Russell Kime <russkime@worldnet.att.net> sent the following info several weeks ago. With his permission, I'm forwarding this to the KEIM list.... thought some of you might find this quite interesting! Cindy Kimes _________________________ In the book "Oley Valley Heritage" by Phillip Pendleton I found 3 photos of the Schneider Cemetery (pp 109-111) in which my brother Bill located the grave of Johannes Keim last year. Of particular interest to me is one which shows the gravestones of Johannes Schneider (1687-1743) and his wife Katarina (1688-1774) who had to be the parents of John Henry Schneider, husband of Katarina Keim who was the eldest child of Johannes Keim, and the first Keim child to be born in the new country. And this, I think, explains why Johannes was buried here rather than on his original homestead some four or five miles away. This cemetery is reputed to be the oldest in Berks county and was recently somewhat restored by groups in Berks county who are dedicated to the restoration of colonial period cemeteries. By the time Johannes died in 1753 the children from his first marriage had dispersed as indicated in his will of 1747, in which he says: "All my children from my first wife leave me as soon as them comes to their age, saying to me, 'Father, what you have, you have occasion for, your own self. We will go and see to get our living for our own self'." Three of these six children married into well-established Oley families, one becoming a prosperous storekeeper in Reading; the other three moved away. (page 137, Oley Valley Heritage) Russ P. S. Oley Valley Heritage, The Colonial Years: 1700-1775 (232 pages) was published in 1994 by the Oley Valley Heritage Association and is available from the Reading Historical Society for about $40. It is a thorough history of all details of the Oley Valley during that period, and there are many references to the Keim family. In fact, the jacket picture is of the Jacob Keim house (1753) and inside jacket picture is of the DeTurk house (1767). Bertha DeTurk was Johannes' first wife, and I presume that her family came shortly after she and Johannes emigrated to America, lured by Johannes's description of the area.