Hi Kathy! This Bechtel family is certainly a mystery. Checking all

of my extensive sources didn't turn up much except confirmation that

Jacob & Helena were living in Springfield Twp. from 1810-1820. That

would seem to corroborate your theory that Jacob was the son of

Martin rather than of Martin's brother Jacob as most people appear

to believe - presumably based on the fact that the Kulp Family

History claims that Jacob Jr. was married to "Miss Rosenberg".

However, I think it will be difficult to prove that Helena's wife Jacob was the son of Martin vs. Jacob.

Because this family were Mennonites, there are no church records to

help in this effort. Due to persecution in Europe, the Mennonites

learned not to keep church records, which could be used by

government authorities to identify the members of the faith.

Despite freedom in America, the Mennonites didn't change this "no

records" practice until the mid to late 1800s.

I find no useful info in Orphan's Court records, which would

normally be the primary source for someone who died intestate. Deed

records also didn't produce anything except the info about Jacob &

Helena living in Springfield Twp.

So the administration files are the only other source I can think of.

However, the administration files rarely have much useful information.

They almost never have a list of the heirs. The only thing you're

likely to find in the administration files is the names of the

administrators, which are usually family members.

In terms of getting copies of Martin's and Jacob's administration

files, there are several possible options.

1. Contact the Bucks County Register of Wills. They may have a

service to provide copies of administration files for a fee.

2. Contact the Bucks County Historical Society (Mercer

Museum/Spruance Library). They have copies of these records and may

be willing to provide copies to you for a fee.

3. Hire a local genealogist. I would be willing to make copies for

you for free but I don't get to Doylestown as often as I used to and

don't know when I might next get there.

The Kulp Family History is probably the source for the claim that

Martin's wife Anna was a Rieser. There was a Mennonite Rieser

family in the Springfield Twp. area so this is possible. However, I

haven't been able to find the progenitor of this family so don't

have a way to prove if this is correct. Another dead end here.

Sorry that I can't provide more help on the Bechtel side.

On the Meyer/Moyer side, the Moyer Family History states that

Rebecca was the daughter of Rev. Samuel Meyer, who died in 1832, and

granddaughter of Rev. Jacob Meyer, who died in 1790. I can't find

an estate file for Samuel but I generally find the Moyer Family

History to be pretty accurate so I think this is likely correct. On

the other hand, the Moyer Family History states that Rebecca &

Benjamin had no children which is obviously incorrect. But given

that they moved to Ohio, the author might not have been able to

identify their children, even if he had proof as to Rebecca's identity.

Let me know if you'd like to discuss any of this further.

Tom Myers

BCGS Query Coordinator

Hi Tom,

I thank you for what you have suggested. Martin's wife Anna left a

will and named her three sons, John, Abraham, Jacob, and deceased

daughter Salome.

I looked at the will of Abraham Reaser (d 1791) of Springfield and he

names a daughter Anna, but never mentions her married name. UG!!!! I

thought that must be her father as she named second son after him and

this Bechtel line does not have Abrahams. I have been using

familysearch.orgunder PA Probate records. They do not have the Admin

records nor deeds.

Yes, I would welcome your help even if you don't head to Doylesville

any time soon. I will need the admin records for dates. Also if the

deceased person had property, doesn't it have to be distributed. So

isn't there some type of court records with this info. In TN it is

Chancery Court records. I'm not sure what it is in PA. Maybe you can explain this to me.

It is possible to get copies of the Kulp Family History and Moyer

Family History that states what you have above.

I don't mind paying you for copies and we can certainly send you

copies of the final report. This is for the DAR and I know I will

have to write an analysis due to lack of records, but I will gladly

share all my findings in final form when I get this all together.

I did look at Orphan's Court Records that are in print and Jacob and

Helena Bechtal had a son named Benjamin. Helena's grandfather and

brother was Benjamin.

Julius Rosenburger named his son Benjamin to be executor of his will.

Jacob and Helena acknowledged him in the proceedings. So I know that

line is correct.

I find another problem with Julius and Elias. Would you say those

two names are the same?

Thank you again.

Kathy Johnson

HI Tom,

I stand corrected. I found Jacob and Helena Rosenberger Bechtel info

in Bucks Co., Pa, Misc Deed Dockets 1785-1857, Thomas G. Myers (Is

this your

book?)

pp 40, 68, & 73. Take a look and let me know what you think?

Am I working on the wrong line? I still think it is George to Martin

(have early deed stating father and son), Martin to Jacob, (wife

Anna's will), Jacob to Benjamin (a mason by trade) according to the

above deeds or court records.

Thanks,

Kathy

Hi Kathy! Yes, I'm the Thomas G. Myers who has published several books documenting Bucks County source material. I also saw the three Misc. Deed references but those only prove that Helena is a daughter of Julius Rosenberger. I don't see anything to prove that she and Jacob are the parents of Benjamin, although I believe that's a reasonable conclusion.

Likewise, Anna Bechtel's will simply proves that she had a son Jacob.

It doesn't prove which Jacob. According to the Kulp Family History, brothers Martin and Jacob both had sons named Jacob. So the Jacob who married Helena Rosenberger could in theory be the son of either Martin or Jacob. Again, because of the Springfield Twp. connection, I think the theory that the Jacob married to Helena was the son of Martin is the better theory but I'm not aware of anything that proves this.

I'm not aware that Julius and Elias are equivalent. I've generally seen Julius referred to as "Yellis".

For PA, there are four primary court sources for documenting the heirs of intestate individuals. These are as follows, listed from most to least important.

1. Orphan's Court records - if a intestate individual owned real estate, the Orphan's Court was responsible for overseeing the disposition of the real estate. The petition to the Orphan's Court to do so almost always lists the individual's heirs. That's why I published my series of Bucks County Orphan's Court records because these are an invaluable source for researching intestate individual's heirs. Unfortunately, neither Martin nor Jacob had a real estate settlement adjudicated by the Orphan's Court. So they either didn't own real estate or the heirs somehow disposed of the property by other means.

2. Miscellaneous Deeds - when an deceased man's real estate was sold, his widow was entitled to an annuity ("the widow's dower") off the property until her death as a means of providing for her. The widow's dower resulted in a lien which carried forward through any sales of the property. After the widow's death, the property owners would need to pay off the dower to the widow's heirs. These dower settlements were generally filed in the Miscellaneous Deed Books and list the heirs that were paid off. That's why I published my series on these records as another rich source for researching the heirs of intestate individuals. Unfortunately again, neither Martin nor Jacob have a widow's dower release filed in the Miscellaneous Deed series. Other types of releases were also filed in the Misc. Deed series which can sometimes be useful (e.g. the Jacob & Helena Bechtel entries).

3. Deed Records - some widow's dower releases were filed in the

regular deed book series rather than the Miscellaneous Deeds series.

I tried to catch as many of these as possible in my third volume (Miscellaneous Deeds 1687-1910) but I might have missed a few. Also, in some cases, an intestate individual may have sold his/her real estate prior to death in which case the deed might indicate a relationship between the seller and the buyer. However, in my experience it's rare that the relationship between buyer and seller is stated in the deed. Without checking the index to Bucks County deeds, I don't know whether Martin or Jacob might have sold their property prior to their deaths. The index to Bucks County deeds is not available online as far as I know.

4. Estate Administration Records - for an intestate individual, this file typically includes the following papers:

a. A widow's renunciation - if there was a widow and she doesn't want to handle the adminstration of the estate, she had to renounce her right in writing and name someone else to do so. If she names a relative to do so, she often states the relationship.

b. The administrators bond - this rarely states relationships between the individuals.

c. The estate inventory - this is rarely useful unless the individual has made loans to relatives which are part of the estate. However, even then, the inventory would only list the names of the people to whom loans were made and not their relationship. So this is of limited use.

d. The estate settlement - in most cases, this lists all of the creditors of the estate and the amounts they were paid and how much was left for the heirs. However, the heirs themselves are rarely listed on this document. But I do occasionally get lucky and find one that does list the heirs.

Regarding Abraham Reaser/Rieser, his daughter Anna married Abraham Funk. Abraham was born about 1730 and would therefore more likely be Anna Bechtel's brother if she is in fact a Rieser. But as I mentioned, I haven't been able to uncover who Abraham (and Anna's?) father was.

I think this covers all your questions. I will see what I can do to get you copies of the relevant pages from the Kulp and Moyer histories.

Tom

I also have an interest in the Bechtel's of Bucks County.

Looking for parent information on Martin H. Bechtel, born 5 Apr 1819

in Doylestown and died 22 Jan 1899 in Pennsburg, Montg. County. He

was married to Mary Ann Dotts on 3 Feb 1844 by Rev. Daniel Weiser

(who at the time had the pastorate at New Goshenhoppen Reformed

from 1833 - 1864.)

I have no indication that he was Mennonite. None of the later records

give inkling of that. (But that doesn't mean he wasn't.) I have tons

of information on him following his marriage. He lived for a short time

after his marriage in Bucks County, then moved to the Philly area from

roughly 1847 to late 1860's, then lived in Hatfield until after 1880.

He died in Pennsburg, probably at the home of his son-in-law.