Do you have any Beyer kith and kin who resided in Northampton County, PA? If so, please join us in our efforts to better document the Beyer kith and kin who lived in this county, by sending your additions and corrections to Greathouse Point.

Beyer kith and kin records found in the county:

1751, May 16 - Baptism: Plainfield Reformed Church

Anna Maria, daughter of Casper Doll and wife Margarita, born 16 May 1751. Sponsors: Christian Schug, Leonhard Beyer, Jacob Engler, Anna Eva the housewife of Peter Conrat, Anna Deitz and housewife (Hausfrau) of Michael Dietz and Maria the wedded (Eheliche) housewife of Peter Mumbauser.

During the year 1836 these baptismal entries are interpolated with the family record of Casper Doll, one of the two men named in our Old Deed as having obtained the original grant of land in trust for the German Reformed congregation in Plainfield.

1756, Jan - Leonard Beyer, wife and four children at Friedensthal mill

It was now that there was a new influx of fugitives in the the "upper places," and the second week of January [1756] there were in the Friedensthal mill - seventy-five pitiful objects, men, women and children, to wit:

George Minier, wife and seven children.
Philp Bossert, wife and seven children.
Jacob Stechert, wife and seven children.
Michael Koster, wife and five children.
Adam Engler, wife and four children.
Leonard Beyer, wife and four children.
William Lerch, wife and three children.
Peter Schaefer, wife and three children.
Martin Kindt, wife and three children.
Frederic Ziegler, wife and two children.
William Stuber, wife and two children.
Hans Michel Walcker, wife and two children.
George Webb and Magdalene his wife, she being the relict of Bro. Abraham Miller -- the same who, as we have seen, was the custodian of the improvements on the Kill, and whose fate has been heretofore related. 1

On the 6th of January, Bro. Seidel agreed with four refugees at the Friedensthal, to watch for the coming month at that place -- at the rate of L1-1-9, for the four per week and food and lodging. The names of these guardians (thanks to the recorder), are Michael Buttler, John Buttler, Jacob Engler and John Schutterling. There were additional outlays for hired help of this kind at the Economy, in the course of this eventful year 1756.

1. Some of these refugees returned to their homes after a few days sojourn -- others were remaining at the mill, far in to the month of May. During their stay provision was made by the Moravians not only for their temporal, but also for their spiritual wants -- they met for worship in the mill -- such as were able assisted in the labors of the farm. Finally they were also recipients of the charitable offerings forwarded to Bethlehem, by the members of the "Friendly Association" in Philadelphia.

2. Friedensthal mill was about 2 miles east of Nazareth, Northampton County, PA.

1761 - Tax List: Return of Robert Matias, Plainfield Township

Bayer, Leonard; pounds: 6

1766 - Estate file of William Beyer opened. It named his wife as Margaret and four daughters: Margareth, Catherine, Christina and Barbara. The witnesses were Lennert Beyer and John George Bernhard.

1772 - Tax Assessment: Plainfield Township

Boyer, Lenard, fa'r; tax: 12 . 0
Boyer, Peter, lab'r; tax: 6 . 8

1773, May 14 - Abraham, son of Peter Bayer & Elizabeth, b. 14 May 1773, bap. 4 Jul 1773; Sponsors: Abraham Heller & wf. Elizabeth.

1775, May 3 - William, son of Peter Bayer & Elizabeth, b. 3 May 1775, bap. 25 May 1775; Sponsors: Dilman Bauer & Wf. Elizabeth.

1775, Sep 10 - Plainfield Township: Plainfield Reformed Church Records:

Entries by the Rev. John Wm. Weber, Sept. 1772 - May 1783.

John Leonard, son of William & Maria Grothaus, b. 10 Sep 1775, bap. 5 Nov 1775; Sponsors: Leonard Bayer [Johann Leonhart Beyer] & wife.

(Note: Now St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1422 Church Road, Pen Argyl, PA 18072. Online: http://home.epix.net/~stpeters)

St. Peter's Union Lutheran and Reformed Church, Pen Argyl, Plainfield Township. History: A small log church was erected for a small congregation on the first tract of land in 1770. "The Ministers of the German Reformed Congregations in Pennsylvania and other Colonies in the 18th Century" - William. Hinke, page 188, reads: "In August, 1782, a German traveler, John David Schopf, visited some of the settlements, near Wind Gap, and writes as follows: 'We passed a small log church which has been built by the Lutherans and the German Reforms, whom it serves alternately as a place of worship'." This quotation informs us that the Reformed and Lutheran people erected the first log church in 1770.

For more about William Grothaus, see also: Greathouse of Plainfield Township

1776 - Map of Northampton

1776, July 9 - Muster Roll: Captain Arndt's Company, Peter Beyer

Article: 1776 - Muster Roll: Captain Arndt's Company, Peter Beyer

1777, Jan 11 - John Jacob, son of Dieter Bauer & Catherine, b. 11 Jan 1777, bap. 22 Feb 1777; Sponsors: Conrad Kocher.

1778, Jul 2 - Oath of Allegiance: Return of Lewis Stacher, Esquire, Justice of the Peace, Plainfield Township

135. July 2 - William Grothous
151. July 7 - Leonhard Beyer

Analysis: Lewis Stacher was also Captain of the 4th and 6th companies of Plainfield Township, 2nd Battalion, Northampton County Militia, under whom William Grothous served as a Corporal from 1780-1783. It is logical to assume this William Grothous was also a resident of Plainfield Township or the surrounding area when his son, John Leonard was born on 10 Sep 1775, when he took the oath in 1778 and while he was serving in the militia of the township from 1780-1783.

For more about William Grothaus, see also: Greathouse of Plainfield Township

1778, Nov 28 - Abraham, son of Dietrich Bauer & Catharine, b. 28 Nov 1778, bap. 3 Jan 1779; Sponsors: John Jacob Bayer & Eva Bauer

1780, Mar 9 - Elizabeth, daugher of Dielman Bauer & Maria Eva, b. 9 Mar 1780, bap. 16 Apr 1780; Sponsors: Valentine Metz & Elizabeth.

1780, Jun 16 - Elizabeth, daughter of John Bauer & Catharine, b. 16 Jun 1780, bap. ?; Sponsors: Abraham Heller & Elizabeth.

1781, Dec 24 - Catharine, daughter of John Bauer & Catherine, b. 24 Dec 1781, bap. 20 Jan 1782; Sponsors: Dietrich Bauer & Catharine.

1782, Dec 15 - Susanna, daughter of Dielman Bauer & Maria Eva, b. 15 Dec 1782, bap. 26 Jan, 1783; Sponsors: Peter Bander; Peter Bander.

Sources:

Rev. W. H. Brong, The Pennsylvania German, Vol X, No. 7, July 1909. Page 308, Baptism: Plainfield Reform Church, Anna Maria, daughter of Casper Doll and wife Margarita. Online: http://www.footnote.com/image/249048832

Friedensthal and its stockaded mill: a Moravian chronicle, 1749-1767, Reverend William Cornelius Reichel, John Woolf Jordan, Moravian Historical Society, Whitefield House, Nazareth, PA, 1877. Page 24, online: http://books.google.com/books?id=GZE25XnoFYAC

Plainfield Township, Tax List 1761, online: http://home.ptd.net/~mexorob/1761Plainfield.html

Plainfield Reformed Church, Church Records of the Plainfield Reformed Church, Plainfield Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania 1763-1853, Vol. 1, Copied by Wm. J. Hinke, Feb - Mar 1934. Evangelical and Reformed Historical Society, Lancaster, PA., Anna Barbara, daughter of William Bayer & wf. Barbara, page 3.

Email from Dick Musselman to Rick Greathouse, Subject: Leonard Beyer, 29 Aug 2009. Dick Musselman, Nazareth, PA, email: ram@enter.net. 1766 - William Beyer estate file opened.

Pennsylvania Archives, Series 3, Volume: XIX, Proprietary Supply and State Tax Lists of the County of Northampton for the Years 1772 to 1788. Page 61, 1772 Tax Assessment, Lenard and Peter Boyer.

Plainfield Reformed Church, Church Records of the Plainfield Reformed Church, Plainfield Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania 1763-1853, Vol. 1, Copied by Wm. J. Hinke, Feb - Mar 1934. Evangelical and Reformed Historical Society, Lancaster, PA., Abraham, son of Peter Bayer & Elizabeth, page 6. Online: http://www.footnote.com/image/249048844

Plainfield Reformed Church, Church Records of the Plainfield Reformed Church, Plainfield Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania 1763-1853, Vol. 1, Copied by Wm. J. Hinke, Feb - Mar 1934. Evangelical and Reformed Historical Society, Lancaster, PA., William, son of Peter Bayer & Elizabeth, page 7. Online: http://www.footnote.com/image/249048845

Plainfield Reformed Church, Church Records of the Plainfield Reformed Church, Plainfield Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania 1763-1853, Vol. 1, Copied by Wm. J. Hinke, Feb - Mar 1934. Evangelical and Reformed Historical Society, Lancaster, PA. John Leonard, son of William & Maria Grothaus. Sponsors: Leonard Bayer and wife. Online: cover: http://www.footnote.com/image/229079309.

Ibid., Plainfield Reformed Church, Page 6, Rev. John Wm. Weber: http://www.footnote.com/image/229079311.

Ibid., Plainfield Reformed Church, Page 8 , John Leonard, son of William & Maria Grothaus. Sponsors: Leonard Bayer and wife. Online: http://www.footnote.com/image/229079312.

St Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Origin of the Plainfield Church. Online: http://home.epix.net/~stpeters/churchhist/originplnfldchrch.html.

Ibid., History of Early Churches. Online: http://home.epix.net/~stpeters/churchhist/buildinghist.html#history.

John T. Humphrey, Pennsylvania Births: Northampton County 1733-1800.

1776 Map of Northampton County

History of Northampton County, Pennsylvania ... : a new illustrated historical, descriptive and biographical souvenir, public buildings, fine blocks, and important manufactories .... Philadelphia Reading: Peter Fitts, 1877. Page 58, Private Peter Beyer killed on Long Island, 27 Aug 1776.

Plainfield Reformed Church, Church Records of the Plainfield Reformed Church, Plainfield Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania 1763-1853, Vol. 1, Copied by Wm. J. Hinke, Feb - Mar 1934. Evangelical and Reformed Historical Society, Lancaster, PA. John Jacob, son of Dieter Bauer & Catherine, Page 9.

Pennsylvania Archives, 2nd Series, Vol 3, Names of Persons Who Took the Oath of Allegiance to the State of Pennsylvania Between the Years 1776 and 1794. Page 4: http://www.footnote.com/image/3072053; Page 5: http://www.footnote.com/image/3072057.

Plainfield Township, Northampton County, PA. Oath of Allegiance: Return of Lewis Stacher, Esquire, Justice of the Peace, Plainfield Township. William Grothous, line 135 - Online: http://www.footnote.com/image/228574078. Leonhard Beyer, line 151 - Online: http://www.footnote.com/image/228574054. Document photos by: Dick Musselman, Nazareth, PA, email: ram@enter.net.

Plainfield Reformed Church, Church Records of the Plainfield Reformed Church, Plainfield Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania 1763-1853, Vol. 1, Copied by Wm. J. Hinke, Feb - Mar 1934. Evangelical and Reformed Historical Society, Lancaster, PA. Abraham, son of Dieter Bauer & Catharine, Page 11.

Plainfield Reformed Church, Church Records of the Plainfield Reformed Church, Plainfield Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania 1763-1853, Vol. 1, Copied by Wm. J. Hinke, Feb - Mar 1934. Evangelical and Reformed Historical Society, Lancaster, PA. Elizabeth, daughter of Dielman Bauer & Maria Eva, Page 12.

Plainfield Reformed Church, Church Records of the Plainfield Reformed Church, Plainfield Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania 1763-1853, Vol. 1, Copied by Wm. J. Hinke, Feb - Mar 1934. Evangelical and Reformed Historical Society, Lancaster, PA. Elizabeth, daugher of John Bauer & Catharine, Page 12.

Ibid., Plainfield Reformed Church, Elizabeth, daughter of Dietrich Bauer & Catharine, Page 12.

Plainfield Reformed Church, Church Records of the Plainfield Reformed Church, Plainfield Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania 1763-1853, Vol. 1, Copied by Wm. J. Hinke, Feb - Mar 1934. Evangelical and Reformed Historical Society, Lancaster, PA. Catharine, daughter of John Bauer & Catharine, Page 14.

Plainfield Reformed Church, Church Records of the Plainfield Reformed Church, Plainfield Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania 1763-1853, Vol. 1, Copied by Wm. J. Hinke, Feb - Mar 1934. Evangelical and Reformed Historical Society, Lancaster, PA. Susanna, daughter of Dielman Bauer & Maria Eva, Page 15.

Ibid., Plainfield Reformed Church, Abraham, son of Dietrich Bauer & Catharine, Page 15.