brown, :Master, from Rotterdam, but last from Cowes, did this day take and subscribe the usual :Qualifications. 62 whole Freights. 36 in the List. Consign'd to Mr Jno Ross, Mercht. pd 23 :Novem. 1767.

"[Entry 30]: Johannes Burman."

[At the time Johannes came to Philadelphia, arriving male immigrants over the age of 16 were required to take an oath of allegiance to King George the Second of Great Britain and the Province of Pennsylvania. Sources ^[1] and ^[2] confirm the immigration data and the information about the oath.]

This profile is a collaborative work-in-progress. Can you contribute information or sources?

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Egle, William Henry, M.D., Editor, "Names of Foreigners Who Took the Oath of Allegiance to the Province and State of Pennsylvania 1727 - 1775, With the Foreign Arrivals, 1786 - 1808," Vol. XVII, Pennsylvania Archives, Edwin K. Meyers, State Printer, 1892, p 484. (Online at <http://books.google.com/books?id=iEAOAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Oath++of+Allegiance+to+Pennsylvania&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TM8hVILeG6aIsQSH4ICoBA&ved=0CB8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Oath%20%20of%20Allegiance%20to%20Pennsylvania&f=false>, accessed 22 Sep 2014.)
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Strassburger, Ralph Beaver, LL.D., "Pennsylvania German Pioneers, A Publication of the Original Lists of Arrivals In the Port of Philadelphia from 1727 to 1808," edited by William John Hinke, Ph.D., D.D., Volume 1, 1727 - 1775, Pennsylvania German Society, Norristown, PA, 1934, List 269C, pp 719 - 720. (Online at <http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=inu.30000007109121;view=1up;seq=15>, Public Domain, Google-digitized, accessed 22 Sep 2014.)
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} Find A Grave: Memorial #121209693. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 02 March 2021), memorial page for John (Johannes Buhrman) Poorman (1743–1826), Find a Grave Memorial no. 121209693, citing Mount Bethel Cemetery, Garfield, Frederick County, Maryland, USA ; Maintained by Shirley Craft (contributor 47725088).
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Buhrman, Helen Willard, "One Man's Family, The Johannes Burman or John Poorman or John Buhrman Family, 1767 - 1965," an unpublished manuscript that accompanies a slide tour for Mr. V.E. Chatalain, History 142, University of Maryland, spring 1965. (Text of the manuscript (without slides) is available online in the Family Search Books Library at <https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/594658-one-man-s-family-the-johannes-burman-or-john-poorman-or-john-buhrman-family-1767-1965-a-slide-tour?viewer=1&offset=5#page=1&viewer=picture&o=info&n=0&q=>, accessed 27 Feb 2021. The slides would show many of the areas and buildings that were occupied by Johannes and his descendants, and the explanatory text provides an interesting view of how the early European settlers probably lived.)
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1810," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH2K-3JG : accessed 2 March 2021), J Poorman, Frederick, Maryland, United States; citing p. 638, NARA microfilm publication M252 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 15; FHL microfilm 193,668.
6. ↑ "United States Census, 1800," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH55-KY3 : accessed 2 March 2021), John Poorman, Emmitsburg, Frederick, Maryland, United States; citing p. 174, NARA microfilm publication M32, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 10; FHL microfilm 193,663.
7. ↑ "United States Census, 1790," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHKY-81V : accessed 2 March 2021), John Poorman, Frederick, Maryland, United States; citing p. 195, NARA microfilm publication M637, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 3; FHL microfilm 568,143.

• Rupp, Prof.I. Daniel, "A Collection of Upwards of Thirty Thousand Names of German, Swiss, Dutch, French and Other Immigrants in Pennsylvania From 1727 to 1776," Second Edition, IG Kohler, Philadelphia, 1876. (Johannes Burman, p. 382.)

• Genealogy notes of Samuel Glenn Barton.