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More On The Moyers - 5x Great Grandparents

The next step back in my Moyer line was to identify my 5x great grandparents.


So, who were Abraham's parents? So, as I began that research, I had a couple things to keep in mind: location and Abraham's middle initial "Z". Typically, the middle name was the mother's maiden name.


I eventually discovered two separate reference cards from the U.S. Mennonite Vital Records for a Benjamin Moyer. Both contained similar information, but were from different sources.


On them, Benjamin Moyer married Catherine Pawling Ziegler. That would certainly account for Abraham's middle initial. Both cards did list a son named Abraham, so that also matched.


I also found a listing in a Ziegler genealogy that listed Catherine Pawling Ziegler as marrying Benjamin Moyer and listed their children. In addition to Abraham, there was also a son John/Johannes and daughters Maria Anna/Mary and Hannah. I mention these three because there were all buried in the same cemetery - Bally Mennonite Cemetery in Bally, Berks County. Going back to my prior Moyer update post (here), Bally was an important location, particularly as it related to my 3x great grandfather, Francis. So, it would appear to me that the extended family lived in the same general area.


Another piece of information I discovered was Benjamin's will, however it did spell the last name as "Meyer." The will was made out on 11 January 1819, but was not probated until 3 June 1822. It named his children, which included sons Abraham and John and daughters Maria and Hannah. It did not name his wife Catherine, as she had died in 1786.

From Benjamin's will

Benjamin appointed his son-in-law Henry Eshbach as one of his executors. Heinrich "Henry" Stauffer Eshbach had married Benjamin's daughter Maria.


As for Benjamin Moyer, he was born about 1735 and lived in Douglass Township, Montgomery County, PA (which borders eastern Berks County) and was a farmer. Depending where in Douglass Township, he lived, it was only about 7 miles from Bally (I used Gilbertsville as the starting point, which is in the southern end of the township and is about 2 miles from Boyertown in Berks County).


So, based upon all of the above information, I believe I have identified my 5x great grandparents in my Moyer line.



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