My first Egolf in the King's Colonies is probably the Michael who arrived in Philadelphia in 1747. Floyd's Northumberland County Genealogy Pages 148 thru 173 quotes from a family Bible and states that this progenitor Michael married Mary Voetsch, both of Engstadt, District of Bahlinger, Duchy of Württemberg, Germany. According to the Bible records quoted by Floyd's they had ten children there and at the age of 54, in 1747, Michael, born 1693, and his wife brought their eldest son, Michael born 1725, and others with them. Review of Michael Egolf marriages in records of St. Michael's and Zion Lutheran Church, Philadelphia. There are three such marriages involving these two Michaels. 1747, 1749 and 1751. The first marriage is clear cut: Michael Egolff Witwer and Catharine Bender Witwe, November 24, 1747. That is they are widower and widow. The patriarch, the eldest Michael, is the best fit.. We assume his first wife, Mary Voetsch, is dead. The second marriage: Michael Egolf married Elisabeth Hauser, March 28, 1749. In the context of the above account the best fit is the son. The third marriage: Michael Egolf to Elizabeth Volmerin October 14, 1751. There is not a single hard fact to prove who this Michael is - father or son? (The bride's surname is Volmer - the in was added to denote the daughter of Volmer.) Five Baptisms Subsequent to these marriages there are five Baptisms, the first, an Elizabeth , August 23, 1752, with Michael and Elizabetha (with an a but no last name) named as parents in the records of St. Michael's and Zion Lutheran Church, Philadelphia. There are likely three other children who survive and two infant deaths. These parents eventually live and die in Carlisle. Michael and Elizabeth(no a) are remembered in stones in the Carlisle Cemetery - but there is no hint as to the family name of Elizabeth.. We do not know which Elizabeth is the mother of this brood - Hauser or Volmer. I can't .prove it, but I think Hauser died soon after she was married in 1749 and it was her Michael who married Elizabeth Volmer. And it is Elizabeth Volmer Egolf who baptizes the five children, relocates ultimately to Carlisle and lives and dies there. They would be the parents of Joseph - he whose son probably - not proven - commissioned two Frakturen - one commemorating Joseph's birth and the other honoring Joseph's father by recounting a bit of family history and remembering Joseph's father'smarriage in 1751. I will not comment further on the first Fraktur but I will include the English transcript of the second one: In the name of Jesus Christ Michael Egloff, hitherto established citizen, resident and worker in Engsstat, Balinger district, in the duchy of Wuerttemberg, the same begotten and born of upright and Christian parents and incorporated through holy baptism into Christ and His congregation, with Elisabetha, born in Dellenberg of Nassau., the same begotten and born of upright and Christian parents and incorporated through holy baptism into Christ and His congregation, made on the (smudge) of November 1751 the bond of matrimonial love and faithfulness with the same wife, through priestly joining before the Christian church. Moreover this same Michael Egloff begat through the blessing of God ten children with his wife Elisabetha, of whom already two passed into holy eternity in their delicate childhood according to the will of God, but eight however, as long as it please God, are still alive and called according to their baptismal names, according to the rule. Unless I assume that Hauser dies and her husband the younger Michael marries Elizabeth Volmer in 1751 I must set this Marriage Fraktur aside since it does not fit any other scenario that I can project. Part of this assumption is to recognize that who ever gave the artist crucial information as to names and dates for the Fraktur made two grievous errors or perhaps the artist got it wrong. In 1751 there is only one Egolf marriage and that is Michael and Elizabeth Volmer in October. Also, there must have been a mistake in the deliberate addition of a to form Elizabetha and in naming the month November when it should have been October. (In the Fraktur the number of the day is smudged and cannot be deciphered. The best guess was the 1st. This is the only major unresolved translating issue - considering the type of document this was a remarkable accomplishment.) (There is no Elizabetha marrying an Egolf in the St. Michael records we searched - 1740-1760. An Elizabetha is named a! s the mother of the child 1752 Baptism and it would be stretch to say that was the reason for spelling the name with an a in a document celebrating a 1751 marriage.) If one assumes that Hauser died and the younger Michael is marrying Elizabeth Volmer in 1751 then one has a reason for the Fraktur. Joseph, born in 1765, would have been their youngest son, and the Fraktur would have been in their honor. If Michael and Elizabeth Volmer are not Joseph's parents then Elizabeth Volmer cannot be related to Joseph and there is no reason for the Fraktur - that we can imagine. I am writing a story of this family for our children. Unless someone points out a flaw in these speculations I will base our family story on this scenario. Many on this list have been most helpful and I will of course give proper credit to those who have so kindly provided me with information that I would otherwise have missed. I will also add copious (windy) endnotes to distinguish the facts from fiction. If you would like to know more about Frakturen I can send you more than you want know.. Best regards Hal