FAMILY HISTORY, Part 2: The Lahr Family Chronology To The Entire Lahr Extended Family: Over the past six months, with the help of our Lahr seniors and a few experienced genealogists, I have attempted to trace the origin of the American Lahr family beyond the excellent genealogical work of Ernest Lahr and Harriet Lahr James and, hopefully, back to its ethnic homeland in what is now southwestern Germany. I have had only a few small successes - key highlights of which are included below. Confirmed direct forebears are capitalized: THE LAHR FAMILY CHRONOLOGY By Paul Maslak (son of Samuel & Mary Lahr Maslak) Lahr Family History 9 A.D. Julius Caesar's Roman expansion into the Germanic territory was stopped in central Europe by warlord Arminius in the Battle of Teutoburger with a massive defeat of three Roman legions under Publius Quinctilius Vargus. The English words "German" and "Germany" are derivatives of the Latin "Germanus," a word used by the Romans in reference to the non-Roman tribes of central Europe. 500 Frankish king Clovis ruled over middle Rhineland (Rheinland) and its tributary river valleys. Clovis and his successors unified the neighboring Germanic tribes in the southern regions through conquest. 742-814 Charlemagne (Charles The Great), Emperor of the West and king of the Franks, unified all German tribes under a single ruler. Today's nation of France takes its name from the Franks. Lahr family antecedents were likely among the subjects of Charlemagne. 785 The Saxons (Sachsen) under Wittkind join Charlemagne's Frankish Kingdom. The eastern portion of the Frankish realm became known as "Deutschland." "Deutsch/Teutsch" simply meant "people" or "folk" in Old German. Anyone who spoke German was among the folk; all others were excluded. 1100s Hereditary surnames first came into use among German-speaking peoples in the southern part of today's Germany, although it would take another 400 years before they were completely employed throughout all German principalities and duchies. The LAHR family name is technically classified as being of habitation origin; that is, a surname that owes its origin to the location of the residence of its initial bearer. Thus the name probably comes from the Old High German word "(h)lar," meaning "meadows" or "pasture," and possibly refers to the region of the small city (stadt) of Lahr located in the state of Baden-Württemberg in today's Germany, near the French border, north of Freiburg but south of Strasbourg, France, and Baden-Baden, Germany. Of course, there are other possible locales for the origin of the Lahr name. For example, there is a small river named Lahrbach as well as several small towns named Lahr (mostly in Germany in the vicinity of Luxembourg, close to the Netherlands). Finally, it is also possible that LAHR is diminutive of the surname Hilarius, from the Latin "hilaris," meaning "cheerful" or "glad." 1226 Having earned the favor of Germanic emperor Frederick II, the Knights of the Teutonic Order were given wide-ranging authority in the name of the empire over the area occupied by the Germanic peoples who called themselves Prussen. It was located on the southeastern coast of the Baltic Sea, east of Pomerania and north of the Kingdom of Poland. As the authority of the Teutonic Knights expanded, Prussia (Prussen) soon became the name for the entire empire. 1295 One of the earliest references to the LAHR surname is of a Nik. gen von Lar, who is mentioned in documents from Freiburg. 1500-1550 Potestant reformation converted most of East Prussia to Protestantism whereas West Prussia remained strongly Roman Catholic. 1550s-1690s Branches of the LAHR surname had appeared to the southeast in Bavaria (Bayern), to the south in Switzerland, to the northwest in Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz) and Luxembourg, to the north in the Frankfurt region of Hesse (Hessen), and to the northeast in the Zwickau region of Saxony (Sachsen) of the former East Germany. 1618-1648 The Germanic states became the chief battleground during the Thirty Years War which began as a civil war between Protestants and Catholics but turned into an international conflict along power-political lines. At wars end, two-thirds of the population of the Germanic states had been killed or died because of the war's accompanying pestilence. 1648 The Treaty of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years War, decentralized political power into the hands of local "Elector" princes. The Elector princes acquired the right to vote on all governmental transactions (laws, war, peace, treaties, taxation, military conscription, etc.). 1685 The reigning Elector prince of the German Palatine State died without a male heir. King Louis XIV of France used this succession crisis to claim sovereignty and to restore Catholicism to the region on the pretext that the only child of the late Palatine Elector had married Louis' brother, Philip of Orleans. Louis began the War of the League of Augsburg (also known as the War of Palatine Succession) by ordering his army to invade the staunchly Lutheran Rhineland-Palatinate, devasting non-Catholic property, killing defenseless non-Catholic citizens and driving half a million people from their homes. Meanwhile the remaining Elector princes quickly formed an alliance with Holland, England, Sweden and Austria, and eventually pressured King Louis to seek an honorable retreat. 1697 The Treaty of Ryswick ended the conflict on terms favorable to the cause of Catholic restoration: Succession of the Palatine Elector prince was adjudicated by the Pope in Rome, while the Catholic subjects of the Rhineland-Palatinate retained all special prerogatives and privileges granted them by the French crown during occupation…effectively continuing the persecution of the province's majority Lutheran population. 1702-1714 The War of Spanish Succession (also known as Queen Anne's War) again brought invasion and devastation to the Rhineland from Louis XIV's army. This time, however, Louis was opposed by large, well-trained and well-equipped armies from an alliance of England, Holland, Bavaria, Austria and other other European powers. Major battles were waged throughout the Rhineland and into Bavaria, sparking years of a massive Palatine exodus. According to oral tradition, the LAHR family was among those left homeless by the turmoil and, subsequently, scattered to the four winds across German-speaking Europe. 1708 Fall -- English participation in the War of Spanish Succession drew Queen Anne's sympathy to the plight of the Palatine citizenry. Pamphlets were circulated which promised free passage, legal immigration, and land grants to Palatine refugees willing to emigrate to the British colonies in America. 1709 Spring - Some 30,000 Palatine refugees attempted to descend on England … a significantly larger number than had been anticipated. English agents had to be dispatched to Rotterdam to turn back as many as possible. Ultimately some 13,000 Palatines succeeded in making their way to London, and were maintained by the English crown in camps on the commons of Blackheath along the river Thames outside London. But since there weren't enough ships to accommodate all the refugees, some were sent to Ireland, some were disbursed throughout the British Isles, while most others were returned to continental Europe. December 25 - The remaining 4,000 Palatine refugees boarded ten ships bound for the Province of New York and, unexpectedly, were detained on shipboard for months awaiting convoy escorts to protect them against the French men of war on the high seas. 1710 Easter - The ten Palatine refugee ships finally departed England for New York. Among them was the EMERICH family. During the six month voyage, no less than 1,700 perished including the EMERICH patriarch. Late Summer - The ten Palatine refugee ships disembarked at Nutting (now Governor's Island) in New York City. No real preparations had been made for their arrival. The colony's population was still predominately Dutch in origin and viewed the refugees as interlopers. The Palatine refugees were subjected to such severe discrimination at the hands of the Dutch citizens that for decades afterward Palatine immigrant ships avoided the Port of New York. November - Responding to the Dutch-Palatine ethnic tension, New York Governor Hunter relocated the Palatines approximately 150 miles up the Hudson River to Livingstone Manor where the refugees were expected to prepare pitch and hemp for Her Majesty's navy as payment for their passage. Unfortunately, the local pine trees turned out to be the wrong species for such industry. So Governor Hunter, who had been looking out for the new immigrants, ceased to provide any further rations or assistance. 1712 Fall -- Some of the Palatines learned about a friendlier rural settlement near Albany, New York, about 60 miles to the northwest of Livingstone Manor that the Indians called Schoharie. About 150 families packed up and moved to the Schoharie Valley, organizing themselves into "Seven Dorfs." Upon arrival, however, they discovered that they would be restricted to the purchase of only ten acres of land per family ... not really enough to adequately support themselves. Nevertheless, for the next decade the Palatine families remained in Schoharie, cultivated the soil, and improved the settlement. 1722 Unexpectedly, Palatine families began to be evicted from their farms. The land titles granted them were not valid due to deliberate imperfections in the land contracts that had been drafted by their unscrupulous English and Dutch proprietors. The farms were being repossessed. According to legend, William Penn's Proprietary Government needed setters in the west to buffer eastern Pennsylvania from the Indians and, upon hearing about the Schoharie land scam, Pennsylvania Governor William Keith, Baronet, contacted the Palatines with an offer of larger land grants and easier Palatine settlement in the then western parts of his province. The offer was too good to refuse. 1723 Spring - Fifteen Palatine families traveled southward down the Susquehanna River in a flotilla of canoes from Schoharie, New York, to settle in the Tulpehocken Territory near today's Womelsdorf in Berks Co, PA. 1725 Another eighteen straggler Palatine families had arrived at the settlement in Tulpehocken Territory, Lancaster (now Berks) County, including the family of "Michael" John Michael Emerick and Elizabeth Krantz Emerick. Michael Emerick was the son of the Emerick patriarch who died in 1710 on shipboard en route from England, and also was likely the great grandfather of "MOLLY" MAGDALENA BORDNER. 1728 Other expecditions of Palatine families followed from Schoharie. The local Indians protested. The Proprietary Government apologized, made various excuses, and in 1732 finally secured a release from the Indians. By that time, numerous German-speaking settlers were in every part of the territory and, before 1740, four townships had been established by the court in Lancaster: Tulpehocken (incorporated 1729), Heidelberg (incorporated 1734), Bern (incorporated 1738), and Bethel (incorporated May 1739). 1727-1780 The LAHR surname appeared in colonial government and church pastoral records with multiple spellings including: LÄHR, LAHR, LAR, LAAR, LEHR and LEER. These variations undoubtedly resulted from German-English linguistic barriers as well as from the non-standard German spelling rules of the day. LAHR, LAAR and LAR are pronounced virtually identically, with the "A" like that in "father." LEHR and LEER also are pronounced more or less identically, with the "E" like that in "get." (In modern German, "leer" means "empty" as in an empty glass of water.) Technically, the double vowels ("A" and "E") indicate that the vowel should be sounded a bit harder, for a bit longer. But in conversational speech, there's no real difference. LÄHR, on the other hand, is pronounced with the "Ä" like the "A" in "bake." In essence, the surname sounds very much like the English word "lair." This spelling is probably the original surname. So the "Lehr" and "Leer" spellings could have resulted from the natural drift of the phonetic pronunciation of the surname. The Germans have a term for this drift in pronunciation which, literally, translates as "folk wanderings." The "Lahr" and "Laar" spellings probably resulted from an Americanization of "Lähr" by dropping the umlod (two dots) over the "A." 1727 October 16 - Georg Henrich Lahr arrived in Philadelphia from Rotterdam, Holland, aboard the British ship "Friendship of Bristol," under Captain John Davies. This Henrich Lahr (Palatine Lutherans of the period seldom used their first names) appeared on the ship's captain's "A List" as Henry Leer but signed the ship's Oath of Allegiance "List C" as Yer(g) Henrich Lahr. As "Henry Lahr," he settled in Hereford, Goshenhoppen (aka Coweshoppin) Territory, Philadelphia (now Berks) Co., Province of Pennsylvania - although Penn Proprietary Government records attribute his land warrants in 1733 and in 1737 to Henry Lehr. His wife was probably named Elisabeth or Anna Maria. No reliable documentation has been uncovered which positively establishes the names of his children, although there are uncorroborated references to Anna Maria, Philip, George, Elizabeth and perhaps a Magdalena. Hence, so far no evidence definitively links our LAHR family to this "Henry" Henrich Lahr. Henry Lahr died in Hereford in 1739. 1740 September 17 -- The families of DANIEL LUCAS and of JOHAN "HANS" GEORG BROSIUS arrived in Philadelphia from Rotterdam aboard the British ship "Lydia," under Commander James Allen. Both men are listed among the early settlers of Tulpehocken Territory, Lancaster (now Berks) County, Province of Pennsylvania. GEORGE BROSIUS was also a founding member of Christ Church at Stouchsburg. DANIEL LUCAS settled in Heidelberg Township. Among his children is ELISABETH LUCAS (born about 1755). GEORGE BROSIUS and his wife ANNA CATARINA SIMON BROSIUS set up their homestead west of the present day Rehersburg, receiving a land patent for 205 acres in what was then known as the Manor of Andulhea. Among their children is SEBASTIAN BROSIUS (born about 1729). ABOUT 1748 Based on his marriage, the approximate birth year of our earliest documented LAHR ancestor PAUL LAHR (the 1st), son of HENRICH LAHR, who as a young man lived in Heidelberg Township. Since PAUL LAHR's likely birthdate is 11 years after the documented death of the above Georg Henrich Lahr of Hereford, there may be no immediate familial relationship. Still Henry Lahr of Hereford might eventually prove to be the father or, more likely, the grandfather of this PAUL LAHR. November 29 - SEBASTIAN BROSIUS, son of George Brosius, married BARBARA MARGARETHA ROTH in Tulpehocken Township. In 1775, SEBASTIAN became the first constable of Mahanoy Township in today's Northumberland County where he also purchased a 469 acre tract of land. Among SEBASTIAN and BARBARA BROSIUS' children are "MAGDALENE" MARIA MAGDALENA (born 2/3/1752) and "George" John George (about 1760). 1749 September 15 - Nicolaus Bab (aka Popp, Bopp, Bobb, Bubb, Bub & Bob) arrived Philadelphia from Rotterdam aboard the "Phoenix," commanded by master John Mason. Records show that he had settled in Heidelberg Township by 1767. 1773 June 22 - "NICHOLAS" JOHAN NICOLAUS BOBB, probably the son of Nicolaus Bab, married "MAGDALENE" MARIA MAGDALENA BROSIUS, daughter of SEBASTIAN BROSIUS at Christ Church in Stouchsburg. Among their children were ELIZABETH BOBB (11/2/1786). November 23 - PAUL LAHR (the 1st), son of HENRICH LAHR, married ELISABETH LUCAS, daughter of Daniel Lucas, at Christ Church in Stouchsburg. The couple settled in nearby Bethel Township, Tulpehocken Territory, where PAUL LAHR appears on tax records between 1774-1794, as well as on the first US Federal Census in 1790. Their children were Johannes (born 4/8/1775), Elisabeth (6/22/1776), Catharine (12/29/1777), Peter (10/1/1779), PAUL (7/11/1781), Daniel (6/23/1783), and Magdalene (8/1788). 1791 Upon the death of his father SEBASTIAN BROSIUS, George Brosius inherited the 469 acre tract of land in Mahanoy Township. He built a mill and opened a store on his property along Stone Valley creek. In 1798, he sectioned off the land and sold parcels, founding a town named for himself: Georgetown. By 1811, Georgetown had gained importance as a community. Sometime after the Civil War, to prevent confusion with other "Georgetown"s in Pennsylvania, the local postmaster changed the name to its present designation: Dalmatia, Lower Mahanoy Township, Northumberland County. ABOUT 1807 PAUL LAHR, SR. (the 2nd), son of PAUL LAHR (the 1st), married ELIZABETH BOBB, daughter of NICHOLAS BOBB. They settled near Georgetown (now Dalmatia), doubtless attracted by the great real estate deal they likely received from ELIZABETH's uncle George Brosius. In 1822, PAUL and ELIZABETH deeded a small lot to the inhabitants of Georgetown for the exclusive purpose of "teaching and keeping school." Among their children is PAUL LAHR, JR. (5/12/1810). On May 17, 1810, PAUL LAHR (the 1st) and ELISABETH LUCAS LAHR sponsored the baptism of PAUL, JR. (the 3rd)'s at Stone Valley Church. 1836 December 30 - HENRY BORDNER LAHR was born near Georgetown, PA, the son of PAUL LAHR, JR. (the 3rd) and "MOLLY" MAGDALENA BORDNER LAHR (the likely great granddaugher of "Michael" John Michael Emerick). He was baptized as "HEINRICH LAHR" at Stone Valley Church. HENRY spoke Pensilfaanisch Deitsch (not "Deutsch" - folk wanderings) and, although a 4th or 5th generation American citizen, spoke English with a German accent. During the Civil War, HENRY's younger brother Paul Lahr (the 4th), served in the Union army under Union General William T. Sherman in Company D, 93rd Illinois Infantry. HENRY's tombstone identifies his birthdate as December 31st; but contemporaneous Stone Valley Church records confirm December 30th. 1911 J.L. Floyd & Company of Chicago published the "Genealogical and Biographical Annals of Northumberland County, Pa." In recent years, this book has become a popular reference source for genealogical web sites on the Internet. According to this book: "The LAHR family is one of the old families of Northumberland county, Pa., particularly numerous in the counties south of Line Mountain, in that region of Pennsylvania, and well represented among the substantial citizens of this section. But its origin is difficult to trace. It is believed that all the Lahrs mentioned herein are of common ancestry; at any rate their forefathers in this region seem to have been of the same stock, although it is impossible to ascertain accurately what relation existed between them. There are evidently three distinct branches of the family in Northumberland county, the posterity of Daniel, Paul and George Lahr, who, according to tradition, were related, though how is not quite certain. Daniel and George were probably first cousins, and Paul it appears was the brother of Daniel, but this is not corroborated." To the contrary … the precise familial relationship between the above-mentioned Daniel, PAUL and George LAHR now has been thoroughly verified: Daniel and PAUL were brothers, the sons of PAUL LAHR and ELISABETH LUCAS LAHR of Bethel Township, Tulpehocken Territory. George Lahr, on the other hand, is not their first cousin but, rather, the son of their much older brother Johannes and, thus, their nephew. George will appear in family trees under the name of Johann George Lahr. Confusion arises because early Palatines often gave their children a spiritual first name and a secular middle name. The spiritual name was used prior to baptism, but dropped from common usage afterwards. Often the same spiritual name would be used for each boy or for each girl. The name "Johan" or "Johann" almost always refers to a dropped spiritual name. Whereas Johannes typically is a secular name for daily usage.