The Ancestors and Descendants of William Frederick Shope and Grace Eleanor Shook

By William Kenzie Shope

The Life and Times of Bernhard Schop(p)/ Shope Sr.

During the Thirty years war, The French laid waste to much of the Palatinate Region of Germany. William Penn visited the Palatinate in the later part of the 17^th Century and offered land to families that wanted to come to Pennsylvania. In 1708 a famine and a severe winter resulted in starvation and many deaths in the Palatinate. Queen Anne of England, a cousin to the Count of Palatinate, offered refuge to many of the families from the Palatinate. From 1709 to 1710 she gave refuge to thousands of Palatinates. Part of the English goal was to establish the protestant religion in the colonies and Ireland. Some of the refugees were sent to Ireland and others to America, mostly New York. Transportation to America and elsewhere was graciously supplied by the Queen and the government of England.

The first colony of Germans was established at Germantown near Philadelphia. For about10 years, starting in 1725 there was a great influx of Germans of various religious faiths into Pennsylvania. In a letter in 1725, the Secretary of the Propriety, James Logan, wrote, "They come in crowds and as bold indigent strangers from Germany where many of them have been soldiers. All these go on the best vacant tracts and seize upon them as places of common spoil. They rarely approach us on their arrival to propose to purchase; when they are sought out and challenged for their right of occupancy they allege it was published in Europe that we wanted and solicited for colonists and had a superabundance of land, and therefore they had come without the means to pay. Many are Papist--the men well armed, and as a body a warlike morose race." In 1727 he wrote "about six thousand Germans more are expected (and also many from Ireland), and these emigrations" he "hopes may be prevented in the future by act of Parliament, else these Colonies will in time be lost to the Crown" (Egle 1895).

From about 1735 to 1752, a class of Germans know as Nuelanders resided in Pennsylvania. Some of these Nuelanders, acting as agents for certain firms of prominent Quakers of Philadelphia, went to their homelands in Switzerland and Germany where they conned the unsuspecting to come to Pennsylvania with promises of cheap passage and land which they could settle on. This was the unscrupulous white slave trade in which many unsuspecting German and Swiss emigrants were lured (Egle 1895) to American to end up as indentured servants. It is likely that our first male ancestor was lured to American by the promise of new land made by one of these agents.

The Journey to America

In his 1920 application to the Sons of the American Revolution (Appendix), Dr. Samuel Zimmerman Shope identified our first male ancestor as Bernhard Shope who arrived in Philadelphia on 23 September 1753 aboard the Neptune. Hacker (1996) lists an emigrant from Eichtersheim, Germany in 1753 named Bernhart Shope. This is the name appearing in Bernhard's Will which was written in 1813. Because our original family surname was Schopp, I believe Bernhard obtained his permit through one of the Quaker companies because Hacker lists the spelling as Shope. Shope is purely an English phonetic spelling of our original surname Schopp.

We don't know if Bernhard lived in Eichtersheim or simply got his permit to come to American from there, but sometime in early 1753 he left his home and headed to America. Following many weeks of travel, he arrived at the Port of Rotterdam in Holland where he boarded the ship Neptune to begin his trip to America. Trips across the Atlantic in the wooden ships of the era were an arduous test of endurance. Those making the trip had no idea what to expect, and many died and suffered miserably before reaching America. Gottleib Mittleberger, who made this journey in 1750 wrote the following description of the trip across the Atlantic ( On-line Source: Gottlieb Mittelberger's Journey to Pennsylvania in the Year 1750 and Return to German in the Year 1754. Translated from the German by Carl Theo Eben. Philadelphia, John Jos, McVey, 1898):

Both in Rotterdam and in Amsterdam the people are packed densely, like herrings so to say, in the large sea vessels. One person barely receives two feet width and 6 feet length in the bedstead while many a ship carries four to six hundred souls; not to mention the innumerable implements, tools, provisions water barrels and other things which likewise occupy much space.

On account of contrary winds it takes the ship sometimes 2, 3 and 4 weeks to make the trip from Holland to England. But when the wind is good, they get there in 8 days or even sooner. Everything is examined there and the custom duties paid, when it come that the ships ride there 8, 10 to 14 days and even longer, till they have taken in their full cargoes. During that time ever one is compelled to spend his last remaining money to consume his little stock of provisions which have been reserved for the sea; so that most passengers fining themselves on the ocean where they would be in greater need of them, must greatly suffer from hunger and want. Many suffer want already on the water between Holland and Old England.

When the ships have for the last time weighted their anchors near the city of Kaupp [Cowes] in Old England, the real misery begins with the long voyage. For from there the ships, unless they have good wind must often sail 8, 9, 10 to 12 weeks before they reach Philadelphia. But even with the best wind the voyage lasts 7 weeks.

But during the voyage there is on board these ships terrible misery, stench, fumes, horror, vomiting, many kinds of sea-sickness, fever, dysentery, headache, heat, constipation, boils, scurvy, cancer, mouth-rot, and the like, all of which come from old and sharply salted food and meat, also from very bad and foul water, so that many die miserably.

Add to this want of provisions, hunger, thirst, frost, heat, dampness, anxiety, want, afflictions and lamentations, together with other trouble, as…the lice abound so frightfully, especially on sick people, that they can be scraped off the body. The misery reaches the climax when a gale rages for 2 or 3 nights and days so that every one believes that the ship will go to the bottom with all human beings on board. In such a visitation the people cry and pray most piteously.

When in such a gale the sea rages and surges, so that the waves rise often like high mountains one above the other, and often tumble over the ship, so that one fears to go down with the ship; when the ship is constantly tossed from side to side by the storm and waves, so that no one can either walk, or sit, or lie and the sick and the well - it will be readily understood that many of these people, none of whom had been prepared for hardships, suffer so terribly from them that they do not survive it.

I myself had to pass through a severe illness at seas, and I best know how I felt at the time. These poor people often long for consolation, and I often entertained and comforted them with singing, praying and exhorting; and whenever it was possible and the winds and waves permitted it, I kept daily prayer - meetings with them on deck. Besides, I baptized five children in distress, because we had no ordained minister on board. I also held divine service every Sunday by reading sermons to the people; and when the dead were sunk in the water, I commended them and our souls to the mercy of God.

Among the healthy, impatience sometimes grows so great and cruel that one curses the other, or himself and the day of his birth, and sometimes come near killing each other. Misery and malice join each other, so that they cheat and rob one another. One always reproaches the other with having persuaded him to undertake the journey. Frequently children cry out against their parents, husbands against their wives and wives against their husbands, brothers, and sisters, friends and acquaintances against each other. But most against the soul-traffickers.

Many sigh and cry: "Oh that I were at home again, and if I had to lie in my pigsty!" or they say "O God, if I only had a piece of good bread, or a good fresh drop of water." Many people whimper, sigh and cry piteously for their homes; most of them get home-sick. Many hundred people necessarily die and perish in such misery, and must be cast into the sea, which drives their relatives, or those who persuaded them to undertake the journey, to such despair that it is almost impossible to pacify and console them.

No one can have an idea of the sufferings which women in confinement have to bear with their innocent children on board these ships. Few of this class escape with their lives; many a mother is cast into the water with her child as soon as she is dead. One day, just as we had a heavy gale, a woman in our ship, who was to give birth and could not give birth under the circumstances, was pushed through a loop-hole in the ship and dropped into the sea, because she was far in the rear of the ship and could not be brought forward.

Children from 1 to 7 years rarely survive the voyage. I witnessed misery in no less than 32 children in our ship, all of whom were thrown into the sea. The parents grieve all the more since their children find no resting-place in the earth, but are devoured by the monsters of the sea.

That most of the people get sick is not surprising, because, in addition to all other trails and hardship, warm food is served only three times a week, the rations being very poor and very little. Such meals can hardly be eaten, on account of being so unclean. The water which is served out on the ships is often very black thick and full of worms, so that one cannot drink it without loathing, even with the greatest thirst. Toward the end we were compelled to eat the ship's biscuit which had been spoiled long ago; though in a whole biscuit there was scarcely a piece the size of a dollar that had not been full of red worms and spiders nests.

At length, when, after a long and tedious voyage, the ships come in sigh of land, so that the promontories can be seen, which the people were so eager and anxious to see, all creep from below on deck to see the land from afar, and they weep for joy and pray and sing, thanking and praising God. The sight of the land makes the people on board the ship, especially the sick and the half dead, alive again, so that their hearts leap within them; they shout and rejoice, and are content to bear their misery in patience, in the hope that they may soon reach the land in safety. But alas!

When the ships have landed at Philadelphia after their long voyage, no one is permitted to leave them except those who pay for their passage or can give good security; the others, who cannot pay, must remain on board the ships till they are purchased, and are released from the ships by their purchasers. The sick always fare the worst, for the healthy are naturally preferred and purchased first; and so the sick and wretched must often remain on board in front of the city for 2 or 3 weeks, and frequently die, whereas many a one, if he could pay his debt and were permitted to leave the ship immediately, might recover and remain alive.

The Beginning

After such an arduous voyage as the one described by Mittleberger, Bernhard Schop arrived aboard the Neptune at the Port of Philadelphia on September 23, 1753. Shortly after arriving the passengers were marched to the courthouse to sign their oaths or allegiance and abjuration. The ship and oaths lists for the Neptune show the following names for Bernhard Schop(p): Barnerd Shop, (A-list), Bernard X Schop (B-list), and Bernhart X Shop (C-list) (source: Pa Archives microfilm). The "X " suggests that Bernhard could not read or write in English and maybe couldn't read or write at all. Although his 1812 Will is registered under the name Bernard Shope, the name used in the Will is Bernhart Shope, the same name listed by Hacker (1996). Bernhard made a mark on his Will using his initials in 1812 so he was still not reading or writing in English at the time of his death.

According to Dr. Samuel Shope's account, Bernhard Shope fought in the French and Indian War after arriving in America. I could not find any official evidence to support this service; however, few accounts exist that contain the names of individual's who served during the French and Indian War. It's possible that Bernhard serve as a means of paying his passage instead of working for someone until the passage was paid. If Bernhard was serving on the frontier, this could explain the lack of any colonial tax records for him prior to 1763.

In 1763 Bernhard is listed in Cocalico Township tax records Bernard Shop, in 1769 as Bernhart Shob, in 1770 as Bernard Shup in 1772. Bernhard's name does not appear in the 1759 records. There are no records in existence for 1760, 1761, and 1762 (Source: Pa. State Archives Microfilm of tax records for the period). Bernhard was probably was in Cocalico Township before 1763 because he married Barbara Meder whose family lived in Cocalico Township and Bernhard and Barbara's first know child Jacob was born in 1762. However, birth dates have not been located for 3 daughters so Bernhard and Barbara may have married before 1762.

Barbara Meder was the daughter of John and Barbara Meder. One Johannes Meder arrived in Philadelphia in 1741 aboard the St Mark. By the mid-1750's John Meder was living in Cocalico Township, Lancaster County where he remained until his death in 1781. In his Will, John mentions his wife Barbara and three daughters Eva, Margaretha, and Catharina. He lists his daughter Juliana, widow of Valentine Renner, and his son Daovold (Dewalt) as executors of his will. John mentions other children, but does not name them.

Juliana Renner married Bernhard Fether (Feather) before her father died. When John Meder's Will was registered for probate, Juliana and her new husband Bernhard Fether declined to act as executors in favor of Juliana's brother Dewalt.

Juliana Fether's 1819 Will, which was written in German Script, makes the connection between the Meder family and the Schop family. Juliana's second husband Bernhard Fether died about 1816. Juliana and Bernhard Fether probably had no children since neither of their respective Wills leaves any inheritance to any one who can be identified as their children. As a consequence, Juliana Fether left her estate to other family members. In her Will, Juliana names her brother John, her sister Barbara, and her brother Dewalt. She also mentions Henry and Michael Meder, but she does specifically identify them as siblings. Juliana left part of her estate to her sister Barbara Schopin's children. She also included some special stipulations for Barbara's sons Adam and Bernhard. She stated that Bernhard Schop's two sons by his first wife were to receive Bernhard's share,and she appointed Adam Schop as the guardian of his two nephews money until they reached legal age.

In his Will John Meder left one English gilling (shilling) to his daughters Margaretha Dockin, Catharina Schupin and Eva Schupin. His reason for this stipulation was that "they have Received heir Fatherly and Motherly Estite From Germany and each of them their and each of their Heirs shall be forever executed from said my Estate." Curiously, Juliana does not mention Margaretha, Catharina or Eva or their children as heirs to her estate. John Meder's will plus the exclusion of these sisters from Juliana's Will suggests that John may have been married twice and the mother of Margaretha, Catharina , and Eva died. and that the children John, Dewalt, Barbara, and Juliana were children to his second wife Barbara. In any event, the verifiable family of John Meder is as follows :

Father: John Meder

Mother: Barbara ?

Children:

Margaretha, Catharina, Eva, Juliana, John, Barbara, and Dewalt.

Margaretha married Philip Dock who was born in Bischwiller, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France. Their first recorded child was George Dock who was born in 1756. They also had a son Phillip born 2 Aug 1757. In addition they had daughters Elizabeth (1759), Margaret (1761), and Eva or Eve(1765) and Poly (Mary). Phillip Jr. served in the Revolution and was listed in 1818 pension lists as Sergeant Philip Dock. Philip Sr's Will was written on 26 March 1796 and posted on September 15, 1800 in Newdown (North Newton) Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. No wife is mentioned in his Will so Margaretha apparently died before 1796. Phillip Dock/Duck Jr. and his wife and some of their children and grandchildren are buried in the cemetery at Newville in North Newton Township Cumberland County.

Catharina Meder married George Schupp Jr. George Schupp Jr. was born in 1728 at Altdorf (Alteckendorf) in the Lorraine providence very near the Alsace-Lorraine boundary in France. His father, Johann George Schupp, emigrated aboard the Loyal Judith in 1739 along with a brother Christopher. The Captains list for the Loyal Judith shows them as Johann Jerick Shope and one Christopher Shope. However, the signature on one of the oath lists shows him as George Shup.

Data on the LDS family site submitted by another person suggests that the wife of George Schupp Jr. was Catherina Matter. This information is incorrect. The baptismal records for their first child Anna Catharina Schupp from the Trinity Evangalical Luthern Church in New Holland Lancaster County list her mother as Catharina Miderin (mispelled by the translater?). This record along with John Meder's will strongly suggests that Catharina was indeed the wife of George Schupp Jr.. The family eventually move near Killinger in Upper Dauphin County. George and Catharina's son, George Schupp III was born in 1759 and died in 1839. He and his wife are buried at the Werts Old Salem Cemetery near Killinger. In this same cemetery is the grave of one "Cadrina Schupp 1817." This may be Catharina Meder's grave.

John Meder is listed in the Dauphin County 1790 census. He died there in the early 1800s. His widow ask the court to make their nephew Jacob Schob the guardian of their children. Many of these childrens names were listed as Mader in later records.

I have little confirmed information on Dewalt or Eva. Eva made the Eva Schneider that married Nicholas Schupp. Nicholas seems to be the only early Schupp married to an Eva so if I am correct Eva was the widow of a Schneider when they married.

Dewalt may be the Dewalt Mater who is buried in Cumberland County. Early Cocalico tax records have Dewalt listed under several spellings including Mater.

According to the Cocalico tax records, John Meder had 40 acres of land. About 15 acres of this land was cleared and used for growing grain. A notation on the colonial tax records indicates the land was of poor quality. Bernhard Schop and Barbara did not own any land when they lived in Cocalico Township so they may have lived with Barbara's parents. Some of Bernhard and Barbara's children were born while they resided in Cocalio Township. The eldest son Jacob was likely born there in 1762. The following Shoop Church Baptismal records (Wright 1995) also shows that four of Bernhard and Barbara's daughters were born during the time they lived in Cocalico Township:

"Anna Maria, wife of Michael Poorman, b. may 20, 1766 bapt. May 24, 1788

dau, Martha born March 31 & bapt. May 24, 1788

After the foregoing entries are the following, but no names of parents except it be the sisters of Anna Maria Poorman, whoever she may have been:

Esther is b. Dec 1772; bapt. May 24, 1788

Anna is b. 1769 bapt. May 24, 1788

Elizabeth is b. Apr 1764; bapt. May 24, 1788"

Bernhard and Barbara had seven daughters and three sons. I found no baptismal records for their children beyond those shown above. The names Esther, Anna, and Elizabeth do not match up with any of the know names of the daughters, but Anna Maria Poorman is Anna Maria Shope so we know this record is referring to daughters belonging to Bernhard and Barbara. Anna could be a nickname for either Julianna or Christiana. Elizabeth could be the Eve Shope. Esther may be Barbara. These are, of course, guesses on my part.

From the above record and other records I can say with some degree of certainty that four of Bernhard and Barbara's children were born in Cocalico Township. Their son Jacob was probably born in Cocalico Township. Sons Adam and Bernhard Jr. (Barnabas of Centre) were born in what is now Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County. No birth data are available for three of their daughters.

On 27 October 1773 John Penn issued a warrant (#958) for 150 acres in Paxtang Township, Lancaster County to one Bernhard Shop. For this land he was required to pay five pounds sterling per 100 acres and a yearly Quit-rent of one penny sterling for every acre beginning six months later on the first Day of March 1774 (Pa State Archive Microfilm Records, Hbg., Pa.). Almost 20 years after landing in Pennsylvania, Bernhard finally had the land he was promised.

The seeds of revolution were beginning to germinate about the time Bernhard got his land warrant in Paxtang Township. After the incidents in Concord and Lexington, units of volunteers know as Associators were quickly formed in the summer of 1776 to defend against the British. The Militia was not officially formed until the following year. In 1776 Bernhard, along with other volunteers from Dauphin County were with the Colonial Army in New York. On 8 Aug 1777, First Lieutenant Collier filed a report of certifying losses sustained at the Battles of Long Island and White Plains and the defense of Fort Washington while he was in the service of Captain Reed's company. Lt. Collier's report included losses by Captain James Murray's Company. In the listing for Captain's Murray's Company is a one shilling loss under the column headed horns and pouchesd for Barney Shoop.

In 1777 Bernhard paid a tax as a nonassociator. Bernhard served in Capt. John Rutherford's Company in 1778, and 1779. In 1778 one Bernard Soop furnished 4 bushels of wheat and one bushel of forage for the Army (Pa Archives Series V, Vol 7, page 1147). Under the command of Captain John Rutherford, Barnabas Shoop and other volunteers from Paxtang marched to Bedford County in April of 1779 to protect the inhabitants until replaced by roving rangers (Egle, 1881).

Barney Shoop is listed with the 10^th Battalion, Fourth Class of the Lancaster militia as being called out for actual service in Bucks County June 1781. However, Barney Shoap sent his son Jacob Shoap as a substitute. In 1782 Barney Shoop was again listed with the 10^th Battalion. A muster fine record dated August 11, 1784 for Captain John Rutherford's Company shows fines of 8 Pounds paid by Barnabus Shup. The muster fine record appears to be the last record of service for Bernhard.

Service in the Pennsylvania Militia was mandatory after 1777 for all men between the ages of 18 and 53. The record from 1784 suggests that Bernhard Sr. was still in service in 1784. If this is his last year of service, then he probably reached the age of 53 in either 1784 or 1785. This would mean he was born sometime around 1731 or 1732. Bernhard would have been about 22 when he arrived in America. He would have been 28 when his first son Jacob born. In 1773 when he received his land warrant he would have been about 42. He was about 44 or 45 when he joined Washington's Army in New York in 1776.

Following the revolution Bernhard settled down to farming his land. Tax records show he continued to reside on the farm until 1809 with his sons Jacob, Adam and Bernhard Jr. From 1810 through 1812 tax records have him in a listed under "Harrisburg Out." During this time he may have been living under the care one of his daughters because he was no longer was on the farm. On 12 June 1812 he wrote his Will and named the following children as his heirs: Barbara, Juliana, Margaret, Anna Maria, Christiana, Magdalena, Eve, Jacob, Adam, and Bernhart.

Following Bernard's death, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania granted a land patent for the original Penn Warrant. The 1814 patent states that the farm was 181 acres in size. In 1818 a Dauphin County Orphan's Court determined that the farm should not be divided. Jacob, the eldest son, was given the option of taking the farm. Jacob, who was 56 in 1818, opted to turn over the farm to Adam, the second son. In 1818 the valuation put on the farm by the court was $7,255. After allowing for the cost of the survey, the court awarded each of the children $718.56 which was to be paid by Adam Shop to his brother's and sisters or their heirs. In his Will, Bernhard Senior had only left $10 to his daughters Barbara and Juliana, but under the terms set by the Orphan's Court of Dauphin, they too received equal shares of the estate. Bernhard Schop Jr. had already sold his share to his brother Adam in 1813 and Anna Maria and Michael Poorman sold Anna Maria's share to Adam in 1814. Both Bernhard Jr. and Anna Maria and Michael Poorman were living in Centre County when they sold their shares to Adam.

Bernhard Schop(p) Jr/ Barnabas Shope of Centre County

The next male in our family line was Bernhard Schop(p) / Shope Jr.. He probably was born in April of 1778. The age on his tombstone in the Milesburg Cemetery says he was 86 years and 10 months at the time of his death. This age would have placed his birth about 4 months after his brother Adam who was born 24 Dec 1776 (tombstone inscription Shope Farm Cemetery in Dauphin County). I suspect that Bernhard Jr. was actually 85 years and 10 months of age making his birth in April of 1778. Census records for Centre County list him as 71 in 1850 and as 83 in 1860. While it's possible he was born in 1779, it seems more likely that someone misread a 5 as a 6.

Sometime before 1798 Bernhard Jr. married Elizabeth Crall. Elizabeth was the daughter of Christian Crall Sr. and Magdalena. Christian's Will mentions the intermarriage between Bernhard Shop with Christian's daughter Elizabeth.

Christian Crall Sr. was the son of Mathias Krall/ Crall who came to America about 1720 from Basie, Switzerland. Mathias had been married to Mary Schopp. The Mathias Crall family lived in Lebanon Township, Lancaster County. Mathias Crall had several properties including one of 130 acres in Lower Paxton Township. When Mathias died in 1785, he left the Lower Paxton property to his eldest son Christian. In his Will, Mathais stated that his son Christian and Christian's wife Magdalena had given full satisfaction for the land.

It's not clear from the records when Christian Crall moved to Paxtang Township Lower Paxton) but he is listed as an inhabitant in 1770 tax records. One Chrisle Crawl appears as a militia member of the 4^th Battalion, 7^th company of Lancaster County in 1778. In 1779 Christian Crawl is listed in Captain Whitley's Company as one of the who of the militia members sent to Bedford County in 1779 to protect the residents while they planted their spring crops. Barnabus Soop, who was listed with Captain John Rutherford's Company, was also a member of the Paxton militia that went to Bedford County in 1779.

Bernhard Schop Jr. and Elizabeth Crall had two sons together. This fact is verified from the Will of Juliana Fether (Feather), Bernhard Jr's aunt, who lived in Elizabeth Township, Lancaster County at the time she wrote her will. In her will she left equal shares to her sister Barbara's children with one exception. She left Bernhard Schop's (Junior) share of her estate to his two eldest son's by his first wife. In her Will, Juliana name's Adam Schop as guardian of the boys money until they reach legal age. On March 18, 1824, John Shope signed a release to his guardian Adam Shope for his legacy from his great aunt Juliana Feather. In this release he states he is a son of Barnabas Shope of Centre County. On June 15, 1825 Christian Schopp signed an identical release for his share of his great aunt's estate.

Bernhard, Bernhard Jr., Adam, and Jacob Shop appear together for the last time in 1809 in the tax records of Lower Paxton Township. On October 18, 1813 Bernhard Jr. signed a release to his brother Jacob and Christian Walborn, executors of his fathers estate, for four hundred pounds, twelve shillings, and ? pence for his share of his inheritance from his father's estate. In this release he identifies himself as Bernhard Shop Jr. of Centre County. It is clear from this release that Bernhard Jr. was in Centre County by 1813.

Elizabeth Crall Schop was alive when her father died in 1806. I believe she died about 1809 because this is the last time Bernhard Jr. appears in the tax records with his brothers and father. I believe this may be when he left Dauphin County. By October 1813 he was living in Centre County. Circumstantial evidence suggest he may have left his two sons, John and Christian, in the care of their Uncle Adam. The first mention of either son in any records that I have located are the releases they signed for their inheritances from their great aunt's estate. Although these releases list Adam as their guardian the release may have been written that way because the Will of Juliana Fether names Adam, as guardian of the boys money.

Sometime before 1816, Bernhard Jr. married Mary Krieder (name "Polly Krieder appears on the death certificate Daniel P. Shope, a son. Krieder may be Kreider). Their first know child together was Jacob who was born about 1816. Bernhard Jr. and Mary had 7 children together. They probably initially lived in Spring Township. Annette Fink Spangler, a local family historian, listed tax records for 1815 and 1818 showing Bernard Shope in Boggs Township with 300 acres of land. Michael Poorman, brother -in- law, also appears in the same records. In their 1814 release to Adam Shope, Anna Maria and Michael stated they lived in Spring Township, Centre County. In 1817 Barnabas Shoup appears in the Patton Township Tax Records; therefore, I suspect that 1818 record in Mrs. Spangler's notes may be misdated and may actually be 1816 records. Her records cannot be verified because the original tax records were removed from the library and never returned.

With the above noted exceptions, Barnabas Shope appears in the tax records for Patton Township from 1817 to 1825. The 1820 Federal Census lists him in Patton Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania. In 1820 Patton Township records, Barnabas Shoap is shown with 2 horses, 2 cows, and 250 acres of land. He is show with the same assets in 1821 and 1822 except the last name is spelled Shope in both years. The 1822 tax records showed Barney Shoap transferred his land to William Hunter. In 1823 and 1824 he is listed with 300 acres, 2 horses and 2 cows, but his last name is again spelled Shoap.

John Shoup is also listed with his father in 1824. John had two cows in 1824. In 1825 Barnabas Shoap is again listed with the same assets as in 1823 and 1824 and his name is followed with John Shoap's name, but John's name is crossed out. After 1825 Barnabas no longer appears in the tax records for Patton Township; but John Shop appears in the 1826 record with 2 cows and the 1827 record with 1 horse and 1 cow. No Shopes appear in the early Patton Township records after 1827.

Because of the missing records for Boggs and Spring Township I cannot determine if Barnabas was listed in Boggs township after 1825, but he appears in the 1830 and 1840 Federal Census in Boggs Township. In the 1850 Federal Census Barnabas and his wife Mary were listed in Milesburg, but in the 1860 they were again listed in Boggs Township.

The 1852 tax record for Boggs Township shows Barnabas with 300 acres. Whether this is Barnabas , or his son Barnabas K., or his grandson Barnabas is unknown. However, Barnabas Sr.'s sons David and William, his grand nephew David F. and two grandsons's Benjamin and Christopher were living on the farm in 1852. John Shope was listed in 1852 as a tenant on the J. G. Lowry Farm and his son Jacob was a tenant on the A. Smoyer farm. John Shope named one of his sons John Lowry Shope. Jacob married a Smoyer daughter.

Bernhard Jr.died on Feb. 6, 1864. He is buried at the Milesburg Cemetery across from the Milesburg Firehouse. He signed his will "Barnabas Shope." This is also the name that appears on his tombstone. In his Will, he left 1/3 of his estate to his wife Mary with the stipulation that should she remarried whatever remained of her share was to be divided equally among his seven children (Estate # 4056, Centre County Genealogy Library). To his son John, by his first wife, he left $50. The remainder of his estate was to be divided equally between the following children: Jacob Shope, William Shope, Sarah Shope, Daniel Shope, Barnabas K. Shope, and Margaret Shope.

Christian Schop died before his father. Bernhard Senior failed to include his grandchildren in his estate so Christian's heirs brought vendue on 4 April 1864 to obtain a share of their grandfather's estate.

All the children listed in the Orphan's Court Record below are listed in the Centre County action. However, the Centre County venue included a son named John who is not listed among the children in the 1846 orphan's court record below. Christian's heirs eventually received $100 from their grandfather's estate.

Christian Schop died about 1845 intestate in Manheim, in Lancaster County Pennsylvania. His date of birth is unknown except that he was born before 1810. According to Court Records. Christian owned a two-story tavern that was to be sold to satisfy creditors. In 1846 Susanna petitioned the Orphan's Court in Lancaster County to put her children with other families. The following Orphan's Court Record shows the families that took the boys:

Lancaster County Orphan' Court Session of November 1846 -- Pa. State Archives Microfilm.

Christian Schop Dec'd

On the Petition of Susanna Schop the mother of Elias, Jacob Abraham, Benjamin and David all minors under the age of 14 years of Christian Schop late of the Borough of Manheim Lancaster County deceased. And Praying the Court appoint a guardian over the persons and estates of the said minors. Whereupon the court appointed John Zug guardian over the said Elias, Jacob and Benjamin Schop minors aforesaid and also appointed John Musser guardian over Abraham and David Schop minors aforesaid

John Zug Bound in the sum of $600} to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

John Shaeffer Bound in the sum of $600}

John Musser Bound in the sum of $400} to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

John Shaeffer Bound in the sum of $400 }

Same Dec'd ib the Petition of Emanuel Schop a minor son of Christian Shop late of the Borough of Manheim dec'd said minor above the age of 14 years and praying the court appoint a guardian over his person and estate. Whereupon the Court appointed Isaac Stauffer guardian over the person and estate of the said minor.

Isaac Stauffer Bound in the sum of $200} to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Michael Shissler Bound in the sum of $200}

The next in our immediately family line was Bernhard Junior's son John. John was born in 1798 in Dauphin County. When their mother died, John and his brother Christian may have been left in the care of their Uncle Adam and Aunt Ester. In March of 1824 John received an inheritance from his great aunt Juliana Fether. He signed a release to his guardian Adam Shope identifying himself as the son of Barnabus Shope of Centre County. The first records of John Shope in Centre County are in 1824 in Patton Township tax records. He listed their until 1827

John Shope was apparently fairly old before he owned land. In 1852 he was 54 and still a tenant farmer. He died on 21 July 1881. He wrote his last Will on 29 March 1881 about 4 months before his death. In his Will, he left $1 to each of his children and the balance of his estate to his beloved daughter Mary A. Murray and her husband Joseph Murray. This infuriated Mary's brothers. The battle over the estate raged on for several years. The brothers filed a petition (22 Aug 1881) for a competency hearing. In the petition it is stated that John died leaving an estate worth some $3,000 to $4,000 dollars. The petition went on to say that John had suffered a stroke in 1879. In the hearing (26 Dec 1884) that followed, testimony was given that he also had cancer of the privates, which had spread, into his abdomen. He had been shuffled between two sons with one wanting to charge him $8.00 per month to stay with him. He finally went to stay with his only daughter Mary where he remained more than a year before he died. The petition states that John did not even recognize his own children. The petition ends with a request to hold a hearing to determine if at the time of execution of the Will if John Shope was persuaded by "fraud, imposition or undue influence" to write the Will (Estate # 4374, Centre County Genealogy Library).

This affair must have put some strain of family relationships because one brother confessed during the hearing that he had not seen or spoken to his sister since the incident. For all their troubles most of the heirs ended up with less than $100 apiece after all the bills were paid. The legal system ended up with the majority of the estate.

One of the values of this controversy is that the children of John Shope were identified in the petition. However, John Shope's wife who died before him is only identified as Elizabeth Shope in her obituary. In the petition hearing concerning John Shope's mental condition, Jacob Crider, under oath, identified John Shope as his Uncle. Besides the testimony at the competency hearing, a death certificate for John Lowry Shope, son of John Shope, issued in Clinton County (Reg Dist 408, REG District 43, file no. 18111, Pennsylvania Division of Vital Statistics) lists his mother's maiden name as Crider. Therefore, John Shope's wife was Elizabeth Crider. Elizabeth Shope's obituary states that she was 89 when she died in 1879 putting her year of birth as 1790.

The next Shope in our line was John's eldest son, Barnabas Shope. Barnabas was born in 1823, a year before his father appears in the Patton Township tax records. His death certificate does not list his place of birth. The family record I list later for Barnabas Shope was taken from a family Bible at the home of his son Williams Frederick Reynolds Shope on 25 Feb 1944 by Mrs. Annette Fink Spangler (unpublished notes, Centre County Library). Mrs. Spangler noted that the Bible was published in Philadelphia in 1839 by McCarty and Davis No. 171 Market St., Ashmead and Company Printers.

In the family Bible, Barnabas's wife's name was listed as Eve Shaffer. One of her sons, Constans Curtin Shope, went to Minnesota where he ran a lumber business. He was never married so when he died his body was brought back to Pennsylvania for burial. His obituary in the Keystone Gazette on 10 Feb 1938 lists his mother's first name as Evaline, but his obituary appearing in the 11 Feb 1938 issue of the Democratic Watchman lists her first name as Eveyln. I use the later spelling in the family record because Eve, not Eva, was the familiar name in the family Bible record.

The next male in the family line is William Frederick Reynolds Shope. He, like Constans, ran a lumber business. However, William's business was in Bellefonte, Pa. Although many of the male Shope's in our this immediate family line have lived into their 80's. William Fredrick Reynolds Shope is a noteworthy exception. Of all the records I have located for male Shope's, none has lived as long as William Frederick Reynolds Shope. He holds the record for longevity, falling only two months short of his 98^th birthday. His Family record was transcribed by Mrs. Spangler on the 24 of Feb. 1944 at his home on Thomas St. in Bellefonte. Marriages were based on those listed by Roxanna Shope (1998). Deaths were from obituaries and the Social Security Death Index on the Roots Web Page.

The next in our family line is William Frederick Reynolds Shope's first child, William Frederick Shope. William Frederick worked for his father in the lumber business, as an editor of the Pennsylvania Republican, and for O. W. Houtz's lumber business. Mrs. Spangler also recorded birth information and some marriage information from William Frederick's family Bible at his home on 217 S. Allegheny St. in Bellefonte on 28 May 1945. The remaining records for his children and their descendants came directly from living Shope descendants.

Colonial Records Name Variations

Our surname Shope is derived from the name Germanic name Schopp which can also be spelled Schop. A tombstone still standing in the Shope family cemetery in Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County has the name written as Schop by Bernard's grandson Johannes Schop on the tombstone of his 2-year-old daughter. This tombstone was still standing in the cemetery in May of 2000. A Shoop Church (along route 22 in Dauphin County) baptismal record for a grandson, Abraham Shope, the first son of Jacob Shope, has the surname written as Schop (Egle, 1898). In a later Shoop Church Baptismal Record for Abraham's first daughter, Elisabeth, the last name is spelled Schopp (Egle, 1895). The first time the name Shope was used with the family was when out ancestor was listed in the 1807 Dauphin County Tax Records as Shope. Before that the were many variations of the last name with only the S and p being consistent throughout all spellings.

Various first name references for Bernhard appear in records of the colonial period. These include Bernhart Bernard, Bernhard, Barnhard, Barnabus, Barney Barned, Barnet, Barney, Barnabs, and Barnabas. Barnabas, Bernard, and Barney are all be nicknames applied to him. His third son who moved to Centre County was named for him. Bernard's 1813 will lists his name as Bernhart and names his third son as Bernhart who was called Barnabus or Barney in Centre County. These same nicknames are also listed for Bernhard Sr. in Revolutionary War musters.

Bernhard Sr.'s last name proved to be just as much a problem for early colonial scribes as his first name. I found it spelled, Shop, Shoop, Shopp, Shoap, Shupp, Shup, Supe, Shupe, and Soop. The first use of the "Shope" spelling appears to have occurred in 1807in the Daupn County tax records for Lower Paxton. From that time forward, the name largely appeared as Shope in most official records. As late as the 1820s the sons and some of the grandsons were still using the Schop(p) or Shop or Shopp spellings for the last name. In documents from the 1813-20 Bernhard Jr. and his brother Adam use Shop, but the older brother Jacob used the Shopp. This probably frustrated most of the English speaking officials because Shop and Shopp do not sound like Schopp or Shope when pronounced in English so the officials adopted the Shope for official records.

There was never total universal acceptance of the Shope spelling. When Christian Schop died intestate, his estate was listed in the Lancaster ophan's court records under the Schop spelling. His son Elias who lived near Phillipsburg in Centre County was listed as Elias Shope in the 1860 Federal census. Elias later moved to the Osceola Mills area in Decatur Township, Clearfield County. In the 1870 and 1880 censuses Elias is listed under the surname Schopp. His son Lorenzo also was listed under the surname Schopp in 1880. In contrast, Elias's son Woodward was listed as a Shope in the 1880 census in Blair County. Lorenzo had three sons who lived in Tyrone in the 1940s under the surname Schopp. It is most likely their descendents are still using the original family surname, Schopp.

Adam and Bernhard Jr. used the "Shope" spelling when they signed their respective wills in the mid-1800s. Apparently Jacob did not leave a will. He listed as living with his son Barnhard in 1850 at the age of 88 and is reputed to have died at the age of 89. I found no will for him in the Dauphin county archives so I must assume he died intestate. The first official document signed "Shope" by any family member appears to be a release signed by my ggg grandfather John for an inheritance he received from his Aunt Juliana in 1824. In contrast, his brother Christian signed his name in the original German script form on his release for his inheritance from his Aunt Juliana in 1825 (see appendix). Ultimately the majority of the family was forced to use the Shope spelling because this is the spelling used by the county officials

Religious Beliefs

The religious beliefs of Bernhard Shope Sr. are unknown. The records I found show four of his daughters were baptized as adults in 1788 in the Shoop Church. The Shoop Church was a German Reformed Church. German Reformed Churches as rule baptized infants and anabaptist faiths such as the Dunkards (Old German Baptist), Mennonites, and Amish did not. Circumstantial evidence suggests Bernhard and Barbara lived near the Muddy Creek Church in East Cocalico Township. It would have been reasonable then to expect that some of their children would have been baptized at the Muddy Creek Church by the then Reverend Casper Stoever, but I have no records of any baptisms or confirmations for Bernhard and Barbara's children in these records. In contrast, some of Barbara's sister's children did receive confirmations in the Muddy Creek church, but they were all adults at the time.

Bernhard was not likely a member of one of the anabaptist faiths of the period because he served in both the French and Indian War and Revolutionary War. In the Revolutionary war he actually went as a volunteer and served in a combat situation in 1776 in New York. Such service was clearly forbidden by the anabaptist faiths of the period. His wife Barbara may have been a member of an anabaptist faith and this may explain why none of the children show up in early German Reform Church Baptismal records. None of the anabaptist faiths permit the use of arms against their fellow human beings or participation in war. The record for Bernhard shows he volunteered to take up arms on at least two occasions. His service is inconsistent with his being a member of one of the anabaptist faiths.

Roxanna Shope (1998) notes that Bernard's son Adam was Old German Baptist as was his son John A. Shope who is buried at the Church of the Brethren Cemetery on Lyter Lane in Harrisburg. In contrast Jacob Shope had his eldest son Abraham baptized as an infant in the Shoop Church. Jacob's son Barnhard with whom Jacob spent his final years is buried in the United Church of Christ Cemetery at the west end of Linglestown. The UCC church is an offshoot of the old German Reform Church.

In contrast to Jacob's line, Adam Shope belonged to the Old German Baptist Church (Dunkard) and most of his son's followed the same faith. Most of his children son followed this line. His son John A. Shope is buried in thecemetery at the church of the Brethern on Lyter Lane in Harrisburg. John's son Adam J. Shope became a minister of the Church of the Brethern and is also buried in the church cemetery on Lyter Lane.

Nathaniel was an exception among Adam's children. According to Noah Zimmerman (pers. commun.), Nathaniel and his father had a dispute over baptizing a family member who was sick. Nathaniel wanted the family member baptized, but his father would not permit the baptism because it was winter. The family member died before spring without being baptized, and this caused a rift between Nathaniel and his father. Consequently, Nathaniel joined the Mennonite Church. This change was not difficult for Nathaniel's because his wife was Mennonite. Nathaniel eventually was elected a Bishop in the Mennonite Church. The Shope Mennonite Church in Harrisburg (Highspire) is named for Nathaniel who was the first person buried in it's cemetery. As a result of Nathaniel's change, many Shope descendants of his belonged to the Mennonite church and may be found in Mennonite cemeteries in the general Harrisburg area.

I have not found any clear evidence of what faith Bernhard Jr. followed. None of his children were baptized as infants. His son John by his first wife Elizabeth belonged to the Advent Church in Milesburg.

The following record of baptisms are for Shope's at the Baptist Church in Milesburg, Pa:

Sarah Shope bap. Mar 29, 1840 Dropped

Danl. Shope " Jan 18, 1848

William Shope " Feb 06, 1848 Dropped

Barnabas Shope " Feb 06, 1848 Death Dec?

David Shope " Feb 06, 1848

David D. Shope " Feb 06, 1848 Restored Apr. 22, 1876

Martha Shope " Feb 06, 1848

With the exception of David Shope who was the son of Jacob Shope Jr., all of the above Shope's were children by Bernhard. Interestingly, Daniel Shope who was baptized in the Milesburg Baptize Church eventually became an Elder in the Milesburg Presbyterian Church. The following quote is taken from the Centre County genealogical web page:

The Milesburg church was erected by the Bellefonte Presbyterian church. In 1868 this church was organized by a committee of thePresbytery of Huntingdon. The sacrament of the Lord's supper was first observed Sept. 20., 1868, and eight new members united with the church, during which time the Rev. W.O. Wright was stated supply of the church and installed pastor May 10, 1870 June 21, J. H. Linn, Daniel P. Shope, and William B. Thomas were elected ruling elders. Since March 5 1868 to the prest time, November, 1877, seventy-three persons have united with this church, which with the original eighteen, make ninety-one. This church has had but one pastor since its organization.--W.O. Wright."

There is little doubt that the Shope family has been predominately protestant in it's religious leanings, but rather liberal as to which protestant religion it followed. There is and was a great deal of diversity on which protestant religion was followed. To some extent, it appears that the spouses were fairly influential as to what faith their husbands followed.

Literature Cited:

.

Anon. 1983. Pennsylvania German Church Records of Births, Baptisms, Marriages, Burials, etc. Vol 1. Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc.

Egle, William H. 1881. Notes and Queries Historical and Geneaological Telegraph Printing and Binding House. Harrisburg, Pa. 588 pp.

Egle, William H. 1896. Notes and Queries Relating to Pennsylvania. Third Series-Vol. II. Republished in 1970 Baltimore Geneaological Publishing Company. 496 pp.

Egle. William H. 1883. History of the counties of Dauphin and Lebanon, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Everts and Peck. 616 pp and 360 pp.

Hacker, Warner. 1994. Eighteenth Century Register of Emigrants from Southwest Germany to America and Other Countries. Collosson Press, Apollo, Pennsylvania. 516 pp.

Kelker, Luther R. 1907. History of Dauphin County Pennsylvania. Vol. II. The Lewis Publishing Co. 727 pp.

McQuillis, S. G. and William L Iscrape. 1983. Will Index - Dauphin County Pennsylvania 1785-1850. Southwest Penna. Geneaological Services. Laughlintown, Pa. 17 pp.

Shope, Roxanna: 1998. Bratwurst, Bagpipes, and Tea-A history of the Shope, Stinson, Tillinghast and Related Families. Gateway Press Inc. Baltimore, MD. 279 pp.

Wright, F. C. 1995. Early Church Records of Dauphin County Pennsylvania. Family Line Publications, Westminster, Md. 140 pp.

Military Records:

PA Archives Series V, Vol. 7. Pages 376, 380, 389,401, 407,1013, 1024, 1143, 1147

1920 SAR Application of Dr. Samuel Zimmerman Shope (Appendix)

Colonial Tax Records:

PA Archives Series III, Vol. 17

HUSBAND			Bernhard Schop(p)/ Shope^1
Born		Between 1731 and 1738				Place	Switzerland
Marr		Before 1762				Place	Possibly Cocalico Township, Lancaster County
Died		Aug 1813				Place	Lower Paxton, Dauphin County
HUSBAND'S FATHER			Unk			HUSBAND'S MOTHER		Unk
WIFE			Barbara Meder^2
Born		Unk				Place	Unk
Died		Before 1813				Place	Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, Pa.
WIFES FATHER			John Meder			WIFE'S MOTHER		Barbara (NLN)
MF	CHILDREN^2			WHEN BORN	WHERE BORN				FIRST MARRIAGE		WHEN DIED
F	Barbara				Cocalico
									Henry Michael
F	Julianna
									George Siltzel
F	Margaret
									George Perch
F	Anna Maria			20 May 1766^3	Cocalico
									Michael Poorman
F	Christiana
									Ludwig Hertz
F	Magdalena (Molly)
									Daniel Kime
F	Eve (Elizabeth?)									>11/1806 < 1/1808
									Christian Crall
M	Jacob			1762^4	Cocalico						1859^3
									Elizabeth Hart
M	Adam			24 Dec 1776^5	Lower Paxton				1795^1		07 Feb 1866^4
									Ester Parker
M	Bernhard Jr.^6			06 Apr 1778 /79	Lower Paxton				Bef. Oct. 1798		06 Feb 1864
									Elizabeth Crall

¹1920 SAR Application (National Number 34329) of Samuel Zimmerman Shope (Appendix A). Bernard Shope arrived aboard the Neptune in 1753. Individual males 16 year of age and older were required to sign oaths. His name appears on both oath lists suggesting he was at least 16 on arrival in Philadelphia. The maximum age for Militia Service was 53. A A miltia account record of Captain John Patterson shows one Barnabus Shup paid a find in August of 1784. This is the last militia account for him so he may have reach the age of 53 by 1785. To sign the ships list he had to be at least

²Children's names given in Bernard Shope Will (1813, Volume D, Page 028, Dauphin County, Pa.) The spellings of husbands names come from legal documents in Dauphin County deer records and Orphans Court Records relating to settlement of the Will.

³ William Henry Egle 1895.

4.Ambrose, Mary E. 1999. Ancestors and Descendants of David Crum and Mary Magdalene Crall. Mechanicsburg, Pa.

sTombstone record Shope Family Cemetery, Lower Paxton Township Dauphin County.

⁶ See Bernhard Jr's individual record footnotes for further details.

HUSBAND

Bernhard Shope Jr./ Barnabas Shope

Born

06 Apr 1778/79 ^1

Place

Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, PA

Marr

Before Oct. 1798

Place

Dauphin County

Died

06 Feb 1864

Place

Boggs Township, Centre County, PA

HUSBAND'S FATHER

BernhardSchopp/Shope Sr.

HUSBAND'S MOTHER

Barbara Meder

WIFE (1)

Elizabeth Crall^2

Born

Abt 1779

Place

Pa.

Died

After 1806 and Bef. 1813

Place

Lower Paxton, Dauphin County

WIFE's (1) FATHER

Christian Crall

WIFE'S MOTHER

Magdalena

MF

CHILDREN^3

WHEN BORN

WHERE BORN

FIRST MARRIAGE

WHEN DIED

M

John^3

14 Oct 1798

Dauphin Co.

Before 1823

21 July 1881

Elizabeth Crider^3

M

Christian

Dauphin Co.

Bef. 1845

Susanna ?

WIFE (2)

Mary "Polly" Krieder^4(prob. Kreider)

Marr

Bef. 1816

Place

Unk

Born

Abt 1795

Place

Unk

Died

AFT 1864

Place

Milesburg, Pa.

WIFES FATHER

WIFE'S MOTHER

MF

CHILDREN ^3,5

WHEN BORN

WHERE BORN

FIRST MARRIAGE

WHEN DIED

M

Jacob B. Shope

1816

Patton, Centre Co.

28 Jun 1894

Julianna Zimmerman

M

William C.. Shope

20 Nov 1819

Patton, Centre Co.

19 Feb 1946

18 Jul 1883

Martha Hinton

F

Sarah Shope

Feb 1825

Patton, Centre Co.

7 Nov. 1848

4 Sep 1902

David F. Shope

M

Daniel P. Shope

30 Dec 1824

Boggs, Centre Co

Bef. 1848

19 Nov. 1914

Sarah

F

David D.Shope

15 Jun 1829

Boggs, Centre Co.

19 Jan 1889

Nancy Martin

M

Barnabas K. Shope

14 Jun 1831

Boggs, Centre, Co

?

31 Mar 1864

Mary Ann ?

F

Margaret Shope

Boggs, Centre, Co

unk

¹Barnabas Shope's tombstone (Milesburg Cemetery Centre County, Pa..) says he was 86 years and 10 months of age when he died. However, this would make his birth less than 4 months after his brother Adam's birth. Adams tombstone in the Dauphin County family cemetery in Lower Paxton shows Adam's birth date to be 24 Dec 1776. An 1818 Dauphin County Orphan's Court Record shows Jacob as the eldest son and Adam as the second son ; therefore, Bernhard Jr. is the third and last son. The 1850 census shows Barnabas as being 71 years old suggesting he was born in 1779, but the 1860 census shows his age as 83. I tend to lead towards the 1778 date as the best compromise. The stone cutter could have misread a 5 as a 6. Also, subtracting 1864 from 1778 gives 86 years, and if the 10 months were added as an after thought to bring the date back to April, this could be the source of the error. The alternative is a mistake between a 5 and a 6 on the year on Adam's tombstone.

²Christian Crall Will (Appendix) shows Bernard Shop intermarried with Elizabeth Crall in 1805.

³Barnabas Shope's will (Estate # 4056 on file at Centre County Geneaological Library, Bellefonte, Pa.) Christian Shope was named in legal action brought at vendue on 4 April 1864 by Christian's heirs. Also both John and Christian named Barnabas Shope of Centre County as their father in Lien Releases to their Guardian Adam Shope in Dauphin County ( Appendix).

³Maiden name from John Lowry Shope's death certificate.

⁴Mary was named as Barnabas's wife in his Will. U. S. Census data for 1860 list Mary Shope's age as 65. Listed as Polly Krieder on Daniel P. Shope's death certificate where he died in his daughter's home.

⁵ Annette Fink Spangler notes on Shope Family at Centre County Genealogy Library, Bellefonte, Pa.

HUSBAND			John R. Shope
Born		14 Oct 1798				Place	Lower Paxton, Dauphin County^1
Marr		Bef. Jul 1823				Place
Died		21 Jul 1881				Place	Milesburg, Centre County, Pa.
HUSBAND'S FATHER			Barnabas Shope			HUSBAND'S MOTHER		Elizabeth Crall
WIFE			Elizabeth Crider ^2
Born		Abt. 1790				Place
Died		10 Sep 1879				Place	Boggs Twp., Centre County
WIFES FATHER						WIFE'S MOTHER
MF	CHILDREN			WHEN BORN	WHERE BORN				FIRST MARRIAGE	WHEN DIED
M	Barnabus Shope			4 Jul 1823	Patton, Twp. Centre, Pa.				20 Oct 1824	25 Aug 1903
									Evelyn Shaffer
M	Christian Shope			1825	Patton, Twp. Centre, Pa.
									Rebecca J.
M	Jacob P. Shope			16 Sep 1826	Patton, Twp. Centre, Pa.				13 May 1850	03 Feb1903
									Mary Ann Shroyer
M	Adam Shope			1829	Boggs, Twp. Centre, Pa.				16 Aug 1860	16 Sep 1897
									Agnes Force
M	John. Lowry Shope			14 Nov 1833	Boggs, Twp. Centre, Pa.					20 Nov 1920
									Mary A. Lucas
M	George Washington Shope			1834	Boggs, Twp. Centre, Pa.					16 Sep 1897
									Rebecca Hunter
F	Mary Ann Shope			1835	Boggs, Twp. Centre, Pa.				27 Jan 1864
									Joseph Murray
F	Elizabeth Shope			1837	Boggs, Twp. Centre, Pa.				May 1871	Abt. 1878
									Thomas W. Shearer
M	Israel Shope				Boggs, Twp. Centre, Pa.				23 Aug 1853
									Martha Ann Murray

¹John Shope's name appears in the 1824 to 1827 Centre County Tax Records for Patton Twp. John's father, Barnabas Sr., appears in Spring Township Tax records in 1815, in Patton Twp. in 1816 and 1817, in Boggs in 1818, and back in Patton from 1819 to 1825. The 1820 Census lists Barnabas in Patton. In 1830 and 1840 Barnabas is listed in Boggs Township. As John was only 17 when his father arrived in Centre County, I am assuming he was with his father and without taxable property since he does not appear in the tax records until 1824. Since John was born in 1798, I am assuming he, like his father, was born on the original Shope family farm in Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County.

² John Lowry Shope's death certificate identifies his mother's maiden name as Crider. Under oath at a hearing regarding John Shope's state of mind at the time he wrote his last will, Jacob Crider identified John Shope as his Uncle. Jacob Crider was the brother of Philip Burns Crider and son of William Crider/ Cryder Jr. Jacob's Grandfather William Cryder Sr is shown in the 1800 U. S. Census in Northumberland. He lived in what is now Gallagher Township, Clinton County. Therefore, John's wife was Elizabeth Crider/Cryder, a daughter of William Cryder Sr.

³ Marriage date records are either from Mrs. Annette Fink Spangler's Shope family record or the marriage indexes at the Centre County Genealogical Library.

⁴ Mrs. Annette Fink Spangler's note on the Shope Family say George W. Shope was married twice and lists a Miss Hunter as his spouse. On-line Ancestory.Com World Ancestory Tree- Margaret E. Hunter was born 18 June 1858 near the Eagle Iron Works in Centre County, Pa. Her parents were George T. Hunter who was born in Cumberland County and Hanna Williams who was born in Boggs Township. Hannah Williams died in Bellefonte on 30 Nov 1865. George T. Hunter died in Elkhart, Indiana on 27 May 1916. Margaret (Hunter) Shope died in 1897 in Decature, Illnois At least one know son born to George W. and Margaret was Charles Thorton Shope. According to Roxanna Shope, George W. Shope served in the Civil War with his brother John Lowery Shope. She states that George W. first moved to Indiana and the returned to Centre County and married a Rebecca Hunter from Hunters Park. Rebecca and George had Joseph E. Shope in 1869 and a daughter, Viola D. Shope about 1869. Mrs. Spangler's notes say that George W. Shope died in the state of Indiana. The question here is Rebecca and Margaret one in the same or is Rebecca the first wife and Margaret the second wife. Or, was there a son George W. Jr. who married Margaret?

HUSBAND			Barnabas Shope
Born		04 Jul 1823				Place
Marr		20 Oct 1846				Place	Centre County, PA
Died		25 Aug 1903				Place	Roland, Centre County, PA
HUSBAND'S FATHER			John Shope			HUSBAND'S MOTHER		Elizabeth Crider
WIFE			Evelyn Shaffer
Born		22 May 1824				Place	??
Died		24 Dec. 1902				Place	Roland, Centre County, Pa.
WIFES FATHER						WIFE'S MOTHER
MF	CHILDREN			WHEN BORN	WHERE BORN				FIRST MARRIAGE	WHEN DIED
F	Henrietta Shope			25 Dec 1846	Curtin, Pa..				15 Aug 1872
									Henry Schultz
F	Caroline Ellen Shope			05 Jun 1848	Curtin, Pa.					14 Dec 1848
M	James Edwin Shope			25 Sep 1849	Curtin, Pa.				Elizabeth M. Knox	18 Oct 1917
									03 Oct 1874
F	Senarah Spade Shope			25 Sep 1851	Curtin, Pa.
									George Reeder
F	Elizabeth Eve Shope			27 Sepp 1853	Bellefonte, Pa.				18 Jun 1871
									John Bubb
F	Mary Elmira Shope			15 Feb 1857	Curtin, Pa.				26 Jan 1882
									William Neff
M	John Shope			05 Aug 1859	Curtin, Pa.					12 Jan 1867
M	Constans Curtin Shope^1			21 Mar 1862	Curtin, Pa.					29 Jan 1938
M	William Frederick Reynolds			07 Mar 1864	Curtin, Pa.				18 Sep 1888	27 Jul 1961
									Mary Elizabeth. Allen
M	Thomas Lile Greenwood Shearer			08 May 1866	Curtin, Pa.				06 Apr 1898
									Mary B. Carson
	Second Marriage of Thomas Lile to Rose Bowmaster 14 Nov 1905

¹ Constans obituary in the appendix states that he was never married. However, an article appeared in the Bellefonte Republican on 26 March 1884 stating that the Rev. M. L. Jackson married Constans Shope and Anna L. McKinney of Tyrone, Pa. on 10 Mar 1884 at the M. & E. parsonage in Snow Shoe. This article was evidently prepared in advance of the marriage and never withdrawn. According to Harry Shope Jr., a great nephew, Constans caught Anna with another man the night before the wedding and Constans never married her.

HUSBAND			William Frederick Reynolds Shope
Born		07 March 1864				Place	Curtin, Pa.
Marr		18 Sep 1888				Place	Nittany Pa.
Died		27 Jul 1961				Place	Bellefonte, Pa. Buried at Union Cemetery
HUSBAND'S FATHER			Barnabas Shope			HUSBAND'S MOTHER		Eve Shaffer
WIFE			Mary Elizabeth Allen
Born		03 Feb 1865				Place	Tusseyville, Pa.
Died		18 Dec 1944				Place	Bellefonte, Pa. Buried at Union Cemetery
WIFES FATHER			John Allen Sr.			WIFE'S MOTHER		Susan Straub
MF	CHILDREN^1			WHEN BORN	WHERE BORN				FIRST MARRIAGE	WHEN DIED
M	William Frederick Shope			02 May 1889	Curtin, PA				17 Jun 1909	25 Jun 1973
									Grace Eleanor Shook
F	Susan E. Shope^2			19 Mar 1890	Curtin, PA				29 June 1912	02 Jan 1957
									Thomas S. Van Buskirk
F	Henrietta B. Shope			16 Mar 1893	Curtin, PA				14 Oct 1911	09 Jun 1969
									Roy H. Grove
F	Mary (Mayme) E. Shope			26 Mar 1894	Curtin, PA				27 Nov 1920	?? Mar 1979`
									Oliver B. Hartman
F	Kate E. Shope			?? ??? 1895	Curtin, PA					06 Feb 1898
F	Claire Evelyn Shope			22 Jan 1897	Curtin, PA					04 Oct. 1930
									Daniel Haggart
M	Henry Allen Shope			25 May 1898	Curtin, PA				28 Jan 1921	29 Mar1974
									Ruth M. Blair^3
F	Mable Leotta Shope			23 Sep 1899	Curtin, PA				07 Jan 1921	02 Oct 1975
									Stewart J. Hoy
M	John Reynolds Shope			22 Jul 1901	Curtin, PA					?? Oct. 1987
									Blanche Breon
F	Violet Irene Shope			21 Jan 1903	Curtin, PA					?? Jun 1967
									Robert Knox
11	Grace Ann Shope			06 Jan 1905	Curtin, PA
									George T. Blakeslee
12	James W. Ray Shope			19 May 1906	Curtin, PA					01 Nov 1992
									Maude Richards

¹ Source of Names and birth dates are from the Spangler Shope Family Notes on File at the Centre County Geneaological Library in Bellefonte. The spouse and death dates are from Robert L. Shope except for the death date for James W. Ray , Violet Irene, and Mary E. Their death dates were taken from the Roots Web Social Security Death Index.

² Second marriage to Clyde Davis. There were no children in the second marriage.

³ Ruth M. Blair Shope died December 14, 2000. She was 100 years old

HUSBAND		William Fredrick Shope
Born	02 May1889				Place	Curtin, Pa.
Marr	17 Jun 1909				Place	Bellefonte
Died	25 Jun 1973				Place	Bellefonte, Pa.
HUSBAND'S FATHER		William F. Reynolds Shope			HUSBAND'S MOTHER		Mary Elizabeth Allen
WIFE		Grace Eleanor Shook
Born	11 Oct 1892				Place	Lamar, Porter Twp. Clinton County, Pa.
Died	21 Aug 1986				Place	Spring Twp., Centre County, Pa.
WIFES FATHER		James Milford Shook			WIFE'S MOTHER		Sarah Jane Lockard
MF	CHILDREN		WHEN BORN	WHERE BORN				FIRST MARRIAGE	WHEN DIED
M	Frederick Lomond Shope		25 Aug 1910	Bellefonte				03 Feb 1934	09 April 1998
								Alma Mary Householder
M	Wilson Reynolds		20 Jun 1913	Bellefonte				14 March 1935
								Majorie Ellen Miller
M	William Jack		27 Mar 1916	Bellefonte				04 Sep 1938
								Catherine Ann Kilpatrick
F	Sarah Eleanor		07 Jul 1918	Bellefonte				23 Aug 1940	10 Aug 1961
								Mark Edwin Kovacic
M	David Francis		15 Dec 1922	Bellefonte				29 Jun 1942
								Mary Eleanor Williams
M	Richard Leonard		17 Jan 1925	Bellefonte				04 Jan 1945	30 Jun 1998
								Dorothy Jane Reese
F	Marilyn Lucille		04 Feb 1926	Bellefonte				06 June 1947
								Paul Whitman Houck

HUSBAND			David Francis Shope
Born			15 Dec 1922			Place	Bellefonte, Pa.
Marr			29 Jun 1942			Place	Hagerstown, Maryland
Died						Place
HUSBAND'S FATHER			William Frederick Shope			HUSBAND'S MOTHER		Grace Eleanor Shope
WIFE			Mary Eleanor Williams
Born			26 June 1922			Place	Julian, Pa. (Dix Run)
Died			17 Apr 1978			Place	Bellefonte, Pa. (Zion Union Cemetery, Zion, Pa.)
WIFES FATHER		Kenzie Adolph Williams				WIFE'S MOTHER		Margaret Eleanor Summers
MF	CHILDREN			WHEN BORN	WHERE BORN				FIRST MARRIAGE	WHEN DIED
F	Carol Jean			21 Nov 1943	Bellefonte				13 Jun 1964
									Edward William Palmer Jr.
M	William Kenzie			07 Jan 1945	Bellefonte				24 Sep 1966
									Gloria Jean Moyer
F	Mary Lou			1954	Bellefonte					1954 (1 day old)
F	Margaret Cheryl			01 Apr 1958	Bellefonte				08 Aug 1981
									Christopher C. Pyle
F	Robin Yvonne			09 Apr 1960	Bellefonte
									Mark Avery Mardis
									Other Marriages:
									David F: Lorie Ann Durst
									Robin Yvonne: Stephen Brian Crawford

HUSBAND		William Kenzie Shope
Born		07 Jan 1945			Place	Bellefonte, Pa.
Marr		24 Sep 1966			Place	Bellefonte, Pa.
Died					Place
HUSBAND'S FATHER		David Francis Shope			HUSBAND'S MOTHER		Mary Eleanor Williams
WIFE		Gloria Jean Moyer
Born		03 Aug 1946			Place	Bellefonte
Died					Place
WIFES FATHER		John Edgar Moyer			WIFE'S MOTHER		Hazel Irene Gardner
MF	CHILDREN		WHEN BORN	WHERE BORN				FIRST MARRIAGE	WHEN DIED
F	Nicole Rene		23 Feb 1972	Camp Hill, Pa.				04 Jun 1998
								Randy Lee Fawver

HUSBAND		Randy Lee Fawver
Born		05 Mar 1973					Place	Harrisburg, Pa.
Marr		04 Jun 1998					Place	Millerstown, Pa.
Died							Place
HUSBAND'S FATHER				James Leroy Fawver			HUSBAND'S MOTHER		Sara Jane Rudy
WIFE				Nicole Rene Shope
Born		23 Feb 1972					Place	Camp Hill, Pa.
Died							Place
WIFES FATHER			William Kenzie Shope				WIFE'S MOTHER		Gloria Jean Moyer
MF	CHILDREN				WHEN BORN	WHERE BORN				FIRST MARRIAGE	WHEN DIED
F	Miranda Lynn Fawver				12 Nov 1998	Andrews AFB, Md