On 3/25/00 at 3:01 pm Kathy Yokiel <jpyokiel@alltel.net> wrote: >I'm trying to locate an ancestor by the name of Moses Shuman. He lived >mainly in Washington Co. Ohio. His wife's name was Nancy Masters. He was >born about 1814 in Guernsey Co., Ohio, died 1888 in Washington Co., Ohio. >Someone mentioned an Adam Shuman from Lancaster, PA., that some of his >descendants moved to Ohio. Do you know anything about that? Any >information would be appreciated. Thank-you. Kathy jpyokiel@alltel.net For nearly two years I have had an occasional correspondence with a gentleman whose wife is descended from a Moses SHUMAN. I've invited him to join our discussion group, but he has declined to do so. He has, however, provided me with considerable information regarding this line. According to his records: 1 Moses SHUMAN - ------------------------------------------- Birth: bef 1775 Death: Feb 1823, Londonderry Twp, Guernsey Co, OH Father: Daniel (?) SHUMAN Spouse: Unknown Children: Daniel (~1802-1851) Lydia Jane Ezekiel Rebekah Second Spouse: Catherine BRIGHT Marriage: 2 Jul 1816, Belmont Co, OH Children: Moses Mary Jane Hala Unborn Child at time of his death ______________________________________________ My correspondent has provided me with a commentary on the Will that this Moses SHUMAN left, which follows: ______________________________________________ MOSES SHUMAN'S WILL of May 21, 1822 Recorded in Guernsey Co, OH Moses Shuman, father of Daniel and grandfather of Elizabeth who married Thomas Beaty Ables, must have known he was dying in the Spring of 1822 in Londonderry Township of Guernsey Co. We don't know how old he was, but we know from the Will that his second wife was pregnant. Moses used the device of a written and recorded will to provide for his nine sons and daughters and one grandson. The Will is a lengthy and carefully worded document obviously drawn up by a lawyer. The strange thing about it is that the name is very clearly spelled "Shoeman" in the recorded form whether or not it was in the original. A phonetic mis-spelling of "Shuman." Moses Shuman had two farms, one of which was rented out by lease at the time. He provided for all the possibilities for his younger (presumably) wife, Catherine Bright Moses [Shuman], whom he had married in Belmont Co, Ohio, on 2 July, 1816. The farm, furnishings and livestock where they lived was to go to Catherine for her use, and eventually to their first son, Moses. The sisters, Mary Jane and Hala (?), and the unborn child were to get money or farm stock of certain value as their share. There was an earlier family by a deceased wife whose name we do not know at this time. Daniel Shuman was the oldest son. Daniel was living with his father and Catherine at the time. Mention and provision is made for Lydia and Jane, but it isn't clear whether they are married and out of the house. Daniel is to get the other 130 acre farm "whereon Frances Epperson now lives" when the lease expires. A son and daughter, Ezekiel and Rebekah, are mentioned and also provided for by obligations Daniel is to pay from the 130 acre farm. There is also provision for a grandson, Moses Cochran, which suggests Lydia or Jane is married. This is an obvious effort by a caring father to provide for all his children, his wife and an unborn child. Moses apparently died in February of the next year, 1823, as his estate was probated in Guernsey Co (NE side near Harrison Co) on the 3rd of March, 1823. We were given a copy of the Will by Mrs. Teters (no estate papers extant) of Cambridge. There is little else we know about the family at this time. There is a deed recorded in Zanesville in 1806 in Volume B page 158 for a farm he bought of John Clark being Range 1, Township 3, Section 20. Moses is listed in an 1814 tax list in Guernsey Co as living on Range 1, Township 1, Section 3. In an 1816 tax list in Guernsey Co he is listed on 100 acres as the original owner on Range 1, Township 1, Section 2. This sounds like three different farms. It may be that he came to the area before 1806 on the land listed as original owner. ______________________________________________ Thus, it appears probable that the Moses SHUMAN, born about 1814 in Guernsey Co., Ohio, is very likely the son of this Moses SHUMAN, who lived in Guernsey Co, and whose oldest child by his second wife was named Moses. Last summer, I stopped in and did a couple hours' research in the Guernsey Co. area, and can thus verify that these SHUMANs were indeed living in OH as early as 1806, so I hope this will help you in your search. I am sorry, but I don't really have much more on this part of the family. My correspondent has been following a different branch of the family, and has found some of them living in Santa Barbara Co, CA in the 1880s-1890s. He recently wrote that he was pursuing a lead that the elder Moses SHUMAN might have been part of a Hugenot immigration of about 1806. I have no info on that. Regards! JS ____________________________ James Shuman, art instructor Modesto High School jshuman@telis.org ____________________________