Sisters!!!

     The other day I wrote a blog on some ancestors who lived in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and attended the same church.  (St. Peter's Tohickon Union Church) I ended the blog with the speculation that Anna Margaretta Shoup and Veronica Francy Shupe might be sisters.  Anna Margaretta married John Hugus,  while Veronica's descendants included the Berlin Family.  Samuel Hugus and Inez Adella Berlin, my great-grandparents, were married in 1886, over 100 years later. (Samuel and Inez were third cousins and/or fourth cousins. It depends upon whether you start with the Fabian family or the Shoup family.)
     Today, while looking through Bucks County wills, I found the will of Jacob Shoup.  Jacob's will was written on Jan 11, 1766 and recorded on April 11, 1766.  The will includes one line that helps our research.  
". . . The remainder of all to be equally divided amongst all the surviving children, viz. Jacob Shoup, Margaret, now Hocus,Henry, John, Ann, Larrance, Francy, and Michel. . . ."

Portion of Jacob Shoup's Will¹

     The name Hugus was spelled Hocus.  I have seen similar spellings in other documents.  The document also names Jacob's wife, Francy.  

Records from St. Paul's Tohickon Union Church²

     Tohickon Church Records show Jacob and wife, Veronica at the baptism of Veronica.  It seems that both mother and daughter used the name Veronica at times and used the name Francy at other times.  The church records show that Veronica (daughter) was born in 1761.  Since the will mentions that Margaret was married, it would appear that, Margaret was at least ten years older than Veronica, possibly more.
     Both women, together with their husbands and children, migrated to Westmoreland County, in western Pennsylvania soon after the Revolutionary War.


1.  "Pennsylvania, Probate Records, 1683-1994." Vol 3 Page 137-8 Images. FamilySearch. https://familysearch.org : accessed 2013.  

2.  Lineages, Inc., comp. Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 1744-1801: Tohickon Union Reformed Church [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.