Index Line Key: GMH Sr = 0 m
Line: George Michael Sr (also GMH Sr)
Born: December 14, 1714 Birthplace: Unknown (most likely Germany)
Baptised: Unknown Place of Baptism: Unknown
Father: Unknown
Mother: Unknown
Spouse: Anna Maria (Ann Mary) [maiden name and lineage unknown]
Married: Before 1742 Place of Wedding: Unknown
Children:
(Definite records)
Anna Maria: 1742
John George: borba on September 4, 1751
Jacob: baptized on August 24, 1760, Born August 3, 1760 “3 weeks old”
Jürg Frederic (George Frederick): borba March 1, 1762
Children: (including non-substantiated information)
George Michael (Jr) – c. 1741
Anna Maria – c. 1742
Anna Barbara – c. 1744
Anna Catherine – c. 1746
John Adam – July 21, 1748
Margaret – c. 1750
John George – September 4, 1751
Elizabeth – c. 1752
Bartholomew – c. 1753
Magdalene – c. 1756
Christina – c. 1758
Jacob – August 3, 1760
George Frederick – March 2, 1762
Variant Spellings on Record:
Georg Michael Hittel: John George’s borba at St Paul’s Lutheran, also tombstone
George Michael Hÿttel: His signature, Oaths of Allegiance, 1738
Geo. Mich’l Hittlee: Warrantee of Land: Pennsylvania Archives listing
Jurg Michl Hittel: age 23, Edward Paynter’s Captain’s
Roster Winter Galley
Jurg Michel Hittel: George Frederick’s borba by Daniel Schumacher
Jürg Michael Hittle: George Frederick’s borba at Jerusalem Lutheran
Jürg Michell Hittler: Jacob’s borba at Jerusalem Lutheran
Jurg Michael Hittler: Jacob’s baptism record by Daniel Schumacher
Timeline:
Date (YMD) Event Reference
|
17141214 |
Birth |
|
|
17380905 |
Arrived Port of Philadelphia via Ship Winter Galley |
Ship’s List, 52a (Captain’s roster), 52b, 52c (Oaths of Allegiance) |
|
c. 1741 |
George Michael (Jr’s) birth |
Patsy Hittle-Gore |
|
1742 |
Anna Maria’s birth |
St. Paul’s Lutheran (Red Hill, Pa) records |
|
c. 1744 |
Anna Barbara’s birth |
“Hittle Family in America” |
|
c. 1746 |
Anna Catherine’s birth |
“Hittle Family in America” |
|
17480721 |
John Adam’s birth |
Patsy Hittle-Gore |
|
c. 1750 |
Margaret’s birth |
“Hittle Family in America” |
|
17510904 |
John George’s borba |
St. Paul’s Lutheran (Blue Church) records |
|
c. 1752 |
Elizabeth’s birth |
“Hittle Family in America” |
|
c. 1753 |
Bartholomew’s birth |
“Hittle Family in America” |
|
c. 1756 |
Magdalene’s birth |
“Hittle Family in America” |
|
c. 1758 |
Christina’s birth |
“Hittle Family in America” |
|
17600130 |
Received Warrant of Land in “Northampton County” |
Pennsylvania Archives: Series __, page 88 |
|
17600803 |
Jacob’s birth (calculated from info. in Schumacher’s personal record) |
Rev. Daniel Schumacher and Jerusalem Lutheran records |
|
17620301 |
George Frederick’s borba |
Rev. Daniel Schumacher and Jerusalem Lutheran records |
|
17860116 |
Death |
Military Record: According to the Pennsylvania Archives series, “Michael Hittler” served from Northampton County during the French and Indian War. Also, for at least 1 term in 1776, “Michael Huddel” served in a unit formed from residents of Salisbury Township, Northampton County. This most very likely is our George Michael Hittel Sr. The Western Salibury (Jerusalem) Union Church includes George Michael Hittel on their memorial monument commemorating Revolutionary War participants from that congregation.
Died: January 16, 1786 according to tombstone.
Place of Burial: Western Salisbury Lutheran Church, Devonshire Road, Allentown, Pennsylvania. Grave is on north side of the Church about 15 yards northeast of side door. There is a DAR marker on the site, but I believe the record listed there is for the wrong George Michael Hittel. The service listed there is for a unit out of Bethelehem and Lower Nazareth Townships, which most probably indicates the record of GMH Sr’s son, George Michael Hittel Jr.
Notes:
1) Children: Anna Maria: The baptismal record of Anna Maria Hittel is held at St. Paul’s Lutheran in Red Hill, Pennsylvania. Evidently Anna Maria died young as this is the only reference to her I’ve ever been able to find.
2) Children: Will References: In his will Michael lists 12 children as heirs: Michael, Barbara, Catherine, Adam, Margaret, George, Elizabeth, Bartholomew, Magdalene, Christina, Jacob, Frederick.
3) Land, Lehigh County: On January 30, 1760, “Geo. Mich’l Hittlee” received a Warrantee of Land for 171.90 acres in what was then Northampton County. This portion of land was part of what was later split from Northampton to form present day Lehigh County. On a map formulated in 1941 for a historical celebration for the city of Emmaus, Pennsylvania, a surveyor overlaid old plat maps onto the then “current” map of Emmaus. This map shows that Michael’s land had the township line between Upper Milford and Salisbury run directly THROUGH his 171 acre holding.
4) Land, Lehigh County: When the surveryor’s map of 1941 is scaled onto present day Mapquest charts, Michael’s land takes up a large portion of the northern section of the city of Emmaus as it is currently (2006) laid out. The holding does not lay “square to the world” but does follow the layout of present day Emmaus, which is laid out about 40 degrees off square.
5) Land, Lehigh County: Harrison Street forms almost the entire southeast side, and 3rd Street most of the southwest. 2nd and Berger Streets form a concave notch at the south corner. The northwest and northeast sides go through subdivision style layouts that are neither square to the world nor square to the town, although the original boundaries themselves are square to the town. The Conrail track cuts through the easternmost tip that lies even farther east than Emmaus Road or State Avenue, depending on where one is utilizing the street that bears both names.
6) Land, Lehigh County: The cemetery that lies within Harrison, Keystone Avenue, Berger and 1st Streets is completely within the boundaries of Michael’s property. There is a very good possibility that the old homestead at the corner of Keystone Road and Wenner Street, which was known in the 1900’s as the “old Wenner Place,” is the original house and farmyard site for Michael’s family.
7) Name: George Michael Hÿttel was how he signed his name on Oaths of Allegiance to the English Crown and to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As “George” was his traditional “Saint’s Name,” he was commonly called Michael, and his will refers to him as Michael. Spelling was phonetic, so the variant spellings listed above are not uncommon or unusual renderings, especially when remembering that he spoke a Germanic language, and not English to communicate.
8) Old World Origins: If Michael came to America at age 23 as recorded on the Ship’s Lists of the Winter Galley in 1738, he most likely would have been a German Palatine, as Captain Edward Paynter generically described his passengers.
9) Old World Origins: According to Gary Morris, Leroy M. Hittle had people he knew from his government contact research George Michael Hittel’s European origins. It appears that Leroy’s version of the results of those inquiries was that Michael and Peter Hittel had came from the Kusel region of what was known as the Pfalz, a section of what is not uncommonly called part of Alsace-Lorraine. Kusel appears to be about 35 miles west of Mannheim (a city on the Rhine River).
10) Parents: It is not hard to find gedcom information that has a “Peter Hittel” listed as Michael’s father. According to the gedcoms, this “Peter Hittel” is not the same Peter Hittel who was Michael’s contemporary in old Northampton County, but rather the father of both of them and born in 1695. (Johann Peter, calculated from his “Blue Church” death record, would have been born in 1720.) To this point I have found absolutely NO information that documents this part of the family legend. I actually tend to doubt it.
11) Will: According to the Register for the Probate of Wills and Granting Letters of Administration in and for the County of Northampton, Michael Hittel’s will was written at time (November 15, 1783) by which Michael was blind. The will was therefore written by George Kriebel and read back to Michael who on numerous occasions affirmed that what was read was indeed his will. George Lautenschlager and Elias Weber were not only witnesses to the will but substantiated Kriebel’s account in a deposition drawn in the presence and under the seal of John Arndt Esquire, holder of the office of Register mentioned above.
12) Will: The deposition referred to in Note #1 was dated January 26, 1786 and includes the signatures of Kriebel, Lautenschlager, Weber and Arndt. It appears to be the initial step in the legal process of probating GMH Sr.’s will.
13) Winter Galley passage to America, 1738: It is common family legend to include Johannes Peter Hittel as a fellow passenger of GMH Sr. on the Winter Galley’s voyage from Rotterdam to Philadelphia via Deal. Peter and Michael were definitely contemporaries in old Northampton County (now mostly Lehigh as concerning the 2 men). Both had association with the “Blue Church,” St. Paul’s Lutheran. Legend is that Peter passed as being younger than 16 years old, and thus was able to sail at lower fare cost and lesser “head tax” assessment. I have found NO documentation to substantiate this legend. That said, I also have found NO documentation to refute it.
Other References:
a. It is not hard to find gedcoms with this same basic information. Especially valuable are Gary Morris’ “Hittle Family in America” and Louise Gruver-Magee’s “Descendants of ? Hittel (Hittle)” in which research was a definite part of the originators’ process.
b. Gedcoms, while very often full of “holes,” do provide clues possibly otherwise unfound. Many seem to be written from oral tradition and often little actual research was involved. Much “family legend” can be found. Substantiating the “legend” can be arduous, sometimes a waste of time, but occasionally a gem is revealed
Source Citations:
