Johann (Steiner) Stoner (abt. 1705 - 1769)

Born about 1705 in Griesheim, Höchst, Hesse-Nassau, Heiliges Römisches Reich [uncertain]

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 28 May 1769 at about age 64 in Conestoga Twp., Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

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John (Steiner) Stoner was a Palatine Migrant. Join: Palatine Migration Project Discuss: palatine_migration

Biography

John (Steiner) Stoner has German Roots.

Johannes Steiner (anglicized John Stoner Sr.) was born about 1701 in Bern, Switzerland to Johannes Steiner and Barbara Meister. He was originally an Anabaptist. Swiss persecution in the late 17th century had driven many Anabaptists from Switzerland down Europe's Rhine River to Germany's Palatinate and/or France's Alsace region, from which some migrated from Europe to America. John migrated sometime before 1727 (which is the year that Philadelphia's port finally began keeping immigration records steadily) from Germany via Rotterdam to America, and family traditions allege that he was among 3-5 brothers who did so, although this is currently unconfirmed. His name often appears as John Stoner in subsequent American records, although he continued to sign his name as Johannes Steiner throughout the remainder of his life. John was married during the mid-1720s, either in Europe or America, to Catharine Benneman.

John and Catherine settled in Pennsylvania's Philadelphia County (in a portion that would become Montgomery County in 1784) at Whitemarsh Township, along with various other Germanic immigrants. Some of their Whitemarsh neighbors were part of the relatively-new Church of the Brethren (or "Dunkers") who were performing their church's first baptisms in America; their converts included John and Catherine---if not at this time in Whitemarsh, then definitely within the following 15 years. As "Dunkers," they baptized by immersion, grew long beards, dressed and spoke plainly, refused to take oaths, refused to serve as jurors, refused to fight (even in self-defense), and anointed their sick with oil, among other beliefs/practices. John worked at Whitemarsh as both a farmer and a miller while starting to raise his family.

John Stoner lived near Philadelphia in 1728. ^[1] His deed to property adjoining Rev Martin Urner in Coventry Township, says that he had lived in White Marsh Township. John and Martin Urner were administrators of the estate of Philip Earhart in 1744. John was thus connected with the Brethren Church and eventually with the church at Ephrata.^[2] Richard Weber, in Stoner Brethren, writes, ""John Stoner had a temporary association with the Seventh Day Baptists (Sabbatarians) of the Ephrata cloister in eastern Lancaster Co[unty].

Dunkards including Alexander Mack, Jr., were naturalized on 11-13 April 1743 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.^[3]

About the same time he moved to Washington Township in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, where on 12 April 1744 he received a warrant for 200 acres on the Pennsylvania-Maryland border near Waynesboro in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. (See Weber's history of John Stoner pages 23 and 30.)

John's wife, Catren (maiden name unknown), first appears in the records on 18 March 1750/51, when they sold land to Jacob Gans of Frederick County, Maryland. She is mentioned again on 6 October 1764 when they sell more than 400 acres to blacksmith Richard Yates. (See Weber, Stoner Brethren, pp31, 39.)

In the years that followed he continued to accumulate land near Waynesboro... though with the outbreak of the French and Indian War in 1754 he moved away from Indian threats on the frontier (and stayed away for the duration of the war) to Anne Arundel County in Maryland.(See Weber, History of John Stoner, p30. and p38)

History of Leitersburg District, Washington County, MD, by Herbert Charles Bell, tells of the tract Father’s Good Will, originally named Content. It was patented to John Stoner on the 24th of May 1762, with an area of 230 acres. He secured a warrant for a resurvey, by which the area was increased to 1, 365 acres, but he died before completing the title: John Stoner, his oldest son, sold it to David Stoner, to whom the patent was granted, September 1, 1774, under the name of Father’s Good Will. This tract comprised the northeastern part of the District and also extended into Ringgold. It was one of the last of the extensive original grants to be settled and improved. Purchaser records are in the 1790s.

John's occupations were somewhat varied: he was a farmer, a land developer, and a miller, building a mill in 1745 on land that straddled Antietam Creek near Waynesboro . (See Weber, History of John Stoner p19,30)

He died intestate on 28 May 1769, probably at Antietam, Cumberland County, now Franklin County, Pennsylvania.^[4] or possibly in Cumberland, Allegany County, Maryland. He is buried in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania.^[5]

Stoner's Delight was sold in 1796.^[6][7]

In 1770 10% of the 2500 or so Dunkards living in Pennsylvania and Maryland were descended from Stoner.^[8]

They relocated in 1728 from Whitemarsh Township to Pennsylvania's Chester County at Coventry Township alongside the Schuylkill River across from present-day Pottstown. In this place, John bought 175 acres of land on 1728 Dec 01 from John Sickler (which he later patented on 1734 Dec 31) and then resided there with his family. His land neighbored the land of Martin Urner, who had immigrated from France's Alsace region to become a major pioneer leader in the Church of the Brethren, founding the church's second American congregation at Coventry Township. This Pennsylvania deed record in 1728 ends the unclear portion of John's life and marks the start of a long trail of public records in which John appears. He is listed repeatedly in Coventry Township tax lists between 1729 and 1740 as either John Stiner or John Stone. John surveyed 169 acres of land adjacent to his own Coventry Township land in 1740, which he submitted on 1740 May 31 and patented on 1743 Aug 24. He was naturalized in 1743 Apr sometime between the 11th and 13th during a Supreme Court session, along with many fellow "Dunkers" from Pennsylvania's Chester County, and they all conscientiously refused to swear an oath in accordance with their religious principles. (Please note that a second John Stoner appears in the Coventry Township area between 1747 and 1753, and was apparently naturalized in 1750, but this other John was a Mennonite not a "Dunker.")

John and Catherine relocated again in 1743 to Pennsylvania's Lancaster County near Waynesboro (and near Pennsylvania's border with Maryland) with their growing family. While there, they seem to have temporarily associated with a two-decade-old Brethren offshoot known as the Seventh-Day Baptists (which sponsored a notable monastery known as the Ephrata Cloister), but they soon returned to the "mainstream" church. John received a warrant for 200 acres of land (eventually named "Belfast") on 1744 May 23 in Pennsylvania's Lancaster County straddling Antietam Creek, which was surveyed on both 1745 Oct 05 and 1748 Apr 01, on which he farmed and built Stoner's Mill, and taught his sons John Jr. and Jacob and David Sr. the trade of miller. This land became part of newly-created York County in 1749, followed by newly-created Cumberland County in 1750. While living here in this area, John bought-and-sold some land in nearby Maryland's Frederick County, as well, which apparently helped him to develop personal contacts in Maryland's Annapolis region.

John and Catherine relocated yet again in 1754 to Maryland's Anne Arundel County near present-day Severn, leaving Stoner's Mill in the custody of their son David. John obtained a warrant for land in Maryland's Anne Arundel County on 1754 May 22, which was renewed on both 1754 Nov 16 and 1755 May 10; he surveyed a tract of land on the west side of Severn Run named "Stoner's Delight" on 1755 Nov 03, patented it on 1756 Mar 02, and lived on it with his family. His Germanic family might have felt a bit out-of-place in Anne Arundel County among their very-English neighbors, but they were seemingly trying to avoid the impending violence of the French & Indian War, which officially lasted from 1756 to 1763, and included many Native American massacres of American settlers on the frontier, including members of the Church of the Brethren whose religious principles forbade them from defending themselves. While waiting out the war, John built a new Stoner's Mill on his new land, which became a local landmark in its day; its remains are now found about one mile east of Fort Meade between Severn and Odenton at the intersection of both Old Mill Road and Telegraph Road. Also during this time, John bought-and-sold many additional tracts of land in Maryland's Anne Arundel County, as well as in Maryland's Frederick County near his former home. Many of these transactions involved a wealthy Marylander named Charles Carroll II, whose son Charles Carroll III would become one the signers of the U. S. Declaration of Independence, and the Carrolls mention the Stoners in some of their personal correspondence. As the French and Indian War neared its end, John advertised on 1762 Feb 18 in the "Maryland Gazette" that he was intending to relocate to Maryland's Frederick County and, as such, he intended to sell his plantation on 1762 Mar 01, which then included 400 acres of land, 30 acres of newly-sown wheat and rye, a house, a barn, a saw-mill, a grist-mill, a spring-house, a 60-gallon still, three pairs of working oxen, six cows, a few hogs, some horses, two wagons, and some utensils. It appears that this sale didn't go as planned, as "Stoner's Delight" would eventually be inherited by John's son Jacob.

John (with or without Catherine) returned to Pennsylvania's Lancaster County sometime between 1764 Oct 06 and 1766 Dec 17, according to Maryland deed records, where he resumed living on their "Belfast" tract. The notable absence of Catherine's name on the latter deed suggests that she had died sometime between these two dates. John died on 1769 May 28 in Pennsylvania's Cumberland County near Waynesboro, as recorded by Brother Kenan of the nearby Ephrata Cloister. John was buried n what became known as the Stoner Cemetery. This cemetery, along with John's land, would become part of newly-created Franklin County in 1784, and it has since remained part of that county. John did not record any last will and testament, it seems, so Pennsylvania's Cumberland County granted "letters of administration" on 1769 Aug 17 to his sons David and Abraham to handle his estate. His estate was appraised, as recorded on 1769 Sep 09 in Maryland's Cumberland County, and this appraisal shows that John died with 750 acres of land in Pennsylvania, 1350 acres of land in Maryland, a still, one slave, and other chattel. Records indicate that his children included Catherine, Mary, John Jr., Jacob, David Sr., Agnes, and Abraham Sr. Some FamilySearch users have included additional children without citing any sources.

Richard R. Weber meticulously researched much of this information summarized above (and more), and published it in 1993 as a book entitled "Stoner Brethren."

From Findagrave.com

Johann “John” Stoner ^[9]

Birth: 1705 Verwaltungskreis Bern-Mittelland, Bern, Switzerland;

Death: 28 May 1769 (aged 63–64) Franklin County, Pennsylvania;

Burial: Stoner Cemetery, Waynesboro, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, USA. Memorial #: 15065753.

Bio: There is another daughter, Agnes Stoner (1736 - 1800). The "Stoners" are also listed as "Steiner" in my family tree (Sievers Family Tree).∼Johannes Stoner (Steiner) AKA: "Johan", "John", "Hans", "Johann"

Birth date: February 20, 1701 Birthplace: Berne, Bern, Canton of Bern, Switzerland

Death: Died May 28, 1769 in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, United States Place of

Burial: Waynesboro, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, United States

Son of Johannes Hans Steiner and Barbara Meister

In 1730 he received a 700 acre tract from his father-in-law. "A tract of 150 acres was near the present village of New Danville." Many of the present-day Stoner descendants in Lancaster Co., except in the vicinity of Ephrata [are] descended from this couple. Through the years, this has been the most important Stoner line in Lancaster Co., PA. Source: http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/s/t/o/Scott-S-Stoner/GENE1-0025.html# CHILD 67633412

Parents:

Johannes Hans Steiner (1673-1758);

Barbara Meister Steiner (1679-1751);

Spouse: Catherine Brenneman Stoner (1705 - 1769)

Father of:

1. Magdalena Steiner (Mrs. Michael) Baughman/Bachman (1725 - );
2. Iohanes "John Steiner, Jr." (1730 - 1774);
3. Catherine Steiner Wisler Arnold (~1730 - 1815); b. South Pottstown, Chester County, Province of Pennsylvania. d. Botetourt County, Virginia, USA. Wife of Benjamin Wisler and Andrew Arnold.
4. Mary Ann Steiner Price (1731 - 1800);
5. Barbara Stoner Kagey/Kagy (1732 - 1813);
6. Jacob Stoner (1732 - 1804);
7. Pvt. David Stoner (1733 - 1820);
8. Ann Steiner Boehm/Beam ("Mrs. Jacob Beam") (1734 - 1800);
9. Eve Steiner Boehm/Beam ("Mrs. Reverend Martin Boehm/Beam") (1734 - 1822);
10. Christian Stoner (1735 - 1784);
11. Elizabeth Steiner Good (1736 - 1770);
12. Agnes Stoner (Mrs. Daniel) Arnold (1736 - 1800);
13. Abraham Stoner (1745 - 1824);
14. Isaac Steiner.

Half-brother of: Katharina Bachman; Henry A. Stoner; Jacob Steiner; Christian Steiner; John Stoner; Veronica Steiner Leib (1706-1769; Abraham Steiner; Magdalena Steiner; Anna Steiner.

Research comments

John Stoner died, 28 May 1769, in Antrim, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania." "John's wife Catren had "maiden name unknown" according to Stoner family historian Richard Weber. These statements, found in the profile as of March 2020, define this John Stoner among several men of similar name and time period.

Another John Stoner 120 married to Brenneman and had estate distributed in 1756. Merges etc. once gave John of this profile some relatives and locations that belong to the other John. Someone with access to the Weber references should check the details against this corrected profile, as well as Stoner-120. Don Hart and FamilyHart.Inc Family Hart Inc. Group Sheets are a reasonable source, but the sheet for John gives two sets of parents. I don't know if Griesheim is a good birth place. The source of the death date and place seems to be the records kept at Ephrata and only by expected location, Antrim, can there be any verification that Hart's data point matches the person of this profile.

Johann Stoner/Steiner is said to have been born c1705. According to the two Weber sources, the family probably migrated from Switzerland to Germany - possibly Nassau, Deggendorf, Bayern, Germany. Switzerland was also suggested 2/17/2000 by Don Hart email <> and by Jakob PREISS Hartman, Don & Jeanine , comps., FamilyHart (Hartman Family) Pennsylvania Dutch Genealogy Family Pages and Database

The Carpenter's House, an early structure at Ephrata Cloister. Photograph from www.ephratacloister.org.

The Brenneman History by Al;bert H. Gerberich 1938 page 396 gives the family of Catharine Brenneman who married John Steiner. Gerberich indicates that John died at Conestoga 1750 and that his estate was administered 1756.

John's death date and location along with inheritance from Brenneman, distinguish this John from John Stoner-301. Children originally in this profile that do not match to John and Catharine Brenneman Stoner are, in general transfered to Stoner-301. In most cases, the geography, for them fits better in Maryland.

This original WikiTree profile gave 17 children as shown below. Matches to Gerberich (and to the Mennonite Vital Records below) are marked with *. Matches to John Stoner's estate record are marked with +.

Mention in John Stoner estate record marked with + Mention in Brenneman Genealogy marked with *

1. Eve Steiner+*
2. Barbara Stoner+*.
3. John Stoner
4. Jacob Stoner
5. Mary Stoner
6. Catherine Stoner+*
7. Abraham Stoner+*
8. David Stoner
9. Agnes Stoner
10. Jacob Steiner+*
11. Elizabeth Stoner+*
12. Magdalena Stoner+*
13. Jacob Stoner
14. Anna Stoner+*
15. Abraham Stoner
16. Barbara Stoner+*
17. Christian Stoner+*

Notes On Children Listed Above:

• Catherine Stoner replaced with Steiner-71. Stoner-300 fits better in Maryland under Stoner-301 as father.
• John Stoner Junior is moved under Stoner-301. Stoner-120 had no son John named by estate or by Gerberich.
• Jacob Stoner Jacob at Johnsville fits better under Stoner-301
• Agnes Stoner Agnes married Arnold better for Stoner-301

Menonite Vital Records show: John Steiner, 1705-1750 (son of John) married Catharine Brenneman dau of Pre. Melchoir Brenneman and Elizabeth.

Children were (per Brenneman Gen p. 396.)

1. Jacob,
2. Christian,
3. Abraham m 1st Widow Mary Miller 2nd Anna Kauffman 10 children
4. Elizabeth m. Isaac Good,
5. Magdalena m. Michael Baughman, Jr.
6. Ann m. Jacob Boehm,
7. Barbara, Dec 1732 m. Henry Keagy, Nov 11, 1728-Oct 8, 1783,
8. Eve m. Martin Boehm,
9. Catharine m. Benjamin Wissler.

In 1730 John received a 700 acre tract from his father-in-law. "A tract of 150 acres was near the present village of New Danville."

Many of the present-day Stoner descendants in Lancaster Co., except in the vicinity of Ephrata are descended from this couple. Through the years, this has been the most important Stoner line in Lancaster Co., PA.

Sources

1. ↑ Name: Emigrants, Refugees, and Prisoner, vol.3, pg. 383.
2. ↑ Hockett, Jack <>, "Re: Price, Preisz, Preis in Penna.," Price Family GenForum #8404 Posted October 14, 2001 URL: https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/price/8404/ Accessed 2 Feb 2020.
3. ↑ Weber, Richard R. Stoner Brethren: A History of John Stoner (circa 1705-1769) and His Descendants ([Columbia, Md.]: Richard R. Weber, ©1993). pp25-26.
4. ↑ Weber, Richard R. Stoner Brethren: A History of John Stoner (circa 1705-1769) and His Descendants ([Columbia, Md.]: Richard R. Weber, ©1993). Page: 19 and page 40.
5. ↑ Hartman, Don & Jeanine <>, comps., FamilyHart (Hartman Family) Pennsylvania Dutch Genealogy Family Pages and Database URL: http://www.mid-atlanticroots.com/familyhart/ Johan Jakob PREISS.
6. ↑ See Date: 1797/04/03 3987: Greenbury Pumphrey vs. Jacob Stoner, Philip Hammond, and Rezin Pumphrey. AA. Contract to purchase Stoners Delight, Mistake in Friendship. Accession No.: 17,898-3987 MSA S512-5-4105 Location: 1/36/4/
7. ↑ from State Agency Series Listing at the Maryland State Archives CHANCERY COURT (Chancery Papers) 1797-1798 MSA SSF 512 URL: https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/stagser/s500/s512/html/s512d.html
8. ↑ Weber, p. 12.
9. ↑ svandee (46842720), “Johann ‘John’ Stoner,” Findagrave.com. Record added 28 Jul 2006. Find A Grave: Memorial #15065753. Accessed 19 June 2020. This source may contain links to inaccurate family members.

• Lewis H. Steiner & Bernard C Steiner wrote The Genealogy of the Steiner Family in 1896. The first Part shares a linear collection of rather ancient Stoner records. In Part II they present records on some mixed John Stoners in early America. On page 22, a record of Conestoga John Stoner is presented. Our John's sons, John, David and Abraham (of Antietam) are in the following paragraph.

• Kaye F. Livermore at Genealogy.com provides a comprehensive biography of John Stoner with Richard Webber as primary source.

• Anon., "Johannes Steiner," Geni.com. URL: Geni.com profile for Johannes-Steiner Accessed by Patricia Prickett Hickin on 15 Nov 2018. This names a significant number of family members.

• John Steiner of East Branch of Antietam by Scott Parker is sponsored by Little Antietam Inc. It references Stoner Brethren, A History of John Stoner (circa 1705 - 1769) and His Descendants. 1993 by Richard R. Weber. This article is specific to the John who died 1769, because it shows a signature of Johaannes Steiner 1766. The article tells of sons John Jr. b. ca 1730 and David b. ca 1733.

• Hartman, Don & Jeanine <>, comps., FamilyHart (Hartman Family) Pennsylvania Dutch Genealogy Family Pages and Database URL: http://www.mid-atlanticroots.com/familyhart/

• Hockett, Jack <>, "Re: Price, Preisz, Preis in Penna.," Price Family GenForum #8404 Posted October 14, 2001 URL: https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/price/8404/ Accessed 2 Feb 2020.

• Genealogy.com post by Hollis seems to also quote from Richard R. Weber. There seems to be insistence on the 1769 date for death.

• Weber, Richard R. Stoner Brethren: A History of John Stoner (circa 1705-1769) and His Descendants ([Columbia, Md.]: Richard R. Weber, ©1993).

• Weber, Richard. Stover Brethren: The Family of Elder William Stover of Antietam, Columbia, MD: Richard R. Weber, ©2001.

See Also:

• https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LTB5-5MW

• Email from Don Hart thru cob-org email list 2/17/2000pph
• Handed down from Jody Pellatt
• The Brenneman History by Albert H. Gerberich 1938

• Robert Wolfe Genealogy Records for John Stoner - Deeds and History

• Central PA Connections (RootsWeb) Scott (Stoner?) URL: http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=ssstoner&id=I12102 Date: 8 Jan 2007

• World Family Tree Vol. 5, Ed. 1 Brøderbund Software, Inc. Release date: August 22, 1996 Note: Customer pedigree.

• Robert Wolfe collected land and Mennonite records Documents included tell of the estate of John in 1750 and it tells of marriage to Catharine Brenneman. This is John Stoner of profile Stoner-120

Acknowledgments

• Created through import of Robb Brock_2011-03-17.ged on 17 March 2011.

• Stoner-301 was created through the import of Ancestry Audrey Harrington.ged on Nov 14, 2012 by Kim Myers.

• Aron King created profile Steiner-260 through the import of Aron King family tree.ged on Jul 24, 2013.

• Stoner-508 was created by Patricia Hickin through the import of L_RIELEY-Lucy m LAYMAN-Lewis Gish Ancestors 20141203.ged on Dec 3, 2014.

• Stoner-583 was created by Robert Atherton through the import of Atherton4.ged on Mar 28, 2015.

• Mike Saufley imported the data for Johann Stoner (1705-1750) from Most 2011_7b.ged on 18 Oct 2011.