Introduction
My fifth great-grandparents Johann Michael and Anna Margaretha Gräter Lieb represent the earliest documented ancestors of my great-grandmother, Catherine Ellen Lieb McWilliams. The Liebs emigrated from present-day Germany to America. Written records of the Gräter family and Anna Margaretha's second husband, Johann Mathias Staudt's family, date back into the 1600s in church books in the Sulzdorf, Württemberg and Wolfersweiler, Saarland states in the Holy Roman Empire. The Lieb's arrived in Philadelphia on Saturday, August 11, 1750. The rest is history!
The Staudt Property was Adjacent to this Farm
The Staudt Property was Adjacent to this Farm
MORE ABOUT MATHIAS
A few details about Mathias’ mill
business and his gradual accumulation of wealth were gleaned from Bern and
Heidelberg Township tax records dating from the second half of the eighteenth
century. Different portions of his land and property were taxed at various
times depending upon the amount of money the King, province, state or county demanded
to finance specific projects.
His name first appeared in the 1758
Berks County Provincial list of taxpayers in Bern Township, followed by more
than twenty-five other tax records over his lifetime. Provincial taxes were
laid on the heads of households to fund the Penn family’s management of the
province, to provide a “sinking fund” for the use of King George II of England,
and “for defraying the charge of killing and destroying wolves, foxes and crows
with such other uses as may redound to the Public Benefit and services of the
said County.” The third tax supplied funds to pay bounties to citizens who
provided proof that they killed canine animals which were a threat to livestock
or crows which damaged farm crops.
Mathias Staut 1768 Tax Bern Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania
A few details about Mathias’ mill
business and his gradual accumulation of wealth were gleaned from Bern and
Heidelberg Township tax records dating from the second half of the eighteenth
century. Different portions of his land and property were taxed at various
times depending upon the amount of money the King, province, state or county demanded
to finance specific projects.
His name first appeared in the 1758
Berks County Provincial list of taxpayers in Bern Township, followed by more
than twenty-five other tax records over his lifetime. Provincial taxes were
laid on the heads of households to fund the Penn family’s management of the
province, to provide a “sinking fund” for the use of King George II of England,
and “for defraying the charge of killing and destroying wolves, foxes and crows
with such other uses as may redound to the Public Benefit and services of the
said County.” The third tax supplied funds to pay bounties to citizens who
provided proof that they killed canine animals which were a threat to livestock
or crows which damaged farm crops.
 |
| Mathias Staut 1768 Tax Bern Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania |
Surviving tax documents listed Mathias’
real estate, mills, livestock and other property which was assessed at various
rates by different authorities according to their needs. Mathias was charged 8
shillings as a farmer owning 2 horses, 2 cattle and 100 acres of land on the
Proprietary Tax Return in Bern Township in 1767. Another tax list the following
year uncovered more details about his farm. He was levied £5 on 50 acres of
woodland, 10 acres of cleared land, 4 acres of “sowed” [land under
cultivation], 2 horses and 2 cattle. (See 1768 tax roll above)
Mathew Stoudt 1779 Bern Township, Berks County, Supply Tax List
The 1779 Pennsylvania Board of Comptrollers Supply Tax levied in Berks County revealed that Mathias had prospered and expanded his mill business. He was assessed on two different kinds of mills; a gristmill and hemp mill. This was the first year that mills were included in the tax assessment figures. Mathias acquired Michael Lieb’s gristmill upon his marriage to Anna Margaretha, but he must have erected the hemp mill sometime between 1755 and 1779. Hemp was a major cash crop in colonial Pennsylvania. The gristmill was used to grind grain into meal or flour, while the hemp mill broke down hemp stalks as part of the process to prepare the hemp fiber for use in ropes, ship sails, grain bags, rugs, and hemp linen for clothing. The supply tax was indicative of the change in American government. Unlike the previous taxes which funded the British king’s interests, this tax was levied to help pay debts Pennsylvania incurred during the Revolutionary War. The price was heavy; Mathias was charged £41 pounds on his £811 valuation.
Hemp Millstone
Pennsylvania
hemp mills made use of large conical shaped millstones that rolled over top of
the hemp fiber as part of the process of preparing the fiber for use in
homespun fabrics.
Mathew Stoud 1783 Bern Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania
The 1783 Berks County Tax and Exoneration list disclosed a few more pieces of information about the Staudt’s family and property. The valuation included nearly the same items as listed in previous years, but this document stated that Mathias had a house and barn on his land and there were three persons in his household. He was charged 6 pounds, 2 shillings, 11 pence.
.jpg)
Mathias Stoudt 1786 Bern Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, in German
Several tax lists were recorded in German, rather than English. This was a direct reflection on the population in Bern Township, which was home to a large number of immigrants from the Palatine region of Germany. The Germans banded together in their community and maintained their cherished language and customs. This 1786 tax roll was recorded in both languages in different copies of Berks County tax books.
Mathew Stoudt 1788 Bern Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania
Three years later, a sawmill was added to Mathias’ county property assessment. In 1788, he was charged 1 pound, 12 shillings, 4 pence on 30 acres of land, 1 Gristmill, 1 Sawmill, 1 Hempmill, 2 Horses and 2 Cows. His sawmill was likely a wise investment as the county population grew and settlers began to replace log cabins with wood frame houses and barns. Through the years, his property was consistently valued at a level slightly below the wealthiest inhabitants of Bern Township. Even though he did not own a large amount of real estate, his mills obviously provided a comfortable income for his family.
John, Mathias Jr. & Abraham Staudt
1798 US Direct Tax List, Bern Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania
The first direct tax levied by the United States government was initiated in 1798 and it recorded another bit of information about Mathias and Anna Margaretha’s property. The direct tax was created to fund expansion of the US Military in preparation for a possible war with France. Each of the country’s sixteen states was entrusted with assessing houses valued at more than $100, assigning a tax rate and collecting the taxes owed. Since many of the homes had expensive glass windows, the direct tax is sometimes called the “glass” or “window” tax. Even though both Mathias and Anna Margaretha had passed away by this time, their sons John and Mathias Jr. inhabited the homes they inherited from their parents. The value of their dwellings provided another bit of insight into the Staudt’s economic situation. John lived in his parent’s home which was valued at $600 and Mathias Jr. lived in a dwelling on a second Staudt property valued at $250. They paid $1.80 and $.50 in taxes, respectively. Abraham Staudt, listed below their names, was the third Staudt brother. He owned land and a house valued at $200, near his sibling’s property. This document was also the first Staudt tax record to use dollars and cents, rather than pounds, shillings and pence, to express the value of property and the amount of tax collected.
1761 Naturalization Record for Mathias Staudt
Mathias took advantage of the opportunity to become a
naturalized British citizen in 1761. The British government passed an act in
1740 which allowed any foreigner who had lived in a British territory for seven
years to obtain the same rights as natural born Englishmen. The procedure to
receive the new status was simply to appear before a chief judge of the colony,
take an oath of allegiance (or an affirmation, for those professing the Quaker
other dissenting faiths) to the British Crown, and take the Lord’s Supper
(Communion) within three months of their court appearance. Naturalization granted
all the full legal rights and privileges of a native-born citizen to a
non-native foreigner.
.jpg)
Excerpt from History of Berks County by Morton Montgomery
Mathias was baptized in the Reformed Church in Wolfersweiler
and was an active member of the Reformed congregation in Bern Church. He was mentioned
as a trustee of Bern Church in 1762 in Montgomery’s History of Berks County.
He served as a trustee with my 5th great-grandfather, Jost [Yost]
Hiester, when additional acreage was added to the church property and
construction of the second church building was authorized. The Staudt children
were probably baptized in Bern Church, but written records from the era of
their births were not kept or have not survived. It was recorded that there was a great shortage of Reformed ministers in Pennsylvania in the 1700s.
.jpg)
Berks List of the Petit Jury of a Court of Oyer and Terminer
Held May 13, 1776
Mathias’
name was found in a list of petit trial jurors for a session of a Court of Oyer
and Terminer, a court of criminal jurisdiction, in Pennsylvania. Twelve men
were chosen by lot for each case from the current jury list at the beginning of
each court session. The petit jury returned a verdict in criminal cases. This
was evidence that Mathias may have served on a jury just two months before the
official creation of the United States of America.
Mathw Staudt in the 1790 US Federal Census
Bern Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania
The
Staudt family was enumerated in the first United States Federal Population
Census taken in 1790. Mathias and three other “free white males sixteen years
and upward” were marked in the left column and Anna Margaretha and two other
“free white females” were counted in the right column. Mathias and Anna
Margaretha’s three sons were 32, 33 and 34 years old and the two daughters were
18 and 28, but no names except the head of household were collected by the
census taker. All the Staudt children may have still lived at home, but it was
more likely that only some of them and their spouses may have lived with
Mathias. John may have lived in the home because he inherited his parent’s
dwelling in 1795.
Mathias was also enumerated in Bern Township,
Berks County, in the first three Pennsylvania Septennial Censuses taken in
1779, 1786 and 1793. These censuses were repeated every seven years for tax
purposes and to determine representation in state government. However, they
only proved residence of the head of household and provided no other information
about any members of the family.
THE STAUDT LEGACY
Mathias Staudt Headstone in Bern Churchyard
Mathias
passed away at age 69 on 22 May 1795 in Bern Township. Anna Margaretha died two
years later, at age 68, on 27 May 1797. They were buried side by side in row
“Q” in plots 15 and 16 in Bern Churchyard near Leesport in Berks County. The
inscriptions on their original headstones have faded, but the words were
preserved in Bern’s Forebears, A Guide to Its Graveyard. A
new monument for the couple was placed in front of Mathias’ weathered marker.
Anna Margaretha “Chräder” Staudt Headstone in Bern Churchyard
The
entries for Anna Margaretha and Mathias in Bern’s Forebears contain the
German epitaphs on the original tombstones and their English translations. Genealogist,
James M. Beidler provided his theory on how the “Chr(a)der” [Chräder] variation
from Anna Margaretha’s maiden name “Gräter” may have occurred. The initial “Ch”
in German was often pronounced like an English “K,” which, in turn, might have
been mistaken for a hard “G” sound. The “d” and “t” consonant sounds could have
been likewise confused. Finally, the letter “n” was added to German surnames to
indicate the feminine form. Therefore, “Chrädern” was a reasonable variant of
“Gräter.”
Mathias wrote his last will and testament on 7 April 1795 and
it was proven in the Register’s Office in Reading on 22 July of the same year.
His will provided for Anna Margaretha and specified how his estate should be
divided among his children. Sons, Abraham and Mathias Jr., were named as his
executors.
Anna Margaretha and Mathias’ sons continued
the mill and farming businesses and were successful, respected members of Bern
(later Penn) and North Heidelberg Townships. Their descendants remained in
Berks County where they were especially prominent in the Bern Reformed and St.
John’s Hain’s Reformed Church communities.
Mathias and Anna Margaretha’s
oldest son, John, inherited the original Lieb mill property. The subsequent
chain of ownership can be traced to the 1975 sale to the US Government by power
of imminent domain for the Blue Marsh National Recreation Area lake and flood
control project. A small portion of the property on the banks of Tulpehocken
Creek was also sold to the Union Canal Company of Pennsylvania in 1830.
Mathias and Anna Margaretha’s youngest son, Johann
Mathias, inherited the other 135 acres of land owned by his father. Mathias
died at age thirty and his oldest brother, John, became the owner of all the
land Mathias and Anna Margaretha owned. Their middle son, Abraham, purchased the
land on which the "Upper Staudt Mill" would eventually be built.
More recent generations of the Staudt family lived
across Tulpehocken Creek in Lower Heidelberg Township near the village of
Brownsville. Samuel Staudt and his son Henry Leiss Staudt each owned farms in
the area. Mathias and Anna Margaretha’s
fourth great-grandson, Kermit Staudt, was the last of three generations to own
Henry’s property until the mid-1970s.
Most of the Staudt properties were purchased by the
US Government to become part of the Blue Marsh Recreational Area. Henry’s
former property in Lower Heidelberg was spared the bulldozer, however, and is
now preserved by an historical non-profit organization and is part of living
history site known as Old Dry Road Farm. The Staudt farmhouse, barn,
outbuildings and a 1776 spring house remain on the farm. Other structures from
the Essig and Dundore farms are also preserved on the site.
Painting of Old Dry Road Farm
The Staudt Farm is at the Upper Right of the Painting.
Surviving tax documents listed Mathias’
real estate, mills, livestock and other property which was assessed at various
rates by different authorities according to their needs. Mathias was charged 8
shillings as a farmer owning 2 horses, 2 cattle and 100 acres of land on the
Proprietary Tax Return in Bern Township in 1767. Another tax list the following
year uncovered more details about his farm. He was levied £5 on 50 acres of
woodland, 10 acres of cleared land, 4 acres of “sowed” [land under
cultivation], 2 horses and 2 cattle. (See 1768 tax roll above)
 |
Mathew Stoudt 1779 Bern Township, Berks County, Supply Tax List |
The 1779 Pennsylvania Board of Comptrollers Supply Tax levied in Berks County revealed that Mathias had prospered and expanded his mill business. He was assessed on two different kinds of mills; a gristmill and hemp mill. This was the first year that mills were included in the tax assessment figures. Mathias acquired Michael Lieb’s gristmill upon his marriage to Anna Margaretha, but he must have erected the hemp mill sometime between 1755 and 1779. Hemp was a major cash crop in colonial Pennsylvania. The gristmill was used to grind grain into meal or flour, while the hemp mill broke down hemp stalks as part of the process to prepare the hemp fiber for use in ropes, ship sails, grain bags, rugs, and hemp linen for clothing. The supply tax was indicative of the change in American government. Unlike the previous taxes which funded the British king’s interests, this tax was levied to help pay debts Pennsylvania incurred during the Revolutionary War. The price was heavy; Mathias was charged £41 pounds on his £811 valuation.
|
| Hemp Millstone |
Pennsylvania hemp mills made use of large conical shaped millstones that rolled over top of the hemp fiber as part of the process of preparing the fiber for use in homespun fabrics. |
 |
Mathew Stoud 1783 Bern Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania |
The 1783 Berks County Tax and Exoneration list disclosed a few more pieces of information about the Staudt’s family and property. The valuation included nearly the same items as listed in previous years, but this document stated that Mathias had a house and barn on his land and there were three persons in his household. He was charged 6 pounds, 2 shillings, 11 pence.
.jpg) |
Mathias Stoudt 1786 Bern Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, in German |
Several tax lists were recorded in German, rather than English. This was a direct reflection on the population in Bern Township, which was home to a large number of immigrants from the Palatine region of Germany. The Germans banded together in their community and maintained their cherished language and customs. This 1786 tax roll was recorded in both languages in different copies of Berks County tax books.
 |
Mathew Stoudt 1788 Bern Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania |
Three years later, a sawmill was added to Mathias’ county property assessment. In 1788, he was charged 1 pound, 12 shillings, 4 pence on 30 acres of land, 1 Gristmill, 1 Sawmill, 1 Hempmill, 2 Horses and 2 Cows. His sawmill was likely a wise investment as the county population grew and settlers began to replace log cabins with wood frame houses and barns. Through the years, his property was consistently valued at a level slightly below the wealthiest inhabitants of Bern Township. Even though he did not own a large amount of real estate, his mills obviously provided a comfortable income for his family.
 |
John, Mathias Jr. & Abraham Staudt 1798 US Direct Tax List, Bern Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania |
The first direct tax levied by the United States government was initiated in 1798 and it recorded another bit of information about Mathias and Anna Margaretha’s property. The direct tax was created to fund expansion of the US Military in preparation for a possible war with France. Each of the country’s sixteen states was entrusted with assessing houses valued at more than $100, assigning a tax rate and collecting the taxes owed. Since many of the homes had expensive glass windows, the direct tax is sometimes called the “glass” or “window” tax. Even though both Mathias and Anna Margaretha had passed away by this time, their sons John and Mathias Jr. inhabited the homes they inherited from their parents. The value of their dwellings provided another bit of insight into the Staudt’s economic situation. John lived in his parent’s home which was valued at $600 and Mathias Jr. lived in a dwelling on a second Staudt property valued at $250. They paid $1.80 and $.50 in taxes, respectively. Abraham Staudt, listed below their names, was the third Staudt brother. He owned land and a house valued at $200, near his sibling’s property. This document was also the first Staudt tax record to use dollars and cents, rather than pounds, shillings and pence, to express the value of property and the amount of tax collected.
 |
1761 Naturalization Record for Mathias Staudt |
Mathias took advantage of the opportunity to become a
naturalized British citizen in 1761. The British government passed an act in
1740 which allowed any foreigner who had lived in a British territory for seven
years to obtain the same rights as natural born Englishmen. The procedure to
receive the new status was simply to appear before a chief judge of the colony,
take an oath of allegiance (or an affirmation, for those professing the Quaker
other dissenting faiths) to the British Crown, and take the Lord’s Supper
(Communion) within three months of their court appearance. Naturalization granted
all the full legal rights and privileges of a native-born citizen to a
non-native foreigner.
.jpg) |
Excerpt from History of Berks County by Morton Montgomery |
Mathias was baptized in the Reformed Church in Wolfersweiler and was an active member of the Reformed congregation in Bern Church. He was mentioned as a trustee of Bern Church in 1762 in Montgomery’s History of Berks County. He served as a trustee with my 5th great-grandfather, Jost [Yost] Hiester, when additional acreage was added to the church property and construction of the second church building was authorized. The Staudt children were probably baptized in Bern Church, but written records from the era of their births were not kept or have not survived. It was recorded that there was a great shortage of Reformed ministers in Pennsylvania in the 1700s.
.jpg) |
Berks List of the Petit Jury of a Court of Oyer and Terminer Held May 13, 1776 |
Mathias’
name was found in a list of petit trial jurors for a session of a Court of Oyer
and Terminer, a court of criminal jurisdiction, in Pennsylvania. Twelve men
were chosen by lot for each case from the current jury list at the beginning of
each court session. The petit jury returned a verdict in criminal cases. This
was evidence that Mathias may have served on a jury just two months before the
official creation of the United States of America.
 |
Mathw Staudt in the 1790 US Federal Census Bern Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania |
The Staudt family was enumerated in the first United States Federal Population Census taken in 1790. Mathias and three other “free white males sixteen years and upward” were marked in the left column and Anna Margaretha and two other “free white females” were counted in the right column. Mathias and Anna Margaretha’s three sons were 32, 33 and 34 years old and the two daughters were 18 and 28, but no names except the head of household were collected by the census taker. All the Staudt children may have still lived at home, but it was more likely that only some of them and their spouses may have lived with Mathias. John may have lived in the home because he inherited his parent’s dwelling in 1795.
Mathias was also enumerated in Bern Township, Berks County, in the first three Pennsylvania Septennial Censuses taken in 1779, 1786 and 1793. These censuses were repeated every seven years for tax purposes and to determine representation in state government. However, they only proved residence of the head of household and provided no other information about any members of the family.
THE STAUDT LEGACY
 |
Mathias Staudt Headstone in Bern Churchyard |
Mathias passed away at age 69 on 22 May 1795 in Bern Township. Anna Margaretha died two years later, at age 68, on 27 May 1797. They were buried side by side in row “Q” in plots 15 and 16 in Bern Churchyard near Leesport in Berks County. The inscriptions on their original headstones have faded, but the words were preserved in Bern’s Forebears, A Guide to Its Graveyard. A new monument for the couple was placed in front of Mathias’ weathered marker.
 |
Anna Margaretha “Chräder” Staudt Headstone in Bern Churchyard |
The
entries for Anna Margaretha and Mathias in Bern’s Forebears contain the
German epitaphs on the original tombstones and their English translations. Genealogist,
James M. Beidler provided his theory on how the “Chr(a)der” [Chräder] variation
from Anna Margaretha’s maiden name “Gräter” may have occurred. The initial “Ch”
in German was often pronounced like an English “K,” which, in turn, might have
been mistaken for a hard “G” sound. The “d” and “t” consonant sounds could have
been likewise confused. Finally, the letter “n” was added to German surnames to
indicate the feminine form. Therefore, “Chrädern” was a reasonable variant of
“Gräter.”
Mathias wrote his last will and testament on 7 April 1795 and
it was proven in the Register’s Office in Reading on 22 July of the same year.
His will provided for Anna Margaretha and specified how his estate should be
divided among his children. Sons, Abraham and Mathias Jr., were named as his
executors.
Anna Margaretha and Mathias’ sons continued
the mill and farming businesses and were successful, respected members of Bern
(later Penn) and North Heidelberg Townships. Their descendants remained in
Berks County where they were especially prominent in the Bern Reformed and St.
John’s Hain’s Reformed Church communities.
Mathias and Anna Margaretha’s
oldest son, John, inherited the original Lieb mill property. The subsequent
chain of ownership can be traced to the 1975 sale to the US Government by power
of imminent domain for the Blue Marsh National Recreation Area lake and flood
control project. A small portion of the property on the banks of Tulpehocken
Creek was also sold to the Union Canal Company of Pennsylvania in 1830.
Mathias and Anna Margaretha’s youngest son, Johann Mathias, inherited the other 135 acres of land owned by his father. Mathias died at age thirty and his oldest brother, John, became the owner of all the land Mathias and Anna Margaretha owned. Their middle son, Abraham, purchased the land on which the "Upper Staudt Mill" would eventually be built.
More recent generations of the Staudt family lived across Tulpehocken Creek in Lower Heidelberg Township near the village of Brownsville. Samuel Staudt and his son Henry Leiss Staudt each owned farms in the area. Mathias and Anna Margaretha’s fourth great-grandson, Kermit Staudt, was the last of three generations to own Henry’s property until the mid-1970s.
Most of the Staudt properties were purchased by the US Government to become part of the Blue Marsh Recreational Area. Henry’s former property in Lower Heidelberg was spared the bulldozer, however, and is now preserved by an historical non-profit organization and is part of living history site known as Old Dry Road Farm. The Staudt farmhouse, barn, outbuildings and a 1776 spring house remain on the farm. Other structures from the Essig and Dundore farms are also preserved on the site.
 |
Painting of Old Dry Road Farm The Staudt Farm is at the Upper Right of the Painting. |
