Jacob Souder (abt. 1680 - abt. 1737)

Born about 1680 in Switzerland [uncertain]

Husband of Anna (Groff) Souder — married about 1723 in Martindale, Earl Township, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Descendants

Died about 1737 at about age 57 in Soudersberg, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Palatine Migration WikiTree [send private message]

Jacob Souder was a Palatine Migrant. Join: Palatine Migration Project Discuss: palatine_migration

Biography

The first definite record of Jacob Souder, the early settler to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is his purchase on May 17, 1719, of 300 acres on Mill Creek in what is today West Lampeter. He purchased this parcel from Hans Graff (1661-bef.1746) and his wife Susanna (abt.1661-abt.1746) (not from his father-in-law). ^[1] Jacob left this land to his daughters Susanna and Maria in his will. This parcel is shown on the West Lampeter Warrant Map.^[2]

Jacob left a second parcel of 233 acres in what was then Lampeter to his son John by his second wife, Anna Graff. After Jacob's death, John Sauder and his mother, Anna, reached an agreement on the parcel, whereby he paid money to his brother Jacob and sister Anna Souder. Specifically, “Anna Sowder in and by her certain Deed Intended bearing date of the sixteenth day of this Instant December did grant release and confirm unto the said John Sowter his Heirs and Assigns forever (in consideration of the sum of three Hundred pounds by him to be paid to his Sister Anna and Brother Jacob for which sum the said John hath already given his Bonds or Obligations) a certain Tract of Land situate in the Township of Lampeter & County and Beginning at a post being corner of Land now of late of Jacob Graffe…thence by Phillip Ferre’s land…containing Two hundred and thirty three Acres.” ^[3] When John Souder died in 1788, he left 124 of the 233 acres to his son Joshua Souder (B214). More research and/or analysis is needed to document specifically where this 233 acre parcel was located and how Jacob Souder originally acquired it.

He must have arrived in Lancaster County between 1716 and May 19, 1719, as his daughter Maria was born in Mannheim, Germany, in 1716. ^[4]  : “The John and Maria (Souder) Rohrer Bible indicates that Maria Souder was born in 1716 in Germany. While the Bible is very faint and the available photocopy poor, other researchers feel that it states her birthplace was Manheim, Germany. The writing is in German Script but appears as Manheim (or Marheam) in ?Eunqadele, Germany.” Some researchers have concluded that Jacob was also born in Mannheim, rather than Switzerland, and there was a Jacob baptized in the Evangelical Church there on June 23, 1678, the 2nd son named Jacob of Samuel and Margaretha Frey. ^{[5] [6]}

Jacob had at least the following two children by an unknown wife, whom he married in Europe and who must have joined him on his emigration to Pennsylvania. ^[7]

1. Maria; and
2. Susanna, who was born in 1720 ^[8], probably in Pennsylvania, based on the above land record.

Jacob Souder is on the Lancaster County Tax Lists in Conestoga in 1719 and thereafter. ^[9]

A Jacob Sauder, an immigrant from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, was naturalized between 1729 and 1730 in Bucks County. ^[10] The record may not relate to this Jacob, however, as he is not documented as ever having lived in Bucks County, and there was a Jacob Souder who left a will in Philadelphia County in 1745. (see below in Research Notes). There is also a record for a Jacob Souder who was naturalized in Pennsylvania in 1730-1731, who may or may not be the same man. ^[11]

Jacob’s first wife must have died, as in about 1723, he married Anna (Groff) Souder (abt.1705-bef.1795), the daughter of Hans Groff. Deeds and various interactions between Jacob and Ann Groff's children John, Ann, and Jacob provide proof that they were married. ^[12] Note, however, that it is challenging to distinguish the Hans Graff who left a probate inventory on March 1, 1726 and the Hans Graff who left a probate inventory dated January 14, 1730. It is possible that Jacob Souder's 2nd wife Anna was the daughter of the first man. Research is needed.

Anna and Jacob had three children :

1. John Souder (1726-1788) (the eldest). ^[13]
2. Jacob Souder (abt.1734-abt.1758)^[14] [It has frequently been hypothesised that Jacob was the man named Jacob Sowder who died in Virginia in 1819, but y-DNA evidence suggests this was not the case.]^{[15] [16]}
3. Ann Souder (abt.1730-abt.1795), who married Jacob Barr (-abt.1803).

Jacob wrote his will on March 8, 1733 and it was probated on August 3, 1737. ^{[17] [18]}

Jacob Souder’s religion has not been determined definitively. He was perhaps most likely Mennonite as he lived among them, his wife was of that faith, and his children married Mennonites. IF he was the boy baptized in Mannheim in 1678, he was not born a Mennonite, but he may have joined them at some point in his life. He may have been part of the group of Mennonites who arrived in Lancaster County in 1717.^{[19] [20]}

On the other hand, according to other researchers, Mennonites, Lutherans and Reformed lived, worked and intermarried together in early Lancaster County. The first Reformed church in Lancaster County, formed by 1727 (the “Hill Church,” located at what is now Salem Evangelical Reformed Church (aka Hellers), in Lancaster) was about seven miles from his farm. ^[21] Also, there are no Souders or similar surnames included among the 11 Mennonite families in Mannheim in 1706 or the 19 Mennonite families there in 1717 (unless he is the "Jakob Hauter" on the 1717 list). ^[22] In 1717, he may have just left to start his journey to Pennsylvania. There were other early Suders/Souders/Suthers etc. in Pennsylvania who were Reformed (see Research Notes).

Research Notes

• No connection has yet been documented between this Jacob and the following other individuals with the last name Souder or variants, who were all also in Pennsylvania before 1750:

• • Maria Catharina (Suder) Schaffer (abt.1670-abt.1760), the wife of Nicolaus Schaeffer, who was in Tulpehocken by about 1724;

• • Jacob Souder (abt.1670-bef.1745), whose will was probated in Philadelphia County on June 10, 1745 naming a wife Margaret and unnamed children;

• • Jacob Souter (abt.1690-), husband of Anna Rosenberger (abt.1690-) and father of Henry Souter (1722-bef.1811) who lived in East Whiteland Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania; or

• • Samuel Suther (1722-1788), who was apparently a survivor of the ship Oliver, shipwrecked near Lynnhaven Bay, Chesapeake Bay, Virginia in January, 1739; taught High German in Philadelphia in 1749 where he was an associate of Michael Slatter; and went on to became a Reformed Minister.

• UPDATED NOTES FOR JACOB SOUTER, ENTERED IN JUNE, 2012 BY ROBERT H. SOUDERS, JR. - As a general note, at this time, research has confirmed the lineage of the Souders family by land records, Bible records, and other genealogy methods including DNA testing of the descendants of the Immigrant Jacob Souter first identified by a land transaction in 1719 on the purchase of land from Hans Groff in Lancaster County, PA. that is in the area of the village of Soudersburg. This village was named for Jacob and his sons. Over several years, there has been a great deal of research to determine the lineage of Jacob himself. There are many inaccurate and misused sources that have pervaded connections in the Old World and New World with Jacob, the original Immigrant ancestor. The noted Mennonite genealogist Jane Evans Best has written two articles that at this point serve as the definitive probable outline of this Jacob's ancestors. These articles are the basis for Jacob's ancestors. These two articles were "Bauman and Sauter Families of Hirzel, Switzerland" in the April 1991 issue of Mennonite Family History, and "Bauman and Sauter Families An Update" in the January 1993 issue of Mennonite Family History. There was also a visit to the Staatsarchive in Zurich, Switzerland in 2006 by Robert H. Souders, Jr. that confirms the assumptions that Best has proposed. This was also followed up with a visit to the farm in Chalbisau, Hirzel, which this information suggests was Jacob's last home in Hirzel, Switzerland. Jacob's mother, Regula Kleiner, sold the farm in 1690 as Jacob's father, Heinrich Suter, abandoned the family. As an interesting side note, the family next door to the property in 2006 had the last name of Klein.

• Jane Evans Best writes in Bauman and Sauder Families, an Update, in January, 1993:

New information so kindly sent to me by Erika Rubel-Kern from Zurich, Switzerland, has caused numerous revisions in my article "Bauman and Sauter Families of Hirzel, Switzerland", in the April, 1991 issue of Mennonite Family History...The research of Mrs. Rubel-Kern has also provided information of ancestors of Harman Suter of Hirzel, Zurich, Switzerland, as well as a major correction in the parentage of the immigrant Jacob Souder who died in 1737, and for whom Soudersburg, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania was named. Ulrich Suter in 1342 was a Lehensann (vassel) in Suterhofes in Zimmerberg, Hirzel. The Ulrich Suter who died in 1503 was also a vassel in Suterhofes. A descendant, Hans Suter, was married to a Magdalena, and was a farmer of Suterhof with his brother Ulrich... According to Mrs. Rubel-Kern, the family of Heinrich Suter (SR2234, was SR34) appears to be a more likely one from which the immigrant Jacob Souder came. Heinrich was a farmer in Kalbisau, but he left his family in 1690 because of debts and disapeared. His wife, Regula Kleiner, sold the totally debt encumbered farm in 1694 and died in 1699. He may have gone to Jebsheim, Alsace, where his sister Barbara Suter (SR2236, was SR36) and her husband (HR251) were recorded in 1692. They returned to Hausen by 1700, but their two sons, Hans Heinrich Huber (HR2516) and Jacob Huber (HR2518) are believed to be the ones who died in Martic Township, Lancaster County in 1757 and 1743 respectively... The immigrant Jacob Souder probably was SR2234.2 (was SR342), who would have been twelve years old when his father left Hirzel in 1690 and may have gone with him... SR2234.2 Hans Jacob Suter (was SR342), bap. Jan. 27, 1678, Hirzel; aged 11 in 1689; [?in 1717 was a Mennonite living in Mannheim, Germany in 1717. [?wp. Aug. 3, 1737, Lancaster, Pa.; [citing Will J-1-229, Lancaster (dat. Mar. 8 1733); Deed B-583, Lancaster;] Soudersburg, Lancaster County, Pa., was named for him; on May 16, 1719, purchased 300 acres from Hans Groff (E and ?GR-343) in present West Lampeter Twp.; on Mar. 1, 1726, signed inventory of Hans Groff (A and ?GR331); [emphasis added.]]. m. Ann Groff (?B1), b. ca 1680; d. after Mar. 25, 1740].SS2234.21 Hans Souder (was SR3321) [citing Will F-1-66, Lancaster] [their son] b. ca 1714; wp. 1788; inherited in 1737 the 233 acres in Leacock Twp. which was included in Hans Groff's (B) inventory, dated January 14, 1730[emphasis added]; 3 children... [it goes on].

For the full text see https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/195276-mennonite-family-history-v-12-no-1-jan-1993?offset=.

As research has confirmed, Jacob's daughter Mary (or Maria) by his first unknown wife was born in Mannheim on Feb. 24, 1716. We know from family Bible records that Mary married Johannes Rohrer. An absolute link to Jacob being the original immigrant in America who purchased land from Hans Groff in 1719 has not been discovered at this point, but the preponderance of evidence is convincingly strong. Research in Mannheim, Germany and/or more detailed DNA testing of documented descendants in America and Europe could further solidify the evidence to date.

Sources

1. ↑ See Lancaster Deed B583.
2. ↑ https://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/rg/di/r17-522WarranteeTwpMaps/r017Map2851LancasterWLampeterWeb.pdf.
3. ↑ See Indenture dated December 19, 1758, recorded in Lancaster Registry of Deeds in Book XX, Page 378, at https://www.searchiqs.com/palan/InfodexMainMP.aspx.
4. ↑ Jacob Souder 1680 Family Group Sheet (4 pages) contributed on September 5, 2015 at https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/82852942/person/182418414004/media/319cec67-2ed4-495c-b006-89c540faa050?_phsrc=iZx36389&usePUBJs=true&galleryindex=7&sort=-created
5. ↑ Hanß Jacob Suder in the Baden and Hesse Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1502-1985, p. 264-265 on Ancestry.com
6. ↑ Also on familysearch: Film #102154924, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS43-53KT-G?cc=3015626, Image 540 of 1002.
7. ↑ Jacob Souder 1680 Family Group Sheet states: “From the wording of the Will, which leaves them personal property of their mother, it is obvious that Susanna and Maria are daughters of Jacob’s deceased first wife [name unknown]. Later Susanna and her husband Martin Funk sold her share in the inherited land to her sister Marie, and her husband John Rohrer. Jacob’s second wife Ann is also shown in land records to have formerly “released” this land to her step-daughters. No reference to Ann being their mother was implied in the release, substantiating the assumption that she was their step-mother.”
8. ↑ Jacob Souder 1680 Family Group Sheet, citing Bible of Martin and Susanna (Souder) Funk, no place provided.
9. ↑ Source needed.
10. ↑ Noted on papers "solely for the purpose of n. those who arr. in colonies previous to 1718…George Bachman, John Dreistel, Jacob Klemmer, Jacob Sauder, Philip Geisinger.” Noted on an Ancestry.com profile for Jacob.
11. ↑ [PENNSYLVANIA COLONY.] Abstracts of Pennsylvania Records of Naturalizations, 1695-1773, Found in Colonial Records (Minutes of Provincial Council), Volumes 1, 2, 3, 9, & 10, Statutes at Large of Pennsylvania, Volumes II, III, IV, VI, VII, & VIII, and Pennsylvania Archives, Series 1, Volumes 1, 3, & 4. York, PA: South Central Pennsylvania Genealogical Society, 1983. 24p.
12. ↑ Jacob Souder 1680 Family Group Sheet states: “Several scholarly researchers indicate his other 233 acre piece of “land along the Pequea” may have come to Jacob Souter via his apparent second wife, Ann Graff. Graff family researchers state that land records indicate that Ann Graff and her brother Jacob received part of the land inventoried in 1730 for their father Hans Graff, and that the land on Pequea Creek owned by Jacob Souter and his wife Ann was part of her inheritance. Further research could be made into Graff land records to more clearly prove this. However, the claim seems reasonable as other researchers have shown Jacob Graff as being listed on early tax records for land on Beaver Creek. Since the “Widow” Ann Souter/Sowder purchased property on “Little Beaver Creek” in 1738 and 1739, shortly after the death of her husband, it seems very reasonable that as the mother of small children, and with her own father deceased, Ann would have logically acquired land next to her older brother.”
13. ↑ He is stated to be the son of Anna in a land record whereby she relinquishes all rights to land he acquired under his father's will. Also, his own will names his father as Jacob.
14. ↑ On October 29, 1766, a Jacob Sauder warranted "60 acres adjoining his other lands in Cocalico or Elisabeth." Warrant Es-2031. No survey noted.
15. ↑ Y-DNA Claims to Anabaptist Souder Families
16. ↑ See also Wilson Family Tree Album Blog, update on July 22, 2023 at https://wilsonfamilytreealbumblog.wordpress.com/2023/07/22/revise-update-on-tracing-the-roots-of-jacob-sowder-1734-1819/
17. ↑ Pennsylvania Probate Records, 1683-1994, images, FamilySearch (3 July 2014), Lancaster > Will index 1730-1830 > image 123 of 158; county courthouses, Pennsylvania; Year 1737, Book J, Page 229; Image 123.
18. ↑ Copy of a one-page original document, in German, entitled “Jacob Souder Will of 1733 8 Mar 1733” posted by campbellbenson on Ancestry.com on 08 Jan 2010.
19. ↑ Historic Mennonite Farms and Homes Lititz Pennsylvania at https://pennblog.typepad.com/lititz_mennonites/1717-migration-1/
20. ↑ Uncharted Lancaster at https://unchartedlancaster.com/2020/06/21/side-quest-visit-one-of-lancasters-oldest-structures-byerland-mennonite-meetinghouse/: “In 1717, as more Mennonites arrived, 5,000 additional acres were surveyed between the Conestoga and Pequea Creeks.
21. ↑ See discussion of the evidence that Hellers is the location of the original Hill Church here https://www.lancasterhistory.org/images/stories/JournalArticles/vol5no1pp3_16_378944.pdf
22. ↑ Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encylopedia Online at https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Mannheim_(Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberg,_Germany).

See also :

• Wilson Family Tree Album Blog :
  • Tracing the German Baptist Roots of Jacob Sowder (1734-1819), posted 21 Feb 2022 at https://wilsonfamilytreealbumblog.wordpress.com/2022/02/21/tracing-the-german-baptist-roots-of-jacob-sowder-1734-1819/
  • Update on Tracing Roots of Jacob Sowder (1734-1819) posted 21 June 2023 at https://wilsonfamilytreealbumblog.wordpress.com/2023/06/21/update-on-tracing-roots-of-jacob-sowder-1734-1819/
  • Revise Update on Tracing the Roots of Jacob Sowder (1734-1819) posted 22 July 2023 at https://wilsonfamilytreealbumblog.wordpress.com/2023/07/22/revise-update-on-tracing-the-roots-of-jacob-sowder-1734-1819/