Robert, I would like to thank you for sending the information on the group sheet of Gottlieb Kunkel who died ca 1776, supposedly the son of Gottlieb Kunkel Sr. I would like to address the rest of this letter to everyone on the Kunkel mailing list. I hope that I can clear up a few errors that seem to be circulating. Several years ago a very nice lady (Joanne Skelton) sent me copies of family groups sheets which were circulating on the Gottlieb Kunkel line of York County, PA. I was amazed at the amount of inaccurate information that was being presented. (Robert the group sheet you sent via e-mail which appears in the Kunkel book is one of those group sheets.) She was also kind enough to send me copies of the Bible records for the Baltzer Kunkel and Elizabeth Trimmer line. Her problem was the same as mine, trying to sort through all of the errors that were circulating not only in family group sheets but in various books on the Kunkel family. I would like to address some of these errors, which I passed on to Joanne, and hope that everyone connected to this family has the chance to read this letter. My intention is not to discredit anyone, only to state the facts as they appear in the documents. The problem is that I will not be able to address all of the problems in one letter. I hope that everyone will understand that we tend to get into trouble when we start accepting a family group sheet as accurate information without following through with proper documentation. A group sheet should be used as a guide for further research and not as proof unless it is supported with primary documentation. 1) My great grandfather Jacob B. Kunkel was the author of a letter written 17 Jan 1927, which was sent to Mrs. Chattie Coleman Westenius. Mrs. Westenius published the book "The Kohlmann Family," which includes information on the founders of "Kunkels Mill." This mill was in my family for several generations. In my great grandfathers letter he mentions "that he had a sheep skinn deed which reads that Goleib Kunkel came from Hanover (Germany) 1763." My great grandfathers letter goes on to give an inaccurate genealogy of the Kunkel family. Some of this inaccurate information (probably submitted by my great grandfather,) was printed in George R. Prowell's "History of York County, Pennsylvania," 1907. This volume states that "Gottleib Kunkel, great-great-grandfather of Jacob B., emigrated to America in 1763, and landed in Philadelphia." The article continues by describing Gottlieb Kunkel building a mill on the Conewago Creek along with the help of Indians. First I would like to say that the Historical Society of York County did a very thorough search of the immigration records for me back in the early 1980's and Gottlieb Kunkel is not mentioned in any passenger lists, nor did he migrate in 1763. The records suggest that he was in America by 1742, when his first son Baltzer was baptised. I believe that various researchers are trying to justify the statement of Gottlieb Kunkel arriving in America in 1763, by assuming based on my great grandfathers account, that the immigrant must have been the father of Gottlieb Kunkel who died ca1776, thus making him a Junior. I have not seen any documentation to support the claim that Gottlieb Kunkel who died ca1776 was the son of a Gottlieb Kunkel Sr., and if anyone has any supporting documentation that proves that Gottlieb was a Junior, then I hope that they will share the information. Next I would like to state that Gottlieb Kunkel was not the founder of Kunkels Mill, his great grandson Peter Kunkel was the first owner of the mill having bought it in 1824, and this information is supported through the various Kunkel deeds of York County. Based on the errors that are presented in my great grandfathers letter, we must assume that his information relied somewhat on family tradition, and that possibly his memory was faulty. My great grandfathers letter is a secondary source and most of the information presented cannot be supported by primary doccumentation, so we cannot say that Gottlieb Kunkel had a father named Gottlieb Kunkel Sr., (unless there is supporting documentation) who came to America in 1763 from Hanover, Germany. 2). Robert and I have both presented the statement that Gottleib Kunkel who died ca1776, married first Christina Barbara, who was not a "Spangler," and her parents were not Baltzer Spengler and Maria Magdalena Hoogin as presented on the family group sheet. I will write more later. Sincerely, Patricia Laird Howard