OR....
WILL THE REAL JOHN LESHER/LOESCHER
PLEASE STAND UP
JOHANNES (JOHN) LÖESCHER
Born: abt 1740 Died: October 11, 1811 in Tulpehocken, Berks Co., PA
There are many spellings for this surname. Early church records have spelling as LESCHER, LÄSCHER, LÖSHER, LÖESCHER and LESHER. Later records such as obituaries and tombstone inscriptions in Venango County show the spelling of LUSHER.
Johannes Lesher/Lescher and Anna Catharina Wohlfahrt were married by the Rev. John Casper Stoever on May 20, 1760 in the Atolhoe (Altalaha) Evangelical Lutheran Church in Rehrersburg, PA. Johannes (John) Lesher served in the Revolutionary War as a Major (or at least that is what DAR records show). There's a John Lesher in the Company of John Patton, "The First Heidelberg Brigade", Sixth Battalion First Company1. Based on the fact this particular company is from Heidelberg rather than Oley, we believe this is the one that our John Lesher was in.
John Lesher was born in about 1740 to his parents. But, just who are his parents? His parents are not Nicholas and Maria Lesher; Nicholas and Maria are the parents of the 'other' Johannes (John) Lesher or Colonel John as I like to call him.
Over the years there have been several writings about the family of Johannes (John) Lesher (husband of Anna Wohlfahrt), of Berks County, Pennsylvania and his supposed ancestry. Mrs. Harold Linn and John A.M. Ziegler both wrote in their family histories about Colonel John Lesher of Oley Valley. The information pointed toward the fact that John of Oley Valley was the ancestor of Lesher/Ziegler descendents. This same information was eluded to by Mrs. Linn, in her history about Daniel Smith, that Lesher/Smith descendents were also related to John Lesher of Oley Valley or Colonel John Lesher. It is unknown where they each got their information, but both have recorded the same information.
Through research I believe, my ancestor, John Lesher who married Anna Catharina Wohlfahrt was the father of: Anna Margaretha Lesher; b: 09 June 1759, Johannes Lesher, Jr., b: 22 June 1760; Maria Catharina Lesher, b: 24 October 1762; Eliesabetha Lesher, b: 01 August 1765; Johann Philipp Lesher, 07 July 1771; John George Lesher, b: 25 February 1774; Christian Lesher, b: 07 November 1776; Margreth Elizabeth Lesher, b: 09 January 1780; David Lesher b: 28 December 1782; Jacob Lesher, b: 01 May 1786 and Benjamin Lesher, b: 23 February 1788. This John Lesher is not the same Colonel John Lesher. Confused yet?
Colonel Johannes (John) Lesher was not the father of these children listed above. Col. John Lesher and his wife, Maria Yoder were the parents of John, Jacob, Barbara, Hannah, Maria, Catharine and Elizabeth. "Col." John Lesher was a 'Colonel' in the Revolutionary War. Col. John married Marie Margaret Hess after the death of his first wife, Maria. Col. John was a large land owner in the Oley Valley and owned an ironworks business there. Upon his death, Jacob was his father's principal heir and inherited the land and ironworks. John Lesher's home is still standing today in Oley Valley in Berks County.
In the DAR Patriot Index, the Centennial Edition, both John Lesher's are listed. Both are listed with their correct dates of birth and correct spouse's. Both John Lesher's have documented marriages to their correct spouses and documented baptisms and christening records for their children in area churches near where they lived.
John Lesher (Cap't/Major) lived quietly in Tulpehocken, Berks County and never lived in Oley Valley. He was never a Colonel in the Revolutionary War, but a Major. His father was not Nicholas (Johannes Nicholas) Lesher and his mother was not Maria Johanna Yoder. Or is his father Nicholas and his mother Maria? And is Col. John his brother?
Are you researching John Lesher? Have you another point of view? We would love to hear from you. We need to confirm who John Lesher is. Who are his parents? Is he related to Nicholas and Mary Yoder Lesher after all?
MORE TO COME ON THIS CONTINUING SAGA.
Footnotes: 1 Taken from History of Berks County, Pennsylvania in the Revolution. By Morton L. Montgomery.