Frederick Reber - PA - ca. 1756
I have a Frederick Reber born in PA ca. 1756, the son of Johann Leonhardt Reber. Son Fred is mentioned in Leonhardt's will; a baptismal record for him is not to be found.
To begin, allow me to say a few words concerning the variations of the name. First off, there are no Reavers or Ravers to be found in the ship manifests prior to the Revolution (I don't know about later). Also, there are no Reavers or Ravers in the existing PA German church records from the colonial period. The names to be found are either Reber, Raber (rarely), or Räber, and they were all pronounced about the same: Ray-ber. That pronunciation was in general use up until WWII. In German, the name Raver would be pronounced Rah-fer (rhymes almost with father), and I don't think you want that. Reaver would be worse: Ray-ah-fer.
Reber is derived from the German word Rebe - meaning vine - and the terminal 'e' is pronounced. I've heard different stories about the origin of the name, but all involve vines: either grape or rose.
The next problem is there's less difference in the pronunciation of 'b' and 'v' in German than there is in English. The next problem is the vast majority of the marshalls who served as the enumerators in the early censuses were of English descent - inherited from the colonial era. Evidently, some of them were unable to differentiate between the German 'b' and 'v', so the name got badly corrupted, especially as the families moved west and away from the German speaking counties. As an example, compare the church records and the census records for York County. In the church records the name is universally spelled Reber. Not so in the census records. That's the difference between a German Pastor and a Limey enumerator.
'My' Frederick was born about 1756 at the height of the French and Indian War. I do not know exactly where he was born because, as mentioned, a baptismal record has not been found. However, before and after the war, his family lived in Windsor Township, Berks County, which was hard up against the Blue Mountains. It is quite possible that the region was evacuated for a number of years during the war, and that is the reason for the lack of records. I have the same problem with lots of my ancestors from present-day Schuylkill County because it was virtually abandoned for almost a decade.
'My' Fred moved up to present-day Schuylkill County by 1783. He had two daughters born there in the early 1790s: Magdalena in 1791 and Hanna in 1792. I have names for only those two kids, but his wife's name at that time was Sybilla. The 1790 census shows them with eight more kids.
It's possible the family was wiped out, but I suspect they moved west. Anyway, by 1793 they were gone. There's a Frederick Reaver in the 1800 census for Bedford County PA, but again he disappears. I think it's possible he moved over to Fairfield County OH by 1800.
Lastly, there were no Frederick Reber immigrants (actually, there is one listed in either Rupp or Strassberger, but that's a foul-up; he really was a Weber.) I can find no baptismal record for a Frederick Reber, regardless of spelling, in the existing colonial PA church records who was born ca. 1750. The only one I know about, or any of my 'cousins' know about, is the son of Leonhardt Reber and Anna Margaretha nee Klein.
It took me about two hours to think this message out and type it up, so I'm hoping for some responses. You can also e-mail me directly; I don't bite. Happy Hunting!
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Re: Frederick Reber - PA - ca. 1756
Robert Wolfe 1/09/05