Written in the early 1900's by William Hall.
Like many of the early German pioneers who came to Pennsylvania between the years 1727 and 1808, the records of the past history of John Philip Wagaman are not very definitely known. So far as we have been able to gather, at the present time, prior to his landing in Philadelphia on September 1st, 1736, we have very little data. Perhaps as we study the history of these early German pioneers, more information will be secured which will help in establishing his past record. Fortunately, the records of the landing of these pioneers at Philadelphia have been preserved and their declarations are on file in the State Library at Harrisburg, PA.
Quoting from the records of Dr. Samuel M. Wagaman of Hagerstown, Maryland, we have the following statements:
"Ulrich Wagaman, a Pastor of the Reformed congregation in Zurich was, as far as can be authenticated, by recorded narrative, the ancestor of John Philip Wagaman, who was born in the Palatinate County in 1717, and at the age of nineteen left his native land to seek religious freedom and civil liberty in the New World. He landed in Philadelphia in 1736 and sought out the fertile lands in the interior of Penn's Forest where he established his home and his family."
"Into this family were born seven sons; and as to daughters, we are not reliably informed. At least four of these sons fought with the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War and survived the hazards of the battlefields. Two of these sons cam to Western Pennsylvania and became the progenitors of the two large families of Wagamans and their descendants west of the Alleghenies. Other sons went into different parts of the Eastern portion of the State and one down into Maryland."
On a recent trip to Easton, Pa., an examination of the records was made to ascertain the facts as to John Philip Wagaman and Sussannah Wagaman, his wife. The records are very meager and do not give many facts but we have noted the following:
The records in the estate of Philip Waggonman, (John Philip Wagaman) show that he left no will and letters of administration were granted to Sussannah Waggonman, widow, who signed the bond by her mark and her bondsmen were Nicholas Meyer and Michael Teiber. An Inventory and Appraisement was filed May 27, 1773 amounting to 114 pounds made by Daniel Knauss and Bastian Grump. These records are in File NO. 580, Register's Office, Easton, PA. No account was filed.
The records in the estate of Sussannah Waggonman show that she died without any will, and Letters of Administration were granted to Nicholas Meyer who signed the bond dated March 24, 1775 which was also signed by Anthony Lorch. These records are in file No. 626 in the Register's Office at Easton, Pa.
In order to gather as much information as we can for the future records of the Wagaman (Waugaman) Clan, we have attached charts to be filled out showing the Family Record and the Genealogical Record of the different members of the association. We desire to have these filled out and returned as directed and they will be filed with the other data of the Wagaman Association. When we have sufficient data arranged, we hope to be able to publish the same in book form for the convenience of the members.
{A hand sketched family tree indicating the seven sons as Philip, Jacob, John, William, George (Peter), Christian, Casper and one line listing only girl in paranthesis.}
AND NOW..............
Aimee Stout's notes and revisions to Bill Hall's paper:
The above information was written by William (Bill) Hall in the early 1900's, Bill researched the Wageman family over many years, and was widely traveled in his research. It is unknown to me where or who is in possession of his original research is now.
While most of Bill's research is currently "documentable", there are numerous assumptions and errors that need to be noted:
*The first is Johan Philip's
birthdate. His age, as he provided on the ship's list, was 23 in 1736.
This makes his birthdate 1713, not 1717.
*A marriage date of 1740
is mentioned in some references by Hall for Johan Philip and Susannah,
but I have never seen documentation of this date.
*A complicated issue which I think I have finally put to rest "Philip/Philip mix-up"
Bill incorrectly assumed that the Philip (and sibling Jacob) of Franklin County were the children of Johan Philip and Susannah Wageman. Through original documents, I have been able to prove that Philip and Jacob and not children of Johan Philip..... but most likely are children of a brother of Johan Philip.
Family records from the Philip-Jacob line indicate that their father was Jacob, born in 1720 (family records, but no solid documentation). It is ASSUMED that this is the Jacob (probably Johan Jacob) who emigrated to the US in 1743, however, this is not yet proven with documentation.
The Franklin County Philip, as well shall call him for this document, appears to have been 10-12 years younger than Johan Philip's son Philip (also Johan Philip....). Bill Hall cites him as being his revolutionary war ancestor and the son of Johan Philip Sr. While I am not familiar with Mr. Hall's lineage, I can prove that this Philip is not the son of Johan Philip, Sr.
I have a copy of a deed for Franklin County Philip, from a sale of his land in 1794, which states his wife's name as Christina. It appears that they moved to Adams County after the sale of their land.
Johan Philip's son Philip, married Anna Maria (Mary) Greisher circa 1787-1788, presumably in Berks County. They resided there until early 1790, when they migrated to Bedford County. Their son John was born and baptised in Berks County in 1789, and documentation for his birth and baptism, as well as court, tax, and land records in Berks and Bedford Counties, firmly establishes Johan Philip's son as the Berks to Bedford Philip. I have copies of tax records from both counties, copies of original documents (some in German) for Philip in Berks and Bedford, and land, court and church records from both counties. Some of these are posted in the filing cabinet, others will be posted soon.
It is important to note that BOTH Philips were revolutionary war soldiers. This documentation is easily found in the books produced by the Pennsylvania Archives.
Children of both Franklin County Philip and sibling Jacob continued to live in Franklin County PA. It appears that some may have also migrated to Adams County (next door) PA, as indicated by later census findings......
Because of the naming patterns,
I strongly believe that Jacob Sr (b. 1720) and Johann Philip (b. 1713)
were brothers. That is MY assumption!
*CHILDREN OF JP and SUSANNAH:
I am unaware of any primary source which lists the children of Johan Philip and Susannah - or even mentions a number of children. One thing that I note that Bill Hall may have missed is Orphan's Court Records. Since Johan Philip and Susannah both died without wills, if there was land and/or personal property involved, then surely there are Orphan's court records regarding their estates, if only limited to an accounting of the estates or a widow's inventory/sale. I will be investigating that further.....
Through church, civil, and family records, we can firmly establish the male children as: Nicholas, Peter, Philip and John (Johannes). All of the boys' names were probably prefixed by "Johan", as this was a standard German naming pattern. While some sources state that there is a son Jacob who was born in 1756, I can find no documentation to prove this claim, although it is possible that he was a sibling who died during or shortly after the war, and for whom no church records exist (not married, no children...). I do find adequate documentation to support the claim of several daughters - including Maria Magdalena, Maria Dorothea, and possibly Anna Susannah.
Bill Hall mentions some other male names, most of whom can be accounted for in other families, ie: Jacob and Philip (Franklin County, father Jacob?); Christian, William and John (Bedford to Ohio, originally from ?, father Christian Martin ?), and Casper (brother to Christian Martin). A George is also mentioned as being the same person as Peter. I cannot find anything to prove that claim. A George Wagaman fought in the Revolutionary War and later moved to NY, but I suspect him to be from a different family, or from the Delaware (Dutch) Wagamans, as no civil or church records indicate a link with Johan Philip.
Casper and Christian Martin were already in the colonies (and land-holding adults) by 1730, as indicated by tax records in Vincent Twp., Chester County, so its not possible that either one is a child of Johan Philip. It is possible that they are siblings of Johan Philip........ A younger Casper shows up later in York and Adams counties, but I suspect him to be the son of Casper or CM.
Christian, William, and John are the siblings who moved to Bedford by 1750 or so. I strongly suspect, but have yet to prove, that they are sons of Christian Martin Wagaman. The three moved to Ohio together at the turn of the century. It is said that William was "lame", as documented in some source that I unfortunately cannot recall at the moment. Some prominent researcher of this family include John McPhee of California, Paul Wagaman of Utah (who literally wrote the book), Martin Wagaman of Wisconsin, and Ruth Hamdorf, as well as several others I cannot recall.
*A comment on the religious freedom and civil liberty quote by Dr. Wagaman:
I do not believe that Johan Philip emigrated for religious freedom, since his family was already Lutheran, and presumably lived in a very Lutheran section of Germany (which was mostly Lutheran by the 1700's). The most believable reason for his emigration was to find a better life - economically speaking - and possibly civil liberty/personal freedom.
At the time of JP's emigration, Germany was continuing to suffer from years of hardship and the difficulties resulting from years of devastating weather and prior "years and years" of warfare.
Most Germans who left at
this time were seeking "a better life" in the colonies. They were lured
by the promise of cheap and abundant land, fertile land, and a civil society
that was not as personally invasive and taxing (literally - the taxes were
too high for most common people) as in Germany at the time. These were
reasons to emigrate much more so (at that time) than seeking religious
freedom, which they already had in Germany.
*My final thoughts:
If I could "assume-away" for the moment, I would assume that Johan Philip and (Anna) Susannah Wageman had these children: Johan Philip, Johannes, Nicholas, Peter, maybe Jacob?, Maria Magdalena, Maria Dorothea, and Anna Susannah. Johan Philip may be descended from the Wagenmann families at Lambsheim Germany, with father possibly Hans Jacob Wagemann, and siblings Abraham, Christmartin (Christian Martin), Veronika, Jacob and others...... Grandfather Hans Valentin of Lambsheim. And why not have the famous? Hans Ulrich Wageman, reformed mover and shaker of Zurich, Switz. as the great grandfather??!!! : )
I am unsure of this lineage, but I would like to think that it's a good shot! More research into German census and church records may reveal the truth. See the file on "Lineage Clues..." for more info on the Lambsheim families.
I think the best we can do is to continue researching and unwinding the complicated history of our Wageman families (of all spellings!). We must network to share information and remain open-minded to all possibilities. If we continue to do this, we will hopefully one day be able to uncover the histories of our families.
Aimee Stout,
PO Box 155,
Manns Choice, PA 15550
waugerman@hotmail.com
January 2000