Christian Alleman of Swatara (1786-1853)

BIRTH MARRIAGE DEATH

11 June 1786, Middletown, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA 22 Mar 1807, Zion German Lutheran Church, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA 21 May 1853, Wayne Township, Wayne, Ohio, USA

Christian Alleman was born in Middletown, Dauphin, Pennsylvania on the 11 Jun 1786¹ to parents John Alleman and Barbara Eshenauer; he was the 7th of 14 children.^{2, A}

Christian was baptized at Saint Peter's Church in Middletown on 30 July 1786 where his sponsors were Christian Eshenauer (uncle) & Margaret Alleman (aunt).³

Christian grew up in the surrounding Middletown area in what was known as the township of Swatara. We believe he had a total of 13 siblings and many cousins in the area.

Sarah Heppick was born on 7 Apr 1791 in Middletown, Dauphin, Pennsylvania⁴ to parents Christopher Heppich and Elisabeth Catharine Ettele.^B

On the 22 Mar 1807 Christian Alleman married Sarah Heppick at the Zion German Lutheran Church in Harrisburg, not far from where he grew up in Middletown.⁵

Shortly after their marriage, on 28 May 1807, their first child, daughter Magdalena was born. Her baptism would follow on the 14 Jun.⁶

Following Magdalena were siblings Christian Jr (1808), Sarah (1811), Herman (1813), John (1814), Margaret (1817), Catherine (1818), Mary Ann (1819), and finally Barbara Ann (1820).

We have record of Christian receiving communion at the Zion German Lutheran Church in Harrisburg in 1826.⁷ In 1831, Christian purchased property in Wayne Township, Wayne County, Ohio at section 18, partial quarter southwest and the family relocated to Wayne County. Not long after in 1833, son Christian Jr. married in Wayne County.⁸

The 1840 census places Christian in Wayne Township, Wayne County, Ohio neighbor to his daughter Barbara and son-in-law Jacob Winkler. The family is only living a few houses down from Christian's brother Leonard and his family. (Leonard was a Justice of the Peace in Wayne Country from 1840-1846).⁹

In 1850, Christian is again living with his wife Sarah in Wayne Township, now a few houses down from Jacob and Barbara. This is most likely because new houses were built on farmland between the two families, not because one family moved.¹⁰

On 21 May 1853, in Wayne Township, Christian Alleman died at the age of 66.¹¹

Sarah would die 5 years later on 20 Feb 1858 in Wayne Township, also at the age of 66.⁴

From Christian's estate sale after Sarah's death, we know he owned at least two properties and where they were located. The first was at Twp 20, Range 14, Sect 13, SE 1/4 and the second was his home by the 1850s, next to the Lawrence Winkler family. That was located at Twp 16, Range 13, Sect 18, SW 1/4.

Both Christian and Sarah were buried at Lehman Cemetery on Canaan Center Road in Wayne Township (west of Madisonburg). Sometimes you will see it referred to as Salem Lutheran Cemetery.^{4, 11}

NOTE: To those questioning the accuracy of Christian's parentage, not only have I provided my sources, but I also leave this: All information to contradict this claim comes from one record on Ancestry.com from the collection "Pennsylvania, Mennonite Vital Records, 1750-2014" stating that Christian is the son of Christopher Alleman and Elizabeth Schaffner. The problem with this is that this "record" is not a record at all, but a collection of others' research from the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society. This states no sources and contradicts the vast majority of published Alleman family genealogy research including that of William Henry Egle from the Pennsylvania Archives in 1887 stating he is the son of John & Barbara. The final nails in the coffin of this argument should be not only that Christian came to Wayne Township and lived down the street from Leonard Alleman, also a son of John & Barbara (see 1840 census), but that Christian had a son named John and a daughter named Barbara after his parents and no children named Christopher or Elizabeth. He did not have any grandchildren named Christopher either.

FATHER:

John Alleman, 08 Oct 1758 - 16 Oct 1811

MOTHER:

Barbara Eshenauer, 12 Dec 1760 - 20 Nov 1838

SPOUSE:

Sarah Heppick, 07 Apr 1791 - 20 Feb 1858

CHILDREN:

1. Magdalena Alleman, 28 May 1807 – ?
2. Christian Alleman Jr., 03 Sep 1808 – 16 May 1891
3. Sarah Alleman, 17 Jan 1811 – ?
4. Herman Alleman, 12 Mar 1813 – 14 Apr 1878
5. John Alleman, 05 Apr 1814 – ?
6. Margaret Alleman, 1817 – ?
7. Catherine Alleman, 24 Jan 1818 – bef 1860
8. Mary Ann Alleman, 11 Oct 1819 – ?
9. Barbara Ann Alleman, 28 Dec 1820 – 23 Mar 1890

^A The county of Dauphin didn't exist until 1785, when it was created (along with 5 other counties) from a massive Lancaster county that made up a large portion of the state. This change wasn't immediately adopted and some records were slow to change, which is why you may find some records stating Christian was from Middletown in Lancaster County.

^B Both the Heppick and Ettele names has been spelled many different ways in early documents and are still spelled differently, depending on who you ask. Heppick has been spelled Heppick, Happick, Happich, Heppich, Heppicht. Ettele has been spelled Ettele, Ettelin, Ettelien, Eteling, Ettley, Atley, Attlee, and Attle.

^C In 1825 the construction of the National Road (America's first highway) reached Ohio. This made the trek across Pennsylvania to Ohio much easier and saw a handful of Pennsylvania ancestors arrive in Ohio around this time. The Alleman's in particular arrived anywhere between 1826 and son Christian's marriage in 1833.

^D I have been unable to substantiate the claims via the GLO, but common belief is Christian's father John received land in Ohio for his service as a soldier in the Revolutionary War and that led the charge west for the Alleman children into Ohio.

¹ Family Data Collection - Individual Records about Christian Alleman; Birth year: 1786; Birth city: Midlothian; Birth state: PA; Edmund West, comp.. Family Data Collection - Individual Records [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.

² Alleman Family Genealogy; "Notes and queries: Chiefly relating to Interior Pennsylvania, Volume 1", edited by William Henry Egle for Daily telegraph print, 1887, pg 40.

³ Baptism of Christian Alleman, 1786; Lancaster Co, PA, Church Records of the 18th Century, Vol.5, by F. Edward Wright; 2001; Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; St. Peter's Church; Ancestry.com Archives; Register of marriages and baptisms kept by the Rev. Traugott Frederick Illing.

⁴ Wayne County, Ohio Burial Records about Sarah Alleman; Wooster Branch of Wayne County Public Library; Wayne County, Ohio; Wayne Township; The Lehman (Salem Lutheran) Cemetery; pg. 628.

⁵ Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985 about Christian Alleman; Historical Society of Pennsylvania; Historic Pennsylvania Church and Town Records; Christian Alleman; Marriage; Reel: 691.

⁶ Baptism of Magdalena Alleman; "Pennsylvania, Births and Christenings, 1709-1950," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V2NS-2KH : accessed 19 Jan 2014), Magdalena Alleman, 14 Jun 1807.

⁷ Christian Alleman Communion Record; Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985; Zion Lutheran Church; Ancestry.com.

⁸ Ohio Marriage Records for Christian Alleman Jr.; "Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-1994," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XZDV-SGQ : accessed 19 Jan 2014), Christian Alaman and Sarah Stonebrook, 29 Aug 1833; citing Wayne, Ohio, United States, reference 61; FHL microfilm 425754.

⁹ 1840 United States Federal Census about Christien Alleman; Year: 1840; Census Place: Wayne, Wayne, Ohio; Roll: 432; Page: 70; Image: 144; Family History Library Film: 0020179.

¹⁰ 1850 United States Federal Census about Christian Alleman; Year: 1850; Census Place: Wayne, Wayne, Ohio; Roll: M432_740; Page: 291B; Image: 145.

¹¹ Wayne County, Ohio Burial Records about Christian Alleman; Wooster Branch of Wayne County Public Library; Wayne County, Ohio; Wayne Township; The Lehman (Salem Lutheran) Cemetery; pg. 628.