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Thrifty Thursday: More About Peter Ashenfelter’s Taxes in 1798

1 October 1798 US Direct Tax list for Peter Ashenfelter, Warrington Township, York County, Pennsylvania- Headings.
1 October 1798 US Direct Tax list for Peter Ashenfelter, Warrington Township, York County, Pennsylvania- Headings. (Click to enlarge.)

 

Helbling Family, Beerbower Family (Click for Family Tree)

Since today is the day third quarter estimated taxes are due in the US, and many property tax bills are due in September, it seemed a good day to post about another tax record found for Peter Ashenfelter.

We previously posted about the taxation on the stone house with real glass windows that Peter Ashenfelter owned in 1798 Pennsylvania. (See Peter Ashenfelter- 1798 Taxation.) Recently, when searching for Beerbower taxation records (Peter’s daughter Elizabeth Ashenfelter married Caspar J. Bierbrauer/Beerbower), we came upon another entry for a Peter Ashenfelter:

1 October 1798 US Direct Tax list for Peter Ashenfelter, Warrington Township, York County, Pennsylvania- tax record.
1 October 1798 US Direct Tax list for Peter Ashenfelter, Warrington Township, York County, Pennsylvania- Tax Record. (Click to enlarge.)

This entry is for one old log house, 24′ by 20 ‘ (you may have a single room that big!), 1 old log barn 48′ by 22′, and 1 new log joiner shop 24′ by 16’. The single dwelling house was worth $53, and the 158 acres were worth $656.

So is this the same Peter Ashenfelter? Or is it the son, also named Peter? The younger Peter would have been just 18 years old- somewhat young to own that much property. But it was possible, and since the buildings were so old, maybe the father had given his older property to his son?

The theory that these records are for two different Peter Ashenfelters is strengthened by the fact that both state a Peter Ashenfelter is occupying the property.

The log home tax record notes an adjoining land owner, Peter Gardner. Looking at property maps might help us determine if these Peters are two different men.

The stone house was on just 2 acres, and Peter was getting older- 54 in 1798. Might he and his wife Elizabeth (Reiser) Ashenfelter have moved to town, but still owned the farm and maybe his son(s) or hired hands helped him work it? Again, looking at property maps may help answer our questions.

One point suggests that these records are for the same man- they are not called “Sr.” or “Jr.” in the records, which was common when there were two men with the same name in the same township or county.

Additionally, there are records for other Peter Ashenfelters in Pennsylvania, and it appears that the son of Peter (1744-1822) also named Peter (1780-1846), was buried in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. Some records, like an 1830 census found, do not have a male old enough to be either of these men. So possibly the son Peter moved to a different area.

Looks like it will take some deeper research and sorting out of these Ashenfelters to find the actual facts about this family.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. Peter Ashenfelter- 1798 Taxationhttp://heritageramblings.net/2015/06/17/peter-ashenfelter-1798-taxation/
  2. There are no page numbers on the tax lists shown above. Both can be found on Ancestry.com.

 

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We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
 

Original content copyright 2013-2016 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted. 
Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.
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Mystery Monday: Who Is ‘A. Beerbower’ in the Frances “Fannie” Isabella (Brown) Chapman Photo Collection?

A. Beerbower, Iowa City, Iowa photographer.
A. Beerbower, Iowa City, Iowa photographer. (Click to enlarge.)

Beerbower Family, Helbling Family (Click for Family Tree)

A kind lady who owns this photo contacted us after finding the blog’s stories about other Beerbowers. Unfortunately, we don’t know exactly who this “A. Beerbower” is. We do have a few possibilities, and knowing the photographer and being able to determine approximately when he was in business and where can help us pinpoint who it might be. Thankfully, we have a scan of the reverse of the picture, and it includes the photographer’s name and place of business.

Isaac Augustus Wetherby was a portrait painter in Boston, Massachusetts in 1849, but by 1854 he had taken a photo of the old Iowa Capitol, so most likely the image of A. Beerbower was taken sometime around or after that later date. Further research listed on a walking tour in Iowa City stated that Wetherby had a commercial photography studio from 1854-1874 in Iowa City, so we now have our time frame for the photo.

A. Beerbower, Iowa City, Iowa photographer, reverse.
A. Beerbower, Iowa City, Iowa photographer, reverse.

Iowa City can be a transient place, since it is the home of the University of Iowa. Students from other states attend the university, and people often had their likeness made when they were visiting an area. So we know that just because the photo was taken there does not mean that A. Beerbower actually lived there.

Andrew C. Beerbower is one candidate for consideration as “A. Beerbower.” He was born about 1843 in Ohio (possibly Hardy, Holmes, Ohio) to George Albert Beerbower and Margaret Virginia Wolgamott. George was the son of Caspar J. Beerbower (1782-1851) and Christina (Reiber) Beerbower (1784-1849), as was Eleazer John Beerbower (1815-1882), our direct ancestor.

Andrew’s parents moved the family to Lincoln Twp., Madison County, Iowa, about 1852, when Andrew was about nine. Andrew was 17 when war broke out, and enlisted in Company H, Iowa 23rd Infantry Regiment on 29 Aug 1862. Might this image have been one he had taken for a sweetheart or his parents before he went off to war? Possibly, but often those photos would be in full military uniform. Also, Iowa City was 150 miles from Andrew’s home.

The photo was not taken when he came home, as he did not make it home- he was killed at the Battle of Milliken’s Bend, in Louisiana, on 7 June 1863- his birthday per one account.

Andrew’s brother was Albert A. Beerbower- yet another candidate for the above picture. Albert was also born in Ohio, about 1845 or so. He married his first wife in Montezuma, Powesheik, Iowa. Looking at census records, we find an Albert Beerbower in the 1880 US Federal Census- in Iowa City! He was 35 that year though, so could this be his picture? (Have not yet found him in the 1870 census.)

At first glance, one last candidate is Albert W. Beerbower, born September 1888 in Iowa to Orange J. Beerbower and Jennie B. Beerbower. When one reads back that our photographer was only in practice from 1854-1874, we see that we can eliminate this particular Beerbower.

There were a lot of Beerbowers in Madison County, Iowa around these years, so there may be others, or the man in the picture could have been from another state entirely. Right now though, my wager is on Albert A. Beerbower being the proper identification of this photo- if he was found in the 1870 census in the same place, it would be a very plausible conclusion, and age 25 may be closer to his actual age when the portrait was taken.

The only way we will know the name of this young man for sure is by someone else having the same image and knowing who it is. We hope that one of our readers will be just that person, and contact us!

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. I. A. Wetherby– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Augustus_Wetherby
  2. “Old Capitol” in Iowa, 1854 by I.A. Wetherby- Isaac A. Wetherby image of Old Capitol at the time of the 1854 Johnson County fair. The Capitol was in Iowa City, Johnson Co., Iowa until 1857 when it moved to Des Moines. https://secure.flickr.com/photos/shsi-library/5330254063/in/photostream/
  3. Wetherby Cottage– http://eventful.com/iowacity/events/photography-walking-tour-iowa-city-/E0-001-011629261-7
  4. History of Madison County, Iowa, and Its People, Volume 1. Herman A. Mueller, editor,  S. J. Clarke publishing Company, 1915, page 298. http://files.usgwarchives.net/ia/madison/bios/madbioa-c.txt

 

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images. Click to enlarge images.

We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
 

Original content copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.
 
Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.
 
Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright of our blog material.