Revised 7/18/2017. Copyright @2017; The following Documentary Timeline has been compiled and created by Paul Rhetts. It may be copied for research purposes; but it may not be reproduced for inclusion in any printed or electronic distribution of any kind without the express written permission of the author. Any requests to use this information should be sent to Paul Rhetts, LPDPress@q.com.



John Peter WOLFENSBARGER (1721-1788) m. Hannah SUMNER (1734-1775)
s/o John Erhart (Adam) Wolfensbarger (1695-1761) and Anna Margaret Ensminger (1697-1777)
d/o Robert SUMNER (1716-1779) and Phoebe BEALS (1725-1805)
p/o John Wolfensbarger (1754-1840)


16 Oct 1721 John Peter WOLFENSBARGER born at Alsace, Lorraine, France [AFN: 3F27-BV] [Need to separate these two: Johan Peter Wolfenspargur Wolfersberger, born October 16, 1721 in Mattstall, Germany; died Bef. October 1802 in Heidelberg, Tns. Lebanon Co. Pa.; married (1) Elizabeth Wolfersberger; married (2) Appolonia  Bunner Abt. 1744. And John (Wolfensparger) Wolfensberger, born Abt. 1730 in Alcase; died November 08, 1788 in Shenandoah, Va.; married Hannah Summer 1751 in Shenandoah, Va [??m. (1) Appolonia BRUNNER (1721-1783)??]


1727 John Wolfersberger Sr (Epiphany Sunday there for the third time; and after that married there Monday, the 27 January, John Wolffisberger, legitimate son of John Erhard Woffisberger, citizen at Wolschheim, and Anna Margaretha, legitimate maiden daughter of Phillipp Entsminger, a (black)smith and resident of Mattstail) was living at Langensoultzbach. French records give data on his marriage and on three of their children. A sister of Margaret's and several brothers also came to Pennsylvania in the following years. (Johan Peter was born Thursday, 16 October 1721, at Mattstall; baptized there Sunday, 19 October; son of John Wolffissberger and Anna Margaretha born Entzminger. Godparents were John Peter Knobel, carpenter there; and John Emming, citizen and nailsmith in Uttenhoffen, bath Reform. Rel.; also Maria Catharina Trauttmlinn, wife of John Peter Entzminger, citizen and smith in Mattstall. On 8 September 1727, Maria Ursula is is buried in Soultzbach. Aged 3 years, 10 days, she is the daughter of Hans Woffenberger and Margaretha Ensminger. 1 June 1727, Soultzbach. Johannes Wolffsberger and his wife Margaretha Enszminger,, have a little son who is baptized and named Jacob Friederich. Godparents are Jacob Bohli, Gastgeber at Lowen; Anna Maria, wife of Jacob Sagerberger; John Friedrich Miiller, son of Hans Miiller, miller; and Maria Elisabetha, surviving daughter of Hans Michael Weymer. (Mattstall - LDS film 767, 276; Langensoultzbach - LDS 717, 147) (Aboard the Thistle were 260 persons (77 families) on board. Braun identified 89 persons (27 families). Seventy-three came from the region around Ludwigshiifen on the Rhine River. Margaret Ensminger's father, Philip Jr, was born about 1666. About 1691 he married Elizabeth at Waldhambach, Alsace. His father, Philip Sr, b 1639, died there in 1712. Philip Ensminger Jr left Waldhambach about 1695. He appears in Mattstall records between 1719-1723 and in Langensoultzbach records from 1723-25. It is not known where or when he died or where Margaret was born in 1697.)

1730 Wolfensbarger and Ensminger families immigrated to Philadelphia on the ship The Thistle. [Father Johann Erhardt, mother Anna Margaretha Ensminger; Child Wolffensperger, Jacob Friedrich; Child Wolffensperger, Johan Peter [BELL, RAYMOND MARTIN. "European Origins." In Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine, vol. 33:3 (1984), pp. 204-210.] [BURGERT, ANNETTE K. Eighteenth Century Emigrants from the Northern Alsace to America. Camden, ME: Picton Press, 1992. p. 548] (Upon John's arrival, he first moved to Cocalico, Lancaster County; then moved later to what is now Lebanon County)

20 Feb 1734 John WOLFENSBARGER Sr received grant for 100 ac patented in 1741 to Ludwig Mohler

11 Apr 1744 John WOLFENSBARGER Sr was naturalized in Philadelphia and received 2nd land grant of 671 ac which were patented to his heirs 6 May 1761 (to sons Peter, Frederick, John, and Philip and dau. Catherine wife of Jacob Frey, and Anna Mary wife of Martin Hefflefinger)

1734 Hannah SUMNER born at Shenandoah, VA

3 Jul 1739 John Peter WOLFENSBARGER listed as sponsor at baptism of John Peter Schmidt/Smith (s/o Peter Schmidt/Smith and Elizabetha Ensminger) at Muddy Creek Lutheran Church at East Cocalico, Lancaster, PA (doc)

1751 John Peter WOLFENSBARGER and Hannah SUMNER married at Shenandoah, VA. John and Hannah lived in Pennsylvania until after the births of their first two children, also named John and Hannah. They moved to Shenandoah County, VA where John came to own a large property. Peter, Benjamin, Frederick, and another John, were born in Shenandoah County [DAR Lineage Book Vol 164-1921, p.256 states Hannah as wife of John Wolfenbarger (doc]

abt 1752 Peter WOLFENSBARGER born at Lebanon Co., PA, d. Bet. 1833 -1834, Knox Co., TN; married on 26 Jul 1788 in Shenandoah Co., VA Susannah (Milly) Miller, Mueler, born 1759 in PA (possibly 1747?); died 1800 in Greenbriar, W.V., daughter of Jacob Pedersen Moller, Miller, Mueler (Rev War Veteran)

17 Aug 1754 John WOLFENSBARGER (Sparger) born at Lebanon Co., PA, d. November 17, 1840, Springtown, Highland, Ohio; married in 1777 in Friedberg, Surry Co., NC Christina Frye, born 22 Nov 1759 in Heidelberg, Lancaster Co., PA; died 1830 in Surry Co., NC, daughter of Johann Valentine Frye and Anna Maria Barbara Binckele [John, Jr purchased 2 lots in Woodstock, VA on 3 April 1769. He had moved from PA a short time before that date. All of his children were born in Lebanon Co, PA] [All of his children were born in or near Surry County, NC. After Christina died he moved to Highland County, OH, with his son Henry where he joined three other of his sons Joseph, Reuben and Phillip, who had already settled there.] [John W. Spargur went to Ohio with [son] Henry W. and Susannah Roberts (Spargur) and their daughter) Maletha b, 24 Oct 1817. Henry W. and Susannah were married in Surry, NC, 25 Oct 1816. Maletha married Daniel Roads 26 Feb 1837.] (Rev War Veteran)

abt 1756 Frederick WOLFENSBARGER born at Lebanon Co., PA, died aft 1790 in Greenbrier, WV; married in 1777 in NC Elizabeth Wolfensbarger, Maiden Unk

Abt 1758 Benjamin WOLFENSBARGER born at Lebanon Co., PA, died 1812 in Wythe Co., VA; married (1) Elizabeth Miller; (2) on 7 Aug1780 in Wythe Co., VA Catherine Brown

Abt 1760 Hannah WOLFENSBARGER born at Lebanon Co., PA, died 7 Feb 1788; married (1) on 7 Jan 1778 in St Thomas Church/Parrish, Orange Co., VA John  (I) Gillock, born 1750 in Orange Co., VA; died 7 Apr 1783 in Woodstock, VA, will probated, son of Laurence Gillock and Elizabeth Jane or Jane Elizabeth (MNU but think it is Lindsay) Gillock; (2) on 1 Jun 1784 in Shenandoah, Co VA George Wood(s)

13 Sep 1761 John Peter WOLFENSBARGER was naturalized

Abt 1761 Philip WOLFENSBARGER born at Lebanon Co., PA, d. October 01, 1852, Pike Co., Ohio; married (1) Catherine Cooper; (2) on 4 May 1786 in Shenandoah Co., VA Catherine Pennewitt [Rev War Veteran: PVT in VA, PNSR (pensioned soldier).]

Abt 1763 Mary Catherine WOLFENSBARGER born at Lebanon Co., PA, d. 1795 in unk place; married on 25 Mar 1782 in VA Martin Miller

Abt 1765 Joseph WOLFENSBARGER born at Lebanon Co., PA, d. 1808, Shenandoah, VA; married (1) Ann McGovern; (2) on 3 May 1791 Elizabeth Hoy

Abt 1768 Barbara WOLFENSBARGER born at Lebanon Co., PA, d. Abt. 1795; married Joseph SKINNER 2 Apr 1788

6 Mar 1771 No record of John is found in Pennsylvania after the transaction concerning land formerly belonging to his father John, but reference is found in the History of Shenandoah County, VA, by John W. Wayland on page 523, where John Wolfenberger (Note they were all called Wolfenbergers in Shenandoah County) with others took oath as Vestrymen in Beckford Parish on March 6, 1771. It will be shown later that this John was the father of John who settled in North Carolina and is without doubt the "man named Wolfesperger who formerly lived near Lititz but is now in Virginia" mentioned in the Moravian Records in North Carolina in December 1776.

1770s John Peter WOLFENSBARGER military experience Patriotic Service in Shenandoah, Virginia Abercrombie & Slatten, VA Rev Pub Claims, Vol 3, pp 843, 845 [DAR #A127509/SAR#163783]

1 Dec 1775 Hannah SUMNER died at Woodstock, Shenandoah, VA

1776 John Wolfenbarger moved to Surry County, NC in about 1776 where he changed his name from WOLFENBARGER or WOLFENSBERGER to SPARGER. [This could be son Peter (1752)

5 Jun 1781 John Wolfenbarger purchased land in Shenandoah County, VA. Deed Book C p. 433, Deed Book K p. 496. [This could be son Peter (1752)

29 Aug 1782 In a list of claims produced and ordered to be certified, County of Shenandoah, Virginia, Aug 29, 1782: John Wolfenberger for hire of a horse received.2 L 10 S 00 P [Public Service Claims of Shenandoah County, in the Virginia State Library at Richmond]

1783 John Peter WOLFENSBARGER listed on Shenandoah Valley, VA Tax list, p064

1785 A History of Shenandoiah County, VA, Chapter XIII, Heads of Families, 1785: lists on p. 231 shows for Pugh’s list taken in Woodstock and vicinity from river to North Mountain: Wolfenberger, John: 6 1 1 ; Peter 8; Benja 3 (doc)

8 Nov 1788 John Peter WOLFENSBARGER died at Shenandoah, VA; Burial: Woodstock, Shenandoah, VA [footnote in the WFA database under John & Hannah Wolfensberger and the probability they are buried in the old cemetery where a courthouse and church have since been built. These buildings were erected in what is the main intersection, Court & Main Streets in "downtown" Woodstock, Virginia. In the library at Edinburg, VA I found what may tend to confirm that information: A book, Early Woodstock Facts and Photographs by Joseph B. Clower, Jr. (The Woodstock Museum, 1996), pages 15 & 16: "In 1774 Abraham Brubaker deeded lots 113 and 144 to the vestrymen of Beckford Parish to be used for a church building and a graveyard. (In today's street terminology these are the lots on the south side of East Court St. between Main and Church Streets.) The Episcopalians did not erect a church building on their property until 1882, but before that a sizeable graveyard had developed on the Main Street corner. The origin of that graveyard must have dated back to the early settlement of the community. It was probably an extension of the "many grassy mounds" around the old village church.... When the old log church was torn down in the mid-19th century, the graves around the church may have been moved to the corner lot, or else covered over. Fred Painter used to say that many of our Revolutionary ancestors are buried under the asphalt on Court Street. It is rather obvious that this Episcopal graveyard was the oldest burial site in Woodstock. There are numerous references in the local newspaper to the neglected condition of this graveyard. As Late as 1869 the Editor of the paper wrote these scathing comments: "While we may question the taste of our ancestors in selecting a burial ground in the center of the town, they would certainly find fault with the negligence that permits the place, rendered sacred by the ashes of those whom we loved and respected to be thrown open as the tramping ground of hogs and cattle...It should be made a matter of concern to the community, for if it does not soon receive some attention it will be almost impossible to distinguish one grave from another. We hope someone will take the matter in hand, and by a little labor remove from the community this burning reproach of neglecting the graves of our fathers." The maintenance of that graveyard had apparently been a matter of concern for many years. In 1842, Samuel C. Williams, Mark Bird, and John Koontz, or any two of them, were appointed trustees to sell part of the Episcopal property to get funds for enclosing and otherwise improving the burial ground of the church."] [one sources says death was 18 Nov 1788]

14 May 1792 John Peter WOLFENSBARGER’s property was sold at a sale on May 14, 1792, the proceeds of which amounted to 84 pounds and one shilling and 10 ½ pence. The Administrator's itemized account of disbursements in the settlement of the estate show that he paid out fourteen shillings and six pence more than the receipts of the sale.

29 Sep 1795 Sept 29, 17?5 the following record is found Peter Wolfenberger and Susan his wife, Frederick and Catherine his wife, Phillipp Wolfenbarger and Hannah his wife, Martin Miller and Mary his wife, Jacob Wolfenbarger and Nancy his wife, of Shenandoah County, VA, and JOHN WOLFENBARGER ANDCHRISTINA HIS WIFE, of Surry County, NC, children and heirs children and heirs deceased, to Benjamin Wolfenberger of the County of Shenandoah, two lots in the town of Woodstock of which John Wolfenberger died seized and possessed, known as lots 4 and 76 being the same lots one half acre each which were conveyed by Nounce Byrd and Clara his wife to Peter Wolfenberger by deed of lease and release May 24, 1780. Benjamin Wolfenberger who bought the land from thee state was also one of John's sons and qualified as Administrator of his estate. According to the final settlement filed with the Court Sept 10, 1792, he died about Nov 18, 1788 and in the record of disbursement is an item paid David Jordan (School Master), six shillings for reading the funeral service at the burial of the deceased.


Sources:
John Wolfersberger, Alsace to Pennsylvania, 1730 by Raymond Martin Bell, Cleta W. Smith
Publisher R.M. Bell, 1983
Church records of the Millbach Reformed Congregation, Millbach Township, Lebanon County, 1747-1875 by William J. Hinke. Typescript records at Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. by Filby, P. William, ed. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Research, 2012.
BURGERT, ANNETTE K. Eighteenth Century Emigrants from the Northern Alsace to America. Camden, ME: Picton Press, 1992. 690p.
History of Shenandoah County Virginia pages8, 45, 95, 96, 124, 131-134, 709-713. Also references John, Peter, Benjamin Wolfenbarger pg 231, and John (Johannes) Wolfenbarger/Wolfensberger Jn as Vestryman-Beckford Parish pg 523
The Wolfensberger Wolfersberger Family, Switzerland, Alsace-Lorraine France, and Pennsylvania by Raymond Martin Bell 1999