Anna Elizabeth Lenner

A Genealogical Case Study

By Diana HickmanApplications IILoree Miltich 25 Apr 2008

Family Group RecordJohan Adam HeckmanBirth: 2 Apr 1706 in Rothenberg im

Odenwald, Hesse, GermanyDeath: 17 Apr 1795 in Trinity Lutheran,

Alsace Twp., Berks County, Pennsylvania

Parents: John Peter Heckman

Anna Elizabeth LennerBirth: 17 Nov 1715 in Rothenberg, Unter

Finhenbach, Hesse, GermanyDeath: 4 May 1776 Reading, Berks County,

PennsylvaniaParents: Johannes Lenner

Mary Margaret Heckman, born 13 Dec 1738 m. 7 Nov 1758 St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, Red Hill, Montgomery, PA abt 1812 to John Adam Hamsher d. 1819 Allen, Northampton, PA.Johan Peter Hickman, born 4 May 1740 m. Magdalena Schmidt 1763, Dorothy ? 1787, Susanna Oakwood 4 May 1794, Margaret Parity aft 1808. He died 31 Mar 1825.John Adam Hickman, born 12 Sep 1742, m. abt 1765 to Anna Elizabeth Gehret. He died 16 Feb 1833.John George Heckman, born 6 Feb 1744 died 22 Oct 1746 John George Heckman, born 6 Jan 1748, m. 15 Oct 1774 Mary Magdalene Hamm. He died 22 Mar 1835John Jacob Hickman, born 15 Apr 1751Mary Elizabeth Heckman, born c. 1753, m. Peter Clemens 8 Jan 1771Mary Catherine Heckman, born c1755, m. Christopher KunsmanChristina Heckman, born 2 Jan 1758, m. Henry Gehret 23 Aug 1778, died 5 Oct 1849.

Trimble, David B. Wolfe and Hickman of East Tennessee. Austin, Tex: D.B. Trimble, 2004

Descendants of Johan Adam Heckman

Mary Margaret Hickman – b. 1738 d. 1819Spouse: John Adam Hamsher – b. 1736 m. 1758

Adam Hamsher b. 1759 d. 1781Daniel Hamsher b. 1760 d. 1835Barnet or Bernhard Hamsher b. 1761 d. 1815Maria Margaret Hamsher b. 1763 d. 1840Anna Maria Hamsher b. 1765 d. 1849

Johan Peter Hickman b. 1740 d. 1825Spouse: Magdalene Schmidt b. 1742 m. 1763 d. 1785

Adam Hickman b. 1764 d. 1850John Peter Jr. Hickman b. 1766 d. 1825Michael Sr. Hickman b. 1768 d. 1825Mary Ann Hickman b. 1771 d. 1849John B. Hickman b. 1774Jacob Hickman b. 1777 m. 1800Magdalene Hickman b. 1780 d. Daniel Hickman b. 1783

Spouse: Dorothy b. 1760 m. 1787 d. 1793Hannah B. Hickman b. 1786 d. 1870Anna Hickman b. 1790 d. 1846

Spouse: Susanna Book b. 1760 m. 1794 d. 1808Spouse: Margaret Parity b. 1732 m. 1812

John Adam Hickman b. 1742 d. 1778Spouse: Margarethe Gehret

Johann George Heckman b. 1744 d. 1745

John George Heckman b. 1748 d. 1825Spouse: Maria Magdalena Hamm m. 1774

Jacob Hickman b. 1751

Mary Elizabeth Hickman b. 1753Spouse: Peter Clemens m 1771

Christina Hickman b. 1758 d. 1849Spouse: Henry Gehret m. 1778

Some Common 18th Century Occupations

Apothecary - acted as pharmacist, doctor, dentist, and general storekeeper Blacksmith-Armorer - made things from iron and repaired weapons Bookbinder Breechesmaker - mades breeches Cabinetmaker - made and repaired furniture Carpenter-joiner - built interiors of ships and houses Chandler - made candles Coachmaker - made coaches and wagons Cooper - made containers of wood, such as barrels Cutler - made, sold, and repaired knives and scissors Farrier - shoed horses and acted as a veterinarian Goldsmith - made hollow ware (bowls, cups, and vases) and jewelry Hatter Leather dresser Mantuamaker - dressmaker Milliner - made dresses and hats and sold accessories Music Teacher Printer - published the newspaper, sold books and other printed materials, and often served as postmaster Ropemaker Saddler - made saddles, harnesses, and other leather items Shoemaker Silversmith Tavern Keeper - provided meals, drinks, entertainment, and lodging Weaver Wheelwright - made wheels and carts Wigmaker Whitesmith - made things of iron and steel, then polished them to make them look like silver

 http://www.history.org/history/teaching/trades.cfm

Sweet Scented Bags to Lay with Linen

“Eight ounces of damask rose leaves, eight ounces of coriander seeds, eight ounces of sweet orriroot, eight ounces of calamus aromaticus, one ounce of mace, one ounce of cinnamon, half an ounce of cloves, four drachms of musk-powder, two drachms of white loaf sugar, three ounces of lavender flowers and some of Rhodium wood. Beat them well together and make them in small silk bags.”

http://www.history.org/history/teaching/medicine.cfm

Timeline for Johan Adam 2 Apr 1706 - birth, Rothenberg im Odenwald, Hesse, Germany1715 – Anna Elizabeth Lenner born to Johannes Lenner14 Jan 1738– marriage, Rothenberg im Odenwald, Hesse, GR2 Sep 1749 – Immigration, arrived on the Ship Albany and landed in

Philadelphia, PA15 Dec 1760 – Bought land, 500 acres plus saw mill and plantation

from Nicholas Seitzinger.22 Mar 1761 – Naturalization, Alsace twp, Berks county, PA1767 – Paid taxes on 170 acres of land and two cows1768 – Paid taxes on 150 acres of land and two cows15 Jun 1776 – wrote will2 May 1778 – Will proved17 Apr 1795 – death, buried in Trinity Lutheran, Alsace Twp., Berks

county, Pennsylvania

German Settlement Areas 1775

This map shows the settlement areas of Germans in the 1775. It demonstrates the growth of the

country by 1775. My grandfather, Johan Adam and his family, including Anna Elizabeth, immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1749 and settled in a highly populated area of German

families. The map shows where the most of the German

population settled in PA. He was located somewhere in the pink

area of Pennsylvania.

Manners, Etc

Some Colonial Manners as written by George

Washington at 16 years1st Every Action done in

Company, ought to be with Some Sign of Respect, to those

that are Present.

2d When in Company, put not your Hands to any Part of the Body, not usually Discovered.

3d Shew Nothing to your Friend that may affright him.

4th In the Presence of Others Sing not to yourself with a

humming Noise, nor Drum with your Fingers or Feet.

5th If You Cough, Sneeze, Sigh, or Yawn, do it not Loud but Privately; and Speak not in your Yawning, but put Your

handkerchief or Hand before your face and turn aside.

him when you Speak.

27th Tis ill manners to bid one more eminent than yourself be covered as well as not to do it to whom it's due Likewise he that makes too much haste to Put on his hat does not well,

yet he ought to Put it on at the first, or at most the Second

time of being ask'd; now what is herein Spoken, of

Qualification in behaviour in Saluting, ought also to be

observed in taking of Place, and Sitting down for

ceremonies without Bounds is troublesome.

28th If any one come to Speak to you while you are Sitting

Stand up tho he be your Inferiour, and when you

Present Seats let it be to every one according to his Degree.

88th Be not tedious in Discourse, make not many

Digressigns, nor repeat often the Same manner of Discourse.

89th Speak not Evil of the absent for it is unjust.

90th Being Set at meat Scratch not neither Spit Cough or blow

your Nose except there's a Necessity for it.

91st Make no Shew of taking great Delight in your Victuals, Feed not with Greediness; cut your Bread with a Knife, lean not on the Table neither find

fault with what you Eat.

No Lady to be admitted in a nightgown and no gentleman in boots.

Dancing is to begin precisely at 5 o'clock afternoon in the winter.

Each set not to exceed ten couples to dance but one country dance.

Couples to dance their minuets in the order they stand in their individual sets.

No dance to begin after 11 at night.No tea, coffee, negus or other liquor to be carried into the dancing room." From

the First Assembly minute book, December 16, 1746.

http://www.history.org/history/teaching/speakdan.cfm

Important Events Impacting Anna Elizabeth Lenner’s Life

Colonial Timeline that may have affected Anna’s Domestic Life

• 1750- Iron Act was passed• 1751- Currency Act• 1754 – French and Indian War began• 1756 – England declares war on France• 1760 – George III was crowned king• 1762 – England declares war on Spain• 1763 – Proclamation Act of 1763 passed• 1764 – Sugar Act and Currency Act enacted• 1765 – Quartering Act enacted; Sons of Liberty is secretly formed in a

number of towns in response to the Stamp Act; and Patrick Henry presents the Virginia Resolutions to the House of Burgesses claiming that, “If this be treason, make the most of it.”

• 1766 – Declaratory Act stating that the English government had total control and power over the Colonies.

• 1767 – Townshend Revenue Acts• 1770 – Boston Massacre occurs and the Townshend Acts are repealed

except for the part about tea.

Boycott of British GoodsAmerican women may have not been able to participate

legally in political matters, but they did manage to put their mark on the issues that affected them the most. One of the first acts they did to help do their “part” was to boycott British made goods. In small cities and towns, women refused to buy goods from merchants who offered British goods for sale. They made their mark on society by placing their dainty feet upon the heads of the “serpent” and saying “No” to the use of British goods. This kind of boycott would have affected Anna in such a way as to garner what she would have bought for her household in regards to food, clothing, legal tenure, etc. She would have had to make a choice between paying more for an item from a different country and being considered a traitor for buying goods from the British. (Berkin, Carol. Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence. New York: Knopf, 2005. p. 13-15)

Some common 18th century farm houses

Some Every Day Items that Anna May have

utilized in her everyday domestic life…

http://library.thinkquest.org/J002611F/index.htm

This video came from a website that is a tribute to kids across the nation learning about the Colonial life in the 1700s. This video is about farming in Colonial Times and is a representation of the kind of farming that my grandfather, Johan Adam Heckman, may have participated in. As you can see this is not an easy job using the methods that they used then. It is back breaking work and a lot of people died early because of the harsh conditions of adjusting to life in a new untamed land.

Woman’s Role in Colonial Society

A woman’s role in colonial society was to be the epitome of a notable housewife. She was to not only teach her children moral values, but also guard the state of her own soul through the pursuit of regular church attendance, bible study, pious conversations and private meditations. Mary Beth Norton studies showed that a woman’s responsibility was two-fold. She was to guard her own soul in religious matters, but also her husband’s and children’s souls. And if she was found by society to not be fulfilling her role then she was looked upon as an unfit mother (Liberty’s Daughters, p. 126).

Good Wives

Image and Reality in the Lives of Women in Northern New

England 1650-1750

By Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

Eleanor Nightingale c. 1727

By marriage, the husband and wife are one person in law; that is, the very being or legal existence of

the woman is suspended during the marriage, or at least is incorporated and consolidated into that of the husband; under whose wing, protection, and

cover, she performs everything. (Ulrich, p. 7)

Deputy Husband: this was a woman who fulfilled a male’s duties while they were away. A woman may become a deputy husband if she was the wife of a weaver, winding quills for the loom; for a farmer’s wife, or planting corn. Johan Adam was a farmer. He owned farmland throughout his lifetime, and at one point owned a plantation including a saw mill . There were events that occurred during the 18th century prior to the Revolutionary War that would have required him to leave home periodically. In his absence she would have taken on the role of deputy husband. (Ulrich, p. 9)

Consort: a consort turned over her life to her husband. Once a woman married she lost all rights. She became even more of a second class citizen after she married. If a woman was lucky, she ended up in a marriage that held mutual respect like Abigail and John Adams. But if she was not lucky, she ended up living out her life with an oppressive man who treated her as a child or worse. This role for women was not pleasant and she lost all of the rights that she had prior to marriage. (Ulrich, p.9)

Mother:

Motherhood bound women to cycles of pregnancy and lactation. Most of the women in my family tree had back to back children. Anna averaged a child every two years during her lifetime. “As a social rule, it elevated selflessness and love, finding in women a capacity for affection which counterbalanced the presumably more authoritarian government of fathers.” (Ulrich, p. 9). She lived her life to fulfill the roles of

mother and wife. (Ulrich, p. 9)

Mistress:

She served those who served her. She was the woman who taught her neighbors daughters to be successful women in society and catch that elusive bachelor. (Ulrich, p. 9)

Neighbor:

Another role women fulfilled was that of neighbor. She sustained a “community of women through gossip, trading, assisting in childbirth, sharing tools, etc and watching her neighbors for cases of abuse.” (Ulrich, p.9)

Virtuous Woman

Ways of Her Household

The Home

The average farm held a sphere of many environments for women from the home to the outside world. Her home consisted of the interior and the exterior and eventually encompassed the whole home.

“If we were to draw a line around the housewife’s domain, the cellars, pantries, brewhouses, milkhouses, washhouses, and butteries which appear in various combinations in household inventories, to the exterior of the house, where, even in the city, a mélange of animal and vegetable life flourished among the straw, husks, clutter, and muck. Encircling the pigpen, such a line would surround the garden, the milkyard, the well, the henhouse, and perhaps the orchard itself –though husbands pruned and planted trees and eventually supervised the making of cider, good housewives strung their wash between the trees and in season harvested fruit for pies and conserves.”

Ulrich, Laurel Thatcher. Good Wives: Image and Reality in Northern New England 1650-1750.

Role of Anna Elizabeth Lenner in Colonial Society

Anna would have served as a Deputy Husband during the times her husband was away from the home, a mother to her children seeking out the epitome of womanhood sought after in the 18th century, a consort to her husband at all times supporting him in all manner of things during her lifetime, and a virtuous woman. She would have sought the title of “notable housewife” through her actions as a wife, a mother and a good neighbor.

Conclusion

Anna’s life began as the daughter of Johannes Lenner in Germany and ended as the wife of a prominent land owner in Virginia. During her lifetime she saw many events that would have greatly affected her life as a wife and mother. She saw the start of a war and lived through the French and Indian War. She lived through the trials that the British government put upon her as a citizen of the Colonial society. She would have participated in the subtle boycott of British goods that women throughout the Colonies were participating. She would have lived through terror of wondering if she would survive having yet another child. And she would have run her household with the finesse of a virtuous religious woman seeking out the salvation of not only her soul but also the souls of her husband and children.

Through learning of her husbands life, the documents that were found in genealogical research we learn a lot about her as a woman, a mother and a private person. We can understand that although times have changed and two hundred years have passed since her death, she was like women today. She lived her life. Looked after her family. Supported her husband and raised her children. Although, times have changed, the moral values and the expectations of motherhood and wives have not changed much.

Bibliography

Berkin, Carol. Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence. New York: Knopf, 2005. p. 13-15)

Norton, Mary Beth. Liberty's Daughters: The Revolutionary Experience of American Women, 1750-1800. Boston: Little, Brown, 1980.

Ulrich, Laurel Thatcher. Good Wives: Image and Reality in Northern New England 1650-1750.

Colonial Kids A Celebration of Life in the 1700's. 1995. <http://library.thinkquest.org/J002611F/>.

Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. [Williamsburg, VA]: The Foundation, 1999.

Washington, George, and Richard Brookhiser. Rules of Civility: The 110 Precepts That Guided Our First President in War and Peace. New York: Free Press, 1997.

The

End