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Clemens is a Mennonite family name which appears in the early Palatine
Mennonite census list. The list indicates that as early as 1664 a person
named Jan Clamens was living at Niederflorsheim. In 1672
Johann Clemeintz as deacon signed a letter of appeal sent to the Amsterdam
Mennonites. In 1685 he is listed as still living as an old man at the
same place.
The first member of the family to come to North America was Gerhardt
Clemens, who was probably born in 1680, accompanied by his wife, Anneli
Hiestand Reiff and two sons, Johannes and Jacob. Annalie 'Anna" was the
daughter of Michael Rÿff and Kungold 'Kinget' Hiestand, stepdaughter of
Johannes Stauffer. Johannes and Kungold Stauffer also accompanied Gerhart
on his trip to North America.
He left the Palatinate and arrived in Pennsylvania in 1709, settling in Skippack, Montgomery
Co., Pa. Some of his descendants moved to adjacent Chester County. In
1809 othersr of his descendants, Abraham Lederach Clemens, cousins Abraham
Carlisle and George Carlisle migrated to Waterloo Twp., Ont., where a
number of descendants continued to live. Several of these Canadian Clemenses
moved to the Kent County, Michigan. area.
My direct lines of Clemens is as follows:
Gerhardt/Gerhart, 1680/1681 - ca.1745, Montgomery Co. PA
Abraham Reiff Clemens, 1710 - 1776, Montgomery Co. PA.
Jacob C. Bachman Clemens , 1756 - 1829, Chester Co. PA.
Abraham Lederach Clemens, 1781 - 1845, Waterloo Co. Ontario.
Eli Miller Clemens, 1815 - 1879, Waterloo Co. Ontario.
Moses Bowman Clemens, 1846 - 1919, Waterloo Co. Ontario.
Walter Brox Clemens, 1899 - 1948, Lambton Co. Ontario.
John W. Upper Clemens, 1928 - 1956, Lambton Co. Ontario.
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