Peter Schell (abt. 1712 - aft. 1758)

Husband of Maria Catharina (Walborn) Schell — married 6 Oct 1730 in Tulpehocken Pennsylvania

Descendants

Died after 1758 after about age 46 in Tulpehocken Township, Berks, Pennsylvania

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Michael Schell [send private message]

Biography

Peter was born about 1712. It is uncertain whether he was born in New York or Germany. His father may also have been named Peter or Johann-Peter, but documentation is sparse. Peter might be the brother of Martin Schell.

This is the Peter Schell who married Maria Catharina Walborn in Tulpehocken 1730, as recorded by Reverend John Casper Stoever. Also cited also on p. 1053 of Henry Z. Jones Jr's The Palatine Families of New York (1985). The marriage of Peter Schell and Maria Catharina Walborn was the second marriage to be recorded by Reverend John Caspar Stoever, who began visiting the Tulpehocken congregation in 1729, soon after arriving in America. The family of Maria Catharina Walborn originated in the NY Palatine colony, and had arrived in Tulpehocken already in 1723, settling near Swarta Creek in western Tulpehocken.

Peter Shell was an early land owner in Tulpehocken Creek area of Pennsylvania. He received his land following completion of land indenture to Caspar Wistar. This land lies north/northeast of what is today Myerstown [NOTE: the legacy name for Myerstown is Tulpehocken Town]. The indenture describes two distinct but adjacent tracts of land, as detailed below. Possibly these were owned by father and son.

14 Oct 1738: Naturalization of Peter Schell, inhabitant of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. [uncertain if that is this Peter or, more likely, his father].

Peter Shell's land was originally promised by Caspar Wistar to George Zeh. This fact is documented in the original 1739 land indenture between Shell and Wistar. George Zeh and Caspar Wistar are again mentioned in the 1760 land dispute mediated by Conrad Weiser

31 Oct 1739 Land Survey shows 119 acres. An adjacent plot is labeled "Peter Shell's other lands."and it lies directly west of the 119 acres.. To the east lies the farm of Herman Batdorf. To the south lies the land of Thomas Copenhaver. Peter Shell's lands are shown on the western edge of the famous map of early Tulpehocken settlements published by C.I. Lindemuth. Because their homestead sat on the western fringe of the early Palatine settlements near Swatara Creek, it is interesting to speculate that Peter Schell and his family had frequent interactions with natives living nearby.

2 Nov 1739. Date of land indenture to Peter Shell from Caspar Wistar. After a year of service to Wistar, Shell received his tract of land, 194 acres. This land was part of a much larger tract of 1724 acres given to Wistar by Thomas Penn. The ledger entry for this land in Lancaster Co records 50 acres. A copy of the land indenture is attached to the profile of George Zeh

8 Jun 1747. Peter Schell and wife Maria Catharine sponsor baptism of Catharine Elizabeth Schuy, daughter of Daniel Schuy and Maria Schilling at the Swartra Reformed Lutheran Church. Probably this church is the one in Jonestown, Swatara Township, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania.

Nov 1749. Date of return. The Peter Shell land, now listed as 119 acres, is given to his son (also Peter).

1750: Peter Shell dies. [note: probably this is the father of the Peter in this profile]. Ownership of his land is transferred to Peter Shell, his son.

The land owned by Peter Shell was transferred to his son Peter in 1750. No sources have been identified that document his death

NOTE: various documents spell the surname Schell or Shell. Most descendants on this particular branch of the surname dropped the -c.

Because Peter's father was probably also Peter, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish documentation relating to the father, son, (and perhaps grandson). Indeed, when one of the Peters dies in 1749-50, his land is given to his son Peter. Also, both father and son appear to have married women named Maria Elizabeth. Some genealogies suggest that there were actually 3 generations of Peters.

This Peter Shell is probably the father of Martin Shell, patriarch of a famous family of gun-makers located in what is today Lebanon County, PA.

Genealogists researching this line should beware of the considerable confusion between the lines of Martin Schell and Peter Schell/Shell, and caution is encouraged when deciphering these lineages. Martin's son Martin jr died young, and most of his lineage is via his younger son Peter. By contrast, Peter Shell's son Peter Jr (or, Peter III) died young and most of his lineage is via his younger son Martin. Further confusion has been caused by the changing borders of Tulpehocken township(s), which existed at various times in Chester, Lancaster, Berks, and Lebanon counties.

Some secondary-source genealogies say that the father of both men was also named Peter, while other secondary sourced genealogies claim that the father was John Martin. Likewise, some secondary sourced genealogies indicate that the father arrived via Philadelphia, while others say that this family originated in the NY Palatine colony, via Jacob Schell/Schnell (1674-1734). One secondary source erroneously claims that a Peter Schell is found on Governor Hunter's list of NY Palatines. He is not. Primary sources for any of these claims are, so far, lacking.

Marriage and Family

6 Oct 1730: Peter Schell married Catharina Walborn in Tulpehocken, the marriage was recorded by Rev. Stoever. The couple had the following children:

1. Peter
2. John Martin (~1730-1774) m Anna Catherine Dieffenbach (1739-1817); 3 known children, probably there are more.
3. Anna Elizabeth (1732-1773) m Johann Jacob Ruth (1726-1797); 6 children
4. Catherine (1736-1820) m Johann Adam Schitz (1734-1796); 6 children
5. Anna Maria (1739-1797) m Peter Eppler (1740-1805); 11 children

Research Notes

Unable to identify a source for the after 1758 death date. If this Peter Schell actually lived well beyond 1758, that might solve some of the mysteries surrounding this lineage.

Peter Schell is very elusive ancestor. Nobody really knows much about him. Somehow he is related to Martin Schell. It's an important line for us. My Faust line is traced back through Maria Catharina Walborn & Peter Schell. My mom's line, Minnich, is traced back through Maria Elizabetha Walborn & Martin Batdorf, so my mom & dad have common ancestors. To mix it up even more, my Minnich line can be traced back to Martin Schell, so I'm tying to tie this altogether.^[1]

Excerpt from Schnectady (NY) Gazette (1972) written by a Mrs Kocsis, who was Secretary and Historian of the Schell family and is said to have published a Schell family Newsletter in 1973 reporting her research. Kocsis reported on a recent trip to Myerstown, Mt. Aetna, and Robesonia, Pennsylvania, where she and her husband visited descendants of Peter Schell, who, between 1723-1728 under the leadership of Conrad Weiser, migrated to the Tulpehocken area with others from Schoharie.

Interesting clue pertaining to Peter Sr vs Peter Jr: The baptism of Maria Catharina Loesch on 24 Feb 1730 was sponsored by Maria Catharina Schell; however Maria Catharina Walborn did not marry Peter Schell until 6 October 1730^[2]It is possible that Maria Catharina mentioned in the baptism is actually Peter Schell's mother--also named Maria Catharina. In other words, this baptism was sponsored by Maria Catharina, wife of Peter Schell, Sr--not Maria Catharina, wife of Peter Schell, Jr (married 1730).

Circumstantial evidence exists to support the idea that Martin and Peter Schell are brothers. The baptismal records of Reed's church say that Maria Catharina Schell sponsored the baptism of Maria Catharina Loesch in Feb 1730. This woman is either the wife or the mother of Peter Schell. Six years later, in 1736, Margareth Ellzabeth Schell (wife of Martin Schell) sponsored the baptism of Margareth Elizabeth Loesch.

The first list of taxables for Berks County PA was created in 1752, [but the tax list has been dated to abt. 1754] lists a widow Shell living in Tulpehocken Township, in the Western Division of newly-created Berks County. Other names of taxpayers coming from the same region include Leonard Anspach, John Anspach, Peter Anspach, Adam Dieffebach, Valentine Unrow, John Unrue (single), Caspar Stump, Widow Walborn, Widow Fidler, Ulrich Fisher, and a many members of the Rieth/Reed family (Caspar Sr., Caspar Jr., Leonard Sr., Leonard Jr., the Widow Reed, Peter, Jacob and Fredrick. ^[3]

Who is "the widow Shell?" in 1754 [and her neighbors, the widows Fidler, Walborn and Reed/Rieth?]. She might be the widow of Peter Shell, a presumed family patriarch, who died in 1750. It is unclear whether Peter Shell's land would lie in Tulpehocken or in Bethel Townships; it sits directly at the junction of three townships: Tulpehocken, Heidelberg, and Bethel. The complicated changes in geographic place naming of this region are explained as follows:

If a person who was born before 1729 in "Tulpehocken" or "Tulpehocken Town" (later to be known as Myerstown) it was located in Chester County.

• 1729-1752: The same location would be in Tulpehocken Township, Lancaster County
• In 1752-1784, when Berks County was created, the townships of Caneravon, Brecknock, Cumru, Heidelberg, Bethel, and Tulpehocken were split in parts--one part to Berks County, another to remain in Lancaster; thus, geographic locations in Tulpehocken might be either in Berks or Lancaster.
• 1785-1812: Dauphin County created 1785. That same location would be in Tulpehocken Township, Dauphin County
• 1813-1819: Lebanon County created 1813. That same location would be in Tulpehocken Township, Lebanon County
• 1820-present: That same location would be Jackson Township, Lebanon County^[4]

Geographical note #2. It is important to distinguish Heidelberg Township(s) in Berks County from Heidelberg Township in what is today Lebanon County. The former is an area near Reading, Pennsylvania, while the latter is largely synonymous with Schafferstown, Pennsylvania--which was formerly named the town of Heidelberg.

1761: Land dispute mediated by Conrad Weiser. This document is in the Papers of Conrad Weiser, which can be found in the Hisorical Society of Pennsylvania. The date on the manuscript is 1761, but Weiser died in July 1760, so it is unclear if all of the corrections on the document can be attributed to Weiser himself.

The surname is spelled Shell throughout the document. The online copy is difficult to transcribe and it is a draft version, with many cross-outs and changes. It concerns Peter Shell's land and how to divide it. Martin Schell versus Maria Catharine Schell. Unknown whether a "final" version of this document exists.

Some other readable names in this document include: Jacob Ruth (husband of Elizabeth Shell), Anna Maria Shell (daughter, her name has been crossed off perhaps because she married Peter Eppler in 1757), John Adam Schitz of Tulpehocken (husband of Catherine Schell). Two distinct but adjacent plots of land are described; these match the 31 Oct 1739 land survey. The more eastern plot is the 119 acres, while the plot directly to the west ("Peter Shell's other land" ) corresponds to the 194 acres originally promised to George Zee but ultimately given to Peter Shell upon completion of his indenture to Caspar Wistar. The document mentions the adjacent farms of Thomas Copenhaffer and Herman Battdorf.

A December, 1793 petition related to the Myerstown Riots of that year was signed by Peter Schell and Peter Schell, the younger. It is likely that these men are related to the person represented by this profile. Possibly the older Peter is the subject of this profile (we don't know when he died).

Sources

1. ↑ Berks - Dauphin Roots, Wayne Faust, 08 Sep 2009.
2. ↑ Records of John Caspar Stoever
3. ↑ History of Berks County, PA, p. 15
4. ↑ http://www.myerstownpa.org/our_community/history_of_myerstown/vignettes_of_myerstown.php

• Image of 1761 land dispute mediated by Weiser
• Strausstown Roots profile Peter Schell