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Note: ption and the family bible. The bible, which was printed in German and published in 1813, is in the possession of Marguerite Witt. Michael was born in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and died in Medina Co., Ohio, at the age of 87 on 11 Sept. 1854. michael, his wife, and several members of their family were buried in the Greenhoe Family Cemetery in Liverpool Twp., medina Co., at the corner of Neff and Erhart roads. Michael married Otilia Seebold, daughter of Christopher and Barbara Seebold, about 1795, probably in what is now Limestone Twp., Union Co., Pennsylvania, which is where her family lived at the time. Otilia was born on 24 Nov 1774 in Lebanon Co., Pa. She died at the age of 83 on the 6 of April 1858 in Medina Co. According to a obituary in a Lutheran Church newspaper (printed in German), "...more than 30 years ago [she] was introduced to ministers of the Lutheran religion. She joined this Church and was a respected member until her death. She leaves behing 10 children, 90 grandchildren and 61 great-grandchildren to whom she was their beloved mother and grandmother." The name of Michael's father is uncertain, but it is believed to be Andrew Greenhoe, who was listed as the head of household in the first federal census of 1790 in Northumberland C., Pa. He first appeared on the tax rolls of this country in 1783. To speculate even further, this Andrew may be the Americanized name for "Andereas Grunau" who was a passenger on a ship which landed in Pennsylvania in September 1753 (Pennsylvania German Pioneers, Strassburger 1934). According to a biographical sketch of Michael's grandson, Benjamin Reighley, in a "Standard History of Erie Co., Ohio" (Peeke 1916, 754), the first members of the Greenhoe family "were poor when they emigrated and had to spend some months after their arrival in this country working out as indentured servants to pay for their passage across the ocean." An account of Otilia's parents and siblings can be found in "The Descendants of Christopher Seebold I, son of Lenhart Zebolt or Seebold, (Clarence Seebold, Mifflinburg, Pa., 1975). Her father, Christopher, was born in Wurtemburg, Germany, about 1743 and came to America in August 1750 with his father, Lenhart. In 1760 Christopher married Barbara Specht or Spade (1743-1825). They had 8 children including Otilia, who were all born in what is now Lebanon Co., Pa. Christopher served as a private in the Pennsylvania ilitia during the Revolutionary War. About 1790 they moved to what is now Limestone Twp., Union Co., Pa, about two miles west of New Berlin (note: part of this land is still owned by 6th generation descendants of Christopher). The land contained a sawmill and a gristmill which Christopher operated until his death. He also opened a distillery in 1793. Christopher died on 7 of May 1813 and he and his wife were buried at New Berlin in the cemetery behing what was then the Reformed Lutheran Church. The 1800 census of east Buffalo Twp., Northumberland Co., listed Michael Greenhoe as a farmer. He owned a sawmill in White Deer Twp., Northumberland Co., in 1797 according to the "Annals of Buffalo Valley" (Linn, 310). In 1806 Michael bought 32 acres of land from Andrew Greenhoe (his Father?). which he sold 3 years later. Michael was still listed as a farmer in the 1810 census East Buffalo Twp., Twelve of Michael and Otilia's 13 children were born in Pennsylvania. Around 1818 Michael and Otilia's large family moved to Wayne Co., Ohio, where their last child, Henry, was born in 1819. A biographical sketch of Michael's grandson, John Greenhoe, Jr., in the "Portrait and Biographical Album of Hillsdale Co., Mich.," (Chapman Bros. 1888, 377) provides this account of his grandfather: "his father, John Greenhoe, and his paternal grandfather, Michael Greenhoe, were natives of Pennsylvania, whence the latter removed to Wayne Co., Ohio, during the early settlement of that State.
Note: Michael Greenhoe was born on 27 Apr 1767 according to both his tombstone inscri
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