MARCH 1996 NEWSLETTER
Please note new address for our family as well as a new Internet e-mail address.
I have passed on to Trudy a clue I received from a Brill family member in Virginia. The clue being that the old family members of the Brill family allegedly referred to the immigrant ancestors as "The Old Frenchman". Could be the Brills came from an area close to France which spoke German. All clues need to be checked out.
Patty Jones, a Brill relative recently sent me another batch of family group sheets from her files. Many more Brills are thus being identified and we are able to do work for them.
REPORT FROM TRUDY SCHENK ON MAURER / BRILL RESEARCH
Dear Jerry, Once again I thank you for the check you sent me. I did look into the possible French connection as origin of Martin Brill's family. Annette Burgert's fairly new book on Alsace Emigrants to Pennsylvania shows no Brill. From my experience, I can only say I don't give much to a hearsay for instance that Martin Brill who came almost 250 years ago to America was known as a Frenchman. Let's not pay much attention to that. The only Brills in the area near the French border is the Pfalz where the name Brill is shown and to the information of the interested descendent from Virginia the Alsatian only spoke German and wanted to be Germans even up to Napoleon's time and after. So there would not have been a German across the border on either side who actually wanted to be French in those years. Annette Burgert's new book shows no Brill at all or any similar spelling.
I'm very familiar with the region formerly called Alsace, no Hermans are named. We looked into the Pfalz connection, all the records of this area are on computer. The IGI shows no possibilities.
As I'm working on the 7th volume of the WEI in the area of Esslingen, I have come upon three Brill emigrants coming to America in the 19th century. Immediately I searched those parish records with no results.
I have not heard from the archivist at Eschwege yet. I will send a note to him this weekend to ask why no answer and get permission to do research at the small archive. I was able to get a list of parish records he has there and there are about 150 parish records of the Hesse-Cassel district deposited there. I still feel very strongly that the Brills came from there.
Now as far as Michael Maurer's wife, yes it is very possible that his wife was a Kolb, or perhaps a girl from his home area like Eschental or Jungholzhausen. This would be a good reason why he stayed where all those people were in Trappe Twp. and Falkner Swamp.
I checked the St. Michaels church records of Philadelphia for a possible marriage. Most marriages took place in Philadelphia of the early settlers. Did you ever look at Pastor Muehlenberg's journal? These people seemed to follow him since he was from the area of Wuerttemberg where many of the settlers came from. He could have married J. Michael Maurer and his wife wherever he served first. I can look into it if you want me to.
I think his wife could have been a Krumrein, Schweinshard, Gutmann or any daughter of someone on the ship he came on. There are several families from his home area on the same ship like the Glotz family. Muehlenberg came to Trappe Twp. in 1742, I never found out where he was before this time. I will be leaving for Germany the end of April. So much for today, Viele Gruesse, Trudy Schenk.
Henry Mower Jr. journey across the Plains continued... Silas Richard's Journal:
October 14--- Morning cool and cloudy, very chilly south wind. Through the day snow melted off. Traveled fourteen miles. Camped on Black's Fork.
October 16--- Morning cool, day cloudy, cold west wind, some rain through the day. Traveled sixteen miles. Camped one mile below Fort Bridger on the willows.
October 17--- Morning cloudy, day very windy. Traveled eleven miles to Muddy Creek.
October 18--- Day fair and cool. Traveled seventeen miles to Sulphur Creek. Night clear, cold and frosty.
October 19--- Morning fair, day pleasant. Traveled sixteen miles to Cache Cave.
October 20--- Started about ten o'clock. Day pleasant. Traveled ten miles. Camped on Echo Creek. Grass water and wood plenty.
October 21--- Sunday: Traveled to the mouth of Echo. Huntington's Company in one-half mile.
October 22--- Morning fair and frosty. Crossed Bear River. Deep and rapid. Traveled to Kanyon Creek.
October 23--- Day fair, road bad, many steep places crossing creek. Had to ascend the Bluffs which are very steep, the beaver dams being impassable in the road. Camped in ravine two miles east of the summit of the Big Mountain, making twelve miles today.
October 24--- The descent of the Big Mountain being very steep, had to rough lock wagons. Traveled to west fork of Little Mountain.
October 25, 1849--- Arrive in Salt Lake City about two o'clock.
The following June, Henry and his small family was found living in Great Salt Lake County. Census of 1850 Utah Territory, Free Inhabitants in the County of Great Salt Lake, Deseret, as of 1 June 1850, page 57 B, family 496: Henry Mower, farmer, age 26, bn Pa; Susan age 26, bn. Pa; John A. age 3, bn Iowa.
By 1856 they had moved to Springville, but his family was mixed and living with that of his father, Henry Sr. who had come to Utah in 1851. Census of 1856 Utah Territory pg. 56, living in Weber County were: John and Sarah MOWER (John is a son to Henry MOWER Sr. and Sarah BIDWELL his wife); Lucretia MOWER (2nd wife of Henry Sr.); George MOWER (son of Henry Sr. and Mary AMICK); Hannah E. MOWER (dau. of Henry Sr. and Mary AMICK); Eliza MOWER (dau. of Henry Sr. and Lucretia HUPPER); Juliette MOWER (Unknown); Henry MOWER (Probably Henry Sr.); Orson MOWER (son of Susan STRONG); Annette MOWER (Unknown-- possibly a dau.); Oscar MOWER (son of Susan STRONG and Henry Jr.). Living next door were Simeon CRAGUN and Susan (Mower-- dau. of Henry Sr. and Mary AMICK) CRAGUN; Wilford E., Betsy and Willard M. CRAGUN.
Census of 1856 Utah Territory: Living in Springville, pg. 6 were: Henry MOWER and Susan MOWER (would have been his wife); Eliza MOWER (Elizabeth HALL, his 2nd wife); John A. MOWER (son by Susan); William H. MOWER (son by Susan); Adelia MOWER (Unknown-- another daughter of Susan's?); Thomas W. MOWER ( possibly BILLS); Sarah E. MOWER (dau. of Susan's); George H. MOWER (son of Elizabeth HALL); William E. MOWER (son of Elizabeth HALL).
Census of 1860 Springville, Utah Territory FHL #805314 taken on 7 Sep 1860, page 298 dwelling 2634, family 2068: Hy Mower age 36, bn Pa; Elizth 40 bn Carolina; Alice 20 bn England; John A. 12 bn Iowa; Thos. W. age 10, bn Utah Territory; Geo. H. 8, bn UT; Wm E. age 6, bn UT; Hy age 2 bn UT; Jno. L. age 1 bn UT; Chas. A. 10/12 bn UT.
Henry moved to Fairview in 1861 according to the Larry D. Blackburn history.
Census of 1870 of Fairview, Sanpete, Utah FHL # 553111 page 20 family 51: Henry Mower age 46, farmer, value of real estate $500, value of personal property $600 bn. PA; Elizabeth age 49, bn North Carolina; William E. age 16; George H. 19; Henry 12; John L. 11; Charles A. 10. All children born in Utah.
FHL #1255338 Census of 1 June 1880 Fairview, Sanpete, Utah Territory, family 12: Henry Mower 53, farmer, bn. Pa, father bn. Pa, mother bn. Va; Ruvinia 46, bn. Pa, father bn Pa., mother bn. N. Y.; Cynthia 13; Nelson 10; Lula 8; Lydia 11; Two Syler step-sons ages 17, 21. Not very readable.
Census of 1880 FHL # 1255338 Fairview, Sanpete, Utah Territory, page 464: Amy Mower 47, bn. OH, parents bn. MD; Amy A. 12, bn. Ut; Sidney W. 3; David Garlic 17; William H. Garlic 15.
Census of 1880 FHL # 1255338 Fairview, Sanpete, Utah Territory, page 467: Elizabeth Mower 59, bn NC, parents bn. NC; John L. 21, bn Ut, parents bn Pa, NC; Emily 16 (dau. in law), parents bn Sweden as was she.
Henry Mower (Jr.) summoned on 6 Feb 1889 to appear on 26 Feb 1889 in court in Provo to answer the charge of unlawful cohabitation. On 26 Feb 1889he appeared before Judge Judd in the lawsuit named: United States vs. Henry Mower. His plea was: "Not Guilty".
FHL #1241686 Census of 1900, Fairview, Sanpete, Utah lists: Henry Mower, bn Nov. 1824, age 75, md. 33 years, bn in Pa as were his parents. Wife, Ruvinia, bn May 1834, age 66, md. 33 years, mother of 7 with 6 living. She was bn in Pa, father bn Pa, mother bn N.Y. Granddaughter, Ruvinia Siler living with them. She was born May 1884, age 16, bn in Utah, father bn in Utah, mother bn in Va.
TIB film # 1 263 247 Lists Henry Mower Jr. Baptized 3 May 1855, Washed and anointed 3 Feb 1846, sealed 16 Jun 1866 Nauvoo Endowment House, Book 1, page. 276. The baptism mentioned would have obviously been a re-baptism as many were done during this time and Henry was already a member some 19 years by then.
Obituary Index, Salt Lake City Library: Deseret News 24 Feb 1902 page 8 carries the obituary of Henry Mower Jr. That ends what I have on Henry Mower Jr., son of Henry Mower Sr. and Mary Amick.
Depending on how much there is to report during the next couple of months will determine if we combine newsletters into an Apr/May issue or not. I plan on spending some time in March researching at the FHL in Salt Lake. If any of you want to purchase some time for Trudy in Germany, please send that contribution before she leaves in April so she can plan how many days she will be staying to research.
Would somebody in Provo go to the courthouse and find the results of the 1889 lawsuit of unlawful cohabitation mentioned in this page above? That might be interesting. Thanks for all who support this great work.