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Note: PARENTS: The source for the marriage of Franz Joseph and Anna Dorothea is Nazareth and Bethlehem Moravian Church records at the Moravian Archive facility in Bethlehem, PA.
"Franz Joseph Ludwig, farmer and butcher in Bethlehem, married Anna Riply, b.8 Jun.1773 in Cumberland Co., MD, on 16 May 1796."
Cumberland County, MARYLAND must either be a mistake in transcription from researcher Richard Musselman or a mistake in the original entry as the records below indicate Anna Dorothea's birth was in Cumberland County, PENNSYLVANIA, and records of Anna Dorothea's brother's birth and father Ludwig's residence on the 1800 census are both in Bedford County, PENNSYLVANIA, which was created out of Cumberland in 1771.
The sources for the dates and places of the birth of Franz Joseph Ludwig are the Miscellaneous Bethlehem Moravian Church Catalogues. Miscellaneous Bethlehem Church Catalogues:
(1800 Catalogue): Franz Joseph Ludwig, b. 25 May 1766, Wenewitz, Silesia, brickmaker & butcher, joined church at Niesky in 1784.
Not only is the town of Wenewitz, Silesia given as Franz Joseph's birthplace, but the catalogue states that he joined the Moravians in Neisky in 1784. He is listed as a butcher and brickmaker in this 1800 catalogue. He is listed as a farmer in the birth entry for Jacob Andreas and Louisa Friederica. Subsequent research has found Wenewitz to be either a mispelling or corruption of Wanowitz, which is in present day Poland, formerly Austrian or Prussian Silesia.
Franz Joseph Ludwig entered America on the ship, Patsy Rutledge, which came into the port of Philadelphia on September 27, 1786. His name is listed as Frances Joseph Lewdwig. Source: STRASSBURGER, RALPH BEAVER. Pennsylvania German Pioneers: A Publication of the Original Lists of Arrivals in the Port of Philadelphia from 1727 to 1808. Edited by William John Hinke. Norristown [PA]: Pennsylvania German Society, 1934. 3 vols. Vols. 1 and 3 reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1964. Repr. 1983. Vol. 3. 1785-1808. 709p. Page 17
The sources for the dates and places of the birth of Anna Ripley are the Miscellaneous Bethlehem Moravian Church Catalogues. Miscellaneous Bethlehem Church Catalogues:
(1800 Catalogue): Anna (Ribly) Ludwig, b. 8 Jul. 1773, Cumberland Co., PA, joined church at Bethlehem in 1791, 3 sons, 5 daughters.
(1790 Catalogue): Anna Ribly, daughter of Ludwig& Maria Ribly, b. 8 Jul. 1773, Bedford, PA
The information on Anna Ribly given in the 1790 catalogue states she is the daughter of Ludwig and Maria Ribly and born in Bedford, PA. This could refer to either Bedford County or Bedford township, which is in that county. This seems to conflict with the above catalogue which states she was born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. As Bedford County was created out of Cumberland County in 1771 and Anna was born in 1773, it would not be uncommon to refer to either place name. I have listed her birthplace as Bedford township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania.
The source for Anna's death year as 1850 is based on the legal documents from the Lehigh County Miscellaneous Deed Books cited under the notes of son in law Johann Adam Schmetzer.
In 2011 I hired a professional researcher to search the old German records of Wanowitz and look for the birth of Franz Joseph Ludwig, since we had the name of his birthplace and a date. She was unable to find his birth record and her e mail correspondence is as follows:
"December 30
I checked the numbers you had for films and found that they pertained to other localities of similar names. I did find a film for a Catholic Church, for which baptisms begin in 1865. This is most likely the correct locality; there are lots of Ludwig entries. I found one Franz Joseph Ludwig born in March 1767, but sadly, he died as a small child. The only Ludwig child born/ baptized in May 1766 was a girl. However, I will go through one more time, just in case I missed him the first time around. Some of the writing was pretty scrunched. I believe I counted eight or nine different Ludwig fathers having children baptized between 1765 and 1769.
Baerbel
This locality also had a Lutheran church in 1912, for which we do not have the records. The next step, then, would be to find out when those records began and if they still exist and where.
December 31, 2011
The film I checked was 0973073, the Catholic register of Wanowitz, Kreis Leobschuetz, Schlesien. The book that covers 1711 to 1764 seems to be missing; at least the gap is in all three registers filmed.
In Germany duplicate copies were not required to be kept until close to or in the 19th Century, and then only in some areas and for a limited time. So, unless someone copied the records at some point, there really is only one copy.
I didn't get a chance to re-check the records yesterday, but will do so next week. I also noticed that the film for Hohndorf, and affiliate of Wanowitz parish, which began keeping its own records in 1867, includes an index that goes back to the beginnings in the 1600s. I will check that index as well to see if the Wanowitz baptisms are included, and if the index contains another possible candidate.
January 4, 2012
I have since looked at a 1901 inventory of the Schlesien church records and found out that even then that book 1711-1764 was missing. Also I learned from that that prior to 1900 the Lutherans attended church in Leobschuetz, but their records don’t begin until the 1760’s, so too late for your ancestor.
Birth dates, especially in another country, are often inaccurate, so checking a range of dates is routine when the person is not found.
I haven’t had time to re-check the register as I planned, but will do so as soon as I can.
As far as describing the place, I would describe it as town, county, state, country Wanowitz, Leobschuetz, Schlesien, Preussen, Germany or Silesia, Prussia, Germany if you prefer. The objective is to identify the locality in such a way that it is unique and can’t be mistaken as another locality."
When asked about what is meant by the first paragraph above, Baerbel answered in a subsequent e mail:
"Yes, the 1711-1764 book was a separate volume of church records that has apparently been lost since before 1901.
Feb 14, 2012
Last Saturday I finally searched the parishes around Wanowitz. In Hohndorf the affiliate, which has an early index but no records, I found a Franz Joseph Ludwig baptized in 1762. I also found Ludwigs in two other parishes, and none at all in the other two. In the next few days I'll send you a detailed list of all the places and films I searched.
I suspect that Franz Joseph Ludwig was really born in Wanowitz, as he said, but may be a year or two earlier. And since the extant records begin with 1765, there is probably no other way to prove it. I did not see any confirmation records there.
It may still be a good idea to check with the parish in Niesky, because sometimes the Brethren actually wrote rather detailed information about their concerts in their registers, more like brief life stories. There is that chance, however small, that his parents may be listed, so that one could connect him to people found in the Wanowitz register.
I am not very concerned about money. I wish we would have found him.
February 15, 2012
Dear Neil,
I checked several films, because I also wanted to include the surrounding parishes, just in case he was baptized in one of them. Last night I started writing a little report for you with all the film numbers and a map. Didn't quite get finished but I will in a day or so. Tonight I need to be at a meeting. There is a gap in Wanowitz between 1714 and 1765; apparently that volume was already missing in the early 1900s, but if we knew the parents' name we could possibly find siblings and the parents' burials and some related family members.
In one of the parish registers [I noted it, but my notes are at home] the pastor, in the early 1930s, wrote in the beginning of the book that a segment from the 19th Century was missing and he had tried in vain to get the Diocesan archive in Olmuetz to send him the duplicate so he could copy it. Eventually he went there in person, picked up the volume, took it home and created a copy. From that I learned about the existence of these duplicates, so yesterday I tried to find out more. In the process I came across a reference to short article in the journal Ostdeutsche Familienkunde [East German Family History Research] about the Prussian parish register duplicates of the Olmuetz diocese. Just now I read it, and am getting excited. These records were required beginning in 1688 by the local archbishop and seem to go into the 19th Century. The article includes a list of extant duplicates in this set, and for Wanowitz they exist from 1688 to 1852 with lots of small gaps, but it looks like the years 1763 and 1764 are there!!!!
Now, the Opawa state archive, section Olomouc, has been putting its holdings of church records on the Internet, and I already checked the list for Wanowitz yesterday, but didn't find the records described in this article. So it's possible that they are available under another spelling or name, or that they are not online. I am waiting for my colleague Sylvie to help me double-check on that.
The article was written in 2007 and the author stated that he has copies of many of the records at home and is willing to give information. So if the records aren't online I can write to him and see if he has them.
Unfortunately I am a compulsive problem solver, as you can see . I really turn over every stone. But how exciting to think that we may yet find Franz Joseph Ludwig's parents! And, with the help of these duplicates it may be possible to trace the family back further and bridge the gap."
This concludes the research letters of Baerbel Johnson. At present (June 2012) the birth record of Franz Joseph Ludwig, with the names of his parents, has not been found.
The source for the death date and burial location of Franz Joseph is his headstone in the Old Allentown cemetery as recorded by distant cousin Ed Ludwig in 2014:
Neil,
"...Located in Old Allentown Cemetery, 10th and Linden Streets, Allentown, Pennsylvania Row 2 of Flat Headstones, 15 sites in from Linden Street
"Denkmal des verstorbenen Frantz J Ludwig Erwundegeboren den 23 May 1766 der Uber Schlesien in Pruszen und starb den 12 April 1831 in dem Alter von 64 Jahren 10 Monnen und 18 Tagen"
Monument to the deceased Frantz J Ludwig who was born the 23rd of May 1766 in Upper Silesia Prussia and died the 12th of April 1831 in age, 64 years, 10 months and 18 days"
CHILDREN:
The source for the dates of birth and baptism for the following children is the Moravian Bethlehem Church Register:
Sarah, pg. 7
Christian David, pg. 20
Abraham, pg. 27
Jacob Andreas and twin, Louisa Friederica, pg. 35
Anna Rosina, pg. 43
The source for the dates of birth (without baptism dates) for the remaining children not found in the above Register are from the Miscellaneous Bethlehem Moravian Church Catalogues:
Maria Elizabeth and Susannah Sulamith, and Anna Dorothea. A note should be included about the entry for Anna Dorothea. Her entry also includes the place of birth as Bethlehem, while the other entries are without birthplace. The date found in the Catalogue for Anna Dorothea's birth is 22 Apr 1796, which is a few weeks before the wedding of her parents on 16 May 1796. The genealogist who located these records for me in February 2011, gave the following explanation:
"Thanks for the observation, I had not caught the marriage and birth date timing. It does raise an interesting question. I checked my notes and found I had not made an error when writing my report, it was as I had recorded them. The next question is.....Did I make a transcription error when reading the original entry? When I ponder your original question, there are a few additional considerations: I believe the Moravians were still controlling the marriages in their society in the 1790's. Marriages were either approved or denied by the church hierarchy. I suspect a 'shotgun' wedding would have been unheard of. It would have been a very disgraceful situation for the individuals and their families. Since their marriage was recorded in the official church records, I suspect this was not the case. I have seen previous instances where unwed mothers and fathers were removed from the community for this type of circumstance. The other troubling fact is that I only found a single Bethlehem Church Catalogue entry listing the three daughters born between 1796 and 1801: Anna Dorothea b.22 Apr.1796, Maria Elisabeth b.7 May 1799 and Susanna Sulamith b.28 Sep.1801. Typical birth spacing for children in the families of this era is a two year gap between births. There are three years between Dorothea in 1796 and Elisabeth in 1799; followed by the more typical two years between Elisabeth and Susanna. I suspect the date for Dorothea is incorrect and should be 1797. Unfortunately we know very little about this oldest daughter. My only suggestion would be to review some additional church records, including the Bethlehem Diary in search of additional references."
Pursuant to the genealogist's suggestion I have entered Anna Dorothea's birth as 1797, rather than the date 1796 entered in the Bethlehem Catalogue
The last three children of Franz Joseph and Anna are listed in the Moravian Bethlehem Church Register as being born in Salisbury township, Northampton, Pennsylvania. As previously mentioned, since only the first daughter, Anna Dorothea, is listed as being born in Bethlehem in 1796/97 (there is a head of household, "Francis" Ludwig, living in Bethlehem on the 1800 census with a family of the requisite size), it is likely that the family moved to Salisbury sometime prior to the birth of Jacob Andreas.
The source for the names of the spouses of Maria Elizabeth, Susannah, and Sarah is the Lehigh County Miscellaneous Deed Bk #2, pp. 437-439. The spouses' approximate birthdates and places of births were found after looking them up on the 1850 or 1860 Lehigh or Northampton County census records.
The dates of death for Anna Rosina and Louisa Friederika are from the regional German language newspaper Unabhaengiger Republikaner:
2 Sep 1824: Anna Rosina, daughter of Frantz Ludwig, South Whitehall, died last Sunday at the age of 9 years. 4 months, 1 day.
16 Sept 1824: Louisa Friederika, daughter of Frantz Joseph Ludwig, South Whitehall, died 8 Sept 1824, at the age of 11 years, 10 months, 23 days.
Certainly Sept 1824 was a sad month for this family.
The source for the date of death for Susan Ludwig is the obituary of her brother, Abraham Ludwig, from 'The Argus', Greenville, Pennsylvania, 1 Dec, 1881.
The source for the date of death for Sarah Ludwig, "after March 1851", is based on the last written record found of her and husband Henry Rinker in the Lehigh County Miscellaneous Deed Bk #5, pp. 60-61.
The source for the death of Abraham Ludwig is an entry in the following book:
WHITE, J. G. A Twentieth Century History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania Vol. II. Pp. 680-81. Lewis Publishing Co. Chicago. 1909. The source for the place of burial is from his great great grandson, Patrick Lawrence in February, 2011.
The source for the marriage of Christian David Ludwig to Lydia Fatzinger is from the Allentown-Whitehall, Lehigh County, PA newspaper index at the Allentown Lehigh County, PA Historical Library with the original copy of the newspaper on microfilm. It can also be seen in record books of the pastor who performed the service.
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