In a message dated 8/31/2006 3:36:37 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, [email protected] writes: Just my two cents, which isn't worth much these days.......but remember that Bavarian Germans (very high immigrant population in the area at that time ~ Hessians) are often dark haired and have somewhat darker skin than the Aryan northern European. And if you spend your life in the fields you are definitely going to get brown! This may account for many folks having a somewhat Indian appearance. And in later life you tend to lose some underlying fatty tissue which will cause the cheekbones to be more pronounced. I don't think appearance should be the basis for assumption. Verify the blood line instead. Genie Yes, very true. Some of the Hetricks (my great-grandfather Conrad's brother Martin's descendants from Zeilbach and Hesse Darmstadt, Germany had the high cheekbones as young people. In the case of Bob Brenneman we know that he has Indian blood through Henry's son William. Bob is very adamant about how Henry Bittinger acquired William as a baby--also about how William died. The story varies depending on who you talk to or who gave information for the books that covered this. One thing that struck me was Henry's wife Barbara's age (b. 7/1772) at the time she supposedly gave birth to her last 4 to 5 children. Children of Henry Bittinger (b. 7/14/1778) m. Barbara "Barbary" Bauser (b. 7/1772) 1. Peter Bittinger (b. 7/14/1800) m. Sarah "Sally" durst 2. Catharine Bittinger (b. 3/4/1802). First wife of Casper Durst, Sr. 3. Daniel Bittinger (b. 1/6/1804). Married Phebe Wiland 4. Henry Bittinger, Jr.? (possibly b. 12/4/1805). 5. Joseph "Joe" Bittinger (b. abt 1807). Married Elizabeth Durst 6. a son? (b. bet. 1810 & 1820) 7. George Bittinger (possibly b. bet. 1810 & 1815) 8. & 9. Twins: Jonathan "Jonas" Bittinger and Solomon H. Bittinger (b. 5/14/1814) 10. William H. "Bill" Bittinger (b. 4/24/1817) Barbara was 38 years old in 1810. By 1820 she was 48 and had had 5 more children and the birth information seems very confused. I would think that the first four children were obviously old enough to know if their mother had given birth to these children or not. Also, the oldest children were in their 50's when the last five children started their families. The truth most likely is in the verbal family history and how Bob came to find out about his great grandfather. The three families involved in this Bittinger/Brenneman history includes the Ruckels, Buckels, Bittingers and Brennemans. ***** Bob Brenneman's Line: Henry Bittinger (b. 7/14/1778) m. Barbara "Barbary" Bauser (b. 7/1772) ... William H. "Bill" Bittinger (b. 4/24/1817) m. Agnes Ruckle (b. 1816) ......Alice Bittinger (7/23/1858-4/1/1937) m. Joseph "Joe" Buckle (later Buckel), 11/10/1848-9/27/1920 .........Mary Jane Buckel (10/23/1889-6/14/1973) m. Lloyd Franklin Brenneman ............Robert Owen "Bob" Brenneman (b. 7/30/1918) m. Margaret Hetrick, dau of Oscar and Ruth Faidley Hetrick. Lois Hetrick Stewart

Hi Lois: You've raised some interesting points here I'd never really thought about, most notably Barbara (Bowser) Bittinger's age when the last of her and Henry's children were born. Age 45 is definitely pushing it. I wonder now about the last 5 of her children. Also, one census record standing alone doesn't mean much; but in the case of the twins, Jonathan and Solomon Bittinger where there appear to be 5 census records showing them born in Ohio. That's significant. Then regarding William H. Bittinger's descendants- I'd never given too much thought to it, but I think I recall Ferne Beachy telling us once that she had Indian blood. Her father was William Edward Buckle, son of Joseph Buckle and Alice Bittinger, daughter of William H. Bittinger. Appearances can be deceiving as has been discussed here, but Ferne does have a ruddy complexion. I met one of her brothers once and one sister, but I don't recall that either shared that trait with Ferne. Ferne was a very hard working farm wife in her younger days and spent hours in the sun, so it's really hard to tell if her darker complexion came from that, or from her ancestry. So you've convinced me there is a possibility that some of Henry Bittinger's children could have had a different mother than Barbara Bowser and possibly were of Indian ancestry. Sorry it took me so long to figure out what you were getting at. Sam ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, September 02, 2006 4:20 AM Subject: Re: [MDGARRET] Indian Blood/Pow Wow Medicine > > In a message dated 8/31/2006 3:36:37 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, > [email protected] writes: > > Just my two cents, which isn't worth much these days.......but remember that > Bavarian Germans (very high immigrant population in the area at that time ~ > Hessians) are often dark haired and have somewhat darker skin than the Aryan > northern European. And if you spend your life in the fields you are > definitely going to get brown! This may account for many folks having a somewhat > Indian appearance. And in later life you tend to lose some underlying fatty > tissue which will cause the cheekbones to be more pronounced. I don't think > appearance should be the basis for assumption. Verify the blood line instead. > > Genie > > > > Yes, very true. Some of the Hetricks (my great-grandfather Conrad's brother > Martin's descendants from Zeilbach and Hesse Darmstadt, Germany had the high > cheekbones as young people. > > In the case of Bob Brenneman we know that he has Indian blood through > Henry's son William. Bob is very adamant about how Henry Bittinger acquired William > as a baby--also about how William died. The story varies depending on who > you talk to or who gave information for the books that covered this. > > One thing that struck me was Henry's wife Barbara's age (b. 7/1772) at the > time she supposedly gave birth to her last 4 to 5 children. > > > Children of Henry Bittinger (b. 7/14/1778) m. Barbara "Barbary" Bauser (b. > 7/1772) > > 1. Peter Bittinger (b. 7/14/1800) m. Sarah "Sally" durst > 2. Catharine Bittinger (b. 3/4/1802). First wife of Casper Durst, Sr. > 3. Daniel Bittinger (b. 1/6/1804). Married Phebe Wiland > 4. Henry Bittinger, Jr.? (possibly b. 12/4/1805). > 5. Joseph "Joe" Bittinger (b. abt 1807). Married Elizabeth Durst > > 6. a son? (b. bet. 1810 & 1820) > 7. George Bittinger (possibly b. bet. 1810 & 1815) > 8. & 9. Twins: Jonathan "Jonas" Bittinger and Solomon H. Bittinger (b. > 5/14/1814) > 10. William H. "Bill" Bittinger (b. 4/24/1817) > > > Barbara was 38 years old in 1810. By 1820 she was 48 and had had 5 more > children and the birth information seems very confused. I would think that the > first four children were obviously old enough to know if their mother had given > birth to these children or not. Also, the oldest children were in their 50's > when the last five children started their families. The truth most likely is > in the verbal family history and how Bob came to find out about his great > grandfather. The three families involved in this Bittinger/Brenneman history > includes the Ruckels, Buckels, Bittingers and Brennemans. > > ***** > > Bob Brenneman's Line: > > > Henry Bittinger (b. 7/14/1778) m. Barbara "Barbary" Bauser (b. 7/1772) > ... William H. "Bill" Bittinger (b. 4/24/1817) m. Agnes Ruckle (b. 1816) > ......Alice Bittinger (7/23/1858-4/1/1937) m. Joseph "Joe" Buckle (later > Buckel), 11/10/1848-9/27/1920 > .........Mary Jane Buckel (10/23/1889-6/14/1973) m. Lloyd Franklin Brenneman > ............Robert Owen "Bob" Brenneman (b. 7/30/1918) m. Margaret Hetrick, > dau of Oscar and Ruth Faidley Hetrick. > > Lois Hetrick Stewart > > > ==== MDGARRET Mailing List ==== > Looking for your Garrett County ancestors? Make sure to visit us on the web at: > http://www.rootsweb.com/~mdgarret/index.html >