Chris & Julie Petersen's Genealogy

Johann Michael Stocker

Male 1730 - 1819  (88 years)


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  • Name Johann Michael Stocker 
    Born 15 Apr 1730  Goersdorf, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Christened 16 Apr 1730  Preuschdorf, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Died 26 Mar 1819  Somerset, Perry, Ohio, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Buried 29 Mar 1819  Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery, Somerset, Perry, Ohio, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I1857  Petersen-de Lanskoy
    Last Modified 27 May 2021 

    Father Hans Michael Stocker,   c. 10 Jan 1684, Preuschdorf, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 16 Feb 1756, Goersdorf, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 72 years) 
    Mother Eva Stähle,   c. 12 Nov 1693, Soultz-Sous-Forêts, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 28 Apr 1746, Goersdorf, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 52 years) 
    Married 4 Jan 1721  Preuschdorf, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F143  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 1 Anna Barbara Römer,   b. Abt 1739, of Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. From 16 Oct 1768 to 15 Feb 1769, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 29 years) 
    Married Abt 1757  Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. Anna Barbara Stocker,   b. 1 Apr 1758, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 19 Nov 1760, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 2 years)
     2. Maria Barbara Stocker,   b. 1 Apr 1758, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Bef 1769, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age < 10 years)
     3. Johanna Magdalena Stocker,   b. 1 Jan 1760, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Jun 1814, Hamilton Township, Franklin, Ohio, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 54 years)
     4. Michael Stoker or Stocker,   b. 24 Mar 1762, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Aft 27 Oct 1836, of, Caldwell, Missouri, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age > 74 years)
     5. Elizabeth Stocker,   b. 26 Aug 1764, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Bef 1769, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age < 4 years)
     6. Balthasar Stocker,   b. 24 May 1767, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Bef 1769, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age < 1 years)
    Last Modified 28 May 2021 
    Family ID F87  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 2 Elizabeth Pfau,   b. 15 Mar 1744, Basel, Baselland, Switzerland Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 9 Oct 1777, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 33 years) 
    Married 15 Feb 1769  Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. Christina Stocker,   b. 11 Nov 1769, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Bef 1782, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age < 12 years)
     2. Maria Barbara Stocker,   b. 11 Nov 1769, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Bef 1782, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age < 12 years)
     3. Johannes or John Stocker,   b. 4 Jan 1772, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 19 Apr 1846, Rushville, Fairfield, Ohio, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 74 years)
     4. Maria Salome Stocker,   b. 9 May 1773, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Aft 1818  (Age > 46 years)
     5. Maria Barbara Stocker,   b. 23 Dec 1774, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Aft 1818  (Age > 45 years)
     6. Eva Margareth Stocker,   b. 22 Jul 1776, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 10 Sep 1777, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 1 years)
     7. Stocker,   b. 7 Oct 1777, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 7 Oct 1777, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 0 years)
    Last Modified 28 May 2021 
    Family ID F186  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 3 Anna Maria Adams,   b. Abt 1749, of Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 11 Jul 1822, Somerset, Perry, Ohio, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 73 years) 
    Married 21 Jun 1778  Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. Anna Margreth Stocker,   b. 15 May 1779, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Aft 1821  (Age > 43 years)
     2. Maria Catherina Stoker,   b. 4 Sep 1780, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 5 Sep 1839, Somerset, Perry, Ohio, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 59 years)
     3. George Stocker,   b. 13 Nov 1781, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Bef 1790, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age < 8 years)
     4. Eva Catherina Stocker,   b. 31 Jan 1784, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Aft 1860, Clayton Township, Perry, Ohio, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age > 77 years)
     5. Jacob Stoker,   b. 22 May 1785, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 12 Dec 1851, Circleville, Pickaway, Ohio, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 66 years)
     6. Charlotta Stocker,   b. 19 Feb 1788, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 25 Nov 1877, Somerset, Perry, Ohio, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 89 years)
    Last Modified 28 May 2021 
    Family ID F1144  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • RESEARCH_NOTES:
      1. A timeline summary of the current known information about Johann Michael Stocker for whom the additional following notes in this record file will provide greater detail and documentation:
      15 Apr 1730: Born as Hanss Michel Stocker to Hanss Michel Stocker "the older" and Eva Staehli in German-speaking Goersdorf, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France. "Hans" a common diminutive form of "Johann". His grandparents were Johann Friedrich and Anna Barbara (___) Stocker; Friedrich was born in Feldberg, Baden, Germany to Christian Stocker before moving roughly 110 miles away to Goersdorf. Early church records in Feldberg started too late to prove Christian's origins.
      16 Apr 1730: Christened in Preuschdorf which is the village church that serves both of the hamlets Goersdorf and Mitschdorf. Another branch of DNA-related American immigrant Stockers in Pennsylvania, Hans Michael Stocker and Anna Margaret Stephan with some of their children, have their origins in Mitschdorf. Modern DNA testing proves a 75% chance of relationship between our Michael and the Pennsylvania Michael at the 9-generation level (95% at the 12-generation level). This DNA result led family researcher Noel Stoker to Preuschdorf where our Michael's christening was finally found. Pennsylvania Michael's ancestry leads to Michael Stocker also of Feldberg (wife Maria Remp of Feldberg), then to Hans Jacob Stocker of Feldberg, Switzerland (wife Margretha Schinbein of Feldberg), and then finally perhaps a Jacob Stocker of Rottwil. Early church records appear to have commenced too late to find the common ancestor of these two related branches, but a move from Switzerland to Feldberg before Goersdorf seems likely.
      1752-1755: Most likely time window of Michael's immigration to America. Michael was naturalized in 1762 after a mandatory minimum residency in Colonial America of seven years. Also no Palatine immigration occurred after 1755 until the early 1760s due to the French and Indian War of that time period. Many ship immigration passenger registers were not recorded and Michael's record has not been found. There is one Johannes Stocker found immigrating in 1752 which may possibly be our Michael.
      About 1757: This is the approximate unproven date when Michael married his first wife Anna Barbara who was most likely a Römerin since all of her children's baptisms except one have Römer/Römerin siblings or parents of Anna Barbara. Anna Barbara's father Johan Michael Römer is documented being in Frederick, Maryland no later than June 1747.
      17 Feb 1758 - 8 Apr 1758: Michael purchases three lots in Leesburg (known originally as George Town), Virginia. Michael's second father-in-law, Jacob Pfau, is also in Leesburg at the same time. Jacob is found earlier in Winchester, Virginia on the Great Wagon Road in the Shenandoah Valley.
      17 Feb 1758: "Michael Stocker" witness a land transaction between Nicholas Minor and Daniel Davis.
      14 Mar 1758: Loudoun, VA, County Court record of an Indenture of Feofment between Nicholas Minor and "Michael Stocker."
      1 Apr 1758 - 11 Sep 1768: Birth of eight children with first wife Anna Barbara Römerin in the Frederick, Maryland area.
      12 Apr 1758: Loudoun, VA, County Court record of an Indenture of Feofment between Nicholas Minor and "Michael Stocker."
      20 Jul 1758 - 23 Sep 1758: Two land transactions between Nicholas Minor and Andrew Adams references adjoining land of "Michael Stoker."
      12 Dec 1758: Loudoun, VA, County Court record of judgment against "Michael Stocker" for a debt owed to William Bolding.
      12 Sep 1759: Loudoun, VA, County Court record of judgment against "Michael Stoker" for a debt owed to Israel Thompson.
      14 Nov 1759 - 9 Sep 1761: "Michael Stoker" sells his three Leesburg lots. Wife Barbara/Barbary is listed in each of the transactions.
      14 Nov 1759: Loudoun, VA, County Court record of an Indenture of Feofment between "Michael Stocker and Barbary his wife" and John Heryford.
      15 Nov 1759: Loudoun, VA, County Court record where "Michl. Stoker" is listed on a jury to adjudge the value and the impact of an acre of land to be dammed for water for the construction of a mill by Richard Roach.
      12 Mar 1760: Loudoun, VA, County Court record of an Indenture of Feofment between "Michal Stoker and Barbara his wife" and Robert Adam.
      24 Mar 1760: Michael sells Anna Barbara's dower lands in Frederick, Maryland.
      13 May 1760: Buys first land in Frederick, Maryland.
      9 Sep 1761: Loudoun, VA, County Court record of an Indenture of Feofment between "Michael Stoker and Barbary his wife" and John Patterson.
      1762: Michael's name was listed among those who donated money to support both the schoolteacher and the church pastor.
      28 Sep 1762: Michael's Naturalization and Oath of Allegiance in Frederick, Maryland. One of the requirements was that he had to have been in America for at least seven years. This record also confirms that he was from Germany.
      1 Apr 1764: "Michael and Anna Barbara Stocker" listed as sponsors at the baptism or the child of Bartholem and Barbara Schuhmacher.
      21 Mar 1766: Sells land in Frederick, Maryland. Anna Barbara is named as Michael's wife.
      30 Aug 1768: Buys land in Frederick, Maryland from Henry Brunner.
      16 Oct 1768: "Johann Michael Stocker and wife" listed as sponsors at the baptism or the child of Gottlieb and Margaretha Geist.
      15 Feb 1769: Michael marries his second wife Elizabeth Pfau per marriage date in Elizabeth's burial entry.
      11 Nov 1769: Twin daughters Maria Barbara and Christina are born and baptized 19 Nov 1769. The sponsors are sisters of Anna Barbara Römerin and not relatives of Elizabeth.
      24 Mar 1770: Michael and second wife Elizabeth sell land to Henry Brunner in Frederick.
      4 Jan 1772 - 7 Oct 1777: Birth of five children with second wife Elizabeth Pfau in Frederick, Maryland.
      7 Nov 1774: Michael and Elizabeth sold her dower lot in Frederick.
      20 Oct 1776: "Michael Stocker" witnessed marriage of Valentin Rau & Margreth Vogeln both residing on Charles Manor [Carroll's Manor I in Frederick County.
      29 Sep 1777: Appears on the Carrollton Manor Rent Roll for 100 acres. The Carrollton Manor is in Frederick County, Maryland.
      9 Oct 1777: Second wife Elizabeth Fah dies in Frederick, Frederick, Maryland in giving birth to a child who was stillborn.
      21 Jun 1778: "Michael Stocker" marries third wife "Mary Adams" by license in Frederick, Maryland.
      18 Oct 1778 - 2 Jun 1805: Attendance records for communion at the Church in Frederick. Actual dates were 18 Oct 1778, 13 May 1779, 14 May 1780, 19 May 1782, 8 Jun 1783, 30 Jun 1784, 4 Jun 1786, 27 May 1787, 7 Oct 1787, and 24 Apr 1791. On 30 Jun 1784 and 4 Jun 1786 he was accompanied by his daughter. Michael "Stocher" attended services 23 Oct 1803 and 2 Jun 1805.
      19 Nov 1778: Michael with wife Mary sales land in Frederick, MD.
      15 May 1779 - 19 Feb 1788: Birth of six children with third wife Anna Maria Adams in Frederick, Maryland.
      23 Jan 1782: Received compensation from the State of Maryland.
      2 Nov 1784: "Michael Stocker" witnessed marriage of Johann Jost Stimmel and his daughter Johanna Magdalena Stockern.
      2 Jul 1786 - 4 Jul 1786: Michael appointed to the church positions in Frederick, Maryland. He was retired from these positions on 4 May 1788.
      1786-1794: Michael Stocker and his third wife Anna Maria shown as sponsors in Frederick at three different baptisms of Michael's grandchildren.
      20/21 Apr. 1788: Michael Stocker and George Schaeffer witnessed the marriage of Christopher Schaeffer and Elizabeth Adams; she may have been perhaps a sister of his third wife. The marriage noted, "by license in Virginia."
      1790: Michael listed in the 1790 US Census for Frederick, Maryland.
      2 Jun 1805: The last mention of Michael attending services in the Frederick Church. Probably went directly to Ohio from Maryland and not thru North Carolina with his son Michael who also eventually ends up in Ohio. Frederick, Maryland was on the route of the National Highway built in the very early 1800s that eventually led to St. Louis, Missouri, via southern Ohio through Zanesville and Columbus. The route was one of America's first major public works and was envisioned and initiated under the administration of Thomas Jefferson.
      From 1805 to 16 Jan 1809: Michael and Maria moved from Frederick County, Maryland to Fairfield County, Ohio.
      16 Jan 1809: Land purchase in Fairfield County, Ohio with a land purchase of 16 Jan 1809. The town of Somerset was measured out in the following year.
      1816/1817: Michael Stocker listed on the Citizens and Voters List for Reading Township, Ohio (History of Fairfield and Perry County).
      7 Mar 1818: The final land record for Michael Stocker is recorded in Somerset.
      10 May 1818: Michael writes his Will in Somerset, Perry, Ohio.
      26 Mar 1819: Death per tombstone in Somerset, Perry, Ohio at "age 88." Death is 20 days shy of his 89th birthday.
      17 Apr 1819: The Will of Michael Stocker was proved in the Court of Common Pleas, Perry County, Ohio.

      2. Noel G. Stoker, descendant of the Utah Pioneer Bishop John Stoker of Bountiful, and current resident of Fresno, California, has invested a lot of time, money, and effort in researching the origins of Johann Michael Stocker, our original American immigrant ancestor. Noel's research significantly made the leap to Germany and documents three additional generations of ancestors. For much of the research he had hired professional genealogists Trudy Schenk in 1993 and then later in 2014-2015 Robyn Gygi and Diane Rogers of Price & Associates (15 West South Temple, Suite 570, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101, (800) 288-0920.) Price & Associates in turn subcontracted research to researcher Milan Pohantsch, an Accredited German Researcher. Noel has permitted me to share his observations and research, which he emailed Jan./Feb. 2015; I edit and add additional comments [in brackets] on his emails as follows:
      A. "In the mid-90s my father and I employed a German researcher, Trudy Schenk, to research our line. I met her one day in the Family History Research Library in SLC … Trudy performed a great search … She was convinced that Joh Michael's father was Hans Michael Stocker, the immigrant, who arrived in Philadelphia 1731 on the Ship "Brittania" with his wife Margaretha and two or three children. Trudy reasoned that our Joh Michael, who is my 5th great grandfather, was their son, having been born on ship or shortly before they left. However, there has been a lingering doubt about this connection. Hans & Margaretha had a son Michael in 1727, who was buried in Goersdorf, Alsace-Lorraine, France, before they came to this country. They also had a son born in this country in Pennsylvania, named Michael, in 1734. He died in Pennsylvania in 1771. I found two living descendants of the [Pennsylvania] immigrant, Hans Michael Stocker, and together we had Y-DNA research performed. These two sons were Andreas who remained in PA and retained the spelling Stocker to this day and George who moved to Kentucky with his brother Jacob and changed their names to Stucker. I am very closely related to them both, but at nine generations we have a 75% chance of a common paternal ancestor. At 12 generations the probability increases to 95%. At that point I decided to have a fresh pair of German eyes look at the records in Germany/France. Hans Michael Stocker, the immigrant, and Hans Michael Stocker (the older) as he was designated [and differentiated] in the church record, lived in the same small town and attended the same Lutheran [Preuschdorf] parish. [Correction: the "older" lived in Goersdorf and the immigrant lived in adjoining Mitschdorf, both in the same parish.] I am certain they are closely related - nephew & uncle, etc., but we have been unable to prove the relationship. The Hanss Michael Stocker, born April 15, 1730, [to Hans Michael "the older"] matches our Joh. Michael, who died in March of 1819, at the age of 88 (20 days from being 89). Two different German researchers have informed me that Hans or Hanss is short hand for Johannes, Johan or Joh. [Comment: Noel has since researched each of these two related lines back about three generations getting closer to a common ancestor; however, the church records for these areas begin too late to make a confirmed connection.]
      B. Noel provided additional information on the Hans Michael Stocker who immigrated with his wife Margaret to Pennsylvania on the ship "Brittania" in 1731. [No children are shown in this immigration record, but this may simply be clerical issue.] Noel had his DNA tested against a descendant of the PA family and they had compatibility. This family remained in Pennsylvania with the town Stockertown named after them. The Easton County Library in PA has a collection of multiple volumes (9) on this Stocker Family, which includes the works of Jennie Stewart (but there may also be other sources as well). The SLC FHL has Jennie E. Stewart's work on film# 875389. The Easton County Library source also includes a translated Swiss document which Noel references and comments as follows:
      "Obtained from the Library of Congress - Information on the Stocker family:
      Historisch - Biographies Leckender Schweig; vol. 6, pp. 561-3, dated April 1931. Translated from German.
      Page 8 reads - "in September 1957 in compliance with a request, I received the second article in German which was referred to at the bottom of page 563, this being from the same publication page 556. It follows:
      Stocker:
      Stocker, Stockar and Stokar. Families of the cantons Basel, Luzern, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Solothurn, Zurich and Zug.
      A. Canton of Basel
      B. Canton of Luzern (Lucerne) - Stocker. Families from the counties Willisau, Luzern and Sursee since the 14th century.
      Prominent men are then listed, mostly since 1847.
      Noel's comments: "Jacob the most distant ancestor of Hans Michael Stocker, the immigrant, was from Kottwil [later corrected to Rottwill]. The parish that served Kottwil was located in Willisau. Milan, our researcher has located ... a number of other Stockers in Sursee, Ettiswil, and Luzern. I did a Family Search entering the name Stocker without specifying gender or given names -- it turned up two pages of Stockers in the 1500s & 1600s."
      C. Noel's further discussion on the DNA comparison work:
      Noel reports: "[Price & Associates] generated for me … two of the sons of Hans Michael, the immigrant, when I was pursuing Y-DNA connections. The two sons were Andreas who remained in PA and retained the spelling Stocker to this day and George who moved to Kentucky with his brother Jacob and changed their names to Stucker. George and Jacob moved to Kentucky to join Daniel Boone in the Indian wars. They died in those conflicts but their families remained there for some time. For whatever reason the sons changed the spelling to Stucker."
      Noel's descent is as follows: Noel Golden Stoker - Golden L. Stoker - David Stoker, Jr. - David Stoker, Sr. - John Stoker - David Stoker and Barbara Graybill - Michael Stoker and Catherine Eller - Joh. Michael Stocker and Anna Barbara Römerin. Noel's DNA result is at familytreedna.com, kit number 301184 with password C14C11.
      Noel reports the Stucker individuals in the comparison were primarily John Leroy Stucker & Earl Eugene Stocker, both descendants of Hans Michael Stocker & Anna Margaretha Stephan via their sons George & Andreas. Scott Mitchell, also a Stucker, he believes, is closely related as well; his line is most likely from George as well. Thus there are three descendants of the Pennsylvania Stocker with whom Noel is closely related to.
      John Leroy Stucker is the Stucker descendant Noel worked with. His progression is as follows: John Leroy Stucker - Jack Leroy Stucker & Mary Ellen Wills - Edgar Emmet Stucker & Fern Florence McGee - William Martin Stucker & Mary Ott - Jeptha Stucker & Elizabeth Bowman - Michael Stucker & Nancy Vaugha - George Stucker & Margaret - Hans Michael Stocker & Anna Margaret Stephan, the Pennsylvania immigrants. Earl's was taken from the Stocker/Stucker DNA project found at the Family Tree DNA site.
      Earl Eugene Stocker - Eugene Benjamin Stocker - Benjamin Alexander Stocker - George Stocker - Aaron Stocker - Christian Stocker - Andreas Stocker - Hans Michael Stocker the Pennsylvania immigrant. John's was taken from personal communication with Noel.
      Noel also reports: "Another person also is closely related. Scott Mitchell is actually more closely related than I am. He was obviously a Stucker raised as a Mitchell. The Mitchell family was very close to the Stuckers in PA & Kentucky. I have communicated with their family history expert on numerous occasions. He agrees with my conclusion."
      D. "Hans Michael Stocker, the [Pennsylvania] Immigrant, was born in Mitschdorf, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France (German speaking), on 24 Nov. 1701. The Lutheran Parish was located in the neighboring village of Preuschdorf, which lays about one mile southeast of Mitschdorf. Goersdorf is about 3/4 of a mile west of Mitschdorf. Goersdorf has a population of about 1,000 today and apparently about that in the early 1700's. Documentation for the Hans Michael Stocker, the immigrant is pretty solid I believe. Milan, utilizing Trudy's records, went right back to the same Lutheran parish to verify Trudy's work. He is a very careful researcher and determined that the parish record index was not complete thus he laboriously searched page by page. That is when he found the entry for Hanss Michel Stocker, born April 15, 1730, whose parents were Hanss Michel Stocker, "the older," of Goersdorf. He also found the entries Trudy recorded including Johann Michael Stocker, born in 1723. Milan theorized that although there is not a death recorded for Johann Michael (1723), he must have died young because seven years later the parents name a second male child with the same name. As you know this was a common practice of these early Lutherans. Milan searched diligently for marriage and death records for the second Hanss Michel Stocker but found nothing. It is interesting that the parents, Hans Michel & Eva Staehli remained and died there. Hanss Michel Stocker's brother Johann George Stocker, was a witness of his father's death as noted in the parish records. Thus his family remained in Goersdorf while Joh. Michel Stocker left. Hanss Michel Stocker was denoted as the "older" in the parish records suggesting to me there had to be a younger Hanss Michel Stocker. The younger one could have been Hans Michael Stocker, the immigrant, who was born in 1701 while the older one was born in 1684 … Hans Michael Stocker (the Immigrant) and his wife Anna Margaretha did have son named Michael in 1727 in Mitschdorf but he died before they came to America and that has been documented. They did come with two or three children according to Anna Buggert, the historian. Once established in PA, they had several more children including a Michael who died in 1771. I calculated his date of birth as 1734 as he is seen as a servant of Jurg Burkkhart in New Hanover, PA in 1750. Much work has been done on the immigrant's line since they came to America but there is still much confusion which begs resolution. Since this is our family (collateral), I would like to see us clean it up. I have done that for two sons who moved to Kentucky and changed their name to Stucker."
      E. In regards to future research, Noel indicates: "I am not certain where to go from here. I do believe that we should document with images the life of Hans Michael Stocker (immigrant), his children's christening, and immigration, from Mitschdorf. His father was Hans (Michael) born in 1669 in Feldberg, Baden, Germany. His father was Hans Jacob Stocker born in Kottwil, Luzern, Switzerland in 1634. Hans Jacob was the son of Jacob. Note; other literature I have states there were four main lines of Stocker in Switzerland, one of which settled in Luzern. According to Milan, Stocker is fairly common there. This another area of search. I have reached out to the Family History Center in Luzern asking for assistance but no reply. I don't speak or write German so that may be the reason for the non-response … I am still looking for that common ancestor and thus the push into Switzerland. Our Stockers were first noted in Feldberg, Baden Germany. They subsequently moved to Goersdorf, some 110 miles distance. I speak in the plural, because there were probably three families that moved. Milan has searched Feldberg and surrounding environs but perhaps not completely. We could search here further."
      F. Besides the 1993 Trudy Schenk research report, the Price & Associates' research reports prepared for Noel concerning the German connection and ancestry are as follows by date and subject. All report transcripts are sequentially shown in my database in the record for an imaginary "Stocker" who is listed as the earliest unknown progenitor for our line (father of Christian Stocker). Additionally I fully show certain of the following individual reports in the record notes of the individuals to whom they pertain. The dates and brief summaries:
      -6 Jan 2014: Confirmed the birth and death of the Michael Stocker who was born and died in 1727 - he was the son of the PA immigrant and with the death cannot be our Michael. Confirmed all Stocker entries in Preuschdorf from 1715 to 1736 directly from parish registers instead of the birth index (which proved to be deficient). Found only one candidate that could be our immigrant ancestor Johann Michael Stocker; he is listed as Hanss Michel Stocker, born 15 April 1730, son of Hanss Michel, the older of Goersdorf and his wife Eva. Discovered marriage of the parents and his mother's full name Eva Staehli, daughter of the deceased Johannes Staehli of Sultz. [See this research report in its entirety below under "BIRTH".]
      -17 Feb 2014: Found additional entries in Preuschdorf which more fully establish Michael's siblings His father had been previously married to Anna Fischer and that family was also established.
      -19 Apr 2014: Found Michael's grandparents Friedrich and Anna Barbara (___) Stocker as well as Friedrich's father Christian and four of Friedrich's siblings in Feldberg, Baden, Germany. The baptismal entry for Eva Staehli was also found. Anna Barbara was also found to have been previously married to Hans Friedrich Bartl.
      -8 Sep 2014: Searched without success early records looking for the common ancestor of our line of Stockers and that of the Pennsylvania Stockers.
      -14 Jan 2015: Searched again without success early records looking for the common ancestor of our line of Stockers and that of the Pennsylvania Stockers.
      G. Transcript of two "Research Reports" prepared for Noel Stoker in 1993 by Trudy Schenk, Accredited Genealogist follow below. Copies provided 14 Feb 2015 to me by Noel. Unfortunately, Trudi provides no sources for reverification; however, her ability with German records is generally reliable. At first reading, this report is confusing -- at the time it was prepared, some believed that Hans Michael Stocker who emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1731 was the father of our Frederick, Maryland Michael Stocker. This has since been disproved and Hans Michael was found to also have had a son named Michael who lived and died in Pennsylvania. Later DNA testing by Noel Stoker proved there was a familial connection between the Pennsylvania and Maryland Stockers, except that it was back at least three or more generations. Part A of the following quote mixes the Michaels up a bit and so the reader should realize that the reference to Michael of Frederick should be totally separate from the other Michael and his father (Hans) Michael, the emigrant to Pennsylvania. Part B only deals with the Pennsylvania Stockers and not with our Michael of Frederick. After the DNA testing result, both reports became invaluable since they provide better background of the Pennsylvania Stockers. The fact that our Maryland Michael came from the same parish makes the Pennsylvania Stockers a parallel line that eventually would lead back to the same common ancestor. Subsequent reports from Price & Associates follow this premise. Both of Trudi's reports follow:
      A. "Michael Stocker who appears as a servant of Jurg Burchhart at age 16 in 1750, was confirmed in 1749, in the New Hanover Lutheran church book, Montgomery County Pennsylvania.
      This Michael Stocker has to be the son of the emigrant Michael Stocker. His father having emigrated in 1731 and Michael born 1733-1734 makes him born in Pennsylvania rather than Germany as has been thought in the past.
      Michael Stocker lives with Jurg (Georg) Burchhart (Burckardt) at age 16 in 1750 in New Hanover twp., Montgomery County several other families who had come from Mitschdorf, Goersdorf and Preuschdorf at about the same time, also live in New Hanover.
      The Burckhardt family came from Preuschdorf. They were obviously friends of the Stockers. Georg Burckhardt's father Georg died in New Hanover in 1745. They obviously were in New Hanover, Montgomery Co. as early as 1745. By 1750 the young Michael Stocker is a servant at Georg Burchards because his children are still very young.
      Another family who is in New Hanover by 1748 also from Goersdorf is Leonard Bock. Jacob Stocker's daughter Margaretha was the mother of Leonhard Bock, therefore a relative to Michael Stocker. Leonard Bock is a witness to one of Georg Burchhard's children. By 1758 Michael Stocker is in Frederick Co., MD where he is married to Barbara Roemer, and two other wives. The Evang.-Luth. Church shows him and Barbara having children beginning in 1758. He must have met the Romers before he came to Maryland.
      In St. Michaelis Lutheran church of Philadelphia Christian Runner is a witness in 1751 to a child of Heinrich Acker who is also from Goersdorf and in 1746 Jacob Stiefel who is Michael Stocker's uncle is witness to a child of Heinrich Acker. In 1768 Johann Michael Stocker and wife witness the christening of a child of Gottlieb Geist who had just arrived from Mitschdorf in 1767 and apparently went right to Fredrick Co., Maryland. There were several families in Frederickburg and Middletown whose origin are in the Alsace regions.
      Now who is Michael Stocker who lives in lower Macungie twp. Lehigh Co., Pennsylvania in 1769. It cannot be the Michael Stocker I have discussed in this report. There is one Georg Stocker who is also listed coming from Goersdorf to Pennsylvania in the book Eighteenth Century Emigrants from the Northern Alsace. He is not listed on a ship list, but the church record states he is going to the new land. Perhaps a connection can be found from him to the Macungie Michael Stocker."
      B. "Stocker Research Report, November 4, 1993
      The Stockers in Feldberg, Baden, Germany
      In the year 1661 Hans Jacob Stocker is married in Feldberg, Baden, Germany, an area located between the Rhein bordering France and Switzerland and the Black Forest in upper Baden. This area is known as the Corner of Three Lands.
      The State of Baden, Germany as well as Alsace, Lorraine, France were heavily involved and nearly destroyed during the 30-Year War which ended in 1648. Thus, many Swiss residents took this opportunity to leave the poverty-stricken Switzerland to help re-colonize and populate these desolate areas of Germany.
      In the marriage entry of Hans Jacob Stocker in Feldberg to his wife Margaretha Schinbein on 21 Jan. 1661 the pastor recorded that the groom is the son of Jacob Stocker who is a citizen in Kottwil, Switzerland. Margaretha Schinbein the bride is the daughter of the judge Fridlin Schinbein of Feldberg.
      The Feldberg evangelical church records begin in 1639 for entries of baptisms, marriages and deaths. The first recording of a Stocker is in 1649 when a Hans Stocker who lives in the village Hennenbach dies on 25 Jan. 1649, by profession a carpenter. It is possible and most likely that he had come from Switzerland with his family, for there are three boys that have children in Feldberg beginning in the year 1650. All three live in the village Hennenbach and are carpenters.
      [The next page is numbered 3 which suggests there may be a missing page 2.]
      A search of the evangelical church records of Preuschdorf to which Mitschdorf belongs, resulted in that Michael born in 1727 died in Mitschdorf on 21 September 1727 and did therefore not emigrate with his family. Yet there is one more child, Maria Catharina which was born in 1721 to her very young mother at age 14 and Michael Stocker is the father. So there were still three children to emigrate with Michael and Margaretha Stocker in 1731. Obviously other children would be born after they arrived in Pennsylvania. Two of them known to me are Michael Stocker born 1733-1734 and a George.
      Michael Stocker the emigrant, also recorded as Hans Michael or Michel as the Alsacians say was born on 24 November 1701 in Mitschdorf a son of Hans Michael Stocker and Maria Remp. He is the 4th child and only son in a family of seven children. Two sisters died very young leaving five children to grow to adulthood of which the eldest Anna Maria born in 1694 married to Johann Christian Schramm in 1718 went to America in 1730. The third child Maria Elisabetha born in 1698, died in 1725, married Friedrich Pfeiffer in 1720. He went to America in 1730 with a second wife. The fourth is Hanss Michel born in 1701 married to Anna Margaretha Stephan in 1725 who went to America in 1731. The fifth, Maria Catharine born in 1704 was married to Hans Jacob Stiefel in 1725 who went to America in 1730. The seventh Maria Barbara born in 1713 who married Hans Adam Schweitzer in 1734 stayed in Mitschdorf where she died in 1782.
      There are several other related families from Mitschdorf, Goersdorf and Preuschdorf who went to America during the years from 1730-1760 and settled in the same areas. Those I will discuss later. They are those who help prove that Michael born in 1733-1734 is indeed the son of the emigrant Michael Stocker.
      The above discussed Stockers are two generations of Michel Stockers in Mitschdorf, Alsace. The older Michael is a son of a Jacob Stocker as recorded in the marriage of Mitschdorf in 1692. There is no birth or christening recorded for the older Michael (Hans Michel) in the Preuschdorf or Goersdorf church records.
      [Page 4]
      Now Jacob Stocker appears in Goersdorf the first time as he is married, being a widower in 1682 to a Magdalena Linder who is a widow. Only a few years earlier a Zacharias Stocker shows in Goersdorf where he is named a new citizen in 1674. This is about the time when Hans Jacob Stocker and Zacharias Stocker disappear from Feldberg.
      Zacharias is in Goersdorf first where he has several more children. He was married four times. His fourth wife is Anna Naegelin who was living in Woerth a town near Goersdorf and he married her in 1681.
      As I looked into evangelical church records of Soultz-sous-Forets, also a nearby town, I came across one Stocker actually Stockert entry. It reads as follows: "On 28 May 1681 Jacob Stockert and wife Maria married people of the Pontif religion (catholic) who live in Hermersweiler now Hermerswiller had a boy child christened and named him Hans Philipp. Godparents: Philipp Pflaum a carpenter, Hanss ? a miller and Margaretha wife of Philipp Hemp the butcher." It appears as though this is the same Jacob Stocker. He was in Hermersweiler before he came to Goersdorf, where he was married to a Maria, obviously his second wife. She must have died from childbirth complications and possibly the child Hans Philipp died also. There are no death records for 1681 to prove this theory, yet by 1682 Jacob is in Goersdorf a widower, now marrying Magdalena Linder.
      It is an apparent fact that Jacob was somewhere else between the time he left Feldberg and the time he appears in Hermersweiler in 1681. There is no death for his first wife Catharina, nor his marriage to Maria. The fact that he is listed being a catholic at the son's christening in 1681 makes it a reasonable conclusion that the Jacob born in Kottwill, Switzerland a catholic comes to Feldberg, Germany, marries an evangelical wife. She dies and he marries a catholic wife and the third wife is Lutheran again and all his descendants are evangelical, also possibly reformed evangelical.
      [Page 5]
      His son Michael marries a Maria Remp. A godparent in Hermersweiler at Hans Philipps christening in 1681 is a Remp.
      How is the Hans Jacob Stocker of Feldberg the same as the Jacob who is later in Goersdorf?
      A previous research in the Feldberg evangelical church records on the Stocker name helped make the decision, yet when in a church entry in Goersdorf, Friedrich Stocker from Feldberg in the Obermark Grafschaft son of Christian Stocker was married in 1680, it was obvious that there was a connection between the Goersdorf and Mitschdorf Stocker and the Feldberg Stockers. Zacharias and Jacob of both parishes whose children born in Feldberg were married in Goersdorf and Mitschdorf left no doubt, that they are one and the same families. The only question that arises is; are Jacob Stocker and Zacharias Stocker related or did they just become friends because their last names are the same? He does name a child Hans Jacob."

      3. James Hook in his 1957 book once thought that John Michael was, very likely, the son of Michael Stoker, aged 31, who came to Pennsylvania on the ship "Brittania" with his wife Margaret Stoker, aged 24, and took his oath of allegiance 21 Sep 1731 but dismissed the idea when he later learned that Michael and Margaret Stoker's son Michael died in 1771 in Macungie Twsp. of Northampton (now Lehigh Co.) Pennsylvania, his will having been probated there, 25 Jan 1771, naming a wife Margaret and children Mary, Elizabeth, Catherine, Susannah and George. Noel Stoker, in his 2014 research as quoted above finally ended this notion while confirming that there is a more distant cousin relationship. I made the following note in 2002 trying to detail the family of the Pennsylvania Stockers and continue to retain it since it gives the 2002 perspective on what was then thought were the origins and make-up of this family. It was the line as Ancestral File showed it in 2002. Many current databases including some in Ancestry.com still retain this unlikely connection. Noel Stoker's research in the hamlet of Mitschdorf in the Preuschdorf parish in Alsace-Lorraine confirms the origins of this immigrant couple and some of their children. The following should not be relied on except for reference and only in the most general of terms:
      "Michael Stocker, b. 1700 at Lake Constance on the German Swiss Border, d. 1749 at Pennsylvania. Two locations noted for death as Hereford Twp., Lehigh, Pennsylvania and near Cooperstown, Berks, Pennsylvania. Married Anna Margaret ___ about 1721/1731 probably in Switzerland. She was b. about 1707 probably in Switzerland and d. 1775 in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. Their children:
      1. Anna Marie Stocker, b. about 1728 at Bavaria, Germany; m. Peter Vies White.
      2. Michael Stocker, b. 1730 at Bavaria, Germany and d. Jan 1771 at Macungie, Lehigh, Pennsylvania.
      3. Adam Stocker, b. 15 Feb 1735/36 at Frederick, Frederick, Maryland; d. 24 Jun 1814 at Forks Twsp., Northampton, Pennsylvania; bur. at Forks Cemetery, Stockertown, Northampton, Pennsylvania per 6 Apr 2002 website <http://www.web-span.com/master/forks.htm>: "Stocker, Adam; 24 Jun 1814; age 78; plot OS-R16." Married Oct 1757, Maria Magdalena Beisel, b. 5 Mar 1741 at Milford Twsp., Bucks, Pennsylvania; d. 23 Jul 1805 at Forks Twsp., Northampton, PA; bur. at Forks Cemetery, Stockertown, Northampton, PA, 6 Apr 2002 website <http://www.web-span.com/master/forks.htm>: "Stocker, Maria M.; 23 Jul 1823; age 43; plot OS-R16."
      4. Jacob Stocker, b. 1738 at Hereford, Berks, Pennsylvania; d. Aug 1782.
      5. Nancy Catherine Stocker, b. 1743.
      6. Andreas or Andrew Stocker, b. May 1746 at Hereford, Berks, PA; d. 1823 at Stockertown, Northampton Co., PA; bur. 1823 Forks Cemetery in Stockertown, Northampton County, PA; m. about 1772 at Northampton, PA, Julianna Maria Watner or Watuert., b. 1751 of Northampton, Pennsylvania; d. 1823 at Stockertown, Northampton, PA; bur 1823 Forks Cemetery, Stockertown, Northampton, PA. 6 Apr 2002 website <http://www.web-span.com/master/forks.htm>: "Stocker, Julianna; 0-0-1823; age 72; plot OS-R20." Same plot as her husband.
      7. Henry Stocker, b. about 1748.
      8. Eva Christine Stocker, b. 14 Nov 1749 at Moore Twsp., Berks, Pennsylvania; d. after 4 Jun 1777 at same place; bur. at Big Moore Church at same place; m. about 1770 at same place, John Walker, b. about 1745 at Moore Twsp., Berks, Pennsylvania."

      4. Was the Johannes Stocker who immigrated in 1752 the same man as Johann Michael Stocker of Frederick, Maryland? An analysis of two signatures provides a good possibility but not conclusive evidence. [For signature images, see documents uploaded to Johann Michael Stocker's page in Family Search.]
      The first signature is for Johannes Stocker, immigrant in 1752 on the ship "Rawley" The source is the book "Pennsylvania German Pioneers, a Publication of the Original Lists of Arrivals in the Port of Philadelphia from 1727 to 1808," in three volumes by Ralph Strassburger and William Hinke (Picton Press, 1992). The first volume shows data; however, the second volume as facsimiles of the signatures of the passengers. Volume 1, page 499, shows "List 191 C" which is based on the "Oaths of Abjuration" for the Philadelphia Government. It states:
      "At the Court House at Philadelphia, Monday, the 23d of October, 1752. Present: Edward Shippen, Esqr. The Foreigners whose Names are underwritten, imported in the Ship Rawley, Capt. John Grove, from Rotterdam, but last from Plymouth, this day took the usual Qualifications to the Government. 137 [passengers]."
      Volume 1, page 499, has "Johannes Stocker." There are no other Stockers on the ship. Volume 2, page 598 has the signature from which the copy below is made.
      The second signature is for Michael Stocker (whose full name was Johann Michael Stocker). The signature is dated Feb. 17, 1758, and taken from Loudoun Co., Virginia, Deed Book A, p. 124, in which Michael signed as a witness to a deed between Nicholas Minor and Daniel Miller.
      There are some pros and cons to whether or not we are looking at the same man:
      PROS:
      1. A striking similarity in the handwriting of the surname even with the variance of the k.
      2. No other John Stocker has been found in America fitting this immigrant. Joh. Michael has never been found on any immigration list.
      3. We know his immigration was no later than 1755 when he would have been age 25. He was born in 1730 and he would have been 22 in 1752. The immigration timing is reasonable for a single man.
      CONS:
      1. The use of the name Johannes. Michael's birth record in Alsace and his American records show the full name of Johann Michael. Germans had a Taufname (baptismal name) and a Rufname (what they actually get called in everyday life). The Taufnamen came first. So, if you see the name Johann before another given name, it's almost certain (at least for southern Germany) that that person went by the "middle" name. Formally, yes, he'd be Johann Michael. You might in older records find Hans Michael, but everyone in real life would call him Michael. That's why you can have a whole family where every son's got the same first name. The name John occurring as a Taufname would be rendered Johann (or Hans) and Johannes as a Rufname whereas Johann would be a tufname version. A counterpoint to this is that things are not always completely consistent when moving to a new country where everyone speaks a different language. Perhaps Michael felt he needed the more formal version with Johannes rather than with the familiar name Michael upon doing his Oath in Philadelphia. Additionally, records for Michael's wife's family (Anna Barbara Roemer) shows her grandfather listed in German records as both Johan and Johannes.
      2. No pattern of familiar names are found in a quick review of the immigration list. Annette K. Burgert in her book "Eighteenth Century Emigrants from Northern Alsace to America" (1992) only identifies seven of the immigrants in America, none of which were of Michael's Alsatian parish of Preuschdorf. A comparison was also made against the 1757 militia lists of Frederick co., Maryland, with similar results. This may perhaps be explained by Johannes travelling single without a family since perhaps families were more inclined to have traveled with other local families.

      5. See separate note for the possibility of Michael Stocker being the immigrant "Johannes Stocker" on the 1752 ship "Rawley." The following notes look at other passengers on the ship and any possible connections to our Johann Michael Stocker. It does lead to the George Kuntz or Koonce family in Frederick, Maryland and ties them to Michael's home parish of Preuschdorf. In successive generations we have some marital ties of the Koons family into our family: Catherine Koons marries Michael Stocker's son Johannes; George Koons, who married Mary Eller, is Catherine's uncle; George's father, Gasper Koons and grandfather Devault Koons were in Frederick Co., MD prior to NC; John Koon, another son of Devault Koons, was the father of Catherine Koons per his will. This is significant because it provides proof of a Prueschdorf connection to Frederick prior to Johan (Johannes?) Michael Stocker's arrival -- that along with his sister's marriage to a Kuntz in Preuschdorf appears to indicate he was going to a place where countrymen already resided.
      A. Noel Stoker did a review (Apr 2015) of the other passenger names on the ship to see if neighbors or family were traveling with Michael. Noel reports:
      "I could not detect patterns that would confirm our hopes. I did find several young single men who originated from Alsace - Lorraine near Preuschdorf and could have been his traveling companions. I could not detect where they settled once they arrived in America, except for Andreas Berger who shows up in Frederick County, MD where he with his daughter serve as sponsors of Jacob Kuntz, b.14 Sept. 1754 son of Philipp Kuntz. The Kuntz connection is significant in our family. Much of the Kuntz family lived in Preuschdorf and most of them came to America during this time frame. You know the specifics and relationships to our family.
      I was able to identify eight total individuals on the ship list in Burgert's book. [Annette K. Burgert, "Eighteenth Century Emigrants from Northern Alsace to America" (1992)] None of these names appeared on the Militia rolls or the early resident lists of Frederick Co. However, I suspect some of these names appear in her book in its' entire context, as some of them are familiar. There were only 125 names on the Ship Rawley, List 192 C, and thus a very small slice of the total immigrants from Germany.
      The following individuals were identified or inferred from Anna Burgert's Book [Noel reports all found passengers, but the first one with a connection to Philip Kuntz is the only one currently of interest]:
      Andreas Burger appears in Frederick Lutheran KB,in 1754, when he and his daughter, Christina are sponsors of Jacob Kuntz, b.14 Sept. 1754 to Philipp Kuntz. (I believe this is significant because of the close relationship of the Stockers. In Prueschdorf; Hans George Cuntz, son of Michel Cuntz, citizen of Preuschdorf "went to the new land". I believe there was a marriage relationship between a Stocker female and a Kuntz male in Preuschdorf, but I cannot verify it at this moment. At any rate there are several individuals/families that "went to the new land" by the name of Kuntz/Coonce.
      Johannes Lotz; He and his wife were sponsors @the b. of Johannes Gelloper in Frieburg Lutheran KB in Salem Co. N.J. in or near 13 Oct 1760.
      Daniel Schmidt; In the European Records - wife Catharina, day Eva Rosina, b. 30 March 1738. Eva Rosina m. Simon Meyer emigrated to America in 1758. Found in the Wolfskirchen Lutheran KB. (1 hr. 10 min. to Preuschdorf by todays travel). In the Hunspach Reformed KB one Hohann Peter Schmidt, widower from Niederrodern m 19 Feb 1743, Anna Barabara and had Daniel b 13 Feb 1744. I not sure of the connection between the two.
      Johannes Kres - Diemeringen Lutheran - "went to America in 1752." Father & family to America in 1752.
      Jacob Sultzberger, age 20 from Husnpach (19 min to Preuschdorf).
      Heinrich Klein, Margaretha (wife) from Pistorf (Bischtroff) with Maria Elisabetha, dau of Joh Sampler of Herbitzheim, sp Catharina Margretja b. 19 Oct 1746, father - Hans Martin Fahringer. Note: Wampler is from Switzerland and very prominent in our family. Pastorf is 1hr 7min from Preuschdorf.
      Johannes Muller from Niederbronn, b. Jan. 1733: 6 miles from Preuschdorf.
      Johannes Simmon, sp. of Ana Elisabeth, b. 5 Feb. 1759; Lancaster, PA."
      B. Noel further reports on May 4, 2015 concerning the Kuntz family with the Stockers in Preuschdorf: "Johann Michael Stocker's (ours) younger sister Maria Eva, married Hans Michael Cuntz on 10 Feb 1750 in Preuschdorf. Hans Michael Cuntz was born in 1728 and Maria Eva in 1733. I have no evidence that they "went to the new land". Kuntz has various spellings in the same family - Kuntz, Cuntz, Coonce, Koons I believe."
      C. Anna Burgert's book "Eighteenth Century Emigrants of the Northern Alsace" has entries that show proximity in Preuschdorf of Kuntzes to Michael Stocker the immigrant. The first two entries are especially important since the first Kuntz ends up in Frederick and the second Kuntz is associated with Dewald Kuntz whose grandchildren later marry into our Stocker and Eller families. The third Kuntz whereabouts in America is not reported, but they were immigrants to America:
      a. Entry #91. This entry is for "Cuntz, Hans Georg age 55" and "Cuntz, Hans Georg age 19" on the ship "Loyal Judith" of 1732 (see Strassburger and Hinke I:88,90,92). Burgert found their origins in Preuschdorf where she details the family. A synopsis of her data shows that the elder George is the son of Michael Cuntz. His grandparents are Peter Cuntz from Oberbach and Margretha Schäffer. George marries first in 1703 Margaretha Biebel who dies in 1711; she is from Goersdorf which is the same hamlet in Preuschdorf where Michael Stocker was born. George marries second Aug 1712 to Catharina Swanger of Lusan and with the marriage record there is a notation "Went to the new land." Burgert finds this family in America in Frederick, Maryland. Between the two wives, George Sr. had 10 children including the younger George and Phillip -- both who figure prominently in Frederick records contemporary to the Stockers and Römers. Phillip Kuntz had a son Jacob b. 14 Sept. 1754, with sponsors Andreas Berger and daughter Christina, widow of Henrici Faurtne. This is the same Andreas Burger who was on the 1752 ship "Rawley" with "Johannes Stocker."
      b. Entry #92. This entry is for "Cuntz, Hans Michael" who was from Preuschdorf and is possibly the same person shown on the ship "Dragon" arriving 17 Oct 1749 (S-H I:423) or on the ship "Phoenix" arriving 1750 (S-H, I:440) with Dewald Kuntz. The name Dewald Kuntz is significant because this is the immigrant whose progeny marries with our family (see the next note below). As for Michael Cuntz who was born Dec 1710, he was the son of Hans Diebold/Theobald Cuntz of Preuschdorf and his second wife Anna Logel. Michael marries 9 May 1730 Anna Eva Bender, dau. of Hans Jacob Bender of Langensoultzbach. Their marriage record has a later notation indicating "went to the new land. Michael had 8 children with half born in Preuschdorf and the other half in Langensoultzbach. In America he is later found in Philadelphia. The book does not give the whereabouts of Dewald Kuntz, but we do find that name in Frederick.
      c. Entry #93. This entry is for "Cuntz, Peter, age 47" who was from Soultz-sous-Forêts in Preuschdorf. He came on the "Samuel" in 1733 (S-H, I:106, 110, 112 ["Coonts" on A list]) with Maria Barbella age 45, Maria Barbella age 19, Michall age 13, Hans Jerick age 9, Maria Crete age 7, and Maria Catharina age 5. Peter was the son Michael Kuntz and Margretha nee Schäffer. He was of Preuschdorf and married 9 Feb 1712 Maria Barbara Clauss, dau. of Phillip Clauss of Preuschorf. Notation in KB byy marriage records notes "went to the new land."
      D. The following pertains to the Koons family. It is from FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 159-171, in regards to the association of Ellers, Koons, Stoker, and Dick families. Some of Michael's children follow the other families to North Carolina even though Joh. Michael himself appears to have remained in Frederick until his move with family to Ohio sometime between 1805 and 1809:
      "The Koons Family of Randolph and Ashe Counties, North Carolina probably descended from Dewald Kuntz who came to Pennsylvania on the ship 'Phoenix' and took the Oath of Allegiance to the Province and State of Pennslyvania 28 Aug 1750. (Penn. Archives, 2nd. series, Vol. 17.) According to an account of the family in the 'History of Henry County, Indiana,' p. 1163, by George Hazzard, 1906, Devault Koons, a native of Pennsylvania, married the widow Susan Dick, a native of Germany, whose husband died at sea while crossing to America. The account continues by naming three of their sons... The above account on the origin of the family is rendered doubtful, in one or two respects, by certain records found in the courthouse of Frederick, (Frederick Co.) Maryland. There we find a deed dated 21 Nov 1755 in which Devall Conce (sic) and his wife Margaret sold 70 acres of land on Grooses branch in Frederick Co. to Jacob Gallman. (Book E, p. 916) Another deed dated 2 Feb 1756 (Book E., p. 990) shows Devault Coons (sic) and Richard Kee leasing from Edward Matthias 100 acres of land on Abraham Creek at the foot of Kittocton Mountain called 'Davis Delight.' Still another deed dated 22 Aug 1770 (Book N, p. 305) shows Devalt Coons (sic) and Margaret his wife selling a lot in Sharpsburg to William Flick. The variation in the spelling of the name was due perhaps to the fact that the signatures were by marks making it necessary for the scriveners to write the name according to the way it sounded when spoken.
      "It could be said, of course, that the Dewald (Devault, Devall, Devalt) Kuntz (Koons, Conce, Coonce, Coons, Koontz) of Frederick Co., Md. was not the same as Devault (Davault) Koons of Hazzard's 'History of Henry Co., IN,' but when one notes that the Eller, Dick and Stoker families also lived in Frederick Co., MD contemporaneously with the Koons family and that members of all of these families later removed to the same county in North Carolina and intermarried and considering the uncommon name of Devault that appeared in both places, we can hardly escape believing that they were the same. This writer believes that the History of Hazzard errs in saying that Devault Koons the first, was a native of Pennsylvania, implying that he was born there and suggests that the Susan Dick account by Hazzard probably should have included the statement that she was Devault Koon's second wife or that her full name was Margaret Susan Dick, not just Susan Dick..."

      6. The early whereabouts of Michael in America before his approximate 1757 undocumented marriage in Frederick, Maryland, to Anna Barbara Römerin is undetermined. What few findings and thoughts we have thus far:
      A. Noel Stoker's comments by email in Feb 2015: "My present feelings are that our Joh. Michel Stocker, came to this country as a young adult, say 22-25 years of age. 1755 would have made him 25 years of age, old enough to navigate in this new world. He probably sought out countrymen and family who were already established. His youngest daughter, Charlotte, which was the name of his first wife's mother, declared to a family member, both in their old age [John Stimmel], that her father had come from the Palatinate, and had been here from 1735, which date is problematic. I have made a great effort to find the original Stimmel document to personally examine it. While I found reference to it, all I could find was duplication of the one Elayne wrote in her book. I too believe it was 1755 instead of 35. Post script - I did find a Johannes Stocker, with his signature, arriving on a ship, 1752, to Philadelphia. I could not learn from whence he came or where he went."
      B. We know that his arrival had to be by Sept. 1755 at the latest.
      a. Noel Stoker had the following comments to me by email in Feb 2015: "My cousin's daughter, Elayne Stoker, wrote the book, "Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881" … She documents his Oath of Naturalization, occurring on 28 September 1762 in Frederick Town, Maryland and the required Oath of abjuration administered by the Orders of the Church of England, Thomas Cradochs, Pastor of St. Thomas Parish. "… Frederick Holyman, Jacob Soahman, Peter Coplong, Martin Welouoln, and Michael Stoker of Frederick County, German Protestants …" The rules required: 1. The person must have live in the country for a least seven years; 2. Must be a member of the Protestant religion (the special qualification Communion service was required); 3. The person must swear abjuration forsaking any loyal ties to their homeland. From this we learned he was of German Protestant Origins and his church membership was Lutheran. Because it was required that they be in country for at least seven years he did not come later that 1755. If he was born in 1730 he was twenty-five years of age. Hence he was not born is this country since an Oath of Naturalization was required of him.
      b. The date of 1755 is very significant. What was called the French and Indian War had broken out as an extension of a European War. The Palatinate immigration became non-existent during this period (see the book "The German Element of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia,' p. 280) since the potential immigrants were put off by the War. Footnote from same book on same page: "Owing to hostilities between France and England, German immigration was completely suspended from 1756 to 1761." The figures are 7000 for 1749, 4000 to 4600 for each year between 1750 and 1754, 300 for 1755, 109 for 1756, and then nothing until 1761 when there 50. This would seem to place Michael then in America from about 1755 on. Michael's immigration would then have preceded this. Western Maryland and Virginia were subject to the depredations of this War and we may find some records for Michael associated with the War.
      C. Noel also remarks: "While operating with the conviction that Joh. Michael must have been an indentured servant I discovered a list of indentured servants in Maryland of the appropriate time frame." He notes that he found no listing for our Michael.
      D. I have located a very famous map of the area drawn in 1751, but I don't believe it was published until 1755 when it was apparently still valid. The mapmakers were Jefferson (Thomas Jefferson's father) and Frye (George Washington's commander in the French and Indian Wars). You can see the map on several websites, one being www.learnnc.org/lp/media/maps/nc/jeffFry.jpg <http://www.learnnc.org/lp/media/maps/nc/jeffFry.jpg>. The map predates Leesburg (originally George Town), Virginia; Frederick, Maryland doesn't merit even a dot on the map; and Baltimore, Maryland is barely a village. What is significant is the mapping of the Great Wagon Road with a road spur leading from Frederick-Town (later named Winchester), Virginia to the Leesburg area. (I wonder how many people have been tripped up on confusing Frederick Town with the future Frederick in Maryland!) This map also confirms Michael's second father-in-law Jacob Pfau's movement from there to Leesburg. [See later detailed note under the "Marriage" section of this file concerning Jacob Pfau in Winchester.] Apparently Frederick, MD would have had to be only very sparsely settled "wilderness". The map also shows that as with most German Palatines, the migration pattern would be Philadelphia, the Great Migration Road, and then the Shenandoah Valley. Winchester was very prominent and was the fourth city Virginia granted. I also found a note where in 1748 about 1500 Palatinates arrived at the small port of the village of Annapolis where they quickly moved to Frederick Town in Frederick Co., Virginia aka Winchester. The map shows that there was a coastal path from Annapolis down the coast of the Chesapeake Bay before turning west towards Winchester. I believe this was only incidental to the GWR, but in any case all roads were leading to Winchester back then. It was also the largest "German" town of its day in the area. Jacob Pfau, being already situated in Winchester and perhaps with a motive of speculation, was ready to pounce on the Leesburg opportunity when it became available in the late 1750s. We could assume that perhaps Michael followed the same pattern since he had speculative lots in Leesburg; however, Michael's first marriage before July 1757 to a Frederick, Maryland woman (Anna Barbara) would counter-argue an eastward movement from Winchester to Leesburg and then northward to Frederick. Since the land purchase in Leesburg postdates the marriage, Michael was just as likely to have gone south from Frederick to Leesburg and then back to Frederick a couple of years later. Michael's first purchase of land in Frederick, however, is after Leesburg.
      E. Consideration needs to be given to where Michael learned his trade as a saddler as he was described in the earliest records. He also apparently had some credit or money to his name early since he was able to purchase three lots in Leesburg. His trade as a saddler would seem to perhaps require some association with settled areas especially if saddles were in demand during the French and Indian War. He would probably have left a mark somewhere before 1758 and perhaps Winchester would be a good place to start a search.
      F. The following is taken from the notes of the related Eller family; it gives some understanding of the migration patterns which may also apply to our Michael. FHL Book 929.273, film 6005243, "John Jacob Eller and His Descendants with Other Pre-1800 Eller Immigrants to America," by the Eller Family Association, 1998, 817-297-1280, Chapter 1, concerning migration patterns in Colonial North Carolina and early pre-1800 immigrants:
      "When the Ellers ... arrived in Pennsylvania, they found all the productive land occupied, or available only at high prices. In the favored easterly sections, the cost of farms was almost prohibitive. Under these conditions the newly arrived German immigrants began to move southward, some stopping in Maryland, and some in the Shenandoah Valley. When word came of cheap and abundant land in North Carolina, particularly in Rowan County, that became the choice destination for a growing stream of German migrants who traveled south on the Great Wagon Road... [The Ellers' presumed path from their homeland was] German Palatinate - Rhine River - Rotterdam - England - Philadelphia - Montgomery County, Pennsylvania - Great Wagon Road ... Their arrival there began about 1745, the number increased markedly prior to 1760, and except for a decline during the French and Indian War, continued until the Revolutionary War. A large number of Scotch-Irish settlers had settled in Rowan County, and taken up the most fertile land prior to the arrival of the Germans. This left the land of less fertile soil to the east and southeast of Salisbury for the Germans."
      "In colonial times two major travel routes entered North Carolina from the north. The Great Wagon Road began in Philadelphia, passed through the Shenandoah Valley, and entered the northern border of North Carolina. After crossing the Yadkin River at the 'Shallow Ford' west of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the road continued south to Rowan County and beyond. This was the route taken by most of the Pennsylvania Germans who came to North Carolina." [The other route was "known as the Trading Path began in tide-water Virginia at Petersburg and joined the Great Wagon Road at the Trading Ford on the Yadkin River only a few miles east of the present town of Salisbury, Rowan County, North Carolina" probably did not pertain to our Joh. Michael Stocker.]
      "… In the last 16 years of the Colonial Era… south bound traffic along the Great Wagon Road was numbered in the tens of thousands. It was the most heavily traveled road in all America…
      "The Germans … usually left Pennsylvania just after fall harvest and made the journey down the Valley of Virginia in time to arrive in the fall, build their homes, and plant crops in the spring…"

      7. From the book "Pioneers of the Old Monocacy, the Early Settlement of Frederick County, Maryland, 1721-1743," by Grace L. Tracey and John P. Dern (1998; Clearfield Publishing), pp. 378-380, is found the "Frederick County Muster Rolls, circa 1757." Four muster rolls are shown but only the second one was actually dated (Aug. 13, 1757). They may have been separate musters and not all at the same date since the dates for the other musters are unknown. They are sourced as being from the transcripts printed in the "Maryland Historical Magazine," 9:260-280, 348-370. Days of service are indicated for the Captain of each Company, but actual days served by each individual are included in the source manuscript. A brief summary of the rolls:
      a. Captain Peter Butler, 34 days' service, 135 total men. Interesting names include:
      - Ensign Conrad Grosch. Father-in-law to one of Joh. Michael Roemer's daughter Christina.
      - Valentine Adams. Possibly a relation to Anna Maria Adams, Joh. Michael Stocker's third wife.
      - Charles and George Beatty. Possible relations to James Edward Beatty who married Elizabeth Roemer.
      - Adam Combe, The same name as Johan Michael Roemer's slave; if the same man, not sure why he is without Michael unless Michael sent him as his contribution.
      - Philip Coonce. A possible relation to the Koons who later marry into our Eller and Stocker families.
      b. Captain Elias Delashmutt, Aug. 13, 1757, 52 days service, 37 men.
      c. Captain Stephan Ransberger, 42 days service, 80 men. Interesting names include:
      - Lieut. Michael Raymer. Our ancestor Joh. Michael Roemer with a common variant spelling.
      - George Peter Dick. Contemporary of our Joh. Conrad Dick of unknown relationship if any.
      - Henry Coonce and William Coonce. Possible relations to the Koons who later marry into our Eller and Stocker families.
      - Henry Fout, Jacob Fout, Balser Fout, and George Loy. Possible relations to Michael's daughter Joanna Magdalena Roemer's husband Henrich Fauth.
      d. Captain John Middaugh, service 30 days, 105 men. Interesting names include:
      - Ensign Thomas Beatty, Jr., and John Beatty. Possible relations to James Edward Beatty who married Elizabeth Roemer.
      The musters do not include any Stocker, Eller, or other Dick name. A possible reason for these men not being listed might be that of a religious conscientious objection to military service as was typical of the nearby Moravian Sect with which we find these names later associated in the next generation in North Carolina.

      8. "Historian's Guide to Loudoun County, Virginia, Volume I, Colonial Laws of Virginia and County Court Orders 1757-1766," by John T. Phillips, II, p. 333: "Saddler Michael Stocker was one of Leesburg's first residents, but he moved to Maryland in 1760 and sold his prime location, across the street from the County Courthouse, …" Loudoun County, Virginia and Frederick County, Maryland are just across the Potomac River from each other. The distance is about 30 miles. His wife Barbara was raised in Frederick County, Maryland, which may have influenced his move to Maryland.

      9. FHL book "The Historian's Guide to Loudoun County," Vol. I, "Colonial Laws of Virginia and County Court Orders, 1757-1766," by John T. Phillips, II. The book has mentions of both Michael Stocker and his future second father-in-law Jacob Pfau/Faw. Loudoun County, Virginia and Frederick County, Maryland are just across the Potomac River from each other. The distance is about 30 miles.