Progress since Thanksgiving 1989:
1. The services of Jim Petty, former head genealogist at the Family History Library in Salt Lake were obtained to sort out the lineage problem of Andrew Mower. Our information at that time was that he was born in Maryland about 1755. Some genealogical work done 20 years ago showed his line through a New Jersey Moor family.
2. We have since learned this line was in apparent error. We learned that Andrew Mower was born Andrew Maurer in 1752 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania to Michael Maurer and Anna Elizabeth ________. Andrew had two sisters that we have identified so far. We feel there are other siblings yet to be identified.
3. Andrew married in Pennsylvania and had 4 children by what appears to be two different wives---Michael Maurer (Mower) born in 1774 to wife Barbara, and Molly (1778), Sarah (1781) and Jacob (1783) Maurer (Mower) born through wife Margaret. Andrew moved to Maryland after the Revolutionary War and there two more children were born by Margaret---Phoebe (abt 1790) and Andrew Jr. (abt 1793).
4. The Mowers at this reunion today all come through the eldest of Andrew's sons---Michael. Andrew was of German stock. We believe his father---Michael---was the first Maurer of our line to come from Germany. We are working now to establish their date of immigration and origin in Germany.
5. Michael Mower son of Andrew, married a girl of German parents---Catherine Geissinger, daughter of Charles (Carl) Geissinger. They married about 1797 in Frederick County, Maryland and soon moved with the family to Bedford County, Pennsylvania. Andrew and all of his children moved to Bedford as did Charles (Carl) Geissinger, and his family. Andrew's sister, Anna Margaret Maurer who married Christopher Brill also had moved to Bedford. It was common for families to move in groups to the West.
6. We have learned Charles (Carl) Geissinger fought in the Revolutionary War and received a land grant in Bedford in the early 1800's. We have discovered 2 of his sons names---Charles and John--- and have done temple work for them. We have discovered that John married and lived in Bedford and had a family there.
7. Henry Mower Senior grew up in Bedford Co. Pennsylvania and like his father, Michael, became a wagon maker. In 1817 he married a grand daughter of Anna Margaret Maurer Brill---Mary Amick, daughter of John Amick.
8. The Amicks are more elusive to trace, but we are cracking their case too. John had a brother named Michael. Possibly the family came from York County, Pennsylvania, but originally came from Germany. Michael Amick married Molly Maurer (Mower) and lived and died in Bedford County. He and Molly had 7 children. We are right on the verge of breaking this family open.