Ron, That is the one I was talking about and thank you. While living in Montgomery county, Ohio the David Hoover that you mentioned was a justice of the peace. Though not mentioned as such in county records, at least to my knowledge, I have found him serving in that capacity in estate records for western German township. And this would have been where the Fouts family was living. I at first thought this David Hoover was a son of Martin Hoover of Morrison's Cove, Pennsylvania and later of Montgomery county, Ohio, but later ascertained that he was not. That being said I would not be too surprised if Andrew and Martin Hoover were not somehow related. Since the biography you mention states that the Hoover family was of a Quaker background, the English side of Anabaptists (if I am not incorrect in making that statement) I would suspect that this family was associated with the Waymire family of North Carolina who also settled in the Miami Valley of Ohio. There was a mass migration of Anabpaitst opposed to slavery who moved into the Miami Valley early in the 1800s. Generally speaking when these families moved into Ohio they became, at least some of them did, associated with the German Baptist church. And some of them were quite prominent. So getting back to the Old German Church of western German township, Montgomery county, Ohio I have the following to offer. I have photographs of the church taken in the 1910s before the church fell down. While discussing these photographs this morning with a fellow list member we observed something interesting. When comparing this building's structural makeup we both agreed that it was likely not a Brethren church. How did we arrive at this conclusion? Because it is a two story building. I have scans of many early Brethren churches and not one of them is a two story; they are all single story. However, the building was not German Protestant. We based this observation on the interior of the building. I have one or two such photographs and the pulpit is on a raised dais with a balcony in the upper reaches of the church. We believe that this was not common in the Protestant churches until much later. But this does somewhat match late 1700s and early 1800s architecture of a Quaker or "Englisher" church. There were no people of English extraction within ten miles of this church so that it may have been English is very doubtful. And this building, supposedly built in 1825, was the only structure the Old German ever had. The two men who donated the land, difficult to document but well known in my family, were Jacob Wolfe of Berks county, Pennsylvania and Frederick county, Maryland (Wolfesville) and Isaac Bear of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. The first was baptized German Protestant with the second coming from a long line of proven Mennonites. Then we plug in the Baptist preacher Peter Poyner from North Carolina and Daniel Troyer (Mennonite?) from Maryland and the answer as to the religious beliefs of the congregation is still left to the imagination. I did ask myself if Daniel Troyer may have been United Brethren and the possibility is definitely not out of the realm of possibilities. In closing I will add one of other little tidbit. Isaac Bear / Bare, a Mennonite, was likely related to Elder Henry Wintrode Bare of the Twin church in Preble county, Ohio. In his early years Henry W. Bear lived within four miles or so of the Old German church. That Isaac Bear was possibly associated with the German Baptist church I offer the obituary of his son, David Bear, from the Gospel Messenger of 1892. Check your back issues of "Brethren Roots" for a listing of the burials in the Old German Church cemetery. I do not recall which issue it was published in. "BEAR.-In the bounds of the Lower Twin Church, Montgomery Co., Ohio, Feb. 20, 1892, David Bear, aged 75 years, 10 months, 4 days. Bro. Bear was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, April 16, 1816, and was united in marriage with Elizabeth Mullendore, Aug. 16, 1837. This union was blessed with thirteen children. Services by the Brethren from 1 Cor. 15:35. Daniel M. Garver." Wayne Webb > > I have a copy of a publication, obtained online, titled "Memoir of > David Hoover, A Pioneer of Indiana" that may shed some light on this. > It was revised by Isaac H. Julian, a relative of David Hoover. It was > published in Richmond, Indiana by James Elder, Publisher in 1857. > > Reading from part I, it says "...If my information is correct, my > grandfather, Andrew Hoover [aka Andreas Huber], left Germany when a > boy; married Margaret Founts, in Pennsylvania; and settled on Pipe > Creek in Maryland. There my father was born; and from thence, now > about one hundred years ago, he removed to North Carolina, then a new > country. He left eight sons and five daughters, all of whom had large > families...." > > David Hoover became an associate judge of the Wayne County, Indiana > Circuit Court. Of interest, he presided over the trial of his > father(Andrew Hoover--aka Andrew of Richmond) and William Bulla-- > accused of assisting a slave running from his master. They were found > innocent of criminal charges, but later paid $1,000 each in a civil > trial. > > His father, Andrew Hoover, was to the best of my knowledge a Quaker. > David Hoover's religion was summed up by "I am afirm believer in the > Christian Religion, though ot as lived up to by most of its professors > of the present day..." the book further states, however, that "...at > an early day in this country, Anti-Slavaery and Peace Societies were > formed, of which Judge hoover, Elder David Purviance, and other > prominent citizens of various parts of the county, were leading > members." > > I hope this helps, and is of interest. The story of Andrew Hoover/ > William Bulla is on line, and can be found at several locations with a > Google search. It is quite informative and interesting.