The “Dunkards” of Bremen, Ohio Area

The first European settlement of what is now Fairfield County, Ohio happened in the final years of the eighteenth century, as a few families made their way into the region from Pennsylvania and Virginia. Among the earliest settlers were a number who adhered to the Brethren Church, an Anabaptist grouping with roots going back to 1708 that established itself in eastern Pennsylvania and spread in influence through the eighteenth century west into other portions of Pennsylvania and south into Maryland and the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Some of these families came from Mennonite backgrounds, whereas others came from German Reformed or Lutheran backgrounds prior to their association with the Brethren. The group was known to many as “Dunkards” or Tunkers, referring to their mode of immersion Baptism.

Hervey Scott’s 1877 Complete History of Fairfield County, Ohio gives a lengthy history of the “Dunkard” community of Rush Creek and surrounding areas. This history was obtained by the writer primarily from a John Hunsaker (1), who served as a preacher from about 1848 until 1871 (he was ordained bishop in 1857). The Rush Creek community was established in 1809 with 25 members. Elijah Schofield (2) and Jacob Staley (3) were the first preachers. Later, George Bright and Isaac Beery, who were among the “principal” members, (for both, see below) later preached. Daniel Snider (4) frequently came from Perry County to preach and serve the community.

This snippets of early history draw strong ties to another Brethren community about 20 miles northeast of Bremen, the Jonathan Creek community. Elijah Schofield, Jacob Staley, and Daniel Snider were all active members of this community, and all appear to have served as itinerant leaders serving other Brethren communities. Although Brethren worship was probably held in Perry County before 1810, the Jonathan Creek community was officially organized in 1817. This community drew many Brethren families from Frederick County, Maryland and other western parts of the state. The two communities were intertwined by strong community relationships and intermarriage, in some cases stretching back to German-speaking Europe.

Philip Stoneburner (5) became the leader of the community in 1838 and served for approximately ten years, when John Hunsaker (above) became preacher, and from 1857, bishop. He served for a long term, until 1871. Other preachers included in mid-century Daniel Hartsough (6); Joseph Henricks (7), Michael Moore (8), Abraham Stemen (9), and John Hufford (10).

In 1877, this congregation had three meeting points:  one a mile and a quarter south of Bremen (likely on or near the Mericle farm, known in some sources as the Mericle Church), one 8 miles southwest of Bremen, and another 5 miles southwest of Bremen on Durbin Run. The latter two are almost certainly located in Marion Township, Hocking County, Ohio.

The Durbin Run church probably corresponds to the original Christian Beery (1792-1859) settlement in or near section 6 of Marion Township that is mentioned in the History of the Hocking Valley (1883). The other may refer to the “Slabshed Church” in section 24, located near Bowland-Derr Road, although this is 8 miles southeast, rather than southwest.

The 1877 history indicates that the Brethren church had declined from over 100 members to about 70, due mainly to emigration. A church building was built on the Mericle farm in 1856-1857. A brick Brethren church was built in Bremen in 1909, but services continued in some form at the Mericle church until 1914, when it was abandoned. Services continued at the Bremen church until 1925. (11)

The “principal members” of the church, according to the 1877 article, included the following families. In the heading, names are spelled as they are in the article, although ongoing references use commonly accepted spellings.

Casper Hufford and wife

Casper Hufford (1762-1825), was born in Frederick County, Maryland, son of Christian Hufford and Elizabeth (Keim) Hufford. His father was born in 1716 in Schwaigern, Württemberg and came to Philadelphia in 1729, where he married Miss Keim of Berks County and later settled in Frederick County, Maryland. Casper Hufford was born there and married, in 1786, Catharine Steel/Stihl/Stihli at Rocky Hill Lutheran Church in Woodsboro, Maryland. Catharine (1767-1840) was born in Frederick County, daughter of Christopher Stihl and Catharina (Wine) Stihl. She was a granddaughter of Johan Georg Wine (1715-1797), whose descendants were prominent in the Brethren movement in Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, Tennessee, and elsewhere. Although Casper and Catharine were married in a Lutheran church and baptized their first four children there, they were committed Brethren by 1800 (12). They settled for a short time in the late 1790s in Rockingham County, Virginia before moving to Fairfield County around 1807, settling in Rush Creek. Thirteen children lived to adulthood, spreading out from Fairfield to many points. In terms of direct relationships to other principal members, Catharine Hufford was a sister of Saloma (Stihl) Mericle, wife of John Mericle. She was also a half-sister of Frances (Bowman) Bright, wife of George Bright. Casper and Catherine were the parents of both Solomon Hufford and Abraham Hufford. Their children intermarried with the Friesners, Weltys, Henricks, and Beery families.

Isaac Beery and wife

Isaac Beery (1777-1851), was born in York County, Pennsylvania, son of Nicholas Beery and Mary (Keller) Beery. Nicholas was a younger brother of Magdalena (Beery) Hunsaker, grandmother of another principal member, Jacob Hunsaker. The Beerys married York County and lived there until they moved to Rockingham County, Virginia about 1786. Mary (Keller) Beery died there and Nicholas took as a second wife a Mrs. Mary Good. They came to Fairfield around 1805. Nicholas died there in 1811. His second wife survived until 1840. Isaac Beery came with his father and step-mother as a single man and married Mary Cradlebaugh, a recent immigrant from Germany, in 1806. She was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, a daughter of John Cradlebaugh/Kreidelbach and Dorothea Mundscheiner of Bremen, northern Germany. Isaac and his wife were Brethren all their lives. In terms of direct relationships, Isaac was a brother of John, Abraham, and Henry Beery and a cousin, as noted above, of Jacob Hunsaker.

John Beery and wife

John Beery (1765-1850) was the oldest son of Nicholas Beery and Mary (Keller) Beery. He married in Rockingham County, Virginia to Margaret Shaver (1765-1845), a daughter of Nicholas Shaver of Rockingham. They spent their lives in the vicinity of Bremen, Ohio and raised nine children, six of whom survived to adulthood. In terms of direct relationships, John was the eldest brother of Isaac, Henry, and Abraham Beery. His son, Abraham Washington Beery, married the eldest daughter of John and Saloma Mericle. His son, David, married Susan, a daughter of Casper and Catharine Hufford.

Henry Beery and wife

Henry Beery (1781-1860), was among the younger sons of Nicholas Beery and Mary (Keller) Beery, his first wife. He came as a single man with his parents and married in Fairfield Elizabeth Rhodes (1784-1858), daughter of John Rhodes and Anna Maria (Miller) Rhodes of Berks County, Pennsylvania and Fairfield. They lived their entire lives in Fairfield. In terms of direct relationships, Henry was a brother of the other Beerys mentioned, and his daughter, Sarah, married a son of Casper Hufford.

Solomon Hufford and wife

Solomon Hufford (1786-1876), was born in Frederick County, Maryland, son of Casper and Catharine, above. He came with his parents as a young man to Fairfield County around 1805 and married Margaret Henricks (1789-1861). She was born in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, the daughter of John Henricks and Elizabeth (Snider) Henricks, who later settled in the Jonathan Creek Brethren settlement in Perry County. A number of her siblings also married into the Hufford family. They raised 10 children. In terms of direct relationships, Solomon was a son of Casper and Catharine, above. Their children married into the Hunsaker, Friesner, and Stoneburner families. Margaret (Henricks) Hufford’s family has more distant connections to the Hartsough and Stoner families in Maryland.

Daniel Hartsough and wife

Daniel Hartsough (about 1759-1834), was born in Frederick County, Maryland, son of Peter Hartsough/Hartsock and his wife, Sara of Raritan, New Jersey and later moved to Frederick County, Maryland. Daniel married there Elizabeth Fundenberg (1754-1813), daughter of Walter Fundenberg and Catharine (Stuhl or Stihl) Fundenberg. Walter Fundenberg died around 1797 in Frederick County. After his wife’s death in 1813, he took as his second wife the mother of his daughter-in-law, Mrs. Susan Fulcairth, who accompanied him and many of his family to Ohio around 1805. He died in 1834 in Fairfield County. His second wife survived long enough to be enumerated on the 1850 census. In terms of direct relationships, his daughter, Susanna, married Jacob Stoner, another principal member. It is possible that Catharine (Stihl) Fundenberg may have been an aunt to Christopher Stihl, father of Catharine Hufford. There are a number of other connections with the Stoner, Henricks, and allied families in Maryland.

George Bright and wife

George Bright (1784-1864), born in Rockingham County, Virginia, son of Peter and Susannah Bright. His father came from Pennsylvania to Rockingham County, where he died about 1802. The Peter Bright family had a close connection to the Jacob Bowman family – at least three of his sons married sons and daughters of Jacob Bowman, including George, who married Frances Bowman (1787-1876), daughter of Jacob Bowman and his final wife, Catharine (Wine) Stihl. George and Fanny were Dunkards in Virginia and remained so through their lives in Hocking County, Ohio. In terms of direct relationships, Frances Bright was a younger half-sister of Catharine Hufford and Saloma Mericle. Their children married into the Hufford family.

Frederick Friezner and wife

Frederick Friesner, (1775-1857), was born in Pennsylvania, son of Johannes/John Friesner and Susanna (Grimm) Friesner. They married in 1773 in First Reformed Church of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They later settled in Rockingham County, where John died in 1801. Frederick married Magdalena Earhardt (1775-1843) in Rockingham and came with his brothers, Henry and John, to Fairfield before 1810. In terms of direct relationships, the Friesners’ son, John, married Casper Hufford’s daughter, Catharine.

Jacob Hunsaker and wife

Jacob Hunsaker (1784-1854), was born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, son of John Hunsaker (1752-1792) and Elizabeth (Huber) Hunsaker (d. 1792), who were early pioneers of western Pennsylvania and were killed by Indians. He married Elizabeth Huffman (1778-1855). They came to Fairfield about 1805. Their family almost all were Brethren in Fairfield County, many eventually associating the Slab Shed congregation in Marion Township, Hocking County. In terms of direct relationships, Jacob Hunsaker was a cousin of the Beery brothers of Rush Creek Township.

Abraham Beery and wife

Abraham Beery, (1773-1845), was born in York County, Pennsylvania, son of Nicholas Beery and Mary (Keller) Beery, later of Rockingham County, Virginia and (Nicholas) later of Fairfield. He married Catharine Fast (1786-1870) in Rockingham County in 1802 and came to Fairfield County around 1804. She was born in Pennsylvania, daughter of Christian Fast and Anna Barbara (Mason) Fast of Greene County, Pennsylvania and, later, of Ashland County, Ohio. Abraham was a brother of the other Beerys listed above. His family, however, seemed to associate more with some of the Primitive Baptist families of Fairfield in later years. None of his children intermarried with the other principal families.

Jacob Stoner and wife

Jacob Stoner (1780-1858), was born in Frederick County, Maryland, son of John Stoner and Elizabeth (Landes) Stoner. Jacob married Susanna Hartsough (1784-1878), daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth (Fundenberg) Hartsough, above. They came to Fairfield relatively late, around 1818. Their family remained in Fairfield and Perry Counties, Ohio. In terms of direct relationships, Susanna’s parents were also principal members. Susanna’s brother, David, married Jacob’s sister, Rebecca. The Stoners also appear to have links with the Hufford, Stihl, and other families of Frederick County, Maryland.

John Miricle and wife

John Mericle, (1774-1846), was probably born in either Virginia or Pennsylvania. His parentage is unknown. He married Saloma Stihl (1781-1840) in 1801 in Rockingham County. Saloma was the sister of Catharine (Stihl) Hufford and a younger daughter of Christopher and Catharine (Wine) Stihl of Frederick County, Maryland and, later, of Rockingham. They settled in Fairfield about 1804. Saloma was a sister of two other principal members, Catharine Hufford and Frances Bowman. She may have been a more distant relative of the Stoners and Hartsough families. Their eldest daughter married a daughter of John Beery, while a younger daughter married a son of Frederick Friesner.

Abraham Hufford and wife

Abraham Hufford, (1788-1859), was born in Frederick County, Maryland and came with his parents to Rockingham before coming to Fairfield around 1805. He married Elizabeth Plank, daughter of Adam Plank, a Brethren family of Perry County, Ohio with roots in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The Planks associated closely with the Scofield family of Perry County. Abraham and Elizabeth moved in 1833 to Carroll County, Indiana, where they remained associated with the Brethren church and where both died. Abraham was a son of Casper Hufford and brother of Solomon Hufford.

Sally Hartsough

It is not immediately clear who this is. It may be a reference to Mrs. Susan Fulcairth, who in her widowhood married Daniel Hartsough, above, or perhaps a sister-in-law or sister of Daniel. A Sally Hartsough appears on the 1820 census of Bloom Township, Fairfield County, Ohio.

(1) John Hunsaker (1811-1883), born in Fairfield County in 1811, son of Jacob Hunsaker (1784-1854) and Elizabeth (Huffman) Hunsaker (1778-1855). Jacob came to Fairfield County in the first years of the nineteenth century. He later lived in Marion Township, Hocking County, and associated with the Mericle Church there. He and his wife are both buried at the Ruff Cemetery in Hocking County. John Hunsaker married Catharine Hufford (1814-1873), daughter of Solomon and Margaret (Henricks) Hufford. In later life, John Hunsaker moved to be closer to his children in Allen and Paulding Counties of northwest Ohio. At least some of his children joined the conservative Old German Baptist church in the 1880s. Jacob Hunsaker was a first cousin of Isaac, John, and Henry Beery; his grandmother was Magdalena (Beery) Hunsaker, sister of Nicholas Beery.

(2) Elijah Scofield (1776-1836) was an early settler in Perry County, Ohio, where he helped to found the Jonathan Creek Brethren congregation. He came to the area around 1800 from near Flintstone Gap, Maryland, and remained an itinerant preacher, traveling regularly back and forth and serving a number of Brethren congregations in southwest Ohio. He apparently served at an early day as a preacher for the Rush Creek congregation as well. His family appears to be tied closely with the Eversole, Plank, Snider, and Henricks families of Perry County.

(3) It is clear that a Brethren minister named Jacob Staley was active in early southwestern Ohio. He most probably descends from the Jacob Staley family of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He may be connected to Brethren Jacob Staleys of Montgomery, Preble, and Allen Counties, Ohio. The variations of “Staley” often look remarkably like the variations of “Stihl” or “Stihli” family. Might there be some sort of connection?

      (4) Daniel Snider (1772-1866), probably born in Berkeley County, Virginia (WV), son of Jacob Snider and Margaret Studebaker Snider. He married Mary Hershberger Snider, who died in Perry County in 1825. He was a close associate of Elijah Scofield and their families intermarried. He was active as a Brethren preacher in the early nineteenth century. He was also closely tied to the Helser family of Perry County, Ohio, which was closely tied to the Hartsough family. Daniel’s elder sister, Elizabeth, married John Henricks (see Solomon Hufford family).

      (5) Philip Stoneburner (1786-1847), born in Virginia, son of John Stoneburner/Steinbrenner. Philip and his wife, Christina Souters Stoneburner, came from Rockingham County to Fairfield around 1815. Several of their children married into the Hufford family and one son, Cornelius, married a granddaughter of Christian Stehman.

   

      (6) Daniel Hartsough (1826-1891), born in Fairfield County, Ohio, son of Daniel Hartsough and Catharine (Fulcarth) Hartsough. He ministered in the Fairfield County area before pioneering a community at Salimony in Huntington County, Indiana. He later relocated to New Paris in Elkhart County, where he died. His wife, Susanna (Henricks) Hartsough (1823-1907), was born in Perry County to George Henricks and Elizabeth (Fink) Henricks and was a granddaughter of John Henricks and Elizabeth (Snider) Henricks, an early Brethren family of Perry County.  

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      (7) Joseph Henricks (1818-1881), was born in Perry County, son of George Henricks and Elizabeth Fink Henricks. He followed his brother-in-law, Daniel Hartsough. Joseph later ministered in Illinois, where he died. He was chosen preacher in 1851 and ordained in 1857.

      (8) Michael Moore (1819-1892), husband of Martha Good Moore, daughter of David Good and Barbara Neiswander of Rockingham County and later of Fairfield.   

  

8    (9) Abraham Stemen (1828-1875), son of John Stemen and Catharine (Mericle) Stemen, and grandson of Henry Stemen and John Mericle, all of Rush Creek. He wife, Leah (Mericle) Stemen, was the granddaughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Huffman) Stemen.

      (10) I suspect from the writing that this John Hufford served in the community at or near the time of writing in 1877. He was almost certainly part of the Casper Hufford family.

      

      (11) H. H. Helman. The Church of the Brethren in Southern Ohio. (Elgin, IL: Brethren Publishing, 1955), p. 249.

      

      (12) Exactly how or, more importantly, why, is a fascinating question. The late 18^th century in general was a time of very porous religious boundaries in the American colonies and the early United States. A host of new religious movements emerged in Pennsylvania and surrounding areas. The Brethren and the Primitive Baptists were two groups that seem to have success in converting German-speaking Mennonites, Reformed, and Lutheran in Maryland and the Shenandoah Valley in the late 1700s.