This Week in Frick-Heckman History

The 1922 Bowser Family History says David Bowser was born in 1788 and died on 27 September 1860. It preserves the nickname “Rock Davie” and identifies his wife as Mary Razor, a sister of Margaret Razor. No original death, marriage, probate, or cemetery record has yet been secured for David.

The same genealogy places David among the children of Jacob Bowser and Elsie Kal. David's brother John, remembered as “Big John,” is proposed as the father of Mary “Polly” Bowser. Mary married Levi Bowser, joining two Bowser branches before their son Wilson carried the line toward Nannie Bowser Heckman.

David is therefore collateral rather than a direct ancestor. His proposed relationship to Charlie depends on the still-unproved Mary-to-Big John and Big John-to-Jacob links. The nickname and family placement are valuable clues, but they should not be mistaken for original proof.

Rock Davie is nevertheless a useful reminder that family histories preserve details that may appear nowhere else. The next challenge is to test the 1922 account against Armstrong County land, church, cemetery, and estate records.

The 1922 Bowser Family History reports that Mathias Bausser Sr., his wife Esther, and members of their family reached Philadelphia on 28 September 1733 aboard the brigantine Richard and Elizabeth. The ship had sailed from Rotterdam by way of Plymouth under Captain Christopher Clymer.

The genealogy describes Mathias as sixty-three years old and notes that he signed his own name in German. The compiler regarded the signature as evidence that Mathias was literate. No post-arrival record for Mathias Sr. was found, although the book inferred that the family joined German-speaking settlers near Lancaster, where Mathias Jr. later appeared.

The passenger list of the Richard and Elizabeth (a ship named after the parents of its Captain Christopher Clymer), as transcribed in the Pennsylvania German Pioneers book, names Matthes Bouser, 63; Matthes Bewser, 22; Christian Bewser, 18; Esther Bouser, 49; Anna Elisabeth Bewser, 20; Daniel Bewser, 11½; Jacob Bewser, 9½; and Magdalena Bewser, 7½. The provincial council record describes 43 qualifying passengers who, with their families, numbered 137 people. Two surviving oath lists document qualification at Philadelphia on 28 September 1733. Their signatures and marks, matched by order to the passenger list, indicate that the older Mathias and Christian signed their names, while the younger Mathias made a mark. The passenger list records names and ages but does not explicitly identify spouses or parent-child relationships.

The Bausser Signatures and Oaths

These facsimiles preserve the signatures and marks entered on 28 September 1733. In each image, the two Mathias entries and Christian appear consecutively in the left column, immediately below Philip Jacob Edelman. The first Mathias and Christian signed; the second Mathias made a mark. Select either image to examine the full page.

The Words They Subscribed To

Pennsylvania German Pioneers, volume I, pages 4–6, prints the standard declaration associated with List B and the two additional declarations associated with List C. The first two declarations are reproduced below, retaining historical spelling and capitalization while joining printed line breaks. The third is summarized in modern language. “A B” is the form’s placeholder for the person’s name. These are the forms associated with the Bausser entries, not a separate transcript of their spoken words.

Allegiance to the King and the Proprietor (List B)

We Subscribers, Natives and Late Inhabitants of the Palatinate upon the Rhine & Places adjacent, having transported ourselves and Families into this Province of Pensilvania, a Colony subject to the Crown of Great Britain, in hopes and Expectation of finding a Retreat & peaceable Settlement therein, Do Solemnly promise & Engage, that We will be faithful & bear true Allegiance to his present MAJESTY KING GEORGE THE SECOND, and his Successors, Kings of Great Britain, and will be faithful to the Proprietor of this Province; And that we will demean ourselves peaceably to all His said Majesties Subjects, and strictly observe & conform to the Laws of England and of this Province, to the utmost of our Power and best of our understanding.

Declaration of fidelity and rejection of papal authority (List C)

I A B do solemnly & sincerely promise & declare that I will be true & faithful to King George the Second and do solemnly sincerely and truly Profess Testifie & Declare that I do from my Heart abhor, detest & renounce as impious & heretical that wicked Doctrine & Position that Princes Excommunicated or deprived by the Pope or any Authority of the See of Rome may be deposed or murthered by their Subjects or any other whatsoever. And I do declare that no Forreign Prince Person Prelate State or Potentate hath or ought to have any Power Jurisdiction Superiority Preeminence or Authority Ecclesiastical or Spiritual within the Realm of Great Britain or the Dominions thereunto belonging.

Rejecting the Stuart claim to the throne (List C): summary

The third oath required the signer to recognize George II as the lawful king of Great Britain and its dominions and to reject the rival Stuart claimant, James, who styled himself James III of England and James VIII of Scotland. The signer renounced allegiance to James, promised loyalty to George II against conspiracies, and pledged to report any treason or plots he learned of. He also promised to uphold the legally established Protestant succession, including the line of Sophia of Hanover, against James or any other claimant. These promises had to be made sincerely and willingly, without evasions or secret reservations. Its purpose was to secure loyalty to the reigning monarch and the Protestant succession by explicitly rejecting the competing Stuart claim.

Source text: page 4, page 5, and page 6 of Pennsylvania German Pioneers (1934), volume I.

The genealogy clearly states the later chain from Mathias Sr. through Mathias Jr., Jacob, Big John, and Mary “Polly” Bowser. Original records have not yet secured every parent-child link.

For Charlie's direct line, this Mathias branch ascends through Mary Bowser, who married Levi Bowser. It must remain separate from Levi's own Bowser ancestry until independent probate, church, land, or family records establish where the two branches meet.

On 28 September 1787, a renewed militia public-debt certificate was issued in Benjamin Leasure’s name for one pound and fifteen shillings. Pennsylvania’s military abstract card records certificate 14,379-00 and points to Interest Register B, page 163. An earlier card, for a certificate issued on 13 April 1786 in the same amount, identifies Benjamin with the Westmoreland County militia. These dates mark postwar financial records. They do not tell us when he served, why the certificate was renewed, or whether he received cash that day.

The fuller story of Benjamin's service emerges in another man’s pension application. On 19 September 1832, Adam Maxwell gave a sworn declaration in Armstrong County describing his Revolutionary War service. Maxwell said he had been selected from the militia to serve “as an Indian Spy,” the period term he used for the assignment. He named Benjamin Leasure and John Leasure among the men in the company under Captain Joseph Egar, whose surname also appears as Eager in later accounts.

Maxwell described the men being directed to scout a frontier route from the waters of Buffalo Creek toward Frankstown. Portions of the route wording are difficult to read. His recollection places Benjamin among men assigned to watch the frontier, but it does not establish a particular battle or encounter. A separate published Pennsylvania Archives roster lists “Benj. Leasure” in John McClelland’s company of Rangers on the Frontiers under the heading 1778–1783. The roster and Maxwell’s declaration describe different company associations and should not be collapsed into a single documented tour.

How securely does this soldier connect to our Benjamin? The uncommon name, western Pennsylvania setting, and compatible chronology make the identification persuasive when the militia cards, ranger roster, and Maxwell’s testimony are considered together. The military records do not supply Benjamin’s age or family members, however. Maxwell’s account is direct testimony from a fellow serviceman, recorded decades after the events, and the connection to our ancestor remains a reasoned identification rather than an explicit family identification in the service records.

The family connection has its own evidence. Benjamin’s 1847 will names his daughter Catherine Hooks and mentions land occupied by Hugh Hooks. Catherine continues Charlie’s line through Nancy Jane Hooks and Mary Rachel Crissman to Nannie Bowser Heckman. Later records use the surname Lasher for Catherine; that spelling transition remains a research question. The will establishes the father-and-daughter relationship independently of the military evidence.

The family records report a birth in 1760 and a marriage to Sarah in 1804. With his death placed about 1847, these suggest a life of about 87 years and a marriage of about 43 years; the birth and marriage dates remain unverified. His will names six children: George, Abraham, Matilda Best, Charlotte Hooks, Catherine Hooks, and Hannah Leasure. Sarah’s maiden surname is not established.

A small certificate thus opens a much larger family story: militia service, frontier scouting, and the paper trail that continued after the war. For this week’s calendar, we commemorate the renewed certificate on 28 September, while keeping the wartime service and the later financial record distinct.

Confidence 7. The certificate date and amount are documented, and Benjamin’s will directly names his daughter Catherine. The military identification is probable from the combined name, locality, chronology, and service records; his reported birth and marriage dates require further evidence.

Later Lehigh County histories report that Margaret Frantz was abducted during frontier violence in Heidelberg Township, then part of Northampton County. A 1914 account says she was twelve when taken in September 1757, remained in Indigenous captivity for seven years, returned about 1764, and married Nicholas Wotring or Woodring on 9 May 1769.

Margaret's reported birth on 8 May 1745 fits an age of twelve in September 1757. The same chronology places her marriage about five years after her return. A 1902 history instead says she was about fifteen when captured and married about two years after returning. The accounts agree on prolonged captivity but not on every detail.

The detailed story identifies Margaret and an unrelated girl named Solt or Soltz. Later claims that several daughters of Henry Frantz were taken appear to be a distortion. Margaret's adult identity and marriage are supported by later historical and cemetery evidence, but no contemporary capture, release, guardianship, or casualty record has yet been found.

The nearby Otterman relationships are better documented. Ludwick Otterman's 1795 will names Elizabeth, wife of Jacob Frantz, and Esther. A later deed connects Philip Heckman and Esther with Jacob and Elizabeth. The claim that Margaret's father Henry and Jacob's father Abraham were brothers remains unproved.