John Fryberger b. 1767

/ Kirstin Miller

John Fryberger 5th great grandpa on RootsMagic tree

John or Johann was born in 1767 in Pennsylvania to Ludwig and Anna Betty Fryberger. John was probably confirmed in Bern Church on October 22, 1786. The 1790 census in Berks County, PA shows John’s mom Widow Fryberger, John’s brother Jacob Fryberger as John’s neighbors. The widow had 3 children in her home. Jacob had a spouse and 4 kids, John was still single. John married Anna Maria Kryder on July 11, 1795 in Pennsylvania. John and Anna had at least 8 children. By 1820 the family had followed hundreds of other German Americans from Pennsylvania farm country to Ohio. The 1820 and 1830 censuses show John and family living in Stark County, Ohio. John and his sons were farmers, landowners. In 1814 John’s daughter Elizabeth married Henry Miller, their son Peter would move to Bremer County Iowa and have a son William whose daughter Lola married another William Miler they were parents of Faber Miller.

John lived to age 78, he died in 1845. He was buried in Maplegrove Mennonite Cemetery in Hartville, Stark County, Ohio. The cemetery no longer exists, “the cemetery was removed, at least 20 years ago, when an addition and parking lot were added to the church.” This is written, no date at John’s Find a Grave memorial. John’s wife and daughter Elizabeth Fryberger Miller are also buried there.

Long after John was gone his grandson John was in The farm journal rural directory of Stark County, Ohio, published in 1915. Photos in the directory show how ancestor farm families lived at the time. And directly above John Fryberger entry is Zenas Fry, another farmer in the area, originally from Pennsylvania. Zenas married Mandana Miller, she was the granddaughter of Henry and his wife Elizabeth Fryberger Miller.

Sources

  • 1790 United States census database at FamilySearch
  • Pennsylvania, Church Records – Adams, Berks, and Lancaster Counties, 1729-1881 at Ancestry
  • Pennsylvania, Septennial Census, 1779-1863 at Ancestry
  • The farm journal rural directory of Stark County, Ohio at Archive.org