Friday, August 23, 2013

Johannes Knappschneider (1729 - 1795)

                Knappschneider  to  Snyder....  who would have known!

The Snyder family of Lower Mount Bethel., Northampton Co.,  Pennsylvania eluded me for years in my search for the father of Joseph Snyder, (1806 - 1875). Joseph and Mary Snyder were the parents of Amanda Snyder whose granddaughter, Edna May Frey,  was my husband's grandmother.  I have searched every Snyder family in the area to try to find a connection for Joseph and I have searched area church records to find a baptism record for Joseph Snyder, but to no avail. 

Then out of the blue,  I came across  the marriage record for Joseph and Mary Snyder. There it was, plain as day!  Married on January 5, 1828, Joseph Knopsnyder and Mary Jacobi, both of Lower Mount Bethel, Pennsylvania.  Imagine that, Knopsnyder, not Snyder! Their marriage is recorded  in the Record of First Presbyterian Church of Easton, Pennsylvania, 1811-1887  located at the Northampton County Genealogical and Historical Society in Easton.  Further research for the Knopsnyder, Knappschneider  name (with a name like this, there are many variations for the spelling) revealed a plethora of documents for this family and lead me to the subject of this  entry, the Revolutionary War soldier and immigrant ancestor of this family,  Johannes Knappschneider. 

Johannes Knappschneider  was born in Germany.  He immigrated here in 1753 at the age of 25.  A passenger on the ship Richard & Mary,  Joh. Knabschneider  arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 17, 1753.  http://www.galliagenealogy.org/Immigration/passenger_kin-kob.htm
He eventually  made his way to Moore Township in Northampton County.  The earliest reference  I found lists him as having attended communion at Emmanuel Petersville Church in 1766.  He was married to Catherine.  Her name is noted in the record of the birth and baptism of their son, Conrad.  Conrad was born on August 8, 1767 and baptised on August 23, 1767. A daughter, Maria Catherina,  was  baptised on August 18, 1776.  The birth records of other children were not found,  but they had at least six children: three boys -- Johannes or John, George and Conrad; three girls -- Sybilla, Regina and Catharina.  No telling when Johannes and Catherine were married.  They may have had children born before Conrad in 1767. 

John Knapshneider took out a warrent for 54 acres of land in Moore Township on Nov. 14, 1771.  By the time  things were heating up  for the Revolutionary War, John must have been an established farmer.  He enlisted in the company of Captain Philip Shawder as a Ranger in the Pennsylvania Line.  In some counties, special troops called Rangers were recruited.   The Rangers served long enlistments on the frontier protecting the settlements against attacks from the Indians. 
 


ROLL OF CAPT'N PHILIP SHRAWDERS COMPANY OF PENNSYLVANIA 
RANGERS RAISED &STATIONED IN THE COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON 
FROM lOTH FEB'Y 1781 TO THE FIRST JUNE 1782. 
Private John Knapsnider.


http://www.digitalarchives.state.pa.us/archive


Various records show that he served a three-year enlistment between the years of 1781 and 1784.

One of his sons was John George Knapschneider who came to live in Lower Mount Bethel Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania. John George Knapschneider married Anna Rosina Vogel and they became the parents of a son, Joseph born February 10, 1806. The entry in the Parish records of the German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Easton, Pa (This is volume G of the church records also know as the St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church records) states: George and Rosina Knapfschnaider, Joseph b 10 Feb 1806 bp 21 Nov. sp: parents. The birth date is an exact match for the calculated birth date of Joseph Snyder from his gravestone in the Three Church Hill Cemetery in Lower Mount Bethel. Knapfschnaider? No wonder I had such a tough time finding a birth record for Joseph Snyder!
Photo by Cynthia Smith
Photo by Cynthia Smith


Joesph and Mary Jacoby Snyder are buried in Three Church Hill Cemetery in Lower Mount Bethel, Pa.  The Grave stone has been repaired in recent years.  Thank you to  Carol A. Hoff for this picture found at the Find A Grave website.
 
Photo by Taken By Carol A. Hoff
Sources:
Find A Grave Memorial# 141665957  

                   Please see this list of all My Revolutionary War Ancestors.

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