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John Wenger has a special place in my family tree. As unlikely as it may sound, he is my 7th AND 6th Great Grandfather on the Garrison side.
I came across John/Hans Wenger’s special distinction while working on an unconfirmed branch of the Garrison tree. I have known for awhile that John Wenger (1705-1772) was the father of Christian Wenger (my 5th Great Grandfather). I also knew that John’s wife was Anna Shirk and that they were born in Germany.
But this wasn’t the “Wenger” branch I was researching at the time. I was researching Judith (Wenger) Funk. I had unconfirmed information that Judith, my 6th Great Grandmother, was the daughter of Hans Wenger and Anna (no last name). When I searched Find-A-Grave (a large database of grave sites), I came across an entry for Hans Wenger. Attached to the entry for Hans was a photo of a monument (right) that was placed in the Wenger Meetinghouse Cemetery by his descendants. I have researched other family members, some of whom were Wengers, that were buried in this cemetery and wondered if Hans was the brother of John. When I looked at John’s records I found them to be identical to Hans’, except for name. My first thought was that the information for one, or both, was incorrect. So more work was needed.
The monument for Hans and Anna Wenger provided some great information. (If you haven’t read the monument inscription, now would be a good time.) I contacted the Lancaster County Archives and requested the Deed for property purchased in 1749 (from Casper Scherch) and for any Probate records (Will & Inventory) that may exist. I have dealt with the folks in the Lancaster Archive in the past and must say it is a pleasure to deal with them! About a day later I got an email from the archive explaining that nothing could be found for Hans Wenger, but there were documents for John Wenger that corresponded to the dates I gave.
For the grand total of $2.08 I received:
- A copy of the 1749 Deed documenting the sale of 170 acres of land to John Wenger, by Casper Scherch.
- A copy of John Wenger’s 1772 Last Will & Testament
The Lancaster County documents prove that John Wenger and Hans Wenger are the same person. I did some checking and found that John, Hans and Johannes are interchangeable, with John being the Americanized version.
Unfortunately, John Wenger’s will does not name all of his children. Four are mentioned by name, but it looks like more were living at the time of his death. There is no estate inventory on file, which would show the division of the estate to his children, by name. The will mentions “all” of his children were to get and equal share. So, more research is needed to confirm the “loop” exists.
So far, only records on Find-A-Grave and Ancestry.com list Christian and Judith as siblings. So, more work is needed. But if shown to be true, then a loop will indeed exist in this branch of the tree; the result of a John Wenger’s grandson marrying one of his great granddaughters.
Hi Moe,
I think my sister has talked with you before (Ronnie Weintz Duarte) & we both use her same Weintz tree on Ancestry. Yes, we are some of the lucky ones stuck on Mason Garrison. Anyway, I was reading this article you have posted on Hans Wenger and just wanted to be sure you have seen the over 2,000 page online document someone posted of Hans Wenger descendants research. Actually, I’d be surprised if you hadn’t. I have been caught going round & round trying to sort the Wengers & Lights from each other. Too many with the same names – cousins, aunts, uncles, siblings…. So this is the site: http://www.wengerdesigns.com/page8/files/2descend.pdf
Thanks for all your work,
-Kathy
Hello Kathy,
Yes Ronnie and I have communicated/collaborated. Hope one of us (three) will finally get the break needed to get past Mason Garrison.
Thanks for the Wenger link. Along the right column of my page, near the bottom, there is a group of genealogy links. The Wenger link is there. It is a tremendously useful site!
Thanks,
Moe
I believe that this will help you with your “loop”.
I would like to know your descendancy from Lydia. Daniel Wenger
~ means approximate
^ means no ancestor information
* means no descendant information
0 means no descendants
Known Ancestors of
Lydia Wenger, 1826.10.25 1865.8.5, G14129
Generation 1 – total of 2
2,Martin Wenger, 1780.12.24 1860.11.23, G1412
3,Magdalena (Holderman) Light, 1796.2.27 1868.6.2, G1329
Generation 2 – total of 4
4,Christian Wenger, 1756.12.23 1841.7.28, G141, Rev.
5,Maria Weaver, 1759.7.1 1839.12.5,, (i1761) ^
6,Henry Light, 1760.11.21 1830.10.3
7,Magdalena Wenger Funck, 1761.7.6 1841.3.10, G132
Generation 3 – total of 8
8,John (Hans) Wenger, 1732 1806.8, G14, (i1748.9.16)
9,Maria wife of John (Hans) Wenger, 1735~ 1760,, ^
10,unknown
11,unknown
12,Henry Light, 1738.3.7 1806.1.7,, (i1738.9.5)
13,Barbara Landis, 1738.3.19 1813.4.16
14,Martin Funck, 1732.1.30 1796.12.19,, (i1750.11.3)
15,Judith Wenger, 1732.1.19 1811.3.5, G13, (i1748.9.16)
Generation 4 – total of 16
16,Johannes (Hans) Wenger, 1705 1772.6.1-, G1, (i1748.9.16)
17,Anna Shirk, 1705~ 1771,, (i1748.9.16)
18,unknown
19,unknown
24,John (Johannes) Light, 1682 1759.3.5,, (i1738.9.5) ^
25,Maria Kreider, 1709 1758.11.12,, (i1738.9.5)
26,Felix Landis, 1708 1770.1.25,, (i1717.8)
27,Catharine Loban, 1708 1749,, ^
28,Hans Funck, 1688~ 1752
29,Verena Franey, 1690~,, ^
30,Johannes (Hans) Wenger, 1705 1772.6.1-, G1, (i1748.9.16)
31,Anna Shirk, 1705~ 1771,, (i1748.9.16)
Generation 5 – total of 32
32,Johannes (Hans) Wenger, 1680~ 1749.9.9-, G, ^
33,Hannah wife of Hans Wenger, 1685~,, (i1749.9.9) ^
34,Casper (Schürch) Sherk, 1657.4.9 1738.1.21
35,Verena Burkhard, 1660~,, ^
48,unknown
49,unknown
50,Johannes (John) Jacob Kreider, 1673 1725,, (i1712 i1717 i1723 1725)
51,unknown
52,Felix Landis, 1672 1739,, (i1717.8) ^
53,Rosina Weltner, 1675~,, ^
54,unknown
55,unknown
56,Hans Funck, 1661~ 1734.9.5
57,unknown
58,unknown
59,unknown
60,Johannes (Hans) Wenger, 1680~ 1749.9.9-, G, ^
61,Hannah wife of Hans Wenger, 1685~,, (i1749.9.9) ^
62,Casper (Schürch) Sherk, 1657.4.9 1738.1.21
63,Verena Burkhard, 1660~,, ^
Generation 6 – total of 64
68,Joseph (Schürch) Sherk, 1631.12.3,, ^
69,Elsbeth Güntlisberger, 1639.4.29,, ^
100,Michael Kreider, 1640,, ^
112,Heinrich Funck, 1630~,, ^
124,Joseph (Schürch) Sherk, 1631.12.3,, ^
125,Elsbeth Güntlisberger, 1639.4.29,, ^
Generation 7 – total of 128