Ancestors Lost-— Others Survived: The Sebastian Leininger Family Story

— Ancestors Lost- Others Survived: The Sebastian Leininger Family Story Dr. Thomas H. Leininger* I N 1985 A SHORT but information filled document was found in the records of the Register of Wills by Jane Adams Clarke J It was the administration papers of Hans Bernard Slatter’s estate, including a pe¬ tition, an inventory, and a codicil, printed below. Ms. Clarke, in an article in the Pennsylvania Geneaogical Magazine* analyzed the papers and presented information on the families of the several people mentioned. It is at her suggestion that this article, the story of the Sebastian Leinin¬ ger family, following a number of years of research, is being written. The Codicil: John George Hawke &: Sebastian Linenger of Philadelphia make Oath That on or abt the fourth day of May Last past They the Deponents with Ann Slotter now of Philadelphia and Han Bernhard Slotter Deceased cousin of ye said Ann Set out on a Voyage from Germany Down the River Rhine to Rotterdam there to take Shipping in the Hampshire, Thomas Cheesman, Master, for PhilaRegister of Wills, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Administration no. 114 (1748). 2 Jane Adams Clarke,"An Ancestor Lost: Clues Hidden in Administration Papers,” Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine 35, no. 1 (1987), 1-8. *Editor’s Note: Dr. Thomas H. Leininger of Mohnton, Pennsylvania, is a retired dentist, genealogist, historian, and self-proclaimed "Gardener und Wunnernaas.” Though not a direct descendant of Sebastian Leininger, the author has done exten¬ sive research into the family because of his fascination with the story. This is Dr. Leininger’s first article published in the Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine, but he has previously contributed to publication of the 50th, 60th, 75th, and 100th anniversary histories of Zion Evangelical Congregational Church, of which he is a member. 333 334 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine delphia, Pennsylvania but shortly after their arrival at Rotterdam to wit on or about the 18th of June Last past he the said Hans Bernhard Slotters was Casually Drowned and the Deponents fur¬ ther say that the said Deceased often declared before them and divers other persons now absent That in case he should Depart this life before he arrived in Pennsylvania that in that case he made her his said Cousin Ann Slotter his heiress and gave unto her all his Effects divising him the saidJohn George Hawk and Sebastian Linenger to bear witness that such was his Mind and Will.” Sworn in Philadelphia this 11th day of October 1748 before Win. Plumstead. Signed: Hans Jorg Hag Sebastian Leininger This codicil, signed by Hag and Leininger, indicates that all the peo¬ ple mentioned may have intended to cross the Atlantic Ocean on the ship Hampshire. At the very least, they were friends who sailed down the Rhine River together. Perhaps they could not all make arrangements to sail on the same ship. On the Hampshireship list we find only Hag’s name when it qualified on 7 September 1748.ÿ The names of women and children were not usually listed, but it is assumed that Ann Slotter was probably aboard. We find the names of Sebastian Lyninger, age 50, and his son Conradt, age 17, on the list of men’s names on the ship Patience which arrived nine days later, 16 September 1748.4 We do not know what arrangements Hag and Leininger had made concerning Hans Bernard Slo tier’s belongings, but the two men went together to the authorities on 11 October 1748 and began to settle the estate. Women did not usually handle legal affairs in the eighteenth century, so it is possible that Ann Slotter may have asked Hag and Lein¬ inger to take care of this business. Sebastian Leininger and his son Conradt were accompanied on their journey by Sebastian’s wife Regina and four children,Johannes, Georg, Barbara, and Regina. They must have remained in Philadelphia for a • ■ , Ralph Beaver Strassburger and William Hinke, Pensylvania German Pioneers, 3 vols. (Birdsboro, Pa.: Pennsylvania German Society, 1934); reprinted (Baltimore, Md.: Genea¬ logical Publishing Company, 1966), List 118B, 1:374; hereafter cited as Strassburger and Hinke. 4 Strassburger and Hinke, List 122C, 1:385. * 335 The Sebastian Leininger Family Story while, because we find Sebastian s name in the St. Michael s and Zion church records as a witness at the wedding of Anna Penering and Jo¬ hannes Ott on 29 May 1749.6 Before we proceed, let us look at the background of this pioneer family. Sebastian, is recorded as a weaver by trade.6 He must have been ■ working in the city of Reudingen, Germany, when he met and married Regina Wucherer, possibly about 1720. Regina was born on 2 January ) Leininger,8 1698.7 Sebastian, son of Hanns and Anna Marie ( was born 6 August 1696 in the village of Ofterdingen about twelve miles southwest of Reudingen.0 This is an old town with its church dating to 1517. Sebastian and Regina had at least eleven children born1 between the years 1722 and 1739, and most of the Leininger children were bap¬ tized in the Reudingen Evangelical Church.10 The six oldest children remained in Europe. Either they were old enough to be married or soon to be married when the others left, or some may have died as children. Actually, there were three named Johannes and two Johann Conradts in the family. Could it be that much sorrow at the loss of children might have been one reason for going to the “new land”? The five children who made the journey to Pennsylvania were: Conrad, born 23 Septem¬ ber 1730; Johannes, born 20 December 1733; Georg, born 26 January 1737; Barbara, date of birth unknown; and Regina, born 8 October 1739.11 Barbara’s baptism is the only one not found to date. Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, in his report to Halle,1- after talking to Mrs. 5 Records of St. Michael’s and Zion Lutheran Church, Philadelphia, Pa., “Marriages, 1745—1764.” Collections of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania Library, Ph/2L:4. Sebastian Leininger’s occupation is recorded as“cloth maker" in Kirchenbuch, 17531952, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Family History Library (hereafter cited as FHL) microfilm #1437480. 7 Kirchenbuch, 1573—1882, Evangeliscke Kirche Reutlingen, FHL microfilm #1569073. Family History Library, FamilySearch™ Internet Genealogy Service, Pedigree Re¬ source File, Individual Record for Sebastian Leiniger, Compact Disc #16, Pin #569501. Hanns Leininger’s information can be found on Disc #16, Pin #569523; Anna Marie ) Leininger’s information on Disc #16, Pin #569524. 9 Kirchenbuch, 1558-1952, Evangeliscke Kirche Offevdingen, FHL microfilm #1457480. 1 a Kirchenbuch, 753—1882, 1 Evangeliscke Kirche Reutlingen, FHL microfilm #1569074. 1i Kirchenbuch, 1558-1952, Evangeliscke Kirche Offerdingen, FHL microfilm #1569074. Theodore G. Tappert and John W. Doberstein, trans., TheJournals of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg (Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, 1958), 11:202—6 (27 February 1765); hereaf¬ ter cited as MuhlenbergJournals. Q _ 336 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine Leininger and Regina (the daughter), indicates that Barbara was older than her sister Regina. Using this information as a guide, it is probable that Barbara was born in 1735/6, between Johannes and Georg. The only Leininger child who came with his parents to America and who had not been baptized at the Reutlingen Evangelical Church was Johannes.13 At the time Johannes was born, the Leininger family was living in Hechingen, about fifteen miles south of Ofterdingen, Ger¬ many. Hechingen is situated at the base of a mountain peak upon which rises the Burg Hohenzollern. The present castle is the third one on the site. Sebastian would have seen the second one. The land surrounding the Burg and Hechingen was at that time under the spiritual care of the Catholic Church. Johannes’s baptismal record states that Sebastian was a resident of Reutlingen and by trade a cloth maker but presently working in Hech¬ ingen. At the bottom of the record is a rather lengthy notation which is difficult to translate. It states that “this wife [the mother Regina] wanted to have her child born and sheltered in an Evangelical place.” To ac¬ complish this goal she started up the road to Ofterdingen, accompanied by two of her children. About 3/4 hour (perhaps 3 miles) from Ofterdin¬ gen, the labor pains which had set in became so great that she had to stop. She may have entered a nearby farm house, but at any rate she received help from “ern fremdes Weib” a strange wife or one unknown to Mrs, Leininger. This woman wrapped the baby in an apron to protect him from the cold. This was the 20th of December. The last sentence of the document states that the child was baptized that same evening in the church. One of the sponsors at the baptism was Agnes, Hans Leininger’s wife.14 We return now to our immigrant family after they arrived in Philadel¬ phia. Eventually the Leiningers moved to the Tulpehocken area of Berks County, Pennsylvania, where they would have become aquainted with Conrad Weiser, a prominent citizen and Indian interpreter for the colonial government. It has been written that Weiser encouraged newly arriving settlers those who were looking for land to go to the western side of the Susquehanna River.15 The English and French had been vying for control of the fur trade and friendship of the Indians in this — — 13 — Kirchenbuch, 1558-1952, Evangelische Knche Offcrdingm, FHL microfilm #1457481. 14 Kirchenbuch, 1558-1952, Evangelische Kirche Offerdingen, FHL microfilm #1457481. 15 Rev. Frederick S. Weiser, Regina (Mannheim, Pa.: The John Conrad Weber Family Association, 1973). Dr. Leininger has donated a copy of this 15-page booklet to GSP. 337 The Sebastian Leininger Family Story area and into Ohio for a long time. Through the efforts of Weiser, because of his relationships with the Indians, the situation remained rather stable. Many families were moving across the river and, undoubt¬ edly, the Leininger family believed this was the place for them. They may have moved there as early as 1750 to stake out land. The first evi¬ dence we have of their location is a warrant dated 3 February 1755.16 The warrant is for “100 acres of land in Cumberland County adjoining Andrew Smith on Big Mahonoy near twenty miles from Sasqehanah [s*'c].” The Big Mahonoy creek became Penn’s Creek*' sometime after the Albany Purchase of land in 1754, at which John Penn was present. The Leininger parcel of land, according to modem measurments, was only about twelve miles from the mouth of the creek at the Susquehanna River. Sebastian and his family were able to appreciate their home for only a short time after formally applying to buy it. They enjoyed one more season of planting, growing, and harvesting. Then on 18 October 1755 a band of marauding Indians descended upon the residents of Penn’s Creek.18 The first home to be attacked was that ofjeanjaques LeRoy or Jacob King, as he was known to the English. Jacob was killed; his daughter Marie and son Jacob, Jr., were taken captive. A neighbor by the name of Bastian, hearing shots, rode to the home and was also killed. The Indians then moved on to the Leininger farm where they killed Sebastian and his oldest son Conrad, and took the daughters Barbara and Regina captive. The Indians continued down the creek, until about fifteen people were killed and ten captured. Fortunately, Mrs. Leininger and the other sons had gone to the mill (no doubt George Gabrial’s mill) to have grain ground, and they were thus spared death or capture. When they arrived home, however, they were met by the terrible reality. The various stories that have been told over the years usually mention only one son accompanying his mother. It seems that past historians were not aware that two sons,John and George, were mentioned by their mother to Rev. Muhlenberg.19 — 1 Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Division of Land Records, War¬ rant no. SI. Charles Fisher, “The Penn’s Creek Massacre First Indian Incursion in Pennsylva¬ nia,” published in Tulpehocken Settlement Historical SocietyJournal 1 2, no. 1 (November 1980), 9, 17; hereafter cited as Fisher. — * 18 19 Fisher, 3-31. » MuhlenbergJournals, 11:202-6. \ 338 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine General Braddock had been defeated by the French in July 1755 and the Indians realized that the Bridsh regular armies could be beaten.The situation emboldened the Indians to begin their raids into various parts of British territory. This first massacre, the “Penn’s Creek Massacre” on 18 October 1755 against the LeRoy and Leininger families, was later to become known as the beginning of the French and Indian War. It is also the source of one of the most enduring and in teres dng Pennsylvania German folk stories. It has been recorded in English, German, and the Pennsylvania German dialect in books, pamphlets, almanacs, and Sunday School publications and has been produced in drama. The details for the story come from two sources. The first is a report Barbara Leininger and Marie LeRoy made to the Provincial Authorities in 1759. The second is an account given to the Reverend Dr. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg by Mrs. Regina Leininger and her daughter Re¬ gina in February 1765.21 Terror, confusion, and a feeling of helplessness gripped the inhabi¬ tants of Penn’s Creek immediately following the massacre. Many fled to the Tulpehocken region, where we believe Mrs. Leininger and her sons found refuge. Meanwhile, the people of Penn’s Creek who were taken captive were hidden in the forest near their homes for two days while the Indian plundering continued. On the third day the Indians divided the spoils. Barbara Leininger and Marie LeRoy were part of the share given to an Indian named Galesko. Regina and a little girl who had been taken from the LeRoy house were given to another Indian. The little girl’s name is given sometimes as Mary Ann Villars and at other times as Mary Ann Wheeler. One can sense the similarity in the names, con¬ sidering that the German pronunciation of words beginning with “W” sounds as a “V.” The Indians then proceeded to take their captives, the horses, and other booty back to the villages. After two days Barbara tried to escape, but she was caught and condemned to be burned to death. Only the —— AA “Examination of Barbara Liningaree Sc Mary Roy, 1759,* Pennsylvania Archives, 1st ser., 111:633-34. See also: Bishop Edmund de Schweinitz (of Bethlehem, Pa.), trans., The Narrative of Marie le Roy and Barbara Leininger, who spent three and one half years as prisoners among the Indians, and arrived safely in this city [Philadelphia] on the sixth of May” in Pennsylvania Archives, 2d ser., VII:401-12; reprinted in Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 29 (1905) :407-20, entitled The Narrative of Marie Le Roy and Barbara Leininger, for Three Years Captives among the Indians’*; hereafter cited as PMHB. 21 MuhlenbergJoitrnals, 11:202-6. The Sebastian Leininger Family Story 339 pleading of a young Indian saved her. The next day the group divided, with one part heading in the direction of Ohio. This group apparently was the one into which Regina was placed. Barbara's group headed toward a Delaware Indian village on the west branch of the Susque¬ hanna River. After two more moves, Barbara’s group arrived at Kittanny in the month of December. Here they were put to work clearing land, tanning leather, and doing other chores. Their food sometimes consisted only of acorns, roots, grass, and bark. When the English troops approached Kittanny, the captives were moved to Fort Duqusne. Here the French tried to persuade Barbara and Marie to remain. They felt, however, that they would have a better opportunity to escape from the Indians else¬ where, so they declined the French offer. The young women were moved to Kaschkaschking (Kuskuski) where they remained for about a year and a half; they were then moved to Muskingum in Ohio. There must have existed a freedom and opportunity for captives to communicate with captives from other villages. Many had been adopted into families, in some cases replacing deceased or lost children of similar ages. Some may have been forced into marriage; others were simply placed in families as servants. The women and children, no doubt, had the freedom to roam the forest looking for food and fuel. The men captives probably accompanied the Indian men on hunting and fur trading trips. After more than three years of captivity, Barbara and Marie were able to communicate with two English prisoners, Owen Gibson and David Breckenridge. They planned to escape, and on 16 March 1759 the four brave fugitives fled the area. After many harrowing experiences travel¬ ing through the forest and over streams and rivers, they reached Fort Pitt. From there they traveled to Fort Ligonier, Fort Bedford, across the Susquehanna River on Harris’s Ferry (now Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) and on to Lancaster and Philadelphia. Gibson remained at Fort Bed¬ ford, and Breckenridge stayed in Lancaster. The girls, however, went to Philadelphia and made their report to the Provincial Authorities.22 They arrived in Philadelphia on die sixth of May 1759, after a journey of about 68 days that had covered roughly 400 miles.23 22 Pennsylvania Archives, 1st ser., 111:633-34. "Report of Capt. H. M. M. Richards of Lebanon, in the publication of the Lebanon County Historical Society IV (no. 8):221; hereafter cited as “Report of CapL Richards.” 340 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine The last paragraph of their “narrative” begins: We became acquainted with many other captives, men, women, and children, in various Indian towns, but do not know, or cannot remember their names. We are, however, heartily willing to give all such as [we] have or believe to have, connections among the Indians, any further information which may lie within our power.24 Following a report in the Pennsylvania German Society Proceedings is a list of people captured in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland. One of the persons listed was Mary Ann Villers, the little girl captured with Marie LeRoy.26 She supposedly had a brother and sister living in Lan¬ caster, Pennsylvania. Barbara and Marie offered to take information to other families, stating: “We intend to go from here to Lancaster, where we may easily be found.”26 Moving to the fifth and sixth of August 1763, we find that Col. Henry Bouquet decisively routed the Indians at the battle of Bushy Run, bring¬ ing about the beginning of the end to the French and Indian War.27 I By May 1764 peace was secured. On 2 May of that year “Bouquet writes [Gen.] Gage that ‘peace with the Senecas is concluded that with the Delawares, Shawnees, Wyandots and Mingoes remains to be con¬ cluded/”28 By 1 November 1764, “Delawares and Senecas surrender their white prisoners.”29 And then, on 6 December 1764, “Hostilities between Pennsylvania and the Indians are formally ended by order of — 24 Pennsylvania Archives, 2d ser., 11:412; PMHB, 420. Proceedings of the Pennsylvania German Society 15: 82, 111-26. Sec also “Report of Captain Richards,” 1 70-73. 26 Pennsylvania Archives, 2d ser., 11:412; PMHB, 420. Louis M. Waddell, ed., The Papers of Henry Bouquet (Harrisburg: The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1994), “Chronology of Events, November 1761 September 1 765,” VII:7; hereafter cited as Henry Bouquet Papers, Waddell edition. Originally published by Sylvester K. Stevens and Donald H. Kent, ed., The Papers of Henry Bouquet, 19 vols. (Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical Commission, various dates). The papers in these volumes are arranged chronologically; pertinent dated material regarding the Leininger episode can be found in Volume VII, subtitled Northwestern Pennsylvania Historical Series (Frontiers, Forts, and Trails Survey), Series 21649, Part II, published in 1942, and Series 21650, Part II (same subtitle), published in 1943; citations to the original publica¬ tion are cited Henry Bouquet Papers, Stevens and Kent edition. 28 Henry Bouquet Papers, Waddell edition, 12. 29 Henry Bouquet Papers, Waddell edition, 14. — The Sebastian Leininger Family Story 341 John Penn.”30 One of the terms of the treaty concerned the return of people who had been taken captive. All prisoners were to be released: Englishmen, Frenchmen, women, children, (adopted, married, or half breeds), and negroes. They were to be provided with food and clothing, enough to get them to Fort Pitt.31 The prisoners were gradually rounded up by the English soldiers and eventually brought through Ohio and western Pennsylvania to Carlisle, a country town in Cumberland County. There were well over a hundred Pennsylvanians who arrived there by late December 1764. Among them were Regina Leininger and Mary Ann Villars. In the meantime, Col. Bouquet had caused notices to be published in newspapers of the day, inviting any who had lost family members to gather in Carlisle and identify their kindred.32 We turn now to the Journals of Reverend Henry Melchior Muhlenberg for the information about Regina that eventually became the basis for many of the folk stories and other writings about her life. Rev. Kurtz was the pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in what is now Stouchsburg in Berks County, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Regina Leininger was a member of his congregation, having taken refuge in that area when she fled the massacre site. It was Rev. Kurtz who encourged Regina to go to Carlisle and look for her daughter. According to Pastor Muhlenberg’s account, Mrs. Leininger was ac¬ companied by her one remaining son. Muhlenberg was mistaken; she had two sons. For some reason, past historians seem never to have found George, but he is definitely mentioned in the land warrant, and we have his baptismal record. At any rate, one of her sons accompanied her to Carlisle, the busy Pennsylvania town that received and cared for the many released Indian captives who eagerly awaited reunion with their families. Various writers present different versions as to how the families tried to identify their lost relatives. The captives were undoubtedly assembled at some place where the family members could pass among them and try to make an identification. Mrs. Leininger could not find anyone who 80 Henry Bouquet Papers, Waddell edition, 15. Henry Bouquet Papers, Stevens and Kent edition, Series 21651, Part 11:208. See letter dated 12 May 1765: C&pL George Croghan to “LL Bouquet, Esq., Colonel of Fort at Philadelphia.” 52 Fisher, 15. 41 ' 342 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine resembled the mental picture she retained of her daughter. Years of living in another culture and in difficult conditions had wrought physi¬ cal changes in all the captives. The commissioners asked Mrs. Leininger if there was not some mark or other means by which she could identify her daughter. She answered, in German, that her daughter had learned prayers and hymns when they were all together at home. At the suggesdon of the man in charge, the mother began to sing one of the German hymns: AUein, und dock nicht ganz alletn Bin ich in meiner einsamkeit Un wann ich ganz verlassen schein Alone and yet not all alone Am I in solitude though drear For when no one seems me to Own Vertreibt mirJesus selbst die zeit; My Jesus will to me be near; As the mother sang, Regina sprang forward and joined her mother in the singing, embracing her and shedding tears of joy. After many years, mother and daughter were reunited. The reunion took place on 31 December 1764. The little girl who had lived in captivity with Regina, now somewhat grown, refused to leave her when the family started for home. Since no one else claimed her, she was allowed to go with the Leiningers. The girl may eventually have returned to Lancaster where, according to the latter part of Marie and Barbara’s deposition, she had a brother and sister living.33 Some time after returning home, Regina expressed her desire to own a Bible. In response to the request, Mrs. Leininger and her daughter traveled to the home of Rev. Muhlenberg to secure one. While visiting him, they related all that had happened to their family over the previous nine years, and he recorded the account for his report to the authorities in Halle, Germany. Regina received her Bible and money for a hymn book, and the Leiningers returned home. It is only because of this visit to Rev. Muhlenberg that we are fortunate to have such a detailed ac¬ count of the Sebastian Leininger family tragedy. On 16 March 1937, Charles F. Snyder, the late secretary of the North¬ umberland County Historical Society, presented a paper on the Penn’s Creek Massacre, At its conclusion he states that Regina and her mother 55 Pennsylvania Archives, 2d ser., VII:401— 12. The Sebastian Leininger Family Story 343 lived out their lives in the Tulpehocken region.®4 They supposedly died not long after their reunion and were buried side-by-side along the eastern wall of the Christ Lutheran Church Cemetery near Stouchsburg, For many years the graves were marked only by field stones and a cedar tree someone had planted. Then, on 11 October 1958, a granite marker provided by the Berks County Cemetery Association was unveiled at Regina's burial site. The ceremony was accompanied by an appropriate program arranged by Marie Graeff, wife of Dr. Arthur D. GraefF, who was one of the historians resposible for establishing the name Leininger in relation to the Penn’s Creek Massacre.35 The marker reads: Regina Leininger in legend Regina Hartman as a small child held Indian captive 1755-1763. Identified by her mother’s singing the hymn Allein Und Doch Nicht Ganz Allein36 The reason the Hartman name appears on the marker is that for many years this story was told using that family’s name. The Hartman family was involved in a massacre about one month after the Penn’s Creek episode, and the father and a son Christian were killed. Mrs. Hartman, as had Mrs. Leininger, fled to the Tulpehocken area. Undoubtedly the two women repeated their accounts many times to some of the same people, thus creating some confusion and co-mingling of the stories. But the Hartman farm was located in Berks County, east of the Susque¬ hanna River, nowhere near Penn’s Creek. Mrs. Hartman’s name was Magdalena and her surviving children were named George, Barbara, and Regina. One version of the story has Barbara being killed a few days after being taken captive. The similarity in family children’s names un¬ doubtedly has added to the confused story-telling over the years. m 34 Charles F. Snyder, “Penn’s Creek Massacre,” Northumberland County Historical Society Proceedings 9 (1937):73-82. 35 Arthur D. Graeff, “Regina, the Indian Captive," Historical Review of Beths County (Spring 1960):54—57. 66 A copy of the 1 1 October 1958 program dedicating Regina’s granite gravestone marker which quotes the gravestone inscription, is in possession of the author, who was present at the dedication. * 344 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine Mrs. Leininger received a warrant for a new parcel of land3': Whereas the said Sebastian Leyninger having settled, built a house and made some Improvements on the said land was killed by the Indians in their ravages on the Frontier in the year 1756[5] with one of his sons and two of his daughters carried into captivity and His House and Improvements burnt and destroyed. And whereas Regina his widow and George and John the surviving sons and Barbara and Regina the daughters of Sebastian Leyninger, have lately attempted to resettle the said Plantation, but the Indians insist that if they persist in settling the said Plantation they will murder them. . . . [Thereafter follows the request for new land.] This document provides certain proof of the names of the surviving Leiningers. Rev. Reuben Weiser first wrote about Regina in 1856.33 He had heard the story as child from his grandmother Weiser who had said that she was aquainted with Regina. It is quite possible that old Mrs. Weiser, who died at age 86, was resposible for the mixing the family stories because of the great similarity of names. Rev. Weiser also acknowledges that many years passed after having heard the story before he wrote his ac¬ count. From that time on, the wrong family name was used by many writers. Very little definite genealogical material has been discovered con¬ cerning John and George Leininger. In February 1774, John Leininger of Heidelberg Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, sold his two shares of the original homestead to Peter Kiester.39 It must be assumed that he lived in Heidelberg Township, where his mother and sister also resided. There is a George Leininger who died in Manheim Township, York County, Pennsylvania, in had a son George who moved to Ohio. Other children seem to have remained in Pennsylvania. i i 57 Warrant no. 78, Cumberland County, Pa., 24 March 1763; Pennsylvania State Archives, Harrisburg, Pa. “Rev. Reuben Weiser, Regina, the German Captive (Gordonville, Pa.: Pequea Publishers, 1978); reprinted (Philadelphia: General Council Publication Board, 1919); originally published in 1856 (n.p.). 59 Deed Book £:226, Northumberland County, Pa. 40 “Evidences of Leininger Families in York County before the year 1850/ file no. 3598, York County Historical Society, York, Pennsylvania. The Sebastian Leininger Family Story 345 The daughter Barbara has fared better genealogically. She married Peter RufFner of Cumru Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, on 1 February 1761.41 The marriage record contains an added statement that her late father had been massacred by the Indians. It is interesting to note the names of the Ruffner children George, Conrad, and Re¬ gina all names of Barbara’s siblings. Undoubtedly there are many de¬ scendants of these children. The present author has been in contact with three of them now living in Maryland, West Virginia, and Arizona. This Leininger family experienced numerous varied events in their lives that clearly brought them much suffering and sorrow, but most of them survived, Mrs, Regina Leininger, above all, must have been a woman of strong physical, emotional, and spiritual character to have come through all these ordeals. Our ancestors were a hardy lot! — 41 — “Records of Trinity Lutheran Church,” New Holland, Lancaster County, Pa., 34.