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.

Drilling for Pennsylvania Oil

Jeremiah Berlin
Permelia Olive Ensign Berlin

     The first oil boom in the United States occurred in Pennsylvania starting in 1859.  During the next few decades there were dramatic swings in the price of oil and production capacity far exceeded supply.
     In 1872 drilling was still big news as demonstrated by a few newspaper articles regarding wells on my 2nd great-grandfather, Jeremiah Berlin’s farm.

5 Mar 1872 Petroleum Centre
“Baum, Prentice & Co. have a well down about 300 feet on the Jeremiah Berlin farm in Ashland township about a mile and a half south of Mimm’s Hotel.“

22 May 1872 Petroleum Center Pennsylvania
“The well on the Jeremiah Berlin farm is down over 1,000 feet, and the rocks passed through have been very much the same as that found in the wells at St. Petersburg.  A third sand and paying well is confidentially looked for.”

No further news regarding the well could be located so the outcome is unknown.   By 1900 Standard Oil had created a monopoly and gained control of the oil market and oil discoveries in other parts of the country had moved the focus of the oil industry elsewhere.

Atlas of Clarion County¹

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1. Caldwell's Illustrated Historical Combination Atlas of Clarion County, Pennsylvania,  J.A. Caldwell, Condit, Ohio 1877

Jacob Hugus: Another case of Moving Graves

     I wrote about Jacob Hugus in an earlier post.  He had several patents about stills or making wine.  He also was well known for making Grandfather clocks.  There are currently several of his clocks that are still in working order.  A number of years ago I missed by a few months a clock that was up for auction.  I hope that if any come up for sale in the future that I can afford to purchase it or at the very least see it.
    Jacob Hugus died in 1835 and was buried in the Old German Cemetery in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.  The German cemetery was probably laid out by the German Reformed and Lutheran congregations¹.  But if you were to drive to Greensburg today then you won't find the Old German Cemetery.  Instead you will find this parking lot.


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     In 1890 the city of Greensburg passed an ordinance which prohibited burials inside city limits.  After 1890 the cemetery fell into disrepair.   Around 1937 the city took possession of the property.  After moving some of the remains the land was turned into a city park.  An acquaintance of mine used to play at the park when he was young. Around 1957 the park was changed into a parking lot.  Photo of Old German cemetery/park 
     There seems to be some uncertainty whether Jacob and his wife were among those whose remains were moved.  There is a list of those not moved. These may not have been moved.  However there is a picture of a gravestone for both he and his wife in Saint Claire Cemetery on Findagrave.  Jacob Hugus Stone in Saint Claire Cemetery  List of old burials.  I guess when I visit Greesburg I will need to visit both locations, parking lot and cemetery.


1.  Boucher, John N.,  History of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania,  The Lewis Publishing Company,  New York, Chicago, 1906

Anna Maria, Wife of Nicholas, Which One Art Thou?

     Hans Jacob Berlin married Anna Margarita Euler.  He is buried in Abbottstown, Adams County, Pennsylvania.  She is not buried with Jacob.  His son, Nicholas married Anna Maria _____.  He died and is buried in Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh.  Nicholas had a daughter Anna Maria, named after her mother.   Nicholas' son Daniel married Mary Ann Negley.  Daniel's second wife is Margaret Kuhns.  Daniel Berlin and John Nicholas Berlin are buried in the same lot in Allegheny Cemetery along with four females as shown below.    

     

What is the relationship between these women? Who is who?  

     Since Nicholas' mother, Anna Margarita Euler Berlin was probably born about 1720 it is unlike that she is buried here.  She probably died before 1810.  Some researchers claim she died between 1804 and 1810 (although without sources).  She probably came west with her son, Nicholas and may have died in Westmoreland County.  

     It is thought that Daniel's first wife died in 1829 near the birth and death of a child.  There is also a George N. who died in March 1829 who is buried here.  That would mean that #4 Mary A was Daniel's first wife.

     It is also believed that Anna Maria, the wife of Nicholas died after 1836.   She was born around 1750.  This would probably mean that #5 was the wife of Nicholas and then #3 could have been his daughter.   

     So is #1 an unknown daughter or does it indicate that some record about Daniel's second wife is incorrectly transcribed?  

     Knowing that middle names were often switched with first names and sometime names were anglicized could Anna Maria be Mary Ann?  Only time and more research will tell.  This cemetery record while wonderful to have creates more questions than answers.

Stills and Spirits

    Most frontier farmers had a difficult time getting their crops to market.  The roads were poor and in some cases non-existent.    The distances were great and there was always the issue of spoilage. They soon found that if they distilled their grain into whiskey that spoilage was a non-issue.  So stills and distilleries were a part of my Kentucky and Pennsylvania roots.  
My Pennsylvania ancestors moved into western Pennsylvania about the time of the Whiskey Rebellion.  The Whiskey Rebellion was a result of of the federal government’s attempt under George Washington to apply a tax to spirits but not grain.  Because of the tax, the frontier farmer carried a disproportional share of the cost of the government and it cut into profits as well.  I know that some of the Hugus ancestors must have been distillers, especially since Jacob Hugus was issued a patent for distilling spirits in 1828 and another issued in 1832 for making wine from cider¹. Hugus Patents
     Distilleries were also an important part of life in Nelson County, Kentucky.   The town of Samuels was named for the Samuels Family which has been distilling spirits for hundreds of years.  Present day Maker’s Mark Whiskey was founded by members of the Samuels family.  Even though we know that John G. Gates worked at a distillery and  there was a Mattingly Distillery near Samuels, we are unaware of any family owning distilleries in Nelson County.  William R. Gates (the second son of Elisha Gates) married Elizabeth Mattingly.  Elizabeth’s brother, Miles P. Mattingly was owner of several distilleries in Owensboro².  There was even a court case as a result of one of his purchases.   Old W. S. Stone Distillery; M. P. M. Distiller, Hand Made Sour Mash Whiskey became a famous brand at the time.³


1.  Ellsworth, Henry-Leavitt. Unites States. Patent Office. Digest of Patents, Issued by the United States from 1790 to January 1, 1839. Washington D. C.: Peter Force, 1840.

2.  The History of Daviess County, Kentucky. Chicago, Illinois: Interstate Publishing Company, 1883. 

3.   Mattingly v Stone, Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1889 Southwestern Reporter, Vol 12, page 467-69