Michael Roseberry (abt. 1735 - aft. 1800)

Born about 1735 in Hunterdon County, Province of New Jersey

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Maple) Roseberry — married about 1761 in Monmouth, New Jersey

Descendants

Died after 1800 after about age 65 in Center Township, Greene, Pennsylvania, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: S Bechman [send private message]

Biography

Howard Leckey described 2 versions of the ancestry of the Roseberry Family of Greene County, Pennsylvania.^[1] In one, this family descended from a Joseph Roseberry, who owned 228 acres of land in the area where Phillipsburg, New Jersey now stands, and his son Michael Roseberry, who migrated west in 1784. This family was believed to be of English origin.

In a second version, a J. M. Roseberry claimed that the family was of German origin. In this version, the family descended from a Michael Roseberry who lived on the Susquenhanna River during the American Revolution, having moved there from the Tuscarora Valley on the Juniata River.

Leckey stated that all accounts of the family history claimed that Michael Roseberry married Mary Maple. This is problematic, as Mary's father, Benjamin Maple Jr, lived in South Brunswick Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey from about 1717 up to his death in 1777. There are no records of Roseberrys living in the vicinity.

Michael's first name is often given as Hans. This may be the result of confusion with a Hans Michel Rosenberger, the son of Johann Jost Rosenberger. Born on 25 September 1745, Hans Michel clearly could not have been the Michael Roseberry who married Mary Maple and had son John Michael Roseberry born on 28 April 1761.

Birth

Based on the birthplaces and marriage place of Michael's parents, Hans Michael Roseberry appears to have been born near the eastern shore of the Delaware River about 1735 in Hunterdon County, Province of New Jersey (today near Phillipsburg, Warren County, NJ), to parents Joseph and Agnetta Roseberry.

Note: Morris County was formed from Hunterdon County in 1739; Sussex County was formed from the western portion of Morris County in 1753; and Warren County was formed from the southern portion of Morris County in 1824.

Marriage

Michael Roseberry married Mary Maple in Sussex County, Province of New Jersey in 1760.

Migration

Michael Roseberry appears to have moved some time prior to 1790 to Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, based on 1790 US Census records.^[2]

By 1800, per US Census records, Michael appears to have moved at least one more time, this time to Greene County, in the southwesternmost corner of Pennsylvania.^[3]

Censuses

1790 US Census, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania

Michle Roseberry, HoH

16+ Males: 2 [Michael Sr; son Mathias]

0-15 Males: ? [smudged/scratched out; should be 0]

Females: 2 [wife Mary & daughter Mary?]

Other Free: 0

Slaves: 0^[2]

1800 US Census, Franklin Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania

Roseberry, Michael, HoH

45+M: 1 [Michael]

45+F: 1 [wife Mary]^[3]

Death

As no US Census records have been found for Michael Roseberry after 1800, Michael Roseberry likely died some time after the 1800 US Census in Center Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania USA.

Research Notes

Birthplace

There has been no source documentation yet identified for Hans Michael Roseberry's birthplace or christening. This original profile indicated that Hans Michael was born in "Center (Township), Greene, PA". A search on FamilySearch.org in Feb. 2023 indicated that Hans Michael was born in Cumberland County, PA. (We do have a US census record of a Michle [Michael] Roseberry living in Mifflin County, PA in 1790) But both of these places of birth are quite unlikely, as Pennsylvania west of the Susquehanna River was closed to western settlement until 1749, and further northern & western extensions of settlement (where both Cumberland and Green Counties are located) was closed until after the close of the French & Indian War (1755-1763) and the Pennsylvania proprietors had signed treaties with the Iroquois and other indian tribes in the area in 1769 to allow for new settlement. On the other hand, the profiles of Michael's parents, Joseph and Agnetta Roseberry, indicate that both parents were born in Hunterdon County, New Jersey and married there in 1734; lacking any other evidence, the most reasonable speculation is that their son Michael was born where they were married and set up a household.

There is also the issue of MIchael's full name. It's not clear why we think his full name is: Hans Michael Roseberry; this nomenclature of prepending a "godname" (Hans) to a person's actual name was a common German practice, and it's quite common to see this among first-generation German immigrants. But Michael's parents were English, not German; and Michael was certainly not a 1st-generation immigrant.

Marriage

The source evidence we have for Michael Roseberry and Mary Maple's marriage in Monmouth County, New Jersey in 1760 is the US and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 compiled by Yates Publishing and available at Ancestry.com. This has proven to be a very unreliable source. And in this case, the location of Monmouth County, NJ was further east than either Michael or Mary's birthplaces (Michael: Hunterdon County, NJ, Mary: Middlesex County, NJ); there is no obvious reason why they wouldn't have married in one or the other's hometown and in a place where they had no relationship. FamilySearch.org, as of Feb. 2023, indicates (but again, without sources) that they were married in Sussex County (formed in 1753 from Hunterdon County) in 1760. This might be just the most reasonable speculation for their marriage place, as is the date of 1760 the most reasonable based on the birth year of their oldest known child. But, still, entirely speculative.

Southwestern PA in the late 1700s

During the French & Indian War (1755-1763), the lands west of the Blue Ridge (aka South Mountain) were blocked from British settlement by the French & Indians. From 1763, when the British captured Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh, PA) to about 1780, the area south of the Forks of the Ohio to the headwaters of the Youghiogheny River was claimed and settled by both Virginia (the "District of West Augusta") and Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania allowed settlement once it had purchased the land from the Iroquois (the "New Purchase") in 1768. This brackets when the Roseberrys may have lived in the area, and identifies Virginia records as another source for any land records for Michael Roseberry & kin.

Census records after 1800

The 1800 Census record for Michael Roseberry shows him living alone with his wife. There are two records in the 1810 census for Michael Roseberry in Greene County, Pennsylvania, but they both include a number of children in their households; as Michael would have been about 65 in 1810, this Michael would unlikely to have any children living with them, so we speculate that these 1810 records are for other MIchael Roseberrys, perhaps son and grandson of this Michael.

Sources

1. ↑ Howard L. Leckey, The Tenmile Country and Its Pioneer Families, Greene County Historical Society (1977)
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). United States Census, 1790, Michle Roseberry, 1790, Pg. 135, Col 2, Ln 43. database with images, FamilySearch (accessed 12 January 2016). NARA microfilm publication M637, roll 8, FHL Film Number 0568148, Digital Folder Number 005157140, Image Number 329. The "0-15 Males" value is smudged/scratched out.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). United States Census, 1800, Roseberry, Michael, 1800. Pg 9, Ln 16. database with images, FamilySearch (accessed 11 January 2016). NARA microfilm publication M32, roll 40; FHL Film Number 363343; Digital Folder Number 004956041; Image Number 75.