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Michael Schenck (1744 - 1816)

Rev. Michael Schenck
Born in Manor Twp, Lancaster County, PAmap
Ancestors ancestors
Brother of and
Husband of — married 1770 in Lancaster,map
Descendants descendants
Died at about age 72 in Howard Twp, Centre County, PAmap
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Profile last modified | Created 6 Jul 2015
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Biography

Mennonite Minister, Farmer

Non-associator during Revolutionary War

Birth: 1744 Lancaster County Pennsylvania, USA Death: Apr. 12, 1816 Centre County Pennsylvania, USA

Mennonite minister and progenitor of the Schencks in the Bald Eagle Valley. Michael Schenck was born in Lancaster County and by 1773 was living in Conestoga Township. Most, if not all, of his children were born in Conestoga Township. During the Revolutionary War Michael Schenck was a Non-Associator, which means he objected to military service for religious reasons and paid a fine instead of serving -- see list compiled by Conestoga Historical Society. He was truly a man of his convictions. He was the spiritual leader for the early Mennonite congregation in the Bald Eagle Valley.

In the fall of 1796 he moved his family, including married son Michael, from Conestoga Township in Lancaster County to Bald Eagle Valley. Other related families that joined in this migration from Lancaster County include the Pletchers, Neffs, and Nestlerodes. Their likely route of travel would have been on the road on the eastern side of the Susquehanna River to the mouth of the Juniata River. Crossing of the Susquehanna would have been by ferry and from there they would have followed the Juniata to the area of the town of Water Street in Huntingdon County. There they probably headed northeast on established Native trails through Warriors Mark and up the Bald Eagle Valley to what is now Howard Township in Centre County.

Here the Schenck family intermarried with the Holters, Bechdels, Leathers, and others. His descendants first held a centennial reunion in 1896 to commemorate their settlement in the area. This reunion is still held on the third Saturday in August of even-numbered years in Schenck's Grove in Bald Eagle State Park, once the family farm. As a Mennonite he probably did not call himself Reverend, but many of his descendants made that designation to differentiate him from his many descendants of the same name.

Father of: Frederick m. Susanna Bechdel Michael, Jr. m. Mariah Sterneman Anna m. 1. Henry Pletcher 2. Samuel Pletcher, Jr. John m. Esther Hess Barbara m. David Bechdel Rudolph m. Susan Magdalena "Molly" m. Henry Pletcher, Jr. Daniel m. 1. Elizabeth Fox 2. Catherine Mellot

Family links: Spouse: Mariah Magdalena Maynard Schenck (1750 - 1818)*

Children: Michael Schenck (1773 - 1846)* Nancy Anna Schenck Pletcher (1775 - 1848)*

  • Calculated relationship

Inscription: On original fieldstone marker: 1816 M S (within a heart shape) 12 Aprill

Burial: Schencks Cemetery Howard Centre County Pennsylvania, USA

Created by: Lisa Garrett Record added: Jun 20, 2011 Find A Grave Memorial# 71699293

Sources

  • Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage, Volume VII, Number 2 (April 1984): "Michael Shenck and His Descendants in Centre County, Pennsylvania" by J Clayton Shank, pages 16-30

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pacahs/conestoga1777.htm

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ginnys/gpss001.html





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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Michael by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Michael:

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Rejected matches › Michael Shenk (1745-1815)

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