USA > Pennsylvania > Schuylkill County > Blue book of Schuylkill County : who was who and why, in interior eastern Pennsylvania, in Colonial days, the Huguenots and Palatines, their service in Queen Anne's French and Indian, and Revolutionary Wars : history of the Zerbey, Schwalm, Miller, Merkle, Minnich, Staudt, and many other representative families > Part 20
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John Emanuel, b. March 13, 1857; single, lives at Robesonia; clerk in the Recorder of Deed's office, Reading;
Calvin Luther, b., April 8, 1864; of the faculty of the Kutztown State Normal School; wf., Sallie G. Belleman; one daughter, Florence May.
Horace Wayne, b., January 16, 1871; wf., Sarah Susanna Gruber; descended from the line of Christian1; brother of Henry1 Gruber. They have two sons. He is employed at present in the Reading shops of the Reading Railway Company.
Michael6 Alvin Gruber, (Richard Michael, Michael,4 John3, John2 Adam, Henry1) ; b., April 24, 1855, in North Heidelberg
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Township. Graduated from Muhlenberg College, with the degree of Master of Arts, and chose teaching as his profes- sion. During the school term of 1890-91, forty of his pupils were teaching in Berks County. In March, 1891, he passed the civil service examination and was appointed to a clerk- ship in the U. S. A. War Department, Washington, D. C. The map of the early Manors in Berks County, on another page, is from his pen, he having taken his own surveys. Wife, Amelia Margaret Petree, whom he married 1877 and by whom he had nine children, four of whom are living.
Ralph Arthur, b., November 12, 1879; d., March 16, 1911; buried at Tulpehocken (Royer's) Meeting House, Lebanon County, Pa .; graduate, 1899, of the Keystone State Normal School; taught school two years; married, in 1902, Louisa Elizabeth Eckert, daughter of William J. and Fianna (Mohler) Eckert; one child, a daughter, Anna Louisa, b., Decem- ber 8, 1902.
Grace Evangeline, b., October 19, 1882; Womelsdorf, Pa.
Ella Florence, b., July 10, 1884; m., Harry E. Betz; four children: Earl James Michael, Anna Mary Amelia, Harry Gruber, and Eva Mar- garet; Womelsdorf, Pa.
Annie May, b., December 10, 1885; graduate, 1905, of the Keystone State Normal School, Kutztown, Pa .; teaching school, 1905-9, at Wom- elsdorf, Pa., and 1910-12 at Weissport, Pa.
Mary Amelia, b., October 1, 1888; graduate, 1908, of the Inter-State Commercial College, Reading, Pa .; married Webster Schnabel; a daugh- ter, Naomi Margaret, West Reading, Pa.
Nicholas Gruber, immigrant, settled in Bucks County, 1750. John H. Gruber, son of Peter Gruber, b., December 14, 1800, d., February 5, 1873. John was b., April 10, 1825, d., October 27, 1888; wf., Angeline Wise. Both are buried in Mumma's cemetery, Harrisburg. Their daughter, Annie E. Gruver, married Wm. H. Zerbe, Insurance and Real Estate Agency, Harrisburg, Pa. John H. Gruver and father, Peter Gruber, born at Green Tree, near Philadelphia, conducted a shoe store in Harrisburg. They were descended from Nicho- las Gruber. The change in the spelling of the name has no significance.
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SONTAG FAMILY, ZERBE LAND AND ADJACENT TRACT
Sontag (Sunday) Zerbe. Hans Adam Sontag landed at Philadelphia, October 26, 1741. There was surveyed for him, on the Little Swatara, north of Rehersburg, 248 acres of land. He assigned this land to Martin Triester, who received a patent therefor, July 31, 1750. He lived in the Tulpehocken after this date, but there is no record of his taking up land. Adam Sontag, April 18, 1757, had a mortgage recorded on a tract of land in Tulpehocken Township. Fifty acres of land was warranted, March 7, 1746, for the use, in trust, of the Blue Mountain (Zion) church, east of Strausstown. Adam Sontag appears as one of the trustees. The children of Adam Sontag and wife were: Maria Catharine, bap. August 11, 1745; Jacob, bap. June 2, 1748; Herman, bap. March 30, 1751; Anna Catharine, bap. November 17, 1753; b. October 30, 1753.
In Deed Book A, Vol. 5, p. 352, Reading :- John Adam Sontag, of Tulpehocken Twp. (one of the sons of John Adam Sontag, late of Selchen- bach in the upper Bailiwick of Lichtenberg, in the Dutchy of Zweybrueck, deceased), and Anna Elisabetha, his wife (late Anna Elisabetha Paff, one of the daughters of Valentine Paff, late of Schwartzenehren in the Baili- wick of Lichtenberg, aforesaid, deceased), send greeting: That the said John Adam Sontag and Anna Elizabetha, his wife, for and in consider- ation of the natural love which they bear to Nicholas Sontag, of Selchen- bach, aforesaid, one of the brothers of John Adam Sontag, do grant unto the said Nicholas Sontag all the Inheritances within the Dutchy of Zwey- brueck. To have and to hold, etc., etc. Acknowledged before James Read, Esq., one of the justices of the peace of Berks County, on June 27, 1768.
Adam Sontag, b., June 5, 1764. He married Elizabeth Muench, in Berks County, December 1, 1789. The census of 1790 gives them as living in Brunswick Township, with one girl, one boy. 1793 Adam Sontag ap- pears as a landholder in Northumberland County with four hundred acres. In 1800 Adam Sunday removed from Northumberland to Centre County, where he died, April 24, 1855, at George's Valley, his widow surviving. There is no record of any Sundays intermarrying with the Zerbes. Henry Sunday, the ancestor of Jacob D. Sunday, present owner of "Zerbe's Mill," is supposed to be a descendant of Hans Adam Sontag. but there is no direct proof. This man, with George Peter Zerbe, was in the Indian war, 1756, when the red men raided that township for cat- tle. (Indian Forts, Part 1.) (Penna. Archives, Series 5, Vol. 1, p. 50.)
A Johan Michael, son of Jacob Sontag and wf., Catharine, b., August 31, 1752, baptized November 12. (St. Michael and Zion's church, Phila.)
FIRST GENERATION
Lorentz Zerbe, (Zarva, Sevier), Huguenot, was one of the three brothers who came from Alsace, France, and sub- sequently Switzerland and the Palatinates, to New York, 1710, settling on Livingstone Manor and in the Schoharie
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Valley, coming to the region of the Tulpehocken, Chester County, 1723, with the thirty-three families from Schoharie, New York. His history up to this time is synonymous with that of his brothers, Mardin and John Phillip, except that there is no record of his having taken part in Queen Anne's war, 17II.
He was one of the signers of the petition presented Governor Keith, and his executive council, of the Province of Pennsylvania, by Indian Commissioner Logan, Novem- ber 25, 1727-28, for a settlement of their lands with the In- dians-finally effected September 7, 1732. His name on the petition was written in German script as "Loritine Serbo." (Lorentz Zerbe, Part I.)
LORENTZ ZERBE
Lorentz Zerbe, b., 1687; wf., no record. Their children were :
John Zerbe, the miller, b. 1709, d. 1796; Benjamin, b. 1711; Phillip, b 1714; Peter, b. 1724; Margaret, b. 1729, d. 1807; was married three times (His. Samuel Isles). There were doubtless other daughters and, perhaps, sons born in the interim from 1714 to 1729, of whom there is no record.
Lorentz Zerbe took possession of a tract of land on the Tulpehocken Creek, 1731, and the homestead, a log cabin, stood on the knoll above the old mill on the site of the house now occupied by Nathaniel Zerbe.
On the original warrant, taken out by his son, John Zerbe, the m., April 22, 1736, at Harrisburg, it says, "who had already been on this land for five years." The warrant "granted" was for 250 acres and 14 perches of land. (Deed Book, office of Internal Affairs, Harrisburg.)1
Twenty-five acres and 14 perches of this tract were pat- ented to Barbara Fohrer and John Nicholas, March 17, 1817,
(Note 1-Reckoning each generation at about thirty years, and the three emigrants as twenty-one years and over (1710) the second gen- eration began 1728-1737. Those that brought children with them or that were born in New York, began earlier.)
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and 158 acres and 50 perches of the same tract to John Zerbe, Jr., et al., January 24, 1873, the land being described as be- ing in Heidelberg and Tulpehocken Townships. Lorentz Zerbe was doubtless upon this land, 1723, but like others of the early settlers was unable to gain a title until the settle- ment was made with the Indians.
This land was re-surveyed, November 25, 1786, to John Klinger, Benjamin Servy, George Forrer, Christian Servy, and the aforesaid John Servy; the foregoing two being sons of John Zerbe, the miller, and one of the others his son-in- law. Upon this land was erected before 1742, the grist mill known as "Zerbe's Mill," and mentioned hereafter.
John "Service" surveyed 200 acres of land (October 6, 1738, Lancaster County C. H., Recorder's office.)
The township of Heidelberg was laid off from Tulpe- hocken, 1734, at Lancaster, when the town of Lancaster was erected. When Berks County was erected in 1752, part of Heidelberg remained in Lancaster County. Heidelberg was divided, 1842, into North Heidelberg, Heidelberg and Lower Heidelberg.
(Note-John Klinger is mentioned in land transactions of Phillip Zerbe and in connection with the Spanchuchen.)
A grist mill existed, 1732, near the junction of the "Muhlbach" and Tulpehocken Creek. The sagacity of the early settlers in settling along the streams was remarkable. The water power was used to operate small mills for articles their necessities demanded. It is not known when the Zerbe mill was erected, but it was in operation and the mill build- ing on the ground when John "Zerba" bought the right of additional water power from Jacob Follmer, whose mill was farther up the stream; and was probably operated on a small scale by his father, Lorentz. before 1735. The original agreement, of which the insert is a fac simile, is to be found in the Pennsylvania Historical Society Library, Phila., in the "Original Manuscripts of Berks and Schuylkill Coun-
WATER RIGHT AGREEMENT OF JOHANNES ZERBE, 1747
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SCHUYLKILL COUNTY Of the Zerbeys
ties, from 1693 to 1869." Conrad Weiser, Indian Interpreter, witness. The 50 pounds referred to were about $150 Penn- sylvania currency. The date of the agreement was October 3. 17471.
The map on another page of the settlers' lands, 1742, original copy, is also among the manuscripts.
Jolın Zerbe, the m., Heidelberg Township, gave a mort- gage to Albrecht Strauss, January 2, 1768, for 40 pounds, on his grist and saw mill and 140 acres of land. Strauss ac- knowledged payment, June 4, 1784. It is believed that Lorentz Zerbe lived and died upon this tract and that his tomb, like that of his son John's, is to be found in the North Heidelberg cemetery, less than a half mile above the orig- inal homestead plot. John Zerbe was one of the builders of this church, 1744.
SECOND GENERATION EARLY ZERBE MILL
The carly Zerbe mill was situated three and a half miles up the Tulpehocken river from Bernville. It was one of the earliest saw and grist mills in Berks County and was oper- ated before 1735, by Lorentz, John, the Miller, and after by John, the second miller, son of Christian. An old road draft (Berks County C. H.) shows the exact locality of the first mill and homestead of Jolin Zerbe, the miller, so marked. Others who operated these two mills were John George For- rer, son-in-law of John Zerbe, the miller, Jacob Seybert, Jacob Wilhelm and Abraham Krick, after whom it was called Krick's Mills, the present name of the post office. The old mill was destroyed by fire. John Zerbe (Christian), the second miller, built the stone mill, a half mile down the Tul- pchocken, now owned and operated by Jacob D. Sunday.
(Note 1-August Knecht, Pottsville, former editor and publisher of the "Amerikanischer Republicaner," translated the document from the German.)
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BLUE BOOK OF Genealogical Records
The foundation walls of the old Zerbe mill are intact and solid except where part of the walls were removed to use the stone elsewhere. The miller's house in the rear of mill is still standing, the fire not reaching it. Under the gar- den, with the entrance in the cellar of the mill, is a large vault walled in and as substantial as it was a century and a half ago. The underground cellar was built as a refuge from the Indians in 1750-56.
John Zerbe, the miller, lived in the log house, the Lor- entz Zerbe homestead, until he dispossessed himself of his property or at least until 1788. In 1806, when the Little Tul- pehocken church was rebuilt, the early Zerbe homestead was razed and the present structure built. In its construction the two oak entrance doors to the church were used and the two columns used to support the church are still standing as the underpinning of the front part of the dwelling. In the large hall are the balustrades of the staircase of the church sur- mounting the steps. On the large doors the figures 1742- 1806 are carved. Forty pounds was paid for the material from the Little Tulpehocken church by Jacob Seybert, (1806,) who was then the owner of the John2 the miller property. The present owner of the house and farm is Nathaniel Zerbe, a g. g. g. son of the fifth generation of John the Miller and Annie his wife, a born Zerbe, with his mother, wife of Henry Zerbe, d .; his business is that of a market gardener.
(Note)-C. Z. Weiser, in his life of Conrad Weiser, men- tions John Philip Zerbe, Martin Zerbe and Lorentz Zerbe as among those who lived in Livingstone Manor, N. Y., in 1710- 'II, and as being over 21 years of age.)
John3 Zerbe (the miller), (Lorentz1,) b. 1709, d. 1796. He was twice married. First wf., Eva; 2d wf., Elizabeth, m. : 1742. He is accredited with having had 21 sons and daugh-
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ters, but some of these belonged to the eldest sons of those of the second generation, hereinafter referred to. His chil- dren were with, perhaps, some others:
John Jacob, bap. August 14, 1743; sponsors, John Jacob Schaeffer and John George Gardeau.
(Note-The author paid $1.00 for this one name, obtained at the Moravian Historical Archives, Bethlehem, Pa., Prof. Wm. A. Schwarze, Librarian.)
Benjamin, b. 1739; bap., 1740; wf., Elizabeth. (Vol. 5, No. 1, Gen. Soc. Pub., Philadelphia.)
John Jr., b., 1738; d., 1805; wf., Catharine.
Susanna, d., Jan. 17, 1807.
Peter, b. about 1730; wf., Elizabeth.
Daniel, wf., Anna Maria.
Jonathan.
Valentine, settled in Lancaster County.
Margaret.
Leonard, b. July 12, 1745; bap. September 28, 1745; d. August 20.1824; m., Barbara, daughter of John Wenrich.
Christian, b. November 16, 1750; d. August 6, 1809; m. Sophia Eliza- beth Liechen.
George Adam, b .December 13, 1753; d. August 5, 1828; m. Catharine. George, b. September 3, 1754; d. October 11, 1824; m. Christiana Wen- rich; d. November 12, 1821.
Barbara, m. John George Fohrer.
Elizabeth, m. John Nicholas.
Elizabeth, wf. of John Zerbe, the miller, died December, 1749 ; m., 1742, (Moravian records). This would indicate that he had a third wife, of whom there is no record as George Zerbe, Revolutionary soldier, was born 1754 and other sons were born after the above date and are duly accredited to John the miller.
John Zerbe, the m., took out a patent for land, 250 acres and 14 perches, April 22, 1736, and another for 200 acres, October 6, 1738, as noted in statement of Lorentz Zerbe on a previous page.
John Zerbe, the m., with his brother, Phillip, were peti- tioners for a new county to be separated from Lancaster County, 1738.
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In pursuance of an Act of Parliament made in the 13th year of the reign of King George 2d, an Act for naturalizing foreign protestants was passed in his Majesty's colonies, en- titling such to naturalization after producing to court, certifi- cates of having taken the Sacrament within three months and taking the prescribed oath, they thereby, "became natural born subjects of Great Britain." Of these at the April term of the Supreme Court in Philadelphia, April 10, 1754, was: Jolın "Sarvar" the miller.
(Note-Others on the same list were: John Caspar Stoever, September 20, 1741; Albrecht Strauss, September 24, 1755; Samuel Filbert, September 24, 1755; Michael Stout, April 1, 1761, Berks County.)
John Zerbe the m., was a taxpayer, 1754, and tax collector in Heidelberg Township, Berks County, 1758.
BLUE MOUNTAIN LANDS
No record can be found of when John2 Zerbe, the m., took out the first warrant for the tract of land "over the blue hills," now Schuylkill County, but mention is made of his land and the several lands of his son, "John Jr.", in the land surveyed by order of Secy. Richard Peters, April 10, 1754, to Benjamin Zerbe, of Bethel Township, Dauphin County, who was the grantor, to George Adam Zerbe (son of John the miller), August 9, 1788; this tract, hereinafter men- tioned, adjoining that of John the m., Sr. and John Jr. The land contained 658 acres and with that of father and son and others of his sons, approximated over one thousand acres in Pinegrove Township, on the waters of Swatara Creek and in the "Blue Mountain Hollow," now Schuylkill County.
John "Zerben" Sr., Heidelberg Township, Berks Coun- ty, miller, makes application, September 11, 1765, No. 770, Berks Co. Deed Book, "for 300 acres of land in Pinegrove Township; surrounded by land of John Zerbe Sr., and oth-
ZERBE'S MILL
KRICK'S MILL
TULPEHOCKEN RIVER
EAST BERNVILL
-
BRIDGE
TO THE MILL
THE OLD CANAL.
BRIDGE
TO THE MILL
ROAD
OLD HOUSE UP ON THE BANK. JOHN ZERBE SR.
HOTEL.
STABLE
ROAD TO CHURCH
SITE OF JOHN ZERBE'S OLD MILL, KRICK'S P. O., BERKS CO., PA.
SOUTH WEST
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SCHUYLKILL COUNTY Of the Zerbeys
ers, for 60 pounds, paid by (his son), Daniel Zerben, of said Township, who gets one-half of the above mentioned tract of 300 acres.
Benjamin Zerbe, Pinegrove Township, March 15, 1785, John Zerbe, Sr., miller, of Heidelberg Township, gives to the above for 200 pounds in gold and silver, 658 acres paid in installments now satisfied, land north to John Zerbe, Sr., then south to John, Jr., tract of 658 acres. Berks County, Deed Book II, p. 20., Recorder's office. The warrant was issued for its survey by Secretary Peters to John Zerbe, Sr.
The draft and survey of the George Adam Zerbe tract appears in the Surveyor General's office, Philadelphia, (says the deed), but it may be seen in the office of Internal Affairs, Harrisburg. It says, "upon the payment of 25 pounds addi- tional in gold and silver, the claim was satisfied and he be- came the owner, August 9, 1788.
(Note-There were three John Zerbes, taxables, 1754. They were of the second and third generation. There were also three John Zerbes in the Revolutionary War, 1776-'83, but the latter were of the third generation. The taxables were: John the m., John (m. Stupp), and the third John may have been John, son of Benjamin, son of Lorentz, or John, son of John Jacob.
John Zerbe, Jr., Tulpehocken, gave toValentine Gebhardt, May 4, 1779, a mortgage for eight hundred pounds on two tracts of land "across the Blue Mountains," containing 150 and 40 acres of land cach. This was marked "satisfied."
Daniel Zerbe, Pinegrove Township, gave a mortgage for 470 pounds, August 5, 1786, on 444 acres of land, two saw mills and one grist mill to Christian Uhler, of Lebanon. marked "satisfied."
There was altogether 1000 acres of land in these tracts this side of the Blue Mountain, and John Zerbe, the m., of Heidelberg Township, sold it to Daniel, Benjamin, John, Jr.,
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BLUE BOOK OF Genealogical Records
Jonathan, George Adam, Leonard, Christian, Christopher and John George Zerbe, the latter purchasing part of Benjamin's tract, 1788.
(Note-The name John, meaning "by the Grace of God," was affixed to, as well as used as a direct name. There were in some families as many as five sons having the name John as a prefix and also a straight John. John Jacob or "Han Yawcob," etc. The name Maria (Mary) was used in the same sense with the girls but usually as a middle name.)
TULPEHOCKEN CONFUSION
John Zerbe, the m., signed rules in the Tulpehocken con- fusion for the establishment of a school, 1744. The boarding school at Nazareth, Moravian, was founded, May 28, 1745. with 18 pupils, and discontinued 1785. Elizabeth Zerbe, da. of John the m., and Ann Catharinc, da. of Michael Ricth, of Tulpehocken and Heidelberg Townships, were boarding pu- pils. During their school days two little Indian girls, Beata and Sarah, werc baptized at Nazareth, July 27, 1746; they died of smallpox. The girls were taught spinning in this school in addition to their studies. (Vol. I, Transactions of Moravians, Reichel, p. 65.)
Albrecht Klotz, from Tulpehocken, native of Hohenloe, Lower Palatinate, m. Ann Margaret, da. of Michael Rieth, b. in the Schoharie. He kept the Inn, known as the "Rose." at Nazareth. It was a refuge during the Indian massacre when sixty terrified men, women and children came to it and the Moravian "Euphrata" Inn for shelter, November 25, 1755. and 200 were killed in the vicinity and 100 in the adjacent neighborhood .- (Indian Forts, Vol. I. p. 272.)
The North Heidelberg church, Moravian, was built in the Summer of 1744 and was dedicated November 4 with twenty-two members, among them John Zerbe, the miller. and wife Elizabeth. It was a Moravian church from that date to 1760 when the Moravians retired.
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SCHUYLKILL COUNTY Of the Zerbeys
The Moravian Seminary and College for girls and women at Bethlehem was founded 1742. (Montgomery.)
The Moravians during their settlement in Oley Township erected two dwellings on land donated to them by John De Turck, (g. g. f. of Samuel De Turck, Friedensburg), one of which was for several years a flourishing boarding school. There were April, 1753, eight of the Brethren and seven Moravian Sisters here, but John Brucker, who was their pastor, reported the church poorly attended and advised those that desired to be brought up in the church to transfer their membership to the North Heidelberg church.
John Zerbe, the m., gave power of attorney, October II, 1785, to Leonard, his son, and having dispossessed himself of most of his property in favor of his heirs, retired to Bethiel Township, Dauphin, now Lebanon County, to live with his eldest son, Benjamin. The above recorded, Deed Book 9, p. 185, says, "Will at Large." (Berks Co. C. H.) He signed him- self as John Zerbe "Der Alt." Bethel Township, Dauphin County.
January 5, 1791, he sold 50 acres of land in Heidelberg Township (presumably the homestead), to John George and Barbara Fohrer, his daughter. There is no record of when or where he died, but tradition says he is buried in North Heidelberg cemetery and that he died at the house at the old mill. Other records place the date as about 1796. The Foh- rers sold the place and removed to Pinegrove Township. Captain Michael Fohrer, captain of one of the three com- panies in the Revolutionary War, from Berks (Schuylkill) County, was a brother of George Fohrer, married to Barbara Zerbe.
The estate of John Zerbe, "der Alt," was not fully set- tled until 1806, when April 8, his grandchildren, Jacob, Cath- arine, David, Samuel and Joseph, children of John Zerbe, Jr., petitioned that they might have a share in his estate George Kohl was appointed guardian.
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BLUE BOOK OF Genealogical Records
(Note-George Kohl was married to a daughter of John Zerbe, Jr., and lived in Cumru Township, operating the mill of John, of Cumru, after his retirement and deatli.
SECOND AND THIRD GENERATIONS
There were three Benjamins of successive generations : Benjamin2 (Lorentz1,) b. about 1711.
(Note-Among the folklore of the country a tradition in the Zerbe family credits this old Benjamin as having been seven feet tall with corresponding muscular strength.)
John3 Zerbe (Benjamin2, Lorentz1,) b. 1732, m. Anna Barbara Weickard, 1753; d. November 28, 1758, Tulpehocken. This John was witness for the will of Jacob Weickard, May 13, 1753. Letters of administration were granted the widow, Anna Barbara.
Benjamin3 Zerbe (John2 the m., Lorentz1,) b. 1739; wf., Elizabeth. (Little Tulpehocken Church record.) Children: Hermanus, b. March 24, 1765; m. Maria Rieth, May 12, 1799.
Benjamin4 Zerbe, (Benjamin3, John? the m., Lorentz1, )b. May 7, 1763; d. April 17, 1819; m. Anna Margaret Wirtz, b. September 17, 1781. Their children were: 1793, April 17, Elizabeth; 1795, October 3, Susan Marga- reth; 1800, August 15, Daniel; 1806, May 11, Elizabeth; 1815, Benjamin; 1816, Jacob. (Baptisms, Christ Church.)
The children of Hermanus Zerbe and his wf. Maria Reith were: 1804, June 11, Heinrich; 1802, December 1, Samuel; 1806, February 20, Elizabeth. John Jacob and Eva Reith were sponsors. (Baptisms, Christ Church.)
Benjamin3 Zerbe settled in that part of Bethel Township, Berks County, that was afterward included in Dauphin Coun- ty on its erection, now Lebanon County. He is on record, 1754, as having land surveyed to him in Pinegrove Town- ship by order of Secretary Richard Peters. (See John the m.) The majority of Zerbes in Dauphin and Lebanon Coun- ties are the descendants of this man.
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