.jpg)
Footloom[1]
The Weaver’s Wife[2]
Her
husband Frederick sat at the loom in his weaving room, older than she by ten
years, confident in his occupation and status in the community. She could see
him behind the large timber uprights, working on a coverlet from a neighbor
woman’s blue and white wool yarn. The fineness of the woman’s spinning and the
quality of Frederick’s workmanship guaranteed a lovely product. Frederick
produced all manner of fine and coarse cloth goods for the local farm community,
from coverlets to grain sacks. The farmers’ wives brought him the homespun wool
yarn from their sheep and the tow and linen yarn they painstakingly prepared
from their flax. He transformed it into shawls, fabric for clothing, bedding,
towels, and kitchen linens. Her husband’s craft was important to this western
Pennsylvania farming community.[3]
The
Young Mother
Wed to
the weaver as a teenager, Friederika was just eighteen when her first child was
born, a son.[4]
As he reached toddlerhood, she had to keep him away from the threads in the
weaving room. Her second child, born two years later, was also a son.[5]
This was good because the boys would grow up to help her husband on the farm.
Like most professional weavers, Frederick also had a small farm, forty-seven
acres, to help feed his family.[6]
It was forested land, and clearing it was hard, tedious work. As the boys grew
up they would be able to help with logging and digging up stumps so the land
could be tilled.
In early
1856, Friederika gave birth to a daughter, a promise of help with the
household, animals, and the kitchen garden.[7]
The next year her husband bought two oxen.[8]
Frederick would then have help clearing the land and could plant more food for
their growing family. The labor pains came again in 1857 with another daughter and
still another in 1860.[9]
By that time Frederick had cleared eighteen acres and his harvest for the year brought
in a bushel of peas, three of potatoes, a little rice, some oats and buckwheat.
There was enough tobacco for his pipe, too. Butchering the four cattle and three
pigs provided meat, and Friederika churned 150 pounds of butter.[10]
Compared to their neighbors, this was not a lot of produce, but Friederika
could count on her husband’s weaving to bring in the remainder of the family’s
food needs in trade.
In
eleven years, Friederika bore five children, pregnant for nine months, then
feeding the new baby for about a year until she weaned it and became pregnant
again. She gave birth to a fourth daughter in 1868.[11]
The eight years between this baby and the last one may mean that two or three
children were born that did not survive infancy. The boys by then were
teenagers and strong farm workers, her oldest daughter twelve and taking on
more responsibility all the time.
The
Farmer’s Wife
Around
1870 Frederick transitioned from part-time weaving and part-time farming to
full-time farming. He sold his oxen, as he and the boys were through clearing
farmland. They had half again as much acreage in cultivation as ten years before.
With his family of workers Frederick now harvested wheat, rye, corn, oats, and
buckwheat. He doubled his potato and hay production and increased the butter
output by nearly half. He added a flock of sheep to his livestock, and their spun
and woven wool was adequate to clothe the family with woolens for the year.[12]
The fertility of the farm and Friederika kept pace with each other. She grew her
family, and the farm supported it well.
Another
baby would come now in springtime of 1871. If her husband were still a weaver,
this would have been the end of the linen production season. Now he anticipated
planting and wondered what the weather would bring in the coming year. The
boys, eighteen and twenty, were strong from the labors of clearing the land,
planting, and harvesting. Friederika’s oldest girls were thirteen and fifteen
and nearly able to manage the household on their own. The little girls were
eleven and three, rounding out the family of workers on the Kicherer farm.
Friederika,
thirty-eight, gave birth to yet another daughter.[13] Sometime after this birth, maybe the same day,
maybe as late as when the little girl was beginning to talk fluently and help
gather the eggs, Friederika’s life passed into darkness. This last birth, 19 March
1871, was the last tangible evidence of her passing on this earth. The weaving
room now quiet, the oxen gone, and Friederika, too: the Kicherer family’s life
on the farm entered another phase, this time without a mother.
---------------------------------
The
remainder of this post is in two parts. The first focuses on the evidence
underpinning the Kicherer family relationships. The second, a genealogical
summary, presents vital data for Frederick, Friederika, and their children,
along with supporting documentation.
Identifying
Friederika’s Family
Proving
the relationships of the Frederick Kicherer–Friederika Kellar family is
challenged by a lack of birth records for the children and of marriage records for
the parents and children. Unusual given names and surnames often misrepresented
in existing records add another layer of complexity to proofs.
The Kicherer surname includes variants such as Keyher,
Kocherer, Knickerer, and Kitchener, attempts to spell it phonetically and to
conform this German surname to English. Frederick’s children shortened it to
Kicher. A descendant pronounced it keeker,
an approximation of the German pronunciation.[14]
Friederika’s given name is common in Germany as the feminine
form of Friedrich.[15]
English-speaking Americans had no trouble converting Friedrich to Frederick,
but the name Friederika, with no commonly used English counterpart, caused confusion.
This was especially difficult as her husband’s name was so similar to hers. The
1870 census enumerator rendered Friederika as Frederick, a male, yet her
occupation was Keeping House.[16]
The 1860 census lists her first daughter as Frederick, a male.[17]
In 1870 this daughter is correctly listed as Fredericka, a female. By 1880 the
daughter was using the name Rachel.[18]
Family sources
Kicherer
descendants provided two different sources indicating that Friederika Keller
was Frederick Kicherer’s wife. A family book assembled by the wife of a
descendant of eldest son John gives her Keller surname, but not her given name.[19]
A descendant of youngest daughter Elizabeth holds Frederick Kicherer’s 1823
German Bible. A transcription from the flyleaf reads, “Johannes. Frederick
Kicherer. Born April 3, 1831 At Zaiserweiber [sic], Oberamt, Maulbroun [sic]
Würtemberg [sic] Germany. He Married
Rachel Fredericka Keller.”[20]
The designation of Friederika as Rachel may come from knowing that Rachel was
named for her mother. If so, the name was not given to Friederika (the mother)
at birth.[21]
Census information
1860
|
1870
|
|
Frederick
|
37
|
47
|
Friederika
|
27
|
37
|
John F.
|
9
|
18
|
Albert
|
7
|
17
|
Fredericka
|
4
|
14
|
Polly
|
2
|
12
|
Teresa
|
4/12
|
10
|
Caroline
|
-----
|
2
|
Elizabeth
|
-----
|
-----
|
Although
Friederika immigrated in 1846 with her family, she has not been found in the
1850 U. S. census.[22] Then sixteen, she could have been living in
the vicinity of her parents in Jefferson County or her older brothers in Centre
County.
Friederika
was enumerated only in the 1860 and 1870 U. S. censuses.[23]
Neither indicates relationships among household members. The value of these
censuses is that they place her in a household with her husband and children of
the correct ages to be her children.
Vital records
Birth
records often indicate the child’s parents. The State of Pennsylvania did not
require recording of births and deaths until 1906, too late for the births of
Friederika’s children. [24]
No American
church records have been located for Friederika or her children. Both Lutheran
and Reformed congregations existed in Henderson Township from the early 1830s.[25]
Available records do not include any Kicherers.[26]
All
but one of Friederika’s children died after mandatory state registration of
deaths, which asked of informants the names and birthplaces of decedents’
parents. Four of six gave Keller as Friederika’s surname and three knew her
given name. Three also named Frederick
as the father. Two named John, the decedents’ eldest brother, as the father.
Thomas is the given name of John Kicher’s informant and of Rachel (Kicher)
McPherson’s husband, names perhaps chosen in the confusion of the moment.
Decedent
|
Death date
|
Name of Father
|
Birthplace father
|
Name of Mother
|
Birthplace mother
|
Informant
|
John
Kicher[27]
|
17
May 1916
|
Thomas
[written over “Frederick”] Kicher
|
Germany
|
Fridericka
Keller
|
Germany
|
Son
Thomas
|
Albert
Kicher[28]
|
18
Nov 1895
|
-----
|
-----
|
-----
|
-----
|
-----
|
Rachel
McPherson[29]
|
13
March 1922
|
Thomas
Kicher
|
Germany
|
Freadreka
Keller
|
Germany
|
Daughter
|
Pauline
Kiecher Weber[30]
|
10
June 1942
|
John
Kiecher
|
Germany
|
Unknown
|
Germany
|
Daughter
|
Teressa
Thomas[31]
|
11
Nov 1926
|
Frederick
Keher
|
Pa.
|
Rachel
Keller
|
Pa.
|
County
home
|
Carrie
Williams[32]
|
25
March 1938
|
John
Kicher
|
Germany
|
?
|
?
|
Hospital
employee
|
Elizabeth
L. Zeigler[33]
|
3
April 1945
|
Frederick
Kicher
|
Germany
|
Fredericka
Keller
|
Germany
|
Daughter
|
Genealogical
Summary
1. Friederikab-2 Keller (Eberhard Gottfrieda-1,
A, B, FelixC) was born 12 July
1833 in Roßwag, Neckarkreis, Württemberg, to Eberhard Gottfried Keller and
Rosina Louisa Rammenstein.[34]
She died in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, between 1871, the birth of her last
child, and her husband’s remarriage in 1876.[35]
About 1850–1851 she married Johann Friederich “Frederick” Kicherer.[36]
Frederick was born 26 May 1823 to Johannes Kicherer and Christina Heugelin in
Zaisersweiher, Maulbronn, Württemberg.[37]
He died 16 February 1900 in Henderson Township.[38]
Friederikab-2 Keller
and Frederick Kicherer had seven children, all born in Henderson Township,
Jefferson County:
2 i. John
Frederick3 Kicher was born 20 July 1851.[39]
He died 17 May 1916 in Henderson Township.[40]
He married Mary Trexler between 1874 and 1875.[41]
Mary was born 14 November 1856 to Gottfried Trexler and Anna Catharine
Hopendofer/Hookadoopler/Hoppenduplier.[42]
She died 17 May 1915 in Henderson Township.[43]
3 ii. Albert
William Kicher was born 28 June 1853 in Henderson Township and died
there 18 November 1895.[44]
He married Annetta Reber 18 or 19 January 1881 in DuBois, Clearfield County,
Pennsylvania.[45]
Annetta was born 15 October 1853 in Schuykill Haven, Schuykill County,
Pennsylvania, the daughter of Joseph Reber and Mary Bauch, and died 22 July
1925 in Henderson Township.[46]
She was raised by George and Sarah (Berkheiser) Kramer in Henderson Township.[47]
4 iii. Friederika
“Rachel” Kicher was born 10 February 1856.[48] She died 13 March 1922 in Sykesville,
Jefferson County.[49]
She married Thomas N. McPherson on 2 November 1876 in DuBois, Clearfield
County, Pennsylvania.[50]
Thomas was born 10 February 1849 in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, and died 29
October 1930 in Grove City, Pine Township, Mercer County, Pennsylvania.[51]
5 iv. Pauline
Kicher was born in Henderson Township, 9 March 1857 and died 10 June
1942 in Philipsburg, Centre County, Pennsylvania.[52]
She married Frank G. Weber in Brady
Township, Clearfield County, on 3 January 1882.[53]
Frank was born 5 April 1861 in Philipsburg to Peter Weber and Mary Emily Parker
and died there 23 August 1918.[54]
6 v. Teressa
Kicher was born 10 February 1860. She died 11 November 1926 in Pine
Creek Township, Jefferson County.[55]
She married Daniel Thomas 28 September 1884.[56] Daniel was born to Joseph and Christena
(Shaffer) Thomas 14 May 1857 in Jefferson County, and died 18 March 1918 in Red
Bank Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania.[57]
7 vi. Caroline
"Carrie" Kicher was born 7 May 1868 and died in South Fayette
Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, 25 March 1938.[58]
Carrie married John Lemont “Mont” Williams, son of Joshua Bloomfield Williams
and Bertha E. (--?--), 17 Dec 1901 in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County.[59]
8 vii. Elizabeth
“Lizzie” Kicher was born 19 March 1871 and died in Ambridge, Beaver
County, 3 April 1945.[60]
She married John Zeigler in Brookville, Jefferson County, on 22 August 1895.[61]
John was born in Punxsutawney, Jefferson County, 23 November 1864, son of
Braden Zeigler and Susanna Spencer.[62]
He died in Sewickley, Allegheny County, 19 October 1935.[63]
[1] “Webstuhl [loom],” photograph
2009 by Eifel07 / CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Webstuhl-3.JPG).
All websites were accessed 9 February 2015.
[2] Frederick’s occupation
is given in the county tax records. See Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, 1852
Assessment Book, Gaskill Township, unpaginated entries arranged alphabetically,
Frederick Kicherer, and 1868 Assessment Book, Henderson Township (formed from
Gaskill Township in 1857), Frederick Kitchen [sic]; Jefferson County Historical Society, Brookville.
[3] Ellen J. Gehret and
Alan G. Keyser, “Introduction,” The
Homespun Textile Tradition of the Pennsylvania Germans: An Exhibit of the Work
of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers at The Pennsylvania Farm Museum of Landis
Valley, 1976 (Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission,
1976), 7-10.
[4] She was born 12 July
1833, her son 20 July 1851. See Evangelische Kirche Roßwag [Roßwag Lutheran
Church], Kirchenbuch [Church record book], Taufen [baptisms] 2 (1808–1845):
101, Friderike Keller; Evangelischen Landeskirchenamt [Lutheran national church
office], Stuttgart, Germany; Family History Library (FHL) microfilm 1,184,573.
Also, “Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906–1963,” database and images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), John Kicher, 1916;
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg. Friederika’s
marriage is assumed from the birth of this son. No marriage record has yet been
found. The children’s names and vital information will follow in Genealogical
Summary, below.
[5] A birthdate of 23 June
1853 is calculated from the age at death recorded on Albert’s tombstone. See
Paradise United Church of Christ (formerly St. Peter's Lutheran Church)
Cemetery, Henderson Township, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, Albert W. Kicher
grave marker, photographed by the author, July 2000.
[6] Gehret and Keyser,
“Introduction,” Homespun Textile
Tradition, 6. No deed has been found for purchase of this land, although
Frederick paid county taxes on it from 1851 through at least 1889. See
Jefferson Co. Assessment Books, Gaskill Twp., 1851–1857 (1856 missing),
Frederick Kicherer, and Henderson Twp., 1858–1889, Frederick Kitchener.
[7] “Mrs. T.N. McPherson
Died After Brief Illness Monday,” The Post-Dispatch, Sykesville,
Pennsylvania, 17 March 1922, 1.
[8] Jefferson Co.
Assessment Books, Gaskill Twp., 1857, Fredrick Kichener.
[9] “Pennsylvania, Death
Certificates,” Pauline Kiecher Weber, 1942. Also, for Teressa at four months
old, see 1860 U. S. Census, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, population
schedule, Henderson Township, p. 44 (penned), dwelling/family 314, Henry [sic] Keyher household; digital image, Ancestry.com; from National Archives and
Records Administration (NARA) microfilm M653, roll 111.
[10] 1860 U. S. Census,
Jefferson Co., Pa., agricultural schedule, Henderson Twp., p. 15, Fred Keyher
Sen [sic]; NARA microfilm T1138, roll
15; FHL microfilm 1,602,254.
[11] "Pennsylvania,
Death Certificates," Carrie Williams, 1938.
[12] 1870 U. S. Census,
Jefferson Co., Pa., agricultural schedule, Henderson Twp., p. 3, Fredrick Kicherer;
NARA microfilm T1138, roll 26; FHL microfilm 1,602,266. Also, Gehret and
Keyser, “Introduction,” The Homespun
Textile Tradition, 2.
[13] “Pennsylvania, Death
Certificates,” Elizabeth L. Zeigler, 1945. The 1880 census lists Elizabeth's
mother as born in Württemberg, while her father's wife, Pilipena, was born in
Nassau. Elizabeth, then, is likely the
last child of Frederick Kicher with his wife Friederika Keller. See 1880 U. S.
Census, Jefferson Co., Pa., population schedule, Henderson Twp., ED 191, p. 20,
crossed out and 17 written above (penned), dwelling/family 93, Frederic
Kicherer household; digital image, Ancestry.com; from NARA microfilm T9, roll 1136.
[14] Daryl Kicher
(Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania) conversation with the author July 2000. Mr. Kicher
is now deceased.
[15] Here it is spelled for
English speakers in a way that approximates German, except when quoting
documents.
[16] 1870 U. S. Census,
Jefferson Co., Pa., population schedule, Henderson Twp., p. 14 (penned),
dwelling 91, family 90, Frederick Kocherer household; digital image, Ancestry.com;
from NARA microfilm M593, roll 1352.
[17] 1860 U. S. Census,
Jefferson Co., Pa., pop. sch., Henderson Twp., p. 44 (penned), dwell/fam. 314,
Henry Keyher household.
[18] 1880 U. S. Census,
Jefferson Co., Pa., population schedule, Henderson Twp., p. 21 (written over
24), ED 191, dwelling/family 121, Thomas McPherson household; NARA microfilm
T9, roll 1136; FHL microfilm 1,255,136.
[19] Betty D. Kicher,
“Kicher,” typscript chart of the descendants of “Fred” Kicherer (d. 1900) and
descendants of the grandparents of his daughter-in-law Mary (Trexler) Kicher
(1859-1915), last updated 1981, p. 1; author’s files. The manuscript provides
names and dates, but no places or documentation. It appears to have been
compiled from family interviews and research in Jefferson County probate
records. Independent research in original sources shows a number of
typographical errors.
[20] Frederick Kicherer 1823
German Bible; in possession of Richard “Dick” Martin, Frederick’s
great-grandson, South Park, Pennsylvania, 2014. A transcription was made of a
very faded inscription on the bible’s flyleaf. It reads, “Holy Bible[,] own by
Johannes Kicherer Grandfather of Lillian Zeigler Knoedler. Johannes. Frederick
Kicherer. Born April 3, 1831 At Zaiserweiber [sic], Oberamt, Maulbroun [sic]
Würtemberg Germany. He Married Rachel Fredericka Keller.” Photocopy of
transcription provided to the author September 2014. The bible inscription is
apparently too faint to photocopy or digitize.
[21] Evangelische Kirche Roßwag,
Kirchenbuch, Taufen 2: 101, Friderike Keller.
[22] “New York Passenger
Lists, 1820-1957,” digital image, Ancestry.com, passenger list, Clarissa
Andrews, 27 May 1846, p. 1, lines 12-20, Godfrey Keller family; from NARA
microfilm 237, roll 61. Also, “1850 United States Federal Census,” database, Ancestry.com, search for Fred* Keller
and variants, born 1833 in Germany. Friederika would be expected to be near her
parents in Jefferson County or her older brothers in Centre County. See 1850 U.
S. Census, Jefferson Co., Pa., population schedule, Gaskill Twp., pp. 204–205
(penned), dwelling 680, household 690, George [sic] Keller household; digital image, Ancestry.com; from NARA microfilm M432, roll 786. See also, 1850 U.
S. Census, Centre Co., Pa., population schedule, Marion Twp., p. 576 (penned),
dwelling/family 107, Gotlib Keller household; also, Spring Twp., p. 389
(penned), dwelling/family 37, Godfry Keller household; digital images, Ancestry.com; from NARA microfilm M432,
roll 763.
[23] 1860 U. S. Census, Jefferson
Co., Pa., pop. sch., Henderson Twp., p. 44 (penned), dwell/fam. 314, Henry
Keyher household. Also, 1870 U. S. Census, Jefferson Co., Pa., pop. sch.,
Henderson Twp., p. 14 (penned), dwelling 91, family 90, Frederick Kocherer
household.
[24] “Vital Statistics
Records at the Pennsylvania State Archives,” Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/genealogy/3183/vital_statistics/387291),
Birth and Death Records.
[25] “Two Hundred Present
For Dedication Service of Renewed Paradise Church,” The Post-Dispatch, Sykesville, Pennsylvania (29 April 1960), 1, 5.
[26] St. Peter’s Lutheran
Church, Paradise, Jefferson County, church records, 1892-1917; Laurel-Trinity
Lutheran Church, Jennerstown, Pennsylvania; FHL microfilm 1,428,436, item 7.
Also, Paradise Community United Church of Christ (formerly Paradise Reformed
Church), church records from 1850 forward; held in the church safe (1999);
photocopies provided by Blair E. Kuntz (Sykesville, Pa.) in 1999. Recording is
spotty in the registers of both churches.
[27] “Pennsylvania, Death
Certificates,” John Kicher, 1916.
[28] Jefferson County,
Pennsylvania, Orphans' Court, Record of Deaths, 1893–1899, 127, line 29; Clerk
of Courts, Brookville; FHL microfilm 927,545.
[29] “Pennsylvania, Death
Certificates,” Rachel McPherson, 1922.
[30] “Pennsylvania, Death
Certificates,” Pauline Kiecher Weber, 1942.
[31] “Pennsylvania, Death Certificates,”
Mrs. Teressa Thomas, 1926.
[32] “Pennsylvania, Death
Certificates,” Carrie Williams, 1938.
[33] “Pennsylvania, Death
Certificates,” Elizabeth L. Zeigler, 1945.
[34] Evangelische Kirche
Roßwag, Kirchenbuch, Taufen 2: 101, Friderike Keller.
[35] For Elizabeth’s birth,
see 1900 U. S. Census, Jefferson Co., Pa., population schedule, Punxsutawney,
ED 74, p. 1 (penned), dwelling/household 17, John Zeigler household; digital
image, Ancestry.com;
from NARA microfilm T623, Roll 1417; FHL microfilm 1,241,417. For Frederick’s
marriage, see “Aged Lady Dead: Mrs. Kicher, of Henderson Township, Expired
Saturday,” The Post-Dispatch, Sykesville, Pa., 9 July 1909, p. 1, col.
4.
[36] The year is calculated
from the 1851 birth of first child John. See also Betty D. Kicher, “Kicher,” 1.
Friederika also appears with Frederick in two censuses, as above, note 23.
[37] Evangelische Kirche
Zaisersweiher [Zaisersweiher Lutheran Church] (OA. Maulbronn), Taufen
[Baptisms] 1808–1864, 1823, no. 11, Johann Friederich Kicherer; Evangelischen Landeskirchenamt;
FHL microfilm 1,187,136.
[38] Jefferson Co., Pa.,
Register's Docket 4: 25, Frederick Kicherer; Register of Wills and Clerk of
Orphans' Court, Brookville; FHL microfilm 927,544.
[39] “Pennsylvania, Death
Certificates,” John Kicher, 1916. Also, 1900 U. S. Census, Jefferson Co., Pa.,
population schedule, East Henderson Twp., ED 64, p. 1 (penned),
dwelling/household 5, John F. Kicher household; digital image, Ancestry.com;
from NARA microfilm T623, roll 1416. The 1860 census, closest to John’s birth,
gives his age as nine, likely a rounding up. See 1860 U. S. Census, Jefferson
Co., Pa., pop. sch., Henderson Twp., p. 44 (penned), dwell/fam. 314, Henry
Keyher household.
[40] “Pennsylvania, Death Certificates,”
John Kicher, 1916.
[41] As of the1900 census
date (1 June) they had been married twenty-five years. See 1900 U .S. Census,
Jefferson Co., Pa., pop. sch., East Henderson Twp., ED 64, p. 1 (penned),
dwell/fam. 5, John F. Kicher household.
[42] “Pennsylvania, Death
Certificates,” Mary Kicher, 1915. For the alternate surnames, see Kicher,
“Kicher,” 1, which also gives 17 December 1859 as her birthdate. For age and
parents, see 1860 U. S. Census, Jefferson Co., Pa., population schedule,
Henderson Twp., p. 46, dwelling/family 328, Godfrey Drexler household, continued
on p. 47, dwelling 329, family 330 [sic],
Catharine Drexlor household; from NARA microfilm M653, roll 1118; FHL microfilm
805,118.
[43] “Pennsylvania, Death
Certificates,” Mary Kicher, 1915.
[44] The birthdate is
calculated from Albert’s age at death as recorded on his tombstone. See
Paradise United Church of Christ, Albert W. Kicher grave marker. The 1860
census likely rounds his age up to seven, which he would have been later that
month. See 1860 U. S. Census, Jefferson Co., Pa., pop. sch., Henderson Twp., p.
44 (penned), dwelling/family 314, Henry Keyher household. The 1870 census gives
his age as seventeen, in line with the 1860 census. See 1870 U. S. Census,
Jefferson Co., Pa., pop. sch., Henderson Twp., p. 14 (penned), dwelling 91,
family 90, Frederick Kocherer household.
[45] For 18 January, see
Bruce E. Gray, compiler, Friderika (Keller) Kicher Descendants to
Grandchildren, a Gedcom created from Gray's personal database and provided
October 2003 by Gray (Midvale, Utah). The database includes some source citations.
For 19 January see Kicher, “Kicher,” p. 5.
[46] “Pennsylvania, Death
Certificates, 1906–1963,” Annetta Kicher, 1925. See also, for the location,
Gray, Friderika (Keller) Kicher Descendants.
[47] jshepps29, owner,
“Shepps-Schoeps Jan 2012_2013-10-08_2014-02-04,” family tree, Ancestry.com (http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/67020003/person/36164731796?pgnum=1),
“Mrs. Sarah Kramer,” digital image of obituary, [The Post-Dispatch, Sykesville, Pa.], [May 1905].
[48] “Mrs. T.N. McPherson
Died After Brief Illness Monday,” 17 March 1922, 1. This is consistent with
Rachel’s earliest census listing. See 1860 U. S. Census, Jefferson Co., Pa.,
pop. sch., Henderson Twp., p. 44 (penned), dwelling/family 314, Henry Keyher
household.
[49] “Pennsylvania, Death
Certificates,” Rachel McPherson, 1922.
[50] Robert Allison,
compiler, Marriage Records of Clearfield County, PA, Prior to October 1,
1885 (Clearfield, Pa.: Clearfield County Historical Society, 199–?), 81.
Also, “Mrs. T.N. McPherson Died.”
[51] “Pennsylvania, Death
Certificates,” Thomas N. McPherson, 1930.
[52] “Pennsylvania, Death
Certificates,” Pauline Kiecher Weber, 1942.
[53] Nancy Lee Stover,
comp., and Gladys Campbell Murray, ed., Marriages 1874-1885, Centre County,
Pennsylvania (Bellefonte, Pa.: Friends of the Centre County Library and
Historical Museum, Inc., 1994), 157, citing The
Philipsburg Journal of 20 January
1882.
[54] “Pennsylvania, Death
Certificates,” Frank G. Weber, 1918.
While the death record gives Frank’s birth year as 1862, 1861 is
probably more accurate based on his age of nine in June 1870. See 1870 U. S.
Census, Centre County, Pa., population schedule, Philipsburg, p. 5 (penned),
dwelling/family 33, Peter Weber household; digital image, Ancestry.com; from NARA microfilm M593, roll 1322; FHL microfilm
552,821.
[55] Teressa’s death record
gives her birthdate as 10 February 1867, yet in June 1860 she was four months
old. See “Pennsylvania, Death Certificates,” Mrs. Teressa Thomas, 1926. Also,
1860 U. S. Census, Jefferson Co., Pa., pop. sch., Henderson Twp., p. 44
(penned), dwelling/family 314, Henry Keyher household.
[56] Blair E. Kuntz, comp., Jefferson
County (Pa.) Families, undocumented database, CD-ROM (Sykesville, Pa.:
privately published, March 2005. Kuntz’s sources include obituaries, tombstone
readings, and interviews with local family descendants. Also, Daniel Thomas is
listed with Theresa Thomas among the heirs of Frederick Kicherer in a land
sale. See Jefferson County, Deed Books, 136: 331–334, Kicherer heirs to McGee,
1913; Recorder of Deeds, Brookville.
[57] “Pennsylvania, Death
Certificates,” Daniel Thomas, 1918.
[58] “Pennsylvania, Death
Certificates,” Carrie Williams, 1938.
For Carrie’s birth, see also, 1870 U. S. Census, Jefferson Co., Pa.,
pop. sch., Henderson Twp., p. 14 (penned), dwelling 91, family 90, Frederick
Kocherer household. See also, 1880 U. S. Census, Jefferson Co., Pa., pop. sch.,
Henderson Twp., ED 191, p. 20, crossed out and 17 written above (penned),
dwell/fam. 93, Frederic Kicherer household.
[59] “Pennsylvania, County
Marriages, 1885-1950,” index and images, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-21130-46595-94?cc=1589502&wc=9FSS-6TL:1029270201),
004268820, image 310 of 443; citing Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Register of
Wills, Marriage License Docket 57 (1901-1902): 580, no. 19239, Williams-Kicher;
FHL microfilm 878,599. Also, Bessie P. Douglas, The Families of Joshua Williams of Chester County, Pa., and John
McKeehan of Cumberland County, Pa., with Some Allied Families (Minneapolis,
Minn.: Augsburg Press, 1928), 149. Douglas’ sources include family members and
associates as well as published accounts, mentioned but not fully cited.
[60] “Pennsylvania, Death
Certificates,” Elizabeth L. Zeigler, 1945. Elizabeth was nine at the 1880
census. See 1880 U. S. Census, Jefferson Co., Pa., pop. sch., Henderson Twp.,
ED 191, p. 20, crossed out and 17 written above (penned), dwell/fam. 93,
Frederic Kicherer household. The 1900 census places her birth in March 1871.
See 1900 U. S. Census, Jefferson Co., Pa., pop. sch., Punxsutawney, ED 74, p. 1
(penned), dwell./hshld. 17, John Zeigler household. Her gravestone indicates
her birth on 19 March 1876. See Tom Knoedler, Wallingford, Pa. [private
address], “Re: Zeiglers’ cemetery listing,” email to the author 30 September
2014. Tom is Elizabeth’s grandson. Another grandson recorded her birth as 19
May 1874. See Richard “Dick” Martin [private address] letter to the author,
late September 2014. Public records created closer to the time of Elizabeth’s
birth are probably more accurate.
[61] Jefferson County,
Pennsylvania, Marriage License Docket 10: 164, no. 1982, John Zigler and Lizzie
Kicher, 1895, marriage license application, license, and duplicate certificate;
Clerk of Orphans’ Court, Brookville; FHL microfilm 927,550.
[62] “Pennsylvania, Death
Certificates,” John Zeigler, 1935. Also, 1900 U. S. Census, Jefferson Co., Pa.,
pop. sch., Punxsutawney, ED 74, p. 1 (penned), dwell./hshld. 17, John Zeigler
household.
[63] “Pennsylvania, Death
Certificates,” John Zeigler, 1935.
