To answer my own rhetorical question: MULTITUDES. Especially in Pennsylvania. And in Maryland, too. Not to mention Virginia / West Virginia.
Apparently the surname "Huber" or "Hoover" was the Swiss / German equivalent of "Smith". Or so it would seem.
Yes, I have been researching my great x 4 grandfather JACOB HUBER Sr who died 1803 Berlin, Brother's Valley Township, Somerset Co PA. While I do have some facts, his ancestry previous to 1793 remains a mystery.
First off: the facts. JACOB HUBER Sr first appears in records of the German Reformed/Evangelical Lutheran church in Berlin, Somerset Co ( Bedford Co previous to 1795), PA, when he witnessed June 10, 1793 the baptism of David Ritchy, son of Daniel Ritchy & Catherine "on their way to Kentucky", witnesses signed as "Jacob Huber, Elder" along with "George Frey, Deacon".
JACOB can be found on tax lists and on other German Reformed/ Evangelical Lutheran church records from 1793 until the time of his death in 1803.
JACOB was not living in Bedford or Somerset Co PA in 1790 or before, as per census & tax list records.
The 1800 Berlin, Brother's Valley Township, Somerset Co PA census shows him as "Jacob Huber Sr", couple over 45, no children in household, but next door to his adult son WILLIAM/WILHELM HUBER, young married couple with one daughter. Also in Berlin in 1800 census was JOHN HUBER Sr, another couple over 45, no children in household.
If JACOB was over 45 in 1800 census, he would have had to have been born 1755 or before.
JACOB HUBER Sr's will, written 1802 and proved Aug 1803 shows that he was quite wealthy for the time period, owned a number of lots in the town of Berlin, had a wife MAGDALENA, and apparently only one child, his son WILLIAM /WILHELM HUBER, who, judging from baptism records of his children, was likely born in the 1770s.
Since I have copies of JACOB HUBER's original 1803 will, and his son WILLIAM /WILHELM HUBER signed the estate inventory, I was able to compare the signature on JACOB'S will to the one on WILLIAM /WILHELM HUBER's original 1835 Hocking Co Ohio will. They are identical, so the Hocking Co Ohio WILLIAM / WILHELM HUBER is most certainly my great X 3 grandfather, father of my great great grandfather ELIJAH HUBER b abt 1808 OH who was living next door to WILLIAM HUBER in the 1830 Salt Creek Township, Hocking Co Ohio census.
WILLIAM /WILHELM HUBER married ANNA ELIZABETH KEFFER b Jan 2, 1780 Berlin, Brother's Valley Township, Bedford/Somerset Co PA, daughter of JOHANN JACOB KEFFER, one of the founders of the town of Berlin.
Now for the complicated, speculative part.
When I first started researching back in year 2000, I was contacted by Keffer family researchers who indicated that JACOB HUBER Sr of Berlin, PA was the same person as JACOB HUBER/HOOVER Sr who was living in or near Capon Springs, Hampshire Co VA 1780s-1790, and who married ELIZABETH HOTZENBELLA / HOTSINPILLAR / HATZENBUHLER, daughter of STEPHEN HOTZENBELLA/HOTSINPILLAR/HATZENBUHLER & wife ELIZABETH BRUMBACH of Frederick Co VA.
This made some sense at the time, as a later biography of WILLIAM WILHELM HUBER's son JACOB, b abt 1812 of Montgomery Co IN, indicated that his father WILLIAM was born in Virginia.
JACOB HUBER/HOOVER Sr of Hampshire Co VA seemed to disappear from that county just after 1790 census. Since many German/Swiss settlers from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia did migrate to Bedford, Somerset & Huntingdon Co PA, it seemed to me quite possible that JACOB HUBER/HOOVER Sr of Hampshire Co VA could have moved northward to that area of Pennsylvania.
Another factor was the 1776 Frederick Co VA will of STEPHEN HOTZENBELLA. The language used in the will (in the transcription at least) seems to suggest that his daughter ELIZABETH HUVER was dead by 1776 and that he was leaving part of his estate to her children, and the children of another daughter CATHERINE HOTZENBELLA KERN, who was deceased before 1776.
If JACOB HUBER's wife ELIZABETH HOTZENBELLA was dead by 1776 in Hampshire Co VA, then he certainly could have remarried to MAGDALENA before he moved north to Pennsylvania.
Other pertinent factors: No death record, will or tombstone can be found for JACOB HUBER/HOOVER Sr in Hampshire or Frederick Co VA. No death record, will or tombstone can be found for ELIZABETH HOTZENBELLA HUBER, either.
Now to make things even more complicated & confusing. About year ago, I was contacted by Daniel Bly, a professor of history in West Virginia and author of the book, "From the Rhineland to the Shenandoah". He believes, as per land deed records that he recently found, that JACOB HUBER & wife ELIZABETH HOTZENBELLA were both alive as late as 1823 in Frederick Co VA. While I think 1823 might be just a bit late considering the likely age of JACOB HUBER Sr of Hampshire Co VA, who helped found the town of Capon Springs in the 1780s, it is not outside the realm of possibility. Also the deeds specifically mention wife ELIZABETH and other individuals who were listed as heirs of STEPHEN HOTZENBELLA, as per his 1776 will and subsequent estate distribution in the 1790s.
Daniel Bly cites the church records of the Hebron Lutheran Church in Hampshire Co VA as one other source for his theory that JACOB HUBER & ELIZABETH HOTZENBELLA remained in Hampshire Co VA after 1790 until moving to Frederick Co VA before 1823.
JACOB HUBER/HOOVER Sr of Hampshire Co VA apparently did have a son JACOB HUBER/HOOVER Jr who would have been born about 1760s as per tax lists & census; my theory is that Junior also had a wife named ELIZABETH, and that they were the couple who were living in Frederick Co VA in 1823. But I have not been able to prove this, either.
So this new development has forced me to to take a closer look at my assumptions about JACOB HUBER Sr of Berlin, Somerset Co PA. He may not be the same person as JACOB HUBER Sr of Hampshire Co VA. But I'm not discounting that theory completely. Not yet, at least.
JACOB HUBER Sr of Berlin, Somerset PA was a member of the German Reformed church. He seems to have had a close connection with the REV HENRY GIESE, b 1755-1757 Hessisch Lichtenau, Germany, a German Reformed preacher who emigrated in 1776 and soon after moved to Frederick Co MD. By 1782/1783 Rev GIESE was living in Loudon C0 VA, serving numerous German Reformed Congregations all over the Shenandoah Valley. He came to Berlin, Somerset Co PA by 1795, and became pastor there after the residing pastor, Rev Spangenberg, murdered a member of his congregation, Jacob Glessner.
So--(I'm thinking out loud here)--previous to 1793 JACOB HUBER Sr of Berlin could have been living in Pennsylvania, in Frederick or Washington Co, Maryland, or in any of the places in Virginia that Rev HENRY GIESE served: Winchester, Staunton, Lexington, Pickett Mountain/ Peaked Mountain, Frieden's Church, German Settlement (Lovittsville), Short Hill, Goose Creek and possibly more.
But at this point, I have not found any records pinpointing JACOB HUBER Sr in any of these areas.
What I have been able to do is to winnow out other Huber/ Hoover families who migrated to or through Bedford/Somerset PA who are NOT related to JACOB HUBER Sr of Berlin (or as far as I can prove ):
1) CASPER HOOVER of Brother's Valley Township, Bedford/Somerset Co PA and his father MICHAEL HUBER/HOOVER of Ayr / Air Township, Bedford Co PA, as per research of Richard Hayden, National Genealogical Society Quarterly Vol 91 #4 Dec 2003
2) WILHELM HUBER/ WILLIAM HOOVER who died 1779 Shenandoah Co VA & wife MARGARET. This WILLIAM had a son JACOB HUBER/HOOVER who was born before 1755. Some researchers believe that this JACOB is the same as JACOB HUBER/HOOVER of Hampshire Co VA, but Daniel Bly indicates that this is not so.
WILLIAM & MARGARET HUBER did have a daughter ELIZABETH HUBER who married JACOB HOTZENBELLA/ HOTSINPILLAR /HATZENBUHLER, son of STEPHEN HOTZENBELLA & ELIZABETH BRUMBACH. This JACOB HOTZENBELLA had some land dealings with JACOB HUBER of Hampshire Co VA.
3) PHILIP HUBER / HOOVER & his brother HENRY (JOHANN HEINRICH) HUBER / HOOVER of Frederick Co VA; Philip lived in Winchester. Daniel Bly believes that JACOB HUBER Sr of Hampshire Co VA was likely from this Frederick Co VA family, but wills from this family and tax list & census records make this seem highly unlikely (no Jacob).
4) Family of JACOB HUBER & ANNA CHRISTINA GUTH / GOODE (Mennonites)
5) Family of HANS HUBER & MARGARET KOCH, including grandson MATHIAS HUBER/HOOVER who died in Rutherford Co, TN (Mennonites)
6) Family of JACOB HUBER & PHEBE ANNA MARIA BOERSTLER; they migrated through Berlin, Somerset Co PA from Hagerstown, Washington Co MD; this JACOB HUBER is supposed to have been the son of Lt JOHN HUBER Revolutionary War in Lancaster Co PA--not the same person as JOHN HUBER Sr of 1800 census Berlin, Brother's Valley twp, Somerset PA; JOHN HUBER Sr was living in Brother's Valley twp, Bedford/Somerset Co PA as early as 1776.
To see my Rootsweb Worldconnect online family trees on these families & individuals, please see my website
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bettysboneyard/
Betty T
UPDATE 12/12/2012:
Finally, with the testing of a male HUBER relative, I now know the Y-DNA haplogroup of JACOB HUBER Sr who died Oct 8, 1803 in Berlin, Somerset Co PA.
His Y-DNA haplogroup is I2b1* which has recently been renamed I2a2a.
Please contact me if you are researching ancestors with the HUBER or HOOVER surname who have this Y-DNA haplogroup.
© Betty Tartas 2012
