John Berrier's country of origin is variously reported in Censuses as Germany, Prussia, Poland, Switzerland, and Württemberg.
The last of these, which was given by his daughter Charlotte (Berrier) Gilman in the 1880 Census, may be most significant as it
refers to a very specific part of Germany, suggesting that Charlotte might have had an accurate memory of exactly where her
father was born. However, Württemberg was in southwestern Germany, quite
far from what was known as Prussia, so the evidence we have is somewhat conflicting.
Based on Census records for John Berrier and his children, he must have immigrated to the United States sometime before 1815. Given evidence that he served in
the War of 1812, the date can be moved to 1812 at the latest. In any case, it is not known whether he
came as a young man or as a child in the company of adult immigrants.
By examining the 1820-1850 Censuses for John & Mary Ann, it would seem that they had 6 sons and 6 daughters, 10 of whom have now been identified. One older son
and a daughter remain to be located.
Mary Ann's death date: prob. 17-Jul-1859 [Makee Cem. gravestone, Allamakee Co. IA]; between 1850-1860 [1850 & 1860 Censuses for John Berrier]
Mary Ann's death place: prob. Allamakee Co. IA [Makee Cem. gravestone, Allamakee Co. IA]
Mary Ann's interment: Makee Cemetery, Allamakee Co. IA [Makee Cem. gravestone, Allamakee Co. IA]
In the 1850 Census and on several Mercer Co. PA deeds (H-1-91; L-1-507) John's wife's name is given as Mary A(nn), though Matthew W. Berrier's death certificate
of 1909 lists his mother's name as "Sarah Ferguson." The last deed record in Mercer Co. is June 15, 1846, when John & Mary Ann sold 95 acres to John Snodgrass for $360 (W-1-42).
Mary Ann's birthplace is almost always given as Ireland. There are several Fergusons in Mercer and Crawford Co. who were contemporaries
of John Berrier, two of whom (John b. abt. 1788 and James b. abt. 1790) were also born in Ireland (Ref.: 1850 Census, Mercer Co., W. Salem Twp.). Earlier
Censuses from West Salem, PA list a John Ferguson who is clearly John Jr. & James' father. It is most likely that Mary Ann was also one of John Ferguson Sr.'s children.
Residences
We have no information on where or when John Berrier & Mary Ann Ferguson first landed in America, but they had apparently settled in Mercer Co. PA by about
1812 and probably married there soon after. John's name occurs in a deed in Salem Twp., Mercer Co., PA as early as July 1817 (Ref: Mercer Co. Deed book
entries G-1-627; assigns from David Leech and John Hummell to John Berrier, 150 acres).
John's family remains here until
sometime between 1850 and 1854 (though son William moved to Adams Co. IL by about 1849).
The 1850 Census entry for John & family, and for several of his married children, is not in Mercer Co. but in neighboring Crawford Co., PA. However, many other Mercer Co.
neighbors (numerous McGranahans, Samuel Foreigner, etc.) are suddenly in Crawford Co. (W. Fallowfield Twp.) in 1850. It seems unlikely they all moved at the same time, so
it appears that the county line got re-surveyed some time between 1840 and 1850.
Two facts suggest that John & family may have then migrated to Defiance Co. OH for a while: daughter Prudence married another PA
native, Joseph Mattocks, in Defiance Co. in 1854; and son John Jr. settled there with his wife Eliza Mattocks before 1860.
Most of the Berrier family next appears in 1860 in Allamakee Co. IA. Mary Ann had passed away here in 1859, and John is living alone with his children
Elizabeth and Matthew. By 1870 John has moved on to Humboldt Co. IA with son Matthew, and presumably John died there soon after, though his grave site has not
been located. Meanwhile another son Alexander has moved back to the family's original home area
in Crawford Co. PA, where descendants of his remain until this day. Daughter Mary (Mairs) Berrier and family end up in Cass Co. NE, while daughters Prudence
and Charlotte are in the Sioux City IA area (Woodbury Co.) until their deaths.
The Census records for John Berrier begin in 1820. I have added my best guess as to the identities of children in pre-1850 censuses [in italics].
- 1820 PA, Salem Twp., Mercer Co.,
- John Berrier (Benier?)
- Males <10 y.o.: 4 [James, Unknown male, John Jr., William]; 26-45 y.o.: 1 [John Sr.]
- Females <10 y.o.: 1 [Sarah Ann]; 26-45 y.o.: 1 [Mary Ann]
- 1830 PA, Salem Twp., Mercer Co.
- John Berrier
- Males <5 y.o.: 1 [Alexander]; 10-15 y.o.: 2 [John Jr., William]; 15-20 y.o.: 2 [James, Unknown male]; 40-50 y.o.: 1 [John Sr.]
- Females <5 y.o.: 1 [Charlotte]; 5-10 y.o.: 2 [Unknown female, Elizabeth]; 10-15 y.o.: 1 [Sarah Ann]; 30-40 y.o.: 1 [Mary Ann]
- 1840 PA, Salem Twp., Mercer Co., p. 275b
- John Carier (Curier?) [note: he is almost certainly J.B.; he has the same neighbors as in other Censuses.]
- Males 5-10 y.o.: 1 [Matthew]; 10-15 y.o.: 1 [Alexander]; 20-30 y.o.: 2 [James, John Jr.?]; 50-60 y.o.: 1 [John Sr.]; 1 person empl. in agriculture
- Females 5-10 y.o.: 2 [Mary, Prudy]; 10-15 y.o.: 1 [Charlotte]; 15-20 y.o.: 1 [Elizabeth]; 40-50 y.o.: 1 [Mary Ann]
- 1850 PA, Crawford Co., W. Fallowfield Twp, Dw. 82 Fam. 83, p. 213 (ancestry.com img.#13)
- John Beemer (Beerner?), age 62, white male, Farmer, Real prop. $2000, b. Germany
- Mary A. ", age 57, white female, b. Ireland
- Elizabeth ", age 27, white female, b. PA
- Alexander ", age 24, white male, b. PA
- Charlotte ", age 21, white female, b. PA
- Prudy ", age 19, white female, b. PA
- Mary ", age 17, white female, b. PA, att. school
- Martha ", age 16, white female, b. PA, att. school
Note: I suspect "Martha" is actually Matthew W. Berrier. Age is correct for him; 1840 Census has only 2 daughters (Prudy & Mary) in
this age range; there is no trace of Matthew in other homes in this area; and I could find no trace of a Martha (married or single) in subsequent censuses.
Note: neighboring households are sons James Berrier and
John "Beemer".
- 1860 IA, Union Prairie Twp., Allamakee Co., Dwelling 1195 Family 1174
- John Barrer, 75 y.o., male, occ. not given; $400 real, $225 pers., b. "Unk."
- Mathew Barrer, 24 y.o., male, Farmer, b. PA
- Elizabeth Barrer, 36 y.o., female, Milliner, b. PA.
- 1870: see Census data for Matthew Berrier
Did John Berrier serve in the War of 1812?
Fred W. Berrier has collected pension documents relating to a John Berrier, a.k.a. John Borger, who
was from PA and did serve in the War of 1812. However, service documents dated 1850, 1855, and 1871 have
him residing in eastern PA in Hilltown, Bucks Co. on these dates and in 1814 when he was drafted.
This cannot be our ancestor John, who was definitely residing in Crawford Co.in the 1850 Census.
But 
John G. Chamberlin has found another John Berrier who served in the War of 1812 and is much
more likely to be our Mercer Co. ancestor. He writes:
"There were several units connected to Mercer County. Some of the people listed as serving with the Mercer County Blues (an informal name)
are also listed as serving with Captain Junkin under Colonel Christy. Many entries show men who served with Colonel Christy in the 135th Pennsylvania Militia
and their names say ‘recruited from Mercer Co.'
"Units were numbered. Mercer County web pages mostly mention the 135th but there are some listed who served in the 134th. I infer that
units 134, 135 and others in this range were Western Pennsylvania units. The 137th seems to be from Crawford County. Units were also
commonly called by the name of the commander, so the 135th Pennsylvania Militia was named for its leader Andrew Christy, who is shown
in the Mercer Co. web pages as recruited from Mercer County. Christy’s are neighbors of the Berrier family in later censuses.
CHRISTY, ANDREW
Company: 135 REG'T (CHRISTY'S) PENNSYLVANIA MIL.
Rank In: LT., Rank Out: COLONEL
Roll-Box: 39 Roll-Rec: 1528
"In all the War of 1812 muster rolls on the CD and at Ancestry.com the following is the only record for a Berrier (with that spelling).
BERRIER, JOHN
Company: 135 REG'T (CHRISTY'S) PENNSYLVANIA MIL.
Rank In: DRUMMER, Rank Out: FIFER
Roll-Box: 16, Roll-Rec: 1106
"This appears to be our ancestor. We can look at the Pay Roll slips [for Christy’s 135th Pennsylvania Militia ] for additional information. Here is what they contain:
"'John Berrier appears with the rank of Drummer on a pay roll of Captain John Gilleland’s Company of Drafted Militia doing duty at Erie, attached to the 135th Regiment Pennsylvania Militia for [roll torn and unreadable] including 5 days of return home. Roll dated Erie, October 26, 1812. Pay per month 6 dollars. Time of Service 19 days. Amount of Pay 3 dollars, 80 cents.' Morgan – copyist
"This one almost certainly is the same one. It is the same unit and rank, but different records.
BURRIER, JOHN
Company: 135 REG'T (CHRISTY'S) PENNSYLVANIA MIL.
Rank In: DRUMMER, Rank Out: FIFER
Roll-Box: 30, Roll-Rec: 2406
"'John burrier (sic) appears with the rank of Fifer on a Pay Roll of Captain John Gilleland’s company, 135th Regiment Pennsylvania Militia for July 25 to August 11, 1813. Roll not dated. Term of service 16 days. Pay per month 10 dollars. Amount of Pay. 5 dollars 23 1/3 cents.' Morgan – copyist
"So John Berrier served at least two stints with Captain John Gilleland’s company of Christy’s Battalion. John Gilleland appears in the Mercer Co. web pages as recruited from Mercer Co. The following information on Captain Gilleland appears in the Muster Roll:
GILLELAND, JOHN
Company: 135 REG'T (CHRISTY'S) PENNSYLVANIA MIL.
Rank In: CAPTAIN, Rank Out: CAPTAIN
Roll-Box: 81, Roll-Rec: 424
"Looking through the Mercer County 1812 information, one finds the following Lieutenant in Gilleland’s company: John Ferguson. There are three Ferguson’s in the 135th muster rolls.
FERGUSON, JOHN
Company: 135 REG'T (CHRISTY'S) PENNSYLVANIA MIL.
Rank In: LIEUTENANT, Rank Out: LIEUTENANT
Roll-Box: 70, Roll-Rec: 1854
FERGUSON, JAMES
Company: 135 REG'T (CHRISTY'S) PENNYSLVANIA MIL.
Rank In: FIFER, Rank Out: PRIVATE
Roll-Box: 70, Roll-Rec: 1792
FERGUSON, WILLIAM
Company: 135 REG'T (CHRISTY'S) PENNSYLVANIA MIL.
Rank In: PRIVATE, Rank Out: PRIVATE
Roll-Box: 70, Roll-Rec: 1964
"It would be certain that John Berrier would know John Ferguson, since they were in the same company, and James Ferguson might have
been the Fifer John Berrier replaced when he quit being a drummer.
"There are two John Ferguson who lived near the Berrier family in the next township west, West Salem. John the senior had a
daughter shown on the 1810 census and she is not shown at home on the 1820 census. Her age on the 1810 census agrees with the age of the Mary Ann Ferguson who married John Berrier. There is a son, John Ferguson Jr. shown on the censuses and he or his wife is shown as foreign born. As we know Mary Ann was born in Ireland, this fits pretty well. Perhaps John Jr. is the Lieutenant in the militia? It seems a fair bet that John Berrier met his wife through his militia relationships."
Generation 1: John BERRIER (b. GER abt. 1787) m. Mary Ann FERGUSON (b. IRE abt. 1792)