A Wilson Family Tree
Notes for John Adam Snyder
Family sources list him as John A. Snyder, but I heard from Garry Heagy that his name was originally Johann Adam Schneider. I found out later from George Snyder that there is a birth certificate for son Josiah (spelled Josia) with parents listed as Johann Adam Schneider and Elisabeth Hepler. He apparently went by Adam, as that is the way he is listed in censuses and many other records.
Adam was 10 years younger than Elizabeth. He would have been only about 20 or 21 when they married, and was suddenly the father of five children. At the time of Josiah’s birth, Thomas Faus was 13 years old, Elizabeth was eight, Henry Jr. was seven, Polly was four, and Julia Kricher was two. They would have been even younger than that when John Adam Snyder became their new father, so he would have been their father for much or most of their growing up. Thomas was probably the only one who had much memory of the first two fathers.
When did the Snyders move from Pennsylvania to Ohio? Adam & Elizabeth and Josiah & Elizabeth are listed in the 1850 census living near each other in Adams Township, Seneca County, Ohio. Josiah's daughter Elizabeth was born in Adams Township in 1841, and censuses indicate that his daughter Rachel was born in Ohio in 1838. It’s not known whether Adam & Elizabeth were also there at that time, but they may well have gone to Ohio together with Josiah and his wife. There is a listing for Adam Snyder in Bloom Township, Seneca County, Ohio, in the 1840 census, which could be Adam & Elizabeth, but that family includes a boy aged 5–10 years old and I don’t know who that would have been. There is a listing for Josiah Snider in Washington Township, Hancock County, Ohio, that fits very well with the family of Josiah & Elizabeth (one male 20–29, one female 20–29, one male under 5, one female under 5). Note that Hancock County is right next to Seneca County and those townships are about 20 to 30 miles apart. There is too much uncertainty in 1830 to be able to tell where they were, though there is a listing for Adam Snyder in Franklin Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania that seems promising. None of the Adam Snyders in Ohio match very well.
According to George Snyder, there is an old family story that Adam was a bounty hunter for runaway slaves. Of course I have no idea if it's true.
According to the 1860 census mortality schedule, he was sick for two years and died of cancer. He is listed in the mortality schedule for Branch Co., MI, but the obituary below says he died in Seneca Co., OH. There is also a bit of confusion about his death date. Family sources, including the family bible of William and Elizabeth Kanouse, give his death date as 13 May 1859, whereas the obituary below says 17 May 1859. I am going to stick with May 13, but will switch to Seneca County, OH, for the place of death. Perhaps Elizabeth moved from Ohio to Michigan after Adam's death.
From the Evangelical Messenger, a weekly publication of the Evangelical Association, 12 Jan 1860, p. 8, obtained from the Allen County Public Library (there is an index of Evangelical Messenger obituaries at http://www.genealogycenter.info/search_evanmessenger.php):
SNYDER. Adam Snyder died May 17th, 1859, in Seneca co., Ohio, aged 63 [could be 68?] years. He was a faithful servant of God, having been a member of the Evangelical Association a for [sic] number of years. Funeral discourse by the Rev. Williams.
[Note that his wife Elizabeth died only a few months later, and there is a notice for her right after Adam's in the Evangelical Messenger.]
Note that the Evangelical Association, according to Wikipedia, was founded in 1800 and was a “body of American Christians chiefly of German descent”. It has undergone various splits and mergers since then, with the United Methodist Church and the Evangelical Church of North America being the main present-day descendants.
Note: Some of the information in these pages is uncertain. Please let me know of errors or omissions using the email link above. ...Mike Wilson
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