Johan Wilhelm Best II (1713 - 1762)

Born 30 Nov 1713 in Switzerland

Ancestors

Husband of Anna Susanna (Schaeffer) Lobach — married 1732 in Kurfürstentum Pfalz, Heiliges Römisches Reich

Descendants

Died 24 Nov 1762 at age 48 in Lehigh, Northampton Co., Pennsylvania

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Biography

Bescht, Baest, Betz

Wilhelm was born in 1713 in Switzerland. Anna was born in 1717 in the Palatinate district in Germany. She was the daughter of Adam Schaffer and Anna Margaret Weiland who left Germany in 1733 and settled on a farm in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, between Allentown and the Blue Mountains, in what is now Northampton County.

Marriage to: Anna Susanna Schaffer ca. 1 JUL 1731

The Rhenish Palatinate district, consisting of 2111 square miles, was west of the Rhine River, north of France, east of Saarland, and south of Hesse (formally a German state). The Upper Palatinate district, consisted of 3724 square miles, was a region in eastern Germany and was part of Bohemia, and crossed by the Nab River.

Wilhelm Jr. and Anna left Germany in 1738, traveling down the Rhine River to Rotterdam, Holland, from there, to Deal, England. During this trip they had to pass through several customs stations. These stations sometimes took a week to get through, so the trip took from 6 to 8 weeks. From Deal, they sailed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the ship Winter Galley, arriving September 5, 1738.

Wilhelm Jr. And Anna settled on a farm along the east bank of Lehigh Valley Township, a few miles below Walnut Port, near Anna's parents. This was the frontier country at that time, and Wilhelm Jr. Served in the Colonial Army in the French and Indian War.

Wilhelm Jr. died November 24, 1762 and Anna died in 1769, both in Lehigh Valley Township. They are buried in St Paul's Cemetery near Cherryville, Pennsylvania.

Sources

• FamilySearch Person: LYGV-QQY
• LeGro Family member
• Max Bess with help from George Bess.
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10924937/johan-wilhelm-best: accessed 06 September 2022), memorial page for Johan Wilhelm Best Jr. (30 Nov 1713–24 Nov 1762), Find a Grave Memorial ID 10924937, citing Saint Pauls United Church of Christ of Indianland, Walnutport, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, USA; Maintained by Mona Anderson (contributor 46620248) .