This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: WEAVER, KEYSER Classification: Bible Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/CFB.2ACI/335.8.2 Message Board Post: Doubt if you find much for obituaries that early but here is an article regarding the Weavers that was published in a later newspaper - WEAVER FAMILY (and KEYSER) from The Democratic Advocate, 1883 (a Carroll Co, MD newspaper of the times) found in the files of The Historical Society of Carroll County, MD Another Old Bible - Early german Settlers, Change of Names ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our New Windsor correspondent writes: A German Bible, a relic of the past, has been handed to your correspondent, in which we found a record of the WEAVER family, who settled in Germantown, near Philadelphia, long before the Revolutionary War, and whose descendants settled afterwards in New Windsor and Uniontown districts. In it are the following entries: Philip WEAVER was born in Rheinish Bavaria on December 30, 1719. He emigrated to this country about the year 1750, and died September 2, 1795. (A large colony of Germans of the Dunkard persuasion settled at that time in Germantown.) Susanna WEAVER, his wife, was born on September 12, 1730 at Bidingen, Germany, and died February 3, 1793. Both are buried at Germantown and their tombstones are yet well preserved. 1. John WEAVER, the son of the above, was born August 9, 1753 and died April 10, 1823. Susanna [KEYSER], his wife, was born January 23, 1753 and died December 4, 1833. John signed this request - "After both of us have left this world, this Bible shall be the property of my son, Joseph WEAVER." Their children - 1-1. Samuel b/ 9 Nov 1777; d/ 17 Aug 1778 in infancy 1-2. Joseph b/ 16 Sep 1779; lived near New Windsor, remained a batchelor 1-3. Elizabeth b/ 29 Sep 1781 .......(died but a few years ago in Germantown at a great age) 1-4. Anna b/ 27 May 1784 1-5. Samuel b/ 25 May 1786; lived near New Windsor 1-6. Nathaniel b/ 19 Jul 1788 .......(his son was Harrison WEAVER of Uniontown) 1-7. John b/ 18 Nov 1790 (father of Jesse WEAVER) 1-8. Sarah b/ 13 Mar 1796 1-9. Philip b/ 18 Feb 1798 (father of Hamilton WEAVER, New Windsor) Joseph WEAVER (1-2) signed this note, "This Bible was left to me by my father, John WEAVER, deceased, and I present it to my brother, John WEAVER, or his male descendants, with the desire that it remain in the WEAVER family, without sale or purchase, as long as there are any left of the name of Weaver. (After the death of John WEAVER, this Bible got into the possession of his son, the late Jesse WEAVER, and is now in the possession of Isaac WEAVER (the latter's son) of Westminster. The Bible was published at Germantown, in 1776, by Christoph SAUR. As a further proof that our district was first settled mostly by Germans, before and directly after the American Revolution, your correspondent has visited the graveyard at Winters' Church, and taken notes of tombstones of persons buried there as far back as 1773, and traced their descendants all over this and Uniontown District. In most cases names have been changed according to the English sound. Some of them have been literally translated and others have remained as they were originally. For instance, WEBER translated to WEAVER (a Weber in German means a Weaver in English). SCHNEIDER translated means TAYLOR. Some are written according to the English sound. HEITSCHUH to HITESHUE; RUPP to ROOP; GRÜNHOLTZ to GREENWOOD; SCHLINGLUFF to SLINGLUFF; SCHMIDT to SMITH; ENGLE-ENGEL to ANGEL; ENGLAR was spelled ENGLER; BRUCH to PRUGH; SCHWEITZER to SWITZER; SCHNEIDER to SNYDER or SNADER; EHRHARD to EARHARD; KAISER to KEYSER; (some were not changed). ENGELMAN, OTTO, ECKER,! LAMBERT, GEIGER, and a host of others. Some of these old tombstones at Winters' graveyard bear inscriptions which are real curiosities at the present time. For instance - "Here rests in the earth John SCHMIDT; he was born in the sign of the twins in the year 1740, was baptised by Rev. N.N. and the witness was James So and So and wife. He was married 37 years, and had during that time 18 children (well done for his country). ========================= Baltimore, February 20, 1883 Messrs. Vanderford Bros, Westminster, MD Gentlemen: In the account of the WEAVER (WEBER) family from your intelligent New Windsor correspondent, published in the Advocate of the 17th inst., it is stated that Philip WEAVER (WEBER) arrived at Germantown, PA about 1750. I cannot find in the record of arrivals at Philadelphia the name in that year, but I find a Johan Philip WEBER arrived September 28th, 1749, in the ship "Aur", John Spurrier, master, from Rotterdam, last from Cowes, with 242 passengers from Rasel, Würtemberg, Zweibrücken, Darmstadt, &c. It is probable this is the Philip WEBER referred to - the ancestor of the Carroll County WEAVERS. It may be of some interest to those descendants to know this, and the fact might be corrected or confirmed by family records in their possession. N.C.W. ======================================