Henry Frederick Myers (1804 - 1860)

Born 4 Jun 1804 in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States of America

Ancestors

Husband of Saloma Sarah (Klar) Larosh — married 4 Mar 1828 (to 22 Oct 1860) in Pickaway, OH

Descendants

Died 22 Oct 1860 at age 56 in Tazewell County, Illinois, United States of America

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Creed Huff [send private message]

Biography

Henry Frederick Myers was born on 4 Jun 1804 in Manheim township, Berks county, Pennsylvania ^{[1] [2]}. Henry’s parents were Peter Moyer and Catharine Leimeister. Henry was the seventh child of nine children born to the couple. In 1823, Henry, his parents, and other members of his family moved from Pennsylvania to Fairfield county, Ohio.

On 4 March 1828 in Pickaway county, Ohio, Henry married Saloma Klahr ^[3]. On the marriage record, Henry’s name was written as “Henry Moyer” and his wife’s name was written as “Sarah Klaur”. The couple had seventeen children, five sons and twelve daughters. Fifteen of the children reached adulthood, two daughters died when they were about two years of age. In the 1830 census for Pleasant township, Fairfield county, Ohio, Henry Myers was listed with one child less than five years, one male between twenty to thirty years, and one female between fifteen to 20 years ^[4]. The ages correlate with Henry, his wife, and their first child Peter. In 1840 census for the same township of Pleasant in Fairfield county, Ohio, Henry Myers was listed with four males and six females ^[5]. One male was listed between 30 and 40 years of age which would correlate with Henry’s age and one female was listed between 20 to 30 years of age which would correlate with his wife Saloma. The eight children correlated with the sex and ages of Henry and Saloma’s children at that point including one daughter who would die in 1841. In 1850, the first year that names of household members were listed, Henry and his family were still living in Pleasant township, Fairfield county, Ohio ^[1]. Henry’s name was listed as Henry Miers with no occupation listed but besides his wife’s name was listed an occupation of “Laborer”. Along with the couple were listed thirteen children, not included were the two children who had died, Elizabeth in 1841 and Millistie in 1848. Saloma’s age was listed as thirty-nine years of age with a child Melissa age 3 months. In 1854, the couple and their children moved from Fairfield county, Ohio to Washington township, Tazewell county, Illinois. It is unknown why Henry moved his family from Ohio to Illinois, possible due to the political climate between the north and the south. In 1855 in the Illinois state census, Henry F. Myers was listed as living in Washington township, Tazewell county, Illinois ^[6]. Listed was a male between 50 and 60 years of age, most likely Henry, and a woman between 40 and 50 years of age, most likely Saloma. Also listed were five males younger than forty years and seven females less than 20 years of age. By this point, Henry and Saloma had 17 children, two who had died in early childhood and four children who were married and living away from home, Peter married in 1850, Catharine married in 1851, Esther also married in 1851, and Susannah married in 1854. This would leave eleven children still living at home, but the census listed twelve others beside Henry and his wife. There was one male listed between the ages of 30 to 40 years of age who does not correlate with any other the children’s age except Peter who was living with his family. This individual may have been a hired hand or another relative. In June of 1860, Henry was interviewed for the 1860 census which listed him as Henry F. Myers living in Washington township, Tazewell county, Illinois working as a farmer ^[2]. Others in the household included his wife and eleven children of their children. About four months later, on 20 October 1860, Henry created his Last Will and Testament in which he left his home to his wife Salome ^[7]. In his will Henry listed the following the following individuals son Peter L.; son-in-law George A. Shafer, married to Catharine; son George; son Benjamin K.; T.M Young, married to Susannah; daughter Eliza; son-in-law Elias Mohr, married to Mary M.; son-in-law Elias Reber, married to Esther; minor son Samuel; minor son Henry; minor daughter Sarah; minor daughter Missouri; minor daughter Melissa; minor daughter Angeline; and minor daughter Amanda whose actual name is Samantha.

Two days after completing his Last Will and Testament, Henry died on 22 October 1860 in Tazewell county, Illinois. He was buried in the Old Washington Cemetery in Washington township, Tazewell county, Illinois ^[8]. His tombstone reads “Henry F. Myers Died Oct. 22, 1860 Age 57 years. Henry was survived by his wife Saloma, also known as Sarah, fifteen children, and eight siblings.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch [1].
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} "1860 United States Federal Census", database online. Year: 1860; Census Place: Washington, Tazewell, Illinois; Roll: M653_232; Pages: 35-36, family 289, lines 34-40 & 1-5; Family History Library Film: 803232.
3. ↑ "Ohio, County Marriage Records, 1774-1993", database on-line. Marriage Records. Ohio Marriages. Pickaway county Ohio Courthouse, Film number:000288393.
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1830," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YB3-GDH?cc=1803958&wc=35YC-6B8%3A1588481803%2C1588470116%2C1588471419 : 14 August 2015), Ohio > Fairfield > Pleasant > image 7 of 22; citing NARA microfilm publication M19, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1840," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYY1-L2X?cc=1786457&wc=31SK-W3D%3A1588669308%2C1588665928%2C1588665934 : 24 August 2015), Ohio > Fairfield > Pleasant Township > image 9 of 22; citing NARA microfilm publication M704, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
6. ↑ "Illinois, State Census Collection, 1825-1865", database on-line. Illinois State Archives; Springfield, Illinois; Illinois State Census, 1855; Archive Collection Number: 103.008; Roll Number: 2195; Line: 15.
7. ↑ “Transcription of the Will of Henry F. Moyer" by Dorothy7962 and placed in Ancestry.com on 1 November 2013.
8. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #31828880

Research Notes

It is unknown if Henry’s last name was spelled “Moyer” or “Myers”. According to some genealogy researchers Henry’s name on his baptismal record is “Heinrich Meyer”. However, this researcher has not been able to find the baptismal record.

A transcription of Henry F. Moyer was found in Ancestry.com by Dorothy7962. An email was sent to Dorothy7962 on 13 November 2020 regarding the location of the original will. Her response on 14 November 2020 was “I found it in an unexpected place, not Buck Co Pa, Not Pickaway County, OH, and not Tazewell Co, IL. Also, I do recall looking for information on all three websites. I also remember that it was in a strange place and I could not figure out why unless maybe his lawyer or friend who drew it up was living there. I think that was Washington Co., IL.”. No further information has been found at this time.