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Paul R. Swan     28 Aug 2009 Return to Home Page Hide All Notes Swan ~ Hartzell Family History
Swan ~ Hartzell Family History
LEIN CHAPTER

This is the lineage on which I'm currently working. I've decided to place my work-in-progress online and update it as often as I find new material to add.

My hope is that some of you distant cousins will find this page and get in touch with me to collaborate on our Lein lineage.

1 Aug 2009
 

I've added a fair number of additional descendants in various branches of this lineage, and have begun inserting images of marriage and birth records from Baden, Germany.

28 Aug 2009
  LEIN, HENRICH 1    
  m  ANNA ____    
  LEIN, HENRICH 2     baptised 1638 Germany, died  Germany
  m  ANNA KIRCHHOEFER     born 1640 Germany
  LEIN, JOHANNES 3     baptised 1665 Germany, died 1746 Pennsylvania
  m  ELISABETHA RUDI     born 1674 Germany, died 1746 Pennsylvania
  LEIN, JOHANN MICHAEL 4     baptised 1692 Germany
  m  MARGARET ____    
  LEIN, JOHANES "JOHN" 5     born 1722
  m      
  LEIN, ELIZABETH 6     born 1766
  m  GEORGE MARKLEY     born 1764 Pennsylvania, died 1828 Pennsylvania
INTRODUCTION
The most recent direct ancestor in our Lein lineage, (our Lein line, if you will), was Elizabeth who married George Markley 12 Apr 1791 in the First Reformed Church in Lancaster City, Pennsylvania. They were the grandparents of Aaron Markley who brought his family from Indiana to Kansas in 1875.
Elizabeth's great-grandparents and the immigrant Lein progenitors were Johannes Lein and Elisabetha Rudi who came to Chester County, Pennsylvania before 1718, when he appears in land records. They brought with them five of their six living children. Their eldest daughter married in 1716, and the couple remained in Germany. I think it probable that the family emigrated after their daughter's marriage, as it seems unlikely that they would have left a young, unmarried daughter behind when they came to America.
This emigrant family is documented in Eighteenth Century Emigrants from German-speaking Lands to North America, v. 1. The Northern Kraichgau by Annette Kunselman Burgert [1983]. Burgert's indispensable books connect emigration and other records in Germany to early settlers' records in Pennsylvania. She found Johannes' family in the Kirchardt Reformed and Obergimpern Lutheran Kirchenbuchs in Baden, and writes:

     "Johannes Lein, shepherd, and wife Elisabetha had: 
     
        1. Michael bp. 7 May 1692 at Kirchardt 
        2. Anna Barbara b. ca. 1698; conf. Kirchardt 1713, age 15; 
            m. 21 Jan 1716 Hans Jacob Weidler, son of Herr Hans Weidler, "Anwald". 
            [This Jacob was a brother of Michael Weidler who m. Anna Elisabetha Klein 
             and emigrated to Penna. Jacob and Barbara Weidler remained in Kirchardt.] 
        3. Joh. Jacob bp. 2 Mar 1702 
        4. Anna Margareth bp. 24 Apr 1706 
        5. Eva bp. 23 Sep 1712" 

Burgert goes on to report several Pennsylvania records, which will appear below, but the German records are sufficient to identify the location in which to search for more of the family. In brief, for the moment, Johannes was born 1665 in Ruppertenrod, Hessen, Germany, and his wife Elisabetha Rudi was born 1674 in Reihen, Baden, Germay. Their nine children were baptised in Hilsbach, Kirchardt and Obergimpern in Baden. These three towns are within about three to six miles of Reihen, and about 125 miles south of Ruppertenrod.
Lein is the German word for flax, but the only usage for Rudi that I've found is as a given name that becomes Rudolf in English. It is important to note that English speaking civil officials in Pennsylvania almost invariably wrote the surname as Line or Leyn, and Rudi as Rudy. Thus Johannes' land warrant of 1718 was recorded for Hans Line shortly after their arrival in Pennsylvania, but our ancestress Elisabeth's name was recorded as Lein as late as 1791 for her marriage in the German First Reformed Church of Lancaster City. Whether or not various branches of the family themselves adopted the English spelling over succeeding generations is impossible to tell in the absence of personal records in each case.
To complicate matters, there was another Line family, apparently from Switzerland, in Lancaster County at the same time according to Biographical Annals of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, 1905. In fact, the head of that lineage, George Line, patented part of the land warranted for survey to Johannes Lein, and lived there until 1778 when he moved his family to Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.
It is a fascinating coincidence that our immigrant ancestor Hans Georg Hirtzel, and his parents Clemens Hirzel and Anna Sinter, also lived in Reihen, and were in fact contemporaries of Elisabetha (Rudi) Lein. Lein and Hirtzel descendants, in the persons of my parents Paul Swan and Mildred Hartzell, met and married in Topeka, Kansas, about two hundred years after these families lived as neighbors in Reihen, Germany, 4800 miles away.
Note on German IGI sources
A digression is called for regarding the provenance of three particular batches of International Genealogical Index (IGI) records from the Family History Center in Salt Lake City, records which bear directly on our Lein ancestry. As most genealogists know, the IGI actually consists of two types of records, the first being those extracted directly from original sources by the Mormon Church itself. These can be accepted as nearly primary sources, as they maintain a very low error rate in their transcriptions. The second type of IGI records, usually without original source attributions, are those contributed by individual church members as part of their duty to the church. These are notoriously unreliable, and should be used only as leads in a search for primary records.
Three particular batchs of IGI records of interest here fall between these two extremes. Batch #1396032, which I'll cite below as [IGI-R] for Rudi, batch #8507721, [IGI-W] for Weidler, and batch #7817020, [IGI-L] for Lein, seem to have been systematic extracts from German primary sources but without source citations. Each set covers a limited geographics area, but extends over a hundred years or more in time. Complete baptism and marriage dates are given, and the personal names are often abbreviated as found in original church records (such as Elisa. for Elisabetha).
The first batch includes Johannes Lein's marriage record to Elizbeth Rudi, and over 100 other Rudi surname records from three small towns, Reihen, Weiler and Hilsbach. These towns are about a mile apart some 15 miles southeast of Heidelberg, and mysteriously the IGI records list each of these towns as part of Heidelberg, Baden. Here is a detail from a German map of 1789 juxtaposed with a Google terrain image of the same area. Heidelberg lies within the green area marked Kfsm (Kurfürstentum) Pfalz, an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire which extends southeastward to include the location of these three towns, which I've marked with a heavy, black rectangle.
image: Reihen,Weiler and Hilsbach in 1789

Reihen,Weiler and Hilsbach in 1789

The rectangle above also includes part of a yellow area, the Reichsritterschaften. These lands belonged to the Knights of the Empire who owed their allegience directly to the Holy Roman Emperor. Apparently these were private estates, only, and did not include towns, and so do not affect the identification of the latter as being part of Kurfürstentum Pfalz.
These IGI records must have come from the Kirchenbuchs of the Evangelische Kirches of Reihen, Hilsbach and Weiler in an organized extraction process. However, some of the dates lie outside of the range of dates cited in the Family History Catalog entries for their microfilms of these sources, so I'm inclined to think they were extracted from the originals, not from microfilm.
The second batch of records, IGI-W, are very similar to the first and cover the town of Kirchardt, Heidelberg, Baden. These are records of the marriage and family of Johann Jacob Weidler and Anna Barbara Lein, the daughter of Johannes who did not accompany him to America. And, as in the first batch, these must have been extracted from the Kirchenbuch of the Evangelische Kirche of Kirchardt.
The last batch, [IGI-L], includes fourteen baptism and marriage records for the surname Lein in the town of Ruppertenrod, Hessen, Germany, including one for our Johannes Lein, baptised 2 Jul 1665. These records define our family tree for the German generations of our Lein lineage.
Considering the details of these particular batches of IGI contributed records, I conclude that they have as much validity as records extracted by the Mormon church itself, and accept them in identifying baptisms and marriages of our Lein and Rudi ancestors. However, the locations are recorded here simply as towns in Baden, Germany, as it is known today (dropping the confusing designation Heidelburg), instead of the more correct but obscure Kurfürstentum Pfalz, Deutschland, of the seventeenth and eighteenth century.
Henrich Lein & Anna ____

Henrich1

Henrich's birth date and place are unknown.

Henrich and Anna married 25 Jan 1637 in Ruppertenrod, Hessen, Germany.

Anna's birth date and place are unknown.

As cited just above, the children in this family are from the IGI-L batch of records, but birth records for Henrich and Anna have not been found. They were probably born around 1615. It should be mentioned that there was another Henrich Lein family in Ruppertenrod, and more Leins in Ober-Ohmen, a town about 1.5 miles to the east. I have not attempted to establish connections to our line, but have no doubt that these were all related in some way.
The four children of Henrich and Anna (____) Lein were Henrich, Johann Georg, Catharina and Conrad.
i     Henrich Lein, son, was born 28 Jan 1638.   
ii     Johann Georg Lein, son, born 23 Aug 1644 in Ruppertenrod.
iii     Catharina Lein, dtr., born Sep 1646 in Ruppertenrod.
  Catharina married Johannes Hoffman.
  There was a Johanns Hofmann baptised 11 Aug 1644 in Langenhain, Hessen, son of Jacob, according to a submitted IGI record. However there are three towns of that name within 100 miles of Ruppertenrod, and one twice as far, and it's unlikely that any of these were Catharina's husband.
iv     Conrad Lein, son, baptised 19 Jul 1649 in Ruppertenrod and died 4 Oct 1688 in Ruppertenrod.
  Conrad married Anna Katharina Kemmerer {baptised 12 Dec 1652 in Ruppertenrod, dtr of Johannes and Anna Maria (Bindewalt) Kemmerer,}.
  For some unknown reason, Conrad and Anna Katharina's marriage, which must have been around 1673, did not get recorded in the Ruppertenrod Kirchenbuch, although their own baptisms and those of their children do appear there.
  There are many online genealogies which ascribe Conrad's birth date and place to the Conrad Lein who married a Maria Margaretha of Darmstadt, Hessen, immigrated to New York about 1710, and died testate in Bergen County, New Jersey, in 1738. None of these web sites provide any source at all for claiming a correspondence between the two Conrads. Darmstadt, south of Frankfurt am Main, and Ruppertenrod are about 70 miles apart. At least one web page lists the birth of the New Jersey Conrad as 1662 in Darmstadt.
  An "Otto Kratz Web Site" on myheritage.com gives a death date for Conrad of 4 Oct 1688 in Ruppertenrod, which I accept, although no source was specified. That same web page lists only Johann Jost as a child in the family, and gives his death date as 3 Jun 1764.
  The baptisms of Henrich, Anna Maria and Johann Jost are explicitly noted as the children of Conrad Lein and Anna Katharina Kemmerer.
  The three children of Conrad and Anna Katharina (Kemmerer) Lein:
1     Henrich Lein, son, baptised 30 Aug 1674 in Ruppertenrod.
  Henrich was married 28 Apr 1707 in Ruppertenrod to Eve Viller.
  The three children of Henrich and Eve (Viller) Lein:
i     Anna Catharina Lein, dtr., born 22 Jan 1708 in Wettsaasen, Hessen, Germany, and died 3 Feb 1708.
  Wettsaasen is a town about a mile and a half up the road from Rupertenrod.
ii     Johann Curt Lein, son, baptised 15 Jan 1711.
iii     Anna Catharina Lein, dtr., baptised 22 Jan 1714 in Wettsaasen.
  Anna Catharina was married 3 Jan 1731 in Wettsaasen to Johann Herber.
  The eight children of Johann and Anna Catharina (Lein) Herber:
1     Johannes Herber, son, baptised 28 Jun 1733 in Wettsaasen.
2     Johann Henrich Herber, son, baptised 14 Aug 1737 in Wettsaasen.
3     Johannes Herber, son, baptised 22 Sep 1740 in Wettsaasen and died 29 Jan 1741.
4     Johannes Herber, son, baptised 28 Mar 1742 in Wettsaasen.
5     Juliane Herber, dtr., born 4 Jul 1745 in Wettsaasen.
6     Conrad Herber, son, baptised 21 Sep 1748 in Wettsaasen and died 14 Apr 1749.
7     Johann Conrad Herber, son, baptised 15 Feb 1750 in Wettsaasen.
8     Anna Gertrud Herber, dtr., born 13 Nov 1753 and baptised 16 Nov 1753 in Wettsaasen.
2     Anna Maria Lein, dtr., baptised 6 Sep 1678 in Ruppertenrod.
  Anna Maria was married 28 Apr 1707 in Ruppertenrod to Hans Conrad Hederich.
  Anna Maria and Hans Conrad's baby who died very young was probably named after his uncle Johann Jost. I don't know which of Jost and Justus is the nickname.
  The only child of Hans Conrad and Anna Maria (Lein) Hederich:
i     Johann Justus Hederich, son, baptised 11 Dec 1712 in Ruppertenrod and died 27 Feb 1713.
3     Johann Jost Lein, son, baptised 29 Apr 1688 in Ruppertenrod and died 3 Jun 1764.
  Johann Jost was married 30 Jan 1711 in Stockhausen, Hessen, Germany to Anna Catharina Rueck {baptised 24 Dec 1687 in Reichelsheim, Friedberg, Hessen, Germany, dtr of Johann and Margreth (____) Rueck,}.
  The IGI record gives the location of their marriage as Stockhausen Gruenberg, Hessen, Germany. However, Stockhausen and Gruenberg appear as the names of two towns about 3 miles apart on Google maps. Since their two children were baptised in Stockhausen, I've accepted that town as their place of marriage, also. In any event, Stockhausen is located about five miles southwest of Ruppertenrod. These towns are underlined on the Google image below, as well as Wettsaasen where his brother Herrich's children were baptiseed, and Ober-Ohmen where a sizeable number of other Leins resided. Ruppertenrod is about 40 miles NNE of Frankfurt am Main, and about 100 miles due north of Weiler, Baden where his cousin Johannes Lein and Elisabeth Rudi, our ancestors, were married.
 
image: Ruppertenrod and adjacent Lein towns

Ruppertenrod and adjacent Lein towns

  There is an extracted IGI record for Anna Catharina Rueck baptised 24 Dec 1687 in "Evangelisch, Reichelsheim Friedberg, Obehessen, Hessen. She was the daughter of Johann and Margreth Rueck. I'm accepting this record as that of Johan Jost's wife Anna Katharine (from the submitted IGI batch of records). Reichelsheim and Friedberg are towns about six miles apart and either shared the same Evangelisch Kirche, or Anna was baptised in both towns.
  The two children of Johann Jost and Anna Catharina (Rueck) Lein:
i     Mary Lein, dtr., born 29 Mar 1716 in Stockhausen and died 9 Apr 1773.
  Mary was married 19 Nov 1739 in Stockhausen to John Eckhard {born 12 Apr 1712, son of Johann Martin Eckhard and died 12 Apr 1773}.
  The particulars of this family were found on a German language web page on familytreemaker.genealogy.com whose translated title is "Ancestors of Roswitha Stein".
  The only child of John and Mary (Lein) Eckhard:
1     Anna Catharina Eckhard, dtr., born 17 Feb 1751 in Stockhausen and died 12 Jul 1830 in Ruppertenrod.
  Anna Catharina was married 29 Aug 1786 in Ruppertenrod to Johann Conrad Finkernagel.
ii     Johannes Lein, son, born 11 Jun 1719 in Stockhausen.
Henrich Lein & Anna Kirchhoefer

Henrich1, Henrich2

Henrich was baptised 28 Jan 1638 in Ruppertenrod, Hessen, Germany and died in Ruppertenrod.

Henrich and Anna married 22 Apr 1661 in Ober-Ohmen, Hessen, Germany.

Anna was born 1640 in Ober-Ohmen, the daughter of Conrad Kirchhoefer.

The family of this generation is also taken from the special batch of records I've denoted as IGI-L. Five children are listed.
The six children of Henrich and Anna (Kirchhoefer) Lein were Johannes, Catharina, Niclas, Johann Henrich, Johann Henrich and Conrad.
i     Johannes Lein, son, was born 2 Jul 1665.   
ii     Catharina Lein, dtr., baptised 18 Jul 1667 in Ruppertenrod.
  Catharina was married 4 Oct 1688 in Gross Eichen, Hessen, Germany to Conrad Bindenwaldt.
  There is an unsourced IGI record for a Catharina Leins, daughter of Henrich, born about 1666 and married 4 Oct 1688 in Gross Eichen, Hessen, to Conrad Bindenwaldt. Gross Eichen is only two miles south of Ruppertenrod, and I'm accepting this as a record of the marriage of the daughter of Henrich and Anna. Another unsourced record states that Conrad, born about 1664 in Gross Eichen, was the son of Caspar. Since Catharina and Conrad named their first son Caspar, that record, too, is probably valid.
  The three children of Conrad and Catharina (Lein) Bindenwaldt:
1     Caspar Bindenwaldt, son, born 11 May 1690 in Gross Eichen.
2     Anna Maria Bindenwaldt, dtr., born 13 Mar 1693 in Gross Eichen.
3     Johann Martin Bindenwaldt, son, born 17 Apr 1697 in Gross Eichen.
iii     Niclas Lein, son, baptised 11 Mar 1669 in Ruppertenrod and died 6 Feb 1677.
iv     Johann Henrich Lein, son, baptised 25 Aug 1671 in Ruppertenrod and died 7 Feb 1672.
v     Johann Henrich Lein, son, baptised 16 Jan 1673 in Ruppertenrod.
  There is a contributed IGI record indicating that a Johann Henrich Lein married Elisabeth Hessler in Ober-Ohmen, Hessen, on 26 Feb 1691. And another that a Johann Henrich married Anna Kratz there on 26 Feb 1687. There are about 40 IGI records for Leins in Ober-Ohmen, but none for a Johann Henrich baptism, so either of these might indicate a marriage between these two towns a couple of miles apart.
vi     Conrad Lein, son, baptised 26 May 1678 in Ruppertenrod.
Johannes Lein & Elisabetha Rudi

Henrich1, Henrich2, Johannes3

Johannes was baptised 2 Jul 1665 in Ruppertenrod, Hessen, Germany and died 11 Aug 1746 in Leacock Twp., Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Johannes and Elisabetha married 18 Nov 1690 in Weiler, Baden, Germany.

Elisabetha was born 18 Oct 1674 in Reihen, Baden, Germany, the daughter of Hans and Barbara (Keisser) Rudi, and died 11 Aug 1746 in Leacock Twp.
The Bible
We are very fortunate in that Johannes Lein's Bible has survived about ten generations since he inscribed his name on the inside of its cover in Cannastocken (Connestoga) in 1741:
image: Johannes Lein Bible Inscription, 1741

Johannes Lein Bible Inscription, 1741

The Bible is now owned by the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Steve Ness, the archivist there, has been extremely helpful in providing high quality images of the Bible, of its inscriptions and of loose papers that were in the Bible when it came into their care (with translations, yet!).
The Bible is bound in blind-tooled (i.e., no added gilt) calf over wooden boards, with decorative brass corner pieces and clasps, and six raised bands. The book is 16 inches high, 3.5 inches thick, and contains over 1100 pages.
image: Johannes Lein Bible

Johannes Lein Bible

The Title Page, with my partial (and approximate) translation added below, indicates that it was translated into German by Doct. Martin Luther (who completed it about 1534) and was printed in Basel 1720:
image: Lein Bible Title Page

Lein Bible Title Page

In addition to the ornate "Johannes Lein", there are three other inscriptions in the Bible. A birth anniversary note, a record of four births, and an obituary. All three of these raise unanswered questions, and illustrate how a primary record can be both fascinating and exasperating at the same time. Also in the Bible are several loose pieces of paper with information that helps in tracing its provenance.
Above Johannes' inscription on the inner cover of the Bible is an anniversary note written the previous year:
image: Maria Farnerin inscription

Maria Farnerin inscription

A transcription and translation of this note, found on a loose sheet inserted into the Bible and dated January 29, 1949, read:
"1683 auf Johannis Tag bin ich Maria Farnerin aüf dise welt gebohren, ünd bin jetz bis aüf die zeit da das geschriben worden, namlich Anno 1740 alt 58 Jahr ümb Johannis Tag."
"1683 on St. John's day I, Marie Farner, was born into this world and at the time of this writing I was 58 years old, namely on St. John's day in 1740."
St. John's day could either be the conception day September 23 of John the Baptist as celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church, or his natal day, originally April 23 but subsequently taken to be June 24. As of this writing, I have no idea who Maria Farnerin was, and the surname Farner has not turned up in any relationship to the Leins.
The flyleaf of the Bible has two sets of records. The top set consists of four birth records by "Johanes Lein", and I'll leave that record for discussion later.
The bottom half of the flyleaf contains the obituary of an unnamed wife written by an unnamed husband! The dates, however, provide some (negative) evidence as to who these people were not.
image: Bible Obituary 1743

Bible Obituary 1743

One of the loose leaf inserts in the Bible is a transcription and translation of this obit which includes a notation that the text was written "incorrectly", "probably by and old man", and some of the middle of the text can't be satisfactorily understood:
"On June 29, 1743 my wife died and was buried in the name of the Lord. Her wish is that God may grant us and her a joyous resurrection on that day --- Lived with her in sad childless ----- live for 36 year and had with her 10 children, namely 5 sons and 5 daughters. May the Lord God keep me and my dear children that they may grow from strength to strength, from might to might till we all come to God and the Son."
The 36 year marriage indicates that the wedding was 1706/07, and ten children would thus have been born from about 1707 through 1727 or later. Assuming typical marriage ages, the writer would have been born about 1682 and his wife 1684. These dates bear no resemblence to any portion of the Lein lineage I'll be describing below. This couple seems to have been of a generation about half way between Johannes Lein and his children. Who they were I have no idea.
The provenance of the Bible is spotty over its nearly three centuries of existence, but nevertheless interesting. In addition to the dates written in the Bible, there are two loose pieces of paper which bear on its history, and a piece of paper glued to the spine of the Bible which reads "A Basel Bible - 1720 - Henry Kendig."
One insert is a sheet of paper providing a transcription and translation of an inscription in a song book:
image: Henrich Kündig Song Book 1767 Inscription

Henrich Kündig Song Book 1767 Inscription

The paper shown here is the same color as that of the Farner transcription, 1949, and so was probably made the same time. The suggestion on the song book sheet that Hans Jacob Brubacher was evidently the artist who lettered the inscription is borne out by the historical record. The Encyclopedia of American Folk Art by Gerard C. Wertkin and Lee Kogan writes that Hans Jacob Brubacher (1726-1792) was among the most significant of the fraktur artists who did bookplates and the many other forms of the art. And the Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage published by the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society has an article in their Jan 1986 issue entitled "Hans Jacob Brubacher, Fraktur Artist". That original song book inscription must have been at least of the same quality as Johannes Lein's own Bible inscription, but now seems to be lost to view.
Note that the song book inscription refers to the "newly built meeting house", and there is also an undated slip of paper inserted in the Bible that reads: "1720 Bible from New Providence M. H." (Meeting House). New Providence, PA, is about 11 miles due south of the Heller Church in what is now Strasburg Township. It turns out that the New Providence Mennonite Church was indeed founded there in 1766, and was known initially as the Black Horse Mennonite Meetinghouse [www.horseshoe.cc/pennadutch/religion/churches/churches.htm#npm]. So it seems clear that at some time the Henry Kendig who was the owner of the Bible gave the songbook to his church, but I've found no connections between the Leins and the Kendigs to understand how the ownership came to be transferred.
There was a Henry Kendig in the area born either 1693 or 1708 who married Maria Wolfe born about 1714. He was either the son of Hans Jacob Kendig and Alice Wade, or of Henry Kendig and Barbara Kerr. If this sounds vague, it's because the online genealogies -- GenForum, WorldConnect and the FHL datafiles IGI, Pedigree Resource File and Ancestral File -- of the Kendigs are the most atrocious I've come across. For instance, various WorldConnect files give Alice Wade's birth from 1655 through 1720, and Barbara Herr's from 1659 through 1747. The ususal caveat that contributed genealogical information should only be used as pointers is a woeful understatement in this case. The surname Kendig will appear again in the section below concerning Johannes Lein's land.
Also inserted into the Bible is a donation slip dated 1855 on which Catherine Shenk presents the Bible to the Mennonite Church.
image:

Johannes' son Johann Jacob married Anna Schenk in 1723, and his grandchild Barbara Lein (fourth birth recorded on the flyleaf) probably married a Michael Schenk, so it seems probable that the Bible was passed down through one of these families to Catherine.
The chronology is therefore as follows:

    Lein family immigrated      bef 1718 
    Bible printed in Basel          1720 
    Maria Farnerin anniversity      1740 
    Johannes Lein inscription       1741 
    Obituary                29 June 1743 
    Birth records on flyleaf           ? 
    Spine label by Henry Kendig        ? 
    Kendig song book for new MH     1767 
    Presentation by Catherine Shenk 1855 
    From New Providence M. H.          ? 
    Transcription and translations  1949 
The Land
On 4 Oct 1718 Hans Line was issued a warrant by the Proprietors of the Commonwealth for the survey of 900 acres in what was then Conestoga Township, Chester County. This is the first record we have of Johannes Lein in Pennsylvania. Conestoga Township at that time included much of what in 1729 became Lancaster County, and his 900 acres were located in what became, in 1843, Upper Leacock Township of that new county. A detail from a plat of the original surveys of that township is shown here, with the meets and bounds of that 900 acre parcel surveyed 22 Oct 1718.
image: Johannes Lein's 900 acre parcel

Johannes Lein's 900 acre parcel

Johannes never received a patent for this property, as the 900 acres were finally patented as four parcels eighteen years later on 4, 5 and 6 May, 1736. Johannes probably lived on the land between 1718 and 1736 (see below) even though he himself never patented it. That was a common practice when these far reaches of wilderness in Chester County were first being settled. The 250 acres on the west went to his son John [Patent Book A9, pg 521], the other three parts, as shown in the figure, were patented by John Rowland, Geo. Line and Mathias Sneider. Note that this George Line was the progenitor of the Swiss lineage in Lancaster County mentioned in the introduction, and was not related to Johannes and John Lein. Also shown on the image above are portions of Jacob Heller's two parcels, to be mentioned below.
The history of these 900 acres however, is not totally clear. On 6 June 1746 Johannes wrote his will, specifying, in part: "ITEM: My own Children names John Michel, John Lyne and Jacob Lyne as the Sons have already received what I was willing to give to them I gave to each of them Three hundred acres of Land". How these three parcels of 300 acres equate to the four parcels patented in 1736 is a bit obscure. Perhaps his testament values were approximate, and the three (unequal) parcels became four by splitting the easterly one into two parts, with Michael and Jacob selling their shares and John patenting his for himself.
I have overlaid the boundaries of the 900 acre parcel on a Google satellite image to show its relationship to the present town of Leacock. (A town, incidently, which neither Google maps nor Yahoo maps locates correctly, so I record here the coordinates of this overlay, 40.0805, -76.2115. If you want to explore this region in more detail, use those latitude and longitude values to start with.) Note in the image how many of the roads and property boundaries existing today lie exactly on these almost 300 year old 1718 meets and bounds. Even an apparently quite recent residential development has two of its streets lying on the southwest corner boundaries of Mathias Sneider's parcel.
image: Johannes Lein's parcel boundaries on a Google satellite image

Johannes Lein's parcel boundaries on a Google satellite image

On 14 Apr 1736, Hans Line received a patent [Patent Book A7, pg 500] on 200 acres in Pequea Township that had been warranted for survey to Martin Kundigg, et al. on 22 Oct 1717. The plat of this parcel names Martin as Kendrick, and shows that it was not surveyed until "28 8br 1728". Here is the parcel as drawn from the survey, but rotated 5 degrees counterclockwise so that I could overlay the boundaries on a Google satellite image:
image: Hans Lein land in Pequea Township

Hans Lein land in Pequea Township

The small parcel of 23.5 acres at the west end of his property was acquired by John Line much later. It was warranted 21 Dec 1750, surveyed four days later, and patented to him 9 Apr 1753 [Book A17, pg 379]. This is clearly an isolated piece of vacant land unclaimed in the earlier surveys, and is a strong indication that Johannes, Jr., as John, occupied and expanded this Pequea Township homestead after his father's death in 1746. I've drawn the south and west boundaries of these two parcels inset slightly so as not to obscure the present day roads which lie on these almost 300 year old survey lines. Additional present day evidence of these lines can be seen in the terrain changes across the north edge of the parcel. This location is about two miles south of the town of Willow Street, and seven miles south of Lancaster City. The stream wandering south of this parcel and then to the northeast is Pequea Creek which forms the boundary between Pequea Township and Martic Township to the south. The coordinates of one of the farmhouses shown on the image are (39.94193, -76.27910), and it's not unlikely that that was the location of Hans' homestead.
As Kindig, Kendrick, Kenderick and Cundigg, Martin Kendig received warrants to survey almost half of what is now Pequea Township, but he himself patented 800 acres warranted for survey originally to Samuel Buldin in the northern part of the township. I've found it impossible, given the state of the Kendig genealogies described above, to connect Henry Kendig of the Bible back to Martin Kendig, but I have no doubt that the connection exists, it's just not documented where I can find it.
The genealogy of Hans' 200 acres starts with a sale 10 Oct 1710 by the Proprietors of 10,000 acres of land for the price of 1 shilling per acre. Jacob Isidor Mombert, in his An Authentic History of Lancaster County [1869], records (note Martin Kendig's name appearing here, and the town of Herrville on the image above):
"By the commissioners of property - Whereas we have agreed with John Rudolph Bundely, Martin Kendig, Jacob Miller, Hans Herr, Martin Oberholtz, Hans Funk, Michael Oberholtz and one Wendel Bowman, Swissers, lately arrived in the Province for ten thousand acres of land, situate on the northwesterly side of a hill, about twenty miles easterly from Connystogoe, near the head of Pecquin creek, for which said land, they are to pay the sum of five hundred pounds, sterling money of Great Britain. ... Given under our hands and seals of the province, the tenth day of the eighth month at Philadelphia, A.D. 1710.
"On the 23d of October, the land was surveyed and divided among the Meylins, Ilerrs, Kendigs, and others of the company.
"By warrant, dated July 5, 1712, there were surveyed, November 1, 1712, Pequea, now Strasburg [?] township, for Amos Strettle, 3330 acres, who afterwards sold it in smaller tracts; the principal persons to whom he sold, prior to 1784, were ... Hans Lein ... ."
The Church
I've also shown on the second previous image above the location of Heller's Church in which John Lein was an active member. He and Michael Weidler (brother-in-law of his sister Anna Barbara (Lein) Weidler in Germany) as vestrymen purchased two acres of land on 11 Feb 1742/43 from Phillip Scott for the "Prisbiteirian Congregation". (Why the term Presbyterian was used by these German Reformed folk I don't know.) That land adjoined the property of Jacob Heller, "whereon the Meeting House now stands". Conrad Templeman is generally acknowledged as the founder of this congregation, and a comparison of the two images above shows that the church land (on the west side of Horseshoe Road) was on a 223 1/2 acre parcel warranted to Conrade Templeman in 1734 and patented 1763 to James Scott.
From Historical Sketch of Upper Leacock Township we read: "The congregation was founded in 1722 by German Reformed families. The first meeting house was a log cabin erected in 1722 ... . The log cabin church had no floor and the seats were just slabs of lumber with the flat side turned up. In the cemetery adjacent to the present church building are numerous tombstones in German language with dates as early as 1729, including that of Michael Weidler who died 1770. This was the first Reformed Church in Lancaster County and possibly one of the first in America." .
From the "Life and Letters of the Rev. John Philip Boehm, Founder of the Reformed Church in Pennsylvania", edited by William J. Hinke [1916], we read:
"The Reformed Congregation of the Berg Kirche promises to contribute annually to a minister's salary, if one is sent to them by the Christian Synods: Eight pounds of this country's currency and Twenty-five bushels of oats, which we hereby attest: Lorentz Herchelroth [John's youngest sister Eve married Veltin Herchelrod], Michael Albert, Michael Weidler, John Leyn, Elders." The date is February 16, 1740. In the 1748 Coetus of the Reformed Churches in Pennsylvania, the second meeting of this body, John Leim (Lein) is registered as the representative, "of the first congregation in Conestoga, organized May 31, 1730, where Do. Rieger preaches." It should be noted that some authors mistakenly credit all of these references to John Lein in the church as referring to his father, Johannes, but this is impossible as Johannes died in 1746.
The Hill Church (Berg Kirche) has subsequently been known as Heller's Reformed Church, Schaeffer's Church, the Salem Reformed Church, the United Church of Christ and, since 2006/07, the Salem Evangelical Reformed Church.
The Roads
The main roads shown on the image above did not exist when the four parcels of Johannes' 900 acres were patented in 1736. In The Lancaster County Colonization Society, v. 25-27 by William Frederic Worner and Henry Frank Eshleman we read that at the meeting of the Governor and Council on January 4, 1738 (4 Col Rec 267) they approved as a "King's Highway" (all Pennsylvania colonial roads were so called) the road laid out, by their order, from Benjamin Witmer's near Lancaster (on the Lancaster High Road) to Coventry Iron Works on French Creek. The road asked for began about the same place on the Old Provincial Road, where the new State Highway leaves that road (near Witmer'a residence today) and struck north-by-east to Mechanicsburg (now Leacock). The persons named along its course included Jacob Heller (near Mechanicsburg) and George Line.
A History of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, by Luther Reily Kelker, says that Benjamin Witmer's home was about three miles east of Lancaster, and that places it about where today's US 30 cuts across PA 340, the Old Philadelphia Pike. These are apparently the "new State Highway" and the "Old Provincial Road" referred to above. Just one third of a mile east of this intersection is the beginning of today's Horseshoe Road, which bears northeast to Leacock, indeed passing along the edge of Jacob Heller's land and cutting through George Lines parcel. This has to be the King's Highway approved in 1738.
Fifteen years later, at the February 1753 court, an order was issued for the survey of the "City Mill and Leacock Road" to be laid out from Lancaster city to the "Horse-Shoe Road". It starts out from the Provincial Road in Lancaster Borough, heading northeast. The final part of the survey recorded at the May court describes the eastern terminus as follows: "It then continues more eastwardly by William Seewright's and Alexander Work's and John Line's land in Leacock Township. It then goes on by land of Philip Scott and John Rowland and by Jacob Rowland and George Line to the "road commonly called Horse-Shoe Road," where it ends." This seems clearly to be today's New Holland Pike which is called West Main Street where it passes through Leacock (see Google image, above).
The Taxes
A paper entitled "Assessment Lists and Other Manuscript Documents of Lancaster County Prior to 1729" was read 1 Sep 1916 before the Lancaster County Historical Society. (Do a Google search on the title to find the paper archived on the WayBack Machine). 1929 was the year Lancaster County was erected, so these assessments were in Conestoga Township of Chester County. John Lein appears (as Hans, John; Line and Lyne) several times, as do other names connected to him:

    Persons before 1718 named on the 1730 naturalization act 
    but not on the 1718-19 assesment: 
        John Line       [Johannes Lein] 
        John Swope      [his daughter Anna Dorothea's father-in-law] 
        Big John Shank  [his daughter-in-law Anna Schenk's father] 
     
    Conestoga Assessment,  1719-20: 
        Hans Lyne       40£ 
     
    Palatinoes at Conestoga, 1721: 
        John Line       [valuation missing] 
        ["History of Lancaster County" by Ellis and Evans 
          gives 55£, second largest in the township.] 
     
    East Conestoga Assessment, 1722-23: 
        John Line       10£ 
     
    Conestoga Township 1724-25 (with neither assessment nor tax values): 
     [these are unedited OCR readings and, from the successive given names,  probably Leins] 
        Michael Loyne 
        Jacob Lovne 
        John Loyne 
     
    Conestoga 1725-26 tax: 
        The 1725/26 tax rate was three pence per pound (at 12 pence per 
        shilling), so a 6 shilling tax corresponded to a 24 pound evaluation. 
        Jacob Lyne      6sh 
        John Lyne       6sh 
        John Lyne       3sh 
        John Lyne       2sh 6p 
        Margaret Lyne   3sh 
        Christian Lyne  2sh 3p 
        Christian Lines 3sh 6p 
        Joseph Lyne     2sh 3p 

The first three entries I've shown for 1725-26 were adjacent on the list, and I interpret these to be Jacob and his father Johannes (as John Lyne), the latter taxed 6 sh and 3 sh on two separate parcels. The third John, further down the orignal list, would then have been Johannes' son. This is just guesswork, however, as to the identities of these three John Lynes. John, son of Johannes, was about 25 years old at the time of this last tax, and Jacob about two years younger. That none of the three sons showed up on the 1722/23 tax list probably indicates that the gifts by Johaness of 300 acres to his sons occurred around 1724.
The last four names I've copied from the 1725-26 list are mysteries. The Swiss Line lineage in the county started with George born around 1724, so could not have accomodated the two Christians and Joseph. However, that George's father died on the journey from Switzerland, and his mother (not named) came to Pennsylvania and settled in Lancaster County. That mother could be the Margaret Lyne taxed 1725/26. These names do serve as a cautionary note in assessing whether or not isolated Lancaster county Lein records (of whatever spelling) actually belong to Johanne's family and descendants.
The Naturalizations
Henry Frank Eshleman, in his "Historic Background and Annals of The Swiss and German Pioneer Settlers of Southeastern Pennsylvania, ..." [1917] writes that in Vol. 4 of the "Statutes at Large" there there is recorded an act of naturalization 14 Feb 1729/30 which applied, en masse, to all Germans who came to Pennsylvania between 1700 and 1718:
"An act for the better enabling divers inhabitants of the province of Pennsylvania to hold lands, and to invest them with the privileges of natural-born subjects of the said province.
"Whereas by the encouragement given by the Honorable William Penn. Esquire, late proprietary and governor of the province of Pennsylvania, and by the permission of his late Majesty, King George the First, of blessed memory, and his predecessors, Kings and Queens of England, etc., divers Protestants who were subjects to the Emperor of Germany, a prince in amity with the Crown of Great Britain, transported themselves and estates into the province of Pennsylvania, between the years one thousand seven hundred and one thousand seven hundred and eighteen, and since they came hither have contributed to the enlargement of the British Empire and to the raising and improving sundry commodities fit for the markets of Europe, and have always behaved themselves religiously and peaceably, and have paid a due regard and obedience to the laws and government of this province.
"Be it enacted by the Honorable Patrick Gordon, Esquire. (Lieutenant) Governor of the Province of Pennsylvania, etc., by and with the advice and consent of the freemen of the said Province in General Assembly met, and by the authority of the same, that ... Andres Shults ... big John Shenk ... Michael Shank ... John Line ... John Shwope ... be and shall be to all Intents and purposes deemed, taken and esteemed His Majesty's natural-born subjects of this province of Pennsylvania as if they and each of them had been born within the said province, and shall and may and every of them shall and may within this province take, receive, enjoy and be entitled to all rights, privileges and advantages of natural-born subjects as fully to all intents, constructions and purposes whatsoever as any of His Majesty's natural-born subjects of this province can, do or ought to enjoy by virtue of their being His Majesty's natural-born subjects of His Majesty in said province of Pennsylvania.
"(Passed February 14, 1729-30.) Apparently never considered by the Crown, but allowed to become a law by lapse of time, in accordance with the proprietary charter.)"
Schultz, Schenk and Swope, listed with John Line above, are surnames which married into Johannes's family, as will become evident below.
The Will
Johannes' will is one of the most fascinating I've read, and is surely very rare in the provisions it calls for in distributing his estate. Written 11 Aug 1746 and submitted for probate eight days later, it reads "I John Lyne of Laycock in the County of Lancaster and Province of Pensilvania Yeoman ...".
It first requires that his son-in-law Veltin Herchelrod should return to his estate five of the fifteen pounds he received from Johannes because he had promised his daughter Eve only "Ten Pistoles" by the time of her marriage.
The next bequest is for Sixty Ducates to be paid to the children of his "Daughter Barbara wife of John Jacob Weidler being in Germania yet". This is in contrast to the provisions for his other grandchildren.
He last bequeaths the rest of his estate to his granchildren, "(that is to say) to the children of my sons, viz. John Michel Line, John Line and Jacob Line and to the Children of my Daughter Dorethea (lately the wife of John Swope) deceased, and to the Children of my Daughter Eva the Wife of Velten Herchelrod". Then comes the stinger: "Each of my Grand Children shall have an equal Share of my Estate whatsoever one as much as the other, to them which are alive now, or shall or may be born in the Time to come [my emphasis], and for this Reason my Estate must not be wholly Divided among my Grand Children soon after my decease but part thereof must be kept back by my Executors or Guardians to my Grandchildren for such a Use till none be expected more." He goes on to specify: "And if one or more of my sd. Grand Children should Die without Children then shall such a Share or Shares fall to their brethren and sisters as Naturall Heirs and not to all of my Grand Children." His two executors, sons-in-law John Swope and Valentine Herchelrod, surely had their work cut out for them. The final disposition presumably could not be made until all of Johannes' daughters and daughters-in-law were past the child bearing age. Since they were in their 30's and 40's when Johannes died, how long did the executors wait until declaring that there would be no more grandchildren?
From Anita Burgert's book, cited above, we find:
"Lancaster Co. Orphans' Court Docket I [or 1?]
"3 Sep 1751 John Swope appointed guardian over Catherine, Conrad, Margaret and Dorothy, his daughters and legatees under the will of John Lyne, deceased. John Lyne is appointed guardian over Elizabeth, Margaret, Eva, Henry and Catherine Lyne, his daughters [children] and legatees under the Testament of John Lyne, deceased. Jacob Lyne is appointed guardian over George Lyne, his son, one of the legatees under the testament of John Lyne, deceased."
That document can be considered as a primary source naming the young grandchildren of Johannes living in Pennsylvania on that date. From the well known ages of the children of John and Dorothea Swope, the grandchildren younger than 18 years of age required this appointment of a guardian to protect their interests. Note that by the time of his will, Johannes was named as John, and the clerk who wrote the documents spelled the surname as Lyne.
The various online secondary (or teriary?) sources listing the chidren in this family name Hilsbach, Kirchardt and Obergimpern for their baptismal locations, usually two for each child. Those of Kirchardt seems to be a complete fabrication, as the Kirchenbuch for that Evangelishce Kirch lists only the baptism of Johan Michael. I haven't yet read the book for Hilsbach, so that name appearing below comes from IGI records. The Obergimpern records are documented here by images taken from the Family History Library film #1189308. If the Hilsbach records are confirmed, these batisms document that Johannes and Elizabetha moved from Kirchardt to Hilsbach about 1693, and from there to Obergimpern about 1701.
The nine children of Johannes and Elisabetha (Rudi) Lein were Johann Michael, Anna? Barbara, Anna Maria Dorothea, Anna Barbara, Johann "John", Johann Jacob, Maria (Anna?) Dorothea, Anna Margaretha and Eva.
i     Johann Michael Lein, son, was born 7 May 1692.   
ii     Anna? Barbara Lein, dtr., baptised 7 Jun 1694 in Hilsbach, Baden, Germany, and died Feb 1695 in Hilsbach.
  Although the only source giving her birth date names her as Barbara, it seem very likely that she was Anna Barbara, as was the sister who later succeeded to her name. Barbara's death date is variously given as 1 Feb or 18 Feb, 1695.
iii     Anna Maria Dorothea Lein, dtr., baptised 16 May 1697 in Hilsbach?, Baden, Germany, and died before 1703 in Hilsbach.
  Another record gives this daughter the name Anna Maria Barthea, or implies a twin baptised the same day. This will be clarified when I examine the microfilm of the Hilsbach Evangelische Kirche.
iv     Anna Barbara Lein, dtr., baptised 11 Jun 1698 in Hilsbach? and died 9 Aug 1747 in Germany.
  Anna Barbara was married 21 Jan 1716 in Kirchardt, Baden, Germany to Hans Jacob Weidler.
  Hans Jacob was the brother of Hans Michael who came to Pennsylvania and was an active member of Heller's Church. Here is his baptism record from the Evangelische Kirche of Kirchardt, Baden:
 
image: Hans Jacob Weidler, baptism in Kirchardt, Baden, 1683

Hans Jacob Weidler, baptism in Kirchardt, Baden, 1683

  The parents's names -- Hans Weidler and Anna Barbara -- are clear and fairly easy to read, as are also his baptismal names -- hans Jacob. However, although I can read September 1683 for the date, the day 30 (a Thursday) I have only from an IGI record. If anyone can confirm that, or decipher the surname of his godfather, hans Jacob ____ and the rest of that third column of writing, I'd be very happy to hear from you.
  Then, 33 years later in the same Kirchenbuch, is found the marriage record of Hans Jacob Weidler to Anna Barbara, daughter of Johannes Lein:
 
image: Anna Barbara's marriage in 1716 to Hans Jacob Weidler

Anna Barbara's marriage in 1716 to Hans Jacob Weidler

  The nine children of Hans Jacob and Anna Barbara (Lein) Weidler:
1     Johann Georg "Hans" Weidler, son, baptised 26 Sep 1717 in Kirchardt.
  Johann Georg "Hans" was married 14 Feb 1763 in Kirchardt, Hessen, Germany to Maria Magdalena Illig.
2     Johannes Weidler, son, baptised 9 Jul 1719 in Kirchardt.
3     Barbara Weidler, dtr., baptised 14 Oct 1721 in Kirchardt and died 29 May 1723.
4     Anna Elisabeth Weidler, dtr., baptised 14 Oct 1721 in Kirchardt and died 29 May 1723.
5     Johann Jacob Weidler, son, baptised 3 Apr 1723 in Kirchardt and died 18 Sep 1788 in Kirchardt.
  Johann Jacob was married 8 Nov 1750 in Kirchardt to Maria Margaretha Ziegler.
  This is a reasonable time and place for the marriage of Johann Jacob, son of Hans Jacob and Anna Barbara, so I've accepted the record tentatively. However, there appeared also in this particular batch of unsourced IGI records the marriage nine days later in Kirchardt, on 17 Nov 1750, of a Maria Catharina Weidler to Conrad Hernberger. Either her identification as a daughter of Hans Jacob and Anna Barbara has been overlooked, or there was a contemporaneous Weidler family in Kirchardt at this time, so there could have been another Johann Jacob.
6     Barbara Weidler, dtr., baptised 29 Oct 1724 in Kirchardt and died 6 Jun 1741.
7     Johann Christoph Weidler, son, baptised 25 May 1727 in Kirchardt.
8     Gottfried Weidler, son, baptised 3 Oct 1728 in Kirchardt.
  Another IGI record claims 30 Oct for the birth of Godtfried Weidler in Kirchardt, so the baptism date given might have been in error.
9     Susanna Weidler, dtr., baptised 3 Jan 1733/1734 in Kirchardt and died 5 Dec 1734 in Kirchardt.
v     Johann "John" Lein, son, baptised 16 Jun 1700 in , Baden, Germany, and died 3 Jan 1758 in Leacock Twp.
  Johann "John" married Barbara Bickel {born 29 Nov 1705 in Bimensdorf, Zürich, Switzerland, dtr of Conrad and Anna (Wetzstein) Bickel, and died after 1773 in Leacock Twp.}.
  John Line, baptised as Johann, was more prominent in Lancaster County than his brothers. As discussed above, he was active in Heller's Church, as an Elder in 1740 (at age 40), a vestryman in 1743 while purchasing land for the church, and a representative to the Coetus in 1748.
  John apparently first appeared on the 1724/25 Conestoga Assessment as John Loyne, along with his brothers Michael and Jacob Loyne. This seems to date the division of Johannes' 900 acres as occuring after the preceding 1722/23 assessment of 10£ on Johannes (as John Line). John Lyne was also taxed 1725/26 on three parcels, but as how these might be apportioned to John and his father I don't know.
  As to the land, it is known that John warranted 218 acres (north of the 900 acres) on 24 Jan 1733, had it surveyed 10 Feb of that year, then sold it to Saml. Jackson who had it patented 5 Feb 1738. But in the midst of the transactions on that parcel, John received a patent 6 May 1736 on his 250 acre share of the 900 acres his father gave to his sons.
  The survey maps of these two parcels are shown below, with their boundaries also shown as an overlay on a Google image of that area west of Leacock. The only roads that today lie on the survey lines of 1733 are short sections of Snake Hill Road and Stormstown Road, but changes in the appearance of the cultivated land across the other boundary lines are apparent, particularly on the eastern boundary, showing that today's land parcel boundaries still follow the original ones.
 
image: John Leins two land parcels

John Leins two land parcels

  Whether or not John and Barbara lived on the northern parcel before patenting the southern one is unknown, but probable. They had two children by that time period, so were quite likely to have built a log cabin of their own instead of staying with his parents. But that is only surmise. Finally, as discussed above, it seems probable that John moved onto the 200 acre Pequea Township parcel south of Lancaster upon his father's death in 1746.
  When his father's estate was being settled, John was included in the Orphans' Court procedings of September, 1751, in which he was appointed "Guardian over Elizabeth, Margaret, Eva, Henry and Catherine Lyne, his Daughters and Legatees under the Testament of John Lyne, deceased". Only John, his eldest son, was an adult by that time and hence had no need of a Guardian of the court to protect his interests.
  An index to Lancaster County wills tells us that the will of John Line of Leacock Township, written 6 Feb 1755 and filed for probate 3 Jan 1758, named his wife Barbara and children John and Henry. If that index was accurate and complete, it would mean all of his daughters predeceased him. However, that was not the case, as we have records of later deaths of at least two of his daughters. Executors for his will were his wife Barbara Line and John Swope, widower of his deceased sister Dorothea.
  The long gap of eight years between the births of John and Elizabeth leads one to surmise that there may have been other children born who either escaped scrutiny or died quite young.
  OneWorldTree on ancestry.com has Barbara's parents as Conrad Bickel and Anna Wetzstein, but places her birth in "Chester Lancaster", Pennsylvania and her daughter Margaret's birth in Holland. So her parents might have been named correctly in that database, or might not.
  The six children of Johann "John" and Barbara (Bickel) Lein:
1     Henry Lein, son, born 1725/1741 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and died Jun 1764 in Lancaster.
  Henry was married Jul 1748 to Barbara Boyer {born about 1744, dtr of John and Barbara (____) Boyers}.
  According to the OneWorldTree database in which I find this family, the surname was spelled Line. Whether this is a copy of an incorrect record, or an actual adoption of the English spelling, I don't know. His birth year is also given in several places as 1725, and in others as 1740.
  This information on Henry is obviously based only on guesses, as a birth in 1740, marriage in 1748, and third child born in 1744 is hardly a well considered genealogy.
  I list below the four children given in OneWorldTree for Henry Line and Barbara Boyer -- Samuel, Mary, John and Christian -- but caution that these are not based on any primary records. Four separate unsourced IGI records also list these four children of Henry and Barbara Line and give their birth years as "about" 1761, 1763, 1765 and 1767.
  A post in Nov 2000 on the PENNA-DUTCH-L Archives by Wilbur Schmeltz reads: "Chris 1750-4/1795 s/o Henry Line and Barbara Boyer wed Anne Boyer d/o Samuel Boyer d1750 Conestoga and Barbara Hess. He was wed at St. Joseph Episcopal church 2/28/1770. His children are Peter, Henry, Samuel, Barbara, Nancy, Jacob, Christian, Mary and Elizabeth. Intestate papers Y-2-1795 in Lancaster co." The location of St. Joseph's is not specified, and I could not find one near Conestoga Township in Lancster County.
  An extensive Ahnentafel on RootsWeb WorldConnect shows that Elizabeth Groff, born Dec 1742 as the daughter of Michael Groff and Elizabeth Herr, married John Lyon, son of Henry Line and Barbara Boyer.
  The four children of Henry and Barbara (Boyer) Lein:
i     John Lein, son.
  John married Elizabeth Groff {born Dec 1742, dtr of Michael and Elizabeth (Herr) Groff}.
ii     Samuel Lein, son.
iii     Christian Lein, son.
  Christian was married 28 Feb 1770 to Anne Boyer.
  As quoted above, the children of Christian and Anne were Peter, Henry, Samuel, Barbara, Nancy, Jacob, Christian, Mary and Elizabeth according to intestate proceedings of 1795 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
iv     Mary Lein, dtr.
2     John Lein, son, born 1727 in Chester, Pennsylvania, and died before Apr 1787 in Heidelberg, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
  John was married in 1749 to Dorothea Weidler {born 1731 in Manheim, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, dtr of Hans Michael and Anna Elisabeth (Klein) Weidler, and died 14 Apr 1787 in Heidelberg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania}.
  The children and grandchildren of John and Dorothea have been taken from a single batch, #6020104, of submitted IGI records, without sources specified. There were 45 such records for Leins, out of a total of several hundred records in all.
  The six children of John and Dorothea (Weidler) Lein:
i     Dorothy Lein, dtr., born 3 Jun 1750 in Heidelberg, died 1831 in Green Twp., Franklin, Pennsylvania, and was buried in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.
  Dorothy married John Paul Immel {born 20 Sep 1745 in Heidelberg, son of Johannes and Anna Barbara (Bayer) Immel and died 8 May 1804 in Green, Franklin, Pennsylvania}.
  The only child of John Paul and Dorothy (Lein) Immel:
1     Martha Magdalena Immel, dtr., born 1771 in Chambersburg, Franklin, Pennsylvania, and died 22 Aug 1850 in Bucyrus, Crawford, Ohio.
  Martha Magdalena married George A. Hetich {born 26 Jul 1763 in Little York, Franklin, Pennsylvania, and died 10 Jul 1832 in Franklin, Pennsylvania}.
  Martha Magdalena's birth and marriage are taken from ancestry.com OneWorldTree, which also lists her children by George as Paul Immel, Rebecka, Martha Margaret, Rebecca H., George Augustus, John and Charles Hetich, born 1794 through 1810 in Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
ii     Anna Barbara Lein, dtr., born 10 Nov 1751, baptised 15 Nov 1751 in Heidelberg and died 16 Aug 1805 in Rapho, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
  Anna Barbara was married 1778 in Lancaster to George Gantz {born 27 Nov 1741 in Pferdsfeld, Rhineland-Pfalz, Germany, and died 6 Mar 1818 in Rapho}.
  George's information and the children in this family were taken from an Ancestral File of familysearch.com.
  The six children of George and Anna Barbara (Lein) Gantz:
1     Anna Catharine Gantz, dtr., born 31 May 1779 in Rapho.
  Anna Catharine was married 6 Jan 1807 in Lancaster, Lancaster, Pennsylvania to John Steinweg.
2     Maria Magdalena Gantz, dtr., born 30 Sep 1780 in Rapho and died 31 Jul 1854 in Elizabeth, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
  Maria Magdalena was married 30 Jul 1805 in Lancaster to George Plasterer {born 26 Nov 1778 in Rapho and died 30 Mar 1805 in Lancaster}.
  Maria Magdalena's marriage is taken from OneWorldTree, which lists their children as Magdalena, George S. and Barbara Plasterer, born 1806, 1807 and 1810 in Rapho Township.
3     Barbara Gantz, dtr., born 3 May 1782 in Rapho and died 14 Jun 1799 in Rapho.
4     George Gantz, son, born 1784 in Rapho and died 1812 in Rapho.
5     Frederick Gantz, son, born 17 May 1789 in Rapho and died 2 Jul 1874 in Rapho.
  Frederick was married 2 Mar 1815 in Lancaster to Susanna Hiller {born 11 Jan 1794 and died 8 May 1855}.
6     Peter Gantz, son, born 1793 in Rapho.
iii     John Lein, son, born 11 Dec 1753 in Heidelberg, baptised 15 Apr 1754 in Heidelberg, died 10 Jun 1812 in Heidelberg and was buried in Union Cemetery.
  John was married in Heidelberg to Anna Catherine Schultz {born 10 Dec 1759, died 12 Feb 1844 in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and was buried in Meyerstown}.
  John's death in Heidelberg is given as 10 Hyb 1812 in the WorldCOnnect file of Jan Robison, and as 10 Jun 1782 in an Ancestral File submitted by William E. Powell.
  The four children of John and Anna Catherine (Schultz) Lein:
1     John Lein, son, born 22 Nov 1777 in Heidelberg and died 3 Dec 1829 in Jackson, Lebanon, Pennsylvania.
  John was married 1 May 1803 in Jackson Twp., Dauphin, Pennsylvania to Mary Margaret Lechner.
2     Elizabeth Lein, dtr., born 24 May 1779 in Heidelberg, died 30 Apr 1870 in Heidelberg and was buried in Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania.
  Elizabeth married John Peter Sheetz {born 25 Feb 1781 and died 9 May 1841 in Heidelberg, Lebanon, Pennsylvania}.
3     Catharine Lein, dtr., born 29 Aug 1783 in Heidelberg, died 10 Aug 1843 in Heidelberg and was buried in Myerstown, Pennsylvania.
  Catharine was married 12 Dec 1802 in Jackson Twp. to John Spangler.
4     Magdalena Lein, dtr., born 9 Feb 1793 in Heidelberg, died 12 Mar 1840 in Heidelberg and was buried in Berks, Pennsylvania.
  Magdalena was married 4 Nov 1813 in Jackson Twp. to George Lechner.
iv     Catherine Lein, dtr., born 1756 in Heidelberg.
  Catherine was married 28 Jan 1782 in Stouchburg, Berks, Pennsylvania to John Shaeffer {born about 1752, died 15 Aug 1803 in Lebanon and was buried in Myerstown, Lebanon, Pennsylvania}.
  The four children of John and Catherine (Lein) Shaeffer:
1     Sarah Shaeffer, dtr., born 29 May 1786 in Tulpehocken, Berks, Pennsylvania, and died 4 Jul 1827 in Lebanon.
2     Hannah Shaeffer, dtr., born 3 Sep 1792 in Tulpehocken.
3     John Shaeffer, son, born 1794 in Tulpehocken.
4     Elizabeth Shaeffer, dtr., born about 1796 in Tulpehocken.
v     Peter Lein, son, born 1757 in Heidelberg and died 7 Oct 1815 in Heidelberg.
  Peter was married 28 Jul 1789 in Lancaster to Maria Catharine Seibert.
  Mariea Catharine's parents are given in one source as Nicolas and Catherine Seibert, and in another as John N and Ann C. (Anspach) Seibert. More research would be required to determine which, if either, of these records are correct.
  The five children of Peter and Maria Catharine (Seibert) Lein:
1     Maria Catharine Lein, dtr., born 4 Sep 1791 in Heidelberg and died 6 Jul 1832 in Jackson.
  Maria Catharine was married 9 Apr 1812 in Jackson Twp. to John Myers {born 6 Feb 1789 and died 9 Mar 1846}.
2     Elizabeth Lein, dtr., born 18 Mar 1794 in Heidelberg.
  Elizabeth was married 5 Jan 1810 in Jackson Twp. to Jacob Stauch {born 14 Jan 1788}.
3     Peter Lein, son, born 7 Mar 1796 in Heidelberg and died in 1815.
4     Susan Lein, dtr., born 19 Jun 1798 in Heidelberg.
  Susan married John Eichold {born 18 Sep 1830}.
5     Mary Lein, dtr., born 17 Dec 1800 in Heidelberg.
  Mary was married 10 Mar 1816 in Jackson to Jacob Kissinger.
vi     Michael Lein, son, born 28 Nov 1758 in Heidelberg.
3     Elizabeth Lein, dtr., born 1735 in Lancaster and died 14 Nov 1766.
4     Margaret Lein, dtr., born 11 Jun 1738 in Lancaster and died 30 Dec 1805 in Frederick, Maryland.
  There are many conflicting records for Margaret, including birth in Holland or Lancaster, Pennsylvania or Frederick, Maryland, marriage to a Jacob Benz, and death 30 Dec 1805 or 1788 in Frederick, Maryland or in Bedford, Pennsylvania. All of these are described as being for the daughter of John Lein and Barbara Bickel, so obviously most, if not all, of these records are wrong.
  The same batch of unsourced IGI records that place her birth 11 Jun 1738 in Frederick, Frederick, Maryland also includes a record for the birth of Elizabeth Lein, born 26 Jan, baptised 27 May 1786 in the Evangelical Church of that city. The parents were named as Heinrick and Margareth Lein.
5     Eva Lein, dtr., born 1 Mar 1740 and baptised 30 Mar 1740 in First Reformed, Lancaster, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
6     Catherine Lein, dtr., born in 1742.
vi     Johann Jacob Lein, son, baptised 2 Mar 1702 in Obergimpern, Baden, Germany, and died in 1762.
  Johann Jacob was married 1723 in Lancaster to Anna Schenck (1) {born 1702 in Germany, dtr of John and Mary (Meyer) Schenk and died in Lancaster}. He was married 21 Jun 1743 in Lancaster to Catharina Eib (2).
  Johann Jacob was baptised 2 Mar 1702 in the Obergimpern Evangelische Kirche:
 
image: Johan Jacob Lein baptised 1702 Obergimpern

Johan Jacob Lein baptised 1702 Obergimpern

  I cannot read the writing following his father's name, "Joh. Lein", but it most probably describes his occupation. Also, I cannot decypher his godparents' names except for the Joh. Jacob.
  I have not seen documentation that confirms Jacob as having married twice, but I follow the online sources in this regard at least for the purpose of indicating the possibility. His second marriage, as Jacob Lein, is from an unsourced IGI record. The six year gap between this second marriage and their first child Catharine raises an additional question. (The extracted IGI record of his daughter Catharine's baptism names only Jacob as a parent.)
  According to several online Schenk genealogies, Anna's grandfather was Hans Schenk, and her great grandparents were Michael Schenk and Anna Stauffer of Canton Bern, Switzerland. Other genealogies give Hans and Mary Meyer as her parents, and Michael and Anna her grandparents.
  OneWorldTree gives her birthplace as Hasselbach, [Baden-Württemberg], Germany, about 135 miles by road from Obergimpern, and that of Hans and Mary (Meyer) Schenk as Switzerland.
  The three children of Johann Jacob and Anna (Schenck) Lein:
1     Jacob Lein, son, born in 1730 and died 15 May 1762.
2     Johannes Christian Lein, son, born 3 Dec 1735 and baptised 17 May 1736 in Lancaster.
3     George Lein, son, born in 1738.
  The six children of Johann Jacob and Catharina (Eib) Lein:
1     Catharine Lein, dtr., baptised 1749 in First Reformed.
  Catharine's baptismal IGI record is described as an extracted record, but the absense of day and month is quite unusual.
2     Elizabeth Lein, dtr., baptised 5 May 1751 in First Reformed.
3     Jacob Lein, son, born in 1753.
  Jacob was married 26 Feb 1782 in Lancaster to Barbara Schaack.
  Jacob's birth year of about 1753 is from an unsourced IGI submitted record. Why he and his brother Jacob were not rcorded as baptised in the Lancaster Reformed church is unknown.
  There are IGI records for what appear to be two contemporary Jacob and Barbara Lien families in Lancaster County. One set of contriibuted records names five children of Jacob Lein and Barbara Schaack, which was probably supposed to have been Shenck. These were Johannes, baptised 4 Jul 1785, Anna Maria and Salome, both born 4 Jul 1787, Wilhelm, born 2 Jan 1792, and Suzanna, baptised 6 Apr 1802.
  The other family consists of the children of Jacob and Barbara Lein or Line, and these are records extracted from the First Reformed Church of Lancaster City: Salome, baptised 11 Oct 1787, Catharine, born 12 Dec 1795, baptised 20 Jun 1796, and Maria, baptised 6 Aug 1799. The first record spells the surname as Lein, the other two as Line.
  There are no conflicts in the dates that could prevent these from being all from the same couple if one accepts a baptism of Salome, e.g., three months after her birth and assumes that her twin did not survive. At this point, I have no opinion as to whether or not there were two Jacob and Barbara Leins in Lancaster County at the same time.
4     John Lein, son, born 15 Mar 1757 in Lancaster and died 15 Oct 1794.
  John's birth date is also from an unsourced, submitted IGI record.
5     Barbara Lein, dtr., born 17 Dec 1758 and baptised 11 Feb 1759 in First Reformed.
  Barbara's extracted birth record describes her as daughter of Jacob and Cath. Lein.
6     John Henry Lein, son, baptised 13 Sep 1761 in First Reformed.
  John's extracted birth record describes him as son of Jacob and Cath. Lein.
vii     Maria (Anna?) Dorothea Lein, dtr., baptised 10 Mar 1703 in Obergimpern, died 4 Jan 1739 and was buried in Upper Leacock, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
  Maria (Anna?) Dorothea was married in 1725 to Johannes Schwab/Swope {born 26 May 1704, son of Yost and Anna Katharine (Wolfhardt) Schwab, baptised 28 May 1704 in Germany, died 18 Dec 1780 in Lancaster and was buried in Old Hellers Cem.}.
  Every secondary source I have been able to find online, without exception, names this daughter as Anna Dorothea. In her father's will she is named simply as Dorothea. However, the Obergimpern, Baden, Kirchenbuch clearly shows that she was baptised as Maria Dorothea:
 
image: Maria Dorothea Lein baptised 10 Mar 1703 Obergimpern

Maria Dorothea Lein baptised 10 Mar 1703 Obergimpern

  The sequence of writing on that page of the Obergimpern Kirchenbuch is 1) a horizontal line across the middle of the page, 2) a baptism 13 January, 3) the year 1703, 4) another baptism, and 5) Maria Dorothea's baptism on 10 March. From this as well as other pages, it seems clear that the minister was using the Gregorian calendar, starting the first of January, which had finally been adopted by some Protestant states of Germany in 1700.
  Johannes' occupation after his name is identical to that for the previous birth in 1702 of his son Johan Jacob. The name of Dorothea's godmother looks like it is Maria Dorothea Ulrich, and there was indeed a daughter of that name baptised 15 Dec 1674 to Ernst Ulrich and Anna Barbara Essig in Treschklingen, Baden, a town less than three miles south of Obergimpern.
  Johannes' birth place is given variously in unsourced IGI records as Duhren and Leimen, Germany. Modern day Düren and Leimen are about 180 miles apart. A few records, but not all, give his name as "Johannes Jost", possibly trying to indicated that Jost was a nickname. Johannes, as opposed to Johann, is seldom used as a baptismal name when a second name is given.
  Three years after his wife's death, Johannes Schwab, as John Swope, married on 25 May 1742 as his second wife Catherine Elisabeth Graff/Grove/Greve. The marriage affidavit, as shown on [http://worldroots.com/brigitte/swope/swop3.htm, "Brigitte's Pages"], lists both "Johannes Leihn, the elder" and "Johannes Leihn" among the twenty witnesses to the ceremony.
  The nine children of Johannes and Maria (Anna?) Dorothea (Lein) Schwab/Swope:
1     Johannes Swope, son, born 27 Apr 1726 in Chester and died 14 Mar 1749 in Leacock Twp.
2     Georg Michael Swope, son, born 10 Dec 1727 in Chester and died 17 Mar 1758.
3     Elizabeth Swope, dtr., born 31 Jul 1729 in Lancaster and died 4 May 1762.
4     Anna Barbara Swope, dtr., born 12 May 1731 in Lancaster and died 22 Sep 1810.
5     Anna Maria Swope, dtr., born 3 Jan 1732/1733 in Lancaster.
6     Anna Catherine Swope, dtr., born 15 Mar 1734 in Lancaster.
  Anna Catherine married Ludwig Schott.
7     John Conrad Swope, son, born 24 May 1736 in Lancaster, baptised 29 May 1736 in New Holland Luth, and died 3 Aug 1799.
8     Anna Margareth Swope, dtr., born 27 Mar 1738 in Lancaster.
  Anna Margareth married George Diehl/Dial.
9     Anna Dorothea Swope, dtr., born 4 Jan 1739/1740 in Lancaster and died 10 May 1818 in Williamsburg, Dungas, Ontario.
  Anna Dorothea married Johann William Samuel Schwerdtfeger.
viii     Anna Margaretha Lein, dtr., baptised 24 Apr 1706 in Obergimpern and died before 1746 in Germany.
  Here is Anna Margaretha's baptismal record in the Evangelische Kirch in Obergimpern, Baden:
 
image: Anna Margaretha Lein, baptised 24 April 1706, Obergimpern

Anna Margaretha Lein, baptised 24 April 1706, Obergimpern

  I don't know what the German word is before "Elisab." On all of the other enties on that page, the word is abbreviated to "f:". It clearly isn't "frau", but probably some other word meaning wife or spouse. Also, I can't decipher the surname of Anna's godmother, nor what is probably her godfather below that.
ix     Eva Lein, dtr., baptised 23 Sep 1712 in Obergimpern and died 1747 in Lancaster.
  Eva was married 1 Mar 1739/1740 in Heller's Church, Lancaster, Pennsylvania to Veltin "Valentine" Herchelrodt {born 1708 in Germany and died Jul 1756 in Tulpehocken, Lancaster, now Myerstown, Lebanon County}.
  Eva's baptismal record is somewhat anomalous in that the minister omitted writing her name.
 
image: Eva Lein baptised 23 Sep 1712 Obergimpern

Eva Lein baptised 23 Sep 1712 Obergimpern

  The word written above the date "23rd 7ber" is clearly not Eva, but I don't know what it is. As is true for all of her siblings, I'm unable to read the names of her godparents.
  Eva's husband was named as Veltin Herchelrod in her father's will of 1746, where he was also named as one of the executors. In the German IGI the surname is spelled both as Herchelrodt and Herchelroth.
  Veltin's birthplace is given variously as Heuchelheim, a municipality in the district of Gießen, Hessen, or as Frankenthal in Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz) [IGI]. Heuchelheim is about 144 km due north of Frankenthal, with Frankfort am Main about halfway between.
  From "Genealogies of Pennsylvania Families from the Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine". Volume I, by Arnold-Hertzel, on ancestry.com:
  "Valentine Herchelroth bought land 1738 from Caspar Wistar in Tulpehocken, and bought more land in Lancaster borough in 1751. In 1755 he took out a mortgage on land in Tulpehocken Creek, but in 1756 Valentine was listed as late of Lancaster on a sheriff's sale of land."
  The Tulpehocken Settlement Historical Society web page reports that "Christ Lutheran Church, Stouchsburg, records state that Velty Herchelroth, widower, and Barbara Unruh, widow of the late Georg Unruh were married 31 May 1748 - "at home among guests."
  Stouchsburg is one of the small towns in the Tulpehocken Valley now in Berks County (which was erected in part from Lancaster County in 1752].
  A somewhat mysterious No records of any children by Eva have been found.
Johann Michael Lein & Margaret ____

Henrich1, Henrich2, Johannes3, Johann Michael4

Johann Michael was baptised 7 May 1692 in ?, Baden, Germany.

Johann Michael and Margaret's marital data are not known.

Margaret's birth date and place are unknown.

There are two submitted (and unsourced) records for Johann MIchael. One says he was born 7 May 1692 in Hilsbach, Baden, and the other that he was born and baptised 7 May 1692 in Kirchardt. These two towns are about five miles apart, east and west of Reihen. If the first record is actually a baptism (which seems likely), one explanation of two different baptisms might be because the Kirchardt Kirche was Reformed, while the Hilsbach Kirche was Lutheran. So if Johannes and Elisabetha belonged to separate churches, they might well have had a baptism performed in each.
I haven't yet examined a film of the Hilsbach Kirche, but the Kirchenbuch of the Evangelische Kirche of Kirchardt has a record of Johann Michael's baptism:
image: Johan Michael Lein baptised 1692

Johan Michael Lein baptised 1692

On the left one can easily read "Anno 1692" and below that "7th Maji" on two lines. Then, the top line reads "Jh Michael Lein", many words that I cannot read, ending in "Johannes Lein". The second line starts out with "Elisabetha" (his mother) followed by probably the godparents present at his baptism. If anyone interested in this lineage can read this baptismal record in full, I would certainly appreciate hearing from you.
Johann Michael, the eldest son of Johannes and Elizabetha Lein, left remarkably little in the way of records in this country. He is named as Michel in the 1746 will of his father, which states that he and his brothers had already each received 300 acres from him. In between, he was listed in the 1724/25 Conestoga list of residents (as Michael Loyne from an unedited machine translation), but we don't know where he lived as I've found no record of land warrants or patents for him. Presumably he lived on some part of Johannes' 900 acres warranted 1718, but I've found no evidence for this. Michael was not listed in the 1725/26 tax list (which did list Jacob Lyne and three John Lyne assessments), and I've found no later record of him anywhere.
There are IGI and online database records claiming that Johann Michael died 29 Jun 1743. I believe that these are mistakes, since the obituary in the Johannes Lein Bible is for a wife (unnamed) who died on that date. Such a coincidence would be too unlikely to accept in the absence of any documentation for his death.
As mentioned above, the flyleaf of Johannes Lein's Bible has an inscription consisting of four birth records. The handwriting, color of the ink and general impression indicate that the four entries were all made at the same time.
image: Birth Records 1715, 1720, 1722 and 1724

Birth Records 1715, 1720, 1722 and 1724

A transcription and translation of these records reads:

                Anno 1715 
     
    Ist mir Johanes Lein ein Töchterlein gebohren im Abrill 
    und ist ihm seine Nahmen gegeben worden Maria 
     
    A little daughter was born to me, Johanes Lein, in April 
    and she has been given the name Maria 
     
                Anno 1720 
     
    Ist mir abermahlen ein sohnlein gebohren und ist 
    ihm seinen Nahmen gegeben worden Henrich in Augstmohnet 
     
    A little son was born to me again and he has been given 
    the name Henrich in August 
     
                Anno 1722 
     
    Ist mir abermahl ein sohnlein gebohren und ist ihm 
    seinen Nahmen gegeben worden Johanes im September 
     
    A little son was born to me again and he has been given 
    the name Johanes in September 
     
                1724 
     
    Ist mir Johannes Lein mein zweites tochterlein gebohren 
    im September und ist ihm seinen Nahmen gegeben worden Barbara 
     
    My second little daughter was born to me, Johannes Lein, 
    in September and she has been given the name Barbara 

Note that the first and last records identify the writer as Johannes Lein, but just who was he? The second son in the family was baptised 1700 as Johann Lein, and known in this country as John. But his birth in 1700 is incompatible with the birth of the first child in 1715. So the only logical explanation is that these are the children of the eldest son of Johannes, Johann Michael, but why he would style himself as Johannes is difficult to understand. I'm accepting this interpretation for now, but will revisit the question after I've checked the Kirchardt Kirchenbuch to be sure the reported (but not sourced) date of 16 Jun 1700 is correct for Johann.
The four children of Johann Michael and Margaret (____) Lein were Mary, Henrich, Johanes "John" and Barbara.
i     Mary Lein, dtr., born Apr 1715.
ii     Henrich Lein, son, born Aug 1720.
iii     Johanes "John" Lein, son, born Sep 1722.   
iv     Barbara Lein, dtr., born Sep 1724.
Johanes "John" Lein

Henrich1, Henrich2, Johannes3, Johann Michael4, Johanes "John"5

Johanes "John" was born Sep 1722.

Johanes "John"'s marital data are not known.

The name of Johanes "John"'s wife is unknown.

In Will Abstracts 1729-1819 of Lancaster County, we find:

    LINE, JOHN   Conestoga Twp. 
    September 24, 1798    November 25, 1805 
    Children: Henry, John, Jacob, Mary wife of Jacob Warner, Ann wife of Jacob Shallenberger 
    Christian, Abraham, Barbara wife of Michael Shinck and Elizabeth wife of George Markley. 
    Ex.: Christian and Abraham Huber. 

The birth years assigned below to these children are simply my guesses based on the typical spacing of children, and only listed to provide very approximate guides as to when they lived. The dates were, in fact, based essentially on the known birth date of George Markley, working backward. Please note that the order of births I've adopted here simply follows that of John's will which, since it intermixes sons and daughters, probably lists them in order of decreasing age. And we are very fortunate in that John named all of his sons-in-law, which firms up the lineage very nicely.
The nine children of Johanes "John" Lein were Henry, John, Jacob, Mary, Ann, Christian, Abraham, Barbara and Elizabeth.
i     Henry Lein, son, born about 1750.
  Henry was married 18 Nov 1788 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania to Margaret McCumson?.
  The marriage of Henry and Margaret is reported on a PALANCAS-L Archive citing "Lancaster County, PA Church Records of the 18th Century", Vol. 2, p. 184, edited by F. Edward Wright. That volume is apparently the same as "Church records of the First Reformed Congregation at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 1736-1806", copied by William J. Hinke.
  The surname McCumson is probably incorrect, as there seem to be no records, e.g., in the Family History Catalog, GenForum, or other online genealogical databases for that surname.
  As mentioned elsewhere, there is an unsourced IGI record naming Heinrick and Margareth Lein as the parents of Elizabeth, born 25 Jan, baptised 27 May 1786 in the Evangelical Church, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland. The relationship between these two Maryland births, if correctly attributed, is shown in the following abbreviated descent chart:
 

    0 Lein, Johannes               1665 
      m     1690 Elisabetha Rudi 
       1 Lein, Johann Michael          1692 
         m    Margaret ____ 
          2 Lein, Johanes "John"         1722 
            m ____ ____ 
             3 Lein, Henry                    1750 
               m  1788 Margaret McCumson? 
                4 Elizabeth in MD?               1786 
       1 Lein, Johann "John"          1700 
         m    Barbara Bickel 
          2 Lein, Margaret in MD?         1738 

  Another batch of IGI records, these extracted, gives Elisabeth's dates as 1787, instead of 1786, and names the church as the Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of Middletown, Frederick, Maryland. (Middletown and Frederick are about 8 miles apart, and about 120 miles southwest of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.) That same batch includes also a record of the birth and baptism, 11 Jun and 7 Oct 1787, in that church for Jacob, son of Johannes and Magdalena Lein. This latter couple does not (as yet?) fit anywhere into the Lein lineage presented here.
ii     John Lein, son, born about 1752.
  John was married about 1775 in Martic Twp., Lancaster, Pennsylvania to Margaret Stauffer {born 1755 in Martic Twp., dtr of Johannes and Margaret (Good) Stauffer}.
  Margaret was named in the wills of both her father and mother. The will (27 Nov 1798-27 Dec 1798) of John Stauffer of Martic Township named his wife Margaret, and his children as John, David, Peter, Margaret, Anna and Magdalena. His wife and son John were named as executors.
  Less than a year later, Margaret Stauffer's will (29 Aug 1799-5 Nov 1799) named her children as Peter, Margaret, Anna, Magdalena, John and David. Her son John was also her executor, along with John Lyne, her son-in-law.
  Margaret was one of seven children of Johannes and Margaret Stauffer. A GenealogyForum.com GEDCOM file gives seven generations of her Stauffer ancestry, back to Hans Staufer born 1500 in Switzerland.
iii     Jacob Lein, son, born about 1754.
iv     Mary Lein, dtr., born about 1756.
  Mary married Jacob Warner.
v     Ann Lein, dtr., born about 1758.
  Ann was married 12 Jan 1790 in Hempfield Twp., Lancaster, Pennsylvania to Jacob Shallenberger {born 1 Apr 1735, son of Ulrich and Katrina D. (Strikler) Shallenberger and died 27 Oct 1812}.
  Ann was Jacob's second wife, and twenty-some years younger than him. His first wife was Magdalena Lehman whom he married in West Hempfield, Lancaster County in 1758, and she died 7 Apr 1789. Note that Jacob's grandmother was Anna Magdalena Rudi, sister of Ann's great-grandmother Elisabetha Rudi, making this couple second cousins once removed.
 
image: Ann and Jacob cousin-hood

Ann and Jacob cousin-hood

  A Jacob Shallenberger, either Ann's husband or her step-son, served in the Lancaster County Militia, 4th Bat., 4th Co in 1782. Jacob, Sr.'s will (11 Sep 1805 - 5 Nov 1812) named nine of his 15 children, so five of his predeceased him. He and Ann did not have any children.
vi     Christian Lein, son, born about 1760.
  Christian married an unknown person.
  There were two Christian Leins living in Lancaster County at the same time. Each of the two Christians had their own wills written and proved, so that there were two, indeed. However, the Christian Line of Martic (will 9 Nov 1790, 18 Apr 1795) had a son Samuel and named an executor Jacob Brubacher, while a Samuel Line of Martic (1811-1814) named his brothers as John and Christian and also named that same Jacob Brubacher as executor. Thus the Christian of Martic had a brother named Samuel, which excludes him as a son of John Lein. Indeed, I've found no instance of any descendant of Johannes named Samuel.
  The Christian Lein of Conestoga wrote his will 14 Aug 1822 and it was proved 7 Mar 1823, executors were son Christian and son-in-law Daniel Hess, both of Conestoga, witnesses were Henry Christ, John Good and John Lein. No wife was mentioned, and children (and sons-in-law) named in the will were Christian, Barbara, Nancy who married Daniel Hess, Feronica who married Melchior Brenneman, Magdalena who married David Hess, Mary and Esther. The abstract as given by Frank W. Hess is on the PALANCAS-L archives of RootsWeb.
  In 1810 his census in Conestoga read 40011-11301, followed 25 lines later by the census of his brother Abraham.
  The seven children of Christian Lein:
1     Christian Lein, son.
2     Barbara Lein, dtr.
3     Ann "Nancy" Lein, dtr.
  Ann "Nancy" was married 7 Nov 1833 to Daniel Hess {born 13 Jan 1784, son of Christian and Anna (Metzler) Hess, died 29 Jul 1840 in Conestoga Twp., Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and was buried in Pequea BIC Cem.}.
  Ann was called Nancy in her father's will. The children were listed on RoosWeb by Frank W. Hess, but that file as been removed.
  The three children of Daniel and Ann "Nancy" (Lein) Hess:
i     Nancy Hess, dtr.
ii     Moses Hess, son, born 1 Feb 1808.
iii     Fronica "Fanny" Hess, dtr.
4     Feronica Lein, dtr.
  Feronica married Melchior Brenneman.
  Feronica's family is given here as reported on RootsWeb by Wayne Lucore, but again I cannot now find that file online.
  The two children of Melchior and Feronica (Lein) Brenneman:
i     Peter L. Brenneman, son, born 10 Nov 1822 in Lancaster.
ii     Fannie L. Brenneman, dtr., born 29 Jan 1827 in Lancaster.
  Fannie L. married Christian E. Nissley {born in 1823}.
  In 1880 Fannie and Christian Nissley, ages 54 and 60, were censused in Salunga, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Also in their home were Ellen and Emma Nissley, both age 14.
  Their children, as listed in a FHL AF, were Henry, Samuel, Johas, Anna, Catharine, David, Ellen and Emma, all with the middle initial "B", born from 1846 through 1865.
5     Magdalena Lein, dtr.
  Magdalena married David Hess {born 28 Dec 1786, son of Christian and Anna (Metzler) Hess}.
6     Mary Lein, dtr.
7     Esther Lein, dtr.
vii     Abraham Lein, son, born about 1762.
  Abraham was married 11 Feb 1783 to Elizabeth Veit.
  This marriage record comes from "Pennsylvania Church Records - Adams, Berks, and Lancaster Counties, 1729-1881" of Ancestry.com. The marriage took place in the First Reformed Congregation at Lancaster between Abraham of Conestoga and Elizabeth of Martick.
  Abraham Lein was censused in Conestoga in 1800 with he and his wife born 1755-1774, a son and a daughter born 1784-1790, and a son born 1790-1800. These ages are compatible with a marriage in 1783, and a first guess concerning the childrens' birth years would be 1784, '86 and '90.
  By 1810 his census in Conestoga read 01101-10001
  On 4 Dec 1784 Abraham Line of Martic Twp. was named as one of the executors of the will of George Feit.
viii     Barbara Lein, dtr., born about 1764.
  Barbara married Michael Schenck.
ix     Elizabeth Lein, dtr., born in 1766.   
Elizabeth Lein & George Markley

Henrich1, Henrich2, Johannes3, Johann Michael4, Johanes "John"5, Elizabeth6

Elizabeth was born about 1766.

Elizabeth and George married 12 Apr 1791 in Lancaster, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

George was born 4 Jun 1764 in Strasburg, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the son of Hanß Geörg and Regina Dora Barbara (Frölich) Märckly/Markley, and died 23 Nov 1828 in Strasburg.

The four children of George and Elizabeth (Lein) Markley were George M., a daughter, a daughter and Mary. 







Please see the eighth generation of my Markley Chapter for the story of George and Elizabeth and their descendants.   












 

MARKLEY, GEORGE M.   born 1794 Pennsylvania, died 1848 Ohio




 

m  SARAH ____     born 1799 Pennsylvania






 

MARKLEY, AARON   born 1828 Pennsylvania, died 1915 Kansas




 

m  MARY ALICE MITCHELL     born 1832 Pennsylvania, died 1910 Kansas






 

MARKLEY, MARGUERITE "MAGGIE"   born 1875 Indiana, died 1949 Kansas




 

m  JAMES ALBERT SWAN     born 1874 Wisconsin, died 1937 Kansas






 

SWAN, PAUL REESE   born 1903 Kansas, died 1953 Kansas




 

m  MILDRED LOUISE HARTZELL     born 1903 Oklahoma Terr., died 1989 Kansas






 

SWAN, PAUL REESE   born 1929 Kansas




 

m  MILDRED LOUISE HAMILTON     born 1930 Pennsylvania, died 1998 California