Honey Leaper in 1957

          The last record I find of my 2d Great-Grandmother is January 28, 1893. "Mrs. Hannah Leeper" sold 126+ acres of land to "D. P. Cowsert" in Kimble County, Texas.

          To my knowledge, no one alive today knows when my immigrant ancestor died or where she is buried. Until a later source is found, I can only point to early 1893 as Hannah's "last known alive" date. 

          Her name pops up in papers all over Texas because of bounty land left to her when widowed in 1855. Land that Texas had awarded her husband Sam Leeper for having fought at San Jacinto and Bexar during the Texas Revolution. (Yay, Sam!). 

          Survey records of these original grantees, Sam or Hannah Leeper, can be found in old Texas newspapers. Today I found another mention of my Hannah.

          This has got to be my favorite misspelling of her name:  "Honey Leaper." 


          Fellow Wiser family historians will see other familiar surnames: Speights, Weaver, Moor, Frezia, Hankamer, Barrow, and Abshier in this article from The Baytown News, Wed., 5 June 1957, Baytown, Chambers County,Texas, page 3, via The Portal To Texas History at   URL:   https://texashistory.unt.edu/  

          If you find mention of our Hannah with the surname Leaper, Leiper, Leeper or as "Honey," please share, won't you?


November 2022 UPDATE:

1.  From The Baytown Sun, page 10, Monday, February 4, 1963 in Baytown, Harris County, Texas:



2.  This one from the same paper on January 28, 1960, page 12:



3. Lastly, from February 4, 1965, page 9, The Baytown Sun paper:






My Great-Grandpa's Step-Dad Fought At San Jacinto

As mentioned a time (or 12)  before, my elusive paternal 2xGGrandmother Hannah is high on my search list. As a single mom with young boys in a new land, she somehow met and married a veteran of the early Texas battles for independence.

Sam Leeper was good enough to become guardian of her sons, and for that I am grateful. Gosh, I am downright fond of this old soldier! I've enjoyed learning his history as an early pioneer to "Baja Oklahoma" (Texas), his three marriages, and trailing his children (whom he never saw again after leaving Virginia to fight the Mexican Army).

Today was a lucky one, as I found a few gems. From March 6, 1836 is a roster of soldiers who served under Captain Hayden Arnold. Just four days before, an activist group had formally declared their independence from Mexico. Throw down! 

These "Nacogdoches Volunteers" would soon fight in the famed Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836. Samuel's name is fifth on the list: 


Not at all wet behind the ears, this 2d sergeant under Capt. Arnold had fought at the Battle of Bexar just the year before. For his military service from March 6th to June 7, 1836, Sam was issued Bounty Certificate No. 9473 for 320 acres of land. That's just some of the land he was awarded as "bounty." 


From April 27, 1838, his signature regarding real estate with a Mr. Henry Trott.  Sam's actual signature! 

More Texas Real Estate From Leeper's Bounty

That Sam Leeper! The bounty land this old soldier received for fighting in the battles of San Jacinto and Bexar was all over Texas. With more papers appearing on the internet, I find previously unknown counties where Sam's name appears on land patents. I wonder what amount of $$$ of real estate its value might hold today. His untimely death in 1855 left his third wife, Hannah, holding the deeds. 


From The San Antonio Express in October 1909:












And this from the Houston Post, on 28 March 1917:


UPDATE:  June, 2020  - Found another one in Smith County:


Source:  The Weekly Courier-Times, Tyler, Smith County, Texas, p. 6 on December 30, 1910 (via The Portal of Texas History at URL: texashistory.unt.edu/ )




For Shirley--My Third Cousin

June 1, 2024 Update:  The photo of Sam Leeper that was previously shown in this blog post has been removed--but not the text. Today I learned from a family who had the same photo in their possession that their grandfather had written the name "Samuel Looper" on the back side. That Sam was born and raised in Overton County, Tennessee.  

___________________________

MEET SAME LEEPER, SR.  Was I ever happy to get a "shaky leaf" hint from Ancestry about a photograph shared by a kind researcher, David Oliver. The photo was of Sam! A man who was once guardian of my Great-Grandfather and his brothers. A man who married my 2xGreat-Grandmother Hannah after she immigrated with four youngsters and possibly felt a little desperate as a single mom in a new land. Sam. A husband who died a few days before their second wedding anniversary, and missed seeing the birth of his son on Christmas that same year. 

I've no idea as to its authenticity of this photo as it came with no other information. But I was thrilled, as you can imagine. My paternal grandfather used to refer to him as "Old Man Leeper."  I wish as a child I had recorded  e v e r y  comment heard about this Sam and his third wife Hannah, our direct ancestor:

[photo deleted June 2024]


LEEPER - WOSTA MARRIAGE LICENSE OF APRIL 19, 1853, GALVESTON, TEXAS:  Please note the names of the parties written on the upper LEFT-hand corner. The spelling of WOSTA is given as Hannah's maiden name, or married name or what? Did she even speak English at that time? Galveston was filled with immigrants from all over. The newspapers (yes, now online) show many ships arriving daily, with the amount of passengers. Surely someone translated if Hannah was not yet bilingual. Yipes, this document drives me crazy with curiosity!

This certified copy was obtained by our cousin-researcher, Doris Weiser Jarvis, and dated 12 Jan. 1990. Here is Doris' transcription of the above document:

   The State of Texas, County of Galveston. "To any regular ordained Minister of the Gospel, Judge of the District Court, Judge of the County Court, or Justice of the Peace. I hereby authorize any one of you to celebrate the rites of matrimony between Samuel Leeper and Hannah Wosta and due return of your proceedings hereon to me, at my Office, make within Sixty Days, as the law directs." Signed my county clerk, and certified by F. B Whiting, Justice of the Peace. Marriage celebrated on 19th day of April A.D. 1853. Record Book N0. B, pg. 87, numbered 214. (Certified copy.)


NOTE:  Please click ONCE anywhere on an image to enlarge it. And to return to this page, CLICK ONCE INSIDE AN IMAGE TO RETURN. Only once, mind you. 

Shirley, I've seen several instances of distant cousins' research showing our Hannah's maiden name (or a married name) of CARMEN. But with no credible source. Some link her to another Hanna Carmen, one born in another state with children with different names. None of whom seem to have any connection to southeast Texas. Please read this link to my blog post about this. I also write in that post of a letter by one of Amiels' daughters that I find fascinating:


          http://treepig.posthaven.com/my-hannah-leeper-was-not-ever-hannah-carman

Another post elsewhere on this blog is a brief TIMELINE of Hannah Leeper. Please click the link below this paragraph to go directly to it. I found a record in January of 1893 where our Hannah was a grantee in a real property transaction. This is the LAST mention of her living that I have found so far. Shall we take a drive down to Austin and see the actual document? Perhaps her signature is on it, woo hoo!

          http://treepig.posthaven.com/timeline-of-hannah-wosta-leeper

Texas Land Title Abstracts

Grantee: Mrs. Hannah Leeper

Certificate: 36/72

Patentee: D. P. Cowsert

Patent Date: 28 Jan 1893

Acres: 126.58

District: Bexar

County: Kimble

File: 2523

Survey/Blk/Tsp: 53 1/2

Patent #: 5

Patent Volume: 8

Class: Bex Don


Source:  Ancestry.com. Texas Land Title Abstracts [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2000. Original data: Texas General Land Office. Abstracts of all original Texas Land Titles comprising Grants and Locations. Austin, TX, USA.

MARRIAGE LICENSE of Barney Wiser and "Anna Harmon" - Transcribed by researcher/cousin:  Doris Weiser Jarvis, and shared with this writer on 18 July 2004:

    The State of Texas, County of Galveston. To any Regular Ordained Minister of the Gospel, Judge of the District Court or Justice of the Peace:

 I Hereby Authorize any one of you to celebrate the Rite of Matrimony between Barney Wiser & Anna Harmon and due return of your proceedings hereon to me, at my Office, make within Sixty Days, as the law directs.

Witnessed by Clerk of the Dist. Court on the 27th day of Jan. A.D. 1874. The Rite of Matrimony between the above named parties was duly celebrated by the undersigned on the 29th of January 1874, signed by L. (?) R. Sherman, Justice of the Peace. Marriage Book N0. E, pg. 435, N0. 32. 

On 24 January 1874: "To the County Clerk of Galveston county, greetings. Sir you are hereby Authorized and requested to issue licence of matrimony to Barney Wieser and Miss Anna Harmon who is to be married by our consent." Signed by Joshua Harmon and Mrs. Cleonize Harmon. (Handwritten.)
______________________



This link below is to my blog post about Barney's older brother, Louis Wiser. I hope you can easily access it:

       http://treepig.posthaven.com/louis-wiser-hannahs-eldest-son


MEET BARNEY'S TWIN BROTHER, AMIEL:  


Here are a few of Amiel's sons. The son on the far left was named after him, and his nickname was "Amie." My grandfather is next to him:


You know THIS couple, Henry "Eddie" Wiser and Stella Lee. It's the only photo I've seen of either of them. In reviewing my notes just now, I had forgotten that Stella's paternal grandmother was an Abshier. My grandfather married one of her cousins. So, you too descend from Weed and Abshires. (No news to you, but a light bulb just went off here!)  Kevin Ladd (now passed), another cousin/researcher and former museum curator once wrote that our Abshires (allegedly from Germany) changed the spelling to ABSHIER upon moving from Louisiana to Texas in the 1840s. Not that it was any definitive event. It just began showing up in records and then was perpetuated. I'm told the original spelling was ABCHER back in Europe. 



BOUNTY LAND CERTIFICATE FOR SAN JACINTO VETERAN SAM LEEPER AND/OR WIFE, HANNAH:


And, the backside of the document:


You most likely have seen this record from Texas military records of Sam Leeper's bounty award for service in the battles of San Jacinto and Bexar. I got this copy from the San Jacinto Museum website:


Sam's son, Sam Leeper's death certificate. Several of our family have apparently spent their last hours at Hotel Dieu Hospital in Beaumont:


And the death certificate of Hannah's daughter, Rosa, who married Joseph Clayton. Her twin sister Hannah (Lina) is one of my brick walls in my research. WHERE did that girl go!


ONE CONUNDRUM:  We spoke last week of how Hannah's twin daughters appear in records with different surnames. Rosa's death record above has their birth date as 1859--four years after the death of Sam Leeper.  And Rosa had three children whose death certificates mention their mother's maiden name as LEAPER or LEEPER. Those three--Alice, Dan and Viola Clayton, have family members who were "informants" to their death certificates.

But one son, Gilbert Crosby Clayton, has as HIS parents' names: Joseph Clayton and "Rosa MAYS." Mays? His wife, Willie Clayton, was the informant who gave that data to the medical examiner back in 1958. So either Willie remembered something about her mother-in-law that has been lost to the rest of us. Or she guessed incorrectly.

This name MAYS jumped off the page at me because several cousin-researchers have alternative names for the twins. Among them, is the surname MASON. And yes, I've spent quite a bit of time looking for eligible men named Mr. Mason living in Chambers and Liberty County--near our widowed Hannah. The Texas marriage and death databases are many and varied (with nicknames and misspellings!) and I find no hint of Rosa's twin sister. That twin appears in census records as Hannah or Lina. I think I've seen a "Lisa" too. Call it muddying up the waters, but now I've added "MAYS" as a possible birth daddy to the twins. That Hannah Wosta Wiser Leeper was ONE interesting ancestor, eh?

Here are three brief articles from The Liberty Vindicator newspaper on Eddie Wiser. The first was published June 14, 1901. The second, on August 16, 1912. The third was dated February 2, 1917.




Was My Great-Grandfather Amiel Wiser A Confederate Soldier?

My Great-Grandfather and his twin brother Barney were born 172 years ago today--May 31, 1845 in Sachsen or Saxony in what is now Germany. His daughter wrote that he and his three brothers immigrated with their mother to Texas when he was six years old.

My other relatives born around 1845 nearly all served in America's Civil War, as did yours. But I hadn't found proof or any hint of Amiel and Barney having joined the Confederacy. No such memory or story has been passed down to their many descendants.  

This past Memorial Day weekend I again ran my ancestors' names through Fold3's military databases. What a happy surprise to find mention of a Wiser from Chambers County, Texas:


Amiel and Barney's mother Hannah had married Sam Leeper in April of 1853 at Galveston, Texas. Sam became the guardian of her four young sons before his death nearly two years later. Because he had received hundreds of acres of Texas land for his service in the Battles of Bexar and San Jacinto, this land passed to his wife. "Honey Leiper" or "Hanna Leaper" are some of the many misspelled names for Hannah Leeper found on land records in state archives at Austin. 

The image above was the only page or reference in that database to Barnard Wiser, Texas soldier.

Source:  Confederate Papers Relating to Citizens or Business Firms, 1861-65, NARA (National Archives), Publication No. M346, also known as the Citizens File - original records pertaining to goods furnished or services rendered to the Confederate government by private individuals or business firms.

But wait! Fold3.com has a second database with mention of my Wisers. Because military documents were often folded in thirds (hence the name Fold3) this first image shows the soldier's name as the title to the folder:


The second page is dated February 13, 1865, and is addressed to Captain J.W. or J. M. Lacone, C.O. (commanding officer) of Chambers County, Texas, and stamped by the Record Division of the War Department: Rebel Archives. 

See the two names in the upper left? Barney and his twin, "Amel Wiser." Why their names are written phonetically, I can only imagine. Bad handwriting led to confusion by another clerk who wrote what he thought he saw on paper? Were my ancestors illiterate and therefore clerks guessed at spelling? 

FEBRUARY 13TH, 1865:  Amiel is my great-grandpa, and I'm thrilled to see his name on paper from 1865 (even if he did serve in Texas with a loser army). Click on the image to enlarge it. Click again to return to this page:




Wait for it: In this next document, Hannah gave permission for her boys to join the Confederacy. 


And now my research goes out the window because Hannah gave a different birth year than what I had for the twin brothers. Not 1845--but 1850. 

This makes no sense to me. Census records indicate the Wiser boys were born in Germany. The brothers all have the last name of Wiser. To my knowledge, none used Sam Leeper's surname. Immigration records would have their ages, but no such papers have yet been found. Don't you too love a mystery!


Hard to read? Here's my transcription: 

The State of Texas   )

Chambers County    )

          Before me James Jackson Chief Justice of said County this day personally appeared Hanor Leiper to me well known, who being duly sworn by me deposed and said that that Barnard and Amel Wiser my sons and that said Barnard and Amel were both (twins) born in the Spring of the year; in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty.

          In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name and affixed the seal of the County Court of Chambers County this 13th day of February A.D. 1865

          James Jackson Chief Justice C.C.


Source:  Unfiled Papers and Slips Belonging in Confederate Compiled Service Records, NARA, Publication No. M347, Papers of and Relating to Military and Civilian Personnel, compiled 1874-1899, documenting the period 1861-1865.


My only source for the twin brothers' birth date is Amiel's tombstone, which reads:

                    Amie Wiser 
                    Born  May 31, 1845 
                    Died  Oct 28, 1895 
                    Blessed are they that die in thee LORD 


The 1860 Federal Census (see copy in link attached) indicates the twins were 15 years old, born in 1845. See the actual census page linked here. On lines 39 and 40--at the bottom of the page, you will see Hannah Leeper and eldest son, Louis Wiser. Click the arrow next to "Image" to go to the next page, Image No. 4, to see Amiel (here as "Lemuel") and brother "Barny" on lines 1 and 2.

                   https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXFX-MJ8


Their half-brother, Sam Leeper, appears on line 3. Little Sam never knew his father. Sixty-year-old Samuel Leeper died April 1, 1855--nearly nine months before Sam, Jr.'s birth on Christmas Day, 1855.

-- This post will be amended as more data is found. I wanted to celebrate their birthdays and post it today. I welcome your comments below. 

I am grateful that my great-granddad's mom Hannah feared losing her twin boys in battle, and therefore lied about their ages. Can you think of any other reason why a German immigrant would give false data to a Texas judge?









My Hannah Leeper Was Not Ever Hannah Carman

          I've long wondered why several fellow family historians record a marriage of my 2ndGreat-Grandmother to a Mr. Carman.

          Many family trees have our Hannah with CARMAN as either her maiden name or her surname at the time of her marriage to Samuel Leeper in 1853. Tonight I reviewed the sources attached to these trees, and found a clue.

          But first, a brief timeline of our Hannah.

          My paternal ancestor Hannah was allegedly born in 1824 at a location the 1870 U.S. Federal Census indicates as "Hamburgh." That is the only reference I've found listing Hamburg as her birthplace. She first appears in a U.S. Census in 1860. Both the 1860 and 1880 Federal Census indicate only a birthplace of "Germany."  However, her four young sons have "Saxon" as their birth location in the 1870 census. Saxon = Sachsen or Saxony. There were several thousand German immigrants living in southeast Texas before the Civil War. I imagine few census takers spoke their language. So spelling errors must be considered.

          With that in mind, the very first surname I find attached to Hannah is in her April 19, 1853 marriage certificate to Samuel Leeper. Written in cursive, it appears to be Wosta. Or Woste. Is it a maiden name or a married surname? Maiden names were traditionally requested. And why does she not have the same last name as each of her four young boys: Louis Wiser, Barney Wiser, Amiel Wiser, and Henry Edward Wiser? Because of her different surname, I'm inclined to think Wosta is her maiden name. Have you a different opinion?

          My cousin-researcher, Doris Weiser Jarvis, obtained a certified copy of Hannah and Sam Leeper's marriage certificate. Mrs. Jarvis shared this transcription to the copy attached below:

   The State of Texas, County of Galveston. "To any regular ordained Minister of the Gospel, Judge of the District Court, Judge of the County Court, or Justice of the Peace. I hereby authorize any one of you to celebrate the rites of matrimony between Samuel Leeper and Hannah Wosta and due return of your proceedings hereon to me, at my Office, make within Sixty Days, as the law directs." Signed my county clerk, and certified by F. B Whiting, Justice of the Peace. Marriage celebrated on 19th day of April A.D. 1853. 

-- Galveston County Courthouse, Record Book No. B, pg. 87, numbered 214.


          Samuel Leeper was 58+ years old when he married Hannah. She was about 28. Exact birth months or days are unknown. Birth years are known only from the censuses held every ten years. At the time of this marriage, Hannah's eldest son was ten and her youngest was one. Only one year old. What few family legends that are remembered in the 21st century speak of our ancestors crossing the Atlantic to America. Surely our Hannah didn't make the transatlantic voyage while pregnant or with an infant! I can't imagine how difficult this might have been for her. Had her husband recently abandoned her? Or died? Would a young mother with little children make such a difficult voyage on her own? 


          No immigration record has yet been found. Several of us have spent hours searching. But my Great-Grandfather Amiel Wiser told his daughter Nora that they had immigrated from Germany when he was six years old. He was born May 31, 1845. (Our only proof is his headstone). So his family may have immigrated about 1851? Amiel was also known as Lemuel or Emeal. His daughter Nora spelled her dad's name as "Emeal" in her letter to her nephew, Urban Weiser, dated June 11, 1957.

          Urban's daughter Doris W. Jarvis transcribed her Aunt Nora's letter and shared this excerpt in July of 2004. I am ever so happy to have it! 

 "I couldn't tell her much for our parents never did talk much about the family. I heard Dad (Emeal) say he came over from Germany when he was six years old. A Mrs. Lafore raised him. And I talked with Mrs. Lafore once when Ed and I was going down to Double Bayou to see old Dr. Morgan. She lived at the mouth of the Bayou there where Dr. Morgans office was. She took me over to her house and showed me the organ our Dad used to play on when he was a little boy. When Dr. Morgan told her I was Lem Wiser's daughter she grabbed me and hugged me. I thought she would never let me go, then she took us over to her house and fixed us a nice dinner, and wanted to know all about our Dad, how he died and where he lived. I don't know why Dad never did tell us about her. Dad had two step-sisters Aunt Racy and Aunt Hannah. They were twins. Old Mrs. Weiser seemed to have married three times, as Aunt Racy and Aunt Hannah's names was Mason."......"Uncle Sam Leaper, (son of Hannah and Sam, Sr.) if you remember, lived with us awhile. and moved there close to Uncle Ben Abshier's, and he died at Ed Clayton's home. Ed Clayton was Aunt Racy's son." (Unquote.)

          Hannah's daughters, Rosa Theresa and her twin sister Hannah (or "Lina") were born June 18, 1860. Rosa's name appears as "Racy" in one census, as spelled by her niece Nora, above. The twins appear on census records with the last name of Leeper. However, Sam Leeper had died April 1, 1855--five years before the twins' birth according to his direct descendant Norma Webb Broach.


          Researcher Norma Broach Webb (1929-2004) has Sam Leeper's death date in her brief biography of her 2x GGrandfather in the Daughters of the Republic of Texas Patriot Ancestor Album, Vol. 2. (Published 2001, Turner Publishing Co., and available via Google Books). 

          And as for Hannah's twin daughters? I have not found any record showing Rosa or young Hannah with the last name of "Mason" as indicated by Nora Wiser in her letter of 1957. Not yet. I've researched any/all Masons living in southeast Texas. Have found only census pages showing twin sisters' maiden name of Leeper or Leaper.

          Indeed, Rosa's marriage certificate with Josephus S. Clayton reads:

"The State of Texas, County of Chambers Clerks office 29th May 1878, To any ordained Minister of the Gospel, Judge of the District or County Court, or Justice of the Peace, Greeting; You are hereby authorized and directed to celebrate the rites of matrimony between Mr. J.S. Clayton and Miss Rosa Leaper. Herein fail not and of this License made due return within Sixty days as the law directs. Given under my hand and official seal at office in Wallisville this the 29th day of May A.D. 1878." Signed by Jno. R. Wooten, Clerk. "Received 6th June 1878 and executed same day by meeting the within named parties at the home of Mrs. Hannah Leaper at Double Bayou, Chambers County in the holy bonds of matrimony." Signed: J. W. Hankamer, Justice of the Peace

          Nor can I find any record of Hannah marrying a Mr. Mason or any Mason who lived near our Hannah in Chambers or Liberty Counties in Texas. I will continue to search, as my Great-Aunt Nora's letter points to a Mr. Mason as the father of Hannah's twin girls. Family history is indeed a challenge for part-time sleuths!

BACK TO MR. CARMAN:  So what is the source for my cousins who list Hannah with the surname of Carman? When I first saw this name attached to Hannah's many trees online, I scoured censuses in southeast Texas in for neighboring Carmans. In a gentler time a woman having a child outside of marriage was scandalous. Admiration for my 2xgreat-grandmother would not wane were I to discover the twins and/or other children of illegitimate birth. But I found few Carmans.  

          Cousin-genealogist Kevin Ladd (1954-2014) once wrote: 


          I still don't see any connection. Nor why the name Carman is attached to German immigrant Hannah in Ancestry "trees." But some researchers referencing a Mr. Carman indicate an 1849 marriage date. Tonight's search on Ancestry.com/ offered this record:


           This record is of a Hannah Carman who married a Samuel Leeper in Mason County, Illinois. Bingo! Sam married a Hannah. Must be OUR Hannah, right? Noooo, not so fast. Do the math. Our Sam Leeper was too busy in Texas to take a buggy or stagecoach journey 800 miles to Mason County, Illinois then return home with three small boys? Only to re-marry Hannah in 1853 Galveston. The Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad wasn't built until the early 1870s. Let's see what old Sam was up to in the late 1840s. Was he anywhere near Illinois? 

          On May 19, 1839 Hannah's future husband Sam Leeper married Lucy Marie Carr in Galveston, Texas Republic. It was his second marriage. His first marriage in Washington County, Virginia in 1816 to Sarah Bonham sadly ended in 1823 with her death. Sam appears in tax records for 1840 and 1846 in southeast Texas. That clever Sam, age 55, appears TWICE in the 1850 Federal Census: Once at Galveston while living in the household of Mr. J H Fredenburgh, and also as Sam "Leiper" at his home in nearby Liberty. Lucy also appears in the Liberty census with her daughter Emily and her husband James Yeoman. Perhaps to assist in taking care of their one-year-old grandson, William? To further confuse researchers, a "Saml Luper" appears August 24, 1850 in a "Federal Census Non-Population Schedule" for Liberty, Texas. Our Samuel had fought at both Bexar and the Battle of San Jacinto and had been awarded hundreds of acres of "bounty land" for his military service. Land that was bequeathed to his widow, Hannah Leeper. If you've registered, please see this link of Hannah Wosta's 1853 marriage to Samuel Leeper:

  https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F6YY-CN1

          Am I missing something? If my ancestor Hannah married a Mr. Carman I would love to see the source. She evidently met with some gentleman in late 1859 (as evidenced by her twin daughters' birth on June 18, 1860). But why he wasn't living with our 36-year-old Hannah in 1860 or in the later 1870 census, I can't explain.

         I welcome comments on our Hannah. She's one of my favorite genealogy "brick walls." FamilySearch is free, but requires registration. Hannah and her boys appear in the 1860 Federal Census on this FamilySearch page:

         https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXFX-MJC  


_________

Texas, County Marriage Index, 1837-1977, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F6YY-CN1 : 22 December 2016), Samuel Leeper and Hanna Wosta, 19 Apr 1853; citing Galveston, Texas, United States, county courthouses, Texas; FHL microfilm 1,008,865

Timeline of Hannah Wosta Leeper

Today Ancestry.com/ uploaded a new database for people fluent in German. The original docs are held in the Staatsarchiv Stadt in Germany. 

          Hannover, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1621–1879
          http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=61007

The "about" states: This collection consists of Lutheran church records for the years 1621 to 1879 from the Elbe-Weser Triangle in Lower Saxony, Germany. Included in this collection are records of baptism, confirmation, marriage, and burial. Further reading indicates the collection includes the state of Niedersachsen. Hmmm, several in my family recorded birthplaces of "Sachsen" which could mean the town (there were several), or the county/province/state of Sachsen, which is also known as Saxony. Yes, THOSE Saxons of Monty Python fame. 

It is yet another tool in my search for my paternal 2nd great-grandmother Hannah. She allegedly was born about 1824 in Hamburg, Deutschland. Germany wasn't yet a country, but was made up of several states. Assuming her family was Lutheran, I ran several variations of my surnames through this new Lutheran database. A few returns of similar surnames, but none with given names near my Wisers or Wostas:

Zilch. I tried other variations with wild cards. Another time I may be inspired to continue. Perhaps another cousin might find something remotely similar to a Hannah or a "Johanna" born about 1824 or Wiser sons born in 1844, 1845 and 1852? German researchers have told me four names were common among many citizens. Databases often ask for only two.

As a guide, I offer this brief timeline of Hannah taken from census, land and marriage records:

     1853 - April 19 --  Hannah Wosta marries Samuel Leeper. (Wosta may be Woste)

     1860 - U.S. Census, Hannah Leeper. age 36, birthplace: Germany. Other household members showing name, age and birthplace are: (see also four census images below)

  • Louis Wiser     16   Germany
  • Lemuel Wiser  15  Germany (my great granddad!)
  • Barney Wiser  15  Germany
  • Sam Leeper     5   Texas
This family is listed on TWO census pages. I've shown the whole page--plus a snipped section of each page in this gallery:

  
     1870 - U.S. Census, Hannah Leeper, age 45, birthplace: Hamburg. Marital status was not asked in this census. Click on both images below to see the actual census page. At home with Hannah are:
  • Leeper, Barney  23  Sailor  born: Saxon  (Barney is twin to my great-grandfather)
  • Wiser, Edward  19  born: Saxon
  • Wiser, Sam  14  born: Texas (should be Sam Leeper, born Dec. 25, 1855) 
  • Wiser, Lina 9  Texas
  • Wiser, Racy 9  Texas (twins. Racy is our Rosa Theresa _____?, born June 18, 1860 with her twin sister, Hannah Lina. "Racy" is mistakenly listed as male in this census. Her 1878 marriage certificate refers to her as "Rosa Leaper." In the 1880 U.S. Census, Mrs. Rosa Clayton gives her parents' birthplace as "Prussia" (for father) and "Germany" for her mother. I know Sam Leeper wasn't born in Europe! But this may be in error or transcribed incorrectly from the original notes of the census taker.

     1871 - Texas, Land Title Abstracts,1700-2008  has a Honey Leeper with a land patent dated 26 Sep 1871 in Chambers County, Texas. Try googling "Honey Leeper" with "Chambers" and see what pops up. I find several mentions of Honey Leeper Land Surveys in archived papers and land records. That misspelling of Hannah's name sounds like a comic book hero. 

     1880 - U.S. Census, Hannah Leaper, (not Leeper) age 62, widowed, born in Germany--as were both her parents. Living with:

  • Leaper, Hannah, daughter, age 18, single, father's birthplace "unknown." Mother was born in Germany.
  • Wiser, Edward, 27, son, single, farmer, he and his parents were born in "Germany."  

    Two images of that census here and unbelievably, one page shows scotch tape used, OMG:

     1888 - Texas, Land Title Abstracts,1700-2008 database shows a land sale in Kimble County, Texas from Hannah Leeper of 254 acres.

     1893 - Texas, Land Title Abstracts,1700-2008 shows a deed record dated 28 Jan 1893 of 126 acres in Kimble County, Texas from "Mrs. Hannah Leeper." I assume she would have had to have signed this record. If her estate or heirs signed, it would have said as much. She would have been about 68 years old then. 

HEAR ME WEEP: Much of the 1890 census burned. I don't find Hannah in the 1900 or later federal censuses. She appears on some tax lists and population schedules, but not with a birth place. Texas, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1820-1890 does not have my Hannah or her Wiser children listed. I will update if I find a substantive tidbit on our ancestor. Fingers crossed. Suggestions welcomed.

NOTE: I've only shown a few of the many land records in Texas archives for Hannah Leeper/Leaper. My cousins know of more. The 1893 record is the last one I've found of my German immigrant. Do YOU have a later record for Hannah? My family does not know her death date or burial location. My great-grandfather died before my grandfather was born, and a lot of family stories went with him. 

1853 Marriage of Hannah Wosta to Samuel Leeper

When you search for someone and can't find them, it feels like you're running up against a brick wall. Genealogists frequently speak of their "brick wall ancestors." Hannah Wosta is one of mine. And the man with whom she had her four boys. The elusive Herr Wiser. Many a fine researcher before me has looked high and low for proof of this father to the four Wiser sons who left Sachsen (now called Germany) for Galveston, Texas in the early 1850s. But more on the boys later.

I'd like to introduce the FIRST proof found of Hannah's existence. Do you read something other than WOSTA as her last name? See on the left-hand side where it is written again: "Wosta?" Try googling "wosta" and see all that pops up. This is NOT a common surname.

See this certified copy of an actual marriage certificate obtained from Galveston County Clerk on January 12,1990 by researcher Doris Weiser Jarvis, showing the Leeper/Wosta marriage on April 19, 1853. Partial transcription:

“The State of Texas, County of Galveston. To any regular ordained Minister of the Gospel, Judge of the District Court, Judge of the County Court, or Justice of the Peace. I hereby authorize any one of you to celebrate the rites of matrimony between Samuel Leeper and Hannah Wosta and due return of your proceedings hereon to me, at my Office, make within Sixty Days, as the law directs.” Signed by county clerk, and certified by F.B Whiting, Justice of the Peace. Marriage celebrated on 19th day of April A.D. 1853. Record Book No. B, pg. 87, numbered 214."

Thank you for popping by to read this blog.