|
a.
|
Note: There is reason to believe that the date of death of Samuel Newhouse on his headstone might be in error. Samuel's Last Will & Testament was signed June 13, 1864; later added, "Legally Proved and Approved this 16th day of July A.D. 1864, Same day Recorded and Letters Testamentary issued to John Lenhart and William Job Executors who were sworn before me" (signed) Wm C Guffey Regr
The following is recorded on the last page of the Will: " Westmoreland County,Ss
Before me Wm. C. Guffey Register of Wills __ in and for said County personally appeared the __ John Jones and Robert Job two of the subscribing Witnesses to the foregoing written will of Samuel Newhouse deceased...
Sworn and subscribed before me this 16th day of July A.D. 1864 (signed) Wm. C Guffey Register"
Did he die on or before July 16, or did he die July 31? An early church record of the Denmark Manor Lutheran Church, now known as St. John's Lutheran Church Boquet shows Samuel and Elisabeth Neuhaus, the parents of Abraham, who was born November 27, 1818. Public records Anglicized the surname to Newhouse.
Denmark Manor was not Danish. The land was intended to be sold by the Penn family to a Danish aristocrat, but the deal never came about. The church was German Lutheran.
Samuel appears for the first time in the 1820 Census. Only 6 Newhouse names are listed for all of Pennsylvania (five in Westmoreland Co. and one in Philadelphia). The Newhouse/Neuhaus name is not common at this time, so we might assume that all are related.
In the 1830 Census, Samuel is listed along with 6 other Newhouses for Pennsylvania. Four of the 7 are in Westmoreland Co., PA. About 1838, an Anthony Newhouse from Prussia, Germany resided in Pittsburgh. He was naturalized September 14, 1840. He is unlikely to be related and does not appear in the 1850 Census.
A puzzle occurs in 1834. Two references state that Christina Newhouse was born on March 23, 1834. This conflicts with Christena who was born December 25, 1825 to the same parents (no other parents by the same names are found in Western PA before 1850). We might assume: 1. The first child died or 2. A middle name was used as the first name. The first case can probably be ruled out because we find the marriage of Christena Newhouse to Joseph Dibler recorded on April 17, 1845. The second Christina had to be 11 years old at the time. The mystery becomes more complicated. The 1880 census of E. Huntington Twp., Westmoreland Co., PA lists a Christena Dibler age 43, which places her birth at about 1837! The same Christena is listed in the 1870 Census of Salem Twp., Westmoreland Co., PA , age 40! The ages of the children, however, remains consistent. Also the 1870 Census notes she cannot write. It is also possible that the marriage date is wrong. In that case Christena would be the one born in 1834.
The 1860 Census shows that four of Samuel's children ( Eliza, Jacob, Josiah and Catherine) lived on his farm, including Eliza's illegitimate daughter Mary. Three other sons (Robert, John and Abraham) lived in dwellings on or next to the farm. Christina (Dibler) and Samuel Jr. lived elsewhere.
Eliza was about 15 when she gave birth to Mary around 1847. Samuel left in his Will, dated June 13, 1864, the farm (212 acres) to sons Jacob and Josiah and a 39 acre tract to daughters Eliza and Catharine, and Eliza's daughter Mary. Any money left after all debts were paid was to be divided among all children, share and share alike. The ten children were: Abraham Newhouse, Samuel Newhouse Jr., Christina Dibler, Eliza Newhouse, John Newhouse, George Newhouse, Catharine Little, Jacob Newhouse, Robert Newhouse, and Josiah Newhouse. However, it appeared that Samuel had purchased another tract of land (46 acres) from Sarah Earnest on April 2, 1862 with promisory notes. He received no deed since he died before making the last payment ($50). His son John claimed at Court that Samuel sold the land to him in July just before he died. The court decided that the deed be awarded to John Newhouse upon payment of promisory notes to the executor of the estate and the final payment to Sarah Earnest.
The final distribution among heirs was made on January 23, 1874. At the time all ten children were living and named in the distribution.
Samuel's tombstone at Delmont is in 5'th row in front of "MARTZ" monument. and next to Saxman.
|
