Julian Stumpf's daughter Catherine married John Keim. Therefore she was not the wife of her half-brother, John Stump. (Thank goodness!) Now I wonder if Julian Stumpf's second wife, Maria, was a widow who was first married to a Becker, and that when she and her husband Julian Stumpf came over with Elder Peter Becker, in 1719, she brought along a daughter, Maria Catherine Becker, by her first marriage, and that it was this daughter who married her step-son John Stump. If that were the case, the "too near a relation" marriage would have been between step-siblings (not as bad as half-siblings). Then I wonder if Maria also had a son, Valentin, who did not come over in 1719, but came instead in 1729 with his wife "Stinkee" on the Ship Allen. If that were the case, Valentin Becker would be the brother of Maria Catherine and truly the uncle of her children. A Valentin Becker married a Stintgen (=Stinkee) Frantzen in Krefeld in 1723, indicating that this Valentin Becker would have been old enough for his mother to leave behind in 1719. This scenario makes a lot more sense than the one described (below) in my first message. If only I could find out whether or not Julian Stumpf's second wife was first married to a Becker...... Isn't genealogy fun? Dwayne Wrightsman ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dwayne Wrightsman" <dwayne55@comcast.net> To: <brethren@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, February 23, 2008 3:19 PM Subject: [BRE] Julian Stumpf's Wives and Children > >From reading Durnbaugh's European Origins of the Brethren, 1958, one > >learns > that Julian Stumpf (contemporary of Elder Peter Becker) was married twice. > In 1712 Julian's wife from Stockheim was baptized in Dudelsheim by > Alexander > Mack (Durnbaugh, page 171). In 1714 Julian was in Dudelsheim where he was > listed as a resident with three children (Durnbaugh, page 183). > > Julian Stumpf's first wife, Elizabeth, and their children's baptisms, > Johannes (1700) , Anna Maria (1703) , Johann George (1705), Johann > Leonhard > (1707), and Johann George (1709), are mentioned in the register of the > Reformed Church of Nordheim, Hessen. > > Julian's second wife, Maria, and his children Jacob, George, Johann, Mary, > and Catherine, are mentioned in Julian Stumpf's will, dated March 12, > 1741, > and proved August 17, 1741, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, Wills, Vol. > 4, No. 211, page 236. > > Children George, Johann, and Mary were apparently from Julian's first > marriage to Elizabeth. Children Jacob and Catherine were seemingly from > the > second marriage to Maria. (Son Jacob, from the second marriage, was > apparently the Jacob Stump who married Elizabeth Becker, daughter of Elder > Peter Becker.) > > Son Johann (John) Stumpf of the first marriage was apparently the John > Stump > who occupied the cabin of Conrad Beissel and kept a wife with him in the > cabin (sometime in 1727) without Beissel's knowledge. When Beissel found > out, he put a ban on John Stumpf for marrying "too near a relation." > > A Maria Catherine was named as the wife of John Stumpf in John's will > written 1748, proven 1749 (Lancaster County Will Book A-1-172). In the > will > a Valentin Becker was named co-executor. For two of the children of John > Stump, the court appointed their "UNCLE" Valentine Becker as guardian > (Lancaster County Orphans Court, June 4, 1754). > > Now, the question is: Who was the Maria Catherine who was married to John > Stumpf? > > Could she have been the daughter Catherine of Julian Stumpf and his second > wife Maria? Could Maria Catherine have been a half-sister of her husband > John Stump (son of Julian Stumpf and his first wife Elizabeth)? Could > this > have been the "too near a relation" marriage that Conrad Beissel was > outraged about, resulting in John Stump being banned by Beissel from the > Brethren? > > Could Julian Stumpf's second wife Maria have been born a Becker, > explaining > why Valentine Becker was called "UNCLE" in the 1754 guardianship papers of > the children of John and Maria Catherine Stump's children? Also, could > Valentin Becker have been related to Elder Peter Becker? > > I realize, of course, that no one can answer these questions, but I raise > them anyway as it seems to me to be the most logical explanation of those > things that we do know. > > Comments appreciated. > > Dwayne Wrightsman