When I was nineteen I inherited papers from my grandfather Lynne O. Ramer, including the Ramer genealogy he had received from Grant Shadle Sr. in the early 1960s. The research included generations of Ramers back to Matthias, our first known immigrant ancestor.
With the wealth of information available online and shared across the world, I may have discovered Ramer family trees that
Of course, without having personally vetting the documentation I cannot have certainty about the online trees. In fact, the more I studied these purported ancestors the more I doubted them.
The family name was perhaps originally Reimer and not Roemer. (That 'o' should have an umlaut.)
The surname Roemer was given to a person who had made a pilgrimage to Rome. Romer is the Jewish form of Roemer. Romer in German is braggart.
According to Ancestry.com, Reimer is derived "from a Germanic personal name, a reduced form of Reinmar, composed of the elements ragin ‘counsel’ + mari, meri ‘fame’."
Sources also inform that Ramer is a German occupational name for a dairy farmer, "from Middle High German from ‘cream’, or for a frame or loom-maker, from Middle High German ram(e) ‘frame’, ‘loom’." Or, it is "possibly an altered spelling of German Römer (see Roemer)."
One family genealogy website states that "The surname Reimer was also spelled ... Roemer."
shares that "it may be developed from the Germanic personal name "Ragimar," composed of the elements "ragin" (counsel) with "meri, mari"(fame)."
Or, that "the modern surname found as Reimer, Remer and Riemer may have developed from an occupational name for a maker of leather reins, belts, and similar articles, derived from the Middle High German, "riemaere", an agent derivative of "rieme(n)", strap, belt, thong, from the Old High German "riomo". "
"The surname is well recorded in Germany from the mid 16th Century on; the marriage of Hans Reimer and Barbara Capis was recorded in Neckarkreis, Wuertt, on September 1575. [...] The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ursula Riemer (christening), which was dated July 25th 1559, Leipzig, Sachsen, Germany, during the reign of King Ferdinand 1, "Holy Roman Emperor", 1558 - 1564."
possible 10th great-grandfather
Christoff Reimer born 1565 in Evangelische Becherbach, Bei Kirn, Rhineland-Pfalz, Germany. On Trinity Sunday in 1636 (25 Trinitatis 1636 ) he married Regina Meslin in Koenigsberg (now Kalingrad, Russia), Ost. Preussen (East Prussia), Germany. Koenigsberg, a port city, was established in 1255 as a Crusade fortress. It became a center of Lutheran teaching and publishing.
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possible 9th great-grandfather
Johann Gottlieb Reimer born 1590 in Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany and died 1650 in Mutterstadt, Ludwigshafen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. In 1617 he married Catharina Elisabeth Reimer in Kaliningrad, Ost., Preussen, Germany. Mutterstadt is near Ludwigshafen, which was the capital of Rheinland-Pfalz, and is situated on the Rhine River.
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possible 8th great-grandfather
Yohann Johann "Hans" Bartholomaus Reimer was born on December 12, 1617, in Mutterstadt, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He married Odilla Kobss on October 18, 1650. They had four children during their marriage. He died on December 14, 1707, in his hometown at the age of 90.
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possible 7th great-grandfather
Johann Jacob Reimer was born in 1659 in Mutterstadt, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He married Margaretha Holl in 1680 and they had six children in 19 years. He died on October 21, 1730, in his hometown at the age of 71.
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possible 6th great-grandfather
Hanss Jacob Reimer (1689–1742), born in Mutterstadt, Ludwigshafen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany and died December 31, 1742, in Mutterstadt, Ludwigshafen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany.
He was married three times and had five sons and one daughter.
On January 12, 1712, in Mutterstadt, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, Hanss Jacob Reimer married Anna Margaretha Engelhardt ( born 1693 in Fußgönheim, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany). She died on March 21, 1744, in Mutterstadt, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, at the age of 51. They had three children during their marriage.
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possible 5th great-grandfather
Hans (Johann) Valentine Reiner b. April 29, 1714.
Valentine was born in 1714 in Mutterstadt, Ludwigshafen, Rhineland-Pfalz. His parents were Hans Valentine Reimer and Anna Maria. He died February 15, 1794, in Hellertown, Northampton, PA and is buried at Zion's Cemetery.
His native land had been the center of warfare for years, destroying the economy and creating famine. Mass migration of Palatinates sought refuge in England and America.
In 1737, Valentine married Maria Catharina Gaertner/Gartner who was born September 1, 1713, in Mutterstadt, Ludwigshafen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. Their children included Anna Barbara (Koch) Anna Eva, Balthasar, Anna Maria, Philip, Jacob, Henry, and Isaac.
Valentine and Maria Catharina immigrated to America arriving September 5, 1748 at the port of Philadelphia on the ship Edinburgh. Read a family history that describes the experience of
immigrating on the Edinburgh here. Harsh winters may have precipitated the family leaving at this time.
Their son Isaac (1744-1810) was a private in the 1st Battalion of the Northampton Co, Militia, No 6 under Capt. Frederick Kleinhantz. (* for more information)
In 1748 Hanns Jacob married his second wife Anna Margaretha Stey born August 25, 1725, and they had children Daniel (married Anna Margaret Best), Jacob (Married Elizabeth Heller), Henry (married Catherine Correll), Margaretha (Riehl), Elisabetha (spelled Renner, married Unangst), Catharina, Anna Barbara, Anna Eva, Susanna Margaret (Holland), Maria Catherine (Lantz), Maria Sarah (Miller), Israel.
He died February, 13, 1794 and his
estate was probated on March 30, 1794 with family information as below. Note the lack of a Matheas.
REIMER, Valentine Williams, yeoman
30-3-1793 - 31-3-1794
wife Margareth
son Isaac
son Daniel
son Jacob married Elizabeth Wildanger May 2, 1775
son Henry
dau Margareth 2nd wife of John REIL
dau Elizabeth wife of Peter UNANGST
dau Catharine wife of Peter LANTZ
dau Sarah wife of Jacob MILLER
dau Anne-Barbara
dau Anne-Eve
dau Susanna deceased and her children
ex wife Margareth and son in law John REIL
mentions Christian and Peter HOLLAND
Caveat by Isaac 31-3-1794 N Court of John MULHOLLEN, David WAGENER, judges
John ARNDT, Reg., John SPANGENBERG
Daniel REINHEIMER, Christian BEST,
Abraham TRANSUE and Valentine MILLER
Anna Margaretha died in 1812.
Zions Evangelical Congregational Church cemetery is also known as Gottes Ocker. St. Paul's and Zion's Evangelical Congregational Church are part of a circuit today. Zions was part of the Old Mahantongo Circuit which consisted of Hepler's Church of God and St. John's Church and St. Paul's Church. The churches separated in 1871.
***
Here begins my confirmed ancestry.
4th great-grandfather
Matthias Roemer/Remer/Reimer was born September 26, 1746 in Westphalia, Germany and died August 1, 1828 in Berks Co., PA. Matthias was the earliest ancestor known by my grandfather.
He arrived at the port of Philadelphia in 1765.
Matthias married Maria Susanna Schömann
born around 1805 in Neuerburg, Bernkastel-Wittlich, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Maria Susanna passed in
October 1872 in Strohn, Vulkaneifel, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Matthias of Alsace, Berks Co, then married Susanna Burger of Alsace, Berks Co., PA on April 29, 1794 at the Schwartzwald Reformed Church. Their children included Nicolas.
Mathew Rehmer appears on the 1790 Census for Maxatawny, Berks Co, PA (as does his son Nicholas' father-in-law Peter Mattern).
Mathias Roemer appears on the 1800 Census for Maxatawny, Berks Co., PA He appears on the Pennsylvania Septennial Census for Berks Co., PA, as Mathias Roemer, laborer.
Math. Reimer appears on the 1810 Census for Upper Mahantongo, Berks, PA, as does the Mattern family.
Matthias Remer appears on the 1820 Census for Upper Mahantongo, Schuylkill Co, PA.
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| Mathais Ramer gravestone at Zions Ev. Cong. Church |
A Wolfgang family history states that Mathias Ramer was a gunner in the 1st Pennsylvania Militia during the Revolutionary War. A Mathias Rammier is listed in 5th Troops of 1st Partisan Legion on 12/26/1779.
The Pennsylvania Militia was organized under an act of March 7, 1777, providing for compulsory enrollment of all able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 53. About 60,000 men were enrolled. Information from USGENWEB by R. Turnback.
A Revolutionary War soldier named Mathias Remier was recorded as a Farrier.
Matthias is buried in Pitman, Schuylkill Co., PA in the Zion Evangelical Congregational Church cemetery. The Cemetery was started on land once owned by Johann Casper Hepler, Jr. (1751-1816), part of the "Hepler Farm" (now located in Eldred Township, Schuylkill County, PA).
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3rd great-grandfather
Nicholas was born on August 31, 1791 in Greenwich, Berks, Pennsylvania and he died on March 27, 1867 in Eldred, Schuylkill, Pennsylvania.
He married Maria Mattern, born December 1, 1790 and died March 29, 1849. Maria's family were from the Rhine Valley and arrived in America in 1732. Her ancestor served in the Revolutionary War.
Nicolas Remer appears on the 1820, 1830, and 1840 Upper Mahantango, Schuylkill Co., PA.
Nicholas Roemer, farmer, appears on the 1850 Upper Mahantango, Schuylkill Co, PA, Census along with his children Salome, age 31; George, age 28; Magdalena, age 19; and Joseph, age 17.
Nicholas Ramer appears in the household of his son George and family on the 1860 Upper Mahantango, Schuylkill Co, Eldred, PA Census.
Nicholas Romer died at age 77 on March 27, 1868, and was buried in Ashland, Schuylkill, Pennsylvania, in Christ's United Lutheran Church cemetery. The church record is in German. His will was probated May 1, 1868 under the name Nicholas Roemer.
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tombstone of Maria Mattern Romer,
Zions Evangelical Cemetery, Pitman, Schuylkill CO, PA |
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2nd great-grandfather
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| Joseph Sylvester Ramer and Rachel Barbara Reed Ramer |
Joseph Sylvester Ramer was born on February 8, 1832 in Beury's Lake, Pottsville, PA. He was baptized on October 7, 1827, at Howerter's Church, sponsored by Isaac Haas and Elizabeth Hepler.
He married Anna Kramer and they had eight children together. After her death, Joseph Reymer married Rachel Barbara Reed (b. October 25, 1841) on September 14, 1871 in Lewisburg, Union Co., Pennsylvania, at Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church.
They had eight children together. Joseph died on August 7, 1900, in Milroy, Pennsylvania, at the age of 68, and was buried in Milroy, Mifflin Co., Pennsylvania.
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| Rachel Barbara Reed |
The 1850 Census shows Joseph living in Upper Mahantongo, Schuylkill, Pennsylvania, with his parents and siblings.
The 1880 and 1900 Census shows Joseph and Rachel and children living in Armagh, Mifflin Co, PA.
Joseph died on August 7, 1900, and is buried in Woodland Cemetery, Milroy, Mifflin Co, Pennsylvania.
Rachel died on December 28, 1912 and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Milroy, Mifflin Co, Pennsylvania.
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great-grandmother
Esther Mae Ramer was born on July 8, 1880, in Milroy, Pennsylvania, when her father, Joseph, was 48, and her mother, Rachael, was 38. She had son Lynne Oliver Ramer, born out of wedlock; the birth certificate shows Lynn's father was Harry Shirk. Ancestry DNA test shows my brother and I are related to the Shirk family.
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| Esther Mae Ramer |
Esther married Lawrence Zeke Harmon in 1908. The 1910 Milroy, Mifflin CO. census shows Esther Harmon, married, living with her mother Rachel Ramer and son Lynnie. The 1910 Mifflin CO. census shows Lawrence Harmon as divorced and living in Burnham working at the steel mill. After Esther's passing, Lawrence married three more times, all widows, with one divorce and one wife dying.
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| Lawrence Harmon |
Esther died of dropsy on May 22, 1912, in her hometown, and is buried at Woodland Cemetery, Milroy, Mifflin Co, PA. When her mother Rachel died the following December, Lynne was left an orphan.
Lynne had been in bed with his grandmother and his cousin at the time of her passing.
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grandfather
Lynne Oliver Ramer
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| Lynne and mother Esther Mae Ramer |
When Lynne Oliver Ramer was born on April 3, 1903, his father, Harry Shirk was 20 and his mother, Esther, was 22. They were unmarried.
After Lynne's mother and grandmother passed in 1912 he lived with his mother's siblings Carrie Ramer Bobb and Annie Ramer Smithers.
Lynne attended Susquehanna University and received a BA and MDiv degree. He then received a teaching certificate from Columbia University. Lynne was employed by Hartwick Seminary in Otsego, NY as a teacher where he met his future wife.
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| Lynne O. Ramer |
When Lynne was 27 he married Evelyn Adair Greenwood on August 17, 1930. Evelyn had been his student and was 17. Lynne took a new job at the Kane High School in Kane, PA. Lynne and Evelyn had four children.
In 1941 the family moved to Troy, NY, and then to Tonawanda, NY, where he worked as an engineer in an airplane factory during WWII. In 1947 he was confirmed in the Episcopal Church and served as a Deacon. He earned his MA in Mathematics at the University of Buffalo in 1951. In 1958 Lynne was employed by GM and moved to Royal Oak, MI. He also served as a deacon at St. Luke Episcopal Church in Ferndale, MI. Then he taught mathematics at Lawrence Institute of Technology. He died on July 10, 1971, in Berkley, Michigan, at the age of 68.
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Mother
Joyce Adair Ramer was born in Kane, PA on July 26, 1931. She married Eugene Vernon Gochenour, born August 13, 1930 in Tonawanda, NY. They had children Nancy Adair, born 1952 and Thomas Eugene, born 1959. Joyce died in 1990 of cancer.
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* More about Isaac Reimer (who may or may not be a distant cousin) and Northampton Country in the Revolutionary War:
NORTHAMPTON COUNTY.
Amongst the first to join Washington at New York were the Pennsylvania-German Associators from Northampton county. So rapidly did the recruiting progress that they were able to report early in August.
They were promptly stationed on Long Island, and it was these noble men who bore the brunt of the battle on August 27, and whose self-sacrifice saved the army from destruction. The Moravian records, at Bethlehem, contain this interesting item, under date of September 2-6:
" In these days, parties of militia on their return from New York, passed, bringing the intelligence that a battalion from the county (First battalion, Lieut. Col. Kechlein), had suffered severely at the engagement with the British on Long Island, on the 27th of August last, having left most of its men either dead or wounded."
The remnant of the regiment, left from that fight, was practically wiped out of existence at the battle and capture of Fort Washington, on November 16, 1776. The details of the part taken by the Northampton county Flying Camp, in these two engagements, has been given heretofore, as well as a record of the losses sustained by Capt. Arndt's company.
At the close of the year 1776, the most dismal in the history of the war, a further requisition for troops was made on the county by the Pennsylvania Council of Safety, through Gen. Washington. Here, again, action was taken so promptly and energetically that some of the men, furnished upon this requisition, reached the army in time to participate in the battle of Trenton, and that of Princeton which followed.
(Lost very heavily at Long Island and Fort Washington.)
First Battalion-June, 1777
Colonel, George Hubner.
Lieut. Col., Peter Sayler.
Major, Philip Mixel.
Captains, Joseph Frey, Christopher Jonsson, George Groff, Edward Sheimer,
John Roberts, Friedrich Cleinehautz, Francis Rhoads, Jacob Wagner.
In 1777 The Militia Act and the Test Act were passed requiring everyone in Pennsylvania to take an oath of allegiance and for all men between the ages of 18 and 53 to serve in the military unless they paid a fine (which would be used to pay a substitute). The Moravians were pacifists who did not believe in pledging allegiance to the state. The Moravian communities suffered persecution and harassment.
A petition from the officers and others of the first Battalion of Northampton County, Mifflin, written to Thomas Wharton, JR, resident of the Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was signed by Friedrich Kleinhaus, Gorg Henrich Kleinhaus, and Isaac's brother Daniel Reimer.
The petition asked for a redress of the grievances "unconstitutionally inflicted" upon "disaffected men of this County (and the sect nominated Moravians in particular)." They requested an "immediate stop" "may be put to the petitions and petitioning of an unlawful set of disaffected men till they take the oath or affirmation of allegiance to this state, or till they have a greater authority to address any of our Legislative Bodies in the Commonwealth."
After the Treaty of Paris in 1784 the Test Act was repelled and the fines we excised from the Militia Act.
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Family trees can not be considered reliable when they can't provide documents linking the generations. I would love to add these ancestors. But I need proof first.
