Hubler history W. R. Hubler, Jr., M. D

Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789)

Jacob HUBLER (Dec. 1710 Twann, Canton Bern, Switzerland-May 7, 1789 Jacobsburg,

Plainfield Twp, Northampton Co, PA)

Barbara ?? (ca 1720-1795 Lower Mt. Bethel Twp, Northampton Co, PA) (m ? May 7, 1740 in

Buck County, PA¹²⁴)¹²⁵, ¹²⁶, ¹²⁷, ¹²⁸, ¹²⁹ (? May 7, 1740 Buck Co, PA) ¹³⁰

Jacob HUBLER, Jr. (Oct. 2, 1742¹³¹ PA-1811 PA¹³², ¹³³) (m Catherine ??)¹³⁴

Frederick HUBLER (1745 PA- > 1791) (m Mary > 1781) (see the following summary)

Christina HUBLER (Jun. 14, 1747 PA-Apr. 11, 1813 Lower Mt. Bethel Twp, Northampton

Co, PA) [m Michael Glass (1736-1808) in 1766] (see following summary)

Anna Maria Glass (1768-1843) (m Peter Breidinge then Philip Diely)

Maria Barbara Glass (1771-??) (m Michael Schwartz)

Regina Glass (1773-??) (m Samuel Jones)

Mary Magdalena Glass (1774-??) (m James Jones)

Elizabeth Glass (1776-??) (m Michael Diehl)

Maria Christina Glass (1777-< 1781)

Maria Catharina Glass (1778-1875) (m Adam Meyers)

Christina Glass (1781-??) (m Leonard Kesler)

Maria Margaret Glass (1782-1887) (m John Frey)

Lewis Glass (ca 1783-??) (m Elisabeth Sievely)

Rosina Glass (1785-??) (m ? Stocker)

Eva Glass (1788-??) (m Frederick Diehl)

Michael Glass (1789-1790)

Gottlieb HUBLER (1748 PA- ??) (see the following summary)

Rosanna HUBLER (1749 PA-Sept. 6, 1828) (m Christian Hellman)

(see following summary)

Johannes Hellman (1776-??)

Anna Marie Hellman (1779-??)

Rachel Hellman (1786-1875) (m Nicholas Miltenberger)

Abraham Hellman (1788-1839) (m Catherine Driesbach)

Abraham HUBLER (Feb. 20, 1761 PA-Dec. 23, 1838 PA) (m Susanna ? Mills)¹³⁵ (see

following summary)

Elizabeth HUBLER (Feb. 16, 1798 ¹³⁶- ??) (c May 13, 1798 at Luth and Ref Ch,

Upper Mt. Bethel Twp, Northampton Co, PA—the church began

baptismal records in 1774)¹³⁷ (sponsored by Conrad Hess and Hannah

Mills, single) (m Jacob Becker and had at least 2 daughters)

Catherine HUBLER (July 26, 1800¹³⁸- ??) (c Apr. 26, 1801 at Luth and Ref Ch,

Upper Mt. Bethel Twp, Northampton Co, PA—the church began

keeping baptismal records in 1774¹³⁹) (sponsors were John Mills and

Catharine) (m Joseph Beyl Scheimer in 1818)¹⁴⁰ (at age 16 confirmed on

April 12, 1816 at Luth & Ref Church, Upper Mt. Bethel Twp)

Isaac HUBLER (1764-Aug 16, 1794) (see the following summary)

John HUBLER (? 1765¹⁴¹- ??) (see the following summary)

Biography

(Hans) Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) was probably born in December 1710 in Twann. He was christened in Twann on Jan. 4, 1711.¹⁴² His parents, Hans Jacob HUBLER (1680-ca 1731) and Anna Graussi/Graupi (1683- < 1737) were apparently present. His godfathers were Hans Jakob Engel and Emanuel Teutsch, and his godmother was Elsbeth Perro. When a child was christened in 18^th century Switzerland, he was given the same given name as the godfather (or she was named after the godmother), since it was believed that the godparents would live on in the christened child. In 1709, there was no HUBLER child christened in Twann; in 1710, there was one—a girl (Anna Katherine HUBLER who was born on Oct. 7, 1710 and who was the daughter of Johannes HUBLER and Anna Margreth SPITTLER); and in 1711, there were three HUBLERs christened—Hans Jacob HUBLER (c Jan. 4, the Jacob HUBLER of this report), a Margareth HUBLER and a Peter HUBLER [son of Peter HUBLER, the older brother of Hans Jacob HUBLER (1680-1731) and thus the 1^st cousin of the Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789)] were christened.¹⁴³ It is also interesting (and expected in a small village) that the Perro family had a long relationship (including many marriages) with the HUBLER families in Twann,¹⁴⁴ and so Elsbeth Perro was probably a relative. [There was an Elsbeth Perro (c 1666) who was the daughter of Peter Perro and Katherine HUBLER (c 1638), the daughter of Benedict HUBLER and Kuengold Perro, which would make her a cousin of the infant, (Hans) Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789), and his father, Hans Jacob HUBLER (1680-1731).]

Since christenings were usually held three weeks after a birth in 18^th century Switzerland,¹⁴⁵ (Hans) Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) was probably born in the middle of December 1710, which would be compatible with the known marriage data and the nine month gestation period after his parents were married in March 1710.

In Germany and Germanic Switzerland, most 18^th century males were given two first or Christian names and went by their second name (in church records a full name with two first names and one surname was customary). Christianity brought saints' names to the Germanic lands. Many parents gave their children a saint's name, while some pagan names were used until the Counter-Reformation in the Sixteenth century. About that time, Lutherans began to use only names of saints that were found in the Bible or Old Testament. Beginning in the 16^th century, the parents sometimes added a secular name to the Christian name, giving the child two first names (vornamem).¹⁴⁶ (Hans) Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) was listed on his ship immigration list as "Jacob HUBLER" and "Johan Jacob (i.e., Johannes=Hans) HUBLER,” chose "Jacob" as his given name as an adult in America and named his eldest son Jacob HUBLER, Jr. (1742-1811).

Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) possibly grew up in Twann (a village, mostly of wine growers) in Canton Bern, Switzerland on the shores of Lac du Bienne. Twann is about 6 miles west of Biel. Twann in 2001 is known for producing a wine and as a watch-making center. [The soil of the Twann vineyards has very high lime content (up to 60%), and lime affects the flavor of the wine. In addition, sunlight reflects off the surface of the lake nearby and gives the area a warmer ambient air temperature and a double-dose of solar growth-ingredients. Currently, almost the vineyards are farmed by 22 families who cultivate the crops, harvest the grapes, bottle the wine and sell their product. No cooperative or large wine cellar operates in Twann. The inclination of the slopes varies between 30 and 70 degrees, which mitigates against the use of farm machinery, so the small farms are mostly farmed and harvested by hand. Pinot Noir is probably the most popular product of Twann vineyards, but others, including Chardonnay, Gewuerztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Gamaret, and Syrah, are well-received products.]¹⁴⁷ The details of the childhood of (Hans) Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) will likely never be fully known. He was probably an only child, and I suspect that his mother died when he was young. The father of (Hans) Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) probably was moderately wealthy, but his occupation (maybe a shoemaker¹⁴⁸ or mercenary) and his parental relationship are not known. Because of poverty and famine, many young people left Twann and migrated to America in the 18^th century. ¹⁴⁹ In addition, religious unrest may have forced (Hans) Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) to emigrate.

Religious discordance affected young Jacob HUBLER (1710-178). In a letter to the Twann authorities in 1773 in a futile effort to obtain his inheritance, Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) stated, “I always kept to my religion, although 30 years ago [in 1743?] a member of the reformed religion [church] maliciously wanted to exact a certain sum of money from me. A religious group of people who was despised by the ruling religion in my fatherland and who was persecuted strongly in the beginning placed the requested money at my disposal.”¹⁵⁰ It could be that Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) was an Anabaptist or Moravian and was forced to leave Twann.¹⁵¹ (At that time in Switzerland, Reformed Lutheranism was the officially accepted religion, while Anabaptists were ostracized.) That might explain why (1) the estate of Hans Jacob HUBLER (1680-1731) would not be released by the government of Twann for the recondite reason that the Swiss government did not know “which religion his children” would have; (2) the issue would finally be resolved by Marc Voulaire of Monmirail, a Moravian stronghold in Switzerland; or (3) church records for Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) in Pennsylvania have not been found. Swiss authorities would not release the estate of Hans Jacob HUBLER (1680-1731) to his son, Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789), probably because of religious and political reasons. Finally, when Jacob HUBLER, Jr. (1742-1811) received his grandfather’s estate, he had to sign a document relinquishing all claims to Swiss property and civil rights for himself and his heirs. The State Archives of Switzerland (Staatsarchiv) in Zurich and Bern hold records of Anabaptists’ (Taufer) emigration and land confiscation, but I have not been able to access those, yet. If the emigrant ever returned, he was supposed to get his property back. That latter fact could explain the Swiss reticence to release the estate and supports the postulate that a religious row affected the life of Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789).

The possible interaction of the HUBLER family with the Moravian Brethren warrants special attention. While there is no evidence that Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) was a Moravian,¹⁵² the spatial and temporal relationship is intriguing. The Moravian Church, more properly known as the Unity of Brethren, was organized in 1457 in Kunewalde, Moravia¹⁵³ by followers of the martyr John Hus. Hus, a Roman Catholic priest and professor at the University of Prague, taught that the Gospel should be available in the common language rather than in Latin. He held services in Czech at the Bethlehem Chapel in Prague. He also preached that the communion bread and wine should be freely available to all believers, and he objected to the abusive practices of the Roman Catholic Church of the Fifteenth Century. He was burned at the stake as a heretic at the Council of Constance in 1415. His followers arose in arms, and the subsequent Hussite wars marked the first organized large-scale opposition to the domination of the Papacy. During the late Fifteenth Century, the membership of the Unity in Moravia and Bohemia totaled close to a quarter million.¹⁵⁴

As the Lutheran Reformation swept through northern Europe in the early Sixteenth Century, military confrontations decimated the Unity, which was caught in the middle between Catholic and Protestant forces. In 1620, the militant Moravians were defeated at White Mountain (Prague), and by the end of the Thirty Years' War in 1648, only a small number of Moravians survived. In the agreement that ended the war, known as the Peace of Westphalia, each nation assumed the faith of their rulers, and thus Bohemia became a Catholic nation. Bohemian Protestants had to convert to Catholicism, flee the country, or face execution. A small band of Moravians led by Bishop John Amos Comenius fled to Poland, where they established a flourishing community. Others outwardly professed Catholicism and went underground.¹⁵⁵

Nicholas Ludwig, Count Zinzendorf, was born in Dresden in 1700. A lawyer and an ordained Lutheran minister, he was very much a part of the Pietist movement in Germany, which emphasized personal piety and an emotional component to the religious life. This was in contrast to the state Lutheran Church of the day, which had grown to symbolize a largely intellectual faith centered on belief in specific doctrines. He believed in "heart religion,” a personal salvation built on the individual's spiritual relationship with Christ. In 1722, Zinzendorf was approached by a group of Moravians to request permission to live on his lands in Germany. He granted their request, and a small band crossed the border from Moravia and settled in a town they called Herrnhut, or "the Lord's Watch." Largely due to Zinzendorf’s leadership, the group came to formulate a unique document, known as the "Brotherly Agreement," which set forth basic tenets of Christian behavior. Residents of Herrnhut were required to sign a pledge to abide by these Biblical principals. There followed an intense and powerful experience of renewal, often described as the "Moravian Pentecost." During a communion service at Berthelsdorf, the entire congregation felt a powerful presence of the Holy Spirit, and felt their previous differences swept away. That date, August 13, 1727, is regarded as the date of the "renewal" of the Moravian Church. Led by Zinzendorf, this dedicated band began the first Protestant world missionary work with missions to the slaves in the Caribbean and the Indian tribes of North America. Within a few years, Moravian mission stations had been established nearly around the world. Zinzendorf visited the American Moravian missions several times. He died at Herrnhut in 1760.¹⁵⁶ The moniker, “Moravian” Church, was commonly used in the 1730’s, and it became “official” when the British government in the 1750’s recognized it.

George Whitefield, a friend of John and Charles Wesley (Zinzendorf became their friend in Germany, and later Wesley founded the Methodist Church), brought a few members of the Brethren to a settlement at Nazareth, Pennsylvania to help build a school for Negro children that he hoped to bring from South Carolina. (Zinzendorf had befriended an ex-slave from the Caribbean; and touched by the plight of slaves, he sent Moravian missionaries to St. Thomas and subsequently to South Carolina in 1734.)¹⁵⁷ However, a doctrinal dispute led Whitefield to discharge the Moravians. They were offered 500 acres along the Lehigh River, nine miles to the south. Count Zinzendorf visited the new settlement in 1741 on Christmas Eve and gave it the name "Bethlehem".¹⁵⁸ [Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) might have been there (or even went to that part of PA to see the Count from near his Swiss childhood home) since he bought land and settled nearby about the at time.]

In 1722, in Herrnhut (near Dresden, Germany), the "Brudergemeine der Herrnhuter" (brotherhood of the Herrnhuters), under Ludwig von Zinzensdorf, began to spread the word of their beliefs in Germany and neighboring Switzerland, and one of the centers of the sect was situated in Montmiral, Switzerland. At the time, the government of Bern tolerated only the state religion, evangelic reformed.¹⁵⁹ [In modern Twann, the citizens are not “Lutheran,” but are either “Zwinglian” or “Calvinian” (Zwingli was a reformer in Zurich and Calvin was in Geneva). ¹⁶⁰] All followers of other religions were expelled. Monmirail is only 7 miles west of Twann, and it is possible that Hans Jacob HUBLER (1680-1731) of Switzerland; his son, Jacob HUBLER (1710-1781), or both were members or suspected members of that sect.

Besides the three great churches—Lutheran, Reformed, and Anglican—formed during the Reformation, a number of small sects also arose. One of the most prominent of the smaller sects, the Anabaptists, found many adherents throughout Europe, particularly in Germany, where they played an important part in the Peasants' War. Anabaptists were persecuted by Catholics, Lutherans, Zwinglians and other Protestants, and many of them were put to death. The Anabaptist reform began in Zurich, Switzerland in 1524 and spread to the Netherlands where its members were called “Mennonites.” ¹⁶¹ It spread into Germany a few years later and was carried to Germantown, Pennsylvania in 1683. ¹⁶² A decade later, the Amish Mennonites formed a much more conservative sect and settled in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.¹⁶³

Despite the diversity of revolutionary forces in the 16th century, the Reformation produced consistent results throughout Western Europe. In general, the power and wealth that was lost by the feudal nobility and the Roman Catholic hierarchy passed to the middle classes and to monarchical rulers. The Protestant emphasis on personal judgment furthered the development of democratic governments based on the collective choice of individual voters. The destruction of the medieval system of authority removed traditional religious restrictions on trade and banking, and opened the way for the growth of modern capitalism. Religion became less the province of a highly privileged clergy and more a direct expression of the beliefs of the people. Religious intolerance, however, raged unabated, and all the sects continued to persecute one another for at least a century.

In 15^th and 16^th century, Europe militancy among differing religious groups often eventuated in warfare; however, in America, the religious realm was more peaceful than the turmoil in Europe. The Lutheran Church began in Europe in 1517, and services began in America in 1619 by Swedish immigrants at Hudson Bay. The Lutheran Synod was organized in Pennsylvania in 1748. [Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) immigrated in 1737 and had his first child in 1742, so that was prior to the organization of the official American Lutheran Church, but the immigrants brought the Lutheran Church with them and undoubtedly worshipped together, but I am unsure about the registration of baptisms and marriages. According to "The German and Swiss Settlements of Colonial Pennsylvania" written in 1914, most of the Germans immigrants in Colonial Pennsylvania were Lutheran and Reformed—the Lutherans mostly were from Switzerland and the Palatinate, and the Reformed from Weurtenburg. Their numbers were about equal, and harmony ruled. Both denominations were poor, and since neither sect could afford to build separate churches, they often founded unified (Union) churches in which they worshipped on alternate Sundays, frequently with the same minister. So, baptisms, funerals, marriages were shared with loose lines of demarcation. In 18th Century America, Lutheranism was closely allied with the Church of England, while Reformed group was lined up with Presbyterians. Some "union" churches were common, and sometimes Lutherans, Reformed, Mennonites and Dunkards shared a church.

For example, one of the earliest Lutheran congregations in 18th century Pennsylvania was the Tohickon Lutheran Church in Bucks Co, about 30 miles north of Philadelphia. In 1743, Peter Gruber, a German settler, and his neighbors formed a congregation known in that time as St. Peter's Union Church and met in Gruber's home or barn for worship services. Pastor Henry Melchior Muhlenberg (who immigrated from Germany to Trappe, PA in 1742 and founded the first Lutheran synod in North America in 1748) noted that "regular ministers" began visiting the congregation sometime between 1743 and 1744 at Birkensee (a German pronunciation of the English word, Perkasie, part of Wm. Penn’s original land grant). The “union” congregation was called Tohickon Lutheran Church after the nearby Tohickon Creek. The first church building (probably a log cabin) was built in 1753, and the permanent clergy, Pastor Henry Rapp, dedicated a stone building in 766. The congregation still exists as the Peace-Tohickon Lutheran Church.¹⁶⁴

In general, the Evangelical German people who were Lutherans and Reformed were liberal in their beliefs, wore no special clothing, fought in wars, paid taxes, etc. The Mennonites, Dunkards, Amish, and Moravians were classed as the "plain people” who didn't fight in wars (although the Moravians paid taxes to fight wars), and they all had special dress, etc.

Despite all of the above-cited circumstantial evidence, there is no record of Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) belonging to the Moravian or Anabaptist Church in America,¹⁶⁵ even thought the church was established in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, only a few miles from his home, about the same time (1740). Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) apparently left Twann “under the cover of night,” so no farewell papers have been found. ¹⁶⁶

It is interesting to speculate (with possible explanations in brackets) why the father of Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789), Hans Jacob HUBLER (1680-1731), did not pay his son’s religious “debt”—(1) Hans Jacob HUBLER (1680-1731) could have been dead, and the Swiss government refused to release the estate because of the religious disparity. [Probably this was true, and the same “stonewalling” was evident almost fifty years later.]; (2) his father, Hans Jacob HUBLER (1680-1731), was alive but refused to help, possibly because of the religious improprieties. [The scenario is possible, but unlikely since he left his entire estate to his son, Jacob HUBLER (1710-1781), when he died and did not help pay for his only son’s passage to America in 1737.]; (3) his father, Hans Jacob HUBLER (1680-1731), could not afford to pay for his release. [This explanation is unlikely since his estate was a sizable 300 crowns in 1741.], or (4) the money that was in his father’s estate or in the possession his father, Hans Jacob HUBLER (1680-1731), was illiquid, and Hans Jacob HUBLER (1680-1731) wanted to help, but could not. [This explanation is implausible since his estate was invested by his cousin, Hans Jakob Bernet, including some “loans,” and so it was partly cash.]. Finally, logic points to the death of Hans Jacob HUBLER (1680-1731) by 1737, and the expulsion of Jacob HUBLER (1710-1781) for religious reasons without the moneys left by Hans Jacob HUBLER (1680-1731) in his will. I suspect that his father had died and that Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) was an Anabaptist and therefore reviled by the religious authorities in Twann, and that subsequently, they refused to release any of his inheritance (perhaps his father was Anabaptist also) and levied a fine against him. He was given money by the Anabaptists specifically to pay his fine, which he did and immediately fled the country before more impediments could be interposed.

After an apprenticeship in shoemaking [there were 10-20 cobblers in Twann at that time (with a population of 800), and most of them kept busy with patchwork],¹⁶⁷ Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) went to Holland as a journeyman shoemaker. At that time, most Swiss who emigrated from their homeland went northwest on the Rhine River to the port city of Rotterdam, Holland where they sailed on ships to the New World. It is probable that Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) did not stay in Rotterdam long and may have gone there for the purpose of traveling to Pennsylvania. (To earn enough money to pay for passage to America, a person might have to work five-seven years in a low-skilled position.)

In 1737, Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) immigrated with 224 other shipmates on the English ship, Virtuous Grace, John Bull, Master, from Rotterdam, via Cowes,¹⁶⁸ and landed in Philadelphia, PA on Sept. 24, 1737. (One source names the ship as the Virginus Grace, probably a Latin rendition.)¹⁶⁹ His name is listed as Jacob HUBLER, Johan Jacob HUBLER and Jacob Howbelare (on the ship's manifest).¹⁷⁰, ¹⁷¹, ¹⁷², ¹⁷³,¹⁷⁴, ¹⁷⁵ Since he signed his name "Jacob HUBLER" (in German script) on the oath of allegiance to the government ¹⁷⁶ [he signed the oath of allegiance on the same day as his arrival (Sept. 24, 1737)], he could write (many immigrants of the time signed with "X", but most on his ship signed their names). He was single.¹⁷⁷ (One source¹⁷⁸ records “Hans Jacob HUBLER” as emigrating from Switzerland to Philadelphia in 1739, but although this man was probably Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789), the immigration year was actually 1737, instead of 1739.)

Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) was poor. In a letter in 1773 to the authorities in Twann in an effort to obtain the release of his father’s estate, Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) stated that he had to put himself in service with an American citizen who had paid for his voyage in order to repay his debts.¹⁷⁹ In short, Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) was an indentured servant. If a person of his own free will wanted passage to America and could (or wanted not) to pay it, he would negotiate with his “benefactor” on the number of years of servitude and the terms, and then they both would sign a contract. When an immigrant was indentured, he was called a “redemptioner.”¹⁸⁰ Often, the immigrant would arrange with the captain to be “sold” upon his arrival in America. That arrangement made the ship captains extra money for each transatlantic voyage, and the name of the American “benefactor” may not be known by the redemptioner at that time or recorded in American courts. I have not found information or copies of indenture contracts for Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789). Neither the Pennsylvania State Archives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania nor the State Court in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has copies of indenture contracts for the time he immigrated.¹⁸¹ In 1737 when Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) immigrated, the population of Philadelphia was approximately 8,000, and 621 indentured servants immigrated that year—116 from Germany and Switzerland on three ships.¹⁸²

I do not know what Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) did for several years after his arrival in Pennsylvania in 1737. Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) probably was residing with and working for his American sponsor. Perhaps, Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) is listed only in the household of his benefactor, maybe married Barbara ?? in Philadelphia and maybe even had his first son there in 1742.

Strangely, no church records have been found for any event in the life of Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) or his wife, Barbara, have been found (all descendent and ownership data that is known was found in wills or legal documents). Perhaps, Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) did not participate in the usual religious institutions (foreshadowed by his forced emigration from Twann—see the preceding), or the records have not been found. Some rural pioneers did not have access to ordained ministers or organized religious groups; and so births, marriages, etc. were not always recorded, and in many instances, religious events were performed by traveling clergy who would record the act in their home church, which may have been far distant from the area of occurrence. [Indentured workers were usually forbidden to marry or were heavily fined (5 pounds/year of remaining time to serve), if they did by the terms of their indenture contract or by the custom, so it is possible that Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) and Barbara never officially married (about 1741) because of his contract; however, his contract term probably expired in 1740.] Most of the early settlers of Northampton Co were Lutheran, Reformed, Moravian Germanic, and Swiss immigrants, and the Williams Township Congregation and the Nazareth Moravian Congregation began keeping records in 1733 and 1743, respectively.¹⁸³ No events for Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) are documented there. ¹⁸⁴ Many others took their infants to the more established churches in Tohicken in Buck Co or Goshenhoppen in Montgomery Co. ¹⁸⁵ The children of Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) used official churches in Northampton Co. ¹⁸⁶,¹⁸⁷

Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) settled in Bucks County (an original Pennsylvania county) in about 1740.¹⁸⁸ [The author who published his book in 1852 states that he “yet remembers the Small log Dwelling house he (Jacob HUBLER) put up there in 1740.]¹⁸⁹ There was no township where Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) built his log cabin “at a Spring on the Minnisink River.”¹⁹⁰ Only a few "white" men lived there. The first settlers of that area were Jacob HUBLER, George and Frantz CLEWELL, Leopold OBITZ and Jacob ENGLES.¹⁹¹ Although the Native American was always a threat (most had withdrawn to northern and western Pennsylvania in front of the increasing herd of white settlers from Europe), the greatest danger was the brutality of the land itself. Occasionally Amerindians would raid settlers’ homes and massacre pioneers, but such raids were sporadic, disorganized and individual events, and while they kept the settlers vigilant, they did not deter settlement. There have been many documented incidents of such massacre recorded in PA (including some HUBLERs in other areas). However, during the French and Indian War (1754-1763), organized Indian war parties with the encouragement of the French became a viable, constant danger, and had the goal of the annihilation of all Anglo interlopers into what the French considered as their land in the New World. Then the settlers of the area developed plans for self-defense. Originally called the “stone house,” the Whitefield House in Nazareth was completed in 1743, when Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789), his wife (Barbara) and newborn son (Jacob, Jr.) lived in a log cabin in Jacobsburg (before there was a village there). That was when thirty-three newly married couples moved in and began the Moravian community of Nazareth. During 1755 and 1756, the building sheltered refugees fleeing the threat of Indian attack. Provincial authorities recognized the importance of defending the rural settlements against marauders as a ring of security around the capital, Philadelphia. Thus, Provincial forces were dispersed to key locations. In 1756, Captain Isaac Wayne (the father of famous Revolutionary War General Anthony Wayne) and 48 fighting men arrived in Nazareth to defend Nazareth and Bethlehem as vital outposts of defense for Philadelphia during the French and Indian War.¹⁹², ¹⁹³ Each day one half the force would patrol the adjoining county, while the remainder guarded the home base. Sentry boxes were scattered throughout the town and were constantly manned. ¹⁹⁴ The home base is sometimes referred to as the Wayne house. It was built in 1745 and is the only surviving structure in old Nazareth. The protection was designed for the Moravian communities, as well as, all the settlers, and it must have been comforting to the fledgling HUBLERs at nearby Jacobsburg to have such a potent force close by.

Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) obtained his first land warrant in Bucks Co in 1743 [later, his home was in Northampton Co which was formed from part of Bucks Co in 1752, and in 1754 Plainsfield Twp was formed which became Bushkill Twp in 1813)]. His first land was surveyed on April 4, 1743 and measured 100 acres on “Lehigh Creek” Township (patentee: Benjamin Meyer).¹⁹⁵ During the next decade, Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) added more warrants [25 acres on May 17, 1745, ¹⁹⁶ 25 acres on Oct. 23, 1746 (“Upper Milford” Twp; patentee; Benjamin Meyer), ¹⁹⁷ 200 acres (4 separate warrants) on March 7, 1749 (no Twp listed; patentee: William Henry, John & Walter Miller and Jacob HUBLER),¹⁹⁸ 50 acres on March 12, 1750¹⁹⁹ and more with the last on March 7, 1753²⁰⁰]. He called his land “Jacobsburg.” Not long before he died in 1789, Jacobsburg was resurveyed and was found to contain 432 ½ acres.²⁰¹ [Land warrants in pre-revolutionary war times should be clarified. Pennsylvania was a state-land state; so all land was controlled and dispersed by the state government, as opposed to the federal land state controlled by the federal government. Most of the state land states were the original 13 states and a few more; while the federal land-states were the ones in the west and mid-west settled by homesteaders. Whenever the land was distributed by the government at any level it was in the form of a grant. Title to that land was in the form of a patent. In Pennsylvania, most of the original land was bought by Penn from Native Americans or granted by the British crown. Subsequently, to lure or encourage settlement of the state of Pennsylvania, large and small tracts were sold or awarded to settlers. Most of the state was a vast wilderness, which was sparsely inhabited, mostly by Native Americans who had not cleared the land for planting but instead lived off the natural resources (plants and animals) of the land. Individuals or land speculators purchased parcels of land, or acres were granted by the state. Each parcel had to be surveyed and each buyer had to be 21 years old. Women rarely purchased land in the patriarchal society. When an indentured worker completed his contract, often he received a small land warrant, monetary reward or both. Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) probably used his reward for completing his indenture contract to obtain land, since he was penniless when he immigrated.

The farm of Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) became the omphalos and namesake of the current Jacobsburg State Park of Pennsylvania that is located in Bushkill Twp, Northampton Co. [Bushkill Twp was formed from the western part of Plainfield Twp in 1813 (long after Jacob HUBLER (1710—1789) had died and his widow, Barbara, had moved to Moore Twp in 1789). The southeastern quarter of Bushkill Twp contains more than 2,000 acres, which is Jacobsburg State Park. Upper Nazareth Twp borders Jacobsburg on the south.]²⁰² In 1754, Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) was the first of eleven landowners to sign a petition for the formation of Plainfield Twp, and it was finally incorporated in 1762 in the northeast part of Northampton Co. In 1763, Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) finally took the oath of naturalization.²⁰³

As early as 1739, Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) wrote to a friend in Twann and tried to withdraw his inheritance from his father's estate in Twann, Switzerland; (so his father might have died before 1739 and possibly before his departure from Twann in about 1737); ²⁰⁴ but international technicalities interfered. Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) worked through a proxy (Jacob Schaffner of the village of Lausen, Canton of Basel, Switzerland, then an innkeeper in Lebanon, Lancaster Co, Pennsylvania); but the government of Switzerland refused to release the estate because some of his children were minors and [the Swiss government] did not know to what religion they belonged. ²⁰⁵ [At that time, Switzerland recognized only the official state religion; so maybe there was a problem with denomination of Lutheranism, or perhaps the Swiss just wanted to discourage the flight of capital.]

He tried again in 1763, but with the same result.²⁰⁶ The negative answer to his appeal in 1763 was penned by his friend, Jacob Engle, a notary in the Clerk of the Court’s office (Gerichtschreiber) in Twann addressed to HUBLER via “Christoff Sauer, bookseller in Germantown in Pennsylvania” and hand-carried by Schaffner. ²⁰⁷ Trying to assure Switzerland that there would be no financial consequence to releasing his inheritance, in 1773, Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) wrote to Twann. He said that he was proud to have arrived from Twann as a poor cobbler and become quite wealthy in America, and that he could leave each of his children a “considerable” estate.²⁰⁸ His attempt to withdraw his inheritance in 1773 failed, and it was futile again in 1782. One fear in Switzerland was that he would return to Twann with his family, and they all would becomes wards of the state; however, certainly, there were religious concerns, not just financial alarm, which influenced Twann. Even when the estate was finally settled after Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) had died, the authorities in Twann resisted the release of the money, but were overridden by Bern who decided that the claim had legal justification (and perhaps wanted the 10% Swiss fine). Since Napoleon’s armies burned all official records of Bern in 1798, the full story may never be known.

Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) was obviously miffed and mystified by Twann’s intransigence about the release of the inheritance. In his letter to the authorities in Twann in 1773, he related a poignant and pertinent story to the Swiss. According to Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789), “Last summer an Indian boy aged six or seven injured a boy on his eye on my plantation carelessly throwing a stone. The Indian father would have paid the damage out of a sense of duty and not because of legal sanction. Our authority here [in America] finds the behavior of the authority of Twann more than peculiar. On the one hand there is a legal will [and] on the other hand this authority doesn’t accept my rights.”²⁰⁹ The individual, humanistic view and logic of Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) echoes through 250 years by one simple letter, and also, the presence and role of peaceful Native Americans of the area is demonstrated.

In 1782, the situation was unchanged, and he never received the money; so, Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) willed all of his property and money in America to his sons and son in laws, but to his eldest son, Jacob HUBLER, Jr. (1742-1811), he willed his inheritance in Switzerland. [The estate of Hans Jacob HUBLER (1680-1731) in Switzerland of was valued at 400 crowns (the estate was managed by his cousin, Hans Jakob Bernet, who had loaned some of the money and who was made financially responsible for his actions by the authorities in Bern),²¹⁰ and his grandson, Jacob HUBLER, Jr., finally recovered it. (1742-1811), in 1793 (after writing the authorities in Twann on Oct. 1, 1792 and requesting an official release for himself and all of his children from the native and civic rights of Twann and Bern with the help of John Hesse, Esq., a notary public in Bethlehem, PA)²¹¹ with the help of Marc Voulaire, a Swiss teacher of the village of Montmirail, the Canton of Neuchatelin (Neuchatel), and Pastor Gros from the nearby Swiss village of Diesse. Jacob HUBLER's (1710-1789) name on the final papers was "Johann Jakob HUBLER.”]²¹²,²¹³,²¹⁴

When Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) settled in Bucks Co in the early 1740s, there were few settlers there. A summary written in 1851 recalls that there were only three other families in Plainfield in 1740 (George and Frantz Clewell, Leopold Obitz and Jacob Engles) when Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) built a small log dwelling in 1740 at a spring near the Minnisink Road between Nazareth, Cherry Hill and Wind Gap. Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) was poor when he arrived; but within a few years, he had raised some grain and carted it to the mills near Philadelphia where he could get a good price.²¹⁵

Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) was frugal and was probably influenced by his impoverished beginning in America. He constructed a harness for his cart out of hickory witches and proudly related that he made the trip to Philadelphia and back without spending a "copper" in the taverns and stopped to feed his horses only once during the whole trip. Philadelphia was about 65 miles south of Jacobsburg, and the round trip took several days. [Many years later when roads were better (although still dirt), a traveler recorded that the transit one way took 15 hours (despite a fleet stage pulled by four steeds and despite frequent stops for refreshments at inns along the way).] ²¹⁶ Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) apparently continued this practice of transport even later when he was an established merchant. To save money, Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) ordered that he be buried in an unmarked grave in a field on his farm.²¹⁷

Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) was a moral man. Much about his morality is expressed in his letters to Twann, Switzerland in an attempt to retrieve his inheritance. He was chased from his homeland because of his involvement in a religious group that was not part of the official state religious sect, and the schism resulted in the ouster of many moral men from Switzerland. It is obvious that Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) was disgusted and discouraged with Swiss authorities. In 1773, he wrote an angry and incredulous letter to Twann. He chastised the intransigence of Twann who refused to release his inheritance because “it was not known” which religious faith his children might have and Twann’s fear that his children would return to Twann and become wards or burdens on the Swiss state. To counter the argument, Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) indicated that he was man of wealth [through his own hard work] in America and that it was doubtful that his children would want to exchange something “bad” [Twann] for something “good” [America]. His efforts failed, and his inheritance was left to his son ([please read more of his inheritance trouble under the discussion of his son, Jacob HUBLER, Jr. (1742-1811)]. Jacob Hubler served on the jury in 1772.²¹⁸ In his will, Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) bequeathed some of his estate to the poor of his township.

Clearly, Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) did not practice his profession of shoemaking, but began farming and later worked as a merchant (obviously there were too few people in Plainfield Twp to require a cobbler, but undoubtedly he used his training at home and probably adapted it to harness making, etc.). In fact, in 1773 when he wrote to Twann, Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) stated that he had not been working as a shoemaker for more than twenty years.²¹⁹

Although too old to serve in the Revolutionary War (he was 66 years old), Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) was a member of the Committee of Observation of Northampton Co, representing Plainfield Twp, being elected on Oct. 2, 1775.²²⁰, ²²¹, ²²², ²²³, ²²⁴ The militia was raised at the county or town level and was primarily designed to meet the need for home defense to protect against Indian attack. The militia experience, although based on the English system of local defense, differed as a function of regional circumstances. Comprised of able-bodied conscripts, few free adults were exempted from service in the militia, and militiamen were fined for failure to appear for musters or drills. The militiamen (or minutemen as they were called at the beginning of the war—it was the local Massachusetts militiamen who on April 19, 1775 fought the regular British troops at Lexington and Concord beginning the Revolutionary War) were not paid for their efforts unless they left the county for usually more than 30 days. In the event that they left the county, they were paid by the state; if they left the state, they were to be paid by the Continental Congress. Since they were not paid, there was no need to create payrolls, so often there is little data at the local level. Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) also had three sons (Abraham, John and Isaac) who also served in the Revolutionary War.²²⁵ After the War, Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) was a federal taxpayer; and in 1788, he paid 1 lb. 1 shilling tax to the first federal tax collector on 350 acres of land, 3 horses and 5 cows.

The colonial country store was a quintessential hotbed of frontier commerce, gossip and news mongering. Quidnuncs, peddlers and farmers filled the bustling stores, which were establishments pivotal to the survival and civilization of 18^th century America. Colonial farmers were mostly self-sufficient by harvesting cultivated crops, farm animals and wild products for food, medicine, clothing and shelter; however, whatever else they needed was provided by the country store. Settlers would take excess farm produce to the store to trade for needed goods. Barter was the transaction medium, and little money was needed or available. However, the pioneers had little choice of where to dispose of their goods. Shopkeepers would supplement their inventories by buying goods in major cities and shipping or carting them to their stores. Merchants marked up their goods for sale by 100 percent, and often the items had three price plateaus—a low cash price, a medium barter value and a high cost for items bought on credit. ²²⁶ The prices were based on the weight of the goods and the distance that they traveled. (Sometimes a barrel of flour was so expensive that farmers would build their own gristmills to grind and process their own flour.) ²²⁷ Most settlers were subsistent farmers who had little need for cash and were not active in commerce. Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) transported his farm produce to Philadelphia where he received cash and better prices, and he became adept at commercial ventures. Later, he parlayed this learned and innate ability to operate the country store and inn in Jacobsburg.

In time, the country store became an emporium of imported luxury items, as well as, staple farm goods, and the flourishing storekeepers became barkeeps, social confidants, bankers, scribes and more. ²²⁸ By 1850, the lowly country store evolved into diverse merchandise warehouses. In the early 20^th century, merchants began to search for a specialty (a market niche) as large department stores (followed by Wal-Marts) devoured merchandise mavens, and many “Mom and Pop” stores disappeared.

Jacob Hubler of Plainfield Twp, Northampton Co petitioned the court on Mar. 17, 1767 to have a "publick house" on the road from Bethlehem to Wind Gap. (The original papers in the criminal court files have his signature.) ²²⁹ It was rejected.²³⁰ However, he was persistent, and about 1780, Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) began the first inn in the area. Apparently, his farm was on a strategic road between Nazareth and Wind Gap, and he named his hostelry "Jacobsburg Inn.” It was a substantial three story stone building that housed a tavern and general store, as well as, living quarters. Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) was the innkeeper until his death in 1789.²³¹

Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) and his wife Barbara ?? (ca 1720-1795) (maiden name unknown) had seven sons and four daughters living in 1770 (according to one source),²³² but only six sons and two daughters have been found (see above). I am not sure if the head count was incorrectly registered in that single source, since no other names have surfaced; but undoubtedly, only those described above and below were alive in 1789 when Jacob HUBLER (710-1789) died and dictated his will or 1795 when Barbara did similarly. In his will, Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) did not mention any other child, even though he had several more children who were supposedly known to be alive in 1770, ²³³ but their identities remain unknown (and there is no corroborative evidence to support the single description).

Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) died at age 79 years. [Data compiled in 1790 by a prominent physician, Dr. Benjamin Rush, indicates that of 100 people born in the city of Philadelphia, more than one-third died before the age of six, and only one quarter of the population survived beyond 26; the life expectancy in 1790 for the US population was 34.5 years for males and 36.5 years for females. So, Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) lived an extraordinarily long life.]²³⁴ His will was dated May 4, 1789 and proved on May 9, 1789 (his surname was “HOOBLER.”²³⁵ In his will, he left to (1) his eldest son, Jacob HUBLER, Jr. (1742-1811), three pounds (in 6 weeks) and all of the legacies in Switzerland that he inherited (but not collected) from his father, Hans Jacob "Hoobler" (ca 1690-< 1741) “of Germany” (? Switzerland); (2) his son, Frederick HUBLER (1745- ??), 100 lbs. (in two equal payments—50 pounds in three years and 50 pounds in six years); (3) his son, Gottlieb HUBLER (1748- ??), 100 lbs. (in two equal payments—50 pounds in one year and 50 pounds in five years); (4) his son, John HUBLER (??-??), 20 shillings (in 6 weeks); (5) son-in-law, Michael Glass, 50 lbs. (in two years); (6) his son-in-law, Christian Hellman, 100 lbs. (in two equal payments—50 pounds in four years and 50 pounds in seven years); (7) his granddaughter, Magdalena Hellman, 25 lbs. (in eight years); (8) sons, Abraham HUBLER (1761-1838) and Isaac HUBLER (1764-1794), the land in Plainfield Twp; (9) bequeaths (5 pounds to each manager or director) to a Philadelphia hospital, an orphans' home, overseers of the poor in Plainfield Twp and 5 pounds to township officials to erect a bridge over Bushkill Creek on his land in Jacobsburg.²³⁶ Interestingly, he did not list his daughters. Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) named his son, Isaac HUBLER (1764-1794), as executor of his estate.

Obviously a businessman, Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) directed a payout of his estate over seven years to allow his executors time to judiciously dissolve his estate.²³⁷ I do not know why he seemed to slight his son John HUBLER (??-??) by willing him a few shillings (far less than the 5 pounds that he left to the town coffers and much less than the 100 pounds that he willed to most of other sons)—perhaps he was on the “outs,” was self-sufficient, had already been given his portion of the estate or had moved out of the area. [It is a typical and a rudimentary proactive legal maneuver to leave something (even if it is an insignificant value) to each child to prevent challenges to the validity of a will by the heirs.] He left his eldest son, Jacob HUBLER, Jr. (1742-1811) his uncollected Swiss inheritance—perhaps he felt that Twann would release the moneys after his death and because his children were self-sufficient. Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) willed his beloved farm, Jacobsburg, to his sons, Abraham HUBLER (1761-1838) and Isaac HUBLER (1764-1794), [not knowing that Isaac would die within five years and probably not expecting that his farm would be so rapidly sold]. His land was probably the most valuable portion of his estate. He did not specifically leave anything to his wife of 47 years, Barbara ?, probably because his son, Abraham HUBLER (1761-1838), was expected to care for his aging mother (and she was probably the older female that was listed in Abraham’s household in the 1790 Federal census). [To put the amount in perspective, in 1750 in England flour cost 3 shillings/bushel; shoes were 4 shillings/pair; small farmers made 100 pounds/year, and large farmers 300 earned pounds/year.]²³⁸

The will of Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) was witnessed by Jacob Eyerly, Jr., Johannes Schaeffer and George Schwartz. Schaeffer and Schwartz signed the documents in German script, while Eyerly wrote in English. Somewhat strangely, the will was penned in English not German, and it might be that Eyerly helped prepare the will.²³⁹ [Eyerly was a land speculator in Plainfield Twp since 1787 and was a partner in the group that purchased most of Jacobsburg after Jacob HUBLER’s death, as well as, a witness (and probable author) of the HUBLER will. He was the son of Johann Jacob Eyerly (1716-1796) who immigrated from Wuerrtemberg in 1753 and in 1755 married Christina Elisabeth Schwar(t)z in Bethlehem, PA. Jacob Eyerly the Elder (1716-1796) and Christina Schwar(t)z (1730 Germany-1818 PA) had four children, all in Nazareth, PA, and none who married HUBLERs. Jacob Eyerly, Jr. (1757 PA-1800 PA) married Anna Maria Frey in Nazareth, PA, and they had five children there. He was politically active, a horseshoer and a real estate speculator. He served in the General Assembly of PA, and in 1798, he appointed to a tax committee by US President John Adams and was immersed in a viscous controversy about his appointed job, which eventuated in verbal and physical confrontations and perhaps to his early death in 1800 at the age of 44.]²⁴⁰

The heirs of Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789), Abraham HUBLER and Isaac HUBLER, sold most of the land of Jacobsburg (361 acres) and the Jacobsburg Inn to three partners (Jacob Christ, Jacob Eyerly, Jr. and William Henry II) for 177 pounds. ²⁴¹ The three also bought adjacent land in 1790 and 1791, which was incorporated in Jacobsburg²⁴² within a year of the death of Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789). One of the partners, William Henry II, bought the undivided third of Jacobsburg from Eyerly, and he used the Inn from 1790 to 1796 to house the workmen and to act as a store for them as they built a gun-making factory (the famous Henry rifles) at Jacobsburg in 1792. (Henry moved his factory from Nazareth because of the more abundant water at Bushkill Creek, and also because Nazareth’s populace was mostly composed of pacifists (although Moravians were pacifists, guns were an integral part of frontier life, and Moravians accepted the reality of rifles in hunting game for meat in rural America and were proud of some of their men who were crack-shots) who did not like a munitions firm in their midst and who were angry at the sounds of rifles being test-fired. At Jacobsburg, he could hire non-Moravians, a circumstance not allowed in Moravian Nazareth.) [William Henry (1757-1821) was born in Nazareth, PA. His parents converted to the Moravian Church—his father was of Scottish descent and worshipped in the Church of England and Episcopalian Churches and his mother was a Quaker, but they became friends with the Moravian minister in Lancaster, and the Henry family stayed Moravian until today, despite their tradition, training and expertise as gun makers.] ²⁴³ In 1791, the HUBLER heirs sold 14 acres of retained Jacobsburg to George Schwartz (the witness of the will), who in turn, sold the land a few months later to Wm. Henry.²⁴⁴

The various heirs of the new owners operated Jacobsburg Inn at least until 1899. The Inn was razed in the early 1900s, and only remnants of the foundations of Jacobsburg Inn remain today.²⁴⁵ A picture of the Jacobsburg Inn is on page 34 of Jacobsburg by Charles Sandwick. The village of Jacobsburg was composed of a few houses when Jacob HUBLER named it in the 1740's; six to eight dwellings were there in 1832, and a store, gristmill, iron furnace, tavern and eight dwellings composed the nidus of Jacobsburg in 1845. Jacobsburg still existed in 1850, but only a few restored foundations are left now.²⁴⁶

The land of Jacobsburg is now preserved as Jacobsburg State Park in Pennsylvania.²⁴⁷ In 1959, Pennsylvania bought Jacobsburg and more land (a total of about 2,000 acres) and developed a state park that has an educational center, several preserved buildings and many hiking trails, fishing areas, cross country ski runs and more.

The early part of the life of Barbara ?? (ca 1725-1795) is a mystery; her maiden name and birthplace are unknown. [One researcher²⁴⁸ claims that the maiden name of Barbara was Becker (Beker, Baker, Boeker), but when asked about his source, he responded²⁴⁹ that he could not recall because his research was done 25 years earlier, but that he thought that one of his daughters was a Beker (not so—he had a granddaughter-in-law (married to Jacob HUBLER born in 1800) or that the name was presented in the book, Jacobsburg (it was not). As usual, others adopted and promulgated the information (or misinformation). ²⁵⁰ I have not seen any documentation and doubt the Beker validity.] Jacob HUBLER married Barbara sometime before 1742 possibly when he was near Philadelphia after he immigrated in 1737 and before he settled in Bucks (Northampton) Co; or alternatively, he married her in Bucks (Northampton) Co after he settled there about 1740 (but there were only three other settlers in the area in 1740). Since all the church records on Barbara and Jacob HUBLER have not been discovered, they may have been in Philadelphia or other area in Pennsylvania before settling in Plainfield, or Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) did not participate in the established religions or did not formally marry.

Only one church record for Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) and Barbara (HUBLER) ?? has been found. [The paucity of formal church records might be indicative of a dissatisfaction of Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) with the religious groups in the area, a scarcity of organized churches or that the church records have not been found.] In 1991, a retrieval of birth records in Northampton Co,²⁵¹ did not list the family of Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789)—the church records searched included most churches, but many did not began keeping records until the mid or late 1700s. The two earliest records in the area include Williams Twp Church (southeast corner of the county) that began baptismal records in 1733 and Nazareth Moravian Congregation, which began in 1743. [Jacob HUBLER (1710-1789) was probably married about 1740 and his eldest child, Jacob HUBLER. Jr. (1742-1813), was born in 1742. The Reformed and Lutheran Congregation (Dryland Church) began recording in 1758.] On Aug. 30, 1759, Barbara ?? (ca 1725-1795), the wife of Jacob HUBLER, was a sponsor for the baptismal of Johann Andres Schwartz (the son of Adam and Sarah Schwartz) at the Blue Church in Upper Saucon Twp, Lehigh Co (then Northampton Co). The other sponsors were John Andrew Bachman and Christian Schwartz. [It was a common practice in some German families to name (middle name) the second-born son after the maternal grandfather, so Bachman might have been the maternal grandfather, thus supplying the name “Andrew/Andres (see above).] Blue Church was 25 miles from Jacobsburg, so Barbara ?? (ca 1725-1795) probably made the trip with another sponsor; she might have been a Schwartz. A George Schwartz was a witness for Jacob HUBLERs will in 1789 and purchased 14 acres from the executors of the estate of Jacob HUBLER in 1791. Also, a Hans George Schwartz immigrated on the same ship to Pennsylvania in 1737;²⁵² and although he was single and the surname Schwartz was common, it might be revealing to pursue that lead. A Schwartz family historian could not identify an 18^th century Barbara Schwartz in PA; however, she did not have data on the line back before the mid-1780’s.²⁵³ Alternatively, Barbara ?? (ca 1725-1795) could have been a Bachman.²⁵⁴

The will of Barbara ?? (ca 1725-1795) was dated June 17, 1795 and proved on Jan. 16, 1796 in Lower Mt. Bethel, Northampton Co, Pennsylvania. Barbara ?? (ca 1725-1795) was about 70 years old when she died. In her will, Barbara ?? (ca 1725-1795) left to (1) her sons (Jacob, Frederick, Gottlieb and John HUBLER) 1 lb. each; (2) her daughter (Christina, wife of Michael Glass) 50 lbs.; (3) her daughter (Rosanna, wife of Christian Hellman) 1 lb.; and (4) her son (Abraham HUBLER) the rest of her estate.²⁵⁵, ²⁵⁶, ²⁵⁷, ²⁵⁸ In her will, she seemed very religious and asked to be buried “in a Christian-like manner,”²⁵⁹ which seems strange since no religious record has been found. She signed with her mark, “X.” ²⁶⁰

Interestingly, she listed her daughters, left paltry to her sons except Abraham HUBLER who was her executor. (Isaac HUBLER, her youngest son and the co-executor of her husband's will, had died in 1794 at age 30 years.) Probably, she figured that her sons (who were all self-sufficient, gone or dead) had received inheritance from their father's estate and that she had little left anyway. I postulate that after Jacob HUBLER (1711-1789) died, she lived with her son, Abraham HUBLER (1761-1831), in Plainfield [the 1790 Federal Census indicates that 2 females lived with Abraham HUBLER (1761-1831) and they were probably his wife and mother since his daughters were not born yet; there were 3 adult males in 1790 living with Abraham HUBLER (1761-1831), and they may have been brothers (not Jacob HUBLER, Jr. (1742-1811), but maybe Gotlieb HUBLER and Isaac HUBLER, who were single and did not their own listing,²⁶¹]. When Barbara ?? HUBLER (ca 1725-1795) died, she was living with her son Abraham HUBLER (1761-1831) in Lower Mt. Bethel Twp. One researcher²⁶² claims that she is buried in Lower Mt. Bethel, which would be plausible, but I have no corroboration.