I have covered many of the Heafner allied family surnames in the previous blog post that covered the Huffstetlers and most of their allied families. I would like to finish up the Heafner branch by highlighting some of the other related surnames.
I realized that I had omitted giving any detail to Louisa Baker’s ancestry while working on the Huffstetlers, so I would like to start there. Louisa Baker, wife of Ephraim Michael Huffstetler, was born in 1836, the fourth of seven children, to parents Joseph Abraham Baker, Jr. (b. abt. 1801, d. 30 Dec. 1856) and Elizabeth “Betsy” REYNOLDS (b. abt. 1802, d. aft. 1860). Joseph, Jr. was of course a son of Joseph, Sr. (b. abt. 1777 in Pennsylvania, d. bef. 1849) and wife Catherine NISWONGER (b. 1784, d. abt. 1850); both died in Missouri. Joseph, Sr. was the second son of Peter Baker (b. bef. 1745 in Pennsylvania, d. bef. 1820 in Missouri) and Mary (thought to be MILLER) (b. bef. 1755 in Pennsylvania, d. bef. 1835 in Missouri) . There were three Bakers; Abraham, Jacob, and Peter, that moved into the old Tryon County area in the mid-1700s; the three were probably brothers, with Abraham and Peter almost certainly so. There is a Lincoln County land deed that Peter Baker received 182 acres on both sides of Jacob’s (River) on 2 August 1788. This Peter Baker is the pioneer to this area of this surname branch of our ancestry. Many of the Baker clan moved to Missouri between the years of 1800 and 1820, including Peter and his son Joseph, Sr.
It appears Betsy Reynolds was the daughter of John Reynolds (b. bef. 1760, d. bef. Jan. 1829), his wife has not been identified. There is a John Reynolds listed as a RWP who fought at the battle of “Moore’s Creek Bridge”; I have been unable to confirm that this is Betsy’s father. I have also not confirmed that John Reynolds was the first of that surname to arrive in the old Tryon County area; more work needs to be done on this family.
Catherine Niswonger was a daughter to Joseph Neighswonger (b. abt. 1755 in Pennsylvania, d. abt. 1833 in Missouri) and wife Eva Katherine STATLER (b. abt. 1759 in Pennsylvania, d. 13 June 1821 in Missouri). Joseph Neighswonger appears to be the Lincoln County pioneer of the Niswonger family name. Records show that he and Eva Katherine were married in Lincoln County about 1783; with daughter Catherine being born there about 1784. It appears that Joseph Neighswonger had land transactions in Lincoln County in 1789 and 1799 and then moved his family to Missouri. The timeline gets complicated, because apparently Joseph Baker went to Missouri to marry Catherine Niswonger on 27 January 1801, and then returned to Lincoln County where Joseph, Jr. was born later that year.
Eva Katherine Statler was a daughter to Johann Peter Statler (or Stadler) (b. abt. 1736 in Pennsylvania, d. bef. October 1788 in Lincoln County) and wife Anna Catherine HOLWEIN. Johann Peter was the German “Statler” pioneer to old Lincoln County; receiving 400 acres of land on the South Fork of the Catawba River on 22 September 1766.
Back to some of the others female family names that married into the Heafner line, starting with Frances EAKER (b. 23 January 1835, d. 23 January 1922) who married Daniel Hafner in 1857. Frances was born in Lincoln County, the fourth of eight children to parents Jacob Eaker (b. abt. 1805, d. aft. 1860) and Anna MOORE (b. abt. 1805, d. 17 March 1847). Jacob had a second marriage to a Rebecca Huggins; they had one son, “Christy”, but he is not part of our direct lineage. Jacob Eaker was a son to Daniel Eaker (b. abt. 1773, d. 08 February 1853) and Sarah MCCARTY (b. abt. 1777, d. abt. 1807). Daniel and Sarah married 30 April 1802 in Lincoln County; unfortunately I don’t have much more information on this family. Daniel was born to Christian Eaker, who was born in Alsace, France on 14 February 1724, and died abt. 1777 in Lincoln County; and Eva Catherine WHISENHUNT, who was born in Pennsylvania on 30 October 1746, and died in March of 1818. Christian Eaker accompanied his father Peter Eaker, Sr., who was born in Switzerland about 1689 and died in Lincoln County sometime after 22 August 1773, into the old Tryon County area. Peter Eaker, Sr. was married to Veronica GILLMAN (b. bef February 1689 in Switzerland); she apparently died before her husband’s arrival in Pennsylvania. These are the EAKER family German pioneers to the old Tryon County area. This Eaker surname is as bad as the Heafner name with the different spellings associated with it; there is Ecker, Eckert, Ecort, Egger, Acker, Acre, and others. Just another note; the Jacob (Mani) Mauney, who married Catharina Eaker, family; and the Peter Eaker, Sr. family were associated with and traveled with each other all the way from Canton Bern, Switzerland to Alsace, France, to Pennsylvania aboard the ship “Lydia”, and then to North Carolina. Both Jacob Mauney and Peter Eaker, Sr. had sons named “Christian”, they were probably first cousins, and we are descended from both.
I found a book on the Moore family at the Lincoln County Library, The Leading Edge: A History of the Family of Aaron Moore, Pennsylvania Indian Trader and North Carolina Pioneer; that included a Ann Moore, born October 14, 1805. It shows this Ann to be the child of Moses Moore (b. 29 November, 1762, d. 05 December 1832) and Nancy COX (b. 19 August 1767, d. unknown). I believe this to be our Anna Moore who was born in 1805 and died 17 March 1847. In this same book it shows that Anna’s brother, Aaron Moore, and eldest son of Moses Moore, applied for a pension on behalf of Moses Moore and his heirs for his service in the Revolutionary War. If the statements in this application are correct, Moses would have been only 15 years old when he first registered for service in 1777. This Moses, supposedly signed up for many one, two, and three month tours of duty from 1777-1783. He was said to have attained the rank of Captain by the time the War ended in 1783. The application was ultimately rejected due to insufficient evidence of service. Anna’s father Moses appears to be the son of Aaron Moore and Rachel LAWRENCE. According to the book title, this Aaron Moore would have been our “Moore” pioneer to old Tryon County.
I have no further information on our 4x-great-grandmother, Sarah McCarty, nor our 5x-great-grandmother, Rachel Lawrence.
Eva Catherine Whisenhunt was the daughter of Johan Adam Whisenhunt (Whisenant) who was born in Germany on 02 September 1719 and died between January and April 1784 in Lincoln County; and wife Anna Barbara (surname unknown) (b. abt. 1720, d. abt. 1800). After Christian Eaker’s death, Eva married a John Huffstetler who was probably a brother to our pioneer ancestor, Michael Huffstetler. This John Huffstetler appears to have been an executor of Christian Eaker’s will. A NC Crown Patent for 300 acres of land on Long Creek was issued to Adam Whisenhunt on 30 October 1765, making him our Whisenhunt / Whisenant German pioneer to old Tryon County.
Veronica Gillman’s parents were Christen Gillman and Catharina Von KAENEL, and grandparents Lorentz Gillman and Verena RYCHEN; all were from the Canton Bern area of Switzerland, and there is no evidence that any of them made it to America.
Mary MAUNEY (b. abt. 1808, d. aft. 1880) was the wife of Philip Hafner. Some researchers list her as “Mary Jane” Mauney, and the 1880 census lists her as “Polly”. Her parentage has not been established with any certainty; it is clear that she is a descendant of Jacob (Mani) Mauney, but it has not been determined which son or grandson she might belong to.
Christiana SHYTLE, wife of Nicholas Hafner, was born 05 November 1769 in Pennsylvania, and died after March 1855 in Lincoln County. She was the daughter of Martin Shytle (Scheickle / Scheitel) (b. abt. 1735, d. 18 August 1817) and his wife Christina KREUL (b. abt. 1740, d. February 1827). Martin Shytle shows up in several Lincoln County land deeds and is the earliest of the Shytle surname to show up in old Tryon County. Martin is of the age that he might have served in some capacity in the Revolutionary War, but I have found no records of his service. I also don’t have any further information on his wife Christina or her family.
Information on Elizabeth FARMER, wife of pioneer Johann Dietrich Hafner, is currently a total mystery; and with that I will close the Hafner / Heafner branch of our family tree.