Jacob Gerhart & His Descendants

JACOB GERHART & HIS DESCENDANTS

Compiled By: James H. Culbert
Last Updated: 17 Apr 2014


NOTE: FURTHER GENERATIONS WILL BE LINKED TO THIS PAGE IN THE FUTURE


    Jacob GERHART was born c. 1715 in Alsace Lorraine, Germany (now France).  This is likely the Jacob GERHART who emigrated from Rotterdam on the ship Patience, arriving in Philadelphia on 17 Sep 1753. 15  In 1754 Jacob GERHART settled in Lebanon, Clinton Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey. 6  He married Elisabeth ? 7  Jacob died c. 6 Sep 1773 in Lebanon Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey. 7  They had:
      1. Elsa GERHART 7 who married ? ANDERSON. 7
      2. Mary GERHART 7 who married ? DILS 7 [DILO 11]
      3. Ana GERHART 7 who married ? PESKE 7 [PEKLE ? 11]
      4. Jacob GEARHART 4 7; (b. 1735, Strasbourg [now France]); m.c. 1760, 17) Hunterdon County, New Jersey, Catherina KLINE (also Catherine); 4, (b. 22 Dec 1740, Switzerland 17), daughter of Herman KLINE 16 (also Hermannus, Harmon) (b.c. 1706; d.c. 1787 16), of Sussex County, New Jersey.  They emigrated from Rotterdam. 4  Background on Herman KLINE can be found at footnote 18.

      About 1760, Jacob GEARHART acquired land in Kingwood Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey. 20  About 1765, a stone house was built on the property, which still exists today [2007]. 22  In 1778, the tax rolls show that 308 acres of improved land with a value of 1,200 [pounds?], plus 7 horses and 4 cattle were taxed.  This land ownership was also shown for several years through 1789. 21

      When the Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, Jacob GEARHART volunteered with the Kingwood Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey Company, part of the Second Regiment, Hunterdon County Militia commanded by Colonel Joseph BEAVERS. 14  He entered as a a private, and was later promoted to ensign and captain. 14  Jacob was one of the two New Jersey men chosen by General George WASHINGTON to take charge of the boats used in the crossing of the Delaware River on the night of 25 Dec 1776, when troops attacked the Hessian camp at Trenton, New Jersey. 12  After the crossing, these two men were placed in charge of the boats, with orders to destroy them should the attack fail. 11

      In January 1777, Jacob GEARHART served at Pittstown under Colonel Joseph BEAVERS.  In March 1777, he served at Millstone under Lt. Colonel Abraham BONNELL.  In October 1777, Jacob again served at Pittstown. 14  He took part in the battle of the Brandywine and spent the winter of 1777-78 with General George WASHINGTON at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. 11  In February 1778, Jacob served at Elizabethtown under Colonel Silvanus SEELY.  In June and July 1778 he served in Monmouth County, New Jersey under Colonel BEAVERS.  He was on the rolls in July 1780 and served under Major Samuel GROWENDYKE that August. 14  At the close of the war Jacob returned to his home in Kingwood Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey.

      The Jacob GEARHART family left Hunterdon County with brother William GEARHART and his family in 1790 by wagon train, going west.  Late one afternoon they came to a deserted Indian hut near a spring, and decided to camp there for the night.  When the land was examined the next morning it was found to be fertile, with good quality and abundant water.  Jacob decided to establish his new home on this site, near Danville, Pennsylvania.  He purchased all of the land along the Susquehanna River from Kipp's Run to Boyd's Run, extending one mile back from the river, all of which was at that time forested.  With his sons he began to clear and farm the land, and also erected a frame house on a bluff overlooking the river.  In 1792, Jacob received Pennsylvania State Land Grants in Northumberland County. 11  Jacob later acquired 1,500 acres, and cleared 200 of them. 13  They planted an orchard that was later destroyed by a hailstorm in 1846.  The house was still standing in 1952, in what is now included in the borough of Riverside and in south Danville, Gearhart Township, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. 11  The farm was later owned by Mrs. I. H. TORRENCE, a great-granddaughter of Jacob's.

      Jacob GEARHART died 14 Jan (Mar 17) 1813 1, Shamokin Township, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. 17  He was buried in the Mahoning Presbyterian Church cemetery, Bloom Street, Danville, Pennsylvania, which is now called Memorial Park.  No evidence of the location of his grave exists. 17

      Catherine Kline GEARHART died 29 Dec 1825 1 in Rush Township, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. 17  She was buried in the Mahoning Presbyterian Church cemetery, Bloom Street, Danville, Pennsylvania, which is now called Memorial Park.  No evidence of the location of her grave exists. 17

      In 1948, Mrs. Gertrude Gearhart SONNEBORN purchased a lot in Mount Vernon Cemetery, near Riverside, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, and had a monument erected to the memories of Jacob and Catherine. 17 1

      Jacob and Catherine had:

        4.1 Elizabeth GEARHART; (b. 1 Feb 1761; d. 1 Aug 1839); m. Jacob DE PUY (b. 17 Jan 1760 23).
        Their sons were: 17
          Herman DE PUY (went west, married, and had children)
          Jacob DE PUY, Jr. (no children)
          William DE PUY (no children)
          Benjamin DE PUY (went to New York State, married, and had children)
          Joseph A. DE PUY; (b. 1798); m. Sara WOLVERTON 23
          George G. DE PUY (married and had children)
          John DE PUY (went to Ohio, married, and had children)
        4.2 Jacob GEARHART; (b. 7 [15 17] Jan 1763, Hunterdon County, New Jersey 8).  He married Margaret RUNKLE; (b. 1765 [or 1766 1], Lebanon Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey 4).  They left Hunterdon County in 1790 with Jacob's father's family and later purchased 400 forested acres c. 1793 in Rush Township near Danville, Pennsylvania. 4

        In the Spring of 1777 Jacob volunteered as a private in a Company commanded by his father, Captain Jacob Gearhart, at Kingwood Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey.  He was immediately appointed orderly Sergeant of the Company, in which he served a few months, and then was elected an Ensign of the Company and received a commission as such.  The Company was first marched to Pittstown to guard the Continental stores there.  During this term of service he was frequently sent out on scouts against the Tories and refugees.  The Company continued keeping guard in Pittstown and Quakertown until August 1779.  In 1780 Jacob was again called into the service, again as Ensign of the Company Commanded by Captain Jacob GEARHART for about one month.  Shortly after their attack on the British at Elizabethtown, the British withdrew from that part of New Jersey and they were discharged. 8

        On 10 Jan 1814, Jacob was appointed associate judge of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, which he held until his resignation in 1839.  Jacob was a Democrat.  A meeting was once held at his house by Simon CAMERON, whom President Andrew JACKSON had requested to secure the influence of Pennsylvania in favor of the nomination of Martin VAN BUREN.  Jacob was a Methodist, who frequently entertained Rev. Francis ASBURY, the first bishop of the Methodist Church in the United States.  Jacob died 2 Aug 1841, and is buried in Mount Vernon Cemetery, near Riverside, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. 1  Margaret died 30 Sep 1843, and is buried with Jacob.

        4.3 Harmon GEARHART; (b. 4 Jan 1765, Hunterdon County, New Jersey); m. Abigail BAYLOR (BAYLER 6); (b. 11 May 1782; d. 06 Jul 1860 1)  They resided in the frame house built by Jacob GEARHART.  Harmon died 10 Mar 1835 17 (1846 1).
        4.4 John GEARHART; (b. 6 Apr 1767 [1764, Hunterdon County, New Jersey 6]; d. 20 Sep 1822 17); m. Anna (Ann) COOL
        4.5 Isaac GEARHART (GERHARD 2); (b. 29 Dec 1769 [10 May 1776 2]; d. 6 Jun 1812 17); m. Eleanor THOMAS
        4.6 George GEARHART; (b. 4 Mar 1773 [1762, Hunterdon County, New Jersey 5]).  He lived on a farm located about one mile from Riverside along the bank of the Susquehanna River, and one mile south of the bridge, which now forms part of South Danville, Pennsylvania.  The farm was presented to him by his father when he became an adult, and he lived there all his life.  He erected many buildings on the property, and continued to add to his holding such that he owned between 300 and 400 acres at his death. 5  George married (1st) Aschie RUNYAN (or Achsah 17) in 1806 in Danville, Pennsylvania 5, later married (2nd) Phoebe LOTT 17, and later married (3rd) Mary GIBBS 17
        4.7 Mary GEARHART; (b. 4 Mar 1773; d. 3 Oct 1843); m. John GULICK. 17
        4.8 Wilhelm (William) GEARHART; (b. 9 Jul 1775, Hunterdon County, New Jersey; d. 20 May 1854 [29 May 1854 1 2] 17); m. Sarah Jane GULICK [Sarah MACLAY 1]
        4.9 Charles GEARHART; (b. 21 Dec 1777 17 [15 Sep 1783 1]; d. 10 Apr 1863 1); m. Sarah EPHLAND [EPHLIN 17]; (b. 8 Sep 1794; d. 15 Feb 1877 1)
        4.10 Benjamin GEARHART; (b. 12 Nov 1780; d. in childhood). 17
        4.11 Tunis GEARHART; (b. 17 Jul 1785; d. 1 Jan 1852); m. Lorena GULICK [Rachel or Pauchy]. 17
        4.12 Catharine GEARHART; (b. 18 Nov 1786; d. after 1813); m. Asa MOORE. 17
        There is also a Margaret GEARHART; (b. 1768, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, who married Thomas WOLF, and a Mary GEARHART, who have both been listed as daughters of Jacob and Margaret RUNKLE GEARHART 6

      5. George (Jury) GEARHART 7 was born in 1741 in Alsace-Lorraine, France. 2  George arrived in America in 1753 on the ship Patience through Philadelphia. 6  He married Anna VAN HORN 3 [Anna RICKEL 2] in 1767 in Hunderdon County, New Jersey, daughter of Matthias VAN HORN and Neltje KRUM CROM 10  George died 4 April 1828 in Lebanon Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey. 2  They had 16 children, 3 including:
        5.1 Jacob GEARHART; (b. 1768 6); m. Elisabetha ? 6
        5.2. Matthias GEARHART [Mathias, Matthew]; (b. 1769, Lebanon Township, Hunderdon County, New Jersey 6; m. (1st) Margaret HUMMER [Margretha], daughter of Jacob HUMMER and Maria ? 6 3  He later married someone else. 6  He died after 1840, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. 6  He served in the Lebanon Township, Hunterdon County Militia in 1792. 9
        5.3 Ann GEARHART; (b. 21 Feb 1770) 6
        5.4 Elisabeth GEARHART; (b. 9 Sep 1771, Lebanon Township, Hunderdon County, New Jersey; d. bef. 29 Oct 1794, Lebanon Township); m. Peter EMERY 6
        5.5 Eleanor GEARHART [Nellie, Nelle, or Nelly]; (b. 24 Oct 1773, New Jersey 2 [6 Sep 1773 6]; d. 2 May 1862, Hunterdon County, New Jersey 6]; m. 25 Mar 1790, New Germantown (Oldwick), Hunterdon County, New Jersey 6, William KREAMER 2 [KRYMER or CRAMER 6], son of Mathias CRAMER and Ann HANN 6
        5.6 Maria (Mary) GERHARD; (b. 9 Jul 1776, New Jersey 2 [6 Sep 1776 6])
        5.7 George GEARHART; (b. 1778 6)
        5.8 Isaac GEARHART; (b. 1783, Hunterdon County, New Jersey 6; m. Mary CRAMER 6
        5.9 Godfrey GEARHART; (b. 1786; d. 11 July 1865, Lebanon Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey 6); m. 23 May 1812, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, Sarah COVENHOVEN 6
        5.10 Abraham GEARHART; (b. 15 July 1788) 6
        5.11 David GEARHART; (b. 1793, Hunterdon County, New Jersey 6); m.c. 1810, New Jersey, Elisabetha KLINE 6
      6. Margreth GERHART [Margaret] 7; (b.c. 1750 6); m. ? SMITH 6
      7. Wilhelm (William) GERHART 7; (b.c. 1760, Strasbourg, Germany (now France) 6).  He emigrated to America in 1754. 6  He settled in Hunterdon County, New Jersey.  When the Revolutionary War started in 1775, he enlisted in the Hunterdon County Militia and was later promoted to Ensign.  He married Eleanor DENIGHT [Nelchen, Nella, Nellie] in New Jersey 6  They emigrated to Northumberland County, Pennsylvania c. 1790 and purchased land to the southeast of his brother, Jacob's, in what is now Rush Township.  They had:
        7.1 William GEARHART; (b. in New Jersey); m. Sarah BOONE 6
        7.2 Anna GERHART; (b. 3 Mar 1775, New Jersey 2); m. ? AMENS 6
        7.3 Aaron GEARHART 6
        7.4 Tobias GEARHART 6
        7.5 Jacob GERHART; (b. 15 Jul 1778) 2
        7.6 Elizabeth GEARHART; m. ? AMENS 6
        7.7 Mary GEARHART; m. ? LAMBERSON 6

Notes

1 On the burial listing for Mount Vernon Cemetery, Riverside, Rush Township.  In: Meiser, Joseph A. and Sarah Roadarmel Meiser (authors and publishers), 1985, A Genealogist's Guide to Burials in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Volume II, pp. 63-65.

2 Lebanon Dutch Reformed Church birth records (LDS film # 0368918) provided by Vic GEARHART, a descendant of Matthias GEARHART [see 5.2].

3 From John GEARHART.

4 Described in: Fisher, Ben Van D., 1899, The Runkle Family, T. A. Wright, New York.

5 From Richard D. GEARHART, related to Bonham Rush GEARHART (1811-1855).

6 From Vic GEARHART, a descendant of Matthias GEARHART [see 5.2].

7 Named in the will and inventory of Jacob GERHART, Hunterdon, 1773, Recorded in No. 16 (Book?), Folio 191 (873J in New Jersey archives).

8 Military pension claim record (S. 3392) located at the National Archives and Records Administration. (See also Pension Certificate # 3065)

9 Genealogial Magazine of New Jersey, Vol. ?, p. 97.

10 From Brant CRAMER

11 Edna Bonham Gearhart, 1962, "The Families of Jacob Gearhart, Founder of the Family In America, And His Son, Jacob Gearhart II, Captain in the American Revolution," 18 pp. plus cover (LDS Film # 1036303).

12 Mott, First Century of Hunterdon County, New Jersey, pp. 42-43.

13 "The Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties" [Pennsylvania], p. 450.

14 Certificate of Military Service of Jacob Gearhart, dated 30 Oct 1939, Office of the Adjutant General, State of New Jersey, Trenton. (A copy is found in 11.)

15 Edna Bonham Gearhart 11 has Jacob arriving in America in 1741.  In "The Runkle Family" 4 it indicates it was the son, Jacob, who emigrated at this time.

16 Will Summary of Herman Kline as cited in:
Jacob Gearhart's Smokehouse, a report for Ethan White's Eagle Scout Project, 26 Feb 2007, by Marfy Goodspeed, Goodspeed House Histories, Flemington, NJ, p. 5.  The will summary follows:

    "Will of Herman Kline of Kingwood [Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey]: To Son Isaac my loom and the part of my plantation where he lives; Son Hermen plantation where he lives and Dutch Bible; Son George half of my plantation where he lives; Son John plantation where he lives; Daughter Christeen, wife of Tunis Hummer £80; Daughter Catherine wife of Jacob Kerrhart, £80; Daughter Mary, wife of Henry Mead, £80; Daughter Rachel, wife of Joseph Bishop, £80; Daughter Sophia, wife of George Cramer, £80; Executors sons Hermen and Abraham; Witnessed by Abraham Couwenhoven, Jacob Demott, Henry Swesey; 1785, Jan 26, Codicil, Son Isaac Executor instead of son Abraham; Land devised to son George, now deceased, to his children: George, Mary, Piggy, Rebecca, and Francky Kline; his wife rebecca to have use of the land; Daughter Mary, wife of Henry Mead, £80; Witnessed by Abraham Couwenhoven, Tunis Tunison. 1787 Apr 26, Will Proved; 1792 Feb 11, Inventory, £22-3-0 by Thomas Jones and John McVay."

17 Provided by Heber G. Gearhart, Historian and Genealogist.  The marriage year of 1760 for Jacob Gearhart to Catherina Kline is reasonable considering their first child was born in 1761.

18 Jacob Gearhart's Smokehouse, a report for Ethan White's Eagle Scout Project, 26 Feb 2007, by Marfy Goodspeed, Goodspeed House Histories, Flemington, NJ, p. 6.  Here it states that Herman Kline was baptized in 1734 at the Readington Reformed Church, Hunterdon County, New Jersey.  He married Maria and they had ten children - Abraham, Isaac, Herman, George, John, Christeen, Catherine, Mary, Rachel, and Sophia.  He bought 403 acres in Bethlehem (later Kingwood) Township from Daniel Coxe. [WJP GH-84]

19 I have a photocopy of a photograph of this monument.  It says: "In Memorium, Capt. Jacob Gearhart, 1735-1813, His Wife Catharine Kline, 1740-1825, Captain in American Revolution, Buried in Memorial Park, Danville, PA"

20 Jacob Gearhart's Smokehouse, a report for Ethan White's Eagle Scout Project, 26 Feb 2007, by Marfy Goodspeed, Goodspeed House Histories, Flemington, NJ, p. 6.  Here it states that, about 1760, "Jacob and Catherine come into possession of land in Kingwood, later part of Joseph Bishop's 312 acres."  On 2 Jun 1767 Daniel Coxe, Esq., of Trenton, sold 106 acres of woodland to Philip and John Grandin, of Lebanon, "lying over the [Raritan] river in Kingwood," which was bordered on the south by land owned by Jacob Gerhart. [Hunterdon Co. Historical Society Ms. Deed 0018/I-089].  This land was either purchased from Daniel Coxe, or conveyed to Jacob by his father-in-law, Herman Kline, who purchased it from Daniel Coxe.  No deeds exist for this time period in order to clarify this.

21 Jacob Gearhart's Smokehouse, a report for Ethan White's Eagle Scout Project, 26 Feb 2007, by Marfy Goodspeed, Goodspeed House Histories, Flemington, NJ, section on early tax lists for Kingwood Township.  No reference to Jacob Gearhart in these tax lists is found after 1789, however the next tax list following 1789 that still exists is for 1797, when Joseph and William Bishop owned the same property.

22 Jacob Gearhart's Smokehouse, a report for Ethan White's Eagle Scout Project, 26 Feb 2007, by Marfy Goodspeed, Goodspeed House Histories, Flemington, NJ, p. 1.  The house is located on Block 23, Lot 12, Franklin Township, and was likely built by Jacob Gearhart.  The physical location is west of River Road near where the road crosses the South Branch of the Rartian River.  The smokehouse, which is the focus of this report, is located across the road towards the river on Block 22, Lot 3, which is now part of the Hunterdon County park system.  The smokehouse timbers were dated to 1789.

23 Provided by Charles A. Stephan, Jun 2011.  Charles' wife is descended from Joseph A. DE PUY and Sara WOLVERTON.  He can be reached at: [CHISHOLMRANGER at aol.com].


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